#character dropping it wasn't even holding it at the moment so i guess people's stuff just randomly hops out of their bags/boxes/whatever)

[leatherbookmark]

i decided to give a k-bl series a chance -- i'm not a fan of k-dramas, and most bls i've watched were "yeah, it's nice" at best, so this is Big -- and my loves -- reader -- what did i get in return? what did the show give me in return for my enormous leap of faith? can you guess? hm?? hm???

second-hand embarrassment through the roof STRAIGHT between the eyes

[stardustincarnate]

I'm Scared, Hold Me // Yoosung Kim x Reader

FEMALE READER.

SUMMARY: Watching a horror movie sounded like the perfect excuse for cuddling.

WORD COUNT: 1628 words.

GENRE: Fluff.

WARNING: Cringe nicknames. Because people in love do and say cringe stuffs. Also, possible grammatical and typographical errors ahead.

♡ writing commissions | art commissions ♡

A/N: It has been a year or two since I wrote this... ig its about time I post it. I had some obsession with Yoosung back then, hehe.

Yoosung couldn't think straight. He was nervous. He was of course very excited too, even though it wasn't the first time seeing you—but it was his first time watching a movie with you. Unsurprisingly, people like him would feel nervous due to overthinking what's going to happen between you two during the movie. Especially if it were romance... But apparently that wasn't the case. Though he badly wished it was.

You two were going to watch a horror movie. It's not like he had a choice, anyway. When you told him you preferred watching scary movies he felt something drop to his gut. Horror movies?! But.. but how could he get a chance to slip his hands through yours and lock eyes with you during the most romantic part of the movie so that you two could actually do what the protagonists were doing and—oh boy. He didn't want to disappoint you so he just acquiesced.

He was quick to open the door after you had knocked. Flustered with you jumping into his arms, he sort of malfunctioned before he returned the hug. Not too tightly as he didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable.

"I brought extra snacks for us!"

"O-Oh! But Seven already spared us a few Honey Buddha Chips and I've got some more popcorn and my mom also cooked for us.."

"Yoosung, you're forgetting one thing!"

"Oh—right!! Pizza..! How could I?!"

"Not to worry! Your knight in shining armor slash princess has brought two boxes of pizza for her baby!"

"Baby?"

"Are you not letting me come in?"

"Of course not [Y/N]! I mean—come on in!" Yoosung chuckled, nervousness evident on his tone.

Eventually the movie commenced. Initially you two were sitting with a decent space between you in the sofa but somehow before the opening credits had ended, Yoosung had found his way right beside you. And when you rested your head on his shoulder and placed your palm on his chest, he swore he had never been as red as during that day.

It was so romantic, thought he, if you were to minus the horrors currently unfolding on the monitor.

With a heap of other snacks in front of you which Yoosung had apparently forgotten existed as he was busy trying not to freak out during the first few minutes and break his manly side in front of you, you stared intently at the screen while finishing half the box of pizza.

"Oh no! Don't believe him he's just pranking you! And unknowingly putting you in danger!! Don't go in ther—oh no don't be so stupid!"

Yoosung peeled his eyes from the monitor and looked at you, a tad shocked to see you looking at him with a certain smile on your face. He was torn between thinking of it as cute or suspicious...

You giggled. "You know, the main character reminds me a lot of you."

"Eh?! But I'm not that gullible. Am I?"

"Oh, sure, chocolate milk." Yoosung shunned your gaze with his face beet red. "My cutie Yoosung." You continued, poking his cheek. He rubbed his nape and pouted, reluctantly admitting, "I guess I do find myself stumbling on pranks most of the time.. but at least now I know better not to go into an abandoned wing in case Seven tells me another one of his nonsense!"

The moment the protagonist entered the abandoned wing of the building, the door shut behind him with a loud thud. At the same time you two heard the creaking of the door.

And it wasn't part of the movie.

"Who's there?!" Yoosung squeaked and wrapped his arms around you—maybe a little too tightly—and kept on turning his head, albeit too afraid to actually look at the door.

"Yoosung, it's me!"

"Oh, mom..."

"Sorry.. I didn't interrupt anything, did I? I was just wondering if you wanted some drinks."

"Oh.. sure!"

His mother left two more bottles of soda in front of you before leaving. Once you two were alone, Yoosung realized that he didn't stop hugging you. Poor boy panicked and blushed furiously.

"I-I'm sorry [Y/N]! Did I squeeze you too hard? I'm sorry! And it's not like I was scared. Definitely not!! I just wanted to protect you in case there really was a gho—wah!! [Y/N]..!!"

There was a jumpscare. Well—it looked like one to him. Yoosung clung onto you and hid his face on your neck, his hair tickling you which made you giggle and blush furiously. You ruffled his hair and sighed fondly, "Calm down Yoosung. That's just his friend, not the ghost."

"What..?" Very slowly and reluctantly, he looked at the monitor and let out a huge sigh of relief. And just seconds later he was a fumbling mess of blushes and apologies again. "[Y/N] I'm so so sorry! Ahh.. nooo.. That wasn't very manly of me, was it? I promise to do better! It won't happen again!"

Oh, this adorable boy you so deeply loved. Sure. You grinned. But you both knew well that it was a lie, for everytime there was a scene that his brain had identified a 'jumpscare' his body would automatically attach itself into yours and he'd cover his face with his hands. Other than the crunchy munching of those Honey Buddha Chips and the sound from the movie, his squeaks filled the room.

You were having a hard time controlling your laughter. You didn't want to tease him.. Oh, poor boy! You almost took pity on your boyfriend. But to see him like that—in a state you perceived as absolutely adorable, with his hands resting on your shoulder and unintentionally squeezing them while he tried to cower behind you—really, would anyone want that moment to end? Reckon he would just have to forgive you for 'torturing' him by making him watch something that scared him to the bones. And, of course, he would forgive you for this.

Anything for you.

Although you were the one who suggested to watch a horror movie in the first place, you couldn't say that some parts didn't scare you. As it got closer to the climax, you started fidgeting your fingers, which Yoosung soon took notice. Yoosung looked at you, and a tad hesitant, he wrapped his arms around you. The tension ebbed from your body as you allowed yourself to succumb in his warm embrace. It was tentative, his hold, at first. But as moments passed and more horrors frightened the both of you, his touch eventually gave in and turned into something tight, sure, and something that felt like home, right where you belonged.

He wasn't even watching anymore. It had become a turmoil there and your occasional squeaks told him that the scene unfolding wasn't something he'd relish to see. And without heed you placed your hand above his, rubbing gently on that soft skin which caught his attention. He returned the favor and grabbed the opportunity to bring your hand underneath his—that way he could share more of his warmth with you, and that way which also allowed him to weave his fingers through yours, causing an eruption of red on both your cheeks.

"Are you okay [Y/N]?" He whispered. You looked at him—his eyes, his lips—then back to his eyes.

"I'm scared, hold me."

Yoosung was more than happy to oblige. He'd become rather bold by then. You closed your eyes as butterflies manifested themselves inside your stomach from the way he brought you sitting on his lap, his arms around your waist and his chin on your shoulder. His fingers found their way to gently comb your hair and bring them forth over your right shoulder, exposing your nape. He thought of doing it—hesitating over and over again until he gathered enough courage which spilled all over his chest, and then he was peppering your nape with the gentlest of pecks, his lips carefully grazing over your then shivering skin, the touch nothing but a lick of the wind, a flicker. The butterflies multiplied, and the heat burned your cheeks, your nape, and your ears.

The pleasant sensation contrasted starkly with the gore afoot on the screen, the turmoils unfolding in the movie. But they were paid with no heed, and in fact had been reduced into but little to no sounds by the remote which Yoosung had taken a hold of with one hand, while the other remained wrapped around your stomach, the warmth of his palm permeating your skin as he made circles with it in a careful, loving manner.

Horror movie long forgotten, you two settled on ensconcing yourselves on one another, laying on the couch, limbs interweaving, fingers interlaced.

Four words, and they were all it took for what he had been surreptitiously dreaming of and what he thought was only possible if you two had settled prior with a romance movie, to happen.

Four words, and a horror movie, and suddenly the idea of the latter wasn't so terrible anymore. Yoosung could live with that, as long as more opportunities of moments like this could present themselves before him.

Moments of you laying on his chest, delightfully humming and tracing patterns on his skin—patterns you could only see. The silence was cozy, brimming with affection. The pizza was only remembered when it was already tepid, and it took longer than it would've had been consumed if you two weren't so entangled with each other, laughing, giggling, and smiling at the sheer fact that you were placed in an intimate, comfortable position.

Yoosung smiled to himself, wishing that perhaps, even at times you aren't scared, even at the most arbitrary moments, he would get the chance to hold you like this.

Close to his heart.

Closer to his soul.

[wexhappyxfew]

And then “Look at you! You're spilling coffee.” For Brady and Annie >:)

HI POET!!!!!!! thank you so much for sending in a prompt + incredibly sorry it is so SO late for a response!! my summer has been so incredibly busy and i've only just gotten to this now, so i truly hope you enjoy!!! <3 annie and brady are an absolute joy to write and i always love getting to play around in the areas of time we get to see them in - so this is in the early days of getting to know each other and - you guessed it - it involves coffee haha! THANK YOU AGAIN!!! (also hi and hello i am back after an absolutely chaotic af week)!!!!!! <3333

porcelain, silk and starch

(a/n): ANNIE X BRADY GIRLIES THIS IS FOR YOUUUU!!!! getting back into some 'early days' sorta stuff for these two that i felt were needed for their connection. just those early moments of first meetings and interactions that i wanted to work with a bit! and ofc a cameo from co-pilot francis who is my fav of favs fr! a queen in true form!!! i hope you all (and poet most of all - this was a great prompt THANK YOU) enjoy!!! :D

“Silver Bullets should’ve been put into mass production the day she made the run over Caen,” Francis said, pulling her cigarette from her lip and patting the edge of the wing, the early dawn rays of the sun tickling the edges of the metal, “flies like a fucking angel, I tell ya, Bradshaw.”

Annie looked up at the large berth of wingspan for the B-17 and smiled a bit; it was evident how much Francis cared about the plane, like it was this thing they were caring for day by day, somehow watching it grow. It seemed Francis was coming around - they were actually on a name-to-name basis rather than incredibly formal 'Lieutenant Bradshaw' and 'Lieutenant Montez' callings. It was actually kind of nice. Annie knew Francis still held her bearings about everything, but she was more receptive and open-minded than she had been a few days back.

“So, how’d you get wrapped up in all this?” Francis said turning to Annie, a slightly darkened look in her eyes, “Some stupid bet, couldn’t handle a joke from a sick fucko back home? I’ll do you one better, an old boyfriend who thinks he’s God’s greatest gift-“

"Joined the WAC," Annie said, rather unceremoniously - not like her mother had been pleased, so Annie was just used to the lackluster of it all because of that fact (no one had been excited for such a thing, for someone like her, from where she was from), "started ferrying planes - fuel reloads, supply drops. Seems they liked me in the higher ups. Now I'm here." Francis watched her for a moment, smoke lingering up from the butt of her cigarette. With their uniforms on, they both actually looked half-decent - no pilot gear and uniform looking mangled from a mission, no sweat, burnt pieces of hair, frozen eyebrows and bloodied cheeks. Just like normal people for once.

“You know, I like that for you,” Francis said, “I had some guy tell me I could never pilot a plane. Showed him up.” Annie smirked from behind her aviators at Francis - quite the character, she could hold her own and had no problem telling it how it was. Yeah, Annie was already sold, even if Francis wasn't sold on her.

“So. The WAC. Do tell.” Francis said, pointing at her.

“Well, I did translating for a good period of time before I was wrapped up in flying. Gotta say if the opportunity had been presented, I would've stuck with it.”

“Whatcha translating?”

“German, French…tried to get a handle on Russian. Still trying my best with that.”

“Damn, Bradshaw,” Francis said before pointing a finger at her, “what the hell did that have to do with flying?”

“They said we couldn’t do it.” Annie offered back, crossing her arms and shrugging, "That sorta stuff you listen to, even if you don't want to. And then you do, even if they think you can't."

"Birdie really would've loved you." Francis said, the first real genuine smile growing on her face as she crossed her arms, "Wanna see inside?"

Climbing up into the belly of the plane, the lingering silence hit her like bricks, the feeling inside the fort. What had happened here. What they all knew had happened her; what the women of Silver Bullets had experienced. What had Montez said to let them know their pilot was dead? That she had to take control of the plane and the body was in the front seat? What mind-fuck had they gone through to wrap their minds around that fact?

"Pretty isn't it?" Francis said from behind her, briefly patting the edge of one of the seats as they both moved towards the cockpit.

"She's beautiful." Annie said, adjusting herself in the left side of the cockpit, running her hands along the buttons and the wheel and the edges of the window, "Really, it's a beautiful plane."

Glancing back at Francis, she noticed the woman far-off it seemed, eyes glazed, staring somewhere out to the hazy horizon. Annie slowly brought her focus forward again - Birdie had died here. Right where Annie was sat. It was a wonder Francis could even walk up here again - Annie gave her a lot of credit.

"Well," Francis started, blowing breath from her lips, a quick smile darting onto her lips, "we'll have plenty of time to admire this bucket of bolts in the coming days, for now…we oughta get ourselves to the dining hall. Breakfast. Ain't they say it's the most important meal of the day?"

Francis' voiced trailed off somewhere between her talking about breakfast and saying how she thought the most important meal of the day was actually dessert. Annie stood there for a moment, in the middle of the plane, lingering in the stillness, the plane that had launched that crew up into the sky and came back down without a pilot. Who still stood tall and strong, right here, right now.

Annie tried to clear her mind. She hopped out of the plane, landing beside Francis, rather gracefully, and looked up at the co-pilot in the morning sun, who was grinning like a goose at her.

"How many missions you been on?" Annie asked Francis, genuinely curious. She was trying to connect the dots from the incident to now. Had they been up in the plane after what had happened? With a new replacement that hadn't made the cut? How many had Birdie been on?

"Only two." Francis said with a slightly constrained look, before seeming to shrug it off as they made way towards the dining hall, "They wouldn't allow us to go with any of the replacements until we did a practice run or two. As you can see, those didn't go too well." Annie glanced at Francis and evidently saw the stress running rampage through her. It was evident in her face, in the way she spoke - she wanted something to work, she wanted to get in the sky again, she needed something to go right for the first time.

"If I get the position. Officially, that is," Annie started, looking up at Francis, "I intend to keep Silver Bullets as one of the best B-17s in the air. With the crew we've got, the co-pilot," Francis smiled, "I don't doubt that. Birdie had the crew for a reason." Francis watched her, a bit of sentimental air wafting through them as Francis reached out and squeezed her shoulder.

"You're a good one, Bradshaw," Francis said and Annie quirked out a smile, "c'mon."

Entering the dining hall - Annie realized quickly it was only for officers and high-ranking officials when she saw the likes of Major Cleven and Major Egan at a table together, huddled over some coffee alongside Kidd, Crank and DeMarco.

"Here we go." Francis said, leading Annie towards the center strip of table, covered in a white tablecloth, filled with all sorts of baskets of goods, utensils, coffee and mugs, "Usually, you can just get it served to you. But. Figured you'd want to see the spread, huh?" Annie's eyes widened at the assortment of things as Francis gently gave her shoulder a tap.

"I'll get us a table, get your fill, I'll get the food." Francis said before walking off, giving a wave to a few, fellow officers down a few rows of tables, bee-lining towards the food line.

