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hrtiu · 3 years

Note

Would you consider writing something super short, like a couple hundred words, about Tech helping Brit'ni integrate that really tough problem you had trouble with a few days ago? 😅 (sorry, I'm trying to make you laugh lol)

Ah! You're the greatest! Ok, I think I can manage to put something together. for you <3

"Argh!!" Brit'ni let out a primeval scream and threw her stylus across the room. It landed against the dull durasteel wall with a pathetic plink, the sound not equal to Brit'ni's rage.

Tech looked up from the servos he was soldering and lifted his safety visor, eyes blinking at her in confusion. "What's wrong?"

"It's this stupid assignment," Brit'ni said, gesturing to the datapad she'd been staring at for the past two hours. She'd come to Tech's apartment to study--he had the perfect, no-frills setup and even just being around him focus pressured Brit'ni into being more productive--but so far she'd made almost no progress.

"Ah, the economics of past cultures class?" Tech said, pressing a finger to the bridge of his nose to lift up the goggles that weren't currently over his eyes.

"Yes," Brit'ni said with a scowl. "I don't understand why I have to learn any of this to study history. When am I going to need to find the expected value of a random variable curating a museum exhibit?"

Tech set his soldering gun down and pursed his lips, like she'd insulted him personally. "Just as your understanding of history and cultures can inform the way I program this computing system," he said, gesturing to the servos on his work bench, "so too can statistics inform the way you evaluate and interpret history."

"Ok, ok, you can get off your high fathier. Just help me, please?"

Tech's eyebrows raised and he nodded. "Certainly."

He got up from the workbench and headed over to Brit'ni. With each step she wondered if she was making a huge mistake. She'd never asked Tech for help on this sort of thing before because she had a sneaking suspicion he'd be absolutely insufferable. And she liked kissing Tech. She didn't want to mess that up.

"What seems to be the problem?" he asked, leaning over her datapad.

She took a moment to answer, letting herself enjoy the warm feeling of him looming over. "It's this integral." She pointed to the tortured s-loop on the screen, even just the sight of it twisting her brain into knots. "I know we're supposed to use a change of variable, but the new derivative just doesn't fit."

She'd looked at it backwards, frontwards, sideways, and upside down. She'd stared at this problem for thirty minutes straight without writing so much as a single calculation. But the harder she stared the more inscrutable it became. She was convinced that only a true genius could solve it, and even then only after considerable effort.

"Substitute in u equals w over pi sin of x," he said.

"What?"

"Substitute in u equals w over pi sin of x. This is a normal distribution, and that will become obvious once you take that substitution."

Brit'ni stared at him blankly. It had taken him less than five seconds to find the solution. Five seconds. Five seconds to solve this thrice-blasted problem. "Seriously?"

"Yes," Tech said, his brows gathering together in confusion. "Are you having trouble hearing me? This question is a bit tricky, but quite solvable. From your outburst earlier I was worried it might take longer to help-"

Brit'ni stood up fast from her seat, her chair scraping noisiliy against the floor beneath her. "I'm going to get some air," she said, as if there was anywhere you could get fresh air on Coruscant.

"Brit'ni, did I do something wrong-?"

"No, you were very helpful."

"It was no problem at all, the question was elementary-"

"I'm getting some air!" Brit'ni reiterated with more force, slamming the door shut behind her as she stalked from Tech's room.

She ended up going for some jwa bing--a tasty fried dough snack sold by a vendor just outside Tech's apartment. She walked around his neighborhood, slowly consuming the greasy disc as she let herself cool off. The area was a little tough, but during the day she felt safe enough.

About a half hour later and Brit'ni was filled with regret--both at the heavy, greasy feeling settling in her stomach and at the childish way she'd reacted earlier. She knew Tech wasn't the most tactful with how he expressed himself--it was one of the things she liked about him. She'd need to be patient with him if she wanted him to be patient with her.

She walked back to the apartment and Tech buzzed her in without question. She entered the keycode to his room and was already composing an apology in her head when the door whooshed open to reveal a flustered Tech, his goggles resting haphazardly atop his head and a stack of flimsi--flimsi--in his hands.

"Brit'ni, I wanted to apologize-"

"You shouldn't have to apologize," Brit'ni said, almost angry with the contrite lilt to his voice. "I was being childish. You helped me, and I'm grateful."

"I appreciate that, but I still need to apologize. I spoke with Echo and he helped me understand that by answering your question so quickly and with no explanation, I may have implied a shortcoming in intelligence on your part. That I trivialized the difficulties you were having with the assignment by suggesting that it should have been easy."

He was right, of course. That was exactly how he'd made her feel. Most of the time Tech's staggering intellect didn't intimidate Brit'ni. She knew she was smart too--maybe in different areas, but smart all the same. And she knew that Tech's brilliant mind sometimes kept him from seeing the bigger picture. But every once in a while it hit her just how much better he was than her at certain things--a lot of things, if she was being honest. And sometimes it hurt.

Tech took a step towards her and held out the short stack of flimsi like a peace offering. Brit'ni took it and looked down to find neat lines of scribbled calculations filling the flimsi, Tech's consistently-chaotic handwriting unmistakable.

"I wrote out a detailed explanation of the integration--each step as well as the underlying theorem supporting them," he said, taking a step back as soon as she had the flimsi securely in her hands. "I also tried to build in an explanation of the kind of intuition that makes problems like these easier. When I said this problem was simple, it is because I have seen others like it before. The next time you see a problem like this you will see what to do next just s easily. It is only a matter of experience."

Her eyes scanned the first page of notes, and already the impossibly tangled problem she'd been slaving over for several hours seemed to slip loose. His notes were thorough, straightforward, and easy to understand. She could do this.

For some reason, hot tears filled her eyes. She clutched the papers to her chest, the stress of her coming exams and the frustration of the assignment hitting her all at once.

"Brit'ni?" Tech asked, his voice quiet. "Is this acceptable? I can offer an alternate apology-"

"It's perfect, Tech," she said, raising a hand to wipe the moisture from her eyes. "Thank you."

Relief flooded his expression and he stepped up to her, wrapping his arms around her in that oddly precise way of his. "I think you are very intelligent, and especially knowledgeable in your field," he said into her hair. "And I want to be able to help you when you need it."

"I want that, too," she said, her voice muffled by his chest. "Just... try not to be a condescending ass about it."

He chuckled, the sound resonating across each unit of surface area they shared. Then he coughed. "I'll, eh, do my best. I'm sure you will always let me know if that is the case?"

"Deal."

#tbb #tbb tech #tech x brit'ni #tech x oc #the bad batch #the bad batch tech #fanfic #no beta we die like clones #look i haven't written anything in a while so i'm just posting this #warts and all

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fandomscombine · 3 years

Text

Exploding Stink Bomb

Platonic!Weasley Twins x Reader

BG: Chaos ensues when the twins steal your latest prank invention. How much worse could it be when innocent people are caught in the mess?

WC:1744

Entry for @feetoffthetable 's 500 writing challenge. A week late I know-sorry! Cause I lost the initial draft. (Note: Do NOT trust auto save that much) So I had to rewrite it.

The prompts are taken from Random Prompts List No. 4 and No.11. (Are in bold in the text)

4. “…Are they dead?” “I don’t know! Why don’t you ask them!”

11. “You’re being remarkably calm about this.” “Thanks, it’s the shock. Give me fifteen minutes, the screaming will happen.”

>>>MASTERLIST<<<

Fred Weasley, George Weasley and Y/n L/n, also known as 'The Pranksters Trio' of modern day Hogwarts.

It is the winter of senior year, and your stress levels are increasing by the day. NEWTS are to be held in a couple of months and you have managed to procrastinate completing your mock papers. At this rate, you would get a passing grade but in all honesty you know that wouldn’t cut it, you know your abilities. If you actually put effort in your subjects you can bump a level up.

You've made a deal with your parents that if you had completed your practice papers, you could spend the last week of the Christmas holiday with the Weasleys.

Which you are; 3 days in, 4 days left till school.

'What your parents don't know won't hurt them...' You mumble to yourself as you stir the bubbling green mixture clockwise.

See you haven't finished the potions assignment yet. Your parents thought you did last week, but in reality what you were working on was a little fantastic smelling concoction that could contribute to the twins' upcoming new joke shop merchandise lineup!

During the journey to King’s Cross, Fred had come up to you and asked if you could help brainstorm a new product that would blow people's minds away. Of course you agreed, a multitude of ideas already brewing, you would do anything to help out your friends.

That night, it was all you could think about. Naturally you are itching to get started, before the thought flies away. Pushing your potions textbook aside, you got to work. It took 18 hours of no sleep but it paid off. The product was now in your hands.

A shiny burgundy shimmering marble-like sphere. The final product was smaller than the blueprint- the amount of ingredients you had on hand in your muggle household were limited- you do a mental note on raiding the potions supply closet once back in school for dragon hide.

But when you do finally have all the resources, the sphere should be the size of a baseball.

For now, at 30% of the ideal size, this mini test sphere could stink up a small bedroom. Which is enough to do damage but also has a small enough impact that you fix if anything were to go wrong.

BAM! You knew the quiet was too good to last.

“y/n/n, my dear!” Greeted Fred, waltzing into Ginny’s room.

“Are you--” George placed his hand on the door, stopping it from slamming back to his face. “Oi! Why’d you have to kick the door so hard? You could have ruined my handsome face!” He shouted to his twin.

Dropping your quill back into the ink bottle you sighed. “Nooo, how many times do I have to tell you? I’ll be finished when I’m finished. Most likely tomorrow, the earliest.”

“Why can’t you just let US test it though?” voiced George.

“Because I came up with it and it’s the only one we’ve got!” You reasoned. “I wanna see it when it explodes!”

Right then, the boys’ eyes lit up.

“IT EXPLODES?!?!?” They exclaimed in union.

“SHIT!” It was too late to cover it up. The secret is out.

The twins shared a look, you don’t really believe in twin telepathy but in the case of your 2 best friends and mischief, they almost always are on the same page.

You are sent flying sideways off your chair and hit the air mattress. “Offph! George! Let….me….go!” With all your might, you try to push George off you but to no avail. The muscles built up during quidditch training are to his advantage.

In the other side of the room, Fred is rummaging through your trunk, eagerly looking for the mysterious and highly sought after invention.

Although he may not know what it looks like, Fred is still one of your accomplices in sneaking prank items to school, meaning he and Geroge know all the secret compartments in your trunk. As do you with their trunks.

This setup made sense, it was a precautionary method devised so that in a matter of incoming danger or when suspected of something, the others could easily get rid of any incriminating evidence.

The system is perfect! Well expect now when it backfired on you.

“AHA GOT IT!”

Your face snaps to the direction of the voice. Cursing internally, right there, raised high above Fred’s head is the prized Exploding Stink Bomb.

“WICKED!” cried George. While the twins are reveling in their success, you took the chance to push George off you and launch towards Fred.

While George was caught off guard, Fred had the few seconds in which you got up to process what was happening and sprinted towards the door.

“IMMA GET YOU FRED!”

“LET’S SEE THAT SMALL LEGS!”

“GOT YA! AHHHHH--” One moment you had your hand on Fred’s shoulder, next you felt a tug on your waist. “GEORGE LET. ME. GO”

“No can do y/n/n.”

His hold wasn’t enough to hurt you, but it was certainly tighter. “Learned from your earlier mistake eh” You teased.

“Just caught me off guard” George reasoned.

Fred walking backwards, bids his farewell. “See you Suckers!” He shouted, taking a bow. With that he disappears round the corner.

A THUD.

“Ginny!”

You and George shared a look of confusion, what was going on?

Arriving at the scene, you are not surprised to see a sneering Ginny.

“That’s what you get for going in my room!”

What you’re more surprised to see is a frantic Fred. You knew that Ginny is fully capable of being terrifying but this was all in good fun right?

Slowly George walked up to his brother. “Freddie what’s wrong?”

“The ball… it slipped”

Eyes wide, your heart starts to beat faster. “Where…?”

You barely had gotten the question out, the answer is given.

As if on cue, you hear shouts coming from your right, Ron’s room.

Ginny being the closest, beats all of you to the door. When it opened, you catch the faint bit of purple smoke before it completely clears away, no other evidence of the stink ball in sight-you smile at the result, hard work does pay off.

‘Now is not a time to be happy y/n’ you told yourself. Your gaze reached the unconscious bodies on the two beds. “Well that’s…..uhh... new...”

Here are 4 guilty looking teenagers looking at the scene of the crime.

Ginny gingerly poked Ron’s side, keeping a fair distance away just in case he jolts back. “…Are they dead?” she asked, breaking the silence.

“I don’t know! Why don’t you ask them!” George paused his pacing to point his finger at both you and Fred.

“Hey! I am not the one you had thrown the stink bomb into the room!” You said defensively. “Besides I told you to test it when I’m ready! BUT NOOOO… you two wanted it now WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING IT’S FULL CAPACITY AND RESTRICTIONS!”

“I…..I…” When George couldn’t come up with a come back, he changed tactics. Turning to Fred he challenges. “You’re being remarkably calm about this.”

Fred, who was still standing rooted at the entryway, replied. “Thanks, it’s the shock. Give me fifteen minutes, the screaming will happen.”

“What the heck happened anyway?” asked Ginny.

“Yea, I thought it was just a stink bomb that could explode!” added George.

“It is just an exploding stink bomb!”

“Then why are they unconscious?” George’s panic becomes more evident as in addition to his pacing, his voice is now an octave higher.

“I think that the stink bomb was too powerful for such a small room.” Sighing, you gestured to the closed windows. “There’s no adequate ventilation too. Must have cause them to inhale a larger concentration”

“How long will they be out?”

“I don’t know Ginny…really.” You shrug. “It could be hours, one to two at best.”

“TWO HOURS?!?” The twins say in union despite one clearly in utter distress while the other scarily unmoving.

Fred gripped his hair, placed his head in between his thighs and let out a scream that could rival a lion.

George now having lost hope of his brother functioning, took charge. “Mum is gonna be back any second now. What are we gonna do?”

“Well, first…we’re gonna check the boy’s condition again for progress” You suggest, dragging Ginny to check on hair while you check on Ron.

“Then..we’re gonna say..”

“GOT YA!” You 4 shout, finger guns at the ready.

“Wait.. WHAT?!!?? WHAT’S HAPPENING?” George looks at Harry and Ron- who are surprisingly alright and laughing their heads off, to you and GInny looking very smug.

Fred tilts his red face up to the commotion.

“YOU JUST GOT PRANKED! SAY CHESSE!” You announced, indicating to Ginny with the camera.

“Cheeseee” murmured the twins in defeat.

“How’d you do it?”

You knew that they would be back with questions. You keep them on the edge as you finish up your potions essay.

"You lot are predictable."

"Predictable?" George scoffed.

Tidying up the study table you continue "Mhhhmmm hmmm. Predicted that you would test it out on Ron, knew that you would try to steal it from me cause you both are very impatient- especially you Fred."

"Heyy!"

"But how did you wake up Harry and Ron?" Piped George. "We shook them but they were still unconscious!"

"Ah George ever the curious. It's simple really." You lay on the bed with hands behind your head, enjoying this moment of outsmarted the boys. "Your siblings were all very tired of been pranked so when we saw an opportunity to have you taste of your own medicine we grab them chance."

You glance at them.

"The time of you setting off the stink bomb is unknown but we were ready. I've made a nose blocker chewing gum while I was tinkering with the foul smell of the stink bomb."

"No sense of smell, no effect." stated Fred.

"Exactly, the rest I'd just improv and acting! The boys weren't actually unconscious, just a temporary numbing spell which Ginny and I reversed when we checked on them."

Sitting back up, you continued.

"What I didn't predict was how crazy you with react. I've never seen you two gone off the rails scared shirtless like that before." You admitted. "Priceless."

"And now you have a photo of it" grumbled George.

"And video too!"

"WHAT?"

Taglist [All/General]: @gruffle1

HP Taglist: @onlyfreds

#fred weasley x reader #george weasley x reader #fred and george #fred weasley imagine #george weasley imagine #fred weasley #george weasley #weasley twins #harry potter x reader #feetofthetable500writingchallenge #fandomscombine writes #fred weasley fluff #george weasley fluff #harry potter imagine #weasley x reader #ron weasley #ginny weasley

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chibimyumi · 4 years

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I saw your post answering an anon about kuroshitsuji, and I think about it a lot post for me kuroshitsuji is not about just two sides of the coin but about several sides: nobody is right or wrong because if we think about the characters and their ideology, everyone does what they believe and think they are right about even if it is completely distorted, a good character does not mean that he is a good person.

【Response to: Anon-senpai-sama who saved my immortal soul!】

Dear Moony-moonlight,

Indeed, the narrative that only a good person is a good character and vice versa is literal centuries outdated. I myself have a very strong preference for thoroughly flawed characters, but I guess that makes me an amoral person according to Anon-senpai-sama then ^^

Rather than teaching morality, I think Kuroshitsuji is a disclosure of the inherent human potential of being evil. Us humans are very prone to calling an evil person or act ‘inhumane’ or ‘monster’, but is that not just a way to distance oneself from the idea that as a fellow human they share the same potential of being evil?

I am still me, so I can’t be short (≽▽≼) So my apologies for hijacking your ask here. Please allow me a moment to discuss the following: “How does Kuroshitsuji discuss ‘Evil’?”

Kuroshitsuji’s Philosphy

Sebastian

The quickest answer to what ‘evil’ is in Kuroshitsuji is to point at the demon. For forever demons have been regarded as the personification of evil. However, in Sebastian’s function in relation to O!Ciel, the series proposes that a demon is only as evil as the human (master) makes him be. Almost all the atrocities Sebas has committed in the manga so far were under his master’s instructions. Otherwise his evil is limited to 1. a fight for his own autonomy, and 2. his toxic manipulation towards O!Ciel. And yet in both these instances Sebas’ position proposes the question: “is “evil” committed for the sake of your basic life necessities still evil?”

