#we also had shadow dance and whatever the episode is where all the girls form their own group

[scarletwitchpanels]

as a child me and my sister had taped a couple episodes of xmen: evolution on vhs bc it was our all time favorite show and I specifically remember watching the hex factor and the toad, the witch, & the wardrobe over and over again… the Wanda obsession began early

[takaraphoenix]

Yeah, I also wish they had done more with Dawn. I like her, sometimes I even love her, but there isn’t anything particularly revolutionary about her character, and sometimes I get the vibe that she was often used more as a plot device. However, it was nice that they began fleshing her out more in season seven.

There was so much they could have done with her!

A sub-plot of her trying to form her own "Scoobies", like including her HAVING FRIENDS???, and maybe getting in danger with that? As a way to rebel and prove that she's just as special as Buffy, or whatever.

Instead, they had her do the most overused and cringey cliche teen girl things - writing angry diary entries, stealing for attention, cutting (for one episode). It's just... And none of these really panned out.

If writing diary and voice-over narration from her had become a more recurring thing, not even all the time, but had we gotten her POV on more things that happened? That would have been interesting.

The stealing thing? She got a slap on the wrist. But we never actually... got to the bottom of it, like there was a reason she started stealing but we never really got to the emotional sit down and talk through.

Even the Halfrek thing. It's all just about Dawn Angsting Teenily. But it lacks the emotional pay-off. And that's kind of even more of a let down considering how other plotlines with pain and suffering do usually get an emotional pay-off.

She only starts making friends in season 7. I mean, we do get that one episode where she makes out with a vampire before that (I don't remember what episode/season that was rn) and that! That was genuinely interesting. I wish they hadn't basically dropped that after one episode. Show me that friend of hers as a semi-recurring character, show me Dawn talking to a friend, having her own dynamics outside the Scoobies.

Season 7 Dawn is my favorite because we do get more of that; she does try to make friends, she gets involved with the Potentials too. The excitement of when she thought she might have been a Potential too.

But before that? She was... more a plot-device dressed up as a teen than an actual character? They only glued the most basic cliches onto her and didn't care to flesh her out more, the way they did with other characters in early seasons. Cliches are cliches for a reason; because there is a kennel of truth to most. But you don't have to pile all of the cliches onto one character and you can't just rely on cliches to build a characterization; the important thing is to flesh the character out more and build upon the cliches. Which BtVS failed in Dawn's case, in my opinion.

I made a post once, about the missed opportunity of Michelle knowing how to ice-skate and Buffy being a confirmed ice-skate fan. Michelle can dance too, as we saw in Once More, With Feeling. If they had used the actress' abilities to further the character, that would have worked too. Give Dawn a hobby, something to do that is her own. Ice-skating. Ballet. Something, anything.

Or even have her try out various things - a bit like how Buffy tried out jobs for one episode in a speed-run. Have her try to get into old books and read a lot to connect with Giles, have her try magic to connect with Tara more, have her try to learn programming to connect with Willow more. Instead of just superficially say that she is struggling with her identity because her sister is the Slayer and she's in her sister's shadow, actually show me more of Dawn shadowing Buffy, either by intentionally trying to mimic Buffy or by actively trying to do the opposite of what Buffy does to stand out and differentiate herself from Buffy more.

The idea of a Slayer's non-powered sister is interesting. It has potential. But that potential went largely untapped and that's a shame.

I mean, heck, the fact that she isn't a human being should have really had more of an impact. We spend all of season 6 on Buffy's grief about the loss of her life. But in an abstract way, Dawn lost her life too - because nothing about her life was real, she didn't exist until a couple months ago, all her memories are fake, everything about her was written to fit into Buffy's narrative to make the Slayer protect the Key. I genuinely wish we would have seen Dawn struggle more with this existential crisis, but after making her cut herself for one episode, we kind of... moved on from that fast. And especially if we spend this much time and care on "Buffy died and came back", I do think we should have seen more of an emotional impact of that.

I also wish we would have seen more of Dawn's thoughts on Hank. We literally have absolutely nothing about her dynamic with Hank Summers, he never appeared after Dawn was retconned into existence. We have one (1) phone-call about how he wasn't coming. And while, in general, I much appreciate and enjoy the way Hank is just an absent father who doesn't give a damn and we don't focus on him, I would like to know what Dawn's dynamic with him was supposed to be like. Because Hank abandoning Buffy, the weird freak daughter who fights vampires and had to be send to a mental hospital and was just too much trouble to stick around with (like. that is literally canon), how did he justify abandoning Dawn so fully and how did Dawn, who is much younger than Buffy, deal with that, especially after the deaths of both Joyce and Buffy? She has a father, he is alive, but... he doesn't care enough to come visit. We have absolutely no insight into how Dawn's relationship with Hank pre-moving-to-Sunnydale was supposed to be or how Dawn feels about him in the now.

I loved how the comic continuation gave Dawn actual powers! That was an interesting twist and it would have been cool to see that happen in the show too; Dawn being able to create portals, her getting to feel more like she could actively contribute to the Slayage.

Wow, so that turned out longer than anticipated, huh. It's just, I don't hate Dawn, I find the way she is written very annoying and I am immensely frustrated with just how much potential this character had and how unused that potential went. There is so much that I would have liked to see about her, but the writers mostly used her to be an Angsty TeenTM to annoy Buffy/push Buffy into more of a maternal role. Instead of using Dawn as her own character and writing her that way, the writers kept using her as a plot-device to drive other characters' narratives - Buffy, Tara/Willow (letting them be maternal and Dawn having an active role in furthering their relationship), even Spike's redemption builds a lot upon the trust put in him when it comes to caring for Dawn. But Dawn's own narrative is lost along the way.

[wintervvidow]

apricity pt. five

apricity- the warmth of the sun in winter

warnings: angst, violence

pairing: bucky barnes x female oc

word count: 3,556

A/N: yes, I did purposely reuse the flashback sequence lol enjoy! feedback is welcome! 💕

MASTERLIST

The air held a palpable tension, red lights reflecting off of the walls and casting red-hued shadows. Florence’s footfalls were quiet, stepping with precision and purpose. Steve and Sam stalked behind her, their eyes ghosting over the path of bodies the Winter Soldier left in their path. 

Florence was trained for this: the moments of chaos. She knew how to disappear, how to take out any threat without a trace. She knew the art of managing her emotions, how to go cold like a switch. Yet all of the training that was beaten into her flew out of the window the second the lights went out. Bucky was her number one priority. She was scared, terrified of what awaited her, her heart hammering in her chest as she ran down the dimly lit halls. 

The self-proclaimed therapist laid on the floor in front of Florence, anger swimming in her eyes at the sight of him. She grabbed him by his collar, hauling him against the wall with force, face inches away from his, a snarl on her lips, “What do you want?” 

“To see an empire fall.” 

Florence shoved the man against the wall harder, hands tightening in the fabric of his shirt, opening her mouth to speak again. Movement behind her made her turn, seeing Bucky throw Sam down the hall. Steve threw a punch to his ribcage, the soldier barely feeling it and throwing his own. As Bucky stalked him like a wolf hunting its prey, Steve jerked backward, a dangerous look in his eyes. Florence looked down the hall at Bucky and Steve, watching as Bucky threw Steve down an open elevator shaft. She bolted to Sam, her fingers meeting his neck, making sure he was alive before she took off running up the stairs after Bucky. 

She found him in the open seating area of the building, fighting off Sharon’s flurry of attacks.  He took the blonde down easily, tossing her head over heels into a table, splintering off. Florence threw a punch to his abdomen, Bucky doubling over before moving to tackle her. She used their height difference as an advantage, moving behind his outstretched arm and flipping over him onto his shoulders, thighs around his neck. Her elbow struck his head repeatedly as he tried to throw her off to no avail. Bucky stumbled forward, his hands grasping her waist and throwing her onto a nearby table. 

Bucky's metal hand found Florence's throat in an instant. The Winter Soldier showed no mercy, squeezing his hand tighter and tighter. Florence felt her face heat up, her blood vessels threatening to burst if the soldier continued to apply pressure. She writhed in his grasp looking up at him with pleading eyes, black dots dancing across her field of vision. Tears stung her eyes, her throat burning from the crushing weight of his hand, feeling her windpipe constrict as she rasped out the only words she could muster up, "You could at least recognize me." 

Florence wanted him to look at her. She wanted him to look at her as Bucky, but also as the Winter Soldier. The soldier was looking at her, her legs wrapping around his neck, not giving him any way to not look at her, but he wasn't seeing her. Not in the way Florence needed, otherwise he was going to kill her. 

In the clutches of HYDRA, Florence was the only one that could calm the soldier down when he would have a panic attack or had an episode of anger brought on by the confusion, brainwashing, and torture of their captures. Even in the moments when Bucky was the farthest thing from himself and became the dark machine HYDRA created, he immediately softened at Florence. He would stop whatever he was doing, whether it be loosening his grasp around an agent's throat or dropping his aimed weapon, his eyes would soften and he would become putty, only made to be molded by Florence. Even in the moments where Bucky’s attack was set on her, metal and flesh hands clutched around her throat, a flash of recognition would always wash over his face and immediately let go, falling to his knees at her feet in forgiveness. 

HYDRA caught on very quickly about the Soldier's fondness of the redhead and used that to their advantage; always looking for a way to control. If only they had learned of the relationship the two assassins had before the war and before Florence slipped away into the winter night.

Bucky wasn't seeing what he was really doing to her. He was causing her the most imaginable pain, and in turn, hurting himself. She needed him to see her, really truly see her. She needed him to see her as Bucky, the love of her life and not the machine he was made out to be, otherwise, this was all for nothing. 

The Soldier's hand left Florence’s throat, being thrown off her by the Black Panther. Florence gulped in air, her throat burning in pain, her windpipe bruised from the weight of Bucky’s grasp. She laid on the table she had been thrown on by Bucky, taking a minute to collect herself and her breath, gasping for air as tears unwillingly fell down her face and into her hairline. Years of emotions threatened to spill, the dam threatening to burst completely. She couldn't do this. 

Florence could barely handle the constant up and down of adrenaline anymore, every day was a gamble whether something was going to go wrong or not. Lately, every day had been hell, each passing minute worse than the last. She needed a minute to breathe. 

By the time Florence had made it to her feet without falling over, both the soldier and the king had disappeared up the staircase. Florence bounded up the stairs two at a time, a loud commotion outside accelerating her heart rate. Her hand threw the door open, bouncing back against its hinges. She rushes out of the building, eyes locking on Steve who had an iron grip on the helicopter Bucky was attempting to take flight in from the helipad.

Before she could move, Bucky slams the chopper into the helipad, Steve flipping and dodging the attack narrowly.  Florence ran towards the scene, hand reaching for Steve’s bicep to help him up as Bucky’s metal hand flew through the windshield and grabbed Steve’s throat. The girl pries at Bucky’s hand around Steve’s throat to no avail, the helicopter tipping further and further over the edge towards the water below. Feet skid against the concrete as Florence and Steve were continuing to be pulled. Bucky’s grip remained on Steve, Florence trying her best to do anything to get him to let go, her hand going from the metal to reaching into the glass towards the brunette, flesh hand finding her outstretched one easily. 

Florence squeezed the flesh tightly in her hand as they continued their slow descent towards the edge, her voice betraying her by cracking, “Bucky, please. Let go, we’re trying to help.” Her pleas fell on deaf ears as she was yanked forward by Bucky, her body colliding with Steve as the helicopter finally tipped over. The trio dived into the icy water at the same time, Florence’s vision blurring and fading at the impact.

The redhead was vaguely aware of the arm around her waist and the warm body next to her. Steve secured both Florence and Bucky in his grasp, pulling them out of the frigid water. Her legs kicked helplessly in the water, failing to ease Steve’s rescue swim. Once they made it to dry land, Florence coughed up the water in her lungs, eyes trained on Bucky’s unconscious body on the ground. Neither of the two friends spoke, too preoccupied with moving Bucky to a secure location. 

Along with Sam, Steve and Florence secured Bucky in an abandoned warehouse, metal arm braced between heavy machinery. The redhead’s eyes never strayed away from Bucky’s unconscious form for long, wanting to make sure he was okay. Bucky groaned as he came too, eyelashes fluttering against his cheeks as his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of the old building. Sam called for Steve behind Florence, wanting to have a second super soldier in case Bucky remained the Winter Soldier.

Bucky peered at his arm between the vice and then settled his gaze on Florence who stood mere feet away in front of him, shifting her weight from one foot to another. Steve jogged to where the others were, eyes darting to the man in the chair, eyebrows furrowed. 

Bucky groaned as he sat up further, “Steve.”

“Which Bucky am I talking to?” 

Florence whipped her head to the blonde standing next to her, hand coming up and swatting him on the shoulder, “Steve!”

Bucky made no reaction, instead, he gazed vacantly ahead before he spoke again, “Your mom’s name was Sarah. You used to wear newspapers in your shoes.” Bucky chuckled fondly at the newfound memory. 

Steve smiled softly, his lips barely turning up, “You can’t read that in a museum.”

Bucky looked from the ground to Florence, eyes softening as he took her concerned features in, “Your mom was Anya, dad was Viktor. We used to have dinner every Sunday. And you were my best girl.” 

Her face broke out in a pained smile. If Steve hadn't been standing next to her, Florence would have been on the ground. Waves of memories washed over her and threatened to pull her in, each one more grueling than the last; happiness, dances in the moonlight at 2 a.m.-, their bare feet barely gliding across the kitchen floor. All throughout time, he called her his best girl. Then there were the darker ones, them huddled together on the chilled floor of a HYDRA cell, using each other for warmth as they whispered memories of their past to one another. Always his best girl. 

The memories were fleeting, Sam scoffing behind her, “Just like that, we’re supposed to be cool?” Florence turned her head curtly, glaring at Sam. He didn’t know. 

The smile fell, Bucky grimacing, “What did I do?”

“Enough.” Florence’s voice was barely above a whisper when she spoke, she was still drowning in the past, fighting for air before the current took her under, dragging her by her ankle.  

“Oh, God,” Bucky squeezed his eyes shut and dropped his head, greasy hair hanging around his face and shielding his eyes, “I knew this would happen. Everything HYDRA put inside me is still there. All he had to do was say the goddamn words.”

Steve spoke, “Who was he?”

Bucky shook his head, “I don’t know.” 

Steve continued to pile on the hurt, “People are dead. The bombing, the setup, the doctor did all that just to get 10 minutes with you. I need you to do better than ‘I don’t know’.” It was Steve’s turn to be glared at by Florence, her ferocity to protect Bucky knew no bounds, even if Bucky deserved whatever it was Florence was trying to shield him from. 

Bucky took a moment to think, his words tumbling out before he spoke clearly, “He wanted to know about Siberia. Where I- we were kept.” Florence’s heart dropped at Bucky’s correction from singular to plural. Siberia. No fond memories were made in that place, Florence shuttered at the thought of remembering being kept there with Bucky. She listened closely as Bucky further explained, “He wanted to know exactly where.”

Steve wasted no time to ask questions, his invisible clock was ticking, “Why would he need to know that?”

Bucky met Steve’s gaze, “Because I’m not the only Winter Soldier.”

The December air was cold as it blew through Florence’s hair, her arms circling Bucky’s waist as they rode down the dark road on Bucky’s motorcycle. The soldier steered with one arm, free hand coming down to rub circles on the redhead’s calf as they pulled behind a cluster of trees, hiding them from onlookers as they waited. The pair of assassins were unthawed and reset only hours ago, immediately given their latest mission.

Florence remembered the screaming. Without fail, HYDRA always made her watch Bucky be reprogrammed, his screams echoed in her brain even days after it would happen. That night was no different, even the cold air from the motorcycle speeding down the road did nothing to numb the pain she felt.

A car came into view, red tail lights illuminating the air around them. Bucky flipped the bike’s headlight on and pulled onto the road again. The soldier revved the bike, catching up to the side of the vehicle as Florence sunk her butterfly knife into the tire, causing the car to swerve off the road and crash into a building.

Florence’s choice of close contact weapon had always been a butterfly knife; Bucky had taught her for hours on end in the Red Room how to use it. There had been a few training mishaps, an accidental slice to Bucky’s rib cage that sent Florence into a fit of fear, her past nursing skills coming to light, her fingers working quickly to bandage the wound all while Bucky merely peered down at her nervous hands with a smile. That had been the first moment the Winter Soldier and the Winter Widow were not the machines they were training to be in the Red Room, they were Bucky and Florence. They just didn’t know it at the time. 

Bucky parked the bike ahead of the crash, Florence stepping off the bike, Bucky behind her, and approaching the car. She flipped open the trunk to reveal a large silver briefcase, opening it to see five bags of blue liquid; exactly what they were looking for.

Bucky briefly explained the use of the liquid, HYDRA used the serum to experiment and create more super-soldiers; better ones. Bucky’s handler and head of the Winter Soldier Program, Karpov, made sure of it. 

Steve stood with his arms crossed over his chest, “Who were they?”

“Their most elite death squad. More kills than anyone in HYDRA history. And that was before the serum.”

Sam leaned against a beam, looking to Bucky, “They all turn out like you?” 

Bucky lifted his head, eyes hollow, “Worse.”

Steve spoke, “The doctor, could he control them?”

“Enough.” Bucky’s head fell.

Florence took a small step forward, lessening the gap slightly between herself and Bucky, “He said he wanted to see an empire fall.”’

