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giorno-plays-piano · 3 years

Text

Heartache

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Soldat!Reader

Warnings: yandere, obsession, kidnapping, captivity, torture, brainwashing, delusional Bucky.

Words: 2535.

Summary: You don't need the one whose name was Bucky Barnes, a hundred years old broken man who returned back to the world that couldn't offer him anything but regrets and nightmares. You need your Soldier, the one who won't return to you even if you throw Bucky back into that iron chair and fry his brains for the thirtieth time.

P.S. I have to say it turned out darker than I expected. Attention! Bucky is free from his programming, but he does not heal as he should.

__________________

“You look old.”

You decide to give him the pleasure of hearing your voice. It sounds dull from behind the glass when Bucky comes closer, looking at someone he recognizes too well, but you do not recognize a man he became, nothing reminding you of the one with whom you once shared your bed.

You know what the man looking at you through the glass thinks. You didn’t age a day since the last time he saw you, and while he knows why, it still surprises him to see a young woman watching him calmly as if all those years didn't pass.

“You miss your star.” You say, tilting your head to the side and narrowing your eyes at him when you see his new vibranium arm.

“It doesn't matter.” His answer is immediate, and Bucky isn't surprised to hear the raw anger in his own voice: he is no longer the Soldier you knew, and he is worried he won't find a way to interact with you. You don't seem too interested in Bucky Barnes and whoever he works for despite the fact you are hardly HYDRA's soldier yourself.

What he doesn't know is that you still stay the soldier you have been once, and nothing will ever change that regardless of whoever Bucky Barnes sends your way to cure you from HYDRA's conditioning.

"I'm glad you remember me."

You find it peculiar: a man who has been trying so hard to get rid of anything that ties him to the Winter Soldier has been looking for you for years, finally tracking you down, capturing you and bringing you here as if your pure existence didn't remind him of the worst years of his life. What did he expect to find? A comfort in someone who once had been paired with him just for the sake of research?

"Don't bother, Mr. Barnes. There's nothing there left for you."

You see he's taken aback because you have hit a nerve. Apparently, James Buchanan Barnes thought the connection between the two of you remained the same, and he could dig up the feelings that had long been buried. Stupid, you think, he's forgetting the most important part: he is not the man you formed the bond with. You don't need the one whose name was Bucky Barnes, a hundred years old broken man who returned back to the world that couldn't offer him anything but regrets and nightmares. You need your Soldier, the one who won't return to you even if you throw Bucky back into that iron chair and fry his brains for the thirtieth time.

It doesn't matter. After all those years you didn't believe in happy endings, and even if the man watching you through the glass think he is going to get one after getting out, he is clearly deluding himself.

Averting his eyes, Bucky clears his throat and changes the topic, trying to give himself a false hope he can mend things. “I will convince Shuri to treat you. She helped me break through the conditioning, and she will do the same to you."

You could raise your brow at him, but maintaining this facade is tiresome and doesn't make sense. "I see you have no idea how much my conditioning differs from yours. You can't break through it. It's embedded in me."

"I thought so, but I got rid of mine. You can do it too, I'm sure."

Although you see him trying to assure you, Bucky's getting agitated because he really has no idea what HYDRA did to you. He couldn't know it when he still was the Soldier, but now the lack of his knowledge leads you to the thought your former masters destroyed whatever info they still kept - they foresaw he would search for you.

"Your brainwashing was flimsy. I've always wondered how come you were considered HYDRA'S greatest assassin when you just needed to see your dear friend once to start getting your memories back." You snort, knowing Bucky would feel a slight hint of jealousy in your voice, but you don't care: you've never hid from him you only needed the Winter Soldier, and he was gone.

Bucky doesn't know what to say as a part of him wants to scream there was nothing flimsy about electroconvulsive therapy he went through over and over again, but he looks at you and sees how different you are from him, having no memories of your own, not knowing even your name or the place where you came from. It doesn't scare him, but the fact you had long merged with the Soldier you've become does. You don't separate yourself from her the way he did. In fact, the Soldier had completely absorbed your true persona, and Bucky doesn’t know the real you. He only knows RED, a Soldat who at one point was been created by HYDRA just like all of them were. Despite searching for the information about your past for years, he found nothing, not even the year when you became a part of the organization. Bucky doesn’t think you did it willingly judging by the fact how you reacted when he had been training you among the other Soldiers, but he can’t be sure.

You’re a ghost. None of the masters who had been giving you orders know anything about you except your specialization and things you can do. Bucky supposes there were once people who knew the truth, but all of them are probably dead since the ones he has captured were utterly useless. His only hope is Shuri who might bring whatever is left somewhere deep inside your mind to the surface, yet he isn’t sure she will take you: the more you talk, the more it becomes clear you will not ask her to do it willingly, and Shuri won’t like that. The redemption can only be granted to someone who asks and works for it.

You don’t seem the type.

“What do you want me to do?” He asks you quietly, his forehead almost touching the glass separating you two when Bucky watches you with that pathetic expression of his. “If I let you go, you will return to people you serve. If I bring you to police, you will end up in a lab in the hands of the government.”

You allow him to see your smile as you observe him, desperately hoping you will tell him you will come back to the good guys and stay with him, playing a role of his funny little girlfriend because Bucky Barnes cannot allow himself to form an adequate relationship with any woman who has not been tainted the way he was. It probably seems so tragic to him that he had to spent years trying to catch you.

Although the chair you’re bound to doesn’t let you stand and come over to him, you still lean closer to the window, wearing the same polite but welcoming smile you used to lure your targets closer to you.

“I want you back in that chair, going through the whole process of brainwashing again until you become the Soldat you’ve been. I want you standing with me and feeling as much pain as I did until your sensitivity goes down to zero, and you no longer remember those funny friends of yours. I know you won’t trade your freedom and whatever else you have after getting out, but I don’t need James Buchanan Barnes or White Wolf or whoever you have become. I am RED of HYDRA, and I have bonded with the Winter Soldier you buried, Bucky.”

When he leaves, the massive metal door getting locked ten times the least, you stare at the grey wall beside the glass. You wonder how getting the privilege of remembering his past made him so miserable, a pathetic, broken man who did not understand how lucky he had been, not only breaking free from HYDRA’s grip but gaining his true identity back. He probably pitied himself, poor little boy who had been broken by the big bad guys. He did not understand that all other soldiers who came after him, except the suicide squad made with Stark’s serum, had been turned into ashes. There was nothing left to break in them - and you either.

_______________________

Shuri wasn’t happy to hear your story just like he thought, but Bucky couldn’t lie to her, hoping she would understand. Of course, she didn’t, telling him outright it was impossible to treat somebody who didn’t want to be treated. While it was also inhuman, forcing you to do something against your will just like HYDRA has been doing all these years, it also erased the possibility to use the same methods she chose when she treated Bucky.

“You don’t understand,” she tells him, shaking her head, “it’s not that I don’t want to help, but without her cooperating it’s close to impossible. They didn’t use the same ways to program her just like they did to you.”

He isn’t satisfied with her answer even though he knows Shuri wants to help. He can’t leave it like that, leave you to your fate, return you where you belonged, and he keeps asking who or what may be able to help you until she finally tells him something about electrical stimulation of the brain that can awake memories that you have buried. Shuri immediately regrets it, seeing how Bucky’s face lights up.

“It is a very complicated process that requires an extensive medical knowledge. Worse, even if performed correctly, this technique can traumatize her even further. Please don’t do this. We don’t even know if this method will be effective.”

Bucky doesn’t promise her anything, though a part of him feels guilty he made her tell him this. He just has to do it: undoubtedly, HYDRA or whoever you work for now will force you to go through the brainwashing process again, and whatever treatment Shuri told him about can’t be worse than this. If Bucky does everything right, you might stand a chance to live like he does, away from the horrors of the war you had been a part of ever since the organization abducted you. Even if you don’t want it, clearly it is an effect of the memory suppressing machine: any sane human being wants to have a normal life, right?

It takes him months to find and steal the equipment he needs, leaving no traces - it reminds him of the days when he had been under HYDRA’s control, but he does what he has to. Learning how to use the machine is a much more complicated task, but Bucky is grateful for that serum-enhanced brain of his: he nearly swallows the information from the books in record time, reading about sending a burst of electrical energy into your cerebral cortex to stimulate your brain and finally retrieve your memories. Now he knows what Shuri meant by traumatizing, but this doesn’t stop him either. He does what he has to do.

“What is your name?” He repeats after listening to your screams for ten or maybe twenty minutes, your body going limp in the black, cold chair when you open your mouth, breathing heavily, your face stained with tears and sweat.

“Dolores.” You say immediately, knowing he will repeat the procedure if you keep silent, your heat beating wildly. “I grew up... on a small farm in Iowa... I had an older sister... and slept with a big teddy bear with a red ribbon...”

“You are lying.” He says simply, and a jolt of electricity cuts through your head, nearly electrocuting you while you scream again and again.

For some reason he always feels it when you say what he wants to hear instead of the truth. What he doesn’t understand is that the truth he wants has been told months ago: you did not remember and you were not going to remember anything from your past. It was stupid to try. There was nothing left of you, and while he thought he was resurrecting a human in you, he was simply destroying your body that was regenerating every night after the therapy.

When you receive a new jolt, shaking and screaming, tears streaming down your face until they fall down onto your already wet t-shirt, you whisper through gritted teeth, “Either I will have you as my Soldat, or I will not have you at all.”

Bucky presses the button.

__________________________

When he is finished he takes you to a bath in the room next to your cell. You almost lose the ability to move for an hour or two, giving him time to prepare you: Bucky undresses you and slowly lowers your body in the tub filled with warm water, watching that you take a comfortable position and don’t slip, effectively suffocating. Today he had almost gone too far, risking to fry your brain: you still refused to give up even after two months of therapy you have gone through, and Bucky isn’t too happy.

Pouring a strawberry-scented shampoo on his palm, Bucky starts to carefully wash your hair that grew longer in the months of captivity, watching that neither shampoo nor the foam gets in your eyes. You are nearly breathless: the serum they gave you made you less stronger than him, but your regeneration abilities are on a whole different level, and soon your body will adjust and erase the damage made.

He asks himself whether keep using the machine makes sense since he didn’t make much progress, the programming still very much in you even after all those incredibly painful sessions. What if you were right from the start? What if there was nothing to remember, and all he could do was to leave you in the state you were in before he destroyed whatever was left of you?

No, he can’t do it. Leaving you means taking away your chance to ever get back to normal life, and he can’t force himself to do that.

Never in his life Bucky Barnes will admit letting you go meant never getting his own happy ending the way he wants it.

“Why reinventing the wheel when you can make it so much easier?” All of a sudden, your hoarse voice whimpers in his ear when you look at him, tiredly moving your head up. “Do what they’ve always done. Use the programming to give me an order.”

A part of him is shocked with the revelation: he wanted to be neither the Soldier nor the one giving him commands. But the other part makes him realize how much easier it would be if he just used what has already been done to you instead of relying on an obviously ineffective method that damaged your mind and body. Of course, he has nothing in common with Karpov sending him on the assassination missions. Bucky only wants you to learn how to become human again, free you from HYDRA once and for all, give you the life you undoubtedly wanted. Even if he uses the same method the organization did until he finds a better way to undo the programming, it is still for your own good.

___________

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#Bucky Barnes #bucky barnes x reader #dark bucky barnes #dark bucky barnes x reader #Winter Soldier #yandere #MCU

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shurisneakers · 3 years

Text

shut in [11]

Summary: When your high profile mission goes terribly wrong, you’re forced to hide in a safehouse with a man you’ve never met before. With seemingly nowhere else to go, you’re forced to work together to figure out who is trying to have you assassinated before it’s too late. (Sam Wilson x Reader, Hitman AU)

Warnings: cursing, anxiety, ptsd, abuse

Word count: 2.7k

A/N: just to clarify, there are 14 chapters and an epilogue!! also you guys are so nice, thank you for letting me know what you think about this <333</p>

i also appreciate feedback so if you would like to, please consider dropping me an ask or comment ly guys!!

here’s my ko-fi if you’d like to support my writing <333

Previous Part || Shut In Masterlist

The wait was taking a toll. It was clawing at you from the inside, and paired with the occasional flare your anxiety gave, everyday was like spending time in an hourglass that was steadily filling up.

Sam helped; making sure the both of you ate after spending hours planning out and revising every detail, introducing you to the world when you spent too long indoors.

The constant rap of your finger against the table and pen tucked behind your ear was the position you found yourself in more often than not. Different scenarios listed themselves on a sheet of paper so you could go through the process of elimination, sorting each loophole out with proper backup.

Going to New York, 3rd floor of 32nd Street, only cash-

“I’m goin’ on a run.” Sam poked his head in from the doorway to the kitchen. “I’ll be back before Ransone calls.”

“What?” you mumble, not paying attention. You scratched out another implausible scenario, leaving you with many more to go. Everything had to be perfect.

“Going out. Be back soon,” he repeated.

It still took a minute to register but you found yourself shaking your head once it did. “No, don’t.”

“Why?” he straightened up, no longer leaning on the wall. “Something wrong?”

“It’s not safe.”

“I checked the cameras. No one’s out there,” he sounded confident but you couldn’t shake the feeling of skepticism around the situation that was beginning to return to you. “I’ll be careful.”

“You could be careful by not going.” You shouldn’t have to explain this to him. “It’s not safe.”

“Nothing’s changed yet-”

“They have.” You whip around to look at him. “Things are different now. We don’t know what’s out there.”

You both know that he had already been seen once. Who knew how many people were waiting forty feet away from the house? Risking his life for a jog was ridiculous.

“I can handle a 20 minute run,” he challenged. “I’m not even going that far.”

“You’re being reckless.” You could see the rebellious streak he had warned you of before making an entrance. Though you found his spontaneity endearing, the rashness that accompanied it you weren’t fond of.

“It’s not a big deal.”

“It is, Sam,” you exclaimed. “We can’t fuck up the plan with you dying.”

He looks at you with his head tilted and annoyance on his face. A wave of tense silence washes over the both of you and only then do you realise it’s the closest thing you've had to an actual argument before.

“Is that really what this is about? The plan?” he questioned, arms crossed over his chest.

You hesitated.

“What else would it be about?” You know he saw it, the brief moment you took before you answered.

“I’m going for a run,” he said decisively. It stung more than it should have. “But I’m not going far. I’ll circle the house.”

That eased it, somewhat. You would prefer if he didn’t at all, but you were at peace with the compromise. A middle ground.

You nodded, looking away from him. He left soon after, but seeing him run past the window every now and then made you feel better.

Your mind replayed what he implied. You knew what he was saying, you weren’t completely dense. But you would never let emotions get in the way of work.

It had never worked out well for you before, not while you were still stuck with the organization. Like always, you could feel the familiar ache build in your chest, faces you prayed to forget flashing in your mind.

You exhaled, forcing yourself to not relive it again. You were thinking an awful lot about it for someone who supposedly didn’t care about it.

Stupid Sam with his stupid cute face and stupid good heart. Fuck him.

____

“Y/N.”

“Ransone.”

You nodded at Sam who was standing beside you with a glass of water in his hand, leaning his body weight on the table.

“Wilson there with you?”

“No, he isn’t.” Lying to him had become a habit by now, even though you were well acquainted with the consequences of doing so. “What’s the update?”

“We think we found them,” Ransone reported.

“Found who?”

“The people who shot at you.”

Your body tensed.

“Who is it?” you asked slowly, peering at Sam through the corner of your eye.

“Serpentine,” he said coolly. Sam scoffed, taking a small walk in circles to calm himself down. “Trying to establish themselves at the top again. Went for one of you but we don’t know which, found both of ya instead. Killed Pierce then waited for you to show up.”

Your eyebrows quirked up. You could see the muscles in Sam’s jaw tighten.

“How’d you find out?” You place your hand on his, urging him to calm down. He visibly softened, closing his eyes and letting out a silent exhale before nodding for you to continue.

“People talk. You know that Y/N,” Ransone sounded bitter.

“Not personally, no,” you mumbled.

“Well, they do.” The way his tone shifted back to normal like the conversation you just shared didn’t happen almost gave you whiplash. “That’s all on our end. What’s happening there?”

“Nothing. No updates.”

“Y’know, I’m surprised you haven’t killed him yet,” Ransone commented. “He tends to get… mouthy.”

“I don’t see him much,” you lied blatantly, ignoring the insult to Sam even though you wanted to retort.

“That’s a good thing. Can’t have you getting attached now, can we?”

You barely looked at Sam, only zeroed in on the fact that his thumb was absentmindedly tracing circles onto your skin while he paid attention to what Ransone was saying.

“I’m not.”

“I’m sure you’re getting sick of him,” Ransone chided, pushing this conversation far longer than you wanted him to. “After this I’ll make sure you never have to see him again, don’t worry.”

“Why?” Your eyebrows knitted together. You wondered if you responded too quickly.

“I’ll have him stationed somewhere else. Away from you at all times. Won’t have to interact with him again.” He was doing it again. Ruining any fucking form of a relationship you could have. “You can thank me later.”

“That won’t be necessary,” you bit back. He knew what he was doing. He was drawing it out of you.

