#it's not fun watching the fighting scenes

[xtaleunderverse]

Underverse 0.8 part 1 fun facts:

XChurro flipping the bird

When @cornmayor came to Chile to visit me, she was watching me draw that specific scene and she suggested to draw him like that. I accepted it because it fits him so well, especially when he did it before.

Thanks, Corn.

When I was finishing this scene, something seemed familiar. I giggled. It was a coincidence.

Toriels' fight scene, heavily inspired by the Agni Kai from The Last Airbender, and also Dragon Ball. I was animating this fight after it was announced that Akira Toriyama passed away. Rest In Peace.

Only these two scenes made Animate crash more than once. It was because every single flower was moving, so just had to animate only the ones that were closer to the camera.

The reason why I hate animating XChurro's hair and X!Toriel: They. Have. A LOT. Of LAYERS. Because of that, the rendered video's size starting from 8:16 to 12:00 is 14 GB, probably the biggest video of all Underverse so far💀(Imagine I was still posting this as GIFs on Tumblr)

THIS WAS UNINTENTIONAL, I DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE "TOO FAR" THING, I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS A FANGAME ABOUT THAT, ABOUT FREAKING PAPYRUS, IT'S THE CRAZIEST COINCIDENCE THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO ME AFTER XCHURRO AND KILLUA, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, WHAT HAVE I DONE HELP

While Nyx was hating on the sound effects, his program glitched and made Alphys run away like a Simpsons character fleeing off-screen.

(we really need a second sound designer to handle the non-fight scenes in the future)

Not everyone knows this fact, but X!Chara used to be afraid of thunders as a kid in the first timelines.

For Undynes' fight scene, I had to take a bunch of photos and videos of myself posing with a broom to figure out how the spears work in movement, internet references and even my model doll weren't enough for my brain.

Making the animatic of their fight took me almost 1 month.

Little cameos: Marine from The First Human comic by @brittninja And Clover from Undertale Yellow :D

The other little hoomans are my own interpretation.

Cross and Papyrus scene.

Inspired by a deleted angsty old comic I made on Tumblr that I was planning on using for the series.

Note: You are valid 🏳️‍⚧️💜

And the last one: There are two secrets in the intro. 👀

Stay tuned, and thank you for watching this episode 💖

[kwamiwayzz]

Jeckole Yapping

Had to dig through my old posts to find the template, but I'm bored and doing this again but for Jecka and Nicole this time. Mostly headcanons and such below

__

• When or if I started shipping it:

I'm going to be honest, but I don't remember. I only got into Co09 a few months ago. All I know is that once I watched the out of context videos on Class of '09 and Re-Up, I wanted more content of them and came across a lot of really good fanart and fanfic.

I think there were a lot of boxes checked off when I slowly went down the rabbit hole lol. There's an emotionally constipated dark-girl paired with a preppy blonde girl who acts as the former's foil. I think what really drew me into them, fanart aside, were the foils and parallels between them. The codependency, expanded upon by Progman, was probably the final nail that dragged me down the brainrot.

• My thoughts:

I've known about them for awhile, and thought they were some random white girls in a cult classic VN that somehow regained a surge of popularity last year. I didn't know the VN was relatively new, and most of the time when I do ship Jeckole, it's without the creator in mind. They have a certain flavor to them that hits in a way where I can't stop brainrotting over them.

Someone mentioned this in a fic comment, but they see them as foils when it comes to dealing with people and the world around them--where Nicole acts as this snarling animal that will bite you if you get too close, while Jecka acts as this wall that doesn't allow things to get to her even if it does bother her. In a way, they envy each other for that, and after reading that fic it reinforced why their dynamic is one that I gravitate towards compared to the others. They have pieces of each other that they're missing and they can't live without the other (I love codependent Jeckole).

• What makes me sad about them:

In-game, they probably wouldn't last after high school when they go their separate ways. As much as Nicole sees Jecka as a slightly more "special" person to her than most people at the school, their friendship is more for convenience--with Nicole finding Jecka to be more tolerable and cool compared to everyone else (along with the added bonus of not being a loner), and Jecka finding Nicole more fun to hang around with than all her other school friends despite knowing how much Nicole is a fucked up mess and bad influence. In-game Nicole is also someone who would continue to keep everyone at an arm's length and also wouldn't fight too hard (outside of the Jecka and counselor smoking scene) to maintain any meaningful relationships once they're out of her reach.

But also, who cares what the creator thinks because fanart and fanfic exists lmaoooooo.

