#trying put a new technique called ''hiding the rest of the comic'' so that the post is not obscenely long and ugly

[evilfarmin]

Jiuxiao's horrible terrible no good introduction to the capital

Real "four page" comic enjoy more inside VVV

Jby: so nice to be back home and see my annoying ass baby ass chubby cheeked neighbor who is now taller than me

Wuxi was like "we're holding hands now" and jby did not protest... Give an inch situation....

Jiuxiao: zishu I don't feel good :(

Zzs: well maybe you shouldn't've peeved off the one person in the capital whose special interest is poison get bell soon *wep *wet

solution: don't get within biting range of the thing

[gladerwolfstarkimagines]

Imagine being the reserved quiet niece of Ursa and cousin of Zuko and Azula, a powerful fire bender who catches Ty lee’s attention. You struggle to find a way to show her you return her affection until Azula threatens her....

(Note: this is loosely based on the comic the search which takes place after the tv show ended and follows Zuko finding his mother)

You’d grown up in a village terrified of the fire nation. Your family used to be the proud respected descendants of Avatar Roku....and then Fire lord Azulon showed up and demanded one of the line marry his son Ozai. Your aunt was stolen away just for being linked to a fire bender and so when you developed fire bending your family were horrified. They forbade you from ever using your bending but refused to explain why. So of course you ignored them and carried on working to be the best fire bender ever. You absorbed every technique you could read about and were advancing quickly....until your family caught you. They were furious but you were determined never to stop and so they saw there was nothing else to do but tell you the truth. They finally told you what fire bending had done to their family and urged you never to show your power. Who knew what the royal family would do if they knew you existed, if they’d take you too...and so you stopped. You stopped fire bending but you were restless, so much energy bottled up inside you, and so trained in other physical disciplines. Your family disapproved of your boisterous activities but they were better than fire bending so they allowed it. Even when your aunt returned from the fire nation they didn’t lessen their rules on you an inch. You listened to them dutifully but continuously felt the itch your fire in your palms. You vowed you would get to use your fire bending some day...some how.  

8 years later

Your family had socially and physically isolated themselves so much you were unaware the war had ended even months after Zuko had been crowned. It wasn’t until said new fire lord appeared on your doorstep that you realised everything had changed.

You were outside with your little cousin Kiyi when a well dressed man appeared. You immediately identified him as some noble man from the fire nation or maybe even a royal and tensed. The fear instilled in you was strong and you swept your cousin behind you before getting in a defensive stance. "Who are you and what do you want?" you called adrenaline pulsing through you. The man started towards you and you drew the knife you always kept on you "don’t come any closer". The man raised his hands and you realised he wasn’t quiet a man yet, he was about your age and had an odd burn across his eye. "What do you want" you said louder and Kiyi clutched your legs. "I’m looking for a woman, Ursa...does she live here?". "No" you said "go away". "Are you sure?' he asked "please it’s important i find her, here’s a photo of her". He went to step forwards and you raised your hand. "Okay here" he said and put it down before walking away. You picked the photo up and before you could do anything Kiyi frowned "mommy!". "Mommy?" the boy asked confused "so you do know her? She’s here? I have to see her!". He started walking closer and wasn’t slowing down. You didn’t want him to get near you and so used your best attack. Your fire practically leapt from you after being supressed for so many years and hit him square in the chest sending him flying backwards. "Go away" you yelled loudly "now or i will hurt you". "Zuko!" someone yelled and you saw a group come running around the corner. "Kiyi run! Tell Ursa to run!" you yelled and turned to face them. You shot some warning jets of flame “leave now” you yelled trying to feign confidence. A girl dressed in blue threw up protection while a girl in pink worked her way towards you with super human agility. You fired at her but she dodged your flames as easily as if you were a beginner bender. The girl reached you and you switched to close range attacks and the two of you became locked in a close combat. “No stop!” the boy yelled but neither you or the girl stopped. The girl was dodging ever single attack you threw her but you were getting closer. You singed her t-shirt when the girl landed some punches along your muscles. Your body cramped in pain and you flinched clutching your arm. You raised your other arm but nothing happened. You raised both hands but again no flame. Your fire was gone. “My bending....” you gasped and the girl knocked the knife from your hand. “Ty lee stop it!” the boy yelled and the girl in pink simply backflipped back to the group. “I don’t know what you did to me but I still won’t let you take her” you growled. The others matched your defensive stance but the boy pushed past them “no leave her I think she’s my...” when a voice cut him off.  "Zuko?". You turned to see your aunt running forwards her eyes fixed on the man. "Zuko!" she cried and rushed past you to throw her arms around him. They were both sobbing by the time the rest of your family arrived and you were utterly confused. "What’s going on?" you asked loudly and Ursa smiled "y/n dear it’s okay, this is my son Zuko, he’s your cousin, it’s okay!".

You family flocked around Zuko and all had similar reactions to Ursa. You watched still clutching your arm as they all headed to the house. The group with Zuko went to follow and you zoned in on the girl who had done this to you. “Hey you” you called at the pink girl. She glanced at you before bounding over “i’m Ty lee, it’s lovely to meet you, your fire bending is really pretty!”. “What did you do to me?” you cried in reply and the girls smile wavered. “Sorry about that, I’m sort of swore to protect your cousin so I had to attack you, i used Chi blocking on you don’t worry it’s not permanent”. “Chi what? That’s not important...what do I do to reverse it? Undo what you did!”. “ I can’t make it come back instantly” Ty lee frowned “it takes a while for your body to repair but it’ll come back soon I promise”. You stared at your hands “you swear it’ll come back”. “Totally” she smiled crossing her heart and you stared confused why she was so happy. Was she mocking you or something? You were about to ask her when your aunt called “Y/n come meet your cousins Zuko and Azula” and with a glance to Ty lee (who was still smiling) you made your way inside.  

Ursa introduced you but that was all the encouragement Zuko needed, he seemed thrilled to have a cousin his age and launched into a thorough interogation to work out everything about you while his sister just glared. It was hard not to be caught up in his infectious happiness. He called over his friends to meet you and you noticed how proudly he called you his cousin, a large grin on his face.  When the group reached you Zuko smiled “guys this is my cousin y/n! Y/n this is Sokka, Katara, Ty lee, Mai and Aang”. They all shot greetings at you and you blinked in reply. “Aang as in avatar aang....”. “Yeah” the boy smiled awkwardly and you stared “my cousin the firelord is friends with the avatar...the avatar and fire lord are in my house right now...”. “It gets old soon I promise” Zuko’s girlfriend Mai told you and everyone laughed. Zuko was called away by your adoring family but his friends stayed around you. They all began asking you questions excited to get to know you and arrived at your bending pretty soon. "You took Zuko out surprisingly easy" Mai smirked "you must be a skilled fire bender". You glanced at your elders worried but none of them were even listening, they were all staring at Zuko amazed. You’d never seen them look so relaxed before and it dawned on you that Zuko being fire lord would change everything. It would free your family from their fear and you smiled emotional at the thought. “Y/n?” the avatar asked bringing you back and you nodded "sorry yeah i’m a good fire bender" you admitted "well i guess...i’ve never had any training or actually met another fire bender". "Really?" Katara asked and when you nodded she smiled "so you’re a prodigy!" she cried and you blushed when someone started to laugh. You followed the laugh to it’s owner, your cousin Azula who was watching you with a cruel sneer. "A prodigy? How can she be growing up here?". You narrowed your eyes but another girl scolded her "you don’t need resources to be a prodigy that’s the whole point Azula"  Ty lee snapped before turning back to you "I bet you’re awesome!" she smiled winking and you blushed.

Your family celebrated well into the night and you wanted to join them but something was worrying you...your bending still hadn’t returned yet despite what Ty lee had told you. You walked away from the house and practiced the basic moves you’d known since you were 5 but could conjure a single flame. “Maybe wait a bit longer?” a voice called and you saw the said cause of your predicament. “Sorry I don’t know exactly how long but they will come back I swear” Ty lee frowned. You frowned staring down at your hands “I’ve spent so long having to hide my bending and now I can show it, they’re gone”. “Only temporarily!” Ty lee assured you “but I get it and i’m sorry....it must’ve been hard hiding who you were all this time?" she asked and you nodded "i guess". Silence settled and Ty lee stared at you. "You don’t talk much" she observed and you blushed. “I noticed in the party you’re rather quiet, that does not run in common with your family” she smirked as your family could be heard from your position outside. "Sorry i was always told to never speak about what i can do and so to have an audience just waiting to listen....it’s pretty anxiety provoking". The girl frowned and laid a hand on your hand "i’m sorry i didn’t realise, we don’t have to talk about that, we can talk about something else". You didn’t get why the pretty girl was with you at all but suspected she felt bad for disabling your bending. "Thank you" you said politely and a silence settled again. You winced, fearing this would get awkward but Ty lee seemed to be a cunning socialite. "So what’s your favourite colour?". "My favourite colour?" you asked amused. Ty lee nodded "your aura is hard to read....you’re quiet hard to read actually and that intrigues me so humour me". You blushed as the beautiful chi blocker stared at you intensely and answered her questions.

A lot of time had passed and still the two of you were outside and Ty lee’s constant chattering broke past your nervous nature. "So what’s your life like?" you asked now more comfortable "growing up so high born must’ve been cool, so much power and freedom..." you said wistfully. Ty lee frowned and you were immediately worried you’d upset her. "I’m sorry have i...". "No" she smiled at you "you didn’t say anything wrong, you’re right, i had many opportunities women don’t get but they came with expectations and set backs" she said glancing back at the house "i did things i wasn’t proud of just to be different...you see i have 6 sister who look exactly like me and so i struggled to stand out and be different. I tried desperately to not fade into the background and guess i fell to extreme measures in the process". You frowned and Ty Lee sighed before smiling "but that was in the past! Now i’m a kyoshi warrior hired with the protection of the fire lord!” she cried “my life’s pretty good now”. “I’m pleased for you” you smiled and Ty lee smiled back at you. You noticed she had a habit of staring really intensely and with how beautiful and nice she was it was a bit too much for your tired state “we should go back to the party” you blushed looking down and Ty lee nodded “sure!” not seeming to notice the effect she had on you.

2 days later

Your cousins arrival had certainly shaken things up but things were slowly getting back to normal and your chores were still expected of you and so you took your cart into town to get the shopping like every week. You were almost back to the secluded area of you home when you noticed a group of green women on the path ahead. They all had their faces painted white and had fans.  You frowned confused at the entourage your cousin travelled with when one of them popped out infront of you. "Y/n!" Ty lee cried "these are the women i work with the Kyoshi warriors, everyone this is y/n Zuko’s cousin" she said exposing you to the large group of women. "Hi" you smiled awkwardly and they all nodded to you “is Zuko okay?” you asked her. “Ow yeah Suki and the girls are just here to make sure it stays that way...that is a lot of shopping, do you need some help?" Ty lee asked looking at your full cart and you shook your head "i’m fine thanks". "Are you sure? It’s no trouble” she smiled and before you could protest she spun around to her friends. “Suki i’ll be back in a bit" Ty lee called and twirled back around to you. She hopped up beside you on the cart and you blushed as she perched on the armrest of your seat. “Lets go” she smiled.

Ty lee had a habit of finding you and joining you in whatever you were doing. You didn’t mind, she was nice company but that was also the problem. Any time she was around you became a soft slow thinking mess, made worse by Ty lee’s lack of boundaries and intense kindness.

Case in point, Ty lee was quiet for 3 seconds before she began complimenting you. "It’s so cool you can drive one of these things" she smiled and you blushed "it’s not hard really i snap it when i want the horse to go and pull it to stop...". "Well i still think that’s cool" Ty lee cried and you looked away so she wouldn’t see your blush. You’d have to learn to stop blushing around her or she’d realise you liked her. You reached your home and climbed down as Ty lee somersaulted off. You watched impressed before turning to the cart "if we unload it here that’ll be best". Ty lee nodded and watched you pick up three boxes. Ty lee stepped forwards and heaved two but they didn’t lift up. Ty lee frowned and tried again but they wouldn’t budge. "Those are probably a bit heavy" you frowned "try a bag". Ty lee lifted a bag of vegetables and then saw you discreetly lift the two boxes she’d been struggling with. "Wow you're so strong" she cried and you blushed "i’m not...” you stammered but Ty Lee wouldn’t drop it. "No you are i couldn’t move them and you just picked them up like that...i bet your arms are huge". Your blush was painfully obvious and there was no hiding it which made you angry, was she doing this on purpose? Why was she showering you in compliments if not to try embarrassing you? "I...i’m not...you're one to talk" you replied glancing at her toned physique before becoming horrified at what you’d just said and done. Ty lee didn’t seem to mind though she just blushed and carried on helping to unload the cart.

When you’d unloaded the cart Ty lee lingered as you sorted the supplies away and when you’d finished she still hadn’t made a move to leave. You liked being around her but knew you were so obvious with your crush she had to leave or she’d easily work it out. “So that’s all the shopping sorted, thanks for helping” you said and Ty lee smiled “no problem”. You nodded staring at her waiting for her to leave but Ty lee just smiled at you. “So i guess i’ll see you around?” you asked and Ty lee took the hint “ow i’m so sorry I bet you’ve got so much work...i’ll get out of your hair”. Ty lee smiled but you noticed she seemed a bit embarrassed and it killed you that you’d hurt her. So against the sensible part of your mind telling you to avoid the girl if you didn’t want to make a fool of yourself, you called after her. “Ty lee” you called “would you...do you want to stay for dinner?” you asked. “Really?” she asked smiling again and you nodded “we always cook too much so you’d be helping but of course you don’t have to...” you started when Ty lee cut you off.  “I’d love to!” she cried and you nodded cheeks pink as you led her into the house. Zuko and Mai were inside already with your family and everyone looked up when you walked in together. “Y/n’s here great we can start” your grandmother smiled “and she brought a guest”. “You all know Ty lee” you said awkwardly as Ty lee beamed beside you “y/n invited me! I hope you don’t mind”. You blushed as your family all told Ty lee she was welcome and made room for her beside you. “Your family’s so nice” she grinned at you and you blushed very aware of said family watching you and Ty lee very smugly...they knew you had a weakness for nice girls.

Mai was also watching and she smiled to see you blush any time Ty lee grabbed you or came close to you, two thing with Ty lee seemed to do to you a lot. Her friend has definitely brought her A-game.

You saw Ty lee around a lot, especially as your family seemed to find any excuse to bring the talented chi blocker anywhere near you. The excuses varied from sending Ty lee to help you with the horse, to calling you in for dinner, to having her bring you spare change on your daily errands. Ty lee seemed more than willing to help and no matter how crowded the room was she’d somehow notice you and make her way over to you. It didn’t matter who she was with she’d drop what she was doing and appear by your side, usually not moving away from you for the rest of the night. At first you found the constant attention and looks from your family embarrassing but you soon realised embarrassment was worth it just to have Ty lee by you. She made you feel special and important in a town and family that had always wanted you to be quiet. Ty lee seemed to make it her mission to get you to open up and you found you liked it. And her of course....a lot. The situation where you realised you couldn’t deny it anymore was when you ran into Ty lee in town. Ty lee surrounded by adoring suitors from your village what she caught sight of you. She called you over but never a fan of the boys your age you waved her away and expected that to be the end of it. Seconds later you heard heavy breathing and Ty lee appeared. "Phew your village has a lot of friendly people sometimes it’s a bit much...can I walk with you?”. You blushed realising she'd ditched all the boys in your town just for you and nodded "sure" and led her away from the group of simmering boys watching. As much as every encounter with her left you feeling dazed and humiliated at whatever embarrassing thing you’d done, you hoped Zuko would never leave so Ty lee could stay. You were well and truly smitten.

1 week later

Your whole family had been anxious for so long that when something did go wrong their response time was impeccable. You were all gathered out of bed minutes after Zuko called and stood around listening as he explained how his sister Azula had escaped his custody and was raising a revolt against him. You listened worried as your cousin explained what Azula was capable of and watched as everyone hurried to set protection plans in place. You wouldn’t be called on for your opinion or skills so you were just listening in the background when someone mentioned Ty lee. You perked up and noticed she wasn’t here. "I’m sorry but what was that about Ty lee?" you called and Zuko frowned "Azula kidnapped her, she took her as a hostage so we wouldn’t follow her". "What? We have to get her back!". Mai nodded "that’s the plan". "Well i want to help, if you need fighters i volunteer, I can leave tonight". "Y/n" your mother gasped but you shook her away "i’m a good fire bender I can help get Ty lee back". Zuko smiled "thanks y/n but were not actually planning on engaging with Azula". "But how will you get Ty lee back?". "Hopefully with a trade she likes those" Mai said dryly "it’s too difficult to sneak into Azula’s base so that’s our only option. She'll offer one we just have to wait". "Just wait?" you asked and Zuko frowned "I know it sounds backwards but we could do more harm than good attacking Azula". “That’s only if we lose” you pointed out and Zuko nodded “that’s true but my sister is hard to beat one on one and a group is too easy to spot, we’ll just have to wait”. You took in what Zuko said and fell silent. You stayed mute the rest of the meeting and may’ve seemed calm or passive to the others but you weren’t. You took in every single thing they said, every detail about Azula’s camp and snook away before the meeting had ended.

