#also side note i think this is the first series where final deaths happen more than two episodes?

[prismartist]

session six was SUCH a good episode for bigb. he went red. got TWO kills. he's on proper good terms with cleo FINALLY. he broke up with ren. he killed TWO PEOPLE. gem called him the best killer on the server right now and that is vindicating. this is the first time he's properly gone out and been Red. and i am so happy for him. praying he survives til the last sesh 🙏🏼

[fantasywater]

Catradora and Stolitz: Same Toxic Ship just Different Genders

This series has always felt like the Catra Show, and so much so that even Hordak never felt like the main villain. And nothing drove that point home more than season five proving once and for all that this series' moral line(or lack thereof) is really about a Villain Protagonist when the character that increasingly became a monster for four seasons still got everything she wanted in the end.   

Catra is the poster child for the moral bankruptcy of this series. 

I can't buy her ''redemption,'' or her relationship with Adora, because she went too far. 

Therefore nor can I buy the mental gymnastics that arise when she is the topic of discussion in the fandom. 

For four seasons I watched this character willingly and gleefully jump rope with the moral event horizon. Then she finally broke it to the pieces when she genocides the planet, and everyone on it, because of her sick, evil, obsession with being better than Adora.

Loved all this time my behind.

Catra was a vile person from her introduction, and just got increasingly more poisonous as the show went on. 

Season Five wants us to treat Catra like she was just a bad friend.

She just said a few mean words here and there, and therefore all she has to do is sincerely apologize then friendship can begin again.  

Here's the thing Catra wasn't just a bad friend she was an abuser and a fascist. 

She had multiple opportunities to leave the horde, and had no reason to stay in the first place, gleefully attacks the resistance, is the reason Angela died, tried straight up multiple times to end Adora’s and her friends lives, and was just an abomination to even the ones on her side etc..   

On the flip side we have Adora who doesn’t give a damn about Catra for four seasons. She’s too busy enjoying life with her real friends.

Try and recall, was there ever a moment where Adora was...concerned for Catra’s safety? Pining for her in any way romantically? Ever? Even once during the first four seasons? Because I don’t.

Honestly, Catra wasn’t important to Adora until Catra showed up on screen. And then they both wanted to kill each other. Any moments of Adora thinking about Catra it was in the context of Catra being her enemy.

But I'm supposed to believe in their romance based on what? Catra's toxicity? Adora's nonexistent romantic feelings for pretty much the entire series?   

It seems in season 5 all Catra had to do was one act of atonement and out of nowhere, like Adora has been possessed by the ghost of Queer Rep, she suddenly can’t get Catra out of her head.

Also, note that Catra didn't save Glimmer because she realized her past actions were evil; no it was all for Adora's sake i.e. the person she is toxically obsessed with. 

Furthermore, the redemption in question is handled with the most condescending of kid gloves.

It seems like she was replaced by a clone for season five. She’s just accepted.

It's like seasons 1-4 didn't happen. The forgiveness was excessive and forced so we could be okay with this abuser/war criminal being chummy and romantic with her victims.

For example, Glimmer cries over her, kisses her cheek, etc... Yet Catra is responsible for her mother's death, the world ending, trying to kill her, war crimes against Bright Moon, etc. 

Then Entrapta also forgives Catra like it’s nothing even though she sent her to die, and apparently, she was in this hell space for a year.

But everything is supposed to be wonderful because an abuser ends the series romantically involved with her victim?   

When Adora said you made your choice and now live with it that should have been the end of any reconciliation either platonic or romantic. 

Even her flashbacks are of her being abusive.

You see her in one of them( in her so-called redemption season at that) scratching Adora's face to the point it left blood, and jumping on her stomach just because Adora dared to be friends with other people.

This was pretty much every childhood flashback they showed.

She would emotionally and physically abuse Adora, and then Adora would take her back.

This would continue even as young adults. It was a pattern(red flag) that Adora unfortunately didn't escape. 

But.....I always loved you,says Catra. 

For Adora's own mental health/closure, she could forgive, but only if she also makes it clear that she doesn't want her abuser/ex-friend back in her life.   

I could have tolerated that ending instead of Adora becoming a couple with her abuser. 

Basically, this Villain Sue ends the show getting everything she wants even after manipulation of several characters, genocide, war crimes against her own people, physical and mental abuse(especially toward Adora), repeated attempts at murder, and just being a complete psychopath to anyone within spitting distance of her toxicity. 

She gets to be pretty much abusive scum for four seasons, on top of actually doing the same thing Prime wanted to do, yet whiplash forgiveness and Lesbians 4 Evah is her ending.   

"So we're all just okay with this?", says Mermista incredulously of the war criminal Hordak. Good question, but then I remember you all seem to be okay with war criminal Catra sooo.....

Her mirror Hordak, according to the showrunner, is sentenced to Beast Island for his war crimes. However, my question then becomes where is Catra's sentence? Oh, that's right if you're Catra you get to be a war criminal in peace, and especially if you're dating the protagonist.   

It's also convenient that Mermista's was chipped, and therefore didn't get to say anything to the girl who helped bring down her kingdom with a smile on her face.

Funny how that worked out. 

It's even more convenient that her victims gave their lighting fast forgiveness.  

Can't have icky things like abuse and war crimes get in the way of that ending smooch you know.

I suppose we also just need to look at Angella as collateral damage while we smile as her daughter hugs and kisses her killer I guess.   

I also find it odd(since we're loving abusers) that Shadow Weaver point blank doesn't get forgiveness from Adora, and she even ends the series dead.

However, she defected to the hero's side in season two(regardless of any impure motivation), and stayed there and helped the protagonists until her season five death.

But Catra, who not only stayed with the conquering organization the Horde for almost the entire series while also eventually becoming their leader, was not only forgiven but also rewarded with a romance with her victim. Curious. 

The only way I can stomach her season five 'redemption', and lighting quick forgiveness, is if I forget the monster of four seasons didn't exist.

Problem is I can't do that. 

Why should I get any catharsis that the protagonists prevailed over Horde Prime when Catra is pretty much him with a sob story attached.

So it seems this show's message is no matter how much emotional and physical pain a person does to you it's okay to not only let them back in your life(damn your mental health I guess), but also enter a romantic relationship with them too.

It’s also hilarious that some of her fans say she’s Zuko.

No.

She’s what would happen if Azula and Kylo Ren were made into one character.

Titles the show should I have had:

She-Ra: The Story of a Villain Sue Antagonist That Gets a Happily Ever After With Her Victim

Another alternate: She-Ra: The Story of Lesbian Reylo or more current Lesbian Stolitz.

[wonton4rang]

Pleasee do firsts with Leehan <333

HIII <33 OMW!!

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i love u 3000 ¡!

pairing: leehan x reader.

warnings: +18, smut, fluff, some angst maybe, kissing.

summary: short scenarios of firsts with leehan.

note: this is a series, you can see the members that are done here. <3 pd. i didn't check this so if it has any typos, please lmk and i'll correct them asap !!

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first time he realises he's in love; i have two sides for him, i feel like he would either know right away that he likes you, noticing how his heart pounded faster when you were around, how he got nervous each time you looked at him even though he tried to play it cool, how he would look for you in a crowd unconsciously, or he would just don't realise at all, everyone knows he would literally kill for you but he keeps thinking he just really likes you... as a friend. but i think he would realise he's in love w u with something random, like he would give you his gummies or simply ditch an afternoon with his fishtank to be with you. only then opening his eyes wide and covering his mouth with surprise before saying "oh my god, i think i like her" yes, leehan, you like her.

how would he confess; tbh i feel like he wouldn't make a big fuss about it. he would buy you something he knows you like, a chain, a keyring, anything material that can last (not flowers or chocolates) so it can be a token of the confession he made to you, whether you accept his feelings or not. he would call you over to his place or probably to a park or a place where there was just the two of you, he would go straight to the point, smiling with his eyes first before saying a soft "i really like you, can you give me a chance to be your company?" his hands were shaking when he showed you the prettiest keyring you've ever seen and how could you say no? you also liked him very much !! a soft kiss on the cheek sealed the contract.

officially dating w leehan; i feel like it would be the most normal yet abnormal thing ever. like he would be so chill, just cuddling you on the couch while watching something on the tv and then he would suddenly look at you a say "what if we went hiking? i think the weather is nice for it!!" and you would just roll your eyes and laugh a little bit before saying "it's 93F outside, baby, we would roast to death". he would be the type to always have his hands on you, it could be holding your waist, playing with your hair, just resting on your thigh or even around your shoulders or playing with your fingers, but he would always find a way of having physical contact with you. he would rather have food delivered to your place and eat while talking about each other's days instead of cooking because you both were tired.

first kiss; there are so many ways this could happen but being honest...? i feel like he wouldn't directly try to kiss you first because he didn't want to make you feel pressured so he just kept certain distance. the problem was that he got so used to keeping his distance that he didn't notice when you finally were ready, basically ignoring all your tries to initiate the kiss you've been longing for a few days. it gets to a point were he finally notices because you pout after he kissed your cheek and he goes like "what's wrong, y/n? didn't like that one?" and when you nodded with your head to confirm his words, he laughed a bit before giving you a small peck in the lips, that being your first kiss with him since you guys started dating about a month ago. and it didn't end there, because when he saw your cheeks flushed with that pink blush, he couldn't help it but kiss you again, this time properly, taking his time to kiss you goodnight.

first time he wanted to do more than just a peck; kisses with leehan were never pecks, it was an actual kiss, lips moving at a pace and sometimes your tongues met too, but that was it, you guys never really made out or touched each other up like animals. well, that until today because when leehan felt your back against his crotch he felt like he was going crazy, you were cuddling together on your bed, ready to sleep, but leehan would start to hold your thighs, pressing on the skin before softly kissing your neck and get close enough to your ear to whisper "i want to kiss you, baby" and tbh you could feel the boner against your body, your pussy clenching when you finally turned to face him and he took you in for the most explicit kiss ever. tongues tangled, saliva being shared and you humping him while he softly grinded against you. after you both got off, Morfeo held you both on his arms until the next day.

first time meeting your family; from what i know about leehan i think he wouldn't be too nervous about it. i feel like he would want to make a good first impression so he would ask you about your parents likings, he would ask you if they liked fishes or gummies, or basically anything he liked so he could bring it up. he would try to help cooking but would end up getting a cooking class by your dad that made them bond more than you would think!! he would be himself all the time, maybe not that loud but definitely not hiding his true self because even if he wanted to, it would be too difficult. i can see him saying "next time i come here will be with our wedding invitation" your parents would just laugh and you would try to pull him away before he finished it off with a "and i plan my next visit to be very soon!!" even though you were ashamed, all you could do was laugh. your parents loved him, in fact, he would go to their place to just chat or have a meal because he loved your dad's cooking skills !!

first time w leehan; the only thing that comes to my mind when i think of this is the word "comfortable". like i feel that everything would be so lovely and warm, his smile making your heart feel soft and your nerves go away, his fingers would lovingly trace your lines, playing with your hair while he kissed you with so much care you actually felt gone for a second. he would prepare you so good, his fingers fucking your wet cunt to make sure you are ready to take his cock before he actually goes in, kissing your pussy and leaving a long lick there before going back to your mouth and place and open kiss there "can i go in?" he would ask and after you said yes he pushed in slowly, going all the way in and the tracing it back. the way he fucked you, so deep and nicely, it felt so personal, so romantic and yet so dirty, the way his hair got messy, his lips looking abused because you bite them so much, the explicit sounds of your wet pussy and his hard dick making you squirm under his touch before you finally came undone, he came too, almost right after you. he would look at you for a few seconds, his dick still deep inside your cunt, he would laugh and kiss your lips, laying besides you before saying "wanna go for a second round?" well damn.

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this is the keyring he would give u :(( you guys have matching ones and carry them everywhere with the little fishes and flowers oh my 😭😭🫶 even the "confession letter" and some butterflies, i need one of those asap.

[meta-squash]

Have I made a post about my "why Ianto Jones was the fan favourite" theory yet?

So of course we all know that Ianto was the fandom darling the whole time the show was airing and has continued to be so for years after (the fact that the shrine is still up 15 years later says a lot). Much as we love him, it is interesting to see how much he is as close as a main character can get to being a side character when it comes to the original canon show. But I think there are a number of factors that, combined, meant he turned out the fan favourite.

Keep in mind that I'm writing this only thinking about what fans were going off during the original airing of the show: so the episodes themselves, any aired behind the scenes stuff, and the companion captain's logs etc on the BBC website. (There were also the tie-in novels but I think fewer people read those than watched the show/saw the website.)

The two most shallow aspects I won't go into very deeply, because one isn't very interesting and the other is both obvious and fanfiction has delved into it for years. The first shallow aspect is that Gareth David Lloyd is quite handsome, has some great cheekbones and a lovely voice. The second is simply Ianto's relationship with Jack and his queerness in general. I'm not going to go into that much, fanfiction has done this for me, but I do think a big important thing regarding his relationship with Jack is that at no point does Ianto go through a gay panic moment, questioning his sexuality or his attraction to Jack. He may question the nature of his relationship with Jack (as in, whether romantic/committed or purely sexual etc) but he never freaks out about his attraction.

A slightly less shallow but still not terribly deep reason is because Ianto gets a pretty distinct personality. He's got those bland smiles and a tailored suit, but he's also sarcastic, has quips and comebacks and is generally prepared with a dry comment for most moments. He's quick-thinking and in canon seems to kind of have a jack-of-all-trades basic knowledge of a lot of things. He has an element of darkness or ruthlessness running through him that comes out on occasion, but he's not as overtly intense as Owen. He's also not terribly confident, despite the sarcasm: his relationship with Jack is tentative, in CJH it's obvious he's kind of figuring out what role he plays in the group still, and he's the only character who consistently shifts from being in the field to being a home base support. But through all this he is distinctly a person.

Another is his lack of character growth. Not that he doesn't grow and change throughout the show (Cyberwoman is a huge episode for him, obviously. So are the things that happen in Countrycide and in To The Last Man). But you can track how much Gwen and Owen and Jack change from the first three episodes of series one to the last three of series two. But Ianto doesn't get whole episodes dedicated to big changes or character development, which means the fans want to give him some! The fans want to see him change and grow and learn more about him. (Side note: I think Tosh is equal to Ianto in this respect; sadly Tosh is left by the wayside due to the double whammy of racism and sexism/fangirls generally being more interested in writing about queer male characters.)

A similar factor is where he sits in terms of character hierarchy. Jack and Gwen get the most number of episodes in which they are the Main Focal Point of the story. Owen comes next, mostly thanks to his double or triple episode arcs of Out Of Time/Combat and Reset/Dead Man Walking/A Day In The Death. Then Tosh, and finally Ianto. Which means, like I said above, Ianto is as close to a side character as a main character can get. We get moments where the story truly focuses in on Ianto, but far less than everyone else, and I think it makes the fans want more. Especially because the episodes that focus on him, like Cyberwoman, Countrycide, and From Out Of The Rain (and CoE), are all pretty emotionally intense episodes.

