#hi I’m mr over thinker lol

[callie-cyxq]

I do want to post more on here, but I can’t think of what…

[eldritchsun]

I found my Realm Of the Elderlings opinions in my diary and I still stand by them almost 5 years later

first entry and it's already terminal :

aug 30 2018

OHHHHH my god fitzchivalry YOU ARE THE REAL FOOL

i am so fucking done with this ABSOLUTE dumbass i can’t deal. the farseer books got me fucked up. he is SO stupid sometimes!! [ranting in french] fitz you are so self absorbed!!!! you really are just furious because u love the bastard. i swear to god fitzchivalry, just square the fuck up i’m teleporting to les six duchets just to shake you a lil

sep 26 2018

My ass is losing it reading The Liveship Traders!!!

Altheaaaaaa!! Mrs Hobb I BEG you!! We’ve suffered enough with One Dumbass Teenager! Fitzchilvary growing up is enough Pure Dumbassery-driven decision making for the next ten years of my life, and that’s from someone who’s still running on dumbassery themselves!!

The worst of it is... rn I’m like Althea... hoe plz... stop... but I can feel it. This is how Fitz got me... is this a stupid teenager with Big Problems who’s gonna grow through and despite them? What is this within my heart?

And Robin Hobb bursts through my door, my beating heart in her hands, slams it on the table and bellows “ITS THE SEEDS OF LOVE”

oct 19 2018

Kennit “[wintro's french name] is beautiful” Pirate King

Hobbs recurring gay themes r so ??? To me but at the same time bring me so much joy lol

Canon nonbinary Annoyance Fool “in love with Fitzchilvary” Prophet

Althea “drag king” Vestrit and lesbian/bi girl solidarity friendship with amber.

Malta “Homophobic Queen” Havre.

And now, absolute legend kennit “surcoure do you love me” pirate king. I know one gay couple is actually endgame over the course of Hobbs books [ndlr i don't remember wtf i was talking about] and I’m thinking it might be this one. I mean, it’s not great hashtag representation but it’s great story telling!

Sweet monk Wintrow with dumbass pirate kennit? Who’s completely and irrevocably in love and admiration for him?

This idiot of a kennit is literally constantly like [french ranting about kennit etta hate and wintrow love]

Lol kennit mate come out

however the next entry doesn't make much sense but features the sentences "kennit thinks he’s so smart!! Fuck you, half a pirate!!!" (the title of the entry (oct 26 2018) is "kennit bitchass of the century" so clearly he fell out of favour)

nov 26 2018

Literally in ROTE if I was there for one of Ambers prophecies I would legit be like... ok sis... wig?

nov 30 2018

Checked the notes on that women writers rec list and several other people already wrote “this is Robin Hobb erasure” in those exact words :’)

So in honour of this hivemind I must say : I am having the time of my life with the Liveship Traders, excites rant with (huge) spoilers ahead :

I am at that point where Kennit is about to get absolutely WRECKED and I swear to god it feels so satisfying. The character arc and development for every single character in these books is pure mastery. In the case of Kennit you really go from “what a despicable man he really just has luck on his side” to “well I guess even if he did good accidentally he still did good... I almost love this Awful Imbecile” and finish straight into “OH!! NEVERMIND he really was a despicable man the whole time!!!”, a pit of disgust right on time where the whole story is setting up to absolutely destroy him. Kennit is a great example of how “does the right thing for the wrong reasons” is not equivalent in terms of ethics as “does the right thing for the right reasons”. But to quote a great thinker “they really had us in that first half I’m not gonna lie!”

What I really like in these books is that the centristTM opinions of certain main characters are not automatically & heavily presented as the right ones. I am still cackling at Hiémain’s “but they didn’t deserve to die!!” bullshit not being put on a pedestal. Ms Hobb did that! Her mind! Also the Vestrit family not being given an (entirely, let’s be real) free pass for not standing up to Kyle and letting Vivacia happen. The main characters, the actual heroes try to pass off responsibility for bad things and in most media it’s like “but they didn’t directly kill someone with their own hands so aren’t they kinda innocent?”

and then it skips to a single entry line (dec 3 2018) "reyn khuprus is a massive idiot" :')

dec 12 2018

Fitz I missed u so much

I have not seen this boy for 9 books and this hoe is worried abt being ugly, please never change boo

dec 14 2018

Fitz and the fool interacting is genuinely maddening I’m just walking along like KISS! KISS! KISS!

Fitz you are an immense idiot and the smartest one of the bunch is the goddamn wolf.

Jan 8 2019

Ohhhh my goodness gracious

I have gone full baby on Dutiful, he is the sweetest most cute drama teen since Fitzchivalry himself. I love him with the force of an exploding sun. His interactions with every other character are both precious and absolutely hilarious. He’s got a great mini-me vibe going on with Fitz, wrapped in Hobbs usual delicious irony.

Also poor Dutiful so lonely and starving for warmth, human attention!! The bit where Fitz is like all them hoes been begging me for this for MONTHS but I just can’t say no to those baby blues. I was like congrats Dutiful you just got a dad! Free dad with your meal!

And the Fool interaction like Dutiful you lucky boy you! You went from zero dads to TWO! It’s buy one get one free.

This dad was kinda mean so I had to get another one to counter balance it.

Jan 15 2019

Fitzchilvary « Homophobia » Farseer

Fitz!!!!!!!! Fitz!!!!!!!! Robin Hobb I swear to god you better gay these boys up or i will see you in court

the latest entry is apparently post "the golden fool"

Jan 29 2019

BELOVED WENT HAND TO MOUUUUUUTH!!!!!!

I am absolutely losing it! hand to mouth hand to mouth !!! Fitz called him BELOVED!!!!!! YAS MF QUEEN! Icon! legend!

and if i remember rightly (which i don't, it was five years ago, i don't remember anything) i got real upset at queerbaiting and stopped reading. i like googled "are they actually gay" the answer came back hashtag no and i stopped reading out of disgust :/

[dem-obscure-imagines]

Growth Spurt

Jedediah Smith x Reader

Fandom: Night at the Museum

Summary: When a battle breaks out at the Smithsonian, you need all the help you can get. Your magic, however, has a mind of its own.

Note: Takes place during NATM 2. I’m a little out of my comfort zone on this one, so let me know what you think lol. I might be willing to write a part 2...?

Warnings: None?

Word Count: 1.3k

Reader is: Female

This was bad. Very, very bad. At the moment, you were in Washington D.C. Ahk’s brother was crazy, apparently, and he was recruiting all of the powerful villains he could possibly assemble, and he wanted to, basically, use the tablet to rule the world. Add to this the fact that he had captured Jed and stuck him in an hourglass.

Add to THAT the fact that he had snatched your family amulet from around your neck…you figured the man must have a death wish. If only he knew what he was messing with.

And yet, the forces he had assembled were too great for you to comfortably overpower without the rest of your friends present, so you figured it was best to keep your powers a secret, even if only to preserve the element of surprise.

“You got this, partner. I know you do.” Jed put his little hands against the glass, his eyes sad, but hopeful. “I’ll be fine. Go.”

“But—”

“Go!”

“Come on,” Larry gave your arm a tug, and though your eyes lingered on poor little Jed, trapped there in the glass, you followed after Larry.

It was an odd friendship you shared with Jed. He flirted with you, you laughed. It was impossible. He was about an inch and a half tall. And yet, the flirting never stopped and he never hesitated to remind you of your beauty, especially when you doubted yourself the most. You were powerful and he admired you for that, but he also loved your laugh, your smile…he knew it was silly and that there was no chance of something serious between the two of you, but that didn’t seem to prevent him from trying…

Amelia caught up with the two of you easily and you caught her up on the situation at hand.

You checked in with a Theodore Roosevelt without a body, but he didn’t have much to contribute to the situation. Neither did the Thinker. And so, the three of you headed out across the campus in search for answers. If not, Jed’s hour in that hourglass would be his last.

“So, this cowboy friend of yours, are the two of you…?” Amelia asked.

“Are we what? Dating?”

“Yes, that. You care about him, that much is clear.”

“I mean, yeah, but it just wouldn’t work out.”

“And why not?”

“He’s a miniature.” Larry explained. “He’s about two inches tall.”

“Oh!” She laughed. “Well, that would complicate things, now wouldn’t it?”

“You can say that again.” You thought for a moment. “Hey, weren’t there some Einsteins in the Air and Space Museum? I bet they’d be able to help.”

Larry snapped. “Good thinking.”

So, after a brief chat with the Einsteins, the three of you took the Wright Brothers’ plane and crashed it through the window of the building Kahmunrah had set up base in. Amelia ran to get help and you hopped off of the plane and took refuge behind a pillar, watching as Larry argued with Kahmunrah, wracking your brain for something, anything, some spell that would work to get Jed out of that hour glass.

And then it clicked.

It was a longshot, and you knew that, but if it worked…

As soon as Larry got the hourglass, you called out, “Over here!”

“Sparkle Fingers!” Jed lit up.

Larry threw the hourglass to you and you caught it, flipping it so the side Jed was trapped in was on top.

“Seize her!” Kahmunrah shouted.

You booked it as fast as you could down the hall and around a corner, listening as Kah’s guards passed, and once they were a safe distance away, you exhaled a long breath.

“I knew you wouldn’t leave me in there.” Jed smiled softly up at you. “Alright, what’s the plan?”

“Well, there’s something my grandmother used to say. She said magic is really very simple; you just have to want something and then let yourself have it.”

“So…?”

“Hold still.” You told him, your power festering around your fingertips. You flicked it down and the purple rays shined through the glass, straight onto Jed.

“Hey, what is that?” Jed asked, somewhat fearful. “What did you do? I feel…weird.”

You bent down and set the hourglass on the floor, taking a few steps back and bracing.

Jed groaned, and then, all at once, the hourglass around him exploded as he grew to human size. He looked down at himself, holding his hands in front of his face as he moved his fingers. He kicked the pieces of the hourglass aside with his foot and looked up at you, his face awash in awe. “Holy smokes, Sparkle Fingers! I didn’t know you had it in you.”

You stared up at him, your eyes wide. You gulped. “Neither did I.”

“Well, I hope you’ve got some more in you. I have a feeling this night is far from over.”

You chuckled, “Me too.”

***

Once the battle was over and the dust had settled, Jed walked straight up to you, a nervous look on his face, his usual confidence dwindled now that he was standing face to face with you after all of this time.

“I…don’t know how much longer your spell is gonna last, so I’ve gotta do this now.” He said, taking off his hat and handing it to Larry, who was, understandably, shocked at the scene unfolding before him. Jed grabbed you by the hips and tugged you into a kiss, his lips exploring yours without hesitation. You kissed him back, your arms winding around the back of his neck, pulling him closer.

The rest of the museum exhibits, who had seen your relationship with Jed grow over the years cheered alongside your new friends, and when the kiss ended, Jed leaned his forehead against yours, smiling softly. His warm breath fanned across your cheeks.

He chuckled, “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.”

“Believe me, the feeling is mutual.”

“Oh!” He said, suddenly remembering something. He reached into his pocket and held up your amulet. “I believe this is yours.”

Your eyes widened and you stared at it. You were sure it had been lost when Kahmunrah had been pushed into the portal, but here it was, in perfect shape.

“You…how did you get it back?” You asked as Jed fastened the chain around your neck.

“Let’s just say Octavius and I have a few tricks up our sleeves.” He shrugged. “Speaking of…”

Octavius popped over the top of Jedidiah’s chest pocket. “Hello!”

“Hi, Oct.” You chuckled.

“At some point, I hope you feel so inclined to try that spell out on me.” Octavius said, causing you to smile. “If only to broaden my horizons.”

“When we get back to New York? Absolutely.” You promised.

Larry looked to Amelia. “Speaking of, Amelia, can you fly us home?”

“Certainly, Mr. Daley. It would be my honor.” Amelia nodded, grinning at the sight of you standing next to Jed.

He took your hand and pulled it to his lips, his fingers intertwining with yours. The whole flight back to New York, his arm wouldn’t leave your waist, and once you were finally back and inside the museum, Teddy had to do a double-take.

“Jedediah, my boy, is that you?”

“Had a growth spurt.” Jed shrugged, helping Octavius out of his pocket so he could get downstairs with the others. “And I feel like it’s gonna wear off soon…”

“Yeah…” You felt it, too. Your power slowly leaving him and you couldn’t do anything but watch as he shrank about an inch. And then another.

“Think I could get one more kiss for the road?” Jed asked.

You leaned forward and captured his lips with yours, kissing him one last time before the magic wore off, and when you pulled away, he shrank the rest of the way, back down to his normal size.

“Thanks for the adventure, Sparkle Fingers.” He saluted up at you from his spot on the floor.

“See you tomorrow?”

He winked. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

[respectthemaverick]

STRANGER THINGS ASTROLOGY

This is just my opinion from observation and psychoanalysing the characters using my knowledge of astrology. If you hate astrology or something, move along baby this ain’t for you <3

STEVE’S PLACEMENTS

Libra sun

I mean come on! He’s the epitome of a Venusian man. A true romantic at heart. Libras are always trying to please everyone, they detest conflict and desire to be liked. They might even pretend to be who they’re not sometimes but if something is unfair they will always speak up. They are rational thinkers and favour objectivity BUT are still quite soft and caring. They want to be part of a group and crave relationships. They are aesthetically gifted and hate looking bad. Always well dressed and wearing a smile. Mr. Perfect lol

Virgo moon

He’s eager to help and be of service. Always ready to sacrifice himself for those he cares about. He feels sad when he’s viewed as useless or unintelligent. He needs stability and order to think straight otherwise he just won’t understand. Chaos gives him anxiety. Virgo moons may come off aloof and cold at first but they really are the mom friend who just wants to help out. They might have had an overly critical maternal figure who judged everything they do which is why they strive to please others and be “useful”. Prone to over analysing emotions and entering “analysis paralysis mode”.

Leo rising

Since the rising sign is people’s first impression of you or how you are initially perceived, it’s safe to say Steve comes off as a Leo at first glance. I mean look at that HAIR. “The lion’s mane”….Meeting him for the very first time, you might think he’s Snobby, conceited and proud. Leo rising tend to give off a “regal/I’m better than you” vibe but they are actually very generous, loving and bold. They easily get attention and tend to be a little bit proud. Definitely explains Steve’s high school reputation and stuff. They are friendly, popular and funny.

Bonus on his big 6;

Libra Mercury

Leo Venus (Venus in the 1st house)

Sagittarius Mars

[deiliamedlini]

WIP Wednesday

Whoa, it’s been a hot minute since I did one of these! I have been working on so many random fics, like... SO MANY, but my heart is still with my LOZ pirates in Through Hell or High Water. 

So here’s a scene I cut from this next chapter. It was supposed to happen right after something ELSE that no longer happens in any way, shape, or form!  Admittedly, I do keep pulling pieces from it, and this scene itself might make it in at some point in a different way so I’m not going to give the details just in case, but it’s a tumblr bonus, I guess, because it’s WIP Wednesday. Idk. Just take it and we’ll see if this scene appears ever again!  

Also, if you forgot what happened in the last chapter (like I did, because the hiatus I went on for this fic was pretty long), then HERE, remember Chapter 5 before I finish editing Ch. 6! ☠ This is irrelevant to this WIP, it’s just self promotion while I’m here lol. 

~~

Zelda watched Link curiously, still hovering unnoticed from the doorway she hid in. He looked so… calm. So peaceful. She was sure his eyes were closed, his head was tilted up into the rain, and he barely looked cold despite the night breeze that mixed with the downpour.

He was downright drenched.

His hair was matted against his face, strands uncomfortably hanging over his eyes, tangling in his lashes. And he hadn’t a care in the world about it. Reflexively, Zelda pushed her own hair back.

She leaned further into the doorframe as she looked him over closely. He was an arm’s length away, but somehow, that was enough to curb all the rain in his direction. Rain dripped over his lips and his eyebrows. Occasionally, his eyelid twitched, or his tongue darted out, but he seemed otherwise unbothered.

His black shirt was just absolutely stuck to his skin, and Zelda praised the Goddess that it was not white like most of his others, or she’d be struggling to focus. His arms were crossed, and his ankles locked together.

Was he… asleep?

There was no way he was sleeping in this storm.

“Do you need something?” he mumbled, though it was rough and raw and tired. Goddess, he had been asleep, hadn’t he?

“How did you know I was here?” she asked, leaning against the other side of the door. Though the wind wasn’t blowing at her, she felt the spray of the rain tickle her face

“You’re a loud thinker; I can hear it from here.”

“What am I thinking about, then?” she asked smugly, crossing her arms before she realized she was starting to imitate his pose. She ran her hand along her skirt several times instead.

“Me.”

Zelda scoffed. “You’d make a good scam fortune-teller, Mr. Woods. Your vague answers would satisfy many. Of course, I’m thinking about you: you’re sitting in a monsoon.”

“Mainlanders,” he chuckled. “This weather isn’t that bad.”

“Pirates,” she snapped back. “Always think they’re better than every form of water. If you get struck by lightening, Mr. Woods, I will say I told you so.”

“Afraid of getting wet, Miss Nohansen?”

He finally opened his eyes and turned to her. He looked tired, but there was still a mischievous glint in there, teasing her. He beckoned to the spot beside him: a challenge as much as anything.

Zelda stared out at the swaying trees, remembering when she was younger and her father still lived with her in Hyrule. She remembered the rain and storms. She’d tried to splash in a puddle once, and suddenly her wrist flared with phantom pain at the memory of her father dragging her inside, reaming her out for frivolous and dangerous behavior. After that, she spent storms indoors, and had always sought to get out of the rain as soon as possible.

Squaring her shoulders, she headed outside and walked past Link.

She could feel his curious eyes on her; he didn’t think she’d take his bait, and he didn’t have a response for when she did.

The rain beat down, the wind chilled it. As it hit her face, she felt uncomfortable at first and wiped it away. But then she pictured Link’s calm expression, and she tilted her head into the downpour. The trees helped the rain fall harder as streams of droplets rolled off leaves before falling to the ground, but Zelda kept her head up for all of it, letting the water wash over her, like a cleanse. It was soaking through her clothes; it was drenching her hair.

Zelda felt a giggle start to bubble in her chest, surfacing in bursts. She pulled a pin from her hair and let it all fall to her shoulders, giant strands sticking to her wet cheeks. Zelda refused to move it away.

