#infinity castle arc is on it’s way to destroy me

[kisasan]

[sensivs]

Genya + Sanemi + You

(you never understood why sanemi was so distant from you and genya ever since “the incident”, shouldn’t he be comforting you every second of the day? Like what a REAL brother would do? Your heart slowly shatters as you realize that sanemi isn’t the ‘nemi’ you used to know..)

MAJOR SPOILER WARNING FOR THE INFINITY CASTLE ARC

“Ni ni nemi! Come and get me!” You yelled as you ran through the streets, “y/n stop running! You’re going to fall and I’m not helping you get up!” Sanemi replied.

“Don’t worry aniki I’ll get him” genya said as he then made his way over to you, grabbing you by the back of the shirt and dragging you back over to sanemi, you whined as you were dragged back over to where your older brother was.

Sanemi kept on pushing the cart towards where the market was, your mother had asked you guys to go grab some produce before it became sundown while she was gone.

You skipped happily through the streets, happy to just be in the presence of your big brothers.

You slept soundly along with the rest of your siblings. The night had finally fell and the moon rose to the tippy top of the sky.

“Mom is late..” You heard genya say in a hushed tone, trying to not wake the rest of his siblings up, a light pause stretched for about 2 seconds before sanemi replied “genya, you can’t sleep?” Sanemi asked before adding onto his sentence.

“I’m gonna go look for mom” you heard the rustle of your older getting up from his futon. “Wait, let me come with you” genya replied, “no, I’ll go alone. You must stay at home”.

“Ah- but aniki-“ sanemi then stopped genya, “you have to stay here, didn’t you promise me?” Genya paused for a bit before sitting back on his futon.

He let out a quick “hm”, sanemi smiled before walking out of the house, on his search for his mom. A little giggle caught genya’s attention. He looked over to the row of his other siblings.

“Big brother” the row of siblings all said after one another, “geez everyone’s awake huh?” Genya chuckled as he went to go turn on the light.

So there you all were, sitting around/looking out the window, wondering where your mother could be.

You turned your attention to the door, a dark figure sluggishly dragged itself to the front of the sliding door, “look it’s mom!” One of your siblings called out.

You were about to get up and greet mom but something in your gut shoved you back down next to genya.

“wait! That might not be mom!” just as those words left genya’s mouth, the sight of glass and blood splattered everywhere filled the entire room.

A dark, petite body hunched over in a dark corner, her features darkened by the shadows. She then launched herself towards to both you and genya. But before she could grab you both, sanemi ran into the women, slamming her against the wall enough to break open an entirely new hole in the already destroyed home.

Every thing happened so fast that both you and genya were petrified in place, tears running down both you and your older brother’s face. You both quickly snapped out of your trance and started to try to get everyone up, but to no avail.

“We have to follow aniki (n/n)!” You nodded and got up, taking genya’s hand into yours as you stepped over the shattered pieces of glass littered across the floor. You both started bolting up the hill to where the town was.

The sun rose steadily, taking its sweet time to finally make its appearance. Just as you both reached the top of the hill, you saw sanemi looming over the dead corpse of your mother.

“NEMI!” You screamed as you then ran into the arms of your older brother, crying into his blood soaked clothes. Genya steadily dragged himself towards your mothers body before collapsing onto his knees and bawling his eyes out, holding her close to him as she slowly began to crumble away.

“MOM!! MOM!!” Genya yelled loudly, probably loud enough to hear below the hill, “WHY’D YOU DO IT?! YOU MURDERER” you were taken aback by genya’s choice of words, “it wasn’t his fault genya-!” “SHUT UP (N/N)!! YOU ALWAYS TAKE NEMI’S SIDE NO MATTER WHAT!!!”

Tears bundled up into your eyes, catching onto sanemi’s clothes, you felt arms wrap around you as droplets of water fell onto your head. You looked up to see sanemi’s still-in-shock face but with tears bubbling up in his eyes.

That scene was carved into your mind at this point, never failing to make you cry every time you thought of it. After that day, sanemi kept a far distance from genya, and even after he became a hashira, he still was distant from him.

But he wasn’t that distant from you, instead, you two were seen as brothers more than genya and sanemi. You felt bad for genya, knowing that his twin had a better relationship with his older brother than him.

You walked down the halls of the butterfly estate, you had been in there for a good 3 days and were able to get back out there. Just as you turned the corner, you saw genya walking towards you.

“Genya! I didn’t know you were here!” You we’re very happy to see your brother after your days of hospitalization. Genya looked dead at you, his dark eyes making eye contact with your much lighter ones (you took your mothers eyes while genya took your fathers).

“So.. you’re also just getting out of the butterfly mansion..?” Genya just kept staring at you, not a word leaving his mouth. “Right.. uh.. catch you later..?” You left awkwardly, you could still feel genya’s eyes burning holes onto the back of your head.

﹒⪩⪨﹒

You walked the dark halls of the master’s estate, trying your best to keep your footsteps soft and unheard. You made your way over to your older brothers room, you had some questions to ask him..

You slid his door open and slid it back close once you made your way inside. “..Nemi.. I have.. a question..” you heard sanemi sigh and then a slight rustle.

“Ask away [n/n]” you looked down at your hands that were on your thighs, “why.. don’t you talk to genya anymore..?” You felt sanemi grow tense. The room fell silent, and then he finally spoke, “it’s.. just because I want to keep him safe… I don’t want him to be a demon slayer at all, this job is way too dangerous for a 16 year old”.

“But.. how come you don’t care about the other 16 year old demon slayers..?” “Why should I? They don’t mean anything to me and neither should they to you” sanemi replied rather quickly. As if he anticipated that you would one day ask him that question.

“I understand nemi..” you got up from where you sat and walked back to the door, sliding it just enough for you to slip yourself out of sanemi’s room.

You understood sanemi’s concern for your brother, genya was way more softer than sanemi but he was also more harsher than you so you never saw what the big deal with genya becoming a demon slayer.

﹒⪩⪨﹒

Your breath was more heavy than you last remembered it, you gasped for air as you helplessly lay on the floor. The booming sound of gyomeis flail and axe repeatedly smashing onto the floor and the whooshing sound of the two swords that were battling against each other were the only things you heard.

You groaned as you tried rolling around onto your chest, the wound left by kokushibos sword hurt like nothing you’ve felt before.

You looked around at the depressing sight of muichiro being hung by his own sword on a pillar, you felt so bad for the poor 14 yr old. He shouldn’t be dealing with this at such a young age..

You crawled towards your sword, holding onto the severally shriveled thread of life you you were clinging onto so hard.

You saw muichiro pull his sword out from his shoulder and fall onto the floor, “tokito-san!” You heard genya’s voice call out, the sudden mention of his name made muichiro turn to genyas direction and run over to him.

“Don’t mean to be a bother but could you give my torso a good shove?” “Genya!! You’re alive? Are you going to put your body back together?” “It’s gonna be tough tho” (these are actual words from the manga if you didn’t realize)

“So.. the upper moons hair is over there, can you.. uhh.. get it and help me eat it? I want… to fight til the end. I’ll.. protect aniki and [n/n].. I don’t wanna let him die..” after all this.. genya was still thinking about you and sanemi..?

Muichiro stayed quiet for a few seconds.. “alright.. we’ll fight together to the very end..” you smiled at those words, you were happy at least someone was on genya’s side other than you.

﹒⪩⪨﹒

You leaned on one of the pillars while holding your sword in a stance which said that you were going to attack any second now. You crouched and then jumped to where everyone else was, your jump was powerful enough to project you to hit kokushibos cheek. Leaving a large slash from cheekbone to cheekbone.

Your feet dragged along the polished floor, making a large squeaking noise until you finally came to contact with a pillars base.

You saw bullets from genya’s shotgun being shot at kokushibo, that were then deflected by his sword. In just a second, a tree sprouted from out of no where and trapped kokushibo in a stance on which his sword would crash down on muichiro.

Gyomei and sanemi then closed in on the demon, which then let out a howl of certain death, a sudden gush of moons from his breathing style were thrown back in retaliation.

You saw through terrified eyes that the hit was strong enough to slice through the tree along with muichiro and.. “GENYA!!” You screamed as you then ran over to him.

Your legs begged you to lay down and forget about your brother but you just couldn’t. You cried out genya’s name multiple times as he fell down, in two separate halves.

“GENYA PLEASE, REGENERATE YOURSELF!!” You then tried to push both parts of genya together to make him regenerate, but it didn’t work. “[n-]… [n]..” genya started.

“Y..ou were… t..he b..est.. b..ro..th..er t…o.. ever….exi..st..” you saw that tears were then pouring out of genya’s eyes like a waterfall. “im.. s..o..rry.. f..or.. b…eing.. su..ch.. an.. ass..hole.. t..o..you…… y..your.. e..very..th..ing.. I.. wo..uld.. w..ant.. in.. a.. l..i..tt..le.. br..other..” you sobbed so loud that you didn’t even realize the battle was won.

Himejima then ran to the both of you, “himejima-san! Are you three alright?!” You cried, “we’re alive, it’s okay” Gyomei spoke as he patted your shoulder. “Toki..tou……..toki..tou..” genya spoke, you saw gyomei turn his head to muichiro’s direction, his poor sliced body was laying there, unresponsive.

“Don’t… mind… me…… tokito-san.. treat him.. hurry” genya croaked out, gyomei nodded. But just before he went over to muichiro, he dragged sanemi’s body over to the two of you. Leaving his unconscious body in your care.

Sanemi’s eyes slowly opened, meeting your tear filled eyes, “m..mom..?” “It’s me sanemi..” you chuckles lightly. “Where’s.. genya..?” Your smiled quickly faltered. As your eyes looked down at genya’s poor body.

Sanemi’s eyes grew wide and he let out a loud and painful cry. Grabbing Gyomei’s attention, “WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED HERE!! YOUR BODY.. WHY IS YOUR BODY CRUMBLING LIKE A DEMONS?!” Sanemi then let out another pained cry, “ani..ki…” “DONT WORRY, I’LL DO SOMETHING!! NII-CHAN WILL DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS!!”

you realized that genya’s ear had already crumbled away, “sanemi! He can’t hear you-“ you started off before being cut off by genya’s soft voice. “..ni.. chan…. So..rry”.

“Back..then..I..blamed.. you….. sorry… and.. for.. being.. a burden.. sorry” “YOU WERE NEVER A BURDEN TO ME!!! NOT EVEN ONCE!! DONT DIE!!!! DONT YOU DARE DIE BEFORE ME!!” The scene before your eyes was too much for you and you broke down, grabbing onto genya’s clothes and laying your head on his almost-nonexistent arm.

“Thanks.. for.. protecting.. me..” “I DIDNT PROTECT YOU FOR SHIT!!! YOU MORON!!” Sanemi once again cried out, screaming profanities along with the cry. “You.. were.. trying.. to protect.. me…. And I.. wanted.. to.. protect you.. ni.. chan”.

“We.. feel… the same.. because we’re.. brothers….. you.. had many.. horr..bile.. mem..ories…. I want you.. to not die..”

“Because my nii-chan.. and my otouto.. are..the sweet..est.. people.. in the world…” sanemi grabbed tightly onto genya’s clothes as well, “AAAAGHHHH!! COME ON, GOD!! PLEASE PLEASE!!! DONT TAKE MY BROTHER AWAY!!! PLEASE!!”