“Well I thought you’d be more grateful consideri- oh,” he stopped abruptly. “Unless you’re already attached to him.”

You pulled your hand away from Sam who only looked concerned about where this conversation was heading. The sudden chill that took its place didn’t make you feel any better.

“Oh, Buttercup,” he laughed pitifully. “You know it would never work. Don’t you remember all the others?”

You didn’t say anything. Only folded your arms together and forced yourself not to go down the path he was trying to drag you to. If you hung up now he’d only take it as a confirmation.

“You two shouldn’t have been friends in the first place. Your lives would have never intersected if this didn’t go wrong.” You hated how he was pointing out things you had overanalyzed time and time again.

You hesitated for a second, forgetting the fact that you knew he was preying on you on purpose.

Because these were thought you’d already had. Thoughts of whether you were growing on him only because you were stuck together. Of course if he was forced to co-inhabit a safehouse for this long with anyone he’d like them.

And as much as you despised to even think it, Ransone was right. How would it even work once you got out?

It couldn’t.

And you wouldn’t let yourself even consider the possibility that it might because it was just wishful thinking at best. The line between friendship and something more were merging together so fast, you weren’t even sure they existed anymore.

“He doesn’t care about you, Y/N. I’m sure he’s charmed his way into making you think you’re important to him, but you’re not,” he sounded sympathetic, almost like he was patronizing you. “You’re just his way out of there, honey.”

Sam opened his mouth, ready to launch into a tirade. You held up a finger to silence him, praying that he wouldn’t do something stupid. You couldn’t lose the only communication you had with Ransone over this.

“I wish it didn’t have to be this way-” What a truckload of horseshit.

“I’ll send you my location,” you broke in, words faltering. “Just have someone come get me.”

“If that’s what you want.” You could tell that he was barely hiding the joy he had gotten out of completely fucking with you.

“Don’t look for me directly. I’ll come to you. Just have someone ready to bring me back.” You couldn’t bring yourself to look at Sam. You had too much going through your head at the moment, things that had specifically to do with him.

“Are you sure? Someone can be at your doorstep within an hour, you know that.”

“I need time to sort some things out. I’ll tell you when I’m ready.”

“As you wish.” You wanted to smack him.

“Bye,” you say shortly, trying to wrap it up.

“Y/N,” he cut in before you could end the conversation. You wait for him to continue, not saying a word. “I’m sorry you had to hear it from me. I just didn’t want you to get hurt.”

You roll your eyes and hang up, not letting him get another word in. The minute you got a second to breathe, everything he said began crawling its way back into your head.

“What the hell was that?” Sam fumed.

“I don’t know.” It was the truth.

“That wasn’t a part of the plan.” You want to tell him to calm down because you had never seen him this infuriated before.

“I don’t know,” you repeated, feeling more drained by the second. You fucked up by talking to him for so long, you knew it.

“That sick, abusive piece of shit,” he continued furiously, but you only looked down, tuning out his droning.

It was fucking humiliating to think that you could have a normal life. It just wasn’t possible. You were in too deep. Staying here with Sam only confused you, made you long for things that weren’t attainable.

“He’s right,” you utter quietly, effectively shutting him up.

He stared at you incredulously. “What?”

“He’s right.” You pushed yourself away from where you’re leaning on the table.

“About what?”

“You know what, Sam.”

“No, I don’t,” he retorted, “He said a lot of shit so I’m going to need you to specify.”

“I’m going to take a nap.” Your head was spinning; you didn't know how to tell him. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Don’t run away from this conversation,” he sounded annoyed, rightfully so. “Tell me what he’s right about so we can talk this out.”

“About this,” you relented, spinning around to look at him. “Us.”

“He was just trying to get into your head, Y/N, like he always does,” Sam exclaimed, letting his arms fall beside him.

“This could never work, Sam. We’re friends because we see each other every single day, constantly.” You gestured back and forth between the both of you. “What happens once we get out? When you’re not stuck with me twenty-four-seven?”

He knew what happens to people when they get too close within the organization; he had first hand experience with Riley. They never survived long enough to tell the story themselves. They were ripped away from you, time and time again. It was so tiring to start all over from the beginning, every single time and for nothing.

You didn’t want it to happen again, not to him. You just wished he’d believe the other anxieties you deemed less important than this, and dropped the topic. Another death is not something you’d be able to handle.

“We deserve a bit more credit than that, I think,” he said defensively, taking a step toward you. “If our relationship was built solely on proximity then it wouldn’t affect you this much. We’re beyond that.”

“Well, what if we’re not? What if we realise we only tolerated each other because we didn’t have a choice?” you fired back, crossing your arms.

“Speak for yourself,” he huffed. “I would never let that dictate my choice.”

He sounded so confident, so assured that it wasn’t circumstantial. How could he be so sure?

“I don’t get you,” you whispered. “I can’t figure you out.”

“What don’t you get?” He looked like he was on the verge of pleading. He stopped right in front of you, a temporary barricade between you and the hallway.

“Why you treat me the way you do.”

He looks taken aback for a second. “Did I do something wrong? Did I upset you in any-”

“No,” you interrupt him, realising that it didn't sound the way you wanted it to. “Why you’re so… good. To me.”

He doesn’t say anything in return and you can’t even look at him, feeling your cheeks burn with embarrassment.

You had tried for so long to figure out what his motives were. Every time he did things that went beyond common courtesy, your gut would scream at you to find a hidden motive. No one was ever this nice to you unless they were put up to it. You’d had enough experience to realise this.

When you couldn’t find anything it only confused you more. You had shoved it away a while ago after he never displayed any other reason. You let yourself believe it for once.

But it was back; the incessant need to know everything. It was gnawing at you along with everything else because Ransone knew exactly what buttons to push. There had to be something.

“Y/N,” he called out softly. You felt his hands on your shoulders, urging you to look at him.

“It’s stupid,” you murmur, trying to ignore the fluttering in your heart.

“It’s not. And I need you to look at me when I say this,” he says slowly, drawing your attention to his face. “I care about you. More than you think I do. You’re not some means to an end. He’s wrong and I need you to believe me on that.”

He waits for it to set in. You get why he wanted you to look at him now. There wasn’t an inkling of deceit in what he was saying. You had seen him lie, seen him try to bluff his way out of a petty situation. It wasn’t this.

He cared about you because he wanted to. Not because he was forced to; whether it was because you lived together, or because of something else.

There was so much more you wanted to ask him but nothing got past your throat. It was too heavy. You needed help.

There was barely any distance between the both of you. You could feel his breath, skin tingling from where he was holding you.

You unconsciously move in, drifting towards the warmth he radiated. Your hands find a place on his sturdy chest, and you let his heartbeat tether you.

His eyes close when you lean your forehead against his, forcing himself to control his breathing that was threatening to get away from him.

You don’t know how long you stay like that, forehead pressed against his, trying to make your peace with what he said.

You want to kiss him, much stronger than the last time you had the same thought. Just to see what it’d be like.

You instead pull away gently. Your hands still rest on his chest. You need time to figure out where your head's at.

“I trust you.” Is all you can say, not tearing your eyes away from him.

He presses a kiss to your forehead, letting it linger there for a second and you revel in the flips your stomach does. “I trust you.”

But for now, maybe you can be content with where you are.

Next part

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torgawl · 3 years

Text

was thinking about the whole symbolism of chains in jjk. they are shown when speaking of the binding contract sukuna made with yuuji and they are also associated with toji. especially, considering toji as an anomaly in the jjk world turned the world upside-down by, unknowingly, breaking the chains of destiny linking the six eyes, the star plasma vessel and tengen and even breaking away from cursed energy itself. all this through heavenly restriction, he became the only one to ever exist to possess a zero ammount of cursed energy. he surpassed a limit unreachable to anyone else. and that's exactly what led yuki, who has similar ideologies to geto of wanting to cut the evil by its root, to be interested in toji in the first place.

this breaking of chains is said to have destroyed everyone's fate (especially considering the present scenario in jjk) but what if this breaking of chains and this detachment from cursed energy is actually what the jjk world needs to thrive? what if toji wasn't a curse to everyone but the one to birth a blessing (quite literally, considering megumi's name too)?

this next stage of humanity yuki talks about, what if it's the solution for the problems they are facing? tengen’s barrier allows the existence of jujutsu sorcerers next to the creation of curses and this phenomenon also means that japan has a monopoly over cursed energy, as yuki stated before as well. what if yuki has the possibility to go through with her plan now that she is in charge of protecting tengen? obviously the whole situation is rather complex because tengen isn't an entity, he is a higher being and if he merges with the people of japan there's almost certainty that evil and curses would spread at an alarming velocity and condemn earth, which isn't ideal. so i don't even know what i'm exactly referring to while writing this but, i feel like all these elements could be a big piece in restoring the jujutsu world and its interaction with cursed enegery. yuki was always very vocal about her ideas and never gave up trying to come up with a plan. when toji died she had to back off from her plan one, obviously. but isn't it curious how while she says that, in the manga, a picture of young maki appears? the same maki who recently slaughtered the zenin clan and has been shown to have multiple parallels with toji? what if the peak of her character isn't killing the clan and breaking herself free? what if she manages to break these chains of destiny too and help save humanity somehow? what if an ultimate happening or alignment of stars involving the three big figures whose destiny was changed by toji - tengen, gojo and, in this case not the star plasma vessel, but the people of japan - is the answer to everything? i do not want to believe in the merging of everyone or the sacrifice of people in japan and the culling game doesn't seem to be the last arc either of jjk so I don't think what I'm saying even makes a lot of sense (even though it's kind of a mix of multiple ideas and theories that have been talked about before). even considering gojo's existence which is the sole reason for the birth, substience and evolution of more and more cursed spirits and cursed energy... doesn't it make sense that maybe his death, intentional or not, could be part of the solution to end it all? this is very all over the place and I am not sure how to exactly make sense of it. not saying yuki will be the one behind it all. I'm more wanting to express that maybe her original plan isn't that crazy and unattainable, if all the necessary conditions for it are met. and it would be quite ironic if after all geto's ideals were achieved by the idea he opposed when talking to yuki for that first time and by kenjaku, as well. all the symbolisms and details in jjk are not coincidence and thinking about toji and yuki's plan as well as geto/kenjaku's plan made me think and wonder about what can possibly happen once again. did not research enough to propose an actual theory or understand if it could make sense, so these are just a few thoughts on the matter ahahah.

#toji fushiguro #yuki tsukumo #gojo satoru #suguru geto #maki zenin #jujutsu kaisen #my post #jjk 💭

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crhinge · 3 years

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Breaking Down The Classic Rom-Com

I feel like I haven’t written a fun post in a hot sec so lets talk about one of my favorite subjects: Rom Coms

According to wikipedia, a Rom Com, also known as Romantic Comedy, is “a subgenre of comedy and slice-of-life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles.” In the past, Romantic Comedies have also been called “Chick Flicks” but I think this is devaluing of both women and the romantic comedy genre.

The other day, I woke up to find that the most wholesome rom-com couple of all time reunited: Matty & Jenna (Aka Mark Ruffalo & Jennifer Garner). This got me thinking about the beauty of the Rom-Com and how unappreciated they can be. It has been years since we have seen a rom-com with the cultural impact of 13 Going on 30, and I would like to petition for more of them after a sad and painful year.

I can already hear the millions (in my head this blog is extremely popular) of comments “What about To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before?!?” “What about The Kissing Booth?!?” And too that I say, "Good Riddance!” If you’re rating your rom coms on a TATBILB scale, or even WORSE The Kissing booth, I feel sorry for you. Truly I do. So let's dive into the best Rom Coms of all time, but first...

What makes a Rom-Com good? Well let's start with a relatable as hell main character. I am talking a girl (sometimes guy), who has many flaws, but the audience can see themselves within her/him. Let's use Jenna Rink from 13 Going On 30 as an example. Well, she's literally a 13 year old in a 30 year olds body, but don’t we all still have a preteen hiding inside of all of us? She is 100% willing to be herself at every step, even if that means dancing thriller all alone. She touches on all of our insecurities, while teaching us how to break down our walls.

Rom-Coms also need characters to make realistic choices. This does not mean that the movie itself is realistic, but rather than you can understand the choices the characters make. Again, 13 going on 30 does a fabulous job of this. Obviously, Jenna traveling in time because of wishing powder is not realistic, but the choices that her and her past self make are. Due to the insecurities of her childhood and a need to feel included, relevant, and powerful Jenna pushes important people out of her life, which happens to so many people in the real world. These decisions force her to miss out on the love of her life, and ultimately, the story ends sadly: the love of her life marries someone else and she is left with tears, wishing powder, and an old doll house. That is until she is able to travel back in time and change the course of her life.

Lastly, Every classic Rom-Com couple needs to have chemistry. There. I said it. Hollywood loves just casting random famous actors without giving them a proper chemistry read. One great example of this is Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel in Safe Haven. Both fun, famous, Hollywood actors who have zero chemistry. Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Garner had more chemistry throwing back Razzles than those two did during an intimate sex scene.

Alright, now that we have broken down the requirements of a Romantic Comedy, let's jump into the best and worst of all time.

Best: When Harry Met Sally. 9/10. A classic. A tale as old as time. Both Sally & Harry are very flawed, yet relatable characters. Sally is too picky and particular, while Harry is a player. They both suck at relationships, but make rational decisions based on their motivations. We all have friends like these two and their chemistry is on point, both on a friendship and romantic level. They bounce off of one another splendidly.

Worst: Sleepless in Seattle. 1/10 I know, this is a strong take, but this is a terrible movie about a stalker. Meg Ryan (I don’t even remember her character's name) is the stupidest most unrelatable character I have seen in a long time. She is extremely unlovable, cheats on her SO emotionally, and flies across the country to stalk a man that she has never met before. And then you’re telling me that Tom hanks FALLS FOR HER? Nope. No. I refuse to except this. Plus, their chemistry in this is pretty mediocre (You’ve Got Mail is Way Better) and we only get to see them together once.

Best: 10 Things I Hate About You. 8/10. I was tempted to leave all high School Rom-Coms off this list, but Heath Ledger is my exception. Talk about likability. Kat is a strong, powerful, independent woman who learns how to be more vulnerable while still being a feminist badass. We all wanted to be Kat growing up. Meanwhile Heath Ledger is the classic bad boy with a soft side, and who wasn’’t into that? Both characters grow into new people throughout the movie making them relatable, complex, and realistic. Not to mention the angel that is Joseph Gordon Levitt, who keeps the audience up beat and smiling throughout the course of this Shakespeare tale

Best: My Big fat Greek Wedding. 10/10. Have you seen this film recently? Because it is an absolute DELIGHT and so relatable. It dives into the difficulty of family expectation and cultures merging. It also has the cutest proposal of all time with a realistic couple that fights for one another on a daily basis. You laugh. You cry. You get a dynamic cast with wonderful chemistry. You feel invested in the family and the relationship. Just a joyful wonderful film.

Worst: Something Borrowed. 0/10. If you’ve never seen this movie, don’t. Ginnifer Goodwin sleeps with her best friends fiancé and we’re supposed to be okay with it because she liked him first. Hard pass. And she ignores John Krazinski who is right in front of her. She is unlikable, unreliable, and makes dumb decisions that no one else would.

Best: He’s just not that into you. 9/10 I will go to bat for this movie. It follows several realistic storylines in a Love Actually manor, except they actual seem legit. A woman realizing her boyfriend is never going to marry her. A girl facing the fact that maybe some guys just aren’t that into her, and she isn’t an exception to the rule. A man slowly making the decision to cheat on his wife as they are growing apart. A woman realizing that she is worth way more than her bastard husband. A woman realizing that the person she’s sleeping with will never leave his wife for her. It's compelling, has realistic characters that we can relate to, and still warms your heart in the end.

Best: The Big Sick. 8/10. Okay to be fair, this is based on a true story so it automatically has realistic characters and decisions. Maybe I should leave this off of the list, but I wish this film got the recognition it deserves. Two lovable main characters who make mistakes that are understandable. Wonderful chemistry between Kumail and his girlfriend as well as her family.

Best: About Time. 11/10 This is hands down the best Rom-Com of all time and Potentially the best film of all time as well. If you don’t cry in this movie you do not have a heart or soul. The characters are SO insanely likable and adorable.It touches on the importance of family and valuing time and how little of it we have. The chemistry within the whole cast is palpable, and we can all relate to at least one character, whether it is the protagonist Tim, his wife Mary, his sister Kit-Kat, or his father.

Well it is important to point out the obvious here: this list is lacking diversity in a huge way. All but one of these movies follow a cis, straight, white couple, and that is extremely concerning. People have attempted to make more diverse rom-coms over the past few years, but they all seem to be lacking one of the three core components of what makes a rom-com great: Relatable, realistic, and great chemistry. For example. Crazy Rich Asians was a fantastic film, but the high level of wealth that Nick Young comes from, made his character difficult to relate to, and I’m sorry but the chemistry just wasn’t there for me. Always Be My Maybe’s characters fell flat and it’s not a film I would want to watch more than once. Love Simon made some huge waves for LGBTQ representation in the media, but that ending kiss was unrealistic along with his friends reaction to fining out he was lying, which left the movie anti-climactic by the end.

