#okay there were definitely some weak episodes but there were some VERY very strong episodes too!!

[br1ghtestlight]

some ppl say s13 is bob's burgers weakest season i say those people simply did not understand loren bouchards vision for it

[mirai-e-jump]

TV Guide Dan Vol.48, July 2023 Issue ft. Aoto Watanabe x Yuhei Chiwata, Masashi Ikeda (full translation below)

Publication: July 31, 2023 (between episodes 22-23)

Aoto Watanabe x Yuhei Chiwata

"You two are currently appearing in "Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger." Would you please describe each other's role to us?"

Watanabe: Chiwata-san plays Shiokara, someone who is straightforward with his feelings. He's not an overly proud person, but when he like something, he expresses it with his whole body, as if saying "I love it!" But, he also has the strength to speak up when he thinks something is wrong, and is able to show his weaknesses. Compared to the character I play, Yanma (Gast), he has a different sense of direction. He's someone that everyone wants to follow.

Chiwata: You've really been paying attention. That makes me happy. Yanma, played by Aoto, is just super cool! However, he's not very strong. Well, he does have the kind of qualities most women would be attracted to. Of course, as president, he has the leadership skills to keep N'Kosopa in order, but he's also intelligent and technologically capable. Actually, when I first meet Aoto, I though he was real manly.

Watanabe: You serious?!

Chiwata: I thought he was an honest person who disliked corruption. I feel like I'm very close to Yanma in those aspects, so I can't imagine anyone other than Aoto playing him.

Watanabe: Thank you so much! But, in some ways, there are also similarities between Chiwata-san and Shiokara.

Chiwata: Eh?! There is?!

Watanabe: Chiwata-san has excellent communication skills. He has more of an ability to connect with people. Even when we're on set, Chiwata-san's surroundings are always lively.

"What's the relationship between Watanabe-kun and Chiwata-kun?"

Watanabe: Out of all the members in King-Ohger, Chiwata-san is the one I've meet the most in my private time.

Chiwata: Yeah. We go out together to the saunas, to have dinner, and even to have a few drinks after work. We'll also visit each others houses.

Watanabe: It makes me happy~.

Chiwata: I said to him, "We're going to be filming together for a year, so you don't have to worry about acting formal or being so self conscious."

Watanabe: In the beginning, I challenged myself to speak casually to him. But as expected, it just didn't feel right to me…

Chiwata: For awhile, you definitely talked to me as if we were already close friends. However, I got the feeling it was only because you were trying to be considerate, as I told you to not worry about formalities (laughs).

Watanabe: (laughs). I really tried my best, but not only is Chiwata-san older than me, he's had more stage experience than me, so I ended up going back to using honorifics. But, it's not a formal honorific. What's more, when I'm on set getting my pompadour (Yanma's hairstyle) ready, I become so absorbed in my role that I may start talking to him in a casual manner.

"By the way, what do you usually call each other?"

Watanabe: For me, I take the "Wa" from Chiwata and call him "Wassan." But, I can't remember, how did I come to call you that?

Chiwata: When I asked Aoto, "What do other people call you?," He said, "Aoto." I said, "Well then, I'll call you Aoto too." I then told him, "For me, I'm rarely called by my first name." Aoto said, "Okay then, I'll call you by a nickname that no one else calls you, so let me think about it."

Watanabe: Did I really say that?!

Chiwata: Yeah, but it makes me happy when you call me by such an original name.

Watanabe: That's good then~ (laughs)

"Do you usually communicate through LINE?"

Watanabe: One time, I was so moved after reading the script, I sent a LINE, right? I wrote, "Did you read the script for episode 10 yet? I cried so much!"

Chiwata: In episode 10, there's a scene where Shiokara encourages Yanma. After that LlNE message, when we met on set, he said, "That scene, let's go shoot it for real."

Watanabe: That's right!

Chiwata: It's definitely a touching scene, so I thought it would be great if we could also make it a good scene together. However, on the day of shooting that scene, when I arrived on the set, Aoto gave off an aura that said, "Nobody come near me!," as he was concentrating on the scene by himself. I went to the set with my own plan in mind, but I thought it would be better not to tell Aoto, so I only told Director Kato (Hiroyuki) about my plan and continued on.

Watanabe: I'm so sorry (bitter smile). That scene, I was more invested in it than anyone else.

Chiwata: As a result, the scene turned out to be very good due to Aoto's strong feelings. I'm happy that the viewers responded so well to it.

"Based on the conversations so far, I can tell that the two of you are very close, so do you ever talk about love?"

Chiwata: Hmmm, We've never had such deep conversations before have we?

Watanabe: We haven't. But in my opinion, I think a younger woman would be a good match for Wassan. I think a relationship in which Wassan goes out with someone alittle out of his element would help balance it out.

Chiwata: Really? For me, I think that a man like Aoto, with his strong beliefs, could handle both older and younger people, Aoto will make older people want to, "Go for it!" and younger people want to say, "I'll follow him."

Watanabe: Is that right? (shining). Well then, let's "check our answers!"

Chiwata: Regardless of their gender, my motto is, "spoil the older ones as much as you want, and spoiler the younger ones as much as you can." I can get along with older people, even if we're 20-30 year apart, but when it comes to people around my own age, I don't know how to relate to them. I have very few friends my own age, with the exception of my hometown and high school friends.

Watanabe: I see. I think I prefer those older then me. Or rather, I'd like someone with a higher intelligence compaired to me. If anything, I think I'm the type of person who likes to spoil myself. Even if I'm spoiled by someone, I usually have a pretty firm grasp on things, so it's only then that I'm emotionally moved.

Chiwata: So, are you saying you're not good with women who purposely act all cute and clumsy?

Watanabe: I think they're fun as a friend, but when it comes to dating, it's abit…

Chiwata: I see. For example, what would you do if a girl you thought as just a friend confessed her feelings for you?

Watanabe: I can only imagine, but I would never go from friend to a girlfriend.

Chiwata: Eh! I can totally see it though (laughs). I don't have a strong obsession with ones appearance, so if I think someone's attractive, then that's OK too.

Watanabe: Huh! As expected, Wassan is dedicated and doesn't sweat the small things.

"As we move forward, King-Ohger continues to become more and more exciting. Are there any situations you'd like to play as the duo of Yanma and Shiokara?"

Chiwata: How about the two of us switching roles? I have the appearance of Yanma, but on the inside, I'm still Shiokara (laughs).

Watanabe: Oh, sounds interesting! Actually, aren't there always scenes where the Yanma is pulling Shiokara along? How about on other hand, there are scenes where Shiokara does things that Yanma isn't good at. For example, instead of Yanma, who's weak at fighting, Shiokara is an insanely strong fighter. I wish there were times where we could show those things in a cool way.

Chiwata: That sounds good too. Until now, there are times where I've though, like right now, "It would be interesting if there was a scene like this." I never mentioned it, but the screenwriter, Takamina-san (Takano Mizuto), he always writes the perfect scenes! So, I think there's a chance it might come true.

Watanabe: That's right! So, from now on, don't take your eyes off King-Ohger!!

＿

Masashi Ikeda

"Ikeda-kun is currently playing the role of Jeramie Brasieri in King-Ohger. What kind of character do you see in him?"

Ikeda: He's 2,000 years old and is the story teller of the story on the planet Chikyu, where the show takes place. Also, he's a man born between a human and a Bagnarak (unusual shaped creatures who live underground and are hostile to the King-Ohgers). When the role was first explained to me, my first question was, "What does it mean to be 2,000 years old?" (laugh). I carefully play the part of how he thinks and looks at the world, as he's lived a long time. Because it's an unusual situation, I had a hard time in the beginning, but he's a character that makes you think about a variety of things, so it's a role that's both challenging and exciting to play.

"The unusual nature of his role as the additional warrior, while also participating as a narrator since the first episode, has became a topic of discussion."

Ikeda: Actually, I still feel uncomfortable when I hear my own voice narrating on air, so I'm very happy to hear people say, 'Your voice is nice." As for my voice, I try to focus on making it resonate and be easy to listen to. At first, I couldn't do it well, but with practice, I gradually became able to do deep breathing as well. The voice of Jeramie as the storyteller, and the voice of Jeramie when he speaks his mind, are done in different ways.

"What was the response from the people around you?"

Ikeda: When my family members watched Episode 11 for the first time, they all commented, "You're so cool!" At the end of Episode 12, it becomes clear that his character is to make others read between the lines. On the show's cast blog I wrote, "I love Jeramie!" It was funny when my older brother read it and said, "Jeramie is a person who makes you read between the lines, but here, you're saying "I love you" so bluntly!" (laughs).

"Your family seems to be very supportive of you. What's the atmosphere on set like?"

Ikeda: The 6 main cast members as well as the staff are always in a good mood, and we have great communication, so we're always having fun. We go on and off, talking about the show itself and various others things. We have a competition to see who can get the new script first, and the first person to do so would upload a selfie with a funny face along with the script to our 6 member group LlNE (laughs). I think it was (Watanabe) Aoto-kun who started it. Aoto-kun, I always call him "Nabe-chan," we get along well, often telling jokes, and I always think they're so funny. When shooting ends for the day, we sometimes go out to eat together.

"You seem to get along well with everyone."

Ikeda: The staff are all very nice, they'll often make sure to ask me, "Are you ready?," or even talk to me in a way that mimics Jeramie's way of speaking! I guess Jeramie's lines are easy to say (laughs). It makes me happy knowing that Jeramie's character is loved so much.

"Are there any surprising aspects of your co-stars that you have discovered during your time together, such as during filming?"

Ikeda: As mentioned earlier, Nabe-chan (Aoto) is completely different on and off the job. I also feel that there's a gap between (Yuzuki) Hirakawa-san, and her role of Rita Kaniska. Rita's character is cool, but Hirakawa-san talks so much that you could say she is the complete opposite of them.

"What's the most difficult part about filming?"

Ikeda: Throughout the year, I've been struggling every day to pursue the value of being able to play one role, and the depth of the story that accompanies it. I'm always thinking of ways in which to make Jeramie look more appealing. But, there is no right answer, so it continues to be a daily battle. One more thing…I'm also fighting with my back! In Jeramie's transformation scene, there's an action where I bend backwards, but I have a very stiff back. I'm really bending over as far as I can, but the director says, "Yes, keep bending!" (laughs). In the movie "Adventure Heaven," which is currently in theaters, there's a transformation scene, so I massaged my lower back in the bath and did some muscle training before the shoot, and I got the "OK" with just one take.

"Ikeda-kun, Please tell us about yourself. How did you decide to enter the entertainment industry?"

Ikeda: I moved to Tokyo when I entered university, and I originally had a strong interest in the entertainment industry. In my third year, when I was struggling with all the influences of Tokyo, I was approached by my current agency and decided to become an actor. I'm a country boy from Tokushima, and I always felt like the movies and TV shows I had watched since I was a child were "sparkling." When I came to Tokyo, I thought, "This is the place where I can challenge myself."

"Objectively speaking, what kind of personality do you think you have?"

Ikeda: I think I have an optimistic personality. Sometimes I can be negative, but I try my best not to be. Also, when I was a student, I was often told that I, "Don't seem to talk much" or "Seemed cool" when first meeting people, but in reality, I'm the type of person you can't get to stop talking once I've started!

"So you're an extrovert. What was your life like when you were a student?"

Ikeda: I played soccer from elementary school all the way through my 3rd year of high school, and was performing in a band at the same time. I started playing the drums when I was in my 6th year of elementary school. In addition, I also worked hard in my studies, aiming to excel in everything. I don't currently play soccer, but I'd prefer to play it myself rather than watch the games on TV. I do continue to play the drums though. I try to play an instrument when I need to refresh myself, as it helps me to vent my stress.

"What kind of life do you live when you have days off from filming?"

Ikeda: I like watching movies and dramas and playing games. As a result, I'm basically an indoor person on my days off. As long as I can enjoy eating it, I'll also cook for myself. I've been practicing making pasta since I was a student, and even now still make it occasionally. I also like to make grilled onigiri!

"If Ikeda-san has a type of woman he likes, what type would that be?"

Ikeda: I want someone who is a kind person, and who will also listen to me. It would be ideal if we could go out together to various places. I'm not good at returning messages through LINE. That's why I'm much better at talking over the phone or in person. If it's someone I like, I might try to get the conversation going, and then make a detour into asking them out (laughs).

"Please tell us about your future plans as an actor. Is there a genre of work that you'd like to appear in?"

Ikeda: I want to be an actor with an appealing worldview and personality. My goal is to be the kind of person who makes people wonder in excitement, "What would happen if Masashi Ikeda played this role?" In terms of genre, I'd like to work in a dialog heavy drama…like "Quartet," which is a mix of suspense and everyday life. I'm still fighting every day, due to many challenges I want to take on. I want to thank everyone for their support, and to please continue to look out for me!

[avatarmerida]

So on twitter the other day, @rebeccaartsy mentioned she was thinking about how different things would be if Hunter was there from the beginning and it really got my mind moving.

So like my totally self indulgent headcanon or whatever,is that Hunter in season one is spending his time hunting wild witches and no one really takes him seriously so the whole time he’s trying to prove himself by trying to capture the most famous wild witch, Eda. But I like to think he doesn’t have a very strong artificial staff at this point and isn’t seen as much of a threat. He’s also either not the Golden Guard yet or just wears normal scout stuff to draw less attention. So he is always setting traps and stuff and Luz meets him and his vibe is like an annoying neighbor kid. He just gets roped into the occasional adventure because he’s there and just when he's starting to question life in the coven he gets promoted to coven head and he works even harder to be taken seriously.

Because I love how Hunter and Willow meet so much where they see the true version of each other right away in a way no one else has, I imagine their first meeting is still outside Luz and everything. Like, Hunter is messing with something plant related (maybe making a trap or liking for a rare plant to help Belos, idk) and gets tangled in some aggressive vines and Willow finds him and helps him. But the vines are from like a really complicated plant that requires extreme patience and talent and he’s like even Terra would have trouble with it and while his spitting facts Willow just untangles him effortlessly. She’s just like “boop! You’re good :)” and at first he’s worried she’s gonna tell someone or blackmail him but she’s just “no prob yo.” But she’s also very impressed that he found the plant that he did, cause they're super elusive and he’s like uhhh thanks.

So he offers to walk her to where she’s going and they start talking and he’s info dumping things on plant magic and they’re vibing and he realizes no one has ever let him talk so much before. And she likes talking to him. Then he realizes exactly where they are and before he can make an excuse to leave, Luz comes out to greet Willow and when she sees Hunter she groans. And they dive into their sibling banter slinging shots back and forth and Willow just stands there thinking like “huh, this is the guy who’s always annoying her? He’s not that bad.”

And so it’s just like a little bit where he’s always like “ugh you guys are the worst! But not you Willow, you’re great obvi.” Like he has no idea anyone would ever think she’s weak because he still met her in her element and she just thinks he’s a dork. But the crushing doesn't really start until Understanding Willow because I love that episode and I say so:

“Gus, listen,” said Hunter, as he walked through the open door of the Owl House. “Obviously, there is much I can’t divulge but upon consideration I am willing to grant you an interview for your class. The Emperor’s Coven values education, and so I could definitely offer you information on our selection process which I’m sure your teachers will find impressive and- why is Willow upside down?”

“Oh, Amity set Willow’s mind on fire and now she’s losing all her memories,” said Luz with a nervous chuckle. “But uh, what’s up with you?”