“Th..ank… you….. my.. br..others…”

—

Genya’s death absolutely BROKE me 🙁🙁🙁

Also I just wanna put this out there

The reason why genya’s words are so chopped up when he’s talking to you is bc he’s in shock

Idk why I thought ppl would question this but the voices (/j) said to do it

[reine-uls]

Opinion on Michikatsu/Koku?

I find him funny because of his grandpa old ass. Always reminisce of the “ah when i was your age” or “back in my old days” but anyways… He could’ve more potential in the series. Was disappointed that he did not meet Tanjiro and all that. I don’t like the way he looks at Yoriichi while my boy did no do wrong against him. He’s too blind by his jealousy and power and in the end he achieved nothing. Kind of sad. At least he has some sort of honor and respects hierarchy or something. He’s quite dangerous since he’s too loyal to Muzan. I don’t like the way he hated Yoriichi for nothing and the way he left his wife and kids. He’s sort of ungrateful for life giving him a sliver of happiness what other people wanted, but happiness is subjective and his is yearning to become perfect and strong.

If i were to be honest, out of all characters I actually kin the most in KNY is him. Jealousy over people with talent. Hardwork does pay off however it would never be enough, nothing is enough and i would do anything to try to match that same level over the person I am jealous with, even if it means destroying myself. But i would realize it too late that I became hideous and would regret everything and question why am i even born. It actually hit me in the feels. I sometimes don’t like Kokushibo bc sometimes i see myself in him bc if his past. I also felt when he was beaten up for doing the things he’s not allowed, i felt the pressure of trying to follow the footsteps of your parents, i also felt the responsibilities of being an older sibling. I also had this contradicting love and hatred towards my younger sibling just like how he is. I kin Kokushibo man can’t wait for his scenes in the Infinity Castle arc.

[sepialunaris]

Amelia & One Meta 2: Book 5 and Creation of the Ghoms

Okay so previously I thought of a meta below where I used information and character arcs from Books 1-4 to predict the parallels with Amelia and what she did before, during and after the coup.

While I think my meta about her actions as viewed from Ryan and Min's perspective (returning their stuff and taking off the shoes) still makes much sense, wherein she wants fo free the passengers and humanize them from One's cold reign but end up also like him, intruding the other passemger's agencies by destroying their albeit flawed but needed therapeutic structure of the train w/o them in the know about it (as well as her surrender of agency and becoming a human steward, symbolising both her and One-One's growth), the reddit AMA and Book 5 storyboards shed more light.... and its darker than what I thought it could've been. The storyboards can be seen and explored in this video by WhitneyVision

Ghoms

At first I theorized that Amelia accidentally made the Ghoms some time later during her Alrick experiments, and took advantage of it when passengers started to hinder her progress to create Alrick, freeing them to the wasteland so they can't travel outside their own cars. And it did makes sense, after all she has the orb.

But then the Book 5 storyboards shows a Ghom, which means the Ghom's creation is tied to this coup. Ryan and Min are hella lucky they barely missed this hellish incident, because as we see in the storyboard the Ghom kills someone.

So while my first theory can still apply, the other storyboards, which shows One hunting Amelia and her baby turtle companion, as well as One being ripped apart by Amelia, using claw hands, makes me thinking... maybe One made the Ghoms to kill Amelia in a last ditch effort? Maybe he did that and accidentally created a bunch of them which let loose into the wasteland and kills many passengers. Or he creates one and fails to kill Amelia, so after she takes over, she eventually uses the orb to establish control in the train.

Murder

Reddit AMA also states that either One, Amelia, or the Cat kills someone. From the start my money was on One. There are 2 ways this could happen, the first I thought of before seeing the storyboards, that One was gonna kill Alrick, that he accidentally helped Amelia to ressurect and seeing her numbers increase, made him disapprove and murk the denizen copy of Alrick. The second option, is that he kills Amelia's turtle companion, which as the video states, could've been Amelia's first experiment to bring back Alrick (tho if he was Alosyius it would be disproven. That said its weird that Alosyius didnt remember One One if that was him). Or maybe it was Alosyius and there are multiple Alrick experiments, like the vegetable denizen that got "thanosed." Either way both of them would certainly enrage Amelia to the point of brutalizing One like that and obsessively getting darker in the long run.

Her reasons for destroying the Stewards also makes more sense now. Since One is using the Stewards to hunt her down and she would be severely outmatched by them. So after liberating the other passengers from the shoes and One's control, they would be destroyed. Only one Steward remains which is the one she uses to combat One and later reprograms as her assistant.

Sisjsjhs I'm so curious of what happened in the engine room during the Castle Car, it must've been a horrifying carnage.

[vacuousauto]

📃🎥🏳‍🌈

tysm for tha ask molli!! ill talk abt kny here bc its takin over my life rn qwq

spoilers ahead 4 tha whole series!!

📃 what is the plot of your hyperfixation? and is it a movie, game, show, etc?

kny is a manga w an anime adaptation thats had 1 season so far n a movies bein made of my fav arc!! (also this plot desc may not b perfect bc i havent read it in like 4 months)

its abt a boy called tanjirou whos whole family got killed by a demon, n his sister nezuko got turned into a demon (which fun fact: in kimetsu theyre man-eatin creatures w different powers called blood demon arts!!)

hes sent by giyuu (a demon slayer!) 2 join tha demon slayer corps so hell become stronger n mayb get a little revenge. as a treat (and also mayb find a way 2 turn nezuko human?)

as he trains he learns how 2 do water breathing (a sword technique taught by him n giyuus mentor, urokodaki) n his final challenge is 2 cut a massive boulder in half w his sword

its real hard 4 him (as u can imagine) so 2 kids in fox masks named sabito n makomo come n help him, but after tanjirou cuts tha rock n tells urokodaki abt him its revealed theyre dead???

@ final selection (basically a demon slayer entrance exam where u win by surviving on a demon-infested mountain 4 seven days) he learns from a real fucked up demon that hes exclusively been targetin urokodakis students n that not even sabito could slice its neck open?? (thats how him n makomo died)

after tanjirou kills tha demon n basically puts all tha water breath students’ souls @ peace he passes tha exam!! its been 7 days n now he gets his nichirin blade (the only kinda sword that can kill a demon, tha only 2 ways they can die is thru a slice 2 tha neck from a nichirin blade n sunlight)

turns out nezuko was turned by the strongest demon of all, michael jackson muzan kibutsuji, n so he sets out 2 hunt him down n try 2 kill him

but he aint so strong @ first so he needs 2 try 2 take down tha twelve kizuki first (the 12 strongest demons besides muzan)

another reason he needs 2 kill tha kizuki is 2 gather their blood for a demon named tamayo n her assistant yushirou!! tamayo can make a cure if tanjirou can gather blood samples 4 her (the stronger tha demon tha more of muzans blood they have so hes gonna have 2 aim high)

he meets a bunch more slayers along tha way, includin zenitsu (a scaredy cat thunder breath user who basically simps 4 nezuko n becomes a badass when hes asleep) n inosuke (a rowdy beast breath user who wears a boar mask n lived in tha mountains)

after lower moon 5 gets killed by giyuu, nezuko unlocks her blood demon art (exploding blood!) n tanjirou remembers how 2 use tha hinokami kagura, him n nezuko get captured by a slayer called shinobu qwq

turns out she n giyuu are 2 of the nine hashira, the strongest of all tha demon slayers!! but theyre all havin a debate over whether they should kill tanjirou n nezuko 4 goin against corps rules n travelin w a demon

eventually oyakata-sama (tha leader of tha slayer corps) comes in n tells em its ok, urokodaki sent a letter explainin that nezukos never hurt anyone n if she does, tanjirou giyuu n urokodaki all have 2 die basically

oyakata-sama also tells em that tanjirous met kibutsuji, at which everyone goes feral at (and understandably, none of em had ever even seen him before hes that elusive)

so they get 2 live bc theyre like. tha best hope the slayers have @ findin kibutsuji

the rest of the hashira are kyoujurou (flame), muichirou (mist), mitsuri (love), obanai (serpent), gyoumei (stone), tengen (sound) n sanemi (wind)

theres also kanao (shinobus pupil, flower breathing) n genya (sanemis brother, eats demons 2 gain power n basically become a demon temporarily, also He Has A Gun)

ive gone on a lot here so ill try 2 keep it brief now but i HAVE 2 explain infinity train or ill die (slight suicide tw but no one actually does that outside of dreams)

BASICALLY the lower 6 moons have a meetin @ kibutsujis infinity castle, muzan decides 2 dismantle tha lower moons bc they keep fuckign dying

all of em get their shit wrecked except enmu, who avoided death by usin muzans “dont tell me what 2 do” rule against him n beggin 4 death basically

so he gets a metric fuckton o blood n goes off 2 kill tanjirou

turns out he keeps killin people on his train n kyos gone 2 investigate!! the main gang (the kamaboko gang as the fandom calls it) are there too bc tanjirou needs 2 investigate what hinokami kagura really is (turns out its sun breathing, the og form and ones that only folks w the same mark on his forehead can use) n if anyone knows abt the alleged “fire breathing” as they know it rn its the fire hashira!!

so they get on tha train (inosukes lovin tha experience bc hes Literally Never Seen A Train Before) n kyo basically adopts the whole group

they take some tickets n promptly fall asleep HERES WHERE ENMUS DEMON ART COMES INTO PLAY!!! DREAM MANIPULATION BABEYYY

BASICALLY he can make people fall asleep in a buncha ways (the mouths on his hands, his weird eye thingies, the tickets) n once thats happened he n his henchmen can access said dreams (he can even control em!!) n if they find tha “spiritual core” they can destroy it n essentially leave em as an empty shell thatll never wake up!! yaaaaaay /s

he fails bc tanjirou realises a way out n its by cuttin his own head off in his dream, eventually everyones awake again n tanjirou finds enmu on tha roof(?) of tha train

after a while he does manage 2 decapitate him but surprise!!! hes not dead

turns out he literally FUSED WITH THA TRAIN n is plannin on eatin everyone inside, includin kyo n the gang

but he doesnt bc Main Protags Cant Die(tm) n dies while complainin that he wants a redo (sorry enmu, ily but u cant turn back time unless ur yoshikage kira)

also sidenote enmus tha only kizuki w/o a canon backstory as far as i can remember and????? H??

