#just finished s2 as well so like i did give him a fair chance i think

[symphorine]

ok so ive been watching the firefighter show bc i enjoy procedurals (up til i cant take the bad writing anymore) and like. i know fandom so i know why the Big Ship is what it is. i was looking forward to seeing what kind of dynamic they actually have in the show tho! thinking yknow theres gotta be Something to start off of right. and uh 1) its really not very satisfying (sort of be told theyre close rather than be shown why they are) 2) i find eddie so uninteresting. like by far the worst of the cast. idk if its the performance or the character writing but dear god

[sunsetcurve]

so s2 of saved by the bell really was a serve from start to finish huh…like i binged the whole thing at like 4 am last night so i know there’s shit i’m forgetting but some highlights that i legitimately cannot get over (spoilers):

• i was honestly very skeptical when they first started talking about the pandemic, but they managed to build a lot of the major themes of the season around it without making it feel too contrived. like i loved how the whole thing was about like, coming back together as a community and rebuilding spirit and stuff, and the whole speech at the end about how there’s no such thing as wasted time resonated so much

• devante’s entire character arc this season was genuinely one of my favorite parts of the show. his relationship with nadia was so cute and they actually had such important conversations as a part of it particularly with the class and race issues…and then devante’s whole career thing with the fair and then turning down the music opportunity…god i loved the line about how people told him the only way he was getting out was with a microphone or a football and i just love how much of his character is knowing who he is despite everyone trying to tell him who to be and the fact that he just never lets go of that!! best character energy!!!! also his growing love for bayside…seeing him so happy this season…the continuation of his amazing friendship with lexi….chef’s kiss!!!!

• BI AISHA BI AISHA BI AISHA!!!!! i’m so so happy this was a plot point this season and also approached so well, also i was SO happy seeing ariela barer as chloe because they are amazing in everything and chloe was suchhh a fun character. i was honestly disappointed last season when aisha didn’t get with jamie but i really liked the way they concluded things there (though i would really love more aisha/jamie friendship) and honestly it was so fun seeing aisha come in to who she is. also the whole arc of her absolutely decimating the racist asshole spanish teacher…that’s my fucking baby!!!!! i love her!!!!

• speaking of jamie he and lexi were so cute this season. like, the fact that they were able to grow so much both individually and as a couple was honestly impressive and they just complemented each other so well. i really like how they made it clear that things didn’t just happen and weren’t always natural, but both of them worked to make their relationship better and also be better people and i just…i love them okay

• also. the humor this season?? literally top tier. i genuinely laughed out loud multiple times, and i love that sbtb can include pop culture references that actually seem natural and funny. also i think one of my favorite lines in the entire season was “did you hear that the bakery’s having a sale today?” “no, on what?” “on HOT CROSS BUNS” *blows terribly into the recorder* i am still laughing over this

• i also just am never able to get over how the show like…really seamlessly integrates conversations about issues that feel really forced and unnatural in other sitcoms and shows like this. like somehow it manages to tackle so many convos across the board and not pull any of its punches while still keeping the heart of it and making people redeemable and being hilarious i love it so much

• mac morris…ugh still one of the funniest characters alive, still delivering every second, and the GROWTH!! the way he’s consistently shown to be so smart and so capable when he puts his mind to things…the way a core theme of his character is how he really just needs someone to believe in him and trust him enough to give him a chance (AND IT WAS DAISY!!)…the way this season addressed the fact that he feels like he constantly has these expectations to live by but he’s genuinely trying to be a better person and work at being more empathetic and less selfish…the way he’s come so far since s1………ugh 😫. i’m so proud.

• speaking of proud my daughter my heart the light of my life daisy did so much this season i am so proud of herself. absolutely love love love how a big part of the season was how like…she didn’t want to do the spirit competition at first because there were bigger issues but then she realized how important it was to the student body and how that fits into the big theme of her character of like…getting caught up in the big picture when focusing on her friends and the people she loves is what she really needs…i love that she got that this season…god i hated seeing her hurt but the way she came back from it and the heart that she put into it was so wonderful…my girl just spent the whole damn season showing up everyone around her i love her so damn much

• and maisy stans…maisy stans we ATE!!! we ATE this season!!!!!!!!!!! i had a feeling they’d start slowburning maisy but i did not expect real life confirmation that mac is head over heels in love with her…i did not expect “only for you” and him saying she changed him and him just wanting to spend time with her and her telling him she was impressed and smiling at him like That™️ and “i only date guys who win the spirit competition” MAISY STANS HOW ARE WE FEELING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i was screaming from beginning to end let’s be real i was expecting hints but i was not expecting to be FED LIKE THIS!!!!!!! we truly won this season i am thriving my skin is clear my crops are watered maisy is soon to be canon life is so fucking good

anyway i went into this season thinking it would be decent i did not think it would blow my expectations out of the water i did not think it would serve so hard but i am so so thrilled by everything that happened i love this show so damn much anyway s3 where you at 😩🙏🏾

[ichika27]

Mairimashita! Iruma-kun s2 ep21

Last episode for this season!

It’s strange we’re only getting 21. It feels like an awkward number to end on since many other anime that goes on for 20+ episodes have at least 24-26. Oh well, s3 has been announced so it’s all good I guess.

It's still the Apocalypse (the last day of it) and Iruma is trying to finish all of his homework which seem to be going well. He had a lot to do due to homework being doubled.

Why was homework doubled? It's the consequence of a past action...

It was due to the bet from back at the Walter Park arc! They remembered about it (I kinda forgot about it, honestly, since so many things happened since then).

Grandpa Sullivan is the one to choose the winners and decided it was all of them making them all both the winners and losers of the bet. With this, both the prize and punishments applied - they were treated to an expensive meal but they also have to deal with a ton of homework. Kalego-sensei is pissed he had to pay for everyone’s food but was very happy to tell them that they will be suffering for the rest of the apocalypse.

Iruma worked hard and got through all the homework though.

This Apocalypse Iruma had: gone on vacation with his friends, went on a sleepover at a friend's house, and went on a date... so naturally, this time around he's spending time with family!

He and Grandpa are gonna go buy school supplies. I kinda missed when me and my family did that back in the day. I always found shopping for school supplies fun.

Due to the season's earlier events, Iruma has gotten pretty popular it seems so Grandpa gives him anti-recognition glasses for a disguise. Ain’t the boy cute? I dunno why but with anime characters, glasses actually either add or subtract from how good or bad their appearance is.

Haha this reminds me, there’s this anime called “Castle Town Dandelion” and the MC is a girl who hates standing out and in one episode, her sister gave her glasses that could allegedly do the same thing Iruma’s glasses here could. It doesn’t work like that and everyone just acted as if it does to make her feel better. Akane needed this version lol.

They're headed to Magical Street to go shopping! A new area has been introduced to both us and Iruma.

This is apparently where shops, parks and also teacher's dorms are located. I’m wondering why the teacher’s dorms are here when back in the episodes where Iruma joined the student council, it seems he and the student council members were staying over at school. Why isn’t the dorm for faculty members at school, too then? Weird.

Iruma's Grandpa is pretty popular, too. People crowded around him as soon as they saw him but doesn't recognize Iruma due to the glasses. Makes me wonder why Grandpa didn't wear ones himself lol.

Grandpa Sullivan isn’t just popular as he’s well-liked, too.

First, clothes shopping! Iruma tried on a coat as they need some for the upcoming winter. Grandpa decides these were good and takes an entire rack. Damn they're rich lol. He tells Iruma to just wear a different one everyday.

They're buying accessories next and Opera suggest that Iruma buy a collar for his familiar which is Kalego-sensei lol. Iruma knew it would not end well if he actually did that and declines. Opera is disappointed by this... they really want to mess with Kalego, huh?

I think it’s funny but I also pity Kalego-sensei. Having to deal with his senpai’s antics long after graduating. The nightmare of many former students.

Next they're buying books! God this makes me miss going to book fairs.

Grandpa tells the staff at the desk what books he wanted and each one he lists off automatically flies down next to him (pretty cool). Grandpa explains that Iruma would need a lot of books to learn more spells. They talked about the spell Fractal (which Iruma used to princess carry Ameri last episode) and Grandpa tells him that with enough practice, Iruma could also use it to be able to fly. Grandpa takes this chance to show-off to Iruma by using it to take down a shoplifter. Everyone in the store is amazed but Iruma's praise is the one Grandpa cares about the most.

They continue shopping for stuff. This was funny cause the way Grandpa said the lollipop's name reminded me of how Doraemon introduces the items from his pocket. Also, does this mean that lollipop has no expiration date?

The day ends with the two having a talk (Opera went and got the carriage). Iruma says he had a lot of fun at school which made his Grandpa happy knowing Iruma has gotten used to living here. Grandpa tells him that the new semester would be even more eventful than this one and showed him a poster of what I assume would be the festivals the other fans have been mentioning.

In the middle of their talk, Iruma suddenly asks Grandpa about how to become a Demon King (likely cause he overheard some people wondering aloud why Sullivan, a powerful demon, didn't want to take the job despite being qualified for it).

Grandpa is surprised and speechless for a moment but then becomes happy and says if Iruma is asking cause he wanted to be Demon King then Grandpa will support him. Iruma explains he’s just curious.

Flashback! It seems Grandpa used to work for the former Demon King, Delkiller.

Too bad his face is covered. I’m curious to know what he looked like when he was younger.

Oooh... we finally see him - the infamous Delkiller that's been talked about for a long time. His face isn't completely properly shown for now, I guess but he’s shown to be pretty huge. He seems lazy but he also takes pride in the Demon World he's created. The flashback ends here though.

His hair color reminds me somewhat of Evil Cycle! Iruma’s hair color...

We get a bit of lore info from Grandpa about Demon Kings.

Grandpa explains about the 13 Crowns - representatives of the Demon World who help govern it - and that to become a Demon King, one must possess the trust of every single one since they'd be the one to rule the Demon World.

He also explains the role and power of the Demon King - their word is law and they are the Demon World itself. Demons will do as they commanded. The Demon World is a reflection of whoever ruled it and right now, the Demon World is a fun place because Delkiller-sama was a fun person.

Grandpa explains that with all these in mind, he doesn't know if he'd even get the role someday if he wanted it or if he ever did, if he'd be worthy of it. It’s such a big thing after all.

If he did become the Demon King though, he says he'd do this: make the Demon World "Iruma"-themed lol. Seriously though, he says he'd support Iruma if he'd become the Demon King and would like to see what kind of world Iruma would create.

These statements are very ironic considering who would end up being future Demon King haha.

While Iruma said he didn’t want to become Demon King, he did end up thinking about it. What if he did become the Demon King?

Hmm... for someone who isn’t interested, he looked like he was thinking deeply about it.

They get back home and later that night, Iruma checked the stuff Granpa bought him.

Iruma finally gets a hold of the Demon King Prophecy! We've heard about the prophecy before but Iruma probably hasn't yet until now. After listing the stuff about the future king, there’s a shot of Iruma’s hand with his ring haha. Upon reading this, Iruma thought more about it: What kind of world would it become if he were to become the Demon King?

You’re not the only one wondering Iruma. I’m sure the rest of the fandom is wondering that, too.

The new semester begins! The entire Abnormal class is told that they now have to attain Dalet (4) rank before their second year begins as it's the minimum they'd need to graduate - failure results in them losing the Royal One classroom!

--

Not gonna lie, the shopping part of the episode reminded me of the scenes at the beginning of the firsts Harry Potter movies with them shopping at Diagon Alley. It’s fun and I got to see more of the Demon World. I wonder if they’d show us other places in the Demon World in the next season.

Grandpa happily doting on Iruma made me think that maybe it’d have been better for him if he had gotten to adopt Iruma as a child. Iruma is already a teenager and so their time they could spend together wouldn’t be as long or as often since Iruma had friends and busy with school. On the other hand, Iruma gained a lot of experiences in his crappy life before getting here and it did help him become the person he is. I guess the problem here is that he’s human and he probably ages faster than everyone else. :P

Like I mentioned before, it feels weird we only got 21 episodes this time. I was hoping there’d be another arc before the end of the season. There’s already a season 3 announcement and for next year, I think, so its all good. It might feel like a long time but I thought the same back when season 1 ended and now the finale for season 2 had just aired. Time flies fast.

I just wanna point out that in the last scene at the classroom when they were being told about the rank raising they gotta do, Agares is shown with his eyes visible. I’m glad they never put that mask back to cover his face cause he looks good haha. Glad they kept this detail.

Well, thank you for reading this and the other posts, too if you did. I guess we’d have to wait for season 3 now. I’m glad this show is popular enough to gain another season so fast. :)

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

Top 5 Missed Opportunities in 400 Days

Hey, remember when TWDG Season One ended and we were a group of emotional messes? Remember when Season Two was announced and we were gonna get a DLC to bridge S1 and S2 together and we were extra excited for everything to come? Because I do. 

To be fair, I truly did enjoy 400 Days when it first came out years ago, and it’s not like I hate it now or anything... I just can’t help but look at it and see wasted potential on every level-- the characters and their development, the stories, the impact our choices made for the future...

The concept of 400 Days-- a collection of stories that follow different protagonists and the situations they find themselves in within the zombie apocalypse that eventually connect to one another-- is a great one. I love the idea of mini-episodes that are all connected, and one choice you made in one episode affects the next episode you play... so what happened? Why does it fall flat now when we look back on it?

Well, a major reason for me is the fact that all four seasons of the main game are complete. When 400 Days came out, we didn’t have S2, so we didn’t know what our choices meant. That lead to us theorizing about what would happen if we got everyone to go with Tavia, or what would happen if no one but Bonnie went. Why was Bonnie the only one who agrees no matter what? What could that mean?

And we have those answers now, and it’s a let down... especially when it could’ve been so much better. That’s what I wanna talk about today. I wanna talk about what I think are the biggest missed opportunities in 400 Days. 

5. Giving Shel and her dumb sister actual personalities

Of all the stories you can play in 400 Days, Shel’s episode is probably the worst due to the fact that she and her dumb sister lack any memorable qualities or personalities.... which is such a shame because this story also has one of the more interesting moral dilemma’s. 

In this story, you play as Shel who is surviving in the diner/gas station with a group that consists of some of the cancer patients from S1. Remember them? They were with Vernon and helped him steal out boat? Yeah, they got away and apparently Vernon died and the group feel apart over the damn boat, but you don’t get much more than that. 

Shel has this dumb sister who I can’t be bothered to remember her name because she’s that bland. Her sister is basically Shel’s personality. Take away her sister, and you’re left with nothing. 

They’re going for the “Oh man, I don’t know what this world is doing to my dumb sister, it’s changing her, I don’t want her to have to do things like murder, I want her to have a normal childhood,” but that falls flat when they don’t give me a reason to care about them in the first place. 

Like I said, the moral dilemma for this one IS interesting-- They catch someone who tried to steal from them. The man is injured pretty bad, and he can’t speak English, so there is no way for them to communicate with him. Roman, the dude who acts as the leader of our group, says that they can’t keep him here but they can’t send him back out there... and that means killing him. 

So what do you do? Do you risk it by giving this man a second chance, give him some food and send him on his way and hope he doesn’t come back and do more harm? Or do you kill this man so that there is no risk in him coming back to do harm? 

And you as Shel are the swing vote. That’s not an easy choice to make, plus you gotta think about how that choice is gonna affect your dumb sister?

Except it doesn’t really matter.... at all. No matter what you do, Roman still cracks down and wants to murder another member of the group who tries to escape, Shel’s dumb sister is still a brat who talks big but never does anything, and Shel is still a stale piece of white bread. 

If they wanted us to care, then give Shel something other than her sister. Maybe they could’ve had her be someone who doesn’t really have a backbone, she tries to avoid conflict and is intimidated by Roman, she doesn’t speak up even when she should, and then her dumb sister could be the opposite-- Loud, take charge, wants to get more involved with protecting the group, isn’t afraid to stand up to Roman which causes him to take her under his wing and wanna turn her into a murder baby... which Shel definitely doesn’t want so what could she do to keep her dumb sister away from him? 

If they wanted to tell the story of a woman worried her sister is going to grow up cold and ruthless because of the world around her, then tell that story. Show us that story, show us what happens when you agree to kill the man and now her dumb sister genuinely believes that murder is an easy solution to their problems, so when it comes to the woman who escaped, the dumb sister volunteers to kill her and Roman lets her... and you as Shel gotta decide if you wanna fight that by running away or just let it happen. 

I dunno man, but Shel’s story is my least favorite of the bunch because I have no reason to care about either of them, and that’s a waste. 

4. Nate’s a shithead so they should’ve used him more

Well, hello again, Nate... we meet once more here on T5F. 

So yeah, I’ve talked about this crazy bastard on a previous list about characters no one likes, so you’re probably wondering why I’m saying that he should’ve been around more.

That’s the thing, I hate Nate. He’s gross, he’s brutal, and he’s uncomfortable with those crazy eyes of his... but he would’ve made for a fun antagonist in more of 400 Days, as well as in S2. 

Depending on what episode you play first, Nate can either first appear in Wyatt’s story, or Russell’s. In Wyatt’s story, Nate is chasing down him and Eddie after Eddie accidentally killed a guy who was with Nate, and Nate here is chasing them down for some revenge. He eventually finds them, and who ever is left in the car as no choice but to flee, leaving the other behind. 

Nate plays a more active part in Russell’s story, picking him off the highway and chatting with him on the way to the diner/gas station, and y’know how Shel has no personality? Well, I think I know where all the personality went because Nate’s got quite a bit of it. He’s one of the more memorable parts of 400 Days for a reason. He has a weird charisma about him, but then he starts talkin’ gross and almost gets Russell’s face eaten off by a walker and you get the idea that this man isn’t quite right, y’know?

Then we make it to the diner/gas station where they get shot at, and Nate insists on finishing this... as in, let’s go in and shoot whoever is shooting us. They sneak in, and the old man there says Nate is back to finish the job... which isn’t great. Nate acts like he doesn’t know what he’s talking about, but then suggests they kill the old couple using a line from the story Russell told her.... y’know, the story that’s kinda triggering for Russell. 

At this point, Russell can either tell Nate off and leave, or he can stay where Nate will kill the couple right in front of him and claim that Russell is his boy and it is not great.

We know that either way, Russell gets away from Nate. We never see him again so he could be dead, turned, or alive. All I can think about is the fact that they created the beginnings of a compelling antagonist who could’ve bled over into S2 at Howe’s or even afterward. Like if we showed up at Howe’s and were locked up, only to find Nate locked up with us. Or maybe instead of Arvo, Nate could’ve been the one who stumbled upon Clementine and Jane and was overpowered and threatened by them... only for him to stalk them and confront them about what happened. 

Either way, there was a missed opportunity to do more with Nate. 

3. Focusing on the wrong things within Bonnie’s story

Alright, everyone’s favorite: Bonnie. 

Bonnie is the only character in 400 Days who actually matters in terms of S2... and even then, her story doesn’t matter too much...which is dumb. 

For me, Bonnie’s story is such a waste... like okay, right from the start they establish that Bonnie is a recovering addict, and I’m intrigued. The idea of an addict surviving in the apocalypse while trying to kick the stuff is interesting as hell.... but the story kinda just glosses over it unless Dee is insulting Bonnie by calling her a junkie. 

No, the story we got was Bonnie breaking up a marriage. Great. 