• What makes me happy about them:

There's a scene in Flip Side where Nicole calls Jecka first thing in the morning at 7am asking her where McDonald's keeps their frozen patties, only for Jecka to say they don't have them because McD serves breakfast during those hours. Then Jecka calls Nicole stupid, and I just found that scene funny in an oddly comforting way.

Nicole is comfortable enough to bug Jecka and wake her up so early in the morning for something so mundane, while Jecka just stays on the phone listening to whatever antics she's in instead of hanging up immediately and going back to bed. I also mentioned this in another post, but someone on Twitter said the thing they love most about Jeckole is how Nicole was willing to get to know Jecka even after saying she has no desire to make any connections at her new school. It can be interpreted as a convenience thing on Nicole's end, but every route in the original game has her willing to either ask for Jecka's name or share her name when they first meet.

To me, their back and forth dynamic keeps them balanced enough to stay fucked up with the potential of becoming well-adjusted in the future.

• Things done in art/fic that annoys me:

There's a number of interpretations when it comes to the Co09 characters, so I understand it can be hard to write them. But for me personally, I'm not a fan of when Nicole is depicted as either way too nice and uncharacteristically soft or way too mean and following the stereotypical SBN interpretation that "Nicole doesn't give a shit about anyone or anything".

• Things I look for in art/fic:

When they're codependent :) or when they're codependent with a slight chance of them getting healthier over time. Also, just them being stupid together.

I'm also one of the few people (I haven't come across too many others yet) that seek out future Jeckole stuff. Whenever I picture them as adults, it's always aurawra21's art in mind.

• Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: 

I'm a monoshipper when it comes to Class of '09, so probably no one. It adds to that codependent flavor :) but if you want a real answer...

For Nicole, probably Emily.

For Jecka, probably Emily also.

• My happily ever after for them:

Moving out of their town, healing from their trauma, and getting healthier over time. Maybe they won't be better people exactly, but they'd at least be less fucked up and a little happier (with Nicole finding some will to keep living past 30) after cutting off their toxic families.

• What is their favorite activity?: 

Nicole forcing Jecka to watch Mythbusters and How It's Made with her (in exchange for watching Smallville and Charmed with Jecka). Also, probably smoking together, assuming that Jecka hasn't quit her smoking habit ten years later.

[saveyourblood]

Pretty Boy - Ch 6 (Buddie x Reader)

Summary: You can feel Buck staring. When your eyes meet his, you realize he’s staring at your hand, which is still on Eddie’s knee. You slowly retreat, which makes Buck turn his attention to your face. You smile softly. He just looks out the window. The one where you’re an advanced paramedic, Buck and Eddie are firefighters, and you think you might be in love with both of them.

Ch 1 | Ch 2 | Ch 3 | Ch 4 | Ch 5

Chapter Summary: The tension between you and Buck brings you and Eddie closer.

Word Count: 3.3k Warnings: none

Things between you and Buck are… weird. Awkward. Uncomfortable. The last time you had a real conversation with him, it was a fight, but it ended with you saying how much you care about him. It’s left you feeling like there’s an open wound on your chest, one that exposes your heart. You feel vulnerable, and you hate it. Your hatred of the feeling triumphs over your desire to be around him, at least for now.

In a weird silver lining, your lack of time with Buck has created room for one of your other coworkers — Eddie. Talking to Eddie when Buck was around always felt strange, like there was something in the air that wasn’t supposed to be. Which is funny, because when it’s the two of them, they’re as thick as thieves. Something about you being in the mix feels like adding oil to water.

You like to think you’ve gotten to know Eddie relatively well in the last few weeks. So when he’s staring off into space while the rest of the team is eating breakfast, you don’t feel awkward asking what he’s thinking about.

“Nothing,” he says, turning his coffee mug absentmindedly. “Just… this new school with Christopher.”

“Don’t think it’s a good fit?” You ask.

“No, it’s perfect,” Eddie replies, turning his attention to you.

You smile softly. “Then what’s the problem?”

“They need to do a family interview.”

“Again, what’s the problem?” you chuckle. “I mean, aren’t the divorce and custody agreement papers enough?”

“They would be… if I had them.”

You frown. “What?”

Eddie sighs as he rubs his forehead. He leans closer so you’re the only one who can hear him. “We’re still married.”

Apparently, you don’t know a goddamn thing about Eddie.

“Oh,” is all you manage to get out.

Eddie chuckles briefly. “Yeah.”

