#you wanna do a one shot? side-quest? full season?

[sea-buns]

While I don’t have any fresh ideas on themes for future Intrepid Heroes seasons, I am always filled with thoughts about cast arrangements. The loudest being:

GM side-quest. Make Matt, Brennan, Aabria, and Murph the players. This is ideally GMed by most player of all time, Ally Beardsley. Just imagine the sheer force of GM-curse energy at this table. Combined with the dice gods’ favoritism of Ally, and Aabria’s inability to miss

Murph GM season. The possibilities are endless. You can keep the IH cast and just swap Murph and Brennan. OR

Murph picks some of his own “emotional support” players for a mix of new and old (à la EXU Calamity and The Ravening War style)

[casliveblog]

Custom Toonami Block Week 167 Rundown

Spy X Family: The Cruise Ship arc is finally over and the first half of the episode is just the family reuniting and getting into hijinks together which is something I have missed a bit in the more story-heavy past few episodes. It’s also kinda funny when Yor suddenly realizes she hasn’t slept in four days and just fucking passes out in the street. When they get back Anya’s of course ready to brag about her trip but she goes to an illuminati kid school so everyone else like got to the moon with SpaceX or something during their vacation so she just starts half giving out details she shouldn’t and half just straight making shit up which just makes her look like a huge dork while Becky tries to console her despite having a way better vacation because Becky is indeed a good girl. Yuri comes to the house after a few more shots around the cast of giving out souvenirs and shit and Anya has to tell everyone she made a fool of herself by lying at school and we get the definition of irony by having three adults living various secret lives telling her lying is bad and they just kinda let the episode end on that awkward silence and it’s probably one of the best comedic moments of the show.

Inuyasha The Final Act: It’s weird going straight from OG Inuyasha to The Final Act because originally there was five years between them but they really do pick up right where the original left off and has more plot development in one episode than the whole past season had. The plot’s basically at the point where all loose jewel shards have been accounted for so now it’s that period in the video game where you have to go back and do all the side quests you’ve been putting off. Hakudoshi’s infused Goryomaru’s soul into Moryomaru and is in full Betray Naraku mode, sending himself, Kagura and Moryomaru after the three remaining sources of non-Naraku jewel shards. It’s funny because Naraku knows this is coming and is watching it on Kanna’s Mirrorvision and is just holding Kagura’s heart the whole time ready to fucking kill her when her betrayal stops being funny. Hakudoshi goes after Kagome’s shard since she and Inuyasha are fresh off Kagome returning with the well and he… just kinda grabs it? Like damn it was that easy? Remember when half the original series was the gang owning half the jewel and Naraku trying to take it, like these guys can’t hang on to shit now, also this is the second time Hakudoshi has had the chance to stab one of Inuyasha’s allies and instead just steals their shit they were protecting right near their heart like I guess being part Naraku means you keep people alive for future manipulating. Meanwhile Moryomaru goes after Koga’s shards but he’s stopped by Kikyo, and Kagura tries to hunt down Kohaku who’s in the middle of his determination arc and Kagura catches the feels before she can kill him and ends up defending him from Hakudoshi. This kinda comes a little out of nowhere but Kagura has slowly grown more empathetic over the series and she can probably relate to someone wanting revenge on Naraku even though they realistically have no chance, like I think Kagura knows even with four jewel shards, Hakudoshi beating Naraku is kind of a pipe dream like the dude’s bricked up in his Final Form and has like 98% of the jewel I don’t think four shards will be the difference maker. Inuyasha’s group save Kagura and after a whole arc of her basically sorta helping them they essentially see her as an ally now and when Hakudoshi abducts her she tells them the Baby is inside Moryomaru and like… wouldn’t the only way to kill Naraku be killing the baby and they just made a superpowered demon armor for it? Like if I remember right the idea was to absorbed Naraku and become a hive mind with the Baby in control of the Moryomaru part being the main body since they see Naraku’s heart as his true essence but like if you really wanna kill him just stab that baby, I guess it’s basically Hakudoshi’s twin so he doesn’t want to do that but still this is a lot of complicated trickery for a simple task but then again that is kind of Naraku’s MO. Hakudoshi’s there gloating like ‘Naraku has Kagura’s heart in his hand and I’m basically invincible since my heart’s also The Baby so sucks to be you and I’m immortal’ and Naraku does the funniest thing ever and just fucking disperses the Saimyosho around Hakudoshi and lets him get sucked up by Miroku’s Wind Tunnel, proving when he has to be nerfed in 90% of situations because this show would be so short otherwise, it’s really fucking funny and like the only time the Wind Tunnel is allowed to be plot relevant so it’s one of my favorite scenes in the series.

Moryomaru attacks Kohaku but the group come and save him and both Kagura and Kohaku basically decide that they don’t want to become party members, Kagura because she’s basically a dead girl walking and the only reason she’s not dead already is because Naraku likes making her squirm, and Kohaku because even though Sango knows he remembers her now, until he feels redeemed for killing their family he can’t bear to look at her and be reminded of all the pain he’s caused. The Final Act really ramps up all these character arcs that have basically been stalling in the background and it’s kinda cool like the story progress was so slow in the original I sometimes didn’t notice when it was happening like Kohaku’s arc kinda came out of nowhere for me because I wasn’t paying attention the first time and his story bits were so far apart but it’s legit one of the most important elements of The Final Act and the convergence of all those disparate story threads is something I really appreciate about Inuyasha as a series even if getting there is a bit of a chore sometimes.  

Castlevania: Lisa is a girl that wants to learn medicine and as anyone who’s been to medical school can attest you have to get through your stint of climbing into Dracula’s castle to learn the forbidden arts, that’s just how medicine works. Now since Lisa is a charming not like other girls ballbuster of mythical creatures, Dracula likes her and takes her up on her ‘try liking humans’ offer like sure, what does he have to lose from a tiny bit of vulnerability. Now unfortunately because this is at the beginning of the series and not at the end, that goes about as well as you’d expect. The Church find damning evidence on Lisa, BEAKERS AND SCIENCE FLUIDS, that’s definitely fucking Witchcraft and Judge Frollo ain’t having it (I don’t remember this guy’s name and I’m hoping he dies soon so he’s Frollo for the moment). They burn her as a witch and the one lady that mourns her death tells Dracula and he’s just like ‘okay I have one fuck in me left to give and that is you seem like a nice lady so get as far the fuck away from this city as you can’ and just becomes a superinferno of rage and goes to tell Frollo and the gang in his best Wizard of Oz impression that they have one year to either get the fuck out of town or kiss their ass goodbye because it’ll take him a year to summon a video game style horde of the damned and make this like the intro to DOOM. Alucard is not happy about this and is like ‘not all humans bro’ and Dracula is having none of it so they fight, almost like Alucard is doing the opposite of everything Dracula does, like he’s the… inverse somehow, like he’s… Dracula backwards. So a year passes and the town’s having their big ‘fuck Dracula we’re still here’ party and it’s like maybe Alucard won and there won’t be damnation… then it starts raining blood and Dracula’s just like “MOTHERFUCKERS WHAT DID I SAY YOU HAD ONE JOB!” and proceeds to unleash a demonic storm of torment and rage upon a world that deserves it in the name of someone who would’ve wanted no part of it. Meanwhile we cut over to Goatfuck Nowhere and a bunch of drunks are like ‘Man fuck the Belmonts, they’re no lineage of video game protagonists I tellyawhat” right in front of Trevor Belmont.

Jujutsu Kaisen: So it turns out Cursed Energy does really just work like Nen and the more drawbacks you give the stronger the technique. The barrier keeping everyone out is actually being held up by two old fucks and a punk from outside because that makes the barrier stronger if they’re outside and even stronger if they’re more likely to be seen. That makes sense and all but I feel like they’ve never been able to really get through Veils unless Gojo shatterpoints one from the top so like was all of that necessary? Feel like you could’ve still been inside and used it as a stall tactic or maybe been outside but in a less conspicuous spot and it’d be strong enough but we’ve got plot to do I guess. But yeah turns out the old fucks are just bad because ‘wah Gojo’s All Might and now we can’t do heinous crimes anymore’ like it’s really dumb and I hope they die horribly, though I do find it funny the entire curse ecosystem literally revolves around Gojo like he’s a Mary Sue but like for canonical reasons that deliberately fuck the entire world over. So yeah Ino’s fighting the punk and the old lady and his power is doing that thing where you put your head in your jacket except his lets him summon demons, I don’t remember being able to do that, anyway the granny turns the punk into Megudad and he beats the shit out of Ino and rips off his demon face hood, I’m guessing her transfiguration doesn’t copy techniques so turning someone into this world’s Rock Lee is probably the best you can do. Meanwhile Megumi and Yuji are fighting the old man and I think they did this power in Medaka Box at some point because it turns out he blocks strong attacks and amplifies weak ones so ideally you send a mid-tier fighter after him and he’s a goner but Megumi and Yuji are able to basically just turn off their energy and beat the shit out of him which is satisfying but for as gruesome as I know this arc will get I was kind of hoping for more for such a piece of shit.

Zom 100: It’s finale time and Akira figures out a cool loophole to Higurashi’s ultimatum that I didn’t think of right away but figured out like a minute before the reveal which is kind of what you want in a reveal. They use the makeup artist who was working on the zombie movie to make Akira up like a zombie and fake Higurashi out so they can get his dad back, pretty good solution all things considered, like I said last time the moral is the best way to make your parents proud is by living well but I also didn’t think they were just gonna sit there and let Akira’s dad die. We get a quick rundown of Higurashi’s backstory and it’s appropriately sad before he gets turned into a zombie and gets some semblance of peace. The gang manages to break out of the village with the help of the treehouse guy from like five episodes/six months ago and they turn out to be great at helping rebuild the village. Akira’s dad’s gonna be fine he just needs some Preparation H but everyone gets to write down their own endgoal items for the bucket list as well as a bunch of random shit they wanna do along the way, like the barrel scene in One Piece but if it was told by a rambling person with ADHD. Akira’s planned to find a cure for the zombie virus… sort of, it’s basically just doing the shit he was already doing but with the vague idea of maybe finding a cure in the background. So yeah, the finale’s as dumb and silly as we’ve come to expect from this show and it made me cry a little and smile a lot so good stuff.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End: This one’s a little hard to describe because I think anyone who knows anything about this series already knows the premise because that’s its main selling point so I don’t want to spell it out and be repetitive. Frieren is the mage of your standard dot jpg RPG/D&D group and after they kill the demon king or whatever Frieren’s just like ‘alright I’m out, I’ll check in every few decades to make sure you’re not choking on water or however humans die’ and by the time she comes back her pseudo-love interest Himmel is like a week from death and all they can do is give him a last hurrah before he goes and Frieren realizes she’s wasted the entirety of a human lifetime not connecting with someone she really cared about. The strange thing is it’s implied they have a way to contact her because like she came back for Himmel’s funeral (either that or he died like RIGHT after the meteor shower idk) and they just… didn’t? Like they seem to be coordinated enough to all gather together when they need to but no one thought about calling her up in the last 50 years or maybe it’s just coincidence. I also quite like that they establish their journey itself took ten years, that’s a reasonable amount of time for an epic D&D campaign and it also means that they’re not just teenagers by the end like Himmel’s at least 20-30 something so him dying when he’s like 70-80 isn’t terribly outlandish even though he looks like the youngest of the group. Frieren takes a short sabbatical of like another ten years until their priest friend is almost dead, (she seems to have a habit of showing up right before someone’s ready to die) and he’s just like ‘okay I know I said I wasn’t a pussy scared of dying last time but being old really sucks so can you translate this tome of immortality and also look after my adoptive daughter, kthxbye’ and I’m just waiting for this tome to be an ancient jokebook or some shit or some horrendous fate worse than death, it’s definitely one of the two. We also get introduced to Fern who’s a little Kirito in training because she’s like eight and already overpowered as fuck. Frieren doesn’t wanna just yeet her into the world with her and get a tiny purple-haired Rika Furude lookin girl killed so she’s just gonna stay and train her while she’s around.

Vinland Saga: We continue the Saga of the Madness of Daddy Canute and turns out the country’s fucking broke because Canute needs a thousand dudes watching his back every second from a combination of general paranoia and being the dick that invaded England and let his own brother die. So Canute’s plan is to requisition farmland and basically just be like ‘this belongs to the king now, thanks’ and by sheer coincidence, Ketil’s farm is the first on his chopping block. Also by sheer coincidence, Ketil’s arrived to visit King Harald only he’s already fucking dead (second show in a row where the person shows up right around when the person they wanted to see dies) and unsurprisingly Olmar gets into a fucking fight with this guy named Thorfinn but we’re just gonna call him Bug-Eyes to not confuse him with regular Thorfinn. Turns out Bug-Eyes is Leif’s adopted son since he’s been traveling around adopting Thorfinns hoping that he finds the regular Thorfinn and just so happened to trip over the guy that currently owns him… man shit before long-range communication was wild you just had to globehop and hope you find the one guy out of millions you were looking for, I can’t even find my friends in a crowded convention hall without a phone. Anyway Leif may or may not be going to Ketil’s farm but in the meantime Ketil’s meeting with Canute and doesn’t know they’re about to jack his farm. Olmar gets up during the meeting and begs to go to war with Canute and does things with a sword that are so wildly wrong that even though I’ve never held a sword in my life it made me cringe. Still he’s lucky Canute’s currently in need of an idiot to hold hostage to make the transition to requisitioning Ketil’s farm go smoothly so yeah looks like Canute’s going straight to Evil King territory and we’re likely gonna see his and Thorfinn’s storylines converging real soon.

[galadrieljones]

The Walking Dead: Episode 4.12, “Still” Rewatch

So I rewatched “Still” in honor of the Stilliversary tonight. My thoughts are not related much to Team Delusional stuff, more so just thoughts and idle analysis, but I had fun and definitely did not cry.

Here we go!

Beth is already feeling it, right away, after the trunk scene, ie: what he must think of her. She’s just another “dead girl” who needs to be protected. It is both insulting and embarrassing at the same time.

Daryl misses that squirrel and breaks an arrow! Dammit, Daryl. This is just another trial, but it’s interesting in how we see Daryl in like rote provider mode, and yet he makes a mistake.

The suck-ass camp begins with some Garden of Eden imagery: While Daryl skins and cooks the snake, Beth is admiring the beauty of a ladybug crawling on a leaf. The music is actually full of wonder. Beth sees the beauty in the natural world while Daryl sees it only for what he can use. It is an essential masculine vs. feminine moment, in terms of their individual themes, and what propels them and their actions. Their masculine and feminine energies will be subverted later though, and well-complicated, because the writing is good.

Beth brings up Hershel’s death early: “He’s not exactly around anymore so...” She wants to have a drink, maybe to rebel against her father, maybe to honor his memory, maybe to seal her own fate. It is a complicated choice for Beth. It’s not just some “dumb college bitch” moment. She knows this, but how is she supposed to communicate it to Daryl?

Daryl is like an animal eating that snake while Beth tries to talk to him. Literally, out of body. I imagine being her and just like, Ugh. Gross, dude. Then, when she leaves, Beth totally expects him to come after her. When she doesn’t see him right away, she mutters, “Jerk.” She called him a jerk in season 3, too, after he takes off with Merle. I think Beth is used to being treated nicely by boys. Ofc, Daryl, while he may not be an overt gentleman in his scarfing of that disgusting snake, was there watching her the whole time. 

“You wanna spend the rest of our lives staring into a fire and eating mud snakes? Screw that. We might as well do something.”

I sort of missed this before, the mention of “the rest of our lives.” It is a small acknowledgement that they are now “stuck together.” Ofc, Beth’s idea is to “make the most of it,” to go out into and DO something! Embrace the future! Daryl sees only the here, the now, and the past. He would prefer to stay still.

Unrelated but: God, Daryl is peak hot in this episode. 

Anyway, so, the state of Pine Vista, and what happened there. Jfc. It’s very ugly and very sad. The Dogtrot seems a reference to a dogtrot house, which is an old Appalachian style home. Basically like two shacks connected via a breezeway. I see some sort of backcountry types having moved in here and tortured the rich folk. There is evidence that “fun” was had. “Rich bitch,” etc. Maybe it’s the same psychopaths who tormented the OG Terminus crew, ultimately turning them into crazy cannibals.

Beth finds the Washington D.C. spoon. Why?? It’s such an odd, pointed shot, with a slow zoom. Is that where we’ll find her? Does anybody else know anything about this?? Anyway maybe this is a TD post lol.

Beth finds that bottle of wine and it’s a shame she has to break it! I remember feeling so bad about that the first time I watched this episode. Like NO BETH YOUR BOOZE!! She uses it to stab the shit out of that walker though, and to defend herself. She’s kind of pissed at Daryl for not helping her, again used to only the kindest of attention from boys. But Daryl isn’t like other boys (lol). He was there the whole time, once again, but he let it play out, because he knew she could do it. I like that her first (almost) drink here sort of has to become a weapon instead. Nothing is ever easy! And sometimes, the environment IS best observed, not in terms of its beauty or promise, but in terms of how its use can best be served to survive.

Tempus Fugit - Time flies! Oh, yes. Yes it does lol.

Daryl and Beth both need to escape their old selves here. Beth with her pretty cloths and Daryl stealing the cash and the jewels. They need to shake that shit off. Burn it all down, if you will. I think this episode we mostly associate with Daryl changing and having his epiphany, but Beth changes, too. She is just quieter at it.

It is 3 o’clock! The grandfather clock is this interesting motif that puts pressure on the situation literally while also bringing the symbolic pressure of time passing, running out, etc. It makes us feel detached from reality, like this is a purgatory episode. I like when The Walking Dead does this, like when they take us to a new place in which we become critically aware that this thing we’re watching is fiction, and by the rules of fiction, anything (ANYTHING) can happen.

“I know you think this is stupid, and it probably is, but I don’t care.” She just is who she is. She doesn’t give a shit what he thinks. I think that attracts Daryl to her in this moment and emboldens him. I think Daryl actually really cares what other people think of him, that he is keenly self-aware in this way. We see this fear manifest as Merle in Chupacabra, ie: that the rest of the group thinks he’s a “freak,” a piece of “redneck trash,” and that they’re all “laughing behind [his] back.” Meanwhile, Beth is just like, “You probably think I’m just some dumb bitch. But guess what, Daryl? I DON’T CARE.”

Beth sitting at that bar trying to clean out glasses: “Who needs a glass?” She clutches the bottle longingly and then cries. I would argue she is thinking of Hershel and the line of questioning that arises in this moment. Should she do this? Is she betraying him? This moment also contradicts what she tells Daryl in 4.1. “I don’t cry anymore Daryl.” This is the moment that breaks him.

Beth keeps trying to make him feel normal, while they’re walking to the shine shack. She thinks he used to be a motorcycle mechanic. But Daryl’s normal is not hers, and he doesn’t really do small talk. In these little moments, we see him being who he is. Daryl is really good at being who he is when who he is revolves around passivity and silence.

They go from country club to moonshine shack. What we see is how a class divide might differ in longevity. A country club full of walkers, made out of humans who turned against each other, every bottle dry in the house vs. an empty shine shack, no death in sight, absolutely full of booze. When societal protections collapse around us, it is the ruthless and the bereft who will know how best to survive. It’s like Beth sad about Daryl, being “made for this world.” 

They are trapped! Tropes. So many romantic tropes! Lol at people who would like to ignore that any of this happened or that Bethyl was never canon.

This: 

Anyway, I think Daryl is actually pretty mean to Beth toward the end here, out on the porch, like the way he treats her, kind of tugs her around physically. He doesn’t hurt her, but he is not gentle. This puts things into harsh perspective for Beth, as I do think that, while he is not right in how he handles her here, he is right in some ways about who she is. She is not naive but she is used to protection and safety and relying on others, the same way he is used to the opposite of those things. Both of them need to learn how to exist from the other side. 

Beth also sees what’s going on, however. I think she also might be used to this sort of quasi-violent, performative, drunken behavior. Her dad was a drunk. I think it’s interesting that so much of this episode hinges on alcohol in Hershel’s wake. I always thought this might be one reason Beth is drawn to and accepting of Daryl. We only really see Hershel while sober (I mean, mostly). We never saw him in his deep element of alcoholism, but Beth did. She is not innocent to vices or men spinning out of control. It’s why Beth responds to Daryl’s whole insane story about the tweaker and Merle with, “You miss him, don’t you?” She doesn’t care that Merle was a degenerate drug addict. He was Daryl’s brother who died. She has loved and lost an addict, too.

Before, Daryl was just “drifting.” In this episode, Beth gives him a quest. I think that’s very important. She also gives him something to look forward to:

“You got away from it.”

“I didn’t.”

“You did.”

“Maybe you gotta keep on reminding me of it sometimes.”

The hint at their future: “You gotta keep on reminding me,” he says, counting on them staying together. Beth is so kind to him here, too, even doting as she talks about him being the “last man standing.” I can’t imagine a girl has ever treated Daryl like this. I think she scares the living shit out of him.

Daryl suggests they go back into the shine shack, but Beth says they should burn the place down instead. Again, stillness vs. action. See their complimentary traits: Daryl is passive. He needs someone to tell him this is okay. Beth is active. She does what she wants. It is uniquely antithetical to their gender roles and subverts the power dynamic we might otherwise expect from a relationship like this: Daryl is older and a man. Ofc he should be the more aggressive, assertive one. The actor. But he’s not. It’s Beth who makes their choices in this episode. Daryl follows her and protects her along the way. 

The ending is so happy. Oh my god. Anyway.

Thank you for humoring me. Happy Stilliversary!! 😭🥺❤️

[razorblade180]

Overall thoughts on V8? Assuming you didn't answer this already.

I meant to do a volume wrap up review but I got incredibly busy and it fell to the waste side. The thing about me judging RWBY I have to come at it from two angles or I won’t feel like I judged it appropriately. There’s the casual, first time seeing the episodes and seeing this through the lens as a casual watcher who probably only sees the episodes once or twice. But then there’s the other side to that coin. I review these episodes, write aus, theorize, check extended lore, listen to the music, etc; that means I have to go back and watch episodes several times for any given reason and that’s when you start noticing the holes or picking up on things you didn’t before.

As a casual watcher, I’d give this an 8/10. There’s plenty of moments where characters do things that got me excited and plot points I wanted explored. This volume actually gave a decent amount of things I wanted for quite some time and some things I didn’t know I needed. Certainly there are things I don’t like in this but I’m open and curious to see where RT takes their storie because it’s their story.

Okay, now as a someone who’s had to deep dive and take a step back multiple times for a variety of reasons. 6.5/10 maybe a 7/10 if I’m being generous. A lot of my problems with this volume are problems that aren’t new to RWBY and that’s just how surface layer portions of arcs are and how a variety of choices/bonds don’t exactly make sense with what we were previously shown, or they only make sense because the writers don’t want introduce other complexities even though they should be there realistically. I’ll give a couple examples of these and yes, I’m aware what I say doesn’t bother everyone but it bothers me.

Qrow was never angry at or brought up Robyn being the reason their airship crashed in the first place because she started the fight; which aids in Clover dying.

Emerald follows Cinder, not Salem. Even if Cinder is working under Salem, why would Emerald be so willingly to complete shift to the side that actively goes against Cinder? There’s been no grand revelation to make Emerald believe Cinder doesn’t give a damn about her. Leaving made sense because she was about to get tortured. Going full turncoat right now doesn’t. No change happened. Emerald always hated being near Salem but adored Cinder no matter the crimes and the show hasn’t done anything to switch that view point.

I’m happy Whitley and Weiss had a touching sibling moment that implies they’re okay and making/made up, but there was never a conversation about the actual problem and thoughts that had them at odds in the first place. Weiss saving his and Willow’s life shouldn’t be the thing that smooths things over. It would’ve been terrible if Weiss do something to save their life. Whitley helping Penny is okay I guess because he really had no reason to contribute but did anyways. Even so, a person doing a morally correct thing doesn’t automatically warrant the conflict between him and Weiss’s resolved.

We got Cinder’s backstory; it didn’t tell us anything about how she eventually came into contact with Salem. Honestly her back story felt more in line of her main goal through the series was an absolute freedom by the means of breaking down the systems that trapped and didn’t give a damn, rather than her quest for power. Yes you can argue gaining power means it’s easier to maintain her freedom to do whatever she wants but I personally think that’s a little off the mark when you gave her a story that involves her trapped by rules and time rather than being too physically weak to gain freedom.

This show has built up that the Schnee family has suffered various types of abuse because of Jacques and uses Weiss as a medium to build towards breaking free from that. Not just overcoming but confronting the abuse by cementing it’s place below you. We don’t really get that. There will never be a moment where the siblings and mother truly get to break out of Jacques grasps emotionally and then put him in his place because he’s dead! Yeah they never have to worry about him again but even last volume they showed Winter still having turmoil and being able to get strung along by him. We don’t even really know how Whitley perceived his father. It feels so lackluster. Then they care to mention how it’s Weiss’s idea to save him like it’s an empowering moment when in actuality, it would be against her character, values of a huntress, and morality to let a person die in cell when you’re the reason they’re in a cell! Letting him die in there would just terrible. I don’t even know why he wasn’t let out in that scene! He’s a coward! He’d follow their orders to save his skin. All he has to do is shut up and walk through a portal.

Ironwood and Oscar both knew they could remove that staff to use it and Atlas wouldn’t drop immediately. Why did nobody have any kind of compromise with one another since there’s nothing stopping them from using the staff for something and then putting it back? They had this morally gray thing going on which I liked but then they decided to make Ironwood go full evil. I’ve never had to say this before but the song he got in V7 and the character they made him be in V8 just don’t connect. I got upset listening to that song recently because I liked that Ironwood.

Clover’s importance. RT tried making a character who had no more than 9 minutes in the series and one meaningful line of dialogue into the cornerstone of a side plot. Clover is such a nothing character. Vine did more than Clover. They try to make him have such a profound impact to the people around him but we never see him bond with his team; Harriet specifically. We get one scene of Clover telling Qrow the kids are fortunate to have Qrow even if he doesn’t think so. First, I doubt Clover knows Qrow decided to get drunk in a ghost town and the kids nearly died and cellar while he did it so that compliment doesn’t hold much weight for me. Second, We see nothing meaningful between the two. V7 has a time skip and just expects viewers to be on board with Clover being this influential change on Qrow without showing anything outside of a witty remark and Clover flexing his semblance. I would’ve bought it more of Qrow almost relapsed and Clover stopped him then had a real meaningful conversation.

Ruby goes against Ironwood only to then want to do a plan that’s aligned to longer term thinking than even his, talks about how everyone should be working together, but then adds a part in her video to actively antagonize and vilify Ironwood. Afterwards, she wonders where everything went wrong and doesn’t think of a plan or do anything to immediately help either kingdom until the final hour between the ultimatum being made, to everything getting destroyed. The inciting incident was disagreeing Mantle should be left in favor of Atlas but the main character didn’t do anything to help Mantle 90% of the season and hindered Atlas’s safety up until the final plan.

Yang is used to be the devil’s advocate in a bunch of situations, but she’s wrong most of the time or her lines just don’t make any sense. They weren’t doing just fine before Atlas. They almost died every step of the way. The team didn’t beat a Leviathan; silver eyes and a robot take credit for that. Why would Blake think less of Yang for wanting to go save people immediately? Blake was never mad at anyone to begin with. Yang consistently calls out people for following orders as if it’s objectively wrong, but is never called out on the fact she hasn’t followed anybody’s orders but her own and added discourse to every situation. I get RT is making her ask questions because that’s what Raven told her to do, but all she’s really doing is picking fights and disobeying every order. Yang states to Ruby they accomplished more than they expected. That’s false, getting Oscar back is correcting a mistake caused by her own plan that she didn’t even complete.

It took 6 volumes before Yang had anything to do with the Summer Rose subplot again and 7 volumes before her and Ruby had a sister to sister conversations; 5 if you wanna count Yang telling Ruby to leave at the end of volume three. The reason I bring this up is because in V8 , they treat their argument as if it’s a big deal but then have every character say it wasn’t that big a deal; but then have two circle back to that conversation later after having neither character discuss to anybody that the argument actually did weigh on them. Yang doesn’t think about Ruby until she sees her again and the closest we get with Ruby is Blake reassuring her that people need her and how Blake admires her. I like that scene but it’s not the same as Ruby actually airing out the specific point that Yang said something that Ruby found hurtful. Vol8 in general people trying to comfort others but nobody ever actually addresses what made them uncomfortable to start with. Except Ren.

This one is a nitpicking but I’ll say it anyways. Penny getting hacked only served as a purpose to go to the vault, a thing Ironwood already wanted them to do. Nobody got her because she was hacked. You can’t even say her getting hacked is the leading factor to her actually dying because Penny became a vulnerable human afterwards that can’t be rebuilt. Pietro was gone, and already stated last volume he doesn’t have the aura to build Penny again. If she died as a robot then it’s still permanent death. No core, no Pietro, and no aura; hacking her was just to create a Hound reveal situation and make them go to the vault on a different set of terms. I’m not exactly upset with this, but I don’t understand why the extra steps. The Hound was hunting her anyways. I would’ve brought some kind of value if she hurt a friend and it caused them to potentially hinder the plan later on or remove them entirely. Penny could’ve rekt Yang and it only adds value to Yang getting one shot later. I don’t know. I’m rambling.

