#looked kinda guy ish as I do (I have a confusing haircut)

[wherethewaterstarts-andyouend]

My favorite gender: people being confused then referring me to using they/them pronouns

[snkpolls]

SnK Episode 61 Poll Results (for Manga Readers)

The poll closed with 359 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Please note that these are the results for the Manga Readers’ poll. If you wish to see the results for the Anime Only Watchers’ poll, click here. 

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RATE THE EPISODE 347 Responses

While this episode wasn’t as big of a hit as episode 60, overall most viewers still enjoyed the content and are looking forward to more next week!

amazing amazing! I'm so delighted with this season so far!

Im so beyond pumped i love everything

Dissapointing but acceptable.

I’m like angry I loved it so much.

I just wish we didn't have to wait a week

It was amazing. We all gotta apologize to MAPPA for ever doubting them.

It's a huge stepdown from episode 1. At times the animation was straight up painful to watch. My expectations were low and yet I'm still disappointed :/

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WAS YOUR FAVORITE SCENE/MOMENT? 349 Responses

Reiner-centric scenes were the highest on people’s radar, with 24.9% of respondents enjoying his reunion with the warrior cadets, and not far behind, 22.9% enjoyed Reiner bringing up the 104th at the dinner table. In third, with only 13.5%, was Pieck and Porco’s formal introduction to the audience. 

Hearing Zeke greet his grandparents with such happiness warmed my heart. I do believe that he loves them. 

They just had to add one last image of Ymir's broken face before she died, huh? :(

WE FORGOT TO ASK LAST WEEK D: WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING SCENES/MOMENTS FROM EPISODE 60 WAS YOUR FAVORITE? 348 Responses

Last week we forgot to include what your favorite scenes were. The scene from episode 60 that got the most favor was Reiner’s, “I’m sick and tired… of walls” with 33.6% of the vote. 16.7% most enjoyed Zeke’s titan transforming scream. 14.9% were hyped about Reiner and Porco wrecking Fort Slava.

MAPPA WENT ALL OUT WITH THE CINEMATOGRAPHY IN THIS EPISODE. WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE CINEMATIC PANS AND ROTOSCOPE ANIMATION? 349 Responses

Overall, a total of 74.5% respondents have positive feelings about MAPPA’s use of rotoscope animation and camera panning. Some felt like it was akin to watching a movie, while others are just happy to have the dynamic movement. A smaller amount of respondents didn’t have feelings one way or another, and a minority (about 10.3%) really are not a fan of this type of animation style for the series.

It felt odd sometimes as they used it for long scenes (like Udo talking or Gabi telling the story to her family) but overall it was pretty great and I prefer it to WIT's stale animation during season 3

I liked the more dynamic movement during dialogue, but my roommate found it super awkward and off-model. So a fifty-fifty split in a sample size of two lol

It could have been animated better, but I like the extra dimension it gives to scenes

Enjoyed it a lot! However, there were a few scenes that felt a bit off, like some frames were missing. Specifically, when Udo was doing all those gestures while talking with the rest of the Warrior Candidates.

It felt dynamic to the point of looking unnatural - some gestures and expressions just moved wrong

i'm split, in some scenes it was great (like reiner waking up), but in the dialogue scenes the constant movement seemed kinda unnatural and distracting

It was amazing but at the same time I'd didn't look fluid enough, especially at Udo's mouvements which made the character look kind of...video game-ish in constant moving. 

I thought it looked great the rotoscoping,the movements all looked amazing

The animation during Urdu’s scene is so cool!  I was caught of guard at first though lol. It’s so realistic!

NOW THAT WE’VE GOTTEN TO HEAR A LITTLE MORE OF THE NEW OST TRACKS, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE SOUNDTRACK SO FAR THIS SEASON? 344 Responses

So far, reception to the newer music is overall positive. 31.1% are really enjoying the music and think the songs are being used immaculately, and 40.4% really feel that the song choice compliments the scenes they’ve been used in. 13.1% think the songs are good, but miss having that sole Sawano feel to them. 10.8% just feel the music is “ok” and 2.6% aren’t a fan of the new OST tracks so far. 

I mean it sounds good, but we haven't gotten to important moments that require a memorable track, so we'll see!

First episode slapped because it really complemented the scene but it's more... generic. I didn't like how it was used in this episode, there wasn't enough of it and again, generic. I miss Sawano's unreal scores.

the animation absolutely blew me away, and i love the intense music that played during Reiners monologue 

The music is fine.

I've heard both new and old songs from the previous seasons. Still too soon to make an opinion as we need to hear more.

I am deaf, I can't hear no damn soundtracks 

That music guys when they came back to Liberio and reuniting with they parents, made me tear up but also because the scouts never had the chance to go back home with victory in the arms of their family, I wish I could have seen EMA like this.. It kinda felt unfair X) but I was happy for them nevertheless.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE CLOSEUP OF ZEKE’S MOUTH? 346 Responses

Our first of probably too many crack questions in this poll, 32.7% thought the closeup of Zeke lighting his cigarette was cool looking. 21.4% are concerned about Zeke’s lung health. 19.1% are probably annoyed with us and simply don’t care (lol). 13.3% wouldn’t mind smooching Zeke, and 11% were just plain grossed out.

Does smoke even affect a titan shifter? Surely his lungs just heal themselves

ASMR for the eyes, right there. Aww yiss

It was awesome! Zeke is shown as relaxed person with a big drop of mystery. 

Smoking Bad but he is gonna die in a year anyway

Suuuuuuucc

It might've just been an artistic choice to include it in there, but i gotta say I'm oddly fascinated and idk why

I don’t remember it lol

I didn't even notice.

Zeke looks hotter than he has ever looked

WHAT’S YOUR OPINION ABOUT ELDIAN ASSES? 341 Responses

Most of the responses seemed to feel rather positively about Eldian asses, with almost 40% seeking out Zeke’s ass wiping technique. About 17% simply stated their appreciation for them, while almost 13% are just thirsty. In contrast, a little over 17% seemed confused to the question’s inclusion and about 10% were confused outright. 

MAPPA WHERE IS PIECK'S ASS

More into Eldian thighs, really

I bet Levi’s is nice

If only Eren had one

zeke has the energy of a straight man who doesn't wash his ass

Only Shadis' ass

GIVE IT TO ME 😏😏

They are like normal, human asses. Do not turn them into some magical, special snowflakes, just because they belong to Eldians. 

Seek help

Enough

DO YOU WANT REINER TO GIVE YOU A HEAD PAT? 343 Responses

A definitive majority, almost 59 percent, openly expressed enthusiasm for the prospect of a head pat from Reiner. However, a near 30% fraction of responders didn’t seem too happy about this recent chain of less than serious questions. We’re sorry about that. 😅. The rest either didn’t seem interested in said prospect or noted they wouldn’t care either way.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE DECISION FROM MAPPA TO CONDENSE REINER’S FLASHBACK INTO (PRESUMABLY) A SINGLE EPISODE? 346 Responses

It would appear that the majority of those who took our poll express cautious optimism at the prospect of seeing all (or the vast majority) of Reiner’s backstory being adapted into a single episode, with a near 47% supporting the move, thinking it could make the narrative “more coherent”. Almost 20% argue it would work better pacing wise. On the flipside, just over 17% state that they would rather have a more accurate adaptation to the manga. 11.6% simply say they have no opinion. There were also more than a few write-ins.

I do wish everything could be animated to full detail, but pacing and structure will benefit here

They've done a good job so far, so I'll reserve judgement until I actually watch it.

It will be difficult as they're chapters with loads of dialogue, but they can pull it off if unnecessary stuff gets cut out or changed in some type of way (like watching Marcel's death for the sixth time, them breaking through the wall or even Jean and Eren fighting) 

If they get the pacing right, then the rearrangement will be for the better.

Reiner flashbacks + Reiner suicide attempt + Falco meeting "Kruger" (more than 2,5 chapters) in a single episode? HELL NO! WTF MAPPA!  

Worried and cautiously optimistic.

At least it looks like they're going to stick to just one episode for the RBA flashback. It was mostly just filler anyway, so there was never any need to stretch it out and waste precious time getting back to the Paradis side of the story

I doubt that that's exactly how it is, but if so, then I don't think that that's a wise idea

It’s gonna be rushed as hell

Reiner flashback is very long and there is tons of dialogue, so I dont know how its going fit in only one episode, but if they can make it work then its fine for me

WHICH CHARACTER DESIGN DID YOU LIKE BEST IN COMPARISON TO THE MANGA? 346 Responses

This question gave us a somewhat evenly split pie chart, but Porco nonetheless managed to gain the bigger piece with just over 55%. Surely due to that bomber jacket and haircut. Nearly 45% picked Pieck (gottem) instead. Must have been the somewhat inconsistent nose. 

WHO’S SEIYUU DID YOU LIKE BEST? 335 Responses

On the flip side, 68.4% seemed to prefer Pieck’s soft voice. Porco with his (how the hell does Porco sound like… how can you describe his voice) managed to win the hearts of 31.6% of responses.

Pieck voice wtf? I imagined Pieck with a more Hanji-ish voice, not this sweet and high pitched.

DID MAPPA DO PIECK’S NOSE JUSTICE? 345 Responses

The debacle over Pieck’s POWERFUL nose gave us quite a colorful pie chart. Almost 39% of responses noted that Mappa was on point with Pieck’s nose for most of the episode. Afterwards, 26.7% stated that they thought that Mappa got it right only in some points of the episode. On the flip side, another 26.7% thought that Mappa was generally quite on point throughout the entire episode. A small minority (7.8%) thought that Mappa simply did a poor job. 

The animation is good, and while I don't want to complain, I have a small problem with the drawings themselves. I feel like they lack precision (like Pieck's nose, idk if that's clear).

I'm grateful for Pieck's nose. I always respected Isayama for drawing imperfect characters, because this way he has made them to look more realistic. Even though Pieck has so-called imperfect nose, she is still absolutely gorgeous. Her imperfections are part of what makes her beautiful and unique.

PORCO’S HAIR - WERE YOU TEAM RED HAIR OR BLOND HAIR? AND ARE YOU HAPPY WITH HIS ANIME COLOR SCHEME? 345 Responses

A far less controversial debacle concerned Porco’s hair scheme. The folks supporting a Blond color scheme were universally content with his hair color (all 57.4% of team Blond). On the flip side, an almost universal approval was also present from team Redhead (13.6% of those supported his blond hair color). 27.5% of the responses seemed to care not about this issue at all, however.

NOW THAT WE KNOW PORCO BETTER IN THE MANGA, DO YOU THINK HE WOULD HAVE *ACTUALLY* DONE A BETTER JOB THAN REINER IF HE HAD INHERITED THE ARMOR AND WENT TO PARADIS? 348 Responses

Porco inheriting the Armored Titan is a rather interesting what-if scenario. Perhaps of the most interesting as a whole, so it’s no surprise to see a rather divided opinion of those who took our poll. A little over 36% believe that Porco doing a better job than Reiner on Paradis is a definite possibility. Just over 24% believe it’s not likely Porco would have done better than Reiner. On the flip side, 21.6% think that is is likely Porco *would* have a more successful conduct on the island. 9.2% believe that Porco’s success is a given and in opposition to that, 8.9% think that Porco’s success would have been basically impossible.

HOW ABOUT IF PIECK HAD GONE TO PARADIS WITH THE WARRIORS? 346 Responses

Much less division here, however. 70.5% of responders believe that Pieck’s possible trip to Paradis (in the initial attack) would have not have resulted in a given “mission success” for the Warriors, although she would have been a rather useful ally. Nearly a quarter, on the other hand, think that Pieck’s inclusion would have ended the story right then and there. The rather small minority of the other responders think that Pieck would not have been useful had she participated in the mission.

GABI HAS ALWAYS BEEN A CONTROVERSIAL CHARACTER. HAS MAPPA BRINGING HER TO LIFE CHANGED YOUR FEELINGS TOWARD HER? 342 Responses

64.6% of respondents overall have positive feelings toward Gabi as of right now, with 39.5% having already been enjoying her character throughout the manga. 25.1% now view her more positively with her being brought to life. 20.2% don’t really care about Gabi either way, and 11.7% feel very negatively toward Gabi, without the anime swaying their opinions. 

Gabi still sucks

Sakura ayane as gabi is probably the best thing to happen to me all year

WITH SUCH A DIALOGUE-HEAVY ARC, CUTS WERE INEVITABLE. WHICH CUTS WERE YOU DISAPPOINTED IN, AND WHICH CUTS CAN YOU LIVE WITH?