Besides, if we go along with the idea that “a demon is only as evil as the human makes it be”, it is worthwhile to ask whether Sebas would have been around in the first place were it not for human actions - the cult’s summoning and O!Ciel’s decision to keep him. As discussed in this post, it seems like Sebas had no say in whether he gets summoned or not, and that he certainly had no say in unsummoning himself. The fact that Sebas presented the option of just disappearing to O!Ciel is noteworthy. We know too well that Sebas would gladly withhold information from the boy if the information can disadvantage him. If he strongly did not want to be dismissed, he would have hidden this option. As it is however, it seems fair to say that Sebas probably had rather gone home instead.

This idea is strengthened by Sebas’ mention of the ‘ferry fee’; Sebas said that he ‘cannot’ physically appear if the fee is not paid using R!Ciel’s soul. Can we assume this payment is enough for a round trip ticket though? I don’t think we should.

Kuroshitsuji is pretty clear about a fate worse than going to Hell awaiting one who summons a demon. It is not inconceivable that Sebas' would need O!Ciel’s raw soul as the payment for his return ticket (and that the “seasoned” soul would be the payment for Sebas’ actual service on top). “You can just dismiss me, but then I’ll eat your soul without you getting my servitude in return” however, is not a very appealing advertising strategy, so it is understandable why Sebas wouldn’t mention any consequences to O!Ciel.

Regardless of whether O!Ciel’s raw soul would have been consumed or not, the fact is that the boy didn’t know there might have been awful consequences for dismissing the demon. For all he knew he could just send the scary demon away and that’s it. Though it had been an incredibly hard choice, O!Ciel did still make the choice to not dismiss the demon and make active use of it. He could just have made the demon help him escape, but instead he immediately decided he would turn it into a weapon for his own bloody revenge.

It wasn’t until O!Ciel had agreed to enter a contract with Sebas that he actively started to kill the cult members. Beforehand Sebas was merely trying to find his summoner. Sure, some people might have been killed in the process, but as discussed in this post, none of that was cruelty, but indifference. But then we’d have to ask whether ‘indifference’ is evil too. Is not watching out for ants as we walk evil?

In short, if a demon is supposed to stand for evil, then evil is the product of human actions. A demon like Sebas is no more than a tool to execute humankind’s depraved ideas, and therefore merely a scapegoat of human evil.

Our Ciel

Now let us talk about our little Evil Nobleman. Ironically I would say the human child that is O!Ciel is ambiguously more evil than a literal demon.

So... instead of only using Sebastian to escape his current situation, O!Ciel decided to employ a demon to execute his revenge. What is chilling here is that nobody - including the boy - knows just how much blood this revenge might demand, nobody has any grasp over the scale of this mission.

After the massacre of the Phantomhive family O!Ciel could very well have used everyone’s assumption of his death to live a peaceful life and start over using Sebastian’s help. I am sure that being summoned purely for great wealth is nothing new to Sebas. Perhaps O!Ciel would not want to let go of his remaining family and that would be entirely fair. But as a child so young he could easily have declined the inheritance of the Phantomhive name and duty. But he didn’t.

How did a child who dreamed of selling toys turn into... what he is now? Had it not been for the humiliation and tragedy that befell O!Ciel, then he’d never have become Earl Phantomhive, nor would he have to commit so many evils compelled by both status and trauma.

In short, if O!Ciel turned out so evil only because of what he’s been made to go through, then in resonance with Sebastian’s character, this character too indicates that evil is the product of human actions.

Conclusion

Kuroshitsuji is not trying to be pedagogical in any way, however, saying that the series does not consider morality at all might also be selling it short. Unlike a conventional pedagogical work, Kuroshitsuji does not try to present an answer to troubles. I think the series might be more similar to social criticism.

Kuroshitsuji prompts its readers to reconsider what evil is and where it comes from. The two protagonists aside, the definition of ‘evil’ is likewise interrogated using Madam Red and Grell’s story in their respective tragedies. Or in the Circus members, how they were compelled to evil because society had driven them to the utmost corners.

The very setup of a demon and its master being the protagonists who combat ‘evil’ is already a bit satirical, especially in how the Watchdog’s function is explicitly to preserve the ‘legitimacy’ of the sanctioned justice system - the Queen. It proposes that no glorious government can exist without a dirty side. But then, to what extent is ‘evil for the sake of necessities’ pardonable?

#Kuroshitsuji #Black Butler #Analysis #discussion #philosophy #Evil #what is evil?#Sebastian Michaelis #Our Ciel #O!Ciel

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pan-of-light · 3 years

Text

Crowded Break!

Octavinelle Trio on vacation. That’s it, that’s the fic.

Originally posted to AO3

Spring break was a time for productivity. Being home and sequestered in his childhood room was one of the few places he felt comfortable enough to sprawl around in his true, octopus merman form, and he had to admit: no matter the aesthetic advantaged brought about by the human potion, it was so much easier to work with eight extra limbs. There was always a lingering fear in his mind he'd be unable to get used to working at such a slower capacity when he went back to school, but they rarely lasted. Like the Ramshackle Dorm's prefect had told him, he was a hard worker. Azul Ashengrotto would not lose to the weakness of a human form.

But he was going to enjoy this time of working at a proper pace. Professors at Night Raven were hardly shy about burying their students in homework, since the school and their students has a reputation to uphold. They were the best of the best (besides the musclebrains of Royal Sword), and Azul was always one to outshine others. After a hectic fall term, this is what he needed. Peace, quiet, eight extra limbs--

And the door to his room slamming open.

Honestly, it was a feat to do so underwater, but after years of knowing the Leech siblings, it was just a thing Azul had come to accept. And thankfully, he'd gotten plenty of control of his ink glands and kept himself from making a mess of his room as Floyd and Jade barged in. Well, Floyd barged, Jade at least had the decency to shut the door behind him after slithering in.

At times like these, Floyd reminded Azul of Professor Trein’s cat. Much like how Lucius could walk all around the bookshelves and displays of the professor’s office and not disturb a single award or decoration, so could Floyd effortlessly maneuver through Azul’s setup on the bed and make himself comfortable there without disturbing a single book, phone or computer. Azul would be impressed if he wasn’t already so used to it.

“So why are you two here?”

“Your parents let us in,” Jade answered, setting down a tray of snacks on a nearby desk.

“Yeah, they complained we never visit anymore and said we were getting thin. You need to invite us over more, Azul~”

“That’s not what I asked,” Azul sighed, but knew that was about as much of an answer as he was going to get. Honestly, his parents. It was a miracle Azul could go through doors as a kid. He hoped running the Lounge didn’t permanently rewire his brain to associate loving others with shoving them full of food, in the future.

In the present, however, he had people who knew him far too well, so Jade had also bought a low-calorie all-natural wrap from a nearby health food shop, placing it on the desk along with the food Azul’s parents made in such a natural way it was like it had always been there. Efficiency born from practice.

“You should at least take a break to eat with us. Wasn’t it you who said the secret to a fitter form was more small, spaced out meals than few big ones?” when they were home like this, Jade never bothered to hide his teeth while smiling, leaving his appearances and manipulations refreshingly honest. There was no point in hiding their true natures from people who knew them so well, which just made their dances around each other that much more fun.

“I’m afraid I’m still too busy to take a break at the moment.”

“Boooring! Come eat with us, Azul!” Floyd sprung from his position on the bed, expertly knocking away or slapping all of Azul’s things with his tail in a single move, again much like Lucius would do to Professor Trein’s shelves when the cat decided it was treat time and would not hear anything to the contrary. “Not like you can work on anything now, right?”

Azul scoffed, pushing Floyd off his bed, a move that had no malice behind it and was almost incapable of causing any damage, since it was hardly like Floyd could hit the floor while underwater. Some might even describe it as playful.

“Or maybe I can just make you both leave.” “You’d treat your guests in that manner?” Jade raised a hand to his chest in mock surprise, letting out a dramatic gasp, “I had no idea your parents had raised such an uncouth host.”

“Yeah, your mom’d squee~ze you way worse than I could ever do if she hears you’re bad to guests, Azul.”

Oh, such a low blow, going for his parents like that. Especially since they knew he’d have little success employing that strategy since the Leech parents had far too many sibling to properly manage them. If Floyd and Jade were any more chaotic, it could be troubling for all the seas! Then again, Azul pondered, thinking back to his Overblot incident, it wasn’t like he was that much better. They might be named Leech, but he was the one who sucked power from others.

Not from them, though, no. He’d never seen what they had in him, but they willingly gave him their time and power in pursuit of amusement, that serendipitously aligned with his own goals. Their partnership was a thing of incredible power, and Azul made absolutely sure to never tell them that out loud, lest it go to their heads even more. (Plus, if they were even the tiniest bit close to him as he was to them, they already knew).

“You’re both awful guests, and my mother would see nothing wrong in kicking troublemakers like you out.” Azul only earned laughter in response, mocking and derisive and, well, proving his point. He shooed Jade off his chair and took a seat at his desk, grabbing the snack they’d brought for him while Jade took a polite seat on his bed, grabbing some food for himself while Floyd took the rest of the tray and sprawled out on the floor, stretching himself from one end of the room to another.

“I’m assuming you have actual plans for the day, then?”

“The community center stage is open, you haven’t played piano for us in a while, Mona’s salon is having a discount on full hair treatment days-”

“There are new documentaries being screened at the museum regarding advances in magic control study, I know you have some new board game prototypes to test for the club-”

“Oh! There’s also going to be a fried food festival thing in a few days, so you need to plan your diet so you can go, and we can look up new things to try in the lounge there--”

“And, of course, if all else fails, there’s always watching over our beloved schoolmates on MagiCam to make sure they’re spending their break properly, huhu…”

“That’s enough activities for the rest of the break, not just a single day.”

“Well, duh,” Floyd laughed, “did you seriously have any other plans? You’re a shut-in when you get left alone too long~”

“As vice-leader of Octavinelle, it’s nothing more than my duty to keep you stimulated and enriched during periods of rest.” “What am I, some kind of pet?”

“No, we’d have to feed you, then. You’re much less annoying when you can manage your own diet.” Jade was already looking all around the abandoned items on his bed, pulling out Azul’s schedule book and flipping through it until the current date, grabbing a pen and beginning to vandalize Azul’s well-made break plans.

“You’re giving me as much choice as a pet would.”

“But Azuuul, you totally have a choice! You can come with us, or we can start a throwback thursday on the Lounge’s MagiCam account! We have so many cute pictures of us as children, you know~” Floyd pulled out his phone to show his threat was far from empty, cloud storage noting a few dozen pictures of their childhood, Azul included.

Azul threw himself across the room, grabbing at Floyd’s hands, despite knowing that the pictures existed beyond his phone because it was the principle of the thing, damn it! while Floyd did his best to ignore all ten limbs of fury aiming for his hands. Bastard didn’t even need to use his unique magic for it, and when finally cornered, threw the phone to Jade, who had moved across the room just for this.

“Oh, and please do be careful, Azul,” he teased when it was his turn to end up with a facefull of angry octopus, “if you make too big a mess of you room, we won’t be able to go out today.”

By the time he saw his phone sail past him back to Floyd’s hands, Azul threw his arms in the air in exasperation. “Fine, fine, I’m going! Give me a minute to get my things in order!”

“Aww, isn’t this great, Jade? Azul finally decided the best way to spend his break is playing with us!”

“I’m so very glad out dorm leader is a capable man who always sees reason.”

#twisted wonderland #azul ashengrotto #jade leech #floyd leech #fanfic by pan #queue

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arcaneranger · 4 years

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Final Thoughts - 2019 Long Shows

Dear Lord. This is where all the good shows went.

2019 was absolutely awful on a season-by-season basis (except for Summer, anyway), but that’s mostly because most of the best shows ran longer than what has become the industry norm of a single season. And indeed, heading into the new decade, we seem to be seeing a major renaissance for two- or split-cour shows, given the massive success seen by shows like My Hero Academia, Food Wars, and Haikyuu!!..particularly in comparison to the new perpetual-runners Black Clover (which, despite running for over two straight years now, is still not the most popular show of Fall 2017 by viewer count on MAL, and sits at a ‘meh’ 7.2), and even worse, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, which is faring even worse on both counts even though it premiered two whole seasons earlier and the fact that it is the sequel to Naruto.

As a reminder of my rules, the shows on this list may or may not have premiered in 2019, but they finished airing this year. The split-cour rule (stating that I judge any show that “finishes” and then premieres a “new season” within six months) didn’t come into play for any 2018 shows, but it will for Ascendance of a Bookworm and Food Wars this year, at the very least.

With that being said! 25 shows running longer than thirteen episodes finished airing this year after being simulcast, and of those…

I skipped 6:

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part V: Golden Wind, Fairy Tail Final Series, A Certain Magical Index III, Ace Attorney Season 2 and Cardfight Vanguard (2018) because I either dropped or have not finished their previous (also long-running) seasons.

Yu-Gi-Oh VRAINS because the simulcast started late and also it was bad.

I Dropped 8:

Worst Long Show of 2019: The Rising of the Shield Hero

It’s always fun to see that a show you hated from its first episode only gets more and more distasteful afterwards, but it’s less fun when a service you have to promote because they’re the legal option is forced to shove it down your throat because they had a hand in making it and it became a massive hit that your friends don’t see any issue with because the author wrote a story that justifies its hero’s patronage of the slave industry. This is my punishment for watching the whole first season of The Asterisk War before I knew better.

YU-NO: A girl who chants love at the bound of this world

A confusing mess from the word go, this ill-fated adaptation of a visual novel from the nineties seems like it was mostly made to cash in on the popularity of the Science Adventure series, but failed to present itself in a way that made an ounce of sense or looked remotely interesting.

Fairy Gone

Am I really the only one that saw potential here? I mean yes, it ended up a boring slog that didn’t care to move its plot in a meaningful direction, but the first episode was at least cool. I guess Izetta: The Last Witch should have taught me better.

We Never Learn

I know that I’m in the minority in terms of the male demographic for shows like this, but honestly, how are bland harem shows still this easy to market? A copy-pasted protagonist with copy-pasted waifus drag down what could be an interesting setup for a story.

Karakuri Circus

The first episode of this one had me excited, the second and third left me bored to tears and wondering if it would continue to look uglier by the minute. I haven’t seen a three-cour show look this janky since Knight in the Area.

Radiant

Having heard good things about this show from my cohorts, I do feel bad for saying I’ll probably never return to Radiant, but when you have a show that’s notably written by a European author...and it turns out to be a frustratingly standard shounen affair with middling production values, well, you can see my earlier annoyance with Cannon Busters.

Ensemble Stars

This one still gets to me. It almost looked like a male-idol show I would finally be able to get behind, what with its rebellious attitude and oddball setting...that is, until the setting got to be too unbelievable and the show began drowning its audience in side-characters because they had to squeeze every husbando from the mobile game into the story, and it all began to resemble UtaPri a little too much...but without the production value.

Boogiepop and Others

This was a hard drop, honestly. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how I felt four episodes in, before concluding that I was bored and not particularly invested, two things that should never describe the experience of watching a Madhouse show. The fact that this was the project responsible for ruining One Punch Man only made it worse. There’s a slow burn, and then there’s walking away without turning the stove on.

And I Finished 11 (holy crap that’s like three hundred episodes just on their own).

That Time I Was Reincarnated as a Slime (5/10 & 1/10)

I’ll be honest, I had forgotten just how livid I was with the ending (and especially the sad excuse of a recap episode) of Slimesekai, and reading back through my write-up of it, it’s certainly coming back to me. While this year had bigger demons to fight (Shield Hero), the bad taste that Slime left me with hasn’t really faded, and the wasted premise bugs me to this day.

Hinomaru Sumo (7/10)

What Hinomaru lacked in production value, it happily made up for in good execution and earnest heart. I can’t believe this came from the same studio as Conception, Try Knights and 7Seeds, but if they can only get out one good show a year, I’m glad that we got one bringing attention to a sport that many will joke about but few understand, respect and appreciate.

Kono Oto Tomare (7/10)

Speaking of giving love to traditional Japanese culture, here’s a decent-if-unoriginal show about a local high school koto club down on their luck, and the troubled teens coming together under a scrappy protagonist to bring it back to life. Kono Oto Tomare doesn’t have much that you haven’t seen before, but a decently-executed club drama with Your Lie In April-inspired musical performances is more than enough to keep me interested, and since Forest of Piano kinda crashed and burned under the weight of its own self-importance this year, it was nice to have an alternative.

MIX: Meisei Story (8/10)

It’s hard to judge MIX next to the other shows on this list because it’s almost too old-school for its own good, revelling in an eighties storytelling style that didn’t end up jiving with a wide audience this year. But at the same time, its fun character dynamics (and a very good dub from Funimation, despite them saying they’d never touch sports anime again) were very entertaining to watch, even if it didn’t focus as much on the sport it was supposedly about as much as I’d have liked.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (8/10)

I fully admit that I’m very salty about the fact that this won Show of the Decade in Funimation’s poll while it was still on and I thought there were hundreds of more deserving shows, but I can’t deny that Demon Slayer was a very enjoyable experience, albeit one that I had notable problems with. That’s not gonna stop me from getting mad when it sweeps the Anime Awards in a few weeks, though.

Fire Force (8/10)

I was very afraid that David Productions wouldn’t be able to match the energy of Studio Bones’ adaptation of Ohkubo’s previous work, Soul Eater, but I was happy to be proven wrong. Even if the last few episodes contained a bit too much infodumping, it was all sandwiched between jaw-dropping fight scenes that proved that the people who make Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure can still handle the reins of a more traditional action show.

Fruits Basket 1st Season (8/10)

I know that my score for this one is a bit lower than others, but I think that Fruits Basket did pretty well in its first season, considering that it was largely spent setting up future storylines and adapting the part of the manga we’d all seen before, but with much higher production value. I’ve been familiar with this part of the story for over a decade, and the scene with Tohru and Kyo (you know the one) still made me cry. Now, we get the real plot going.

Dr Stone (9/10)

A great start to a totally new spin on shounen, Dr Stone gives me hope for survival in the post-Shokugeki world in which we’ll soon live, as a show that wears its research on its sleeve. A complex plot weaving interesting characters in and out of a narrative surrounding a philosophical battle where both sides actually do have fair points (even if one of them is going about it in a pretty cruel manner). More please.

Vinland Saga (9/10)

Once again, a great start to what will hopefully be years of quality storytelling, Vinland Saga made it seem like it was dragging in the middle only to reveal just what its slow burn had been leading up to, with twist-heavy storytelling and a fantastic cast to match the high visual quality of its brutal battles.