Bucky lifted his head again, “With these guys, he could do it. They speak 30 languages, can hide in plain sight, infiltrate, assassinate, destabilize. They can take a whole country down in one night, you’d never see them coming.”

Sam steps up to Steve, nodding at Florence to join before he began speaking, “This would have been a lot easier a week ago.”

“If we call Tony-”

Florence cut Steve off, “No.”

Sam shook his head, “He won’t believe us.” 

Steve shrugged, looking to Sam, “Even if he did-”

Sam interrupted, “Who knows if the Accords would let him help.”

“We’re on our own.”

Sam thought in silence before looking between Florence and Steve, “Maybe not. I know a guy.” 

A few phone calls and a handful of hours later, the quartet was packed into a small car, parked under an overpass. Steve stepped out of the car to greet Sharon, another favor that was called in, retrieving their gear. Sam sat in the passenger seat in silence, while Florence was huddled into the driver’s backseat, knee unwillingly brushing Bucky’s much larger frame. 

Bucky had a scowl on his face, whether it was from the seating arrangement or the situation they had found themselves in, Florence didn’t know. Bucky stared ahead at the back of Sam’s head, “Can you move your seat up?”

Sam snapped back monotonously, “No.”

Bucky shifted slightly towards the middle of the seat, further invading Florence’s space. Although she wasn’t complaining, she hadn’t been this close to him in decades.

The trio looks on in a mixture of shock and proudness as they watch Steve and Sharon share a kiss, Steve sauntering back to the car with a smug smile with gear in hand. 

A cramped car ride later, they arrived at the airport, Steve’s choice of car rattled and squeaked through the parking garage. They parked next to a van that contained Sam’s favor that was called in. Clint and Wanda stepped out of the van as Florence squeezed out of the car behind Steve. 

Sam stepped up next to Steve, conversing with Clint and Wanda, Florence staying by the car with Bucky. They watched as Clint slid the van door open, a highly caffeinated Scott Lang appeared.

Steve stood with his arms crossed, “They tell you what we’re up against?”

Scott shrugged, “Something about psycho-assassins?”

“We’re outside the law on this one. So if you come with us, you’re a wanted man.” Steve was giving Scott his last way out, not wanting him to be involved with something he didn’t want to be.

Scott merely raised an eyebrow, “Yeah, well, what else is new?”

Beside Florence, Bucky spoke as he leaned against the car, “We should get moving.”

Clint spoke, “We got a chopper lined up.” 

Speakers began to blare overhead in German, Florence translating in her head as Bucky translated for the others, “They’re evacuating the airport.”

Sam looked to Steve, “Stark.”

“Stark!” Scott looked at Steve with his eyebrows raised.

A frown etched itself on Steve’s face, “Suit up.”

Later, the team took their places around the airport with their gear on. Florence was with Sam and Bucky, watching through the terminal windows as Steve and Tony talked amongst themselves along with Natasha with Rhodey.

Florence shifted uncomfortably, standing between Sam and Bucky. She was nervous for what was about to happen, antsy to get Bucky out of here. She knew he was a wanted man, both by the government, T’Challa, and now by Tony. She didn’t want to have to fight her friends, but for Bucky, she would do anything. 

Sam was busy using Redwing to find their Quinjet, Bucky standing in silence. Neither Florence nor Bucky have had an opportunity to have a proper conversation, too busy not getting captured or killed.  

Chaos ensued below, various Avengers fighting amongst themselves. Florence took off with Bucky and Sam running through the hanger. Spider-Man appeared on the window, Bucky turning in confusion as he ran, “What the hell is that?” 

Sam groaned, strides falling behind slightly, “Everyone's got a gimmick now.”

The spider swung through the window, breaking it as he kicked Sam. Bucky and Florence halted, turning to the attacker. Bucky threw a punch, the spider’s red-gloved hand catching it with ease. Both Bucky and Florence stared in horror at how was able to easily stop Bucky’s punch.

“You have a metal arm? That is awesome dude.” The spider was taken down by Sam, grabbing him and flying up with him. Bucky and Florence resumed running, watching as Sam dropped the kid as he webbed himself up. Bucky threw a beam at the spider, trying to knock him down. He and Florence took cover, weighing their options of escape. Spider-Man throws the object back at Bucky, Florence yanking the man away from the crash. 

They take off running again, Sam temporarily distracting the attacker. The distraction is short-lived, Sam being webbed down to the balcony railing. Bucky and Florence run across towards Sam, the spider crashing into both of them and sent them crashing through the glass railing to the floor level below. Florence, Sam, and Bucky land with a thud, the spider quick to web their hands to the floor with no chance of escaping the unusual restraints. 

The spider sat on top of a kiosk, looking down on them, “Guys, look, I’d love to keep this up, but I’ve only got one job here today, and I gotta  impress Mr. Stark, so, I’m really sorry.” Sam managed to tap a button on his suit, Redwing appearing and dragging the spider through the air and through the window.

Bucky groaned, “You couldn’t have done that earlier?”

Sam snarked back, “I hate you.” 

Between the two men, Florence could only laugh. The situation wasn’t funny, but if she didn’t laugh, she’d cry and her training made crying a weakness. Neither Sam nor Bucky commented on the redheads' theatrics, only looking at her oddly. Bucky couldn’t help the minuscule smile he had as he watched her laugh.

They eventually freed themselves from the webs, jumping to their feet and outside to join Steve, along with Wanda, Scott, and Clint. The group ran toward the jet as fast as they could, impending doom settled itself in Florence’s chest as she ran between Bucky and Sam. 

Vision hovered overhead, casting a line of heat in front of the running group, causing them to come to a halt.

Vision remains in the air, speaking, “Captain Rogers. I know you believe what you’re doing is right.” Tony and Natasha joined below him, “But for the collective good, you must surrender now.” Black Panther, Rhodey, and Spider-Man join, all standing together across from them, divided.

Both groups faced off against one another, Sam breaking the tension, “What do we do, Cap?”

Steve took a breath, “We fight.”  

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed, please reblog!

Tag list: @tanyaherondale​ @lilyviolets​ @jckie94​ @badgernix​ @geek-and-proud @ginger-swag-rapunzel

[originalwinnercheesecake]

First Impressions and predictions based on the coven Leaders

After a full first season their fame adorning the banners and walls, who they are being hailed, yet they themselves being kept in the shadows we now get first looks (and throughout 2a will meet) the emperors top dogs: The coven leaders. I will not lie as a group... these guys dissappoint me. Making the majority of them very human in appearance for me is a big no. Compare this group to the many colorful and fantastical creatures that are shown teaching at hexside and the hexside teachers are far more creative, unique, and fun. Maybe the artists decided to make the coven leaders look more like normal people so the audience would have an easier time understanding their expressions and body language. Maybe the more humanoid whitches are a higher class and have a easier time climbing higher than the more beast and demon like residence.? We will have to wait and see. 

Seperate this group into individuals (like how we will hopefully meet them) and most of them become far more interesting, So below lets take a look at each coven leader individually, where the artists may have taken inspriation, and what  What kind of characters they could maybe turn out to be.

The Beast keeping coven Leader: One of the only two that are not humanoids. What type of animal is he? At first I was sure he was a hedgehog, but maybe he could also be like a chipmunk or a squirrel. I get the feeling he might be partially inspired by Sonic from Sega. I was really into Sonic back in middle school. I liked the cartoons and read through the archie’s old comic series. But I kinda out grew him since then. I know from helping to take care of kids though that he is still popular with the younger generation. That’s kinda how I thin the Beast Keeping Coven leader will be: less interesting for older viewers, but a real fun charcter for kids.

The Healing coven leader: Now this guy looks like fun villain all around. Is some kind of witch docotor? a Dark Priest? The size the purple Grin, he looks like the phantom boss from those horror films where you get trapped in nightmares. Tell me he has scary theme song music and talks in a very high pitched voice. I’ve heard some people wonder if he could be Selena (oracle girl from hexside)’s dad. I don’t thinks so, the macaroni crescent shape n his head looks more like a fancy cowl than part of his actual head. Also him having a daughter in Luz’s class could be used as a reason for him to change sides, I want this guy to stay as a villian/antagonist. We all know that with this size group some will stay with the emperor and some will defect to Luz’s side (possibility a couple will die, we haven’t seen yet just how dark Dana is willing to go). Personally my view with redemption arcs and if a character “deserves them” is it depends on what it will do for the story/character afterwards? IF redeeming them opens more doors for the characters and directions the story can take, do it. IF it closes doors leave them as they are. I absolutely hate when clever and well written bad guys get “redeemed” in to boring, plot useless, weebs. The only reason I could see having this guy change sides is for him to “cure” Eda and Lilith’s curse, and I would much rather see the two of them gain control over their forms than be “cured” of them.

The Illusion coven leader: Another fun looking antagonist. My third favorite of these nine. If the healer guy is horror movie based. This guy is Disney based all around. Looks like one of those Vegas suave showmen styled character. Love it. I guarantee you he does not actually look that young or slicked back, but is using illusion magic to make himself more pretty. Not sure if he will stay with the emperor or not. Illusion is Gus’s track and I could see Dana having the leaders of Luz’s friends tracks be the ones to stand by them. If so I am fine with that (in the case of the abomination leader I will beg for it). Gaining the respect of someone as high up as a coven leader could be really great for Gus’s character. Just as long as I get plenty of laughs from Gus and this guy both along the way.

The Potion coven leader: My second favorite and in my opinion the most creative idea of the whole bunch. A mosquito that works in potions! Does he suck them up with his nose and carry them in.. whatever it is mosquitos store blood in. Also he looks angry. Like everyone else is either amused or board. This guy is fed up and ready to do something about it. Not sure if it is the Emperor, the other leaders, or the owl gang he is mad at, but it should be a worthwhile show down.

The Abomination coven leader: Yes this is my favorite design. Yes it is because he is such a beautiful man. Would never have expected someone who creates mucks (the pokemon) with legs would be so fine. Its more than that though. He looks the most kind. Their is no malice or guise in his smile and his green eyes are bright and relaxed. I wondered what the purpose of the Abomination track was and why it had “more opportunity” all last season. Well slight spoilers if you haven’t seen episode 2x02 it is the industrialist field. When you learn about Industrialization usually the idea is that it is done to help the human race reach its full potential, and it is up to each individual to decide what to do with that potential. Whether you call that the passion of a creative mind or the carelessness of a fool would also be up to you. But I really don’t want this guy to be all bad. If for no other reason that more spoilers for episode 2 * with the interest/caution the emperor is showing the blights I expect this guy to show up to their house, probably meet Amity, and we really do not need another not so nice adult in her life. She has had enough.

The Oracle coven leader: What is this? He’s got nails/caws at the ends of dread thingys like Kikimore, so is this her father? Does he have anything to do with her being in the Emporor’s coven? But this is my least favorite. Like what was the inspiration behind this guy? With so many legendary oracles in mythology and we get this guy who mostly looks saggy, washed out, tierd, and just Blah. Hope thier is more to him, but here is one who I am not holding my breath for an episode on.

The Plant coven leader: based on her banner I was expecting something like the Swamp Giant from ALTA. Instead they went in the direction of a very traditional witch desgine: An old women with a wrinkled face and really messy hair, who probably lives alone in the woods, with maybe the exception of a cat, and dances around a fire at night. Okay. She is definitely going to become an ally of the owl gang. This is the only female of the group,and it is neither in Dana’s message nor would it be popular with her target audience to make a villain or even an antagonist out of a women who managed to climb the later into a male dominated success level. I am actually looking forward to seeing her, because it will probably be in a Willow based episode, and after 2x02 (which I personally feel should not have been a luminaty episode but rather a Willow and Amity one finishing up their reconciliation arc), Willow deserves an episode with potential centered around her. An episode where she goes against the Plant track Leader would be that. This witches Grin isn’t exactly friendly, but its more mischievous than wicked. She gives off vibes as one of those people who like to test the mains, and if you pass her tests than you earn her respect. I have no doubt Willow could win at her little games, and doing so would be a huge boost the confidence she has spent the show building.

The Construction coven leader: Oh joy here’s the other one I am unimpressed with. Unlike with the Oracle guy I know where they got his design. To everyone saying that we first saw him at the convention, your not backing far enough up. If you have ever seen any cartoon ever where the main character wanders past or onto a construction sight you have seen this man. Every trio of workers sitting on a iron frame eating from a lunchbox. Every pig that makes a catcall at a disgusted women. Every exhausted worker who watches as your slapstick mains chase each other past at quitting time... they all looked EXACTLY like this guy. This is really the character leading the track Dana herself has said she would pick to join? They could have done a Golem made of brick an stone that resembles a palace. They could have done some kind of humanoid ant with super strength. They could have done a wizard with shapes and mathematics on his robe who carried a scroll everywhere that he compulsively scribbled blueprints onto. But instead we get Mr. Generic here.

The Bard coven Leader: This is R, Eda’s old friend from her hexside days. Did I save R for last because of this connection? Partially. I am also unsure what R’s pronouns are. To me R looks physically male. I have seen other posters use “she” when posting about R. One person posted that Dana had confirmed R uses “they” and if so awesome, I would really like to see that tweet. What ever R’s pronouns though their appearance in the show will be tied with Eda, er past, and what she had to give up in order to live free. I look forward to this new insight onto her character

[jonthethinker]

So those Cobalt Soul scenes, amirite?

I’ll admit at first I was just thrilled that there was a powerful institution that owned up fully to the wrongs committed by its operators; that in and of itself is an exceptionally rare and wonderful thing, that I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing more of especially in the real world.

But what really weighed on my heart is how Beau handled these moments. Because if the Beau we met well over a hundred episodes ago had these moments, or even the Beau we knew forty episodes ago, I can imagine things going very differently indeed.

The Beau we met at the beginning of this story was like a beautiful vase that had been shattered into a dozen or so deadly sharp pieces ready to bloody any hand that dare try to piece it back together again. You could see the potential from the outset. The more time we spent with her the clearer it became this was a person with so much promise. It was also clear that there was so much deep hurt there; A self-destructive impulse, that if left to its own devices, would seek to destroy all beauty she lacked the confidence to claim as part of herself.

Her talents, broad and impressive though they were, were just gifts, from all the figures in her life that had stripped her of her agency and set her on the path she walked. How could she ever take credit for any of her talents if they had all been decided and cultivated for her, without her consent? How could the little engine that could bear any pride when it was just rolling across the tracks placed in front of it?

So she took pride in all the things she did get to decide. Her lying, her brawling, her bluntness and meanness, her various one night stands and grand talents at avoiding genuine intimacy; these things were her armor. They protected her from being weak. From being just another victim. Just another hopeless and scared little girl seemingly born with a broken heart. She preferred to be hated than pitied.

So that Beau, getting told all this by the Cobalt Soul would have been a disaster. She’d have never agreed to work under Dairon. She probably would have blown them off, if she didn’t just explode on them. It took this whole journey with the Nein, from Molly’s unfortunate death, to Yasha being taken, to the Nein pulling her back in after her encounter with the Hag.  Every little moment of her increasing devotion to the group and all the little painful discoveries of how to be devout to it in a healthy way. That is what allowed her to stand in front of Yudala Fon and actually take in what was being said to her.

It makes me think for whatever reason of “Plato’s Cave”: There are people chained to the wall of a cave; There is a fire behind them, casting shadows onto the wall they are facing; This is their entire notion of reality; The shadows they see dancing in front of their eyes; They have no notion of the shapes that form those shadows, their varied hues and textures; They must think in only two dimensions, where in Truth, there are many more.

This is Plato’s argument for the importance of philosophy, of what would become the tools of scientific discovery, that only through them do we realize the limitations of our own perceptions and assumptions and thus become capable of surpassing them. But in this more emotional context, I’d say it’s an argument for human connection, that we learn how to navigate the numerous and terrifying challenges of daily life by forming meaningful bonds with other people, and it’s through these bonds that we can begin to conceptualize ourselves as something more than just the shadows of ourselves we see cast in our own minds, shaped by the combined fires our own worst experiences.

We get to enjoy the full brunt of those moments in the Cobalt Soul because of the tremendous amount of work Beau has put into becoming better, work only made possible by her hard-fought connection to her new family, and the stable exercise of loving and being loved, and you can catch me screaming about it everyday of the week.

[shan2-d2]

As the garbage fire year of 2020 continues, I have been struggling to find something to fill the Schitt’s-Creek-sized hole in my heart.

Which, come to think of it, replaced the Parks-and-Rec-sized hole in my heart prior to that.  I’ve always been a sucker for “soft” television, but with everything going on the world, whatever tolerance I had for heavier fare has disappeared completely.  Like, yeah, I’d love to catch I May Destroy You or I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, but I just. Can’t. Handle. Them. Right now, anyway.  

I do have some old standards to fall back on-- Bob’s Burgers, The Good Place, The Great British Baking Show, and Kim’s Convenience (bless you, Canada) work just fine.  But with so much time at home, I’ve been getting antsy for new, soft, comforting content.

Then I watched Julie and the Phantoms on Netflix.

And I loved it SO. MUCH. 

(Warning, since this is a family-friendly show: profanity ahead.)

Which, I have to admit, I’m kind of embarrassed about.  Like, look: I fully own up to the fact that my tastes aren’t exactly refined or mature.  I’m one of those contemptible “childless millennials”, after all.  There are things on my Netflix and Spotify lists that would make film buffs and hipsters cry.

But what I will give myself a pat on the back for is that I’m extremely open-minded when it comes to any sort of art consumption.  My tastes are super-varied, and I don’t have the burden of worrying about what is “socially acceptable” for me to watch.  I can watch Barry and Fleabag just as happily as I can watch Sarah & Duck (literally, a show for preschoolers that works better than any anti-anxiety medication I’ve tried) and old episodes of Tiny Toon Adventures.