Overwhelmingly, the scenes that were most missed by manga readers were “Pieck walking on all fours/scaring Porco”, “Zeke mentioning the Ackerman Clan”, “Reiner’s smirk when his family talks about ‘Island Devils’”, and “The imagery of Eren and Armin wrecking ships”. Smaller character details, such as Reiner mentioning how he acted like Marcel on Paradis, Gabi wishing to understand Reiner’s feelings, Falco pointing out how Reiner almost had the Armor taken from him, were also very missed by manga readers, although just less so. 

General Calvi talking about Zeke’s loyalty, Gabi getting praise from her parents when they reunite, and Magath trashing the Marleyan navy, were moments that many respondents didn’t feel strongly about one way or another, or felt that these were details that weren’t really needed anyway. 

Cutting the scene where Falcon talks about why Reiner kept the AT was really bad.  Also the table scene could have been better. Some imagery when Reiner was describing the 104th and his smirk.

The cuts the anime has done made the spectators less informed about some story background stuff. This is in order to direct attention to the marley's eldians planning how to overcome the world's disparagement towards the power of the titans. 

I'm sad they cut the gate guards. They humanize the marleyans a bit. Hope they add their scenes next episode and do them justice.

I hope we will get the Gabi/Reiner talk about understanding each other through PATHS when she eats him next episode

Gimme crawling best giiiirl

MAPPA cut Pieck's ass so this episode wouldn't be so ass centered with Zeke's ass wiping technique. This is my theory lol

Great episode but U was so looking forward to the Reiner scene talking about Paradis “devils”. In the mange it was a powerful scene really adding to the duality of Reiner and the pain he has, and the animation did not do it justice. Plus some parts of his speech were probably hard to understand for a non mange reader without the flashback. (Like which one is referring to Jean for example).  I really wish it had been better delivered

IS THERE ANY CHANCE WE’LL SEE SOME OF THESE CUTS ANIMATED IN A LATER EPISODE? 342 Responses

them into different scenes. Overall, the majority answered a big, fat, “maybe.” 15.8% are confident that what’s done has been done, and 12.6% are more optimistic that MAPPA will find a way.

Overall I was a bit disappointed. I feel like the amount of material cut from every conversation included really added up overall and gave it a very rushed feel to me. I really hope they add it all in later.

ON THE FLIP-SIDE, WHICH ADDITIONS/CHANGES DID YOU LIKE/DISLIKE?

The changes and additions that MAPPA made were overall viewed very favorably, with the scene of Porco and Pieck interacting with the warrior cadets being the most liked addition. This is followed closely by the overall character movement during dialogue scenes, the small detail about Pieck’s father being unwell, and Gabi shouting “Watashi!” on the train.

I loved the additional details made it very emotional

IT WAS A GREAT TIME TO BE GALLIPIECK TRASH

Sneakier Eren's a nice addition too

Porco my boiii I'm so happy he's here 💖💖💖💖 if mappa is adding some extra scenes then gimme more of gallirei 👀

WHICH SCENE FROM THE PREVIEW ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? 338 Responses

Unsurprisingly, 42% of respondents are hyped about Kenny’s brief return and Annie’s unlikely encounter with him in the Underground. 22.2% are eager to get that sweet Reiner angst as he is rejected by his Marleyan father. 17.8% are looking forward to Reiner’s training days.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?

great! it was inevitable they would cut stuff but it hasn't changed any major plot point or thing i would want to see desperately 

It was just really great to see the scenes animated, it adds another level of depth and understanding to the story I believe. 

Loved anime-onlies missing Eren completely. Some even thought it was him but then noticed the leg and thought against it

I think it was very well done. Just need a little getting used to with MAPPA on the reins now. I think MAPPA added some scenes to show how those Eldians over there are still just human after all and they have their own problems to deal with. 8/10 episode.

I feel like they took a lot of emotion way from reiner. made him seemed stoic and determined to go to the island even though in the make he looked scared about having to return. 

I thought the rotoscoping was really well done! I’m happy with the pacing, the fact that the episode felt like it went by fast is good considering it was dialogue based.

Incredible. The direction, the cinematic quality, we are feasting. MAPPA is elevating the story beyond anything I could have imagined! I'm beyond hyped for the rest!! But where is asshole Marley guards/Hobo!Eren's appearance as a favorite moment?!

Incredible, it adapts the source material very well while adding some touches that make it unique in it's own way. As a manga reader, I'm really glad that they're doing this because it feels like a completly different experience from reading it and makes me excited on what changes or directing choices they're going to make during the course of the season, great job so far MAPPA!

Such an amazing episode. Made 20mins feel like 5. MAPPA is doing fantastic. The characters have never felt more alive and the animation style is something I never knew I wanted until now. 

I can't believe they didn't cast Mads Mikkelsen to voice Mads Mikkelsen

The episode was good but the dinner scene didn't do justice to the manga. It didn't have the same feeling to it. I saw a lot of anime onlys thinking Reiner was just trying to talk shit about the 104th. I feel like the flashbacks during that part in the manga gave it a nostalgic feeling that helped convey what he truly felt about his time on the island. His facial expressions were not quite there either. Specially sad because it was the moment I was expecting the most this episode and because it's a big part of Reiner's character, maybe next episode can kind of fix this.

I haven't seen the anime only poll results, but given personal conversations with them I imagine quite a few could care less about the Warriors and are looking forward to the 104th showing up to stir shit up. Boy are those folks in for a treat :)

I knew I'd feel more attached to all of them once they got animated. I didn't expect getting real thirsty for Lainah.

I was so happy with how much detail MAPPA put into the background scenery. Also, I think that an underrated moment during this episode was the Marlian douchebag triggering the Eldian soldier’s PTSD. You could really feel their terror, and THEY KEPT THE HOBO EREN PART IM SO HAPPY!

Its consistently very pretty and well animated which is great of course, but I worry the team won’t be able to maintain this quality for some of the meatier scenes in the later episodes. The fast pace of the episode (compared to the manga) as well as the many cuts make it a bit harder for scenes to stick, I wish there was a bit more breathing room at times. This also makes the fancy animation and frequent rotoscoping cuts feel less impactful for me—with every scene being cut down to its core ingredients, and every scene having at least one cut with more motion and energy than we’re used to, I can’t help but feel it all kind of mashes together without sticking out as much, leaving less of an impact. (I feel really really weird actually complaining about good camerawork/animation, what the hell lol) Also hobo <3

Plenty of questions about ass but no questions about the full ED? Or how we thought the episode did at hiding Eren in plain sight?

rip Reiner's chocolate abs :'(

The episode wasn't as interesting as the first one. I was yawning from time to time. Yet, I think that Mappa did a great job, because it's hard to animate full of  dialogues chapters. I was disappointed of the fact that flashbacks from Paradis have been cut. I hoped to see Sasha, Connie, Ymir and Marco while Reiner was speaking about them. Without the flashbacks we just got the dry speech and this way hard to say what Reiner is really thinking about people he met on Paradis. We - as manga readers - already are aware of his feelings, but anime onlies may not know and see Reiner as cold hearted person. I'm not complaining over animations or the OST tracks because no studio is perfect and some small mistakes here and there won't destroy my fun. I just sit and enjoy the episode. 

Very good, with the exception of the dinner scene, in which the director missed the mark completely with the tone.

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 328 Responses

Thank you again for participating! We’ll see you again next week!

[zmediaoutlet]

Hey I'm super intrigued by your halmanverse stuff (just finished reading your most recent mpreg fic and also timelapse and also the omegaverse explanation post) but I'm still kinda confused, maybe because I'm in general already overthinking gender like 95% of the time. I have a lot of questions but mainly I was wondering what specific differences you imagine between halman Dean and male Dean? Mostly physical/presentation-wise, but also in terms of personality/emotion/emotional expression/etc?

oh wow, I’m glad you’re interested! (and even went back to that ancient post! bro!) I related to the overthinking part--I’m not that interested in gender qua gender but I am super interested in trying to figure out how a three-sexed civilization might actually work, and what gender expression results from there, etc etc. It’s a conundrum! My friend can attest to the hours I’ve spent moaning and flailing over how tf fashion would even work, much less everything else. But--it’s easier to think about if we start from a few basic premises:

1. I don’t want to write it as a dystopia; 2. I want it to feel semi-familiar as a setting; 3. I want Dean still to feel as much like himself as possible; 4. I want things to feel as naturalistic and realistic as possible.

All of which are kind of connected. I didn’t want to write it as a sex-crazed ultramating fuck-ciety, so heats get calmed down and ‘omegas’ (halmen) aren’t wee sex dolls who pump out seventy puppies per litter. (What do they even do with all those babies in omegaverse fics? Eat them??) The fact that I’m still using “he” pronouns means that halmen are still mostly masculine-presenting, but there are tells that mean that everyone can recognize a halman vs a man vs a woman (unless, of course, there’s some passing activity going on--much like in our own culture, where you can pretty much get a sense at a glance how someone is operating, and it’s exceptional if someone says, ‘actually, my gender identity is [x].’)

Still, halmen are, for lack of a better word, baby carriers. So, while they’re stronger/bigger/taller than women for the most part, they’re also given a slightly feminized role just by virtue of how this culture treats baby carriers. That translates into job choice, fashion, expected behavior. To delineate, halman!Dean:

Basic physical stuff: - he’s about 5′10, which is a little taller than average for a halman (much as real!Dean is a little taller than average for a man) - slightly rounder features, to go along with enticing mates to treat you well -- still very recognizable as Dean (esp with his lips and eyes already being Like That), but a very slightly softer jaw, probably. - high testosterone gives him good muscle structure and broad shoulders; high estrogen gives a soft subcutaneous layer of fat (which, ahem, Jensen already has) and less body hair; wider more feminine hips; flat chest (until pregnancy). So, the silhouette is a little different--sort of an hourglass, sort of an upside down triangle. - downstairs, you’re getting a very large clitoris (small penis-sized -- think of hyenas), which is also where the ureter is; no testicles, obviously; anus/birth canal hybrid, because that’s just fun tbh -- probably translates into that area being cleaner than usual, but let’s be honest, babies get poop on them half the time anyway, so. - heats are twice-yearly, ish (I think I said 25 weeks in one fic?) -- no crazy compulsion, no one’s gonna die if they don’t get fucked, but an actual body temp increase and definite horniness, and this is pretty much the only time all year that halmen can get pregnant. The hormones they’re putting out are also what triggers men to knot, so. It’s a special time. :)

Fashion: - Hair could be really anything (much like women can get away with most anything), but a pretty classic hairstyle would be something akin to Sam’s prettier bob haircuts. Dean keeps it above his shoulders, but not long enough that it could have a ponytail, probably. Side part, tuck behind the ears, done. - Makeup is minimal--halmen wear just as much as women if they feel like it, and in professional settings some effort is expected. Dean tends to stick to just eyeliner, but playing FBI might include a small amount of lip color. - Clothes -- THIS KILLED ME, but I came up with some options. Again, like 21st century women, they can kinda get away with anything, but they don’t mess with cleavage-baring (since they don’t have any, until they have a kid) and instead go with bare backs and shoulders to be sexy. (Why? Nice muscley backs, that’s why.) A very traditional outfit would be a tunic-length top (to cover the minimal bump from the big clit) paired with slim pants or tights. Short skirts over tights is also a really common look. Half the time, Dean’s going to be wearing a loose plaid shirt, a tank that dips just low enough to look halman-y, tight ass-hugging jeans, and boots.

Cultural stuff: - Sexuality: Dean vastly prefers men, because he’s pretty conformist when it comes right down to it. He probably experimented with a halman or a woman in his early twenties, but let’s face it, he likes dick. - Halmen could always get physical “men’s jobs” -- farming, factory work, mechanic, etc -- but the intellectual “men’s jobs” -- doctor, lawyer, head chef -- weren’t as common. They would’ve had a similarly hard time to women, breaking into those categories. So, while Dean can fake being an FBI agent just fine, sexist people will probably defer to Sam as the ‘senior’ agent. - Hustling pool: still likely, but Dean’s going to change up his style a little. He can probably take any of these trucker men in a fight, but it’s easier to flirt his way through it, and with that ass--yeah, he can get away with it. - Hooking: definitely possible too, but his client base wouldn’t be weird closeted dudes like real!Dean, it’d be people who’d expect to treat him more like a female sex worker might be treated. More dangerous, in its way, but at least he almost certainly wouldn’t get knocked up.

