#they have beem dead since the beginning

[itstimeforstarwars]

I'm getting to a point in writing where I want to write more about my ocs than about the canon characters but at the same time it feels like going to middle school art club and being like "this is trilly, they're nonbinary and homeless in the fantasy 1940s and they're traveling with their partner whose name is Starlight and she was an orphan saved by one background character from one book and they're traveling to find Trilly's uncle and cousin who went missing in the war and I think they're really cool so please care about them!"

[stxrmylxve]

Hi!

How about a Mikey x reader do-over? Like after time-leaping into the final timeline he got the chance to set things right with his family and frienda but also the reader? Meet them again for the first time or give them a better life... I am curious how would that go in your mind?

Only if you are into such a thing?

Also big thank you on your chifuyu x reader piece from before. I loved it. 💜

Oh my gosh hi again!! i’m so so glad you liked it <33

READ BEFORE: pre timeskip mikey is in the bonten arc where he was white hair and is a killer. post timeskip, he goes back to when shinichiro was alive. in the anime, it does say that was when he was a tiny kid, but take that out and imagine him as the toman leader. sorry for the confusion 😭😭

“shinichiro, you don’t understand. I have to go back.” mikey pleads to his older brother, the hazy figure flickering in and out of view.

“manjiro, how am i supposed to send you back when i’m dead?” he asks, being met with sickening silence as he begins to fade out.

“i’ll do what i can, but there is no guarantee, little brother.”

Mikey doubled over and cried, knowing that it probably couldn’t come true. he cried for what felt like ages until his eye became blood red. he got up and walked past the haitani brothers, not uttering a word as he drove off on his bike. The drive home was silent and as he walked in, he went straight to his room to lay down.

He knew he had screwed up. badly. he didn’t want it to end up like this, but he got too caught up in fixing parts that didn’t need to get fixed, not to mention in the wrong way. he drifted off to sleep in thought, hoping to sleep soundly and wake up to a whole new, and correct, world.

“jiro, manjiro..”

the words woke him up, but yet his eyes were met with a white background.

“hello?” he called out, the image of shinichiro and y/n flickering into vision.

“good morning sleepyhead.” y/n says with a giggle as shinichiro grins down.

“where am i?” mikey asks as he looks around; everywhere was pure white.

“in a loop. i had a talk with a friend of mine, they can send you back.” shinichiro scowl as mikey beems with delight.

“really?! this-“

“but,” shinichiro interupts, causing mikey to wither almost instantly as y/n fades out, “promise me this, manjiro. fix y/n correctly this time.” he finishes with a sour frown.

mikey tears up at the sight he had seen so vividly; the sound of you falling limp on the ground as the men beside you cackled and took down their poles. he had hunted all of the men down, but it still didn’t feel right. it hadn’t fixed anything, you were still gone from his life and would never come back.

“i promise.” mikey mutters as he wipes his tears with a determined smile and held his hand out. shinichiro smiled back and took his hand, and the rest was a blur. it was like he was getting sucked into his own skin, something too small it didn’t hurt, but it was beyond uncomfortable.

He shot up in his bed, sweat coating his forehead like a sheet. he looked around, it was his old bedroom. he found the placement of the clock, it’s numbers reading ‘10:26 am, August 14th’ as he sighed.

Izana kicked the door open with a sigh, mumbling something before turning to mikey. “mikey, you have a meeting at 11:00, remember? get ready or you won’t have enough time to get to the shrine.” he says as he shuts the door again, a big smile forming on mikey’s lips as he jumped out of bed.

He threw on his uniform and brushed his teeth, cursing when a drop of toothpaste fell and got on his sock and the floor. he stumbled out of his bedroom and was met with the smell of shinichiro’s cooking, dragging him to the kitchen to see his older brother alive and happy.

“MANJI- oh, good morning.” he says, surprised mikey was down here before his morning call.

He doesn’t respond, just rushes over and hugs the taller man as small tears form in his eyes.

“woah hey, what’s up?” shinichiro asks. he guesses that he wouldn’t know about the time leap since this shinichiro wasn’t present in the conversation.

“nothing, and hey, don’t go to the bike shop today? okay? I’ll cover.” mikey says with a smile as he takes a dorayaki off of the counter and walks to the door.

“mikey, i have detailing to do-“

“no, don’t do it today. take the day off for once, please?” he pleads, knowing all too well how it would work out by night time.

“fine. don’t be out for too long, i expect a movie tonight!” shinichiro calls out as mikey waves and walks out of the door.

When mikey gets to the shrine, he is met with toman fighting.

“draken, you know it’s a bad choice! kisaki will ruin us-“

“shut up takemichi!” baji says as he punches him, nailing his right in the nose with a crunch.

“baji-san, stop!” chifuyu calls out as he rushes to takemichi’s aid, wiping the blood gushing from the boy’s nose with a frown.

“baji, drop it.” mikey says darkly as he walks through the fight, everyone stiffening and rushing to their formations in an instant.

“draken, do the meeting. baji, come here.” mikey says as he muches on his dorayaki, draken cocking an eyebrow before shrugging and beginning the meeting himself. baji rolls his eyes and trudges over to where mikey sat away from the meeting.

mikey takes the last bite and punches baji in the gut, catching baji off guard as he doubles over with a groan.

“what i says goes, alright? i want kisaki out, now.” mikey says as he glares at baji with angered eyes, “by the way, if you lay another finger on takemichi, you’re out too. you even made the rule of no fighting amongst members, idiot.” mikey says as he walks away, sitting back down next to draken as he looks through the crowd for kisaki. of course he wasn’t there, how generous of hanma to show up.

