#that said i honestly have no idea HOW her rank 9 would play out in a platonic path since it was literally JUST her confession
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Does anyone know if in P3 Reload ALL the girls have a completely platonic path where they don't confess and/or ask how you feel about them?
I managed to get Chihiro and Aigis platonic, intentionally romanced Yukari, think I know where I screwed up with Fuuka (who I've heard can be platonic), have NO idea where I screwed up with Yuko since I tried NOT to flirt with her, and wasn't able to get Mitsuru to rank 9 before it was too late, so I don't know about her at all.
I ASSUME that all girls have a platonic option - I honestly figured that if anyone didn't, it would be Yukari and Aigis, but since Aigis does that would JUST be Yukari as a must romance/reject, which is maybe more "canonizing" than the devs want for any one girl.
#persona#p3#persona 3 reload#i personally am of the opinion that yukari IS canon but i don't know if the devs want to commit to that and cause a ship war#that said i honestly have no idea HOW her rank 9 would play out in a platonic path since it was literally JUST her confession#every other rank 9 i've see had SOME other important discussion. yukari's was 100% about the romance and nothing else#i was honestly blindsided by yuko. i was pretty confident i'd get the platonic path and then that... didn't happen.#thankfully her rejection reaction was SO SMOOTH. she took it so well you'd think she wasn't into me at all!#by contrast i literally couldn't bring myself to be a total dense idiot and friendzone fuuka.#if only her confession/rejection was handled differently i might have been able to do it. but i just felt like such a tool i HAD to date he#(and i do really like her. but i feel like canonically MC would only date one girl now that that's an option. and yukari feels most right)#it was like rise in p4 all over again. it's not that i don't like you but GOD the way the romance is started bothers me#because it just feels like i'm guilted into it because the rejection option is so awful
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my ranking for the mumbo weirdest setups list:
10(least weird): keralis, wasd with right hand, mouse with left. literally just left handed
9: grian, f and e swapped, and also shipped a box of headsets from hong kong in 2008 because he likes them and never wants to run out. mostly normal i think, just one keybind swapped. i am wondering about the quality of the headphones though
8: gem, capslock for sprint R for f5. actually might swap this and grian but cant be bothered. ive considered swapping my sprint to capslock and an easier f5 makes sense
7: false, inventory is i. thats so far away what. that must be so inconvenient.
6: ren "doesnt like cramped fingers" and has waxf instead of wasd. honestly fair enough i can clearly imagine the conversation in which mumbo learned this due the quotation marks on "cramped fingers".
5: impulse and skizz, inverted controls. honestly not that weird i feel even though i have no idea why you would do that. theyve probably explained somewhere tbh
4: cleo, recorded from their couch for years. honestly me too tbh. though why the couch and not like the kitchen table or something. and like what was the deal was it like hunched over a laptop or like a full pc setup on the coffee table. or like lying on her stomach with the laptop in front ??
3: joe, foot pedal for sprint and "-" as throw item. definitely strange but almost genius. new level of immersion truly. "-" as a throw item avoids accidently sword dropping.
2: mumbo, thumb shifter. sorry hes not getting away with this by revealing all the other hermits strange setups how on EARTH do you decide to position your hand like that like thats like learning to type and going oh im gonna use my pinkie finger to do this like. sure you can but why would you decide to
1: etho. youve probably heard ethos setup by now and despite all of these i am truly baffled. why would your arm be at an angle . he said hes been doing this as a newer thing so, if youve been using a computer and playing minecraft normally for a while WHY would you CHOOSE to do this. like if it was a habit from when he started sure but ???. the tissue box is less weird than fhe arm thing tbh but the fact its the same one is funny. and it has his like recording settings written on it or something. truly ingenuitive
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[BatIM Call of Cthulhu Masterpost]
WE STARTED.... A NEW SCENARIO..... as you may have read in Boo’s summary post, for some unknown reason aLL MUSICAL AND PERFORMANCE ABILITY SEEMS TO BE??? GONE??? Sammy woke up, realised he couldn’t hold even the simplest tune in his head, and immediately lost THIRTY-ONE SANITY in one hit
..... YOU KNOW THAT MAKES SENSE HONESTLY
anyway i have a some out-of-context quotes from the game for u all under the readmore if ur into that kinda thing!!!
[Sammy is played by me, Joey is played by Boo (inkyvendingmachine), Henry is played by Maf (inkcryptid), Jack is played by Mochi (whatyouwantedmetosee) and Thren (haunted-hijinxer) is our GM!]
[GM] It's a tough voice to do, so you can't be as choosy, and your resident Bendy cannot act to save his life, so that's no good-- [Joey] Uh-oh. [Jack] Sorry, Lurks. [Joey] I'm just so worried he's going to have to act now... [Jack] Clearly, he should've used the time between scenarios to train that! [GM] Yeah, that's just what everybody wants I'm sure, is the Lurker training in LYING. That sounds like a great idea!
[GM] *asking for dice rolls to see how well our actual jobs are going* We can do a little bit of mundanity to, to treasure, and keep you warm later!
[Henry] Should I spend Luck points on this? No, I'm not spending Luck on work. [Sammy] That's a good general life policy
[Jack] Does Jack have any contacts? [Joey] No, he has glasses! :D [Jack] noooo that's my job! It's my job to make Jack's puns! ....Contacts probably didn't exist in the 1930s, that's okay. [Sammy] No, don't say that! Boo's going to have to look it up now!
[GM] What spell is Joey working on? [Jack] (Spell of Make Investor Like You)
[Joey] I think he probably has filing cabinets specifically to put occult stuff in and lock. And then the rest of his office is just piles and tables of animation stuff that you're like "...shouldn't this??? be??? in the filing cabinet???"
[GM] Allison remarks, "The companions of our childhood always possess a certain power of our minds, which hardly any later friend can obtain." [Sammy] Y'know, normal, just nORMAL CASUAL CHATTER, [GM] Tom, working on the pipe, just kinda mutters, "I enjoy friends, dear not only by habit and association, but from their own merits." And she gives him a look! [Jack] ...love at first whATEVER THIS IS,
[Sammy] ...Sammy's not amused. [GM] The band's amused! [Jack] Jack is probably amused.
[GM] So far things are going very well, but y'know, [Jack] Only so long until we crit fail something! [Sammy] NEVER TOO LATE TO MESS IT UP!
[GM] Allison's vibe is like, I Didn't Study This Exactly, But I Was Hoping It Could Just Work Out! [Jack] ...She has a lot of practice at just... making things work out, huh....
[GM] Is there anything else Joey would try to show off? [Joey] Tries to think... what else is at the Studio... [Jack] "Do you wanna talk to our janitor? He's really cool!"
[Joey] I roll to see if Joey can put two brain cells together,
[Jack] I have to appreciate that Bendy said he didn’t have the keys today. He’s been stealing them before, but THIS TIME isn’t his doing!
[Sammy] If there’s anything he needs to do himself, then he’ll come in early, but I don’t know what state we’re in -- [Joey] Uh, New York. [Sammy] ...what? [Joey] You didn’t know what state we’re in. :) [Sammy] [Sammy] thanks
[Joey] Oh Joey’s absolutely coming in early. Joey woke up, and felt great, so he’s going to menace every other department today, because he has the energy to get his fingers into everything! [Sammy] *distressed sounds in the background*
[Sammy] Hey how come when we did a Halloween cartoon, we all went to Haiti, but we’re doing a cartoon about a fair and we’re not going to a fair? [Jack] [Jack] I think we all know why.
*trying to decide who goes to Joey’s fancy dinner with an investor* [Sammy] I don’t know if Sammy will help you... [Sammy] Unless you bring Sammy and put him on a piano, like a small child that needs to be immediately handed crayons.
[Joey] Joey will say that they’re essentially the second hands in each of the departments-- [Jack] Yeah, Abby, the second hand… entire Art Department director, [GM] Uh-huh. [Joey] She… she knows,, [GM] Joey, [Joey] She knows that Joey… is … Big Gay for Henry,,, [GM] This is true, but I think she likes nominal acknowledgement that she holds a position, [Jack] He can just say that they’re high-ranking, and not-- [Joey] No I rolled badly, Joey’s going to say that Sammy and Henry are busy, so he brought his second-best! :) [GM] Abby is massaging her temples. [Joey] Sorry, Abby. He is,, an idiot,,, [GM] I think she’d be a lot more bothered if she couldn’t go and commiserate with Henry about it. Like, “why can’t he keep it straight?” [GM] ……………….well. She knows why he can’t keep it straight.
[GM] It’s about midnight, and something... strange.... happens. The trumpet player, who is leading the band -- [Joey] -- has a trumpet for a head! [GM] what no
*Joey succeeds a sanity check, Jack fails it* [GM] Joey, roll 1d10! [Joey] Uh, 3? [GM] Okay, you’re only down three sanity, that’s not so bad! [GM] Jack, roll 6d10! [Jack] what? [Joey] Six??? SIX d10s????? [GM] Yeah! [Joey] nICE KNOWING YOU, JACK!!! It’s time for Sillytime Jack.
[Jack] Smash cut to Henry, curled up in bed, nice and cozy,
[GM] I will also note, you cannot seem to Fast Talk. [Joey] ...what else can I do? [GM] Just normal talk. Like a normal person.
[Jack] I feel like Jack probably has a hunch that it’s weird nightmarish horror nonsense, on account of he just lost nineteen sanity,
[GM] Abby’s gonna try to take him to the hospital. [Jack] Jack’s just going to let that happen, because he’s shaken enough that he doesn’t have any significantly better ideas! Other than AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA,
[Sammy] *rolling sanity damage* 9… 9, stop that…. 4, [Jack] You’ve already lost more than Jack! [Sammy] 2, ...6, and 1! [Joey] That’s 31. [GM] Okay, Sammy has six sanity! [Sammy] eXCUSE ME?????
[Joey] Joey does want to head home… what day is it? [GM] Friday, the 13th! [Jack] HM, [Sammy] I GUESS IT IS, ISN’T IT… I wasn’t keeping track, but I guess it sure is! [GM] A delightful treat for myself, when I was looking up days in July, in 1934, [Sammy] WAIT, NO, ITS ACTUALLY A COINCIDENCE? Oh my gosh, [Jack] Because Friday the 13th wouldn’t even be a spooky day at this point in time! [GM] It is now! [Jack] It’s spooky, but just for us!
[Sammy] Sammy would try to call Jack, he’d try to call Joey, he’d try to call Henry -- probably several times, [Henry] sammy gets jack’s cat [Henry] phone is answered with meows [Jack] That does seem fitting for a really bad luck roll; the phone gets answered, and Sammy’s really relieved -- and it’s just the cat. [Sammy] Sammy, at 6 sanity: “jack’s tuRNED INTO A CAT,”
[Joey] The phone kept on ringing, so the cat just batted it off the cradle, [Jack] I feel like Jack probably doesn’t usually get a significant number of calls, so like, this many calls in a row is just obnoxious! [Jack] Cat’s having none of it. [Jack] Phone ring isn’t breakfast! [Jack] Where is the soft provider of food.
[GM] Oh no, you know what’s going to happen? Henry’s gonna get through to Jack, and then when Sammy calls it’s busy! [Sammy] cALLS JACK IT’S BUSY, CALLS HENRY IT’S BUSY, [Jack] I was gonna say maybe Henry would call Sammy first, because Sammy was one of the original three. [Jack] …Henry calls Sammy, Sammy is busy because SAMMY is trying to call someone, and then Henry calls Jack, and Sammy tries to call Jack again-- [Sammy] *laughing* THE HORROR, The deep, bone-chilling horror of A TIME BEFORE CALL-WAITING!!
[Henry] Is Joey there? [Jack] Yeah. [Henry] Are you guys alright? [Jack] ……………….hm,
[Jack] Cat is just sat on Joey, purring. Something is wrong with the human. Purr to fix the human.
[Henry] I called Sammy to make sure he’s okay, but-- [Abby] Was he? [Henry] No.
[Joey] Joey is going to be… obstinate feels like the wrong word? [Joey] He’s being the cat where you put the leash on, and the cat just sits down. [Joey] That is the Joseph mood right now.
[Sammy] *muttering* First one boyfriend turns into a cat, now the other boyfriend’s voice is wrong, today is terrible,
[Joey] This is Joey’s everything. [Sammy] That’s Joey’s contribution to the party! That’s like, your bard can no longer play music. [Sammy] ……….which is also true, but Sammy contributes other things. [Jack] Like Intimidate! [Sammy] Right now he contributes paranoia!
#call of cthulu: haunted hijinx#when in doubt just keep drawing#sammy lawrence#IM STILL REELING FROM THIS
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Prompt for Dear Evan Hansen visual novel fan-made sequel: Sincerely Me
So Dear Evan Hansen never had a sequel, which disappointed me because of what happened at the end.
So I have an idea for a visual novel sequel called "Sincerely Me" (as the original "Dear Evan Hansen" was the first words of the signature letter, and "Sincerely Me" are the last words).
It takes place after the ending of the musical, & the main plot is you playing as Evan as he go through college trying to make money & decide what he wants in life, while dealing with the tortuous guilt of his actions in the musical & how the world still doesn't know the truth. As he struggles to decides whether or not to finally confess, he tries his best to be a better person & make amends for what he did in every other way he can, in the process building new relationships & friendships as well as trying to mend old ones. But remember, it's a step-by-step process to redemption, ESPECIALLY if it's in regards to the Murphys. You aren't allowed to rush things with them, for obvious reasons. If you stick your nose in someone's business where it's not wanted or needed, no matter how good your intentions are, you will lose points.
One of the choices you can make is whether or not you admit your lies to the world or keep it a secret as the Murphys planned. I won't spoil how it either choice goes.
If you've played the Persona games, you'll know of Social Links & Confidants. It's where you do certain things to unlock (sometimes optional) interactive side-quests with certain characters & go up by rank until you reach Rank 10. You achieve a certain relationship with said character based on your choices, your rank in different virtues (such as courage or knowledge), & if you've reached Rank 9/Rank 10 or not. For Evan, these characters include canon ones (Heidi, Zoe, Cynthia, Larry, Jared, & Alana) as well as OCs. This includes the option to romance certain characters (most of the options are OCs; the only canon options are Zoe & Jared, & Jared is not the only gay option). Depending on your Social Link rank, the choices you've made, & your rank in values, you can pick choices as different characters. When you get to Rank 9 or 10, you have certain options to decide how the character feels about Evan depending on your previous choices & how high your values are (ex. honesty, kindness, courage, etc.).
If it's a romance option, you decide if they're in love with Evan or just see them as a friend, then you choose as Evan if you reciprocate or not. If the character is not a romance option, you decide how the character feels about Evan & where their relationship/friendship is, & then how Evan feels.
I should talk about Zoe because I want to make it clear that she's THE most difficult friendship & romance to achieve, unsurprisingly (besides Cynthia & Larry, but I shouldn't need to point out that they're not romance options). But it's clear as day that Evan is not doing these things to get her back, or else that would be EXTREMELY shitty & go against the whole point of the visual novel. When you unlock a certain rank with Zoe & you've achieved enough points through good enough choices, Evan will ask Zoe if he can set her up with someone else because he tells her he wants her to be happy, & he confirms he honestly wants this in his own thoughts.
You have to have an 100% right-choice play-through, max out your values, & get to Rank 9 or 10 before you even unlock the OPTION for Zoe to decide if she's still in love with Evan or not. If you don't do these, Zoe will only see Evan as a friend a at BEST. Even then, you can mess it all up:
If you have Zoe confess to still being in love with Evan, & you decide that Evan is still in love with her as well (only if he's single, of course, because he's no cheater), but decide to lie that you're not in love with her anymore because you don't want her protesting your claims you don't deserve her, she'll IMMEDIATELY see through it & end everything with you for good - because you lied to her again, & thus you learned nothing. If you decide she's still in love with Evan when he's with someone else (for angst, I guess - again, it's all up to you), & Evan lies that he doesn't deserve her instead of just telling her the truth that he's not in love with her anymore, it'll be the same outcome - your relationship is ruined permanently.
Then there's Jared. Depending on what you do, when you get to Rank 9 or 10, you can decide if Jared is in love with Evan or just sees him as a friend (rather than "family friend"), & then you pick as Evan if he reciprocates or not.
Or of course you can easily just have Evan stay single. Romancing a character is absolutely not necessary to get the golden ending (ESPECIALLY in regards to Zoe), or else it would spit in the face of the message.
I'm not sure yet if I can make this reality myself can because I don't have the best drawing/animation skills & I'm struggling to figure out how to use RenPy. So anyone can take the idea upon for themselves & bring it to life if they wish.
Feel free to ask me any questions if you have any!
#dear evan hansen#dear evan hansen movie#deh#deh musical#evan hansen#connor murphy#zoe murphy#jared kleinman#alana beck#cynthia murphy#larry murphy#heidi hansen#kleinsen#evan x oc#evan hansen x oc#evan x jared#evan hansen x jared kleinman#evan x zoe#zoevan#bandtrees#zoe x evan#jared x evan#evan hansen x zoe murphy#zoe murphy x evan hansen#oc x evan#oc x evan hansen
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Cat’s Definitive Ranking of Every ML Episode as of 4/22/21
Are you guys ready for this? I did the thing. You’re all welcome. Don’t ever ask me for anything again. You can watch me get progressively more unhinged in real time.
Now, just to preface this, I did not give this too much thought. Most of these are just my gut feelings. I went through every episode and just made some snap judgments based off the lasting impressions I’ve been left with. These are my opinions. If you don’t like them, tough. And also I don’t care. Go spend 4 hours making your own damn ranking. And shut the hell up. Anyway, this is probably the longest post I’ve ever made, so I’m gonna put it all under a read more. Click on it if you have an hour to read it. Okay, here we go!