Azula’s camp was not as impressive as you thought it would be, just a small compound that was very easy to break into. Ty lee seemed to be the main prisoner and so you listened to some guards and found her location. You arrived outside the house you were sure Ty lee was being kept in and calmed yourself slowing your breathing and concentrating on what you were here to do. You waited for a guard to approach and took his keys before knocking him unconscious. You hid him in a shaded area before opening the door to Ty lee’s prison. You took out the first guard you saw with fire bending and he went down unconscious. A second tried to rush you but you winded him with fire bending and then kicked him over for good measure. The man fell over and went to get back up but your flared your fire "stay down" you yelled and he did. You straightened and looked around when a voice cried out to you. Relief flooded through your body to see Ty lee stood there and you rushed to her. "Ty lee! You’re....please tell me you’re okay?". She nodded "i’m fine! I can’t believe you’re here”. You smiled at her before spinning around to the conscious guard. "Open her cell!" you commend and the man scrambled to get it open. Ty lee swept out as soon as it was open and you pushed the two guards inside locking it and taking the keys. "You saved me" Ty Lee cried and she flung her arms around you. You hugged her back and smiled, going as pink as her top, "well i....we should go" you tugged Ty lee’s hand and noticed as she winced. "What’s wrong?" you asked and she shook her head "nothing lets go". "No you’re hurt...". You noticed how she stood awkwardly putting more weight on one foot and frowned "your ankle, you can’t walk". Ty lee shook her head worried how you’d escape if she couldn’t run "no i’m fine i promise". "I’m not letting you injure yourself more" you told her. Ty lee went to assure you she could exert it a bit more when you suddenly picked her up. Ty lee yelped as you carefully swept her up in your arms. "Is this okay? Does it hurt if I do this?". Now Ty lee was the blushing embarrassed one, you were holding her up so easily and securely, it was impressive. "It’s fine" she smiled "thank you" and you nodded. "Okay hold on" and took off into a run.

You made it back to your town with only minor incidences. It had been a rough night regardless and your arms ached painfully when you put Ty lee down having reached your home. Zuko and the others were still gathered inside and you hooked Ty lee’s arm around your neck helping her to the door. You pushed the door open and led Ty lee in. Mai glanced at you before doing a double take registering who was beside you. "Ty lee, you’re okay!" she cried rushing to hug her friend. You stepped away from her so Mai could hug her but rushed to grab Ty lee a chair. You seated it behind her and tapped Ty lee’s shoulder lightly. She took the seat shooting you a smile as the others all frowned. "But how?" Zuko asked. "Y/n" ty lee said proudly "she was amazing! She stormed Azula’s camp and carried me the whole way back!". Mai noticed how you brushed away Ty lee’s compliments and were blushing vividly. She also noticed how you stood protectively behind Ty lee and how Ty lee twisted in her seat to look up at you. "No it’s the bravest most valiant thing i’ve ever seen!" Ty lee cried and launched into a full blow by blow retelling. Mai watched as her oblivious friend made your blush worse and Mai smiled. It was clear you liked Ty lee but even clearer you didn’t realise Ty lee liked you too. Ty lee may come across as perpetually friendly but Mai could tell when she was just being nice and when she was genuinely impressed. Ty lee was indeed very impressed with you.

Ty lee’s POV

“I can’t believe you got yourself kidnapped” Mai scolded her and Ty lee rolled her eyes. Katara had worked on her ankle but it was a bad sprain so would take some time to heal. So Ty lee was forced to go to bed when all she wanted to do was help with the Azula problem. Mai however was very strict and seemed just as determined as you to make sure she was okay. “I didn’t mean to get kidnapped, plus it’s fine i’m back now!”. “Thanks to y/n” Mai commented and Ty lee nodded “I know, the way she risked everything just to help me...she’s really something” she sighed wistfully. Mai scoffed glaring at her and Ty lee paused “what?”. “You are not this clueless!”. “What?” Ty lee cried and Mai rolled her eyes. “You seriously don’t see that y/n is smitten with you?”. “What!” Ty lee yelled going pink “why do you think that?”. “Ow I don’t know maybe because she’s an introvert who avoids anyone but the two of you are always together, or because she brings you to her family dinner every week, or how whenever she’s around you she can barely look you in the eye without blushing....or how she tore down Azula’s camp risking her life just because you were there and then literally carried you back in her arms”. Mai sat next to Ty lee with a bounce and Ty lee stared “I....I never noticed”. “Figures, you never notice all the people infatuated with you but please tell me you realise you’re just as smitten for her?”. Ty lee blushed profoundly and looked down “i’m that obvious huh?”. “Yup, you’re not fooling anyone with all those excuses to run y/n’s errands with her”. Ty lee chuckled and then paused “you really think she likes me too?” she asked coyly. Mai rolled her eyes at how clueless her friend was but smiled despite herself ”definitely, so go get your girl”.

Your POV

After Ty lee was safely returned home and her ankle seen to by the healer Katara you promptly collapsed into bed. Your mission had been a resounding success but that didn’t mean you weren’t bruised and tired. You had just extinguished the candle when there was a knock on the door. You dragged yourself out of bed angrily and yanked open your door “what is....Ty lee?”. Ty lee stood there smiling at you and for once she didn’t have her signature confident aura. “Sorry were you sleeping? I can come back....”. “No it’s fine come in”. You led Ty lee into your room and hurried to tidy it and relight the candles “sorry for the mess I....wait what are you doing up! Katara said no walking" you cried realising she was on her feet. "It’s fine I have crutches!" she said happily gesturing to them but you shook your head "you should be in bed resting!". "You should know by now i can never stay still" she grinned and you rolled your eyes "fine but please sit down".

Ty lee would’ve argued she was fine but you seemed so certain she took the chair you offered her. You fussed around her, getting a cushion for her foot and one for her back and Ty lee blushed to see how much care you were taking. Maybe Mai was right....

"There" you said finished, satisfied Ty lee was comfy. "Now how can i help?". "It’s kinda the opposite...i’m here to thank you" Ty lee beamed "you saved my life tonight y/n and literally carried me to safety". "It was nothing" you tried to brush it off but Ty lee shook her head grabbing your hand "it wasn’t! Mai told me how everyone told you not to do it and how you actually disobeyed them by coming to get me". You glanced at her hand over yours and relaxed "well i...i was worried Azula might be being harsh to you, i figured even if i got caught i might distract her from you...". Ty lee blushed "that was very sweet of you but you don’t need to risk yourself just for me". You shrugged "i think you’re worth it" and Ty lee frowned "what do you mean?". You shrugged embarrassed "well you’re the nicest person i’ve ever met! I actually thought it was an act at first you’re that nice but it’s not" you smiled "you were so kind to me and for no reason...you just cared" you chuckled "i think we need more people like you in the world Ty lee, you’re very special". Ty lee let out a mini exclamation of emotion and suddenly threw her arms around you. You let her hug you, used to surprise hugs by now but you weren’t used to her kissing you. Ty lee wrapped her arms around your neck and pecked your lips with her own. You broke away immediately thinking it was a mistake but Ty lee just blushed looking at you "was that...was it not okay i did that?". "I...you mean you actually meant to kiss me?". "Yes silly!". "Because i saved your life?". "No because i like you". When you blushed Ty lee smiled "that’s a good sign right?" and when you nodded she leant back in. You were prepared this time but not for how great it would feel. Everything about her, how she felt, how her arms felt wrapped around you neck, how you felt wrapped together just made it bliss. It was a sweet but long kiss and when Ty lee pulled away you blinked your eyes open and stared at the wall in a daze "wow". Ty lee giggled looking up at you before you gasped. "You’re stood up! Ty lee!" you scolded her and she rolled her eyes "i’m fine, plus you realise you’re practically holding me up?" She asked and you realised without meaning to you were, you had your arms around her waist and she was hovering off the floor. "Ow well...i guess this works". "So if i want to stand up i just have to hold onto you ever time i guess" Ty lee grinned and you blushed. "I mean i don’t object to that". Ty lee smiled and stared up at you "good". Ty lee kept gazing at you and you lasted second before you looked away embarrassed. You blushed and Ty lee laughed so you just pulled her into you so you couldn’t see her face. Ty lee chuckled “you’re adorable” and settled her head against your neck. “You’re one to talk” you replied and Ty lee blushed too.

----

So I got Ty lee feels which has honestly never happened to me before but now I am obsessed! So might do a part 2 because I have lots of Ty lee ideas rn 😂

[spokenfromtheheartandsoul]

The Great Jam Debacle: the full story

(+ and the parallels to Bitty’s life)

(well, whether or not it parallels Bitty’s life is up to you to decide. i’ll lay out the details, you fill in the holes and let me know. also, this may or may not make sense. it is past my bedtime. forgive me.)

First suggestion of an impending threat to the Bittle Family Jam Heritage, also known as The Great Jam Debacle (TGJD): the first update we see Bitty after Jack’s dramatic last-minute graduation kiss. At this point in time, the only people who know Bitty and Jack are together...are just Bitty and Jack themselves. 

Next appearance of The Jam: Eric Bittle nopes out of a conversation about an impending Educational Task he must do with excellently practiced denial (a trait that seemingly runs through all the Bittle men). This occurs right after we see Bitty and Jack have their first conversation about Bitty making up excuses to his teammates about why he knows so much about the Falconers - aka, the first signs of stress we see in Bitty about hiding his relationship.

A couple updates later begins with Jack opening a PB(ittle)&J sandwich made by yours truly the morning before one of his games. Jack gets injured during his game, and Bitty decides he will never again use the dastardly Pluot Jam again.

I was curious if this jam was indeed the betraying Judy’s Jam we’d heard so much about. After some extensive, thorough research into Ngozi’s blog updates, I made the discovery that Bitty had long since abandoned the Suzanne-Bittle-Jam-Heritage, and has crossed over into Aunt-Judy-Jam territory by this point in time. 

This raises the question: when did Bittle first decide to try a new recipe? And that particular recipe? A forbidden one? What called him to it? Surely, such preservation treason would not come without reason. We may never know, but intriguing to speculate about, nonetheless. 

In any case, it seems suggested that jam has the power to incur major life events. Pluot Jam = bad, Apricot Spread = Good Defense. Interesting.

After this, we go a few updates that are, tragically, jam-less. Bitty’s stresses of hiding his relationship from the Haus comes to a head, we get the Hi, Honey voicemail and phone call and Jack’s 5AM rain-soaked impromtou visit to the Haus, and Bitty and Jack decide to come to a compromise by coming out to Bitty’s teammates, and also to Jack’s parents. 

Things are also going well for the both of them hockey-wise. A couple updates later Jack even goes on to tell George and a few of his own teammates.

But fear not! The jam makes a triumphant surprise reappearance in the update where Nursey and Dex get their King Solomon-style dibs. In this update, it is revealed to us that not only is Bitty following her jam recipes, but also her sterilization techniques. You’re playing a dangerous game here, Mr. Bittle.

Nothing too significant happens with regards to Bitty’s life in that update but...

The previous update just so happens to be followed by the one where Bitty meets Jack’s teammates and their significant others. Another big step towards coming out in their relationship. Another step Bitty takes in becoming more comfortable with himself as Jack’s boyfriend. 

Interestingly enough, in that same update we get a flashback to the moment where Jack introduces the fact that he has a boyfriend to the rest of his team ... with none other than, you guessed it, Bitty’s PB&J, made with the one and only life-changing jam, a la Aunt Judy.

This is followed by one of the last updates for Bitty’s junior year, where Samwell doesn’t make it past the first round in playoffs. Stresses are running at an all-time high for Bitty, what with not making it into the playoffs, stressing about Jack’s playoffs too, still not having told his parents about Jack, still not having told his parents about his summer plans with Jack, probably not doing so well in school because he’d rather bake, and on top of it all, having all the seniors - the last people in the Haus that have been by Bitty’s side since his first year at Samwell - all graduating ... Bitty gets himself into a bit of a jam, to put it into his own words.

At the end of that same update, Jack visits Samwell, and Tater comes along, too. Tater posts a few nice pictures on social media from his visit. 

I quite enjoy this one, with the transgressing jam jars in full and open display, WITH credit to its truthful owner (thank god Suzanne doesn’t check Tater’s social media regularly) while a familiar blonde head, conveniently, is just out of the shot. 

BUT!!!!!! It does not end there. 

In the words of Her Majesty Ngozi in that update’s blog notes:

She’s been hinting at this jam thing all along, y’all.

Judy comes up in the comics once more (sans-jam), but coincidentally, it just so happens to be in the same comic where Bitty has a harrowing phone call with his mother and tells her about his plans to stay with Jack for the summer. He also tries to tell her about his relationship, but the words don’t make it out in the end.

Now, here’s where things get even more interesting. The next update is dedicated to Jack’s team advancing in the playoffs. The update that follows is the Center Ice update, in which Jack’s team finally wins the cup starts off with a flashback to a scene where Bitty makes Jack a PB&J sandwich. 

Not just any PB&J sandwich, but the very first time he made a pre-game PB(etrayal)&J(udy’s Jam)’s for Jack, as a matter of fact. Just like his mama used to make them! 

(well, just like his mama used to make them....except for one (jam) tiny (jam) little (jam) thing (jam) )

Lots of Big, Life-Changing things happen in this update. 

We see Bitty give the first pre-game good-luck PB&J to Jack (it’s assumed after this he makes one for Jack before every game he’s able to be there for), and Jack says he loves Bitty for the first time.

And this scene, as well all know, is followed by the iconic, heart-stopping scene where the Falconers win, and Bitty and Jack say up yours to all the haters and have their happy-place kiss right on Center Ice. And I’m pretty sure Jack definitely had a good-luck sandwich from his boyfriend before the game, too.

(Still don’t think Judy’s jam has magical, life-event-incurring, transformative properties y’all?)

Now, as hockey starts fading out, we go through a couple jam-less updates. But lots of things still happen! Bitty comes out to his mother over an emotional phone-call, and firmly tells her that he isn’t coming home that summer. 

The next update starts with one of Bitty’s blog updates. And along with him making most of his social media private, and right before he takes a social media hiatus -- the jam feud makes a reappearance.

(on that note - part EIGHT???????????????)

After that, we have a lack of jam in the next few updates. 

What’s worth noting, however, is that in those same few jam-less updates, Bitty starts his senior year as captain of the Samwell Men’s Hockey team, and is officially out and open to the world about his relationship with Jack (enough to speak about it in his vlogs, too)! He’s also not taking the role of captain lightly - he’s confident, and he’s rising to the challenge that a position like that calls for, he’s reaching out to other sports captains at the school, and he’s not scared to boss around a bunch of jocks. In other words, he’s finally growing into himself more and more as a captain, as a person, and as Eric fuckin’ Richard Bittle. 

Things are going well for Bitty. And then, right when an unexpected visitor brings things to a screeching halt and forces Bitty to deal with his problems (and stop avoiding them) a little sooner than expected - while the treasonous jam itself does not make an appearance, a certain aunt does:

Of course, it’s up to your interpretation if the Aunt-sighting right when Bitty’s father makes a visit, right before Bitty gets checked in the following game in the same update, is nothing but a coincidence, but.............it just makes sense, y’all.

Now, we’re approaching the final showdown. A jam-down, if you will. 

(No? I know. I’m sorry. I know that was bad. I’m tired. It’s past midnight here. Just hang in there. We’re close to the end.)

Bitty finally talks it out with Coach, and Coach tells him that he is good. After this, there’s only one person left that Bitty has yet to completely speak frankly and resolve things with, and that just so happens to be the same person from whom he’s hiding this whole Great Jam Debacle secret from in the first place. 

Mama Bittle.

And sure enough, the next time (and final? yet to be seen!) the jam makes an appearance, is right after Mrs. Bittle tells Bitty that she’ll love him no matter what and no matter who he brings home, and that he’ll always have a home to come back to. Bitty clearly feels relieved and happy by her words ... but there’s still one last thing left for him to be honest about.

And she takes it well.

Just to top it off, in the words of The Great One, Ngozi Ukazu, in that week’s blog update:

She also said in the same blog update:

I hope I am doing this a vague, partial semblance of justice, Ngozi. 

(Also, thank you for saying that there is indeed a full explanation behind it and for making me feel less crazy for spending 4 hours finding metaphors in things like curtains)

Anyways - last but definitely not least, in the next update, Bitty finally takes a moment to be truthful by admitting to himself to Jack about how he has no idea what he’s going to do after graduation, and how that’s worrying him. And by voicing those fears aloud, he is finally forcing himself to be honest to himself, and talk about something he’s probably been avoiding thinking about. 

And what do you know, in the same update, we get to witness the actual woman in the flesh, the Founding Father of The Judy Jam, the Transgressing Preservative Contender - Judith Phelps.

