#hope I did this MVP some justice

[larachelledrawsfe]

Hawk...on his way to rescue someone's FE4 run!

Drawn for @z-cerulean!!

[mooncalfe-art]

Ok. Soo...got to read 142..twice even, just becose I could not believe what I was seeing.

Pretty much, evrything about the turtles gone more or less as expected. Yhea. The "fight" at the start between Raph and Alopex was something...tho, he soo was not serious about the fact he dose not care about her. After all. When I say I don't care about a person ,I don't usually go in their aid, when they are half ded on the floor, looking worried sick. Just saying. Glad to see Don and Leo got their shite together and that Don did finally spoken about Armaggon..even if was a little little bit. Interesting to see how that gose at the end of the arc, seeing what 145 SAYS. Sad to see Lita being traumatized by the fight between the boys, tho, have to respect April for how sick of their shite she was after that and for her and Mikey to get the little one out of there. Blugen and Koya were unexpected tbh, but, was a nice surprise. Even seem to be ok whit Carmen and Bob comeing along.. which, knowing Koya...is quite something ( seeing how "friendly" she can be whit strangers usually. ) . Also. Nice seeing Angel working whit the turtles ones more and for her traying to be like a common ground for her 2 mutant friends...

Now tho. Speaking of that... I talk about how that first meeting between Alopex and Raph happened and how it was more or less what I expected...but..what happened next whit Alopex and especially Mushroom...I am sorry. But, that has to be my biggest negativity about everything that happened.

Alopex being half ded and Mushroom becoming mind controlled by that useless piece of trash called Doc.Barlow was something that made my stomach turn. Yes. Alopex is alive. Not too big of a problem...hell..could have been worse...but seeing Mushroom like this!

Absolutely horrific. She is just a kid! Barlow made many mistakes in his miserable excuse for a life ...but this has gone waaaay too far.

I just can't bring myself to picture a fight between Alopex or the little ones whit Mushroom like this. What ever happens to her, I can only wish she will not suffer forever from this . Now, Alopex has as much of a reson to want this shite face ded as Venus dose at this point tbh...If not more!. And me along whit a lot more fans would not mind to see Doc Barlow justice to come in the form of the hell flames !

Again. No idea how this maithe play out in the end and how it maithe go later on...but this made my blood boils with rage . This will become a core memory for Alopex after this. I just know it. She needs the help, more so then ever befor. Just hope it will not be too late and that she will at least show some thanks to the turtles..cuz, if not, especially after this stunt ,she would not look good at all in the eyes of no one tbh. Just saying. Would be somewhat of a stat at least.

Now. For my last questions. How did that Doc get back the parts to form that abomination?

Way dose he like those 2 ugly sins of nature that much, to still use them after they shude have been long gone by now.

And still no idea what in hells name are those 2 demons...tho, I think that maithe be explained in the next issue.

Night terrors, hmm?.. They have to had spawn from somewhere...

Also. Leatherhead is MVP. He saved my girl. For that alone, I wana see him make it out alive!

That would be it. I know is a lot and I am sorry for that..but, this issue was quite something. I am intrigued for what's to come and I think this was a very interesting ...just..it made me feel in a way that no comic made me feel befor. Even from this series.

Sorry if I let myself go whit the Doc Barlow... I just want him ded.

PS. Love how we have pretty much 3 teams going for Barlow.

Doni whit Leo along whit Venus and the rest of her team. Raph, Jeny, Angel, Alopex ( ones she feels good inof to even talk ) and the little ones . And Mikey whit April and Mona, traying to get to the bottom of the situation . I did like that a lot. Ngl.

Now. Just need to burn a Doc to the ground for good this time.😈 ( you are not the only one that is blood thirsty.).

Thanks for reading, as always!! I'm glad this issue got you so riled up, mwahaha. >:D

I can't reveal what will happen to Mushroom, Leatherhead, or Barlow, you'll have to wait and see. ;)

[realhousewives-fan]

The Memorable Memories of Season 5

RHOM truly is the gift that keeps on giving! They’ve delivered another amazing season while other shows are struggling with giving interesting storylines.

I’ve also made an appreciation post about Lisa Hochstein because what would this season have been like if she was deflecting from her failing marriage?

I can name so many housewives who would’ve kept this part of their lives a secret – and that’s the problem with the franchise right now.

So, while the other shows get a demand to do better, RHOM gets another appreciation! 

Let’s remind ourselves of the unforgettable moments from season 5.

1) It’s not about the mortgages!

Things were off with Lisa immediately this season. She shaded Larsa Pippen’s new apartment building, and Larsa retaliated by accusing Lisa of renting out her house to pay her mortgages. 

It was a petty clapback, but Lisa lost it! She was stuck in a hamster wheel and raging at Larsa. It wasn’t about the mortgages.

2) Date night from hell

It was shocking how much Lenny Hochstein was willing to film this season! 

And he is just the worst. Lisa had planned a romantic date for them, and he complained about it ruining his diet and he was on his phone the whole time! 

And then their nanny had an accident, which showed some uncomfortable dynamic between Lisa and Lenny. He talked to her like she was a child.

3) Lisa shocks the women about her marriage

The more episodes we got this season, the stranger Lisa’s behaviour got. After she had been extremely late to their flight for a girls trip, it seemed like she was at a breaking point. 

She finally told the women about how fucked up her marriage has gotten, and their reactions were everything! 

This was one of the most memorable and iconic moments of 2022 and RHOM!

4) Alexia’s ego was inflated!

While this was a difficult season for Lisa, Alexia Nepola was showing sides of herself that wasn’t so pretty. 

And it was really unfortunate that this was the direction this trip took.

Alexia had been so furious on behalf of Lisa, she was screaming and cursing in Spanish. But it seemed like her ego was inflated this season.

She acted as if she was untouchable. She called Julia Lemigova a prostitute, because she’s Russian… She called herself the star, and accused them all of making up shit to take her down.

Her energy was truly bizarre this season.

5) Kiki’s cheeseburger moment

I just love Kiki Barth! She’s always a good time and she’s actually delivers a lot of great scenes on the show. 

She had a lot of hilarious confessionals this season and I hope they’ll try her out as a fulltime cast member. 

When she brought out her cold Burger King burger during an argument at Adriana de Moura’s music video shoot, it threw me for a loop. 

Kiki is the moment in Miami!

6) Nicole’s shady disinvitation of Larsa!

After Larsa had accused Nicole Martin of sleeping with all the doctors at the hospital, Nicole naturally disinvited her to her engagement party. 

And she did it in the most perfect housewife manner! She sent Larsa a mirror that was engraved with the disinvitation. 

“See yourself uninvited to the party”?! That’s Housewives gold! And by doing that Nicole inserted herself as one of my favorite housewives!

7) Nicole’s epic engagement party!

Nicole was MIA in the beginning of the season, but she rose to become the MVP of the show. 

Her engagement party looked truly epic, and like such a fun party. But the women had to give her shit, even at her party.

Alexia and Marysol Patton were basically defending Larsa, and when Adriana and her date confronted Alexia for accusing her of dating a married man, things didn’t get any better.

8) Embarrassing meeting with the lawyers

Alexia had arranged a meeting with some lawyers to give Lisa legal advice, and it turned into a circus unlike anything we’ve seen on the show so far. 

It was utter chaos!

Adriana wanted an apology from Alexia after accusing her of dating a married man, and Nicole wanted justice after Larsa had accused her of sleeping with every doctor at the hospital. 

Those poor lawyers at that meeting…

9) Lenny blatant hatred for Lisa

If there were any doubt about how Lenny was manipulating and mistreating Lisa, he told on himself this season. 

The way he talked to her and treated her was insane. 

When I first heard that Lenny had filed for a divorce, I had no idea that it would all play out on the show. As I’ve mentioned numerous times before, the women tend to keep that a secret while filming.

10) The OGs are fighting!

While Alexia’s energy was bizarre this season, it was nothing compared to Adriana. She must truly have gone through something this season, as her friends claimed, because she made no sense. 

On their trip to the Bahamas Kiki fell on Adriana’s foot and she claimed that it was broken. 

She wanted the other women to not have fun, feel sorry for her and cuddle her, and when they didn’t, she compared her “injury” to Alexia’s son’s horrific accident. 

While Adriana has tried to apologize to Alexia, Alexia wants nothing to do with her anymore.

[butwhatifidothis]

Finally finished AG and here’re my thoughts:

under the cut it goes

Seeing Dimitri and the Lions hold a deep trust in one another and seeing the lengths everyone's willing to go to to keep each other safe was very refreshing to see after both GW and 3H proper. The non-lord Lions feel less like the peanut gallery and more like actual proper characters, and seeing their bonds be able to blossom here is just nice to see

The suspicions thrown towards Claude in this route are the one time in this whole game where they feel not only unwarranted, but at times straight up random. He never does anything to earn this much ire from so many in AG, and the one thing he could have possibly done - Sreng, in Sylvain's paralogue - couldn't possibly be known to have been done by Claude to anyone in AG, so it's just kinda jarring. And that's even if it's meant to be the case that Claude did do the Sreng shit in AG too, because either 1) it arbitrarily doesn't work in AG, or 2) he arbitrarily doesn't do it. But saying all this:

Seeing Claude act like Claude is sooooo nice. I know I know that he's probably meant to not be trusted or whatever but AG does legit nothing to make me distrust him so I get to say that the Hopes' janitorial team managed to sneak in 3H!Claude in AG under the writers' notice. The stank-eye he throws at Rhea at the end was just his regular level of sus and he stops once he learns some truth from her and he doesn't try to kill innocents to murder her for no reason lmaoooo that's my AU happy ending.

My by-far biggest gripe with AG is my gripe with Hopes in general: how much Edelgard gets away with so much shit. No guys, Edelgard didn't start the war, DIMITRI did when he took in the Church! See guys, Dimitri is praising Edelgard's reforms, look how good she is!! Look guys, Adrestia gets SO BAD when Edelgard's not the one in charge, she was running things so well!! And you can't do anything to Edelgard to bring her to justice - look at the poor girl, reduced to nothing but a child! How could you ever wish more harm on her? :( This is a foundational problem with all of Hopes, but man does is hurt more in AG considering how well it manages to to most of the other stuff.

Dimitri being able to (purposefully) take down the true perpetrators of the Tragedy, being able to directly help Duscur, and gain some semblance of peace because of it? That was nice lmao, actually felt like something was happening looking through the supports/exploration dialogue/story events pertaining to that.

Do NOT appreciate how AG deadass tries to gaslight the player about certain things that happened. No AG, I didn't learn shit all about Shez or their powers; knowing the name of the source of them doesn't do jack about the why's or the what's or the how's. No AG, the war isn't still ongoing (at least on the good end, which is the only one I've seen so far); Lobotogard ain't doin' shit, Ferdinand and Hubert are still missing, Aegir's dead, Varley's dead, Bergliez and Hevring couldn't do shit against the Kingdom or Alliance individually let alone as a combined force, Thales and all of his TWS lackeys are dead, there is no one left to fight and the war is over. Like with the suspicion thrown at Claude, it just feels so forced on the player so that they leave the game feeling unfinished, when in fact everything is... finished. You can really feel the “noooo but no one can be happy without Byleth as a teacher :(” thing the devs had goin’ on here; it’s just too bad they forgot to like. Make that true to the story of AG lmao, so it’s not dissatisfaction I feel but dissonance.

JUICEGRID BEEFGRID ALL-MIGHTY ALL-POWERFUL INGRID FLYING IN TO SMITE HER FOES. She ended the game at Level 64. Shez was the closest at 55. The next highest was in their 40's. Her highest MVP streak at the credits was 7 in a row. Hilariously fun to play as her, and unironically became a big factor in my - and my sis' - enjoyment of AG because of how big of an inside-joke she became. Literally all of the stat boosters went to her. She had 97 Spd. Her sensitivity training paid off big time.