1. Origins II- Good starting point for our heroes. Good establishment of canon ships and character dynamics. Umbrella scene literally stole my wallet. Cannot emphasis enough that I am whipped for the umbrella scene. I wrote a whole ass AU just to say how whipped I am for the umbrella scene. In the Rain will play at my wedding. Jk. Weddings are for suckers. But dammit if I don’t want these kids to get married. 10/10
2. Origins I- Good introduction to lore. Good introduction to characters. Good establishment of status quoyo. Just good. 10/10
3. Simon Says- Listen, I am nothing if not a shipper at heart. This episode just sparks joy. And the whole series almost ended when Gabriel almost jumped off the roof. I was really rooting for this one. This was the episode where I saw Ladrien and went yes, ma’am, I’ll have one of those. 10/10
4. Evillustrator- Are you all surprised? Cat, the MC-skeptic ranked the pivotal MC episode so highly? Well, let me tell you all a thing, I started this fandom out a MC shipper because of this episode. Their first interaction is gold. I don’t deny that. I enjoy it. This is the MC dynamic I fell in love with. Yall toxic shippers ruined MC for me when you opened your mouths and spat in the face of Ladrien and baselessly declared MC the sin-ship. We all know it’s Ladrien. Stop kidding yourselves. Boy in leather catsuit? Please. Basic ass vanilla bitches. I’m getting off-topic. Solid episode 10/10. We love to see it.
5. Stormy Weather- Baby’s first Miraculous episode. It holds a special place in my heart. It’s a solid episode. Good establishment of what the show is. Fun villain. Good times. Fond memories. 10/10
6. Riposte- Listen, I know I’m an Adrinette stan, but hear me out: Ladrien. It’s just so good. And Kagami was compelling in this episode. It was just really solid. It’s my favorite s2 episode. If you ask me if I want to rewatch Riposte, the answer is always yes. 10/10. We stan.
7. Gorizilla- Okay, so this episode has some solid Adrinette in it, but the real reason it ranks so high is that fucking Ladrien trust fall. I stare at that scene for hours, you guys. HOURS. It is absolutely just *chefs kiss*. Sometimes when I need a pick-me-up, I just go watch gifs of that catch on loop. 10/10. Beautiful. Radiant. Carefree.
8. Gang of Secrets- I have been keeping most of my opinions to myself about s4 (mostly because I’ve backed way the hell out of this fandom), but GoS was pretty solid. Gotta say, it’s the first episode in a long time with this show that made me actually excited to see what happens next. Most other episodes I was like, okay, that was cute. The show is still meh overall. But GoS really got me like oh shit, is ML good again? 10/10 for making me feel things again.
9. Oblivio- Told you guys this one was probably rated higher than I thought. Oblivio is just really fun. There is good Adrinette. That “No wonder I fell in love with you” paired with the softest of Adrien smiles just sends me. And the kisses. The unquestionable trust. These two kids literally woke up together alone in an elevator with no memories and said welp, you’re my boyfriend/girlfriend obviously, I don’t make the rules. Honestly, how anyone could argue that these two dorks aren’t made for each other after that episode is beyond me. 9/10
10. Backwarder- Okay, I know I am weird and alone for this one, but I really liked this episode. It got a lot of shit for the constipation capsule thing at the end, but like who cares? We finally got some more backstory on Fu. He got a love-interest who is dope as hell. This episode is my favorite lucky charm use ever. Like that queen DID that. I like Backwarder, guys! Fuck off. 9/10.
11. Kwamibuster- We all know I am a Marinette-stan by this point, but our girl was SHINING this episode. This bitch said gimme all them and let me go whoop this bitch’s ass, and she DID. Hawkmoth could never. Multimouse is a gift, and Marinette is a boss ass queen. 9/10
12. Chat Blanc- Listen, this episode was very good. I enjoy the idea of my children being happy in another timeline somewhere very much. We got all 4 sides of the square in an episode. It’s just really solid. I know this is the fandom’s favorite, and everyone is gonna shit their pants because it didn’t make my top 10, but this is my list. So, I put it at number 12. It’s good. I like it. It just didn’t steal my wallet like other episodes did. Put the pitchforks down. It’s gonna be okay, you can still love it more than me. 8/10
13. New York Special- I know everyone felt some type of way about this special, but I wasn’t mad at it. My perception of it might be clouded because I watched it in Disney World where I was chilling and having a great time, but like this special really did somethings for me. The Adrinette was top tier. Tippy top tier. Even though they hurt us in the end, I am okay with it because it just means the children will grow and come out stronger. I don’t care if it’s not technically canon. Ask me if I give a fuck. I don’t. I had fun here. 8/10. Solid.
14. The Collector- This one might shock a lot of you, but let me paint you a scene. It’s the first episode of s2. We have just come off a 2 year hiatus. The fandom is thriving. We’re hungry for canon content. We have hopes and dreams and expectations. Everyone is going wild with theories. This episode confirmed something that was long since obvious (in my opinion) and ended the stupid arguments people had been having. It made Gabriel actually seem semi-competent. We got our first taste of how Chat/Adrien will react to his dad being Hawkmoth. We got a peek at their life. Adrien’s isolation and sadness. They were so close to figuring it out. The battle was epic. Like Collector really had them on the ropes there for a second. It’s a solid episode, yall. I’m not wrong. Hate me all you want, but this episode brought it. 8/10
15. Despair Bear- Is this episode up this high because of the Adrinette slow dance scene? YOU BET YOUR ASS IT IS. Okay, but fr though, shipping aside, this episode gave us hope that Chloe was actually gonna redeem herself. I mean, she didn’t but, we didn’t know that at the time. Seeing her run around trying to be nice was fun. And then she actually did something good, and we had a moment of okay, she’s capable. We’ll get there. We didn’t. But what a ride this episode was for making us think she would. 8/10
16. Startrain- Cat, you’re just ranking all the Adrinette episodes highest. And? What of it? Are you surprised? You clicked a blog that has simping for Adrinette in the description, and you’re surprised all my favorite episodes have Adrinette? I’m not wrong, you’re just an idiot. The Adrinette nap cuddles aside though, this was a pretty good episode. If you don’t think too hard about the whole space thing, we got a look at Max’s life, his mom is a driven, smart lady doing her best. Adrien rebels against papa for once. Alya stops a Lila scheme. Chloe gets to play the hero. Alya and Nino actually investigate like the heroes they are. Gabriel gets to realize what a dumbass bitch he is. I mean. Guys. Startrain is solid. 7.5/10
17. Sapotis- This one shot up in rank for me after GoS, but tbh it’s always been a solid episode. Alyanette sleepover? Check. Alya becoming a superhero? Check. It’s a fun episode. And looking back, it’s nicely called back to later in GoS. We love it. 7.5/10
18. Sandboy- Idk why I enjoy this episode as much as I do, but I do. Sandboy is a cute bean. I love his aesthetic. We also get hilarious looks at everyone’s nightmares. “Plagg, who turned you into a sock?” cracks me up cause like Adrien, bby, no XD And Chat Noir’s nightmare. I think it would have been interesting though if since Sandboy dusted the Agreste mansion, if we got a peek at Hawkmoth’s nightmares. It would have been a nice hint of plot to go along with Master Fu’s nightmare. Also Plagg giving the akuma the slip like the clever boy we know he is deep down? 7.5/10
19. Furious Fu- If you guys haven’t realized by now that I love Fu, idk what you’re doing. Pay attention. I know that some people don’t like him, but I’m just gonna say it, you’re wrong. Fu took care of the Miracle Box for over 100 years, and this episode kind of gives some insight to what the Order was like. Very strict. Lots of rules. And ya know what, Fu said fuck the police, I’m gonna befriend these little magical demigods, and fuck off! Like what an absolute legend. I was really happy to see him living his best life, and that he and Marianne got married because it’s what he deserves. We love to see it. 7.5/10
20. Gamer- People like to shit on Marinette in this episode, but like honestly, if I were in her shoes, I’d have probably done the same thing if I had the skill. Ain’t nothing wrong with a girl trying to spend time with the boy she likes. And Tom and Sabine being absolute shipping trash. I love them. And the awkward Adrinette. The introduction of the lucky charm that Adrien STILL carries. Wholesome. This was a good episode for their friendship, and we love to see it. 7.5/10
21. Christmaster- Okay, I know a lot of people hated this episode when it aired, but I thought it was really funny? Everyone skidding around in the ice rink was hilarious. If you don’t take this episode seriously, it’s really fun. Chris is pretty cute, and damn right Ladybug is the best kid in the world. Idk. This episode is fun. I’m not mad at it. Sue me. 7.5/10
22. Weredad- What? Another MC-heavy episode in Cat’s top 30? Listen, I don’t hate canon MC. The fans just annoy me. This episode was funny. The secondhand embarrassment and cringe was real. Plagg taunting Adrien because he knows the secret was great. Marinette being a self-saving queen was great. It’s a good episode. I like MC, you guys. I do. I swear! 7.5/10
23. Miraculer- This episode was interesting to me, and I think it’s still a good development episode. For one, Sabrina finally got her own akuma episode named after her. Secondly, because it’s a big step for Chloe, just not in the way we expected. It totally makes sense that Chloe can’t have her Miraculous back because literally everyone knows her identity. Can’t argue that logic. And she is the first person to ever refuse to become akumatized, so like mad respect. I know a lot of people had high hopes for redeemed Chloe (myself included), but I think watching a character fall from revering someone to hating them is also an interesting path. The friends to enemies arc as it were. Idk. I liked this episode. It was an opportunity for Chloe to grow, even if she didn’t in the end, but we’ll talk about that later. 7.5/10
24. Lady Wifi- I like Alya. I feel like I don’t say that much, and people make some assumptions because of MDCSP, but MDCSP is just a concept I wanted to explore. It doesn’t really reflect how I feel about any one character. Except maybe Lila. And Gabe. But every other spite fic I’ve written branching from Chameleon, the class has been fine. Alya has been fine. So, let it be known that I like Alya. Lady Wifi was a fun episode. Putting aside the fact that she thought Chloe was Ladybug for no reason, I like her akuma. I like the interactions we get with LadyNoir in this episode. After GoS, this episode gets a bit funnier. It’s solid. 7/10
25. Dark Cupid- I don’t have much to say about this one. LadyNoir. That’s it. That’s the tweet. Send it. 7/10
26. Volpina- So many things about this episode. It introduced a new antagonist who we didn’t exactly 100% know was going to be an antagonist at the time. This episode sparked a lot of fun fan theories for a while. Who was Lila? How was she going to shake things up? Not to mention this episode gave us a taste of plot and lore, and set up Marinette meeting Master Fu officially. Lots of intrigue sparked from this episode. And that LadyNoir door scene? OOOOOO 7/10
27. Hearthunter- One word: Adrigaminette. This episode was so cute for them! I loved seeing them all goofing and running around together. Adrien and Kagami being absolutely in love with Marinette when her hair is down. They both love her, I don’t make the rules. Not to mention, Marinette takes a big step by letting her friends be happy without her. Kagami not wanting to hurt Marinette. The drama!! Gabriel being a messy ass bitch to his friends. It loses points for the abomination of an akuma, but overall, I wasn’t too mad at it. Yet. 7/10
28. Glaciator- More MC in Cat’s top 30? It’s more likely than you think. Listen. Listen… Listen. MC is fine. This episode was the closest thing to fanfiction that we got. The balcony scene was really sweet. I was drinking the irony. We got introduced to Andre the icecream fraud. Andre the please just give me the flavor I asked for man. I could have done without Chat pouting, but the LadyNoir in the end was pretty good. I wish they’d done more with Ladybug’s feelings for Chat. Had her question herself a bit more after this one, but overall, it’s cute. 7/10
29. Zombizou- A lot of people started hating Mlle. Bustier after this episode, and like I can kind of see it, if I squint, but I did not draw that same conclusion from this episode. Mlle. Bustier just wants good things for all of her students. They’re 14 ffs, she just wants to be a good influence on all of her students and wants them all to be successful. But go off, I guess? Plus, this episode was basically just a spoof on zombie apocalypse movies. We got so many things. Julerose, Myvan, DJWifi. Chloe actually showing some depth and emotion. LadyNoir. We won this episode, babes. Sorry you didn’t get the memo. 7/10
30. Timetagger- Okay. This is the last episode in the ones that I’d venture to call “good.” Number 30. I enjoyed Timetagger. I know people have feelings about timey-wimey bullshit, and like I’m not gonna lie and say I’m thrilled with it either (I mean, I changed the rabbit’s power in MDCSP) but that being said, Timetagger was so sassy. Bunnix was cool as hell. We get to see that LB and CN are still doing the thing in the future. So many questions sparked from this episode. It was fun. Idk. I liked it. That’s all I got. 7/10
31. Malediktator- Okay, from this point on, less comments because this is the section that are more or less just meh to me. Like they’re fine. This episode was fine. Chloe was fine. Chat playing with the laser was cute. 6.5/10
32. Mayura- Adrien’s speech at the end. Nuff said 6.5/10
33. Ikari Gozen- Ryuko/Ryuuko. Gals being pals. 6.5/10
34. Reflekdoll- I talked about this earlier, but I don’t hate this episode. It’s not as bad as people make it out to be. Sue me. 6.5/10
35. Anansi- Nino is the goodest boy. Also I need more of the gang taking Adrien on adventures via Facetime. Stat. 6.5/10
36. Shanghai- This one is new, and tbh I still haven’t watched it with subs, but I had a good time. Fei was cute. The boy squad was cute. Adrien bonding with Great Uncle Cheng was cute. Hawkmoth getting literally dunked on was *chefs kiss* 6.5/10
37. Gigantitan- I love overly supportive, ride-or-die girl squad. 6.5/10
38. Party Crasher- Idk why this episode was funny to me. Kim is the purest bean. We don’t deserve him. 6.5/10
39. Desperada- This episode was an emotional roller coaster, and even though we all collectively hate Aspik’s stupid egghead, we love the Ladrien this episode provided us. 6/10
40. Oni-chan- Listen, I loved seeing Lila get a tiny bit of karma even if she made it up in the end. I loved Chat going off on her. I loved seeing her get outsmarted in the end. 6/10
41. Frightningale- My good lesbian Clara Nightingale. We stan. 6/10
42. Style Queen- I like Audrey in a “she’s the worst person I’ve ever met, I want to travel the world with her” kind of way. She’s funny to me. Idk. I love her firing everyone. She’s the one I love to hate. She’s the worst, but we love her for it. Plus this episode gave us Plagg’s adorable little Cataclysm that destroyed half the city. 6/10
43. Gamer 2.0- Chat confidently strutting in heels made this episode worth it. And we get to see the beginning of Marinette being overwhelmed. Plus it was the return of gamer!nette. 6/10
44. Troublemaker- I don’t hate this episode as much as the next person either. It was fine. Jagged is a manchild, but we love him for it. He’s a Marinette stan which like mood. The Adrinette at the end was cute. I wasn’t mad at it. Idk. It’s fine. 6/10
45. Reflekta- Where are all my Juleka stans at? I loved the LadyNoir banter in this ep. V. cute. 6/10
46. Dark Owl- This episode was fun. And it really shows their level of trust. Plus Plagg and Tikki interacted. 6/10
47. Timebreaker- Have I ever mentioned that I like Alix? I like Alix. 6/10
48. Silencer- I don’t hate this episode as much as you’d expect me to, and that is 100% because of the LadyNoir. 5.5/10
49. Prime Queen- Chat purrs. 5.5/10
50. Syren- I think the fish power-up is adorable. Ondine is a gem. Kim is a pure bean, but we been knew. 5.5/10
51. Befana- I like Gina, but this episode fell flat for me. Almost as flat as the animation. 5.5/10
52. Reverser- Another episode that everyone hates that I am actually fine with. This episode made me like Nathaniel more. Probably because I was previously indifferent toward him. Marc is cute too. 5.5/10
53. Mr. Pigeon- Marinette is one clever girl. And the Adrinette hand-touch. 5.5/10
54. Felix- Felix is a gremlin of chaos. A true chaotic neutral. He gives his uncle the finger, and I think that’s beautiful. 5.5/10
55. Truth- Bet you expected this episode to be higher. While I did enjoy watching toxic people’s world crumble, this episode still gets a meh from me dog. 5/10
56. Lies- The Adrigami was cute, and I respect Kagami as a character. The akuma could have been better tho. 5/10
57. Princess Fragrance- Not much to say here. 5/10
58. Copycat- 5/10
59. Bubbler- 5/10
60. Mime- 5/10
61. Animan- 5/10
62. Robostus- 5/10
63. Ladybug- This episode ranks this low purely because I don’t care about GabeNath, and I hate that Lila won something in the end. But Adrien saying I won’t hesitate, bitch! At the end was nice to see. 5/10
64. Catalyst- I know I ranked Mayura way higher, but Catalyst fell flat for me. Like it was fine. Wasn’t as into it though. 4.5/10
65. Puppeteer- One of my favorite lucky charm uses. 4.5/10
66. Pixelator- My favorite Cataclysm. 4.5/10
67. Horrificator- That almost-Adrinette kiss tho 4.5/10
68. Pharaoh- 4.5/10
69. Kung Food- 4.5/10
70. Rogercop- 4/10
71. Guitar Villain- 4/10
72. Dark Blade- 4/10
73. Bakerix- 4/10
74. Antibug- And now onto the bottom 10. To start us off, I will just say: UGH, this episode annoyed me. First of all, Sabrina didn’t even get her own episode. Chloe was a piece of shit. Idk why they made Ladybug the one in the wrong when Chloe was being obnoxious. Ugh. 3/10
75. Captain Hardrock- I’m gonna be honest. My apathy for this episode has grown into loathing. Toxic stans are 100% to blame. Birthday ruining, bitches. This is the reason I threw a breakup bash after Truth. Yall deserved it. 3/10
76. Christmas Special- I didn’t hate this episode as much as everyone, but it still wasn’t great. 2.5/10
77. Stormy Weather 2.0- This episode was really dumb. It didn’t need to exist. 2.0/10
78. Queen Wasp- Why did we give Chloe a Miraculous after this episode? 2/10
79. Animaestro- Did we really need a self-insert? Did we really? 2/10
80. Puppeteer 2.0- Listen, this episode would have made more sense in s1 or at the very latest early s2. Adrien gave a whole ass speech on how great Marinette is, then he turns around and is like idk if she likes me… Clean it up. 2/10
81. Miracle Queen- I could talk at length about how much I hate the ending of this episode and what they did with Chloe and Master Fu, but we’re just going to remain calm and give it a solid 1.5/10
82. Frozer- This episode made no goddamn sense. I call bullshit on so many things. Just ugh. 1/10
83. Chameleon- Surprisingly, even though this episode sparked many, many spite fics out of me, it’s not my least favorite because at least Ladybug semi-redeemed this episode. Still really dumb and ooc tho. 1/10
84. Feast- Okay, okay, okay, here we are. Bottom of the barrel. Cat’s most hated episode, and you wanna know why? You want to know why this episode fills me with the rage? Because we spent two fucking seasons building up all this mystery and lore and intrigue surrounding Fu’s big mistake, and they dropped the fucking ball! They did my mans so dirty! They could have really deepened his character, deepened the Order, deepened anything other than whatever fucking affair Gabriel and Nathalie have going on, but NO. They made it some stupid, bland-ass thing that got resolved magically in the end, then just ignored it for the rest of the season. I will never not be salty about how they did my boy Fu in this show. I’m happy he found his peace, but fuck if I’m not livid about how they did it. Whatever. Chat being done with Ladybug’s shit when they’re about to get eaten was funny I guess. .5/10
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Bro we should do a top ten best poptropica twist villains
and do we did ;)) @cacaocheri
top 10 best poptropica twist villians
day 2 of mutual insanity over poptropica feat her ETHERAL blue text commentary .