She turned around and frantically searched the ground. And finally, she found a puddle large enough for her to kick her foot through, drenching her stockings and shoe. But she found herself laughing harder, enjoying herself more than she should have. The Goddess would be frowning now for her indulgence in frivolity.

What else would the Goddess disapprove of?

Zelda turned to Link.

He was watching her with a smile on his lips. Nothing else about him had moved, and Zelda had enough of him sitting in the rain. She bounded over to him, her lips and teeth bouncing off each other, her body shivering in the cold wind. “You look tired, Mr. Woods.”

“You look cold.”

“I am.”

“Do you want a jacket or a blanket from inside? I’ll grab it.”

Zelda shook her head frantically. “No! No, I never get to feel. And I like it!” She laughed again and leaned beside him. “Get up; it’ll wake you.”

“What if I want to sleep?”

Zelda’s eyes glistened as they narrowed. “Did you have another long night?”

His head suddenly came to attention. “Are you… teasing me?”

“Am I not allowed to tease a pirate?”

Link was awake now as he stared at her. “I’m just surprised. You know what I did last night and you’re lighthearted about it?”

“What you do in your personal time is your business. And if you want to sell your soul to Demise and indulge in all the pleasures of the world, who am I to stop you?”

She meant it sincerely, but she couldn’t help the bite that came with her words.

Link nodded and pulled at the chain around his neck, exposing the Goddess’ symbol. He licked his lip again to get the rainwater off, and Zelda’s attention shifted to the large scar that went over his mouth as he spoke. “That’s not my view. It’s not the view of many on this island. I believe the Goddess suffered so we can live.” He pointed to the puddle. “She’d want you to have all the self-indulgent fun in the world. She did it for us.”

Zelda didn’t realize how close she’d moved to him until she noticed that there was a casual spattering of freckles on Link’s face. She’d been so preoccupied with the scar that she’d never even noticed.

“Are you not concerned for your soul, Mr. Woods?”

“Are you concerned for mine?”

Zelda pulled away and shrugged, shivering again. “I’m concerned for everyone’s.”

He stood then, hopping down from his resting place with ease and joining Zelda’s side. He still played with the chain. “The way I see it, I haven’t ‘sold my soul.’ I might be a gambler, Miss Nohansen, but my soul is a hell of a gamble to be willing to lose. As someone who likely will never make it into their forties, and luck be it I’ll at least see thirty, I’d like to have a notion of where my soul will inevitably end up. Even I want to meet the Goddess someday.”

“You kill people,” Zelda whispered as Link fell into step beside her. They were walking, but neither had any destination in mind. Just walking though the rainstorm.

“The Goddess and her knight did, too. Always with reason.”

Zelda’s hand gestured vaguely to the beach, to the encounter yesterday with the other crew. “They had families. Parents, grandparents, siblings, children, spouses. You took someone from their family. Several someone’s.”

He smiled thoughtfully, though she couldn’t tell if it were genuine or rueful. “Are you sympathizing with those pirates? I thought we were all just monsters to you.”

[honeytea8]

✨✨La Squadra Boyfriend Headcanons✨✨

[Alexa, play Boyfriend by Big Time Rush]

Guys, I spend an ungodly amount of time thinking about La Squadra, so here are some bf headcanons for the sexiest group of assassins in Naples. No one asked but I am bringing it straight to your dash anyway! (under the cut for length lmao)

I’m going to start with Prosciutto, who has recently fallen on my radar pretty heavy! 

He’s a good and decent boyfriend, if not a busy one. Not that he doesn’t care about the relationship, but most of his energy was going to Passione things before you waltzed in and so he’ll struggle a bit between his work responsibilities and maintaining his relationship with you, but only in the beginning. 

If you are also a part of Passione, it’s a hell of a lot easier to manage. 

I see Prosciutto as the gift-giving type: lingerie, sweets, perfume, designers, etc. His salary isn’t the best, but he manages it as well as he can just to accommodate you! 

I just can’t get the idea out of my head that Pro was raised by a strict mama, that’s why he can be a bit of a stickler sometimes. He’ll catch you still lounging in bed at nine am, and be like “Why are you still in bed? Get dressed, we’re going out.” Dude!

I’m sorry to say, but Prosciutto is absolutely the ‘lecturing’ type. (He lectured someone in nearly every scene in the anime, Formaggio once and Pesci numerously and Bucci too) 

He will lecture you when you make mistakes, especially because as his s/o, he has high expectations for you and believes you’re capable of so much more. It’s never, ever out of hate. He loves you, and that’s why he chides you a bit lol. 

This does not negate the fact that he doesn't mind when you lean on him for support. He likes when you count on him, because he always comes through especially for you!

Depending on whether you’re in the mafia or not, I totally see him sparring with you, or working out with you in an effort to make you tough. Prosciutto wants you to be able to defend yourself, just in case. If you complain, he’ll tell you, “Better safe than sorry, tesoro”.

Prosciutto will respect you, period.

A good listener, goddamn! He’s up there with Risotto when it comes to who listens to their s/o more! If you have an issue, he’ll hear you out and offer advice if you want it. If you give him advice, he’ll take it into serious consideration. He’s honestly a good partner, can’t stress that enough.

Finally, sex with Pro is an entire event. Romantic dinner, candles lit, wine, the whole nine yards before he gives you nine inches of something else :) (I’m kidding!! Lmao, kinda). 

But as I said, Prosciutto is quite deliberate, and a bit of a perfectionist. He knows what to do and how to do it, you can trust him.

Ghiaccio is next only because he’s my favorite. 

The ice gremlin is probably the most interesting (and hilarious) boyfriend out of the bunch (I say this with only a tidbit of bias). He isn’t funny himself, but funny shit just happens to him. 

Because of this, he will use you as a soundboard when everyone else refuses to listen to him. He’s got a lot to say, so be prepared for his TEDtalks. LMAO!

It will take some perception on your part to notice when he actually expects a response from you, and other times he’s just ranting to get his point out. 

He will correct your grammar when you text, but barely notices when he makes a similar mistake (his brain moves in mph). Please use the proper names like Venezia, Italia, Roma and Napoli when talking to this man; save yourself from the headache.

When it comes to dates, please have mercy on him, he’s a textbook over-thinker! You’ll just have to plan something simple at home for you both to enjoy. 

He isn’t incapable of planning dates, but he’ll want everything to be so absolutely perfect for his s/o and will throw a fit when it ultimately isn’t. 

Contrary to popular belief, I think that Ghiaccio is a pretty attentive partner. He’s super intelligent and I think a part of it stems from his innate ability to read people (I’m referencing the part in the anime where he deduced what Giorno and Mista had come to look for, while going off very little information). 

The more time he spends with you, the better he gets at it. 

His form of affection will be shown through the amount of time you both spend together. When it comes to sex or anything related to that, be gentle and slow as Ghiaccio will likely be a flustered mess. 

As he becomes more comfortable and confident, he will be bolder and just ask out right if you’ll suck him off tonight or not. The man appreciates directness, so don’t bother being coy. “You want me to give you head? Cool, lay down a towel or something.” is what he’ll probably say.

Very practical 👌🏾👌🏾

Melone, good lord, he’s kind of perfect. 

A bit of a doting boyfriend here and there—very much concerned about your health. Expect him to ask if you’ve eaten, or taken your multivitamin. How are your bowel movements?  LMAO

It can become a bit much, but he really genuinely cares. He’s not asking to be intrusive or nasty! If he was, you’d know. 🤣

But I seriously consider Melone to be the one (at least among La Squadra) who is way, way invested in his relationships. He will know every little detail about you; will ask you lots of questions and expects you to ask him just as many. 

This may be annoying to some, but this dude will definitely bring up your horoscope in an argument. He’ll be like “I honestly can’t fathom why you’re being this way, though it’s to be expected from a libra.” 

Peg this bitch so he can shut up.  

Melone is also touchy as hell, but not in a clingy way. He loves touching, and just to tag onto the headcanon about his partial blindness, I want to say that he’s so touchy because that’s how he ‘sees’ you best.

Just know that half the time, he isn’t touching you to be lecherous, even if he genuinely does like the feel of your skin under his fingertips. Melone will even encourage you to touch him back. 

Rub his thigh or back and he’ll be simping.

He is obsessed with your legs, and will paint your toes if you let him. 

LOVES PDA! Melone will also tongue-kiss you in public if you let him!

Notice how I keep saying ‘if you let him’. Give him an inch and he’ll press you for a mile, so if there are boundaries you would like to establish, please do, cuz he sure as hell won’t, just saying!

When it comes to sex, Melone is a dick and coochie sensei. Oral is his favorite thing to do, probably enjoys giving more than receiving to be honest. I’d say he’s pretty much mastered sex for what it is. 

That being said, if he’s ever talking out of his neck, just invite him to put his mouth to better use. He’ll even thank you for your gracious request.

Formaggio is next 💀 

According to my JoJo compatriots from discord, he’s like the Optimus Prime of fuckboi’s so let’s ride that wave for a bit! LMAO

I hope it doesn’t come as a surprise that Formaggio is pretty shameless. He will send you a dick pic on Sunday morning before church and have the audacity to say “Just wanted to bless you real quick”. 

@autumn-kouhai mentioned him giving his s/o sickly sweet pet names and I just have to agree. 

Expect to be hit upside the head with: baby-boo, sugar plum, honey bunches, sweetums. I can imagine them becoming really ridiculous too like “the last piece of red velvet cake” or “cheddar bae biscuits from Red Lobster”

His catch phrase is “Got nudes?”

Send them, and he won’t be afraid to reply with something equally sexy. 

Be warned though, he will stockpile whatever you send him and then be careless with his phone. If you don’t mind Illuso’s snoopy ass seeing your nudes then by all means, have at it. Otherwise, send them through snapchat, so they disappear later. 

As far as La Squadra boyfriends go, he’s the most fun! Y’all don’t even go anywhere because man’s is broke. BUT, Formaggio knows how to have a good time without any need to spend money (my kind of dude tbh) you guys just crank up the tunes, dance, and get lit until the neighbors complain. 

Formi is also the CEO of jokes/memes, and will have you in absolute tears almost always! I literally tell my friends that funny guys are so dangerous, don’t sleep on them! They will make you laugh until your panties drop, it’s magic, I swear. Formaggio has that same energy. 

No matter how bad of a day his s/o is having, rest assured, he will draw the biggest laugh out of you.

Besides his fuckboi tendencies, his most redeeming quality is the fact that he’s super cool and fun to hang with. You’ll literally have a good time, always, because his energy is right! Very good vibes around this man, I swear! It’ll be exactly like dating your best friend, because essentially, he will be your bestie.

Formi has many moments of tenderness that aren’t sexually charged too—moments where the jokes stop and he’ll just rub your back or feet, this is usually when you aren’t feeling well and need some quiet. 

However, Formaggio won’t let you mope all day, he’ll pull out the big guns and call you his “sweetie baby” and when you try to resist he’ll say “What, I’m just tryna show you some love.”

He’s a good dude lmao I’d date a guy like him irl 😭

Pesci stans wya??! Let’s get into this baby boy. 

Pesci is boyfriend material, idgaf what anyone says. 

He is pretty much the least problematic to be with among all of La Squadra, even more so than Risotto (don’t argue with me). 

Pesci is hyper aware of your likes and dislikes and will literally go out of his way to make sure that you’re well and okay. 

Arguments are basically nonexistent and if they occur it ain’t coming from his side. 

I also think that Pesci has a lot of empathy, so when you’re going through something, he’s right there in the thick of it with you. If you’ve seen that meme that goes ‘when my gf is on her period it’s UterUS’ lmao that’s Pesci’s energy 100%. 

Sometimes, he’s more of a lover and not a fight, that is perfectly okay!

However, if someone tries up his s/o, say farewell to Mr. Niceguy. He will defend your honor to his dying breath. And with you in his corner, trust me, he’s not going down. 

A romantic at heart, Pesci will plan little date trips like picnics in the park or boat trips to Capri, actually, I’d like to point out that he excels in the art of date planning. If you’re the adventurous type, he’ll plan outings where you both will be more active, like biking through the city or renting a mop-ed and going sight-seeing. 

Because Pesci has a sensitive stomach, he’s very much considerate of what you both put in your bodies. If you have dietary restrictions or allergies, this guy knows all about it and will cater to you perfectly. 

A true gentleman through and through, he will never force himself on you, ever. In fact, he really doesn’t like engaging in anything sexual when you’re drunk or high, sorry if you’re into that! 

Pesci is the kind of guy who keeps up with your favorite shows.

If ya’ll have similar taste in media or literature, he will immerse himself in it so that he can relate to you all the more.

If there’s anyone who will entertain anime-related discourse, no matter how nonsensical, it’s Pesci. And he isn’t just putting up with it, he’s actively engaging in the conversation so you are always heard and validated. 

He’s an A+ boyfriend, that’s all I gotta say! Haters can stay mad :)

Goddamn Illuso... idk man.

I really feel like you have to have thick/tough skin to handle this guy, for various reasons. 

The first being that Illuso can be a bit mean at first. He’ll push your buttons on purpose just to see what’ll make you tick. Will tease the living heck out of you, always, kind of a bully lmao but not to the extreme, it’s just his brand of humor—and the thing is, he won’t be mad when you dish it right back, so it’s cool. 

Secondly, Illuso has big dick energy!! 

I mean rightfully so, because he is indeed packing! But my word, he ain’t humble about it at all! 

He is not above making jokes about ‘splitting you in half’. In fact all of his jokes have hidden, dirty undertones! 

His affection is shown through speech mostly. Illuso will drop subtle innuendos and provocations, half to see you flustered and half because he wants you to know how much he wants you. 

Illuso isn’t incredibly vocal about his feelings outside of ‘I’m tryna hit that thang’ but you won’t doubt that he loves you because Illuso doesn’t waste his own time. 

If he’s spending his time with you, you can rest assured that it’s because he wants to. 

Illuso is a voyeur and you’ll just have to understand/accept that and move on. 

He loves watching you and will even creep over to your place through the mirror world just to hang or watch you do chores. Loves to surprise you and give you jump scares lmao it’ll make you a tad paranoid but it’s also fun. 

Illuso is prone to random bouts of sweetness; it’s very sporadic, very touch-and-go. 

One day, you’ll wake up to chocolates on your dresser or new shoes, lingerie, or makeup if you wear it. I imagine that if you’re low on funds, he will even help you buy your groceries that week. 

It’ll surprise the hell out of you, but that’s just how Illuso is. He enjoys keeping you on your toes! 

He’s prideful and smug as hell, so he will definitely expect a thank you, because even if he does it out of the kindness in his heart, he also wants to hear that you appreciate him

Same goes for the bedroom scene. Illuso loves making you vocal, it’s his favorite thing in the world, so he’ll make a game out of doing the things that get the biggest reaction out of you. Like I said, it's that big dick energy at work here, smh.

Sorbet and Gelato in a polyamorous relationship with you? Let’s get it! 

We don’t get anything substantial about these two except that Sorbet follows the money, so these are all personal headcanons for how I see and write them. 

Here’s the juice: when it comes to you as their s/o, these two are possessive as hell. You are theirs and that’s that on that! 😭 Don’t ask questions, just go with it.

Sorbet is the chill one of the duo. He can be a bit smug at times, but he’s mostly a laid back dude who doesn’t get bothered by much.

When it comes to you, Sorbet likes to spend quality time with you more than anything, and will ask you to cook for him at your place so he ain’t gotta spend money. Oh? Did I not mention that I kinda think of him as a cheapskate? Lmao cuz I do.

Sorbet will come by your place just to steal your coupons from the mail then head out; you’re not using ‘em so why should he let them go to waste?

Gelato is the complete opposite; personality wise, I headcanon him as a mix between Melone and Formaggio lmao

But it’s not as crazy as it sounds, he’s cute and outspoken like Melone, while maintaining a free-spirit like Formaggio. One quality that I like is that he’s quite devoted to you and Sorbet. If anyone crosses either of you, goodluck to them!

I like to think Gelato’s also just really boujee and high maintenance. He loves to pamper and be pampered. You and him tag-team Sorbet’s wallet and go on spa dates together at his expense (not that he ever really stood a chance)

While Sorbet is cool with just being in the same room as you, Gelato loves hugging/cuddling with you and Sorbet—will definitely fight for the middle spot between the two of you on the couch during movie nights.

He baby, so let him have it lol

In the bedroom, I would salute anyone with the guts to take the two of them on. They both lay down that work, period. 

Sorbet gets his kicks from teasing and edging you (his sadistic side comes out a bit), while Gelato loves when you give him extra TLC. To put it short, they know how to take care of you, so there are no issues there. 

Last but not least, Mr. Risotto Nero himself.

Man, idc on the lowest of keys, he seems a little bit like a grandpa to me

The type to sit at home and do crosswords, has a bird feeder in his yard and plays old Italian hits while washing the dishes. It’s very domestic 💀 (I find it cute, whatever!)

As a boyfriend, I can’t imagine him suddenly being spontaneous or outgoing unless you drag him out of his home/comfort zone.

Be patient with Mr. Nero, and he can come to surprise you

After a while, it won’t be just you dragging him out and about; one day he’ll ask you to come over and you’ll be greeted with a nice, traditional, homemade meal

Pay attention and you will notice him watching your face to see if you like his cooking 🥺

After seeing his fight with Doppio, I must admit that Risotto is very, very observant, almost scarily so.

I can totally picture him pointing out random things about his s/o that even they don’t know

One night, Risotto may come up to you and say “I talked to your neighbor about the dog, they’ll keep it inside now.” And you’re just staring like 😳 how did he know the barking was keeping you up at night????

He’s sweet, and will take good care of you as a boyfriend should.

Very good listener, won’t talk as much but will hang on to your every word, I promise. He could even recite it to you verbatim.

He’s a big dude, that ain’t news, so expect to be swallowed up in hugs and sometimes even picked up (as a tall girl myself, I simp!!!)

Gives A1 piggyback rides, lol

ALSO RISOTTO IS HUMBLE ASF!

Big dick energy, but on low volume 👏🏾 after all, he doesn’t need to do much talking, because a night with him is more than enough!

Listen babe, you better stretch, do some squats, and prep in whatever way you can before Mr. Nero gives you that work. 🤐

Lowkey a freak, but it’s well hidden behind his ‘quiet giant’ exterior

So, who are y'all dating? Personally, I’m going for Formaggio and Pesci hehe

[caffeine-and-melatonin]

✨Bad Batch E11 Spoilers✨

AAAAAAHHHHHHHH OMG OMG OMG OMG

Ok let's get into it y'all...welcome to my brain while watching E11

- OMG RYLOTH NOW???