A fifth factor is his lack of Problem Character traits. Jack, as charming as he is, is massively hypocritical, acts without thinking, acts coldly or reacts badly when his employees are in crisis, and generally is not great at leading despite his role as leader. Gwen is hypocritical in a different way, makes mistakes without ever seeming to be punished or truly learn from them, acts on her own assumptions or emotions without stopping to think on other perspectives. Owen is a spiky asshole, says and does things to antagonise others, is sexist and annoying, and generally acts rashly. Toshiko also lacks Problem Character traits (unless you count her crush on Owen), but she's again hampered by sexism/racism. Ianto doesn't seem to have many negative traits that are big enough to cause annoyance or dislike in fans; his flaws are often minor issues that have to do with the specific episode. It's only in series 3 that we begin to see him show slightly negative or frustrating traits (his inopportune questioning of his and Jack's relationship, mostly).

A fifth factor is actually everyone else's relationship with him. He's the one character whose relationship with everyone else is fairly well defined by the end of series 2. Jack and Ianto have their friends-with-benefits-but-obviously-something-more relationship, of course. Ianto and Owen antagonise each other throughout the show but in season 2 it's more like brothers sarcastically bickering than actual hate. Toshiko and Ianto seem to have a good relationship but we actually don't see them interact that much in canon. Gwen and Ianto seem to be fairly good friends and have trust in each other's skills and actually support each other quite a lot.

But I think the most important factor in Ianto being the fan favourite is how incredibly malleable he is in terms of all the little details of his life. In the show, we see the inside of everyone's flats except Ianto's, we see snippets of their after-work lives except Ianto, we know most of the basic details of their jobs at Torchwood except Ianto. We know their interests and skills and we get episodes that focus more on one or the other character -- except Ianto, whose only major focus episodes are Cyberwoman and From Out Of The Rain.

This means that the fans know what Ianto's personality is like at work, we see his relationship with Jack and with the others, and we get little tidbits of knowledge (the stopwatch, what Tosh overhears during Greeks Bearing Gifts, comments about Ianto "knowing everything") but we don't actually know a lot about him. Ianto being an archivist wasn't ever confirmed in television canon, it was for the most part a fandom creation (though it was part of the novel Slow Decay which was released after the end of series 1). Ianto has set personality traits, but the details of his life are mould-able, unknowns that can be played with. That includes things from as minor as what his flat looks like to what his job was at Torchwood One and what skills he might keep hidden. We don't really know anything about his past before Torchwood, we don't know anything about what he does when he's not working. We don't know what his hobbies are, if he's as tidy at home as he is at work, what music or films or art he likes or books he reads. In contrast, I can name at least two of those characteristics for all the other characters.

But Ianto's malleability is really really important, because it means he's the perfect half-sketched character for fandom to play with. Fandom gets this character with a distinct personality, glimpses of a past, and interesting interpersonal relationships, but with zero other known details, and it gets to fill in all the blanks. Fandom gets to explain why and how Ianto joined Torchwood One, why and how he has certain skills, what he's like outside of work, how (and if) he and Jack interact outside of work, all this stuff.

Ianto is fandom favourite because he is perfect scaffolding for interpretation, projection, exploration of character and storyline. He ticks the boxes of pretty and queer, which definitely also help. But I really do think that if canon told us as much about Ianto as it tells us about Gwen, Ianto would not be nearly as interesting or nearly as beloved. Part of why the fandom mourned Ianto so much when he died is because of his potential, because (unlike Gwen) there was all this detail we hadn't learned, and his relationship with Jack that could have grown further, and character development we could have watched him have. Ianto is the fan favourite not because he's a beautifully rendered character, but because he's a character with well-built scaffolding and the beginnings of something more that fans could latch onto and get creative with, in ways far and beyond what they could do with other Torchwood characters.

[lxkeee]

TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN

—ALTERNATE UNIVERSE

Pairing: Azrael Eveningstar x Seraphim Angel! Reader

Genre: romance

Warnings: mentions of sex but not written into detail.

Notes: an alternate universe where [y/n]'s family is complete, Xavier doesn't have any daddy issues nor has any hatred for Charlie as he doesn't give any crap about her and Lucifer, where it was simply the wrong person and wrong time. Where it was Azrael who is endgame.

Additional notes: this is for the anon that requested an Azrael x reader fic 🫶 this has no relevance to the actual series but this was originally the route I wanted to write but didn't go through as it is a Lucifer x reader 😔

Swans, they tend to be the kind of creatures who would 'mate for life' choosing one partner till the end of their time, although there are instances where 'divorce' happens.

All throughout his life, Azrael made sure to be there for [y/n], his closest and most genuine friend. As the angel of death, most angels are wary of him. Unlike most angels, his appearance or type of fashion is on the darker spectrum, choosing to wear the colors black, gold, and white for his outfits and not to mention, his angel wings are as black as the abyss.

[Y/n] has been there for him, genuine with him and is not afraid of him. A rare gem indeed. At first, he only saw her as a friend but slowly and surely it developed into something more profound.

He got his heartbroken as the most beautiful angel of heaven made her his before he could. He had to pretend he was happy for them, he was happy for her—he could tell that Lucifer made [y/n] so happy and that is something he needed to respect.

Azrael kept his distance. Watching over her when he had the time.

Then Lucifer fucked up. Choosing to doom humanity and also breaking the heart of one of the kindest angels in heaven. Azrael watched as Lucifer was cast out of heaven together with Lilith, the first human woman. Azrael made sure to make eye contact with Lucifer as he fell. An eye contact carrying so many words despite the silence, you messed up, little duckling. Let the swan show you how to do it.

After Lucifer was banished, [y/n] fell into depression. She just lost the love of her life after all and on top of that, she was pregnant with that man's child.

Azrael promised to be there, to be her rock and moral support during these trying times, and so he did.

Azrael lessened his workload on earth, making sure to spend all of his free time with her, helping her during the pregnancy.

A broken soul fixing another broken soul.

He was there, he was there during childbirth, he was there all throughout Xavier's life.

It took a while, thousands of years actually before [y/n] finally removed the wedding ring Lucifer gave her.

“I think, I should stop holding on to the past.” [y/n] whispers to Azrael, they sat on the couch in the living room of her mansion. Azrael looked at her in surprise as he finally noticed the ring no longer present on her fingers. His eyes widened and [y/n] chuckled softly.

“It is what it is.” she says softly with a smile, placing her hand on top of Azrael's hand.

“Yes, I may have loved Lucifer but he chose to leave and I think I should stop holding on to someone who didn't even stop to think about his family. I think I am ready to give myself a second chance at love.” she whispers softly, Azrael's hand squeezed hers in assurance. Listening to her, something Lucifer didn't do.

Finally looking up at him, her eyes were gentle and filled with adoration, “Azrael, I was a fool. It took so long for me to realize that.... I liked you, I was so scared of the idea, scared of letting go over someone who didn't give a crap about me and his son. I am such a foo—”

Her voice was cut off as Azrael leaned down to press his lips against hers gently, not forceful. Enough to just their lips to slightly press, enough to shut her up.

“Shh... You're not, well... A little bit but that's not the point.” he says with a chuckle. Pale cheeks dusted with red as he shyly avoided her gaze.

“What matters is that... You realized and I am so happy right now..” he whispers softly, cupping her face with his hands.

[Y/n] looking at him with a blush on her cheeks, mesmerized and taken aback, “[Y/n] Caeles, I liked you... I like you a lot.” he whispers.

[Y/n]'s voice hitched softly, flustered by his confession. She smiled softly, “I liked you too. I'm sorry it took me a while to realize.” she says softly and Azrael laughs, not the usual mocking laugh he gives to others but the genuine one that she's privileged to hear.

“It's fine.”

The kiss that followed after was the sweetest kiss they ever experienced.

The two actually took their relationship slowly, focusing on healing and parenting Xavier—though, the boy was already old enough to understand.

Azrael and [y/n] got married when Xavier was 124 years old. The boy was happy that his parents actually got married.

The family was happy and had a healthy relationship.

Azrael built [y/n] a backyard tulip garden with a small river in both their heaven and earth homes. There he and [y/n] would spend swimming in the river in their swan forms, Xavier third wheeling as he watches his parents formed a heart together with their necks as swans.

During day offs, the couple would make sure to spend time with Xavier, asking the boy what he has been up to while they were away for work.

The three would spend their day outside having a picnic by the river.

Xavier doesn't have any daddy issues in this universe, he doesn't give two shits about his biology father.

Xavier could easily approach Azrael whenever he has a problem, a papa and mama's boy.

In the mansion in heaven, there's a large family portrait of the three that is hung on the living room wall.

Azrael standing behind the chair [y/n] was sitting on, Xavier standing on her right side. A regal look on their faces, slightly condescending even. The type of face rich people make during those royal portraits in movies? Yes, that.

Azrael and [y/n] truly love each other. Very protective and possessive.

Azrael often gifts his wife jeweleries, often gifting her sapphires as he knows she loves it.

Lovemaking is sensual and slow, doesn't happen too often but when they do. It's sensual and desperate. They can't get enough of each other.

Xavier has to leave the house quietly as he is traumatized.

[thekingofwinterblog]

Soul Eater - The Manga's Unsatisfying Ending.

It is not a big secret that the Manga ending of Soul Eater is not a well recieved one.

There are a lot of very obvious criticisms of it, wheter it be the way the story has no real climax, the relationship between Crona and Maka is a no ending tale that pretends othervise, or the damn madness of boobs.

There are a lot of things to critique about it, just on a surface level. I have seen plenty of them through the years. What I have no seen though is someone delving into why, on a thematic level, the Manga Ending does not work.

Crona

The biggest problem by far, is Crona's choice in the end, because Manga Crona makes the wrong choice at the end. The cowards choice.

Rather than going out and facing the world, and risk the hurt that comes with opening oneself to other people, Crona instead makes the choice to stay to "Atone".

In other words, the lessons of abuse that Medusa hammered into Crona from childhood, of being completely undeserving of forgiveness is not overcome at all.

Crona admits to not being able to go back to the world after everything horrible that has happened, every sin, every crime, every wrong turn.

In the end, this is fueled by cowardice. By choosing to stay, and keep Asura in check, Crona falls back on every single bad lesson Medusa ever taught.

It's all your fault, you dont deserve forgiveness, you dont deserve a happy life, you cannot grow.

I dont think most readers really realised the full implications of all of this, when reading the manga ending the first time,

But the feeling that something is deeply, deeply wrong with this ending is there all throughouth this ending.

The thing is, that on paper this ending could have made sense, after all this kind of self sacrifice ending has been done a thousand times throughout anime and manga... But it does not work here.

It does not work, because in the end, it completely proves Medusa right. She managed to break her child, and in the end, Crona NEVER managed to recover from it.

One of the single biggest problems fans have with the Manga, is that Medusa's death, the final ending of the single best villain the series ever had, feels incredibly cheap.

This is completely true... but not because Crona murdered her in a pique of insane rage and bitterness, but because thats the final note Crona's story ends on.

Medusa's story feels cheap, because there is no real follow up and closure, and far, far more importantly, a thematic rebuttal to her actions.

Medusa getting herself killed by her own child on purpose is not a problem. The fact that she is not proven wrong in the end IS.

The Manga ending with Crona choosing to seal asura on the moon, rather than having to confront the world, and risk it all on a final battle that the crew might, or might not win, proves that Medusa's assessment of Crona as a coward who could never face their fears and always takes the easy way out, was right.

And that is a TERRIBLE note to end the story on.

However the problems with this ending goes much further than that. It also(unintentionally) rejects Soul Eater's themes.

What is the most defining image from the soul Eater Manga? The one image that sums it up it's themes in one go?

The answer is this one, from chapter 15.

An ending where Crona gives up everything for Maka could work as a tragic ending... But it can't work in Soul Eater, because Self Sacrifice for the greater good or even the people you love is not one of it's main themes.

Soul Eater's main theme is comeraderie in spite of every difference, of embracing one another no matter how much it might not make logical sense.

Or as Maka and Asura's final conversation in the anime puts it, that madness and bravery are two sides of one coin.

It is a form of madness to open yourself up to other people, to risk judgement, to risk having your heart broken or hurt by opening yourself up to other people... And yet that is exactly what the protagonists of Soul Eater does all the time.

And it is best summed up in that spread from chapter 15, where 7 different people with a whole ton of personal issues puts all of it to the side, to stand together as friends against the world.

Because they have the bravery to do so, the bravery to take a risk and open themselves up to other people, to take a leap of faith.

Bravery and madness together.

THAT is Soul Eater's main theme, and it is one that it ultimately rejects in the final two chapters of the manga, and not just with Crona, though that is certainly the worst part of it.

Maka and Spirit

But the ending does not just reject it's own themes on the big scale, it rejects it on the smaller one too.

One of the plot points of the last two chapters that left a BAD taste in a lot of peoples mouths, is the interactions between Maka and Spirit.

And make no mistake. It is BAD. Really, really bad, and just like with Crona's choice not to take the risk of going back into the world and having to deal with it all, it COMPLETELY rejects its own themes for the sake of a bad, bad joke, told at the worst time.

Upon the sealing of the moon, Spirit and Maka comes face to face with the seeming reality that Spirit(and several other people) are about to be sealed with Chrona on the moon.

This leads to a very sweet moment from Spirit, where, in what he assumes will be the final time Maka sees him, chooses to give her a smile to remember him by, so her last memory of her dad wont be him cowering in fear from his impending end.

Which is then completely undone in the next chapter.

When returning to earth, and confirming with her own eyes that yes, maba did save her dad with her magic, Maka's response is to revert right back to the spitefull girl she was at the start of the series.

She once more deliberately rejects her dad despite her very, very real feelings of love and relief upon seeing him alive.

It might not seem like much, but in the end, this one, single moment, in the final chapter of the series, proves that Manga Maka could never defeat Asura, because unlike anime Maka, Manga Maka was not, in the end, able to overcome her own personal fears about opening herself up to others.

Just like Crona in the previous chapter, Maka does not overcome her own personal fears of opening her own heart for the people she loves, despite the risks involved.

And that is an absolutely TERRIBLE note to end Maka's entire journey on, given every single bit of character development she has had before this is about doing that exact thing.

Soul Eater Evans

Now the problems with Soul Eater isnt nearly as bad as the problems with Maka and Crona, where their choices ultimately ended up undermining the mayor themes of the story, it simply tries to shove in the idea there was some greater journey for soul eater, where he had some massive lifechanging revelations, just the usual and generic "I have become way stronger thanks to you".

It's not a Bad note to end his character on, but it's telling that rather than just reciprocrate Soul's very obvious flirting, Maka in the final panels is far more conflicted, and in the end, uses his own words to reaffirm her devotion to Crona.