There’s this dude Leland who has a wife, Dee, but he and Bonnie are getting awfully snug with one another... so that’s real nice. Dee eventually finds them giving each other the look and breaks it up in a passive aggressive way before revealing she found a bag of supplies. This happens to be a bag that she “found” at the diner/gas station where Shel’s group is currently staying. 

An argument breaks out between Leland and Dee with Bonnie in the middle and it’s not compelling at all. You can just sit there and do nothing and it doesn’t matter, they continue to fight until Shel’s group spots them and they gotta run. 

Bonnie ends up shot and falls behind, and we do get a cool scene where she has to make her way through this cornfield without getting caught. I do like that bit, it’s fun. 

But then she gets away, grabs a weapon, and hits someone walking up on her... that someone happened to be Dee. Whoops. Dee calls her a junkie, saying she killed her, and then dies.

Now comes the big choice: Do you tell Leland the truth or lie to cover your ass?

While this is an interesting choice on paper, it doesn’t matter. Leland isn’t with Bonnie in the end no matter what, and Bonnie will always agree to go with Tavia. 

Personally, I wanted the fact that she was a recovering addict to be more front and center. Throw Leland and Dee away, have Bonnie travelling on her own. Have her going through withdrawals, show us her struggle of still being hooked on drugs while surviving in the zombie apocalypse... have her stumble across Shel’s group and from a distance, she sees they have medical supplies. She’s so desperate that she sneaks in at night and steals as much as she can, but gets caught. 

We could still have her running away through the cornfield with the drugs, she can still get shot and everything... but maybe she’s so desperate for them that she ends up killing one of Shel’s group members, and she sees just what she’s willing to do in order to get these drugs, and you can make a choice of abandoning the drugs and quitting, or taking the drugs and running away... and it could actually affect Bonnie in the ending and into S2. 

Plus, her killing one of Shel’s group would help add to the debate in her episode, y’know?

I just... I wanted that story... not what we got. 

2. The past is more interesting than the present

This goes hand in hand with #3, but applies to almost everyone else. 

All of these characters that we get to play as have more interesting backstories that I was more compelled by than what they’re actually going through in their stories. 

The first time we meet Vince, he straight up murders a dude who is pleading for his life, saying he doesn’t even know Vince’s brother. Like... okay, what the hell happened here? What happened to Vince’s brother that made her commit murder like that? 

How about Wyatt and Eddie? They’re running from Nate after Eddie killed the guy he was with. They’re panicking, Eddie is covered in the dude’s blood, Wyatt doesn’t know if Eddie meant to shoot or not. You can tell they’re known each other a long time, too. They’re a couple of stoners who got themselves into hot water. 

Oh and Russell? His story is interesting as hell! He was in a group where the main guy kept going on about how seven if the perfect number for a group, ya can’t break seven, and this group eventually started killing so they could steal, so Russell got away and is now on his way to find his grandmother’s place. 

Once again... Bonnie is a recovering drug addict in the apocalypse. 

The only one without an interesting backstory is Shel... which I guess is fitting. The boring character doesn’t even get a fun backstory, she just exists. 

It’s not a good sign when I’m more interested in the past, y’know? Vince’s I can give a bit of a pass to because he killed that guy before the apocalypse broke out, and his dilemma takes place right at the start, and it’s done pretty well. 

Everyone else though? I already explained Bonnie’s, but what about Russell and his seven group? We could’ve gotten that story of a group that starts out good, the guys gives his philosophy on the dumber seven, Russell meets that one girl... but then things start to grow dark when the group starts to become desperate enough to murder and steal, the guy keeps going on about the number seven so they can’t invite anyone in, and they can’t let anyone go... so Russell has to sneak away or something. 

Wyatt and Eddie? Show ‘em there when Nate and his buddy show up. Give us the tension of “are these guys chill or are they planning something?” when Eddie gets into a fight with the other dude and ends up shooting him, Nate gets pissed, and they gotta flee. Wyatt doesn’t know if Eddie shot him intentionally or not, it’s a whole, thing and they can still hit the cop and do that whole thing, too. 

I just... I think problem is the stories were a bit too compact and short, not giving the characters a chance to develop or the stories enough compel to them. 

1. It doesn’t matter who goes to Howe’s or not and that’s dumb

Sigh..... so yeah, obviously this is #1. 

My biggest problem with 400 Days is that is doesn’t affect much. Even Bonnie’s story doesn’t affect what she does in S2.

As for the rest, if you only got Bonnie at Howe’s, then the rest and their fate’s are unknown. But if you do manage to get everyone to go with Tavia, they are at Howe’s... the problem is, they show up in small cameos that literally do nothing. 

Ya got Wyatt who walks past Clementine like “Dude you better hurry, Bill doesn’t like to wait” like.... what, am I just supposed to get excited and point at him like “oooohhh I know him! I know him! That Wyatt! Hehehehe!” because I didn’t do that...

Or Vince randomly showing up to catch Tavia smoking, or Shel and her dumb sister making a comment about Sarah, it’s just dumb. 

And then Howe’s falls and their fates are left unknown anyway.... so it didn’t matter. 

I’ll just say what most of us were thinking.... Why weren’t they the cabin group? No, seriously, why weren’t the 400 Day’s crew the cabin group? Because it was too hard given the fact that there are so many combos? That’s fair, but if that’s the case, then what was the point of 400 Days?

Did they just want to tell a bunch of smaller stories within this world but never actually planned on using them outside of fun cameos in S2, with the exception of Bonnie? That probably is the case... and I think my disappointment in 400 Days does stem from being in the fandom at the time and getting hyped to see what they would do with these characters, only for it to be this. 

Not only that, but then I started to think about how they could’ve done with game but with the actual cabin group from S2. Luke, Nick, Pete could’ve had their own story dealing with Nick’s mom getting bit after they took in a bite victim. 

Rebecca and Alvin could’ve had a story about their marriage kinda falling apart despite them trying hard, and this could help make her affair with Carver make more sense. 

Carlos and Sarah could have a story that explains Carlos’ over protectiveness and as well as explore Sarah as a character. 

Hell, give Mike a story. 

Give JANE a story about her and Jaime so that her appearing outta no where isn’t jarring, and develops her and the reasons she treats survival the way she does.

There was so much they could’ve done with this idea... and to be honest, if we ever get another game in this series, I would love it in this style but expanded into a season where each episode follows a different character and tells a different story, but in the end they all end up connecting. There is SO MUCH you can do with that!

But alas..... 400 Days for me is full of missed opportunities and I wish it wasn’t. 

---

Honorable Mentions

-Eddie only appeared in Wyatt’s episode and then disappeared until his death in S4.... Eddie’s great, should’ve been around more. -Would’ve been nice if the cancer group from S1 was expanded on, give more context to what the hell happened to Vernon and the boat, y’know? -a bit more development for Tavia would’ve been nice, as well... she just kinda shows up at the end and recruits who she can. 

---

So what are your thoughts on 400 Days? Do you agree with these missed opportunities, or have any to add? Lemme know, it’s always fun to chat.

Have any suggestions for future T5F’s? Feel free to send ‘em in! :D

Next week’s T5F Top 5 Reasons Gabe’s Pretty Great, Y’all Are Just Mean

[phantom-curve]

find the strength, find the melody pt. 7

lmfao I love how I posted an update 2 days ago like “this fic will have sporadic posts! idk when they’re coming!” and then I spent the last two days writing this. when that insomnia inspiration hits ya gotta just go with it!

this chapter went in a completely different direction than I had planned on soooo yeah...honestly not sure where this is gonna end up! the characters from my OC novel that I’m loosely basing this story around didn’t have a connection before they ran into each other so when Julie gave me this I almost cut it because I genuinely wasn’t sure where it was going. I think I’ve almost figured it out and I’m pretty sure I know how this will end. and now we all get to laugh at me together because it’s definitely gonna be more than 3-4 chapters. it might even be more than 6. Luke’s POV will have roughly the same amount of chapters I think, possibly longer because boy oh boy does he have A LOT to say (most of it about Julie). fair warning: this one has an awkward cut off because of the way I need to set up the next chapter. sorry about that.

and now something I probably should be embarrassed to admit: I don’t remember writing the part where I managed to sneak an “I’ve Got The Music” reference in so now we know for sure this show has infiltrated my brain. it’s fine, I’m fine, at least I WILL BE WHEN WE GET A S2!!!! KENNY!!!! SAVE ME HERE!!! MAKE MY UNHINGED OBSESSIONS WORTH IT!!!!!

taglist: @blue-hat-girl, @lwhoscribbles, @bluefyoto94, @5sosmukefan, @moonlightxnder, @leahthewonder​, @kat-maybe-not​, @lukewearingbeanies, @imastrugglingartist​​

It was no small miracle that Julie made it through the afternoon without Ray asking for details about her supposed ‘plan’ to play with the Sunset Curve boys. She didn’t think she would have been able to pull off spinning a story quite as well as Luke had earlier. She had expected at least a small amount of interrogating about when she had started playing again, but apparently the news that she was playing at all, let alone with other people in front of an audience, was enough for Ray to ignore all of the other plot holes involved in this scheme. He seemed to have almost forgotten the meeting with Principal Lessa entirely, humming on the drive home, kissing her forehead and turning her loose to freak out alone in her room while he sat down to work on his computer in the dining room. Julie took full advantage of the time alone to restlessly pace her room and send Flynn a 911 text. Her bestie’s contact photo lit up the phone screen 30 seconds later.

“Okay, I’m hiding in the basement girl’s bathroom, so you’ve got exactly 5 minutes before I get too grossed out to stay here.”

Julie’s chest loosened at the sound of Flynn’s comforting voice. There wasn’t anyone else in the world that loved her the way Flynn did. It was reassuring and made it easy for Julie to let loose.

“Lessa told Dad about the music program and then You-Know-Who ambushed us outside of her office and basically forced me to agree to perform with them.”

“Voldemort was at Los Feliz?!”

Flynn’s gasp was overflowing with sarcasm.

“Flynn!” Julie whined. “Be serious! Luke showed up out of nowhere again! And he did the thing again! The charming his way into getting what he wants thing! And now I have to play with his freaking band! What the hell am I supposed to do?”

There was silence for a moment. When Flynn spoke again her voice was softer, more serious.

“You don’t have to play with them, Jules. You can tell them no, and they’ll have no choice but to respect that. The only person who can make you do anything is you. But...I kinda think you might want to play with them.”

“What?! No!”

Julie’s exclamation was a second late. Flynn didn’t say anything. She didn’t need to. Julie sighed.

“Okay fine. There’s something about Luke that makes me want to play again. Are you happy? He gave mom’s song back to me when I thought it was lost forever. He’s the only person who’s heard me perform it, and he...no one else has ever made me feel that good about my music before.”

Julie thanked her lucky stars Flynn wasn’t in the room to see her blush. There was a long moment of contemplative silence on the other end of the line. When she spoke again, there was that extra note of take-no-shit in Flynn’s voice that made Julie sit up and really listen.

“I think you should give it a chance. Who knows, maybe this is some sort of sign from your mom. You said it was a miracle he would have even found that song in the first place. You said it felt like she was there with you when you were playing. Maybe she made sure it would find its way back to you when you were ready for it.”

Julie didn’t say anything, just worried her bottom lip with her teeth. Her heart beat a little faster in her chest. It had felt a little too perfect to be just a coincidence. The way Luke kept appearing in her life at the exact moments she needed him someone or something to help her keep moving forward. Flynn sighed.

“Look, I’m not saying it is your mom. But I’m not saying there’s not some kind of greater power out there that keeps pushing the two of you together. I think you should give it a chance. If nothing else, you can get back in the music program and we can bring Double Trouble to life in time for our Junior Showcase!”

Julie couldn’t help laughing. Her eyes felt misty, love for her best friend welling up in her heart.

“I never agreed to that name you know. But thanks, Flynn. I’ll think about it.”

“Good. Now. I gotta get the fuck out of this grimy ass bathroom. Love you, bye!”

Flynn waited for her to return the sentiment before hanging up.  Julie flopped back on her bed, letting her breath out in a loud whoosh as she hit the comforter. A glance at her phone told her she only had a couple hours until Luke and the other boys would be out of school and on their way to her house. She tried her best to ignore the way that thought made her stomach roll with a type of nervousness she would rather not name. It was easier to blame it on nerves over playing with new people rather than nerves over playing with Luke. Except...now that she actually thought about it, she had played with Luke before. Her head spun, eyes fluttering shut as she remembered the one music class she had shared with Luke last year.

She had only been a freshman, stuck in a lowly Introduction to Composition class. It was supposed to be for new songwriters. Julie had a little more experience than the rest of the class, after all she’d been kind of composing with her mom for a few years now, so when it had been time to write a duet for their final big project she had gotten paired up with the classmate whose skill level most matched hers. It was supposed to be a way for them to challenge each other and grow as writers instead of one person doing most of the work. Julie had been paired with Luke.

He’d been a grumbly sophomore, held back for failing his last semester of Intro to Comp the year before. He had been stuck there only for the second semester, forced to double up between their class and his second year Composition class. Julie hadn’t been all that excited about partnering with him. He hadn’t really seemed to care about the class at all, and even though Julie also sometimes felt like it was holding her back a little bit, she never once voiced that thought. It was a privileged mindset, and Julie was well aware that she had an advantage over her classmates since her mother was a professional songwriter. Luke, on the other hand, had made it well known that he felt like he was wasting his time just waiting to get through the semester so he could move up to the Advanced Composition class that he felt he truly belonged in. Julie could usually do no more than roll her eyes in those moments.

It was true that Luke was talented. His guitar playing was impressive, his lyrics were heartfelt and sometimes even downright poetic. Julie just didn’t think anyone deserved specific things in life because they happened to be naturally talented at something. Their songwriting experience had been...interesting to say the least. And short. It had ended abruptly when Julie’s mother had died 5 days later. In the end, they’d only worked together for two 40-minute class periods before she had been lost in the fog of grief that consumed her in the weeks following the loss of her mom.

Julie shot up in bed, eyes wide. She didn’t even fully remember what had happened with the half-finished song they had been working on. Errant notes echoed in her head, like a song that had only existed in dreams until now. She absently wondered if Luke had held onto that as well. It was no wonder she had kept that particular memory suppressed all this time. That time in her life had been particularly painful. Luke had been gentle with her though. Almost all traces of his typical arrogance gone in the two short class periods they’d had to work together. He had kept things light, steering their songwriting in the direction of a rock ballad more than a true duet. Julie hadn’t minded. She had been floating through classes by then anyway, on edge every second she was away from her mom’s bedside. It had been easier to work on something that didn’t have as many sappy emotions attached to it.

She groaned, burying her face in her hands. No wonder Luke had been so sweet with her. He must have had a front row seat to her breakdown throughout the last year. She hadn’t even realized it. Had never before seen the way he watched her from a distance, checked in on her during class. She should have. Now that she was thinking about it, trying to identify every instance, she could name a million. How had she missed it for so long? How had he gone so long without saying anything? The Luke she remembered was terrible at keeping his mouth shut. He had always been ready to speak his mind, never afraid to start a discourse. It didn’t track that he had been holding himself back. Unless...it was more about her musical ability than anything else. She remembered now; Luke had been thrilled to partner with her for the duet. He had made some remark about how her sound was the perfect complement to his. Maybe he only cared about the ways they would mesh as songwriters. She could only hope that’s what his words had meant.

She felt more secure in her footing as a musician when it came to dealing with Luke than she ever had as a simple teenaged girl. If it was just about the music she could compartmentalize better, keep herself from getting too emotionally invested. Music had always been a safe zone, neutral. She breathed in and out deeply, remembering the technique Dr. Turner had taught her to slow her breathing and recenter her mind. She could do this. It was just about the music. They would play a song together, Julie would get back into the music program, and life would move forward much in the way it had before. Except Julie would actually participate in class this time. She had the music back in her soul, she wasn’t ever going to let it go again. On her next exhale, she heard the doorbell ring. Showtime. Julie zipped down the stairs, ripping open the door before her dad had a chance to get more than three feet away from his computer. Luke, Alex and Reggie all stumbled back a step as she tumbled outside, pulling the front door shut behind her. The three teenaged boys shared a look.

“Studio. Now.”

Julie raced down the path to her mom’s studio before they could react, not even waiting to see if they followed her. If they were smart, if they truly wanted to do this, they would. She hauled the garage doors open, only turning around when she had the piano at her back. The wood felt warm and solid, almost like she had her mom as a support behind her instead of an instrument. The boys appeared seconds later, Luke leading the way. He stopped a couple feet inside of the studio, studying her with wide open earnest eyes. She let out a deep breath. Reggie spoke up before she could get a word out.

“Woah, Julie, this studio is so cool! It’s like a tiny home! A musical tiny home in a botanical garden!!”

His green eyes were wide, expression awed as he spun to take in the space that Julie and her mom had spent countless hours turning into theirs.

“How did you get chairs on the ceiling?! Are you, like, a witch and a siren?!! Man, you and your mom must have made some serious magic in here.”

Luke’s arm shot out faster than lightening to backhand Reggie’s bicep. Reggie cringed away, a soft owww! just barely audible over the loud sigh Alex let out as he buried his face in his hands. Reggie shrugged, looking back and forth between his bandmates before giving Julie a confused yet apologetic glance. What had he said wrong this time? The giggle that bubbled out of her was as unexpected as it was welcomed. Warmth blazed in her heart, memories of the time she had spent in here with her mom washing over her with a kind of hazy bliss she hadn’t ever experienced before. She gazed at Reggie, letting that same feeling of motherly love from the night before fill her up. It was all she could do not to react to Luke’s jaw dropping when she gave Reggie a soft smile.

“We did. We made so much magic in here.”

The words were gentle and filled with a kind of genuine love that overshadowed all other feelings of awkward nervousness. Alex and Luke relaxed instantly, Reggie’s face losing all traces of uncertainty as he beamed at her with a smile so large it almost looked painful. Julie couldn’t help but let herself return it, just a little bit. The silence that settled between them was more comfortable, the tense moment from earlier broken. Julie studied the boys in front of her. She hadn’t ever thought of them as friends per se. They knew each other, would say hi if they encountered one another outside the walls of the high school, but at the same time, they didn’t actually know each other. Julie’s little run in with Luke the night before had made that painfully obvious. She wasn’t really sure what to make of them.

“Are you guys actually serious about this whole Showcase scheme? Did Luke even tell you about his dumb plan?”

“Hey! That plan is genius. Even your dad agreed. He seems pretty cool.”

Julie couldn’t help the fond way she rolled her eyes. Alex was quick to reassure her that they did, in fact, know about the plan.

“Not that I actually think it’s a particularly well thought out plan.” He stated with a lingering glare at Luke’s back.

The planner in question did his best to ignore the skeptical look on Julie’s face.

“Julie, you really don’t deserve to be out of the music program.” Reggie’s voice was soft and sincere. “You have the voice of an angel. If we can help convinced Ms. Harrison and Principal Lessa to give you your spot back it will be so worth it. And even if we don’t, it’ll be worth the looks on their faces when we rock the pants off that crowd!”

Julie laughed in spite of herself, slightly reassured even as she chewed nervously on her lip. Luke took a few bouncy steps forward, pulling her attention to him completely. His eyes locked on hers and she was sure she was drowning, throat tightening at the look he was giving her.

“You got this. I wouldn’t have come up with this idea if I didn’t believe it 100%.”

Honestly, that was what scared her the most about it.

“We don’t even have anything prepared.”