Personality/emotional expression: So, this is the big one. A large part of it is that, as a more female-typed caregiver, John’s expectations for how his Dean should act aren’t as subversive as in canon. Halman!Dean cooking/cleaning/taking care of his little brother--that’s what daughters are expected to do, after all, and Dean isn’t that far off from a daughter in this treatment. But that also means that the weird ways that, in canon, Dean is a little... overly macho, how he acts too butch, etc, those don’t really come into it. As a halman, he’s completely fitting into the role society/culture expect of him, and he doesn’t need to pretend otherwise. His issues, then, would be less of canon!Dean’s insistence on being a Cool Steve McQueen Dude, and more in the ‘there are certain cultural markers I’m missing by being a transient hunter, and I regret them.’ This gets touched on in ‘timelapse’ when he reflects about how he’s never been on a date with a nice boy before Mark-from-Blockbuster -- and I think we get a sense of wistfulness, wishing that maybe nice boys would ask him out more than the other guys like to finger him under the bleachers -- and again in the recent fffr fill, where of course he wanted to have kids, but knew that was never an option. He wants to hold babies, man. He just wants to really, really badly.

Related to that--in just his day-to-day, especially with Sam, he can afford to be... a little softer. Obviously he still gives his little brother a hard time, because that’s his job, but he also probably kept giving Sam good-night kisses until he was like 8--they probably argued a little less, because Dean didn’t feel the need to be a hardass just to emulate their dad--John was probably a little more soft with him, but Dean’s obedience would also be completely expected. I bet that there wasn’t ever one of those moments per canon where John would “send Dean away” for arguing too much, because I bet Dean didn’t argue that much.

The nurture of it all is so much of what shapes Dean--and he’s still loyal to a fault, of course, and still cracks jokes, and still loves his brother more than anything. But it’s the little softened edges that interest me--the places that canon!Dean fights against, that halman!Dean can just accept and be. Distinct from a Deanna, though, even if the changes are incremental. It’s just these little tweaks.

That... got really long, haha. Still, I hope it was helpful. Also, as a bonus:

I mean, the hair’s too long, but honestly, it... doesn’t take much imagination, haha.

[moonlightreal]

Fate Episode One

At long last, it’s tiiiiiime!

First: whitewashing bad.  Fact acknowledged.  Everybody else has said everything on the subject (ad nauseum...) so no reason to say it all again!

I’m diving in with questions.  The main one is “Will there be a good reason for Musa to be a mind fairy rather than a music fairy?” Dunno why that’s what I’m wondering the most, but it is.  There’s also “Is Fate!Stella truly an unholy union of Stella and Diaspro?” and “so what makes them fairies not witches/psychics/mutants?” and “So what’s up with Beatrix?  We know nothing about her, and as an Umineko fan I’m favorably disposed towards witches named Beatrice!” and also “They’re not really having sex are they?!”

I’m going to try and approach Fate just like I do every season of the cartoon, ready to celebrate the good, snark at the bad, enjoy many headcanons, reference random stuff, and have a good time.  Pretending I haven’t had my fannish heart nigh to broken by the state of the fandom and that I’m worried I’ll get hate for even posting this.  I’m’a try to start from zero to find my own answer the really big question… “Good, bad, or totally irredeemable?”

So… In which we discover a new world.

We start with… a night scene.  Not promising when “too dark can’t see” is one of my pet peeves!  An old fella comes out to check on his cute Irish sheep.  He passes through the barrier, into the dangerous forest beyond to look for a missing sheep.  Yup, he’s gonna be guest victim in the first five minutes.

Oh no!  Something has disemboweled a sheep and left it hanging in a tree!  Clearly there are leopards in the magical realm!

There is a great roar and an unseen but very large-sounding beast chases our poor shepherd!  The guy trips and falls just as he’s about to get through the barrier and is set upon and devoured by the unseen beast!  Blood spatters the rocks!

Opening! It’s the wings we’ve sen and some really beautiful music.  One point for the music.

Then a gorgeous flying shot of the outside of the barrier and Alfea. Whatever the plot turns out to be, the outdoor setting is beautiful. Music that seems to be both pop and edgy plays as we zoom in on the logo on the gate, and there’s Bloom coming in the gate.

And there’s Terra with her father and a tray full of plants.

And there’s Aisha walking by with her dreads

And there’s Stella taking a selfie with other students.

And there’s Musa leaning on her suitcase, headphones on, looking at her phone.  Another girl says something to Musa and she turns and replies and smiles.

And there’s one of the guys twirling a knife.  I’ve heard Sky starts out in a pink shirt so this must be Riven.  The camera comes back to Bloom as she gives him a doubtful look.  In the novelization she’s mentally labeling him an edgelord, and that kinda fits.  Any dude showing off his willingness to twirl weapons at a high school probably is best avoided—except the dudes here are training to fight so the weapons rules must be different.  I wonder if Bloom knows yet that dudes with swords are normal here.

Bloom gets a text to meet Stella at the gate.  She waits.

Camera pan to Sky talking to another guy.  Sky looks… Sky-ish.  Chris Evans style handsome, blond.  I’d’ve made him grow his hair to mimic cartoon Sky’s silly shaggy haircut, but points for making Sky look like Sky!  Minus points for not dying Riven maroon.  They could’ve made it work!

Sky is indeed wearing a pink shirt.  In the novelization Bloom thinks he’s wearing it “because gender roles were for the weak” which is a line I think is funny and intend to use in a story somewhere. There is no obvious hint in the show that Sky thinks gender roles are for the weak

Bloom’s tired of waiting.  She heads off.  Sky ditches his buddy to go meet her.  “Wow, you are so lost.  I’m impressed with your confidence in the face of complete ignorance.  Issue is, you’re overcomitted. You’re essentially running.  And now that I’m here you can’t possibly give me the satisfaction of turning around.”  he says, all in one go.  

I can’t decide if that’s jerkish or charming.  Maybe Bloom shares my weakness for men with accents because she decides on charming.

Bloom says she’s a fairy, giggles because that’s something she never thought she’d say, they’re standing in the courtyard of a college for fairies, Bloom’s from California, not the Otherworld.  So we get all that established.  Sky is kinda charming here and points out the specialists’ hall and fairy hall.

Sky: “I’d be happy to-”

Bloom: “Mansplain it?”  

So the writing team does know some modern issues!  Bloom says Sky seems like a mansplainer, which seems like quite a leap since she is new and he is helping her, in a friendly-sarcastic kind of way.  She’s giggling, clearly charmed.

Then Riven comes up, and he’s like a foot shorter than Sky, and Bloom escapes for some reason so maybe she wasn’t enjoying the conversation as much as it looked? Or maybe it was just the plot needs to move along.  Riven glomp-hugs Sky.  He’s got a great accent too.

Bloom must’ve left because she saw Stella, they say hello.  Bloom says she got impatient waiting and Stella says, “How very American of you”  So American stereotypes are known in magical worlds also?    

So, Stella!  Blonde, tall, zero Stella vibe.  Accent. Long pale coat and a satiny top with big chunky pendant.  She gets to her ring quick, “Portal ring, the only thing that keeps me sane in this place is the ability to leave it.  Your world may not always be thrilling but it beats this one.  There are seven realms in the Otherworld, each a different kind of boring.”  All spoken in a jaded monotone.  Ugh, what have they done to our Stella!

The girls walk inside while Stella speaks, the school is pale stone and arches and plants.  Other students are arriving, hauling suitcases, hugging.  At least some of them seem happy to be here!

Cut to the globe!  and it’s a magical globe, the water moves and there are lil sailing ships!  But the lands are totally blank, so it’s a cheap magic globe Dowling didn’t pay enough for the one with tiny forests too.  Alfea is in the realm of Solaria.

Maybe they shouldn’t have made Ireland = Solaria.  I’ve only been to England but we did not see the sun the whole trip!  Bloom’s in Dowling’s really cool office.  She spins the globe but the camera pans away before we see the names of the other realms.  Bloom’s talking nervously about seeing people updating their insta stories, expecting Tinkerbells, and the lack of wings.

Dowling: “We had wings in the past.  As we’ve evolved, transformation magic has been lost.  Tink was an air fairy, you’re a fire fairy.”

Dowling says classes tomorrow, learn to use magic slowly but safely… we establish Bloom is here to learn to control her magic so she can go home and not keen on ‘slow.’  Dowling says, ‘trust the process’ which immediately makes me mistrust her.

Then she gives a great lil speech: “Alfea’s graduates have ruled realms and led armies.  They have forged powerful relics and rediscovered long lost relics.  They shape the otherworld.”

But Bloom just wants to get done and go home.  She says, ‘I'm here because you promised you’d teach me control.” and Dowling says, ‘no, you’re here because you knew you have no other choice.” and Bloom looks betrayed.

Yeah Dowling’s sus.  

Next scene: Bloom showing her dorm to her parents over video call!  How does that work between dimensions?  Her folks look nothing like Mika and Vanessa, dad’s got a beard and silver temples, mom’s got big blonde curls.  Neither of them have burn injuries or the sort of freaked out vibe I’d expect from folks whose house was just on fire.

Roommate pan-around!  Terra puts potted plants everywhere!  Stella preens at the vanity! Musa headphones-and-laptop but smiles at Terra.  Aisha comes in with her laundry bag.

Bloom’s parents get suspicious about the timezone thing, they think Bloom’s in the Alps, and Aisha comes and covers for her saying it’s time for lights out.

Aisha intro!  She is wearing a pink and brown checkered dress that’s not super fashionable or flattering.  I like her blue braids though. Aisha does not seem to have the accent that many Alfeans have.

Bloom explains the “human parents, fairy daughter, I must be a throwback to an ancestor” thing.  Aisha looks dubious.  Then they mention Harry Potter!

Bloom; ‘Ravenclaw, sometimes Slytherin.’

Aisha; ‘Explains the lies then.  Gryffindor.’

Bloom: ‘Explains the judgment.’

Congrats, you both were jerks in three short lines. 9_9  But they’re smiling so I guess it’s friendly sniping.  

Bloom goes to see Stella, who’s holding up sparkly tops to herself. She’s also got this weird rainbow skirt that looks like gymnastics clothes not real clothes.  Stella’s changing for the party because people have already seen her in her clothes.  Bloom asks confused, ‘People expect you to wear multiple outfits?’ and Stella comes back with, ‘people expect me to care how I look.” In the same jaded monotone.

Before Bloom can WTF outta there like a sensible person Stella snaps her fingers and creates a ball of light.  Bloom gapes, but not nearly as much as I feel like she should.  The magic is beautiful, it’s all rainbowy and sparkly.  Bloom just hesitantly asks, ‘Can I ask, how exactly you..?” and Stella shuts her down with an almost kind, “I’m a mentor, not a tutor.”

But she does give a little infodump.  “Fairy magic is tied to emotion. God thoughts, bad, hatred, fear, the stronger the emotion the stronger the magic.”

And Bloom says, ‘Do you hate me or fear me?  You were looking at me when you did that.  And I’m pretty sure you don’t love me.” Smart cookie, Bloom!  Points to you!  We know it’s because Bloom was talking to sky, and that gives Stellla some emotions.

And points to Stella, she thaws out her voice and talks like a real person, ‘I don’t know you.  I’m sure once I do I’ll find something to love.”  She sounds rather doubtful about the last bit but yay actual emotion!

Then Stella goes over to Terra for her intro scene and I cringe because the novelization did Terra dirty and I’m not keen to see it on screen.  But it works ok.  Stella gently calls Terra on the number of houseplants and says the secret garden was better kept secret, Terra responds that wasn’t really the message of the book, Stella looks at her with amused patience and leaves Musa and Terra to continue the scene.  And I decide if there’s no infodump about how earth and the Otherworld relate to each other in this show I shall be cross.

Then Terra chatters on about her family and how she grew up at Alfea since her dad works here (she’s holding a 100% fake plant) and drops that Stella is a second year.  Musa asks why a second-year is in a first-year suite and Terra says it’s some administrative thing probably best not to mention.  But Terra totally knows the secret.

Musa’s eyes glow purple.  Magic!  But we don’t hear what she hears.  She starts putting her headphones on.  Terra goes on to say they should all not mention it to Stella, then interrupts another headphones-attempt to offer Musa a succulent, “They’re low maintainence, perfect for you, not that I really know you...’

Musa: ‘If I take it will you stop talking?”

Terra visibly deflates and Musa apologizes and grabs the succulent before finally getting to escape into music.

Aisha leans in to ask Terra if Alfea has a pool.  It has a river and Aisha’s been swimming—twice a day every day!  Terra says no pool, just the pond where the specialists train but nobody swims there, at least not on purpose.