I like Souls a lot, but the fact is, that at no point in this story did he reach a point where he earned this ending, where he could genuienly say that he was done running away from all his problems. At no point did he seek out his broher to reconnect, he did not reconnect with his family, and while I am glad he was able to reembrace his love for the piano in a healthy way, there is a far cry from that, to being able to claim he's conquered all his demons.

Ultimately Soul's actual journey in this story, is the fact that he is not the main character. That is how he is introduced, as a guy who very clearly wants to be this story's focus, but the fact is, he isnt.

Maka is. it is her journey that we actually follow, is her growth and choices that defines this journey, and it is her relationship with Crona, not her relationship with Soul, that this story places all its hopes, dreams, themes, and climax on.

The fact that this climax ultimately failed as a story, does not change that fact.

This is not to throw shade at Soul and his development, as he IS a good character, with his own journey, but the brutal fact is, that he has not earned this ending at all.

He is Maka's partner, and that IS a HUGE part of this story... but it's not the part that the entire climax was built around, and put all its chips on.

The final pages trying to pretend othervise is another way this ending ultimately failed as a story... but its NOTHING compared to the way it failed Maka, Crona, and it's themes.

Conclusion

While im very, very negative towards the climax of the manga, this is not to say that the ending is completely devoid of good parts.

Kid making peace with the witches is a very fitting ending for his character, and fits right in with the Story's themes... Unfortunately, the conflct between Witches and Meisters/Death was not the aspect of this story that everything hinged on.

less said about the madness of boobs, the better though.

Overall, the ending is not the worst thing ever made... It is certainly not Attack on Titan, who's ending and denouncement of free will destroyed it down to it's foundations... Nor is it an ending that does not make any sort of sense within the context of the world and its mechanics... But it is a BAD ending, that completely fumbled its themes at the single most crucial point when it truly mattered at the finish line.

[londonspirit]

Our Flag Means Death’s season-two finale has it all. There’s a declaration of true love between our favorite criminals, Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) and Ed, a.k.a. Blackbeard (Taika Waititi). There’s also a heartbreaking death (RIP, Con O’Neill’s Izzy Hands), a pirate wedding that ends with the words “You are now officially mateys,” and some big-time fight scenes. “Mermen” packs a tight punch in only 30 minutes. The episode is both thrilling and satisfying, so even if Max makes the grave mistake of not renewing the series, fans will feel closure in a way that they didn’t with season one’s sendoff. And Our Flag Means Death creator David Jenkins already has some fun ideas brewing for a third season (and beyond!). The A.V. Club spoke to Jenkins about his plans to evolve Ed and Stede’s relationship, potential spin-offs, and how everyone on the show is handling its passionate fanbase.

The A.V. Club: First of all, how dare you kill Izzy Hands? Was that always the plan when you mapped out season two? 

David Jenkins: [Laughs] Yes. I felt that Izzy had reached a point where he broke through a lot of his major patterns. It was fun to give him a season where he got to do everything and where Con O’Neill got to do everything. Well, I won’t say everything, because Con can do light years beyond what I think he can do, and I do think he can do anything. We wanted to show the depth of that character. Izzy is one of my favorites. He’s like middle management who is in a sort of love triangle [in season one]. He got his wish at the end of the first season by breaking up his boss and his boss’ lover. He got punished as a result, and he had to come out on the other side, which felt like a good journey.

AVC: Despite everything that happens in season two, including Izzy’s death, the finale ends on a happy note with Ed and Stede living together. Why was it important for you to show that?

DJ: Season one ends on such a tough note for them. As you said, after what they’ve been through, they should get a moment of happiness. I won’t say however fleeting. They are going to have challenges ahead. They’re both not the most mature yet. I think that’s the fun of it, to leave them in a place where it’s a good kind of stasis. They’ve sent the kids off in the car, so to speak, and now they’re going to have to really grow if they’re going to start an inn. It won’t be easy, but I like that they’re going to try.

AVC: “Mermen” has all the elements necessary for a season finale. Did you partly add all that as a way to provide closure in case this is the end for OFMD?

JD: What’s important to understand is that you never even know if you’re going to get a second season. Maybe if you get picked up for two right away, and even then, but especially right now, who knows? I think with season one’s end, it was a gamble to leave it the way it was. Everybody stomached through it. Now if it turned out they didn’t want us to make more, I just didn’t want to have another story where the same-sex love story ends in tragedy, unrequited love, or if one or both of them are being punished.

AVC: I actually love that about Our Flag Means Death. It reminds me of Schitt’s Creek in a way because the love story just exists and is perfect; there’s no questioning it as right or wrong.

JD: That’s such a nice compliment because I also think Schitt’s Creekdoes that really well.

AVC: You’ve previously said you want Our Flag to have only three seasons. Is that still true or do you feel like the show has scope to continue beyond that?

JD: I feel like Stede and Blackbeard’s story is a three-season story, but the world of the show could go beyond that. It’s a really rich world with so many stories to tell and really good performers to tell it. I do want to see how Ed and Stede become a mature couple in the next season. They’re a couple who is like in their late twenties right now as opposed to being teens at the end of season one.

AVC: So if OFMD continues in some other form, are there characters you’d like to focus more on or other historical references you’d like to include?

JD: Yeah, a lot, because it’s such a rich ensemble. How do you not want to see more of Joel Fry, Samson Kayo, Ewen Bremner, Nathan Foad, or Vico Ortiz? Any one of them could carry their own show. It’s fun to think about that and the storylines we can do with them, mixing and matching all our characters. Vico is incredible, for example, and I especially love watching them in an action sequence. This is a weird comparison, but there’s a Harrison Ford and Sigourney Weaver vibe they put out. I’m such a fan of what they do.

AVC: You also really like parallels and coming full circle as a storyteller.

JD: Yeah, I do.I knew I wanted to start season two in the Republic of Pirates and end by coming back there. Stede goes on an amazing journey between the episodes. He’s thrown out of there initially, but then he comes back as a hero. I like the symmetry of that. And then the Republic of Pirates gets destroyed; it dies. It’s not just Izzy; it’s the place too. It was important to have a home, this stronghold for everyone, be destroyed. But the characters are not crushed. They’re going to try to move on.

AVC: One of season two’s new characters is Zheng Yi Sao, played by Ruibo Qian, who quickly becomes an integral part of the crew. What was the casting process like for her?

JD: Ruibo is an amazing find. One of our incredible casting directors, Cindy Tolan, she had Ruibo in mind immediately for that part by the time it got to her. And we had looked and looked before talking to Cindy. Ruibo has her own fascinating story because apparently, she had a couple of strong premonitions that she’s going to play Zheng Yi Sao. She had a modern take on the part without it being strained. She’s incredible. She’s a trained theater actor with a lot of chops. She has to go toe-to-toe with Taika and Rhys. She did it with such grace.

AVC: Season two takes Blackbeard on an interesting turn of denouncing being a pirate. But in the finale, it’s almost like he’s reborn as one, especially with that gorgeous shot of him coming out of the water. What was the thought process behind this arc?

JD: Thank you. Blackbeard is a guy in recovery when he comes back to the ship when he’s wearing the jumpsuit. He’s trying to hang on and find some kind of footing. Who is he if he’s not a pirate? Meanwhile, Stede is on his way up and wants to experience the rockstar life of a pirate, while Ed as Blackbeard is over it. It was an interesting tension of, which one gives up their dream? A lot of times in relationships questions can come up, like who is going to give up on their dream to take care of the kids? Obviously, no one wants to, but someone ends up giving up more than they want to at some point. What’s wonderful about a mature romance, and what I’d want to see more of in season three, is Ed and Stede making these tough decisions.

AVC: Stede and Ed’s relationship has led to a passionate, vocal fandom, which you didn’t have as you were writing season one. While working on season two, how did you avoid doing fan service and focus on meaningful storytelling?

JD: I never anticipated the strong reaction to season one. It’s incredible it happened. Everybody is buoyed by it in the cast, crew, and the writers’ room. To be perceived on that level with such enthusiasm makes us want to make more of it. A lot of the things the fans love are not different from things the writers love. We are fans of the show. We’re writing fanfic, but it’s called fic when we write it. The big thing for us is to make sure we’re writing beats for the characters that feel true and have moments where all of us go, “Ooooh, we have to do this.” If the beats stay true, it won’t feel like we’re simply pandering.

AVC: How do you break down those beats for Ed and Stede’s relationship as they go from wanting to take it slow to sleeping with each other this season? And where do they go next?

JD: It’s challenging with them because most rom-coms end with couples getting together. They don’t then stay with them and say, “We’re together now, but it’s turbulent; how is that going to work out?” We thought, “Okay, let’s look at our relationships in the room. What have we encountered? Who’s been dumped? Who has had to forgive somebody?” These questions were fun for the second season. I think for the third, it would [be], “Okay, who’s had a relationship for over 10 years? What things do you have to work on?” It’s fun to watch two people like Ed and Stede go through this experience.

[galaxygirl-katie27]

Vector Redesign

Tap for better quality

Notes under the cut!

-Okay so first of all, I had to finally figure out his nationality, so that it would make sense with the story. Which led me to my headcanon of Vector being Turkish-Persian mixed, with his father being Turkish and his mother being Persian. But ultimately he would be the prince, later king, of Persia. I‘d like to make a full post about this topic specifically later, but in short: His father was the second Turkish prince, so in order to be king himself, he married into the persian royal family, who had no male heir, so he could have his own kingdom. So that later, Vector could jut walk through Türkiye with his army to attack Nasch in Greece, because of his blood-relation to their royal family without any problems.

-To the design. I gave him a ponytail, just to try it out, but I just liked it so much, that I had to stick with it.

-He has big eye bags from Insomnia, because of many nightmares almost every night. He has major PTSD from his past, that sill haunts him.

-He has a tooth gap (where he actually lost a tooth) and many scars and bandaids, because this boy is just always hurt (most of it because of the Ray-Way). I once read a headcanon, that all of Ray`s clumsiness wasn’t even acted, Vector is just like that. He still bumps into all kinds of furniture post-series.

-Also he ruined all his pants at one point because of his clumsiness and because the others (Nasch) don’t want to buy him new ones, he just patched them up himself, and yes he did poke himself with the needle multiple times.

-FRECKLES. No elaboration needed.

-Big father issues. Also no elaboration needed.

-This boy never ties his shoes, which also doesn’t help his clumsiness. Also he wears mismatched shoes, but they match enough for him and he just doesn’t think anyone notices. Everyone notices.

-He is one of the people with the most Trauma. If you ask him how he‘s doing he‘d say: „I take antidepressants.“ And he does! He got them perscribed, after an… incident. I wont go into detail, but I think you can guess what happened. And while most of the barians still don’t exactly like him, they don’t want him to die. He also refuses to go to proper therapy. Yuma is his therapy.

-He also has ADHD, which I think he always had, even in his past life. He got it diagnosed post series, when Yuma talked to him about his ADHD (another headcanon of mine) and Vector just heavily related to many things Yuma said and so he proposed that maybe he should get a diagnose. Which tuned out positive.

-Also he‘s a cat owner. I read so many fics, where he just adopts a cat. It’s mostly to spite Rio, when he came across a little kitten box on the side of the road one day. But he got so attached to it, it‘s his family now. It’s a little white female kitten, who is also deaf and her name is Pestilence, Pesty for short. He is also so good at hiding her. The barians only found out about her like 6 months after Vector got her. There was a massive discussion, but in the end Vector got to keep her. She is now his emotional support cat.

-He also reads a bit, but it only consists of the most cliche, sappy, stereotypical romance stories you can find, to make fun of them.

-His past life redesign is like the biggest redesign up until now, since I researched ancient Persian an Turkish royal robes, because even when he‘s the prince/king of Persia, I think his father would still bring some of his Turkish background into the family.

-And since I made him older again (and tanner, because he was more in the sun in Persia than in Japan) I gave him a little goatee

-Also his robes are red to resemble his father, and how he is slowly turning into him (plus the goatee), but he still has blue in his clothes to resemble and respect his mother. I refuse to believe that he stopped loving her after her death. I think he always continued to love her deep inside and actually still misses her post series. He just doesn’t show it.

[deansapplepie]

Till THE DEAD do us part |Chapter 13

A/N: This story will take place in all the seasons, but it’s not exactly a rewriting cause I’d have to re-watch everything to use the exactly lines of the characters, also I think it’s better if I tell a side story without changing the main facts of the story. This story has a Female Reader, but I don’t describe her appearance, so anyone can identify with her.

Chapter 12 Chapter 14

Series Masterlist Main Masterlist

Chapter 13: This group’s broken

Summary: Randall is still a problem the group needs solve and come to an agreement about. The happenings of the barn is still something shaking some people. Feelings and traumas from the past comes to haunt Y/N making her anxiety boil and overthink a lot.

Warnings: swearing, angst, death, mentions of violence, gore, suicide attempt (not narrated, but mentioned), mentions of depression, mentions of torture, mentions of execution, traumas, anxiety, mentions of abusive relationships, fear of abandonment, brief discreet mentions of sex, loss, grief. Minors do not interact.

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Grimes!Reader (Rick’s Sister)

Word Count: 5,834

Extra notes: I proofread the text, but English is not my first language, so feel free to correct any mistakes, of course with love. Also, there’s a bunch of warnings in this one but there’s also fluff, comfort and a bit of fun.

Finally Randall’s leg was well enough so he could survive alone in the wild that was Earth now, so Rick and Shane would carry him miles away from the farm and release him. You weren’t very happy about Rick going alone with Shane.

“Let me go with you, please.” You pleaded Rick for the millionth time, Shane wasn’t someone reliable anymore, you couldn’t risk losing your brother again and have Shane coming back with some lame excuse how he made for Otis.

“Y/N, I’m the one here with self defense skills, not you. I can handle myself well without you. I need you here.” Rick said, and that would be the last time he would tell you, he was losing his temper already. “No discussion.”

“Be careful, please. He’s dangerous.” You hugged him and gave him a kiss on his cheek.

“I’ll be, don’t worry. I need this time alone with him. I’m coming back.” He assured you and hoped it would really turn out like this, because you could see the madness in his eyes, and by how we was obsessed with Lori… you didn’t doubt he would be able to do atrocities even to his ‘brother’.

After they left, you couldn’t get rid of the uneasy feeling you had on the pitch of your stomach. You were going to help around in the farm and in the house, but your mind couldn’t stop the worry. You were giving the horses water when you heard a knock on the stables door, you look to your side and you saw Daryl. As much as the idea of scaring you was tempting enough, he chose not to do so.

“Just wanted to let ya know I’m gonna hunt, maybe bring somethin’ good.” He approached you.

“Ok, be careful, please and don’t come back late. I’m already worried enough by Rick.” You said, then looked both sides and didn’t see anyone around. You tiptoed and pecked his lips.