And that, folks, brings us to the end of this scintillating journey. (for now, anyway. who knows what other chaos-unfolding jellyroll or johnnycake recipes Judy has under her sleeve. bitty’s still got to properly finish his thesis. keep an eye out for a potential part 2). 

Thanks for taking the time to hear me extensively ramble at length about preservation heretics and their subsequent parallels to the triumphs and defeats, the epic highs and lows of Collegiate Level Ice Hockey Bitty’s journey in opening up to those around him, while also being true to himself. Hope you had a good time. If you didn’t see the parallels, that’s fine too. If there’s one thing you should take away from this, it is that Jam is not to be taken lightly. It has life-changing properties.

I should probably spellcheck and edit this before posting, but it’s 2:57 in the morning, I think I hear birds chirping, and writing this has made me REALLY crave a PB&J sandwich with some honest-to-god real jam, so I think I might make one right now. Maybe also find a grocery store that’s open 24 hours.

Any errors or confusion you may have come across in this post can be blamed on jam. 

[loopy777]

I love your two Ursas analysis! If we ignore The Search and take the hints from canon, like her laughing at the siege of Ba Sing Se, do you have a HC for the night Azulon died/where she was all those years? I almost think it’s most plausible that she died or was otherwise incapacitated. And do you think she ever had a “the FN is evil” epiphany or it was limited to “you can’t kill Zuko”? Do you think Ozai abused her, or was just unloving? Maybe he saw no purpose to abusing her, unlike the kids

Ah, Ursa headcanons. Everyone’s got a set. For me, though, it was less about headcanon than it was about trying to solve the mystery I thought the AtLA cartoon had been setting up. Since ‘The Search’ revealed that there were no real answers to be had, I’ve speculated a bit on what I’d like to see, but I haven’t done much with those ideas since they by their nature contradict canon.

So, my Ursa...

A noble by birth, with her relation to Roku known but not discussed. Sozin and Azulon could have very easily made a pariah out of the family by simply ignoring them and allowing the rest of Fire Nation society antagonize them in a display of performative loyalty. However, Sozin instead reached out to Roku’s family, explaining that Roku was a traitor but surely his family is loyal to the crown and looking to prove it to avoid any unpleasantness. They agreed, and so Roku’s family became almost entirely dependent on the Fire Lord’s goodwill and protection. The one alliance they maintained for themselves was with the Fire Sages, as the family had been honored by them for producing the Avatar, even after Roku and Sozin had their falling out. Sozin had been politically pressuring the Sages throughout his life, trying to make them a tool of the crown, and the Sages in turn maintained good relations with Roku’s family to try to keep some independence. Quite a few of Roku’s family had even become Sages, over the decades.

(This didn’t really work, but it left enough ‘good’ Sages in the organization that when Zuko becomes Fire Lord, he doesn’t have to disband the whole organization, just purge the leadership who had been tools of his father. It very much helps that he’s a distant relation to a lot of these better sages, and that is one of the few smooth elements of his first few years in power.)

When Azulon suggested that the youngest daughter, however, would make a good match for Ozai instead of wasting her life in some dusty temple, they readily agreed and handed her over. Ursa herself was fine with this, as she appreciated the Royal Family’s protection as much as the rest of her clan, and preferred noble society anyway. Plus, back then Ozai made an effort to be charming. Ursa herself was happy as a Fire Nation heiress, and was known to argue passionately about the need to liberate the poor oppressed women of the Water Tribes, who were owned as property by their husbands! My Ursa was a Firebender, and had trained at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, but the strength of her flames was never matched by her skill or technique. She just never had the stomach for duels or fighting, hence leaning more towards a scholarly education and perhaps a future as a Sage. But getting to be a princess is even better, especially since the war would probably be over soon. She could help raise the Prince(ss) Governors who would rule over the colonies, influencing the world for the better. And she also found Ozai very attractive. Rawr!

Ozai himself I consider to have always been narcissistic jerk. When he was a kid and young teen, this was readily apparent. As he moved into adulthood, he learned how to hide it behind a facade, but more discerning folks could tell that he was just using friendliness and flattery to win allies. Ursa, sadly, was not that perceptive, so she rather liked Ozai, even into the first few years of the marriage.

Then Zuko came along.

Ozai was consistently disappointed in Zuko, and he blamed Ursa for that. He wasn’t a full-on monster to her, and never laid a hand on her, but he no longer went to the effort of charming her. Ursa managed to fool herself about this, making excuses for Ozai’s behavior even as their marriage cooled. She managed to stick it out long enough to produce Azula, which initially placated Ozai. Azula was everything Zuko was not. However, this did not save the marriage, because Ozai now had what he wanted, and saw no further need for Ursa. Again, he didn’t bully her, but he made no effort to hide his lack of real interest in her. The marriage was soon in name only, with little interaction between them. Ursa began to see Ozai for what he was, especially with his treatment of Zuko, and began to fear the influence he was having on Azula. This distance did help shield her as Ozai grew crueler and more of a bully as his efforts gain power were thwarted by his clumsiness. The palace and Caldera City are big enough that Ursa was able to avoid him most of the time, and they never shared a suite unless actively trying to have children, even early in the marriage.

However, there was little else Ursa could do. Ozai was not favored by Azulon, but challenging the authority of anyone in the Royal Family would have brought swift and terrible reprisal. Ursa tried to shield Zuko as best she could, and continued to play the part of Wife and Princess in official appearances like social gatherings or audiences with the Fire Lord. She sometimes went over the line in trying to protect her children, which Ozai would punish with cruelties, to the point of mental and emotional abuse, and sometimes physical intimidation, but he was too careful (so far) to risk his reputation by attacking his wife. For that, Iroh was indirectly the one to thank, as he had been a loving family man before the death of his wife, which Azulon approved of, and Ozai was trying to look better than his brother in the eyes of their father.

It all eventually came to a head in events portrayed in the flashbacks of ‘Zuko Alone.’ I headcanon that Ursa outright stabbed Azulon to death, to the point where she ruined a good set of her clothes with bloodstains. And then she confessed her crime to the Crimson Guard and Fire Sages. She should have been put to death for treason and murder, and she was prepared for that, but she and Ozai had concocted a better scheme. Ursa called in every favor her family had earned from the Sages to talk to the leadership in the middle of the night. She and Ozai pointed out that Iroh had taken a dim view of the corruption of the Sages and had battled them politically, and told them bluntly that Ozai was their best bet for surviving as an organization. They suggested the Sages should lie about Azulon’s last wishes and pronounce Ozai as the next Fire Lord. In exchange, Ozai would merely banish Ursa as failure of a wife and cover up her crime, so that her family would not have to suffer shame or even outright execution for producing a regicidal traitor. No one would speak of what had happened, no one would get in trouble, and Ozai would be Fire Lord and keep the current system running smoothly. Everyone agreed.

I always figured that Ursa had to have been banished, because in the scene where she says goodbye to Zuko, she’s wearing a dark hooded cloak. That’s universal visual language for “This character is fleeing into the night.”

I also assumed that everyone (important) knew Azulon had been murdered because of the fishy way Ozai was made Fire Lord by the Sages. Even if they believed Azulon had died of natural causes, where did it come from that he had named Ozai as the new crown prince shortly before his death? I doubt a forged note that no one had ever seen before the night of the guy’s death would be considered very reliable. So I thought there had to be a conspiracy that included the Sages; they were at least in on faking Ozai’s claim, and so why wouldn’t they also be in on the murder? And once all the people in power are perpetrating a conspiracy, the evidence doesn’t matter; the truth becomes whatever they want it to be.

Where Ursa goes after that, though, is a lot more nebulous. The way the cartoon finale had Zuko confront Ozai with, “Where- is- my- mother?” implies that Ozai might actually know, or at least have an idea where to start looking. I also think it would cheapen the power of that scene to have Ozai wiggle out of giving any information. So Ozai has to give Zuko something to go on there, but he also said, “Perhaps,” when Zuko asked during the Day of Black Sun if Ursa lives. So I figure Ursa had to have been banished from the Fire Nation, and Ozai knows either where she left from or her initial destination, but nothing else.

I never formed a solid headcanon about whether Ursa is still alive, though. This is the point where my interest ends, since the comics gave us a completely different Ursa character and mystery, and I expect many Avatar fans are interested in fic that outright contradicts canon. If she lives, I think it would be more interesting if she is indeed a typical Fire Nation imperialist, but I don’t think she would actively oppose Zuko’s agenda. It would simply inform their dynamic and create conflict between them. It would be a new challenge for Zuko to overcome in terms of his family. And it might even be a vector for Azula and Ursa to hash out their problems, with Ursa considering that she might almost prefer Azula to have become Fire Lord. But ultimately, Ursa could realize that Azula’s ways are only destructive, and see that the kindness she always liked in Zuko has to extend to all people of the world, not just the Fire Nation.

But there’s also a compelling story in Ursa being dead by the time Zuko tracks her down. Perhaps she died in the war, somehow. Whether Ursa is a racist or not doesn’t matter as much in this scenario. But It could fuel Zuko’s desire to somehow reconcile with Azula, since there’s nothing else from his past that he can save.

So that’s the stuff I came up with.

[artistshadow]

Supergirl 5x11 "Back To The Future - Part 1" My Thoughts and Opinions. *Spoilers on the last episode so of*

Now that I have watched the Supergirl 5x11 episode and have had time to collect my thoughts I'm ready to give my opinions on the "queer-baiting" and the *SPOILER* whole William asking Kara out on a date in the next episode.

Okay so first off I really enjoyed the episode! So happy to see my boy/child Winn!! Jeremy Jordan killed it in this episode playing both Winn and Toyman and David Harewood directed this episode and he did an incredible job!!

Now on to the "queer-baiting" of the show. Now queer-baiting is defined online as "a marketing technique for fiction and entertainment in which creators hint at, but then not actually depict, same-sex romance. They do so to attract ("bait") a queer audience with the suggestion of relationships that appeal to them, while at the same time attempting to avoid alienating other consumers." Now I can see how SuperCorp (the ship name for Lena and Kara) is coming off as queer-baiting. I joined the fandom of Supergirl back in season 3. I was watching all the Arrowverse shows on Netflix and when I tell you Lena became my favorite character after Kara I MEAN IT!!! Now a lot of people want Kara and Lena to get together because come on, they would be the ultimate power couple and I myself would love to see Lex's ugly face when he finds out his sister is dating the cousin of his number one enemy!😂😂 But here's the thing: I think the original plan was for Lena to become Kara's best friend (beside Winn and Alex). There would be rough times where everybody would be against Lena because she's a Luthor but Kara would stand by her and have her back and believe in her. They wanted to portray a strong, incredible, unbreakable friendship/bond between these two powerful, strong, smart, independent, successful, bad-A women. They can rely on each other, be there for one another, lean on each other when needed, but somewhere down the line, it sort of slipped a bit and instead of it coming off as true friendship it's coming off as there is a mutual attraction between them. It doesn't help the situation that the actresses (both VERY talented) have some major on screen chemistry.

Okay so in my opinion, MY OPINION, I don't think they are purposely trying to "queer-bait." I think that the writers of Supergirl are trying to give us a healthy friendship between two women that doesn't involve one doing something bad to the other or have them doing some dumb fight crap over some guy. None of that, just a good friendship. But in defense, when you try to write a good, loving friendship between two females, two males, and/or a female and a male (especially that one) it's going to be hard to write and portray it as "friendly" cause along the way it might start slipping and it's going to come off as romantic and people are going to think that they are attracted to each other. Especially if the friends are a boy and a girl cause God forbid a girl and guy be best friends without one having a crush on the other or one of them have to be gay in order for them to be friends.

Do I condone queer-baiting? No. Absolutely not. I think it's a disgusting, awful, horrible, and manipulative way to reel in LGBT fans in a sense they are going to see themselves represented in the media and get their hopes up just to watch them crash hard on the ground. Do I think Supergirl is queer-baiting? I believe that they're trying not to, but since they're writing for female/female friendship it's coming off that way and we're so far into that it's hard to back up on it because there such a big fandom for it. Cause I know some people are concerned whether of not if they do get together if it's because the writers want them to or if it's just fanservice.

Now onto the William and Kara thing. Guys, calm down. It's literally one date. We haven't even seen the episode yet and already everyone's losing their crap over something we haven't had a chance to watch. For all we know the date might go horribly wrong or they will try it out but realize they're better off as friends. Wait till the episode premieres before we start throwing toxic hate around. Put your pitchforks and torches away and let's find out what happens first. Dang. I guessed that William was maybe probably going to be a love interest for Kara back in the first half of the season. That they would develop feelings for each other over the course of the season. BTW I don't think you need to have chemistry with someone to go out a date with them. The first date is to stroke the fire and see if there's anything there. So let's at least give it a chance. Because at the end of the day, what’s more important: Kara being with Lena or Kara being happy (not saying Kara wouldn't be happy with Lena)? And God knows she needs some happiness with all the hell and high water she's been through over the past couple of seasons. Especially this season so far. Her whole freaking universe was wiped out of existence and there was nothing she could do about it and then had it merged with other earths and now she has to work with the person she hates the most (not to mention he's also considered a hero by the people of the new earth) and lost a close friend (Oliver), plus on top of alllllllllll that her best friend (Lena) hates her for lying to her about being Supergirl and y'all want to make a big deal over a date? That we saw in a promo? For an episode that doesn't air for 2 weeks? Good Lord.

Look for all we know, two things could be happening here: William's secretly evil and is trying to get close to Kara by tricking her or he's just a stand in until Kara and Lena do get together. I could use Shadowhunters as an example. Alec had feelings for Magnus but he agreed to marry Lydia to help his family but then at the wedding he realized that he couldn't hide his deep feelings for Magnus and called it all off, Lydia understood (she even encouraged him to go to Magnus), and then him and Magnus got together. It might not be the exact same thing as what's going on in Supergirl, but something similar like that could be the case. Plus think about it: SuperCorp could happen eventually. It might not be that fast to some of you'd liking, but it could happen. Heck it took them 3 seasons before Brainy finally looked accurate to his comic book character version. Good things come to those who wait and patience is a virtue.

Look, all I'm saying is that I get why you guys might be mad and it's understandable but I just urge you to please wait and see what happens the rest of the season. You might be mad now but you might not be come the end of the season. And it's okay to be upset and to voice your opinions but let's do it in a calm and kind way. There is no need to spread hate. Especially to the cast. They don't write the show so there is no reason on earth that they should be receiving your anger because you're unhappy. Voice your complaints but do it in the right way and to the right people. Otherwise nothing is going to get solved. Make noise but don't make chaos. I heard other people call the Supergirl fandom (as well as the SuperCorp shippers) toxic and I don’t want that to be true.

These are just my opinions. If Kara does end up with William and her and Lena reconnect and go back to being best friends, I won’t be mad. Will I be sad that SuperCorp's not happening? Yes. Will I be angry? No because I'll be happy that Kara's happy. Don't consider Kara and Lena being best friends a loss, consider it a win all its own. I don't want to disrespect anyone else's opinions and if you don't agree with mine, that's okay. Its not going to hurt my feelings. If I'm proven wrong, I won't try to argue over it. I can admit when I'm wrong. If you have any comments on this, your opinions on the whole thing all together or what I had to say about it, please fill free to comment. Just know that I will not be responding to hateful comments and if it comes to the point that people keep coming into my comment sections with noting but hate, I will delete them and/or block the users. Again, just my opinions and I hope you all see where I'm coming from and I have nice day.😀😊

[theplumsoldier]

COACH NEGAN [11]

Summary: yay reunion coming

Pairing: negan x y/n

Word count: 1674

Warnings: eventual smut, explicit scenes, vulgar language.

Slumped back in his throne, Negan let out a breath of succession. What a day, he thought to himself and reached over the counter to take a swig from the bottle. Whiskey soothed its way down his throat, its sharp aroma cutting at his insides and he threw up his muddy boots on the table. This life was it.

"Boss, whatcha want me to do with the newcomers?"

Simon appeared in the doorway, giving his superior a curious look. A concerned frown altered his features the slightest and the beard resting on his upper lip did him nothing good either.

"Let 'em stay out for the night. I'll take a look at them in the morning and see what use we can make of them," said Negan in reply, waving Simon away and lifted the bottle to his lips once again, his eyes fixated on the blood dripping from Lucille's barbed wire.

"Sure thing," obeyed Simon and turned on his heel, calling out a couple of men down the hall. Picking up his pace, he rushed to their side and told them of Negan's command.

It had been weeks since you had last seen a living person, one whose heart was actually beating and possed the sense of reality in this surreal world. How it was possible for the dead to continue living – with a new purpose though – you did not know, and had you actually found the surplus in you to open a comic or go see one of those dumb zombie movies back when times were not a life or death situation, you might have been slightly less ignorant concerning the walkers and possibly equipped with some life-hacks.

But that was not the case and so here you were, paranoid and wake in your sleep, too scared to get rest until you had no choice but to finally close your eyes.

