#same way i was looking at the screen when the identity revealed lmao

[aenslem]

btw, I get that idea of Rubes mom being an ordinary woman is awesome, like anyone can be important for the world and all, but after everything that was shown to us, I waited for something... more

don't get me wrong, not everything should be 'big' event, but she was important just because Ruby wanted to know who she is, we as an audience have only that, we don't know her, but there are many kids out there who wanna know who their parents are, why only Rubes mom was that important that god of death wanted to know her name as well? what about father though

The woman herself did nothing but exist, the way everything around the mystery of her identity indicated that she was something big, the revelation did not match the mystery. That's what makes me like ??? ohkay... so that's it? don't get me wrong, in any other situation I would be more than happy to see ordinary people saving the day, Rose Tyler was an ordinary girl, but look at her. She became so important, important to the universe itself and us, an audience, and that's amazing, Jackie Tyler was an ordinary mom, but she could beat Sutekh's ass in a fight, not saying Ruby's mom had to do the same, the mom is not important herself at all as far as I am getting it, it was the fact that Ruby wanted to know who her mother is. Ordinary people were always there in doctor who, saving everyone, but this one feels off cos we do not have connection with the character.

I get the message, kinda? I am glad for some people it meant something, what about others though, who wants to watch a silly tv show where mysteries have some kind of answers, like me. or at least some hints indicating in what direction I should go to find the answer on my own.

Ruby's mom is just a tool. her being ordinary is not the problem, but the way it is presented for me as a viewer is a problem. You built up so much and then give us... poof. Ruby is just a girl, an ordinary girl that was important herself, I would be happy if she saved the day, and in some ways I can pretend she did, but honestly, the entire plan against Sutekh was planned offscreen and then Doctor kills Sutekh, so the only answer given to us is that the universe was saved because Sutekh waited to get the answer, cos Ruby wanted to know the answer, as if none other child on the planet Earth ever wanted to find their parents. She wanted to know the answer so much that god of death wanted it as well. And I did not even mention everything else surrounding Rubes yet. also making Ruby wanting to know identity of her mother is something I can relate to, but she also had a mother who cared for her, who loved her, who we have seen and I liked that character, but the idea of Ruby wanting to know identity of her biological mom saves the universe instead... not the mother herself. Bill saved the world with the love for her mother once, and I cared for everyone involved in that moment, because I have seen how important Bill's mom was for her, we hardly knew her, but we did have some connection with her through Bill, so the finale where she saves the world makes you feel something. That does not mean we had to know who Ruby's mom was, but whatever the show tried to show us was establishing something different from who the mother actually was. But you know what? RTD could show us a random woman who does something somewhere, a picture in the background, on tv, something, idk how it would fit the stories, but hints thrown about the woman here and there would be enough, I mean, if we saw Ruby;s mom at least once in some situation, would not you be more excited to get the answer and be like 'omg we have seen her in ep number n, that's her???' she is still an ordinary person, a no name, but we know her in some way already. but here it's like nobody out of nowhere, that's not how you make it work for the audience... A person hidden and pointing at Doctor did not make me connected with the character to care about them, but I was curious about who was that character, how they are connected to the Doctor, and why her existence is hidden for the god of death. And in the end, it was a random woman who had nothing to do with the Doctor, and her existence was important because a child she left wanted to find her, again, there are many children who want that as well, what makes this one stand out?

The way the mystery of Ruby's mom was presented felt like it has connection with the Doctor, and by the end you expect Doctor having to do something with it. The other fact is that there is god of death, who was always with the Tardis, which is fun, there are so many things happening in the past we find out only now, how fun is that we praise only some of the retcons here :)

So, we have god of death, what I get is that pup can kill all the living things in the universe, which means he can't kill what is already dead. So, I presume that he knows everything he killed, since he only wants to know one woman, which bugs me with Rube's mom here, because if the earth is dead then she is dead as well, which means Sutekh killed her and knows of her, maybe he can't indicate which dust was which person before and since Ruby is not dead and did not became dust he can't connect her mother to Ruby to know the answer lmao. I don't get why the answer was so important to the pup, though. But we will not pay attention to that, otherwise the show would not exist, and when it was that doctor who made much sense, it was always about feelings for me and emotions I experience watching the show.

Now, since we established some things above, the problem pup had was the mystery, not the person, so the answer to the mystery must be something as big to save a life in the entire universe, because the creature like Sutekh who can wipe out all the life was interested enough to get the answer. but also, the mystery must have connection to the doctor, cos the answer that Ruby's mom is important because Ruby wanted to know who she is has nothing to do with the main character of the show.

So, I wrote all of it because there is a character who actually fits the role of Ruby's mom the best in my opinion, maybe it's not as great as the answer we got is, maybe you will say there's a nostalgia whore speaking in me and I only need the old characters back and all

This character is important for the Doctor, can actually travel through time and space, the character was a mystery as well, this character is not alive, they exist between one heartbeat and another... and yes, that's Clara Oswald. hear me out

Clara was there as well as Sutekh in Doc's life for so long, she transcends through time and space, she has time travel machine as well, she can't be seen by Sutekh cos she is already dead, she is not part of his dead empire, she exists out of life and death rules, she is the mystery for Sutekh as well, you cannot kill her, she is not alive, you cannot find her, she also existed in every time Sutekh created Susans. That connection could explain obsession of Sutekh with getting an answer, that he risked everything he worked for - just to get that answer.

Also, while being a tiny blond - Ruby Sunday resembles Clara Oswald a lot, I won't start how and all, but in my opinion having a living child while being not dead/not alive fully (?) herself would be an amazing mystery to defeat death itself. And it would be so much better if Sutekh was defeated by Ruby not the Doctor, Ruby, the proof that life can exist in death, but also being connected to the Doctor. Being in his life all along and knowing that something's coming up and slowly giving hints through time and space so Doctor finds Ruby, but not actually telling him to not change the timeline and all, showing him that he should go and help her, that Ruby Sunday exists to save the life and Doctor is the one who should protect that life, that would be awesome. not the Doctor being life itself against god of death, but the protector of life.

But alas, we get what we get, thanks for coming to my ted talk

[chromochaotic]

Reads of 2023 Part II (so far)

i was sad i couldn't fit all the cover pictures in my Part I post without it going off the screen, so might as well split it into 2 posts! update as of 6/11!

thoughts/reviews:

Heaven Official's Blessing: Volume 1

It's happening! My friends have been deep in this author's works/fandom for a while now, I'm pretty late to the party... Well, I guess I've dabbled in some of the animated/live action content that's out there for the different series. Anyway, this was a fun read! There's something so lush about historical dramas that definitely comes through here. When you add in the bits of humor and adventure, the whole story is really refreshing.

Even though the translation is still a tiny bit unprofessional, it's clearer than other options, haha. I was able to get a way better sense of the world and characters on this attempt (I had a good time watching the animated show! But as my friend put it, the season moved lightning fast, so it brushed over a lot of things). I don't have any other real nitpicks, other than like... the odd sexism that pops up now and then. Lmao

I am ofc in love with the main characters... They invented love... They invented devotion... I'm also delighted by the pace of things! Their relationship has managed to be both teasingly slow (like, the gradual reveal of Hua Cheng's true identity) but also very satisfyingly forward (the escorting!! the painting!! the righteous anger!!). Excited to see where things go with them, and the rest of the cast! (3.5/5—would be a 4, but the translation still kind of hampers things.)

Naomi Vandoren's Forest of Light

The second art book I bought from this artist! Same thoughts as before; for a quick browse, this was a refreshing little collection. Her style is just nice and soothing, with some fun surrealism/dreamscape vibes thrown in.

I'm not sure I'll buy any more of these, since the book didn't add quite as much insight into the works as I was hoping. Plus some of the concepts don't really resonate with me/seem that well researched...

I think one of my favorite things included was this abstract work the artist did—she wrote that she started with random watercolor mark-making, and then turned that into a piece. Those were very cool explorations! (2.5/5)

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Last Olympian

Done!! With the series! (Unless... It looks like there might be some followups to the main story?) I understand why the darker tone got dialed up, and other than the excursion with Nico, why the story kind of broke from the wacky-roadtrip vibe of the others. It made sense, while still keeping some of the lighthearted narration from the others, which was nice. I think what I appreciate the most about the series is the fun it has with its world. (Side note—I watched the movie based on the first book recently, and I can only assume it didn't do well! Bc omg, it completely missed the mood of the books. Instead of lingering on the whimsy, they focused on... making Grover a very cringey stereotype? Nah.) (ALSO??? THEY CUT OUT MY DAUGHTER CLARISSE????? THE AUDACITY???????)

I think my biggest gripe with the book was the very weird way the Annabeth-Percy-Rachel dynamic was handled. Like, it just got kind of tiring after a bit, especially with the way Annabeth acted so uncharacteristically catty at times. Plus, like, Percy's off falling in love with Calypso after like 5 minutes, the girl is right that he's kind of flighty. Rachel's ending also felt, just... eh.

Other than that, I was very into the last book!! There were some really moving character moments, like, Nico struggling with his place in the story, everything we learned about Luke... AND THE BIGGEST MASTERSTROKE OF ALL!!! I have been waiting to scream about the sapphic Patrochilles take??? At the end??? Clarisse has two hands and she can hold both Chris's and Silena's. She was moved to go into battle!!!! For her!!!!! She defeated one of the most terrifying foes in NO ARMOR just with a SICK ASS SPEAR and I LOVE HER. Anyway no notes, except they better do Clarisse justice in the new adaptation or I will riot. (4/5)

Secrets of the Oak Woodlands

Ooo I'm out of practice doing these reviews... Mostly from a funny cocktail of outside factors slowing me down, but also because nonfiction can be such a slog for me to get through. Tragic, because I do want to learn more ecology, I'm just... bad at it. Anyway! Bought this book on a fun West Coast road trip, I think I picked this up in the Sequoia National Park gift shop? The writing itself is great, especially how it tackles some pretty complex concepts in a way that's approachable. The book doesn't feel like Baby's First Nature Guide, but it also doesn't completely lose me when it explores why coyote populations actually rise when they're hunted or why Oak Mistletoe is a keystone species.

Even though the watercolor illustrations in the book were lovely, I sort of wish the visuals could have focused more on the tougher scientific concepts being explained. Like, instead of the illustrated "anecdote" of a quail sitting sentry, it could have been good to have a cross-section diagram of an oak gall or something. I guess it's always hard to balance interest and clarity in scientific writing, though. Overall, I think this was a pretty good eco-starter book! I'm just a square peg trying to force myself into a round hole, reading these nonfiction books. (So... 3/5?)

The Dragon's Bride

Hoo boy... Hoo boy... Listened to this audiobook at the recommendation of my friend who's very into erotica/romances. Which was an adventure, for me! To start with the good points, I really like the founding premise of this whole world/story. Deals with demons walk that perfect line for me of intricate and taboo power dynamics—and at the same time, the author satisfied my inner hopeless romantic by making all the demons (that we've met so far, at least) morally viable! So yeah, the world building and characterization is really nice, tbh.

I think my two sticking points are the smut itself, and that I didn't find these particular protags very compelling... It's interesting comparing this to, say, an above-average smut fic. On the one hand this has better prose, but on the other hand the smut veered into being a little too flowery now and then... (not to say all the sex scenes were like that. Uh. There were some choice ones.) I also personally found the frequency of the sex scenes a little ridiculous, but for most people that's probably a positive! 😂 And then, when it comes to the main characters themselves, I think they were well-rounded and the dynamic itself made sense. The personalities just aren't the kind I normally latch onto, though—they're not my blorbos, you know? So, where I'd go into a smut fic already attached (and therefore more into the smut itself), these... I could take it or leave it, haha.

That said, this installment did pique my interest for others in the series. I'm curious about the one with the succubus........ And the one with Eve..................... Those tidbits seem more up my alley. :] Also, the voice acting was pretty fun, tbh. They got separate VAs for Briar and Sol, the two POV characters, and they knocked it out of the park (even/especially in the smut scenes)! (well, except for a very funny instance where the guy VA had to voice Briar's lines in a smut scene in a Sol POV chapter. Damn, did he try.) Might pick up one of the other installments... if they come out on audiobook! (3.5/5)

Legends & Lattes

Another recommendation!! From a different friend! Apparently this book is popular on booktok but since booktok sounds like a cesspool (not really—pls don't come for me) I'm glad I didn't know that going in. As a purveyor and avid consumer of slice-of-life fluff.......... I loved this!!! First of all, the main character is My Kind of Girl, and exactly the kind of character I want to see getting a happy ending. Then, the rest of cast provided so many different kinds of delight—the warm Found Family feeling of a grumpy kind father figure and an adorable little Creature baking actual cinnamon rolls and a prim but secretly dorky girlfriend and and and—so many greats! Even the antagonists were enjoyable, in their way.

Hmmm... for the negative part of my postive-negative-positive sandwich, I think I'd just echo what I've seen in a few other reviews—I could have done with a teensy bit more of the romance. Or I guess, more of the cuteness of it? All we really got was a little bit of lead-up and then a big get-together, but I feel like the romance scenes I like most (shy flirting, a tiny bit of pining) got sort of skipped over. It's not a huge negative! Especially for this story, which seemed like it hit exactly the balance the author intended. Yeah, I might have just had the epilogue cover the main ship being cute and in love, instead of the little righteous vengeance scene that we got.

So this was a perfect little comfort listen (audiobook again! with really nice acting done by the author himself!). I saw other people calling the first chapters slow, but tbh I loved the steady, hopeful mood that came from all that straightforward hard work happening and then paying off. A great story, if you go in with the right expectations! (4.5/5) (P.S.: also this article touches on some other L&L points that I think explain why it resonates so well in post-pandemic life) (P.P.S. now I'm trying to parse out why I liked this book so much more than House in the Cerulean Sea... I think part of it is that the cast felt more respected? Like, it was more than just The Most Special-est Pretty Boy and his Plucky Boyfriend Fix Fantasy Racism)

[batarangsoundsdumb]

yet another ask dump yeehaw!

do you ever think that jay's mother was one of those bitch who believes in horoscope and tarots and things like that and so he believes in these things too, or it is just me projecting?

sheila haywood took one look at jason's birthchart said 'nah this won't do' and left.

Wait, but what happens when the justice league does find out that Bruce and John fucked? Lmao it sounds like it would be hilarious, really, I don’t want a justice league that doesn’t make fun of Bruce for like his entire life.

barry runs out of the meeting immediately and comes back with an entire sti testing kit. diana fully seriously wants bruce to get tested while bruce is sitting there like 'come on guys, you're being ridiculous, i already checked twice'

john is standing in the corner clearly offended while bruce is just like 'don't even say anything, constantine, you fucked a shark'

tim was like "i'm drake now" and everyone was like ahh so your fursona is a dragon and tim was like pffffft no. ducks.

on the one hand, good for him, on the other hand, bro, how do you still have a secret identity when your superhero name is just your last name,,,,

Your fic on ao3 was GOLD PLEASE CONTINUE I loved Dinah's cameo btw ( @purple-vixen

thanks so much! i already continued but this ask is like 10 years old because i'm a notorious procrastinator (also yes! i love dinah so much aahhhhhhhhhhhh)

I've FINALLY been watching the Batman animated series and I gotta say, after watching "the gray ghost" I am CONVINCED that Batman is a closeted super hero geek who was 100% freaking out the first time he met Superman and is just REALLY good at hiding it.

bruce internally: holy fuck holy shit holy fuck holy shit holy fuck holy shit holy fuck holy shit holy fuck holy shit bruce externally: get out of my city, alien

AHHH ur multimedia fic is the only thing that brings me happiness anymore continue it forever pls

uhh thanks, but can't continue it forever because my attention span is that of a toddler on crack on a good day and i can't function without at least 10 things going on at the same time and music in the background

Oi, so I'm getting into dc and watching batman the animated series, and they use fruitcake a lot. Which I thought was very funny and wanted to share w you - Denilla

wait like fruitcake (food) or fruitcake (derogatory) ?

young justice 🤝 teen titans slut shaming batman

tim drake and dick grayson to their respective teams 'you guys stop it, that's my dad'

Happyhoganon: If an eighty year old Batman had fought crime in Gotham City for decades and the only threats to him and the city lately are a wheel chair bounded Penguin, your usual purse snatchers and a few con artists popping up every now and then, how well could the Dark Knight do in maintaining the peace in Gotham despite him being just somewhat fit to do that as an elderly man (which says A LOT given how old he is)

uhh he'll probably do what my grandpa does and that is ruthlessly prank them until they die of shame.

in the death in the family interactive movie there's an ending where Jason is tasked with raising Damian and he decides he's gonna raise Damian to take down the waynes and al ghuls which uh maybe isn't great BUT the idea of Jason raising Damian... PRICELESS. CHAOTIC. I just need more people to know about this :)

yes i saw that wow holy shit but jason would accidentally drop damian on his head one (1) hour in and jason just yeets him into the lazarus pit.

Headcanon: The Penguin has a really hard time fighting any of the Robins because of his avian obsession means there's always a small part of his mind that's like "Birb. Child. Protect" ( @subspacecadet )

as soon as dick becomes nightwing the penguin is like 'you know what, fuck this dude' and shoots at him.

Y'all talking about King Shark dating Constantine, let's not forget about John literally hooking up with Satan

listen there's a clear difference between monsterfucker and satanfucker in that king shark is literally a shark and satan still looks like a normal dude

Does everyone in Gotham think Batman is a teen dad?

everyone in gotham thinks batman has been around since gotham was founded, but they do think that bruce wayne is actually a teen father and dick grayson's biological dad.

why. why would you do that fancast when you know it will only hurt people

what? i loved my fancast it was really well done. i did it with good representation in mind and i really managed that with alfred pennyworth being ✨italian✨

Seeing james charles a jason gave me psychic damage how dare you i need to wash my eyes

well that's a you problem isn't it?

do you think dick grayson thirst tweets about nightwing just to annoy his family/cause problems on purpose in general?

he thinks nightwing is hot, next question.

holy jiminy cricket batman, its as cold as the good lords ass crack in here!!

i- what? this is why i don't fuck with english expressions it's way too goddamn weird

Brooooooo, your teen dad!Bruce au is soooo good. I've got brainrot.

Honestly if you ever write anymore, I'd read that shit twice. Sign me the fuck up. Good stuff, Good Stuff.

uh yeah i'm thinking about writing a fic, but i have exams coming up and i don't wanna fail because that would suck. but after i'll certainly be writing more tho

your teen dad AU is so great! bruce acting like a big brother for all of like a week before he's telling everyone about his son. what if in the AU dick meets the JL because they need to rescue him? maybe he's in trouble/kidnapped at a gala and bruce starts calling for JL. clark finds him and has to fly with dick to bring him home - that's how dick and clark meet and superman becomes dick's fave hero. he goes around the manor thinking he can fly with a red blanket draped around him like a cape.

actually- if you want a young dad! bruce fic with like that kinda stuff(just with damian) go check uhh- in for a penny by cdelphiki. it's really good and bruce is like 24/25-ish. (and dick's there!!!)

This account has solely convinced me that Tim is a trash goblin ( @hamilcat-and-magic-turtle )

because he is. that boy has slept in dumpsters on multiple occasions even if he is the son of a billionaire.

Okay but when you said victory dance I did think of the whole justice league defeating the big bad and then they all start flossing

well that's exactly what hal jordan does and that's why batman uses a gun now. no but the victory dance in my opinion is like the 'we're all in this together' dance from high school musical.

The horrors in Invincible s1 was nothing compared to the comics, I cant wait for s2

oh well okay, i mean i personally react to horror and violence by laughing awkwardly so i can't wait to be called a monster for accidentally laughing at a mass murder.

I'm currently watching Batman: The Brave and The Bold and- Bruce is just talking about Oliver like he's an old love (@nightwings-kid)

okay im going to watch that lmao that's totally and completely in character for him tho.