I think I’ve wasted enough people’s time. Honestly, I do like this volume. I’ve enjoyed a bunch of it. But there’s things that legitimately make me think it’s not as good others and makes V7 even worse.

[orionsangel86]

Sam & Eileen - A Supernatural Romance.

I am quite clearly over the moon about 15x06 and Sam reunited with and bringing Eileen back from the dead. I was so over the moon in fact, that I burst into tears when Eileen stepped out of the bathtub and took Sam’s hand. That was… wow. 

That was the most romantic moment in this show since 13x05 “it’s never too late” (also a return from the dead!)

So I was inspired to write an homage meta post celebrating Sam and Eileen’s romance looking back at everything canon has given us on this epic pairing.

It turns out, despite all my usual grumbling, there is still one het ship out there that I can totally get behind, and no one deserves love more than our dear Sam Winchester.

11x04 - Baby

This is where I believe the story started for Sam. 

“You don’t ever want something more?”

(x)

“You know, with a hunter? Somebody who understands the life?”

This question, from Sam to his brother at the start of Season 11, has shaped so much of the subtext in the seasons following. It’s significance to the Winchesters individual development arcs, their hopes, their dreams. It blatantly spelled out for the audience what both these boys desire and what they deserve for each of their endgames.

Not a white picket fence, not the apple pie life, just something. Something that suits them. Something to share with someone else, romantically, who might fit that particular box. Let me be very clear here and stress that Sam certainly wasn’t talking about him and Dean finding that something with each other.

Dean’s journey towards finding that something has been building for even longer than this particular moment in canon, with the other stand out scene being his confession in 10x16 where he talked about having things, people, feelings, that I want to experience differently than before, or maybe even for the first time. Dean’s journey is something we have discussed at length, and as every meta writer in fandom knows all too well, it only leads in one particular direction - towards a certain dreamy blue eyed angel. 

Sam’s journey has not been discussed as intensely as Dean’s, but 11x04 did lay groundwork for the writers to build upon. It hasn’t been as smooth or as obvious in the subtext as Dean’s either, with certain writing decisions appearing to come out of left field and confuse the path. But it seems that Dabb has course corrected and brought us back on track. 

This episode was the first time in canon in a long time that we heard Sam textually voice his desire for a romantic relationship of some kind. I therefore immediately got excited and locked this moment away in a pocket in my heart to pull out again if ever the show would introduce a character who could fit those requirements for Sam. 

The show did not disappoint.

11x11 Into the Mystic

GOD I forgot how full of delicious layers this episode was! It was written by the same writer who wrote 11x04. Robbie Thompson clearly had something in mind for Sam when he first wrote that script, and he gave it to us (and Sam) in this episode.

Eileen is introduced in 11x11 as another Hunter on a quest for vengeance - to avenge her murdered family.

It isn’t a surprise that we basically immediately shipped Eileen with Sam after this episode first aired, because her entire backstory is written to compliment Sam. Within the first 5 minutes of getting to know her, she already fulfills the requirements from Sam’s wistful speech in 11x04. She is a hunter, she is someone who understands the life. But more than that, she is all of the following:

She is on a revenge quest

She has murdered parents

She was raised by a Hunter or rather “trained” to be a Hunter rather than raised (in a scene which implies a similarly strict hunter upbringing to Sam and Dean)

She continued hunting alone after her guardian died

Her grandfather was a Man of Letters, making her a MOL Legacy, just like Sam.

Her mother was a lawyer, so she makes a joke about studying law which prompts further bonding with Sam due to his Stanford law education.

Eileen catches Sam’s eye almost immediately, and it is surprising I didn’t pick up on that on my first watch at the time, but Eileen is literally disguised as the cleaner in order to go unnoticed. Sam had no reason to be suspicious of her, and I think at the time we all assumed that he just wanted to question a potential witness - but even so, there was no need to interrupt Mildred to go speak to her. Could Sam’s distraction have been a bit more than strictly professional? In hindsight I’m gonna go with YES.

Their next meet is cute simply because by this point the audience is misled to think that she is actually the banshee. The ominous music tones, the shots of Eileen watching the Winchesters from a window. We believe that she is the villain, and then when she uses magic to pin Sam and comes at him with a dagger it’s practically a romantic trope used in enemies to lovers fics. A case of mistaken identity (another trope) and Sam and Eileen are able to reveal each of their truths. They bond immediately with both Sam and the audience learning all of the above. the checklist requirements indicating their compatibility is so blatantly obvious its almost too on the nose. But then het romance always seems that way doesn’t it?

The real kicker in this episode that made my heart sing at the time was this:

“Feel free to drop me a line if you ever need anything. Or even if you just wanna hang out”

“you can’t call me though, I mean you could call but I won’t answer.”

(x)

FIRST OF ALL - HOW DARE YOU KILL ME WITH FEELS SAMMY OVER THAT GORGEOUS SMILE

Sam’s line here though was SUCH A LINE. “Or even if you just wanna hang out”

I see you Sam Winchester. Hoping for Netflix and Chill right? I know you have Netflix. You gave Cas your password. :P

This little interaction at the end of this episode was pure flirtation and it was gorgeous to watch (and to rewatch, with hindsight, knowing what happens in 15x06 to totally deepen their relationship. Urgh. I guess I really am a sucker for a good old fashioned Supernatural Love Story!)

The other big takeaway from this episode is that meeting Eileen rejuvenated Sam. He starts the episode unable to sleep, haunted by his Lucifer trauma and feeling so down and broody that Dean steps in constantly to ask if he’s okay and try to engage in talking about feelings (always a bad sign for a Winchester to get to the point where they feel they need to ask the other to talk about feelings!)

But the end of the episode marks a significant change in Sam. He smiles, he opens up to Dean, he textually states that the case helped him. He opens up a keepsake box (that we never knew he had before this episode) and puts the retirement homes leaflet in there - an indication that he actually has hope that he might live to see a happy retirement (a wonderful sign for someone who just 40 minutes ago was acting like a total nihilist.)

The case alone wasn’t some spectacular revelation, so what else could have possibly caused Sam’s change of heart? The answer is obvious. Eileen did. She acted like a beacon of light this episode for Sam, and in a perfect bookend to how the episode opened, Sam curls up in bed, turns off his light, and is able to sleep. It is only Dean who spends the night restless and haunted.

This was the first time that Eileen acted as a “win” for Sam just by meeting him.

Unfortunately, we don’t meet Eileen again until a whole season later in

12x17 - The British Invasion

This episode is a far cry away from 11x11′s layered genius. Messy, overly plot heavy, too many various character stories causing mental whiplash, too much focus on unnecessary side characters, LUCIFER existing in general, an unnecessary sex scene between Mary and Ketch (eww), a bloody death scene, and moments of utter stupidity from the lead characters.

In other words it’s a CLASSIC BUCKLEMING.

Do yourselves a favour and if you ARE planning on re-watching this episode, just skip to the parts with Dean, Sam and Eileen (the Dagon and Kelly stuff is relatively good as well - the rest is utter garbage).

Anyway, pushing aside my hatred for the terrible duo for a moment, I will say that as per usual, what they lack in subtlety and intelligent subtextual layering, they make up for with a sledge hammer to the face in terms of trying to get a point across. So when it comes to Saileen in this episode, well, it might as well be canon already.

Practically every time Sam and Eileen interact in this episode, they are framed as a flirtatious couple in the early tentative stages. The smiles and playful flirting, the smirks when one does something to make the other proud. It is very clear, even if it is still technically subtextual, that both Jared and Shoshannah are playing this like these characters are attracted to one another, and are building on that relationship.

Hell, even Dean teases Sam twice about Eileen in this episode (though once was in a deleted scene that they should have kept instead of the Lucifer crap):

(x)

What we also find out from this opening scene, is that Sam and Eileen have been communicating off screen since 11x11. It is textually confirmed that the two of them have been developing their relationship previously, and we just haven’t seen it. Did Eileen visit the Bunker previously? Because she certainly seemed comfortable there this episode. Have her and Sam cuddled up to watch movies previously? (We know another pairing that textually do this even though we’ve never seen it on screen - Dean and Cas). Dean feels comfortable enough to tease his little brother in that playful typical sibling way, so clearly Eileen at this point has become a more frequent character in Sam’s life. It’s just a shame we as the audience have never seen anything of it until this episode. 

This episode might be the first time we have seen her again since her introduction, but it certainly isn’t the first time Sam has seen her since. This is canon.

The rest of this episode continues this theme of displaying with zero subtlety that Sam and Eileen have something more than friendship. One of the easiest ways to truly see the effect of this is just watching Sam in scenes with her compared to Sam at any other time. Like in 11x11, Eileen manages to light Sam up and have him grinning like a puppydog. It’s kind of adorable and also quite shocking when you realise how rare it is to see Sam smile (or any of the characters in this angstfest of a TV show for that matter.)

Just look at the above cheesy smile in the car scene. Look at Sam’s bashful face here when Dean teases him in front of his girl:

(x)

Look at this smug face when Eileen snaps back at the irritating guy:

(x)

Jared hits every mark playing a loved up Sam Winchester. 

By the end of this episode, a tragedy strikes and Eileen is scared off. Their relationship here ends on a comforting hug, because meaningful relationships in this show are almost always first signified with comforting hugs following traumatic events, and tentative hand holding.

The way he strokes her hair gently is just SO touching and intimate.

(x)

When all is said and done Eileen leaves, terrified of the British Men of Letters. When Dean asks Sam where she was, he tells him she went back to Ireland, and Sam looks so dejected at that thought. I don’t see how anyone can possibly read his reactions towards Eileen as anything other than romantic affection.

As a bonus point - I will mention that due to Bucklemings sledgehammer approach, it is quite clear that Eileen plays a Cas mirror in this episode. All of her scenes with Sam are paired off against Dean who spends this entire episode trying and failing to get hold of Castiel. In the Winchester’s final scene, Sam greets Dean in the morning and immediately asks his brother about Cas. Sam does this a lot in season 12, because Dean’s concern for Cas is present throughout every episode in which he is absent. Dean admits he is worried, but changes the subject, instead asking Sam about Eileen (note that it is the next morning so Dean assumed she had stayed the night).

Both brothers revert to the other when it comes to their respective partners. Sam leaves it up to Dean to contact and worry about Cas, and Dean does the same with Sam about Eileen. By this being a common pattern throughout pretty much all of Carver/Dabb eras, both brothers subtextually acknowledge that they each have a strong emotional connection with their respective potential romantic partners and therefore any contact or communication about each partner must come from the brother closest. 

12x21 - There’s Something About Mary

Another Buckleming episode and the less said about this one the better. I won’t even mention the extremely insulting and inappropriate way to kill off a disabled character (almost as bad as killing off a lesbian by having nazis butcher her) I also won’t comment on the letter that Eileen sent Sam which whilst it did have romantic undertones, was clearly written by a 12 year old girl and did not marry with Eileen’s character at all (Eugenie showing her misogyny again).

The one good thing that came out of this episode (the only good thing) was Jared’s understated grief over Eileen’s death. 

(x)

(x)

His performance dealing with her death in this episode was beautiful. It was understated, but clearly portrayed as heartbreaking. Unfortunately Sam had to push it down and bottle it up. 

Eileen’s death was a huge shocker to us all as it didn’t make any sense at that point to cut short a story that seemed so clearly to be on a specific trajectory. We often talk about how Eileen’s romance with Sam at the time was tied to Dean and Cas, and that their relationship paralleled Dean and Cas’s in the narrative. This is all true, especially the death of Eileen coming as foreshadowing for the death of Castiel at series end. Just looking at that above gif of Sam where he looks at her corpse bears an extreme resemblance to Dean pulling back the sheet and looking down at a dead Castiel in 13x01.

However much I squee and love that these relationships are clear mirrors of each other though, I need to stress how Saileen, how Sam and Eileen’s canon relationship, is so much more than that. They may have mirrored Destiel, but they are also totally different, on a different course, and with a totally different backstory. Eileen doesn’t exist just to give Sam his own version of Cas to run off with. She is not there just to push up a separate ship. Sam and Eileen’s romance stands alone in this story. It may mirror DeanCas at times, but its purpose is not for DeanCas. It’s purpose is for Sam and Eileen. 

Right from the start she ticked all of Sam’s boxes, and the clear attraction between them made it obvious. Yet Eileen was not written to just be a love interest either. She is an ally, a capable hunter, who is written deeply, with her own trauma’s and tragic past. Yet she keeps fighting, all whilst owning her disability and making it work for her rather than hold her back. She is hardly a Lisa, or an Amelia, both of whom had zero depth of character and were more or less written to look pretty and concerned as the Winchester boys basically treated them terribly. Eileen stands out as an individual character far beyond her relationship with Sam. She was full of potential which is why her quick death was an absolute travesty. 

Eileen should not have been killed off. I believe even the writers are well aware of that, and this is why they brought her back. 

Which brings me to:

15x06 - Golden Time

We knew long before this episode aired that Eileen would be back as Dabb revealed her return at SDCC. He made comments at the time ensuring that any characters he brought back would not be fanservice, that they would be characters chosen because the writers felt their stories ended too quickly, and that they had more stories to tell. Something I believe that DabbBerens are doing in particular in this season is righting the wrongs of the past. Eileen’s death was a clear “wrong” and I think its highly likely that DabbBerens’ were aware of this and saw Eileen as a no-brainer to bring back. As I said at the start of this post, Dabb is course correcting, getting his endgame plans back on track, and ensuring that he hits certain markers in order to do that. 

Once again, we are at a place in the story where Sam is grieving, and suffering deeply from all of the loss and trauma that he has faced. Being God’s personal puppet, losing his mother, losing his son, and losing someone he was close to in Rowena by his own hand, has left him in a dark place. Sam’s arc in early season 15 plays out very similarly to Dean’s arc in early season 13. A Winchester in desperate need of a win.

Eileen was Sam’s win in this episode.

Given the time that has passed since Eileen’s last episode, and how the narrative has progressed since then, I was worried that Eileen’s return would seem like fan service, and would therefore fall flat (I felt this way with AU!Charlie and never warmed to the character because of it). I was also worried that whatever potential relationship might have been building between her and Sam in seasons 11 and 12 might not have shone through in this episode. But thankfully the writers played it pretty damn perfectly and Eileen’s return wasn’t just a small side plot to an otherwise jam packed episode (like Kevin’s return in 15x02). No, her story was the A plot as Sam devoted himself to finding a way to save her from a terrible fate.

My concerns about their potential romantic relationship not being played as it was in 12x17 were also completely unfounded. From the moment Sam saw Eileen’s ghost whilst on a jog the romance was immediately back and I have no doubt that Jared and Shoshannah are once again fully playing up the connection and romantic attraction between the two. 

I am so convinced of the romance being put across here, and I want you to see why I adore this so much (in case you don’t already see it). So here are my biggest and most important takeaways from Eileen and Sam’s scenes in this episode and WHY I feel these stand out as significant elements towards proving the writers intentions for this to be an endgame canon relationship:

1. Aside from the obvious similarities between Sam and Eileen that were written into 11x11 in order to ensure that Eileen was able to stand as Sam’s equal, the one other thing that we have long discussed that Sam needs in a partner is someone who at least somewhat understands the trauma and pain that he has experienced in his life. Sam has predominantly bonded with people via shared trauma. Before her death, Eileen had had her fair share of traumatic experiences growing up in the tough hunter lifestyle, but spending an eternity being tortured in Hell is a different level of trauma entirely.

This episode cleverly once again elevated Eileen to the same level as Sam. They are equals now, both through good and bad experiences. Eileen was dragged to Hell, and only escaped when Chuck released the souls. Given that 1 year on Earth is 100 years in Hell, this means that Eileen was in Hell for 250 years give or take. Her trauma, her pain over this, is something that she can’t talk about just yet, but this significant connection between her and Sam was textualised clearly:

SAM: “I’ve been there too. Hell… long time ago. You try and forget but it gets inside you. Talking helps.”

EILEEN: “I can’t. not yet.”

SAM: “I understand”

And he really does. It is something that we can argue is a shared suffering that can create a (forgive me for this) profound bond between two people. The only other people who can understand just what he has been through were Dean (via years of Hell torture), Cas (via shared Lucifer possession), and Rowena (via shared Lucifer torture). Eileen now makes that very small list.

2. The other big factor that this episode made clear to point out textually was that this is not a Chuck manipulation. This really is Eileen, and her return from death is not part of Chuck’s story: 

SAM: “Rowena got it, she didn’t know the details but she knew the game was rigged so this. Magic. This is how she kept control.”

The reason I do not believe that Eileen is part of Chuck’s manipulations is this very pointed line right here about Rowena. Along with many other things in this episode that indicate that it isn’t guided by Chuck, Sam specifically clarifies that Rowena used magic to maintain control over her own universe.

Whilst I fully believe that Rowena will be coming back as Queen of Hell (because whatever happens to Heaven and Hell at the end, they will need balance, and someone to play caretaker and Rowena has just been set up for this role far too perfectly for me not to at least consider the option), this episode so beautifully respects and honours her character, to the point that Rowena, even in her absence, is able to control and play architect to all that happens. Rowena effectively is given Chuck’s role over this particular narrative, but instead of being framed as something villainous, it is portrayed as a precious gift that she has given to her protege Sam.

Rowena rigged the system for herself, as Sam textually explains. Her use of magic, was her way of escaping Chuck’s control, and it is through Rowena that Sam is also given this power. The power to bring back someone he loves - who was most likely taken from him by Chuck’s own dark and poorly written story (yes I do believe that Meredith was throwing shade at Buckleming in the deep subtext - pretty much all the other writers do this all the time if you pay close enough attention :P)

Rowena’s journey from villain, to reluctant ally, to friend and then finally to family, is one of the most beautiful and epic journey’s on the show (rivalled only by Castiel in my opinion). She remains one of my all time favourite characters, and her tribute in this episode, that even after death she could bestow such a precious gift to Sam, is one that I think will remain one of the more touching stories this show has given us. This is yet another reason why I believe that Sam and Eileen are endgame. Because it is a gift from Rowena, and I believe it is a gift that will be honoured by the writers.

3. It’s a small moment, but it is IMPORTANT. Sam confirms that he was teaching himself ASL after he met Eileen. In a moment of adorable flirtation Eileen beams at him and a bashful Sam smiles and bounces on the spot like a giddy schoolboy. This is yet another reveal of moments in the lives of the Winchesters that we just don’t see in 40 minute episodes. That it is canon that Sam spent hours of his life teaching himself ASL so he could more effectively communicate with Eileen is so precious. There is no way to argue how much she meant to him. 

But it isn’t just evidence of Sam’s affections, it proves to be a useful tool to the hunt in this episode as well. When Sam is unable to speak due to the witches curse, he is instead able to sign “My brother” to Eileen so that she knows to go and get Dean. It is Sam’s knowledge of sign language, which he learned due to his affection and interest in Eileen, that saves his life in this episode. 

One point that I HAVE to mention here is how the writers gave so much thought to their depiction of Eileen as a deaf person, and how wonderful her return is as representation for deaf and hard of hearing people everywhere. In both this episode, and also in her first episode 11x11, her disability was not treated as a set back, but as a tool that enables her to get ahead. The only time the writing displayed an insulting and frankly ableist light was Bucklemings 12x21 which isn’t really surprising. We expect such things from Buckleming. The other writers have proven how much more compassionate and caring they are.

The idea that Sam Winchester could end up falling in love with a beautiful, deaf woman in Eileen is practically unheard of in TV media. When do the protagonists ever end up with anyone less than “TV perfect”? It is groundbreaking that Supernatural in it’s 15 seasons has grown so much and come so far. That it started with the fridging of two women, that it’s cast remained predominantly white men throughout its entire run, that it was blackened by excessive misogyny in its early days, as well as ableism via the treatment of Bobby Singer’s paralysis in season 5. 

Supernatural has faced heavy criticism throughout it’s run, but it seems like the writers have listened and are learning. By allowing Sam and Eileen to have a happy endgame, they are doing a wonderful service in truly putting this show on the map for progression and representation - They just need to make sure that they follow through on that other big important thing too…

4. Rebirth and new beginnings. I am reminded of 13x05 and the brilliant Steppenwolf song “It’s Never Too Late To Start Again” as I rewatch the bathroom scene for the hundredth time. If the rest of the episode hasn’t already had you crying out how desperately these two should be together I fully believe it was Meredith’s plan (along with the entire production crew and Shoshannah and Jared), to have us all bawling our eyes out in happy tears that Sam and Eileen get to be together now!! (well, I certainly cried. A lot. and ruined my mascara. and squeaked at such a high pitch only dogs could hear me. The only other time I have had that reaction was in 13x05… oh, and 12x19. It’s RARE okay!)

I think the most significant point here is the touching of hands, which calls back to an earlier painful moment in the episode when ghost Eileen reached out to try to comfort Sam as he despaired about being a cosmic joke, and found she wasn’t even able to touch him. 

It is a romantic trope that was most famously used in the film Ghost, where touch was a big part of the on screen relationship. Supernatural displays this same trope rather perfectly here when the big win of the episode takes place, and Eileen emerges from the bathtub alive and whole, and tentatively reaches out to take Sam’s hand again with vastly different results.

(x)

Sam is so hesitant to touch her back, so fearful that this isn’t real, that he isn’t being allowed this. The overwhelming sense of relief and warmth that radiates from him when he finally does take her hand was exactly what made me burst into tears. The moment is so extremely breathtaking, so intimate and touching that your heart just aches for them to have that happy ending. It’s rare that Supernatural gives us moments like this, but when it does give them, when it allows its characters a win, they are immediately memorable and stand out as bright spots in an otherwise dark show. It’s moments like this that make watching these characters suffer so much worth it in the end.

The hug that comes after the touching of hands is just as intimate. This is portrayed as a lifeline. Something for Sam to grasp onto and breath. Something that inspires him to change his outlook, to gather his determination, and to convince his brother to join him and fight for the happy ending that both of these boys so desperately deserve.

(x)

The entire bathroom scene was a testament to how well Supernatural can work romance into its narrative. How these talented creators can easily provide us with a romantic scene to tug on our heart strings. Anyone screaming that romance doesn’t belong in this show I will now point at this scene and tell them exactly how wrong they are. This scene is EXACTLY what this show needed. 

For anyone denying the romance here (yeah funny how the bronly’s are so anti Saileen - I wonder why...) I’ll spell it out for them:

This is how you set up a romantic scene in TV Production:

1. Candlelight. Check.

2. Soft focus (dates back to the 1930s when films would use soft focus to portray the dreamy emotional uplift of happy couples in love - see Meet Me In Saint Louis for a very clear example). It is almost always considered a filming technique to portray romance. Check.

3. Chivalry. As if any of us didn’t expect Sam to be a perfect gentleman! But the fact is that the way he turns his back and waits with bated breath to see if the spell had worked is shown as anything other than platonic. He is almost shy, knowing that if and when she emerges from the water she will be naked, but he turns to preserve her dignity. Check.

4. Leading on from that, this is literally a naked woman emerging from a bathtub whilst Sam awkwardly stands in the room. It could have been highly sexualised. They could have used that god awful 70s porno music they like so much in this show. Sam could have made a joke to dispel the tension. If this was a platonic friendship, any of these things would have given it away. The fact that none of this happened, that the scene remained tense and intimate but not overly sexualised only further validates the romantic reading. I mean LOOK AT THIS:

CHECK

5. The music. Music is such an important part in any story. It always plays a vital role in signifying the correct atmosphere, and the correct tone of a scene. We talk about music a lot in relation to Dean and Cas and the sweeping melodic notes that usually compliment any heightened emotional DeanCas scene. The music during THIS scene though? Well it was beautifully romantic in every way. If in doubt, just go back and listen to it with your eyes closed. Play this music track over another random scene of two people sharing a moment, and it will make the scene read as romantic. I guarantee it. 

CHECK AND MATE.

Overall, this episode was the most romantic and most intimate Sam and Eileen have ever got yet in canon. It is a clear indication that their relationship is heading in a positive direction. I couldn’t be happier with how the writers are portraying this and am jumping for joy at the thought that Sam might actually get what he desired all those years ago during 11x04 when he tried to bring up the topic to Dean in the Impala.

We know from promo photos, that Eileen is still staying with Sam in 15x07. That she comforts him. With images like this to go on:

I’d say with some confidence that we will get to further watch their relationship grow, and I couldn’t be more excited for it.

I fully expect there to be darker moments coming up, and potentially Eileen will be sent away for a period of time (my money is on Chuck “dusting” her the way he did with Becky in 15x04 because I don’t believe that kills people and I do believe that they can be brought back from wherever he sends them too - plus “dusting” makes me think of Avengers Endgame which I find amusing because the “dusted” all returned at the end. I wouldn’t be surprised if Supernatural played around with that as it so often likes to play with pop culture references). I think that post Mid Season Finale we will be back to a period of utter loss and despair for the Winchester boys, and that therefore those who they feel strongly for (aka Cas and Eileen) will have to be separated from them.

However, the point is that it is always darkest before the dawn. In this story, 15x06 has laid the groundwork for Eileen to be Sam’s romantic endgame. It’s now up to Sam, and Eileen, to make sure they fight to get what they both so desire.

Bring on the finale show.

(If you liked this meta run through of Sam and Eileen’s building relationship, please leave a comment for me. It took forever to complete! Also, please click the links under the gifs and go give the gifmakers some love! The gifsets I have used are all wonderful and deserve your reblogs. (Gifs that don’t have links are my own)).

:)

[corkcitylibraries]

Ireland Reads | 10 BorrowBox Picks for Children and Young Adult Readers

by Jordan McCarthy

The Ireland Reads day offers the perfect opportunity for every kind of reader to celebrate the magical gift of reading. Regular readers, new readers and those who are about to rediscover the wonders and joys of reading, can enrich their lives during a time when our daily routines need it more than ever.

While our libraries may be closed, the online resource, BorrowBox, is one of the real gems being offered by libraries during lockdown. More and more readers are using the platform which has thousands upon thousands of wonderful eAudiobooks and eBooks.

And better yet, this online service, like all the others offered by Cork City Libraries, is free to all library members. If you haven’t yet joined, you can do this for free at www.librariesireland.ie/join-your-library.

Whatever we choose to read or listen to this month, we know that we are nourishing our health and wellbeing in doing so. The possibilities a good book – or magazine, comic, newspaper or whatever you choose to read - can bring to our lives are endless.

“If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book.” – J.K. Rowling’

Below are ten of the top picks currently available on the Children’s and Young Adult section of BorrowBox. Like all great kids’ books, they will prove gripping and engaging for many adult readers, too.

So, squeeze in a read this month. You can find out more about the Ireland Reads initiative by visiting irelandreads.ie. And don’t forget to pledge your reading time!

  Long Way Down  by Jason Reynolds - Young Adult

(Available on eBook and eAudiobook)

‘‘Now

I’m wishing I would’ve

laughed more

at his dumb jokes

because the day

before yesterday,

Shawn was shot

and killed.’’

This remarkable Y.A. thriller is set over the course of 60 seconds. Written in lyrical, verse-like prose, it tells the tale of a revenge-seeking William, whose brother has been shot dead.

But when Will sets out to get his revenge, some ghosts from his past appear in the elevator on his way down to the ground floor.  Will he go ahead with his murderous plan?

There’s a sense of urgency in this fast-paced novel, though he soon realises; it is a ‘long way down’ from the 8th to the ground floor.

  Hero On A Bicycle by Shirley Hughes – Children (10+)

(Available on eBook and eAudiobook)

‘‘He stopped and slung his bicycle against a nearby wall to get his breath back and consider the situation. At that moment someone came up silently behind him and clapped a strong hand over his mouth.’’

Set in Florence, Italy during World War II, this is historical fiction at its finest. The Allies are closing in on Nazi-occupied Florence and 14 year-old Paolo has been taking secret bike rides late every night to beat the boredom of life under curfew. He misses his dad – an anti-Fascist who is in hiding - and rues the fact that he is too young to join the military.

However, when Paolo receives a frightening message on his way home from one of his late-night treks, he suddenly becomes involved in the thick of the action. Can he become the hero during his hometown’s greatest time of need?

This is an excellent novel, which captures one family’s struggles during war.

Not suitable for younger children, some upsetting themes.

   Zom-B; Underground  by Darren Shan – Young Adult

(eAudiobook)

‘‘Can you hold on to your humanity when you're a monster....’’

This fantasy-horror, dystopian novel by the ‘Master of Horror’ is book two in the Zom-B series.

B Smith is the main protagonist in this story, which is set during a zombie apocalypse. When she wakes up in a laboratory-style military camp, ‘B’ learns that she has become ‘Zom-B’.

Can she meet the demands of her captors or is she doomed?

Will she be a monster forever?