10: Jeeves
Forgot this dude even existed. Also his name is Jeeves. 0/10
we accidentally referred to do this dude as the governor for the duration of our rankings he was so irrelevant. only made the list bc we had a villian apologist moment over the captain from S.O.S.
9: Preston Wilhelm
His scheme was pretty clever....and he could've gotten away with it, too.....if it wasn't for us meddling kids.................
im biased bc nightwatch is one of my favourite islands but this dude was so wild like. literally owns a printing company and resorts to larceny like I respect that so hard but. how. what's the progression there.
8: The Construction Workers
The construction workers were so obviously going to be the villains, but they got bonus points because their twist came with a good message: deforestation is bad, kids!
literally do not remember these mfs at all but cherry brainwashed me into remembering that they were bad so uh tree good capitalism bad what she said thank you <\3
7: Henry Flatbottom
Magistrate sucks but his twist was pretty good. Sure, when you meet him he reeks of dirty rat bastard vibes, but I would have never predicted he did that.
afraid to say that he fooled me. I knew he was kinda sus but had NO idea the twist would play out the way it did like... impossible to see that coming.
6: Zeus
I love poptropica so much for diverging expectations and making zeus the villain. In almost all media, hades is normally the villain. We finally got some zeus slander.
poptropica DID that. honestly agree 100% w cherry hades slander is so overused in the media it's abt time someone pulled a complete quick one on us and made ooga booga cloud man the villian.
5: Ringmaster Raven
Raven was a pretty good twist....poptropica built it up so well with the newspapers and everything....by the time you realized he was the villain, it was too late....
raven bb I'm so sorry for putting you on the villian list hnngsgnhggsg.
4: Madamosille Moreau
I had moreau higher up BUT mads opened my third eye when she told me that moreau was like the only non historical person on the train, so that's a pretty big giveaway. Also we were gonna suspect her at one point or another because the whole point of the island was to look for a villain.
yeah!! moreau is probably my favourite villian on this list but it is possible to discover she's the villian before her reveal at the end. HOWEVER her reveal is done so cleverly and I will never get over the last dialogue exchange w gustave pls.
3: Director D
Director D quite literally played chess against himself, and we were all the pawns. It was kind of genius, not gonna lie. The only reason he isn't higher up was because there was literally a clue that said "don't trust director d"
that kinda gave it away but I mean. his character as a concept literally leaves no room to imagine that he could possibly be a twist villian because every island needs a 'good' character like him.
2: Black Widow
Black widow by far the sexiest twist villain. I trusted the inspector with my life. When we received the hint that we shouldn't trust someone close to us, I literally didn't even consider the inspector. I was blind with love for her design, and it was a fatal mistake <\3
could not of said it better i was too busy staring at sexy women's red lipstick to notice the whole red flags surrounding her.
1: Dr. Jupiter
The way poptropica reused a villain from another island was absolute genius.....never in a million years would kid me think they would bring back zeus..... and all the foreshadowing they did for him (like the thunderstorm at the beginning) was so fucking GOOD. if I were to play it now, him being zeus would be a lot more obvious (jupiter is literally the roman version of zeus) but like.....the NOSTALGIA bro....poptropica is all about the nostalgia.
this was the biggest villian that I DID NOT see coming whatsoever. not zeus, not even dr. jupiter being a straight up villian either like man. this was executed so well and??? everything just CAME together.
@cacaocheri thank you SO SO much for doing this with me!! your mind is galaxy moment and your commentary is so in depth and detailed in the best way possible <333 smooches
#oh#poptropica#poptropica villians#villians#poptropica has SO many twist villians like its literally every second island man they went OFF#our zeus vs dr. jupiter discourse was SO funny im not lying when i say it weny on for like. a solid hour#we switched sides at the last moment and kinda went at the same time HEBRJBDJFF
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It may be a long request, but what memorable moments (scenes) for each characters from OddTaxi caught your eyes the most ? (included images as well) It will be interesting to hear it from you, as someone who reviewed each episode of this series.(and was fun to read) I can wait if this take some time to answer back, no need to rush(> ◡ 0) Honestly ,this show is so unique & such an underrated gem!! It's like you said: "DAMN. ODDTAXI WHY YOU SO GOOD"
LOL thanks, I’m flattered that you found my weekly ramblings fun to read ^^; I didn’t intend to review the series though. I was planning to just make a series of minor complaints about an otherwise good story, but... well. It was clear by episode 5 that the writing was deeper than I thought.
Having said that, here are my favorite moments for each characters anyway!
(●'◡'●)
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Taeko-san
Episode 8.
Suddenly acting all cutesy and embarrassed ^^;
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Nagashima
Episode 1.
I was just surprised to find that he’s in the first 5 minutes of episode 1.
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Kabasawa
Episode 9.
DEYM, SON @_@
Maaaaybe focus on catching Dobu? Also what the hell, 10k yen to assist on catching Dobu???
Slow clap. Brilliant, mate.
Episode 9.
I did feel bad for him though. In his pursuit of fame, he’s bitten more than he could chew. This scene stood out to me for a different reason though:
Who apologizes in less than a minute???
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Shibagaki
Episode 6.
It didn’t initially carry much weight, but once you realize he did this to try and remain relevant in the entertainment world, it’s kinda sad. Especially with Baba getting all the attention recently.
Episode 6, ending credits.
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Baba
Episode 6, ending credits.
Contrast to Shibagaki, Baba is experiencing one hell of a high in his career. Can’t entirely blame him for not focusing too much attention on the N-1 contest anymore. This entire exchange with Shibagaki was so memorable because... it just shows how different their careers have become.
Also, just right before this scene, it was shown that
HE’S ACTUALLY DATING NIKAIDO WTF
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Kuroda
Episode 3.
This scene where Kakihana thought Kuroda was talking to him was just hilarious. Not to mention once you hear him speak, you realize...
He’s voiced by this guy.
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Donraku
Episode 1.
This annoyed the hell out of me. I thought this was one of those typical Japanese TV commentary panels. When I wondered if “Don-chan” might be Donraku, I thought of this scene and concluded “Nah, can’t be him. Would you act all calm - let alone appear on TV like that - if your daughter was missing? Nah.”
How wrong I was of course, but this scene has always stuck in my head.
Of course, the president of the agency being in the shot was probably meant as a clue of some sort... But we didn’t know that yet, did we?
Episode 11.
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Kakihana
Episode 5.
This was just so awkward to watch. 🤦♂️
Episode 9.
I still feel bad for him at the end of it all, of course. He just wants to move on and throws the ring away... but he realizes how much it cost. ^^;
(Finally, of course there’s also that scene with Kuroda from earlier)
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Tanaka
Episode 4.
This scene. I’ve ranted about it before already :v
Episode 9.
Does this count? Of course we now know that this was actually Little Daimon, but at the time, I was so annoyed at how overpowered Tanaka was made to be.
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Imai
Episode 8.
Episode 11.
Imai’s love for Mystery Kiss (well, Nikaido) is probably greater than all our love for ODDTAXI combined.
A true man of culture.
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Big Daimon
Episode 1.
DIRTY COP! DIRTY COP RIGHT HERE- *bang* ughh
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Little Daimon
Episode 7.
This was the moment I started considering that Odokawa really has nothing to hide in his closet. It would have been extremely risky for him, considering how straight of a cop (albeit a little naive) Little Daimon is.
Episode 12.
This was a genuinely sad moment for me. Your brother, who you decided to punish evil with, was part of the evil you’ve been trying to punish all along. That’s gotta hurt, man.
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Dobu
Episode 9.
Dobu’s actually quite a nice guy, huh? I mean, yeah, not really, but come on. He did let Kabasawa off with a life lesson instead of a more serious beating.
Episode 10.
Really? :))
Episode 12.
Again, DOBU SHOULD HAVE JUST SHUT UP. “IT’S A SILHOUETTE BRO, THAT’S NOT ME, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT.”
Also, I kinda refuse to believe Dobu would use his silhouette for the game. We couldn’t even tell who the hell ditch-11 was but suddenly *poof* it’s Dobu’s silhouette!
I would have preferred if Tanaka’s story of sending a message was true. It would be much more believable. Then Tanaka sends another message to ditch-11 then and there...
And then Dobu’s phone rings. Surprised pikachu face.
Also, Dobu quit playing some time ago but was still Rank 1??? What the hell?
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Yano
Episode 7.
When Yano was introduced, I was amazed that they actually made him rhyme all his lines (or at least introduce some rhythm). Even the translation was keeping up!
Episode 8.
He’s an asshole, but he makes funny faces.
Episode 12.
Funny faces :))
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Sekiguchi
Episode 10.
Sekiguchi provides a very good example of how bad guys can use your social media data. This is practically a PSA.
DON’T POST TOO MUCH PERSONAL INFORMATION ONLINE!!
Episode 11.
I still need an explanation why Nikaido had to do the lifting WHEN SEKIGUCHI, A LITERAL HUGE THUG, IS RIGHT THERE. It’s not like he doesn’t want to get his hands dirty, he’s already filthy AF at the 2nd pic!!
Episode 12.
About to be “arrested”, still worried about Yano’s rhyming. ^^;
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Yamamoto
Episode 2.
Right off the bat, we immediately know that he... has his own share of secrets.
Episode 5.
...But that he also genuinely cares for the girls.
...To some extent, as shown in that entire taxi ride :))
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Ichimura
Episode 3.
“Oh no.”
Obviously, anybody who shows interest in you, Kakihana, after you misrepresent your salary... probably should be red-flagged. Of course, we the viewers immediately know that she’s being tailed by her manager, so we have an idea that she’s being roped into it.
Episode 8.
I can’t even-
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Nikaido
Episode 2.
This Nikaido - she’s seen some things.
Episode 7.
Damn, probably done some things as well! D:
Also, that entire thing where Sekiguchi refused to carry Mitsuya’s body?
Nikaido is strong!!!
Idols are scary, man.
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Mitsuya
Episode 11.
It’s saddening because Mitsuya genuinely wanted to support Nikaido. Had she not gone to the office that night, things would have been much different for all of us.
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Wadagaki
Episode 5.
“Why is she helping Tanaka???” Of course, I thought she was Mitsuya at this point.
Also, she really loves karaage, huh. I wondered if that was a clue, but I guess not. ^^
...It’s not, right..?
Episode 13.
Need I say more about this scene?
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Goriki
Episode 1.
THIS WAS CONFUSING, MAN.
Episode 1.
Also, that entire exchange about cassette tapes and Bruce Springsteen ^^;
“Damn these guys are old” LOL
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Odokawa
Episode 1.
I like how... rude he is :))
Episode 3.
And so done with bullshit :))
Episode 8.
I do remember when he sneezed while taking the photo, in order to hide the shutter sound. Smart :^)
...
Odokawa’s in a weird position because even though he’s the main character, I remember him more for moving the story rather than being a character, if that makes sense. Sorry! >_<
Episode 13.
Of course, there’s the entire sequence of him flying his taxi... But again, that’s more of a nod to the story, not him. If it counts as “memorable scene involving Odokawa”, then there you go! That final sequence was just beautiful to watch. ^^
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AND FINALLY!
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Shirakawa
Episode 2.
Shirakawa’s just a straight-up lovable character. I love that Odokawa can’t handle her XD That entire taxi ride scene was just brilliant.
Episode 2.
And then she tops it all off with that power move with the front camera.
Episode 3.
PLUS SHE CAN DO CAPOEIRA!
Episode 10.
ACTUALLY USABLE-IN-COMBAT CAPOEIRA!
Episode 13.
EVEN UNDERWATER!
Where do I sign up for the Church of Shirakawa???
Shirakawa’s just too damn memorable for me. ^^;
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Goddamn that was the longest ask I’ve ever answered. I hope my answers were at least satisfactory XD
ODDTAXI AOTY!!
(I didn’t realize answering this kind of question would be hard work :’D Compiling screenshots to make a somewhat objective point is surprisingly easier, huh)
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Hey! Album: 'Fleetwood Mac' (1975) - Fleetwood Mac
Hey! Great to hear from you! You (and your previous blog) were my original inspiration for trying to raise my tumblr game to something intentionally curated, and more than that, personally creative. Sorry to have let you down. LOL
What a pleasure to talk about this one, though, an album I think is -- strangely enough -- one of the most underrated albums in the classic rock pantheon!
What’s that you say? An album with “Rhiannon” and “Landslide” underrated?!?! Well it’s true, seriously underrated, at least partly because those two stellar, nay, legendary songs are the first ones that most people think of. There's so much more! It's definitely my favorite Fleetwood Mac album!
My perspective is a little different than the standard rap that Fleetwood Mac didn't properly begin until those two California kids joined the band in 1975, because to me, they started taking off when their first American joined the band, Bob Welch in 1971 for Future Games, which I wrote about at some length here.
(For the record, Future Games is my second favorite Fleetwood Mac album. Anyone who hasn't checked it out really needs to.)
I’ll leave it at that for now, except to observe that to most of my music nerd friends at the time, I was a latecomer to Fleetwood Mac the band, having completely missed their earlier, bluesier lineups. Indeed, the 1971 lineup was their 8th! And they'd come to #9 in 1972, before landing on lineup #10 in 1975.
They had a bunch of hits on the five albums in this 71-74 range (”Hypnotized” is one that still slays me) that I think hold up as among their best ever. While the album before Fleetwood Mac, Heroes Are Hard to Find didn’t have a hit single, it rose to #34 on the US charts, and got plenty of attention.
My point is that Fleetwood Mac didn’t spring into existence out of nowhere in 1975. Nor was 1975 necessarily ground zero for the millions of people who bought the album Fleetwood Mac. It came out in the summer of ‘75, but took 15 months to hit #1 in the US! (It peaked at #11 in the UK.) This was a far bigger album in 1976 when all the singles came out, and the band was touring like crazy to support it.
They basically dragged the album to the top of the charts kicking and screaming by the end of THAT year with relentless touring, setting the stage for their true commercial breakthrough with Rumours in 1977, but artistically? I prefer everything about 1975′s Fleetwood Mac.
btw, the music nerds know that Fleetwood Mac was recorded at Sound City Studios, which makes all the difference in the telling of the tale. In 1974, the band had located to Los Angeles, and following the departure of Bob Welch in December, Mick Fleetwood went looking for both a recording studio and a guitarist.
While getting to know producer Keith Olsen at Sound City (a studio legendary for its drum sound, among other things), Keith played Mick some tracks from an album he’d recorded here a couple of years earlier with a local guitarist and his girlfriend singer, both of whom were also songwriters.
Mick said, I’ll book the studio to record my next album, I’ll book you to produce, and I’ll hire the guitarist....who famously informed Mick that he and his girlfriend were a package deal. All of this happened because of Sound City Studios.
(Here's Mick recording this very album in this very studio.)
Your friend and mine Dave Grohl directed a FANTASTIC documentary about Sound City Studios, a kind of a dump to be honest, but where tons of phenomenal records were made, from After The Gold Rush to Caribou, Damn The Torpedoes, Nevermind, Rage Against The Machine, and most recently, Phoebe Bridgers’ Punisher. Lots and lots of stories about the making of Fleetwood Mac in this movie, and much more.
Here’s the trailer. The whole movie is available on YT, too! And Amazon Prime, and a bunch of other places. HIGHLY recommended!
youtube
So here we go taking directly about Fleetwood Mac.....
the first song from the album i heard: "Over My Head". This was the first single released in the US, remarkably, four months after the album was released! I dunno, did the label not want to sell any albums? Or did they just not get how catchy these tunes were? I have no idea.
And ironically, the band didn't like the choice of "Over My Head" at all, ranking it dead-last in their own considerations of likely singles! I think that this is evidence that they were using heavy drugs much earlier than we thought. LOL
"Over My Head" peaked at #20 in the US, their highest to date by far, although, in some defense of the band's reservations, didn't chart at all in the UK. Saying that it rose to "only" 20 in the charts doesn't begin to describe how heavily it was played, though. A LOT.
do i own the album: Did then, Spotify now. The answer for most of the albums in this round of Asks. :-)
my favorite song: "Over My Head". Look, I admit that this is insane when Fleetwood Mac also includes "Landslide" and "Rhiannon." "Landslide" in particular is maybe one of the greatest songs anyone has ever written, and every single person reading this knows somebody named Rhiannon because of that song. (I've met two.) And hey, "Say You Love Me" was a MUCH bigger hit at the time too... but I'm tellin' ya, "Over My Head" fucks.
It's the single version that fucks hardest, though, no doubt about it. I was disappointed when I finally bought the album that the version there fades in (NO! THIS IS WRONG) and has a wide mix that diffuses the impact. The radio version is so tight that it's practically mono, and it punches you right upside the head.