-CROSS! 

-SYNDULLAS!!!!!!!!!!! WHERE IS MOM???? IS CHOP WITH HER???

-Clone without helmet?  Clone I don't know? What???? We haven't seen a reg without their helmet as far as I can remember...Why do I get the feeling this guy's chip isn't 100%? Why else would they show us his face/give him some personality. Wait that's the other thing! Mans still has his armor painted and everything unlike all the other regs (not counting the Coruscant guard). Plus based on his pauldron I'm guessing he's an ARC trooper and they were more independent and creative thinkers than most of the regs........oh no Mr. Cowboy Hat Man is gonna kill him isn't he :(

- CHOPPER!!!!!! MY FAVORITE WAR CRIMINAL!!!!

- BABY HERA BABY HERA BABY HERA!!!! MOM YOU ARE SO SMALL RN AWWW I LOVE YOU

- My god there are no words to describe how happy I am to see Hera

- Ohhhhh his name is Howzer! Have we seen him before? I don't think so...I didn't forget a clone did I?!?!?!?!?!?!

-Not gonna report it? Yeah his chip isn't fully working is it. He seems nice pls don't murder him Dave. I know you will, but like don't. 

- I get what Cham is saying, but like Gobi sounds more like Cham than Cham does

- AGH CROSS YOU'RE BALD! AGH CROSS I CAN SEE YOUR CRISPY BRAINS! SIR! LIKE THERE IS A LITERAL ✨C H U N K✨ MISSING FROM YOUR SKULL!

-WAIT A SECOND!!!!!!!!! HIS BRAINS BE BURNT ON THE CHIP SIDE!!! DOES THAT MEAN??? SOON??? (if someone has an extra clown wig and red nose hand it over i have a feeling imma need it) 

- I seriously don't think there has ever been a moment when I was even remotely ok with Orn Free Taa

- Hera's mom is an absolute QUEEN! I love her already...oh no I'm getting attached I can't do that oh no stop it I can't deal with more sad

- BABY HERA FLY SHIP! Look at her go!!! Yay Mom!!!

-OMG IS HERA GONNA MEET OMEGA???

-AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH HERA AND OMEGA ARE BESTIES!!!

-Awwwww Tech's been teaching Omega about the ship! Wait does that mean he has someone who will sit and listen to him because he just wants to share his knowledge??? AWWWWW THAT'S SO SOFT I LOVE IT!!!!! I really wish they would have shown us that. Like yeah there have been some short Tech teaching Omega moments, but nothing substantial. Seriously if they showed us Tech getting all happy and excited that someone actually wanted to learn from him I think I would simply pass away from pure joy. I just want some character development and happiness for my love is that too much to ask for? 

- Hera talking about flying is so cute! Omg and Omega being so proud of her room!!!

-Lol like 0.5 sec into hearing that Omega and the Bois™ get shot at regularly, Hera's like "Are you in trouble? I will adopt you right now" (and then Omega pulled the Uno Reverse card on her and was like "sis we are literally the ones bringing you weapons"). Glad to know Hera has always been the mom friend. 

-"Did you know flying is about a feeling?" "wHaT fEeLiNg?" My dear Tech, I adore your vocal inflections so much......oh stars.....I'm freaking out over crumbs......my apologies  

- CROSS SWEETIE PLEASE STOP SHOOTING AT PEOPLE! SPECIFICALLY CHILDREN! BRO I KNOW YA CAN'T HELP IT BUT EEK MAN! 

- Ok kind of a weird statement, but am I the only one that used to get really excited when a LAAT would show up? I used to be all like "My BOYS! 🥰" and now it's more of "My BOYS! 😥". Ya know what I mean? My poor clones...I miss them.

- Oh yeah I'm 100% calling it, Howzer's chip isn't doing the thing.

- Hera's mom could run me over with a blurrg and you know what that's on me. I got in her way. I'm so sorry.

- DAMN CROSS RIGHT TO THE NOGGIN JEEZ!

- Aww Howzer really cares about Hera and her parents. This is gonna hurt like a bitch isn't it 😒

FINAL THOUGHTS

- Idk what I was expecting from this episode, but it certainly wasn’t seeing Ryloth this soon.

- MOM!!! Agh I love Hera so much

-Howzer’s pretty. Good for him. 

- So like for our clown outfits, is there color scheme or dress code or something? Because I'm really hoping that seeing Cross' ✨melted marbles✨ on the right side of his head means the chip got damaged and it's gonna stop working soon...right?

- I know both of them were only around the batch for a few minutes, but do you think Kanan and Hera ever had a moment were they were telling stories about their past and somehow connected the dots that they both knew them kinda? Idk probably not but it's fun to think about.

-So here's the thing (to finally wrap up my rambling), they were soooo close to Cross. Like I know the batch is going to have to go back to bring them more weapons, but they were sooooo close. I get it that they wouldn't have known he was there and it was interesting to see what is going on in the galaxy outside of the squad, especially with Ryloth's history of being constantly under occupation and seeing how they are dealing with the shift from the Republic to the Empire, but I need them to TALK ABOUT HIM! Like let's at least start there. Where's the energy from E3 about not leaving Cross behind? I know that getting him back is going to be really hard, really complicated, and really dangerous and that's why they haven't got him back yet, but at least try to come up with a plan. Start there boys. Please. I love you all so much. I really do. But could you just TALK TO EACH OTHER BECAUSE I KNOW IT'S BOTHERING YOU INSIDE BUT YA NEED TO BRING THOSE FEELINGS TO THE OUTSIDE!!! Ok thanks xxx

Yeah I think that's all I got for today's episode. Good night? Good morning? Whatever y'all know what I mean 😘 

[tominostuff]

Oshii Mamoru  x Anno Hideaki Char’s Counterattack Fan Club Book

Published: January 1993 

Just the first 3 pages as a teaser lol 

Influence 

Anno: As a creator, I like CCA because you can hear Mr. Tomino’s very genuine voice in it. But Mr. Oshii, you tend to dislike doing that. You try to sugarcoat your true intentions and hide it deep within. So, it’s unexpected that someone like you enjoyed CCA. 

Oshii: Well, isn’t it just that? As you said, Mr. Tomino’s raw voice is all out in the open. 

Anno: Yes. It’s very direct. I think sensitive people may even harbor hatred for it.

Oshii: (Kazunori) Itou-kun apparently stopped watching 5 minutes in. When he heard the first “heavenly punishment” line, he couldn’t follow along anymore and stopped (laughs). Since he used to be at Sunrise, he probably sees more. 

So [whether or not you like the movie] is probably decided by what kind of reaction you’d have to hearing lines like 修正 “correction” or 粛清 “purge” or 天誅 “heavenly punishment.” Since there’s bound to be many people who have a dislike towards words like that. Especially older people react towards “purge” and “correction.” For the pre-war faction, “correction” meant military lynching and for people after the 70s, “correction” means demonstrator/political radicals or controlled lynching. There’s also the Red Army (JRA) issue as well. 

If it were a movie, they may have not been bothered by it but since it’s an animation. There is a gap between the raw human intentions and the drawn world. And that actually makes a bigger impact. So for people who dislike seeing undiluted emotions show up on screen, they just can’t do it. 

Anno: I wasn’t bothered by it. 

Oshii: I think you and I were making things during the awkward off season of animation. People like Miya-san (Miyazaki Hayao) who were swept along by Toei and made animations for kids versus people who were pursuing movies and ended up in an anime studio...our generation of people is the in-between, so we understand both sides. We are caught between both the part that’s making shows for kids and the part that wants to make movies that we are personally satisfied with.  So, depending on where you place the center of balance, you end up making a completely different thing. 

On one hand, I felt that this movie could only be accepted by people like that. The older folk just thought it was bad. People in the anime industry especially. And for younger folk, they don’t know how to process an undiluted political world like that one. Despite all of this, the theaters were pretty full. And that’s probably due to the influence of Gundam.

It was around the same time as Patlabor. Even though Mr. Tomino did whatever he wanted in Gundam, and I worked on Patlabor with the same Shochiku, when the high ups at Shochiku came to the press release for the previous Patlabor installment, they just said “I didn’t understand anything” and left. “Nothing made sense.” They were grumbling, “but robot anime originally was like this” as they went home. Which I think was thanks to Gundam (laughs). 

Even so, I was impressed that a script like CCA was greenlit. How could they release something like that. Probably because they weren’t watching it very seriously. Everyone is so enchanted by the surface-level space war aspect that there’s very few people who accurately grasp Mr. Tomino’s intentions. 

Anno: I didn’t understand it the first time I watched it. 

Oshii: The idea itself is not anything exceptional. It doesn’t come up to the surface but… to exaggerate, this is about present day, but as a phenomenon, in Japan maybe after the 70s? Among the political ideas that collapsed in the 60s was a type of retaliation ideology….. There’s a bit of nihilism in it, but basically there existed a political thought that placed its basis on the idea that “humans are no good.” However, that never made its way into the mainstream and much less in a world like animation, the center of popular culture, the fact that it showed up so suddenly was a surprise. It was almost pure literature. 

To want to retaliate against humanity or to want to correct humanity… truth be told, I also had similar thoughts. For example, the upcoming Patlabor has a bit of that in it. There’s a desire to seek revenge against a kind of deceptive inquisitiveness of this generation. However, I’m hesitant about being too direct about it (laughs)... more like I personally, am not a fan of being so direct…. And to go so far as to start saying the intellectuals that, the masses this. That part of the dialogue was probably an exact reflection of Mr. Tomino’s beliefs. As a method of expression, I would never do something like declaring my true beliefs during the movie. 

Just, the one thing I don’t get is why he suddenly did something like that. I actually haven’t watched the Gundam series too seriously so when I saw that, it seemed out of the blue. Perhaps he had laid the foundations for it earlier but I actually haven’t watched anything since Zeta Gundam. Watched the first Gundam and then suddenly CCA. So I don’t know what happened in this gap but it probably wasn’t anything sudden, it was probably always present. 

Anno: Yes. I think he spit out everything he had accumulated, or more like, he put an end to things. 

Ideologies 

Oshii: When you’re working on anime, you’re required to be different from an ordinary movie director. Even though it may look like we’re doing whatever we please, there are some things that we just can’t do. In a live action, even if it’s a bit explicit it may not be a huge problem… but with anime, there’s the first psychological barrier of the people who have to draw it. And when you think about it, the first person who did those things was Mr. Tomino. Like the child who fires in front of his mother. Or the boy or girl, I forget, that got their head blown off along with their helmet. 

When I saw Ideon, I believe it was when I was working on The Wonderful Adventures of Nils at Pierrot, it gave me such a shock. And it became the topic of discussion among directors at the studio. We wondered if it was okay to make something like that. My mentor, Mr. Tori (Hisayuki Toriumi), was someone who would do rather sadistic things. Like, Gatchaman was horrible. People would get hung with chains and beaten with a whip or Joe the Condor would get his face stepped on and messed up. He’s done pretty controversial things over the years. However, he never was as raw. After all, we had passed the era where such direct expression is allowed. 

There were a few taboos that were said to exist in anime, the destruction of bodies being one of them, but the bigger one that existed was probably, “politics.” To express your own political beliefs in the anime you were creating. I don’t mean things like post-war democracy or Tezuka Osamu’s humanism, etc, but radical revolutionary ideas, betrayed ressentiment (concept of resentment or hostility related to 19th century thinkers like Friedrich Neitzche), feelings of grudge, etc. have no place in anime. No one explicitly says it but as you spend time at the studio, you naturally begin to realize that’s the limit. If you want to do it, you have to change its shape. So like in Urusei Yatsura or Patlabor, I had to disguise it as a type of metaphor or a running joke. So even if you’re allowed to have a miniature battle for authority in a school setting… well, originally, even that was going too far, I was told many things by different people… it wasn’t like anyone said anything openly but no one thought to do it in the first place. The reason why is because everyone thought animation was the wrong place to be testing such ideas, who’s going to want to watch something like that. 

Back when Toei made Future War 198x, circulation boards went around and the Toei Animation Company labor union went on strike and all that, but inside, there were a lot of debates happening. Especially among directors wondering how they should take it all. Regardless of the fact that the age of the average anime watcher was increasing due to the anime boom, where exactly do we place the limit? Is it okay for us to try things that an ordinary live action director might do? For the generation of directors above us, these questions existed in a more tangible form. Whenever there was destruction of bodies or kiss scenes, like Mr. Tori did once in Gatchaman, every time something like that would happen on screen, production companies would file complaints or the TV stations would complain, and there would be this back and forth. Even so, there were people who wanted to depict these things. But in other words, that was it. The complaints were only on the artistic level. What that person did in CCA is leagues beyond that. 

The philosophies or policies or themes, those things aren’t in there because the movie needs it, no, the ideology is first and foremost (laughs). It’s probably forgiven because it’s underneath the umbrella of Gundam but even so, I was surprised that they could go that far. 

And, I was surprised a second time when there was no reaction to it. I spoke about this with Anno over the phone but, there’s no talk about it, good or bad. Why is there no reaction to such a radical outburst? There were probably a few entries to some anime magazines, I’ve seen a few of them myself, but in the end they were just the usual debates about war in Gundam. 

In that way, it was as I expected. By “as expected” I mean, even if one speaks of such ideals in animation, who is going to see it, and how? This is a problem that I’m always facing myself because the stories that I want to create aren’t reaching the audience that I desire. And that’s probably because it’s anime. If it were live action, you could just leave it alone and a bunch of critics would come along and say what they want. Even if it’s just some boring police drama, they’d dig up all this nonsense to write. Conversely, [CCA] didn’t receive attention because it was anime. Because it was anime, the ideas presented in it were overlooked. To Mr. Tomino, that was probably extremely regrettable. Because I am always experiencing similar things. The anime isn’t reaching the people who are supposed to see it. That is what I felt from it. 

Anno: Anime as a method of expression is very infantile. Especially facial expressions, angry faces have raised eyebrows, crying faces have tears in their eyes, blurry pupils means they are crying; if a foreigner saw this, I don’t think they’d understand. Japanese people are trained to understand to some extent so they know “oh they’re crying right now.” 

However, whether the character is crying because they are happy or because they are sad, cannot be understood through just the art, without dialogue and the whole package. So, whether hands go flying or blood is shed, at the end of day, they’re all cell humans. Even if they speak, it's just 3 frames of mouths going open and close. I think the sincere attitude of trying to go so far through such childish means of expression and in the even more remote region of robot anime is amazing. I don’t think there were any directors like this until now. 

Oshii: Yeah, there weren’t. I didn’t think he would take it that far. Although, I had sensed that vibe from Gundam itself. The structure of war depicted in it probably made that kind of thing possible. I don’t know how much he had pre-planned while he was creating the initial settings for the show but… it’s probably something similar to Patlabor where you start realizing “oh this is possible too” as you go. But, I kind of understand why it came out of a robot anime. With gag anime or home drama, school stories, these things would definitely be caught in a check at some stage. It’s probably due to the very combative world of robot anime, which depicts war, that kind of thing was passed (laughs). 

Anno: That’s right. It was probably only possible because it had its beginnings as “just an ad for robot toys.” 

Resignation

Oshii: Back when Urusei just finished airing, I met Mr. Yasuhiko at a magazine interview. It was right when the manga, Todonotsumari, was serializing in Animage. The first thing that person said was, “Animators like the ones depicted in [that manga] don’t exist. The anime studio environment that you are creating there is the furthest from an anime studio in reality. It’s what doesn’t exist the most. Why do you do this?” That’s when I sensed a bit of the resignation or frustration that generation of uncles hold towards animation. To put it bluntly, it's a type of inferiority complex. 

I, too, was told that when I entered Tatsunoko. “In the end it’s just an ad for toys. So don’t put too much effort into it. If you don’t keep it at a minimum, you’ll only feel disappointed at the end. If you become too serious about making a masterpiece or making a film, you won’t make it in this industry.” I got a lot of that. Whether they were sakuga directors, animators, producers, bosses. From different people, in different ways, I was told many things. To summarize, that’s pretty much what they’d tell me. “The anime job is not a place for that.” 

I’m generalizing but the generation above us started from a place of resignation. Like the background artist who couldn’t feed themselves off of oil paintings or the animator who couldn’t become a mangaka, it’s not nice to say but the industry was full of people who drifted into it. It was that kind of world. But there were good sides to it being that kind of world. No one would comment on what other people were doing. 

Like, I was told at the beginning, “Don’t criticize other people’s work.” And not only did this apply to people in my own studio but I also wasn’t allowed to say this and that about what Toei was doing. From the start I was still in the mindset of a film bro so I’d complain “what is that?” but I was told off not only by older directors but also by directors my own age. Was it Mashimo Koichi? (laughs). “It’s easy to spot as many faults as you’d like in other people’s work. So there’s an infinite number of criticisms you can make. The only thing that matters is what you yourself creates.” To that I said, “I don’t think so. I have the ability to state why boring things are boring with logic to back it up so I should be allowed to. If we don’t say these things out loud, nothing will change. In exchange, I don’t care how badly my work gets criticized.” That’s a very normal thing. Bar fights are constant in the movie industry. “Why doesn’t it work in the same way in the anime industry?” is how I felt. 

So, until I met Miya-san I was always frustrated. Meeting Miya-san was the first time…. cause that person is the same way. He says whatever he wants about other people’s work…just as I thought, this kind of person does exist. Even as we argue, even as we lovingly tear each other’s work apart, we are still together. I think that’s a very important skill as a director and even beyond that, I was perplexed as to why this wasn’t allowed in the anime industry. 

The one thought I always held within all of this was that, before the sponsors or stations or whatever, the anime industry carved out territory for itself and didn’t try to leave it. So when the industry was forced to the forefront with the anime boom, the previously anonymous animators and directors suddenly found themselves in the limelight. And with that, all of the inferiority complexes came flooding out in a warped way. 

For example, Mr. Yasuhiko’s Crusher Joe is unnecessarily cruel. Like small animals getting turned into meat clumps with a machine gun. Or patricide or siblings killing each other. Everything that had been suppressed until now came flooding out in a very warped way. Endlessly mass producing worthless children’s media that's neither good or bad would turn one’s literary consciousness inwards. So when you’re finally able to put work out there under your own name, all of that came out. Basically what I’m saying is that the balance is off. How far can you take things, from where should you start dialing back; everyone has their own parameters based on their unique method of expression. But they let everything out, completely ignoring these parameters.