“Wow. Just… from how you talk about her, you made it sound like things were… over over. Like, officially over.”

“ Shannon and I aren’t officially… anything these days.”

“You’re officially husband and wife.”

Eddie rolls his eyes, but he smiles as he does it. “Touché.”

“What’re you gonna do?” you ask softly after a moment.

He sets his elbows on his knees and clasps his hands together. “I don’t know.”

You just watch him and can’t shake the helplessness that washes over you. Eddie’s in a tough spot; no matter what you say, you can’t fix it. All you can do is be there.

“Tell me what I can do,” you say.

Eddie looks up at you with a lopsided grin. There aren’t many things you wouldn’t do to keep it on his face.

“I’ve been told I’m a lot of fun when I drink,” you continue. “Well, when I have three drinks I’m fun: that’s when I get dancy. After five drinks, I get sad. You can pick the number.”

Eddie laughs.

9-1-1 dispatch is down, making doing your job almost impossible. LA is a maze; without GPS navigation, you rely on your phone and eyes to do most of the work. It’s a miracle that dispatch existed before computers.

You’re in the passenger’s seat of the rig, and you tell Hen to make a right turn. When you pull up to what’s supposed to be the scene, though, there’s nothing.

“Dispatch, this is RA 118,” you say into the radio. “There’s nothing here.”

“No pregnant woman?” A dispatcher asks.

“There’s no building. It’s an empty lot.”

“Stand by, 118.”

You hang the radio with a huff.

“What’s going on with you?” Hen asks.

You frown and look over at her. “What?”

“You’ve been… off lately,” she explains. “Like, you’ve got this short fuse now.”

“Why shouldn’t I? We can’t even do our fucking jobs because some moron can’t fix a computer!”

Hen raises her eyebrows.

“Okay, point taken.”

“Buck says you two haven’t talked in a while.”

“Well, he’s a firefighter and I’m a paramedic. We can work the same shift and not see each other,” you shrug. “ I don’t know why he’s talking to you about it.”

“I’m not sure, but… it sounded like I’m not the only one worried about you.”

You play with your hands in your lap.

Hen sighs. “Look, I don’t know what happened between you two, but I hope it gets fixed, because you two are miserable without each other.”

“It’s not like that-”

Hen raises a hand to silence you. “I don’t know what you guys are… best friends, work spouses, or dating. Frankly, I don’t care. All I know is that, for better or for worse, you need each other. “

“118, you're gonna need to proceed to San Vicente, east of the Miracle Mile District,” dispatch crackles over the radio. “The nearest cross street is Sixth.”

You pick it up and push the button. “RA 118, copy that.”

“Where the hell have you guys been?”

When you finally arrive at the correct building, you’re faced with a pregnant woman lying on the lobby floor. A small crowd has formed around them, which you push your way through.

“We are fighting a system outage, sir,” Bobby explains, “we apologize for the delay.”

You crouch next to the patient on one side while Hen starts an IV on the other side.

“Hi,” you introduce yourself and don some gloves. “What’s your name?”

“Sonia. I’m 39 weeks pregnant, and 38 years old, which makes me a geriatric pregnancy,” she laughs a little. “God, I hate that word.”

“Word doesn’t matter: you still get a baby out of it,” you smile. “I’m gonna check how progressed you are, okay?”

She nods.

“10 centimeters, 100% effaced,” you observe. “You’re doing great, okay? On this next contraction, you’re gonna push, alright, Sonia?”

She doesn’t respond, so you look up.

Her expression changed. A moment ago, she was nervous but smiling. Now, her face is flattened, and she’s staring ahead at nothing.

“There's something wrong with the baby,” she says quietly.

Your body goes numb.

There are a few things you never want to hear a patient say, and ‘something is wrong’ might be at the top of the list. It’s called ‘impending doom’ — there’s no obvious threat, but it feels like something is about to go terribly wrong. You’ve seen patients die within minutes of saying something doesn’t feel right.

“Your baby is fine, Sonia,” you assure. “You'll-you'll be able to see for yourself in just a minute.”

“No! No, this was a mistake, all of it,” Sonia cries. “Roger was right to panic. Look, we can't do this. I can't... I can't do this. I shouldn't have this child.”

“Hey! Hey, Sonia, look at me,” you say, patting her knee to get her attention.

It takes her a moment, but her eyes eventually meet yours.

“All you have to do is push,” you tell her. “That’s it, okay? Just push.”

She still looks terrified, yet she nods.