“What?” He said running over to her side and helping her sit correctly on the couch. “Is she okay?”

“Don’t worry blondie, we’re gonna get these knuckleheads in there to set things right,” said Eda. “Or at least less wrong.”

“You’re gonna entrust Willow’s mind in the hands of… them?” Said Hunter in disdain as he glared at Luz and Amity who honestly couldn’t argue with him. “They were the ones who put her in this situation in the first place! Not to mention, this location isn’t zoned for a spell of that caliber and as a member of the Emperor’s Coven I could-.”

“Listen, do you want it done soon or do you want it done legally?” Asked Eda. “Cause by the time we get the permits to do it your way Goldie, there won’t be any of Willow’s memories left to save.”

“Very well then,” said Hunter, pretending as though it was a hard decision. “I’ll allow it. Just… be careful with her.”

“Alright then,” said Eda. “Lemme whip up something to put her to sleep. She’s not gonna wanna be awake for this.”

“Oh look, the prince is here,” giggled Willow, leaning on Hunter’s shoulder for support as she noticed his presence for the first time. “Helloooo, your highness.”

“Uh, hi,” he said, not expecting her to be this close to him. “A-re you oka-.”

“Shhh,” she said, putting her finger to his lips, whispering as though it was the most serious thing on earth. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

“What?” he said despite his lips being smushed, hanging on to her words with concern.

She took a deep breath. “You have beautiful eyes.” She whispered with intensity.

His face turned bright crimson as he tried to laugh, assuming it must be a joke of some sort. But Willow’s voice didn’t carry the disdain most jokes at Hunter’s expense carried. She wasn’t in her right mind, but maybe that didn’t mean she wasn’t serious.

“Oh uh… thank you?” He said, clearing his throat. “So uh so do you?”

“Hmmm,” she giggled then hiccuped, squinting at him and then leaning in closer as though she couldn’t quite see something. “Do they make you wear that mask because you're so handsome all the time?”

“What?”

“Woo, you could cut something with that jaw ouch,” she said, her voice low and playful before erupting into another sea of giggles.

“I uh, I don’t think that’s-.”

“Nap time!” Said Eda, and Willow instantly fell asleep, leaning forward onto Hunter’s shoulder. He was unprepared to say the least, but tentatively put an arm around her to keep her steady, his eyes wide as his movements were careful.

“Alright coven boy, you keep Princess Planter comfy while I tell these two how to keep things from getting worse,” instructed Eda, pointing to Luz and Amity.

“Yeah sure okay,” replied Hunter, barely listening. Eda was telling Luz and Amity something but all Hunter could hear was the gentle sound of Willow snoring, her breathing slow and deep and peaceful. He has never been so close to her, he could see every delicate freckle that decorated her face. Her glasses were askew so he carefully removed them, because it just seemed like the thing to do. Her mind was on fire, the least he could do was make her more comfortable.

—

He watched as her eyes shifted behind her eyelids as she… dreamed? Would she think this was all a dream? She would mumble things occasionally, hopefully that meant something good? She just looked so-

“Hey Hunter, you want in on this?” Asked Gus.

“Huh?” He looked up quickly as though he was being accused of something. He hadn’t been listening. Hadn’t he been tasked with monitoring her? Is that what Eda said or had he just done it naturally? “Sorry, what?”

“King and Eda are competing to be the subject of my interview,” repeated Gus. “You want in?”

Hunter had forgotten all about being the subject of Gus’ report as he became engrossed in watching Willow sleep. Was that creepy? He didn’t mean it to be. He just felt… protective. He felt responsible. He could never fall asleep like this with anyone unless he trusted them completely. He had never fallen asleep around anyone. And he knew Willow did not have a choice in the matter but he wanted to be worthy of her trust anyway.

“Uh, no thanks maybe next time,” he said, uncharacteristically soft. “Someone should keep an eye on Willow.”

“Eh, she’s not going anywhere goldie,” said Eda as a twinkle entered her eye. “Buuuut when she does wake up, she’s probably gonna be hungry. Having the essence of your inner being threatened really takes alot out of you.”

“Oh yeah, sure,” said Hunter, looking at her in wonder. She seemed to be doing fine, but no doubt there would be brutal side effects. “Should I-.”

“Snacks! Snacks! Snacks!” chanted King.

“Oh yeah, uh I guess I could… do that,” he said softly. He wasn’t sure why he was being quiet, no one else was. But his usual tone didn’t seem fitting now. Normally, he would not take orders (or even suggestions) from civilians but if it was for Willow then it didn’t feel like succumbing to rank. It felt like helping. It felt purposeful. He carefully removed himself from Willow’s presence, mourning the loss of warmth for only a moment, and placed her comfortably on the couch. As he made his way to the kitchen, his eyes were glued to her until it was impossible to continue. Eda,King, and Gus were too occupied in their debate to notice.

---

Willow was going to be fine, she had to be. Everyone would be acting more worried if she wasn’t, right? She had always been strong and capable, he knew her mind couldn’t be much different. He turned his focus from concern into purpose. He wouldn’t admit it to the others, but he was thankful for the distraction. He felt foolish just sitting there not being able to do anything for her. He had never actually made something before, but how hard could it be? He had studied under the head of the Potions coven, how different was baking from that?

As he looked through Eda’s cupboards, Willow’s words echoed in his ears. Well, not all of them. There was one in particular, occupied by the way the ends of her mouth turned up as she said it that made his stomach flip.

Handsome.

No one had ever called him that before, not even ironically. Did she really think that? Why did he care so much if she did? Why, suddenly, did he want so much for her to?

Was it really suddenly though?

Ugh! Why hadn’t he said something cooler? He wasn’t sure she’d even remember saying it, but if she did he didn’t want his surprised reaction to prevent her from possibly repeating herself! He had never had issue thinking of clever retorts (though, to be fair he did do a fair deal of practicing in his bedroom mirror each night) and they often fell into a comfortable conversation. But sometimes she would say something a certain way or look at him too long and it would throw him off. Not in a bad way, no nothing at all like that, just… unexpected. She laughed at the jokes people would roll their eyes at or ask him to continue where normally he was cut off and all the little things just kept adding and piling up until Hunter didn’t know how he was supposed to carry them. She was so many little things, like the way she tilted her head when she asked him a silly question or how her glasses would slide off her edge of her knows when she got excited or the way she would stand close to him and sometimes their hands would brush like she didn’t care if they-

Focus! He thought, taking ingredients from the cabinets. There wasn’t much and what there was seemed to have no organizational system but he could resolve that after he figured out what to whip up. Something simple, something to show Willow he wanted to help. He didn’t know her well enough to enter her mind with Luz and Amity, but secretly he hoped he was getting there.

---

He managed to make something that resembled cookies, the smell filled the kitchen and it surprisingly wasn't an awful smell?. He remembered Willow mentioned once she was eager to get home as her father had made some and they were waiting for her. Truthfully, Hunter had never tasted a cookie but he had seen them when he walked by the bakery in town and knew the basics of their structure. Surely if he had taken a wrong turn the smell would reflect that, right? He imagined the look on Willow’s face when she saw his creation, and maybe even liked it. The flipped feeling returned to his stomach and spread through his whole chest like a wild fire when the potential look of delight on her face graced his mind.

In his efforts, he had made quite the mess. But he couldn’t help but feel pride as he quickly plated his creation, eager to return to Willow’s side. He didn’t think too much into this, he was always excited to see Willow. He tried not to think too much into that, chalking it up to the fact that she was interesting and a good listener and funny and smart and pretty and-

The point was she didn’t find him totally annoying, so why shouldn’t he enjoy her company?

And if she happened to think he was a little handsome then, well, that wasn’t the worst thing.

As he set the cookies to cool, he heard a sudden commotion from the next room. He quickly ran to see the cause, hoping it was a good sign. There was a bright flash and then he heard Luz and Amity. He stood back a moment, trying to deduce their tone before he heard Willow speak. Her voice was horse and soft, but he could tell she was back to normal. Good, he thought, feeling as though he could finally breathe again. She’s okay, she’s okay.

He went to greet her but before he could leave the kitchen, he was stopped by Luz. Before he could offer a snarky question as to what exactly she thought she was doing, she looked at him with wide, concerned eyes.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, furrowing his brow. He tried to looked past her to see what was going on. “Is she okay? Did something happen to-?”

“Willow’s fine.” she assured him, putting her arm up to stop him. “There was just some… complications.”

“What complications? Was she hurt? Does she need-?”

“No no, nothing like that but um there were some memories… we couldn’t save,” said Luz carefully.

“Like what? Did she forget something for a test she has? Because I can always-.”

“No, no uh there were more… recent memories,” Luz tried to figure out the nicest way to say this. ”Hunter, I’m sorry but we were still figuring out how things worked and it all happened so fast but… Willow doesn’t remember you.”

“What?” He felt something shatter.

“I’m so sorry, but hey, it’s an easy fix! Right? We can just introduce you now!”

“Yeah, uh I guess…” he said, looking at his current state. He had thrown on an old apron and was covered in flour, his hair a mess. This night was already so chaotic, it hardly seemed like a time Willow would want to meet someone new.

And then it dawned on Hunter: he had a second chance at a first impression.

Their first meeting had been… interesting. If you count hanging upside down by your ankle until a girl who took a wrong turn stumbles upon you helps untangle you interesting. Hunter did. But he had been so grumpy and flustered, and he wouldn’t have been had he only known who exactly had come to his rescue. She didn’t seem to care or be bothered by it, but he had come to value her opinion and he’d like to start again on the best foot possible. He had a chance for her to see him exactly as he wanted to be seen from the beginning and it felt like a chance he needed to seize.

His mind made up, he looked around for a way out before the human could return with Willow. Quickly, he climbed out the window and landed in a bush, He ducked beneath the window and pressed his back againythe wall as he heard Willow and Luz enter the kitchen,

“Huh, where did he go?” he heard Luz wonder.

“Who was this again?” Willow asked, her voice still raspy as though she was utterly exhausted.

“Uh, it’s kinda hard to explain,” Luz admitted. “But, he’ll be around again. I know he really wants to meet you!”

“Okay,” said Willow, uncertain. “If you say so.”

He couldn't help but think about the chill that went up his spine when she looked into his eyes. He didn’t understand exactly what it was but he knew it wasn’t nothing. He wanted Willow to know a better version of him. He cared what she thought. When she met him this time, he wanted it to be a meeting worth remembering.

—-

And so for the rest of the series up until ASIAS he’s trying to work up the nerve to meet Willow again as Hunter. Just when he’s ready, he gets promoted to coven bead and that’s when I’m also promoting him to Golden Guard or maybe like Golden Guard full time. So now he has more on his plate and he gets a more advanced staff and now he’s a real threat. But of course because he’s a loser and can’t stay away from her so they do interact when he’s the Golden Guard and he has that masked confidence. He’s still getting to know her so he’ll like run into her in the market or something and flirt but didn’t realize it’s flirting and he’s planning the perfect way to “re-meet.” The whole time Willow is like bugging because there’s something so familiar about him but she doesn’t know what and the others don’t tell her because they’re like still figuring out his deal. So when he does come to Hexside during ASIAS it’s much more thought through and intentional and feelings have already been caught.

Anyway sorry for a long pointless post but that’s just been on my mind k thanks bye.

[episodicnostalgia]

Spider-man: The Animated Series - Season 1 Overview

And so we have arrived at the end of season one, which means it’s time for another seasonal overview! Just like my recent TNG entry, my rating is based on the season’s average. I’ve included the individual episode ratings, along with links to my reviews below, if you care to check them out. But right now let’s get down to business.

Season 1 of ‘Spider-man: The animated series’ has earned a rating of…

2.76 stars (out of 5)

To be clear, I consider anything above three stars as ‘good’ or better, whereas I would consider 2.5 to be “not very good, but entertaining enough for me to not overtly hate on it either.” Needless to say, 2.76 is not an amazing score, but it is a fairly accurate assessment of where the show (thus far) stands. There are both strong and weak episodes alike, but none that I would consider ‘great.’

[If anyone actually cares for me to expand on my rating system, feel free to leave a comment or ‘ask a question’ etc. and I’ll be happy to share, but I won’t pretend it’s not largely subjective. Then again, anyone who rates art claiming to use a purely objective, merit based approach, tends to be (respectfully) at-least-halfway full of shit.]

Overall, I think this is genuinely a solid cartoon for kids, which faithfully brings Spider-man’s merry band of friends-and-foes alike to life. Most of the episodes do a decent job of introducing the characters, while leaving room for their stories to grow and evolve. Ultimately, ‘Spider-man’ would go on to take full advantage of its serialized format, but this season comes with more growing pains than I’d (unsurprisingly) noticed as a child. Either way I think my score reflects that while the show is ideal for children (which, to be fair, is-and-ought-to-be the writer’s main priority), it also falls just short of living up to my rose-coloured childhood memories.

As these things tend to happen, there was something of a push to curb violent content being depicted in children’s programming at the time ‘Spider-man’ was being developed. Evidently it would appear not every show shared the same restrictions, and for whatever reason Spidey ended up with some fairly strange ones. Whether this truly created any disproportionate challenges compared to other shows is pure conjecture (according to showrunner John Semper, it didn't), but it definitely had an impact on the aesthetic. several of the censorship notes included (but were not limited to)…

No punching: Kicking and throwing were totally okay, obviously, since children are famously incapable of imitating those particular acts.

No Pigeons were harmed in the making of this cartoon: Apparently the censors were deeply concerned over the prospect of Spider-man landing on, and/or otherwise harming New York’s resident pigeon population whilst swinging around the rooftops. And no that’s not a joke, that is apparently a real note that John Semper received while the series was being developed. Never mind that wanton pigeon-slaughter has never been a characteristic synonymous with the web-head, or the fact that the animators would have to intentionally go out of their way to painstakingly render multiple frames of animation, in order for that to happen.

Guns are good, bullets are bad: Which is why every gun in the show exclusively discharges laser blasts, and appear to be designed for an 80’s Star Wars cartoon.

Killing, and death were forbidden: And I’m not talking about the act itself; It was already standard practice to prohibit onscreen deaths in virtually every Saturday morning cartoon. No, I’m referring to the use of the actual words. Consequently Spider-man’s enemies all threaten to “destroy” or “eliminate” him, but never kill. They may be criminals, but they’re not monsters.

Bizarre censorship guidelines aside, I’ve also heard the show had a limited budget, consequently some of the animation tends to feel cheap, and would be frequently recycled. Virtually every episode reuses the same explosion effects and sequences of Spider-man swinging over the city (sometimes flipped around if he needed to be traveling in the opposite direction), which is all common enough, but it would also happen with entire action sequences too. For instance, in the first appearance of Dr. Octopus, there’s a sequence where spider-man dodges the good doctor’s tentacles, as they smash into stacks of wooden crates in the background; And in virtually every episode where Doc Ock returns, that same sequence can be found time and again (apparently New York has crates in places that defy reason). That’s just one example, but it was a remarkably common occurrence with the other villains as well, to the point where I remember noticing it as a kid.