When I saw this, I was full of complicated feelings. “Why do you guys have to have such a complex towards making animation?” I hated it so much because the generation below me doesn’t really have these taboos or warped perceptions. 

Anno: They really don’t.

Crime of Conscience

Oshii: On the other hand, there are many things that you can do in anime that wouldn’t be allowed in Japanese movies. Ideas that would be stamped into the rejection pile for a Japanese movie can be expressed to a certain degree in anime….is what people discovered. One way to put it is, if you take “the way anime is viewed” in a societal sense and work within those means, then anything is possible…..or at least I felt (laughs). It’s only useful up to a certain point of course. Using a tactic of pushing and retreating to mix things up while creating a proper product on the other end was how I was doing my job. At the time. Even now I feel I work in a similar way but it’s different. We become wary and don’t do it like that. We’d try to cheat things by having it take place in an alternate universe. Or if you’re trying to depict a rebellion, don’t draw it from the rebel side but from the police side instead (laughs). 

Even today, although it takes a different form, the idea that animation is for kids still persists. Showing nude bodies, and not cute things like shower scenes or skirt flipping, but in the context of lovers or affairs, passionate love or a world where politics are spoken about so clearly, is going to be rejected. But if you add “somewhere out in outer space,” sometimes it slips past the radar and gets greenlit. 

However, I think Mr. Tomino knew what he was doing. 

Anno: I think so too. 

Oshii: When I saw it, I thought “he did this on purpose.” There’s probably parts that I understand because I am also a creator. It was well balanced. There was none of the off-balanceness of Mr. Yasuhiko. Of course, what lies underneath is the same. At the foundation is this inner warped hatred towards animation movies. On the other hand, he understands that he’s  just an anime person and can't express things well when he’s separate from anime. That kind of thing, however, was pretty well controlled when it came to Char’s Counterattack. Therefore, there is no doubt that it was a crime of conscience. 

However, even if it was on purpose, I still think the film was too blunt. I thought it would be better to disguise it a little more, dress it up a little more, camouflage it, and wear a covering, something. 

Anno: On the contrary, I thought that’s what made it so masculine or cool.

Oshii: It’s dangerous. Danger is not about being socially sanctioned, criticized, or denounced, but rather straightforward words suggesting revolution, intellectuals this and that, and correcting or imposing sanctions on humankind…  if you are not careful about it, the intentions may be flipped on you. In other words, you run the risk of becoming a gag. Political language is rather delicate, isn’t it? If you do it too much, like those violent student protesters who often appear in TV dramas, it becomes a comedy act that’s so ugly you can’t even call it a parody. That’s why, in Urusei Yatsura, Megane, the plot device guy, was doing everything exaggeratedly as a running joke. That's because I thought that if I didn't do it that way, it wouldn't pass, and I, personally, wanted to see it. There was a part of me that felt detached. And that was funny in itself. The fact remains that even to me, that era, while there were some painful parts, I also felt that it was humorous. Some parts are nostalgic, and some parts make me feel even disgusted. I found some salvation in letting everything out through a plot device character like Megane. That kind of thing, if you do it seriously, it's just painful.

In short, political language is pretty delicate…. Going back to the phrase “heavenly punishment.” I’m positive that there’s people who laughed at that phrase. Because we’re talking “heavenly punishment” in a space environment. What he’s doing is describing the “February 26 Incident” verbatim but the world he’s created is a future battlefield in outer space. There’s an immense gap. The younger generation may not care about it, though. I've always felt that kind of thing from Sunrise. There is something off about them. It seems that there are people who strangely want to enumerate dead languages.

My scariest thought is that there’s probably people who laughed at CCA.  That they found it comical. The fact these imperial loyalist type characters are living out the “one person one kill” kind of world in outer space. I avoided writing these kinds of stories for this exact reason. ‘Cause at some point, someone is going to laugh. Like the drama, “Hyokin Tribe” from back in the day. You write the drama very seriously and in the end, it all flips on its head. It’s the generation where (serious) things are seen in a cynical manner. I am conscious of the enemy waiting, ready to turn everything into laughs. Especially when it comes to anime, anything is possible so you take it very seriously until the very end where it’s all comedy. The moment that becomes obvious, everything you’ve accumulated becomes invalid. So I prefer it the other way around,  to create the mood, “this is a lie, it’s all jokes,” and then reveal that it was actually my true intention all along. I feel that it’s more effective to build up the jokes and then bring it into the real world at the end. In short, you can’t be seen through this way. If you ask me, the modern movie goer is rather twisted. A naive audience doesn’t exist. Within that, however, many anime viewers are among the exceptionally naive. They get impressed right away. As if they’re prepared to be impressed. Compared to the average viewer, anime watchers are easy to deceive, to the point where I go, “why are you so naive?” They easily go along with your tricks. They are waiting, ready to go along with anything you offer them. It’s the same mentality as the people who come to anime events and go, “since I’m already here, I am prepared to get my money’s worth by laughing at everything, even the parts that aren’t funny, and have a good time with everyone.” From a customer’s point of view, it’s such a naive mindset….maybe even going past naive into sly territory. Speaking broadly about movies in general, half-baked drama, half-baked crying or overly sentimental things doesn’t work on audiences nowadays. Rather, they are looking for ways to laugh at it.  

Ever since that TV drama, "Stewardess Monogatari", I've been endlessly wary of such things. The goal is to make people laugh, not be laughed at. The movie is useless unless we (the creators) hold on to the hegemony. 

Oshii: So when I saw CCA, I thought, there are definitely people out there who got together to drink and laugh out loud while watching this movie. And those who didn’t, said they couldn’t bear to watch it and stopped watching. Since they immediately develop a dislike for it. And the people who watched it seriously are hardcore robot fans, or Gundam fans…… they probably watched it very passionately (laughs). When you remove all of that, the message is clear. It’s completely anachronistic….. well, rather than anachronistic, I think what he’s doing is to a certain extent effective. It’s similar to what I was doing last year (Patlabor 2?).....he's speaking very sincerely, but depending on what kind of world and audiences see this movie, it will become a very unfortunate movie.

Anno: I think that movie is so one-sided though. I can’t imagine he had the audience in mind while he was making it. 

Oshii: Well there was a sense of agitation, “there’s no way you’ll understand!”

Anno: I get that sense from the fighting spirit of the film. 

Oshii: Because humans are somewhat beyond saving, even if you look at history, we haven’t done anything good. Probably even in the next century, whether humans go out into space, humans will repeat the same stupidity, getting everything and everyone involved and ruining it. That’s why he said, if God isn’t going to do it, I will. 

Tsuge (Patlabor) and Char were thinking the same thing, basically wanting to impose punishment. It’s the story of a terrorist who, even if they don’t manage to impose that punishment, can reveal the naked truth just for a moment. It's the world that Miya-san hates most (laughs).

Miyazaki Hayao

Anno: But there’s probably a part of Miya-san that actually wants to write that kind of story. 

Oshii: Somewhere yes. Take Nausicaa for example, within that world called “Nausicaa” there are characters with that sort of “scent.” Even that person (Miyazaki) has his own variations of this. It’s just that he has internalized that making it a reality would be a bad thing. 

Anno: But his true feelings are Lepka (Future Boy Conan) or somewhere around there. 

Oshii: Yes his real thoughts are somewhere different. That’s because that person is very strategic about what he puts out into the world and how. And it’s not necessary for the work to align with his truth. 

Anno: Speaking of revealing one’s truth, I had expectations for Porco Rosso but what part of that was true, damn it (laughs). 

Oshii: His truth was in there. But not of observations on humanity or the world, his truths about his personal life was the only thing in it. Especially surrounding troubles with women (laughs). And of course, only people who know him personally would understand such a thing. In that sense, it goes far beyond the craftiness of Patlabor; Porco Rosso is way more sly. He let everything out in that film and even left excuses for himself. 

When you take off the pig mask, Miya-san is underneath. If he truly wanted to create a world that’s so unheard of and positive like that, why did the pig need to wear a trenchcoat and smoke? They just need to be going oink oink. It would’ve been a much more fun anime that way. If he wanted to make an anime that’ll make the kids happy, then there’s no need to make it so hard boiled, they should’ve just been oinking….cause pigs don’t need to speak.  The pig goes oink oink, and is for some reason is good at piloting a plane. Then it would’ve been so much fun. But it’s not like that. And the reason it's not is because he wanted to show his truth….more like, he wanted to dispel his own sorrows through making this film. The audiences had it okay but his staff who had to go along with this are so pitiful. That’s the true pig curse. I bet they couldn’t stand it. Because they’re Miya-san’s excuse.

[theonetheycallhannah]

The Treatment of Captain Syverson-Chapter 13: SNAFU

Characters: Captain Syverson, various original minor/supporting characters.

Summary: Sy has some time to think about his past, present, and future while roughing it in the Virginia wilderness which leads him to a revelation about what he really wants…but is it too late?

Need to start from the beginning? Miss an update because Tumblr? Click me!

Word Count: 4.7k

Warnings:  Mild language, mature themes, military and weapon terminology, discussion, and use. (For those who don’t know, SNAFU is a term coined in the military. It’s an acronym for “Situation Normal, All Fucked Up.” And since this is from Sy’s perspective, I thought a military term, as opposed to a therapy term would be appropriate.)

Author’s Note: Despite this being the longest chapter, clocking in at almost 5k, it was one of the easiest to write, and came the quickest. I love writing from Sy’s perspective, and the pure love he has for Shane. I’m hoping to be able to write a bit more of his POV before the story is complete. We’ll see. I apologize if it seems like one long rant about Sy’s feelings…I guess that’s what it is, with various activities peppered in. He can be a sensitive guy, and I wanted to show that. 

Disclaimer: Unfortunately for me, Henry is not mine, le sigh, and all mention of him, his characters, any characters from his films, or his precious doggy, Kal, are strictly for transformative and recreational use. I neither ask for, nor accept payment for the work I post on Tumblr or AO3. Unbeta’d because this is for fun and escapism.

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X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@

Sy was no whimp. That much was certain. Missouri winters had toughened him up more than most men in his battalion and most of the participants in the training he was currently undertaking.

But it was more than that. Sy was uniquely prepared for the elements. He remembered a particularly harsh December night during Christmas break, before he joined the service when he was home alone and had to let the dog out. Fool that he was, he wore no shoes. Greater fool, he'd allowed the door to the back yard to close…and unfortunately, it had a tendency to lock. Which it did. He tried fruitlessly for a while to break back in, but being without a cell phone, he knew he'd have to walk a good distance for help with the lock.

He slipped out the gate and started up to the road, to follow it  to his grandparents a few miles away. The county road wasn't the best kind for walking, particularly barefoot in the late fall, but his feet were soon too numb to feel the gravel and whatever else was lacerating the soles of his feet. After about an hour, he made it there, shivering, knocking frantically and waking his frail old grandparents up to rescue him from his own negligence. He'd regret that until the day he died. Not that they were angry about it. They shrugged it off. His grandma cleaned the blood and dirt from his feet and bandaged the shallowed abrasions. They didn't look too bad, considering the area they lived in and the trash that could have been waiting to carve him up. Then she set about cleaning up Sy's messy footprints from her normally immaculate floor. Grandpa looked all over for their spare keys to Sy's and his mom's house, and finally found them. He lent him a pair of shoes, drove him back home, and let him in the house. After that, Sy found himself eager to spend time outdoors during colder weather. As if determined to build up a tolerance to it in case he ever found himself in such a situation again.

Now, despite the time of year being only late August, it was unseasonably cool, especially at night, as if Christmas was right around the corner, and Sy was wishing more and more that he had someone to cuddle with during the nights he'd be doing cross country training here at the beautiful Shenandoah National Park. He had packed only the essentials for the expedition, a mess kit, bed roll, canteen, modest rations, first aid supplies, et cetera, plus a rope and a tarp for building a shelter. On his person, he had a compass, a topographical map of the park with checkpoints indicated, waterproof, strike-anywhere matches, a hunting knife, a tactical knife, an M17 pistol, and three .9mm clips. He was also given a flare gun to use in case he got stuck for any reason and needed extraction.

On his first night in the wilderness, he'd taken a lot of time falling asleep. Thinking.

He thought about his last week at home. He wondered how Mr. and Mrs. Stevens were doing with Aika. Shane had offered to watch her, and he considered it. He had appreciated her eagerness to help after her…less than enthusiastic response to hearing about this trip. But he decided since Aika had a close relationship already with Fred and Caroline, and she was still getting to know Shane, they'd better be the ones to take her. She understood, and had offered the second reason that since she worked so much, she wouldn't be able to give her the kind of attention she was used to. That had made a lot of sense. He felt like kind of a bad dog parent for not thinking of it, himself.

He thought about the week he'd been here already at the compound. His first day filling out paperwork, he was asked for an emergency contact. He was used to putting his mom…but she wasn't in the best of health, herself. He had nobody. Nobody but Shane. He put her down, instead of his mom. He thought about the seminars on company approved methods of subduing and detaining targets and combatants. He should have taught Shane some self-defense moves before he left. She could handle herself, and she'd proven so, but still. A refresher, or an advancement on one's skills was always a good idea. But he was sure she'd be fine. He thought about her the most in the torturous policy and procedure lecture. What he wouldn't'a given to have her here with him. She would have made everything fun. And she would have been a way better study partner than Keith. Keith, a Navy vet from Little Rock was a good guy…he just…didn't get Sy's jokes. He was a very literal kind of thinker, and it took extra effort for Sy to communicate with folks like that.

Shane, though…he and Shane wouldn't have gotten too much done, study-wise. They would have been…distracted.

As he hiked along the trails to his first checkpoint, he breathed in the clean, crisp air and stopped at the odd overlook here and there. The park was nestled on the outer edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and they were too gorgeous not to appreciate while he was here. He found himself…uniquely emotional. He didn't feel lonely often, but since he'd met Shane, he'd hardly gone two days without seeing her, even if it was for just an hour. She'd love all of this. She'd probably want a tent, and coffee in the mornings, so they wouldn't be able to travel quite as light, but they'd make it work. Maybe one day they'd take a trip like this. Just for fun. No checkpoints. No deadlines. No semi-automatic weapons…well, honestly, he'd probably still bring a gun, anyway. You never did know about people these days, he thought. Of course, that's probably what people think of me carrying a pistol, he also thought…anyway, he was almost to the checkpoint.

Said checkpoint was a big tent, like the ones they sold fireworks out of leading up to Fourth of July. Inside there was a single lane shooting range set up down one half of the tent. On the other half, there were stations set up with dismantled weapons that you had to assemble in a certain amount of time. Someone had beaten him to the range, so he started with the guns. No problems whatsoever. He was familiar more or less with all of the models, or some version of them. When the previous participant, a small blonde woman, had finished on the range, Sy stepped up to the counter.

The attendant reset the target for Sy so he could do a close range shot, then again for mid and long range ones. He shot well, although he still wasn't used to the lighter weight of the SIG Sauer M17s the armed forces switched to back in 2017. They'd offered him an M18 at the compound, but he favored the heaver pistol, instead. Maybe the M18 was more packable, but Sy just didn't feel right firing a weapon that felt like a feather in his hand. If it was up to him, he'd take a Colt Python .357 Magnum Revolver. That, however, was more than just a question of how the firearm felt in his hand. Being out in the wilderness like this made him think back to how it must have been before these lands became civilized and gentrified. Back to the days of the cowboy, Wyatt Earp and the OK Corral. Back when it was just the wild and free land he could pretend it was now. He thanked the attendant, who was writing his name on his targets to take back to the compound along with his graded weapon assembly timesheets, and then was back on his way.

There was an eerie beauty about this unsullied land, he thought, as the dusk fell the second night of the excursion and he began setting up his camp about halfway between the first and second checkpoints, by his estimation. With his fire built and his shelter up, Sy took out some of his rations, cured meat, hard cheese, and some walnuts, and had a light supper before cleaning his gun and turning in while the ground still held some heat from the waning sun, wishing again as the cold set in that his woman was there to warm him.

His sleep was fitful. And he awoke before dawn, from dreams he couldn't remember but which still left him feeling empty. They must have been about her. He was starting to feel regret. The last time he'd seen Shane, he'd said some things that he meant to be selfless. But he didn't mean them. He meant the parts about loving her, of course. But the last thing he wanted was to come home and find her moved on with someone else. He couldn't stand to think about it. As he walked into the next checkpoint area, the range was already set up for close range firing. He riddled the target with .9mm holes and could barely wait until the attendant got the fresh sheet set to mid range before he began firing.

"How about you let me fully clear the lane before you start on the long range target, okay, Syverson?"

"Sorry, man. I'm a little…on edge today. Won't happen again."

The short, sandy-haired buck trotted out to replace the riddled sheet with one more for the long range leg, pulled it down and lacked it in to long range position, then hoofed it back up to safety, sensing the captain's impatience. Sy shot cleanly, but with cold anger, as if the silhouette on the page out there was trying to take Shane away from him. He put two square in the chest, and two in the head without hesitating.

"Man, I've never seen a long range shoot like that! What's the deal, you pissed at an ex, or something?" Sy checked the man's lapel for a name tag.

"Not exactly, Mister…Daniels."

"Call me Jack." they shook hands, and Sy chuckled, questioning.

"I'm Sy. You're name is Jack…Daniels?"

"Yes sir. No relation to the Lynchburg Daniels, unfortunately. Momma wanted to name me after her granddad, and my old man, well, he had no problem with it given his affinity for the spirit."

"A wise man, your dad. Some of my best nights have included Tennessee Number 7." He didn't elaborate, but he was getting very specific flashbacks of drinking games in his kitchen with Shane. And he was gonna have to shake it off before the weapons assembly drill, or else he'd end up putting together an assault rifle backward.

He made it through without any trouble, thank the good Lord. But that didn't mean that his mind wasn't still reeling. He was thinking of Shane and the possibility that she was being courted by Chris Evans look-alikes and young Harrison Ford doppelgangers, and it was making him furious. He was pretty sure that she was about as interested in taking a break as he was, but he couldn't help himself from making the offer under the circumstances. He kicked himself as he made his camp for the evening, not very far away from the third checkpoint, but too far away to get there by dusk when the daily deadline was. He was a shoe in to get there first in the morning, though, if he was reading his map correctly, and he was damn good at maps, if he did say so, himself. And who would bitch at him for bragging out here, anyway. The odd cricket or squirrel? He didn't think so.