He blushed, he had been doing way more than this with you and he blushed because you gave him a small kiss inside a stable where the only witnesses were the horses. He knew you were worried about Rick being alone with Shane, things between you and Shane had gone bad since the day of the happenings of the barn and it was just going down. When Daryl told you one night that he thought Shane had killed Otis, things spiraled really quick and you started seeing Shane with different eyes, many attitudes from him made sense actually. He wasn’t the person that you used to know anymore.

“Dun worry. Rick’s tough, he basically came back from the dead, nothing bad is happening to him.” He said, he could practically read your mind and know everything you were thinking about it.

“And you?”

“Me too. I’m gonna be careful. I promise, I’ll be back in one piece.” He gave you a quick kiss, you said your goodbyes and you went back to your chores.

Lori was inside the house helping with the chores and also helping Maggie taking care of Beth. She was still not good, she was in a state of depression that got all of you worried. Lori was preparing a lunch for Beth, so you were around the kitchen with her and Maggie. Maggie was talking about Glenn with Lori, you decided to not participate of the conversation, but you were listening to everything. Lori was more experienced on the topic of relationships, you knew what was good or not, but just theoretically. Until now you had had just one boyfriend before Daryl and it was a shitty experience, so you didn’t know if you had something wise to say even though you were older than Maggie. You thought it was a bit too much when Lori said that Glenn should man up, imagine saying it to the young man, he would be sad or really offended, or both.

“Glenn is just scared, he’s a good guy. You’re probably his first love, I can’t say it for sure, but that’s what it seems. He’ll overcome this fear of him. Don’t worry.” You passed an arm on Maggie’s shoulder and gave a little squeeze on her arm to reassure her.

“And how about you and grumpy man? Have you already said the words?” She elbowed you playfully.

“Hmm… no. Not exactly. I don’t know if it’s like this.” You said, you were always reserved about your personal matters, always keeping everything to yourself, afraid to let people know your feelings or to be exposed and feel weak. But maybe, some girl talk wouldn’t be that bad. “He said the other day I was his and I also said it to him…” You paused thinking if you’d say the other thing that came to your mind to them.

“And…?” Lori asked. “We know there’s more. Spill it.”

“He… he said that his… you know… was mine.” You blushed instantly talking about it and thinking about it. Was it correct to tell such thing to others? You never knew what was ok, and what wasn’t, but it’s not like if you were telling all the sordid details of what you two did.

Lori made a face as if she was thinking ‘wow, the man really have some balls’ and Maggie just had a fit of giggles, giving you a side hug and squeezing you. “It’s almost the same thing as saying that 3 words.” Maggie observed.

“It isn’t, this is possessiveness which is normal in relationships even the healthy ones. But anybody can have this without love.” You told Maggie, she was young, probably didn’t have unhealthy relationships she wouldn’t know. You were maybe 8 or 9 years older than her, it was a different experience, especially with broken people.

“Well… everybody can see, but we can’t stop you from being stubborn. I need to go help Glenn, but if you need anything you can call me.” She said and then turned to Lori. “Thank you so much for helping with Beth.”

“It’s nothing really.” Lori said and got the tray to give lunch for Beth.

You stayed at the house and helped Lori at the kitchen, you washed some dishes and cleaned and organized the room. After one hour or so, Lori went to Beth’s room to get the tray back. She came back with untouched food, Beth couldn’t continue like that. When she was throwing away what Beth didn’t eat, she suddenly stopped and ran from the kitchen.

“What happened? Lori?” You asked her, but she was already gone. She came back a knife in hand and in a rush.

“Go and Keep an eye on Beth. I’m gonna bring Maggie or Hershel.” She said and left.

You left the kitchen and went to Beth’s room, on your way you put the pieces together and realized Beth had hidden the knife and was probably going to attempt something against herself. Soon Lori arrived with Maggie and Andrea, Maggie asked to be left alone with Beth and all of you went back to the kitchen.

You were trying to be in good terms with Andrea again, so you decided you’d try not to talk back at her when she said stupid things, even though they were talking about Beth. You just stayed there watching while they talked Andrea thought Beth should make her own choice, which is very different from what happened with her. Beth is just a kid and she’s not dying because she was bitten, so why let her commit suicide? She should be talked to and taken care of to help her get better. You bit your tongue trying to not express yourself, but you just couldn’t contain it when Andrea brought up the fact that Lori had her husband back, her child was saved, she had a baby on the way and had a ‘boyfriend’. And Andrea had to finish bringing you up in the middle of the thing, did you disagree with her? Yes. But did you say anything about it? No, just on your mind. So why bring you to the discussion?

“And you…” She pointed at you startling you at the suddenly call. “You have your brother, your nephew, a new nibling on the way and you’re fucking Dixon like rabbits, you would never understand.”

“Andrea, are you serious? I wasn’t even in the discussion. Why do you always involve me in your shit? You don’t get to speak like this to Lori, we had a lot of blessings, but we also suffered like everyone else. Do you think we were happy the whole time we thought Rick was dead? Or that it didn’t cross our minds that Carl was going to die? You think we didn’t suffer because of Amy, Jim, Jacqui, Sophia or all the others lost we had along the way?” She said everything she wanted to Lori and now she was going to listen to you. “And why do you mind who I fuck? You’re fucking Shane, and nobody told you a word. Mind your own business.”

You almost didn’t stop to breath while the words just came out of your mouth like a waterfall. “I wasn’t going to say anything regarding Beth, but she’s only sixteen. She’s a kid, we have to protect her and try to help her get better, and not encourage the way out. Andrea, I think we’re never going to be in good terms again, there’s no way. You’re not the same anymore.”

You left the house and went back to the camp, finding Carl and Luna playing with a stick. Carl had been acting colder and colder in the last days, it was good to see him being a kid, even if it was for a brief moment. You played a little with them, but to be honest you were still nervous about Andrea and worried about Beth.

After 30 minutes, maybe one hour, you didn’t know exactly, you heard a commotion in the house. You told Carl to stay there and ran to see what happened. When you arrived to the source Lori and Maggie had just opened the door to the bathroom and there was a crying Beth, hand on her bleeding pulse, asking for help and saying she was sorry. You learned Maggie had left Beth alone with Andrea and it was her biggest mistake, because she left the girl alone and God knows what she said to her. Maggie had a fight with Andrea and told her to never again step in the house. You were done, your stress level was up on the sky already.

When it was almost getting dark you saw Daryl coming back, you walked in his direction happy to see him and have an excuse to not be in the camp, hence near to Andrea. You met him halfway, he had some rabbits and squirrels, you knew it probably wasn’t what he really wanted but you were grateful for any meat that he brought back.

“I thought you’d never comeback.” You said walking by his side.

“I said I’d comeback.” He answered and took a quick glance at you. “Jus’ didn’t wanna comeback without something.”

“We’re all grateful to you, bringing meat or not.” You said while you arrived the small camp of yours.

He took everything he needed to start to skin what he brought and clean so it would be ready for consumption. You sat near him observing his work, you never tried, but now you had observed him doing it so much that you’d probably be able to skin something if you needed or wanted to.

“Wha’s wrong?” He asked still concentrated on his job. Once again, you were surprised on how he could know something was not right. “I can see all over ya that somethin’ is bothering ya.”

“Today was a stressful day” You propped your elbows on your knees and rested your face between your hands. You recalled all the situation with Beth and Andrea, and you just wish this day didn’t happen, and it was far from being one of your worst days.

“Wha’ happened?” He lifted his head from his work and took a look at you. You looked tired, everyone was always tired nowadays, but it was not only physical it seemed that your mind was also tired.

“Andrea was a bitch. I swear I tried to be on good terms with her again. And Beth tried the way out, I believe encouraged by Andrea. Maggie left them alone and Andrea also left Beth alone.” You gave him the short story of all that happened. “I should have gone with you.”

“Yeah, ya should.” That was his way of saying ‘I missed you’.

Soon you saw the car in which Rick, Shane and Randall left arriving back in the property. When you saw Rick getting off the car you felt relieved to see him, but apparently they had comeback with Randall. Shit, it wasn’t over. As soon as Daryl finished skinning and cleaning the hunt, you went to to the camp to meet Rick and know what happened.

Once you arrived you saw that Rick had bruises and cuts on his face, no way it was the kid, walkers? No. It was Shane. Damn, he had the audacity to attack Rick. You didn’t even think, you turned around, hot headed and ready to go look for Shane and beat the hell out of him.

“Where d’ya think ya’re going?” Daryl hold your arm stopping you to go anywhere. He knew where you were going, sometimes he could read you so easily that it surprised him.

“I’m going to give Shane hell, nobody gets to touch my brother.” You yanked your arm from Daryl’s hand, just for him to catch you again, holding his arms around you so you couldn’t go. That wasn’t the moment for you to be reckless.

“Y/N, do you think I was just beaten? I also beat him.” Rick reasoned with you.

“Either way, it wasn’t enough, he deserves worse.” You said, still fighting – in vain - in Daryl’s arm.

“Woman, stop. Ya’re being more hot-head and stubborn than me.” Daryl turned you around and hold you by the shoulders. “Look at me.” He commanded, and you looked at him, right in his beautiful blue eyes. “Don’t do anything stupid. He’s uncontrollable and ya know it. If he lays a finger on ya, I dunno what I’m capable of doing and I dun wanna find out.”

“Ok.” You answered and didn’t try to go for Shane, but you still felt like ending him. “Why did you bring the kid back?” You directed the question to Rick.

“He said he studied with Maggie. Which means he knows where the farm is.” Rick ran his hand on his face. “We’ll need another solution.”

The other day, after breakfast, Daryl went to the room where Randall was, he said he was going to talk with him. It was taking a long time for him to return and you were starting to get worried.

“Ok, that’s it. I’m going to see what is taking him so long to come back.” You told your brother.

“Don’t, the kid is handcuffed. There’s nothing he can do against Daryl.” Rick said standing on your way. “I don’t wanna you close to that guy.”

“I think you had said you’d stop treating me like a child, Rick.” You looked at his face and you could see there was something wrong. “Are you two hiding something? That’s it? Now you have secret agreements between both of you?”

Before Rick could say anything, you saw Daryl coming in your direction. Was that Blood on his hand? ‘Holy shit! What the hell have you done Daryl Dixon?’, you thought. He arrived telling you all the information he got from the kid, there were 30 in his group, they were violent and dangerous, they raped women. You followed Daryl to your tent, you could feel he was still angry, so you were thinking about what should be the best approach.

“D. Let me see your hands.” You requested and he started organizing his things to leave and go into the woods.

“There’s nothing to see, I’m good.” He said with some arrows in his hand.

“Daryl.” He ignored you.

“Daryl Dixon.” He ignored you again, stuffing things on his backpack, so you just got close to him silently and yanked his backpack throwing it on the ground.

“What the fuck Y/N?” He shouted at you, now you had his full attention.

“Stop, this shit! I’m talking to you, your hands are hurt! Let me take care of them.” You told him your voice high. He looked at you impatient. You took his hand and guided him to one of the beach chairs. “Sit.”

“I ain’t a dog.” He complained while you made him sit.

“So, why are you obeying me?” You threw back while you picked the First Aid kit inside the tent. You were playing with fire and you knew it.

He tried to get up while he mumbled something in protest that you couldn’t understand. But you were faster than him and pressed his shoulder down so he would sit again. You took the other chair and brought it close to him, sitting in front of him, your legs between his so you could be closer to take care of his hand.

“Gimme your paw, I mean, your hand.” You joked one hand extended on his direction waiting for him to give you his hand. “If I’m a puppy, you might as well be one. Or maybe you’re a Kitten, you are as skittish as one.”

He gave you his left hand very reluctantly, but he knew you would not let him be if he didn’t. You took his hand and saw how his knuckles were hurt, your heart ache by seeing his hand like this, but you also felt uneasy about the young man that was on the other side of his fist. You took some alcohol and wet a cotton swab to pass where he was hurt.

“It’s gonna hurt.” You alerted him, he didn’t say anything. He just observed your small hand holding his and tendering his wounds with the cotton swab, hissing when it hurt too much. “Did Rick ask you to do this?”

“No.” He answered, short… good he didn’t want to talk.

“Did he know about it?”

“Maybe.” He answered eyes on your hands now cleaning the wounds with boric-water.

“Or he did or he didn’t. Gonna take it as he did, he was acting suspect.” You stated, looking at your first aid kit for some ointment.

“Are ya angry at me?” He asked while you passed the ointment on his wounds.

“No, just concerned and upset. Gimme your other hand.” You took his other hand and started to give the same care. “I don’t like both of you hiding things from me.”

“ ‘m sorry, ya dun agree with what I’ve done, do ya?” He asked, head still down paying attention to you.

“Torturing isn’t right.”

“I didn’t have an option, we needed the information about his group.” You cleaned his other hand. “His group… the things he said they did… he’s not someone to be around or for us to let go, he knows where the farm is.”

“So, do you think we should kill him?” You asked a cotton swab passing on his hand.

“Yes.” He said, you were conflicted. You were always taught that killing was wrong, you can’t take life from someone. Unless it’s a walker, of course. Or, if your life is in danger. But execute someone? It sounded wrong, but at the same time… you should think about the group safety. “Don’t ya agree?”

“I don’t know… I think it’s wrong, but I also see that we’re out of better options.” You passed the ointment on his hand.

“Are ya comin’ to the woods with me?” He asked a little apprehensive that you wouldn’t want to be with him because you were upset.

“Thought you’d never ask.” You looked at him and smiled, no way you’d be stuck in the farm again in the middle of all the chaos.

You were having things done to go, when you saw Dale arriving followed by Luna swinging her tail. Dale came to talk to you about the decision of killing Randall, he wanted to know what both of you thought, and of course try to convince you otherwise if you thought the boy should be killed.

“I’m not sure Dale, really. At the same time I think we shouldn’t, I don’t see any other solution.” You said, despite you thought your opinion would not be so important in the end. Dale tried reasoning with Daryl to no avail.

“This group’s broken.” He said, and when you heard that… you couldn’t help but feel bad. Was really your group broken? Did Daryl think the group wasn’t good enough for him anymore? Did he want to leave? Would he leave without you? Would he even tell you if he decided to leave? Was he tired of you?

You were so caught up in your anxious thoughts that you didn’t even saw that Dale was long gone and Daryl was calling you so you could go. “Pup, what’s wrong?” He asked, his hand waving in front of you worried.

“Nothing.” You lied, and he knew you lied. “Let’s go?”

He got his things, you got yours, Luna followed you and you walked silently until you reached the woods. You were open and comfortable with Daryl, you always were and it even annoyed you some times, because you would speak whatever is on your mind, and in your opinion you said things you shouldn’t say. But you couldn’t talk about your feelings, or you tried not to, because of a bunch of insecurities clouding your thoughts. He wasn’t also very comfortable about talking about feelings, so it was understandable, but at the same time he felt uneasy if he didn’t know everything that’s on your mind. He held your hand and it startled you from your unstoppable thoughts.