“hanma! come here.” mikey calls as the taller male perks up with a grin. he pushes through the gang members, his lanky limbs throwing people down as he walks up a few of the steps.

“where is kisaki today?” mikey asks, hanma’s eyes narrowing as his smile falters in a frown.

“he had other business to tend to, he will be coming towards the end of the meeting.” hanma says after a while as he turns around and walks back to his conversation, his dark tone shifting to his chaotic self as he wraps an arm around takemichi with a grin.

As if on cue, kisaki shows up with a scowl as he joins hanma’s conversation.

“baji~” mikey coos as he nods towards the man, a sigh emiting from the man as he walked over with draken towards kisaki.

“im going to leave now, fill me in if anything happens.” mikey says as mitsuya and hakkai nod, allowing mikey to walk through as they watch the gang and continue to talk.

mikey looks at the time on his watch, 11:36am on the clock as he smiled. that wasn’t the worst timing persay.

he walks through an alleyway, the men scurrying to the sides as mikey walks through. he gets through and takes a right, following a small path before being face to face with your house. your parents were sitting on the front porch chatting.

mikey nervously walks towards the house, your parents going quiet when they heard the gate creek open suddenly.

“uhm.. is y/n here?” he asks as your parents look him up and down with a frown.

“what do you want with her?”

“hey mom- oh, hey mikey.” you say as you create a awkward stalemate conversation.

“hey, can i come in?” he asks as you look for confirmation with your parents before nodding.

“sure, let me talk to them first though.” you say with a smile as you move aside so he can walk in, a small peck landing on your temple as he brushes past inside.

If he remembers right, a gang came to your house and got you and your parents. he never apologized and it bit him in the butt not too, so he was here to change your fate and redeem himself. you eventually came back inside, a frown on your face as you grumbled something and met him in your bedroom.

When you walked in, mikey was looking at all of the photos on your wall, most of which were you with a big proud smile of your accomplishments.

“what did you need?” you ask, startling him as his head drops to look at the floor.

“i’m breaking up with you.” he says, silence looming over like a storm cloud as tears formed in both his and your eyes.

“may I ask.. why?” you ask as you walk over to your desk, fiddling with a stress ball as he walked over to the window. He would have answered why, but at the gate stood the big gang of moebius, preparing to storm through the gates for you.

Mikey dashed down the hallway, flying down the stairs as he ran outside with a devilish look.

“wanna go at them? get through me you fuckers!” he yells as he runs right at Osanai, charging into him and throwing him down. he jumped from person to person as he knocked each of them out, grabbing a steel pipe from one of their hands to hit the other ones out. by the time he was done, the ground around his was littered in bodies and blood.

He looked up to see your parents staring at him in horror, holding you back as you thrashed around. he dropped the pipe as tears rolled down his cheek, turning around and walking away dispite your calls.

“Mikey watch out!”

[sea-owl]

So I have a potential answer for this. From what I saw, Edwina's anger is not because Kate was in love with Anthony. Edwina's anger actually stems from her love for Kate and that Kate hurt her.

In the beginning of the season we are shown that the Sharma sisters do genuinely love one another and are very close. One could make an argument that they're best friends, especially from Edwina's perspective. Yes they both have their responsibilities for their family that I do believe influences their decisions. But we do see they do love one another. They way they hold one another at their first ball of the season. Edwina valuing Kate's opinion above all else, Edwina wanting Kate to find a love match herself in the haldi scene, and Kate wanting to see her sister's dream of a love match come true.

Now what we are seeing throughout the season is a rough patch in Kate and Edwina's relationship as they both are learning who they are without the other, and the family dynamics that has been built up since the death of their father. Kate has been putting a mask up around Edwina and throughout the season that mask has been chipping away for Edwina to see underneath.

That mask explodes the night of the Sheffield dinner. Edwina sees and learns, with emotions running high, right then and there of the secrets Kate has been keeping. In Edwina's point of view she just learned that the person she loved and trusted most in the world didn't trust her. I will admit I don't remember what Kate said of Edwina's dowery if she said anything at all, but by the shock of learning she was getting it from the Sheffields with conditions means Kate was lying to Edwina and Mary even if by omission. This lie, a huge one at that, along with the potential knowledge that had this beem successful that she would lose her sister, hurts Edwina.

After this, I do believe Edwina does start having doubts in Kate, and her blind faith has been shaken. That shaken faith ultimately leads Edwina to her realization at the wedding. But the girls make up Kate promises no more secrets.

Enter the wedding and Edwina's realization. Edwina learned with an audience that Kate had lied to her and kept another secret again after just promising her that there was no more secrets. We are seeing Edwina at her breaking point and we are seeing her lash out. Was the half sister comment hurtful to Kate? Yes. But Edwina was hurt by Kate too. Someone she loved deeply hurt her, she wouldn't be that angry if she didn't love Kate.

Now, I do believe it was dragged out for drama because Shondaland loves their drama, but Edwina also needed time to process and work through everything. Her whole worldview just crashed, and the image she had of her beloved sister was broken.

And we do see that once Edwina's had time, she's chill about kathony, encourages it even. Her change in emotions at the accident more has to do that while yes, she is mad at Kate she still loves her and does not wish to see her dead. The fear of losing her sister outweighed her anger.

Kate, while I do love her and empathize with her as a parentified eldest daughter, has made mistakes. Her biggest one is not trusting her family and not giving them the information needed to make an informed decision. This is ultimately what led to things blowing up in her face and that fight with Edwina. Now again the Sharma sisters do love one another, Kate's decisions are made out of love. But you can have all the love and all the best intentions and still hurt that loved one.

That hurt and love Edwina felt towards Kate is what led to her anger and anger born from that combo, in my opinion, tends to last longer.