The invincible comic is like super gratuitous with its violence so much so I'm shocked the show was able to adapt it in a faithful way! Anyway had the show been live action it absolutely wouldn't have the same impact as it does as an animated show and I'm so glad so many people agree with me on that

also because a live action casting would've been like uhh amanda stenberg for amber, the dude- the guy from the supernatural but with a mustache for omni-man, and scarlet johanssen for debbie grayson

Debbie grayson is a milf, yes. You're welcome for the invincible propoganda, now you can questions your life. Bruce def seems like the perfect father next to Omni-man. Like they really took a rip off justice league and I was like well, now I'm attached even tho I was like hah I know who they're supposed to be. And then bam- death gore death gore gore gore sad Mark grayson just had to have daddy issues. Why does every character have daddy issues. I'm sick of the attacks

because daddy issues make a person arguably funnier, that's why i'm not even remotely funny (haha good dad flex). i liked that it was dark contextually, but not in the colouring, bc i hate when it's like 'uh yeah graphic murder and now a shot so dark you have to sit in a dark room and squint at the screen to faintly see the characters. (like dcau ugh)

About the Wayne insurance, for a moment I thought you would put the video with moans over the waves.

i mean- i could've done that, but rick rolling seemed more family friendly.

Its the first time in forever that im surpise rickrolled, i usually expect it. Congratulations (i really should know better this is tumblr)

i get rickrolled so often but i actually like the song so i dont really give a fuck

Actually, my information about Damian and John's kids is outdated because it was revealed that the old men telling the kids stories about the Supersons were actually Jon and Damian the whole time. I was blinded by my thirst for Grandpa!Bruce Wayne but I was wrong... I liked my version better, tbh (@artemisa97)

fair enough. but i'd honestly like to see damian and jon getting together, just because it's a really fun dynamic and their friendship was really cute when they were kids. (also idk maybe it would be nice to have one (1) main batfam/superfam character that's not cishet)

How am i JUST finding your blog skdskfkd you're so fucking funny and ur takes are hot

i thought u were calling me hot :( but youre not :( crime detected (but lmao thanks)

So I have depression and I swear that your memes are one of the few things that have made me laugh so thank you 💛🥺 (@katekanebadass)

aw you're welcome, and i hope you're doing okay!

The metropolis memes are so funny, I love them 💀😌

i think metropolis is also so fucking funny it deserves more attention imagine having your entire police force being upstaged by an alien from kansas and his kids

as an american i feel your complete lack of knowledge of us geography is just so sexy (platonic) ❤️

thanks so much (i also don't know any other geography, i'm not kidding, like you can tell me you're from hungary and it will just blank, there will be nothing that comes to mind)

In the DC universe they don't say "Can't have shit in Detroit" they say "Can't have shit in Gotham"

this just reminds me of that guy whose porch got stolen like the steps to his door, and i'm thinking of people living in gotham and waking up without a front door and going "can't have shit in gotham"

honestly all i know about chicago is the bean, so. what would gotham's famous sculpture be?

gigantic gargoyle statue in front of one of the police precincts because a villain thought it was a smart way to keep the police inside, but it's too heavy to move.

why tf do people go on about how batman "works alone" or how he's the "lone wolf" when he like 38290202 members in his family

bc people think it's cool that a grown man in his 30s has no friends or family instead of calling it what it is (sad)

Bruce is gotham's sugar daddy

why would say something so controversial yet so brave.

my favorite batfamily fanfictions are the ones where they use their shitty codenames, unironically, in any context

dick: gerard way are you in position, gerard way are you in position

tim: for the last fucking time, my codename is 'totally not count olaf' this week, abbafan 3000

dick: shut up my codename isn't 'abbafan 3000'

dick: it's 'abbafan number 1' and you know it

I have a feeling Tim drake is ur favourite batfamily member but okay u don't have favs if u say so ok

i mean he is, i won't deny it. but i love each and every one of the batfam just the same, i just have a weak spot for short dumbass nerds, because i'm a short dumbass nerd.

Omg i fuckin love boy meets world too fam shsjkfk

bro boy meets world was the shit!!! it was just fire and awesome and so fucking great like bro. it was so good im not even going to be accepting criticism

you know I find the whole "joker completes batman" thing a bit disgusting considering the horrendous stuff the batfamily went through because of the joker and let's not get started on the "joker has a point" thing like yeah he's this cool complex villain but he's absolutely batshit crazy

like yes! i get what you mean the joker just fucking sucks man he doesn't do shit for batman's character or the batfam he's literally just annoying as fuck. like the joker has a point' shit is so stupid. i will accept 'magneto was right' because he fucking was and i think he didn't do anything wrong, but joker? he's just like that. he's not even cool and complex he's just a weirdo with a bleach kink at this point.

ALSO YOUR RACISM POST- SO TRUE BESTIE

thanks bestie, i'm glad you agree.

in today's essay of why I think cass should become batman- I was thinking Tim would probably be the most efficient batman in many ways but I also think he wouldn't want to be batman tbh none of the batfamily members would want to be batman because they're trying to outgrow him but cass is the one who wants to represent the symbol that is batman

absofuckinglutely i will say it again and again that cass represents the batsymbol more than anyone in the batfam, in batgirl (2000) she literally didn't care about anything else than bruce's oath to not kill, she thought the batsymbol was more important than anything in gotham. she's just an excellent character because her motivation to not kill is not 'i'm scared i can't come back from it' or 'well my dad says no murder so i'll go along with it' but that she's killed somebody as a young child and she never wants to kill a human ever again and that's so fucking beautiful for a new batman like yes.

need more cass, duke and tim inclusion in gothamite memes

yes yes, a tall order of cass, duke and tim coming up in 1-14 business days

oldest to youngest batfam members cus I'm confused as shit

okay order of being taken in: dick, jason, tim, cass, damian, duke order of age: alfred, bruce, dick, cass, jason, tim, duke, damian (though cass and jason are around the same age general consensus is that cass is a little older)

I'm so confused Steph is a redhead?? like how was it that hard to get this right? the source material is literally right there and free

cw is jared, 19

do you receive anon hate? if so, how do you deal with it

uh no, i'm not remotely popular enough to get anon hate and i also don't say a lot of things that would attract anon hate, but i do send anon hate to @the-real-peter-parker because he forgot about the specialists from winx club

Wait how many languages do you speak??

uhh- 5 if you include latin, but that's a dead language and i'm really bad at it. but english, my native language, german, and french also, tho german and french not fluently.

You can mix aguaepanela with aguardiente 😈 and is tasty

okay but now i'm curious if the liquor deserves the 😈 emoji or if that's a you problem. but i googled it and it looks like something you'd take one sip of and then not remember the rest of your evening.

[youngbugandtonystank]

Have any theories for SM3?

All of these are practically the same, I’ll answer them all in this one.

Peter: This could go two ways, and remember this is just me guessing lmao. I kinda have the feeling that Peter will isolate himself from his family and friends? Because he’ll feel like he’s going to put them in danger. So I’m thinking he’s on the run refusing the accept help and doing it all on his own. 

This is where I expect the directors to take advantage of Tom Holland’s acting range. This is the perfect time for Peter to start getting some flashbacks (irondad :D), hallucinations, and finally dealing with certain traumas (Ben, Vulture, Titan, Thanos, Death, Tony’s death, his identity, Mysterio, etc). And also, IF Homesick is the real title of the movie, then it’s self-explanatory.

Or. Knowing how goofy this Spider-Man is, Peter might go to Fury, Strange, or Happy panicking (similar to how he did when he came back to life in Endgame or when Ned found out he was Spider-Man) about what happened and asking for help. 

Relationships: Given Tom’s comment and how there’s so much going on (new villains, new storylines, new characters, Peter’s identity, etc) I kinda have the feeling this could also go both ways. One, Peter might cut communication with Michelle (and the rest of his friends and family) to protect them. So, Michelle might try to contact him and he’s going to maybe break-up with her for the same reason. Same with Ned, since he’s his guy in the chair and best friend, he’s going to try and help him and Peter won’t let him. Kinda have the feeling he’s going to tell Happy to take care of May (I really hope they let Marisa Tomei have more creative liberty with her character on this one).

Also, I think how this goes depends on where they’re taking Spider-Man in the MCU. If this is the last spider-man movie in the franchise, we might say good-bye to some characters and expect others to do cameos along with Tom for future movies. I think Ned is going to be the one they’re going to choose to do cameos with Tom given that he’s the one they chose for IW and Endgame:

(Imagen belongs to MCU direct on twitter)

Or. I didn’t want to make this parallel because it involves a dead actor but, with all of my respect, I feel like Marvel might pull a sentimental phone conversation like the one Mia and Brian from Fast & Furious had in F&F:7. I think Marvel might go this way with Michelle and Peter but I’m not sure. Also, Jon Watts loves to give spideychelle stans fanservice, so you might expect the popular spider-man kiss to happen.

Family: It would be great to see flashbacks of uncle Ben. Like, Peter remembering stuff about him and more. Also, irondad flashbacks. I think they might add something about this, maybe not a flashback but Peter talking about Tony. Marisa said May might be a community organizer in sm3 so that means we might see May finally getting more screen-time. 

Bringing back Homecoming actors: THEY NEED TO BRING BACK MY GIRL

I know some of you want her to become a villain but I highly doubt this is going to happen because it’s a little out of character for Liz. Laura has insisted multiple times that Liz is a kind-hearted down to earth girl. She has a good heart and might be able to understand Peter’s actions. Give her more credit, she’s not some dumb cheerleader just like many of you think. You also need to think about the fact that this is not Liz’s movie lmao and a revenge arc might be a big role (and I highly doubt Marvel will respect her and give her the credit/screen-time she deserves) that can take a lot of the movie. Also, some of you are plain disrespectful with Laura’s age, she doesn’t look 30 at all (and I know you all know this) and you want her to be an adult (and I know some of you do it because you don’t want anyone in between spideychelle but mocking her age and calling her old is not ok). If she’s in the movie, let’s respect Laura, please.

I think Liz might be a key role in Peter’s journey in this movie. I think she’s going to help him somehow. By either doing the right thing and going behind her dad’s back to help Spider-Man (yassss, my girl might get some action) or giving him an important piece of information. Or she might give Peter advice or a heartfelt speech.

Villains: Am I being too kind to Marvel if I say something like this might happen?

Not the same villains but you get the point. But I do think they might have a grand scene like this one for the movie. After all, a lot of people are going after Spider-Man. Mysterio might be alive. 

Post-credits scene: If they give Holland a fourth spider-man movie just like with Thor, I think they might do the Norman & Harry Osborn reveal.

(Let’s all manifest this Norman Osborn♥)

I kinda have the feeling Tom will get Harrison the role of Harry. I don’t know why, I just have the feeling lmao. Imagine being Matthew’s son in a movie, I can’t relate lmaooo. The second post-credits could be some spider-verse introduction scene. This girl was in HOCO and IW:

She’s supposed to be Cindy Moon. Let’s see what happens with her.

Scenes: Remember the plane scene in FFH with Happy? I think we might get a similar scene in sm3 but with Strange. Maybe Strange telling Peter that Tony would be proud of him (Am I giving Marvel too much credit? lmao). But I have the feeling that he’s going to be the one to deliver the sentimental speech to Peter. You know, the one he gets in every movie. 

Not probable but might happen (none of these are facts, calm down): 

1. AI Tony: Downey said he’s done with Marvel but who knows, anything can happen. Maybe Tom can convince him. I’m just putting this out there just in case. 

2. Multiverse with Tobey and Andrew: I don’t know if this is confirmed yet but knowing how the MCU loves pleasing the dudebros, I’m guessing it’s a big possibility. 

3. Major character dying: I don’t know if the poor kid can take more pain but since they’re doing Peter the same way they did to Tony, I’m saying it’s possible. Might be Michelle, Ned, or who knows, maybe Flash.

4. Avenger: They might make Peter a full permanent member of the Avengers team or might even be the new leader. Or we might see a new Avengers facility. 

That’s all I got. Thank you!♥

[narcopharmacist]

🦋FKBUL episode 4 has changed my mind about Suzue❤️

👁👄👁 In this episode Suzue did a 180 degree turn LMAO

❤️👉 She’s completely head over heels🥰 (I wanna say in ❤️ love ❤️but I’ll reserve it for a later time) for that one man what’s his name?💀😂😂

❤️👉 Suzue literally chased after him, but with those heels of hers? Sis gon break a leg💀

❤️👉 She locked herself in the basement with her surveillance cameras just to monitor Daisuke’s whereabouts. 🥰🥺 Grandma checked up on her too, like that supportive in-law LMAO She literally turned zombie mode and did you see grandma look at her bags of trash wondering “Oh my goodness this girl is over the top”; They also seem close, just like Suzue and Kikuemon in the novel lol

❤️👉 Suzue is actually a “Yes I do the cooking yes I do the cleaning” type of gurl; she that ✨perfect✨ waifu

Now for the song. When Daisuke returned Suzue’s gon be like, to stop him from running away next time:

[Verse 1]

You got that good good, baby‚ don't you?

Got  that good good, baby, don't you?

But  you leavin' solo

Ain't regular‚ that ain't regular

I  ain't gon' keep, keep fightin' for it

Ain't gon' keep, keep fightin' for it

'Cause you know this thing here

Ain't regular, that ain't regular

[Chorus]

❤️I'ma break you off, let me be your 💞motivation💞💞

💞To stay and give it tonight💞

And, baby, turn around, let me give you innovation

🦋Hey, 'cause I do it so right🦋

❤️Think about it, ooh, I think about it

🥰Think about it, ooh, take a look at me now 👀💞

Hey, a little motivation, alright🥰

Guessed the song yet? 👉 Motivation by Normani ❤️💞✨

++Other observations:

🦋 They didn’t say the real reason why Daisuke stormed out. Suzue and grandma enumerated stuff but are those really it? One thing for sure is it involved Suzue cuz sis chased her mans

🦋 Suddenly Suzue changed the way she called Daisuke. There was no “-sama” when we first met her.

🦋 Haru did not ask any further about Suzue, I mean, now he thinks she’s single right? After crushing on her? And what gave away for him to actually think Daisuke and Suzue were married? Hmmm?

🦋 Daisuke’s disclosure on his rship with Suzue. I’ve seen reviews on MAL about how they don’t really appreaciate his voice because it’s monotonous and you can’t really tell what he’s feeling with his poor inflection. Miss K’s post: Did Daisuke lie about it because after he said “Suzue is a relative” he looked at the screen showing Suzue’s message for him, which could mean he’d seen it before saying that line (which we don’t see nor know), and he looks at it for us to see. I watched it again and yes, perhaps the way he answered was stiff, so stiff that when you think further about it you might say that he said it at the heat of the moment. Especially with his “Yeah.”

🦋 Actually, per ^, I think he said “Suzue is a relative” because that’s what he considers her to be. Just like in the novel, they considered each other as brother and sister even though they’re not actually related, but in the anime they toned it down to “relative” instead of “sibling.” They’re not married in the novel (but they could be at the end), so they’re also not married in the anime obvi.

🦋 Check out the scene in the dining room. I don’t have a picture of it (rather the quality of my picture is bad lmao) but observe the photo frames on the wall. There is one that can be kinda seen better because of the lighting. The lower picture on the left. Zoom in on it, and it looks like a man and a woman. Are they Daisuke’s parents? Or... based on the hairline of the woman sitting down, they’re someone else. I guess I can consider this a hint? Considering FKBUL is always asking for random stuff on their BUL Point page LOL

🦋 They have updated her description on LINE, while it’s still the same on their site (“Identity is shrouded in mystery.”) Plus they also just revealed Daisuke’s real height LMAO 🥺🤭 So can we consider a possibility that some day they’re gonna SPECIFY Suzue’s real rship with Daisuke? 😉😙Relative is too broad of a term, and her actions scream her feelings. Will we be getting an eppy where we get to see Daisuke’s POV about her?

😍💞The best part 💞—> Daisuke prepared food for Suzue and even did a demonstration on how to do it ❤️😍🥰 And when she tasted it we get to see Daisuke already smiling, as if he’s THAT confident Suzue is going to love what he made. 😏 Maybe we can also say that he knows Suzue will love whatever he does and will always support him. 🥂🍾 FKBUL did say she’s his “supporting role.”

[aelaer]

[1/2] Now this is an actual ask as in asking for help. 👀 I have a problem with Steve and Tony. I spent too much time too early on reading anti/not-friendly post-CW fics about 'Team Cap', and because of that I have been unable to see Tony as a flawed human or Steve as a good person. It's a pattern I've become too familiar with, and even recent stories are often going into that sense. I have been trying for some time now to do something about it, but either the method was bad, or I couldn't

(I tagged a couple people in this post – if you were tagged, the question directed to you is wayyyy at the bottom! Feel free to ignore of course.)

You really hit me with a doozy with this ask. I might offend someone for not thinking the exact same way as them with… everything this topic entails… Steve, Tony, anti-fics. Followers from last year know what happened last time I talked about poor and OOC characterization in fanfic, lmao. Beware The Easily Offended! This Is A Critical Thinking Of Your Hobby Zone! I Am Being Critical Of Specific Types of MCU Fanfic!

Please don’t click the read more button if you can’t handle an opinion that might not match yours. Really. I’m fine with discussing different opinions in a mature manner but if you have issues with people saying they don’t like a specific type of plot, this post is not for you. (The read more button doesn’t appear on the original post for followers using the mobile app, but it works on desktop and in all reblogs. If you don’t see a cut and don’t want to read, just skip it, please).

Yeah. Okay. Moving on. Can’t say folks weren’t warned.

I’ve had this in my drafts for several weeks because of the abuse I got the last time I wrote something critical about certain plot points used in fanfic. I was definitely a bit reluctant to look at this specific topic from an analytical and critical look as I remembered that, but hey, it’s really easy for a coward to use a sockpuppet account and throw abuse. It’s harder to be a minority voice with stark opinions contrasting the popular trend. I’m okay with having a minority opinion amongst the MCU fandom.

(PS - you’re welcome to disagree with my opinions, so long as you’re respectful about it. Remember there are individuals behind the screens!)

Concerning Character Flaws

So the thing about really well-written characters is that they are flawed in some manner. Anyone who thinks Tony or Steve exist without flaws – and I mean real flaws, like arrogance, believing they’re always right, short tempers, and other *real* character flaws that both of these characters have – well, if they don’t think they exist with these flaws, how well do they know the character?

You don’t have to know a character well to be a fan of said character – there’s no rules about that – but if you’re going to write fanfic, and that fanfic entails the character you love against a character you don’t particularly like, I’d say any writer looking to do anything resembling a good job would do their due diligence in figuring out the strengths and weaknesses of both characters before writing the characters themselves. These mental lists of characteristics should be equal for both characters. No, “good abs” is not a character strength if you have no physical aspects in the other character strength column. You don’t have to like a character to still write them well.

Even professionals don’t follow this rule when, say, shows get new writers or comics get different writers, so you might consider me silly expecting those dabbling in fan fiction. But yeah, if an author wants me to take a story seriously as something with quality, I expect the characters to resemble themselves in some manner.

(This level of resemblance varies when you purposefully choose for the protagonist to be evil, be in a completely different time period, etc, but authors who do this *well* still get core personality traits solid, even if morality is out the window or the profession is entirely different. I have a lot of examples from the Sherlock fandom of total AUs that pull this off well – haven’t read nearly enough AUs in the MCU to have a good collection here).

But a resemblance of character, of capturing the three-dimensionality of a character, is what anti-fics simply fail to achieve. The characters they’re anti against usually suffer cases of Flanderization, if they’re not completely out of character altogether in showing traits that were never displayed in the canon, ever. I don’t know why anyone would be interested in such stories, myself, and remain baffled at their popularity. Is there some sort of enjoyment in seeing such a 2D rendition of a character in what is otherwise meant as a serious work and provides absolutely no sense of proper conflict between two characters? Not for me; it immediately takes me out of the story and when it gets too much, I abandon the story. It’s just not enjoyable for me. Turning a canon protagonist into a strawman is just lazy writing and offers nothing to the writer’s favorite, preferred character.

Concerning Steve’s and Tony’s Flaws

Every real human being has some sort of personality flaw that is decidedly unattractive. Some people are really good at showing it very rarely (and are some of the best human beings), but with these two characters we see them at their greatest heights and lowest of lows. Ironically, they actually share a lot of the same flaws, but display them in different manners in canon:

Both men believe they are the best man for the job and will do it without consulting someone who could actually fight against it - or go completely against them. Tony with Ultron is the easy example here. He’s the smartest man in the world and can tackle the issue of protecting it on its own. Steve, same issue, and his job is “helping Bucky”. *He’s* the one who can handle Bucky, the only one who can handle him - big thing in both WS and CW. If both of them had utilized their friends and allies a lot more, a lot of issues could have been avoided.