“Ya lied again.” He didn’t took his eyes from the woods searching for any danger or possible hunt. His voice didn’t change the tone, there was no anger or negative feelings on his speaking.

“I don’t wanna talk about my feelings.” You said looking at your feet attentive to where you stepped, your other hand slightly brushing over Luna’s head.

“But I want to know what ya’re feeling. I need to.” He said, damn… did he sound vulnerable? Was he weak? He couldn’t allow himself to look pathetic and weak, but he also didn’t want to mistreat you. “ ‘m not good talking ‘bout feelings, but I always need to know yers.”

You stopped walking and you turned to him, now holding both of his hands, or more like his hands engulfing yours. “Be honest.”

“Never lied to ya.” He said looking at your face while you were looking down at your hands. “Look at me, please.”

You lifted your head, looking right at his eyes and all you saw was worry. You took a deep breath taking all the courage you had to speak. “Are you…” ‘not happy with me?’ You wanted to complete but stopped mid-sentence. “Do you wanna leave us?”

“Of course not. Where did this come from?” He asked, but before you could answer his mind started to put the pieces together. “That’s because I said the group’s broken, isn’t it?”

“Yes” you said, just that. Unable to say more or add anything else that were running like a tornado inside your mind.

“It wasn’t a lie. I think the group’s broken. Shane’s crazy. Andrea’s reckless and listens to Shane. Carol’s still broken because of Sophia. Glenn… if Hershel decided to kick us from the farm, he’d stay behind and I don’t blame him. This group isn’t like it used to be, not that we were perfect befor’ , we never were.” You took all his words putting everything together and trying to reason what he said. Still feeling uneasy. “Wha’s on yer head?”

“It’s just… when you said it, it seemed like you didn’t care anymore about the group or what happens with it.” You looked at his growing bangs that fell on his forehead, or you wouldn’t be able to say it if you looked at his eyes. “Or…” You paused, no, no, you couldn’t say what you were thinking not at all. You’d scare him, he’d leave you.

“Or wha’ baby?” You looked at his eyes again, and with the worry you saw a softness that you didn’t quite know what it meant. He never called you ‘baby’ outside of the sheets and it made your heart jump and butterflies fly in your stomach.

“Or…” you shifted your eyes to look at your hands, tears threatening to fall. Shit. Why were you so emotional and making a big thing of something this small. “That you didn’t want me and would leave.”

Things had been so good between both of you, that Daryl forgot you still had traumas from your past relationship, traumas that would trigger only when you were in a relationship and could experience things again. And now, was one of those moments. He couldn’t imagine half the shit you’ve been put through so you’d think he would leave you or that he didn’t want you, after he asked you to live with him, after he showed you his scars… after both of you broke so many walls that were built around yourselves.

He let go of your hands and hugged you, you always reassured him when he had his insecurities, now was the moment for him to do the same for you. “I ain’t leaving.” One of his arms was around your waist while the other was in your head bringing your face to hide between his chest and shoulder. “I want ya, and I dun see myself not wanting ya any time soon.”

It was as if a tap was open and the tears that were in your eyes fell making you let little sniffs and hold both hands on Daryl’s vest. “I told Rick, and I’m telling ya now, I ain’t playing with ya.” He didn’t put any names on what you had, he never said ‘I like you’ or ‘I love you’, he didn’t even know how to name what he felt or if he could feel any of those things. But he knew he wanted you, he needed you and he was going to protect you. He had already told you, you were his and indirectly that he was yours, but he couldn’t bring any of those words, these simple words scared him… So he said what he could manage to come out of his mouth. “We’re together.”

You took your face from his chest and looked at his face, he was serious, this wasn’t any sick joke. You should’ve known, you knew Daryl, he wasn’t like that… and you never doubted it. You shouldn’t start doing it now just because you had a relationship. He was not him. He was Daryl and you knew you could trust him. “I’m sorry. I think my period is close, or something…” It was probably something, but you could always blame the hormones, so why not?

He kissed the top of your head tenderly and looked at your face again, now you were better. You looked more like yourself when there wasn’t all those intrusive thoughts and anxiety. “What do ya say I teach ya a little bit of hunting and tracking?” He asked.

“I was waiting for the day you’d offer me this.” You smiled, your hands now resting flat open on his chest. “I’d love if you taught me.”

When it was close to sunset you and Daryl came back to the farm, you didn’t hunt anything as he taught you were still learning so it didn’t go good. He held your hand in his intertwining your fingers and you walked in silence, Luna leading the way in front of you sometimes stopping to wait for your slow asses.

In the moment you arrived at the farm Rick made a call, he was waiting for both of you to make a reunion so everyone could say their opinions about the boy Randall. Everyone except Dale wanted to kill the young man, Dale was extremely disappointed. You still didn’t know what to think about it, but you knew Dale was right.

“I’m with Dale.” You suddenly said and walked to stay by Dale’s side, even though you knew there was no way of winning the vote, you wanted to stay true to yourself. “He’s not his group and as far as we know he didn’t commit a crime that he deserves death penalty.”

You felt like you would combust at any moment just by the stares of Rick and Daryl that didn’t quite understand why you were siding with Dale and not thinking clearly about the wellbeing of the group. Shane also looked at you like you were insane, but you didn’t give a single fuck about it, so it was ok. The others were neutral at you. Soon Andrea also said she was with Dale, but in the end you three weren’t enough to deprive the group from killing Randall.

Everybody left the room to continue their activities, it was getting dark so Daryl, Rick and Shane would take the prisoner to do what they needed to. You were ready to descend the porch stairs when Daryl held your arm slightly and put you aside.

“We need to talk.” He said, and you already knew.

“Is it because I agreed with Dale?” You asked, you knew the answer. “Do you hate me because I disagreed from the group?” All that mattered was that if he would change about you just because you didn’t agree with them.

“Yeah, and I dun hate ya.” Actually it was quite the opposite, but he was concerned about your choices.

“I knew the majority of us would choose his death, my vote would make no difference. So I decided to stay true to myself.” You said, you could see understanding crossing his face by each word you said. “Just because I don’t think it’s right, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t need to be done.”

He nodded at you. “Alright, I ain’t upset. Go stay with Lori while we do this.”

You were with Lori when you saw the three taking Randall to the barn, you held your sister’s hand as a comfort for you. You weren’t going to see the execution, but knowing someone, a human being would be killed in the same place you were was scaring. You were comfortable killing walkers, they weren’t alive anymore, they were just walking corpses. In reality you thought it was merciful to kill the monster that once was a person.

“Don’t think much about it, it’s worse if you do.” Lori tried to calm your nerves, but it was impossible to not think about it.

After some time you didn’t listen to any gun shot and soon you saw Rick and Carl arriving to camp. Wait, Carl? Shit. Shit. Shit. Rick explained that Carl went there to see and that he was encouraging to kill the man. What was happening to the kid? He couldn’t lose himself so quickly like this. Rick wasn’t able to do this with Carl looking, so he postponed the execution.

“Where’s Daryl?” You asked, you saw everyone but him.

“He’s locking Randall again, he’s probably gonna be here soon.” As soon as he finished talking all of you listened to extremely pained screams.

Dale!

You ran in the direction of the screams, Daryl being the first to arrive started shouting for help. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. It was bad. All of you arrived almost at the same time and what you saw was heartbreaking, all his guts coming out of his ripped stomach. No. You cried. No.

“Hershel!” Rick shouted, the only thing he thought was you all needed him there to take care of Dale.

“It’s too late, Rick.” You said, tears rolling down your cheeks. You knew as much medicine as Hershel knew, both of you vets, the old man was just more experienced and have treated more people than you, that had only cleaned T.’s wound and took care of Daryl’s hands. “There’s nothing he can do.”

Hershel arrived and said the same thing, you couldn’t even move Dale. He was agonizing. Andrea pleaded that someone did something. Everyone was in pain by seeing Dale like that. He didn’t deserve this kind of death. Rick aimed his gun at Dale, it was best if someone ended this for him. You turned your back, you didn’t want to see, you had already seen more than you wanted to see. You wait for the gun shot, but before you listen to it there’s a raspy voice. “Sorry, brother.” And soon after Daryl’s voice the sound of the shot.

You were waiting for the shot. You knew it was going to happen, but you jumped at it a cry living your lips. You covered your mouth trying to muffle your sobs. You felt a pain in your chest, everybody felt it. There were cries, sobs and lamenting.

That night you cried yourself to sleep, and it wasn’t a peaceful one, even having Daryl’s soothing presence near you.

Dale was the group’s heart and now you felt like your group were definitely broken.

Wanna be add to my tag list? Let me know. (Please tell me if you want to be tagged on everything or just specific series)

Everything Taglist: @lilyevanstan1325

Till THE DEAD do us part Taglist: @sunnybunnyy2 @royaltysuite @isakyakiisak @milopenne @murdadixon

[mistyheartrbs]

vengeance would have been a perfect special if not for doc's death, and i think the reason for that is like. it changes vengeance from a fun sort of "optional" epilogue tv movie (that also doubles as a sizzle reel for andras to pitch a fifth season) to something that irrevocably changes the directions of the characters' lives. if this is the last entry in wynonna earp then doc is dead, wynonna has lost the love of her life, alice grows up without her father. it changes the beautiful ending of s4 - something that was so ruthlessly, defiantly hopeful when it was borne of a genre and a timeframe in which shock value and grimdark character death were the norm, when it was filmed in the middle of a devastating pandemic - into something much more cynical.

now, let me tell you about homestuck.

i love it when stories engage with their role as stories, and two projects that have done that (which also not so coincidentally had massive tumblr followings) are steven universe and, yes, homestuck -- specifically their followups, steven universe: future and the homestuck epilogues/homestuck^2: beyond canon.

steven universe future is a series that posits, "what happens when there's no one left to fight and you have to face yourself?" it's something that existed to tie up the loose ends left by steven universe's hasty cancellation/ending - and so it looks at an action hero's struggles with ptsd when he isn't saving the world anymore. it recontextualizes everything we thought was just another action scene, just another monster fight, just another thing he won with love and kindness and great, great injury to himself, and says, no, this hurt him, you cannot take on the world for yourself, you deserve a good life too. it's in conversation with steven universe's endless empathy and self-sacrifice and doesn't ridicule it but acknowledges that it's a philosophy that you can only hold for so long before you crack.

it's a lovely show that, while much darker than the original series, still ultimately ends on a hopeful note. of course steven isn't going to drive off into the sunset and never have any problems again. he's a person. he's going to drive away when it's already nighttime, and he's going to phone his therapist, and he's going to have good days and bad ones and he's never going to have some clean break from the things that still haunt him but he'll be okay.

the homestuck epilogues are bad, and they're mean-spirited, and they spit in the face of audiences who wanted happy endings for the characters. they're written to mimic ao3 fanfiction, and pretty openly mock the fandom and the people who got homestuck to this point in the first place.

creator andrew hussie thankfully seemed to realize that and changed course with homestuck^2: beyond canon, where they started making it a visual webcomic series again, and it started grappling more directly with homestuck as a story.

the first shot of homestuck^2 is of a spaceship with "theseus" scrawled onto the side. the title itself isn't "homestuck 2," it's homestuck squared. homestuck multiplied by itself. it's a writing team - people who started out as fans of homestuck and are now arbiters of it - with only minimal involvement from the original creator. who determines what is and isn't homestuck? is it the god-creator who wrote himself into the story, then wrote himself being killed off? is it this new writing team? is it you? after all, homestuck itself started with audience prompts. somebody who is not andrew hussie named john egbert. somebody who is not andrew hussie gets to decide how it continues, and if it ends, and why.

"misty, what the whiskey-shooting hell does any of this have to do with wynonna earp?"

what's weird about vengeance is that it doesn't do any of that. and in fact its very existence is antithetical to doc's death speech - it, like doc, is something that's dodged death. it's a followup to a show with one of the most satisfying series finales in recent memory. it's nothing so cynical as a cash grab (as i've seen people on the tag posit) - everyone involved genuinely loves this show. but it's basically a ninety-minute wynonna earp episode. aside from a few brief references and nods to the fans - waverly saying "welcome home, wynonna" - it's not interested in the three and a half years between the end of the show and this new special. it's not interested in whether it should exist, or how long people fought for it to exist. it does explore avenues that the series didn't have time to look into - wynonna's traumatic childhood, the lack of support from the adults in her life - but it's not looking at What "wynonna earp" is. it's not a story about Wynonna Earp (2016-2021), a SyFy Original Series that crafted lifelong friendships and conventions and stories and art and romances and careers and acted as a beacon of hope for thousands of young people during dark times. it's a story about wynonna earp, the character, who doesn't know if she can be a good mom to alice, who hurts the people she loves, who loves those people so, so fiercely she'll literally go to hell and back for them.

and i don't like that her ending is one full of grief. that doesn't feel fair to me.

but that's what season 5 is for, right?

[tornrose24]

Rewatching ‘the many lives of Scratch’ TGAMM is…. Ah, quite an experience after the series finale and knowing what I know.

-first off, there’s the whole ‘I don’t remember my death day, but I’d rather forget this moment’ line is…. Uh… well… Ouch. 

-Also the irony of Scratch never remembering his death day because he never really had one.

-And apparently his reaction to hearing about Geoff’s death day involved hiding in the doll house and shut himself off from the others…. which parallels how he reacted to certain things as a human.

-side note: I love how Dana delivers Scratch’s ‘Oh…. No,’ line when he first sees the death day party everyone throws him.

-When the McGees and friends sing that one song, there’s a line where they want to know how Scratch left his body and became a ghost. And I’m all ‘Oh… yeah… that’s actually true. But it’s not a happy tale.’

-Just the fact that everyone’s guesses were so wildly incorrect. I’m sure we all had our theories and guesses and yet the truth ended up being so average sounding (as well as sad).

-Geoff’s story kind of hurts now. Though I like that he also imagines Libby to be the president and Darryl is her body guard.

-As Libby told her story, I’m thinking ‘why does the cow remind me of Todd? It almost has the same hair and eyes.’ Also I think it’s sweet that she imagines Molly being like a little sister to Scratch, though I bet that detail would have been altered if she knew how old Scratch actually was.

-Also, I can’t get over the fact that Libby had Scratch AND Molly both die in her story. It’s a bit morbid, but I’m guessing she couldn’t imagine them being separated. That or she wanted to create an insane ending. 

-I liked that Libby imagined Scratch to be someone who’d be willing to be brave enough to take on danger for someone close to him, which is what he is now… but actually wasn’t when he was human.

-Scratch kept insisting on having an appealing body type in the stories. The poor guy has no clue what he looked like as a human and is desperate for a more idealized version of himself. And yet the truth is… his real appearance isn’t that bad looking, and it actually IS a perfect match to what his personality is like, but it’s not one he’d be thrilled about going back to, even without the memories of what happened. (And this fuels a belief of mine that Scratch was more than likely insecure about his appearance before he lost his soul.) 