Maybe someone can enlighten me or explain other ideas/opinions about this, but I rewatched season 2 and I just cannot see why Edwina is SO angry with Kate to the point where she keeps spurning her and making her seem like this ultimate villain that like committed arson and murder against her??? All because she had feelings for the viscount but never actually acted upon them and was going to rid herself of the situation entirely so that nothing would ever occur?? Kate explains that she did everything and sacrificed basically her own happiness so that Edwina would not have to face hardships and Edwina basically takes it as “so you pity me and think I can’t make my own decisions?” and I just don’t know how she drew that conclusion from everything Kate said 😭 I know Edwina also has a lot of pressure on her to help her family, and I get that she felt herself to be in love with the viscount and everything, but why would you still scorn Kate after she admitted that even though she did have feelings for the viscount, she was going to put that aside for your own happiness and so you could live comfortably with a good man. I know they make up in the end but I can’t help but resent the way Edwina and Kates relationship was written for the show compared to the books. It felt like an almost unnecessary and a bit forced conflict towards the end. Like, yes, Edwina had every right to be upset her wedding wasn’t what she wanted and that her love interest wasn’t actually in love with her but to make it seem like it was all Kates’s fault and no one else’s seemed a bit ridiculous in my opinion.

[tyunniverse]

Midnight Crisis

pairing: huening kai x reader

genre: fluff (?)

word count: 1728

synopsis: huening kai gets woken up by his neighbor's alarm every midnight and finally decides to do something about it

There it is again.

Kai lies awake in his bed, eyes heavy and dark circles evident. He stares at the ceiling, trying his best to cancel out the noise that's been plaguing his mind for countless nights but to no avail. He's grown to hate the noise with each passing day. It's been like this ever since he moved in two months ago.

The first night was bearable, he'd assumed that his neighbor had something important to do at midnight. After all, it wasn't unusual for a college student to be up that late to finish an assignment. The first week was excusable. Kai figured that they must be working on an extremely important project that couldn't wait until morning to be finish. The next few weeks were hell. He thought he'd be immune to the alarm blasting through his walls but he wasn't. It sounds off for five minutes and after that, waits another five minutes more to go off again. His suffering doesn't end until it nears 1 am, and if he's lucky, it'll end before 00:30. This became the norm for Kai.

But the alarm had been going off for more than an hour. A hundred thoughts go through Kai's mind. Should he just try to go back to sleep? At this point that seemed impossible. He'd tried a hundred times before and it never worked. Should he just stay up until it ends? He'd be tired by morning but that's the safest possible decision. But what if this goes on until sunrise? He can't risk falling asleep in class when he had a presentation first thing in the morning.

Kai bunches the his blanket in his hands. "Why me?" He groans, shifting to the side to check his phone. His classmate, Beomgyu, had left him a message a few hours ago.

Hyuka, I can't make it to class tomorrow. I'm at the hospital with my roommate. Sorry, but I think you have to do the presentation on your own tomorrow. I promise I'll make it up to you.

Great.

Given the news and the loud pinging of the alarm, Kai decides that he has had enough. He can't deal with the stupid alarm going off every night, especially when he really needed the rest.

He hops out off bed, grabbing a hoodie from his closet and putting it over his shirt before storming out of his room.

—

You were beyond tired.

The classes you had on that day had all conducted tests, leaving your brain fried by the time you got home. You immediately pass out once you reached the comfort of your bed, not even caring to change out of your clothes. Your mind peacefully drifts into sleep, remembering that you had something to look forward to at 1 am.

You never forget to set your alarm. Sometimes, it was hard waking up in the middle of the night when you're having such a good time sleeping, but you made sure that it went off every five minutes until you're forcibly awoken by it's blaring sound.

The drama your best friend, Soobin, had recommended to you had been the highlight of your day since the beginning of the semester. School has been nothing but the source of your stress and you found that watching the new episodes every night helped you get through it and prepare yourself for anything to come. Little did you know that your energy booster had become the bane of someone else's existence.

"Excuse me!"

You were woken up by the sound of loud banging on your door. Having just come to your senses, your eyes wander to you phone that had been blasting your alarm since 12 am. You reach out to it, checking the time and panicking once you saw that it was way past the time slot for your drama. It was about to finish.

"Shit." You scramble towards your laptop, hoping to at least see if there was still hope to watch it until your attention was brought back to the loud banging on your door.

"Excuse me! Is anyone in there?"

You frown. "Who the hell disturbs people in the middle of the night?"

The place was quiet for a while until the banging came back. You take one last glance at your laptop before treading towards the door. You grab anything heavy along the way in case things get a little weird with your unexpected visitor.

Kai rubs his eyes as he waits for his neighbor's door to swing open. His ears perk up when he hears shuffling behind the door. It opens for about an inch wide, raising a few questions in Kai's mind.

"Do you need something?" You speak out from behind the door.

Kai's brows knit as he leaned a little closer. "It's me, Huening Kai, from room 208. I need to talk to you about something but isn't refusing to open your door a little rude?"

"Oh, sorry." You relax once you realize that the visitor wasn't a threat. You'd seen him a lot on your way to your room but you've never interacted before. All you know was that he seemed like a pretty nice guy. "Ah," You look up at him. He looked kinda cute despite his tired look. His messy hair had almost entirely covered his eyes and his hoodie had a molang print on the side. "But isn't it also a little rude to bang at your neighbor's door at 1 am?" You ask him, brows raised.

Kai purses his lips, trying his best to hold off on snapping at you. He was truly at his limit. "Not when that neighbor has kept me up for the past two months with their stupid alarm?"

"What are you— oh." You cut yourself off upon realizing the entirety of the situation. Maximum volume. You had set your alarm at maximum volume to make sure you never missed an episode. It had barely been effective on you but it sure did its work on your neighbor. In hindsight, you should've seen this coming.