One of my favorite things about listening to "Over My Head" in the past couple of weeks for this Ask is that it's Old School Fleetwood Mac. Chris on piano, Mick on drums, and John McVie with what might be the best bassline that anyone stroked out in 1975. My god, it's a fucking monster, and it just gets hotter as the song progresses. By the end, it's on fire, and you hear it so much better in this tight single mix.
The new guy adds a nice little solo on top of a nice rhythm lick, and he and Stevie add background vocals, but they're not front and center. "Over My Head" is really Christine McVie's showcase, although Fleetwood and Mac really shine too. This would have been a monster hit without the new kids, as indeed it pretty much was. You could say the same thing about "Say You Love Me", which is also all about Christine's songcraft, and a voice like no other, then or now.
Here's my edit of a lovely Mick Putland photo of Christine McVie from a couple of years earlier.
I guarantee that it's been way too long since you heard the in-your-face single version of "Over My Head". On Spotify, you can find it on the couple of Deluxe Editions of Fleetwood Mac (here's one), and it's also on the anthology, The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac, which I've embedded here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw-lIt1ILzk
youtube
least favorite song: "I'm So Afraid." I'm so afraid not. LOL
a song I didn’t like at first, but now do: Hmm, I might put "Sugar Daddy" in that category, but honestly, the main thing I don't like about this song is the title. LOL But it's the 4th best Christine McVie song on an album where the best three of hers were all released as singles, so I guess it all works out.
a song I used to like, but now don’t: Anything by the new guy. I'm not going to go into detail here because what I love about this album, I still love. At the time, I dug two of his songs here (you can guess which two, surely), but I started to really despise this guy a few years later. Now, I can't listen to anything where he's prominent at all, on any Fleetwood Mac records.
Fortunately there are more than enough Christine and Stevie songs, and Mick and John's playing, plus all those earlier albums like Future Games, to keep Fleetwood Mac in the rock good pantheon. I'd have fired the new guy 30 years earlier than he was.
favorite lyric:
Mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changin' ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?
Well, I've been afraid of changin'
'Cause I've built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Even children get older
And I'm getting older too
Like I said, the two Stevie Nicks tracks on Fleetwood Mac deserve every bit of the love they've gotten over the years. You can also see with just a quick glance around my blog that she's one of my most-posted artists. Please don't take me repping Christine as any disrespect for Stevie!
Do I like "Landslide" a little more than I otherwise might because it's specifically about outgrowing the aforementioned new guy? Maybe. Or do I like it a little less than I otherwise might because I can't hear it without thinking of him? Maybe that too.
overall rating out of 10: Then: 9.4. Now: 9. The new guy went 2-for-4 for my money at the time, and the two that he whiffed on are genuinely terrible...but as bad as those two clunkers were, the rest of the album seemed perfect to me. Certainly among my most-played mainstream rock records into the early 80s. I was perfectly fine skipping one song on each side.
Even though nowadays I can't stand any of the songs he sings lead on, you take those off, and you STILL have "Landslide", "Rhiannon", "Say You Love Me", "Over My Head", and "Warm Ways". No album with ALL THOSE on them gets less than an 8.5, right?
I'm adding a few tenths each for how tightly Fleetwood and Mac are locked into each other and these songs on rythm (easily the most underrated duo of the era, sez me), and Keith Olsen's immaculate production. The score of 9 is therefore objectively correct and mathematically unassailable. LOL
I'm going to end where I began, by talking about Christine McVie. Instead of listening to this first and foremost as an album with a couple of giant Stevie Nicks songs, listen again to Fleetwood Mac as Christine McVie really lighting things up. She deserves so much more credit for the band's success than she gets, and seriously, "Over My Head" fucks.
Now looky here, @aluacrescente . I know that YOU have strong feelings about this record, so spill! And the rest of you, too! I don't intend to have the last word on the albums in any of these Asks! Just the first one. :-) So lemme know what YOU think!
PS. Apologies for any formatting weirdness! I started this on desktop, where I do all my writing, saved the first few paragraphs to come back to later, only to be told by tumblr that I'd stated this on the app (DID NOT) and could only edit there. Grrr. Not cool, @staff. I've spent another day just tweaking to make it somewhat readable and wondering how these people can be so bad at their jobs. LOL
My crackpot opinions and wobbly writing are my own of course, and I'm aware that they have a larger negative impact on readability than tumblr's incompetence by far. LOL
#aluacrescente#ask#Fleetwood Mac#christine mcvie#women in rock#stevie nicks#Landslide#over my head#john mcvie#dave grohl#sound city#youtube#essay#me#recording studio
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Always be Yours- 17
Word Count: 5,481
Story Summary: follows Dean and the reader through season 9 into season 10
Chapter Summary: Cas calls for help on a case. Dean starts showing more effects from the mark and not just his unwillingness to be away from the first blade.
Warnings: cursing, fighting,death
Back to back hunts had never been a favorite thing for you. Yeah you liked staying busy and when things needed to be killed you were the first to pull your boots on and say let’s hit the road but dammit you’d just gotten back to the bunker not even two hours before Dean was leaning across the bed shaking you gently “Sweetheart, wake up” you flinched awake already in a protective stance before your brain caught up with your surroundings. You glared up at him “Dean I love you but why the hell aren’t you asleep? We got in like two hours ago” he shrugged “Not tired besides we got work unless you want to sit a case out?” you yawned as you were climbing out the bed and pulling your boots onto your feet “Not a chance, besides I can catch a cat nap on the way to wherever we’re headed” He shot you a wink “That’s my girl” then turned to walk out the room. You called behind him “Where are you going?” “To wake Sammy up!” he replied, never breaking stride.
You met up with Sam in the kitchen. He handed you a cup of coffee so you both went in search of Dean who had somehow gotten your gun out of your go bag without you noticing and was giving a once over to it and another bag of weapons as you and Sam walked into the library.
“Ok baby, we are bright eyed and bushy tailed. What’s up?” He glanced up from the bag in front of him “I called Cas. He said there’s something going down in Missouri” “What kind of something?” Sam asked and Dean shrugged “Said he couldn’t talk about it over the phone” “Why?” you questioned offering the cup of coffee to Dean who took a swig then handed it back “Because he is a weird guy ok? He’s a weird, dorky little guy” “With an army of angels behind him” you reminded sitting down on the table next to Sam. Dean nodded “And even though I hate to say it, if we’re gonna take a shot at Metatron, those angels might be useful”
You noticed Dean wrapping the first blade up and silently bumped Sam’s hand. He followed your line of vision and gave voice to the question in your head “Do you think we’ll need the first blade? Why don’t we just leave it here?” Dean’s eyes flicked towards you before he said “We talked about this and we decided..” you cut in before either of them could say anything else “No in all fairness there was no we..not you and Sam we..not me and you we..You decided”
Sam touched your hand gently and you let out a breath finishing the coffee and sitting the cup down harder than you should’ve when Dean reasoned “I Decided that a hockey stick that can kill anything might come in handy, so both of you sue me” “How many times have we been around this block?” Sam asked and Dean gave him a questioning look so you spoke up again “Magic that powerful comes at a price and we have no idea what that price may be”
Dean softened just slightly at the worry in your voice “I’m fine Y/N. I’m fan-friggin-tastic” “And we’re glad, honestly. I’m not saying to bury the thing, just save it until we really need it” you nodded in agreement with Sam and added “We only need it for the big boss fights. It’s not needed all the time is it?”
“Just leave it, please” Sam pleaded so Dean met your eyes as he laid the wrapped blade down on the table “No problem, see?” “Thank you” Sam told him so he nodded and held your gun out to you “Let’s get going”
------
Halfway to the scene Dean pulled over at a truck stop for all of you to change into your fed suits. When he pulled to a stop at the scene he glanced back at you “You good sweetheart?” you leaned across the seat and left a quick kiss on his cheek “I’m good”
You followed him and Sam across the parking lot to the deputy that was standing just outside the yellow police tape. She glanced up the moment she saw the three of you “Agents Spears, Aguilera and Carter? FBI?” “That’s us” you replied and she nodded “Your partner said you’d be along” then held the tape up. You thanked her and walked under first leaving the boys to follow you.
You spotted Cas the moment you stepped into the diner and he nodded. “Thank you for coming” Sam glanced around before asking “Agents Spears and Aguilera?” you bit back a smile considering you’d at least gotten the moniker of Carter. Cas shrugged “I’ve noticed your alias are usually the names of popular musicians” “You did good Cas” you assured him and he nodded back towards the scene “Come here. Take a look at this”
The body on the stretcher was clearly an angel kill. Cas explained that all the bodies were the same burnt out husks. “So this is what? A mass smiting?” you guessed and Cas shook his head “I don’t know what this was. I’ve never seen anything like it” that definitely didn’t help your feelings that you’d come across something to do with angels that was leaving Cas clueless?
He stepped away from the stretcher so the three of you followed him “Six humans died here..” he squatted down and pulled the sheet away from a body on the floor “And one angel” you leaned over to look as Sam asked if the dead angel was one of Cas’. Cas confirmed that the angel was in fact one of his. “I knew he wanted a war but this is abhorrent, even for him” you knew the he in question was Metatron but considering he’d done everything from kicking the angels out of heaven to making Gadreel into his own personal murder weapon you wouldn’t put anything past the little weasel. “Well I know with a squadron of angels three hunters may not seem like much but however we can help you, we will” you offered and he half smiled “Thank you Y/N and the three of you? That is plenty”
------
You followed behind the guys into Cas’ command center. A brunette angel smiled when she saw Cas “Commander” “Yeah still creepy” Dean muttered so you nudged his arm with a shake of your head. Cas stopped in front of her “Dean, Y/N, Sam this is Hannah” she smiled “The Winchesters, I’ve heard so much about you. You as well Y/N” “Coming from Cas, I’m guessing it was good?” you asked with a smile.
Another angel took the box of evidence from the crime scene and walked away. Before you could question where he was headed Hannah told Cas that Josiah missed roll call that morning. “Roll call?” you asked and Cas sighed “They like to hear me say their names” “Yeah can’t blame em you do have an amazing voice” you responded with a grin that earned you a sideways look from Dean. Hannah spoke again getting all of your attention back on her “No one’s seen Josiah since Ezra was murdered..we think” Sam cut her off by questioning “You think Josiah was the killer and is the mole?”
She nodded “Well, who else” she turned back to Cas to add “We searched the ground but he’s vanished” “Not without wings. He’s an angel but he’s still got to travel like a human” Dean said and Hannah crossed her arms over her chest watching Dean with an attitude that simply rubbed you wrong so you cut him off “Which means he had to walk, drive, leave some sort of a trail”
Sam was already setting his laptop up “All right, what was his vessel’s name?” “Sean Flynn from Omaha” it didn’t take long for Sam to find out someone had just used the vessel’s credit card at a gas-n-sip in Colorado” Dean smiled at Hannah “And that’s how we do things in the pros”
The angel who took the box of evidence called out “Commander?” and when Cas looked at him he motioned back to his computer screen “I have something”
------
You stood next to Cas while the angel played the clip off a cellphone. It showed the angel from Cas’ ranks saying he was doing this for Cas then sat off the equivalent of an angelic suicide bomb which resulted in the carnage all of you had seen earlier.
Dean pointed at the screen “What the hell was that?” Cas was clearly distraught “I don’t know..I didn’t..I would never ask an angel to sacrifice himself to kill innocents..I’m gonna be sick” you instinctively reached a hand out to gently rub his arm “Cas why would he do it?” you asked softly. Hannah held up a finger “Hold on..” then told the other angel to roll the tape back.
Turns out there was another angel in that shop, one of Metatron’s and that was who the angel from Cas’ rank was apparently after. “So this was some kind of hit?” Sam questioned and Cas shrugged “I don’t know” “Stop saying you don’t know” Dean fumed and that made you look at him in question “You can’t think Cas is ok with something like this” He looked from you to Cas “He tries to be a good guy. He tries. But this? This is a frickin cult” “Dean” you spoke harder than before but he shook his head “Last time you had this kind of juice Cas you did kill angels and humans and you did nothing but lie to all of us the whole damn time!”
You’d moved to stand next to Sam and was noticing the looks being passed between Hannah and the other angel. Looks, you didn’t like being pointed at Dean. You slid between him and Cas “Ok fellas, let’s take this somewhere else” they glared at each other over your head but followed you and Sam into Cas’ office.
------
You stood between them while Sam said “Dean, stow the baggage” then you spoke up “We got a damn case, let’s work it shall we?”
Dean waved as if to say go ahead so you turned to Cas “Did you know the angel in that video?” he nodded “Yes his name was Oren. He was a new recruit. He worked in community outreach” “And what does that mean?” you questioned and Cas clarified “Some of my troops are stationed at a local hospital. They help where they can. Minor miracles it’s nothing that would cause attention” now that sounded like the Cas you knew.
“So what was he doing in that video, with the stabbing?” Sam asked. “That was enochian on his chest, what did it mean?” you questioned glancing back at Cas who nodded “The runes..I think they were meant to focus energy. When he stabbed himself it unleashed all that power” so just like you thought. An angelic suicide bomb.
“So what about the girl? What happened to her?” Sam asked and Cas shrugged “If she was the target, If the blast was focused on her then more likely than not she was atomized” “Shit” you breathed before Cas asked “Well what do we do now?”
Dean shook his head “You don’t do Jack..Me, Sam and Y/N will head to the hospital. See if we can find someone who knew this walking nuke” “Hold on. These are my people. I can help” Cas argued and Dean replied “That’s sort of the problem. I mean the manson girls aren’t gonna give us straight answers with Charlie in the room. Just hang back”
“So I should just sit here?” Cas asked and Dean nodded “Pretty much” “Then I’ll follow Josiah’s trail to Colorado” Cas reasoned and Dean nodded “Fine then Sam’s going with you” “Because you don’t trust me?” Cas questioned and Dean shook his head “To help. Now do I need to send Y/N too?”
You scoffed “I think they can handle it. They’re a grown hunter and angel. Now if you want me gone I can make myself scarce” “Don’t be like that. I’m just trying to handle all this” Dean replied so you shook your head “Fine Sam and Cas head to Colorado. Me and you will hit the hospital but none of us are doing shit sitting around here” you cut your eyes down at Dean’s right arm where you knew that mark was before turning to walk out not saying a word to either three of the men.
------
“What was that about?” Dean asked once he joined you in baby. You shrugged not even looking in his direction when he pulled out onto the road “Oh you mean the part where you apparently think you’re the only person who’s capable of doing this damn job anymore?”
“Wait,what?” he seemed genuinely confused so you let out a harsh breath “After you killed Abaddon I heard what you told Sam about keeping me out of her crosshairs and about not wanting the blade far away from you. I get that you’re juiced up from the mark and the blade, I get you want to protect me and christ I love you for that but Dean I’m a hunter too. Sam’s a hunter and Cas is a frickin angel we’re all capable. I just need to know if you’re capable of towing the line when it’s needed because when you got into it with Cas back there those angels didn’t like it and I really don’t want to be in a position where they decide you’re a threat because I’m going to fight at your side whether you like it or not, so is Sam” he nodded and reached for your hand so you met him halfway lacing your fingers together “Sure you’re not just sick of me?” he asked and although his tone was joking you could sense something else just under the surface so you squeezed his hand gently “Takes a lot more to get rid of me Winchester, now let’s get the doc Cas pointed us in the direction of and see what she knows”
------
The plan was for you to hang out front with Hannah and the other angels. Simply put, you were more diplomatic than Dean besides you didn’t really want to interrogate an angel again considering Ezra had been such a bust. Instead you chose to wander the halls between the main area of the control center. You told yourself it was just a precaution in case Metatron may have yet another mole, not to keep an eye on Dean.
You heard the sound of what was clearly the table flipping and ran to the door of the interrogation room ripping it open to show Dean had the angel “Flagstaff” flat on her back with an angel blade to her throat. You ran over and grabbed his arm to stop him from doing anything that would cost all of you as she begged “Please, dont” he cut his eyes at you so you asked her “Oren, friends?” “Constantine and Tessa” “Tessa, the reaper?” Dean questioned obviously having recognized the name. You vaguely remembered her then it struck you that she’d been there when Dean struck the deal with Death for Sam’s soul.
“You know her?” Flagstaff asked as you pulled Dean backwards then helped her to her feet “We’ve met her a time or two” her eyes never left yours as she said “Thank you” you didn’t try to lie so you simply said “I didn’t stop him for you” “But you stopped him” she replied then quickly scurried out. You turned to look at Dean who was standing a step or two away from you “So now you’re literally my humanity and plan to pop up wherever you think my judgement is failing?” you shook your head before saying “Dean, I love you. I’d do anything for you and Sam but the moment you decide you don’t want me here just let me know because I refuse to see you make a decision that will end up with you dead. I’ve lost too much already” you started to walk out but he grabbed your arm before you could “Thank you Y/N” “For what?” you asked with a sigh.
He motioned to the chair that was still on the floor “For reminding me to pull back when needed” you nodded then walked out the room with plans to try to track Tessa down.
------
Flagstaff pointed you towards the hospital in search of Tessa. When you and Dean got there she was missing and so was an ambulance. You hacked the GPS and used it to track her to a meeting hall.
Luckily Dean managed to restrain her with the enochian cuffs before she could pull off her planned hit so the two of you took her back to Cas’ command center to interrogate her unfortunately Constantine had already pulled off his hit.
You walked in beside Dean who was guiding Tessa and felt your stomach knot in worry at seeing Flagstaff talking to Hannah and the other angel who wasn’t the biggest fan of Dean’s. “Tessa? What are you two doing?” Hannah asked, clearly pointing the question at you. “Well Tessa you want to tell her or should I?” when she didn’t reply you pulled the collar of her shirt down far enough Hannah could see the carvings on her.
“Oh god” Hannah breathed to which Tessa replied “There’s no god. There’s only Castiel” “And you’ve lost your public speaking privileges” you said then nodded at Dean to take her to the interrogation room.