I have mixed feelings, as you can see lmao. Overall, I did very much enjoy AG, even with my negatives regarding it and Hopes in general. In a way it's gonna make my SB playthrough even harder to sit through, knowing that this isn't just the peak of the game, but the only real enjoyment period I'll get from it (other than the first 8 chapters of GW). Or maybe since my expectations for SB are so low now it can't possibly match it, and thus it'll be better than I think it will be lmaoooo only one way to find out

[inkabelledesigns]

Gail - Maiden of Endless Spring

Base Doll: Ashlynn Ella from Ever After High

Clothing: Made by splendidmiscellany (Her etsy is closed as of this post, but when it opens back up, HIGHLY recommend her work, it’s gorgeous! https://www.etsy.com/shop/SplendidMiscellany/sold) 

More photos and description under the cut!

So here’s the story: Last year my dear friend Lauren from Splendidmiscellany on Instagram hosted a giveaway to celebrate reaching 500 followers. The prize was this beautiful doll dress in the wa-loli style, and by some stroke of luck, my name was pulled from the random draw! Never won a raffle before, but I knew I had to do Lauren’s work justice! (I actually bought another dress from her for a different custom that isn’t finished yet, might be redoing her later this year.)

I hadn’t had any plans to make a doll over the summer, since the weather is way too humid where I live, but we were visiting my grandparents for a week in the secluded mountains, so I took my supplies and did her face there whenever it wasn’t raining. She was VERY impromptu, but I made sure to think carefully about her design. Lauren’s original post featured the dress on an Ashlynn Ella doll, and I decided to pull out one of mine since the skin tone looked really good with this palette. I decided to carry those colors into the hair, and I happened to have the perfect yarn to do so with, it was almost an exact match! I also knew that I wanted a flower on her face, inspired by Dollightful’s Amanita fairy doll, so that was the big focus of the face. I only had my travel sized pencils with me, and I have to say, even though the quality is a bit lower, this worked out well! It makes me wanna work with more EAH dolls, I’ve found that I like them a lot.

The MVP of this project though was my new supply: a pearlescent red pan pastel. This is my new favorite supply for blushing, it’s just the right amount of shimmer and reddish-pink for the way I like to do things, and I can’t believe I liked blushing the body for a change, that is SO NICE! 

The photoshoot was by far the most fun though. I took Gail to the lake and borrowed a dock to shoot on at the end of the afternoon, and oh my gosh, the reflection of the clouds in the water was STUNNING, I LOVE the way those shots turned out! So many people asked me how I did it, and the answer really is just being at the right place at the right time. 

Gail doesn’t have a concrete place in my story, but I imagine she lives in the spring part of the kingdom. I know for sure that she likes being in the royal gardens and often cares for the plants there, among other things. I hope you enjoy her photoshoot!

[hd-remix]

before the bond

by @hogwartsfirebolt

4,103 (T)

Inspired by A Different Kind of Heat (12K | T) by @themightyflynn08

After the trials, Draco steps away from the magical world and moves to an idyllic villa in France, ready for a fresh start. Until the kiss, that is.

________________________________

Author's Note: When I received the email that said I would be remixing one of TheMightyFlynn's works, I spent an entire day squealing to myself, and then weeks shaking with nerves, because how can you choose from such a long, wonderful, varied catalogue? I had the time of my life re-reading the works I already knew, and reading the ones I didn't for the first time. The true tragedy of this fest is that I can't remix every single one of their works. This little piece is an exploration of the lovely lovely Draco they created in A Different Kind Of Heat, a story which gripped me from the beginning, and when I got to the last sentence, I went right back to the top and reread it right then. That was at the beginning of lockdown, more than a year and a half ago. The whole time I read it, I couldn't help but wonder what those first few years were like for Draco, never even imagining that I would one day be right here, remixing it. Life is crazy. I had the best time, and I really, really hope I did it some justice. If this story makes any sense, it's thanks to Phoebe, and her spot-on, clever suggestions. I can't thank you enough Pheebs, you're the mvp.

________________________________

Mod Note: While we would always encourage reading the fic which inspired a remix, you shouldn't feel you have to do so. It's OK to just dive straight into the remix!

before the bond

[sofibeth]

Random Sonic 2 movie thoughts

Have lot in my mind now that I have time to process it last night 

(Spoilers below)

- Like their could be alot that you can critque bout this flim (1st act bit slow compare to 2nd, fart jokes aren’t funny) but this movie was soo fun I don’t really care as much XD

- I feel you can make a drinking game with how many time Tails say “THAT’S SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!!” I get he’s a kid but it did get kinda annoying after awhile.

- the biased in me wished their was more Sonic and Tails bonding since it was kinda fast but considering how packed this film was they did alright all things considered. The sleeping scene stole my heart!

- “They call us freaks, so let’s get freaky” ya did it ya understood the assignement!

- Okay I’m forever a Tails’ stan but Knuckles was clearly the MVP of this film! They find the right balance of being the funniest character in this film as well being soo heckin cool!

- Man went from trying to kill Sonic to any sec to “Sonic they have sprinkles” iconic

- Compare to Tails Knuckles felt alot more natural from enemy to friend I love they found losing a loved one as a simple connection with him and Sonic to begin bonding with.

- Jim Carry as Eggman was great no surprise, highlight was def going high on Chaos Power!!

- bless Agent Stone he and his actor having the time of his life.

- Speaking a which I like how they handle the humans here giving euongh to do while not overshadowing the main trio.

- I feel the wedding subplot might not be everyone’s cup of tea but 1) the plot twist of being a GUN was amazing and over the top I luv and 2) Rachel performance was so hammy I was just along for the ride.

- I’m glad they pushed Tom and Maddie more into parental role and being ride and die for their hedgehog son. Makes me appreciate their scenes in the beginning due to having payoff by the ending.

- Speaking of which THE LABYRINTH SCENE UP TILL THE ENDING WAS THE LIKE THE BEST/HYPEST PARTS OF THE MOVIE NO CONTEST!

- Ya know your in a room full a sonic fans when everyone cheering over Sonic inhaling a bubble, proud of my audience last night.

- Final Sonic vs Knuckles fight, best animated scene I wanna watch it again just to see every single detail.

- I know they showed death robot in trailers but yea seeing the whole cilmax they did everything with justice hard to talk about everything.

- I hadn’t felt this strong bout Team Sonic in a long time and seeing the trio working felt satifiying! Good thing since Knuckles isn’t confided to an island in this universe cause this mean this group can work in long term. 

- Also look I was expecting thr after credit to be hype but HAVING SUPER SONIC IN THIS FILM WAS MY POP OFF MOMENT OKAY!! I LOVE THEY PULLED FROM SA1 WITH SONIC DRAWING HIS POWER FROM LOVE OF HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS! HE LOOKS SOO GOOD AND GOT CHILLS WHEN HE STOP DEATH ROBOT’S HAND HE SOO COOOL AHHHH!!!

- I glad all the fanart of movie Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles hanging out is canon, take the Ws.

- Regarding the after credit scene I glad they’re keeping some aspects of Shadow present, having alot more faith in how he’s portrayed considering how well they understood Knuckles. I do hope Amy gets her jump into the movie verse soon, feel she can fit in since they establish the whole heroes order thing.

- And yes my theater popped off, shoutout to the dude who stand up and yelled “LET’S **CKIN GOO!”

- man we gotta wait like 2/3 years for the next film at least got my fox boy so wait won’t be as bad.

Overall yea I don’t think non-sonic fans will have a much of a fun time but this film is definiely a Sonic’s fan’s fever dream of movie it was just sooo fun to sit through. (what is worth I saw kids and parents in my group enjoying the film as well) 

Anywho this film gonna live rent free in my mind for weeks I apologize!

[washymylifeaway]

Haikyuu Fanfic recs: bamf/spy AU ;)

Hello loves! ~~Here I am, once again, not finishing one of the other drafts that I have and making a different post~~ (meant to be sung with the make it shine tune) Pretending like you didn’t just read that, I am here to recommend some bamf/spy AU fics because currently, that’s my vibe LOL. No this will NOT have mafia (even tho they are bamf’s) because this is supposed to be spy/secret agent orientated :))))))) (I say this, but if they overlap, they overlap.)

Because of the nature of this list, many of these fics will prolly be a little/lot graphic with their depictions of violence so beware and be warned! I won’t put individual warnings cause like I said these are all a bit graphic in their own ways. That being said, let’s get down to business (cause Mulan IS a bamf) ;)

As per usual, pls check WARNINGS, TAGS, and SUMMARIES for each fic before reading (ESP THIS LIST) and make sure you’re taking care of yourselves (since mental health is key!) Stay healthy loves <3

Super Spy Husbands by leurauxe /IwaOi/ I LOVE THIS SERIES AKJASFDJK READ IT. It’s SO good and I love their actions scenes and the BACKSTORY OMFG THE BACKSTORY. The proposal fic was SO GOOD AAJSFJLS. Like everyone is done so well in these fics and the plot progression? YES PLEASE.

Hell Mission by codename_bewareofthefangirl (T) 22.7k /IwaOi/ okay IwaOi yes yes but Akaashi? MVP boys. It do be like that sometimes hehe. Anyway, the interactions between them (IwaOi and the whole squad) are gold. Also Iwa and the shower scene? Yes daddy ;)

sorry baby by sketchedsmiles (M) 34.3k /SunaOsa/ THIS!!! Okay you might be thinking wow this seems weird but just read it. I love the way their relationship slowly comes to be and like at the end SakuAtsu just knows ajkfhaldjf. Also when Osamu did the thing (at the hotel) I FREAKED OUT LIKE WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT but it’s okay. They fixed it :’)

bang! now we're even by Authoress (M) 11.9k /BokuAka/ yes you might recognize this from my other post LOL, but I really love this fic so here it is. AGAIN HEHE. Also, Akaashi in a dress? Like the tags might state, what more do you need? The characters are done beautifully, and the story development is SO good (like THE TWIST UGH).

hq detective AUs by valiantarmor /BokuAka, KuroKen, IwaOi/ again, from that same post EHEHE. Man do I really love fighting in my fics LOL. This was super good and the plot itself kept me really engaged (what a twist omg). It does talk a bit about mental health issues, but it’s done so well, and they really did this AU justice! The three fics can be read separately BUT they’re all done so well, I think you should read them all :)

The One With The Spies by hangoverhater /Multi (but mainly IwaOi)/ PLEASE,,, the fics in this series? HILARIOUS. THE SECOND FIC ”Well, this is a nice change of scenery.” “It’s a prison cell.” “I was being sarcastic.” HAD ME DYING. Poor Daichi, he really needs those days off :)))))

on the eighteenth by skittidyne (T) 5k /KuroKen/ I love fics where the characters are forced to face their feelings. This is one of those fics LOL. It’s done so well and the small details (as Kenma loves) are inserted really well. Like the first night where they fake doing stuff? Amazing LOL.