That's not to say any of this stuff is enough to ruin the show, but I do feel it affected the final product enough to affect a dip in quality, especially when comparing it to Batman: The animated series, which premiered several years earlier. Nonetheless, ‘Spider-man: TAS’ has still earned its place as the first-and-most comprehensive adaptation of the character, and arguably the best, at least up until the release of ‘Spectacular Spider-man’ roughly a decade later. With everything it had going against it, I find myself admiring the sheer earnestness and visual creativity on display. Whatever it lacks in style and production value, it more than makes up for in heart, creating a world not dissimilar from the ones I’d imagined while smashing plastic action figures together on a bookshelf-turned-skyscraper.

So maybe season one isn’t technically as strong as I remember, but it will always be a classic.

Night of the Lizard - 3 The Spider Slayer - 3.5 Return of the Spider Slayers - 3 Doctor Octopus: Armed and Dangerous - 3 The Menace of Mysterio - 2.5 The Sting of the Scorpion - 2 Kraven the Hunter - 3 The Alien Costume, Part 1 - 3.5 The Alien Costume, Part 2 - 3.5 The Alien Costume, Part 3 - 3 The Hobgoblin, Part 1 - 2.5 The Hobgoblin, Part 2 - 2.5 Day of the Chameleon - 1

[lurkingshan]

Shadow episodes 8–14

Well, that went to some unexpected places! I’m not sure it entirely held together in the end, there were definitely some dropped threads and weak spots in the cast, and the back end wasn’t as tightly paced as the first half. I still enjoyed watching this show overall but the back half didn’t live up to the hype they built with this release schedule, unfortunately. And not gonna lie…I kinda hated that ending.

Some initial reactions:

As I mentioned back when I finished part 1, this show is emphatically not a bl. There is no romance and the protagonist is not, in fact, gay. I do think this show marketed itself to bl fans and did a little dishonest baiting on that front and I will side eye it for that. It does have several explicitly queer characters and themes, however, which is probably why it’s on Gaga.

They disappeared Danai from his own fucking narrative! I was already bummed by him disappearing into a shadow coma for most of the last two episodes; it already felt like he vanished from the resolution of his own story. And then that final reveal that he never actually came back and Trin has somehow managed to possess his body. So the end for Danai, the character we’ve been following this whole time, concluded with him passing out on stage during his attempt to expose Anurak during the play and then getting squashed by Trin in the shadow realm? Thanks, I hate it! 

The reveal of the shadow as the forest spirit (not to mention that goofy ass costume) was also kind of a letdown; I have no idea what this forest ghost has to do with the backstory they showed us for Danai and his family, and I ended the show still unsure of why this spirit glommed onto Dan in the first place. The complete dropping of the family trauma theme is especially egregious to me; I was so interested in everything they set up for Danai in part 1 but they left most of it on the table. Strange writing choices.

The final reveal of Brother Anurak’s whole deal lacked juice (and as the story continued it became clear the actor playing him was not strong enough for the role). Nice guy tries to do what’s right and fails and cries about it for twenty years is just kind of boring as the ultimate reveal of a spooky mystery story. And I didn’t really expect the haunting to be about state-sanctioned murder in the end. While I appreciate that the show is referencing real history and making a (somewhat garbled?) political statement here, this direction for the story felt like an awkward fit with the beginning, which was more about family trauma and homophobia. 

I thought Trin’s story was the best executed part of the show. Fiat was great in this role and his plot and characterization stayed consistent throughout. 

Poor Nai. The way Dan gave him that total stone face and zero reaction to his attempted kiss was almost worse than an outright rejection. And then the show added insult to injury by having Dan say he liked Cha-aim after all. You expect me to believe that shadow fucker is a straight dude who wanted to date the insipid girl? Okay show!

Anan was a pretty decent antagonist for most of the show (I hated that dude and his evil ass teacher girlfriend) but I thought him getting another girl pregnant and then murdering her together with the teacher kind of came out of nowhere? And ultimately his story didn’t connect to the larger reveal, he just exited stage left before the big dramatic climax. 

After part 1 aired @wen-kexing-apologist tried to tell me my boy Josh was evil, and I was not having it. *Captain Holt voice* Vindication!!! Josh is just a garden variety dumbass teenage boy.  I always believed in you, boo!

All the teachers were, in fact, sus. Not a single decent educator among them.

Fluke Natouch is very, very pretty. 

And that’s all I got! I can’t honestly say I recommend this show to anyone who hasn’t already watched part 1, but for those of us who already arrived here I look forward to reading about the things you noticed that I didn't. This show has style and some of the cast is great, but the writing just didn’t hold up. 

[madama-noctule]

𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐈 𝐖𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐀 𝐍𝐎𝐂𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄 𝐒𝟐:

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN’T SEEN NETFLIX’S CASTLEVANIA NOCTURNE.

𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐈𝐅:

After finishing the series, I couldn’t help but feel there was so much more that they could have added/implemented. I DO like the series at the moment but I feel there can be some room for improvement - it has so much more potential.

___________________

NOCTURNE CRITICISM:

PROS:

- The animation was absolutely Gorgeous and I loved all the watercolour scenes - I thought that was a good touch. It still felt like I was watching Castlevania

- I adored the character designs - especially Drolta’s look. It’s a different take from the original series and it stands out a lot; it’s also one of my personal favourites. I loved seeing the different takes of characters as well.

- The music and soundtrack was just as good as ever. I especially loved hearing “Opposing bloodlines”.

- I like how some of the characters were written. However, they don’t come off as strong as the original. Regardless, they were okay and at the same time likeable.

I especially enjoyed most of the characters including Orlox and the newest: Edouard. Not forgetting to mention his lovely voice. He helps make scenes more emotional and come off stronger. I love the diversity and cultures Castlevania has to offer and has added; I love every single one of the characters. It’s so great to see all different beautiful cultures.

- I noticed along with some other friends that there were some popular anime references snuck into the show which I really liked. Although I don’t watch anime, it’s still pretty cool and fun to see!

- And of course the ending. I was over the moon when I saw Alucard appear again and it was the cherry on the top for me. At the same time, it was bitter sweet but at the same time I was sort of expecting it. He’s one of my favourite characters of all time so there’s nothing bad I want to say here. Definitely a cheeky but yet great way for engagement, for the die hard fans and Alucard-lovers ( such as yours truly). Something everyone can enjoy and look forward to.

CONS:

- The pacing wasn’t the best. I feel Nocturne was very rushed and the writers didn’t allow enough time for more character development and arcs.

For example Richter’s character development wasn’t all that. I wished he got more screen time as I also feel like 95% of the show is about Annette. Really in writing you’re supposed to show a character a lot of they have a significant impact in the story ( I know she’s a main character and all but what ties?) she is a great character and has her flaws she needs to overcome but I feel the writers are forgetting Richter is the star of the show. I know she’s a love interest and I don’t know if they’re trying to make the audience like her more by showing us more things about her but he barely got any screen time at all, in my opinion.

Another thing I’d like to add is Juste’s out-of-the-blue appearance. He just randomly appears for two episodes and we never see him again nor know where he went. Like what was the point? I assume he was a pillar for Richter’s development but so much more could have been done here! I know many fans like him as a character by himself and it’s quite a risky move to have 2 Belmonts in one show. His appearance was okay but I feel like it didn’t tie to the story very well. I felt like there could have been more episodes with the two to strengthen their bond.

Looking back at the main cast, I can understand why people are unhappy with Richter’s character. It’s okay to give a character weakness and trauma and they’ve done it well but what makes me laugh is how Annette mocks his PTSD. To be honest, Annette’s character has a lot of flaws. I get she’s supposed to be a strong female lead but she comes to him for help yet jeers and says he doesn’t need him? Also that blushing scene was well out of the blue and at a bad time. I do like her but she has so much more work needing to be done.

And when Richter got his powers back. Where was the climax for that? It felt very rushed and there was no build up AT ALL. Stuff like that would take time and building - it all felt too rushed. There wasn’t enough emotion and build up for that to happen. It happen far too quickly.

Maria was absolutely fine and I enjoyed the mother’s backstory, regardless.

I wasn’t too keen of the main villain. I like her design and how she ties to vampiric history and thought it was clever but what was her goal again? I feel like it’s another one of those they’re-just-evil cliches but that’s the worst way to write a villain. One of the main (and many) goals is to conquer the sun; which is cliche. Like why? What’s her backstory? Another thing that made me hesitant was that she’s an ( or a representation idk which) of an Egyptian God. Now I can see why some people can be upset about this. Some people out there worship deities and in some beliefs and religions, people can take offence. While I find it to be a different take, I still find it a bit lazy. I feel like Erzebet is portrayed as “ Big bad vampire goddess lady, be scared” but I’m not scared? I get most of the characters are afraid of her but I don’t feel like her presence is THAT impactful and worthy yet. Even Dracula and Carmilla had a better goal s and ones we can sympathise with. We understood what they did and why they did it. I’m afraid I’m just not warming up to her yet. It feels very bland to me and left very confused on her complicated lore.

OTHER NOTES:

I get many people are calling it woke. To be fair, Castlevania has always added religion as an opposing impact. The show tries to set the tone and story as historically accurate as they can, I’ve noticed.

People forget everyone was delusional back then and hyper-religious. Back then religions were taken more seriously and many people suffered more due to paranoia: take witch trials for example. Nocturne DOES stick to some important key elements of what the French Revolution was like back then ( of course the real life one had less vampires) but I do also like that as well.

I appreciate the attempt of twisting history with fiction but they need to be more careful. I still found it lazy and repetitive for a plot. I thought it was far too cliche and washed.

WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST:

If season 2 ever comes, here as my thoughts and things I would like to see:

- A slower storyline:

I get animation is a tedious process with all the story writing, composing, money etc ( I’m also an animation student myself). But I can wait a bit longer for so the series can get to its full glory. Good things come with time and less mistakes will be made.

- More humour:

This is what was missing. True, it does have some humour but the original feels less forced the some of the lines we receive. I would love to see more sarcasm and silly jokes like in the original. They need to have more fun.

- Trevor, Sypha and Alucard:

Now I know these characters are unfortunately long gone but I would like to perhaps see some scenes of the triofacing off against a threat which leads up to this series or just having a laugh for old times same. It would make more sense why Alucard is there, apart from another world threat. There is so much they can do here. Especially since Alucard is going to see a lot of his old friends on Richter. It would be nice for him to tell him more about his ancestors.

- Character improvement:

So, so much more can be done! The pacing hinders the story as a whole and makes the writing looks rushed, sloppy and confusing. Some of the characters were fine and would be fine kept the way there are but Richter definitely needs his times in the spotlight.

I feel like it should take more episodes for him to get his powers back and to fight the f antagonist. The other episodes can be revolved around him and him learning more about his past and on his self discovery; especially since he has ptsd. You can’t build a character on just that - it’s lazy and boring. He needs more wit and more experiences. He already has a weakness but how will he overcome it? Make Olrox tease him more maybe? Maybe throw him into more situations where he get triggers? Some people who suffer with mental illness would like a character to look up to and relate. Making him just have PTSD isn’t great character building at all. I can see where they’re trying to go with the build ups and that but it just isn’t working. Maybe Juste can also help him more? He needs more relevance than just “being there” have some Grandfather and Grandson time and hey maybe get Alucard involved to train him and shape him into the Belmont he’s supposed to be. Obviously he can’t be like Trevor and is his own character but he’s had very little scenes.

- Alucard:

Although it is highly unlikely and as much as I hate to say it but something drastic should happen to Alucard. He’s a very powerful character but why could he need Richter’s help? He literally took down one of the strongest antagonists in seconds when the others were struggling. Hopefully the tables turn and we see Richter save Alucard instead of the other way around.

- Erzebet development:

I feel her character needs a whole rewrite. She needs a better goal other than “conquering the sun” and “feeding”. Like why does she want to do that? Was she betrayed? Turned? Made that way? Or maybe just pure evil. She also needs more impact and scenes of where the characters are effected by her actions. I know she’s based of a real historical figure but making her a goddess or whatever seems very out of the blue. I feel even Drolta is a better written character than the actual villain.

Maybe Erzebet grew up poor herself and is taking advantage of the rich? Maybe she was promised something by someone and taking back what she is owed. Just making her evil isn’t executing enough. Hopefully we get more explanation in future.

- The “Wokeness”:

They can perhaps turn thing down a tad. I feel this series is revolved around god a bit too much and deities we don’t need. Also the Abbot doesn’t make much sense. I’m still confused why he’s doing what he does. I liked the twist with Maria but everything can’t just be “In the name of God”. Need to be a bit more imaginative.

I could go into more depth of what I would add but I could ramble forever. I’ve tried my best to list down the main things I’d do. Other than that I still enjoyed this series and felt S1 as more of an introduction.

————————-

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐚 𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐝𝐮𝐦𝐩 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭. 𝐈 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥.

Other than that, I still tip my hat to everyone’s hard work and hopefully they can get the rest they’ve earned. I would love to see what happens next.

Thank you all for bringing back my beloved series 🖤🖤

[team-heavenly]

And Now, An Interlude

I did coast through Blizzard Island pretty quick, but my next week or so is kind of insane. I'm out of state from 11/6-11/9 and I'm honestly not sure I can get the arc posted before then :(

But for every cloud, there's a silver lining. I definitely have time to share the nonsense I got into while I was stitching together the Sky Peak post. I really wanted to keep playing the game but without advancing the plot and getting ahead of the blog, so... I improvised.

This picture is basically the theme of the post so enjoy lol

(No, we did not recruit her unfortunately 😔)

First, I want to share some teammates I snagged... and some I lost.

LOOK AT THIS GOD TIER STARAPTOR. Literally the GOAT. I was so, so upset when our client Pidgeotto later got destroyed by a Monster House. I suppose I could have gone through with the defeat, but the risk of losing more than a few exclusive items just wasn't worth it.

But we did get to keep someone I'm pretty sure is Young Guildmaster Wigglytuff:

And HE COULD LEARN ROAR OF TIME. SO I SAID "SURE WHY NOT" AND GAVE HIM THE TM.

It's not a practical set of moves by any means (confusion from Petal Dance (which missed a whole ton anyway), 30% accuracy on Fissure, low PP and stall after using Roar of Time), but definitely fun to play with.

Andrea also tried learning Vine Whip upon level up, but... It wasn't very strong, so I passed on it. Honestly, unless she gets something incredible, I'm thinking her current move set is final.

...Yeah, I told you this was gonna be a common thread. Thankfully we dodged an encounter with the ancient god of the land because... *gestures to the stairs Being Right There*

After a few days of odd jobs, I realized I didn't want our duo getting too far along the experience curve. But how else could I satisfy my itch to keep playing this game? I could play as other Pokémon, sure, but most of them were far too weak for the average Bulletin Board request.

...And then I remembered: I hadn't tried a single dungeon from Poliwhirl's Dojo yet.

(Okay yeah I took these photos after completing all of them but shhhh)

This was our menu of offerings (loaded with affluence and laughter, apparently). Some were conquered on the first try. Some required a little bit of elbow grease. And some... well, they certainly put my patience to the test. I remember Affluent Turn, Hilarious Court, Prosperous Outback, and Hilarious Abyss being particularly troublesome.

"Wait, but aren't the dojo mazes only five floors-" Correct! But these dungeons are randomized like any other, meaning they have three things the mazes typically don't: traps, monster houses, and a whole lot of sticky items.

Granted, this was the squad:

But the traditional starters are well-boosted in the stats to begin with, so it wasn't too bad. And this is a randomizer, so...

I'msorryCharmanderlearnedWHAT?!

(I now want to watch an anime episode where a tiny Igglybuff and Charmander wreck Dialga's sh*t with Roar of Time.)

