#because a lot of the emotional punch is lost by having them reunite after 5 episodes instead of during the fall of kl

[iheartbookbran]

this is the face of the you make when you realize the bloodiest civil war in westerosi history was started over a misunderstanding the writers made up in order to give one single character something to do over the seasons

[lizacstuff]

Your thoughts on the epi?

This episode was everything! I don't remember when I've enjoyed crying so much. The funny thing is, though, that I've found myself crying more while rewatching those scenes, than I cried during the first time I watched the episode. This episode will definitely rank among my favorites. Let's talk about the B and C characters and then get to Edser and, of course, Kiraz at the end. I spent the first 30 minutes resisting the urge to punch my screen anytime Ayfer was on it. Damn, I wanted to slap her silly. Could she have been any more annoying? Eda's a grown woman, if she is finally doing the right thing and telling the father of her child he's a dad, then be supportive instead of a screeching pain in the ass. When she actually said "I told you so" to an upset Eda... seriously? That is awful. What a bitter, joyless, petty individual. I was cheering for Melo every time she told Ayfer she was negative. Good! At least we know the other characters recognize how awful she is.

(I get long winded, so this continues under the cut)

Also what was with her going overboard to protect Burak's feelings over his delusional aspirations? Why shouldn't he understand that Serkan and Eda shared a great love and Melo is rooting for them to rekindle it? What does hiding that from him do? It's still true. Ayfer treats this dude as a member of the family, so he might as well know. I get his feelings might get hurt, but dude needs a reality check and to move on, and no matter how hard Ayfer hopes, Serkan in their lives or no, Eda is never going to want Burak. She's made that clear. If Ayfer likes him so much maybe she should marry him, that way at least Melo would be saved from his milquetoast presence.

Speaking of that, they were clearly trying to establish some sort of connection or vibe between him and Melo. So far, I'm not into it. If he's still so into Eda that Ayfer doesn't want him to have to hear about Eda/Serkan possibly reuniting, then he doesn't deserve Melo. Melo deserves someone who wants her, not someone who pines after someone out of his league and then settles for her bff once he realizes he never had a shot with the great beauty. We'll see how it develops, but he has the personality of damp carpet so I don't have high hopes.

Aydan was a little screechy this episode, but I cut her some slack since she just found out these traitors stole 5 years of her granddaughter's life from her. My friend @echoapothecary made a good point to me that Aydan deserves no sympathy for this since she didn't tell Eda Serkan was alive back in amnesia times, and I don't disagree with that. That move by Aydan pretty much tainted her character forever, and it's near impossible to come back from, but viewing this story in a capsule I do feel sorry for her. She wasn't a good mother to Serkan, but she does love him, and I think she craves family. The main point being, Serkan wasn't the only one who lost something significant by not knowing about Kiraz until now, Aydan did too. Perhaps we can say that losing the first five years of her granddaughter's life is her punishment for keeping the secret about Serkan, it's about as steep a penalty as one could pay. Talk about karmic retribution.

Also, since Serkan is apparently not going to impose any emotional tolls on any of the traitors for the secret that was kept from him, I'm glad Aydan did at least make her displeasure known and made some of the liars uncomfortable. Piril, at least, felt it, even if she won't suffer any real consequences. I kind of wanted Serkan to kick her out of the company. I really don't like that character and I think every time she's on screen she just sucks the life out of the show. Engin when he's in scenes with Serkan or Eda or Melo or Aydan or Erdem = Interesting. Engin when he's with Piril = Zzzzzzz.

Pina and Kerem were cute, but to be honest I really don't care. It's inoffensive and I get that we need B, C and D storylines to fill out two hours each week, so I'm good with it, but let's be real I'm only watching for the main event.

Speaking of... now to EDSER! I actually like that Serkan walked out and drove away after hearing the truth. I can only imagine what kind of shock and betrayal he must have felt at that moment, escaping must have seemed like his best option. What I liked even more is that Eda followed him. What a relief after the last episode where she was looking for any and every excuse not to tell him and then made the nonsensical decision to flee in order to avoid it. Too many times in the past between these two pride has gotten in the way. There was a time that Eda might have thrown up her hands at him leaving and pretended like it didn't hurt, that it didn't matter. I'm so glad those days seem to be over. One of the hallmarks of season 2 has been the improved communication (sans secret) between these two and this episode took that concept to a new level.

How heartbreaking to watch Eda plead with Serkan through the door, and how double-y heartbreaking to watch Serkan sitting on the floor, head bent, clearly in emotional agony. You could feel it coming off of him. Kudos to both Hande and Kerem who KILLED IT this episode. Seriously, their best work to date. Their chemistry is always on point, but the way they flawlessly work off of one another in every scene they share, whether it's deeply dramatic or something light and romantic is truly something special to behold. That's one reason why I don't get the folks who are so hung up in hating the season 2 plotline, that they can't appreciate any of this. Because this is the point. Giving these two artists deep and challenging scenes together and opportunities to make more magic. Watching them this season is honestly a privilege and I plan on enjoying every minute of it.

Despite Serkan's emotional turmoil, it was so like him to put the blanket over her and then sit across from her sleeping form as he indulged in some more brooding. However, I really appreciate that by the morning he was ready to talk to her. That conversation was hard, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who was jarred by him saying that he would have told her to get an abortion. In light of his later confessions, I think there's a few ways to take that. I think it was in part a nod to what an emotional mess he was at the time, and in part he said it to alleviate some of her guilt. Because even a betrayed and hurt Serkan cares so much about her, and he knows what he put who through at the time. Especially because at that moment he still had no plans to tell her the truth about why he broke up with her, he was still playing the part of the man who just didn't want children. So stubborn! Thank goodness that over the course of the next 12 hours he'll change his mind about that...

On another note, how happy did it make you to see Sirius? It made me pretty happy. He lives!!!!

From the moment Eda went to his hotel room the night before to confess all the way until they met again at the hotel, Eda really did everything right in how she approached him. However, once back in Sile, she makes her first critical error. It reminded me of the Eda in episode 29 who started pushing so hard at amnesia!Serkan and coming at him with such extreme emotion that he shut down. And that's what happened during that conversation on the beach. Eda needed to give him a little bit of time to come to terms with things, instead of forcing a conversation the first moment they saw one another. Good grief, what was she doing demanding answers from him hours after he found out? She knows this man! She knows that he plans every aspect of his life. So to spring on him that you hid a child from him for 5 years and he's a dad, is a LOT. I like that in a later scene he knows he reacted badly, and actually also says to her "What did you expect?" While his reaction wasn't great, it was also pretty predictable and she should have known to give him some time.

Speaking of the conversation on the beach, what a powerhouse scene for Hande. One note on it, that was the scene they had just shot when Hande and Kerem did their last IGlive on premiere day. The one where Kerem kept talking about how he was in a mood because of an intense scene they had just done. After watching I couldn't help but note that he, as Serkan, mostly just stood there stoically as Hande did all the emoting as Eda let loose on all the pent up emotion she'd been carrying both for years and with Serkan's fresh rejection. It speaks to both their personal and professional dynamic that he was so affected by her being in that state since he didn't do the heavy lifting in that specific scene. The way they are attuned to each other is probably a big reason they are so flawlessly in sync on screen.

I liked how they weaved the Kiraz/Baba scene in at the right time. That was one instance where Aydan, Seyfi and Engin's meddling was for the good, engineering a situation where Serkan was alone with his daughter. Also excellent comedy from Can, ratting out his dad about throwing ice cream on him. Good stuff. I like Engin-as-a-father scenes, I like Engin-as-a-friend scenes, I could just do without Engin-as-a-husband scenes. Anyway, Serkan needed time to adjust, but he also needed to be exposed to Kiraz so that he could view their prior unlikely bond through the new prism of fatherhood. It's telling how easily he slid into Dad territory with teaching her how to tie her shoes. He had been doing that all along, but at that moment he knew about the relationship and still did what was natural. He is ready to be her father, he just needs to realize he's worthy of it.

You can't blame Eda for not realizing it, but it was lovely to see how quickly Serkan turned the corner. He was already adjusting his thinking not even 24 hours after he found out about Kiraz and that was really what inserting himself

into her dealings with the Italians was about. Staying in contact until he could beat back all his neurosis. As for the business stuff, she apparently needed him as an investor, but I also love the way he was there to first build up her confidence and then praise her after a successful presentation. I've said it before but Serkan as her professional mentor is one of my favorite dynamics between them. It did make me wonder, is she still 45% owner of the Holding? It seems like it, she sure didn't hesitate to present herself as his partner. If she is, though, it seems impossible that they could have had zero contact for all those years, unless she just placed her stake in a trust and gave him full voting control of it. Details I'm sure they won't explore in-depth, but I did wonder.

Don't you just love an unwitting guest character (Italian guy) who comes in and forces our two protagonists to spend extra time together? I do. Thank you Italian guy and Italian guy's wife! I love how quick Serkan was to accept, you see, he had already turned a corner and was looking for excuses to get close to her. It was his first step in his journey to opening up to her. Also, who noticed that Eda wore a slinky blue dress the night after Kiraz mentioned that it's Serkan's favorite color? Just checking. She is not as immune to his charms as she'd like us to believe...

OF COURSE Serkan was at Eda's graduation. I think pretty much the whole fandom had guessed that from their conversation in episode 40, but it still hit me emotionally to have it confirmed. What I really liked about it was that Serkan didn't tip his hand by accident. He quoted her graduation speech specifically because he wanted her to know he was there. And not only that he willingly admits that he thought of her every single day since they parted. This is a huge step for him. It has been driving him crazy that Eda thinks he forgot her and is totally unaffected by her. However, even just a few hours earlier he was still in a place where he had no intention to tell her anything, it's actually impressive how quickly he came around. Now I don't blame Eda at all for declaring it's not enough, he put her through emotional hell when they broke up. I mean on one hand you'd think she'd be able to see that he was already opening his heart and there was more to the story, however, her reaction was good because it spurred him on to go and tell her the whole story.

And what a heartbreaking story it was. As I said several times over the last few weeks, I was hoping that part of Serkan's motivation was that the doctor had told him he would be unable to have kids, what I wasn't expecting though was the double whammy of not being able to have kids AND there being a 70% chance of the cancer coming back. No wonder Serkan was eFFed up! Who wouldn't be, but then you add in his additional insecurities about not being worthy of love and his hypochondria and that is a bad mental cocktail. You know what's ironic, Ayfer hates him but in reality he did exactly what Ayfer would have wanted him to do. Push Eda away for her own good so she could have everything she wants in life without him dragging her down. What makes Ayfer the worst (and a hypocrite) is that this is exactly what she would have wanted him to do, but she also blames him for Eda's heartbreak in the aftermath.

The scene was so cathartic to watch as a viewer. We've been waiting for weeks for Serkan's point of view as he's hidden behind his usual confident and calm veneer, and when we finally got it, we really got it. He did not hold back. Serkan is such a complex character, which is a bit surprising for a silly show that you wouldn't really expect build a character with so many layers. On the surface he has everything and seems to be full of ego, but his arrogance is only surrounding his abilities, intellect, and skills as a businessman and architect. Personally, he has little self-worth and thinks he's not worthy of anyone's love, especially not Eda's. However, while that has been a truth of the character for a long time, this speech was the first time he admitted how deeply rooted his fears are. It was stunning, though, to have a character who is so rooted in being in control and who is worried about his outward image, open up in such a raw way and expose all his fears and insecurities to a woman he's been apart from for five years. It was breathtaking and Kerem was fantastic in the scene.

Initially, with the subtitles, I misinterpreted (though I knew it couldn't be quite right) his parting words. The subtitles I saw made it seem like Serkan was saying "Don't say you forgot me" as in Serkan didn't want Eda to say she forgot him. But it made so much more sense when I saw it translated as "But don't say I forgot you." which was a throw back to their dinner conversation in episode 40 when Eda says, "You forgot me." Once I realized Serkan was saying that he couldn't handle her thinking, or say, that he'd forgotten her, the scene hit doubly hard!

I saw some criticism of that scene that said Eda was just standing there with no emotion, but I didn't get that at all. She had tears running down her face and I thought she was fighting for his soul pretty dang hard. First by using both emotion-- telling him that everything had changed because now he had a daughter and that he'd locked his heart and soul in a cage. Then by using logic-- when she told him the cancer is gone and that's it's over and when she challenged him over why everything has to be perfect. Think from her perspective how disorienting it would be to find out that everything you thought was true, was not, and that if the love of your life wasn't such a stubborn, selfless, self-sabotaging martyr that you could have built a family together instead of been separated for 5 years. It's a lot.

On the first watch this doorway scene is where I started to get emotional, but I didn't really lose it and fully cry until Serkan's scene the next day with Engin. For whatever reason that scene hit me hard. Hats off to Anil for his work there, the way his voice broke at times during that conversation really got to me. This type of true friendship scene was something that was sorely missing during the era of the other writers, and it was wonderful to see it back, just when Serkan needed it most. Serkan needed someone to shake him a bit about his fears of dying. I think the writers did a good job here, because while Serkan's neurosis and self-sabotage is maddening, with his history it's believable that he was stuck in a headspace where he really thought he couldn't be a father to Kiraz, or a partner to Eda, because he might up and die on them. I loved how Engin pointed out that Eda and Kiraz would not be the only ones affected if he died and how ridiculous it was for him to lock himself away.

I'm glad we got the scene with the doctor to really get a full glimpse of Serkan's view of his illness and it's also a relief to not only Serkan, but to us viewers that since five years have passed cancer-free he now has the risk of a typical healthy person. Serkan isn't the only one who has hang ups about his health, I think after amnesia and cancer viewers do too!

Finding out that Eda had made videos specifically for Serkan over the years, talking to him directly, hit hard. I wasn't really expecting that. I thought maybe she just had general photos and videos, like any doting parent would have, but the fact that she was always wanting him, documenting Kiraz's life and preparing for a day when he would hopefully take his place as Kiraz's father... wow. On the cynical side it makes it that much harder to believe that she never made more of an effort to tell him once Kiraz was born, but I won't focus on that. Not when the scene was as perfect as it was. Kerem again was stellar, he made me cry buckets. I think since amnesia many of us wanted an emotional response from him, thank goodness this story finally delivered it. The emotions running through him at that moment were overwhelming and Kerem did a fantastic job of portraying all of them, the heartbreak over everything he missed, the joy at seeing moments

from his daughter's life, the regret of not being there and being the partner Eda needed, the pride in the job Eda did in raising their daughter alone, and finally the bittersweet relief that Eda never forgot him.

It was a lot, but it was a good segue to the next scene when Eda calls him frantic because Kiraz went missing. What was clear from those videos was that while Eda, when we first meet her in Sile, appeared on the surface to have everything handled as a single mom, she always really wanted to have Serkan there as her partner. While Kiraz was pining for her dad, Eda was pining for Serkan as well. And we see this displayed in full force when Serkan arrives. Several people try to comfort Eda, including Burak, but she's not having it. However, as soon as Serkan gets there you can almost see the relief hit her in a wave. She's not in this alone anymore. Kiraz's father is there to help. Even if nothing is settled at that moment, she knows she can rely on Serkan and that he will know what to do. Which is supported by the fact that he clearly took charge the moment he found out, calling the authorities, having them begin searches etc.

But while highlighting his competence, conversely can we talk about how incompetently everyone else was at searching for Kiraz? They all acted worried, but did any of them make any real effort to find her? LMAO, they all seemed much more concerned with their own personal dramas. Especially egregious were Engin and Piril. Hello! Your son is clearly trying to tell you where the missing person is! Stop ignoring him. Thank goodness Serkan is very good at finding people.

Of course he found her and our hearts collectively shattered as we watched her trying to send a message to her Baba in space when in reality he was kneeling right there beside her, helping her tie the note to the balloon. If anything else was left to convince Serkan that he is wanted and needed, by both Eda and Kiraz, this situation was it. Even though some careless crew member spoiled the astronaut suit in an unnecessary IG story from the set, (that would have been a really good surprise) it was still satisfying to see this fairy tale play out. Never over "Baba?" and "Happy Birthday, my daughter" and now I can't wait to see Kiraz's reaction that her new friend Serkan Bolat is actually her dad and it should be pretty great to watch the three of them form a family together.

Overall this was the most emotional episodes of the series, and also one of the best.

[kittyprincessofcats]

I finished RWBY Volume 5!!

Loved it!! After volume 4 was (understandably) a bit slower-paced, I didn’t expect things to get intense and serious this quickly, but I’m glad they did! I have so many thoughts I wanted to write down, so here we go:

[There will be spoilers for RWBY up to Volume 5 in this post (duh). Please don’t leave spoilers for anything after Volume 5 on this post, otherwise I will block you.]

- I have to say, I definitely liked Cinder more when she wasn’t talking. During Volume 4, I kind of started feeling bad for her on some level, but then she got better and started being her old condescending, power-hungry self and I was like… nevermind, I hate you again.

- Qrow being super drunk when he first brings Oscar home was absolutely hilarious.

- Yang is SO COOL. Have I mentioned that she’s so cool? Like wow, I wish I was that cool! The bike, the new (amazing) outfit, the way she just punched that creepy guy and walked right up to her mom’s bandit camp making demands of her – she’s so cool and I’m here for it.

- Yang and Weiss’ reunion was so sweet! 😭 I was waiting for literally any of Team RWBY’s members to reunite and that got me right in the feels! (Also, I loved the whole “Wait, your mom kidnapped me?” “Wait, you kidnapped her?” exchange - brilliant 😂.)

- Ruby’s reunion with Yang and Weiss was so sweet, too! 😭 Tears were definitely shed over reunions in this volume! And it was so nice to finally have most of Team RWBY and what’s left of Team JNPR back together and see them bond and catch up with each other 😭. Found family back together! It’s what they deserve!

- Yang being so angry at Blake for leaving makes perfect sense, imo, especially considering her own abandonment issues. And even more so considering that she lost that arm while protecting Blake. Also, I don’t think it’s reading too much into it to say that Yang and Blake’s interactions and their storyline together have had romantic undertones since volume 2. (And no, I’m not just saying that because I ship Bumbleby; it’s the other way around – I ship Bumbleby because those romantic undertones were there in the first place.) So yeah, Yang always tried to help and support Blake, lost an arm protecting her from her abusive ex, and then Blake just left – I get why Yang’s hurt and angry. And that moment where she goes from complaining about how she just wants to be there for Blake, before finally admitting “What if I needed her there for me?” - that’s a really good moment for Yang, even beyond the romantic subtext. It’s nice to see Yang admit that she also wants someone else to be there for her, that she wants to receive that same love and care in return.

- I also want to point out that it’s nice to see how far Weiss has come since volume one. She really took a level in kindness and became a lot more mature, to the point where she’s now giving Yang relationship advice. It’s really nice to see.

- Ruby’s talk with Oscar about Penny and Pyrrha really got me teary eyed.

- I wasn’t that fond of Sun at first, but he had some really great moments in this volume, so he’s starting to grow on me now. I still don’t ship him with Blake, but their friendship is sweet.

- And now, let’s talk about THE standout character of the whole volume for me: ILIA!! Holy hell, I love everything about her! You know how some characters grow on you over time, and then there are those characters that you see one episode with and they just become instant favourites? That second one was Ilia for me. I watched Blake’s character short before Volume 5 and the moment I heard her backstory she jumped right to the top of my favourite character list without question AND I started shipping her and Blake right away. (Yes, I love Bumbleby and all, but I’m a multishipper. I’m perfectly capable of equally loving two ships that contradict each other.)

- It’s just – Ilia and Blake’s dynamic got me hooked! Not to compare everything to my OTP (Catra and Adora from She-Ra and the Princesses of Power), but let me quickly make this comparison: Two girls who grew up together, were both members of a certain evil organization until one of them left it and the other didn’t, now they’re on opposing sides and have to fight each other, but they still clearly care about each other. Plus, there are confirmed romantic feelings from at least one side there. I know many people (including myself) have compared Bumbleby to Catradora before – because you’ve got one blonde jock and one catgirl – but when it comes to the dynamic and the backstory, Blake and Ilia (what’s that ship called? Catmeleon, I think?) resemble Catradora even more. And it’s just the kind of dynamic I’m weak for.

(Honestly, it’s kind of funny how predictable I am both when it comes to favourite characters and favourite ships. My sister, who got me into both She-Ra and RWBY, took one look at Catra years ago and immediately predicted that I would love her. And when she first saw Ilia, she also immediately knew she’d be one of my favourites. Basically, my sister once described my “type” of favourite characters as “troubled, cute and gay” and that pretty much sums it up.)

- Speaking of troubled, cute, and gay: I’m glad RWBY finally has some CANON LGBT representation! Hell yes for that! Honestly, I interpreted Ilia’s feelings for Blake as romantic right away, but I wondered if it was just bait or my usual tendency to see romantic undertones in any interaction between two girls. But then that “I wanted you to look at me that way” line happened and… WOW. Yes. Amazing, talented, brilliant, never been done before, showstopping, incredible. I’m 100% sold on both the ship and Ilia as a character.

(One more thing before I change topics: I try to keep these posts positive and not get into discourse too much (since I’ve heard there was (is?) a lot of discourse in the RWBY fandom – but I took just one look into the tag for Volume 5 and immediately saw people arguing that Ilia’s not good representation because she’s a villain. And I just want to quickly address why that’s nonsense, in my opinion (and before you ask, yes I am a lesbian myself): First of all, she’s not even a full-blown villain. She’s clearly shown as confused and misguided from the beginning. And her feelings for Blake are never portrayed as a negative thing. She also has a redemption literally two episodes after being revealed to be queer. And in general, I don’t think queer villains are necessarily a bad thing and I’m tired of queer characters not being allowed to be flawed. How come straight characters get to just exist, but any queer character better be a shining beacon of morality or else they’re bad representation? I agree that RWBY should introduce more queer characters to balance things out a bit, but I wouldn’t say Ilia was bad representation by herself, since she’s a character I think we’re meant to have sympathy for.

- Now I just hope that future volumes of RWBY don’t pull a Bury Your Gays and kill Ilia off... I’d really hate that. (No spoilers on this post, please!)

- The entire fight at the Belladonnas’ house had me so on edge the whole time. I thought someone (most likely one or both of Blake’s parents) was going to die any second. Basically, the ending of volume 3 burned me and now I constantly expect characters to die. I’m glad it all (mostly) turned out well!

- Blake’s speech to the Faunus might have made me a bit emotional. That was a really great moment for her.

- And then there were those final episodes… WOW. Like I said, I really didn’t expect everything to go down so quickly (or for the ending to be that happy – like I said, volume 3 burned me.)

- Jaune unlocking his semblance was nice! And I’m proud of myself for having correctly predicted that he’d have some sort of healing powers. (I was waiting for him to unlock some healing semblance back when Qrow got injured in Volume 4 – I’m glad it finally happened!)

- I was worried about Weiss for a second, then I realized there’s no way she can die since I’ve already seen pictures of her outfit in later volumes. (Plus, I’m pretty sure if a main character had died, I’d have been unable to completely avoid spoilers about it. So those 4 are pretty much the only ones I’m not that worried about.)

- Raven is a really cool and interesting character, but an awful person. (I got so angry at her when she blasted Ruby after Ruby was just so nice to her*. How dare you, lady?) I love her design, though!