Annie stood quietly for a moment, her eyes running over the length of the table in slight amusement and wonder. Growing up, she never had the sort of luxury as much as simple things like sugar or cream - even in coffee. Coffee was usually black, and a little watered down (it saved them from having to buy so many coffee grounds, you know?), and usually it was bitter. But you washed it down because it was what you had.

Now - there was sugar, cream, honey, biscuits for dipping, actual cloth napkins, a little spoon just for stirring! Gently, she touched the white tablecloth, the soft texture something so delicate and foreign to her in ways someone shouldn't have to think of.

Tablecloths were rough, scratchy and torn where she came from.

Here - they were soft, cream and stitched.

Annie retracted her hand and instead focused on the coffee.

Coffee.

Sometimes all she wanted day in and day out was coffee.

Reaching forward, she picked up a mug and cradled it in her hands - it was still warm, like it had just been freshly cleaned, straight from the hot water.

Annie had remembered feeling out of place before - plenty of times had she done things in her life where being the odd one out was normal for her. But now - even with just beautiful tablecloths and hot coffee mugs - she felt like being the odd one out was something she had to address. Right now.

Glancing around, officers and officials at the tables weren't looking at her (of course, they wouldn't be, why would they, this is normal for them), but for her, being in a place like this? With things like this? Annie set the mug down and then looked at the pot of steaming coffee. She debated. Did she need the cup of coffee?

"Hey," a voice said from somewhere to her left, causing her to turn away from the coffee pot and towards the voice, finding Lieutenant John Brady there, a smile on his face, as he slowly removed his crusher cap, "Bradshaw, right? New pilot for Silver Bullets?" A smile popped onto Annie's face as she suddenly took in that it was that pilot - from a day or two back - John Brady.

A part of her had been wondering when she'd see him again or even just around. He'd been nice, hospitable, and had a funny sense of humor she could get behind. People like that you wanted in your back pocket. Even if all she knew was his name and that he had a nice face.

"Yes. Annie Bradshaw." she said, unable to help her ever-present mannerisms and held out her hand (as if they hadn't met a few days ago and they'd all but tag-teamed Major Egan), "….uh, Brady?" He grinned - she knew it was him too, she couldn't forget a face like that, but she wanted to test the waters. Give a bit of it back.

"Brady. John Brady." he said, reaching forward to shake her hand, smile growing on his own face, "How's it been going? Hopefully Egan wasn't bearing too hard after your introduction a few days ago." Annie laughed - almost a bit nervously and awkwardly - trying to make impressions was something she was never great with, but things usually weighed in her favor at the end of the day.

"No, no, it was fine, really," Annie said, as she slowly dropped his hand, a slight tinge of warmth pooled in her stomach at the thought of his hand again - and the fact that was the second time she had even touched his hand, "Major Egan is definitely quite the character."

"That he is." Brady said with a laugh, shoving his hands in his pockets, nodding to her aviators in her front pocket, "Busy day?"

"Francis' showed me Silver Bullets," Annie said with a nod and a smile, "she's a beautiful plane." Brady smiled at her and then glanced over Annie's shoulder at Francis, before readjusting his eyes on her.

"That crew's really glad you're here," Brady said, face falling slightly, "after what happened…." Annie nodded to fill in the gapping hole of words.

"I'm giving them my all. After everything." Annie said quietly and Brady nodded, watching her, something in his lingering gaze a comfort in a way she would never make out, "Well, don't let me be in your way-"

"No, no not at all," Brady said quickly with a nod, "coffee drinker?"

"Yeah," she said, reaching up to run her hand along her hot collar a bit - almost like she couldn't get her mind in gear properly, "never did have much of any of these sorts of fixings back home, so….to say the least, I'm pretty stoked to try it out." She looked back to Brady who was watching her with a quiet look on his face, a soft grin riding his cheeks as he reached forward and took his own mug.

"You said you were from Mankato? Minnesota?" he asked her as she reached forward and picked up the pot of coffee and began pouring.

"Yeah," she said, turning to look at him as she poured, "didn't have a whole lot, but…it was home." There was a twinge of pain to that word. Home. Her mind blanked for a moment, before she was hearing a voice in her ear and her hand was burning.

"Look at you! You're spilling coffee. Here, here-" Annie blinked and turned her eyes and found Brady slowly removing the coffee pot from her grasp, the mug overflowing with hot coffee there on the starch table clothes, stained with dark puddles of drying liquid, her heart pounding. She watched frozen as Brady grabbed some napkins to dab at it, before looking to her gaze again.

"You okay there?" he asked her, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Didn't mean to batter you with questions, I swear my folks just raised me like that, questions and all-

""No." Annie said quickly, shaking her head and looking at her hand stained with hot coffee and gave a nervous smile, cheeks turning a bit pink, "I got….distracted. About home and this place. It's…it's all good. Sorry. About the coffee. And now the damn table cloths." Brady chuckled and took his hand off her shoulder and grabbed the empty mug and poured the coffee to a reasonable amount before handing it to her.

"Don't you worry, Little Birdie," he said with a smile, "it's a big place here. Lots to look at, get distracted by. Being so far from home anyway, that is. I'll let the cooks know-"

"Little Birdie?" she said, interrupting his train of thought. Brady grinned.

"You're a lot like Birdie. Captain Faulkner. You remind me of her, ya know? So - Little Birdie." he said with a smile, "Much better than Egan calling you No Name, too." Annie let out a laugh and nodded.

"Yeah, way better." she said and Brady smiled. For a moment, they stared at each other before Annie cleared her throat and looked at the coffee cup and back up at him.

"I'll be-"

"Your hand okay-" The two looked at each other before letting out a few nervous laughs.

"You first." Annie said, "Rank does its duties."

"We're both Lieutenants, Bradshaw."

"You're 1st. I'm 2nd." she said with a smile, "So?" Brady smirked, before the corner of his eyes and lips softened.

"Your hand okay? The coffee was pretty hot." he said softly and she nodded.

"Fine." she said, "Had cuts and bruises worse than this. Climbed trees as a kid." Brady watched her, brow peaked in interest. She smirked. "Also fell out of a lot of trees, too, so….all good." Brady let out a chuckle at her words, watching expectantly as she cleared her throat.

"And yes…..I was just going to be going. Don't want to hold you up." she said and then looked up at him. "I'll see you around?"

"Yeah, of course," Brady said, "probably flying club, right?" Annie raised a brow.

"Flying club?" She really was quite clueless on more than she thought.

"Drinks, dancing, music - get the tension out of your shoulders sorta thing." he said, another grin growing, "So, I'll probably see ya tonight?"

"Right." Annie said with a smile, holding the mug close to her, forgetting about cream or sugar, "Sounds good to me. I'll see you around. Thanks. Sorry again." And with that, she was turning away, slightly mortified at her clear inability to pour coffee efficiently. She hurried towards Francis at a table with their food, slamming her body and the mug of coffee down, meeting Francis' slightly annoyed gaze at the rough presence announced.

"You okay?" Francis asked her, eyeing the coffee and Annie's face again, "You look a little flustered. Hey, you drink black coffee?" Annie looked between the coffee and Francis and then sighed again.

"I meant to grab…." Annie looked over her shoulder and watched as Brady poured some cream into his own coffee cup - the one she had previously overflowed, to her own mortifying realization - and was now wandering away with, sipping it ever so gently, settling into a spot beside DeMarco. A pair of fingers snapped in front of her face and she turned quickly to look at Francis.

"Grab what? The LT's attention or a donut?" Francis said, before chuckling at Annie's slightly flustered expression and chuckled, "I'm just kidding you, c'mon, let's eat up. I think we're doing a practice run, just us girls - maybe with Just-A-Snappin', too." Francis bit into a piece of toast, "Harding wants to see us in the air. 'Longside another crew."

"Alright." Annie said with a nod, "We can make that happen." Francis smiled.

"Good," Francis said, "now, eat up. Don't need my pilot going hungry in the cockpit. Might have to feed you some of Margie's crushed up peanuts she's always carrying around-"

"Oh God." Annie murmured, "Bessie warned me….briefly…"

"Yeah, they're a goddamn curse on that thing, but she swears on it. Superstitious that one is." Annie chuckled at Francis' words and they continued to eat and discuss their day. Annie couldn't help but think of it all though - porcelain, silk and starch.

Everything and all things.

When you came from nothing, things like that were practically gold.

[dragon-business]

Y0 antagonists ratings/opinions

Mister(s) Shakedown(s) + Amon

Didn't get to Amon in Y0, because we didn't finish these quests. One of the few that we didn't do in full, actually. Didn't seem as fun at the moment. Amon gets a pass, because he gets more screen time in later games. 

Evilness: 4/10 robbing people is bad, I heard Forgetability: 7/10 hard to forget, when Amons are in each game Iconic level: friend of a mutual tells me they’re cool/10 memes Free slot: ????too hard to get through to the good parts

2. Helicopter-car chases

These sequences was pure torture. My hands were cramped even when I wasn't holding the controller. Every minute lasted an hour. The fucking bazookas? Infuriating. Worst survival horror game.

Evilness: 9/10 fuck this shit, let me out of the car Forgetability: 1/10 still feel the cramps .__, Iconic level: 0.5/10 “look, just like in the movies, right?” Free slot: 1,5/10 on enjoyment scale 

3. Cult leader from the substory

Pretty funny scam artist, all the later games character development got him on the list. We love us a lil fucked up reoccurring character.

Evilness: 8/10 doing terrible things to vulnerable people Forgetability: 4/10 forgot about him each time until the next appearance Iconic level: 4/10 will never forget that dance Free slot: retirement home for one million years for the grandpa

4. Dojima captain guy 1

????????

Evilness: 7/10 he’s a yakuza, after all, he’s done some bad stuff, probably Forgetability: 10/10 who? Iconic level: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Free slot: forgot he existed

5. Dojima captain guy 2

Purple suit guy with the boxing/dancing ring in the basement was pretty fab. He gets extra points for the drip. Otherwise idk what he- wait he saved Majima that one time? Huh. You keep learning things.

Evilness: 7/10 normal yakuza guy doing yakuza things Forgetability: 9/10 I know he was there, I guess Iconic level: 3/10 purple suit points Free slot: purple suit, that’s all I remember

6. Kuze

First fight with him was pretty tough. And then he just kept coming back, again and again. With desperate determination. And Kiryu got stronger and stronger between each encounter. And Kuze stayed on the same level, just looking more and more beat up. And that's amazing storytelling through game mechanics, but also really iconic, ngl. 

I mean, man rode a dang motorbike in the sewers. He got the motorbike in the sewers, positioned it in the right spot to start the chase (did he get help for that?), and then rode it down there, through the nasty Kamurocho pipes, hunting down an annoying twunk like a medieval baron chasing a boar. All this while already beat up by said twunk. And he gets beaten again. Rolling in that sweet sewage water in his bandages. 

Evilness: 6/10 he’s out there vibing to his own tunes Forgetability: 1/10 he Will Not Let You Forget about him, even if you’d want to Iconic level: 8/10 meme icon Free slot: he seemed like real threat at the start, but by the chase in the sewers he was our pal, our failmate bro, all the respect to his dedication o7; 4/10 on actual fights and smartness

7. Kashiwagi 

He's on the list for what he did to Nishiki. Just sent the brother of his son to kill, uhh, his son. Just like that. Like, I get that he had his reasons, he really thought he was doing good, he thought he's saving Kiryu from suffering. Because of course it is all about Kiryu and what he supposedly (probably) (maybe) needs.

Evilness: 7/10 good intentions on the way down Forgetability: 0.5/50 look at him slurping cold noodles in his first scene, he’s stealing the show Iconic level: 7.5/10, again, look at the man eating noodles like a dad Free slot: 2/10 top tier dad, bless. 

8. Sagawa

He's such a masterfully done abuser. Partially because he acts so nice. But there's always an unnerving feeling underneath it.

He only resorts to violence when everything's gone to shit. But it always feels like he's capable of it at any moment. It's like a rock constantly looming over, waiting to drop.

Evilness: 8.5/10 on the creep scale, very good for the story Forgetability: 2/10 he’s in your walls, he owns your walls, your balls, and your paycheck Iconic level: 6/10 smartly dressed Free slot: 1/10 as a person, would deck him on sight; thank g-d Majima's away from him now

9. Shimano

Smart, playing the long game, but really, in Y0 he seemed smarter than he is. 

Long distance threat to Majima's safety, the threat he has trouble seeing as one. And that's the real kicker, that's the horror of it all – Majima striving to get back in the family, back under Shimano's thumb in his self-destructive last mission quest. Majima deciding to come back/stay even after the Hole, after y0, Majima getting so close to freedom but not being able to grasp it, and rationalising staying near Shimano for years, rebelling, but never separating in full.

And Shimano perfectly understands the power he has over Majima, and is always ready to use it. To break him at a moment's notice, if it will be useful for his plans. And this is way more uncomfortable and terrifying than Sagawa's brand of underlying threat.

Evilness: 12/10 made us start the “save Majima” movement Forgetability: 0/100 burned into my brain in the worst way possible Iconic level: 3/7 fashion sense is kinda bland, but he does have a presence Free slot: again, would deck on sight, but still – amazing character writing, very cool points for Majima’s story

10. Oda

Big oof moment, amaright?..

Such a fascinating character. He's not stereotypical, and has a compelling, layered personality, which is amazing for a gay man in the big hit game. But also. Ooof. Such a big oooof.

But, surprisingly in this day and age, it's not being gay that made him a piece of trash awful man who died. He was all that on his own, it was just his shit finally catching up to him in the end. And the love for Tachibana was actually his saving grace in life, a point of growth as a person (albeit small). So not denying him that, no. Even one-sided, it made him more human. 

Idk if writers did all that on purpose, but these points felt very distinct in the story.

It's fascinating how Oda's character is a (terrible) person first, and he just happens to be gay. But also, him being gay is ultimately important. We played y0 before all the gay shows took over the screens, and this storyline hit us like a train. Can tell you a lot about the state of queer media at the time.

– Me, after we've met Oda: hehe, he totally has it for the boss The plot: 

– Me, after seeing them interact on screen: hehe, Tachibana is making him suffer :3c Me, when plot: .___.

Evilness: 9.5/10 the 0.5 is from his love for Tachibana  Forgetability: -100/10 I lay awake at night thinking about this bitch Iconic level: 1000/5 look at him, man’s shining Free slot: Bidoof

11. Nishitani

Hated him at the start, because he's a creepy cat, because of the noises, and also because of that one slide on the ground with the knife wiggle, you know the one. Unironically love him now, because the world out there is full of far worse people, and he sure did his attempt at surviving it.

(He totally crawled away at the end, no body no finale, I stan by this)

Evilness: 7/10 he's pretty fucked up, ngl, bringing corpses to Majima like a stray cat Forgetability: -10/10 lives rent free in everyone's head Iconic level: 9/10 man's been on the screen the least but made an impression of a lifetime (on all of us, and on Majima) Free slot: yet another normal cat that everyone think is a "mad dog"; honorary Knife Guy

12. Dojima

Organized a wholeass hunt for Kiryu, got Makoto shot, planned a big power grab, put it all on the table… and lost it all. To Sera.

Respecting him for the effort, he didn't let us rest once. Not respecting what his drinking (and other life choices) made him into later, but even before that I struggle to see what Yayoi saw in him. Apart from maybe her being a young girl from a yakuza family that arranged a political marriage for her when she wasn't even 20 yet. And there is a story here that can be very interesting, like, did you know that (according to rggo) at this exact time Sera was a student that was often arrested on protests? In this essay I will-

Evilness: solid 8/10 he do be scheming Forgetability: 1/10 dragon of who, you say? (Kiryu is very much the dragon of Daigo by this point, but yeah) Iconic level: 5/10 dressed good and has big presence, but derails down the line to a total (not hot) mess, so no respect  Free slot: you know, right? Daigo is totally Seras' so- *gets gutted by Yayoi*

13. Knife guy

When Kiryu went through his (and ours) first Long Building™️ to get to the (first) fight with Kuze, we encountered Him. The guy with the knife. 