  The Dog Who Lost His Bark by  Eoin Colfer – Children

(eAudiobook)

‘‘In his short doggy life, Oz has suffered at the hands of BAD PEOPLE. Somewhere out there, he believes, is an AWESOME BOY – his BOY. Maybe when they find each other he will learn to BARK again ...’’

Patrick comes from a very musical family and he has wanted a pet dog for a very long time. When he rescues an abandoned puppy on his summer holidays, he calls him Oz, and so begins a strong friendship between a boy and a dog – at least that’s what we hope!

Oz is a nervous little creature and he can’t bark, or at least he doesn’t bark when he moves to his new home. Will he ever bark again? Maybe the musical family will be able to get him barking again!

This heart-warming children’s tale, from the creator of the Artemis Fowl series, shows how important music can be in the healing process.

  Rugby Spirit by Gerard Siggins - Children

(eAudiobook)

‘‘A new school, a new sport, an old mystery ... the first instalment in Gerard Siggins’ beloved and bestselling Rugby Spirit series.’’

Eoin Madden is the grandson of a legendary Irish rugby player. When he starts a new school in Dublin, leaving behind his GAA playing days in Tipperary, his rugby adventure begins.

In Casterock College, rugby is everything! But Eoin has never even held a rugby ball before. And the bully, Richie Duffy, is making his life even more difficult. Can Eoin make an impact in his very first season on a school rugby team?

This is one for fans of sport and fiction. It provides lots of insight into the game of rugby, too.

   Once by Morris Gleitzman – Children

(Available on eBook and eAudiobook)

‘‘Once I saved a girl called Zelda from a burning house.

Once I made a Nazi with toothache laugh.

My name is Felix.

This is my story.’’

Once is the first book in Morris Gleitzman’s Felix and Zelda series. Set during the Second World War, this novel is a tale of hope, friendship and survival.

Felix is in a Catholic orphanage in Poland in 1942. The son of Jewish booksellers, he fears that the Nazi’s are burning Jewish books and believes that his parents’ store could be next.

The young Jewish boy departs the orphanage, longing to find his mum and dad, and to warn them about the Nazis. Felix soon discovers that his hometown has changed utterly. A race for survival ensues.

Not suitable for younger, some upsetting themes

   Sabrina; Season Of the Witch by Sarah Rees-Brennan – Young Adult

(eAudiobook)

‘‘To be a witch is to kiss the moon.’’

Inspired by the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, this fantasy novel is a prequel to that Netflix series. It is the story of what went before the "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" show.

Sabrina is half-mortal, half-witch. Before she turns 16, and becomes full-powered, she realises how scared she is of joining the dark side and leaving her mortal life behind.

Can she discard her boyfriend Harvey, and her other mortal friends? This is her origin story; a spooky adventure for fans of the Sabrina series.

   Ultimate Football Heroes; Rashford  by M & T Oldfield - Children

(Available on eBook and eAudiobook)

‘‘When the referee blew his whistle, Marcus started his well-practiced penalty routine:

Four little shuffles to the left,

then short steps forward to try to fool the keeper, and then BANG!’’

The Ultimate Football Heroes series is a biographical story of the life of a star footballer. It charts the rise of some of world football’s biggest names, from the playground to the pitch.

Marcus Rashford is one of the most exciting players in the English Premier League. The Manchester United star has been one of the standout stories over the last year, with his campaign to keep free school meals available for children in the UK.

In Rashford, we learn about the life of Marcus – from when he would watch Man Utd playing on TV as a baby, to scoring important Champions League goals for the Red Devils.

A fast-paced story, full of action, it is one for all the family to enjoy. Others in the series include Kane and Delli Alli, which are available on BorrowBox.  

   Slam! You’re Gonna Wanna Hear This by Nikita Gill – Young Adult

(eBook)

‘‘Poetry is the language of Fire, Fury and Freedom,’’ says Nikita Gill.

Slam! is a collection of poems performed at ‘slams’, or spoken word competitions. It features established and emerging voices, with themes such as home, kin, protest and desire among those in the collection.

Slam! highlights the importance of poetry for the times we live in. It provides an ideal introduction into modern poetry and is a terrific publication.

   The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien – Children

(Available on eBook and eAudiobook)

‘‘In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.’’

J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic fantasy novel is the prequel to his Lord of the Rings saga. Tolkien wrote the story for his own children before it was published into a worldwide bestseller. First published over 80 years ago, it continues to be enjoyed by young and old.

This otherworldly tale features the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, who has been recruited as a burglar by Gandalf for an epic quest. Expect trolls, goblins, dwarves, elves, giant spiders, and the dragon, Smaug, as Bilbo and the gang make their way across Middle Earth in search of treasure.

[youngbloodbuzz]

Alright these last posts did it for me. Could you recommend a good one shot or a smaller campaign dimension20 has done? I don’t wanna go full in on another show that’s 100s of hours. Specifically the guy throwing the Molotov is the character in a one shot?

hello and welcome

i haven’t seen all of them yet but i know they haven’t done any oneshots, instead having many campaigns. some of them are main campaigns like fantasy high, or side quests like escape from the bloodkeep. 

the one with the guy throwing the molotov is specifically the first season of fantasy high which is all up on youtube for free and is 17 eps long. it’s basically your classic high fantasy except that it’s set in a high school in a john hughes movie. 

in comparison to like critrole, eps are more easily digestible ranging between 2 - 2.5 hours long. unfortunately though, only the first couple eps season 2 (specifically called dimension 20 live) is on youtube and the rest is on their streaming subscription site dropout.tv which is like $5 a month but honestly considering all the content they have, specifically with their dnd campaigns, it’s worth it. plus they don’t bleep out the swearing which they occasionally do with the eps on youtube

the next easiest one to watch would be escape from the bloodkeep, which is essentially lotr except in the perspective of the bad guys in mordor. it’s only 6 eps and is all on youtube for free, bonus points it has matt mercer as a player which is a gift. and the next easiest one would be the unsleeping city, set in a new york city with magical realism, but again, only half the eps are available for free on youtube, with the rest being on dropout. 

honestly speaking, they’re all pretty easy to watch because eps have the same runtime as your average blockbuster and the campaigns are not obscenely long, with the longest being fantasy high considering that’s their main campaign and have built up to an upcoming third season at some point in the future. 

if you want to watch one of their campaigns live, their newest one called a crown of candy just aired it’s seventh ep, they stream it on youtube on wednesdays at 7est. the eps are only archived on dropout but honestly i seriously recommend it because holy shit it’s fucking wild. basically game of thrones except it’s set in a candyland where everyone is made out of food. w i l d. 

[ottorocket808]

Chapter Six: The Spy

I feel for Joyce her child is suffering screaming in agony and she can’t help him. If he feels like he’s burning without physically burning that means the shadow monster is attached to his Central Nervous System right?

Poor Mews

I didn’t think Steve would be so suspicious but I guess I can see where he’s coming from. More ewww Dart molted again and look he tunneled his way out in like 3-4 hours.

Darts on the run and straight to the theme music which I really dig btw the pulses are kinda soothing.

Collecting evidence. Absolutely nothing and they aren’t new you knew something was wrong and let the keep going this is just the culmination of everything he told you exactly in the same boat with you withholding information from her they don’t know Joyce they aren’t even treating him right now.

Her dad is a full on patriot the man voted for Nixon and Bush and has undying faith in his government do you really think he’d be proud Nancy? And Jonathan do you really think Joyce’d be proud of you risking everybody’s lives for nothing she didn’t even tell Bob he figured out stupid selfish children and Murray encouraging 16-17 year olds to have sex in your house is fucking creepy not to mention disgusting, and you’re supplying them with alcohol he’s the least responsible adult so far. They don’t have a condom. And again Nancy is having sex while somebody she claims to care about is going through some incredibly traumatic shit.

I hate the little siblings constantly in someone else’s stuff.

Yes Steve nobody literally nobody was responding to his Code Red he took what he could get. It would’ve been you if you weren’t breaking Rule of Law.

What is he puking up? It’s jacked up that the Dr is being transparent well more like opaque with Hop but a brick wall with Joyce who’s kid has been a target of The Upside Down on two separate occasions. Are the tunnels the shadow monsters response to the burning happening at the original gate?

Joyce sayin we all had to sign includes the kids which really makes the Jancy side quest irritating y’all signed documents freeing them of culpability again it’s not like the Dr doesn’t know who he’s been talking to he would easily connect the dots

Bob Newby superhero 🦸‍♂️ go Boyce!!

At this point you gotta assume Will isn’t in control anymore Bob’s been around for a while so if Will remembers recent events he should’ve recognized him

First of all we learned last season that Nancy can’t keep quiet in the moment so he heard them no condom lovin’ for a rookie he metaphorically shot the club up why are you asking Murray just embrace this awkwardness you created

That’s not where they are at all they lie about their location just like you two duh!

Why would you invite her to potentially die? El died* and she has superpowers you invite a regular girl who isn’t taking this seriously because she doesn’t believe you and won’t until she damn near dies it’s a needless risk.

Will doesn’t have a middle name? Where in Will’s memories is he? Hurt you or hurt the shadow monster? Well with the hive mind thing it’s probably a little bit of both. Is the shadow monster a virus or a parasite it seems more parasitic or maybe it’s a symbiote like Venom. Will remembers just fine he’s just not in the drivers seat right now.

It was awesome to you right up until it ate your cat and when held it I believe her words were it’s disgusting. Your hair is beautiful Dustin you just gotta relax calm down your intensity. THIS is a big brother moment and what makes her special to you? Faberge Organics I wonder what their commercial used to look like.

She ain’t home Traitor she hasn’t even been looking for you you’re talking to any empty room you should’ve had this conversation before you left and she’s gotta get hurt it’s a part of life she isn’t the bubble girl she’s stronger than you give her credit for

Stop suggesting killing kids what’s wrong with you people?!

That’s not Will.

Got damn it Steve please stop touching your glasses with your raw meat hand. That is the girl that doesn’t believe and consistently asks if it could’ve been anything other than what it was it’s face opened like a starfish and tried to eat them all respectively. How much help can she be in a fight? She didn’t bring a weapon She’s pulling her weight with fortifying the bus but the doubts are irritating.

What is this you ask this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the shit you two missed while you two were fucking around instead of being useful. Stop screaming she ain’t here and neither is Will or Mike or Bob. Yeah that’s the shadow monster that’s possessing your brother you would already know this if you would’ve told Nancy to drop it instead of tagging along across state lines to do dumb shit

Tactically the hub is suicide why nobody brought that up I have no idea

Are the fumes or the liquid flammable? The ground soaks it up so fast how was it supposed to burn properly?

Sure it was a 9ft tall hairless bear with a humanoid body whose face opened up like a starfish if that will make you feel better but seriously why is she here if she isn’t going to be open minded? I really wish they would’ve gave her a better back story ‘I don’t wanna be like my stepbrother.’ Says that she doesn’t know what kind of man her Stepdad is.

Mama Steve steppin it up in a major way. No Max they aren’t rabid they’re Demogorgons. I told y’all she would have to damn near die to get it. Hell no he didn’t scare them off he can only take one at a time y’all are easy pickings.

He’s rolling in fog to blind them sneak attack on the way.

Connect the dots Mike!! Too bad nobody listens to kids. Bob let him go you aren’t helping he’s not hysterical he’s panicky because he knows the soldiers are about to die it’s too late anyway. Will it’s too late to leave Squirt. I always hate the oh ‘they can’t get through’ sir did you tell them that?

[foreverwayward]

“Wayward Hearts” Season 2 Chapter 12: All Hell Breaks Loose Part 1

Summary: After the sudden death of John, Sam and Dean, along with Riley, continue their quest for vengeance. As Sam and Riley’s powers continue to grow, the three young hunters find themselves closer to the Yellow-Eyed demon than ever before. The strength within themselves and their loyalty to each other will be tested as they are left to fight their families’ lifelong war alone, unaware that unimaginable evil will lead them to face darkness itself as they carry the weight of their fathers’ legacies. 

Masterlist

Word Count: 9,748

Content Warning: language violence

DISCLAIMER: any words or phrases in bold in the story are not my own and are credited to the writers of Supernatural.

**GIFS ARE NOT MY OWN**

The sun had set a few hours before Dean rolled the Impala down a side dirt road. Boston’s ‘Long Time’ blared through Baby as he pulled her to a stop in front of a small diner seemingly in the middle of nowhere. It was tiny, and definitely only frequented by the locals. Freshly made mud and large, deep puddles from the recent rain surrounded it. Still, soft droplets fell from the darkened clouds.

“Hey, don’t forget the extra onions this time,” Dean told Sam over his shoulder as his brother sat in the backseat before handing him some money.

Sam sighed with frustration. “Dude, we’re the ones who’re gonna have to ride in the car with your extra onions.” He got out of the car and closed his door.

As Riley scooted in her seat, she told Dean, “he’s getting a butt-load of food. I’m gonna go help.”

“Uh--would you...would you actually just stay here with me for a second?”

“Sure. What’s up?”

Dean chuckled nervously. “Man, I’m so bad at this stuff.” He leaned across the seat and opened the glovebox before pulling out a small, square box. Dean smirked and handed it to Riley.

“Wait...this is for me?” she asked in surprise.

“Well, I realized I don’t really do enough for you...and your birthday’s next week. I just--I didn’t wanna wait that long to give it to you.” Dean smiled with a shrug. “Open it.”

Riley lifted the top of the box to reveal a silver cuff bracelet. She grinned as she picked it up and inspected it. It was smooth all around and when she looked at the under side of the bracelet, there was an engraving. ‘Forever Yours.’ Riley couldn’t find the words to say as she sat quietly, just holding it in her hands.

But Dean was getting antsy in his seat waiting for a response. When she didn’t say anything, he let out a soft sigh of disappointment. “Shit. You hate it don’t you? Man, I knew it was lame. I just never--”

Her lips crashed into his with a smile still on her face. As Riley pulled away her eyes glistened up at him, making him weak in the knees. “I love it.” She slid it on and admired it on her wrist. “It’s perfect, Dean. Thank you.”

“Happy early birthday, sweetheart.” Dean gave her one last quick kiss, still trying to stop beaming with excitement that she approved of his gift. “I love you--you know that, right?”

“I know…” Riley replied dramatically as she quoted Han Solo and Dean chuckled. “Alright, I’m gonna go help Sam,” she started. “Be right back.” 

Riley got out and closed the door behind her as Dean called out to her.

“Hey! See if they got any--”

“Pie!” she laughed. “I know. I know. I’m in the mood for some too. Be right back.” Riley jogged across the small, wooden makeshift bridge over the large ditch that had been filled with rainwater.

Dean nibbled on his bottom lip as he watched her scurry inside. 

Through the window, he could see her meet up with Sam at the counter as they placed their orders. The older Winchester would never get tired of that girl or the way she made him feel. 

He chortled to himself softly. Dean couldn’t help how genuinely happy Riley made him. 

The stereo began to go staticky and he tapped the gauge trying to bring back the music. Lights that surrounded the small café began to flicker and Dean instantly began to worry.

Looking up into the diner, he saw that Sam and Riley were no longer there. 

Dean got out of the car in a hurry and raced to the door. He swung it open only to see one of the restaurant’s patrons dead at his booth, covered in blood. The jukebox played through the deafening silence inside.

Dean drew his gun and slowly went inside. “Sam?” he called. “Riley?” As he came around the corner of the counter, there on the floor laid the cook and waitress; both with their throats slit open and drenched in warm pools of blood.

The backdoor was only a few more steps away and the hunter opened it to look outside. All he could see where the bare trees from the cold weather, soaked in rain. 

“Guys?” 

As he went to close the door, he could feel his hand had touched something. He turned his palm to look and noticed yellow dust. “Sulfur…” 

The demon had been there. Dean’s eyes widened at the realization and his heart pounded in his chest. 

Hurrying back to the front, he called for them both again and again. “Rye!...Sammy!” Dean began to shake with fear as he stared out into the quiet and empty darkness. “Riley!” he shouted at the top of his lungs in terror. “Sam!”

------

Sam laid still and unconscious on a small, worn wooden bridge that had collapsed into the mud. 

As his eyes opened, he shot up in shock, realizing he wasn’t in the diner anymore and that the sun had already risen.

He warily stood as he surveyed all around him. Sam was in the middle of an old and abandoned town. There was no sign of anyone anywhere and it looked like something out of an old western movie; just like the ones Dean always watched. 

Sam rubbed the mud off his hands and onto his pants before grabbing his phone from his pocket. The cell beeped letting him know there was no reception and he huffed in disbelief.

The mud slushed beneath his boots as Sam walked through the strip of the forgotten buildings. Most were broken down or boarded up with clearly no one being inside for quite some time. 

Suddenly, Sam heard a creaking noise nearby and grabbed a plank of wood nearby to arm himself. Ready to fight, he neared the corner around the building and jumped out, brandishing the plank.

Andy, the psychic they had all met before, jumped and yelled out at the hunter’s near attack.

“...Andy?” Sam asked, in disbelief.

“Sam? What--what are you doing here?” he stumbled over his words with panic. “What am I doing here?”

“I don’t know…”

“Where are we?!”

“Andy, look--calm down.”

“Calm down?! I can’t calm down! I just woke up in fucking Frontierland!” Andy’s hands ran over his hair nervously as his head shot back and forth looking around.

“What’s the last thing you remember?”

“Honestly? My fourth bong load,” he feigned a laugh, still scared. “It was weird. All of a sudden, there was this really intense smell. Like, uh…”

“Like sulfur?”

“How did you know that?”

Sam’s attention shifted as his mind went back to his family. “Dean...oh, man. Riley…”

“Your--your brother and sister?” Andy asked hopefully. “Are they here?”

“I don’t know if they are. I don’t even know if they’re…” Sam didn’t dare finish that thought.

The loud sound of a woman crying for help came from further down the stretch. The two looked at each other, acknowledging they would check it out as they jogged in the direction of the pleas. 

As they reach a small abandoned structure, pounding came from the door that had been locked shut with a padlock.

“Hello?” Sam hesitated.

“Help me! Please, help me!” the woman begged.

“Okay, we’re gonna get you out. Hold on.” Grabbing a large rock nearby, Sam bashed the lock until it broke. He opened the door and out came Ava; yet another psychic he had met and who had gone missing months before. “Ava?”

She nearly collapsed into his arms as she wept. “Oh, my god. Sam!”

“So, I guess you know each other,” Andy added awkwardly from the side.

“How--how did you find me?”

Sam shook his head, confused. “Wait. Ava, have you been here this whole time?”

“What whole time? I just woke up in there, like, a half an hour ago.”

“Well, you’ve been gone for five months. My brother, Riley, and I have been looking for you everywhere.”

Ava smiled with discomfort thinking he had to have been joking. “Okay, that’s impossible, because I saw you two days ago.”

“You didn’t. I’m sorry,” Sam replied.

“But...that makes no sense. That’s not--oh, my god! My fiancée, Brady! If I’ve been missing for that long, he must be freaking out!” Tears streamed down her dirty face and she jumped finally noticing Andy.

With an uncomfortable wave, he met her gaze. “Hey...Andy--also freaking out.”

“Okay,” Ava turned to Sam. “What’s happening?”

A familiar voice called out from the other end of the town. “Sam!”

Sam’s heart leaped as he spun around to see Riley in a full sprint in his direction. 

He caught her as she nearly jumped into his arms and Sam pulled her up close. Riley’s feet dangled for a second as they embraced. Putting her down, he looked her over for any injuries. “Are you hurt?”

“No, no. I’m okay.” Riley sighed. “Ugh. I’m just so glad I found you. Where’s Dean?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know. But I do know one thing, I know what the four of us have in common.”

Again, another voice called from the distance; this time, a deep, male voice. “Hello? Anybody there?”

“...maybe more than four,” he added. 

Riley, Sam, Andy, and Ava ran across the way, following the voice. Around the corner of the final building of the stretch was a tall, dark-skinned man in a military combat uniform. Beside him was a girl with long blonde hair. 

“Hey...are you guys okay?” Sam panted.

“I think so,” the strange man replied.

“I’m Sam. This is my sister, Riley.”

“I’m Jake.”

“Lily…” the scared blonde answered.

Riley looked them over and was overwhelmed by the amount of static that she could hear around her. There were too many psychic kids together in one place. It was almost ear-piercing. 

Then the overwhelming anxiety, fear, and shock from all of them rolled in all at once, making her almost gasp for air. Riley groaned and tried to focus it away. 

Sam noticed her reaction and reached out to touch her with concern. 

“I’m good. I’m good.” Riley looked back up at the others. “Are there any more of us?”

Lily shook her head softly. “How did we even get here? A minute ago, I was in San Diego.”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better,” Jake started, “last night, I went to sleep in Afghanistan.”

Taking a step closer, Riley’s eyes squinted with all she was battling in her mind, though she remained unmoved. “Let me guess. Everyone here is 23 and has some kind of ability.” Lily and Jake looked at her perplexed. “Started over a year ago. All of a sudden, you could do things that you never would have even imagined were possible.” They both nodded.

Sam jumped in, “I have visions. I see things before they happen.”

“Yeah, me too,” Ava told them.

Andy, being the quirky guy that he was, was more than happy to share his story. “Yeah, and I can put thoughts into people’s heads. Like, make them do stuff. But don’t worry, it--I don’t think it works on you guys.” He stopped and chuckled to himself. “Oh, but get this--I’ve been practicing; training my brain, like meditation. So now, it’s not just thoughts I can beam out, but images, too. Like, anything I want. Bam! People, they see it. This one guy I know--total dick, right? I used it on him: gay porn--all hours of the day,” Andy laughed, so pleased with himself. “It was just like--you should have seen the look on his face.” The other five seemed unamused while some even appeared to be disgusted by him. Andy stopped laughing and cleared his throat. “Uh...okay, then.”

Lily nearly shook with rage. “So, you go, ‘Simon says give me your wallet’, and they do?” Her eyes darted to Sam and Ava. “You have visions? That’s great! I’d kill for something like that. I touch people? Their hearts stop,” Lily yelled. “I can barely leave my house. My life’s not exactly improved. So, fuck you all. I just wanna go home.”

“We all do,” Sam replied calmly. “Look, we’re here whether we like it or not. So, we better figure out a way to deal.”

“Who brought us here?” Andy demanded.

“It’s less of a who--and more of a what.” Sam paused and bit his lip knowing what he was about to tell them, probably wasn’t going to be received well. “...it’s a demon.”

------

On the side of some highway, Bobby’s truck sat in front of the Impala as he and Dean both poured over maps on Baby’s hood. The sounds of distant traffic going by and the loud winds swirled around them.

“Bobby, you gotta be joking,” Dean huffed. “There’s nothing on the map. Seriously? No demonic signs, anywhere?”

“That’s what I’m sayin’. Nothin’. Not even low-level shit like exorcisms. It’s gone totally quiet.”

Dean nearly rolled his eyes, but still raised his voice in frustration. “Well, how the fuck are we supposed to find them, huh? Just close our eyes and point?” His phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket as he flipped it open, seeing the caller ID. “Ash, that you?”

“Yeah,” the drunken hick replied. “Listen, it’s a big negatory on Sam and Riley--”

“Oh, come on, man!” the hunter barked. “You gotta give us something. We’re looking at a three-thousand-mile haystack here!”

“Look, Dean--I did find something but,” he paused and spoke more quietly. “I can’t talk about it on this line.”

“No, no, no, Ash. I don’t have time for this shit.”

“Well, make time,” Ash nearly yelled. Again, his voice hushed. “Not only does this almost definitely help you find your brother and your girlfriend, this is--it’s huge. So get here. Now.” The line went dead as he hung up.

Dean closed his phone and looked up at Bobby. “I guess we’re going to the Roadhouse. Come on.”

------

Back in the abandoned town, the others tried to absorb what Sam had just told them.

Jake crossed back over to the two hunters, his voice full of disbelief and anger. “So, we’re soldiers in a demon war to bring on the Apocalypse and for some reason, we’ve been picked? I mean...why? Why us?”

“He’s right,” Ava agreed. “I mean spoon-bending and psychics is one thing but...demons?”

“You know you sound absolutely bat-shit, right?”

Riley jumped in, no longer having the patience to argue. “Hey! Look, we don’t really care what you think. But if we’re all here...together, that means it’s starting.”

“No,” Jake shook his head. “No way. I’m not dealing with a bunch of whack-jobs. I’ve heard enough. I’m outta here.”

“Jake!” Riley called, as the soldier ignored her and disappeared out of sight. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “Sam, we can’t make them believe us. But if we don’t follow that dumbass, he’s gonna get himself killed.”

Sam nodded in agreement and they all chased after him with the hunters leading the way. 

They stopped at the center of town, waiting for a signal of where he had gone. Out of the corner of his eye, Sam saw movement and turned in its direction. He pointed at the old schoolhouse, “there.”

Everyone rushed over and as they went inside, there was Jake. His eyes wide with fear as an evil looking little girl growled at him. Her face contorted and her nails grew into claws as she stood ready to charge him.

There was an old metal fireplace near the entrance with an iron poker leaning against it. Riley grabbed it and swung it like a baseball bat through the creature. 

It turned a large cloud of dark smoke and darted past the others through the doorway. 

“Don’t know how easy you catch on, Jake...but that was a demon.” She looked at her brother. “Sam? ...Acheri, you think?”

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m thinking.” Sam gave his attention to the others. “Acheri are, uh--demons that disguise themselves as a little girl. But that still doesn’t tell us where the fuck we are.” Sam’s gaze went to Andy, who looked rattled and his eyes were locked on the ground. “Andy? You still with us?”

Andy stood dazed and slowly put up a finger. “Gimme a minute. I’m still working through...‘demons are real’.”

The group walked on as they followed Sam and Riley. Clearly, the two were going to be their best bet to get out of there alive. 

In front of one of the abandoned buildings stood a wooden structure holding a rusty bell. The shape of a large tree with spread out branches was etched onto its front.

Sam looked more closely at the old bell as their breaths formed clouds with their every exhale. “I know that bell. I think I know where we are, Rye,” Sam told his sister. “Cold Oak, South Dakota. A town so haunted, every single resident fled.”

“Oh, good. Gotta love a surprise field trip,” she replied in sarcasm. “Why the hell would the demon bring us here?”

“I was wondering the same thing.”

Lily stood, fidgeting with her long, chain necklace. Her feet shuffled beneath her as her anxiety grew and Riley could feel it becoming too much for her. “You know what? I don’t give a damn why. Clearly, the only sane thing is to get the hell outta Dodge.” Blowing off the rest of the group, Lily began to stride away.

“Lily, wait!” Riley called out. “There’s nothing around us but miles of woods--no way you’ll find your way out.”

“I don’t care. Beats hanging out here with demons.”

“We don’t even know what’s going on or have any clue how many of them are out there.”

The blonde woman spun around trying to hide her shaking hands and nearly yelled back. “We? There is no we. I have nothing in common with any of you! You don’t know anything about me!” Lily paused and struggled not to cry as she choked on her words. “I--I accidentally touched my girlfriend.”

All five of the others were stunned and at a loss for words. 

Riley took a few steps toward Lily, hoping to connect with her. “I’m so sorry.”

“Whatever,” she sniffled. “I feel like I’m in a nightmare, and it just keeps getting worse and worse.”

Looking at Lily, Riley waited for her to meet her gaze. When Lily’s eyes found, hers, she walked towards her. “Sam and I--we’ve lost people too. His brother--my boyfriend? He’s out there somewhere right now and…” her voice trailed off and she looked over at Sam. “The truth is, we don’t even know if he’s okay. I know this is bad. But, please, we’ve gotta stick together.” Riley was nearly pleading with the woman she had only just met, afraid for her safety.

“Fine,” Lily replied softly and with no expression.

Riley nodded and feigned a tight lip smile as she went to Sam’s side. They lead the others on, back into the town as the hunters searched for answers.

“We’re looking for iron, salt, silver--any kind of weapon,” Sam told them all.

“Salt is a weapon?” Jake asked.

“It’s a brave new world, Jake.”

Andy’s shorter legs worked double-time to keep up with the two large men. “Well, I hope there’s food in this world of yours ‘cause I’m fuckin starving.”

As they all entered one of the structures, Lily stayed behind. She waited for them all to file inside before she briskly wandered off on her own toward the outskirts of town.

------

Dean and Bobby had made their long drive to the Roadhouse. They pulled into the familiar dirt lot only to find the saloon completely scorched. It had been burned to the ground. Only small parts of the building still stood as the smoke wafted from the recent fire.

“...what the fuck?” Dean almost prayed.

The two looked at each other in shock as the Impala parked. 

Slowly, with hesitation and fear, they got out and walked toward what remained of the Roadhouse. The hunters walked carefully through the debris and rubble, looking for what had possibly happened. Everything had been destroyed. Burned body parts jutted out from under the fallen roof and the smell of death lingered in the air.

Bobby’s hand drug down his mouth. “...my god.”

“You see Ellen?”

“No. No Ash either.”