Kai watches as you space out and decides to just tell you then and there instead of waiting for you to invite him inside. "Uh, listen." His hands fidget, trying to get through the awkwardness. "You must have something important to do but please be responsible with your alarm. It's ringing has kept me awake since the start of the semester and I haven't gotten a good night's sleep since. I have a presentation later and I really need to get some sleep before that, so can you please tone the alarm down or just shut if off? I don't think I can survive another night like this."

There he had it.

Kai felt a bit better. He should've done this sooner. His problems would've been solved by then. He figured that you'd apologize and stop your alarms since by now, the two of you have probably reached an understanding.

"I understand your side, I really do." You tell him, looking up at his now smiling form. "But I can't lower the volume." His smile disappears.

"What?"

"I can't wake up if it's not at maximum volume. Please understand, I need this in order to wake up." You insist.

Kai didn't know how to react. He'd been so sure that you'd cooperate that any other responses would have rendered his mind blank. "What?" He repeats. "Then, can you at least tell me why it's so important for you to be awake at this hour?"

You cant. You can't tell him.

The moment he finds out that you were willing to sacrifice his sleep for the drama you've been watching, he'd never let you hear the end of it. "I have a project and it needs to be finished by tomorrow."

Kai crosses his arms, frowning. "So you're saying you have an important project every single night?"

You hold your breath. "Yes?"

"Yes?" Kai scoffs. "Please tell me you're joking."

"I'm serious!" You wage him off. "I really do have one!"

Kai takes a peek at your room and sighs. "Then bring it here. The least you can do is prove that you're telling the truth. I can't keep suffering like this, Y/N."

Hearing your name made you nervous. Of course he'd known your name, he had delivered your packages a few times when it ended up in front of his doorstep by mistake. What's worse, he wanted you to show him the project you made up on the spot to hopefully escape the situation. Your mind goes blank, and there's only one thng that passes through it despite being fully aware that this solution was only temporary.

"I'm sorry!"

"Huh?"

Kai freezes in his spot as the door slams shut in his face. He hears you run back imto the safety of your room and he's left standing there, speechless. It takes him a few seconds to register what had just happened.

"Hey!" He reaches out for your door knob, twisting it a few times before giving up and knocking on the door. "Y/N? Y/N! Open up! We're still not done talking!" He knocks a few more times. "Hey!"

You snicker, hellbent on ignoring him and focusing on what's left of your show. Even if it's just the ending of the episode, it was enough to at least get you through tomorrow.

The episodes starts loading after a few clicks and you move to get your headphones. That's when you realize that Kai had finally stopped bothering you for the night. A smile creeps in your face as you feel a mixture of relief and guilt. "I'm sorry, Kai, but I need this."

You plug your headphones in and was about to focus on the episode when a loud alarm starts blasting through the walls of your room. Eyes wide, you check your phone to see if your alarm had beem turned off. It had been dead ever since you got up, which meant that the sound could only be coming from the room next door.

You jump when you hear a rather loud laugh coming from Kai's room, followed by him banging on your shared wall. Your phone buzzes with a notification and you check it.

Hey there, neighbor! If I'm not gonna get any sleep then so are you. Suffer with me >3<

[slashtakemylife]

Sad Voltron thoughts

The greatest weapon of the universe is really handled by a bunch of teenagers

So I’m late to this, I’ve spoiled myself since S8 came out but only now have I really watched the season and I’ve only reached the episode after clear day, now before I begin I will declare this:

I am a CASUAL viewer

I’ve followed VLD since S2 came out and the only ship I have is Adashi, and considering how you can easily take out their two scenes and the plot stays exactly the same, there is absoutely no ship bias in here, just a viewer (that also means that I’ve made this out of memory, any details I’ve miss please tell me but this are my thoughts as someone who is not going to take the time and go back into the seasons, I just watch the show and what stayed stayed)

S8 made me sad, the entire tone of the season is sad, dark and filled with loss and death, now this is supposed to be about the war and it’s consequences, to me it’s more of the consequences of Voltron’s actions, or lack of, rather than just Honerva’s evilness, so to me the fact that they must stop her is not something they want to do because they want to do the right thing but rather it’s them taking responsability for their actions, like saving the universe is the least they could do after everything they failed, (long post)

- Just to be clear

What Canon Shows

What I thought/interpret

-

In S2 Voltron along with their allies, the beginings of the Coallition, joined to defeat Zarkon, and S3 showed Voltron trying to consolidate the Coalition

The Coalition which is basically the UN and at it’s core it is just a group project, now each of these planets need to rebuild, yes sure they’ll sing up but each have their own issues so we need one neutral party to check and connect all the planets, this is Voltron or mainly, Allura, she is the face and leader of the Coallition

The Coalition plot line is dropped off the moment Allura goes to Blue, so we see none of them until later on

The Coalition still exist but there is no longer this figure to join them, imagine if the UN was just a big room were countries, whenever they wanted, would go and chat about problems the world may have, no one would go

I’d like to point to another part, the Garla, the Coalition began exclusively to defeat the Garla, not to create a united universe, they are literaly pointing a finger at them and calling them evil, the Garla, who’ve been inmerse in a conquerer mentally are left to fight and essencially detroy themselves

At this point, the Coalition works, not because Voltron is doing something good but because their objective, the Garla, are busy fighting themselves, thus no one is actively conquering or managing the enslaved colonies, thus making it seem like there is “peace”

S? I think 5? finally shows the struggle of the leaderless Galra and it finally dying out thanks Lotor becoming emperor, not by the Paladins, but by Shiro’s clone who is controled by Honerva