It was colder tonight, and he was thankful that he thought to boil some water for his canteen and put it at his feet. He curled his surly, burly body up under the layers of blanket and thermal sheeting. He was almost warm enough…but he still needed something.

His sleep was plagued by strange dreams that he unfortunately remembered tonight. The scene began with Shane in a bright pink dress and matching gloves, dripping with diamonds, like Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. She looked so glamourous and beautiful, but she was getting passed from man to man to the tune of Madonna's Material Girl, which was not the correct song, and he knew it in that moment, but couldn't correct anyone, because it was all playing out on the big screen TV in his basement. When he realized this he turned it off and noticed a familiar head of hair on his lap and stroked it, about to say "Hey, sunshine." until the figure sat up and looked at him, and it was Jordan, the PTA, batting his eyelashes at him, and asking, "You ready for bed, babe?"  The therapist leaned in for a kiss, but Sy leaned back, tumbled off the couch and landed on those crutches again, standing right in front of Shane in the lobby of the therapy clinic.

"Hey sunshine." he said warmly. She looked confused.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"Well…I should hope so…it's me. Sy."

"Sorry, not ringing any bells. I'll look you us and see who you're with, though. Usually Heather tells the new patients which therapists they get their first day. What's your last name?"

He felt like he was getting kicked in the gut with a soccer cleat worn by the Incredible Hulk. He answered with defeat.

"Sy's a nickname. Last name Syverson, first name Logan."

"Oh, there you are. Looks like Cory gets to take care of you today. I'll let him know you're ready. As long as you're all done with the secretaries?"

Sy nodded and collapsed to the floor blacking out. When he woke up, his neighbor, Mr. Stevens was standing over him, insisting it was time for him to get ready. He kept handing him things to put on. Pants, a nice shirt, a vest, a light blue tie, a jacket, nice shoes. The whole enchilada. They got out of Fred's car at a little white chapel outside which, his neighbor pinned a small boutonniere of powder blue hydrangeas to his lapel and walked in with him.

"Come on, boy. She'll be here any minute."

Sy was nervous, but excited. He was obviously marrying Shane. But he couldn't remember proposing, or planning the wedding, or an engagement party, or bachelor party, or rehearsal dinner, nothing…but none of that mattered. He heard the first notes of "Here Comes the Bride" and everything faded away, anyway. He began to cry as she got closer. She was moving slowly, he presumed out of nerves. Or perhaps she'd chosen the wrong shoes. It didn't matter. They'd dance the night away barefoot, and make love until dawn. He wished her veil wasn't so thick. He couldn't even see her bouquet. Let alone her stunning face, no doubt smiling as she cried with him. When she stood in front of him, he broke protocol and removed the veil to find Aika in a white dress on her hind legs panting, tongue lolling happily to one side.

"You may now kiss the bride." said the wizened old minister, causing Aika to knock Sy to the ground licking his face until he blacked out again.

This time, he woke to the chirping birds of a mountain morning in Virginia. His campfire long snuffed, his canteen now chilled as his blood. Those dreams…those were traumatic. He didn't want Shane to see anyone else. The thought of seeing anyone else himself repulsed him. Thinking about what his life would have been like if they'd never gotten to work together made him physically ill, and he was terrified that if he didn't act on these feelings, he'd end up with no one but his dog. Why did it take a trip out of state and all these nights of solitude to figure this out? She was all that mattered. He could dig ditches, flip burgers, get a teaching certificate and coach, or teach gym. Whatever. He also liked history. He could think of something if the people at Secure Source couldn't keep him in consistent work. It would be fine. He understood his purpose now. And it wasn't just to do his duty to his country. He'd served proudly for years. He had a new purpose now. And it was her.

He packed up camp in what he was sure was record time and hauled ass to the last checkpoint where the brass should be waiting for finishers. He was the first one there this morning, but he wasn't sure if anyone had made it yesterday. He didn't try to make small talk with the attendant today. He was on a legit mission to get back to his locker at the compound, turn his phone on and call Shane. He fired four shots, but only made two holes on the long range target. One in the chest, one in the head. The attendant was impressed, giving the highest possible grade.

"Man, Syverson. I pray I never do anything to piss you off."

Sy nodded in acknowledgement and went on to the weapons drill booths. Today, there were distracting sound effects playing on a speaker in each booth, and each one was different. Sy ignored the cacophony, pretending it was white noise, and focused on the puzzles at hand, breezing through the new weapons in better time than ever.

As his cards were being scored and turned in for review to Jane Freitag, the administrator over acquisitions and training, he got himself a cup of coffee and a doughnut, and just observed her, tactically, and objectively. She was a redhead with sharp features, freckles, and light eyes. She was slender, but dressed simply, and modestly. The consummate professional. Sy had honestly barely registered her gender, and it wasn't because she wasn't beautiful. She was. Full red lips, lashes for days, and although her clothes didn't exactly accentuate her shape, he could tell he had a decent figure. He just wasn't interested. And would never be interested in anyone but Shane again. Miss Freitag startled him out of his thoughts.

"Mr. Syverson." She beckoned him to the entrance to the tent near her vehicle.

He picked up his gear and coffee and trotted over to her.

"Ma'am?"

"Jane, please."

"Sy, then, for me. What's next on the agenda?"

"Well, you're the first participant across the finish line. I'm very impressed. It seems as though you almost could have finished last night."

"Yes, ma'am, if I hadn't taken a little extra time for sightseeing, I might have made it here by dusk last night. I just haven't had the hustle I had today."

"Well, that's nothing to sneer at. Normally, the deprivation of food, regular water supply, and proper sleeping conditions make participants sloppy. The opposite seems to be true for you, as you've done better at each checkpoint than the one before. Now, let's get back to the compound and get you a proper meal, and a shower, and talk about what's next for you here at Secure Source."

"Yeah, about that. Before we go much further with this, I need to know one thing."

"What's that?"

"I need to know if you'll be able to find me work near enough to St. Robert and the base there so that I don't have to relocate and travel all the time.  I've got a life there, and…it's not something I can just pick up and move on a whim, and I don't want to be away for weeks and months at a time. I know I made this trip work, but I'm praying it didn't already ruin everything." He wasn't going to waste time mincing words. He needed to know right away or else this wouldn't work.

"Sy, with your talent…they're gonna want to put you on the high profile cases. Celebrity security. Concerts, movie premiers, things like that. You'll be wasted as a small town rent-a-cop." there was true concern in her face and her voice as she drove them out of the park and onto the main road to Secure Source's compound.

"If there's a need I can fill, how is that a waste? There's lots of talent in this program. Just 'cause I finished first don't mean I did it the best. And I'm sure most of these folks have the people skills to take them farther'n me. And if you wanna gimme first crack at those, I'll hear ya out. Just…let me reserve the right to turn down the out of town jobs. Especially if they're short notice. And if it takes me away from another security job, I want you to send me a replacement a few days in advance so I can meet 'em, train 'em, and introduce 'em around."

"Seems reasonable." Jane said.

"Well, alright, then. I think we got ourselves a deal. I'll shower up in the locker room real quick, then meet ya in the commissary for a sandwich so we can handle the particulars?"

"Sure, Sy." she agreed as they pulled into the parking structure.

They went their separate ways, Jane to her office, and Sy to the quartermaster to return his supplies and get the key to his locker. He practically danced there, he was so giddy to get to call Shane. He did need a quick shower first, though. Which he took, grabbing some shampoo and soap out of his travel bag. When he got back to his locker, towel around his waist, he replaced the products and grabbed his phone. He sat on the bench between the rows of lockers as it booted up.

When it did, it began alerting him as if it's life depended on it. Three text messages, three voicemails, … and twenty four missed calls. That was odd. Maybe a telemarketer had gotten his number.

He checked the texts first. One was a picture of Aika from Fred, his neighbor, the other two were from Shane…two days ago. The day he went into the park.

Hey, hope you have a great first day of Survivor: Virginia! Lol! Be safe! I love you!

OMG, nutty day today! I'm gonna be doing notes for hours! I'll text you in the morning! <3

And then nothing…he chuckled at Survivor: Virginia, but was a bit concerned. Maybe she'd decided not to waste time texting him if he wasn't going to respond? He didn't know. Maybe some of the calls or voicemails were from her. He'd check before calling.

One from his mom, one from the Stephen's house phone, and the rest were from Fort Wood Therapy. That was weird. He was discharged and didn't have any appointments…surely he wasn't missing any…Shane would have said something. He listened to the voicemails. The first one was from Heather.

"Hey, Sy, it's Heather, Shane's friend here at therapy. Hey, give me a call when you get this. Thanks."

Weird…the next one was from Susan, Shane's boss. In the same tone.

"Captain Syverson, it's Susan DeForrest here at Fort Wood Therapy Clinic. Please give us a call when you get this. Thank you."

Again, weird. The last one was Susan again and far less friendly and measured.

"Mr. Syverson. I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but you need to bring Shane back to work and stop screwing around. One or both of you is in serious trouble. Either you're being hot-lined for abduction or she's fired for not showing up for work. The choice will be hers." and the line went dead.

Sy felt his stomach twist into nauseated knots at Susan's words. Shane hadn't been to work. For how long? He had to call them. He didn't want to think about the horror that might have befallen Shane while he'd been away.

"Fort Wood Therapy Clinic, this is Heather, how may I help you?" Heather said, trying to hide the obvious worry beneath the cordial demeanor.

"Heather, it's Sy, what the hell's going on with Shane? What do you mean, she hasn't been to work, I don't…"

"Let me give you to Susan, Sy. I'm sorry." She added the last two words in a whisper. After a brief moment on hold, Susan picked up.

"So, Mr. Syverson. Finally decided to call us back?"

"Cut it out, Susan." He let her blatant ignorance of his rank slide in favor of getting to the point. "Tell me what's going on."

"Shane left work Monday and hasn't been back since. No one has seen her. Apart from you, I presume. I knew letting her date a patient would come back to bite me. I should never have--"

"Shut up! This isn't about you, and it isn't because of you. And you had no right to tell Shane who she could and couldn't date, anyway. I haven't seen her in about a week and a half. I'm training out of state for a job. I've been away from my phone since Monday, and I just got back to it now."

"She isn't…with you? I assumed…"

"Well, you know what they say, Susan. I'm coming back early if I can manage it. See if I can do something to help find her. Thanks for calling me. I know your intentions weren't the best when you did, but ultimately, it worked out. I may not have found out otherwise, at least until… much later."

He hung up before she could respond. He had to talk to Jane about cutting his training short. This was all his fault. If he had just come to the realization of just how important, how vital Shane really was to him before he left…well he never would have gone in the first place. She was his life now. His world. His future, and his whole heart. Tears stung his eyes as he dressed to meet Jane in the commissary. She'd have to be okay with this. She'd have to understand.

As he got closer to the smell of fry oil, seasonings, and sizzling meat on a griddle, aromas that usually made his stomach grumble with hunger, he had to swallow back the bile that crept up his throat. He found her seated at a small round four-top, already eating a salad. He sat across from her, startling her from whatever she was reading on her phone, and again when she looked at his expression and complexion.

"Sy, what's wrong? You look downright green!"

"Listen, Jane, I'm going to have to leave training early." She scowled at him, but he was more concerned with the putrid smells of boiled egg and onion coming off her chef salad. He had to get this over with quick before he wretched in the middle of the mess hall.

"That's a big ask, Sy. Gonna have to have a reason."

"I just got a call that my girlfriend is missing. I need to go home and help find her."

"Oh…yeah, that's…that's some reason. I'm really sorry to hear that. Any leads so far?"

"No, I just got off the phone with her useless boss and all she told me was that she hasn't been to work since Monday and can't be reached on her phone. I have my suspicions, but I wanna talk to the authorities."

"Okay, well. Maybe when things calm down at home, we can set you up with some online courses like we do for our assets who need refreshers, but are on assignment. I'll approve that for you."

"Thanks," he said, gratefully, "I'm also wondering if the company has any…transportation solutions for me…of an immediate nature?"

"Man, what were your letters to Santa like as a child?"

"Oh, you know, a little red wagon, end of poverty, world peace…that kind of stuff." he grinned his most charming grin.

"Why am I not surprised? Okay, but you have to return the favor somehow, Sy."

"How about, one assignments of your choosing, no questions asked?"

"Hmmm, what about five assignments?"

"Three?" he countered.

"Done." they shook hands across the table. "I would have settled at two." she smirked.

"I would have done ten." he winked at her as he turned to retrieve his belongings from his bunk and locker. He had a plane…or perhaps a chopper to catch.

Up Next: Chapter 14: No Call No Show

[saeyoungs-sunflower]

Ray’s AE Live Reactions

Right lads, I’m gonna do a daily commentary on Saeran’s AE because damn I gotta vent lol

I think it goes without saying, SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT! Long post ahead. And lot’s of screenshots (did not know there was an image limit on tumblr post lol had to whack the collaging app). A lot happened guys, and I have a lot of feelings.

Day 1!

First, a few initial thoughts

I forgot about the pure anxiety of picking the right chat choices lmao. This is not a game for over thinkers lemme tell ya

Really REALLY appreciated the current lack of 3am chat rooms lol. It went from 12am to 9am and it was GLORIOUS

Saeran is an absolute cherub and I will be watching him like a hawk

Now onto live reactions!

~

Well at least SEVENSTAR DRINK is thriving. It’s what he would have wanted.

~

Zen excuse me this is not your AE you cannot be this cute bACK OFF SIR

Big bro Zen has made another appearance. We do not deserve this man. STOP BEING CUTE

~

Look at this man. Look at this absolute fucking bean sprout look at him I just wanna rip my face off he’s so cute jfc

he also keeps calling everyone by their full name and i can’t handle it. every time he says ‘Jumin Han’ i want punch myself in the face he’s so. damn. precious.

~

Ummm Yoosung?? That’s my boyfriend thank you very much BACK OFF SIR

cough #Yooran4ever cough ah did you hear something? Nah me neither

~

SAERAN LMFAOOOOOO HE FUCKING SAID IT. Bean sprout is a savage bean sprout hot damn.

Zen I’m sorry my love but it was going to be said eventually.

~

what. the. FUCK. ARE YOU SHITTING ME? My jaw dropped like are you having a laugh?? what’s happening when did you turn all creepy and scary I mean look at that CG I hate it bring back the soft mint man I don’t trust this one 

#notmyjihyun

For real though I am baffled and afraid pls let this all get sorted out :(( now I'm worried for Saeyoung and V’s safety wtf wtf wtf

~

I’M GONNA CRY NO NO NO MY BBY THE TEARS ARE COMING I CANNOT COPE NOOOOOO

CHERITZ PLEASEEEE

HE’S HURT OH MY GOD HELP HIM

I actually want to scream

Sir that’s my emotional support hacker i need you not fucking do that

~

smiley face of death

~

i’ll tell you what Cheritz, you are incredible

i actually did giggle and yes i hate me for it too

~

GIVE THE CHERUB HIS BROTHER BACK😭😭

it’s not even been a full day and i’m already emotionally drained send help

~

and on today’s episode of ‘mc being thirsty for anyone but the person whose route your on’:

cheritz you do make me giggle

~

JUMIN🥺😭 ffs can you stop making the characters say nice things about me or be super cute to me in every chat/call because i will fall in love with them again and IT’S SAERAN’S TURN OKAY STOP IT

~

sorry everyone i will be stepping down from my position as Party Organiser to become mr chairman’s personal therapist thank you for your time

literally had one conversation with this guy and now he’s telling me all about his failed love life. you know what i respect it well done mr chairman for being open about your feelings.

~

Saeyoung, i have been waiting to save you for literal years and now your telling me not look for you? lmao as if

~

I could actually shed a tear.

I’m so proud of you baby, you tell her boo.

~

I am SCREAMING. V why you gotta absolutely decimate her like that?

Honestly though this chat was so uncomfortable. Something is just very off with these two (more than usual). Like it’s so eerie how casual and ‘normal’ they’re being i hate it here

~

IT’S ALRIGHT LADS VANDERWOOD IS HERE

We're counting on you Vandy pls don’t let us down

~

Okay, some general thoughts about day 1:

This suspense with Saeyoung is genuinely killing me. Like I NEED him to be okay in the end. The panic from his visual novel was so real. I actually can’t think about it too much without getting upset lmao

Seriously concerned about V’s character. I'm praying that they don’t villainise him and he can have a happy ending. Saeran got a happy ending in V’s ae, and it’ll be so upsetting if V doesn’t get the same from Saeran’s.

Rika is straight up pissing me off. I’m sorry to say it, but she is. I don’t know if I’m just moody today bc usually I can either just brush her off or find a way to sympathise for her (not excuse her actions, just make an effort to understand her) but today I just couldn’t do it. It’s not even like...genuine anger she’s just annoying me hahah (pretty sure I’m just hormonal or something, but we’ll see lol)

And if she brings up Saeran’s mother and tries to push the idea that she herself is like a mother to him I will personally twat her round the head.

Oh, or if she talks about Jumin again. I will protect my bois if it’s the last thing I do.

The call from Driver Kim was the only saving grace of the day. What a wholesome man.

Seeing V and Rika be all domestic and ‘normal’ in some chats/on the spaceship thing was...unsettling. It makes me even more concerned for V...

Basically, I am afraid of what’s going to happen next.

[adultswim2021]

Home Movies #39: “Coffins and Cradles” | May 25, 2003 - 11:00 PM | S03E13

It’s COFFINS AND CRADLES! The epic, delayed finale to Home Movies season three. Look, writing up Home Movies isn’t my favorite thing because the level of humor tends to be pretty consistent, and sometimes it’s tough to come up with things to say about it. But given the break we just had I guess I sorta missed it. I sure do like watching the goshdarn show. Don’t you?

This is is another eventful episode in the vein of season two’s finale where Brendon’s dad gets married. Speaking of him, he’s not in this, despite the fact the episode is about the birth of his own child. I guess it’s fitting given his character being a workaholic (produced by Dave Becky [Workaholics was not produced by Dave Becky, but if it were this joke would’ve been so perfect, don’t you think?]). Loren Bouchard and Brendon Small do DVD commentary for this episode and reveal that his absence was due to a scheduling issue. Perhaps that’s why this episode was so late? They also admit that they didn’t deliver this episode to the network until around Christmas time (presumably 2002), and they basically didn’t care. They run a tight ship over there at Adult Swim, don’t they?