Dean crouched down at the sight of something he had seen before. On the wrist of a charred arm, was a watch. One that he knew belonged to Ash. “Oh, Ash...dammit!” he nearly growled.

------

Inside one of the buildings in Cold Oak, Riley and Sam rifled through all the could find, looking for something to arm themselves with. 

Ava sat nearby rubbing her head, trying to soothe herself. Slight groans of discomfort came from her as clattering noises continued from the search.

“Hey, you alright?” Sam questioned with concern.

Ava kept her eyes shut. “Yeah, I just--I don’t know. I got dizzy.”

“You sure it’s not some kind of--”

“What?” she interrupted looking at him. “Some kind of ‘freaky vision thing’?” Ava sighed. “No, more like ‘I’d kill for a sandwich’. I haven’t eaten since...well, who knows? Don’t worry though. Except for everything that’s happening, I’m totally fine.”

Riley’s boots lightly stomped on the floor as she came from the other room. “Here, this is all I could find so far,” she handed a hunting knife to Sam. 

He waited, unsure if he should take it from her and she gestured for him to. Sam relented and took it before putting it into his waistband as he handed Riley the iron poker.

“You guys!” Andy yelled from nearby. “I found something!” 

The hunters, Ava, and Jake went to answer his call. Andy was holding up two large sacks labeled ‘SALT’ as he giggled goofily, thrilled with what he had found.

All their attention went to the sound of a loud, distant thud and they all froze. 

Riley looked up at Sam with a realization. “Lily’s gone.” 

Before Sam could respond, the sound of an evil childish giggle came from around them. It was as if was in the room with them and outside all at once.

“Lily!” they took turns shouting. “Lily!”

They all walked out the front door and down the steps to the dirt road. Their eyes caught a glimpse of movement as they honed in on the water tower down the way. Hanging from it, was a rope; and at the bottom, Lily swung from a noose by her neck. She was already dead with her feet dangling and her body slightly moving in the cool breeze. The group stood still in horror.

“Oh, my God!” Ava cried out as she covered her mouth in shock. “Okay, that’s officially--Sam, she’s dead! She’s dead! You said we were chosen for a reason. That is not chosen! That’s...killed!” She shook her head rapidly and turned with certainty to leave. “Okay, we have to get out of here.”

Never looking away from Lily’s hanging corpse, Andy swallowed hard. “Yeah, I second that emotion.”

“I’m not sure that’s an option,” Jake said plainly.

Sam took Ava’s shoulders to stop her and for her look at him. She needed to see how serious he was. “Lily was trying to leave. The demon’s not gonna let us get away that easy. We’ve gotta gear up for the next attack.”

“Gear up?!” Ava barked through her tears. “I’m not a soldier. I can’t do that!”

“Well, if you wanna stay alive, you’re gonna have to.” Sam’s stare went back to the body that spoke loudly as a warning to them all. “Let’s go.”

Jake’s military protocol kicked in and was very matter of face as he told them, “I’ll go get her down.”

Ava disappeared back inside, the heels of her boots clicking on the worn wood as she cried. Riley anxiously fiddled with her useless phone before tucking it back into her jacket. “What I would give for cell reception. I wish Dean was here.”

Suddenly, Andy was struck with a thought. “You know, you may not need one. I’ve never tried long-distance before, but do you have anything of Dean’s on you? Like--something he touched?”

Looking down at the silver cuff on her wrist, Riley fiddled with it briefly before taking it off. That beautiful moment they shared in the Impala the night before was all too fleeting. At least she still had a piece of him with her. 

“Here,” she uttered softly.

Andy took it from her and noticed the inscription inside before glancing up at her. He realized in that instant how much the two meant to each other. He cleared his throat and refocused. 

“Alright…”

------

Still in shock over their find at the destroyed Roadhouse, Bobby and Dean went through the wreckage. They searched for clues on whatever Ash had been trying to tell them, but with no luck. 

The hunters were finally ready to get back into the Chevy, their hearts heavy with sorrow and worry.

“What the hell did Ash know? We’ve got no way of knowing where Ellen is, or if she’s even alive. We’ve got no clue what Ash was gonna tell us. Now, how the fuck are we gonna find Sam and Riley?

“We’ll find them, Dean.” Bobby was determined to be as unmoved as possible in front of the boy he helped raise. Dean needed a father figure at that moment and Bobby would be damned if he didn’t give him that comfort. Not a second passed before Dean clutched at his head in pain. “Dean?”

The young hunter doubled over and groaned as a flickering image quickly flashed through his mind. It was the same bell in the abandoned town the psychics were trapped in.

“What was that?” Bobby questioned with concern.

“I don’t know,” Dean panted. “A headache?”

“You get headaches like that a lot?”

“No. Must be the stress.” Dean let out a breathy and uncomfortable chuckle. “I could have sworn I saw something.”

“What do you mean? Like a vision? Like what Sam gets?”

“What? No!” he snapped. “Come on, I’m not some fucking psychic.” Abruptly, Dean was hit with another vision and he fell against the car in agony as he cried out. There was another image. Only that time...it was of Sam and Riley.

“Dean? Dean!” Bobby rushed to him and took his shoulder. “Dean? Are you with me?”

Dean laid on the hood, trying to catch his breath. “Yeah, I think so. I saw them. I saw them, Bobby.”

“...It was a vision.”

“Yeah. I don’t know how, but yeah,” Dean stood up and squinted his eyes. “...whew. That was about as fun as getting kicked in the jewels.”

“What else did you see?”

“Uh… there was a bell…”

“What kind of bell?”

“Li--like a big--a big bell,” Dean fumbled over his words, still feeling drained. “...with some kind of engraving on it, I don’t know.

“Engraving?” Bobby’s face flattened as he asked, “was it a tree? Like, an oak tree?”

“Yeah...exactly.”

“I know where they are.”

------

The air in the town of Cold Oak stood still with a biting cold. It was enough to nip at their noses and make the tip of their fingers slightly ache.

Jake, Riley, and Sam were in the aged and forgotten barn, searching for pieces of iron to arm themselves with. Old machinery filled the open space and they were pulling off weak and worn pieces that would meet their needs. 

As Sam and Riley struggled, Jake yanked off a bar with his bare hands as if it was nothing. They stopped their efforts and looked up at him in awe.

Realizing he had just revealed his abilities, Jake paused and looked at his new found weapon. “I’m not Superman or anything. It’s no big deal.”

“You were in Afghanistan when this started?” Sam asked, realizing how little they knew about the soldier.

“Yeah, I started getting headaches, and then there was this accident. This guy flipped his vehicle on a bad road. He got pinned underneath. I lifted it off him like it was nothing. Everybody said it was a fluke adrenaline thing.”

“But then you did it again, right?”

“Bench-pressed 800 pounds, stone-cold calm. I never told anybody, of course. It was just too crazy.”

Sam chuckled. “Yeah. Crazy’s relative.”

“I’m starting to get that.” Jake looked over at Riley and tilted up his head as if letting her know he was talking to her. “I really appreciate what you both are doing, by the way.”

She looked at the tall man across the large, rusted tractor between them with curiosity. “What are we doing exactly?”

“Keeping calm--keeping them calm. Especially considering how freaked to hell you both really are. I’ve been in some deep shit before, myself. I know the look.”

After a long pause, Sam leaned against the tractor and sighed. “You wanna know the truth? I got this brother, right? And he’s always telling me how he’s gonna watch out for me, how everything’s gonna be okay. That’s how he’s been with Riley from day one too. You know, kind of like we’ve been telling the others.”

“Sam,” Riley’s voice was soft and solemn. “I don’t wanna admit it. But I don’t know if Dean’s right this time. I don’t think it will be okay. I’ve felt that way for so long now because something big is coming--bigger than any of us have ever seen. It’s gonna get bad, Sam.” She felt almost guilty for admitting that in front of Jake, but he seemed to understand more than the rest of the group. “I don’t know if we’re gonna make it out of this.”

Her brother wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close to his side, lovingly. “Me neither, Rye. But all that matters is that we make sure they believe it.”

Jake nodded at what Sam had said. The three soldiers stood in mutual silence, knowing that night might very well be one of their last.

------

Back inside with Ava and Andy, they all split up to line the building’s doors and windows with salt. Lit candles they had stumbled upon were their only light except for the full moon that cast down over them and bled through the windows.

“My horoscope said I shouldn’t have gotten out of bed,” Ava joked with a scoff. Dried tears stained her face as she stared off. “How you guys doing? Holding up?” she asked the hunters.

Sam glanced to Riley who just shrugged. “Yeah, I guess we’re alright. You?”

“Not so alright.” She paused and then studied the other woman in the room. “So, Riley...what’s your story?”

“Rye...she uh--she’s not exactly like us,” Sam answered, turning to his partner with a quirky smirk.

“I’m an empath and a telepath. I have a weird connection to people’s souls and pulled a demon out of someone once. I think I killed it.” Riley folded her arms as she leaned against the wooden walls. “But it was crazy; there was a glow and something else I can barely remember...it was like I went ‘Jedi’ or ‘X-Men’ all of a sudden.”

“That’s friggin’ awesome,” Andy chuckled as he re-entered the room.

Ava looked at her with curiosity. “Wait. Why is yours so different?”

“Honestly?” Riley asked. “I don’t know.”

“Why us? What did we do to deserve this?”

With no real answer to her question, Sam tossed out the first thought that came to mind. “Just lucky, I guess.”

“If it wasn’t for bad luck, we’d have no luck at all. I just can’t wait for this all to be over so I can just pretend it never happened. I just wanna curl up with Brady and watch bad TV.” Ava noticed Riley and Sam shift uncomfortably at what she had said. “What is it? Do you know something that I don’t?”

Riley sucked in her lips, gaining the strength to tell her the truth as she took slow strides towards Ava. “I wish so badly that I didn’t have to tell you this, Ava...”

“Tell me what?”

“When the demon came for you in your house that night, your--” Riley felt sick as she paused. “Your fiancé--I’m so sorry, but he didn’t make it.”

Ava seemed to buckle under the weight of what Riley had just told her. “No, that’s…no!” 

As she began to sob, Riley took Ava in her arms to comfort her. Her tears soaked the hunter’s shoulder as she shook. 

Still, there was a strange feeling in the air. Ava’s emotions poured from her like a broken faucet, and yet...Riley couldn’t feel any of them.

------

Later that night, the entire group sat silently in the main room. Fear, anxiety, and dread hung over them like a dark cloud and engulfed them all. Some had fallen asleep, while others were too scared to. Both Sam and Riley sat at the base of the wall, leaning against each other. Their eyes fluttered as they struggled to stay awake.

In an instant, in the corner of the room, stood the yellow-eyed demon. Riley and Sa  grabbed the other’s hand as their breaths hitched in fear.

“Jake! Behind you!” Sam pointed and shouted. 

But Jake stood completely composed, not hearing a single word.

“Howdy, kiddos,” the demon smirked.

Riley’s eyebrows scrunched. “We’re--we’re dreaming.”

“What do you say we all take a little walk?” The creature stared down at them both as its eyes glowed through the darkness.

Reluctantly, the two stood, still holding onto their sibling. As the demon walked outside, they followed close behind. Their eyes filled with hate and a desire to destroy the thing that had ruined their lives.

“You two are awfully quiet. You’re not mad at me, are you?”

Sam’s jaw clenched as he got closer to the demon. He bared his teeth as he seethed, “I’m gonna fucking tear you to shreds, I swear to--”

It chuckled. “When you wake up, tiger, you give it your best shot.”

“Where’s Dean?” Riley bit.

“Quit worrying about Dean. I’d worry more about yourselves.”

“Why? You gonna kill us?”

“I’m trying to help you,” Yellow-eyes said turning toward them. “That’s why we’re talking. You’re the ones I’m rooting for.” It continued to walk on.

Sam looked down at Riley quickly before questioning, “what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Welcome to the Miss America pageant. Why do you think you’re here? This is a competition. Only one of you crazy kids is gonna make it out of here alive.”

“I thought we were supposed to be--?”

“Soldiers in a coming war? That’s true--you are. But, here’s the thing: I don’t need soldiers. I need a soldier. I just need the one. But when it comes to you two, I’m willing to make an exception.”

Riley shook her head. “What are you talking about?”

Stopping again, the demon spun around to smile malevolently. “Well, I couldn’t just come out and say that, could I? I had to let everyone think they had a fighting chance.” Its yellow eyes fell on Riley, “but you, my dear. As I’ve told you, are my diamond in the rough.”

“And again, you still haven’t told me what that means, you sick fuck.”

The demon laughed to itself. “I always loved how feisty you are. So, fiery.” It took steps to close the space between them and though Riley shook, she stood her ground. The creature inhaled deeply as if it was taking in her scent. “Never, have I met someone like you. Someone... so special.” With another smirk, pleased with itself, it went on. “I know you wonder why you’re different from the rest. Why your abilities have gone into overdrive, so to speak.” Riley’s face twitched with rage. “Your blood--your family’s blood...it’s special.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Dear old daddy, he was special himself, wasn’t he? More entuned with others, especially you--always knowing what you needed and understanding you. My girl, he was an empath--the most powerful one I’d ever met actually...until you that is.”

Riley’s eyes grew. “...what?” 

Sam took her hand and it seemed to amuse the demon.

“When you died so brutally on that dirty motel floor,” it sneered. “--poor Jackson was so heartbroken. Not just at your death, but that he could no longer feel his ‘baby girl’. The bond you shared--he couldn’t live without it.”

Her eyes welled at the thought of how close she and her father were; how it did always feel like he could almost read her mind. 

Jackson was a unique man with one of the most compassionate hearts she had ever known. After living as an empath herself, it finally made sense; Jack lived with the burden of carrying the pain of others. 

No words came from her as Riley choked on the lump in her throat.

“But, back to tonight’s million dollar answer--what I need...is a leader.”

Sam could feel his blood boiling beneath his skin. “To lead who?”

“Oh, I’ve already got my army. Or...I will soon, anyway.”

“You son of a bitch”

“Honestly, I’m surprised you hadn’t guessed. I mean, why do you think so many children flamed out already? Max Miller and Andy’s brother, what’s-his-name? They weren’t strong enough. I’m looking for the best and brightest of your generation.”

The soft drizzle of rain slowly had frizzed and dampened their hair as they continued their conversation. Sam had more questions than he knew what to do with. “Our generation?”

“Well, there’s other generations, but let’s just worry about yours. That’s why I’m here. I wanna give you both the inside track. You’re tough. You’re smart. You’re well-trained, thanks to your daddies. Sammy,” the demon’s voice poisoned his nickname. “Little Riley...you’re my favorites,” it whispered almost seductively. “Only one of you all are supposed to make it out, but I’ll make you a deal.”

Riley scoffed as she felt her teeth grind. “I don’t make deals.”

Yellow-eyes chortled through its nose. “Not that kind of deal, sweetheart.” 

She loathed hearing it call her what Dean always did in love. 

“If you can both survive, then we’ll call it a day. Sam, you--you will be my soldier; the leader of my forces. And Riley,” he hissed. “You--you my dear are worthy of so much more. I want you at my side. We would rule together over a new world. I can teach you to use your abilities in ways you never imagined. You could be more powerful than anything the world has ever known. I don’t know what made you what you are, but--” the demon licked it’s bottom lip as it sized her up. “--I’m itching to find out. You and I--we could be immortal...together.”

“I would rather die,” Riley snapped through her teeth.

“Well, that’s not something I want to happen. So...make sure it doesn’t,” it winked with a hooked eyebrow.

“You ruined our lives,” Sam’s wrath dripped from his words. “You killed everyone we loved.”

“The cost of doing business, I’m afraid. I mean, sweet little Jessica--she just had to die. You were all set to marry that little blonde thing, become a tax lawyer with two kids, a beer gut, and a little McMansion in the suburbs.”

“And Deb?” Riley’s lip trembled, afraid of the answer.

An evil grin crept up the demon’s face that sent chills up the hunter’s spine. “Auntie hated your hunting gig, didn’t she? Hated that she couldn’t keep you safe. Sweet Debbie was gonna make you a partner at the diner. She knew you wouldn’t be able to turn down her offer. You would have been stuck in Lawrence, and you would never have partnered up with Sammy here.” 

Riley could hear a serpent-like hissing coming from inside the creature. 

“Why do you think you can hear his thoughts and not the others? You were meant to be together. I had to ensure that--ensure that you had that bond. And I needed you both sharp, on the road, honing your skills--your gifts.”

Sam’s hand clenched in Riley’s. “What about our moms?”

“That was bad luck. They walked in on us. Wrong place, wrong time. It was never about them. It was always about you two.” There was a long pause as the hunters stood frozen in shock of all they had just been told. The demon snickered. “I’m feeling like you’ve caught me in a charitable mood. I’ll show you what I mean.”

The demon snapped its fingers and suddenly, Riley and Sam stood in a nursery with the evil creature at their side. They were both dumbfounded as their eyes scanned over the room. Soft blue walls surrounded them with the windows adorned in printed curtains. Stuffed animals were nearly on every shelf and a glowing nightlight moon cast it’s soft glow onto a wooden crib in the middle of the room. Inside, laid a baby boy in a blue onesie, his eyes filled with tears as he cooed and cried quietly. Next to the crib, stood a tall, dark shadow that hovered over the infant. 

They were in Sam’s nursery on that fateful night over 23 years ago.

“Look familiar?” Yellow-eyes asked, teasingly. “It should.”

“Oh, my god…” Sam uttered under his breath. 

Riley looked up at him with silent questions, but could see from the tears in his eyes exactly where they were.

Sam and Riley both went to charge over towards the crib, but the demon put out an arm to stop them. “Relax, kids. This is just a high-def instant replay. Enjoy the show.”

A young Mary Winchester walked into the room to answer baby Sam’s cries, shuffling her feet in exhaustion. She noticed the dark figure and assumed it was John. “Is he hungry?”

The creature just replied with a silent, “Shh.”

As she turned to leave, Sam panicked and yelled for her. “Mom! Mom!”

“What did I just tell you? She can’t hear you. This isn’t real.”

Riley and Sam watched in horror as the memory played out. 

Yellow-eyes had slowly cut his wrist with his long and claw-like nails. With that slit open, drops of blood fell onto the lips and in the mouth of baby Sam.

“What the fuck are you doing to him?” Riley demanded.

“You mean, what did I do for you both?” The demon’s eyes met hers as she trembled. “Oh yes, consider this a snippet into my visit to your bedside as well.” Yellow-eyes gave his attention back to the flashback. “Better than mother’s milk.”

“Does this mean that we have--demon blood in us?” Sam’s fury grew, but Riley could feel disgust with himself growing alongside it. “Answer me!” he shouted.

At that moment, Mary rushed back into the room. She came to a quick halt as she grasped the door frame and looked inside. The demon turned at her return and glared its yellow eyes. 

“It’s you,” she uttered.

“She knew you!” Sam reacted in shock.

Mary began to walk closer to the crib as an unseen force thrust her back against the wall. She was stuck, with her arms almost above her head, completely at the demon’s mercy. 

They all watched as Mary slowly moved up the wall until she is pinned on the ceiling above them. 

Riley covered her mouth and gasped in terror.

“No! No!” Sam screamed.

“I don’t think you wanna see the rest of this.” Yellow-eyes snapped his fingers once again and they were all back in Cold Oak. 

Both Sam and Riley were still leaning against the same wall they had been when their dream began.

“Guys, wake up!” Andy pleaded. 

Sam and Riley panted heavily as they caught their bearings and looked up at Andy and Jake.

“Ava’s gone.”

------

Riley, Sam, and Jake rushed outside, their shoes squishing in the fresh mud. Andy had stayed inside to wait in case she would come back.

“Sam, you go check the hotel. Jake--the houses.” Riley ordered. “I’ll take the barn.”

Sam nodded. “Meet back here in ten minutes.” 

They all headed off towards their designated searches, alone and into the dark.

Meanwhile, Andy had been watching them from the window. He turned to walk into the next open space and his feet creaked on the wood as he carefully stepped over the salt. 

When he looked up, Ava was in the room with him. Little did he know she was dragging a finger across the windowsill, breaking the salt line.

“Ava! Where’d you go? Didn’t you hear us yelling?”

She turned around with no expression on her face. “Yeah, I heard you.” Ava’s face was cold and vacant as she put her fingers to her temples in concentration. 

A cloud of black demon smoke appeared outside the window. With the line broken, it slithered under the crack and inside.

Andy stood motionless, confused and scared. “What are you doing?” 

The smoke quickly materialized into the demon girl they had seen before. It bared its claws and snarled at Andy before wasting no time to attack. He was forced to the floor and screamed in pain as his chest was ripped open. Andy’s blood splattered all around and shot onto the window pane. It poured into the cracks of the wooden paneled floor as Andy choked on his own blood before meeting an agonizing end.

Studying his corpse, Ava grew more and more amused with a sinister smile on her face for a brief second. She then suddenly let out a deafening scream.

After hearing her blood-curdling cries, the hunters outside sprinted back to the house. They saw her crying and quaking with fear as she pointed to Andy’s body on the floor. 

Sam and Riley stopped dead in their tracks at the sight of their friend’s mangled body. Riley gasped.

“Oh, my god. You guys,” Ava’s words were almost unintelligible as she sobbed. “I just found him like this!”

“Jesus Christ,” Sam almost gagged staring at the scene. “What happened?”

Riley shook her head adamantly. “No. No way that thing got in here.” She went to the window and checked the salt lines to see one broken and turned to back to Ava sternly. “Who did that, Ava?”

“I don’t know--maybe Andy…”

With a serious voice, Sam interrupted her. “Andy wouldn’t do that. That line wasn’t broken when we left.” There was silence between them before he grew angry for an answer. “Ava!”

“What? You don’t think that I--?” she blubbered.

Stepping closer, Riley’s face grew stone cold and challenging. “I’ll tell you what I think, Ava. You’re the only one of us with time that was unaccounted for; five months of time. And you got a headache right before the demon got to Lily, didn’t you?”

Sam put the pieces together at the same time his sister did and they shared a knowing look. They both stared her down, demanding answers.

Ava dropped her act as her fake tears ran down her face. She sniffled and laughed a little. “Had you going though, didn’t I?” Ava wiped her eyes as if it was nothing. “Yeah. I’ve been here a long time, and not alone either. People just keep showing up--children, like us. Batches of three or four at a time.”

“Oh my god,” Riley almost whispered. “You killed them all.”

“I’m the undefeated heavyweight champ. And I don’t think ‘god’ had much to do with this, Riley.”

“How could you?” Sam scoffed with a look of disgust.

“I had no choice,” she replied,  all too matter-of-fact about it. “It's me or them. After a while, it was easy. It was even kind of fun. I just stopped fighting it.”

“Fighting what?”

“Who we are, Sam. If you'd just quit your hand-wringing and open yourself up, you have no idea what you can do. The learning curve is so fast, it’s crazy--the switches that just flip in your brain.” Ava chuckled. “I can’t believe I started out just having dreams. Do you know what I can do now?”

“Control demons.”

“Ah, you are quick on the draw. You know, Riley, when you told me about your abilities, I was sure you’d already decided to play for the other team. But...doesn’t really matter now.” Putting her hands to her head, Ava focused once more. “Yeah, I’m sorry, guys. But it’s over.”

That same cloud of black smoke returned to the window. 

Just as it was about to enter, Jake came from behind Ava and wrapped his arms around her throat. In one swift motion, he twisted her neck, killing her instantly. 

As Ava’s body thumped to the ground, the demonic smoke turned in the other direction, disappearing once again. 

------

“I think we can make it out of here now,” Sam told Riley and Jake as they left the building.

Riley nodded. “I think you’re right. She was the one summoning the Acheri. Now that she’s dead, it shouldn’t come back.”

“Yeah, we gotta go.”

As Riley and Sam walked slightly ahead, Jake shook his head. “Not ‘we’.” 

The hunters turned to him, stunned. 

“Only one of us is getting out of here. I--I’m sorry.”

“What?”

“I had a vision. That Yellow-Eyed demon or whatever it was--he talked to me. He told me how it was.”

Riley’s breath quickened as she pleaded with Jake. “No, no, you can’t listen to it, okay?”

“He’s not letting us go--” Jake told them sternly. “Only one. Now, if we don’t play along, he’ll kill all three of us. Now, I--I like you both--I do, but do the math here. What good’s it do for all of us to die? Now, I can get out of here. I get close to the demon--I can kill the bastard.”

“Come with us and we will kill it together, Jake.”

“There’s no way for me to know you won’t turn on me.”

“Okay, look,” Sam slowly took out his knife and showed it to Jake before placing it on the ground. Both he and Riley slightly put their hands up in surrender to offer peace. “Just come with us, Jake. Don’t do this. Don’t play into what it wants.” 

After a tense pause, Jake moved to place his piece of metal onto the ground and the hunters sighed with relief. 

“Okay,” Sam exhaled.

Suddenly, Jake punched Sam. The soldier’s super-strength sent him flying across the field, thudding to the ground.

Riley went to dive for a weapon. Though before she could even bend down, she too was struck. She went into the air and crashed through the nearby wooden fence. It broke on impact as Riley went unconscious.

Sam was on the ground, winded and groaning in pain. When he looked up all he could do was watch as Jake strode over to him quickly and with purpose. 

The soldier reared his foot back, ready to punt Sam in the head, the hunter kicked back at him. The two exchanged hit after hit with Sam still on the ground before he leveraged himself up. 

Each landed multiple punches, but one powerful blow hit Sam’s right shoulder with a bone-crunching sound. The pain knocked him back to the ground. Sam forced himself up swiftly, moaning through the pain of his broken bones. 

Jake approached again and swung at Sam as the hunter ducked out of the way. The soldier’s punch went through a wooden railing, temporarily holding him in place. 

Taking his opportunity, Sam kneed Jake several times before kicking him down.  The soldier laid there for a moment, out of breath, before fumbling to stand. 

It was then that Sam picked up the iron bar that Jake had surrendered earlier and struck him with it, knocking him out.

As Sam got closer to Jake, he stood over him, looking at him with ragged breaths and anger. Sam lifted the bar, ready to strike, but hesitated. 

At that moment, Sam decided not to be the monster he feared becoming. He would choose his own destiny just as Riley and Dean told him he could. 

So, tossing the bar to the ground, Sam reluctantly showed Jake mercy and stumbled away.

With her eyes struggling to open, Riley grabbed at her throbbing head. Her body felt limp and heavy as she tried to get up. When it was too difficult, her face collapsed back into the small patch of grass.

Suddenly, a feeling Riley had never experienced before consumed her. It was as if the clock had stopped and she was frozen in time. 

A flashing image flickered through her mind. She watched as Sam collapsed to his knees into the mud. His eyes rolled back before his lids shut, never to open again. 

Riley and Dean held his lifeless body and sobbed, begging for their brother to come back to them. Dean cried out for Sam with his hands covered in his little brother’s blood.

Riley could feel every emotion as though it was actually happening. The loss of Sam tore at her in a way she hadn’t felt since the death of her father. Air left her lungs as her walls fell. Dean’s grief, toppled with her own, was enough to make Riley wonder if dying alongside Sam would be less painful than a life without him.

As the vision ended, Riley’s eyes were flooded with tears. Her body trembled in agony, still reeling from the premonition. Riley’s vision didn’t show her what exactly would happen to Sam, but she had to stop it. If she didn’t, her brother would die in that field that night.

Across the way, Riley could see Sam, holding onto his shoulder making his way over to her. 

“Riley…” he cried. 

Jake was nowhere in sight, so Riley used all the strength she had left to pull herself to her feet. She groaned as every muscle hurt from the collision into the fence. Blood dripped down the side of her head as she began to hobble across the field to Sam. 

They nearly collapsed into each other’s arms, both staggering from sheer exhaustion after the beatings they had taken.

“Sam! Riley!”

Turning to the sound of Dean calling their names, the two saw him and Bobby in the distance. Their flashlights bounced around as they began their approach to the wounded hunters. 

Riley and Sam started to trudge through the wet ground beneath them with smiles on their faces.

“Dean!” Sam called with a grin and heavy breath.

Dean’s voice turned to one of panic as he screamed, “guys, look out!” He and Bobby immediately began to run towards them.

In that instant, Riley heard static coming from behind them growing louder and louder. She knew, Jake was back and coming for them both. Riley’s vision wouldn’t come true because she would make sure that it didn’t. 

Without hesitation, Riley shoved Sam’s weak body away, hard into the ground before spinning on her heel. 

As if in slow motion, Riley looked up as she turned to see herself face to face with the soldier. A pain she had never known hit her with force and she gasped out. Riley’s mouth fell slightly agape as she looked down at the handle of the blade that had been thrust under her ribcage. Her eyes went back to Jake’s as he twisted the knife, hard, briefly picking her up off her feet by the hilt.

“No!!!” Dean screamed at the top of his lungs. He sprinted as fast as his legs would carry him, his terrified voice echoing through the quiet night.

The blade squelched as Jake pulled it from her body. He knew he couldn’t stay and took off in a desperate attempt to escape from the wrath of the others.