Punches by Sebastians_senpai (M) 1.5k /IwaOi/ hot Iwa hot bamf Iwa. Like entrance? Hot. Killing people? Hot. Anyway I want a boyfriend who will protect me if I get hurt. Can I be Oikawa? (you know being Oikawa would be an honor in itself)

just a boy undercover (and a boy with the getaway) by volchitsae (M) 14.1k /SakuAtsu/ twin fight rendition number idk but it’s good so whatever LOL. Is it really a SakuAtsu fic without one mention of a major twin fight? (probably yes but in this case no LOL) This one was SO good and I love how annoying Sakusa is >>>> for Atsumu. Also the acceptance at the end ajfakdlf HEART WARMED.

to crash in orbit by aceun (T) 2.8k /SunaOsa/ I LOVE BEING UNPROFESSIONAL ON THE JOB!!!!!! I adore how they know each other’s tendencies and how Osamu is like, I know he’s hot LOL. Also when they talked about Rome and Prague it made me laugh OMG. And RIP Osamu’s watch, worked hard never to be seen again LOL.

the unfinished kiss by Ellieb3an (E) 6.3k /SakuAtsu/ I told myself, less or no smut, but here we are. Honestly you’d think I learn I never stick to my own rules LOL. Anyway, this is SPICY so avoid if you don’t like smut heheh. I absolutely love when they use fighting as foreplay like adflkhf yes PUNCH HIS FACE (does that make me violent? probably LOL).

In knives and bullets by badreputation (M) 8.3k /SunaOsa/ UGH this one. Suna and Osamu’s relationship is *chef’s kiss*. And like I love how it isn’t too rushed and they took their time (also angry Suna is HOT). Like the tension at the house during the thing and then the PROPOSAL (LIKE YES). I always find myself coming back to this fic cause I just really love it <3

training by Sebastians_senpai (M) 3.2k /IwaOi/ again the smut.... ANyway, this one is some bamf Oikawa and head-made-of-steel Iwa LOL. Also some avengers talk makes it’s way up (and need I say, Iwa probably did look hot af when he did that), and him constantly hitting the other guy (cause spoilers hehe) made me laugh (ie. targeting LOL).

glass stained black by unrequitedangst (E) 31k /SunaOsa/ OKAY I said nO mAfIa Au’s well.... Technically it’s a SPY mafia AU so teehee. Also another repost cause why not LOL (but altered cause my writing is atrocious). The character development of Osamu is really legit and despite being mafia, it’s not that heavy or angst of a fic (but you should still definitely read tags and warnings first). It’s a non-linear fic (which I really liked, cause I love non-linear hehe) and the organization just adds another level to the fic development!

I love BAMF so if you have any to recommend, DO IT. Always up for more bamf/spy/secret agent AU’s HEHE. Also this turned into a collection of the same ships LOL IM SORRY, but I have a type and I think it’s very obvious hehe. I hope you all were careful about tags because I got lazy LOL. And this wasn’t in any particular order so I should’ve done it by ship, but I’m too lazy to do it now LOL. Hopefully, you all enjoyed this list and tbh for my other lists tbd, I might take out commentary and just put like the names (with links ofc). We’ll see LOL. Stay safe and have a great day! <3

[fandom-blackhole]

I'm back from my mandatory two day socialization recovery period required for all socialization even if I enjoy it. It's time for some Mermaid!Din au thoughts (No thots unfortunately but we'll live)

First off I love the isolation that the reader faces because of the lighthouse they live in. And I love how the townspeople being nice to the reader help give them a reason to stick around when weird things start happening.

I love how it took months before anything strange starts happening, like were Din and Grogu just not around or were they observing the reader. Did Din ever try to stop Grogu from damaging the lighthouse or did he let the little rascal do as he pleased.

· And gosh I love the idea of reader dressing in old worn clothing, a knit sweater with fraying sleeves, sweat pants covered in paint from repairs, an old windbreaker to help keep the cold out. It makes me heart all warm and fuzzy.

Edna, who i've head cannoned as this series Miss Chatham (H2O: just add water charter) is honestly life goals. Like live near ocean - check(ish), have rare knowledge that can be used to help new person - check, being just slightly spooky -amazing. And is that a little matchmaker I see her playing? I love it.

Then Grogu being injured :( I bet that Din is absolutely being eaten alive by guilt even though we all know it’s not his fault and he does literally anything he can to keep Grogu safe and happy.

And In love how Din is venerable enough to ask for help, like he recognizes that this is something out of his area of expertise so he goes to the person he knows is “safe” to get help. He’s humble enough to admit that he needs help and is not capable of doing everything for Grogu. And being able to admit that is an important life skill that not enough people have.

· But even after he ask the reader for help he is still hesitant which shows that even though hes trusting reader he will still kick (is it still a kick if its with a tail) the readers ass if he hurts him.

“But you can help him” Oh my heart the trust in that sentence. Like Din just heard, “so yeah I can help your son but I have to take him somewhere it will be hard for you to follow. And he needs to stay there for at least a week, and even if you manage to come its going to be so far from your natural element.” But he was still on board with the plan. And then he goes to climb on the rock so he can drag himself all the way to the light house because he can’t let his little boy go alone even if it means hurting himself to do it.

Reader was smart af for doing the old blanket slipperaroo trick

Reader immediately knowing something was up when she walked into town is so realistic. She literally is hiding a massive secret at her lighthouse of course anyone would be on edge walking back into society. Especially a society that already knows a little something about the secret. But them to amplify it. Miss Chatham to the rescue. She knows that reader is up to something and she uses her powers as an old lady with lungs and karen potential to scare off the problem for a little bit. The reader just placed so much trust on Edna by straight up telling her that she's housing Din and Grogu.

· Also that fool browsing the menstrual hygiene rack, like dumbass. Is this your way of making him miss every shot? Because we know that storm troopers are well known for their ability to miss every shot so making him automatically turn to tampons? Genius

Cashier for the win, like beep beep bitch now pay up

The "cyare" omg and then the reader warning Din about the cookies and him being so curious about them. The way Din is so perceptive of the readers mood that he is already able to tell that something is wrong. It was such a smart idea to have the reader lead with asking him to give her a small chance to calm down about what happened in the town.

Din and the reader low-key flirting and teasing each other at the end is so adorable. Grogu with the cookie absolutely melts my heart like of course that boy is hungry.

So this is a slightly polished layout of my stream of consciousness while reading this. Does it make sense? Probably not. But I love this idea and you have done it justice.

Ahhhhhhz thank you for all of the lovely thoughts and compliments, im glad you like my story and I hope it continuesto meet your expectations!!!! And you made perfect sense darling!

To reply to some things:

Honestly, I chose the isolation for two reasons, 1- it made sense, especially for how the plot is going to play out, privacy and isolation is needed, and 2- im introverted and I like being alone, so I just projected

The town's people are great! They are used to having lighthouse keepers just up and leave because of all the weird stuff, so the second that one sticks around they were all overjoyed, because like I said, a lot of the people work on boats fishing so the lighthouse is super important to them

Din did wait and observe the reader, wanting to know what to do when to attempt to scare them off. But also like no, he tried keeping Grogu away from the lighthouse as much as possible, not knowing what the reader might do to him, and just being a protective father, but we all know Grogu is a little shit and he snuck out before Din could stop him

Reader dresses in the COMFIEST clothes, and honestly, I am very much a sweater and comfy leggings kind of person, so again, something I am projecting

I love that you and everyone is loving Edna, she is definitely one of those cool old ladies that sneak you treats and shenanigans when no one is looking!

Also because idk if anyone has pointed it out.... in the last chapter I thought I was heavily hinting at it, but maybe it was more subtle than I thought, Edna and her MERMAID were alot more than friends *wink wink* she's gay as fuck and thats why she made the joke about not liking NUTS

Din loves Grogu, in and out of this AU, and it was 1000% not his fault that Grogu got hurt, in fact he was trying to protect him! Din definitely panicked and the first person that came to mind was the reader, and while he didn't know them, he knew for some reason they were safe to go to for help (as well as knowing the lighthouse would be a good place to hide while some things cooled down 👀), but Din will always be cautious because he is scared for his son

Din is just *chef's kiss* 👌, an amazing father who will do ANYTHING for his son, no matter what it takes

The whole blanket thing literally came from my childhood, thinking about how my sisters and I would drag eachother around on blankets, and I just thought it would be great for this scenario

Like the reader is gonna get real paranoid during this series, im not going to lie to you, things are gonna get rough, but Edna is the MVP she's one of those people that could pull your darkest secrets from you just by glancing at you, and the reader pretty much assumed she was safe to talk to after she had informed her about the food offerings

Ok ok, as for the dudes, I was too lazy to look up their names and stuff but they were these dudes from season 1 that gave Din Grogu's bounty: the first dude is the one 'hiding' in the women's hygiene section

Din is just obsessed for human food at this point, and he feels things for the reader even of he doesn't want to admit it quite yet

Din also may be oblivious as fuck, but he's also observant, hes a bounty hunter for fucks sake, he needs to be able to pick up on these things, so yes in my stories Din is really good at picking up on emotions, even if he doesn't fully know how to react to them

Im aiming for a slow burn foc, but to be honest with you all, chances are it is going to be a regularly paced romance, which for my writing is slow paced, so yeah the idiots are flirting and teasing eachother, but also like they will not be talking about or admitting feelings for at least a few more chapters

Grpgu deserves all the cookies!!! He's a growing tadpole, who has been magically healing himself while in a coma like state, so he hasnt eaten in days, and if he wanted he'd probably be able to devour 2x his body weight and then some, so a few cookies recieved in some kind of mysterious way are well achieved

Merman!Din Tags: @writeforfandoms @ahopelessromanticwritersworld @honey-goth  @mando-abs @lux-cream-67 @rachelle-on-the-run @katcharm   @ladamari68 @bluegalaxyprime @my-life-as-a-bird @altarsw @zarakem @stargazingthenightaway

(Added the taglist in case any of you guys wanted to read over my thoughts and things bc I have some hcs and cleared somethings up ypu may be wondering about)

[lady-griffin]

I Became Engulfed by Desire...

This was a super cute episode and absolutely hilarious. Mary and Maria were the true MVPs of the episode. I loved that these two brilliant and accomplished ladies are absolute dumbasses when it comes to one specific dumbass.

Mary is just comedic gold. She is so goddamn funny and ridiculous. I love her so much.

I’m still laughing at this. Look at this desperate dork who just wants to be with her precious Lady Katarina. 

Maria was also pretty funny, but she was really more of the straight man to Mary being amazing.

Alan was also a great delight. His and Katarina’s scenes were very sweet and endearing and just made me smile. I mean really, how could anyone not smile or have their heart warmed by those two at the end.

ALSO LOOK HOW STUNNING KATARINA WAS!!!!

This episode in general had some stunning scenes. I particularly love this one image.

Beautiful.

Overall, I enjoyed the episode.

-

It is just filler episode, so I will admit a part of me wants to gets back to the actual plot and get to certain scenes. As I am a bit worried that some of favorite scenes will not get the full-attention they deserve.

And I get a bit more concerned when I notice that there is still a sleepover and possible gardening shears extra to be explored in the anime. Based off these images.

While I absolutely love the extra Manga Ch. 17.5 (it’s an absolute delight and just so adorable), I am curious and nervous to see how they will do everything that they have to do in the remaining time they have left.

Though, perhaps the anime isn’t going to adapt the whole Ch. 17.5 plot, but take the essential core of it for a future scene. Similarly, to how the anime adapted Alan’s extra chapter in Vol. 5 (LN) to the last scene of this episode.

I have confidence in the anime, but I’m still a bit nervous.

SPOILERS BELOW

Plot Heavy Future

The anime does have a decent amount to cover in the next four episodes.

Bully Accusation Scene Maria Disappearing Katarina learning about Black Magic/Nightmare Katarina confronting Raphael Infirmary Scene – Everyone upset/why they love Katarina Katarina Revisiting her old life Raphael’s backstory Confronting Raphael Raphael and Katarina talking on her farm Graduation Party

To be fair, some of these scenes won’t take that much time and some could be excluded or combined. But still, it’s a lot.

We’ll have to see how the Gardening Shears and Sleepover Scenes happen and when. But if we only had a choice between the two, I’d picked the former. I really do love Ch. 17. 5 with all my heart and would love to see it adapted into the anime.