This is a HALLOWEEN episode! Everyone is in costume for a lot of it! Mr. Lynch is a kittycat! His turn is a little cartoonish, where his obsession with being a kitty cat actually yields him crawling around on all fours and licking people, but goddamn is it funny. He eventually starts replacing random words with “meow”. McGurk finally almost has sex with Paula’s friend again, now a cult member who randomly knocks on McGurk’s door, but he suffers a heart attack while dressed like a broad. Tom Kenny is very funny as the doctor. He has an incredibly memorable gag where he is in costume wearing Groucho glasses, and when he takes them off he just looks the same only slightly less severe. There’s a lot of really good stuff in this one. Okay? get off my back!

MAIL BAG

It’s Mail Bag! We are kicking things off RIGHT with Kon, who posted on ANIME SUCKS with me and all our big dog friends (it’s a couple posts back, you go find it):

I have come around to becoming an outright anime liker, as well as, I'd like to think, a more evolved thinker overall, but man I still look back fondly at how much fun it was to hate anime and make people pissed. Even just thinking of phrases like "Inugaya" or "The Gay O" is enough to crack me up.

The GAY O is pretty good lol. It’s hilarious to think that stupid shit like this would rile people up so bad. I remember some dork with a Mario 64 avatar being like YOU LEAVE ME NO CHOICE, I HAVE TO USE THIS and it was just a JPG of a middle finger, and he thought he like GOT US GOOD. more like GOT US BAD.

What cartoons did you watch before adult swim. Do any of them stand the test of time? Do any of them specifically not stand the test of time. I'm not from the states so I'm curious what you guys were watching when you were younger.

Check it out I watched SPACE GHOST COAST TO COAST, HOME MOVIES (EPISODES 1-5), and that’s it! Nah just joshin’. I watched The Simpsons from the first episode and it basically was the most important thing in my childhood. The Critic was good, I see more cracks in it now but when it’s funny it's real funny. Duckman was mostly wonderful, real dicey humor compared to what’s considered “too rude” these days. I think I might love Duckman MORE now.

Oh yeah, Ren & Stimpy is still sorta amazing. South Park and Family Guy meant a lot to me before Adult Swim, and I’m lightly defensive of both of those shows. King of the Hill was GREAT early on. I most recently went through all of Beavis and Butt-head which goes down very smooth and is one of the only shows I can stomach “binge watching”. There’s some enormously funny stuff on that show and it’s just so soothing to watch. It’s funny to say that about a show that caused such an overblown moral panic.

Basically all the kid shit I watched sucks big time and isn’t worth revisiting seriously, but I have a soft spot for Ducktales. I just wish Disney+ had a RANDOM button, because I ain’t trying to watch every episode these days, you know?

I hope you liked that, person that is probably a friend of mine who is tricking me into typing a sincere answer so he can make fun of me during movie night

Brak has been kidnapped! He was last scene milling about town! Thundercleese said he passed his house around noon. It is now 6PM and he's not home for dinner! What are you gonna do?

I’m sorry but my daughter is in town and this is the first I’m hearing about this. My dog desperately wants to fuck her so I can’t leave them home alone together even though she is “of age”. I will call around and see what I can find out, but I can’t do much about it until tomorrow morning. But I secretly hope he is dead.

Can you do something cool when you wrap up a specific show for good. Like when you get to the last episode of Sealab or The Brak Show you say your overall peace with the show and then say: "This goose is cooked!" followed by an Encarta clipart of a goose.

Yeah I should do something like this! THIS IS A GOOD IDEA! Also I will rank every character on fuckability and do a cum tribute to the winner :D

[portals-to-a-new-world]

Come Hell or High Water Chapter 6: One More Goodbye

Who?: Leonard McCoy x Reader

What?: Our last day in Georgia for now. Leonard is emotional, Jim is a child, and Eleanora is a mom to everyone.

Word Count: 3.9k

Warnings: Hurt/Comfort, Mild Smut (I know it’s about time)

A/N: Okay first and foremost. Blame @bakerstreethound​ for the smut. That being said, if it weren’t for her this whole series would have died a long time ago, so I have to remind everyone how freaking amazing she is. I love her. Anywhoo for those who missed it, I just posted an update as to why I haven’t posted anything in ages, so go check it out if you’re wondering wtf’s wrong with me lol.

Series Masterlist

Packing up the next day proved to be as emotional as one would expect. Leonard and Joanna spent nearly every moment together, stubbornly pretending to be okay for the other’s sake. Both also came to you at different points with tears in their eyes, admitting how not okay they really were. You had expected it from Leonard, but you could hardly believe it when Joanna asked you to help her with something in her room, only to quietly break down the moment the door closed. You rushed forward to wrap her in a hug. 

“Hey, hey, easy now.” You said, stroking her hair, giving her time to gather before she stepped back, still sniffling.

“I know, I know, you guys will still call all the time, and everything will be just like normal-” She crossed her arms across her chest as she spoke. 

“Jo, there’s nothing wrong with missing your dad when he’s not here.” You said, offering an empathetic smile. “I know I still miss my family when I’m out in space. But you can always call him whenever you need him, even if it’s just to talk.” She was silent for a moment as she thought. 

“Do you still call your dad a lot?” She asked, and you hesitated before responding. 

“My dad and I have a complicated relationship. But I do talk to my grandfather nearly every day. My family likes to tease me about being a ‘papaw’s girl,’ but I firmly believe that a father-daughter bond, or in my case grandfather and granddaughter, is one of the most precious and beautiful things in the whole universe.” You once again wrapped her in a hug, hiding the way your eyes had begun to water. “Cherish yours.” She took a shaky breath before pulling out of your embrace. 

“Thank you, (Y/n).” She said, and you smiled warmly. 

“Anytime, peach.” You replied, and she grinned at your nickname for her. A knock at the door and the sound of a gruff voice had you both scrambling to hide the evidence of the tears shed. 

“Shug, is everything okay?” Ever the quick thinker, Joanna had an excuse ready to go before you could even open your mouth. 

“Yeah, Dad, I was just trying to show (Y/n) the braid you taught me,” She said, turning to give you a look which you acknowledged with a nod before she walked over and opened the door. You struggled to keep a straight face and hide the surprise at the fact Leonard knew how to braid hair and how Joanna had seemingly prepared an excuse. “I’m glad you’re here actually, you’re a lot better at it than me, and I could use your help.” Leonard didn’t hesitate before nodding, a smile gracing his handsome features. “Awesome!” Joanna said, matching her father’s grin. “Let’s go down to the sitting room, the light’s better.” She said as she walked past him, and you followed behind him. 

“Lord knows an old man needs-” You started, but Leonard spun and cut you off. 

“If you’re about to make a joke about my age-” To both his and your surprise, Joanna was the one to speak up and cut him off. 

“Is it a joke if it’s true?” You nearly bent double laughing at the betrayed and offended expression on his face as he turned to look at his daughter, who burst out laughing and offered an apologetic smile. Leonard scoffed and pointed at her accusingly. “Oh, I see how it is.” He feigned indignation as he strode towards the stairs. Jo, still laughing, cried out “Noooo” as he walked by and latched her arms around him in a hug. Leonard tried to keep up the act, but his smile betrayed him as he spoke. “No, no, I see whose side you’re on. Should’ve known y’all were gonna gang up on me.” You rolled your eyes in amusement and walked over to pat him on the shoulder.

“Aww, poor McCoy, the women are so cruel to you.” You said. He scrunched his face in mocking as he waved you off. 

“I don’t think you’re old, Bones.” Jim’s voice drifted up the stairs. Leonard shuffled to the edge as best he could with Joanna still wrapped around him. 

“Somehow that doesn’t make me feel any better.” He said with a scowl. You leaned over the railing to see Jim grinning as he shrugged.

“Probably because you know me too well,” Len just rolled his eyes in response. You chuckled, and Jim turned his attention to you. “Lieutenant Commander (Y/n), you are hereby ordered to report to the kitchen for cobbler duty.” Both Leonard and Jo perked up at the mention of their favorite dessert. “Munchkin, it’s your job to keep Gramps out of the kitchen, we’d like for there to actually be some left for the rest of us.” He said, sending a wink in her direction. Much to your surprise, Len didn’t comment on the jab; in fact, the words that left his lips were so far from anything you expected it took a beat for you to process them.

“Actually, I was going to ask little Miss here if she’d be interested in going down to the lake with me real quick,” Joanna looked up at him in confusion.

“Can I ask why?” She asked as she let go of him.

“Well, I’d been thinkin about the other day, and since you’re starting high school, I figured it’s high time we came up with a new tradition. Just the two of us.” He said, and though he was smiling, you could tell he was nervous. He needn’t have worried though, as Joanna immediately lit up and was nodding in excitement.

“That’d be awesome!” She said, and she once again wrapped her arms around him in a hug. He released a breath as he returned the embrace. You smiled and shot him a thumbs up once they broke apart.

“Go grab your shoes and some water from the kitchen, since I’m not allowed in there.” Leonard stood aside as he spoke, allowing her to step past him. She quickly darted down the stairs and towards the kitchen.

“Well done, McCoy,” You said, stepping forward to wrap your arms around his neck. He turned the faintest shade of red as his hands naturally fell to your waist. “Be safe, okay? I don’t want to have to come pull you out of a hole again.” He scoffed and pulled you flush against him.

“As I recall, it was after that particular madness that you told me you loved me for the first time. So,” Leonard tilted his head and smirked before continuing. “Well worth it, in my book.” You rolled your eyes and leaned up to kiss him softly.

“You don’t have to be missing for two days in the forest to hear me say that,” He raised an eyebrow to prompt you to continue. Giving a dramatic sigh, you moved to cup his face in your hands. “I love you, Leonard McCoy.” You said, with as much conviction as you had the first time you’d said that to him. His gorgeous hazel eyes were locked on to yours as he leaned in. You fought to suppress a grin as you dropped your hands from his cheeks, giving your partner in crime space to move in.

“I love you, too, Bones.” Jim said, causing your lover to yell as he planted a sloppy wet kiss on Leonard’s cheek. Leonard’s hand flew behind him in reflex, smacking Jim right in his chest as he tried to dodge away. He gave a howl and stumbled backward. Leonard spun in shock and darted towards Jim.

“Damn it, man!” Len shouted as he placed a gentle hand on Jim’s back. Jim, who was bent over wheezing, attempted to wave him off.

“No, I deserved that,” He spoke between a gasp and a laugh. “Just give me a minute,” Jim’s face contorted as the pain no doubt throbbed through his chest. “Hell of a swing,” Footsteps downstairs had you again leaning over the railing, and this time it was Eleanora’s face looking back up at you. 

“What the devil’s goin on up here?” She said, climbing the stairs quickly. You blushed slightly at her tone, reminding you all too much of your grandmother.

“Sorry, ma’am. Little bit of a prank gone wrong.” You said as she reached the top. Jim tried to stand up straight but only managed enough to look at Mrs. McCoy.

“My fault, El.” He groaned. She shook her head and pointed a stern finger at him.

“James Tiberius, you’re almost more trouble than you’re worth,” She said. Jim offered a mix between a grimace and a smile.

“I know.” He said. Instantly her face softened, and she turned her attention to the man now heading towards her.

“Leonard, get the-“She started, but Len was already nodding as he spoke.

“The aloe, I know.” He headed down the stairs to retrieve the soothing ointment, and El turned her gaze back to Jim.

“You sure you’re alright, son?” She spoke gentler now, but her voice still held the same stern exasperation you often heard from Leonard. Jim gave her a weak thumbs-up, though his usual charming smile was replaced with a wince.

“Yeah, just really stings. Nothing a nap, some aloe, and a hypo won’t fix.” He said. You turned and followed Leonard downstairs, a laugh escaping you as you found him scowling outside the kitchen door. He turned and rolled his eyes at you right before Joanna emerged with two bottles of water and the aloe.

“I’ll meet you outside.” He said as she handed the aloe over. She sent you a huge grin as she skipped past you and out the front door. You started to lean up for a kiss as Leonard approached, but he just shook his head. “Oh no, troublemaker.” You pouted, but he just chuckled darkly and grabbed your hip to pull you against him. “You’re lucky we’re here and not at home.” He whispered into your ear. You suppressed a shiver at the feeling of his breath against the sensitive skin. He released you and walked away, smirking before you could reply, and you let out a frustrated huff. Damn. The sound of footsteps on the stairs signaled El was heading down, and you took a moment to shake your head and clear your thoughts. You smiled as she approached and followed behind her into the kitchen. Donna looked up from the stacks of recipe cards laid out on the table as you walked in. 

“Trouble?” She asked with a small smile. You tilted your head in confirmation as you responded.

“With those two? It’s always something.” 

“I don’t know that you have much room to talk.” She laughed and gestured to her cheek. You reached up to feel the stitches and gave a nervous laugh. 

“Heh, okay yeah, we’re all three getting into trouble constantly,” You said, pulling up a stool and smiling softly. “But we’ve got each other’s backs. Len patches Jim and I up, mind you he’s gonna fuss the whole time, and we keep him safe when he’s playing doctor on a remote planet to some less than friendly locals or whatever the case may be. None of us would be here without the others.” Donna shared a look with her mother as you finished, far too quick to decipher its meaning before the older woman grabbed a basket full of peaches and set them on the table. 

“Mama I think we may have lost the recipe-” Donna began, but Eleanora just held up her finger and sent you a wink. 

“Do you think I’d leave my award-winning recipe just laying around where anyone can find it?” She said, chuckling and reaching into the pocket of her apron. “(Y/n) why don’t you get started on peeling and slicing these here,” She patted the basket of peaches. “The peeler’s in that drawer there behind you, so’s the knives.” Once you helped clear the stacks of cards off the table, you washed your hands and grabbed a peach. Unable to resist the urge, you lifted it close to your face and inhaled it’s sweet scent deeply.

“Mmm. Are these local?” You asked, sparking conversation about how you get fresh fruit while lightyears away in space. One conversation led to the next, and before you knew it, two hours had flown by. You had come to learn that Eleanora was an absolute powerhouse in the kitchen, although you could have figured that from the astounding food you’d had over the last week. Her peach cobbler really had won awards all over the county, and the recipe for it had been handed down from mother to daughter for generations. On the other hand, Donna didn’t quite have her mother’s finesse when it came to baking.

“Listen, I can cook just as well as anyone, but when it comes to baking?” She laughed, shaking her head. “I don’t know why, but something always goes wrong.” Eleanora started to reply, but the sound of the front door opening signaled Len and Jo’s return. El shook her head and looked at the clock on the wall.

“Leave it to my son to come back right as the food’s coming out of the oven.” You giggled as she spoke and moved to pull the mouth-watering dessert from the oven. The man himself walked through the door only a moment later, with Joanna trailing behind him chanting ‘Food! Food! Food!’.

“My god that smells amazing,” Leonard said with a massive grin on his face. He walked to El and waited for her to set the cobbler down. “As always, of course.” He said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and placing a kiss on her temple. She smiled knowingly and patted him on the cheek before nodding over her shoulder.

“Go on, you can wait till dinner like the rest of us.” Len scowled but quickly wiped the look from his face when his mother glared back. He cleared his throat and moved to open one of the cabinets.

“I’ll go ‘head and set the table.” He grumbled. His attention jumped to you as you giggled again, offering an apologetic smile, which he ignored. “Don’t suppose you’d like to help, would you?” You hopped off of the stool and walked over to pat his shoulder. 

“Absolutely.” 

=============================================================

It took a little while after you’d finished setting the table before everyone was seated together eating once again. Leonard and Jim were arguing about the plan to drive in the old truck, with Leonard insisting that Jim was too old and too sunburned to ride in the bed for nearly 5 hours. Of course, Jim was adamant that he could do it, and it took the arrival of the cobbler for them to finally stop bickering. One bite, and you instantly understood why. It was all you could do not to moan aloud as the warmth and flavor blessed your tastebuds, and for a moment, you could have sworn you entered a different plane. The sound of a throat clearing made you realize you’d closed your eyes, and your cheeks flushed red as you opened them to see Eleanora standing beside your chair. Confusion passed over your face as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a handwritten index card.

“What’s this?” You asked politely, reaching up to grab the card. As you read, your eyes went wide, and you started to protest. “El, I couldn’t possibly-”

“Yes, you can.” Her voice was stern, but her eyes held a warmth, not unlike that of the dessert itself. “I insist.” You were dumbfounded as you carefully set the card on the table. Your eyes found Leonard, who was frozen mid-bite, staring at you in stunned awe. 

“I don’t even know what to say, ma’am. I’m honored.” You finally stammered out. Eleanora’s smile matched the warmth in her eyes as she patted you on the shoulder before returning to her seat. 

“Close your mouth, son. You’re drooling on my tablecloth.” She said as she sat down. You looked back over to Leonard and giggled softly as he swallowed and wiped his chin.

“Sorry, Momma.” He said, still staring at the card. All was silent for a few moments until Joanna finally spoke up and broke the tension.

“Daddy?” She asked, and Leonard instantly turned all his attention to her.

“Yeah, Shug?” He replied. She hesitated for a moment, causing one of his eyebrows to rise slowly in concern. 

“I was wondering if you could drop me off at school tomorrow. I meant to ask earlier, but I forgot.” She looked at him with pleading eyes as she finished. Leonard chuckled before answering.

“Well, of course. You didn’t think I’d miss out on embarrassing you on your first day, did you?” Everyone but the man himself rolled their eyes. “Is it alright if (Y/n) and Jim join us? That way, we could head straight out from there.” He asked, and Joanna nodded quickly. 

“I was hoping they’d come too.” She said brightly. Len smiled and tilted his head in affirmation.

“Then it’s settled.” Everyone resumed eating, and before you knew it, you found yourself once again in bed with Leonard’s arms holding you against him. You were squirming as he pressed kisses into your neck, trying to ignore the large hint to his intentions pressing against your backside.

“Leonard.” You whispered in warning. He ignored you, his hand sliding beneath your waistband. “L-Leo-” Your voice came out as more of a choked gasp as his fingers slipped inside you for a moment before moving to stroke your clit. 

“Do you know how much I love you?” He spoke lowly, nipping at the skin on your neck. You fought to control yourself as a moan threatened to escape.