And we immediately cut out to the pond, which looks pretty mucky, I wouldn’t want to swim there either!  Two specialists, a boy and a girl, are whacking away at each other with wooden swords on the shore.  They’re all dressed in black pants and tank tops, very Divergent movie poster except with the Alfea logo on the front. There’s a bunch of specialists training all around the pond and one does indeed knock their opponent in with a splash!  But we home in on Sky and Riven and I cannot get over how short and skinny Riven is compared to Sky!  And the fact that I’ve just been rewatching Lord of the Rings and Riven doesn’t look 100% not like Dominic Monaghan… sorry Riven’s actor, I’m sure in future episodes I’ll stop thinking you’re a hobbit!

Anyway, Riven’s teasing Sky about his crush on Bloom, says Sky always goes for the crazy ones and all redheads are crazy.  Sky puts Riven on the mat and Riven says he was getting high all summer and not practicing. Before Sky can give him a “big brother speech” on that riven skedaddled because here comes the teacher with a different speech!

This show’s Codatorta, whose name is Silva and who looks very irish and I like him, does a little speech about how y’all gotta train, singles out a black guy I think is Dane and says, ‘even you will be able to fight like him.” and attacks Sky, who fights back.  They spar for a minute.

Infodump: “Sky’s father was Andreas of Eraklyon, that makes him a legacy.” Also, some of these kids are from families of specialists and some were selected by Silva based on their talent for combat and weaponry. “This place will seem like hell until actual hell comes.  We are the first line of defense, a certainty when the future is uncertain!’

Then Dane snickers about the whole ‘school full of kids with swords’ and Silva says it must be nice to be so ‘soft’ he can make fun. And Dane drops that the barrier exists ‘to protect the school from Burned Ones.”

As he says it, we cut to Sky going out through the barrier to smoke.  

Burned ones are gone.  But Silva saw one when he was a kid.  His father shot it but was killed by the Burned One’s poison.  Burned Ones are inhumanly strong and fast, and have a terrible poison, or disease that kills people who get away.

Sky looks over and sees the shepherd’s body.  Yikes!

Cut to the staff arriving to look at the remains.  Just three: Dowling, Codatorta, and Terra’s dad.  Is that the whole staff?  Who teaches? Could’ve been a wolf or a bear… Terra’s dad collects some gunk from the body and I think calls it “char residue.”

Dowling says, “She killed all the Burned Ones.”

She? This world’s Marion/Daphne, likely.

But the adults clean it up so the kids can party!  Our girls are gathered around the food, and they’re better dressed!  Aisha’s got her hair up and a blue hoodie, Musa’s got a little red coat.  Terra has not been blessed by the fashion fairy, she’s in some overalls it looks like, not flattering.  Terra is saying hopefully that maybe the shepherd died of old age and Musa’s ‘Yeah, that old age decapitation” is gentle ribbing not cruel.  

Aisha’s loading up a stack of cookies, says how much she eats and, ‘If I didn’t swim I’d be massive.” it’s not aimed at Terra , but Terra flinches.  Aisha heads off and Terra says something that boils down to, ‘Musa, you’re tuning out me in particular.” which, Terra you’ve known Musa for what, six hours?  Way too short a time to take it personal.  Musa says, ‘It’s a me thing, it’s not you.” and Terra just flusters and heads away.  Musa looks troubled but not sure what to do and puts her headphones on.

This is SO much better than in the book.  Not perfect, all the interactions between the girls have been very weird as if they’ve been given a script full of cruel catty lines and instructed to say them in a kind way, but at least they’ve tried for the vibe of “trying to be nice to people we don’t know yet and flubbing it” rather than “we are all terrible people” like I feared.

Terra meets her dad and tries to go to the greenhouse with him but he makes her stay to enjoy the party.

Cut to some grownup dude—Dowling’s secretary? Apparently searching for something in a desk that I presume is outside the headmistress’ office.

Beatrix… or possibly a gothed-up Bloom… comes to see Dowling and when told the headmistress isn’t in says, ‘I’ll just take a water, room temp, thanks love.’ and then when the door opens Beatrix greets Dowling with a simpering ‘I'm your biggest fan, I’m obsessed with Alfea...” and cascading apologies for swearing, with more swearing. Dowling and her secretary are as confused by this as I am but Dowling says Beatrix can study the history of Alfea in the library if she wants to.  I assume this is evil Beatrix slyly getting permission to hit the books.  Is Beatrix even a student at Alfea?

Cut to Bloom’s notebook, she’s already started taking notes about powers being linked to emotions, love hate and fear.  Great initiative Bloom, but are there no textbooks you could be reading ahead in?  

We get dumped back to a flashback: Bloom’s mom wants her to go out on a Saturday night, to a party or a movie or whatever teen thing.  All Bloom wants to do is go to antique sales apparently.  Bloom doesn’t want to be a “basic bitch” like her mom and her mom doesn’t want her daughter to be a “weird loner.”

Pause while I urban dictionary “basic bitch.”  Huh.  Not a term I ever heard in my circle of nerds.  

Bloom and her mom are awful to each other.  Back in the present Bloom’s eyes flame up as she remembers.  She decides it’s time to go experiment!  Right now!  Before even one day of magic class or one page of a textbook!  The idiot ball has entered play.

Night has fallen because of course it has.  Bloom runs into Sky at the party.  But she’s not looking to party, she’s looking for a place to be alone outside.  Sky directs her to beyond the barrier, because we’re about to have Plot.  If it weren’t for Plot I‘m sure Sky could’ve suggested a specialist workout area inside the barrier. Sky says there might be wolves or bears or “maybe something much scarier” and Bloom catches the idiot ball and says, ‘But no people?  Perfect!”

Sky offers to go with her but Bloom says no thanks in a “I think you may be flirting and I may be down for that in the future just not right now.” kind of a way.  Good character interaction!  Except Stella grabs Sky for a chat once Bloom heads out to meet the Plot.

Sky and Stella have an opaque exchange that really just establishes they have a past of some sort that everyone knows about because everyone stares—or at least Stella thinks everyone is staring.  I’m starting to feel weirdly sorry for this Stella who has none of her namesake’s sparkle and confidence.  Why does she think all the realms are boring?  Is she ever enthusiastic?

...wait, it’s still day!  Why was it night inside??  This show is weird about lighting.  Gosh Ireland is beautiful!  Where’s this castle they got to be Alfea?  Can I go there?  This FOREST!  It is a fully magical forest.  Aisha is swimming in the river, with goggles and a cap but Bloom heads into the amazing forest.  Good music here too!  Forests and magic and music, come on Fate you CAN be a good show, I believe in you!  Just put down the idiot ball and step away...  Bloom goes through the barrier and outside it sees a swirl of orange and white sparkles in the air.  She watches it and laughs and then hikes through a little more forest.

Finding a clearing Bloom calls her fire.  At first she can’t, then she looks through the pictures on her phone looking for emotion. “Pictures of my sad teenage years are not happy thoughts.  Noted.” She says with an angsty little smile.  Then there’s a photo of the burned out house.  She zooms in and stares at it taking in all the details.  And we get flashbacks to the line of fire racing towards her parents’ bed.

Fire! Bloom turns her handful of fire this way and that, delighted, then tries for two hands.  This is the scene from the trailer, playing with fire.  Good music here.  And good that Bloom thought the magic was neat… uuuuntil she realizes she doesn’t know how to put it out.  She freaks out and waves her hands around trying to blow out the flames.

Aisha comes to the rescue and says dumb things like, “You’re losing control.” and “If you get angry at me...” and Bloom does get angry and throws lines of fire right at Aisha.  Who looks terrified. Sensibly, but also has she never seen fire magic before?  She grew up in a magic realm, does she know nothing about how to help someone get control?  Is control taught to magical babies so teenagers rarely see someone wigging out?  But if magic is emotion then everyone will lose control sometime since we all get upset.  How does an emotion=magic society function?

Anyway. aisha pulls water up from the ground and puts out the flames.

Inside Aisha gives Bloom what for about losing control.  Including, “Is that American for sorry I almost set you on fire?”  Srsly, this show is Irish people and Italians stealth throwing shade at Americans!  *Laughs in January 2021* Bloom retorts that she went away from people to experiment for just that reason, and tells Aisha about not having had fairy parents or any magical experience.

Aisha responds with the story of flooding her school including the toilets and having to wade through poo.  (I also tend to call it poo, after watching Mike Rowe.  I wonder if they watch Dirty Jobs in the Otherworld.)

And Bloom tells her story.  Bloom isn’t a cheerleader, she likes antiques and staying home by herself, so she and her mom don’t get along.  Her parents removed her door, which is awful!  And Bloom got flamey eyes and sent fire straight at her parents while they slept. While Bloom sat on her bed in a rage trance.  Understandable level of fury after that fight.  And Bloom feels awful, also understandable. And she snuck out to sleep in a creepy warehouse to protect her parents.  Her folks didn’t know it was her of course, they don’t know about magic.

Aisha says that beats her flood story, but Aisha is also wondering about something.  “You drew on a good deal of magic without even trying. it’s hard to believe you’re from a dormant bloodline.  Is there any chance you’re adopted?”

Bloom laughs.  Then says she heard the story of her birth a million times, she was a miracle baby diagnosed with a heart defect but then after birth her heart was fine.

Aisha: “Oh god, you’re a changeling!” … ‘It’s barbaric and it barely ever happens anymore….”

Bloom has had enough and just says, “why would you even tell me that?” and leaves.  Musa comes over and asks Aisha what she said.  Aisha: “The truth.  Because someone’s been lying to her.”

Cut to Dowling, lookin’ sus!

This changeling thing had better be fully explained later.  Why was it done in the past?  Why is it considered barbaric?  What happened to the parents’ real kid?  I assume she died of the heart condition, but that’s a bigole dangling bit of Plot.  In the unlikely event that Fate goes for many seasons that baby will turn up with magic too or as a specialist or something. 

Dowling pours tea.  Then she telekinetically locks her office door and opens a secret passage!  Dowling is sus.

Back at the party, where it again seems to be night.  Dane is leaning on a column hangin out when here comes Riven with a flask!  He offers, Dane says no thanks, Riven says, ‘There are two types of first-years: pussies and aspiring former pussies.” and pours the entire flask’s worth of booze into Dane’s cup anyway.

Dane says something about, “It feels like less a binary choice and more like a spectrum.”  And points for the actor delivering this line like it’s a sarcastic comment on social juscice-ness rather than the large sign saying “Dane is not straight!’ that the writers intended.  Dane drinks, makes a face, and Riven bullies him into drinking the rest, tipping the glass so Dane chokes.

Terra rides to the rescue, “Bullying the first-years?  Can you be more basic?” and Riven says Dane was into it which he wasn’t.

Terra: “Thinks he’s some badass but you should’ve seen him last year he was just a tragic nerd in disguise.”

Riven: “And she’s just three people in disguise.”

Dane does call Riven out on that bit of nastiness but Terra just does a great lil speech and strangles Riven with vines.  Thought I’d hate that but I kinda liked it.  Go Terra.  Then she introduces herself to Dane, says that wasn’t a great first impression but Dane says he’s about to make an impression by throwing up after a single drink, and Terra hurries him away presumably to the nurse.  

Bloom google-imaged changelings!  Lotsa woodcuts, someone’s fanart entitled “horror of fairy babies.’  There’s more nuance to it than that…  Bloom looks at a family photograph.

There’s Stella, coming to be sympathetic?  Nope, she’s coming to conivingly advance the plot!  “You know there’s no shame in that, wanting a normal life, wanting to be home...”

When the girls get back Bloom is nowhere to be found.  Musa mind-reads that Stella is wracked with guilt,  They put it together, Bloom was talking to Sky and now she’s gone.  Apparently Stella did something nasty to the last girl who talked to Sky.  Terra is kinda straight up badass.  Stella confesses, she kindly loaned Bloom the portal ring so she could go back to “the first world” but to use it Bloom has to go deep into the forest outside the barrier to a door in a graveyard.

Portal’s super low special effects, Bloom pushes open a door in a cemetary, the ring glows, and Bloom walks into what must be the warehouse she hid out in.

It’s very dark inside both buildings but away from the cemetary it seems to still be day so we can see a Burned One’s shadow coming towards the portal.  Day and night seem to depend on location in this show, and anywhere you need a monster it’s gonna be dark!  Bloom seems to leave the magic portal open and we see her step out on the warehouse into a weirdly well-lit night on earth.