Angst

I do hope the next four episodes will do justice for future events. I want my angst and I want it now.

I particularly want Ch. 18 to get so much attention and love from the anime.

It’s one of my favorite chapters. 

I love how everyone is thinking about how much they love Katarina while at the same time are at the horrific realization that Katarina might die and their helpless to stop it. I want that. Give me that angst and more.

I want to suffer.

Alan and Katarina 

If you ship Alan and Katarina, then this episode was a godsend. I personally really enjoyed these two here. 

I loved how the anime  included Alan’s extra POV chapter and Manga chapter from Vol.5 (LN). in this episode. It was well done. 

Their scenes were very sweet and romantic. 

There’s something I quite like about Alan and Katarina. I think it’s because their relationship is based in a genuine friendship.

Alan is really the only one I can see who would take his shoes off and join Katarina up in a tree. So, it’s just nice seeing them interact.

Also, Alan at this point, is the most normal one. And I think to a certain extent he brings that out in Katarina…particularly in this scene. Katarina was just a lovely, normal girl. It was nice.

It was lovely. Absolutely lovely.

Despite no one thinking of him being a real threat in the race for Katarina’s heart, due to him being oblivious of his own feelings, he’s made the most headway.

Also look at him blushing.

Alan x Katarina have certainly moved up in my rankings.

The colors and scenery of the last scene were really stunning. Just gorgeous.  

Katarina’s Desire

She just wants sweets and I love that. Also, she’s like legit eating the Witch’s house from Hansel and Gretel, so that was fun.

I know it’s not that kind of episode, but I would’ve also liked to see Katarina’s deepest desire – avoiding her doomed endings.

While the other characters (and sometimes the narration) believe there is nothing more to Katarina than what’s on the surface, we know that’s not true. Or at least not 100% true.

And I may be looking into this way more deeply than I should.

But since Katarina was essential to everyone else’s desire and she was actually in the book with them, that makes me wonder if Katarina wasn’t there – would they have been satisfied with a fictional Katarina?

Or would they be like Katarina and not be satisfied with their fictional sweets?

The Harem’s Desires

This might be controversial, but I didn’t think their desires for Katarina were honestly that bad as some people have made them out to be. When I had crushes, my ideal situations and fantasies were just as ridiculous and over the top.

That being said, they could’ve definitely improved on how they showed them with one simple fix.

Have Katarina blushing and eyes sparkling, more than what they showed in the episode. That would have easily worked – Katarina is a huge fan of romance. She is so into it (which is why it’s so hilarious she’s oblivious to what’s happening in her life).

I don’t think the desires were awful or even bad, but they were somewhat off-putting for me. And I did feel like they missed the mark.  

Geordo

All I can think about is the weird Matrix moves in his fantasy…what a fucking dork.

But at the core he wants to get married to Katarina and have her all to himself without anyone interrupting them (for one night)…which yeah, I get that. Every time he’s alone with Katarina for more than 3 minutes, Keith breaks down the door.

I have mixed feelings towards Geordo saying he likes the uncomfortable face of Katarina’s. On the one hand, we’re seeing that so-called sadistic side of Geordo that we keep hearing about but never really see. 

But still…bad Geordo. Very bad. I’m rooting for you, don’t make me regret it.

For me, that statement is a darker take on what Geordo’s desire are stated to be in The Light Novels.

There’s a difference between this –

And this- 

It’s the difference between a cabin in the woods vs. a cottage in the forest. Essentially the same concept, but the words make all the difference.

Changing that line from uncomfortable to embarrassed or flustered would’ve been a huge improvement. But there’s nothing we can do about that now and in the end, I did find the overall scene funny.

Though I feel like the anime is a bit of a let down when it comes to Geordo, so there is that. 

Keith

I liked Keith’s desire the least. Surprisingly enough, it really had nothing to do with the pseudo-incest.

It was just the most off-putting for me. I did not like the weird lip-licking thing he did… I wasn’t a fan at all.

Sophia

She’s very bold; I’ll give her that.

But also, poor Sophia. Katarina has no idea that Sophia (or the other gals) has any romantic intention towards her and just thinks it’s fully platonic

…because slamming your friend against a wall is super platonic Katarina…

Nicol

This one was probably the funniest fantasy to me. The sounds Nicol made when he was jumping around the city were so funny to me. It was like they were out of a video game.

Also, Nicol’s desire to be The Devilish Count means that either Katarina or Sophia (definitely Sophia) told him that Katarina sees him being similar to the Count. And I guess after he learned that, Nicol read the entire book series and wants to be that way for Katarina.

He wants to be confident around her and have the freedom (and no guilt) in romantically wooing her.

Which is nice, but also what a dork.

Also, Katarina’s dress in his fantasy is either the same as Katarina’s birthday dress, but in a different color. Or at the very least, very similar.

Possibly because Nicol got to dance with Katarina on her birthday and his fantasy did involve dancing with her. A nice bit of detail.

Mary’s reaction to his fantasy, was a gem among gems.

Alan

He wants to play a recital for Katarina. Which is just so touching. Seriously, Alan is killing me with his sweetness.

If I’m not mistaken, Katarina is wearing the same dress she wore to his recital during their summer break. So, it seems very likely he’s playing “Dedicated to You, My Beloved” to well his beloved.

I’m assuming there was more to his desire, but Mary shutting the book was hilarious.

Also, Alan got pretty damn close to his desire in the real world, so good on him.

-

I feel like it’s safe to say that Mary and Maria’s desire if they were amplified by the book, would be at the same level of everyone else’s’. 

Which is fun to imagine. Especially Mary’s desire for Katarina. 

Also, everyone realizing that not only did Mary and Maria sees their desire for Katarina, but Katarina experienced their desire was so funny. They all just stood up and left. A+ comedy.

The Study Session Growing

It was fun seeing everyone join in on Mary’s alone time with Katarina, one by one, and Mary’s frustration building up.

Evil Harem.

If we ever wanted to see the Harem as “evil,” this is not a bad reference point in terms of visuals.

 Raphael

I love the red herrings surrounding him. It appears he’s just falling for Katarina, which technically he is, but that’s just scratching the surface of what’s actually going on.

-

Overall, it was nice and cute episode and really funny and ridiculous.

We got a bit more of a look into the characters and their desires for Katarina, but really the main development was between Alan and Katarina. Who would’ve thought?

Oh, and Mary being the funniest character alive.

[michyeosseo]

2020 creator wrap: favorite works

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 (or so) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

been tagged thrice so speaking as my tumblog’s biggest fan, let’s add that up, alright? this will be a pick per month + short description on why i the heck i kept opening ps for them (ಥ _ ಥ)

january - with the lyrics of her hopes in song form, a light-filled gongju & eunhee set was how i started this year. appropriate, in retrospect.

february - black dog sans forgetica. unlike other high school dramas, there wasn’t much fanfare about this because instead of focusing on a teen and their dream, we meet ko haneul who is just trying to meet the standards of a permanent teaching position. unglamorous yet wrung out quiet, reassuring tears.

march - an entry for kww featuring hwansaengdam!han yeri. lack of vidding skills aside, i don’t think i did this a disservice because i thought hard about this category connection-wise. 

april - unabashed eunjung × somin lovin’. listen, that caption i used is all the context one needs to hear about my melo suits me sentiments.

may - had qingpingle been a story about and for danshu & huirou, maybe the serenade part of the title won’t be a detestable lie™. started drafting this with affection but as the series arduously went on, can’t remember anything else besides Spite. no one gets peaceful joy out of watching that terror. (yes, this single-handedly took me out of my cdrama game for most of the year, besides my wasted nights of reading the source novel + getting a 4k copy for giffing.) deleted that without looking back because i do not want to promote this empty calligraphy to anyone. the only justice here is the increased potential for jiang shuying to receive tons of period drama casting offers from now on.

june - today in diary of an ahjumma spy, mvp misoon brought post-interrogation ice cream. neither my sharpest set nor the one with the best colouring but a glimpse of their shared experience over the years.

july - korean meryl streep moon sori has countless of gold dialogues in her directorial debut, the running actress, but the pretty argument is my winner. (you had the license for this but never bothered to subtitle, netflix? whyyyyyyy?)

august - birthday month = blaring homoerotic subtext. i redid this off a simpler version i tweeted. united effort to accomplish her gasping is more like it.

september - jein writernim, i swear i am not hung up the way other misty viewers are/were but mawma....... you had your synopsis that should not have arrived at that ending. dropped this about halfway through and out of the blue years later dreamt about the proper eunjoo comeback to hyeran’s life a la the handmaiden’s “my savior who came to ruin my life.” gosh, her power.

october - lovedrunk, timeless lesbian pining. high art.

november - i have not watched a park minyoung drama since *checks notes* that sorry excuse of a sageuk i do not wanna discuss here ever but for miss goddess to hand me slice-of-life about a cellist coming back to her hometown with a guy and a gal crushing on her since high school? signed, sealed, delivered, i’m yours.

december - right from the start, i made this weekender analogy — five children : wolgyesu tailor shop; once again : samgwang villa. the vibes was off in week one and i thought that was the end of that. but faced with a kim sunyoung-jin kijoo paired as at-odds-at-all-times aunt and eldest niece and it’s a presently losing battle with my frenemy creative team. humor me some more and actually land this all the way.

bonus & those i’m tagging under the cut

extracurricular × villain by stella jang

no ragrets i pulled an all-nighter for this pun greeting

practically the entire content of my two other active sideblogs @georgiousburnham & @lolacoasters where y’all can find me whenever the main queue here runs empty

tagged by @drivingsideways @melonatures @ohyangchon ♡

tagging @onaperduamedee @lonely-night @captalnlaika @jingyans @dramaintherain @waegashi-tofu @aheartandashirt @cuddlybitch

[jadelotusflower]

March 2021 Roundup

Reading

Benevolence by Julie Janson - One of those books that caught my eye at the library (I’m a sucker for the “top picks” shelf) and I’m glad I picked up. The story of Muraging, given over in 1813 to the Parramatta Native School, but always trying to find a way back to her family and culture in the brutal early days of colonisation - resilient in the face of so much hardship. Janson is a Burruberongal woman of the Durag Aboriginal Nation, and Muraging is based on her great-great grandmother and Durag oral histories. An engrossing but often difficult read, about a period of history not often told from this perspective.

One Day by David Nicholls - A book that has been sitting on my bookshelf for so long I don’t even remember buying it. I vaguely recall seeing the movie adaptation on a plane once so must have enjoyed it, but can’t say I would recommend this book. Depicting St Swithin’s Day every year in the lives of two absolute character cliches, from one night stand, to friendship, romance and marriage. The concept is neat and the writing has wit, but I just couldn’t bring myself to care about Dex (insufferable twat) and Emma (not like other girls) or their love story. Okay, it’s not that bad. It kind of grew on me by the end.

Watching

Superman and Lois (episodes 1-5) - I’ve had reservations about this show because of this but am giving it a shot. I have not followed the Arrowverse/Crisis but a friend did her best to explain it to me, although honestly I found it this show works just as well as a standalone. The premise is simple - Lois and Clark return to Smallville with their twin sons for teen superhero angst part two. To be honest, it feels so much like a Smallville revival that...I kind of wish it was?  

Tyler Hoechlin makes a good Clark, but that padded Superman suit is an embarrassment - get rid of those fake muscles and show us some super collarbones! Elizabeth Tulloch is growing on me as Lois - she’s very...subdued, but imo lacking that spark Kidder, Hatcher, and Durance had. Honestly, subdued it how I would describe the show overall. Also the colour palette is sooo drab because gritty realism I guess.