[*EDIT: I just rewatched it and realized that it was Cinder who blasted Ruby, Raven just created the portal. Point still stands, tough.]

- The plot twist of who the Spring Maiden really is was EPIC. Really loved that reveal! (And I honestly didn’t see it coming.) Though I have to say, I feel really bad for Vernal, and for the previous Spring Maiden.

- The Cinder VS Raven fight was absolutely epic and just stunning to watch visually. I was wondering if we’d ever get a maiden vs maiden battle, and that scene more than delivered! And while I don’t particularly like either of them, I was definitely rooting for Raven in that fight.

- I’m not sure if Cinder really died there. If so, I’m honestly not too sad about it, but I would be disappointed because I kind of expected her to become a more interesting character later on. After Volume 4, I expected at least a bit of growth there or something that would make her more interesting. And I’m not talking about a redemption, just to be clear! I just think the potential to make her more interesting as a villain was there, and if they just killed her off it’s kind of wasted now and she stayed a very flat character until the end. But I guess we’ll see.

- Raven and Yang’s confrontation was pretty intense. I liked that Raven finally had to admit that she’s afraid and doing all of this just to protect herself, and the contrast to Yang, who is also scared but still does what she thinks is right. And the fact that Raven was willing to let Yang have the relic despite the danger that would put her in – mom of the year indeed 🙄.

- Blake and the other Faunus are the real MVPs of the battle, tbh. The fact that they just completely stopped Adam and the White Fang by sheer numbers and didn’t even give them the chance to attack anyone? God tier stuff. And when Blake’s mom came in with the police? 10/10, we stan.

- Also, Blake telling Adam she’s not there for him? Hell yes, girl! I love how she’s taking power away from her abuser by showing she isn’t doing any of this for him. Really nice.

- Yang and Blake’s reunion in the last episode was super nice. I like how there was so much attention on that reunion in particular. And while I’m glad Yang wasn’t too angry at Blake and it makes for a nice happy ending, I still hope there’s a scene next volume where Blake properly apologizes to Yang for leaving and explains her side of things. And then, they should get together and live happily ever after and have lots of kittens. I mean, what?

- And finally, all of Team RWBY is back together! And they’ll have a lot to catch each other up on. Blake doesn’t even know about the maidens, the relics and Salem yet, while the rest didn’t even know about the White Fang attack. Also, I want Blake to introduce the others to Ilia and to her parents.

I really loved this volume. Lots of action, lots of really sweet moments, lots of epic fights and cool plot twists. I find it hard to rank them, but this might have been my favourite volume yet (volume 3 was also really good, though).

[steve0discusses]

S4 Ep38: Awkward Hugs Episode

Remember how excited I was about the good storyboarder? Well this episode has the opposite of that. It looks a lot like they hit some sort of crunch and this entire episode got shipped to Singapore so that some other animation studio could deal with their problems. It’s got some jank.

And like listen, animation is hard, there’s a billion moving plates, there’s a lot of office politics and deadlines, this season in particular is very long and complicated, and I don’t know exactly what happened this episode, but it just...wow it’s a lot funny poorly animated moments and I was here for it.

So first off, Dartz died! I didn’t even cap it because it happened so quickly. He was standing there, a portal opened up, and then the Great Leviathan kind of munched him up in 3 frames of animation, and then dissolved away back into the portal. It was card shenanigans anyway, and I don’t go over card games here--just trust me he played cards, he lost, he died.

Once Dartz died, this happened, in the one place Roland thought he was safe.

Roland has spent a good amount of this time debating whether or not to go inside and now he’s got a situation. Is it safer in Soul Hut than...whatever this is?

I wouldn’t know either.

So he just decides to uh...look directly at it while everyone else deals with orb hell.

The three knights of Atlantis decide to revive the respective owners of their cards.

So Pegasus just has to sit back, relax, and find some other unsuspecting orb person to share his fanfiction deep cuts with.

PS, that was not an exaggeration on the lazy PowerPoint spiral-in transition--this episode was a marvel of “Oh crap we ran out of time!” last-ditch effort animation and I approve.

(read more under the cut)

And if you thought they were done being orbs now that we’re on a physical mortal plane--nah.

This is the closest Pharoah and Yugi have ever gotten to a physical hug. Just throwing it out there that this is the only time they’ve touched in any way as two separate entities. Also--I like that this is the same way Yugi holds his necklace when he’s talking to Pharaoh. Cute little parallel there.

And as I mentioned, there were a lot of people just hugging it out as if it’s the last episode of the season. First off, one of the most huggy people on this show, which I’m still surprised is the Kaibas.

(he did legitimately pretend to be asleep by the way, because as he was spiraling out of hell he was like “whaoooahahhh”)

So I guess if Mokuba, Tristan, and Tea woke up without being orbs first, then that really does mean they never died 2 episodes ago.

Fine. This is fine. I’ll append my headcanon.

...so Dartz really was just so tired of them that he decided to make them take a nap, huh? That Mokuba was so annoying he was just like “I’m turning them off ok? Not like OFF off, not killing them or anything, that would be rude--I just don’t like small one.”

Meanwhile Tea has a Yugi appreciation moment where she’s reunited with her very confusing relationship. Which is how she likes it best. Undefined in nearly every sort of way. A relationship made entirely out of subtext.

(and honestly, relationships made entirely out of subtext is like 75% of the teen dating experience, which I may have mentioned before, but I do not remember if I have because 2020 has wiped my memory of just so many things.)

I vocally, out-loud, went “Ahhhh!” at the screen because I FORGOT how big his eyes are. They are so wild usually, but with the animation B-team at the helm, I was just not ready for the eyes to return. Yugi’s eyes are just...an abomination in every way and I forget when I see them consistently. I get used to them, I get over it...But when I go an entire season without these hell eyes staring directly at me every five seconds, then it’s like I’ve seen them for the first time.

I’m glad he’s back but man his eyes.

Those eyes.

Anyway, on for some more awkward hugs. First off, Yugi’s visceral reaction to his pretty-much-a-wife-at-this-point giving him a...hug?

(she’s kneeling, by the way. Bro mentioned that it looks like she picked him up and held him entirely by the neck--that would have been great, and I would never doubt Tea’s strength, but she had the decency not to do that.)

And then to Yugi’s just overall confusion to whatever Joey Wheeler defines as a hug.

I am 5 feet 0 inches tall, much like Yugi, and can confirm that yes, some people do hug me like this.

This type of hug should be illegal, it’s very disorienting.

Then, Yugi got to do what he does best.

The FIRST THING he does from coming back from death is immediately hold back information. Mm. Yugi at his finest.

At the point that you’d assume that someone in this room would indicate that maybe this hell vortex is like...a situation...Roland comes in the room screaming for Kaiba to come outside and tell him what the hell to do with his life.

So they go outside and the city of Atlantis is popping out of the sea and flying directly into the air--which...sure, it doesn’t really go in the air usually...but I’ll take it.

And in case you’re like...wait, I thought Atlantis was in California, not in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, don’t worry, it’ll get even more confusing later on.

Also, this happened.

Most of the human race freakin died so like...not sure what we should be concerned about here. Gotta get that one last guy in Florida to board up his house, I guess.

I like that Tea is contractually obligated to beg Yugi to stay behind so she doesn’t have to live without him when...it’s like...Tea, your relationship is already a big ass question mark, and Yugi actually dying did not even mean you were living without him. He’s been around this whole season as Pharaoh, my dude. You have the only boyfriend who will not only never officially date you but will also officially never go away.

So like...earlier in the season it was mentioned that Florida had the pieces of Atlantis shoved in a museum so like...is Atlantis off of Florida now? Because the Battle of Atlantis was in the Bay Area, and Dartz lives in San Francisco, and they went on a helicopter and flew out to the sea so...

We GOTTA be in the Pacific, right?

Anyway, it could be that they’re worried it’ll hit the East Coast of Japan--which, yes--it would. That would also be way more pertinent to our cast of people who live in Japan, it’s just that if you’re doing a show in English that takes place in the USA and you say the “East Coast” it only means New York.

I don’t think the translation team got the memo, it was a very weird line.

Tea wishes Yugi luck instead of Pharaoh for once, and Yugi was like “I don’t know why you want to talk to me instead of the version of me with the fine ass.” and his confusion was kind of cute, but they didn’t actually go into any more deets than this.

Valon and Mai were almost making out with each other’s dead body like ten episodes ago, so maybe the team felt like they had enough practice to maybe almost approach something happening with their flagship couple? Almost.

But also...Yugi just has no idea that a few days ago Tea was trying to get Pharaoh to talk to her on a Caltrain by talking about wearing little swimsuits on a Florida beach date, and then Pharaoh got so upset he went to the tiny area between trains and started sobbing while punching a wall. Yugi doesn’t know this. I don’t think anyone will ever tell him.

And like...will anyone tell Yugi that Pharaoh woke up in Tea’s bed? Like no one, right? Like no one even knows that happened? The irony of how cautious Yugi is with this relationship after Pharaoh was just slicing and dicing for this entire season is great. It’s also probably unintentional, but I can still laugh at it.

Anyway, inside soul hut, Yugi got a little lost, and then his puzzle started glowing and brought him to the Macguffins from last season. Would have been really inconvenient if these got doused in the sea, honestly, and I don’t think the Ishtars would have appreciated it.

Also, this puzzle sensor would have been really, really useful in S2.

Meanwhile, I think Seto and Joey just stared at this glowy gate of hell thing being all “Do you know what this is, Kaiba? I was dead” and Kaiba being all “Hell if I know, I was also dead, I don’t know what this thing is.” And Joey being like “Well Yugi doesn’t know what it is, he was also dead.” and Kaiba being like “The only one of us alive was the dead guy who lives in Yugi’s imagination?”

And then Joey being like “Also, where the hell are we?”

So, frustrated that this obvious trap was simply too confounding, Dartz decides to explain to our dumb as hell cast what a “door” is.

Where we can then admire the sights of Atlantis! Which is mostly brick buildings and giant gates with snakes on them.

Also it would just be COVERED in dead fish but we’re gonna skip that and save it for what would be an extremely ill-fated Netflix live-action series that they will probably eventually make of Season 4. Netflix can’t help itself, you know it can’t. This is a spicy series. It would be terrible in gritty live action. Make it happen, Netflix.

I feel like the artist was trying desperately to fix Joey’s bangs and I feel that on an emotional level. We all want to fix Joey’s bangs. Why did they stop at Joey?

They find Dartz in some weird Gazebo which...OK. It was a whole lot of weird concept art that I didn’t cap because it’s like...nothing is terrifying about a Gazebo...

I straight up don’t understand Atlantis culture.

So, Dartz decided that he could just...use himself to raise the Great Leviathan. He had only one more soul he needed, and he was just as powerful as Yami--so lets just do it, lets just raise the snake!

MAN I just realized what a euphemism this season is.

Good job, Dartz.

Course this is how he spun his story to us, but he seemed pretty surprised when the Great Leviathan gobbled him up in the first 10 minutes of the episode.

But this is the story Dartz is sticking to. He, himself, will raise the Leviathan, himself, and he is very happy with his decision that he made all by himself. I mean, Dartz has been alive for 10,000 years, and maybe he got bored of immortality.

Dartz could have done this from day 1.

What’s up, Sephiroth? Nice little uh final fantasy thing we’re doing with this lizard’s face. I really can’t unsee these uneven man boobs (like what is that angle?) but it’s fine. Dartz doesn’t need hands or...legs...he’s a dragon now, like he can just bite stuff and fly around and stuff. Can’t be that bad.

But for reals, what is the dragon’s angle here?

what is it gonna DO?

Like after everyone’s dead. Is it just gonna...float around? Fly around outer space? Enjoy the sunrise?

Like what do dragons...DO?

Anyway, I’m sure we’ll never get the answer on why the Leviathan wanted to leave the core of the Earth so stinkin bad, but maybe--just maybe--this season might actually end next episode? Maybe?

Will I actually finish this season in 2020! I might! Y’all I MIGHT!

And for anyone reading these for the first time, here’s a link to read these in chrono order

[qandnoablog]

Rescue (Marvel Imagine)

Title: Discovered

Pairing: There might not be a final pairing (since I follow along with the movies as accurately as I can) but I do gravitate towards Loki <3

Warnings: Based on the movie - Avengers: Infinity War

Part: 12, [11], [10], [9], [8], [7], [6], [5], [4], [3], [2], [1] Short story: [3], [2], [1]

Key: Y/N - Your Name Y/L/N - Your Last Name

Word Count: 4,135

Summary: Reuniting with Bruce and Tony and filling them in on Thanos’ plans, [Y/N] must help her fellow Avengers protect the remaining infinity stones and maybe even patch things up with the time stone keeper, Doctor Strange.

Note From Author: I know I haven’t been keeping up with the updates and some of you may have lost interest in the story, but I’m determined to finish up my work! Any of you that have stuck by Discovered for this long, thank you for reading :) Stay safe everyone!

Part 12 - Rescue

“Oh, my God!”

[Y/N] threw her arms around Bruce as the tears she had just gotten to stop overflowed once more.

“This is where you were sent? Thank god!” She exclaimed, “I was so worried! Are you hurt?” [Y/N] recalled his earlier battle with Thanos and quickly pulled back, examining his face. He looked the same as he did all those years ago in Sakaar, making her feel choked up even more. “Thank god you’re alright! Thanos really gave you a beating!”

Bruce, who was still a bit shocked from seeing [Y/N] on Earth, finally snapped out of it after hearing her words.

“What? What did you say? Thanos?” He repeated, “How do you know that? How are you even here? What’s going on?”

[Y/N] was bombarded with questions, something she expected, but before she could answer someone behind her cleared his throat. Her earlier excitement swiftly died down as she recalled what exactly appeared before when she accidentally tackled into Bruce. The dull throbbing of her head made her feel slightly annoyed, clearly not over what had happened the last time she was forcibly portaled away, but she tried her best to not show the petty emotions in front of her friend.

Quickly getting up and helping Bruce get to his feet, she finally turned to the man she didn’t really want to see.

“Strange.”

“[Y/L/N].”

It was a brief greeting that left the others in the room feeling a bit awkward. They could see the subtle rage in [Y/N]’s eyes when she looked at Stephen, who in turn looked at her with indifference.

“Wait, you two know each other?” Bruce asked. The one standing beside Strange, someone [Y/N] was not familiar with, also looked a bit curious.

[Y/N] helplessly sighed, knowing how they were pressed for time, and decided to drop her earlier beef with this sorcerer. Instead, she started to explain to Bruce how she had ended up on Earth after falling into the wormhole on Sakaar and then stumbled into Loki after her unpleasant introduction to Strange. She decided to skip all the Avengers drama for the moment, since there currently wasn’t enough time to go over all of that. Then, she briefly summarized how Loki had forced her to watch the events that transpired on the ship. However, when she got to the end, she couldn’t finish and choked on the words. The tears that were shed for her happy reunion with Bruce were now falling due to grief. Everyone assumed it was because they all thought that Thor had met a similar end to his brother. Little did they know… She was actually feeling grief for the both of them.

“So that’s what happened,” Bruce replied as he gently patted her head.

When he looked a bit more closely at her, he could see that she really grew up. Not quite in height but… She seemed more mature. It seemed like it was only yesterday that she had been taken away from them through that mysterious wormhole. Not a minute went by that he wasn’t worried for her. Now, seeing her safe and well, his unsettled heart calmed down somewhat.

“But why did you bring me here?” [Y/N] wiped away the tears as she glanced at Doctor Strange coldly.

They weren’t really on the best of terms. She had only met him once and during that time he had kidnapped her off the streets of New York, questioned her, got the answer he wanted, and then threw her out like she was nothing. Honestly, she wanted to ignore him, or maybe punch him to release all the rage she felt for him, but the current situation wouldn’t allow it. Besides, she was still curious on why he would send her back here. He couldn’t possibly know about her friendship with Bruce, right? No one outside the Avengers knew that.

“I sensed magic working here and discovered that it was around you,” Strange explained. Though his attitude was indifferent, there was an apologetic flash in his eyes, as if he regretted how he had treated her that day. It wasn’t much, but it allowed the anger in her heart to cool down to some degree. “But after hearing your explanation, I assume that it was Loki at work.”

She nodded, knowing that Strange possessed some mysterious power, and then turned back to Bruce to hear a bit more about what he had gone through. While she interrogated him on what happened during Ragnarok, the doctor opened another portal and stepped outside. He seemed to be talking with someone, but [Y/N] still felt a bit irritated with him and decided to block out whatever he was doing.

Bruce was very patient with her and wisely chose not to press on any matters revolving around Strange and Loki. Though he was curious on why Loki had called her to witness such a thing, he could tell there were some touchy topics that he shouldn’t bring up and just talked about what he recalled during his time as the Hulk.

Then, he noticed someone beyond the portal that Strange had created and immediately stopped mid-sentence. [Y/N] also turned to see what he was looking at and her eyes widened. Before she could take a step, Bruce had already made his way to the portal and stepped out, walking from behind Strange and calling out to their friend.

“Hey Tony.”

“Bruce.”

[Y/N] could hear Tony’s shock in his voice and silently stayed behind. She wanted to also go forwards to see him, but she knew that they were in a very public area. To the common people, Bruce and Hulk were two entirely different entities. No one would bother him when talking with Tony. Plus, Hulk and Thor didn’t make an appearance during the time of the accords. They weren’t being hunted by the government, unlike her, so it was best if [Y/N] stayed behind for this one.

She didn’t have to wait long. Soon, after briefly talking with Bruce and Strange, Tony stepped through the portal and into the room she and Strange’s friend were standing in.

“[Y/N]?”

“Hi,” [Y/N] sheepishly smiled as she gave a small wave while Tony stood there surprised.

They had a lot of explaining to get through.

~

“Shit.”

[Y/N] looked up at the oncoming ship, her heart plummeting at what was to come. She expected that they would be coming, but for them to arrive so soon? It was beyond her expectations.

“[Y/N], go invisible,” Tony instructed as he raised his voice over the screams of the people and the sound of the wind. Without waiting for a reply, he continued, “F.R.I.D.A.Y. keep back anyone south of 43rd street, notify first responders.”

She followed orders as the air around her shifted and covered her completely. Her body vanished as she stuck close to Tony’s side. Though there were a lot of misunderstandings and falling out between friends in the past, she still considered him her friend and felt it very natural to listen to him.

Just when her invisibility was set, Strange did something behind her, causing ripples in the air and nearly knocking her off her balance. The air she manipulated twisted, resisting the magic as her hold on it solidified against his powers. She glared at the doctor, but he was oblivious to her anger as her energy calmed and hid her completely once more. When she looked at the surroundings again, the dust and wind had stopped hindering their sight. He must have done something to clear up the area, and though she knew the logic behind his actions, she still disliked siding with him and decided to ignore it.

As the group made their way towards the descending alien ship, a beam of light shot down. When it dispersed, two familiar aliens calmly stood on the concrete ground with a practiced air about them. It obviously wasn’t their first time arriving in such a manner.

“Hear me, and rejoice,” the skinny alien spoke, immediately making [Y/N]’s blood boil in anger.

She recognized that one. He was the one that could telekinetically manipulate the objects around him and ensnared Thor, even muffling him while they prattled on. That time, she couldn’t do anything, but this time was definitely going to be different.

“You are about to die at the hands of the children of Thanos. Be thankful that your meaningless lives are now contributing a balance-”

“I’m sorry, Earth is closed today,” Tony rudely interrupted, uncaring for this alien’s condescending jargon. “You better pack it up and get out of here.”

“Stone keeper,” the alien disregarded Tony’s words and looked to Strange, “does this chattering animal speak for you?”

Everyone understood this subtle gesture. He knew exactly where the infinity stones were and who held them. Though how he knew wasn’t revealed, it meant that the stones couldn’t be hidden from them.

“Certainly not. I speak for myself,” Strange replied as multiple rings of magic encircled his hands and lower arms, thrumming with an odd power. Wong, his friend, also did the same. “You are trespassing in this city and on this planet.”

“Please get lost, Squidward,” Tony taunted.

Though his words were meant to get a reaction out of the enemy, [Y/N] couldn’t help but mentally have an Aha! moment at his joke. It was as if a light bulb had turned on above her head as she silently exclaimed, “That’s what he reminds me of!”

“He exhausts me,” the skinny alien sighed as the bulkier one muttered things in a language she couldn’t identify, “Bring me the stone.”

The fight was about to start, the bigger alien slowly making his way over to the group, as Bruce tried desperately to call out the Hulk. His skin turned partially green and the veins on his neck bulged, but still the green guy did not appear. Everyone looked at one another, unsure of what was going on, but Bruce couldn’t provide any answers. The Hulk just would not come out.

“Keep an eye on him,” Tony instructed Wong, and though he couldn’t see her, he was also telling this to [Y/N]. She had the best capabilities for support. Watching out for Bruce was something she could easily handle.

Though slow at the beginning, a fight was still a fight.

Tony used his latest nano-technology to shift to his Iron Man gear and sent the bigger alien flying towards the smaller one, who then easily brushed off the oncoming body before it could collide into him. However, before Tony could gloat about his newest addition of his suit to Bruce, who was in utter shock from the suit’s firepower, the telekinetic alien made his move.

Can’t say I didn’t see that coming, [Y/N] quietly sighed to herself as she watched Iron Man being blown upwards. She already knew what the skinny alien could do, so this amount wasn’t too surprising for her. Besides, Tony could take care of himself.

“Doctor Banner,” Strange began as he turned to Bruce while leaving the defence to Wong, “if the rest of your green friend won't be joining us-” he didn’t need to finish as the portal opened up behind Bruce and was pushed through. However, Strange didn’t account for how close [Y/N] was and unknowingly sent her through too.

“You-!” She couldn’t finish her curse as she hit the grassy floor beside Bruce and was nearly flattened by the half-a-car that accidentally followed them through.

Her powers shot out, her solid body rippling, as it shielded the two of them before the vehicle could crash on top of them.

“God, I hate magic!” [Y/N] screamed just before the portal fully closed.

She was no longer invisible as she helped Bruce get to his feet. He was still a little disoriented because of the quick change of location, but just as they were calming down, Tony barreled into a tree not too far from them.

“Tony, you okay?” Bruce called as they both jogged to where Tony lay on the ground. “How we doin’? Good? Bad?”

“Really, really good. Really good,” he replied, though with a hint of sarcasm. “You plan on helping out?”

“I’m tryin’. He won’t come out.”

“Incoming!” [Y/N] yelled at the same time Tony shouted, “Hammer!” just as a weapon was hurled at the three of them.

[Y/N] encased Bruce and her in a barrier right before Tony tackled into the two of them to get them away from the projectile.

She was quick to get on her feet and saw Iron Man shoot out lasers towards the bulky alien, but the enemy’s shield was sturdier and reflected the two beams. It cut through everything around them and a tree dangerously fell towards where the two were standing.

“Watch out!” She cried out as she jumped onto Bruce to push him out of the way.

Luckily, the two were only hit with the weaker branches of the tree and could easily escape from under it.

“Come on, Hulk,” Bruce groaned as he crawled from under the leaves, “What are you doin’ to me? Come out!” He demanded as he slapped himself, “Come out!”

Suddenly, half of his face turned into the Hulk but rather than actually coming out for battle, he instead roared, “No!” angrily before reverting back to Bruce.