Run With the Wind (9/10)

It’s not often that Production I.G. gets to make a complete, fully-realized show anymore, and this one was a glorious reminder of the potential of the studio in the TV space, and a great rebound for the director of Joker Game. It’s gorgeous to look at, the cast is wonderful, and the story is both realistic and idealistic in a satisfying balance. It’s a miserable process to get to the finish line in real life, but sitting back and watching this was nothing but a treat. At least, until a minor fumble at the end.

Best Long Show of 2019: Dororo (9/10)

Speaking of complete stories, Tezuka Productions and MAPPA teamed up for a breathtaking adaptation of an underappreciated Tezuka classic that expands upon the story in exactly the right way to create a thrilling, savage, beautiful masterpiece that focuses a laser-sharp eye into the relationship between two characters in their journey to, literally and figuratively, become complete people. Also, that opening was killer.

And that’s it! That’s the fun list. Next comes the painful one. Stay tuned for the trash heap.

#final thoughts #year end anime list #long 2019 #dororo #demon slayer #Fruits Basket #vinland saga #run with the wind #Dr Stone #rising of the shield hero #fire force #kono oto tomare!#mix meisei story #hinomaru sumo #hinomaru zumou #that time i got reincarnated as a slime #tensura

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lady-plantagenet · 4 years

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What hasn’t already been said: The Spanish Princess 2

Episode 1: CamelNOT

[Lively Music Plays]

I shit you not... that’s what it said in the CCs.

Tower of London (?)

*Catherine looks at the array of crowns like a museum curator and the proceeds to strut down the halls*

Wolsey: *gives her this strange look which is a mixture between damn girl and the eagle is my spirit animal.

Then Catherine gets fake detained and taken to Henry in what must be a strange variation of the whole Robin Hood/Maid Marian roleplay they historically engaged in.

... did she just call his erhm manhood his kingship? Well that’s original, I’ll give them that. Also funny how Bessie Blount initially looks on in fright... don’t worry girl that will be you soon.

———————————————————————

*the four ladies have a brunch friendship moment together*

I see Blount is among them... I see they are setting her up as Catherine’s friend in order to play up the whole betrayal.

Alright. Jokes aside, I realised how much I’ve played myself. I was inspired by @melusineloriginale ‘s sporks (which if all this TSP episode posts got you in the mood for PG show mockery I urge you to check out here - you’ll thank me later). In truth, Henry VIII’s early reign is a bit too late from my main area of focus for me to make intelligent jokes.

I’ll content myself with just bullet-pointing random thoughts that came into my head, and if some intelligent thought gets through, well that would be the pinnacle. In any case I’ll aim to not parrot some of the stuff that’s already been said, repetition can get annoying.

This image embodies this post, but maybe not the show. I’ve noticed those Starz productions get better by the end.

First Scenes:

- The recap just reminded me how much I will miss Margaret Beaufort in the coming episodes. I know her portrayal was innacurate but Harriet Walter just made everything better.

- They are making such a big deal out of this whole ‘we were crowned together, we rule together’ thing in this episode - it makes no sense. Catherine was an influential Queen but she was definitely no more than a consort and never saw herself as more.

- Ruairi’s new haircut is pleasing to my eyes.

- When she says ‘Abuelo’ it’s super adorable awww

The Ferdinand and Charles V scene:

- Bessie Blount looks so much like Ursula Pole lmao. Also they totally got the Pole children’s birth order wrong and UGH WHERE IS GEOFFREY POLE???

- I like Mary Tudor’s actress and her facial expressions. However, this whole polyglot image they are representing is innacurate. I am fairly certain she knew no spanish and I recall reading a contemporary account which said that she was not very learned.

- I’m pretty sure it would be considered bad luck to prematurely crown your son ‘Henry IX’ while you’re still alive.

- I actually like the whole Grape motif in this episode. It’s probably the smartest thing they’ve come up with so far for this episode. I know a lot of you will be all like ‘there’s no record of Ferdinand being abusive’ but this choice sort of makes sense when you recall Joanna’s treatment. Also I appreciate them for not being tacky and showing flashbacks of more overt abuse eg physical. The sugared grape is also fairly symbolic (the sugar is like a gilding, the grape easily crushable)

- OMG the guy from Garrow’s law is playing Thomas More!

- AND PLEASE PLEASE TELL ME IM NOT SEEING THINGS? Margaret Pole x Thomas More is happening?? Please god that is a historical crackship I am getting behind. Yes. This is what I’m most invested about.

Margaret Tudor and Scotland Scene:

- The whole ironic cutaway to Margaret being all depressed after Charles Brandon’s statement about her charming Scottish king is such a cliché movie technique.

- If this were a more artsy film I would think the whole setup resembling a stereotypical middle-class family breakfast was done on purpose for humorous effects or to create a link with the past. But here I don’t have as much trust in the producers. I think they just failed to capture the time period accurately.

- The modernisms continue: ‘Negassi please stop playing’ idk, there just something so modern about this for some reason ahaha

- Also again, I’m getting tired of all this ‘Catherine is basically queen herself’, ‘Catherine is a political genius’, ‘Catherine Catherine Catherine’ ugh. I don’t think the producers understand that Henry VIII was a very autocratic and traditional ruler. He didn’t make any show of joint-rulership (correct me if I’m wrong).

- The teeth thing is funny, smart and I liked it.

Back to Westminster:

- I like Ferdinand’s actor!

- Also Catherine’s response to ‘who are you loyal to?’ was not that smart. I feel like the producers wanted us to be impressed. What if Spain and England’s interests conflict, ey??

The Joust:

- I care too much for the whole Margaret Pole plotline. I’m so invested.

- I could watch a series of More and Pole just exchanging lines. I love the actors too and this is my hope for this series. The whole frustrated parents is SO CUTE.

- I didn’t know More tutored Reggie, I would be curious to know more.

- The way compton says groom to queen’s stool is freaking hilarious. He looks like a pervert.

- Henry Pole is a darling and must be protected at all costs.

- Oh Christ oh Christ that eyeball shot was just... good job on the special effects guys. Don’t know what the point of that choice was.

- I found the whole armour mentions after interesting, it looked so set up as a PR campaign because Stafford speaking about the armour just sounded like a statement agreed on beforehand ‘should have worn the same’ and the Catherine with ‘steel in the bones’ and Ferdinand’s impressed face (it was him playing them?)

- Am I giving this show too much credit?

- Also whats up with “God save the Queen?”

War Counsel:

- Henry VIII’s actor is quite charismatic in this scene. It’s almost as if Catherine is the hothead and Henry the wise one that speaks less but more significantly. It almost feels like they gender-swapped them.

The Bedchamber:

- Did Catherine breastfeed the baby? I thought it was Anne Boleyn. Doubtful... I’m tired of the trope of ‘you’re a good woman if you insist on breastfeeding the child yourself despite social conventions’. For a feminist show, the writers seem very attached to some 1950s perceptions of motherhood.

- I feel like the age difference between Catherine and Henry is well conveyed.

Scotland Again:

- ‘All the sheep were pregnant’ 👀 oh touché Margaret. oh my. Did she just?

- I know they are playing out this disenfranchised Margaret arc to reinforce how great Catherine and Henry are (cheap technique) and to build up to her involvement in Flodden (innacurate historically but I know what the show will do). But I will say this: the humour is pretty good in the Scottish scenes! But I know it’s unintentionally so... (I highly doubt they wanted us to laugh at Margaret hitting James or calling Alexander a pig).

Westminster and the baby chamber:

- What’s are those red splotches on the babies face??

- Oh that shot of Margaret and silent Reginald :((( it makes me sad.

- And now the Poles are at church! I just love the look of them.

- That scene of Maggie and Catherine was needed, as we didn’t get the best friends vibe much in this episode. The whole thing looked a bit pagan though, but it was nice :)

The whole Ferdinand’s betrayal segment:

- The grape motif again was fitting, him snapping the fruit right before she gets to it even despite her knowing what he’s like and what he’ll do, was a good parrallel.

- I’m tired of hearing of this ‘Camelot’. Even in the novel, Camelot was Catherine and Arthur’s dream and... can we just live it up with Arthur?

- Ursula Pole’s, Bessie Blount’s and Mary Boleyn’s actresses look way too similar.

- I fail to see why Catherine thinks she’s turning into her father... she doesn’t strike me as much of a game-player or subtle two-facer.

- I’m intrigued what will happen with Oviedo and Lina... I feel like they won’t stay in England long.

- He was made knight bannaret... nice... but why does he thank Catherine publicly for this? It was in Henry’s gift that he was made a commoner Knight.. if this transpired irl Henry would have been gravely insulter.

Catherine’s Dead Baby and thereafter:

- Guys. In all seriousness, I don’t think the TV series is trying to imply that Catherine killed the baby with her negligence. I mean, they are so bent on us liking her they wouldn’t do that. It would be a bit too ballsy anyway. Remember the red splotches I mentioned earlier? Could those have been a sign that he was already ill but no one noticed/was in denial?

- The pebbles in hands would have had more emotional payoff if it had been established earlier if you know what I mean. Basically, this episode is too fast and entire arcs begin and end within it which extinguished any build-up.

- Oh man Henry is so sweet in this, how will they build him up as the tyrant he was historically if they keep this up?

Scotland Again:

- I must admit, I don’t like all those nicknames they keep using. But somehow James calling Margaret ‘Meg’ is nice and seems fitting.

- What’s a hermana sister?

England Last Mourning Scenes:

- YOU DID NOT BUILD CAMELOT ughhh

- Why is Catherine giving the speech and not Henry?? It turns out Catherine was more emotional historically then the whole perception of ‘perfect queen of stone’ to which some people hold her. However, I doubt it would have been proper of her to give a speech in such a emotional manner.

Conclusion:

6.5/10

Some of the dialogue was stilted, the costumes are confused as to which era they’re supposed to be (aesthetically distracting) and many other characterisation issues.

I don’t have high hopes for this series in terms of cinematography or art but I sure as hell expect it will be entertaining. So far, everything is just getting set up and I find some aspects promising. As you can tell I am truly excited over how the Margaret Pole plotline. I am also interested in how Henry will be portrayed, with Catherine being so OTT and pushy this episode Im starting to Stan him more. In this show he appears sensitive and serene and kinda... adorable. Kind of like a little brother hanging onto his sister’s skirts.

But in a way that is a disservice to the real historical figure which would not tolerate such a representation. I am very irritated by this whole ‘joint-rulers’ thing which is just sooo innacurate. These STARZ shows have an obsession with showing women turn into men for the purposes of feminism - I see.

Catherine overpowers Henry too often and it sometimes feels like he’s HER consort. Of course, the feminism in this show is schizophrenic as we get the overemphasis of Catherine as a 1950s motherly ideal with the whole breastfeeding angle (“you’re better than other noble woman who would find this beneath them”, “they’re not as motherly as you”).

So the relationship dynamic between Henry and Catherine is a bit off at the moment, but oh well.

Mary Tudor is a bit distracting with her dark hair but I find the actress extremely endearing and promising. I know there will be emphasis on her storyline too and I hope they’ll not be clichéd with it.

#the spanish princess #the spanish princess 2 #lady plantagenet's series reviews #not my best #but I've been ill for most of the week and wanted to get this out before episode 2 comes tommorow #feel free to send me an ask if you you have anything to say #I'd love to see if anyone else thought some of the same things

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butterbeeryuta · 4 years

Text

the tech guy

techie!xiaojun x historian!reader | oneshot series | fluff, slight angst | 2.3 k

summary: if there was anything people had to know about you, you were very clumsy. You were so clumsy to a point where you may have dropped your laptop and broke the screen. Of course, you brought it to the computer shop, and the tech guy did his shit. What he didn’t expect was for you to break your laptop on a weekly basis.

‘So what you’re telling me is, you tried to reach for the packet of Lotus biscuits on the top shelf, with your laptop on your left hand, and the moment you reached the biscuits, your laptop dropped?’ Yuqi, your roommate, asks as looks at you as if you were the dumbest person to ever breathe. Though if she did think so, she wasn’t exactly lying. You knew you should have left your laptop on some flat surface rather than your hand. You knew that your only talent was dropping things, or making a fool out of yourself by tripping on things unnecessarily. You couldn’t help but just be naturally clumsy.

‘Ok yes, I might have not been exactly careful—‘

‘_______ you dropped your laptop and broke the screen in exchange of biscuits.’ She says monotonously, as if she is trying to comprehend whatever you just told her.

‘I mean if you put in that way, then yeah, I did that. But Yuqi babe—‘

‘You’re an actual idiot, why didn’t you leave your laptop on a desk or something?’ She loudly asks, not bothering to listen to whatever defence you had. Which was honestly quite reasonable because you didn’t really have anything to defend yourself. You were just… you. Not wanting to hear whatever Yuqi has to say, or scold you, you placed your broken laptop down and cut her off.

‘Okay yes yes, I know I am in idiot. I know I should have placed it down, but Yuqi this was bound to happen someday, I just break shit—‘

‘Because you are so stupid—‘

‘Stop cutting me off! Anyway, it already happened and it’s not like you’re gonna pay for the repairing cost so tell me babe, do you know any tech place where I can ask someone to fix this?’ You desperately asked, pointing at your damaged laptop screen. Yuqi sighed, fully understanding that her getting angry at you won’t exactly change your extreme clumsiness. At the same time, who the fucking hell can be that clumsy?

‘Oh well I don’t know ______ I haven’t broken a laptop yet for trying to reach for some brown-coloured biscuits’ she sarcastically says, only earning a deep sigh from you. Thinking that your roommate’s great disappointment in you won’t go away, you decided to leave the shared space and go back to your room, and look for a repair shop by yourself.

‘Alright ______ I’m sorry, I know you’re a clumsy mess. I’m just worried that if you keep doing careless things, you won’t fix it’ she says, going towards you with her arms slightly open to hug your sulking frame. Not exactly sure what to say, you sort of just let her hug you, unsure if you should feel relieved that she will stop telling you off, or annoyed that you’re letting her be this affectionate towards you after bursting at you. Then again, a fraction of you felt that you needed to be told off for your clumsiness. This wasn’t your first time you drop such… valuable items. In Grade 9 your mother’s engagement ring slipped off your finger when you were planting a tree for service purposes. Then in your last year of schooling you accidentally dropped your friend’s camera in the sea when you and your friends were on a boat— it was a mess. The only good thing about your unnecessary clumsiness was that you at least admit it. You just nodded under Yuqi’s embrace, now thinking of ways to repair your laptop because you had a research paper due in a few days, and you only had to finish your conclusion. You were not willing to rewrite 7500 words in a matter of 72 hours. As if your roommate read your mind, she looked down at you currently smaller form.

‘You know, I know this guy whose really good at tech stuff. How ‘bout I give him a call about your laptop? I know you have your History paper due soon,’ she softly asks, hoping for a more cheerful response from you. You looked up at her immediately, very close to hugging her tightly for actually saying something useful.

‘Really? You’ll do that for me?’

‘Yes, why won’t I?’

‘Because you called me stupid for being a clumsy ass—‘

‘Okay yeah no Yuqi was being mean, I’m sorry bub.’ Well, at least you got some support from her roommate.

—————————————————————————————

If you remember correctly, Yuqi told you to turn left after you see your favourite stationery shop, and that if you keep walking straight, you’ll see a shop with the sign ‘Xiao Devices.’ And of course, you still managed to fuck up. Yuqi said to the tech guy that you’d come around at 4 in the afternoon. What was originally supposed to be a 10 minute walk turned into a 30 minute walk, making you 20 minutes late. Good on you _______. Despite your shitty navigation skills, you somehow made it to the store, and my dear, were there a lot of devices. The moment you enter the shop, it was gadgets stacked on top of another. You were beginning to wonder if the setup of the place was done for aesthetic purposes, but you felt as if you were about break something with how the store was setup.

‘Hello?’ You ask, slowly taking out your damaged laptop. Just as you were about to take out the mess you made, you felt someone coming out wherever they were. Turning to see who it was, you came to face probably one of the prettiest faces you have ever seen. He was a pretty lean guy, not too tall, but not short either. His dark hair was laying over his round glasses, making him look quite soft. In other words, he was attractive. He couldn’t be the tech guy, right?

‘You’re Yuqi’s friend? ______?’ He asks with his surprisingly deep voice, contrasting his soft features. His oversized knit sweater was not helping the fact that you thought he was some soft-spoken little guy that liked puppies, and was on a whole new level of nerdy. Then again, he probably could still be.

‘Uh, yeah. I am _______. And you’re Xiaojun?’ I confirmed, hoping that I did not mess up his name just like how I did last time with Yuqi’s ex-girlfriend. One year ago her ex came to your apartment to pick up Yuqi for a date, and you mistakenly called her Minnie instead of Miyeon, and you were very close to breaking them up. Now, the consequences will probably not be as big as what happened last year, but you still did not want to take the chance.

‘Yep, that’s my name. Yuqi told me that you broke your laptop, but she wouldn’t tell me how. She said something about how you were a better person to ask about how your laptop broke…?’ Well fuck. Of course I can, I can casually and confidently just say that my laptop fell out of my hand when I was trying to reach up for a biscuit with my other free hand. Yeah, I can totally say that. Fucking clumsy ass _________. Showing your broken laptop to Xiaojun, you took a deep breath and explained what led you to creating the product you were showing to him. You did not want to look at his disappointed face. You literally met this gorgeous guy for the first time, and you do not want your lungs to explode on the spot for your high quality embarrassment. After telling him your reason to why your laptop broke, you could feel his piercing eyes looking at your sulking frame. In your mind, he was piercing your body with a spear.

‘So you’re telling me that your hand just… gave up on you when you were reaching for the biscuits, and it just, crashed to the floor?’ Precisely Xiaojun. Precisely. You nodded slowly at him, unsure if you wanted to run away from the store and never come back and show your face to him ever again. ‘Well, that is a first for me. A much more interesting story than I expected to be honest. Come on ________, let’s take a quick look at what we can do.’ He says in a surprisingly cheerful tone, only causing you to look up at the pretty man immediately, only to see nothing but a smile on his face. Oh?