I enjoy the family drama aspect of it, although I wish one of the kids was a girl. I mean, I understand why they’re twin boys - the son becomes the father and the father the son and all that - complete with both sons being named after both of Clark’s fathers (is there a name for the trope of the hero’s kids being named after his dead family/mentors as if the mother had no input??). The Captain Luthor/Morgan Edge plots are still in the setup stage so hard to comment on them. 

I sound harsh, I don’t dislike the show overall (and there’s some really good elements there). We’ll see, I guess.

Man of Steel/Batman v Superman/Zack Snyder’s Justice League - I’ve never really been a huge fan of the Snyderverse, and have been trying my best to avoid the Discourse about the Snyder cut over the past few years (from both sides). I have however been following what Ray Fisher has had to say, and can’t deny my interest was piqued by the idea that there was an entirely different film out there that did right by its characters. So I went back and revisited MoS/BvS before embarking on JL to give the franchise another shot.

While I still don’t really vibe with Snyder’s aesthetic (it’s just a bit bleak and muddy for me) I think these films are actually better when viewed together as one long story. I can appreciate that he made an effort to step away from the Donner nostalgia, and tell this epic modern myth of gods among men, and can enjoy it for what it is. The Snyder cut was entertaining enough, and I quite enjoyed aspects of it - Cyborg is indeed the heart of the film (but I honestly wish it had been explored in his own movie), and Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and the Flash break up the dreary tone.

It was nice to see the Amazons again (and I loved “Amazon’s, show your fear”/“we have no fear”). I like this take on Clark and Lois, even if most of the relationship happens offscreen, and there’s certainly more in the Snyder cut - even if I wish there was greater depth to Clark’s arc in particular, less of the god and more of the man.

I did however notice a pattern in these films in that I was interested/compelled by the first world building/character half, and having my eyes glaze over in the endless action cgi-fest of the second half (I have this issue with Marvel too). And the Snyder cut is indeed endless - it rivals Return of the King for number of endings but is much less cohesive, like Snyder was throwing everything at the wall since this might be his last chance. There’s a nice montage at the end with a bit of hope, and I was thinking well this is a nice uplifting note to end on, thank you! But nope, twenty more minutes of grimdark prophecising (in isolation, an interesting scene, but felt so out of place to show the team torn apart again immediately after we’ve just seen them come back together).

I also lol’d at David Thewlis getting a front credit for what amounted to his cgi face behind a massive helmet. Collect that paycheck, my man!

Coming 2 America - I watched the original as a teenager more times than I can count, truly iconic. Look, I dislike the sequel/reboot/remake merry go round when it dominates the scene, but to be honest I am a sucker for a sequel that’s lovingly made and really just an excuse to get the band back together and have fun. Worth it for the costumes and dance sequences alone (especially the En Vogue/Salt n Pepper/Gladys Knight mashup), but I really enjoyed this overall. There’s nothing groundbreaking and it doesn’t try to be. Was it necessary? No. But did I enjoy it? Absolutely.

Actually, scratch that. The costumes and hair are absolutely necessary.

The Prom (dir. Ryan Murphy) - Now I love a movie musical and this was...fine. It’s sweet and I enjoyed Meryl Streep doing her best Patti Lupone, and Nicole Kidman clearly having fun (even if she can’t Fosse to save her life) although I can’t say I found any of the songs memorable. James Corden, however, is pure cringe for reasons outlined here. But overall it’s light and fluffy, and not a terrible way to spend two hours of your life.

Superstore (seasons 1-6) - I’ve been binging on this for a while, and it’s a fun little show about the employees of a big box store - it’s nice to see America Ferrera back on screen (with producer credit). A great, diverse cast, but MVPs for me are Lauren Ash as Dina (you may recognise her voice as Scorpia from She-Ra), and Kaliko Kauahi as Sandra. While it did touch on some real-world issues - corporation malfeasance, unionisation, etc - ultimately it’s lighthearted and pleasant, especially the series finale that just goes full happy ending with a nice break from grim reality.

Allen v Farrow (dir. Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering) - I’ve never watched a Woody Allen film, and the clips I’ve seen of Woody Allen films haven’t changed my mind on this point. But what struck me seeing the clips of Manhattan in this documentary is just how young Muriel Hemingway was - this is not the Hollywood standard 22 year old playing 17 (which is problematic in other ways) but an actual teenager with a baby face and childlike voice, in bed with a 40+ year old man and I am baffled that this film is so highly regarded - if nothing else it’s right up there on the screen.

But of course there is so much else, which makes this documentary hard to watch at times. To those who have followed these events there’s not much new here, but it does an excellent job of compiling the sources together and giving a timeline of events, as well as refuting many of the pro-Allen arguments, and giving Dylan a chance to speak for herself. There’s also a companion podcast which is worth a listen for added perspective.

Writing

I actually finished something, finally! Posted Debrief, a Smallville one-shot (3920 words). 1670 words done on my other Smallville wip.

Posted chapter 41 of Turn Your Face to the Sun (1865 words). Now that the Obi-Wan show is actually happening, I need to get this finished before it all becomes moot.

Total: 7455 words this month, making 23,962 for the year.

[themosleyreview]

The Mosley Review: Zack Snyder’s Justice League

It is a rarity in cinema to get a second chance at making a film. It is even more rare for a director to complete their original vision as intended while a different version exist. Richard Donner famously had a different cut of Superman II before being removed from the film and a decent film was later released. In 2006, Richard Donner's originally lost footage was restored and the film was a significant improvement and is the superior version. Fast forward 11 years later and a similar situation had happened again with Zack Snyder's Justice League. The film was stripped of Snyder's vision and just the bare bones were left for another director to wrap a different type of meat on them. The Joss Whedon or what I like to call the "Josstice League" version, was a lighter, inconsistent and leaner film that went for the fun aspects of the story. I liked bits of it, but as a whole it failed to live up to the ground work that was laid before it. It was then the bell for the reinstatement of Zack Snyder's original vision had been rung. It was heard and now his complete 4 hour epic has arrived and it was 95% a different film all together. There were character arcs, story beats and many visuals that were not featured in the Josstice League version, it was awesome and epic to witness. There were many different paths that this film took and I applaud the bold decisions made, but I also felt the same problems still exist in this new version. I see the strategy of bringing all of these legendary heroes together in one film and then explode them out into their own solo films later and it worked in retrospect, but it just wasn't built up enough. The problems I had with this version is that there are some truly over indulgent visual moments and the pace needed to be picked in some spots. I don't want to spoil the bigger surprises of the film and I won't go too deep into what the differences are, but just know that this is a Zack Snyder film in every way and you’ll need to forgive the film if it feels dated in terms of where the DCEU is now.

The cast in the film all do excellent jobs and I love that the consistency has been restored. Its a big cast so I'm gonna highlight the standouts. Ben Affleck was good as Bruce Wayne/Batman, but he was a little too jolly at times. There are 3 parts to Bruce: billionare playboy, brooding force of strength that is almost cold to people and the world's greatest detective. Ben has only gotten the first 2 right in the Batman v Superman and in this film. He's a decent Batman, but a good Bruce Wayne. Gal Gadot was great as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman and once again she brings home the inspiration and strength the character means to all of us. Henry Cavill comes back as Clark Kent/Superman and I liked that we see him slowly comeback to the man we knew him to be. There are moments where he is even more brutal than the Josstice League version and it was somewhat terrifying. Jason Mamoa was extra brooding and cool as Arthur Curry/Aquaman and I liked that we see more of his arc as he begins to make the decisions that would lead to his solo film. Ezra Miller gets more time to shine as Barry Allen/The Flash and I liked his comedic timing and how much of a dork he is. His scenes with his father played by Billy Crudup were touching and gave him more purpose. Now the real MVP and the one character that had the strongest story was Victor Stone/Cyborg portrayed wonderfully by Ray Fisher. Even in the Josstice League version, Ray Fisher was the highlight of the film and he is even more so here. His story in the film was the most heartfelt and the evolution of Victor excepting his new life was amazing and I felt the film was almost completely his. Joe Morton was beyond perfect as his father Silas Stone and their relationship was perfectly strained as it has always been in every iteration.

Ciarán Hinds was still great, powerful and brutal as Steppenwolf. I loved that this time around you see his mission was more than just conquest of our world. His design is striking and his armor is pretty sweet looking with all the jagged edges and spikes. Peter Guinness was cool as DeSaad and I liked that we got a taste of what Darkseid's legions are like. Ray Porter brings to life one the most deadliest and dangerous villains in the DC Universe, Darkseid. I have been waiting for the day that we would see him on screen and I was not disappointed. We get see his brutality on full display and I loved every bit of it. I truly hope we get to see more of him in the future. Jared Leto returns as the Joker in a new scene and honestly, I don't think it was necessary. He was better this time, but it was kind of a throwaway scene. Yes you want to see Batman and Joker on screen and the entire sequence reminds you of Bruce's motivation to bring back Superman, but I just felt it was just not that great of a scene.

The new score by Tom Holkenborg was excellent and melodic throughout. He brings all the themes we know from the past films, but also introduced a few new ones. A piece that really stuck out to me was "Cyborg Becoming/Human All Too Human". Visually this film is spectacular in every scene and the 4:3 aspect ratio didn't bother me at all. Zack is very fond of slow motion shots and I think the effect works in a dramatic since, but when every consecutive shot after the next is in slow motion just to drag out your opening credits or something "cool", it becomes way too indulgent and it really slows the pace of the film down. It was borderline gratuitous. The film earns its R rating with a lot more bloody violence and a few F bombs, but that wasn't a problem for me since DC has always been known for pushing the limits. I just felt that there was a whole universe to build before we got to this point and it still felt rushed. The film diverts so many times that you can almost get completely lost in what the actual story of the film is. It is Zack's vision and I applaud his ambition, but I see why it was cut down so dramatically. Is this the superior film to Josstic League? Absolutely! Is it a bold direction for DC? Yes. Did it need to be a 4 hour epic? No. Could there have been 3 different films made from this one epic? Yes. In the end, I enjoyed this better than the previous version and it did not disappoint. Definitely a must watch if you've enjoyed the DC films so far and a testament to the fans supporting a filmmakers' passion and vision. It is now streaming on HBO Max, but let me know what you thought of the film and my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

[sunmaylight]

TGCF Book 3 Reaction pt.4 - Wind & Water Master Arc: The Water Master Side & Ghost City pt. 3, Party City in the Crimson Light

Here we are. At the second (?) half of the Wind and Water Master Arc. I don’t know about the rest of the community, but I now consider that the Wind and Water Master Arc to be split on which of the two Elemental Masters are focused. With Wind Masters’s arc first and Water Master’s arc second.

I am excited cause the Water Master side had a going in it. Especially since the Black Water Sinking Ship - He is going to be introduced. I wonder how his lair will be compared to Hua Cheng’s. Can’t wait

Obviously, what I forgot to mention earlier. If you haven’t figured it out already,

SPOILERS FOR THE BOOK

Ch 119: Xie Lian says Four Supremes, but someone corrects him that it’s the Four Calamities.

- Me: lol. He forgot Qi Rong is part of them.

Famous saying in the Underworld: “Crimson Rules the Land; Black Masters the Waters.”

- Me: Wow. What a quote from the book, got to note that down.

Pei Ming: Demon Xuan.

- Me: ...wait. Scholar He. Demon Xuan....SQX has He and Xuan as part of his birth name..... MF!

How to ride a Flying Shovel 101 with Ming Yi and Shi Qingxuan

1) Have the owner step on the handle

2) Have the guest stand on the spade of the shovel

3) Fly

Hua Cheng soaking in Xie Lian protecting him like a cat

- Me: That is one smug cat.