-Scratch complaining about nobody making him human is now an interesting line. I think none of them ever imagined it because they are so used to Scratch looking like a ghost. Molly was the only one who had a hint of what he looked like as a child and yet… when she makes her guess, we don’t see her imagining anything. Was it because what she imagined would be too accurate/close to the truth since she knows Scratch so well?

And it’s also ironic because by that point he and Molly have actually seen his true appearance and didn’t even realize it at the time. And then coincidentally come the very next episode, we actually see his human form once more in two specific moments. One of which draws specific attention to him. As if to remind us about someone….

[seekers-who-are-lovers]

Wakamiya, Yukiya and the lady ravens

So far, I’d like to commend the series composition writer Yukiko Yamamuro for reinterpreting Chisato Abe’s novel and patching up the first two volumes of the book series (and the others maybe) into one cohesive narrative while altering some things to make it more comprehensible.

If you haven’t seen the 12th episode, beware of spoilers from here on:

Yukiya

In the manga, he only showed up when Wakamiya asked him to assist him on how to demonstrate the utility of the Ue, their raven suit, concerning Samomo’s death. (Of course, it is given that he might just be in the background the whole time.) While in the anime, he’s become the stand-in for Hamayu. The writer altered the dialogue and scenes to fit to Yukiya, a sort of Jiminy Cricket to Wakamiya. His assistant through and through.

The barriers

Instead of setting up a screen between the Prince and the princesses, Anime*Wakamiya has once again broken the protocol that he can see them and talk to them without the bamboo curtains. (He is allowed to break the rules, but the candidates cannot.)

Shiratama

Honestly, this is the most heartwarming scene in the 12th episode. It is not a big smile, but Wakamiya has done so, perhaps relieved, seeing that Shiratama has finally listened to her heart, while Yukiya is beaming watching his cousin reunited with her lover Kazumi. The bluffing has worked, even though Yukiya thinks it is an overkill while Wakamiya insists they haven’t done the deed yet. Anyway, he has done the scrutiny with so much care and respect. He was not as brutal as in the manga where calling her out was actually a push for her to think of her own mind.

He is exercising his right to be a just ruler here, which he at first was not so sure of how would it turn out.

Yukiya: What are you trying to get out of this choice?

Wakamiya: I wonder. Heaven knows how this will go.

But in the end, he’s begun to weigh both sides, give advices, tell it what it is, and encourage Shiratama and Masuho no Susuki to see what are their other opportunities other than marrying him.

It is true that he also doesn’t have a good opinion on Sakura Blossom Palace due to what transpired and/or is transpiring there. For him it stands for prison, of human follies, a snake pit, of the way humans drag each other down to the point of wishing the other harm, powerful men using young women as mere tools to advance power and influence. He knows it because his own mother had been one.

From the novel:

The wind was fluttering the young master's black hair. His face was white in the moonlight. A handsome, unpleasant person. But affectionate. Yukiya looked at the prince for a long time and spoke cautiously a little later.

“I know that my words will sound cowardly now. But Shiratama from the North House is my cousin... When I found out that Your Highness cares about the hearts of the daughters of the four houses, I felt lighter in my heart. After all, you don't consider them as tools in the political struggle.”

He's wilful, no doubt. Sharp, often misunderstood. But being with him turned out to be not bad at all.

(Note: this isn’t an official EN translation)

Masuho no Susuki

Because they changed so much from the manga, I guess we have to wait what will happen in the upcoming episodes concerning Masuho no Susuki.

(In the novel, she wrote to Wakamiya to personally come to the Sakura Blossom Palace, asked Sumio to find Hamayū and when he did Masuho kept her in her entourage secretly.)

The way Wakamiya asks the candidates if they can foresee a future with him as his empress is devoid of romanticism. He doesn’t mince words nor let them expect heaven when it is not.

One gets the impression that he really doesn’t want to get married. It is just a stupid rule that he must have a consort when he ascends the throne.

Did I say that I love Masuho’s hairstyle? Yes, I do!

Asebi

It is amusing to read the shocked comments from the Team Asebi fans. (Sorry!) The Girl has fooled many with her demure and innocent, yet naive, face.

From Asebi’s VA, Rina Honnizumi:

Asebi is very lovely, and it makes you think, “This kind of child is called a princess,” and has a charm that makes you want to protect her. But when I auditioned, I read the original work and said, “I see, this kind of girl!” The way she looks is quite different at the beginning and at the end.

Many people still don’t want to believe that she is not what everyone thinks she is. Behind this face is a wily young woman ready to crush everyone who is on her way. And we all thought it was Shiratama.

On the other hand, her half sister, Futaba, has entered the list of characters officially. Poor girl, who suffered in the hands of her own sister.

The way Asebi answers Wakamiya, “no matter what the cost,” her cunningness, and her clear discrimination between the court ravens and hill ravens, you cannot simply excuse her ignorance. Neither Wakamiya. He hates her from the bottom of his heart. We will find out more next week the reasons he does. And it seems that it is ominous as the sound director posted on X that they “deliberately left out the music for the preview of the next episode.”

Hamayu

I am curious how will they reintroduce her to the story. Are they preparing for her mini-arc? Will they follow the novel/manga but with a different twist?

The fluttering cherry blossoms

They symbolise two different things and always in tune with the music. They can be flying softly, dancing around the characters (a positive realisation) or hitting them harshly when the wind blows (signals danger, distress).

What a nice touch.

[idv-sweethearts]

Glad we're in agreement haha! Consider me a loyal customer since I have notifications on and RUNN here when you post

You'll never guess who I'm here to request(it's luchino 😞) I like my men a little protective and you're the first person to indulge my luchino crave so you could write luchino getting a little jealous and possessive during a match?

Also I've never been a recurring anon before I've seen some sign off with an emoji should I do that?

Luchino (Professor) Getting Protective ☕️

Notes: I do recommend that you find yourself a nickname or an emoji or something of that nature to sign your asks. I do enjoy having a loyal customer. Might I suggest something to do with reptiles? Btw, I'm so eager to write for Luchino today as I had a very interesting series of thoughts yesterday while zoning out into the wood patterns of the living room table. Cannibalism is bad in most situations, it's not vegan, and the only difference between humans and animals is intelligence, but that doesn't matter to vegans ^_^. Probably. I'm not vegan.

Luchino is not normally so reckless or irrational. So long as he can wrap his head around something, he can be rational about it. Relaxed, even. He was, in canon, transformed slowly into a human-sized, bipedal reptile and carried on as though nothing objectively horrifying had happened.

It makes sense. Humans are little different from animals, so why be concerned when one becomes the other? Even "human" intelligence, the only major difference between the two, is only present because it gives humans an advantage. And how prideful humans are to think the distance between them and a lizard isn't the same as a rodent and the bird that hunts it?

Unlike his immeasurable interest in reptiles and evolution, social interactions are illogical and difficult to navigate. He does his best to calculate the most appropriate expressions and words and gestures, but there are still things he can find no logic in.

What is logical to him, however, is that it takes only a moment for a calm, reasonable scene to decompose into a unmanageable hellscape comparable in sense to a nightmare. And it takes even less time for a human to become something truly horrid. Or perhaps all beings this way, hiding their true nature behind kind words and gentle smiles.

So, today, what is Luchino? He is a Survivor, always at your side either physically or figuratively, from the moment he realized he had grown fond of you. He aids you in every way he can, as he'd hate to see you suffer. He's always watching and listening during matches to determine your approximate location. It is better to know than to not know, he thinks. And if you need it, he'll drop everything to ensure your safety, as he has done today.

Furthermore, who are you? You are a Survivor, like him. And, in the chaos of it all, you've been cast aside. Left to die for the sake of a "victory" they may not even achieve, but where is any victory at all in an outcome where you must die so they can leave?

And finally, who are they? They, Hunters and Survivors barely different in this situation, are selfish scum who would prioritize their own lives and wishes over yours. Well, to say they're all so terrible would be hypocritical, as it seems Luchino has prioritized your life over all of theirs, his included. If his life were to conclude, in this hellscape or nightmare or whatever you want to call it, then he's satisfied with that outcome if it means you live to see another day.

So, only one question remains. Who, in this frenzy, is the monster, if there is even a difference between humans and monsters at all? Is the true monster the "Hunter", the more literal monster, who brought you so close to death? Those two other Survivors who left you to die, but were soon torn from the victory they yearned for before they had the chance to struggle or even crawl? Or Luchino himself, who lifted you from the chair, from the depths of Hell they were willing to leave you in, and pulled you toward the exit without even looking back at the nightmarish state he left the others in?

Perhaps you, who witnessed every desperate murmur, every panicked scream, and every dying breath as your beloved partner traded a win for a tie, could provide some kind of answer.

[rickmymanrick]

one rule | chapter eight

[rick grimes x original fem character slowburn]

series masterlist! prev. chapter • next chapter

summary: in a rush to deescalate what they presumed was merle's fury on camp, daphne and the crew arrive to something terrifyingly different.

notes: my apologies for the overall slow pacing of the story. i promise it's gonna get exciting after we wrap up the first season. and also sorry for the rushing at the end there's not much i can change about the CDC without fucking up the whole storyline after so i'm just trying to get through it fast.

Screams echoed from the rock quarry and every step we took felt like two steps back.

Maybe it was our desperation to get there but it felt like the journey only got longer and longer. I gripped my knife tightly, pistol locked and loaded in my right hand. I led the group through the darkness, my speed being the fastest, but Rick was right on my heels.

"SHANE!" I yelled as soon as we made it over the big hill where we would've parked the truck. Had Merle not stolen it.

What I saw was the opposite of what I thought it was gonna be.

Instead of Merle taking vengeance on the camp, it was a herd of walkers. Biting into members of the group, tearing chunks of flesh clean off the bone as they screamed. Gunshots were flying from every angle.

I spotted Dale with his rifle firing rounds. I rushed over, dodging walkers as they reached out at any living thing.

"Dale! Where's Shane?!" I hollered, shooting off rounds of my own.

The camp was a complete mess, guts and blood all over our sacred place.

"He was with Lori and Carl last I saw 'em," he said over the blasts of his rifle. "By his tent."

I rushed out a 'thank you' before fighting my way to his side of camp, glancing around to make sure Glenn was okay. He stayed by Dale, shooting at every walker in radius.

A pair of hands suddenly grabbed onto my sleeves, roughly shaking me as a growl reached my ears. The smell of death penetrated my nostrils. Swinging my left hand back, my knife went straight into the walker's forehead. I looked back to make sure and then kicked the body away.

I marched forward, a gasp of relief leaving me as I finally spotted Shane. He had Lori and Carl behind him as he shot down countless walkers, a scowl etched on his face.

The scowl eased away as soon as his eyes found mine. His lips parted in shock. "DAPHNE!" He hollered, jerking his head.

I followed suit, sprinting over fallen walkers until I got to them.

"Morales!" Shane was yelling. "Work up here!"

"Get behind me! Come on!" Lori yelled at me, reaching her hand out so I could grip onto it. She hauled me over one of the dead walkers, bringing me next to her and Carl.

I immediately began shooting, wondering how the hell it had gone south so quick. We had the rest of the guns back in camp; there was enough weapons to defend the group against this attack. What the hell happened?

I had no time to think about it. All I could see in front of me were the walkers, stumbling with teeth bared, ready to bite into any one of us.

My arms began to ache the more I shot bullets but I couldn't let up. Beside me, Shane had his back against mine, covering all bases.

"Make your way to the winnebago!" Shane commanded. Carol came breaking through the dead, her daughter clutched against her side. Then Rick and the rest suddenly broke through to our side of camp, where the last of the walkers were attacking.

"CARL!" Rick hollered. "LORI!"

"DAD!" Carl broke free from his mother's grip, sprinting straight into Rick's arms, sobbing in terror.

I set my sights on the last walker standing, sending two bullets. One into its chest, the other into its head. I watched as two more bullets entered its forehead and looked beside me to see Shane lowering his own rifle.

As soon as everything died down, my arms dropped. And my legs suddenly felt weak. I stumbled despite my best efforts, my temples pounding. "Hey," Shane rushed over, grabbing my waist firmly. I tried to look at him but the world was spinning too fast.

"Goddamn concussion," I mumbled as I held back the urge to vomit. It seemed like the hours-long jog and the fight hit me like a truck.

"She got knocked in the temple earlier!" Glenn came running over, his face twisted in concern. I gave him a look, not willing to open my mouth in case I threw up everywhere.

Thankfully, he understood, grabbing my arms and pulling me away from Shane. Instantly, the bout of weakness took over and the world turned into pitch black darkness.

When I woke up, it had evidently been more than a few hours. It was daytime, the sun beating down on us harder than it had in a while.

I was covered in a thin layer of sweat, shielded by the security of mine and Glenn's tent. It was surprisingly spared from last night's attack. I pushed my body up as everything came rushing back to me, ready to run out of the tent.

"Hey—"

My hand found the knife that was still strapped to my side, swinging on impulse. I was frightened, traumatized from what I'd seen last night.

"Hey, you're okay!"

The voice registered in my head at once and I dropped the weapon like I'd gotten burnt. "I'm sorry," I gasped, trying to calm my racing heart.

"It's okay, Daph. It's okay." A hand grabbed my shoulder, giving me a gentle shake as our breathing filled the tent. I closed my eyes, willing myself to calm down and listening to all the outside noises.

Nothing but soft murmurs and birds chirping.

I cleared my throat. "How many did we lose?"

Silence was my only response and I dared to open my eyes, meeting Shane's downcast gaze.

"It's hard to tell."

"You're lying," I said instantly. Shane would be the first to know. We were both assumed leaders of our group.

"Ten or so... Amy..."

My head turned in shock. "Andrea?"

Shane shook his head. "Unresponsive."

I figured. There was no one in this entire world she cared about more than her little sister. We sat in silence, remembering Amy and all the others that fell last night. Except Ed.

I spared Shane a glance in my peripheral, trying to see if he was looking too affected. One look at his face and I was reminded of what had transpired yesterday morning.

I clenched my jaw in irritation, wondering whether I should confront him about his shifty behaviors. It was probably the worst time for this but I needed to know why he was still pursuing me so intensely if he had a thing going with Lori this whole time.

I refused to be anyone's side piece.

"We don't burn them!" I suddenly heard someone yell. Glenn. I scrambled to my feet and stepped over Shane, concussion be damned.

Outside there was a complete and utter mess. Walkers and our people scattered in dried pools of blood, random clumps of guts on the ground. My stomach twisted uncomfortably but I marched on, determined to figure out what had made Glenn uncharacteristically lash out.

"You reap what you sow!" Daryl called back at Glenn, helping Morales drag one of our dead to a separate pile they'd created for them.

"You know what?" Morales snapped. "Shut up, man."