ANYWHO after that whole debacle basketball akaza (UPPER moon 3) shows himself!!! FUCK

n after all that struggle against the 8th strongest demon of all time now they gotta deal w tha 4th strongest????? damn,

so yeah it goes how youd imagine, its a tough fuckin battle n its Not Fun but it turns out kyoujurou fucking dies n i genuinely didnt realise until he said “kamado my boy, lets have one final chat” bc i was so in denial n lets face it i still am now

long story short idk how im gonna manage 2 get thru the movie w/o breakin down @ the end

anyway after that horrible horrible time tanjirou goes n meets senjurou, kyos little bro, who gives him kyos sword guard thing (its shaped like a flame!!) n i havent read it in a while so i cant FULLY remember but i think this is where he learns abt sun breathing??

after that they end up goin on a mission in tha red light district w tengen, his 3 wives are there 2 serve as spies (theyre kunoichi, which i think are ninjas of some kind??) n the boys have 2 find em

they do manage 2 find em but not after runnin into upper moon 6, who are 2 twins called daki n gyuutarou

after that fight tengen has 2 retire bc he got fucked up p bad from that fight n he wants 2 make sure tha girls are ok above all

so after that arc tanjirou n nezuko go down 2 tha swordsmith village (bc the guy who usually makes his swords is fuckin tired of repairin it) n run into mitsuri!! she tells tan that theres smth in tha forest thatll make him stronger

ngl this is tha arc i remember tha least abt so this desc is prolly SO inaccurate despite havin 2 o my favs in it)

but muichirou shows himself too n hes mean 2 tanjirou >:/ (he does get nicer eventually but 2 him specifically)

a 10 y/o kid named kotetsu shows tan this 6 armed trainin robot called yoriichi type 0 (based on tha first slayer 2 use sun breathin) n tanjirou breaks it by accident qwq

but he keeps trainin thanks 2 kotetsu but tha kids a harsh fuckin trainer ill tell u that

anyway so we have a whole buncha demons 2 deal w here except most of em are 1 demon split into different parts

hantengu n gyokko, upper moons 4 n 5 respectively!! mui deals w gyokko while mitsuri genya nezuko n tanjirou deal w hantengu

in these fights mitsuri n mui get their demon slayer marks!! these are marks that they get when they surpass the limits of tha human body n they look like tha marks demons have (muis looks like clouds on his cheeks n mitsuris is 2 hearts on her collarbone)

next up is tha hashira trainin arc!! everyone gets trained by each of tha hashira 2 try n unlock their slayer marks

each have a dif trainin style that focuses on dif stuff (for example gyoumei focuses a lot on physical strength n stuff like that, obanai is more abt accuracy) n this is where giyuus backstory gets revealed bc he doesnt think hes worthy o bein a hashira :((

basically him n sabito were absolute besties!! they both trained together n sabito basically told him not 2 die ever

but it all goes wrong @ final selection- sabito manages 2 take down every demon on tha mountain but one of em, that bein the hand demon that exclusively targets water breathers (theyre easy 2 distinguish bc of their blue haoris n custom made fox masks)

he manages 2 save giyuu n everyone else from tha selection except 4 himself (this is why giyuus haori is like that- its made from his sister n sabitos haoris)

giyuu blames himself 4 both of their deaths bc he failed 2 protect em n says that he doesnt deserve 2 have passed tha selection let alone b a hashira,, but tanjirou convinces him otherwise!! ^^

then one day while giyuus trainin w sanemi disaster hits- oyakata-sama, his wife n two of their kids just died

the 2nd to last arc- the infinity castle!! thingsre gettin real n muzans revealed himself

in tha infinity castle EVERYONES there but can u really blame em theyve been workin up 2 this 4 millenia

shinobu runs into upper moon 2- douma, aka the bastard that killed her sister as well as inosukes mum

she is. justifiably pissed. n she gives it her all but he kills her :(( douma ily but also FUCK YOU.

so perfect timing!!! heres her adopted sister!! as well as inosuke!!!! revenge battle time >:0

in the end shinobus poison is what kills him- her whole body is filled w wisteria poison thats deadly 2 a demon so he basically consumed her whole body weight in poison rip

but ofc word gets out via messenger crow that shes dead n its just a real sad moment tbh :( but theres no time 4 that bc giyuu n tanjirou just ran into akaza >:((

so tanjirous pissed as hell now n w their combined efforts they take down tha basketball lookin bastard (bastardball??)

meanwhile obanai n mitsuri (n yushirou iirc?? he uses his own art 2 control her @ some point tho i cant remember when) deal w tha new upper moon 4 (nakime, whos also shiftin tha rooms around w her blood art n makin tha fight super fuckign annoyin tbh) n muichirou genya sanemi n gyoumei deal w kokushibou (upper moon 1, also tha original sun breathers twin brother so he gets moon breathin >:3)

mitsuri n obanai fake their deaths w help from yushirou n muzan falls 4 it, which comes in handy later ;3

zenitsu also deals w his former bully, upper moon 6 aka kaigaku aka dickhead supreme who if zenitsu didnt kill i would personally kill w my bare hands

so after everyones taken down all thats left is muzan >:( muzan kills tamayo real early on n everyones goin all out on him

we also learn that he has multiple brains n hearts in his body eww

also the hashira have their marks now!! but all but sanemi n giyuu get killed n giyuu loses his arm :((((

genya also gets killed noo

eventually ofc the battle is won thanks 2 everyones relief, it took for fuckin ever bc the only way muzan can die is tha sun so they had 2 kill time n keep him out in tha sun 4 a long time

also nezukos been cured!! shes a human!! n shes comin 2 help!!

but OH GOD OH FUCK MUZAN TURNED TANJIROU INTO A DEMON N GIYUUS CRYIN N INOSUKES CRYIN THRU HIS MASK N ITS GOIN SO FUCKING WRONG but he gets tha will 2 turn back bc Fuck You Muzan, The Power Of Friendship Defeats All

the 2nd to last chapter is tha happy endin, the kamaboko gang visit tanjirou n nezukos house, giyuu cuts his hair n SMILES n tha hashira have their final meetin w oyakata-samas son kiriya

i cried readin it ngl their sufferin is finally over...... it cost a lot but now theres no more demons,,,

chapter 205 is set in tha modern day! kanao n tanjirous descendants are shown, as well as zenitsu n nezukos

everyone who died/never had kids get reincarnated (for example gyoumei is now a daycare worker, kyos reincarnation toujurou is besties w one o tans descendants n giyuu (giichi) is friends w sabito again!! makomos their friend too!!

ALSO KIRIYA IS STILL ALIVE hes the oldest man in japan!! this is huge bc the ubayashiki family dont usually live past 30 bc of a curse that was put on em when they had muzan

yushirou is still alive too but thats bc hes a demon n he paints tamayo for a living qwq

it just made me cry so hard bc waaah,,, everyone gets 2 live a demon-free life now,,, anyway typin this took me like an hour im sorry mint (as well as anyone else who read this)

🎥 do you have any favorite scenes from your hyperfixation?

tha infinity train arc as a whole tbh??? its basically enmu n kyoujurous big moment and. i care them sm. i cant wait 4 tha movie qwq except 4 their deaths ofc

🏳‍🌈 do you have any headcanons (lgbt, race, neuro, etc) that are important to you?

i have a lotta headcanons really!! outta my f/os favs tho i hc:

giyuu is trans bi n autistic

kyo is gay n has adhd

muichirou is nb n pan

mitsuri is pan

douma is gay

enmu is nb pan n autistic

[tisfan]

Lost Boys and Girls

Square: T5 - lost their powers Warning: fairies, magic, alternate history, dad!Tony Pairing: Tony Stark/Stephen Strange Summary: The queen of the fairies wants to meet Iron Man. Why does this sound like a really bad idea? Word Count: 1690 Link: A03 For the @tonystarkbingo

A/n I’m totally blaming @monobuu for this...

“You’re kidding me, right?”

“Uh, no?” Stephen rubbed absently at his wrist, like his fingers were aching.

“You want me, me, Iron Man, me,” Tony said, thumping his chest a few times to make his point better known, “to, and I quote, strip down all tech, and walk unarmed into what, exactly, did you say?”

“A court of faeries,” Stephen repeated. “It’s the summer court, if that helps any.”

“It does not help any, how does it help any, you do know that the arc reactor is the thing keeping a buttload of shrapnel from reaching my heart, right?”

“The Summer Queen has promised you safe passage,” Stephen said.

“Does she understand that I will die if--”

“The land of the Fey will keep you alive, until you return,” Stephen said. “I have it on good authority.”

“Whose, exactly?”

“Titania’s,” Stephen said. “She’s the queen of the summerlands, and more powerful than you can comprehend. Offending her, under these circumstances…”

“I want to know exactly how these circumstances ended up with my having to walk naked through fairyland. That sounds like a bad porno, Stephen. I don’t like that it sounds like a bad porno, I want good quality porn, with active consent and --”

“I don’t know the circumstances,” Stephen said. “That’s why we have to go to Titania’s court in the first place. To find out.”

“I love how you’re the one who has a magical fairy dust curse put on you, and I’m the one who has to go bargain on your behalf, with a magical fairy dust princess--”

“--queen--”

“Princess,” Tony said again, loftily, “to get it removed. How did that happen, Stephen, tell me that part, if you can’t explain the rest of it.”

(more below the cut)

“Part of the etiquette of the fairy court is stating your important connections,” Stephen said. “Name-dropping, if you will, to impress on the fairy you’re dealing with that you are, in fact, a person worth speaking with. If I didn’t have enough connections to impress, then I wouldn’t get a hearing at all.”

“I have a reputation, even in the fairy lands?” Tony wondered, scratching absently at his beard.

“Tony,” Stephen said, gently, “you wielded the infinity gauntlet and brought half the universe back from oblivion. Including Titania’s husband, Oberon. You’re quite literally the best known person alive in the universe. In any multitude of universes.”

“That’s… unhealthy for my ego,” Tony said. “I prefer just being the guy who did what needed to be done. And I don’t have the gauntlet anymore, I destroyed it.” He had wanted to destroy the stones, too, but they were too powerful for that. The best he could have done in those circumstances, he did. Returning them to vastly well-protected hiding places.

Even now, years later, he could feel the one in Stephen’s necklace, the time stone, and the way it called to him.

He couldn’t be trusted with that power. Not for long, and he knew it.

“She wants to thank you, and in exchange for your notice, she’s agreed to aid me with my… issue.”

“Your issue where your skin changes colors with the season and I might add, you’re growing leaves out of your hair.”

“More than likely, I accidentally annoyed a dryad, but as I cannot cure myself, I need to know to whom I owe amends. Will you please assist?”

“If the alternative is that my boyfriend turns into a tree, yes, I’ll help. I just don’t like these conditions.”

“I know,” Stephen said. “But I’ll be with you the whole time.”

“I’m comforted,” Tony said, as dryly as he could manage. Even if it was true, he didn’t need to scrape his face raw and present his sincerity to the world.

Tony pressed his hand over the arc reactor, feeling the dull ache where his sternum used to be. “All right, open up,” Tony told the suit. He slid his shirt up, twisted the reactor and removed it from its casing.

The pain was… well, he’d had worse. But not lots worse. His heart stuttered and slammed around in his ribcage like it was trying to escape. He gave the reactor core over to the suit and let it close up, sealing itself around the precious device.

“Come on--” Stephen held out his hand. Tony took it, and they stepped over the circle of mushrooms, from reality, to somewhere else.

It was cold, for somewhere called the Summer Lands. Like the day after an ice storm. Everything was bright and sunny, even if he couldn’t see the sun, but also frozen.

Flowers in bloom were encased in ice. Fruits were perfect glass globes. There was at least a foot of snow on the ground, and the crust of ice didn’t break beneath their feet.

Tony took a deep breath, and then another, before he realized that he wasn’t in pain. That nothing hurt, at all. He stared.

“We’re frozen in time,” Stephen said. “Like everything else here. The shrapnel won’t reach your heart, because no time at all will actually pass.”

“Magic sucks,” Tony said.

“That’s not what you said last night,” Stephen joked.

“Great one,” a voice said, and Tony had to turn all the way around before he saw the speck of light that addressed them.

If a lense flare could come to life, that was what Tony was looking at. A tiny little… person that existed inside a ball of light. That flew. And talked, apparently.

“If you’ll come this way, the Queen awaits.”

“After you,” Tony said, waving dramatically.

“At the same time as me,” the JJ Abrams special effects critter said. “Or you’ll be left behind.”

“Right,” Tony said. He wiggled his eyebrows, trying to express exasperation without actually expressing it.

He expected to be lead to a castle. An ice palace might have been nifty, and in keeping with the setting.