Now, the most recent film on this list was made in 2017. And before that 2013. So where have all the Rom Coms gone? Why don’t we see more of them. There are a few Rom Coms that could be contenders on the “Best” list from the last couple of years that include a small amount of diversity:

Yesterday 7/10. The big question here is does this count as a romantic comedy? The love story isn’t the main plot, but is definitely a large sub-plot. This movie features an interracial couple and is highly re-watchable. The main characters are entertaining, relatable, and have pretty good chemistry. We will see if it stands the test of time.

The Broken Hearts Gallery 7/10. This movie has gotten NO recognition. The main character, Lucy, is an extremely likable 20 something, not unlike our Ginnifer Goodwin in He’s Just not that Into You. The plot is fun and predictable but keeps you watching. I don’t know if this one will stay on my list long, but it’s definitely up there.

But here is my challenge to Hollywood: create some new, beautiful Rom Coms that celebrate diversity but that don’t throw away the relatable, realistic, and high chemistry characters that we are just waiting to fall in love with. It’s got like 16 ideas up my sleeve, so just give me a call Hollywood.

#rom com #romantic comedy #13 going on 30 #when harry met sally #sleepless in seattle #my big fat greek wedding #10 things i hate about you #something borrowed #he's just not that into you #the big sick #about time #yesterday #The broken hearts gallery

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incarnateirony · 3 years

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Do you know if the CW feels any impact from the audience of their shows in countries where they're not a channel? For example in Brazil there's no CW, but some of their shows are on the Warner Channel as well as stuff from other networks.

This one is a little more complicated, I'll start at "nyes".

Here's the thing: at the end of the day, the CW is an empty vessel. It has less than 400 employees, and technically even qualifies as a "small business" resultingly. It is an LLC, meaning it has no stocks, and can not be held accountable on the stock market and the executives there have a series of protections designed to keep them from taking personal hits.

Boycotting the CW is a method to plink the armor of its much larger parents. At the end of the day, the CW--shitty as its ethics, choices and influences are--are mostly beholden to its parent companies.

Does anyone remember when I told people, the second that Wayward was cancelled, that CBS was responsible, despite Wayward being a WB IP? I explicitly mentioned Moonves, and quoted his methodology on properties, ratings, streaming and more? Then dipshits like You Know Who tried to claim they knew better, and that I was crazy/stupid, and then like a month later one of the wayward women said at a M&G that the contractual breakdown was from CBS, and This Guy Named Moonves, and then there was radio silence and the You Know Whos emitted crickets, buried the conversation, and pretended it never happened?

That's because these things are related. They all influence each other, as per my last ask (x).

At the end of the day, the things that happened on, say, Supernatural are you actually being pissed at the WB. You can see the WB's historically failing Studio Responsibility Index on things like LGBT representation here at the GLAAD website. (x)

Just like a lot of the supreme BS attempted-but-massively-failing woke content tends to spew out of CBS trying to appeal to The Young Gays while segregating The Gay Stuff off their prime network that is historically way behind the others. They have no idea how to actually make or handle that content, but slap pride flags and a few Hashtag Fact phrases on content and plug it up the CW's ass to market it to you with more rainbows and a big impressive tally list of gay characters, that the You Know Whos of fandom insist make it a great representation channel, and bury the conversation that most of those are one-off or very minor characters, dead, or worse. They're there to hit a target that's a good talking point. Nothing else. They put a gay in the background of a poster somewhere so That Counts(tm) and look how progressive they are, make sure to attend his funeral next episode.

This may all seem like a huge aside to the initial ask but it's necessary framework to present, in association with the above-linked previous ask, on why holding the CW accountable is important. Because at the end of the day, be it the Nadria Tucker issues with WB/DC and their firing her for racist/sexist reasons; or the erasure of gays on Supernatural to the point there's clearly an order to their related syndication networks where they won't even air 15.09 or 15.18 again much less the finale; or the bullshit attempts at being woke on Walker where they think making ICE prisoners a talking point to launch a white man cop's story as relatable to an ICE officer's struggles is good marketing; to things outside of it, like--as posted by POLOL member Rebarn in the server,

-- these are people actually being mad at choices made by the CBS and WB. The CW is just a vessel to deliver it with minimal accountability and a PR mask people eat up like the gay candy they're trying to sell you even if it's just sugar free beaver anus flavoring.

But because of the size of these giant merged companies, like--trying to tackle WB head on for example is a fools' errand unless everyone pulled their heads out of their asses and ended this "I DO WHAT I WANT" personality and started heavily networking with say, DC fandoms and adjacent to do substantial damage to their franchises far larger. But, again, deferring to the above linked previous ask, if you knock out the CW as a content vehicle, even if it's smaller, you suddenly dent 6, 7, 8, 9 zeroes out of WB/CBS profits because you CAN knock down the CW, and change how they have to peddle their product.

To round full circle to your ask: just because the CW isn't in your country doesn't mean it does no good to boycott the content. Because the profit still goes to the IP holders (CBS, WB), and it's still part of the joint statement, as well as lowers the digital franchiseability of the products they're trying to resell on the market, internationally.

For example you know how internationally Netflix shows a lot of "Netflix originals" that are very obviously not originals, but are instead shows from other sources? That's part of The Rights Game. Initially CW and Netflix had a brokered deal of bulk packaging for a very large, very pretty price to them that helped bankroll them for years. This is also why CBS started shoveling absolute fodder content down the CW's throat that could run on just about negative ratings -- again, I point to the Moonves interview I cited as implication to why Wayward was bumped off the line -- so CBS could run away with the digital profits 100% licensing things in dozens or hundreds of companies. But CBS threw a goddamn hissyfit about merchandising rights when Netflix was like hey if we're gonna source all these shitty shows can we get like 10% of the merch value and CBS threw themselves on the mcdonalds playplace floor kicking and screaming, and then CW lost its legendary netflix deal which made them have to start peddling their content individually.

So if you cut off viewership of this content internationally, its franchiseability tanks, and CW continues to lose a huge part of its bankrolling value both with digital and to its parent companies using it as a vehicle to deliver content to shove into digital venues. The lack of the Netflix deal is why CBS is also wandering around like a pauper to platforms trying to find a home for its content--like convincing WB to host Walker on HBO Max, where I promise it's not going to do well. Most of its audience is beyond streaming age, and I promise no young 20 something is gonna open HBO Max and be like YOU KNOW WHAT I WANT TO WATCH, THIS YEEHAW COP REBOOT WITH JARED PADALECKI SPITTING IN A POT AND PULLING UP HIS PANTS. They're gonna fuckin' turn on Game of Thrones or something. Netflix, hulu, amazon don't fuckin' want it because they see that on the horizon. They're not gonna pay the money CBS wants for it. CBS All Access is for old people and they're too noncommittally fake woke just enough to piss off the Trumpers (points back to point about CBS content/representation way up there). So CBS DOESN'T EVEN WANT IT ON ITS OWN STREAMING PLATFORM.

Walker's housing arrangement on HBO Max is actually an early symptom of CW death throes, and CBS trying to figure out what the hell it's going to do once the CW goes under. It burned its netflix bridge, and soon won't have CW to try to float/sell/farm its content. Streaming apps don't want their content anymore. Their content underperforms.

So yes, absolutely boycott these products internationally. It adds to the weight of what's going on and continues to make CW less and less valuable on the front, continues to damage the actual IP holder parent companies and take their products to their knees, and continues to expediate the decline of it all in one network of fuckery. The same way the CW was a strength for its parents by webbing between them is now a way to drag them into a collective undertow and force bad business results on them all around, essentially inverting its value, expediting the rate at which they decide the CW is a money sink, and making them watch the 0s fly out of their bank account in a way that--say--trying to tackle the WB directly wouldn't accomplish.

CW no longer owns the rights to SPN, hence deleting its YT content. WB does. But WB has been feeling the crunch enough that brand new unopened S14 complete season blurays with specials are being sold under 10 dollars at walmart with 2$ off other movie tickets on the front and still not going off the shelves. That's them even trying to recover costs on releasing them to begin with. The WB tried to put out a mega 15 season uber collectors set giveaway enter by RT and got like, 300 RTs total. They need traction, they're not getting sales, and we're seeing the active results.

Continue to put heat on products that came by way of the CW as a result of their communal meddling being bad for business in any way possible, even after CW is no longer airing it and once the money is going straight into the IP holder parent company pockets. Not only are you then making The Correct People(tm) hurt, you're further devaluing the CW itself and accelerating its heat death which STILL will end up massively dinging the WB/CBS for reasons explained above in ways that kicking the titans in the shins itself wouldn't accomplish.

Hopefully that clarifies.

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sweetescapeartist · 3 years

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MY DBS MANGA CHAPTER 70 REVIEW

We learn in the last chapter that the Cerealian Dragon's name is Toronbo when Granolah speaks Namekian. Toronbo grants Granolah's wish but can't make Granolah stronger than the gods.

Here's the confusion I have... Goku is a mortal beyond GoDs so making Granolah the strongest mortal is making him stronger than gods. If you wanna say Beerus has been training and is now stronger than Goku, there's still a problem. It was said that Goku and Vegeta were stronger than some GoDs right before the ToP (but that might be anime only, so maybe it doesn't apply here). So Granolah is stronger than GoDs no matter what. If the gods that Toronbo is speaking of are the Angels, then that means Granolah is Ultra Instinct level of power since Goku is the lowest in Angel tier. But whatever. Bottom line is Granolah is temporarily stronger than Goku who may or may not be stronger than Beerus.

Granolah gets his wish granted and the cost is shortening his life... cool. Not much to say except let's see how its executed.

(I recently read that in DBXV2, during the Infinite History Saga, Videl is enchanted with Towa's Dark Magic spell by Dabura shaving off her life but granting her greater power. So granting power at the cost of lifespan has been done in DB before. Not in canon but in the games.)

Also, Granolah's life being shortened to 3 yrs got me thinking... Currently it's almost AGE 781 in the DBS manga timeline. Goku leaves to train Uub in AGE 784. We got 3 yrs left. The original manga shows Bulma said she hadn't seen Goku in 5 yrs. How I see DBS is that it is an alternate timeline that just happens to have a similar outcome to the EoZ.

So... why is Vegeta learing from Beerus again if Beerus isn't that strong now? Is Vegeta being like Krillin and continuing his learning from a master weaker than him, but gaining wisdom & knowledge? I-is Vegeta becoming Krillin 2.0?! (More like dollar-store Krillin)

I do think beerus got stronger tho. He seems very confident that Vegeta can get stronger from learning from him. Beerus probably saw Goku get UI then decide to train aftet the ToP

Anyways, Beerus is teaching us about hakai/destruction energy. Its erasing something from existence, not just destroying it (we already knew that). But, Vegeta quickly figures out how to do it anyways. By destroying a tiny pebble...

A tangent again but I personally think Piccolo is capable of easily learning Hakai energy. Think about it. Piccolo can create clothing out of nothing, why could he not do the reverse?

Goku is uninterested in what Beerus & Vegeta are doing. I dont know about you, but it sounds like Goku thinks that he's above Beerus in strength. Beerus & Vegeta aren't considered a challenge to him in any way. Goku sees UI as more important & better than anything Beerus has to teach, and Goku is right. Plus Goku learned Hakai on his own while Vegeta needs Beerus to teach him. It's a waste of Goku's time to learn it again.

(God Comics is funny. I imagine Toribot writes them)

Goku says "Let's see which one of us can be the strongest in the universe!" Really, Goku...? At present time, Goku is the strongest mortal in the universe already. He should know that. Then Vegeta for some reason thinks he will become the strongest in the universe. The last time manga Vegeta was the strongest mortal in the universe was... never. He's always behind Goku or whatever new opponent arises. This scene is meant to be comedic that they're arguing over who will be the greatest but it's not funny to me. And yet Vegeta fans still hold on for hope.

But why is Goku concerned about being the strongest between him & Vegeta? Goku is far above Vegeta. They're not rivals at this point. Also, Goku was the strongest in the universe until just a few moments ago. Goku should be saying "I knew bein' the strongest wouldn't last for too long. Roshi did tell me there will always be somebody stronger out there. Hehe! This is gettin' me excited! I can't wait to meet 'em!" (This would alsp parallel Monaito giving Granolah the same advice Goku already knows.)

Also, I guess Broly isn't that strong after all. Bye Broly, you served your purpose. And to think that Goku had said that he thinks Broly is stronger than Beerus...

Oh yeah. So Vegeta destroys a pebble. Impressive? Goku kinda gives a compliment or he is practically saying "Good job Vegeta! You're doing great following in my footsteps!" Seriously, this would be so much better and cooler if this seperate paths of training began right after the Universe 6 vs Universe 7 tournament. That would be the perfect spot to have them train under Beerus & Whis. [Vegeta using Hakai against Merged Zamasu, Goku able to fight Merged Zamasu temporarily because he is getting better at letting his body move on its own, Toppo & Vegeta using Hakai against each other as Goku & Jiren use power above GoDs. That would work so much better.]

Then Vegeta says he's gonna destroy bigger things soon... is that supposed to be more impressive? Its not. But this it to build up Vegeta even though there is nothing amazing about anything he is doing at the moment. Maybe later tho.

So Cerealians can't grow beards. Also I guess Granolah's race don't age? His hair grew when his lifespan was shortened but he has no wrinkles. It seems that they age more gracefully than Saiyans. If he has some wrinkles he would have looked cooler imo. Or those lines under the eyes at the very least. If the wish shortened his life & made his hair grow, it should have also showed that he aged. (Here's an edit I made of "Grampa Granolah." You're welcome)

And remember Vegeta destroying a pebble? Granolah can suddenly destroy big rocks! Cool right?! No? Its not cool? Showing Granolah destroy a much larger object right afterwards kinda belittles Vegeta's accomplishment.

Oatmil is surprised by a boulder exploding. This means one of 2 things. Oatmil is stupid & never saw an Granolah explode a boulder. Or it's implying that the boulder exploding is some technique Oatmil doesn't know of. Idk how he can tell its any different from just blowing up a rock with ki. I think it's supposed to be destruction energy. If it is then, ok. If getting his wish was so easy, then why can't he suddenly learn destruction as well?

Yay! Monaito! (This really should be a Namekian focused arc)

Granolah reminds me of Zamasu with his attitude a bit. Monaito tells him somebody stronger will definetly appear. Granolah has become like Vegeta and is over confident, so he is destined to get humbled. And think about this. Goku can probably train a bit and surpass Granolah within a week.

Granolah can now sense ki. Meaning he can have the destruction technique or UI, because why not?

Monaito blames himself for Granolah's actions. Its not your fault Monaito! You did nothing wrong! Dont be so hard on yourself.

Whis being a creep and peeping on people lol.

Granolah's hair growing was pointless because he cuts it off soon after. Nothing changed visually. This kinda reminds me of how Moro lost his arm. Goku gave him a senzu, Moro grew it back, & then Moro broke his arm when attacking Goku. Then Moro tore his arm off & reattached his old one. There was no need for Moro to grow his arm back then tear it off. Similarly, there is no need for Granolah to have grown long hair then cut it off.

Maki still brings a smile to my face. She & Gas stand out the most out of the Heeters. Maki's personality is kinda like Zangya combined with a teasing Bulma. Gas reminds me of a Krillin/Piccolo fusion with dreadlocks. I also ship Maki x Gas cause they're short and look cute together. (please don't be siblings so I can draw them together🤞)

Granolah fights Oil & Maki. I'm not impressed. They seem like they could be defeated by Chaoitzu (he's stronger than Raditz and probably Nappa now too). Granolah's movements could be seen as UI. If it is or isn't UI, it doesn't matter. Showing off that kind of power is like Goku using Ultra Instinct during a rematch with Nam or King Chappa. Its not effective storytelling. There had to be a better way of showing Granolah's new strength than making him fight opponents that give him zero challenge.

The art is good as usual and the panel flow is nice. Toyotaro is improving at creating the illusion of motion. The environment being used in the fight was smart and a good visual. Toyo still uses a ton of panels almost every page tho. But he's still a better artist than I am.

Granolah appears to have used Hakai again. Not the explosive variant but the sand variant (yes I think there are 2 ways of using Hakai).

The "Sand Variant" that Beerus & Goku (& maybe Granolah) have used.

The "Explosive Variant" Beerus & Vegeta (& maybe Granolah) have used.

Maki thinks the "Hakai" is magic so that's interesting. I would say I'd like for the next enemy to be a magic user but, we know how Moro turned out... 😓

Maki has "ki claws" & I like the idea but it would be better if she had used it against an enemy she can defeat. It doesn't make her look useful in this fight. Gas seems confident when he is about to fight Granolah, but Elec stops him. Gas would've gotten beaten but it make ya wonder what Gas can do.

Granolah appears to be a person that is easily manipulated and persuaded. He even gave information they weren't even asking for. He'll probably be easily convinced and manipulated by Freeza/the Hedters or quickly have a truce with Goku.