“What do you mean, ‘No’?!” Bruce questioned, but there was no response.

[Y/N] helplessly looked at the two bickering in the same body, unsure of what to do. She was friends with both of them but there was no way to understand why Hulk refused to join in on the fight. He was notorious for being fearless and impulsive. For him to so resolutely refuse, there must have been a reason.

That was when she heard a familiar voice.

“Hey man,” Peter called out, “What’s up, Mr. Stark?”

“Spider-Man!” [Y/N] gasped, both happy to see him and horrified that he was taking part in this dangerous fight. But considering the situation, they needed all the help that they could get.

While the battle progressed, a red figure zipped past all of them, racing off in one direction. She couldn’t quite get a good look, but Tony immediately knew who it was.

“Kid, that’s the wizard,” he said, as he shielded himself from the bulky alien’s blow. “Get on it.”

“On it!” Spider-Man nodded as he swiftly webbed himself towards Strange’s departing figure.

[Y/N] wasn’t slow to act either. Manipulating the air around her, she hid herself from sight as she propelled herself into the sky. Quickly pinpointing where the thin alien was, who wasn’t too far behind the escaping Strange, she knew she had to slow him down.

Before Peter could get close, the alien didn’t even look behind him as he sent a billboard ramming into the kid. She winced at the sight, but she couldn’t slow down to help as her target was getting further and further away.

The alien was by no means weak. He used his powers masterfully as all the street lamps around Strange curled up to catch him. The cloak couldn’t maneuver fast enough and was quickly ensnared. However, physics slows down for no man. Though the cloak was no longer able to move, Strange flew out from it and hurtled towards the concrete floor.

Without thinking, [Y/N] shot out her power just before the doctor hit the ground and was just about to turn him invisible too when she felt a pressure ensnare her whole body. Her legs buckled under the force and she collapsed, her face scraping against the rough concrete. Glancing up, gasping for air that was nearly squeezed out of her, she realized that the alien was looking around for her and knew he had caught her but was not sure where exactly she was. Instead of searching, he had decided to squish the area down under an invisible pressure to stop her in her tracks before she could get away with the stone keeper.

Losing her hold on the doctor, his brief moment of levitation above the floor faltered and soon he was back to falling.

“Gotcha!” Spider-Man exclaimed as his web caught Strange before he could hit the ground and swung him out.

A wave of air came flooding back into her lungs as Peter’s sudden appearance startled the alien and made him discard his previous attack on [Y/N]. With her invisibility still intact, she quickly got away from the targeted area before he could launch another wave of pressure onto her again.

[Y/N] took a couple more deep breaths before going after Spider-Man, but then she noticed the red cloak struggling under the ensnarement of the lamp post. Utilizing the alien’s distraction towards the escaping doctor, she quickly sent out her powers and untangled the cloak from the metal trap. The moment it was free, it didn’t go off towards Strange but instead pounced onto [Y/N]!

Startled by the sudden attack, not just because the cloak was supposed to be on her side but also due to the fact that she was still invisible, she wasn’t able to defend herself and was quickly sent up into the air. When she realized it wasn’t trying to hurt her, she calmed down somewhat but then her heart nearly stopped when she realized where it was taking her.

In that brief moment where she was helping the cloak, Strange was being beamed up by the alien ship. Spider-Man tried to stop him from going any further, grabbing onto a lamp post to anchor himself onto the Earth, but the pale alien swiftly dislodged the pole before it could hinder him any further.

“No, no!” [Y/N] pleaded as she struggled in the wrappings of the cloak.

Invisibility long forgotten, if anyone focused hard enough they would be able to see a figure tangled within a red cloak that followed after the unconscious sorcerer.

She was getting closer and closer to the ship and knew exactly what was coming. If this continued, she’d end up inside and be sent out of the Earth’s atmosphere to who-knows-where! There was a faint memory of the planet Thanos had instructed his “children” to gather in, but she couldn’t think about that right now! She just knew that she was about to leave Earth.

“Let go!” She begged, her heart going wild as the panic began to set in. Feeling trapped in the durable fabric did not help.

Her eyes were glued to the gradually increasing distance between her and the Earth. She trembled non-stop as her breathing became erratic. Her struggles became even more wild and her powers were sent everywhere. It lashed out at anything, hitting against the cloak and dispersing the clouds. Before she could do any more damage, however, something blocked her eyes.

She couldn’t see, though she could still feel herself going higher and higher up in the air. Just as she was about to have another fit of panic, the cloak around her loosened somewhat. It gently brushed her cheeks, wiping away the tears that rolled down her face and acted like someone was hugging her, reassuring her that she was fine.

At first, it didn’t help much.

Her senses were all over the place and could barely focus on anything. But as her surroundings got more quiet and her feet were on solid ground, the cloak around her insulating her heat and making her feel a bit warmer, she no longer trembled. Waiting just a bit more, her tears stopped and her breathing became more stable. Finally, when her heart was no longer palpitating erratically, the fabric in front of her eyes slowly let her go.

[Y/N] readied her nerves and opened her eyes. She knew that she was now on the alien ship with no way to return back to Earth. Tony and Peter were nowhere in sight but she was technically not alone.

“You know, you’re not a very nice cloak,” [Y/N] grumbled, her voice somewhat raspy from her earlier moment of hyperventilating, as she sent a sharp glare at the piece of clothing levitating in front of her. It almost appeared to shrug its non-existent shoulders, as if indicating that it had no other choice. She defeatedly shook her head. “Geez. You’re just like your owner!”

Though a bit of her was still rattled by the thought of leaving Earth again, she wasn’t as afraid. This time, she knew where she was going and knew that her friends were informed of where Thanos was meeting. They may not know where exactly the planet Titan was, but they wouldn’t give up on her.

~

“There he is,” [Y/N] whispered under the veil of her invisibility.

Since she was teaming up with the cloak, she decided it was best the two stay hidden for now. They weren’t strong enough to take on the alien alone. He was powerful. She might have similar powers as him, but he had a whole other level of experience and control. To him, she was an ant. Something he could easily crush beneath his feet. She had to be careful.

“Give me the stone,” the alien demanded in a threateningly low voice.

It was barely a whisper, but [Y/N] could hear him quite clearly in the silent room. Strange, under the torturous stabbing of the odd needles, gritted through the pain. He didn’t yell or scream under this torment and continued to bear through it. Though her initial opinion of him was poor, [Y/N] couldn’t help but admire him in this situation. He was being tortured but still did not crumble. Who wouldn’t be amazed by such will power?

Suddenly, the cloak pulled her away from the scene. It floated around, silent and fast, as it made its way to a different corner of the room. She was baffled by its abrupt changes, but knew to wisely keep her mouth shut. It was an entity she didn’t understand. It was better to see what it wanted than fight against it.

Then, a familiar sight came into view.

The cloak quickly let her go and drifted off towards the man. It left her small bubble of invisibility, now fully visible but concealed in the darkness, and gently tapped Tony’s shoulder. It wasn’t surprising to see him react defensively, him swiftly raising his arm with the machine humming with power.

“Stop!” [Y/N] called out, careful to adjust her volume accordingly. Her figure came into view as her grasp on her powers were released, the air around her shifting to allow her to be seen.

Tony’s face was full of shock, but before he could get mad at [Y/N] stowing away on the ship without him knowing, she quickly spoke up.

“I swear! This was not my intention,” she explained, “This guy abducted me, leading to this situation.”

He turned his attention back to the cloak, a look of defeat written on his face.

“Wow, you’re a seriously loyal piece of outerwear, aren’t you?”

“You’re telling me.” [Y/N] nodded as she recalled how both Strange and his cloak had kidnapped her in some way.

“Yeah, uh,” another familiar voice started, surprising all of them, “speaking of loyalty…”

When Peter jumped down, his mask smoothly came off in the same nano-tech fashion as Tony’s suit. That was when [Y/N] realized that he was wearing a different outfit. It looked a bit more metallic, however the design was still true to his initial logo.

“What the-” Tony began, but Peter quickly interrupted him.

“I know what you’re gonna say.”

The two went back and forth for a bit, Peter trying to get as much out before Tony could speak over him, but neither backed down.

“And I kinda stuck to the side of the ship. And this suit is ridiculously intuitive, by the way,” Peter said in his defense but his tone immediately alerted [Y/N] on what was coming.

She had known him for quite some time now and could see the signs of him rambling. Whenever he did that, he was bound to let something he would regret slip.

Oh, no. [Y/N] frantically signalled Peter to stop talking, pursing her lips as she waved to him and motioned her arms into an “X” formation. Stop! You’re digging your own grave!

Sadly, the kid didn’t get the message.

“So if anything, it’s kinda your fault that I’m here.”

Both Tony and the cloak turned to face him, while [Y/N] hung her head and rested it against her hand.

Crap. Good luck, Peter!

[PART 13]

Tags: @themeanestlittlewitch  @stressedandbandobessed7771 @moistpotatobear @fxckingfat​ @e7here4l

[silver-wield]

I absolutely can't get enough of you analysis and I was wondering if you could do one of cloud and tifa after the plate fell and after barret hugged tifa? when sephiroth visits cloud again. like how'd that have been from tifa's perspective too?

Sorry this took a while to get to, Nonny. I would've had it done yesterday, but instead I wasted my time banging my head against a brick wall. Lesson learned lol

Ok, spoiler warning for ppl who haven’t played – do I still need to do this? Eh ok, (I tag FF7R spoilers as final fantasy 7 remake spoilers) and it’s gonna be reasonably long.

Also, this is one person’s interpretation of the scene, so if you disagree that’s cool and we’ll agree to disagree.

You’re also gonna have to excuse the janky quality on some of the screens, I’m grabbing them from Youtube and it’s frustrating af trying to get the exact moment I want.

Please check my master post to see if I've already covered your question, thanx

Recap time!

The sky has fallen and our brave failures have escaped by the skin of their teeth! Cloud watches over Tifa until she wakes up, then follows her until they locate Barret.

AH MY HEART! Cloud's so adorably concerned for Tifa. (also far too goddamn pretty! Someone shove mud in his face or something I can't stand it!)

Who knows how long he's been waiting for her to wake up. There's a couple of times it looks like he wants to reach for her – there's a definite twitch in her direction with his left hand – and then as she goes to get up, he takes her hand to her help her. Someone remind me, how often does Cloud offer Tifa his hand? A lot? Yeah, that's what I thought.

It's a very demoralised journey through the rubble to find Barret.

Well, I was aiming for a screen showing him punching the wall, but this is better. His rage and grief burst out. He's punching the wall with his actual hand and not shooting at it with the gun. This is because he wants to feel physical pain to dull the stronger emotional pain. Those were his friends. He should've stopped it. You can hear him sob Marlene's name once that rage is spent. He thinks they're all dead, including his innocent little girl. It's a powerful moment for his character.

Here's a hint of a grief stricken Cloud too. He cared about the trio. He wanted to save them. Nobody had to offer payment for his services. He tried to be the hero and failed. He doesn't know how to handle these emotions or how to comfort anyone either.

Tifa blaming herself is typical for her character. She puts a lot on her shoulders and keeps her feelings locked up tight. She sees the situation from the pov that if they hadn't blown up the reactors then Shinra wouldn't have dropped the plate. Barret sees it as, if Shinra weren't destroying the planet then they wouldn't need to blow up reactors. It's a pointless back and forth, round and round with no true winner. They have different povs, morals and principles and that's why Tifa just agrees with him in the end. Why argue on top of everything else that's just happened?

Tifa is very much the peacemaker, who doesn't want people to get into unnecessary fights. She'd rather back down than fight if there's a possibility of another choice. She says this in chapter 3 with her “I know we have to make a difference, but not like this.” And to the Shinra manager she says “I don't want anyone to die”

She's a goddamn sweetheart who can pack a punch, but doesn't need to rely on her fists first.

This is why later on with Elmyra, she stops Cloud from arguing to go get Aerith. It's not that she doesn't care. It's that she doesn't see the point in forcing your opinion on someone. By giving Elmyra time to think through their side of things she's letting the situation settle and everyone can approach it calmly and rationally. Which is exactly what happens. Elmyra had time to think and agreed with them. Because of Tifa. Because she’s the mature one.

The real!Cloud hand twitch lol we know what this means and I think I've already mentioned is plenty of times in other analyses.

Barret and Tifa's body language here is very placid, not romantic in any sense of the word. Her body is turned to the side and he has one arm around her shoulder. He's not got his head tilted down towards her and hers isn't tilted up at him either. Her arms are by her sides. This is minimum contact and barely qualifies as a hug. It's perfunctory comfort between friends. What it does is motivate Cloud – who harbours romantic feelings – towards the urge to comfort Tifa in the same way. He wants her to rely and find solace with him. Because his feelings are driven by romantic urges the way he comforts her is different.

And we're on our way to Aerith's house, where Cloud suspects Marlene is. Barret's highly emotional – shocker – and begs Cloud for hope, then admits it doesn't matter what he says he'd get mad. Cloud accepts this with a bland face, what else is there to say? He can't admit he might be wrong, but he can't say with all certainty that he's right.

He asks Tifa about the Ancients and then we get a visit from Sephiroth.

So after we see a future flashback of OG Sephiroth talking about the Ancients like before, Cloud gives us a blurry 1st person view and pan up of Sephiroth. Now, this one is a vision that only he sees, but that really doesn't matter to him. He sees that creepy ex-boyfriend stalker smile and freaks tf out. You can hear him whimper.

So, we don't get much of the scene from Tifa's pov. She's noticed Cloud freeze, probably heard that whimper. She's definitely concerned – you can see her frown just before we move back to Cloud – but she's unsure what to do about it. She's not a doctor after all. She has no idea if the right thing to do is insist on talking to Cloud about it, or pretend it didn't happen. She has to take his lead, which is to forget about it.

“Through suffering you will grow strong. Isn't that what you want?”

Cloud's a sweaty mess of fear at this minute, but you can still see this question on his face and his answer that no he doesn't want to suffer. The part of him that's real!Cloud definitely doesn't want to suffer, but it's too scared to do anything.

I find the possibility of this being a different aspect of Cloud's personality interesting. It's a vision, after all. So while we have real!Cloud in chapter 8 trying to encourage himself and repair the broken parts, we have this Sephiroth aspect that wants Cloud to remain broken and afraid. It's a good metaphor for how Cloud tackles his mental illness, and of the 4 different Sephiroths, the hallucination is the one that speaks the most and talks about Cloud as a person. It's the one that tells him to run away in chapter 2. It's the one that calls him a failure. It's the one that murders Tifa.

It's a manifestation of his mental illness. Not totally because there's more happening than just that, but of the 4 Sephiroths we see, this one is the one that causes Cloud to freeze the most. This one is the one he's terrified of more than the rest. The one that's not actually there.

I had to choose between this and Cloud looking terrified, but this one has Tifa edging into the frame with a concerned look on her face. Cloud's lost in his own head, probably overthinking everything Sephiroth just said to him. He dismisses Tifa again – remember, he doesn't want her to have a bad opinion of him, so he's pretending to be ok as usual. A lot of his reluctance to confide in her is his fear of her being disappointed in him. A lot of Tifa’s reluctance comes down to the aforementioned need to avoid confrontation. She doesn’t want to fight. If Cloud refuses to talk, she’ll respect that. She’s not pushy.

Conclusion.

Tifa and Barret have known each other for 5 years, give or take, but Barret doesn't even know the story of Nibelheim because Tifa keeps emotional things to herself. The way she's struggling to contain herself is mistaken by him as anger. It's not anger. It's self-blame. And because Cloud understands Tifa better than Barret – despite them having been apart for years – his real self has the urge to comfort her. He doesn't know how because he lacks social skills and emotional maturity, but after seeing Barret's example he understands this is the way he wants to support her.

I just added my suspicions about this version of Sephiroth to another post, so to sum that up, I think most of what he says is induced by Cloud's own feelings of failure and fear. The times Sephiroth shows up can be attributed to the connection Cloud has through Jenova, but the content of Sephiroth's speech comes across more like it's Cloud's inner self dragging him down. Sephiroth is the darkness within Cloud – the representation of his mental illness that won't ever become a memory, that's something he has to fight against every day. The fractured parts of Cloud's psyche aren't strong enough on their own, which is why the one in chapter 8 was chased away. It's only once they're reunited because of Tifa that Cloud becomes stronger overall to fight against his inner demons.

[madlymiho]

Hoping my scenario makes the narrow finals!! Ace's former marine love got pregnant from her first sexual encounter with Ace and two years after their training, it is time for reuniting! Their toddler is sooooo eager to meet their father that they try to go right out and find him! Thanks for taking these requests, Miho!!!

Awwwwwww here it comes!!! The cutest moment of this world!! 😭❤️❤️❤️ A rollercoaster of emotions to finally reach this AMAZING TIME 🔥❤️ I’m so glad I met you, my friend. It has been a long and wonderful journey

Since we discussed about it, the little toddler will have a gender, and it’s a girl! 😤💖

Words : 2420

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

Ace scenario : The moment I became a whole (read after the cut)

His heart is wrenching inside his chest, while he’s looking at the horizon. He has never been so nervous in his entire life. Not even when his crew has been defeated by Whitebeard. Not even when he took the sea at the age of seventeen. Not even when he was on that scaffold, his life about to be ended by the marines. No, he has never felt this way. Perhaps it’s because it’s been two years since he didn’t see her. Two years without a single letters, nor a single phone call. Two years living with the everlasting fear that their passion would be gone for good ; something belonging to the past. They are young after all, barely twenty two years old. At this particular age, there’s nothing to bond you forever to the other one. Ace pinches his lips together, and watches Amazon Lily’s island becoming bigger and bigger, as his ship is about to anchor there. 

“Oï Ace, look at this!” Luffy brags while he blows in his hand, creating for the thousand time a gigantic bicep. “It’s really cool!” 

“Shut it, Luffy.” Ace rolls his eyes, while he sighs, looking at the cliff just above the natural arbor. 

Two years ago, he was with her, right there, still shocked and injured after what happened in Marineford. They made love for the very first time of their life, both of them finally forgetting the many obstacles between their hearts. Ace has cherished that moment every day since he left Amazon Lily, sailing with his young brother to that wild island where the both of them trained harshly until today. 

“Do you think she’s still there?” Luffy suddenly asks, right beside Ace, as he doesn’t know he just surprised his elder brother. 

“Who?” Ace frowns. With Luffy, there are always so many possibilities. 

Luffy chuckles and throws to Ace a playful stare, while he jumps on the barrier of the deck and starts to walk on it.

“The girl who saved your ass, idiot! You love her, don’t you?” 

Ace wants to punch his little brother right in the nose, but he’s terrified to answer this question. He doesn’t know. She lost everything during that battle, two years ago, but he can’t tell if she waited for him. Perhaps the marines took her away, when he wasn’t here to defend her. Perhaps she also decided to disappear, too ashamed to face him the day he would be back. 

“I don’t know, Luffy. She might be gone,” Ace answers bitterly, swallowing his spit. “She has no reason to wait anyway,” 

“Mmmh…,” Luffy closes his eyes, patting his chin. “I think she’s there. She’s your nakama, or sort of.” He shrugs while he jumps back on the deck and starts to exercice, easily distracted by his own mind. 

“Yeah, sort of…,” Ace adds for himself, feeling his heartbeat getting erratic as the boat is now really close to the shore. 

***

When Ace jumps off the boat, he immediately recognizes and appreciates the general atmosphere of Amazon Lily. The arbor is pretty busy at this time of the day, and Luffy is already lost in the alleys, begging for food, not even paying attention to the rest of the world. Ace chuckles and pushes his hat down on his hair, looking around to see if he spots any familiar faces. The capital of the island isn’t so far, and perhaps that a few warriors under the orders of the empress are here to shop for her. He puts his bundle on his shoulders and starts to walk, looking around to see if he can see anyone, but especially her. After all, the purpose of this visit is to find her lover ; at least for him. The real goal of this mission is for Luffy to thanks Boa Hancock, and for the two of them to get back to Sabaody and meet the rest of the Straw Hat. 

“Oh…,” Ace stops walking while he feels something grab his ankle. He looks down to notice a little toddler gripping his boot. “Hey little one, are you lost?” 

Behind dark locks, two curious brown eyes are watching him, absolutely hypnotized by his features. Ace can’t help but smile to the little girl, squatting down to have a better look on her round and chubby face. She’s really adorable. 

“Are you alright?” He tries again, his voice soft and reassuring. 

He has always loved kids, he can’t deny it. And this one looks particularly gorgeous. As an answer, she only extends her hands up in the air, closing and opening them while she gives him the purest smile ever. 

“Up!” She orders with her baby voice, and a soft giggle escaping from her throat. 

Ace chuckles and tousles her raven hair, before he eventually accepts her request, and picks her up in his arms. As he straightened himself up, he feels her tiny fingers exploring his face, gently grasping his nose and skimming his cheek. It makes him laughs softly, while he notices the many freckles on her pale skin. 

“Young lady, are you trying to seduce me?” Ace winks, as the little girl muffles another happy giggle. 

“Funny!” She says as her hands fall down on his neck, pulling on the rope of his hat. “Papa funny!” 

Ace is a little bit surprised by her statement, feeling embarrassed. He shakes his head and smiles tenderly. 

“I’m not your papa, young lady,” he says as he changes her position on his arm, so she can have a proper seat. “But I can help you finding him? Or maybe your mama?” 

“Mama!” The toddler positively shouts, her eyes enlightening by the thought of her mother. 

Ace sighs, as he starts to walk in the alley, where numerous merchants are selling their products. Perhaps her father is somewhere there? He doesn’t remember seeing someone with freckles among the Amazonians, but there’s still the possibility that the person he’s looking for works on this market. She seems too young to be on her own anyway. He decides that he just needs to ask to the different persons here, and eventually, someone will recognize this little girl. 

“Excuse-me!” He calls out to the first merchant. “Do you know who’s she? And where could be her father, or mother?” 

The merchant blinks several times, looking at Ace, then at the little girl, while she’s laughing blissfully within his arms. 

“I’m not here to play game, Fire Fist…” The merchant answers before he rolls his eyes and turns his back to disappear behind a ripped curtain. Ace tries to call him a few times, but nothing. He tries to another merchant, and another one, but all of them seem pretty hostile and busy, and none of them would give him a proper answer. 

“Papa funny…,” the little girl cooes, hiding her nose in the crook of his neck. 

Ace continues his researches for at least half a hour, as he starts to feel slightly afraid for this little toddler. Why does he feel that no one take him seriously? He heard many giggles when he asked his questions, and it seemed that all of them knew the girl. After a moment, slightly upset with the whole situation, and the precious time he’s losing, he decides to take a break, as he seats on a barrel and secures the girl on his lap. She immediately pushes her back against his belly, sucking on her thumb, continuing to give him lovely smiles. Ace can’t help but play with her hair, before he exhales loudly. She seems young, but perhaps she would be able to describe her mother? Or her father?

“Tell me, sweetie,” he starts while he cups her jawline and lifts her chin up. “How’s your mama?” 

“Fine!” The girl nods as she swings her feet. “Mama is okay!” 

Ace giggles and shakes his head. 

“No, I mean… Can you describe her physically? Can you tell me how she looks like?” 

The little girl frowns, visibility concentrated. She looks at her hands for a second, playing with her pants, before she eventually looks back at Ace with a radiant face. 