Instead, the little creature -- Tony couldn’t tell if it was a boy, or a girl, or even if it mattered at all -- lead them to what appeared to be a grove in the woods. Inside, the air was warm, the grass was green, and the trees were moving in the slight breeze. A girl sat there, in the grass, with red hair and a smart, watchful expression. She was playing with a puzzle, a dozen moving parts, and she changed it from a ball to a cage to a jacob’s ladder with seeming ease.

A woman, barely older than the girl, stood at their arrival.

She was beautiful. And deadly.

“Iron Man,” she said, and her voice was like singing crystal. “Welcome to the Summer lands.”

“A bit cold for that, but thanks,” Tony said.

“Ixnay on the arcasm-say,” Stephen muttered.

“And the good doctor, welcome.”

“I’m honored, your Majesty.”

“Quite the lover’s bond between you,” she said, and she reached out one long fingered hand -- Tony thought she had an extra joint in each finger, but she still looked graceful, perfect. Like his hand was the one deficient -- to touch something. Tony couldn’t see what she touched, but it played havoc with his feelings. He remembered everything, from that first moment when Stephen appeared, to the moment where Stephen promised the Time Stone in exchange for Tony. To the moment when Stephen returned and fell, weeping, into Tony’s embrace. And all the moments after, and the ones in between.

He looked at his lover with fresh eyes, seeing everything, everything between them, as the Queen must be seeing it, in that exact instant.

“You truly love him,” she murmured. “And he truly loves you.”

“It’s a chance not one in a thousand couples get, no matter what the storybooks say,” Tony said, unable to stop his mouth before it smarted off again.

“I like you, Tony Stark,” the Queen said.

“That’s good, I think,” Tony said.

“For the moment,” she said. “But I’ll warn you, I collect the things I like.. Falter in your devotion, and I may take it upon myself to claim you.”

“Not a chance, lady. You’re beautiful, and all that, but, Stephen is all I’m ever going to need,” Tony responded.

“Here, perhaps,” she said. “And now. In this world. But there are infinite worlds, as you well know. So, I will give you a gift.”

“I was told it was unwise to accept gifts, without something of equal value to exchange,” Tony said.

“Perhaps,” the Queen said. “But this is not mine to give you. She was entrusted to me in a universe that died. A last minute plea, from another Tony Stark, in another where, another when, who loved someone else. Morgan, darling?”

The woman held out her hand and the girl got up and came to her. “Yes, your Majesty?” She had a soft, reedy voice, and her eyes were deep brown and full of intelligence.

“This is Tony Stark,” the Queen said. “Tony Stark, this is the child of your counterpart, in a universe that no longer exists. She has no family, no friends, even the very molecules that formed her solar system are gone. She is truly, one of the orphans. And in that universe, the person that Tony Stark loved the most… was Pepper Potts. Morgan is their child.”

Tony looked down into a pair of eyes that were almost identical to his own.

“I cannot repay the Tony Stark of that universe for the favor he did me,” the Queen said, “but I can protect his child, and I can let her go into the hands of those that will love her, and cherish her. If you will accept this burden, I will consult with the good Doctor on the nature of the curse he is under.”

Morgan let go of the fairy queen’s hand and held out those tiny fingers to him. “Are you my daddy?”

Tony dropped to one knee, studying the child. In his world, Pepper had married Happy Hogan, had suffered through several miscarriages, and finally ended up adopting. She’d dated Tony briefly, but it hadn’t worked out.

Tony had never considered being a father.

But he saw that child, that little soul…

“I am now.”

[master-sass-blast]

Aaaaand one more Q for the evening because I need to retire - if there are any thoughts or tidbits about Hyde/Katuna or Hannah/Luis or Dakota/Frank or Hadassah/Frank or Piotr/Reader that are currently floating your boat, I would love to hear them, if you’re so inclined!! Pls and thank you muchly!

I HAVE SOMETHING FOR ALL OF THEM, OML.

Going under a cut again bc I’m expecting this to get long. Trigger warning for discussion about suicide/self harm.

Hannah/Luis: (This is the one with the trigger warning, FYI.) Okay, so I’ve been thinking about the first time they get into bed together, and I think the set up will look something like this:

They go out to dinner together (on a date, because they’re already romantically involved at this point), and Luis picks up on that Hannah’s not herself; she admits that she’s been in a depressive episode as of late, but says she’s fine with staying out when he offers to take her back to her apartment because: A.) her therapist says she needs to not work on isolating herself, B.) if she’s going to be out, she’d rather be with Luis because he makes her happy, C.) she genuinely enjoys listening to him tell stories.

When they’re back at the car (post-dinner), Luis asks if Hannah’s depression ever makes her feel like hurting or killing herself (bc he’s worried about her, not bc he’s nosy). She says yes, admits that why she wears long sleeves all the time, then starts to roll up her sleeves to show him her scars. He stops her and says she doesn’t have to; she smiles and says she’s okay with it.

Luis kisses her scars. Just saying.

Luis drops her off at her apartment building, and is about to head back to his place when he spies a flower shop.

He gets her some daffodils, then asks to be buzzed in and tells her he “has something for her.” Hannah buzzes him in, he heads up, and gives her the daffodils when she opens the door, citing “yellow is a happy color and might help perk you up” (along with an entire ramble about how it’s okay if she doesn’t perk up, because different things work for different people, and everyone’s brains are different which is so cool, but that he thought of her when he saw the flowers and thought she might like them).

Hannah cuts him off with a kiss on the cheek, says he’s sweet, and invites him in for a cup of tea. They drink tea and talk, then Hannah winds up kissing him while crawling into his lap, and then I think you can see where it goes from there.

Hadassah/Frank: Okay, these two are my angsty couple. They’ve both gone through a ton of shit, they’re both kind of broken inside, and UNGH the angst comes so easily with them. Case in point:

I was working on developing the growth of their relationship, trying to figure out how they wind up having feelings for each other, and it occurred to me that they’d probably fight a lot.

Aside from being stubborn jackasses, Hadassah and Frank both have very different points of view on life, despite being very similar in a lot of ways.

Case in point: Frank burned down his family’s home and everything left in it at the end of DD S2. Hadassah basically sees this as insanity and an act of cowardice, partially because she thinks Frank is running from his own self-perceived failures, and also because having grown up Jewish, she knows all too well that you don’t just destroy things that belonged to people and constitute part of their memories, no matter how painful it is to look at any of it.

They wind up having an ugly fight about it because neither of them can see eye to eye --and also because Hadassah is very willing to get downright nasty about things when she thinks she’s right.

They also fight about when it’s acceptable to kill people. They both think that some people have to be taken out, but Hadassah’s also willing to put down arguable innocents to “keep their six clear” or women and children (think the “Black Sky” and Hand fighters from Daredevil) because an enemy is an enemy is an enemy.

She also thinks that Frank’s “metric” is just his way of trying to absolve himself from his own past with his unit, because black and white seldom truly exists with villains. There’s always family, or a kid that joined a gang to try and make ends meet, and at the end of it, Frank’s probably killing as many “innocents” as she does.

That’s another nasty fight where they wind up not speaking to each other for a bit (which is awkward, considering they’re both staying in the same place).

They do learn how handle each other, eventually. Frank concedes that Hadassah’s tactics keep them safer than his do, and Hadassah acknowledges that you can’t keep an entire trove of stuff when you’re on the run, especially since it makes you easier to identify if someone breaks into your place.

Dakota/Frank: Okay, fun fact: the sex-related dreams Frank has about Dakota act as the story’s tell for how he views her, and how those views are changing. Let me explain:

This idea came from the fact that I have lots of weird (sometimes sexual) dreams because of my meds. I figured since Frank’s been shot in the head and knocked around a bit, he’d be a good candidate for weird dreams, too.

Case in point, the first sex dream he has of her is after watching a match and interview with the rest of Curtis’s group. She plays the cocky brat for TV, and his dream about her is him basically fucking her into the mat and dominating her because her arrogance/behavior annoys him.

As he gets to know her better and realizes that her tics are for the cameras and act as armor, the sex dreams he (rarely) has about her morph away from hardcore, domination focused stuff and towards more equal, love making stuff.

I don’t know how to end this, bc that’s basically the whole thought.

LLAMAS.

Katuna and Hyde: Ah, my sweet babies. My sweet, sweet dorks.

Katuna and Hyde get married at the end of their story. It’s a small ceremony, just with friends and family, but they’re okay with that.

Katuna’s daughter (who is a master seamstress) makes her wedding dress.

Not wedding related, but Katuna and Hyde snuggle a lot. Katuna’s favorite move is to lay her head in Hyde’s lap and have him play with her hair.

They also do a lot of napping together. It starts with them just sleeping on their sides of the bed (before they’re an extremely close couple), but eventually Katuna just takes to nestling right up next to Hyde.

Piotr/Reader: Okay, not exactly what you asked for, but I wanna talk about some things I have planned for the CHC:

Four AU specials for when we hit the end of the series! There’ll be a Zombie Apocalypse one, a loosely based on Beauty and Beast one, a 3+1 (or however many I decide on) Soulmate one, and a Coffee Shop one!

We’re gonna do an Infinity War fic that’s basically gonna be nothing but highlighting powerful woman, and I for one am Pumped about it.

Children of the Gods. OKAY, this miniseries is my BABY for the CHC. I have been working on and perfecting this arc for almost a year. It’ll be a four parter, brings in Karen Page and Frank Castle, Greek mythology, Alexandra’s assassin past and Mafia connections, and UGH. It’s gonna be so good, guys, you have NO idea.

Two kidnapping fics that directly impact the Reader, one of which will be the closest I’ll get to writing horror.

The Wedding/Engagement minseries, which we are V Close to.

At least two more smut fics.

Yeah, lots of exciting stuff! Obvs, I didn’t go into too much detail because this post would literally be a mile long, and also because I do want there to be some surprises, but if you want to know more feel free to ask!

[theonceoverthinker]

OUAT 2X03 - Lady of the Lake

Did you think it was safe to go back in the water?

Well, you’re half right!

While there’s not a lake, you CAN go below the fathom of the cut to see my thoughts on this episode, and that’s cool too!

Press Release Emma and Mary Margaret, with the aid of Mulan, Aurora and brave knight Lancelot, attempt to find a portal that will bring them back to Storybrooke. But a dark force threatens their safe return. And Henry tries to talk Jefferson into reuniting with his daughter. Meanwhile, back in the fairytale land that was, on the eve of meeting Prince Charming’s mother, King George poisons Snow White, and the only antidote lies within the waters of the Lady of the Lake. General Thoughts - Characters/Stories/Themes and Their Effectiveness Past So this is another case of the segment being all well and good, but not leaving me with a lot to say. I think the story worked pretty effectively, the characters were pretty consistent, and it was an enjoyable and emotional story to take in. I actually got choked up as Ruth was dying.

I did have an interesting character point to make about King George: ”I had a son I loved die before his time.” Now, when you take “A Murder Most Foul’s” flashback into consideration, should one consider George’s love for James as being love to the best of his understanding, albeit more problematic (Along the lines of Cora for Regina or a certain Infinity War spoiler) or as a fake love that’s just for show? His next line about wanting to “replace” James and the fact that he cried at James’ funeral makes me think of the former. Enchanted Forest I’ll never get over how disturbing Cora is when she pretends to be friendly. Normally, with characters like Umbridge, the creepiness of a false friend character comes from how sickly sweet they are, but that’s absolutely not the case with Cora. She plays her roles so naturally that if she were any other character, I feel like I’d believe her at first sight. There’s a warmth in her voice and a gentleness to her being, and that holds over to when she’s “Coralot” too.