Fangxin is an old blade and has to fly for a long time

- Me: Oh, so it’s grand-sword Fangxin instead of Uncle Fangxin

Hua Cheng is standing on water while holding Xie Lian

- Hehe. Christianity reference could happen. Hua Cheng = J**us

The two get swept up by the waves and land on shore. Xie Lian sees Hua Cheng isn’t breathing. Xie Lian gives him CPR

- Me: Wait, do Ghost need to breath?

Hua Cheng opens his eyes

- Me: Oh! MF

Ch 120: Coffin Boat building

- Me: The ‘wilderness survival episode’

Xie Lian telling Hua Cheng that to him, “...what matters is you, not the state of you.”

- Me: *wipes tear away from eye* I-I’m not crying. Are you crying?

Riding the waves in a closed coffin that is designed to house only one person.

- Me: Well, I can think of a lot of ways where this can go wrong and horny.

The entire coffin scene until they break out to see who/what is whacking their ‘boat’. The are greeted to the sight of Pei Ming and Shi Wudu staring at them

- Me: Well, this is like what, the second time Pei Ming caught Hua Cheng and Xie Lian in a romantic situation?

Pei Ming taking Demon Xuan’s minions and forming them into a basketball

- Me: Hi, I need visual of this entire scene please

Action scene! The invisible water demons.

- Me: oh yay! I was wondering when that would happen. 

- Also me: You know, I would love to see a book of spells and hypological structures of how ghost biology is

Lake mirror shows another realm. SQX is trapped in a prison with others. Everyone, except Pei Ming jumps into the Mirror Lake

- Me: Well, what reference can I put for that? Through the Looking Glass? Wonderland? Movie thing?

Xie Lian asks Hua Cheng for Spiritual Power and has to emphasize on the ‘little’

The other side of the mirror lake is a place where spiritual powers fail. Xie Lian is the only fighter of the group now...besides Hua Cheng if  he decides to do something

- Me: Xie Lian, I hope you become a great MVP

Ch 122-123: Revealed that the group has ended up at the Nether Water Manor. They go to the manor and have a jump scare from a skeleton that literally jumps at one of them at a certain phrase said.

- Me: Oh, yeah. I think things are being pieced together in my head now...not a pretty picture.

They find a Distance-Shortening array that can only teleport one person at a time. Ming Yi is the only one who can activate it among the group.

- Me: Well, isn’t that the perfect timing to separate the group.

Xie Lian and Hua Cheng end up at the Puqi Shrine with the rest of the group is unknown. Xie Lian understands who the Reverend/Demon Xuan is. 

- Me: Called it

Xie Lian learns that Hua Cheng and Demon Xuan had some agreement in the past that makes the two unable to sabotage if it’s something important to the other.

Ha Cheng seeing Xie Lian do a familar hand seal: “...gege?”

- Me: *sob* I can hear so much emotions from Hua Cheng when he said that as the Ghost King realizes what Xie Lian is going to do. Confusion, realization, fear, concern, and so much more

Xie Lian is now with SQX in the horror game: Survive on Nether Manor Island. It is filled with running, hiding your intentions from your ‘best friend’ and trying to find your brother. Try your best to survive, or else your fate will be decided by Black Water.

- Me: Well, that is a horror show that I didn’t put much notes in. Must be because of how absorbed I was in the story at that time.

Xie Lian monologuing about his discoveries of everything so far. How he connects the dots and realizations to everything about Ming Yi’s identity

"Ming Yi” utterly destroys Water Master’s fan attack with a flick of the wrist and takes the fan away from him.

“Ming Yi” dissolves into Demon Xuan like water flowing down paint to reveal the actual picture underneath. 

- Me: I need visuals so bad.

He Xuan drags SQX and SWD to some dungeon like place. He Xuan gets his own brand of ‘justice’.

- Me: No comment. Read this for yourself

The horror of the climax of the Wind & Water Master arc ends with Xie Lian ejected from SQX’s body at the most crucial moment. He awakens to the sight of Hua Cheng sucking the spiritual energy out of his body to cancel the spell. Hua Cheng is kissing Xie Lian

- Me: Wow. Efficient. Don’t know how to react to seeing this romantic scene after something horrific though

Ch 125: Qi Rong ruins the moment

- Qi Rong, I would start running now.

The aftermath of the Wind & Water Master Arc ends with them picking up Pei Ming. Also learn a new side to He Xuan, he is a lonely man whose thirst for revenge fed him for so many years. 

“No one can know what he’s thinking.”

- Me: Now I feel sad for He Xuan. Even moreso now then before.

It is revealed that the fisherman were dragged into the sea during the Water Master’s Heavenly Trial by a third party.

- We have a possible thi- fourth party. Previous three: XL & HC, Heaven, He Xuan

-----

Ch 126: Xie Lian and Hua Cheng try to learn who is this other mysterious party is for dragging Xie Lian to Banyue pass, and now this.

- Me: Concern. Who is dragging Xie Lian around? Why are they dragging him around?

After the funeral for Water Master, Qi Rong is behaving funny. Hua Cheng barges in and takes the two away to Ghost City.

- Me: Ghost City pt. 3, Party City in the Crimson Light? ((Oh, that should be the other header))

The group is at Ghost City, without someone.

- Me: Wait! They forgot Lang Ying ((MY SON!))

 Hua Cheng and Xie Lian are by themselves. Hua Cheng practices calligraphy again at Xie Lian’s encouragement. 

Ch 127: Ghost are going out of control, Qi Rong escapes, Hua Cheng is acting clingy to Xie Lian. In the background as Qi Rong escapes, it appears that he has a routine with Ghost City 

- Me: lol. Even in this pain, they have a routine that is uninterrupted. 

Qiandeng Temple is sealed shut. Hua Cheng and Xie Lian are trapped. THAT ENTIRE SCENE OF XIE LIAN CALMING AN ALMOST BERSERK HUA CHENG

- Me: Wow. What a night that was for Xie Lian and Hua Cheng.

Next day, Hua Cheng doesn’t remember and explains that it was a sign of Mount Tonglu opening.

- Me: Man, Hua Cheng, you missed out big time.

Ghost have escaped from imprisonment in Heaven. Xie Lian is tasked to work with Qi Ying.

- Me: Qi Ying? That one guy that threw a bed at Pei Ming?

Xie Lian goes back to Puqi Shrine all mope. Lang Ying is around, though. He tries to help Xie Lian, but during lunch(?) Xie Lian burnt the food. He is about to throw it away, but Lang Ying eats it instead.

- LANG YING! Ahhh, no! Please be alright soon. Please don’t get food poisoning.

Xie Lian is laying down in bed thinking of Hua Cheng.

- Me: Xie Lian missing Hua Cheng like a wife missing her husband on a business trip

Quan Yizhen is on the floor choking on Xie Lian’s cooking. He is revealed to be the one giving Xie Lian the gold bars

- Me: Xie Lian. What kind of ally did you make? QYZ seems like an instinctive guy.

Lang Ying speaking up and being bolder.

- Me: Did Hua Cheng do something to Lang Ying to make him grow more of a backbone?

Now that QYZ is here, Xie Lian debriefs him on the new mission. Find the Brocade Immortal Robe

Ch 128 author (MXTX) notes: No one can eat Xie Lian’s cooking besides Hua Cheng.

- Me: Wow. Way to give a spoiler. But okay, that makes sense.

-----

Ahh, the Mount Tonglu arc is coming soon. First there has to be the chaos that the opening of Mount Tonglu brought.

[enigmaticxbee]

✖️✖️✖️✖️ 3x02 Paper Clip

The one where... Mulder & Scully find a building full of secret files in West Virginia and Skinner makes a deal to save them. Part 3 of 3.

Best: The reunion scene. Partner’s holding your boss at gunpoint in your apartment? Mulder backs her up, no questions asked. And then the little smile Scully tries (and fails) to suppress at the elevator. That little burst of joy at seeing him right there in front of her. She just knew he was alive, and she tells him. I think she knows she loves him in that moment. A lot happens to them in this episode, and I’m sure she internally walks it back, but in that moment she knows.

Worst: WMM says he knows much, much more, and they just... let him walk away. Also, I don’t know what the white buffalo story is supposed to symbolize... I kind of zone out during some of these voiceovers (😬).

✔️ Flashlights

❌ Woods

❌ Slideshow

❌ Autopsy

✔️ Evidence Disappears

✔️ Scully Misses It

✔️ Mulder Ditch (briefly at the mine - so that only Mulder sees the UFO 🤨)

❌ Sunflower Seeds

✔️ Voiceover: Albert Hosteen

❌ Catch Phrase: Mulder (TTIOT)

❌ Scully is a Medical Doctor

❌ Mulder is Spooky

✔️ Scuuullllaaaaayy! Muullllderrrr!

❌ Fox/Dana

✔️ Inappropriate Touching (that I am here for)

✔️ Casual Scully

✔️ Casual Mulder

❌ Trench Coats

❌ Bad Tie Watch

❌ Glasses Watch

✔️ Taking! It! Personally!: Mulder

50 States: DC x14, West Virginia, Maryland x4, & Connecticut x3 (26/50)

Investigate: Together

Solve Rate: 65%

❌ Bechdel Test: No conversation between female characters (I don’t think Scully interacts with another woman all episode)

MSR: 🐝🐝🐝

Goriness: 👽

Creepiness: 👽👽

Humor: 👽

Rewatch Thoughts:

1. What’s the truth that Mulder hopes to find? Why they killed his father. What happened to his sister. What they did to Scully. It’s all personal. It’s not about exposing the conspiracy to the public or any of the high minded speeches he’s given about the capital-T Truth. It’s about finding out what happened to his family and his best friend. Scully reminds him that without the possibility and pursuit of Justice those answers aren’t any good to anyone but Mulder. But it’s also personal to Scully and she still has the chance to be there for her sister, and Mulder understands that. They have that in common now - have both lost their fathers and their sisters.

2. Headcanon: I may have read a fanfic to this effect at some point (someone want to write this fic for me???) but I love the idea of Mulder and Scully sleeping together that night after escaping from the mine before meeting Skinner but they can’t allow themselves to love each other that way yet (because of their quest, their partnership, their many emotional issues, their terrible communication skills about anything personal, etc). They put the possibility of a romantic relationship aside as off-limits and don’t broach it again until much, much (many seasons) later. They’re in an intense situation, on the run, their lives in peril, Mulder’s lost his father, Scully’s worried about her sister, Scully’s just gotten him back after thinking she had lost him - it just feels right to me that they would take comfort in each other, even if only for a night. This is a point I think that could happen early on and still fit into canon for me.

3. Skinner is the MVP this episode! Wonder where he found the courage to finally stand up to CSM? Maybe Scully’s righteous rage at the beginning of the last episode got to him. Or maybe he just finally had the right piece of leverage over CSM. He’s completely bluffing at the end, right? If Albert Hosteen had memorized the contents of tape, then Mulder and Scully would have been able to learn The Truth, even if they didn’t have the tape itself as proof. Also love the scene where they’re in a 3 way stand-off with Skinner at the beginning of this episode. Mulder and Scully always have each other’s backs, Skinner’s just got himself.

[kbstories]

Synthesis

syn·the·sis (n.) A higher truth gained from two contradicting ideas.

Every man has a breaking point - even Luffy. Good thing Usopp knows a thing or two about overcoming boundaries.

(Or: Sabo is in danger and Luffy is stressed)

Tags: Post-Wano, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Nakamaship, Canon Compliant (up until Chapter 977), Recovery, Usopp is MVP as always, Mentions of Ace

Spoiler warning up to Chapter 977. Anything beyond that is pure speculation.

***

There’s a poetic sort of justice to the fact that everyone knows and Luffy doesn’t, this time.