“Mama is pretty!” 

Ace widens his eyes before he massages his forehead, unable to scold such an adorable child for her more than honest answer. She’s trying her best to describe her mother, but all she can think about is that she’s a beautiful woman. And there are a lot of women on Amazon Lily. But since he can’t stay with her forever, Ace starts again. 

“Sweetheart, can you describe your papa, now?” 

Hopefully, she will understand… Again, she frowns, looking at him with curious and lost eyes, before she tilts her head and points at him with her index. 

“Papa.” She just answers, blinking. 

“I’m not your papa,” Ace shakes his head, as he puts his back against the wall. “It’s not a game, sweetheart. You have to tell me where are your parents, because I need to go.” 

“Go?” 

Ace immediately regrets his sentence. The eyes of the toddler are now full of tears, her bottom lip trembling dangerously. Before he can do anything, she turns into an impressive human waterfall, heavy tears falling on her cheeks, her screams desperate and full of pain. 

“No, no, no! Don’t cry!” Ace gasps as he pulls her against his chest and rocks her gently. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to hurt you… But you need to understand that I can’t stay…” 

“Stay! Stay!” She desperately cries, her little fingers gripping his skin, she’s now inconsolable. 

What can he do, now? He tries his best to rock her, but it seems that his words have a real impact on her heart. Perhaps her papa abandoned her? Maybe she’s an orphan? So many questions travel through Ace’s mind. He’s so busy trying to comfort her that he doesn’t notice the silhouette walking in their direction. As the little girl is still a crying mess, a young woman is now standing in front of them, her own heart about to fall in her guts. 

“Ace?” 

It feels like time stops itself, her soft voice echoing into his soul. Even the little girl immediately stops her cryings, sniffing while she looks up and extends her arm in the direction of the woman standing in front of them. Ace can’t even think anymore. He can’t believe it. It’s her. 

“Mama! Mama! Look!” The toddler happily wiggles on Ace’s lap, as the woman bends down to pick her up and kisses her cheek. 

Ace doesn’t process at all. He’s all numb, mouth slightly open, his eyes travelling from her lover face to the toddler’s one. Mama. 

“Name…,” Ace finally whispers, getting back on his feet as if he has been struck by an electric salvo. “Name, it’s you!” 

He wants to hug her, kiss her, to feel her skin again, and have her smell in his nose. To be able to cup her waist and make love to her, but every of his muscle doesn’t move. All he can think about is the fact that she’s carrying a little girl. 

“It’s been a while…,” she says, breathless, her eyes a bit shifty. “I was expecting your return…,” 

“Mama, look!” The toddler wiggles between her arms, pointing at Ace. 

Ace feels his heart wrenching hard. Is it… Really too late? After all, he shouldn’t be surprised. She’s a beautiful girl, fierce and intelligent. It’s perfectly normal that many men want to have her by their side and have a family with her. Yet, for Ace, it feels that he’s being stabbed by thousand knives. He swallows his spit, looking at the ground for a moment, pushing on the edge of his hat to cover a bit more his eyes. He’s so pitiful ; he’s about to cry. 

“I should go,” Ace whispers harshly, unable to stay anymore. His heart is broken in many pieces. “It was nice to see you again, Name...” 

“Mama, why papa is playing again?” The toddler says loudly, as Ace is about to turn his feet and leave them. 

“He...He doesn’t know who you are, sweetie…,” She answers shyly. “Not yet…” 

Ace feels his whole world spinning. He looks up, frowning. What is she trying to say right now? 

“He doesn’t know that he’s your father yet…” She continues, trembling. “I was supposed to tell him today, but someone decided to run away!” 

She turns her head to look at the mischievous eyes of her daughter. The little one only giggles and kisses her mother’s cheek. 

“It’s...It’s real?” Ace stutters, making a step forwards. He fights the need to throw up, the surprise kicking his guts. “She’s…” 

Name nods slowly. 

“Her name is *name*, she’s your daughter.” She pauses, then exhales. “I can’t believe you thought it could be someone else’s child she looks just like you!” She snaps, her impetuous character coming back to the light. 

Ace chuckles, still processing, yet, he closes the distance between the two of them. As he looks at his daughter, he can see how much she’s the spitting image of him. Same eyes, same hair, same freckles. 

“So… I’m your papa?” Ace asks, still hesitant. 

The little toddler just throws herself inside his arms, peppering his neck and jawline with tender kisses. 

“Yes! Yes, you papa!” Name chirps, “Mama showed me photo of papa!” 

Ace closes his eyes as he hugs her tightly, feeling the tender digits of his lover skimming his arm. 

“I showed her your bounty poster months ago. She wanted to meet you so eagerly, I couldn’t prevent her from escaping. She’s a real wild fire…”

Ace looks at the features of his lover, and slowly, he rolls his free arms around her waist, pulling her against his torso. For a second, he only sees the beautiful complexion of the women he loves, before he bends down and steals a hungry kiss, his thumb caressing her back. He feels so many emotions right now, and he can’t even pick one. They slowly part their lips, bliss surrounding the three of them. 

“Ace!” A voice calls from the end of the street. “Aceeee!” 

Ace notices his little brother running to them, a bright smile blooming on his lips. He waves at him, tears of happiness falling on his cheeks. 

“Luffy!” Ace shouts at the top of his voice. “Luffy, come here! I need to present you someone important…” 

[oxsix]

The Long Road to Family

Chapter 9- Reunions pt.1

AO3

In which things couldn’t be more awkward if they’d planned it that way.

As Catherine of Aragon walks toward the destination she'd been given, she can't help but think through every possible unpleasant situation that could occur. Chief among them is that she gets there to find only Anne. She tries to avoid thinking about the discomfort of the two of them reuniting with only them there. It's enough to make her physically cringe.

She works through a number of awkward scenarios in her head, and her mind tries desperately to imagine how it would react in the situation, and how she could get out of there as soon as possible. Her mind has always had that tendency—to overthink, over-analyse. It's caused her plenty pain and stress in the past. And it's followed her into the next life, apparently.

The door to the building is fairly uninspiring; it's just a small community centre, and not a very well-funded one. Catalina's not really aware of this, though, as she's unfamiliar with the concept of a community centre as  whole. All she sees is a squat little brick building, adorned with flyers for a number of events, some of which have already passed. As she approaches, the glass doors open on their own and she jumps a little. This new world doesn't seem to run out of quirks.

With some apprehension, she enters, and does her best to swallow the awful feeling of trepidation that's built up over the course of her journey. She knows she'll be one of the first there; it's only 5:30 am. She'd given up on trying to sleep and opted to turn up early instead. Still, that means she's more likely to be stuck in the awkwardness of trying to interact one-on-one with somebody.

She isn't sure which of the five she thinks will be less uncomfortable. She never really knew any of them except for Anne, and that had been ill-fated.

The woman who is waiting there in the room, however, is not any of them. She is the one person Catalina would not have expected, and probably one of the last people she would hope for. But Aragon doesn't know that yet.

She takes stock of this stranger—not someone she recognises, of course. None of them look like their old selves now. She's got dark hair, pulled back into a ponytail, and a full fringe. Catalina scans her face for anything that might be familiar; anything that might hint at who she's looking at. She finds nothing.

"Hi." The woman says, voice slightly shaking. Evidently, she's as nervous as Catalina is.

"Hi. Early morning?"

"Couldn't sleep." The woman's voice is blunt. She seems to relax a little with Catalina's friendly tone, though.

She lets out a small huff in response.

"Yeah, me neither. Too much to- Too much of an adjustment, I suppose."

"Yeah, we didn't really sleep, either. The others are still watching TV, I think. I needed some air, so... thought I'd just head out."

"Others?" As far as Catalina had been aware, the six of them had been roomed individually.

"The other Ladies in Waiting, sorry. Maggie, Joan, Maria? We, um... We came back too. Sorry, we should probably have done introductions by now."

Catalina laughs, but part of her is still fixated on a particular name. Her Maria? Was she back too?

"Yeah, probably."

"Bessie." She holds out a hand. "Bessie Blount."

"Catalina." Her voice is as neutral as it can be. Bessie lowers the hand.

And, for what feels like another five centuries, the two of them stand there. And they stare at each other. And they try to figure out just how the fuck they're supposed to react to this.

Because there's no guidebook for this. No "How To Deal With Being Resurrected 500 Years In The Future And Meeting Your Ex-husband's Mistress Again For Dummies.” Neither of them even know where to begin.

So they stand, and they stare. And their minds race.

All of her thinking; her planning, and Catalina had never been prepared for this. It should have occurred to her sooner—she should have been ready for the worst, and here it was. She wants to disappear. She doesn't want to have to negotiate this situation right now. She hasn't slept, and she'd been dead up until yesterday afternoon. She's in no state to deal with this.

But she's here. And there's no getting out of it.

Bessie. After all this time. She's older now, though Catalina supposes they've all changed in appearance, anyway. She looks the other woman in the eyes—neither of them have been able to break their tense eye-contact yet—and she can almost see that scared teenager all over again.

She's angry. But she's also guilty. And sad. And confused. And- happy? She doesn't know any more. All she knows is it's far too much for one person to feel at once. And, from the look on her face, Bessie is feeling something similar.

She doesn't know if she wants to scream and shout, or cry, or embrace the other woman. Or punch her in the face. She can't make sense of all the conflicting feelings inside her, so she stand there.

Still.

They play this game of emotional chicken, where they both stand there in stoic silence, and wait for the other to make a move. Neither wants to sacrifice their pride by being the first to react.

And then she caves. And her arms are around the other woman, and she might be crying but she can't be sure.

"What are you doing?" Bessie is stiff in her arms.

"I don't know."

"Me neither." Her arms move up, slowly, to return the embrace.

"Okay."

"Okay."

Neither of them are sure how long they stand there like that, only that they're both definitely crying and they aren't entirely certain why.

It's been a long time coming, that's for sure. And they're still going to have a lot to talk about; and argue about. But it's a start. And they need it; both of them. Desperately.

And how can Catalina hate the girl, anyway? She was only one in a long, long line of women. She can't exactly hold it against her. If nothing else, her reading has assured her that, had it not been for Bessie, Henry would only have found some other woman to be unfaithful with. It had never been about Bessie. It had always been him.

They don't know how much time passes, but they're interrupted by the entrance of someone new. And, without skipping a beat, they both shift away from each other lightning-fast. Even if they are beginning to make amends, they're both too prideful to let their vulnerability show for someone else.

"Oh. Sorry." The newcomer looks sheepish. Catalina shifts awkwardly.

The new woman is shorter than Catalina, and her curly dark hair is piled on top of her head. Her head is tilted slightly, as she analyses the situation.

A hand is outstretched towards her. Catalina takes it.

"Cathy. Cathy Parr." She gives a slightly uneasy smile, as she tries to lighten the mood.

-----

Christ. She's only just got here and she's already made a mess of it. She's never been the best at social interactions. Heated discussions? Yes. She could convince someone that the sky was green, with enough effort. But introductions, and everyday conversation?

She has the urge to dive out of a window.

"Catherine of Aragon." The taller woman replies. Cathy smiles, though she's still reeling with her fight-or-flight instinct.

"Ah! My namesake, then."

"Yeah." The other woman smiles back, but the energy between them is still awkward.

Cathy is incredibly curious about the other woman; she has a million questions she wants to ask, but she doesn't know where to start, and she doesn't want to overstep the boundary between them.

She doesn't know her, after all. She's a stranger, despite being her Goddaughter. There's a bit of something in her—the part that's still a young girl—that wants to reach out. To create that kind of bond between them, but Cathy had never been good at that sort of thing. So she doesn't; not yet, at least.

"Bessie Blount." Says the other woman, who until now had been giving the others the chance to acquaint themselves.

"You're here too?"

"A few of us, yeah. No idea how."

"That's odd."

"All of this is incredibly odd." Catalina cuts in.

There's still an awkward tension between the other two, which Cathy hopes not to find herself in the middle of.

"You're not wrong." Bessie concedes.

Slowly, the silence between them returns. Cathy wants to break it, but she isn't sure what to say. She wants this to be her chance. It's not every day you come back to life. Cathy has to believe that it's happening for a reason, and she wants to seize the opportunity. Why can't she do it? The more she tries to force herself to reach out, the larger the distance between them seems to become.

What was she thinking anyway? Catalina is just a stranger to her and she's going to want rid of her just as much as Bessie.

"Did you guys do any reading last night?" Stupid. It's not exactly the most novel way to continue the conversation, and both of the other women look a little uncomfortable. The moments before a response are excruciatingly long.

"A little yeah." Catalina's voice is sombre. "Nothing I wanted to know though." There's something broken in her tone, and it doesn't take much for Cathy to figure out what's gotten to her like that. And there's nothing Cathy can do to alleviate that.

Of course Catalina won't want her to be any kind of Goddaughter. She'd only be some pathetic imitation of what she'd lost. An insult to any positive memory she had left.

"No." Cathy replies, her voice conveying more hurt than she intended. "Me neither."

They fall into uncomfortable silence again, and Cathy mentally kicks herself. She prays that someone else gets here soon to relieve this discomfort between them all. Cathy had come here ready to be a mediator between a group of women she expected would be all too ready to fight each other. But there doesn't seem to be much fight left in them so far.

[neo-culture-mafia]

philia (l.mrk)

— Warnings: Cuss words | Injuries 

— Words: 5.7k

— Summary: “Philia —one of the greek words for love— is the cause of friendship and deep trust that developed between brothers of arms who had fought side by side on the battlefield. It was about showing loyalty to your friends, sacrificing yourself for them, as well as sharing your emotions with them.”

— Request: “I actually don’t know if your request box is open right now but I’m gonna ask anyways and if you can then you can but if you can’t that’s fine😂 May I request a scenario with Mark where you are Taeyong’s younger sister but you guys were separated when you were younger. Mark finds you tied up in a rivals house while on a mission and brings you back and you reunite with your brother and then a relationship between you and Mark???”

— A/N: Sorry for not developing the relationship part too much, I just liked how I left it open for future possibilities, I hope you can like it. — admin💫

When Mark got inside the house, he thought it would be just a normal mission that he would easily do whatever he had to and leave. Okay, it was at the old rival's house? Yes, but Mark wasn't a professional for nothing, he knew how to control his shit and easily pass through weak defense forces like the ones his rival liked to proudly talk about. Only bullshit.

Once he ended the two guys who were protecting the not so secret office where their leader used to keep the important documents, Mark calmly walked inside of the small room, smiling at himself for being so good at his job. Some juniors were dying to come along with him for this mission, but he clearly didn't need anyone to break in the house. They had a little shit as a rival who obviously knew nothing about real security measures.

Neo Culture had no problems with dealing with this rival, he was old in the business and they easily got the house plant of his old mansion, but when Mark was inside of the small room, he couldn't help but frown at how some things looked different from what he remembered from other small missions.

“Well, well, it looks like someone made a redecoration around here.” he smirked at his own mocking, however, he could feel that something was wrong. The fact that the place still held two guys protecting it was already weird enough since Neo Culture thought this house wasn't being used by any of them anymore. It made no sense that just that room had men protection compared to the entire house. It couldn't be just because of some old papers.

Mark looked for his phone ready to call Taeyong and tell him that something wasn't right when he heard a weird noise coming from behind one of the walls. He went straight to the wall and punched it once with not too much strength, listening closely to the noise that told him how hollow the wall was. It was a fake wall with something behind it. That realization was enough to make Mark kick the wall with all of his strength without thinking twice, which resulted in the wall breaking into a million pieces. His guess was right. That house wasn't the same from years ago.

What he came to see next, made him froze for a second. There was a girl tied up in a chair with several apparent bruises on her body, she was almost unconscious, but she still was strong enough to make noises on the floor with her foot. She was clearly begging for help. At first, Mark didn't think it was a good idea to help her. He had no idea who she was, what she did to deserve that punishment, and what consequences it would bring to Neo Culture if he took her with him.

He was actually starting to consider turning his back on her when she finally opened her eyes properly and stared at him. The look on her eyes felt familiar. The way she quietly stared at his soul made him blink twice, trying to understand why the fuck he was getting those weird feelings in the middle of a mission when he was not that type, he was not the leader of Junior Forces for nothing, at least that what he was thinking until his body unconsciously moved to her direction, cutting the ties around her fists with a switchblade.

“Who are you?” Mark asked after the girl was finally free. “Can you get up?”

“Y/N. Yeah, I think I can.” you answered in a silent but also suspicious tone, you've lived so many years without any kindness from anyone, so you didn't know what this stranger wanted and not even what to expect from him. “If you're one more idiot that wants to save me just to use me so you can get something from Taeyong: give up. He'll never do that.” you said with an angry feeling inside of your chest.

Kian, the man who kept you hidden in his mansion for years, had a lot of traitors inside of his mafia and a lot of those guys tried to save you just to ask your brother for favors or money before giving you back to him. They were all killed, so, your anger was always somehow avenged.

“If you don't want Kian to kill you just like he did with all the others who tried, you better leave.” you warned the stranger, trying to be ready to fight back if you needed.

“Why the fuck would someone use you as a way to get to Taeyong?” Mark asks completely lost in confusion for a second, but then after a few seconds, he links your name to all the stories Taeyong used to tell him when he was a junior.

Taeyong would always talk about his little sister that was a great fighter since her 3 years and how his family wanted to keep her away from the business. They wanted a normal life for her, even though she still had to learn how to fight with her fists for her self-defense if she ever needed to defend herself. All Mark knew was that Taeyong's sister had disappeared when she was 5 and Taeyong was 9. After that Taeyong, the one that never wanted to take the family business, went all for it, hoping that he would find his sister, even when everyone told him she was dead.

“Shit. You're Lee Y/N.” Mark came to the realization with wide eyes after you linked your name to the name he remembered Taeyong always talking about.

“Yeah, you idiot, I'm the fucking Neo Culture's leader sister, that's why you're here.” you rolled your eyes, not in the mood for having that conversation all over again.

“It wasn't, but now it is. I'm Mark Lee, the leader of the Junior Forces of Neo Culture.”

“What the fuck?” you blinked twice just to make sure you didn't pass out and that everything wasn't just a dream. “You're really the Mark Lee? I heard about you.” you were so confused that you were really thinking about the possibility that you passed out after they had beaten the shit out of you because you tried to escape.

“We need to go. Since you're here, I can only imagine that Kian's men will all be here only in some minutes, and we don't have any backup.” Mark stated, checking his wristwatch and running you out of the hidden room, but not before taking the one document he needed and putting it inside the hidden pocket of his leather jacket. “Do you know any easy way to get the hell out of here?”

“No, Kian kept me in his current mansion, he would only bring me here when he wanted to punish me.” you said, not really wanting to talk about that. You still weren't sure if you could trust that guy.

“Being away from that asshole doesn't sound like a punishment to me.” Mark pointed out, thinking for a second about the house plant and realizing there was a way out through the garden that used to be on the back of the house. “Let's go.”

After a few minutes of walking, Mark started to worry about your condition. You had a lot of bruises and a lot of them looked like it could have caused internal wounds and if his guess was right, there was no way you could take a fight. He needed to be faster.

As you were silently running through an extensive hall that it would supposedly take to the garden door, you suddenly stopped moving and made Mark stop too. You indicated that he should be quiet and when he opened his mouth to say something, you quickly put your hand on his mouth and said with no sound “Someone is coming.” pulling him to hide behind an open door that it was close to you.

Mark's went straight to his gun and he was ready to use it if he needed, but apparently, you were faster. When you noticed that it was just one guy —one of the motherfuckers who had beaten you— you waited till he passed that door and elbowed him right on his nep spot, making him pass out at the same moment. In a matter of seconds, the guy wasn't a problem anymore and Mark couldn't be any more surprised than he already was. You knew part of that was just your adrenaline rushing through your veins and making you do things you knew your body couldn't take. The pain you were in had disappeared for a while, which was good since you needed to help Mark for both of you to get the hell out of there, but you also knew that at the moment you stopped moving, your body wouldn't be able to take anything else.

“Your gunshot would've only exposed us to the rest of them.” you justified in a simple way, caressing your injured arm after the hard movement that required a lot of strength you didn't have. “There are more of them here, around 5 more guys came with me.”

“And it won't take long until them and the whole mafia figures out you're not in that room anymore.” Mark completed your thoughts, making you nod as you got back to running through that hallway. “Taeyong wasn't lying when he said you knew how to fight.” Mark said the thoughts that were running through his mind without even noticing it. He was really amused by how fast you thought in the middle of a complicated situation. A lot of his juniors didn't have that capacity.

“He talks about me?” you asked in a surprised tone, there are so many years since you were kidnapped, you failed to get away so many times that you didn't think your older brother would still remember you.

“Yeah.” It's all that Mark is able to say. He was still feeling a little embarrassed for expressing his amusement out loud in the worst timing ever, but he needed to concentrate, his life and Taeyong’s sister's life were in the line.

When you finally got to the door and opened it, you thought for a moment that everything was going to be over... opening that door felt for a second like the end of your suffering, but when you heard a “Fuck.” leaving Mark's mouth, you knew that the maze in front of you wasn't part of his plans.

“He did a fucking maze in his garden! When did he do this shit? How we didn't notice he was using this place? How we weren't monitoring this place?” Mark wondered more to himself than to you, reaching for his phone in his pocket only too see that there was no signal. He couldn't ask for help. You were alone. 

Mark was pissed, and he could only think about how he would personally punish whoever told Taeyong that the abandoned house wasn't being used anymore when he got home. That was supposed to be an easy mission.

“Mark.” you called him, expecting him to tell you that you should come back.

“Come on.” Mark took a deep breath, not daring to look on your eyes. He needed to appear confident even if he wasn't. 

If there was something he learned as the Junior Forces leader is that he needed to be the first one to trust his guts, even if deep down he didn't.

“What? You're not seriously considering going into a grass maze that you don't know where it ends or if it ends, right?” you abruptly said, taking a step back. That was a suicide mission, you would definitely get caught in the middle of a maze you didn't know. It was logical.

“Y/N, there's no time to come back now. We're alone and I'm not risking your life.” Mark rushed to said, already holding your hand and pulling you to walk with him.

“Mark, this is suicide.” you warned him, but still followed him anyway. It was not like you had another choice, you couldn't escape alone unarmed and in your compromised condition, but walking into a maze that none of you knew how large it was didn't seem to be the wisest idea.

“Clearly, neither of us know this place well enough, do you really rather walk around the house like a fool and risk being caught? That is not happening.” Mark snapped at you, trying hard not to take it out on you. You had no fault, but he was pissed.

It's not like anyone could predict that Kian fucking Bastard was the one responsible for your kidnapped, however, that explained why he was running low-key for the past years or why he never directly got into Neo Culture's way, he had a hidden weapon, you. Mark couldn't help but be pissed off at the fact that no one of his people was monitoring that house because if someone was doing that, they would’ve at least got suspicious about any weird movement in an old house and checked what the hell was going on, which means, you could have been saved way sooner.

“We need to find the exit of this thing. We don't have much time.” Mark said after a few minutes of complete silence, pointing to the direction they would follow next.

“Do you want to split up?” you asked, silently hoping for Mark to say yes, you were starting to feel a tickling feeling on the hand he was holding. It was weird. But strangely, a good weird.

You had never been that close to a boy before. Imagine holding hands with one? Not even in your dreams.