Emma and Snow have a really great conflict in this episode. Emma’s unfamiliarity with the fairytale aspects of her culture when combined with her stubbornness allows her to gel really well against Snows understanding of the world and people here and it pits them together in a very interesting scenario where they’re definitely not fully getting along, but there’s unquestionable love there.

Additionally, the metaphorical as well as physical place where this episode brings Emma to is just beautiful. I actually forgot just how good the buildup of Emma and Snow’s relationship was, but the way that the episode builds so subtly and slowly to that revelation leaves me speechless as I am overcome by how profound it is.

“I’m not use to someone putting me first.” It’s so beautifully sad hearing Emma’s voice break as she says this. I know how a lot of people wanted more backstory for Emma, and don’t get me wrong, I’d never oppose an Emma-centric, but I feel like lines like this capture everything we need to know about Emma’s backstory better than any centric could. In this line is a dropping of one’s guard and vulnerability.

One thing that I think is misconstrued in this fandom is strength. Strength in this show is not simply the ability to yield a sword, make snappy one liners, or destroy an apple tree. Strength in this series is emotional vulnerability. Characters in this show are at their strongest when they make they discuss the darkness in their lives and why it made them who they are or what they discovered on their journey. Try to think of your favorite main character and your favorite moments with them. I’m pretty sure that among the more serious moments you chose, those where they expose the most raw parts of themselves to those they love rank highly. That’s why I love the final scene between Emma and Snow in the bedroom. It’s a revelation, and an empowering revelation, one that will come back during their later confrontation with Cora on the way home.

And speaking of Cora again...

Cora’s display of power in the episode’s climax is really amazing here. In the past, the only beings we saw her go up against with her magic had no magical or weapon-based abilities (Or in Regina’s case, she wasn’t aware of those abilities) and in this episode, we saw her magic take down not only Emma, a tough fighter, but Snow, someone we just saw shoot an ogre in the eye, as well like it were nothing. It made her (temporary) defeat so much more meaningful as it (a) involved Emma learning from her fairytale surroundings and (b) only came about as a means of unpredictability thanks to Mulan, allowing for Cora to retain that menace. Storybrooke I love how David is the only Charming who hasn’t spent an extended amount of time with Henry, thus passively characterizing him as the only one who wouldn’t see Henry running away from school coming from a mile away. That leads to some great bonding between the characters and further paints just how deep in the shit David is.

This segment does a great job with Henry. We see not only how good of a schemer he is, but also how vulnerable and unfamiliar Henry is with these magical elements. It’s rare that Henry gets such a central role, but when he does, until he hits his adult iteration, it’s important that these two things are present. Henry retains his competence as both someone who can weasel out of pretty much anything and someone who knows how to emotionally bring people together. But, the story is also clear to show his failings when his search goes too far with the snakes. It paints him as a kid, someone who can be overwhelmed with circumstances, but can also handle quite a lot, painting a more nuanced picture to his character. Additionally, while it’s only in one speech towards the end of the episode, we see the first inklings of Henry’s several seasons-long arc of wanting to be a hero in the same vein as Snow and Charming. Henry gets to talk about how he wants to sword fight and ride horses All Encompassing The theme of this episode is parents putting their children first and it’s pretty overtly shown. Note that every character framed positively (Snow, Emma, Regina, Charming, Ruth, and Jefferson) intrinsically knows this to be true and only needs to prove their understanding of this to someone else or reinforce it for the audience’s sake (Snow and Emma risk their lives fighting monsters to protect and get back to their kids, Regina respects Henry’s wish not to see her by getting David to pick her up, Charming doing more to involve Henry in their quest to save everyone, Ruth through not taking the potion, and Jefferson through heeding Henry’s advice and finding Grace for her own sake). Meanwhile, those negatively framed (Cora and George) take steps that belittle what their children want (Trying to get back to Regina after Regina banished her and George making Snow infertile). It’s a very well delivered theme that’s effectively felt throughout the episode. Insights - Stream of Consciousness -Emma, run! She’s bad news! -I really miss the more unorthodox Operation names. Cobra, Scorpion, Firebird, and Mongoose were just so clever and while those with weaker names are cool too, if only because they were normally named by characters who aspire to be more like Henry, I do like the really out there ones! -Watching the tall-as-hell Lancelot hugging the teeny-weeny Snow is just the most adorable thing ever! -”We can trust him.” *Rumple clips about knowing the future proceeds to play forever* -I actually completely forgot this subplot of Aurora being out for Emma and Snow’s blood! And now Aurora’s got a knife! -Lancelot’s actor, Sinqua Walls, does remarkably subtle yet poignant acting as a disguised Cora. -”Family is everything. Losing all hope of having one -- there is no greater misery.” *Can’t help but roll my eyes as I don’t want kids* -I’m loving watching this great Emma and Snow scene while Aurora is trailing them in the background. I missed that the first time! -Regina looks so cute in her moving outfit! Everyone rocks short sleeves in my not-so-humble opinion and Regina/Lana is living proof of that! -I would pay real money to see who had the balls to ask a magically-powered Regina to leave! -What a douchey throw! It’s bad enough you poison Snow, but throw her out? What a douche! -Awwww! Ruth is just so fucking cute!!! -I love how Charming’s performing his biggest display of sword prowess yet in the exact place where Anna taught it to him! -”Back away from my daughter!” Anyone else getting a Molly Weasley vibe here, or is it just me? -Ruth is just so loving to Snow and it’s so beautiful!!! -Going back to those short sleeves, Emma’s quite the contender too!!! -You have to wonder, did Henry know his late grandpa’s name from his book or Regina or did he just discover that little tidbit now in the vault? While Henry does give a weird look at the placard with the name, given how Regina visits his grave, it’s possible that he learned it from her or even through the book. -Also, not to beat a dead horse, but I love how Henry has an easier time unlocking the secrets of the vault than Graham. -Not to jump on a bandwagon that I don’t much care for, but Regina, you really should return those hearts. -”Maybe we should’ve gone with Operation Viper.” This is an underrated one liner. -Nice segue between the vault and the bones. XD -Ruth, no! Snow’s infertility is a temporary problem that can possibly be fixed with help from the fairies. Your problem? Not so much! I’m so glad that Snow learned from this come Season 6 when it came to another curse that befell her. “Parents put their children first,” indeed. -I know it’s night time, but i hate how dark this scene in the castle is. This is such a poignant scene, Emma discovering what should have been her room, but it’s so hard to make out! -I’m legitimately choking up at Ruth’s death. -Lancey, trust me. You want to stay FAR AWAY from that cup! -Okay, so all of my Ruth tears went away the SECOND Snow pulled out that sword on “Coralot!” Snow, I love you so much!!! You’re such a badass! -”I killed him [Lancelot] a long time ago.” Don’t be so sure about that, Cora! -Why does no one try to put the fire out? Like, water, a blanket? At least try! -Again with the badass segues from a roaring fire to a candle. Also, that candle reminds me of a “yahrzeit” candle, a candle that those who follow Judaism light in honor of deceased relatives. -”Is there something I should know about?” I love you, David! You’re doofy as all hell and I love you for it! Arcs - How are These Storylines Progressing? Emma accepting her parents - This was such an important episode to further this arc. The scene in what should have been Emma’s room is particularly poignant because for the first time, Emma gets to see a physical manifestation of all of Snow’s hopes and dreams for Emma and the fact that it’s all in ruin matches perfectly with the feeling of the two of them as to where their relationship is as of now (Note how after their final scene, Snow’s final look at the bedroom shows it repaired and in its original glorious state once more). Additionally, Snow in general gets to prove her support to Emma in this episode through her sheer protectiveness. And Emma’s speech in her old room is just a magnificent moment of realization that follows through on the conflict from “Broken.” Finally, she’s given context and it’s this that brings about the change in her. Emma and Snow stuck in the EF - We get to see a bit more of an exploration as to how Emma and Snow can hope to get home. I think this plot is so far going at a good pace, balancing out character work (see above) with exposition and world building. Storybrooke working to get them back - While not doing much in terms of forwarding the plot, David comes to the realization of needing to work together with Henry to bring Emma and Snow back. Regina’s Redemption - Regina’s redemption doesn’t get a lot of focus in this episode, but there are two big actions having to do with it. The first, obviously, is Regina preparing to leave the mayor’s office. It’s a great show as to the progress she’s trying to make and a great progression of her efforts. The second is shown not through her, but through Cora’s sheer determination to get to Storybrooke, something that threatens (And succeeds temporarily) to undo Regina’s redemption. Favorite Dynamic Henry and Jefferson - Now, to be honest, Emma and Snow had the best dynamic, but since they’re the main players in their plot, I wanted to highlight another dynamic so that I wouldn’t run the risk of repeating myself. Additionally, I did find that this was a great dynamic and given the hard time I’ve given Jefferson’s present form, I wanted to highlight just how impressed I was with him here. For the first time since the past segments of his centric, I didn’t feel like Jefferson was behaving like a moron while communicating. He, while still clearly agitated and off, was clear and actually spoke like someone who wanted to persuade Henry to leave him alone. This is what I wanted from a Jefferson scene because it’s consistent with his past self and pits him against a belief-heavy character at his lowest point who can relate to this conflict, but still disagree and provide real advice. And Henry’s a good character to do this with. He has a childlike innocence and bluntness that would make Jefferson more likely to talk with him. There’s even a great contrast to Jefferson’s common line through Henry: “Not knowing is the worst” and because so much of Henry’s current anger at Regina (And later on this season, Emma) comes from not knowing, it’s especially strong. Writer Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg, last season’s best writers, are up for their first shot at bat this season and they knocked it out of the fucking park! Three fantastic stories were told and the portrayal of the episode’s theme was very well shown, and only one occasion made it anything but subtle. I’d say that this is their best episode since “Fruits of the Poisonous Tree” just on the centralized theme and Emma’s speech. Rating Golden Apple This episode was delightful. As I said before, each ot the stories were really fun to watch and that was made even better through their combined theme. Each character got their time to shine, in ways both outward (Ex. Snow, Ruth, and Emma) and subtle (Regina). Additionally, Emma’s character development as she and Snow explored the land and all of its dangers was simply divine. Finally, we got to see Cora at her best (Or rather, at her worst) and further reinforced her menace as the main villain of the half season. Flip My Ship - Home of All Things “Shippy Goodness” Snowing - Snow and Charming are just so dopily in love in this episode and Ruth is such a great show of that. Throughout the episode, she’s so giddy and happy for them and she just makes every Snowing moment a million times cuter! ()()()()()()()()() This season better find a new body of water soon because it is on FIRE! Thankfully, I think I know just where it can find one. We just have to follow the crocodile. ;)

Thanks for reading and as always to the fine folks at @watchingfairytales for putting this together and helping me keep the lights on. See you all next time!

Season 2 Tally (30/220)

Writer Tally for Season 2: Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis: (10/60) Jane Espenson (20/50) Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg (10/50)

Operation Rewatch Archives Tags: ouat, once upon a time, watching fairytales, ouat episode code, ouat rewatch, jenna watches ouat, ships mentioned

[skylineshivers]

Being an Avenger ! (Infinity War jump & Bucky Barnes)

Hello ! So I��ve had this idea for a while now and since I’m a HUGE Bucky fan girl, I decided to make some good ol’ headcanons about being Bucky’s lover (let’s just say during his Wakanda arc you visited like very very often to help Shuri) who also doubles as being an Avenger !

As yourself, Wanda, Vision, Bruce, Natasha, and Steve exited the jet; you were met with King T’Challa’s face along with Okoye and Shuri as the king and Steve began speaking to each other happily.