The Heeters plan to go to Planet Cereal to get the Dragon Balls. As I suspected, the Cerealian Dragon Balls were created so that it would be easy for wishes to be granted. Gathering 2 Dragon Balls on a nearby planet instead of gathering 7 on New Namek or Earth. Plus these new Dragon Balls ensures no interaction between Earthlings & Granolah/the Heeters. A perfect way to write Gohan & company out of the story... *sigh* 😔😒

We learn Cerealians live for 2 centuries. How's that compare to other races in Universe 7? Freeza & King Cold apparently can live more than 200 yrs, But that may be because they are mutants. Namekians can live for like 500 yrs & its possible for them to reincarnate themselves too. So in a way, Namekians can live forever. Saiyans stay youthful & live to be in their 80's, but rapidly age when they reach their 60's or 70's. Average Earthlings appear live to be in their 80's or 90's but some are over 100 yrs old (Dr. Briefs, Panchy, & Ox King are in their 90's in GT) and others can increase their lifespan through elixers or the Paradise Herb. Just some thoughts of mine.

Maki says "If he ices Freeza..." Ha, an ice pun. Elec wants to defeat Freeza so he can control his army. Its revealed they wanna kill Granolah & that they worked with Freeza to destroy his planet & race. Well... that more than likely means they're gonna die by Granolah's hand or Freeza's. This info is also an attempt to make the reader more sympathetic for Granolah. Granolah is too bland (pun intended) so I don't feel any more sympathy than I already had for him. Elec plans to make Goku & Vegeta fight Granolah since Granolah hates Saiyans. Smart but we all kinda expected it. Not bad writing tho.

The final panel talks about fate bringing the 3 (Goku, Vegeta, & Granolah) together. Sounds like a repeat of the Broly movie.

We've had 4 chapters in this arc & not 1 panel of Freeza... If Freeza doesnt appear & do something in the next chapter then I will be disappointed in the writing. Showing Freeza here and there would give tension and build up until we get the encounter with him. We also have no idea who Oatmil is. Is he an A.I. or a person? Not that big of a deal yet, but I would like to find out soon. Either show Freeza or tell us more about Oatmil next chapter pleaae

This chapter was like oatmeal (the food not the character) without butter, brown sugar, milk, & honey or raisins. Not bad, but not very good either.

So here's my thoughts on the things that could or could not happen in this arc.

Goku vs Granolah. I don't care for the fight because the power is at a point that it doesnt make sense for enemies to get to without cheating somehow. The fight will look cool but I have no interest in it.

Vegeta vs Granolah will have Vegeta being stomped as always and Vegeta fans will make excuses & complain how it's not fair. A lot of Vegeta fans often make fun of Yamcha & Krillin for getting beat up even though those 2 bravely fight opponents leagues stronger than they are. Vegeta has gotten stomped by opponents more times than Krillin & Yamcha combined but the fans gotta deflect somehow. I don't care to hear or see the complaining again.

The interaction and dialogue between Granolah & Vegeta is going to be more interesting than their fight. But I worry because Toyo isn't the best at writing dialogue.

I have no reason to care about power growth, certain interactions, or Goku & Vegeta's training.

What I am curious about/want to see?

Monaito's well being. I want him to reunite with other Namekians. But I think he's been set up to die.

Lore about the dragon gods & Namekian lore we probably wont get.

I want Piccolo, Krillin, Gohan, & others will be involved. Piccolo because of the Namekian & wosh granting dragon lore. Gohan because his interaction with Granolah eould be interesting since Gohan is half Saiyan & views himself as an Earthling. Krillin & other Earthlings because they can bring tensions where characters like Goku & Vegeta can't. Those 2 are too strong for there to be any real tension. However Earthlings aren't all powerful so them using wits to survive is more exciting. But I doubt any of their involvement.

How long a Cerealian year is? Is it shorter than a Namekian year? How much time will pass for the Cerealian Dragon Balls to be active? How much stronger than Granolah will Goku get? Hopefully the answers aren't lazy...

Will Beerus finally fight somebody? There are 6 mortals that are near or above his power (Goku, Granolah, Vegeta, Broly, Freeza, Gohan).

Who's the villian of the next arc & what explanation is going to be given for them having power on the level of Angels? Angel tier fights don't sound interesting to me anymore. After those kinds of battles, Goku will have no challengers left.

Will Goku disappear to train or something so the story can TRY to match up with the EoZ?

Will Goten, Trunks, & Marron hit their growth spurts within 3 yrs?

Will we get spin-off manga about other characters? PLEASE!? 🙏

Also DBS moved too quickly when it comes to power. Now we're at the point that Goku & Vegeta need to stop being involved in fights for there to be any actual threat or tension. The Buu saga took place in AGE 774. After training for 4 years of peace, Goku thought SS3 & fusion was his limits as a Saiyan and he was right. Well, kinda... Goku was introduced to god ki near the end of AGE 778. Then in AGE 781, Goku masters Ultra Instinct... He mastered an Angel technique in 2 year or 2.5 yrs. That was waaaay too fast. As a result the storytelling & writing are suffering from this rushed progress. Now we're gonna have an Angel tier opponent? According to the pattern of DBS, Goku's gonna end up surpassing the Angels within 2 or 3 yrs after learning god ki. Thats not impressive for Goku, that's terrible writing. And no, Goku getting this strong so fast is not a benefit to Saiyans either. It just shows us that without god ki, Saiyans ain't all that powerful unless they're the legendary Saiyan like Broly. Saiyans didn't even have a concept of training until Goku was trained by Earthlings. Gohan, Freeza, 17, & I'm pretty sure Piccolo as well have all surpassed SS3 without the help of god ki. God ki makes Saiyans look like they have limits. With god ki, the writing is broken....

I got off topic again... Anyways that's the end of my review.

#dbs manga review #dbs manga #dragon ball #db #dragon ball super #dbs #edited out the 10 yrs of peace because the original manga never says that

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indigosprite · 3 years

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In another ask, you shared your thoughts on why you didn’t like 6996 etc. do you think 2795 share the same problem? I think while Tsuna and Kyoko doesn’t seem as weird as 6996 on the surface upon further speculation and reading works where Kyoko becomes this bamf vongola tenth wife who does anything for Tsuna, it sort of treads the same vibe as Chrome and Mukuro in some way. Idk I just want to hear your thoughts on maybe 2795 and maybe 2786 as well.

Hi hi

Had to search these because I literally did not have any ships for this show until I rewatched it and just merged my favorite characters into one pair that happened to be a ship. I forget the others exist...With that being said, take this with a grain of salt because I honestly don’t even think about these ships a lot, forget they even exist. How KHR was written will always make the the very idea of Tsuna with any of the female characters feel weird or odd unless you’ve managed to read or create enough Fanon that changes your characterization of the original dynamic. I don’t think they share the same problem but maybe a similar one ? Tsuna and any female character compared to Mukuro and Chrome is very different in my opinion. (funnily enough it’s also because Mukuro isn’t a misogynist shsjsjsj) 6996 could work, they actually have a relationship that’s very personal to both parties and unlike 2795 they’re both aware of it and have a distinct unique connection with each other that consists of shared interests trust and mutual respect. it’s just odd to think about because chrome looks up to Mukuro and the power imbalance feels weird, he’s literally keeping her alive. (Which I know is disgustingly sweet I find it very heartwarming. )

2795 is this one sided crush with zero redeeming qualities. There was nothing remotely romantic or intriguing happening between Tsuna and Kyoko the entire series. If we took out Tsuna’s inner thoughts we honestly would’ve thought she was just this nice girl he knows from school. If we took out Tsuna’s thoughts in general and left it up to the fandom pulling this ship out of their butts it would honestly be 1000% cuter. All their interactions read like

“this girl is so lovely I really like her and she’s talking to me that’s amazing”

“Thanks for the pencil. Do your best on the test okay?”

I’m not swooning over the most lackluster interactions on the planet because he is over romanticizing it. Even the reason why he likes her is not that interesting or convincing. Which I mean I get it he’s only 14 he’s not thinking about all the small stuff like emotional support or validation or like not wanting to be alone etc. It’s still just you’re pretty let’s be happy all the time while you hold my hand forever. He deserves that he’s literally a kid. but even when i was younger i didn’t see it between them ever. On top of their interactions being boring they never give us things that make you go “oh wait she might actually like him hmmm” . they could have tried a little harder to make it a little more romantic? sometimes they show us Kyoko in a pink background hands clasped surrounded by hearts and I forget she’s supposed to be viewed in that light. I forget we’re supposed to actually consider her liking him too but what are we supposed to think Kyoko is looking for in a guy that makes Tsuna a possibility when she doesn't exist past eating cake and worrying about her brother and Tsuna. I think it’s also fair to note that they never imply that Tsuna actually thinks about her beyond his image of her but we see how caring he is with his friends to the point where he can point out their flaws and work through them anyways and accept them. Tsuna realizing Yamamoto was not himself during the Guardians trial is a perfect example of this, it establishes the relationship they built with one another. another example is Tsuna acknowledging that Gokudera is overwhelming and short tempered but he wouldn’t trade the guy for anyone because he is loyal and a good friend. he cares for Kyoko as a person in general but he never reaches that depth when it comes to her. he doesn’t have to either because it’s just a crush, how you manage to take that through the next ten years of his life I honestly don’t know.

TL;DR : My ONLY problem with 2795 is the fact that there is nothing to work off of but the implication that Tsuna likes this girl and that’s why they are endgame. she matters very little, just a figurehead of his normalcy. she’s written just as badly in fics, can I blame you? no you were probably like 14 writing them. do a lot of people still do this ? yeah so i’m just not interested until the fanon has changed her character for everyone.

I know I sound super hypocritical because “Sprite what the fuck does 6918 have that’s soooo intriguing they actually canonically hate each other how is that any better.” the answer: Mukuro and Hibari have a more established relationship with mutual feelings than those two, even better they’re actually really strong feelings (of pure hatred). Bonus, despite being aloof both characters also have fully developed personalities and Opinions/Behaviors that we can mold however we please. they actually have a relationship to play around with that's what makes it fun and lets you have those “actually they’re pretty similar in this aspect” because you know shit about both of them individually.

Now for 2786,,, as i sit here and think about it Haru and Tsuna make so much more sense for all the reasons him and kyoko don’t .

Kyoko and Haru were already made solely to be Tsuna’s love interests (specifically Kyoko) , but then it went on to be something they didn’t even bother hiding when they reduced their characters and their interests to looking after kids and repeatedly worrying over Tsuna. The reason I don’t find it appealing is because there really wasn’t any dynamic there at all. This boy liked this girl and that’s literally all it was. She has no depth , and despite being written for him nothing about Kyoko screams you’re perfect for this kid. Nothing says, You’re compatible, You have common interests, you two can rely on each other. She was pretty and nice and polite and that’s all they shared along with half the cast. With Haru they went the completely opposite direction, this girl likes him and is upfront about it. she's not a better candidate just because she's not the typical pretty girl whos quiet and polite and caring,(She’s not the better written female character either, this is reborn. they all lose here.) she’s the better candidate because we actually have a personality to compare to Tuna's. she was purposely given this big personality because he was never going to be in love with her because she’s like all the other intruding figures of his life. Again we have this one sided crush, know he doesn’t like her at all but you can actually see where they do go right and wrong. she’s a complete person.

Haru can handle a little wild in her life, she was the first one to know he would be a mafia boss and it didn’t phase her at all. Tsuna might need that later in life.

In the future when Tsuna finds her crying she tells him not to think her feelings have anything to do with him, completely different dynamic from kyoko whos emotions are always directly related to male characters and what they are doing.

Haru and her cosplays are so perfectly absurd and she does not care how weird he finds them, she has this big embarrassing trait to her that Tsuna comically responds to but just grows to overlook and accept.

she actually talks to Tsuna quite a lot and helps him out whenever she can, because he doesn't like her she's allowed to actually exist in his world and he sees her fully because of it. It makes sense to see his significant other who will be involved in the mafia as an asset who he wants to protect and not just...something he needs to protect bc they honestly don't want this.

she interviews the entire cast of the show because haru just fits there, in a yamamoto like way, she can just handle it.

Tsuna and Haru could have been perfect friends or a couple. they had the grounds for it. it’s just not what he wanted but I can totally see them working out for each other later in life. they make so much sense! i’ll have to think about them more sometime soon.

Hope I answered you questions, this got long.

#long post #khr #katekyo hitman reborn #mailbox #sawada tsunayoshi #Kyoko Sasagawa #Haru Miura #2786 #2795

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sillycheysblog · 3 years

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Originally this was a rant post about Legacies but I decided to just make it a super long post about my problems with Legacies which includes the writers and their writing choices, the fandom, the plots, and the characters.

Fair Warning: There may be somethings in here that you disagree with and somethings that you don’t like. If you disagree or don’t like what I have to say that’s okay. It’s your opinion and I respect your opinion. Here’s what your not going to do, is reply with hate because you don’t agree with what I have to say. Like mentioned, it’s my opinions. Also, I am writing this from my perspective.

Like mentioned at the very beginning of this post, this is a super long post so if you want to read what I have to say then stay tuned, if not it’s okay just keep scrolling.

Now let’s get started!

I’m going to start with the writers, but before I start, I just want to say that I am super grateful for having his show and thankful that it got renewed for a 4th season because I wasn’t ready to say goodbye yet. I also love the entire cast so much with the exception of Matt Davis. I am thankful for the work that the directors, producers, writers, actors, actresses, etc. put into this show but there are somethings that the writers do that really piss me off. One of the things that the writers do that pisses me off is putting in unnecessary lines. This correlates with the fan service. There wasn’t much of this in season 1, but there is some in season 2 where I am like “Did that really have to be written in there?” and there is a recent line in 3x03 that is obviously written in there for a certain group of fans. In season 2, the line from 2x06 when Hope said “I had a crush on Josie for a week when we were 12” was unnecessary. Like I mentioned in the beginning of this post, I am writing this from my perspective so I’m not trying to be disrespectful or biased, I’m proving my point. This line was completely out of nowhere in my opinion. We know Hope has so many other secrets. You’re telling me that this was the 2nd to 3rd thing to come to mind? The line was obviously written into the script for the Hosie stans. In addition, the line from 2x16 about the “nonconsensual kiss” was unnecessary. They knew that the next episode was going to have the same concept as 2x16. 3x01 was technically 2x17 meaning the Handon “true love kiss” was right after 2x16. If they wanted the Handon “true love kiss” they should of never put the “nonconsensual kiss” line in there because the Hosie stans would be pissed. They only put it in there to please the Hosie stans and that’s it. Now I wrote a whole post about this line, so I’m not going to spend to much time on it but if you want to read it, it’s right here. In season 3, the line from 3x03 when Josie says “You gave up on Hope twice” was so unnecessary. (1) Landon never gave up on Hope and (2) he never gave up on their relationship. So why was this line in there? It doesn’t make sense. Here’s what I’m thinking, it was only written in there for the fans that hate Landon because they knew that they would eat that up. There is no other logical explanation. If you think that Landon walking away from situations is giving up on her then your weird because that's not giving up on someone. That’s Landon walking away from situations because he doesn't know how to react to them so he walks away to have time to himself and think about how to react which isn’t surprising knowing the way he grew up. Now moving onto the writers baiting the fans. There are so many things that Julie Plec and the writers, mainly Julie Plec, has said that never ended up happening. For example, Julie Plec saying that Maya and Ethan were Hope’s love interest. Maya shows zero interest in Hope romatically. Ethan showed interest but Hope showed him no time of day because all she wanted was Landon. She also said that Hope and the twins would be in a love triangle. This for sure never happened. I don’t understand why so many people think that the writers are going to change. I stopped putting my trust in the writers a long long time ago. I especially stop putting my trust in Julie Plec after everything she did on TVD and TO. They queerbait the Hosie stans just so that they keep tuning in. Once they saw people shipping Hosie, they started adding in Hope and Josie scenes that gave them a glimmer of hope that it would happen. Julie Plec says and I quote, “I give people a glimmer of hope and then I crush them.” I’m not understanding why people still believe a word that comes from out of her mouth. This relates with my next problem, the way the writers keep writing off love interest for Josie. I understand why Penelope was written off because Lulu had other priorities but Jade, really? They said that Jade would be around for a while and she literally was here for 1 episode. They didn’t even explore their relationship. I really liked Josie and Jade and I wanted to see more of them, but they just wrote Jade off. Don’t get me started on them writing Raf and so many other people of color off. I did make a post about how they did Raf wrong so if you want to read it, it’s here.

My next problem with the show is the plot and the monster of the week thing. Now don’t get me wrong, I do like the monster of the week to a certain extent. I think the monster of the week made so much sense in season 1, but made no sense in season 2 and here’s why. Firstly, there was monsters who came from Malivore who’s master was Malivore but then you had monsters who came from Malivore who had different masters such as the Sphrinx. The Sphrinx only showed up to tell the school about a prophecy. He did not want Landon at all. In fact, he told Raf to take Landon far away from the school. Then there was monsters who came from Malivore who’s master was the Necromancer such as the monster from 2x10 that feed on insecurities. That monster was at the school only for the dark magic that the Necromancer wanted. It just made no sense at all. In addition, the plot was all over the place. The first half of the season was good especially the built up of dark Josie, but after episode 4 it was a big question mark. For example, Landon knowing that he was seeing Hope every time he died, but wanted to have sex with Josie the next episode? The way it was written was like “huh?” The first half of the season was about everyone not remembering Hope. But what was the second half of the season about? Dark Josie? Dark Josie was literally there for like 1 or 2 episodes. The plot didn’t add up. Another example, the whole message in 2x16′s episode made zero sense. The message was about Josie “being strong and being able to pick your own story” but then they have Josie put her magic in a coin? I’m leaving it here because I can go on and on about the inconsistency in this show. I can’t really talk about season 3 yet because we are still on season 2 episodes. And that’s probably why people think its feels weird because it’s technically season 2 episodes and season 2′s plot just made absolutely no sense.