Both men are sometimes hypocritical. Steve promotes teamwork in all his speeches but again with the Bucky situation. Just… everything Bucky, man. Tony signs the Accords and immediately goes against them with what he gives to Peter, who most assuredly did not sign them (tangent: if he HAD joined the Avengers at the end of Homecoming, I have no idea how that would have gone since Peter would have had to reveal his identity to the UN and then there’s the whole ‘still a minor’ thing, and yeah, Homecoming’s end scene just makes me go nuts). But anyway, their occasional hypocrisy is one of the most realistic aspects of them because most human beings are hypocritical sometimes.

Both men are sometimes arrogant. Tony’s self-explanatory with his genius-playboy-philanthropist-billionaire. One thing he does not suffer from is low self-esteem in regards to his abilities. His arrogance comes from his genius. Steve’s arrogance lies more in his deep-seeded belief that he is on the moral high ground – and one reason I think a lot of people dislike him so much, because moral superiority is very much a faux pas in this day and age for some millennials and many Gen Z folk. He has a very, very solid sense of what is right and what is wrong, and that rubs some folks the wrong way. Tony is more morally fluid – but he is not by any means immoral.

Both of them have a really solid list of strengths as well. As this ask specifically is looking to find the good in Steve, I specifically Googled pro-Steve articles for you to click at your leisure (and one with both). If you need to go back to canon, I highly recommend rewatching The First Avenger and The Winter Soldier, which introduces Steve brilliantly and then lets Steve grow further in the second film.

(Note: I actually prefer Tony to Steve in terms of personal favoritism, but how a very loud segment of Tony fans have treated other characters has led me to be more vocal about the strengths of others, especially Steve and Wanda. So Tony might be in my top 5, but mean-spirited Tony fans have moved me to be a champion of other characters, if only to show other fans that there are indeed Tony fans that do like the other characters and treat them – and their fans – with respect).

Bringing Balance (to the Universe…) Fanfic-Style

This addresses the second part of your ask in regards to the fanfics. And this is where I started running into trouble, too, mostly because, well, just how many Stephen and Steve fics are there? Yeah, exactly. Stephen’s my main guy. So I did some research, outsourcing, and reading.

Here’s two I knew of before cuz Stephen’s in them in some capacity:

Identity Theft by KitKat992 - it stars Peter and both Tony and Steve play integral parts from what I recall. Good story too, very engaging.

A Dysfunctional Senior Year (series) by ApolloLoki97 - this also stars Peter and has a large Team As Family aspect, so it shows the entire Avengers team as just decent people. My favorite part is naturally part 3 because Stephen comes in that one, haha.

And to find other stories, I went into the Anti-Accords tag. It was nice to find fics that didn’t have such a love of hypocritical authoritarianism. Aannyyyyway.

Making Sense of Chaos by SparkedtoLife - mind the tags. Seriously, it’s heavy duty. Yet another Peter fic because he’s way more popular than my favorite character, qq. Lots of Netflix Marvel characters too! Anyway, deals with not only Tony and Steve really well (and has a different dynamic with Tony that isn’t IronDad, so that was a nice change of pace), it also deals with the Accords situation very realistically. And none of those are even main plot points. If you can handle the very serious, sensitive subject that is the main plot point, I highly recommended it. It’s a very masterfully done work.

Atlas by nanasekei - Stony. Treats all characters with respect and both Tony and Steve as three-dimensional, flawed humans with some serious self doubts. Also highly agree with the author that Thaddeus Ross sucks and is basically one of the biggest people to blame for Everything Going To Shit.

Homecoming by an orphaned account - Some Stucky. This is a lovely one-shot of things I basically wanted to happen when the team got together again but didn’t. Sigggghhh. Everyone is definitely in character in this one, traumas and healing and all. And look, another person realizes that trusting Ross is a really horrible idea.

Locks Not Replaced by Riverdaughter - first this writer has a Tolkien-based username so yay. Anyway, the fic starts off by Tony realizing that he almost killed Steve during the fight with his repulsors, and it was only Bucky that stopped him. Do people seriously think he’d survive a shot to the face with that power? This is one reason the ‘Steve tried to kill Tony’ people piss me the fuck off. What do you think those repulsors shoot, fucking rainbows? Honestly, guys. Anyway, mini rant over. This fic is great. Author comes in with a Cap favoritism but treats Tony well, and honestly Tony turning a blind eye to everything and ignoring Ross is what I like to think happened in canon (he clearly dislikes the guy). And also I love the Robin Hood parallels. Love love love. I think this fic is my favorite of the ones listed in this section.

Meeting Your Heroes by Riverdaughter - naturally after reading that fic I went to explore more and found this gem. She’s not incorrect in saying Tony wasn’t a good mentor at the beginning - I think he had his own growth after Peter’s actions in Homecoming especially (though even through Homecoming he was trying, just… not always successfully lmao). Anyway love these two together. It’s great.

Photograph by slytherclaw420 - A scene we deserved in Endgame and didn’t get. Sigh. Definite IronDad feels here. Hopeful Steve, rebuilding of a friendship.

And uh, an honorable mention of sorts:

Balancing the Scales by MoonFire1 - I’m not recommending this fic for good characterization or plot. It really doesn’t have either. The fic was written in retaliation for the nasty Tony fans completely trashing Steve’s character. You should only read this if you want to see the argument from “the other side” and if you want to see an anti-Tony fic like you’ve seen anti-Steve fics. Don’t harass the author though. This is presented as a counterargument to anti-Steve fiction, for those interested to read the other sides arguments. I don’t like the nature of the fic, but I loathe that “not Steve friendly” has 30 fucking pages of works with tens of thousands of kudos, so one anti-Tony fic (with a comparatively small three pages under that tag) really doesn’t compare. Ugh. I hate the anti culture in this fandom so much. Loathe it. It’s such a nasty energy! Why would you indulge in such negativity? But as I’ve mentioned before, I appreciate authors aware enough to tag it so I can avoid it. I wish that part of fandom culture didn’t exist, but well, can’t change it. Just can criticize the fuck out of it on my blog. Maybe encourage people to think less one-sided in the process if I’m lucky.

But there’s probably more good characterization Steve fics to be found, so I am forcefully recruiting two people via tag:

If you’re looking to dabble into Stony fics with good-guy-Steve, if anyone would know of any, I’d imagine it’d be @babywarg.

You don’t know this person, but @cairistiona7 has actually known me the longest of anyone here on tumblr (half my life! HALF! She even knows my real name :P She betaed a LOTR work of mine a decade ago I ended up never fully publishing… thanks again for all your help there…). Anyway, she’s a big Bucky fan, and Bucky friendships is the best thing. So if anyone would know any wholesome Bucky and Steve stories, it’d be her. (Or really I’d take any of your recs, Cair, as I’ll probably enjoy them as well).

I hope this was helpful to you md, and that I didn’t piss off too many of my followers in the process of answering this lol.

[littlepurinsesu]

V Watches MagiReco - Episode 13 Review

*Spoilers for Magia Record Anime Episode 13*

(This review will focus on Episode 13 only. I will be writing a separate review for the anime season as a whole!)

I have so many mixed feelings about this episode that I honestly don’t even know where to start LOL xD There are some parts that I hated and some that I loved, and so many reactions ranging from “WTH WAS THAT?!?” to “UH OKAY...” to “OMG YASSSSS!!!!!”

I’ll going to try my best to unpack my thoughts as coherently as possible, but this review will probably still end up being the most incoherent of them all because of all my mixed feelings for all the changes the anime made xD

To start, Mifuyu is definitely more antagonistic in the anime compared to what I remember of her in the game lol. And honestly I feel cheated that they always seem to tease us with some kind of confrontation between Yachiyo and Mifuyu, but the latter always summons that giant moon and escapes before anything can happen. It’s honestly a little anti-climactic and a bit of a waste, what with all the tension they’ve been building between these two, but then again, it doesn’t really happen in the game, either, so I guess it’s not really the anime’s fault for not “delivering” haha :P

Alright, since I’m going in chronological order, may as well get the biggest disappointment out of the way first: Iroha and Yachiyo’s argument. I don’t think I can even begin to put into words how utterly disappointed I was with this part, seeing as it was one of the most crucial plot points in the game and definitely one of Iroha’s most shining moments. Firstly, the way Yachiyo revealed her wish lacked emotion and impact for me. The music didn’t even change, and there was no sense of this being the revelation of a huge secret/mystery that the story has kept under wraps all this time. At least they added a nice flashback sequence to show Yachiyo’s past and the reasoning behind her wish, rather than having it all just come out of her mouth verbally, so props to them for that, but I was still quite unimpressed with the way they went about this pivotal moments.

Next up in my complaints is the Rumour. I was so, so, so ready to see my girl Iroha finally standing up and holding her own in a battle, especially considering how weak she’s been portrayed throughout the past 12 episodes. I was expecting an intense fight with the Rumour--some struggle, some more determination, anything. But no, another case of what I call the “one-shot curse”. Iroha literally just ran up to the Rumour, aimed her arrow, shot, and BAM it’s gone. One of the most crucial battles in the story lasted about 20 seconds in total (yes, I was so petty and pissed off that I went back and counted lmao), and the way Iroha suddenly “powered up” so drastically made no logical sense to me at all. We never even saw her gradually increase in power or fighting capability throughout the story so far. Heck, she’s hardly even done anything in the past battles, and suddenly she can one-shot a Rumour all by herself? How. Pray tell, how.

And the final major complaint that follows on from this chain of unhappy ranting: Iroha and Yachiyo solidifying their friendship. I did like the way the screen melted away to reveal Iroha standing in front of Yachiyo, almost like a mirror image. Sadly, that’s the only thing I liked about it LOL. Iroha getting angry at Yachiyo was such an important development and such a huge moment for our protagonist, but here it just... doesn’t happen? She’s still the same smiling and gentle Iroha we always knew. Which is nice and all, but in my opinion, we really needed to see kindhearted and soft-spoken Iroha truly snap. We needed to see Iroha speak up and tell Yachiyo to cut her bs and to declare herself the leader. And the way Yachiyo accepts so quickly and hardly even tries to put up an argument is just... I don’t even know what to say anymore apart from constantly question why they had to rush so many crucial moments, to the point where they had zero emotional impact. I often wonder if I’d still have these complaints if I didn’t play the game and have expectations of how I wanted/wished/expected certain things to be adapted. So I dunno, maybe I wouldn’t have a problem with these things at all if I went into the anime blind ^^;;

Oh, and another thing that made zero sense to me was how Iroha went from being perfectly normal to unable to walk or talk within the span of about two seconds. Logically, I get that she probably used up too much magic one-shot-ing that Rumour just before, but they could’ve at least had her show some signs of physical strain during her talk with Yachiyo so that the sudden transition of her physical state doesn’t feel so abrupt and out of nowhere. I guess this is a minor detail that I can let slide, but it just reminds the viewer again and again of the problems that come with rushing. And rushing for what? Well...

The second half of the episode is an obvious answer. They were clearly rushing these game-story moments to fill up the rest of the episode with anime-original content. And while I’m still bitter at what the cost was, I will ironically say that the second half of this week’s episode had some very pleasant and interesting surprises! (Apologies for all the salt and negativity so far ^^;; Finally, onto the positives!)

I’d been wondering for a while if we were going to meet Holy Mami this week, even though the anime had already established Mami as a member of the Wings of Magius earlier on. And I did genuinely like the way they portrayed Mami in this scene. She legitimately looks out of her mind at some points, and it’s clear that the truth about Magical Girls has taken a huge toll on her mentally. Her mini battle with Yachiyo was short but sweet, with lots of nice movements and imagery, especially this shot right here:

The ribbon concealing her eyes and her Soul Gem (aka her soul and her actual self) is a really, really nice way of depicting that Mami is not really in her right state of mind, and that her current actions aren’t really her. I know a lot of fans didn’t like the brainwashing thing in the game, and even though it looks like they’re still keeping that in the anime (judging by Mami’s behaviour, she definitely seems brainwashed to me), at least they’re portraying it in a nice way. By the way, I applaud Yachiyo for being able to defend herself against Mami for so long with a whole person on her back xD

Sayaka was probably my favourite thing out of the entire episode. Again, like with Holy Mami, I was really hoping we’d get to see her this week ^^ I loved how her entrance parallels the way she saved Homura from Mami in Rebellion, and I’m sure hardcore fans will pick up on that before her identity is even revealed ;) Sayaka was never my favourite character out of the Holy Quintet (even though I still liked her a lot!), but oh my gosh she was amazing in this episode. I think it’s something to do with the cape? Maybe it’s the cape LOL but gosh she really did seem like a knight-in-shining-armour askjfha;sj (♥ω♥*)

And back to Mami... that part with her losing her mind (literally) after Sayaka shows up was creepy but also perfect. I like that she seemed to temporarily regain her sense of self when talking to Sayaka, but then just the talk of her guilt and shame and everything just comes back to haunt her again, and we see her succumb and lose herself once more. I didn’t think her transformation into Holy Mami would be portrayed in this way, but this is better than what I imagined. You actually get a sense of how painful the process is, and feel how much against her will it is to fall to a point where she’d hurt her friends and other innocent people. The whole idea is disturbing, but each time I think back on her reaction to finding out the truth in the original anime, this really doesn’t seem too far-fetched at all.

That entire battle between Mami and Sayaka/Yachiyo was kind of cool and kind of weird at the same time xD Honestly I can’t imagine Sayaka and Yachiyo to be able to run around freely with that many bullets flying all over the place, much less repel all of them, which Sayaka is shown doing at one point xD Iroha using her Doppel again is another thing that I didn’t really like, though. I just really don’t like how Iroha is always shown to be utterly useless fighting in her Magical Girl form and always has to end up relying on her Doppel to do anything. (Except for that previous battle with the Rumour that I discussed just before. Let’s not get me started on that again lmao.) But it’s nice to see Yachiyo using her Doppel as well (it looked really cool!), and I really liked that minor detail about how easy it is to lose yourself when using your Doppel. It’s not something we think much about when playing the game because of the game mechanics, so it’s always interesting to think about what the Doppels entail from a story perspective :) Anyway, despite some logical inconsistencies and Iroha resorting to her Doppel yet again, I did really enjoy this battle, and it definitely made up for the lackluster “battle” that we got with Iroha and the Rumour. We can really see where the budget went this week, huh xD

I also really loved how Touka literally just sits there sipping tea and ignores all the chaos happening around her. She shows no desire to help Mami or step in just in case something happens to her (since Mami’s on their side now and all), which, to me, really goes to show how purely cold-hearted Touka is. Or has become. (Shhh game spoilers xD)

And while we’re on the topic of Touka, I’m going to talk about how much I absolutely adored that final scene. It’s hard to visualise it while playing the game, so seeing the scale of the Wings of Magius was possibly frightening. We’ve always known that there are heaps of Feathers, but just seeing them all packed together in one big creepy dark hall, all cloaked and hooded, really goes to show the immense size of this cult. It’s not just some small club created by a few girls. The scale of this cult is insane. As for Touka’s speech? Inspirational. And I say that with full knowledge of the Magius’ crimes and wrongdoings. Honestly, with the way she speaks, I can’t imagine many Magical Girls being able to say no and walk away if they knew The Truth already. Touka is one amazing and charismatic speaker, and even though we’ve always known that she had to be to some extent to get so many Feathers, seeing it in action was truly a different experience. Terrifyingly persuasive and frighteningly charismatic, that child.

And that is why I applaud Rena. She’s able to stand among so fellow Magical Girls, listen to someone preach about salvation after literally just finding out the truth and learning about her own inevitable fate, not know of the dark side of the Magius, and still be able to walk away. Rena gained a new level of respect from me with that one simple decision, and I already loved her heaps before this. And Kaede really did join the Wings of Magius, huh :O We even got a shot of Kuroe! Welcome back (?), girl! xD

I quite liked how they showed the rest of Team Mikazuki joining in such a subtle way. It’s much more impactful to tease it like this rather than straight-up showing you the process of them joining right from the get-go. The way they end the season like this leaves a very haunting and unsettling feeling, especially considering that Iroha gets taken away from Yachiyo as well! Now that definitely wasn’t in the game!!! xD I was expecting the season to finish with Iroha and Yachiyo back at Mikazuki Villa alone and swearing to save the rest of the team, so this definitely came as a HUGE surprise to me. I’m really curious as to how they’re going to go about this change, as well as the change with Kaede joining up and the obvious Kuroe thing. (Btw Sayaka literally sweeping Yachiyo away like Prince Charming almost had me swooning LOL Sayaka was seriously SO COOL in this episode!)

And finally, we have Alina. I’m honestly still pissed off at how they handled her introduction, and wonder if anime-only fans can even tell that she’s a Magius and not just a Feather or some other kind of position (like Mifuyu), but I did enjoy the final scene of her. I think it makes it quite clear that Alina is going to be one of the Biggest Bosses, even among the antagonists, and the way she name-drops Walpurgisnacht was not what I expected but a pretty good decision, in retrospect. Anime-only fans will definitely feel that sense of familiarity they want just by hearing that name. Since this Witch is so iconic to the original anime and we probably won’t be seeing her until the very end of the next season, I think it was a nice idea to drop the name here to keep those anime-fans who expect lots of explicit PMMM references happy and hooked. In fact, the combination of Holy Mami and Sayaka’s appearance and the mention of Walpurgisnacht all in one episode makes me think they packed them all into the season finale to ensure that these anime-only PMMM fans will be back again for the next season (since us game players will almost definitely be back anyway haha xD).

Oh, and that ending song is so good! I loved “Alicia”, but this song was a really nice way to end the season and had a definite kind of “season finale” feel to it.

So yeah, that basically sums up my thoughts for this jam-packed episode xD Lots of stuff I feel could have been handled A LOT better, but also a lot of stuff that was absolutely amazing. The second half was significantly better than the first; that fight with Holy Mami and the ending with Touka and Alina were definitely the best parts.

I’ll be writing up another review post for the season as a whole and posting it separately, so I’ll end this one here and save my overall impressions for that one ^^ If you’ve read to the end, thanks so much for reading and I hope to see you there as well ღゝ◡╹)ノ♡

[embracethecringeside]

Not sure if anyone is actually reading this fanfiction but I have an update! Woo!

Okay so chapter two is technically shorter than chapter one but not by a lot, lmao. So this one is a lot more exposition, since chapter one did not explain much and it focuses a lot more on different Mortys. I’m hoping for future reference to just focus on a few at a time rather than a big group so I can really set up each one as an individual rather than just a “Morty”. 

Chapter one is here at fanfiction.net and here at ao3 but you really don’t have to read it to understand this chapter.

I also put this chapter, chapter 2 here at fanficiton.net and here at ao3.

This is 4,803 words and I simply titled it The Arrival because I cannot title things to save my life. 

The Arrival

When a particularly over friendly Morty had told a bunch of Mortys to meet him at the Creepy Morty during the presidential speech, they had expected more of a party. Like a watch party where they could all watch the stream and support their president. But it didn’t seem like the place was ready for a party, or really any kind of social gathering.  No decorations, no streamers, no confetti, not even any balloons. The harsh flickering lights overhead revealed that the room was grimy and unkept and none of the TV screens were even on. The air held a smell, like a refrigerator that hadn’t been cleaned in months. And most importantly none of them could see any food out, so it definitely couldn’t be any kind of party. 

Or maybe the biggest indicator that this was no party and they had been tricked was that there were two Ricks there with all of them. One Rick dressed in a police officer uniform stood guard at the entrance, hands behind his back, carefully scanning the room. The other Rick the Mortys recognized as the one that ran the Morty Daycare, and he was leaning up against the back wall, arms crossed, with an impatient look on his face. 

It was hard to say what the clue that tipped them off was, but most of them had a gut feeling that they had gotten themselves into some sort of trouble. Some were just confused. But the vibes in the room made them all feel uneasy. 