Soon enough, from the corner of your eye, you saw your boyfriend walking towards the group with a new vibranium arm to replace the one he lost a few years prior after Tony destroyed it.

A smile graced your features as Shuri nudged you slightly before Bucky began talking to his best friend, eventually, his eyes traveled to you and he gave you a sweet smile, making you smile back before you all walked inside the palace together.

As the group split up for a while to discuss plans, Shuri led Vision and Wanda alike away to her science lab whilst Steve, Natasha, Bruce, and T’challa all discussed their own plans with each other; left you with Bucky.

You two walked in silence for a little bit until you felt his flesh hand tuck a piece of your hair behind your ear before capturing your lips in an almost hungry manner.

“Buck… we can’t here…”

“Once we’re out of this mess doll, I’m marrying you…”

You giggled at his words as he kissed your neck softly before the two of you continued to walk around the castle, waiting for the new move against Thanos.

You were fighting alongside Steve, Bucky, Natasha, T’challa & Okoye before you got separated for a while due to the monsters Thanos summoned began chasing you into a corner.

Using your multiple daggers and assault rifles, you began to pick them off one by one before someone’s voice rung through on your intercom.

“(Y/n), status report?”

You grunted slightly as one of the monsters slashed your arm, resulting in you shooting it in the head swiftly before kicking another away.

“Still alive I guess ? I got separated and these stupid alien monster things won’t stop attacking me— FUCK OFF.”

You heard a slight snicker from a different person as you stabbed another few monsters before finally finding an opening and running away from them, hoping they didn’t follow as you ran through the thick Wakandan forest.

As you were running, you lost your footing and went tumbling down one of the slide hills and into the water; soaking your already sweaty body and twisting your ankle as you let out a small yelp as you held your ankle in pain before forcing yourself to stand up.

In the distance, you heard people yelling and did your best to hop / run in their direction; wincing every few steps but eventually getting there only to find Thanos smirking and throwing Steve to the side as he tried to take off his gauntlet before stalking over to Wanda taking the stone out of visions head in an attempt to destroy it.

You tried to run in his direction to become a barrier for Wanda before he spotted you and flung you against a tree with a flick of a hand, causing you to cry out in more pain before slumping to the floor and watching the scene take place in front of you in horror.

As soon as Wanda destroyed the stone, you sighed in relief before Thor threw his new hammer into Thanos’s large purple body; the two sharing some words before he turned back time and promptly took the stone from Vision and threw his dead mechanical body to the ground.

You felt yourself blackout for a few moments due to the multiple injuries you had received, when you opened your eyes, however; Natasha was holding you up as Steve looked around in surprise.

“Where… where did he go I swear he was here a minute ago.”

Your eyes wandered over to Bucky as he stared in shock at the floor, you instantly had a bad feeling in your stomach as you tried to limp over to him as his eyes widened in shock as he stared at Steve.

“Steve?”

As soon as he uttered those words, he disintegrated into thin air; making you gasp loudly in shock as tears threatened to fall from your now wide eyes as Steve knelt down to the ground.

Natasha had to grab onto you so that you didn’t fall to the ground as Rhodey made his way over to you two along with Bruce in the suit Tony had lent to him, Thor standing to the side and Rocket staring at the ground as you stared at the spot Bucky was just standing a moment ago.

Just like that, the love of your life has disappeared right before your eyes.

The moment you got back to the castle, multiple guards had helped heal your wounds before leaving you alone in your guest bedroom; tears threatening to pour from your already red eyes as you curled up into a ball in the middle of the bed.

You stayed in this position for around 10 minutes, mind running wild at the thought of losing Bucky before a sharp knock on the door made you snap out of it to reveal a rugged Steve.

“It’s time for food (Y/n)...”

You were expecting him to walk straight away but instead, he wrapped his arms around you and embraced you tightly, holding onto you like you were going to disappear with a click of a finger.

“I can’t lose you too (Y/n). I can’t lose you.”

“I’m not going anywhere Steve, I promise.”

He let you go tearfully before the two of you walked towards the dining room to meet up with the rest of the ‘survivors’ as they sat at the dinner table, solemn expressions on their faces as you all ate in silence.

Soon enough, you had retreated back to your room for the night. Head running wild as you made an attempt to sleep but would wake up moments later after the exact moment Bucky disappeared replayed over and over again.

It was around 1am when you awoke from one of those nightmares again, wrapping the blankets tightly around your shivering body before you waddled out of the room and towards the balcony to get some fresh air to hopefully clear your thoughts.

A couple of moments passed before you began crying softly, all the emotions too overwhelming as you just began to let it all out; not even caring if anyone could hear you.

Minutes passed and you felt another blanket being thrown over your shoulders and found Natasha sitting on your right, red eyes much like your own staring outside as she tightened her own blanket around her before you tightened the two around yourself; a comfortable silence coming over the two of you before she spoke up.

“We’ll get them back, I promise you (Y/n).”

You nodded at her determination before loud footsteps entered your hearing and made you jump slightly before Steve sat on your left, a blanket half wrapped around him as his even redder eyes stared into the distance.

“I’ve lost him four times now, not even ‘Captain America’ had what it took to save his best friend…”

You could just hear the hurt in his almost broken voice as he continued to beat himself up over the situation that just happened as he brought up the others lost today.

“We’ll get them back, we have to…”

Natasha nodded after you spoke out, Steve giving the two of you slightly unsure looks before nodding himself and rubbing his tired eyes for a split second before you spoke up.

“Bucky and I have— had. Had been dating for a year and he said… he said once we got out of his mess he was going to marry me.”

Your voice was thick with tears as a few ran down your cheeks, both Natasha and Steve looking at you in disbelief for different reasons. Natasha was shocked that you hadn’t told her until now about your relationship with Bucky and Steve…

Steve wasn’t sure that Bucky was at the right emotional status to be getting in a relationship, he didn’t express this however but what he did do made your heart melt.

“We’ll get him back (Y/n).”

“I’ll have to give him some advice on how to treat a dame when he gets back.”

You let out a soft giggle at Steve’s attempt to make light of the once depressing conversation as both Natasha and Steve moved closer to your body, all wrapping blankets around each other; their arms around your shoulders as you all stared at the stars together.

“We’re coming for you Thanos and this time, you’ll wish you were dead.”

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 2 July 2018

Quick Bits:

Ant-Man & The Wasp #3 is another fun issue in this mini as Scott and his tiny alien friends try to come up with a way to rescue Nadia. I’m still highly impressed by Javier Garrón’s art on this series, as it continues to push inventive designs, combined with Israel Silva’s bright, bouncy colours.

| Published by Marvel

Astonishing X-Men #13 begins Matthew Rosenberg and Greg Land’s run on the title and it’s very well done. It kicks off what looks to be Havok’s redemption arc, but the road is very rocky and unlike say, Magneto or Sabretooth, he’s not being given too much slack from his former compatriots. This first issue has a good deal of Rosenberg’s trademark humour and some pretty decent art from Land, Jay Leisten, and Frank D’Armata.

| Published by Marvel

Avengers #4 made it dawn on me what this run reminds me of, Grant Morrison and Howard Porter’s run on JLA. It’s intelligently crafted, widescreen action with Jason Aaron, Paco Medina, Ed McGuinness, Juan Velasco, Mark Morales, and David Curiel pulling it off very, very well.

| Published by Marvel

Captain America #1 is great. Ta-Nehisi Coates’ debut on the series finally addresses the fallout of Secret Empire on a personal and emotional level and it leads to an incredibly compelling story of war and pieces, as a new threat begins to surface and we’re left in a world where people don’t know who to trust. The story is enriched immensely by Leinil Francis Yu, Gerry Alanguilan, and Sunny Gho’s artwork which is just incredible. Yu is a consummate storyteller and this book is just flawless with its visuals. I’m very interested to see where this creative team is going to take this story.

| Published by Marvel

Cosmic Ghost Rider #1 continues the fun that was to be had during Donny Cates, Geoff Shaw, and Antonio Fabela’s excellent run on Thanos, with Cates’ Interceptor/Reactor collaborator, Dylan Burnett taking on the art chores. You don’t need to have read the earlier Thanos series to come in here, but I still highly recommend reading that run. “Thanos Wins” was a damn good story and so is this. The irreverent humour is here in spades, the art is glorious, and Frank Castle’s new mission should be interesting.

| Published by Marvel

Dark Ark #8 takes a very interesting turn as Shrae confronts the monster of the deep plaguing Noah’s ark. Juan Doe’s designs for even more of the monsters, and the deep one, are amazing.

| Published by AfterShock

Deadpool #2 has more glorious art from Nic Klein. This is among the best art in a Deadpool series and the character has seem some pretty incredible artists work on him. I can again easily recommend the title on the art alone, but I do have to say that the story is growing on me. I like the somewhat serious yet patently ridiculous interplay between Klein’s art and Skottie Young’s dialogue, with some very nice humorous moments here.

| Published by Marvel

Death of the Inhumans #1 is going to break your heart. Even if you hate the Inhumans, this is pretty harrowing. Donny Cates, Ariel Olivetti, and Jordie Bellaire are crafting a tale of loss here and this issue really makes that loss feel real, the threat possibly inescapable, as the Kree threaten genocide. This is pretty epic and I’m anxious to see what happens next.

| Published by Marvel

Death or Glory #3 is a harrowing issue, cutting deep twice, once as we go on a trip through Glory’s past and once again in the present, with a few other punches for good measure. Rick Remender and Bengal are delivering an incredibly nuanced, well-thought out, well-illustrated crime tale here and I recommend it highly for everyone. Loving this series.

| Published by Image / Giant Generator

Delta 13 #3 reaches the point in the horror story where there are weird shenanigans going on, but the creature(s) haven’t yet revealed themselves to the crew. Steve Niles and Nat Jones are really milking the atmosphere they’ve established, it should be very interesting when the story explodes.

| Published by IDW

Doctor Strange #3 is labelled as an Infinity Wars tie-in and given that it advances the plot and whereabouts of the Time Stone, it is absolutely essential to the overall story (even if “Infinity Countdown tie-in” might be a better label at this current point). Mark Waid and Jesús Saiz deliver a mostly standalone story here, fleshing out some of the character development between Strange and Kanna, but this issue should have interesting ramifications on the wider Infinity Stones arc.

| Published by Marvel

Giant Days #40 sees the welcome return of Max Sarin to the art chores, coinciding with Ed moving back in from the hospital. I’m impressed with what John Allison does with the confrontation between Ed and Esther. It’s not at all what I would have expected, but it feels right.

| Published by Boom Entertainment / BOOM! Box

The Gravediggers Union #8 is the quiet before the storm, with Cole having a talk with his daughter before the end, trying to convince her to walk away from destroying the world. I still love how Wes Craig, Toby Cypress, and Niko Guardia have turned this huge, weird epic into a deeply personal story of a girl who feels betrayed by her parents. Very much looking forward to seeing how this concludes next issue.

| Published by Image

The Highest House #5 is another brilliant issue in this series that everyone should be reading. Everyone. The layers of characters, the intricacies of the plot, the absolutely amazing artwork, Mike Carey, Peter Gross, and Fabien Alquier are crafting a masterpiece here.

| Published by IDW

Hunt for Wolverine: Weapon Lost #3 takes a turn as the detective group searching for Wolverine find a Wolverine. As with the other Hunt for Wolverine minis, most of this looks to be shaping up to be a wild goose chase, but for the most part these are still interesting stories in their own right. Charles Soule gives us another cliffhanger at the end here, I wonder if it will end up like last issue’s?