“I think I have a pr-pretty good idea,” You bit your lip and whimpered as he slid one long finger deep inside you, before quickly adding a second. You surrendered into him as he curled them in the perfect ‘come hither’ motion. Your hand flew up to cover your mouth as a loud gasp escaped you.  

“How about I show you how much anyway, just to be sure?” You couldn’t reply as he began a relentless assault, all of your focus needed to remain silent. CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP A whimper once again escaped as Leonard quickly withdrew his fingers, using his other hand to grab his PADD. “Who the hell is sending me a message this late?” He grumbled, and you looked over his shoulder in curiosity.

             Pls don’t. -J

You blushed crimson as you realized what he meant, and gave Leonard a smack with the pillow. 

“SEE!” You whisper shouted. “Be glad it was Jim and not your mothe- mmph!” Leonard silenced you with a demanding kiss that left you breathless. 

“Just gonna have to be quieter, Sugar.” He moved to pin you beneath him as he whispered into your ear. “Think you can do that for me?” He pulled back to look at you, eyes searching for any sign you really wanted him to stop. You huffed and reach up to pull him into a kiss.

“Damn you.” As his hand slid back down your body, you willed the bed to remain silent, hoping that Jim wouldn’t be too harsh in the morning.

=============================================================

As it turned out, you were all too busy trying to sort out the luggage situation to worry about what might have been heard the night before. Jim had most of it in the truck bed with him, but there were only so many bags he could keep watch on, so three ended up in the cabin with Leonard, Joanna, and you. Your goodbyes ended up rushed as the time came closer for Jo to be at school, and when you got on the road, you had barely 45 mins to get her there on time. The whole drive there, Leonard had a death grip on the wheel, and the tension in the truck only skyrocketed as you pulled up to the school. One of the many downsides of such a small town was that everyone knew everyone else’s business. One look at the group of parents standing nearby, and you instantly knew what they were saying. Deciding to avoid any more attention than you’d already drawn, you quickly helped Jo climb out of the truck. You’d started to hop back in when you heard Joanna say your name. Before you could finish turning back, she’d wrapped around you in a hug. You couldn’t keep the smile off your face as you returned the hug.

“Thanks for letting me stick around, Peach.” You said as you broke apart. She laughed and reached up to swipe at her eyes.

“Thanks for being here, (y/n)” You nodded and glanced over her shoulder at Leonard, who was doing his best to keep it together.

“Anytime,” Jim hopped out of the truck bed as you spoke, and threw his arms out dramatically. Jo giggled and threw her arms around him, too, allowing you to subtly grab Leonard’s attention. Even from a few feet away, he looked shaky. You smiled softly at him and gestured slightly. “Breathe.” You mouthed, and he nodded, taking a deep breath. 

“JO-JO!!” You looked around in confusion as a voice yelled across the front lawn. Joanna broke out in a smile and spun in excitement, and you spotted the owner of the voice right as she started to wave. “C’MON, IT’S ALMOST TIME FOR THE BELL,” The kid, presumably Jo’s friend, called out. Joanna looked at her watch, and her face fell. She turned to Leonard, her mouth open to speak, but he just waved her on.

“It’s alright, Shug. I’ll be back in a couple weeks when we leave. Don’t be late.” He said, and she frowned apologetically before turning to head towards the building. She made it two steps before Leonard spoke again. “Jo!” She stopped on the spot and turned back. Your heart broke as Len swallowed hard before calling out. “I love you.” His voice broke, and Joanna was running back in an instant, slamming into him in a hug. 

“A bushel and a peck,” You heard her say softly, and Leonard held her tighter before they spoke together. 

“And a hug around the neck” 

“Go on,” Leonard said, finally breaking the embrace. “Your grandmother’ll kill me if I make you late on your first day.” Joanna nodded and took off sprinting. Len said nothing as he made his way back into the truck.

“Take your time, Bones. We’ve got all day.” Jim said gently. Leonard waved him off and slid into the driver seat.

“I’m good. Let’s get going.” He mumbled. You looked at Jim and gave him a nod.

“I’ve got him, don’t worry.” You whispered, and Jim hesitated for a moment before sighing and climbing back into the truck bed. Leonard cranked the engine as you hopped inside, offering a small smile when you slid over to take his hand and press a kiss to his palm. “You did great, Leo.” He leaned over and place a kiss on your temple before grabbing ahold the gear shift. Nothing else was said as he shifted into gear and pulled out onto the road. You knew he needed time, and he knew you’d be there when he was ready. He just hoped you both were ready for what lay ahead.

Tags: @bakerstreethound​ @bookscoffeeandracoons​ @lt-trick​ @ladyideal​ @billybutchersbabe​ @emily-strange​ (If I forgot you, feel free to yell at me. If you’d like to be added, click here)

[fizzingwizard]

We got episode 3 “Into the Digital World”! And the good news is we are still Very Much at it with the Taishiro lol

This pic pretty much sums up the whole episode for me:

❤️!

Spoilers under the cut...

So let’s knock the most important thing off right away, at the end of the ep they DO go to a real digital world!

And it looks like a child’s fantasy... a beautiful natural world full of amazing creatures. I have no idea how similar it’s gonna be to the world we know, though! So far everything’s different, even things that seem the same. Keeps me guessing.

The landscape is pretty intriguing. Looks like a planet/moon on the horizon? And I’m sure that interesting island’s gotta mean something...

But back to the beginning.

So last week, I was all boggled because they introduced Omegamon and Jogress so early. It was easy to think that since they’d started this hype wave, they were gonna keep riding it out, especially with Hikari and Takeru seeming to receive magic feathers and all. Well, that’s not really how it goes down.

The battle is very quiet, with few words - none at all from Taichi or Yamato until Koushirou gets their attention. I am not 100% sure about this, but from the way Taichi looks to the side when an attack comes his way and Omegamon then takes it out, I think it might mean Taichi and Yamato have some mental work of their own to do to help Omegamon fight and that’s why they’re so quiet. But that’s just a thought. I do love the idea that the kids’ ties to their Digimon have more of an affect on their ability to battle than just their evolutions.

One thing a Jogress does is make you glow. Yeah yeah, we glowed before too. No, I mean GLOW.

Like, nonstop.

Also, I have figured out that Taichi and Yamato must have suction cups on their shoes and that’s how they don’t fall off Omegamon while he’s hurtling all over the place

Cue awesome rock version of the theme song battle music!! Omegamon kills nu!Diaboromon the same way he kills him in Our War Game, with a STAB. But that doesn’t stop the missile. Here I thought would be Koushirou’s turn to shine, but aside from continuing to keep tabs on things, he doesn’t get to join in the fight this time.

Omegamon is somehow able to detect missiles, I guess?

And lock on to the infected one, which conveniently shows an actual lock, is red, and even has the monster’s eyeball symbol. We also see a bunch of Digi code before this.

He absorbs the powers of all the Crests into his sword (!!) ...

(notice they’re still glowing!)

... and stabs it. Because in Digimon, stabbing is always the answer.

BOOM shakalaka

People of Tokyo: Wow that’s bright! I should probably avert my eyes or put on sunglasses. But first, to Instagram!

Thanks, Kouushirou’s computer.

The missle blows up way up high and no one gets hurt. They also don’t seem to care all that much about what this is either! Seconds later everyone’s devices lose power, including Koushirou’s computer. He is very distressed, but the outage doesn’t last long.

Yamato and Taichi’s suction cups finally lose their grip and they fall away into a bright light...

Omegamon became a butterfly!!

It is now certain, Taichi didn’t pull a Kouichi xD He’s perfectly fine. That’s the RIGHT way to get in and out of the digital world at a train station. Take notes, kids.

OK before we move on I must take a second to appreciate these text messages Koushirou receives from someone named Mr.Unknown (gee I’m sure we’ll never hear from him again!)

OMG my life is

WHAT KIND OF REACTION IS THAT TO YOUR IMMINENT DEATH!?!?

“Someone stop it!” Suddenly Japanese (also from Mr.Unkown)

Twenty bucks says this guy is Gennai? Ryou? Wallace? KEN?!

no don’t bet against me please, I have no money.

Have an adorable Hikari, who didn’t get to do anything with the feather in the end. Who knows if she even really has it. She DOES seem to totally know what happened with her brother though. Takeru might know also? But Hikari definitely does. Our little oracle is back.

So Taichi is fine, Koushirou is fine, Yamato is fine. They all get back to the human world safely. Taichi and Koushirou head home, wondering if all that really happened, talking about what could happen next. More importantly, the Taishiro power returns at full throttle.

Koushirou: Do you know about this? This? This?

Taichi: Hmm... hmmm... hmmm.. thinking makes my head hurt...

(Like I rag on Taichi for not thinking but tbh he’s quite the thinker and planner... maybe more so in this season than in the original.)

Gloves returned to pocket. Goggles still at the ready.

Then Taichi reaches out his hand... Koushirou stares at it like he’s not quite sure what to do with it. And Taichi’s like, “Thank you so much, for everything, you were a huge help!”

Koushirou: “But I didn’t do anything.”

Taichi: “You helped so much by doing all that research! You’re awesome!”

Koushirou: :D “Y-Yeah!!”

He agrees that he’s awesome!! My baby!!

They shake hands! They’re such good friends now!

... Then Taichi walks backwards out of the elevator with his hand still outstretched, staring at Koushirou

WHAT

WHAT THE HECK IS THIS!?!?

This show producers aren’t even TRYING to hide their bias hahaha okay that’s the Taishiro fan in me but HOW ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO READ THIS SCENE CMON LIKE!?

So Taichi’s about to go home, and at this point I’m thinking “I guess Koushirou’s never gonna ask that question about camp...!”

Then Taichi is like, “Oh yeah, didn’t you have a question about camp?”

Fricking. TAICHI.

I am absolutely stunned that it’s him who brings up Koushirou’s original errand xD Koushirou himself has completely forgotten about it! (Too busy basking in the glow of being called awesome about twenty times in what this episode establishes is less than an hour!)

Seriously Taichi is SUCH A DAD!? His mom comes home and tells him about her day. Hikari comes over and he pats her on the head and tells her she was brave and did a good job. All he needs is a newspaper and a tie to reach peak Dad-ness.

Hikari: “Thanks big brother!”

Taichi: “...? For?”

So about Yamato... on the elevator Taichi realizes he never found out where Yamato lives...

... It’s Shimane. Grandma’s house in Shimane! Well I mean, they could make it somewhere else, but the point is it’s super inaka countryside. Yamato has a call with Takeru which makes it seem like they indeed don’t live together, as Takeru shyly asks Yamato if he’ll come visit since it’s summer break, and Yamato says he does intend to go to Tokyo and see him. Not sure yet who Yamato’s living with, if it’s still his dad or he lives with his grandparents in this version, or there’s some other reason he’s not in Tokyo...

Yamato also asks if Takeru’s okay, and Takeru replies he was inside all day so he’s fine. That’s what makes me think Takeru knows about Yamato going to the digital world. He might not, but I like the idea that he does. My guess would be he knows because he’s seen Yamato do it or something, whereas Hikari just knows because she’s psychic :P

Then guess what! WE GO TO CAMP!

Only for like, two minutes, though. That was a bummer for me. Camp is just a vehicle to introduce a couple other characters, then they go home. Well, we don’t need two of the exact same show I guess... I’ll just appreciate this as a nod to the original.

First we see Jou! He’s hancho again and trying to tell other kids how to use a knife. He immediately cuts his finger. Good ole Jou I can’t wait to have him back.

Taichi and Koushirou are walking around camp and Koushirou trips due to Jou yelling and basically throws his laptop straight into the air

Laptop: “FREEEEEDOM!”

Mr Superior Reflexes AKA Taichi quickly grabs Koushirou and prevents him from smashing face first into the dirt. GOSH THEY JUST WILL NOT STOP WITH THE TAISHIRO. I CANNOT.

Koushirou: “H-H-Human c-c-contact?!?!?! Is this SKINSHIP”

Like y’all know this isnt my fault right? I wouldn’t have to say these things if the show didn’t make it so durn easy. Bahahahaha.

Guess who catches the laptop! Soooooraaaaa!

My girl is back! She’s got butterflies!

Koushirou says he knows who she is because the girls in his class always talk about how she’s so cooooool!

This episode establishes that Sora is 1) popular 2) well-liked 3) responsible 4) quick-thinking 5) athletic 6) Taichi’s old friend 7) coooooool in like, thirty seconds.

Taichi and Koushirou continue to spend aaaaaall their time together. My one complaint here is that all they do is talk about the digital world. And while I know it’s no surprise, the one thing I always loved about old Adventure was that to a certain extent, the kids got to act like kids. Of course they had uncanny adult wisdom and ability to sit still, lol. I understand that. So far in this show, they’re not really acting like children even a little bit. It’s all superheroing. That’s how I feel at the moment though - the only one I expect to really act like a child is Takeru, and probably Mimi, I’d guess. I do hope we get to see a larger range of personality from all of them in the future. It is only episode three.

Koushirou’s icon is a pineapple <3

So there’s a new threat but it’s not as obvious as the old one. Another power outage happens but they don’t know how important it is right away. Then both Taichi and Koushirou’s digivices start to glow! Taichi runs out, and here we finally got some new personality from him, something beyond friendliness and bravery: He really, really wants to see Agumon again. He’s already feeling the depth of that bond and it’s really been weighing on him that they parted so abruptly. He has so many questions. I would say, Koushirou talked about the digital world non stop because he finds it interesting, but Taichi talked about it because he misses Agumon. (Koushirou after all hasn’t met Tentomon yet.)

Before he can run out, Taichi runs into Hikari in the living room. She’s worried, and she clearly knows what he’s up to, but all she says is “Itterasshai.” I super appreciate that the set up and lighting is the same as these scenes between the two of them in original Adventure! It’s a total throwback to that hallmark ep of Adventure, episode 21.

Unable to think about anything but seeing Agumon again, Taichi runs outside to the train station where Koushirou is (I wonder if the train station is going to become like their base point or something). He doesn’t even notice Sora, but she notices him...

... and in true Sora fashion, immediately turns around and starts chasing after Taichi without a word xD

ugh I will always hate how PINK she is in this

Sora: “Taichi’s running somewhere awful fast... he has that look on his face... he’s going to get into trouble ugh I just know it”

The digivices glow and both Taichi and Koushirou disappear into the digital world. As they go through the vortex, we see a bunch of colored lights...

So this one is clearly Taichi and Koushirou, and Sora as well. My guess is she gets swallowed up as a result of following Taichi.

However, over here we have Yamato, Jou, and Mimi, but why would they all be together? Yamato’s fine, but how are the other two getting in?

It doesn’t seem like Takeru’s joining this time, which is interesting. But I might be wrong - only episode 4 will tell.

Taichi wakes up in the real Digital World and is finally reunited with Agumon. End episode 3 <3

I’m really curious about what’s coming next! I’m still pretty shocked that a Jogress happened so early, but I’m gonna guess now that we might not see it again for a good long while. My prediction is that Yamato’s gonna be more like the lone wolves of other seasons (Ken, Ruki, Kouji, etc) who don’t want to join the main team right away, then suddenly just do. Everyone loves a rogue hero. I am super excited for the whole team to be together though so we can see all those personality dynamics grow! I really want them to not go home for a while and have to live by their wits, but I don’t think that’s the way this show wants to go, it wants the drama of going back and forth between lives... OTOH, we now know for sure that it IS summer break, so I suppose they don’t really have a NEED to go home. Maybe we’ll get a bit of both - they usually go home after, but sometimes end up on a longer stay?

I think what I need most from this show is the rest of the team before it will really feel like Digimon Adventure to me. So looking forward to episode 4!

eta: I totally forgot about the pics I took of the trailer for next week!

Look how awesome this is! This is exactly what I am hoping sticks around for a good long time! We need the partners to bond and we need to live up to the name of “Adventure”!

Since the trailer only shows Taichi and Sora, I wonder if that means everyone’s split up. Koushirou’s light seemed a bit distant from the other two in that screencap up there, so maybe he lands somewhere else and they all have to find each other. Makes sense, really. I’d expected that for the other three but figured Koushirou would be with Taichi... but it’ll be awesome if he has to try to get by on his own in the beginning. Also, so excited for Birdramon!

Bonus: I found a vid on youtube that claimed to have English subs and I clicked out of curiosity... this is what it wrote when Taichi says ��Koushirou”:

X’D Koushirou has so many nicknames now. DJ Wiseman, Kou the Bro, Awesome, Taichi’s New God, Godzilla... I love Youtube.

[misterbitches]

i have a lot to say about mr queen but idk how to say it so ill just collect what i did say (ammmz)

wrote this somewhere else in response to someone but:

i think the writers backed themselves into a corner here. your comment got cut off and hopefully you can finish the thought later (if you so choose.) i agree with everything you said!

i see some issues in the way the story is received now that it’s ended.