Regardless, there’s embarrassment. Which is not about the fact that it’s a cheesy, High-School-Musical-esque, pre-teen friendly series, actually (... okay, maybe a little), but because the aging freakout is real, my friends.  Hitting the “Oh-My-God, I’d-Have-To-Play-the-PARENT” period of your life is fucking rough.  

Basically, in the words of Roger Murtaugh... I’m too old for this shit.

But I’m trying to tell myself that 1) Generation Z is delightful and I refuse to feel guilt for appreciating them, 2) god knows we’re all watching Stranger Things without embarrassment, and those kids are, like, twelve, and 3) now that I’m apparently ANCIENT, I’m supposed to stop caring about what other people think.

So: Julie and the Phantoms made my heart grow three sizes and I loved it a whole lot.

Quick synopsis: Julie, our hero, is a performing arts school student who is grieving the death of her mom and unable to continue making/playing music because of it.  One day, three ghosts of teenage boys who were in a mid-90’s rock band show up in her garage.  They form a new band (insert title of show here) and help Julie rediscover her love of music, while she helps them navigate the afterlife.  Bonding occurs, lessons are learned, the power of friendship is discovered, you get the idea.

And okay-- at its surface, it’s family-friendly entertainment, you know? Cute story, funny moments, the music is catchy, the whole cast is super talented (and, hey, can actually play their instruments! Whaddaya know!).

But the CHARACTERS!  THE SOFTNESS! THE REPRESENTATION!  If this is how young adults are going to written from now on, sign me the fuck up.

First of all, the two female leads of the show are women of color-- Julie (Madison Reyes) is Latinx and her best friend, Flynn (Jadah Marie), is Black.  That alone is (sadly, STILL) noteworthy, but I literally wanted to stand on my couch and yell about how wonderfully self-assured, smart, mature, strong, and competent these girls are.  Julie, in particular, is just… she’s just so cool, you guys. She never once has to rely on anyone else but herself to get shit done, and she takes responsibility for her own actions.  The girl very clearly knows her talent, capabilities, and worth, and PHEW, do we need to see more young women like her on our screens!  Like, yes, the boys support her, but they’re complete equals.  Julie doesn’t need any male saviors up in this business. She’s got this.  I LOVE HER. I SOMEHOW WANT TO BE HER WHEN I GROW UP, EVEN THOUGH SHE’S LIKE HALF MY AGE (oh GOD. I’m so OLD).

In fact, throughout the series, the importance of honesty, respect, and healthy support is repeatedly emphasized.  There’s no dependency issues here, and lying of any kind is clearly forbidden.  Which I loved, because the whole “teen lying to everyone” storyline has been done to death.

Then there’s the three boys of Sunset Curve-- Luke (Charlie Gillespie), Alex (Owen Joyner), and Reggie (Jeremy Shada), i.e. the messengers of destruction for toxic masculinity.  THIS IS THE MALE FRIENDSHIP PORTRAYAL WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR, PEOPLE.  They’re so nice to each other! They’re so supportive! They’re tactile, openly emotional, and completely devoid of judgment of any interests or behaviors that don’t follow male social standards.  Bless the Age of the Soft Boys, may their reign be unbreakable and everlasting.

Oh, and Alex is openly gay.  It’s not just hinted at-- he’s out and proud, with an adorable crush/pre-relationship with a skater boy named Willie (Booboo Stewart).  And, apart from a quick mention about Alex’s parents being homophobic, the show pretty much takes the Schitt’s Creek route-- all love and acceptance, with not much of a thing made of his sexuality at all (in fact, there’s enough evidence that none of the boys are completely straight, and I’m here for that, too).

And if all of that isn’t enough of a cuddle to the heart for you, THERE’S MORE:

Julie’s supportive, soft dad

Reggie’s immediate, one-sided bond with Julie’s supportive, soft dad and her brother

Julie and Luke totally have crushes on each other and it’s SO SWEET but completely age-appropriate, good job guys

I’m a sucker for good harmonies and the band HAS ‘EM IN SPADES

Flynn being HBIC the entire series

Julie’s crush Nick being very realistically awkward and dopey in the shadow of Luke’s arms (Nick, dude, lose that HAT, I beg of you)

A surprisingly moving side-plot/song about Luke’s parents

Alex just wanting to dance, and also being a high-key feminist and calling out the others when they slip up

EVERYONE’S JUST SO FUCKING NICE, OKAY

So yeah. Shut up. It’s wonderful and pure, and I WILL TAKE ANY SOFTNESS I CAN GET IN THIS HELL YEAR, WHEREVER I CAN GET IT.

In conclusion, Kenny Ortega can have my entire soul if he wants it, for not only this but also Hocus Pocus and Newsies.

Completely Unnecessary Afterword:

Being old enough to remember 1995-- and, specifically, what was popular that year-- has brought up some important questions regarding the Sunset Curve boys:

We know they died in ‘95, but like… when? Did they get to see Empire Records, for Christ’s sake?! Did they see Casper, because, I mean, they’re basically the Devon Sawas of 2020?  Were they spared their contemporaries’ fate of constantly over-quoting Billy Madison and Tommy Boy?  

OH MY GOD, DID THEY HAVE AOL SCREEN NAMES, AND WHAT WERE THEY??

What are each of the guys’ favorite song off of Boyz II Men’s “II”? This is possibly the MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION.

Did they die before Jagged Little Pill came out?  That would kind of break my heart.  Not that I expect Julie to start portraying Alanis-levels of anger/angst, but ‘95 was a YEAR for women in rock.  Garbage, Hole, No Doubt, PJ Harvey, The Cranberries, Veruca Salt, Bjork, and countless others-- they all had massive hits that year.  I love the idea of Julie and the guys sitting around the garage listening to all of those women for inspiration.  Can we have a resurgence of female-led rock bands taking over the charts, please?

On a much more serious note, given where the AIDS crisis was in ‘95, it’s no wonder Alex is a nervous wreck. It’s not really something I expect the show to delve into, but man… getting transported to 2020 might’ve been a bit of a blessing (not that things are great now, but y’know, medical progress).

How in the world did none of them fall victim to the whole “white boys dressing hip-hop” trend back in ‘95? I mean… Clueless got it right. (Wait, did they make it to Clueless??)

[swiftlythebest]

In Defense of Lake Meriwether

All right, strap in folks, we’re discussing an unpopular opinion! Lake Meriwether is not a bad character and she goes through some realistic growth. Additionally, she and Felix are shown good development and I ship it. Yikes, lots of unpopular opinions in so few sentences. 

Sidenote before I delve into everything: there is certainly a danger in media made for children and young adults being looked at through the lens of someone not in that target audience. I am 26, meaning the way I’m going to consume media differs from that of a teenager, especially considering that we’re apparently in different generations (which is weird, but that’s a whole other story). All of that is to say that I am an adult talking about a piece of media made for teenagers by older adults. It’s complicated, and I am in no way claiming that what I have to say is universally correct.

This whole whatever it is ended up being really long, so I’ll put it under a cut. Also, I know a lot of people probably won’t want to read it.

Sense of Identity

First of all, let’s keep in mind that Lake is 15/16. I have no idea how old people reading this post are, but if you’re older than 16, and out of high school, try to remember how you were at that age. Your brain hasn’t fully developed and much of your sense of self comes from interactions with your family and peers, not so much the world at large. That’s certainly altered by the widespread reach of social media, but someone that age is still navigating identity and their place in the world with limited experience. We can’t expect a girl who has grown up in a privileged bubble to be a bastion of morality. We can’t hold her to the same standard we would a full-fledged adult. She acts like a typical 15/16 year old who is insecure and trying to hide it while living in the shadow of her best friend. 

And hey, it’s true, Lake is primarily known as Mia’s best friend. Mia is described by Felix as the hottest girl in their grade and loved by everyone. Mia has the affection of the cute new boy, as well as the popular jock that Lake initially likes. I’m glad they don’t fall into the trap of making that friendship toxic and unbalanced, which is so often the case. I think within their friendship, they are very much equals who love and value each other. But to the public, Mia is more liked than Lake, and she is definitely at least somewhat aware of that. Lake is not Summer Roberts or Lydia Martin in the sense that she is not viewed as a highly desired person in the same way those other two characters are; she is viewed that way by the nerdy love interest, but not the student population as a whole. There are definitely parallels to be made with Summer and Lydia (Summer especially when you consider the intense similarities between Lake’s speech about public couples being scrutinized and Summer’s incredibly similar speech to Seth in Season 1), but that’s not one of them.

Lake’s mom sucks. It’s clear that Lake has grown up in a household where her every move was judged and she was made to see more flaws in herself than she had. Think about how that must have affected her psyche and pressured her into believing that who she was to the public was what truly mattered. That’s ingrained in her. We see that almost immediately with her being obsessed with Creek Secrets and trying to make herself more appealing to Andrew at the party. I’m not sure she knows who she actually is, just who she’s been molded to be. She wants approval and in the beginning, it’s clear she really only gets that from Mia and Felix, albeit, the latter is from afar.

Importance of Friendship

Once she and Mia begin to hang out with Victor and Felix, she begins to shift. We do see it even before when she confronts Andrew at the Battle of the Bands, showing us that she at least in some way knows her worth, but I’m not sure how much at that point. Victor and Felix add a new dynamic to her friendship with Mia and give her more people to genuinely think she’s great and make that known to her. While she’s still clearly insecure, we can see that start to chip away. When she impresses them with her excuses, something she’s likely only done to Mia so far, you can see how their approval makes her light up. And Felix’s compliment is quite possibly the first step towards her developing feelings for him.

DJ F Bomb on the Track

So we’ve now arrived to the Felix of it all. I want to say that I absolutely love Felix. I think he’s funny and sweet and a great friend; he was my favorite right off the bat and that opinion was only reinforced as the series progressed. Our first introduction to Felix is outside of whatever image he has at school and with his peers. We are told about his status as an outcast by him a few scenes after we’ve gotten to know him, so we already have formed our opinion of him beyond his public image. We know he’s quirky and anxious, but it comes across as endearing; the audience doesn’t know that his unique personality is not the main thing working against him. To Lake, and a vast majority of his peers, he’s Lonestone, an awkward and weird boy who doesn’t fit in and has a truly unfortunate nickname and reputation. We don’t have five years of taunting to affect how we view him. The audience view of Felix versus his peers’ view is important to distinguish when talking about why Lake is so hesitant.

Felix initially comes on too strong. He recognizes that in Episode 7 and, with the help of Pilar, he learns to back off a bit. The angler fish speech is sweet, but was I the only one a little put off by how obsessive it sounded? He’s saying someone should sacrifice everything for the one they love, which is a lovely sentiment in a fairytale, but a bit much when you’re 16. His growth isn’t as explicit as hers, but he still does have to soften his approach in order to really make it work.  And I want to be clear that while Felix is definitely a better person than Lake, I’d caution to say he’s a better character, in the sense of complexity and growth. I like him more, as I think pretty much everyone does, but Lake is a layered character with logical development, which shouldn’t be overlooked because you may not like her as a person. 

It’s supposed to be Felix for her. We as an audience, as well as Felix, know it when she says the same thing he said about DJs in episode 3. She catches on a couple of episodes later after they steal the cake, but she’s clearly in denial. Lake likes Felix. And she seems to like him more and more as the season progresses. But he doesn’t fit into that perfect image she has spent so long cultivating and trying to maintain, so she’s having to come to terms with that throughout their relationship. When she shoots him down for the dance after seeing his apartment, you know she doesn’t want to. It’s clearly killing her to say it, but she’s not there yet. And Felix knows his worth so he ends it, which also clearly kills her.

She told him upfront that no one could know, and she repeats it a lot. He can walk away if he’s not comfortable with that, and we do see him almost do that in episode 8, until she tells Mia. He’s right to want to revisit that part of their relationship around the dance, and especially after baring his soul to her at his apartment. He’s right to break it off when, after such an emotional afternoon for them, she still won’t be seen with him. He’s right to accept an invitation from another girl. His reaction is completely valid. 

She doesn’t expect to be jealous at the dance because she thinks it’s the natural progression of things. Kieran is the kind of boy she always saw herself with: a popular jock. And then he’s boring. He talks about working out and fantasy football and it’s boring. She can’t be herself with him. Then there’s Felix, at the dance with another girl who seems to make much more sense paired with him. He’s wearing a goofy ruffled shirt and joking about the smell of his hair and telling Lake he just wants her to be happy. I think she needed to see that what she thought she wanted she actually didn’t, and also that the boy she liked genuinely cared about her as a person, not just an object of desire. He makes her happy, something I’m not sure she had fully admitted to herself until that moment. And yeah, the big public declaration of love is a huge cliche and overdone and all that, but it works so very well in visual media.

Conclusion?

Look, all of this mess is to say that Lake is not a bad person, nor is she a bad character. We all latched onto Felix pretty quickly, so naturally, our standards for him were going to be sky-high. But in a show of tropes, this relationship was obvious from the start. Lake felt authentic, like a scared teenage girl navigating her self-esteem, public image, overbearing mother, and falling for someone unexpected all at the same time. She grows and develops, learning to go for what truly makes her happy, not what she thinks should make her happy. 

TL;DR: Lake is a complex, realistic portrayal of an insecure teenage girl with an overbearing mother, who spends a lot of time in her best friend’s shadow. She’s in denial of her true feelings for Felix for a while, going so far as to sabotage something she knows is good and right in order to continue to feel secure. By the last episode, she has grown and learned enough to understand her own autonomy when it comes to her happiness. We should all cut her a little bit of slack and let the immature 16-year-old be immature and 16, while learning how to be just a bit more mature.

[keepyourpantsongohan]

Ayesha Liveblogs Cardcaptor Sakura S1

For faithfulness reasons, I’ll forgo rewatching in English even though I’m Jared 19 and never learned how to read 

I will say the original English dub had a BANGER of a theme song and I do miss that

"I’m a Fourth Grader at Tomoeda Elementary” I know I watched this like when I was age 7 or smth but SHE’S LIKE 10?? OH MY GOD who is letting this ten-year-old roam the streets

“I’m gonna stomp on him” [Lucille Bluth voice] good for her

I fully forgot Sakura had a dad I was ready to accept her Grade 11 brother raising her

Sakura’s roller blades give me visceral memories of my barbie skates

Lmao is Yuki’s ability to throw a piece of candy at a child from a moving bicycle backwards foreshadowing his superhero abilities

Okay having checked this scene in both English versions and Japanese, my opinion no one asked for: the Aminax version is bad voices on all counts, Japanese has a better voice for Toya and original English dub has a better voice for Sakura and Yukito (who they called Julian lmao) I am not accepting constructive criticism 

Tomoyo and Sakura sound so similar I could not even tell that Tomoyo was speaking omg

“There isn’t anything cuter or more interesting than you Sakura-chan” Tomoyo is really honest with her feelings I guess ten-year-olds be like that sometimes

“Is someone there” home invasions are what happens when you don’t lock your front door

This is not a study lmao this is a personal library there is hardly a workspace just aisles of shelves

Oh shit The Clow WIND RAIN SHADOW WOOD SWORD POWER THUNDER SLEEP CARD CAPTORS OF THE CLOW EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED NOW

Wait if this is hanging out in her dad’s study was her dad the last Cardcaptor lmao

Or probs her mom, since she’s gone the way of all anime moms

Sakura is accepting this whole “tiny magical flying lion” thing p well

“I accidentally fell asleep” “For how long” “30 years” same

“Stand right over there” Kerberos does not ask permission before magical girl transforming you lmao

“Why are you acting so wimpy” bc she’s 10 and you’re asking her to fight a giant ghost bird???

Honestly I love a good quest-to-collect-important-items maybe Inuyasha and DBZ ruined my taste but it’s a great formula 

“You’ll be a better adult if you have all sorts of experiences in your life” r u going to take career counselling advice from a tiny flying lion Sakura

I do kind of miss Kero’s slightly unhinged young man energy

I like that whenever Sakura’s brother is rude she steps on his foot or kicks him fkjhjgkh excellent little sister depiction

I was expecting more secrecy but it is very funny to see Tomoyo try to convince her friend to be a superhero

“Do a flashy one” kfhkjdhkj Kero supports the use of magic powers for showing off

“Trademark poses and skills are the basic parts of being a magical girl” oh my gooood

I mean if I walked into my school and there was a mountain of haphazard desks waiting there I too would be threatened 

Sakura is the only one in this group who has a reasonable understanding of what ten-year-olds should be allowed to do

LMAO @ Tomoyo’s team of bodyguards dropping her off to break into the school ONLY TO DRIVE AWAY

Tomoyo and Kero’s friendship is killing me the SHENANIGANS

I’m not sure I accept this light logic bc you need light to cast a shadow

Sakura’s “heart-racing first date” ur TEN oh my god

I mean it’s nice that Sakura wants to save the penguin but why did it take that for her to get upset it was going to drown a whole adult woman

Did Toya just RIP APART a WHIRLPOOL with his BARE HANDS

I wonder how Toya feels that his little sister has a crush on his boyfriend lmao

This cell phone is really top of the line for 1999 lmao I love it 

U know if I were a high school student and my friend asked my 10 year old sibling out to lunch instead of me I’d be confused

"They’re not even gonna hold hands? Kids these days” This is a VERY weird vibe for an episode

You know I guess if you never watch the second episode you never have context for all of these superhero outfits LMAO

None of these locations have security cameras I guess the 1990s was a lawless time

Will all of Yuki’s magical advice be delivered in the form of mysterious field trips

LMAO @ YUKITO ALWAYS TAKING SAKURA TO TOYA’S TEMP JOBS

Say what you will about the ominous influence of the other card, I think Wood is being fairly polite since it’s contorting around her house instead of destroying it lmao

“I was planning to film ‘Sakura Dances in the Jungle’ in the park today” I love Tomoyo 

Every little girl in this show sounds so similar lmao this is not good for my distracted watching style 

Wow Ms Maki is really unloading on these two fourth grade girls 

Since Tomoyo clearly interacts with even the more spirit-like Clow Cards I really have to wonder why no one else in this town is seeing these giant ghost monsters loom around the city

Well I guess this episode is a direct response to my previous comment 

“I can’t stand scary stories” says the girl who spends her nights going into isolated areas and fighting magical ghosts

Seeing Sakura activate her Fly card really gives me overwhelming nostalgia for the days I wanted nothing more than to be a Cardcaptor I used to wave around a toy broom like that magic key ahhhhhhhh

In the absence of the first English voice and with the added gentle Japanese intonation for his speaking, I am constantly forgetting that Yukito’s character is a 16-year-old boy 

Toya is really casually bomb-dropping the fact that he used to see ghosts and Yuki’s just like ‘dope are there ghosts around now’

Omg Kero’s sad face as he dropped the flower in Sakura’s lap 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

“I want to see if she wants to tell me something” like maybe ‘don’t run around town at night chasing ghosts ur 10!!!’ 