It’s fucked up, sure, a twist of fate so morbid only Robin would find joy in it, and even she looks vaguely sick. You see, repetition is a fantastic rhetorical device: There’s nothing more satisfying than a story coming full circle, when the intricate mosaic of setup and payoff results in much-needed catharsis. Simple and effective, any storyteller will tell you – and Usopp is damn good at telling stories. It’s the one thing he can be proud of, when everything else fails.

Usopp doesn’t feel particularly good about that – or anything really – right at this moment. Perhaps in future he will, by all the seas, he hopes he will because that means this too will pass, and they will emerge from it victorious, just another miracle by the miracle-working crew from the East Blue.

But right now, surrounded by the shaken faces of his crew mates, all he feels like doing is crawling back to bed and passing out until it’s all over. To run for the hills and never return.

Usopp can’t and Usopp won’t, however. Because it’s Luffy, and because he made that mistake once before and swore: never again, never, never–

The newspaper lies innocently between them, a few days old by the time it made it past Wano’s crumbling borders via a confused News Coo, a clearly-alarmed Bepo (he hadn’t even apologized for almost running over Brook in his haste to get to his captain, and looking back that should’ve been the first red flag) and Law bursting into the room the Strawhats have claimed for their recovery, covered head-to-toe in gauze and all warmth drained from his expression.

Usopp did not miss witnessing their ally that close to despair. It makes the bright smile Law shared with Luffy in their moment of victory seem like a distant dream, perhaps part of one of Usopp’s more ludicrous tales.

“They got him. They got Sabo.”

It’s like he dropped a live grenade in their hands, if grenades were made of words torn kicking and screaming from a nightmare they all share. Usopp wants to ask – They, who is they?! – and there’s always a ‘they’, the Marine or the World Government or CP0 or some other shadowy organization pulling the strings of corruption and misery. But it hardly matters because this… this is real, a realization that passes from Strawhat to Strawhat along with the black-and-white print staring at them from pages increasingly crumpled by nine sets of shaking hands:

Revolutionaries Defeated at Mariejois: No. 2 of the Revolutionary Army Successfully Captured!

And in their midst slumbers their captain, huddled in the softest blankets they could find and snoring away his injuries, and he doesn’t know.

The irony – horrible, grotesque, unfair, unfair – isn’t lost on Usopp. Two years ago, he would’ve killed to have this, to be there, to catch Luffy as he bled and screamed and burned at the pyres of his brother’s death. To save Luffy just as he saved every single soul in this room, Law included.

Please, is all Usopp can think of, begging to every deity he’s heard of and those he hasn’t, to anyone who will listen, let him rest. Luffy doesn’t deserve this, not again. Please, have mercy–

Zoro is the first to move and something in Usopp moves with him, a fledgeling sense of optimism fluttering pathetically in his chest. Because it’s Zoro and Zoro always leads them right when their captain is off saving the world or a country (or two). Yet all Zoro does is sit at Luffy’s bedside like a mountain shaken into rubble, a measured kind of collapse that hits Usopp square in the gut. He doesn’t know what the others are doing, doesn’t dare look away from their first mate, but someone is crying and someone else is murmuring comforting words, and that at least sounds like Sanji so the first must be Nami.

There’s only a handful of times Roronoa Zoro has yielded without mounting a counterattack right afterwards and none of them are memories Usopp wants to revisit. Not now, not ever.

“Who else knows?”, Zoro asks, the steel in his voice worn down to a dull edge at best, and Zoro’s hand settles on Luffy’s head so gently it brings tears to Usopp’s eyes, too. Luffy mumbles in his sleep and smiles, nuzzling further into the covers with the clumsy comfort of a napping dog.

Law, too, is staring blankly at that gesture before blinking, focusing anew. He’s so tense a muscle visibly twitches in his jaw with the heavy swallow working its way down his throat.

“Bepo, me. Now you. Kidd is suspicious but he won’t leave Killer’s side, not yet anyways.”

The mere mention of Killer serves as an additional sucker punch on top of the veritable tsunami crashing over them, on the mend as he may be. That could have easily been Zoro, or Bepo, and the haunted glint in Law’s eyes says he’s thinking of it, too.

Zoro nods, absently. “And how long till we can set sail?”

For the briefest of moments, Law looks like he’s going to protest. The Trafalgar Law they met a few months ago would have, grim and annoyed, and the one from just last week would too, exasperated and loud–

Since then, they have beaten one of the Four Emperors and sent another one packing with her tail between her legs, and that feeling of having your dreams within reach if you only try hard enough, if you truly believe in it and your friends and yourself, it forges a bond like little else does. Hope is a dangerous thing – it can heal as much as it can wound, and Luffy has taught them all, one by one, how to endure both sides of that coin.

This pirate alliance of theirs has long stopped meaning what Law had wanted it to, and instead turned into what Luffy promised all along: Something permanent, something unbreakable, that all-or-nothing sensation of trust that is as much a freefall as it is flying.

So Law just… sighs. He rubs at eyes deeply smudged with missed hours of sleep and close calls all around, and Usopp can see his shoulders bend under the weight of being a captain.

“I… I don’t know. But I’ll find out. I don’t need to remind you all that this– It’s not like Kaido. Our chances against Kaido were slim to none but they were there. That report, it’s already outdated. The world has been shifting with us being none the wiser, and it could be that Luffy’s brother is already…”

It’s like Law can’t bring himself to say it, as if even speaking the possibility into existence will make them lose something they can’t get back. His gaze flickers to Jinbei, briefly, then to Luffy, and sympathy deepens the lines on his face.

“I’ll find out”, Law repeats, firmly. “Just… be there when Luffy wakes up. Then we’ll decide.”

And though many things may have changed, two years and countless battles later, this remains the same, always, always. Being at Luffy’s side is a privilege and a duty no Strawhat will ever turn their back on.

Blinking the blurriness from his vision, Usopp looks at the bandages wrapped around Luffy’s chest with loving care and the deep purple of bruises peeking out underneath, and he clenches his trembling hands to fists and hopes. As long as there is a sliver of sky above them and the wisp of a current below, they will follow their captain to the end of the world and beyond.

Come whatever may. Because this time, they are here and they're not letting go.

*

Luffy starts craving food the next morning.

It startles Usopp, the hand that knocks against his head and snaps him out of his doze by his captain’s side. He stares at the questing fingers for a few uncomprehending seconds. Usually he’d laugh, spirits lifted by the prospect of Luffy waking up sooner rather than later so they can celebrate properly.

There is nothing usual about this. Usopp reaches behind himself to the solid weight slumped against his back, shifting fitfully.

Sanji comes to with a tense breath. “It’s just me”, Usopp mumbles and doesn’t ask if his friend is alright. None of them are. Instead he says, “He’s looking for you”, and watches Sanji’s eyes soften somewhere between relief and heartbreak behind the strands of his fringe, weirdly unkempt.

“Mh, thanks”, Sanji replies in a raspy whisper; he gets up and leaves, side-stepping the jumbled puzzle of limbs that are the Strawhat Pirates. Only once he’s out the door does he reach for the pack of cigarettes in his pocket.

Sighing, Usopp rubs his eyes until they ache in an effort to wake up. Fuck, it’s like he hasn’t slept for a year and it’s been barely twenty-four hours. Beside him, Luffy’s hand inches its way towards Nami – sleeping close enough to brush knees with Usopp, head pillowed on crossed arms – and Usopp reaches out, takes it gently.

Luffy’s palm is warm against his, slightly damp from the fever he ran the first few days of recovery. His knuckles are a busted, swollen mess even now, and Usopp is careful. It wriggles impatiently, this hand that knocked a literal dragon out of the sky, and then it settles in Usopp’s grasp and Luffy sighs in his sleep.

Usopp can’t help but smile a little. “Food is coming, captain”, he tells him quietly. “Be patient with us, okay?”

Back to waiting it is. Not for the first time, Usopp plops his chin on the edge of the bed and just… looks. With his straw hat set aside (and safely tucked against Jinbei’s chest where he finally found a semblance of sleep, napping against the wall on the other side of Luffy’s bed), Luffy is sporting a truly impressive case of bedhead, the rest of him lost in a helpless tangle of blankets he tried to kick off during the night. He actually looks his age, Usopp’s age, like this – just some nineteen-year-old punk among many and not the one-of-a-kind captain of a crew famous the world over. It’s a rare chance to soak up this side of Luffy, the expression on his face relaxed and peaceful and lacking the chaotic energy that’s so infectious even eternally-grumpy Law had to give up fighting it off.

A selfish part of Usopp wants Luffy to remain that way, safe in the afterglow of a war well-won and unburdened by the cruelty of reality. It’s the same part of him that remembers the loving smile Sabo directed at Luffy, sleeping soundly in someone else’s bed just like this, and asks, why? Why didn’t you stay put? Why are you risking everything when your little brother is right here–

It’s selfish because stopping someone from doing what they truly want is the exact opposite of what Luffy is all about. Because the thing Sabo yearns for is freedom, and as long as the Celestial Dragons rule over their paradise built on the backs of countless slaves, no one is well and truly free.

If there’s a fight worth dying for, it’s that one. And yet–

“He’s going to be okay, you know?”

Usopp jumps a little, his neck protesting painfully as he whips his head around. Nami snickers at the wince on Usopp’s face before she sighs, the brown of her eyes bright with emotion.

“This sucks but… Luffy is strong. He’ll know what to do. Traffy is with us, we have a fleet to back us up, we’ll call in every favor we’re owed, and then we’ll show those fuckers hell for taking what’s ours. Sabo will be fine. I’ll kill him myself if he isn’t.”

She huffs, then, having talked herself into that righteous kind of fury that’s uniquely Nami even if she keeps her voice down for Luffy’s sake. Usopp finds himself chuckling.

“Say, what’s our going rate for personal rescue missions against impossible odds again?”

“A lot.” The grin on Nami’s grin is knife-sharp. “The Revolutionaries will be in a world of debt just for making Luffy worry.”

“Good”, Usopp says, and grins back just as fiercely.

*

They let Luffy eat his fill, for one because his healing factor is largely based on burning through incredible amounts of calories in no time at all, and also because Sanji looks like he needs to see it.

As much as their cook has his gripes about the bottomless pit that is Luffy’s stomach: Only when his captain is back on solid foods and on track to regain the weight he lost while unconscious does Sanji allow himself to relax. For Usopp, this means making sure his own plate is damn near licked clean by the time Sanji lets out a quiet breath and shuffles to the open window to smoke. The rest of the Strawhats eat, too, a low hum of conversation taking some of the tension out of the room they’ve barely left since Kaido.

The only exception is Zoro, and Usopp can’t help the glances he gives the door every few minutes, as if he’d magically reappear just like that.

The negotiations have been going on for ages now. As far as Usopp gathered, the Heart Pirates are heading intel and logistics, while Momonosuke assured them whatever resources Wano Country can spare – after taking care of their people, Zoro had added with a huff when he’d checked in on Luffy around dawn.

That’s not the problem, then. Eustass Kidd is, and after all that happened around the Kidd Pirates and pirate alliances, Usopp isn’t exactly surprised the guy refuses to compromise when it comes to his crew. Killer is awake now, though, and judging by the explosive arguments raging on outside, Kidd is not happy with his partner’s input on the matter.

The all-too-familiar sound of three swords being drawn is loud in the ensuing hush, and every scrap of metal in the room vibrates from the near-oppressive wave of magnetism sweeping through it.

“Oh? Who’s fighting?”

“Zoro and Kidd”, answers Usopp automatically, sighing. “Again.”

“Ah, okay. Not seriously though, right? We promised them a party after all. Like, a big one.”

“Kinda? It’s hard to tell honestl–”

Usopp blinks and turns to see Luffy awake and tilting his head at him. His hands are yet to stop shoving food in his face and Usopp stares with his mouth agape.

