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#the characters making decisions that anyone with two brain cells would realize was a bad decision
makeste · 3 years
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BnHA Chapter 315: I Didn’t Expect This to Blow Up
Previously on BnHA: Horikoshi was all “guess which plot that you thought was dead is actually not dead and is making a comeback!” and we were all “EVIL HPSC??” and he was all “girl you know it,” and that’s the story of how we got a sexy Lady Nagant flashback with lots of guns and murder. Flashback!Lady was all “gotta murder peeps to preserve the people’s trust,” but then a little while later she was like “actually wait that makes no sense,” and so she shot her evil boss and they sent her to jail. Back in the present, Deku was all “okay fair, the hero system might in fact be a little fucked up, but hear me out... have you considered not helping AFO take over the world so he can murder like a bazillion more innocent people??” The chapter ended with the not-all-there Overhaul finally revealing himself to Deku, and I honestly have no idea where this is gonna go.
Today on BnHA: In what is unfortunately the single worst plan ever concocted by anyone in BnHA, Nagant is all “I’m going to try and get this Deku kid to panic and freeze up by putting someone in mortal danger.” Deku is all, “[doesn’t panic and freeze up at the sight of someone in mortal danger].” Nagant is all “omg no way.” Deku, who is now all of a sudden being so OP that even I have to acknowledge that it’s OP lol, is all “[smashes Nagant’s gun arm to bits]”, which sucks but is also really cool, and which also apparently makes Nagant decide that she actually likes this kid after all. Deku is all “NAGANT I REALLY LIKE YOU AND THINK YOU’RE GREAT SO PLEASE JOIN UP WITH ME AND STOP BEING EVIL.” Nagant is all “aw shucks (✿ •͈ᴗ•͈) well okay then” and everyone is all “( ・◡・) ✰ ( ˆᴗˆ ) ( ᵘ ᵕ ᵘ ⁎)” and then Nagant FUCKING EXPLODES LIKE AN EGG IN THE MICROWAVE AND FALLS TO HER DEATH!!!! except not really because Hawks saves her??? In conclusion, (a) THE FUCK, and (b) AFO TURN ON YOUR LOCATION I JUST WANT TO TALK.
so I have to tell you guys something, which is that barely ten minutes after I made that “please don’t send me spoilers” post the other day, someone replied to the comments in a stunning fit of “tell me that you’re twelve without actually telling me you’re twelve” energy and posted what seemed to be the copy-pasted spoiler summary from reddit or twitter or whatever lol. so here is my good news/bad news rundown of all that
good news: I have very well-conditioned ABORT!! reflexes and have trained myself to immediately look away from the screen (usually in dramatic fashion) as soon as I realize that whatever I’m reading is a spoiler
bad news: unfortunately as I was subsequently deleting said comments, I accidentally read the very last one
good news??: said spoiler was so unbelievably, absurdly over-the-top that I’m almost positive this person was just trolling. like, there’s just no way lmao
bad news: but in the unlikely event that it is true I will absolutely lose my shit I swear to god
(ETA: “NAGANT DIES.” that was the spoiler I read lol. like, literally all I read from the person’s comments was “My Hero Academia Chapter 315 Title: “Beautiful Words.” Chapter starts with...” and then I noped out of there, and then of all the comments to read as I was deleting, it had to be that one lol. I seriously was just like “SURE, JAN.” all “just how gullible do you think I am” sob. but I was wrong. a troll, but an honest troll they remain.
but anyways like I’m pretty sure Nagant isn’t even actually dead lol, so in the end this whole little adventure doesn’t even have a point to it, but for me it was a journey!)
anyway, so there are apparently two versions of the chapter today?? no idea what the difference is, but I’m going to go with the Bean version, because it’s the one at the top and I don’t feel like making decisions today
huh, so Overhaul is actually more coherent than Horikoshi was letting on
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look at him having a whole back and forth conversation with her. side note, how is he still this jacked when he’s been sitting in a cell doing absolutely nothing for the past six months
anyway so he says he’ll go with her on one condition. I wonder what that condition could possibly be. do you think it could be the thing he literally hasn’t shut up about ever since he reappeared lol
yep! and damn -- maybe this guy will surprise me after all
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still would be nice if you also felt a bit sorry for the little girl you tortured and traumatized, but this is something at least. maybe Deku will yell at him for that other stuff lol
(ETA: also can’t help but wonder if he wants to make amends because he put him in a coma, or because his plan was a failure and ended up destroying the family. just hoping you’ve finally had that “hurting other people is bad” epiphany dude.)
anyways so now Nagant’s arm is transforming again, and this particular transformation happens to be the only truly unsexy thing that Nagant has done thus far so I’m just gonna skip right on ahead lol
aaaaand we’re back to the delirious ranting
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buddy. just. read the fucking room, guy
wow she really is aiming at Overhaul, then. those theories were spot-on
damn she’s really out here all “it really fucks with kids’ heads when you kill people right in front of them and make them blame themselves” like yo
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I’m picturing her saying all this in a very loud stage-whispery tone while making very significant eye contact with Deku lol
uh oh but wait
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um. okay. who’s gonna tell her. Nagant I might have some bad news for you about the kid you’re trying to capture here. specifically about the way he tends to do the opposite of what you’re thinking that he’s about to do
holy shit
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so it’s basically just “tap x repeatedly to charge up your attack” lol
and okay, so that’s cool and all, but is anyone else wincing at the thought of what that must be like on his knees. oh to be young
anyway, but so to the surprise of basically no one, Deku did not, in fact, freeze. I am very sorry, Nagant. he’s just like this
LMAO
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someone wanna tell me how getting yoloed in the fucking ribs by this fucking slingshot kid moving at literal sniper bullet speed is in any way even remotely better than getting hit by the bullet itself lol
(ETA: this is 10x funnier now that we know the bullet wasn’t even gonna hit him lmao.)
anyway so now Nagant is having an extended “!?!?!?” reaction about how Deku just moved with no hesitation, and I’m starting to get an inkling of fear that the rest of this fight isn’t going to go very well for her and maybe that’s what all the “hoo boy” is about
oh my god Deku are you about to Gomu Gomu no Rocket yourself at her you insane little man
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now Three is popping up again and he’s all “I see you’ve learned your lesson and are now only using three quirks at once instead of five” like with all this effusive praise about how great and badass Deku is and sob, okay, yeah. this chapter is basically one of those machines that shoots tennis balls at people, except instead of tennis balls it shoots hot piping discourse
OH MY GOD
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YOOOOOOOOOO but also, NOOOOOOOOOOO
lol oh my god it’s literally two opposing reactions at once wtf. do I love this or hate this. like just for once can Horikoshi actually let a badass lady character win their fucking fight without getting their arm ripped off, BUT ALSO��fucking look at that absurdly cool “SMASH” onomatopoeia though. it looks like it’s about to float right off the page holy shit that’s some seriously good art
anyway so is this really the end?? do I need to break out my ಠ_ಠ faces
lmao okay yeah I can definitely see how this would piss a lot of people off
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he basically one-shotted her and she’s all “damn this kid is so amazing that I’m about to do a complete 180 turn on all of my previous angst” lmao. Horikoshi is really shounening it up today
on the plus side though, maybe this means there’s still a chance for her to join up with him after all? unless that spoiler was true lmao, then all hell is gonna break loose
YESSSSSSS
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OH MY GOD AND HE SAYS THE BULLET WOULDN’T HAVE DONE MORE THAN GRAZE OVERHAUL ANYWAY, wow, I’m actually more relieved by that than I would have expected. I mean I would have forgiven her either way, but it means that there was still more hero in her than she was letting on
YES!!! FUCKING YES, THANK YOU
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lol but I mean, it’s also like, “oh so today they get to have brain cells”, thank you so much lol. sometimes it’s really hard to tell which times we’re supposed to question these character decisions that seem dumb, and which times we’re just supposed to full on embrace them and switch off our critical thinking
but okay, so in this case it really was Nagant going easy on him on purpose, and not just her fucking up for no good reason even though she used to do this for a living and was the best in the game. and I know in this case it’s probably just Horikoshi giving us some consolation headpats to soften the blow of her losing so abruptly, but you know what, shit. I’ll take it
also you guys the light is coming back into Deku’s eyes again for just a moment here and I’m having feels about it?? the way it still comes back when he’s reaching out to save someone, and following his own hero path instead of the much darker and lonelier Christopher Nolan path that’s been laid out for him instead that he never wanted?? it’s both reassuring and also very sad
YESSSSSSSSSSS
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DO IT LADY OMG PLEASE?? PLEASE COME BE HIS NEW IRRESPONSIBLE ADULT SUPERVISION YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO
AHHHHHHH SHE’S GONNA DO IT AHHHH
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p.s. I am now absolutely scared shitless that that spoiler was actually true sob. swear to god, I will throw this manga into a fucking volcano. but we’re almost at the end of the chapter and this seems just WAY TOO GOOD to be true fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck f
UCK
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NOPE NAH SEND IT BACK, NOPE, NUH UH, DIDN’T ORDER THIS. “GULLIBLE” OKAY FUCK YOU?? “COUNTERMEASURES” NOPE, DON’T NEED ‘EM, WE’RE ALL FINE HERE. WE’RE ACTUALLY GOOD SO YOU CAN JUST GO, OKAY. PLEASE
fuck, lol, I don’t wanna do it. I don’t wanna scroll down what have I ever done to deserve this oh my god
WHAT THE HONEY-ROASTED FUCK
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WHERE THE FUCK IS THAT FUCKING VOLCANO IN ICELAND THAT I KEEP SEEING ALL THESE PICTURES OF. WHERE THE FUCK IS THAT SHIT. LET’S GO
ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW
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can someone please give AFO a really good, sharpish kick in the balls. just really let him have it. I’m so tired, what the fuck
-- ARE YOU KIDDING ME LOL WHAT
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bro. I was literally going through my Excel folders to find the spreadsheet about female characters in BnHA that I made back when Midnight died. was gearing myself up for a wholeass rant. and honestly I might just let all of that continue simmering on low to keep it warm just in case lol, because to tell you the truth I have absolutely no idea what’s happening right now
my girl straight up does not have a face. she used to have a face. people usually need those, idk. like, even if she’s alive, her gorgeous eyebrows are definitely not making it out of this and I’m gonna throw a funeral just for them
how the fuck did AFO just blow her up?? how did he know what was going on?? and if he had a quirk that could explode people at will, why is this the first we’re hearing of it?? you’d think that might have come in handy at Kamino or Jakku, like what
(ETA: present!me, who’s had more than three hours of sleep and can now actually remember facts about the series, would like to remind past!me that AFO gave Nagant a quirk, and so this is probably just more Vestige shenanigans now on his part. that’s also probably why Air Walk suddenly stopped working out of nowhere. still doesn’t explain why he doesn’t go around blowing people up more often though but maybe he thinks it’s gauche.)
Hawks just straight up out of nowhere. just Mirioed his way straight into the chapter just in time to be too late sob. here I was looking forward to seeing your face when Deku showed up with his new best friend. can’t believe Horikoshi deprived us of that moment
on the plus side, WELCOME BACK, HAWKS’S FEATHERS. I have no doubt that in this chapter of Deku being an almighty threequirk-mastering god, and Nagant losing anticlimactically only to be immediately blown up because girl characters in BnHA can only be cool for one fight and one fight only, there are still some people who are focusing solely on the “how dare Hawks get his wings back when he is a MURDERER this is an outrage what about CONSEQUENCES” discourse, and to hell with all the other discourses lmao
anyway, so yeah. wow. and now it’s just occurring to me that maybe the real reason why Overhaul is there is so he can get a head start on that amend-making by actually doing a good thing for once in his life, and using his quirk to heal Nagant. assuming he can still do that
and so now Horikoshi has got me out here actually rooting for Overhaul. you know what, on that note I think I’m just gonna go ahead and call it a day sob
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yandere-sins · 3 years
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The Fox Wedding - RUN [Bad End]
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Summary: You are to marry the fox spirit Kita Shinsuke after you accidentally agreed to become his wife by signing the deed to your new home. A contract is a contract, he says, but is there more to this marriage than you know? Will you be whisked away by one of the foxy twins instead, or have to marry Kita after all? Can you be with a creature that only seems tender on the surface, or will you try to run even if it might cost you your life? Choose your route carefully, you never know what these foxes are up to!
Characters: Kitsune!Kita Shinsuke, Reader
Rating: Explicit
Warnings for this chapter: Major Character Death, Blood mention, Death mention, Animal attack, Gore, Yandere, Kidnapping, Forced/Unhealthy Relationships
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What makes a human life worthwhile?
Was it the prospect of forming a family? The continual circle of birth, life, and death? Was it the growing as a person that gave each individual worth? Learning how to laugh and love? Long, thoughtful nights and the achievement of creating something? Relationships, conversations, experiences, are those the things that made it worth to live? 
Or was it pain, fear, and fight? Would your worth rise if you had to clench your teeth and run until your lungs threatened you to give up if you didn’t stop and rest? Could your life only gain worth from being so scared that your body trembled, but your senses heightened in an attempt to be warier of your surroundings? Every inch of your body was feelable, every muscle straining to get your attention. The perfect coordination of orders to follow was only achieved by panic and fear of falling into the hands of the people you had to get away from.
Or their paws.
Or their teeth.
These and so many other unimportant questions plagued your mind as you stumbled over roots and against trees as if you were in a haze. Was the brain capable of enduring as much fear as you were feeling, or was the reason for your questions that it was unable to continue feeling this way? Going numb would have been a preferable action, as well as a deadly one. As such, it kept you occupied, one way or another.
A loud bang resounded from behind you. It was still far away but too close at the same time. The loud crashing of a tree in the distance was only spurring you on, spreading panic as you questioned what kind of creature could break down a whole tree. You weren’t clever. You didn’t actually know an answer to that. 
You didn’t want to know.
Thicket scratched at your skin, broke it, and drew blood as if it were a hundred deadly arms reaching for you, their nails scratching as they tried to grab you. Nothing in this forest wanted to let you go. Not the trees, not the bushes, not him. 
Of course, you had regrets now that you chose to run. You regretted being an idiot and doing this to yourself even though there had been so many warnings. Not one of the fox people had advised you to run - at least at your own. But you couldn’t wait for a prince in shining armor. Or fur. You could wait for nobody to save you from this fate. Breaking out when you found some loose stones around the window of your cell, without proper clothing or a sense of direction, is nothing anyone would suggest you do, but then again: what else could you do?
However, most of all, you deeply regretted that you weren’t running faster.
It was almost as if it was taunting you, the heavy footsteps galloping after you. They weren’t created by feet, but you could recognize them as something very different. Perhaps watching these nature documentaries had been a waste of time, but at least they made you remember the sound of bears running through forests, their big bodies producing a hollow, echoing sound. 
Not one inch of your brain wanted to acknowledge what was after you, but you were sure it wasn’t a bear. 
Somehow, you wished it was. A creature that wasn’t sentient like a human would be just as deadly, but you imagined that it would be less awful than what awaited you. Even if your body still ran and ran some more, way beyond the point of exhaustion, inside of you, you were slowly losing hope. 
Maybe hope is what makes life worthwhile, you thought quietly as you kept pushing forward. Only the sounds of your breathing and gasps left your mouth as you tripped over roots on the ground, but never words. Hope could create inspirations and aspirations. It ‘made mountains move’ and saved people from their worst selves if they could stay hopeful. So when had you given up the hope to escape?
Was it when Kita locked you into that cell? When he mentioned the contract? When these two fox brothers visited you but got sent away? Somewhere along the line, you must have lost it, though perhaps, only just recently, when you realized you had been found out. If this hadn’t felt like a hunt rather than a chase, maybe you could have stayed hopeful. But no matter how hard it was to look truth in the eye, you knew you were the prey of a creature you shouldn’t have messed with. All you wanted was to get out. Out of the forest, out of the vicinity of the monster chasing you. 
Out of this seemingly endless nightmare. 
If you were to die here, could you say your life had been worth something? Did you always do the things you wanted to do or was breaking out from the prison of the foxes your only glorious achievement? Would you leave earth with regrets or regret leaving? 
These questions were the last you could think about before the hellish pain of long, sharp fangs puncturing your torso tore you out of it. How nice would it have been to die instantly on impact, unable to feel how the jaw clenched down, your lungs pierced, and your shoulder entirely crushed by force? Hear the bones cracking in the back of your mind and your arms and legs going limb? 
You had imagined death differently. Even if you were unsure how you imagined it, you didn’t think it would be this way. There was so much pain that it stopped hurting. Briefly, the feeling of blood pouring out of you and dripping down your body was noticeable before it disappeared, too, as your ability to feel stopped. You realized in your mind that you shouldn’t have been able to turn your head, but pressed by adrenaline and the last, untorn nerves, you did, looking into the gleaming eyes of your monster. With a head as big as your whole body, you could only recognize the shimmering, white fur. The beautiful blue shine was mesmerizing, captivating you in these last moments of your life. Long tails waved in the far corner of your vision, and blue light illuminated this creature, making you wish it wasn’t so darn beautiful to look at, so you could have felt anything but astonishment.
The next thing you knew, the jaw around you loosened, making you drop to the ground, the last parts of your body that still twitched and jerked starting to cease their movements. In awe, you got to see how the beast turned back into the form of a human, your eyesight growing weaker by the second the more blood you lost, but you were still able to recognize the face that stepped closer, crouching down beside you. 
In your head, you formed the thoughts to taunt Kita, rub it into his face how you escaped. Had you been able to, you’d have told him you’d never marry him and that he should stop crying like a child. But you were unable to. Gripping the only hand still intact tightly, Kita brought it to his face, nuzzling it. Blood - your blood - was smeared all over his face, and he kept taking deep, pained breaths of anguish. Even now, he seemed dignified, mourning the death of his beloved, and even now, you despised him for it, thinking he had no right. 
“No… no…” he lamented, and you thought that it was unfair he got to cry small blue tears about you while you weren’t able to control what was going on with your body. 
“I’m so sorry, [Name]! I’m so sorry… I… I couldn’t control it… I was so angry and hurt… I couldn’t…”
Somewhere in the distance, the sound of other creatures approached, and Kita took a deep breath. As if he could hide these emotions he was feeling by simply pushing them deeper inside of him, he bit his lips to keep them locked inside before deciding he’d rather kiss the back of your hand with his mouth. “Forgive me,” he whispered. “Please… forgive me.”
What kind of man or creature could sit by the side of the person they claimed they loved, mauled, and then ask for forgiveness? His hand brushed over your head as if to comfort you, and you heard more voices approaching, though they turned quiet as they understood what was going on. Someone said something you didn’t understand, and Kita only muttered, “Not yet,” in return. His eyes never left you, and finally, you realized that this was how you were going to die.
By Kita’s side.
Ah, if only you could have said something to him. Something that would have haunted him for the rest of his life if he truly cared for you as much as he assured you before. Finally, you understood these novels where people sought revenge against others. Though it was probably your body torn apart, but it was as if something was eating you from the inside, this intense desire to at least have an impact on your murderer’s life. Take some of the worth from him just like he had taken from you. 
“Do you remember--”
His sentences started to become incomplete. Kita’s mouth moved, but you didn’t hear what he was saying. It was hard to see now, your vision was not blurry, but you couldn’t focus anymore. 
“--- fox --- gave me --- we --- never ---”
Then, your name. Again. Your shoulders shaking, but all you could focus on was how hard it was becoming to breathe. 
“--- don’t leave --- I love ---”
Taking your last breath felt almost like taking a big gulp of water and breathing out afterwards. 
And then it was dark. 
It should have been different. Your whole life should have been different. Moving to Japan should have been a new start to an entirely new chapter, but it led to the worst decision you had ever made. Perhaps you shouldn’t have run away. Maybe you should have stayed and embraced the marriage. Or you could have waited just a little bit longer for someone who’d keep you safe after all. Even if you had accepted the marriage, something good could have come out of it, and you should have just taken what you could. 
But you didn’t. You died in the arms of the creature you wanted to get away from. The person you despised the most for putting you into this situation and killing you. Are you sure this is the path you wanted to take?
Was it worth it to risk your life?
Or will you try again?
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➤   Go back to the prologue to change your fate
➤   Stay dead
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tsukiihime · 3 years
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Heartbreak Chapter 4 (Shinsou x Fem!Reader, Bakugou X Fem!Reader)
I am on the fence if I should do an ending for each character, but I'll mull it over a bit more before making the next chapter. Hope you all enjoy!
Word Count: 3.4k
Warnings: Drinking, Angst
Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
This isn’t how you imagined you would be spending your weekend.