When a portal opened up next to Storage Rick, all he said was, “Alright come on,” and made a casual buzz off motion. As though they were going to just waltz through the portal to who knows where? He was crazy if he thought that would work. Oh well, okay of course he was crazy, all Ricks were but if he thought they were that stupid he had another thing coming. One Morty was about to take the bait but was stopped by another, who sighed and shook his head.

“I-I-I don’t-urp- don’t have all night, come on.” 

The one blocking the exit found his voice. “Morty, he’s just messing with you, really it’s okay. We’re taking all of you somewhere safe. I promise. You have to trust me.” 

“I don’t have to trust jack!” 

A few of them tried to rush the cop and burst out the entrance, but the doors were shut hard and fast, and no amount of pushing, shoving, or slamming his small spaghetti noodle strength against them did any good.

They must have been taking too long, because the portal closed.

“Ugh,” Storage Rick groaned, “This is taking forever. Why can’t it ever be easy with you dingbats? J-j-just walk through the damn portal! That-that’s all we’re asking you to do. Y-y-you’re a real- a real piece of work Morty.” 

“O-oh? L-l-like you’re so easy to deal with Rick?” “Y-yeah R-rick you’re no- no picnic either!” “Why would we walk through some portal with you?” “Just look-look what happened last time we did that!”

Another portal opened in place of the last one. 

One Morty that was feeling particularly brave, got up on one of the tables and tried to attract attention to himself. “Guys, guys!”

“What?”

“W-w-ell, I-I think we should, go with them.”

“Why?” “W-why should we?” “Are-are you crazy?” “No! No way!” 

“B-because th-this sucks! I hate it here, we all hate it here, and-and I don’t think whatever is on the other side of that portal could be any worse than this!” he gestured vaguely in front of him. 

“Uh, y-you mean the building?” “Don’t-don’t knock my business.” 

He sighed, exasperated with himself. Himselves. “What? No! Like-like everything is terrible! And he,” Morty pointed to the one in uniform,”he said he wants to help us.” 

“He’s a Rick” “He’s lying” “He’s a liar”

He hopped down from the table and walked with purpose in every step and brought himself closer and closer until he was bathed in the green light. “Frankly, I-I don’t care! I-I see that portal and I see a chance to leave and I’m taking it!” With that he marched forward right through the portal. 

And it wasn’t long before he came back, but with a big smile on his face. “Guys come on, you gotta see what’s through here!”

Linking hands with one Morty led to him grabbing another Morty’s hand until the room was one long hand holding chain of Mortys, and the first one took the initiative to fling himself back into the portal, and the enersa pushed the rest of them with him, falling through one after another like dominos. Once they had clamored off of each other and got up they were surprised to see that they were just in a house.

A normal looking house at that. 

The odd part? Was the Rick, that most of them had heard their Ricks refer to as Doofus Rick, stood there with a big smile to greet them.

“Alright, that-that’s it. That’s all of ‘em.” Storage Rick announced as he and Cop Rick walked in as the portal closed.

“Welcome Morty! Or I-I suppose I should say Mortys plural since there are more than one of you,” He fumbled his greeting every time, a mix of excitement and nerves kept him from being confident in what to say. “I’m Rick J-19-Zeta-7, but uh,” he sighed in defeat, “you-you can call me Doof.”

There were a few Mortys that awkwardly waved back at him, but most of them were just looking around, confused by everything.

“W-we all have stupid names, you think I like being known as Storage Rick?”

“If you would like, you can call me Cop.”

“W-w-why? T-theres no nuance or thought to it, it’s just your occupation being used as a name. It doesn’t even roll off the tongue. It’s stupid. Doof, Cop, and Storage, the fucking-’

“Language,”

“The fucking dwarves that didn’t make it into Snow White because their names were so ricdicously stupid.”

Cop crossed his arms and shot Storage a look that politely told him to shut up, then nodded to Doof to indicate that he should keep going.

“S-so the first thing we need to do is just run some diagnostics, update any of the vaccines that you may need, and even though I tend to give them out in the morning I will give you your vitamins as well.” 

“L-let’s begin shall we? House could y-”

“Yes, I know what to do.”

When the house spoke, most of them jumped right out of their skin. They weren’t sure how but it was like the walls, the ceiling, the embodiment of the house itself had a voice. It sounded a little familiar and it was unsettling.

“Y-your- uh, your house just-”

“W-w-why does your house talk?”

“I-I knew something was going to- going to be wrong here!”

“Aw geez.”

Storage Rick laughed at their expense. 

"I-It gets them every time!" 

"Don't worry Morty, it's only the artificial intelligence Doof's installed in his house. It's supposed to talk, it's a lot like non-corporational Alexa or Google Home." 

"Y-Yes, exactly, you can ask her anything from anywhere while you're inside. Well, unless, uh, not-not if you're in the bathroom. She can't detect you in there." 

They were asked to move down through the hall single file and after being scanned, poked, pricked, and prodded by mechanical arms, Doofus Rick each individual a little cup full of a viscous highlighter orange liquid that smelled like the peel of an orange and tasted like sidewalk chalk. “S-sorry about the impromptu check up, we just need to make sure we keep you all healthy.”

Doof had called for them all to make themselves at home in the living room which was rather spacious, but Morty wasn't so sure it was big enough for all of them. For the most part, it looked rather plain. A couch against the back wall,  loveseat along the other, and a recliner across from that, all matching, as though a part of a set. Same for the coffee table and end tables. The walls had built-in shelves filled with books, and a few potted plants. No TV to speak of, but there was a screen in front of the room that didn't appear to be attached to anything with text that was too small to decipher from far away. Plus, all three Ricks were gathered in front, obstructing their view, so there really was no hope of trying to read it anyway. 

Some sitting, some standing, all the new Mortys waited for Rick, any of them to start talking. Doofus Rick turned and smiled at them.

“S-so I suppose I-I should start by welcoming you all to your new home! I-I real-really hope you like living here!” Morty didn’t have anything to say apparently, so he continued on. “T-the hard part is over, and now we can talk about the fun stuff, like, designing your bedrooms. And of course choosing what the other Mortys have decided to call their “Public Identities”. M-many of you will be living here, h-however people in my dimension are not aware that the multiverse theory is more than a theory, s-so we have to ask you to make personas you’ll use when you leave the house. But of-of course, I-I think it’s much easier to show you what I mean r-rather than try to explain it.”

“W-wait, what-what do you mean we’ll be living here?”

“Y-yeah, can-can’t you just send us to our dimensions?” “I miss my parents.” “Aw geez, me too.”

“I want to go home.” “I miss Summer.” 

Gosh darn, he thought he could avoid having this conversation if he ploughed through everything as fast as possible. “Oh Morty, of-of course I-I understand you’re homesick b-but I-”

“L-look kid, if we could just send you back where you came from and n-never see your neckless mugs again we would.”

“T-that was actually the original plan. This was- my house was meant to be m-more of a waiting station while we prepared to bring you home.”

“It seems as though we’ve hit a snag, and we must ask that you stay here instead.” Cop completed the thought for Doof. 

“A snag?” 

“He means there- we have a problem.”

Morty sighed in frustration. “I knew what he meant. I just want to know what the problem is.”

Doof ran a hand through his bowl cut, “I-I just, oh gosh, I don’t know how to say it.”

“Y-you don’t have families to go back to M-morty, someone or something is traveling between dimensions and killing them. It-it’s brutal and we don’t know who-”

“W-Why-”

“Or how. But do not fret, we will discover who is responsible and bring them to justice.” Cop had this determination in his voice that was almost convincing. 

“S-so,” Doof clapped his hands together, no longer wishing to continue that particular conversation, “Now we can- we will visit some of the Mortys that already live here.”

He had them follow him through the dining room. It was almost as boring as the living room, with a table and chairs as most dining rooms would have, but there was one thing that was eye-catching. Next to the sliding door that doubled as a window there was a display case with a tea set inside, but it didn’t look like any fine china that they had seen before. That wasn’t a bad thing, the kettle, cups, and plates all seemed to be made expertly but each piece was so different and colorful but they all still looked like they were meant to be together. 

Glancing over the kitchen, which like the other rooms was big, big enough to have an island, all they saw were things like cupboards, drawers, a fridge, an oven, just normal kitchen stuff, nothing of interest at all. Nothing bright or fun, it all just looked well organized and practical. However, it smelled amazing, reminding them of how hungry they really were. 

“H-hey, come-come on, we don’t have all night, chop chop.” Storage snapped, motioning for the boys to follow him and the other two Ricks towards the door to the left of the refrigerator. All that did was bring them to a garage. Or at least that was what they thought, until Doof pressed on one of the bricks on the wall and it opened up like an elevator door, even with a soft little “ding, once the doors were completely open. That was when they realized it wasn’t like an elevator, it was an elevator. A huge elevator. 

“I-I think we can all fit!” Doof called, already in the back.

“Squeeze in and make room, or I will make you,” Storage threatened. 

Cop waited until he was sure everyone had made it in before stepping inside. “It might be a little tight but you probably won’t all be taking it all at the same time again.” He went ahead and decided they would go down just one floor, all they needed were a few examples. The elevator gave them a smooth ride, but they could feel the pull of gravity as the elevator moved downward. 

Since everyone else was being too sheepish to ask, one Morty asked, “W-w-where are we going?”

“S-stop asking so many questions.”

“Storage, Morty can ask as many questions as he wants.”

When the doors opened again, they all shuffled out into a long hallway with twelve doors total, six on each side, and what looked like bathrooms at the end. It looked like a college dorm. 

“Since you’ll be living here, I, uh just thought it-it would be- I thought we could show you what your bedrooms could be like. W-we make each floor plan the same, each room is 11’X12’ and of-of course that-that doesn’t include the 5’X5’ closet space. Then each room has a bed, nightstand, a dresser, and a desk for schoolwork. But from there,” a smile spread across his face and there was a sparkle in his eyes, “You get to decide what you want your room to be! And-and,” he was so excited he seemed to be having trouble forming words, “We’ll show you.” 

He knocked to the tune of, “Shave and a Haircut�� on one door and it swung open almost immediately. But that room didn’t look like the room he had just described. Well, maybe it was the size Doof had mentioned, Morty was never sure how to measure distances, but it had none of the furniture he mentioned and it was filled with art supplies. Shelves and shelves of things like sketch books, art how to guides, art history books, canisters filled with pencils, pens, markers, colored pencils, and paint brushes. One wall was only different types of paint, oil, water color, pastels, acrylic, each with its own rainbow of color to choose from. An artist’s desk sat in the corner with a stack of papers on top, and a stack of blank canvases on the floor, and a pile of painted canvases next to those, and in the center of the room was an easel with the canvas facing toward the best part of the room, the window. The entirety of the back wall of the room was an impressively crystal clear window, overlooking a garden, bringing in beautiful streams of golden light showering the entire room. 

“H-hi Artist Morty, is it alright if we show the new Morty’s your room?”

“Oh-oh of course, come in!” The paint splattered boy grabbed Rick’s arm and pulled him in. “I-I need more eyes on my latest project. I’m trying something new, it-it’s rather abstract.” 

Doof appreciated art, but he had difficulty understanding or putting his own meaning to it, so he just looked at it objectively and tried to offer compliments that way. This had lots of green swirls in the background, with floating blue triangles and yellow orbs in it’s mist. “I like the contrasting colors, it’s visually compelling.” 

A Morty in a purple shirt walked up behind them “I-I know this feeling, this-this is that feeling you get when you walk through a portal.” 

Artist Morty was very excited someone understood his art, even if it was, well, himself.

“H-hey, are-aren’t you worried about getting paint everywhere?” Morty asked, realizing there was nothing covering the floor to protect it.

“Nope! N-nothing stains, not-not even my clothes!”

“Oh yes, I-I was very careful to make everything stain resistant for you guys.”

One Morty who was always a little cold couldn’t help but feel drawn to the window, enjoying the warmth he could feel radiating from the sun. Something about it was off, but he couldn’t quite place what it was. 

Suddenly they heard music, generic electro dance pop to be exact, crashed in like a wave, drawing Doof and the new Mortys back into the hall. Storage Rick was standing next to the door that was the source of the music, which was a dark room, illuminated by rave lights, and a floor divided into big square tiles, that each lit up a different color as the Morty in cut off jean shorts moved across them. He had been so caught up in his own enjoyment that he hadn’t realized he had gathered an audience.

“Yeah! Fuck it up Good Time Morty!” Storage Rick shouted, but it was hard to tell if it was in earnest or in jest. The Morty inside didn’t seem to mind either way, continuing to dance his cares away even after seeing the crowd gathered in the doorway.

After Storage shut the door, they noticed they couldn’t hear any noise at all, even though they knew his music was overwhelmingly loud. “T-the best part, all of these rooms? Completely soundproof.” 

“W-woah I-I liked his room, it looked like fun,” the Morty still dressed in 2018 New Years garb spoke up. 

“Oh gee, I-I don’t know, it-it was a little overwhelming.” 

Cop thought for a second, and he knew which Morty’s room would be nice and calm, and a good demonstration of what they could really do with a room. He knocked three times and a Morty with long, shoulder length locks and a tie-dyed shirt opened up the door. 

“Rick, what's up man?”

“Hippie Morty, would it be alright if we showed the new Mortys your room?”

“Of course, come on in, it-its not my room, no one can own a room. Ownership means nothing man, that-thats how they get you. How the man keeps you down.” 

When he opened the door and let them in, the Mortys weren’t so sure if it was a room at all because, well, as far as they could tell they were outside. Long lush green grass covering the ground, trees and flowers in the distance, and a big endless sky without a cloud in sight. Stars shined down through the deep rich navy night and a crescent moon beamed down. However, the glow of the fire he had going was the brightest thing in the, uh, space. A slight breeze brushed past all of them.

“H-howdy sheriff.” A Morty dawning a ten gallon hat was sitting on the ground behind the fire and leaned over so he could get a peak at Rick and the new Morty.

“Good evening Cowboy Morty, I almost didn’t see you there.” he went ahead and took a seat next to him. 

Quick to notice the watch still on Hippie Morty’s arm Doofus Rick prompted, “D-do you think you could show your “Public Identity” to the new guys if you aren’t too busy?” 

“Sure man, h-hold on.” After twisting the face of the watch he was wearing left, right, left again, he suddenly shapeshifted, which almost looked frightening in the firelight. He became taller, lankier, his hair changed to a sandy blonde, he had some scraggly facial hair on his chin, an actual neck, wore baggy jeans and an oversized tie-dyed hoodie. “S-see?” he spoke, but the voice was no longer one of a Morty. “Like, I made mine an extension of my very essence.”  With that he twisted the watch and switched himself back.

Storage said, “W-we made the watches based on the one from that m-movie Megamind. D-does that scan? Y-you guys know that movie?” 

Most of them nodded.

“We did make a few changes, however, we made it so the voice changed with the disguise, and made it so you could lock it in so it couldn’t be bumped and changed by accident.” Cop explained. 

“W-what are you two up to, are-are we interrupting?” Doof asked, being the last one to move his way in, being sure to close up the door again so the ambiance wasn’t ruined by the fluorescent light of the hall. 

“No, no, don’t worry we’re just vibing.”

“Reminiscin’.”  

Storage Rick shook his head and sat down. “Just-just sitting around the fire? R-really? I’ll tell you what were going to do, w-were going to take advantage of this creepy ass atmosphere, and I’m going to retell a famous horror story.”

“Y-you’re going to tell us a story?”

“T-this isn’t a nice story M-morty. And I’m not telling it verbatim, I-I’m only summing it up for you.  Now shut up, sit on the fake grass, and listen. It-it’s called The Veldt.”

“By Ray Bradbury? Oh that-that’s a good one.” Doof smiled as he settled in next to the Mortys. 

Cop squinted at him and furrowed his brow in suspicion. “Huh, how relevant.”

“Quiet. This family had a house that could do anything. It-it did everything for them and the parents became lazy, useless, wastes of space, while the children turned into s-spoiled little monsters. The nursery was built so it could show anything they could possibly ask for with screens making up all the surfaces of the room. A lot like the room we’re in right now.” 

“Wait, Rick, are-are you saying all of this, these-these are just screens?”

Storage threw up his hands. “O-of course they are, did-did you think that we just magically ended up outside?”

“I-I think the story describes it as crystals installed in the walls,” Doof interjected.

“A-anyway,” Choosing to ignore the correction, he continued. “One day the parents discovered the children had been f-focusing on Africa a little too much. Watching lions eat their prey. S-since that-that’s pretty fucked up, they asked a psychologist what it meant, who told them they sucked at being parents. The house provided for the children and was replacing them as the caretaker. Which meant their kids were going absolutely batshit insane l-losing touch with reality, with their humanity. Something was off about that nursery too, n-not only did the African veldt look and feel too realistic for comfort, b-but the father found a wallet of his all chewed up and covered in saliva.” The fire crackled as he took a pause for dramatic effect.

“W-When the parents threatened to turn off the house so they could all live like normal people, tie their own shoes, cook their own eggs, the children were pissed. They never had to lift a finger the way things were, and they were way too attached to the house. S-So you know what those rotten kids did?” 

He scanned the room, but the Mortys only shook their heads.

“T-they locked their parents in the nursery!” 

He was met by a bunch of blank stares.

“And?’

“What-what do you mean?”

“W-well, what happened to their parents?”

“T-the lions fucking ate them Morty. T-that’s it. That-that’s the story.”

“B-but the lions weren’t real, were they?”

Cop spoke up. “The lions weren’t supposed to be real, but the room was malfunctioning and the lions came to life.”

“O-or it was working too well.” Storage retorted. 

“A-are you saying that could happen t-to us?” Glancing around the all too realistic outdoor setting. 

Doof placed a hand on Morty’s head.  “Oh no Morty, of course not! It’s only a story, these rooms are very safe, I-I promise.”

Hippie Morty, feeling somewhat nervous now, stood up and pressed a panel on the wall, and slowly the once robust landscape faded away and in its place was an ordinary bedroom. Except for the overly bright paint job, with harsh yellow, neon pink, and lime green in a spiral, matching the dye job on his shirt, the shag carpet was green, but no longer a beautiful grass green, but a pea green. His nightstand and desk both had a rough aesthetic and still had a fresh scent. The bedspread was just as bright as the walls but with a rainbow tie-dye job rather than just a few colors. One thing the Mortys were shocked to see still there was the fire.

“W-wait, you just-just have a fire going in here?” It seemed like the exact opposite of safe. 

“No need to panic-” Cop couldn’t finish before Storage kicked over the shallow pan they had been utilizing as a fire pit, only for nothing to happen. The fire went out rather than spread. “Everything is fire retardant, just in case.” 

Before they knew it, they were all being ushered back into the elevator and down even further. However, this time when they stopped, Cop asked for twelve of them to follow him, while the other eleven went down another level with Doof and Storage. 

Cop Rick cleared his throat and stood tall and firm with his hands behind his back as he spoke. “This will be the floor you all live on, each room is fully furnished and we have provided clothing as well. Right now all of them are the same so it does not matter which one you choose, it will matter once you have finalized the design you would like, feel free to visit other Mortys and take your time deciding. Right now, we would like all of you to shower and change into clean clothes and meet us back upstairs afterwards. Any questions, comments, or scathing inditements?” Morty did not know what that last word meant, but he decided it was best to just go ahead and shower and change like he had been asked.

Who knew being clean could feel so good? Showering, actually showering with warm water and soap was so much better than being sprayed with icy water from a hose. He had forgotten what it was like. Same with wearing clean clothes. The yellow pajama top and bottoms he found laid out for him on his bed smelled fresh and were so soft. If Doof hadn’t told him there would be food waiting for him upstairs when he was ready, he could have fallen asleep right then. 

Thank goodness he didn’t. He was starving, they all were. Salad, soup, dinner rolls, mashed potatoes, something called green bean casserole, an apple, and meatloaf as the entree, he ate it all with vigor. Morty wasn’t even sure he tasted any of it, he just faded in and out of consciousness as he gorged himself, only coming back to life to put more on his plate. Each of him ate that same way until every single edible thing Rick had placed on the table disappeared. Finally Doofus Rick gave them each a slice of chocolate cake. It was so rich in taste but light and airy in texture, maybe it was just that he couldn’t remember the last time he had dessert but it was possibly the best cake he had ever eaten. 