—————————————————————————————

‘Damn, you’re a History major? At fucking Tsinghua University? Damn, that’s really impressive,’ Xiaojun exclaims as he replaces your horrendously damaged screen. You were just telling him about how you needed your laptop to finish off you research on Japanese invasion of Korea, otherwise known as the Imjin War from 1592 to 1598. It was pretty interesting for you, but you didn’t exactly had the need to tell him about your research in full depth. You didn’t want to bore anyone with it, no matter how much that hurt to say that internally.

‘Well, thank you. How ‘bout you? When did you start being so… techie?’ You asked, watching him screwing the new laptop screen. Right after the words left your mouth, you felt him tense a bit from the way his gripped the screw harder. Did you say something wrong?

‘I was actually a theatre student, then my father passed away so I took over the shop…’ Oh. Unconsciously biting your lower lip, you were not sure what to say anymore. You weren’t even sure if you should talk. Deciding to stay quiet until he fixed your laptop, your head naturally dropped, your eyes watching your two thumbs fiddling with another. Xiaojun noticed your sudden change in posture; you were making yourself smaller. Taking in a deep breath, he knew that it wasn’t your fault to suddenly change the mood. You didn’t even know anything about it, you literally just met him. He couldn’t have expect you to know everything about him the moment the two of you exchanged looks.

‘It’s alright __________, you didn’t know. Now instead of keeping quiet over there, why don’t you tell me how the hell did you become roommates with that crazy ass friend of mine.’ He says, cutting the tension in the room to hopefully lighten the atmosphere. And he genuinely did wanted to make you feel at ease, you could tell with the way he looked at you. The moment you lifted your head, it was clear that he genuinely wanted to let you know that what you did was okay, and there was nothing to feel sorry about. You smiled at him, somewhat trusting his word, although you didn’t exactly know why you have to trust him in the first place. But, it just felt right.

‘U-um, it’s really nothing special’ you stuttered, trying to keep your shit together without trying to feel like pure crap. Which was already too late, but you still gave it a go. This tech dude was making you feel that you were alright for some reason. ‘I was looking for a roommate cause the apartment I currently live in is a bit pricey for one person. I kinda just asked my friends if they knew anyone who needed to move, and that’s honestly how I met Yuqi. She’s lovely, but she can be quite intimidating at some times. But lovely!’ Trying not to say anything wrong. You did not want to go through another mini meltdown.

‘Yuqi is scary as shit, that I can agree with. I don’t know about “lovely” though’ Xiaojun chuckles, and if you didn’t think you were falling for this tech guy, well you lied. His little chuckle only further complimented his soft aura, and his naturally nice personality just makes it even easier to just admire him.

————————————————————————

‘Alright here you go _______. Screen is brand and new, and zero cracks.’ Ha, thank you Xiaojun.

‘Well thank you, I honestly thought this would take more than a day to fix.’

‘It usually takes 1 hour, but yours took 3 hours to fix… so you weren’t wrong with the length of the time.’ Oh.

‘Right, of course. Well, thank you so so so much Xiaojun. How much does it cost again?’

‘Actually, you don’t have to pay. It’s alright ______.’ Your eyes widened at his words, what the fuck did her say? Ya’ll live in China for fucks’ sake, sure communism is a thing, but capitalism is still at the top.

‘I’m sorry what? It took your 2 more extra hours than usually and expensive ass crap to ease my clumsiness, I don’t think you want to get nothing in return.’ You said, not wanting to hear any more of his nonsense. He just smiles at you, closing your laptop and handing it to you.

‘Well if you put it that way, then yeah. I’ll give you a discount though, you made my job easier today despite the longer hours.’ It would be a lie to say that your cheeks didn’t go red from what he said. If he implied that your company made his job more fun, perhaps, you died internally. Perhaps. You handed the cash to the tech guy, only for you to leave his shop looking like a tomato with the image of his beautiful smile embedded in your brain. Goddammit Xiaojun.

If Xiaojun thought that was the last time we was able to see you, that would be a complete lie. Let’s just say that you were running to classes with your backpack zipper open, and only one of the straps were actually hanging for its dear life. And let’s just say that your laptop may have fell out, and fell flat on the concrete ground. Well, I guess you’re going to the tech guy again.

a/n: HELLLO EVERYONEEEEEEEE. so this took longer than i thought but here iT is. school has been closed for almost 2 weeks now because the virus, and i hope everyone else is taking care of their hygiene even more. yesterday was my birthday, but it honestly didn’t feel like it cause h a h a school decided to give us a load of shit to do since we had no school, so i was focusing on those. BUT BUT BUT BUT the KICK IT MUSIC VIDEOS JDNISDFNIJFNIJ anD the alBUM holy fuck actually what the literal fuck. taeil’s high note, MY BBY yuta has lines, haechan served, and fucking johnny... this is HIS era ya’ll. i really like elevator and pandora’s box the most, but lmao sit down is by far the most different(?) note euphemism djksjks idk how to explain it. kneeways, i hope ya’ll have a good day/night.

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wingsonghalo · 4 years

Note

Every prime number for the meta ask >:3

lasjkflsdkj goddammit, Writers XD

Okay, so that would be 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, and 23. Let’s see...

2) Tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project. Okay, currently I’m writing a HanaNene fic where Hanako is forced to say only whatever he’s thinking and it leads to hilarious shenanigans, so that’s been really fun to write! I’m also working on something for Perryshmirtz Week (in October)--something I started writing back in like 2015 but only got 14 pages into. It’s now 21 pages and it’s still not done lskjdfk. Besides that, I’d really like to write some more IzuOcha and KiriBaku, as well as finish my KilluGon fic. I’VE GOT SO MANY IRONS IN THE FIRE, MAN...

3) What is that one scene that you’ve always wanted to write but can’t be arsed to write all of the set-up and context it would need? (consider this permission to write it and/or share it anyway)

Oh shit. Uhhh I dunno. There is a Hanako-kun fic I want to write about Hanako getting unsealed, but I’ve found the setup very difficult and the whole concept has also kind of been soured for me due to... reasons. But I’d still really like to write it, because it was an idea I was really excited about when I first talked about it, and I’ve already written some stuff for it. Also? The confrontation/final “battle” in my KilluGon fic, and practically all of my Ace Attorney fic Undercover. I’M SO INTIMIDATED BY IT; I’M SCARED TO WORK ON IT LSKJFLDK

5) What character that you’re writing do you most identify with? Hmmm it varies by fandom. I’ll list my most recent/most prominent fandoms: -Hanako-kun: both Hanako and Nene -Mob Psycho 100: Teru, but I have a lot in common with Mob as well -My Hero Academia: Izuku -Ace Attorney: Phoenix

7) What do you think are the characteristics of your personal writing style? Would others agree? I’d say my fics always have a sense of humor about them, even when I don’t necessarily start out writing them with the intention of being funny. Descriptive and figurative language applied to emotions and sensations is also something I do a lot. Other than that... I overuse adverbs and semicolons and you can pry them from my cold, dead hands. As for whether others would agree... I dunno! I should ask them!!

11) What do you envy in other writers? Confidence, mostly. Can I say “everything”? No? Okay then. Sometimes I read stuff where there is a description or a phrasing and I’m like, damn. Nothing I will ever write will grab me as much as that just did. But I don’t know if that’s really true, so I have to keep trying, right?

17) Do you think readers perceive your work - or you - differently to you? What do you think would surprise your readers about your writing or your motivations? I mean, I think everyone perceives a piece of art differently to some extent! So yeah, it’s only to be expected that others might have a different interpretation of what I write than I do, because I’m the only one who knows every single thread that went into the tapestry. It’s kind of hard to judge someone’s process or technique if all you’re seeing is the final product. What do I think would surprise my readers... uh, sometimes people treat me like I’m a hotshot, and... they are wrong. I am a painfully average potato who has just tried very hard my whole life. You can be just as good--and also better--if you really work at things. As for my motivations... I think people might be surprised if they knew just HOW many of my fics have just come out of frantically writing shit in Skype and Discord to amuse my friends aksjdlfkj;. They can ask me a single question and I’ll be like “[suddenly writes out 7 pages] are u proud of me yet”

19) Is there something you always find yourself repeating in your writing? (favourite verb, something you describe ‘too often’, trope you can’t get enough of?) Oh so many things. I’m almost reluctant to point them out, because then everyone will realize just how much I re-use things haha! But I describe blushing a lot, hearts pounding, colors; if I write multiple fics for a pairing, the characters will have similar thought patterns or even dialogue in each bc they’re the same character but in a different circumstance; I overuse semicolons, parentheses, em dashes, and adverbs; and I say “a bit” or “a little” or “slightly” way too much. Can nothing be a normal amount, Wing?

23) What’s the story idea you’ve had in your head for the longest? Do you mean fanfic or just in general? Let’s go with fanfic. Probably Left on Read, my Killugon fic, considering I first drafted out chapters of it in 2014-15 or so. I’d really love to be able to see it through to the end, because it does have an end and I really love it.

Thanks for asking me, Writers (you rascal >:3) <333333

#stuff i write #ask meme #writerofblocks

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deludingbetweenities · 3 years

Text

“Do I look like a subject to you?!” Michael screamed as he gripped Lily’s t-shirt when she was about to get out of the room. Lily immediately felt a cold wind touched her skin as she tried to brush off Michaels’ grip casually. “No, Michael. Come on, we just want to make the best film and I know you want, too.” Lily said as she tried to control Michaels's temper but Michael just stood there looking at her eye. Michael suddenly loosened his face with a smirk on his lips. “We could just shoot another scene here and show them my true side. That will make your hunger for spotlight quenched.” Michael threatened Lily as they stood there not moving an inch. With Michael’s eye filled with anger, Lily felt so sure she would die tonight.

________________________________________________________________

“The film is about crime and mystery?” Brandon asked in confusion. They all looked at Lily in confusion. “Lily, are you sure here? We don’t have the expertise in that genre. You are good with documentaries. I think staying in our niche will be the best plan to win.” Rhea insisted as she looked at the other members for their approval.

“Well, I think we should leave a lasting memory for our last film here.” Lily said and put a sweet smile on her lips. “Plus, I ask someone who I think is the best in the genre,” she added as she waved her hand to invite someone who she thought is a treasure for the film. Standing beside their table, wearing a black shirt and jeans, is someone they didn’t expect to be there. “Here is Michael, he will help us out to create the greatest film to be created in UP Diliman!” Lily excitedly explained to her team. Well, her team wasn’t excited for the record.

“The hell is he doing here? Isn’t he the one who set fire in the cafeteria last year?” Joanne whispered to Brandon and Rhea. The three of them are looking at each other, talking with their eyes. “Guys, welcome him. Come on!” Lily convinced them to greet him.” Hey, what’s up.” three of them replied coldly. Michael knew he wasn’t accepted but tried to wave just to be respectful.

“Guys, please don’t be judgmental. We need him more than he needs us anyways.” Lily whispered to the three trying to convince them about her plans. “I think he needs us more than we need him. A loner as he is.” Rhea bluntly replied as she rolled her eyes to Michael. Lily questioned her with a look. “I am sorry, Michael. She is just honest and sometimes too honest. But she is excited also to work with you.” Lily said to Michael but he didn’t really care anyways.

The first encounter wasn’t smooth but Lily still tried to make it work since they are so devoted to creating a film out of their comfort zone. Lily has always planned things carefully, so when they learned that she invited a possible psychopath to their team, the three wondered what is she planning now.

“I really don’t know what Lily is up to but she gives me headaches now,” Rhea complained as she and Joanne entered the bathroom leaving the door open for Brandon to stand in the doorway to hear the conversation. “Rhea, I think she has gone mental. I’m just excited to get out of college.” Brandon said as he shrugged and leaned towards the door. Joanne nodded to them since she isn’t really a talker herself. But Rhea is the complete opposite and talks whenever she wants.

“You know how I have a love and hate relationship with Lily, right? I mean she is the very perfect person to stick with and get benefits out of her. But also, I hate how she is all perfect and wants us to follow her always. I’m like duh, I’m not a push around. I’m like an icon.” she continuously babbled as she put lipstick on her lips. Brandon smirked and Joanne innocently giggled as they all shared their feelings about what is happening right now.

“How many layers will put on that lips, Rhea?” Brandon asked. “We have been here for a while. I’m starving!” he added. “Ugh. Why are you pressuring me? I just want to look good you know. Do I look good, Joanne?” Rhea said looking at Joanne to ask for approval. “Oh, yes totally,” she said. “More than Lily?” Rhea asked to assure. “More than Lily. “she added.

The three of them are friends of Lily for a very long time. They started hanging out when they are fresh students in college. Although they have different traits, they click so much especially when they are creating their films for school. They were a perfect production team but not much when a film is not associated. But even though with this setup, Lily still treated them the best and adore them so much. She took care of the three and puts them in a situation where they will be in a much good place. It is not a perfect relationship but they still have cared for each other.

While the three hang out, Lily decided to be with Michael. They talked about the plan they have for the film and Michael is giving places to best shoot with. “Wow, Michael. You sure have the best taste in creating a perfect shooting place. How did you know all of this?” Lily was amazed. “Well, I spent many times alone. Plus, I have been in several films in the past that explore many of the places in our University.” Michael replied while as he looked at his notebook and jotted down useful notes for the story. Lily was very good to handle conversations like this but it seems that Michael isn’t really open to other topics but just the film itself.

“You know, I admire you. You’re very admirable especially when you create your films in the past. I am a fan of your psychological thrillers!” Lily exclaimed and she saw Michael smirk a little that made her giggle. They spent the afternoon together and many people were confused about how did the brightest student met the one, they are scared of.

After a week, they went to shoot their film. They went to the abandoned building in their university with the bathroom perfect for their scene. It wasn’t really a scary abandoned like other people think because many students still do go there and even staffs use it for recreational activities. Brandon set up the camera while Joanne fixed Rhea’s make up for the shoot. Lily was with Michael talking about the various shoots they would take.

“Joanne, I think that was the wrong shade of lipstick. I don’t like that color.” Rhea said as she was so irritated by her look. She rolled her eyes and pushed Joanne away to reach the make-up remover behind her. Joanne though was used to this attitude but Michael felt so awkward watching them. Lily seeing Michael’s discomfort offered her lipstick. She reached for her bag and gave Joanne the lipstick she has. “Joanne, you should use this for her. I bought this because I was so in love with her lipstick shade. I guess I’ll just be buying again.” Lily offered and smiled at Rhea. Rhea sarcastically smiled but whispered “what a show-off”.

The preparation is over and they started shooting. It was going so well but Rhea kept complaining about her lips asking if it looked okay. Everybody was so irritated but kept it together. But Michael snapped and they were all shocked to see him so angry in person.

“CAN YOU STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT HOW YOU LOOK? YOU'RE GONNA DIE ANYWAY HERE! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT TO LOOK LIKE!?” Michael screamed at Rhea as he looked at her breathing heavily and gripping too much to the tripod.

They were all shocked and scared. It brought them back then when the incident happened in the cafeteria. He roared like a lion that doesn’t have any control over his desire to devour you. The quietness was the most bothering sound they had after that. But Lily tried to control the situation and tried to loosen the grip of Michael and ask him to go buy water with her.

They still did finish shooting the scene but Rhea was so pissed at Michael for humiliating her like that. Joanne, however, is half-shocked but had a relief that finally someone spoke about Rhea’s bitchy attitude.

“You know, if I die, he killed me.” Rhea said to Brandon. Brandon giggled and whispered it to Lily and Joanne. But Lily stop them saying that is too rude, maybe he was just really having a bad day. “Lily stop defending him. Are you hooking up or what? You should be thankful we permitted this mess in the first place.” Rhea bravely said to her friends but intentionally made Michael hear it, too. Brandon was intrigued by them hooking up and end up leaving the group behind first.

Michael that night still had the same nightmares he had after the incident in the cafeteria. He woke up in the middle of the night sweating and can’t breathe properly. He decided to have a little jog outside their dorm. He was fixing his shoe tie in the entrance but was startled by Lily sitting in the lounge area. “What the F-! The hell you doing here you scared me to death.” He shrugged as he jolted backward. “Oh, I’m sorry. I just ordered snacks and waiting for the delivery.” she innocently said and showed her phone waiting for the delivery man to call her.

Michael sighed as a relief. He got back again to his plan and exited the doorway. Coincidently, the delivery man Lily was waiting for is coming and Lily went out also. She was wearing a loose t-shirt, a bunny slipper, and her shorts occasionally peeping to her shorts when she moved. Michael decided to wait for her to go back inside safe since it was pit black dark and the lights were barely giving a clear sight to the roadside. “You know, you can just join me to eat. It’s is really dark now to have a run” she said as she looked down to Michael’s running shoes. Michael then followed her as he also thought he might get lost in the middle of the night with his bad sight in the dark.

They sat in the lounge eating and Lily initiated to talk first. “You can just casually get some, I don’t mind.” She then pushed the food towards Michael but Michael isn’t really an eater also. “You know. I don’t think you did it. I know you’re not like that.” She added as she crammed down her food. He already knew what is she already talking about. He leaned towards his seat and looked up and said “I don’t need your pity.” Lily didn’t say anything which confused him so he looked at her and saw her eating continuously. He thought maybe she didn’t hear it. He didn’t add to it also since he doesn’t want to dig things up. He waited for her to finish her food and they both walked towards the elevator. Lily clicked the 4th-floor button while he pushed the 5th one. It was quiet but was comforting like the silence warmed the atmosphere between them.

Lily went out first but before the elevator’s door closed, she spoke once more. “I know. Besides the past isn’t who we are anymore now.” He couldn’t react as the door completely shut and he was left speechless. The feeling of the 100 pounds weighing his heart down was lifted. He felt a little better.

They went on their next shooting and they are all set up except Rhea. She wasn’t complaining or bitching out about the scene. She was still not there. Joanne kept ringing her phone to contact her. They all sat there as they waited. “Rhea is not like this. I even text her last night that she wants it to be over fast. It is very ironic for her to be late.” Brandon exclaimed as they all waited with boredom and confusion in their minds.

They waited and waited there until they heard stomping in the leaves. Like it was running from something. They all stood up as they thought it was Rhea but it was the head student in the dorm. “I thought it was Rhea for a second. What’s up, Jean?” Lily said while the others sat again because of disappointment. “What? You all don’t know?’ she replied. They were all confused as they can see now Jean shaking and catching her breath. “She is in the hospital. She was unconscious and not breathing. Her lips were swollen and we rushed her to the hospital. “they immediately packed up and rushed to the emergency. They were all shaking and concerned hoping for Rhea to be okay.