My next problem is that there are so many things brought up in the show that are never talked about ever again. For example, Landon drowning himself all summer long. He was killing himself all summer! He even said it started out with him killing himself just to kill himself until he realized that he was seeing Hope. The writers just glided of that like it was nothing. Did he ever tell anyone other than Raf and Josie? Did he even tell Hope? I have so many questions. Also what about Josie and Raf? They showed an interest in each other back in season 1 and they even shared a kiss. But this was never talked about again. It was like nothing happened. Anyway moving on.

The next problem is how none of the characters have an actual storyline. Hope’s storyline is revolved around saving everyone which I hate. I hate how she is always the one that people depend on to save the day. Landon’s storyline is supposedly Malivore? But the writers decided to take 3 steps back and make him human again. I made a post about how he may get his powers back so if you want you can look at that it’s right here. Mg has no storyline, Kaleb has no storyline, Jed has no storyline, and Josie has no storyline. The only person that has a storyline that shows growth is Lizzie. Now there is new characters such as Ethan and Cleo. I’m not understanding why they don’t focus on developing the characters storyline of the characters they already have but whatever. Like mentioned before, I’m not going to talk that much about season 3 because we are technically still on season 2 content but I do know that we will get some development in the characters so I will wait. That’s all I have to say about this.

Lastly, my next problem is the fandom. A fandom is apart of any show so that’s why I’m including this. I have a lot to say about this. TVDU fandom is just toxic. Point. Blank. and a Period. Some people in this fandom are just hypocrites. I don’t even know where to start. I’m going to start with how people make so many excuses for the ones that they love when they know they are in the wrong. Josie for example burned her ex’s hair, burned down Hope’s room because Hope didn’t have the same feelings for her, lied to Lizzie about who started the rumor about her, she killed Alyssa, burned down a part of the Salvatore school, broke Ethan’s arm and forced Lizzie into the merge. Now I am not coming at Josie by all means, I’m proving my point. Even though Josie did all this, you still have people who make excuses for why she did it. Just because you love a character, doesn’t mean you can’t call them out when they are wrong. This goes into Hope because people put Hope on this high pedestal as if she is never wrong, but she is. She isn’t always right. I’m not going to talk about the whole argument thing from last week between Handon because I made a post about that already so if you want you can go read it, it’s here. I think it’s in the post about 3x02, but anyways she isn’t always right. As much as I love Hope, I call her out on her bs and that goes with every other character. The fandom also uses the words such as “toxic” or “abusive” because they hate a character. For example, Landon gets the most hate out of every character for no reason. I was on twitter and I saw a tweet from someone saying “Landon is emotionally abusive because he brought up Klaus.” and “Handon is an abusive relationship” And I am like “WHAT?” are you being serious right now? (1) abuse is a serious thing and it shouldn’t be used lightly so the fact that people are using it lightly because they hate a character so much is disgusting. People go deal with abuse on a daily basis and your using the word like it’s not a serious situation. The lengths that people would go in this fandom because they aren’t getting something they want is insane. The death threats that people send to the writers, people from other ships, and the actors and actresses is rude and disgusting. Now I am about to be blatantly honest right now and if you don’t like it then oh well🤷‍♀️. There is a specific group of people in the fandom that spreads hate. I’m not going to name names because there is no need point fingers and start stuff for no reason. I’m not saying everyone from this particular group does it, there are some that are cool, but a majority of them are the ones that spread the hate. I’m not saying other people from other groups in the fandom don’t do this, but I haven’t seen that many do it. Now don’t get me wrong, I understand why this specific group is upset about the choices that the writers make but they’re still a person who has feelings. There used to be ships that I loved but now I don’t like because of the way the fans within that ship acts. For example, I used to like Hosie. I use to say if Landon wasn’t there, I would love to see Hosie, but then I saw the way the people who shipped them acted and that made me stop shipping Hosie. And I also just grew closer to Handon more but there is no need to spread hate on other people’s ships because you are mad that something isn’t happening the way you want it too. No one should be sending hate to actors and actresses because you hate their character or because you hate the what the character did in the show. The character isn’t the actor. Separate the two. The actor is portraying the character. I know that nothing is going to change within the fandom but it’s irritating. Spreading hate isn’t going to get you want you want. Attacking writers, other people in the fandom, or the actors is not going to get you want you want. This goes for everybody in the fandom, not just the one specific group. You can’t demand what you want and think its going to happen because you demanded it. So I am just going to end this here. I am not trying to bash anybody, I am just calling out what I see.

Anyways, I’m sorry for this long post. I am not trying to be rude at all, I’m just being honest. I don’t want to argue. I just wanted to talk about problems within Legacies, the writers, and the fandom. I felt like talking about how I felt about certain situations and how I view certain situations. If you didn’t like anything I said then that’s your own opinion and I respect your opinion. If you have anything else would like to say about the show, send a reply. But aside from that I hope you have a good day! ❤

#Legacies #fandom #landon kirby #hope michaelson #kaleb legacies #mg greasley #lizzie saltzman #josie saltzman #dont be mad #im sorr #handon #hosie #hizzie #julie plec #anti julie plec

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keichanz · 4 years

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Move Your Body || pt. 5

@akiza-hades-rose @mcornilliac @jennybean91 @xxracheyxx @inuyashaeienni @ajoy3fanfics @shadykit @myverysweetescape @feudalpriestess98 @eternalnight8806-3 @lavendertwilight89 @clearwillow @liz8080 @pinkpigeonstudio

let me know if you’d like to be added to the tag list.

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3 || Part 4 || Part 5

After rounding the front end of his car, he opened the door for her and found her looking confused as she took his offered hand and let him help her out.

“Where are we?” she asked and he noticed she didn’t pull her hand away from his. He promptly took advantage of it and twined their fingers again.

He shut her car door and locked up before shrugging. “You said you were hungry, right? I could go for some chow myself. This is my favorite little hole in the wall and the owner’s like family. You’ll like it here, I promise.”

As he tugged her forward, Kagome’s eyes brightened and a smile lit her face. “I only said that as an excuse, you know,” she told him but didn’t protest as he ushered her inside a quaint little restaurant named simply Kaede’s.

Inuyasha only offered another shrug as he led her through a dimly lit dining room toward a bar counter with a row of bar stools. Immediately Kagome conceded to his presumptuous words; she did like it. The restaurant was small, cozy, and it smelled absolutely divine.

Kagome was smiling as Inuyasha pulled out a stool for her and helped her up before claiming the one beside her. She didn’t see a menu anywhere and there were no boards on the wall offering different dishes. She was about to ask her half-demon companion about the sort of food served here, but before she could, an elderly woman wearing an apron emerged from where Kagome assumed was the kitchen and instantly the first word that came to Kagome’s mind was warmth.

“Well, how nice of you to finally show up and grace this old woman with your presence,” she said by way of greeting but despite her words her smile was kind and grandmotherly with a hint of teasing. “Shame on you for making me worry, pup.”

Her to never ending surprise, Inuyasha actually smiled at the old woman and offered an apologetic shrug. “Trust me, it’s not by choice. Sesshomaru is trying to kill me with all these damn assignments and jobs he keeps pushing on me and I’ve recently taken on a side project of sorts. What, you think I’d intentionally stay away from the most beautiful, talented, wonderful woman who makes the best damn—”

“Oh, shut up, you, and introduce me to your attractive lady friend,” Kaede interrupted, shaking her head and Kagome had to giggle. She liked this lady.

Chuckling, Inuyasha put a hand on the small of Kagome’s back and did as he was bade. “Kaede, this is Kagome. I’m helping her out with a, uh, school project. Sorta. Kagome, this is Kaede. I’ve known her forever and she’s like a grandmother to me.”

Kaede beamed and shook Kagome’s hand. “I see,” she murmured. “It’s nice to meet you, dear. This pup has never brought a woman here before, you know. How interesting.”

Her kind eyes gleamed mischievously and she ignored Inuyasha’s growled, “Quit it, old woman.”

Blushing at the implication, having no idea how to even respond to that, Kagome nonetheless returned the smile while Inuyasha grumbled beside her.

“Nice to meet you too, Kaede. Um, I love your restaurant. It’s so cozy and personable and please tell me whatever it is I’m smelling is on the menu tonight.”

Laughing in delight, deciding she liked the pup’s choice in company, Kaede nodded happily. “I can definitely arrange that, my dear. What you smell is actually the most popular dish here, and your boy’s favorite. Two orders coming right up.”

Eyes wide and emitting an embarrassed little squeak, Kagome’s face turned five different shades of red as she fervently shook her head. “Oh, n-no, we aren’t—h-he’s not my—”

With a hearty chuckle, Kaede tipped her a wink, gave Inuyasha a knowing smile, and then retreated back to the kitchen while humming a jaunty little tune, innocent as you please.

Inuyasha didn’t buy it for a second and the scowl on his face said as much. He knew what she was trying to do, knew exactly what she was plotting because she’d tried to do the same goddamn thing with her granddaughter. Thankfully, however, Kikyou had also caught on to what she was trying to do and had put a stop to it fairly quickly.

They’d tried the dating thing and it hadn’t worked out. While he would always love his Peach-Kiks, of course, she had found true love in her husband Suikotsu and Inuyasha was happy for her. Kaede, while over the moon for her granddaughter and having taking in her husband like her own grandson, never let her forget that she was old and wanted to see Kikyou with a family. And unfortunately, that same opinion extended over to him as well, since she saw him as another grandson.

She wanted great grandbabies, goddammit, before she withered away and died, if you please.

Shaking his head, though not without a fond smile, Inuyasha sighed and slanted a look toward Kagome. She was still blushing and looking at the counter, drawing patterns on the smooth wood while avoiding his gaze. Then she peeked over at him from under thick sooty lashes, noticed him staring, and released the most adorable fucking squeak before hastily darting her gaze away again, her blush darkening.

His heart twinged in his chest and he had to fight against the urge to brush her bangs away from her eyes to draw her gaze back to him. Fuck, but she was cute.

“Sorry about that,” he finally murmured and gave a helpless shrug. “She likes to meddle.”

He grinned, hoping to ease her discomfort a little and was gratified to see that it worked, Kagome’s shoulders losing some of their tension as she slowly relaxed. Though her face was still tinted pink, she offered him a shy smile and nodded, accepting his explanation.

“I like her,” she admitted after a minute, her smile widening a little as she dropped her gaze, but this time out of thoughtfulness and not embarrassment. “She reminds me of my grandpa. He likes to meddle, too, and would always scare away any boy that came sniffing around when I was a teen.”

She laughed softly and he relished in the sound, ears straining to hear more of it.

“Yeah?” he queried, genuinely curious as he propped an elbow on the counter and rested his head in his hand. “Where’s your family now?”

With a truly brilliant smile and bright eyes that enchanted him better than any spell ever could, Kagome happily told him all about her family back in Japan. She gushed about her closeness with her mom, her younger brother and his annoying penchant for pranking her, and her stubborn old grandfather who was as protective of her as any father could ever be.

Kagome was regaling him with fond stories she remembered when her father had still been alive when Kaede appeared with their orders, setting two steaming bowls of ramen before them followed by a beer for Inuyasha and a strawberry lemonade for Kagome. Then with a friendly smile toward the younger woman and a knowing wink toward her favorite customer, Kaede whisked away back into the kitchen to start cleaning up, her heart feeling light from the fact that her dear boy had finally found someone for him.

During their meal, Kagome persuaded Inuyasha to share a bit of his own history with her, and so the half-demon ended up telling her about his less than stellar relationship with Sesshomaru. Though they were much better off now than when they were younger – Kagome had been shocked to learn they’d outright hated each other at one point – they still argued and brawled at times, but it was never serious and more out of habit than anything. Inuyasha assured her they’d both matured greatly, and while they would never have a sibling relationship with zero hostility, Inuyasha was more or less happy with that they had and accepted they would never be close brothers.

It was easy to tell Kagome was upset for his benefit that his relationship with his half-brother wasn’t at all like the one she shared with her own. So, he did his best to distract her with questions about her own family, truly touched that she was upset to begin with. Thankfully it worked and soon she was all smiles again, laughing as she told him about the time she’d caught Souta with his first time girlfriend making out on the living room couch.

Soon enough, Inuyasha was paying the bill and unsurprisingly Kaede was refusing to accept his money, saying it was on the house and simply making shooing motions when he kept urging her to take it. He gave up after she threatened to have his next ten meals on the house as well. Despite his grumblings, he was patient as Kagome called back her farewells to the old shop owner waving from the counter with a big smile and wishing them a good night, calling his own fond adieu before ushering her out the door with a hand at her back. He was glad the two women got along so well and it gave him high hopes she’d act similarly with the younger Hidaka woman.

Tucking Kagome into the safety of his car, Inuyasha was quick to hop in beside her and merge back into traffic before anyone recognized him. He was grateful Kaede’s had been more or less empty and the few people who had been there were too absorbed in their meal and company to notice him.

Glancing at the clock on the dash, Inuyasha chewed his lip and thought there was still enough time to head to Jak’s. He’d be a half an hour late, but knew the designer wouldn’t mind, understanding that his schedule was fairly unpredictable and could change at any given time. He was probably caught up in one of his many orders anyway and wasn’t keeping track of the time as he often did.

Mind made up, Inuyasha flicked his signal on and eased over into the turning lane that merged onto the highway. Jak’s Boutique was a little further into the city, but it was an easy drive and thankfully they’d missed rush hour. Perhaps he should have asked Kagome first before taking her with him, but glancing over at her now, the way she relaxed into the plush seat and graced him with a trusting smile suggested that she didn’t mind.

“Alright,” Kagome said when his eyes met hers, smile still in place. “Now where are you taking me? I don’t suppose now would be a good time to scream out the window, ‘Help, I’m being kidnapped’ before opening the door and attempting a daring escape.”

Inuyasha was silent as he side-eyed her for a minute, the corner of his mouth flickering with the hint of a grin. Then a second later the unmistakable sound of the door locks shifting into place echoed in the cab.

Kagome promptly erupted into giggles and Inuyasha allowed a crooked smile to surface on his face.

As Kagome’s giggles finally died down, Inuyasha chuckled and finally admitted, “Just a quick errand, I promise. I hope you don’t mind.” She shook her head, confirming his suspicions, and he tacked on, “And besides, it’s basically for you anyway.”

Kagome blinked. “What? What do you mean it’s for me?”

He simply grinned and Kagome narrowed her eyes at him.

“Inuyasha...” she warned and when still all he did was shake his head, Kagome pouted and crossed her arms, however the twitching of her mouth belied her mock glare.

Chuckling, Inuyasha reached over to catch her hand and bring it to his mouth, pressing a brief kiss to her knuckles.

“You’ll see,” he promised her, noticing the way her cheeks flamed with color, but deigning not to comment as he kept his eyes on the road, an easy smile on his face.

Kagome huffed and mumbled something, wrinkling her nose as she stared out the window, before finally sighing and letting a smile curl her lips upward.

She didn’t pull her hand away and neither did he.

Approximately sixteen minutes later Inuyasha turned onto a quiet residential street just on the fringes of the city and cruised about a quarter of the way down before turning into a narrow driveway to a quaint blue ranch style house. Kagome was surprised when he kept going, but then it made sense when another building came into view behind the house, smaller and painted in the same color with a red neon sign in the window that read Jak’s Boutique.

Inuyasha parked in front of the small shop and cut the engine, gesturing for Kagome to exit before doing so himself. Puzzled but curious, Kagome followed suit and met him at the front of the car. He took her hand, tipped her a reassuring grin, and led her inside the shop.

“Jakotsu,” Inuyasha called out and let the door swing gently shut behind them.

“Sha?” a slightly muffled feminine voice answered from somewhere in the back of the shop.

“Yeah. Sorry I’m late. Lost track of time.”

“You’re always late,” the voice called out and ignoring Inuyasha’s half-hearted “I am not,” it continued, “Be out in a sec, darling, I’m almost finished with this order. Zippers are always a bitch to attach.”

The producer chuckled. “Take your time.”

Tossing him a bemused smile, to which Inuyasha returned with raised eyebrows and a shrug, Kagome rolled her eyes and took the opportunity to look around. It was obvious they were standing in some kind of clothing store, or perhaps even a tailor’s considering the amount of dresses and suits Kagome spotted. Behind the counter to the left were two rows of bagged garments waiting to be picked up, and the far wall consisted of an assortment of gorgeous looking evening gowns, tuxedos, and other formal wear.