After enough tries, we were able to nudge the three starters towards evolution. And hilariously, they all insisted on learning OHKO moves (and Dig for some reason):

G-Grovyle, my beloved...

You Do Not See The Palkia, Grovyle Is Clearly Fighting Primal Dialga Here.

Yet the one thing that was consistent across these dungeons to the point of skepticism... was the sheer abundance of legendaries.

Like I honestly think it would be easier for me to list the legendaries NOT included. That's how many there were. Take a gander at this list (bold indicates the Pokémon sighted):

Kanto: Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Mewtwo, Mew

Johto: Raikou, Entei, Suicune, Lugia, Ho-Oh, Celebi

Hoenn: Regirock, Regice, Registeel, Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza, Jirachi, Deoxys (multiple forms, all mirage)

Sinnoh: Uxie, Mesprit, Azelf, Dialga, Palkia, Heatran, Regigigas, Giratina (both forms), Cresselia, Phione, Manaphy, Darkrai, Shaymin (both forms)

Most of these were in the Final Maze, too. No wonder it was called this instead:

In total, we only recruited two of these legends, which is pretty impressive when you remember you're forced into these places with an empty bag (so no items to help increase the recruitment rate). The first, as you can see above, was Uxie, one of the True Time Gear Guardians.

Not bad! Not bad at all.

And the second... the second is pretty special. I'm still giddy about it even all these days later:

😍 YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT. I RECRUITED THE LADY HERSELF!

I SCREECHED when I saw her in the dungeon to begin with, so you can imagine the commotion I made when she wanted to join the team!! When you talked to her in a dungeon, she even said the phrases. You know, stuff like hating the decay brought about by the world of darkness, and there being no need to worry because she can't ever be caught, of course!

I suppose she's a little confused by her displacement in time and space, but you know what? This really makes it feel like her... so I wouldn't have it any other way <3

She originally joined us at Level 38. I already knew, without a doubt, that she was gonna become a permanent fixture of the team. So I loaded her up with 3 Golden Seeds, every Gummi I had leftover from the mazes, and some Proteins.

Why Protein? Well, she originally knew... Tackle, Endeavor, Strength, and Meteor Mash lol. Her attack stat was also dreadfully low, so why not catch that up to the others when I happen to be swimming in Proteins?

I did also feed her some TMs to diversify the move set a little:

This shot is actually outdated already: presently she knows Super Fang instead of Rock Climb and Hidden Power instead of Defend Order.

There is one slightly unfortunate caveat to my sheer excitement:

Yeah... Normalize. So she can't benefit from the STAB on Giga Drain. But I suppose there are worse things.

Here's something I doubt many people have seen! You're technically not supposed to be able to speak with her in Rotom's Cafe, right? So of course I was dying to know what she said when you spoke to her there, and:

Forgive the desaturation and such, as you can see by the reflection I snapped this one with my phone 💀

Interesting, no? Read that again: Magneton. If you recall, that Pokémon was her replacement in the story! Funny to see it show up here, in what I can only presume is the title of her idle pose. For reasons unknown to me, sometimes she said "standby 2" instead.

Anyway, she and the Gabite you saw earlier were our tried and true teammates during our many, many attempts to conquer Massive Tomb. To skirt around the excess EXP problem, I simply reset whenever things went awry.

The thing with Massive Tomb is... It has 48 floors, right? (Which I found odd, why not make it 50 at that point?) And you're not allowed any items upon entry. So either you miraculously find a string of Secret Bazaars to replenish your belly until you find an Apple of some kind (lol) or you starved to death by floor 11. Oh, and basically every other floor was a Monster House. So it really came down to sheer luck.

There was one attempt where I got as far as 43F. But my string of good fortune turned sour: back-to-back Monster Houses slowly picked off my teammates and made Andrea run out of PP for Blizzard. So when we ran into yet another Monster House (this time mandatory), all it took was one Triple Kick from Persian before it's all over. That loss felt particularly devastating.

The one attempt that finally succeeded was the one where we didn't run into a single MH until we were over 2/3s of the way through. Although the one that did finally show up nearly ended me.

But finally... Finally!

YEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAW!

On the one hand: Can you imagine if the aura you got at the beginning was Brown? I would be so mad if I had two of the same color lol. Though on the other hand, aura color doesn't really matter? It only shows up in the flavor text and item sprite - the latter of which you only see if the item gets knocked off of you.

But hey, I'll take it. I'm just glad I finally got through the darn place!

Oh geez, this "mini update" was very close to 30 images somehow 😬 But I hope you enjoyed seeing this not-insignificant, optional part of the main world!

Bonus:

...Okay I guess I lied, we recruited three legends.

[mollygreenteas]

Studying the characters of weak hero is always extremely fun for me because each and every one of them have their own set of foils — some of which clash, be it negatively (bumseok and suho) or positively (sieun and suho). They are two sides of the same coin with suho in the middle. (More of this in another thread maybe)

But I wanted to focus this more on the side of suho! Specifically the scenes which involve him fighting. I think it’s already been an established point that Suho, even with how strong and trained he is (he’s always got the upper hand in most fights), knows when there’s a line you shouldn’t cross — knows that some fights aren’t worth it.

This was shown in multiple occasions throughout the series: Suho stopping Sieun from stepping on Youngbin’s face after he already broke his nose with a book, repeatedly telling the gang members that they were fighting in episode 2(?) or 3 in the alleyway to stop (“aren’t you embarassed?” Etc.), stopping Bumseok from getting too far with the bully in the karaoke (which is the catalyst for what happened between the two of them, but that’s another analysis for later), telling Sieun to stop and just run instead of fighting because he might get hurt, and more! Suho values the ability to know when to give in and be the bigger person.

This is important because the line starts to blur when Bumseok began splitting from the group. Ever since then it’s been a constant slew of Sieun telling Suho to stop, because there’s just so much anger so much betrayal (mind you Bumseok just appeared to have snapped at them, one moment it was all okay, the next Bumseok is mean and cruel — which was caused by reasons neither of the two know about) and now Suho is cornering him to the wall of the karaoke, confronting him in the cafeteria and then outside the classroom when Sieun pulls Bumseok out to talk. There’s a thin line now and Suho is stepping all over it.

He finally, /finally/, crosses it when he finds out about Sieun.

Seeing this from Suho’s perspective, even though he doesn’t show it, the way his birthday turned out probably hurt him a lot. Youngyi seems to be keeping something from him, Sieun hasn’t been showing up to school or answering him truthfully. Bumseok is.. well. You know. But more than that, Suho probably has a strong sense that something had happened. So when he finds out in the rooftop — god knows why he went all the way up there, Suho was never shown to favor the rooftop as a spot in the drama: this kind of leads me to believe that he knew that the bullies would be there and he would’ve confronted them either way — that’s where he first steps foot outside of the line he’s been keeping distance with for so long.

Seeing the bullies lined up, some curled up as he delivers punch after punch to their stomachs may have been satisfying to see, but I think the scene was supposed to invoke some type of fear. This isn’t the Suho that was shown in the very start of the series, this was someone who is consumed by their anger, turning him into someone whom the series has always established that they shouldn’t be: a bully. Suho definitely looked just like the bullies in the scene. And I’m not saying that they didn’t deserve it because especially after what they did to him at the last arc, but I think this is the most terrifying we’ve ever seen him. I think the detail of the bully telling him what he wants to hear (what exactly had happened to Sieun) and Suho still beating the shit out of them was a telltale sign that the line was long forgotten.

This was shown through Yongbin too, who I’d say was the start of everything. Suho at the very beginning, stops Sieun from hurting Yongbin more even though he so clearly deserves it. Now in this scene, again, even after he hears what he needs to, he goes the extra mile and breaks his finger/wrist (not entirely sure which, but he definitely broke something).

Then finally, the final arc, the lines have been crossed, Suho goes to see Sieun one last time. We all know how that goes. Sieun, being the reason Suho was doing /everything/, crossing all these lines (i keep saying this, i’m sorry I don’t know what other metaphor to use), if he had told Suho the truth of what happened to him, would Suho have stopped? It’s most likely he wouldn’t, but it definitely wouldn’t have ended in the way that it did. Maybe they could’ve talked about it, maybe Suho would come back to his senses and learn to pick which fights he should be doing, like he’s been saying Sieun should do this entire time. Because he was the one who initiated the last fight. Suho doesn’t initiate fights! He fights them when they come to him! Maybe the conversation with Sieun, or rather the lack thereof, was the final straw, the feeling of all consuming revenge because even after everything that happened Sieun still doesn’t want to /tell him/. For what? Is he trying to protect him? Is he trying to protect Bumseok? So it all builds up inside Suho until it crashes and burns and he’s the only one there to take the fall because Sieun arrived at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Revenge and avengance is a big ploy in the series, and I would say that while Bumseok’s could be viewed as revenge, Suho’s is avengance. Both of which come with lines. Wether or not you cross it is up to you.

So the wrap up to Suho’s character arc can be viewed as a corruption arc, but not really, because Suho is still Suho. Everything he did was because of how much he cares about Sieun, and maybe Youngyi too. They are the only two people who were important to him (Bumseok was one of those people …) because all he had before was his grandmother, because just like Sieun he was just lonely; and now Suho who always likes to appear nonchalant and chill (maybe it’s a facade, like how most of that type of thing is for characters like him), now has people he loves, people he feels like he has to look after (his older brother image is also very important, but I’m sure there’s another thread about that somewhere here). So lines be damned.

[lunarfly-studios]

Mistletoe #2 for Kit

okay for some reason it's not letting me just copy/paste text so here

OKAY So I'm assuming this is for BMFM!Kit since that's the most recent one I've been posting about lately.

Short Answer: Yes.

Long Answer: It depends on your definition of 'friends'.

Lets be clear: In the universe of BMFM, after the stars and the planets aligned to work out a certain way, she became a billionaire overnight at age 20/21 with no warning. She already didn't really have friends before all this, except maybe for one (that I might need to design), and she wasn't anyone's favorite 'quiet art kid' in high school. After acquiring that much wealth, she had even fewer fans.

Because of A. Her circumstances helping to care for a very large family, B. Her own insecurity, and C. Her crippling anxiety and depression, even before she became rich, she was already extremely isolated and had little to no social life.

You would think after becoming rich, she'd have a million friends, ro at least acquaintances, but other than her household staff she inherited, she actually became even more isolated because she couldn't live with her family anymore. She had to relocate to a place she'd never been to, where she didn't know anyone. And the idea of trying to go out and make friends so soon after leaving the nest absolutely terrified her.

And fun fact about Kit: She's half Venusian, and Venusians can read minds. She tries not to because it's rude, but she's acutely aware of when people are genuinely being nice to her, kissing her ass for status or wealth, or kissing her ass out of fear of reprisal, and early on, it was almost consistently the latter two.

And that's not even getting into the fact that she has autism and ADHD, which can already make socializing and making friends hard.

It took her a while to take control of her estate, her company, and her life, but once she did, once she was more secure in her position in the company, her role in society, and the control and autonomy she had over her life, she very quickly became a social butterfly (no pun intended).

One of the things that's kept her as CEO this long, minus her sincere success, is her charm and charisma. She can get a read on what type of person someone is pretty quickly, whether by reading their mind or just studying their behavior. Cater to their interests and you've got anything from a friend to an acquaintance to an ally to a business colleague.

Of course only a handful of these actually qualify as 'friends'. There are a handful of other CEOs she's met that she just really hit it off with, but they were few and far between. A lot of wealthy elite businessmen and politicians are kinda passive aggressive towards her cause she has the audacity to not like it when her employees are living off food stamps.

She gets along very well with people in the media and culinary industries, though, mostly because they can sincerely connect over those passions.

The only people she could really consider CLOSE friends would be the three Biker Mice, Charley, Sisi, Li, Anastasia and Sabrina (that pre-rich friend i mentioned earlier that i need to design lol).

She's extremely good at building business connections and socializing with others, as draining as it is, but forging and maintaining strong, close connections is still like navigating a minefield for her. She's been burned by past friends and people she had crushes on in the past, so even after coming to like and trust most of these people, with the exception of Li and Sabrina, she keeps everyone at a certain emotional-arm's-length so to speak.

Fun to be around, kind, supportive, willing to listen and always wanting to help out? Absolutely. Letting someone close, letting others see her vulnerability, showing weakness around others, opening up to others... that's a rougher challenge.

In spite of the fact that she rationally knows all these people like her, deep down, she spends a good chunk of Season 1's episodes fully believing that her friends secretly resent her for her wealth and influence, and are just being nice about it. She's generally on edge, just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

It does after a while, but once that shoe drops and she gets assurance that "No, we don't hate you, you're a wonderful person and we love you", she slowly starts letting herself be vulnerable and opening up to others.

Maintaining relationships is hard for her, but she's grateful to find people who are willing to be patient and help her feel comfortable and safe.

...That said, she will absolutely crush anyone in 'biggest burp contests' even after just meeting them, she grew up in the south in a family of 14, you had to assert your dominance sOMEHOW.

[skye-huntress]

I’m in Love with the Villainess Reaction

Episode 5

I’ve wondered about this but it seems like familiars are extremely rare and almost unheard of. In the entire series, Ralaire is the only one we know of.

Yep, Ralaire is a ship name, and in the game, Rae named her familiar the same thing every time.

Ralaire doesn’t need to attack anyone, she can just continue to look cute and humans will dote on and feed her.

Let’s be real, those six names shown are the only ones that matter.

Oh, Miss Claire, how very forward of you grabbing Rae’s hand like that. I find it funny that everyone is watching those two, and this will no doubt fuel the misunderstandings about the nature of their relationship.

Ralaire cannot be confined, the whole world must see her adorableness. Plus the more humans she enthrals, the more treats she will be given.

“The other guy?” Just admit you don’t remember his name, Rod.

Even though they mentioned them last, I bet Rae and Claire was the first match up that was proposed.

In the books, the participants were allowed to request their opponent. Naturally, Claire immediately requested Rae, much to Rod’s disappointment.

Their aptitudes may not be nearly as high as the commoner transfers, but the Bauer siblings have had the privilege to spend years practicing their magic, and finding ways to make the most of their attributes.

Two fangirls on either side, and Rae in the middle probably excited to see boys beat each other up instead of chasing her.

After being on the defensive for so long, Yu looks a little too eager for returning the favour.

Ah, the “Ice Prince”. Yu’s not fond of that particular nickname, perhaps for more than one reason.

Okay, walking on compressed air is pretty much a step away from flying.

Misha is not a very expressive person, but I can hear the lack of enthusiasm in her voice. Honestly, I’d be the same if I were up against Rod, but probably for a different reason than hers.

Rod doesn’t command the same amount of firepower as Claire, but he makes up for it with his ludicrously large MP stat.

Hmm, I see they didn’t clarify the real reason Misha lost the match. She could have easily won, but her reverence for the Royal family meant she was unwilling to attack the First Prince, even though she was more than strong enough to beat him, which just ended up annoying Rod.

I’m glad Misha’s feelings for Yu are mutual.

Who left the baby unattended? You know how dangerous that is, the number of humans she can enthral with her cuteness.

Now for a proper fight between two real powerhouses.

Her aptitude may only be High but Claire certainly has some serious firepower to melt stone.

Red Lotus Queen? Seriously, who comes up with all these nicknames.

One of Rae’s hidden strengths, her knowledge of science from her past life. Even if her knowledge is only at a high school level, that’s a significant advantage over this magic-based medieval-ish society.