Sam could barely move as he cried her name deep from his gut in agony, “Riley!” He stumbled to his feet, hunched and weak.

Riley’s hands clutched at her fresh wound while warm blood poured over them. She was in a state of shock, only releasing small groans of pain, her feet fumbling to turn back toward the brothers. 

Her eyes glistened with tears as she realized what had just happened. Riley’s knees gave way and she collapsed to the ground just as Sam had in her vision.

Dean slid across the mud to grasp her by the jacket and hold her up as Sam fell beside them. His large hands grabbed at her along with his brother’s. Bobby never stopped running as he charged in Jake’s direction with his shotgun in hand.

Riley looked at Dean as blood found its way to the corner of her mouth. A small gurgle came from her throat and she slightly twitched in his hands. 

“Rye,” he pleaded. “Lemme look at you.” Dean glanced down at her blood covered hands and put one of his on top of them. 

Both Winchesters kept saying her name, desperately trying to keep her alert. 

“Baby, stay with me, okay?” Dean told her. 

Riley’s head wobbled weakly as she began to go limp.

Sam’s eyes filled up as he brushed the hair away from her face and choked on his words. “Riley…? Rye--please…”

“We got you,” Dean said lovingly as his voice broke. “We got you. We’re here. We’re gonna patch you up, okay? I’m gonna take care of you. I promised--I would always take care of you.” His hands held the sides of her face trying to get her to look at him. 

The blue eyes that brought Dean to life and gave him purpose began to flutter shut. “Rye. Rye. Riley, look at me, sweetheart.” 

Her body slumped forward into his arms while both brothers begged for her to hold on.

“No, no, no, no, no...baby, not like this…” Dean cried. He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her as her blood soaked through his shirt. The warmth of it dripped down his chest and Riley’s face crashed into the crook of his neck. 

With his hand in her hair, Dean held her close to him. Tears streamed down his face as he buried himself into Riley’s shoulder. 

Sam nearly threw himself helplessly against her back and rubbed down one of her arms. The brothers held her together in the rain and rocked her in their arms as she died. They openly wept and howled in pain at their loss as they drowned in grief. 

Riley was gone.

Dean shook her one more time as tears dripped over his mouth and down his neck. Suffering more than he could bear, he released an earth-shattering scream into the heavens. 

“Riley!”

------

To be continued...

S2 Chapter 12: All Hell Breaks Loose Part 2

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[aitaikimochi]

Boku No Hero Academia Light Novel Vol. 3 “Another U.A. Quest” Official Fantasy AU Story

The Boku No Hero Academia Vol. 3 Light novel comes with a long chapter that is based off of the popularity poll art and the Season 2 Ending 2 sequence featuring the characters in a fantasy setting. The story is probably one of many since it does not end and seems to set the stage for an epic continuation! One of the most notable things to highlight from this story is that Kirishima is officially revealed to be Bakugou’s dragon who has committed to serving under Bakugou since he lost a duel against him. I translated the entire chapter from the light novel, so please enjoy this epic prologue~ 

Once upon a time, the world was ruled by a fearsome devil. For a long time he oppressed the humans and even robbed them of their wills, and thus continued his exploitations as he saw fit.

However, within this long period of despair, a brave group of people sought out to put an end to this long period of despair. These men and women were called heroes who believed in the defeat of the evil ruler. Among the bravest of them all was a mighty warried named All Might, who overthrew the ruler and brought peace back to the world.

Many people longed to become one of these heroes. And so, our story begins with a young man from the country side named Izuku. He was of course a huge fan of All Might.

Izuku: Mother! I will become All Might’s disciple!

Izuku’s Mom: What? Please be careful then!

Izuku then set off triumphantly from his house as his mother waved goodbye. His mother knew that it was meaningless to try to stop his passionate determination.

While strolling in the forest, he stumbled upon a doll with the appearance of All Might. That night, he had a dream about All Might.

All Might: Young man! Even you can be a hero!

After hearing that, Izuku became even more determined to finall meet All Might.

Although he was heading down the correct path that lead to the town where All Might was in, he for some reason got lost.

He stepped foot into an unfamiliar village. While distraught here in the village, he was approached by a young girl named Ochako and a man who was clad in armor named Tenya. When the two of them heard of Izuku’s determination to meet All Might, a clouded look passed over their faces.

Ochako: All Might has been missing for quite some time now.

Izuku: What? What is the meaning of this?

There was a rumor that there was something in the Tual Region that was able to cause heroes to disappear. It seems that All Might became caught up in this mess.

Tenya, who comes from generations of knights in his family, decided to investigate this matter, and the witch Ochako was hired to assist his family. Izuku then joined the two in this journey.

However, the Tual region was extremely far. The three of them soon found themselves with the last remnants of their food supply.

Izuku: Hm that’s strange. I could have sworn that we had way enough food for this trip.

Tenya: Ah, I am so sorry. It’s because I kept dividing the portions we had.

Izuku: No, that’s not it. I made sure to prepare enough for even the toughest of times, so our supply should have been fine but…Ochako-kun, your cheeks seem a bit stuffed…?

Ochako: I…am so sorry! Using magic really takes a lot out of you!!

Izuku: I see, so you need to replenish your magic by eating, right?

Ochako: But even if you gave me more to eat right now, I would not be able to restore the magic so quickly.

Ochako’s family were at their wit’s end with finances, and Ochako wanted to help out their situation. She told Izuku that she was very sorry about this. Still, she had no power on an empty stomach. As the three of them walked onward languidly, they came across a tree full of ripe fruit. They were truly blessed to find such a place, and the three of them filled their stomachs with the fruit.

Tenya: Wow, this is delicious!

Izuku: It’s chewy and tastes of soybean powder drizzled with molasses!

Ochako: I believe that this would be called a type of raw soy tea. I would love to have my father and mother try this as well.

As the three of them proceeded to take more of the fruit, a knight wearing an emblem of a flame came to them and shouted, “So you were the ones who were eating Lord Endeavor’s special fruit? Those who consume the fruit will be executed!”

All three of them cried out and ran for their lives. However, the knight was fast on their pursuit and cornered them. Just then, a young man came upon the sight.

Knight: “Master Shouto! Even if you are the son of Lord Endeavor, I will not forgive you for sidestepping on his policies!

Shouto: Silence! Leave us at once.

The knight took his command and left the three alone with the young man. They thanked him for saving them.

The young man then spat on the floor, grimacing.

Shouto: I was not trying to save you three. I just wanted to prove something to my wretched father.

It seemed that Shouto was the son of the infamous tyrannious high ruler Endeavor of these lands. The tree from which the three ate the fruit was native to only these lands, making it extremely rare. It was an item that Lord Endeavor treasured.

Shouto: My horrible father loved that treasured tree so much that he threw away his love for my mother. If he loves that tree so much then he should have just gotten married with the tree instead of my mother! As I am the heir to be the ruler of this land, I shall put an end to these foolish “kuzummochi*” trees. I will never follow in his footsteps!

As he finished speaking, he spat once more on the ground, disgusted at his father and determined to take revenge. Izuki and the others took pity on him.

Izuku: You know…we were actually just in the middle of searching for All Might and all the lost heroes. Perhaps if you are interested, you may join us…?

Shouto: I shall accompany you.

As long as he was able to leave the grip of Endeavor, he made a prompt decision. The journey then became that of four instead of three.

Although the four of them were on their way to the Tual Region, they once again became lost in their path. They found themselves surrounded by jagged cliffs with a large volcano that looked like it was about to erupt.

Izuku: Ochako-kun! Is there something you can do with that magic of yours?

Ochako: I’ll try! Merameramera―ramen! I call forth the spirit of the flames! Create a path for us!

As she murmured her spell, she waved her wand and pointed in the direction that she wanted the path to be made.

Ochako: It’s this way!

Shouto: Is that magic?

Shouto looked on doubtfully but followed the rest towards the direction that the wand was pointing to. As they headed in the direction, their path was blocked by a burst of flame! Someone shouted, “Who goes there? Who dares step foot in the lands in which Lord Katsuki resides in?!”

There on top of a fire breathing dragon stood an intimidating young man adorned with a cape lined with fur and baring his chest, with a smug look on his face.

Katsuki: You dare cross my path? Do you really intend to overthrow ME?!

Shoto: Even a dragon obeys his commands! We cannot go forth! We must head back.

As he said that, Katsuki signaled to the dragon and immediately blocked the path that Izuku and the others were attempting to retreat to.

Katsuki: Try and defeat me if you want to go down this path!

He challenged them with a surging passion to fight as he laughed.

Katsuki: Seems like you still wanna fight, eh?

As Shoto took on his battle stance, Izuku then looked on carefully at the scene unfolding before him and realized something.

Izuku: Wait a minute…aren’t you THE Kacchan who used to live next me ages ago?

Katsuki: What the hell? Are you that bastard, Deku?

Izuku: This is so nostalgic! Is your mother well?

Katsuki: Oh we’re doing so well, you little imbecile!

It seems as if long ago, Izuku and Katsuki were neighbors in their village. Tenya them breathed a sigh of relief.

Izuku: Well then, since you do know Izuku from your childhood, would you be so kind and please step aside from our path?

Katsuki: And just who the hell do you think you’re talking to? Deku! This is the perfect chance. I have always wanted to completely obliterate you!

Izuku: Why are you like this, Kacchan?

Katsuki: You bastard, have you forgotten what you have done yourself?

Izuku then grew quiet in front of Katsuki and tilted his head, deep in thought. He muttered:

Izuku: Perhaps you are referring to the time when you did something wrong and tried to put the blame on me but was found out by your mother? Or was it that one time when we went into the cave to explore, and you fell very ungracefully in front of everyone? Or are you referring to the time when you received a very ornate treasure right before you moved but I then accidentally dropped it and it shattered?

Katsuki: All of it, you shitty bastard! That’s it. I will duel you now! No one dare interfere!

Suddenly, a great fire burst behind Katsuki and propelled him forward. This was the start of their duel.

Tenya: It seems like even childhood friends have various problems…

Just as the legends say, the dragon breathed fire as it cheered on Katsuki. Meanwhile, Ochako and the others watched the fight attentively.

As the fight progressed, there was a sudden rumble from the volcano nearby, and Izuku and Katsuki then started the fight with all their power.

As it turns out, the winds of victory were favorable for the offensive Katsuki, and the Goddes of Victory shined upon him.

Katsuki: Aha! I am the victor after all!

Katsuki looked down at the cowering figure of Izuku as he smirked. He turned to Ochako and the others and shouted:

Katsuki: Now, all of you will become my servants!

Ochako: What? We never agreed upon those terms!

Katsuki: The victor decides the shots, round face!

Tenya, troubled, then interrupted by saying:

Tenya: Although you are the victor to this match, we are in the middle of heading towards the Tual Region to search for All Might as well as the other missing heroes.

Katsuki: What the hell are you blabbering about?

Tenya then heatedly explained the situation that they were in. As Katsuki listend to his words, a thought crossed his mind and he said:

Katsuki: I shall join you in your quest. If someone is out there killing heroes, that must mean they’re pretty damn strong. I want to fight whoever is capable of such things and come out the victor in that!

Everyone else exclaimed in disbelief.

Izuku: Umm…it’s okay if you tag along with us, but if that dragon also joins us then that’ll be a little…

The dragon listened carefully as soon as he said those words and suddenly morphed into the appearance of a young man. As the others cried out in surprise, there stood before them a young man with red hair who was smiling.

Kirishima: Me? I’m half dragon half human! The name’s Eijirou. It’s not going to be a problem if I come along looking like this, right? Anyway, let’s get along!

Eijirou, brimming with courage and bright personality, seemed to have lost against a one on one duel to Katsuki and ended up becoming his servant as a result.

The six individuals then continued on their journey together.

They crossed through treacherous lands and had many close calls before they finally reached the region of Tual. Although the city should have been bustling with life, there were few others in the region.

Katsuki: Hey, where the hell are the bad guys? There’s no one here!

Izuku: It seems that we must gather more information before we are able to determine our next move.

They headed to the nearby tavern in hopes of gathering more information on the whereabouts of the missing heroes. The name of the tavern was the “Dancing Tadpole.”

The owner of the tavern was a girl who had a very cute face that quite resembled that of a frog. She said to them, “Welcome to the tavern! This is the first time we were blessed with so many visitors! Please call me Tsuyu.”

There were only two other patrons, a girl with very sharp eyes and another man who was wearing a dark hood. Tenya and the others tried to explain the situation of the missing heroes to them, but Tsuyu just tilted her head, perplexed. He then pressed on explaining that at some points, all of the heroes just disappeared without a trace.

Tsuyu: Hmm…

Tsuyu listened on as they continued the story.

Tsuyu: In either case, although it may be true that the heroes were disappearing in this region, I believe that you should still look for more information.

Eijirou: Well then, guess we should eat!

Much time passed since the six adventurers were able to have a full meal, so they enjoyed themselves to the fullest. They ate all the delicious food and had seconds, even third or fourth or more helpings to satisfy their stomachs.

Ochako: Thank you so much for the meal, Tsuyu-chan! Please give us the bill.

Tsuyu: That will be 30,000 tual, please!

Tenya then took out his bag to take out his money but suddenly froze in shock.

Ochako: What’s wrong, Tenya-kun?

Tenya: My money is gone! It seems like it fell out through a small hole in the bag.

Izuku: Oh no! The string to my wallet as well as my bag has also unraveled!

Tenya: I’m so sorry everyone, but please lend me some money!

As Tenya pleaded to the rest of the party, everyone was froze.

Ochako: I only have 500 tual.

Katsuki: I do not surround myself with such materialistic things.

Eijirou: Sorry, me too! I’m just a dragon!

Izuku: Your wallet is my wallet.

They all turned to Shouto, the son of a Lord ruler of a land, as their last hope.

Shouto: I am sorry. I left in such a spur of the moment that I too, forgot my wallet.

With their hopes destroyed, they were in a pinch. Tsuyu gazed upon them without flinching, waiting for them to pay their dues.

Katsuki then took out something out of Izuku’s bag, which was the All Might doll he had kept all this time!

Katsuki: Then let’s just sell this All Might doll! It’s sure to bring in some easy money!

Izuku: Wait no! Of course not! Give it back!

As Izuku tried while trying to pry the doll away, Ever since the day he came across the doll, he was able to see All Might in his dreams and gave him strength, telling him that even he too, can become a hero. That with a strong heart, he can truly become―!

Izuku then grabbed the doll and shoved in back inside his bag. To Izuku, that was not just a doll. It was a precious item that gave him confidence in himself.

Katsuki: You bastard, this isn’t the time to be saying crap like that!

Izuku: This is something I will not give into!

As Katsuki and Izuku quarrelled over the doll, the hooded man stood and placed money on his table and thanked Tsuyu for the meal. The woman with the sharp eyes followed him outand suddenly, a cry was heard from outside!

Izuku: What was that!?

The group was then greeted by a fearsome beast with red glowing eyes, stomping over at least 14 different stores. This was not a normal monster as its back had large black wings.

Izuku: Is this…the Evil Demon? Why is it here?

As Izuku tried to formulate a plan, Shouto said to him:

Shouto: Izuku, think about this later!

The demon then followed the group. However, because they had gone through many hardships on the way here, they were trained in endurance and strenght and was able to easily overcome the enemy.

Katsuki: What? You call this a foe? What a waste!

Eijiro: Hey, calm down now…

Katsuki kept barking insults at the fallen beast while Eijirou tried to soothe his rage.

Ochako: Hey, just a thought but can we eat these things?

Tenya: I don’t think you should. You’ll probably get a really bad stomach ache, Ochako-kun.

The woman with the sharp eyes looked on to them and approached them. She said, “Hey you. You’re pretty strong.”

As a gesture of thanks for destroying the evil monster terrorizing the town, Tsuyu did not charge them for their meal and even let them stay at the tavern one night for free.

The six of them then proceeded to bathe in the bathhouse and soon retired to their bedrooms.

The woman with the sharp eyes was named Kyouka, and she arrived in this town a few days prior to the group and was staying in this tavern alone. She approached Ochako’s room and wanted to talk.

Ochako: So, what do you do for a living? I’ve been hired as a witch!

Kyouka: I was also scouted as of late…

As the two made conversation, Kyouka seemed to be hiding something and not properly answering Ochako’s questions.

Ochako: I see! Being scouted really is hard. So what kind of job were you hired for?

Kyouka: Oh well..that’s uh…

Ochako: Are you some sort of spy from your own kingdom?

Kyouka: What? How did you find out?

Kyouka was taken aback at how accurate Ochako’s guess was. She indeed was appointed by the ruler of her land to be a spy to see what was happening to these missing heroes. She was sent to warn those around the nearby lands of the dangers that this might cause.

Seeing as their goals were aligned, Kyouka finally was able to speak freely with Izuku and the others as well.

Kyouka: I believe that the reason why the heroes are disappearing can be attributed to the Evil Demon.

Tenya: The Evil Demon? You mean the person who All Might overthrew?

Kyouka: It seems like the corpse of the Evil Demon that should have remained in the lowest depths of the Earth has been missing.

Ochako: No way…

Kyouka: The monster just now was proof.

As Ochako gasped, Izuku grimaced.

Izuku: So even though he alone wanted to dominate the entire lands, he just tried to get rid of all who opposed him while we just glanced away. Further, the heroes are not just disappearing in this area. It seems like it will be difficult to find the heroes who have not yet disappeared.

Izuku and the others gulped.

If there are no heroes in the present and the Evil Demon were to return…

The tales of the Evil Demon’s dominace of the lands only reached the ears of those who were born in the time of peace as just bedtime stories. It was hard to believe that such a thing would ever happen again. The air in the room suddenly became very thick.

The door then opened, and the scruffy looking man from before stepped through. He asked, “Who was the one who defeated that monster out back?”

Without caring much about how suspicious he looked, the man took off his hood and revealed his face to Tenya and the others. Izuku then exclaimed:

Izuku: The man with the unruly hair, who always has eye bags around his tired eyes and wraps a scarf around his neck…are you the hero Aizawa?

Aizawa: Huh? Who are you?

Izuku then pressed on.

Izuku: Since you apparently are never seen anywhere, I assumed that you did not even exist. However I can’t believe that such a rare hero is standing here in front of me! I can’t believe I am able to actually finally meet a real hero!

As Izuku muttered to himself, Aizawa laughed.

Aizawa: The Evil Demon’s hideout is very well barricaded. If his magic is to reach these lands then we must act in haste. I shall proceed alone. You must notify the rest of the lands about this. Please reach out to the nearby countries and ask for their cooperation and understanding of this.

As Aizawa said this, Izuku and the others stood up. Even indoors, Katsuki looked like he was fully ready and motivated.

Katsuki: I’m going to defeat that crappy Evil Demon!

Tenya: We have all gathered together for this one mission. Well then everyone, let us continue our journey tonight!

Tenya’s voice reached everyone and they all stood up. Before Izuku left, Aizawa grabbed him by the shoulder.

Aizawa: Let me see that All Might doll. It might hold a clue.

Izuku: If…if that’s the case leave it to me! If it’s about All Might, I know everything from his measurements to even his favorite tree!

As Izuku continued in one breath and with glittering eyes, Aizawa let out a small sigh.

Aizawa: Okay, I get it. Then come with me.

As the two of them went into the forest, Kyouka decided to follow their trail.

Izuku: Has Hero Aizawa ever worked together with All Might? What is he like? Is he different from what the stories say of him?

Izuku listened as Aizawa explained the various things he went through with All Might. Aizawa then looked at Izuku who seemed to deflate for some reason. He let out a sigh and said:

Izuku: I’m sorry!

He then pulled out the All Might doll from his bag and examined it closely under the moonlight.

Izuku: I know it’s just a doll and I haven’t changed much but I still…

Aizawa: Well that’s that!

Izuku: What?

Aizawa then let out a huge laugh, which made Izuku slightly uneasy. As he looked up, Aizawa did not change.

Aizawa: Let me see that doll again.

Izuku: Ah, sure thing!

Izuku handed the doll to Aizawa and when he did, a strong thought passed through his head. It was a voice that called out to him, “Young man, do not give me to him!!”

Izuku: What was that?

Aizawa: What’s wrong? Hurry and give it to me.

Izuku: But…But I…

The voice that resonated in his head contradicted his body’s actions as he stood frozen. Aizawa then glanced at him with narrowed eyes and grew cold.

Aizawa: Don’t make fun of us adults. Although I might not look like the part, I actually hate merciless destruction. I wasn’t going to do anything but…just hand that over to me.

Izuku: I…!

Aizawa’s eyes turned red, and Izuku ran for his life. At that moment, Aizawa’s scarf came to life and wrapped around Izuku, grounding him. Izuku tried to struggle but it kept on getting tighter.

Aizawa: Why do you run? Aren’t I the hero that you so praise?

Izuku: Even if you were, why are you doing this?

Aizawa: Well then, give me that doll.

Izuku: No!! I won’t!

Aizawa used the scarf to take the doll. Izuku looked on as Aizawa suddenly had a very satisfied look on his face.

Izuku: Why do you care about the doll so much? Wait a minute, is Hero Aizawa also a huge fan of All Might? Why didn’t you tell me that earlier??

Aizawa: You’ve got it all wrong.

Aizawa scowled and looked down at Izuku.

Aizawa: You mentioned that All Might came to you in a dream and told you that even you too can become a hero. The birth of a hero huh, well then I’ll just have to crush it now!

Izuku: No!!!

Aizawa’s scarf continued to wrap tightly around Izuku, constricting him. However, suddenly a great flame burst through right at that moment.

Ochako: Are you all right, Izuku-kun?

Izuku: Everyone!

Tenya and the others made it in the nick of time! Tsuyu was there too, and Eijirou was in the form of a great dragon. Izuku scrambled to the others.

Izuku: I thought you were all going to notify the rest of the kingdom!

Kyouka then turned towards Aizawa, who looked very annoyed.

Kyouka: I knew you always seemed very suspicious. Aizawa should have actually disappeared quite some time ago, so why are you here? You’re an imposter, aren’t you?

Aizawa: Well that’s too bad, ‘cause I’m the real deal. I was reborn and brought back to life in this form.

As Aizawa spoke, he conjured up an army of monsters and evil beings that surrounded Tenya and the others.

Aizawa: If only you listened like good little children and left to warn the neighboring kingdoms. Well if we’re going to do this, then we might as well do it well. Let’s be rational, shall we?

Aizawa let out an evil laugh and reverted back to his demon form. The monster was even larger than the Dragon Eijirou. Even with eight fighters, this enemy seemed too strong.

Izuku: Uwaaaaa!!!

Tenya: Guhh!!

Shouto: Haa!

Tenya, Shouto, and Izuku drew out their swords and dashed forward towards the enemy.

Nearby, Katsuki also knocked out enemies left and right as he shouted.

Katsuki: Come at me!

Eijirou then breathed fire onto all the enemies around them, imeidately obliterating most of the monsters.

Kyouka brought out a small dagger to fight, and Tsuyu used her tongue to knock out the enemies. Ochako was surprised.

Ochako: Tsuyu-chan, your tongue is amazing!

Tsuyu: Oh not at all! I used to be in a circus, so it’s a trait that runs in my heritage.

Ochako: I can’t lose to these monsters as well!

Since Ochako ate her fill earlier, she was teeming with energy. She called forth the spirits’ powers and directed her attack towards the enemies, easily defeating many of them.

After the group had attacked most of the monsters, all that was left was Aizawa himself.

Aizawa: You have such power yet you undervalue them so. Well, I’ll just ask anyway. Join me and lend me your strength.

Izuku: Never!

Tenya: Never in a million years!

Aizawa laughed at them and suddenly struck out with his long nails.

Aizawa: Of course not. Then join forces and try to stop me!

Everyone prepared their stances and charged forward, shouting.

As they tried their best to defeat them, he remained unscathed. Nothing they could do would even land a single hit on him, and after trying numerous times, the result was still the same.

Aizawa: What’s wrong? You’re giving up?

Izuku and the others could not even respond as they were too tired out and barely able to stand.

Aizawa: Well then, shall we put an end to this?

Aizawa approached them with no expression, planning to step on them as he drew nearer. As he raised his foot, Izuku and the others stood their ground. However, as he lowered his foot, he suddeny stopped.

Aizawa: Ah, that reminds me. Remember you thought that I was All Might’s fan and thus wanted to have his doll? Well you’re completely wrong! That doll is actually All Might himself, cursed and imprisoned in the body of a doll. It was unfortunate though, that a bird came swooping in one day and brought that doll far away. I have been looking for it ever since.

When Izuku heard these words, a mysterious voice entered his mind and said, “Young man! If you love this land of peace as much as I do, then we can become one!”

Izuku: All Might…

Aizawa: Anyway, let’s end this.

As Aizawa proceeded to stomp down on them, Izuku suddenly evaded his attack, surprising everyone.

Izuku drew his sword at Aizawa and out from it grew a large flame. Out from the flame came the spirit of All Might!

All Might: I will not let you win. I will protect this land of peace!

Aizawa: What…what did you say?? Noo!!!

Izuku and All Might together combined their powers and drew their energy into the sword. They thrust the sword into Aizawa, and he fell. His body slowly started to shrink and returned to his former human self.

All Might’s power then returned to the inside of the doll as well.

Izuku: What?? All Might! I did not think that I would meet you as…a doll?

Izuku held the doll and started muttering to himself as he had a conversation with All Might in his head.

All Might: My boy, now’s not the time for small talk. Look at Aizawa-kun. He was cursed by the Evil Demon and turned into that form.

Izuku: Oh, that’s right!

Izuku and the others carefully approached him. He then opened his eyes.

Aizawa: Eh? What happened? Who are you?

They then proceeded to explain to Aizawa what had transpired up until now, and all he could do was apologize.

Since All Might and Aizawa were both affected, the rest of the missing heroes perhaps also suffered from similar spells, losing all their memories and turning into a servant of evil. In order for them to return to their original selves, they would have to defeat the root of the evil.

Tenya: So you’re saying that there is a possibility that the heroes that are still out there could have been turned into enemies that we will have to fight in order to save, correct?

Tenya took a deep gulp. It seemed like the world was still in danger, and this was just the beginning.

Katsuki then let out a burst of strong laughter.

Katsuki: That’s perfect! It’s boring if there aren’t any strong bad guys out there to fight!

Eijirou: Well if you are going, then I too shall follow! Let’s rid the world of the malice once and for all!

Tenya: Of course I will also come along with you. Ochako-kun, please come as well!

Ochako: Yes! Let’s talk about reimbursements later!

Izuku: I will also come with you guys! We need to free All Might from this curse! How about Shouto-kun…?

Shouto: I will go. I will not return to my father’s side.

Kyouka: I’ll tag along too. I can probably help gather information for you.

Tsuyu: I’ll come too. If there’s no peace in these lands, then my shop would probably be out of business!

Aizawa: Well it’s fine and dandy if you want to go and fight, but do you even know the whereabouts of the Evil Demon?

The group then grew silent and Aizawa let out a sigh.

Aizawa: I guess it’ll be dangerous if it’s just a bunch of kids. I’ll come too.

Izuku and the others cried out in joy that they were able to recruit a reliable ally in their journey.

Aizawa: Why do I for some reason feel like I suddenly became a teacher or something?

He lets out another sigh of defeat.

Izuku was brimming with excitement as he spoke with the All Might doll.

Izuku: If I am to save you from this curse, then please let me become your disciple!

All Might: What are you even speaking of, my boy? You are already my disciple! I’m counting on you from here on out!

As the voice in his head spoke to him, Izuku smile grew wide.

Izuku: Ye…Yes Sir, All Might, sir! I will do my best! When this curse has been lifted, please give me your autograph!

The ten of them then set off on their new journey. The day draws closer when they are able to finally defeat the Evil Demon…perhaps.

—–

T/N: I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT DRAGON!KIRISHIMA IS NOW AN OFFICIAL THING AND HE FOLLOWS BAKUGOU TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH AND IS SO LOYAL TO HIM UGH. THE FEELS… If anyone wants the original Japanese text, please DM me, and I’ll send you the .zip file! I also translated this really quickly without properly editing, so if anyone notices grammar mistakes, please lmk! Feel free to use my translations and please credit if you can ^_^ Scream about this with me on Twitter!

[theabominableblogger]

My Reaction to “Gotham” S5E3

In Which I Hand My Medical Bill to Tze Chun (and join Selina’s quest to kick the shit out of Jeremiah).

No joke, I am fending off a fever at the moment so yeah... fun fun fun...

AN:  I managed to record my reactions to this episode and hopefully I can transcribe what I said into this post.

*imitates the Epic Voice Trailer guy doing the Gotham commercials*

“I’ll take his head and you can have the rest of him!”  OK, I did read somewhere that Sykes is gonna appear in the next episode, so that should be fun.

“Kill.  Penguin.”  Jim’s like “I have an excellent idea!  Let’s change the subject!”

*Recap shows the Green Zone*  Oh ho this place is gonna get blown up!

“Penguin did this.”  *shakes head*  No...

A CHOIR?!?  WHAT?!?