Her voice was barely a whisper, unsteady and wavering. Luke took a few more steps towards her, Reggie and Alex ghosting along silently a few feet behind him. Julie didn’t even notice, so laser focused on the brunette boy in the cut-up tank top in front of her. She watched his muscles flex as he reached into his back pocket, flicking out a piece of folded up paper in a move scarily reminiscent of when he had given her mom’s song back to her. He bit his lip, head ducking a little to be closer to hers as he unfolded the worn sheets of scrappy notebook paper. She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, focusing on the messy handwriting in front of her.

“I thought you would say that.”

The smile on his face was so soft and sweet it should have been illegal.

“It’s called ‘Bright’. It’s a Sunset Curve song that we never performed because it’s missing something. Look,” his bare shoulder brushed hers as he shifted to point at the notes, warmth seeping through the thin material of her t-shirt, “it’s perfect for your range. I was thinking, if we add a little bit of piano here and here,” fire blazed a path up her arm as his fingers traced along the opening notes and chorus, forearm flexing against her own, bare skin brushing in teasing licks, “it’ll be perfect.”

Julie forced herself to focus on what he was saying, eyes roving across the paper. She hummed a little under her breath, hearing what he described in her head. His eyes lit up when he saw her get it, feet springing up and down as he dipped even closer towards her and started to sing.

We will rise, through the night

You and I

We will fight to shine together

Bright forever

His voice vibrated in her chest, the sound filling her with an emotion she couldn’t fully identify. Alex and Reggie bobbed along behind him, Reggie’s fingers plucking out the baseline on an invisible guitar while Alex nodded along to an unseen beat. Julie could envision the way the song would sound with a complete band, could practically see herself fitting seamlessly into the mix with her piano and vocals. She couldn’t help the smile that curved her lips as she joined in, reading the lyrics off of the page.

And rise through the night,

You and I

We will fight to shine together

“Go up high.”

Luke cut in, fingers twirling towards the ceiling. Julie automatically made the adjustment in notes to harmonize her voice with his for the last line, holding the final syllable for a beat longer than him.

Bright forever

“Yes!”

Luke’s arm pumped up and down, bicep flexing and distracting Julie momentarily. She dropped her head shyly, trying to hide her blush. When her cheeks cooled a moment later she looked back up at the boy in front of her. His eyes were glowing, smile stretched a mile wide as he stared at her. Unconditional belief in her was practically oozing from his pores. She felt her face soften as their eyes locked, giving him her own sweet smile that was meant just for the two of them. She thanked him with a gentle murmur, heart melting as he simply bit his lower lip and nodded.

A throat cleared in the background, and Julie was snapped out of their private bubble by the sound. Her entire face felt engulfed in flames as she looked over Luke’s shoulder to see Alex and Reggie still standing a few paces behind him. Reggie’s face was bright, his sunshine temperament back in full force. Alex was a little more guarded, but he was giving her an encouraging smile and there was cautious optimism swimming in his sage green eyes as he fiddled with one of his drumsticks. She inhaled deeply and let her breath out in one smooth exhale. The same sort of peacefulness from the night before settled over her.

“Okay. Okay, so we’re doing this.”

Luke’s whoop was so loud both her and Alex jumped. Reggie raced forward with a cheer to sling one arm around Luke’s shoulders and the other around Julie’s, pulling them so close to his chest that their noses nearly touched. Julie saw the blush staining Luke’s cheeks and felt her own warm to match. Alex coughed again.

“Reg, c’mon. Let it settle for just a sec before you go all human octopus on the poor girl.”

“Oh, right! Sorry, Jules!!”

Reggie released both of them quickly. Julie flicked her gaze between the three boys, enjoying the glimpses at their band dynamic. Alex’s words had sounded a bit exasperated, but there was a fondness running through them as well. He gave a half-hearted roll of his eyes at Reggie’s abrupt movements and reached his own long arm out to pull the dark-haired boy close.

“Help me unload the van? I still don’t trust our little Lukey boy with my kit.”

“Hey! That was one time!”

Luke sounded downright offended. The dark look Alex leveled at him in response had Julie choking back a laugh with a badly disguised cough. Clearly once of whatever he did was enough. Luke pouted, arms flexing as they crossed over his chest.

“You put your foot through my bass drum, and you think that isn’t reason enough not to trust you with it ever again?”

Luke sputtered, eyes flicking to Julie and back to Alex as his ears reddened.

“I told you I didn’t see it!”

“It’s the biggest part of the kit, dumbass. Literally the hardest thing to miss.”

Alex’s voice was as unimpressed as it was dismissive. Luke threw his hands in the air as the other boys headed out of the studio, laughing amongst themselves. It was clear this was a regular argument between the two, no heat or anger left in it, only a loving sort of tease. Like the way Carlos still brought up that time she accidentally gave him a concussion double-bouncing him off of their neighbor’s trampoline when he wanted something from her. Or the way her Tía would still laugh as she remembered the time her mom had almost gotten them both arrested for a bar fight on her 21st birthday, Ray affectionately filling in the parts that she tried to leave out. Warmth bloomed in her chest. This wasn’t just a band, wasn’t just a ragtag trio of friends. These guys were brothers. This was a family. And they were letting her into that intimate circle.

The thought was both humbling and nerve-wracking. This Showcase was a big deal. It wasn’t just some school assignment. This could impact their future as a band career-wise. They were all trusting her with this, fully believing in her, or at least, fully believing in Luke’s faith in her abilities. She wasn’t sure anyone had ever believed in her like that. Not anyone that hadn’t known her since she was in diapers. Her head swam, knees feeling a bit weak. She stumbled her way over to the couch, collapsing onto it with a barely audible huff. Luke was in front of her instantly, crouched down so they were face to face. His hands twitched in his lap, but he didn’t reach for her.

“Hey. Julie. Breathe.”

She sucked in a breath, zeroing in on nothing more than his face. After a few seconds she realized he was breathing in and out slowly, just loud enough for her to hear over the jumble of thoughts running amok in her brain. She matched her own inhales and exhales to his, the room slowly coming back into focus as her head cleared. He gave her one of those soft smiles she was starting to think of as hers.

“We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. But I wouldn’t have stopped you in school if I didn’t think you were gonna rock it. I heard you last night. I listened to you for years before last night.”

His chin dropped in embarrassment for just a second before he pulled his gaze back up to hers. Julie felt like she was on the edge of a cliff. Not for the first time she wished she knew how long this version of Luke had been lurking under the surface. It took everything in her not to let herself step off that ledge and fall.

“Music is in your soul. It’s a part of you. Not everyone is like that, but you are. Your life without music...”

He tapered off like the thought was physically painful to him, eyebrows furrowing in a slight wince.

“Living without music would be like living in a world without stars: dark and empty and uninspired. You deserve galaxies, Julie. You deserve the chance to shine exactly like the star you are, and the world deserves the chance to hear you. Please, just...have a little faith?”

She saw it then. As he gazed at her with those bottomless ocean eyes, with that special smile on his lips and sincerity bleeding through every word, she knew. Luke was like her. Luke got it. In a way that no one else except her mom ever had. That’s what this was. They were kindred spirits, two sides of the same coin. And that feeling? The wind rushing through her hair and stealing her breath away while her limbs all turned to jelly feeling? That was definitely her falling head over heels off of the cliff and into Luke Patterson completely.

“Okay.”

She breathed out, and his answering smile set off the butterflies she thought had finally left her stomach. He stood up and held a hand out to her, easily pulling her to her feet in one smooth movement.

“You know,” his smile turned rueful, “eventually you’re gonna have to answer one of my questions with something other than ‘okay’. That’s a pretty passive word, and I’m not really a passive type of person. I wanna start hearing some ‘hell yeah’s and ‘awesome’s pretty soon.”

Julie rolled her eyes, moving away from Luke to set up her keyboard. He gave her a bouncy little shrug of his shoulders, and she let the levity of his joke wash over her, releasing the last bit of nerves. She could do this. Luke believed in her. Her mom believed in her. Hell, Alex and Reggie believed in her and she barely even knew them. She could do this, just like her mom had said.

Noise from the other boys making their way up the driveway had her rushing to pull both doors to the studio open so they could haul in Alex’s drum kit. The three of them left together to grab amps and guitars, Julie finishing the rest of the set up in the garage. Before she had time to overthink things or freak out again, they were all settled into their spots and Alex was counting down for their first run through. Fingers against the keys, Julie breathed out, opened her mouth, and began to play.

[ofstoriesandstardust]

recognize you

a/n: the gif felt appropriate. 

main masterlist | the choices we make masterlist | story description | discovery | best of me

summary: The Hargreeves siblings are not pleased to learn of Luther’s choice to reach out to his sister.

warnings: swearing, reference to s2 of TUA

word count: 1,137

Luther returned to the Academy, a dopey smile on his face. Meeting Elena had been great. She’d been so kind and they laughed and talked and he learned so much about his biological family. They probably could’ve kept talking for longer, but she’d gotten a call from one of her co-workers (he thought it was one of her co-workers) and she’d had to go. She’d promised to call him soon, when she had a break in cases, so they could arrange a time for her to come down to the Academy and meet his siblings.  He opened the front door and immediately noticed how quiet the place was. Ever since their return from the 60′s, there was always someone around, with Five, Luther, Klaus, Allison, and Ben taking up temporary (permanent?) residence with nowhere else to go. It had given the family a well needed chance to hang out with one another and bond. His mom came down the steps and moved towards her. “Hey Mom.” He called and she looked up at him. 

“Luther, sweetie, did you have a good day?” He nodded as she reached over to give him a hug and kiss his cheek. 

“Where is everyone?” He asked. 

“They’re in the kitchen I believe.” She said, and he nodded, heading towards there. He pushed the door open, and walked in. The sound cut Klaus off, clearly saying something. The tension in the room was unsettling and Luther was starting to get a bad feeling as all his siblings turned to face him, varying looks on their faces, none of them good. 

“What’s going on?” He asked. Five shoved his hands in his pockets. 

“Where were you?” Five said angrily. 

“Out.” Luther said, confused. Was he about to get interrogated just because he’d left the Academy?

“Oh yeah? With who?” Five snarked, moving from his place on the counter to Diego’s side. 

“A friend.” Luther offered, not yet willing tor reveal Elena, but he was starting to get a feeling of where this was headed. 

“Damn it, Luther. What did I tell you about looking at your file?” Five snapped. Luther just stared at Five, not sure what to say. “I thought you had a bit more of a brain than that. But no, I go to finish Dad’s study this morning and find the lid on the box off. And guess who’s file was gone?” Luther shrugged.

“So? That doesn’t mean anything.” Luther lied. Allison rolled her eyes and Diego scoffed, shaking his head. “It doesn’t.” Five threw his hands up in the air, turning away from him. 

“Really?” Diego asked incredulously. “Then why did I get a call from my police buddy today that you came looking for information on a woman named Taunya Roberts a couple days ago?” Diego threw down a packet on the table, one Luther was assuming held all the information he’d been looking at just a few days ago, and more. 

“What does it matter? It’s not like any of them live in New York.” Luther argued. Damn, could he just stop digging this hole already? Diego chuckled darkly. 

“You’d be right, until you look all the way down... here.” Diego pointed towards the bottom of the page, and Luther didn’t need to look at it to know he was pointing to Elena’s name. “And, oh, would you look at that. She lives in Manhattan. Say, Allison, you’ve been to Manhattan. How far of a drive would you say it is from here to Manhattan?” 

“Only about three hours with traffic.” She responded, looking at Diego. 

“So, let’s do the math here. Luther left at 9 am this morning, which woul-” 

“Okay, okay, I get it!” Luther snapped. “I looked at my file, I reached out to my sister. Why are you so mad about it?” 

“Do you not care about us anymore?” Luther’s head shot down to where Vanya sat. He pulled the chair out next to her, sitting down. 

“No, no, no, Vanya, that’s not it at all.” He rushed out. 

“I just mean, after everything we’ve been through, after everything you and I have been through- are we not enough for you anymore?” Vanya asked, the emotion evident in her face. 

“No!” Luther exclaimed. He looked to Allison desperately for help. “Allison, c’mon help me out here.” She looked at him and shook her head. It was a look that made his blood go cold. Luther quickly stood up, and moved towards her. “Allison-” She shook her head, moving away from her. 

“I can’t, Luther.” 

“Allison-”

“Because when I look at you, after what you’ve done, I don’t recognize you anymore. I hate that there’s a stranger standing in front of me where my brother used to stand.” Luther could feel his heart start to break at her words. All he had wanted was to meet his biological sister; he had never meant to tear his family apart. 

“What was your plan Luther? You were gonna meet her and she was gonna accept you and we were all going to live in fairytale land?” Five said, snapping at him again. 

“Can I meet her?” Klaus piped up and Luther nearly got whiplash from how quickly his neck swiveled towards Klaus, as did everyone else. “She’s very pretty. Do you think I could seduce her?” Klaus asked, turning towards Ben, who was sitting next to him. Ben chuckled. 

“Nah, she looks like someone whose got standards.” Klaus shrugged. 

“Fair.”

“What are you talking about?” Allison asked incredulously. Klaus gave an over exaggerated sigh and shifted in his chair. 

“Well, while you people have been sitting here arguing all day about this, Ben and I did the appropriate thing and internet stalked her.” Allison shook her head. 

“You know what, forget it. I can’t.” Allison pushed past Luther, and left the kitchen. Vanya wordlessly followed her. Luther turned his attention back to Five and Diego. 

“I’m done with you Luther, I can’t.” Five waved him off, leaving through the other kitchen door. Luther sighed and looked at Diego. Diego uncrossed his arms and made to stand up. 

“You know what Luther? This probably equals as bad as the time you caused Vanya to go all destructive and cause the apocalypse.”

“Diego-” Klaus protested, but Diego silenced him with a wave of his hand. 

“I thought that things were finally starting to get better. I thought that you and I- we were a team man. Team Zero, remember?”

“Diego, we still are. This doesn’t change anything.” Luther pleaded. Diego shook his head. 

“This changes everything.” Diego left the kitchen and Luther slumped down in a chair, putting his head into his hands. Ben sighed next to him.

“They’ll come around Luther. It’ll just take time.” Ben said softly. 

“So... my question still stands, can I meet her?”

[willsimpforazula]

Sokkla Month Day 7: Intimate

A/N: This is an ATLA + Fate/Stay Night (Unlimited Blade Works) crossover and this scene is inspired from S2, E10. Intimate memories count as intimate, no?

Saber - Suki

Rin Tohsaka - Azula

Emiya Shirou - Sokka

With that out of the way, leggo

-----

Sokkla Month Day 7: Intimate

Sokka's house

The mood was solemn, as the remaining two Masters of the 5th Holy Grail War debated on their plan of action. With the revelation that Archer, who Azula summoned actually turned out to be the Heroic Spirit version of Sokka and that he possessed a Reality Marble, and the shock of seeing him blasted to bits by Gilgamesh's attack still hung heavy on their minds.

Azula, who saw her servant looking very much like a porcupine giving up his life to save them.

Suki, who had to stand and watch the younger of the two Sokka's battle it out, the older and more cynical version blasting him again and again with round upon round of blades, delivering wounds that should have killed him hundreds of times over were it not for Avalon implanted within him.

As she finished bandaging the worst of his wounds, they all agreed that the Grail should be smashed into pieces, preventing anyone from ever trying to get their hands on it. Staring at the pendant in her hand, Azula exhaled and sighed "I never really had a wish that I wanted to be granted, just...I wanted to win it so that our family name could be held high."

"Sounds just like you."

"What-what do you mean by that!" she blushed, curling up into a ball before replying "A-anyways, we're getting ahead of ourselves." Just then, her stomach let out a low grumble, making her blush even harder.

"Hungry huh? I'll go fix us up something to eat. After all, I recall a certain someone describing 'hunger as an enemy', no?"

"Thanks." she mumbled, while it was now Suki's turn to blush.

------

Later that night…

After cleaning up the dishes, Sokka was about to turn the corner to his room when he heard hushed voices discussing something very important.

"....are you really sure, Suki?"

"Yes, I am sure of it. You have my thanks." Storing it for later, he pretended to not see them and walk off to take his shower. Fresh and clean, he pondered what could they have possibly been planning when he found his footsteps naturally come to rest outside her door. Summoning up his courage, he gave a few quick knocks when he saw light spilling from the crack. With a creak, a sliver of light beamed forth, before being occupied by a golden eye that belonged to an annoyed face.

"What do you want.?"

"Uh, did-did I piss you off just now? You seem to be in a really bad mood."

"That depends on what you say next."

"I-uhm, well-"

"You might as well come in instead of stammering. At least you can tell me your foolish ideas coherently."

"I trust you figured it out that you're going to fight Gilgamesh."

"Well, no actually. But I'm still going to do it regardless. I just feel like, like I've got the best shot at taking that King of Heroes down a peg."

"Then you must have figured out Archer's Noble Phantasm."

"Yeah that's a negative on that one." he sheepishly replied.

"Are you kidding me?!" she shouted. Shaking her head and pinching the bridge of her nose, she continued "Regardless, the only reason Goldie even considered both of you a threat was that with enough mana, either of you could actually stand a chance at beating him. It's also the reason why he called you both 'fakes'."

"But with my current reserves, I'm fucked if he starts pulling out all the stops. Ten of those Phantasms maybe, but that's like pushing it. Any higher, and I am toast."

"At your current mana reserves, definitely. But, there's one option we could try. Basically, you and I form a pact that allows us to share mana between us. It doesn't matter if you can't supply enough, I can, which means you can summon and sustain a Reality Marble long enough to kick that bastard's ass."

"That's a good idea. So how do we do it?"

"Well…." she breathed deeply, her cheeks turning as red as her trademark turtleneck sweater, "I-I-I'll have to transfer my Magic Crest onto you."

"I can't take something that important away from you! I mean, is that your entire family lineage's lifetime of work?"

"To win the most important fight of my life requires giving it my most treasured possession, as much as I hate to see it. Law of equivalent exchange, the first thing they teach new mages. Wait why are you staring at me like that?!"

"N-nothing! It's just, I was in awe of you and-and it made me realise just why I fell for you the way I did."

"This is hardly the time to talk about such things! But-but I guess, you, uhm, could let it all out if-if it makes you feel happy."

"But will you feel happy?"

"On one hand, I wanna see you just how deep the grave you're digging is. On the other hand, well-let's just get back to the task at hand okay!" she blushed for what must be the tenth time that night. Somehow, every other sentence that came out his mouth either had her seeing red or making her heart flutter and face pink.

"Azula?"

"What?"

"N-n-nothing. Let's get it started."

"Alright then. Just tell me what to do."

"Take off your clothes." she mumbled, covering her face as she faced the wall.

"What?"

"Did I stutter?"

"Are you sure?"

"Ju-just do as I say alright!" In a small still voice, she added "I-I-I'm going to be taking mine off too, it's only fair."

"Don't get the wrong ideas, unless you don't plan on celebrating Father's day. " she threatened.

"Okay okay, got it!"

"Then why the long face?" "For the transplant to succeed, both of us need to be in a deep state of rapport."

"I see."

"Do I need to take my pants off too, or is just the shirt okay?"

Snatching a rolled up poster, she began to assault him viciously while yelling "What the fuck do you think, you moron!", her face approximating the dye of her turtleneck at this point.