More than once, had you been in that deep, dark place you prior had only ever visited on sleepless nights in your warm bed in Arid Ridge. That place where a bullet in the head sounded tempting. Fast and clean, that would be it. No more fucking zombies, no more fear, no more life. It had become some of a pros-and-cons thing, where you would sit slurping stolen beer and sniffing lines of crushed mysterious pills from the pharmacy, listing all the good and bad coming from such a scene.

Often it would end with you having the barrel of a gun between your teeth, but somehow the trigger was never pulled. Call it sense or lack of gut, you treated yourself another line before going to bed, thinking you just might of be lucky enough to be killed in your sleep. The pain was just about the only frightening con in that particular fate, but you figured people had suffered worse.

Days passed and you were forced to travel by foot, having to outrun or take down the passing dead. Killing whatever opposing you seemed to be the only solution nowadays, as outrunning really was more about hiding, until they moved on. At times, for them to move on was a difficult part as they often would not move much if they had nothing specific to chase after. They could stand there, still and swaying, looking as if they had just dug their way out of the grave and they would not do much more than that until they caught something else moving.

It was a nightmare, this world.

But the time for salvation came, and just as you had thought you would never again get the chance to rest your weary head on Adam's shoulder, you were blessed with his handsome face.

Bloody and dirty, cut up and bruised, but handsome. Him and old Coach.

Was it luck or was it misfortune—and were they, in fact, one and the same? You did not know and frankly, you did not care much either, for it was your fate and one that came in the form of a large scrappy-looking facility. It reached high in the sky and in times like these, it too seemed only a reminder of what used to be a city. The grey with a tint of rusty red building lit up much to the likeness of a safe haven, and surely, by the judge, jury and executioner and its inhabitants, the old factory shared a name of the resemblance.

You had reached the Sanctuary.

It was partially destroyed and looked to be in ruins, its decaying sides disintegrating here and there. Had it not been for the spiked head as well as tied down dead, you would have deemed it abandoned and walked by. Nevertheless, you should indeed have taken this as your omen, only this was about the only sign of life you had seen in only God knows how long and you swore by his side, if you were to spend another minute by yourself you would end up deader than the dead.

Cautious and with wary eyes, you made your way closer for inspection and it was not long before those bodies chained to the fence began rustling, yawning, moaning and screeching as they tugged for dear life, or not really, eager for a bite. It caught the attention of a guard who immediately yelled at the sight of a possible infiltrator. Your eyes widened as rifles were heaved, taking aim. They took their security very seriously.

"You stop there!"

It was a thick accent and the bellow put a scraping sound to his rough voice and your heart immediately picked up on velocity, deciding how to react. More men came running toward you, arising panic in you and although this was the first sign of human life you had seen in what felt like forever, you were ready to sprint away. The dead seemed less terrifying now that people had you in their bullseye.

One caught sight of the gun strapped to your side. Unaware you were not in possession of any bullets nor other ammunition, he reacted, suddenly scared with the frightened-looking girl before him. Ordering for you to raise your hands, your eyes warily searched around you. Forming a tightening circle around you, the guards had you surrounded and you actually considered what was worse, finding out what ominous looking place this was or having put a bullet in your brain. As far as you knew, you had nothing and no one.

The guards' screams mixed with the dead's and your pulse throbbed in your muscles, you felt in your fingertips, your pounding head, and your sprained ankle. Giving up now was not an option, you decided that, but you felt another panic attack building in your chest and the aggressiveness shown towards you did not make you feel much better.

"Hands in the air!" reiterated the hostile man.

With all the distractions you failed to notice one man was sneaking up behind you, and you reacted violently in surprise, not fond of having someone force you to the ground. With what little technique you knew of, you kicked him in the side of his knee and his agonizing scream curled in your ear, doing no good for your aching head. Busy trumping one gorilla, another caught your punch and twisted your arm on your back, violently throwing you in the ground. Pressing your face into the cement underlay with his knee, you let out a cry and you were disarmed.

"You think you're smart, huh?" taunted he, pushing down harsher on you. It was the one who you had kicked in the knee and he was certainly not content by being caught off guard, letting you know and you screamed in pain as your face scraped against the ground. Whether he was more angry from being taken unawares by a potential threat or by the threat being a woman, you did not know but his fiery eyes acknowledged, either way, he did not care if he hurt you. Digging your nails into his arm, the guard pulled up your head and forced it right back unto the tarmac terrain, spitting in your face. "Fucking bitch!"

Another spoke up.

"Easy, man! You know Negan doesn't approve—"

"Fuck I care about him, this bitch—"

His words went over your head and you zoomed out for a second, time stopping at the name bringing back tons of memories. It seemed ages ago since someone had last spoken the name, and you did not know if the face you remembered and this man they spoke of even coincided. Nonetheless, the pain faded for a minute and you wrestled under the gorilla.

"Wait what did she say? Damnit, Mac—let her go for a second, will ya!"

Gasping for air, you turned as much as you could, trying to reason with the guards hovering you.

"Negan," you tasted his name, the familiarity and trip down memory lane sending a shiver down your hurting spine. "What's his last name?"

The voices shut up, each mind assessing the question from the struggling, defenseless woman. Glances were exchanged and another voice spoke, confusion in his voice as it peaked. "Wait, what is his last name?"

No one seemed to have the answer and you cried out, the aching returning as the man giving you a hard time did not yield. These goons were to no use and your head dropped back to the ground, ceasing in restraining.

The chances you did not know the size of, and considering your luck, your guess was not 'immense', but it was what kept you listening to their discussing as you shifted to decrease the pain induced. Could it possibly be?

As you, helplessly, lied there on the tarmac you closed your eyes, mind struggling to conclude if you even wished for it to be the Negan you knew. Perhaps a bullet would have been better than facing that confrontation.

TAGLIST: @pseudonymfox @ask-kakashihatake @shanaatjelove11 @telltheking-cassetoi @babygirlmeepi @missghoul18 @thealipower @jdmsgal @eprilin @catlovescat @purpleflamingosarelife @reedusaddicts @lilymdonaldson @leedolady @yonisen @brynnjaminthings @fcknposer @wolfangelwings @sarahlee8793 @shethenightwolf @asteroidsx @dorky-dacre @unknown-fallen-angel @beegnc @mypopurribitch @arts-gelatoes @ofxallxwexlost @superwhoteen @briefpatrolponyllama @hippycloudd @lillyloveotomy @pieces-of-tomorrow @being-deadly-sirius @superwhoteen @you-are-electric-temptation-girl @ddeo-na-ji-ma @bunbutter @myluckhasrunout

[featherypromises]

You Jimin-ed Today!

*This is a request fulfillment for @snifflyjoonie . Thank you for always caring and for yelling about BTS with me! I hope there are enough crumbs for your liking!*

The sun was hot that morning on Jeju Island, despite the calendar's insistence that it was nearly October. In short, a beautiful day so close to the ocean shouldn't be wasted by staying indoors. At least that was how the leader of BTS saw it.

Kim Namjoon was on the patio of the cottage that BigHit had rented for the members for the rest of the week at Hado beach. The only thing they were scheduled to do was film a single BTS:Run episode later that day. But that was later. Feeling the sun on his face, Namjoon stretched his arms wide, enjoying the prospect of exploring and enjoying some real downtime. The members had taken a late night flight to Jeju Island last night and most of the others were just waking up now or were still sleeping.

Namjoon was always up early. He wished sometimes that he didn’t need sleep; there were so many more interesting things to do with those hours of your day: Learning a new language, reading a new book, or exploring places he had never been. Compared to those things, sleeping for 25% of the day seemed downright wasteful!

Namjoon finished his protein bar, pulled his hood up over his head and began jogging down the steps towards the road that led down to Hado beach. The unpaved road was quiet and peaceful. Hado beach wasn’t very well known to tourists, so it was never very crowded, which meant that the members could enjoy the area without having to go security personnel or management. And just being able to go jogging outside, instead of on a treadmill in a dull prison-like gym was one more bonus that he could take advantage of while they were there.

About 2km down hill the winding secluded road finally led the rapper into open air as the trees lining the the small road disappeared. The beach was small and immaculately clean, not to mention deserted. He looked around at the hills that sloped upwards leading away from the beach. The hill behind him had a familiar looking sign. He thought for a moment, that was the same sign the had seen when they had turned onto the road to the cottage. It looked so different in daylight he almost hadn’t recognized it. He felt a little foolish, if he had come straight down that hill instead of the winding path he would have gotten down here so much faster. He could always take that short cut back afterwards.

Namjoon inhaled deeply, taking the wholesome smelling ocean air into his lungs. It made him feel amazing! The rapper loved oceans and beaches: Each new one was different from the previous one. Their shapes, colors, and creatures all unique to that specific part of the world. Better still, each had its own completely alien world beneath its waves. 

Namjoon loved one other thing about beaches. Grinning like a child in a toy store, he quickly kicked his way out of his sneakers and rolled up his hoodie’s sleeves to his elbows. He trotted down to the water’s edge, looking intently for something possibly hiding just out of sight. His quarries could not be so easily discovered, but the leader of BTS was nothing if not determined. He also refined his hunting techniques every chance he got. He searched under rocks, in beds of seagrass and under several shells with no luck. Then, at the edge of the beach, he found a few tidal pools. 

The sun, which had gotten much higher in the sky during his fruitless search, now showed him a ripple as something very fast scuttled over the edge of one pool and landed in the water with a soft <Plup!> sound. The small creature knew when to abandon the land for the security of the water. 

Intently focused, Namjoon got on his hands and knees, peering into the tide pool. Okay, he saw: a rock… then a bit to the left, a shell… seaweed… 

“Gotcha!” the rapper’s hand plunged into the water up to his forearm with a <Ploop!> and came back up with his prize: a small pink crab the size of his thumbnail.

He walked away from the rocks, so he wouldn’t trip while examining his new friend. Suddenly the tiny crustacean kamikazed off of his fingertips and raced sideways down the beach towards the water. Namjoon stumbled after it, trying to recover the crab with a gentle hand. The determined little creature, with one final burst of speed, beat Namjoon’s outstretched hand to the water by scant centimeters.

“Shoot!” the man frowned, “I wanted to take a selca with it." 

Rejected by one crab-friend, the rapper turned to go back and catch another.

“NAMJOOOOON-HYUUUUNG!” A high, clear voice broke his focus by calling his name. The leader turned towards the sound. A slender figure with light brown hair  in a black hoodie was waving his arms trying to get Namjon’s attention as he ran toward him down the path. Surprised and confused, Namjoon sighed. The crabs would have a temporary reprieve until he could fix whatever issue Jimin had. It had to be important, because the young vocalist had come all this way and he seemed to be in a hurry.

“What’s wrong, Jiminie? Did something happen?” The perpetual leader immediately thought of several possible disasters that could have occured. Jimin finally reached him, breathing hard from his run.

“Why… didn’t you… tell...us… where you… were going…?!?” The vocalist panted, “I’ve… been looking… everywhere!” The vocalist glared up at him. The intimidation of that look was lessened by the fact that the smaller man had propped himself upright using his hands on his thighs as he caught his breath and was, therefore, glaring at the leader sideways. Namjoon smiled at the younger man's comic appearance before scratching his head in confusion,

"I went for a jog, I didn't think anyone would mind…"

Jimin groaned in frustration, 

"Hyung, it's 11:15! We are supposed to meet the crew to start filming the RUN episode in 15 minutes. I've been looking for you for an hour. And now since you were all the way down here…" Jimin swung his arm wide, gesturing from the road he had run down to where Namjoon stood wearily, "We are going to be late! And everyone will be mad at us for taking so long."

Completely stunned, Namjoon echoed,

"11:15?!? No way!" Namjoon's looked down instantly to check his watch, but realized he hadn't put it on this morning.

Jimin had neither the time nor the patience to debate the matter, he grabbed his hyung's wrist and began to pull him towards the serpentine path they had come down originally. Namjoon jammed his feet into his sneakers again (sand and all) and tugged back towards the opposite direction, pointing at the hill's summit. That way is quicker! He started to jog towards it but stopped as a logical question occurred to him,

"Why didn't you just call my phone?" 

Jimin gave him a look of incredulous amazement and rolled his eyes dramatically at the older man. The vocalist reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out Namjoon's cellphone and waved it at his hyung. 

"Oh,..." said Namjoon helpfully, taking the phone from the younger man. 

Filled to his maximum capacity for questions, Jimin added,

"And before you ask, we couldn't bring the van down here because the road was too narrow. Now, come on, already!" He began to head back towards the road. 

“No, Jimin! Seriously, look! That hill takes us right onto the same road that the cottage is on. We’ll get back on time if we take the shortcut over the hill."

The hill was fairly steep, but not impossible, most of the height seemed to be an illusion, as the hill was greatly overgrown with tall green plants. Jimin sighed,

“Fine! Let’s just go! We have to hurry or the managers will blame me again. They love to use that stupid way to tell me I’m late, that you invented. You just had to be clever... If they turn my name into an actual dictionary term someday, I will sue you for copyright infringement and kick your penniless butt!"

Namjoon laughed, "Jimin" had become a popular way to refer to a late person or being late themselves amongst the managers who had all enjoyed the frequently tardy member’s annoyance with the term.

They reached the base of the hill and realized that the plants were much taller than they had initially appeared from so far away. Most of them were as tall as Jimin’s chest, but some of them seemed to be an inch or two over Namjoon’s head. They were an earthy shade of green with the tiniest cream blooms sprouting in clusters along the underside of the stems half hidden by the wide pointed leaves. The smell of the plants was familiar, but Namjoon couldn’t remember the plant’s name or why he knew the scent.

“Wow!” The rapper said in astonishment, “they could almost be trees!” 

Jimin plunged into the microforest of plants first and Namjoon followed him, trying not to get hit by the recoil of the plants that Jimin shoved aside carelessly as he hurried upwards.

About halfway up the hill, Jimin began to rub his nose with his sleeve and had started sniffling every few moments. Namjoon was also starting to feel his eyes itch and felt a pinch-like sensation in his sinuses. Soon his eyes were watering like they never had before and he had to focus to see the yellow-green marks on Jimin’s black hoodie.

Wait, wasn’t that hoodie supposed to be all black? The marks almost look as if they had been spray painted onto it or… Uh-Oh!

As Namjoon’s brain fully comprehended what was happening and the exact predicament that they were currently in, Jimin shuddered and pitched forward, sneezing harshly,

“Iiiphhsssh! Issh! Tssschoo!” he sniffled, his small nose irritated and pink. Namjoon called up to him, his nose burning,

“Jiminie! I-it’s th-th...H’Ktchnh! H’Tsschuh! Its the plants! I think… Heh-Heh’Ickshuh! Hehtsschuh! Esssshuh! I think it’s Ragweed!

Jimin halted, wiping his streaming nose,

“I’ve dnever seen idt buh… before- Isshoo! Issh! Let’s get out of thi-iiih… Hsssh-Phssshu! this mess!” The vocalist began to run, but the exertion only made him breathe harder, inhaling more of the fine pollen.

Namjoon quickened his pace as well, his eyes burning with allergic tears and his nose running. He swiped at both with his hoodie sleeve only to get smacked in the face by a plant that had rebounded after Jimin had pushed it aside. His breath hitched desperately before he stumbled forward with a fit of sneezes that almost carried him into Jimin.

“Hehh-Heh-Iihh-Hek’Tshuuh! Hetssch! Ectsshuu! Essshh! Heh-Heh-Tchuh!”

Jimin was struggling up the hill, still sneezing in mini-fits of two and three sneezes at a time, but they doubled him over almost every time, 

“Isssh! Ptttssch! Iiiphhissh!”

The two men were almost to the top, breathless and exhausted. They were almost out of the thicket of Ragweed.

“Jimidn! I… Heh’ktshuh! I cadn see the road! HehShhuh! Esssh! T’sshuuh!”

Jimin reached the crest of the hill first and stumbled tiredly to the curb on the side on the roadway and sneezed again, his eyes tearing and his nose running constantly. The smaller man held his sleeve over his face and tried to catch his breath. Namjoon pulled it away, his breath still hitching erratically,

“D-don’t… I-it’s… H’TSSHUH! Essshuh! … The polledn! HEK’TSSHUH!! HAAH-KSSHUH!”

Jimin just stared at him blearily, barely comprehending his leader in his allergic daze. Namjoon wrapped an arm around the shorter man’s shoulders and steered him down the road to the cottage. They half-stumbled, half-fell into the building when Namjoon caught his foot on the doorframe. They bumped to a table upsetting a metal dish which clanged and spun like a dervish on the floor, still ringing. That was loud enough that it drew Hoseok in from the living room. 

"There you are! The crew is waiting! What were you…” Hobi’s eyes widened with shock as he saw the younger mens’ condition, “Oh my Gawd! What happened?!? YOONGI!!!” He called for the older man as he took the still sneezing Jimin to the kitchen sink and began to wet some paper towels with water. Taking his time to be gentle, the older dancer wiped the suffering vocalist’s eyes and face.