Clothing racks, the kind you would see in a department store, dotted the floor and to the right the wall held bolts of fabric that seemed to be in every color, pattern, and texture imaginable. On the long table before it, sewing materials littered the surface; scissors, a sewing machine, scraps of fabric, thread, needles, and other items one would find in an average sewing kit.

“Inuyasha?” Kagome ventured, truly lost on the reason of them being here. “Why are we in a tailor’s shop?”

He tilted his head and glanced down at her, arching a brow with a slight grin. “I know you’re smarter than that, babydoll,” he teased her, squeezing her hand. “C’mon. Think about it. I find that jeans and t-shirts don’t really pair well with heels.”

Kagome stared at him for a second more before realization dawned and her eyes widened, her mouth dropping open with an incredulous gasp. “You conniving little prick, that’s why Sango asked for my measurements last week!”

Laughing outright as Kagome whacked him in the arm for going behind her back, Inuyasha caught her hand. He dragged her in front of him, wrapping his arms around her waist instead and resting his chin on her head.

“Damn, you’re violent,” he told her fondly, tightening his arms when she attempted to squirm her way free.

“Lemme go.”

“No. You’ll hit me again.”

“No I won’t.”

“Liar.”

“I would never.”

He snorted.

“Why are you buying me clothes, Inuyasha? You’re already doing so much for me, I don’t expect you too—”

“I know, babydoll,” Inuyasha interrupted her and leaned down so he could catch her gaze. “I want to, alright? I told you I was gonna help you, that means I’m gonna do whatever it takes to get your success, and success includes providing an outfit that I doubt you’ll find anywhere in your wardrobe. We want sexy confidence, remember, not prude librarian.”

Kagome flushed and stuck her tongue out at him.

He screwed his face up and crossed his eyes at her.

She snorted a laugh and slapped a hand over her mouth to smother the embarrassing sound just as an amused voice drawled out, “I have a room in the back that’s free, if you two would like to utilize it...?”

Inuyasha’s ears perked up and he looked hopeful. “Really? Oomph.”

Painted lips twitched and the shop owner couldn’t quite hold back the smile as he said, “If you’ll come with me, honey, I can get you fitted into your new clothes and see if it needs any alterations.”

“Violent,” Inuyasha repeated and rubbed his stomach where she elbowed him, watching as Kagome lifted her nose and strode away. He didn’t miss the pleased smile curling her lips, however, and he shook his head with a sigh, feeling the beginnings of his own grin tugging his mouth upward.

Sending him a look that clearly stated he would be dishing out the juicy details later, Jakotsu ushered Kagome to the back where the dressing rooms were, telling her to disrobe while he fetched her new outfit.

Rolling his eyes, Inuyasha grunted his assent and fished out his cell, figuring he’d pass the time scrolling social media while he waited. He kept his eyes on the screen, however his ears were trained toward the back, easily picking up Kagome’s shocked gasp when she finally got a good look at what she was wearing and Jak’s husky chuckle. He grinned, easily imaging how red her face was right about now.

It was a hell of a leather number, but it wasn’t anything too racy or indecent. He’d had Kagome in mind as he described what he wanted to the designer, and he was also positive Jakotsu was able to come up with something that suited his pretty dancer perfectly. His long time friend had been in the fashion industry for nearly twenty years now and his services were wildly coveted. Of course those services also weren’t free; Jak wasn’t afraid to charge what he thought was a fair price for his time and labor and his prices, while by no means cheap, were definitely fair. Jakotsu was talented as hell, he was fast, and the results were nothing short of stunning, and because of that he was pretty much booked twenty-four seven.

But because of his longtime friendship with the designer, Inuyasha was able to sneak in an order of his own. As always, Jak rose up to the task, always willing to help, and the producer was forever grateful to him. He always made sure to leave a generous tip for the designer, and although Jak never commented on it, Inuyasha suspected the gesture was very appreciated.

Inuyasha was just about to browse Kagome’s timeline on Facebook for the hell of it when he finally spotted the next notification at the top of the screen. Already suspecting who it might be, he brought up his messages with a flick of his finger.

you rang, my secret sex slave?

He snorted but grinned at the text, replying back.

vegas. this weekend. demo. yay or nay

Inuyasha hit send and idly tapped a claw against the screen as he waited for her reply. While her jackass husband was a different story altogether, he absolutely adored Kagura. She was like the favorite wine aunt that everybody knew and loved, only better because she was his sister-in-law and not his aunt. They got along famously because they had the same twisted sense of humor and it always made family gatherings so much more bearable.

Well, bearable for them. He was pretty sure for the rest of their family it was nothing short of obnoxious.

His phone buzzed and he wasn’t at all surprised to read her response, a puff of laughter escaping him.

FUCK YEAH BRO LETS LIGHT THIS BITCH UP, HOLLA see you soon, sexy 💋

Grinning, Inuyasha hurriedly sent her one last thing before ending the convo, bringing up the emojis and selecting the bikini, wine, and money emojis.

It was only seconds later he received a reply and he stood there snickering for a solid thirty seconds.

🖕🖕🖕

“Love you too, sis,” he chuckled under his breath, shaking his head.

Not so subtle throat clearing had him pocketing his phone and lifting his head. “How does it fit—...uh...”

Just a few feet away from him, standing not in the leather corset and skirt he’d commissioned, Kagome’s slim figure was wrapped up in a deep red lace number that stole the very breath from his lungs and caused all coherent thought to flee his brain. The sleeves were wide and off the shoulder with a neckline that plunged just enough to show a teasing amount of cleavage. The skirt flowed and swayed around her legs at mid-calf and it looked to be asymmetrical, the back being slightly longer than the front. The waist was empire with black laces on either side and holy fuck did she look absolutely breathtaking in it.

Inuyasha didn’t know why she was wearing it and didn’t even care as he gawked at her, amber eyes greedily taking in the vision before him. In doing so he completely missed the dark flush on her face accompanied by the pleased but shy smile at his encouraging reaction.

“Ah,” Kagome said, biting down on her lip when burnished amber flew up to meet starling blue. Her smile widened a bit and she fidgeted, shifting her weight in the borrowed heels on her feet.

“Do I...look okay?” she timidly ventured, twisting her hands nervously in front of her. “Um, J-Jakotsu said I can have it...I guess the sale fell through or something?”

When all Inuyasha continued to do was stare, Kagome’s blush deepened and she ducked her head, wondering if perhaps she’d made a mistake in letting the designer talk her into trying it on.

“I’m sorry, I...guess I should have asked—”

“You’re beautiful,” Inuyasha blurted when he finally found his voice again. It was rough and he cleared his throat, sucking in a breath as he stared directly into her eyes, easily detecting the cautious hope in the churning blue waves of her gaze.

“R-really?” she asked a little breathlessly but then it faded just as quickly and she sighed quietly, staring down at the toes of her borrowed pumps. “But you’re probably just saying that, right? I shouldn’t have—”

“No,” Inuyasha was quick to cut her off, vehemently shaking his head. Kagome lifted her head to meet his gaze again and he let out a heavy breath, his eyes lowered to half-mast. Deliberately he swept his gaze down her figure, taking in every last minute detail before slowly raking his eyes back up to meet her own once more.

“I mean it, Kagome,” he rumbled. “You look...amazing. You’re amazing.”

She must have seen the sincerity in his eyes, heard it in his voice because she finally relaxed and beamed at him, giving a short little spin for him as a light, delighted laugh floated to his ears.

Aaaaand there goes his breath again. Fuck.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Inuyasha managed to tear his gaze away from her long enough to glance at the very smug looking designer standing behind her with his arms crossed.

“How much?” he asked because fuck it if he was leaving without that lace masterpiece.

Jakotsu smirked. “For you, darling, free of charge.”

At the producer’s frown, he shrugged and turned his gaze back to the young woman, his face softening into a fond smile. “Really. Call it a gift. The woman who commissioned it wasn’t able to pay up, and so it’s just been sitting on a mannequin in the back room, collecting dust. Honeybee here fell in love with it when she first spotted it.”

A guilty flush colored Kagome’s cheeks and she shrugged helplessly.

“It’s just dumb luck, don’t you think,” Jak said, sounding way too casual, “that it just so happens to be exactly her size?”

With that, the fashion designer tipped the half-demon a wink and strolled back from whence he came, beckoning his “Honeybee” with a crook of his finger. “This way, honey, and I’ll bag that up for you as well.”

With a radiant smile and one last glance toward him, Kagome nodded and followed after him, her borrowed heels clicking against the hardwood.

Once they were both out of sight, Inuyasha groaned and blindly reached out, catching himself on the counter to his left as he slumped against it with a hand over his heart. He dragged his free hand down his face and then thrust his fingers through his hair, closing his eyes and trying to grow some goddamn balls, for fuck’s sake.

Inuyasha was more or less composed when Jak returned a few minutes later with a knowing smirk on his face, both outfits bagged and draped over his arm. The half-demon leveled him with a look that quelled any smartass comments the designer had brewing. Clicking his tongue, Jak nonetheless remained quiet as he went behind the counter and rang him up for the leather outfit that was the purpose for this visit.

“How’d you do it?” Inuyasha murmured, fishing out his wallet and handing over his credit card.

“Do what?” his friend asked, his tone light, innocent. Inuyasha didn’t buy it for a minute.

“Don’t give me that,” he growled, scowling but it lacked any vehemence. “I can see why she’d fall in love with the dress, but how’d you talk her into coming out here and showing me? Kagome’s shy as hell. I’m surprised she hasn’t said anything about the leather yet.”

Jakotsu clicked his tongue and inserted the chip end of the card into the card reader. “I didn’t.”

Inuyasha frowned. “What?”

The tailor paused and dark eyes flitted up to meet his own. A delicate brow arched up into carefully styled bangs and the corners of his lips hinted at a smile.

“I didn’t talk her into it. She wanted to show you herself.”

It was just closing in on 9 pm when Inuyasha pulled into the parking lot of Kagome’s apartment building and he was relieved to discover that it was one of the newer buildings with updated security. However, paranoid asshole that he was, he was still going to worry about her after he left no matter how new and fancy the alarm systems were. It was always dangerous for a young woman to be living alone, but he supposed short of staying here all night to watch over her, there wasn’t much Inuyasha could do so he dealt with it was best as he could and forced it from his mind.

Cutting the engine, he hopped out and rushed over to the passenger side. Before Kagome could protest, he reached in and stole both garment bags from her. She tossed him a grateful smile and threw her messenger bag over her shoulder before stepping out, allowing Inuyasha to shut the door for her as she dug around in her bag for her keys.

Neither spoke as Kagome led him up the staircase to the second floor and about halfway down the walkway before stopping in front of apartment 23D. Discreetly Inuyasha took in the scents as Kagome went about unlocking the door, gratified when he detected nothing that raised any red flags. He didn’t hear anything suspicious, saw nothing out of the ordinary, and finally conceded to himself it wasn’t a bad place to live.

“Um, would you mind bringing them in, please?” Kagome asked him, looking hopefully over her shoulder. At his nod, she smiled and unlocked the door, swinging it open.

“You can put them on the couch,” she told him as she stepped aside to let him pass, shutting the door behind him and flicking a light on. “I’ll take care of them later.”

Inuyasha grunted his acknowledgement and did as he was bade, stepping into the living room and carefully draping the bags over the back of the couch before stuffing his hands in his pockets and taking a look around. It was your standard apartment, nothing fancy; smallish kitchen to the left when you walked in, living room to the right, and a short hallway straight ahead where he assumed the bathroom and bedroom were.

It was tidy, smelled like her, and Inuyasha decided he liked it. “Nice place,” he commented, turning his gaze to her as she set her bag on the bar counter that separated the two rooms.

Kagome smiled and kicked off her shoes. “It’s not bad,” she conceded with a shrug and she wandered over to him. “It’s affordable and suits my purposes just fine.”

Inuyasha grinned. “I suppose it does,” he murmured and reached out to flick the bill of his hat she’d stolen from him. Whatever. Looked better on her, anyhow.

She giggled and took it off so she could hand it back, but then Inuyasha shook his head and pulled it back down onto her own again. She blinked in surprise, gazing up at him from under the bill of his cap.

“Nah,” he rumbled and gave it a playful tug. “Looks better on you, anyway.”

Kagome’s eyes widened slightly as a blush stole across her cheeks. It was impossible to mistake the delight that flitted across her face and curled her lips upward into a soft smile.

“Good,” she said and her smile turned teasing as she reached up to set the cap more comfortably on her head. “Because I didn’t wanna give it back. I like this hat.”

Inuyasha snorted. “Cheeky brat,” he said and darted his hands out to try and tickle her, but she danced away with a mischievous giggle. He grinned and released a fond chuckle, shaking his head.

Confident he wasn’t going to try and tickle her again, Kagome edged closer and graced him with a brilliant smile. He was momentarily struck stupid and all he could do was stare and wonder how the fuck someone could be so damned beautiful and not know it.

“Thank you for today,” she said softly, the sincerity in her eyes and voice clear as day. Her blush was completely endearing as she continued, “You know, for...everything. Dinner, the clothes...um, K-Kouga.”

She ducked her head and her scent soured slightly as she recalled previous events. Inuyasha felt his mood momentarily darken as he also remembered that wolf creep who bothered her today.

He hoped to god the idiot had enough brains to stay away from her after boldly claiming that she was his, but he also wouldn’t put it past the shit for brains to try something again. Inuyasha could sense that he was the kind that couldn’t take a hint. Though he was glad she was going to be cautious by walking with her friends to and from class, he still didn’t like the thought of her being on the same campus as the fleabag. Especially when he was going to be about three hundred miles away and able to do absolutely fucking jack shit about it, and didn’t that darken his mood even more.

Biting back a growl, Inuyasha closed the scant distance between them and brushed his fingers across her cheek, prompting her to lift her head with a quiet gasp.

“You’re welcome,” he rumbled. “I wish like hell I could stick around to protect you ‘cause I know I’m gonna do nothing but worry while I’m away.”

Kagome blinked and her brow furrowed. “Are you going somewhere?”

Inuyasha sighed and grimaced before supplying, “I have a demo in Las Vegas this weekend that I can’t miss. My flight leaves early tomorrow morning and I won’t be back until Sunday night.”

He watched in dismay as Kagome’s face dropped in disappointment, though she tried to mask it with an understanding smile.

“Oh,” she whispered and well, hell. “That’s okay. I have clinical anyway, so...” She shrugged and looked away.

Yeah...no.

“C’mere,” he mumbled and tugged her against him, wrapping her up in his arms and briefly taking his hat off her head so he could bury his nose in her hair. Apparently giving up her front, Kagome’s arms slipped around his waist and he dropped a kiss to the top of her head. He felt guilty, which was ridiculous; he’d had this trip scheduled for over a month and he knew it was approaching.

Thing was, though, he felt like he was leaving Kagome behind and he absolutely hated it.

“Gonna miss me that much, huh?” he teased and felt her smile against his chest as she muttered for him to shut up. “I’d come back Saturday after it’s over if I could, but I have to attend a meeting Sunday morning and go over a bunch of boring shit that’ll probably put me to sleep.”

He was rewarded by her soft giggle. Gratified, Inuyasha pulled away and racked his fingers through her hair, quirking a grin. She returned it with a small but genuine smile

“Text me whenever you want,” he urged, sifting his fingers through her bangs and pushing them away from her eyes. “And on those really lonely nights, you can send a pic—”

“Ohmigod, shut up,” Kagome muttered and swatted his stomach, flushing darkly as he snickered and grinned unrepentantly. She rolled her eyes and tried to cross her arms but he snagged he around the waist again and brought her in for another hug.

“Fine, no pictures,” he chuckled and felt more than heard her huff. A second later her arms slipped back around his waist and he grinned in triumph. “Try not to miss me too much, babydoll. I’ll be back before you know it.”

Kagome smiled and sighed. “Back atcha.” She inhaled, taking in his scent of his favorite cologne and something earthier, attempting to ingrain it into her brain.

No promises, he thought and almost said it out loud before he caught himself. Selfishly holding her for just a minute longer, taking in her intoxicating scent and committing it to memory, Inuyasha sighed and finally pulled away. Fuck, but he was pathetic. It’s not like he was leaving for a fucking month. It was three goddamn days, for fuck’s sake!

Clearing his throat, he tugged his hat back down onto her head and flicked the bill, staring into twin pools of endless blue.

“Stay safe, babydoll. You call me if you need anything, alright? I’ll do what I can. The studio’s open for you whenever. Sango has a spare key and I’ll tell her you’re free to use it before I leave.”

Kagome actually rolled her eyes at him and tipped him a grin. “I’ll be fine, Inuyasha. I’m a big girl. I’ve been taking care of myself long before you came along, remember.” She winked and poked his chest. “I’m sure I can manage three days without my loyal guard dog.”

The look he shot her suggested her comment was not appreciated and her giggle told him she well knew that.

“Smartass,” he muttered and was just about to turn around to leave, feeling oddly bereft, when a small hand tugging on his arm gave him pause and he glanced curiously down at her.

Kagome blushed and before he could ask if she was okay, she surged up and pressed her lips to his cheek. The urge to turn his head and claim her lips with his own came out of nowhere and he sucked in a sharp breath as his heart kick started in his chest.