On the next contraction, Sonia pushes. You coach her through the contractions, telling her when to push and when to rest. It only takes a few rounds until the baby is fully born.

“He’s here!” you exclaim as you wrap the baby in a towel.

There’s some happy laughter and a round of applause from the crowd as the baby cries.

“Beautiful boy, it’s time you meet your mom,” you say as you move to place the baby on Sonia’s chest.

She’s staring at the ceiling, her expression slack.

“I’ve got the baby,” Eddie interrupts, taking the baby from you so you can work.

“Sonia?” you say, rubbing your knuckles on her sternum. She winces, but barely.

“I can’t get a systolic above 70,” Hen says as she deflates the blood pressure cuff.

“She’s cyanotic,” you say, noting the blue tinge to her lips and fingernails. “She’s in shock.”

“Hemorrhagic?” Hen questions.

“She’s barely bleeding,” you shake your head.

You press your fingers to her neck. You don’t feel a pulse.

“Lost a pulse, starting compressions!” you shout.

Everything starts to move a hell of a lot quicker. Within seconds, the defibrillator is at your side, and as you compress Sonia’s chest, Hen is placing the pads. Eddie has a finger on her neck to ensure your compressions are effective.

When you get Sonia on the gurney, Eddie tags you out as the compressor to give you a break. Your entire body shakes with adrenaline, yet you help pack her into the rig and climb inside.

“She was fine,” Eddie mutters as he compresses. “Birth was going like clockwork, even for a geriatric pregnancy.”

“Sudden despair and fear and anxiety, rapid loss of BP, subsequent cardiovascular collapse…” you think aloud. It dawns on you. “Oh my god.”

“What?”

You’re reaching for your phone, dialing the phone number of the hospital you’re heading to. “It’s an Amniotic Fluid Embolism.”

Eddie looks over to you. His brow is damp with sweat. “She could be in DIC.”

“She needs Mass Transfusion Protocol,” you agree. You raise the phone to your ear. “LA general, this is RA 118 en route, I need to speak to your ER charge nurse.”

When you’re rolling through the ER doors, you’re kneeling over Sonia on the gurney as you do compressions. Doctors and nurses are shouting directions at each other, but all you focus on is your arms moving up and down.

You hop off so they can move her off of the gurney and onto the hospital bed. In the process, you notice that the defibrillator is showing Sonia’s in Ventricular Tachycardia — a shockable rhythm.

“V-Tach,” you say normally at first, then shout. “V-Tach! Everyone clear!”

The ER staff has no idea who you are, but when someone shouts those words, anyone with a medical background knows to listen. Everyone backs away with their hands raised. After hitting the ‘charge’ button, you do a quick survey to ensure no one is touching Sonia. Then, you hit the lightning bolt to deliver a shock.

Sonia’s body jerks at the electricity. The EKG tracing goes from tombstone shapes to a flatline. Then, there’s a beep and a QRS complex. Then another, and another.

“Got a pulse!” a random voice shouts.

You make your way out of the trauma bay and into the hallway, where Eddie’s waiting for you.

“That was… amazing,” Eddie says.

You stand next to him wordlessly. You nod but then let out a sob as you collapse against the wall.

Eddie helps lower you to the floor. He keeps a hand on your shoulder, squeezing tightly.

“God, this is embarrassing,” you remark between a few sobs.

“It isn’t,” Eddie immediately responds. “We’ve all been there.”

“It’s, uh, it’s how my mom died,” you say with a sad laugh. “They didn’t catch it in time. She bled to death internally. I just… I don’t know what I would’ve done if she didn’t pull through.”

“She did,” Eddie says, moving his hand from your shoulder to your knee. “She pulled through because of you.”

You nod again, wiping away some of your tears. “Thank you.”

Eddie nods in return. You notice that his gaze goes from your eyes to your lips and back up to your eyes.

It happens in the smallest of movements, but before you know it, your forehead is pressed against Eddie’s. You can feel his breath on your mouth. You quietly gasp at the sensation, and it makes him sigh.

You press your lips together. “You’re married.”

“She wants a divorce,” Eddie whispers.

You smile sadly. “You’re still married.”

Eddie sighs again, but this time, he moves away from you.

“I’m not saying it can never happen,” you say quietly. “All I’m saying is that I’m not that kind of girl. And you definitely aren’t that kind of guy.”

Eddie nods, his mouth shifting into a few different expressions.

You rise to your feet and offer Eddie a hand. “Let’s get back to work, Edmundo.”