You’ve spent the night flipping through channels, ordering Chinese takeout as you sit cross-legged on Shinsou’s couch in your favorite tank top and shorts staring blankly at the television screen. You’ve kept your phone by you all this time in hopes of receiving a call that hasn’t come yet, and at this point you’re pretty sure it won’t come at all. You’ve been mulling over it for hours - do you call Bakugou? Let your pride take a backseat to your longing and put an end to your uncertainty? Or do you wait for him to break first?
‘Who am I kidding’, you scoff to yourself, ‘Bakugou doesn’t apologize or bow down to anyone. I’ll probably die before I get him to make the first move.’ You scratch your neck, looking out of the corner of your eye at your cell phone sitting inconspicuously on the coffee table. If you’re being honest with yourself, you want some form of closure with Bakugou. There’s so many unanswered questions between the two of you: Whose underwear was that in your shared bedroom? Are Bakugou and Camie romantically involved? Why did he call you that night?
You want - no, you need answers before you drive yourself crazy with what ifs - so you decide that tonight you’re going to take the plunge and call your ex-boyfriend, Katsuki Bakugou.
At least that was the plan, but all you’ve been doing for the past thirty minutes has been nervously pacing back and forth in Shinsou’s bedroom. You pick up your phone only to throw it back down in anxiety - what if you make a fool out of yourself? What if he really did call you on accident and you’re just getting your hopes up?
It takes another thirty-four minutes before you’ve calmed your nerves enough to dial his number and not feel like vomiting. You decided against drinking some alcohol to get some liquid courage - you needed to be sober for this conversation as much as it pained you. The phone line on the other side rings, and you’ve never been more afraid of what’s going to happen next than you have been your entire life. You bite your lip in anticipation, pulling at the bottom of your shorts to distract you from what seems like endless ringing in your ear.
All too soon, the ringing stops and you are greeted with a rough ‘hello’. Maybe this was a bad idea after all.
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Bakugou feels like his soul has left his body when he sees your name flash across his screen - you’re calling him. He’s wished for this moment for weeks: every single missed call, unread text and late night thought about you has now culminated in this moment. You’re finally giving him a chance to speak to you and you’re even making the first move! But he feels a strange new emotion well up inside him as his finger hovers over the ‘answer’ button.
Hesitation.
It’s a new feeling to the Explosion Hero - he’s always been a doer and not a thinker, action before thought. He’s always thought of himself as the best, the cream of the crop in every aspect of his life. But the vibrating cherry red phone in his hand makes his confidence waver. He’s hesitating to answer you, even if he’s missed you for so long. That’s right: the great Katsuki Bakugou is afraid.
He’s afraid to answer the phone, to get his hopes up that you’re calling because you miss him, when you could be just calling him by accident. You probably meant to call Shinsou, or maybe you’re calling to say that you left something at his house and want it back.
But this fear is quickly dispelled - this may be his last chance to tell you how he feels. How he truly feels, without his agency or anyone else getting in the way. He now knows that Shinsou is in love with you and he still loves you with every fiber of his being - if he’s going to have a rival in romance he needs to put everything on the table. He needs you to know how he feels so that he can have no regrets, no matter what happens between the two of you in the future.
His train of thought is interrupted by his brain urging him to swipe right and answer the phone before the call is missed. Bakugou steadies himself, leans against the railing and puts his cell up to his ear. He answers gruffly: “Hello?”
“Hey Bakugou.” He takes notice of your use of his last name - he was expecting you to call him ‘Katsuki’, just as you’ve always done. His eyebrows knit together in disappointment.
“I don’t mean to call so late,” he can hear shuffling on your end, it sounds like you’re pacing around the house, “I know you’re always asleep at this time but I just had to do it before my nerves got the best of me.” You admit sheepishly, rubbing the back of your neck as you smile to yourself softly. “I saw you called me around a week ago and I just wanted to see what you wanted? There was no voicemail or text, so I assumed that you maybe called by mistake? It’s okay if you did, I just wanted to double check you know?” You’re talking a mile a minute, rambling on and on as your nerves are set aflame by your embarrassment and fear. You’ve walked around Shinsou’s bedroom countless times, your heart racing in absolute dread at your decision. Why did you do this? Why did you call late at night? Why did you call him? You laugh uneasily, waiting for an answer and preparing for the worst.
“I called ‘cause I missed you.” You almost drop your phone in sheer shock, but you manage to compose yourself before your voice betrays your surprise.
You remain silent and he sucks in a breath, trying his best to calm himself down as he waits for you to answer. His palms won’t stop sweating, covering his cracked cell phone in glycerin laced sweat as he paces back and forth the rooftop from one end to the next. He feels like throwing up, and a small voice in his head urges him to hang up the phone before he makes more of a fool out of himself. But he stands his ground - he’s not leaving this call until you know how he feels. He hates opening up to others but you’re different, you’re special to him and by God he’s going to prove it to you.
“I’m sorry?” You ask for confirmation, not wanting to misunderstand. You hear a small ‘tch’ in response.
“Haaah? You not listening? I said,” he puts extra emphasis on the last part and he’s speaking so close to the phone that it’s almost like he’s next to you speaking directly into your ear, “that I missed you.” You both grow silent, listening to the sound of the other’s breathing for what seems like an eternity. The air is still rife with tension, but you smile - wide and beaming in total joy. Bakugou missed you. Just like you missed him. You feel comfortable being a little more familiar with him now that he’s confirmed for you that he’s not messing with you and you’re relieved that you’re able to keep your pride intact after you hang up the phone.
“I’m going to be perfectly honest. I wasn’t expecting that, Bakugou.” You give a small giggle and he smiles without realizing it. He’s missed your laugh, and he can imagine the way your nose crinkles slightly when you chuckle, how your eyes used to shine when he would make you laugh. “I’m surprised though - the great Katsuki Bakugou missing ‘lil ole me?”
“What, am I not allowed to be upfront ‘bout it? ‘M not gonna lie and say that I didn’t.” He huffs, slightly annoyed at your reaction. Your tone is teasing and half of him hates it while the other half is grateful for your reaction.
“I missed you too, Katsuki.” You say it, and it’s true. It comes out so naturally that it makes you smile with content. You do miss Bakugou. He closes his eyes and replays it in his mind.
‘I missed you too, Katsuki.’ He loves the way his name rolls off your tongue, sweet and soft just like he remembers. He can envision you lying next to him in bed, your legs entangled in the cream colored sheets as you drift in and out of sleep, running your fingers through flaxen spikes, his arms wrapped around your waist as he snores softly laying his head down on your chest. He’s indescribably happy that you missed him too.
“Look I-”
“So I wanted to-” You both speak at the same time, cutting the other off. You giggle softly. “You can go first Katsuki. Tell me: why have you been calling me?” He inhales deeply, preparing to pour his heart out to you under the starry sky. You lie back on Shinsou’s bed, the cool sheets meeting with your warm skin as you wait for the blonde man to answer.
“I wanted to hear your voice. I honestly thought you wouldn’t pick up or return my calls, so I was content with thinking I’d just hear your voicemail message. I had been trying to call you for days. I know you’re mad and you have every right to be, but I just...I want to talk to you. I want to talk about what happened, ‘bout us. I miss you,” he says without hesitation causing you to take in a breath in surprise, “so much. I didn’t think I’d miss someone like I miss you. I want to talk about what happened, what I did, and make it up to you. I want you back in my life, even if it’s not how we used to be before.”
You can hardly believe that you’re talking to Bakugou - prideful, arrogant, ruthless Bakugou who never opens his heart to anyone, not even you. He’s selfish in everything: with work, with love, and with you. He cares so much about being the number one Hero that it consumes him. You haven’t forgotten the cancelled dates when he stays in late at work to get another case wrapped up so it would boost his ratings, or the nights where you fell asleep on the couch waiting for him to get home when he would work late. Nor have you forgiven the days when you would cook him dinner only to find it untouched when you return home, or when he spends his days off training or hanging out with the Bakusquad rather than staying in with you.
But this Bakugou in front of you? He’s vulnerable, baring his heart and soul to you as he lets you know exactly how he feels. Instantly, the bad times leave your mind and you instead look back at all the good memories he’s given you over the two years you’ve known him: His amazing cooking on nights he wants to spoil you for working hard, the scent of caramel he leaves behind after he works out in the living room, the fierce kisses he left you with before he heads off to work. The way he lets you hold him gently, the way he lets you see him in his most unguarded state. The way he made you feel so loved, so cared for.
However, that doesn’t make you forget what he’s put you through the past month.
You still remember the way your heart shattered when you found that unknown lingerie set in your bedroom, and the way your heart ached when you saw Bakugou with his arm around Camie’s waist. Your grip tightens on your phone and you breathe in deep. You love Bakugou, but he needs to atone for what he’s done if he wants to be in your life again. You sit up on Shinsou’s bed, hugging your knees close to your chest.
“Listen Bakugou - I want to forgive you, I really do. But some of the things you did,” you feel a dull pang in your chest as you envision him holding another woman, “really hurt me. And it’s made me believe that I can’t trust you.” He grimaces, imagining how you must have looked seeing him at the award ceremony with another woman. He cards a hand through his blonde locks, scarlet eyes half lidded in disappointment. “But…” you trail off, and he perks up slightly.
“I don’t want to lose you. You’ve been a big part of my life, and I care about you. I’m willing to talk things out with you if you promise that you’ll take my concerns seriously, okay?” There’s no hesitation this time.
“I promise. Baby, I don’t want to lose you again.” Your eyes widen in shock, and Bakugou quickly coughs to distract you. “Er, sorry.” You giggle and he swells with pride at the noise, a small smile tugging at his lips.
“S’okay. I’ll let it slide this time since you’re so cute.” Bakugou is beside himself in a cocktail of emotions: are you flirting with him? You can’t help but tease him, imagining him turning beet red in embarrassment. Your heart leaps with happiness at how he calls you ‘baby’, but your pride and dignity stop you before you get ahead of yourself: Bakugou has much making up to you before you even think of jumping back into a relationship with him.
“But I think we should have this conversation in person, it’ll be easier. I’m gonna be pretty busy for the next few weeks or so, work and school’s been crazy and I’ve been looking for a new apartment.”
“Eye Bags told me you were looking for a new place to live.”
“Oh, you saw ‘Toshi? Hope he didn’t give you too much trouble. He can be a bit, ah, protective at times.” Katsuki scoffs to himself. ‘Yeah, he’s protective of you ‘cause he’s in love with you’ he thinks, but doesn’t say anything out loud. He may not exactly like Shinsou, but he’s not about to share his secret with you. “Anyways, how about I give you a call when I’m free? We can get together when I’m not swamped with responsibilities.”
“I’d like that.” This call has gone a lot better than he could’ve possibly hoped, and the promise of seeing you again, in person makes his heart soar. He can’t stop himself from beaming, happiness exuding from every pore.
“Alright then, it’s a date. I’ll talk to you later, okay? Have a good night Katsuki.” He gives his goodbyes and hangs up the phone, turning to overlook the cityscape. He can’t stop smiling - you’re really giving him a chance. He’s going to work his hardest to make you feel loved, to make up for everything he’s done and to win your heart again. He won’t lose.
He feels his phone vibrate in his hand, and it’s a message from you.
From: Y/N
Hey Katsuki! It was nice talking to you again. I’m glad we had this little talk...I think I’ll be free two weeks from now on that Friday. Can you meet me then? I’ll let you pick a place to eat, but it better not be too spicy or I won’t be able to eat anything. Let me know, okay?
He quickly responds.
To: Y/N
Got a place in mind. Has mild stuff too. I’m free that day, text me your new address and I’ll pick you up.
He sees the three dots appear and stops typing, waiting for your response.
From: Y/N
Sounds good! Make sure to drive safe kay? Last time I thought I was going to die being in the car with you.
Katsuki smiles as he types up a quick response and makes his way back to his friends downstairs - he spends the rest of the night texting you about anything and everything. He can’t wait to see you again.
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Shinsou is so grateful that Todoroki is rich - he’s currently drowning in his sorrows at the bar in the luxurious apartment that Shoto calls home. He doesn’t want to see anyone else and he wants to go home, but home is where you are and he doesn’t want to see you either. How can he after coming to the realization he did tonight?
He’s in love with his best friend.
And not only is he in love with you, but he knows that you’re still in love with Bakugou. In his mind, he can’t hold a candle to the Explosion Hero - Bakugou is a high ranking, high paid Hero with legions of fans. He is good looking and even though Shinsou thinks his personality is ass, you seem to be perfectly fine with it. On the other hand, Shinsou is a relatively unknown moderately paid Hero with confidence issues. He hates this part of himself - you always tell him to be kinder to himself and to believe in his abilities but he just can’t help it. He feels so inadequate compared to Bakugou. How can he even think of confessing to you when he can’t even keep you happy?
‘What’s the point of telling her’ he thinks to himself ‘when she won’t ever see me as more than a friend?” The thorns of self doubt dig into Shinsou’s heart and mind. He would rather pine for you for eternity than lose you - you’ve always been there for him as his rock, his pillar of support. If he loses you, he crumbles. But at the same time, how can he live with this secret? Will he spend the rest of his life looking for you in other women, imagining it's your hands he’s holding, your lips he’s kissing, your body that is sleeping next to him in bed? Will he walk you down the aisle at your wedding to Bakugou, seeing how beautiful you look in your white gown while he wishes he could be your groom?
So here lies the dilemma of Hitoshi Shinsou: confess to his best friend that he is utterly head over heels in love with her and risk losing her all together or say nothing and watch her fall in love with someone else.
He doesn’t know what to do or think, and that’s why he downs shot after shot of tequila, feeling the burn of alcohol down his throat and the pleasurable buzz in his fingertips. His phone vibrates and he sees it’s a message from you.
From: Y/N
Hey ‘Toshi! Are you okay? Need me to come rescue you from social interaction yet? :)
For the first time in his life, he doesn’t want to hear from you or speak to you. You’ll just make his problem worse. A part of him fills up with anger - why can’t you tell that he’s in love with you? The things you two do together is way past the point of being friends: the cuddling, the forehead kisses, the hugs, the sleeping in the same bed - do you truly not see how he feels?
He knows it’s selfish of him to say, and it’s wrong of him to feel this way. You still see those actions as friendly because you’ve always been that way with Shinsou. He’s the one who has twisted it into something romantic, longing for you with every touch. Aching for your presence in his life, wondering what your lips would feel like on his. He responds back in resentment, alcohol fueling his discontent.
To: Y/N
Don’t need you to come. Staying night at Shoto’s. Don’t wait up.
The message is curt and short. He feels so incompetent - he loathes this feeling of not being good enough. ‘It’s no wonder she loves Bakugou - why would she love you? You have a villain’s quirk, a meager apartment, a moderate paycheck. Why would she choose you when she has a better option?’ He thinks to himself, self-hatred poisoning his mind. His phone dings, and as expected, you’re texting him back.
From: Y/N
What’s wrong ‘Toshi? You seem off thru text...are you okay?
To: Y/N
I told you, I’m fine. Leave me alone for the night, don’t wanna talk to you.
He sends his final message and sees you immediately start typing back - but he’s through with this conversation. He puts his phone on do not disturb and leaves it on the bar countertop, grabs his beer and makes his way to Izuku, Uraraka, Tsuyu and the others. As soon as he leaves, his phone flashes with a missed call from you.
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wolfieslae · 3 years
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"liam saved theo from his never ending nightmare so theo saved liam from himself"
it’s no surprise to anyone, i’m a tiny bit obsessed with thiam.
when theo first arrived to the show i liked him already, i felt like he was an interesting character with an interesting backstory, i wanted to learn more. the more i did the worst it got but i kept thinking he was interesting and i liked seeing how he was able to plan his take on the pack. he managed to insert himself in the life of the characters and turned it around, when his plan failed, he still got his pack but ended up killing them all, i admit, kinda real bad, and then he got drag down to hell.
during the fifth season we found out that when he was ten he was manipulated into thinking his older sister – tara – wanted him to have her heart, because his had a genetic disorder. he believed the dread doctors when they told him they could make him better and he killed his own sister – taking her heart. he then left with them and was raised by them, raised believing that power was all that mattered and that he would be nothing and no one without it.
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in season six episode six liam and hayden decided to bring him back because they needed his help with a supernatural creature in town, while hayden was more resistant, liam did not hesitate to smash kira’s sword into the ground and free theo, saving him from his never ending nightmare at the same time.
very rapidly we understood that whatever power theo might have stolen from his chimera pack – more specifically josh – he wasn’t in possession of them anymore, he was back to "classic theo" part coyote and part wolf. after he helped with the ghost rider, liam and hayden locked theo in the holding cell at the sheriff station. theo wanted out and liam wanted answer, they made a deal and liam broke the sword and with it any chance of theo going back to hell, his never ending nightmare.
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when they needed him more, liam and stilinski broke theo out of jail but unfortunately the sheriff was taken and only theo and liam were left, leaving them no choice but to work together to flee the ghost riders. they – liam – had one goal, lure them away from scott, lydia and malia who were trying to get stiles back.
the both of them ended up at the hospital where, and i quote, liam said "when the ghost riders find us, i’m not gonna do anything for you, i’m not gonna help you, i’m not gonna save you, i’m gonna do exactly what you’d do to me, i’m gonna use you as bait". we all know he did not keep that promise, in fact, while fighting with a ghost rider, he pointed a gun at the one theo was fighting and shot, saving his life in the process. to "pay him back" and maybe prove that he wasn’t as bad as liam made him out to be, theo offered himself as bait.
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while we all thought he had been taken in the hunt, we found out he hadn’t when out of nowhere he came back and saved liam from one of the ghost riders at the school, leaving liam able to get on with his god awful – but working – plan to get into the hunt.
while theo later on fought at the side of scott, malia and peter, he was forgotten and left alone. obligated to live in his car.
we found that out on season six episode twelve, where i noticed that the deputies coming to wake him up seemed to always wear a different uniform, did theo move around? or is the beacon county just, that big?
he was shot and didn’t come back until three episodes later (not gonna lie, these were the three most stressful weeks of my life).
when in episode twelve we found out he was living in his car, we also found out that he might have been the first target for the anuk-ite. thankfully, theo caught the spider early and got rid of it before it took his body and with it, his life.
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when he came back in episode fifteen, he was hang up and tied to an electric fence in gerard and monroe’s headquarters. along with two other werewolves. when he thought he was free, he ended not being and was taken into custody.
during episode fifteen, when nolan was caught trying to sneak into the sheriff station liam automatically recognized him as the one who tried to make him shift in front of the whole school by beating him up. by scott’s reaction we understand that he might not have told him. but some of the shots during this scene were interesting, showing liam on the first plan with a close-shot accompanied by a blurry theo in the back. we understand why in the next scene that they share, in the bathroom.
theo confronts liam about what is happening, saying he will not risk his freedom. while liam first manages to stay calm during the discussion, he looses control when talking about brett and lori’s death. he punches theo before heading out and saying "i’m still working on my anger".
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while we don’t know what happens between episode fifteen and episode sixteen, we understand that something might have clicked in liam’s brain, because, while he reacted poorly, theo seemed to be the only one noticing that something was wrong with liam. could this be why he brought him with him at the zoo? maybe.
it could also be because theo seems to be able to handle liam. theo has a past and liam knows it, theo doesn’t shy away in front of danger and maybe this is what liam needs at the moment? someone who will not hesitate to get in the way to stop him from doing something stupid?
there is also a line in this episode where theo says "i’m not dying out here because you want pay back against a kid who kicked your ass" and while i have no recollection of anyone explaining to theo what happened in the prior episodes with nolan and liam, maybe someone did between episode fifteen and sixteen, liam perhaps?
the car conversation is also interesting because now theo knows how bad liam has it with his anger, and the fear the anuk-ite brings is not helping "people only feel one emotion at a time liam". he also knows liam needs help "you brought me here because that thing that came out of the wild hunt is affecting you too" at this moment theo has already made up his mind, whether liam wants his help or not, he is going to get it.
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and funny enough, liam doesn’t seem that resilient – oh he is yes – but not so much because deep down he knows he needs it, he also knows that whatever technique theo uses, it seems to be working because in episode seventeen, during the locker-room scene, liam calms down a bit too quickly for my liking (wrong i absolutely loved that).
theo uses reversed psychology and makes it to seem like liam would turn into a murderer, into someone like him "i’m the one with experience here", theo even uses "we" so that liam can feel more of a "bad person" because of what he might do. but in the end, it works and liam calms down.
now here is my favorite part, right after that liam asks theo "why do you keep trying to save me" and while theo answers something so dumb i don’t even want to mention it, i know it’s because liam saved him first and now theo feels obligated to return the favor (well, he does seem to enjoy it anyways).