Min Yoongi entered, complaining bitterly at having to come all the way into the kitchen. His mouth closed with a snap as he watched the scene in front of him. Namjoon was half way out of a chair, sneezing harshly into cupped hands. Yoongi cursed and pulled the younger rapper to his feet, guided him into the bathroom, and helped hiim to sit on the closed toilet seat. 

The oldest member of the rapline wet a washcloth with cold water and tenderly washed his face, especially around his smarting eyes and nose.

“What happened, Joon-ah?”

Namjoon related the misadventure to his hyung (along with a few extra sneees) and hung his head.

“We were in such a rush, I didn’t think. I’m sorry for all the trouble.”

Yoongi ruffled the younger man’s hair affectionately,

“Mistakes happen, Joon. Next time you’ll remember your phone and your watch…” The rapper paused then added, “Of course, then you will probably forget your pants that day, but…”

Namjoon sniffled and made a face at the oler man.

“Thanks Hyung…” he said sarcastically.

When the two allergy-stricken members could see, the older two took them to get out of their allergen coated outfits and brought them downstairs again. Jimin looked at the clock and whined pathetically. 12:00pm. They were late anyway.

Hoseok bowed apologetically to the film crew and said,

“Sorry to have kept you waiting, there was a situation.” 

The camera crew looked at Hobi skeptically until Yoongi added, “These two tried really hard not to Jimin today…but they had a hard time getting home, please go easy on them and they promise not to Jimin so much in the future.” 

The whole crew roared with laughter as Jimin pretended to strangle Namjoon. With the mood of the room considerably better, the members took their places and the crew finished the last sound checks before filming the next BTS: Run.

[rochellespen]

Watching Doctor Who Season 37 (Series 11), Episode Four

Ok, I’m going to have to say it: Doctor Who has a checkered past in regards to spiders.

I mean, I understand the temptation to go with arachnid-like monsters. Spiders often creep people out, so giant, mutant spiders should have an even greater horror vibe to them. Unfortunately, it seems arachnids of all sorts never fare well when appearing in Doctor Who. 

Thus we have comically stiff spiders with goofy voices in Planet of the Spiders. We have genuinely threatening, but also drama-queen diva spiders in the meh  The Runaway Bride. And then you have  what could have been truly creepy spider-like creatures in Kill the Moon which were wasted by being featured in a dire episode like Kill the Moon.

So when I saw the title of this one, I had to resist the temptation to roll my eyes. And not just because we got another music pun/reference in an episode title (first Bowie and now the Sex Pistols...). I figured we could be in for some very first class cheese with this one.

All that said, I decided to give Arachnids in the UK a go with as open of a mind as possible.

As usual, spoilers from here onward....

Episode Thoughts

This episode went back to the season opener’s structure of having things happen that appear unrelated at first, but quickly fit together into a main plotline well before the episode ends. It’s a smart technique as it can help to cover any thinness to the plot. 

We start with Robertson, a guy who is suspiciously similar to another hotel-owning, multi-millionaire businessman with a crass, harsh personality who decided to run for president. Seriously, not since The Happiness Patrol have we been given such a painfully obvious reference to a real-life political figure on Doctor Who.

 And wait, is that Chris Noth? Why yes, yes it is. That’s something I seriously did not expect and it’s fun to see him in this. XD

Anyway, Citizen Robertson here rants about a possible threat to his political future and fires a random employee for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. This actually turns out to be not so random later on....

(Side note: They do name drop Trump later in the episode with Robertson mentioning that he can’t stand the guy. I guess that’s one way to deflect the obvious....XD)

Meanwhile, the Doctor actually manages to get her companions back to their correct time and place and soon appears to regret her efficiency. Fortunately for her, Yasmin is up for inviting everyone to tea which everyone immediately accepts.

After wonderfully awkward moments with Yasmin’s family and some poignant moments alone with Graham, we finally get to the spiders. Well sort of. We just get one spider to start out with, but there was plenty of foreshadowing before that to let us know that it won’t just be one spider.

Soon, the plot ties together when we realize that it was Yasmin’s mother who got fired and a neighbor of Yasmin’s family has a friend/co-worker/? who is a specialist in regards to spiders and who is worried that she hasn’t shown up for a few days. This eventually leads to a showdown in the lavish, recently finished hotel between humans and arachnids. 

Some more quick side notes....

The hotel they chose for the principal location is a good one. It has the right Overlook Hotel vibe to it which is perfect to accentuate the horror in this episode.

Ok, having Yasmin’s mom be the one who got fired by Robertson is a solid way to tie the plot together. Having an arachnid expert be friends with someone who lived in the same building as Yasmin’s family and having her show up just as the Doctor starts to investigate teeters dangerously toward deus ex machina territory.

But on a much funnier note, did anyone else notice someone (Ryan, I think?) making shadow puppets in the background while the Doctor and McIntyre were talking about Serious Spider Stuff in McIntyre’s lab? That’s the sort of offhand detail that I just love...

Now, back to the rest of the episode...

As can be expected with someone like Robertson, all of his employees are taken out by the spiders leaving the Doctor, her companions, Yasmin’s mom, Naija, and our new friend, Dr. McIntyre to find out that there’s is both abandoned coal mines underneath the hotel (which is niffty for the spiders to get around) and a toxic landfill that was very poorly managed.

Ok, at this point I need to stop to consider something that’s bothering me about the plot. 

I think we can all agree that Robertson is a terrible person and was horribly negligent in allowing the landfill to combine stuff willy nilly. But if we’re going to assign blame for the mutant spiders, shouldn’t some of it be placed on McIntyre and her lab? These scientist are manipulating spider DNA and apparently not being careful enough in making sure the specimens are dead before disposal. Even if Robertson didn’t have an unusually toxic landfill mutating these spiders further, those half-dead “super spiders” could have wrecked havoc on local ecosystems. Thus, I hardly think McIntyre should be acting like she’s on some sort of moral high ground compared to Robertson.

In the end, it’s decided that it’s more humane(?) to suffocate/starve all the baby spiders in Robertson’s panic room and drive the huge mother spider out of the hotel...to where, I don’t know. However, Robertson clearly wanted a chance to kill something and thus, shoots the giant spider before it can asphyxiate. 

This leads to another little issue I have. The Doctor and McIntyre were just going to watch that giant spider slowly suffocate and die. Robertson shot it once and put it out of its misery quickly. I guess I’m at a loss as to how Robertson’s solution in and of itself is crueler than a slow death. 

And the thing is, I think the writers missed an opportunity here. Having Robertson clearly show no remorse for what he did was chilling enough. But I think we could have added an even more sinister edge to his character if it was made clear that his decision to shoot the spider would be considered merciful and correct by many and that it wasn’t a black and white decision. 

That way, the horrifying aspect of his character would not have been what he did but instead the mindset and motives of why he did it. Few things are more evil that someone who hides their malevolence under the guise of good intentions. 

After that painfully abrupt ending, the Doctor prepares to leave and discovers, much to her surprise and delight, that Graham, Ryan and Yasmin aren’t ready to say goodbye to her and traveling through time and space. 

So did Arachnids in the UK avoid the usual trap of tacky spider themed episodes? Well.....

The thing is, there are several things this episode did right. The number one was a wonderful mix of humor and lowkey scares. We get moments like Ryan and Graham’s two man comedy act leading up to a terribly creepy shot of several giant spiders skittering toward them. The atmosphere of the hotel and some well placed jump scares are balanced by the hilarious sight of mutant spiders gravitating a energetic grime tune (actually listened to it again while writing this, and it really set the mood). 

The problem for me has to be the easy out the plot took. I get wanting to keep this an Earth-bound problem (and making an eco-statement). But the separating of the so-called “good guys” and “bad guys” wasn’t neatly done and the ending felt far too much like the writers couldn’t think of a good solution in the time they had left. 

Thus, this episode works far better as a showcase for humor, atmosphere and characterization than it does as a carefully plotted story.

Character Thoughts

So how about that characterization then?

Two things were well defined in this episode. 

The Doctor is going to continue to be socially awkward, high-energy goofball.

This Doctor is not one who wants to brood by themselves somewhere even for a few moments. She clearly is one of those Doctor who vastly prefers to travel with companions.

Continuing in the tradition of each Doctor often being a “reaction” to the previous one, Thirteen is certainly far less prickly and much more openly social than Twelve. She seems to thrive on the “family” environment a crowded TARDIS creates. The only Doctor I can compare that to is probably Five who also seemed very invested in traveling with a group although there is far, far more harmony on Thirteen’s TARDIS than there ever was on Five’s. 

Myself, I’m enjoying a return to the idea of the Doctor being warmer and more familial as I never thought being difficult and prickly were necessary solely to create a sense of “otherness” about the Doctor. Whittaker still manages this with Thirteen’s scattershot, quirky approach to experiencing new places, people and events.

A lot of the humor in this episode was pulled off nicely by Whittaker whether it’s the cringing moments of awkward around Yasmin’s family or her sudden thought that The Spider Mother in the Ballroom could be “the best novel Edith Wharton never wrote.” 

Meanwhile, Ryan and Graham also have some wonderful bits together as they (very reluctantly) keep having to go out on spider-related missions in the hotel. The two of them continue to be a fun team who are slowly trying to figure out this family “thing” they have been thrust into.

Funnily enough, while on the surface this could look like an episode that would focus more on Yasmin since we are spending time with her family....it really doesn’t. The most we get is some insight as to why she wants to travel with the Doctor: because she loves her family, but clearly doesn’t always get along with them that great. I think this is another opportunity the writers missed as we could have gotten a bit more insight into how her family played a role in the person she became. Instead, their presence seems to mainly service the plot (Naija) or try to add to the humor (the rest of her family). 

The Last Word

I’m afraid Doctor Who may never have a completely solid episode featuring spiders....even with this effort. This is episode is a fun ride most of the time with some great moments of humor and characterization, so it manages to not be truly cringe-y. However, it would have been nice if the writers had put more thought into how to end the main plotline and found more interesting ways to develop Yasmin’s family and by extension Yasmin herself.

[fuckyeahalexjo]

Can you write a Fanfiction where alex tells jo about what happened with Paul?

Alex drummed his fingers on the steering wheel rhythmicallyas his mind raced. He had been staring at the entrance of the loft he had onceshared with Jo, trying to summon the courage to go in and knock on the door. Hehadn’t expected her to be here, thinking she wasn’t supposed to arrive backfrom fellowship interviews until tomorrow. Yet something had drawn him here,and when he saw her car he knew he could not put off this specific conversationany longer. He sighed to himself and exited his car, still rehearsing hisapology in his mind. He knew she would be angry and she had every right to be,but he hadn’t known what else to do after months of knowing about him.

The lift creaked horribly as the motor spun to life. Alexfelt his heart start to race as he swallowed nervously. His feet felt as if hehad lead in his shoes as he walked the few feet to her door and timidlyknocked. He almost hoped she wouldn’t answer, that he didn’t have to tell her.Jo’s smile when she saw him just made his stomach flip even more; she seemedhappy or maybe relieved? He cursed himself for what he was going to tell her,unable to even hear her greeting.

She stepped aside and gestured him in. He awkwardly shovedhis hands in his pockets and stepped to the side, “How was your interview?”

“Good I think. I felt prepared so I wasn’t as nervous as Ithought I would be.”

He looked around nervously as he followed her into the loft,taking in how empty it seemed with his things missing, “You hear about thefire?”

“Yeah, Leah and I went to visit Steph when we got in. Howcrazy is that? You know when you and Yang would call it Mercy Death I alwaysthought that was funny, but Jesus bad stuff really is always happening.” Shepointed over her shoulder, “Do you want a beer?”

He nodded, unable to form a real answer to her. She made herway over to the refrigerator, seemingly still talking about Stephanie, but heonly heard every few words, “Jo, I have to tell you something.”

She narrowed her eyes at him as she cautiously handed himthe bottle, “Okay…”

He looked over his shoulder across the loft, unable to meether eyes, “You wanna sit?” Jo watched him carefully as she rounded the couchand slowly lowered herself, tucking her feet up under her. Alex watched herwarily, his mouth suddenly completely dry. He hummed in nervous energy beforelooking away, “I…”

“Alex, you’re scaring me,” she stated softly as her fingerstrembled slightly, “Just tell me. Did something happen with the kids? Yourmom?”

“No, no nothing like that…”

“Did someone else get hurt tonight? Ben? Andrew?”

Alex shook his head, trying his best to ignore herquestions, “You know I went to that conference in L.A., right?”

She nodded her head slowly, “The one on minimally invasivetechniques, right? Isn’t that what it was?”

“Yeah,” he answered simply as he ran a hand over his faceand sat down on the couch, “that’s the one.” He leaned forward to rest hiselbows on his knees and took a deep breath, “One of the speakers was PaulStadler.” He didn’t look towards her at first and waited on her response. Whenshe didn’t say anything, he looked over and took in her pale face and vacanteyes, “Jo?”

The beer bottle she was still holding in her left hand crashedto the floor as she remained still in shock. Alex jumped up to retrieve towelsand the broom and dust pan to sweep up the shards, “Don’t move.”

The instruction would have seemed comical if the situationwas not so serious. She was sitting like a statue, and he was sure she wasn’tabout to move. He knelt down beside her to start cleaning, every so oftenglancing up to see her still looking pale and stricken. He sighed and tried tothink of something to say when her voice pierced the silence, the hollowness ofit hurting his heart, “You met him.”

Alex looked up at her as she continued to stare straightahead, her face not relaying her emotions. He looked back at the floor, “Yeah.”

Jo slowly turned her face towards him, her eyes blazing withmore anger than he had ever seen. He quickly stood and backed up, deciding togive her some space. She remained seated on the couch, but was now glaring athim, watching every move he made, “So all these weeks of spending more timetogether and talking and me….sharing so much with you…that was all a ploy toget information on him? To track him down?”

Alex blanched at her harsh tone, “I know it sounds bad,but…”

“You knew I didn’t want this to happen. I told you I kept ita secret for a lot of reasons but number one was I knew you wouldn’t be able tokeep that anger in. Jesus Christ, Alex.”

“I didn’t talk to him.” He gestured wildly, trying to conveywith his eyes his deep regret, “Look, I wanted to. I wanted to threaten him andembarrass him and kill him, it’s all I’ve been thinking about for weeks, but Ididn’t. I didn’t, Jo.”

She stood up and crossed her arms over her chest, “Do youwant a medal or something? What the hell were you thinking going down there? Doyou realize what you could have done? Tell me everything, Alex.”

He shrugged helplessly, “I sat in on his talk, I drank atthe bar while he was there, but I swear I only spoke to him once.”

He watched as she paled once more and terror glazed over inher eyes, “Tell me exactly what was said. Verbatim.”

Alex sighed and shook his head marginally, “He cut in frontof me to get in a cab and then offered to share it. I told him he could have itand then he left.”

Jo shook her head quickly as she rounded the couch andwalked to the bed. She pulled a half-filled bag out from under the bed andstarted throwing more items in as quickly as she could, the whole time mumblingto herself. Alex watched with concern as he slowly made his way towards her. Heworked to make sure his voice was soft as to not alarm her, “Jo, what are youdoing?”

“Leaving,” she stated simply, “I’m leaving.”

“I swear, that’s all that happened…”

“You don’t get it!” He stepped back in surprise as shescreamed at him, her hands balled into fists in her hair. “You spent the wholetime down there watching him, do you really think he didn’t notice that? Youthink you were completely casual when you finally got a chance to speak to him?You think it’s coincidence that he cut in front of you of all people? That wasby design, Alex.”

He shook his head with a slight smile, trying to calm her,“Come on, Jo. It wasn’t like that.”

She slammed the suitcase shut and leaned on it, glaring athim helplessly, “You don’t know him, Alex. You don’t know how he is.”

“Jo…”

“Why did you go down there? What, you thought he wouldreally listen to threats?

“I felt helpless,” he yelled back, all the emotions he hadbeen working so hard to hide from her coming to the surface, “You tell me thisstory, and I…I…damn it, Jo, what am I supposed to do?”

She bit her lip as her eyes fluttered closed. Jo ran herfinger along the seam of the suitcase, taking deep breaths for several secondsbefore her eyes popped open to stare at him directly, “You could have at leastrespected me enough to not look for him even if you didn’t understand it.”

He watched as she walked quickly to the bathroom, him twosteps behind her, “Oh so now I don’t understand abusers? Give me a break, Ionly lived with one every freaking day my entire childhood.”

She slammed the cabinet door and brushed past him going backtowards the bed, “You never ran from your father, and Jimmy never came for youlike this.” She stopped at the bed for a moment and swiped at her eyes,resignation hanging deeply in her soft voice, “It’s different, Alex…it’s just…it’sdifferent.”

The emptiness in her voice tore at his heart, “Hey…” Sheturned towards him slowly, her lower lip trembling slightly, “I swear, I just…Isaid maybe ten words to him. Tops.” He smoothed his hands down her shoulders,trying to calm her, “I swear, it was nothing more.”