They arrived fast in the emergency room but was too late to see Rhea. They were about to ask but Brandon saw her body from afar being covered by the doctor. They all noticed him and saw what he looked for. Immediately, Joanne dropped from her knees shaking. Lily’s bright aura left the room as a tear fell down to her cheek. They all froze and can’t walk towards her.

“How did she die?” a voice of Michael was heard from afar. He was the one who approached the doctor to know what happened as they can’t move or decide for themselves. “Are you a guardian?” the doctor asked but Michael didn’t have the chance to reply since the doctor spoke again. “she was hardly breathing and lose her oxygen after a few minutes she was sent here. We suspect it as an allergic response as seen in her swollen lips. An autopsy will be done after the guardians confirm it.” the doctor added. Out of nowhere, she died. Ironically, she was supposed to also in the film they are working on.

It was a week after Rhea died and all of them were not the same, well except Michael. The devastation got into them so much especially to Joanne and Brandon. Lily decided to change the genre and make it a psychological thriller documentary since crime and mystery won’t help them without remembering what happened to Rhea. They were about to shoot a new scene but it was in the cafeteria. Michael was confused and having second thoughts about entering a place after 3 years. But Lily grabbed his hands and asked him to sit. All four of them are there, asking about what will they shoot here, but Lily insisted just to sit and eat. She arranged the food she bought and ask them to just eat. They grabbed some food to eat their confusion away but Michael was just sitting there looking around.

He was getting anxious but he didn’t want them to know. He felt like he was living his nightmare once again and he can’t wake up to escape it. He just sat there frozen and thinking about the things he feared the most. Suddenly, he heard barf from their table and saw Brandon vomiting so much unto it. But the smell lingered in the room that it was too strong to stay, then he looked around and saw a bunch of people puking their guts out. He just froze there and looked at Lily and Joanne panicking. All he heard was nothing and with his eyes blurry, he can’t process what happened. He jolted towards the exit to and grasped some air. He remembered certain things he should not.

Many students were sent to the hospital including Brandon. They were suspected to be food poison but Brandon was the one who starting vomiting in a short time after he ate the Mac and Cheese that was served in the cafeteria. The doctors said he might have a sensitive stomach so he might be staying a lot longer than others.

They all sat at the lounge of the hospital, tired and dried from these events. It is crazy how life could just change within a second. Joanne was so devastated and she felt like the world is against her. She looked at Michael out of frustration and said “It’s all your fault! One minute you’re with us the next minute one of us is in danger!”. The people passing by even heard the frustration in Joanne’s voice. Lily was trying to calm her. Joanne was not really vocal towards her feelings and barely speaking even the normal volume voice and for Lily to see her in this state, she even worried more. Michael looked at Joanne with his eyes dead as he spoke too short for Joanne’s frustration. “I don’t care what you think.” he shortly rebuttal.

“See, Lily. Did you know how much he causes us just to be with him? He is a freak! That explains the incident when he burned up the old cafeteria and killed Jess!” she replied as her emotion controlled her even more blurting out every tear and sweat in her body. Michael was not pleased to hear that name that he burst out to his place and rushed to the exit of the hospital. “What?! You coward! All you did is make people suffer!” Joanne exclaimed as Lily tried to stop her from going towards Michael.

Michael then turned around, slowly walked to them, and touched Joanne’s chin. The two of them froze but their body non-stop shakes from nervousness. “Lackey, butt-kisser, and barks so much when she misses her owner. You’re a pet dog right from the start,” he said then walked out of their sight.

Joanne was so furious with Michael that Lily decided to accompany her to her dorm. Lily has listened to Joanne’s tears as she comforted her to her sleep. Lily then looked around and saw a very disorganized room and started to fix it for Joanne. She tried to keep things together even when they are falling apart. But she also needs to prioritize the film for it is a requirement. It is just all noisy inside their heads.

Michael was so over the people around him. He was so tired and sick of them bringing the past and making him remember things he shouldn’t. The chomp and cling of the elevator made it better since Michael can’t handle the silence within it. He was about to click the 5th floor as his room is in there but decided to drop by Lily’s room.

As he got off Lily’s floor, he looked around wondering where is her room. It was night and all the lights were off with only the moon giving him light in the window in a distance. He did not think it through since he didn’t know what room was, she in or is he allowed to be here. He was planning to go back to the elevator until he bumped someone out of nowhere. “I am sorry.” he shortly said while he tried to see who is that person beyond the darkness in the hallway. “Michael what are you doing here?” he realized it was Lily by her voice and he answered, “I was looking for you.” Lily then dragged Michael to her room. As she closed the door behind them, she immediately asked Michael what is he doing there. “I don’t really know why I am here. My feet just walk me here,” he said. Lily was anxious and kept walking around that gave confusion to Michael. “If you are not comfortable talking here, I can just go out. You don’t have to drag me here.” He added. Lily sighed and replied “It was just unexpected and you might get caught because it is forbidden to meet here especially at night. They might get the wrong impression.”

Michael looked around and started walking making himself feel comfortable. He stumbled a script and picked it up to Lily’s table. Lily, on the other hand, got some clothes and told Michael that she was crashing over to Joanne since she needed her especially now. Michael didn’t reply for he was busy checking the script he picked up. It didn’t look like the one he has a copy of, so he thought it was something Lily has worked on in the past or maybe future projects. But as he flipped the pages one by one, his stomach churned. It felt like he was reading everything that happened this week. Every chaos and all. Lily then saw him browsing the said script and immediately snatched it from Michael. It was too late though because Michael was filled with his anger and confusion.

“This is just a draft. Don’t mind it. Come on, let’s check Joanne if she is okay.” Lily tried to divert Michael’s attention and to convinced him in a way. But Michael didn’t fall for it.

“Do I look like a subject to you?!” Michael screamed as he gripped Lily’s t-shirt when she was about to get out of the room. Lily immediately felt a cold wind touched her skin as she tried to brush off Michaels’ grip casually. “No, Michael. Come on, we just want to make the best film and I know you want, too.” Lily said as she tried to control Michael's temper but Michael just stood there looking at her eye. Michael suddenly loosens his face with a smirk on his lips. “We could just shoot another scene here and show them my true side. That will make your hunger for spotlight quenched.” Michael threatened Lily as they stood there not moving an inch. With Michael’s eye filled with anger, Lily felt so sure she would die that night.

After that night, they never saw Michael again and they thought he bolted out of anger but Lily can’t forget that night. Now, she wanted to listen to her friends more than ever. They asked for an extension to their professor since the happenings tore their team apart and they were given a chance. Lily and Joanne is now on the way to visit Brandon to check if he is doing okay. As they arrived at his room, they didn’t expect that there was a visitor. It was Michael.

Joanne raised her brows and asked him what was he doing there. “I just paid a visit,” Michael said and he then exited the room immediately. They were both suspicious so they decided to have a talk. A click from the door and swoosh from the window woken Brandon up. “We just need to sure we are safe. Sorry for waking you up. “Lily said and pushed a chair for them to sit beside Brandon.

“How are you?” she asked.

“I’m doing well Lily.” He replied.

“Well, we three need to talk.” Lily explained.

“About what?” Brandon said out of his confusion.

“Everything.” she added.

Lily pointed out how Michael is suspicious than he is. Joanne also added what he did in the cafeteria on how he exited like he was so guilty of what was happening. They also added about the fight Joanne and Michael have.

“Guys, he threatened me last time.” Lily blurted out. She looked down out of fear and played her hand to ease the anxiousness. “He came to my room, got angry with me, and taunted to hurt me.”

The two were shocked. “What the hell Lily? Why didn’t you said it earlier and report it sooner?”

“Well, I just don’t want to point fingers. I know his temper and he might not mean it. But this morning, he was just starring at you when we came and said he just paid a visit. He didn’t even bother waking you up or maybe waiting for you to wake up.” They all look at each other, as they put the puzzle together. They realized what has been happening.

“I remember him not eating in the cafeteria. Like he knows there is poison in the food.” Joanne added. Brandon gulped and realized something. “He also said Rhea will die anyway so she should stop bothering about her vanity,” he said as they succumb to the conclusion that he is behind all this. Lily immediately called the police and Joanne rush to the nurse station to get Brandon to check if in case Michael put something to his medication. They felt a mix of relief and goosebumps as they found out what is happening.

“Lily, have you called the police yet?” Brandon asks. “Yeah, I’m sorry it took so long they weren’t picking it up,” she replied.

Police arrived and interviewed the two, Joanne, on the other hand, didn’t come back. Brandon then asked the nurse where did the person call her went. “Someone called her and she started freaking out. She then went the way towards the exit.” the nurse replied. Brandon just nodded and thought it was their professor or something since she always forgot to pass things on time. Lily stayed with Brandon until he fell asleep. After that, she went out to find Michael.

She didn’t think it through but she needed to confront her. She went everywhere but she didn’t expect to see Michael in the cafeteria. The cafeteria was close since the incident last time but there she saw him sitting in the middle of it. She entered the cafeteria slowly as she wanted to know why Michael did it.

“Did you plan this all along?” she asked.

He smirked and stared at her. “Why wouldn’t I?” he replied.

“You tricked me into thinking you would help me. I thought you were not the person they thought you are.” Lily responded as she tried to keep herself together.

“Well, life is full of surprises.” he shortly replied.

“YOU MURDERED HER!” she said as she realized what happened.

“Well, she deserves it. She is as shallow as her name.” he proudly said.

“WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” she shouted.

“Sometimes, people are rumored by a reason.” he explained as he slowly moved towards Lily.

“You killed her also. You killed Jess. You burned the cafeteria with her.” she added that made Michael even angry.

“YOU DON’T INVOLVE HER NAME HERE! DON’T YOU EVER SPEAK OF HER NAME!” he screamed and tauntingly walked toward Lily.

Lily shaking out of fear, she picked up the scrap metal laying around the corner and hit Michael hard. Michael got to his knees as Lily continued to bash her with the metal. She put all of her energy to hurt him as she says” YOU WON’T BE SUCCESSFUL! I HAVE SAVED MY OTHER FRIENDS! YOU WON’T GET AWAY WITH THIS! ARGHHH!!”. Michael bleeding out laugh as he heard Lily. “I think they died already now! Brandon dying from poison, I injected earlier and Joanne getting mutilated by a dog.” he murmured that made Lily stop. She drops the metal and quickly gets her phone. She was about to make the phone call but it was too late. She was flooded by messages stating her friends died. She felt sick and lost as she walked away from Michael. She ran for her life screaming and hoping it won’t be the end of her, too.

“I didn’t know I would survive. I didn’t know how did I survive. All I know is I want the story of my friends to be heard. They deserve to be alive, at least to the memories you will have in my film. I hope that the person behind this will be accountable forever. Thank you for giving us another chance to live our dreams, at least for the last time for them.” applause filled the room as the screening ends. Lily barely walking but manage to stand up for her tribute to her friends. She cried with joy and sadness in her heart. She finally did it. She has won the prize she wanted.

Best film and cinematography.

Best director.

Best storyline.

And the best price. Was the best actress. Because behind her survival is an evil smile knowing she did it. All her plans succeeded and she did leave the masterpiece in her school. The greatest crime of the century that only two people knew. Herself and Michael.

Lily didn’t know Michael took pictures of the script Michael found out. He immediately got away from her as he unfolds every detail that had to happen. He was furious about how sick Lily would make her the subject of her film.

He visited Brandon in the hospital to ask whether they also knew this script ever since. But he arrived there while Brandon was taking a rest and he got second thoughts about waking him up since it might result in another issue again. But Joanne and Lily came out of nowhere and it freaked him out. There was something wrong with Lily, he was sure of that.

About hours after that he got a message from Joanne saying they need to meet at the cafeteria. He immediately went there thinking maybe Joanne also noticed Lily’s actions. He entered the cafeteria slowly as he wanted to know why instead of Joanne, he saw was Lily.

He saw her holding a phone that looked like it was Joanne’s phone. He remembers suddenly the script he had read, thinking it was all fiction, but he thought wrong. He then tried to call Joanne’s number and it rang so close to his ears. It is Joanne’s phone.

“Did you plan this all along?” he asked.

She smirked and stared at him.

“Why wouldn’t I? “she replied.

“You tricked me into thinking you would help me. I thought you were not the person they thought you are.” he responded as he tried to keep himself together.

“Well, life is full of surprises.” she shortly replied.

“DID YOU MURDER RHEA?!” he said as he realized what happened.

“Well, she deserves it. She is as shallow as her name.” she proudly said.

“WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” he shouted.

“I have been keeping with their shit until now. I only befriended them because they will be the perfect subjects for my film. “she explained as she slowly moved towards Michael.

“YOU ARE SICK! YOU ACT SO INNOCENT; YOU THINK YOU CAN FOOL EVERY ONE?! NOT ME!” he exclaimed as he lost his breath out of it.

“Sometimes, everybody being on your side will be beneficial. How could Lily hurt them, right? She is too precious. Compared to you, you killed Jess and everyone knew your history. Kind of shame police thought it was an accident. “she said as she tauntingly walked toward Michael

“YOU DON’T INVOLVE HER NAME HERE! DON’T YOU EVER SPEAK OF HER NAME! DON’T EVEN COMPARE YOURSELF TO ME! IT WAS AN ACCIDENT! YOU WON’T BE SUCCESSFUL! I WILL MAKE SURE I WILL SAVE JOANNE AND BRANDON! YOU WON’T GET AWAY WITH THIS! ARGHHH!!” Michael grabbed the nearest weapon he could find and is ready for Lily as she was walking towards him. He was about to hit her but Lily forcefully grab the metal scrap in his hands.

She started hitting herself. Continuously, he hit herself while she screamed in pain but also a pleasure.

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!” he shouted.

“I will show you how great I am. Argh! “she exclaimed as she talked with the pain she is inducing. “Poor Lily, bleeding to death. Can’t run properly because Michael has beaten her and tried to kill her. HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH I love this scene so much!” she laughed as she hurt herself continuously.

“You are a lunatic! NO ONE WILL BELIEVE YOU!” he said as he tried to convinced himself.

“I think they will. You see you are the last one Joanne texted. You are the last one suspiciously visited Brandon. You are the one who screamed to Rhea that she will die soon. All are pointing to you. That is what we call the perfect masterpiece.” She explained as sirens from afar are filling the room together with Lily’s evil laughter. “So sick of you to let Joanne be mutilated by a dog, to poison half of the school and kill Brandon. To put nuts to the mixture of the lipstick of Rhea. To sleep over to Joanne just change my contact name to your name. To put another poison Brandon while he is in the hospital alone with you.” She added as she looked at Michael.

“No one will believe you. No one will.” he replied as he soon saw Lily that he knew left the Lily he is speaking now.

“Well, let say they won’t but I got all the footage of you screaming to Rhea, not eating your food at the cafeteria because you know it has poison. Plus, your background will not help you. You have been into this place before, right? Before you “accidentally” burned it down.” she said as she continued to laugh while her blood is leaking all over her body. She then stood up and ran away from Michael screaming and asking for help.

Blue and red light filled the building. Sirens taking over the university. Michael just stood there, no hope in his mind, closed his eyes to cry but even tears can’t explain how he would live after this. If he could.

(Picture credits: Gone Girl (2014) directed by David Fincher)

#CreativeWriting #ShortStory

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calliecat93 · 4 years

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Top 5 Things I Disliked About Red vs Blue: Season 2

When I decided to do this series, I knew it was gonna be hard to do lists for Blood Gulch. Not because I can’t think of anything I like or dislike specifically, but as I said before, BGC is mainly comedic driven. The worst I can say is ‘this isn’t funny’ and critique the earlier production standards. Which that’s kinda mean since they were working with what they had and trying to learn to do the show. As such, I have to reach on Dislikes for these and S2 was a tough one in that regard. I managed to come up with five, but GOD I had to stretch haaaard on it.

But still, I did it. Just remember, take this with a grain of salt. So here we go, Top 5 Things I Disliked About RvB S2.

#5. Doc

If you asked me which of the BGC to write out and never bring back… I’d probably have to pick Doc. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate him, but I’ve also never loved him. He comes off more whiny than funny, and most of the time he’s only funny due to the back and forth with O’Malley. Otherwise, usually… he’s just there. Even here in S2, while having a pacifist medic in a cast where several are trigger happy could lead to some funny stuff, Doc was just an annoyance. The situations he got into were funny, like getting knocked into the Warthog when the Blues unknowingly made it go rogue, but he was literally just there for the ride. Something IDT later season really improved aside form 16 and 17, which tbh I think is stretching it.

IDK, I just find Doc whiny and kinda boring. Even if he’s meant to be the annoying, disrespected nice guy, doesn't Donut kinda fit that slot already? Heck, they both even have the recurring ‘disappear for seasons and then suddenly comes back’ joke. The only times that I feel invested in Doc is when he has O’Malley, which is how he re-entered the plot here. I’m gonna save more about that in the S3 posts, but on his own? Doc just… doesn’t really work and I didn’t really miss him in between the Reds dumping him and him reappearing when O’Malley infected him. It’s also a flaw IDT recent seasons have really fixed, though they are trying. Plus I don’t hate Doc and some jokes with him do work (the gag of his naming made me giggle), I'm just… indifferent. But that’s why he’s at the top of the list since the most I can say is I find him whiny and not as funny,

#4. The Cyborg Subplot

So due to losing Lopez and because he’s Sarge, Sarge decides to turn one of the Reds into a cyborg to do all the stuff that Lopez did. He settles on Simmons. Now in and of itself, the subplot is fine. It leads to a good few jokes, like Grif trying to ruin Simmons’ parts after the surgery or a few gags like Simmons shooting his own foot and of course, faxass. While IDT the season would have been hurt without it, it has plenty of funny bits. Sow hat’s the problem. Well… like I said, cutting it wouldn’t have hurt anything. It kinda is just there to give the Reds something to do during the O’Malley and Tex stuff since otherwise, they’d just be standing around and taking… well, more than normal. Otherwise, it’s only significance plot-wise is Tucker tuning into their frequency, which is important in the finale when he picks up Vic and Sarge’s conversation.