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theo can be seen in the next episode, number eighteen, right at the beginning, in the animal clinic with scott, liam and mason.
mason agrees with theo and liam doesn’t seem to like it, everything he says to or about theo seems to come out as an insult, but why? they seemed to be getting along well in the prior episode? finishing each other sentences when showing the dead bodies gabe brought them to to scott and malia? maybe because he’s starting to realize he might need theo more than he thought? and he doesn’t want to acknowledge it?
either way, theo and mason are sent to the tunnels to find aaron. they are both clearly uncomfortable being with each other but theo even more because the tunnels are where everything started and he surely does not want to stay or be here at all.
mason ends up hurt, and theo decides to try and take his pain away. first of all, great decision, it shows that he is trying to change, that he at least knows he can do it at some point and wants to. unfortunately he isn’t able "you can’t take pain if you don’t care". theo still decides to stay with mason while waiting for help.
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the next time we see theo, it’s at the beginning of episode twenty, the finale. he is in his car, driving to somewhere on the phone with scott.
here are some details that don’t sit right with me. their phone call lasted twenty six seconds. there is no way theo answered the phone, got in his car, and drove to what seems to be the highway in twenty six seconds, so where was he going? was he leaving town because of what had happened with mason in the tunnels or liam’s sneaky comments at the clinic? because even after all his efforts, he is still not being accepted and knows he probably never will? probably. but i’m glad scott called and asked for his help.
he got to the hospital and saved liam’s ass – again might i add.
then, there is what is for me, their most important scene, for their relationship but also for their own character’s arc.
the elevator scene.
where they promise each other they weren’t gonna die for each other. where they lie their ass off.
i have a theory about this scene. remember the look? yes that one, the famous look down. based on my calculations, it is way too low to be directed to liam’s lips as people believe it to be, no, i think it’s directed to his chest, most importantly, his heart. because liam lied, and theo heard it. now of course theo lied too but he’s a professional he knows how to keep his heart steady.
and of course liam knows that theo knows because the look gives it away, which is why he accepts to fight with him (and damn, they make a pretty good team! i mean, that back roll? come on!) and i think in that moment they understood that no matter what, they can’t hide from this anymore, whatever this is (my money’s on anchor with a touch of love).
but in that moment i knew. i knew that because liam allowed himself to get help from theo, allowed himself to be anchored by theo, he anchored theo too. he gave him a reason and the opportunity to stay on the right path, on the path to redemption. and in that moment theo realized that he mattered, that he had a purpose.
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can we also quickly talk about the small shot of theo flinching at the sound of the gun going off? when has he ever done that? he was literally raised by the dread doctors, he’s not afraid of anything, but not knowing if liam was on the other end of that gun shot scared him.
now we all know that part of why theo was able to take gabe’s pain was because he saw himself in him, the kid who trusted the wrong people and suffered the consequences, just like he did. but part of why he was able to care was because liam cared. liam gave theo a reason to care.
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and this is why i love them so much. because their relationship, again, whatever it is, is special. it’s unlike any we’ve ever seen in the show. it’s important because it takes into consideration who they are on their own. it doesn’t exist just to add a relationship or a story-line to the show, it exists to fit on their own story-line, to make them better people.
as the title says, liam saved theo from his never ending nightmare so theo saved liam from himself (and fell in love with him in the process).
they are so important to me because i like when relationships have meaning, and theirs seems to be just that, meaningful.
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winryofresembool · 3 years
Text
Things We Lost in the Fire, ch 31
aka Caleo uni au
Fic summary: Calypso starts studying at a new university, but to her annoyance her new flatmate is a loud mouthed mechanic who also likes to sneak his dog in whenever. But as she learns to know him better, she realizes they might have more in common than what she first thought. Eventually, even the darkest secrets come out…
Chapter summary: At Waystation, pt 4/?
A/N: Soo sorry about the long wait! This was a very long and kind of tricky chapter to write so it took me longer than I would have wanted. But in a way this is (ironically) a good day to post this chapter as it's the Mother's day in many parts of the world today. (Happy Mother’s day Esperanza Valdez ;___;)
Before we head into this chapter, I want to give you guys a warning that it (specifically, the flashback in the beginning of the chapter) talks about what happened to Leo's mother, so in case you find that too hard to read, feel free to skip it. (If you have read HoO, I think you can somewhat guess what to expect)
Thanks for all the amazing support you guys have given me so far! ♥ It's what keeps me going! Now, enjoy, and remember that I'd really like to hear what you think because there's a lot going on in this chapter!
Words: 5550 (yeah, long one)
Genre: romance & hurt/comfort
Warnings: minor character death (talked about), be aware!
previous chapter / AO3
*flashback*
There was fire. So much fire.
Leo had been tinkering with his toy tools and drawing some simple blueprints in the living room when he had remembered that he had left his hammer into his room. He went to look for it and it took him a couple of minutes to locate it from under the unfinished toys and papers he had thrown around. Unfortunately, that couple of minutes had been enough for all hell to break loose in the living room.
He started smelling smoke and ran back downstairs to see where it came from. The wooden floor and several pieces of furniture in the living room were on fire, which seemed to have started from the papers he had left near the fireplace. Leo’s mind went completely blank like a machine that had just been shut down. The only thing that he was capable of thinking was: what do I do?
His mother had put a fire in the fireplace before she had left to run some errands because it had been a cold day. She had warned Leo several times to be careful with it, even putting a bucket of water and a smothering blanket nearby in case of emergency. But it was already too late to use them; the fire had already spread too far in the room. Because of his state of panic, it took Leo a while to manage to make decisions, but finally, his brain told him: get your phone so you can call mom, and run.
What his 8-year-old brain didn’t understand: he should have just left the building right then and asked a neighbor or someone to call the fire department instead. But Leo could only think how the very thing his mother had been worried about just happened and how she’d probably never forgive him for – no matter how accidentally – burning their home. He had vague memories of leaving his cell phone that he had gotten a few months earlier on his birthday into his room, so he ran upstairs as quickly as he could with his short, wobbly legs. However, the phone wasn’t on his desk like he had anticipated, and it took him a while to remember he had thrown it under the bed after getting frustrated with his homework; the words on the textbook they were supposed to read had not made any sense to him.
Once he finally found the cell phone and went back downstairs to leave the building, the fire had already spread so much that he could barely see anything from the smoke. Coughing, he tried to cover his mouth with his shirt so he could protect himself from the smoke and dash to the door, but he soon realized it was not possible. His road was blocked, and the only way for him to get out would be through the upstairs windows.
Leo didn’t have the time to figure out how to open the windows so he ended up breaking his bedroom window with a real hammer that he happened to find nearby. Shaking, breathing heavily and trying to avoid the glass shards, he looked down. The fall would be quite big, at least 5-6 meters, but he was no stranger to broken bones. The fights with other school kids had taught him a thing or two about that. He would still be more likely to survive the fall than trying to go out from downstairs; at least there were no stones or other hard objects under the window. He was so full of adrenaline that he didn’t even notice that his hands were bleeding; they had hit the broken glass when he had peeked out.
Finally, he managed to gain enough courage to climb up the windowsill and lift one of his legs over the edge. In the process he scraped himself some more in the glass and tore his pants a bit as well, but who cared? It was a very minor thing compared to his mother’s face if she’d find him dead in the house. For a moment Leo thought about all the blueprints and devices in development in the basement of the house, how hours and hours of his mother’s work would go to waste if the entire house burned down – but that was a thing to worry about for later. It was already too late to do anything but to try to escape.
With a huge lump in his throat as he imagined how his mother would hate him when she’d find out about the fire, Leo finally lifted his other leg over the edge as well, sitting on the windowsill with his legs hanging in the air. The distance between him and the ground seemed even bigger than it had earlier, but he had to do this. Slowly, he inched himself forward, hesitating a bit more, but the sound of the fire breaking something downstairs startled him and finally, he dropped down.
After that his memories started getting hazy. He fainted when hitting the ground and when he first woke up he noticed the pain in his left ankle and some blood coming from his forehead. He was laying on the grass, not unharmed but at least alive, and suddenly he got aware that he had to get farther from the house because the fire could easily spread to the surrounding grounds. He could only hope that a neighbor or a passerby had already called the fire department because he himself would not be able to do that, not with his dizzy head and the pain everywhere in his body. Before he passed out again, his last thought was: when would his mother be back?
The next time he was conscious, he remembered trying to drag himself forward with his hands. He could not stand up, and not even crawl, so that was the only thing he could do. Inch by inch, he got a bit farther from his falling spot, and by that time he also started hearing some distant sirens and human yells somewhere, but his mind could not comprehend what all of it meant.
After that, the next thing he remembered was being lifted from the ground by a first responder. The man tried to tell him soothing words, probably something like ‘poor child, it will be alright’, but Leo didn’t care. He wished the fogginess of his brain would just fade so he could speak and walk on his own feet and find out what happened to his mother – if she returned yet – but afterwards, he wished he would have never found out.
He kept slipping in and out of consciousness for a while, not really sure what was happening around him, until finally he woke up in the hospital. One of his legs and arms had been plastered and a bandage had been wrapped around his head. Already he wished he could have just ripped them off and run away but he knew that wasn’t possible. A couple of minutes later, a nurse finally arrived at his bedside.
“Oh, good, I’m glad you’re awake,” she said, testing his forehead to see if he had a fever. “You scared us there, young one.”
“It’s not me you should be worried about! Where’s my mom?! Hasn’t anyone told her I am here?” Leo demanded in a hoarse voice.
The nurse ignored his question. “Now, what is your name?”
“Leo Valdez,” he answered grumpily, glaring at the nurse.
“Good. How old are you?” the woman asked then.
“8 years. But how does that have anything to do with anything? I want my mom here!”
“Calm down, Mr. Valdez. We are just doing some routine tests. You hit your head pretty badly. Now, do you remember your home address?”
Leo, despite still feeling quite dizzy, got really angry about the question. “Yes, I do, but it doesn’t matter! There’s probably nothing left of it anymore! Because it burned down!” The tears finally demanded to get out of his system as he added with a tiny voice: “And I don’t know where my mom is.”
The nurse looked very hesitant for a moment. “I, um… You know, I think we are gonna complete this test a bit later. There are some people who have been wanting to see you.” She looked towards the door restlessly.
“Is it mom?” Leo asked instantly.
The nurse just shook her head. “You’ll see soon.”
She let the visitors in and left the room, closing the door behind her. Leo found himself staring at a firefighter, who he vaguely recognized as the same one who had carried him to safety after his fall. With him entered a police officer whom Leo had not seen before. Why would a police officer want to meet him, he wondered. Maybe they’d sentence him to prison for burning the house down?
“It was an accident!” Leo blurted before the men had time to say anything, trying to look brave even though he had just cried.
“We know, we know,” the firefighter tried to calm him down. “That’s not why we are here. We wanted to see how you were doing, and, um…” he looked helplessly at his companion.
“We have some bad news,” the police officer went straight to the topic.
“Is it about the house?” Leo asked.
“No, it’s about your mother… she’s gone.”
It took Leo a moment to register what the police officer had said.
“What?” he yelled.
“I’m sorry, but she is dead.”
Leo couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He was already so panicked that denial was his only coping mechanism left. “Again, what?”
“It is true, young man,” the police officer stated matter-of-factly.
“But she can’t be! She wasn’t even home…!” Leo squeaked, trying to make sense of the situation in his blurry, shocked mind.
The firefighter spoke this time. “I’m so sorry, son… but he’s not lying. We found her in your house. The neighbor who called us had seen her go in before we arrived, and… when we got there… it was already too late.”
“But… but…” Leo had a very hard time getting any words out at that moment. “Why… why would she go in…? And… why didn’t anyone stop her?”
Again the visitors hesitated before answering. “This is just what we heard from a couple of witnesses, but… it seems like she had gone in to… look for you…”
Leo wished the sweet unconsciousness had returned to him in that moment, but that didn’t happen. Instead, it felt like something tried to pull his heart out of his chest. His mind was going through about a hundred different things at the same time: grief, anger, denial… and perhaps above everything else, guilt. It was his fault. It was his fault that the house had burned, and it was his fault that his mother had gone into the burning house. If he had been there to warn her… if she had known… But no, he had had to jump from upstairs to the backyard from where he had been harder to find. And then he had, only half conscious, dragged himself to a nearby trench where the humidity had protected him, being even harder to spot unless you happened to walk right next to it.
That meant that his mother had gone into the house thinking he was there… and she had died thinking he had died. All because he hadn’t listened to her, because he had left some papers on which he had been drawing too near the fireplace.
‘My fault. All my fault’, was all Leo could hear in his head on repeat. He noticed that the firefighter was trying to say something, but he could not register what. Leo didn’t ask him to repeat what he had said. Instead, he stuttered with a weak voice:
“You didn’t answer my other question. Why… didn’t anyone… stop her?”
The police officer sighed sadly. “From what we know, your neighbors had tried to tell her to not go in, that there was nothing she could do, but she refused to listen. The… smoke had already suffocated her by the time we arrived.”
Leo clenched his small fists, unable to focus his gaze anywhere. Everything around him was just a meaningless blur. All of a sudden, nothing mattered to him anymore. With his mother, Leo hadn’t just lost the most important person in his life, the only person who had ever really cared about him and understood him. He had lost his home, his safety, everything that he had loved. More to himself than to the men in the room, he sobbed:
“What's going to happen to me?”
And then everything went blank.
*end flashback*
When Leo woke up, he noticed he was breathing very sharply. He had to tell himself to slow it down a bit, trying to focus on the breathing instead of the dream he had just seen. Once he had calmed down a bit, he realized his face was soaked from the tears. The good feeling from the day before was gone, and suddenly he remembered all too well why he hated that holiday so much. His mother had died on Christmas day, 11 years ago.
The worst part about the nightmare he had just seen? It had actually happened. Sure, the details might have changed in Leo’s mind a bit because he had been so young when his mother had died, but most of it was true. The fire, the jumping, the people in the hospital, all true. When he had still been a kid, he had dared to hope that maybe someday the memories would start fading and it wouldn’t hurt so much. But now, 11 years later, he knew better. Thanks to the therapy and Jo, Emmie and the friends’ help, he did have moments when he managed to feel happy, focus on the future and forget the pain for a time being, but when it came back, it was always as intense. And it was especially bad on Christmas days, the anniversary of those horrific events.
‘Pull yourself together’, Leo told himself. ‘This is not what your mother would have wanted for you.’
‘No’, another, the evil voice in his head said. ‘But then again, if it weren’t for you, she would still be here.’
He groaned at himself and decided that it would be better to get himself up and moving rather than lay there listening to the voices. Sitting up, he combed his fingers through his messy hair in an attempt to tame it, with little success. After that, he wiped the tears from his face, trying to pretend it had never happened. Registering the voices coming from the living room, he figured some of his family members were already awake even though it was still rather early. They, especially Georgina, were lucky that they didn’t know what was going through in his head that day; it would have ruined everyone’s Christmas.
Trying to pull himself together and put on a happy face, he got up and washed his face in the bathroom quickly before joining the family. The moment he reached the bottom of the stairs, Georgina ran to him and hugged him.
“Merry Christmas, hermano!”
Leo patted her hair absentmindedly, thinking that Georgina was now only a year older than he had been when… no, he had to stop thinking about it. If not for anyone else’s sake, then Georgina’s. She deserved to have a happy day.
“Merry Christmas to you too, hermanita. Well, did Santa visit? Did he receive my memo on your behavior towards me this year?”
Georgina pulled away from him and folded his arms. “I’m not a little baby anymore; I know Santa doesn’t actually exist. But we did get presents! Even you, although I was kind of surprised about that.”
Leo clutched his shirt. “Ouch, Georgie! I thought you were on my side!”
The siblings continued bickering playfully as they waited for the others. They had a tradition in their house that everyone needed to be there for the present opening. Soon Josephine appeared with a tray full of coffee cups, gingerbread cookies and certain small pies she used to bake every Christmas.
“Where are the others?” Georgina asked impatiently as she started stuffing the cookies into her mouth and drummed her legs against the sofa. “I want to open the presents already!”
“Calm down, Georgie,” Jo scolded her. “Emmie is checking the cats and dogs because they also need care on Christmas day, and Calypso may still be sleeping.”
“Ugh, I told her I wanna start opening the presents early!” Georgina protested. “I’ll go wake her up if she isn’t here in 10 minutes!”
“You’ll wake who up?” Calypso showed up from the stairway. Hearing her voice and seeing her face, Leo forgot for a moment why he had been so upset earlier. Somehow her presence just had that weird effect on him. She was wearing a green holiday sweater knitted by Annabeth over her pajamas – pink with some small flower prints – and her hair was flying freely, slightly wavy because of the braids that Georgie had insisted on making the previous evening. Somehow even that casual look made her look adorable in his eyes and his throat felt dry for entirely different reasons than a few minutes earlier. Leo almost missed Calypso’s next words due to his distraction. “Sorry that you had to wait, Georgina. I was finishing up one last present because I wasn’t entirely happy with it.”
“No worries!” Georgina exclaimed. Apparently the last minute gift preparing was a good enough reason to be late in her books, because Leo knew that if he had been late for the gift opening, the little girl wouldn’t have forgiven that easily.
Calypso put her pile of neatly packed presents under the tree to wait and turned to the others.
“So, merry Christmas, everyone! If I am allowed to be honest with you, I don’t really know a lot about Christmas traditions… My family never celebrated it… But I want to learn!”
“We’ll teach you,” Georgina told her immediately. “It’s gonna be so much fun, you’ll see!”
Leo wished he himself could have been as enthusiastic about the holiday as Georgina was, but tried to keep the happy face on anyway.
“Cal, try some of those pies before Georgie has eaten them all.” He pointed to the tray Jo had brought. Calypso glanced at him suspiciously for a moment. “Don’t give me that look; I swear I didn’t make them. It’s all Jo and Emmie.”
“Fine,” Calypso agreed and took a bite. “This is really good!” she exclaimed once her mouth was empty.
“Told you. Now do you trust me?” Leo asked her teasingly.
“Hmmm. That’s still to be determined,” Calypso replied, but Leo could see her smile into her piece of pie.
As everyone waited for Emmie to return inside, they kept up a light banter as they ate their Christmas breakfast in the living room. Even Leo did his best to participate in it, and soon he did feel a bit better, although if someone had looked at him more closely, they would have noticed the smile on his face didn’t reach his eyes.
Finally, Emmie arrived together with Festus and Georgina instantly pulled her towards the Christmas tree so they could start the gift sharing. A grin spread across Leo’s face as well when he watched the little girl run back and forth as she delivered the packages to their rightful owners. This was now, he tried to remind himself. What happened in the past… was in the past and his mother would probably have wanted him to enjoy these moments.
Not that he’d ever know that for sure, the nasty voice in Leo’s head said again, and the grin almost disappeared from his face.
To no one’s surprise, Georgina got the most presents because even some family friends and neighbors had sent her something (that’s what happened when she got everyone wrapped around her finger, Leo thought), but everyone else got their fair share of self made gifts as well. Leo noticed that Calypso had three packages; one from him, one from Georgina who had insisted on making her own present, and one from Jo and Emmie. He found himself wishing she’d like what he had made; he had spent quite a lot of time on it.
Before anyone could start ripping their wrapping papers off the presents, Festus was given some treats so he wouldn’t interrupt the gift opening too much. Georgina got the privilege of getting to open hers first. She chuckled at Leo’s jokes in the photo album, which Leo took as a success, and squealed excitedly at the tiny dragon toy he had carved from wood and painted. Calypso had sewed her a detailed gryphon plushie, because Leo had told her that Georgina had recently gotten interested in the mythical creatures, a topic Calypso knew a lot about. The little girl hugged the plushie enthusiastically while Calypso promised her to tell her more about the Greek mythology later when they’d have more time. Emmie gave Georgie a tiny beginning of a plant that she’d get to raise on her own, and Jo, the practical person that she was, gave her a pocket knife for tinkering with a warning that she’d only get to use it under her supervision.
Leo and Calypso allowed Jo and Emmie to open their presents next. It was mostly practical stuff, like woolly socks, self made chocolate, and new tools (which broke the ‘homemade’ rule but Leo knew Jo needed them), but Leo had also tinkered frames for a photo of the Waystation family and asked Calypso to decorate it with her paints. The final result looked pretty good in his opinion.