“Rick- uh, Doof, did you make this cake yourself?”

“N-not just the cake Morty, I-I made everything myself.” He cheerfully answered. “I love cooking a-and baking.”

“Hey, m-me too! Y-you think I could help sometime?”

“Oh gosh sure if you want to Morty, tomorrow morning I’ll be up early making cinnamon rolls.”

“Holy shit-”

“Watch your profanity-” Cop started, but he caught himself, raising his unibrow and turning to Doof, “Wait did you say cinnamon rolls?”

“Y-yes, I figure it’s a special occasion, s-so I thought I-I should make my homemade cinnamon rolls.”

“Those are very good.”

“Oh man, y-you lucky bastards-”

“D-don’t feel left outI will make enough for everyone,” Doof couldn’t help but giggle at how excited they got over baked goods. “N-ow M-mortys, I do think it is time for you to go to bed, it is already late and you had a big day. We can- we could come down with you and tuck you in if you would like.” 

All the Mortys were exhausted, and he could see it, especially now that they were clean and fed, all they wanted was to crawl into those full sized beds and pass out. 

“N-no that-that’s okay.” “W-we got it.” “Thanks anyway.”

“I-” he yawned, “I can put myself to bed.” 

“O-okay, well, goodnight, sleep tight. See you in the morning!”

[aerislei]

MHA Season 2 Wrap Up

First, for my wrap up specifically about the stain arc go here. If you have any interest in my thoughts specific to that arc, there you go. Lol. It will get mentions, but I’m not intending to reiterate anything that I covered more in-depth there because it seems silly. 

Second, I’m sorry but this thing is huge. In the future I may break up character discussion and possible theories into a separate post. Is that a thing you guys would prefer? Or do you like the whole wrap in one?

Now. Holy... wow. A lot happened in season 2, and the arcs felt like distinct arcs. By that I mean... like um. In season one everything felt like a natural progression, from one to the next - meet all might, train with all might, get into school, school classes. I know it’s technically broken into “arcs” but it didn’t feel like it, really.

In season 2 each arc is extremely distinct, though of course they are tied together so they don’t feel disjointed. We start with the sports festival, which ends hinting at the stain arc, then we flow into the stain arc, and then, almost anticlimactically, we come back to school and do our final exams because this is a school, remember? And all the chaos that has happened over the semester doesn’t change that.

So, generally, I’ve got to say the extra episodes did this season a load of good. The extra screen time did wonders for allowing a little more exploration with all the characters. Some are still way less fleshed out than others, but almost none of them are just floating question marks. ... At least not out of the 1-A members.

This is super pleasing because it was one of my biggest frustrations out of season 1 - because we spent so much time gearing up for UA that we didn’t really get to explore much of the class that was suddenly tossed in front of us. And because class time was limited, obviously, by screen time, we got a somewhat limited view of who was who and who did what. Personalities were very vague at best and while I had impressions for several characters I didn’t... feel much for any of them, outside of a select few I already knew something about either because they were important (Midoriya, Bakugo) or because I had pieces of the puzzle handed to me in the form of spoilers (Kirishima, Todoroki, Momo/Jiru).

Things went better this season in terms of giving us information about everyone, at least in a limited form, and thus in endearing more of the cast to me.

Sports Festival Arc

Okay, so. First arc of the season. It gave me all the information about Todoroki I could have asked for - even though I guessed at least 80% of it with the pieces of the puzzle I’d already been handed and my parallels to prince Zuko. Despite that it was a wild ride. I enjoyed the arc in a way I don’t enjoy most tournament arcs.

Biggest negative, in a sense for me was that the fight I was most looking forward to - and, imo was the most hyped up - was in round two of the event (Todoroki vs Deku) and... to me at least everything after it fell flat. None of the fights after Todoroki and Deku made any real impression on me. Even the final battle between Shoto and Bakugo was comparatively uninteresting. I know that was important, I do. I know why Shoto “stepped back” so to speak, I get that he had something to figure out for himself before he could really keep charging forward there.

... But the fight was dull and it had very little weight for me. I’m quite sure that that’s an unpopular opinion, but here we are.

The tournament set up a lot of important things and it opened a lot of doors, so to speak. Which does redeem the anticlimactic final battle, if only because it wasn’t “just” a tournament, important things happened there too.

Stain Arc

One of the biggest events of our protagonist’s careers so far, quietly skated over by the media and the glory given to someone else. Other than Stain’s ideology blowing open the doors for the Villains to explode into action, we get a lot of growth for Izuku, Shoto, and Iida. We also got some significant growth for Uraraka as far as combat goes.

We get our first look at the real villain that Midoriya is eventually going to have to face, and some important exposition about how One for All came to be. We also got to see a ton of other pro heroes in action which was a lot of fun.

Final Exams

You know after Stain, this arc was a nice lowering of the adrenaline. I know I called it anticlimactic up there - because it was, in a sense - but it was also rather important for it to be. First, it reminds us that our main characters are still in school and they’re still learning. And second it highlights the fact that life doesn’t stop no matter how disastrous the world seems to become.

Still, it was in no way boring and the exam itself was a nice reminder that our characters have a long way to go before they’re ready.

The BakuDeku fight was my third favorite thing this season. (Stain fight in first, Tododeku fight in second). I was so pumped to see those two have to work together for something and they DID IT. Not well, especially not at first, but they were able to put aside their differences and in the end did succeed against All Might.

And then, of course, the end of the season gave us what to expect next time (hey we’ve got training in the woods for a week coming up) and also gave us the current stance of the Villains - All for One being pleased at Tomura’s finally gaining a firm resolve to destroy All Might. It was a good place to end the season all in all.

Again, not going to do every character by any means, just going to touch on a few. More than I did last time though because I have things to say.

Yaoyorozu Momo

So I was surprised to see her lose so much confidence in herself after the Sports Arc - but then again she got in on recommendation not by her own actual talent. She didn’t earn a score, she didn’t have to fight nearly as hard. Momo is... that character who’s used to her family name getting her everything and coming to UA she’s realizing that not only is it not that simple in the real world, she doesn’t want it to be, because she wants to do it herself.

But she’s not used to failing. She doesn’t seem to be used to other people showing her up, so to speak, and apparently losing to Tokoyami really shook her up.

I’m glad the exam with Todoroki did her some good in getting her feet back under her and I hope we get to keep seeing more of her because she actually seems to be a fun character.

Todoroki Shoto

Todoroki is our other character that is the character who’s used to getting by on his family’s name alone. ... Except dialed over into the Family Issues troupe and so he doesn’t like getting anywhere with that name. Seemingly unlike Momo he works much harder because of his father’s name - because he wants to be separate from it. He wants to do it himself.

But he undeniably has gotten to where he is because of his father. And also undeniably his father’s training affects absolutely everything he does - including how he interacts with his classmates (see: flatly laying out his plan to Momo without asking her anything even though she clearly wanted to say something.) Yeah.

I’m hoping the exam with Momo remains as a lesson that communication is kind of a two way street, and a partnership requires compromise on both sides. The whole thing could have been avoided if they’d actually spent pre-their exam discussing how they wanted to handle it instead of coming into the arena and then sharing the plan.

(These two are interesting to put side by side because they basically come from the same place - roots that can get them wherever they want to go in life, but they’re learning how to stand on their own too.)

Midoriya Izuku

His growth this season was glorious. Once Gran Torino got him thinking about One for All the right way, he made leaps and bounds of progress - maybe a little too quickly - but we can’t have everything. There was also some personality growth that is starting to show through. He’s not the same as he was in season 1, even only by the end of his first semester. He still gets nervous but it’s less often, he still cries easily - too easily - but it’s not as often.

He’s gaining confidence in the fact that this is his path to walk now, like he’s always wanted.

Shigaraki Tomura 

So as far as villains go he’s not really my favorite. He lost a lot of his creepiness from the first season as we see him more and more. ... Probably because he mostly acts like a petulant six year old in an adult’s body.

I accidentally spoiled myself looking for something else, so I am aware of his actual identity. But it doesn’t change the way I honestly feel about him. (I do look forward to seeing how/when it’s revealed in the show, because I’m curious if All Might knows.)

The more he talks, the less scary he seems. He throws his power around, and that’s about it. ... His quirk has the potential to be devastating so there’s that.

I’m hoping now that he’s gained his... resolve or whatever we want to call it that he centralizes into a more interesting threat and less like a kid playing a video game and whining when things don’t go his way.

Dabi

So. He’s just a question mark. Mostly. Adult, early-to-mid twenties if I had to guess an age. Turquoise eyes. I happen to know that his quirk is fire based (I told y’all I’m terrible at staying out of trouble lmao). And he is specifically endeared to Stain’s ideals.

There’s also a pretty prevalent fanon idea that he is the eldest Todoroki child. And I uh, I’m not going to lie, but it’s a pretty intriguing idea, and I can easily see how someone raised by endeavor - especially someone who was deemed ‘unworthy’ the way Shoto’s siblings all were - might come to support the ideals of someone who believes heroes should be heroes selflessly.

I look forward to seeing how things go forward with Dabi and the villains in general. ... I also feel like Dabi and Tomura are not done clashing quite yet.

So for final thoughts...

This season opened up a number of doors and set into motion a lot of things all around our characters. Some of those things they are aware of, others... well, there is time enough for them to find out about later.

Our heroes made it through their first semester at school, but it’s pretty clear that their story has only just begun.

I was right, the extended season does this show a lot of favors, and I’m glad to see that season three is similarly long.

See you all next time!

[cyanwings]

i'm sorry you aren't feeling good, my bean! 33, 20, 18, 2, and 1

@jimmy-valmer

It’s okay! I mean, it sucks big time cause I feel like a truck ran over me from the body aches but I’ve handled worse. I’m a WARRIOR!!!

ON TO THE MIGHTY MEMESS~!!!

ANIME QUESTIONS MEME - Accepting!

1. best anime you’ve watched

So for the record, I’m excluding “Avatar: The Last Airbender” & (2003) “Teen Titans” shows cause people consider them animes when they’re only anime influenced so they’re out. But, this is SO hard! It’s like picking my children, it just feels impossible to do! Though, if I HAD to pick just one, it would have to be…… ( 2003) Kino’s Journey!

Why? Well, let’s ride right into the world of “Kino’s Journey” or in it’s original title “Kino no Tabi.”

“ The world is not beautiful, there fore it is.”

Let’s start with the story, which tells of the journey of a traveler named Kino and their motorcycle, Hermes, while they visit a long range of countries as they meet different people along the way. The actual fact is: there isn’t one solid story but 12 short stories that link together not by episode order but by events. And yet the fact that each one of this stories manages to give a deeper meaning than the whole plots from many animes amazes me till no end! Kino finds herself in the midst of these societies - some of which have downright appalling practices. Each episode approaches a theme of society, like censoring, violence, communication problems, right or wrong, the ability some people have to bite the hand that just feds them, and so on. And every time I watch each one, I found myself enjoying this series more than I should have.  

As Kino travels throughout the world and becomes acquainted with the people who inhabit it, it becomes clear that each of her encounters is essentially a separate journey into the labyrinth that is the human psyche to explore one of the many elements that make it up. The issues touched upon in the series ranges from the tendencies of humans to blindly believe in prophecies to the consequences of not having a self-conscious.

There is a wide range of characters as expected from an anime that tells about travels all over the world. While some of them are forgettable, some of them also stay in your mind. Although it is clear that neither Kino nor Hermes is the main focus of the series, together they play an essential role in its series. 

In terms of being a likeable character, Kino has become my favorite anime character ever! They inspire me in so many ways and I’m always glued to the screen every time their role comes into play. Although they appear apathetic at first, they’re a caring and understanding person. Kino travels through different countries to experience their customs and understand the citizens, but they never stay longer than three days, as they’re afraid of settling down, and would decrease of being a traveler. They’re also intelligent, skillful, extremely wise for someone so young and still as unpredictable as a teen could be. Though not fond of killing, they will do so if necessary without feeling remorse. Especially, towards those who attack them or the innocent. Kino has truly become one of the most unique characters I’ve ever seen.

Hermes, Kino’s talking motorcycle, acts as the perfect companion to his owner. Not only are his conversations with Kino very enjoyable to listen to due to the his humour, the series also allows for further exploration on his character. I won’t lie that I found it odd that we were suppose to just roll with the fact that he speaks but as the show grows over time, you do learn to accept it and that’s not the most unusual thing you’ll be seeing in the series either. He’s also the closest thing that Kino has to a friend and it just makes their relationship heartwarming a lot of the time. In addition, considering the theme of the series is the nature of humanity, his presence as a non-human makes their discussions even more interesting. You have no idea if he’s truly real or just in Kino’s head. But, whatever the case may be, he’s a fun character to journey with!

The dub is honestly one of the best that I’ve heard and I’m usually REALLY picky when it comes to English audio in anime. It was done at A.D.V films, which are the people responsible for other great dubs like “Princess Tutu”, and they do an AMAZING job!

Kelli Collins voicing Kino was the highlight of the entire dub! Her acting glues you into her role to her character and you’re just amazed of how well she fits the Kino. Especially, giving the young traveler a sense of maturity to such a young teen. It’s a shame she hasn’t been active since then and didn’t return for the reboot of the series. ( Even though it was a disaster so maybe it was for the best. ) Kino’s voice actress succeeds as the perfect person to voice such a outstanding character and how she brings her to life. I honestly can’t even picture anyone else to play the role but her. Hermes on the other hand is a hit or miss with viewers. Cynthia Martinez voicing Hermes comes off with a cartoonish boyish voice who I could definitely see annoying it’s viewers.  But to me? It honestly works! The way Hermes asks certain questions and their responses makes sense that they act childish or ask very out-looking questions of the situations at hand. Not not say he’s immature. He’s actually the voice of reason but, Cynthia shows great promise with the role. And you’ll see why once you go into this series head on.

Overall this series holds a special place in my heart. It doesn’t have that nasty fan service or anything too over the top like a Shōnen show but, it helped me get a better understanding on how humanity works and even thinks at times. In life, we don’t know which path to take but that’s the journey of it. You just get up and travel to find out what’s up ahead for you. To see the world for what it is with all it’s good and bad parts. Kino searches for life’s answers, life’s questions, and the interpretations connected to them. Destination is a state of mind; Drift along for the ride~!

2. worst anime you’ve watched

Oh gawd, this is just torture! Just when I think I can finally be rid of trash like this I have to go back and look in the bin again lmao

Let’s see…. I think I would have to say…. “ Master of Martial Hearts.” Why didn’t I say the famous “School Days?” I could but I wanted to do a different hate this time since this one made me beyond pissed off! “School Days” at least had the main lead get what’s coming to him cause we all know the douche bad deserved what was coming to him so I was fine with the insane out come. But this? HELL NO!

I found this series out by amazing reviewer, JesuOtaku, back when Youtube was starting to get popular and I always agreed with her reviews. I’m SO glad I saw her review first before stumbling upon this nasty series. First, we got under aged girls, and women in general, getting their clothes completely ripped apart as they fight one another cause why not? Screw plot! And it’s just an endless scenes of just wtf??!! I didn’t watch the series but I saw enough of it through her long review. AND…what pissed me off the most is the ending. Dear gawd! THE ENDING! This series only has 5 episodes but once you check out the last one? It deserves two middle fingers straight at it cause F*CK THIS SERIES!! No seriously, don’t even check it cause it’s just horrible. Just awful!! It’s just the worst anime to me and always will be!

    18. favorite villain

This is gonna sound strange but I instantly KNEW who my favorite villain was gonna be and I couldn’t be more ready! When there’s a great hero there’s also a great villain. Out of the horrible characters did I choose? Johan from (2004) “Monster.”

“ There’s nothing special about being born. Not a thing. Most of the universe is just death, nothing more. In this universe of ours, the birth of a new life on some corner of our planet is nothing but a tiny, insignificant flash. Death is a normal thing. So why live? ”

–Johan

The story focuses on Kenzo Tenma, a young Japanese doctor working at the Eisler Memorial Hospital during in Germany the 80′s. He is a very skilled highly brain surgeon. However, Tenma grows increasingly dissatisfied with the political bias of the hospital for treating it’s patients, and seizes his chance to change things after a strange massacre brings the twins Johan and Anna Liebert into his hospital.

Johan has a gunshot wound to the head and Anna keeps muttering about killing. Tenma decides to operate on Johan instead of a politician who arrived afterwards. Johan is saved, but the politician dies. After this Tenma loses his social standing, lost his promotion, basically everything, and not soon after that the twins escape. The top heads of the hospital are found dead the same night the twins escape. Tenma is then promoted to chef of surgeon.

After that the story advances to nine years later. A known criminal is found on the street, hit by a car. He comes under the care of Dr. Tenma, who observes him muttering about a “Monster.” Tenma extends his kindness to that criminal, and thus the criminal begins to open up to his doctor.

Following his trail to the construction site of a half finished building near the hospital, Tenma finds the man. The man, who has developed a sort of doctor-patient friendship with Dr. Tenma, warns him against coming closer, and pleads with him to run away. Tenma refuses, however, and the identity of the man holding the gun pointed at the criminal in the abandoned parking garage is revealed to be the boy whose life Tenma had saved nine years ago - Johan Liebert. Johan shoots the criminal, tells Tenma that he could never kill the man who had saved his life, and then walks off into the night while Tenma is still too shocked to stop him. I’m not gonna spoil anymore to the plot cause it’ll ruin the experience but WOW! What a series!

On the surface, Johan is a well-mannered, charismatic and compassionate young man. He possesses a favorable of traits and can easily overwhelm individuals with his seemingly flawless nature, as others describes him as being not of this world. This makes it easy for him to make new allies and manipulate them into doing various deeds for him. With such skill in creating this facade of perfection and pureness, Johan can hide his true motives with ease.

Johan delivers destruction and suffering to those who happen to fall prey to his schemes. Johan exhibits psychopathic tendencies. For example, most of his murders, both in childhood and adulthood, have been premeditated and calculated.

Johan often shows a complete disregard for life by pointing to his forehead, inviting Dr. Tenma to shoot him.

He also has a tendency to make his victims experience the worst possible loss and suffering rather than actually killing them himself;

Everyone NEEDS to check out “ Monster ” cause it does not disappoint! Even just check out just for it’s villain and the amazing english dub! Trust me, it’ll be one incredible wild ride!

  20. favorite costume/character design:

My girl, Mina Ashido from “My Hero Academia” / “Boku no Hero Academia”!

“The old you’s not going anywhere with that emo look on your face! If you overcome that gloomy self of yours… let me know. Or else I’ll start spreading rumors about high school debut man.”

—

Mina Ashido

    33. most underrated anime in your opinion

Since I already talked about “ Kino’s Journey” & “ Monster”, I’ll decide another great underrated anime people need to see and that’s “ Princess Tutu.”

“ May those who follow their fate be granted happiness; may those who defy it be granted glory.“ - Miss Edel

In a fairy tale come to life, the clumsy, out-going, and gentle Ahiru (“Duck” in the English Dub) seems like an unlikely protagonist. In reality, Ahiru is just as magical as the talking cats and crocodiles that inhabit her town—for Ahiru really is a duck! Transformed by the mysterious Drosselmeyer into a human girl, Ahiru soon learns the reason for her existence. Using her magical egg-shaped pendant, Ahiru can transform into Princess Tutu—a beautiful and talented ballet dancer whose dances relieve people of the turmoil in their hearts. With her newfound ability, Ahiru accepts the challenge of collecting the lost shards of her prince’s heart, for long ago he had shattered it in order to seal an evil raven away for all eternity.

Princess Tutu is a tale of heroes and their struggle against fate. Their beliefs, their feelings, and ultimately their actions will determine whether this fairy tale can reach its "happily ever after.”

The title may seem off putting to a lot since it sounds like some girly anime but don’t judge a book by it’s cover~! This series has so much going for it and it’s honestly just outstanding! It may be predictable at the beginning ( Had the same trouble with the first season of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” ) but, it becomes something you just never expected; A complex and tragedy story.