“Safe travels,” Kagome whispered, leaning back down and offering him a timid smile. “Text me when you land? So I know you got there safely?”

Expression softening, Inuyasha couldn’t resist bringing her back in for one last hug and she went willingly, tucking herself against him with a sigh.

“Will do, babydoll,” he rumbled and kissed her forehead. “Stay safe. See you Monday?”

Kagome nodded. With one last grin aimed her way, Inuyasha turned and exited the apartment, closing the door and waiting until he heard the snick of the lock and the deadbolt sliding home before walking away. Strangely, as he descended the stairs and fought against the urge to look back, he couldn’t help but feel that he’d just left his heart back in that apartment.

i plan on compiling all of the text screenshots i created for this story into one post after the last chapter is posted. just for the fuck of it because i had a lot of fun making them haha.

#move your body #part 5 #inukag #inuyasha #inuyasha fanfiction #inukag fanfiction #keizfanfiction

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seyaryminamoto · 4 years

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I'm still confused as to how Iroh can just chill in Ba Sing Se after trying to burn it to the ground a few years ago?? That's like Bush moving to Iraq lmao. Yet mainstream fandom acts like Iroh is an angel and the citizens of Ba sing se should be grateful while in reality he will be the most wanted by the Earth Kingdom after the war is over.

... Curious analogy about Bush O.o I’d say maybe he’s not outright Bush, since Bush wasn’t the commanding officer on the field... a quick wikipedia search tells me the one who led the invasion in Iraq was Tommy Franks, a now-retired general? :’D yep, sounds more like this guy moving to Iraq, then.

People have made many excuses about Iroh being free to live in Ba Sing Se because he helped liberate it from the Fire Nation in the end, and I’m not going to lie, narratively it’s not even a bad idea for Iroh to have dreamt he’d “take” Ba Sing Se in his youth only for the dream to have a completely different meaning than he thought it did...

... But that would only be genuinely sweet and heartwarming if he hadn’t been responsible for an actual 600-day siege on the city.

It’s not even a matter of headcanon whether Iroh is seen as a war criminal or not: we literally have an episode in Book 1 where he’s captured by Earth Kingdom soldiers who are hellbent on making Iroh face justice for his actions. By Book 2, Iroh and Zuko acknowledge they’re criminals to both Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation authorities: they need alter egos so they can travel the Earth Kingdom freely, otherwise they’ll face obvious consequences. Therefore, Iroh was very much a wanted criminal, and for solid reasons beyond “he’s related to the Fire Lord”. That his later actions helped liberate Ba Sing Se from the Fire Nation can’t be denied, but it doesn’t mean he should have been forgiven automatically for everything he did in the past. Perhaps he could get away with some sort of pardon by the Earth King, but pushing that as far as “he can settle down in the city he had under attack for almost two years and live happily there with zero consequences” can be a little too far in the suspension of disbelief department indeed.

It’s those small things, really, that make Iroh’s situation so very wishful and not as well-written as it could/should be. Featuring him as a wanted criminal in one season, as a runaway living under an alias in another... and then as a welcome tea connoisseur in the next one, who lives perfectly happy in the Earth Kingdom because he helped end the war? I might have felt better about it if maybe the show had the chance to feature Kuei offering him a public, controversial pardon for his past crimes, but as it was, it felt like that ending was meant to whitewash Iroh beyond reason... then again, Book 3 at large whitewashed Iroh constantly, even when they were trying to show him as flawed they merely backtracked right away (in The Firebending Masters).

I guess it’s partly a problem caused by the writing room being so set on indeminizing Iroh and giving him a perfect ending... I mean, recently I’ve been seeing a lot about how Aaron Ehasz inspired Iroh on his stepfather, a man he deeply admired. This may be the biggest writing mistake I’ve ever seen by him, because while you absolutely can love your characters, and you can inspire them on people you love, merging both things together will easily skew your understanding of the character until the character just stops being fiction and becomes a mere stand-in for the person you love IRL. It’s no different a concept from Mary Sues and self-inserts that constitute a completely unrealistic idealization of the author themselves, only, in Iroh’s case it’s the idealization of a loved one through writing. And this, perhaps, can even explain why Iroh goes from goofy-occasionally-wise in Book 1, to generally-wise-but-still-mostly-funny in Book 2, to the absolute paragon and pinnacle of wisdom in Book 3 (despite half his wisdom is contradictory and even hypocritical). These changes in Iroh’s writing wouldn’t necessarily obey character growth and development, but rather, they would answer the Head Writer’s conscious or subconscious merging of the identities of Iroh and his stepfather, to the point where he obviously can’t acknowledge Iroh’s faults because that’d be a disservice to the stepfather he admired deeply... which, in turn, results in a disservice to the writing of the show, for Iroh’s accountability for his past mistakes is relegated to the burning of a flag and nothing else, and that’s beyond hard to buy.

I’ve also talked in other asks about the three facets of Iroh, it might shed extra light on why the fandom treats Iroh as they do, and why they disregard Iroh’s past crimes so easily while focusing only on how nice he is, how wise he is, how funny he is. It’s why they think this isn’t weird in the least, whereas once you detach yourself from the emotional component in the show slightly, Iroh living peacefully in Ba Sing Se ends up feeling like a rather poorly thought-out conclusion for the character.

Imagine I wrote a redemption story for Ozai (... easier said than done, I know xD), where he ends up realizing where he went wrong and devotes his life to correcting his mistakes and help the world on a better path: if I sent Ozai to live happily ever after in a restaurant in Omashu, to say one thing, the place that was renamed for him and that used to bear a monument to his ridiculous ego, no less, people would immediately tell me I’m insane, no matter how well-written the story could be. And they wouldn’t be wrong to do so: it’s simply not reasonable to give a character who committed HUGE war crimes a simplistic happy ending without considering how much backlash and how many complications can arise from it.

Seriously, imagine how many Earth Kingdom people will want to barge into Iroh’s teashop to yell at him because his actions got a relative of theirs, or a loved one, killed during the war? Imagine people outright sabotaging his teashop, even setting it on fire or something radical like that... it could happen! There’s seriously no reason to assume otherwise. We saw, in the Promise, a group of angry Earth Kingdom people yelling outside Yu Dao in protest to Zuko’s decision to keep the city as a Fire Nation colony: how many people would want to charge into the Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se to protest that Iroh has no right to live in this city, let alone to serve people tea carelessly when he’s responsible for so many awful deeds?

And there’s the other side of the coin: Zuko faces backlash on that same comic trilogy from the Fire Nation people, who see him as a traitor who’s selling out his people to the Avatar and the Earth Kingdom. Who’s to say some Fire Nation occupants of the city haven’t been lying low in wait to attack Iroh for his perceived treason of the Fire Nation, too?

In real life, usually tyrants and big war criminals run away someplace neutral and live their remaining days in relative peace while keeping as low a profile as possible, while knowing that if they step out of their safety zone they’ll probably be captured and held accountable for their crimes. In ATLA, they can open teashops in the very city they attacked for 600 days without a care in the world, and nothing comes of it :’)

Again, I blame the writing room’s unreasonable bias towards Iroh. Liking a character =/= giving them everything they could ever want without considering the character’s actual circumstances and the reactions this can elicit in the people around them. Hell, having Iroh setting up a teashop in the Fire Nation, close to the Palace or something, would make a bit more sense than doing it in Ba Sing Se + it offers him chances to advise Zuko properly, which Zuko DIRELY needs. But nope, instead we get what we got, and most people don’t even find it slightly strange because of Iroh’s three-faced nature :’)

#anon #more controversy 'bout Iroh #I honestly hadn't even known about the Ehasz thing until recently #but as soon as I saw him talking about Iroh that fondly #and likening him to his stepfather #I said 'ah... that basically explains everything'#honestly I've outright inspired characters in my friends #in people around me #from the very get-go #and they usually take a life of their own to the point where I end up forgetting they were inspired by real people in the first place #I'm 100% convinced the opposite happened with Iroh

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fantasyinvader · 3 years

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Kamen Rider Saber: Finale and Series Review

Okay, before I start disemboweling this series I want to give the finale two points of props.

It was nice to see the main trio fight the big bad together rather than it just being the lead Rider.

The ending really feels nostalgic for me. It's like one of those old games or anime that tried to do something like Evangelion, mostly Star Ocean 3 comes to mind.

I was going to add another point: how the ending didn't have to rely on a cosmic retcon to turn things into a happy ending like Build or Zi-o did, leaving those who died dead and having some level of maturity. I was going to give the show that point, even if it felt like it was leading into Touma essentially becoming God, but then the show did it and...I'm going to be honest here, I was saying fuck you at the screen. Multiple times, kinda like when Doctor Who's 50th anniversary where it turns out Gallifrey wasn't destroyed, the Doctor sealed it away and just couldn't remember it. Like, that is the level of bullshit I was calling out, and with Doctor Who I only said it as an “oh fuck you” rather than just “fuck you fuck you fuck you” until I noticed I was doing this and stopped myself.

Got it? Good. Now let's put Kamen Rider Saber on the examination table, rip it open, and see what went wrong with it.

Oh my god, where to begin with this series?

You ever see a show or movie that tries to do too much for it's runtime? Maybe a book that has some ultimately good ideas, but it never fleshed them out properly? That's my biggest feeling with Saber. Individual parts of the story, some arcs and characters are good on paper. Not to mention, Touma has two incredibly sexy upgrades (the Ryuki-inspired Draconic Knight and the berserker Primitive Dragon). But there is just so much in here that, given the proper focus could have carried the show if properly developed. It's a case of quantity over quality.

But the main problem comes to it's central McGufffin, the Omniscient Tome. This book is supposed to have all knowledge and later on all stories contained within it. It's what powers Wonderworld and the Wonder Ridebooks that are the main collectable trinket of the season. But when you stop and think about it, Saber is a world where there is no free will and the antagonists are all rebelling against this in their own way. Kento's dad (former Kamen Rider Calibur) went rogue in the backstory because he was given a vision of the future through his sword, and it led to the former Saber taking up the role of Calibur and going rogue in order to learn the truth. When the other riders are turned against Touma, the argument is over how he's destined to become more powerful, making Touma seem like he's seeking power and could be a future threat. When Kento returns from the dead, he's haunted by visions of the world ending in multiple variations, leading to him trying to seal the Sacred Blades in order to stop it. But then Master Logos is revealed to be buttfucking insane, wanting to rebel against his position in the world. Then it turns out the monster faction's leader, was a former poet who lost hope when he learned that all his creations were already in the Omniscient Tome, so he decided he would end the world his way rather than the predetermined ending. And even then, the world still ended the way it was always fated to end, even with Touma disappearing to nu-Wonderworld if only for a year.

The world wasn't saved, it was destroyed and then rebuilt because Mei wrote an online post that encouraged people to share their stories, which they did in oblivion even though these guys shouldn't have seen the post at all and instead just heard her voice.

Like, maybe the nu-World has free will. I'd buy that. But when applied to the 47 episodes I've spent the last year watching (alongside the Zenkaiger crossover episode), it felt pointless because it ended the way it was foretold in the Omniscient Tome. It didn't matter that Storious was defeated, fate was not averted. It's like, the complaints people have about the MCU post-Loki. It doesn't matter that Tony decided to sacrifice himself, because he didn't have free will. He was always going to sacrifice himself. Thanos was always going to snap away half the universe, and it would always be undone because choices didn't matter before Loki's ending.

And that's not even going into how they final arc reveals that Touma can somehow create stories not present in the Omniscient Tome. That he can somehow, because the personification of Wonderworld choose him as a child, that for some reason he's the only writer in history that can do this. His catchphrase is about how he'll be the one who'll decide how the story ends, but with the idea that everything was set into stone? It's laughable.

Like, my problem with Zero One's ending was the last scene. Aruto had learned a lot about the Humagears and was an advocate for them finding their own dreams as they became self-aware AI. So him trying to treat a new humagear as just an amnesiac Is and try to help her “remember”? That felt like a betrayal of the character and what he stood for. But the post-series movie revealed that Is left a copy of herself in the Zero Two driver, and merged with the non-self aware nu-Is who the movie kept reminding us wasn't the Is we knew. Aruto even had a sobbing scene about what he was doing, lowkey acknowledging what he was doing but without overtly calling him out. It fixed Zero One for me after that last scene left me with a bad taste in my mouth that overshadowed an otherwise excellent show.

You can't fix Saber with a single movie, that's what I'm getting at here.

So, with that out of the way let's go into my thoughts on each character.

Touma: Is one of the blandest main riders in the franchise. His sense of style is probably one of the worst I've ever seen though. Like I know they like to try and give the main riders their own look rather than having them dress like normal people, like Aruto wearing a hoodie under his suit jacket alongside with his very bright shoes, but this wasn't a W or even something like Ghost (where honestly I really liked Takeru's robe-like shirts). What they eventually settled on with Touma was a stupid hat, really baggy pants, and shirts that look like they came out of a stern librarian's closest. You know, the type with her hair in a bun and their horned-framed glasses on a chain.

Rintaro:Is one of those cases where he's meant to be the secondary Rider of the series, but is overshadowed because the writer likes to use someone else more. The idea of him having to turn against the organization that raised him (like a child soldier) could have worked really well if the series had a more free will-direction. But alas.

Kento: Kento's the one character I found I could really like. His arc was more interesting during the first quarter, his return as Calibur, but then he returned to being Espada and, as much as I love that suit, he just became Touma's main cheerleader. Really, I felt like towards the end it was a waste of him, especially since he doesn't get any power ups like Rintaro did to solidify him as one of the main three. He definitely feels like a victim of rewrites or just the writer not knowing what he was doing.

Mei: The female lead. Honestly, I just found her annoying most of the time. A womanchild to match Touma's more manchild moments, with a potential romance with Rintaro thrown in to only be confirmed in a future movie. Really, she should have taken over as Espada after Kento disappeared early on (especially since she's one of the three in the Ending dance while Kento isn't).

Daishinji: I'd say best boy, but he became a background character pretty quick.

Ogami: An older Kamen Rider who is also a father to a young child? Cool, and could even have worked in contrast to Rintaro's raising as essentially a child soldier. But alas, it was not to be.

Ren: OMG. A somewhat psycho younger Rider, idolizing Kento, and his social Darwinist beliefs on strength leading to conflict as Touma gets more powerful, leading to him abandoning the team to train with an enemy monster? HOW DO YOU MAKE THAT NOT WORK! I swear, Ren should have been the secondary Rider of the series, with his changes in beliefs being used more effectively.

Yuri: One of the most competantly written characters in the entire show. One of the original swordsman who became his sword, returning after 2000 years and not only feeling the culture clash of then and now but even how the idea of what makes a hero has changed? Good boy. Also loved him using a shadow body early on during fights.

Sophia: Why are you even here?

Reika: Oh boy, the swordswoman who leads the rest to distrust Touma under the orders of Master Logos, and doesn't sway from this until he's proven to be batshit insane? And even then, reluctant to join the others? Could have been better, especially if her relationship with her brother didn't come across as incesty. Though, could we please return her to Magine in Zenkaiger? Reika hugging her was really cute, in a socially awkward type of way.

Ryoga: Reika's brother. With his powers being something out of Jojo, time manipulation powers which are a bit hard to explain. He starts them and to his opponents things seem like the fight is continuing as normal, but he really exists outside of that and then can attack from a blindspot? Could have been really good with if the series had gone Team Free Will is all I'm saying.

Master Logos: What I mentioned above, but his Rider suit is one I'm in lust with. Just laughs like a madman and you're wondering why Reika and Ryoga don't rebel against him earlier.

The Megid: Two are a waste who I never bothered to learn their names. Fall out of focus for a bit and only return to be beaten, with the sad fact that they were once human. Storious is the exception, but even then I felt he was a little too late to save the series.

Tassel: Bon Lecture! I still hate you you weirdo, even if your death scene made me feel a little sad. The fact that you treated the early parts of the show as a story you were reading? Have you seen my other complaints?

As for the message of what the show tried to say? I don't really mind it. It's encouraging people to love stories, even if they are copies (considering the controversy of Time Paradox Ghostwriter and Cheat Slayer within recent memory, I'm trying not to make jokes about Saber encouraging plagiarism). And I don't think that's a bad thing in itself. Hell, how many stories take stuff from older stories and just tweak elements to make them their own? I love the Elric saga, but that was based on old legends and meant to subvert the likes of Conan the Barbarian, and some other stories I've liked have borrowed elements from it as well. The idea that stories can be used to pass on our hopes, thoughts and dreams to others is pretty nice as well, rather than writing being a form of masturbation on the author's part.

But in the shadow of the Omniscient Tome and it's implications, I really feel the story should have taken another route.

A lot of Riders start of weak, having to introduce the plot as well as the main release of whatever trinket they want kids to gorge themselves on this year. But they usually start getting better towards the end of the first quarter, while maybe stalling a bit towards the end of the second/third. Saber was a series that I felt never really found it's legs. Too many bareboned plot threads on the go, dropping some for a while only to pick them up again after they've been forgotten about. This is not a good series, to be honest I think Zi-O and even Ghost were better, and really feel it would have been better handled in the hands of someone who could actually write.