“No.” Mark answered, looking into your eyes for the first time since you two got into the maze.

It seemed like the two of you were running inside that maze for hours, when it was just around 10 minutes. You were starting to feel too tired, but you wouldn't dare to say a word about it, you needed to be ready to help Mark, you couldn't let yourself fall into your tiredness, cause if you did, you knew you would pass out and that was damn out of question.

When both of you stopped to what it looked like the exit of it, you saw the center of the maze. It was really well decorated and if you were in a different situation you would totally call that beautiful place something “heaven" related, but at that moment, that place could only mean one thing: There was no way out. You were stuck and lost in that maze.

If such a realization wasn't bad enough, you two heard footsteps, fast steps. They didn’t seem to be close, but you both weren't willing to stay still just to make sure of it. The maze was made with some thick layers of what looked like grass and leaves, so when you Mark decided to run to one random hall of the maze far from the center, your best shot at hiding was if both of you entered into that thick wall of grass.

Mark looked at you, knowing that he couldn't say a thing, otherwise you could be caught, but the look on his eyes was already enough to tell you all the things he couldn't say. He was worried, you were too much injured and the possible twigs inside of the wall would probably hurt you even more. But as you quickly pushed him inside of the wall, you just silently wished nothing would happen to you, both of you.

At some point, there was a concrete wall in the middle of the leaf wall. You both tried to be as cautious as you could not to let it obvious that someone was hiding in the middle of that amount of leaves, but when both of you finally lowered your bodies and sat down on the floor to contain your movements, you felt one of the twigs picking at one of your open wounds, and at the same moment, you heard steps outside of the wall, people were walking by the hall right when you wanted to scream your lungs out of pain.

Mark looked at you and even with the small amount of light that was in the middle of that much of leaves, he saw your waist starting to bleed. His eyes went wide open when he saw a twig spiked into your wound. The worst part of it? He couldn't break it to stop your pain. The noise would attract unwanted attention.

You had your eyes strongly closed and you were biting your lower lip, trying not to make any sound, but when Mark heard you moan for a second, he didn't think twice, he pulled you into a hug, trying not to hold you too tight next to his body as he lowered his hand to your waist, forcing his hand against your wound, trying to stanch the blood again and now being the one to feel the twig spiking the back of his hand.

You had your lips now pressed against Mark's shoulder and that was enough to keep you quiet for a while. You were in so much pain that you didn't even feel shy for being that close to him.

“Shh, it's okay.” It was the whisper that you heard from Mark.

One of his hands was holding you tight because of your wound, but his other hand one was holding you in such a delicate way... Mark was caressing your back, as a way to give you comfort. He didn't need to do that, but he did anyway and you were grateful for that.

The last time you felt some kindness was years ago, so the fact that you were feeling it again, even in a bad moment, made you want to smile for a second. Not a fake smile as the one you had to put on your face for Kian. A genuine smile. You felt safe even in the most unsafe moment. You were in pain, but he was somehow a painkiller. Maybe that was just your needy ass craving for attention, but Mark really gave you a safe feeling.

Some minutes had passed before the voices you were hearing completely fade away and that made you both release a deep breath at the same time. You were stressed, scared and tired, but neither of you was willing to say that out loud, cause if you did, the situation would be real, it would bring to the light your insecure side and there was no time for you to be insecure. You needed to be ready to fight for your lives.

When Mark thought that no one was around anymore, he broke the twig that was hurting you and you finally were capable of fixing your sitting position without screaming from pain, but there was a price for it, you had to leave Mark's arms for that. It low-key made you feel sad, you liked to be in his arms. The arms of a stranger. Someone who could be lying to you. That day couldn’t get any crazier.

“How are we supposed to leave now?” you asked in a quiet tone after you were sure that nobody else was around.

“There's no way we can leave on our own even if we wanted to. You're bleeding and there are men everywhere, I'll have to call the Junior Forces.” Mark said, checking his phone once again and murmuring a quiet “Shit.” after he saw there was still no signal.

“Still no signal?” you asked, closing your eyes for a few seconds and taking a deep breath. “Mark, I can fight, my waist is not hurting that much.”

“Y/N, don't you dare giving me this bullshit. You're clearly exhausted and injured, so you're in no condition to fight with God knows how many people out there. We can't do this alone and I'm not risking your life, I told you that.” Mark abruptly stated in a harsh tone. He knew he needed to be nicer to you, you had gone through a lot of shit in life already, but he didn't know what else to tell you, he was feeling one hundred percent responsible for your life and he would never make a move knowing that you would be in a clear disadvantage. “You've gone through a lot of pain already, I'm not pushing you into any more of that.”

“You call this pain?” you scoffed, looking straight to Mark's eyes. “This is nothing compared to the pain of being away from your own family for years. Fighting with my fists was the only way for me to relax and I’ve learned how to control my anger and my pain through fighting since that was the only thing Kian would let me do. So if I'm telling you I can fight, it’s because I can.”

“He let you keep on training?” Mark asked in a surprised tone, ignoring the last thing you said.

“It's not like he had a choice, I was hidden in the basement, the place where all the punching bags were. The only time he would let me out was when he wanted to test my abilities in some kind of room that I would only be allowed to get out if I made another guy faint of exhaustion.” you explained, closing your eyes for a second and remembering all the times that you couldn't sleep because of your bodily injuries. “When I started to grow, he started to be more aggressive towards me, he knew I would try to run away and well, I can't say he was wrong, I did try to escape a bunch of times, but I failed them all and he always found a way to punish me for my failed attempts.”

“Is this the reason why you were tied to that chair? He was punishing you?” Mark asked, suddenly feeling anger growing inside of him. Just the thought that Kian was mistreating you was already too much for him. He hated any kind of injustice.

“Yeah, but it wasn't the only thing I did. I broke into his secret room and found a notebook where he wrote things about his future plans and there were some things about you in there, he wrote things about all the important people of Neo Culture and their weaknesses. My name was there as Taeyong's weakness. I heard from his men that he was planning to use me to attract Taeyong into a trap, I just don't know why he was taking so long to do it.” you wondered, taking a deep breath right after it.

“I know why. Until a year ago, Taeyong was still looking for you.” Mark affirmed, making you look at him with uncertainty on your eyes.

“What are you talking about?” you asked, not understanding why your brother would look for you when he had a whole mafia to take care of.

“Your parents gave up to look for you four years after you disappeared, but Taeyong never did. When he became Neo Culture's leader, he chose some men he trusted and then created a secret group responsible for discovering what had happened to you. He always believed you were still alive, but when Neo Culture started to gain a lot of enemies, he had to close the rescue group for a while.” Mark explained as he looked right into your eyes. “He never gave up on finding you.”

You stared at Mark's eyes for a few seconds before you broke eye contact with him. You didn't even know what to say.

The one who used to tell you stories every night for you to sleep.

The one who used to walk around with you on his back.

The one who used to help you with your scratches after practice.

The one who always believed you and hyped you for your fighting abilities.

Your big brother, even after all those years, never gave up on you. You loved him so much. You would rather die than being used as something to affect Taeyong. You always wondered if Taeyong thought about you, but Mark had just told you that Taeyong did way more than just thinking about you.

“Mark, I can't die without seeing my brother one more time.” you whispered, trying as hard as you could to stop your tears from falling. “Please, we can't die in here.”

Mark saw how vulnerable you looked. He saw how affected you were when he mentioned Taeyong and deep inside of his heart, he felt something breaking and hurting. You didn't deserve any of that.

“And we won't.” Mark said as he held both of your hands, looking straight to your eyes. “I'll protect you with my life if I have to. Trust me, you'll meet with your brother again sooner than you think.”

A few seconds later, Mark's phone vibrated inside of his pocket and he let go of one of your hands so he could reach to it, and when he did, a big smile appeared on his face.

“It's time for us to get the hell out of here.”

After that, all that happened felt like a blur to you. Mark contacted his friends in the Junior Forces and in less than ten minutes, you heard gunshots and when you stood up with Mark, ready to fight with him and his boys, your vision went black. You had thought earlier that you would probably lose all your strengths in the moment the adrenaline slowed down, and you weren't wrong since that's exactly what happened. The last thing you remembered was Mark holding your body and calling your name multiple times before you passed out.

Now, you're finally feeling your senses coming back, slowly, but they are. You're not well enough to open your eyes properly, but you can hear a familiar voice.

“I'm not leaving her side, Taeil. I'm sorry, but I can't. She can't be alone when she awakes.” that was Mark's voice, you're sure of that.

“You need to rest too, you fought for both of your lives yesterday and you can't be sick Mark, the Junior Force needs you.” this voice you can't recognize.

“Let him, Taeil. He's not a child anymore, he knows what he's doing.” this one you can recognize, but for a moment, you think it's just your brain playing with you.

“But-”

“He saved my sister's life. He wants to be here too and I see no problem with that. They spent hours together hiding until they finally got help, let him stay.” Taeyong declares and right after it, you feel a touch that makes you want to cry like a baby even though if your eyes are not open. It's your brother's touch. “She'll never have to be alone again, I'll make sure of that.”

“T-tae?” you stutter, silently hoping that you're voice is loud enough to be heard. “My brother.”

“Taeyong. I think she...” Mark starts to say, being cut by his leader that understood immediately what he wanted to point out.

“Y/N? Please Taeil, go get some water for her.” Taeyong, immediately asks Taeil, not taking his off of you. “Do you want anything else? Do you need anything else?”

“I do, I need you to help me sit so I can hug my brother.” you answer with a smile on your face as you finally have strength enough to open your eyes and see your brother's face for the first time after years. “You changed nothing. How can you look exactly the same from years ago?” your voice sounds a little weak, the wound on your waist makes it hard for you to talk properly, but you still manage not to show the pain you are into.

When you finally get to be into Taeyong's arms, you can't help but cry like a child. You've dreamed about seeing your brother again so many times, but now that is finally happening, all your past dreams seem nothing compared to the real feeling of feeling your brother next to you again. All you're feeling screams one exact word: home. Taeyong is home.

“I knew you weren't dead. I knew one day I would still find you.” Taeyong whispers next to your ear, making you realize he's crying too. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too, Tae. I tried to escape so many times, I'm sorry so I didn't succeed, we could have been together each other sooner if I did... I'm just- I'm sorry.”

“What? No, don't be sorry. I'm supposed to be the one apologizing for letting our parents gave up on you.” Taeyong sobs, trying as much as he can to not hold you tight, you still have a lot of injuries. “What matters now is that you're safe and back home. I'll never let anything happen to you again, I promise. You won't have to be away from me ever again.”

After Taeyong's let go of you, your hand slowly pass through his cheek, cleaning all his tears away. Taeyong has the same sweet smile you remember from when you two were kids. He's still the same. And your eyes scream pure adoration for your older brother. There's so much you want to talk about, but it's like the words are stuck in your throat, you just want to feel this moment a little bit more. Feel your brother by your side, feel the happiness you can see on his smile, feel your own happiness as well. It's all magical, it doesn't even feel real.

“I'm gonna get the doctor to come and see you okay?” Taeyong gently smiles to you and gives you a kiss on your forehead after he asked you a bunch of times if you're really feeling okay. “I'll be right back for us to talk more, don't disappear again.”

“I'm not planning to.” you hold your brother's hand, squeezing it a little to give him some comfort.

“She would have to fight me first if she really wants to disappear again.” Mark challenges you in a playful tone, making you and Taeyong burst out laughing.

“If my body wasn't hurting this much, I would probably have knocked you out before you finished this sentence.” you snap back at him, making your brother smiles even wider than before.

“She's not lying, you could have kept quiet, my friend.” Taeyong gives Mark a tap on his younger's shoulder as a consolation to the younger. “Stay with her, I'll be right back.”

“I'm not a child Tae, I don't need a babysitter or a doctor.” you roll your eyes, but all your brother does is smile at you, making you give up on discussing with Taeyong about that, he wants to make absolutely 100% sure you're okay, he's just showing you that he cares, so, why would you protest about that?

After your brother left the room, all you can hear is the silence between you and Mark for a few seconds. The boy is literally looking at his feet, not daring to look at you, you can tell he's feeling shy. Mark doesn’t even know why.

“So, you really kept your promise, huh?” you say, finally attracting Mark's attention, getting a small smile as a response.

“Yeah, I told you I would protect you with my life if I had to.” Mark sits on the armchair beside your bed, not understanding why he got up in the first place.

“Thank you.” you proffer, looking down at his hand that is now on your bedsheets, there are some scratches because of the moment when Mark protected your open wound from the twig, you didn’t realize that he had hurt himself doing that until now. “What happened when I passed out?”

“Well, the Junior Forces invaded the mansion and we had a huge confrontation with almost the whole another mafia. Kian was ready to put a lot of effort into making you stay with him, but in the end, Jaemin burnt the whole place before we left.” Mark ponders, trying not to get much into the details, you needed to rest and not to remember what happened.

“What? You have a guy who’s able to make that happen?! Wow, I guess Neo Culture is very hardcore then, you train your boys really well.” you compliment Mark, just realizing that you made him blush a few moments later. “Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-”

“Don't be sorry, it's just... really good to hear that, I like what I do.” Mark rushes to say, trying to hold back his smile, even though he feels comfortable.

“Well, will you help me then?” you ask, receiving wide eyes look coming from Mark. “I'm sure I can easily beat you in a fight, but yeah, I would like to learn more if I'm really staying in the business.”

“Staying in the business? Y/N, I'm not very sure if it's a good-”

“For example, I have no idea how to shoot.” you cut Mark, having him to stare at you, not believing in what he's just heard.

“What do you mean by ���I have no idea how to shoot”? You're almost 20 years old and you don't know how to shoot? That's unacceptable, I'm in.” Mark says in a shocked tone, making you laugh at how cute he's looking right now. “And about that “I can easily beat you in a fight”, you'll have to prove me that. I'm kind of the best at everything I do, I just can't help it, you know?”

“Oh, you did not say that. Okay, it will be a thousand ways better to see your defeated face after I beat your ass.” you addressed, rolling your eyes at Mark's proud smile. “Don't worry, I'll try to take easier on you.”

“Well, if you want that to happen, first you have to take care of yourself and focus on your recovery for some time. For now, I can only say I’m glad you're here and safe.” Mark says, not lying about a word in what he said. He really feels happy for having you there and deep down he has a feeling that he'll be even happier to have you around soon. You two connected, maybe it was the dangerous moment you two had faced together, but something tells Mark that it's not only that. Maybe it's your smile, he can't tell. It's just something about you.

“Yeah, me too.” you reply, not being able to break eye contact with Mark. It's just addicting to stare at his eyes. Somehow, you know it's a different feeling from everything you’ve felt before. 

You don't know exactly what it is, but you're willing to find out in the future and honestly? That's enough for now.

[fortunatelylori]

This episode is more convoluted than the crypts of Winterfell

Disclaimer: Proceed with caution! There is snark ahead! I repeat: There is snark ahead! It had to be done, people. If I had to sit down and actually take this episode seriously, I would have lost my freaking mind!

So it happened. The first episode of season 8 aired. The leaks were true and I am now officially dead inside. Let’s get started. 

General Impressions

Trying to review this episode is an extremely challenging exercise. There is no cohesiveness to it, no narrative strand to tie it all together. In an ideal world, an episode should be linked by a common theme. It should have a structure that pushes you towards the end from the very first scene onward. 

Here the writers have completely given up on even pretending they care about structure and plot progression. They’re essentially jumping from scene to scene like a freaking gymnast on crack. 

Surprised that Euron managed to travel to Essos and back and Cersei still hasn’t grown her hair? Seems dubious to you that the Wall gang not only survived the Wall falling but managed to get to Last Hearth through zombie infested territory? How about Ned Umber traveling all the way to Winterfell and back to Last Hearth just in time to die a pointlessly shocking and gratuitous death? 

Well, I’m here to tell you to knock it off! GOT does not give a shit. This show has its priorities straight. And those priorities are: 

Pretty pictures of people being dismembered, burned alive or generally dying painful deaths. 

Porn ... we got to get that porn quota up, you guys! Just you ladies, of course! Who the hell wants to see naked men on this show?!?! Not the Ds certainly. That would be yikey. 

For the sake of my own sanity, I’m going to try and bring some order to the chaos by splitting the episode into 3 main story lines. I’m extremely generous here because 2 of those story lines are barely there at all, and the other one is not linked together by anything other than location: 

Story A 

Winterfell is turned into a Big Brother type house where everyone that ever hated each other is now forced to coexist. If I were to pick a main character in this story line it would probably be Jon. 

The problem is Jon is confused and confusing so watching him work his way through this meandering plot is painfully strange and frustrating. And that’s because his POV continues to be, at least, partly hidden, meaning that I never get any idea of what the hell he’s doing or what is actually driving him in this episode. 

Generally this would allow for some sort of character reveal at the end of the episode when all these loose ends would be brought together and we’d finally know what Jon is up to but these are the Ds. They’re going to milk the ambiguity for all its worth and in true Ds fashion run it into the ground from sheer exhaustion. 

If I were to summarize Jon’s story line in this episode it’s: Jon arrives at Winterfell and proceeds to be flabbergasted that the people he knew would be upset that he bent the knee, are actually upset that he bent the knee. He rides a dragon and gets down to some PDA in the middle of nowhere because he needs to amuse the royal bush. He reunites with his long lost family members and spends most of the episode sulking because Sansa is giving him the cold shoulder. 

I feel like I’ll be saying this a lot but this is not a story line. This is a character aimlessly drifting from scene to scene whose reactions don’t make much sense. 

Then there’s the parentage reveal: 

This goes just about as bad as you’d expect. The dialogue is slightly sophomoric with John Bradley being forced to deliver this line straight: 

Your mother was Lyanna Stark. And your father, your real father, was Rhaegar Targareyen. You’ve never been a bastard. You’re Aegon Targareyen, true heir to the Iron Throne. 

This little bit of exposition here just sounds off and strange, despite Bradley’s best efforts to soldier through it. Not to mention that the writers are ripping themselves off by having Sam parrot basically the same thing Bran said in season 7. 

But the real problem with this scene is ... and I’m very sorry to say it ... Kit Harrington. He just doesn’t deliver. He doesn’t find the right tone and reactions to the monumental reveal and the whole scene falls flat on its stupid, exposition face. 

It’s made even worse that this scene is following the Tarlys burning reveal in which John Bradley does, without a doubt, the best bit of acting in the whole episode. 

The Tarlys reveal is a strange and off kilter scene as well but Bradley sells you on Sam’s grief and horror so you’re instantly in his corner, which in turn helps ground the entire piece. 

Harington doesn’t manage to do that so the scene ends up not amounting to much of anything other than setting up the future plot point of Jon and D*ny as rivals to the Iron Throne. We’ve known the truth of Jon’s parentage since season 6. What’s interesting to us in this scene is how Jon reacts to the news and we want to be given the opportunity to commiserate with him. Alas, we never get the chance. 

Story B 

The King’s Landing plot. This is not really a plot. More like an amalgamation of scenes that are sporadically thrown at you in haphazard fashion, with the only goal of setting up plot points for future episodes.

 In quick succession we get Euron and Cersei having sex (off screen). Lena gets about 10 seconds to act some sort of emotion once the business is concluded and we’re off to the next plot point. 

Theon and Yara reunite and separate within the span of 5 minutes and Bronn is off to kill the Lannister brothers - one man sent into hostile territory, in the freezing winter, with a crossbow. What could go wrong here? ... WHO CARES?!?! PORRRRRN!

The funniest thing about this plot is that the White Walkers are treated as an after thought at best. 

Cersei is more upset she didn’t get her elephants. How much do you want to bet that the Ds blew their CGI elephant budget on the dragons? Speaking of which, should we start putting up flyers for Ghost? Lassie has been MIA for a while now, guys. I don’t think she’s coming back this time. 

Bronn is trying to get it on with the 3 prostitutes in what is easily one of the least sexy scenes I’ve ever seen in my life. The 3 ladies of the night, however, seem determined to kill his buzz with talks of dragons disfiguring people. I guess everyone in Westeros is a fan of D*ny’s children, right? You know what they say: no press is bad press and all that. 

Story C

The Wall gang meet up at Last Hearth and, in true redneck style, get down to some barbecue! 

Again this isn’t a story line. It’s just two scenes hobbled together for the purposes of: 

Exposition: we know that they’re going to ride to Winterfell and arrive in the next episode so we’ll have all of our main characters in place for the big battle in episode three. 

Gratuitous child murder: 

Complete with a strange parallel to this: 

I take no credit for this connection. It was pointed out to me by @and-holly-goes-lightly​. At this point they’re just hitting us over the head with the clues that once the Night King is dead, D*ny is the next, big bad. 

And putting the fear of God into the audience when they realize they’ll have at least 1 episode of night scenes: 

Do you see anything? Yeah ... hope you enjoy darkness for a full hour because that’s exactly what you’re going to get. 

Favorite scenes

The opening sequence: 

The writers swore up and down that the first episode of season 8 would be filled with callbacks to the pilot. The only one that lands, in my opinion, and makes a good counterpoint is this scene. Visually, it looks amazing. We have a little Bran stand in to act as the POV and we have Arya watching her beloved brother finally arrive home. 

It’s poignant and unsettling at the same time. When I watched it the first time, I wasn’t really sure why it felt so unsettling to me. I knew that D*ny wasn’t going to receive a warm welcome in Winterfell and I knew she’d be angry about it so that wasn’t the reason for my misgivings. 

Later on I realized, the most unsettling thing to me in this scene is Jon. He left Winterfell as the character that I most relate to and came back as a distant, off putting figure. Jon, who has never been elevated above those around him, is now marching into Winterfell in the midst of a foreign army and he’s so dead eyed and distant, that he doesn’t even notice his sister in the crowd: 

Who are they now? What are they to each other? There’s something deeply sad and mournful about these shots and seeing these two people that were so close at the end of a very long journey of being torn apart. And Maisie Williams does a fantastic job of conveying all of these emotions.

To me this scene was better than Jon and Arya’s reunion. The reunion is pretty by the numbers, with the two of them comparing swords and not truly ever communicating. It was heartwarming but it didn’t have the emotional punch this scene did. 

The Tarlys burning reveal: 

I’ve already talked about this scene in the Winterfell plot section but, while I felt the scene was awkward and choppy, John Bradley completely sold me on Sam’s tragedy and I can’t help but love the scene because of it. 

There is something else that caught my eye, though: 

From this scene, it seems pretty obvious to me that Jorah knew about the Tarlys’ execution. Which makes it all the more interesting that Jon, on the other hand, doesn’t know. I guess he’s not the only one keeping secrets. 

The Gendrya reunion: 

Initially, I really disliked this scene because it feels stilted and it doesn’t flow properly. I still think it’s poorly constructed. However when watching the behind the scenes video, Maisie gave me some much needed context. Her saying that Arya was in love with Gendry and would have followed him to the ends of the Earth finally made the Gendrya relationship click for me. 

While I’ve always liked the idea of them together, I never really understood how we were going to get there. But this is, actually, about a girl reuniting with her childhood crush and him being able to see her as a young woman, instead of a little girl. 

It also plays in really nicely with Arya’s standoffish-ness in the scene, since Gendry abandoning her to go off with the Red Woman gets a romantic connotation as well as explains Gendry’s awkwardness around her. She’s not a little girl anymore and, dare I say it? He likes her. 