-----

Sitting on her bed, with both of them topless and the lights turned off, he could sense her rustling as she turned to him and said "Let's begin.", placing hand on his bare chest. Inhaling deeply, she started to utter her incantations:

Gib dem wandernden Vogel das Trinkwasser

Der von langen Weg kommt

Benutz den Vogelrahman

In dem der Schlüssel nicht angewendet wird

Ich spinne den Regenbogen in neuem selbst

Heisses Wetter, Regen

Wind, Schnee, Krieg, Ende, ununterbrochen

Nimm an, ohne anderer Meinung zu sein, ohne zu fallen

Es nimmt an, ohne zu fürchten

Ohne zu zweifeln

As he felt his circuits come alive and intermesh with hers, his eyes fluttered open in shock for the briefest of moments as now he and her were now forming the most intimate of bonds between mages outside of coital bonds. For all intents and purposes, they might as well be married. Meanwhile, Azula poured all her concentration into completing the transplant, beads of sweat starting to form on her forehead.

Sieg im Freund, der auf eine Reise entfernt geth

Suddenly, he found himself reading through her most closest memories, ones that she kept particularly close to her heart.

A headstone.

Clouds.

A rainy day.

A priest, handing over a strange looking knife to a young girl dressed in a kimono.

A hallway in school.

Sunset.

An empty courtyard, save for one person doing high jumps over and over again. There were many more, but they all flickered past him at the speed of light. With a start, he woke up to find her cuddled right up against him, her head nestled comfortably in his chest. Seeing her so peaceful, he decided to let her be and crashed back on the pillow, an arm snaking around her waist protectively.

Feeling a warm body next to hers, Azula jumped up in shock, grabbed the nearest pillow and covered herself as she flicked on the lights.

"Why didn't you wake me?!"

"Sorry! Did it work though, the transplant?"

"Of course it did. So flawless there's nothing else to do, so precise there'll be no side effects. So perfect that even that worthless fake priest would say 'Azula, you've done a fantastic job.'", her voice muffled by the pillow.

Turning to examine the upside down geometric fish pattern on his arm, he asked in slight amazement and awe "So this is it huh?"

"Stop gawking like a child, you'll get a fly in your mouth you know?"

"Thank you Azula. Really."

Noticing her golden eyes couldn't look at his, he asked concernedly "What's wrong?"

"You saw it, didn't you?"

"I didn't see anything, promise! My eyes were closed the whole time!"

"That's not the point, you-you-grr!" she exclaimed, ruthlessly smacking him with the pillow that she had been using to cover herself, not caring if her top was coming loose from her assaulting him as her eyes started to water.

"Ow! Ow! Sorry! It's not like I had a choice!"

"The next time I'll make sure to dig every last one of your embarrassing little secrets, you hear me!"

"Okay okay! Calm down Azula, we can talk about this later right? Right?"

"I suppose." she reluctantly huffed, her arms folded.

Giving her a light peck on the cheek, he held her close and replied "Let's get some sleep, we've got a big fight ahead of us."

"Fine, but I get to be the big spoon." "Sure."

Wrapping her arms around him, she snuggled up against him and sighed contentedly as Sokka pulled the blanket over them.

[jowritesthingss]

A Fondness for Rabbits

Fandom: The Magnus Archives

Pairing(s): n/a

Rating: Teen (for swearing)

Content Warning(s): rabbits, food/drink, mild(ish) swearing, not!Sasha,  eldritch beings, spoilers through late s2 / early s3-ish

Length: 3,538 words

Brief Summary: Jon isn’t particularly keen on the Archive’s new rabbit mascot. (It would help if you read this first! But it isn’t required.)

AO3 link in reblogs bc Tumblr is annoying!

*

If he could, Jonathan Sims would absolutely be firing one Timothy Stoker right about now.

Unfortunately, it seems that for the moment, the both of them are stuck in some sort of limbo, working down there in the Archives.

Them and that damned rabbit Tim brought in to work.

Jon is certain, absolutely certain, that Tim only brought the thing into the Archives to bother him. It happened all too soon after they had their falling out and discovered that none of them can physically quit; there’s no way that it isn’t a coincidence.

Tim swears up and down that it’s only at the Institute because his flat doesn’t allow animals, and that it’ll be gone as soon as he can find a permanent home for it, but naturally Jon is suspicious—and rightfully so, he thinks. Perhaps Tim isn’t the one who murdered Gertrude, but that doesn’t free him from all suspicions. Jon still doesn’t know why he applied to work at the Magnus Institute. For all he knows, the rabbit could be the next step in some horrid plan of some sort.

Regardless of any possible ulterior motives, Jon knows one thing for certain—he does not want this animal in his Archives. He wants it gone, and he wants it gone yesterday.

He stresses as such to a seemingly uncaring Tim: “The moment you find it a different home, it goes. The moment.”

“Sure thing, boss,” Tim agrees placidly, and Jon huffs at that, satisfied enough for the moment.

Oh, but then Martin comes in, and Jon is tasked with the lovely job of explaining to Martin why Tim’s rabbit is allowed to stay when his stray dog wasn’t. And hell, Jon regrets this already.

He stares into the beady red eyes of the rabbit as it slowly, contemplatively munches hay in a corner of the break room. Well.

There’s nothing to do but avoid the break room from then on, yes?

-

...No. Unfortunately.

As the last person to leave at night, and the first person to get in to the Archives in the morning, Jon becomes the reluctant caretaker to the ridiculously furry animal that has begun to take over his Archives and win over his assistants.

Tim wheedles him solidly for a day, popping in at random times until Jon finally agrees to feed the rabbit every morning when he arrives and every night before he leaves. And Jon would say no, he really would, if it weren’t for Martin, annoying oaf he is with his big pleading doe eyes and his irritatingly effective pout. Jon feels the silent judgement radiating off of him every time he pops in bearing tea.

Of course, even if he can’t avoid the animal in entirety, Jon still tries to make his trips in to care for the thing as quick as possible.

He times it once out of curiosity and boredom while he waits for his laptop to finish a surprise update—he’s managed to get the whole routine down in under five minutes. Considering the routine consists of giving it hay, getting it a scoop of pellets, tossing it lettuce from the fridge, refilling its water, and tidying the litter box, he feels almost a bit proud.

It’s somewhat relieving, honestly, having something normal to express distaste at in between investigating his coworkers on possible murder charges and fighting weird worm people and stabby hand people and other supernatural stuff. It’s kind of nice, actually.

Jon’s not too sure he likes the way the rabbit looks at him, though. It’s a rabbit—it’s not like it’s all that smart, right? But something about it just seems so...so knowing. So otherworldly.

He’ll get the routine down to three minutes, Jon resolves. Anything to avoid the rabbit’s unblinking gaze.

-

The rabbit becomes Jon Jr, and Jon (now apparently Jon Sr—which, don’t get him started on that bit) becomes irritated. Well, even more irritated than he generally always is nowadays.

And yet...the rabbit seems to sense that it has been named after Jon, almost. It seems to take particular fascination with him, and he cannot for the life of him figure out why.

Whenever Jon is in the break room, the thing follows him everywhere, demanding pets and snuggles and gently nibbling at the tips of his fingers if he lets them drop low enough. So he goes into the break room less and less, expecting for it to lose interest in him or hopefully forget about or ignore him the few moments he does pop in—but the rabbit seems to become even more fiercely attached.

He knows the creature isn’t like this with the others. The rabbit doesn’t particularly like Sasha—it ignores her most of the time—and it outright bit Elias the one time he chanced in on it. It seems to like Tim and Martin a fair amount, but the moment Jon walks through the doorway it bounds over, refusing to leave his side and even trying to follow him out of the break room on a smattering of occasions.

Staring into those empty, beady red eyes, Jon could swear there is something ancient and eternal and knowing. But Tim refuses to get rid of the thing, and Martin would cry, and Sasha or Elias or probably all of them would corner him and lecture him unnecessarily about being too paranoid yet again.

Although, he could always take it to an animal shelter. The rabbit very literally eats into the Archive’s budget—the thing eats an absurdly large amount of hay. Then Martin keeps buying toys for it instead of getting the office supplies Jon has asked for just about twenty times (“what if he gets bored in there, Jon? did you know rabbits can get depression? I can’t let him get depression!”), and Tim’s determined to fatten it up with copious amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables (“only the best organics for my furred son!”).

He’s certain that he could logic it out—that if he reasoned and fought it, Elias would nod neutrally and let him get rid of it. Elias, for all he is suspect in Gertrude’s murder, seems to be the only one with a modicum of sense left in the place. Surely he’ll be on Jon’s side in this.

But when he casually asks Elias his thoughts on the matter, the man adopts an oddly amused expression and says he has no objection to an animal to emotionally support the Archives team (“especially considering the incident involving Jane Prentiss, Jon, it really might help boost employee morale”).

Jon is fairly certain that this is Elias’ stance only so that he doesn’t have to be held accountable for providing his traumatized employees with actual therapeutic aid, but he doesn’t mention it. Instead he angrily bites his tongue and excuses himself from Elias’ office before he says something stupid.

As he goes back down to the Archives and continues about his day, Jon puzzles through his predicament.

The shelter is still sounding like his best option, his coworkers’ opinions be damned. He’s always the last to leave at night and the first to arrive in the morning...perhaps he could wait until everyone is gone and take it to a shelter? Or maybe he could ask around the other departments to see if anyone needs a pet or—well, or snake food.

Although...some very small part of Jon hesitates at the thought of turning Jon Jr over to Artifact Storage or a snake or anything of the sort.

The rabbit seems almost scarily in tune with his emotions—perhaps more in tune than Jon himself—and it doesn’t seem to mean him any harm. Certainly it hasn’t attacked him with parasitic worms or stabbed him with ridiculously long, sharp fingers yet or anything like that. And, well, what could it even do if it did intend harm? Bite him? Pee on his shoes? Steal his lunch?

...Speaking of lunch, Martin keeps spilling chicken from his wrap on his pants. Jon doesn’t have the heart to tell him that the mayonnaise has also started to escape.

Abruptly, Jon stands up from the couch, throwing away his napkin and shooing the rabbit away with a foot as he wriggles his way out of the door to the break room.

It has to be because they named it after him, Jon concludes. That’s why he’s starting to get attached. That must have been their plan, and dammit, it’s working.

He’ll give Tim an ultimatum, Jon ultimately decides as he goes back to his office. Tim doesn’t have to know what Elias thinks about the situation. And he did promise that the rabbit would go when he found it a home. So either Tim finds the rabbit a home by this Friday, or it goes out to a local shelter.

...The rabbit has a home by Friday: Jon’s.

-

Jon can pinpoint exactly when it happens.

He works himself into a panic when Basira Hussein quits the police force, and he loses any chance he might’ve had at getting the rest of Gertrude’s tapes. And at this point his panic (and his bad luck streak) really isn’t all that surprising, but something about this one particular panic is bad. Really bad.

It’s late at night, and everyone has gone home (except perhaps Elias; Jon has no idea what Elias’ hours look like). Since there’s no one else there to notice him appearing even more frazzled than usual, Jon chances out of his office and into the break room for a glass of water. It ought help his scratchy throat and his shaking limbs and his buzzing head.

Of course, he’s forgotten about the rabbit entirely.

Upon shoving the door open and flicking on the light switch, Jon nearly jumps out of his skin to see the rather unpleasant reminder of the Archives’ pesky little visitor. It’s sitting directly in front of the door, staring expectantly up at him, almost as if it’s been waiting for him.

Unnerving as ‘Jon Jr’ is, the actual Jon’s exhaustion and want for water outweighs his suspicions in the given moment, so he continues forward, shuffling into the break room and very nearly staggering towards the counter.

Once he’s managed to get a cup down from the cupboard, Jon fills it with trembling hands, dropping it into the sink once and nearly dropping it across the counter once too. He turns around and nearly trips on Jon Jr, sloshing even more water out of his cup.

Despite being rained on, though, the rabbit doesn’t seem all that put out; rather, it follows him over to the break room couch, waiting almost patiently for him to sit down and get situated before it hops up and unceremoniously deposits itself in his lap.

“What?” he manages to sourly mutter at it, but he can’t muster up the energy to shoo the thing off of his lap.

So Jon sits there, in silence, drinking his water and attempting to ignore the rabbit.

His attempt does not go well. A few minutes into the stillness, the rabbit shifts, moving to face Jon. It presses its nose towards his torso, wiggling its way under the hem of Jon’s rumpled collared shirt.

Choking on a particularly large gulp of water, Jon makes a startled noise as the rabbit’s wet nose comes into contact with his bare skin.

Coughing violently, Jon tries to flinch away, falling sideways on the couch. His cup flies out of his hands—thank god it’s one of the plastic ones—and water splatters everywhere.

However, the rabbit doesn’t seem to be deterred by the sudden motion and his attempt to get away. It simply follows him, weaseling its way from his lap up towards his face. Its bright red-eyed stare burns into Jon.

Jon flinches as the thing looms in front of his face, sucking in a desperate breath. Oh, god. There’s no one for him to call out to, no help to be had. Oh, god. Is it truly some sort of—of monster—after all? Is this it? Is he about to die?

The rabbit presses forward...

...and begins to lick his nose.

As Jon lies there, frozen into some sort of terrified shock, a vague part of his mind recalls a memory of the rabbits that his grandmother’s neighbor had kept, all those decades ago. Licking someone is a rabbit’s way of kissing them, and licking someone’s nose...that’s one of the ultimate signs of love, isn’t it?

The rabbit continues to lick his nose—nothing more, nothing less. No biting, no clawing, no attacking. Just licks. Just kisses. Just...love?

Jon’s racing heartbeat slowly begins to calm down. He lets out a shaky breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding, and he allows him to fall back into the couch, relaxing his tense limbs.

The rabbit follows him as he leans into the back of the couch, clambering up onto his chest.

For a moment Jon tenses up again, unsure of what it’s planning to do, but all the rabbit does is settle comfortably onto his chest and resume licking his nose. The weight of the animal on his chest somewhat reminds him of the Admiral, back when he’d lived with his former girlfriend Georgie, and it feels...nice. Calming, almost, soothing and lessening the sheer panic he’s been feeling for the majority of the day.

“You’re not....” Jon’s voice cracks; he inhales a shaky breath before trying again. “You’re not so bad after all, are you?” He licks his lips before he cautiously tries out the rabbit’s name. “...Junior.”

Jon reaches a wobbly hand up towards Jon Jr. He stares intently at the rabbit, waiting for any sign of alarm or ill will. Seeing none, he places his hand hesitantly on Jon Jr’s back. When the animal shows no sign of startling or moving to dislodge his hand, Jon slowly begins to pet him in short, stilted strokes that quickly become more confident as the rabbit kisses his nose more fervently.

“I suppose...I suppose you can stay for...just a bit longer,” Jon murmurs into the rabbit’s warm fur. He cautiously strokes Jon Jr’s cheeks, chancing a small smile when the rabbit closes his eyes in pleasure.

And if he falls asleep there on the break room couch, there with the comforting warmth and weight of the rabbit he’d set out to hate and instead fallen hopelessly in love with—well. Nobody was there in the Archives to see it, now were they?

-

Too much happens all too fast, in a blur of time and terror. Melanie King limps in on Jon acting much too immature (in his defense, Jon Jr is...difficult to resist when he wants kisses), but the worry over whether she’ll ruin his reputation or not is quickly washed away by the cold terror of realizing that Sasha is not Sasha.

Suddenly there’s an axe in his hand and an oddly swirling tabletop in his sights, and then suddenly Tim and Martin are interrupting him mid-swing, Jon Jr nosing around their ankles.

Then they’re surrounded by splinters of wood and the grotesque, distorted yells of the thing that is not Sasha, the thing that was not ever Sasha, and there’s a yellow door, and a thing with too-many-too-long hands holding out for a deal.

And then they’re running.

Martin gets lost, Jon isn’t entirely sure when—was it back in the twisting halls of Michael’s domain, or down in the twisting tunnels of Smirke’s creation? everything is blurring together at edges tinged with fear—

—and then it’s just him, and Tim, and Jon Jr, and the thing that had been, had been wearing his assistant’s life like some sort of costume, and oh. This is it, isn’t it? They’re about to die, aren’t they.

At least Martin will survive to tell their tale, Jon hopes, feeling a rush of remorse at how abruptly and patronizingly he’s treated his poor assistant. He could’ve been—he could’ve been dead and gone, replaced like Sasha, and Jon never would have known. And now—now Jon is the one about to die. Him and Tim.

God, Tim. He doesn’t particularly like Tim. Tim has been satisfactory enough as an assistant, he supposes—had almost been a friend once, back in their research days—and now....

Now they back into a dead end, practically hugging the wall as not!Sasha slowly approaches them with a look of manic glee on its face. And Jon...he wouldn’t wish this on anyone, regardless of how much he does or doesn’t like them. Certainly he wouldn’t wish this end on Tim...even if a small, selfish part of him is glad that he’s not alone in the end.

It’s just him and Tim. Just like it was back with Prentiss.

Mouth falling slightly open, Jon turns towards the man in question—perhaps to weakly comment as such, he isn’t really sure—only to see Jon Jr leaping out of Tim’s arms.

“Junior!” The word is tugged out of him, unbidden. Dammit, he’s grown attached to the rabbit. And dammit, there are tears prickling at the corners of his eyes as the rabbit obliviously makes his way towards the hungry thing that had pretended to be Sasha. Dammit, dammit, dammit.

Only—

Only then, the rabbit isn’t a rabbit.

It happens much too fast for Jon to really get a good glimpse at what their rabbit becomes. But there’s a loud cracking noise, then a monstrous blur of gray and limbs and mouth and teeth, then another crack and then...nothing. Not even not!Sasha remains. Just a smallish white rabbit in the middle of the now-empty tunnel, sitting primly and licking at one paw.

Jon and Tim gape at each other and at the rabbit, but one thing is for certain:

“...We’re keeping the rabbit,” Jon murmurs, light-headed.

“I—yeah.” Tim nods, and he slumps back against the wall and slowly slides down to the floor of the tunnel. A hand reaches out and snags Jon, dragging him down with, and there, leaning against the wall and each other, the two stare at the not-quite-a-rabbit.

“We’re keeping the rabbit.”

The rabbit-but-not-a-rabbit blinks his innocent red eyes up at them before flopping over to rest, and honestly? Jon thinks Junior has rather the right idea there.

-

And so the rabbit is kept, and Jon and Tim stagger out of the tunnels minus one not!Sasha but still with one not!a rabbit.

Come to think of it, they’re still down one Martin as well, which is admittedly worrisome.

Neither Jon nor Tim is exactly keen to go back in the tunnels so soon after escaping certain death within them. Jon has never been the most athletic of people—he’s an academic, he’s supposed to be sitting behind a desk all day, for christ’s sake—and his legs feel like jelly beneath him as they debate over calling the police.

Tim is of the mind that they should call the police, or at least Basira, whom he stubbornly still refers to as Jon’s “girlfriend” (and Jon is much too tired to dispute that at this point). Jon, on the other hand, doesn’t think even section thirty-one officers would listen to “we went into a door a monster created in a wall and we lost our coworker in a maze of endless passageways.”

Thankfully, it turns out that they needn’t have worried, because Martin turns up not too long after, dizzy and dragging two other people behind him.

One of them is a familiar face—Helen Richardson, whom Martin apparently had picked up while stuck in Michael’s spiralling labyrinth, and who seems quite content to latch onto Martin and sit firmly in one spot in the center of the place, refusing to pass through any doorways whatsoever. But the second person is an unfamiliar face—an aging, gray-haired man who seems impeccably polite, incredibly calm, and increasingly out of place among the dinge of the tunnels and Artifact Storage.