You honestly feel for every single one of these characters once their parts are given into play. And the fact that they use real classical music that compliments the dance scenes so well done. You feel the dramatic effect once our main leads come into the spotlight. The intense just rises from the music and for the dubbing too. I said back in my “Kino’s Journey” part of the ask that this was dubbed by A.D.V. Films and it’s one of my favorites ever! It’s not just one or two actors that shine, every single person portrays their characters with flying colors. I was just amazed of how incredibly well done they did!

I could go on and on about the characters but they’re all such a surprise that I rather not spoil it. This is genuinely a heartwarming show to experience for yourself. Classical music, beautifully choreographed dances, and memorable characters make for an experience worth having in all of Princess Tutu’s world. A modern fairy tale for the ages.

[endless-vall]

One last mission - Kenna & Raydan modern AU

Summary: Raydan sets out on one last mission, in Paris, and it turns out that Annelyse is up to something. Author’s note: So there was a lot of demand for a sequel to “A good man in disguise”, so here I am presenting it for you 😉 @coffeandcheese @endlessflame @michue Tagging you guys especially since you asked for it 😜 I know that in the real world it would probably not happen (LMAO) but this is exactly why this is a fic! Enjoy! 😄

Two years ago, Raydan had successfully found the information Luther Nevrakis had stolen from the authorities, and put him behind bars, where he deserved to be. It was quite shocking news, but Luther's oldest son - Diavolos Nevrakis, had taken over for the company 'Nevrakis Industries', and even thanked Raydan. Even though he sold out his father, Diavolos was an intellegent man and a trusted ally. The CIA could trust him to lead that company legally, and trustworthy, into a bright future.

But that wasn't the only intersting thing that happened two years ago. After finally putting Luther in jail, it was no longer that much danger to be seen with a certain woman who had his promise, along with his heart. Raydan and Kenna reunited, and have been dating, ever since.

And while Raydan's missions didn't become any less dangerous, they at least didn't concern Kenna. She would be worried sick about him, when he'd go under-cover and disappear for weeks or months at a time, but he always came back to her. And she always awaited him.

Raydan strided into the briefing room. "What have you got for me?" He asked Annelyse, who texted him awhile back to meet up with her. Annelyse smiled at him. A genuine smile, that had reached her eyes. She never smiled when she sent him off on missions, and Raydan found that suspicious. But maybe it wasn't about that. Maybe it was about yet another prize the agency wanted to award him. He was never big on awards, and usually tried to avoid getting or recieving them. He braced himself. "Raydan Lykel." Annelyse stated. It was unsual for her to use his full name too, which only added up to his suspicion. "Yes?" He eyed her, sitting across from the her at the round, smooth, black dest. "I hereby present you, your last mission." She hands up a file, in a brown folder, and slides it across the table. "What?!" His eyes widen completely, immersed in deep shock. He usually doesn't question the rules (too much), but this came out of nowhere? "Why? Have I not been preforming well?" He tried thinking up of a reason, but failed. He caught every criminal he was after. Even ones who disappeared completely under the rader. Even ones that weren't assigned to him. He fought against injustice at every possibily he got. How could it be they were firing him? "Oh, no. You've been preforming remarkably. The agency almost didn't agree to part with you." Annelyse shook her head, wearing an almost... amused smile. "So?" He blinked up at her. "Raydan, you gave us the best years of your life. We're nothing but thankful for the last ten years. But it's time to let you go." Annelyse stated. Raydan was taken aback. "I'm don't know what to say..." He admitted. "Say you'll do one last mission for us?" Annelyse suggested. Right. Raydan took a deep breathe, and nodded. "Sure. Fine. What is it?" Annelyse looked over to the folder in his hands. Raydan followed her gaze, and nodded. Openning up the folder, ignoring the 'classified' label on it, he pulled out a few documents, a photo, and bright small red box. Annelyse picked up the box, taking it before Raydan could see the inside of it. "You're not allowed to open the box." She commands, then places it down, before him. Raydan nods, and she raises the photo, next. "This is your contact. You're going to meet with her, in Paris." She tells him. From the photo, it's not clear who is the person he's supposed to meet. It's clearly a woman, but it taken from a distance. The woman is wearing a dark blue trench coat, and is covered in a black scarf, making it impossible to identify her. "Who is she?" Raydan tries to question, but Annelyse just shrugs. "Lastly, in the documents you'll find your plane ticket, a hotel name and the room number. Good luck." She stands up, without another word, and leaves him behind, alone, in the briefing room.

Raydan sighed, as he awaited him plane ride. Is it really the end for him? He had a degree, and he could find another job. He'll have something to do, afterwards. But... Did he really make up for his past mistakes? What urged the agency to let him go? Is he the man he thought he would be? The thoughts raced through his mind, but didn't distract him from his cause. If it's his last mission, he's going to do this right.

The plane arrived in Paris, and Raydan passed the checkout quickly. He wondered what was so important about this contact, but didn't question it too much. Catching a cab to the hotel assigned to him, Raydan was quite in shock. It was a five star hotel, fancy looking, and defiantly better than what he usually stayed at during his missions. Did they decide to spoil him since it was his last mission, or was there more to that? He checked into his room, and put on his ear piece. "I'm in." Was all he needed to say. Annelyse connected immediately. "You're going to meet this contact, in a cafe near the eiffel tower, 21:00 PM today. Sending you the address right now." His phone bipped, and an address showed up on the screen. "The Blossom Cafe?" Raydan read out loud. "Exactly." Annelyse said, and he heard the sound of her disconnecting. Shrugging, Raydan lay on the bed, awaiting the evening to come.

Just before heading out, Raydan took a shower, and sprayed on his favorite colonge. He didn't know what made him do that, but he just went with a hunch. He rented a car off the nearest possible place, and drove to the address given to him.

Entering the Cafe shop, he immediately took in his surroundings. The mysterious woman was nowhere in sight. "Name?" The host asked him. Raydan remembered Annelyse didn't even bother creating a new identity for him for his last mission. "Raydan." He figured giving his full name was too dangerous. "Oh! Raydan! Of course. Follow me." The host looked as if an all-time celebrity had just walked into the cafe, and immediately escorted Raydan to a private table, near one of the restaurant's windows, with the most beautiful and romantic view of the eiffel tower Raydan had even seen, from a simple coffee shop. Thanking him, Raydan drunk in the sight. He might've been on a mission, but he could stop for a second to admire the beauty Paris had to offer. Or at least until he spotted the mystery woman making her way towards the Cafe, from across the street. Raydan braced himself. He was always ready for a mission. But something about this felt different. Before the mysterious woman  arrived, a small vase with a single red rose was placed on the table, and two glasses of champagne were put on the table. "This is on the house." The waiter said, and hurried off. Raydan didn't have time to reply, since he saw the mysterious woman coming into the Cafe. The host exchanged a few words with her, and started leading her in his way. Raydan still couldn't make off who that was, even from a normal distance. But something... felt familiar about her.

As she sat down, she started taking off her scarf, and it finally hit him. "Kenna?!" Both of their eyes widened in surprise. "Raydan? What are you doing here?" She immediately questioned. "I could ask you the very same thing." Raydan noted, cursing Annelyse for turning off her microphone. Kenna blinked at him, then smiled. She placed one arm on top of his, and explained. "Annelyse called me a while ago, stating she needed help with a mission. She asked me to keep this secret from you, and to come meet a client in Paris. She made all the arragement, all I had to do was come." Raydan nodded slowly. Annelyse was up to something. "She basically told me the same thing." He admitted. They both shared a chuckle. "Seems like she set both of us up." Kenna noted, and Raydan agreed. "Oh! Wait," Raydan remembered about the box he was supposed to deliver. He got his orders and listened to them, not peeking in to what's inside the box. Once he saw Kenna, he completely forgot about delivering it. He took out the box out of his coat's pocket, and placed it in front of Kenna. "This is for you." He said. He was just as curious as she was, to know what's inside the box. Kenna's smile was suspicious, and amused, as her hands slowly opened the box, revealing what's inside of her, but just to her eyes. "Raydan..." Suddenly her gaze softened, and Raydan could see the insane amount of love she had felt for him. But... Why? "What are you... saying?" She finally put aside the box lid, revealing a stunning engagement ring.

A moment of realization hit Raydan, as he understood why Annelyse set this all up. Why he was being let go. For just a mere second, Raydan looked at Kenna, for love in his eyes, before standing up from his chair, and dropping to one knee. He didn't hesitate even for a second. And even though he wasn't the one to plan this, he knew exactly what happens now.

"Kenna Rys. The queen of my heart... I owe a whole lot to you. You've changed me. You made me a better man, and you've made me realize who I was. Even in my darkest moments, I knew I could turn to you. A mere smile, giggle, or look at you, was enough to make my day better. I could never understand how I got so lucky to meet you, and how I got to bring you the same amount of happiness you bring me. But I do know, I wanna do it for the rest of my life. Kenna, this is my last mission. There will be no more goodbyes, no more worrying for months about each other... We could have our happy ending. Kenna Adriana Rys, will you marry me?"

Kenna had a hand over her mouth, and tears in her eyes. But those weren't tears of agony, Those were tears of joy. "Oh my god..." She muttered, gasping. "Yes yes yes, Raydan, yes!" She jumped on him, and he spun her around. The entire staff and guests of the Cafe cheered their way. As Raydan set Kenna down, he slid the ring on her ring finger, and planted a kiss to her lips. There was no happier man than him on the planet at the moment, or more blessed than he was. Sometimes he wanted to curse Annelyse. But sometimes he wanted to bless her. Kenna and he shared their champagne, beaming at each other. "Raydan?" Kenna asked, almost innocently. "Yeah?" He couldn't suppress a smile. "I love you so much." She let out, as if she was holding it in for so long. And it's not like they haven't shared their 'I love you's yet. But this time was different. This time held another promise. "And I, you." He planted a kiss to the back of the plam of her hand, eyes admiring what the future could hold.

[pendulumprince]

I’m screaming?? Why’s do things always go to shit during the 32nd episode.

THE TOWER OF HANOI IS DISINTEGRATING EVERYTHING

SHOICHI, YUSAKU AND AI LOOK ON IN HORROR

So everything in Link Vrains is being dissolved and turned into data

Yusaku says he has the data Ghost Girl found

Shoichi’s gonna analyze it

Go and Aoi are looking on

Aw shit, the Tower of Hanoi really does look like a tree

BACK IN SOL

KITA WANTS TO KNOW WTF IS GOING ON

HE TELLS HIS WORKERS TO DO SOMETHING OR THEY’RE ALL FIRED

Lmao Kita looks especially weird today lol

“There’s no way I’ll be promoted anymore. But there must be a way I can work this in my favor…” ugh you bitch

MEANWHILE LINK VRAINS USERS ARE BEING TURNED INTO DATA

GO ORDERS HIS ORPHAN BABIES TO STOP WATCIING

AOI NOTICES THAT THE FOLKS IN LINK VRAINS CAN’T LOG OUT

“Link Vrains is going to be destroyed!””

“Yeah. This is Revolver’s game.”

Alright alright, after the opening

Okay but real talk the Tower of Hanoi is gorgeous

Folks are watching the news

Apparently SOL Tech is shutting Link Vrains down, but people can still log in

Lmaooo, SOL’s lost control of the situation

Not like they ever really had it

The reporters start talking about something else

Naoki isn’t about that, he wants to know what’s going down in Link Vrains

But? None of the channels are reporting it??

Lmao, I see that social commentary

People are talking about it on message borards though

Naoki resolves not to go Brave Max on us for a while

“This isn’t the time for a future dueling prospect to appear. I’ll be Link brains’s newest hero after this generation is over (??)” lmao ok

Shoichi’s done analyzing Ghost Girl’s data

Okay… on the screen, an arrow is pointing at something

Yusaku thinks back to what Rev said: if he wants to stop the tower, he has to defeat Rev in a duel

“Legend says that when Hanoi’s game ends, the world will be destroyed. He’s starting that game.”

Lmaooo this dumbass bitch is gonna destroy the world to save humanity omg who toLD HIM THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA

Shoichi explains how the Tower works:

“Those rings substitute for disks. The central pillar extends from the underground erasing system. The top is connected to the Link Vrains network. The pillars lighted portion is the erasing systems core.

“Since appearing in Link Vrains, this core has continued to absorb the surrounding data. […] Yeah, an incredible amount of data. But it’s absorption speed hasn’t decreased.”

“Revolver built this using the underground erasing system.”

Ah, so that’s why is was in the Link Vrains sewer.

Shoichi goes on to explain that “this shape will create six rings. It’ll create one ring per hour.”

Yusaku asks what happens when it’s complete

“The core will release high density data to external networks.”

Ai asks what happens then.

“Computers can’t withstand this high density data. Records and programs connected to the network will vanish. Power plants, hospitals, transportation… the world will be in a huge panic. Humanity will revert to an era when there were no computers.”

OH FUCK NO

Ai figure they’ll be safe is they don’t connect to the net…

“Maybe not. If Revolver’s goal is to erase you, I’m sure he planned for that.” True true

“You’re right…”

Shoichi goes on: “The high density data will take down major devices in a chain reaction.  the resulting pulse will be magnified and transmitted. So devices not connected to the network will also be destroyed. It’s like an EMP weapon.”

“And you (Ai) will be erased.”

AI IS FRIGHTENED

I, TOO, AM CONCERNED.

Shoichi thinks it’s wild that Rev is threatening the whole world just to erase Ai

Yusaku thinks all this over…

Meanwhile, in Link Vrains

KITA STEPS ONTO THE SCENE

“I’M KITAMURA, THE ONE IN CHARGE OF LINK VRAINS SECURITY FOR SOL TECHNOLOGIES! I WANT TO SPEAK TO THE KNIGHTS OF HANOI’S LEADER!”

Woooooo your know he dead

… no one shows up??

“I revealed my identity and came here alone!” (lol why don’t I believe you Kita) “I’m not here to negotiate! Or trap you! I just want to talk! Please answer me!”

Still, nothing

Kita has an internal monologue:

“Since I lost control of Link Vrains, I’ll be demoted”

Listen here, you little bitch:

YOU’RE GODDAMN MCFUCKING LUCKY THAT YOUR BOSSES HAVEN’T SNUFFED YOU FOR FINDING OUT ABOUT THE LOST INCIDENT.

FORGET THAT PROMOTION MAN

RUN LIKE HELL.

“In that case, I’m disowning SOL Technologies!”

… what.

I

Is he looking to defect??

“I’ll change this huge punch into a huge chance!”

“What do you want?”

AHHHHH

IT’S

REV

REV CAME

ASK AND YE SHALL RECIVE

Kita looks like he just shit his pants though lmaooooo

“Who are you??”

“I’m Revolver, leader of the Knights of Hanoi.”

Lmaoooo, Kita’s planning something. Aw shit.

This should be good

“State your business. If it’s garbage, I’ll erase you.”

“T-take it easy. There’s no one in Link Vrains, except for us. All the news outlets have left, so no one is covering Link Vrains.”

“So?”

“No one is listening to us. So this will be a secret agreement just between us.”

I S2G IF HE’S TRYING TO DEFECT—

“So?” Revolver sounds so fucking bored

“I’ll get right to the point. Team up with me to rule Link Vrains.”

I KNEW IT. I FUCKING KNEW IT. WHAT A FUCKING PUSSYWILLOW.

REV ALSO THINKS THIS IS HILARIOUS

Kita goes on, “I realize that you’re in a superior position than me, because Link Vrains is currently in Hanoi’s hands. But SOL Technologies won’t remain silent. They’ll do whatever it takes to regain control.

“But if I’m on your side, since I manage Link Vrains, your rule will be absolute. We can acquire a fortune if we work together.”

OH KITA. HOW YOUNG AND NIEVE YOU ARE.

“I see. How interesting.”

KITA THINKS HE DID IT HAHAHAHAAAAAA

“But if you want to join us, we must test your abilities. (to someone else) Handle this.”

Rev bounces.

“Hey! Where are you going?”

“I’m honored to meet you.” AW SHIT I KNOW THAT VOICE. “Hello. My name is Specter.”

“Specter?”

“I’ll test your abilities. In a master duel.”

“M-master duel??”

What, as opposed to a speed duel, which is exponentially more dangerous? THIS MOTHERFUCKER IS AFRAID OF A MASTER DUEL???

YOU. KNOW. HE’S. DEAD.

… anyway, BACK TO FROG AND PIGEON

THEY’RE STILL IN LINK VRAINS

LOG OUT BOYS LOG OUT

They comment on how shitty everything looks

All the other reporters have indeed left; Pigeon thinks they should, too??

“YOU FOOL! *This* is when we must report what’s happening in Link Vrains! That’s what makes us true journalists.”

“REALLY?? I didn’t know that! I thought we did on-the scene reports just like lame tabloid shows, but we’re actually true journalists!” omfg pigeon STAHP

I fuckin love these two

They get a message from their boss: “due to the success of your previous report, we permit you to stay in Link Vrains to report the news.”

THE BOSSES DON’T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT THEM LMAO BUT I BELIEVE THEY CAN MAKE IT

YOU’LL LIVE, BOYS

Okay but

out in the distance

They see someone??

“Start filming!”

Back in the hotdog truck

Shoichi gets footage of Kita and Specter!

Omg that’s right, they don’t know who Specter is

HELL, BLUE ANGEL DOESN’T EVEN KNOW WHO SPECTER IS.

BUT ANYWAY

SPECTER GOES IN FOR A DIRECT ATTACK

KITA GOES DOWN TO 0

SPECTER WINS!

“Taking over Link Vrains was simple. Because someone as incompetent as you was managing it.” OH SHIT, SHOTS FIRED.

Specter goes on, “Thank you, Kitamura-san. But you’re despicable. Watching you trying to manipulate Revolver was nauseating.”

That’s an… interesting expression you’ve got there, Specter

Kita starts laughing?? “C’mon, Specter! I now know how capable you are. Pleas let me join the Hanoi. Recruit me.”

I’m. Fucking. Screaming.

What a shitbag lmao

“As you wish, I’ll let you join the Hanoi…”

“Really?? :D”

“… but as data.”

He snaps his fingers, and Kita starts to vaporize.

“Stop! Don’t do it!”

That was so satisfying lmfaoooo

“You were garbage to the end. Now then” HE FACES FROG AND PIGEON, WHO WERE WATCHING ALL THIS FROM AFAR.

He speaks directly to their camera:  

“This is a warning. Those who enter Link Vrains will end up the same as him.”

QUICK SHOT TO THE GOLDEN TRIO

“… but if you don’t care, feel free to come.”

FROG AND PIGEON BOUNCE.

They discuss what Specter must have meant

Omgggg my two best guys better not get turned into data

Back in the real world, Go just put his babies to sleep

Now he’s thinking deeply about life and his place in the world

He walks over to the door

Looks back on the kids…

Aoi lowkey clenches her fIst

And Yusaku, as always, isn’t about to let the KoH get away with nuttin’

Shoichi says because the Tower’s absorbing all the data material, there are no data storms except for near the Tower

Ai wants Yusaku to kick Rev’s ass, which has literally been his mission this entire time

Yusaku sets his deck, and

AHHH

MY THREE STUPID BABIES WENT IN AT THE SAME TIME

Hella hella

Now in Link Vrains

FROG AND PIGEON ARE BURIED IN THE SAND

FROG RESOLVES TO DIE WITH HONOR, BUT

THEY SEE PLAYMAKER ENTER LINK VRAINS

Omg that Tower is so aesthetically pleasing

Anyway, ‘Go’ calls out to Playmaker

Blue Angel’s here, too

Playmaker wants to know what they’re doing there; ‘Go’ was about to ask the same thing

“Especially you, Blue Angel! I thought you only fought for yourself.”

“I learned something from my duels. When people believe in you, you’re fighting for everyone. So Blue Angel fights for everyone from now on!”

FUCK YEAH

‘Go’ agrees. “I’m Link Vrains’s hero, so it’s my mission to protect this place!”

Ai still thinks ‘Go’ is extra af

“So that’s ignis, the special AI.”

“I HAVE A WONDERFUL NAME, YOU KNOW! AI!” (Omgggg my ship is going strong even after all these tumultous years) “Call me Master Ai-sama from now on! Actually, Lord Ai! No, Professor Ai! No, Aiai!” lmaooo ok

Blue Angel asks Playmaker why he’s there

For three reasons, as always:

“One, I’ll stop the Tower of Hanoi that’s causing this.