It’s all very cute. 

And these lines? 

Gendry:  It’s Valyrian steel. I always knew you were just another rich girl. 

Arya: You don’t know any other rich girls. 

Legitimately adorable banter. 

The scene is also setting up something with the weapon Arya is commissioning. It looks like a spear or an arrow of some kind. It reminds me a bit of that flash back Bran has in the books of one of the Starks making an arrow from a weirwood branch. It’s been theorized that those arrows were meant to kill Aegon’s dragons. I wonder if they’ll tackle that plot point with Arya?

The opening credits: 

Yeah ... I’m really scraping the bottom of the barrel on this ... 

I assume everyone noticed that the title sequence has been changed. What I found really intriguing is that they focus a lot on the underground tunnels of both Winterfell and King’s Landing. 

The Winterfell sequence doesn’t feel like such a novelty since they’ve been pushing the crypts pretty hard in their promotion so far. The crypts represent the parentage reveal as well as possible danger for whoever hides down there once the dead attack the castle. 

But King’d Landing is intriguing because the thing that I most associate with the tunnels underneath the Red Keep is wild fire. I guess we should get ready to see King’s Landing go up in flames. 

Episode MVPs: 

Lord “I think you’ll find you’re wrong” Varys

Varys would have been on this list for this alone: 

Tyrion: You should consider yourself lucky. At least your balls won’t freeze off. 

Varys: You take great offence at dwarf jokes but love making eunuch jokes. Why is that? 

Thank you, Varys! Thank you! I’ve been saying that Tyrion is a mean spirited hypocrite since season 1. Glad I’m not the only one that noticed. 

But then, Varys goes on to shoot down the idea of a Jon/D*ny marriage alliance with this: 

Varys: Nothing lasts. 

Lolz ... you, my friend, are a STAR! Keep doing what you’re doing!

Sansa “No time for your bullshit” Stark

If looks could kill ... Sansa was so on point this episode that I relished every second of it. Not only did she look stunningly beautiful but she decided to give some much needed reality checks to everyone she came into contact with. 

Apparently everyone that arrives in Winterfell is delusional because Sansa’s actions of merely pointing out the obvious, like: 

Armies and dragons eat a lot. How are we going to feed them? 

or 

You really took your sister at her word?  Am I supposed to keep thinking you’re smart, Tyrion?

Is met with shock, horror and confusion. Everyone and their mother is wondering what Sansa is doing and what she’s up to. Jon is sulking because Sansa is not jumping at the bit to see him. D*ny is upset Sansa doesn’t like her. Tyrion is shocked that Sansa doesn’t think he’s as brilliant as he thinks he is. 

Meanwhile, Sansa is just standing there, not breaking a sweat while everyone around her is twisting themselves into pretezles trying to figure her out. Now that’s a Boss Bitch right there! (yeah, yeah, too much Good Girls. I know). 

Bran “King of the Clap back” Stark

Talking of Boss Bitches, here comes Bran to ruin D*ny’s day. He ain’t having whatever lame attempt at human emotion D*ny is trying to convey and decides to spread some reality checks of his own: 

Bran: The Night King has your dragon. He’s one of them now. The Wall has fallen. The dead march South. 

Also: 

Your hair looks stupid. That coat is lame and I don’t like you very much. 

(this was the subtext, right?)

But Boss Bran doesn’t stop there. He decides to out creep even himself by waiting in the freezing cold of night in order to spook Jaime Lannister upon arrival in Winterfell, like a ghost in a gothic novel: 

Since I apparently have a lot more to say, I’m going to make a little series out of this. In the next two installments I will tackle the J0nereys and Jonsa relationships. Stay tuned!

* none of the gifs or pictures are mine. Thank you to the content creators!

[bunny-wan-kenobi]

Bunny’s GOT Top 10

So I’ve been re-watching old GOT episodes this week as a bit of a cleanse (believe me it’s been good for the soul) because while things soured in Season 8, when GOT has been good, it’s been AMAZING. And it’s been encouraging for me to revisit the episodes that struck a chord in me and stayed with me because as I said before, NO ONE can take that away from me. So here’s my personal favorite episodes: 

10. Kissed By Fire (3x5)

This episode lingers with me because it’s a character-driven one with a bittersweet quality to it that pulls you in. It’s an episode about choices and their consequences, and the choices alluded to and made here leave a significant mark on the characters’ lives. It’s also an episode that adeptly balances action, intrigue, and rich dialogue-heavy scenes. 

Highlights: Jon and Ygritte consummate their love, introduction of Davo’s first and always #1 adopted child Shireen, Beric vs The Hound, Robb makes the fatal error of executing Karstark (I love the score for that scene)

Favorite Scene: Jaime revealing why he killed Aerys to Brienne at Harrenhall. Both actors were captivating in the way they carried this profound moment, and it’s one of the best GOT monologues. 

9. Fire and Blood (1x12)

After the shocking and climatic death of Ned Stark, this episode manages to draw together all the characters’ threads into an emotionally compelling season finale. This is where all that time investing in these characters pays off as we see them both mourn their losses but prepare for their next move, perfectly setting the stage for Season 2.

Highlights: Robb crowned King in the North, Tyrion is made Hand to the King, Arya meets her new crew of Gendry, Hot Pie, and Lommy

Favorite Scene: Dany rising from the ashes with 3 dragons. It doesn’t get more hopeful and iconic than that.

8. Hardhome (5x8)

It was tough not ranking this one higher because it’s really an exceptional episode that hammered in just how much of a threat the White Walkers are to the rest of humanity. Not only that, but we get rewarded with some long-awaited character interactions, some painful to watch and others simply engrossing. 

Highlights: Dany and Tyrion’s first meeting (so GOOD seeing the interplay with these two), Jon slays his first White Walker, Sansa and Theon reunite, Karsi the Free Folk chieftainess 

Favorite Scene: The Night King raising the dead as Jon and the remaining Free Folk flee in diminished numbers. It’s a game-changing and tragic moment with a haunting final image, even as it spawned a slew of new memes.

7. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (8x2)

This one ranks higher because of the way it emotionally resonated with me, and it’s one that doesn’t lose its introspective power the more I re-watch it. It has a play-like elegance honed in on these intimate scenes between characters simply working through their tensions as well as reflecting upon their pasts. It truly is a love letter to these characters, honoring their journeys and their relationships as they quietly await the dreaded Long Night. 

Highlights: Jaime’s trial, Jaime and Tyrion’s conversations about family and “self-betterment,” Sam gives Jorah Heartsbane, Jon reveals his parentage to Dany, the “Fireside Club” (honorable mention to everyone’s reactions to Tormund’s ridiculous tale), the gorgeous marriage of melancholic imagery with Daniel Portman’s rendering of “Jenny of Oldstones” 

Favorite Scene: Brienne’s knighting by Jaime. One of the rare moments of pure light and joy on the show, and a beautiful tribute to Brienne’s idealism and honor as well as her transformative and magnetic relationship with Jaime. 

6. Rains of Castamere (3x9)

I remember how devastated I was when I first saw this episode. The set-up to it was so well laid out that it was inevitable, but the almost-Shakespearean sense of tragedy still hurts to this day. The performances here are raw and powerful, and from the moment the ominous strains of the Lannisters’ song begin, you can’t look away. 

Highlights: Jon leaves Ygritte and just misses a reunion with Bran and Rickon, Jorah’s epic team-up with Daario and Barristan Selmy in Yunkai, Bran and Rickon say goodbye 

Favorite Scene: The massacre at the Twins. I mean...what else could it be? This entire sequence is heartbreaking, from Arya realizing her family is being slaughtered to Greywind’s death to Catelyn’s final wail. 

5. The Watchers on the Wall (4x9)

This episode stands out to me as one that testifies most to Jon’s journey. It illuminates his strengths as a leader, the fire-forged loyalty of his friendships, and the poignancy of his first love: Ygritte. There are some spectacular action pieces here, and even the deaths of minor characters heft an emotional punch. It’s also one of the few episodes to be grounded in one location, and that adds to its depth.  

Highlights: Grenn’s last stand against the giant, Sam defeats a Thenn, Ygritte dies in Jon’s arms 

Favorite Scene: Jon taking command on the ground level. There’s an elemental ferocity and resolve in the way he carves his way through the battle, turning the tide in a way everyone bears witness to. 

4. Baelor (1x9)

The episode that changed everything. I wept when I read the chapter where Ned dies in the book, and I still wept here seeing it onscreen. His execution is so abrupt and unjust and horrific that the impact of this moment reverberates throughout the story forever after. There’s actually a LOT that happens in this episode, and it’s all riveting.

Highlights: Robb defeats and captures Jaime, Dany tragically loses her child to save Khal Drogo’s life (it’s weird calling this a highlight but it’s a deeply sorrowful and important moment), Jeor Mormont gives Jon Longclaw 

Favorite Scene: Ned’s death. It’s still hard to watch because it’s so painful.

3. Battle of the Bastards (6x9)

Brilliantly shot, edited, and acted, this episode is one of the most memorable of the GOT battles. It works because it doesn’t lose sight of the characters, conveying the horrors of warfare to a visceral degree. The ending is also one of the most satisfying in the show, cathartic even as the wounds of battle linger. 

Highlights: Dany’s triumph in the battle at Mereen, Sansa’s “Riders of Rohan” rescue with the Knights of the Vale, Dany meets Yara and Theon, Sansa ends Ramsay with his own hounds 

Favorite Scene: Jon draws out Longclaw to make a final stand as the calvary races towards him. It’s just one of those shots that becomes emblematic of the show and the character, and Djawadi scores it beautifully. 

2. Blackwater (2x9)

This episode is teeming with amazing character moments and splendid visuals. But I love it most because it’s the peak of Tyrion’s leadership arc within the first two seasons. He commands the troops and the screen, and it’s hard not to root for him as he amasses the full force of his cleverness and resilience to fight against looming odds. 

Highlights: Bronn lights it up with wildfire, Cersei and Sansa’s conversations (some great Lena Headey moments here), Cersei’s lion story to Tommen on the throne, the Hound leaves the battle and Kingsguard after seeing flames

Favorite Scene: Tyrion’s speech. It embodies the character so well: irreverent, pragmatic with a good dose of “to hell with it!” 

1. The Winds of Winter (6x10)

I have re-watched this episode so many times I’ve lost count. It contains all the best of what GOT represents to me: rich characterization, well-cultivated storytelling, and rewarding plot payoff against a backdrop of exceptional score and cinematography. More than that, it’s the kind of episode that I leave feeling like I’ve experienced something truly special, something ineffable. 

Highlights: Jon revealed as the son of Rhaegar and Lyanna, Dany proclaims Tyrion Hand of the Queen, Arya gets revenge on Walder Frey, Davos confronts Melissandre about Shireen’s death, Jon made King in the North 

Favorite Scene: THE WHOLE EPISODE. Okay, I’ll just cheat and share just two scenes. The first is the entire Light of the Seven sequence because I just think it’s the perfect scene. It’s builds up its ominous tension so brilliantly and brings everything to such an explosive climax so incredibly supported by the music that it’s a work of art. The second is the ending, which I also think is perfect. It’s what so much of the story has been working towards: Dany sailing to Westeros, and every visual, from her standing proudly on the ship to the combined forces of several houses to her dragons soaring above her, culminates in this triumphant moment that is simply unmatched. 

[bugheadfamily]

Day 7 - Fanfic Author Appreciation Week

(thank you @betty-cooper for this gorgeous gif!)

*waves* Hi everyone! @bugggghead here. Both @theheavycrown and I have been trying our hardest to spotlight every single author in this fandom but did you know there are more than we originally anticipated?!?! Did you know we have so many authors in the Bughead fandom alone that 70 just wasn’t enough?! Because we have too much love to give, we’ve chosen to do some author spotlights on the @bugheadfamily blog as well and spread AS MUCH love as we possibly can!!!

Today is the final day of Author Appreciation Week! So we will be highlighting fifteen authors today and two of their works that we recommend you check out right here!

@quirksandcaffeine (ao3)

It Happened One Night  (E - 7/?)

Summary: "'How about a toast instead?' he said, raising his glass.

'Sounds like perfection,' she said, leaning her elbow onto her crossed knee and placing her chin into her hand, holding up her glass with the other.

'To tonight,' he said as he clicked her glass with his own.

They each took a sip, looking each other in the eye as they swallowed. Her eyes flicked down to his lips as he leaned into her ear. Her heart started beating harder at the smell of his aftershave.

'Go wait for me in my office,' he whispered as he kissed her on a cheek."

Gods and Monsters (E - 1/1)

Summary: "In a land of gods and monsters, I was an angel." Betty, her cheerleading uniform, and her dark side visit Jughead at FP's trailer.

@nimmieamee (ao3)

Three Wishes (E - 18/18)

Summary: Betty Cooper wants to return to a time when her mother was more consistent, Jughead was more hers, and a looming civil war wasn't breaking up her friendship with Veronica. Veronica wants to keep her friendship with Betty and for the town of Riverdale to recognize everything the Lodges have to offer. And Alice isn't being upfront about what she wants.

But at least one of them will see all her wishes come true.

Are We Dark Enough Yet? (T - 1/1)

Summary: Scenes from the town with pep! (That is, Perpetually Enraging Plots).

@cheryllclayton​ (ao3)

I Could Be Your Hero (T - 1/1)

Summary: After a tragic end to her relationship results in bullying and hate, Betty Cooper struggles to hold on in a world where she feels invisible...where she feels nothing except for the siren call of Sweetwater River....And after a nasty encounter, Betty makes a decision that will change her life forever...Will this once vibrant soul be lost to the icy abyss of her sorrow before an unexpected hero can convince her to live...

Til' There Was You (M - 5/?)

Summary: Betty Cooper's life has been anything but easy and at 25 she was still struggling to find herself.

Jughead Jones wasn't the type to go looking for love, but what happens when it finds you? Or more correctly, when it hits you like a ton of bricks when you least expect it....

@shirlygallagher​ (ao3)

What’s Past is Prologue - series (M - 9 works)

Summary: A chronicle of firsts...A tale of discovery...A story of love...~~~

In Between The Sweet Hereafter (M - 1/1)

Summary: What could have happened in that kitchen? Takes place during and after episode 13.~~~

@fictitiousoshine​ (ao3)

Mercy (M - 13/?)

Summary: Innocent and Naive Betty Cooper wants to run away from heinous man who has her captive for years. She seeks Toni’s help for arranging cash but Toni has different plans for her that include Serpent Prince Jughead Jones.

@kazookidissosoabuggie​ (ao3)

A Night To Remember (NR - 1/1)

Summary: Jughead and Betty went through a bad rough patch, something they almost couldn't fix. When they did eventually reconcile, Jughead feels terrible for what he had done to her. After he pulls a romantic stunt, the night they spend with each other turns magical instantly.

Anything's Possible with Us, Cooper. (M - 1/1)

Summary: Jughead punches somebody after they body shame her and Betty finds odd but extremely sexy.

@hbiccjsblog (ao3)

Citas Amor (T - 11/11)

Summary:   Betty Cooper works for Scarlet magazine along with best friends Veronica Lodge and Kevin Keller. Veronica wants to work in fashion but has been stuck on the desk for a couple of years now. Kevin runs the social media plat forms. Betty Cooper well she's a journalist after all. It runs in her blood. After having a very heated conversation with her mum about setting her up with a boyfriend. Before there family holiday to Spain. Her Best friend Veronica Lodge suggests a fake boyfriend. Her publisher over hears the conversation and wants her to write an article about fake relationships.

Touring Flame (M - 9/?)

Summary: Betty Cooper has just been deployed to Afghanistan for her first tour of her career. She is the medical solider for the tour. Joining the army way a spur of the moment decision. If she didn't get through well at least she can say she tried. Jughead Jones was on his 4 tour in Afghanistan. He was the Head of his group. A fairly experienced soldier. He has a heart of steel. He's seen and experienced a lot. He was expecting this tour to be the same as his other tours. Expect this was different. A certain blonde pony tail, green eyes type of different.

@judgejuggie (ao3)

from pink perfection to seduce scarlett (T - 17/?)

Summary:  Betty is living in her sister Polly's shadow, darkness clouding her vision, afraid to show her true colors to anyone. With a little push from a new student named Veronica Lodge, Betty joins the vixens and gains the confidence she has always wanted. Her bright smile and confidence get noticed by Southside Serpent Jughead Jones in a diner at Pop's, and Betty for the first time in her life feels something other than the darkness that's been following her around.

Of course, there will be some obstacles along the way, one by the name of Cheryl Blossom, and the other may be a gang. But Betty wants change, and she's finally ready to go for it.

love and the law (M - 5/?)

Summary:  What if there was more to Betty’s vendetta against Chuck Clayton, more to her darkness? What secret is Betty working to keep buried? Can Jughead help her through? And, what else will come their way? Join this emotional, heart-breaking journey to heal and learn that love really can conquer all.

@jordansconnor (ao3)

some aces up your sleeve (M - 5/9)

Summary:   In Las Vegas, the only things hotter than the summer days are the card tables on the Strip. High roller Jughead Jones lives for the heat, spending his days in board rooms and his nights at high stakes poker games, until the night a mystery girl takes the seat across from him. From that moment on, his luck starts to change in ways he may not be able to handle.

Keeping Up with the Joneses (E - 1/1)

Summary: Jughead Jones is the undisputed king of Riverdale. His grandfather is the mayor, his father owns half the town and controls Riverdale’s shady side as leader of the Serpents, and Jughead is Riverdale High’s student body president and editor of the school paper. His relationship with Betty Cooper, Southside student and new Serpent recruit, could bring it all crashing down.

@soyforramen (ao3)

Cry to Me (G - 1/1)

Summary: Quick one-shot. When Betty and Jughead find themselves stood up by a certain red-head, a little dancing goes a long way.

Persuasion comes to Riverdale - series (T - 2 works)

Summary: Years after he left without a word, an engagement throws Jughead Jones back into Betty Cooper’s life. The only question is, will she let him back in? Or, Persuasion comes to Riverdale.

@srainebuggie (ao3)

Stronger Than Me (M - 11/11)

Summary: Betty Cooper wasn’t like most girls. She was strong and independent, leather was her skin and hitting the punching bag her saving grace. Betty didn’t commit to people, she had fun. When she moves to Riverdale, she shows up at the White Wyrm looking for a job.

Jughead Jones wasn’t like most men in the Southside. He sported his Serpents jacket rarely, lived in a penthouse apartment, and was the owner of their towns infamous club, the White Wyrm. Jughead didn’t give his heart to anyone, he had fun. When a new woman moves to Riverdale, she shows up at his bar looking for a job

As Betty and Jughead spend more time together on the job, will they break their own rules and admit it’s more than just fun?

Future Bughead - series (NR - 5 works)

Summary: Jughead and Betty broke up years ago and reunite at the grand opening of Veronica's clothing store in New York, the dress she is wearing reveals a small tattoo on her ribs, when Jughead notices, he asks about it. At first her face goes red and she tries to ignore her embarrassment, but he pulls up his dress shirt and reveals his own small tattoo on his side 

@sweetbettycooper (ao3)

The INXS Life (M - 8/?)

Summary: Two gangs alike in tyranny both holding two souls that are destined to be forever entwinned.

Was their love tragic or the circumstances around them or was it the events that would occur in the coming months that would make their love the most tragic of all.

Jughead feared on this afternoon in summer, of the consequences that were hanging in the stars.

She was gorgeous. Like the angel of death had come to Riverdale. Jughead new he had to have her.

Or Serpent Jughead meets Ghoulie Betty, forbidden love, Gang wars, Love, Passion.

@witty-tv (ao3)

Exhale (M - 7/?)

Summary: Anxious stoner babes Cheryl Blossom and Betty Cooper have been best friends and roommates since freshman year of college. Cheryl and Toni Topaz are seriously dating, drawing Betty and Toni’s best friend Jughead Jones together. Betty is instantly attracted to Jughead and Jughead is immediately intrigued by Betty. The two become friends, and as they grow closer, Jughead slowly but surely starts to fall for Betty - and eventually Betty shows Jughead the ways weed can help his insomnia.

@dreamer757 (ao3)

The Typewriter (G - 1/1)

Summary: Jughead goes to Betty's house after he opens her gift in 2x09.

The Sad Breakfast Club (T - 11/11)

Summary: A Breakfast Club AU where Archie, Betty, Jughead, Veronica and Kevin aren't friends, but end up spending a whole Saturday together at school.

@merrybughead (ao3)

Announcement  (G - 1/1)

Summary: “I - I know it’s personal, but are you guys thinking about it?" Jughead shrugged him off. “Wait, you look weird.” Archie narrowed his eyes to study Jughead’s appearance, “Are you smiling?” “I don’t smile.” "Why are you so happy?” “Betty and I are just...Happy,” She smuggly stated. Cocking a brow to the side, he said, “Oh, I get it.” “Honestly I don’t think you do,” Jughead laughed which sent his ginger friend into laughter as well.

How were they supposed to tell their friends if they had already been guessing and hinting towards it?

Leather and Cotton - an unlikely combination (G - 1/1)

Summary: In an alternate universe where Jughead was raised as serpent king and has been attending Southside schools. Barnes & Noble, Betty's secret safe place from all the rumors and stress that school brings...until she realizes there's a certain leather clad wearing serpent that is most definitely sitting across from her. She knew men like him. They weren’t after girls like her. She's been compromised. Where the unlikely combination of leather and cotton elicits a spark between two polar opposite people.

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO JOIN IN THE FUN WITH US!

Recognize YOUR personal favorite fandom authors because the more love we can spread around, the better.

Our fandom is a vast and wonderful place and everyone deserves a little recognition!

[littlemisskookie]

Ready or Not: Characters

Character list for those who wish to keep up or keep track of what’s going on. I know there’s a lot so this may help!

BOYS

1. Min Yoongi- Cousin of Siwon. Ultimate cause for why Siwon completely broke down and became a deranged killer. One of the few who wasn't perturbed by Siwon. Yoongi was the only person Siwon ever cared for and injured himself in the game by falling out of a tree, once startled by the sound of a gunshot, and breaking his leg. His weapon was a fork. He had no kills and was killed by Gaeun.

2. Pang Jin - Not much is said about him other than the fact he was one of the first killed in the room.

3. Choi Hansol - The class president of the class in Battle Royale, and has one of the first kills in the game, killing Jewoo. Because of this, Jewoo's best friend, Mir, avenges him and tracks down Hansol, ultimately killing him. During his last moments, he is bitter and unsympathetic, further outraging his killer. His weapon is a handgun.

4. Kim Mir - Mir was the best friend of Jewoo who was set out to kill the president after Jewoo's death. Originally his weapon is a boomerang, but he gets Jewoo's previous weapon of a machine gun, using it to kill the class president once he is finally tracked down. Soon after, Mir has his second kill of Namjun. Immediately following, though, he is killed by Siwon, who takes his weapon.

5. Kang Namjun- The OC's first kiss, who was involved in an embarrassing incident involving gum and braces. His weapon is a knife. He kills Hanbit by strangling her but is soon killed by Mir.

6. Jung Hoseok- Twin brother to Boram. The two of them were the most peaceful people in the entire game, attempting to rally people together to avoid fighting. He and his sister use a megaphone. However, it backfires, as it attracts the blood lustful Siwon to murder them shortly after and make a show of their deaths. Siwon notes that the boy was known for being cowardly. His weapon wasn't mentioned.