*ends up cracking the hell up, almost choking on her egg sandwich* I can’t, st-

Oh my God, of course the choir’s standing on the stairs as he descends!

This is the most extra interpretation of Penguin I’ve ever seen!

*laughs*  Wow, we have another musical number involving Penguin!  Yay!

*gasps in delight*  Edward!

“Production is steady, Mr. Cobblepot.”  *raises fist in air with mouth full of food*  Woo hoo!

*One of the choir members collapses*  Oh dear.

“Penn, why is my countertenor out cold?”  *chuckles*

AN:  Let’s just think about this.  OSWALD gathered a CHOIR for HIMSELF and is shown CONDUCTING THE CHOIR and judging by that line, KNOWS how to freaking coach a choir.  Let’s just sit on that.

“Defecting?  You’ve been holding out on me then.”  They’re going to Gordon!

“My subjects are fleeing to Jim Gordon?”  Oh hoo snap!

“What about the bounty on Gordon’s head?!?”  “We've had trouble finding takers.”  Oh my God...

No!  OK, what if Jeremiah comes in like “I’ll take the bounty!”  And everyone’s like “Oh God no.”

“They should love me.”  Mmmmmm....

*gasps when the Street Demons attack*

Oh my God!

Oh my God, protect the dog!  Protect the dog!

“That’s a good point.”  *laughs in shock*

“We didn’t really think this through.”  No dip!

“There will be plenty of time for thinking... when my men are rippin’ out your fingernails!”  *eyes widen in shock*

*Oswald threatens Mr. Penn with a gun*  Oh my God!

*gasps and reels back*  Oh, the dog survived!  Thank God!

“That’s right, Edward, it’s Mr. Penn’s head!  It’s Mr. Penn’s head!  You adorable little-”  *giggles*

My favorite character is now the dog.

*Selina has nightmares of Jeremiah shooting her*  Oh no.

Out the window!  There we go!

Whoaaaaa... those gloves though!

Also, where’d she get the outfit?

*silently jams along with opening theme*

“Word of this place [Haven] is spreading like a bad case of the clap.”  *cracks up*

“You’ve been going full kilt for months, carrying the weight of everyone.  Share the load.”  #LetPeopleSleep2k19

“I’m OK.”  Jim, I don't’ think you’re gonna be OK for the next few episodes.

“Water purification system repurposed from Wayne Enterprises Tech.”  Eey!

“Not to put more on your plate but...”  But he’s gonna put more on that plate

Jim, adopt this kid.  Right now.  We don’t need a Barbara Gordon; we’ll go with this kid! 

That’s terrible for me to say...

“I promise I will never let anyone hurt you again.”  *puts hand on chest*  Oh these feels.

*Jim gives Will some of his rations*  Aaw...

Also, I like Bruce hanging out with the refugees.  Just... yes.

“Does it look like I need rest?”  *scoffs*

“Look, whatever Ivy’s root did to me, I’ve never felt better.”  ‘Kay.

“So now I have to find the freak who shot me.”  Mmmmmm...

“Even if we find him, he’s had months to fortify himself.  We can’t go after him alone.”  Yeah, where the hell is Jeremiah?

“I won’t lose you.”  Aaaww...

“I’m not yours to lose.”  MMMMM!!

*Selina kisses Bruce*  Yaaayyy!

Also, this music in the background is so pretty!

“You don’t understand!  If you go to the Dark Zone, Jeremiah is the least of your worries.“  ....oohh.

*yells and reels back in horror when Bruce and Selina are shown wounds from the Dark Zone*  Oh my God!

Wha-wha-wha-wha-whoa-wha-what?

“PENN, WHERE THE F-“  *cracks up*

OLGAAA!!!  Olga, we haven’t seen you since Season 3!

“They happened to have defected to Haven.”  Great.

Also, Penguin, get dressed-

Oh my God, did they take the dog?!?

“Did they take my dog?”  “Rumors say pup went willingly.”  Oh no.

“LLIIIIIIEEESS!”  *laughs*

Dude, Oswald, get dressed!  Like right now!  Please God!

“Contact the Lo Boyz and the Undead.”  Wait, that’s what that Day of the Dead gang was called?  They’re called the Undead?  Nice.

“...right after I [Oswald] put on some clothes.”  Yes.

Where’s Lucius?!?

*giggles softly when Bruce smiles at Selina’s joke*

“I had a reason to stay.”  Oh my God, Bruce, you are utterly in love with her!

*Bruce and Selina find a body in a car with its throat slit*  Oh shit!

*jaw drops in horror when someone blows up*

What?!?  Are those nails?!?

*The Mutant Gang comes*  Oh my God, here we go!

Oh my God, the Mutants!

*Selina turns around to face the Mutant Leader*  OOOOOOOOHHHHHH....

*The Mutants surround Bruce and Selina*  Uhhhh...

“What do you wanna do?”  “Easy...”  You are not gonna fight them!  No nononono!

Oh, Selina with the cat moves!

*Bruce fights off the Mutants*  Oh, let’s go!  Let’s go!

Oh, go Bruce!

*laughs*  He comes in in a go kart!

“Well, if it isn’t my old friend, Mr. Penn!  And the Gertrude Kabelput Memorial Choir!”  Oh my God...

*utterly loses it at Jim’s reaction when Oswald starts calling for his dog*

“...or we will destroy this little commune of yours and salt the earth on which it stands!”  Oswald, you would not.

“You wanna test us, Oswald?  I’m sure my men could use the target practice.”  OH SNAP!

“Slice and dice, little chicky!”  *gasps*  SLICE AND DICE!

“You look like 300 pounds of ugly.”  *jaw drops*

*starts snapping in air appreciatively at Selina*

Selina, do not go off the deep end.

*Selina slices the Mutant Leader’s ankle*  Ooohh...

*jaw drops in horror when Selina starts slicing up the Leader’s face*

“Tell me where Jeremiah.. or this face is gonna be the last face!  You!  Ever!  See!”  Selina!

“Old Town North.  You wouldn’t lie to me, would you?”  Oh my God!

Oh my God, Selina, stop, stop!  You got what you wanted!  Stop!

*gasps in horror as Selina starts slicing the Leader’s face faster*  Oh my God, stop!

*Bruce stops Selina*  Yo!  The grappling gun!

Uhhhh, Bruce, you need to have a talk with your... buddy.

“I know Jim Gordon.”  *nods*

“Now, if you don’t want your men to die in a hail of bullets, you know what to do.”  Jiiiimmm...

Also, where does Jim find the time to get fresh suits?  Like, we need answers, buddy.

*chuckles*  Oh, her whip was caught on one of the cars!  Haha!

“Whose side are you on, Bruce?”  “Yours.  Always.”  Oh my God... ugh.

Old Town North... I’ll have to look that up on the map...

*mutters*  Oh, we’re like halfway through the episode.  OK.

*jaw drops when Bruce and Selina find a little prayer stand full of pictures of Jeremiah and candles*  Oh... My... Gooooddd!

Oh my freak- Oh my God....

*has to sit back and put hands on forehead in order to register everything*

Oh my God...

Oh my God, there’s like- what?

 What?  What- OK... what?  Is this a church?!?

*gasps*  Ecco!

“Welcome, pilgrims, to the Church of Jeremiah Valeska.”  *has to sit back and do resigned facepalm*  Oh my freaking God.

“The only place where you faithful pilgrims can become your very best selves.”  We’re doing this?!?  We’re doing this?!?

“Who the hell is that?”  “I don’t know.  Bet she knows where Jeremiah is though.”  Wait, wouldn’t Bruce recognize Ecco?!?

“But remember, he wants only the most faithful followers.”  Selina, don’t you freaking dare!

“And the rest of you- GET OUT!”  *actually jumps*

“You don’t look like one of Jeremiah’s worshipers.”  *softly*  Oh my God...

“I have witnessed his work first hand.  I’ll never forget it.”  *softly*  Oh my God...

Selina, what are you doing?

Oh my God, the freaking bow [Selina sarcastically gives to Ecco before going upstairs]...

WHO’S THIS DUDE [acting as a bodyguard for Ecco]?!?

*smiles when Ecco takes off her mask*

Oh my God... YEAH SHE WOULD- WAIT- wait, she would know who Selina is!  Oh my God!

*fawns over one of Oswald’s men carrying Edward*

“There are children here, families.  What happens when the gangs take them?”  “Hmmm... they’ll probably go back to being slaves, I guess...”  Hey- uh, Oswald!

*Oswald locks Jim up*  MmmmmmMMM!!

*laughs when Oswald starts baby talking to Edward*

I’m sorry, did they put a leather collar on-

*jaw drops when Mr. Penn gets shot in the chest*  OH MY GOD!

*covers mouth in shock*

OH MY GOD, they- WHAT

“You fool!  This never would have happened if you stayed with me!”  Oh my Go- OSWALD, STOP YELLING!

“Everyone hated you.”  Oh my God.

Oh my God, those are some bitch ass last words!  Oh my God!

*offers high five*  Mr. Penn!  Bravo!

“Hey, Penguin!  You got something on your face.”  IT WAS PAIN!

Please God, they’re gonna put him in the same cell as Jim

*claps hands*  Please God!

“Man, you on fire!”  *laughs*

“Take it that didn’t work out the way you’d hoped.”  *reels back in laughter*

Oh, Jim, I love you!

“Barbara!”  Oh my God, Jim sent Harvey to go get Barbara?  Oh my God.  Worst idea!

“Jim Gordon needs your help.”  Yeah, like she’s gonna go with that!

“Me and Jim are friends.”  Yay!

“We’re working for the same thing.”  Yay!

Barbara, I actually like the outfit you’re wearing.

“Penguin?  You should have opened with that.”  *laughs*

Harvey:  You gotta help us.

Barbara:  No.

Harvey:  But Penguin-

Barbara:  Eff it!  Let’s go!

“What makes this place so special?”  “Well for one thing, it’s far away from you [Oswald].”  OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

*claps hands*  Ye-es!

Will!

“Just act normal.  I know it’s a stretch.”  *laughs*

*smiles when Will manages to slide Oswald and Jim a pick for their handcuffs*

Attaboy, Will!

“We need to take them [the other gang members] out.  Right here, right now.”  *starts singing “The Other Side” from “The Greatest Showman”*

“Now how do we pick it up?”  That’s a good question.

*laughs when Jim and Oswald have to sink down back to back together to get the pick for the locks*

Oh my God, best episode of Season 5 so far.  Oh my God.

*gasps in horror when Bruce finds a bunch of bodies in one of the rooms*

*covers mouth*  Oh my God... wait, are those all kids?!?

OH my God...

Of course there’s a freaking stained glass- son of a bi- oh my God...

*Long shot of the bloody empty pool area*  Mmmmm... gross

“Six shooters.  Bang bang.”  *eyebrows raise in intrigue*

“Each of you get one gun and one bullet.”  Oh my God, they’re doing Russian Roulette?

*covers mouth in horror*

*eyes widen in horror when everyone starts pointing their guns at each other’s head*

Oh my God, Selina’s hand’s shaking...

“1....2.... chicken poo...”  *has to take a quick sigh of relief before going back to being horrified*

*gasps in shock when Bruce hears gunshots go off*

Oh mah God!

Ohhh she stopped the hammer [of the gun at her head because of her reflexes]!

“Hear that?  Curls...”  CURLS?!?  What... Curls?!?

*imitates Ecco’s little pout she gives Selina*

“Jeremiah’s methods may look like madness....”  What the FRICK happened in these three months?!?

“The rest of you.. get straight A’s...”  *has to laugh*

*Ecco runs a finger down a bloody wall and licks the blood off it*  Eeeewww!

Oh my God...

Whoaa those masks on the goons!

*Bruce goes up the creepily lit stairs to find Selina*  Wow, I love the Haunted Mansion ride.

“If it’s so fun... why don’t you play?”  *chuckles*

“Don’t you get it?  I have.”  What?!?

*drops jaw in absolute horror when Ecco shows Selina the old scar on the side of her neck* 

*covers mouth*  OH MY GOD!

“Boy do I feel it when the nights get cold...”  *puts hands on cheeks*  OH MY GOD!

*Ecco breezes through three rounds of Russian Roulette*  She has [expletive] lost it.

“You’re insane.”  “No.  I was willing to look death in the face, to allow the old me to die.”  OH MY GOD!

*covers mouth in horror*

“I [Ecco] know I want you to... Selina.”  OK, she does know who she is! 

*slaps hand on desk and rests forehead against it*  Oh my God.

“There isn’t a single part of Bruce Wayne’s life that we don’t know about.”  Ohhhhh no.

“His joys... his disappointments... his desires.”  *leans away from laptop*  Eeeuggh!

“One thing Jeremiah did teach me... is that I hhhhhhhhaaate having a gun pointed at my face.”  Holy shit!

*Selina gets Ecco to waste her shot*  Ooh!

*covers mouth in shock*

*Cat fight ensues*  Oh my God!

“Oh, puddin’...”  *gasps and reels back*

“...aren’t you delicious!”  Ahhhhh my God!

*Ecco does a few backflips away*  Oh my God!

Oh my God!

*gasps when Selina manages to beat Ecco to the floor*

“Don’t... call me puddin’!”  Oh my God!

*covers mouth in shock when Selina keeps flashing back to Jeremiah shooting her*

“All it took was a little kick in the pants!”  *jaw drops when it smash cuts to a shot of Jeremiah smiling*

AN:  Was that intentional at all?  Or...

“Well let’s see what happens when someone deserves to get shot in the head!”  *gasps*

*yells in shock when Ecco manages to stab Selina in the leg*

Oh my God!

AN:  Let’s not do a drinking game every time I say that.

*Selina handcuffs Bruce to the door*  WHAT-WHA-where did the handcuffs come from?!?

“I’m gonna do it... my way!”  *slams hands on desk with each word*  Selina no!

*reels back*  Oh my God, noooo!

Nooo...

Wait, they’re just going to leave Bruce there until the next episode?!?  Oh my God.

*jaw drops when Penguin wipes out some of the Street Demons*

Oh my God!

*gasps in delight*  Edward!

“Yes, Edward.  I killed the bad men.”  *dies of cute*

*The refugees start chanting for Penguin*  Oh my God, we’re doing this?

Oh my God.  Ya happy now, you little shit?  You got what you wanted!

“As long as we survive, hope survives in Gotham.  I think that’s worth fighting for.”  *shakes fist in air*

“So do I.”  Yes, Will!  I support you!

“You saved me and my friends.”  Yeah, where are the other kids?

*Jim appoints Will to Deputy*  Yaaay!

*Jim gives Will his badge*  Oh my God, yaay!

“’Cause honestly, I’m allergic to pineapple.”  *giggles*

Jim, adopt that kid.  Right now.

*Edward [the DOG] starts giving Oswald kisses*  Aaaww...

“Still, I hope there are no hard feelings.”  Uhhhhhh...

“You did the right thing today, Oswald.”  Finally!

*Barbara waltzes up and points a gun at Oswald*  WHA-

“Move now or you get my first bullet!”  “I’m not moving.”  Oh- ohhhh my God.

*gasps in absolute shock when Haven blows up*

*covers mouth in horror*  Oh my G- Oh my God!

Wha- Oh but- What?!?  What?!?

Oh my God, did all those people just die?!?

Wha-

God, do not let this be the end!

*gets up and walks away in frustration for a second when the end title pops up*

Oh my God!  Oh... I have to take a breath!

Bravo, Francesca!  Holy crap!  You were awesome!

*weakly and silently boogies out to last notes of ending theme*

[morphituu]

Malibu pt. 1

*pretends to have not said TWICE that I would be within a week of finishing this* Before anyone asks, yes, I got this idea from Miley Cyrus. We’re friends. I watch her dogs sometimes but don’t know their names.

So this one will be in parts, idk how many yet cause it’s still a WIP but I promise to try and keep to it! 

Premise: it’s a surprise, go with it c:

Warnings: lots of angst and smut, and butts. Sand? Water, yes. Motorcycles, yaaaas. SASS? YEEEEEEEE okay let’s get to it.

BUT BEFORE THIS STARTS I’d like to mention the lovely lady who helped me edit this and called me out on my horrible grammar, @amyccc!!! I LAAAAAAV YOU LOVELY LADY.

Part 2 :B

You thought this job would be simple.

Norman even said it: “It’s easy as shit.”

Liar. Chasing stars around set AND staying out of frame while shooting, or just in general was not ‘easy as shit’. It required a lot of stretching and leg power most people wouldn’t think you’d need. And in the heat? You hated summer and sunshine so why had you let him drag you into this? But your unique shots and ability to capture emotions in stills had kept you on for the last three seasons, and that paycheck had been nice and juicy every time. That was it. Work. Everything has a price tag.

So you tried not to complain. Tried.

“Hell no,” you muttered, clicking through the shots you’d taken for a behind the scenes compilation that fans poured over.

“Seriously?” Norman asked, his shoulders dropping in annoyance.

“I don’t joke around in this kind of weather,” you say, again reminded of the sweat and dirt clinging to you like a wet sheet. Fuck Georgia and it’s bugs.

“You’re only aiding my point,”

“Remember the other day, when you gave me a ride home and we both went ‘ahh’ when the AC blasted us into ice cubes? Remember how nice that was? Now why in the blue fuck would you wanna take road trip, all the way to Malibu, on the bike, in July?”

He studied your question, smoke blowing from his nose as he looked at you.

“What crawled up your ass and died?” he smiled. You contemplated throwing your camera at him. Kicking his seat hard enough to make him lurch would do, but it only made him laugh. Large child...

“The three thousand mosquitoes that’ve bitten me in the last ten minutes, that’s what,” you snap, leaning back in your own chair. Ugh, the sweat against your back made everything horrible.

“So come with me! To the beach where we can worry about sharks and jellyfish and not rattlesnakes in the bushes,” he tried, giving you a wide smile. “Where we can drink tequila when we wake up and no one will judge us.” he adds. You snort

“Why’re you even asking me? You have plenty of girls out there that would love a ride with Daryl.” you tease, and he rolls his eyes.

“I want a vacation, not a promise for sex.” he says under his breath. You scoff.

In the years of knowing him, you can’t say you haven’t thought about it, but ehh. You’ll keep that to yourself.

You can feel his eyes on you, waiting, and you keep flipping through the images. It was the fifth cycle, but anything to avoid those eyes. You’d take rattlesnakes over Norman’s eyes cause at least you’d have a fighting chance battling venom. But those icy blues? Like taking a bullet to the brain. No way you can reverse that.

“Y/N.” he cooed, and you dared a peek.

AAAND you were done.

You showed the sass; crossing your arms and a knee over the other, but he smiled, knowing you were buckling. The thought was turning in your head, becoming more appealing with every hotel you two would stop at. Every restaurant eating across from each other, maybe even stupid tourists attractions. Conversations, which he was always good at keeping up. Sharing a room maybe? Flirting, which he seemed to know made you all… squirrely.

“Does it have to be the bike?” you groan, and he grins.

“You didn’t complain when we went around the state.”

“We just went in a circle, dumbass- this is across the states!” you yell, but he shrugs.

You stare at one another. You purse your lips and your brows pull in.

“How long?”

“Google said thirty hours,” he says. Your eye twitches.

“Two-ish days…?” you mumble.

“Longer. Don’t wanna sit on the bike too long. Ass goes numb, back hurts. Six hour go’s then rest. So five-ish days.” he corrects, and you pull your hands down your face.

“How would we carry five-ish days worth of stuff?” you ask, and he shrugs.

“Take your wallet and fresh underwear,” he smiles, but at this point, you don’t know whether to laugh or call him a fool.

“I wanna punch you in the jugular.” you say between your teeth, but he’s standing, moving to lean over you and kiss your cheek.

“Won’t be saying that when were on the beach.” he says, and you watch him walk from under the shade of the canopy, meeting up with Andy to finish the scene. You groan and roll your eyes, recalling that you never actually agreed to go but, look here, you were being pulled into another Norman Quest! Years under your belt being his friend had left you with imprinted memories, some better, some horrible. But you couldn’t decide whether or not this was leaning more towards an actual vacation or a near death experience. Only time would tell.

And like that, you were going. What the fuck?

You couldn’t even recall when you’d gotten over the fact that you were only taking panties, your wallet, phone and charger, AND coming to terms with wearing the same outfit everyday. So how was it that the one thing pissing you off the most was that you couldn’t decide what pairs of underwear to take?

“Not like he’s gonna see ‘em,” you say to yourself, grabbing the comfier ones.

But what if you two shared a room?

You threw in a couple cuter ones. And a bra. Maybe a bathing suit?

“No bathing suits,” he says as he walks behind you; you look at him. With it thrown aside, you mimic him.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” you sigh, and he places the backpack beside you.

“When we get there-”

“Yeah I know, tequila in the morning and jellyfish.” you try to shoo him away, but he’s stuffing boxers in the bag and then grabbing yours.

“Hey hey hey!”

“Hey yourself, we’re already starting late cause of you,”

“Excuse me if I wanted to enjoy my own bed and AC before it’s hours in the sun and beds that’ve been slept in by strangers.”

He’s stopped to stare at you, the temper of his eyes clearly telling you he was getting irritated with the complaining.

“You’re a big baby. C’mon, get your helmet,” he says, grabbing all he needs and walking towards the door. Your hands raise to follow the bag, shuffling after him.

Oh god, was this really happening? Same outfit? No chapstick? What about-

“Shake that face off.” Norman says as he adjusts the chin strap, and you look at him, your helmet already on and your arms crossed angrily.

“Excuse me I’ll just stuff it in my pocket and pull it out a more appropriate time.”

You didn’t expect him to hold your helmet, or rest the front of his against yours, looking at your eyes that were honestly just... angry. But you didn’t even know why. You used to like doing these things, and he was the person you enjoyed it with. Since you were younger, Norman was your sidekick, your ‘soul mate’. So what the fuck happened to late nights walking around LA and… oh yeah, him being an actor happened. Took it all away. That was no reason to be bitter, though.

And this is one of those moments you liked having him around for.

He grounded you- got you back on your feet, away from what he called anxiety but you called ‘heavy thoughts’. He stayed that way, matching your breaths, staying quiet. Your body felt heavy, but not the kind that drowns you. It’s like a heavy blanket shielding you from monsters trying to claw up your legs.

“Calm?” he asks. He knows you well.

“Mhm.” you hum. You didn’t know your fingers were fidgeting until they stopped.

“Good. Get on the bike.”

He bumps your head with his and you grin, nodding, sliding your sunglasses on. Watching him sit on on the Triumph was like watching the bad boy in the movies walk away from the camera, his ass in jeans looking hot as shit. This was hot as shit. And you got to wrap your arms around it when it was your turn to mount the motorcycle.

The bike purred beneath you two, and having been on countless times, you eventually rested your hands on your thighs and stayed upright as he did, never pulling against his ribs when he turned a corner.

Before you hit the highway you saw fans snapping photos, yelling for him, even a couple of girls running up to him at a stop light to snap photos. You looked away, pretending to be hideously consumed by the interesting shade of burgundy on the wall of a building. They left after proclaiming their love for him, but you were sure they caught your scoff when they glared at you.

“Be kind.” he said, and you shrugged.

It was a relief to get onto the freeway where you could stand people staring from inside their cars instead of running up on you two. Hot air blew past you and under your jacket and shirt, and you were glad you’d stood your ground when you told him you wouldn’t wear full gear. It was too heavy in this weather and if you were being forced to wear the same thing everyday, there was no way in hell you’d be caught wearing heavy armor while you were out and about.

Sometimes he cruised slowly, other times he flew down the passing lanes, often swerving back and forth when he got bored. You’d tap his shoulder when his eyes drifted away from the front for too long, and sometimes resort to poking his side when he’d lean back on you and pretend to pass out. All in all, the first few hours in the midday sun wasn’t horrible.

But coming up to your first below par hotel, THAT WAS HORRIBLE.

“I will pay if you take us to a better one,” you pleaded, but he was already walking up to the front office after parking, leaving you on the bike, sweating, your wrists sunburned and the good dissolving all over again.

“Norman!” You yell.

“We shook on it- we only ride for three hours and in exchange I get to pick the hotel!” he called back, disappearing inside.

Oh you were gonna kill him. You should’ve known he would pull something like this. But with a few steadying breaths, you swung your leg over the seat and landed on your feet to follow him. Your knees betrayed you though. It’d been a long time since spending that much time riding and your legs felt like jell-o. Entering the building, he’d already stuffed his wallet away and was biting back a smile at the sight of your silly walking.

“Crappy hotels are part of the experience,” he said under his breath as you waited for your keys, but you scoffed.

“Just say you’re trying to avoid the fans,” you retort.

“Am not.”

“Are too- that’s why you didn’t bring Rootbeer, everyone recognizes it.”

“Y/N-,”

But your keys were handed off by the woman, who obviously recognized Norman but kept her excitement at bay, instead deciding to sneak a photo when you two walked out to locate your room.

“We’re definitely contracting more than one STD in here,” You mumble. He elbows you.

“You got too used to five star.” he says, throwing the backpack on one of the beds.

“And apparently you forgot how nice they were.”

It wasn’t actually all that bad, but you wouldn’t admit that outright And it went on as he ordered food, the two of you sat on the floor in front of the older TV, talking around mouthfuls of food like you did in your twenties when he’d come by your old ratty apartment. A couple more hours trickled by, and despite not riding for as long as you knew you could handle, sleep tugged at you.

He slipped into one bed, you the other after you’d slipped off your pants and bra.

But you saw the sly smile, his eyes from behind his long hair as he looked at you, laying on his side.

“Wanna cuddle?” he tried.

“Want a swift kick to the groin?” You grin.

But you both lay on the edges of your beds, curled in the cool sheets and looking at one another.

“Imagine how many people have done it in here.” he says, and you sigh.

“Shaddup,”

“All the orgies,”

“Norman,”

“Creampies,”

“NORMAN,”

He hides his smile as he adjusts his pillow, peaking out at you. Your eyebrows raise, knowing it wouldn’t be long before he cracked something again.

“We could do it,”

“And there it is,” you say, your lips in a straight line.

“What?” he laughs.

“Not again,” you exhale, laying on your back. Bed was decent, enough to make you sleepier by the minute.

You turn in time to see his lips purse, and his narrow eyes glancing around.

“I brought condoms?” He said it as if it was going to tempt you, but at this point?

“What!”

“You never know!”

“I know!” you bellow, unable to fight a smile.

“Not even for the sake of the trip? Scratching off having sex in a hotel off your bucket list?” he tries. Another scoff from you.

“Not after last time.”

You see his eyes downcast after that, and the easiness in the room crumble.

“That was an accident,” he tells you, but you shake your head, looking at the ceiling.

“You accidentally ghosted me?” you ask.

He runs his tongue between his teeth. “Yeah?”

You choose to turn off your bedside light, hoping that was a clear enough message. But you heard his fingers thrumming against his bed, and you know… just know…

“You ever miss it?” he asks, softly, tentatively. You look at him, the temper of his eyes now calmed and vulnerable, bearing himself to a topic that was awfully delicate between you two.

“Sure, but I don’t miss being skipped out on when it all fell apart,”

It wasn’t meant to be harsh, but that’s how it came out.

“I didn’t skip out on you,” he replies.

“Then what was it?” you snap back. You’re both staring, and despite this horrible, dark topic that stirred up darker days, you feel shivers rising on your skin when he looks at you like that. This tall door that kept images of steaming nights and honey sweet words locked away never fully closed, and small slivers of desire would slip in.

And he could always catch it.

Maybe it was the way your nipples would harden, clearly visible under your shirt, or how one of your knees would part and bend against the mattress. Or maybe after knowing you for so long, he just knew when you wanted him.

Whatever it was, it had him pulling his sheet back and stepping to you, kneeling between your thighs, one big hand under your back as he lifted you higher up the bed.

It was happening again. The control you had was weakening.  

“Norman,” you sigh, his hot mouth brushing against your neck, a couple fingers tracing under the band of your underwear, his fingernails scraping softly against your gooseflesh skin.

You groan when he lays over you, his chest pressed against yours. It only took a small shove of his thighs to spread yours, and it was like a well practiced dance as you locked your ankles against his lower back. He gyrated, and licked, his hands holding your head, and your fingers digging into his ribs.

Kissing him was like a drag of a cigarette. It hooked you, and you liked the burn in your lungs like you did his tongue slipping in your mouth. Your hands fumbled up his body, first his narrow hips that rolled against yours, then his arms that made you melt, finally his slim face you held as he kissed you into a trance.

Ugh, why did you ever deny this?

“I didn’t skip out on you.” he repeated against your skin. Your eyes pinched shut, your cheek pressing against his.

A thumb teased your nipple, running over it again and again, making your back bend into his touch. Through the shirt he nipped your standing breasts, and his own groan made you shudder.

He was hard and ready, and it could’ve kept going… but only if he wouldn’t’ve spoke again. It brought you back. Reminded you. Closed that door a little more.

“No.” you whine, pushing his face back. You’re both flushed, labored breathing, hot.