So yeah, the subplot isn’t all that important. But it is still funny, so I don't mind it being there. But nowadays… how much so we see this come up? I mean Grif got mutilated by a tank and got another guy’s body/organs haphazardly stitched on. Simmons, while he possibly gave up those parts to Grif willingly, was otherwise forcibly converted into a cyborg. This… hasn’t really come up again. I mean the only time I think Simmons mentioned it in-show was as a brief joke in S11. Nine seasons later. I don’t think Grif’s side of it has come up at all ever again. Though… considering you can only get so many jokes out of this setup since everyone is always in armor, I do understand why. Though I feel with Simmons’ side at least, they could play with it some more, both comedically and maybe even storywise. But that may be my need for Simmons content talking…

So yeah, the subplot was okay. It’s at Number Four since I don’t hate it and it was funny. I just feel like nothing would be lost without it, especially since it pretty much never comes up again. Maybe one day though, who knows? At least the fanfic writers keep it alive XD

#3. The Caboose Forgetting Church Thing

Okay this is brief, but it does annoy me. During the whole trip into Caboose’s mind, Caboose’s memory of Church gets shot. As such, Caboose forgets who Church is. Makes sense, O’Malley killed the personification of Church in Caboose’s mind, so his mind would forget it. It also explains why Caboose got, well… for lack of a better way to put it, intellectually challenged later on due to having three AI’s in his brain and all the chaos that broke out. But Caboose forgetting Church lasts like… one episode? Maybe two? Anyways, Burnie explained on the commentary that it was just too hard to write out so they did one joke with it, and then just dropped it. Probably for the best... but then we have to figure out how this works in-continuity... damn it.

Really this is only on here because it forces me to try to figure out how this is possible in a show sense. Which yeah I probably don’t need to, but I am a continuity loser who tries to piece together these things. If I had to guess, maybe the memory of Church fixed itself somehow or Caboose was able to recall after being around Church for a little while. But I honestly really don’t know, and trying to think it through hurts my brain. It also did little to nothing either story-wise or comedy-wise, at least we got a few jokes out of the cyborg subplot. IDK, I feel like they gave up on it too soon. But then again this is the saga where they’ll break/ignore continuity for the sake of a joke and that’s just how these seasons worked. Hence why I put it smack-dab in the middle.

#2. Some Holdover S1 Issues

You can tell that there was a mass improvement in terms of production for Season Two. Pacing felt stronger, more was going on, characterizations began to settle in, and they even began to form more of a plot. They clearly had a much better idea of what they were doing now that they got through Season One and I think things like Matt becoming more involved in writing and production as well as Gus moving back to work on the show really helped as well. That being said, not everything got resolved. Most did, but there are still a few holdouts.

Audio mixing is a LOT better, especially when it comes to effects. The filter is still a little distracting, though better compared to S1. Not all the characterizations really set in. Grif and Donut are about 75% there and Simmons and Tucker are probably the least set in stone. The traits are there, like Simmons clinginess to Sarge and Tucker actually showing some competence when forced to, but nothing set in stone. Donut’s also on the right path with his hobbies and tendency to babble into TMI territory, but the voice is still off and his personality isn’t quite there yet. There’s some other, but I’ll touch on it in the Likes list. Some jokes could also still drag, like the whole switch joke where some of Church and Tucker’s back and forth went on a little too long.

We’re clearly making progress, but the mark hasn’t quite been hit. It’s still an improvement over S1 though, the pacing especially. This is nitpicky, but still it’s there. But hey it’s progress, and that is never a bad thing. So yeah, RvB is still evolving here, but the progress bar is loading steadily and trust me, by S3 I think we’ll be settled in… well, for the most part.

#1. Some Outdated Humor

The BGC was made from 2003 to 2007. Obviously, there’s gonna be some stuff that is outdated. Take the graphics themselves for example. Halo has evolved, so the game can look a little outdated, especially when you compare the original footage to the remastered footage. Let's put it this way, VIC is uncanny in the remaster… and is utterly horrifying in the original version. Thank God that the DVD is the remaster and I was spared of looking at that monstrosity. Visuals aren’t the only thing though, some pop culture references can also come off as outdated, like Creed joke in the RL vs Internet PSA. So can some of the humor that shows how stupid we were back only two decades ago.

There are… some jokes that are uncomfortable to listen to. For example, there’s the Grif shaming himself joked by saying he’s a girl and likes ribbons in his hair. It’s not the worst joke and clearly, it isn’t made to offend… but nowadays I think it could look offensive to certain individuals. It didn’t necessarily offend me, but it did kinda make me feel uncomfortable when I first watched it, but it could be me thinking it over too hard. There’s also the casual usage of the R word. Last season it came up a bit, but I noticed it came up more frequently here. Not excessively, but there were quite a few instances where it was treated as a casual curse word. Obviously back in 2004 we didn’t realize this was an offensive term, and I think they’ve even said that they regret the casual usage of it during the early years. You certainly would probably not hear that word used unless maybe to emphasize how terrible a character is, but even then I think they’d be more careful.

Now obviously RvB uses a lot of adult and offensive humor, especially in this era. I guess you can kinda call it the web version of South Park, only RvB has never really resorted to shock humor. It puts it above many, /many/ animated adult comedies in that regard. Still, when you run for this long, you’re gonna have some outdated elements. It’s not necessarily their fault, it just shows that times has changed. Still, it does make some stuff hard to look back on without cringing, and I imagine that the Founders would agree. So yeah… there’s just some stuff that wasn't fun to look back over and S2 isn’t the only offender, but this was where it stood out to me and took me out of the moment. As such, it is Number One.

(Top 5 Likes)

#rvb #rvb reviews #top likes/dislikes

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illustrious-rocket · 5 years

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Eureka Seven Hi-Evolution 2: Anemone (review)

Score: * (out of 4)

Summary: A creatively bankrupt film that represents a new low for a beloved yet beleaguered franchise, Anemone is an epic misfire that begs comparisons to, of all things, The Room.

Long review (spoilers):

The story of the Eureka Seven franchise has been a long, and unfortunately, often troubled one. I have a separate post in development documenting its history through my eyes as someone who got into the series long after its original airing, so many of the matters relating to that subject will not be in this post. What this post is, however, is a breakdown of what makes this one film a failure.

Strap in, this is going to be a ride.

After several years in dormancy following the ill-received Eureka Seven AO, a new film trilogy titled Eureka Seven Hi-Evolution was announced. Immediately, this news begged comparisons to other cinematic reboots to well known franchises, two examples being the recent Code Geass reboot series and, more notably, Rebuild of Evangelion. I know when Hi-Evolution was announced, I was apprehensive. I dropped AO halfway through, and the installment of the franchise prior to it (Pocketful of Rainbows/Good Night, Sleep Tight, Young Lovers) was an average at best alternate universe. I was curious to see what the Hi-Evolution trilogy would do, but I had little faith that Tomoki Kyoda and Bones would produce something to redeem the series after AO.

The first film would later be promoted as finally telling an untold part of the story: the First Summer of Love, an incident in which main protagonist Renton’s father Adrock gained hero status for saving the world during an incident involving the alien Scub Coral. Unfortunately, this proved to be a bait and switch. The new animation depicting the First Summer of Love - which came about as the result of the military’s Operation Necrosis, a mission to use a weapon called Silver Box to destroy the Scub Coral and liberate Earth - comprises only a fraction of the film. The rest is made up, somehow, of footage recycled from the 2005 series with new audio dubbed over it to tell an altered story. As a result, the first film was mostly a failure.

Then the second film was announced to focus on Anemone, an immensely popular supporting character from the original series. Not only that, it would portray an angle of the Eureka Seven universe never seen before: for the first time, the story would take place in the ‘real’ world, being set in Tokyo. This represented a greater ambition on the part of the production, but also was a concept that could easily go wrong. Prior to the release of the film, I was expecting it to be another sort-of-retelling, this time focusing on the psychadelic nightmare depicted in the infamous original series episode “Acperience 1.”

If only that was what this film actually was.

I admit, when I saw this film, I had already been spoiled on its plot. I am glad I was, because had I not been, I would have found the movie incomprehensible. Tomoki Kyoda’s attitudes going into producing it have also been troubling, particularly remarks about “auteurism” in one interview. When the words “A Tomoki Kyoda Film” appeared on the screen at the beginning of this film, I gulped. I knew I was in for something.

The film opens with a flashback sequence introducing Anemone as a character and explaining some of the context of the movie’s story. Two problems immediately become apparent. One, this sequence - and all flashbacks to similar moments throughout the film - is rendered in full 3D CGI that looks extremely cheap. The colors and shading create the image of dull, flat figures created by a 3D printer moving around on CGI backgrounds. Worse, the mouth movements in these 3D CGI scenes do not match the dialogue. Viewing this movie, you will see mouth flaps regularly desync from the audio.

Worse yet, this movie is titled “Eureka Seven Hi-Evolution: Anemone” and was promoted as being an Anemone film, but Anemone is not in it. The “Anemone” in this film is, in fact, a new character named Fuuka who looks like her and has the nickname Anemone. She isn’t Anemone, though, because her character is completely different. It couldn’t be any more unlike the original Anemone’s. She’s an exact polar opposite of who Anemone actually was. The fact that this film is an even bigger bait and switch than the first one was is bad enough. But even if you roll with the idea of Anemone being a totally different character, it introduces problems that undermine the film internally. Let’s put a pin in that for now.

Anyway, the movie establishes Fuuka/Anemone’s backstory as a military brat whose father, Ken, was killed during an operation to fight an “Eureka,” one of several phenomena that destroyed the planet over time, eventually annihilating many nations and killing nearly three billion people. She is an inoffensive character, but does not have much at all of the spark the original Anemone had, instead sacrificing it for more typical tropes. Once the flashback concludes, the film jumps forward to the present day. Here, the first thing we see is a long battle sequence in which military forces battle “Eureka Seven” (the seventh Eureka), which attacks with a manifestation of the Nirvash. This sequence is drawn out and poorly plotted, making the action difficult to follow. That’s a problem throughout the film, in fact - we see cuts to similar battle scenes many times, and they always feel like incoherent sequences where things just explode to fill space.

Once this incoherent battle sequence ends, the true plot begins to kick in. Anemone consults “Dominic,” an app installed on her phone by Ken during the earlier flashback, for advice during the battle, and Dominic’s advice leads the military to decide to send Anemone “diving” into Eureka Seven using a special device. This device greatly resembles a virtual reality setup, but when activated, it sends Anemone into flashbacks to the original series. Here is where the recycled 2005 footage comes back in, but this time, it is executed better thanks to the context of it being in an “alternate world.” Anemone is sent to a moment where Nirvash and theEND battled in the original series and manages to destroy Nirvash, catching a glimpse of Eureka holding Renton’s clothing before being ejected from the dive. This causes a portion of Eureka Seven to be destroyed in the real world, which is humanity’s first victory against the phenomena.

There are several things we need to unpack here. First, the Dominic app. This is a bizarre reinvention of the character Dominic Sorel from the original series, who was a military officer that usually served as Anemone’s handler, often found himself on the receiving end of her abuse, and ultimately became her love interest. He had a story arc alongside Anemone where he came to doubt his role in the military and had his views evolve over time until he changed sides to join the heroes. Here, he is nothing but an annoying app with no real characterization. Worse, the avatar of his face rendered on the phone is depicted with CGI even worse than the flashbacks. Many of his sentences will begin with Dominic’s mouth moving, only for him to stop moving his mouth halfway through and yet continue to talk. It is a jarring sight to see every time it happens.

While the use of 2005 footage is better contextualized this time, and there is even some new footage animated in original 4:3 style, other things happen that bring down anything good that could come of this. Because all the leaps take Anemone to various battles between Nirvash and theEND, a plot hole is created: if Fuuka is the real Anemone, how was theEND there battling Nirvash before she leaped into it using the dive device? Worse, still, because of how different Fuuka and original Anemone’s personalities are, there is abrupt shifting back and forth in her character within the same scenes. Fuuka is, to put it mildly, an average anime girl who hits the usually expected tropes. Original Anemone was an ill-tempered, mentally damaged person with a violent streak and an addiction to drugs given to her by series antagonist Dewey Novak, who abused her and took advantage of her depression and need for validation to benefit himself. The problem comes in the fact that some of the recycled footage from 2005 includes showing Anemone piloting theEND in battle. Because Fuuka and original Anemone are so different, she suddenly becomes much more bloodthirsty and violent and then reverts back depending on when the individual moment was animated. It’s not consistent and takes the viewer out of the film. Another inconsistency in this same place comes with Dominic, who manifests as Dominic Sorel while inside Eureka Seven. He is present inside theEND’s cockpit while Anemone pilots, but even while new footage is animated for these sequences, Dominic is not present for the Anemone combat shots. He appears and disappears between individual shots.

Moving on. This basic setup drives much of the film. Anemone makes more dives into the world within the Eureka Seven, each time returning back to a battle between Nirvash and theEND that ends with a portion of Eureka Seven in the real world being destroyed. Because she is responsible for humanity turning the tide in the battle against the Eurekas, Anemone is turned into an idol by the military for propaganda purposes. This element is severely underplayed and has little real signficance in the plot. Her primary motivation is to come to terms with Ken’s fate battling the Eurekas, and thanks to this and intelligence gathered during the missions, the military decides to bring Anemone to meet a familiar face: Dewey Novak. Unlike the rest of the characters in the film sans Eureka herself, Dewey is the real one, having been ejected from another world heavily implied to be the world depicted in the first Hi-Evolution film. He was captured by the military outside Eureka Seven and placed in restraints that cover his eyes, while his legs are trapped in the other world and fade away to nothing.

Dewey’s presence in this film accomplishes little other than give tastes of what it could have been and provide sequel bait for a future installment. Many of his scenes are merely him saying mysterious and vaguely threatening things, none of which really make sense in the context of this movie alone. Further, because he is the Hi-Evolution 1 Dewey and Anemone is Fuuka, the reunion of the two ends up having no emotional resonance at all. In the original series, Anemone suffered terrible physical and mental abuse at Dewey’s hands, through his administering drugs to enhance her performance in battle and dispensing praise and attention in measured amounts to ensure her compliance. The idea that Anemone would be reunited with Dewey, who is now (apparently) a ragged, powerless old man at the mercy of his captors, could have been an opportunity for great mental catharsis as Anemone finally obtains closure for what Dewey did to her. But because neither one of them knows the other, this ends up being a false start. They merely speak about the mission against the Eurekas and therefore the dialogue could be between any two people. It is not something only Anemone and Dewey together could do, and feels wasted.

As her mission continues on, Anemone eventually destroys enough of Eureka Seven to expose its core. The core has a design that was clearly intended to be frightening, but instead is laughable; it is covered with small eyes and has one big one whose expression makes it look tired and unhappy about having to show up. Suddenly, Anemone gets trapped in “PLAY BACK” during her dive, a phenomenon that rewinds time back through the events in the earlier dives. She ends up being brought to a time just prior to Ken’s death, where she is confronted by Eureka.

The film was not good until this point. At this exact moment, it completely falls apart.

Eureka is no longer the naive but well-meaning girl from the original series, or even the mother who would go to any lengths for her children from AO. In fact, those Eurekas never existed at all. The “true” Eureka is a psychopath who became this way after accidentally killing Renton when her powers were awakened by her exposure to Silver Box (thus implying the event took place in the Hi-Evolution 1 world.) Since then, she has been using Silver Box’s power to rewind time and try to create new worlds where she can have her happy ending with Renton, but they all go wrong, forcing her to “PLAY BACK” and start over again. These actions were responsible for creating every other part of the franchise - the original series, manga, light novels, Pocketful of Rainbows, AO, all of them were nothing but dreams made real through Eureka’s use of Silver Box’s power, in the process releasing the Eurekas in the real world and killing billions of people.

Needless to say, this twist is appalling and fails in more ways than one. First of all, it renders the entire plot of this movie and the trilogy dependant upon knowing the events from the previous installments. If you don’t know anything about what took place in the previous installments, this twist is meaningless to you. It only lands if you have an attachment to the events now revealed to be false worlds. But if you have this attachment, the movie then steps squarely into the same mistake AO made by revealing that what you liked in the past didn’t end up the way you thought it did and wasn’t real. Worse, though, it makes it hard to care about any form of the franchise anymore, because at this point, it becomes apparent that every character can be whatever the demands of the plot dictate. When no character has an actual consistent personality that won’t change on a dime depending on the whims of the plot, there is no reason to get invested in them. Eureka is now essentially Monika from Doki Doki Literature Club, killing innocents and erasing entire worlds out of an overwhelming selfishness to get her own happy ending. It’s a complete betrayal of the central character. This twist also disrupts the logic of the timeline even further - because Anemone was leaping into battles between Nirvash and theEND, theEND already had to be there, but since Anemone didn’t meet Eureka until this point, how could she have created a world where Anemone was her enemy prior to meeting her?

Eureka offers to create a world in which Ken survived, but Anemone refuses, and after Anemone leaves, this happens.

There is little to say about this image, as it is the downfall of this franchise encapsulated in a single picture. The scene itself is even worse, rendered in the CGI and as awful to look at in action as it is in a still image. Worse still, Eureka’s dialogue in this scene has her saying that she is willing to become “the devil itself” to get her happy ending, which just butchers her character even further.

When Eureka Seven is destroyed and Eureka falls into despair over being unable to reach Renton, a new monster appears and goes on a rampage. At this point, Dewey suddenly reveals he has superpowers by breaking out of his restraints, manifesting his legs and showing that his eyes at least temporarily turn black. He telekinetically escapes from the prison, displaying powers similar to those of Truth, the main antagonist of AO. I strongly suspect he will be treated as a Dewey/Truth amalgamation in the final film of this trilogy.