| Published by Marvel

Immortal Hulk #2 I’d probably argue is even better than the first issue. While that feel of the lonesome wanderer that’s reminiscent of the television series and the Marvel Knights run from Bruce Jones is still present here, of a Bruce Banner terrified of the Hulk, the story here twinges a different flavour, Len Wein and Bernie Wrighton’s Swamp Thing. This issue taps into that feel of the reticent monster, hunting down things that are even worse. This is a great standalone tale from Al Ewing, Joe Bennett, Ruy José, and Paul Mounts.

| Published by Marvel

Incognegro: Renaissance #5 concludes this wonderful series, working out the final details leading up to Xavier’s murder. Like the original Incognegro graphic novel, Mat Johnson and Warren Pleece have crafted a wonderful mystery that weaves into it some very important, very interesting history and sociological themes. I’m hoping that there will be more.

| Published by Dark Horse / Berger Books

Infinity Countdown: Champions #2 makes some big changes, huge developments really, that make this issue absolutely necessary if you’re a regular Champions reader. Jim Zub, Emilio Laiso, and Andy Troy conclude this tale on a bittersweet note, including an epic confrontation between the team and Warbringer.

| Published by Marvel

Joe Hill’s The Cape: Fallen #1 reunites the team who adapted Joe Hill’s short story the first time around, Jason Ciaramella, Zach Howard, and Nelson Daniel, for a new mini set between the panels of the original story. While reading the original certainly informs this, I feel like you can still enjoy this new mini so far on its own merits.

| Published by IDW

The Last Siege #2 brings us round to gathering the pieces for the conflict between this last bastion against an upstart king, as well as the ramifications of capture and exile of Sir Feist. Like the first issue, the art from Justin Greenwood and Eric Jones is perfect.

| Published by Image

Medieval Spawn & Witchblade #3 incrementally advances us forward, giving us a fight between Spawn and one of the Queen’s minions and delivering a bit of exposition on the Witchblade’s legacy. I’m not sure if it’s in Brian Haberlin’s originals, since it kind of looks like he’s using digital models, or ultimately completely Geirrod van Dyke’s work, but the rendering on Spawn and Scourge’s armours looks incredible.

| Published by Image

Paradiso #5 returns with some incredible world-building as we learn more about the religion of the world as it is now and of some of the history and landmarks throughout the city. Everything about this series is amazing, with Ram V, Devmalya Pramanik, Alba Cardona Gil, and Aditya Bidikar, creating something very unique here.

| Published by Image

The Quantum Age #1 begins a new ongoing series in the Black Hammer empire, with Jeff Lemire riffing on the Legion of Super-Heroes, and Wilfredo Torres and Dave Stewart providing some beautiful artwork. I’ve loved what Lemire and his artistic collaborators in Dean Ormston, David Rubín, Max Fiumara, and Stewart have done previously, deftly working through the various different eras of comicdom (mainly with analogues to DC stuff), while still telling engaging surface level stories. This looks to be no different, although featuring a future gone wrong rather than the optimism of the usual LoSH stories.

| Published by Dark Horse

Submerged #1 is an enthralling first issue, with Vita Ayala, Lisa Sterle, and Stelladia capturing an almost perfect balance of magical realism, juggling between the fantasy and horror of the descent into the underworld and the mundane of Elysia’s family life.

| Published by Vault

Thief of Thieves #38 comes a little more than a year and a half after the last issue, with a transition from Andy Diggle to Brett Lewis on writing duties for this final arc. There’s a decided stylistic shift, from all out action to Lewis’ epistolary narration, but with Shawn Martinbrough’s art it still feels like a continuation of the overall story. It does a decent job recapping what happened previously in story through a flashback of Conrad’s last moments, but even as someone who’s read the rest of the series, I feel like I need to go back and re-read them again for full impact.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Transformers: Lost Light #19 adds a step away from zombie robots to the mix as the series races towards the end. There are a lot of moving parts coming together in James Roberts’ script, plot threads and characters converging from years of storytelling, and the payoff is pretty epic. It’s also really nice to see a return of IDW’s original Transformers artist, EJ Su. It seems fitting as everything starts coming to an end to return to the beginning.

| Published by IDW

Unnatural #1 begins republishing in English Mirka Andolfo’s Contro Natura, which was originally published by Panini in Italian. It’s definitely different for North American markets, but I welcome more translations and more funny animal books. Especially ones as good as Andolfo delivers here. The art is phenomenal and the story, putting forth a society that is oppressive in its reproductive rights, making taboo any number of unions that don’t follow conception, is a much needed one.

| Published by Image

Weapon X #20 continues this transition into a new incarnation of the team. It’s not as hard a break into the new as the solicitations and some of the ads would have you believe, continuing on the story of Omega Red and the Russian mutant death camps, but it’s working towards setting up a new status quo under Sabretooth’s lead. The humour and action from Greg Pak and Fred van Lente is still present, but they’re joined here by Ricardo López Ortiz, just recently having finished an arc on Hit-Girl, who brings a decidedly different verve to the story.

| Published by Marvel

Other Highlights: Ask for Mercy #2, Assassinistas #6, Cloak & Dagger #2, Dungeons & Dragons: Evil at Baldur’s Gate #2, Elephantmen: The Death of Shorty #2, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark #1, Ghostbusters: Crossing Over #4, Go Go Power Rangers #11, Hillbilly #11, Jazz Maynard #12, Jeepers Creepers #3, Jim Henson’s Beneath the Dark Crystal #1, Jimmy’s Bastards #9, Judge Dredd: Under Siege #2, Lowlifes #1, The October Faction: Supernatural Dreams #5, Paper Girls #22, Prism Stalker #5, Pumpkinhead #5, Red Sonja/Tarzan #3, Ruin of Thieves #3, Spawn #287, Spider-Man vs. Deadpool #35, Spidey: School’s Out #3, Star Trek: Discovery - Succession #3, Star Wars #50, Star Wars: The Last Jedi #4, Throwaways #14, Transformers: Bumblebee #1, Vagrant Queen #2, Xerxes #4

Recommended Collections: Animosity - Volume 3: The Swarm, Betty & Veronica: Vixens - Volume 1, Doctor Strange: Damnation, Fear Agent - Volume 2, James Bond - Volume 2: Eidolon, Quantum & Woody! - Volume 1: Kiss Kiss Klang Klang, Rogue & Gambit: Ring of Fire, Scales & Scoundrels - Volume 2: Treasurehearts, Skin & Earth, Sleepless - Volume 1, Spider-Man - Volume 4, Transformers: Wreckers Saga, Witchblade - Volume 1

d. emerson eddy often feels like a stranger in a strange land

[redrangermike]

Milo, Zack, Melissa, Bradley and Amanda vs. Dark Karlee

For @karlee-the-teenage-witch

Milo, Zack, Melissa, Bradley, Amanda, Queen Star and former Queen Moon had been held captive by Dark Karlee. Possibly the only way out and the only way to potentially get through to the real Karlee is to duel and defeat her.

“Milo, you can’t go through with this alone! Karlee’s far too dangerous now!” Zack freaked, activating his Duel Disk.

“If Zack’s in, I’m in!” Amanda jumped in, her Duel Disk automatically activating.

“That goes double for me! I’m not letting my man stand up to an evil princess without me!” Melissa chimed in, her Duel Disk booting up.

“Karlee’s my fiancée and I think I can get through to her! So count me in!” Bradley beamed, turning on his Duel Disk.

“So...5 against 1, eh? It doesn’t matter what the odds are....you’re all going to lose!” Karlee quipped as her staff turned into a Duel Disk. “Now for the rules - since this is 5 against 1, the 5 of you will all share 8000 Life Points, but will have separate decks and fields. Additionally, I get a free turn after each of you goes!”

“If the legendary duelists could stand up to someone like that, then so can we!” Zack beamed.

“Good. Then let’s begin!”

“DUEL!”

Milo, Zack, Melissa, Bradley and Amanda: 8000

Dark Karlee: 8000

“Since we’re in my castle, I’ll make the first move! I DRAW!” (Hand: 6) “I’ll start by setting the Pendulum Scale with Scale 0 Supreme King Gate Zero and Scale 13 Supreme King Gate Infinity! With these 2 monsters in my Pendulum Zones, I can summon monsters between levels 1 and 12 all at the same time! I’ll summon out 2 Supreme King Dragon Darkwurms!” (1800 Attack Points/1200 Defense Points) “And after laying this face-down in my backrow, it’s Bradley’s turn!” (Hand: 1)

Bradley smiled. “Don’t mind if I do! Here goes!” (Hand: 6) “I play POT OF GREED! This lets me draw twice!” (Hand: 7) “It looks like I’ve drawn Watapon! When it’s drawn outside of my normal draw, it appears on my field automatically!” (200 Attack Points/300 Defense Points) “But I’m not through yet! I play MYSTIC BOX! This will destroy one of your Darkwurms and give you Watapon in its place! And now that you’re one dragon short, the stage is now set for my ace monster! I play ANCIENT RULES! This lets me call my favorite monster....THE DARK MAGICIAN!” (2500 Attack Points/2100 Defense Points) “I’ll then call OBNOXIOUS CELTIC GUARDIAN to the field!” (1400 Attack Points/1200 Defense Points)

“SWEET! Bradley’s got his ace monster out on his first turn!” Milo cheered.

“Here’s where the fun begins! Dark Magician, destroy her Darkwurm! DARK MAGIC ATTACK!”

Dark Magician raised his wand and fired a beam of magic at Darkwurm, destroying it.

“A good move, Bradley...at least it would be if I didn’t have my gates! Gate Zero blocks all the damage your Magician would’ve dealt to me, while Gate Infinity gives me that same amount as Life Points!”

Dark Karlee: 8700

“Unfortunately for you, those only work once a turn, so take this! Celtic Guardian, destroy Watapon with SILVER BLADE SLASH!”

Celtic Guardian charged in, swung his sword and destroyed Watapon.

Dark Karlee: 7500

“I’ll play 2 cards face-down and let you go.” (Hand: 0)

“Prepare to meet your end! I draw!” (Hand: 1) “With my Pendulum Scales up, I can summon monsters from my Extra Deck as well! RETURN, MY DARKWURMS! I’ll also summon the master magician of space....ASTROGRAPH SORCERER!” (2500 ATK/2000 DEF) “Now for Astrograph’s special power! By sacrificing him along with the 4 Dimensional Dragons, I can summon my most powerful beast! Dark Rebellon Xyz Dragon, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, Starving Venom Fusion Dragon and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, I sacrifice you and my Astrograph Sorcerer to bring forth my ultimate monster!” Karlee rose up into the air as her new monster took shape. It was 20 feet tall, gold, long-winged and menacing. The next time they saw Karlee, she was a part of the monster. “MEET SUPREME DRAGON RULER Z-ARC!” (4000 ATK/4000 DEF) “I AM SYNCHRO! I AM PENDULUM! I AM XYZ! I AM FUSION! I AM THE SUPREME RULER! AND WHEN I COME OUT, ALL YOUR MONSTERS ARE DESTROYED AND YOU TAKE DAMAGE EQUAL TO THEIR ATTACK POINTS!”

Bradley was having none of it. 

“On summon of Z-Arc....I PLAY THIS! My VOID TRAP HOLE! When you would summon a monster with 2000 or more points, I can stop the summon of your monster and DESTROY IT!”

“NO!” Karlee screamed as Z-ARC was eliminated. 