Then the man introduces himself as Jurgen Leitner, and Jon nearly drops Jon Jr.

But Jon is much too tired to deal with that in the moment, so when Martin tentatively suggests a slumber party of sorts in the Archives to ease his, Helen’s, and Leitner’s worries all in one, Jon gives in without the fight he normally would put up.

As the others assemble bedding and piles of pillows and cushions pilfered from the library chairs, Jon manages to snag the break room couch once more for himself...and for Jon Jr.

Jon has absolutely no idea what, exactly, he’s supposed to do now. There are clearly bigger things at play here—or, at least, Leitner seemed to think so, from the little he said before Tim shut him up and sent him to bed—but as he watches Jon Jr nibble on a cucumber peel, Jon feels a bit better, at least, knowing that one of those bigger things might at least be on his side.

(Or, well. Hopefully he can bribe mister “bigger thing” with enough carrots to stay on his side. That is yet to be seen.)

Fin

First || Next

*

I just have so many stupid ideas for this ridiculous AU that I couldn’t just let them live in my head...so I might as well scrawl them out and let y’all enjoy them with me, right? (Or you can tell me to shut tf up if these get too dumb or annoying for you asdhjkl)

But yeah, as you can tell, Jon Jr’s presence will be messing around with canon, because I take any and all opportunities for fix-its. I just really miss my boy Tim and also my wife Sasha ok so sue me

Want to chat or be added onto any of my taglists? Shoot me an ask or a message here or via my other social media!

[iamnotawomanimagod]

The 100 for the indepth ask thing!

Thank you, my friend!! Always happy to hear from you 🥰

Top 5 favourite characters:

1. Octavia

2. Murphy

3. Emori

4. Echo

5. Jasper

Other characters you like:

I will always have a lot of love in my heart for Monty, Raven, Lincoln, and Lexa. 

Least favourite characters:

Clarke, Bellamy, Kane, and Abby.  

OTPs: 

Linctavia and Memori 

NoTPs: 

Bellarke, Kabby, a handful of others that are more “meh” than outright “no.” 

Favourite friendships:

Jasper and Monty; Raven and Emori; Monty and Bellamy; Octavia, Jasper, and Monty; Indra and Octavia; Clarke and Roan; Raven and Echo. 

Favourite family: 

Spacekru! Forever! Although the Diyoza-Blakes give them a run for their money.

Favourite episodes: 

I’m a sucker for good standalones, even when the rest of the season sucks, or the episodes don’t make much thematic sense in context of the season/show. Fair warning. That being said: 

1x05, 1x08, 2x08, 2x12, 3x04, 4x07, 4x08, 4x10, 4x13*, 5x02, 5x11, and uhhh that’s when the show ended right**??

*For someone who hates s4, I sure do like a lot of individual episodes from it.

**There were storylines and moments I liked in s6 and s7, but no one episode stands out for me in either season.

Favourite season/book/movie:

Probably s2 or s5.

Favourite quotes:

Pretty much all the Trigedasleng lol.

“Yu gonplei ste odon.”

“Gomon gon oson.”

“Jus drein, jus daun.”

What a fun and silly conlang. 

Best musical moment:

I really love this moment, where Raven takes The Chip, and “Thousand Eyes” by Of Mouse and Men plays. Lindsey does such an incredible job portraying Raven’s sorrow, pain, and desperation. It’s so chilling when the music picks up and gets louder, and Raven slowly realizes that her pain is gone, and she looks up and sees ALIE for the first time. We as an audience realize how dangerous Raven will be, on ALIE’s side, but all Raven feels is wonder and relief. I think the song really captures that feeling so well, and the lyrics reflect Raven’s motivation: “I lie awake, and watch it all/it feels like a thousand eyes.” She’s under so much pressure, mostly internal, but also external, to help her friends and make sure people she cares about survives. I love this song and I’ll always associate it with this moment.

Moment that made you fangirl/boy the hardest:

 “You are wonkru, or you are the enemy of wonkru. Choose.”

Roan versus Lexa

Royal Memori Saving Everyone

When it really disappointed you:

Season 6. With the exceptions of Memori and my affection for Josephine, the season was a total flop for me. Season 7 just continued the downward spiral at an even faster rate. A few bright spots, but overall, just garbage. 

Saddest moment:

Woof. There’s several.

1. Lexa’s death, obvi

2. Jasper’s death

3. Lincoln’s death

4. Monty and Harper’s farewell videos

5. Emori’s death (only so low on the list because she came back) 

Most well done character death:

I got a lot of satisfaction out of Cage Wallace’s death. Lincoln deserved that vengeance.

In terms of emotional impact, I do think Jasper and Lexa’s death scenes were very well-done.

I know it’s messed up and I’m probably wrong, but god if I don’t love seeing Pike get run through with that sword.

Favourite guest star:

Alycia Debnam Carey put this show on the fucking map, and no one can truly argue otherwise. Without her, I doubt this show would’ve gone on for as long as it did. The show was carried by appearances and mentions of her right up until the very end. She even got the last word. Tell me of a more iconic guest star?? 

Favourite cast member:

I definitely really like Richard Harmon and Luisa d’Oliveria. I think they have the greatest chances of having truly successful careers out of everyone. 

Character you wish was still alive:

Jasper. :( 

One thing you hope really happens:

Well, it’s over. So nothing is going to happen again. I like the idea of some other pocket of humanity that decided not to transcend stumbling upon the Beachkru several years post-canon. And the aliens conveniently forget to actually make that sterile thing real. Humanity lives in, cultures continue to develop and grow, and there are lots of new generations to come! AKA the thing I wanted all along and really hoped they’d do, but they just kept destroying every society they met!!

Most shocking twist:

Finn’s death was really, truly so shocking to me. For one, Lexa’s death so greatly overshadowed it in fandom (at the time) that I managed to see it completely unspoiled. I also wasn’t into the BTS stuff at the time, so I didn’t know about any drama. It took me fully by surprise - I never expected the show to really kill another lead like that. 

When did you start watching/reading?:

It took me several tries to start this show. Getting through those first four episodes was a tough ask for me. By the time I finished what was available, s3 was over. So I technically joined fandom during the hiatus between s3 and s4.  

Best animal/creature:

God the animals in this show were silly. I liked those weird panther things.

Favourite location:

The dropship, Memori’s palace, Becca’s lab. 

Trope you wish they would stop using:

Listen. I loved the callbacks at first. I fucking ate them up. But at some point, this show became so self-referential that new plotlines ceased to exist. It became almost comical. How many times did these characters need to learn these lessons??

One thing this show/book/film does better than others:

The early camaraderie of The Hundred, and the way they worked sort of against the Establishment/Adults, was a lot of fun. Other shows have done it, but I think The 100 does it very well.

Funniest moments:

Unintentionally or intentionally, lmao?? Idk, there were a lot of quippy moments. Most of what Murphy said was hilarious.

Couple you would like to see:

I always wanted them to give Niytavia a shot, but they were cowards. 

Actor/Actress you want to join the cast:

I’m not super attached to any actors or actresses that would fit on this show. 

Favourite outfit:

Blodreina’s red cape, Emori’s royal Naming Day ‘fit, Murphy’s sleek black formal looks, Clarke’s soda can tab jacket, Raven’s red bomber jacket.

Favourite item:

When Clarke picks up a piece of Lexa’s throne and uses it as a walking stick when she’s alone post Praimfaya 2.0

Do you own anything related to this show/book/film?:

Nah.

What house/team/group/friendship group/family/race etc would you be in?:

I mean, I feel like Spacekru is the most obvious choice.

Most boring plotline:

When they spent several episodes rescuing Clarke from Josephine. Most of s4. The back half of s3. Most of s7.

Most laughably bad moment:

When Bellamy brought Clarke back to life by repeatedly punching her in the chest, and inside of her mind, Clarke threw an axe at Josephine’s face and Josie exploded into a bunch of shards of light.

When Clarke shot Bellamy over Madi’s sketchbook and left the sketchbook behind.

When Clarke and Bellamy took turns tying each other up and putting the people most important to one another in horrible situations and it was treated like a cute little bump in their timeless friendship. 

Best flashback/flashfoward if any:

I really love the Spacewalker reveal.

Most layered character:

Murphy came so far, and had so much development. I think Richard did a great job giving him a lot of depth and dimension. 

Most one dimensional character:

Clarke’s entire personality and arc didn’t change at all after the s2 finale. She was a loose cannon hell-bent on saving the people she loved, no matter what the cost. The most interesting things that happened to her were almost dying and actually dying, and the main reason for that is because it gave other characters and storylines more time to shine.

Scariest moment:

That fucking creepy cage creature on Nakara that attacked Raven’s face. Seeing it through the helmet was so terrifying. Another one is that scene in s2 when Lincoln is a reaper, and Octavia and Bellamy are trying to lure him into a trap in an old parking garage.

Grossest moment:

This show was remarkably gory for its network and time slot. I can think of several. I’d rather not dwell on them. 

Best looking male:

Lincoln is a babe.

Best looking female:

Gotta hand this one to Lexa

Who you’re crushing on (if any):

I mean, most of them. Half of why I watched was pure thirst. Emori, Murphy, Lexa, and Octavia all come to mind. Diyoza, too.

Favourite cast moment:

Idk I’m always partial to blooper reels.

Favourite transportation:

HELIOS. The most beautiful badass horse in the world. 

Most beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise):

I mean, most of the overhead shots are really pretty, but it’s also the same five locations in Vancouver, and that really starts to show at some point.

Unanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you:

I genuinely think we don’t have time for this. I have way too many to count. 

Best promo:

Nothing really comes to mind.

At what point did you fall in love with this show/book:

I was convinced to stick it out and see it through by 1x05. I truly thought it was something special by 2x08. I’ve gone up and down about it ever since.

Thanks again, Meghan!

Send Me a Fandom and I’ll Answer Some In-Depth Questions!

[nemrut]

Epic Seven - Balance Adjustment Patch 02.09.2021

So, some interesting units getting adjustments there.

Don't care much about ML Ravi since I do not have her. I'll be honest, I didn't think she needed a buff, but then again, I rarely saw her, so maybe she did.

Her S1 now inflicts injuries, which is interesting enough. Her S2 now gives her a CR push and her S3 gets stronger the more people die, although it only stacks up to three times.

It looks like a pretty good buff, should make her more annoying, at least, although it was never fun fighting an ML Ravi even before this buff. Now, the longer the fight goes on, she will do increasingly more dmg, cycle faster, have an easier time reviving teammates who also revive with more health. So yeah, looks good, too bad I do not have her.

Luna is more interesting to me, because I have her, and she is almost at max mola. I got her when she was first released and back then, Luna was the wyvern queen, and you basically used her everywhere. Lab, wyvern, grinding and even PVP arena. She was cycled out rather soonish though, what with the Commander Lorina SC, who could do her job in PVE better and more reliably and a lot of units who were way better in PVP. At the latest, Luna was unfeasible for Wyvern 13, so, with that, she lost her last useful job. She can be used for one of the expeditions, and many do, but it was mainly people making use of a unit they already had. No one was going to build Luna specifically for expeditions, and even there, Lorina could do a better job imo.

That said, her updates. Her S1 had always been unreliable due to the RNG factor. If she attacked multiple times, it was great and if she didn't, it kinda sucked. Now, she can soulburn ten souls to increase the number of attacks to the maximum amount, which is actually pretty solid. It firmly locks her in as a hero you have to manually control though, since the SB is very important.

Her S2 now always gives crit hit chance by 30, no matter her HP and also additionally 30% crit hit resistance, which is new, as a modicum of protection. Guess pairing her with Diene is now even better than ever. The ATK and Def increase modifiers are the same as always, depending on her health.

Her S3 now penetrates defense by 50%, and she gains an additional five souls if the enemy is defeated. Seeing that the attack always attacks using an advantageous element, having the 50% def penetrating on top of that is pretty song.

On paper, the buffs are looking good, even if they are not going overboard or anything. I am doubting we are entering a Luna renaissance where she will be dominating the meta, but at the very least, it seems like she will be feasible. Personally, I would probably be building her like a bruiser herself, so she would have decent hp and def. Beefy counter build with her EE which gives CR push still seems feasible, especially since she now is less likely to be hit by a critical attack and her S3 now hits a lot harder, making it dangerous to ignore her if she can snipe a unit. She probably can't kill a full health bruiser but since she isn't very fast, by the time it is her turn, the enemy would ideally have accumulated some dmg and it should be enough to finish someone off at least. So, I am interesting to see how this goes. Always feel bad for benching a unit with so many mola investments, so all the better if she becomes viable again.

I do have Kawerik, but I never really used him, and I only fought him a handful of times, so I don't know if this moving stealth from one attack to another and is going to do much, but the attack buff on his EE seems like it would make him better at least.

Same with Mort, never really used him, but I might try him out. SB moved on his S1 so he can apply def break for two turns which is always useful.

His S2 now always gives him a 30% chance to counterattack and his chance to activate his blessing has increased by 10% to 50%, which is fair enough.

His S3 now deals 5 % more injury, 20% in total every time he uses his skill and it deals more dmg.

So yeah, I don't know if this will make him good or worth using but it does make him better, no doubt.

I am also part of the tiny minority of Epic Seven players which is 99.5% of the player base who has never used Roaming Warrior Leo. His buffs seem to make him better, both as a unit in general and to do his job as a bomber, but it really depends on the bomb mechanic being feasible now. With Summer Iseria coming out with bombs as well, could be that they work very well together, making RW Leo a meta unit of sorts but that is very hard to say before seeing Summer Iseria and the new improved bomb mechanics in play.

Ice Dominiel got a pretty significant rework though. Her S1 now can stun and has an SB with which it has a 100% guarantee to stun with only ten souls which is pretty good. Furhtermore, her S2 is now a passive with a 35% of triggering after an ally is hit by a critical attack as opposed to always when she activated it but it is actually a huge improvement because now she doesn't need to go first to activate it. I actually tried Dominiel before, and her reflect barrier strength was based on her atk. That meant, not only did she need a lot of speed so that she could go before the enemy dmg dealers, she also needed a solid atk base since otherwise her reflect barrier would be worthless. So you needed her with high speed, attack but also HP and DEF since her play style revolves around being hit by the enemy and reflecting the dmg back at them and ideally, she kinda needs to survive for that. She also wanted effectiveness for her S3 stuns.

That's a lot of stats for a unit whose stats were already not great, since she is a 4 star. But now, well, now she doesn't need ATK and speed anymore. Now she just wants HP, Def, and maybe effect resistance and some effectiveness. Now she just needs to say alive on your team before she grants your whole team a reflect barrier, one that is based on an ally's max health by the way, which means that if she is paired with soul weavers, knights and bruisers, that's going to make it hurt at least somewhat for enemy attackers. Landy, Arby, SSB and others now have to actively watch out for her.

On paper, at least. Oh, her S3 now also decreases combat readiness by 15 % and gives her increased speed for two turns, even compensating for the loss of speed due to the new gear requirements. I am rather excited for her, since I always liked the idea of killing the enemy with reflected dmg.

Lastly, Mercedes. Now, the only time I used Mercedes was in the first few days of playing epic seven before I replaced her and never looked back.

Her S1 now increases her CR by 15% which is neat. Her s2 now also has a 70 chance to dispel one buff and if she has increased Attack her s2 attacks again. This attack also deals more dmg the fewer enemies there are. Her s3 increases attack of all allies and does more dmg than normal with a critical hit.

Overall, this definitely looks like a buff to result in a stronger Mercedes but I am kinda doubting this will lead to a Meta feasible Mercedes. Maybe the increased dmg and functionality will result in her becoming used more often in RTA or arena, her s2 being able to attack twice and remove one buff from every enemy each time alongside more dmg overall seems to be good on paper at least.

Two artifacts are getting some changes as well. Merciless Glutton which to my knowledge was a more or less useless artifact so far, is changing to increasing single attack dmg by 16% which is pretty good. And when defeating an enemy with a single attack, it increases the CR of all allies except the caster by 12%. Honestly, this is definitely an improvement and on first glance, I kinda want to give this artifact to Luna. I don't know if I have it, tbh, but if I do, I will definitely try it with Luna. Ravi would also benefit from this. Basically warriors with single target attacks who are on counter sets will benefit the most from this. Okay, upon checking, I do not have this artifact. That's a bummer but good for those who have.

Now, Secret Art Storm Sword is confusing me a bit. It says that the effect to grant increased atk to the caster is 100% but that is only the case if you have max limitbroken the artifact which is definitely not the case for most people. So, I am assuming this will still be the case and the text here just was talking about a max limitbroken artifact.

Or, will it change so that the increased atk will always happen but the value which is increased by limitbreaking the artifact is the CR push?

Either way, the artifact was pretty solid on Celine and I don't think on anyone else and CR push can only help there. I still need like 4 more copies of it to make it actually useful because so far, it rarely triggers.

Overall, not my most wanted units who got overworked but some interesting stuff. Hope this all works out positively. The Violet buff for example has proven to be frustrating since the bugger is everywhere and is dodging like crazy. It's no fun fighting him. He is way better than Riolet now.

[gaamagirl565]

Matters of the heart S2 Ep13

Matters of the heart Season 2 Episode 13 Lost Dreams

{OPENING CREDITS}

{Open to Isaiah opening his small pouch and counting out the coins; Benny walks by with a cloth bag} Isaiah: Find anything good? Benny: not really... a couple of moldy pieces of bread,  an old turkey wing that looks like it was already eaten,  and some old fruit. ‘Saiah, if we eat in any of this we’re gonna get real sick. {Isaiah doesn’t listen and keeps counting with a conflicted face} Benny: ‘Saiah?...Isaiah? {He still doesn’t listen and she leaps on him} Benny: ‘SAIAH! Isaiah: AH! WHAT!? Benny:  what’cha doing? Isaiah:  I'm counting out how much funds I have... it's not enough… Benny:  Not enough for what? Isaiah:  enough for a map and food... I can't get both. Benny: then it looks like you're in a pickle. Food is necessary and it's a long trip back to Corona on foot. Isaiah:  and I can't leave without a map.  I've no idea how to get back to Corona from the dark kingdom.