He waited for her to speak, his anxiety rising at everysecond that went by without her responding. He was so focused on her rapidbreathing that he almost missed her speaking to him, “Did you still have on youlanyard?”

Alex blinked a few times in confusion as she stared at him stoically,waiting for a response, “I…what?”

“Your lanyard. Is that what they gave you? Or did you have asticker? What did this conference do to broadcast your name and hospitalaffiliation with the rest of the attendees?”

Alex’s breath caught, bile rising in his throat at thethought of the asshole Stadler knowing his name, “You know I hate those things.”

Jo put her hands on her hips, her tone more challenging, “Howlong was he behind you at the cab? Before he cut you in line?”

Alex shook his head and stepped back, his eyes narrowed inthought, “I don’t…I’m not sure.”

Her lips were now pressed in a straight line as she shovedtoiletries into her suitcase, “Long enough for him to read your luggage tag?Maybe remember your address? This address? Trust me, he has found me beforewith less than that to go on.”

Alex’s heart dropped at her words. He wanted to argue, toreassure her, but he wasn’t sure what to say, “Jo…”

“I have to go.”

She set the suitcase on the floor and began walking aroundlooking for her keys as he watched helplessly, “Let me drive you.”

Jo shook her head as she rummaged through papers anddrawers, “I need to get as far away as I can. I don’t know where yet, just…awayfrom here.” He watched sadly as she pulled a package for a new phone from theback of a drawer in the kitchen and quickly turned the device on, “I don’t knowwhen or if I’ll be back here, and you can’t put your life on hold like thatjust to trip around the countryside, not knowing where you are half the time…”

“I’ll be with you,” he cut her off simply. She looked up athim in shock, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly agape. He pulled the handleof her suitcase to be able to roll it easily and shrugged, “I want to be withyou. Period. But I also need to know you’re okay and…well I can’t exactly dothat after you dump your phone.”

Jo stared at him questioningly, seemingly trying to decideif he was serious, “You can’t. Your patients…”

“I’ll handle it,” he reassured quietly as he reached up tocradle her face and touched his forehead to hers, “Let’s just get away for afew days. I know someone who can check around and see if it appears like he gotmy name or address and then we can go from there, okay?”

She looked at him with eyes full of a strange mixture ofterror and hope, “Okay.”

He gave a crooked grin as he pulled away to walk towards thedoor. She surprised him by taking his hand in hers and squeezing it tightly. Ashe pulled the loft door open he turned to her, his voice low and comforting, “Justthink of this as us finally starting to travel some.”

[bewarecreepercomics]

Beware the Creeper #1

First issue in the original six issue miniseries written in 1968. Creeper’s had about three of these over the years, none of them exceeding twelve issues. Well, better a short, comprehensive story than, well...the Clone Saga.

Behind you. The Menace lurks behind you. If you’d just turn around-he blends in only slightly better than you do-he’s got orange on him for godssakes, is he Naruto’s grandfather or something? He is behind you!

Again, not a bad cover at all. No wasted space, an actual background, stuff happening. My only criticisms are that the rain looks like melting icicles instead of rain, and that the colors clash a bit, but hey, Silver Age. Riotous colors were not unusual.

We start out on a dark and stormy night, in which no one sees a green and bright orange ninja scaling a building. Well, it is raining, perhaps there are fewer people on the streets. Sure, I can suspend my belief for that.

This guy is The Terror, and he is going to these great lengths to sneak up on an unfortunate fellow he believes is going to betray him. We get the immediate establishment of this guy as a bad guy. No mysteries here.

I’ve got some bad news for you, sir...

Exactly what you think is about to happen, happens.

Actually, it kind of doesn’t. Yes, The Terror bust right through that window, but how this guy dies is a mystery. Mr. Terror doesn’t shoot him. Doesn’t stab him. It’s implied that he maybe hits him, but just then...

Jack Ryder, you have the worst timing of any man alive.

The Terror kicks his butt. How embarrassing. And then leaves without even bothering to kill him. The insolence!

His poor victim dies of...plot-convenience-itis, but not before giving Jack a list of names to check out. Now that’s spite.

Jack, of course, wants to follow up on this as soon as he can, but is stymied by his boss, who has assigned him to watch over the stations weather girl, Vera Sweet.

Yes, that is seriously her name.

I told you so. Vera is a publicity hound who smokes like a chimney, and has zero respect for our hero. She is also listed on almost every Creeper bio description as his love interest.

There is literally not a single comic in which this is true.

Really. We never, ever see this. The best we ever get on this subject is several mentions in more recent years that they used to go out, but it went bad and now they barely get along. In these original comics, they are practically antagonists.

Meanwhile, the Terror bursts in on a gangster, still dressed like that. Instead of busting into laughter, he gets busted in the face, and the Terror demands half of his rackets profits. And it looks like he’s not the only unlucky mobster to be victimized by the Terror.

Aw, the double-crossers might have been double crossed. I don’t feel sorry for any of them.

Jack ditches Vera at the very first opportunity to check up on those names victim #1 provided. First up, Gerk Kreg.

Try saying that name five times fast. Anyway, for a supposedly successful gangster, it sure is easy for Jack to just walk right into his house. More like succ-sessful, amirite?

Anyway.

It’s so easy for him to get in there that he has to switch to Creeper and bring attention to himself just to get noticed. He also makes the first mention of what is in later iterations referenced as an addiction to Professor Yatz’s serum.

Hey, if throwing up the horns is supposed to be demonic, does throwing down the horns invoke angels?

Of course, a Goon Battle follows. You know the kind. Where these supposed tough guys can barely lay a finger on our hero, and are sometimes so bad at fighting that he can have an entire internal monologue about how awesome he is without even getting interrupted?

Yes, yes, you are the very picture of idealized manliness. And so are your underoos. (Nice buttcheek we got there, thanks Ditko.)

Well, he battles his way through the mob penthouse, stopping only to question a goon, but doing so gets him ambushed and restrained. Let this be a lesson to you; punch first, ask questions later does not work. Punch only, and ask no questions is the way to go!

Gerk Kreg(ugh, why) decides that, before he shoots Creeper, he wants to know who he really is. No, you fool! Didn’t you learn? Punch only! No questions!

In attempting to rip his wig off, we learn something interesting.

That’s right, the molecular rearrangement device doesn’t just change his clothing and administer a dose of serum, it actually fuses that stuff to him. The wig, the rug, the makeup, the suit, none of it can be removed when he is Creeper.

Oh, the implications! The horrible, horrible implications.

Everyone’s startlemant at this revelation gives Creeper a chance to punch his way free and escape. You see! He got the lesson!

Jack thought that Kreg might be the Terror, but didn’t manage to get any proof in that punch-fest, so he moves on to the next name he had been given, that of Hack Axeley, a...private detective? With that name? Could’ve sworn he’d be either a hitman or a lumberjack.

Hack wants nothing to do with any of this, clearly being too busy working out of a closet with a gorgeous window view. Seriously, it is crowded in there.

Jack decides to do as Axeley suggests-go ask Cleary the lawyer. Who promptly runs him out. Not a big surprise there, Jack is no longer a reporter, nor is he a detective. He is small-time TV network security. Buuuut, Cleary’s defensiveness has made Jack suspicious, so he decides to go back in, in costume.

Up the side of the building.

In broad daylight.

Where everyone can see him.

Still wanted by the police.

BrainTrust.jpg

To get away, he hops a few buildings, drops into an alley, and switches back to Jack.

I wasn’t kidding in the previous review, he seriously does this all the damn time. Oh, and now he remembers Vera, and that he has an actual job.

Love interest, everybody!

She wants to punish him for ditching her by making him walk her dog in the rain. Is that all? What the heck is he got to gripe about, nowadays they’d have his job. Again!

Well, he caves, and they head back to his place to grab an umbrella. She might be a shameless fame-seeker, but Vera is no monster! However, the Terror is! And he is waiting in Jacks apartment to get the drop on him, fully armed with the Punch Only philosophy!

He was not, however, expecting Vera’s Shriek Like a Banshee Technique!

The name of the game in this issue is Jack Gets Ambushed. But the Terror makes a run for it, figuring Vera’s screaming will have attracted too much attention. Jack immediately ditches Vera yet again, to chase after him.

Nice working with you Jack.

Forth comes the Creeper, and so commences The Chase! Which takes up the rest of the comic, with one small break.

Here’s a bonus: My favorite panel in this issue. Get a look at those hands. It might be worth mentioning here that Ditko also helped create Spiderman. I wonder if there’s a way we could tell?

No time to contemplate now, time for another ambush!

Gosh darnit Jack, just look behind you every now and again! 

We get a dazzling rooftop fight out of this. There’s fisticuffs! Close calls! And of course...

Ass shots!

The Terror makes his escape. Again. Jack puts two and two together and gets a high value of three. In other words, the Terror waiting at Jacks apartment means that Gerk Kreg can’t be the Terror, because Jack didn’t question him as Jack-only as the Creeper. Only two fellows know that Jack Ryder was researching the Terror, and he decides to drop in on one of them, the misleadingly named Hack Axeley.

Who is just so dead, you guys.

Worried for the safety of the lawyer Cleary, he phones to warn him to stay low, then goes forth to question the late Axeleys secretary, Ida Horn.

Fear his swayed hip! Become powerless before the provocative pose! The distractionary merit of the skimpy outfit is proven yet again!

While she is sufficiently terrified-partially by Creepers questions and vague threats, but mostly by his sexy, sexy photoshoot vogueing- He notices something cleverly hiding behind her drapes.

The Terror is truly a master of stealth. Especially since there isn’t even a window back there.

More brawling for our champion and his nemesis! Oh, but this time, there is a maverick contender!

Kick his ass, baby! No, wait...

Uh...I don’t think that phrase means what you think it means...But whatever, Creeper has recognized the Terror’s voice, and the jig is up! Almost.

Aw, I kinda liked her. It’s too bad her legs have detached from her body. But enough of that! Resume the chase!

Just swinging about in empty space, in a storm, in the darkened city. Badass. But they have been spotted by those who are out for their blood. So now that he’s got him, what does Creeper do?

Freaking publicly unmasks the Terror, revealing him to be Hack Axeleys assistant! Remember? This guy?

He said two words while Jack was there. He was clearly super important and involved, oh yeah. And now his face is uncovered and visible...In front of everybody who wants a chance to murder him. Great job, Jack. This guy is sure to survive until his court date.

No, nevermind, Creeper drops every single one of the gangsters by himself because he’s the title character. How could I forget. The police reap a bumper crop of crooks, and Jack escapes, but not without surveying his work.

He’s not addicted, he can quit any time he wants.

And so our comic comes to an end with Jack and Vera bickering. How romantic.

While this is the first issue of the miniseries proper, it is completely removed from the story as a whole, presenting us only with a mediocre mystery, and a lot of awesome fight scenes. The real story starts next time, in Beware the Creeper #2, coming soon!

[violetsystems]

#personal

I woke up early enough today.  A few dreams that I sort of remember.  I don’t dream all that often.  Or haven’t in the past.  Which is to say the bed frame was probably a good idea.  Why be that guy on a first date who whispers “I don’t dream.”  Truth be told I could argue I don’t dream.  I live them.  But that sounds like I own and operate a skydiving service and that’s not what I do to make money.  I missed a couple of drops.  The Cav Empt drop particularly that was denied by the credit card issuer three times.  After the third automated text of “yes charge my fucking card” I realized this was not to be.  The Instagram debacle taught me something.  One would think that was to quit using it entirely.  But I just headbang in my office and say absolutely nothing every few hours.  It could be in response to something.  I forgot about the Gyakusou drop until it bled through the algorithm and fell upon my eyes in a feed.  I don’t ever really actively seek out anything on social media other than here.  I use Tumblr much like I would a search engine.  And then I pour my entire heart and soul into the platform in hopes of a neural net upload at some point.  The fraud algorithms must have been working overtime.  A coworker asked if I hadn’t “appealed to a higher power” in reference to my instagram shadowban.  Again Instagram is not what I use to make a living.  I can’t even like anyone’s posts.  People ask me questions or comment on things and I can only communicate back in likes.  If it all sounds backwards consider I’ve been running since 2011.  Eight years later I’m back where I started.  A little more in control of some things and surrounded by chaos at every corner.  I tried to check out the nike store over lunch but they had closed for remodeling.  Mentally at this point I’m beyond exhausted.  I do train like an athlete.  I wake up early in the morning and go to sleep fairly early.  People still try to treat me like I’m their younger brother.  Give me advice when they don’t take it for themselves.  I try to explain sometimes what I do to people around here.  Why I make the sacrifices I do.  Why I stay out of certain social circles.  Like I wasn’t born yesterday.  My birthday was a couple of weeks ago.  The silence spoke volumes like it usually does.  It made the people who cared about it seem extra genuine and special.  I spent it in New York and met up with friends from both the internet and Chicago.  In the company of a city with the capacity to care without smothering you to death with expectations.

Chicago means well.  But the elite often forget what it’s like to have to continuously face the morning.  It used to be that getting downtown at seven in the morning was like a ghost town.  Now I see people rapping to themselves and performing comedy routines on the sidewalk.  I see myself in it much like I’ve learned to see myself in any city.  Chicago doesn’t really understand proximity and respect.  Or at least it doesn’t at certain times of the day.  Being alone in this city has always sucked.  When you walk out your door you suddenly realize you aren’t alone.  I’ve been easily identifiable for awhile even if I’m always hiding in plain sight.  It works against my favor sometimes to focus my energy around the wrong people and situations.  Running in this city has always been a different thing entirely.  Until very recently.  The sort of claustrophobic nature of people’s expectations of your very presence is a little nauseating.  When it gets so bad you have to plan your routes and time out in public alone it feels much worse.  I live that.  For better or for worse.  This morning I plan to run around the park in the neighborhood.  The last time I tried to run by the river it was a little too big brother for my tastes.  Especially when I didn’t consent to being part of some scene.  But what can you do when it’s a shared public resource?  I can try to fight all of it and look bad doing it.  Or I can focus my attention on a narrower but surer path.  The park across the street is off the Damien bus stop.  The Nike running store is a twenty minute ride from there.  I pay a monthly pre-tax benefit for unlimited rides on the CTA.  There’s some financial wizardry involved in that. Something to do with lowering your taxable income.  God knows I spend hours on end looking at my finances.  It can be almost as bad as organizing my comic collection or filing my Magic cards.  In short the biggest success in my life lately is that I have been forced to plan.  To work around chaos at every angle requires you to set boundaries for yourself.  I heard our head of security at work describe this as a survival skill.  It’s called putting on the mask.  You walk out that door into the streets and you bark off people with a look.  You should know by know I’m not to be fucked with.  And if you don’t know now you know.  Rest In Peace Christopher Wallace.

Silent birthdays and secret lovers aside.  Atlantic Star was right about one thing.  As soon as people find out something good they try to break up these happy homes.  This is why we can’t have nice things.  Or possibly this is why I wake up early to run and check out a brand new Nike store.  Does that area bother me?  It brings up some bad memories for sure.  Bad memories that won’t be skulking about at ten or eleven in the morning unless it’s a walk of shame or something.  I never thought that after all these years part of the excitement was survival in spite of these obstacles.  That people know me in some form or another all over the world.  This is the prime reason in the current state of American politics I stopped traveling internationally.  My trip back to New York in April is bought and paid for.  I feel there’s a rhythm to it financially. Every month and a half or so.  Fly out for a weekend by myself and just be in the moment.  I go out in public by myself there and feel at peace.  There’s a persistent sense of being distant when I’m by myself there.  And yet the same things up in my face are far more intense there.  In some ways I evolved into a sort of fearlessness of being held back so many years.  The truth for the most part was that I held myself back.  Or my strategies were poorly informed and haphazardly designed.  Prototyping your dreams is hard to do.  You fail a lot.  Maybe in the process you realize it’s not your dream.  Maybe after all these years, you can’t run away from them.  They’re right there running side by side whether you like it or not.  Whether they are present or not.  It inspires you to run towards the light.  A feeling of something that fills you instead of drains you.    If anything I’ve been reductive to a fault in my life.  I’ve lived alone.  Worked on myself and applied criticisms that stung to my everyday life.  Facing these things I developed new strategies.  New techniques.  Strange and beautiful ways of communicating.  Connected with intelligent and inspiring people.  And disconnected from a lot in the process to make more room for the things that really matter.  If you didn’t know specifically by now, I’ve done all this because I care about you.  Love makes you do crazy shit.  Like wake up early in the morning, workout and avoid people.  Last time I checked that was working out for both of us.  <3 Tim

[recentanimenews]

The Latest One Piece Gives Us A Moment We've Been Waiting 2 1/2 Years For

  IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THE LATEST EPISODE OF ONE PIECE AND DO NOT WISH TO BE SPOILED, PLEASE STOP READING NOW.

  OOOOOOOOOONE DREAM. OOOOOOOOOOOOOONE WISH.