The Paladins couldn’t give a flying f*ck about the Galra, if the show had followed it’s initial intentions, Shiro would’ve died and Keith becomes the Black Paladin, it would show someone on the team actually cares for the Garla and wants to see them included in the Coalition, Keith, convinced Lotor is the right guy, helps him get to the throne, but since it’s Shiro’s clone controled by Honerva this moves becomes by the Garla and for the Garla, Voltron still doesn’t care about them and the fact that Keith is hardly there or mention, their Galra rep is essencially gone, Galra = Evil

Lotor rise to power is a Galra move for the Galra and it’s shown when he too shows to be evil, he is the crazy villain to defeat in S6

We get to S7, the Paladins learn the universe is in chaos, by the Galra again not having a leader and creating little evil groups and by the planets that didn’t have a defender, so what should we do? Go to Earth

For starters, S3 to 6 I rarely remember them doing anything with the Coalition so the fact that everything is in chaos by small Garla groups means the planets are still defensless, were is the Coalition? why they left each planet to their own device? why couldn’t they help each other?

With no Allura or Voltron or figure to join them, each to their own, leaving them vulnerable to attacks, the Coalition is just a name, Voltorn shook the bee hive, twice, and left, they killed their leaders and then did nothing for them, we also see a druid has decimated most of the Blade of Marmora

The Blade of Marmora, an organization that survived completely hidden for 10,000 years becomes more publicly active to support Voltron, they are now few in numers and pretty much extint

Earth is also in bad shape, Sam said they were the last people standing so it’s natural to assume many people have died on Earth, they get just in time because Sendak of all people went specifically to Earth just for fun of revenge and really by pure chance the paladins wanted to go there and they also get a big ship, the Atlas

We finally see the Coalition, we get to see aliens we’ve previously seen and they are all helping, it seems like the Coalition works just fine

S8, Voltron and the Atlas go back to space to hunt for Honerva but they are literaly just cruising space , they reach a Galra outpost were they try to get the Galra to cooperate, we learn this general was made to give his support to Voltron, only for them to kill their leader and disappear, making him suspicious or uncooperative with Voltron

At this point I thought, yeah, Voltron has killed the Galra’s leader twice, and it’s just now that they care for the Galra? When they are scattered, defeated, low on numbers? They never cared before, why now? Is it because the Coalition is not working and the Galra are weak that they are now finally taking them in consideration? They actually show Honerva is also decimating the Galra so do they go help them because they too have clues to Honerva? So they really don’t care, got it, only Keith does

And also at this point I go hu? That’s right, Lotor was empreror, did he do anything in his reign? Did Voltron tried to include the Galra in the Coalition? This is the first time I hear any Galra said they swore allegiane to Voltron and with Lotor in the throne it makes sense but did we ever see Lotor do something? I remmeber in the Honerva episode she said, find the emperor! And I thought, Zarkon? That b*tch alive? Oh please no! Oh yeah that’s right, Lotor was emperor, wait, what did he do as emperor again? He never even wore a type of head ornament to show status to really drill in my head yes he is the leader nor did he do anything emperor like or really ruled the Galra for me to think, yes this guy made his generals swore their allegiance to Voltron, this is the first time I hear of this and really no wonder he is bitter, Voltron killed his previous leader, put another that made him swear to Voltron and then Voltron killed him as well and left, like WTF Voltron? Chose a side you look like a moody teenager but you have the greates weapon known in the universe and you swing your sword and whoever makes you mad

They go to Olkari again by pure chance and only once they are close to the planet do they see it’s real devastating state, they also mention Olkarion was a key base to the Coalition, a communication base or just a base, idk can’t remember

So at this moment I think, that’s right, the Olkari! Then why did they go to Earth in S7? shouldn’t the Olkari be better equipped to handle the lions than Earth? why expose Earth who is still building up their defenses rather than go to the place they liberated long ago that has the best engineers in the universe?

Also they go by chance, first of all, this is the first time I hear they are vital to the Coalition, I know they are great allies but I’ve never seen or told beforehand they had such a big role and if they had, why didn’t they call anyone from the Coalition? Once Earth was back online they contacted Matt, the Coalition arrived on Earth, there is a working functioning one

Yes they may arrive late but I’m sure they could’ve sent a signal to the Coalition, to the Atlas, to Voltron who we actually literally in that episode see them use their mega thrusters just for fun, they should’ve recieved the distress signal but arrived too late not by chance, this makes me question their statement as if they were really a big part of the Coalition and only after they see the state of Olkari that they send the rebels to evacuate other planets, but it’s stated the robeast had beem destroying plantes for a while, why did no one in the Coalition said a thing? Why is it surprising now? In S7 the universe was chaos, the planets defenseless, so then we are back to square 1 but this time it feels worse and the worst part is that is their failure at not making a strong enough Coalition at going back to Earth rather than stay and help

In Olkari they mention how their information could save billions of live, Allura saying how they need to save all the lives in the universe

Ok, um which lives again? Let’s check the groups shall we? Earth was decimated not long ago, many people died, some are still alive, the Olkari were able to flee but we see that many must have died as well, Ryner probably dead, the Galra, are said to also be scattered and low on numbers due to Honerva, the Blade of Marmora are mostly dead because of that one lonely druid, the Alteans are alive but they are used by Honerva, if they speak they die so disposable and also in low numbers this are all the major groups Voltron has that I can remember

Everything is destroyed and dead, yes I know there are people still there to save but at this point, me as the viewer, I am just so depressed of this constant death and destruction, they never mention a bit of hope, at least one place they can defend and keep safe, a focus, at this point I’m just praying for Shay and her Balmera because they are the only group that they haven’t talked about

I can’t get emotionally invested, the heroes are motivated but they just look so down, so sad, I have nothing to root for, everything Voltron once did is pretty much gone and at this point I think, well what did they do?