“Y-you’re awake!”

“Yeah!”, Luffy says with enthusiasm, and not a second later does he lift his plate away from the ball of fur charging at him with the force of a bull. Calmly, Sanji grabs the food and sets it aside for later. 

“Luffy!”

Chopper’s tearful wail is followed by a breathy oof from Luffy as the reindeer clings to his bandaged chest in a flurry of hooves. Luffy chuckles, “Hey Chopper”, sounding pleased as punch that the doctor is walking all over him. Then he meets the half-circle of relieved looks around him, his smile only getting wider and wider.

“Hey everyone! I slept in again, huh?”

“Hey yourself”, Sanji murmurs around a smoke-filled smile. He leans out the window and calls, “Mosshead! Crew meeting!”, and the clanging of swords on metal immediately stops.

The Strawhats coalesce from all corners of the room, crowding around their captain whilst leaving enough space for the impromptu check-up Chopper is conducting. This, at least, is familiar. Frazzled as they are, Usopp’s nerves are soothed by Luffy’s easy-going compliance with Chopper’s orders to make a fist, breathe deeply, cough, does this hurt? and if the doctor’s hooves are marginally less steady than usual, well, it’s only to be expected. There’s a line forming between Luffy’s eyebrows though, and Usopp knows none of them are ready to answer the questions forming behind that pensive look–

It’s in that moment that Jinbei steps up, eyes a little solemn even if the smile on his lips isn’t. “Glad to see you awake, captain”, he says, and offers Luffy his hand, palm-up. Cradled with infinite care between webbed fingers, Luffy’s beloved hat looks small and unassuming; met with immediate delight by its owner, it might as well be a crown made of gold and the finest jewels far and wide.

“My hat! Thank y– Jinbei!”

The name rings with joy the same way it did during battle, and while Jinbei regards Luffy with some measure of perplexity as he’s drawn into a rubbery hug along with the hat, Usopp exchanges fond looks with some of the crew. Dire news be damned, it’s still a little unreal to have their tenth crew member finally with them, like, permanently.

They couldn’t have found a better helmsman in any of the seas, that’s for sure.

“It’s so cool you’re back! We gotta celebrate! Oi Sanji–”

“Not so fast, Luffy. We gotta talk.”

Those gruff words cut through the smiles and laughter like they’re made of washi paper; finally Zoro is there, skin glistening with sweat and droplets of blood pooling around fresh scrapes, and the unhappy slope of his mouth is an important reminder that fate doesn’t care about reunions and banquets of epic proportions. 

The change in Luffy is instantaneous, eyes snapping to Zoro’s. His attention shifts like the wind, a physical force in this limited space. Almost absently, he places his hat where it belongs, a captain once more.

“Zoro? What’s wrong?”

No one answers, the silence lasting a mere heartbeat and an eternity all at once. This is it, Usopp thinks, the moment balancing on the precipice before a future as murky and uncertain as the ocean’s deepest trenches. He closes his eyes.

“What happened? Tell me.”

It’s said with authority, a weight similar to Haki but kinder, reassuring rather than suffocating – and resolve takes shape in Usopp’s chest, an urge to keep his head high and watch it all unfold with courage in his heart.

It has a similar effect on Zoro and it’s only then, with his shoulders squared and gaze steady, that Usopp realizes how miserable he had looked without Luffy by his side. Guilt creeps on Usopp, acidic in his veins. (Later. He can feel shitty about all of this later.)

“It’s Sabo. Things… are not looking good.”

Zoro produces the paper – a different one, newer, and Usopp feels his heart clench – from the sleeve of his yukata and hands it over, pre-folded to the relevant page. All Usopp can see from his angle is Sabo’s smile, determination apparent even upside-down. It’s a re-print of his wanted poster.

Next to him, Robin draws in a trembling breath and Usopp reaches out for her hand, interlacing his fingers with hers to stop them from shaking.

“Sabo?”

It’s with clear surprise that Luffy utters his brother’s name, and Usopp watches helplessly as Luffy’s pupils flit left to right, reading, skipping over dense paragraphs and coming up to the picture at the top over and over–

Then he looks up, and Luffy’s eyes are wide with worry and confusion so earnest it hurts Usopp to the core. “I… What? But he was there, at Dressrosa. And he was fine…? I don’t understand. Is this a joke?”

Zoro’s eye narrows, something wounded there and gone like a shadow. “It’s not. I’m sorry.”

“I don’t understand”, Luffy repeats, insistent now, and he turns to Robin because that’s what Luffy does when something doesn’t make sense to him. “Robin?”

Robin’s hand squeezes Usopp’s, near-painful. All Usopp can do is squeeze back.

“The revolutionaries, they… There were plans to rebel against the World Nobles. The people in bubbles on Sabaody, remember?” Robin’s voice evens out and yet, her lashes are wet with unshed tears.

“It looks like they failed. We don’t know more than that – the Marine has kept the papers scrubbed clean, as always – but it seems your brother was in charge of the mission. They’re sending him to Impel Down, Luffy. That’s what it means.”

Impel Down.

Usopp can see the exact moment those two words sink in: all blood drains from sun-kissed skin, leaving Luffy’s face close to pallid in contrast to the mottled bruises underneath; Luffy’s mouth opens but no sound arises, no word of protest, no nothing, and Usopp would honestly prefer to see him scream to the heavens or burst into tears than this, this petrified sort of shock that doesn’t belong anywhere near Luffy. Then–

“We’re ready, captain.”

That’s Zoro again, and there’s a hard edge to his tone that Usopp recognizes as sorrow only because it mirrors his own. 

“Law has a plan, we’re fully stocked, the fleet is one snail call away. Killer wants to help so Kidd will come too. It’ll take a week to get there, tops. Just say the word and we’ll–”

“No.”

It’s nothing more than a whisper and yet, they all hear it. And even if they didn’t, Luffy repeats it once, twice, gaining in volume.

“No, no. We’re staying here. Sabo–”

Luffy’s voice cracks, and Usopp’s heart breaks clean in two, and Luffy pushes on, panting like he’s running a hundred miles in a hurricane.

“Sabo has his friends, and my dad. He’ll be fine, okay? He’ll come back. Sabo always comes back. So we don’t need to worry.”

That’s how it works: If Luffy believes in something, his crew does, too. It’s how they’ve always worked, how they’ve pulled off miracle after miracle and will continue to do so until they have sailed the entirety of the Grand Line and their captain is made King.

Something burns in Luffy’s eyes now and it’s not… that. It’s desperate, hunted, wrong. A lie said like a truth, and Usopp would know.

It occurs to him, in a distant part of his mind, that this is the first time he’s seen his captain truly afraid.

And it’s that what kicks Usopp’s brain into overdrive, because on this crew of reckless monsters he’s the one tasked with a healthy sense of fear, to manage the doubts everyone else doesn’t have because those are important, sometimes.

Because true bravery is a road made of boundaries and the means to overcome them, again and again and again – as many times as it takes to reach the end.

“Luffy”, Usopp says, and his voice doesn’t shake. He doesn’t let it. “We got this. We can save your brother. You have to trust us.”

In many ways, this is Usopp’s personal nightmare come true. He sees Luffy clench his trembling hands to fists, and his eyes narrow, and the vulnerability there bends into anger in an instant and it’s all so familiar.

“It’s not about that. It’s my decision to make, and I’ve decided. We’re not going.”

But this time, Usopp breathes. He forces himself to pause, just a moment, just so he can think and not lose himself to the panicked rush of blood to his head.

“We’re not gonna die, Luffy. We went through hell before and we came out alright, didn’t we? So we have to go. Please let us go.”

Suddenly Nami moves, kneeling next to the bed. She places a hand on Luffy’s wrist, gentle over the tense line of muscle there. “Luffy. Usopp’s right. Sabo’s your brother. He’s family.”

“I know that. I know–”

Luffy pulls away from her, from all of them, hides his face in his hands and pushes his fingers into his eyes hard enough that the bones in his hand show, thin and fragile-looking. One by one, tears start dripping down his palms and to the covers below.

“You guys don’t understand”, he says, his voice a hoarse, quivering mess. “You think you’ve seen hell but you haven’t, ‘cause Impel Down is hell and if we go there– There’s no way we’re getting out. Not a-all of us.”

It’s so quiet Usopp can’t even hear anyone else breathing but Luffy, every inhale hitched and barely realized before rushing back out. It’s like he can’t but speak, the horrors he’s seen and never talked about strangling him from the inside.

“Back then I wasn’t thinking ‘cause it was A-Ace, and he was trapped in there and not free, and just the thought of him dying like that made me sick. I only survived ‘cause I had a ton of help and ‘cause a bunch of people died instead of me.”

Luffy stops, and breathes, and rubs his arm across his face until the tears are gone. Usopp doesn’t mention he’s probably ruining the careful work Chopper put into binding that arm. Chopper himself is too busy crying his eyes out against Franky’s shoulder to really notice.

“I’m not risking it”, Luffy says then, eyes dull and red-rimmed. “Mariejois – that’s at Sabaody, right? Marineford and G-1 are around there, too. It’s gonna be a huge mess, again, and I…”

I can’t do it, not again.

It goes unsaid, in the end; perhaps, despite everything, Luffy isn’t actually capable of expressing something so devoid of hope, so close to giving up. That’s… more than nothing, it’s enough to hold on to, and that’s exactly what Usopp does.

“Then we won’t go to Impel Down. And we won’t go to Marineford, or G-1, or wherever those assholes are gonna make a show out of– That. Okay, Luffy? We won’t go to any of those places.”

“But… then how…?”

Usopp searches for Zoro, his gaze bridging the few feet between them that feel endless and Zoro blinks and gives him that devil-may-care smirk of his. To Zoro’s credit, it almost looks right.

“We’re pirates”, says Usopp with enough conviction for both Luffy and himself. For all of them, really, for one brilliant moment.

“We’re going to catch them at sea, because we have the best navigator and the fastest ship and the most skilled helmsman. We’re going to fuck them up because we have the strongest swordsman and a musician who can cut through souls and a freaking cyborg with laser beams and Nico Robin. And we’re going to be fine, because Sanji’s food raised you from the dead just this morning and Chopper can heal any wound and because our captain always leads us right. And even if they manage to account for all of that…”

Usopp grins with far too much teeth.

“We just have to get in range. I’ll shoot those bastards from so far away they won’t even see it coming, and if anyone even thinks of laying a hand on your brother I’ll shoot those off too.”

Luffy just stares at him like he’s seeing him for the first time, eyes swimming in tears. Then he laughs, an awkward, hiccupping kind of laughter that’s raw relief more than anything else. “That’s right”, he gasps, a hand rubbing at his chest where the starburst scar is currently hidden from sight.

“You’re right! We’ll save Sabo, and everyone will be okay, and then we’ll throw the biggest party ever. Right?”

“Right”, Usopp says, “and don’t you dare forget it”, voice wobbling all over the place now that his captain is smiling again, and he hears a fond sigh from Sanji to his left and a melodic chuckle from Robin to his right and Nami looks at him with so much pride Usopp doesn’t know what to do with himself.

It’s Jinbei he settles on, who gives his captain a soft look before he meets Usopp’s eyes half-way and nods, his smile full of admiration. For him. Usopp, son of Yasopp, from Syrup Village, East Blue.

None of his storybooks taught Usopp what to do after the heroic speech is over and the day is saved. And perhaps there is no trick to it, no how-to guide to achieve that dream of his – perhaps, for now, it’s enough to let himself be dragged into a rubber-limbed hug that threatens to crush his ribs, and share the laugh that found its home in his captain once more.

If that’s the case, then Usopp thinks he’s doing alright on the hero front after all.