------
Hannah, Flagstaff and the other angel followed you and Dean. “He wounded her” Hannah accused so after Dean had pushed Tessa into the interrogation room you spun around to face the brunette angel “He defused her, ya know so she couldn’t be an angelic bomb?” “And now? What will he do to her?” the male angel asked you. “Get answers” you replied and Flagstaff scoffed “You uphold him torturing her?” Dean stood at your back stoic despite the fact that all of you were talking about him as if he wasn’t even standing there “We need to know if there’s other bombers out there. Aren’t all angels your siblings? If we can get answers out of one to stop multiple deaths isn’t that worth it?”
She shook her head “And to think I considered you different” “That was your mistake sugar not mine” you told her but Hannah spoke up “I won’t allow it. I know what Tessa was planning. It's horrible but there’s only one person who can punish her” Dean rolled his eyes “Let me guess, Yea big, trench coat, sensible shoes?”
“Both of you need to understand Castiel is the only thing holding us together. A month ago, half the angels in this place were trying to kill the other half. Castiel has given us a purpose but more than that he’s given us a way to live in peace. We have rules, order” you clocked angels walking up behind you and Dean and angels walking up behind Hannah as she spoke. “If I let you take matters into your own hands, What’s to stop one of us from doing the same? He can talk to her, he should talk to her but he leaves the blade outside and you stay with my people Y/N as a sort of collateral”
“You asking or telling?” Dean questioned. The male angel spoke up “We’re not asking” You saw Dean’s jaw clench slightly so you eased the angel blade out of his hand then held it out to Hannah “Here’s the blade and I’ll stay” she smiled “Thank you Y/N” you cut your eyes at Flagstaff before repeating the words you’d said to her earlier “I didn’t do it for you”
------
You were sitting in Cas’ office when Flagstaff came in and drug you to your feet with an angel blade to your throat. “What the hell? Put me down you winged bitch” you struggled against her but two more angels were backing her up “Seems your Winchester isn’t as fond of your life as you thought” “What?” you asked and the blonde angel who’d walked in explained “He killed Tessa”
“DEAN!” you screamed as they drug you out into the main area and heard him scream your name followed by the sounds of a fight. A blonde angel backhanded you and you went down hard. You glared up at her but when Flagstaff said “Calm him and we won’t kill either of you until the commander decides” the fight left out of you. You couldn’t risk them killing Dean or him fighting even harder because he heard you.
------
You were nearly carried into the hall and dropped at Dean’s feet. He was being tied to a chair and you could see the rage in his eyes when he saw your split lip and swollen jaw. They’d taped his mouth but you could see the question in his eyes. You nodded weakly “I’m fine” and sat down slowly on the floor next to him as the angels finished tying him up then looked at you. Hannah shook her head “Leave her”
Once you were alone you glanced up at Dean “Did you kill Tessa?” he shook his head so you nodded again then laid your head over on his leg. Neither of you could do anything until Cas got there. Not even Dean could fight over two dozen angels and walk out the winner.
------
You weren’t sure how long passed until the door opened again. It was Hannah followed by Cas. “They put up a fight” she explained when Cas saw the both of you. “Get out” Cas fumed.
Sam was already to yours and Dean’s side. He looked down at you as he took the tape off Dean’s mouth “Y/N are you ok?” you nodded “Jaw’s gonna be sore but I’ve had a lot worse” you climbed to your feet to stand next to Sam as he untied Dean.
“Should’ve seen the other guys” Dean joked. “They said you killed Tessa?” Cas questioned and you were curious as well to just what had happened considering you hadn’t actually spoken to Dean. He looked at you when he answered Cas “She knifed herself” “Yeah? Why would she do that Dean?” Sam asked and given what you’d been dealing with from the effects of the mark, you couldn’t blame Sam’s skepticism but you spoke up to say “Sam they had me. Dean knew if he killed her, they had me in a room alone with half a dozen angels and no weapon”
“He had the first blade Y/N” Sam said and you felt your heart fall to your feet. “What?” you asked softly. Dean didn’t meet your eyes as he spoke to Sam “They told ya about that huh?” “We had a deal!” Sam reminded him but Dean scoffed “It was a stupid deal” “One that if you would’ve stuck to it Tessa would still be alive. Without her we ain’t go jack. Not to mention what if Hannah would’ve decided not to wait for Cas and took out you killing one of theirs on Y/N! Ever think about that?” Sam was angry you could feel it rolling off of him and for once you had no intention of stepping between the brothers.
You knew something had been off but you’d told yourself Dean had hidden another angel blade or the demon knife but no he’d smuggled the first blade not stopping to think of the consequences.
“You think I don’t know all of that? You think I wanted to lose our lead? Do you really think I wanted Y/N in any sort of danger?” Dean threw back but Sam retorted “I don’t know Dean did you?” “Stop it! Both of you” Cas warned and you purposely stepped closer to him.
The door opened to show Hannah. She looked around then said “Commander, I’m sorry but you have a call..from Metatron”
------
You walked closer to Sam than Dean as the three of you followed Cas into the main control room. Metatron’s face was on the screen “Castiel! I bet you’re not happy to see me” “Is anyone ever you little weasel?” you snapped at him without thinking. “Y/N! I see Dean’s b-grade eighties action movie wit is rubbing off on you”
You glanced at Dean before Sam asked “What do you want Metatron?” He smiled at all of you from the screen “Just to tell Ass-tiel. There that I’m still alive. His bomber failed” “My bomber?” Cas asked and Metatron nodded “The crazy guy. Big knife? Kablooey? I’m fine thanks for asking but Gadreel is wounded and Tyrus.. Well R.I.P. His followers are not your biggest fans by the way. They’ve all come over to my team”
“I didn’t send anyone to kill you” Cas insisted and you knew him well enough to know he was telling the truth but Metatron scrunched “Oh, stop lying Castiel” “Who are you to lecture me on lying? Your deception led to the fall” Cas retorted. “I did what I had to do” Metatron reasoned leaning up to add “I have always done what I have to do, for god and the angels”
“Sure, you’re mother Teresa with neck beard” Dean replied but Metatron was undeterred “What I did was neither good nor bad. It was necessary a small hardship to make us all stronger, to make us a family again.” “Except for the angels you had Gadreel kill?” Sam asked and Metatron rolled his eyes slightly “Ok, yes. Maybe I got a little carried away at first, but those days are over. A near death experience makes you re-evaluate. So one time only, I’m offering amnesty. Every angel, no matter their sin, may join me and return to heaven. I will be their god and they can be my heavenly host”
“Why would we follow you?” Hannah asked. Metatron started to laugh “Look around. You’ve seen earth. You’ve had a taste of free will. I got to ask you, do you like it? And the way you’ve flocked off to follow Castiel tells me you need to follow someone. It’s in your dna” you slowly looked around at the other angels and it horrified you to see Metatron’s words were having the desired effect on them.
“But Cas, he’s not what you think he is” he continued “He sends out angels to die. Have you told them about your stolen grace, Castiel? How it’s fading away and when it burns out so will you?” When no one gave any response he nodded “So, no then. I’m not the best but I’m the best you’ve got. You want to stay with Castiel, fine, but he’s playing you because at the end of the day the only thing he cares about is himself and the Hardy boys and Nancy drew there. You’ve got a choice to make. Make the right one” he ended the video call and you could hear a slight murmur go through the crowd of angels who were staring at you, Sam and Dean.
“He’s lying” Cas spoke and Hannah was the first to ask “About the grace?” Cas cut his eyes at her “It’s complicated” “So he wasn’t lying” Flagstaff questioned. “He was about everything else. He..” Cas trailed off when he realized every angel’s eyes were on him. “You believe me, don’t you?”
Hannah stepped closer to him “I want to believe you but I..” she looked back at the crowd then corrected her words to say “We need proof” “Name it” Cas replied. She glanced at Dean “Punish him. He murdered Tessa. He broke our rules” “Y’all can all go to hell” you snarled stepping over next to Dean before Flagstaff added “She was collateral so she should die as well”
“Wait a second” Sam tried but five angels had already grabbed Dean and three had grabbed you. Hannah looked at Cas “You gave us order and we gave you our trust. Don’t lose it over two humans” She held the angel blade out to him. “This is justice” You watched in horror as Cas took the blade from her hand. “Cas” his name was barely a whisper from your lips as he looked from you to Dean.
“No. I can’t” you felt a tension run through the angels before Hannah said “Goodbye, Castiel” the angels released all of you and followed her out. You stepped closer to Sam as all of you watched them leave.
------
You sat silently next to Cas in the backseat of the impala. No one spoke a single word on the drive back to the bunker.
You let everyone go before you down the stairs then slowly followed them. You heard Sam ask “Dean, are we gonna talk about this or what?” “About what?” Dean asked throwing his bag down on the table in the map room before turning to face Sam “Yeah I lied but you were being an infant” you raised an eyebrow “Wow” then followed Cas into the library. You heard Sam say “No Y/N’s right even for you that apology sucked”
You sat your bag down on the table then walked back into the map room about the time Dean said “That blade’s the only thing that can kill Metatron and I am the only one who can use it. So from here on out, I’m calling the shots. Capisce?” Neither of them had noticed you so you remained silent through Dean saying “Look, until I jam that blade through that douchebag’s heart, we are not a team. This is a dictatorship. Now you don’t have to like it but that’s how it’s gonna be” “Nice to know” you finally spoke and they both looked surprised to see you standing there. You shook your head then grabbed your bag from the library and headed down the hall.
You threw the bag into the room you used to sleep in before you and Dean started sharing one room then sat heavily on the bed. Why were you even staying? Hell at this point did he even want you here anymore? From the looks of it you were simply becoming more and more of a liability to him.
------
You stood to head back to the library with plans of simply thanking Cas but froze when you spotted Gadreel. “GUYS!” Sam was the first behind you then you heard Dean and Cas come running up. “I’m not here to fight” Gadreel promised with both hands up to show he was unarmed.
You stepped back closer to Sam as Gadreel took a few steps towards Dean and Cas “I thought about what you said. You’re right Metatron..he’s..something needs to be done” you wanted to believe he was in earnest, you truly did. “And we should trust you why?” you asked glancing back at Sam. “Because I can give him to you. Y/N I know where Metatron is.I know everything. I know the bombers. They were his agents not yours Castiel” he glanced around at the four of you before saying “You don’t trust me, fine. I understand. I’ve made mistakes but haven’t all of you. At least give me a chance”
Dean cut his eyes at you then Sam. You gave a slight nod, so did Sam. Dean walked over to Gadreel and held his left hand out seemingly to shake. You knew something was wrong the moment Dean offered his left hand “DEAN NO” you screamed but in the blink of an eye Dean had already slashed Gadreel’s chest open with the first blade.
Tags: @facadeformyrealblog @akshi8278 @brilovesdeanwinchester
#spn fanfiction#supernatural fanfiction#dean winchester x reader#dean winchester fanfiction#dean winchester x female!reader#always be yours
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I’ve just realised it’s been over a year since you last listed your top 10 characters! Has anything changed since then?
a lot has changed! actually, every single ranking has changed from last time except for one (which you can probably guess, lol).
1. Bakugou (previous rank: 1)
yes, believe it or not, Bakugou is still my favorite. I’ll understand if you all need a moment to recuperate from the shock of this.
2. Deku (previous rank: 4)
hi, so. I really love Deku a lot. I think he is a great character and there’s a lot of subtlety and complexity to him that he doesn’t always get credit for. he is loving and kind, but he’s not a pushover. he has moments of deer-in-headlights anxiety when he’s in the spotlight or talking to celebrities (or girls), but then he’ll go and launch into a five-hour speech if someone mentions a topic he’s interested in. he’s very much aware of the huge burden that’s been placed on his shoulders, and is struggling to figure out how to become his own person (which is fucking hard, you guys; how many sixteen-year-olds do you know who have a solid, firm idea of who they are as a person and what it is about themselves that makes them unique individuals?) while still living up to All Might’s legacy. he’s smart and determined and capable of extraordinary things, but second-guesses himself and has a tendency to overthink everything he does. he is interesting!! and he doesn’t always get credit for being interesting! but he is! anyways Deku ilu.
3. Aizawa (previous rank: 2)
still the best. still so tired. the manga is tripling down lately on highlighting how awesome he is. childhood angst and guilt and trauma?? yes. kicking lots of ass?? hell yes. being outrageously sexy with his floating wavy hair and glowy red eyes and spending almost this entire arc in Eraser Mode while Horikoshi hopes to god no one remembers how he made it a Whole Thing after USJ that Aizawa supposedly couldn’t hold his quirk for long periods like that anymore?? oh, you bet. who is even gonna complain about it. you?? I sure am not. and last but not least, being the greatest dad in the world who’s willing to stab god in the face in order to stay alive to protect his children and continue to watch them grow?? fam. you goddamn know that is a YES WITH CAPITAL LETTERS. how can one character honestly be so great. how can he even contain it. he’s so powerful.
4. Todoroki (previous rank: 5/6)
Ochako slid all the way off my top ten list and I feel so bad about it. but she hasn’t had the spotlight for a long time, and meanwhile Shouto has had what feels like ARC AFTER ARC of being awesome and doing awesome things like becoming Bakugou’s Undisputed Best Friend, having the longest and purest canon romantic relationship in the series (I am of course talking about him/soba), and playing a key role in one of the most beautifully executed family arcs I have ever seen, with his conflicted feelings about his father that are so layered that THEIR LAYERS HAVE LAYERS. and meanwhile his quirk kicks as much ass as ever. remember that one time Shouto almost burned Tetsutetsu alive. remember that other time he fucking annihilated Ending (“GIVE ME BACK MY BROTHER”)?! and meanwhile he remains the goodest and purest child in the entire series, making sure Mt. Lady’s heart is okay, and offering his two friends internships without a second’s hesitation because THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS DO. it’s just what they do you guys.
5. Hawks (previous rank: n/a! welcome to the top ten kiddo.)
OH NO I LOVE A MURDERER WHAT A STUNNING INDICTMENT OF ME. send me off to jail. anyway so I have always liked Hawks, but the latest arc has sent him skyrocketing up through the ranks of my heart. not because of the murder thing, but... okay well but actually, it is because of the murder thing though. NOT BECAUSE I’M HAPPY HE KILLED A GUY WE ALL LOVED, jesus, but because of how well Horikoshi portrayed his struggle over it. he didn’t want to do it!! but he ended up having to in the end, and he paid one hell of a heavy price for it. and listen, but if you give me a character who is smart, who is compassionate, and who is one of the most mentally and physically capable characters we’ve seen in the series and yet simultaneously does not have even the slightest ounce of regard or self-preservation for his own mental health? a character who is tired, who is willing to make sacrifices up to and including the ultimate sacrifice for what he believes is the greater good? a character who is achingly alone and isolated in so much of what he has to go through, who doesn’t dare drop his guard ever, who’s not able or willing to share his burdens with anyone else? if you give me a character like that, and then ask me not to love him, it’s like. I am very sorry but I truly have no say in it at this point. he’s adopted. I’m sorry it’s the law.
6. Tomura (previous rank: n/a)
OH NO I LOVE TWO MURDERERS WHAT EVEN IS WRONG WITH ME. hahaha. so in between the time of now and when I last did a character ranking, Tomura had a flashback! and it was very traumatic! he was little and sweet and his dad was a dick and there was a lot of blood and gore and a dog died!! and then AFO was all “HELLO IT’S ME COME TO SWOOP IN AND ADOPT YOU AND ENCOURAGE YOU TO KILL STUFF AND ALSO HERE ARE YOUR DEAD FAMILY’S SEVERED BODY PARTS TO ADORN YOURSELF WITH SO YOU NEVER STOP FEELING MISERABLE.” and everyone sitting there reading was all, “well I’ll just come out and say it, I can sort of understand why he became a murderer now,” and we all agreed that yes, it did indeed make a great deal of sense, when you put it that way. anyway, so obviously you can’t not feel empathy toward the kid after all that, even if he is going around killing A WHOLE LOT MORE people now, and has basically gone batshit insane actually. I remain steadfast in my conviction that Tomura is not the actual final villain -- AFO is. and call me crazy, but in spite of everything, I still think this kid has a shot at redemption. it won’t be pretty, and it’ll be a long, long path, and he might not ever fully make it all the way, but he’s someone who’s been manipulated and used as a puppet his entire life, and I want him to have the chance to finally break free from that. hopefully he’ll get it.
7. Mirko (previous rank: n/a)
so previously this section just said “MIRKO!!!!!”, which I honestly think sums it up pretty well. I honestly can’t think of any other character who has come along and just slapped me straight across the face with their sheer awesomeness as much as her, though. every time she’s onscreen/on the page my face is just a huge grin the entire time. she is fearless. like, she’s the type of person who actually does laugh in the face of danger -- like that’s not just an expression, she will LITERALLY LAUGH. she is Peter Pan with a dagger to his throat, smiling and saying “to die would be an awfully big adventure.” she is someone who’s found her purpose in life and is thriving. Mirko has no time for your existential angst; she’s too busy kicking ass every minute of every hour of every day. I love her so, so much. thank you so much Horikoshi for being obsessed with her and making her the biggest badass in the whole series.
8. All Might (previous rank: 3)
I still adore him! he just has had next to nothing to do for what seems like forever, so the other characters who are still getting steady development are kind of just sneaking past him one by one. but he is still the absolute best. he cares so much. so, so, so, so much. he’s not always the most natural when it comes to being a teacher or a mentor, and he stumbles and makes mistakes, but he loves his kids. he cares about them so fiercely. and that’s far and away the most important thing, and it’s not even close. and he’s also just so endlessly self-sacrificing and constantly putting everyone else before himself, and it’s insane. he’s someone who is just constantly thinking, “how can I do more, how can I help more, what else can I do to try and make the world better” even as he stumbles along with half a lung, and struggles with his feelings of inadequacy and helplessness and feeling like it’s just still not enough. I want to give All Might the biggest hug in the world and tell him that it’s all right, that he did good, that the kids are going to be all right. when Aizawa told him “you being alive is enough” I almost had a breakdown tbh. anyway if I keep going I’m gonna talk myself into moving him back up the list and then I’ll have to rearrange this whole thing lol so suffice it to say, fuck yeah All Might.