Not to mention, this gave me flashbacks of Power Rangers Megaforce over how much this series relied on fight scenes. Throw in greenscreen everywhere, lack of civilians...oh god, it is Kamen Rider Megaforce. And it felt like Saber was trying to have a story, unlike Megaforce, but it has the same “it’s a kid’s show, we don’t have to try that hard” energy.

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weekendwarriorblog · 3 years

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The Weekend Warrior 4/23/21: MORTAL KOMBAT, DEMON SLAYER, TOGETHER TOGETHER, STREET GANG, SISTERS WITH TRANSISTORS

Ugh. Trying to maintain this column as a weekly entity during the final few weeks of the longest Oscar season ever has been really hard, and I’m not sure that will change once the Oscars are over either, because I look at the number of movies being released both theatrically and streaming over the next few weeks, and it makes my head hurt. Sorry for the kvetching, it just is what it is.

There are two big theatrical releases this weekend, Warner Bros’ MORTAL KOMBAT and DEMON SLAYER THE MOVIE: MUGEN TRAIN from FUNImation Entertainment, both which have already been released internationally. I also probably won’t be able to watch or review either before this column gets posted.

Mortal Kombat seems like the easiest sell being that it’s based on the popular Midway Games video game franchise introduced in the early ‘90s that led to a series of films, books, comics and you name it. It was a very popular fighting game that had over a dozen iterations including one in which MK characters fought against DC superheroes.

The very first Mortal Kombat movies opened in 1995, right amidst MK-mania, and it was directed by one Paul W.S. Anderson, his very first movie in a long line of video game-related movies, including a number of Resident Evil and the recent Monster Hunter. There are a lot of people who love those games, and yes, even people who love that and other movies, but to others, who may have been too old to get into the games when they came out, the whole thing about different fighters fighting each other just looks kind of studio. Even though I’m interested to see what producer James Wan brings to this reboot, I just don’t have much interest otherwise.

Unfortunately, and this is pretty daunting, Warner Bros. wasn’t sending out screeners to critics until Wednesday with a review embargo for Thursday night at 7pm, which is never a good sign, and yet, it continues Warner Bros. continuing the trend of being one of the only studios that screeners EVERY movie to film critics rather than just making them pay to see it on Thursday night or Friday. I hope to watch it and maybe add something Thursday night, time-permitting. Not sure you heard but the Oscars are Sunday.

As far as box office, Mortal Kombat opens on Friday but also premieres on HBO Max, and I’m not sure there will be as much urge to see MK on the largest screen possible, as there was with Godzilla vs. Kong. Because of that, I think the cap for this one over the three-day weekend is about $10 million but not much more and probably more frontloaded to Friday than we’ve seen in some time.

Mini-Review: As you can imagine from my statement above, I don’t hold the Mortal Kombat games or other iterations in any particular high esteem, so I’m basically jumping into this movie, directed by Simon McQuoid, just as a movie and not necessarily as a video game movie.

It starts off promising enough like a samurai movie with a flashback where we watch Hiroyuki Sanada’s hero sees his wife and son be killed by Joe Taslim’s character that will later become Sub-Zero. The general principle seems to be that there’s a world where people from other worlds fight each other to gain complete control. The hero is Lewis Tan’s MMA fighter Cole Young, presumably a popular character from the game? He is also soon attacked by Sub-Zero presumably because he’s marked with a dragon tattoo that deems him a champion of these fights, but he needs to find someone named Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee) to help him get to the “Mortal Kombat.” At the same time, he meets the movie’s most entertaining character, Kane,

played by Australian actor Josh Lawson, mainly because he swears constantly and cracks wise -- he’s a bit like Wolverine, actually, and he’s actually the best part of the movie.

Otherwise, everyone and everything is always so deadly serious that everyone else we meet just doesn’t have much impact, because frankly, none of these names or characters mean jack shit to me. Sure, some of them sound vaguely familiar but I was more interested in the great Asian actors who turn up including Tadanobu Asano’s Lord Raiden, who is gonna claim Earth if its champions lose at Mortal Kombat. And Sub-Zero basically just shows up and tries to kill everyone.

As with far too many action movies, the action itself is great, the writing and acting not so much.

As it goes along, things become more epic and fantasy-driven but that also makes the dialogue seem even worse. Similarly, the fight choreography is pretty great, but the movie still leans way too heavily on visual FX to keep it more interesting for anyone not too interested in MMA… like myself. When all else fails, they can show off Sub-Zero’s cool ice powers every chance possible as well as the other’s powers, but some of them (like Lord Raiden) just made me think of this as a rip-off of the great Big Trouble in Little China.

The thing is I’m not a fan of the video game nor of MMA, so Mortal Kombat really doesn’t have much to offer me. The whole thing just seems very silly, just like almost everything from the ‘90s. (How’s THAT for a bad take?)

That said, I thought the final battle was great, and I enjoyed some of the gorier aspects of the fights, too, and it all leads to my favorite part, which is the three-way fight between Cole, Sub-Zero, and… actually I’m not sure if it’s a spoiler or not, but it’s a pretty cool fight that almost makes up for some of the dumber characters introduced earlier on. (LIke that guy with four arms. I know he’s a character in the games, but I didn’t even care enough to look up his name.)

It’s perfectly fine that they decided to go Rated R with the movie since most of the nostalgia for this movie and franchise will be towards older guys, but at times, the CG blood is so hinky it feels like the decision to go R-rated was made well after it was filmed.

Even though I went in with the lowest of expectations, I still found most of Mortal Kombat kinda trite and boring, maybe something I’d appreciate more as a teenager but not so much as a grown adult. But what do you expect for a movie based on a video game that’s just a bunch of “cool fights”?

Rating: 5.5/10

And yet, Demon Slayer could be the surprise breakout of the weekend, considering the theatrical success FUNimation has had with theatrical releases of the My Hero Academia movies into theaters in 2018 and 2020, and the hugely successful Dragon Ball Super: Brolly, which grossed $31 million domestically after a surprise $20.2 million in its first five days in roughly 1,200 movies. In fact, it made $7 million its opening Wednesday in January 2019, and FUNimation is hoping that Demon Slayer will have a similar success by opening it for a single day (Thursday) in IMAX theaters before Mortal Kombat takes over on Friday.

Demon Slayer has already grossed $383.7 million internationally compared to Mortal Kombat’s $10.7 million, and you cannot ignore the huge popularity that anime has seen over the past few decades. In fact, a bunch of screenings for Demon Slayer in NYC have already sold out, although you have to bear in mind that these are 25% capacity theaters. Even so, I still think this can make $4 to 5 million on Thursday and another $7 to 8 million over the weekend, depending on the number of theaters. Yes, it will be quite frontloaded, and I’m not sure what the cap is on theaters and how that will affect how it does over the weekend, but expect a big Thursday and a more moderate weekend but one that might give both Mortal Kombat and Godzilla vs. Kong a run for the top of the box office.

Also hitting theaters before streaming on Netflix (on April 30) is THE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES, the new animated movie produced by Chris Miller and Philip Lord, following their Oscar win for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. It’s a little weird to open a new animated movies, presumably in select theaters, when such a hugely anticipated animated movie like Demon Slayer is opening, but Netflix won’t

The movie itself is directed by Michael Rianda and Jeff Rowe, and it involves a family named the Mitchells, whose eldest daughter Katie (voiced by Abbi Jacobson) is leaving home for college, so her father (voiced by Danny McBride) decides that he’s going to drive her there and use it as the chance for a cross-country family trip. Meanwhile, it’s set up how the world becomes overrun with robots when a tech giant creates a new personal assistant.

I wasn’t sure whether I’d like this even though I’m generally a fan of all of Lord/Miller’s animated movies including both Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs movies. It took me a little time to get into the family and the general premise. In some ways it reminded me of Edgar Wright’s The World’s End where it’s trying to merge these two disparate genres, but when they actually merge, it just doesn’t work as well as it may have seemed on paper. That worry is soon expunged, because Rianda finds ways to integrate the two ideas over time.

On the trip, the Mitchells run into their perfect family neighbors, the Poseys -- voiced by Krissy Teigen, John Legend and Charlyne Yi -- and you’d think they might be a bigger part of the movie then they actually are. I’m not sure I would have liked doing the family-vs.-family thing so soon after last year’s Croods movie, but I did love the dynamics of the Mitchells being a very relatable imperfect family with Danny McBride being particularly great voicing the family patriarch. It even has a really touching Pixar’s Up moment of Katie’s father watching old home movies of them together when she was younger.

In general, the filmmakers have assembled a pretty amazing voice cast that includes Conan O’Brien, Olivia Colman, Fred Armisen and Beck Bennett. Actually the weirdest voice choice is Katie’s younger brother Aaron, voiced by Rianda himself, and it sounds like a strange older man trying to be a kid, so it doesn’t work as well as others.

What I genuinely liked about Mitchells vs. the Machines is that it doesn’t go out of its way to talk down to overly sensitive kiddies or skimp on the action while also including elements that parents will enjoy as well, and to me, that’s the ideal of a family film.

While some might feel that The Mitchells vs. the Machines is fairly standard animated fare, it ends up being a fun cross between National Lampoon’s Vacation (cleaned up for the kiddies) with Will Smith’s I, Robot, actually, and yet, it somehow does work. It’s a shame that it’s really not getting a theatrical release except to be awards-eligible.

Next, we have two really great movies I saw at Sundance this year and really enjoyed immensely…

So as I mentioned, I first saw Nikole Beckwith’s TOGETHER TOGETHER (Bleecker Street), starring Ed Helms and Patti Harrison, at Sundance, and it was one of my favorite movies there with Helms playing a middle-aged single guy named Matt, who hires the much-younger Anna (Harrison) to be his surrogate, because he wants a baby. It’s a tough relationship thrown together due to each of their respective necessities.

Part of what drives the movie is how different Matt and Anna are, him being quite inappropriate with his suggestions and requests but not really having a working knowledge of female anatomy, pregnancy, delivery etc, but being really eager to raise a child and having the money that Anna clearly does not.

While I was familiar with Helms from The Office, The Hangover, etc. I really didn’t know Patti Harrison at all. Apparently, she’s a stand-up comic who hasn’t done a ton of acting, comedic or otherwise. That’s pretty amazing when you watch this movie and see her dry sardonic wit playing well against Helms’ generally lovable doofus. What I also didn’t realize and frankly, I don’t really see this as something even worth mentioning, is that she’s a trans woman playing a clearly CIS part, and she kills it. I certainly wouldn’t have known nor did it really affect my enjoyment of the movie, yet it still seems like such a brave statement on the part of the director and Harrison herself. The thing is that Harrison isn't just a terrific actress in her own right, but she brings out aspects of Helms that I never thought I would ever possibly see. (If it isn't obvious, I'm not the biggest fan of Helms.)

The movie has a great sense of humor, as it gets the most out of this awkward duo and then throws so many great supporting actors into the cast around them that it’s almost impossible not to enjoy the laughs. There’s the testy Sonogram tech, played by Sufe Bradshaw from Veep, who tries to maintain her composure and bite her tongue, but you can tell she’s having none of it. Others who show up, including Tig Notero, Norah Dunn and Fred Melamed. Just when you least expect it, Anna Conkle from Pen15, shows up as one of those delivery gurus that make the two of them feel even more awkward.

What’s nice is that this never turns into the typical meet cute rom-com that some might be expecting, as Beckwith’s film is more about friendship and companionship and being there for another, and the lack of that romantic spark even as chemistry develops between them is what makes this film so enjoyably unique. Beckwith’s sense of humor combined with her dynamic duo stars makes Together Together the best comedy about pregnancy probably since Knocked Up.

Another great Sundance movie and actually one of my two favorite recent documentaries AND one of the best movies I’ve seen this year is… you know what? I haven’t done this for a while so this is this week’s “CHOSEN ONE”!! (Fanfare)

(Photo courtesy: Robert Fuhring/Courtesy Sesame Workshop)

Marilyn (Mad Hot Ballroom) Agrilo’s STREET GANG: HOW WE GOT TO SESAME STREET (Screen Media/HBO Documentaries) is a fantastic doc about the long-running and popular PBS kids show that’s every bit as good as Morgan Neville’s Mr. Rogers doc, Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Which was robbed of an Oscar nomination a few years back.

Let me make something clear on the day I’m writing this, April 21, 2021, that this is my favorite movie of the year, the only one I’ve already given a 10/10, and the end of the year might come around, and I have a feeling it will still be my #1.

You see, I was raised a Sesame Street kid. It’s not like I didn’t read or play outside or not get the attention of my parents or family, but there was so much of my happy, young life that I could attribute to my time watching Sesame Street, and when you watch Marily Agrilo’s amazing doc, it all comes rushing back. There is stuff in this movie that I haven’t seen in maybe 50 years but that I clearly remember laughing at, and there’s stuff that got into the mind of a young Ed that influenced my love of humor and music and just outright insanity. Sure, I loved The Muppet Show, too, but it was a different experience, so to watch a movie about the show with all sorts of stuff I had never seen or knew, that’s what makes Street Gang such a brilliant documentary, and easily one of the best we’ll see this year. Of that I have no doubt.

From the very origins of the show with Joan Cooney developing a show that will be entertaining and educational to the kids being plopped down in front of the TV in the ‘60s and ‘70s, so they can learn something, it’s just 1:46 of straight-up wonderment.

Besides getting to see a lot of the beloved actors/characters from the show and many of the surviving players like Carol Spinney aka Big Bird/Oscar, you can see how this show tried to create something that wasn’t just constantly advertising to young minds.

More than anything, the show is a love letter to the bromance between Jim Henson and Frank Oz, and you get to see so many of their bits and outtakes that make their Muppets like Burt and Ernie and Grover and, of course, Kermit, so beloved by kids that even cynical adults like myself would revert childhood just thinking about them. Then on top of that there’s the wonderful music and songs of Christopher Cerf and Joe Raposo and others, songs that would permeate the mainstream populace and be remembered for decades.

The movie is just a tribute to the joy of childhood and learning to love and sing and dance and just have fun and not worry about the world. I’m not sure if kids these days have anything like that.

It also gets quite sad, and I’m not embarrassed to say that in the sequence that covers the death of Mr. Hooper, I was outright bawling, and a few minutes later, when Jim Henson dies in 1990, I completely lost it. That’s how much this show meant to me and to so many people over the decades, and Brava to Ms. Agrilo for creating just the perfect document to everything that Sesame Street brought to so many people’s lives. This is easily the best documentary this year, and woe be to any Academy that doesn’t remember it at year’s end.

The other fantastic doc out this week, though I actually got to see it last year, is Lisa Rovner’s SISTERS WITH TRANSISTORS (Metrograph Pictures), which will play at the Metrograph, both on demand and part of its Digital Live Screenings (available to join for just $5 a month!). This is an endlessly fascinating doc that looks at the women of electronic music and the early days of synthesizers and synthesis and some of the female pioneers. It’s narrated by Laurie Anderson, which couldn’t be the more perfect combination.

The movie covers the likes of Suzanne Cianni; Forbidden Planet composers Louis and Bebe Barron, who created the first all-electronic score for that movie; the amazing Wendy Carlos, who electronically scored one of my favorite movies of all time, Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange; Delia Derbyshire, who was also the subject of Caroline Catz’s short, Delia Derbyshire: The Myths and Legendary Tapes, which tragically, I missed when it premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in March. Derbyshire was also famous for creating the iconic theme to “Doctor Who” while working at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop in the '60s. Others who appear in the movie, either via archival footage or more recent interviews are Pauline Oliveros and Laurie Spiegel, who I was less familiar with.

The point is that as someone who was a fantastic for electronic music and synthesizers from a very early age and for someone who feels he’s very familiar with all angles of music, I learned a lot from watching Rovner’s film, and I enjoyed it just as much a second time, because the footage assembled proves what amazing work these women were doing and rarely if ever getting the credit for what they brought to electronic music, something that still resonates with the kids today who love things like EDM.

An endlessly fascinating film with so much great music and footage, Sisters with Transistors can be watched exclusively through the Metrograph’s Live Screening series, so don’t miss it!

Hitting Shudder this week is Chris Baugh’s BOYS FROM COUNTY HELL (Shudder), which I didn’t get a chance to watch before writing this week’s column, but Shudder in general has been knocking it out of the park with the amazing horror movies it’s been releasing on a weekly basis. This one involves a quarelling father and son on a road who must survive the night when they awaken an ancient Irish vampire.

Also hitting theaters and streamers and digital this week:

THE MARIJUANA CONSPIRACY (Samuel Goldwyn Films)

MY WONDERFUL WANDA (Zeitgeist Films)

WET SEASON (Strand Releasing)

CRESTONE (Utopia)

VANQUISH (Lionsgate)

BLOODTHIRSTY (Brainstorm)

SASQUATCH (Hulu)

SHADOW AND BONE (Netflix)

And that wraps up this week. Next week? No idea… I know there’s stuff coming out but I probably won’t think about it until after THE OSCARS!!!! On Sunday.

#movies #mortalkombat #demonslayer #weekendwarrior #reviews #sisters with transistors #togethertogether #mitchellsvsmachines #streaming

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