UHHHH AGAIN TOYA REAL CASUAL ABOUT THE GHOST THING 

Yukito Tsukishiro: Chronic Aid-er and Abet-er of Pre-teen Mischief 

Also if I’m right his name means something like “Ice White Moon?” Very heavy-handed foreshadowing lmao

“After we left, I went to the museum again and borrowed one” TOMOYO U CASED THE JOINT KJDHFKJHF

WHY IS EVERY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL KID IN THIS TOWN ABLE TO BREAK INTO THIS MUSEUM SO EASILY

Tomoyo is eerily well-prepared for this mission it’s like she has been planning to burgle a museum all her life

They really made an executive choice to have both a Yuuki and a Yuki that was a decision that someone made

Oh hey it’s the other pre-teen supehero!!! That guy!!

The more I think about it, the stranger the height difference between Sakura and her brother becomes bc compared to him she’s really like 2.5 feet tall they did not pick a proportion scale

U see this what I mean by gentle intonation, Syaoran somehow sounds older than Yuki simple by roughness of voice

YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH TOYA U DEFEND UR SISTER

“Here, a steamed pork bun” Yuki sure nows how to de-escalate lmao 

“That is made out of an insulator as well” Tomoyo is really prepared for any and every situation

It’s not fair of Li to compare what is probably years of magical training from his family to ‘trial by fire for eight weeks with a plush toy who doesn’t explain anything important until critical moments’

I’m really not sure what’s happening with Rika and the teacher but I DON’T LIKE IT

“I just want to be with you as long as possible” [cut to floral pattern] Tomoyo is aiming to supersede Yuki as Gentle Shojo Protagonist Sakura Fixates On looool

I’m sure there’s NOTHING significant about this familiar-looking sword brooch

Kero biting Li whenever whenever he says something rude to Sakura kghkjghk direct feminist action

What IS THIS business with Li running away flustered like that are pre-teen Cardcaptors ONLY allowed to have a crush on Yukito

“I guess I’ll have to beat him up once” Toya has zero qualms about fighting a ten-year-old

Two fourth graders giving Yukito chocolate while he peacefully hangs out with his boyfriend is the funniest version of executing this weirdness that could happen

What I’m really wondering is how the hell they cut out or explained away Li’s crush in the first English anime

“You were just a fledgling teacher and you married one of your [high school] students!!” u did WHAT what the FUCK MR. KINOMOTO I’m on Sonomi’s side

“Mother got married when she was 16″ MR. KINOMOTO CANCELLED! BANNED! THE HELL IS THIS!

“It was I who was granted time with Nadeshiko from her 16th to 27th birthdays” GO 2 JAIL DO NOT PASS GO 

This episode has added a lot of layers to this show none of which I like

“What kind of person was my dad” someone who should be banned from teaching

“Your father is a disgusting person” WELL

SONOMI I KNOW UR TRYING TO BE NICE BUT HE HAS AT LEAST ONE MAJOR FLAW

Lmao they’re not even giving context why Yuki is around anymore he’s just an accepted artifact of the Kinomoto household

How is that the Time card is Li’s but not Thunder since he also returned that one to its original form

“Their fastest confirmed speed is over 100km/h” Yamazaki leave Li alone he just wants to adore the sloths jhfkhgjhgkhg

Ahhhhhh Li helping Sakura get the Power card?? These motives are quite hard to read but it seems sweet

OMGGG @ TOMOYO MAKING SAKURA DEADLIFT A PLAYGROUND

“I heard a rumour that everyone who asked Kinomoto out has been denied.” Well. [x]

“It’s one of the seven strangest things at this school, that both Kinomoto and Tsukishiro don’t have girlfriends.” WELL. [x]

AWWWWW YUKI DOESN’T LEAVE THE OTHER PRE-TEEN FAN CLUB MEMBERS OUT OF HIS KIND GESTURES

[Hannibal Buress voice] I was so caught up in euphoria of festival arcs, that for like a minute I lived in a world where the rest of this anime didn’t exist 

TOYA BEING THE STAR OF DRAG CINDERELLA... OP UR MIND

I have no idea what the premise of the next Clow Card is but I really hope it’s “turn u into whatever ur acting as” bc I will LOSE my mind

I have not heard Yuki once intone as passionately as he did when he thought Toya was going to fall 

“You like someone else” 👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

“I didn’t promise anyone else a dance” Can I just say I LOVE TOYA?

The moment of stillness before Yukito revealed who he was asking to dance lmao... the repressed teenage wlw inside me LIVES

Yuki and Toya tag-teaming as the Sakura Support Team my heart!!

Geolocating someone from a fax... the incredible 90sness of this act....

I seriously don’t understand this world in which you leave 5- and 10-year-olds unattended for hours where are your child welfare laws

I am really choosing to ignore how absolutely bananas the concept of Tomoyo having a hidden Sakura Movie Theatre is

Speaking of weird, are we just trusting that this old man is normal? Is everyone doing that? I’m still not ready to trust yet the Sakura’s dad situation really burned me

“Girls look their best when they smile” a sweet thought that would not fly if an old man I just met told me that lmao

I’m REALLY not trusting this old man dressing up this girl in his dead (missing?) granddaughter’s clothes and staring broodily when she mentions there is a parent with her

“My great-granddaughter seemed happy” YOUR WHAT NOW 

Their school trips seem much more fun than ours were we never went to the beach or fishing or got disappeared briefly in a cave

It continues to be funny how Sakura and Li have 0% tension re: Clow Cards, 99% tension re: Yukito who is already in a committed Something or the Other with Sakura’s brother

“Why were you on the roof” “Because it’s nice out today” LOL YUKITO

There’s no rhyme or reason to these card types huh some are like “I will destroy an entire zoo for fun” and other ones are like “mood lighting :)”

Sakura really isn’t out here to teach us any lessons lol it’s really a ‘get others to do your homework if you can get away with it’ episode

Rounding out the triad of superpowered pre-teens with Meilin I suppose

“Syaoran is my fiance” I have had it up to HERE with this anime cousinfuckery I don’t CARE if it’s cool in Japan or Hong Kong or whatever STOP BEING WEIRD WITH YOUR COUSINS

Poor Syaoran he was doing so well with getting along with Sakura until Meilin got here

"It was done by a girl again?” Oh my god is Meilin beating up grown men in parks for street cred

“It seems our relationship chart has gotten rather complicated” Tomoyo probably means astrology chart but here’s my understanding so far:

Speaking of complex relationships I wonder how Meilin will react to Syaoran’s crush on Yuki

This rivalry between Sakura and Meilin could not be more one-sided

I really was wondering for a second if the card was going to split in half

I love the vibe of Sakura and Toya teaming up to help their creepy dad but even MORE SO I love that Yukito is In This Household

“The contents are already up here” This episode really doesn’t hit the same way now that cloud storage exists and also what were all those floppy disks for if not to save your work Mr. Kinomoto

I love that Tomoyo always pulls her weight in her superhero sidekick role like she is here to support and help whenever needed 

Sakura using her powers to impress her crush with a ghost duet lmao these priorities 

“Sakura’s Little Adventure” I see what u did there

Kero’s little shoulder pat with his paw to let Sakura know he’s there aw

Omg this Clow Card is so cute “Is it your fault I’m so small now?” [nods pleasantly]

It is very bold of Sakura to be doing magic so casually when her brother and Yuki are right downstairs 

I like that this show recognizes the inherent intimacy of allowing someone to cut your hair

“Information about you has gotten around to the cards” well this is an ominous start to this funky tarot reading

Well the experience of seeing his little sister try to murder him has got to be traumatizing for Toya I hope he doesn’t remember this

UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM DID TOYA JUST FALL OFF OF A CLIFF

“Can you give me a break... and stop looking like Sakura” EXCUSE ME

“My mom’s up there too, so say hi to her for me” OH MY GOOOOD TOYA REALLY DOES SEE GHOSTS AHHHHHHHHHHH

WAIT SO IT WAS A CLOW CARD DOES TOYA HAVE MAGICAL POWERS TOO

Omg @ Toya feeding Yuki from his bed this really is an intimate episode

I kind of appreciate the slow build of this show like it took them 25 episodes to introduce meaningful stakes

“But it might be tougher than the earth going ‘boom!’ Depending on who you are...” Well hello threatening figure in sunglasses standing outside Sakura’s house what’s up

“I’ll look the other way” Ms Mizuki is literally this meme:

I can only assume that if Toya knows Ms. Mizuki then she must be a ghost

Personally if Mizuki gives Syaoran the heebie jeebies I trust his instincts

“Um... do you like Yukito too?” Oh my goooood they’re sincerely discussing being Not Straight in middle school in this 90s anime that I watched when I was 7 I cannot believe

“And it’s been a year since you told me you loved me here” WHY DOES EVERYONE IN THIS FAMILY WANT TO DATE SOMEONE TOO OLD FOR THEM WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU DOING DATING SOMEONE TOYA’S AGE MIZUKI

Also I have to rethink every thought I had about Toya being gay. I mean bi is great too but my thoughts..... racing...........

“Because the next time I see you, you’ll have someone else that you’ll be in love with” Yukito BF confirmed but oh my GOD this relationship chart IS complicated good lord

If there’s anything the episode “Sakura and Her Shrine of Memories” has taught me it’s that everyone in this show is bisexual and all teachers in their neighbourhood should be in jail

I understand that Meilin is a kid but poor Syaoran he is constantly being harassed 

I love Yuki’s bottomless stomach lmao

Syaoran and Sakura have such a genuinely supportive relationship but it is very funny how they try simultaneously to get Yuki’s attention with the exact same words

“I’ve been thinking for a while that Mr. Terada is a lot like my dad” oh thank you Rika for someone finally being normal in this show

“Well it’s a harmless one” You see this is what I mean the dichotomy of Clow Cards is like... “I’m going trap you in a maze until you perish” or “I’m gonna give you a sugar rush :]”

I like that Sakura and Syaoran are starting to partner up as a duo on purpose like yessss I love a 1-2 finish and friendship development

Ahhh poor Syaoran he’s realizing that Yukito’s #1 in his life is the Kinomoto fam

We’re all familiar with the eternal struggle of whether using ur superpowers for school sports is cheating 

AWWW SYAORAN USING HIS POWERS FOR MAGICAL PEP TALKS AFTER HE HELPED TURN REI’S PET FOX INTO A POKEMON CARD THAT’S MY BOOOOY

“I will stomp on him” it’s been 31 episodes let Sakura stomp on her brother

Oh my GOOOD does this Big card mean that Sakura WILL FINALLY STOMP ON TOYA LMAO

Ur telling me that no one else in this ENTIRE TOWN notices this altercation of a giant preteen vs a dragon

Why does the logic for how voices travel based on size apply for the Little card (when Toya was speaking) and not for the Big card (when Sakura is speaking)

Sgskdhgkhkgjh honestly body switching as a trope will never not be funny

Syaoran blushing and running away from Sakura oh how the turn tables

Every domestic scene that Yuki and Toya have adds ten years to my life we love some gay/bi teens about to be gay/bi adults

Ffskhhfkj I absolutely cannot relate to this Southern Hemisphere nonsense of finding ten degrees celsius arctic cold like BRO that is a normal spring day here

“We’re not frozen because we have magical powers” I know that cutaway was to confirm Mizuki’s magical powers again but this would’ve been a hilarious time to reveal that like Yamazaki the Compulsively Lying Classmate had powers

Awwww he likes her now that’s cute 

“I got work that day” I will bet someone ten dollars that Toya is working at that quiz rally

Update from 5 minutes later: PAYPAL ME $10

Kero keeps whispering to the moon when in fact some iteration of the moon is right around the corner (literally)

GOOOOOOOOD SYAORAN REALIZING HE HAS A CRUSH ON BOTH HALVES OF THAT TEAM KILLS ME SWEET BOY

Shared Gaze of People Who Have Dated* Toya and Have Magical Powers They Haven’t Revealed Yet

*Go to jail Mizuki

I am really going crazy wondering when they’re gonna reveal stuff about Yukito like bitchhhhhhh I know you’re a moon man when will u tellll usss

How many more times will Sakura have this same threatening dream before she realizes her math teacher is probably going to try to kill her

Update from one minute later: I guess it was exactly one more time

“That’s right, Yukito’s birthday is on Christmas day” is this coming to be a coming of age where he like suddenly sprouts wings at age 17

I’ve been thinking this for a while but this show makes it seem like Japan has a much more fun approach to athletics than my school experiences

Yukito really is unflappable about hanging out with a bunch of kids half his height huh he’s like the Fourth Grader Whisperer

I KNEW IT YUKITO NEVER GOES WITH SAKURA ANYWHERE UNLESS HER BROTHER WILL ALSO BE WORKING THERE DFHKDFHKJ every time it’s just “Hey Toya :)”

“This kid...” HAHAH TOYA HAS JUST REALIZED THAT SYAORAN HAS A CRUSH ON HIS LITTLE SISTER AND HIS BOYFRIEND THE UTTER SUSPICION IN HIS TONE

“Wind become a binding chain” Whoops Sakura foiled by 4th grade knowledge of the elements

Oh shiiiit love a world-building moment now we have two card combos in play ayyyyy

Lmao @ Kero using his returned powers immediately for fireworks mood lighting is a serious Clow Card priority

“I would like to come again this year” everything in this show feels like foreshadowing for dramatic irony

[precuredaily]

Precure Day 119

Episode: Futari wa Precure Splash Star 21 - “Shine in the Night Sky! Starlight Friends” Date watched: 6 May 2019 Original air date: 2 July 2006 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/M57LaTA Project info and master list of posts: http://tinyurl.com/PCDabout

I think I’ll try defying gravity

No, you’re not reading the dates wrong, I DID watch this on Monday, I’ve just been very behind myself this week. Why? Exhaustion I guess. I watch an episode and screenshot it and maybe pick out a video clip, and then I upload all that to Imgur and Vimeo and get the screenshots in the right order because Imgur shuffles them around, and then I’m exhausted and don’t want to write about it that day anymore. I wanted to be through the Kiryuus’ arc by today. But whatever. As long as i can get 22 done by Tuesday.

So, Karehaan has rotted away, Moerumba burnt out, and Dorodoron crumbled to dirt. The Precures have recovered the fountains of Trees, Fire, and Earth so far. It’s Michiru and Kaoru’s turn now, and oh goodness the turmoil is palpable. They readily volunteer to defeat the cures, saying that they’ve been infiltrating the human world to figure out what makes them tick. Which is true, they just leave out the part where they’re internally struggling to not become attached to them. They vow to each other to do it and get it over with so they don’t have any lingering regrets, and with that vigor they arrive at school the next day. They walk straight towards Saki and Mai in a threatening manner but the heroines are nonplussed and instead invite them out to a stargazing party!

The sisters are so surprised they snap out of evil mode for a minute, but they regain their composure and Michiru agrees they should go. Kaoru is indifferent, but her sister reminds her later it’ll be a good chance to take them out. What they don’t realize is that Kenta, Hitomi, and Yuuko have also been invited, complicating affairs. Everybody sits around at Mai’s place talking for a while, Kenta is telling awful jokes, and even Michiru can’t hide her disinterest.

Mai realizes they must be cold, wearing only their uniforms on a chilly night, and offers them some blankets to wrap themselves in (this will be important later). They politely accept them but while everybody else gets caught up in looking at the stars through Mai’s father’s telescope, the two of them are clearly bored out of their minds and just want to end things. They almost have a chance when Saki and Mai go downstairs to get some food for the group, and they try to attack them from behind, but Mai’s mother interrupts. They think they were seen but she doesn’t say anything about them possibly attacking her daughter, so everybody returns upstairs.