Benny: Well don't look at me I've never left the dark Kingdom. I was practically born here. Isaiah: Benny you were born here.  I can't really afford to make this choice. a map or food. both are necessary. Benny:  there's always another option. Isaiah: and what would that be? if I get a map I'll barely have enough money for food, and if I get food I won't have enough money for a map.  but please tell me your grand scheme. Benny: don't buy food. Isaiah:... and here I was thinking you were some sort of survival genius Benny:  watch it stinky! you didn't let me finish! don't buy the food... hunt for it! Isaiah: Hunt for food? I've never really killed anything before. Benny: well boo hoo!  where do you think the leg of mutton that you eat for supper comes from?  it's either that or starve on your trip your choice! {Isaiah looks back at his coins and sighs; Cut to Varian looking over the map of Corona with Eugene and Lance} Eugene: From what we've been able to gather from him The cult has multiple hideouts. they never stay in one place very long. Varian has told us this before but now we have it confirmed by an actual member. or rather a former member. Varian:  I was able to find out some of the previous hideouts from him and under your order I've already sent some Scouts to the areas.  perhaps we'll be able to find some members still lurking there. Lance:  if that's true that means that this group is bigger than we ever thought. Varian:  it's because they target those low in spirit.  basically people who have been screwed over in life, people easy to manipulate. Eugene: like trying to train an animal to be violent. you can do the beating yourself or let Society do it for you. {a knock sounds through the room; Rapunzel walks in} Eugene: Sunshine! Rapunzel: I think I have an idea. Eugene: well do tell cause this is just getting depressing honestly. Rapunzel:   from what Noremoth has told us the cult targets the weak, gives them false promises of Glory, and a better Society.  we also know that Noremoth was one of the first to join. Varian: and? Rapunzel:  he told you about his past.  he was a child on the street.  an orphan misanthrope.   he may have been given a high rank within the cult but I think he's just another Pawn. and given the fact that he was one of my subjects I feel just as responsible for what happened. Lance: how do we know he's not lying? Rapunzel:  the kingdom keeps a book of all subjects, homeless, and those passing through.  I decided to take a look back at the pages during my father's reign.  he's telling the truth. his name is written in the book. it looks like he came to Corona a little bit before I was found. Varian: I knew King Fredric was a control freak but… Rapunzel: the point is he was a member of Coronin Society. he was ignored and had to fight every day of his life.  he never really got to see the true beauty of Corona or life as a whole. Eugene:  so what are you suggesting? Rapunzel:  we show him some Corona spirit.  we show him what it means to be a true Society! to work together! Eugene:  we integrate him into our kingdom? Rapunzel:  exactly! we show him life doesn't have to be dark and depressing and a constant fight for survival. we teach him to trust again. Varian: I don't know if that'll work. Rapunzel:  we have to try. The most beaten of dogs can become the most loyal of hounds if given the chance and a little bit of kindness. {Varian sighs} Varian:  sorry but I have request. Rapunzel: Oh um...okay? Varian:  it takes place in Old Corona. that way I can keep an eye on him. I’ll alert you if I see any funny business. Lance: sounds fair to me.  this whole thing has been really hard on Akina. My girl lost a good friend and Varian lost a son.  as long as we can get answers from this guy I don't care what has to be done. Eugene:  then I guess it's agreed. I'll have Noremoth released within the hour. {Both rapunzel and Eugene walk out of the room; Lance looks at Varian who groans}

Varian: My wife is going to kill me. {cut to Isaiah being rung up by a cashier} Cashier: one map to Corona. that'll be twenty gold pieces. {isaiah hands it over} Cashier:  thank you...you seem a little young to be venturing out. Isaiah: you seem a little old to still be working cashier. Cashier:... touche...now get! {Isaiah walks out of the store and Benny runs over} Benny: Did ya get it? Isaiah: Yeah and it cost me twenty gold pieces. Benny: ouch...how much ya got left? Isaiah: Well that was all my gold pieces.  I have 10 silver and 4 copper. Benny:  that'll maybe get one loaf of bread and some jerky… Isaiah:  I had a sailor tell me the four days walk to Corona but I reason to believe that it's more than that.  mostly because he was sleeping on some crates and was probably not in his right mind. Benny:  oh yeah it's totally more than 4 days.  also he was using a boat so his sense of time is probably a little..meh… Isaiah: Great!...just great...so I got the map but now I do need to hunt for food. how am I supposed to do that without any wea- OOF! {Isaiah falls back after bumping into someone} Isaiah: HEY! WATCH WHERE YOUR-..... {He looks up at Hector} Isaiah: ...Okay...N-Nevermind. Hector:  don't I know you from somewhere? Isaiah:... I hope not… Hector:.... you're that kid that was passed out in the cave a few days ago.  I told Juniper you were a kid from town. {Hector pulls him up making Isaiah yelp} Isaiah:...gah...A-actually... I'm not from this town I'm not even from this Kingdom I'm trying to get back to Corona. Hector:  Corona? you're a long way from home. Isaiah:  yeah I just practically spend all my money on a map to go back there.  now I need to find a way to get provisions. Hector:  you don't need to pay for Provisions around here.  the forest has all you could possibly need. Isaiah: do you know how to hunt? Hector:  did you really just ask a man with the fur cloak on his back if he knows how to hunt? Isaiah:... that is a very fair point and that one is on me.  maybe I should be a little more clear do you know how to hunt when you don't have a weapon. Hector: Good lord kid, how are you not dead?   I'll say it again the forest has all you need. break off a stick from a tree and then sharpen it with a rock that should make a pretty good spear. And as for traps.. your little friend hiding By The Fruit stand over there should know all about those. Isaiah: hiding by the-!? {Isaiah turns around to see Benny hiding behind a cart of apples} Isaiah: BENNY! {Benny ducks} Isaiah: I can still see you! Hector:  she's always sabotaging traps in the forest trying to steal food.  she should be more than aware of how to build and work one. Isaiah: this is some really useful information I don't know how to thank you. Hector:  when you get back to Corona... if you could say hello to some people on my behalf it would be most appreciated. {Isaiah turns to leave} Isaiah:  yeah I'd be more than happy to just tell me who they are. Hector: my sister Adira and my nephew Varian. Isaiah: Adira and dad!? {Isaiah turns around but hector is already gone; Benny runs up to him} Benny:  well did you get an answer to your problem? Isaiah: yeah... but I also think I gained more questions… {Cut to Noremoth sitting next to Varian on the wagon; Cat and Keira sit in the back} Keira: Thanks for giving us a ride, V. Varian: really it's no issue. {Noremoth looks back at Catalina} Noremoth:...Cat? Catalina:  I have nothing to say to you. Noremoth:  please cat I just want- Keira:  she said she has nothing to say to you. back off! {Varian motions Noremoth to turn back around} Noremoth:   women will always continue to be a mystery to me. Varian: Noremoth... she's right there. {Catalina stares Angrily at him} Noremoth: nevermind. {She rolls her eyes; as they pull up to Old Corona a Villager runs up} Villager: Varian! Sir! Thank goodness! {Varian is immediately at attention and hopes down} Varian: What's going on? is everyone okay? Villager:  it's Nathaniel!  we're all worried about him.  he went into the South Orchard some time ago and hasn't come out.  we sent someone to go check on him and they came right back saying he was just striking a tree with a dagger. Varian:  ugh...alright I'll go talk to him.  Keira can you put the horse back? Keira:  yeah no problem. {Varian walks off; Noremoth grins at Catalina and hmphs and turns away; cut to  Nathaniel driving a dagger into an apple tree that is already covered with many holes} Varian: I think you about got that tree, Nathaniel… Nathaniel: AH!  Mr.V-Varian!...I was just..I...um..it’s not what it looks like. Varian: well it looks like you're stabbing a tree I don't know how else I'm supposed to take that. {Varian holds out his hand and motions for him to hand over the dagger;  Nathaniel hands it over} Varian:  now tell me what this is about.  recently you haven't been the one to be causing trouble. Nathaniel: I just...umm… {Varian sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose} Varian:  Nathaniel you have to tell me what's going o.n this isn't like you. hasn't been like you for a long time. {Nathaniel’s shoulders heave and Varian jumps slightly but his face softens} Nathaniel: I-I’m sorry… Varian: you don't have to apologize Nathaniel I just want to know what's going on.  you stabbed a tree it's not like you stabbed person. Nathaniel:  me and Isaiah came up with this... it's a way to relieve anger...started off with a flour sack in a pumpkin head.  B-but Isaiah started to do it to trees. {Varian bites his lip at the mention of Isaiah} Varian:...Okay... so you developed a healthy way to get rid of your anger.  so tell me... what are you angry about? Nathaniel: I..I’m.. Varian:...C’mon buddy... I'm not mad at you I want to make that clear. Just tell me what you're mad about. Nathaniel: I’M MAD AT EVERYTHING! {Varian jumps at his shout} Nathaniel:  I'm mad at everything!  I was an idiot!  I made fun of Isaiah and then he went blind and I got these burns on my arms!  my dad betrayed The Village and killed Quirin as a result!  A-and with Dad gone I have to put bread on the table by going out to the field every morning! Varian:....Buddy...thats- Nathaniel: and now my best friend is dead!  he was murdered! And there's nothing I can do about it!  I feel so useless and stupid, and...and tired. I just want everything to go back to the way it was. I want my dad back... I want Isaiah back. I want everything to go back! {Varian walks over, bends down and pulls Nathaniel into a hug; Nathaniel looks shocked at first but eventually hugs back and sobs out loud into his shoulder} Varian:....it...it’s okay...it’s gonna be okay… {Nathaniel continues to cry and unbeknownst to Varian he is crying to; Fade out to Isaiah walking into the forest with Benny} Isaiah: Okay... look for a stick and sharpen it with a rock... seems simple enough.  and you little missy since you like to steal from people's traps you get to make some. {He hands over the bag of supplies} Benny:  Or ya know we could just steal what’s out here. {Isaiah glares at her} Benny: Fiiinnnee!  No Stealing I get it…. {She walks off to set up the traps and Isaiah jumps up and pulls a branch off a tree; He grabs a rock and strikes it a few times} Isaiah: Okay this is going to be a lot harder than I thought… {He hears barking and growling; Benny screams} Isaiah: BENNY! {He grabs his stick and runs in her direction} Isaiah: BENNY! WHERE ARE YOU!? Benny: Over here! {He runs towards her hiding behind a tree} Isaiah: Benny! Are you hurt? Benny: No...but look! { Isaiah turns and sees a thin canine of some sort  with its leg caught in a trap} Isaiah: that was fast... did you-? Benny:  no! That trap was already set up by a hunter! a professional Hunter! {The wolf lunges but yelps with its leg still caught} Isaiah: H-hang on...hold this… {Isaiah slowly walks over  towards it} Benny: What are you doing!? {Isaiah shrugs and slowly inches closer; the wolf growls} Isaiah: Steady... Steady girl... it's okay.. {The wolf bites at him and he dodges} Isaiah:...Verbena... give me your apron. Benny: What!? Isaiah:  just give me your apron!  I have to trigger the release mechanism on the trap! Benny:... we're all going to die… {She unties it and hands it over; Isaiah takes it and moves to the side} Isaiah: Easy…. {he cautiously places the apron on the wolfs head and pets her side} Isaiah:  good girl… {Isaiah reaches down and springs the trap; once the wolf feels that the Trap has been released it immediately moves its foot.  the wolf shakes the apron off of its face and stares at Isaiah} Benny: ‘Saiah! Isaiah: Steady...easy girl… { the wolf inches closer and sniffs Isaiah’s face;  Isaiah clenches his fists and try to remain absolutely still; after a few moments the wolf begins licking his face} Isaiah: Ah! Haha! Good girl! What a good girl! Benny: Huh!? Isaiah:  see you're not a big bad wolf you're just a little puppy dog. Benny:  we have very different ideas on what is a little puppy dog. {The wolf flops over for belly rubs} Isaiah:  I've read about this breed of wolf it's native to the dark kingdom.  a very lean and thin body perfect for running through the trees.  a Sleek coat... perfect for blending in. looks like a dog but is actually a wolf. Benny: You're crazy… Isaiah:  we could use a nice Guard Dog in Old Corona. Benny:  you know what we can also use? some food! stop playing with your puppy and lets actually get some hunting done. Isaiah:  all right all right!  Benny's quite the Grumpy One!  but you'll learn to like her. you need a name. hmm... I know! Gaia! Like the forest! {The wolf groans as he scratches her chin} Isaiah: Oh good girl… {Cut to old Corona; Zapada stares at Noremoth} Noremoth:...Can... can I help you? Varian your wife is staring at me. Varian:  she tends to do that at people she doesn't like careful she also bites. Zapada:...grr… Noremoth: what the... anyway... thank you for taking me in. I know you didn't have to. Varian: you're right I didn't have to especially after everything you've done.  let's make one thing clear I still don't like you and I don't have to like you. the only reason that you're here in my house is so I can keep an eye on you. the queen believes that you have the chance of being rehabilitated.  and considering what happened with me...I want to believe her. Noremoth: what? Varian:.... I want to believe there's good in everyone.  you've had it rough I'm not going to lie.  you've been used and abused in many different ways.  I just need one thing to be made clear.  you may not like what I have to say. Noremoth: honestly what could possibly be worse and what I've already went through? Varian:  I want to know...are you clear on the fact that the cult has betrayed you? I need to know this because we're giving you a straight shot here.  I need to know if you'll take it. Noremoth:.. yes... I do know that.   Varian: Good the-!? {Screaming is heard outside} Varian:  never a dull moment! {Noremoth watches Varian grab his alchemy belt and sword and run out the door; He looks at Zapadawith concern and follows him; once he’s outside he sees Varian toss a goo bomb at a bandit} Varian: oh petty thieves back for round 2. Bandit 1:  do you ever take a vacation? Varian:  no not really... {Varian dodges an attack and clashes swords with one of the bandits; Noremoth watches from the road; Varian swipes the feet out from one bandit but is cut on the cheek but another} Varian: Augh! Zapada: Varian! {Varian is hit with the hilt of a sword and hits the ground harshly; Noremoth looks around for a weapon; one of the bandits prepares to bring his sword down on Varian; Varian looks up in shocked horror} Bandit 2: RAGH! {Just as he brings it down Noremoth jumps in with a wooden leg from a table and blocks it; Varian’s eyes widen; Noremoth pushes against the man, his body trembling; eventually he overpowers him and shoves him before smacking the man in the head with the wooden table leg} Bandit 2: AUGH! MY EYE! {one of the other bandits runs over and grabs him} Bandit 1: Fall back! Run! {They jump on their horses and ride away; the crowd of villagers cheer; Noremoth drops the wooden table leg and helps Varian up by the arm} Noremoth: You alright?  they did quite a number on you there, you might need some stitches in that cheek..seriously those guys weren't even Petty thieves they were just bullies. Bleh… {Varian rubs his cheek and Zapada runs over and hugs him} Zapada: Iubirea mea! Thank the heavens...O, Doamne! Your face! Varian: I’m okay Zapada...just tired. Zapada: I go fetch the first aid kit! {She runs off} Varian: ...You... you saved my life. Noremoth:  I couldn't just stand there and let them decapitate you.  despite popular belief Varian I'm not heartless. Varian:...I...I um...thanks...thank you Noremoth. Noremoth: yeah. Don’t mention it. {Cut to Isaiah walking into town with Benny holding a rabbit by the feet and himself holding a bag of three fish; Gaia walks behind them} Benny: I can't believe you're actually keeping that thing. Isaiah:  if the dog follows how can you turn it away? Benny:  by saying no, go away, or shoo! Also, that’s not a dog. Isaiah: ... well we have a rabbit three fish and two loaves of bread.  plus at least we know how to hunt now. we should be able to get back to Corona. Benny:  I'm sorry… “we”? Isaiah:  yeah! umm... I was going to ask you... I don't really feel comfortable leaving you behind it in the town where you’re scraping by for food every day. {something catches benny’s eye and she walks away from him} Isaiah:  you know Coronas a nice place. big Kingdom, lots of people…  I'm sure somebody there would be willing to-...Benny? {he looks over and sees her staring in a shop window; curiously he walks over and looks; in the window on a display is a silver pendant necklace with a blue gem in the middle} Isaiah: …. you like that? Benny:.. yeah.. I kept my eye on it every day. it was my mama's. Isaiah: what? Benny:  after the fire people started looting around my house.  pulling whatever they could from the wreckage. that was my mama's necklace. My papa gave it to her when I was little. Isaiah: and you just come here every day to stare at it? Benny:  until the store owner chases me off with his broom… Isaiah:... you got to be kidding me. Benny: huh? {Isaiah walks into the store} Benny: ‘Saiah! Isaiah:  excuse me? Shop keeper:  how many help you? Isaiah: I was wondering about that pendant in the display window. Shop keeper:  that piece of junk?  I only put it out there because it looks nice and catches the eye, in reality, it's pretty worthless. Isaiah: Is that so? Shop keeper:  quite.  the pendant itself may be made out of silver but the gemstone is so comedy.  a typical blue sapphire. Not as rare as beautiful as the other gemstones in my shop.  if you want to go give you a nice deal on a pretty emerald necklace for a lady friend. Isaiah:  what do you want for the pendant?  I have 10 silver pieces and 4 copper pieces.  I'll give you all I have for it. Shop keeper:  hmm...10 silver and 4 copper. Isaiah:  you could always smelt down the 10 silver pieces and make a new necklace. I'm sure you have plenty of gems in here to make a far more illustrious necklace.  you said yourself it's pretty worthless. Shop keeper: I did. That I did...fine. Deal. {Isaiah throws his money pouch on the counter; The shop keeper goes over and takes the pendent and hands it to him} Isaiah: Pleasure doing business with you. {He walks out of the shop and over to benny} Isaiah:  here turn around. {She does so and he places the necklace on her} Benny: ... Mama's.. necklace…Thank you! {She tackles him in a hug: he hugs back} Benny: Thank you so much ‘Saiah! Isaiah:  trust me.. I get it. and I was wanting to ask you something. Benny: huh? Isaiah:  I don't feel right about leaving you behind.  I know the dark kingdom is your home and it's where you were born but you have to think about this.  you're only seven and you're living on the streets eating scraps from garbage cans.  you talk like you're a grown adult because you’ve been surviving like one.  I want the chance to show you how to be a kid. Verbena... will you come back to Corona with me? Benny: what? Isaiah:  there's plenty of warm homes and a lot of kind villagers!  especially my Village! we're always welcoming of newcomers! I'm sure you'd be able to find a great home there and you wouldn't have to eat loves of moldy bread ever again! I swear it!  will you come home with me? {She nods} Benny: mmhmm! Yeah!  of course, I'll go! {Gaia runsover and licks them both; Isaiah laughs} Benny: EWWW! Dog germs! {END CREDITS}

[vias-words]

13 Reasons Why SPOILERS

Okay so I have feelings and I need to express them so here goes

Season 3 had me angry the whole time but I needed to watch s4 just to know what happened to the characters. But I finished the series feeling like nothing had actually happened? Like yes, we saw some of the aftermath of all of the events, especially in Clay, but what was the BIG storyline? S1 was Hannah’s story, s2 was the trial, s4 was Bryce’s murder. S4? Trailers made it seem like it was that someone was going to reveal what happened to Monty and who murdered Bryce but was there wasn’t enough tension to keep the stakes up. Like we found out that a lot of it was Clay way too soon. Diego and Winston never really posed that big of a threat to carry the story either. So it ended up feeling like a weird mix of events that didn’t feel very cohesive to me. Maybe I’m just a bitter TV production major but the story just doesn’t hold up for me.

With that out of the way, there’s still so much I want to talk about. To make it easier, I will break it down into character starting with Clay.

Clay: First off, Dylan is an amazing actor and really sold his scenes. But Clay’s story this season just annoyed me. He was the king of bad decisions to the point where it was just hard to watch--and especially hard to follow. I think showing his metal health spiral is important but they did it in such an unrealistic way. There were way too many Monty and Bryce hallucinations. I think if he saw flickers of them, like if he a jock in the letterman jacket and he thinks its Monty for a split second and freaks out a bit before realizing it’s not him, that would make sense. Seeing them and talking to them all the time just felt a bit cheap. As for the disassociation and the other scenes like the car crash or the school shooter, I found them so confusing. There’s a way to fake people out like that, but they didn’t execute it well and I just found it kind of annoying. i think Clay is a good character but they could have done the metal health storyline much better.

Ani: In terms of writing, she wasn’t done well in S3 but I didn’t hate her as a person. I think she was better this season and I did actually like her. It seems like the backlash from s3 caused her to have very little screentime and it felt a bit weird for her to disappear or be left out. She didn’t have much to do this season overall.