With nothing left she can do, Anemone calls out an unheard phrase Ken once told her to call when she needs him. This causes Dominic to reappear, and he summons a new form of theEND that resembles Gulliver, her pet badger, into the real world. Together, they resolve to enter the monster so Anemone can try to save Eureka, and engage it in battle. This sequence is the only truly good portion of the film, offering a stunning example of what an Eureka Seven movie could have been and finally truly recapturing its magic. Contrary to the previous battle sequences, this one is well choreographed, exciting, and is enhanced by the presence of Ballet Mechanique during it. Unfortunately, this dizzying high is fleeting. When she reaches the inside of the monster and dives into its world, Anemone finds Eureka at the apartment complex from Fuuka’s childhood. This means we’re back into the awful CGI again. Eureka confesses her actions and motivations to Anemone, but Anemone refuses to give up on her and honor her request to kill her now that she no longer can use Silver Box’s power to make more worlds. This being Fuuka instead of original Anemone, and the alterations to the timeline, end up leaving no relationship between Eureka and Anemone in the “real” timeline. Like the interactions between Dewey and Anemone, there is little emotional resonance. Anemone manages to convince Eureka to leave, but before they can escape, the most stupefying event yet begins.

Millions of giant Gullivers begin pouring out of the apartment building and eating the entire world, forcing Eureka and Anemone to escape from them. If this sounds like a dumb visual, it is. The Gullivers also have the voice of Larva Nirvash from Pocketful of Rainbows for some reason. Yet this scene is treated completely seriously, with heroic music and everything, creating an embarrassing sequence that is impossible not to cringe during.

Eureka and Anemone escape, destroying the monster and causing it to drop a giant egg. Everything that happens after this point feels like a post credits scene placed in the wrong point of the film. Somehow, the Gekkostate members, Dominic Sorel, a giant Gulliver, and Charles and Ray Beams all appear in the real world despite their worlds being false. Dewey, having gotten to the surface, says more mysterious comments to set up the sequel. Anemone and Eureka talk, and Anemone says she thinks Renton may still be alive after all. Suddenly, the egg cracks open to reveal a new Nirvash model, whose drive displays Eureka’s name inside of it. Eureka realizes someone is searching for her, and the final shot of the film reveals Renton on another planet, using his Compac Drive to call out to Eureka.

Now that the plot is fully picked apart, I feel like I have to finally sit and really address one of the major elephants in the room when it comes to this film. In both broad strokes and smaller, more specific instances that would not be notable if the context of the more blatant examples didn’t exist, this film heavily copies things from the various installations of the Evangelion franchise. I don’t mean this as a reference to mere inspiration from Evangelion, which is widespread. This film is blatant, Darling in the FRANXX Episode 19-levels of copying things from it.

One doesn’t even need to actually view a single second of the film to see this, either. The teaser poster sets a trend the rest of the movie follows by brazenly copying the imagery of the Evangelion 2.22 poster.

Needless to say, this image sets the stage for what you see within the film itself. Within just the first 10 minutes, it becomes immediately apparent that Anemone lifts stylistic choices and imagery wholesale from Evangelion. Throughout the film, but most plainly in the early scenes, the scenery and composition of camera shots are directly lifted; when I first watched it, it was mere minutes into the film that I stopped and said “oh my God, this is ripping off Eva.” Smash cuts into title cards and scene transitions abound at the beginning (the first thing that made me notice the copying) and the first battle sequence is not just ‘inspired’ but flat out stolen from the well known battle sequence featured at the beginning of Evangelion. It steals the imagery of tanks and battleships engaging the enemy wholesale, and the story’s lead character (Anemone/Shinji) is being driven through the battle to an important location by a female character in a position of authority (Mischa and her crew/Misato), where the main character is coerced into piloting a weapon (the dive system/Eva Unit-01) against the enemy (Nirvash & Eureka Seven/the Angel) that nobody else can defeat.

Things don’t really improve for this topic after getting through the first battle. The unit “ASSID” that Anemone enlists and serves in is more or less a copy of NERV, both being paramilitary units ostensibly under affiliation with the United Nations to battle the enemy creatures. This might not be a big deal on its own, but in the context of the more obvious copying elsewhere in the movie, it is an example of something that is made worse by the rest of the film. We reach another shamelessly stolen point a little while later, when Anemone goes to visit Dewey. First of all, Dewey is held in a complex whose design - from the vast open spaces to the elevator to Dewey’s cell deep underground - is blatantly ‘inspired’ by Terminal Dogma, a chamber of similar design concept deep underneath the NERV base where the Angel Lilith is restrained on a cross. Accordingly, Dewey’s personal state is seemingly copied from Lilith’s. For no reason, Dewey has his arms pulled back onto a cross-like structure on the back of his wheelchair, giving him the appearance of being crucified sitting down; meanwhile, his eyes are covered with a blindfold, in context seemingly mirroring Lilith’s mask. Most notably, however, is one of the oddest things about Dewey’s appearance in this film: his legs fading away into another world. Lilith’s legs are also significantly malformed, barely forming stumps before splitting into dozens of tiny human-like legs. Both having such a specific, unusual similarity is hard not to notice. He even regains his legs after an important event related to him - the defeat of Eureka Seven and emergence of the Eureka monster - takes place, much like how Lilith regrows her legs in the original Evangelion series after the Spear of Longinus is removed from her body.

Also notably, the way Nirvash is suspended in the real world as it fights the military forces clearly mirrors the way Evangelion units are transported by air, save for the blatant crucifixion imagery being removed. This is depicted on the poster for Anemone I posted above. There are other smaller, more nitpicky examples of the specific cribbing from Evangelion I am excluding from this review to more highlight the significant ones.

Next let’s move on to something you’ve likely been waiting to see if you’re reading this review: the comparison to The Room. I’m sure that will likely cause some controversy, but I feel it’s on solid footing. As I mentioned, Kyoda remarked about having reached a point of “auteurism” with this film. That comment implies a certain mentality on his part that he absolutely failed to live up to, and it is hard to not see shades of Tommy Wiseau and his fanatical belief in The Room in Kyoda’s belief in his film’s quality. There is one point where they diverge that is troubling, though - Tommy Wiseau, after releasing The Room and seeing its reception, realized how people saw it and decided to roll with the reputation The Room acquired even though it wasn’t what he intended. Kyoda, on the other hand, seems to believe that his movie is the masterpiece he thought it to be and everyone else is wrong about it. To me, this represents a self-fulfilling prophecy in which Kyoda doubles down on previous mistakes in each new installment because they were poorly received the first time, as if he believes doing so will eventually force people to “get” what he’s doing. You can see in Anemone a doubling down on three of the worst aspects of AO: time travel/dimension hopping, butchering Eureka/past characters, and the inclusion of boring and irrelevant “real world” politics. It is like if Tommy Wiseau, instead of becoming self-aware after The Room was treated as a joke, decided to teach the public why his filmmaking style was right by getting the rights to make an adaptation of War and Peace with his style in it.

The continual doubling down on mistakes is something that can be traced through the franchise all the way back to the very first followup, the 2009 film Pocketful of Rainbows. As someone who only got into the Eureka Seven franchise many years later, my relationship to that film is different from that of people who were fans during that era, so I sought out opinions from a friend who was an original-era Eureka Seven fan. As it turned out, topics I was already honing in one turned out to have been controversial or poorly received back then, too. While Pocketful of Rainbows was ostensibly set on real-world Earth, it continued to feature the fantasy political structure from the original series, so that problem was at least partially dodged. One big flaw of Pocketful of Rainbows we did agree upon was its extensive use of recycled footage, with my friend pointing out that it also had an ugly gray filter applied to it, giving the film a “darker” look. Comparisons to what was released in 2018 are almost painfully obvious, and arguably even uglier than the filtered footage in 2009 was because of the fact the recycled footage is now 4:3 in a 16:9 film. Pocketful of Rainbows also drastically changes its characters, turning Gekkostate into the villains, Anemone into an elderly priestess/prophet of the Scubs, Dominic into a bit character who appears briefly as Renton and Eureka’s mentor before dying ten minutes into the film and popping up again later very briefly, the Scubs themselves becoming the “robotic” “EIZO,” and most notoriously, derailing Eureka in a fashion to which I will simply quote my friend:

For example, Eureka was made into this tsundere childhood friend of Renton, which felt cliche and unnatural. Not only that, but Eureka was completely helpless for much of the film. She didn't do any fighting and was just a broken bird for Renton to save. Some people took it as an insult to her character, a huge step down from the capable girl she was in the original.It's a common theme in these other entries, really. Eureka is consistently disrespected and derailed as a character to just fit the narrative.

Another point about Pocketful of Rainbows that comes back in AO and Hi-Evolution is its use of alternate realities. While the original did establish such a concept existed, the followups have increasingly abused the idea of alternate universes to retcon previous installments, retcon themselves, and ultimately in Hi-Evolution 2, completely delete the entire franchise from existence.

As someone who came into the series late, I have always felt that Pocketful of Rainbows is an average, watchable film that fails to live up to its excellent predecessor, but I can easily understand why fans in the original era would not have liked it. It is not a good Eureka Seven film, but unlike AO and Hi-Evolution, it still feels like Eureka Seven. In my opinion, it includes enough of the spirit of the original in its fairytale-esque story (including the use of one, singular parallel universe) to still capture the whimsical tone that distinguishes the original series. That is where Tomoki Kyoda’s constant insistence on doubling down on the same mistakes over and over and over has destroyed the franchise since then, and the Hi-Evolution Anemone film is the pinnacle of that collapse. It tops all its predecessors in terms of alternate universe abuse, character derailment, and boring and irrelevant politics, choking out the soul of the franchise. As I said earlier, the Ballet Mechanique sequence is the only moment in this film that truly feels like Eureka Seven. That may be because at the core of Kyoda’s discernable vision, it would appear he wants Eureka Seven to be a darker story with a much more bittersweet ending. The problem comes with the fact that even if it was childishly naive, the unambiguously happy ending of the original series was a big part of its unique identity landing so effectively. I have mused before that what made Eureka Seven stand out was the fact that it combined a mecha anime with themes from 1960s counterculture, which effectively worked hand-in-hand with the fairytale tone of the story to create something unique. Even as childishly naive as it may have been, it was always at its heart about fighting for the right thing and for love, no matter what the odds or the forces opposing you. This wasn’t what Kyoda planned for it to be, it is what the series evolved into once other minds placed input into it. Now don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of respect to be had for a creator who sticks to their vision, but Kyoda has doubled down on the same ideas so many times now while remaining stubbornly closed-minded to the merits of the original’s evolution that any goodwill has burned away. Pocketful of Rainbows still felt like Eureka Seven because it still captured that idea of fighting for the right thing no matter what, but it did have a bittersweet ending. People criticized that movie, and Kyoda followed up by creating the grim, depressing Eureka Seven AO that retroactively inflicted damage on the original, as if it wanted to retcon what he was unhappy with. AO was rejected by fans, so he takes the same ideas and makes them even worse, flat out retconning the entire franchise out of existence with a film that barely has any identity of its own beyond undoing Kyoda’s dissatisfaction with his past work.

In the end, all these problems, in my opinion, come back to Tomoki Kyoda and his stubborn, singleminded obsession with executing a vision and forcing it to be liked. The first screening of this film in the United States, at the recent Anime Expo, was a very telling moment for it. As per my friend (original post at this link https://historyman101.tumblr.com/post/186188741243/so-i-was-talking-with-my-friend-pantsunugerumon), the Anemone screening was attended by only enough people to 1/3 fill the hall, and the film was met with silence for almost its entire runtime, the only moment eliciting cheers being the appearance of Gekkostate, Renton and Charles and Ray at the end. When the credits rolled, there was more silence followed by polite applause when the audience realized it was over. Kaori Nazuka, Eureka’s seiyuu, was in attendance and made a comment during the Q&A section of the presentation that also did an excellent job encapsulating the reason Kyoda’s approach brought the film and the franchise down. Accoring to Nazuka (voice clip provided by my friend via his friend who attended AX https://historyman101.tumblr.com/post/186190292840/kaori-nazuka-strikes-me-as-someone-who-is-just), Kyoda told her not to worry about Eureka being so different in this film because as long as she provides Eureka’s voice, it will always be Eureka. While it is true that a voice is an important part of an iconic character, it demonstrates a mentality that characterization, development and logical progression doesn’t matter. Those are key factors for any work, but especially for a character-centric story like Eureka Seven that lives and dies on getting you to care about the characters and what they experience. If characters become completely fluid and change on a dime to suit the director’s whims, the entire backbone of the story collapses.

I could go on for ages about this film, but I’ll finally wrap this review up. Since I reviewed a film that was ruined by its director’s obsession with executing a specific vision, next time, I will review a movie whose director was able to carry out their vision with exactly the creative control Tomoki Kyoda wanted himself.

#movie review #Eureka Seven #Eureka Seven Hi-Evolution: Anemone

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lia-nikiforov · 5 years

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Fall Anime 2018 Watchlist

We’re about halfway into the season so this is probably kinda pointless by now, but here’s a quick rundown of the stuff I’m watching this season.

Dropped

Jingaisan no Yome: This is a 3 minute show and I won’t spend longer than that writing about it (I’m timing myself). I didn’t know it was a short going in. I’m not really into shorts, Saiki kun being the only exception and the story was less MahoYome and more... i don’t even have an apt comparison, it just was maybe more serious about the “marriage” thing than something with a giant floofball character should be.

Tokyo Ghoul: Re 2: It’s simple. I watched episode 1 and realized I had no fucking clue of how any of this related to the ending of the first season, no idea of who half the characters were and where did they allegiances lie and what is Kaneki even trying to do. Although not loyal to the manga, the first two seasons of Tokyo Ghoul had a story that could be followed and made sense, this, however, is just jumping over plot points with no rhyme or reason and there’s nothing but confusion.

Bloom Into You: There’s nothing actually wrong with this show and I was kind of looking forward to a yuri romance that wasn’t rapey or incesty bullshit, but something about this one just didn’t click with me. Like Touko fell in love with Yuu too quickly, and given Yuu’s ace/aro identity, it would feel weird for her to do a 180 and suddenly fall in love with Touko. I kind of want more fun and emotions in my romance stories and this one didn’t have much of either.

Chopping Block

Given a few things the past two weeks that didn’t go according to plan, I fell behind on my anime watching after keeping it in control for the first third of the season and i’m quite annoyed. And because of this, and my upcoming research trip to Japan at the end of the month, I might end up having to drop a couple of series.

Bakumatsu: Objectively speaking, this show is really bad. The production values are poop, the story is a wacky mess that takes itself a bit too seriously and the characters are flat and uninteresting, the villain is egregiously boring. This show also has Matsuo Basho as a secret tive traveling ninja, and that puts me at quite the predicament. I want to see more of this utterly bonkers historical reinterpretation, but boy do I wish they could make it more exciting.

SAO Alicization: The only reason I, a notorious SAO hater, is watching SAO is because I hate myself. With that out of the way, boy is this SAO boring. We’re four episodes in and the only thing that’s happened is they cut an old tree because nothing can stop Kirito and his new friend, Yellow Kirito. This show needs to start getting offensive and/or stupid soon or i’ll die of boredom.

Karakuri Circus: I hear this one’s from the same mangaka as UshiTora? I love UshiTora and I can see the resemblance between giant guy whose name I can’t remember and Tora. His character and his schtick are so far the most interesting thing to me, with the kuudere puppet girl whose main purpose seems to be to get paired with him having yet to make an impression on me. I’m also still not really certain what the overall plot is. I do love stories about found families, so hopefully I can stick with this one

Hinomaru Sumou: If my watching schedule were normal, this wouldn’t be in this section. Whilst not the best sports show of the season, and chock full of some of the most eyeroll worthy aspects of sports shonen *cough cough* toxic *cough cough* masculinity *cough cough*, Hinomaru Sumou has the fire and passion for an underrepresented sport that’s usually enough to hook me. I just don’t have time, and if push comes to shove, I’ll prioritize other shows over this one.

Banana Fish: Yo, okay, before you lynch me for being a hater or whatever, let me tell you I have zero issues with Banana Fish. I don’t hate it, I don’t think it’s Bad Representation(TM) whatever the fuck that means, I definitely don’t think it’s fujobait or just another BL. It just doesn’t make me happy. This probably doesn’t make a lot of sense, but I’ve never been a fan of tragedy. It’s also part of the reason I’m dropping Tokyo Ghoul. I don’t like hopeless stories and tragic romances. I’m somewhat spoiled on how the manga ends and each time I find myself less and less inclined to watch the newer episodes because the descent into misery is just not enjoyable for me. It’s not the show’s wrongdoing, it’s just not the kind of story I like. I’m probably too far along to drop it at this point, but also I kinda wish I could drop it because I get so little joy out of it. Also, my main hook is of course Ash and Eiji’s relationship, but 15 episodes in (I’m behind, as is evident) the time they’ve spent together is so minimal, I can’t even appreciate that a whole lot.

I guess I’m watching this?

Dakaichi: Me: Man I really want a yuri anime without rapey bullshit. Also me: watches BL anime with rapey bullshit. I have literally no excuse. I think the basic setup lends itself really well for a romcom and Takato is a very likable character, it’s a shame it’s the same old rapey bullshit. In my defense, episode two was really sweet and I’ve been hoping for more stories along that line, even though the show has failed to deliver them since. Episode 5 may have pushed the line even beyond what I’m willing to tolerate, but it’s unclear. I might end up unexpectedly dropping it after episode 6. HEY JAPAN WOULD IT KILL YOU TO MAKE A BL ANIME THAT WASN’T RAPEY BULLSHIT? JUST ONE?

(honestly, Takato deserves better)

wao episode 6 was maji disgusting i might drop it after all

Fairy Tail Final: I just want closure man. This adaptation retains all the worst attributes of the previous season, terribly slow pacing (what for?! the manga is over!!) minimal animation, recapalooza. The color palette is slightly brighter than before, which I appreciate. Fairy Tail’s last arc wasn’t as bad as Bleach’s, but it was still pretty bad in the manga; still I hope seeing it animated will make it feel less messy and slightly more coherent. The FT anime has also in the past filled in some blanks that existed in the manga, so hopefully they can make the best out of it here.