It was already tough going through room after room of generic enemies when Kiryu wasn't that strong yet, and we weren't that skilled with the controls. And the Knife Guy was the first recurring enemy, a small mini-boss with a stabby knife that would bleed us dry and leave us savescumming. And he kept coming back. Again, and again, and again, and-

Before Kuze. Before Majima Everywhere. Before everything. There was an unkillable lil freak with a knife that just wouldn't quit until you literally threw him out of the 2nd floor window.

And I think it's beautiful.

Evilness: 5/10 man’s just doing his yakuza job, and doing it well Forgettability: -10000000000/10 who could ever forget this man the- *checks notes on the hand* Tomoda Iconic level: ∞-1/10 there is a knife guy shape forever imprinted in our hearts but there is still free room left, because Free slot: in this world only Majima surpasses him, because Majima is, of course, The Ultimate Knife Guy

- before / navigation / next

[drunkenlyamess]

⊹₊⟡⋆Richie Tozier multi ff

⊹₊⟡⋆Richie Rozier x m!oc

⊹₊⟡⋆CW- Drinking, cussing, mentions of body dysmorphia, m!oc is low-key a horrible person, enemies to lovers, homophobia, bullying, smoking, questioning of sexuality.

⊹₊⟡⋆AN- this is a very long chapter, mostly of Scotty intro. Which he’s a total asswipe, main characters ain’t always gonna be likable I guess. All wrote in 3rd person. Reblogs and comments are always suggested.

00 ← → 02

01

THE stench of strong liquor clung to the air, thick and pungent. It was a smell that never quite left Scotty's room, lingering as if was foggy memory that haunts ones brain. The faint, stale scent of cigarettes also clung to his clothes, weaving through the fabric of his wardrobe, leaving traces of nicotine and ash in every corner.

A muffled groan broke the stillness, the sound low and raspy as Scotty stirred beneath his plaid comforter. His limbs were tangled up in the thick fabric, struggling against its tight hold. With a sudden motion, he kicked the comforter off his body, and it fell in a lazy, soft plop to the wooden floor with the rest of the clutter in his room.

Slowly, he rose, gripping the edge of the bed, his fingers brushing the sheets still warm from his body. The coldness of the air conditioned room seemed to hit him at once, but the heat from the bed lingered on his skin. He blinked, trying to shake off the remnants of sleep, the heaviness still clinging to his eyes. The sunlight, pale and weak, filtered through the curtains, spilling into the room in thin, fractured beams. The light cast itself over the clutter—dirty clothes, empty bottles, half smoked cigarette butts—painting the mess in strange, warm shades of orange.

It was almost surreal how something so chaotic, so unkempt, could be made to look, if not beautiful, then at least strangely poetic in the soft embrace of the morning light.

But Scotty never cared to see the beauty in anything, not in the world around him, nor in the people who crossed his path. He was the kind of person who only saw the cracks in the pavement, the stains on the walls, the flaws in everything. Some said he was a natural pessimist, but Scotty liked to think it was simply a clearer way of looking at things. After all, the world didn’t give him any reason to believe in its goodness, so why bother pretending? Maybe it was because, deep down, he knew he was a terrible person—a fact that wasn't exactly a secret to anyone who knew him. There wasn’t a single person who could name one decent thing he’d ever done, not even him. But he wasn’t about to lose sleep over it. Life was too short to sit around and worry about stuff like that. The more you cared, the more it dragged you down.

With a grunt, Scotty pushed himself off the bed, his bare feet meeting the cool wooden floor with a soft thud. The slight chill of the wood against his soles sent a shiver through him, but the warmth of the room still clung to his skin, like a half-forgotten memory. He swayed for a moment, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand as he took in the chaotic disarray of his room.

Without a second thought, he kicked the mess aside, the sound of his foot pushing through papers and bottles of alcohol that was drunk to very last drop echoing briefly before silence returned. Stumbling forward, he half-walked, half-shuffled towards the door, his mind barely registering the action as he moved. The hallway outside was dim, lit only by the weak morning light filtering in from somewhere down the stairs. He reached for the bathroom door, fingers wrapping around the cold metal knob, only to find it locked.

A frustrated groan escaped his throat, low and guttural, as he shoved his shoulder into the door, his fist pounding against the wood. Each bang was harder than the last, a rhythmic thud that resonated in the quiet house, as if the force of his anger might somehow break through, both the door and the frustration gnawing at him. But nothing gave way—not the door, not his bitterness. The silence that followed felt even heavier.

“You’re taking forever,” Scotty muttered through the door, his voice flat and laced with irritation. He let his hand drop to his side, fingers lightly tapping against his leg as he shifted his weight impatiently from one foot to the other. His mind wandered as he stood there, but the silence was starting to annoy him more than usual.

The door creaked open just as he was about to say something else, nearly hitting him in the process. His younger sister stood in the doorway, looking at him with a mix of annoyance and indifference. She was only a few months younger than him, but there was always a noticeable difference in how people treated them. Despite being only a grade below, she always seemed to get the attention. And it wasn’t because she was anything special to him; it was because she looked just like their mother—sharp features, easy smile, the kind of face that caught compliments from strangers and praise from teachers. He was fine with that. Scotty was used to being the shadow, the one who slid under the radar, always a step behind.

“You just woke up. You don’t even know how long I’ve been in here,” she muttered, her voice muffled from behind the door as she stepped out. The dim light of the bathroom spilled into the hallway, casting a pale glow over the small space. She was already dressed, her outfit as unremarkable as ever—a brightly colored shirt that looked identical to every other shirt she owned. It was loud, just like her, but not in the way people would expect. There was something about her presence that drew people in, some easy charm that seemed to make her fit in wherever she went.

Despite that, she always hung out with the same group of weirdos—the ones who proudly called themselves the "Losers Club," a name that Scotty found both ridiculous and oddly fitting. He didn’t get it, didn’t get her, but she seemed to like it. It was like she was trying to prove that she didn’t care about what others thought, even when it was obvious she did.

“Okay, whatever,” Scotty mumbled, already losing interest. He shoved past her, not bothering to move gently. His shoulder brushed against her as he entered the bathroom, a little more force than necessary, his irritation flaring up. As he spun around on his heel, he slammed the door behind him, the sound echoing through the small hallway.

He could hear her groan on the other side of the door, a mix of frustration and resignation. The soft thud of her shoes hitting the floor grew fainter as she walked off, the sound muffled by the thick wood between them. He didn't care.

Turning toward the mirror, Scotty let his eyes drift over his reflection, his gaze immediately drawn to the deep bags under his eyes—puffy and dark, the remnants of sleepless nights and days that bled into each other without distinction. He didn’t need anyone to tell him he looked like hell. It was clear in every line of his face. His eyes slowly shifted downward, tracing the outline of his bare torso. He barely recognized himself anymore—skin stretched thin over bones, his chest narrow and ribs visible beneath his pale skin. "Skin and bone," he thought bitterly, as though that’s all he was, that’s all he'd ever be. His hands hovered over his ribs, fingertips pressing lightly into the hollows, the bone sharp under the surface, a constant reminder of how little substance he felt he had left.

With a quiet exhale, he let his hands drop, the feeling of his own body somehow both foreign and familiar. It was like he was looking at a version of himself that didn’t belong, a body that had aged in the wrong direction.

He reached for his toothbrush, not bothering with any sort of routine. He squeezed out a generous amount of toothpaste and brushed quickly, his motions mechanical. The minty freshness of the paste hit his mouth, but it felt out of place, like he was trying to erase something that couldn’t be scrubbed away. When he finished, he spat into the sink, the white foam mingling with the grime and stains that had settled there—who knew how long it had been since the sink had been cleaned? The dark stains of toothpaste that had dyed the porcelain over time were a constant reminder of his sister’s careless habits. It was one of those things he never bothered to fix, not that it mattered.

Bending down, he rifled through the cluttered bathroom cabinet, his hands brushing past half-empty bottles of shampoo and old cans of shaving cream, until his fingers finally closed around the familiar glass bottle—vodka, the kind that always sat in the back of the cabinet like an old friend, waiting for him. His fingers tightened around the neck of the bottle as he pulled it free, the weight of it grounding him in some way. He twisted the cap open, and the sharp, pungent smell of alcohol instantly hit his nose, burning his senses as he raised it to his lips. He took a quick sip, the taste of the vodka mixing with the leftover minty freshness of his toothpaste, the two flavors clashing in his mouth. The combination was jarring, leaving a bitter aftertaste that made him grimace slightly. He couldn’t help but cringe as the burn spread down his throat.

Scotty slammed the bottle down on the counter, the harsh sound of glass against the tile making him flinch. His head shook involuntarily, the alcohol settling uneasily in his stomach.

He quickly grabbed a shirt from the laundry basket sitting by the door—something from the pile of worn clothes he never bothered to sort. He brought it to his nose, sniffed it briefly, and shrugged as he threw it on. It didn’t smell terrible—probably a little stale, but it would do. He dug around for something else to wear, finally pulling out a pair of jorts from the pile at the bottom. The denim was faded, worn out at the seams, but they were comfortable enough. He slid them on without a second thought, not bothering with the belt as they hung low around his hips.

He stepped out of the bathroom, flicking the light switch off with a quiet snap, the dim glow of the hallway casting long shadows as he turned the corner. The silence of the house seemed to close in on him as he walked down the narrow hallway, the floor creaking under his feet with every step. His mind was elsewhere, distracted by the thoughts that always buzzed around, uninvited and relentless.

As he entered the living room, his eyes immediately fell on the empty spot by the door where his sister’s book-bag usually sat. It was gone. That meant she was probably out with her "loser friends," as he liked to call them. It was an odd mix of resentment and indifference that he felt toward her social life—resentment because it felt like she was always somewhere else, somewhere he could never be, but indifference because, honestly, he didn’t care much about what she did anymore.

The sound of a car horn blared from outside, sharp and insistent. Scotty’s attention snapped to the window, and he could see the faint outline of a car idling on the street. He groaned under his breath, annoyed at the time slipping away faster than he’d expected. With a quick motion, he slipped on a pair of socks—one was mismatched, but it didn’t matter—and pulled on his worn-out Converse shoes. They had seen better days, the soles were practically flat, and the laces were fraying, but they were familiar, and in his world, that was good enough.

His bookbag, the one he had left by the door last night in a pile of clutter, was now hastily grabbed and thrown over his shoulder, the strap digging into his skin as he rushed out the front door. The door slammed behind him, the sound of it reverberating down the quiet street as he sprinted toward the car waiting for him.

He slid into the backseat of the familiar Chevrolet Cavalier, the leather of the seat cracked and worn from years of use. He barely registered the thrum of the engine as he tossed his bookbag beside him and plopped down next to Tina. She was already there, her cheerful smile almost blinding in its brightness, her presence filling the space around her like a constant, warm light.

Tina was one of those people who seemed to radiate goodness, like the sun itself could hardly shine any brighter than she did. People liked her easily—hell, even strangers liked her, it seemed. She was everything Scotty wasn’t, and he knew it. Tina deserved better, better than the chaos that seemed to follow him around, better than the mess he called a life. He didn’t deserve her friendship, but somehow, she’d stuck around. She was the kind of person everyone knew, the kind of person that should’ve been hanging out with the popular kids, not with a group like his.

The rest of their friends were no better. Jet and David, his best friends, were a bad influence in their own right—each one was a reflection of the same recklessness, the same kind of self-destructive behavior that had become second nature to Scotty. They didn’t offer anything good, just a series of bad decisions and distractions that only made him feel worse about the hole he couldn’t seem to climb out of.

But Tina, despite everything, kept showing up. She was always there, and Scotty couldn’t quite figure out why she stuck by him. Maybe it was pity, maybe it was something else.

“Yo, Scotty!” Jet called out, turning his head to face him from the passenger seat as David floored the gas pedal, the car screeching around the corner and weaving through the quiet neighborhood streets. The sound of the engine roared, but the air outside felt eerily still, as if the entire world was holding its breath.

Jet had that laid-back, effortless vibe—cool brown hair that always looked like it was styled without trying, and dark brown eyes that always carried the weight of exhaustion. His skin was tanned, and it did a decent job of hiding the pimples that dotted his face, but Scotty noticed. He always did. They’d been best friends since pre-K, always attached at the hip, like some kind of inseparable duo in the eyes of their parents. Scotty could still hear his mom’s voice, reminiscing about the good old days when they were so close. "You two were thick as thieves," she’d say with a nostalgic smile. But that was a lifetime ago—before everything had started falling apart.

Scotty grunted in response, shifting in his seat before reaching over to dap up Jet, their hands slapping together in a practiced greeting. He could feel the familiar warmth of his friend's palm, the same as it had been since they were kids. They had a bond that was impossible to break, even if it sometimes felt like it was all just a facade. After the quick exchange, Scotty let himself slump back into the seat, the worn leather creaking beneath him.

Tina, who had been sitting silently next to him, shot him a quick glance as he settled back. The moment her eyes flickered over him, the faintest wrinkle of concern formed between her brows. She’d caught the scent. It hit her all at once—the stale burn of vodka mixed with the remnants of minty toothpaste still lingering on his breath.

“Did you even do your hair? Jeez, Scotty.” Tina huffed, her voice light but tinged with irritation. Without waiting for an answer, she reached over, grabbing his head gently but firmly. She ran her fingers through his messy, shaggy hair, flattening it out a little, trying to tame the chaos. But as her fingers moved through the strands, the smell of alcohol grew stronger. Her expression shifted from irritation to concern. She paused, her brow furrowing. “Have you been drinking?” she asked, her tone more serious now, her eyes locking onto his.

Scotty winced internally but managed to mask it with a shrug. “It’s the last day of school, it’s fine,” he said, rolling his eyes as though the question was some kind of overreaction. It wasn’t like he was drunk. Just a couple of sips to get through the morning. He hoped Tina didn’t press him too much; the last thing he needed was a lecture.

Tina didn’t seem convinced. Her hand dropped from his head as she leaned back in her seat, staring at him with a mix of frustration and worry. But she stayed quiet, knowing he wouldn’t listen anyway.

David, who had been keeping his eyes on the road while simultaneously trying to keep up with the conversation, finally chimed in from the driver’s seat. “Scotty, come on. We’re just looking out for you,” he said, his voice calm but laced with concern. The car jerked slightly as he turned the wheel, signaling they were pulling into the school parking lot. The tires squealed a little as he brought the car to an abrupt stop, the engine rumbling to a low growl.

Scotty didn’t answer right away. His eyes shifted toward the school, feeling the weight of their words pushing down on him. He didn’t need to hear it. “I don’t need y’all’s comments,” he muttered, his voice laced with irritation. “Y’all ain’t my parents.”

The words felt hollow even as he said them, but he stuck to his usual defense. It was easier to lash out than to admit that maybe, just maybe, they were right. Maybe he was slipping. He grabbed his bookbag with a quick motion, yanking it off the floor and throwing it over his shoulder. With a final, sharp movement, he threw open the car door and slammed it shut behind him. The car rocked slightly from the impact, a subtle tremor that seemed to mirror the unsettled feeling crawling up his spine.

He didn’t wait for anyone else to say anything. Instead, he stormed off, his shoes tapping sharply against the pavement as he made his way toward the school entrance, the echo of his footsteps blending with the distant hum of conversation. The door to his life was closing behind him, and no one was going to stop him from walking through it alone.