"Y'all left my brother for dead! You had this coming!" Daryl spat, storming away.

I walked over to Glenn and he seemed disappointed to see me up and about. "I told Shane to make sure you got enough rest."

"I did. Now I want to help."

Glenn rolled his eyes at Daryl's back. "Pretty sure Daryl and Morales got it covered for now. You shouldn't be doing heavy lifting."

"A walker got him," said Jacqui loudly. We all turned to find her backing away from Jim, who was sweating profusely. His shirt was saturated with blood. "A walker bit him!"

"I'm okay," Jim insisted weakly as he backed away from the forming circle. We caged him in, each wondering what the hell we were gonna do now. Of course Shane, Glenn and I had talked about this type of situation before. But this was Jim. A survivor like us.

"Show it to us," demanded Daryl, approaching dangerously with an axe.

Jim startled, grabbing the nearest weapon in defense.

Shane came marching from my tent. "Easy, Jim."

"Grab him!"

"Put it down, Jim!"

"Grab him!"

We all began to yell over each other, one side trying to diffuse the situation, the other (Daryl) demanding to grab him. T-Dog took initiative, seizing Jim's arms from the back so Daryl could pull up his shirt.

"Jesus," I said under my breath. The teeth marks were as clear as day, a clean bite near the middle of his abdomen.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," repeated Jim nervously. He was clearly in denial and I felt horrible for him. There was no way around this-- he'd die a gruesome death and become a walker if we didn't put him down.

"I say we put a pickaxe in his head and the dead girl's and be done with it," said Daryl as we stood around in an impromptu meeting. We'd directed Jim to sit away from the uninfected.

"Is that what you'd want if it were you?" Shane asked.

"Yeah, and I'd thank you while you did it," Daryl sneered.

Dale shook his head. "I hate to say it-- I never thought I would-- but maybe Daryl's right."

I looked at him in surprise. Dale was the last person I would expect to agree with Dixon. Still, I stayed silent, trying to gather everyone's opinions before putting in my own.

"Jim's not a monster, Dale, or some rabid dog." Rick said.

"I'm not suggesting--"

"He's sick. A sick man. We start down that road, where do we draw the line?"

"The line's pretty clear. Zero tolerance for walkers, or them to be."

I hate to admit it, but Daryl's got a point. I could see where Rick was coming from, but it was pretty damn clear to me that this world wasn't gonna get any better. It would only get worse from here and eventually, we'd have to get our hands dirty.

"I will admit, it feels inhumane to kill Jim but we aren't going to be able to keep him alive. That's a fact. Point, blank, period," I cut everyone off. "It simply isn't in our power. He's gonna die no matter what at the end of the day and keeping him around will guarantee that any number of us will too."

Daryl motioned to me gratefully, looking like he thought I was the only one with common sense.

"Well, what if we can get him help?" Rick turned to me first, focusing his full attention on me. I suddenly felt the heavy weight of leadership within seconds. Everyone looked to me and Rick.

"What?"

What the hell kind of help were we going to be able to get him?

"I heard the CDC was working on a cure."

"I heard that too. Heard a lot of things before the world went to hell," interjected Shane.

"What if the CDC is still up and running?" Rick ignored Shane.

"Unlikely--" "Man, that is a stretch right there." Shane and I spoke at the same time. I gave him a side-eye, wondering how he had the nerve to even speak to Rick right now.

Rick seemed to have the same thoughts as me, giving Shane a hard glare before pointedly speaking to me again. "Why? If there's any government left, any structure at all, they'd protect the CDC at all costs, wouldn't they? I think it's our best shot. Shelter, protection, food."

I waited for him to finish. Shane seemed to be on the verge of exploding next to me so I held a subtle hand up in his direction.

"If there was any government at all, don't you think we would've heard or seen something?" I wanted to be optimistic but it had been too long without a sign.

"You know there's a chance, Daphne," Rick bent lower to meet my eyes full-on. "I know you do. And if there's a possibility that we can stop this from happening again, don't you think we should try?"

I hated the way he was looking at me, as if he knew the exact way to get me to agree. Half of it was the words he was saying, the other half was the way the sun was hitting his pale blue eyes just right.

My lips parted as I struggled to find an argument.

On another hand, I did owe it to everyone I'd welcomed to camp to try. I left yesterday and this happened. It wasn't entirely my fault- I couldn't stop a herd of walkers by myself if I tried- and Shane had stayed behind but like it or not, the both of us started this thing together. We set up camp, we found other survivors, we invited them in.

In a way, this was on me.

I looked between Rick and Shane, who were both staring at me expectingly. Rick with that naive hope in his eyes; Shane with utter and complete disapproval, waiting for me to take his side.

I was trapped. I spluttered slightly, trying to figure out who to fucking choose—

Shane's face dropped in disappointment and disbelief, turning to his former partner instead. "Okay, Rick, you want those things, all right? We do, too, okay? Now if they exist, they're at the army base, Fort Benning."

"That's a hundred miles in the opposite direction," noted Lori.

"That is right, but it's away from the hot zone. If that place is operational, it'll be heavily armed. We'll be safe there."

"We'd still have the same problem," I hissed quietly so Jim wouldn't hear. "Jim would still be sick and I know for a fact Fort Benning doesn't have the same medical capabilities as the CDC."

"You're agreeing with him?" Shane asked incredulously. He obviously didn't give a damn about airing out our drama in front of the whole group.

"Look, what you're saying makes perfect sense, Shane." I quickly tried to diffuse, grabbing onto his forearm without thinking it through. "But so does Rick. The CDC is the only chance this world has at beating this thing. What's happening to Jim and all these people, it's a disease. We'd be running in the opposite direction away from that."

"The military were on the front lines of this thing. They got overrun. We've all seen that," Rick argued with a glare finally directed at Shane. His eyes traveled between his former partner, my hand on his forearm, and me. I realized with a jolt that I was still hanging onto him and let go as if I'd been burnt. Rick's look alone reminded me of all the goddamn lies Shane fed me.

"The military's first response was to try to kill us. Was it not?" I added, glancing at Lori so I could avoid Shane's stare. I know she remembered the day I saved them well, how the army pointed their guns at her and her son. "What do you think they're gonna do when we try to roll up there with an infected person?"

"The CDC is our best choice and Jim's only chance." Rick finished as soon as I did and gave me a grateful nod. I don't even know how we ended up teaming against Shane but I could tell he felt ganged up on.

"You go grab that aspirin you brought," Daryl said to me suddenly. "Do what you need to do. Someone needs to have some balls to take care of this damn problem!" He hollered as he turned around and rushed toward Jim with the pickaxe aiming for his head.

"HEY!" I grabbed the shovel Jim had dropped and sprinted to stop Daryl. Rick pointed a gun at his head and clicked the safety off. Immediately, Daryl froze, weapon raised in the air. Jim heaved in terror, staring up at him like an animal prepped for slaughter.

"We don't kill the living." Rick said firmly. Shane wedged himself in front of Jim as Daryl slowly lowered the pickaxe and turned to eye Rick distastefully.

"That's funny coming from a man who just put a gun to my head."

"We may disagree on some things, not on this. You put it down. Go on," insisted Shane. I could see Rick breathing heavily from my spot next to him, gun still pointed. Daryl threw the pickaxe down and stormed away.

Rick grabbed Jim and began to lead him away from camp so I followed. Shane lingered behind, keeping a suspicious eye on Andrea who was still hovering over Amy's corpse.

I watched as Rick sat Jim down far away. He joined me after, standing by the cars.

We stared at each other in silence.

I was the first one to break it. "You okay?"

His lip curled in frustration, glaring at the sun. He rested his hands on his hips and looked at the ground.

I wanted to ask if he had confronted Lori, but it truly wasn't any of my business. And the answer was pretty obvious.

"Thanks ...for backing me up," Rick changed the subject.

"You're right. The CDC is our best option. If they're not operational, then at least we'll know."

"Yeah, while putting the rest of the group in danger."

What kind of hypocritical back and forth was this?

"We owe it to everyone to try. Especially Jim. Look, Shane's plan would've probably gotten us all killed. You didn't get to see it but when this whole thing started, the military pointed their guns at us first. The living. If the base is operational, there's no way we would've made it past the front gates alive." When did I start defending this plan? "Besides, if it all goes sideways, we'll have our getaway car and more than enough weapons to protect the kids."

Rick gave me a sideways smile, looking a lot less tense. "You're right. He just got me overthinking."

"Well, it's always good to run your ideas by others."

Rick stared at me for a long moment and I started to feel like a bug under a magnifying glass. "What?"

"Nothin', this just suits you."

I snorted. "What does? Putting Shane in his place?"

"Being a leader." He clarified.

"Yeah? Well, I didn't choose to be," I sighed, looking back at the state of our group. Half dead and the other half mingling about, no doubt discussing our two options.

Rick smiled tightly and clasped a hand over my shoulder as he walked past me, heading straight over to Carl. His little face lit up as he noticed his father, cheeks chewing on the multivitamin gummy Carol had handed out to each of the children.

I swallowed thickly. Whether the group agreed or not, we had no other option but the CDC or wandering from one place to the next. Fort Benning just couldn't happen.

Mostly everyone agreed that heading to Atlanta was the way to go. Only Morales and his family had opted out, taking one of the cars and a pistol and heading their separate way.

On the journey, we'd ended up dropping Jim off by the edge of the woods after hours of him pleading and begging.

It wasn't easy. In fact, it was one of the hardest things we'd ever had to do, but it was for the best. Jim knew he wouldn't survive the trip to Atlanta and he thankfully warned us of such. The last thing we needed was for him to die and reanimate on the road.

After, we weren't exactly sure whether we should've kept heading in the same direction but Lori brought up a good point. We were already more than half way there. It would be a waste of gas to turn around now.

We had to cling onto the little hope that ahead of us waited our salvation.

But of course, the world played us for fools.

We found the CDC in the same state as everything else. Deprecated and destroyed, crawling with flies and maggots. The dead scattered by the hundreds and thankfully at the very least, completely dead.

But when the reanimated ones did start showing up, probably from Shane and Rick having a rather loud go, I wasn't sure what would kill us first— the smell or the walkers.

"Shut up! Shut up, you're attracting more of them!" I pleaded as quietly as I could, grabbing a pistol from my belt and holding it anxiously.

Some of the others had began running back to the cars but Lori and I were incessantly pleading with the two men to just give up and run before it was too late.

I could understand Rick's desperation. His family was here, his wife and his boy were counting on him to keep them safe and he'd led them to a dead end. But if he didn't stop screaming at the broken surveillance camera, he would get us all killed.

"Rick, please!" I gripped his arm, trying to pull him away but Shane pushed me back, trying to tackle Rick angrily.

"If you don't let us in, you're killing us, you hear me?!" Rick continued. "YOU'RE KILLING US!"

Shane finally got a good grip on Rick's shirt and began to drag him away forcefully.

"YOU'RE KILLING US!" He kept repeating.

I backed away from the CDC with my heart in my throat, a sense of impending doom as I realized this was it.

Just as we finally turned around, as Rick yelled out in frustration once more, as the numerous walkers began to appear—

A miracle happened.

I could've fallen to my knees if it wasn't for Shane grabbing onto me in shock. Glenn ran to my side, snatching his red hat off and staring at the shutters as they opened and blinded us immediately.

Inside— our salvation.

I wasted no time, grabbing onto Carl and Lori and dragging us into the building with Glenn.

There was a chorus of voices as we all rushed in but my attention was stolen by the stranger who stood pointing a rifle at us. I found it hard to believe a doctor would be handling a gun within this fortress.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked loudly, causing everyone to fall silent.

The man stared at us in disbelief.

Feeling my heart plummet, I shared a weary glance with Glenn. This can't be good.

taglist:

@lovelyygirl8 @aleemendoza2425-blog @catlalice @ho3forchr1sevans

[svnaaaaaa]

Dreaming of you - Sano Manjiro 'Mikey' (AU)

pairing : mikey x fem reader

summary : based on my first story's 'dreaming of you'.

warning(s) : based on manga, spoilers from chapter 263, 264, 265, 266, 268, 275, 276, 277, 278 (i hope you guys finished reading the manga already), no related to the first and second part so can read on its own, angst, fighting scene

previous : part two

masterlist

author's note : i was watching 'the good bad mother' and idk what to say about it. i would to say thank you for enjoying this mini series of mine. actually i have no intention of continuing but seeing how many of you guys enjoyed the first part so i decided to make it parallel with the manga where i started with the first ever time leap by shinichiro then the death of shinichiro, time skip to kanto manji arc and now the ending. i also happened to watched the last episode of tokyo revengers so now i am bored so i decided to read the manga again and again until season three came out lol. so here's the last part of my 'my first story dedication' series because i love the band so much that i would hope that maybe one day my first story would make an ost for tokyo revengers eheh.

-

2003

i hate weak people. i love tough guys.

kenchin, baji, mitsuya, pahchin and kazutora. including me, the six strongest friends come together and formed tokyo manji gang. despite me suggesting tokyo manjiro gang, but the guys rejected the idea within seconds.

i like strong guys.

but that day...

2005

"watch over me, shin-nii."

i never anyone about this but i miss hoshiko. also because i feel bad for what i did to her. i loved her but i didn't know how to tell her. but it was too late. she already with shin-nii, watching over me.

and then i met these two people who'd change my fate.

kisaki tetta, with just strength isn't enough. what i need is darkness. the more i push it down, the more darkness overflows. i'll just give to my body and kill kazutora.

as i was about to swing my final punch, takemitchy stood in front of me. "takemitchy?" i muttered as takemitchy just smiled. "mikey-kun."

hanagaki takemichi, he wasn't the strongest one ever. but he stood up to me. even though he couldn't beat me, and easy to cry, before i could realized it and he's always there right in the middle.

takemitchy, why?

2007

"why are you getting up?" mikey asked, watching takemichi wobbling while getting up after mikey beaten him up. "do you think you can beat me? after i beaten you up into a pulp?" mikey asked as he just watching takemichi. spitting out blood, takemichi stabilized himself. "i made a promise to your future self." taking a step as the pain of his foot starting to take a toll on him. "to baji-kun." panting as he approaching to where mikey stood at. "and i promised draken-kun, that i cannot lose because," takemichi lunged himself to mikey, readying his punch. "the only one who can save you from the darkness is me!" shouting, takemichi launched himself before getting side-kicked by mikey, causing him to bounced back on his back.

"have you forgetten about hoshiko-san?" takemichi asked, making mikey halted his action of walking towards takemichi.

'mikey-kun!'

'here mikey-kun, your favourite one is the red bean paste right?'

as takemichi launches his way back to mikey once again, rage filled mikey's body. "don't you ever say her name!" mikey shouted and then he kicked takemichi right on his chest, causing takemichi to swayed back like before. "that's right, she would want me to save you too. like emma-chan." takemichi said again and with that, he was brutally kicked by mikey repeatedly where the other members of the two gangs couldn't even dare to interfere just like tenjiku-toman before.

looking back at takemichi, mikey stared at him like he was nothing, like worthless being. "you're seriously gonna die soon." mikey warned, wanting takemichi to stop. takemichi staggered on standing up, looking at mikey.