Eddie laughs genuinely at the use of his full name. He takes your hand and uses it to help get himself up, but he continues holding it when he’s standing.

“Back to work,” he agrees and squeezes your hand before letting go.

You’re heading out a scene call, fire in progress with multiple victims suspected. You’re driving the rig while Eddie sets up the back. The 118 is the nearest firehouse, so your unit will be the first on the scene. It comes with a lot of responsibility, but you know you and Eddie are ready for it.

That is, until there’s a massive ‘BOOM’ from behind you.

You immediately pull over and look in your rearview. The engine following behind you is now on fire and lying on its side in the middle of the intersection. You can see a few firefighters lying on the pavement.

“Eddie, grab our bags!” you shout as you unclick your seatbelt.

You fly out of the rig and meet Eddie in the back. Instead of handing you your bag, he sets a hand on your shoulder and pushes you both to the side of the ambulance.

“What the hell?” You ask.

“There’s a bomber,” he says in a low tone.

“What?” you ask again, peering to the side of him.

Sure enough, there’s a kid — no older than twenty — with several pipe bombs strapped to his chest. He’s holding what appears to be the detonator in his hand. Someone is laying at his feet, his leg pinned under the passenger side of the engine.

Buck was sitting in the passenger’s seat.

You try rushing forward again, and Eddie grabs you by the waist this time.

“It’s Buck!” you scream as you struggle against him.

“I know,” Eddie says, his arms wrapped around you as he presses your back to his chest.

“We have to do something!” you cry, still thrashing against Eddie.

“We have to wait for the scene to clear,” Eddie explains. It’s more than a little annoying how calm he sounds. “If you go in now, both of you could die.”

“So what, we just let him die?” You ask, but you’ve stopped fighting.

Eddie doesn’t say anything, but his grip around you loosens. Eventually, you feel his arms drop back to his sides. That’s when you make a run for it.

You make it far enough to catch the bomber’s attention. You raise your hands in the air.

“I’m not who you want,” you explain, “I just want to help him. He has nothing to do with this. He has friends and family… he’s my family. Please, just let me help him.”

The bomber looks from you to Buck, then back at you. “He’s collateral damage.”

“Is that how you see yourself?” Bobby interrupts. He approaches with his hands raised.

The bomber’s attention shifts to Bobby, the person he’s been after this whole time. You use it as a window of opportunity to approach Buck slowly. When you finally reach him, you crouch down by his head.

“Hey, Pretty Boy,” you say softly. You set a hand on his head. “How’re you feeling?”

His left leg is the one that’s pinned, and he’s lying on his stomach. He tries to look up at you. “You shouldn’t be here. It’s not safe.”

“I could say the same thing to you,” you joke. You move your hand to his neck. “Are you in pain?”

“No, just kind of numb,” he says. “That’s not good, right?”

Your heart sinks. “You’re in shock: it’s normal.”

Bobby manages to distract the bomber long enough to subdue him. As the bomber gets rushed off, the rest of your team rushes in.

“Eddie, start two lines, wide open,” you instruct. “Hen, get him in the C-collar.”

You dig in the medi bag for a tourniquet. As you apply it, you try to drown out the sound of Buck crying out in pain.

“How are we doing?” Bobby asks as you stand.

“We’re out of time,” you mumble. “We need to get him out and to the nearest trauma center.”

Any extra body moves to the truck, waiting for the count to lift it. You place yourself in front of Buck, taking both of his hands.

“We’re gonna get you out,” you promise.

He nods slightly.

“Okay, my count,” you say as you move your hands to underneath his arms. “1… 2… 3!”

As everyone begins to push, you start pulling on Buck. He isn’t budging.

“It’s too heavy,” Bobby says.

“We got anything on the truck we can use for leverage?” Eddie suggests.

“No, we need more people,” Chim says, picking up his radio. “Dispatch, this is 118…”

There’s some clattering from across the way. Bystanders are pushing through the barricades to help. This time, you’re able to get him out.

You get him on the backboard, then onto the gurney. The whole time, you’re telling him that he did a good job and that he’ll be okay. As you’re running with him to the ambulance, he mumbles something. Once you’re settled into the rig, you ask him to repeat himself.

“You’re my family, too,” he mutters.

You wait in the waiting room the whole time Buck is in surgery. When he makes it out of recovery and to the ICU room, you don’t leave his side. You’re sure visiting hours are over, but you stay out of the nurse’s way. She doesn’t say anything; she just gives you a sympathetic look every once in a while.