00 ← → 02

[crusherthedoctor]

Passing this on ~

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love! 💞

Why Can't I Hold All These Sonic Fics.jpg

1. The big one is, unsurprisingly, the story that was formerly known as Sonic & Tails: Beyond the Stars, but is now known as Sonic Stellar. Yes, the former wasn't finished due to morphing into the latter, and the latter hasn't actually appeared on the site yet… and some of the changes made in the transition are almost opposite to how they were initially lol. But if it wasn't obvious from how long I've been working with the frame of this story, it's always been a work of passion for me.

The one-shots helped to warm me up, but with this, I wanted to make a full-on adventure. I wanted to share my portrayals of Sonic, Tails, Amy, Cream, and everyone else used in a context that comes with the textbook thrills, twists, and so on. I wanted to write the biggest, smartest, most ruthless version of Eggman I could, without sacrificing his comedic qualities. I wanted to create an OC that could endear instead of turn away, and help other writers - and critics - understand that it shouldn't be seen as an automatic death sentence for your story. I wanted to create a setting that had its own detail and character, one that could stand tall with the likes of Angel Island and the Little Planet. I wanted to pay the biggest tribute I could to the games. And all of this and more got amplified once IDW kept dropping the ball with all of it again and again and again and again and again and-

There has been stress, with how long I've spent on writing, editing, and re-editing constantly. There have been doubts, particularly when I compare it to what others have done in less time (I've always been self-conscious about not being an artist/animator, so when stuff like @skaruresonic's VN came out, I felt like a clown with how I only have words on a screen to my name). There have been fears of whether all this time spent will even be worth it reception-wise, whether any old readers will still like it after all this time, or if any new readers would see something they like. We can all say we write for ourselves, and that is true for me, because I'm not the kind of person to write something I would absolutely hate just because I have something to prove, but the fact of the matter is that we all want our work to reach out to others. We all want our stories to strike a chord with at least some people beyond just yourself, and to pretend otherwise is illogical, as is painting it as an inherently selfish or unhealthy thing so long as it doesn't consume you. Because if you did it only for yourself, if you didn't want it to connect with anyone else at all… why would you bother sharing it online?

But make no mistake. While I hope my story can appeal to those who could find an appeal in it, it's still firmly my story. I never made it, or spent all this time modifying it, for the sole purpose of appeasing anyone. It's always been my vision, and it should say something that despite all the stress, despite all the second-guessing, and despite all the moments where I've considered doing so when the fears of inadequacy and comparison have gotten too much… I've never gave up on it. Never gave up on Viridonia. Never gave up on Trudy.

2. Christmas Time, Christmas Island - Out of all the one-shots I've made, this is probably the one I'm most satisfied with. We've all had our own interpretations of what Sonic and Eggman's first encounter was like, and I'm happy my interpretation has its fans. I wanted it to have muh feels, but in a way that still portrayed Eggman as an unrelenting bastard that didn't actually care about Sonic. By making the bond seem genuine, it would cut deeper when it turned out to be a ruse cruise. It was also fun to write Sonic's recollection of it to Trudy, as well as her reaction to it.

3. In the Hall of the Would Be King - A deep dive into Eggman's psyche, and all without making him soft. Aside from naturally wanting to apply this treatment to my favourite character of all time, this was made as a stealth prequel to you know what, and despite the differences in the latter's current form as Stellar, it still works pretty well as one.

4. Tails and Amy Talk Things Out - The first one-shot I posted on here. At the time, I was sick to death of everyone hating on Tails to such an insane degree for his controversial Lost World portrayal (remember, there were people trying to petition his removal from the series), so I attempted to look at it from an angle that could feel plausible and in-line with his usual self. Casual interactions between Tails and Amy are also shockingly rare, so…

5. Shadow and Omega Get a Life - There are things I would have done differently if I made this one today, but overall I'm still happy with the intent, and writing Omega was really fun, to the point where I regret that he's not in Stellar since there wouldn't have been much of a role for him with everything else going on. Shout out to me for using the "Shadow looking at objects that briefly make him contemplate Maria without sending him into a breakdown" trope years before it became mainstream.

When will you write something that isn't Sonic, Crusher? I don't know, when will you write something that isn't full of shit, Ian Flynn? Haha gottem.

[nellie-elizabeth]

Grey's Anatomy: Blood, Sweat and Tears (20x08)

Full disclosure, I watched this episode with constant interruptions so my brain is even more scattered than usual as I try and remember everything that happened.

Cons:

Simone and Lucas just really isn't doing a lot for me. I wanted to be moved by Simone's speech at the end: "I'm a better Doctor because of you." I think the two of them have just caused each other too much pain, and not like... juicy, interesting, dramatic pain, just... two people acting really poorly, kind of boring and yet somehow simultaneously stressful to watch. So they hook up, and then the next day at the test, Lucas is avoiding Simone's eyes... come on. How many more rounds of pointless hesitation are we going to be on with these two?

Pros:

This Amelia and Monica thing is pretty fun. Nothing much has actually happened so far, but I'm excited for it to start happening. "I've seen your hands" is such a delightfully bonkers thing to say to a professional colleague, I don't think Amelia was at all off base with the vibe she was picking up. At least we get the (scarcely needed) confirmation that Monica is queer, as she drops the news that she's going through a messy divorce with her wife. I like what they're doing with Monica's character, she has a sort of no-nonsense attitude but she's so wonderful and affirming with her patients. I think it's that thing where if you talk to kids like they're human beings capable of knowing their own minds, they'll really respond to that. And the story about the young trans girl was really moving. When she revealed she was anxious about surgery because of people seeing her naked body, I teared up a little!

Dorian... holy shit, that was stressful as fuck, I thought they were going to kill him! This guy cannot get a break. As much as Lucas has annoyed me with his attitude about all of this, I do like the concept of it, the way Lucas has externalized his stress and bad feelings onto his patient, and actually has a pretty unique insight into how bad his time in the hospital has been accordingly. I hope Dorian doesn't take this setback too hard. I want to see this guy get to leave the hospital by the end of the season, please!

I actually liked Owen and Teddy's story in this episode if you keep it isolated: I have the feeling that it's going to cause more stressors between them based on the promo we saw for next week, and that already fills me with a sense of ennui. But for what this was all on its own? Yeah, I liked it. The two of them working together in the field to save lives, their day off interrupted by work but the two of them working well and not getting too fed up with the situation, this was all good stuff. I liked Owen's epiphany that they should invest in teaching people how to stop a bleed the same way they teach people to do CPR, and how this might save so many more lives. The daughter of the man who was injured had a really insightful point when she said that what Owen told her to do wasn't difficult, it was just that she didn't know what it was she should do, until someone told her.

The actress who plays Jules is lowkey one of the best performers this show has ever had. I think her character tends to be sort of muted compared to some of the bigger personalities around her, but when she gets her little moments, they really are affecting. It was so sweet for Yasuda to give up scrubbing in for a surgery in order to help Jules study. The moment when Jules is crying about how she just freezes up in front of the test and how she doesn't want to get fired and lose her job... that was so touching! And the two of them falling asleep together was sweet. I'm not saying I ship it, but honestly let's just go ahead and make this new MAGYK gang a polycule, shall we? I wouldn't be mad.

I heard the news recently that Schmitt will be leaving the show sometime in the next season, and that bums me out in a major way. I guess we'll have to hold on to every moment of him we do have left... and I liked the Jo and Levi moments in this episode, where Levi is confused and annoyed by Jo's apparent lack of investment, but when Jo reveals her anxiety about her patients, Levi immediately switches modes and reassures her that she's doing a great job!

That's all for this week. I'm definitely missing some little details given the scatter-shot way I approached this episode, but I thought there was a lot of promise here.

8/10

[softrenjunnie]

the battle of hogwarts l pj

pairing: reader x jay

characters: boyfriend!jay, friend!jake, brother!sunghoon, chosen one!heeseung, death eaters, voldemort, other small characters

genre: hogwarts!au, angsty angst (maybe a little speck of fluff somewhere? but i wouldn’t bet on it)

word count: 4.1k

warnings: mentions of blood, wounds, pain, death, torture and broken bones; swear words; character death.

note: spoilers !!!! i reference/talk about a lot of the stuff that happens in the battle of hogwarts, aka spoilers from the “harry potter and the deathly hallows” book (and movies), but i mean it’s a different story so it’s not super spoilery? note that heeseung plays the part of harry potter here !!!! also, the ending is rlly bad and weird (just like many parts of this oop-) but also pretty open so i guess there could be a pt 2? if i ever get the inspiration to write it heh

“stupefy!”

you heard the voice from behind you and managed to leap to your side to avoid the spell just in time, letting the red light instead hit the wall in front of you. you turned around, and instantly noticed the death eater who was standing many meters away, his wand by his head and ready to strike. “petrificus totalus!”

“protego!”

the beams shooting from his wand met the shield yours had produced, blocking it and letting its light die out. closing the distance between you, he lunged forwards and kept casting a variety of spells, which you, with great difficulty, blocked. you couldn’t hold your protection much longer, it was getting too tough - so instead, you turned around and made a run for it. a green beam of light missed your head by only a few centimeters, as you turned around a corner and kept running. you knew he was following you, and you knew you couldn’t keep this up; just as he rounded the corner, you pointed your wand to the roof above of him. “bombarda maxima!” you tried your best to keep your voice as steady and strong as possible, despite your wild nerves. the spell worked; soon, the death eater lay buried underneath the heavy stones that had just fallen.

you let out a sigh as you determined that he wasn’t going to rise, but you remembered to not let down your guard. there were perhaps hundreds of others inside and around the castle, and you knew from this little incident that they weren’t afraid to attack. so as you ran ahead, on towards the great hall where you hoped to find the people you were looking for, it was with your wand raised high and your eyes listening for every small sound in your vicinity.

you had been taken aback at first when that death eater had arrived; you hadn’t expected to meet anyone the moment you stepped out of the room of requirement. you thought everyone ought to be in the great hall, or perhaps outside of the castle - not lurking around on the top floors of the building. but none of that was what was going through your mind at the moment. you were focused on finding-

“jake, watch out!” you could recognize his voice from miles away, and especially when he was calling out for his best friend, but you don’t think you’ve ever heard such desperation in his voice ever before. at the end of the hallway, you spotted him - jay’s wand was shooting rays of all colors as he leaped forward, shooting down the woman in black, long robes who had just a second ago had a good grip around jake’s neck. she lay still on the floor, and for a few moments the boys stand as if frozen, until jake crouches down next to her and declares that she’s still alive, just fainted, to which both boys seem to calm down for a second. that is, until a scream is heard from a bit away, and the both of them run to where it came from, out of sight from you.

you were surprised that you had stopped in your tracks to watch the scene ahead of you, and you shake yourself before starting to run forwards again. reaching the end of the hallway, you turn to the way jay and jake had just gone. through the big entrance to the great hall, your eyes scanned over your two friends who were helping a ravenclaw girl, who you recognized to have been in your charms last year, fight off two death eaters. sprinting towards them, you watched as the girl, who you now remembered is called yewon, got hit by a spell right in the stomach, launching her into the wall behind her with great force.

as the wizard cheered his own accomplishment and was left unfocused on the other students, jake used the opportunity to strike. “expelliarmus!” he yelled, and the death eater’s wand flew out of his grip and onto the floor, close to where jay was currently standing, fighting the other death eater. as jake stunned the wandless wizard, jay did something he shouldn’t have - he bowed down to pick up the wand from the floor, but in that exact moment, the witch in front of him aimed towards him and was surely about to jinx him-

“levicorpus!” you yelled with all your might, now only standing a few meters away from them both, and the witch too dropped her wand, now hanging in the air upside down. 

jay turned his head to where your voice had come from, and his jaw dropped once he saw your face. “y/n?!”

“petrificus totalus.” the witch now dropped down onto the floor, head first, and you almost felt bad for her for a moment before you started thinking about what she could’ve done to jay if you hadn’t jumped in.

“what are you doing here?” jay exclaimed, coming closer to you. “are you completely crazy?”

“a small 'thanks' would’ve been nice,” you scoffed, and before he had the opportunity to say anything else, you turned your head to where your former classmate had crashed into the wall, and spoke again. “yewon? are you still there?”

you didn’t hear an answer, and you ran over to where you suspected she was - and she was right by the wall, lying on the floor and sobbing as she held an arm to her chest.

“hey, are you alright?” you crouched down next to her, placing a hand on her trembling shoulder.

“my arm...” she managed to get out in-between sobs. “it hurts...”

when you looked at it, it wasn’t bleeding nor did it have any visible curses on the skin. you turned your head around to jake, who was now standing behind you. “do you think it’s broken?”

“likely. with that force, i’m surprised more isn’t,” he said, and you nodded agreeingly, pulling out your wand and tapping it to her forearm.

“brackium emendo.”

yewon gave out another cry, but this time it wasn't out of pain. “thank you! thank you so much-”

“y/n,” you heard jay’s stern voice from behind you and you turned around once again. his arms were crossed over his chest, and if you had been anyone else, you likely would’ve crumbled under his gaze. but you couldn’t, not now, there were much more important things to do, people were still screaming on the other side of the castle walls and- “please, can’t we talk?”

you stood up, dusting off your knees with your hands before speaking to jake. “make sure she’s okay, please? and pick up that witch’s wand from the floor, and make sure neither of the death eaters get up.” jake nodded at you, flashing you a small smile, before you walked over to where jay was now standing, two tables away from the others.

the great hall was completely empty now, except for the four of you and the two stunned death eaters, and the atmosphere was almost tranquil, even though there was a full-on war going on just a small distance away.

“what are you doing here?” he asked, the desperation clear in his voice. “i thought they made it clear that-”

“i didn’t get to choose what i wanted to do, i was just forced into the room of requirement like everyone else, and-” you took a deep breath. “of course, i escaped. did you really expect me to just follow the others?”

“yes, because you’re underage, y/n!”

“by two months,” you spat, having a hard time controlling your anger at jay’s stubbornness. “i’m two months too young to fight? that doesn’t make any sense, you know i’m better at charms than most of your classmates!”

he shook his head, his eyes wandering around the room. “they were the rules, y/n. i can’t believe you-”

“can’t believe what? that i would want to fight for my school? fight for my friends? fight for this world to not go under-” you let a few tears fall down your cheeks, and you weren’t sure if it was out of exhaustion, frustration, or despair; likely a combination of them all. but you didn’t bother wiping them away. “fight for you. did you expect that i would just sit at home, just hoping that my friends, family, and boyfriend would all survive? not knowing anything and not being able to affect it would’ve killed me, i think you know-”

you were cut off as he pushed his lips onto yours. your eyes fluttered closed instinctively, and your hand that wasn’t currently holding your wand went up to cup his cheek. he tasted of blood from a small cut on his bottom lip and you tasted of salt from your tears, but neither of you minded. kissing jay felt so familiar; it felt like you were home again. it felt like you were back in your common room with him like you’d been a year ago, when no war had been going on and no dark lord was preparing for his final battle. jay’s lips smoothed over yours with such ease and such softness that if you hadn’t been standing, you could’ve fallen asleep from it.