Next was Calypso’s turn. Georgina had attempted to crochet a potholder for her because Leo had guiltily admitted that he may have accidentally ruined one of Calypso’s potholders while cooking something. However, since she was still a beginner in the handicrafts, the potholder had some room for improvement, but Leo could see from Calypso’s happy face that she appreciated the gesture. Leo had also told his mothers that Calypso really loved her flowers, so they gave her a white orchid in a pot that Jo had once crafted. Finally, she opened the gift Leo had made for her. He was biting his lip and tapping his fingers nervously even though he tried to act nonchalant as he watched Calypso’s reaction. Before she removed the paper, she knocked on the surface of the gift, trying to guess what was in it.
“Is this a tool box? So you could borrow mine when you lose yours?” She teased.
“Well, at least that would be useful, don’t you think? But hold your horses; it’s probably not what you think it is,” Leo hinted. Calypso gave him a quizzical look and Leo took that as a sign that she really had no idea what the gift was.
“I guess there’s only one way to find out,” she noted and started carefully removing the paper. Unlike Georgina, she made sure that the paper would still be usable on some later occasion. Calypso wasn’t entirely wrong with her guess; the gift was indeed a box of sorts. But it wasn’t for tools. Instead, it was a jewelry box; wooden, self made, painted rose pink, which happened to be Calypso’s favorite color. When she opened it, she noticed a small mirror on the lid with some text on it. The box also played one of those few songs that they both happened to like. Calypso traced her finger on the smooth surface of the box for a moment before she noticed that there was still something more in the box: a silvery bracelet with a letter C hanging from it. She took it into her hands and admired it for a moment before reading aloud the text that had been written on the mirror:
“You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep rereading the last one.”
“Um, yeah…” Leo was unsure how he should respond. Suddenly he got worried he had been too straightforward with that message, and Calypso wouldn’t appreciate it. “It was a quote, um, that I happened to stumble upon somewhere recently… But I thought it was quite fitting?”
Calypso looked at him straight into the eyes and for a moment Leo managed to forget that there were others in the room. It was as if she was trying to message him wordlessly that she understood the meaning of the quote.
“Yes, I think it works,” she replied slowly. “For both of us.”
Leo felt his ears getting heated and attempted to comb his hair over them with his fingers to not make it so painfully obvious. Given what day it was, he understood that it was ironic he was using that quote when he himself was struggling to let go from his past.
“True,” he had to admit, looking at the others nervously from the corner of his eye. “It’s… it’s something that we both should try to remember. Something we have in common, right?”
Calypso seemed to accept his explanation. “Right. Um, this box is really beautiful. You’ve seen a lot of trouble with it. The music and all… It’s really nice. Did you even make this bracelet?”
Even though Leo should have prepared himself for that question, he felt embarrassed to reveal the bracelet’s origins, afraid it might sound too sentimental. He rubbed the back of his neck and cleared his throat to get more time to consider his answer.
“The… the chain was from an old bracelet my mom had… My biological mom, I mean. I didn’t get to keep a lot of her belongings but this had survived… and my dear aunt didn’t want to keep it so I’ve been carrying it around as a charm of some sort. But the thing is, I don’t really need it so it was Jo’s suggestion that I could give it to someone who’d use it. She helped me make this,” he showed the C, “because I don’t really…”
“Want to forge anything,” Calypso finished for him. “Yeah. I understand.”
“Good. If you don’t like it, you can give it to someone else; I’m sure my mom wouldn’t mind…”
Calypso gave him an encouraging smile. “Oh, no! This bracelet meant a lot to you so it means a lot to me. It’s a really nice gesture, Leo.”
“You’re welcome?” he replied, kind of flustered by her reaction.
Calypso fiddled with the gift for a moment before turning her attention back to Leo.
“Would you like to put this on my wrist? I’d like to see how it fits.”
“Oh… alright!” Leo agreed, wishing he could say something that didn’t make him sound like a complete idiot. But then again, he reminded himself, wasn’t that what most people thought of him? And since when had he cared?
Calypso handed the bracelet to him and Leo took a very light hold of her wrist, as if afraid that he’d burn her skin with his hot fingers. He was so focused on his task that he even forgot that it was technically against the ‘rules’ they had set, but Calypso had initiated it so who was he to deny her request? He put the chain around her wrist with fumbling fingers and closed the lock. After that he allowed his hand to stay around hers a moment longer. He swiped the surface of the chain with his finger, also touching the back of her hand by accident (or maybe on purpose). Calypso looked up from their hands to him with a surprisingly soft expression that he hadn’t seen since that day when they had promised each other to try harder to be ‘just friends’. His brain sent sparks through his spine and he felt very warm all of a sudden.
“I… um… it seems to fit, doesn’t it?” he finally stuttered, looking down at the bracelet, Calypso’s gaze still lingering in his mind. He let her wrist go and already his hand felt much colder, as if it was missing something.
“Oh, yeah,” Calypso nodded, absentmindedly fiddling with the chain of the bracelet. “It’s small enough that it won’t fall but it’s not too small.”
“Good,” Leo said, a smile returning to his face. “Guess you’re just as tiny as my mom was.” He finally managed to bring out his more playful side.
“Have you looked into the mirror lately, Mister Super-Sized McShizzle? You’re not exactly a giant yourself,” Calypso teased back.
Georgina giggled at her response. “You tell him, Calie!”
“This Georgina here, though,” Leo grinned at her, “she must really have some giant blood in her. She uses my overalls in the garage sometimes!”
“I do not,” Georgina denied quickly. “They’re stinky.”
“Yeah? And you smell like flowers and rainbows,” Leo retorted and started tickling the little girl.
For a moment Leo was able to forget that he hated Christmas as he played with Georgina, but then someone reminded him that he still had to open his own presents. He looked at the pile he had gotten and thought briefly that he had gotten more of them than what he had expected. Georgina had drawn him a picture of him with Festus and sewed him a simple pencil case for his blueprint pencils. Jason and Piper had gotten him a book about weird mechanics facts. Percy had sent him a new orange t-shirt so Leo could return him the one that he had once borrowed after a workout (which, according to Percy, was ‘way too big for him anyway’). Leo’s moms had made him an awesome tool case where even the bigger tools would fit and baked some of his favorite goodies. Finally, it was the turn for Calypso’s present, though.
“What do you think it is?” Calypso asked, glancing at him curiously.
“My first guess would have been a pack of olives because you know how much I love those things… But this doesn’t feel like them. It’s mostly soft but there are some hard parts too. Maybe a bit like a backpack?"
“That wasn’t a half bad guess,” Calypso responded. “But I won’t tell you the correct answer; you can figure it out on your own.” She invited Leo to open the present.
“Okie, Sunshine, will do.”
He ripped the paper (which was Leo’s favorite shade of red) off notably less gracefully than Calypso had done with her presents, but his mouth opened involuntarily when he saw what was inside. It was a toolbelt, not looking like one of those belts that broke in his use after the first couple of days (Leo had a habit to load them too full sometimes), but sturdy, well made. Leo wondered where she had obtained the leather she had used in it, and hoped that it hadn’t cost her too much money. The belt had four different sized pockets for the tools and it seemed like one of them had something in it, but before Leo checked what was inside, he turned to Calypso:
“How did you know I needed one of these?”
“Probably because you’ve been carrying wrenches and stuff in your jean pockets and I’ve also seen your room and that’s enough for me to be able to tell you need a place for your tools,” Calypso smirked. Leo barely heard her answer. He didn’t want to admit aloud that one of the reasons why he was suddenly feeling so sentimental about a tool belt was because it reminded him a lot of the one his mom had made for him when he was a kid. “I hope this wasn’t too much trouble…” He noted more quietly than usual.
“It was not trouble at all,” Calypso reassured him. “I have sewed more difficult things. The leather was actually from one of my old bags that my dad got for me – which I hated – so I didn’t even have to buy a lot of the materials. Besides, you yourself made this,” she knocked the wooden cover of the jewelry box, “and I bet it was a lot more difficult.”
“Nah, it wasn’t…” Leo tried to protest and he noticed the others in the room had a hard time keeping their faces straight as they listened to the flatmates competing whose present had taken more time. “The music was probably the most complicated part.”
“Okay,” Calypso said, deciding to leave the debate there. “Hey, I forgot to mention that there is something small in one of the pockets. You could check it out now.”
“Alright, I will,” Leo told her. He reached out to the said pocket and found a small box from it. His smile instantly disappeared from his face when he realized what it was. Everyone went quiet for a while as they were waiting for his reaction.
“Why would you give me matches, especially today of all days?” He lifted his gaze from the box, his eyes sparkling angrily. Before anyone could say anything, he threw the box away and jumped up from his seat. Calypso’s sad face was the last thing he saw before storming out of the room.
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clevercorvidae · 4 years
Text
BNHA Common Misconceptions
I’ve been seeing wayyy too much bs on my dash lately. So I thought I’d share some of my thoughts on some Controversy™
***Spoilers For The Manga***
1. “What the HPSC did to Hawks wasn’t bad”
A government organization putting a young child through rigorous training so that he can be used as a tool is bad. I don’t know why I have to spell that out
Hawks had to abandon his real name at a very young age. That’s damaging for a kid’s sense of identity. His identity as a person no longer has any separation from his work as a hero. Being a hero is all he is now. I wouldn’t be surprised if (provided Hawks’s wings are gone for good) he has an identity crisis after this arc because he can’t be “Hawks” anymore.
Hawks is based on Lionel Messi, a soccer player recruited at a young age in return for paying for his medical procedures. I’ve seen people say that Hawks chose to be a hero. One, he was a child, young children shouldn’t be making decisions like that. Two, we know based on context clues that Keigo was more than likely living in poverty, possibly with alcoholic parents, and we literally are told that the HPSC payed for his family’s living expenses. Do you really think Keigo had much of a choice here?
I’ve seen people say “it’s just like what UA is doing”. First of all, UA is called out for being irresponsible and endangering their students IN UNIVERSE. Second, Keigo was a young child, the UA kids are 15+. There’s a huge difference.
2. “Mitsuki isn’t abusive”
Honestly when it comes to her smacking Katsuki, I could excuse it as a joke done in poor taste and not hold it over her as a character.
Hitting him WASNT just discipline tho. You should never, ever, under any circumstances hit your kid. Fuck that noise.
What I really have an issue with is what she SAYS to Katsuki. Her guilt tripping him isn’t a throwaway line either. He repeats the sentiment that he is responsible for Kamino during Deku v Kacchan 2. It’s one of the main reasons he fights Deku.
Horikoshi says that Katsuki has a good relationship with his mother. In that case, he did a horrible job at presenting that. What is written in the canon is what should be used as the basis for how we interpret her character.
3. “Shigaraki chose to kill his family/was born evil”
No...just...no. He was FIVE for crying out loud.
He wanted to be a hero, and took extra care to play with kids that had no friends. He definitely wasn’t born evil lmao.
His quirk manifested while he was having an emotional crisis. Decay is controlled by emotion so of course it went haywire.
He didn’t even know it was him doing it at first.
“But Shigaraki said he WANTED it to happen” Shigaraki is an unreliable narrator. What we actually SEE tells a very different story. He reaches out to Hana and his Mother for help. His grandparents are just caught in the shockwave. The ONLY person he killed on purpose was his father.
Now when it comes to his father, he had just beat him and locked him outside. He’s FIVE, and he has no healthy outlet for his anger and frustration. Hell, we see that in his “itchiness”, he only feels like this in the house, because his father makes him suppress his love for heroes and his dream to become one. He takes joy in killing his father because it’s the only release he’s ever experienced.
The fact that you guys forget that this is an abused child with no real control over his quirk that just got beaten and locked outside... Nope, no reading comprehension here.
4. “The League of Villains are justified/are a revolutionary group”
...Shigaraki has stated over and over again that he just wants to destroy everything. He doesn’t care about reform or improving anything. That one panel in Ch. 222, where he says he wants to destroy everything I think sums it up perfectly.
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He wants to destroy EVERYTHING good or bad or neither or both. There’s a newborn baby, a field of flowers , Nine, various heroes, the UA kids, etc all varying in innocence.
The rest of the league have very different goals and reasons why they continue to support Shigaraki. Twice wants to protect the only people that accepted him. Spinner just wants to have purpose for his life. Toga wants to live the way she wishes with no consequences. Compress is also here.
The only “revolutionary” is Dabi. But his views are not universal throughout the league.
Even if they were trying to improve things. They have killed countless innocent people, they’ve tried to kill the UA kids too. That’s not ok. And it’s not erased by the fact that they’ve done good. (I do appreciate them for killing the MHA version of the KKK, truly epic of you)
5. “Hawks is abusive”
It’s not abuse to manipulate someone for info when you’re a double agent. It’s kinda shitty, and you could argue that it was unnecessary for Hawks to do so in context. But it’s not abuse.
Y’all need to stop using the word abuse/abusive tendencies to describe all immoral actions
I’ve also seen people say that Hawks has abusive tendencies (as in he’s abusive in all his relationships with other characters) and...do I really need to explain why that makes no sense at all?
6. “Twice deserved to die/it was necessary to kill him”
Feel like I need to remind people that we’ve only ever actually seen Twice kill one guy and that was one of the KKK guys.
Twice isn’t evil, even Hawks admits that he is a genuinely good person. Good people don’t deserve to die.
It wasn’t necessary, and here’s why: Hawks could’ve just knocked him out or even just severely injured him. (Or the HPSC could’ve just grown a brain cell and sent more people to back him up, making it easier to hold back his quirk and arrest him)
Hawks shouldn’t have killed Twice, he only killed him because he’s been raised as a child soldier and I wouldn’t be surprised if what he told Twice about taking out villains was a direct quote from the HPSC
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Also, Hawks would’ve killed Twice with or without Dabi’s intervention
Something I do have to say though is that Hawks was right not to just let Twice go. It’s tragic because Twice WAS leaving to help his friends, but the other side of that tragedy it that his friends are terrorists. If he was allowed to leave a shit ton of people would have died (again that doesn’t mean he deserved to die either, don’t get it twisted)
The WHOLE POINT of Hawks v Twice is to make you question who the bad guy is. Both characters are morally gray and the only reason they even have to fight is because of the outside forces controlling their fates. It’s supposed to be tragic it’s supposed to be unclear who is in the right, so stop arguing about it.
7. “Bakugou is abusive/irredeemable” (I know it’s been talked to death but I still see it everywhere)
People are, in fact, allowed to grow past the person they were in middle school.
Most people get hung up on the “throw yourself off a building” line. Which is fair, but again, he was in middle school.
People also say “he hasn’t apologized yet”. Yeah? And? The story isn’t over yet. Horikoshi has already acknowledged that too. I don’t know what you want? People who like him know that his arc isn’t over yet.
I’ve seen a lot of people denying his character development. In the beginning of the series he was a bully and let his ego control him. I don’t think he’s bullied...anyone since Deku v Kacchan 2. He insults people but they obviously don’t take it seriously.
He’s also gone from preferring to fail a final exam to avoid working with Deku, to following him into battle against Shigaraki.
Also, when he actually likes and respects someone he doesn’t mistreat them. This is the same thing with Hawks where y’all NEED to stop misusing the word abuse. He was an abusive friend to Deku when they were kids, that’s it.
8. “Rei was abusive too!”
I’m BEGGING YOU to learn what the term “abuse” means istg
She had a psychotic break. She genuinely thought it was her abusive husband coming through the door, and she acted out of fear.
“Well that’s not an excuse” yes it fucking is. Not to mention that as soon as she realized what happened, she sobs hysterically because she hurt Shouto and tries to use her quirk to help him.
I genuinely don’t understand why people think this
9. “Dabi actually does care about the league”
Listen, I know it sounds harsh, but y’all need to get your heads out of your piles of headcanons.
We know next to nothing about how Dabi feels about just about anything. But we do see that he’s aloof and distant with the league, he doesn’t put in more than he needs to. The rest of the league think of each other as family. Dabi straight up says he doesn’t give a shit about them.
“What if he was just putting up a front for Hawks” Why? Why would he do that? When asked who he was he answered him. He tells him how he feels about hero society and Stain. Not to mention that he was getting ready to kill him. If he was hiding his true feelings about the league I doubt he would’ve so easily said that he didn’t care about them but rather how useful they were.
At this point it’s just wishful thinking. Based on everything we’ve seen in the series so far and everything we know about Dabi, I think it’s safe to say that he doesn’t care about them all that much. If he secretly does care about them, I’d say it’s likely that he doesn’t even know he does.
Idk why all of a sudden villain stans and hero stans are feuding over things that shouldn’t even be up for debate in the first place. Sorry if this came off as super aggressive, I’m just sick of seeing this stuff all over the place. If anyone has anything to add go ahead
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witchofrvnswood · 4 years
Text
a thorough rant on why i despise awwp // part 1
TRIGGER WARNING: EATING DISORDERS, FATSHAMING, AND BAD BODY IMAGE ARE DISCUSSED IN A LATER SECTION OF THE POST
It’s been a long time coming guys,,,
But here it is.
I don’t know how this is going to end but it won’t be pretty.
So, AWWP is the sequel to SGE, a book in which the author claims he addresses themes such as feminism, girls vs boys, and what not. 
I feel like the book fails on many counts and does not even follow what Soman Chainani has described it as and intended it to be.
The first part of this rant will be centered around the themes of this book. The next part will touch on the plot and some of the characters in this book.
Let’s dissect this, shall we?
Toxic Feminism
God, this one drove me beyond insanity and is probably the worst plot point this book has to offer. I don’t even get what the author achieved by writing this ?? Instead of showing girls being progressive and realizing their true individual power and potential after an entire school year of being told they were objects and being trained to be beautiful and submissive to buys, he decides to show extreme feminism where girls just disown anything, ANYTHING that relates to femininity. 
Of course they don’t have to wear makeup. Of course they don’t need long, luscious locks. But to claim that girls only have these assets to impress boys is sexism in itself. “Third, we debeautified makeup as a pawn of patriarchy designed entirely to attract men,” the teacher went on.” Not to mention, Evelyn Sader, the woman pushing this agenda, isn’t following any of these rules herself and is running this sexist school while trying to trap two teenage girls just to get a man’s favor ??? What ?????
And of course. The whole enslaving boys thing. So many people falsely believe that feminism is about hating boys and that girls are supreme which is why so many people scoff at it. Because if this is the way feminism is being represented in media, in a CHILDRENS’ book, of course people are going to misunderstand it! This puts such a bad name on feminism and is just downright insulting to everything the feminist movement has worked for and now the author is pushing this idea into young children and teens. 
This entire book is set up to tell the readers that girls cannot be independent because they’ll end up enslaving men which cannot happen because they need men and can’t live without them! This idea is even pushed by Hester, HESTER of all people, who is said to hate boys. The way she says it makes absolutely no sense to her character whatsoever. ““Shut up,” Hester boomed, spinning back to Agatha. “No one likes boys! Even girls who like boys can’t stand boys! They smell, they talk too much, they mess up everything, and they always have their hands in their pants, but that doesn’t mean we can go to school without them! It’s like stymphs without bones! It’s like witches without warts! Without boys, LIFE HAS NO POINT!” 
What,,, why,,,, why would you make Hester say something to that effect ? She basically said that girls need boys to function and that “their lives are pointless without boys”. I’m sorry,,, I just,,,, guys, I lost it at that point. Take a shot every time this book makes me lose brain cells, much?? :p
The ending really defines this theme in this book. The last book ended with two girls choosing each other and this book went on and on about how that was WRONG, how only a girl and boy could be together. And then this book ends with a girl and a boy choosing each other and now that is supposedly “the right ending”. We know it’s not from Book 3, but does what’s said and done in Book 3 even matter since they ended up together anyways??
Overall, I just,,, I just don’t know where Soman was going with this. I just don’t. He doesn’t seem like an anti feminist but I feel like what he does is, he takes a controversial issue, puts his own problematic spin on it, tries to write it as overdramatic and satirical and just ends up writing a really close minded take on it which ends up affecting his readers, whose age demographic is usually 8-12.
He means well, he really does, and I know that. But he needs to step up his game. I honestly don’t know why his editor, who is a woman, let him publish awful messages like these,,, maybe he’s really convincing? We know he can’t take criticism though (*cough* instagram live *cough*)
But this leads to my next point: The body image messages in this book.
Body Image
TRIGGER WARNING: I DISCUSS GLORIFIED EATING DISORDERS, FATSHAMING, BAD BODY IMAGE, ETC. IF ANY OF THESE ARE TRIGGERS FOR YOU OR MAKE YOU UNCOMFORTABLE, STOP READING. THE RANT ENDS AFTER THIS SECTION.
Whew wee, where do I start. 
Here is another example of how Soman’s self claimed satire goes way too far and ends up being destructive.