1. interpreting this as a gay story in the literal sense 2. discarding SO YONG’s self and her womanhood which is integral to the story / discarding anyones womanhood and/or precarious situations (IE being poor, being a gisaeng, etc) 3. gender confusion in the end

my issue in the plainest terms is that, in the original, we get a happy ending in the most clear cut sense. SY goes to the present, BH stays in the past. i say they could have gone further and just made them have souls projected or some shit with SoBong mix in the past, and SY alive as BH in the present (however she sees fit to live this life.) this is interesting because so yong is living as a man in SK. a man who (pre accident and post accident is a hero) had money, was a cis man in 2021 SK, worked at the blue house, and, like all men, didnt have the respecting woman juice bug.

it would be cool to see how SY could have lived in the present as a cis man (on the outside.) how she would choose to live going forward is up to her; would she keep her appearance? would she have ease as BH the way BH did for her? could they still have the ideas of the mind and know themselves in the body? since, essentially, So Bong is that idea. and this is all philosophical too like literally ONTOLOGY! the show delves into philosophers and thinkers so it could have done this from a philsophical standpoint (and hello! they seem to be on a kick these days post-stranger like sisyphus?!??! but you know…lol)

i wont regurgitate what you said beause you’re absolutely correct (IMO~~ not that it matters) bc the show is all about autonomy and ownerhsip and living HAPPILY especially for the people who do not get to determine that life. that is largely to say the women in this story, the women of joseon. sidenote: i do not know as much about korea and its sociopolitical history as i would like but like all movements, the labor movement (what would evovle from the peasant rev) is very very very masculine and not open to genfder and sexual minorities worldwide. isnt it interesting that such a heavy movement (starting from donghak in the show) is so so female centered? the whole show is an estrogen fest in the best way 🙂

so for people to miss that all of that IS so yong is sad. because sobong is so yong. and so yong is so bong just like bonghwan is. they chose each other. them kissing each other is a mark of a transfer of souls or some kindred spirits or something. it’s alarming that people miss the point of how crucial this selfish man going into this desperate woman’s body is. how her suicide was to save her mind but still our interpretation is that a man saved her and took over for her. as if bong hwan wasnt hugely flawed which is why he worked for so yong because she couldnt have the chance to discover that on her own because of her place. gee wouldnt it be interesting if we took away that, maybe, women have a right to exist? that maybe bong hwan was majorly flawed, narcissistic, disrespectful to WOMEN and that his life turns upside down and he learns what its like to have NOTHING for yourself. to be a woman who is told she is nothing because of her existence, because of men, because of money and power. and for BH to truly be shocked at how horrifically she was treated.

this is why i go so far as to say that CJ with all versions of queen cheorin make sense. he didnt give a shit about her frailty and that is the catalyst for her realizing htat she has to rely on herslef. her suicide was her CHOICE. so what if it’s negative, unsavory, cowardly; she got to decide for once.

hwa jin’s end especially (i stopped mid ep 18!) i love. she knew she was gonna go insane and we hated her for it. but she chose HERSELF.

but this is where the writers need to explain the gender and sexuality thing comes at the fault of them and also our society~ (lol) and us as viewers. it is queerbaiting in the sense that gender is confusing or whatever and if you’re GNC or NB you (AFAIK correct me if im wrong someone) are in every sexuality. sure people may have missed that but we’re so stuck on and obsessed with BOY OR GIRL? GAY OR NOT? (i’m not saying you as a user have done this, just ing eneral) that when we fight against just going with the flow which the show does for its whole run until its final explanation hits it bits us in the ass. now the questions are: was h eboy all along? which lol

no doubt SK is conservative (and no doubt they present gender and sexuality differently as well but one thing no matter how progressive or conservative places are—and you know, most are conservative because that’s how capitalism gets us and we’re just going against the current sorry couldnt help myslef—our societal ills stay so MASCULINITY and ideas of sexuality permeate and are constant through the world. fear fo gayness, femninity, no gender, transness, whatever it is) but the questions i am asking are – why did it have to end that way? was this planned? since the source material is different. if the writers think the trajectory makes sense, why? and if not, what would they change? – what was their intention?

from a technical standpoint, i think the ending does not support hwat the show has shown. just in literal set up and execution. that is a minute problem though in the grand scehme of things. in terms of story, what does this mean for BH and SY and CJ? why wouldnt he notice her? but i can pretend all of that doesnt exist and handwave and pretend it is so bong and CJ (which it is, until the end.) what is so hard to have So Bong exist? what doesnt make sense about that in a fantasy? why this ending?

i’d like to know if it was fear or if they couldnt accept that ending. it’s possible and that makes it unacceptable. or did it just not make sense to them? or it owuldnt to the viewers? in which case: jesus christ who cares. the show does a good job of propelling itself but it seems the gender question is just too fucking pressing that it put itself into its own corner. which you know fair enough. it manages to sustain itself even with that blunder but it’s like why and now why does it seem that the point of all that is missing. what could they have done differently to drive this point home? and really what can we all learn from it?

as a cis person this has taught me a lot oabout gender and my thoughts. i am inclined to this type of thought naturally and admittedly i do want to be a pretentious artist dumb bitch social justice warrior 😛 but even with all the things i know, the things i’ve done, when it comes to radical shit i’m still learning SO MUCH. there’s so much history i dont know, so many prejudices i still habor even if i fight against htem an know theyre wrong, privileges i have. this is why media IS important (and why i hate capitalism) bc even me at 29, even me the girl involved in a solidarity union and a resurgence of the black panthers doesnt know shit, hasnt experienced shit, grew up in a shit system too with poor understanding of difference. even as i try and dismantly everything a fucking south korean drama and kurt cobain has me thinking about how absurd gender is and this is SOMETHING I KNEW. there’s so much information to take in and ways we process that information, it’s taken me years to undo the gender industrial complex, and it will continue to take me years. i am a woman and a proud one but as a cis woman i am aware of my own limitations and this world expanded it. and it makes me think harder about my status and what about femininity and womanhood in a cis lens is so important. and that blockade or erosion of that blockade via the show is something i appreciate. the show was saying go with the flow because we dont HAVE TO understand it. we dONT. it’s just gender. it means everyhting and nothing all at once. but it had to be explained so much to its own detriment when it was already saying so much of what needed ot be said. hopefully many a non cis people found it compelling (and if anyone wants to LMK what they thought of the end from any perspective but that one specifically i am interested cos yea!)

[frumfrumfroo]

What’s one AU that you’ve never seen for Reylo that you want to? What’s one trope that you wish was more common in fic?

I had a really good one a while back that I can’t think of now. Maybe I’ll remember later lol.

I wish there were more modern royalty AUs with ridiculous romcom tropes, you know Prince Ben and CinderReya (yes, I am proud of that pun). I know of only one. I will also take more royalty stuff at all, period. There is not enough Prince Ben in any form and this is an egregious crime because he is an actual canon prince and I feel like there’s so much potential there for amusing double-fish-out-of-water scenarios with Rey’s socialisation exclusively in seedy underbelly culture vs his Raised by Books and Droids. People tend to make him way more rough and tumble than he actually is and Rey way less so and it’s a waste lmao. They are both impulsive under pressure, but he is a social thinker, he’s curious about people, she’s the one who problem-solves by pretending there are no problems and hitting anyone who looks at her funny.

People do a lot of jokes about her teaching him manners post-redemption like he’s this half-tame bear she brought home, but it’d be the exact opposite. He’s stiltedly formal in canon, he’s solicitous. Meanwhile Rey has zero manners and is blunt to a fault, she is ready to throw down over her sense of justice at any time with no apologies. I feel like she’d be super overprotective of Ben/their relationship and I’d love to see more fics with that kind of Rey the secretive hoarder vs the outside world clash. It feels like such a natural extension of her canon conflicts.

Also set ups which acknowledge how Not Fine, sealed off, isolated and judgey she is. Like she’s a ranger who works with animals, loves animals with such soft compassion, but barely speaks to people, and he’s either a scientist or a developer, someone she can easily think is up to no good and a threat to nature. She thinks he’s an unfeeling brute, but obviously it’s complicated and he has some kind of tree-hugging past he had to abandon etc. etc.

(Back on manners and how they have a complex double-defrosting dynamic everyone tends to simplify into her being his opposite and her defrosting him, sunny well-adjusted social butterfly Rey to a broody Byronic man- which is NOT correct at all. He is emotionally available and immediately compassionate for her, he defrosts her inner self; she seems available to the ‘good guys’ but isn’t. Anyway, subversive swerve: My Fair Lady/Anastasia fusion AU where Ben is Eliza/Anastasia a secret foreign prince lost since he was 10, Rey is Higgins teaching him elocution while he teaches her how to people, F/nn is Pickering an aristocrat who picked Rey up as a foundling in India to be his companion shortly before he was orphaned himself, Han shows up as Mr Doolittle the con artist- he’s actually been in hiding with Ben because of a military coup in their country, Rose is Mrs Higgins, Leia’s the Queen of Transylvania- she doesn’t know where Han and Ben are, Luke is the Hungarian, R2 and 3P0 are both Mrs Pearce, and Poe is Freddy- he’s obsessed with the mystery of Rey’s origins and has always annoyed her deeply because of this but he’s 100% fooled by her Ben project and never questions his origins, annoying her even more.)

Arranged marriage is always great and I will always take more.

My BIGGEST WISH and constant frustration is still the one I’ve mentioned a few times, which is that there’s hardly any fics that actually play their forbidden secret relationship and have them get caught red-handed somehow. The entire set up is BEGGING for this kind of drama and no one does it. Basically, I just want Rey getting caught being in love with Ben by the Resistance and needing to deal with their reactions. I can’t believe how rare this is and I extra can’t believe that even when people do it they almost to a fault completely gloss over the fallout. Aka: the point of doing it.

I’m so big on that huge psychological shockwave of everyone !!finding out!! a person/situation isn’t at all what they thought. I’m super, super big on the melodramatic romance potential of her needing to defend how much she loves him in public. I have a thing about emotional vindication and given one of Rey’s biggest problems is her repression and refusal to face things, where one of Ben’s biggest problems is that he doesn’t believe he can be loved for himself or that anyone will fight for him…………………..

Guys,

the drama

the romance. The humour potential. The perfect character through-lines! WHY.

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

BnHA 84 - 86 | Uchitama 9 - 12 (FINAL) | Eizouken 10 - 12 (FINAL) | Magia Record 8 - 13 (FINAL) | ID: INVADED 12 - 13 (FINAL) | ACCA OVA

BnHA 84

Ey? So Gentle is basically Luffy, only he can do stuff with air too.

“Tokoyami, it’s in lesson 3.”

Eizouken 10

LOL, you can see a name similar to “Rachel Enyoung Choi” in one of the credit lists. Update: Euyoung Choi is credited on one of the other folders.

“Kanamoney” is catching on, I see.

“Well, dough.” - Sarasoju, where soju is some alcoholic Korean beverage.

The back of the clock reminds me of that Skipper and Skeeto game I used to play.

Did Kanamori get a fringe cut…?

You can see the symbol for Eizouken on the (imaginary…?) warehouse.

Uchitama 9

The video got encoded funny again…

I‘ve heard of AIBOs before. They’re robotic dogs, although with newfangled drones, Google Nests and stuff, they went out of fashion years ago.

Aibou (with kanji) means “partner”, come to think of it...

While everyone else is talking in the foreground, I’m staring at Beh in the background…

Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve seen Kuro and Nora interact all that much.

Natsuki Hanae as Leo, huh?

Uchitama 10

Second-last episode!

Neko (cat) -> Koma -> ari (ant)…isu (chair) -> suika (watermelon) -> tamago (egg, or sometimes it sounds like tabako/tabacco to me) -> ??? -> koi (carp) -> ???? “Kooten” seems to be a nonsense word.

The video got encoded funny again…

…and that’s twice now…

LOL, this is based on Millionaire.

…thrice…

The original quote is (something like), “It is said that heaven does not create one man above or below another man.” (Yukichi Fukuzawa)

The answer was C, obviously.

…4 times.

Bull does his best Thinker impression.

Oh my gosh, they’re bringing that joke back…? (LOL) Update: The portal joke.

“chunk of meat” – Uh…what?

Holy s***! It’s Bull’s dad! Bull time travelled!

Magia Record 8

I like how the anime introduced Gomakashi, then had the proper OP.

Chuo Ward (Chuoku)? In Hypnosis Mic, that’s a sign Ayappe is definitely a girl…but this ain’t HypMic, so no worries!

The greeting is “Kamihama” because it sounds kind of like konbanwa and the host is Mr Hammer because that sounds like the back half of Kamihama, I guess.

Magia Record seems more overt about its lesbian undertones, I see.

I noticed a piano on a poster in the back. Wonder what that means…?

Just reading translations of radio transcripts like this makes me think of the HypMic radio show. I’ve been using that (and all of HypMic, to be honest) to cope in these tough (COVID-19) times, which is why I’m mentioning it a lot.

Mami!

Eizouken 11

So this is how they met, huh? I never knew Kanamori could have such little faith in people, considering how she is now.

ID:INVADED 12

What I don’t get is Hayaseura’s motive…

Uraido…”from behind”? I need kanji to figure this one out…

Whose well is this Bliss background, ayway…?

Momoki and Matsuoka pass a sign saying 大井南 (Minamioi), which is in Shinagawa.

Why does Momoki need drugs…? To subdue Asukai…?

Oh no. Inami is going to have a vendetta after her man was killed!

According to Ramuda, the optimist sees the doughnut, the pessimist sees the hole…I think’s that’s important for that moment.

…Welp, when a hole in the brain doesn’t kill you, a shot to the stomach does.

In this time of COVID-19, I think talking about people coming back to life is inappropriate…

Post-credits segment!

Uchitama 11 (FINAL)

According to Ramuda, the optimist sees the doughnut, the pessimist sees the hole…

“Tullip” (sic).

Oh, so instead of “Tama” it said “tanu___”, so the kids assumed it said “tanuki”.

Ooh, cat meeting. This should match the dog meeting from earlir in the season. Plus Nora’s face on the title card.

The video got encoded funny again…

“I’m busy right now.” – Nora, sleeping – Yup, that’s my mood. In fact, I was woken up by a call this morning…

I still think the Momo x Bull ship is stupid…

Nora can talk to crows…?

BnHA 85

…huh? What’s up with Bibimi?

Oh, in La Brava’s room there’s a graduation album. No one translated that.

Seriously, Deku’s gotten kinda creepy these days…

Tobita = essentially “to fly” + “field”. Makes sense when the Quirk is elasticity.

“It’s dangerous to go alone!” – I want to reply with “Take this!”…LOL.

This bouncing around thing was basically done by Sonic in OPM.

Update:  Turns out the kanji for elasticity is read dansei, which is th same rading for the characters for a man (but with characters meaning “male gender” instead and the last kanji being shared betwe the two). That’s why Danjuro is Gentle Criminal.    

BnHA 85

I noticed some of the decorations around the school look like heroes we’ve seen – there’s a Midnight one and a Thirteen balloon.

Why is the crowd chanting for YaoMomo…?

It’s in English, huh?

End of credits segment! Keep watching!

“Guys like you who say there are no do-overs in life…”

Hawks! This is the first time I see him outside spoilers!

ID:INVADED 13 (FINAL)

Was gonna finish this the day I got it, but I got access (limited to 1 week)…to Akira, which is a movie I’ve never seen before.

The sharks are a nice touch…(LOL…?)

Welp, John Walker has his hat back now.

Uraido…Hayaseura. Of course, how the heck did I not make the connection?!

The video got encoded funny again…

…wow, after learning a thing or two about CPR, this part actually makes sense to me now…Amazing. (Also, I learnt about comminuted fractures from Double Decker.)

COVID-19 is entering these notes too…because if you cut yourself off from society, you won’t know about pandemics…

Why do I get the feeling Kiki’s gonna kill herself…?

She…almost did it. (Wow, I should try predict things more often.)

That pool…is basically the one from Minority Report!

Wow, that just did an Eva…

Why did they choose such a lively ending song…? Anyways, that wrapped up really well (no pun intended!). See you next time!  

Magia Record 9

The tower appars to be modelled more after Tsutenkaku rather than Tokyo Tower.

For some reason, the subbers like to capitalise “Magical Girl”.

One of the speech bubbles in the back says koneko no gorogoro, or “the cat’s laziness”.

“Stand alone!” This is probably some kind of wordplay on the Solitude (Hitoribocchi no Saihate), since “alone” is hitori de.

Interestingly, the word for “delete” here is keshite (literal meaning: “to erase”).

The sign that passes Sana by while she’s on the boat says “Futaba” on it.

The blue letterboxing is an interesting effect.

“Sorpredente” = surprising.

Eizouken 12 (FINAL)

“They have their own business to run.”

I’ll miss this OP song when it’s gone…*sigh*

LOL, the contrast between Asakusa’s imagination and reality is huge and that’s what makes Eizouken so fun.

“I’m here to deliver the promised data,” Kanamori says (which I think is a more literal translation, ut works better).

It’s unfortunate Comiket 98 was cancelled��

Hey, why didn’t Anime vs. Real Life cover Eizouken?! That would’ve been so good!

I noticed one of the viewers had a “No Disc” pop-up of some sort. Also, the moving logo exists now, too (LOL).

I like how 1 of the UFOs hits the windshield.

The arrows really bring your attention to what’s the same in the split screens.

Magia Record 10

The Mifuyu in the previous episodes was either a flashback or a fantasy, right?

Mami is wearing a Wings of Magius badge…!

On the titlecard, there’s what seems to be a radio tower with a small lightning bolt above it.

BnHA 86

Hey, Tsu has a sister..?

Ah,so this is Mirko! I’ve heard of her too!

Is it just me, or does Endeavour hav CGI on him…?

Hawks reminds me of Fubuki from OPM…

Wow, even Endeavour’s trying to be funny…the world really is different now. (This humour has a terrible success rate with me, though.)

There seem to be holes in Hawks’ jackt for his wings.

So basically, Hawks is being the Iori to Endeavour’s Riku (but without too much of the homoerotic overtones that come from being close in age, since Endeavour is 46 – 7 and Hawks is 22), so to speak.

Oh! That punch is based on All Might’s! Same framing and everything!

Hajimari no doesn’t suggest a pronoun, so they must have chosen that based on the manga or the production company or something.

Magia Record 11

Shaft headtilt!

This Witch…apparently it appears early on in the OG series according to This Week in Anime. It does give off that vibe.

…wow, that fight was fast.

The video got encoded funny again…

Why are all the magical girls Naruto running???  

Hachibey = Kyubey (where kyu = 9), but for 8.

ACCA OVA

Who’s this-oh, never mind.

I don’t remember the OST being so…cool.

Jumo, where ju = tree I guss.

Nino! Who’s the blonde though? I forget…

Jumo for Jumoku…right. I forgot.

Shinro, literally “path of advancement”. I’ve grown a lot since I last watched ACCA, but I only feel I’ve gotten dumber since then…to be honest.

I like how the flashback is saturated in blue…actually, that reminds me of Given, now that I think of it.

Where’s Grossular? I liked him the best because he’s basically older!Kyosuke Kuga. Update: Spoke too soon.

Now that I’ve learnt keigo between the OG and now, I can understand more of what Mauve says.

Magia Record 12

(no notes, sorry!)

Magia Record 13 (FINAL)

Is it just me, or can I see a feather-like object floating down the screen…? (Or is that static?)

You can see one of the hooded Wings (on Touka’s left) has dark blue hair – roughly Sayaka’s shade.

Ooh, Mami and Sayaka fight! (I’ve never been one for catfights, but this is certainly a match-up I want to see!)

Mami’s fate really sucks, huh? Her head came off in the OG and now she’s a tool for the Magius…

Yachiyo does look a lot like Togo from Yuki Yuna, doesn’t she…?

Anyways, this is all for now. There’s an s2 on the horizon, but COVID-19 means it could be years down the line…see you when s2 arrives.