Everybody talks some more about what celestial body they would be, which segues into Mai’s father showing off a piece of a meteorite he keeps in a display case. The sisters go back outside to think and talk some more. They reflect on various statements by Mai’s mother about everything dissolving eventually and wonder for a moment if they even need to do anything if time will do it for them, but ultimately they eschew their relationships, insisting that they’ve always worked fine together, just the two of them, and they don’t need anybody else, so they levitate into the sky and cause a blackout to spread around the area. They fly in front of the moon and Michiru reveals she has stolen the meteorite as she turns it into a shooting star uzainaa. The fairies tip off Saki and Mai that trouble is afoot and they run out to see the monster (but the Kiryuus are somewhat hiding). They transform and fight it, but its shooting star attacks cover a wide area and threaten to damage Mai’s home, so they move to get the uzainaa away. They speak passionately about how important their families and friends are and how they don’t want any harm to come to them from this monster attack, and they put particular emphasis on how glad they are that Michiru and Kaoru came out tonight, and despite being a bit socially awkward, they’re still precious friends to the Precures.

Kaoru and Michiru are taken aback that the girls are fighting on their behalf and don’t know how to react. Bloom and Egret continue their onslaught of friendship and dispatch the Uzainaa to kingdom come. As Saki collects the Miracle Drop and wonders who sent the monster, Mai sees something fall to the ground... her father’s meteorite. She picks it up and looks at the sky to see where it came from, only to notice two figures flying in front of the moon. The gears are turning in Mai’s head but things really come together when everybody says their goodbyes at the observatory. Michiru hands over her blanket and a leaf falls out of it, the same kind of leaf as the trees up on the hill. Mai puts the pieces together and realizes the Kiryuus were behind this. Saki remains clueless, and the siblings don’t know that she knows, but that night each of them stares off into the sky, for different reasons, pondering the future:

What an absolutely fantastic episode. Michiru and Kaoru are caught between their duty and their compassion and they are having to try harder and harder to convince themselves which side they’re on. There’s a lot of visual symbolism of this with the lighting. When they arrive at school they’re cast in shadow, because of their evil intentions, and they remain in shadow all the way until Saki surprises them with the invitation, at which point they are abruptly cast in light, because for a few minutes they’re just ordinary students.

They remain illuminated while Mai explains the invitation to them and Michiru states they’ll come. Kaoru doesn’t care, she’s never been one for facades. As they walk away, they slip back into shadow when Michiru mentions this will be an excellent chance to catch the girls alone and put an end to them.

she is literally slipping back into darkness

At Mai’s party they are lit again as they pretend to be ordinary, but every time they step outside to talk between themselves, they are in shadow again. The major exception to this is when they are about to attack Saki and Mai in the kitchen, where they’re lit by the interior lighting, but the actual shot of their hands reaching for the girls is shot from underneath, so their arms are in shadow. And also glowing purple energy, but you know.

The really cool part, in my opinion, comes when they’ve finally given into their mission and decided to attack. After Bloom and Egret give their resounding speech about how they’re fighting for the sake of Kaoru and Michiru, they are extremely shaken, and the light and shaodws dance over their faces, visualizing their confusion and externalizing their inner turmoil. We’re trying to kill the Precures but they’re fighting for our sake?

Once again, after they leave Mai’s house at the end of the party, they’re cast in light because they’re affiliating with the heroines, but in their final scene, they’re entirely in darkness, staring up at the sky wordlessly, because they’re being their true selves. In a way, the light is the mask they wear when they enter the human world, and darkness represents their true selves, but they’ve blurred the boundaries. Next episode, the masks come off, but who’s really underneath?

The scene where Mai’s mother almost catches them being evil elads to an interesting speech by her that they take to heart. After she drops her teacup, she comments that “everything with a form eventually breaks,” a statement that can mean a lot of things. She goes on to state that this transient nature of life means it’s all the more important to care for things while they’re around. Michiru and Kaoru ponder this later on, also thinking about Saki’s comments that they’re all “friends in the starry sky.” Unfortunately the Kiryuu sisters aren’t strong enough to shake off their conditioning yet, and they angrily dismiss this sentiment because all their lives, they’ve only ever had each other, and only ever needed each other.

Their arc is so fascinating to dig into, I could probably find even more to analyze.

On the light-hearted side of things, there’s some great imagery where all the girls are comparing themselves to celestial objects, and wild sight gags.

Kenta’s jokes are so cold, everybody has frozen.

Saki is a black hole, sucking up all the bread.

Mai’s father is an explorer.

Also, Michiru and Kaoru make more allusions to the Moon and Wind, respectively, a hint at things that are.... quite a ways away.

Here’s something neat: we finally get some acknowledgement that Saki and Mai realize Michiru and Kaoru aren’t exactly behaving normally.

So, yeah, they’ve noticed them behaving oddly, but throughout it all they’ve still been friendly, helpful, and they’ve learned and grown. Can you imagine Michiru and Kaoru at the beginning of this arc helping out at the bakery, or bothering to come to this party? Their objective was observation, maybe infiltration, but along the way they gained a genuine appreciation for the land of greenery, and the people they met all like them. The value of that cannot be understated.

Next episode, everything comes to a head. There’s no more hiding, no more pretenses. Everything is on the table as the Kiryuus reveal themselves to the Precures. Look forward to it.

Pink Precure Catchphrase Count: 0 Zekkouchou Nari

Miracle Drop Count: 1

[timetrickster]

Aloha Oe X Edith Nox Crossover Episode 10: There Is Always Hope For You

Here we are again... I sorta messed up on the original post but sorry everyone.

@cometworks , @coloursintheblur , @coloursintheblur

FADE IN:

INT. JUSTIN’S PRIVATE QUARTERS. MORNING

The morning had hit, JUSTIN’S private quarters were messed up again. Soda cans strung up along the tables and crushed on the floor. JUSTIN was sleeping with a pillow on the floor as well. EDITH walked in with a tray of breakfast. Trying to be nice and she places the tray on the table and wakes up JUSTIN.

EDITH

Justin. Wake Up. (She nudges his shoulder)

He wakes up suddenly, his entire face squished to the center of his nose. His eyes closed from all the bright lights, and he turns on his backside. Slowly regaining strength, with crinkles in his skin from the pillow.

JUSTIN

Morning… (He rubs his face to just wipe away his fatigue)

EDITH

Morning sleepy head. (She gives him a smile)

JUSTIN

Hey… (He gives her a quick smile) You okay?

EDITH shakes her head, responding with a no. 

JUSTIN (cont’d)

I’m sorry.

EDITH

(Has a slight smile) It’s okay. As long as we can get her back… that’s the important thing. I know you can do it because Fates know I’m not strong enough to get her back.

JUSTIN gets up and cracks a few bones just trying to stand up.

JUSTIN

Don’t say that. You are strong.

EDITH

I couldn’t stop her… I wasn’t… 

JUSTIN stops her before she says another.

JUSTIN

Please don’t… I know who you are. You are strong Edith. Don’t tell yourself otherwise.

He turns his head to an electronic board.

JUSTIN (cont’d)

Enoch… any traces of Violet anywhere within the area?

ENOCH (V.O)

Unfortunately not, Captain. The Search Drone has not found any significant results. I apologize.

JUSTIN

Keep searching Enoch. We’ll find her.

ENOCH (V.O)

Yes, Captain.

JUSTIN

Thank you, Enoch. (He sits next to Edith) We’ll find her. I promise.

EDITH lays her head on JUSTIN’S left shoulder.

EDITH

Thank you.

JUSTIN then has an epiphany 

JUSTIN

Edith…  Did you remember Neydolya and any of the others talking about their plans?!

EDITH realizing that there were talks of a grand scheme of evil.

EDITH

I don’t know… but maybe my Core Emotions did! They were under mind control they must’ve learned something.

JUSTIN

Let’s go to the med bay.

CUT TO

INT. MED BAY. 

EDITH is in bed asleep with a Mind Crown activated on her forehead. JUSTIN puts one on as well and turns to NOEMI.

JUSTIN

You know how this works, just watch out for any bad. Just help Enoch with anything she needs.

NOEMI nods his head, JUSTIN lays in a bed.

JUSTIN

Enoch, activate Mind Crown.

CUT TO

INT. EDITH’S MIND

JUSTIN lands outside the greenhouse once more, following the path. Hopefully, the CORE EMOTIONS don’t lose it again, with the whole killing him. He closes his eyes to find the Evocation Hall, entering immediately, seeing BERRY putting new plants on shelves.

JUSTIN

Berry!

BERRY turns immediately and can’t help but smile because of his chipper attitude. 

BERRY

Justin! You’re back so soon! What memories can I help you with now?

JUSTIN

When Edith was captured, did any of her Core Emotions have memories of the event when they mind controlled them?

BERRY had frowned due to hearing of the recent event.

BERRY

Fortunately, they’re all right here. Poor Edith, I hate seeing her go through something like that. Luckily I helped her when her mind lacked her emotions.

JUSTIN

That’s great! And hey, when we find out her plan. I’ll make sure nothing bad ever happens to Edith.

BERRY

Well, (He smiles once more) let’s find the memories!

The two search through each new plant memory, looking at each leaf they pull and come across. Until they found the right one, JUSTIN looks into the leaf and is thrown into the memory.

JUSTIN stands before NEYDOLYA, hidden behind her dark cloak. As shadows cover her face, but he takes notice of her frail hand. He looked on in horror as he tries to understand what she really looked like. The memory plays out as NEYDOLYA speaks but her voice was raspy. The minions stand around listening to what she has to say. 

NEYDOLYA

My power grows weak! 

VODNIK

What shall we do mistress?

NEYDOLYA The Temple Of The Fates has a pool of water. Simply holy water to humans but to me, it rejuvenates my very essence a Fate. I’ve been gone for so long, I slowly started losing my powers. Mistral, get me a pouch of that water and restore me to my power. Prove your allegiance to me. (She raises her weak hand and points to a cloaked figure)

JUSTIN turns to see this cloaked figure, knowing who it is already. He is petrified from what he comes to learn. MISTRAL removes the hood, revealing an icy monstrous version of VIOLET.

She appeared human with crystalline clear skin made of verglas. It was coated with the white of winter and snow. Nearly all human traits were replaced with the element of ice. Her curly hair had been straightened and turned pure white, her eyes glowing sapphire blue.

JUSTIN

No… no no no. 

He moves toward the MISTRAL version of his former friend but his eyes and brows squinted with pain. The water danced along the lines of his eyelids for a quick moment. Scrutinizing the details of VIOLET’S monstrous form.

JUSTIN (cont’d)

You didn’t have to do this alone… I guess… I guess we're both going to have to keep our end of the bargain. 

He is thrown from the memory and in a rush presses where his forehead. He is sent back into the real world and has a disturbed look on her face. NOEMI rushes toward his side.

NOEMI

What happened?!

JUSTIN unable to put it into words, had a disturbed look on his face. He looked and shakes his head indicating that something terrible is going to happen. He takes off the Mind Crown and walks toward a corner.

NOEMI (cont’d)

Justin, what happened?!

JUSTIN

I saw… Violet.

NOEMI

Is she okay? What happened in memory?!

JUSTIN

She’s a monster.

That simple sentence had sent a shockwave of impossibilities.

JUSTIN (cont’d)

She’s not human anymore… whatever Neydolya did. She turned her into something inhuman. She’s a Frost Lilim… sounds way better than demoness. I don’t think I can tell Edith about this.

NOEMI

If you hide this from her it will break her heart.

JUSTIN

I can’t Noemi! I can’t tell her the horrible news that the girl she loves is a now evil and a monster. (He holds his face with both hands with worry and fear)

NOEMI

I don’t know what to do. Breaking her heart is the last thing I would ever want to do. The last thing you would want to do as well.

JUSTIN takes a breath in and releases both hands from his face. His bottom lip rises up forming a frown and he shakes his head a lot. Clenching his teeth and breathing in loudly but never out. He looks at NOEMI with serious eyes then toward EDITH still unconscious. The muscles in his cheeks shift backward and forwards.

JUSTIN

Enoch, turn off the Mind Crown.

ENOCH

Yes, Captain.

The Mind Crown on EDITH’S deactivated as she suddenly wakes up. She rises from her bed and sees both JUSTIN & NOEMI. Standing in away from her, discussing.

EDITH 

What happened? Did you find the memory?

JUSTIN

Yes, I found it but… (he falls silent)

EDITH

But what? Violet?! Did you see Violet?! What happened is she okay?!

JUSTIN shakes her head.

JUSTIN

Not to speak ill of her. She’s… she's a monster now. 

EDITH

No… she can’t be. Violet would never serve her. She’s a good person.

JUSTIN

Look I know this isn’t something you want to hear, but I’m serious. The deal she made with Neydolya was to set you free if she served her… and I’m guessing for Neydolya. Serve her as a monster.

EDITH

No! Justin that’s not true! Tell him, Noemi!

NOEMI looks at EDITH for a moment.

NOEMI

Justin would never lie to us. I’m sorry Edith but what Justin says will always be the truth and if Violet has been turned into a monster. Then… 

EDITH

STOP IT! (She screamed loudly) That’s not true. (She looks toward Justin, her face sculpted the mask of tragedy) Please tell me it’s not true.

Without hesitation, JUSTIN hugs her for comfort. EDITH was on the verge of tears hearing the horrid news of her girlfriend. 

CUT TO:

INT. TEMPLE OF FATES ENTRANCE. NIGHT

JUSTIN waits hidden near the entrance of the Temple as he knows of NEYDOLYA’S nefarious plan. It is until a shadow in the distance moves quickly through the castle grounds. Taking out guards one by one. Like dominos falling in unison.

JUSTIN

I’m sorry Edith.

He jumps down from the ceiling silently, seeing MISTRAL having entered, it was dark and dimly lit. JUSTIN turns on his Stealth Device and watches MISTRAL slowly walk toward the small pool of holy water. What he did not accept, was the slow clap… Fate Dammit… God Dammit… sorry wanted to be respectful to both universes. Anyways, the slow clap, not just an indication of an evil person nearby. But also a symbol of sensing when an evil person knows a good person is nearby as well. 

MISTRAL

Hello Justin.

Not wanting to give away his position, he speaks aloud in the temple. Like a simple shadow and ghost echoing his voice throughout the temple.

JUSTIN

Violet… 

MISTRAL

That’s not my name anymore.

JUSTIN

I know… Mistral. As much as I love the name choice, I hate what it’s for. Please don’t do what she asked you.

MISTRAL

I have to, I made a deal.

JUSTIN

So did I… and one promise.

MISTRAL

Don’t… 

JUSTIN

Edith. Think about her.

MISTRAL

Don’t bring her name into this Justin! 

Unable to see it from where he stood, MISTRAL has tears running down her face. Slowly falling but becoming ice themselves.

JUSTIN

She misses you.

MISTRAL

Stop.

JUSTIN

She loves you.

MISTRAL

STOP IT!

JUSTIN

She forgives you.

MISTRAL wailing out in anger and sadness, she summons her ice magic into both hands. Sending out beams of the magic around the temple in a circle. Luckily it missed the position where JUSTIN had stayed hidden. She falls to her hands and knees still crying 

MISTRAL

How could she forgive me?! After what I’ve done… I left her! I betrayed her! I became evil and now… I don’t know if I’m forgivable for anything I’ve done.

JUSTIN deactivated the Stealth Device and stood a few feet behind MISTRAL. 

JUSTIN

It’s because it’s you. Edith loves you the same way you love her. There is always hope for you.

MISTRAL

I’m a monster… 

JUSTIN

No, you’re Violet Choi. Princess and Warrior. A friend and the love of someone’s life. Please, come home.

NEYDOLYA having watched safely from her lair in the shadowy dimension. She snaps her fingers which sends a wave of aching pain in MISTRAL’S head. She screams loudly as her new form given her aching scream. 

Meanwhile, at EDITH’S home, her magic senses the pain of someone in pain. Causing her to drop everything and follow the outburst of pain.

JUSTIN having covered his ears from the deafening scream.

JUSTIN

VIOLET! (He screams)

The screams suddenly stop and she rises.

MISTRAL

Not anymore.

Her voice had changed, there was a slight echo behind it. Her eyes gleamed sapphire blue once more. Her monstrous form settles in and takes over with NEYDOLYA’S power. She raises her right hand immediately and fires an ice beam toward JUSTIN. He takes the hit of white flame as ice forms on his body.

Having nigh invulnerability, he takes the pain and gives a slight groan. As air releases through his nose and clenches his teeth to ease through the pain. He stands up, not drawing any weapons or summoning his time powers. Leaving his arms down and hands open.

JUSTIN

I won’t fight you.

MISTRAL confused at first and roars angrily. Firing more beams of her magic at JUSTIN.

MISTRAL

FIGHT ME!

She kept firing until he was nearly more encased in ice. 

JUSTIN

I won’t… (He shudders)

He held onto the suffering of ice when EDITH finally showed up and seeing the two together.

EDITH

Violet… 

MISTRAL turns realizing it was EDITH.

MISTRAL

No, no, no, no. 

She wails again and EDITH rushes over.

EDITH

Please… come back to me. (She holds her crystalized face)

MISTRAL

I’m sorry… 

EDITH

I know. I forgive you. We forgive you. Please come back!

MISTRAL’S had cracked it’s perfected crystalline features. Creating heartache within her cold heart. 

MISTRAL

Please forgive me for this.

She steps away from EDITH without doing her any harm toward her. Moving toward the pool and grabbing a water pouch under her cloak. She fills it and closes the cap on it and looks at EDITH one more time.

EDITH

Please…

Tears fall and sadness is made… 

MISTRAL

I’m sorry.

As she places the water pouch on under her cloak and she disappears to the shadowy dimension. Her last action, leaves a figurative crack in her heart, as she left her. In sadness and tears, EDITH didn’t know what to do at that point. As JUSTIN nearly encased in ice can only look on as a bystander. 