7. Park Minhwa - Noted to be a pervert who would look up girl's shirts and attempt to cup a feel. He and the OC run into each other, and he attempts to rape and assault her. However, instead of getting the forced blowjob he was expecting, his genitals get severely mutilated by none other than the OC. He has no kills, and his weapon was a baseball bat.

8. Min Siwon - Siwon was known for being rude and bullying many of the other kids in his class. He fat shamed Gaeun and assaulted her multiple times and was known for teasing and picking on the weaker kids in class. Mir was one of the few who actually stood up to him, though it backfired. The only one to successfully stand up to Siwon was none other than the OC, who defended Gaeun. He is noted to be her first boyfriend, and when the two finally meet in the game, they share similarities they're aware of. It is intended that the OC is one of the few people in the class Siwon was actually fond of, despite her assault. The other person he had a soft spot for was his cousin, Yoongi, who he protected and even carried on his back when he was injured. However, when Yoongi died, Siwon lost every last shred of humanity left and went on a killing spree, beginning with his rusty dagger. His first kills were the Jung twins, first slitting Boram's throat and then killing Hoseok. He makes sure their shouts are heard through the megaphone, depicting his sadistic nature. His next kill is Jiduri, who was trying to protect his crush, Aera. He stabs Jiduri multiple times and soon pushes Aera into a danger zone, causing her head to explode. Afterward, he retrieves a gun. His next kill is that of Mir, killing him by slitting his throat. He uses the corpse for means to simply lounge around until eventually he is approached by Sado. He plays with Sado beforehand, cooly lying to him and getting the boy comfortable before shooting him multiple times with Mir's machine gun. Sado is his last kill. Afterward, he engages in a fight with the OC, the two of them sharing a similar connection in their psychopathic tendencies and personas before battling it out. He defeats the OC but is killed by Taehyung. He has the second highest number of kills, killing six total. His weapon is a rusty dagger and his killer is Taehyung.

9. Kim Namjoon - Namjoon wants to survive in order to care for his mother, who has cancer. He tries to kill Taehyung, eventually choking the boy before getting killed by the OC. His weapon was a hatchet and he had no kills.

10. Muk Sado- Shown to be one of the dumbest kids in class. Though his weapon is simply a tape recorder, he makes good use of it through his three days on the island, noting what was going on around him and such. However, he eventually runs across Siwon, believing the boy's lies and getting comfortable with him. He is eventually shot down by the man. He has no kills.

11. Kim Seokjin - One of the first to die in the room. It is noted that he was very fond of the OC, flirting with her and continuously trying to get into her pants. He is also the one who the OC gave her virginity to, but he neither of them told anyone about it. Besides that, not much is known about him.

12. Um Jiduri- Jiduri is hinted to have some mental issues, unable to process what was so wrong about stalking someone and taking photos without their permission. He takes photos of his crush, Aera, through her window, and eventually sends them to her with a confession. Once he tells that he was, in fact, the admirer, he gets in trouble, resulting in Aera despising him. He spends a majority of the game looking for her, and once Siwon comes, he pushes her out of the way, momentarily saving her life. He is killed by Siwon.

13. Jeon Jungkook - Jungkook is Taehyung's best friend. He somewhat has feelings for the OC, mainly being attracted to her. Taehyung notes that he thinks the younger man would do well in the game since he is physically strong. However, he commits suicide near Taehyung's hiding place.

14. Ra Hyuk- Not much is said about Hyuk. His weapon was TNT, and he kills Chanu. He hangs Chanu with his belt and steals the matches that were in his pocket. Out of paranoia, he waits for the right time to set off the bombs. Once Taehyung and the OC approach, he sets off the explosion, killing himself. He has one kill.

15. Lee Chanu- Not much is known about Chanu other than he was killed by Hyuk and his weapon was matches. He is hung up on a tree by a belt.

16. Song Heesun - A track student. Heesun was best friends with Bomi and Aeja. He loved them like sisters and they were never attracted to each other despite what other people speculated. He is very caring for his friends and puts them above all else. It is noted that he is depressed, being convinced by his friends to take antidepressants. His weapon is a crossbow. When the three of them try to escape the danger zone, Heesun is successful, but the other two die. Distraught, he kills himself by walking across the border, exploding.

17. Kim Taehyung - Taehyung was the male lead who was the love interest to the OC. He is liked by many of the girls, including the OC, Areum, Jaehee, and Eunseo. He made a rivalry with the OC, hating her for besting him at nearly everything. It is noted that he has slept with several of his classmates, but despite this maintains a good reputation and good grades. When he is confronted by the OC once she realizes he dislikes her, he tries to avoid it. It isn't until after she saves him from the clutches of Namjoon that he starts to spend time with her. He is bound by her and is made to hide in the house while she is gone. This results in him overhearing his best friend, Jungkook's, death. Shortly after he realizes this, he throws a tantrum, having the OC unbind him, though he still has to stay with her. The next day he stops a fight between the intruder and former lover, Areum. He shares a soft spot for her and convinces the OC she could be an ally, despite the fact the two very clearly hate each other. Several times he has to interrupt fights between the two. At some point, while the OC is gone, Areum attempts to seduce Taehyung and convince him to go with her because of how dangerous the OC is. However, he refuses, beginning the roots of his loyalty to the OC. When Areum dies he shows no emotion, further emphasizing his loyalty and feelings for the OC, as it appears the soft spot he once had for Areum has dissappeared. Part of this is from the sexual activity the two briefly shared, although it was quickly interrupted by none other than Areum. He realizes his feelings for the OC but is frustrated when she essentially rejects him. The two of them are about to once again begin sexual activity but are once again interrupted. They follow the intruder to her hiding spot with two other women, where Taehyung seduces the leader, Jaehee, distracting her until the OC kills everybody else in the house. He tries to get the OC to spare the other two girls in the house out of a brief moment of sympathy, but she refuses, killing them both.The two of them share a brief argument that is resolved, and afterward, they share memories and secrets, further tightening their bond. When the OC and Gaeun have a battle and Gaeun almost wins, he quickly kills her, resulting in his first kill. This follows suit when he also kills Siwon after he and the OC battle. The two of them are finally alone together and have sex. At this point, Taehyung is fully invested in the OC and thinks she deserves to live more than he does. He tells her goodbye and eventually jumps off a cliff, killing himself. His weapon is a taser and he had two kills

18. Byun Jewoo - Jewoo was one of the kindest guys in the class, noted to be one of the more innocent and nice ones. His best friend was Mir. It is noted that when he was being bullied by Siwon, Mir punched him in the face. The two of them briefly reunite until Jewoo is killed by the class president, Hansol. His weapon was a machine gun.

19. Soo Chiwon- Chiwon had a crush on Choa and even took fencing classes because of her. Because she didn't reciprocate his feelings, however, he jumped to the next girl, Iyeong. The two of them have a long relationship, despite the fact he never really felt the same for her as she did for him. The two of them have a suicide pact, planning to jump off a cliff. However, when Iyeoung jumps, Chiwon lets go of her hand, showing how much of a coward he is. Choa witnesses this and challenges him to a duel. She defeats him, trying to get him to jump, but he takes her with him, resulting in both of their deaths. His weapon was an icepick.

20. Park Jimin- Jimin is overall one of the nicer students, befriending Gaeun during his time of need. He is killed by none other than the OC, resulting in Gaeun's need to avenge him as well.

GIRLS

1. Um Hajin - Hajin is one of the close friends of the OC who has an extreme dislike for Areum. She is shown to be a bully towards even her own allies and acts as the leader. Her weapon is an ax. She and the other girls assault and chase Areum away, stealing her things and chastising her. She is eventually betrayed by the OC who blows up their shelter, the lighthouse.

2. Mi Choa - Choa was a fencer who's weapon was a sickle. She rejected Chiwon and was very disappointed to see him jump to the next girl despite the fact he had feelings for her. She is enraged when she sees him betray his girlfriend, chastising the boy and challenging him to a duel. She eventually defeats him, but he takes her down with him as he jumps off the cliff.

3. Kim Chanmi- Chanmi is one who had a crush on Siwon, and was very judgemental of Areum, hating her promiscuous ways. She is often the one who is beaten down upon by Hajin. Her weapon was the grappling hook, and she was eventually killed in the explosion caused by the OC.

4. Na Eunseo - One of the girls noted to have slept with Taehyung, as well as one of the first to die in the room.

5. Um Bada- Her weapons are a few grenades and she partook in the casting out of Areum. It is mentioned that she is one of the few girls with a bob. Dies in the explosion set by OC.

6. Jeon Ayeon- One of the quieter yet more judgemental members of Hajin's pack. She is one of the few who is actually suspicious of the OC but lets her guard down. She mentions that she had a crush on Jewoo. Her weapon is a magnifying glass.

7. Kang Aera- She is stalked continuously by Jiduri, having photos taken of her and being followed. When she finds out about his creepy behavior she despises and avoids him. It is noted that she, at some point, dyed her hair and was suspended for it. However, because of how upset her mother was, she dyed it back. When she and Jiduri cross paths she holds him at gunpoint. However, when Siwon approaches, Jiduri pushes her out of the way. She witnesses his murder and eventually drops her gun, only to be pushed into the danger zone by Siwon.

8. Park Aeja- Known for having a bad taste in guys and is the artist of her group, as well as the least athletic. She is best friends with Bomi and Heesun. She forgets to wake the group up during her shift when they were supposed to move out of the danger zone, which leads to their demise. She dies with Bomi because she was unable to escape the danger zone. Her weapon was binoculars.

9. Byun Areum - The second female lead to the OC. Her weapon is a katana. She is known for being promiscuous and sleeping with a lot of the classmates, including Taehyung. Because of this, she has a bad reputation and many of her female peers hate her. She is cast away after seeking help from Hajin's gang, and her things are stolen. In the night, she runs into the shelter where the OC and Taehyung were staying, only to be attacked by the OC. The fight is eventually broken up and the three become allies, despite the fact that Areum and the OC hate each other. Areum tries to convince Taehyung to run away with her from the OC, convinced the girl is crazy. Her seduction doesn't work, however, and the conversation is interrupted. She shows repeatedly that she is very against the game and murdering, being upset when the OC reveals she murdered Hajin's gang and even letting Jimin go. Eventually, she is killed by the OC, having the taser she was using at the time shoved down her throat.

10. Jung Boram- Twin sister to Hoseok who's weapon was a megaphone. She is Siwon's first kill, her shouts through the megaphone attracting him to sneak behind the two, making Hoseok watch as he slit her throat.

11. Min Bomi - An athlete who did basketball and even slipped in the bathtub and dislocate her shoulder. She is best friends with Heesun and Aeja, but because they woke up late, they are behind schedule. This leads to their deaths as Bomi and Aeja die in the danger zone, causing Heesun to follow shortly after. Her weapon is a pot lid.

12. Ra Haru - The second close friend to the OC as well as to Hajin. Not much is known about her as she is one of the first to die in the room.

13. Song Chaeha - One of the more unkind girls in the class. She'd talk badly about Gaeun behind her back, making fun of her weight. She is eventually caught by the girl in the game and shot despite her pleads. Her weapon was a paper fan.

14. Lee Chaeyeon- Girlfriend to Hai who was not as hot-tempered as Hai. She hid with Hai and Jaehee, but the two had to keep their relationship a secret from the homophobic girl. She is eventually killed by the OC.

15. The OC is the protagonist. A sociopath whose only form of stability was Taehyung, she developed feelings for him, believing he was the only one who could truly see past the facade the others adored her for. She was bred for the game by her father, who worked for the government behind Battle Royale. Her mother, on the other hand, bred her to be perfect, resulting in how she's capable of having everyone believe she's something she's not. She's shown to be straightforward when she wants to be, mainly in the game. The only time before that is noted is when she confronted Taehyung about his dislike of her. She the top of the class and is one of the most popular students. She also had a single blue eye that she has been made to hide her entire life. The only other time where she reveals a bit of her true self is when she punches Siwon in the face, proving she isn't afraid to get violent, as well as showing that she is willing to stand up for someone else. Despite how perfect she seems, she still has many embarrassing moments, such as her first kiss and when she lost her virginity. Upon entering the game she is already calm and collected, immediately finding and saving Taehyung. She kills Namjoon with her weapon, a throwing knife, and immediately confesses her love for Taehyung. She kidnaps him, binding him and forcing him to stay hidden as she does checks to make sure no one is nearby. While she does this, she comes across Minhwa, a pervert who attempts to rape her. She plays helpless until she brutally mutilates his penis and lets her fury out on him. When she comes back she is ambushed by Taehyung, and she agrees to untie him. She feigns sympathy for his loss of Jungkook, even helping him get the body down. Taehyung begins to form feelings for her, going as far as kissing her, and the day begins to end. While she is on watch, she runs into both Mir and Gaeun, letting both of them go for their desire for revenge. This proves how she doesn't kill when she doesn't have to, as well as how she supports revenge. She stays awake the entire shift, and when Areum comes in she attacks the girl. The two have their fight broken up by Taehyung, who convinces the OC to let her stay with them without hurting Areum. Areum and the OC continuously fight, and the OC steals Areum's katana, and soon the OC is driven away out of anger, where she runs into her best friend, Hajin. She keeps up her persona as Hajin leads her to the rest, and she learns of their ugly behavior, which she secretly disapproves of, further cementing the fact that she does, in fact, have morals. She judges the girls and eventually uses their weapons against them to blow up the lighthouse they resided in as well as escape. She tells Areum what she did, resulting in another fight. Taehyung and she eventually engage in sexual activity in their new shelter but are interrupted by Areum. The OC eventually kills Areum out of anger and fear of her taking Taehyung away from her. The morning after, she shows Taehyung the body, and the two have a conversation. Upon realizing that Taehyung was forming feelings for her, she bans it for his own good, despite his frustration and anger. They run across Jimin when he is taking a piss, and she kills him shortly after. The two are about to finally hook up once again when they are interrupted when Hai walks close by. They follow her to the shelter where she and two other girls are hiding, and develop a plan for Taehyung to distract them while the OC sneaks in and kills them. She walks in on Jaehee and Taehyung making out during this event, and overcome with jealousy, slaughters Jaehee. She then goes for Chaeyeon and Hai, and despite Taehyung's protests, kills the two of them. The next battle they enter in is against Gaeun, where the OC admits to killing Jimin. Gaeun fires at her, but the OC is able to both evade and cut the bullet, resulting in hand to hand combat. She is crushed by Gaeun's weight and is about to be defeated when Taehyung kills Gaeun for her. They then encounter Siwon, and another fight takes place where the two share a glimmer of a connection before attacking. Siwon is about to defeat the OC when Taehyung once again jumps in and kills her opponent. The two finally have sex, being the only two left, and as the OC is about to die for Taehyung, he goes against her wishes and instead kills himself. She is then sent to the headquarters and told that if she really does wish to have freedom, she must comply with their wishes in the next Battle Royale. The OC obliges, and is sent on a killing spree for the next group of students, a year after the events of the last slaughter.

16. Kim Gaeun - Gaeun is one of the most fleshed out characters in the story. She was called fat girl continuously by Siwon who assaulted her constantly and even laughed at by some of the others, including Chaeha. The only time someone stood up for her is when the OC found her outside of school and punched her bully in the face. Because of this, she holds a certain soft spot for the OC. However, her hatred for Siwon is finally enacted upon as she vows revenge, using her gun as she attempts to track him down. Her first kill is Chaeha, a small form of revenge because of the girl's rudeness towards her. She then kills Yoongi by mistake because of how similar he looked to his cousin, something she deeply regretted. She runs into Jimin eventually and the two form a friendship. When she learns of his death, she grieves and vows to get revenge on his killer. Upon finding out the OC is the one who did it, the two duel, and she defeats the OC, only to be killed by Taehyung. She had two kills.

17. Lee Iyeong - Religious girlfriend of Chiwon who commits suicide. She tries to pressure her boyfriend into a suicide pact and loved him very much. She even gave her virginity to him despite her strong morals. She is betrayed, however, and jumps alone.

18. Nam Hai- Girlfriend of Chaeyeon who was less lenient to Jaehee's ill-mannered ways. She interrupted Taehyung and the OC when they were together, resulting in unknowingly leading them to her hiding place with the other two girls. She is eventually killed by the OC.

19. Kim Jaehee- The leader of the small group of Hai and Chaeyeon who is also known for being homophobic. She is very stuck up but the reason she is tolerated in the game is that her weapon is the tracker. However, she is seduced and distracted by Taehyung who she very much liked, and is eventually killed brutally by the OC.

20. Park Hanbit - It is noted that she was strangled and raped by her friend, resulting in her suffering from PTSD. She is ironically strangled to death by Namjun.

NEXT YEAR'S BATTLE ROYALE

Jisu- The main character of the prologue and epilogue, whose point of view the sections are told. She is one of the more upright as well as smart students in the class, and her friends are Dongwoo and Yeseul. She is soon killed by the OC. Her weapon is a taser.

Dongwoo- The easy-going friend of Jisu who has a crush on her. He finds her and forms an alliance, but is soon killed by the OC. His weapon was a gun.

Yeseul- The softer friend in the small group who was called 'ugly' by Ki when they were asking questions. She dies of a heart attack upon entering Battle Royale.

Mr. Lee- Teacher to the new class and knows about them participating in Battle Royale. He is distraught over the idea and even cries on the bus. However, he does not attempt to save the students.

Song Eunha- Drooling girl sitting on the bus beside the OC.

Song Soonjung, Song Laon, Min Jungwook- People to die first in the room

Jiwoo- Told Dongwoo of Yeseul's death and killed people by the entrance

Lee Junho- Boy who Ki called out as fat

Woo Heejin- First kid to ask Ki a question

EXTRA

Min Ki- Man who is in charge of running Battle Royale. He has an eccentric personality and isn't very concerned with the well being of the students. During the OC's first Battle Royale he had very yellow teeth, but because of her comment, it is noted in the next that his teeth were extremely white. He often scolds the players for not killing enough and penalizes them by narrowing them into the center of the island.

Soldier in Prologue- Who gives a fuck?

[elizas-writing]

Animated August, Day 4: An American Tail

Don Bluth, what happened in your childhood where you depict most cats roaring like bears? You alright, buddy?

Anyway, while The Secret of NIMH was a success among both the box office and critics, it didn’t pack as much punch to launch Bluth’s new career off the ground. Thankfully, that day came a few years later when in collaboration with Steven Spielberg, they released An American Tail.

This was a phenomenal film at the time to keep animated films in the spotlight, and it even surpassed Disney when they were still in their Dark Ages. It made more money than The Great Mouse Detective-- which premiered just four months prior--, and it got a shit ton of recognition at awards shows, mainly for the song “Somewhere Out There.”

I actually had a couple of the sequels on VHS when I was younger, but for some reason, I never had the original film. I don’t know why, but it was one of those staple animation films which slipped past my childhood. I knew the basic plot, but didn’t actually see it until last year. Better late than never, cause goddamn, Bluth knows how to throw the punches.

A Russian-Jewish mice family, the Mousekewitzes, have to flee after the Cossacks and their cats burn down their homes. Like many mice throughout Europe, their next destination is America which promises freedom, prosperity, and best of all, no cats. However, while en route to America, the young Fievel Mousekewitz is washed overboard during a storm and lost at sea. He eventually reaches the shores of New York City while his depressed family try to start their new lives. Encountering all sorts of colorful characters and realizing there are still cats in America (oops, Papa), Fievel sets off on a journey to reunite with his family and help other mice find their voices in this new world of freedom.

In hindsight, it’s probably a good thing I didn’t see this movie when I was young, because god DAMN is it emotional torture-- Keep in mind, I couldn’t watch The Lion King without sobbing over Mufasa’s death every fucking time until I was 7-years-old. It’s bad enough that a vulnerable child is separated from his family and taking the world practically on his own to find them again. But the following hour is just a massive tease. It has so many scenes where they’re only feet apart, but they JUST miss each other because they don’t take the extra second to look up. And when they finally reunite, it’s pure catharsis; I want to just cry in joy and relief for this family.

What makes the emotional tease worth it is how it establishes the familial connection. They’re only together for about 20 minutes at the beginning, and as expected, it’s basic family life pulling through hard times and preparing to start anew. But it hits so much harder after Fievel is separated, and you see the reactions. The parents, particularly Papa Mousekewitz with some killer voice acting by Nehemiah Persoff, are absolutely heartbroken, already accepting that Fievel’s dead and in denial of any possibility of him being alive. They’re so torn apart because they love him so damn much. Meanwhile, his older sister, Tanya, remains optimistic that he’s still alive, which is best highlighted with the song “Somewhere Out There.” Even though the singing’s not that great, it makes up for it with the passion and connection between the siblings, making it a very touching song.

I think in any other film, Fievel would just be another annoying cutesy kid, but give his circumstances, you understand his desperation to find his family, his willingness to trust total strangers, and how much he misses them. He faces a lot of scary shit, but he can be quite fearless and determined when he needs to. And he’s pretty clever to come up with plans to save the day.

This is also one of Don Bluth’s most heavy-handed films with the context of late 19th-century immigration. He doesn’t hold back for a moment in making these parallels. No joke, the film opens with the freaking Cossacks raiding a Jewish village. It dismantles the idealized American dream and showcases that corruption knows no international borders, whether among mice or cats. With that comes reinventing what the American dream is and reevaluating prejudices and priorities, the former best seen through Fievel’s friendship with the cat Tiger, voiced by Dom DeLuise-- he kinda plays him similar to Jeremy in The Secret of NIMH as this big goofball, but thankfully has more narrative purpose than just the comic relief.

Some might find the subject matter and depressing tone too much for the kids, and they may not get the historical parallels. I can’t deny that it is an emotional roller coaster, even in my 20s, but hey, how is that much different than some of the scary, depressing, and/or fucked up shit we saw in the next decade with the Disney Renaissance films? It’s a lot to handle in one movie, but it’s worth it to get to the end no matter how many times I watch it. That intense catharsis is an experience few films obtain, and it’s one of the biggest emotions to expose to children while they’re still growing. Even if they don’t get the big historical context, they can still pick up the importance of family and never giving up on them, even if all seems hopeless.

The animation, once again, is beautiful. The characters and their struggles are compelling. The environment is as delightful as it is dangerous. The songs are catchy. And the story and emotional progression gets me every time. It’s certainly a film I won’t forget to show my kids, and one of Bluth’s best for a reason.

Day 3 >> Day 4 >> Day 5

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[spideys-pack]

Death(s) in Infinity War??!!

My purely speculative ideas on what might happen to our heroes.. I hope none of it happens but in my mind, it’s possible.. Lets hope no one actually meets these fates.. 

I don’t hate any of these characters, unless I state so, I don’t mean any beef with anyone because again, these are just ideas that have been bouncing around my head since the trailer was leaked.. I thought I might as well let my thoughts out instead of letting them consume me at 5am or while I'm trying to take a relaxing shower. 

They aren’t in like a countdown order either, I just need to number them because you know... OCD. I DO SWEAR SO BEWARE IF YOU DONT LIKE THAT. Now, without further stalling. Lets get to it. 