Why all the explosions every time she uses a spell? Well, because it looks cool as hell, of course.

Wow, pretty good impression.

Yeah, Claire’s actually pretty athletic, and she’s had some non-magic defense training.

Busting her signature move. It’s impressive, but there’s something Claire still hasn’t figured out about Rae’s strategy so far.

“Stubbornness is my biggest pitfall.” She was definitely waiting to use that line.

A surprisingly effective spell. Not easy to get out of without an earth or air attribute.

Yep, Rae has two attributes, one that is strong against fire, the other that’s weak to it, and the one she’s been using during the entire battle was the latter. Claire is hopelessly, hilariously outmatched.

Oh wow, who could have foreseen all six of them would get in? Seriously though, the reason they were all matched up together was because they were the top contenders and needed worthy opponents that would allow them to really show off their skills. They were pretty much already guaranteed to pass.

Seriously, Thane?

Now they’re both singing the ED. I really got to look up a translation at some point. Should be interesting to see how it changes and their relationship evolves.

[nanjokei]

finished willdress s1. i think it was pretty decent, the last few episodes were a solid 9 but the first half was like... a strong 7 at best. the anime needed an extra 13 episodes that's for sure, but i think the semifinal fights were so awesome, and the new characters were resoundingly great.

the post got a little long so my thoughts under the cut. i spoil obviously.

the episode where it was raika v tohya was pretty great cause it was all the new characters (the ones with actual presence) commentating. i do think -dress's greatest weakness is how blackout are a set piece and its refusing to break them up even a little, but by the third season its like, eh? they definitely contributed to how "okay" the first half of the series felt... i don't care about yuyu, zakusa's aight, i love tomari, tohya is better for leaving, megumi isn't suddenly gonna matter to me but i think it's funny they're driving the jobber angle so hard with her, at least it's honest.

and down in the nitty gritty that's what i enjoyed about willdress the most so far, even if it was very rushed it didn't really force a lot of conventions— raika and yuyu hate each other's guts by the end still but raika acknowledges blackout nonetheless. i do think it is in character for him to concede that much i guess, given he lost. i guess what i'm saying is "things made sense"— i think a big issue with not only vanguard but a lot of anime in general is that it seems like in an effort to resolve things, characters are bent in ways that are kind of irksome. like, i'll never get why anyone got along with kai in the original series aside from idk, miwa and aichi. getting along is kind of pushing it,

but speaking of kai, i find raika quite refreshing because he's a born hater. there's no real excuse for his behavior: he grew up to be an unpleasant person. i think there's a lot of people like that in hobby spaces, people who develop superiority inferiorty complexes because they're chronic tryhards first and foremost. as mentioned before i like that he is still a hater. come s2 i hope he keeps being a stupid bitch boy.

i do think my favorite characters however were urara and michiru. i don't think there is anyone who watched the show who would disagree with my assessment. urara was the beating heart of this season no questions asked. i don't think there was a single moment that had me going "what the fuck is she doing?!" because she was solid. it's quite easy to mess up shrinking violet blorbo characters imo. i would have loved more episodes to flesh out her troubles, but out of everyone, her arc was the most strongly realized and it is satisfactory enough as it is. she achieves both being cute and being a well constructed character all at once, despite the limited runtime alotted to each character. as the beginner character this season, i really do wish she had been the protagonist instead of yuyu... i don't have much to say about him in particular except that i was just going "lol idc" for most of his screentime. for some reason he became a really cool guy for the last few episodes of the season... but i don't consider it. it doesn't feel thoroughly earned. definitely an issue of the anime being one cour. but yeah, she kind of reminds me of naoki from the original in a way, except she avoids the pitfalls naoki had... i do think it was quite cool that naoki SUCKED ASS at vanguard but i loved that urara had a strong win record. the fight that ended her streak was quite good, she didn't feel cheated out of it at all like it usually feels like when a female character loses in vanguard. L O L.

i thought i wouldn't have much to say about michiru, but what a tour de force of a character. THIS is how you do GAR, not whatever the fuck they were doing with danji in season 1. it's not enough to say "this character is well liked and awesome". that's a lot of tell, no show. not to mention danji's actions were rather aggravating and got in the way of the plot constantly to the point where i remember the first season was more than halfway and it was nothing but danji dicking around performing clamp brand cringe. none of that with michiru: he looks like he just got out of bed constantly... and has looked this way for at least a decade. it's kind of amazing. he might as well be 40 years old and i'm subscribing to that idea personally. i was worried that they'd write the character voiced by a famous johnny's idol(!) to be a lame overpowered Thing, but he was incredibly charming. he really is overwhelmingly strong after all, but they made the right call of pushing him to the background and making him a moeblob who does funny funnies and can't read the room sometimes. infinitely charismatic character. he is everyone's ideal, and no one seems to be able to reach him, even though he's so down to earth... i truly do love the contrast. raika being a huge fanboy adds to it because when he finally lost me and fabio kept hooting and hollering and that was probably the only way i think most people were gonna root for yuyu at all— if raika's entire raison d'etre crumpled up and collapsed before his eyes (it happened quite literally too....hehehehe. iykyk.)

small bit for taizo— the only character who feels a little robbed, but i do think it was a little brave of them to kill him off and not let him advance to the semis out of courtesy of him not being one of the non-characters. but i guess that's how the bracket works given he lost two or three times in a row? (i forgot, but he missed his chance thoroughly). i hope his promise to not give up on his dream of capitalism means he'll be in s2 cause i quite liked him, i wasn't as invested in him as urara but it really is a case of feeling bad for the loser, you know.

dunno when we'll catch up to s2 but i hope it's while it's still airing. i like the designs of the new characters :)

[carothehotmess]

GENERAL THOUGHTS AFTER HOTD EPISODE 5

Rip Rhea Royce I just know that you were not hetero and tbh you showed up, insulted daemon’s virility, and immediately died and that was a pretty iconic character arc if you ask me

Laenor and Rhaenyra agreeing to have an open relationship and becoming friends and allies! We love to see it!

Joffrey talking about seeing the tournaments when Rhaenyra becomes Queen… oh my sweet summer child you shall never see them for so many reasons

But also I love that we got a little of his and Laenor’s relationship before his death

Ser Criston- bro?!?! Did you really think she was going to marry you?! What drug is this man on and where can I get some

Allicent sweetheart wtf was that skirting around the question? Just ask if Rhaenyra fucks!

But also I was very confused like did she understand that Criston and not Daemon slept with Rhaenyra? Because if so, why was she so pissed?? Like either its just a miscommunication situation, which is so dumb, or she understood that Rhaenyra didn’t lie to her so like… is she just jealous that Rhae slept with anyone?! So many questions.

The entrances. Good GOD they all slayed. The Velaryons win for having a whole ass routine and theme going on, Daemon wins for never listening to his weak ass brother and just showing up to cause chaos, and Alicent wins for badass moment and prettiest dress (well tied with Laena) because I just love that color green okay??

Rhaenyra and Laenor would definitely come across like they are a little in love to anyone who doesn’t realize because their shared excitement over their agreement and future plans was so cute. Like they seemed genuinely excited to be partners in secrets.

The dancing was SO FUN and Harwin just very subtly being the one dancing with Rhaenyra the most was great. She always seemed to be smiling or laughing in the brief scenes of them dancing together, and I’m just so glad she has him!!

The set up for Daemon and Laena was also great! Him clearly still prioritizing Rhaenyra but also noticing and being very much interested in Laena is fantastic development imo

THAT GRIP THOUGH. Like my Queen really taunted him and basically begged him to whisk her away and marry her and the way he gripped her face did not need to be so hot. I said it and I meant it.

HARWIN STRONG I LOVE YOU ugh him literally fighting his way over to Rhaenyra then throwing her over her shoulder like it was nothing was just chefs kiss

Rip Joffrey, you deserved to get to live your dreams of being in tournaments and fucking the king consort. Gone too soon

Fuck Ser Criston Cole. I do like that they made it about his “honor” or whatever as well, but it really mostly gave off the vibes of him throwing a temper tantrum just because he didn’t get what he wanted

I did love that Laena was also fighting to get to Laenor. Their bond is great and I hope we get to see them and Rhaenyra and Daemon grow closer!

Poor Laenor. The gays did not do well this episode methinks

Viserys bro why are you even still alive at this point

[therealjordan23]

You know, there are at least one thousand things about the season finale of TOH that I can pick apart and analyze. But no, I just want to talk about the ending. 

Those stances. The way our gang were standing… I mean whoever animated that shot alone deserves a raise. Those stances scream everything. You guys know I'm a sucker for analyzing body language, so let's dive in:

Willow: Her just standing there with a hand on her arm, while her expression has a hint of sadness/shock. Given everything that she and her friends have just gone through, it's understandable. From the framing, it looks like she's standing behind Amity, almost as if she's afraid of what's behind that door. I think she might not trust who's behind that door, as this is her first time venturing into a realm that's normal. I feel like she's in shock, because immediately going from a place where she's fighting for her life, to being invited into a safe place to rest/gather herself is a complete 180⁰. I also see total physical and emotional exhaustion. I mean, this girl just exerted all her strength into fighting. 

Amity: Shocked, but composed and postured. She doesn't really know what to feel or expect. She knows this is the first time meeting her girlfriend's mother, and despite being battered and bruised, she needs to make a good first impression. Though, despite all this, her expression is blank. She left behind not only her home, but siblings and father, while not knowing if they survived the Draining Spell or not. Heavy burden to carry, but she knows she's in a position where she can't do much. She can't go back nor can she contact them. So for now, making a good impression on Luz's mother would be sufficient enough. 

Luz: Dejected. Defeated. Almost empty inside. She, firsthand, just witnessed King sacrifice himself to save them, all with the full intention of sacrificing herself too. She doesn't know if Eda, Hooty, Lilith or anyone is okay, and now she left what is essentially her little brother in the hands of The Collector. And looking back on Luz's expressions while being in the presence of The Collector, we know that he absolutely terrifies her. And Luz has had her fair share of scary situations. 

When her mother first opens the door, it takes her a while to register that her mother is standing in front of her. We all know Luz is a sucker for hiding her emotions under fake smiles, and that's exactly what she does. When she looks up to see her mother for the first time in months, she tries putting on a brave face. She dons a weak smile, because she owes it to her. Camilla doesn't know what's been going on, and Luz knows she needs to convince her mother that despite these bruises and injuries… she's home. 

Gus: This one absolutely broke me. The way he's shivering, looking small and innocent. The way he looks at Camila for any hope or answers. It's just very eye opening considering his role in the episode—the entire episode, Gus was acting as a sort of big brother/protector for King. Asking King if he was okay, calling him buddy, and reassuring him that everything was okay when they weren't. Just the little things. Gus had to be strong for King's sake.  

So, to see the literal support system of this episode break down into tears is stunning. We've all been assuming Gus was the strong one, but when he realizes what just happened—the fact that his friends, family, are at home left behind to endure an impossible to predict future—it hits him hard. He does what anyone would do, and cries. Gus was the first one to break down, collapsing onto his knees in anguish. He's the first to begin crying, and letting loose everything pent up inside.

Hunter: I loved his expression. The way he was trying to be strong for Gus' sake, with his arm wrapped around his shoulder, comforting him? It's almost hard to remember all the shit he's just gone through: he just witnessed his "uncle" (yes, he's a dick, but there's definitely still some feelings there) Belos being annihilated by this assumed child with godlike powers, had to walk in his remains to get to safety, and this isn't even taking into consideration Hunter's general trauma. 

So, it's safe to say season 2 ended off with a literal bang. I love the subtle details. Everything about this episode was *chefs kiss*.

[ooooo-mcyt]

For real though watching yhs has lead me to the conclusion that despite Grian seemingly has such an active fight instinct....most of the time he actually doesnt respond to situations with half the fight attributed to him.

When faced with a traumatic situation Grian will absolutely bare his teeth at the nearest threat. He's absolutely vitriolic towards Sam at all times without fail and has even initiated physical violence in their confrontations once or twice. He's often on edge, often quick to angry outbursts, just overall rather hostile when faced with a dangerous/frightening/harmful situation. Which definitely indicates his main response to these scenarios is to fight. Hard.

However the more I engaged with fanon the more I faltered. A lot of fanon does portray him as very hostile in the face of trouble. Which should make sense. Canonically Grian knows when to say no, when to argue, and even sometimes when to physically fight back. Any episode with Grian present will likely have examples of him pushing back against harmful situations. And yet something always feels very Off about that being the start and end of it in a lot of fanon. Which led me down an interesting line of thinking.

I honestly suspect that Grian's volatility and will to fight back isn't nearly as strong as one would believe from observing him on surface level. In fact, his on the surface hostility feels like it's borderline a facade altogether to be honest.

I mean look at examples throughout canon of Grian in distressing situations.

Yhs halloween episode. The one where Taurtis got stabbed. And the following situation where Grian is famously forced to dress up like Taurtis. Grian would later be very upset about Sam stabbing Taurtis, however his initial response was to nervously laugh and even give Sam appeasing praise. I mean, Grian says "you weren't supposed to stab him" pretty clearly, but he anxiously laughs before and afterwards and even tells Sam he's proud of him when prompted. Obviously Grian was very upset about the whole thing later on after taking Taurtis to the hospital however in the moment he's mostly silent and when he's not he's just nervously laughing throughout, even agreeing with whatever *Sam* says when he's outright prompted by name for an opinion, then when everyone else tries to play it off casually Grian actually goes along with it almost entirely, even agreeing to let Taurtis drive him home for some reason. Then, according to his own story, he had an opportunity to talk to police at the hospital and he didn't incriminate Sam. He knew they were supicious of *him* but he still didn't incriminate the actual killer. "I told them I found him like that" Grian alleged. Honestly it sounds like he didn't tell them much of *anything* before being released and making the walk back to meet Sam. The next morning Grian was significantly more vocally upset about Taurtis being stabbed and expressed being upset with Sam however he seemed significantly more anxious than he was angry throughout the interaction. Then Grian immediately pretty readily agreed to go with Sam and Yuki to school and willingly put on the Taurtis outfit before the other's even started with the threats in the name of making things 'less awkward'. He certainly objected, however he was once again a lot more anxious than angry, nervously laughing, coming up with really weak unimportant excuses, and agreeing within ten seconds of being asked. Pretty much the rest of his time dressed as Taurtis goes very similarly. He objects to most things he's told to do and brings up Sam stabbing Taurtis multiple times despite the other's not wanting him to but is primarily nervous rather than hostile and he never actuslly puts up enough resistence for it to stick. Even when the other's were stuffing plastic down his throat and he told them he thought it may kill him Grian still did it and told the other's he *liked* it when pushed. Eventually he got out of it by running on Rowan's command and no sooner than being told to get out of there. When Sam found him again Grian immediately even reverted back to doing as he was told and cowering away from him in obvious fear up until Okami and Rowan showed up and shoved Grian behind them. Then he *still went home that night* knowing Sam would be there. When they found Taurtis it was pretty clear that Grian was hoping Taurtis would help him once he got his memory back however when instructed to stop telling Taurtis who he was Grian for the most part did aside from subtle pushing about the familiarity of certain things and then later when Taurtis got his memory back and made it pretty clear he wasn't going to help Grian? Grian conceded. He spent a good few minutes arguing about everything he'd gone through- everything they both had- and insisting it wasn't okay but when Taurtis made it pretty clear he wasn't going to do anything and they collectively agreed Grian was the real problem? Grian kinda...stopped. When Taurtis made it clear he wasn't going to be helping, Grian just kinda fell back into their normal routine with the other's, and when Sam demanded an 'apology soda' from Grian for what he'd apparently done, Grian bought it for him saying "If that's what it takes for things to go back to normal".