Jessica: Love her. I just wish all her storylines weren’t boy-centric. Everything with HO and her being president should have had more importance. I like her with both Diego and Justin honestly but Justin would have been end game.

Justin: Deserved better. Wayyy better. His whole character arc and recovery was wonderful. Killing him off felt so wrong. So wrong. It would have been so much better if he found out he had HIV in the beginning of the season and showed him dealing with that, as well as recovery, and he overcame it. Because the message that his story ends with is that if you fuck up, your life is ruined forever, because he ended up dying young anyways. Not fair and felt so unnecessary, put in just for shock value. This death stuck with me because it was the least deserved and hurt the most. I could go on.

Tony: I wish his family’s deportation was talked about more but I’m glad he had the ending he deserved. Wasn’t really interested in the boxing storyline because I didn’t understand the point all that well. It felt like it was just a means to an end for the writers. 

Zach: Okay, they can’t show him struggling with a whole alcohol addiction and not even address it. He was always one of my favorite characters and I think it makes sense that he would spiral out of control, but he also deserved a recovery. There should have been more development to his story.

Alex: I liked Alex a lot this season. I’m glad they made him interested in guys, because I thought they’d never touch on it again after he got a boner with Zach that one time and they had me wondering. Since most of this season was about his relationships, I need to address them each. I wasn’t a Zalex shipper but I would have liked to see them together if they went down that road. Even though they didn’t get together, the way Zach treated the kiss was perfect and, even though they would have worked together well, I love their friendship--and that will last longer than a high school relationship. Now, I will get to my feelings on Winston as a character, but that aside, I got the most chemistry from this pairing. They had the best moments together where they both seemed very interested in each other and Alex seemed happy. It was a great chance for him to explore his sexuality. I wouldn’t say I ship it but I liked them together the best off of what we saw. Finally, Charlie. As much as I would like this to work, I did not get the same chemistry for them. The lockdown scenes were great but other than that, Alex didn’t show the same interest for Charlie as he did with Zach and Winston. He kept rejecting him, both before they started dating and for the prom, and was kind of mean to him when Charle was only ever nice. But then suddenly Alex says he loves him at the prom? They had so few positive scenes together before that. It was too rushed and I can’t see it lasting long at all. But the family dinner scene was really nice and it was sweet to see them as prom kings.

Charlie: I adore this man. Everything he said was so sweet and innocent. He was the only character I never got mad at. I wish Alex seemed to reciprocate his feelings more but I just don’t see them working out. Their personalities clashed too much and Charlie put in so much effort for Alex to give so little back. It just doesn’t work for me. But I’m so glad he was here to bring some postivity to this season. He’s a great character and they needed his voice of reason.

Winston: I had a fat crush on this man in s3 but that was gone by s4 when he turned out to be pretty weird. I think there was so much more that could have been done with this character. I think its due partly to the confused storyline that I talked about at the start but I think he should have been on one side or the other: either a real antagonist or someone who changes to be one the protagonists side. I though dating Alex would have done that latter but it ended so abruptly that it left Winston at their weird in between point where his dedication to the Monty and Bryce case just felt weird. Not to mention his obsessiveness. Like falling in love with Monty and Alex so quickly and being so hung up on Monty after they hooked up like twice and Monty beat him up. Maybe this could have worked if they explored his character more but he felt very undeveloped which didn’t work well for someone who could have been a great antagonist. I think this season could have been improved a lot with a strong antagonist. 

There’s more I could say and characters I missed but I’m going to leave it there because those are my biggest opinions. Feel free to disagree of course! I just think this season could have been a lot better if they went in a different direction and I will never be able to forgive what they did to Justin. 

That’s all from me. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk

[bearpillowmonster]

Top 15 Anime!

I’ll be talking about them in order of appearance, that way, if you see a picture you like, you know what anime it is. The order shown does not represent how much I like one over the other. This also does not represent my ratings on MyAnimeList because since my viewing, my opinions have changed on some and I don’t want to reevaluate my score. Three more rules, NO anime movies, and some I may not have finished, only because they have 100+ episodes and nothing I’ve dropped so no One Piece.

This is going to be controversial...heck, anime is controversial. 

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki Kun: My tagline is “It’s an anime about art...an art about anime.” It follows the life of a manga illustrator and the friends he’s made along the way and a bit of slice of life in there too.

Plastic Memories: Red alert! We have a tear jerker. I was recommended this anime and was told it was sad, no big deal...I then got through it and cried during the ending. I talked to the person who recommended it to me and I said “About that ending...” and they said “I didn’t see it.” “What?!” “Yeah, I thought, this is too sad, I can’t watch the last episode.” Needless to say I made them watch it. I woke up in the middle of the night crying then it affected the other person the same way, this is some powerful stuff. Think of “Ex Machina”, wait no I haven’t saw that. Well maybe “Her”...yeah no haven’t saw that either...Anyway it’s just an android anime.

Sword Art Online: Address the elephant in the room, this one is a divided one. Ok, so just to clarify, I’m specifically talking about the first arc of the first season. We all know the plot at this point, people get trapped inside a full dive video game with real stakes. This resembles my resurgence with anime, I was never serious about it until I saw this. You either like it or you don’t, and even if I do like it, I’ll be the first to say it has a fair share worth of crap but I’m in so deep that it is what it is, when it shines, I really enjoy it, tell me seeing action like this isn’t cool.

Toradora: This is THE romance anime in my opinion, it’s so well crafted. It just makes sense, even if you can’t relate it to yourself, you know somebody you can. I found it here on tumblr through a gif and that gif was the ending, I didn’t know that until later but even knowing what the ending was going to be, I didn’t care, it’s the journey, I even looked into the manga.

Attack on Titan: Sie sind das Essen und Wir sind die Jaeger! That means “They are the prey, we are the hunters.” My friend introduced me to this by showing me the titan fight at the end of season 1, in return I showed him the Legend of Korra, so I guess we’re even. That was before Season 2 which took forever to come out so I knew the struggle just as much as everyone else. This whole series kind of took everyone by storm, I mean if you don’t care too much about the hype then it’s good, it’s something to get into, something to wait for, even if it’s dark and gory, it’s nice to know there is a big percentage experiencing the same thing.

Gamers!: I’m scared. The manga has been going on but season 2 just won’t come out “Maybe next year” I keep thinking but we’ll see, I’ve purposely been avoiding the manga because of it. I don’t like to see the word ‘Gamer’ so much because it makes me think of how cliche people try to be in order to fit into the crowd, too many fakers but this, this gets it right, it deserves its title. I started with the dub but I didn’t like the voice of a specific character, it just didn’t fit them and the sub was always at least one episode ahead of the dub so I watched the sub and then whenever the dub came out, I watched that too. I was that pleased with this anime.

Chihayafuru: The characters, the music, the visuals...all over a card game. If you can make that interesting and make me sit on the edge of my seat, not only watching it, but also awaiting the next season then you’ve done something right. This is technically a sports anime? But not, I don’t really consider it as such and is the only one you’ll see on this list because it’s not a genre I’m into so you know they succeeded in that field too.

Rurouni Kenshin: Sometimes it isn’t easy to explain something right out, it’s the feeling it gives off that explains it all. This is my calm anime, it’s just so peaceful yet has action, definitely not your average ‘sword fighter’.

Hunter X Hunter (2011): I didn’t watch the 1999 one (yet) and you know what? I probably tried the first episode 3 times all together because the first two, I just wasn’t feeling it, it was like “They’re just going to be different fighters.” NO! I kept coming back because I wanted to give it another chance and I succeeded and I loved it, I realized just how in depth it was and a lot more than “Tournaments” PUH-LEASE! I knew I’d love it as soon as Gon made it through the boat during the first few episodes.

Yu Yu Hakusho Spirit Detective: Made by the same creator as HxH, who is also married to the lady who made Sailor Moon! This family man...But yeah, I didn’t like Yusuke’s hair and I thought it was going to be a bunch of tournaments which meant a lot of filler. Yeah there is ONE tournament (that I know of) this is one of the ones I didn’t finish yet, but it’s not a whole lot of filler. In fact a lot of the stuff surrounding it has to do with the Spirit Detective part, hence why I put that part in the title. What made me change my mind and get into it you might ask? Ladies and gentlemen I present to you the opening song: 

Dimension W: If you saw my other lists, you know I like to have a few wild cards in there, this is one of them, once again, where is season 2?! It has to do with electric coils, basically what builds their economy, a new type of power source. We know about the X, Y, and Z axis but what about W? It’s not as complicated as it sounds. My favorite character is named Loser...yep, what more do I need to say, just try it out!

Erased: Same person who recommended Plastic Memories, recommended this so gear up. This is actually a time travel anime, it seems odd at first but you’ll understand pretty quick. It’s a mystery, something I’m a sucker for, you can tell a lot went into it with some pretty talented people. It’s twelve episodes long and I watched the second half in one day, I binged this baby probably more than any other.

Rascal Does Not Dream: The poster I used is actually for the movie which finishes the title with “of a Dreaming Girl”, but I didn’t want you to take it at face value because at face value it’s called “of Bunny Girl Senpai.” and features a girl who dresses as a playboy bunny which sounds like a hentai, but it’s not! Let me explain, this is actually a conspiracy series, a series of strange events if you will. The girl only dresses like that for a little bit because she’s invisible to everyone but this dude (no, literally) and she’s trying to get attention. The dude goes around fixing problems such as that and something his sister deals with. She got bullied so bad that it hurt her (again, literally) and it caused her memory loss. Then there’s the girl who splits into two different personalities (do I need to say literally again? You got it now? Ok.)

Quintessential Quintuplets: Face Value! Looks like another harem...and it is. But listen, Miku Nakano.

Apparently a lot of other people agree with me. It’s kind of embarrassing to explain but basically it doesn’t beat around the bush. This dude ends up with one of the quints, it even has a scene where he marries them but you don’t know which one it is because...they’re quints. I said how I liked mystery and slice of life...well, this is basically a guessing game, it keeps you interested even if you think you know who it’s going to be. The other sisters are just as good of characters with their definitive personalities.

Mob Psycho 100 II: I wanted to end this off with a bang and I while I watched both seasons, I wanted S2 to represent this one because it does better in every way. Let me put it this way, I thought the first season was alright, I gave it a 7, kind of average. This season I gave a 9, it surprised me and it did really well from its action to its art within the action to its characters, this might be the best second season I’ve watched of an anime. The story expands on these characters and explores morals and stuff that only hit the surface in S1. It shows how you don’t ‘need’ seasons worth of material to make a good final episode, there were time where I thought ‘How is it going to top this’ in the middle of the season and then blew me away by the end of it.

Well time to stay indoors, here are my recommendations for your quarantines.

[canonicallysoulmates]

Supernatural 14.20 (Season Finale)

After watching this episode, and if I’m being honest for the last couple of episodes, I can fully understand why j2 decided to end this show and while it’s still painful and I’m still not ready to let Sam and Dean go, sometimes letting go of the things we love is for the best and I think this is one of those cases. The love and thought and quality is not there anymore from the EPs/writers, so I’m thankful j2 decided to end Supernatural. I’m sure it wasn’t an easy decision because I have no doubt in my my mind that they love this show but it was the right thing to do. It’s time to say goodbye to this show, I’m just sorry we have to say goodbye to it with Dabb at the helm. 

I don’t know where to begin and I have a lot to say so this isn’t going to be very linear, in fact, it’s going to be the opposite and I apologize in advance for that but hopefully, I will be able to express what I feel and my points in a way that is understandable. 

I’m going to start this opinion post off talking about Chuck being turned into a villain and what I feel is a very unpopular opinion cause I didn’t like that, I know for a lot of y’all Chuck has always been the villain of this story that’s fine and dandy, I’ve never subscribed to that, and I can understand why some would be excited or find it interesting that God is the last big bad, go big or go home and all that, but I take issue with it cause to me this character has never been a villain and making him one is changing who he is, now I’ve never hidden that I like this character just as I’ve never hidden the fact that my views of this character are slightly influenced by my own personal beliefs nonetheless I am going to try my best to explain why I’d never seen him as a villain without getting into those beliefs. 

There are two ways I see this character: as a character and as a representation of Kripke/the showrunner. In neither of these views have I ever seen Chuck as anything other than flawed but loving his creation. 

Looking at him as a character only, I completely understand the argument some might make that Chuck has played Sam and Dean like puppets, but I’ve never seen it that way, to me he’s never been this master puppeteer who has controlled every aspect of Sam and Dean. I’ve always viewed him as a flawed but complex character that regardless of whether or not he put things in the boys path or how many those things were, which is not an argument I’m going to get into in this post, he’s rooted for them, he wants them to make the right choices and win - cause he’s always given them free will, even in this episode when they don’t play along and do what he wants he still didn’t take away their free will even though he easily could have, and in Swan Song the whole point of it the beautiful aspect about it is that the boys chose each other, that Sam and Dean’s life was theirs, that they playing or not playing along with heaven and hell’s plan was up to them and they chose not to play along-, and in a way he loves them like to put it in the most basic of terms before this episode where he’s turned into a villain I would have said Sam and Dean were his favorite creation. 

So, I’m not just not ok with the implication that this whole time Chuck has been controlling everything, that everything that has happened has been because Chuck wanted it that way, or that Sam and Dean never actually had free will, I’m just not ok with any of those things. I don’t like it.

If I look at him as the representation of Kripke and stop looking at him as a character, I can understand even more why he is the way he is and be more...forgiving I guess; he was an accurate representation cause Kripke did write Sam and Dean to be in those situations but at the same time he loved his creation. 

I feel like I made no sense so to put in hopefully more understandable terms: 

As a character: I have put you in or let you to some of these situations but I have given you the free will to choose how you handle them and I’m rooting for you to make the right ones and win.

As the representation of a writer talking to their creation: I have put you in these situations but I did it because I love you and I needed you to grow and take a life of your own. 

Not sure that’s any more understandable, my thoughts on this character are very difficult to explain but the gist of it is, I’ve never seen Chuck as the bad guy. 

[And, as to the argument of why hasn’t he stepped up more to help the boys, if he did there’d be no show. He’s an all knowing all powerful character if he appeared to help every time the boys had a problem there would be no show cause he could solve the problem with a snap of his fingers so I can understand and forgive the writers for not...using him?]

Anyways, to me, his personality in this episode doesn’t make any sense and Dabb changed him to make him into a villain [Note: I do not believe for even one second that he was always intended to be a villain, Chuck was introduced by Kripke back in s4, Kripke had no plans for this show to go past s5 and nobody expected it to reach s14 so saying him being a villain was always the plan makes no goddamm sense to me so save your breath]. I will say however it’s fitting that Dabb would turn Chuck, a representation of the show creator/showrunner, from flawed but loving, into a villain who throws a temper tantrum and undoes all of Sam and Dean’s hard work, I didn’t know Dabb was so self-aware!  

I don’t know, maybe if this character had never been introduced, or if he had been written differently or if I didn’t see him as a representation of the show creator/showrunner, maybe then I could get behind the idea of him being a villain but as it is I got issues with it. 

From a story POV I’m also not the biggest fan of God being the last big bad, I actually don’t find it that creative. I think it would have been a lot more interesting and creative if they had actually killed him and they either had to deal with the repercussions of that or even more fun if Sam had been the one to kill him and turned into God. Which I actually thought was going to happen for like 3mins after Sam shot Chuck (I watched this epi live and there was a commercial break in between I can be given some leeway for this), well to be honest, I thought he was either going to become God or King of Hell or return of his powers, either way, any one of those three would have been 100% more fun than what we actually got, but I guess I should have known better than to expect Dabb to ever give Sam a storyline, it was probably torture for him to write Sam doing something as badass as shooting God in the first place. 

Now, to be fair, we might still get Sam with powers or King of Hell!Sam, the shows not over yet but I’m not going to hold my breath for it. And maybe something cool will be done and I’ll warm up to the idea of Chuck being the villain but as of right now that’s not the case and I don’t see my view changing anytime soon. 

That being said, it was great to see Rob Benedict again! He’s looking good! 

Moving on from all that, this episode could have been so much more. It should have been so much more, this is the last season finale ffs! But this didn’t even feel like a season finale, the only time it did was at the very end during the last, I’d say, 5mins. the rest felt more fitting for a pre-season finale; take the last couple of minutes away and this would have been more fitting as 14.19. Or even as a standalone episode it would have been better, cause there’s a concept used at the beginning of this episode, that imo would have been good for a standalone, and it’s that Jack made it so people can’t lie, I think that could’ve made for a fun standalone and it’s a pity that instead it was thrown in here cause it didn’t contribute to the plot if anything it actually played a large part in making this feel like less of a season finale. 

I’m not gonna lie to you guys the ending with all the monsters and the zombies appearing did make my jaw-drop and for a minute I felt something akin to excitement for s15, but as the scene continued that excitement started dying down and something about it started bugging me. It wasn’t until the episode finished and I started thinking about it and what that ending could possibly mean that I realized why that was and it’s because that little spark of excitement I felt when the woman in white appeared was because of nostalgia. 

It’s because I saw her and the creepy af clown and bloody Mary and I didn’t imagine current Sam and Dean fighting them, my mind saw them and immediately went to s1 and s2, that little spark was because I was reminded of the show I love so much, the show that is now coming to an official end and never coming back, and again I won’t lie, for that minute my mind considered the possibility that s15 would be a throwback an homage to the beginning but as the scene continued on I realized that while s15 does have that potential to be something beautiful that pays tribute to the early seasons there’s a way bigger opportunity for it to be a destruction of the legacy j2 have built. And now that the opportunity is there, there’s a big chance that s15 will be a revolving door of secondary characters instead of being about Sam and Dean. 

I’m worried that instead of Dabb doing something beautiful that pays tribute to the early seasons it’s just going to be a lazy retelling full of retconning. And it frustrates me that he undid everything Sam and Dean have done, that instead of original new stories we’re bound to get a retelling of the ones that we know and love and are already perfect. 

Also, I fucking hate that feathers is gonna be around for the last season especially if the last season is meant to be an homage to s1-s2 cause that useless prick wasn’t introduced till s4...maybe they can start with s4, work their way backward and kill him off. 

I won’t deny that there were good moments cause there were! When Dean was about to shoot Jack that was legitimately tense, Sam shooting Chuck was badass, I loved Sam standing up to Dean and telling him that he couldn’t lose him and Jack, I liked the conversation between Sam and Chuck in the Bunker, I loved Dean making weapons for him and Sam at the end, so there were legitimate good moments scattered throughout but for me in the overall scheme of things those moments, as much as I enjoyed/loved them, are not enough for me to consider this a good episode and sure as hell, not enough for me to consider this a good season finale. Especially considering this is the last season finale and even more, if I compare it some past season finales like my beloved AHBL. 

If you liked this episode, that’s wonderful I’m happy for you, but...I don’t like the way it left me feeling. It left me feeling hollow, and frustrated, and angry and conflicted and worried about s15. 

I wish j2 the best of luck in making s15 a good one, they have an uphill battle ahead of them. 

As for me, I’m happy this season is finally fucking over and I’m looking forward to the break before the last season begins. 

[orrtala]

Keith & Shiro Relationship Analysis

It’s a liveblog! I only finished season two, please no spoilers in the comments/reblogs!

(more character analyses)

(version for mobile users - if you liked the content please like/reblog this post!)

These two need a flashback episode.