“But that’s not all! I play the Spell Card TWIN TWISTER! Now all one of my teammates has to do is toss out a card from their hand and both your Pendulum Scales are destroyed! Milo, if you’d be so kind...”

“Be glad to, Bradley! I discard my Healing-Wave Generator to destroy Karlee’s Pendulum Scales!”

“OH NO!”

“I’m afraid so, Karlee! It’s my turn!” Zack said as he drew. (Hand: 6) “I’ll start with the Spell Card TAKE OVER 5! This sends the top 5 cards of my deck to the Graveyard! Next up, I think I’ll play this...ELEMENTAL HERO PRISMA!” (1700 ATK/1100 DEF) “With Prisma’s power, I’ll change him into Clayman! This will set up....MIRACLE FUSION! Heroes of Earth, Water, Fire and Wind - Clayman, Bubbleman, Burstinatrix and Avian - now become one and bring justice to our enemy! I Fusion Summon....ELECTRUM!” (ATK: 2900/DEF: 2900) “When this hero comes out, all banished cards return to the owners’ decks! Now for my assault! Electrum, Attack Karlee Directly with ELEMENTAL RADIANT BURST!”

Electrum let out a bursting aura at Karlee...but instead it was reflected back to Zack!

Milo, Melissa, Zack, Bradley and Amanda: 5100

“Zack, you fool! I played my Trap Card - SUPREME KING’S REBIRTH! When you declare an attack while a Supreme King monster is in my Graveyard, I can negate that attack and send your monster’s Attack Points directly at your Life Points! In exchange....Z-ARC RETURNS!”

“I’ll conclude by playing a face-down, then sacrificing Bradley’s down card with EMERGENCY PROVISIONS! For each card I ditch, we gain 1000 points! I’ll then end with O-Oversoul to bring back my ace! Meet NEOS! (2500 ATK/2000 DEF)”

Milo, Melissa, Zack, Amanda and Bradley: 6100

“That’s it for me.”

Karlee chuckled as she drew her card. (Hand: 1) “I’ll play this face-down, then have Z-ARC attack Celtic Guardian!”

Z-Arc breathed fire, aiming the attack at Bradley’s Guardian...but it was blocked by a devil-like gardna!

“When you attacked, you triggered my Necro Gardna’s special power! By banishing it from the Grave, your attack’s blocked!”

Karlee growled. “My turn’s done!”

“That means it’s my go! I DRAW!” (Hand: 5) “I’ll use the effect of Zack’s Take Over 5! By banishing it, I get an additional card!” (Hand: 6)

“An additional card that’ll be eliminated by Z-Arc’s effect!” (Milo’s hand: 5)

“I can still play Junk Synchron in Attack Mode! When he comes out, I get back a level 2 or lower monster! Return to battle, Speed Warrior! But they won’t be out for long because I’m tuning them together! Just like Zack, Melissa, Bradley, Amanda and I are joining our might, these 2 monsters have now combined theirs! I Synchro Summon....JUNK WARRIOR! (2300 ATK/1300 DEF) Then when a monster is Special Summoned, STEAM SYNCHRON comes out! (600 ATK/800 DEF) I’ll then tune Level 3 Steam Synchron to Level 5 Junk Warrior! From 2 come 1 and from 1 come great cosmic might! SYNCHRO SUMMON! TAKE FLIGHT, STARDUST DRAGON! (2500 ATK/2000 DEF)”

“NO! NOT STARDUST DRAGON!” Karlee feared.

“THAT’S RIGHT! Your most feared monster is out! I’ll then activate CARD OF SANCTITY! This forces us to draw until we all have 6 cards! I’ll end with 4 cards face-down and have Bradley switch Dark Magician to Defense Mode!”

“My move! And thanks to your Card of Sanctity, the pieces are in place for my victory! I’ll reset the Pendulum Scale with Gate Zero and Gate Infinity! RETURN, MY DARKWURMS! NOW ATTACK THE DARK MAGICIAN!”

‘Why would she do that? Dark Magician has 2100 Defense Points and her Darkwurms have only 1800 Attack Points....’ Then it hit Bradley. ‘OF COURSE! Her Gates will just absorb the damage and give her Life Points!’

“You thought right, my prince of darkness....now my Gates will kick in, giving me 600 more Life Points!”

Dark Karlee: 8100

“Z-ARC, DESTROY ELECTRUM!”

The dragon launched a fire blast at Electrum, destroying it.

Milo, Melissa, Zack, Bradley and Amanda: 5000

“I’ll throw 2 cards face-down and activate SUPREME KING DANCE! Since I control a Supreme King monster, I can change the target of your attacks once per turn during your turn and have my Supreme King monsters attack again! That’ll do for now!”

“Then it’s my turn!” Amanda beamed as she drew.

“Hold it right there!” Karlee said, stopping Amanda. “I play the Trap - SUPREME KING BRUTALITY! When this card is active, I can discard cards from your hand equal to the number of Supreme King cards I control and deal you 300 points of damage for each!”

Amanda’s hand was revealed - Gagaga Magician, Tasuke Knight, Bacon Saver, Gogogo Golem, Hyper Quick, Half Unbreak and Half Or Nothing.

“Looks like everything other than Half Or Nothing is now gone! And as a bonus, you get hit for 1800 points of damage!”

Milo, Melissa, Zack, Bradley and Amanda: 3200

Amanda wasn’t fazed.

“Thank you....you’ve sent my HYPER QUICK to the Grave! When that happens, I can flip a card. If it’s a Spell, it’s added to my hand and I get to play it as if it were a Quick-Play Spell! Also, I chain Milo’s set HOPE FOR ESCAPE card! All I have to do is give up 1000 points and I can draw cards for each 1000 points difference in our Life Points!”

Milo, Melissa, Zack, Bradley and Amanda: 2200

“And as of right now, that’s 6! Now, for Hyper Quick’s ability....looks like I’ve flipped RANK-UP MAGIC NUMERON FORCE! Since I did, it’s added straight to my hand!” (Hand: 8) “Now, I summon GAGAGA MANCER! When he comes out, I get back a Gagaga monster from my Graveyard! Return, GAGAGA MAGICIAN! And with these 2 Level 4 monsters, I build the Overlay Network! I Xyz Summon...NUMBER 39: UTOPIA! (2500 ATK/2000 DEF) But that’s not all! I play RANK UP MAGIC NUMERON FORCE! Now until the end of the turn, all your cards are negated and I get to rank-up Utopia! CHAOS XYZ EVOLUTION! I rebuild the Overlay Network with Utopia to summon CHAOS NUMBER 39: UTOPIA RAY VICTORY! (2800 ATK/2500 DEF)”

Karlee wasn’t fazed by this new monster. “Anything you can do, I can do ten times better! I overlay my 2 Darkwurms to Xyz Summon....SUPREME KING DRAGON DARK REBELLION! (2500 ATK/2000 DEF) Now to use his ability! By using an Overlay Unit, I can steal all of Utopia Ray Victory’s Attack Points and add them to Dark Rebellion!”

But nothing happened.

“What part of ‘your monster’s effects are negated’ do you not understand? I, however, can use an Overlay Unit to take your Dragon’s 2500 points and add them to Ray Victory for a grand total of 5300! Next, I flip up Milo’s DOUBLE ATTACK card! With it, Ray Victory can declare a 2nd attack this turn! Ray Victory, TAKE DOWN DARK REBELLION AND Z-ARC NOW WITH TWIN RISING SUN VICTORY SLASH!”

Utopia Ray Victory slashed his swords at the dragons, destroying Dark Rebellion, but not laying a scratch on Z-Arc. It did, however, do significant damage to Karlee’s Life Points. Amanda then played the remainder of her hand face-down.

Dark Karlee: 4000

It was at this point that the real Karlee started to return.

“Guys, what am I doing here? Why am I part of a dragon and what the blank am I wearing?” She asked.

“Karlee? Is that you, my princess?” Bradley asked.

It wasn’t enough as Karlee’s dark side returned. “GET BACK IN THERE! I’M IN CONTROL NOW!”

“No good, guys! We have to win this if we want Karlee back!” Milo told his friends.

“And I’m certain you won’t! I play SUPREME KING’S WRATH! Since I took 2000 points or more of damage this turn, I can bring forth Z-ARC’s faithful servants! Go...SUPREME KING DRAGON DARK REBELLION! SURPREME KING DRAGON ODD-EYES! SUPREME KING DRAGON STARVING VENOM! And SUPREME KING DRAGON CLEAR WING! And need I mention that Supreme King’s Wrath lets me attach my Darkwurms as Overlay Units to Dark Rebellion? My move!” (Hand: 3) “Now...DARK REBELLION, USE YOUR ABILITY TO STEAL RAY VICTORY’S ATTACK POINTS! ATTACK UTOPIA RAY VICTORY AND END THIS DUEL!”

Not so fast, Karlee!

“You’ve triggered my Xyz Revenge Shuffle! By sending Ray Victory back to my Extra Deck, the original Utopia is sent in to take his place in Defense Mode with Revenge Shuffle as an Overlay Unit!”

Karlee grunted. “FINE! STARVING VENOM, ATTACK NEOS!”

I don’t think so!

“I play another Trap! NEGATE ATTACK! Your attack’s canceled and your turn immediately ends!”

“Thank you, Amanda! I’ve let mine and Karlee’s fight go too far...and I’m gonna end it here and now! IT’S MY....TURN!” Melissa beamed, drawing her card. (Hand: 7) “I set my own Pendulum Scale with Scale 1 Stargazer Magician and Scale 8 Timegazer Magician! This lets me summon monsters with levels 2-7! Come on out....ODD-EYES PENDULUM DRAGON! PERFORMAPAL SECONDONKEY! PERFORMAPAL FRIENDONKEY! AND PERFORMAPAL WHIPSNAKE! Now....it’s time for a LINK SUMMON!”

Karlee gasped. “A LINK SUMMON?!”

“That’s right! I link my Friendonkey, my Whip Snake and my Secondonkey in order to summon.....THE FIREWALL DRAGON!” (2500 ATK)

That was Bradley, Zack, Milo and Amanda’s cue.

“GO, DARK SPIRAL FORCE!” Bradley said.

“NEOS SPIRAL FORCE, ACTIVATE!” Zack added

“FROM MY HAND, I PLAY MY STARUDST SPIRAL FORCE!” Milo chimed in.

“AND I REVEAL UTOPIA SPIRAL FORCE!” Amanda shouted.

“Allow me to recap. First, since there’s a Stardust Dragon out, Milo can play Stardust Spiral Force from his hand. This will double the Attack Points of my Firewall Dragon! Next comes Dark Spiral Force, which once again doubles the attack of my Dragon to 10,000! Then, it’s Zack’s Neos Spiral Force. Since Hero Neos is out, Zack can play it from his hand to double Firewall’s Attack Points to 20,000. And finally, Amanda’s Utopia Spiral Force doubles my dragon’s power 1 more time, all the way up....to 40,000!” Melissa explained.

“40,000 ATTACK POINTS?!” Karlee freaked.

“MORE THAN ENOUGH TO WIPE YOU OUT! This is for your own good, Karlee. I’m sorry for letting everything get out of hand. Please....forgive me. FIREWALL DRAGON, ATTACK SUPREME KING Z-ARC AND END THIS DUEL!” Melissa commanded as Firewall Dragon launched a stream of data at Z-Arc, purging Karlee of her dark side and ending the duel.

Karlee: 0

Milo, Melissa, Zack, Bradley and Amanda: WIN!