The Coalition failed, I only remember seeing it work once on Earth, the farthest place from the conflict, by them failing at consolidating the Coalition the planets they saved are gone, their allies like the BoM are mostly dead because they came our more publicly to support Voltron, they killed the Galra leader twice and did nothing later which bit them in the ass when these random groups of Galra’s attacked them, they now are interested in the Galra because they are as much f*cked up as the rest of the universe and pretty much no longer a threat

I just...What The Ever Loving FUCK is happening, I’m sorry but I can’t get invested in this and worse, all of this just told me that everything I’ve been seeing for two years meant for nothing and no it’s not because Honerva was supper powerful but because they failed at doing what they were supposed to do! Honerva didn’t hit a well stablished big tower, she hit a Jenga tower that already had blocks taken away

And everything is so gloomy, not only am I sad all the time but it feels pointless, if they save the universe is because it’s the least they should do! I just can’t anymore, I know how it ends, I already reached the part were they go into Honerva’s mind so at this point I know they are not going to adress the previous issues i had, it’s only the big battle at the end were Allura dies so I want and don’t want to watch it but the only episode I’ve truly enjoyed is Clear Day and it’s only because it has nothing to do with the plot

.

Ok this is canon romantic stuff, I’m not feeling Allurance, Lance has stated his love twice, like literal, I LOVE YOU, Allura just smiled and the first thing she sees in her allucination is Lotor, her ex, I know it’s for the dark entity but it felt like Allura couldn’t shake off his memory, even if she doesn’t love him and she clearly looks traumatized to see him, it tells me she is not ready to jump into a relationship, she hasn’t healed from Lotor’s betrayal, she is just looking for someone to hold her before she snaps but I don’t feel an ounce of love of her to Lance, this makes me feel bad for Lance because he is cleary in love but Allura can’t and won’t be able to reciprocate until she is healed and I know perfectly well it won’t happen

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 9 October 2017

My favourites this week are both endings; Rocket #6 by Al Ewing and Adam Gorham and The Woods #36 by James Tynion IV and Michael Dialynas. Published by Marvel and BOOM! Studios.

Since at least the “Grounded” relaunch/expansion of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise titles, Marvel has been producing some extremely high quality, well-written, beautifully-illustrated series that I always feel cheated out of when they’re “cancelled” instead of rightfully referred to as limited series. Particularly those of these last two groupings including Star-Lord, Gamora, I Am Groot, and the two excellent Rocket Raccoon series, first Matthew Rosenberg and Jorge Coelho’s Rocket Raccoon, and now this, Al Ewing and Adam Gorham’s Rocket, which I’d wager could possibly be the best Rocket Raccoon series since Bill Mantlo and Mike Mignola’s series back in 1985 (which this series references and draws from).

Al Ewing crafted an interesting story with "The Blue River Score”, layering it in the genre trappings of a hard-boiled caper, including the typical hard-hitting narration of a Raymond Chandler or Richard Stark novel, a femme fatale in Otta Spice, and an impossible heist, and then mixing it with colourful “obscurish” Marvel characters like the members of Technet and setting it across the backdrop of the more zany corners of Marvel’s cosmos.

Rocket #6 even brings it back around to the original Rocket Raccoon mini-series and Rocket’s old continuity, behaviour, and such with the correlation a lot of people were probably wondering about regarding Otta and Rocket’s otter-love, Lylla, being revealed here as one and the same. Not only does it add Ewing’s penchant for mining the depths of continuity for story payoffs and inspiration, but it also makes the story resonate a bit more with emotional impact.

Adam Gorham’s artwork is wonderful. He excels at drawing strange and wonderful creatures, but also has an added roughness, a scratchiness to his linework that perfectly fits the hard-boiled narrative. His overall design sense, from page layout to panel transitions also make this fun to read. There appears to be extensive thought that’s going into how the story is being told, from both Ewing and Gorham, and it results in an immensely enjoyable comic.

Particularly, I think more comics, not just crime comics like Rocket here or much of Ed Brubaker’s work, could do with a “prose gutter”. I highly recommend this to people who love off-beat crime comics.

The Woods #36 is the conclusion to a series that has dabbled in horror, fantasy, and sci-fi, but at its heart has always been a coming of age tale centred around the kids who had their whole world upended by being stolen away to a strange and dangerous realm on the other side of the universe. The ending is suitably epic as the former children show that they’ve truly grown and matured as they fight to find their way home.

Michael Dialynas has been delivering some incredible art since the series began, but these last few issues have been truly breathtaking. The double-page spreads this issue alone, juxtaposing two different types of battle going on are a treat, showing an ability to make both the quiet character moments and the high action compelling and interesting visually.

The story James Tynion IV has been telling is largely one about growth and change, of transformation through adversity, and occasionally needing to fail. The finale throws the biggest roadblocks and gives the opportunity to show how far the characters have come since that first issue, even antagonists like Adrian get a chance to shine.

This issue also shows how seamlessly Dialynas and Tynion have grown as collaborators. The scene between Isaac and Ben works well both in dialogue and in art, giving a huge emotional impact both in how it appears and in the heartfelt conversation.

Overall, this has been a great series and this is a very satisfying conclusion.