FADE TO BLACK END OF EPISODE 10

[layla256]

Key to Her Heart Chapter 3/52: Wants and Needs

A/N: Chapter 3! I was actually really excited to write this episode because I wanted to talk more about the different characters besides just Spike and Buffy, who were pretty much the main focuses of the last two chapters.

For reference, in the universe, Giles never becomes a Watcher because of his dark past. Instead he continues to study magicks while assisting the Council on a consulting basis only. We also get to see a bit more of SoleSlayer!Faith in this one.

I know a lot of people really like Faith, and I know she gets redeemed in season 7 and some in Angel, but funny story . . .

So I got to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer on rented DVDs from Hollywood Rentals, and yes, I type this knowing I’ve dated myself in the process. We didn’t have any kind of streaming subscription because my mom was scared of entering her card number on the internet, and the episodes only aired while I had dance class, so I only had access to the first four seasons of Buffy for years, and none of the seasons of Angel. Meaning that, from middle school until college, I never saw any indication of a redemption for Faith.

Now that I have seen everything, I don’t hate her nearly as much, but she still sets off a lot of red flags for me as a character, and I know I’ll never really get over those several years of thinking of her as the girl who took over Buffy’s body and slept with Riley using it. Then again, after watching seasons 6 and 7, I just generally don’t like anyone past season 5. They kind of become assholes.

The prompt this time was:

“You really think this is a smart idea?”

“Nope.”

“Good. I’d be concerned if you did.”

And that, to me, just reeked of the Angel-Plan. I should be posting the fourth chapter tomorrow at the latest!

. . .

Giles was totally wigging, and Buffy was worried. It’s not that Giles never wigs. He’s in a constant state of wigging, but there was something different about this panic-fest.

And Buffy wasn’t just saying that because he went to Faith instead of her. Either way, that seemed like a problem/conversation for after Giles was being hunted by the demon of the week.

“Look, B,” Faith said, brushing off Willow and Buffy’s concern with a wave of her fingers, “We’ve got this, all right? We’ve got a whole plan and everything. Once we get the big bad demon out of Ms. Calendar, it’ll jump to Angel who can fight it off with his own demon. Then it’ll be dead, your would-be watcher can play his Get Out of Hell Free card, and everything’s five by five.”

For a solid ten seconds, Buffy considered bashing Faith’s head in with a four by four. It probably wouldn’t stick (Slayer healing and all), but it would certainly make her feel better about the situation overall.

“And Angel’s sure he can fight Eyghon off?” Xander questioned, raising a disbelieving brow. “Doesn’t he have a big ‘I can’t fight my demon without curse-y help’ problem?”

This was apparently the worst thing Xander could have said because Faith was immediately in his face. “Angel’s more man than you can manage to be Harris,” she growled. “Way more. So just shut your breakable face and stay out of our way.”

“Not gonna happen,” Buffy declared, drawing their attention to her. “If it was just Rayne, I’d say go ahead, but it’s not. If Giles is involved, we’re all involved.” Stepping between the Slayer and her best friend, Buffy made sure her voice was firm and clear, almost mimicking her mother when she threatened a grounding. “There’s no version of this where we don’t get involved. Got it?”

Faith looked like she wanted to argue, but Amy cut her off. “Let them tag along Faith,” she sneered, looking down at Willow and Buffy over her nose. “See how actually protecting the Hellmouth looks for once.”

Big talk for a girl who got possessed by her own mother the year before, but Buffy wasn’t enough of a bitch to throw that in the other girl’s face. Just barely.

“They don’t need to,” Jesse complained, glaring daggers at Buffy. She held back a scoff. Frankly, she much preferred him glaring daggers than staring at her tits.

“I don’t care what you think,” Buffy growled. “That ‘would-be-watcher’ is our friend, and we’re not turning our backs on him and just hoping you three aren’t gonna toss him to the wolves to save your own asses.”

Faith scowled at Buffy, chest puffing up in aggressive arrogance. “Fine. Just remember this: your ‘friend’ got himself into this mess, and he came to me to get out of it.”

“Only because he didn’t want us in danger!” Willow protested, looking just as annoyed as Buffy felt, but Buffy put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. They needed each other.

In the end, everyone agreed to run home, lie to Mommy and Daddy, and make it back to the library for the main event.

Except Buffy didn’t go home.

. . .

 “Have you lost your bloody mind you stupid bint?” Spike growled, prowling carefully in the shadows of the refinery with a furious look on his face. “This close to fucking sunset an’ you walk to a demon nest like you own the bloody place!”

“Giles is in danger,” Buffy said quickly, pulling Spike out of his wrath. “Some Emo-thingie demon is chasing him and they’re main plan hinges on Angel beating it.”

Spike stood for a moment, blinked twice, and sighed heavily. Something he seemed to be doing often in Buffy’s presence. He held no malice for her pseudo-Watcher, but he was getting a little tired of this white hat that kept getting dropped on his head.

Still, it seemed the man cared for Buffy at least.

. . .

 Spike had been enjoying luring some idiot blonde named . . . Melody? Something like that. Name didn’t matter, just that she was stupid and full of delicious human blood. Suddenly though, his meal was out of his arms and a crossbow was pointed at his chest.

He looked up, expected the Slayer or one of her annoying little shit friends, but instead looked at the face of a furious Would-Be-Watcher. Rupert Giles looked like a bloody demon hunter the way he was decked out, not a hint of tweed in sight. Yes, he looked every bit the man willing to fight his own battles.

Odd for a Watcher.

“What the fuck are you planning with Buffy?” Watcher growled, tightening his grip on the crossbow.

Spike was honestly surprised. From his own experience with Watchers, he assumed that they weren’t even allowed to know a curse any worse than damn. More and more, this man was moving up in Spike’s esteem.

It didn’t mean Spike wasn’t going to kill him, but he’d at least do it in a respectful way.

“Ain’t got a problem with the girl Watcher,” Spike finally said, putting his hands in the air. “She an’ Red are fine by me. Know better than to piss off a couple of witches.”

Watcher obviously wasn’t buying it. “Ah, yes. That would be why you murdered the entire Frat house they partied at last night then. Angry you missed your intended dinner perhaps?”

Now that was a line crossed. Spike moved faster than the other man could see, knocking the crossbow out of his hands before slamming him into the nearby brick wall.

“Now you listen ‘ere,” Spike snarled, face deformed into his usual demonic visage. “Now, I like me a good slaughter. Screams every which way, blood soakin’ the soil. Get’s me all touch-y feel-y with the Brit deep down in me.” His mocking smirk turned into a frown, “But I don’ touch girls like that. Any bint comes to my bed comes willin’ or not at all. That’d be your boy Angelus’s schtick.”

The Watcher’s face, now red from a lack of air as opposed to anger twisted in disgust. “Not . . . my . . .” He didn’t finish, but he didn’t have to; the point was made clear enough.

“Ah, you don’ like the lad either then. Good, then you’ll understand.” He lessened his grip. The human wouldn’t be able to escape, but he’d at least be able to breathe. “I don’ do the ‘rape’ bit Angelus was so keen on back in the days. Don’t let my boys do it either. They know better.” He looked down, focusing on the water puddles at his feet. “Those bastards at the Frat should ‘ave as well.”

Suddenly, he released the Watcher, pacing in front of his gasping form. Spike’s hands clenched and unclenched while his fangs pricked at his lips. His demon howled angrily, demanding blood and retribution. More than had already been taken.

“Buffy an’ Red, they’re good chits, yea?” he asked, turning to stare at a shocked Giles. “Genuine good ones. Ya don’ see that shit often. Girls that strong or kind. Showed some kindness to a soulless shit like me. An’ what’d they get for it? Bunch of arrogant fuckin’ shits slippin’ ‘em roofies and—and—”

Spike couldn’t finish. Much like Buffy the night before, he couldn’t seem to get the words out of his mouth, seeming to find them caught behind his fangs. He kicked at the wall opposite the Watcher, watching the bricks breaking under the force.

It didn’t make him feel better.

Not like their blood had.

“They—” it seemed Giles couldn’t handle it either, staring at his knees in disbelief as he knelt on the filthy ground of the alley. “Those repugnant little cunts,” he finally ground out, knuckles white as he gripped his hands tight. “I’ll—”

“Whatever you wanna do Watcher, I promise I did it already,” Spike said, face fading back to his human image as he came back to himself, shoulder slumped and heart still heavy. “Every damn thing I could think of.”

Giles nodded, standing up and brushing his knees as that good, old British upper lip kicked in. “I’d best check on them then,” he said. Though his stance and face were neutral, the shaking in his voice belayed his true emotions. It seemed the git genuinely cared for the girls, unlike the actual Watchers of Spike’s past.

The two began walking away, Spike not feeling like a meal after having his stomach turn the way it did. “Thank you.”

The words stopped him. Spike turned around, shock on his face as he stared at the still neutral Watcher. “Wha?” he said, not understanding.

“I said ‘Thank you,’” Giles repeated, picking up his crossbow, but not pointing it at Spike. “You defended my . . . charges when I could not. I may not approve of your methods, but . . .” the words were left hanging in the air.

Watcher may not approve, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t grateful in the end.

 …

“How’s Peaches ‘sposed to help you lot then?” Spike asked, taking out a fag to pull on so Buffy couldn’t see his worried face. “He’s killed plenty o’ demons ‘fore. Sure even a poofter like him’ll be alright in the end.”

Buffy shook her head, not looking convinced. “Faith and her merry band of muck ups think it’ll be a great idea to have him get possessed by the demon and fight it back with his demon. You know, like a shitty WWE match that no one wants to see.”

Spike almost choked on the puff of smoke he pulled in, saved only by the fact that he didn’t need to breathe in the first place. “You really think this is a smart idea?”

“Nope.”

“Good. I’d be concerned if you did.” He threw his finished fag into a puddle nearby, biting the inside of his lip in thought. She was right to be concerned. Angelus couldn’t control his own demon, let alone another. Either he’d keep his own demon too far at bay and lose to the interloper, or he’d let it loose far too much, and Spike doubted that good ol’ Angelus was all there after a hundred years trapped with a soul.

“I’ll let them try, though,” Buffy admitted, folding her arms over her chest. “Faith is the actual Slayer. Even if she doesn’t act like it half the time.”

Spike snorted. The Slayer acted it often enough to get on his last bloody nerve.

“But I want you there, in case something goes wrong.”

He stopped and stared at her for a moment. Want. It was an odd word to focus on, one he rarely heard in reference to himself. Drusilla had needed him. Needed her Dark Prince to shield her from all the dark monsters that prowled their world, but she had never wanted him. No, she only wanted her precious Daddy. Anything she said differently, he knew, was either a momentary delusion or an attempt to placate him.

Buffy though—Buffy meant it.

“I’ll be there.”

 …

 Spike was almost disappointed to see his Grand-Sire manage his feat, pouting at the thought of a lost fight. Still, he figured this was for the best. Watcher was safe and sound, Buffy had been appeased by his mere presence, and the Slayerettes had no idea about Buffy’s “special friend”, meaning they wouldn’t be giving her any kind of hell.

Catching her eye as she carried a harried Watcher between herself and the Whelp, he gave her his signature smirk before sinking into the shadows, glad to see her smile in return before he disappeared from sight.

She hadn’t needed him tonight, and, deep down, he was sure both of them knew that when they’d come up with their little “Plan B”.

But she had wanted him there, and that was the important part.

...

The part about want vs need was added in completely last minute, but I loved it so I kept it. I recently had a talk with a friend about relationships and how some people prefer to be wanted over needed and vice versa and how that can say a lot about a person. 

Spike always seemed, to me, like the kind of person who would prefer to be wanted. In my headcanons, going to those awful parties was a requirement for both him and the hosts out of polite obligation. No one but his mother ever really wanted him around, meaning she was the only one who ever gave him positive affection. As a result, I think he spends the rest of his life and unlife chasing that dragon; wanting to  be wanted.

[ryik-the-writer]

Rumbelle Fic: Lipstick (Chapter 2: Neal the Nabber) 

Rating: M (rating may change)

Something’s wrong with Gideon ~ Neal reminiscences on a childhood occurrence.

A03

-,-,-,-

5-year-old Neal Nolan never understood why his parents never let him go to Gideon’s house. Gideon was his best friend. His mama and dad knew that but they still never let him go, even on the weekends.

“I wanna see Giddy!” the grade-schooler demanded to his mama, stomping his little foot hard enough to make the jars on the counter shake.

“Neal Robert Nolan you stop that right now!” his mama growled.

Neal stopped at the sound of his Mama’s angry voice. It was the Neal Had Better Listen Right Now or he'd be in big-trouble-mister voice.

Though he remained quiet, he dropped to the bruised hardwood with a huff, crossing his arms in legs and curling into himself with a pout.

“Maybe we should let him go for a few hours.” He heard his papa speak up from across the room. “I have to work until 8, and you have papers to grade.”

“David.” His mama sighed, lowering her tone to prevent Neal from hearing which was hard to do with the boy being right under them. “You know how I feel about the Golds.”

“I know how you feel about Mr. Gold, who, if I’m not mistaken, works until 7 on Saturdays. His wife, however, closes the library at 2 and should be home with Gideon now.”

From his place on the floor, Neal could see his mama’s hip cock.

“Why do you have their schedule’s memorized?”

“Because I don’t think our son should miss out on a golden friendship just because of who that friend’s parents are. Pun intended.”

“But it’s Gold, David! He-”

“Is our landlord but also the father of our son’s best friend.”

His mama was quiet for a moment before saying with a huff, “I’m not rewarding him for this tantrum!”

Neal was becoming sore on the floor from his pretzel-pose. Just as he was about to unravel, his papa knelt to his level.

“Do you promise if we let you go over to Gideon’s that you’ll stop acting up?”

Neal shot up, his leg tingling from being crossed for so long. “Yay!”

His papa smiled and told him to grab his backpack, and a coat, his mama called.

Gideon and his mama were waiting on the porch of their big mansion. It reminded Neal of the house Scooby-Doo and his gang went to at the beginning of every episode, but more…pinker. It was less scary that way he supposed, but he wasn’t afraid anyway.

Gideon was running up the path as soon as Neal jumped out of the truck.

“Neal! Mama maked cupcakes! She said we can iced them once they cool!”

Neal rejoiced with his friend and trudged after him into the athenaeum of his father’s relics and his mother’s books.

After spilling an entire bottle of glitter candies on one cupcake (which Gideon’s mama didn’t get upset about as Neal’s mama would have) she opened the back door and suggested the two sugar-hyped boys play in the garden while she cleaned up.

“We can play superheroes!” Neal suggested.

“I don’t have a cape.” Gideon returned.

Neal looked around the Gold’s pristine kitchen and caught sight of Mrs. Gold’s frilly apron thrown over one of the chairs.

Neal and Gideon smiled mischievously at each other before Gideon quietly pulled the apron from the chair and ran out the back with his friend.

After a few tries, Gideon managed to get the apron tied sloppily around Neal’s neck and the two began their game. The valiant Neal the Nabber shouted playful obscenities at the vile villain Gideon the Grave as he turned up grass in garden.

After about ten minutes, the boys paused their battle of good vs. evil to breath, sweaty and hot on the unusual fall day.

Gideon gasped and wiped the sweat on his forehead, turning to Neal to see if he would go with him to pester his mother for lemonade when something peculiar happened.

A relieving breeze had picked up and began blowing the frilly-green apron around Neal’s shoulders, the late-afternoon song striking his marigold-blond hair just right. He looked…young Gideon couldn’t quite describe how he looked. Just different. Different in a way that made his stomach bubble and hands shake with the urge to just touch him.

Hesitantly, he walked up to his friend, mesmerized by the dancing shadows on his form.

Neal looked up just as Gideon stepped close enough to him that he could smell his sweaty outside smell.

“Gid? What is it?”

Instead of answering, as he should have done to prevent future events from transpiring, he leaned forward and kissed his friend directly on the lips.

Neal jumped at the feel of skin on skin contact.

“Gross! Gideon!” he spat, wiping his mouth furiously.

Gideon shot back, panicking at what he had done.

Why had he done that?

“I-I…”

Neal glared at his friend. That was so stupid! Why would Gideon be so stupid!

Suddenly, Gideon shot off to the house, calling for his mama. Neal watched him, feeling aggravated and confused. And later that night, guilty for reasons his young mind couldn’t fathom.

-,-

The apron incident hadn’t crossed his mind since the day it happened, but now it was fresh in his mind, dominating his thoughts. Could that lapse of childhood misjudgment somehow be the cause of…whatever this was?

Now, Neal Robert Nolan was watching his best friend sit in the main office, makeup still masked on his sharp features as Principal Mills called for his parents. His eyes were so…dead. As if he were in a trance. Neal wasn’t meaning to ogle at his friend’s current condition, and he was taking no pleasure in seeing him in this state, but for some reason he couldn’t look away.

Gideon had always been a little strange. Quieter than most, more willing to take in the scenery than be a part of it. Neal recalled on a few occasions when they would be out and he’d be watching girls their age as they went about their business, his whiskey eyes memorizing every move, watching as they applied their lip-gloss at the mirrors in the stores or how they gushed over gossip. He would smile sometimes, the look in his eyes changing into one of longing, but not lustful.

Neal cringed at the memories of how he would tease him into a blushing hit afterwards. He hadn’t considered the idea that there was something deeper brewing in his best friend’s psyche, that he would need someone to ask questions and tell him that everything was going to be alright.