Real actual nighttime on earth.  Bloom walks to her parents’ house and calls them from outside.  Her dad’s surprised she called twice in one day.  This call her folks seem just worried and nice, not awful like they were in the flashback.  Bloom cries.  She can’t ask her parents about the changeling thing.  Her mom says very kind, ‘Your path isn’t like mine or your father’s but I can’t wait to see who you become.”  Bloom hangs up and cries and watches her parents in their house, then walks back to the warehouse to return to Alfea.

But first we get to see where she was camping!  In a little office in the warehouse. She brought a lot of stuff, bedding and pictures for the walls and everything.  She opens a notebook and we see that she was experimenting already, discovered she was fireproof, wondered if she had superpowers.  Then she senses something and looks out through an interior window into the rest of the warehouse.

Yikes! it’s a Burned One!

Bloom staggers back, trips, and drops Stella’s ring down a grate in the floor.

Bloom’s never heard of Burned Ones at this point but she knows a monster when she sees one.  She cowers, back to the wall. The Burned One breaks through the window and tries to grab her!

Bloom escapes into some kind of tunnel, I guess she opened the grate that the ring fell through?  It’s not totally clear.  There’s the ring, on the other side of a different grate or screen, Bloom can’t reach it, there’s lots of roaring, Bloom runs like hell!

And there’s Dowling!  She says, ‘don’t stop now.’ and gestures Bloom through the door back to the cemetery.  The door closes behind her.  Terra, Musa and Aisha are waiting to make sure Bloom’s ok. Bloom says the Burned One got the ring.

Stella, meanwhile, is on Sky’s bed when he comes out of the shower! Dressed, at least.

Sky is not interested.  “You can’t be here, Stell.  If Silva finds out-’   Sky goes for his trousers but Stella comes over and snuggles up to his bare back.  Sky is still not keen.  Seems Stella dumped him then went silent all summer and now she’s jumping in since he talked to Bloom.  Stella… comes out and says, “I got jealous. I did something really stupid.”  and she says, “I can’t sleep in a room where everybody hates me.”   For sending Bloom into danger to get home when that’s what Bloom wanted?  Not great, Stella, but hateworthy?  Did the girls all tell her they hate her or does Stella just think she’s an awful person?  And is Stella actually desperately unhappy or is she just trying to get in Sky’s pants?  Not sure what to take away from this.  Sky hugs Stella and tells her she’s better than she thinks she is.  

The others get back to the dorm and Aisha reassures Bloom that Dowling can take care of the Burned One.

Cut to Beatrix leaving her raid on the library with armfuls of books. She passed Riven, who’s smoking.  They say flirty things and Beatrix says she’s been “snorting the midnight adderall” to show that she’s a bad girl.  Riven offers her a puff but her hands are full of books so they do this almost-kiss so Riven can blow smoke into her mouth.  Erotic, also gross.  Is that a real thing people do? Riven asks Beatrix if she’s a first-year and she says “I’m lots of things” and walks off leaving Riven and the room he’s in, which has the most gorgeous arched windows with trees in them.  Is this place real?  It’s the same place the party was but now it’s night and these windows are glowing green with tree outlines in them. This has gotta be something the filmmakers added.

Pajama scene in the girls’ suite, Terra waters plants, Musa hops in bed with headphones on.  Terra does a needy little wave.  Musa reluctantly un-headphones.  Terra offers a speaker she borrowed from her brother so Musa can have her music without shutting other people out.

And I cringe so hard because just let people tune you out if they want! Communicate by whiteboard!  People not wanting to share doesn’t mean they hate you, it means they have their own thoughts they’re busy with!  Come on Terra, be better than your novelization self!

Musa calls Terra out on her fake-happy bullshit.  Musa can feel all of Terra’s insecurities and anger.  Seems like maybe empaths shouldn’t have to share a room!  What’s the range on mind reading?  How did Musa hit 16 without learning to tune stuff out or going mad?  But Musa says, ‘but if you want to know how I really feel...” and switches her music to a speaker, it’s guitar-y and nice.

Up in Dowling’s office, Silva says she should’ve killed the Burned One not left it chained up and knocked out in a shack outside the barrier.  Dowling needs to investigate this Burned One, see if there are more of them.  Then Dowling spills that Bloom is a changeling, from the time the last Burned One disappeared.  And she says, “Rosalind kept so much from us.  I’m worried about the students. The Alfea they know is very different from the one we attended.”  There’s something very “there was a war before” about the two of them.  Dowling may not be sus after all, though that may make her a terrible headmistress depending on how the next episodes go.

Montage of sleeping students.  Terra and Dane are texting.  Dane accidentally likes one of Riven’s sexy photos.  Riven’s pleased.  Sky and Stella are sharing a bed but after the last scene I can’t imagine they actually did anything.  Sky seemed pretty unseduceable.  

And outside a Mysterious Cloaked Figure passes through the barricade, finds the Burned One in the hut, and zaps it awake with lightning. It pushed back its hood… Beatrix!  So if she undid her too-tight braids she’d be Stormy?  So is Beatrix the villain?  I mean obviously she’s a villain but the threat of the Burned Ones feels... bigger than one teenager in Bratz clothes who has not got the presence of even one Trix much less all three wrapped up together.  But anyway she’ gets to be a doomful cloaked figure at the end of episode one.

Very pretty ending credits music. Listened to it several times.  I can’t understand the lyrics which is probably just as well.  Is it in irish or is it just sung in a way to not have clear lyrics?  C’mon fate, Irishness is a big thing you’ve got going for you, please milk it for all its worth!

I… I LIKED it!  Now my friends say future episodes get worse so I can’t get my hopes too high but this wasn’t awful.  None of the girls really had any vibe of their characters, only Bloom and Sky really look like Bloom and Sky.  The worldbuilding is lacking, I’m left with more questions than answers.

And oh god one episode was ten pages and about five hours.  I… I meant to do this with every episode but I’m not sure I can.  There’s so much to comment on it takes forever.  Maybe I’ll do each one in parts.  Or maybe I’ll abandon the writing and just watch the show like a normal person.  It’s a lot of fun to fine-toothed comb each scene but I’m’a be here forever!

[unlimitedskyeproductions]

101 Random Things About Aveian Kobayashi

1: full name is Aveian Hime Kobayashi (his middle name is literally Princess and honestly it fits) 2: he's the demonic personification of the Sin of Lust 3: unsurprisingly he's also a complete slut 4: those are literally the only three things you ever need to know about him but for the sake of this list I'll try to continue 5: approximately 1,200 years old 6: physically 16 7: generally always horny like 80% of the time 8: it's ridiculously easy to turn him on and like ;;;;; as soon as he gets excited he'll just drag you off to bed 9: used to be a demon but he was "purified" and now he's turning into an angel  but he doesn't actually KNOW he's turning into an angel and it is just SUCH a long fucking story 10: when he was a demon he had badass fire powers 11: loves seducing people 12: ALWAYS AN UKE 13: THIS KID COULDN'T TOP A FUCKING LEAF IF HE TRIED 14: then again he also never actually WANTS to be dominant so this is a good thing for him 15: either super bi or super pan I'm not really sure anymore 16: predominantly sleeps with men but will go for a chick if dudes sre unavailable 17: sadomasochist 18: flirty and sassy in personality 19: also very classy usually 20: and also he's bit of a whiner and a crybaby 21: kind of flamboyant-ish 22: used to be a prince before he turned into a demon 23: proud of his promiscuity 24: I'm seriously running out of things to put on this list because his character is incredibly straightforward and not hard to process at all 25: will flirt with literally anyone 26: if he doesn't like you and you're trying to get with him he won't hesitate to throw you down and stomp on your head 27: has no idea what personal space means 28: VERY VERY AFFECTIONATE 29: loves being cuddled 30: always the little spoon 31: only ever eats candies nd fruits and desserts, and occasionally meat stuffs 32: really kinky and not afraid to try new positions in bed 33: has had sex more times in his life than probably any human alive 34: his bf has a really large dick so he is Always Satisfied 35: not sure what to put beyond this point 36: struggling to write this 37: loves shopping 38: he used to have blonde hair but it turned white when he became demon 39: and now it's blonde again because he turned back 40: suffering from frequent back pain because his angel wings are growing in 41: he's unaware of this happening 42: very very very fragile physically, mentally and emotionally 43: he'll cry if you bully him 44: once he starts crying you should start running becAUSE HIS BF IS THE PERSONIFICATION OF WRATH AND HE WILL NOT STAND FOR PEOPLE HURTING HIS LITTLE ANGEL AND HE WILL FUCKING DESTROY YOU 45: so please don't bully Aveian okay 46: spends about 45 minutes a day just staring at himself in the mirror 47: usually without clothes on 48: refuses to wear any kind of socks that stop before his mid-knee 49: not entirely sure how technology works because he was born in the year 803 and he's just so confused by modern things 50: once tried humping a vacuum cleaner because be didn't know what it was for (it looked hilarious by the way) 51: can't believe I got more than halfway done with this oh my god 52: if he didn't live with 6 other people (2 of which being minors) he'd literally just walk around naked all day because he can (except he can't) 53: always sleeps without clothes on (if it's cold outside he'll sometimes wear very slinky silk pajamas) 54: loves dressing up in all kinds of cute and sexy lingerie to both feel pretty and also to show off for his bf 55: will not hesitate to smack a bitch if need be 56: this is gonna sound a bit weird outta context but I seem to have attributed the Touhou song Septette for a Dead Princess to this guy and it actually really fits despite it being kinda weird to do that 57: once tried to get a friend to kill him because he was So Fucking Done with life as a demon and he was miserable 58: unfortunately he survived 59: aaaaaaand then his bf found out 60: and called him selfish for being miserable 61: I could honestly go on but if I did I'd be relaying 3 weeks worth of emailed roleplays with a friend and I'm just not fucking doing that 62: can't handle being yelled at 63: his bf used to be very physically abusive but he's doing better now 64: he always said his bf hit him because he didn't know any other way to show love (this is half right, considering his bf is literally Wrath incarnate) 65: loves cute fluffy things like tiny animals and stuff 66: one time when he was still a demon he brought home a bunch of tiny floofy kittens and spent the entire day playing with them 67: unfortunately his bf burned and ate them 68: can't swim at all 69: really really really loves giving blowjobs 70: always swallows 71: did you know that if you rearrange the letters in Lust, it spells Slut? 72: pretty ironic, huh? 73: random fact while I struggle to write more shit 74:  recently figured out how the internet works and now he's addicted to instagram 75: he takes selfies daily and he already has 164 followers 76: his account has been up for a week 77: y e  a h 78: let that sink in 79: fucking ridiculous 80: will not eat vegetables ever 81: all of his shoes have heels 82: he dresses like a girl really fucking often 83: he's not a trap and nor is he trans - he just really really loves feeling pretty 84: favorite color is purple 85: HE FUCKING HATES COFFEE 86: occasionally he gets really hyper for no reason and it's suepr cute how excited he gets when you notice that haircut he got a month ago 87: occasionally his bf will flirt with him nd get him all excited and then tease him by denying any sexual advances 88: this drives him insane and he really hates being forced to go rub one out on his own 89: really chill during the day but gets super excited as soon as it's nighttime and he immediately runs outside to the garden and dances under the moonlight 90: loves when it's a full moon because it's super pretty 91: when he turned into a demon he burned down the castle he lived in during a fit of rage which ended up killing his father (aka the fucking king of that country) 92: he doesn't regret his choices 93: deeply misses his mother 94: had two younger siblings at the time but he can't remember if they survived or not 95: they're sure as sHIT not alive now 96: it was in 819 and it's 2019 now so like-- 97: basic math is important 98: I dunno what to put here anymore 99: I'VE COME THIS FAR AND I CAN'T THINK OF A 100TH THING 100: why did I write all of this at 2 am 101: don't fuck with demons

[amplesalty]

Halloween 2021 - Day 4 - The Stepfather (1987)

If you have a stepdad ridin' your ass, just snatch his ass in a bear trap.

What initially put this on my radar was a recent-ish episode of The Cinema Snob who seems to have through through the older movies in this franchise previously and was now looking at the remake that came out in 2009. Nothing too interesting in and of itself but it does star one of the guys from Nip/Tuck, Dylan Walsh, Amber Heard and, everyone's favourite man crush, Penn Badgley. That last one stands out for me due to his role in Do Over some near 20 years ago now which I just adore. For some reason they’re remaking that in Australia at some point? I assume it’s still happening, I don’t think I’ve heard any further information on it since I first heard about it and the IMDB page is still fairly sparse. It does mention it’s going to be set in 1985 which is something, I thought they might try and shift it along and it’d be a flashback to the early 00’s or something.