He doesn’t argue, but you see the fire in his eyes burn out. He takes a few steadying breaths, hiding his face in one of your hands. He could be so sweet, and shy. Norman nods and crawls away from you, ambling back over to his bed and laying down, his back to you.

It takes time to close your legs and fix your shirt, but even longer to roll away and wait for the ache between your thighs to subside.

Giving in would mean release. But doing it again would also release other things.

Sleep grabs you some time later, after watching Norman’s wide shoulders rise and fall with steady breaths.

 The morning brought awkward stumbling and little exchanged in conversation. This time, you were thankful you were on the bike instead of a car. It meant you didn’t have to force the tension away, but instead let it fly away with every mile down the highway.

You held his sides, sometimes the tops of his thighs, admiring the prettier parts of Georgia before crossing into Alabama. The bugs were bigger, and the ringing of their wings and songs in the dead of summer could almost be heard through your helmet and the wind racing past you.

The people were remarkably different, and to your insistence after seeing one too many films of the hostility related to this state, you two kept to the inner cities and away from the back woods.

It had been a long and hot day on the bike, stretching into a six hour jump instead of three, and your knees nearly gave out from under you again when you finally stood after pulling into another hotel.

“Need an elbow, ma’am?” Norman asked in his worse Southern accent. You snorted, taking the aid anyways.

“Another bug.” he mumbled, pulling half of one out of the ends of your hair that had flown behind you from under the helmet. What was left of the insect was gooey as he pried it out, and made you frown. Shower was the next thing you’d do after eating.

“I hope there’s a washroom in the hotel,.” you mumble, observing the small, dead bodies all over your jacket and pants. He could care less as he shoveled food into his mouth. He’d done this before so it was no big deal.

“Just gonna happen again tomorrow,”

“Doesn’t mean I want it in layers.” you sigh, ogling your plate packed with breakfast foods.

“Could lose a few layers when we get back…” he said before sipping his drink. You eye him, blankly, eventually making him look away, but you catch pink dusting his cheeks.

Pervert.

“We’re sharing?” you ask, staring at the single bed at the center of the room.   

“Only room available,” he said, plugging his phone in to charge.

Pfft, that was bullshit. But first things first.

The shower is a god send.

A true miracle.

How could hot water feel so good after a day in the heat? You didn’t care- all that mattered was the shivers erupting when it ran over your scalp and down your face. You soaked for what felt like ages, until the room was fogged with heat and your skin was well exfoliated. The heat and sweat clung as soon as you started to dry off, but after dressing in a big shirt you snagged from a shop nearby, the AC from the room blasted across you in relief.

He had just pulled his boxers up over his ass when you stepped out, but even you didn’t bother to look away.

“Not like I haven’t seen it before,” you sighed, plopping down on the bed and squirming around in the cold sheets-

Suddenly he was shimmying towards you, a playful grin on his face, but you raised your foot against his stomach before he could touch you.

“Es’cuse me?” you said, and he grabbed your ankle, kneeling on the edge of the bed.

“Norman, no.” you exhaled, but his lips were quirked to the side and he was crawling up your body.

Ugh, why did he have to be so handsome? Those fucking shoulders.

“Really?” he asked, eye level with you and trying to decipher the weak hold you had on your own temptations. You only nodded, crossing your legs under his. He sighs, the disappointment evident on his face.

“Are you really so surprised?” you ask, leaning back on your elbows.

“No not really,” he mumbled, crawling beside you and shuffling under the covers to pull them up to his chin. He looked like a big, pouting burrito.

“Then what?” you push, resting on your side.

“Nothing,”

“Tell me,”

“Nothin’,” he grumbles, and now you’re annoyed.

“Norman just say it,” you say, pushing his shoulder.

“Why can’t we just go back to how it was before?” he asks, and there's a long pause, not because you don’t know what to say, but because now you’re surprised and even a little annoyed he’d ask such a thing.

“You know why,” you say silently, and he rolls to look at you.

“That was years ago.”

“So?”

“Things have changed,” he says, but you shake your head.

“I’m not dealing with a break-up again,” you sigh, wanting it to just stop there.

“We were never together?” he says, looking at you in a confused manner.

“Yeah and whose fault it that?”

You asked that before you could really process what you were asking, so you knew what was coming.

“Yours!” he shouts.

How did it always come to this?

Your best friend- the guy you’d been starstruck with first spotting in the motorcycle shop he worked in in LA when you two were young and dumb. The guy who knew everything about and you knew everything about just as equally. Even though you’d both said sex wouldn’t ruin what you had… it did. Sex always ruined shit.

Actually, it was you.

You freaked when he wanted to take it to the next step all that time ago.

You ruined it.

Time passed after it crumbled, and both of you eventually crawled back to one another. But things were damaged. You could see the cracks in each others reflection, but your heart thundered now when you were close. And somehow, you two would find one another tangled together in one of your beds, re-living older days. This force that kept bringing you back to him was only getting stronger the longer you held out.

But right then, you turned away and scooted as far away as possible on the bed. You felt him shift around, and the room went dark after he shut the TV off.

How did it always come to this?

Your phone read 1 AM when you looked, and you wondered if he was still awake.

You wondered if the trip should end here, in the cold bed.

But you also wondered if it really would be so horrible if you just…

“Norman?” you ask softly, turning to lay on your back. In the dark, he looks to be turned away, the covers pulled all to your side. Must be sleeping, so you turn back, nestling your face into the pillow.

But the bed behind you shifts, and suddenly, a broad body is against your back and muscular arms around your waist. You grin, holding his forearm, letting him press his face against the back if your neck.

“We fight like jealous lovers,” he mumbles, and you chuckle.

“We do,”

A beat of silence, and his thumb stroking your stomach makes you close your eyes.

You whore- already??

“I’m sorry,” you let out, and he exhales against your skin.

“It’s okay.”

You grin, and bite your lip, staring at the moonlight peeking in through the curtains.

This could backfire.

End in catastrophe.

But god, you were craving that brilliant release.

So you let the fire in your gut win.

You turn to lay partially on your back, facing him, his arms still around you. An arm was pressed awkwardly between you, but when he sat up on an elbow, it slid under him in time to grip his shoulder blade when he caught your lips with his.

You moaned, having not expected him to. Kissing was always kind of an off limits thing with you two- it was too personal.

But you didn’t stop it, or even tried to when his tongue pushed in your mouth and you could taste his last cigarette, and his own groan vibrate through him.

Ugh, fuckin’ a.

You were alive with want, and the twist of your hips to better face him let him know. But hands were already gripping your ass, and moving up under your big shirt to push it over your head and away, discarded messily on the floor.

Where had his shirt gone suddenly? All you felt was bare skin against your own and large hands pulling you upwards when he detached, his mouth resealing over a hard nipple. You gripped his long hair, wincing, smiling when he’d bite your sensitive skin, always a soft kiss to follow. But long sighs shook your form when the kisses moved down, a tongue dipping into your navel.

You always hated how slowly he’d pull your panties down.

It was so you’d look down while he did it. He’d confided in you long ago he liked the eye contact. It made you nervous, but you still couldn’t pull away from those narrow blues.

Slowly, painfully, down your thighs that trembled when one hand rested just above your sex, barely any pressure. He didn’t even pull them off your foot before he rested on an elbow between your legs, watching his thumb brush over your lips for only a moment before looking back up at you.

But you’d already fallen back, your thighs spreading, your body screaming to be touched.

His touch was featherlight over your clit as he drew designs up and down. Long kisses against your inner thigh made you groan, and follow with a whine when he ran a knuckle down against your wet lips, and a wide finger slid in you, effectively making you yell out.

In and out, up and down against your clit, then in and out again. It was slow, and careful, never enough to bring you anywhere close to climaxing but also just not enough.

“God damnit Norman,” you ground out, fingers digging into the sheets.

But your body lurches when he sucks your clit into his mouth, sucking rhythmically, two fingers pumping in and out of you in time. Steady pleasure shoots up, building with every second and broad swipe of his tongue.

Words aren’t coherent, and motions are uncoordinated. You’re gripping the sheets, your thighs, sometimes his hair and finally his hands that’ve slid up to your stomach, keeping you still. But because you’re you, and you know it can get even better, you want more.

“You said-,” but a shuddering breath interrupts when his thumb replaces his mouth to rub tight, fast circles on your clit. “You said you brought condoms?” you finally get out, and you can’t help but laugh at how fast he’s moving to grab his backpack.

You wait, wanting and ready, watching him tear his bag apart, but he hasn’t found them yet.

Sitting up on your elbows, you watch him literally hold the bag upside down and shake it, but nothing more falls out.

“Oh Norm.” you sigh, and he looks at you. “I don’t know what happened to them,” he says, and you fall back on the bed, trying not to let the disappointment get to you too much.

“I’ll go buy some,” he says, finding his jeans.

“All those liquor stores we passed closed at 11,” you say as you look at him in the dark, and his head drops, his hands on his thighs where he’s kneeling on the ground. You run your hands down your face. So close, yet so far away.

You look up when he shuffles back to you, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“It’s okay,” you say softly, rubbing his thigh. He looks at you, biting his bottom lip in thought.

He’s over you again before you know it, between your thighs, his fingers sliding between your lips, then inside you.

“What’re you…” you sigh, eyes closing as he curls his fingers, finding your spot.

“Finishing,” he purrs, leaning on an elbow over you so he can kiss your parted lips. He knows exactly how to make you crawl towards that climax, and how to make your body arch and pulsate. At just this right pace, it’s a slow build up, allowing you enough time to enjoy the little shocks of pleasure when his thumb finds your clit again. Every time he does, you smile, gasp, look up at him marveling down at you.

“C’mon,” you whine, always wanting the release sooner than later. He always listens, rarely deprives. His hand is a blur of motion, the friction of his palm on your clit making your eyes roll back.

And it’s flashing before your eyes in only a few seconds. Wave after wave, powerful, and then easing away, leaving the muscles in your stomach clenching and your thighs shaking as he keeps going until you stop his hand. The warm hum in your body lingers, and you realize it’s literally been ages since you’ve felt this good.

Your breaths are deep and even, and you hold his face as he looks at you.

Now it was his turn.

Your hands venturing into his boxers makes his body tense, and a held breath escapes his lips when you find him, rock hard and an impressive amount of precum already spilled over his tip.

You build him up the same way he did you. Slow strokes, your thumb running over his tip. He groans and even shakes a little, his hips rocking into your hands.

Shit, part of you still wanted all of this in you, filling you up. But you thought of the next best thing.

“C’mere,” you say, and he follows until you show him to slide his length up and down between your lips, both of you getting what you want now. But clearly he’s more reactive, and he moans loudly, adjusting his knees wider, rocking forward and backward, admiring your entirety.

You were sensitive still, but feeling him like this, and how warm he was- it felt so good. You were so wet already. So much that he’d slip in no problem…

You wanted to tell him to just fuck you. To brand you into the bed mercilessly. But a quick glimpse at his face tells you he’s already close. So you bite your tongue, no matter how badly you ache to be filled.

“Are you gonna cum?” you ask softly, holding his face as he nods and lowers, his thrusts becoming tighter, more centralized. He’s breathing heavily, moaning, and he presses his face against your neck when his body tenses, the hot semen shooting across your lower abdomen. He thrusts in short jerks, strangled groans muffled against your skin as you cling to him, letting him empty onto you.

When he finally stills, his head rests against your chest momentarily before finally looking at you, a little grin across his lips and his eyes heavy. You giggle, moving his hair away.

“Better?” you ask, and he nods, kissing you once, twice, a few more times.

He mumbles something completely unintelligible against your mouth, and you laugh, holding his shoulders up when he starts to slouch.

“M-mm,” you hum, pushing him away. “I need a towel- I need a towel!” you yell, and he sits up, pushing his hands through his hair and nodding. There’s no shame when he walks to the bathroom, and neither is there when he turns on the light to reveal your naked body sprawled across the bed.

“So how much do I owe you?” he asks, tossing a hand towel.

“A better hotel room next time,” you chuckle, wiping your stomach.

“I think that can be arranged,” he says before walking back to the bathroom. You stretch after tossing the towel into the corner of the room, and roll onto your stomach. The cold sheets feel so good, and the tension in your frame is gone. In that moment, you can agree with yourself that this was long awaited, but that it also might backfire, somehow. But now you’ve been reminded of the forbidden fruit, and you’d want it again for the duration of this limitless trip.

Your head turns to face him when he comes back, and he’s searching for his boxers. You grin to yourself, hiding it behind your arm.

It was like the nights he’d come over to your apartment. Covered in motorcycle grease, still in his coveralls that were gone in minutes when you’d rip them off his lean body, fucking all night into the summer morning. When he’d make you yell into the cool night, no worries of being caught. Those memories always made you smile, and warm. They were always fun to revisit.

So what was the harm in adding to them? Making this trip your last summer fling with him? Maybe it wouldn’t end in pieces like before.

“Sleepy?” he asks, turning the light off and crawling into bed again. You nod, closing your eyes as he drapes half himself over you.

It was just like those summer nights and warm mornings again.

*insert evil laughter here*

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND this is where part 1 ends, but here’s part 2! 

[yoshimickster]

Rwby Volume 6 episode 5 “The Coming Storm” Micksterecap: The Not-much-Happening(spoilers)

Hey everybody, hope you had a happy Turkey day! I did, despite the MASSIVE mess I had to clean up, EITHER WEITHER-let’s GET to the Micksterecap!

We start out with Cinder returning to Little Miss Mauve (I know its malachite, but malachites are naturally GREEN dammit) who tells her that Team RWBYJNORQ was headed to Argus, and through the most BASIC of basic ass deductions realizes they were going to Atlas.

With that, Cinder than walks out of their with noooooooooooo catc-

LilMiss: You know you turned out to be quite the interesting customer *DRAMATIC PAUSE OF DRAMATICISM* Cinder.

Oooooooooooooh crap she knows who she is, well that’s okay its not like she told anyone who might want to kill her for leading an attack that got their boss/implied lover kill-

2:42 Oooooooooooooh boy, BUST OUT THAT MAGIC CINDY-its fightnin’ time!

2:49 LilMiss: Maybe put away the GOOD glasses.

Chaps:...wait if we knew the mute ice cream lady was gonna try and kill the skeleton handed burnt face lady in a HUGE scuffle...why’d we leave the good glasses out at all?

LilMiss: THAT’S WHAT I’M SAYING-whoever the hell our busboy is they are SO getting a stern talking to!

Neo starts it out with a classic SMASH AND SHATTER-

Neo than hits left, hits right, while Cinder blocks every other hit, making Neo pull the EVER FAMOUS-

BOWL TOSS MANEUVER!

LilMiss: Okay seriously, who left my nice glass bowls out for these bitches to smash? THIS IS A BUSINESS!

Cinder strikes punches, Neo umbrellas away AND THEN CINDER REMEMBERS-

3:38

Cinder: OH YEAH-i have magical superpowers, the FUCK was I doing?!

But all good bar fights come to a close as Lil Miss tells them to take it outside-

3:47 

LilMiss: Please take this outside or my...associates will force you to.

Cinder:...w...wait, why should I be threatened by you and your gang of mooks? I have the powers of ancient magic and she’s got some OP unexplained mirror quirk, why the hell should EITHER of us be threatened by you?

LilMiss: Because the plot SAYS SO!

Cinder:...EH-I’m easy! TOSS ME NEO!

3:52 SMASH!

LilMiss: Okay everyone, let’s treat this as a learning experience, when setting up meetings between two people who want to kill each other, do NOT make the meeting in your bar full of breakable glass.

Chaps: Yeah we could’ve set this up WAY better, now we’re gonna have to call the cleaning guy for just ONE stupid meeting, not to mention we’re gonna have to patch that window-UGH-mondays.

Outside Neo pulls a QUICK DODGE-but Cinder’s too smart for that, as she AUTOMATICALLY blasts a fireball at Neo’s umbrella,  UNDER WHICH REVEALS-

4:08

GAH ROMAN’S HAT ITS ROMAN’S HAT...wait, where the hell was she keeping that thing? Was she using her illusion powers on JUST her head and her tattered clothes for this whole fight, JUST to remind Cinder that her boss/boyfriend died in that attack? There’s EXTRA, and then there’s Neopolitan folks!

After a brief and pointless sword on umbrella fight-

-heh, love those swords, Cinder ONCE AGAIN remembers-

4:39

Cinder: Oh yeah, I have superpowers...fuck, where IS my head today?

Cinder than calmly tells Neo that they both have a common enemy in Ruby, and decide to start a BLOODPACT to kill her, RIGHT before this scene

Cinder: Okay then, let’s talk.

Cinder:...right.

Jesus Cinder, forgetting you have powers, forgetting your co-worker’s a mute(CANON), where the FUCK is your head today?

A. THEN. CUT. TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

5:11 Brunswick farms, formerly a BUSTLING agricultural scene, now a (possibly literal) ghost town where team RWBYQOM(pronounced Ruby Com for you filthy casuals who didn’t know) is staying for the night!

After Ruby briefly wanders why the a completely intact town wasn’t ravished or incomplete like MOST villages. The team busts inside a locked house where ITS REVEALED-

5:54 NOTHING! 

Qrow: Aw dammit, no bad guys? Busted down a door for nothing. Ah well-WHERE’S THE BOOZE?

After Maria rightfully tells them to shut the door they broke, Ruby than looks at-A PHOTO!

6:42 HOO boy, if “A series of Unfortunate Events” has taught me anything, its that the people in a mysterious group photo are either all dead, part of a secret society, or BOTH!

Weiss: *SCREAMS*

7:03 CALLED IT!

After blanketing a LOGICALLY traumatized Weiss-

7:21 How the hell can a screen shot look so cozy and so terrified all at the same time?

-Qrow than comes in telling everybody that EVERYONE in the village is dead, and because of the heavy snow they can’t leave. Yo Qrow, do that have a Semblance equivalent of Meta-cuffs yet, like from the Flash? Because your Misfortune power is getting a LITTLE irksome to our main cast.

Making the best they got, everybody decides that no-one besides Qrow goes out alone while looking for supplies, and BLAKE-

8:22

Blake: Yang and I can go search for other vehicles.

-capitalizes on a chance to get back on Yang’s good side, which LOGICALLY-

-either Yang sees RIGHT through it, or is STILL logically mad at her high school love interest for abandoning her. MAN am I glad I’m not these kids.

Ruby than takes-

-her OBVIOUSLY still traumatized potential girlfriend on a food search. Look at her, she looks like one of those victims on a cop show. THUS LEAVING OSCAR-

9:10 -left alone with a totally not mysterious old lady, whose totally not gonna tell a story that in NO WAY ties into anything in the plot...totally.

Blake and Yang continue their not-date of looking for vehicles in one of the sheds-WHERE THEY FIND-

10:18 A CART-that they can put Yang’s now-useless motorcycle on if and when they find a car with snow tires! Well that’s nice, I’m sure Yang isn’t gonna see anything els-

10:22 GAH-possibly real, possibly just trauma Adam-RUN!

After realizing it was just a PTSD flashback(OR WAS IT) Yang mentions how that attack still effected her, and I’m SURE Blake wouldn’t make her mad by comforting Yang wron-

11:21 Blake: I’ll protect you.

Yang:...what?!

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH-bad move on Blake folks, she starts out strong by saying she’ll be by her side but then FUMBLES at the last minute implying that Yang isn’t someone who can take care of herself and needs protection. I don’t know HOW Blake will come out on top this season, but we still got half-way to go.

After that Yangsty scene where they decide to hook the flatbed...TO Bumblebee instead of putting said cycle ON the flatbed with a vehicle behind it-HA THEN CUT TO-

11:50-Ruby and Weiss(who ISN’T wearing a blanket, continuity, WHAT’S that?), who lucky for them find a FULLY stocked liquor cabinet and bar, which I’m sure Ruby has NO problem with at al-

Ruby: On second thought, maybe we should keep this room closed. I’m just...not sure how well my uncle’s taking all of this.

Weiss:...Oh.

God DAMN this is a bad day of discoveries for Weiss, first she sees TWO dead bodies, THAN realizes that Ruby has negative feelings about her uncle’s drinking problem. BUT MORE THAN THAT-the show FINALLY addresses that Qrow’s drinking problem...is a problem, instead of just “TEE HEE-he’s drunk!”

After that, bla bla bla, serious conversation about still going to Atlas given the fact that Salem is an immortal killing machine and their quest may be ultimately fruitless, going into a room with a spooky door that obviously holds Satan-BUT ENOUGH ABOUT THAT-

13:20 FUCK YEAH-Three Brothers Beans, SHRIMP flavored! Because when you wanna start a barbecue and only got enough cash for either beans OR shrimp, Three Brothers got your back with a great combination. Three Brothers, available at all Just Rites close to abandoned villages.

After Weiss begrudgingly agrees to eat poor people food, CLOSE IT OUT-

*CREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAK* *SLAM!*

Weiss: Hey Ruby, did you just hear a door slam just now?

Ruby: All I hear is how mother-flippin’ TASTY these shrimp-beans are gonna be! 

So yeah while it had a cool opening fight scene, YET another build-up episode to this season’s big bad Grimm, and I guess its fine but I just want more scenes of the team KICKING ASS y’know? Either way, an okay mostly expository ep but I hope next week is better. SEE YA NEXT TIME on Micksterecap! And if you wanna donate to my Paypal or Kofi, just ask me first! I’d put the links up but this recap is two hours late as is.

[junker-town]

The 30 best ‘NBA on NBC’ intros

Relive the glory of basketball nostalgia with these old ‘NBA on NBC’ intros.

The 12-year run of the NBA on NBC is mostly beloved for John Tesh’s iconic “Roundball Rock” musical intro, which just so happens to be my ringtone. But I will always cherish it because of the network’s soaring introduction monologues to its big games, which transmitted the viewer inside a piece of art with intense moods and high stakes.

Basketball wasn’t better in the ‘90s than it is today, not by a longshot. But I do think it was sold far more effectively, with the kind of visual and thematic care that made the key figures larger than life. I wish the league’s current television partners tried harder to mimic the scale and grandeur of NBC’s work.

Luckily, YouTube offers us the chance to look back on the days where playoff games really felt like epic dramas. I found more than 150 available on the internet and collected them in a playlist you can find here.

While you watch that, let me show you my 30 favorites. Let me know if you think I overranked, underranked, or missed any from this glorious era.

(All the titles were made up by me).

30. “First Round”

Timberwolves at Sonics 1998 First-Round Game 5 Bob Costas

I love the timing of this one. George Karl’s deep breath sets the mood before any narration is needed, and the multiple Gary Payton still shots capture the incredulousness of Seattle’s first-round demons. Costas’ closing line – “Maybe too often” – is delivered perfectly.

29. “Lil’ Penny is Ready”

Magic at Bulls 1996 East Finals Game 1 Chris Rock

No NBA on NBC list is complete without including this one, even if it’s gimmick’y and the narration doesn’t age well.

28. “Teacher and Pupil”

Heat at Knicks 1997 East Semifinals Game 3 Tom Hammond

This was the first of many NBC introductions for brutal Heat-Knicks playoff games, so it’s neat to look back and remember the larger context before it was obscured by all the fighting. Teacher vs. pupil framed the two teams beautifully, especially because the teacher-pupil relationship was flipped on the court. The music makes me feel like I’m at a graduation ceremony, and Hammond leans into the theme with his word choices — “protege,” “taught their former coach a lesson,” “school was out,” “pass the test.”

27. “The Second Season”

Pacers at Knicks 1994 East Finals Game 7 Bob Costas

The highest points of this intro rival anything NBC has put together. The rapid tone change before Game 5. The drumbeat as John Starks violently high-fives Spike Lee. The final line — “48 minutes from what they were merely expected to do.” Those moments give me chills. But I docked this one for all the fluff it took to reach those high beats. If NBC had an Achilles heel, it was the length of some of their intros. This one was nearly two minutes long, which is a bit much.

26. “Stalemate”

Blazers at Lakers 2000 West Finals Game 7 Bob Costas

As much as I love the openings that center around a specific theme, sometimes it’s better to simply run through the key protagonists and what’s at stake for each. Costas does so comprehensively in this one, illustrating the wide-ranging set of characters in what proved to be a memorable series.

25. “Something to savor”

Knicks at Bulls 1998 NBA Regular Season Bob Costas

Did I only include this one because of the early release of ESPN’s 10-part The Last Dance documentary. Yeah, probably.

24. “Not Like This”

Knicks at Bulls 1993 East Finals Game 6 Marv Albert

I loved two things about this video. One was the close-up picture of a hoop as Albert narrates Charles Smith’s three blown bunnies. Talk about vivid imagery. The second: the melancholy feel of the music, combined with Pat Riley stuttering with doubt as he tries to sell the public on this being the Knicks’ “defining moment.” It’s as if NBC knew New York would never be the same after Game 5.

23. “Right Now”

Bulls at Knicks 1993 East Finals Game 1 Marv Albert

Van Halen’s “Right Now” was (and still is) a popular song choice for a pump-up video, one NBC used a few times too over the years. But it works perfectly for this video because it fits the overall theme while simultaneously allowing NBC to visually speed up the entire season before reaching the climax we all knew was coming.

22. “Desperation”

Sonics at Rockets 1997 West Semifinals Game 7 Greg Gumbel

Gumbel deserved more chances to narrate these introduction videos. He had a way of putting his own spin on common themes, expertly using language that others wouldn’t. Seattle didn’t just fall behind Houston, they “teetered on the edge.” They didn’t just win all their elimination games, they “persevered.” The sentence structure that both conveys Houston’s history facing long deficits and their history against these Sonics. We’ll hear more from Gumbel later on in this countdown.

21. “Another Time And Place”

Pistons at Knicks 1992 East Quarterfinals Game 2 Marv Albert

Albert’s narration tended to be super serious and at times over the top, so I enjoyed the goofy change of pace. I’m not sure the second half of this intro was necessary, though it did give us Dennis Rodman picking up a stray dog that wandered onto the Madison Square Garden court.

20. “The Year Of Sir Charles”

Suns at Sonics 1993 West Finals Game 6 Dick Enberg

It’s the little touches that make this video work. The patriotic music choice before leading with his gold medal. The split screen of Barkley deep in thought on one side and his accomplishments flashing on the other. Enberg’s repeated use of Barkley’s full name. This intro underscores how much care was actually put into these introductions.

19. “I Wanna Take You On A Rollercoaster”

Pacers at Knicks 1999 East Finals Game 6 Tom Hammond

18. “The Ride of a Lifetime”

Magic at Rockets 1995 Finals Game 3 Marv Albert

These two videos show how NBC used the same theme — a rollercoaster ride — to convey very different emotional journeys. The Knicks’ rollercoaster was unplanned and filled with self-induced drama, so NBC chose Lunatic Calm’s “Leave You Far Behind,” a heart-pumping dance song that conveys raw, and at times misdirected, energy. Houston’s rollercoaster, on the other hand, was more of a fantasy story, so NBC chose a musical element that made the Rockets’ journey to the title seem like a quest. Both choices fit the teams perfectly and showed how the power of sports is that it provides singular variations of familiar story arcs.

17. “Michael vs. Sir Charles”

Bulls at Suns 1993 Finals Game 1 Bob Costas

This one’s on the list because NBC used the Jurassic Park theme song before the movie even came out. That is a baller move. But NBC also uses it brilliantly to paint the contrast between the classic success of Michael Jordan and the bumpier, rawer success of Barkley. Jordan’s section is narrated over the slower part of the song, while Barkley’s comes over the louder section. This was another example of NBC’s attention to detail.

16. “Big City vs. Small Town”

Jazz at Bulls 1997 NBA Finals Game 1 Marv Albert

In general, the 12 NBC openings for the two six-game Bulls-Jazz Finals series are a tad overrated in my book because they got a little too sappy. (I’m sure many of y’all like the post-Flu Game one, but it kinda makes me cringe). The best of the bunch is the first one because it wonderfully paints the contrast between the dominant incumbents from Chicago and the small-town underdogs from Utah.

15. “Big ‘Mo”

Blazers at Lakers 1991 West Finals Game 6 Dick Enberg

The music choice makes this entire video work. I feel like I’m in a murder mystery. Holy crap, this is tense.

14. “A Test of Faith”

Suns at Bulls 1993 Finals Game 4 Bob Costas

Sometimes, the less said the better. Game 3 of the 1993 NBA Finals — a triple-overtime thriller won by the visiting Suns, who had dropped the first two games at home — was such a weird event that it needed to be commemorated on its own. Costas knew he couldn’t say anything to properly sum it up. Thus, Bon Jovi’s “Keep The Faith” serves as the perfect backdrop.

13. “Little Brother”

Cavaliers at Bulls 1992 East Finals Game 5 Marv Albert

I’m not sure anyone really believed the Cavaliers would beat the Bulls in this series, even if they had knotted it up at two. It had the same feel that 2016’s Raptors-Cavaliers series had, where everyone knew who was going to win. But it was still noteworthy that the Cavaliers actually fought with pride, not unlike a boy who finally stood up to his big brother. Albert’s narration properly captures that sentiment while still conveying the reality that the Bulls were favored.