The bell to second period rang and Neal flinched. He could already see his parents crossing their arms in disappointment when they got the email that Neal had missed all his classes his first day of senior year. It would be a half-hour of lecturing and a weekend of grounding but he couldn’t find it in him to care. His best friend was sitting in the main office teetering on sanity and he was not leaving until he was safe.

A higher being decided to take pity on him as the tell-all sound of Belle Gold’s heels echoed down the hallway. Neal turned to see the Gold’s stalking to the main office side-by-side, their faces showing that they were in full-parent mode, so intent on their mission that they brushed right past Neal without a glance.

Neal watched in horror as their straight spines softened when they saw their son, hunched over in an uncomfortable, defeated pose, his pulse racing when Belle crouched to his level and gently pried his face from his lap to see his makeup-smeared face. He waited for the scream of horror or for Mrs. Gold to jump back in repulsion, but neither exclamation came. The Golds and the principal were very still, none seeming to breathe, and Neal stilled right along with them. Finally, Mrs. Gold turned to her husband. Neal couldn’t see her face, but he could see Mr. Gold’s. He looked confused, but mostly concerned, like any father who got a phone call from their child’s principal.

To Neal’s relief (and slight disappointment), the principal moved the Gold’s into the adjacent office where they would discuss the previous events in private.

Something was different now. Something in their stable friendship was broken and there was no way to fix it. They couldn’t brush this off and pretend it never happened. They’d have to deal with this change and treat it as the new norm.

But what was this new norm?

What was happening with Gideon?

As the door to the principal’s office closed, Neal caught the slightest reflection from Gideon’s haunted eyes and his breathe caught.

Gideon was dying on the inside.

[dicloniusgames]

Stranger Things 2 Review

Just when you thought the danger of Hawkins, Indiana was defeated, The Upside Down rears its’ ugly head once again. 

Season two starts out with a band of misfits in Pittsburgh on the run murdering what seems to be random people but the leader of this ragtag team has a marking of “008″ on her arm thus giving viewers insight as to who she may be. 

Story & Characters

Set one year after the events of season one and the demogorgon assumed dead, the core four of Mike, Will, Dustin and Lucas are at the arcade as someone named “MADMAX” has bested Dustin’s score on the game Dig Dug. Though things seem normal, for Will, The Upside Down rears its’ ugly head again as he’s haunted by it once again along with a shadow of sorts looming over the arcade. 

As the boys attempt to determine who “MADMAX” is, we get introduced to two new characters, Billy and Maxine. Billy is your stereotypical ‘80s guy who comes off as more of an asshole that Steve was in season one. Maxine (A.K.A. Max) is the typical outcast with an isolated attitude and is never seen without her skateboard, but someone who’s also controlled by her older step-brother like an iron fist. 

Series regulars like Joyce and Sheriff Hopper return as they’re relieved the nightmare is over (or so they seem). Joyce has a new boyfriend, Bob (portrayed by Sean Astin) and he does a masterful job as Bob with his wit, sarcasm, genius, and fatherly-like instinct to Will. Jonathan, Nancy, and Steve also return as while Steve and Nancy are still together, Jonathan’s feelings for Nancy still linger in the air and animosity between Billy and Steve heats up immediately on the basketball court at school. 

A few episodes in, Will is possessed by the shadow monster, on Halloween night, and becomes its’ spy. Dustin also finds a slug-like “pet” that unbeknownst to him transforms into a “demodog” (Demodorgon & a dog as he says). Immediately, Joyce, Bob, and Hopper take Will to the lab to get checked out and are met by Dr. Sam Owens. Owens is the new lead doctor at the lab and is genuine in his attempts to cure Will of whatever is attacking him but is usually cut off at the pass by the other malicious doctors. 

After Jonathan and Nancy are “kidnapped” by the lab, they discover Barb’s death may have been intentional as Nancy records a conversation between the three of them and locate a conspiracy theorist named Murray Bauman who was seen earlier in the series as he claims a “Russian girl” was seen in Hawkins and may be linked to the Soviets as the show takes place at the height of the Cold War. Bauman states that in order for the public to believe Nancy and Jonathan’s claims, they must water it down to the simplest form and do so and record multiple tapes and send them out to the Chicago Sun Times to expose what the lab did to Barb and all the while, Nancy and Jonathan finally admit their feelings for one another. 

Meanwhile, Steve plays babysitter to the rest of the kids and becomes their protector of sorts, even with his badass hairdo and nail-bat in hand. 

Hopper discovers with Joyce and the kids’ help that there are tunnels that connects The Upside Down and as Hopper finds a way in, he’s attacked by the vines in the tunnels of The Upside Down, but does manage to escape with help. 

We also discover he’s harboring Eleven in his cabin outside of town in the woods and does what he has to in order to protect Eleven, even if she thinks it’s harsh of him to not let her go out. After a heated argument halfway through the season, Eleven runs away to find her mother as she discovers her real name is Jane Ives and that she was kidnapped as she finds “mama” in a catatonic state with her sister watching over her mother. After using her powers to communicate with her mother, Eleven/Jane discovers she’s to go to Chicago to find the other test subject that was in the rainbow room with her the day her mother attempted to get her out of the facility, but ultimately failed and was given EST (Electroshock Therapy). 

Once in Chicago, Eleven uses her powers to find the other test subject “008″ known as Kali. Kali and her group take her in and reveal they’re hunting the employees responsible for killing mama. 

They locate Ray Carroll as the man who performed the EST procedure on mama causing her to go into a catatonic-like state when Jane sees her for the first time and threaten to kill him, but just as they do, he reveals Dr. Brenner is still alive which peaks Eleven’s interest, but without any solid proof, they leave Ray alive and with the cops nearby, they head back to their hideout where Kali shows Brenner to Eleven via illusion abilities Kali possesses and Brenner claims he’s still alive and that a virus is eating away at Eleven and will only spread as time goes on. 

Knowing this, Eleven tells Kali and her gang of misfits she must return to Hawkins to save her friends and after Bob’s unfortunate death at the hands of the Demodogs in chapter eight, and does so in bitchin’ fashion sporting a new look but the same badass attitude. 

Everything comes to ahead in the final chapter as the fight to save Will, destroy the army of demodogs and stop “The Mind Flayer.” Billy even gets his just due as Max stands up for herself against her stepbrother during a confrontation between him and Lucas and a fight between him and Steve. 

At the end of the day, Eleven and Hopper infiltrate the lab to close the gate for good, justice is served for Barb, Hopper is given legal custody of Eleven (now known as Jane Hopper) and the Snow Ball dance takes place in the closing minutes as Dustin dances with Nancy with hair-do from Steve, Will’s “zombie boy” reputation scores him a dance, Lucas and Max get together, and Mike and Eleven get their dance too, but not everything ends happily as one final shot of The Upside Down is shown with The Shadow Monster lurking over the school. 

Final Thoughts 

Overall, season two ramps up the intensity season one left off on. While Eleven isn’t the focus, it gives other characters like Steve and Dustin to shine along with giving viewers insight as to the abusive relationship between Maxine and Billy and why Billy is the way he is. The fact we get Eleven’s background fleshed out and that there are more like her out there who were abused by the lab is outstanding as it makes us feel even more for Eleven as well as Kali. Steve improves a lot as a character after Nancy breaks up with him and becomes a protector of the other children with his signature nail bat and badass hair (We even discover the secret to his badass hairdo). 

Season two is great even if Eleven isn’t the focus. I do hope the writers explain more about the other possible children abducted by the lab, Maxine’s past as she’s referred to as Billy’s stepsister and what could happen to either Dustin or Hopper or possibly both of them as they were exposed to the toxin in the tunnels of The Upside Down along with other unanswered questions fans may have had after the season finale. 

Pros: 

+Great Cinematography/Music Provides For Awesome Scenes & Fights 

+Maxine & Billy Provide New Blood To The Show 

+Eleven’s Badass Return In Episode 8, Eleven’s Backstory & Kali Provides Potential 

Cons: 

-The Hopper/Eleven “Relationship” Felt Forced At Times 

-Dr. Owens Felt Like A “Stand-In Brenner” 

Final Score: 9/10 

[fashiontrendin-blog]

5 Self-Respecting New York Women Wearing Scrunchies

http://fashion-trendin.com/5-self-respecting-new-york-women-wearing-scrunchies/

5 Self-Respecting New York Women Wearing Scrunchies

The scent of revolution is impossible to miss. It’s like a cross between the metallic tang of an unspent penny interspersed with notes of freshly mowed grass and Stormi Jenner’s forehead. In other words, it smells like newness in its most intense and promising form.

I caught a whiff of it in the aisle of a Duane Reade in March 2017, but I couldn’t tell from where it was coming. I sniffed it again on the headrest of my chair in a movie theater the month after that. Mysterious! It wasn’t until the beginning of May that I finally detected its source after inhaling a particularly strong gust via my Instagram feed, where an image of Frederikke Sofie washing her face had popped up on my screen. The top of her head practically pulsed with the aroma, and when I looked closer I saw it: a scrunchie.

After that I smelled it everywhere and every day, but that’s probably because I started wearing scrunchies on the regular and thus the back of my ponytail became a mobile diffuser. I felt bold and filled with conviction, like a pioneer tilling soil except instead of turning over dirt I was turning over misconceptions.

In the years since Carrie Bradshaw sentenced scrunchies to the purgatory of fashion faux pas with her fateful proclamation in Season 6, Episode 4 of Sex and the City that no “hip downtown” New York woman would be caught dead wearing a scrunchie, the humble fabric-coated hair elastic has been living in shadow…until now.

Scroll down to witness five New York women who would gladly be caught dead OR alive wearing a scrunchie. Like I said, the scent of revolution is in the air. It’s time to breathe it in. -Harling Ross

Leandra Medine, Man Repeller Founder

“Back when the only people I could communicate with were two ESL parents, they referred to the scrunchie as a “toka,” which you have to say like this — tttttoe-kah, to understand the full impact. When I got to kindergarten, I was trying to make new friends and complimented another girl’s toka. She had no clue what I was talking about but taught me how to say scrunchie. We made fast friends and, from that day forward, I knew my mission as a wearer was philosophically tied up in teaching fellow users about the merit of the toka’s ability to generate companionship.

I worry that the history of the scrunchie has been co-opted because of characters like Full House’s Kimmy Gibbler, particularly because she had a tendency to wear the hair piece recklessly and futilely. Frankly, the scrunchie brings an important value to the table in that it efficiently holds your hair back without creating creases in it. They’re much softer than standard hair ties and obviously add a flair that regular hair ties just can’t. Call them an instant-accessory, whatever. Philosophically, to me, they’re still tokas and a cornerstone of platonic intimacy.

I’ve mulled how scrunchies make me feel quite a bit, and I think the simple answer is effervescent. Suffice it to say I disagree with Carrie’s assertion and in fact have grown to resent it.”

Imani Randolph

American Apparel scrunchie — similar here styled with vintage coat

“I started wearing scrunchies last year, when I realized they weren’t hideous. I think what originally turned me off were the white, red, and navy sets of cotton ribbed ones they would sell at my local Dollar Store in upstate New York. They were puny and lackluster. To me, scrunchies didn’t seem like a stylistic choice; they were more like the absence of any sartorial sense. It may sound harsh, but back then, there was nothing appealing about them to me. I just couldn’t understand them. How wrong I was.

Everything changed this winter when I bought an oversized, baby pink, suede puffer jacket, the kind of marshmallowy outerwear that demands accessories that are equally carefree and lush. After I bought the puffer, I darted back to my dorm to borrow my best friend’s gold scrunchie — I believe she got it from American Apparel for a Halloween costume, or maybe just for shits and giggles. Nevertheless, a look was pulled.

The goal of looking good, chic or sexy has often made looking cute seem like a consolation prize. But that day I realized that, with the right styling, scrunchies have the ability to make you look and feel goddamn adorable and there’s no shame in that. No shame at all, no matter what Carrie Bradshaw said. People say you’re not a real New Yorker until you’ve lived here for 10 years; I’m about halfway there, technically speaking, but I’d wager I’m even further thanks to my scrunchie.”

Harling Ross

“My hair isn’t full of secrets, it’s full of scrunchies. They’re soft, they’re practical, they’re unique — a safety blanket in miniature form. Each one is a memory unto itself, from my puffy velveteen number that was handmade in France to the pack of tiny polyester ones I ordered on Amazon Prime. I considered building a glass display case above my bed, but I prefer sleeping with them like stuffed animals instead for ultimate grab-and-go companionship.

I’ve traversed the streets of Manhattan for 26 years, thrown snowballs in Central Park, climbed to the top of the Statue of Liberty, retrieved a fallen Swedish Fish out of a Lexington Avenue trash can and eaten it, handed out brochures in Times Square, changed in the back of a taxi cab, dislodged approximately 16 sticks of gum from the bottom of my shoes, moved into four different apartments and danced on precisely one tabletop. I am a New York woman, born and raised, and I wear scrunchies. In fact, they make me feel like New York royalty.”

Amelia Diamond

“Scrunchies are like tutus for your hair.

I didn’t give them their due credit for years, which is a shame, and I think about this with some sort of remorse every single day. The truth is that while scrunchies used to remind me of face washes and sleep buns, they also reminded me of the time I modeled in a Limited Too fashion show at my local mall in San Francisco and was gifted a pink-and-white striped scrunchie to pair with a pink-and-white striped hoodie as a thank you. I lost the hoodie a few months later, got in trouble as a result, was haunted by the presence of the scrunchie that stuck around, and for the years that followed I had a hard time looking at scrunchies — any scrunchie — without being reminded of that formative moment in my childhood.

As the eighties began its recent resurgence in the fashion industry, however, I began to soften toward the soft hair accessories. They made me nostalgic. I longed for my youth and the carefree attitude that comes with the scrunchie’s fluff, not to mention the lack of crease I’d never forgotten.

I finally purchased a pack while on a hair tie trip to CVS, began using them whenever my hair needed a hug, and I’m happy to report I haven’t looked back since.”

Haley Nahman

“A wise man once told me, ‘You can realize a lot in a moment,’ which perfectly defines how I feel about my core-shaking discovery of scrunchies. A friend let me borrow hers when I was in a hair tie pinch. It was rendered in faux fur, soft enough to snuggle with. I initially found it adorable, maybe even a little funny, but as soon as I placed it around my thick ponytail, the veil lifted on my ignorance. I immediately bought five.

How could I have missed the utility, the beauty, the utter versatility of the scrunchie? They make buns, ponytails and wrists look like chic party animals; they are accessories unto themselves, like bangs; they hold my mop back better than any wimpy hair tie ever did; and they never cause a kink. I can wear them in the morning while I wash my face, to lunch, to work. If I ever got invited to a gala, I’d have no qualms about wearing a scrunchie to it.

The possibilities are infinite, really, and that’s quite a feat considering all I needed to seize them were the five America dollars I used to purchase a pack on Amazon. I’m never looking back. Except, of course, to show off my scrunchie.”

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Photos by Edith Young

[recentanimenews]

Classroom of the Elite – 12 (Fin)

The first seven episodes of Classroom of the Elite were solid, but gave way to an increasingly unfocused and often downright tedious Island Arc. After pointing out how delicate and demanding the girls are compared to the guys, demonstrating the class’s appalling ignorance of outdoor fundamentals (except for one character who camps out a lot), and introducing a set of rules and objectives only slightly less complicated than the U.S. Tax Code, we were then treated to thrilling whodunits involving the theft of a girl’s undergarments and the burning of a manual.

Class C student Ibuki was planted as the obvious culprit to everything, but we can’t be sure if she’s really the culprit, because the biggest question mark of them all is, and has always been, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, whom it’s implied was the sole “survivor” of a “gifted kid farm.”

Meanwhile, his interactions with Horikita Suzune have been dull and repetitive (due in no small part to the nebulousness of his true motives and  intentions), while what had been perhaps the best character dynamic of the show—that between Ayano and Kushida—has curiously been abandoned altogether, with no further exploration of her character. Some of Kushida’s screen time was replaced by Sakura, whose puppy love for the unperceptive Ayano isn’t nearly as compelling.

But WHO CARES? This was a bad-ass finale. It stuck the landing.

It starts slowly, in basically the same place we left off last week: in a state of confusion and frustration. Horikita wakes up to find Ayano nearby, telling her she should drop out and that whatever goal she has in mind, whether it’s making Class A to prove something to her brother, or something else, she’s going to need allies. She faints again, and Ayano carries her to the teachers.

Ayano tells Hirata everything that’s happened and how it will effect the points, and Hirata is devastated, no doubt believing he let his class down…but Ayano asks a favor of him. When the day the Special Test ends arrives, Sakura asks Ayano what he thinks their points will be, and Ayano simply looks over to Hirata, who is holding the leader identification form.

All of the classes assemble on the beach, except Class C…but a dirty, disheveled Ryuuen does appear…in his mind, to declare victory. Once he lays out his scheme to gain the names of all three class leaders, things don’t just look bad for Class D, but Classes A and B as well.

Ryuuen’s plan is extra-complex, as befits the finale of CotE: signing a binding contract with Class A in which they’ll supply 200 S-points in goods and provide the names of B and D’s leaders, using Ibuki and another C-class student as spies D and B.

Of course, Ryuuen intended to betray Katsuragi, because an ally of Katsuragi’s rival Sakayanagai gave him the name of Class A’s leader…which was never Katsuragi to begin with. Ryuuen runs the math as the calculations are displayed on the screen.