Two, I’ll rescue Ghost Girl, who gave me info about that Tower.

And three, I must end i with the person behind this incident.”

Does

Does he think Revolver was involved in The Lost Incident

Does he not know that Rev is 100% in their age range lmao

But something catches Blue Angel’s interest: “Something happened to Ghost Girl?”

“Yeah. Revolver, the Knights of Hanoi’s leader, defeated her. She was turned into data and absorbed into the core.”

“No way!”

‘Go’ asks about what Ghost Girl gave him

Playmaker tells ‘em all about Revolver’s crazy ass plan to destroy the entire network by erasing everything in it

Blue Angel: “But if that happens… won’t it erase the consciousnesses of Ghost Girl and everyone who was absorbed?”

AW SHIT

“Exactly. That’s why I must stop it before it activates.”

Ai throws in that he doesn’t want to be erased, either

‘Go’ asks how they can defeat it, and Playmaker tells them, by defeating Revolver

Ai confirms that they only have six hours

Rev is apparently waiting at the Tower of Hanoi

Playmaker wants to end shit with him already

Blue Angel and ‘Go’ decide they’re going to the Tower, too

Playmaker tells them to go the fuck home, it’s too dangerous

They tell him to fuck off (you know. essentially lmao)

“It’s my duty to protect the children’s futures, dreams and hopes!” DAMNIT ‘GO’ STOP BEING SO PURE

Blue Angel feels the same; they’ve also gotta rescue Ghost Girl

Playmaker tells them to do whatever they want lmaooo ok

So one of them is bound to defeat Revolver

Playmaker warns them about Revolver’s “terrifying card”

Blue Angel: “let’s meet again if we’re still alive” hot damn girl that as raw, I love it

‘Go’ wishes them luck

They split up!

AND

FROG AND PIGEON CAUGHT IT ALL ON TAPE

MY BEST BOYS ARE GETTING THEIR BONUSES, HELL YEAH

Wait

WAIT

PIGEON FORGOT TO FILM THEM

OMG WHAT A DUMB FUCK

GO GET THAT SCOOP, ASSHOLES

… anyway, back to the Tower

Blue Angel’s running towards it, all by her lonesome

But! She senses a presence!

“Stop hiding and come out!”

“Oh, have my wishes come true?”

AW SHIT IT’S SPECTER

Blue Angel recognizes him from the telly

“My name is Specter. This is the second time we meet, Blue Angel.”

“Second time?”

“Let me open the door deep in your heart.”

He snaps his fingers, and…!

SHE REMEMBERS HER FIRST MEETING WITH HIM

“You implanted that computer virus in me!”

“It was a present! Because I’m your fan.”

“Tell me why you’re doing this!”

“There’s no point telling you.” (Aw what a cop out, spill the beans you bitch.) “Its like when hobbies and beliefs are incompatible.”

“Hobbies?”

“A lowly idol can’t understand the ideas of those with noble beliefs.”

Oh shut the fuck up, you pompous windbag.

Blue Angel isn’t buying it either. “Big talk.”

“Revolver ordered me to annihilate everyone who invades this world. If you want to flee, now’s the time.”

“I’ll send those words back to you! I’ll defeat you! And Revolver!”

“I can’t ignore what you said. No matter how many weaklings arrive, you’re no match for Revolver.”

“Want to test that?”

“You don’t back down… even though you know best what will happen.”

“You’ll implant another computer virus?”

“No. It will be much worse. You’ll never return to the real world again. Fine with that?”

“… fine. In order to protect Link Vrains, Blue Angel will defeat you!”

HELL YES SHE WILL

“You’re making me shiver.” (OH DAMN HERE COMES OUR VERY FIRST NIGHTMARE FACE.) “LET’S HAVE A MASTER DUEL.”

Bitch, you’re just afraid of getting on a d-board, admit it.

Blue Angel isn’t fazed. Girl was ready tp throw down yesterday. “Fine. Let’s go!”

“I’m looking forward to this! :D”

ALRIGHT, HERE WE GO

BLUE ANGEL VS. SPECTER

SPECTER GOES FIRST

HE SUMMONS A 0 ATK MONSTER

AND? LINK SUMMONS ALREADY??

There are Link 1 monsters lol why didn’t I know that

SPECTER LINK SUMMONS

HE SUMMONS THIS WILD LOOKING TREE MONSTER AT 0 ATK

AHHH YES

THAT HAS TO BE THE “SACRED TREE”

FUCK

Okay, that’s it

Preview time!

So… Blue Angel is a storybook character now?

“A girl was captivated by a picture book that was read to her. Acting tough, she wants to be alone. But she’s crying inside. But the hero helps her to be courageous and accept herself for the first time. The name of the book is… Blue Angel!”

ALRIGHT, OUR KIDS HAVE FIVE AND A HALF HOURS LEFT

THE DUEL CONTINUES!

[thelreads]

1) I'm getting the full experience of it all apparently, but I immediately figured out that this guy was evil. My evil detector is still working well

2) she saw koichi moving forward, and she realized he won't be waiting for her. She was making some good steps on moving forward herself, but her insecurities are still too strong for her to be able to handle.

3) this probably means that they had sort-of perfected the nomu template by then, which is why we haven't seen more instant villains all around. McBee got some free vacation days and he decided to use them to fuck with the vigilantes for a while.

4) that part about Gran Torino we discussed about before, and I'm not sure where people got this idea about him. All I've seen didn't confirm anything from my point of view, although it is a fairly interesting theory, one that I would enjoy a lot if vigilantes wasn't around to conflict with it.

5) the whole "then let me be evil" situation suits him better anyway. god bless Gentle, we didn't deserve someone like him after all.

6) don't blame my son for Furuhashi's sins. koichi is innocent!

7) every single time I swear to God...

8) Horikoshi never tricked me, it was simple me allowing him to think he was tricking me, when in fact I was never tricked, ever. It was a reverse bamboozle and he fell right on it.

9) oh just you wait until knuckles hear that this is guy is after his daughter... Oh he's gonna make dust from this nomu

10) which would be an amazing concept to explore, but I doubt it was actually intended. It was mostly a trap as a way to hit koichi and knuckles by using Pop as an entrance to their inner circle

11) the third wheel never wins as well, another rule of the world of romances.

12) surprisingly I don't think we got an actual clown as a villain yet. Sure, gentle and La brava and maybe miss joke have some jester influences, but none of them is an actual clown.

Dammit now we need a clown villain. Get with the program Furuhashi

13) his younger brother is going to beat his ass by the end of the story, like he could ever compare to the prince of Dorkiness, Koichi himself.

14) funnily enough, if he tried to befriend koichi he would immediately be accepted and helped. That boy may be dumb but he would do anything to make McBee find out what he wanted to be. If only...

15) the silence is the loudest of screams after all.

16) yeah yeah I'm already sure that this heartbreak she felt is not even the start of her problems, Furuhashi is already getting the pain hammer ready to hit.

17) oof, if only... The news I heard recently about Japan's position against drinking are... Far from pleasant.

18) not that she would accept his confession even if drunk. Pop heart belongs to a single idiot, now and forever.

19) he can disagree all he wants in the end I'm always right.

20) that character design make him look like a Tumblr sexymen and I don't like it

21) guess that my initial theories about him were right all the way back to the crab revolution, he can shapeshift to hide his identity, even if it's not completely

22) can't wait for them to reveal that every single villain so far was McBee in disguise. even the river that tried to drown pop was somehow him

23) although I wouldn't put past Furuhashi axing good characters off screen, the thought of Knuckle being turned into a nomu, one of the most iconic characters from the series been used by the villains against his will, is too absurd to even consider. He'll just show up out of nowhere and be like "did ya missed me?" And we're supposed to cheer

And now down memory lane we go...

24) koichi is too much of a Twink to even lift them. He tries to wield those things his arms are gonna shatter

25) "no way would Furuhashi miss-" yeah I feel like we're not talking about the same author here lmao

26) he could put a gun up to koichi's head and pull the trigger and he would still miss the shot, he's too much of a loser.

27/28) knuckle lost one fight (supposedly) and then he fucked off to the convenience store for two years. Classic Knuckles behavior right there.

Thelreads, Vigilantes 70, Replies Part 1

1) “Anyway, let`s see if he reveals his true form, on Chapter 70: Nomura.

…this fucking name, I swear to god if he`s not actually a Nomu…”- Well, in fairness, Furuhashi didn’t try to keep the pretense up too long, sicne it’s only been a couple of chapters sicne Nomura appeared, but due to the monthly timescale it felt like much longer whilst waiting for this reveal the first-time round. Good thing you didn’t have to wait as lon…actually, thinking about it, it’s probably been a month since you last blogged the previous chapter anyway, hasn’t it?

2) “And hey look, it`s our favorite tsundere cutie. I do wonder if she managed to make it big in the music industry, going by how long it was since we last saw her in this blog she probably must be a goddamn rockstar by now.”- Pop’s look is symbolic of how she feels at the chapter’s end, wrapped up in the childhood hoodie/fantastical perception of Koichi as her Hero who rescued her from drowning as a child and seeing how far he’s come since then in being, essentially taking comfort in her self-perception of Koichi as a heroic figure who’s there for her when she’s feeling down, but the glasses coming off symbolise how she’s steadily lost the  rose-tinted viewpoint that enabled her to ignore the harsher truths about him, that he’s far from infallible, that he’s not thought of her in a romantic way like she has him even once, that he’s steadily drifting away from her without realising it and it may be too late for her to truly fix things between them like she wants to. It’s sorta like if Izuku found out about Thin Might without Yagi’s knowledge and made up his own understanding of his oblivious hero based on that inside context without actually letting him explain the truth. Koichi can’t stop messing up and making mistakes with Pop in total ignorance until someone walks up to him, slaps him across the face and writes the message in 20ft flaming letters in front of him ‘She’s in love with you, you idiot!’. Once he twigs on that point, he’ll be able to start acting like the knight in shining armour Pop wants/ unknowingly needs him to be for her right now. 3) “must… suppress… urge to start complaining… about how this completely carpet-bombs the entire world building of the goddamn manga and the main series at the same time- oh god I know that I said that he probably just got a fake license, because holy fuck if that is an actual legit license then Furuhashi managed to create a plot hole the size of Bakugo`s fucking Ego. That is to say, pretty fucking big.”- Good thing it was as fake as everything else about No: Nomura in the end, isn’t it? Or at least, good enough to fool the average Joe on the street taking a casual glance at it. A top-end inspector like Phelps would probably be able to sus out the discrepancies in the licence if he was shown one, but again, Nomura is currently operating at below ground level to Phelps, more or less right under his nose as a random manager who’s hand indirect dealings with his sister through Pop, and Phelps would never suspect his top-end criminal suspect ‘wasting time’ as an Idol manager when the VF have been working towards much larger and grander goals so far. 4) “Furuhashi, I didn`t came here to beat you up, I`m just here to see my kids and make sure they are still being stupid, don`t you dare pulling funny shit that for real invalidates a lot of world building of the series. don`t.

I`m warning you.

I have my shovel ready to start digging a grave.”-  To be fair, since Koichi lost his chance to get his own license when he was saving Pop as a kid, and she’s not interested in becoming a hero, neither of them actually know the details and intricacies of getting a bona fide licence, or how difficult that would be for somebody as young-looking as Nomura, to then throw away the chance to pursue being a hero full-time and treating it as a side venture. And without Knuckles to correct them on that, they’ve got no frame of reference as to what’s involved in becoming a licenced hero –even through Nomura was only able to proceed with this plan because he’s already ensured Knuckleduster won’t be able to interfere with his goals for the duo and warn them in advance of his duplicity/prepare to counter him. In fact, the only other partial licence holder we’ve seen in the original MHA universe was the geriatric Gran Torino, who pretty much stated he was operating as a vigilante hero for years before he got the licence as an afterthought when he needed to achieve some goal, so the kids have no way of knowing Nomura’s cover story is full of holes precisely because they’re not official heroes. 5) “YEAH, YOU KNOW KOICHI, WHY WOULDN`T YOU DO THAT? LIKE, WHY WOULDN`T GENTLE DO THAT AS WELL? OR ANY OTHER PERSON WITH A SENSE OF JUSTICE THAT WISHES TO HELP PROTECT CIVILIANS BUT COULDN`T BECOME A PRO HERO?

FUCKING. WHY?”- In Gentle’s case at least, he was destitute, jobless and practically penniless, not to mention had a massive black spot on his record because of his accidental interference with a heroic rescue, so he likely couldn’t get an opportunity to even take the exam in the first place by successfully paying to join a hero course after he dropped out of school and learn the necessary tools and techniques to not be such a screw-up on the field. Not to mention he was a fairly late bloomer, so his likelihood of being successfully validated in such an environment with a mark like that on his record were not high. A ton of effort with pretty much no likelihood of it ever amounting to anything, and you can see why he’d basically accepted his dreams were toast from any ‘legal’ avenues. 6) “But alright, let`s ignore the elephant in the room and focus on the other elephant in the room. Koichi, now that she is showing such an interest in what you`re doing and is sitting down, why don`t you take this as a chance to talk about you two and the fact you aren`t dating yet?”- Pop needed a little more time to get herself ‘in the zone’ for Koichi, but sadly, like myself, Koichi has horrible timing and no ability to read the room, torpedoing our hopes. 7) “AND MORE THAN THAT, POP IS ACTUALLY TRYING TO MEET YOU HALFWAY THROUGH? SHE`S TRYING TO TAKE THAT STEP?

holy shit I even forgot about the worldbuilding being dragged to the back of the shed and getting shot in the head, damn you Furuhashi, stop dangling this carrot in front of my face!”-  Furuhashi dangled that tasty carrot in front of your eyes to make you drop your guard enough for the stick to smack you across the jaw come chapter’s end. 8) “THERE ARE MY OTHER KIDS! All of them so excited and completely unaware they are in the same room as an absolute monster… and also the manager that might be a Nomu, who knows. I do. I know everything. Like I said, I`m pretty AND sure that this is the way we`re walking, and I`m never wrong. Ever.”-  Whilst Horikoshi bamboozled you with a cross-series character reveal, Furuhashi instead gave you a much simpler ‘disguise’ to see through this time.  9) “FOR FUCK`S SAKE POP YOU JUST RUN AWAY FROM KOICHI AND NOW YOU`RE RUNNING AWAY FROM THE MANAGER? DIDN`T YOU LEARNED ANYTHING FROM SHINJI IKARI? YOUY MUSTN’T RUN AWAY GIRL!”- Well, they’re running away ‘together’ in this case, but Pop would actually have been served better listening to her usual instincts and running away from him instead of into his waiting arms…not that she could outrun a speedy guy like him for long anyway though. 10) “You know guys, y`all ain`t being subtle that you two are going to the same place. Sure, we know he`s helping you become famous because he wants to get access to Koichi, but the way you`re acting somebody is going to think you two are dating in secret.”- Honestly, it doesn’t really feel like that by the mid-point of the chapter. It might have started as an easy way for him to infiltrate and get closer to Knuckle’s apprentice through his social circle, but with all the time and effort he’s putting in to help lift Pop’s career without going out of his way to meet Koichi in the process seems like he’s become invested in the lie, the fake ‘normal’ identify he crafted for a cover purpose, taking some time whilst he’s ‘laying the groundwork’ to honestly enjoy himself and starting to like being Nomura as more than a disposable mask. Him ‘drunkenly’ asking Pop out seemed actually sincere as he could be in the circumstances, and with how dismissive he’s been of Koichi as Knuckleduster’s choice of successor, it seems like he took the opportunity to try and compare how they both faire in ‘competing’ for the same girl’s heart, like he fashioned his whole identity as ‘Nomura’ to appeal to pop as an idealised version of Koichi and see if that’s capable of charming her, or if not, where exactly he himself falls short in trying to achieve the same thing. 

11) “I hope he`s dressed like a loser, but since we`re probably setting up a bait-and-switch love triangle before the reveal he`s a villain, he`s probably just dressed pretty sharp.”- He’s dressed sharp enough to cut himself…or Pop, if he decides to, now that he’s verified that her heart is set on Koichi no matter how appealing he makes himself look.

12) “Huh. Interesting. The resemblance to Number 6 is certainly there to some extent, that hair lock in the place where the scar was supposed to be was a heavy-handed clue there- We get it Furuhashi, he`s a Nomu just like McBee, get going with the program already.

And yeah pop, he looks like a fucking clown.”- Clowns can appear to be goofy and bumbling when acting a performance, but it actually takes a lot of skills and control to make such silly pratfalls seem natural, and if a clown decides to stop being funny, then we get Pennywise…

Good catch with the visual foreshadowing of his hidden scar though.

13) “Yeah, doubt that. At the very least you`re trying to appear cool in front of her so she trusts and falls for you so you can approach Koichi, but boy oh boy is that not going according to keikaku.”- Mayhaps it’s the him he wishes he could be? For all his talk of being superior to Koichi as Knuckle’s successor, it seems his ‘Master’s’ words during their confrontation really stuck with him, and he’s rankled by the idea that Koichi isjsut somehow better than him, given he’s going out of his way to stalk him and integrate himself closer into Koichi’s life even after Knuckle’s vanished and Koichi lacks any dorect connection to the trigger experiments without him. Nomura seems to have actually gotten genuinely invested in being ‘Nomura’ for Pop, even slightly outwith his desire to one-up Koichi, and it sorta felt like he might have been acting, but part of him wishes this was how it honestly was for him without making a conscious effort to do so? 14) “Huh, can`t tell for sure if she really did liked it or if she`s just going with the flow, but even so I do believe she`s going to try what her producer is suggesting. Huh… Are we going to go a “this sounds good but it`s not what I truly want to be like” kind of conflict?”- The irony present in the additions of a ‘fake’ humanoid being with a falsified persona and identity to Pop’s music probably being the most genuine creation they’ve made, and Pop’s not happy with it, but too polite to say, would cut deeply. Nomura does seem to have a personal stake in events with Koichi and Pop, and actually seems to be flirting with the pretence of being a ‘normal’ person liked for whom they are, but everything they try to make that’s ‘theirs’ just doesn’t fit right. There’s a bit of tragedy present in his wistfulness at the chapter’s end and No:6’s obviously-crushed expression when Knuckle passes him over in favour of Koichi. At the end of the day, he just wants to be, but as an artificial creation, he doesn’t really know how to do what everybody else does naturally, and his attempts to mimic them just feel ‘off’ or forced on some level. With Pop, he seems to have found something he actually liked doing after a while, but It just wasn’t enough to overcome Koichi in her heart, which again drives into him how he’s ‘false’ and lacking compared to him, leading to him explosively venting with those fantasy boys. 15) “HIT IT POP! SCREAM YOUR SOUL OUT, LET EVEN THE DEAD HEAR WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY! SING THIS TRUTH THAT FINALLY YOU`RE NOT AFRAID TO FACE”- She can sing her heart out loud on a street corner, but can’t protect it from being crushed in a quiet conversation with Koichi thanks to his total obliviousness. 16) “Oh my kid is having so much fun I`m so glad- She probably never had this much fun singing when she was in her old persona. Sure, it was something that she enjoyed, it was freeing to her artistic soul, but even so, it didn`t got close to what she felt right now, that`s for damn sure.”- The greatest Highs in life come before the deepest lows, through both men she’s interacting with… 17) “Wait, are you two at a bar right now? Pop, you`re still too young for it, not to say that they are probably going to be closing for the night soon, that last couple did a mess, but the guy got kicked at least a good three meters in the air.”- I’m legit interested how many of these classy wine joints are around in Japan, complete with a fully-stocked wine bar, given the strict regulations against underage drinking there. Heck, It even looks like it could be the same bar where Kurogiri took up his side-hobby for the league. 18) “FOR FUCK`S SAKE POP- I WAS GETTING READY TO CRUCIFY THE NOMU BUT IT WAS YOU THAT ORDERED IT. I`M REALLY DISAPPOINTED IN YOU YOUNG LADY, YOU`RE TOO YOUNG TO BE DRINKING THIS STUFF.”- He might be a monstrous biological abomination turned terrorist, but he’s not sleazy enough to stoop to getting an underage girl drunk. Besides, what he wanted out of Pop here was an honest reaction to his own ‘confession’, and for that he needed her to be clear-headed and not having her mind muddied by alcohol.