“hey guys,” jake’s voice made you jump into reality again, and you moved your hand from jay’s cheek to his chest to push him away from you far enough for your lips to part from his again. “i hate to be the one to interrupt your moment, but uh... we should really get going.”

you nodded towards him, before looking back over at jay again, who did not look like he had wanted to stop his previous actions, a tiny pout on his lips. now that you were standing so close to him, you could study his face; there were several smaller wounds all over it, and he winced slightly when you reached up to remove a small piece of glass that had been stuck in a cut below his right eye. you used your thumb to wipe away the blood which had leaked down from a bigger wound by his jaw. “episkey,” you whispered, watching as the skin melted together and soon looked as if nothing had ever happened to it.

there was a loud bang, and the glass of the windows behind the staff table shattered everywhere - and in through the hole ran at least a dozen new death eaters, followed by students, teachers, parents, and other adults who were fighting for your side. and amongst them, you spotted none other than your brother - sunghoon was dueling a death eater, whom you’d seen before in the newspapers, all alone, but as he struck the other wizard with a jinx that seemed to have an extreme force, the death eater flew and slammed into a wall just like yewon had done.

in the few moments that you had stood watching your brother, the people around you hadn’t stopped like you, but instead started helping out in battles. you instantly joined jay’s side again, helping him battle a tall and broad man whose wand was producing beams of light at a faster speed than you had ever seen before. “incarcerous!” jay roared, and ropes appeared out of thin air which wrapped around the death eater and held his limbs tightly together.

“good one,” you told him, and turned around to find someone else to help - but standing right behind you was none other than sunghoon. 

“jay, are you dumb?!” he screamed at the boy standing next to you. beads of sweat were rolling down his face and his dark eyes made him look of a mixture between exasperated and exhausted. “forcing my baby sister into a war?!”

“he didn’t force me, you idiot!” you frowned up at him, groaning. “i chose it myself. and what part of me is baby, sunghoon? i’m almost of age, start treating me like it!”

“either way, you can’t be here! you have to get back to the room of requirement!”

you shook your head and took a step closer to him. “in case you haven’t noticed, they’re fighting in here. if we don’t help out soon, we will all be dead. i’d rather die helping out than die arguing about this!”

you walked past him and raised your wand, ready to strike at a witch jake was taking on at the moment, but sunghoon grabbed your arm and pulled you back. you were about to shake him off and complain when he pulled you into a hug. holding you close, he muttered, “i can’t lose you. please, please, take care. never battle alone.” you squeezed him back and nodded into his chest, before pulling away from him. you heard how he told jay to protect you, and the two of them were just about to hug when a red light missed the tops of their heads by just a few centimeters, almost as if it was a signal that you all needed to get back to the war.

you and jay took on one death eater each, throwing spells and shooting colored jets through the air as quickly as you could. but after stunning your opponent, and helping jay do the same to his, you overlooked the room and realized just how many people there were. it was extremely crowded, with injured people crying for help while lying on the floor and voldemort’s helpers assaulting other wizards and witches with both their wands and their bodies. it was overwhelming, there were too many of them, how would you ever win this? your breath became uneven, and you felt like you weren’t getting any air. your head was spinning, and the ground felt like it was shaking below you - it likely was, to be honest - and you couldn’t stay in your place a second longer.

you turned around slowly, before moving towards the opening of the main hall and looked for the best place to go. to your left, your defense against the dark arts teacher was fighting two robed, tall men all by himself, though he seemed to have no problem doing so; to your right, the hallway was empty, so that’s where you went. you found a hole in the wall a bit away, and you could almost hear the fresh air of the night calling for you, so you climbed out through it. instantly, your lungs were filled with the cold air, making you close your eyes in satisfaction and sit down on the ground, relaxing fully. you instantly felt better, and you felt like you wouldn’t have to be out here for a lot longer before you could back inside, just-

“look at who we have here,” said a female voice from beside you, and you opened your eyes and flew up to stand on the stone debris from what had formerly been the wall. you recognized her instantly - she was one of voldemort’s most faithful followers, and you had read about her and her escape from azkaban in the newspapers before. “isn’t it the little mudblood who’s been helping lee heeseung in his plans against the dark lord?” you raised your wand to attack, but she was quicker. “expelliarmus!” your wand flew up into the air and landed right by her feet. you didn’t even bother trying to fetch it, you knew it would be to no avail. “tell me where the boy is hiding, and i shall spare your life.”

“i don’t know!” you cried out.

she raised her eyebrows. “hmm. maybe this will make you remember. crucio!”

you had never experienced pain like this in your life. you crashed down onto the ground, unable to control anything in your body. the pain was obliterating, intense, all-consuming. you screamed, but you couldn’t hear yourself, all your senses being dulled out by the pain. 

and suddenly, she broke off the curse, though your muscles were still throbbing from the curse. “do you know where he is now, then?” she sneered.

“no-” just as you had managed to whimperingly utter the word, she flicked her wand once again. the second hit of the spell felt a lot like the first, but this time she held it for much longer. your bones were on fire, a million knives were pushing into your skin, boiling water was being poured over your body, your head was about to explode-

the relief you felt when she stopped the curse for the second time was indescribable. high-pitched, horrifying laughs were flowing from the death eater’s mouth before she once again spoke. “i think you know now.”

you wanted to slap the grin off her dark lips, but you had no energy to even stand up. instead, you gathered your last bits of power, and said, “i don’t. and even if i had known, i wouldn’t have told you.”

she chuckled, before shaking her head at you. “you silly girl... you deserve this.”

the third time the spell hit you, it was much worse than the other two times; she must’ve gone extremely angry by now. it felt as if you were in space, there was no air for you to breathe. your lungs weren’t working properly. you wished to do anything to make this extreme pain go away, anything... even disappear or... die...

though it had felt like an eternity for you, there were only a few moments after she’d cursed you that the curse was interrupted once again. you couldn’t even look up; you were curled into a ball on the ground, eyes shut tight, wishing that everything would just be over...

soon, there was a shuffle beside you, and soon a hand lay on your shoulder, shaking it gently. “y/n? are you alive? please, be alive...”

by now, you were just barely breathing; it was too hard, it took too much energy from you and you already had very little left.

“hey, it’s all fine now,” a voice told you, as a hand caressed your cheek. “she’s gone. you’ll be fine. please, just-” the voice paused, and when it returned, you could tell that the person by you had turned around and was now yelling towards the entrance of the castle. “jake! get some water, quick!”

you were too exhausted to listen clearly to his voice and try to recognize it, but from his wording, you could easily tell who it was. slowly, you opened your eyes, looking up at jay who sat crouched next to you. he had more bruises and wounds all over his face now than he had had when you had left him, and he was looking down at you with eyes of such panic that you’d never seen before. “fuck, y/n,” he mumbled. “you can’t just go off like that. do you realize how-”

he stopped in his tracks when you reached up with a hand to thread your fingers through his hair, pushing his fringe back and out of his eyes. “i’m fine.”

“a-are you sure?”

you nodded slowly at him, closing your eyes once again and letting your arm fall to your side. “i just need to...rest a bit...” jay let out a sigh of relief, and his hand went from your shoulder and up to your face, letting his thumb wipe away a few tears that you hadn’t noticed shedding. “what happened to her?” you hummed, voice low.

“oh, you didn’t hear it?” you furrowed your eyebrows. “i stunned her at first, but then voldemort spoke over the grounds and told his forces to retreat, to give us one hour to treat to everyone’s wounds and to say our goodbyes to those who are leaving us. he said that heeseung has an hour to give himself in, or else the war is on again.” 

you were surprised that you hadn't heard voldemort's voice, but then again, you even now had to put in all your force to hear jay properly. you looked up at him. “he’s not going to, is he?” you questioned, to which jay merely shrugged. “he can’t, that’s-”

“y/n, are you okay?! someone told me what happened,” said jake as he came up to you two, an empty plastic bottle in his hand. “i only found this, it’s empty, i know, but i mean you can always-”

“aguamenti,” jay said to cut off his friend’s rambling, filling the bottle quickly before handing it to you. thanking them both, you sat up straight, although every muscle and every ligament in your body screamed as you did, and drank a couple of sips.

deciding that you wouldn’t get anything done sitting there all night, you put away the bottle and pressed your hands into the ground, trying to push yourself up, but instantly failed. jay saw your struggling and bolted up, offering his hand down to you and helping you stand up once you took it in yours. “how’s your balance?” jake asked as you froze for a few seconds when you were trying to figure out if you were blacking out due to the stinging feeling in your head or due to your blood pressure dropping from standing up too quickly.

“not good enough,” you chuckled. “will you guys help me?” they both nodded, and soon they were by your sides, letting you throw your arms across their shoulders to steady you.

as you walked into the castle again through the hole you had come out from a while ago, you couldn’t help but to think about what jay had said earlier. say our goodbyes to those who are leaving us... he made it seem like there are many who were too injured to bring back. there couldn’t be a lot, could there?

“where is heeseung?” you asked, moving your head between them to look at their faces. “he knows we are fighting, right? he can’t give up!”

jake stopped in his tracks, which made you jump back too even though you all were just a few meters from the main hall by now, and he gave jay a very specific look. “you haven’t told her, have you?”

jay rubbed his hand that wasn’t holding you up against the back of his neck. “i- i haven’t found a good moment to do it!”

“wha-” was all you could let out before jake spoke again.

“and you think this is a good moment?!” he almost yelled, shaking his head at jay.

“i don’t think we’ll find a better one, nor that we have any choice,” jay groaned, and just as your confusion and frustration of not being allowed into the conversation peaked, someone ran into your view.

“oh my god, y/n!” cried yewon, running up to you. “i’m so sorry for your loss, i wish there was something i could’ve done-”

and that’s when it hit you. you realized what jay and jake had been referring to, but you refused to believe it. she must’ve been confused, it can’t have been true, nothing was wrong-

you pulled away your arms from the boys and ignored their calls of your name when you sprinted forwards, past yewon and into the hall. you pushed away your thoughts of your aching muscles and how it was likely unwise to do this; nothing was more important right now than making it all the way to where the dead bodies lay in the middle of the room. they had removed the tables by now, and people were gathering in groups around the wizards and witches on the floor, though you couldn’t see anything other than the one body you were aiming towards. and as you reached him, the world turned black.

“sunghoon,” you whispered, crouching down to the floor and shaking him by his shoulders. “please, sunghoon. you’re not dead, you can’t die, not now, you...” before you knew it, your sobs were uncontrollable, your face buried in his dusty cloak. this couldn’t be real. there was no way. “wake up... i beg of you...”

you felt someone sit down next to you, and then a hand on your back. you instantly turned around and threw yourself into jay’s embrace, crying out loud. your hands clutched at the material covering his chest and once again you had trouble breathing, your breaths unnaturally short and rapid. jay held your trembling body to him as tightly as he could, hoping that if you felt that he was there with you he’d be able to hold you down in reality, to make sure your mind wasn’t floating away. 

but as time passed, and you started realizing that sunghoon wouldn't come back, your sorrow turned into something else. vengefulness. they weren't getting away with this. 

[jalebi-weds-bluetooth]

Hi Dear Jalebi, I demand your analysis :)   What are your thoughts on IPKKND might have some typical track if the audience, TRP, actors departure didn't influence it otherwise? Let me explain, IPKKND was supposed to have a longer office track (that wasn't common though, I would've loved it) but the TRP was low, so Shantivan track was introduced. Then, I read that, Sana Maqbul (Lavanya) wanted to quit IPKKND, that's why the quick breakup???

Is that why they didn't give us the COMMON AF *jealousy and hero's ex GF turns villain* track? Then again, Anjali was jealous and sad about Khushi after the first reveal of Shyam, and it looked like track about Didi Ki Saut was beginning. But again ratings dropped and the fandom didn't react well (kinda protested), Anjali quickly stopped showing jealousy and Dadi was introduced to give ArShi a common saas-bahu vibe.

Hello Dear Analysis Anon!

I am going to over answer this with a lot of detail because I have a lot of thoughts, as always! Time to get into my thinking cape/coat:

This analysis is going to cover:

(1) every example you just mentioned,

(2) my thoughts on external things affecting plot of the story,

(3) things/plots/ tracks that could've been if not for external factors

Examples

1) IPKKND was supposed to have a longer office track (that wasn't common though, I would've loved it) but the TRP was low, so Shantivan track was introduced

As far as I can remember from one of the writers' interviews, the office track was cut short because this was a show on Star Plus - which, as a channel, caters to 'family audience' therefore needs to have sanskaar and stuff at its core. Hence the rude shortening of the office track and weird 'makeover' and 'desi-dying' Lavanya. And hence we had a very weird four months of an eighteen-twenty years old Khushi teaching someone about sanskaars and suddenly knowing everything about a household when Bua-ji or even Payal would've been a more apt choice for this 'tutoring'.

If this was a Star One show, they might've not shifted out of the office for the longest time!

2) Sana Maqbul (Lavanya) wanted to quit IPKKND, that's why the quick breakup??? Is that why they didn't give us the COMMON AF *jealousy and hero's ex GF turns villain* track?

I did not know that's why the quick end happened. Honestly that happened perfectly. I think Lavanya had an inkling about their relationship heading south right when Arnav told everyone he's getting engaged to her. But she chooses to not see it until one day she couldn't. Maybe we could've gotten more from La but if you see carefully, La clearly knows that this relationship is now just for face. Bless her heart for trying though, trying with a smile!

Also, again I think the writers never thought of making Lavanya a vamp. They had enough material with Arnav-Khushi's own differences, Shyam and Buaji playing enough roles to mess up Arnav-Khushi's love story. I probably think they always had planned Lavanya as a beautiful person who was unintentionally caught in all of this. I feel they planned La and Khushi's friendship - they clearly enjoyed writing two completely different people becoming closest of friends.

The writers/creators deserve full credit for this.

3) Then again, Anjali was jealous and sad about Khushi after the first reveal of Shyam, and it looked like track about Didi Ki Saut was beginning. But again ratings dropped and the fandom didn't react well (kinda protested), Anjali quickly stopped showing jealousy and Dadi was introduced to give ArShi a common saas-bahu vibe.

This is all true.

My Thoughts on External Things Affecting Plot

It's not necessarily bad that external things affect plot. Feedback, from channel or fans, can help the show to pivot and understand what is working and what's not. The problem is when feedback is implemented regardless whether or not it matches the theme of the plot.

I loved:

1) The channel moving out of the office because the power dynamic was too great and the contract terms were very unhealthy and Arnav Singh Raizada deserved to get sued at least 10 times by the end of this contract so yes, the shorter the office track the better. Literally the saving grace is they didn't "fall in love" there.

2) The fans protesting against Didi Ki Saut track. Not because I hated the track - I think it was executed in the worst manner! From identical visual languages to show Arnav-Anjali and Arnav-Khushi scenes (which didn't work to show Arnav being equally torn between the two most important women in his life, but just made the audience get creeped by Arnav-Anjali's relationship) and writing scenes of Anjali getting offended by Arnav-Khushi's intimacy/Arnav spending time with his wife, on her birthday, in his bedroom... did she expect Khushi would just *disappear* in a her and Arnav's bedroom? Like that was the worst way to show a compelling plot line and giving people some weird thoughts about Anjali-Arnav (which I hate because I LOVE Anjali-Arnav).

3) Barun walking out when the plot was literally done. Yes, thank you!

4) Barun going to do a movie led to the kidnapping track, which I liked a lot. No, not the nonsense of Manorama Bond fishing out Delhi's security camera footages in vintage recording system - but the fact that given the chasm and angst between Arnav & Khushi, only something bigger than their misunderstanding could force Arnav to give weight to his feelings and for Khushi to be able to forgive him. And his life was at stake. It was a sharp reminder to both of them that they lost so much by not communicating that it doesn't matter what they had to say - they loved each other, they just needed to get back and fight off everything together.