The way the Evergirls are looked down upon by Sophie and Agatha for starting to eat more and not care about their weight or beauty is appalling to me. Sophie has always prioritized looks, which makes sense for her character to be disgusted by the Evers (not okay though!) but Agatha’s disgust makes no sense. This girl refused to take showers or brush her hair just a year ago, so I don’t know why she’s so disgusted by the Evergirls carelessness of their appearance.
Reena is even described with clear disgust in the book about how she had acquired a large bottom by eating chocolate and even candy is found repulsive by Sophie and Professor Anemone and the judgement they show towards the Evergirls for eating these is just awful. This message is really destructive and choosing whether or not to consume sweets is every individual’s own decision. Adding in the idea that eating sweets will make you gain lots of weight to your book is so harmful to young minds. And writing about how the protagonists, who the characters the readers look up to, are disgusted by girls putting on weight is horrible.
But the biggest victim of this theme is Dot. Dot, who was bullied endlessly for being overweight in the previous book. Dot, who somehow lost so much weight over the course of nine months that she went from being rotund to skinny with hour glass curves.
Okay, let’s break this down: there is no way, absolutely no way, that a person can lose THAT much weight in less than a year and still be healthy. Dot was not shown to have any health problems. When explaining how she had done this, she claimed she was “hungry all the time” and was solely snacking on vegetables such as carrots or celery. She further claimed that all of this was “worth it” as she is now popular and has a great social life.
I’m not,,,, I can’t even,,,, this. This is what you call glorifying an eating disorder. Are you going to read that above paragraph and tell me that people won’t feel inspired by Dot? That a self conscious girl won’t read about Dot’s “amazing” weight loss story and how “amazing” her life is after becoming skinny is not going to feel jealous and most likely try something to that affect,,,, I,,,, Soman, WHERE is your tact?
This is so disgusting and I am so sorry to anyone who was affected by this. If you don’t know, there was a movement of sorts on Instagram where the sge fans confronted Soman for how his way of writing eating disorders and weight problems seriously affected them and ended up making them self conscious or develop their own eating disorders.
This is all made worse by the fact that he just laughed it off, said he wrote it for humor, and was offended we even accused him of writing bad body image into his stories because he’s been teased for being skinny before.
This book has the worst problems with body image and glorifying eating disorders. This itself is enough to ruin the book for me.
Dot is a kind and humble character who’s only addressed in the story through her weight, it’s made into such a big plot point in her character arc, her weight and how she gets bullied for it, or how skinny she is, and what she did to get there. Her entire character is defined by her body and that is not okay.
This book did her and the other Evergirls so much injustice and it is so upsetting.
I would like to say this is it for the rant, but no, there are a lot more qualms I have with this book, ahaha :/
Stay tuned for Part 2: my issues with the characters in the books :)
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urluwu · 4 years
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A Character Analysis on Pan
A small character analysis/defense on Pan (spoilers up until EP. 11) 
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Before I begin talking about Pan, who was also crying buckets after EP. 11 aired?? SERIOUSLY, the actors in this show are ALL phenomenal. Every single character that cried this episode, made me want to fcking CRY A RIVER. 
After watching this episode, I honestly loved how well thought-out every single character was written, including Pan. However, when I was scrolling through the comments I was actually quite surprised that there were a handful of people who actually disliked Pan. I think everyone is pretty much entitled to their opinion, but I would like to take a closer look at who Pan is and why she does the thing she does. 
To start, let’s focus on Pan’s insecurities.
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Pan is someone who feels like she is undeserving of love. Someone who feels like she’s not enough. I think at one point in our lives, we all felt this way. The feeling of never being enough to anyone, lacking the courage to do what we really want to do because we feel as though we are inadequate.
It’s also the key reason why I think Pan escapes to the fantasy world. A world where she can freely ship the person she likes with anyone she wants - her small happy space. The crazy fanfics, the over the top shipping, isn’t it to distract herself from her own pain?  When you break it down, isn’t that like most of us? Watching movies, reading fanfics, reading books, it’s like a break from our own mind and immersing ourselves into something else. Yes she’s a crazy fangirl, but she’s, as cliche as it sounds, very human. 
It’s also why I love Pan (and in extension Soda). Fangirls in films (AND IN REAL LIFE) are always displayed as crazy lunatics with absolutely no brain cells, and yes, there are people that are extremely intense, however that’s NOT the majority. Yes, Pan and Soda can be over the top with their imagination, but their intentions were never to hurt anybody. So, the moment their fanfic caused a problem, Pan apologized to whom it directly hurt. 
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I think this scene in particular showcases one of Pan’s strong points but also one of her weak points. She is someone who wants to do the right thing (note on the word: want). However, what she thinks is the right thing to do can very much backfire on her. 
This leads to one of the main reason, I think, people don’t like Pan. The way she makes decisions in Kim’s body without his consent. 
This is where people’s opinions diverge, while you can state that Pan is a selfish character for doing whatever hell she wants in his body, I would argue otherwise. 
Let’s be clear: Pan never asked to be put into Kim’s body. 
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From the start, she didn’t want it. She actively protested against it and continually said it throughout the series. 
You could argue that just because she never asked for it, doesn’t mean she should do the things that could hurt others. 
And, I would say you’re right.
In EP. 10, Pan decides to reject Way’s confession as Kim. In retrospect, she shouldn’t do that because the person Way confessed to was Kim, not Pan. 
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However, Pan thinks this is right way to handle this affair. Dating a guy that dates his teacher while also cheating on various exams, isn’t exactly someone she pictured her crush, Way, to be with. 
In all honestly, she’s doing this because the good guy she believed Kim to be, wasn’t all that squeaky clean. From the very start, Pan has stated she wanted Way to be with someone good.  
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After she finds out Kim isn’t exactly a good guy. She becomes persistent in rejecting him.
until...she’s proven wrong.
This is one of Pan’s greatest trait. The ability to reflect on her mistakes and making attempts to make amends. 
The moment she realized that her perception of Kim was wrong, that she doesn’t have the whole picture, is when she corrects herself. 
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She does what she thinks is right. She gets it wrong. She works to make it right again. 
I admire this about Pan. 
When I was a teenager, the amount of things that I got wrong, the things I didn’t correct, but should’ve still linger on my mind. If you’re still a teen and think that you haven’t made mistakes or that the morals you hold now will forever be the same, I would say - wait. The more your world broadens, the more you realize that you were being quite small-minded. When I think about my past, I think there were people I should’ve apologized to properly, people I should’ve treasured more dearly and people I should’ve tried to understand better. 
And Pan, a teenage girl manages to do just that. 
Pan is not a flawless character by any means, but to call her a character that is selfish and stupid undermines her strengths. If she was truly a selfish character, she would’ve rejected Way even when she found Kim wasn’t as bad as she thought he was. 
Pan is someone who cares, she cares a whole lot. 
EP. 11 hits on this point even further. 
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Khet, our resident observer, says this about Pan. 
“You should stop thinking about other people.” THIS. 
If you don’t believe Pan is actually someone who is selfless from ME, at least believe it from our resident softboi-goodboi-deserves a happy end boi, KHET. 
When we get to the climax of the story, Pan has to choose whether to be in her own body or pretend to be Kim for the rest of her life. 
And she is conflicted, extremely conflicted. 
Sure, it’s easy to say, “she should just go back to her own body”...but the reason she decides against it is all the more heartbreaking. 
The first reason being Kim’s family. 
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Kim has a family that needs and loves him. Something Pan notices firsthand. She watches Khet suffer, believing fully that his brother is gone and that he can no longer rectify the relationship he has with his brother. 
Pan has stated prior that Khet was always someone that was by her side when she was troubled. 
Even in this particular episodes, he tries to hold a calm front in front of her, only to bawl when she’s not looking.
Pan recognizes this and seeing the person who’s been comforting her this entire time is something she doesn’t think light of. 
The second reason...is her own family. 
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This part had me on the verge of tears. 
Pan’s only family, is someone that’s not even blood related to her. Her mom and dad aren’t around anymore and the only person she can call family is her step-dad. 
However, she never fully acknowledges him as her dad...because of her guilt. The guilt that she’s a burden and someone who shouldn’t exist. Knowing that her existence is causing everyone to suffer, isn’t an easy pill to swallow. 
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The moment Pan realizes that her step-dad is suffering and that he’s in debt because of her medical fees, the guilt only gets worst. 
The only person she can call family, is the person she’s hurting the most. The feeling that if you didn’t exist would make things better for the people you love is one of the most painful realizations. 
Even if you know that they care, even if you know they’d want you alive. That doubt, even that 10% chance that they’ll live an easier life if you weren’t around, will always be in the back of your mind. 
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And that’s exactly what Pan thinks. 
She can’t help but think that if there’s a chance she could stop being his burden, maybe he’ll get a second chance a life.
A life where he doesn’t have to hold back for her. 
This leads to her conclusion: 
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She sees that Kim has a reason to be alive. 
He has a family to take care of. 
He has a brother to make amends with. 
He has someone who is waiting for him. 
And Pan? 
If she returns in her body, the only thing she’ll be is a burden to the one person she calls family. 
Through her confliction and confusion, Pan has determined that Kim has more reasons to live than her. 
Fortunately, there is one person in her life that argues otherwise. 
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Khet (I love him so much and whoever doesn’t like him, I don’t get you on a personal level. I can make another post abt him too), calls Pan out on her insecurities. 
He asks her if she thinks she’s not important. 
This topic has been touched upon throughout the series. Pan’s lack of self-confidence and believing that she isn’t good enough. 
Haven’t most of us been there? Feeling insignificant, feeling pathetic and just...plain ol’ useless. 
Again, Khet reiterates this...
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Pan...is thinking about what’s right for everyone. 
She really is.
A selfish act is something you do for yourself, but is giving up on her body to be Kim something a selfish person does? 
Khet instantly recognizes this and calls her out on it. 
But that’s not what gets Pan to do anything. It’s when he says this: 
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It’s when he says this, that she thinks about what she should do for Kim. 
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Her next action was to rectify the situation between Kim, Way and her. To make sure Way understands what is happening (and boy is this boy clueless LOLL). 
Let me clearly point out that her next point of action was not for herself, but to figure out what is the right thing to do for Kim. 
Again, solidifying her selfless nature. 
I would even go as far to say that the two selfless characters in the show are actually Pan and Khet. The way those two try to look out for one another is quite sweet. 
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To end this rather long character analysis (i swear i was going to make it short LMAO), Pan is a well-written character. 
From her wild antics to her insecurities, the writers clearly depicted a life of a fangirl. 
A little intense, but sweet nevertheless. 
Pan, I believe is a self-less character, doesn’t know her strengths or self-worth but always tries to do what she thinks is right. It’ll go wrong, she’ll fuck up, but her heart is always at the right place. 
I love her a lot and I hope more people appreciate the character that is Pan! 
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Note
Reader doing something nice for Barley (anything he'd like) because he deserves it
Pairing: Barley Lightfoot x reader 
Fandom: Onward
Warnings: Fluff, talk of fantasy death… I guess… people die in a game… some mention of nsfw (like It mentions the smex word... ) cuddling, Quests of Yore. 
A/N: you sent this ask twice… and I couldn’t decide what to do… so decided on both a sfw and a nsfw thing… thanks for your patience. 
Also… the other version is not a prequel/sequel… and is not necessary to understand this one… But I'm a whore so link. 
Also also… yeah I repeat the same lines in both of them so it’s kinda like a two versions thing… 
❀✦ Master List✦❀
Barley had been working hard lately. 
He still managed to make time for you, even setting aside some time to fix your car earlier in the week. 
After that you decided you wanted to do something nice for him. 
You spent some time trying to figure out what to do, wanting to do something different and personal to show Barley how much you adore him. 
Eventually after much thought it came to you! 
You realized it had been a while since he’d gotten together with his friends to play QoY, he hadn’t even mentioned the game recently. You felt bad about that, and with a little snooping found it had to do with lack of time, not an argument or anything… 
So you made a decision… 
You secretly borrowed his books, called his friends, and set about writing your very first one shot campaign. 
It was tough, and you were pretty unsure about a lot of the mechanics, but between Barley’s notes, written helpfully in the book, and his friends’s aid, you managed to come up with an okay one-shot you were fairly proud of. 
By the end of the week you were ready… well you were nervous but it was Barley’s first night off in weeks… so it was now or never… 
You decided to play it up a little, cleaning and decorating his room while he was gone. By the time his friends showed up his room looked medieval-tavern-ish… 
You had all the pieces laid out and everything planned, all he’d have to do is sit down and enjoy the game. 
You only hoped he wouldn’t be too tired… and hopefully not disappointed having been expecting something else. 
By the time you heard Barley pull up in his van you’d nearly finished getting everything ready. 
All reference papers, mini’s, and dice set out. Snacks and drinks are placed around. Everything should be good, and ready to go. 
His friends were seated at a table you set up with all the things chatting excitedly with each other, and you ignored your nerves as his footsteps neared his room. 
When Barley walked in he was clearly tired, his eyes searching for you. Earlier today you had promised him something special and he was looking forward to spending a night off with you. 
He pauses, hand still on the door as he focuses on what’s in front of him, his brain trying to make sense of it. To be honest, Barley expected to find you waiting for him on his bed in some state of undress.
Instead he finds you, but not only you… 
You, his friends, QoY, all waiting for him.
 Barley smiles, it’s soft, a little tired, but the joy is there.  
“Welcome home Bar-bear” you chime. 
His friends suppress their snickers, planning on teasing him later about the nickname. They knew this was meant to be Barley’s night, and were respectful enough not to mess that up with their jokes. 
“What did you do?” he chuckles, moving over to give you a hello kiss. 
“I wanted to do something nice for you…” 
“Yeah man, you’ve been working hard” 
“You haven’t joined us for a game in a while” his friends join in. 
Barley frowns, “aww, guys… I don’t have anything prepared.” 
You nod and give him a nervous half-smile, “I thought I’d try Qm’ing… so you can just sit back, relax, and play.” 
“You’re too much” his face lights up before joining you and his friends around the table. 
You begin the opening narration and soon the game is well on its way. It’s a little bumpy being your first time as quest master, but with help from the others you manage. Before long everyone’s fully engulfed in your story, and enjoying the quest. 
The party is told of a neighboring kingdom, taken over by a tyrannical ruler, his men constantly attacking anyone who drew close to their borders. 
Barley the Brave and his comrades were moved by their appeal and accepted the quest… 
Soon they set out in the direction of the kingdom, facing some low level threats along the way… 
You, getting used to running combat, and allowing the players to spend some time role playing.
“As Barley’s barbarian strikes the final blow on the cruel king, bringing him to his knees, your remaining enemies disperse… they know they can’t beat you…”you narrate and the others celebrate their hard fought victory. 
The fight was tough and they weren’t fully prepared for the enemies numbers. Several of their characters were close to death and if Barley hadn’t rolled so super well on the last attack they might not have made it another round. 
But they managed and you were so, so proud of Barley’s quick thinking and problem solving. 
“You’re left alone in the throne room…” you tell them. 
“I’m gonna loot the corpse!” one of the friends declares. 
“I wanna look around” Barley decides. 
You tell them they find, “plenty of gold, (600p) and a key” on the king’s body. 
Barley rolls well again and finds a hidden door- “the key works- the door swings open”
Cautiously, still damaged from the battle, the party makes their way through the door. 
“Following the dark winding tunnel you find yourselves in the dungeon… all cells are empty but one” 
“I go up to it!” 
“Inside the cell is a ragged older man, he’s dressed in what looks like, used to be nice clothes…” 
“It’s the king!” 
“Is it the king?” 
“He struggles, but manages to lift his head, upon hearing the party enter the dungeon…” you tell them, he looks at you with quiet desperation. 
The magic user uses an unlocking spell on the bars. 
“I’ll help him sit up” Barley speaks, “Hello sir, by what cruel fate do you come to be in this place?” He uses his hero voice, which is a lot like his regular voice just a bit more calm and stoic. 
“‘The king was my brother… he turned my guards against me… and imprisoned me in this cell” the man explains with effort.” 
“Well no worries, my good man, he is no more” 
“The king sighs, “I suppose that’s what needed to be done, thank you, young hero’s for saving my people” he thanks you, though his eyes show a deep sorrow.”  
“Aww, that’s sad… they were brothers after all, I wonder why they turned against each other” 
“Maybe they both liked the same girl?” 
“I don’t know… can you imagine a girl liking that guy?” 
The group laughed, you don’t notice Barley’s loving gaze fixed upon your face.
Smiling, you conclude the story, telling them how they helped the rightful king back to his throne. He rewards them with gifts and a banquet in their honor…. And fade to black… 
By this time it was late and, while still excited about the game, everyone was ready to go home. 
They tell you how much fun they had and promised to get together for another session soon. 
Once it was just you and Barley though you were surprised with the look he was giving you.
[ In fairness it’s the same look he had been giving you all night… you’d just been so wrapped up in the game to notice. ]
It could only be one of love and adoration, “Babe that was so good” he pulls you into his arms. 
“I’m glad you liked it,” you say, nuzzling into his shoulder.  
“This was a lot of fun” he squeezes you to him. 
“I thought you deserved it… a night off… being able to relax and have some fun” You smile softly at him. “And your friends missed you too.” 
“I would have been happy just cuddling with you” he tells you with a grin. 
“Well that’s still gonna happen” you giggle, pulling him in the direction of his bed. 
“What about all this” he indicates the set up you had prepared for the game. 
“I’ll clean it tomorrow” you promise. 
Barley shrugs and pulls you onto the bed with him, causing you to giggle as you bounce slightly. 
He pulls you to him, inhaling your scent, before nuzzling your hair. “You’re wonderful, you know that?” he holds you tighter. 
“No you” you turn your head, kissing his neck softly. “You’re wonderful, and and a cutie, and warm, and so so too good for me” you babble trying to suppress a sudden yawn. 
“Alright, I think it’s time for bed” Barley chuckles brushing a piece of hair out of your face. 
“No, we’re cuddling!” you whine, “and then we’re gonna have amazing sex” you insist, even if your eyes were closed and another yawn threatened to escape.  
Barley laughs before pulling away from you, to your dismay. He quickly undresses both you and him, leaving both of you in only underthings.  
Turning off the light he rejoins you in bed. 
You instantly mold yourself to his side. 
He kisses your head, “Good night my love.” 
Once again, you nuzzle into him, responding with your own, slightly slurred “g’night.” 
You do feel a little bad, having honestly intended to follow up the game with some cuddling and intimacy… but, your mind supplies, there’s always early morning sex… 
Barley pulls you close, and is already flirting with the idea of calling in sick tomorrow by the time your breathing slows… 
Soon you nestled in his arms, Barley joins you in the pleasant world of sleep and dreams. 
A/N: so this was done a little sooner than the nsfw one… but I really wanted to post them at the same time… and hopefully this being a bit longer than my normal drabbles makes up for my laziness. :( 
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purplerose244 · 4 years
Text
Thoughts journal for season 13!! 😎😎 (2/4)
Here we go with another four episodes! I'm enjoying myself A LOT and I do hope we will continue this way! I can't wait to know more about Rock Mom and who really is the Skull Sorcerer and ENOUGH LET'S GO TO THE EPISODES!!! 💕💕
Here we go!!
QUEEN OF THE MUNCE
For this one I already saw the Nya's knight suit already... and she was gorgeous... I mean she always is but COME ON 💙💙💙
These munce are too much 😂 They are kind of adorable in their stupidity really
Jay going full "we're never going to get out Imma get overly pessimistic because YES" is always a familiar sight, almost as him spazzing out during a difficult situation... that could still happen 🤷‍♀️
Good thing Nya gets the brain cell most of the time 👌
Of course while I'm waiting for the third part of Tales of Arcadia, something so similar to the Trollmarket comes my way 😂 Very nice thought, a bit dark. I hope it doesn't get in the way of seeing the good fighting scenes
Okay but THIS
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IS PLAIN CURSED, PLAIN BALD HEADS😱😱😱 Well I'm guessing Tommy doesn't have excuses anymore to become a LEGO character 😂
Well Murt, that was one breathtaking story, you should be a storyteller 👍
Ah, there we go, with the Jay and Nya and queen situation 😒 It's not that bad really, considering I thought it was going to be just a weak way to include Jay with just another triangle. It didn't last long so that's kinda fine, but it is annoying that Nya is pushed away. But overall better than I expected
Also it is nice the reminder that she is his yang 💙❤💙❤
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And they are still adorable 😂😂 I like that you can tell immediately here who's the strong one of the couple 😎😎
So there is a drawing of the Millie Gillie guy/gal on that wall, huh... was I in the wrong about that being Cole's mom? I thought they said she, but English is not my first language so I could be wrong 🤷‍♀️
Ninja Jay could be the new Kai Ninjago 😂
Aww, that part with the lightning and the crystals was so pretty 🤩🤩
And there we go with the confrontation 😛 I did snorted seeing Jay kinda offended at Nya not wanting to fight for him, but she is still super adorable saying that they belong 💕💕 Also Lloyd just being there trying to calm everyone down, le poor baby 😂😂
Yep, the fire instinct kicking in, Nya is the daughter of Ray after all 🤷‍♀️
AND SHE LOOKS ABSOLUTELY GLORIOUS WITH THE ARMOR 🤩🤩
Oh, apparently the queen of munce can do spin dash 😱
Woooo, that preparation for the spinjitzu was so cool 🤩 And of course she kicked the HECK out of her, THAT'S MY GIRL!!!