Quick Bits:

Atomahawk #0 collects the shorts that ran previously in Heavy Metal. While a new series is being published in Image+, this is a good time to pick up what came earlier in one place. Aside from just a balls to wall story from Donny Cates, Ian Bederman’s art remains phenomenal. His style reminds me a lot of Peter Kuper and the way that he constructs his characters, action, and page layouts are just fantastic. Highly recommend this special and the serial in Image+.

| Published by Image

Babyteeth #5 gives us one of those game-changing reveals that Donny Cates should be known for producing now based on at the very least Redneck and God Country. Sadie’s world just got a whole lot bigger and a whole lot stranger as she starts getting clued in to what’s going on with her and her baby.

| Published by AfterShock

Birthright #27 reminds me that I probably don’t talk about the colourists enough. Take, for instance, Adriano Lucas’ work here. Andrei Bressan’s linework would still look good, but it’s Lucas’ colours that really elevate the story and put us in a more magical reality with a shift here from standard “realistic” colours to the brighter, softer, and more colourful world inside a more fantastical realm. It just shows the impact that the colourist has on the overall tone and atmosphere of the book.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Daredevil #27 continues the twisting arc of DD’s mentoring of Blindspot since the beginning of this volume. Charles Soule gives us a more thorough backstory for Blindspot and reveals what has happened since the “Dark Art” story-arc. It’s pretty...um...dark.

| Published by Marvel

The Dying & The Dead #6 is still the most beautiful, possibly inscrutable, hidden history comic being published. 

| Published by Image

The Family Trade #1 is something different. And pretty fantastic. The premise and setting of the Float, a kind of extension of some of the politics of the Italian city-states during the time of the Renaissance, is brilliant, serving as a perfect backdrop to the populist political allegory that Justin Jordan and Nikki Reed are presenting here. The characters, and the idea of a family of assassins meant to keep society in check is also compelling, particularly the lead, (Jessa Wynn, who I’m fairly sure isn’t even named in the first issue, I grabbed it from the solicitation info), in her somewhat bumbling way.

Morgan Beem’s art also adds greatly to the overall feel and tone of this world. She has an art style that looks highly influenced by European artists, with a soft watercolour palette atop, achieving a very distinctive look for the comic.

Oh, and there’s “talking” cats. Every book should have talking cats. Every one.

| Published by Image

GI Joe #9 concludes this volume from Aubrey Sitterson and Giannis Milonogiannis. The end features some really nice action in the art from Milonogiannis. It’s nice to also get another series up to speed finally for the First Strike crossover, even though the GI Joe: First Strike comic that also comes after this series is already out. ROM looks like it’s the only hold out still before I can finally start reading that. The other highlight of this issue being the revelation of the new Cobra Commander.

| Published by IDW

God Complex: Dogma #1 is an impressive looking comic. The artwork from Hendry Prasetya is slick and layered in thick solid blacks, highly suitable to the futuristic mystery presented in the story, which is then elevated by the colours and sheen that Jessica Kholinne adds on top. Visually, it perfectly evokes that kind of Blade Runner feel. 

The story is also pretty interesting, Paul Jenkins hooks us fairly well with the murder and mystery of the Church of Trinity. The mix of a mysterious, possibly fictitious “one god” and the real, tangible deities of Delphi’s Rulers is something we’ve seen variations on before, but it’s still a compelling examination of faith vs. direct knowledge. The world, based on Glitch’s toy line, is fairly broad. The lead, Seneca, serves as a bridge between the two aspects and Jenkins delivers a little twist on the narrative partway through that has you reexamine the narration itself, making you go back and re-read the comic in that different light.

| Published by Image / Top Cow - Glitch

Grass Kings #8 focuses on Pike and his backstory, giving depth to the Grass Kingdom’s man of few words. In addition to his history, it also serves as a broadening of the mystery of the potential serial killer among the people, showing the other perspective of the conversation from last issue regarding Ms. Handel’s “suicide”, making us question even more.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Harbinger Renegade #8 finally gives us the reunion of Kris and her parents, a plotline dating back right to the first story-arc. As has been the case for much of this series, it’s not exactly pleasant. It is, however, still satisfying and probably one of the happier moments in the series, even if bittersweet. The push towards Harbinger Wars 2 is also more apparent, with a drive for a Renegade army and training becoming more imperative. Animalia is also one scary little kid.

| Published by Valiant

Harrow County #26 is heartbreaking, even if you’ve grown to hate the character who dies this issue, it’s still heartbreaking. Kammi’s assault on Emmy’s life, friends, and whole world grows this issue, even with the devastating blow in the beginning of the issue, and it raises the question as to how far Kammi is going to take it, how much more loss the series is going to deliver, and what it might drive Emmy to do. Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook are firing on all cylinders with this arc.

| Published by Dark Horse

Hulk #11 is another dramatic shift in tone, suddenly reintroducing Jen’s ability to break the fourth wall, hitting for a story that is more humorous in tone, and in some cases being silly, as the last issue before the Marvel Legacy “relaunch” back to She-Hulk and legacy issue number. Personally, I’m not sure I like it. It’s by no means bad, but it’s still a dramatic departure from the more serious “Deconstructed” arc and continuing with the more ridiculous aspects of the last arc with the food vloggers. It works for what it’s going for, recapturing some of the humour that previous incarnations of She-Hulk have presented, I just find it a bit of a jarring change.

| Published by Marvel

Jimmy’s Bastards #4 finally clues in the leads as to what we’ve known since the announcement of the series. This issue also hammers home that I think the wider joke of Garth Ennis’ black humour and piss-take of current identity politics is missing the mark.

| Published by AfterShock

Mech Cadet Yu #3 is still every bit as fun and heartfelt as the previous two issues, this remains an incredible all ages story with giant robots and invading bugs. Greg Pak has created a character in Stanford Yu that you just can’t help but smile at his stumbles and achievements, so incredibly likeable that you want to read more as soon as the issue’s finished. Takeshi Miyazawa also gets to reveal the Sharg this issue, setting up what looks like a battle between the cadets and the monsters for next issue.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Noble #5 is my first issue of this series and I feel in a similar position to ostensibly the POV character, Astrid Allen, a little in the dark. Brandon Thomas uses an unreliable narrator in Lorena Payan explaining to Astrid what has been going on with her husband, the titular Noble, and the changes that have turned him into a superhero and it’s fairly compelling. Certainly enough that I decided to pre-order the Noble: God Shots book out later this month collecting the first four issues. I wonder how this issue’s reality and the previous issues will align. The artwork from Jamal Igle is a high point. The action scenes of Noble trying to save a commercial airliner are particularly well done.