1. Vision

Vision is probably on everyone’s lists because of the same reason which is an Infinity Stone literally being in his face. Thanos needs the Infinity Stones to complete his gauntlet. Considering the Mind Stone has the biggest spot on the gauntlet, perhaps it gives him the most power? Anyways, I think Thanos will want to take the stone from Vision and I’m willing to bet like my left big toe that he wouldn't be gentle about it and Vision wouldn't be able to survive the process. That’s why he’s on my list. 

2. Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch

As much as I hate to put Wanda on my list, it seems likely and makes sense that she could die or get seriously injured during Infinity War. Why? Because she may still be harbouring guilt over what happened in Lagos in Civil War. Yeah she did say to Vision that she couldn't control everyones fear and seemed to have accepted that she had made a mistake but I can’t help feel like because this is Wanda, one of the sweetest little smol beans in the MCU, she still feels bad about it and would die trying to prove to people that she is one of the good guys. That or her other most likely cause of death is trying to protect Vision from Thanos and dying in the process. I would honestly hate to see Wanda get hurt let alone die. 

3. Drax The Destroyer 

Everyone loves Drax and if you say you don’t you’re lying. But if you genuinely mean it... We can’t be friends. Perhaps everyone thinks Drax is going to die in Infinity war. Due to the fact that since the first Guardians movie he has been out for revenge for the death/killing of his family. That has been majority of his story arc. At first, he thought the killer and target was Ronan, the Accuser but in the first Guardians he declares Thanos the “real mission” after finding out Ronan was acting under his orders. Although Drax did literally punch Thanos’ heart out in one storyline, I feel like Marvel/the MCU won't let him get away with it and survive. I have a feeling they might kill one Avenger and one Guardian so each team has a reason to fight for one another or remain allies after the war. Drax will probably be the one to kill Thanos. That’s very likely. (But between you and I, I kind of hope it’s Nebula. After years of him shitting on her, I hope she seriously gets a few licks in or honestly fucks him up). Though he’ll probably be the one to do the deed, Drax will probably die doing it. This way, Marvel gets their victory and Drax gets his vengeance and doing so, is reunited with his family. But also saving his friends doing so. Making him not just Drax the Destroyer, but Drax the Hero. 

4. Nick Fury

I know this one seems kind of far fetched, I mean I pitched it to one of my friends and she looked at me like I had sprouted a second head. Just hear me out though... So, basically The Avengers have broken up that’s obvious. 

Side note: (For Friends fans...) It would be funny if like Cap or someone that got arrested because of Tony and his team brought it up and Tony just goes “We were on a break!” I would literally cackle myself into an early grave.. 

With the Avengers at odds, what could possibly bring them all together again emotionally more than physically? The death of Director Fury. I mean it worked for the first Avengers movie when Agent Coulson “died”. Since Fury has roots with pretty much all the Avengers, they may feel a need to unite to avenge Fury as well as protect the Earth but as a team. Marvel sometimes reuses plot ideas, perhaps they would do it for this one? Plus, Nick Fury is a fan favourite and it would no doubt have a very big emotional impact not only in the MCU but with the fans as well. 

5. Thor 

Now I would honestly rather rip my own intestines out of my ass than see Thor die. He’s one of my favourite characters from the MCU. He had the potential to be such a bruiting, tough guy character but instead we get our version and I couldn't be more in love with him. I mean this guy is literally a Norse God and he’s sitting there in his trailer telling Hulk/Bruce about how he “So much has happened since I last saw you! I lost my hammer like, yesterday so that’s still pretty fresh.” Like this guy is literally huge and I love that he’s not serious. “Did I win?” “No. I won. Easily.” I was laughing the whole trailer. Just fyi. Anyways, enough about my crush on Thor...

I hate to think that we could lose Thor. But, his death makes too much sense. The Thor movies don't make as much as the others (Cap, Iron Man). After Ragnarok, The Thor movies are done. Ragnarok ends his individual storyline. The movie also brings Asgard into the war. It’s likely Marvel will kill off Thor because they had even said they wanted to switch up the Avengers team line up, and getting rid of Thor who is one of the strongest could prompt the Avengers to recruit not one but multiple heroes to fill his place. My theory us sadly also backed up by the fact that Thor/Chris Hemsworth is not yet confirmed for the following Avengers or Marvel movies. Perhaps he has signed a contract and they’re keeping it under raps because they know we look into that shit but that could also be my wishful thinking... 

6. Tony Stark / Iron Man 

*Collective gasps from the crowd* 

No, but seriously Marvel loves to build us up but then (hulk)smash us down. Think about how involved and intertwined Tony is with the whole MCU. He’s such a big character and he does a lot for the heroes. Plus, Marvel has launched a comic reboot storyline where Iron Man is now an Iron WOman. And let’s be honest, everyone is crawling over each other to get media attention over being supportive of women/races/LGBTQ... So, they would most likely kill Tony to bring in Riri Williams. Not only will this get them even more media coverage BUT it also allows them to send a huge shockwave throughout the MCU. With Tony being at odds with Cap and most of the Avengers, and him having a son-like figure in his protege, Peter Parker... He has people to leave behind and mourn in other movies. Tony Stark’s death would change the MCU a lot. But maybe too much? I’m still iffy on this one. 

7. Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow

There’s no denying that Nat is a fan favourite. She’s also just about as much interweaved with the MCU as Tony. Appearing in several films, she is a huge supporting character but as much as we try, she's a supporting character and is in a group with heroes like Vision and Hawkeye where they are the most likely not to get stand alone films. She seems to always play a big role in the victory of the team we’re supposed to root for, An example would be when she helps Steve and Bucky get passed T’Challa in Civil War. 

Side note: I would love to link this to the fact that Bucky and Natasha have a history. In the Comics that is, it isn't canon in the movies but I would also like to link Nat saying “You could at least recognize me” to Bucky in Civil War to that as well. Considering Nat and Bucky were romantically involved briefly, that could be an interesting arc considering whatever she has/had with Bruce. Either way, I would love Red Room flashbacks or even a movie... 

It seems likely that Nat could get killed trying to help everyone with the war. Considering she is one of the team members who doesn't have powers... Thanos could easily, and regrettably rag doll the shit out of everyones favourite red head. 

8. Bruce Banner / The Hulk

MARVEL. FUCKING. WOULD. 

They would take Bruce “I know, I tried” away from us. One of Marvel’s biggest hard-hitters who also needs to be protected at all costs. For as long as he’s been in the MCU, Hulk has been seen as the tank. “We have a Hulk”. Perhaps during the Infinity War, our heroes over estimate Bruce and he goes up against Thanos and ends up dead because of it. 

9. Thanos 

Marvel has a tendency to kill off their villains before they necessarily should. I admit, I haven't even met MCU’s Thanos and I already want this mother fucker to get dropped but I would also love to see Marvel develop a villain. The only villain(s) they’ve really developed are Loki and The Winter Soldier and majority of us would argue that these two are not villains. They are pretty much the only two however who have been on the opposing side of our heroes and survived to come back and/or develop. Loki jumps back and forth between good and evil and Bucky was never truly evil, he was brainwashed. The other ones like The Red Skull and Obadiah Stane/War Monger die in fiery explosions before we even get to experience their full story. Although we spend most of their movies hoping and wishing for it. I just hope Marvel gives Thanos enough time to develop outside of the post-credit scenes before the Avengers and Guardians eventually bring him down, if they even do that in Infinity War. 

10. Steve Rogers / Captain America

The thought of losing Cap really hurts, especially since he just got his bestie Bucky back. Although we all know this is going to happen. Chris Evans has been reported saying that he has indeed signed one more contract with Marvel after reading it over and feeling that one more movie was needed to wrap up Cap/Steve’s story. My thoughts are, what exactly is stopping Marvel from offing him in Infinity War and just making him majorly flashback-type scenes in the next one. We all know both Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes have dawned the Cap suit and Shield but he true question would be exactly who is Marvel’s choice? Perhaps Cap will in fact die in Infinity War and it will be Bucky who takes up the mantle and the only reason we see Steve is through Bucky’s returning memories as he tries to handle being Cap? 

11. Loki

Loki is another one of my favourites, only due to the fact that I’m weak when it comes to misunderstood villainy... *cough* Jason Todd *cough* It’s not just me who has succumbed to the seduction of the God of Mischief and his constant knack for well... Mischief. Loki has died in the MCU but he always seems to come back. If Marvel is planning on keeping Thor around, having Loki actually die just might break him if they want to pro sue a more serious angle, we’ve seen what Loki’s death does to Thor. Perhaps having Loki die after he presumably gives over the Tesseract may fuel Thor with enough rage to be one of the potential people to take Thanos out.. 

12. Nebula 

Nebula is a likely casualty of the Infinity War. Simply because of her role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. 

Or, perhaps she plays a much larger role in Infinity War. In one storyline Nebula steals the Infinity Gauntlet and sabotages Thanos betraying him. If Nebula does this, Thanos could easily kill her. After she was humanized in GOTG Vol. 2, this might be an emotional trauma Marvel could want to inflict on Gamora. Gamora has a possibilty of playing a big role in the destruction of Thanos but having her lose her sister who she kinda patched things up with... That could give her the edge she needs. Despite how much I want to see more of Nebula and have more development for her, this seems possible. 

13. Sam Wilson / Falcon

Sam Wilson would honestly in my opinion, be a tragic loss. His character was amazing from his first 30 seconds on screen. He has heart and humour and it’s hard not to love his character but that’s also a moth to flame with Marvel. They might kill off Sam to not only hurt Steve but also promote Bucky to have something to avenge after Steve dies and he has to become Captain America. We’ve already seen Bucky throw himself in front of Sam to take the brunt of a hit from Spidey so maybe, just maybe there’s some sort of friendship there and killing one of them might trigger Bucky’s need to become an Avenger kicking off a storyline that could support Marvel’s 9 contract deal with Sebastian. 

14. King T’Challa / Black Panther 

Why T’Challa? You ask... Well, as much as I would like to say it’s because Chadwick is just too precious for this world and be done with it, I must make a point.. Marvel probably won’t want to have two multi-billionaire badasses with equally badass suits in play. This is assuming they don't kill Tony, perhaps they will kill T’Challa? Again, this goes back to my theories surrounding Sebby Stan’s  9 contract deal. I think it’s very likely they have chosen to follow the storyline of Bucky becoming Cap after Steve is gone. From the Infinity War trailer, it looks like Bucky is settled in with T’Challa and the Wakandans. Or is that just me? Perhaps Bucky decides to stay in Wakanda. After all, the world isn't exactly welcoming him with open arms at the moment.. How do they get Bucky out of Africa so he can become Captain America? They kill off T’Challa. His only tie to Wakanda. 

I don’t know a lot about Chadwick Boseman’s contracts and I can’t seem to find anything but this again is one of my more iffy theories. I hope it doesn't come true, I love T’Challa, or what we’ve gotten so far, I hope we get a lot more.

15. Peter Parker / Spider-Man = Tony Stark Version 2?

I know, I know.. The thought kills me too. We just got our MCU Peter Parker and I think it’s safe to say, everyone loves having him. 

I have Peter on my list not as a death though. I just think he’s going to get seriously injured. Marvel might just be baiting us with that whole trailer “Tony, I’m sorry.” snippet but at the same time, Peter getting injured makes sense to carry a certain plot line. *cough* Tony’s death *cough*. Tony stated in Spider-Man: Homecoming “And if you die, I feel like that’s on me. I don’t need that on my conscience.” Tony’s compassion and love for the people in his life is a special thing. Something I honestly love about Tony. But, it could be his downfall. In Ultron, we saw that Tony’s worst fear is the Avengers dying and the fact that he “Could have saved us. Why didn’t you do more?”. Tony is a protector. So, having Peter around during the battle could be dangerous and potentially fatal for Tony. Peter has sort of become Tony’s surrogate son/protege and I don’t think he would let anything happen to him. If/when Peter gets injured in Infinity War, I think it will throw Tony off his game. He may feel guilty or worried about Peter and being distracted like that while facing someone like Thanos? Let’s just say if anything happens to Peter, we shouldn't just be worried about him, we should also be worried about Tony. 

16. The Stark Era/Legacy

I swear to you, I don't hate Tony or RDJ. I just can't shake the thought that we’re going to have to say goodbye to him. 

The MCU started with Tony, even if the earliest events take place in the 1940′s with Cap. It was a Stark that made Steve Cap. The Starks are rooted in the MCU and are the basic foundation of it. They’re heavily involved with all of the events of the MCU. This theory isn't entirely the death of Tony Stark but the death of Stark involvement. 

Let me explain/paint a picture... 

Captain America: The First Avenger: Howard Stark develops a serum that can turn an ordinary man into the ultimate soldier. Thus, creating Captain America which in turn saved America from destruction. And well, German rule. Howard’s super soldier was the one that took down The Red Skull before he could develop and distribute deadly weapons to Hitler and his Nazis. In doing so, the Americans and their allies were able to stop Hitler. Also, it was Howard who built that iconic shield and thought to build it from Wakandan vibranium. 

Iron Man: Tony is running his father’s business seemingly where he left it. Using intellect no doubt inherited from his father, he develops weapons and other tech to continue to protect the world that Howard had helped protect in the 1940′s. The plot of Iron Man is showing Tony not only becoming Iron Man but Obadiah, becoming greedy with power and wanting to overthrow Tony. It was Stark tech that ended up saving Tony and America from terrorists and Obadiah.

Skipping forward to the Avengers... 

The Avengers: It’s obvious that Tony had been playing with the idea of the Avengers with S.H.I.E.L.D. He doesn't say something like: “What the hell is that?” When Pepper mentions it. It also seems like it was Tony who had been talking to Pepper about it in the first place when she says “Which I know nothing about...” So obviously Tony had been part of coming up with the idea. So, we can thank a Stark brain for the Avengers too??? 

Avengers: Age of Ultron: No one lets us forget that Ultron was Tony’s fault. Especially Tony. “And then Ultron.. My fault.” (Civil War). Tony was scared for the safety of Earth and more importantly it seems, his team mates. After his vision of the Avengers laying dead and Cap accusing him of not doing enough Tony gets the idea to create the synthetic being that is, Ultron. His intentions were good but his execution faltered. 

Captain America: Civil War: I won’t say that Civil War was Tony’s fault because it wasn't, it was equally Cap’s too for not wanting to sign the contract just as Tony did want to. It was a Stark who opposed the title character which carried the plot. And when all of the basic plot lines were complete, the big finale drawing the movie to a close for the final climax battle was because Tony found out Bucky had killed guess who under HYDRA’s control?? 

Howard and Maria Stark.

At the end of that fight, we see Cap give up his mantle to continue protecting Bucky. What was the reason to give up his mantle? 

“That shield doesn't belong to you.You don’t deserve it. My father made that shield!”  

(Oh, yeah.. a little side note.. Go back to watch that fight scene and at the end when Steve helps Bucky up, Sebastian’s groan in that scene holy fuck, jesus on a tricycle it’s HOT.)

Spider-Man: Homecoming: Tony was the one who built Spidey’s new suit. He was also the one that gave Peter the idea that he was capable of a lot more than stopping “grand theft bicycles”. I mean he held his own against THE Captain America. In one scene Peter and Tony start to argue and Peter’s reasoning for all of his behaviour throughout the movie was because: “I just wanted to be like you.” So, Peter’s mistakes and actions throughout his movie were rooted from the fact that he just wanted to be like Tony. 

Avengers: Infinity War: This movie hasn't even come out yet so I’m not going to act like I know Tony’s full involvement or whatever, but we do know that Peter is prepared for the war because of his brand new Iron Spider suit curtesy of you guessed it, Mr. Anthony Stark. 

Also, Marvel might lean more towards this option because keep in mind, RDJ is getting hella expensive because even he knows how important he is to Marvel’s cinematic universe. They might lean more towards offing Tony to save themselves some cash..

Therefore, if Marvel really decided to kill off Tony, that would be the end of heavy Stark influence. Of course, the Starks would still be present but only as a memory and a company. There wouldn't be an actual Stark to back everything up or come up with new ideas. Unless Pepper is cooking up a little Stark bun in the oven, Tony’s death would mark the end of the Stark line, thus, lessening his influence in the MCU. 

[cloudydamage3]

Arrow Season 7 Episode 10 Review: My Name is Emiko Queen

The Queen siblings may not look or sound the same, but one thing is sure -- they all have some serious daddy issues. 

Thea probably thinks (and still believes) that she should get a trophy for the award of Queen child with the most complex parental issues, but her long-lost step-sister may have snatched the prize from her. 

Seems only fitting since she snatched the green hood from her half-brother. 

The New Green Arrow was a small plotline in the first half of Arrow Season 7, but on Arrow Season 7 Episode 10, it became a primary focus as we not only confirmed the identity behind the mask, but we got a full-blown introduction into her motives.

The way the New Green Arrow story was told previously suggested that the introduction of Emiko Queen would be done slowly, with new information getting dropped every couple of episodes. 

Related: Arrow Season 7 Episode 8 Review: Unmasked 

That is no longer the case. The New Green Arrow went from unknown mystery figure to Emiko Queen, someone we now know very well. 

Still, it might have been too soon for Arrow to dedicate a lot of time to a character we barely know.

Is her story intriguing, and do I want to know more? Absolutely, there's no denying that. But if it weren't for Rene's help guiding her, she would've been too overbearing. 

Well, shame on us for being so sexist. Our mystery man is actually a woman.

Felicity

It has been an issue on Arrow before. Introducing new characters has never been their strong suit. The show relies too heavily on them before Arrow Fanatics get the chance to form a connection. 

Dinah's introduction on Arrow Season 5 is a standout example.

Related: Get HBO via Prime Video Channels for Addictive Dramas, Hilarious Comedies & Hit Movies! 

The show threw her into the limelight very quickly, taking away the spotlight from other characters we'd grown to love and to this day Arrow Fanatics still haven't managed connect with her. 

There's still hope for Emiko and a good chance that won't happen to her. Unlike Dinah, she has a backstory and an obvious connection to the Queen family that'll give Arrow much more to work with moving forward. 

Emiko's introduction may not have been perfect, but she has already formed relationships that can take her story in many different directions. 

Her partnership with Rene gives Arrow the vigilante angle it's missing now that Oliver's working with the police. And let's face it, their chemistry is undeniable. 

The show may not decide to go that route and keep their relationship strictly platonic, which is fine, but come on, Rene deserves some love. The dude's been riding solo for a long time. #GiveReneAChance. 

People say that revenge corrupts the soul; that if you go down that path you'll never come back. But sometimes embracing the darkness is the only way to get justice. My name is Emiko Queen. I will get justice for my mother and no one will stand in my way.

Their mission to avenge Emiko's mother and get justice brings back memories of old Arrow when Oliver's mission was practically the same. The only issue is that it seems as though everyone she was hunting until now was a waste of time. 

Each person Oliver went after had a purpose, a connection to his father. The fact that Emiko "failed" her mission just as we met doesn't make her look too heroic.

Related: Arrow Season 7 Episode 7 Review: The Slabside Redemption 

It felt like she was making strides as a badass female Green Arrow, but then that badassery crumbled down when it got she was wrong about who killed her mother. 

It's essential for the show not to make her look like she's in over her head, and she was in over her head/ She should be at the same level, or at least close to the level was during Arrow Season 1. 

Speaking of Oliver, can we discuss the day he had? The man seriously can't get one day of peace. He's was released from Slabside, reunited with his wife and friends and then boom, found out his father and mother were lying to him for most of his life. 

In a way, I was heartbroken for Oliver because he already had to deal with learning so much information about his parents in in the past that didn't exactly make them come off as the quality people he thought they were. 

Hey, you okay? You know, this has to be a shock. Maybe not as big of a shock as becoming The Flash and then fighting alongside Batwoman, but still a shock.

Felicity

This news seemed like the straw that broke the camel's back. Any positive image of his parents he had remaining in his memory was completely wiped away. 

Related: Enjoy UNLIMITED access to thousands of Movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime video. WATCH ANYWHERE. CANCEL ANYTIME! 

I have a feeling Robert may not have been as big of a monster as he looked like, though. Maybe he had a valid reason when it came to abandoning Emiko. Was he trying to protect her and her mother? The person who killed Emiko's mom is probably connected to Robert in some way. 

Oliver's reaction to the sudden news also showed how much he has grown. The old Oliver would've lashed out and done something pretty violent, but this Oliver expressed his sadness to his wife and talked about his feelings. 

Some heroes don't have to be brooding all the time; an emotional conversation is just as heroic as punching bad guys in the face. 

It was also a pivotal moment for Oliver and Felicity's relationship. It seemed as though that premature (and quickly brushed aside) break up on Arrow Season 7 Episode 8 was foreshadowing a rough road ahead for the couple, but it turns out the two are in a very good place right now. 

They managed to work together without bickering, and during a tough time Felicity comforted Oliver and encouraged him to be the man she knew he was. 

Is it possible that Olicity can stay in this state forever? No probably not, but it's during the simple, pure moments between the two when they talk that exemplify how much they truly do love each other. 

Oliver: I need you to analyze this DNA, it belongs to the New Green Arrow. Felicity: Some husbands bring their wives home flowers, and mine brings me home blood from a crime scene. And they say romance is dead.

The Queens may have been the main focus of "My Name is Emiko Queen," but Rene also played a vital role both as Emiko's new partner in the present and as mayor of the Glades in the future. 

It took me a second to adjust to this new Rene. And while he may not be the type of hero Zoe wants him to be, he may be the person who ends up saving Star City in the future. 

Also were any other Arrow Fanatics curious about the identity of the man working alongside Rene? He admitted to being involved in the death of Felicity, but I wonder if he's someone that has played, or will eventually play a role in the present timeline as well. 

Another tidbit that was slyly dropped by Dinah in the future was that Curtis may not be alive, or at least on Team Arrow's side. When trying to remind Rene that a group of them took a code to fight no matter what, she name-dropped Oliver, Diggle, Felicity, and Roy but not Curtis. 

It was such a small tease that many might not have clued into and it might not even end up being an issue, but it may also be a huge clue moving forward. 

While the flashforwards have been a fun puzzle that  Arrow Fanatics are desperately trying to solve, Diggle, Lyla and A.R.G.U.S. continue to be a boring puzzle that you can't help but nod off while doing it. 

Bringing Diaz into the fold didn't add intrigue or excitement to the story they've been telling with Diggle and Lyla. The fact that they are going to copy the plot of "Suicide Squad" also doesn't make it any more interesting. 

Diaz should've been put to rest for an extended period, so that when he did return it would've been a much more welcome surprise. Instead, his presence is dragging down Arrow, and his involvement with Diggle and Lyla hasn't been promising. 

Just like Oliver after Arrow Season 6, Diggle's in desperate need of a reboot for Diggle because everything he's currently involved in is undeniably stale. 

What did you think of "My Name is Emiko Queen"? 

How did you feel about the introduction of Emiko Queen?

Did you see a romantic spark between Rene and Emiko?

What kind of relationship would you like to see Oliver and Emiko have? 

What do you think happened to Curtis in the future? 

Does Diggle need to be rebooted or retooled? 

Let us know in the comments below and if you need to catch up, make sure to watch Arrow online right here on TV Fanatic! 

Brandon Viera is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.

Source: https://www.tvfanatic.com/2019/01/arrow-season-7-episode-10-review-my-name-is-emiko-queen/