Let's also look at Grian's involvement with the law during/shortly-after the Halloween situation. When Sam and Yuki dragged him to join the Yakuza he was upset and objected anxiously but caved as soon as he got pushback. When Sam wanted to steak from the Yakuza he once again got objections from Grian who nervously insisted that it was a terrible idea but once again Sam shoved aside Grian's complaints and once again Grian just kinda fell into place despite being upset. When the police also started threatening the trio's lives to work for them, Grian objected. He questioned if they were allowed to do that and was very openly not happy about any of it, however he very quickly submitted under pressure. Both times Grian was locked in solitary confinement he loudly protested his sanity and both times he voiced how disturbing it was on a really deep level being locked up like that but both times when he was let out he just went with the other two again and let them brush it all off- even knowing full well they let him out to be *death fodder*. He just went with them relatively quietly save for maybe a token remark or two. Honestly the large majority of this bs Grian was involved with was under physical threat and he almost always bent under it. Even down to his fight with Pie over Ellen. Pie showed up and started challenging their relationship. Sam, Taurtis, and Yuki insisted they have a knife fight. Grian said *no*. Pie said yes. Sam, Taurtis, and Yuki affirmed there would be a knife fight. Grian objects more. Everyone else present discusses how the knife fight will work. Grian gets stabbed. Grian suggests they just ask Ellen who they want to date *obviously*. Ellen chooses nobody and leaves. Grian was upset but then just kinda accepts it and goes on with what the whole group was doing before.

And just to round this out with one more example. The Starwars Cosplay Incident. Apparently Sam burst into Grian's room, undressed him, shoved him into Leia Cosplay complete with fake boobs, and locked him in the basement for three days. Grian sits there for three days until Taurtis rescues him.  Grian has a moment of being rightfully very angry and finally even tries to physically attack Sam, demanding to know if Taurtis is aware of what Sam did to him and insisting that they can't expect everything to be fine now. Except it kinda...was. Taurtis stopped Grian from attacking Sam, they both brushed it off as a joke and not a big deal, and then they went to school. And Grian just *went*. He walked with the other two, he wore the outfit Sam put him in, and he just kinda moved on. Grian would later object when the clones tried to pull him out of class, snapping that he just wants to learn and get an education like a normal person and demanding to know why he's not allowed to. But he goes! And when he's released he walks right back to Sam and Taurtis, makes some bitter remarks to them, and let's them shove it all aside as if it's unimportant. Later when it's Grian, Sam, and a member of school staff alone in the closet, some innapropriate remarks are made to Grian. He very quickly says he's reporting the remarks made by school staff but Sam tells him not to be rude and it doesn't seem Grian ever does. Later on when Geode makes a comment about Grian's outfit as well Sam and Taurtis start pondering *giving* Grian to them. Grian repeatedly said *no* but with a lot more despair than defiance and we don't even know if he'd have actually followed through with fighting back if they'd tried to actually give him away because they were interrupted before the situation got to that point. Grian once again just let the other's move on as if that didn't happen and continued following them around, though! And he wore that damn outfit he was very explicitly uncomfortable with. All day.

Which is kinda all to say that when it comes to fighting back Grian is a lot more bark than bite.

Grian throws out a lot of bitter remarks, makes his objections very apparent in most things, and even has more than one vitriolic rant to his abuser(s) throughout the series. But that layer of his responses to things is so fragile that it tends to fall away within minutes- if that, sometimes *seconds*.

Of course ive seen other people take note of this and argue that it means Grian actually *wants* to do these thingd he's objecting to but I think that's silly. If it were just things like group crime or violent acts then id possibly see it but Grian puts up the same kind of response to having plastic shoved down his throat and to being locked in the basement for days which there's no way in hell he was any kind of okay with. The more likely scenario here isn't that he secretly wanted to do any of these things and made his resistence weak so he could pretend he tried while still doing it.

The likely scenario here is that his fight response is much more for show than one would think. Because Grian's strongest most influential response to things really never seems to be to fight. Aggression is really hardly Grian's overall stance on handling a distressing situation.

Much more frequently you see the most influence coming from completely other instinctive responses.

Looking for outside help in adults, friends, and classmates like when Okami and Rowan protected him during his time dressed as Taurtis or when Grian tried desperately to get Taurtis to be on his side and help him after Sam seriously hurt him both when Taurtis first got his memory back after Halloween and when Taurtis found Grian in the basement during the Starwars Cosplay Incident, hell, even during his fight with Pie it can be argued that Grian calling for them to just ask Ellen was an appeal to outside help as he hoped Ellen would agree to end the fight and save him from the situation as a result.

Running away- or trying to at least- from the threat. Most notably seen back during the halloween incident when he quite literally ran out the back of the gym and hid from Sam+Yuki then hiding behind Okami and Rowan when they showed up in an attempt to flee from Sam which is how he got away from the other's at all during that situation. Grian's consistent need to exclaim every so often how much he wants to go back to Europe is a subtler example of this, though, of Grian's urge to get away.

Honestly though being quiet and moving as he's directed seems to be the most common winning response. You see little sparks of reaction from him but most of the time Grian is just quiet, nervously laughing, following Taurtis and Sam around in what they ask of him, and even outright appeasement strategies to maintain a calm environment. This is So common from Grian. This is what usually wins out. His quiet nervous laughter and agreeing with Sam when Taurtis is first stabbed. The fact that he didn't tell the police what Sam did when alone with them during questioning and then immediately walked to meet up with Sam and went to school with Sam+Yuki with literally no objections. The fact that he didn't say no like *at all* to putting on the Taurtis outfit in the name of not making things awkward and complied within seconds of first being asked. How he proceeded to do what he was asked all day and didn't make any move to get away until Rowan outright instructed him to run. The fact that he went back! The fact that he went along with it when they joined the Yakuza and when they stole from the Yakuza and when they joined up with the cops and when they *forced him into a knife fight*. How Grian eventually just lost his spark of defiance after Taurtis first got his memories back and made it clear he wasn't helping Grian, with Grian agreeing to buy Sam a fucking *apology soda* if it meant things would go back to normal after hearing everyone else agree that *he* was the problem in all he'd been put through. The way he just goes back to following Sam and Taurtis after they got him locked in solitary confinement on blatant lies because they *wanted* to. The way he walks around school with the other two while wearing cosplay that made him feel gross and uncomfortable that Sam had literally physically forced onto him and just went along with what he was told in the end.

Grian always puts up a fight but not a good one. He makes side comments, he makes objections, he even has more than one emotional rant about the hell he's put through, however this never wins out in the end and this presenting fight is very frequently just barely holding down much stronger freeze and fawn instincts that usually win out pretty damn quick.

Which!!! In a situation like Grian's it actually makes significantly more sense to have strong freeze and fawn responses than to have a strong fight response! I mean, think about it. A fight response is primarily useful in scenarios in which it's possible to take strong action to remove the threat. You're attacked by a dog so you throw stuff at it till it backs away. You're picked on by an upperclassman so you punch em' in the nose expecting fully that they'll leave you be after. Someone attacks you while you're walking home so you try and stab them with your key. Fighting is an incredibly good response for random/one time attacks. If you're ever kidnapped you wanna scream and punch and kick and make a scene so they can't take you to a secondary location. You fight. Fighting is optimal for unexpected stranger conflicts. That's not the situation Grian's in though. Grian suffers from serious long term physical, emotional, and financial abuse. He's in a country he doesn't have residency or family in, he doesn't have a readily available source of income, he doesn't have his own mode of transportation, it seems that most of the time he doesnt have a clear way home, he's often dealing with long term friends of his and seemingly his biggest source of support prior to this situation, even back in Europe he doesn't have much support system to run to given his parents canonically left him, he's frequently under threat of physical danger, etc. This is not the kind of situation in which an intense primary fight response helps. This is the type of situation in which an intense primary fight response either gets you seriously hurt or wandering the streets with no way to provide for yourself. It would likely be similar if he presented an intense primary flight response to be honest. In long term abuse situations where there's no rational way of escaping safely or no rational place to escape to? Often the primary responses that promote survival are fawn and freeze. Appeasing the aggressor or sinking into the background. Those are your ways to stay alive when you can't expect to 'win' or escape. It absolutely makes more sense for Grian to have primary fawn and freeze responses than a primary fight response.

But then why does he present so much hostility? What's with all the bitter remarks and the attempts to voice objections and the occasional overt insults/screaming? How does a fawn/freeze response present as fight when first pressed at?? Well fun fact, I have experience with that kind of presentation because I *was* that kind of presentation. Oh boy did I try to push strong fight responses towards my abusive father with token resistences and petty remarks even though most of the time I crumpled under the slightest pressure and spent my time ignoring the problem or dissociating or trying very hard to avoid future conflicts. You put up a token front of fight even if that's never going to be your primary response for the sake of your own mental health, really. To assure the world- and *you*- knows that you don't *want* this situation. So you can say you tried. Out of some misguided hope that your attempted bravado won't be seen through and that maybe this time they'll just stop pushing instead of calling the bluff. Which. Makes sense with Grian as well. I mean looking at the times he really truly goes off before reverting back to a more appeasing stance, most notably his rants from when Taurtis first got his memory back as well as from when he got out of the basement during the Starwars Cosplay Incident. Most of those rants were taken up by Grian loudly and passionately reiterating what he'd been through, insisting he was the victim, and calling Sam an awful person before the defiance fades out and he becomes more willing to just go about their day. It's one attempted push hoping the other parties present will vie in his favour and a reassertion that he's not okay with this and that *he* is being hurt which gives way within minutes to a much duller attitude. That's just a painfully familiar format. Adding on Grian's token objections/passive aggressive remarks to many situations that distress him and how quickly those objections give way as dismissed by others. That kind of behaviour feels strongly like an attempt to preserve your own mental wellbeing as much as possible with the knowledge that you tried to some extent and with just generally hearing out loud that you are the victim even if from yourself. Grian's behaviour just really feels like a facade of defiance to cover up general helplessness which makes a Lot of sense for the scenario. Probably more than just plain defiance would.

[antitheticaldreamgirly]

KDRAMAs THAT MADE ME FEEL SOMETHING

(not in any particular order)

disclaimer: I just started watching kdramas seriously this 2020. This is highly personal.

These dramas are the best, for me at least, and the ones that made me feel the most. 👌🏻

* Crash Landing On You 🏔

- This has been my black whole for kdramas-I went in and I never came back. This drama made me fall in love with kdramas.

- It is funny, romantic and heartwarming at the same time. It showed that sometimes strangers can be more home than your family.

- I loved the second couple just as much as the main.

- This helped me a lot through this year, I went through a hardcore ‘separation anxiety’ when it ended.

Feels like: a sunny day under a tree surrounded by flowers in full bloom 🌸🌺

Romance: so strong that it can light up the whole of North Korea (not my words)

Strengths: actor’s chemistry

Rewatch? : ABSOLUTELY

* The Tale of the Nine Tailed 🦊

- I don’t watch horror films AT ALL but the fact that I enjoyed this and loved it says a lot about how good this is.

- The magical character made it feel like I was reading a fantasy novel

- Family

- I loved some characters more than others and I wished some endings didn’t end the way they did BUT I understood.

Feels like: a hot bowl of soup on a rainy day

Romance: electric

Strengths: the BROTHERHOOD

Rewatch? : yes

* Extraordinary You 🌺

- the cutest but also mind-blowingly good

- Almost all characters are amiable. They are young but incredibly capable.

- It is like watching anime human version

- Will make you miss your youth (given that I am the same age as the actors)

Feels like: having butterflies in the stomach

Romance: the best of young love

Strengths: unique plot

Rewatch? : definitely!

* The King: Eternal Monarch 👑

- I watched this while it was airing and I very much enjoyed all the theories here on tumblr just as much as the drama itself

- Doppelgänger to a whole other level

- Thought provoking

- Strong independent individuals

- I loved this drama deeply and who wouldn’t fall in love with the male lead who is smart, decisive and loyal.

- The love line was mature without any misunderstanding.

- It will make you cry

- The ending was not perfect but it tied up mostly everything in the end. I wanted to see more of this world.

Feels like: reading a love poem

Romance: literal star-crossed lovers

Strengths: cinematography

Rewatch? : YES

* Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo 🏋️‍♀️

- okay, right now you just want a break from kdrama mind games. You just want a cute rom-com. This is the drama for you!

- This is relatable in the sense that you are not even an athlete but you think you know what it feels like

- Tremendously raw at times

- Light but with weight

Feels like: falling in love

Romance: adorable 😍

Strengths: friends that are family

Rewatch? : the type that you can watch over and over again

* While You Were Sleeping 🌸

- dreamy and also “what a visual cast.”

- The first episode is an entire movie

- It is smart

- Will make you care for people you don’t even know

- One of my fave endings

Feels like: a beautiful daydream

Romance: love in it’s purest form

Strengths: OST

Rewatch? : done

* It’s Okay Not To Be Okay 👠

- As you may have guessed from the title, it’s about mental health

- humanly tender

- It shows how the toughest battles are in your head

- This will make you bawl your eyes out

- Not for the weak at heart

- Strong female lead

- Found family

- You will need a huggg after this

Feels like: sleeping in the softest silk

Romance: chemistry across all boards

Strengths: Fashion

Rewatch? : maybe? Just because it hurts (albeit the best way) and also because I already did

* Itaewon Class 🌙

- This is something you can recommend anybody

- About life-it’s best and worst moments

- makes you wanna get your life together

- Also, it makes you want to wrap these people in comfy blankets and give them hot milk

Feels like: WINNING

Romance: it will grow on you

Strengths: acting was superb and OST!

Rewatch? : DONE

* Goblin ⚔️

- How can we make a list of kdramas without this main meal? Everyone loved this and I must say, rightfully so.

- Dynamic duo bromance

- Second lead couple was everything

- Noteworthy

Feels like: experiencing the first snow fall

Romance: will also grow on you

Strengths: everything about this was iconic

Rewatch? : highly likely

These are highly mainstream dramas because I’m a basic b*tch but also since I’ve been reading everybody’s lists before watching (mostly). And if your fave is not in the list, it’s likely that I have not watched it so hit me up 👇🏻. I have TONS still to watch so don’t come at me.

All my Love. 💋

P.S. Yet to watch: Scarlet Heart, Hotel De Luna, Reply Series, etc. ✌🏻

[tricksters-captain]

Bucky Barnes imagines - Some Sunny Day Part 4

AN: What a crazy episode! I definitely think this episode was one of the best so far and I cannot wait to see what happens next after that insane ending!

Overall Summary: Before the Blip, you and Bucky were close. After you both returning and Tony’s funeral, you decided to go back to your home town to spend time with your family. When duty calls, you return.  

In this chapter: Now in Latvia, you and the boys must find Karli before the Dora take Zemo away (Based on S1 EP4)

(PART 1) (PART 2) (PART 3)

Pairing(s): Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader, Sam Wilson x Platonic!Reader

Word Count: 6,123

Warnings: Spoilers for episode 4, violence, strong language.

Once inside Zemo’s apartment, you started to look through the cupboards. 