And then again, there are things I HATED that happened because of external factors:

1) The channel for the whole La becomes Desi. And the overdose of sanskaar and tradition that followed for a few months *uggggh* Clearly the channel demanded this from the plot because family, traditions and all are important to Star Plus (wtf are they thinking for Ghum Hai Kisi Ke? though or YRKKH?) And even the Aarav track and Mrs. India - two tracks with terrible execution - were very Star Plus recommended content. Just now Saath Nibhana Saathiya 2 had a Mrs. Surat/Gujarat track and Yeh Hai Chaahatein had a miracle child popping up...

2) The fans demanding Arnav & Khushi's proximity. The whole hut scene was *noooooo*. Lack of consent, body doubles, GLARING logical loopholes and them just trying to do it when one of them is really not in the mood and they were both so out of character. @phati-sari explains this really well in her post (just search for the hut to get all relevant posts on her blog)

3) Barun? Not exactly - he's never in control of the plot so really it's the writers that kinda know what to do with his presence and absence. Even if they get a short time, it's upto the creators who know if they use the last 2-3 weeks for stretching a random track as much as they can and give a rushed ending or quickly wrap up a crap track and give a satisfactory ending. A good example of this is Lavanya's exit - although rushed was dealt with grace, important conversations and memorable hugs. Bad one is the end of the show - I know Barun gave his papers but I wish they went the La way with the end of the show - important convos, teary hugs and a sweet moment (they tried their best tho...)

It's an ITV trend though to not plan for the end of a show... they stretch a crappy track as much as they can and have like a 2 min epilogue. Kasautii 2.0 was the funniest cause they had all misconceptions cleared, Komolika and Mr. Bajaj die and then have a weird 2 min pillow fight to show 'happy family'... guess in that way I'm glad we had whatever we did with IPKKND!

Possible Tracks Then

So if external factors didn't influence the show, we might have had the following:

1) A longer office track. It would end the way it did in canon though. I think it was prewritten that at one point Khushi would tear up the contract and hold him accountable for everything Arnav did. Just instead of 3-4 days it would've been 10-15 days after the contract.

2) Didi Ki Saut track. Honestly that was compelling if executed right. Sometimes you can have an antagonist without becoming a villain, Anjali the perfect character for that.

3) A separation track. I'm pretty sure Arnav-Khushi could have separated at some point in their six months marriage - this is just my inkling and not something I heard in an interview unlike the above two. If given full reign to writing, we probably would've gotten an angst heavy stuff at some point post marriage/6 months.

4) A remarriage track sans Dadi. We know why Dadi was introduced (honestly I didn't mind her, it was a track done well and kinda to redeem Arnav in front of the public eyes. It's a perfect track cause Arnav is 'nice' for standing up for her and kinda heals the wounds he caused in the first few months of the marriage by retorting someone who tells Khushi everything he told her...) But anyway I do think a remarriage was in the works, not because of TRPs but the way their whole 'marriage' was framed and how Khushi was broken because of the lack of everything in it. And they deserved one w/o the devastation that night brought.

5) The 'marriage' would've been a live in. Arnav and Khushi's elopement was supposed to be darker in nature*. Their 'marriage' would've had no religious nor legal validity, therefore a stark contradiction to everything Khushi stood for... but you can't have that in ITV. *By dark I don't mean sexual violence - never.*

6) The whole IPKKND was meant to be darker. I am glad for the romantic comedy though! I think their balance of angst and comedy pre marriage was perfect! Not sure post marriage because it felt like a loop of going back to square one with no progress. But I think things were meant to be less subtle, more tragic and dramatized. So I think we could've gotten extremely angsty periods post marriage with a slow, gentle lull to the romance/comedy. While I am extremely glad for the lightheartedness, I wish I could've read what the whole original concept for Arnav/Khushi was!

7) Arnav revealing the truth to Khushi would've been different. We know the distasteful suicide track quickly came as a way to push Arnav's buttons and have him confess the truth of his elopement to Khushi. And that came from Barun going away - hence the quick kidnapping track and everything. So if Barun didn't go away, I honestly don't know how the revelation would happen. Would Arnav start piecing things together from information and things about Shyam in Laxminagar? Would Arnav end up helping and hospitalizing Shashi who would tell him the truth? Would Arnav come across any hidden wedding card Buaji could've had printed for Shyam-Khushi or even Shyam's fake kundili? Given the Gupta house wasn't the place where Shyam covered his tracks... was this where Arnav would start seeing things? Or guilt ridden, would Garima/Khushi/Madhumati tell Arnav the truth? Something was meant to happen for this revelation, whether it's Arnav believing Khushi or just getting further evidence against her - I... don't know! I wish I knew what the writers had in store.

We highly appreciate for not showing a typical Nanand against Bhaabi trope, also for not making La villain, but would it result differently if things didn't have a hand? Imma cry thinking Anjali jealous and La villain! meh!  What a feast for the eyes it was to see ONLY ONE VILLAIN and less negativity in a tellywood show. Baas bohut hua my casual verbiage. By demand I mean no pressure, please take your valuable time and reply whenever you feel like it.Take Loads of Care and Chocolates your way <3

I hope the above answered all your queries :) Thank you for all the chocolates and care!!!

Phew this was rather long! A big hug to anyone who went through it! See ya later!

- Jalebi

[kdramaanalyst]

THE KING: ETERNAL MONARCH REVIEW

EDIT: I AM SO SORRY, THIS IS A SECONDARY BLOG AND I JUST LEARNED THAT I CAN'T REPLY TO COMMENTS. PLEASE CHECK MY PINNED BLOG WHERE I WROTE ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. THANK YOU!

Spoilers ahead!!! Read at your own risk. Once again, I am not an expert and these are my personal opinions. If you have disagreements, let's talk it over. Don't judge me, let's judge the show together instead and have an understanding.

For the first drama that I am going to review, I chose The King: Eternal Monarch. A lot of viewers who supported the show with all of their hearts could still not get over its ending. Others who like to binge-watch are relieved because they can finally watch the entire series without waiting for a new episode to air. While some are still mulling over about watching it. Well, I hope I could help you with this review.

• Introduction to the Drama

Short gist:

The story revolves around Lee Gon, present King of Kingdom of Corea. He witnessed his father’s death when he was young, an incident that haunted him until he grew older. Due to unfortunate circumstances, a legendary flute with powers called Manpasikjeok that can open different worlds was cut in half. He was able to get hold half of the flute, while the other half was obtained by Lee Lim, his uncle who killed his father. Lee Lim had been going back and forth two different worlds, plotting foul pursuits to fulfill his evil desires, and disrupting the peace between the two worlds. In order to restore balance and order, Lee Gon also traveled between worlds, meeting Jeong Tae Eul who soon became a significant person in his life.

If you've been watching Korean Dramas for quite a while now, you must be familiar with some of the characters of The King: Eternal Monarch, especially the lead.

If you call yourself a k-drama fan and you don't know who Lee Minho is, give yourself a slap (just kidding, please don't take that seriously). Lee Minho has a good reputation because of his experience, acting skills and obviously, his gorgeous face. He has an impressive list of successful dramas and movies! Most of us probably knew him through his breakthrough role in Boys Over Flowers.

Meanwhile, Kim Go Eun, despite being fairly new to small screen (she first started appearing in movies), is also highly distinguished by a lot of k-drama fans. In all three dramas she starred in, including The King, she always got the lead role. His leading men are no joke either. And because of Kim Go Eun, many of us still wants to be the goblin's bride.

Among the cast also includes the familiar faces of Woo Do Hwan, Kim Kyung Nam, Jung Eun Chae, and Lee Jung Jin.

Anyway, I'll try to share every thought I have from the first time I watched it until it ended. I will also try not to give so much spoilers because the drama just ended. I will talk first about my experience watching it and then I will list at the very bottom some of the issues I have and that list contains major spoilers so watch out for that. As you notice, I always warn you with spoilers using red font color.

• The Experience

When I watched the first teaser of the drama, I got intrigued and a little confused. What worlds are they talking about? Do they have super powers? Is this a historical drama? Questions were instantly formed in my head.

It also reminded me of the drama Queen In Hyun's Man because of a similar scene where the leading man is riding his horse in the middle of the city and finding his woman. But that's just it, the two dramas are completely different. I just mentioned it because others may have felt the same way.

I don't usually watch dramas while it's still fresh. I wait for about two to three weeks before the schedule of the ending so I can binge watch without waiting so much. When I watched The King, there were already 12 episodes available on Netflix. Usually, I would finish 12 episodes in 1-3 days, and if the drama is really good and it's MY STYLE (i said that in an obviously fake Korean accent), I could watch it for an entire day.

However, I finished those 12 episodes in 2 weeks...

Why??? Why did it take me that long???

I wouldn't say I was bored, it's just that during the first few episodes, nothing caught my interest yet. I wasn't convinced that it was a good drama. There was nothing special and I didn't know what to look forward to that's why I couldn't watch it continuously. I got lazy. The pace was slow and the story build up was a little stagnant. It was too slow that I even started watching a long length saeguk just so I can watch something else.

I could have skipped some parts and dropped it but I continued watching and gave it a chance. Though it was a good thing that I didn't stop because as I watched more episodes, the story actually became more exciting. Finally, I saw some progress. I started to get invested in the drama after the eighth episode. That's when the story felt more alive. Finally, there were revelations, more conflicts arose, more emotions were shown, and the story got deeper. I began to appreciate the drama. However, I still don't like the fact that it took me 8 episodes before I started to like it.

• Points that I Liked About the Drama

1. The plot seemed like it's going to be too science fiction-y but it's just the right amount. I was worried that it might be too much for me to handle but it was just okay (i am a potato who dislikes thinking so much, but that depends on my mood lololol). I liked how there's a mix of history in the drama, as well as of politics but it still feels modern. There is a balance.

2. The distinction between the Kingdom of Corea and Republic of Korea is impressive. It's obvious that they put a lot of effort in building their vision of KOC to life.

3. Many people were saying that it's hella confusing and so much was going on. I don't think so. They actually made it easy for viewers to understand about parallel worlds. You don't have to study science facts just to get this drama's concept. I think the slow pace did its job well in this part.

4. The story is unpredictable. You never know what's going to happen next, that's the strength of The King's concept. Because of the two different worlds and the crazy number of characters, there could be a lot of possibilities and backstories.

5. The action scenes are commmendable. I liked the action scenes, the one during the last episode is probably my favorite.

• Points that I Didn't Like About the Drama

1. The slow pace. I don't think I still need to explain more but it totally ruined my whole experience of watching the drama.

2. Many characters didn't leave much impact. Their acting was great, however, I don't see a lot of personalities that standout. The most remarkable ones for me are the characters played by Woo Do Hwan. The other characters, especially the lead, the prime minister and the traitor were okay, too. The others were just bland and years from now, I probably won't remember most of them.

• The Ending (spoiler alert!)

The ending was good. It didn't feel rushed and everyone had a separate ending of their own. I just wished there was more Nari and Eunsup / Yeong and Seung A moment in the end, the conclusion was fine though. I don't like that Prime Minister Koo ended up in jail but Luna became a cop...

I just have one issue regarding the ending that they decided on. In the end they didn't show if Tae Eul became a queen. Well, it would be weird if she became one considering there is Luna in KOC. They can't be together in ROK, too because Gon's counterpart was able to live. So... what? They just kept traveling whenever they have time? Because if that's the case, doesn't that mean they will hide their relationship forever??? I liked that they ended up together but I wish they also kept this in mind. Because it kinda makes me sad. Lol.

• Final Thoughts

Overall, it was alright. It was over-hyped by netizens due to the amazing casting and promotions, but it's not bad at all.

Would I watch it again? No.

Would I recommend it? Yes. Give it a try! I honestly thought I wouldn't like it but I still did, even if it took me 8 episodes, I wouldn't say it wasn't worth it. If you enjoy fantasy dramas with complicated twists and conflicts, this drama is for you. Just have patience and prepare yourself mentally when you've reached the middle. This drama is gloomy and a little heavy, too. It was serious and has a very few humorous scenes.

I am giving The King: Eternal Monarch a 7/10. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

• The King: Eternal Monarch OST Top 5

There are 13 songs in total and everything is so good! I wish I got to hear more of the songs in the drama, some were just played briefly. I swear every song makes me feel things. Choosing just 5 songs is really hard. If you don't watch dramas but love music, give these a listen!!!

My Day Is Full Of You by Zico, Wendy

Orbit by Hwasa

I Fall In Love by Ha Sungwoon

I Just Want To Stay With You by Zion.T

Please Don't Cry by Davichi

Now I'll move on to some of my "issues". This section isn't really what you think. The word "issues" is just intriguing ㅋㅋㅋ but this is just a compilation of my opinions, observations, feelings and other stuff no one might care about in the series. If you have answers for my questions or if you can explain it for me, please enlighten me. Major spoiler ahead!!!

• Issues

1. During the time when Lee Gon was time traveling and finally got back to Repuplic of Korea, it probably took him a lot of time, right? He even took his time to take care of Tae Eul in the hospital. I wish they also showed what was happening in Kingdom of Corea during that time because he's a king and his absence might have caused a ruckus in his kingdom. I can even picture the palace lady Noh getting really worried as Lee Gon travels. The moment he came back, they only gave him updates as if everything was okay.

But since they didn't show it, I guess it is safe to assume that nothing much happened in his kingdom back then. 🤷‍♀️

2. When Gon and Tae Eul met again in Gwanghwamun, why did Tae Eul hug him? In my understanding, at that period of time, Tae Eul only met him twice—once when she was 5 and once when she was 27. So why did she hug him suddenly as if she knows he's going to be a significant person in her life? Their dialogue when they met again when she was 27 wasn't even enough for her to act that way.

3. I hope they also gave Nari more lines and importance. Maybe it's just me, but at first, I thought she and her KOC counterpart would have more significant roles. When I think of it, even without her, the story could still go on. Though this is just a minor issue. ✌

4. Prime Minister Koo. She was a villain, but I didn't really hate her until the last 4-5 episodes (can't recall the exact episode, sorry), though I wouldn't say I hated her so much. I actually liked her at first! She's ambitious, fierce, independent and intelligent. She just got blinded by greed.

My issue here is, am I really supposed to feel like that? In my opinion, her character has the potential to become more heinous and despiteful. I was wondering why they didn't turn her into someone like that? She was just greedy, bitchy, a little sly and annoying.

5. Lee Gon's and Tae Eul's love for each other was a little shallow. Sure, the man who saved Lee Gon when he was a child, had Tae Eul's ID. But how sure was Lee Gon that the woman who owns the I.D. is not a villain? The woman in the ID could lead him to the man who saved him, yes, but it still bugs me how easily they fell in love especially on Lee Gon's part. Maybe I'm just thinking too much. I am sorry. 😅

In spite of that, I still liked their love progression. I didn't ship them that hard but their chemistry wasn't cringey and forced.

6. The scene where Lee Gon gave Tae Eul flowers and then left, was a little confusing. It didn't break my heart, too. I just felt a little sad while watching that scene because Kim Go Eun's acting was good.

7. Who the f is thay yoyo boy??? My guts tell me he's a part of the flute or something because he knows a lot. But I wish it was explained more. It looked weird how he just suddenly appears sometimes and suddenly talks some sense. He remains a mystery.

8. Why the f is Jeong Tae Eul a flat earther??? Well, at least she had a character development in the end. It just annoyed me lmao

9. I don't get why people keep comparing The King: Eternal Monarch to Goblin. Why??? They don't even have the same plot or concept.

10. Court lady Noh was from Republic of Korea... What? Was that necessary?

Don't mind me. Don't mind me. Don't mind me.

Anyway I hate how tumblr wasn't able to save my draft when I was writing additional content. I lost half of it and it makes me furious!!! I had to redo the draft but I can no longer remember some of the things I wrote. I am sad because I lost something that can't be brought back again. This experience earned me a lesson.