"come at me, mikey."

mikey feel the anger once again and jumped his way to kick takemichi. "why did you come back takemitchy? you've seen the video i left and i've promised to protect toman and hina-chan, didn't i?" mikey said. "i told you to forget about me!" mikey swung his fist and punches takemichi's face. "now everything i've done is useless."

takemichi stood up back to fight back and swung his fists towards mikey's way. "i came back because i knew what was wrapped yourself in. and i came back to save you." takemichi told him. "i've never known what a dark impulse is, from what waka said, the dark impulse was born out of love." mikey said, making takemichi confused even more. "that man turned back time to save me." mikey told takemichi, as takemichi just stared at him. with blank eyes, mikey stared back at takemichi.

"sano shinichiro is a time leaper."

-

"he gave the time leap power to some random kid." wakasa told them as he told back the story of what sano shinichiro told him before he died.

"after he gave you his power, days later he died." mikey continued while looking at takemichi. "this dark impulse's real identity was the curse from shinichiro killed the time leaper." mikey said as he placed his hand on his chest. "it affects those around me and, it's eating me alive." mikey said, looking at his chest where he could feel his heart beat racing.

takemichi slowly approching mikey. "you don't have to hold it in anymore." takemichi informed mikey, making mikey looking up at him. "i formed the second generation of toman to save you so release that dark impulse, mikey." takemichi said. mikey dropped his hand from his chest as he could feel something evil lurking out of him.

"whatever happens, it's on you."

with that, mikey didn't realize what happened next.

-

the fight goes on with mikey grabbing a katana from haruchiyo. and mikey wasn't even himself as smirk follows. the persona inside mikey wasn't even mikey at all. mikey swung the katana and cut a slit upon takemichi's right arm.

"don't you get it hanagaki? you can't break the curse!" haruchiyo shouted as mikey smirked. "they have been merged together that and everyone who are close to him ended up die!" haruchiyo continued.

"and everyone who tries to save him from thr darkness will ended up dying, you're gonna die hanagaki!"

with that, takemichi have been stabbed by mikey.

stoned, mikey has been pulled into a hug by takemichi with the katana buried in his body. "i'm not gonna lose, manjiro because i will shoulder this dark impulse." takemichi said to mikey's ear. "if you're gonna act stupid, i will take you down because you're my friend for life." takemichi continued and after that, blood coming out of his mouth which apparently he was stabbed by the chest.

"friend?" mikey mumbled to himself. within that, the darkness in him went gone and mikey realized the situation he's in. "takemitchy..." mikey looked at the person in his arms. "take my hand, you're the trigger mikey-kun." takemichi informed as he was shakingly grabbing mikey's hand. "what are you saying takemitchy?" mikey said slowly.

staggered, takemichi fall onto his knees. "oi, takemitchy!" mikey shouted, as everyone around were all stunned. "i..." takemichi said slowly, coughing out blood even more. "will go back to past, over and over..." takemichi continued saying throughout the blood. "that's enough takemitchy!" mikey warned. "so that i can smile with you, and everyone that we love and close to heart." takemichi said.

the light was dimmed. mikey felt no movement coming from takemichi as he lightly shaking takemichi's body. not moving or reacting, takemichi fell onto mikey's chest. "AAAAAHHHHHHHH!" falling onto his knees, takemichi fell onto his laps and mikey repeatedly shaking takemichi in order to wake him up. sobbing, mikey grabbed takemichi's hands. "i distanced myself so that none of this would happen! open your eyes, takemitchy!" mikey shouted as tears falling out of his eyes, not wanting to accept what it is happening right in front of him.

-

1998

hearing a banter, hoshiko shocked by the noise which soon followed by a punching sound. emma got up and left hoshiko in the living room to see the ruckus. hoshiko stood up as well and followed emma. "oi keisuke!" emma shouted as she placed her fists on her waist. "don't fight in front of other people's house!" emma pointed out and takemichi looked at emma. "emma-chan.." then he looked at the girl next to emma. "hoshiko-san.." hoshiko weirded out as she looked at takemichi. "do we know each other?" hoshiko questioned. "oi what is this ruckus all about?" a voice said walking towards where everyone is at. "oi keisuke, what's going on right in the morning huh?" it was shinichiro. "you're being too loud." shinichiro mumbled. "wait, who are you?" shinichiro asked takemichi, causing the kids there were looking at him as well.

takemichi felt awkward as he realized that he has time-leaped into time where everyone hasn't met him yet. "huh, who are you?" it was mikey. can't believe his eyes, takemichi's eyes got teared up. "mikey-kun.."

"you're, takemitchy? realized mikey, as he remembers those eyes. takemichi stared at mikey and he shocked by the nickname. 'how could he-'

"is it really you takemitchy?" mikey asked. "huh.." was all takemichi uttered out. "no way.."

"WE TIME-LEAPED TOGETHER!" and with that, the two of them went off running. "what's wrong with them?" shinichiro asked. "beats me." keisuke replied.

"mikey! don't forget to come back for dinner!" hoshiko reminded as she waved her arm.

2017

"will do!" mikey replied as takemichi stood in front of the sano residence, on his bike. mikey ride on the back as takemichi turned on his bike given by mikey as present during their youth. hoshiko stood in front of the sano residence gate, watching mikey and takemichi. "be safe okay, make sure everything is well prepared." hoshiko reminded, making both mikey and takemichi chuckled. "okay got it hoshiko-chan." takemichi replied. hoshiko smiled as she rubbing her pregnant stomach.

in 2005, mikey accepted hoshiko's confession as encouraged by emma one day while preparing chocolates for valentine's day. starting from there, even being the captain of toman, hoshiko accepted mikey for who he is and mikey for who she is. hoshiko became of the woman of toman and was well-protected by the members of toman as a sign of loyalty to the captain.

in 2008, shinichiro married to someone he met at his shop. he knew that was a love at first sight and the girl was also a motorbike enthusiast, same as him. also mikey and hoshiko graduated from high school. with support from her parents, hoshiko pursued her studies in collage in journalism so now hoshiko is a chief editor in one of biggest magazine company in tokyo.

married to mikey in 2015, both of them are now a proud parents-to-be. the baby will be due during autumn time. both of them are the current residence of sano residence with sano mansaku since both shinichiro and emma moved out right after getting married. nevertheless, both lived near so whenever there are family events, they won't missed it. shinichiro continued working in ss motors alongside with his wife as co-owner and emma as a housewife to draken, who works with mikey as his mechanic for top of manji, mikey's motorsport team as he is the racer for the team. as for izana, he continued living in yokohama as director of tenjiku, which he occasionally travelling but still based in yokohama.

life is nice when you are surrounded with good people.

july 11, 2017

the day has comes by and it is now takemichi and hinata's wedding day. the venue itself was extravagant. fillied with toman's former members, which all of them are really living the life.

hoshiko took a seat which has been assigned her name which with the rest of the sano family. mikey went to the groom's dressing room to congratulate takemichi himself. hoshiko already met with hinata with emma but left first since the pregnancy itself has been exhausting for hoshiko. "oh shiko-chan!" shinichiro's wife greeted as she took a seat next to hoshiko's left. "nee-san." hoshiko greeted back, bowing her head lightly. "where's mikey?" shinichiro asked as he took a seat next to his wife's left. "he's with the groom." hoshiko told him as he nodded his head. "ah."

"hello family." izana greeted as he took a seat next to shinichiro, shaking his hand. "how's business 'zana?" shinichiro asked and shinichiro's wife rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "men and business, am i right shiko-chan?" shinichiro's wife asked, making hoshiko chuckled. "yerp." hoshiko replied.

then mikey pop-ed out of nowhere and took a seat next to his wife's right, followed by emma and draken. everyone else also took their assignated seats and then the ceremony begins.

"groom takemichi, do you take hinata as your lawful wedded wife to cherish and promise to be faithful to her for as long as you both shall live?" the minister asked and as he finished asking, he looked at takemichi which makes mikey looked at his wife. realized that mikey turned his head, hoshiko looked at mikey, smiling lightly. "what is it?" hoshiko asked whispering. "i love you." mikey whispered back, making hoshiko blushed with the sudden confession.

the vow exchanged to hinata and mikey continued on looking at his wife. "you know you suppose to say it back right?" mikey whispered and hoshiko giggled as she detected an upset mikey. placing her hand on his left cheek, mikey leaned into it. "i love you too mikey, for as long as i shall live." hoshiko whispered back, reciting her vow from two years ago. smiling, mikey grabbed his wife's placed hand and kissed her palm. intertwined their hands together, mikey placed it on his left thigh, continued to watch the ceremony as both takemichi and hinata now exchange wedding rings.

"you may now kiss the bride." the minister announced and without a blink, both groom and bride kissed to seal the vow and everyone starting to cheer and clapping hands.

-

No matter what words I look for

"I love you" isn't enough

You’re the only, you’re the only, you’re the only one

I love you from the bottom of my heart

-

2005

one afternoon on monday where during recess time, hoshiko and mikey met at the rooftop of their school as promised between the two. "here, mikey-kun." hoshiko said as she held out a box towards his way, bowing her head 90 degrees. mikey looked at the box and then looked up at hoshiko. "what's this?" mikey asked but hoshiko keep on bowing. "please accept it." was all hoshiko said and then mikey opened it to reveal a box of things like chocolates, other sweets and a letter.

mikey took out the letter and read it instantly.

'dear mikey-kun, happy valentine's day. i hope you like the present that i gave to you. i just want to say this right but i am too nervous to say it in person so here's why the letter exists. i like you mikey-kun and i hope you would return the same feelings as well. hoshiko xx'

mikey looked at hoshiko as she was fidgetting with her fingers while looking at her shoes. smiling, mikey took hoshiko's hands into his. hoshiko looked up at him. seeing how mikey smiled at her, hoshiko's face becoming more redder than ever.

"hoshiko, i like you too."

the end ♡ thank you for enjoying this special series of mine!

[shadowhandss60]

Sorry but I’m here to rant…I get so fckin mad when people hate on Manorian and say they were purely lust and had no real bond.They clearly have no reading apprehension because there are straight out lines in the books confirming the opposite and are mad Manorian is way hotter then their boring faves.Of course people have different tastes but I’ll never understand spreading hate and literal misinformations everywhere.I always report on these people…

Also how hooowww can they say they aren’t endgame after Dorian literally saying “There’s only one witch who will be my queen.”…Unbelievable…

THIS.

I can understand how people don’t connect to them because I don’t always connect to ships either, but I think they expect this intense romance like the other ships but their past/traumas don’t give them that luxury and I’m not saying the other ships don’t have that at as well but they allow themselves to open up sooner.

Does it start with some lust? Sure, but that’s not all it is.

(I’m gonna rant a bit)

Dorian is the only main character in the series to never say “I love you” outloud to someone and there’s a huge reason why. We know why Manon is so closed off and not wanting to be vulnerable, even with those she’s known for 100+ years, she doesn’t even say it until Abraxos in KOA.

For Dorian it seems like he’d be someone to say it but in ToG we hear how Dorian did fall for a “fiery” girl (Rosamund I think) and then she left and married another.

Then he falls for Celaena and is ready to “tear the world apart with his bare hands” and wants to tell her he loves her but she breaks it off with him and pushes him away and falls for his best friend (I am not faulting her, just saying what happened) again, making him feel like the second choice.

Then a few books later he finds comfort and love in someone different, someone softer and seemingly more open where he finally feels like he’s the first choice and she’s ripped away from him in one of the most brutal ways, by his own father, while he was helpless after literally BEGGING him to spare her.

Side note this just made me realize what Dorian meant by “I am never begging for anything again.” Because of that outcome, and OUCH

So now he’s had his heart broken over and over again and then immediately after, he’s a slave for months. Forced to torture and kill his friends, while being torn apart internally while he can do nothing about it. He can’t even remember who he was and relives her death over and over and the FIRST reprieve he has is this beautiful woman who gives him his voice and allows him to remember his name after what felt like eons to him.

Then he’s forced back into that darkness and pain when she’s gone, but he latches onto her and her name and holds on after saying he didn’t want to fight and when he was forced to enjoythe pain he caused. Manon thinks of him to pay her debt to Aelin, she thinks of him and can’t even think of why when she checks up on him in Rifthold.

Then in EOS she goes to save him, she feels a part of herself “wake up” at his half smile and his tone, the way he doesn’t balk and doesn’t fear her. She talks about how he has seen death and worse and has that dark part of him that was forced to enjoy it when he was collared and she relates to that because of what she learns about her past in EoS.

Then after everything, he goes to save her as she did with him, no thought of himself, sprinting across the ship and jumping into the ocean so she wouldn’t drown and when he sees that she looks intent on dying he pokes at her and teases her and tries to stoke something in her like she was able to do with him.

She also comforts him without needing to when he talks about how he enjoyed killing the Ilchen and was forced to enjoy killing while collared. Sure, she does it in the Manon way, but he bites right back in the Dorian way and THEN there’s the lust.

Then she sees that part of her that’s drawn to him more physically and let’s her guard down (physically).

Lysandra talks about how she is different and dangerous and everything Dorian shouldn’t want after what he has gone through but everything he needs. She doesn’t judge him, doesn’t pity him or coddle him. He says he’d raze the continent for what was done to Sorscha and Manon accepts and agrees and he’s relieved. We see that fierce protectiveness when he talks about wanting to take time and pleasure in killing her grandmother for hurting her and we see her say he tastes foreign yet familair and allows herself to be vulnerable for the first time in 100+ years.

We see in KoA that they do talk in depth about what his father did to him, what her grandma did to her, what happened to Sorscha and Manon’s sister. We don’t SEE these conversations but we know they happened because of context and the details that are said and I feel like people ignore this.

We see Manon at the most vulnerable she’s ever been, admitting that she cares and admitting she doesn’t want to lose him and how those hours waiting for him to come back on Narene we some of the longest of her life.

There are no grand romantic proclamations (out loud, but if you pay attention in their POVs and how Manon had to fight herself to not fly to morath, “to him” and “there is only one witch will be my queen”…we all know) but those lovey dovey, super open “I love yous “ and “sweet nothings” aren’t who they are.

Manon JUST started to understand that she was capable of caring and Dorian was burned too many times to allow that vulnerability again, he didn’t even open up to Chaol or Aelin at that point.

That’s not who they are and though they were growing to that point in the short time they, the love and care is still there, still in context if you pay attention.

They challenge eachother but listen and respect eachother and accept all aspects even if they don’t always agree and I LOVE their love and the way it’s not blatantly stated but in the nuances of their story.

Thanks for coming to my Ted talk. (I didn’t proofread this so oops)