I also have to say that how they’re numbering these books is also interesting. They’ve got a main issue number for the overall series, but they’ve also got a volume and issue number for story-arc/trade as this is Volume 2, Number 1. It makes story delineations fairly easy to see where breaks and potential jumping-on points occur.

| Published by Lion Forge / Catalyst Prime

Optimus Prime #11 begins the “Primeless” arc, acting as a kind of non-branded tie-in to the First Strike event, covering what’s happening to the Cybertronians on Earth cut-off from Cybertron and left in the dark. I haven’t begun reading the First Strike crossover yet, as I’m still waiting for the last issue of ROM to land to be up to speed, but it doesn’t feel as though I’m missing anything here having not read it yet. In fact, in some ways, it puts me in a similar position to the characters in the book as I don’t know what’s happening either. In any event, John Barber does a good job of ratcheting up the tension between the different factions on Earth and amongst the rest of the Council of Worlds. I also need to reiterate that there really should be at the very least a Thundercracker mini-series.

| Published by IDW

Redlands #3 shifts point of view to Laurent, a bounty hunter without a license, gator man, and apparent lover of Bridget of the coven, who was introduced as a prisoner in the first issue. I really like how Jordie Bellaire is telling this story, in somewhat non-linear waves that keep rippling outward introducing new characters and interactions while still advancing the overall plot. The epistolary backmatter of clippings of gator man sightings and how to field dress a deer are also interesting touches. It adds a nice depth to the world.

And as since the first issue Vanessa Del Rey’s artwork is incredible. Dark, moody, and at turns erotic. This book is pretty much as sensual as it is horrific and bloody, and I think that’s a very welcome choice from Bellaire and Del Rey for this story.

| Published by Image

Retcon #2 is still...something. Between the first two issues, we’ve got some kind of government conspiracy involving black ops superhuman/magic-user teams. That seems pretty straight-forward and is fairly interesting. The problem is that the interviews and backmatter with the creators imply that they’re doing something else with the series and that just doesn’t come through in the narrative. So, if you’re looking for something that kind of taps the same vein as Doom Patrol meets Automatic Kafka, this is up your alley.

| Published by Image

Royal City #6 kicks off a new arc set in 1993, delving into the teenage years of the Pike children, back when Tommy was still alive. Jeff Lemire’s story gets more layers to it as it shows the personalities of the children in their genesis, and starts easily putting together some of the pieces as to what we’re going to see happen in the first arc, including Richie’s girlfriend, Tara’s relationship with Steve, their mother’s affair, and maybe what happened to Tommy. Lemire is great at weird, and great at small town family dynamics, and this series puts them all together in a beautiful illusory package.

| Published by Image

Sheena: Queen of the Jungle #2 adds some more depth to the story and more mysteries as Sheena chances upon the guy who’s been watching with drones and the two of them stumble upon unknown ancient temples in the jungle. Marguerite Bennett and Christina Trujillo are still treading common ground, but it’s still entertaining and they’ve managed to make Sheena a fairly interesting character in her own right, and, with Moritat’s art, great to look at.

| Published by Dynamite

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #13 concludes the “Enormous Profit” arc and with it Kieron Gillen & Kev Walker’s run on the title. Gillen will apparently be back to co-write the next issue before fully transitioning to the main Star Wars title and I’m not sure what Walker is doing next. Suitably this issue features some nice action, some duplicitous intrigue, and the trademark sardonic humour. What the murderbots, Triple-Zero and BeeTee-One, have up their sleeves after being unshackled of morality earlier in this arc is a frightening prospect.

| Published by Marvel

Wormwood - Gentleman Corpse: Mr. Wormwood Goes to Washington #1 brings back Ben Templesmith’s comedy horror opus to tackle corruption in politics and it’s a very welcome return. It’s ridiculous, it’s over the top, and it’s actually scary that the bigoted plutocrat scrambling for more power in politics is now a believable reality and not just a caricature.

| Published by IDW

Other Highlights: All-New Wolverine #25, Alters #7, Amazing Spider-Man #789, Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #12, Baking with Kafka, Black Science #32, Defenders #6, Despicable Deadpool #287, Eternal Empire #5, Falcon #1, First Strike #5, Inhumans: Once & Future Kings #3, Lazaretto #2, Runaways #2, Sacred Creatures #4, Scales & Scoundrels #2, Slam!: The Next Jam #2, Star Trek: Boldly Go #12, The Unbelievable Gwenpool #21, Uncanny Avengers #27, The Wicked & The Divine #32, X-Men Blue #13 

Recommended Collections: Animosity - Volume Two, Black Cloud - Volume One: No Exit, Coady & The Creepies, Harrow County - Volume Six: Hedge Magic, Ladycastle, Low - Volume Four: Outer Aspects of Inner Attitudes, Secret Warriors - Volume One: Secret Empire, Seven to Eternity - Volume Two, Star Wars: Screaming Citadel, TMNT Universe - Volume Two: New Strangeness

d. emerson eddy can both walk and chew gum. If he tries really hard, sometimes he can even achieve both at the same time. But only sometimes.