  It's here, y'all! The first installment of the Crunchyroll One Piece Recap! For the last two weeks, we've been treated to little "prequel" episodes for the One Piece: Stampede film, but before that, Luffy travelled with Otama to her house and was treated to a meal of rice (which was the only food that Otama had.) While there, Luffy learned that Otama was waiting for Luffy's brother, Ace, to return to save her village. But Otama obviously hasn't watched One Piece yet because Ace is not really in any condition to do that. Luffy tells her bluntly that Ace is dead and Otama, like most of us in 2010, does not take it well.

  Because there's no food, Otama drinks contaminated water to fill her belly and gets really sick. Meanwhile, we see Creepiest Member of the Worst Generation Basil Hawkins leading a few other members of Kaido's crew to a spot where Luffy took out some of Kaido's goons. And then the latest episode officially begins, so let's jump right into it!

    Luffy asks Otama's masked guardian where he can find some food and water and if there's a doctor around, because he's gonna take Otama there to get treated. Her guardian says that sounds like a lot, but Luffy says that he's "quite strong," which considering how many times we've seen Luffy drive Warlord faces into the ground (and up through the ground,) is a nice, little understatement.

    Her guardian then tells Luffy that he looks too conspicuous and gives him a top knot and a kimono. We finally have Luffy: Special Wano Edition!

    But then Luffy notices a sword hanging up on the wall, and the same awesome guitar riff from the final moments of the very first episode of One Piece, where we were introduced to Roronoa Zoro, plays. Otama's guardian objects to Luffy very casually just stealing this dude's sword and tells him that it's one of the 21 Excellent Grade Swords. It's the Kitetsu II, and the guardian gives Luffy a little history lesson about the 50 Fine Grade Swords, the 21 Excellent Grade Swords, and the 12 Supreme Grade Swords. But before this important One Piece lore can be fully relayed, Luffy has already left. I really love this scene, because it feels less like the guy doubting Luffy's skills as a swordsman and more like a parent dealing with a kid in a nice store: "Put that down! You're gonna break that. Don't touch that. That's too expensive. Put. That. Down."

    The guardian follows Luffy, very adamant that Luffy should not be possessing this cursed sword, but Luffy throws him aside and calls him "Grandpa Nose," which is like a 6/10 on the Insulting Luffy Nickname Scale. Luffy and Otama get a ride from Komachiyo aka Dog, but Otama wakes up, remembers Luffy's message that Ace is dead, and gets angry and sad. She calls Luffy a liar, but Luffy, WHO WAS THERE, tells her that Ace isn't coming back and "everyone knows" about what happened. We get more Ace flashbacks, and Otama acts like me, everytime someone asks me why I'm crying over a pirate comic:

    Luffy, Otama and "Dog" make it out of the bamboo forest and enter the wasteland where everything sucks and nothing is good. At the same time, residents in the Flower Capital are still scared of the "slasher" aka Zoro, because they don't know that with his sense of direction, even if he wanted to hunt them down, he couldn't find them. Zoro, of course, loves the wasteland because of how much meat and fish he can have, but he takes a moment to lament the immense lack of sake in his life. Been there, my dude.

    We're introduced to the creatures of the wasteland like tigers, boars and Sharkodiles, with the latter probably being in the same Order as the Banana Gators from Alabasta. But I could go on forever about the heirarchy of biological classification in the Grand Line, so I'll just move onto what Otama says about the animals being unsafe for consumption because they ingest so much poison from the run-off from Kaido's factories and farms. Luffy finds this inability to eat Sharkodiles to be unforgivable and seeing that Otama is still sick, presses on. 

  But wait, a woman is being pursued by two of Kaido's Fury Road wannabes! So Zoro intervenes, mostly to steal their sake, and we get this rad shot that I want to have tattooed on my back.

    Zoro chugs their sake and kind of shrugs off the woman's thanks (unless she has more sake.) But then, oh god, Luffy notices Zoro and they have a reunion that One Piece fans have waited 2 1/2 years for. 

    And it's good timing, too, because Basil Hawkins is here, and he's revealed to be one of the Beast Pirates' Headliners. And although Kaido has a lot of names and rankings for his various underlings, being a Headliner means that you're no slouch, so Zoro and Luffy, the Kings of Only Sorta Being Prepared For Stuff, better be prepared. 

    And then the episode ends, but I'm just so happy that all of my boys have come home to visit me for Christmas! I'm so proud of them and I just want to pinch their cheeks and tell them to not spend a $5 bill all in one place. But what does this mean for the story? Well, Kin'emon is probably going to have multiple heart attacks due to how little his "Stay on the down low" plan is actually being followed. And at this point, Trafalgar Law is gonna need a stiff drink as well, though he's likely used to Monkey D. "I'm changing the plan!" Luffy's antics by now.

  It's also interesting to see how Kaido's rule differs from the rule of the other bad guys that Luffy has faced so far, especially in the New World. Dressrosa had a lot of dark secrets underneath its relatively normal facade, and Doflamingo kept its citizens obsessed with the coliseum and his many lies so that they wouldn't ever try to peel back the surface. Meanwhile, Totto Land, on the surface, was a utopia, but its citizens constantly feared Big Mom's cravings and rampages. But Wano is, with the exception of a few places, completely impoverished, and Kaido makes no attempt to hide it. And why would he? It's outside the jurisdiction of the World Government, so Kizaru can't just pop his head in and say "How are those plans for healthcare and infrastructure coming, Strongest Creature on Earth?"

  Finally, it's gonna be interesting to see how Basil Hawkins does in Wano, especially since his powers contrast so directly with Kaido and the rest of his henchmen. I mean, we've seen Jack, who can turn into a mammoth, and we know that Kaido has some physical strength, but Hawkins' techniques lean more on the, ummm, genjutsu side of things. All I'm saying is that Hawkins is an interesting draft pick for an Emperor that's mostly obsessed with how hard his crew can punch.

  That's all for this week's installment of the One Piece recap! Let me know in the comments how you felt about the episode and how much joy you experienced from watching Luffy and Zoro reunite!

-----------------------------

Daniel Dockery is a writer and editor for Crunchyroll! You should follow him on Twitter!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[ourlittledinosaur]

Prayer, Perseverance, and the Path to 100% Breast Milk

New Post has been published on http://ourlittledinosaur.com/prayer-perseverance-and-the-path-to-100-breast-milk/

Prayer, Perseverance, and the Path to 100% Breast Milk

Our son wasn’t born sick…

Our son wasn’t born sick, but the path from thriving baby to struggling baby happened very quickly.

He was born with both a lip and a tongue tie but of course, we didn’t know that. I have to say, of all the tests care providers run when a child is born, I wish they had checked the mouth for these defects as well.

The first time I ever put my son to the breast, he didn’t take to it well. We did everything right to give him a good start. I’d had the natural birth – medication free, and pulled my baby onto my bare chest the moment he was born for instant skin to skin contact. We’d waited to cut the umbilical cord until it stopped pulsing, so he would get as much blood and nutrients as he could from this life source.

We stayed at the birth center for quite a while so that the midwives could be sure he would nurse before we left. Finally, after help latching each time someone checked on us, a bloody nipple, and a lot of effort and focus on my part, he ate for a reasonable period of time. I didn’t come to breastfeeding unprepared. I had read every article I came across on the topic. I also read cover to cover The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. I was completely sold on the importance of exclusively breastfeeding, to include no introduction of bottles and pacifiers or other artificial nipples of any kind. None whatsoever.

We took my newborn son home about 2 o’clock in the morning. My husband and I were anxious to get home. In hindsight, it might have been good to rest at the birth center a little longer, but Mother and Baby were both doing well so we were allowed to leave. That first half night was a blur. My husband and I were both excited, exhausted, and completely taken with this little person God had given us charge of. Our son slept on my husband’s chest for the first several nights of his life. We never wanted to put him down. He was so precious and so cuddly.

I guess the next couple feedings went okay. I don’t remember thinking anything was wrong. When we woke up for the 6am feeding, he wouldn’t take to the breast again. We struggled. Finally at 10 am I called the midwives. I was told to express colostrum onto my finger and let him suck and just keep doing that for a while. Babies don’t eat much at all those first couple days. Their stomachs are very small, so their meals are small, but frequent. The key in the beginning is getting that nutrient-rich colostrum. My son suckled on my finger for a couple feedings and this effort sparked within him a new interest in nursing. He began to love to nurse, even though he wasn’t good at it, and I was thrilled and none the wiser that he was struggling.

Lip and Tongue Ties

I had never heard of these birth defects before the Lactation Consultant (LC) came out to our home when my son was 3 days old. My milk had come in and I felt like we could be doing better, so my husband and I agreed to use this resource. My left breast was engorged and I just wanted to be sure everything was going as it should.

The LC was wonderful. Kind, knowledgeable. She taught me a few tricks and taught me how to use my pump correctly. (I thought, “Like I would ever use that thing.” Boy, did I! Looking back, I was much more prideful about breastfeeding than I ever had a right to be. I was so determined that “this was how it’s going to be” that I didn’t make allowances for mistakes or things beyond my control. This made dealing with all the issues that came up much more difficult for me emotionally.) The LC said we were doing great. She briefly mentioned he might have a lip tie, but he and I seemed to be doing well as a breastfeeding couple, so she gave us an A+ and went on her way.

When he was 5 days old, I about had a meltdown. Ok ok, I had a meltdown. My mother had just left to go back home. I got out of the much needed shower, and my husband handed my son to me to nurse him. He was screaming and crying but wouldn’t eat and I knew he needed to. All the books and articles and care providers said newborns needed to eat every two hours, but he didn’t keep to this at all. He was showing all the signs of hunger but wouldn’t nurse. He was frustrated. I was upset because he wouldn’t nurse. Needless to say we were a hot mess.

This hot mess called my cousin who I’m certain God told in a dream to tell her to text me the day before and say, “If you’re having any trouble breastfeeding, give me a call anytime. No matter what time it is.” At this point, I just needed to talk to someone I didn’t have to pay, so I gave her a call.

So there I am, sobbing, face and chest red-streaked, still naked from my shower, holding my screaming newborn, my hair wet and tangled, and she says, “Let’s FaceTime.” There’s something about the progression of pregnancy and then the final act of labor that eventually sucks away all your modesty until you just don’t care anymore. Take heart. It does come back….eventually.

To be honest, she didn’t tell me anything I hadn’t either read or been told previously. However her kindness, loving encouragement, and support were exactly what I needed to get through the night.

Let me take this opportunity to say how important having good support is when it comes to breastfeeding. Breastfeeding may seem like the simplest, most intuitive thing in the world, but complications can arise and when they do, it can be one of the most difficult things in the world. Fatigue and hormones and fear of being a good parent can even make it difficult to ask for help. So even if your only support is a Facebook group, or a single friend or care provider, reach out to them. It can and does get easier, even with complications.

We went in for his one week appointment and he had lost weight. This is expected in all newborns, but typically their birth weight should be regained by two weeks of age. When we went in for his two week appointment, he had lost even more weight. This started the beginning of supplementing. Remember how I was very anti-artificial nipple? Well, I am even more anti- baby-choking-coughing-and-aspirating-while-using-a-dropper. He just didn’t know how to take food from it and my husband and I sat there and wept struggling to feed him, while I pumped to keep him supplied with breast milk.

We went in for weight checks every few days. Each time the routine changed as he wasn’t gaining enough. My supply suffered and went from 100% breast milk, to using a formula (yes, I was anti-formula too) called NeoSure, a Similac formula for premature babies. It has extra calories per ounce and helps babies put on weight faster.

He regained his birth weight by four weeks of age.

Lactation Consultant

We continued to work with the LC. She was a huge reason I continued to breastfeed as she was so very supportive and encouraging. She was constantly brainstorming on how to make breastfeeding easier and more efficient for us. One of the first things she taught us to help with our new supplementing routine was the paced-bottle technique. See technique here. It was also recommended that we use Dr. Brown’s bottles. They are special bottles that have a piece on the inside to help with the aeration and keep the baby from being gassy.

We broke our rule on pacifiers too. When you’re worried your baby is crying away all the calories he needs to grow, you get over yourself pretty quickly.

My husband and I saw successful weight gain on the formula, but we desired for our son to go back to breastfeeding as much as it was possible. Our goal was that one day he would, in fact, be exclusively breastfed.

SNS

We started to decrease his supplements. I can’t remember exactly what that looked like. Our routine seemed to change every week and so sometimes what transpired was a blur.  I do remember when he was about 6 weeks old we tried to exclusively breastfeed  against He stopped gaining weight. So here we were back on formula again.

The LC carefully recommended I try to use SNS or Supplemental Nursing System. (I say carefully because she did not want me recommending to others. She said that babies have to have a good ability to suck and swallow correctly or they can aspirate so please consult an LC if you are interested in using SNS.)

If you aren’t familiar with SNS, it is a bottle hooked up to small tubes you tape to your breast near the nipple. It’s very contraption-y. The flow to your baby can be controlled by pulling the tubes through notches. For some, giving supplements through SNS can be a great way to transition a baby back to the breast. For others it can be a nightmare.

Conceptionally, SNS is easy to use. In practice it can be tricky. There is an element of trying to hide it from the baby. We didn’t want him to see the bottle hanging from my neck and thus a visual cue for him to eat. I personally struggled with getting his supplement the righ temperature if it had been in the fridge. Most of the time I didn’t time the preparation time before a feeding well enough to get it warm, so obviously there was a noticeable temperature difference when using a cold pumped breast milk supplement. When using formula, the challenge wasn’t the temperature but the noticeable taste difference. One comic relief throughout this whole process, was the look on my son’s face when we gave him formula. It was almost like giving a lemon to a baby, but not, perhaps as intense. I used his noticeable preference for the taste of breastmilk to fuel my determination to continue to breastfeed. Let’s face it, up to this point, breastfeeding had been a challenge – and I didn’t expect. Feedings took twice as long because not only would I nurse him, then give a bottle (Thank God for my wonderful husband), but then I would pump as well. I also realized that all the switching frustrated my son. All he wanted was to eat. Although, he preferred the breast, (something I was thankful for because many babies turn to preferring the bottle due to the ease of the flow) but this did not fill his tummy, so we’d remove him from the breast and switch to the bottle. SNS did help to streamline the supplementing process.

Another challenge, which is comical to write about in hindsight, was that the tubes can easily be pulled to “open the gate” if you will. So a squirming baby, or a move to switch from one side to another, often resulted in a mess. Once the gate is opened, stuff is coming through it until it’s closed again.

I remember one night I tried to use SNS during a feeding and I was so tired, and my son was very hungry as he always is for his mid-night feeding. I couldn’t find the cord that allowed the bottle to hang from my neck. I had taken it off to clean. So I carefully propped the bottle on my chest. The struggle was I couldn’t move fast enough. I would get him latched, then try to release the tube, and since he wasn’t getting anything, he’d unlatch himself. Of course, he did this about the same time I released the tube, which caused milk to go everywhere. As you can imagine this became a vicious circle. One that resulted in my son screaming in frustration, me in tears, and my husband bottle feeding him.

All things considered, for my son and me, it was a help. The flow was there which kept my son interested since he still wasn’t capable of transferring milk effectively. At the same time, the suckling of my little one helped maintain my supply. He wasn’t frustrated and we were on the right path towards exclusively breastfeeding.

I stopped using SNS once my son realized this whole feeding thing would go a lot fasted if he just sucked on the tube and his latch went to pot.

After this, we were on the right track to more breastfeeding. We were down to half the formula we had started with and supplemented with 4 bottle feedings (8-12 oz) a day, each one after time at the breast. Then I would pump.

Speech Pathologist

The plain and simple truth was my son wasn’t holding up his end of the deal. Successful breastfeeding takes two and he wasn’t extracting the milk he needed. He fell asleep on the breast after less than five minutes and never initiated a letdown. He lacked vigor and I had no clue how to teach him that.

The LC recommended a speech pathologist, which upon her suggestion I though sounded absolutely absurd for an infant.

Well after I broke down and scheduled our appointment with the SP, and seen the improvement the exercises she gave us made in our son. I felt guilty for not calling her earlier. He had weak cheeks, a quivering, tired jaw, and a thin tongue. And although his tongue had good range of motion after releasing the tie, he wasn’t using it correctly.

The exercises she assigned us were easy, fast, and worth every penny we didn’t have. My son actually enjoyed the exercises and we saw a little improvement by the following week.

Increasing Milk Supply

My milk supply was suffering. My LC said she thought it had reached the glass ceiling. I have to admit I was devastated by her saying this. I wasn’t willing to believe all this hard work was for nothing. After some research, I decided I wanted to help my supply with domperidone, a prescription medication that has a side effect of increased lacatation, although this is not its original purpose. Before I got the medication, I realized throughout all the changes in routine and special systems we had used, I had forgotten some of the very basic things that aid breastfeeding efforts.