Speaking of Australia, apparently Netflix is also rebooting Heartbreak High? Man, that takes me back to school holidays and all the stuff they would show as part of kids TV during extended morning hours. That had a really awesome, if slightly generic, intro. Same with Pugwall’s Summer too, even if that is ridiculously cheesy looking back at it. And state of Pugwall’s hair. Of course, X-Men truly ruled the roost when it came to kids show themes back then. I don’t even need to link that one, that song is probably already playing in your head and will do so for the rest of the day. Apparently Heartbreak High was a spin off from a movie as well? I had no idea about that. This was a weird rabbit hole to fall down.

Anyway, The Stepfather is the rather mundane of a simple family man who works a dull 9 to 5 job and lives on an ordinary American street and loves nothing more than spending time with his wife and kids. Ordinary American street is right, maybe it’s just me but it feels like every film or TV show I watch, the street looks the exact same. Just this very long road with houses either side and trees flanking the road. Like, seeing this just reminds me of that shot at the end of Back to the Future where they back the Delorean up in order to take off. Or, with the foliage especially, some of the scenes in Halloween. Even later on the movie there’s what looks like the exact same street except all the trees are replaced with lampposts. Maybe it’s just the way American cities were designed. I guess I’m just used to English residential areas with all the windy streets and cul-de-sacs.

Henry Morrison here appears to have a little bit of a painting mishap here though, he has red all over him! Apparently it’s so bad that he even has to cut it out of his hair and beard. Given the rise of the self haircut over the past year or so during pandemic times, guy hasn’t too such a bad job there. I’m sure his wife and kids will appreciate his new clean look...

...Oh!

This is such an amazing intro. I guess there’s something to be said for having him all bloodied right at the start which suggests something is amiss, plus the intense, dread filled music and the general hazy lighting in the house gives off a very suspenseful tone. But just the very calm performance from Terry O’Quinn as Henry Morrison (for now) here and the gradual descent down the stairs really sets you up for this very shocking reveal. You get a hint of it when bloody handprints and smears down t he wall come into frame before you get the full shot of the slaughtered family members. But all Henry does is calmly pick up a knocked over chair before heading out into the world.

Cut to one year later and ‘Jerry Blake’ is now shacked up with Susan Maine and her teenage daughter Stephanie, living a whole new life in real estate. O’Quinn does such a great job of playing this guy who is seemingly so on the level but there’s just something bubbling under the surface there waiting to come out, and occasionally does, like maybe sometimes he’ll slip up and use the wrong kids name or that happy go lucky facade will crack and a little bit of frustration will come out. He seems to spend the entire movie talking about how much he loves the family unit and wants everything to be just right with them. It’s like something out of some 1950’s American sitcom, which isn’t lost on the movie itself with Stephanie comparing him to Leave it to Beaver and there’s a scene where he’s watching Mr Ed. Man they made some weird shows back then, like that one where the guys mother comes back as a car that talks to him through the radio.

I’m going to go the uncharacteristic route here and actually not complain that this movie lacks any subtlety or ambiguity when it comes to whether or not ‘Jerry’ is the killer. I actually kinda appreciate just how up front it is about it and seems to truly revel in the fact that you know and that Stephanie has a hunch but no one else believes her. It’s almost outright winking to the camera at times with lines about how Jerry ‘didn’t exist until he met (Susan)’ or that, when Stephanie gets expelled, she comments that her stepfather is going to kill her when he finds out. Maybe it does work a little doing it this way, you get an element of what the one character is going through who suspects but can’t convince anyone, you’re wondering how no one else can see the things that they’re seeing.

This Blake character, or whatever he wants to call himself in this town, is really fascinating too. What makes him tick? What drives to him to commit these horrible crimes? It’s something he ponders himself when a news story pops up again about the deaths of his last family, what would cause a man to do such heinous things to his own flesh and blood? Is he just a homicidal maniac or has his own twisted vision of the perfect family just been warped to a point that he’s unwilling to accept anything less than perfection? We haven’t seen what came before but here it seems like the first minor hiccup and he’s already making plans to try again elsewhere.

He does flip the fuck out when Steph’s councilor tricks him into a meeting by booking a house viewing under a false name, but it’s not like he does it out of nowhere. He knows this guy isn’t on the level because he slips up with his own story and clearly Jerry knows all the tricks when it comes to this sort of thing so he can see right through it. He’s not killing him for no reason, he’s just wary of the net closing in on him and ruining what he’s worked to accomplish with his family. And if you mess with his family, he’s going to cave your skull in with a 2 by 4. Hooooooooo!

I say he only goes through a minor setback, he goes way over the top on the old ‘protective Father’ thing when Steph’s potential love interest is giving her a kiss goodnight. Out comes Jerry screaming that she’s only 16 and that the kid was practically raping her.

They bring up the fact that she’s only 16 and yet feel the need to give us a shower scene with her, including nudity. Little weird there guys. I suppose we did get to see Jerry’s schlong at the start of the movie so you have to be fair and give some like for like.

Nice cans on her though. I didn’t realise they made headphones out of construction site ear defenders.

This one is really fun, just this gradual ramping up of tension towards when the next switch is going to flip for ‘Jerry’ and he decides to move on to his next victims. The end sequence is really great, just that moment when the mask finally comes off and he’s confused on which of his personas he’s meant to be portraying. “Who am I here...?” And then he smacks her upside the head with a phone. Awesome.

I am curious about the sequels they did to this though, presumably you can’t do more of the continuing adventures of Herny Morrison/Jerry Blake/Bill Hodgkins given that he’s dead. But then, you can’t really do prequels either. Well, I guess you could but he can’t ever truly get his comeuppance in those films as he did here since you’d cause some sort of paradox so they’re always going to have downer endings. So, do they have some fresh ideas or is it the old sequel trap of just redoing the first movie again?

[apricior]

i've been getting into kpop lately and i'm Confused,,, how do i tell all of the guys in bts apart help there's like 7 of them

I feel you, this was me a few months ago so I'll try to do my best helping you!The first thing I would recommend you is to watch interviews or programmes like Weekly idol or Star Show 360 (that's personally my favourite). Watching Bangtan Bombs can help a lot too (welp watching any video can help).Now I'm going to try and explain how you can tell them apart! Tumblr doesn't let me add images so I'd tell you to search their names on Google to compare the information (sorry! I don't know much about this). Also my descriptions are, objectively, awful so I’m sorry in advance!JIN. He always looks good on pictures. Like I don't understand. He also has a triangular-ish face and full lips. He looks really soft too. He’s probably wearing something pink too. Usually looks like an adorable puppy, especially when he had wavy-curly hair.SUGA. He has an oval face and small eyes. Although he looks menacing if he’s not smiling he’s actually a ray of sunshine. He’s also one of the shortest so if you’re seeing them standing up this can help.J-HOPE. He has a long face and he’s probably the one with the huge blinding smile on his face, the one being loud or dancing. He also makes the duckface a lot. Also meme-worthy expressions. Literal ray of sunshine.RAP MONSTER. People call him ugly but like… where??? He looks kinda like a tall elf to be honest and he has had the worst luck with haircuts. He also makes the weirdest faces that makes you worry about him.JIMIN. The definition of squishy cheeks. Round cute face but DON’T TRUST HIM he’s extra as hell. Also he has beautiful lips like holy shit h o w. And he’s the shortest of the group. Like one centimeter shorter than Suga but everyone still makes fun of him for that.V. Okay but this kid… he has a boxy smile and it’s the cutest. He also wears a lot of eyeliner and winks too much for my sanity. Also king of wearing backwards snapbacks. He looks like a kid sometimes I wonder if he’s older than two.JUNGKOOK. The big baby. He used to have coconut hair but thanks to BigHit not now. His jaw could basically cut my hand (at least right now, he used to look like a baby before). He has big eyes and he looks like he’s always shook. Literally there’s a whole meme about that.And… that’s all! I really suck at descriptions so I’m sorry if this wasn’t helpful but if you have more doubts you can always ask me! Also good luck with falling into the bts hell

[lonestorm]

The Inugami - Chapter 7

Summary: When Kagome Higurashi moved to the bad side of Chicago to help with her grandfather’s restaurant, she expected chaos. Being thrown into a fake gang, caught in the middle of a drug war and grudge that stretches centuries back in time, befriending a grumpy half demon along with a ragtag bunch of three other misfits… wasn’t exactly what she had in mind. High school AU. Inukag. Rating: T (some language)

Pairings: Inukag, Mirsan

Chapters: Ch. 1 | Ch. 2 | Ch. 3 | Ch. 4 | Ch. 5 | Ch. 6

Shorts: 1. Sesshomaru

**Also on ff.net here.

Within the next two months, Inuyasha had grown to an almost delusional level of paranoia from Naraku’s threats.

For one, he walked each of the Inugami home now (scandalizing Shippo’s foster parents with his barging in and starting a rather heated argument with Sango’s father), checking all of their houses for Spiders, and personally installing locks on windows that had none. (Including Miroku’s fortress of a Buddhist monastery. Honestly, an army couldn't break through that thing.)

What was more, Inuyasha would not let her out of his sight. In the hallway of school, he was no more than an inch away at all times, often putting his arm around her and snarling at any Spider that came close. He walked her home or to work as always, but at her restaurant shifts, he would stay at the counter, order some food, and finish his homework while she worked. He’d then take her to his house to train, or straight to her house, where he’d bid goodbye to her family, pretend to leave, and then crawl up to sleep on the small balcony outside her window. Kagome had insisted that this was extremely unnecessary, but he’d not listened to a word.

An entirely new problem had arisen as well, and it left Kagome especially bewildered and disoriented. For a while, she figured she was going crazy, and finally broke down to Sango during study hall.

“Something is wrong with me,” Kagome had groaned, dropping her head into her homework. “I keep seeing pink, glowing light and feeling this sixth sort of sense when some Spiders walk by. Am I finally losing it?”

Sango, much to her relief, didn’t freak out and took her seriously, only bearing a light frown. “Well, I remember Naraku saying you had some sort of spiritual powers, and you did breathe in some Jewel. While it didn’t have the addictive and usual effects… maybe you can sense it now? Because if it’s only some Spiders you get the feeling from, perhaps it’s because they carry Shikon Jewel-a drug with demon energies. If you had spiritual Shinto powers, you could likely sense youkai energy after being exposed to it.”

“This is sounding extremely Blue Exorcist slash Noragami-ish.”

“Anime has nothing to do with it. Maybe you should make Inuyasha dig through the pockets of the next person you see with the pink light?”

Though the idea sounded barbaric, she’d asked him to do so later, and found a small package of drugs in the gang member’s inside pocket. According to Inuyasha, this ability apparently made her “a little Jewel detector,” and he’d added asking her which Spiders to raid to their daily paranoia routine.

This had been his routine ever since they woke up the day after the first fight against Naraku. She remembered, with great warmth in her chest every time, how she’d woken up to his hands squeezing her shoulders, voice deep and husky with sleep. “Wake up, Kagome. I hear your mom making breakfast.”

At this she’d only snuggled into him more and made an incoherent response; during the night, somehow he’d shifted to hold her to his chest rather than the other way around, as they’d began.

“I have to leave,” he went on, whispering.

“Why?” she’d grumbled, unwilling to lose her heated pillow.

“Do you want your mom to find me here? Just because we’re not… like that...” she could almost hear his blush. “Doesn’t mean even a mom as chill as yours won’t jump to the worst conclusion, or be cool with a guy in their daughter’s bed.”

She’d winced. “Kay.”

“Just wanted to let you know… you know. Didn’t wanna be that jerk who leaves and doesn’t say anything. Em. I mean. If that matters to you or…”

Finally, she’d cracked her eyes open, and found a smile at his nervous expression. His white hair and ears had returned. She’d found satisfaction in how the haircut looked equally as good with his black hair and human ears as it did now. “It does. Thank you for waking me. That was thoughtful of you.”

His ‘keh’ had sounded more like watery ‘kuh’. “See you later, Kagome. I’ll stop by the restaurant later… if you’ll be there.”

“Yeah, I will.”

“Be careful.”

“I will.”

“Keep watching your back, and remember the maneuvers for escaping grip-”

“Yes, Inuyasha.”

“And one hit to the throat can really just bring one crashing down.”

“I know.”

“They just took some more Jewel, so they’ll be stronger and you need to be super careful--just run if you can-”

“Inuyasha,” she’d sighed in exasperation. “I know, okay? It’s about time you went home and tried to make nice with your brother.”

“More like join in the ritual of pretending each other doesn’t exist,” Inuyasha had muttered. “Yeah, okay. And… thanks. For… you know.”

“Yeah, I do.”