9. Momo (previous rank: 7)
when is Momo gonna do more stuff, Horikoshi?? huh??! he does realize that whenever she does stuff it’s always amazing?? so why is she not just constantly doing amazing, awesome stuff all the time?? I don’t know, and frankly I’ve had just about enough of this. let Momo do stuff 2020. but I won’t talk about this anymore for now because I haven’t ready any chapter 278 spoilers and I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
(ETA: I HAVE READ CHAPTER 278 NOW AND ALL I CAN SAY IS YESSSSS!!! MOMO!!!! also I swear to god I genuinely had not seen any spoilers when I was writing this post lol, it was a total coincidence. I’m glad the “let Momo do stuff 2020″ campaign was so immediately successful though.)
10. Kaminari (previous rank: 8)
last but not least, my five-and-a-half-year-old traitor son, Kaminari Denki. he is just such a shining beam of light and life and goodness and chaos. there is this amazingly buoyant energy whenever he’s on the page that just fills me with love for him. I constantly just want to ruffle his hair, just, all the damn time. he is everybody’s friend, he loves them all so much, and he fearlessly calls Bakugou “Kacchan” heedless of the repercussions (OF WHICH THERE WERE NONE!!), and he sincerely tells Jirou that he’s in awe of her musical talents, and he wrecked his fingers learning to play guitar for her but he was happy to do it, and he was afraid to fight in the big ALL THE VILLAINS VS ALL THE HEROES battle because DUH!?! but he still did it anyway because he had to protect his friends. and his quirk and its side effects are constantly used for comic relief and not taken seriously at all (even though it’s actually insanely powerful holy shit), but he doesn’t care because he’s happy to make his friends happy. he’ll willingly be the butt of the joke if it means he gets to see them laugh. he just has such a big heart, and in all seriousness, if you think he’s the traitor I just don’t even know what to say to you.
so that’s it! Tokoyami, Ochako, Shinsou, Iida, and Sero would probably be the next five, with Endeavor, Toga, Mina, Jirou, and Mirio rounding out the top twenty. maybe not in that exact order but it’s close enough. really there are only like three characters in the series I actually truly dislike, so I’m honestly glad “top ten” is the general standard otherwise I’d be here all night running through them all lol.
#bnha#boku no hero academia#bakugou katsuki#midoriya izuku#aizawa shouta#todoroki shouto#hawks#shigaraki tomura#mirko#all might#yaoyorozu momo#kaminari denki#bnha 278#bnha meta#makeste reads bnha#asks#anon asks#well I've gone back and edited the mirko section now!#hopefully tumblr won't eat this edit#I don't trust you as far as I can throw you right now tumblr#and I can't throw you at all#much as I would like to#bnha top ten#bnha ranking
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The Treatment of Capt. Syverson-Chapter Two: Therapeutic Procedure
Pairing: Captain “Sy” Syverson x OFC (Shane Benton)
Summary: Shane and Sy share some moments during their treatment sessions…and a phone call that could set the tone for the next few weeks.
Word Count: 2.6k
Warnings: None, yet… ;)
Author’s Note: Sorry, I was so eager and excited to post the first chapter of this last night, I totally put some inaccurate info in my description notes. I will correct that in the original post and try to do better henceforth! Hope you enjoy Sy and Shane totally flirting some more and getting more friendly in this chapter. Feedback is appreciated! Even constructive criticism! :D
Disclaimer: Unfortunately for me, Henry is not mine, le sigh, and all mention of him, his characters, any characters from his films, or his precious doggy, Kal, are strictly for transformative and recreational use. I neither ask for, nor accept payment for the work I post on Tumblr or AO3. Unbeta’d because this is for fun and escapism.
Tags: @onlyhenrys @cavillryarchive @summersong69 @titty-teetee
Let me know if you wish to be added to the list! I’m happy to do it!
Shane woke up that morning with knots in her stomach. She dropped every product she picked up in the shower, she was shaking so much. She accidentally ordered the wrong coffee on her way to work and was now drinking something much less caffeinated and far too sweet for her taste. The barista had informed her it was a grande caramel macchiato with an extra pump of vanilla and extra caramel drizzle…with only two shots of espresso…she couldn't begin to describe how wrong that drink was for her. But it was better than nothing, she told herself, not fully convincingly.
She had chosen her clothes with extra care, even though, with the dress code, her options were limited. And she had made sure to put on a bit of mascara and just a touch of perfume, even though they weren't strictly supposed to wear it…she didn't know why she was bothering.
Well, actually, she did know why. She had been checking her schedule extra diligently lately to make sure she didn't look like a hobo when Sy was coming in. He'd been coming for three weeks now, and after the initial bellyaching about Jordan not being as pretty as her…her heart!...and his feeling extra sore after his visits with him, they were on a roll and had a great chemistry together as far as their treatments went…she tried not to think about…beyond the world of therapy.
She thought back to their first session after she got back from her trip. And the conversation they had.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I think the next time you can't see me, I'm just going to cancel." he had sulked as he wiggled his mass of muscle onto the mat.
"Sy, no. you need therapy. Don't be like that to Jordan. He's an excellent therapist."
"He ain't you though." he smirked, sending her heart racing with that smile that somehow managed to look both boyish and rakish under his full, dark beard. Fucking hell. He needed to stop.
"Well, we can't fault him for that, can we? Lay back, Mister." She demanded. Done with the niceties of the evaluation and onto the treatments where she was in charge. The boss.
"Yes, sir!" she laughed at his clear avoidance of calling her ma'am.
"So where'd you go last week? Vacation or stay-cation?" he asked, the term "stay-cation" sounding downright comical coming out of his country-boy mouth.
"I went to the beach. Gulf Shores."
"I thought you looked like you got some sun."
"Yeah," she pretended his noticing the detail of her awesome tan did not send her reeling. "My folks rented a condo right on the water for my siblings and I to come and stay with them. They're still there. It was tough to leave all that beauty." the beach, pretty much any beach, was her favorite place to be.
"I bet…" he looked at her, something dreamy in his eyes, but he looked away before she could process it. "I thought I had my fill of sand and sun when I was over in Iraq. But you make it sound…like paradise." he smiled softly up at her as she worked on his knee, trying to break apart some of the scar tissue from the injuries and surgeries he'd had…and focus on that, and not the warmth rising in her.
"That's the perfect way to describe any place on the Gulf of Mexico. I doubt it's anything like Iraq, since there's so much water around. It's my favorite vacation destination. Well, apart from London."
"Them British folks always seem so stuck up. Don't know if I'd get along with any of 'em."
"It felt like a second home for me. Everyone was very kind and polite, for the most part. At least it was no worse than it is here."
"Maybe it's just because you're so nice."
"Wait 'til about week eight or ten of your protocol. You won't think I'm nice then. You'll be cussing me out and ready to ring my neck."
"Promise?" he asked, a dark grin on his lips and in his eyes…she faltered for a moment, gulping.
"Cut it out, Syverson." she rolled her eyes, covering…without great effect the way he made her feel.
"Yes...ma'am." he smirked with satisfaction.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And now, today, she'd be treating him again, fairly early in the day, and she had to prepare herself. She'd checked the policy, and although there wasn't anything strictly against dating a patient, it was clearly a conflict of interest, and would be frowned upon by her frigid tyrant of a boss. Best to let things remain platonic for now.
Her 9:30 was a no show, so she finished up some notes and was working on some continuing education credits when messenger popped up around 10:00.
Sergeant Sexypants is here. He's quite early and he knows it…*smirk emoji* he must like you, Shane!
Heather, come on, be respectful…he was discharged at the rank of Captain! *rofl emoji* and I think you might be right about him liking me…*nervous emoji*
Oooooooooh!!! You guys are gonna *couple kissing emoji* *eggplant emoji* *okay emoji* *explosion emoji* *baby emoji*
Omg…*three facepalm emojis* I am going to go ahead and start him early since my 9:30 was a NCNS.
Don't finish him too early. Make it last. *smirk emoji*
Jeez. She closed the chat and went to grab him from the waiting area.
"Hey Sy, you ready?"
"You bet, sunshine!" he flashed her a crooked smile. He was calling her sunshine now…ad that to the list of things she'd have to pretend didn't make her swoon.
"Great. Let's start on the bike. How's the knee feeling today?"
"Oh, it's…about the same. Stiff. Lil' sore."
"Well, it's a slow process, like I told you at your eval. You've got a lot going on in there."
"I know…just…it hasn't taken me four weeks to do anything in my life." he sulked. "So…thinking about this taking…twelve or more…" he grimaced as he sat down on the bike, and adjusted it for his longer than average legs, putting his feet in the pedal stirrups.
"You may not see it, Sy, because you're so close to it, but trust me, you're making progress. I can tell you're doing your exercises at home, and you're always willing to put in the work here. You have no idea how much that sets you apart from…some of these other people." she leaned in closer and spoke the last part more quietly to him. It was true. So many of her patients were either lazy or just in it to appease their MDs into writing them scripts for pain meds. That wasn't Sy.
"You really think so?" he gave her the side eye with his baby blues, crushing her with the color like the waves of the ocean she'd just returned from.
"In fact, I know so." she placed a reassuring hand on his broad and thick shoulder. She felt the tension between them hum, like electric current.
"Now, level one, and a steady pace. You're not trying to win any medals here. I'll take those crutches."
"When ya think I can 86 'em damn things?" he griped as he handed over the assistive devices.
"Well, you see Potter again tomorrow? I'll write an update today and send it to him. If he likes what he reads, or more likely pretends to read, regarding your progress, he may discharge them. Do you feel like you can be good to the knee and treat it nice without using crutches? I don't want you to regress and re-injure yourself. That's not gonna get you into your running shoes any sooner."
"I'll be nice. Real gentle." he winked at her…he wasn't just talking about the knee. And she knew it. But again, she pretended she didn't, ignoring once more those butterflies threatening to choke her they were multiplying so fast in her belly.
"Okay, I'll put that in my note. Patient compliant with instructions to be nice." she laughed.
They talked as they biked, Shane sat on the one next to him and pedaled along with him for something to do other than be idle. She thought it made him feel better as well. Like he wasn't doing it alone. They covered the subject of her siblings, an older brother in IT and a younger sister who was an MA, and his German Shepherd, Aika, which he was allowed to bring home from Iraq after they were both honorably discharged. Music, both of them completely in agreeance about the superiority of classic rock.
"I noticed you've worn a Lynyrd Skynyrd shirt a few times and meant to say something before now."
"Yeah, they're one of my favorites. But there are a few newer groups that I like a lot, too. Kings of Leon got me through some tough times, honestly."
"Oh, they're great! I love their sound. And their lyrics…poetry."
"No shit. Sorry." she shook her head and raised up her hands to indicate that he didn't need to apologize to her for swearing. She'd been known to make sailors blush when she was off the clock. "Only by the Night…that whole album is…it's just in my blood, ya know? Ya ever have an album do that?"
"I have. Whole artists catalogs, actually."
"Which artist?" he prodded.
"The Beatles. Pretty much every song. Like you said, it just, like, I dunno, it's almost deeper than the veins. It's in the marrow. My soul." she stared off out the windows ahead of them, thinking about her favorite band in the world and how magical it was to experience Sir Paul McCartney playing some of her favorites live…twice…and the timer on the bike went off, pulling her from her daydream.
She looked over at him, startled by both the noise, and the dreamy look in his eyes that was becoming all too familiar.
"Sorry." she stood, grabbing his crutches for him and handing them back to him from where she had leaned them as they rode.
"Hey, don't be sorry for…ahem…for loving what you love. We should all…hold on to the things that make us feel like that." she nodded.
"Thanks…I don't think a lot of people…understand the way I…my tendency to take things like music, movies, and shows…books…so deeply to my heart." they walked to the treatment room from the gym, taking their time, since they had it. A rare occurrence for Shane, always needing to capitalize on every spare minute. To make productivity a priority.
"I think…that…well, seeing a pretty grim side of the world like I have…seems like there's enough darkness and bullshit making everyone miserable. If we find something…or…someone…that brings us some happiness or even just makes that misery bearable…we oughta hang onto 'em real tight. Cherish it like gold." the silence in the small room was loud with that electrical hum of their tension again. He'd said all the right things, as he always seemed to, but under the absolute wrong circumstances. She just nodded.
"They teach you philosophy in Basic?" she giggled. He laughed back in response.
"Oh, no, Basic was way easier than…whatever goes on inside of us."
"Speaking of which," she segued deftly, "lay back, and let my try to get some range out of that knee before I take new measurements for this update I'm gonna write."
"Yes, ma'am!" he chuckled.
"You get some sick thrill out of calling me that, don't you?" she scowled playfully at him.
"Oh, you have no idea…ma'am." he winked at her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next day, Shane was wondering how Sy's appointment went as she ate her soup at lunch and caught up on her morning notes. She got a ping on messenger.
You have a gentleman caller…*eggplant emoji* hehe, he's on line three.
Geez…thanks Heather.
No need to ask for a name. She knew Heather meant Sy.
She picked up the phone at her desk in the treatment room.
"Hey Sy! How'd the appointment go?"
"Hey, sunshine…eh…he said I'm doin' good, but he wants me to stay on crutches another two weeks." she could hear grave disappointment in his voice. She felt for him.
"Aww, I'm sorry Sy. I know you wanted off those. And I know they're a pain. Literally and figuratively."
"Why wouldn't he want me off 'em?" he was so frustrated. He must have just left the office.
"Did you ask him that question?"
"You know doctors, Shane. Not like I would have got an answer in plain English. Figured you'd know."
"Well, I haven't seen your post-visit report, but it's my presumption that he wants to play it safe. You know he spent most of his day in the operating room with you, right? An eight hour surgery, you had. He probably doesn't want to undo all that by d/c'ing the crutches too soon."
"I was gonna be careful though, Shane!" he was worked up properly, and she could hear it over the roar of his pickup in the background.
"I know you were, Sy. I'm sure you were going to take all kinds of precautions. But what if you're walking into your kitchen, during a storm, and there's a loud clap of thunder, and Aika gets startled and busts past you? What if you're feeling good one day, and forget about it, and jog to catch up to someone holding the door open for you and miss a stick or something under foot? You can't prepare yourself for every pebble or patch of mud in your path, Sy. Accidents will happen. Some circumstances are beyond our control…we just have to do the best we can. The crutches are going to help you until we get you stronger. That's what we'll focus on until those two weeks are up."
"Why is it you can calm me down like this?" he asked, sincere and truly calmer than he had been.
"I'm just a good therapist, is all."
"Ya don't think that's really all, do ya?" the sound of his deep drawl in her ear from the receiver made her shiver. He was implying something that she just couldn't entertain. It wasn't possible for them right now. Maybe…down the road…in a few weeks…
"I'll see ya tomorrow, Sy. Come ready to work that knee."
"You didn't say no…" he was too hopeful. Damn it, he was cute when he was hopeful. She was glad she couldn't see his face light up like she knew it was doing.
"You may have noted I didn't say yes, either."
"Yet. See ya in the mornin', sunshine."
"Bye, Sy."
She put the receiver in the cradle and her face in her hands.
"Shit."
She had a feeling this particular patient was about to become much more complicated.
Up Next: Chapter Three-Therapeutic Activity
#netflix sand castle#sand castle#henry cavill#henry cavill fanfic#henry cavill x ofc#captain syverson#captain syverson fanfic#captain syverson x ofc
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Hi! I'm the girl who recommended "All I've Ever Known" from Hadestown from your most recent chapter, which, by the way, completely blew me away.
I wish I could send some of my own TimSteph thoughts/writing towards you, though I haven't done much. You are an excellent writer and I love your interpretations of both characters. They're so perfect together.
1. Do you have any fanfics concerning them coming after this one?
2. You have no idea how much it kills me that I have to wait 7 days to read another chapter. This fic should be CANON and no, I'm not joking.
3. Also, I recommend listening to Mr. Blue. It reminded me of Chapter 9 (was it?) when Steph said she was worried about Tim's mental health.
4. You said in Chapter 11 that you had a soft spot for Steph playing piano (that happened) and there would be more of "fun" Tim. Is it coming soon?
5. Have you seen Marcus To's art of TimSteph? They're so cute.
Again, so sorry for the long questions/responses. I just love TimSteph, which is weird, considering I'm not THAT big of a shipper and I'm more of a book fan than a comic book fan. I actually preferred DickKory when I got into the Batfam comics, and I still have them ranked high, but over time, these two grew on me. It was like, "Ooh, these guys are great BFFs! They can't get any better--"
Then I realized that they were dating, and the more and more I thought about it, THE MORE AND MORE IT MADE SENSE. I COULD WRITE A 10-PAGED PAPER ON WHY THEY WORK SOOOO WELL.
But IncoherentBabblings beat me to it with her incredible post on "Why TimSteph is Nice," and it's one of my favorite posts ever.
Hey hey!! Sorry, busy couple days at work!
I am so happy that you've been enjoying the fic!! I listened to the song and it's so so sweet!! I totally get the TimSteph vibes from it, where it's just the two of them clinging to each other in the face of everything else.
If you ever post anything lmk! I'm always happy to see more TimSteph content! You are too kind about my writing! I am just happy that I'm finishing my first multichapter fic like this. Never finished a big project before, honestly never thought it would happen.
1. I have a whole to-do list of little projects, god knows when anyone will see those. I'm drafting little things now that I'm winding down from FMWBTY. I am gonna be doing a collab project with @incoherentbabblings but we are just in the planning stages so far.
As far as with this fic, I would love to do a sequel to write the relationship more on this timeline, but we'll see! There's a lot more I'd like to cover, idk if it would be as long of a project. I do want to utilize Cass and Damian though, I want to bring them in since Cass is such an important person to Steph, and I'd love to see some forced bonding hilarity between Tim and Damian with Tim playing nice out of respect for Steph lol
2. lololol yeah I though a week would be a good amount of time in between chapters. It's better than waiting for me to write the chapters, I promise. I made my first draft of this thing in 2019!