Zemo had excused himself to take a bath but you felt starved. 

Even with the limited stock you managed to whip something up for you and Sam. 

“Thank you.” Sam took the bowl from you gratefully. The food Zemo had given you on his private plane wasn’t exactly edible and you were still feeling the affects of the Nagel fail in your body. 

“Well, the Wakandans are here.” Bucky announced as he entered the apartment; having returned from his walk. “They want Zemo. Bought us some more time.”

“”Were you followed?” Sam looked up at him. 

“No.” Bucky made his way over to you and Sam by the kitchen island. 

“How can you be so sure?” Zemo pondered. 

“Cause I know when I’m being followed.” Bucky sent an unimpressed glance to the man in the bathrobe. 

You pushed a bowl of pasta towards Bucky but he shook his head and pulled out his phone.

“It was sweet of you to defend me at least.” Zemo stated. 

“Hey, you shut it.” Sam quipped. “No one’s defending you. You killed Nagel.” 

“You gotta eat.” You whispered to Bucky. 

“Do we really have to litigate what may or may not have happened?” Zemo rounded the island so he was closer to you all.

“I’ll eat later.” Bucky mumbled back to you as he furrowed his brow at twitter. 

“There’s nothing to litigate. You straight shot the man.” Sam argued with Zemo. 

“Sam.” Bucky had found something. 

“What?” Sam turned his attention to Bucky and away from Zemo. 

“Karli bombed a GRC supply depot.” Bucky showed you his phone screen so you could read.

“What? What’s the damage?” Sam’s concern grew quickly. 

“Eleven injured, three dead.” You said after skimming over the article. 

“They have a list of demands and are promising more attacks if those demands aren’t met.” Bucky added as Sam sighed. 

“She’s getting worse.” Zemo spoke up. “I have the will to complete this mission. Do the three of you?”

“She’s just a kid.” Sam was right. She was only young, she reminded you of you when you first joined the avengers. Desperate to fight for a cause. 

“You’re seeing something in her that isn’t there.” Zemo disagreed. “You’re clouded by it. She’s a supremacist. The very concept of a Super Soldier will always trouble people. It’s that warped aspiration that led to Nazis, to Ultron, to the Avengers.”

“You’re talking about our friends.” You felt the need to remind Zemo that you were actually apart of the Avengers as you placed your empty bowl in the sink. 

“The Avengers, not the Nazis.” Bucky felt the need to clarify. 

“So, Karli is radicalised, but there has to be a peaceful way to stop her.” Sam was determined there wasn’t a need for a fight. 

“The desire to become a superhuman cannot be separated from supremacist ideals. Anyone with that serum is inherently on that path. She will not stop. She will escalate until you kill her.” Zemo explained as he reached for the bowl you had originally offered Bucky. “Or she kills you.” 

You swatted his hand away to which he frowned at. 

“Maybe you’re wrong, Zemo. The serum never corrupted Steve.” Bucky argued his point. 

“Touché.” Zemo picked up a biscuit instead. Holding it on his finger as he spoke. “But there has never been another Steve Rogers, has there?”

“Well, maybe we should give him to the Wakandans right now.” Bucky suggested to you and Sam as he moved over to the couch. 

“And you’ll give up your tour guide?” Zemo asked as he opened the cupboards to look for some food. 

“Yes.” Bucky didn’t hesitate. 

“From my understanding, Donya is like a pillar of the community, right?” Sam interrupted with a new thought. “So, when I was a kid, my TT passed away.”

“Your TT?” Bucky asked, unsure of what Sam had meant. 

“Yeah, my TT, yeah.” Sam nodded. 

“Who is your TT?” Bucky asked as you sat down beside him. 

“Fine. When I was a kid, my aunt passed away and the entire neighborhood got together for a ceremony. It was like a week long. Maybe they’re doing the same thing for Donya.” Sam proposed. He could be right. 

“Worth a shot.” You proclaimed. 

“Your TT would be proud of you.” Zemo sounded more awkward at the use of the phrase before he pulled out a fancy looking tin. “Turkish delight? Irresistible.”

Sam caught the small sweet that Zemo had thrown. 

“I say Zemo put’s some clothes on and we head over to the refugee camp that Donya was staying. See if anyone knows anything about a funeral or ceremony for her.” You ignored Zemo as he looked down at the sweets. 

“Sounds like a plan.” Sam stood from his seat at the island and looked over at Zemo. 

Zemo nodded before disappearing into a bedroom to change. 

It didn't take long to get to the camp from Zemo’s apartment. 

“Shame what’s become of this place. When I was young, we used to come here for fabulous dinners and parties. I knew nothing of the politics of the time, of course, but I remember it being beautiful.” Zemo seemed saddened by the state of the buildings being used as the camp. 

“I’m gonna take a look around upstairs. See what you can find out here. And keep an eye on him.” Sam told Bucky as he gestured to Zemo. 

“I’ll stay out of your way.” Zemo promised. 

“(Y/n), you look around through there. See if you can... You know.” Sam pointed down through one of the ground floor doors. You nodded and left the men.

Most of the adults fled when you entered the building but you noticed a young girl who looked too busy with what she was doing to notice. She had looked maybe 16 or 17 years old and she was embroidering an old silk scarf. 

“That’s beautiful.” You knelt down beside her but as you spoke, her eyes shot up and widened with shock and fear. 

“T-t-thank you.” She stuttered as her eyes flittered around the room for help. 

“It’s okay. I was just wondering if I could have a look at it.” You smiled softly at the girl as you held your hand out. 

She reluctantly gave it to you. 

“This truly is beautiful. You are very talented. May I buy it from you?” You placed your hand in your pocket and pulled out a note that you had previously stolen from Zemo’s jacket.

“You c-c-can have it.” She whispered as she stood. You rose with her as you folded the scarf to place into your pocket. 

“I insist.” You took her hand gently and cautiously and placed the money in her palm. She smiled but she still was nervous and full of worry. You figured she knew who you were. 

You folded your hands over hers and that’s when you unplugged the cork on your powers. 

You closed your eyes and within seconds all the girls memories flooded into your head. 

You tried not to react as it happened. 

You tried your best to filter through the memories quickly. When you reached the time after the blip, you slowed down. You saw the horrors of them being rejected, being abandoned and then you saw Mama Donya and Karli. 

You focused on Karli. 

You watched Karli smile and laugh with all the children, she’d play and look after them as Donya looked after Karli. 

Closer memories brought what seemed like events that only just happened. Karli visiting with supplies. 

You saw the mourning of Mama Donya from everyone and then you saw the arrangements for the funeral. 

You opened your eyes and let go of the girls hand. She thanked you again and left. She would have never realised what you had seen as the memories are shown to you within a matter of seconds. 

You leant against the table and inhaled deeply. 

You felt weak again. 

You pushed yourself off the table and headed back out to Bucky. 

Zemo was surrounded by a bunch of small children.

“You okay?”Bucky asked. The second you reappeared he immediately noticed a change in you. 

“I’m okay.” You lied. “I spoke to one of the teenagers inside. I looked inside her head. You were right, Sam. They are having a funeral but she only knew that she would be taken to it later this afternoon.” You explained as Sam joined you both. 

“Good work.” Sam wrapped his arm around you and gave you a small squeeze of appreciation. 

They both knew how hard it must've been for you to use your powers after the Nagel incident. 

The toll of touching the dead had knocked you for six in the past and in a matter of forty eight hours you had touched the dead and looked into the memories of a live person. 

You’ll need an energy boost before you can do this again. 

Zemo turned back to you and you all returned to the apartment. 

“Well, I got nothin’. No one’s talkin’ about Donya.” Bucky slouched down on the couch in defeat. 

“Yeah, it’s because Karli is the only one fighting for them.” Sam joined him on the couch. “And she’s not wrong.”

“What do you mean?” Bucky asked. 

“For five years, people have been welcomed into countries that have kept them out using barbwire. There were houses and jobs. Folks were happy to have people around to help them rebuild. It wasn’t just one community coming together, it was the entire world coming together. And then, boom. Just like that, it goes right back to the way it used to be. To them, at least Karli’s doin’ somethin’.” Sam explained himself. 

“You really think her ends justify her means? Then, she’s no different than him or anybody else we’ve fought.” Bucky pointed over to Zemo. 

“She’s different. She’s not motivated by the same things.” Sam argued with Bucky.

“Sam’s right.” You spoke up. “When I looked into that girls head I saw a lot of Karli. She means a lot to those people, she is their light, their Captain America. But she’s just a kid. From what I saw she has a whole lot of love in her heart and I'm not saying that hurting and killing people is right but she sees it as the only way to help her people.” 

Zemo had walked over from the kitchen with a tray as you spoke. 

“That little girl. What’d she tell you?” Bucky questioned him. 

“The funeral is this afternoon.” Zemo only said what you already knew. 

“We know that. Now you know the Dora’s coming for you any minute. In fact, they’re probably lurking outside right now. Keep talking.” Bucky demanded. 

“Leaving you to turn on me once we get to Karli. Hmm. I prefer to keep my leverage.” Zemo sure knew how to push someone’s buttons. 

Bucky shot up and threw Zemo’s cup against the wall. The crashing of the glass made both you and Sam jump to your feet. 

“You wanna see what someone can do with leverage?” Bucky threatened Zemo. 

“Take it easy. Don’t engage him. He’s just gonna extort you and do that stupid head tilt thing.” Sam tried to de-elevate the situation. “Let me make a call.”

“You want some cherry blossom tea?” Zemo offered Bucky as Sam walked away.

“No, you go ahead.” Bucky grumbled, scowling at the Baron. 

“Come on.” You took Bucky’s hand and pulled him away from Zemo. 

You headed into the bathroom and started to fill up the tub with some cold water. 

“Will you get me some ice?” You asked Bucky to which he complied. 

Once the tub was full of ice water, you stripped and climbed inside. 

Bucky had taken a stool and faced the door to give you some privacy. 

“You shouldn’t let him get to you.” You said as you settled into the water. Your body was screaming at you as the ice touched it but you knew it’d give you the wake up call you and your muscles needed. 

“I don’t.” Bucky grimaced. 

“You don’t? Oh, so the shattered cup in the other room was just a scare tactic?” You mused. 

“Yep.” Bucky grumbled. 

“Okay.” You sighed before going under. 

The cold water hit your brain and you immediately sat back up. 

“Feel better?” Bucky had heard the splashing of the water. 

“Yeah.” You admitted, running your hands over your face and hair. “Can I have my towel?”

Bucky kept his back to you as he passed you the towel. 

You wrapped it around you and stepped out. 

“You can look.” You told him.

Bucky turned and his eyes went straight to the bruises that covered your legs and arms. 

“I’m okay, Buck.” You assured him as you watched the cogs turning in his head. 

“I forget you aren’t...” Bucky’s words dropped off as he stepped closer and lightly took your arm, examining the damage. 

“That I’m not a super soldier?” You smirked. “I may bruise but I can hold a lot more than most, Buck.” 

“Doesn’t stop me worrying.” Bucky admitted as he lowered your arm. 

“I know.” You whispered, looking up at the man’s deep blue eyes.

“You better get dressed. You already know what Sam is thinking with us both being gone right now.” Bucky went to go towards the door when you stopped him. 

“I had a dream about Wakanda on the plane ride here.” You confessed. 

Bucky stopped and looked back at you. 

“It was the day you finally beat the Winter Soldier.” You told him. 

*Flashback*

“These are incredible, Shuri.”  You smiled widely as you threw the new high tech Vibranium knives that Shuri had made for you. 

“I know. I know.” Shuri was well aware of her awesome brain. 

Shuri pressed the combat button on the wall which simulated attackers for intense weapon training. 

You inhaled as you closed your eyes. 

A footstep gave away your first attacker. You threw the knives to the holograms and the attackers were down. You ducked and dodged and jumped around the room as you practised with the knives. 

Shuri cheered you when you finished. You smiled through your heavy breaths and Shuri jogged towards you to give you a fist bump. 

“You are something else, my friend.” Shuri praised you. 

The doors opening behind you made both you and Shuri turn to see who had entered. 

It was Bucky. 

He rushed towards you with a bright smile. His lips seemed to quiver and his eyes were glassy. Something had happened. 

It had happened.

He embraced you tightly and you returned it. Your fingers gripped onto Bucky’s long hair as he buried his face in your neck. 

You looked back at Ayo (who had followed Bucky) and Shuri and mouthed a ‘Thank you’. 

Ayo bowed her head at you before leaving the hall. 

Bucky had finally gotten over HYDRA’s programming after all these years of being held prisoner by a few words. 

You and Bucky stayed like that for what felt like hours. The relief from Bucky washed over you and bound him to you until he was ready to part. 

It was an incredible day.

*End of Flashback*

“Maybe you could sense that the Dora’s were close on our tails.” Bucky suggested. 

“No, we all knew that they’d come for Zemo eventually.” You dismissed the idea. “I think it was after seeing Zemo treat you like him again.” 

Bucky remained silent. 

“I don’t think I ever told you how proud I was of you that day.” You folded your arms over your chest as you leant back on the tub.

“You didn't need to.” Bucky assured you. “I already knew.” 

You watched Bucky leave the bathroom so you could change. 

When you had returned to the main space again it was just about time to head out again. 

You felt a little nervous as you didn’t really want a fight with Karli since you weren’t 100% but you figured you had felt a hell of a lot worse before.

As you left the apartment, a voice and face you didn’t particularly wanna see called out. 

“Karli Morgenthau is too dangerous for you guys to be pulling this shit.” John Walker and his little side kick were walking down some stairs towards you. 

“Ah! How’d you find us now?” Bucky called back. 

“Come on. You think three Avengers can walk around Latvia without drawing attention?” Lemar, Walker’s partner, scoffed. 

“No more keeping us in the dark. You could start by telling us why you broke him out of prison.” Walker pointed out Zemo. 

“He did that himself, technically.” Bucky corrected Walker.  

“This better be an unbelievable explana––”

“––Hey, take it easy before it gets weird.” Sam interrupted Walker before things could get heated in front of civilians.

“I know where Karli is.” Zemo kept walking as the others stopped. 

“Well, where?” Walker asked, stopping Zemo by stepping in his way. 

“All we know is it’s a memorial. So, we’re gonna intercept her there.” Sam informed them.

“That means civilians. High risk of casualties.” Lemar relaid to his partner as you continued to walk.

“All right, good, we’ll move in fast. Take her by surprise.” Walker started to talk through his plan when Sam stopped him. 

“No, I wanna talk to her alone.”

“I’m not losing her again.” Walker argued with Sam. 

“Look, the person closest to her died, she’s vulnerable. Now is the best time to reason with her.” Sam was trying to defend his reasoning but Walker wasn’t having it. 

“What? No. Wait, no! No! Stop. Hold on. Stop, okay?” Walker ran up ahead to stop everyone again. “I think we’re way past reasoning with her, unless you forgot that she blew up a building with people still in it.” 

“Sam, you walk in there cold, she could kill you, man.”Lemar tried backing up his partner. 

“If I go in hot and the op goes wrong, more people will die.” Sam handed over the other scenario. 

“You’ll let him do this?” Walker looked between you and Bucky. “Are you gonna let your partner walk into a room with a Super Soldier alone?”

“He’s dealt with worse.” Bucky told him flatly. “And he’s not my partner.”