From then on, she could tell he’d afterwards felt very embarrassed about all the emotion he’d revealed on that night. She never brought it up to him again, knowing about his fragile human state, and honestly… she didn’t think of him as weaker because of it or something. It had been strange; while knowing how he feels was a bit easier, it had also been… not him. As a half demon, perhaps he was more closed off, and she had to be patient with what he was willing to tell. But that was just how Inuyasha was, and she loved him for it.

They’d also not spoken of that one ‘yeah I almost kissed you’ time. Kagome didn’t know how she felt about that. It would be awkward to talk about, but part of her… really needed to know why the hell he’d been about to kiss her. Or these confusing notions swirling in her hormonal, dumb teenage mind could get far too imaginative. And she really couldn’t afford to get hormonally imaginative about Inuyasha, her best guy friend that she spent most of every day with.

Yes, she told herself she couldn’t afford to. Especially at times like this, when the restaurant was practically empty for the night, Inuyasha was gently frowning and looking down at his English homework, and Kagome couldn’t help but find herself watching the twitch of his ears, the thoughts swirling behind golden eyes, large, scarred hands twirling a pencil. She’d finally admitted to herself that he was attractive… hella attractive… Okay, that she was attracted to him… hella attracted-but that meant nothing! She was a teenage girl that was allowed to have hormones that were separate from her romantic desires.

Without completely thinking about it, Kagome picked up a few homemade, chocolate chip cookies, poured some milk, and put them in front of Inuyasha. He blinked a few times, and then shot a timid smile. “Thanks, Kagome.”

“No problem.” Stifling a yawn, she moved to grab a broom when Inuyasha caught her wrist.

“Hey,” he said, and his voice was softer than usual, like it was every time she got him alone. “You’re looking pretty tired. You don’t wanna be all worn out before our training tonight. Gimme the apron and broom and siddown for a while.”

“N-nah, I’m okay…”

“It wasn’t a question.” Before she could protest, he snatched away her broom and made his way around the counter while putting in his demon-hearing specialized earbuds for music while he worked. Knowing he couldn't be swayed, she gave him her apron with a sigh and headed to the kitchen to pick up her backpack; she’d been avoiding her English and math homework, and she wanted it done to have a free weekend.

Her mother was in the back, loading the dishwasher. “Hi, Mama. Need help?” she asked when she’d gathered her things.

“No, I’m fine here, sweetie.” Her mother closed the washer and began the next load. Kagome leaned up against the sink beside her. “Besides, I wouldn’t want to make Inuyasha all salty by making you work more.” Her mother gave a wink.

Kagome looked away. “Oh, don’t worry about him. He can’t go getting whatever he wants by throwing little tantrums.”

“I suppose. And I doubt I could get him angry like that other boy, Koga.”

Reminded, Kagome gave a grimace. “Ugh, I don’t get why those two can’t just get along. They could be friends if they tried!”

At this, her mother let out a laugh. “Oh sweetheart, really? You don’t know why they don’t get along?”

Letting out a huff, she offered a weak shrug. “Well, I guess they’re both kinda like alpha males. That’s probably it.”

“Perhaps a little,” her mother admitted. “But the main reason is so simple. Inuyasha is jealous, of course. He’s that type of boy.”

“Jealous?” Kagome frowned. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Inuyasha is easily as powerful as Koga, even if he’s only half. Inuyasha’s father was a king among demons, so the half doesn’t really matter… I guess he could be angry about Koga calling him a ‘mutt’ or ‘halfbreed’ all the time.”

“Not jealous about power,” her mother scoffed. “About you.”

Kagome blinked, and then shakily pointed to herself. “M-me? What does it have to do with…me?”

“Considering how Koga asked to marry you,” her mother giggled, “I assume he rather fancies you.”

Kagome flushed. “W-well that may be, but he’s not really my type.”

“I can see that. But Inuyasha still doesn’t like competition for you. He reacts most violently when it seems as if Koga is threatening to take you away for his own. It’s a simple concept.”

Comprehension dawned on her: Mother thinks Inuyasha is into me.

“Whoa, whoa!” Kagome squeaked, waving her hands frantically. “No, it’s not like… no! Trust me, there’s no chance he actually… he’s in love with his ex-girlfriend! It’s nothing like that!”

As she said it, the ugly little monster that had been growing around her heart decided to speak up. It’s true. He could never care about you as he cares for her. He’s going to ditch you as soon as he gets Kikyo back. He won’t need you as a friend anymore, or anything else you truly desire to be with him. Why waste his time with you when he could have her? She’s more beautiful, desirable-

Her mother’s teasing voice brought her back to reality. “Well, I certainly don’t see him devotedly protecting her, taking care of her, spending all his time with her-”

“That’s because she’s trapped in a bad situation and he can only help from the sidelines! I’m trying to help him… get her back…” she trailed off, the nausea swirling in the pit of her stomach. Right. She’d help him get Kikyo back… and then Inuyasha would have no more use for her.

That’s right, the monster encouraged. Wouldn’t it just be easier if Kikyo wasn’t in the picture? She doesn’t deserve his love anyway-

Kagome put a halt to her mind right there. I can’t believe I thought something like that! I’m the terrible, undeserving one, for thinking such horrible things!

“-gome? Kagome, are you alright, dear?”

Slowly, she nodded.

The world seemed to right itself as her mother wrapped her in a hug. “I’m sorry, dear. I didn’t mean to upset you. I remember how hard it is to be in love.”

“M-me? In… huh?”

“Well, do you deny that you’re in love with him? Inuyasha?”

Her face felt especially hot at the mere idea that she was discussing this with her mother. She opened her mouth to outright deny such a silly notion, but found that words would not come out. Why wouldn’t they? It was a simple thing to say. I’m not in love with him.

Yet, thinking such a thing only sounded like someone hiding on a cloudless, summer day, covering their eyes and screaming that the sun didn’t exist.

So instead, her heart clenched, she looked down, and remained silent.

Mother may have said something, but Kagome was too consumed in her mind that was overwhelmed with a tsunami of acceptance. She had always been open to love, but perhaps her subconscious had been protecting her in denial, because…

Loving him would be internal suicide.

Yet, now it was flooding her, all the pent up longing and joy that splintered her bones. Flashes of his smile, laugh, the safety of his arms, the admittance that she never wanted to wake up and see another on the other side of the bed-

“I’m screwed,” she sighed to her mother.

“I don’t think so,” her mother said, kissing the top of her head and giving a last smile. With a dizzy head and a groan, she swung her backpack over her shoulder and gloomily slumping back. She was hit with it all again when she saw him, white bangs held back by his red bandana that had been made into a sweatband. Inuyasha was leaning down, focused on getting every last crumb into the dustpan. Trying to push her rising emotions downward, Kagome took a determined seat in his vacated spot, where she took out her worksheet.

Indeed, frustration took place of her uncertainty and internal shrieks; everyone else in class had gotten the assignment done within the class, but Kagome had needed to look several words up in her dictionary app. She was perfectly fluent in modern English, but this old English stuff was absolute gibberish, especially when put into a poem and asked to be interpreted.

Muttering words under her breath that too much time around Inuyasha had taught her, she pulled up google translate… “What the world is Eeahmbeek pentahmeeter?”

Inuyasha looked up at her and set his broom aside. “What?”

“Exactly! What! What? What is this?!”

“Chill out, spaz,” he told her, walking around the counter to stand behind her. “What’s the problem?”

“Shakespeare is the problem, Inuyasha. I speak English, but not… this!”

Squinting at the paper, instead of laughing at her, he frowned in something that looked almost close to sympathy. “Oh, yeah. I remember being totally confused when I was learning English. It took a cram crash death threat course from Sesshomarpoo for me to get this stuff… want help?”

She blinked up at him. “Oh. Sure, I guess…”

“Here, this is pronounced ‘iambic pentameter,’” he told her patiently, pointing at the two words in the instructions she’d scribbled down in her notebook above her assigned poem. “It’s the type of rhythm of a sonnet, which is the name of this kind of poem. A line goes like ‘ba-BOOM, ba-BOOM, ba-BOOM, ba-BOOM.’ Like a heartbeat. The structure, like the teacher was asking about here, is fourteen lines, four stanzas. This one has two quatrains, or groupings of four, and two triplets, which are groups of three lines. Sometimes they have different amounts in the stanzas. Like, in his eighteenth, it has three quatrains and one double at the bottom. The So long as men can breathe and eyes can see, so long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”

“Oh,” she said quietly, impressed with his memory over such things that she didn’t think he’d care about. “Thank you… so I guess I’m also confused on some of these words and references… what is a…” She squinted at the page. “Plaeets? Leerey? And Orpheus? Encompass? Ecstasy?”

“Firstly, it’s called a lyre.” She shot him a glare at his exasperated tone, but he ignored her. Why did I have to fall in love with such an asshole? “It’s an instrument, like those little harps you see cherubs carry in paintings. Plaits are braids. Orpheus is a character in Greek mythology that played such beautiful music that it opened the gates of the underworld itself to try to bring his wife back to life. Encompass basically means to contain, or encircle. Ecstasy is a really intense, good feeling, and also a name of a drug, so if someone asks if you want some, you should say no despite the first definition.”

The weight of all the homework confusion lifted from her shoulders. “I see. Thank you very much, Inuyasha. It’s sweet of you to explain. You sure know a lot about literature, for a half-demon hoodlum.”

“W-well don’t go gettin’ used to it.” Oh, it was so easy to make him blush. “An’ I’m not a hoodlum! For your info, spaz, I’m very cultured.”

“Well, if you’re so cultured, maybe you could show me what this iambic pentameter means?”

Eyes alit with the challenge, he swept up the paper. “Listen close to the rhythm, padawan. I’m gonna show you how a badass reads Shakespeare.” He cleared his throat and read out in a flowing, mesmerizing voice,

“If I should think of love, I’d think of you

If I should think of love

I’d think of you, your arms uplifted,

Tying your hair in plaits above,

The lyre shape of your arms and shoulders,

The soft curve of your winding head.

No melody is sweeter, nor could Orpheus

So have bewitched. I think of this,

And all my universe becomes perfection.

But were you in my arms, dear love,

The happiness would take my breath away,

No thought could match that ecstasy,

No song encompass it, no other worlds.

If I should think of love, I’d think of you.”

He ended in a ringing silence where she stared at him without any air entering or exiting for much longer than was healthy. Yes, she understood iambic pentameter now. How the words moved like waves, and when read by someone you were in love with, they washed into you, cleaning out any thought that could be bad and wrapping around you-

“Kagome? You with me, dorkface?”

Shaking her head so that her short hair fell into her eyes annoyingly, she coughed. “Y-yes! Yes, thank you. I understand now.”

“Good. ‘Cause if you tell anyone else in the universe that I read that cheesy-ass poem, I will piss on your shoujo manga collection that you didn’t think I knew about.”

“Creative as ever, Inuyasha. I won’t tell.”

After giving (or an attempt of) a stern nod, he returned to sweeping with intense concentration.

Some silver hair fell into his face, and she thought dreamily of tucking it back and kissing those golden eyes closed.

Damn, she thought with a sigh. So, so screwed.

Once she’d finished her homework, her mother released her to her defense lesson with Inuyasha for the night. The ride was peaceful and warm as ever, easier now that neither of them had to tie hair up. It still brushed across her cheeks like feathers.

Once they were in the little gym in his house, he told her as she began her stretches, “I’d like a shower from when that soup got dumped on me earlier. Would you mind waiting for a bit?”

“Go ahead,” she told him gently. At least he was asking, this time. “I’ll do some warm ups.”

“Good idea. I’ll be out soon.”

The door closed behind him, and she ventured to the punching bag where she began to wrap her wrists and hands with fabric. Inuyasha insisted it was essential: “If you don’t have that on, you’ll bust your knuckles and hurt your wrists with the impact. Wraps or nothing at all.”

She’d only run through one sequence of hits that he’d taught her before the door eased open and she turned to see Sesshomaru enter. Kagome raised her eyebrows in surprise, but merely offered him a wave and a “Good evening, Sesshomaru-sama.” He’d always subtly seemed to appreciate the ‘sama’, and it was essential to stay on that guy’s good side.

He offered a nod. “Higurashi-san.” Then, he eyed her fists and bag, the area around her. “I admit, I’ve become… curious, as to Inuyasha’s teaching methods. I haven’t heard any gun firing in our small range.”

Eyes narrowing in confusion, she stammered, “W-well of course not! That would be illegal, and… firing range? Wouldn’t that scare the rest of the building, on top of being illegal?”