And now she's the queen, great, more problems to come 😅 We'll see how this plays out, and I am kinda curious to see queen Nya at work ☺
Not my favorite episode, but still enjoyable, let's keep getting better and better!
So... WHERE IS MY FLAME BABE?!? ❤
TRIAL BY MINO
THERE HE IS 😍😍😍
I don't know if it's because it's a very obvious but convenient thing to do or I just love Kai THAT much, but I love when there's dark and he just lights up his hand. Idk, I just think it's neat 🙂
There're the Geckos! They are cute too 💜 Also chanting about the Millie Gillie guy, I'm still convinced that's just Cole's mom! Also I'm kinda guessing the Skull Sorcerer is the king of Shintaro. He is the most suspicious for now, we'll see how it goes 🤷‍♀️
Poor Kai got the awful thing in his mouth... AND HAIR!!! Look out sweetie, your beautiful chocolaty hair!! 😱
OMG ZANE CALLING OUT KAI ABOUT HIS BLABBERING AS HE DOESN'T HAS A SKELETON 😂😂 I laughed too much at it, I'm sorry Tin Can 😅
Again
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Really like the crystal vibe 😍 This one is blue, the other was green, is there a reason?
I missed Kai and Zane together, I missed anyone with Zane in general! It's always a nice contrast and always amusing, especially if hotheadTM is involved 💕
So they throw rocks to show approval, I'm loving this society for some reasons 😂
Okay, vengestone is literally everywhere, there is no way all this stuff was not on purpose. It would make sense that a place studied to weaken an elemental master was meant for something more. Wooooo, ROCK MOM ROCK MOM 🖤🖤🖤
Awwww, I don't know why but them acknowledging the elemental masters is super satisfying 💜
Oh so Kai is not a king, he's a chancellor... and he didn't want to 😂😂 Vincent definitely had fun voicing this episode 👌
Okay, so there are three explorers involved? I'm guessing the muscular one in the trailer was one of them. I wonder what will be their part in the story 🤔
Poor Kai, his encouragement speeches used to be the key of convincing, here it's harder. Let's see how they will deal with this... also how Kai will react with queen Nya of the munce 😂
Pff, Zane throwing the rock of encouragement, that was so adorable 🤍
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I really missed these two ❤🤍❤🤍
THE SKULL SORCERER
Seriously, even talking to herself and thinking about the worst situations like Bluebell? If Cole and Vania do end up together, I'll still hold onto the fact that Rocky is into the loquatious type 😂😂
Okay, a sweet princess' paranoia towards a little white cute dragon named Chompy?
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One of the cutest thing ever seen 😍 Also I am a firm believer that everything improves if you put a dragon into it, another reason why I love Ninjago so much 🤍🤍🤍
Pff, seeing Vania talking about call then the cut on the black ninja makes me think about that one vine with the guy hanging with his phone saying "Yeah I'm okay mom, bye (phone down)... I AM NOT OKAY!!" 😂
SOLO MOMENT WITH COLE!!! Freaking yes, and it looks like the little tic of talking to himself when stressed from March of the Oni got stuck 🙃🙃
Lava punches back! Big bad bats!! Spiders!!... wait- AAAHHH 😱
Okay, forgive my skepticism when I doubt that a simple spider web could stop one of the strongest ninja of the team. We needed Vania to the rescue, alright, still sounds a little easy but eh watcha gonna do 🤷‍♀️
SHE HAS HER HAIR DOWN!!! SHE LOOKS STUNNING!!! Golden hair girl 💛💛
And Chompy is a big good boy 🤩
CALLED IT!!! CALLED IT FOR THE KING!!!... I mean it was kinda obvious 😅 Still, happy I thought about it before it actually happened. Although it's curious that the reveal happens now, halfway there, unlike in Prime Empire where it took almost all the season to build up the reveal. What's left for the finale?... ROCK MOM?!?!
There's a customer for all that vengestone? That... actually makes a lot of sense. Anyone who is against the ninja would want it really, and that only considering past villains. And if we think about possible elemental masters coming back, uuuhhh, I like where this is going!!
YOU CANNOT HURT A BABY DRAGON IN THIS SHOW AND NOT PAY I HOPE YOU GET THE WORST DEATH/DEFEAT OF ALL THE FRANCHISE 👿👿👿
Wait, so they don't naturally have wings? Oh, that's why she didn't have them in the trailer, I see 🤔
This is probably the only moment when I think they rushed a bit. Not too much, I iust feel like we haven't seen enough of Vania and her father to truly feel that decision moment as fundamental. Still cool, still intense, but kinda light. Anyway GO PRINCESS GO!!! 💕💕
THE REAL FALL
Oh Garmadon... that title... *flashbacks The Fall while realizing this is indeed Cole's season* NOT AGAIN 😱😱😱
I mean they are already falling so... uh, let's see how it goes
HE EVEN FRAMED CHOMPY HE MUST DIE SO HARD 😡👿😡👿
Okay the fall here is actually kind of hilarious 😂 Or is it because I love that Kirby gets to be on the center of the attention and he is giving his all? Idk, I love all the voice actors of the show really 🤷‍♀️
Hey, you people watching this
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Am I the only one getting emotional here?? 😢 ... just me, huh 😅 I mean come on, it's Cole and Wu! The first leader and the sensei! The used to be dad and his son Cole Jr.! I headcanon that Cole was the first to arrive at the monastery and this feels like the old times... EMOTIONAL PEOPLE
Lol, sensei taking the time to compliment Vania about her behavior, he's gonna adopt her when this is over 😂
I mean, you kinda faced worst yes, you fell into the Underworld on dragons you used to be afraid of, you fell from a ship with an anchor, you fell into a junk compactor that almost squashed you against your rival now best friend, you fell from SPACE towards THE EARTH, you fell from a ladder... THE LADDER COLE 😱😱😱 (this fangirl will never recover from that)
Aaaand a giant web. Of course. Classic Ninjago lack of luck right there 👈👈
Clutch Powers still lives 😂
Okay, seriously? She freaks out when things gets out of hand and talks about staying calm by making vocal exercises! Freaking, it might be me trying to find an excuse to think about Bruise, but they are making it a little too easy for me 🖤💙🖤💙
I am kinda loving her being so genuine, Idk, I really like Vania. She does her best 👍
Falling > Dying, life lessons by your master of Earth 😎 Wu sounds so done, they can never go anywhere without something crazy like this happening 🤣
Why is this so funny, the sequel of The Fall shouldn't be 😂 Meh, not complaining
That was one very mad Lapras
YES THANK YOU SENSEI!!! Finally he acknowledged it, Cole is literally surrounded by his element, OF COURSE he is crazy strong in here. I needed this scene, heck yeah, I love elemental powers 🖤
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Oh they must be the explorers... Merlin, Assassin's Creed and Conan the Barbarian 😅 So we hit rock bottom, literally apparently, and one of the spider's name is Adam... OKAY
So the real fall was in fact Cole falling asleep for the shock 😂 Lol if Cole and Vania really don't end up together, I can joke and say that in this season Cole has never fell harder 😉😉
This was very amusing, I liked this episode, I would rewatch it only for the comments 😂 I'm curious to see what else will happen, especially with these three now involved! Who are they?
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jackjots · 4 years
Text
#4 Hospitality
Wayward Guide for the Untrained Eye 30 Day Prompt
(This takes place around the first half of Episode 4)
Day #4 @30daysofwayward
CW: Mention of blood (I do not own any other characters or place names outside of Shelby St. Ranger, this is just for fun)
They say practice makes perfect, and over the years I had crafted the perfect hangover. I made some coffee, grateful I’d brought it with me from my car. My car. I groaned, leaning against the counter as the coffee brewed. I called the shop as soon as it opened, and arranged for my car to be towed. They told me what time I could expect it to be done, and as I hung up I realized I should have asked what their hours were. I pushed the thought away. I should just try to get some work done, and then go get my car. Go to the library. Drop off the book. Come back home and work more. That’s all I should do. 
I poured my cup of coffee and as I looked at the dark abyss I thought of Prism’s dead eyes. I grabbed some milk from my fridge and poured it in to disrupt the abyss. The clouds of white mixing with the coffee almost had a red tint to it, or was I imagining it? I violently opened my drawer and grabbed a spoon, using it to stir the thoughts away and made the coffee a caramel color. I didn’t love the taste of milk in my coffee, but my mouth tasted sour anyway so it really made no difference. 
I sat down at my computer and as soon as the screen blared white at me I turned it off again. I grabbed a pen and paper instead, but regardless of the medium, my head pounded and my words were all dried up. I fetched my mail and didn’t bother opening it. I laid on the couch after taking some pain killers and getting through most of the cup of coffee, and let my thoughts wander back to the night before. I tried to piece together my hunch about Desmond, but once again I was having trouble envisioning him as some sort of criminal mastermind. Also, ripping pages out of a book, slashing tires, and murder didn’t quite line up in my head. And why would it be the chapter on werewolves? It didn’t make sense. 
I thought of the person I’d bumped into and sat up. Fur coat. I groaned as my head hurt again and gently laid it back down. I scolded myself for such a silly thought, and decided I needed some water. 
After a few glasses and more leaning over my sink just in case, I decided to take a shower. I took a small nap and it was as if my normal brain had come back. I had time for a small meal before I had to start my trek back into town to get my car. 
I brought the book, with the intention to return it and be done with the whole thing. 
On my walk, I remembered I was missing the town council meeting, with only a moment of regret from my still lingering curiosity. I turned onto the street that became the main drag of town. They’d towed my car back for me, as an expensive favor, since it would’ve been too far to walk, and I’d already paid over the phone. My car was right where I’d left it, with brand new tires. I got in the car and sat for a moment. The curiosity came back in the stillness and quiet of my car. I couldn’t just leave. I had to know. 
I walked into the Dead Canary, feeling a little queasy at the memory of running in after seeing Prism just the night before.
“Shelby.” Desmond looked as surprised as I felt that I was there. “What can I do for you?”
“Did Truman Hensley get elected?”
“No.”
“No?”
“The Sheriff is running in her brother’s place. You’ll get to vote after all.”
“Good.” 
“And Paul’s doing alright.”
“Paul?” I blinked. “Podcast Paul?”
“You found him last night, with Prism.” He bowed his head gently at her name.
The other body. I had forgotten, in the blur of it all. “Oh. Good. I’m glad he’s not dead.” 
He nodded. “Indeed.”
With a touch of uncertainty, I sat at the bar. “Desmond, what happens if Truman Hensley wins? What happens to this town?”
“I wouldn’t be too worried about that.” He said, but he looked away when he said it.
“I am worried. And I’m not sure why.”
“You feel at home here, and maybe you don’t want that home to change.”
I blinked. “Yes, that’s exactly it. Very astute Desmond.” He couldn’t kill anyone, I thought to myself. Why, because he was being nice to me? Like murderers weren’t nice to people sometimes? I shook my head. “I just can’t get over the feeling that something else is happening here.” 
“You’re starting to sound like those - what did you call them? Podcasters.” He chuckled. “You may just be seein’ things that aren’t there.” 
I sighed and rubbed my face. “Maybe you’re right Desmond. Maybe I’ll just return the book and stop asking why. And just be happy with what I’ve got now.”
“If you keep asking the wrong questions, you’ll keep getting the wrong answers.” 
“The wrong questions?” He didn’t say anything, he just stared at me while cleaning a glass, and I decided it was time to leave. 
The drive to the library felt like it went by faster than normal. I barely saw the scenery as it spilled out before me. It was as if my vision kept being obstructed by big blurry thoughts: being told rather than listened to about Prism’s death, the censorship of werewolf information, Paul being attacked (or exploded? With crystal shards? Which didn’t even make sense?), Desmond’s possible involvement- I didn’t see the car come around the bend and the world went black.
Irony is getting your car fixed only to wake up to smoke coming from the hood. I looked around. I had, very luckily, been pushed to a road shoulder and had crashed into the wall of the hill instead of off of the road to a tree riddled hillside. No one had stopped, so it was a hit and run. An accident. There was a mass of white coming from the steering wheel. The airbag was deployed, and the red on it surprised me. I checked my nose. It was bloody. I almost laughed at the blood on my hands. With wide eyes, I went over my body with soft pats to make sure nothing was broken. I felt okay, albeit shaky. I shuffled around in my glove compartment to get my cell phone. I’d stuck it in there for emergencies such as this one, and waited for it to turn on while my car made unnerving creaking noises. Once it was loaded, I could see clearly there was no signal. I wasn’t close enough to the valley to make it that way, so I decided to walk back to town. 
To say this was a stupid decision was an understatement. The idea of just staying with the car until someone drove by that could help me didn’t even occur to me; I had to move. There was no place to walk on the road. I just clung to the rocky hillside when a car would go by. I was grateful traffic was rather slow, and almost cried when there was a large swatch of road to walk on. By the time I got back to town, the adrenaline had worn off and my whole body felt like someone had punched it. I couldn’t walk home, I decided, I had to just give up at the Dead Canary. It was aptly named. I felt like a freaking Dead Canary.
If Desmond was surprised to see me before, apparently I looked pretty bad this time. 
“What happened to you?”
“Car crash.” I said. And then the world went black, because apparently talking was just too much energy I didn’t have.
I woke up in a strange bed. I jolted up and then shrank back down. “Two for one discount.” I heard from the other side of the room. The drunk lump was erect and I realized he was in a lab coat. I thought I’d heard him referred to as a doctor, which I’d taken as a joke, but with horror I realized Henry actually was a doctor. 
“What?” I asked.
“Desmond got you a room.” I smelled the air as he wobbled closer. “Are you drunk?”
“Hardly.” “Why did you say two for one?” “Paul? Earlier? With the crystals?” “Ah.” “You’ll be fine. Just a broken nose, some bruising probably. I don’t have another lolly pop.”
“Okay, thank you.”
“I’ll be...I’ll be around if you need any more medical attention.” 
Henry left and I was alone in my room. I realized out of nowhere I’d left the book in the car. The car. I groaned and got out of bed. Someone had taken off my shoes, so I put them back on and carefully made my way back to the bar. 
“You’re up quick.” Desmond threw a towel over his shoulder. 
“I left my car-
“Up on the highway, already got it towed.”
“How did you know?”
“Only one way to go really.” 
“True.” I paused as my face throbbed. “Thank you for putting me up.” “No issue.” “How much do I owe you.”
“You stayin’?”
“Probably not.” “How you getting home?”
“Walking.” Even just taking a step now made my body ache and I paused through the pain. “Actually, is it okay if I stay?”
“I’ll charge ya half price.”
I nodded. “Thank you. Can I get some water? And maybe a paper and a pen?”
“What for?”
“I write as a distraction, and I don’t have my notebook or anything with me.” 
“I’ll get that for you. Anything else?” “No.” 
“Just hang tight.”
The sun was setting, and I thought about trying to call someone for a lift home. But the idea of just staying put til tomorrow was too tempting. And something about having been put to bed, and taken care of, was just simultaneously alien and comforting. 
With the paper and pen in my pocket, my glass of water, and some aspirin Henry had fished out of his pocket that I inspected carefully before risking, to my room. I saw a closed door next to mine and wondered who else would be staying there. And then it occurred to me. Of course, Artemis and Paul. The only visitors in this town. I listened in the hallway for a moment, but no sounds were being made. I went into my room and shut the door. 
There was a small mirror and desk set up that I sat down at. My reflection startled me. My hair was tangled, there was bruising around my eyes, and blood still under my nose. Great, I thought. Good thing only Desmond and Henry had seen me. I tried to clean myself up a little bit. There was blood all over my shirt. I took it off, relieved I had been wearing a long sleeve shirt over a short sleeve one. My jeans were also spotted with blood, but that was ignorable. I put the pen and paper down on the desk. My head felt a little too wobbly to write just yet, but having the option made me feel better. I’d have to write about the feeling of a broken nose; I knew that would be useful for my main character. I tried to touch it, but winced which made it hurt worse; like a ball of heat in the middle of my face just aching. 
I went back to the bed when I heard talking from my wall. I tried to ignore the urge to listen in for a while as I heard the voices were low, but I finally couldn’t help it and pressed my ear up to the wall. 
“I’m gunna get a drink.” Said a voice, and footsteps.
And then, “I think I’m a werewolf now.” 
First of all, those were really thin walls, but also, what?
What?
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recentanimenews · 4 years
Text
The 42 Greatest Anime Moments of Monkey D. Luffy
  May 5 is the birthday of One Piece's main character Monkey D. Luffy, and over the past couple of decades of his existence, he's given us some moments that will stay in our minds forever. And so I've decided to chronicle 42 of his best ones, antics that will hopefully remind you how much you love the free-spirited, determined, ridiculous Birthday Best Boy. One note, though — while this list does contain some of those sweet, sweet fight scenes, I've already written a list that ranked his 20 greatest knockouts against bad guys. So, in order to not repeat that list entirely, I've tried to mix it up a little bit. 
  1. Luffy Wakes Up From A Great Nap
I can't think of a better anime debut for Monkey D. Luffy than "wakes up in the barrel that he miraculously survived a whirlpool in and immediately knocks out some pirates by accident." It's everything fun about the dude rolled into one.
2. Luffy Gets Coby To Hit Him
    One thing that doesn't get mentioned enough about Luffy is his haphazard, yet skillful ingenuity. He knows that Koby will never get to join the Marines if he's associated with pirates, so Luffy, his one brain cell working overtime, gets Koby to punch him in order to prove that they're not friends because would friends brawl on the floor of a restaurant? 
3. Luffy Gets The Straw Hat
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A moment from the first chapter of the manga that was delayed until Episode 4 of the anime, Luffy getting the straw hat from Shanks is iconic. It sets in motion his entire journey and creates a symbol that represents freedom, adventure, and destiny.
4. Luffy Gives Nami The Straw Hat
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  Luffy giving Nami his straw hat is more than just a simple, comforting gesture. It's Luffy telling Nami that if she wants, she'll be a Straw Hat now and for the rest of her life. Nami may have problems, but she'll never have to deal with them alone ever again.
5. Luffy Gets His First Bounty
    By gaining a bounty when he takes down Arlong, Luffy is introduced to the wider world of pirating, the World Government, and eventually the Grand Line. Though Buggy's reveal that he knew Shanks and Mihawk's appearance hinted at a wider world, this is Luffy's first real step into it.
  6. Luffy Smiles At Death
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    Luffy obviously doesn't want to die. But as he smiles at the crowd and his crew while Buggy brings a sword down onto his neck, he grins. Because he didn't die in vain. He never became Pirate King and he never found the One Piece, but he did live his life exactly the way that he wanted to. And that's more important than any title or treasure. I'm glad he didn't die, though. They never would've found the Grand Line if Zoro had ascended to the role of Captain. They'd probably still be arguing in the Loguetown harbor.
7. Luffy Holds Up Hiriluk's Flag
   Wapol wanted to destroy Hiriluk's flag and thus eliminate his legacy. But Luffy — smoking due to being recently shot by a cannon and holding up the flag — proved that's not something you can just do. As long as someone is there to fight for it, a flag is forever.
  8. Luffy Disagrees With Vivi
   Vivi, frustrated, enraged, and embarrassed about the treatment of her country, was more than ready to sacrifice herself for it ... and only herself. But Luffy wasn't hearing it. If she was going down, they were all going down. It wasn't just Vivi's fight anymore. The Straw Hats had reached Ride or Die status.
  9. Luffy Beats Crocodile
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  I did a list of Luffy's best knockouts so I'm not gonna list every major punch here. However, the ones that are especially meaningful deserve recognition. And this one, where, after two defeats, Luffy battered Crocodile up through the streets of Alubarna, is inarguably one of the most memorable. It's a triumph that's a long time coming, equal parts brutal and satisfying.