You hear him stir a little bit. You look up from your phone to see Buck blinking awake.

“Welcome back,” you smile.

“You’re here,” he says, voice rough.

“Where else would I be?”

Buck looks around the room, slowly orienting himself. His eyes eventually land on his leg, which is in a cast and suspended in a sling. His eyes widen, and he lets out a few breaths as he tries to sit up.

“Okay, okay,” you set a hand on his shoulder, gently pushing him back. “It’s gonna be okay.”

“Is it?” Buck asks. “Did you talk to the doctor? Did he say anything about how the surgery went?”

“Just that you made it through,” you say softly. “And you're now the proud owner of one titanium rod and four beautifully cobalt-chromed screws.”

“Before they wheeled me in, he, uh… he said he didn't know how it was gonna go.”

You take his hand gently. “You’ll walk again, Buck.”

“Yeah, h-he said… he said he was pretty confident about that. He, uh, he just... he didn't know if I would ever… work again.”

You run a hand over your face. “Okay, I'm not gonna lie to you and tell you everything will work out how you want it to. But what I will say is that we should take this moment to be glad that you’re alive.”

“I’m really sorry about our fight,” Buck apologizes.

You laugh. “Buck, that is… so far from being important right now.”

“No, it isn’t,” he insists. “It wasn’t fair, how I reacted. I’m proud of you. I was just… scared.”

“Scared of what?”

“Losing you,” he admits quietly.

“Yeah, well, I was pretty scared of that today, so we’re definitely even,” you joke. Your smile softens and you squeeze his hand. “I’m not going anywhere.”

You move your hand to his forehead. You trail it down to his cheek, letting it rest for a moment. You turn your body to face him better. His eyes are closed, which you’re grateful for because if he were looking at you, you wouldn’t have the guts to do what you want to do.

You kiss him. It’s hesitant at first, and when he doesn’t react right away, you start to pull back. Before you can, Buck has his hand on the back of your neck, pulling you in closer. Your hand moves from his cheek down his neck and eventually rests on his chest. You only pull away when your lungs are burning from lack of air.

Buck traces his thumb over your lips. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.”

You blush, laugh, and bury your face in the crook of his neck.

[the-beauty-of-creativity]

So I watched Blue Beetle (2023), and now I’m infinitely more interested in Ted Kord and Jaime Reyes’ lore than before. Jaime’s suit is one of the coolest superhero suits I’ve ever seen in live action! The suit’s special effects and overall design are so fun to look at. Not to mention, the Scarab being a separate entity altogether makes the fight scenes so much more captivating.

This movie was honestly hilarious, and Xolo Maridueña is a great actor. I think that the storyline was heartfelt and sincere, especially considering that one scene with Jaime’s father.

(I love how you can see his expressions through the suit!)

[ashortdropandasuddenstop]

James stood at the railing, gripping the spyglass tightly as the pirate ship surged toward the East India Trading Company vessel. Killian’s words still rang in his ears, a challenge cloaked in curiosity and laced with a taunt: Will you be participating or standing by and watching?

He’d declined, of course “No thank you. I have no desire to spill blood, especially not in the name of piracy.” slightly slurred Norrington.

He didn't man the cannons either. Instead taking another long drink and ignoring the Captain's orders.

Now, as the pirate ship closed in on its prey, James felt a gnawing unease. His mind flashed to the men on that merchant ship—men who were just doing their duty, much as he once had aboard the Dauntless. He told himself he wasn’t like Killian’s crew, that he couldn’t condone this kind of violence for those who weren't pirates. And yet, as the pirates cheered and the cannon crews sprang into action, James felt another emotion stirring beneath his reluctance: guilt.

He wasn’t helping the men on the merchant ship, nor was he aiding the crew he now sailed with. Instead, he was standing idle, letting others shoulder the burden of battle while he wallowed in indecision.

The ship rocked as the long guns fired, the thunderous roar jarring James from his thoughts. He lifted the spyglass, scanning the scene ahead. The East India ship was taking evasive maneuvers, but it was no match for Killian’s nimble vessel. The first shots had already disabled its foremast, leaving it vulnerable.

James lowered the spyglass, his knuckles white where they gripped the rail. He tried to push down the rising tide of emotions—conflicted loyalties, helplessness, and something else he couldn’t quite name.

“Coward,” he muttered under his breath, his own voice stinging more than Killian’s words ever could. Now alone, the adrenaline coursing through the crew had been infectious, yet he’d resisted. And that guilt began to gnaw at him.