19) “What, now that you know she`s going to be a big hit you`re trying to be friendly in hope she hires your asses like security? Tough luck, she already has Koichi, she doesn`t need anyone else to take care of her.”- Nomura would like to disagree on that point… 20) “Oh, are you now? What a coincidence. Yeah, I`m sure they are not bad guys aaaaat all, just like Soga wasn`t. Hell, I bet they are also friends, that is if you didn`t hired them to antagonize Pop so you could jump in like a knight in shinning armor or some shit like that.”- Not the case this time, but it does seem like as part of his goal to appeal to Pop as an ‘idealised Koichi’, and to avoid unwanted attention for ‘Nomura’, he adopted his Unaware rival’s tendency to befriend the foes he encounters, though Nomura has the advantage of being strong/violence-prone enough to intimidate them into not continuing to harass him and instead get along with him for the sake of their own wellbeing. Of course, once Pop rejected him regardless, he had no reason to keep the pretence up…

21) “oh-

oh no

oh no no no no no

OH NO”- aaaaand the penny drops. Funny how changing your mannerisms can make you seem like a completely different person, even with a similar build and hair colour. But in yous defence, No:6 has proven that he’s adept at hiding beneath notice right under everybody’s noses. 22) “What, you also are responsible for that McNomu? Or should I say… McBee?

Jesus Fucking Christ on a rollerscooter what the fuck no I can`t fucking believbe it it can`t be him I refuse to believe no”- ‘Wouldn’t it be great if all the assholes you met out in the world all turned out to be the same guy with different names?’ – A phrase I’ve heard about that seemed appropriate for this situation. Granted, Strendal/Stain breaks the pattern, but he was more of an opponent for Knuckleduster to handle, whereas ‘Nomura’ is somebody only Koichi’s around to deal with. 23) “What the fuck if it is him then he managed to escape Knuckleduster, and not only that but hang around for god knows how long around HIS KIDS without him knowing. Sure, it wasn`t two year,s more like a few months at most, but even so, it`s like a serial killer hiding next door to a police station.

ALSO WHERE THE FUCK IS KNUCKLEDUSTER IN THIS SCENARIO?

ARE YOU REALLY TRYING TO PULL THE OL` “HE`S DEAD” ONCE AGAIN FURUHASHI?”-  Dead or perhaps… unavailable? Knuckle did prove he’s got a pretty robust body from all his workouts, and the VF don’t seem like the kind of guys who’d be willing to let quality material like that go to waste, especially with the guy giving them so much headaches in their experiments…

(Vigilantes ch 56)

24) “[McBEE DISLIKED THAT]

Oh this is gonna turn ugly… And you Knuckles, don’t give that smile, we still have a lot to talk about your trip to the convenience store, Koichi is waiting, you know? It would be nice if he knew what the hell was going on, you know? For God’s sake, at least if you left a gun for him to use I’d be okay!”- He left him his Knuckles, and Koichi better pray that they’re enough combined with his quirk’s improvements….

(Vigilantes ch 56)

25) “He took that one surprisingly well- You know what, it feels so weird that we’re finally seeing McBee’s personality besides that hot-shit cool and collected image that Furuhashi desperately wanted to paint, and in reality he’s an unhinged psychotic fanboy like what was shown back when the Octo-nomu threw a stone on his face but that is way more endearing because it doesn’t feel like we’re being forced to think that he’s like that, he simply is like that.

Goddammit Furuhashi, giving the villain personality right before you kill him…”- Not this time. Knuckle may have been able to side-step Koichi meeting Kuin because of his own personal connection to her host, but there’s no way Furuhashi would miss out on having Koichi face his own evil counterpart- and no better way to show he’s surpassed his teacher, taking on the being that took him out in a straight fight and handling him with his improved skills as a fighter, especially since No:6 is a corrupted copy of Knuckle’s former hero identity.

(Vigilantes ch 56)

26) “Crap, I was waiting for the fight at first, but honestly now I want to hear more about the past, there’s too many questions whose answers will be withheld until its convenient, and I really liked the story treating McBee for the loser he actually is.”- Even a loser gets a victory now and again. Better hope for Koichi’s sake that he’s the loser when he and No:6 inevitably throw down, because otherwise…

(Vigilantes ch 57)

27) “Knuckles, I appreciate the trash-talk, I really do, but honestly the table just flipped around and I feel like now its time to get serious™ you know?

Goddammit Knuckles, you were supposed to be able to capture him rather than be part of the failed attempts.”-Unfortunately, even getting serious isn’t enough to stop No:6 this time. Knuckle’s saved Koichi from one showdown with the VF’s lackeys, but this time, it’s time for the protégé to inherit the master’s torch for real, and beat the villain that not even he could in the end…

(Vigilantes ch 57)

28) “OH THERE’S SHAGGY, THAT’S GOOD, NOW BACK TO THE FIGHT WE GO PLEASE KNUCKLES WAS ABOUT TO SHOW THE BADASS FISTER-STYLE THAT WE HAVEN’T SEEN SINCE THE FIRST FEW ARCS”- Alas, the heavyweight champ has left the ring, now it’s time for Koichi to take up his master’s knuckles for the revenge match he doesn’t know he’s destined for yet… @thelreads​

[rwby-rants-and-theories]

RWBY - On Oscar, Ozpin, the White Fang, and Salem’s Inner Circle

Here we go, guys gals and nonbinary pals. The time has come for the final act of RWBY Volume 4. Are you combat ready?

Cause I’m sure as hell not.

Now with the volume coming to an end, we have good ol’ Farmboi heading god-knows-where after a long, haunting, and crucial ultimatum from Ozpin.

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Ehh, well, not quite. He just kinda gets up and leaves, lol.

Look, I get it. Oscar’s storyline needed to start at some point. He couldn’t stay in the farm forever while the rest of the plot kept progressing for everyone else at whatever rate that may be.

My problem is that there really isn’t any emotional gravitas in Oscar’s decision to leave the farm.

Consider: Oscar is an ordinary kid in Anima. The farm and his aunt are probably the only life and family he’s ever known. As far as one could assume, he’d never dream he’d ever take part in some Magical Global Conspiracy™ against the Forces of Evil™. Next thing you know, Ozpin swoops in and completely shatters the status quo (I swear to God, Ozpin’s kink is ruining teenagers’ lives, lmao). He makes Oscar question his sanity, his memories, and his own individuality. The only thing we’re ever shown of Ozpin trying to justify this is very weak consolations and vague promises of greatness. There really isn’t much in the way of dynamic between Oscar and Ozpin. Granted, Ozpin has most likely explained things to Oscar off-screen.

But that in itself is also quite problematic.

I understand that there are certain plot points and information that we, the viewers, aren’t supposed to know yet. In a story, there are certain pieces of information whose revelations are much more meaningful when delivered towards a specific character or group of characters.

Take for instance, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. In the novel, Harry encounters a book filled with intimidatingly advanced and much more effective spells and potion-crafting. The only thing he knows about it is that it was written by the titular “Half-Blood Prince”. Harry takes advantage of the contents of the book, and while at first he thinks his use of it is harmless, he eventually learns that the use of a method without having a proper knowledge and understanding behind it proves fatal. The consequences of the book’s misuse haunt him and the reader for the rest of the novel as he wrestles over the mystery of the true identity of the Half-Blood Prince. At the climax of the novel, he is confronted by the Half-Blood Prince, who reveals himself to Harry and the reader in a shocking and thematically appropriate plot twist that satisfies the reader, precisely because no one else within the story possessed the knowledge of the Half-Blood Prince’s identity and more importantly, because Harry, the person who has been obsessing painfully over this information, gets to react to it alongside the reader.

There is absolutely none of that with Oscar and Ozpin.

A lot of us were convinced that Qrow’s poisoning would lead to Team RNJR+Q running into Oscar near the end of the volume. RNJR+Q would provide solid proof of Ozpin’s story, forcing Oscar into action and help him and Team RNJR (and by extension the viewers) understand his role in the fight against Salem. It would have treated us to Oscar wrestling over leaving his life and family behind and RNJR learning more about the circumstances behind Pyrrha’s death, the Fall of Beacon, and Salem’s Faction from Ozpin himself, who must answer for manipulating Pyrrha and keeping Ruby in the dark about her abilities.

There was a lot about Oscar the viewer could have bonded with. He’s ordinary. Unsuspecting. He has a normal family in an aunt with whom he quips. We aren’t introduced to her at all and therefore we don’t feel her neither as an organic character with a clear purpose in the World of Remnant nor as any sort of part of Oscar’s life. She should be a big part, a reason for Oscar to not want to leave, and therefore make it so important and impactful when he chooses to do so.

Oscar left so abruptly. There wasn’t any proper build-up to his decision, nothing that could make the viewer feel emotionally invested in his departure. No “Oh, finally!” or “I can’t believe he’s actually leaving...” or “Now he can take part in the action!”

Moving on, we have Oscar (and Ozpin’s) meeting with Hazel. As he was instructed in the beginning of the Volume, he’s off to meet Sienna Khan, the current leader of the White Fang.

What strikes me so much about Hazel is that he’s someone who’s incredibly composed. He’s enormous and probably crazy strong, but if that’s all he was, no way Salem would have sent him to meet with the leader of the White Fang.

Salem: “And Hazel, I'm sending you to the leader of the White Fang. Adam Taurus has arranged the meeting. The boy continues to prove loyal. Ensure Sienna Khan feels the same.”

It could have been Watts, a man who seems to be incredibly proud of his intelligence and prowess. But instead, Watts was assigned to meet with Salem’s informant at Mistral (quite possibly the Headmaster of Haven or Sanctum, but a point later on in this analysis might refute this). Salem sent Hazel. This most heavily suggests that he is capable of conducting business and reconnaissance rather tactfully. Nevertheless, given that we know that Sienna Khan is meant to be overthrown by splinter members of the White Fang, I’m not sure how Hazel’s presence might factor into all this. Hazel was sent to talk to Sienna Khan, not eliminate them. 

This presents quite a few ways this meeting could go down.

Hazel will meet with Adam, who will propose assassinating Khan and taking over the White Fang to secure the loyalty and military manpower of the organization worldwide to Salem’s cause. (How this will affect Blake and Yang warrants a different discussion.) The coup takes place.

Hazel will meet with Sienna Khan as planned, who will comply with Hazel’s demands and further consolidate the relationship between the White Fang and Salem’s Faction. Adam might or might not proceed with the coup.

Hazel will meet with Sienna Khan as planned. Khan will refuse to cooperate with Hazel, prompting a fight. Khan is defeated and might be killed, prompting Adam to formally take over the White Fang for Salem’s cause.

Hazel will meet with Sienna Khan as planned. Khan either submits or stands up to Hazel. Hazel promises to return with an ultimatum. During this time, Adam executes the coup and either continues to serve Salem, or decides to use his newfound political and military power against Salem and the rest of humanity.

Hazel will meet with Sienna Khan. Khan complies. Adam is not involved with the coup. When the coup happens, the White Fang is thrown into disarray, weakening the integrity of Salem’s operation.

Knowing Corsac and Fennec’s familiarity with Ilia and the brothers’ loyalty to Adam, the last scenario is highly unlikely, but not entirely worth ignoring.

Back to Hazel though, there’s a lot of wisdom and perhaps even goodwill within Hazel. He sees Oscar struggling with the ticket dispenser and not only offers help with a rather tender initiative, but also counsels him on confidence and determination before returning to his task.

We’re also treated to something quite interesting: Ozpin’s reaction to Hazel.

When Oscar asks who Hazel is, Ozpin only answers with the cryptic “Someone from my past.”

Here’s the thing. I’ve spent the last couple of days rewatching the volumes. And something I noticed in 4x01 during the meeting of Salem’s Inner Circle, was how not only did Salem refer to Ozpin as “dear Ozpin”, but also how there were two empty seats at the table. Now, I don’t think those belong to Emerald and Mercury. They take their place by Cinder’s side or away from Salem’s Table whenever summoned. They’re not equals, they’re lackeys. Tools to be used at Salem and Cinder’s whim. If they truly were welcome at Salem’s Inner Circle, they’d take the liberty to pull up a chair and scheme alongside the Big Bads™. Now, couple that with Ozpin’s line to Ruby in 1x10.

“Ruby, I’ve made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on this planet.”

Would those mistakes include serving a cause that may have begun noble and became twisted over time?

How much are you willing to bet that one of those seats once belonged to Ozpin?

Okay, yeah, that begs the question “To whom does that other seat belong?” For all we know? If we’re going for “Haven’s-Headmaster-Is-In-Cahoots-With Salem”, then that chair probably belongs to him. However, there’s two points that contradict this.

Haven’s Headmaster would have just taken Ozpin’s seat and was likely inducted after Ozpin left.

If the Headmaster is just an informant, there is no real reason for him to be part of Salem’s Inner Circle.

Well, Ozpin or no Ozpin, Hazel gave a peek to a different moral dimension to Salem’s Inner Circle. I’m convinced that Salem and co. aren’t doing evil things for evil’s sake. They act for reasons they truly believe to be righteous and necessary, otherwise, why would Watts, Hazel, and Cinder ally themselves with an epitome of darkness and destruction such as Salem? There’s always personal reasons, but there’s always a similar goal in mind that has bound them all together. Even Tyrian.

That’s the kind of villain complexity that RWBY both needs and deserves, and I’m glad we’re getting to see that bit by bit in Hazel’s personal layers and Cinder’s disability and recovery.

EDIT:

I thought of another outcome to Hazel’s meeting with Adam. Here’s another way it could go down:

Somehow, some or all members Team RWBY (either reunited or separated) get a hold of information about the meeting or happen to track someone who is attending it. They crash the negotiations, prompting a fight. This is where Blake and Yang have their rematch against Adam (which might or might not be their final encounter against him). The fight ends, Sienna is either rescued by Blake and enlists the help of the White Fang or is somehow left indisposed (death, injury, kidnapping), forcing Blake to step forward as the new interim leader of the White Fang.

[asiandramastoke]

Drama Rating: 8/10

A former NCIS agent named Kim Bon went into hiding due to betrayal and conspiracies. He lost his loved one because of this and started investigating covertly to reveal the truth behind his lover’s death. While undercover, his path crossed unexpectedly with a housewife named Go Ae Rin. Amidst their own circumstances, fate brought them together as Ae Rin suddenly lost her husband to the same organization Bon was investigating. In between all the secrets and hidden identity, Ae Rin’s twins becomes attached to Bon as he volunteered to become their baby sitter to secretly protect the family and solve the mystery behind the organization called Gold Clover.

I love this series for so many reasons and yet I was also disappointed due to several ones which I couldn’t let go. Number one reason why I love it? So Ji Sub. Yep. The guy my husband got pissed off because I had him in my screen saver. I guess my hubby had a valid reason… the Ji Sub is just too hot to be ignored from a house wife’s phone. My hubby’s rightful spot was probably threatened. LMAO! I was totally laughing my ass out when I found out he was jealous about it. I still can’t help but laugh whenever I remember it. *grins from ear to ear*

The story mainly revolves around his character Kim Bon, code name: Terius. I find his name really funny and appropriate for this drama because his name is slightly similar to James Bond. They actually pronounce it the same in Korea, which is a good pun since Bon is also an undercover agent. I like the fact that his character is so lovable despite being bad ass. He’s also too serious for his own good but whenever he’s with Ae Rin and her family his personality changes like a flipped coin. He becomes relaxed and smiles more often especially when the twins starts to play with him. His own story though is too sad because there are times in the scenes where he doesn’t eat or sleep properly, yet when he finally got involved in Ae Rin’s life, he was able to eat her simple homemade meal and in the scene he looked really moved and happy.  Meanwhile, Ae Rin who was acted by Jung In Sun has this seemingly naïve character who’s become a burnt out housewife  struggling to find a job and provide for her family. Underneath it all, she’s a trustworthy person whom everyone can count on when needed. She also has a lot of hidden talents, which comes out in times of need. She’s like one of those characters from the movie Side Kick. I totally love her and could relate to the fact that she’s a house wife but still manages to be a cool mom despite all the problems that is hurled towards her. Aside their portrayal, In Sun and Ji Sub’s romantic chemistry wasn’t as palpable as I want it to be, but as their characters would allow it, they worked great together.

Other side characters worth mentioning are the KIS officers and the NCIS agents. KIS means King-Castle Information System, who are a bunch of mothers + a stay at home father who lives at the same apartment building and has their own way of sharing information with the use a chat app. I think that using the app in the drama was a way of promoting it to the public like the use of bags, make up, clothes and cars all throughout the series. That aside, the uncanny characters that actually ran KIS are Shim Eun Ha, the president of the organization who seems to know everything and anything that’s going on within King Castle. She was portrayed by Kim Yeo Jin who is one of the veteran actresses who does great with acting sad and happy roles. Then there’s Bong Sun Mi portrayed by Jung Shi Ah who seems to be such a ditzy person that suspects her partner of having an affair and also has some kind of inferiority complex with Ae Rin but she still stands out because she’s always there when needed. Lastly there’s Kim Sang Ryul acted by Kang Ki Young, one of my favorite supporting actors and is a very effective comedian. He’s such a joy to watch since he gives balance to Kim Bon who’s always too serious for everyone’s liking. I think this drama wouldn’t be such an effective action-comedy if not for them. They made it more special with their own personal touch of innocence since they have no idea what was really going on around them. They also have their own story to tell which will be revealed on the later parts of the drama. That, by the way surprised and caught me off guard. There were hints about it initially in the drama, but I wasn’t able to predict the actual situation of these people. As for the NCIS agents, Yoo Ji Yeon and Ra Do Woo portrayed by Im Se Mi and Kim Sung Joo, looked really cute together. They have their own quirks and unrequited love. That’s why their tandem is spot on and I wouldn’t want anyone else to act their roles. Ji Yeon can kick ass whenever she wants to and she sports that short hair as if it was really meant for her. Ra Doo on the other hand is tech savvy and knows his stuff. I’m quite impressed with the things he does specially with the stickers! This part is something to look forward to. Heh! Oh… I have to insert Jin Yong Tae the con man and Kwon Young Shil who were acted by Son Ho Jun and Seo Yi Sook. Their characters are pretty interesting and vague at first but they definitely have a lot to offer up to the very end of the drama.

Overall this drama was action packed, suspenseful and funny all at the same time. It may have its light side but it’s a bit hard to pin-point the character that will or will not die. The OST was also cute and memorable. I really dig the music part during those suspenseful moments and when Kim Bon interacts with the children. The things that disappointed me though were a couple of loop holes in the drama and the unsatisfactory ending just in my part because I had other expectations. There’s a spoiler below if anyone would want to know about the details. Setting that aside, I did enjoy this drama very much and looked forward to each episode. Maybe I just missed So Ji Sub in comedy, but anyhow… this drama was worth it.

Highlight Text To Read Spoiler Below:

The loophole was about Kim Bon’s character. I think his skill as an agent was a bit lacking, even though he’s known as one of the best in NCIS, he still got chucked by a housewife. I’m guessing he got rusty with all the running he has to do? But still… he gets shot too often and also, living in a building with a bunch of house wives and yet he was able to keep his secret identity from them was really weird. His identity was so easy to discover since in the drama, the women are known to be nosy. Then there’s the ending, it was so vague whether Ae Rin and Bon ended up going out with each other. It could have been implied that Bon really liked her with the way he gets all jealous and worked up for her sake, but for Ae Rin, her feelings weren’t as transparent as it should be. Although she did say she missed Bon when they were drinking mojito at Namsan tower, but that’s not as good as saying “I like you”, so the romance kind of got stuck there and I was left wanting for more. That’s all. Despite these stuff though, I like the mystery factor. I had my hunch as who the real bad guy was, but the death on some of the characters and the characters that survived, I wasn’t really expecting that. Kudos to this drama for keeping me on my toes!

  Terius Behind Me (Korean Drama 2018) Drama Rating: 8/10 A former NCIS agent named Kim Bon went into hiding due to betrayal and conspiracies.