Because I really want to know why from all of people in the Garrison Shiro befriended Keith. Because I really want to know if they actually did meet in Garrison or before that. Because I really want to know if they spared with swords before Kerberos mission. Because I really want to know how Shiro got Keith to trust him. Because I really want to know what made them so close in the first place.

The first time we, as an audience, see Keith and Shiro together, is when the former barges into Garrison's tent after setting some explosions, punches few scientists and teachers, runs to the table in the middle, sees the man on it and… his face softens, eyes are glassy, making pretty much complete 180 from that badass angry biker we saw.

We learn later that Keith didn't have anyone else except Shiro. His mum left him, his dad either left or died, he didn't have any friends, and Shiro,that one person in his life, his dearest friend apparently died in space. Poor boy was in grief and full of anger, ended up punching Iverson, became a drop out, and didn't know what to do with himself until he received some strange energy from the middle of the desert. He was alone once again for a year, surviving in that little shack, very possibly on verge of depression (or maybe was actually depressed? Flashback episode give me your answers) searching for… Something. There were prophecies something was going to happen and so Keith awaited this moment, making himself busy. He wasn't going to forget Shiro, never that, but he had to do something to not focus on the pain thinking about him brought.

But the man in question was right there, only scarred, white-haired, in rugs, and with metal arm. That was a lot to take in, but he had to focus on getting out of there. Garrison Trio came, crazy escapes happened and ultimately everyone got to Keith's shack safely where he apparently had clothes for Shiro. Where did he even take them from? Did they belong to somebody else or did Keith took them from Garrison? Would FE let me know that?

“It's good to have you back.” “It's good to be back.” Awwwww. They share this nice, little moment where Shiro might be confused and hurt, but his friend is here, that's a good reason to smile. Things happen, they end up in Blue Lion, then in space, are chosen to be Paladins in Voltron, and both along with Pidge land in Galra ship to search for Red Lion. And Shiro… apparently believes in Keith enough to know he's going to be alright on the alien vessel? To be fair kid does manage to get his cat but still. What is significant here is how Shiro's words, “Patience yields focus,” helped Keith find Lion's energy. After that they form Voltron, Red Paladin gets patted on the back and so their adventure begins.

The duo spends most of S1 in the background. They smile at each other after the goo fight, Shiro calms Keith down when he gets angry at Pidge, Red Paladin is the one to lead everyone when their leader (and Pidge) are in danger, as well is one to notice he's not with a group while dealing with possessed Castle. Also kind of judge Lance together when he's flirting with Nyma. And the others did notice that they're close, for example Hunk just assumes Keith and Shiro would end up working together on Balmera while the rest would take one tunnel each. Keith never questions Black Paladin (even in aforementioned situation with Pidge, he's mad at her, but doesn't tell Shiro anything.)

One moment did stand out from the rest however and it was when Keith saved Shiro from the training gladiator in the second episode. It was kind of in a similar vein of saving him and Pidge, but it was much more personal. Red Paladin was laying down on the floor, beaten by Altean child settings but when Shiro needed his help he immediately materialized in front of him. And it's not the last time he saved him, oh no.

In the finale after being thrown out by his Lion Shiro has to take another route, but Black was out there, in the open, ready to be taken from Zarkon. So what happens? Keith decides to take matter into his hands and moves his friend's Lion away from the beam. He fights Zarkon, mostly because he just wants to get rid of him, but after it becomes obvious he has no chance of winning he keeps fighting because he wants to  make sure the Galran Emperor doesn't touch Black. Their fight parallels the one that Shiro and Haggar engaged in, and both ultimately end with our heroes receiving help - Shiro from Hunk and Allura, Keith from Black Paladin himself.

S2 is the moment where their relationship really starts to shine and gets a lot of focus. For starters both end up stranded on the same planet, though still get separated. Red is a little banged up but Keith is alright so he makes his way to Shiro, happy and relieved that his friend is fine. Black Paladin does his best to reassure him he's doing alright, but mentions the wound and I really start to question my life choices why do I watch this I don't want to see that expression on Keith's face ever again. The creatures show up, Shiro still reassures Red Paladin “I'm fine but could you maybe hurry” and so it goes with Black Paladin's constant bad luck and fending off these aliens while Keith wants to get to him as quickly as possible. Both talk to each other a lot, there's a call back to “Patience yields focus” line, both reassure each other they're fine despite dangling above the chasm and hiding from the dangerous creatures, and Keith says: “If it wasn’t for you my life would have been a lot different.” We knew these two were close, we knew that Red Paladin had problems with making connections with other people and his only meaningful relationship before all this that we knew of was with Shiro. But what the heck actually happened there? What does Keith exactly mean by that? FE tell me all your dark secrets.

Finally Red Paladin reaches his destination, asks Black Lion for help and saves his friend once again. Shiro is obviously thankful, but the magic wound is still there. Both rest near the fireplace with their Lions not knowing what they should do to get back to the Castle and Shiro asks Keith that in case he didn't make it out alive he should pilot Black Lion.

Let's talk about it for a bit, shall we? Sure, Shiro's in a bad place; he's dying, not that he wants to (whatever jokes fandom makes up,) Zarkon took control of Black that threw him into outer space, and then Keith was able to pilot them, making Shiro feel unworthy of his role as a Paladin. But not only you can’t blame him for covering all his bases, he knows who is he asking for it. Red Paladin was able to pilot Black Lion, he's a passionate, talented person, who is definitely not as selfish as the others might think he is. And he has this aura that kind of makes others listen to him. Keith doesn't think that, he's not confident in himself, thinking his personality will put people off. And Shiro… kind of wants to get rid of these insecurities, to let Keith know he trusts him, that he sees him for what he truly is – a selfless brave person, significantly less childish than the others. However there are two important problems. One is that while all of the above is true it makes Keith a perfect Red Paladin, not Black one, which Shiro kind of knows, but, again, feels unworthy and wants to make sure right person will be chosen in his stead. Two is that while Black Paladin wants to let Keith know he believes in him, Keith is simply terrified at the prospect of losing his friend yet again and doesn't see it that way. Thankfully Pidge comes to save them and take them back to the Castle, but the idea of replacing Black Paladin in case of emergency doesn't leave Shiro's mind to Keith's irritation and worry.

Initially Keith didn't want to trust Ulaz despite Shiro's opinions on the matter, but at the end of the day he was the one who came to Black Paladin to apologize and talk to him. It was also the moment where his doubts about himself and his heritage truly began. And I do think he tried to tell Shiro about it, but. But he was afraid Shiro would tell him to give it up, that it didn't matter, that he was selfish. Keith is a person who tries to look at the bigger picture, who proposed to leave Allura so Galra wouldn't get Voltron, yelled at Pidge when she wanted to leave that there are people who need their help. And now he was hiding something, something that could have been potentially dangerous to the team and, by extension, the universe as whole, and he was being selfish, making it a closed circle. Black Paladin, of course, knew something was wrong, and Keith was on verge of telling him when asked about it, but, again, he didn't want to give up his dagger and potential answers, choosing to escape in a middle of the night being afraid of the danger he could cause the others instead of talking about it. And Shiro's opinion about the whole situation mattered to him the most. Rewatch the scene where they meet Lubos; Black Paladin is disgusted with a king (no wonder, what a piece of garbage person) and says: “You turned your back on your own people to save your own skin.” Look at Keith's expression there, he's afraid it's what he's doing right now, choosing the blade and his heritage instead of his team. So when he takes Lubos 'hostage' it didn't really came out of nowhere. There's also a matter of being afraid what others might say about him being part-Galra of all of the races in the cosmos, and he was afraid of Shiro's reaction as well about that part, though he had a first-hand experience with a situation where Black Paladin was the only one willing to trust friendly Galra. Being related to the race responsible for conquering and enslaving numerous planets ties to his fear of being rejected and his way of thinking there's something fundamentally wrong with him, thus making others dislike him.

Everything has its conclusion in “The Blade of Marmora” episode. Keith and Shiro travel together to Marmora headquarters and the latter yet again mentions his decision of having Red Paladin as his substitute, and the former simply refuses to talk about it. At the base where they learn they're not exactly welcome here and find out about the blade Keith was hiding, which surprises Shiro, and he claims he does not know when Red Paladin acquired it. Black Paladin wants to leave, Keith wants answers and so the trials begin.

At this point both know they care about the other, but they don’t really know what the other half thinks of them. Shiro doesn’t know why Keith didn’t talk to him about the blade, was he not worthy of his trust? He’s confused and stammers that he doesn’t know anything about Red Paladin’s knife which. Is not a great choice of words considering Keith’s history of abandonment and his doubts about Shiro potentially leaving him.

Red Paladin fights off more and more Galra, but then, finally, Keith doesn't go through the door but through the hatch in the ground and finds himself in front of Fake!Shiro.

“His suit has the ability to create a virtual mindscape, reflecting its wearer’s greatest hopes and fears. And, at this moment, your friend desperately wants to see you.”

The desperate part is pretty obvious; Keith is… not in good place right now, confused about his heritage, afraid he's not the person Shiro wants him to be, afraid he will have to choose between his new family and answers about his dagger, and, on top of that, he was beaten to the pulp and barely can stand. And so Fake!Shiro comes in, pulls him up (using Keith's hurt arm) and tells him it's going to be fine, that he did good, that they can go back to the Castle. It ties a little with a hope part, where Shiro is proud of him, thinks he's a good person, because Keith still this kind of mindset where he thinks Black Paladin wouldn't truly accept him for who he is. The fear comes when Red Paladin still has questions about his blade, refuses to give it up. Fake!Shiro tells Keith he's selfish, that he should just give up the knife and come back to the team before it's too late. Younger Paladin refuses, playing into the hope part again, thinking that maybe Shiro will accept that, accept him for who he is.

And then Fake!Shiro leaves and Keith breaks down. Because that’s it, that’s his fear right there. Before that he took Shiro’s yelling calmly, he was sad, but not surprised (which is weird when you think how gentle Black Paladin is towards him but not that weird when you think about Keith’s issues) but when Shiro gives up on caring about him? He just lost the most important, only really close person in his life and with his history that’s beyond hurtful.

The later part of Keith’s trial still reflects on his desperation, hopes and fears using an image of his father, albeit in a different way. I’m not going to go into detail here, let’s just say that with Fake!Shiro Keith chose the ‘selfish’ way, a desire to know about his heritage, and with Dad Kogane hallucination he picked Voltron and responsibility of being a Paladin. Keith slowly wakes up when Red Lion attacks the base and Black Paladin comes in for the rescue.

Through the whole fight Shiro is clearly unhappy, claiming it's unfair, worried about his friend on the arena. And I think the whole situation reminds him of his time as the Champion, which only fueled his frustrations. At certain point he just has enough and tries to go to Keith, but is successful only after Red Lion is distressed.

The thing about Fake!Shiro is that how Keith sees Shiro and thinks Shiro might see him. For Red Paladin his older friend is an amazing, diplomatic person who keeps his temper in check and now solved the problems he caused by talking. He did help him up using a wrong arm, but I think it was mostly a part of Keith’s general outlook on his life and that his sufferance isn’t that important rather than projecting lack of care on Shiro’s part. Meanwhile real Shiro comes in concerned, horrified and angry, picks his friend up carefully with both hands and lets him rest on him to keep him standing. He’s not in a mood for talking and is ready to fight the whole organization for them to leave and the right of keeping the blade with Keith.

And that’s… totally different to what Keith was expecting. He simply miscalculated how much he means to Shiro but there it was, the truth right in front of him. So he gives up the knife and both of them pass the trials.

After that things between them are good, both of them proved how much they mean to each other, they don’t have to worry about it and so they share a hug and I’m found crying in a pit. After that they are mostly busy with preparations for the fight with Zarkon, but they do make a point to show us Black Paladin thinks of Keith as his equal and I’m pretty sure forming a flaming sword requires a close bond. So they beat Zarkon and send him into coma and go back to Castle and oh wait Shiro’s gone for some reason no happy endings allowed I’m afraid.

Keith is going to be devastated and angry and will refuse to pilot Black for multiple reasons, the biggest being feeling like they forgot about Shiro. And you know he won’t rest until finding and rescuing him yet again. He loves Shiro, he’s his anchor, his comfort and reassurance and after the trials he knows Black Paladin cares about him more than he initially thought. He does put Shiro on a pedestal, sometimes to the point of blind loyalty and that will have to change at some point in a future.

While we know Keith was alone and only had Shiro we don’t know much about Black Paladin’s past, his family, his friends. Aside from Matt Holt, I guess, if they even were close or just have been assigned for the mission and were on friend-ish terms. He doesn’t mention anyone when Paladins stand together on Olkarion which might mean he considers Keith as his ‘only true friend’ as well. Shiro is protective of Keith no matter the situation they are in, but also trusts him to take care of himself as well as a team. He is devoted to Red Paladin just like Keith is devoted to him, but his read on the kid is better in general and he’s not nearly as dependent.

So there you have it they have a great bond and love each other. Their relationship will evolve, they might meet another few bumps, but they will not stop being friends.

Space Family Relationships Part One Space Family Relationships Part Two Shiro & Kolivan Keith & Lance Garrison Trio Paladins & Lions

[thenamesdoctor]

stranger things theory: Evil El. (s3 & s4)

So guys I just binged all of s2 recently (actually I went back and rewatched from the beginning once I finished) but I’ve got A LOT of things to discuss and these will bring us into my theory for the seasons.

ALL SPOILERS FROM s1 AND NEWLY RELEASED s2 FOLLOW AFTER THIS 

TAKE PRECAUTIONS 

———————————

——————————–

——————————–

FINAL WARNING

————————

——————————–

———————-

I want to refresh your memories with a few details back in s1. My theory goes along with another popular fan theory about Eleven & the Demogorgon being psychically linked with each other. Although, my theory will bounce off into its own direction I can assure you.

Basically there were loads of parallels: (My mind was BLOWN from this theory!) that suggested their link.

1.) Each time Eleven made contact with Will through the upside down suddenly the Demogorgon followed. 

The first time was at the school with the radio. El found Will and from the Upside Down POV, Will was alone talking to his mom through the wall. El was listening in but as she struggled to keep the connection the lights flickered uncontrollably and soon Will had to run from the Demogorgon. 

The second time this happened as El made contact through the void with Will. Weak and cold in his fort, she passed on the message from his mom but soon lost contact. The final moments of that episode we see Will as he was in his fort but the Demogorgon yet again finds his location and snatches him. 

2.) In 1x02 as Mike shows El his room, she locks eyes on their science fair picture as a group and then points to Will without ever meeting him. In 1x03 Barb is taken and that same episode El goes exploring Nancy’s room and locks eyes with a picture of Nancy and Barb. How did she know?

3.) Both Demogorgon and Eleven share telekinetic abilities. 

On the night Will goes missing while in his house, the Demogorgon uses telekinesis to slowly unlock their front door. 

4.) The final scene of the s1 finale, we see Eleven face to face with the Demogorgon pinned up against the wall about to destroy it and we also notice as its destroyed, Eleven is ‘seemingly destroyed’ too.

(now HERE is where I started connecting pieces forming my theory to come.)

I noticed instantly as Eleven has it pinned as she raises her right arm suddenly the Demogorgon mimics her in sync. As if they were really connected. THEN it hit me. What is the Upside Down? It’s an alternate dimension BUT in parallel with the human world and it mirrors it EXACTLY. The Demogorgon is a mirrored image of Upside Down Eleven.

Our Eleven is a scared little girl, abducted by Scientists as a weapon, and has been experimented on her whole life. Has gone through a lot of emotional trauma and abuse. Also she has A LOT of built up rage. 

Whose to say that the Demogorgon isn’t a failed experiment by Scientists who sought out to make it into a weapon? So thinking about that, these two worlds were NEVER supposed to co-exist with each other. So when Eleven dives deeper into the void, she got a glimpse of the parallel world. However touching it was a BAD choice, she interacted with her equal and just like any paradoxes a crack was formed and both worlds combined. Basically, as long as Eleven and her powers exsist, the upside will be able to get through.

Intrigued yet? We finally reached the start of my theory. Created after my third rewatch of season 1 and based off of the comic that Will requested when he won the race to Dustin’s. “I’ll take your XMEN 134!”

Well that particular issue centers around Jean Grey who shares Telekinetic/telepathy abilities just like Eleven. However also in that comic, Jean gets manipulated by Master Mind (villain with powers of illusion) and eventually she turns into the Dark Phoenix. 

Stranger Things season 2:

We are introduced to a new monster whom the boys quickly name as The Mind Flayer. Starts off by showing Will visions of what’s to come (Coming to their world) and then it inhabits his body to use him as a spy. We learn that it thinks as a hive mind and has been in control of the Demogorgons as well. So it’s been the real MASTER MIND.

We also learn that its been seeping the Upside Down into the real world because the gate has not been closed FOR. A. WHOLE. YEAR! The finale is Eleven gathering enough power to finally ‘close’ the gate. She actually levitated (also something Jean Grey did as Phoenix). 

BUT the final scene of that episode as we pan out of the real world Hawkin’s Snowball dance, the scene rotates around and reveals The Mind Flayer stalking over their school. So now it has a real target as their group or one particular person. 

(cue “I’ll be watching you”) 

THEORY TIME:

He’s going after Eleven and not just because she was powerful enough to close the gate. Now that The Mind Flayer has peaked into their world, he’s either out to destroy it or take over. What Will seen will happen and the Mind Flayer is going to start by manipulating Eleven. Forming her into his own weapon. (Like the ultimate papa)

Once you interact with The Upside Down you are essentially part of it so to the Mind Flayer, you are his property. But before he can come to their world, he has to create the right atmosphere which is why The Upside Down was seeping into Hawkins. 

Besides Will and Eleven, these others might be in danger:

1) Dustin - interacted with the Upside Down through Dart and got sprayed by the flower inside the tunnel. (Will it infect him too? Since it did get into his mouth…)

2) Hopper - Almost choked to death by the vines.

3) Mike - Almost taken by the vines.

So one of them could be infected.

I believe the Mind Flayer is going to corrupt Eleven where she becomes evil. Think about it: Eleven is going to be isolated for a year so they can be sure it’s safe for her to start a normal life and during this time, her powers are gonna grow to massive amounts. She is already limited to using her powers because she’s still learning control. Not to mention her powers are tied to her emotions, she’ll eventually be in HS and vulnerable to a lot of teen angst AND strong feelings between her and Mike…..so the Mind Flayer is going to use all this to his advantage. ESPECIALLY her feelings of Mike.

Pretty sure the Mind Flayer will be particularly interested in messing with Eleven, through messing with Mike. I definitely feel this is the next storyline and the Duffer Bros did say the Mind Flayer is sticking around.

Once Eleven is manipulated Hawkins is going to find out about her abilities and view her as a threat, they are going to try to stop her. EVERYTHING Hopper has tried to give to El; A normal life, a safe place, friends, family will be jeopardized but it's not gonna be her fault....it's the Mind Flayer. (If you look at this through E.T POV since this show is also heavily inspired by that movie too, the government tried to stop E.T. as well.)

(personally i want this to be a huge cliffhanger to s3, carrying into s4 because honestly, as much as I love this show you really can’t up The Mind Flayer because that’s already BA enough. Duffer Bros can TOTALLY prove me wrong about that though)

So in the off chance this does take us into s4 or however long until the show ends entirely we are going to meet the other Xmen. (missing/abducted children). Meeting eight was no coincidence, that’s where the show will take us. In the end its going to take the help of Eleven and her other siblings to stop the Mind Flayer I bet. One huge telekenetic war.

- Theory girl