He thought of the crew—how they had welcomed him, even after his initial hostility. How they had laughed with him, shared their stories, and taught him their songs. They had shown him kindness in their own strange way, and now they were risking their lives while he remained behind.

James sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Damn it all…”

He wanted to turn away, to retreat below deck and block it all out. But the longer he watched, the more his guilt grew. These men had taken him in, given him a place among them. And still he was… doing nothing.

With the devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other James hesitated, his feet rooted to the deck. He was no pirate. He couldn’t be a pirate.

But he also couldn’t ignore the pull of responsibility—if not to the fight, then at least to the men he’d begun to consider comrades. To Killian that the East India company had so cruelly wronged .. and if he truly thought about it… to himself.. used like a loyal dog begging for scraps of praise. Besides that.. when he was drunk like this.. he was itching to fight. He was missing all the fun.

Killian had felt the pain in James' voice when they fired upon the Dauntless and watched him disappear below deck. Some guilt bubbled up in his chest as if that had been the Jolly Roger he would've felt the same pain. The captain did not follow, no words could comfort the man and he was sure his presence was not wanted. He would give James his space and some time to recover.

After some days Killian needed his new navigator to step up. Working together with him and the crew tensions eased back down, even getting James to laugh and sing along with their shanties. Killian admired how the other was finding himself and the change that took place, James was coming out of his shell and being the man he was meant to be. He couldn't help but think to himself James looked better this way. Though his type had always been the tall rugged men.

Late in the morning the lookout called attention to sails. Killian was excited for this as he came down beside James and used his spyglass to look out at the vessel. "Not just any merchant ship, an East India Trading company ship." There was darkness in his tone as the royal navy might've betrayed him it was the East India Trading company that killed his former crew. He handed the spyglass over to James and turned to his crew.

"We leave no quarter to these dogs! I want every man gutted on that ship, show no mercy as they would show none to us!" Killian called out with a growl to his tone. The usual cheerful demeanor set aside with a bloodbath on the horizon. "Hard to starboard! Ready the long guns! Aim for the masts, we don't want to damage the cargo! Full sail!" He began shouting orders and the crew hurried to follow. The ship making the turn towards the merchant ship, the captain easily shifting his weight on his feet to keep steady. He looked to the men raising their flag and fully opening the sails to give them more speed towards their target.

His attention turned back to James. "Will you be participating or standing by and watching?" Killian asked curiously. He had told James he didn't have to, but wondered if he could convince the man to join in on the action. "You really going to miss out on the thrill of battle? I should also mention those who don't participate don't get a cut of the loot. So if you want to enjoy the spoils you're either joining in the fight when we board them or you can go down below and help man the cannons."

[tiredstarcat]

Currently rewatching Clone Wars... just about every episode is me screaming 'Anakin WTF' or 'GODDAMN IT PALPATINE'

The sheer amount of tragedy is kind of cathartic...

[sskk-manifesto]

Bungou Stray Dogs: Dead Apple and how “ability users” (opposite to “normal people”) learning to accept themselves through the acceptance of their own abilities is a queer metaphor of acceptance of own's sexual orientation and gender: an essay by me

[hayaku14]

gymnast kaito x sharpshooter shinichi meet-cute in the olympics au

[courtesanofdeath]

Mito Yohei

happy birthday ~

[forestgreenlesbian]

went to see gladiator ii and we were almost 40 minutes late but we didnt even miss the start like are they seriously playing 40 mins of adverts & trailers before the movie now that feels. insane

[sulfurrrr]

s2 of arcane was so pretty and fun to watch but. idkkkk the way they kept adding characters and storylines and stuff made the entire thing feel like an advertisement for LoL.

[t-u-i-t-c]

“Then I guess starting today, I’ll be Kamen Rider Wizard.”

[shojoboy]

thinking about Princess Tutu again. 100% serious when I say that Ahiru's solo pas de deux scene was a level of badassery on par with Ashitaka pushing open that door in Princess Mononoke. absolutely hardcore

[goatsghost]

i was going to make a “blue beetle spoilers without context” post but it’s literally just spy kids. the whole movie is just spy kids

[mayhaps-a-blog]

Rewatching Fullmetal Alchemist (2003), I may have been too harsh on the ending - I definitely prefer Brotherhood, but the 2003 canon definitely has its charms. Definitely a mixed bag, as most shows are, really!