“I used to counsel soldiers dealing with trauma, okay? This is in my wheelhouse.” Sam walked past you and Bucky to face Walker.

“I know. And I know those soldiers, which is why I know this is a bad idea.” Walker still wasn't on board. 

“Wait, John.” Lemar stopped Walker.  “If he can talk her down, it might be worth a try.”  

“Thank god Battle-scar here has some sense.” You declared. 

“It’s Battle Star actually.”Lemar smiled at you but you ignored him. 

“We’ll deal with you later.” Walker told Zemo as he caved in.

“I’m sure it will all come to an agreeable conclusion. My associate is just up ahead.” Zemo lead you towards the young girl he had spoken to earlier that day. 

“Hello, my friend. This is for your family. Can you show us the way?” Zemo handed her some money and the girl beckoned for you all to follow.  

“What the hell?” Walker seemed a little confused by Zemo’s ‘associate’ being 12.

The girl lead you to the building where the funeral was being held and you all waited for a signal. 

“Karli’s in there.” Zemo announced as the girl ran off. 

Sam went in whilst Walker cuffed Zemo. 

“You got 10 minutes. Then we are doing things my way.” Walker told Sam before he left. 

“Aggressive.” Zemo mumbled after being handcuffed. “But I get it.”

You rolled your eyes subtly at both Walker and Zemo. 

You took up a position by the door with Bucky. 

You watched Walker sit down, his grip on the shield was tight as he slowly huffed in and out. 

You frowned as you studied the man. Your eyes glanced over to Zemo who was also watching Walker. 

You shared a look before you let your eyes fall back down to your feet.  

“Uh-uh. No, no, no. This is a bad idea.” Walker started to pace as he let his impatience get the best of him. 

“It hasn’t been ten minutes, John. Just sit tight.” Bucky sighed unimpressed by the young solder. 

“Don’t do that. Don’t patronise me.” Walker glared back at Bucky. 

“Sam knows what he’s doing.” You backed Bucky up. 

You all watched Walker stop as he thought. His heavy breathes causing his chest to rise up and down quickly. 

“I’m goin’ in.” Walker didn’t want to listen anymore. He stormed towards the door but both you and Bucky stepped in his way.

“This is all really easy for you, isn’t it? All that serum runnin’ through your veins.” Walker didn’t even look at you as he squared up to Bucky. 

That really bothered you.

You took hold of the man’s upper arm and yanked him to look at you. 

“You may be Captain America right now but we don’t follow you. We said we’d give him 10 minutes. So, he’s getting 10 minutes.” You glowered at the man. 

“Your partner needs backup in there. Do you really want his blood on your hands?” Walker leant towards you, trying to be intimidating but it wasn’t working. 

“Just wait.” You looked the man in the eye with a subtle threat in your stare. His jaw clenched as he tugged his arm away from you. 

Walker went back to look at the clock again. 

After a couple more minutes, he tried once more. 

“Time’s up! Our turn.” Walker didn’t hesitate to push past you as he charged ahead. 

Bucky kept his tongue in his cheek as he watched it happen. 

You and Bucky stayed behind Walker and his partner as they marched ahead.

“Karli Morgenthau, you’re under arrest.” Walker announced as he entered the room. 

“This is what that was?” Betrayal flashed across Karli’s face as she looked at Sam. 

“No, wait––” Sam didn’t have a chance now that Walker had intervened.

“––Tricking me until help came?” Karli started to back away. 

“We had enough time to talk.” Walker exclaimed as he headed straight for Karli. 

“Nazi! “ Karli wasn't going the easy way. She hit Walker back and he went straight into a table. 

Lemar tried to keep you and Bucky back but you had easily managed to get round him to chase after Karli. 

Bucky being what he was managed to get ahead of you but you were close on their trail. 

Sam had found his own way but ultimately you all lost Karli. 

“I lost her.” Bucky sighed.

“This place is a maze.” Sam looked around at the several doorways with a frown. 

The sound of gunshots is what caught your attention next. 

“Come on.” You rushed through the building trying to get to the source. 

You didn’t manage to get there before Walker did. 

Zemo was unconscious on the floor and vials of the serum were smashed around the concrete floor. 

“What happened?” You asked as you looked down at the mess. 

“He was shooting at Karli. I stopped him but she got away.” Walker lifted his shield a little to symbol how he had stopped Zemo. 

“Let’s get him up.” Sam started down the stairs and you followed. 

Zemo woke up after a little encouragement and some smelling salts. You had decided it was best if you split up on your way back to the apartment. 

You and Sam were going to stay with Zemo and see if you can dig up anything on socials and the computer and Bucky was going to do a round and see if she had holed up anywhere familiar. 

Sam sat at his computer, he was contacting Sharon whilst you stood with your phone searching Twitter to see if any Flag Smashers appearances or Karli were popping up in recent tweets. 

Zemo laid down on the couch with a wet towel and a strong glass of scotch. 

“You got anything?” Sam asked you. 

“Nothing. I don’t think we’ll find her this time if she doesn’t want us too.” You put your phone down in defeat. It wasn't usual for people to give her Karli’s location anyway. 

“I think you’re right.” Sam hated to agree but this was the first time you had come close to actually talking Karli down and it failed. 

“And now with the serum’s gone. Who knows what her next move will be.” You knew that Karli didn’t have the option to create more super soldiers now and that gives her a disadvantage. The idea of an army is gone now and she would only have her current foot soldiers to help her. 

Zemo moved for the first time in ten minutes as he lifted his cold compress. 

“Were you ever offered it?" He asked aloud. 

“What?” Sam furrowed his brow at the man. 

“The serum.” Zemo replied. 

“No.” Sam smirked at the idea. 

“If you had been, hypothetically, that is, would you have taken it?” Zemo inquired. 

“No.” Sam answered instantly, his smile dropping. 

“No hesitation. That’s impressive.” Zemo nodded before removing his towel. “Sam. (Y/n). You can’t hold out hope for Karli. No matter what you saw in her, she’s gone. And we cannot allow that she and her acolytes become yet another faction of gods amongst real people. Super Soldiers cannot be allowed to exist.”

“Isn’t that how gods talk?” Sam queried. “And if that’s how you feel, what about Bucky?” There was a silence from Zemo. “Blood isn’t always the solution.” 

Before the conversation could continue, the door opened and Bucky strode inside.

“Something’s not right about Walker.” Bucky stated as he removed his jacket. 

“You don’t say.” Sam huffed with amusement. It was clear as day that Walker was at his wits end with the pressure on him.

“Well, I know a crazy when I see one. Because I am crazy.” Bucky poured himself a glass of whiskey. You rolled your eyes at his statement. 

“Can’t argue with that.” Sam retorted. 

“Shouldn’t have given him the shield.” Bucky was back on this topic again. 

“I didn’t give him the shield.” Sam rose to his feet to face Bucky.

“Well, Steve definitely didn’t.” Bucky sipped on his drink just as the doors flew open. 

All right. That’s it. Let’s go. I’m now ordering you to turn him over.” Walker commanded, his face red and his ears steaming. 

“Hey, slow your roll. Shield or no shield, the only thing you’re runnin’ in here is your mouth. Now, I had Karli and you overstepped. He’s actually proven himself useful today. We’ll need all hands on deck for whatever’s comin’ next.” Sam approached Walker to try and pump his breaks. 

“How do you want the rest of this conversation to go, Sam, huh?” Walker chuckled softly as Sam remained silent. “Yeah. Should I put down the shield? Make it fair?”

Sam scoffed, shaking his head at the man’s antics. 

Walker put down the shield but the only thing flying next was a spear that struck the pillar by Walker’s head. 

It was the Dora Milaje. 

They had come for Zemo. 

From your time in Wakanda you understood the language as Ayo spoke to Bucky. 

“Even if he is a means to an end. Your time is up.” Ayo reverted back to English. “Release him to us now.” 

Walker introduced himself to Ayo, not that she cared for him.

“Well let’s, uh, put the pointy sticks down and we can talk this through, huh?” Walker suggested, only to be met, yet again, by silence from the Dora’s.

“Hey, John, take it easy. You might wanna fight Bucky before you tangle with the Dora Milaje.” Sam tried to warn him but he wasn’t backing down. 

“They don’t have jurisdiction here––”

“––The Dora Milaje have jurisdiction wherever the Dora Milaje find themselves to be.” Ayo cut Walker short. 

“Okay.” John chuckled lightly. “Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot.” Walker made the mistake of putting his hand on Ayo’s shoulder. 

Ayo responded with an attack. 

The surrounding Dora’s fell into defence positions as Ayo and Walker fought.  Lemar bounced into action, trying to help his partner out but it only warranted in more fighting. Or more asses getting kicked by the Dora Milaje. 

“We should do something.” Sam said as you, him and Bucky stood together watching. 

“Looking strong, John.” Bucky called out. 

“Bucky!” You tried not to laugh as you scolded the man. 

“Guys...” Sam nodded to Ayo about to strike John with her spear which made Bucky reluctantly intervene. 

“Ayo, let’s talk about this.” Bucky only landed himself directly in the mess. 

You realised how serious this was as Ayo didn’t hold back and went ahead to help Bucky. Sam went over to help Lemar but was met by more Dora's.

You grunted as one of the women attacked you. You had almost forgotten just how incredible they were at combat. Almost. 

You were backed against a wall with the spear to your chest when the room fell silent. 

You looked over at Bucky to see his arm was on the floor. 

You wanted to move towards him but you were stuck until orders were given to release you. 

“He is gone. Leave it.” Ayo had opened the bathroom doors to reveal the manhole had been opened. Zemo had escaped. 

You were trying to slow your breathing when finally the Dora’s fell back. 

She retracted her spear and left with Ayo and the others. 

“Did you know they could do that?” Sam asked Bucky as he pushed himself off the floor. 

Bucky reattached his arm. He groaned as he swung it round to adjust it. 

“No.” He said but the shock on his face from before had already given away that answer. 

You looked past Bucky to where Walker was still on the floor. 

“You all right, man?” Lemar offered his hand to help him up. 

“They weren’t even Super Soldiers.” You heard Walker mutter. 

“Come on.” Lemar tugged him to his feet. 

“I can’t believe he pulled an El Chapo.” Sam walked over to the bathroom and stared at the hole. 

“I can.” Bucky wasn’t really that surprised and neither were you truthfully. 

“Come on.” You beckoned the boys out of the apartment so you could talk. 

You got down to the streets and away from Walker before you spoke again. 

“Walker isn’t stable. He’s on the brink of cracking.” You kept your voice low as you spoke to the boys. 

“What do you mean?” Sam asked. 

“We may not like him but he’s not stupid. He knows that he can’t be Steve, do the things Steve did and it’s killing him. He's so obviously trying to win this fight by himself and it’s going to drive him insane if he isn’t the one to beat Karli.” 

“But he can’t beat Karli. You saw her kick him across the room like he was a cardboard box.” Sam reminded you of what happened earlier. 

“We have to get to Karli before he does because he’s either gonna stop her or kill himself trying.” You weren't worried for the man but worried about what would happen if he finally snapped. 

Suddenly, Sam’s phone started to ring. It was his sister. 

“She said what? Right. Hold on, hold on. I know, I know. Listen, pack an overnight bag and take the boys...” Sam sounded worried. 

“What happened?” Bucky asked. 

“Karli called Sarah. She threatened my nephews.” Sam told you both. “Okay. Go somewhere safe. Only pay cash. All right? Tell me when you arrive. I know. Look, I love you. I’ll never let anything happen to you and the boys. Okay. Bye.” He hung up and then immediately texted an unknown number. 

“What does she want?” You knew Karli was desperate but threatening kids was a different story.

“Karli wants to meet. She left a contact number.” Sam’s phone buzzed with a new text. “She said come alone.”

“We’re coming with you.” Bucky wasn’t going to take no for an answer. 

“Alright but keep your distance.” Sam didn’t bother to fight you on it. “We better suit up.” 

You suited up by adding a few more weapons to your body. You placed your favourite thigh holsters on that held your Vibranium knives out on display. 

Sam got his wings and soon you were at the location. 

“Karli!” Sam bellowed as you entered the building. 

Karli leant over a balcony to make herself seen. You remained on the ground floor but looked up at the girl. Bucky followed Sam. 

“You called my sister? That’s how we’re gonna play this?” Sam was upset and understandably so. 

“Sam, I would never hurt her. I just wanted to understand you better.” Karli confessed.“I see you, um, didn’t come alone.”Karli peered down at you then up at Bucky. 

“You have to end this now.” Sam told her. 

“I don’t wanna hurt you. You’re a tool in the regimes I’m looking to destroy. You’re not hiding behind a shield. If I were to kill you, it’d be meaningless. I was gonna ask you to join me. Or do the world a favour and let me go.” Karli spoke pretty boldly for someone who seemed to be alone. Super Soldier or not. 

“Hey, Sam, new Cap is moving, looks like he’s found them, or maybe they found him.” Sharon’s voice came through on Sam’s intercom. 

“It’s Walker.” Sam looked down at you and then Bucky. 

Karli jumped from the balcony at the realisation the jig was up but Bucky was quick to jump too. 

Karli kicked Bucky back but you managed to weaken Karli as you flipped over and kicked her in the jaw. 

Sam put her down momentarily as he flew down and kicked her also. 

“I’ll send you the location. Go!” Sam ordered both you and Bucky before he took off. 

You knew Bucky would be fast enough to run there but you didn’t have that luxury. 

You crossed the street to a parked motorbike and opened up it’s wiring. Just as you managed to get it running, Sam’s coordinates came through. 

You docked your phone and set off. 

You dodged through the narrow streets and traffic to arrive at another large building. Karli must have a favour for buildings you could get lost in. 

You drove through the doors and skidded to a stop. 

Bucky had gotten there before you. You could hear his grunts from a flight or two up. 

You raced up them only to be met by a super soldier fighting Bucky. 

You sent a knife forward, it embedded itself into the man’s soldier, he cried out which gave Bucky some time to throw him down the stairs. 

You tucked up, over the tumbling body, holding onto the railing and the wall. 

Bucky jumped over the rails and with one final blow knocked the soldier unconscious. 

“Stay there.” Bucky told him before climbing back up to you. He thanked you for the help, handing you back the knife that had been in the man’s shoulder. 

You then both went ahead to find Sam and Walker. 

They were fighting more super soldiers a floor up. 

You didn’t hesitate to go in for the attack.

You pulled a knife and threw it to Bucky for help; he caught it midair. 

You screamed with frustration as the soldier you were fighting, pulled your arm behind you and slammed you into the pillar. You managed to swivel around, taking out the soldiers legs as you freed your arm. 

You threw a knife into both his biceps. You only intended to injure, not kill, them anyway. 

He groaned as he pulled them and tried to use them against you. 

All at once, the fighting stopped when you all witnessed Karli kick Lemar into one of the concrete pillars. 

Lemar’s body slumped down with blood painted across his lips. 

John broke free from his attacker and slowly made his way over to Lemar. 

From the sight of the body, you already knew he wasn’t walking out of there. 

Walker desperately tried to wake him up. 

That’s when Karli took her chance to flee. 

You and the boys took off after her but lost her again pretty quickly. 

When you rounded the building, you saw a crowd gathering. 

What you saw next made you feel psychically sick. 

John Walker stood above Karli’s right hand man, blood splattered up Steve’s shield and across his uniform. 

He had killed the man in front of all these civilians. He had killed a man as Captain America. 

(PART 5 HERE)

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