3. I will listen to that too! It's on the list!
4. I use "fun" in an odd way. I'm trying to have Tim relax around Steph and act like himself again. He's kinda been battered by a lot of shit over the years, so he's kinda receded in on himself. I will drag him out a bit, but that's where a sequel would also be fun. Let him be a jokey, lovey dovey boyfriend for Steph.
5. Love Marcus! Hope to be able to commission a TimSteph piece from him someday. I do wish that she was drawn with more wavy, kind of untamed hair, since I just like the idea that Steph has this super thick hair. But his art is literally always stunning, such clean line work and I like that he doesn't draw the men too bulky, and that the women aren't oversexualized.
Long questions are fine! I think a lot of us started with DickKory in the form of RobStar in the Teen Titans TV show, that was definitely one of my first major ships, and it was a painfully wonderful slowburn. Wonder where I latched onto that trope? 🤣🤣🤣
Idk when I hopped onto TimSteph. I think I just latched on after I started reading Tim because their dynamic was so fun and sweet. And then fandom, cuz when I joined there weren't so many antis and Steph haters. Truly sad to see now.
Thank you thank you THANK YOU for all your support!! I definitely plan to keep writing TimSteph while I still have ideas! ❤💜
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Season 2: The Rankings
Whew. Oh boy.
They were still puttering about in season 1 to an extent. But now? Now they’ve really hit their stride. This season was a veritable chocolate box of delights and I ate my way through it. The overall myth arc was kind of nonsensical, but that emotional throughline? Christ. Spn buries SO MUCH emotional complexity into its leads, and they cashed in every cent in that two part finale. It packs one hell of a punch. And yeah, okay, I knew the broad strokes, the twists and turns. It’s hard not to be spoilered for a season of tv that aired over a decade ago. But reader! It mattered not!! I. Still. Wept. That’s when you know it’s the good kush. 1.) 2x12: NIGHTSHIFTER. This one just snagged the top spot by merit of its sheer ambition. Supernatural often feels like a very empty universe to me, just two guys and one car drifting from place to place. Which is fine, it makes for compelling TV, but they totally flipped the script here and this episode really dazzles precisely because of that contrast. It’s a huge, cinematic episode, a metropolitan setting full of uncontrollable elements, and it’s great to see Sam and Dean so profoundly vulnerable. The outside world is pressing up against the windows. They have sniper dots trained on them! They are, literally and figuratively, out of their depth! We’re not in Kansas any more, baby. God, I haven’t even mentioned the supporting characters. The entire mandroid rant deserves an Emmy. Victor Henrickson’s entrance! Heist movie antics! Agh! 10/10
2.) 2x07: THE USUAL SUSPECTS. Again this episode was a cut above precisely because it showed us what the brothers look like from the outside: sketchy as all hell. It’s so good when reality ensures, because it’s great to be reminded they lead objectively insane lives! Through Linda Blair’s eyes we get to see just how unknowable, feral and amoral they appear to the eyes of polite society. Put under a microscope like this, they’re scary guys! They’re just not socialised like normal people. They don’t really care about being arrested, or about the felonies. Getting arrested is an irritant above everything else. They’re still working the case from the inside. They’re professionals; excellent liars, and totally in sync with each other. The handwritten notes they pass, like delinquent school kids! A delight! The thrill lies in watching Blair slowly unwrap their strange logic, and unravel the mystery of both the brothers and the ghost. Ugh, what a great perspective shift. I’m 100% here for it. 10/10
3.) 2x09: CROATOAN. Ugh, this setting. Small Town Gothic, complete with eerie mist, hostile locals and creepy Stepford vibes. Sam really shone in this episode. He’s so soothing and giant, and it made his suffering at the end all the more devastaing. The real reason this episode ranks so highly is their conversation in the surgery. It just killed me. Dean’s sheer, bone-deep exhaustion, his admission that he’s tired of the life. Sam’s despair, because he knows Dean won’t leave. The performances were so steller. I can’t even really think too deeply about it because it makes me too crazy. 10/10
4.) 2x21: ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE: PART ONE. I loved this finale so much more than the finale in Season 1, LOL. It might just be because I’m more invested now, who knows. The opening of this episode is a piece of art: Boston playing on the car stereo, the rain, the small cafe, the lighting. Gorgeous. I love when they have to interact with ordinary people! It adds so much: texture, humour, personality! It draws things out of Sam and Dean that we just don’t see when they have each other to bounce off of. It was so good to see Ava and Andy again. “I just woke up in freakin’ Frontierland!” The gang’s all here, folks! This episode would rank higher, but recieves minus points for the long boring speech the demon gives Sam, and killing off the first gay in the show 0.2 seconds after her introduction. Anyway. The ending of course unzipped me; Dean cradling Sam’s dead body, muttering “It’s okay, it’s not even that bad.” The elation of their reunion, so devastaingly cut short! Sam, twenty two years old, bleeding out in the mud. The sheer, hopelessness of it all. The horror. My notes for the end of the episode simply read: “Dean oh Christ. Oh my God. Oh no.” It’s just one of those scenes that stay with you long after the credits start rolling. 9/10
5.) 2x20: WHAT IS AND WHAT SHOULD NEVER BE. I never thought I could be so profoundly upset by watching a man happily mowing a lawn. Dean’s trauma over the loss of his mother has undercut the whole show up until this point, and here it bursts to the fore. What really got me was the simplicity of it all. Just a sit-down dinner, an engagement. A beer on the porch. Fuck, he deserves it. He deserves everything. All the performances were great, they really served to show there’s a whole life in these AU characters. The fact it wasn’t all perfect was bizarrely more devastating. AU Sam’s weird straight hair and dorky jacket sealed the deal for me, as did his baffled terror in the warehouse. But even here, with no training and no idea what’s happening, he gets into the Impala! Because that’s his brother! Because I’m a huge baby I had to remove points because of how upsetting I found Sam’s quiet hostility towards Dean, HA. But that’s really just a testament to how well-realised their dynamic has become by the second season. 9/10
6.) 2x15: TALL TALES. Every single thing Sam does in any of Dean’s memories. Also alien slowdance set to “Lady in Red.” Also Bobby breaking them up like they’re petulant children. Gold, all of it gold. 9/10
7.) 2x11: PLAYTHINGS. So I’m a slut for a cool setting, obviously. Turns out, Supernatural did The Haunting of Bly Manor fifteen years ago. The swimming pool! The attic! Creepy dolls! The weird little playground! This episode has it all! I loved the saga between the ghost sister and the old lady, which would honestly make a killer movie in its own right. But I’m digressing. The main star of this episode was, of course, Dean’s profound and escalating sexual insecurities. “Well, you are kinda butch. People probably think you’re overcompensating.” FATALITY. I would’ve placed this one higher but the weird incestuous undertones kinda squicked me out... however, I did think we were meant to be creeped out by it, which is more than I can say for some other uh. Instances. It was, after all, beautifully paralelled at the end with the two sisters reuniting in death. “I can’t leave here, and you can’t leave me.” SHUDDER. Also, honestly, can Sam have one (1) breakdown on his own without Dean’s own emotional baggage taking over? Older siblings, smh. 9/10
8.) 2x22: ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE: PART TWO. This one ranks lower than part one purely because I thought the yellow-eyed demon’s overall plot was kinda nonsensical, and I cared not for John’s weird deux ex machina moment. Like do you expect me to feel sorry for that bitch? I don’t! Anyway, that being said, let’s move on to Dean’s eyes in the junkyard when Bobby asks him, “do you have that low an opinion of yourself?” They’re so flat. So dead, like a shark’s. He doesn’t need to say anything back, because it’s all over his face. That non-expression says it all. This is the culmination of the emotional arc that began with his savage beatdown of the Impala in episode 2x02. To call it survivor’s guilt wouldn’t even begin to cover what Dean goes through this episode. It’s all in Ackles’ performance; in the the way he yells, “What am I supposed to do now, Sammy?” The complete claustrophobia of it all. There’s nothing for it but to make the deal. Dean’s been moving inexorably towards this moment for the entire season. 9/10
9.) 2x13: HOUSES OF THE HOLY. What a kooky little episode! Magic fingers! Sam’s costcutter seance purchases! The scooby-doo placemat he uses as a makeshift altar! I love him, your honour. Obviously this episode has a lot of *~dramatic irony~* in it because of the later seasons, but it stands alone as a total banger. I was so gutted for Sam when the "angel” was revealed. So many good little Sam moments to be found in this episode. His soft, quiet little revelation that he prays every day. His awkward, earnest explanation to the horrified priest! Dean gets some great moments chasing down the would-be rapist down those dark, snow-covered streets. His speech to Sam where he explains his lack of belief is brief, but it’s a total gut punch. Rounding it off with Knockin on Heaven’s Door was just the cherry on top. 9/10
10.) 2x14: BORN UNDER A BAD SIGN. Ahaha I love the way Dean acts whenever Sam’s psychic powers come up. He treats him like a rebellious teen, it’s so funny. “What’s going on with you, Sam? Smokin’, drinkin’?” As if Sam’s behaviour was a) at all under his control or b) anything Dean wouldn’t HIMSELF do. Dean’s just like, this isn’t how I raised you! Truly hysterical. The whole sequence between Meg!Sam and Jo was fantastic and horrible. Sam’s huge physique is never threatening, but it really was in that moment. The interplay between them was totally spine-tingling. Meg’s impression Sam slowly crumbling away over the course of the episode was so compelling and I’m sure it will be a really fun rewatch now I know the *twist*. 9/10
Favourite lines this season:
The way Sam says “black cat’s bone” in 2x08
“You’re not gonna go kill somebody because a ghost told you to, are you insane?!” - Dean, 2x13
“Dean, this is a very serious investigation, we don’t have time for your blah blah blah blah.” - Sam (according to Dean), 2x15
“I’m fine, except for every single thing that’s happening.” - Ava, 2x21
#I feel like I'm exposing myself as a sam girl here#I love them equally I swear#supernatural#there's so much i left out like my comprehensive love for JO#what does she have? A KNIFE#I just didn't really dig NO EXIT as an episode sadly#spnwatch
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Sarah’s Soundtrack Corner | RWBY Volume 8
Today: Episode 1 // Divide 22/11/2020: Episode 2 // Refuge
Hello everyone!
This year, I’ve decided to do something new. Rather than waiting for the Volume to end or the soundtrack to drop to talk about RWBY’s music, I’m starting this little side project: cataloguing and somewhat analyzing the show’s score and songs as they’re released.
This is also a way for me to keep myself engaged in something other than academics (’cause quarantine be gettin’ to me), as well as pointing out some details folks might overlook: there’s always a lot to talk about with the music, and it plays a pivotal role in the series.
A mini-disclaimer beforehand: I am in no way well-versed in music theory. I can’t really tell you how things are composed so much as how they more generally sound, and what the intentions behind certain choices might have been.
So, without further ado, let’s begin!
The first cue of the Volume, coming in gently against the slow fade-in from black of a young Cinder scrubbing the floor, is on piano and sparse strings. I’m hesitant to label this as anything in particular with any degree of confidence, but the progression of notes makes me believe it could be an abstract variation on Cinder’s core “theme” - specifically, the haunting choir we tend to hear around her. It would make sense: bridging the visuals with something just familiar enough to catch the ear, but also distinct.
There’s a brief pause as Cinder and Neo approach the storm, with only a small bit of ambient, tense strings; then it’s into a development of the new melody we got accompanying Salem’s arrival in Volume 7 under the usual first-episode credits. This section has a wonderful female choral element added: I’m actually half-convinced that it’s a specific “theme” for Monstra (the whale Grimm; apparently that’s her official name), rather than Salem herself. The bass percussion makes the cue feel almost literally alive, giving it a slow, steady heartbeat.
The piece crescendos as Neo catches sight of Salem, then fades away into more tense strings when Cinder kneels. A small quote of what I believe is “One Thing” kicks in when Cinder takes Neo’s credit for stealing the Relic of Knowledge.
The next quote is equally small, coming and going in the span of about 5 seconds between the 03:25 and 03:30 timestamps, and references the strings from “Party Crashers”/the Volume 7 Mantle massacre.
I can’t quite peg the following string melody - under Cinder’s declaration that she’ll return to Atlas and take the Maiden’s power from Penny - as anything specific, though it sounds similar to the opening piano.
What I’ll tentatively label as Monstra’s “theme” takes over again as Salem communicates with her, and the cue ends on a tense crescendo along with the scene.
On our heroes’ end, this is quite the episode for abstract little melodies, because I can’t seem to nail down what plays under Oscar’s respite in the slums either. What I do recognize, however, is a small section of Mantle’s melody at around 05:42, continuing until 05:52 where it’s briefly interrupted by a vague handful of notes from the Grimm “theme”.
Everything in Mantle is quite bleak, including the instrumentation: it’s soft and somber, even the gentler moments. Oscar’s melody kicks in at 07:06 on slow strings after Weiss asks how he ended up in the crater, which transitions into a despairing little quote of Penny’s established “theme” from Volume 7. This “theme” is of particular note this time around - Alex Abraham (composer) switched up the sound of her melody to a more subdued, lost quality, and it’s quite something whenever it pops up.
“Bad Luck Charm” makes a brief appearance at 07:30, and it’s interesting to me just how darkly the quote drifts off - the final note sounds almost distorted, lending it not only an air of uncertainty, but also danger (totally not hinting at things to come - no way).
Mantle’s theme makes a reappearance at 09:03, following a lead-in on strings as Yang argues that they need to help the people. The “theme” for Amity follows at 9:18 when Pietro begins talking about the titular colisseum, then drifts into Ironwood’s once he’s brought up, and then into one of the “Atlas tension” motifs from Volume 7. The orchestration of this entire section is notably quiet; almost not there, and all with a sense of unease. As the idea for the plan begins to come together, the Atlas Military “theme” (introduced at the end of Volume 6) plays, but fades out largely unresolved with Pietro’s uncertainty about it.
Once the small argument begins in earnest and the group divides, what sounds like a gentle quote of the as-yet untitled opening plays, easing into simple strings once Jaune interjects.
A sneeze-and-you’ll-miss-it soft interruption of Penny’s melody plays again, almost lost in the strings, then a third time when she volunteers to go with Ruby’s group.
And now for the fun part.
I’m not horrendously biased, I swear.
The tense silence of this scene once Penny’s Scroll begins to ring is perfect; as are the dark, sparse, ambient strings and the fourth instance of Penny’s “theme” - played on piano, with an almost music-box-like quality. The juxtaposition is horribly fitting for the moment - James is playing on Penny’s role as a guardian, her desire to protect people, her uncertainty about a situation in which she has had very little control, and that’s all beautifully reinforced in the music.
Speaking of juxtaposition.
Upstairs, we get a gorgeous rendition of “Hero” on brass; played slow, full and in earnest, with a small bit of Winter’s melody thrown in the middle once the camera briefly shifts focus to her. The way this section is orchestrated piques my interest as well - it’s not dark, it’s not particularly somber. It’s gentle. It still has that, for lack of a better term, heroic quality to it.
And that becomes such a twisted thing by the end of the scene.
Before that, however, there’s an instance of the Grimm “theme” clearly at 14:56, and it continues to be a personal favorite.
Another intriguing little reference hits at about 15:12, when the Council members show up - if you have an ear for it, you might pick up on it as coming from the scene in the office from Volume 7 Chapter 11 “Gravity”, complete with Ironwood’s “theme” at 15:33 (this cue might actually be directly taken from “Are You With Me?”) and to say it’s appropriate for a moment where James slips even further would be putting it mildly.
Closing out the episode proper is a freaky new melody for the Grimm hound that I can honestly say I cannot wait to hear more of.
Overall, the score for the premiere isn’t quite as bombastic as the last two years, but that’s fitting - it’s largely understated, with lots of tension and somber takes on the leitmotifs that crop up. This is actually one of the things about the episode that left me feeling like it was more of a firm and simple continuation from last year than the start of a brand new chapter, and that’s certainly not bad.
And now you stand alone, opening!
I don’t think it needs saying that every RWBY OP will split the fandom to some degree, and this one has a very different style. It doesn’t have a name yet - I personally labelled it as “The End” on YouTube, unfortunately confusing a few people - which is odd, but Jeff professed that he just couldn’t settle on one yet.
The standard guitar and heavy percussion are present, kicking off in the usual instrument-focused intro, and are mixed with layers of different instruments, synth and backing vocals throughout the song once Casey’s vocals start. Speaking of, our leading lady delivers with her usual grace, and her matured voice lends a lot to the tone of the song (the growl on “Some roses will never bloom” is amazing). Almost every line on the verse and pre-chorus has an echo behind it - either as an effect or as part of the backing - giving it a forlorn yet powerful quality.
In the lyrics department, it reminds me quite a bit of the second opening - “Time To Say Goodbye” - save with a darker undertone. I’d be hardpressed to believe that the line “We said goodbye / To all the things we loved” isn’t, in fact, a direct reference to “Now it’s time to say goodbye / To the things we loved and the innocence of youth”. In a Volume where a lot of people were clamboring for a “When It Falls 2.0″ - yours truly included - this was a surprise, but a welcome one.
Second opening is the best opening. That is a hill I will die on.
Come to think of it, this might become a trend. If I remember correctly, several lyrics in “Trust Love” harkened back to “This Will Be The Day”; what springs to mind immediately is the contrast of “When the day you waited for won’t come” with “This will be the day we waited for”, and “Always hoping that a lightning bolt / Is going to save you from this gravity” with “We are lightning / Straying from the thunder”.
If this is the case and Volume 8 goes as I believe it will - setting up for another Volume in Atlas where the huge fight happens as everyone struggles to hold the line until help arrives - then we could be due for some “When It Falls” references then.
I’ve heard some say that this opening sounds a little too crowded, that it doesn’t hit quite as hard as they expected/compared to “When It Falls”, that the darker tone relies on the lyrics rather than anything in the instrumentation, and those are valid critiques. Personally, this one’s an ear-worm - I love the sound of it; Jeff made a lot of interesting choices - but the melody itself isn’t as discernable as previous years and is going to take a while to grow on me.