Then the points are announced: Class C gets ZERO points, Classes A and B make just over 100 each, and Class D…WINS, with 225 points. SHOKU!

How’d it happen? Cough-cough. C’mon now, you know: it was all Ayanokouji-frikking-Kiyotaka. What Horikita doesn’t know is how. Class A continues its internal strife as Sakayanagi’s ally antagonizes Katsuragi’s furious levies, while Ichinose doesn’t feel too bad about her class’s high score, since she’s likely close to amassing enough points to buy her way into the class of her choice (which I’m assuming would be A).

Ayano managed to win by pivoting from a strategy of spot-occupation points to leader identification points, and used virtually everyone and everything he had on that island to discover the identities of the leaders of Class A and C (leaving B alone to preserve their alliance). He even used Horikita’s illness, which was actually crucial to giving him a “legitimate reason” to change the leadership of Class D to him at the very last minute. Thus, Ayano was right about Ryuuen and Ryuuen was wrong about him – a 100-point swing.

As an apparent apology for using Horikita and potentially making her even sicker, he had Hirata tell the rest of Class D they owe everything to her, not him. It’s a brilliant move that accomplishes two things: it keeps Ayano in the shadows where he can do the most, and brings the class together, which was Hirata’s goal all along.

Kushida seems to know there’s something a little off about Horikita being the hero here, but can’t get a straight answer out of Ayano when she asks which girl he’d choose. It’s not much, but I did appreciate one last scene with “Real Kushida,” especially in which she resents the fact a girl like Horikita doesn’t have a “side to hide.” But Ayano rightly points out that most people have one.

In his chat with Chabashira-sensei in the ship’s theater, she commends him for having performed up to the standards not only she, but “that man” (AKA his dad) expected. There’s talk about Daedalus and Icarus, but Ayano doesn’t intend to lose his wings any time soon. That’s good, because Ryuuen (and his loyal lieutenant Ibuki) are coming for him, armed with a windfall of points thanks to one other stipulation in their contract with Class A.

Finally, Horikita loses her throng of admirers long enough to track down Ayano and ask him why he told Hirata to spread the word that she, not he, was the class savior and mastermind behind their victory. He tells her, in a scene that’s played quite tenderly at first, to remember when he said she needed allies to succeed – giving her the credit helps get her those allies (and she did suffer in sickness for the cause).

Horikita’s Tsundere Levels reach critical levels as she both thanks Ayano and acknowledges him as an ally while making it clear their future interactions will be purely professional in nature and focused on getting to Class A.

She’s fooling no one, but Ayano is fooling her along with everyone else, because, at least according to his inner thoughts, he’s only looking out for one guy: Ayano. Hirata, Sakura, Ichinose, Kushida, and Horikita are nothing but stones he’s all too willing to step on to win, because winning is all that matters to him.

A dark ending…but also a wide-open door for a sequel down the road. Horikita has changed a lot, and she says it’s all Ayano’s fault. Maybe she, along with Kushida and the others, will get a chance to change him. Or maybe he’ll just dance on their corpses when he’s king of the world. Here’s hoping we get to find out!

By: sesameacrylic

[abundantchewtoys]

Re: Hiveswap ‘17-09-16: JoeysRoomStuck the Sequel

Third playthrough!

Today we're mainly going to combine all items currently in our inventory with everything in Joey's room, hahahah. I wonder what more little tidbits of information are going to come forward out of this?

---

Okay wait, there was still a bit left to explore: the closet!

After appreciating the HIGH ART on the door, we open it and...

All these games! I recognize a Rubik's Cube, that crocodile-tooth game and... Simon Says!

The lights are blinking, making me think it's important! Maybe we get some well need BATTERIES here, since I remember seeing some before in concept art. I think the walkie might be empty.

"You really get a CHARGE out of this game" HACK*cough**cough*

<image 1>

Hahahah, so she really took the batteries from the walkie to power it. Guess it really IS one of her favorite games. I like the fourth wall reference in that every important NOUN or VERB is CAPITALIZED.

Heh, I feared the mini-game might have taken longer. It can be quite a challenge, after all. Enough nostalgia indeed!

Heheh, combining the BATTERIES with the CHERUB KEY prompts her to talk about the 'spiraling' energy emanating from the latter. "Like a seashell warmed by the sun" A green sun, perhaps?

<image 2>

Seriously? :P

SHOES + BATTERIES? "That would be cheating!"?

"You don't run on BATTERIES, you run on RAZZLE-DAZZLE!" PFfffffffff.

SHOES + JOEY is also a little gold nugget regarding them enabling her to tap dance, and how perhaps her TAP DANCE LESSONS deserve a little credit for it.

I've started a file for combinations we remember we missed doing, like the Keys and Simon Says.

Meanwhile, the ballerina poster is a real treat to combine stuff with, it gets Joey all philosophical. She even mentions that she got her diary SPECIFICALLY to write all the ideas in that she got from looking at the poster! ... But it failed.

Ooh, to remember: use the ballet shoes on the ballerina poster, it should prompt her to dance!

Cherub Key + Hot Steppin: Ms. Claire danced with a lot of girls and wouldn't mind this poster. Well, the first thing is obvious enough, since ballet is primarily practiced by women.

Diary Key + Hot Steppin:

<image 3>

Cue the theories about Joey's romantic inclinations!

Shoes + Hot Steppin: "like doing taxes at church" compared to the dancing in this movie, hahahah

Batteries + Neverending Story: someone's not a fan of the movie ending halfway through the book. I can just imagine the pain she would feel re: the final movies being split in Harry Potter, the Hunger Games, Twilight... To say nothing of The Hobbit.

Cherub Key + Neverending Story: Heheeheheh, yeah, I remember the key being likened to the Avaryl, or whatever the amulet was called there. So the key seems to predate it be a few years, according to Joey. Which according to Wikipedia would mean she got the key BEFORE she was five, wow. Guess she still remembers some stuff from her earlier years, unlike what she first said. :P

Shoes + NS : Pfffff, 'the not-stopping routine'. Seriously, all these synonyms beating around the bush! :D The big, copyrighted bush.

Cherub Key + Goosebumps: OOOOOOh, we found a combination that doesn't work!!! Heheheh. Maybe that's SUPPOSED to happen. Spooky, isn't it? :P

Shoes + Goosebumps: JOEY CLAIRE, EXTRAORDINAIRE! :D

Batteries + Acorn's Shadow: Huh. The world of Acorn's Shadow is pretty low on tech but pretty high on magic. That... Kind of debunks my idea that Bro wrote it. It almost seems like more up the Sitter's alley!

Cherub Key + Acorn's Shadow: Hah, "she usually finds out within 22 minutes". Meta! Also, what is even up with that common episode length, right? I know it's probably because the commercials pad it out to a half our, but still.

Diary Key + Acorn's Shadow: "How can you keep a secret from your own shadow?" Man, Acorn's Shadow is a really wild show. It sincerely seems rather disturbing for a kid's show. Then again, in my day it was Beast Wars, X-Men and Spider-Man, and they got pretty dark at moments too.

Shoes + Acorn's Shadow: Acorn's Shadow is to busy burning the land with... "galloping green flames"(, Batman)! Again, wow, dark much?

We forgot to click on Connect Four before. Guess Joey is really good a whiping the floor with Jude in games. Then again, she has the age advantage.

Diary Key + C4 : Okay, secrets "tumblin'" all over the floor? Now I'm thinking of people using Tumblr as a personal diary. That's putting yourself in a vulnerable position, too.

Shoes + C4: Huh, I don't remember there being a handle to make the checkers fall. Welp, I see it being used a lot by people ragequiting.

<image 4>

Oh yeah, sure Joey. I believe you.

<image 5>

Ahah, hah, heh.... Well, if she could imagine the world we live in today. Electronic picture frames are a literal THING now.

<image 6 - 7 - 8>

Eeeesh, yeah, them snakes are anything BUT friendly and wise.

Shoes + Shika : Shika has deer hooves. Or maybe only her Princess Shika form does. Well then. Even though she might not be good at tap dance, as Joey thinks... I think she could get a good rhythm going.

<image 9>

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

Shoes + Bounty Hunter: Ah, yes, the good old "turn into a ball in mid-air" dance routine... Confirmed for Metroid!

Cherub Key + Ginger Rogers: Ms Claire and Ms Rogers knew each other! Where Grandpa was the only of the B1 guardians to have such a public life, he went looking for a partner someone that understood that struggle, I think.

Diary Key + Ginger Rogers: Turns out her book came out in 1991, so it's actually, like, relevant for the times! It could've been Ms Claire had the dang thing in her library for ages, but no.

Cherub Key + Block Hustler: Hehehe, yeah, well, I think an F would be an even-better shape to compare a key with, personally.

<image 10>

What is this "TETRIS" you are talking about? :P Someone slipped up, deliberately or not, in cleaning up that reference. And slowly but surely, we are getting more info about Jude's superstitions, paranoia and conspiracy theories. Also... https://www.google.be/search?q=tetris+tap+dance

Cherub Key + Bubsy poster: Hah, okay, so Bubsy really is at the bottom end of her interest list, I wondered, since the poster still hung there.

<image 11>

Pfffffffffffffffffffffff, never mind.

Cherub Key + Second Mom: I wonder if the yo-yo ACTUALLY was Ness' heirloom, heheheh.

<image 12>

Now I'm reminded of the time Jane was apparently teleported across town by GCat, and Dad had to come pick her up and got lost following the GPS.

<image 13>

This is too meta.

Combining the Diary Key with the Console unlocks another animation for Joey! Hah, I like this little easter eggs! As does the combination of the Cherub Key with the TV! N'awww. Wouldn't there be a combination where she speaks about dreaming about one day ending up inside a TV fictional universe?

Tap Dance + TV: Alas, Joey does not possess a personal version of Dance Dance revolution...

Cherub Key + Beanbag: Huh, so the beanbags are 20-years-old, and it was the sitter that distributed them, not Grandpa! She got them from the attic, and Blaperile has a good point - it means she was near the portal! Bet she was not interested to look under the sheet, though... Or too drunk to notice it.

Batteries + Manthro Chap: ... They vibrate. THE MANTHRO CHAPS VIBRATE. DEAR GOD THAT IS HORRIFYING.

... Huh! We just tried to combine the items with the ceiling. The batteries give a normal enough response, but the Cherub Key prompts something about the Walkie Talkie, instead!

Diary Key + Mural: Yeah, if she took the cherub key from the jewel box when she was just about four years old, she must've been little older than a baby when her mom died. Still, she remembers her so fondly. :,(

Heirloom + Animal posters: Animal moms giving animal babies animal presents, like rays of sunlight? N'awwww.

Cherub Key + Clothes closet : Actually, that would make a nice accessory for We Love Fine!

I just had a thought regarding the Junior Veterinarian's Medkit: Maybe it was Mom that left the Junior Ectobiologist for John to find in the meteor lab? :D

Shoes + Medkit: N'awww, Joey's opposing career paths at the moment: world-class dancer, or animal vet? It would be nice if she could find a common ground between the two career paths, unlikely though that is. Maybe... Choreographing a dance act with animals? :D

Clarissa + Shoes: Hah, okay, I was wrong: it's an American sitcom. I like how much What Pumpkin did the research regarding air dates, as is shown in the prompt for this combination.

Batteries + Bed: "DON'T WAKE DADDY" I ... I think I remember the commercials for this game. Dear god. Parker Brothers they say, huh. My first thought was it was from Hasbro. ... Wait, we just looked it up, and Parker Brothers has a spiral symbol... and was actually renamed to Hasbro! Hah, okay.

Diary Key + Bed: "punctuated incorrectly", because that's her style.

<image 14>

Hehehehe.

Ah, we just tried to see what happens when you write in the diary, to see whether the key ends up back in Puppy Surprise. It does, but... You can't take it out again. Guess we'll hang on to it a little longer.

<image 15>

I suppose Pa got her the Snork because it's a (fictional) rare animal. Kind of thoughtful to her interests, at least? Unlike the shotgun for Jude. Which I don't think we'll see again.

Heirloom + Plushes: :( Joey really didn't know her Mom at all, right? It seems most of it is just wishful thinking.

Shoes + Books: She's got a few books on tap dancing! And... Apparently the subject used to be kind of snuffed by the snobby elite. Welp.

Diary Key + Ballerina Figure: pffff, that gives the combo for Diary Key + Cherub Key. As does Cherub Key + Figure, huh. Kind of like the Escher-reference in the combo goes for the figure, too.

Wizard + Shoes: So many possible dance routines. So little time. The Pyromancer's Hotstep would be a good name for a fraymotif or some such.

Shoes + Oven: Lukewarm-stepping. I just.

Diary Key + Calendar: JOEY CLAIRE, EXTRAORDINAIRE! The writer really had a field day writing all these prompts, like we already knew from her interview.

Batteries + Calendar: Yup, like I thought, Skaianet was a megacorp, not only into science but also video games. Of course we knew already that Skaianet was behind SBURB, but at least in Hiveswap we learn it wasn't a one-off endeavour. It's in this way that they grew a fanbase that bought SBURB. I wonder if Joey knows her Pa runs Skaianet?

Calendar + Shoes: Ooooh, tap dancing class is Saturday morning??? Does that mean we'll get to see Sitter coming to pick her up (as she apparently does?? meaning she's old enough for a driver's license??) ... Maybe not, as Joey indicates sometimes the Sitter's too sick. Hung over from Friday night... I can see it happen she leaves a message on the answering machine "too sick, won't come in today, sry :( :( :("

Posters + Keys: Okay, so her diary and the posters were created by "L.F.", apparently. Which I guess is real, maybe? Possibly.

We got almost nothing left in the room to check now.

The computer seems like it might be the least plot-inducing?

... Yup, we just boot it. Hah, the operating system is... Panes 1994? No, Fenest-somesuch. An obvious play on Windows, of course. And it occurs to me that she wouldn't really know "internet" as we know it now! That's why she keeps talking about Jude's "webring". Hahahah. She's not getting any kicks from the internet, for sure. Even her posters are bought from a company, not printed herself.

Diary Key + PC: LiveJournal reference!

<image 16>

TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP. I see what you did there, What Pumpkin.

Next, I want to try the door. See what excuse she comes up with to not go out. Well, excuse, I suspect she'll just mention the monster, duh. ... Oh, she wants to alert Jude to the monster's presence. Because, you know, it's not like there's a garden full of them by now. ... It just occurred to me Joey hasn't noticed the winged monsters at all yet, so there would be no way for her to know.

Now, onwards, to the window!!

... WOWOWWWWWWWWW, look at that beaut! Those swirling clouds look AMAZING.

... N'awww, Tesseract is still hiding in the dog house. Guess she dug herself into the ground or something, since in the opening scene, it turned out she couldn't really fit inside. Tess' dog house is Japanese themed, the fountain has that Mother Grub theme, and the garden bushes are cut into the shape of monsters. ... Grandpa is anything but fashionable.

A lot of interactive parts here too!

Skull Fountain: "MONSTER CHIC". Hahahahah, yeah, it would be, right? They probably feel right at home inside the mansion, too, between all those props and mummies.

Tesseract: N'awww. Gotta work on your threats, there, Joey. Blaperile wonders whether we'll even get Tess out in Hiveswap. Maybe not, maybe that's a task for Dammek!

Monsters: Ah yes, the real monster here is GENTRIFICATION. Although... Does that mean that in the town of Hauntswitch' community, Jude and Joey aren't the real snobs, even though they live in a literal mansion?

Tree House: OOOooooh, so Joey's never been up there. It might not be sized to her, too, if Jude's a lot shorter than her. I like that we start to get even more insights into the relationship between them now.

Batteries + Window: oh got yes, the Problem Sleuth / Homestuck reference I wasn't expecting but am still super glad to get! :D

Well, that really only leaves the Walkie Talkie!

Better get this show on the road and trucking!

D'aaaahh, really? I thought the Walkie wouldn't end up in our inventory, but immediately became part of the interface. This means... This means we have another bazillion more combinations to comb out, hahaahhahhah.

Shoes + Walkie: What, this ISN'T a tap dance powered machinery? Preposterous!

Walkie + Calendar: "Throw 'em off your trail" Dear God Jude, the paranoia!

+ "Shelf Buds": "Tree Brother", real respectful of you Joey!

Bed + Walkie : Oooh, seems like this prompt can be different if you don't have the batteries yet! Also, Joey is an aspiring puzzle-solver AND an aspiring webmaster! So many career paths to choose from!

Walkie + PC: what would an interface like that even DO??? Also, heh, sneaky Alternia teaser.

+ Controllers: Welp, so meta. Joey loves SAVES. As do we, for this game especially. :D

+ Console: Whoops, another unremoved reference, this time to Mother 2.

+ Tetris: Something BLOCKING the signal, Joey? ... Yeah, I'm tickled by that pun in the prompt.

+ Shika: ... I ... Japanese shows are the WORST. :P (No they're not.)

+ Dresser: Oh, this solits a response too! Heh, combining the Cherub Key and the Dresser: "everything's still kind of ... monsters."

Since this is about everything we could do before talking to Jude, I decided to press the Hint button for the lulz and...

Yeah, it gives a different message everytime, making the hinter sound excessively smug each time. Making it almost seem like Doc Scratch.

I... I sure hope Doc Scratch isn't meant to be 'helping' Joey navigate Alternia.

---

That is as far as we came tonight!

At least, tomorrow, we'll finally be leaving Joey's room. Or we'll leave Joey IN her room, and start being Jude instead. That could work, too.

Wow, all these world building and character building though.