  10. Luffy Lets Himself Get Beat Up And Meets Blackbeard
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  Mirroring Shanks' restraint when he let himself get harassed by the Mountain Bandits, here we see Luffy decide not to fight Bellamy and instead he listens to Bellamy's foolish proclamations about why dreams suck and why you shouldn't have them and why Mylo Xyloto is the best Coldplay album, probably. However, even if he didn't need the pick-me-up, Blackbeard meets him outside to reaffirm that dreams never die. It would be a super nice remark ... if anyone but Blackbeard was saying it.
  11. Luffy Is Immune To Enel
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  Until this point, Enel is borderline unstoppable, able to strike down anyone in his path and — with the help of his "mantra" —  barely takes any damage in the process. And it's made him pretty cocky. But to see Enel's face distort in cartoonish disbelief when he realizes that Luffy is a Rubber Type Pokemon and that he's impervious to Electric Types is so joyously satisfying.
  12. Luffy Decides To Get Rid Of The Going Merry
    With the Going Merry slowly becoming unusable and actually becoming a handicap to the crew, Luffy figures that it's time to find a new ship. It's a sad moment, but you can't help but see Luffy's side. A good pirate crew needs a good pirate ship. And if the Going Merry suddenly sinks, Luffy is dead. Like very, very dead.
  13. Luffy Faces Usopp
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  Usopp relates to the Going Merry, fearing that its "weakness" and "inadequacy" represents his own. And so when Luffy decides to get rid of the ship, Usopp lashes out, causing Luffy to have to "put down" Usopp. It's a difficult decision, but it shows that Luffy isn't all laughs and "I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!" declarations.
14. Luffy Does Not Recognize Sogeking
    And then, after the most heartfelt showdown in the series, Luffy doesn't even recognize Usopp's Sogeking disguise, despite the fact that he has most of Usopp's traits, most of Usopp's weapons, and showed up only a little while after Usopp left. Oh, Luffy. Never stop being you.
  15. Luffy Goes Second Gear
  Power-ups are pretty common in anime. But Luffy saying that he needs to take his skills up another level so that he won't lose his friends still feels pretty special. And then the music kicks in and Luffy beats Blueno to a pulp and it's one of the most hype scenes in the entire series.
  16. Luffy Declares War On The World
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   He'll always have a target on his back, he'll never be able to rest easy again, and the World Government will pursue him as long as he draws breath. Luffy knows this, but when the time comes to save Robin from CP9 in Enies Lobby, he doesn't hesitate to take on the whole world. It's just what friends do.
  17. Luffy Refuses To Fall
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  When Luffy and Lucci fight, it isn't a quick contest. They go to absolute war on one another. And when Lucci thinks he's won, having left Luffy spitting up blood on the floor, we see that ... no. Luffy will not leave his feet. He has too much pride, too much grit, and too much determination. Defeat is not an option here. He will stop fighting to retrieve Robin when he's dead.
  18. Luffy Is Reunited With Garp
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  For a long time, Luffy's actual flesh and blood family was a mystery. Shanks is kind of a cool uncle and Ace is someone that Luffy considers his brother, but where did Luffy, ya know, come from? As it turns out, his grandpa is the cannonball-throwing Marine Vice Admiral Garp, who is not only just as goofy as Luffy, but also really, really, really strong for being 76. What's his secret? Low carbs? Eiichiro Oda, please let me know.
  19. Luffy Punches The Celestial Dragon
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  Luffy can't stand bullies or anyone that relishes the misery of others. So when a Celestial Dragon shoots Hatchan in the auctioneering house, Luffy walks right up to him and turns his face into a catcher's mitt.
  20. Luffy Loses His Crew
   Luffy's darkest hour (so far) comes when, in a fight with Kuma, Kizaru and the Pacifistas, his whole crew eventually gets wiped out and spread across the world. All the while, Luffy is powerless to stop it — his Gum Gum skills no match for Kuma's abilities. It's a truly pitiable thing to see Luffy beat his fists on the ground in futility, something entirely unlike any scene in the series before.
  21. Luffy Covers Sandersonia
   Back in Little Garden, Luffy agreed it wasn't necessary to actually have a reason for the fight between the giants. They were having an honorable contest between warriors. That was enough. Later when Sandersonia's scars were about to be revealed after a battle, Luffy covered them up. He had no interest in killing them or exposing their secrets. That is not what the battle was for. The contest was simply one that he wanted to win so he'd eventually get back to his crew.
  22. Luffy Decides To Save His Brother Before Reuniting With His Crew
   When Luffy learns that Ace is to be put to death, he must make a choice: Get the gang back together or dive into the depths of Impel Down and try to rescue his brother. He ends up choosing the latter, which shows a great deal of trust and respect for his crewmates. He knows they're strong enough to be OK without him for now.
23. Luffy Embraces Mr. 2
    This is just plain wholesome. Luffy's love for his friends is might be the best thing about him.
24.Luffy Falls From The Sky
    Luffy's story isn't just about his quest to find the One Piece, but the formation of a legend. And when Luffy and the other Impel Down escapees plummet from the sky into the Marineford war, you can practically see that legend being written.
  25. Luffy Faces The Admirals
  Yes, Luffy's attempts to kick a frozen log at them goes nowhere. And yes, Luffy is almost immediately knocked down by Kizaru when he tries to rush past him. But the guts in that kid! Facing down three of the most powerful men in the One Piece universe and demanding they give Ace back to him. That is moxie, my dudes.
  26. Luffy Goes Comatose
  Ace is dead. The mission has failed. A brother is lost. And all Luffy can do is go numb and lifeless. He has no words or actions to explain or react. A chunk of his soul has been ripped away.
  27. Luffy Realizes He Still Has His Friends
    Yes, his attempt to save Ace was a bust. But in the most hopeless of times, Jimbei asks him what he still has. And Luffy remembers he still has his friends — friends he has been there for in the past and who will most certainly be there for him later. They are still there. And because they are still there, Luffy's existence has worth.
  28. Luffy Gets An Upgrade
  Reuniting with his crew in Sabaody, it doesn't take too long for Luffy to find a way to show off the results of two years of training. He's been doing some grinding, so his skill tree has some new branches. He's unlocked some new abilities, and he's reached his evolved form. When a Pacifista comes at the Monster Trio (Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji,) they beat the bear out of it.
29. Luffy Decides To Make Fish-Man Island His Territory
    For the most part, Luffy doesn't really care about the dominance sought by other powerful characters. But after he's gotten to know the citizens of Fish-Man Island and he sees the terror caused by Big Mom, he tells her straight-up he's gonna defeat her and take Fish-Man Island under his protection. It's the closest that Luffy has ever gotten to being a character in Goodfellas.
  30. Luffy Allies With Law
  And then, shortly after talking trash to Big Mom, Luffy teams up with Trafalgar Law in a plot to overthrow Kaido, another Emperor of the Sea. It's a real leap forward for Luffy. One day, you're just a kid from East Blue punching everyone that seems mean. The next, you're taking an active role in changing the power structure of the entire world. That's just how it is sometimes, though. As Logic once said, "Who can relate?"
  31. Luffy Has Been "Picking Fights All Along"
    Luffy knows he doesn't just tumble from one situation to another. He isn't just a poor guy caught up in the gambits of powerful evil forces. No, Luffy has definitely chosen to live a life where he will interfere with your best-laid plans if he feels inclined to. And if that includes a lot of fighting, well, so be it.
  32. Luffy Reunites With Sabo
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  It's been pretty much non-stop action since the beginning of the Post Time Skip era, and that hasn't really allowed for a ton of emotional moments for Luffy. But when he reunites with Sabo in the coliseum and his scream comes out as a mix of happiness, confusion, and surprise, he finally gets one. Cry it out, buddy. We love ya.
  33. Luffy And His Allies Head For Doflamingo
  From orchestrating a breakout in Impel Down to creating a charge toward Doflamingo with all the allies he met in the tournament to win the Flame-Flame Fruit, Luffy has slowly gone from being the captain of a small crew on a ship with an animal head on the front to being the full-on leader of a Pirate Alliance. Luffy 2020 is what I say.
  34. Luffy Goes Fourth Gear
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  Years after the reveal of Second and Third Gear, we get Fourth Gear, a power-up that even more freakishly transforms Luffy's body. It's not graceful, nor is it particularly beautiful to behold, but it gets the job done.
  35. Luffy Beats Doflamingo
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  Doflamingo — a man that's been a thorn in the side of nearly everyone in the world for about 15 years of anime history — finally gets taken down. And still, it's only a stepping stone to Wano. Somehow, Eiichiro Oda creates these moments that seem like the biggest events in history, and yet, they're only just the beginning.
  36. Luffy Refuses To Fight Sanji
  Luffy knows Sanji is conflicted and not really a bad guy. And he's also aware of the fact that he'll be creating an even bigger issue if he fights back against his chef. So he just takes the kicks, hoping Sanji sees there's another way out of this. Sadly, it'll be a few episodes before he realizes that.
  37. Luffy Waits For Sanji — And Then Punches — Sanji
    Sanji finding Luffy because his captain's stomach is grumbling super loud is so cartoonish and lovely — because what is Sanji's role if not to feed his captain? Of course, Luffy enjoys Sanji's rain-soaked cookin' and then he punches Sanji for still being a twerp that won't admit what he really feels.
38. Luffy Clashes With Big Mom
    Luffy stood beside Whitebeard, but this is his first real showdown with a Yonko. And it doesn't go very well. Big Mom is easily able to block him, which shows that, while Luffy has come a long way, he's still got a bit farther to go.
  39. Luffy Places The Hat On Katakuri
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  Much like the previous covering of Sandersonia's shame, Luffy covers Katakuri's mouth with his hat after their duel. The two combatants fought and earned each other's respect. And so Luffy leaves Katakuri with his pride.
  40. Luffy Knows He's Arrived In Wano Due To The Swords
    That giant baboon is using a sword? Obviously this must be Wano, the land of samurai. That's Luffy logic at its most pure. 
  41. Luffy Promises Tama She Will Not Be Hungry Again
  For the most part, heading to Wano seemed like a pretty impersonal act. The only reason he thought about going there in the first place was because Law seemed pretty confident it was a solid idea. But then he meets Tama and learns that she — along with most of the country — is starving. So his journey to take down Kaido gets some personal stakes. He's now shouldering the hopes of an entire group of people.
  42. Luffy Is Beaten By Kaido
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  OK, so Round 1 didn't go so well. Luffy pummeled Kaido with everything he had and Kaido one-shotted him with a melee weapon attack. Luffy has to rethink his strategy and expand his move-set and maybe, with some luck, Round 2 will be a tad more even. I can't wait to see what Luffy moments we have in store when One Piece returns!
  What is your favorite Luffy moment? Do any on this list stand out to you? Let me know in the comments!
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      Daniel Dockery is a Senior Staff Writer for Crunchyroll. Follow him on Twitter!
  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!
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me venting
not gonna lie, it's IMPORTANT to me to write Jemma as someone who does NOT become the stereotypical female character who is super empathetic and sympathetic and works as the healer, physically and emotionally, lets others do the fighting and the scienceing and the thinking while she comforts and supports and follows their plans.
Jemma Simmons showed up as a female character who loves science MORE than she loves helping people, the first two seasons she pointed out fifty times that her very first priority was to satisfy her scientific curiosity, THEN helping people, she is very proud of her PhDs and brain. I don't believe it's a casual choice (and hey, she can't be the same as Skye/Daisy who from the beginning was told/shown to GET people to be able to connect with them emotionally almost right away, told by Coulson she'd be great recruiting/dealing with enhanced people) But also: - she was ready to let Mike Peterson die in the first episode when she didn't immediately see a way to save him. -she didn't realize it was inappropriate to be excited about human beings forced/manipulated into being super soldiers who may die over it because hey, crazy biological work there! -she didn't realize it might be creepy to say she wanted to dissect the alien guy to find out how old he was -she didn't realize that no communicating with Fitz and friends before making a big decision involving leaving would lead them to think she abandoned them 
-she thinks it's 'silly' that after ten years together she has missed Fitz when they have been apart for months for the first time and that she wants to vent about it, and she can't really tell Fitz, is NEVER able to actually tell Fitz anything that she has done or has happened even though he has known her for ten years -she unapologetically wants Ward dead and it's implied she was watching him stalker-like while he was in his cell, keeping track of him there -she doesn't just want him dead, she's calm, she smiles, as she opens a suitcase with splinter bombs and talks about how she will put one on him and poof, no more Ward -she IS very confident in her looks, fashion sense, and tells Skye she slept with a hot guy who come by to say hi in a deleted scene at the academy that she picked him for sex because he has low body fat and he's very symmetrical (aka he's good looking and that's all she needed), her not knowing how to talk to other humans doesn't come from having spent 26 years as an innocent&isolated woman like it happens sometimes with female characters to justify why they are bad at this, she knows exactly what she's doing and saying, she's been around plenty people, she's just BAD at it. -she spills nerdy facts any time she can -when attacked by Bakshi she immediately hits him hard enough she kicks him to the middle of the room, she's not defenseless compared to the average woman and doesn't only rely on her brain to save herself, sometimes she just HITS
she DOES have a big heart and was ready to die to save her team, she is loyal to her friends, she's not cold to them, she's not inexperienced around people, she's not super shy or insecure, she doesn't seem to know the perfect words to comfort someone so she tries with little touches, she does lose hope pretty easily at first like you'd expect anyone in her situations to do and needs encouragement, she doesn't want people to suffer. But she's still BAD in social situations, she has her own special set of morals and skills, which up until the first half of season 3 stay consistent.
and as someone who watched tv and played game more than the average person because unable to leave the house, I got tired early on of the fact that female characters in a group of mostly male ones in videogames were ALWAYS the magical healers first, which you could maybe train in offense later. I got tired of the trope of the wife who calms down her impulsive husband, who knows what to say and takes care of social situations, diplomatic, nice. I got tired of women whose intelligence had to be emotional, whose physical strength couldn't be about brute force but involved elegance or being sexy or being empathetic and forgiving and choosing to fight 'like a woman' with her heart, because I'm sorry, but I do not see many examples of women who just get to smash someone's head on the wall without having to be the super cold one or the super manly one, but simply a woman who will fuck you up I don't see many female characters who get to be the not be forgiving/understanding/one, the one who manipulates the guy with words because she can be smart enough to stay out of a fight, who instead get to just be 'god I love this fight' and 'i want to punch you first and think next' and 'I have no idea of wtf is he feeling and I don't care' 'male friend help me out understand this emotional situation because I'm at loss'
I love that Jemma Simmons has been so atypical and special, just like I love Skye/Daisy for being so inspiring and kind. But while Daisy stayed inspiring, kind, among other amazing qualities she has, Jemma has turned into whatever the plot needs her to be, but especially the one who takes care of EVERYONE, who is somehow capable of ignoring her traumas to the point of showing any trace of them days or weeks or months after, functioning perfectly and being so sweet and understanding, always knowing what to say, encouraging Fitz and telling him that they'd make it back to the past two seconds after being rescued from actual enslavement, on the heels of 3-4 more big traumas, and she should have been in fetal position crying the second Fitz started saying they wouldn't make it. "The steps you take don't need to be big, they just need to take you in the right direction" from the person whose biggest plot in s2 was to be considered a traitor/outsider because she had seen Fitz's anger and pain over the brain damage and how slowly he was improving and had decided to disappear to help him, because she had no other options? Nope Jemma comforting Elena about the loss of her arms, comforting Fitz, being comforted once by him in a deleted scene because afraid of the timeloop, but NOT helping Fitz solve the gravitonium issue even though it’s a sci-fi issue and they are BOTH not equipped to deal with it but also both geniues who can put their brains together, instead she ended up being there just to check on the others’s wellbeing? nope
and so on
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badlydrawndrawnings · 4 years
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atwq book four thoughts
guess who somehow got a lot of free time yesterday and made the bold decision to finish reading the last atwq book? me!
guees who feels like they jinxed qwerty’s fate from the previous book of being arrested, but alive, even though i bet daniel handler planned it from the start? still me!
guess who is rather upset netflix accidentally gave a clue/spoiler on the identity of hangfire?
also me.
okay, so first off, to get something out of the way. i love this book. i really do. it had me on suspense every chapter.
theodora figured out qwerty was in vfd (...when did she figure out? not long after sharon reveal herself as a fake vfd member? or during the period she and lemony weren’t speaking to each other?), and god she really was willing to take the blame on being qwerty’s killer. did she think maybe she once again screw up, but this time there was no going back because the screw up got someone killed? after all she seem to selfishly went to break qwerty out for a good evaluation. maybe she thought if things went different, he would still be alive. and given the schism happened, vfd while not divided yet, this is like a sign on how another librarian’s death in the long, long future, will be blame on an innocent party and things go to hell again in the pursuit of justice and truth.
also, ghede and gifford also knew of the coup as well? or at least knew the sbg was doing something and they’re like let them do this shit and we can watch it’s gonna benefit us in the long run’. also, holy shit olaf name drop take two with beatrice herself! i didn’t think while knowing each other young mean they actually hanged out with one another to think they’re possibility friends. this puts the opera night even worse. beatrice must have knew olaf’s parents. with my headcanon of olaf parents being caring parents to olaf and used their connections to get their son back earlier than others, this is just awful.
getting back on track from the mess that is vfd there’s a murder on a train (agatha christie ahoy!). i admit several weeks ago i made the decision to watch snowpiercer and train to busan so i couldn’t really take the murder on the orient express shout out clearly and kept on thinking of the wild willy wonka and the chocolate factory/snow piercer theory. and zombies in south korea. 
all the damn sbts kids just thought it great to share the one brain cell to be on the same train (pip and squeak just follow in their taxi; cleo and jake had to travel through time in the dilemma to catch up with them). ornette got her time to shine with her artistic/sculpting skills and there’s some light on the subject of the lost family (of course it’s a fire that took ornette’s mom life. fires seems to be a way to kill a lot of parents). i was right to call her gung-ho working with lemony, she just agreed to make fake bb statues for moxie and kellar and was like ‘oh shit the two are sharing a brain cell. hangfire could figure something is up what have i done’ and had to make something else to give to lemony. i uh..wonder if seth has a reason to draw her baseball cap all...fuzzy. just a weird question.
kellar’s sister lizzie shows up. i’m going to be honest. she has the bad luck of appearing last and under two disguises that went over my head (she sure fooled me!). i do have some thoughts that surround her and the haines family, but that needs me to re-read the last two books to make sure i’m not imagining something . will say lizzie is much younger and shorter than i thought given her first illustration. i hope maybe a re-read will make me get some new insight on her. also, hi sally murphy. i’m glad lizzie got out with maybe your help (i mean, why else would she want to high tail it out of there).
the identity of qwerty’s killer was something i should have seen coming due to how the mitchum parents are more subdue. i want to slap stew’s parents. they spend all their time bickering they only got their shit together to see how their ‘precious’ son is really a bully and killer and working with the villian under their damn noses. i almost feel sorry for them because shit stew more or less blackmail his parents into covering the crime but at the same time...this call could have been avoid if you pay attention to how your son isn’t the angel you think he is..and you two are still fighting with one another please get your priorities straight i beg you. i admit i almost want to slap stew but i don’t slap kids, and i think if i exist in the snicket world i would get murder first by him.
qwerty’s death and the fact he’s a vfd member just hurt me so bad and i’m still kind of grieving over him. for one, i felt like i should have seen qwerty being part of vfd coming. he’s a sub-librarian. while not a sub-sub-librarian, the fact is qwerty is such so damn helpful to lemony i should have seen he was just doing his best to help lemony because theodora wasn’t honestly...wasn’t doing a good job at a chaperone. but he couldn’t blow away his cover because he wasn’t supposed to interfere in the apprenticeship and honestly he was just happy to be a sub-librarian helping children find what they would love reading.
but qwerty isn’t the only death in this book. i got to copy-paste something from an old atwq post in feburary 8, something i made as a joke, because oh boy, this part is the one negative i have honestly.
he tried to pretend to be her father! i know his voice mimicry is basically akin to juni cortez’s mimicry, but this is just cruel had ellington been there.
about a week later, i made the decision to rewatch netflix asoue. now, the first time i watch season two [edit lmao i actually don’t remember if it was season two i think i hated season two so much i could have blur two and three together i got to rewatch the show again definitely. edit two: okay, i’m certain it was season two i’m 98% certain it was was a pause and read easter egg that’s why i couldn’t remember what season exactly damn easter eggs] i honestly was like ‘so they gave nero a last name. coolio. feint isn’t a surname i was expecting but this is the netflix show this probably isn’t canon to the books’.
on the rewatch, after the austere academy part two ended, i realized something is...off, with nero now. he’s mocking people. and his voice, while not mimicking them, is like...it’s like nero could have inherit mimicry from someone but it never went through. or maybe he did got it but it’s not at its full potential without the proper teaching of someone with the skill...like a father, perhaps?
so the kronk meme is playing in my mind, but it’s the edit of him saying ‘oh no, it’s all coming together’. and given patrick warburton also voice kronk, it felt more like lemony snicket decided to materialize right behind me, be an asshole, and thought it funny to do a commentary on my possible realization hangfire, in the netflix show at least, couldn’t keep his dick in his pants and bore a bastard son in an adulterous affair and ellington has a half brother in the world she doesn’t know about and i hope she never learns about.