“Certainly it’s illegal,” the chief of police said, waving an airy hand. “I’ve lived far too long to agree to not be able to practice with weapons in my own home. This room is extremely soundproof. Only a demon could truly hear anything happening, and everyone in this building is a human.”

“O-oh. Okay. Um, well I don’t want to do anything illegal-”

“If you’re joining the fight to end Naraku’s reign, then by simple logic, you will need to learn how to shoot a gun if you’re even going to be slightly useful,” Sesshomaru cut her off. “My brother not teaching you is unacceptable.”

“Uh.” Kagome scratched the back of her head. “Won’t you… arrest me?”

“Certainly not, foolish human,” he snapped, striding forward. “I’m the one suggesting it, am I not? And no one would believe you if you told them anyway, so I am unconcerned as to my own reputation. Now get to that midpoint so that you don’t shoot my stupid brother when he returns and prepare a firm stance.”

She gave the argument a last try, though she hurried to the center line like he asked. Usually, she’d put up more of a fight, but this was Sesshomaru, and she’d be a liar if she didn’t say he was terrifying. “Sesshomaru-sama, I r-really don’t think… Inuyasha told me he didn’t want me learning. He’s taught me a lot with hand to hand and other weapons, and he protects me well when I can’t do it myself.”

“Clearly he does not think you are capable of taking care of yourself. I simply think you must be forced to learn even if that is the case-”

“H-he knows I can! That’s not his point; he’s not being disrespectful-”

“Stand firm and take this.”

Knowing now that it was unavoidable, Kagome sighed and took the foam ear plugs and police handgun that he was holding out. It was heavy, dark, smelled like it had been freshly oiled.

“Hold it up towards those targets, straight. Are you right handed?” His voice was muffled from her plugs, but still easily understandable.

“Yes.”

“Then bend your left arm slightly so that you can take the recoil.” He stood to her right, not close and hands clasped behind him. “Put your left hand on the bottom to hold it up and straight. Yes, like that. Now keep that hand away from the top back; it’ll spring backwards and hit you.”

“Okay… like this?”

“Yes. Now widen your feet and prepare for the gun to recoil up and backward. Line up the center of the target with the notch in the back of the gun and the sight in the end of the barrel. It should be centered and flush with the top of the notch in your perspective, and that pointing at where you want to shoot. Do you understand?”

She gulped, and lined up the sights as he’d instructed. “Yes, sir.”

“Good. Now pull the trigger.”

She breathed in, and as she breathed out, she squeezed.

Kagome squeaked as the shot sounded and the gun jumped up and back. The bullet tore through the outside of the second circle. She didn’t know how she felt about it… part of her was afraid that she could create such an effect. Another part felt empowered. She peered up at Sesshomaru, who gave a nod. “That wasn’t terrible.”

Well, that was about as close to a compliment that he would ever give. “Um, thanks.”

“Try again.”

She did. And he’d told her to try until she could get that black bullseye three times in a row. Eventually, she lowered her shaking arms for a break, at which point she asked hesitantly, “Sesshomaru-sama? May I ask you something?”

His eyes were dull. “Can I stop you?”

Sighing, she continued anyway. “Why do you act like you hate Inuyasha so much?”

Kagome didn’t really expect an answer, but as she raised the gun again to try another shot, he told her, “Because I hate him.”

Bang. She scoffed. “No, you don’t. If you did, you wouldn’t have offered him a home. You wouldn’t have shown interest in his life and friends. You wouldn’t have come to save him on the New Moon. You wouldn’t have gotten mad at him for not contacting you when he was going after Naraku, because you would’ve been satisfied with getting a shot in at the end. You wouldn’t be teaching me this, because you and I both know you only want me to learn so that I can protect him if I need to and you’re not there.”

His golden eyes flashed, outlined by the shocking magenta, and she wondered in fright for a moment if she’d gone too far. But after a weighted silence, he muttered, “I never would have thought my brother could be interested in such a nosy and perceptive woman.”

“Hey!” she protested, but he seemed most indifferent to her indignancy.

“What is my relationship with my brother to you, human girl?” Oh dear, back to species instead of last name.

“I think it upsets him,” Kagome said. “He seemed more depressed and angry about your argument than Naraku getting away, that night of the New Moon. I think… deep down, he’s always wanted your approval. For you to be proud of him and be his family.”

Sesshomaru’s nose wrinkled slightly. “I share no concern for familial bonds and other human emotions. I am a demon-”

“I think that the idea that humans and demons have different emotional capacities is, excuse me, complete bullshit,” Kagome told him simply. “It’s a stereotype that humans and demons have been taught since childhood, so that they feel they must live up to the standard of being more or less emotional. At first, I thought there must be a difference because Inuyasha seemed more vulnerable on his human nights. Then I realized I knew other demons that had emotions just as strong as any human…”

Kagome gave a shrug, and shot the gun again before she went on, “I think all evidence points to Inuyasha being under a sort of placebo effect on New Moons. He thinks humans are more emotional, so that’s how he acts. He thinks demons are less, so when he’s back to half, he acts less emotional. If you think you’re supposed to be feeling a certain way, eventually you convince yourself that you are, right? I think you, Sesshomaru-sama, are under a lifelong placebo effect, a delusion that because you’re a demon, you can’t feel like we can and are therefore above our petty emotions.”

His eyebrows had grown rather high on his forehead. “You are philosophical, for a whelp. I’m afraid I disagree.”

“The truth doesn’t require you to agree,” Kagome said lightly. “Doesn’t stop it from being true. In any case, my point is, after living so long, it must get tiring to just go through life without companionship, just focusing on vengeance and different jobs. You have the chance to have family, but you’re throwing it all away for some meaningless pride. Towards the end of your life, you’re going to regret all the lost time you could have shown your brother you cared about him, and had a relationship with him. That kind of pride is only for people too afraid to open up and show vulnerability to the ones they care for. I don’t take you for a coward, Sesshomaru-sama. Even if you don’t give a damn about a simple human’s opinion, this dumb human has it all figured out, and she’s gonna tell it to you anyway; show you love him before it’s too late.”

Too bold! she scolded herself in fear as she swallowed. Did you entirely forget who you were talking to?!

Indeed, his eyes were burning holes right through her, and Kagome realized that the last time she’d felt this terrified, she’d been under Naraku’s sword.

“I could break your neck,” Sesshomaru told her quietly in a way that made her shiver and take several steps away, “with the flick of a finger. You dare presume to tell me how to live?”

“Y-you won’t,” Kagome managed, trying to hold her chin high. “And I presume to merely advise, because Inuyasha deserves better, the family he always wanted.”

“If he wants a family,” Sesshomaru said stiffly, “human, and if you care for him enough to speak down to a pure-blooded demon from the line of the most powerful demon king, then why not bear him one yourself rather than lecturing me?”

She choked on air, and stood up straight with cheeks blazing. “Excuse me?”

The doors flew open, and relief flooded through her at the sight of Inuyasha’s enraged face. His blazing eyes landed on the gun in her hand, and he stormed towards them. “Sesshomaru! What the hell are you doing with my- with Kagome?”

“Teaching her what you should have a long time ago,” Sesshomaru said stiffly. He snatched the gun back from her hands. “I’d advise you in the future to also better teach your bitch to keep her mouth shut and nose out of others’ business.”

“What the fuck did you call her, you bastard?!”

“You’re the bastard.” And with a last look of malice, Sesshomaru swept through the doors and slammed them behind him.

“What an asshat,” Inuyasha snarled as Kagome regretfully removed her earplugs and tossed them over by her bag. She was surprised by Inuyasha grabbing her upper arms. Firm, but gentle at the same time. He was examining every inch of her anxiously. “Did he hurt you? What did he say to you? I heard shots… was he really making you…?”

“He didn’t hurt me,” sighed Kagome, hugging herself. “I mean, he did tell me he could snap my neck with a finger-”

“He WHAT-?!”

“I tried to talk to him about some stuff that he doesn’t want to talk about. He got mad. I’m fine. And yes, he taught me how to shoot.”

“That gives him no right to try to intimidate you! And I said I didn’t want you to have to a gun!”

“I’m fine, Inuyasha. A few harsh words isn’t about to scare me, and neither is learning to use a gun.” Going for her trump card, she reached out and took his hand. “Let’s drop it, okay?”

He was just staring down at their hands. The perfect distraction… and a definite bonus for me. So warm…

Demonstrating impressive self restraint (for him), Inuyasha let out a shaky breath. “Fine. I’ll tear him up about it later. And I won’t leave you alone anymore, where he can mess with you. Let’s do a quick run.”

Kagome had improved exponentially in running since he’d paced her more reasonably, and luckily, today they didn’t go too long; just because she was better at it didn’t mean she liked it.

After more repetitive maneuvers, strength training, and practicing on the bags, Inuyasha finally wiped the sweat from his brow and told her, “Alright. Wanna try some sparring?”

The concept both excited her and was feared by her; she nodded anyway. They stood, face to face, on the mat, before he said, “Okay, you come at me first. Get some hits in.”

“You’re gonna annihilate me.”

“No shit! Now come at me, pipsqueak.”

Despite how Kagome knew he was hundreds of years (literally) out of her combat league, hearing him say that was sweet music; an actual invitation to attack him!

Kagome breathed out, and then ran, feinting a punch at his face before dropping low to trip. He ducked her fist and jumped with ease, sliding behind her, where she shoved her elbow. The damn boy always seemed to be able to slip away, and when he got bored of that, he’d simply block her attacks with a hand, keeping up with her like he could do it in his sleep.

It wasn’t long before she was completely wiped, at which she lowered her fists, groaned, and slumped to the floor. Kagome lay, spread eagle, on the mat, eyes closed and breaths heavy.

Following her lead, Inuyasha flopped down opposite her, head right beside hers so that when she looked over, she could see his smirking face upside-down.

Putting the back of her hand over her eyes, she panted, “Why do you have to be so good at this stuff?”

“Because I’ve had to fight people off from killing me since I was about eight,” Inuyasha said snidely.

“So maybe it’s not because I’m a total failure?” Kagome tried hopefully, turning her face to him.

He copied her position, upside down amber eyes piercing through her. “Maybe.” When she pouted, he rolled his eyes. “Kagome, you’ve been training almost every day for over five months now. You’re good.”

“Thanks,” she said, and surely the heat in her cheeks was from the exercise rather than the praise. “Only because I have a good teacher.”

Instead of using that comment to boost his ego further, Inuyasha was instead quiet for a moment before saying, “You really think so?”

“Think so what?”

“That I’m a good teacher.”

“Of course.” She folded her hands on her stomach. “You’ve gotten me this far without wanting to completely murder you, haven’t you? Why do you ask?”

“Well.” He hesitated, and then let words fall out, “I-I was thinking… I’ve never totally wanted to be anything… career wise. But… You know the college you’re going to?”

Kagome frowned. “Um, yeah. I kinda chose it because I know it.” She’d gotten accepted to a college not too far. Though she’d originally figured she wanted to be a nurse, lately, she’d come to enjoy-well, enjoy wasn’t quite the word, but feel fulfilled in-solving their mystery of Naraku’s crimes, and the defense training was thrilling… Kagome had written down that she would go for a criminal justice major. (She hadn’t told Inuyasha, wanting to avoid the accusations of how wanting to be a cop would make her in league with his brother. As if he didn’t know that Kagome didn’t really like Sesshomaru in the first place.)

For once, Inuyasha ignored her sarcasm. “Well, I didn’t say anything, but… I got accepted to the same school. And I was thinking about starting a business in teaching people defense.”

She sat up and gaped at him. “Inuyasha, that’s amazing! Congratulations! That’s a great idea! I think that’s perfect for you.”

His cheeks were pink. “Th-thanks. W-well… you’d be good at it too…” With a small huff, he sat up as well and looked away from her. Then he glanced back, and away again. Like a puppy that was not-so-subtly asking for food.

Narrowing her eyes, she tilted her head. “Are you… possibly asking me to be a business partner?”

“I didn’t say that,” he scoffed.

“Didn’t deny it, either.”

“And you didn’t answer, either.”

Kagome felt her eyes grow hazy as she set her face in her hands. “You know… wouldn’t it be cool if all of us opened a dojo sort of place? Miroku and Sango are good at fighting too, and Shippo is learning… we could call the company The Inugami.”

For a moment, his eyes brightened. “That’s… a good idea, actually.”

“We could even have it in Chicago--I’m sure many people here want to learn how to protect themselves.”

“Yeah! And we can have classes for different martial arts…”

“And basic self defense, maybe run some weapons-handling classes…”

The night spiralled away into wakeful dreaming.