I’m not going to rank these or anything because that feels a little arbitrary, but I really enjoyed what we got this first Chapter. Knowing the team, they find ways to step it up every year, so I’m seriously looking forward to what’s in store.
Until next week!
#rwby#rwby volume 8#rwby music#alex abraham#jeff williams#casey lee williams#and yes#predictably that 'hero' quote is stuck in my head too#gimme an ironqrow fight and a back and forth between 'hero' and 'blc' and i will die a happy woman
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Ultimate ship meme for Glow?
General:
Rate the Ship - Awful | Ew | No pics pls | I’m not comfortable | Alright | I like it! | Got Pics? | Let’s do it! | Why is this not getting more attention?! | The OTP to rule all other OTPs
How long will they last? - They would definitely last forever - like, if there is some kind of afterlife for them, they’ll be together there as well.
How quickly did/will they fall in love? - I actually imagine that falling in love for them was a slow process, like it often can be with relationships like theirs, which start as friends and develop into a romance. They kind of had this thing where they knew they loved each other before they realized they were in love with each other.
How was their first kiss? - It was actually a pretty simple moment. They were just...relaxing together, probably snuggling on the window seat in Glimmer’s room, when Bow just kind of...gave her a little peck on the lips. Glimmer was a little surprised at first, but she kissed him back shortly after, and they just...kept snuggling for a while longer.
Wedding:
Who proposed? - Bow, and to steal an idea from my friend tolstoyevskywrites he technically proposed twice. Once with a fairly simple ring that he literally shot through Glimmer’s window with a note asking her to marry him, and once later on with a fancier ring he made himself. She said “Yes” the first time, but he wanted to do it again, properly.
Who is the best man/men? - Most likely a couple of Bow’s brothers, along with maybe Sea Hawk….And Swift Wind would probably insist on being “best horse” because excluding him would just be discrimination and rude.
Who is the braid’s maid(s)? - Adora is probaly one of them, and one of Bow’s sisters probably takes up the other spot (I still headcanon him as having brothers and sisters)
Who did the most planning? - Probably Bow did a little bit more, but Glimmer definitely offered her input a fair amount. Though, honestly, Castaspella probably made about as many decisions as either of them once she found out about the wedding.
Who stressed the most? - Glimmer, without a doubt. Bow did his best to calm her down whenever he could.
How fancy was the ceremony? -Back of a pickup truck | 2 | 3 | 4 | Normal Church Wedding | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Kate and William wish they were this big.
Who was specifically not invited to the wedding? - No one was specifically not invited, though Glimmer did try and avoid her aunt finding out for as long as possible, just to try and avoid her taking over the preparations.
Sex:
Who is on top? - They switch sometimes, but usually Bow’s on top.
Who is the one to instigate things? - Glimmer is the one who instigates things the most, particularly because she likes to…get Bow worked up during times she really shouldn’t, like during meetings.
How healthy is their sex life? -Barely touch themselves let alone each other | 2 | 3 | 4 | Once a couple weeks, nothing overboard | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They are humping each other on the couch right now
How kinky are they? -Straight missionary with the lights off | 2 | 3 | 4 | Might try some butt stuff and toys | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Don’t go into the sex dungeon without a horse’s head
How long do they normally last? - They normally go at least two rounds a night, though sometimes three. How long the rounds last really does depend on the night, and how quick or slow they want to go.
Do they make sure each person gets an equal amount of orgasms? - They usually make an effort, and even if one of them “comes up short” one time, the other tries to make up for it the next time they have a chance to be intimate.
How rough are they in bed? -Softer than a butterfly on the back of a bunny | 2 | 3 | 4 | The bed’s shaking and squeaking every time | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Their dirty talk is so vulgar it’d make Dwayne Johnson blush. Also, the wall’s so weak it could collapse the next time they do it.
How much cuddling/snuggling do they do? -No touching after sex | 2 | 3 | 4 | A little spooning at night, or on the couch, but not in public | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They snuggle and kiss more often than a teen couple on their fifth date to a pillow factory.
Children:
How many children will they have naturally? - They’d probably plan either two or three. I think Bow liked growing up with siblings and Glimmer used to think that she would have liked having a brother or sister, so they’d probably want more than one, but not so many that they’d feel totally overwhelmed.
How many children will they adopt? - Probably none, not because they would be against the idea, but just because I don’t think it’d ever really cross their minds. That being said, if they were asked to foster a child or two, they would happily accept the offer.
Who gets stuck with the most diapers? - Bow, but he technically volunteers for diaper duty. He figures that since Glimmer has to feed the baby, the least he can do is let her get a little extra sleep while he changes the diapers.
Who is the stricter parent? - Neither of them is exactly a pushover, but Glimmer tends to be a little more strict, taking influence from how her mom raised her growing up, even if she does try to give her own kids more freedom than she felt she had.
Who stops the kid(s) from doing dangerous stunts after school? - Bow is already Glimmer’s impulse control, so he’d just kind of automatically take that role for his children as well.
Who remembers to pack the lunch(es)? - They both remember and they take turns making the lunches. Glimmer is more likely to give them an extra snack, so the kids often ask her to make them more than they’ll ask Bow, but they each end up doing it about the same amount.
Who is the more loved parent? - They’re both loved equally overall, but it depends on the specific child who they are closer to. And obviously neither of them is unloved by any of their children; they just have more in common with some of their kids than others.
Who is more likely to attend the PTA meetings? - They both definitely try their best to attend, but Glimmer often has to deal with court stuff, so sometimes Bow has to go alone.
Who cried the most at graduation? - Definitely Bow. Glimmer might get emotional, but she does her best to not cry in public, while he just flat out doesn’t care.
Who is more likely to bail the child(ren) out of trouble with the law? - Probably Glimmer, if only because her rank basically means she can use her power to get them out of trouble without any real issue.
Cooking:
Who does the most cooking? - Well, they have chefs to do most of the cooking, but between the two of them, if you’re talking specifically cooking and not baking, that’s Bow.
Who is the most picky in their food choice? - Neither is particularly picky in regards to food, but between the two of them, Glimmer might be slightly more picky.
Who does the grocery shopping? - They often go together, but Bow is the one who is more likely to do that particular chore on his own.
How often do they bake desserts? - Considering Glimmer has a sweet tooth, pretty much every other day, since they usually have leftovers from the previous night’s meal.
Are they more of a meat lover or a salad eater? - They’ll eat either, but if they had to choose between the two, probably go a little more towards the meat dishes.
Who is more likely to surprise the other(s) with an anniversary dinner? - Bow would be the one to actually get away with doing the surprise, just because he’s a better cook. Plus, he can usually get a little more free time to make the meal.
Who is more likely to suggest going out? - Glimmer, though Bow is pretty much never actually against the idea
Who is more likely to burn the house down accidentally while cooking? - Neither, though Glimmer is probably more likely to set off the smoke alarm
Chores:
Who cleans the room? - Glimmer will help, but Bow is the one who just sort of instinctively tidies up. It’s a habit he picked up after so many times of cleaning up Glimmer’s room while listening to her rant about her mom.
Who is really against chores? - Neither of them is against chores, though Glimmer is more likely to put off doing them until the last minute.
Who cleans up after the pets? - Both of them. It was a joint decision to get pets, so they both take responsibility for them, including the messes they make.
Who is more likely to sweep everything under the rug? - That is Glimmer, without a doubt. She usually cleans properly, but sometimes she puts it off for a little too long and just needs to hide everything until later.
Who stresses the most when guests are coming over? - Probably Bow, but Glimmer has been known to have her last minute stressing moments, especially if their guests are someone she wants to leave a good impression on.
Who found a dollar between the couch cushions while cleaning? - Neither of them, because nobody who visits or lives there carries cash.
Misc:
Who takes the longer showers/baths? - Probably Glimmer, but even then, not by much, and really only when she’s super stressed and needs a way to relax, since a hot bath reminds her a bit of the steam grotto at Mystacor.
Who takes the dog out for a walk? - They take turns, but Bow does it more often, mostly because he likes to go out in the morning while Glimmer prefers to sleep in.
How often do they decorate the room/house for the holidays? - Every year unless they have something outside of their control that will keep them from doing so, and even then, they still try and do something, even if it’s not as big as they’d normally go for the holidays. But, whenever possible, they go all out.
What are their goals for the relationship? - Nothing in particular, really. They just want to be together and grow and learn from each other for as long as they possibly can. But, ultimately, their main goal is just to be together and make each other as happy as they can.
Who is most likely to sleep till noon? - Neither of them really sleeps that late, honestly. Bow is definitely the one who gets up earlier, but Glimmer is usually awake by ten even without him waking her.
Who plays the most pranks? - Glimmer, mostly because it’s easier to get away with a prank when you can just teleport away from the scene and pretend you had nothing to do with it.
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Manic Review - From “Least-Best” to Best
Halsey released her third studio album on 1/17/2020, and it is easily her best. I’ve wanted to talk about it, but first, I need to figure out how I feel about each track in relation to the others. So this is mostly for me, but I’d love to hear how other people are feeling too!
I love all of these songs, I feel so blessed with this album, which is why this goes from “least-best” to “best”, not “worst.”
(I know that’s kind of splitting semantic hairs, but I refuse to disrespect this album, lmao.)
So, without further ado, here are my favorite songs on Manic, starting with the one I like the least:
16 - “Alanis’s Interlude”
This is THE bisexual anthem we’ve all been waiting for from Halsey. It’s cool, sexy, and features some stellar vocals from both Alanis and Halsey. It ranks so low for me only because I’m not a huge fan of the chorus, the machine drums, or the melody, despite loving the message. But the verses are fire, and so are the vocals.
15 - “Still Learning”
I think this track will be a slow-grower for me, the way “Devil in Me” was. Maybe it’s just because it comes on the heels of the deeply, deeply impactful “More” - but I found this didn’t strike the chord I thought it would. It’s a beautiful song, though, and very meaningful to Halsey’s personal journey. I think seeing it live might change my mind about it.
14 - “Finally // beautiful stranger”
This might be the sweetest side of Halsey that we’ve ever seen, especially when it comes to romantic love. The fact that it was inspired by Yungblud makes my heart ache a bit. I really love the duality of the different versions of Ashley in the video. That being said, the genre/style of song isn’t my personal favorite. Her vocals are amazing, though, and some of the lyrics are really poetic. I know this will be an especially tender one live, in front of a Halsey crowd. I can just picture everyone swaying and singing along.
13 - “SUGA’s Interlude”
This interlude is such a soft, sad moment on the album, and it fits really well before “More.” SUGA’s Interlude is all about the way fame has changed both artists, and about how they’ll know when it’s time to step away from the spotlight - and how that might change them. SUGA has excellent flow, and Halsey’s delicate, pining vocals on the chorus is a perfect complement to his introspective rapping. It’s a really sweet song, and part of why it works so well on the album is because it creates such a heartfelt prelude to “More”. The song all about leaving fame behind, followed by the song about loving her unborn child, and how she badly wants to be a mother...gives me chills, man, literal chills. I think I’d like it more if I spoke Korean, but honestly, Korean Halsey fans deserve somethin’ special, so I’m okay with it.
12 - “You should be sad”
I still don’t know if I quite “buy” Y’allsey, but I can’t deny that this is a really fun song. Singing along to the lyrics is so satisfying, and the music video provided us with some serious Looks. The guitar riff between the chorus and the verses makes me feel things, and so does the line: “I’m so glad I never ever had a baby with you,” especially after hearing “More”. I like this song a lot, but compared to the rest of the album, it’s not in my top ten. I think it’ll be a really, really fun one live, though.
11 - “Without Me”
This song and I share a birthday! It’s also where Manic really began, although we had no idea that was the case, at the time. This was the first time Halsey wrote from such a specific and personal place, knowing we would all immediately recognize who the song targeted and why. She’s used this song brilliantly since then, coming up with a dozen different interpretations and set pieces, performing it while chained to a post, while revealing the messages of her cheating ex, while dancing with a beautiful girl, and even more. (It helps a lot that she performed this song with Jade Chynoweth, one of my all-time favorite dancers, and responded to the backlash of that performance by doing it again, but even gayer, just a few weeks later.) We owe a lot to this song. And, as it turns out, it really fits in with the story of Manic, and with the tone, from both a sonic and thematic perspective. I’m still a little tired of it, though, which is why it ranks so low. But - credit where it’s due!
10 - “Dominic’s Interlude”
This one surprised me, although I went in with zero expectations, not knowing who Dominic Fike was. I wish Halsey was actually in this song, but other than that, I think it’s a great interlude. Not to mention: “If you’re looking for signs then you should know, there’s power in the words that you’re thinking.” That’s an incredible line, hit me hard.
9 - “Ashley”
I both love and hate what this song means, because it scares the crap out of me. The way she described it as “a cautious goodbye” in an interview... It’s absolutely a letter to her fans, about Halsey, about who Halsey is, and who Ashley is, and how that balancing act both breaks her and makes her thrive. She can’t keep doing this forever. She knows how much she means to us, and this song is all about how heavy and scary that burden is, but that she’s committed to it, for now. Ending with that line from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was perfect. We’re the ones who shouldn’t assign her our peace of mind, y’know? Her vocals are stunning, though, and I think it’s the strongest opener from any of her albums. This song reminds me of a much less depressing version of “Batter Up” by Brand New, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it influenced her a bit.
8 - “Graveyard”
This song really feels like the older sister of “Without Me”. I love the racing speed of the melody and the rhythm, the way everything is layered so manically and frantically over the verses. It’s actually really easy to get lost in the musicality of this one, even though the lyrics are incredible. I think the music video is my all-time favorite of Halsey’s, because I love all the symbolism in it, and it was really trippy to see her without tattoos. I’ll consider this one a bop for a long, long time.
7 - “clementine”
We’ve had this song for a little while, and it’s been one of my favorites. I was pretty sure it was going to stay that way, even after the album came out, but Halsey surprised me. That being said, I still love the way this song manages to be both playful and petulant, spirited and sad. It has some really beautiful images, and the music video is so pretty.
6 - “I HATE EVERYBODY”
We love a song full of contradictions! This song takes the humor/self-deprecation that started in “Clementine” and “Forever... (is a long time)” and turns it anthemic. The transition from “Dominic’s Interlude” to this song is so perfect, it’s hard not to listen to them one after the other. Halsey once again proves her lyrical prowess and ability to write a relatable bop, which is really what we love her for in the end, right? I love the way the song starts out pretty simply, than swells up into something epic.
5 - “3am”
I love this genre, so much, and I think Halsey completely nails it. This song wouldn’t make anyone bat an eye if you played it in 2007. Most other Halsey songs can’t claim that, and since I’m a sucker for the aughties, this one lives high on my list. It reminds me of P!nk, Avril Lavigne, and Paramore. The lyrics are super relatable, and I love the chorus and the bridge. It’s not the best lyrically, but that bridge honestly makes up for what the rest of the song lacks. Can’t wait to scream that one live! I do wish John Mayer wasn’t rambling on the end, but I also love how that leads into “Without Me”.
4 - “929″
This might sound strange, but I love how this song starts with just Ashley talking; she’s speaking through laughter, challenging her friend playfully. This song feels so real. I love the stream-of-consciousness style of lyrics and the way the melody plays into that. Her voice reminds me so much of early, early Halsey - songs like “Tilt You Back” and “For Ruby”. I can relate so much to some of the things she says, and I love the way it ends. It’s such an interesting contrast to the way her previous albums concluded, too - “Young God” and “Hopeless” are both such epic, sweeping tracks. Ending her most personal album yet with such a tender ode to self-acceptance, and self-discovery, is such a beautiful way to show how much she’s grown, as a person, a songwriter, and a singer. This song makes me nostalgic, proud, happy, just a little sad, and feel so at peace.
3 - “More”
I almost don’t really have words for this song. Knowing Halsey’s story, her very honest and public experiences with infertility and endometriosis, made this song hit me a lot harder than I ever expected. I still can’t quite get through it without crying. It’s an incredibly beautiful song. Painfully, painfully honest, about a topic that’s so rarely openly discussed in pop culture. I don’t even want kids, but the yearning she shows, the hope she still has, the way she says that she’s loved her future child more than anything, and has always loved them; the reference to having already bought baby clothes; the sound of the sonogram machine, and the way it sounds like she’s singing to her baby from outside the womb at the end; it guts me. And again, I don’t want kids. I never expected this kind of honesty or tenderness from her. It’s such a special song, truly. (For the record, I listened to it again to write this and am fully weeping once more.)
2 - “Forever... (is a long time)”
What a surprise this song was! I think it perfectly captures a certain kind of self-destructive behavior that so many of us end up falling into when it comes to relationships. The way the song goes from happy and plucky to this burgeoning feeling of dread, of spiraling down into those dark thoughts that trip all of us up from time to time. It goes from a love song to a break-up song in a matter of seconds, and the transition is spine-tinglingly perfect. The storm building in the background, starting with thunder and dissipating into rain. The way her voice comes back in with the same melody, but minor instead of major. The way the song sort of disintegrates into chaos, and into the realization: “talk to your man...tell him he’s got bad news comin’.” (This is definitely about the Yungblud breakup, right? Nevermind, my heart can’t take that. Gonna pretend I didn’t just realize that.)
1 - “killing boys”
Jennifer’s Body is one of my absolute favorite movies, unironically. I love that Halsey loves it too, enough to include lines from it in the most badass boss bitch song she’s written since “Nightmare”. Her vocals are incredible (those high notes!) - the lyrics are the perfect blend of regretful and rageful - the beat, melodies, and overall composition just fills me up with this impossibly strong sense of “fuck yeah, fuck you.” I don’t have the words to describe how this song makes me feel. I had high hopes, based on the title, and it did not disappoint. This song has some of the cleverest lines on the entire record, and it makes me feel a way that no other song does. That’s what seals it at #1, for me (for now.)
Feel free to reply with yours, or tag me in your own review!! I’m really excited to see some of the more detailed opinions people have, now that the initial “IT’S HERE” hype has started to subside.
stream MANIC by HALSEY today
#manic#manic review#manic era#halsey#ashley frangipane#stephspeaks#ok to reblog#changed some formatting
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