(given barrymore feint is just a cameo of barry sonnenfeld, i guess the bullshit gene i talked about in another post regarding a theory who netflix!h is should be renamed the feint gene.)
so reading the third book, and especially this book, i kept a close eye on any mentions to ellington’s dad and hangfire’s behavior. i kept on saying in my mind ‘please don’t be who i think you are’. and bam. armstrong feint is hangfire. i feel like if netflix didn’t have the need to make an atwq reference in nero’s surname, and if i was smart enough to have the book clues smack me in the face (i feel there are clues somewhere, and hangfire dropped all pretenses and just being ‘himself’ in book two was one), i wouldn’t be so angry and upset by this reveal. i more or less got spoil and put the pieces together due to an adaptation, and i should have known better than to do a re-watch while reading atwq. i should have consider the possibility of easter eggs to atwq.
anyway, lemony snicket thought it great to kill hangfire by feeding him to a copy bombinating beast (the tadpoles!!). with ellington right freaking there. with most of his sbts friends there to witness. moxie can’t even look lemony in the eye anymore (no more best friends anymore). everything happened just like that and after finishing the book and taking a walk around the living room, i have to say hangfire is a good villain. he achieved his goal of getting the bombinating beast, even if it’s a copy. he’s a very competent villain who succeed in almost every book in some way or form. he played everyone like a puppet and was a threat that is more akin to tmwabbnh and twwhbnb’s level of villainy. kudos to you hangfire i’m impressed. 
hangfire totally got it coming too. however, i do feel...hurt in his death, if only for ellington’s sake. during the walk because i realize ellington reminded me of a character from a different fandom i’m in. there’s some differences that i won’t get into (it’s...complicated for the other fandom), but they’re cut from almost the same cloth: teenage girls with shitty fathers who are using them for their own selfish goals. thoughts for ellington and her future formed faster for me than for the other atwq kids as a result:
post-canon!ellington (a few days later when she finally gets her stuff figure out), has a simple list. 1: avoiding anyone with a vfd tattoo or give shady lemon vibes -ellington split asap after she and kit broke out and have 100% certainly no one is after them, but not before stealing some things from kit, one being notes of vfd volunteers (she thinks). 2: find a new place to live. 3: figure out a new name that isn’t an anagram, because the inhumane society once they heard the news, is probably going to try to get her if they get wind she is hangfire’s daughter and possible ‘successor’. ellington wants nothing to do with the bombinating beast. she never wants to see the statue or anything similar, or hear the words again.
adult!ellington (under a fake name of course), while accepting all that happened, hasn’t forgive lemony snicket. yes, her dad was a villain. yes, she finally understand her dad isn’t the kind naturalist and man, and used her for the biggest ‘what’ event of her life that is also a very selfish goal. many times in the past though, ellington wonders if she missed any signs of her dad’s descend to who he eventually became, or if he hid it very well to where he was wearing two masks all this time, one hiding his true nature. ellington even wonders at one point, dad was going convince her to willingly work with him without the fake kidnapping and had to change his plans to something crueler.
ellington will never know for sure. this is why ellington can’t forgive lemony and will say it to face if they ever meet again. what ellington hates the most out of her father’s death is that she can never tell dad all of her feelings about his wrong doings. she can ask all the questions burning at the back of her mind, or yell her frustrations how terrible a father he is for faking his kidnapping and getting her to do his dirty work, getting her to use her loyalty of family to do things she would never do under normal circumstances. she ask questions and yells at the only photo left of armstrong feint...
and in the end, she knows he’ll never answer, and it hurts to deal with the unknown. adult!ellington doesn’t do the yelling and questioning to the photo as much. partly because she did ‘settle’ on what might be an possible answer, but mostly because the photo is pretty faded to where it’s less ‘armstrong feint’ and more ‘hangfire’. once in awhile though, she slips up like old times.
adult!ellington with her new life (she travels a lot, pays in cash most of the time, and has no set resident; she still love coffee) tends to think of the past, especially when it came to what she had with lemony snicket. did lemony like her? was she just a question in need of solving? ellington admits to possibly liking him, but it was so long ago maybe she just thinks she liked him to have a ‘positive’ memory of the boy she haven’t seen in years that she kind of wants to see again, if only to yell at him for robbing her of something important. his name lands on her radar a lot, twice from the daily punctilio. the first one was learning of lemony snicket’s crimes, and it was an accident.
the second time, she learn of his death, though she read the daily punctilio on purpose in hopes of a name drop. adult!ellington ended up finding some children’s book, and made the mistake of going to the back of it and find a photo of lemony snicket. not really though. lemony is hiding his face (ellington hates it) and she buys it to know what it’s about. it spiral to where she bought the next two books because she wants to know if the baudelaires orphans are real (and because lemony doesn’t seem the same anymore from his writings). ellington settles on real when she pulls out kit snicket’s notes she stolen and cross references names, and even travels to the locations to them to make sure. after the third book publication, the series goes on ‘hiatus’ due to the daily punctilio and their announcement. ellington doubts he’s dead, but couldn’t help attend the funeral. ellington is certain lemony snicket is alive, because she convinced she saw him at his own funeral.
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snavian · 4 years
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mags I miss hearing abt yr ocs.. tell me about uhh Fern,Supernova and Smog :0 also are yr ocs connected to a story of some sort? (I forgot if they had a story or not it's been a while aggh--
Thank you so much for asking about them!! I love speaking about my ocs so much,, :D! And yeah they all exist within the same universe with their own stories, and I’m gonna write a story called The Sunny Side of Hell with some of them at some point!
here’s some stuff about Fern, Supernova and Smog!Fern
- Fern is a shapeshifter living in the Forest (a huge sentient forest known by humans as a place where no one comes back from, filled with all kinds of horrors and things that can never be understood by humans). Her default form is currently a bipedal rusty coloured leopard and like with all other shapeshifters, every form of hers has the same rusty colours.
- She tries her best to be as positive as she can, even when she doesn’t completely feel it, hence her spamming hearts and smileys. Her heart is in the right place but she doesn’t realize that a single smiley face by itself is terrifying.
- That being said, Fern isn’t stupid! She can often tell when people are lying and picks her decisions carefully, and isn’t afraid to stand up for what she thinks is right.
- She works as a blacksmith and a jewelry maker, although lately she’s been focusing more on the jewelry since her mother already works as a blacksmith too.
- She’s probably one of the only characters I have that has more than 2 brain cells so she just,, watches the mayhem and wonders how on earth they manage to get into so much trouble in such a short amount of time.
- Fern is a trans woman and a lesbian! She also has depression.
- Some of the things she enjoys are piano and lolita dresses. Her work is also something she finds a lot of fun in since she likes creating things.
- Fern and Smog have been friends since early childhood and know more about each other than anyone else, however in the present their relationship is more awkward than anything else because of their past (although they’ve been friends they also have shared trauma, and dated at one point before breaking up) and differing goals/morals which make it hard for them to keep talking easily.
- At some point along in the future Fern becomes a private detective!
Supernova
- Supernova is a “demon” kid living with another kid, Camellia, in his house in a demon dimension. He’s more human-like on the scale of demon appearances, as he’s generally got the same anatomy as a human teenager would, however he has a tail, feathered wings, horns, sharp scales under his eyes and a sort of snout rather than a human nose. He’s also got unnatural colours, with his skin being a greyish blue, and his hair/feathers being pink.
- He’s one of three friends in a friend group, the other two being a demon called Camellia and a shapeshifter called Biscuit. They’re all in their teens (Biscuit is 13, Camellia is 14, Supernova is 16) and they’re very much your sort of protagonist group of three kids, without being actual protagonists. They’ve all got their own problems but they’re super close and can do anything together!
- Supernova really enjoys comics, video games and making music, as well as stars and looking after his three demon dogs, Thebe, Orthosie and Mneme.
- Before Camellia started living with him he ate pretty much exclusively cereal and the only thing that stopped him was her buying things that weren’t cereal.
- Supernova is a gnc trans man (hasn’t transitioned yet though because he’s 16 and has no parental figures) and pan! He’s also autistic and has depression.
- Out of the three of them, Nova is the best “behaved”. As in, he’s not a gremlin like Biscuit and Camellia are. He’s generally polite and friendly, and also absolutely refuses to swear at all.
- After it was mentioned in a conversation with the gang and Smog, Nova has started to question what he is and where he came from. He hadn’t thought about it much, simply assuming he was just a demon, however someone pointed out that he has feathered wings, which demons can’t have. However, angels can’t have horns either, so this has left him completely unsure of who or what he is.
Smog
- Smog is a half demon, half triangle-head (demon on her mother’s side) from the Forest, like Fern. Her appearance takes more after her triangle-head father, with her head and upper body being indistinguishable from a regular triangle-head other than the mouth she can make appear at will (triangle-heads don’t have mouths) and long claws, however her legs are digitigrade and shadowy black like her magic, and she has a tail made of the same magic with a distinctive devil-like tail tip. Her skin is a dark indigo with brighter blue spiraling stripes on certain areas of her body.
- Smog is known best as a trouble maker, always looking for a thrill with no regard for her own safety or the safety of others. However, depending on if someone is an enemy or a friend, very different parts of Smog’s nature come to light, either a snarky, brutish asshole who can quickly become violent with enough motivation, or a loyal, gentle demon who wouldn’t think twice about putting her life on the line to protect the people she loves.
- She likes to collect things in her free time, especially shiny or colourful objects, hence the mention of her collecting seashells. However, Smog also has very bad aquaphobia and astraphobia and the smell of sea salt reminds her of the ocean, so once she collects them she never looks at them again.
- When she’s not causing mischief Smog enjoys exploring for new places in the Forest, carving wood figures and drinking.
- Smog is usually the one that Fern has to stop from continuing whatever shenanigans she’s getting into. Fern is 98% of Smog’s impulse control.
- Smog is bi and although she doesn’t have anything specific, she definitely has trauma and trust issues.
- She has a very bad relationship with both of her parents, more so her mother than her father, but either way she hates thinking about them too much when she doesn’t have to. 
- She’s kind of a smart dumbass. She knows how to play her cards but she’d also eat anything and everything she feels like, even if it’s some beetle on a tree.
- Smog is also the kind of person who finds it hard to outright say how she feels yet wouldn’t think twice about putting her life on the line to protect someone she cares about.
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Dino Watches Anime (April 26)
I haven’t made one of these for a while, and after the first draft went and deleted itself, I wondered whether it was worth making another one (I make these primarily for myself then get really surprised whenever people notice these). During harsh times like these, I find myself being drawn to the cheesiest and the most cringe-inducing shows, but maybe I just like them because you can put them on double-speed without missing a thing because you know what’s going on. It’s like instant noodle broth: satisfying, warming, but you know it’s going to kill your insides with self-crisis. Seriously, I didn’t come to terms that I really, really like romance as a genre until a little while ago. 
With that being said, I want to take a short break from romance now. 
I often ask myself, “Why are you watching these when you can be watching really good anime?” Well, that’s probably because I don’t want to have my analytical brain on right now. I want to watch an anime that takes two brain cells to enjoy. I only have two. Once I garden some more, maybe then will I get into the stuff I know I will enjoy like Hunter x Hunter (2011)
Things that I just started but couldn’t get into
NHK ni Youkoso! (1/24)
For one, I didn’t want to watch this before because it would’ve hit too close to home. The show’s about a NEET aka a freeloader (not in employment, education, or training), and I’m... almost that description (but that’s mostly because of the pandemic). Really, this show is riddled with paranoia, and it wants you to really know that with its changing art styles to its cynical script lines to its main character honestly needing some help (seriously, he needs help). I read further (aka spoilers) and realized that I probably won’t have fun with this anime right now, and I will never touch the manga because that stuff is even more insane than its adaptation. NHK ni Youkoso is about people who fall between the cracks of normal standard society and their desire to seek their own normal by any means necessary, and during stressful times, I think it belongs on the backburner.
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Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (2/12)
After seeing how much I enjoyed Kakushigoto (which will be mentioned later, I just thought, “Wow, I want to see that other really famous work!” I didn’t enjoy it at all. I forgot why I put the series on-hold. It’s about a suicidal teacher who will stop at nothing to die then ask people why they almost killed them. Through a bunch of errors, he ends up becoming some sort of a harem king to his students (and he attracts the weirdos). I enjoyed the lengths Studio Shaft went to to make this anime appear the way it does (which helps in a lot of ways), but I just can’t continue with it until a much later date.
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Appare-Ranman! (2/?)
I just lost interest after looking at the rest of the cast. I’m all for being vibrant and out there, but some of those character designs imitate more of a “racial stereotype/caricature”. I’m not saying that I dropped the show only because of that (I’m quite dense when it comes to that), but I didn’t like the characters either. I can’t get behind a show that won’t let me enjoy it a single moment over two episodes. 
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I’ll pick it up again later (probably)
Free! (5/12)
I feel like they’re shoving fanservice a lot. I try to skip every fanservice scene, and I managed to watch up to episode 5 in less than an hour, and I didn’t even get through them all. But I will say that ending is stuck in my head now. (humming)
This show has taken me at least two attempts to watch so far. Let’s see how many more it takes before I finish/give up!
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Darker Than Black (18/25)
I’ll probably finish this one for the sake of finishing it. I just find that the episodic nature gets stale after a while, and the overarching story is often disregarded. In exchange, we do get some fun side stories, character development, and world building, but I’d like to settle down too, you know?
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Clannad (1/23)
Yeah, I’m doing that now. I’m going to see whether my feels bones are as strong as they were before... after I take a hiatus because I’m not sure if I’m in the appetite for that kind of romance now that I’ve watched two shoujo in a row. 
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Sousei no Onmyouji (20/50)
I bet you, someone was like, “Let’s throw all these shounen cliches into a pot then see what comes out!” Bruh, this is bordering that story I wrote when I was 14, and I’m not even dissing this anime. I enjoyed it but need a break now. It’s very cliche, predictable, and honestly, I can see why it has such a low rating. Studio Perriot likes cutting corners sometimes with their long-running series (*stares at Naruto*), and this anime is no exception. Sometimes, it feels like a visual novel. “We don’t need to animate anything if she’s so fast that no one can see her.” Dang, but it gets repetitive. It also has a magical girl power that only works when the main couple does it? Cool, but that also gets repetitive. I just didn’t see myself watching the same thing another 30 times (at least right now).
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Maison Ikkoku
I’m actually on the fence about continuing this one. It’s really sweet, but I’ve had my fill of romance. I have been wanting to watch some more Rumiko Takahashi works though. There’s no reason for me not to continue this. It gives me strong Princess Jellyfish vibes (which I should also finish). 
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Recently Finished
Itazura na Kiss
Just... end my suffering. It’s not worth it. The thing about shoujo anime is that I watch it late at night when my brain is at its worst when it comes to analyzing or taking in any emotional circumstances. Then I asked myself, “Would I want any young, impressionable people to watch this?” And my first thought was “F**K NO!” This anime was an absolute trainwreck. As my Discord friend put it “It’s so bad, yet you can’t look away!” But what makes this anime unique? What sets it apart? It shows life after high school. Just like Clannad, it shows that life is more than your secondary education. There is more to life than just being a teenager. I’m not saying these characters ever grew though because that’d be a FAT JOKE. 
Episodes 1-13: Girl gives boy a love letter. He laughs and doesn't even want it and goes "no thanks". Girl gets upset. Then they find out they're living under the same roof after the girl's dad made them a house out of popsicle sticks (because the dads are childhood friends). She keeps trying to push herself onto him, and his mom joins in and is plotting so much more than you'd expect. The best part is that this main girl already has a childhood friend who's like "please marry me. I'll cook for you, work for you, take a bullet for you, slice my head off if it means you won't chip a nail--" then the girl replied by chasing after the guy who calls her stupid on a daily basis and genuinely believes she can't do anything. 
Episodes 14-25: Guy gets dragged to his own wedding and generally does not care for the girl unless she’s either not looking or is on death’s bed. He practically deserts her every other time, and we’re supposed to think it’s romantic when he finally gives a crap about his wife (even when she’s pregnant). The show constantly reminds you that even other characters have doubts that our main character cares about anyone other than himself and his aloofness. They have a bunch of missed affairs including a hoe that tries to leave her husband on her honeymoon to get with Mr. Aloof and a nursing student that genuinely cares about MC and the fact that her husband doesn’t care about her at all.
The moral of the story of this anime: If you chase after somebody long enough, they will cave in and marry you even if they don’t like you, want you, insult you, bully you, or generally show all the signs of an unwilling partner.
Anyway, this anime is crap. I can’t believe I watched it. I want those few hours back (I fast-forwarded a lot, okay?) I can’t believe I finished it. Looking back makes me want to press undo. Having this under my history is a shame to my family. Even if I was sleepy and generally out of it, that’s no excuse for choosing this. Sayonara
 I will say that Daisuke Hirakawa and Nana Mizuki did give good character voices despite the circumstances. That, and I haven’t heard from Hirakawa besides those couple of scenes from School Days (which... is a different type of romance), Free! (which I dropped when his character joined), that gumball scene from Jojo, and that introduction to him being the new Demon Slayer villain. I didn’t realize he was that old though.
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Special A
This is one of the anime that my sister watched, and I thought, “I need to be reminded of what a somewhat healthy relationship can be” I wasn’t disappointed because the last anime left such a bad taste in my mouth that literally anything could’ve soothed the aching wound which was bad decision making. Even under regular circumstances, I probably still would’ve enjoyed it, but since it came at the right time, I give it an extra nod of approval. I also never realized that the second opening was inadvertently drilled into my brain because I kept overhearing my sister watching it. Now that I’ve grown up, I realize I was listening to the voices of some of my favourite seiyuu. Go figure. 
The story was really sweet with characters that I genuinely liked by the end (not my favourite cast by a very long shot, but it was slightly above average). It was slightly above average for me in a lot of ways (ironically), and it was enjoyable. The art is very fitting for its time, the music was very... ordinary, and the story was simple enough that you knew exactly what was going to happen at any given moment. This show should be titled: Special A(ppreciation for those brave people who have fallen in the friendzone; we’ll get ‘em next time). 
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Akatsuki no Yona OVAs 
Unlike the actual TV series, this stuff actually ends conclusively without ending on the CLIMAX OF THE BIG ARC. SERIOUSLY, I WAS ROBBED. You can say, “There’s a perfectly good manga right there.” Shut up. I want my fight scenes animated with a big helping of a strong female lead. It gave me a sudden appreciation for Hiro Shimono and his character Zeno who literally just inserted himself in last minute in the anime (but these OVAs perfectly explain everything). You probably shouldn’t watch the anime without watching these OVAs because they’re canon, funny, and touching at times. It enhances the series.
According to the animation, we know it can do fight scenes. Give us another season, cowards! Actually, it’s Studio Perriot, so if we ever get it, it might be two stickmen duking it out. 
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Haikara-san ga Tooru Movie 2
You know, I really enjoyed the movie. The first one. This one? Not so much. Actually, I felt so done. I was looking forward to this so much. It’s like going to a restaurant, expecting really good pasta, and then being served some leaves from the weeds out back. Eventually, it tastes better when you add some dressing and cheese, but it still isn’t a bowl of pasta. This show casts aside everything I like about it (present-tense because they didn’t kill everything of it) and leaves one little inkling of its valued ideas. Instead, we get a romance-chasing movie that feels a bit more like an amnesia fiction that’s slightly higher quality than usual. I can’t say I regret watching the movie. There were some redeeming qualities, but they jumped from a 9/10 to a high 6/10 that managed to squeak itself into an overall 7/10. 
(This gif is from the first movie, but I can’t find any from the second movie anyway)
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Currently Watching (Not Seasonal)
Samurai Champloo
This anime is a staple of Shinichiro Watanabe, and after this, I will probably watch Cowboy Bebop, Carole & Tuesday, and Space Dandy. I did enjoy Sakamichi no Apollon and Zankyou no Terror. 
Plus, after all that romance, I need some samurai slaughter. The fight scenes and the music get me every time. I don’t even need to say anything else about the anime. The fight scenes are enough to watch alone.
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