My pros and cons list got long, but here:

The good: Dante is a fascinating villain, and a neat character! Her attempts to vaguely justify her actions while clearly having completely lost touch with humanity were interesting to watch, and her interactions with the homunculi were great!

I also liked the homunculi - I think I prefer Envy from Brotherhood, but Lust and Sloth's struggle with their memories and yearning for a life that was never theirs added an interesting dimension to their characters. Wrath is an incredibly tragic character and watching him scream for his mother, any mother, only to be faced with abuse is heartbreaking.

Rose's story is likewise more extensive and tragic than in Brotherhood. "More extensively tragic" is true of a lot of 2003.

The themes of the cost of human transmutation are much more focused - human transmutation, its causes and its consequences, are the main theme of the story rather than a means to a different end (I could go on... but I already made a post about that). The show also deals a lot with child abandonment, and abuse - with Wrath as the scared, angry child who is drawn into a dangerous group through his desire for a mother, Envy as wrathful to the point of hating everyone, and Ed starting down Envy's path, but veering into something closer to acceptance, if not forgiveness. Al is the one with forgiveness. We see the why, we see the how - and for Nina of course, and Selim too. And that lends some interesting depth to the story.

The actual ending isn't as terrible as I remember thinking it - I liked Mustang's epilogue, but I wish they'd left Ed's ending ambiguous. But I like it when shows leave the future somewhat mysterious :)

The bad: I am still not a fan of the WW1 plot. It feels unnecessary, and I can think of a lot more interesting answers for "what's behind the gate" than a sudden surprise isekai story. Frankly, I don't even want an answer to what's beyond the gate; like God, death, and souls, that's the big mystery none of us should or could ever know, and any attempted answer in media ends up mundane and boring compared to the grand mystery. And the excuse of the deaths in our world somehow echoing back through time to fuel alchemy just raises more questions than it answers. The whole idea raises more questions than it answers, which is not what I look for in a show finale! Speculating over what comes next is one thing, having to scratch your head to figure out how the universe works when it's stated and supposed to follow clearly defined rules is just annoying.

Another answer that brings up more questions is Hohenheim. His backstory with Dante is fascinating - and almost completely unexplored. The fact that he is a mass-murderer, multiple times over (he changes bodies at least twice, the original switch and into his current body, and given Dante's original appearance the bodies do still age - he'd need a few to manage 400 years!) is never fully addressed other than "well he's not doing it again so it's fine I guess." But really, when exactly did he realize murder is bad, actually? (Yes, even if it's "witches and plague victims", like, seriously?) It apparently took 400 years - was it meeting Trisha, or something before then? Did he wake up one day and realize his marriage sucked and decide to hit the bricks? Was it some kind of immortal's mid-fourth-life crisis? Can we really ignore all the murder just because he's nice now??

Finally, the ending does feel a little rushed compared to Brotherhood, probably because of the fewer episodes (while close in overall length, 2003 spends 25 episodes on the content that Brotherhood covers in 10). A few plot points feel forced or unrealistically rushed - why would Russell and Fletcher's father have been shown the underground city? Dante has her own house to teach alchemy in! And Mustang's rebellion felt like it was really forced through for the plot - he could at least have leveraged the soldiers' experiences in Ishbal, etc. instead of demanding they commit mutiny with no evidence. I'd expect them to mutiny against him! But that's stuff a few more episodes may have fixed.

In summary...

FMA (2003): Excellent characters, excellent characterization, I wholeheartedly love episodes 1-25 (except maybe Barry's introduction, that aged horribly if it was ever decent at all), the time we get to spend with Hughes and Mustang's team and all the little mini arcs is great! I like that they brought in some of the earlier characters to work with, I like the way they took their themes and (most) story arcs. Would recommend watching, preferably before Brotherhood.

Brotherhood: Definitely the stronger plot to me. I like Father as a villain and prefer Hohenheim's backstory here; I definitely prefer the whole deal and ambiguity with Truth and the gate to the surprise!isekai in 2003. Brings in some absolutely fantastic characters and the buildup to the finale feels less rushed - more things feel realistic and well-thought out, like Mustang's rebellion, with the extra time to let characters get their chess pieces into place.

Overall, I still prefer Brotherhood - but 2003 has grown on me with this rewatch! I'd definitely still suggest watching it before Brotherhood, and will add at least episodes 1-25 to my regular rewatch list. If I can still find them. Plus Mustang's team's episodes. As far as I'm concerned, those are all totally canon to all versions of the story!

[lavenderjewels]

love to see it