That's it for my first review. What are your thoughts? I am a horrible reviewer, I know, but I will do better in the future. Thank you for reading!!!

[smartzelda]

Remind Trailer Analysis Part 1 (Warning Remind Spoilers!)

So, after I watched the new trailer, I found out it got leaked I felt really bad, but I really wanna talk about it cause it's got me screaming

So...here we go

First off, a lot of people are excited with the reveal that Final Fantasy characters such as Aerith, Yuffie, and Leon will be returning. Although I'm probably not as excited as most, I love how beautiful their renders are and can't wait to see how they fit into the story!

Okay, so Riku boi at Radiant Garden trying to figure out what happened to Sora (Riku boy looking for Sora!) I'm personally excited to see how everyone's trying to find Sora, and how everyone is taking Sora's disappearance

So, we get a shot of Sora at Ven's station of awakening, then a shot of Sora experiencing Aqua's hurt at the keyblade graveyard. It's pretty much been foreshadowed since Re:Coded that one day Sora will have to take in everyone's hurt, and even though I never wish hurt upon my boi, the angst is gonna be yes and I'm excited. Also, my guess is that Sora's going to the station of awakening of every guardian of light to feel how they felt and take in their hurt during moments in the keyblade graveyard. I've heard speculation that the reason all those anti-aquas are in the demon hurricane is that she has PTSD over being in the darkness for so long and those anti-aquas are what she saw right before being swept up in the demon hurricane. I support that theory because it's definitely plausible and I know I'd like to see how succumbing to darkness affects Aqua like we got to see how it all affected Riku during his character development.

I don't really know what to say about this. Apparently Terranort can see Sora?? I'd like to know more about the "forbidden path" and why Terranort can see him even though no one else seems to be able to while he's feeling people's hurt. Also, what is the ultimate sacrifice? I feel the sadness coming. It's probably going to be Sora disappearing from the world though

The wielders of light fighting the norts from Scala. This looks to be a cool fight and I'm excited to figure put how it fits into the story, but I don't really have anything to say about it

Seems to be continuation from an earlier Remind trailer

I hope this means we'll get to see what happens to the other characters after Sora defeats the enemies in a section. My guess is that Demyx just came to pick up the replica, so...good to know that the replica body isn't just left there during the final battle. Also, that replica body is probably going to be Naminé's, so maybe we'll get to see them bring her back?

There's a couple ideas for all the showcased battles. Some think they're data battles, but I think you might have to fight them either to enter stations if awakening or after you leave a station of awakening

OKAY THIS. THIS HAD ME SCREAMING AND DYING AND REJOICING.

So first off, that station of awakening is so freaking pretty like oh my gosh

Next, Sora talks about how everyone always told him to follow his heart, then follows it up with, "follow my heart...hearts are all connected". He says this while pointing his keyblade at what's probably (I'll say why in a sec) Riku's heart or maybe what he thinks is Riku's heart.

Okay, so Sora's station of awakening has him from kh1, so it's possible Riku's is too (just an idea), but this station of awakening shows com Riku. Now, when all the seekers of darkness die, they disappear in this darkness pillar. When Repliku and Replitwo die, the pillar is a darkness and light pillar. Based on this, I guess that Repliku might be a guardian of light. So, if you've read the SRT, part of the theory is that Sora brought back all the guardians of light in the original timeline, beginning the timeline we see in kh3. Part of the theory is that Naminé wasn't in Kairi's heart just based on some stuff chirithy says, so Sora didn't bring her back, meaning that she wasn't a guardian of light. I would say she isn't just because she doesn't do anything in the story and can't do anything to make her a guardian of light while in Kairi's heart (or didn't at least). We could say it's because Naminé was in Kairi's heart and Kairi was one of Sora's friends he knew he was bringing back, but this doesn't explain Repliku. Right before and after the first "drop" detailed in the SRT we have evidence that he is in Riku's heart, and this means that he was brought back by Sora at the end of the original timeline, because if he wasn't, he would be in the final world with Naminé, so he must be a guardian of light.

Where am I going with this? So what, Repliku might be a guardian of light, what does that have to do with anything? I'm going back to that station of awakening. It has Com Riku on it, and com is the game Repliku was introduced. So, my theory is...what of that station of awakening is Repliku's?

Now, I've heard a theory that the stained glass has Naminé in addition to Ansem and Mickey rather than Sora and/or Kairi because she, Mickey, and Ansem had an impact on Riku's life that lead to him being able to get the strength to protect Sora (it's no secret that Riku is the one that matters most to Sora). It's a good theory that's plausible.

Here's my theory though. What if Sora believes that station of awakening to be Riku's, but it's Repliku's? If Sora's connecting to the stations of awakening of the guardians of light, and Repliku might be one of them, he might encounter Repliku's. Repliku's fake memories were similar to Riku's, though they had him in love with Naminé, so he would've met Mickey and Ansem in his memories. AND since Repliku has feelings for Naminé due to his fake memories, it would make sense for Naminé to be on his station of awakening since he cares about her.

So...all that aside I'm dying cause Soriku. Also, you notice how the station of awakening is purple right? You know what color makes purple? Blue and Red. Based on trends and the secret ending, Riku is blue and Sora is red (like Yozora's eyes) so...

We're finally going to see how Sora saved Kairi!

Now, some people have pointed out them holding hands, but it doesn't seem like a romantic thing to me. It's pretty evident that they just arrived at the final world, especially considering Kairi's comment on how pretty the final world is. Sora would have to lead Kairi back since she died, and my guess the handholding is to make sure she doesn't get lost. If Sora has to use a keyhole or a portal like the DDD ones to get there, he'd probably (at least I think so) have to hold hands with Kairi so he can take her with him. It's to make sure they don't get separated I think, and I think Sora would be extra afraid of that happening cause he's trying to bring her back and because he cares a lot for all his friends, and, based on the Jap version of the scene where he goes to save her, he doesn't want to her (or any of his friends) to feel and be alone and he wants to bring her back so he can have all his friends alive and well

And....I'll have to continue on another post cause the 10 photo limit...shoot

[obsessivestar]

Steamy Love (A Tom Hiddleston X Reader) Part 18: ~Lots of Loki Love~

Summary: After returning home from a long day, Tom has a little surprise in store for you.

Warnings: Lots of fluff. Tom acting as Loki. Lotta tension

Read it on my Wattpad: Wattpad.com/HiddlesStar

Word count: 1'351

Tags: @theoneanna @midnightdragonzero @drakesfiance @kcd15 @ihthr @deviantsendbyreallife

When the day was over, you and Tom returned back to his house. At this point, it was kind of obvious that you had forgiven him for the misunderstanding with Amanda. You saw him deleting her number on the way back home, and you were remembering how he dropped his phone at the store before he kissed you.

God, he kissed you in front of all of those people! The fans, the paparazzi, the director. You're gonna be hearing about that kiss for a long while, you just knew it. Maybe if you guys ever do interviews, it'll be mentioned. That'd be cute.

As soon as you got home, Tom seemed to close the front door rather quickly so he could pull you into a deep kiss, kind of pinning you up against the nearest wall. You blushed, but kissed him back with your arms wrapping around his neck. He pulled back after a moment, connecting your foreheads with a warm smile.

"So you forgive me?.." He asked, getting a soft nod from you.

"I hope you forgive me, too.." You admitted with a small smile.

"Oh, you have nothing to be sorry for, my dear.." Tom replied. "I was..a bloody moron. I should've just told her off from the beginning.."

"I still snapped at you. I didn't really let you explain yourself.." You muttered somewhat.

"You had every right to be angry with me. Every right." He spoke. "But I promise you, it'll just be us now. You and me."

"You and me?.." You repeated, your cheeks pink a bit. "Still beneficially, yeah?"

Tom paused for a moment, giving you a warm smile.

"I would...prefer to give it a more...intimate label." Tom admitted. "I really wish for this to be the real thing."

That was a little surprising to hear, but it made your chest feel all warm.

"R-Really?" You asked, your eyes visibly sparkling.

"Truly.." Tom smiled at you. "The world already knows about us. It's perfect timing, really."

"I like the way you think.." You purred, getting a little grin from him before he'd lean in to connect your lips in a passionate, yet soft kiss. You loved the feeling of his lips on yours.

"I guess that makes you all mine, then?" You asked, holding on to the collar of his shirt somewhat.

"Mhmm...you get all of me.." Tom purred.

"...and speaking of all of me...I've got a surprise for you."

Tom got his shoes off, giving a 'one moment, wait here' kind of gesture before moving down the hall and to his room. You smiled as he left, eager to see what this 'surprise' was. You were trying to guess if you already knew what he's up to.

You put some of your stuff on the living room table. You know he said to stay where you were, but you figured moving to the living room wasn't so bad. You gently sat down on the couch with a soft sigh, a couple more minutes going by before you'd hear Tom slowly and quietly leave his room.

You turned your head to look at him, your cheeks immedietly going red.

The wig.

The Loki wig.

He put it on. He put it on flawlessly.

While he didn't have one of those big and complicated looking pieces of Asgardian armor on, he did have on a full black suit, similar to the one in Ragnarok.

Oh God.

He looked so good.

"Oh my God.." You let out a chuckle as you stood up. It was a somewhat nervous chuckle. He looked really good.

"I always look good, pet.." Tom spoke with a charming smile, making his voice just slightly lower to sound like Loki. Oh God, now he's getting in character.

"Oh my God, don't.." You chuckled again. "Don't you dare talk to me in character."

"This character is my own, darling.." He grinned at you, slowly approaching you from down the hall. Now that you've gotten to know Tom very well, it's been hard to separate him from his roles, but the way he's looking at you screams Loki. It even looked like there was more green in his eyes while in character.

"You're being ridiculous.." You crossed your arms with a big smile, getting him to finally break character with a little chuckle leaving him.

"Is it too much?" He asked, his soft tone returning. "I haven't even touched you."

"It's..." You paused and bit the corner of your lip, taking the time to really look him over. You adored this Midgard Loki look when you first saw it. He looks so damn good in that suit.

"It's...just new to me.." You admitted, letting your hands rest at your side. "But I think I can go with it.."

Tom gave a charming smile before clearing his throat a bit, stretching his shoulders slightly as he felt himself get back into character.

His softness was set aside for Loki, once more.

"Today has been a long day for you, I bet.." the tall male with raven locks spoke, stepping closer until he was about right in front of you. He held one of his hands out to you. "Come. I think you deserve a bit of a break, mm? I can massage your shoulders and your back, if you wish.."

"Oh? Were you a trained masseuse in Asgard?" You asked with a slight confident tone, getting a little snicker from the male.

"I've been trained in many things, pet.." He purred. "But there are just some things I am naturally Talented at.."

"And those are?..." You smirked, crossing your arms again in a slight defensive manner. He was very intimidating this way, but you liked the feeling it gave you.

"Stabbing...lying.." Loki smirked, leaning down somewhat to you, his nose getting quite close to touching yours.

"...satisfying the needs of others.."

"Is that so?" You grinned a bit, tilting your head as he inched closer and closer.

"Mhmm.." He hummed lowly as he gazed into your eyes before slowly closing the gap between you two, your lips connecting. You've kissed these lips before, but it somehow felt different this time. You weren't kissing Tom right now. You were kissing Loki.

God, that's still hard to think about. He's a damn good actor.

After a moment, he pulled back, one of his hands moving up to caress your cheek. His skin tone looked oddly pale, now that you were getting a close look. Had he put on makeup, or was he always this pale?

"Perhaps if you're willing...I could show you.." He whispered lowly, his eyes locked on you, never leaving yours.

"You think you can satisfy me?.." You asked in a soft tone, getting a charming smile from him.

"Oh, I know I can.." He purred quietly. "This whole bloody neighborhood will know I satisfy you just fine.."

His voice and his choice of words were nearly making you shiver on the spot. He could see your rising heat through your eyes, and you were even panting slightly.

The male's hand moved from your cheek, his thumb slowly and softly caressing your soft lips. He never broke eye contact and he never broke character. This was such an exciting feeling.

Keeping your eyes on him, you moved your head slightly forward to let his thumb slip into your mouth, seeing his eyes flare up as you sucked on his thumb. There was something oddly arousing about doing something like that. You weren't sure how to explain it, but man did you love his reaction.

You slowly let his thumb slip out of your thumb after a moment, seeing a mischievous grin brown on the male's lips.

"Oh, you're not walking to work tomorrow.." He growled before suddenly picking you up, hoisting you over his shoulder. You let out a soft laugh as he carried you out of the living room and down the hall, heading to his room.

This is gonna be a whole new experience.

You're not about to sleep with Tom.

You're about to sleep with Loki.

[riseofarmy]

03 | DO YOU EVER LOOK AT SOMEONE AND WONDER

i can do this all day 03 | do you ever look at someone and wonder

author : @riseofarmy

pairing : kim seokjin x original character

words : 2533

i can do this all day masterlist

previous chapter

SEOKJIN

How isn't she tired yet?

I'm tired, and I've only been floating behind her for the last three-ish hours. When she first noticed that I was laying on air, her dumb cat hissed at me, but she just widened her eyes for a second before ignoring me.

Maybe she's just been desensitised by all the stuff she got sprung with today.... which is strange because people usually come looking for the lamp knowing there's a djinn inside. Then again, it's been a while since I've been awaked this far in the past, and it's further in the future that people know about the 'genie' myth.

I know that my first few masters summoned me one after another, but somewhere along the line, I started serving people from all different times. That stunning suit I had on before was made for one of the most popular boy groups of the 21st century, but I hadn't considered that I would be so far back in time that it would be ridiculed.

I still can't believe that: my master tried to kill me, then barely two minutes later made fun of my sexy jacket and oh my god, I don't even know her name.

"Oh my god, I don't even know your name." The little terror on her shoulder stares at me with its dumb, beady eyes.

"Darling." She didn't even turn to me when she answered.

"What?"

"My name. It's Darling. Darling Surya".

Darling. I size her up, running my gaze over her. Her face was a little plain, but it looked downright fierce with her buzz-cut and wicked jawline. Paired with her long jacket and the general get-out-of-my-way vibe she gives off, she doesn't seem like a Darling at all.

"Darling? Is it weird when some random person calls you darling without realising it's your name?"

"I had been using the name Surya while I pretended to be a man, so I've never had to experience that." Wow, plot twists be like.

"Why did you pretend to be a man?"

"Because all women are good for is marriage, and I needed a job to save up money so I could come here."

Yikes, alright then. I have a feeling she's always this intense.

She has my interest piqued though, and I keep asking her questions. She's blunt at first, obviously preoccupied by something else, but eventually she relaxes enough to give me more detailed answers. I even suck up my dislike to her dumb cat and float beside her instead of behind, and she doesn't seem to mind.

I learn that her father is from Daehan-Minguk and her mother from Paaratham (modern-day South Korea and India respectively, which explains her darker skin) and that she was a heavy labourer for two years to save up money to move from Paaratham to Daehan-Minguk.

She explains that the king is an asshole - making downright treasonous comments about him throughout - and that we were currently going to his son's birthday ball.

She doesn't tell me why we're going, though, because supposedly she's 'still sorting it out', but it must be something serious since she dances around the question with a tight expression until I ask her about her cat.

It's a little strange to just talk like this.

I always make sure to learn about each of my masters so I can serve them better. Darling, though... she one of the few who I can say don't feel like a master. Most of the others went straight to telling me everything they would do with the money they were going to wish for themselves, or the apparently tragic stories that made them so deserving of the power they wanted.

Darling, just talked about her parents and Yoongi a lot, and even asked me questions about being a djinn.