12. “Best Team Ever”

Bulls at Sonics 1996 Finals Game 4 Bob Costas

The glorification of Jordan’s jerk-ish leadership tendencies makes me a bit uncomfortable, but Costas rescues this with some of the most poetic narration of his great career. Everything after “they tower over all present competition” is right up there with the best any TV network has ever produced. (Imagine this wording, but with Kevin Durant’s switch to Golden State instead of Jordan’s return from retirement).

11. “Game 7”

Jazz at Sonics 1996 West Finals Game 7 Greg Gumbel

Gumble is his usual excellent self, but the music and camera work make this introduction feel epic. I love the musical contrast, which makes the small-market Jazz seem like underdogs and the fast-charging Sonics feel like they belong in a horror movie. The dissolves and fades to separate the different segments of the video underscore how each point is related to each other. Matching Gary Payton’s loud clap to the drum beat is a brilliant touch. All in all, this video provided real stakes to a matchup between two teams that nobody thought could beat the mighty Bulls.

10. “Vindication”

Magic at Rockets 1995 Finals Game 4 Bob Costas

If the Game 3 intro to these Finals felt like being taken on a fantasy quest, this one is the epilogue when Frodo and friends return to the Shire. In time, this has become the perfect appreciation of the Rockets’ mini-dynasty.

9. “The Tormenter”

Bulls vs. Knicks 1996 East Semifinals Game 3 Marv Albert

“The concept may be team. In reality, it’s the individual.” Whether intentional or not, Albert perfectly encapsulates decades of NBA marketing with those 10 words. From there, he made me feel so sorry for Patrick Ewing. How much must it suck for the official broadcast partner to promote a game by repeatedly dunking on you?

8. “One Game”

Pacers at Bulls 1998 East Finals Game 7 Bob Costas

Costas’ delivery here is perfect. The slow pacing. The repetition of “one game.” The mix between short sentences and longer ones. The twist at the end: Jordan’s section ends with “one game” instead of beginning with it, a clear signal to the viewer that he is the biggest story here. The script itself isn’t magical, but Costas’ voice makes it so. Chills.

7. “Agony”

Bulls at Magic 1996 East Finals Game 3 Marv Albert

Knowing what we know now, this feels a lot bigger than a video setting up a must-win Game 3 after losing two road games. Because of Shaquille O’Neal’s summer departure to the Lakers, it has become known as the last chance for Orlando to sustain a future dynasty. But the video also stands beautifully on its own, with well-executed music changes and a beautiful still of Penny Hardaway peering to his left as if he’s staring at a black-and-white image of Brian Hill’s final huddle of the previous year’s NBA Finals.

6. “Neither Right, Nor Fair”

Bulls at Blazers 1992 Finals Game 4 Bob Costas

Imagine this voiceover, but instead of it being about Clyde Drexler in 1992, it’s about Dirk Nowitzki in 2011. Same 2-1 deficit. Same history of postseason failures obscuring their greatness. Similar age range — Nowitzki was 32 and in his 13th season at the time. Similar caliber of competition: Drexler against Jordan, Nowitzki against James and Wade, though the former hadn’t won a title. It would have given any human the feels, especially knowing Nowitzki would persevere when Drexler didn’t. This was an incredibly powerful, yet empathetic way to convey the overwhelming pressure title-less all-time greats face before they win one.

5. “David vs. Goliath”

76ers at Lakers 2001 Finals Game 1 Marv Albert

I don’t know what’s better: the original version of this intro from the 2001 Finals or this brilliant remake for the first Curry-James, Warriors-Cavs Finals battle in 2015. Both are terrific, but I’m still partial to the original. David vs. Goliath fits the Iverson-O’Neal battle better, and there are a number of NBC’s typically brilliant little touches dotted through the video. For example, notice how the camera zooms to Iverson’s “The Answer” sleeve just after Albert’s “Who can stop this imposing force?” narration ends. What perfect timing.

4. “Worst Nightmare”

Bulls vs. Knicks 1993 East Finals Game 5 Marv Albert

Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, holy crap. I feel like I’m about to start an apocalyptic movie where a supernatural demon has been set loose to torment the world. Jordan feels like Godzilla here after scoring 54 points to lead Chicago to a Game 4 win. My heart is still racing as I type this, even though I’ve already seen that video a thousand times. When does Game 5 start?

3. “Coronation”

Bulls at Suns 1993 Finals Game 6 Bob Costas

The 1993 Finals were really effin weird. The Suns entered as profound underdogs with one edge: They had home-court advantage. When they squandered that edge with two home losses, they looked done, but defied logic with a triple-overtime Game 3 victory. When Jordan dropped 55 on them in Game 4, they also looked done, but defied logic again by winning Game 5 on the road easily. It was inexplicable, a feeling Costas expertly captured in his opening monologue. There’s no way God actually was pulling the strings for the Suns … right? What other explanation existed? It was the ideal backdrop to a Game 6 that lived up to the billing with John Paxson’s last-second three.

2. “Two Dreams Collide”

Rockets at Suns 1995 West Semifinals Game 7 Greg Gumbel

Remember when I said that NBC’s only Achilles heel was that their introduction videos occasionally dragged on for too long? This one clocks in at a crisp 41 seconds, with no wasted words, images, or music. We have a saying at SB Nation: Sometimes, it’s just best to Say The Thing instead of getting cute. Gumbel says the damn thing bluntly — one dream will “die,” Barkley’s legacy is “hanging in the balance,” “the banner does not hang for Clyde Drexler.” In 41 seconds, I know exactly how big a game this really is. This is a nearly perfect piece of art.

1. “Being Mike”

Bulls at Lakers 1991 Finals Game 4 Michael Jordan

Twenty-nine years later, this reads like a poignant social commentary on the nature of celebrity, which has gripped our culture in new and unexpected ways. That it came before the release of Sam Smith’s landmark The Jordan Rules, before the burden of Being Mike led to Jordan retiring in his prime, before two returns to the fast life of basketball that consumed him, and before an awkward post-playing process that flipped his ruthlessness from a virtue to an anchor, is extraordinary. How the hell did Costas take one playoff performance and somehow capture the allure and pain of being a national icon like Jordan? It’s one of the most impressive feats I’ve ever seen.

[televinita]

Zoo 3.04

Why is this show burning Utica to the ground.

[Side note: this unwieldy post is the product of me doing a skip-through when this episode aired, watching maybe 15 random minutes from beginning to end, writing the part up to the line with the music notes, and finally watching the full episode only to work myself into a swampy mess of partially adjusted feelings once I had all the facts. I hope it is moderately less confusing to follow than this explanation]

A list of ways the show failed me on this outing and, now that I think about it, probably subconsciously contributed to my subsequent abandonment.

1. Continued the reign of Super Jamie, the most boring zealot ever to zeal 2. Set up a weird Madonna/Whore Villain complex with all of its female characters 3. Deeply underwhelmed re: fireworks on the kiss they built up to for nearly two damn years. 4. Pit Jamie and Jackson against each other Me in July: I don't even know which one I am maddest about but I'm pretty sure it's the last one. You know what screw it, I'm gonna flamethrower my OTP and just full steam ahead into the realm of slash. If Jamie can't play nice enough with either of the men I need her to love then I'm gonna toss her out of the equation and make Mitch/Jackson my new fave.

I have been suppressing the desire to run with this since last year, because canon is always superior, I hardly ever slash anyway, and I like to save the non-canon shipping feels for when the canon runs out and I need a new hit of an old love, but whatever. My fondness for the bromance has become epic enough to drop the b. Or replace the b. ♫Confident in bisexuali-tay!♫

[Edit: As you move forward, keep in mind that I spoiled myself a tad on episode 8, probably subconsciously because I needed a reason to push me over the rage hump, and while I am still gonna air my original grievances, I am also still on the Mitch/Jamie train]

------------ AUGUST GRIEVANCE THREE: Not good enough! *whip* So. I happily spoiled myself on the stills for this episode before it aired, which included both kiss scenes, and my heart shot the moon. Then I saw them in context and my heart fell into the basement. My reaction was a lot of "you had TWO OFF-SEASONS TO NOT SCREW THIS UP HOW DID YOU SCREW THIS UP," followed by creating this post that I really should have just posted at the time, but I waited too long, so now it is only a storyboard artifact:

I just...I wanted it to be a bigger moment. Or I at least wanted to feel more. I felt twenty times more emotion from their reunion hug in 2x05, or one stupid handhold on the beach, than I did for the most significant moment they've had since season 1, and that is not the way it should be. I'm still having a really hard time coming up with why it wasn't saved for the end of the episode, or why the kiss wasn't introduced at the beginning, interrupted by a Panic Plot, and then resolved in a Thank God We're Alive way. As for the hookup part, well, some people express their feelings through song; I am much better at expressing mine through snarky recap:

Update y'all, they did in fact go bang. In the middle of the day. And then got redressed and continued the plot because who would want their characters to have nice things like a whole night together for their first time when they could instead toss it off as casual "anyway lol thanx for the afternoon delight buddy, now hang on I gotta go do a murder."

I don't even need them to make a big emotional deal out of things; clearly they are both people who are very fine with hookups, but the fact that the most epic reunion was popped off in the early middle part of the episode just to set up that Jamie will put Her Cause before everything did not sit well with me. I still wanna know what was the point of separating them for 10 years before they ever got together if their reunion wasn't going to be the focal point. If you're gonna be like this, literally nothing would have been changed by eliminating the love triangle and letting them be together in season 2. I think and hope that most people really liked this scene, though, and more power to you if you did. I think I watched it wrong. G.3 TAKE TWO The thing is, I did watch it wrong. I delayed posting this by an extra day because it really bugged me that I didn't love the kiss. I watched it 8 times trying to pinpoint where the bottom fell out, because I definitely appreciate that Mitch finally got to talk to Jamie at the bar without her running away. I liked him answering honestly about how he's doing post-op, I liked him directly confronting her about her dark turn, and what is left? I hypothesized that maybe "How about now?" just didn't feel like enough segue to kissing. I hypothesized that maybe it wasn't the words but the body language; leaning across from two separate chairs is kinda awkward. But anyone knows that if you watch a thing you want to like enough times, you brainwash yourself into liking it, so guess who is now on board with this moment. Somewhere between my sitting close enough to the computer to notice the emotion in Mitch's face, Jamie's right hand covering his, how much I love his hand on her face, and the swelling orchestral score that reminds me of the Will/Elizabeth beach scene in Pirates of the Caribbean...I stumbled into the promised land of shipper joy. I've even convinced myself to like the very phrase I thought was not good enough. Mitch has previously gone big and gone home alone. So this time it is the smallest possible overture with no expectations attached -- and score. I am still annoyed about the pacing and Jamie's abrupt departure post-bedroom, though. ----------------------- GRIEVANCE TWO: Why do you want us to hate women? Serious question how is that any woman who isn't the literal blessed mother Clementine is cold, calculating and/or pure evil? Like, I'm not saying that I would not normally be all on board with a team of mercenary lesbians, but when both evil fronts are also personified by power-hungry women and Jamie's ends justify all means and a mother is selling someone else's kid then...like...to take a Chandler Bing quote completely out of context: WHERE are ALL the MEN?? We're talking about reproductive rights. If the political side of Tumblr has led me to believe anything, it's that men are all about controlling that. (Looks like they show up in the next installment, tho.) ------------------------- GRIEVANCE FOUR (again): Jamie/Jackson Why don't you just stab me through the heart with a hybrid horn. I hope everybody has been whispering to each other like "who's gonna tell her?" / "Not me I don't wanna be there when Televinita's hopes and dreams for the backstory of her fave wayward ship get blown to kingdom come; I heard she threatens to perform brain surgery on people with power drills." Now, to be fair, I have spent weeks in a state of rage thinking that Jamie sold him out on purpose to further her vengeance quest, because in my patchy scene-jumping I missed the important part where she tried to protect them all with pseudonyms. My feathers have de-ruffled considerably.

I'm just...still annoyed. That there is this much bad blood after that amazing scene in 2x13 where he sat on the steps with her and held her while she cried, and I wrote beautiful analysis no one ever saw about them matching heartbreak for heartbreak, the widow and widower of this war.

in case u need a reminder

AND YOU JUST DESTROYED MY HOPE OF THEM BEING PLATONIC LIFE PARTNERS FOR YOUR SHODDY PLOT NEEDS?!, I WILL MURDER YOU. (well, I'll get my dino-vultures to come after you. Guys, I might be having a problem where Abigail is becoming my hero and I want to join her? I think I'm watching it wrong again...)

----------

GRIEVANCE ONE: canceled.

I had so much more rage about Jamie the Assassin before I sneaked a peek at episode 5's plot and was assured she did not actually go out and do a murder**. Prior to that I was 'bout to drop Jamie into a volcano myself. Plus Mitch does get in some good shots at Logan while they're running around Reiden Tower, so on second viewing this is a lot more fun.

**To be clear, I have been consciously using this phrase in reference to Trelkez'sIn Secret macro recap (spoilers for that movie), which I have not stopped laughing at.

NON-GRIEVANCES

* Props to the prop department for the dead vulture hybrid.

* "Pizza" is even better than Henry. Do you think he will ultimately have a more significant role to play than Henry, or is he just there to look cute? (I have no problem with him just being there to look cute.)

* I got a giggle out of Mitch's "the vigilante thing? Kinda workin' for me," because it would.

* My favorite part of this entire episode, though, is Mitch and Jackson coming to an agreement that they need to keep an eye on Jamie, just because it reminds me of one of the few things I like about Mitch/Jamie in season 2. Even though I know there is soon-to-be-revealed irony afoot in Jamie being the problem here.

[twilightpony4]

Ola Americano... Turtle?: 4. Two Truths and a Lie

It was not long the family began to bore. Almost an hour ago, they saluted their friends and family before boarding the plane and twenty passed since they’ve taken off. The aircraft was just as big as the one they’ve taken to China. Instead of having someone as incompetent like Vern, Chief Vincent really hooked them up with a fully qualified officer as their pilot. She’s been a seasoned officer now a pilot for overseas and cross country trips and had worked with the turtles before. 

Meanwhile she was contented flying the plane, the mutants were not so. Silent, but bored. They anticipated it, but not this quickly into the trip. For sure they haven’t even crossed a few states. Amongst the silence, Michelangelo groaned with a pitch sure to match Tarzan.His decibels surpassed the few with headphones on, causing them to remove them for the sake of alarm. The rest, however, fell victim to the murder of their eardrums and jumped out of their skin.

“AHH WHAT!?” Raphael was one without headphones. Michelangelo was sitting in front of him and found it fitting to use all his might to push the shell out of his seat. Venus, who was sitting in the aisle across from Michelangelo’s seat, brought her knees up to her chest after the quick scare. The orange colored terrapin turned from his seat to allow his eyes to peer over it.

“I’m bored!” he bellowed forcefully. There was a collective sigh and slump.

“And we aren’t?” Venus added, stretching out her legs to their original position.

“I got Suicide Squad on Amazon,” His head popped out very quickly to see Donnie’s content expression present the title of the movie on his tablet. “but we got to wait for it to buffer before we watch it.” He groaned, throwing his arms up in the air while his seat caught his shell when he fell back into it. There was little sympathy after what he'd done earlier as the tips of his fingers drug down his tear ducts from his eyeballs.

“Wanna play a game?”

“What kind?” Venus straightened up more against the wall of the plane. A game would be nice about now. The turtle looked off to the side and shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t know… ya’ll got any?” He asked. Collectively, the group pondered on the thought. Then, there was a gasp from Donatello.

“Oh! Two Truths and a Lie?” He proposed.

“I’m down.” Leo chimed in, bringing himself closer in the aisle.

“Let’s go.” Michelangelo rubbed his dry hands in approval, ready to go.

“Me first!” The suggester raised his hand. All six mutants scooted closer in the aisles to participate and speculate the game. Donnie took a moment to think it over. When he came up with his statement, he shook his head and made eye contact with everyone. “At the junkyard, I have a homeless friend who is a former college professor. I don't need my glasses. I made a serum secretly to make me tall.” A brow and the side of his glasses rose cockily for he'd given them a good run. From their expressions he could tell they were all sampling each scenario.

“He was in-between Leo and I.” Raphael mumbled; chin lying between his fingers.

“I don't know, I want to guess glasses but…” Mona paused, continuing to think it over before she gave her final verdict. “I don't know.”

“I'm gonna go with the homeless professor.” Leo answered.

“I gotta say the growth serum.” Mikey said; Venus and Raphael agreed with him. There was a smile overtaking his face.

“I never made a growth serum. I just grew.” The purple banded turtle revealed. Although he knew it was a good set, he still couldn't believe most of them believed in the lie.

“So, your friend?” Mona asked.

“The professor? He'd rather not give his real name, but he's always talking about theories. Most of them make sense.”

“My turn!” Michelangelo raised his hand. Once all eyes were on him, he began. “I secretly watch Shameless. I’m a Changeling in my PC game ‘Super Quest’. Splinter once told me I had the most potential.”

“Is is wrong to say he has ‘no potential’?” Very unamused and looks of “What’s wrong with you? Don't say that to his face” were all implemented on him. Instead of putting his hands up in surrender, Raphael stood his ground and leaned in closer. “I’m just saying, I think that’s the lie.” He replied truthfully.

“What's Shameless?” Venus asked. Leonardo met her face by turning his head to the right.

“An adult-oriented tv show that he,” Then, his head stared straight on at the turtle across from him. Quickly, his calm, explaining demeanor changed to a mother disciplining her child “shouldn't be watching.” Venus, trying to catch on, looked to why he was looking at his brother so hard and had to ask:

“How do you know that?”  His demeanor changed again. He appeared choked up and slightly embarrassed. Leonardo’s frame stiffened and straightened up while crossing his arms over his chest. The turtle girl raised a brow but smiled all the same.

“I’ve stumbled upon Shameless once while flipping the channels.” He stated matter-of-factly. Michelangelo leaned in more to the point that his arm supported him on the seat Leonardo’s legs were occupying.

“And-?” He asked with a knowing smile. Leo tried to find a nice way to put it without embarrassing himself.

“I was scarred.” Was the way he put it.

“Shameless is the lie.” Venus guessed; Mona and Donatello did as well.

“Vote me in for ‘No potential’.” Raphael stood alone on this one. Leonardo refused to answer, most likely because he had his suspicions.

“Ha!” The youngest turtle pointed a hearty finger at his team. “I got ya’ll good! I’m a White Knight in ‘Super Quest’!” Oh, wow. You're really a knight in that online game you play. Wicked, bro.

“Lame lie.” The largest turtle sank back into his seat; the corner of his lip twitched.

“You watch Shameless?!” We all know who exploded on this one.  Now resting his elbows on his knees, his clear blue eyes stared into his younger brother in shock. “You’re way too underaged!” Michelangelo leaned back in horror. His fingers gripped in the seat with his legs partially in the air in case Leo wanted to pounce of him.

“I’m into the plotline, not the vulgar stuff!” He tried to explain to keep a full blown smackdown occur on the plane. “Besides, I like Noel Fisher. Bro’s cool!” He added. Truthful, but he also hoped it would calm their leader down and rethink about telling on him.

“Uh, huh.” There was a stiff silence. Although barely lasting seconds, it felt like forever due to Michelangelo’s anxiety and sweat reflex coming from his brow. Suddenly, he jumped out of his seat and pointed to the turtle sitting behind him.

“Raph watches Blue Mountain State!” Like a true tattletale. Immediately, the red clad turtle sat up straight to retaliate.

“Why you putting my business out like that? What's wrong with you?”

“It's a cool show too!” He formed a circle with his thumb and pointer finger, leaving the remaining digit up. You have got to make amends with Raphael quickly; that's the trick of the trade. “Thad Castle, dude. Freaking hilarious! Have you watched Rise of Thadland yet?” True, he was just mentioning his favorite actor to keep him from pummeling him, but it was also true that his character is definitely on the top of his list.

“Nope, been waiting for a time when everybody was out.” His anger turned to joy that somebody else liked Thad just like him. The fanboy within him whispered this notion to his youngest brother, who nodded understandably.

“Excuse me!” Leonardo interrupted explosively. “Are we going to ignore the fact that you're both under aged for watching those programs?!”

“Relax momma turtle.” As of Michelangelo wasn't the one freaking out earlier. Now with Raph on his side, he felt not-alone and untouchable. “You'd like Shameless. Pete Ploszek shows up in a couple episodes.” Another reminder of one’s favorite actor to get on his good side only this time the young turtle wasn't as fond of him. Then, the most slyest smile curled up on Raphael’s lips. Internally, those who noticed began to worry.

“Besides,” he began so humbly. “we know you watched Jackass .” It just got real. The leader’s face face went red so quickly in a blush.

“What?!” He screamed incredulously. A weight settled on the leader’s chest. They all knew very well they weren't allowed to watch adult content (by law) and that Splinter would definitely disapprove. His brother’s knew about it too.

“Didn't think we saw that, hm?” Donnie sang with a cocked eyebrow and leisurely lean on his seat. “Thought we were all somewhere else… Talk about tasteless.” Surely he had to hide when watching that. First, Splinter’s disapproval. Second, for sure they would look at him as less of a serious being if he were to watch Knoxville (a favorite of his) and his crew performing ugly and insane stunts such as teeter tottering with a bull and taking a limo ride with a beehive. That's so unprofessional.

“We won't tell if you don't tell. Up to you, bro.” Michelangelo matched his tallest brother’s stance.

“Blackmail’s a b*****, isn't it?”

“You watched a donkey?” Venus nearly whispered. When she leaned towards the leader’s direction, who was sitting behind her, the leader leaned back into the seat by the window. Michelangelo wanted to feel sympathy and laugh when he saw his brother’s shot up eyes and tense posture completely amped by her curiosity. With no answers coming from the leader, Mona asked the turtle next to her.

“Doing what?” Her tone was deep and inquisitive. The purple clad terrapin raised up his hands and faced forward. When she tried to get answers from Raphael, his grinned while shaking his head and turned away from her.

“Mona's turn!” Mikey exclaimed. Oh, right! They're playing a game.

“I suck at stuff like this.” The lizard lady sighed.

“Try.” Mikey pleaded. Don't you hate it when people try not to participate in a game? Only just to speculate.

“Um…” Attentions were focused on her, much to Leonardo’s relief. “I once had an imaginary therapist that was a running gag amongst my friends…” It felt as if the ending sound of her words were dawned on until she thought of the next idea. “I made my teacher cry because he couldn’t comprehend the complex and thorough physics experiment I conducted. I need just one more. Something outrageous...” They waited on her. Already, they were weighing out their answers. “I don't know!” She exclaimed. “I’ve found someone?” Her ill-sincere tone and the possibilities between all three statements induced a collective:

“Lie.” From all the rest.

“You really do suck at this game. That's way too easy.” Mikey teased.

“Told ya.” She half-laughed, defeated easily but still smiling because it truly was an ill-attempt to fool them.

“And you guys thought my lie sucked.” He sighed from the short fit of laughter. Leaning back on his shell, he wiped his forehead with his forearm. The plane began to quiet again. “You know what I just realized? We’re old.”

“Mikey.” Raph groaned.

“No, think about it.” he sat up. Scrunched up eyebrows, searching eyes on the ground and an outstretched arm pretended to grab some type of ghost-like object, this turtle was getting to the bottom of something. “Humans our age will be expected to move out and pay bills on their own! Sheesh! Mona should be doing that right now!”

“Is this your special way of getting me out of the house?”

“Don’t take it like that.” He waved her off. “Just think about it. What are we going to do when we hit that patch?”

“He’s got a point.” The female turtle crossed her legs. “Are any of you planning on leaving the lair? Leaving sensei and each other to conduct our own separate lives? Or, are we going to stick together for years to come?”

“Never really thought about it. For me,” Donatello began. “ it's been more thinking in the heat of the moment. Never did I think about hitting forty or so.”

“You still thinking about leaving, Raph?” Leo quizzed in a deep tone, eyes kept on his knees.

“What made you think I'd wanna leave?” He replied rather surprised he would say such a thing.

“Because you said and I quote” The youngest terrapin put a finger up and cleared his throat. “‘I'm moving out on my own, first chance that I get.’” He impersonated his brother using his own “batman voice”. The impersonated turtle scoffed.

“That was two years ago.”

“And…?”

“And I said I wasn't.” The terrapin reacted aggressively in voice.

“No, “ Mikey folded his arms up to his chest and put his nose into the air. “you said it was because you thought you weren't enough to stand by us.” He expressed haughtily. With old emotions and insecurities re-emerging, the largest turtle shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Although he knew all eyes were on him, only two caught his attention due to them both being right in front of him. Leonardo looked just as uncomfortable as he is. Collected in but with eyes obviously trying to glance at him, you could tell he wanted to comfort him in some way: find a way to tell him “it’s ok” and that there was no reason to regret saying so. The other had her brown eyes looking sympathetically, hugging her seat and feeling sorry for his discomfort.

“Leave me alone.” He grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. A response towards Michelangelo, it was also directed to keep the lizard and blue banded turtle from being sorry for him. Both cut off their feelings; his brother dropping his gaze and Mona sinking back into her chair.

“You'll stay Venus, right?” Donnie redirected their attentions for his own personal inquiry.

“I always thought I was going to be in my village when I thought about it. Surely, I won't go back.” She smiled.  “I just got you guys” a warm smile to Mikey then to Leo. “but if any of you choose to go solo or some other combo, I'm not going to get in the way of that.” In her heart, her loyalties and love would never change if they decided to leave her for their own personal reasons. Venus respected that.

“I can't leave you, V.” Her sister poked her head through the aisle. Donatello moved his outstretched legs some to allow her to. “Can't get rid of this girl.” Mona winked, smiling. The turtle girl returned the same, warm affections with her head poking out.

“I can see you guys up in the mountains by April’s family estate.” The purple clad turtle beamed, imagining their futures. “You could stay with your horses up there.”

“Hmm… didn't come to think about that.” That would indeed be nice. Living the rest of their lives in a place much like how they grew up: isolated in the forest, being together everyday and with their beloved pets. Surely, it would be splendid if they did. “I'd say for all of us, if we were to part, it wouldn't be far.” Mikey followed up Venus’ assertion.

“Nobody said this was a permanent I'm-never-going-to-see-you-again type of deal. Might as well be neighbors or at least an hour drive away.” He paused. “But ‘where’?”

“Leo, would you ever leave?” Mona Lisa questioned. Now, if there weren’t any more of a strict attention span throughout this ride, this one topped them all. The leader jumped some n his seat with the sudden silence on the plane. As he gathered his thought, the drone of the plane nerved him. He cleared his throat.

“My job is to protect all of you. Splinter never mentioned when we'd get older. I won't stay where I'm not needed. It's all up to you guys.” That’s Leonardo for you. Always putting the team before himself (or most of the time). The team would expect that kind of answer coming from him.

“We’ll burn that bridge when we get to it.” The red clad turtle added; his response was like a comfortable yawn because he was stretching his arms when he commented.

“It's ‘cross’, Raph. ‘Cross that bridge’.” Donatello corrected with patience.

“That just takes all the fun out of that now, doesn't it?”

“Ey!” The youngest turtle yelled again, causing another yet slightly less jumpy response from the team. “Whose turn is it?”

“Mona…” Venus’ tongue lingered on the thought. “Leo, you're up.” She sang with her finger flicking up to him.

“Fine.” It didn't sound so fine with him, but whatever (he was one of those spectators we didn’t like earlier). “I reenact Star Wars when I'm alone. Kitchen appliances hate me. When I was a kid, I thought there were leprechauns in every box of Lucky Charms.”

“Reenact Star Wars when you’re alone.” Another collective answer. Leo’s head twitched as they all laughed.

“What? No!” He tried to calm himself down enough so that when he placed his hand on Leo’s knee, Michelangelo could make a clear delivery.

“Dude, you think you're alone, but you're not.” The turtle being made fun of hid his closest cheek in the palm of his hand to hide his blush. He could feel the warm blood in his palm, which nerved him even more.

“Busted!” Mona replied sassily with a head roll. Donatello snapped with a swinging arm, winked, and spoke with a cartoony demeanor.

“Foiled again!” The reverie slowly brought a smile to the leader’s face.

“I would've gotten away with it if it weren't for you meddling kids!” That came out of nowhere, but the family was sure glad to see him come out of his shell. Suddenly, he stood up from his seat. His stance was ready to pounce, hands up with glances in Michelangelo and Donatello’s direction (they were the ringleaders of the laughter).

“Raggy!” Donnie jumped up. He made it careful to keep his head from hitting the roof of the plane, but when he came down from his jump he was able to stand up straight.

“Zoinks, Scoob!” Michelangelo spoke comically, also rising. “Like, run!” That was the set off to get Leonardo running. Both parties were laughing their shells off as they ran and tackled one another on either sides of the plane. When they came close to a sitting team member, said sitter would shield themselves from their play fight until they went away and wrestled in a different spot. As the playful fighting made its way away from the three, Venus uncurled and leaned in Raphael’s direction.

“What did he watch the donkey do?”