I cannot emphasize the importance of doing due diligence and researching on your own. Heeding the advice of others is a good practice, however, in those early weeks especially, my husband and I felt lost. Finally, we agreed, it was time to take back our parenting. What this meant for us was taking all advice with a grain of salt, figuring out what options we truly had, looking at our end goal, and weighing that against the progress and health of our son. We still took all the advice given to us, but we put our own thought into it and made it work for us.

In my research, I read an article on Kelly Mom about increasing supply. See article here. http://kellymom.com/hot-topics/low-supply/ This was what helped me remember the breastfeeding basics.

Two of these things were increased time at the breast and lots of skin to skin. So when my son was 10 weeks old, I took a nursing Staycation and did just that. I relaxed and stopped stressing about my supply (stress is a worst enemy when it comes to increasing milk supply) and I relaxed.  I didn’t worry about if he was getting enough and just kept him on the breast as much as possible and if he needed a supplement to top him off, so be it.

Throughout this process I began to pray much more specifically. I asked God to please bless our breastfeeding effort. I prayed for my son to get enough from the breast. I pleaded, “Lord, you said just as we desire to give our children good gifts, so you desire to give us good gifts. The best food I can offer my son is what you designed my body to give him. My husband and I have done all we know to do and have been advised to do. We thank you for the knowledgeable people you have surrounded us with. We thank you for the growth we have seen in our son. Thank you for our son. I ask you, Father to please let my son get enough at the breast. Please give me an over abundance so we can be certain he’s getting enough. Our desire is to exclusively breastfeed our son but we can’t do it without you. Please give him this good gift.”

I believe giving it up to God and going back to basics was the most helpful thing we did. My son had a growth spurt/frequency feeding during this time of our nursing Staycation and my body responded well to it. I was thrilled!

We kept reducing the frequency and volume of the supplements we were giving my son. One day, his dependency on them had decreased to the point where I was pumping enough that we were able to stop giving him formula.

By week 12, my son was getting 100% breast milk, with only a morning and an evening bottle. One day we realized he didn’t need them anymore.

My son does still take a bottle almost every morning. I have never been a morning person. After getting up all through the night with our little boy, my ability to be more human than zombie hangs by a thread. My loving husband, whom God blessed with morning humanness, gets up with my son about 5 or 6 each morning and gives him thus feeding while Mommy takes a nap.

My husband and I give God the glory for this success story. At the end of the day, sometimes you just have to “let go and let God”, which is what I should have been doing in the first place.

At 3 months, my son is still exclusively breastfed. With a lot of prayer, a lot support, perseverance, and some more prayer, it can be done!

“I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13

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[recentanimenews]

Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise is an Outstanding Open-World Oasis

IN THE YEAR 199X, a boy is with his parents at a tiny mom-and-pop video store in Okinawa called American Video, off on his own trying to find something to watch. He finds a tape, part of Streamline's "Video Comics" line of dubbed anime releases titled Fist of the North Star, and carefully covers the "Not for Kids!" sticker with his thumb when he shows it to his parents, who are fine with him watching Dragon Ball Z on Japanese TV, so more fighting anime men is perfectly fine. Thank you, parents--25 years later, that boy appreciates you being lax that one time.

  The glorious violence that followed hit me right in the soul, adding a new love to my young life, one that's stayed with me ever since. I don't gush about my love for Fist of the North Star as much as, say, Dragon Ball or Giant Robo or Berserk or Gintama, but it's always there for me in some form... except in the realm of video games, for some reason.

  Last Battle, a US-released Fist of the North Star Genesis game that removed the blood, changed everybody's names, and featured hilarious, nonsensical dialogue

  Fist of the North Star is a franchise that's never been lacking in video game adaptations. From the very first PC adventure in 1986 to a whole list of side-scrolling actioners (one of which was released in the US as Last Battle) to those amazing arcade games with the punch pads to an (amazingly broken) ArcSys fighter all the way to Koei Tecmo's brutal large-scale brawlers, gamers have wasted more wasteland mooks than Kenshiro himself ever did. And to be completely fair, there's a reason fans don't talk about too many of them: with a few rare exceptions, they're not all that awesome.

  So please, trust me when I say that Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise is the first Fist of the North Star game to really get it right.

  Finishing moves are (appropriately) accompanied by these sick-ass title cards and Kenshiro shouting the attack name

  Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise is the happy product of Sega's ongoing success with its Yakuza franchise, and just how perfectly Kenshiro and the gang fit into a very similar video game mold. I mean, look: a stoic-yet-honorable man must navigate a series of betrayals and revelations, all in the name of protecting their loved ones and cherished ideals, and all while getting into a series of spectacular one-against-many fistfights culminating in an emotionally-charged shirtless duel. Pretty damn spot-on, right?

  Aside from perfectly lining up with Yakuza in terms of storytelling and overall feeling, Lost Paradise matches its gameplay as well: after a short on-rails introduction, Kenshiro wanders the wasteland and discovers the city Eden, which is besieged by game-original villain and Immortan Joe impersonator Kyo-Oh, the King of Fear, and his vast and vicious armies of wasteland killers. At the same time, Kenshiro has to battle the evils within Eden, and discover the city's secrets... and retell the rest of Fist of the North Star in the process.

    Rather than just dump this game's entire original story between episodes 22 and 23, Lost Paradise simply picks up with Kenshiro facing Shin in their destined duel, and then adapts large chunks of Kenshiro's adventures to fit this tale. Rei and his glorious mullet still think Kenshiro kidnapped his sister, Jagi is still a poser piece of garbage, Rihaku is still the biggest Yuria fanboy on what's left of Earth, and Raoh is still the ideal all Shonen Jump villains aspire to. To further tie Lost Paradise to Yakuza, you'll hear a lot of familiar voice actors on the Japanese audio track: Kenshiro is played by an even more deadpan Takaya Kuroda (Kiryu), Raoh is given life by Masami Iwasaki (Ryuji Goda), Rin doesn't sing but still has that Rie Kugimiya (Haruka) adorableness, and many more as a satisfying nod to Yakuza fans.

  The blasted-out, nuclear-bombed, oceans-dried-up world of Fist of the North Star isn't nearly as colorful or lively as Yakuza's, so there isn't much to look at, but the game does quite a bit to still make Eden feel like home. You'll spend most of your time running around Eden talking to different characters, receiving quests and substories, and eventually getting a buggy to drive around the wasteland and discover new locations to meet interesting people, hit their pressure points, and explode them from within.

  Beautiful

  Regular random battles are a big part of the Yakuza series, and despite how much I hate them in, say, JRPGs, I've never really been bothered by them in Yakuza because there's something truly satisfying about smashing some goon's head against a railing for daring to bother you while you're running around town trying to do something more important. Lost Paradise does much the same thing, with the same dozen or so types of post-apocalyptic troublemakers in Mad Max gear trying to start some shit, and then getting immediately turned into a fine red mist. When you start the game, Kenshiro's Hokuto Shinken feels more limited than Kiryu's techniques, but that quickly opens up as you buy and learn more techniques--there is no question as to whether or not you're going to win against these nobodies, so you're encouraged to finish them off as spectacularly and quickly as possible, with experience bonuses given out for particularly flashy or precise kills.

  Yes, you can make a cocktail called "You're Already Drunk"

  It's not all doom, gloom, and boom, though: Lost Paradise's world shows us a softer, funnier side of Kenshiro by putting him in ridiculous situations and letting him stay exactly as stoic and deadpan as he always is through a huge list of side quests and minigames. An accupressure rhythm game, post-apocalyptic baseball where you line-drive bikers with an I-beam, playing hide-and-seek with kids, fighting in the arena, bouncing and managing a hostess club, working in a grocery store, upgrading your buggy with Bat, and becoming the wasteland's best bartender aren't even the full list of distractions available from the main plot. Like I've said before, none of these time-wasters feel like wasted time--you get experience for all of them, and they all serve to make Kenshiro and the people around him that much more endearing.

    Lost Paradise, unfortunately, is not quite paradise on all fronts: the constant random battles would be fine if you could just tear through them, but you'll hit regular snags with large enemies who simply exist to soak up damage, and the battle system just isn't flexible enough to give you ways around this aside from just hammering them until they stagger. Character models and animation feel stiff, especially for small everyday actions like walking up and down stairs, and driving the buggy is something I just want to do as little as possible. No joke, Mass Effect's Mako controls better than this thing. Additionally, Fist of the North Star's story has never been particularly complex, but that was to its benefit--a few late-game reveals and a final villain switcheroo feel kind of weak, and take away from the built-up emotion (and a tradition of perfect final battles in the Yakuza series).

    Even with a few frustrations showing up now and then, I could not stop playing Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise. Popping bad guys like zits is addicting, spending time with Kenshiro's friends even more so. Lost Paradise is so much more than a post-apocalyptic palette swap--just as you spend entire Yakuza games becoming the Dragon of Dojima, now you too can become the Savior of the Century's End. And maybe a little more than that, too: Lost Paradise adds some dimension to the otherwise stone-faced Kenshiro, and maybe this is what this legend needed to get (even) more people to love him.

  REVIEW ROUNDUP

+ Fully-realized Fist of the North Star experience: sound, visuals, rhythm of combat, hot-blooded energy

+ Satisfying battle system requires creativity, forethought, and efficiency to truly fight like Kenshiro

+ Wealth of minigames and side quests never feel like filler because they're just that damn good

+ Shoutouts and callbacks for Fist of the North Star and Yakuza fans alike

+/- Explore a larger map with the buggy, but the buggy is also just not fun to drive

+/- Character models look so close to Buronson's art, but this also makes their animations kinda wonky

- I legitimately don't feel any connection toward the game's original characters

- Hidenari Ugaki (Majima) deserves so much better than playing Jagi

-----

Nate Ming is the Features Editor for Crunchyroll News and creator of the long-running Fanart Friday column. You can follow him on Twitter at @NateMing.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[recentanimenews]

Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise is an Outstanding Open-World Oasis

IN THE YEAR 199X, a boy is with his parents at a tiny mom-and-pop video store in Okinawa called American Video, off on his own trying to find something to watch. He finds a tape, part of Streamline's "Video Comics" line of dubbed anime releases titled Fist of the North Star, and carefully covers the "Not for Kids!" sticker with his thumb when he shows it to his parents, who are fine with him watching Dragon Ball Z on Japanese TV, so more fighting anime men is perfectly fine. Thank you, parents--25 years later, that boy appreciates you being lax that one time.

  The glorious violence that followed hit me right in the soul, adding a new love to my young life, one that's stayed with me ever since. I don't gush about my love for Fist of the North Star as much as, say, Dragon Ball or Giant Robo or Berserk or Gintama, but it's always there for me in some form... except in the realm of video games, for some reason.

  Last Battle, a US-released Fist of the North Star Genesis game that removed the blood, changed everybody's names, and featured hilarious, nonsensical dialogue

  Fist of the North Star is a franchise that's never been lacking in video game adaptations. From the very first PC adventure in 1986 to a whole list of side-scrolling actioners (one of which was released in the US as Last Battle) to those amazing arcade games with the punch pads to an (amazingly broken) ArcSys fighter all the way to Koei Tecmo's brutal large-scale brawlers, gamers have wasted more wasteland mooks than Kenshiro himself ever did. And to be completely fair, there's a reason fans don't talk about too many of them: with a few rare exceptions, they're not all that awesome.

  So please, trust me when I say that Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise is the first Fist of the North Star game to really get it right.

  Finishing moves are (appropriately) accompanied by these sick-ass title cards and Kenshiro shouting the attack name

  Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise is the happy product of Sega's ongoing success with its Yakuza franchise, and just how perfectly Kenshiro and the gang fit into a very similar video game mold. I mean, look: a stoic-yet-honorable man must navigate a series of betrayals and revelations, all in the name of protecting their loved ones and cherished ideals, and all while getting into a series of spectacular one-against-many fistfights culminating in an emotionally-charged shirtless duel. Pretty damn spot-on, right?

  Aside from perfectly lining up with Yakuza in terms of storytelling and overall feeling, Lost Paradise matches its gameplay as well: after a short on-rails introduction, Kenshiro wanders the wasteland and discovers the city Eden, which is besieged by game-original villain and Immortan Joe impersonator Kyo-Oh, the King of Fear, and his vast and vicious armies of wasteland killers. At the same time, Kenshiro has to battle the evils within Eden, and discover the city's secrets... and retell the rest of Fist of the North Star in the process.

    Rather than just dump this game's entire original story between episodes 22 and 23, Lost Paradise simply picks up with Kenshiro facing Shin in their destined duel, and then adapts large chunks of Kenshiro's adventures to fit this tale. Rei and his glorious mullet still think Kenshiro kidnapped his sister, Jagi is still a poser piece of garbage, Rihaku is still the biggest Yuria fanboy on what's left of Earth, and Raoh is still the ideal all Shonen Jump villains aspire to. To further tie Lost Paradise to Yakuza, you'll hear a lot of familiar voice actors on the Japanese audio track: Kenshiro is played by an even more deadpan Takaya Kuroda (Kiryu), Raoh is given life by Masami Iwasaki (Ryuji Goda), Rin doesn't sing but still has that Rie Kugimiya (Haruka) adorableness, and many more as a satisfying nod to Yakuza fans.

  The blasted-out, nuclear-bombed, oceans-dried-up world of Fist of the North Star isn't nearly as colorful or lively as Yakuza's, so there isn't much to look at, but the game does quite a bit to still make Eden feel like home. You'll spend most of your time running around Eden talking to different characters, receiving quests and substories, and eventually getting a buggy to drive around the wasteland and discover new locations to meet interesting people, hit their pressure points, and explode them from within.

  Beautiful

  Regular random battles are a big part of the Yakuza series, and despite how much I hate them in, say, JRPGs, I've never really been bothered by them in Yakuza because there's something truly satisfying about smashing some goon's head against a railing for daring to bother you while you're running around town trying to do something more important. Lost Paradise does much the same thing, with the same dozen or so types of post-apocalyptic troublemakers in Mad Max gear trying to start some shit, and then getting immediately turned into a fine red mist. When you start the game, Kenshiro's Hokuto Shinken feels more limited than Kiryu's techniques, but that quickly opens up as you buy and learn more techniques--there is no question as to whether or not you're going to win against these nobodies, so you're encouraged to finish them off as spectacularly and quickly as possible, with experience bonuses given out for particularly flashy or precise kills.

  Yes, you can make a cocktail called "You're Already Drunk"

  It's not all doom, gloom, and boom, though: Lost Paradise's world shows us a softer, funnier side of Kenshiro by putting him in ridiculous situations and letting him stay exactly as stoic and deadpan as he always is through a huge list of side quests and minigames. An accupressure rhythm game, post-apocalyptic baseball where you line-drive bikers with an I-beam, playing hide-and-seek with kids, fighting in the arena, bouncing and managing a hostess club, working in a grocery store, upgrading your buggy with Bat, and becoming the wasteland's best bartender aren't even the full list of distractions available from the main plot. Like I've said before, none of these time-wasters feel like wasted time--you get experience for all of them, and they all serve to make Kenshiro and the people around him that much more endearing.

    Lost Paradise, unfortunately, is not quite paradise on all fronts: the constant random battles would be fine if you could just tear through them, but you'll hit regular snags with large enemies who simply exist to soak up damage, and the battle system just isn't flexible enough to give you ways around this aside from just hammering them until they stagger. Character models and animation feel stiff, especially for small everyday actions like walking up and down stairs, and driving the buggy is something I just want to do as little as possible. No joke, Mass Effect's Mako controls better than this thing. Additionally, Fist of the North Star's story has never been particularly complex, but that was to its benefit--a few late-game reveals and a final villain switcheroo feel kind of weak, and take away from the built-up emotion (and a tradition of perfect final battles in the Yakuza series).

    Even with a few frustrations showing up now and then, I could not stop playing Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise. Popping bad guys like zits is addicting, spending time with Kenshiro's friends even more so. Lost Paradise is so much more than a post-apocalyptic palette swap--just as you spend entire Yakuza games becoming the Dragon of Dojima, now you too can become the Savior of the Century's End. And maybe a little more than that, too: Lost Paradise adds some dimension to the otherwise stone-faced Kenshiro, and maybe this is what this legend needed to get (even) more people to love him.

  REVIEW ROUNDUP

+ Fully-realized Fist of the North Star experience: sound, visuals, rhythm of combat, hot-blooded energy

+ Satisfying battle system requires creativity, forethought, and efficiency to truly fight like Kenshiro

+ Wealth of minigames and side quests never feel like filler because they're just that damn good

+ Shoutouts and callbacks for Fist of the North Star and Yakuza fans alike

+/- Explore a larger map with the buggy, but the buggy is also just not fun to drive

+/- Character models look so close to Buronson's art, but this also makes their animations kinda wonky

- I legitimately don't feel any connection toward the game's original characters

- Hidenari Ugaki (Majima) deserves so much better than playing Jagi

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Nate Ming is the Features Editor for Crunchyroll News and creator of the long-running Fanart Friday column. You can follow him on Twitter at @NateMing.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com