She was baffled when I told her I've served people from different times, mouth dropping and fingers tightening on the lamp which she still held in her hand, and she wanted to know what the world is like in the future. When I told her about phones, though, she decided I was making it up and asked something else.

Still, it felt nice to talk to Darling. Nice enough that another hour and a half passed without me noticing, and soon enough, dusk had fallen and we were approaching the nearest town.

"I know an inn nearby, but I'm not sure how people would react if they saw someone in the air. I think you should stop floating for a bit." Darling looks pointedly at me until I set my feet on the ground with a huff.

"Silly humans and your non-floating ways. Do you realise how much of a time-waster walking is?"

"My bad, Seokjin. I'll make sure that next time I'm born as a genie." My lips curl into a grin of their own accord at her response, and I see her own do the same out of the corner of my eye.

The streets of the town are busy, but Darling navigates them fairly easily. It becomes more and more apparent, though, that there is currently something going on - people are bustling around busily, and Darling looks increasingly worried until we finally end up in front of an inn.

Inside, I immediately understand why Darling looked troubled - the inn is almost overflowing with people. Darling runs a hand over her buzz-cut and pushes the lamp deep into her pocket, then tells me to wait in the corner while she talks to the innkeeper. I try to follow her anyway, but she gives me a wicked glare and leaves her cat next to me so I stay put.

"What are you looking at?" The cat doesn't even blink, just lays down next to my feet. It doesn't seem to mind when I crouch closer to it, so I give its fur an experimental poke.

It opens its eyes lazily, slowly flicking its tail in my direction until I give it another poke, soft this time. Dumb cat. I could make you disappear from existence right now and you wouldn't even realise. As if sensing my thoughts, the cat bats at my hand, but then lets me pat it again.

"Yoongi likes you." Darling, who appeared without me even realising, looks down with sickeningly love-filled eyes at the cat.

"He what now?"

"Yoongi. He doesn't like anyone touching him except me, but he seems to be okay with you."

"Oh. Well, that's too bad for him because I hate cats."

"If you say so." She raises her eyebrows as if she doesn't believe me, but before I can reaffirm that no, really, I hate cats, she jerks her head to the stairs that I think lead to the rooms. "It's good we came here first, because the other inn is already full. There's a festival in Mansae the day before the ball, so people are staying here on their way to it and there's only one room left here. You okay with that?"

"I live in a lamp, Darling, I'm sure I can manage." She gives me a small smile and hikes her rucksack up before picking up her cat.

The innkeeper comes to us with a very capitalist smile and leads us to our room. He doesn't shut up, somehow managing to fit his life story, three comments about how 'we're never been this busy' and even an offer for me to marry his daughter in the two minutes he has our attention.

Darling just rolls her eyes when we're finally shown our room, and I remember her words from before - 'all women are good for is marriage'. I wonder if the innkeeper's daughter knew she was basically being given away by her own dad.

"Seokjin!" I pop my head into the room, which Darling had already unlocked and was going through. It was just big enough for a bed, a small table with a chair, and a tub behind a bamboo screen to bathe in.

"Yeah?"

"We have to get to the palace by tomorrow afternoon, so we're leaving early." She grabs a pillow from the bed to fluff it before throwing it back down. "You sleep here, I'll take the chair."

I think the sight of me floating has completely disappeared from her brain. "Darling. Sweetheart. You are a human, and need sleep. I am a genie, and have my lamp and don't need to sleep. Take the bed."

Darling's hand had been hovering protectively over her pocket, but now she pulls the lamp out of it and glances up at me.

"Oh. I guess that makes sense. I thought you wouldn't be too thrilled at the idea of going back into your lamp so soon. Plus, I wasn't planning on sleeping."

That makes me pause, and I consider her predicament for a moment. Darling - visibly tired, stressed out and her mind obviously occupied by something that she's been turning over for who-knows-how-long, yet here she is offering me a bed. Me. A literal genie with my whole-ass magic thing going on. Because she thinks I would be sick of being in my perpetual home one more night. Cute.

Then I notice how tight her grip on the lamp is, and that's when something clicks in my brain.

Hah. I wonder if she realises how easy it is to read her.

"Interesting, Darling, but may I offer a proposition? You sleep on the bed, your dumb cat can do whatever, and I'll do my floating business. Win-win-win, am I right? Also, c'mere."

She widens her eyes warily when I hold my hand out for the lamp, but passes it over with some hesitancy.

"What are you doing?"

"Trust me, Darling."

I watch her expression morph from confusion to distress as I melt the golden lamp into a chain-link necklace. Taking a step closer to her, I reach across the space between us to loop the chain around her neck and seal the ends together so there isn't an opening to the necklace. The purple gem thing - even after all this time, I don't know what it is - rests just below her collarbone, glinting in the dim light from the candle we were given.

"There you go! Now you can sleep without having to worry about losing it! Wow! You can thank me now!" I smile at her, but she doesn't notice. She fiddles with the necklace experimentally, a frown bringing her eyebrows together.

"What if someone pulls it off?" How Darling of her, always going around ruining the mood with her silly questions.

"Nopsies, the only ones who can even touch it are you and me. And your stupid cat. And I'm the only one who can take it off you or change its shape, so hurry up and thank me you ungrateful shit." I smile wider, tilting my head in expectation, and the tiniest hint of a grin graces her lips.

"Thank you, Seokjin."

"You are absolutely welcome, Darling dear. Now sleep." Before she can say anything else, I push her onto the bed and tap her forehead. She doesn't even have a chance to look surprised before she's unconscious, fast asleep as the purple remnants of my magic curl around her head.

I pull a blanket over her and poke my tongue out at her dumb cat when it jumps up to sleep next to her. It ignores me.

Oh well.

"Look, Mansae will be in front of us in a second. We'll be able to see the sea too."

Darling draws my attention to the view ahead of me, where we're about to break through the forest's treeline.

She woke up at fuck-all o'clock to find me playing on my Nintendo, and barely ten minutes later we were out of the town and on our way to the palace. We avoided the main road until now by picking our way through the mountain, but we were close enough to the capital, Mansae that we couldn't avoid it any longer.

With one last turn, the palace is laid bare in front of us.

The main road snakes to the palace and the houses and markets that surround it, which were in turn set within a wide valley circled by the Mansae mountain range. Through the space between two of the mountains, we could see the faint glimmer of the ocean far away. The palace itself was a spread of white towers spearing the sky, the path leading to it choked with people weaving between markets.

We join the crush of people heading to the palace for Jungkook's birthday-and-wife-picking-ceremony and are instantly shoulder-to-shoulder with sweaty strangers. Darling's elbow digs into my side as we walk, but she's too focused on babying her dumb cat to realise. I bear with it until we reach the markets, but I can't stand it anymore.

"Darling your elbow has been jackhammering a hole into my ribs for an hour."

She practically rips her gaze away from her cat to look up at me. "Seokjin, I can promise you that you are not the only one in this crush of people with an elbow in your ribs. Still, sorry about that, I wish there wasn't so much of a crowd."

"Ohoho, is that your first wish?" I waggle my eyebrows at her jokingly, but she doesn't realise I'm only kidding.

"No! No, that is not a wish!" She seems to be visibly panicking, a flush climbing her throat as she splutters in her attempt to make sure her wish isn't used. Cute.

"Okay okay, that's not your wish, I get it. But uhh, now that we're on the topic... What is your first wish?"

"I'll tell you when it comes to it." Ah yes, Darling - putting up brick walls faster than you can ask her questions. This time, though, that's not an option.

"Nopesies, you have to tell me. Come on bestie."

"I will. If I need to. Do I really need to? Can't I just say it when I need it to happen?"

Some times, it's a real bother being the only smart person on a whole planet of dummies. But that's okay - I suck back my exasperation and hide it behind a tight smile.

"Okay. Look. Here's the deal, Darling. It's obvious to me by now that you are not going to wish for money or power or whatever else my masters usually want. If, when you make your wish, it isn't precise enough or it's something I can't grant, I will not know what to give you and that's a wish wasted. I need you to explain this big idea of your's, or else I literally cannot do my job properly, so please tell me: what is going on inside your head?"

The flush on her neck spreads to her face as she mutters something without meeting my eye, but I miss it because she says it so quietly.

"What was that?"

Squaring her shoulders, Darling turns and holds my gaze straight on. There's some emotion tightening her face that I can't fully decipher, something between agitation and determination

"I need you to make the prince fall in love with me."

i can do this all day masterlist

next chapter

[books--andt]

November 9 by Colleen Hoover book review

Hey Bookies! How's your January going so far?

The time finally came for me to read a CoHO book and it did not disappoint!

Synopsis (from the back cover);

"Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day of her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in LA together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist."

First things first, I have to say WOW. Seriously was NOT expecting half of the things that happened in this book. I hadn't heard much about November 9, other than the fact that loads of people loved this book. I have to admit that I sort of went into this book expecting it to be a "guilty pleasure" read filled with insta-love (BLEHH) and unrealistic male characters. And while I have some thoughts on those things, I do have to say that this book is so much more than that.

I liked how our main character, Fallon, was different than your classic pretty main girl in a YA/NA novel who meets the guy and falls in love. She had more dimension inside and out. While Ben was practically perfect on the outside we really got to know the core of him which added a lot to his character.

This book had some mature content in it so if you're not a fan of that sort of suff maybe you should steer clear of this one. I didn't find it nearly as smutty as Outlander though, if that's any indication for you!

Now onto the *SPOILERY goodness!*

***SPOILERS***

Hey spoiler people! Alright. So. This whole insta-love thing- I'm not a fan. But somehow this book was able to transform what was so obviously insta-love into a true love story. Ben and Fallon ended up seeing each other for 6 years or something crazy like that- mind you they only saw each other like 6 times throughout those 6 years. When I was only partially through this book I was confused because Hoover would just jump from one November 9 to the next. I wanted to know the details of what happened with Fallon and Ben's lives when they were part from each other and I wanted to know why certain things happened (Kyle punching Ben) straight away. While we didn't get an answer to my first request, the other ends were tied at the end of this book, wrapping it up nicely.

And THE part. You all know which part I'm talking about. When Fallon sneakily reads Ben's manuscript and discovers that he was involved in her fire accident. My jaw literally dropped. I could feel the fear that Fallon was feeling, knowing that she had fallen in love with someone who had known her for two years longer, and had caused her accident. Honestly, I would be creeped out and I totally understand why she filed a restraining order against him. I would be angry but would also feel so much remorse for what he had gone through. That suicide note from his mother... DAMN COHO. That got me.

I'm not sure how much I enjoyed this ending.... I love a good happy ending but to me, I just don't know if Fallon could overlook what he'd done and still say that she loved him. I mean... He caused that fire! I couldn't help but feel that he was stalking me for two years and was only with me so that he could make himself feel better about what he'd done.

I know this was cleared up in the book, as Ben tells Fallon that everything he told her was true. But like... I just DON'T KNOW!

The idea of meeting up with someone for one day every year when you've only just met them sounds bezerk to me. I'd never do that in a million years. Perhaps that's partially due to not feeling confident that the dude would actually show up... But it's also because I need to actually KNOW the person before I make those kinds of arrangements. It's hard for me to believe that after an entire year with absolutely zero communication between someone that you can still have feelings for them. I know this may resonate with other readers, but it just didn't for me. I also don't know how realistic Ben was... He was hot af, loved Fallon the moment he locked eyes with her, and would do ANYTHING for her. I'm not saying guys like that don't exist... but at 18????? That's a wee bit young dontcha think?

And when Fallon told Ben she didn't want to see him so that he could finish his book... Like guurl, I get you want him to be successful, you don't want to hold him back, but he can still write the book! I mean... technically he held her back from acting, so.... that probably just made him feel more awful. He didn't even write at all that year, and I'm guessing now that Fallon has read his book (at the end) that he isn't going to publish it... Or is he? I imagined he wouldn't because he's basically telling a huuuuuuge secret he's kept for so long, but I guess he could always say it was fiction? I don't know. I like the idea of him not publishing the book.

With all that being said I will say that I really enjoyed this book. I was constantly wondering what would happen next, and when THE part showed up in the book I was shook. It was such a twist that I wasn't at all expecting and it really makes me more intrigued to read more from Colleen Hoover, now that I know her books aren't just smutty NA romances. (No offence if you like that stuff)

4.5/5 stars! It feels good to read something other than my beloved fantasy.. Got any contemporary recs for me?

What are your thoughts on this book? I've read A LOT of mixed reviews... everything from one star to five stars. I get where people come from with the one star reviews, but I don't like being too over the top critical when I read, because it's something I do for fun. So all in all, I liked this book. It had its problems here and there, but I still liked it.

If you care to see some wintry, artsy pics of November 9 and other beloved books, head over to my bookstagram Books_andt !!!!!

Thanks for reading!

- T

[nellie-elizabeth]

The Walking Dead: Trust (11x15)

This is definitely an episode building to a midseason finale, rather than paying anything off, so there's quite a bit of treading water. Is that a bad thing?

Cons:

Well... in a lot of ways it's hard to judge this episode on its own, when there's more to come that will hopefully wrap up or escalate many of these plot points. I guess my least favorite stuff here was with Ezekiel. Kind of felt like a waste of time to show him getting into and out of trouble so quickly, what with Carol there to bail him out. I don't like the implication that Ezekiel might still be holding a torch, because I really like the vibe of the two of them as amicable exes who managed to stay good friends in the aftermath of their marriage and the loss of their son. I don't need to go back to romantic intrigue with these two.

This episode ends with a dramatic reveal of Leah, but like... last episode also ended with a dramatic reveal of Leah? So that felt like a weird pacing thing. Shouldn't they have held off on showing who stole the weapons for this moment, instead of telling us last week and then having this one be just a retread, with Hornsby offering her a job?

Pros:

I do like the fact that Eugene and Rosita go to Connie to report on the craziness going on with Sebastian and the other authorities at the Commonwealth. We're seeing how Max and Eugene's relationship is continuing, which is adorable, and also how there are good people, both within and without the entrenched systems of the Commonwealth, who would want things to change for the better if possible.

Mercer and Princess are interesting to me. Mercer is very much a guy who is complicit in the system, but who is having doubts and wants to start to change, or at least to examine his motivations. I think it's cool to have that kind of character in the show, and interesting to pair him with Princess, a newcomer to this community (and to the show in general) who has a unique way of viewing the world.

For me, the real meat of this episode was over with Hornsby, Daryl, Gabriel, Aaron, and Maggie. Hornsby hears Gabriel and Aaron's version of the story of what happened with the stolen weapons and the retrieval gone terribly wrong, and he finds it hard to believe. So, they take a trip to Hilltop. We get the scene we were teased with at the start of this chunk of episodes, of Maggie behind the wall and Daryl asking her to open up for the Commonwealth. In some ways this was an anticlimax, but in other ways I'm just relieved the scene wasn't actually pitting Maggie and Daryl against each other in any sort of permanent or unrealistic sense.

And everything inside of Hilltop, every second, was so tense and interesting. Some of the most gripping stuff we've seen on the show in a very long time. The moment when Hornsby tries to start the truck especially, that had my heart beating a little faster. And that scene with Hershel! Yikes! I loved how intense everyone got when the kid was threatened. Daryl even dropped an F-bomb, which was great. Honestly, Daryl over all was just great in this episode. He's such a taciturn character that whenever he's given the chance to actually speak, I'm reminded that he also has a certain gruff charisma to him. Maggie and Daryl's trust in one another can see them through a lot of the difficulties here, but how much longer can Daryl keep playing the middle?

So that's that: next week is the end of this middle chunk of episodes, and I'm definitely ready to feel like things are propelling into the final phase!

8.5/10