(Erza is still my wife)

Tsurune: No, this isn’t the best sports anime of this season either. Although that’s hard to judge given how it’s barely on its second (third, i’m behind) episode. Technically, I feel more compelled to drop this than Hinomaru, but also I want to give it a fair chance. That said, the first episode was.... profoundly underwhelming and borderline upsetting, with how everyone put Minato on the spot in spite of his having an actual psychologic condition that drove him away from kyudo. I’m all in for stories about growing and surpassing your own obstacles, but I hope they go about it in a less mean-spirited way. Also, the characters feel pretty shallow so far. I’m not even gonna pretend the main reason I want to keep watching isn’t gorgeous guy with the ponytail-san, because I’m now old enough that I immediately gravitate towards the senseis rather than the teenage protags.

i am so weak to long hair _(:3」∠)_

welp he cut his hair right next episode, thanks for nothing kyoani

In spite of everything, Anime is, in fact, Good

Golden Kamuy: Like with many split-cours, there’s nothing much to say beyond “if you liked the first one, you’ll like this one”. The production values are still tragic, but I think the pace has improved, and the dynamics between the different factions are so fluid and constantly changing they make the story very enthralling. It also continues to have the Best Reaction Faces.

Gakuen Basara: Listen, listen. You all knew I was gonna watch this. And I love Basara so much I still think this show is a masterpiece even when it’s objectively atrocious. I do not reccommend it to anyone who isn’t already a fan (and I mean a blind fan willing to consume anything from this franchise, even in its cheapest, dumbest, worst looking incarnation). That said there are a couple of interesting things, namely the power rivalry between Hideyoshi and Nobunaga, this never happened in the original series because Nobunaga died before Hideyoshi was introduced. Anyway, just shoot that Masamune x Kojuuro fanservice straight into my veins please and thank you

Zombieland Saga: One of the two biggest surprises of the season and one that was nowhere near my radar. An original production by studio MAPPA with perhaps the wildest premiere episode of the season that’s somehow making me like idols?! It’s also giving us the most Miyano Mamoru has ever Miyano’d and it’s amazing and histerical. The characters are also very charming, specially bikegang leader Saki and the always legendary Yamada Tae and the show isn’t scared of letting its cute idols get gross and silly and dirty. There’s also a feeling of mystery that I find very appealing. Definitely didn’t expect this one to be one of the highlights of my week, yet here we are.

SSSS Gridman: Just when I’d vowed a giant fuck you to Studio Trigger, in they come with one of their most quiet productions yet, with characters that speak their lines in soft, leveled voices, tragedies that feel palpable, emotionally climactic battle scenes and a sense of tension and mystery that makes it impossible to take your eyes away. It does have the caveat of oversexualizing the female characters, specially the villain, and not giving Rikka virtually anything to do, but past that, it’s been a very pleasant and intriguing surprise. Also of note, I have no background knowledge of the Gridman tokusatsu series but that hasn’t really been an impediment to enjoy this series.

Double Decker: Doug & Kirill: A spinoff to the 2010 superhero hit Tiger & Bunny, we have a less superpowery buddycop comedy with a cool and diverse cast, whose main character wants to BRING DOWN CAPITALISM, okay, put an end to economic inequality and classes, but that’s basically the same thing. The show is pretty far along because it premiered early for some reason, and so far it’s been mostly one-shot stories very thinly connected to the distribution of the illegal drug Anthem, with our main plot having only come up two episodes ago with the fantastic Zabel and Bamboo Man twist. The dynamics between the main duo are great and Kirill is a riot as a protagonist.

Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru: Or Run with the Wind. Now THIS is the best sports anime of the season. Brought to you by the studio behind Haikyu, based on a novel by the author of Fune wo Amu. Firstly I love that it’s set in university, because it gives the cast a lot more variety in their interests, ages and personalities, their goals, their baggage, and it makes the process of bringing this team of misfits together even more interesting to watch. The characters feel very human in the way they speak, their worries, their relationships, their actions. The show’s done a great job so far in building the characters and making them worth cheering for. Also Ouji is my spirit animal. If you ever wanted a show to motivate you into running, this is what you’ve been waiting for! Another great surprise of this season for sure.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Vento Aureo: Finally part Five is here! And in it we get perhaps the most interesting Jojo protagonist right off the bat, with troubled Giorno and his difficult past and his wonderful Stand ability. His new set of allies is also quite eccentric and interesting and every scene and dialogue has that special Jojo flavor of crazy and ridiculous and always a load of fun. This one will have 39 episodes, so we’re barely getting started and I’m already loving all of it.

Thunderbolt Fantasy 2: Urobutcher’s favorite puppets are back with a vengeance! Every bit as fun, insane, cool and over-the-top as the first season, with the added value of the rapport between the characters, evidenced by how brilliant the few scenes in which Shang and Lin share the screen are. With a brand new story that expands the world of our favorite puppets, and even more new gorgeous puppets added to the mix to make Shang’s life a mess, this show is definitely my favorite this season and potentially of the year. Let Urobuchi keep doing puppets for as long as he wants!

ooof i’m finally done. It’s midseason so probably nobody cares but do hmu with your favorite shows of the season and if there’s anything worth hatewatching that I may be missing ;)

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ralfstrashcan · 5 years

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3x18 Reaction / Commentary

Anxious feeling of imminent doom in my gut? Check. Skipping breakfast in favor of running to my laptop like a starving person? Check. Chances of surviving this episode with my sanity intact? Uhhh.... Well here goes nothing.

But one more thing before we get started (Does anyone wanna get out? Yeah, me!!!! Okay sorry.)

Who's this mysterious “Alex” person?? A new player on the board???

Alright alright, I'm stalling, I know. It's weird, last week couldn't pass quick enough but now I really don't wanna click the play button... okay anyway you're probably not here to read my angsting, so. Deep breath and here goes.

In terms of putting my nerves at ease this is working out pretty good. I love Becky, okay, and her sibling ship with Simon and the Sneak Peek made me real happy and I can't wait to see more of those two together (especially considering this'll probably be her last appearance on the show). So, yeah Team Lewis! (Also that comment about them and Clary never missing a Halloween together? I need all the kid fics!!!)

Lol dude I mean you literally died for knowing about it, but sure, make an understatement XD Also, “all the way from Florida”??? Last thing I knew about her she was lying in a hospital bed a week ago (aka 3A)? When did she get released? And relocated? I missed that???

:D :D :D <3<3<3

Queen Izzy :))))))) btw those kids had seriously lacking survival skills if you ask me. That wasn't normal, right? And where were their supervisors??

Effing f-i-n-a-l-l-y.

Also, Magnus with the deflecting again as soon as he's recovered just the tiniest bit is both painfully ic and also just painful </3

Ugh, can you believe Clace entered the Malec scene even though they must have felt it was a bad time and deranged it with their flirting? Unfair. In any case I agree, Clary was always and will always be an idiot XD haha okay sorry, I don't really mean that (only like, 83%) it's just the setup was too good to pass it up ;) I mean even Alec laughed at Jace calling her an idiot so I'm well within my rights to do it, too XD

Thanks, Alec, for sabotaging the one shot at open communication you had. I mean, I want to believe he does it because he realizes Magnus is back to his deflecting self and prodding will get him nowhere, but uhm, could he try for longer than three seconds before giving up? Is he really gonna let Magnus off the hook so easily and do something stupid and reckless instead?? *sigh* BUT ALSO HIS FRAKKING FACE OKAY I CAN'T

“Back from the Plot Fold”

Alec “Tact” Lightwood looooool

“Bitch I worked on this performance for centuries how dare you”

SO. MANY. QUESTIONS.

sdfshfsjdkfjsdf I love the way he talks okay. Exquisite. (Also he has a birthmark on his lip. It's really distracting. Am I implying Asmodeus is hot? Maybe. You can't prove a thing.)

............................................................your self-confident didn't make any progress since season 1, did it, Alec? *sigh* I mean he's basically agreeing with Asmodeus that this is what will happen if their situation doesn't change.

Okay what is structure, let me just yell my impressions of this scene at you. 1) Both of their acting is stellar. Love all the little body language cues, especially Asmodeus's mocking facial expressions. 2) “Return what you stole” and Asmodeus protesting it because clearly he had a “fair deal” with Magnus. 3) Alec breaking eye contact whenever Asmodeus lands a hit (“One he already regrets.” “You make him vulnerable, weak.”) 4) The fact that Alec protests the potential-line with “We love each other.” I was confused at first but when you think about it Alec says that they help each other access their full potential by loving each other and that's a beautiful sentiment. 5) Of course then Asmodeus lands another hit with “Then I'm afraid you will be the death of him” and Alec is back to looking away.

Thank you, Alec, for not being a total idiot.

“...or else the deal is off.” Obviously. Thank you, Asmodeus, for not being a total idiot either.

.........did he just nod? I knew I was right making that 'total' italic, implying he's still somewhat of an idiot XD

sooooo pretttyyyyyyyyyyyyy

And I can't believed Clary missed Luke so much she visited him in prison a total of 0 times.

Look I'm weak and I dig the Jace-Luke-father-son-in-law-dynamic.

Also can we take a moment to appreciate the fact that Alec is able to function as Head of the Institue even though he has to make the hardest decision of his life at the same time?? Just saying. Guy knows how to handle his shadowhunter responsibility. If only he was as capable in handling other things and omg this is not an innuendo you naughty people, I meant emotional intelligence goddammit.

I mean, he's not wrong? The way he cares about her is uniquely twisted, so.

.........................is Alec having 2x12 flashbacks? Because I sure am.

Hmmmm always admiring Clary's screaming skills :)

*sigh* I mean she didn't just SAY intense pain for a short while? Why am I even bothering.

The scientist has spoken lol.

1) They had a whole underground basement full of tons and tons of that serum, right? If those are all made up of nanoparticles then I really really wonder how big the Glorious splitter was that they extracted the serum from. Since, you know, that whole stash was supposed to be enough for the Downworlders all over the world. Wtf 2) I guess “self-destructing” that basement is gonna come back to roost them and they need to recover the original sword to eliminate the Evil Rune, right???? haha

Asmodeus wrote: Hurry up pretty boy, our deal isn't on the table forever ;)

I'm actually impressed Jace remembered to ask Alec about the proposal. You get some more diligence starlets, Jace <3

OMG ALEC ARE YOU SHITTING ME ARE YOU SHITTING ME ARE YOU SHITTING ME *sigh* I mean, those two situations are obviously totally comparable, right? I for my part am, again, having severe 2x12 flashbacks, where Alec asked Jace's council about something that Jace totally wasn't equipped to answer. *SIGH*

And I guess Jace isn't suspicious because of Alec's super suspicious behavior, right?????? Ugh.

The sad part is, Alec will probably see that as confirmation that he should go through with it because he doesn't want to be selfish. So while yay, Alec seeking council, he does it in the worst way possible :( at least I got some parabatai feels out of it :/

On the one hand I'm glad she sees it that way* on the other hand this is clearly supposed to be the influence of the rune, so that's kinda undermining her statement and making it even less credible. Thanks, show.

*Yes he was a victim, no he still carries some responsibility for his actions because free will is a thing and he's had some time on earth where he wasn't exactly coerced by anyone. Manipulated, yes. But he's aware of his agency and he should have used it better. I get that I'm asking for a lot here, maybe too much, and circumstances were always against him, but I'm also not absolving him of all his crimes.

Magnus deflecting because that's what he does. God forbid a scene that could be about him actually ends up being about him instead of a side pairing I couldn't care less about. *sigh*

Also, I'm not exactly sure if Magnus really thinks Alec thought being around Maryse could help him, or if he just said that as another means to deflect because honestly, the way Alec suggested to Magnus he go to Maryse was more the here-go-see-your-babysitter-approach than anything else, especially because he basically cut of the conversation they where having before Clace interrupted. *SIGH*

WELL I COULD

YOU NO FRIKKIN SAY, MARYSE

“My lips are sealed.... especially about my issues ¯\_(ツ)_/¯”

THE DISDAIN AHAHHAHAHA CATCH ME WHEEZING ON THE GROUND

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SEELIE QUEEN IS QUEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is this.... actually......... a scene with Alec and Izzy???? HELL YEAH

Okay, words. First off, I LOVE that Alec spills all the beans, and to Izzy, the one emotionally capable Lightwood. I mean, yay Jalec and all, but it's an universally acknowledged truth that Lightwood Men seem to be pretty unable to handle their emotions in a productive way.

Second off, the music playing in the background? Is the one from the Malec Breakup Scene from 2x18. Yay mood reference, I mean. Thanks for that lovely detail, show. (Hahahaha I don't even know if I'm sarcastic or not because it's so witty but on the other hand it's just cruelly twisting the knife like r u for real man give me a damn break.)

Third off, I love basically every line of this dialogue. The fact that Alec (or anyone really) FINALLY acknowledges that Magnus gave up his powers and saved Jace for Alec. Alec's argument: “Magnus sacrificed everything so I could feel whole and now I have the chance to do the same for him.” Also that wording, “a chance”? Not an obligation, not a repayment of a dept. A chance. Because he loves Magnus and this is his chance to fix it. (In his eyes at least, pssssh.)

And Izzy's intent “He wouldn't want this. He loves you so much.” So valid. And less biased (aka skewed by shitty self-esteem) than Alec's assessment of the situation.

Also this

Ouch, just. Ouch. So ic.

Also this

Izzy asking all the right questions. The way Alec looks away means “No” and the determined way he meets her gaze again after means “But that doesn't matter.” Very good scene.

(Honestly the only thing I would have wished for is that Izzy is a little more firm in her assertion that Magnus wouldn't want this and she like, tries to change Alec's mind instead of just accepting his decision.)

hehehe :)

The same time you moved to Florida apparently.

hahaahahha <3<3<3 kick-ass sister material

.........<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3 this deserves so much recognition okay. Since we all know drinking away his problems is Magnus's No 1 coping mechanism. Too bad he'll be pushed into his liquor again by Alec unwisely breaking up with him at the end of the episode (because I daren't dream of a change of heart on Alec's side.)

Also is this the part where Maryse blabs out Alec's proposal plans??

Ugh yay, so after Maryse reassuring Magnus that they are all here for him I guess the breakup is just gonna get 5 shades uglier. Yaaay.

Love that necklace damn.

Obligatory Sizzy moment in front of Becky so she can call Simon out on it later: Check. Just glad this role doesn't fall to Raphael. (Also you bet your ass I chose Becky's line as a picture for this because I'm really that petty.)

Also omg, I just peeked into the German dubbing because obviously the Count von Count pun doesn't work because the words for Count and the word for counting aren't the same here and the guy is named Graf Zahl. And just skdjfslkdjfklsdjfkld Simon's line “That does sound really made up” is honest to God transated with “You're right, I just made him up” like oh my God who is in charge of translating this and why are they so incompetent honestly!!!!!!!! W H Y

Lol that's gotta be the first time in his life that he called her Isabelle. Probably because she was slacking off during patrol.

AAAAAND I'M WHEEZING AGAIN AHAHHA HER OFFENDED FACE Honestly the seelie queen and Becky should start a comedy spin-off, I'd be watching the shit out of that XD

HAHAHAHAH HAVE MERCY XD XD XD Then again, can you blame Simon? Izzy is sooooo droolworthy.

1) She's gonna let Alec, Jace and Clary (two and a half shadowhunters ahaha) take on a whole nest of demons alone? Instead of backing them up? Okay???

2) Why they telling them that??? As far as they are concerned Simon and Becky are civilians, not their parents.

?????? NO SHE SHOULD TAKE BECKY WITH HER!!!!!!!! CAN YOU IMAGINE BECKY TOURING THE INSTITUTE? BECKY MARVELING AT ALL THE UNREALISTIC SHADOWHUNTER TECH?? BECKY KIDDING AROUND IN THE LAB??? I WAS ROBBED!!!

:)))) even Jace breaking out the comedy :D :D :D I approve

Those are some nice wings. Not perfect, but very very nice.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME HAHAHAHAHAHAH

Okay, Parabatai Fight Scene!!! 1) Jace again with his axes, nice.

2) Being sassy instead of, idk, picking up his weapons: Check.

3) True dat, but uh, Jace, what was the plan if Alec hadn't shown up? Inviting Drevak Queen out on a date?

4) I mean, why shoot one when you can shoot five, right? Good motto. But I still kind of want an explanation how two of those arrows could land in the Drevak Queen's head and the other three in her chest, like, what are physics anyway amiright?

5) Shot meant to make Jace look heroic when really, since we earlier learnt that killing the Drevak Queen kills all her spawn*, this was just Alec doing Jace's work for him XD

*Uh, yeah what the hell is up with that. Chitauri Genetic Defect or something? *sigh*

*Feelings of terrible foreboding intensify*

sssssssssssssssssssssssudden

Look, I agree. I just don't think Maia could really comprehend / accept that so fast (and off-screen) because ugh reasons, too tired to repeat myself again *waves hand unhelpfully* but whatever, I can accept this. I made my peace with it.

1) Last time I checked those cells were secured with a combination lock thingy.

2) Thanks Lanaia for sabotaging Sizzy, I'll be sure to send you a gift basket (or, if what I think will happen happens, some flowers for your grave lol).

*snorts* Reminds me of Hannibal who was always making cannibal puns at people and no one noticed XD Also, her knocking Jace out was really dumb? I mean, he wouldn't have stopped her from saving Jonathan because, uh, that's saving her own neck, too. And if she'd portaled them both to the cell she could have disposed of him there way easier, locking him up – since apparently she didn't plan to kill him, and that nice straightjacket would have kept him from alerting the other Shadowhunters way longer than that pipe over the head. So, wholly unnecessary. I mean, in a way it's nice to know that Demonic Clary isn't smarter than Regular Clary.

Dude she's literally wielding a spear, how dumb are you.

Aaaaaand there goes my order to the nearest funeral wreath shop XD

Look I have questions (which, okay, I should have asked sooner but what even is continuity right). When that weird gratifying wing dream sequence started I thought it was Clary tapping into the rune connection and it was the real Jonathan communicating with her. When Jace entered the play field it was clear at least some part must be fake because Jace sure as heck wasn't unconscious / in trance at the time and later didn't give any indication that he participated in some creepy contest for Clary's affections. But now Jonathan is surprised by this, too? He, too, was a product of Clary's imagination? I have so many questions, first of all, why the wings? And the really cheap back-white-symbolism? Also, why did Clary feel so drawn to Jonathan if this was all in her own mind? Was it the influence of the Evil Rune? Does the Evil Rune have a user interface that's shaped to look like Jonathan? Does that mean Jonathan has a Clary-shaped interface??? I need answers.

Ugh. Let's make this long and painful, shall we.

OF COURSE IN THE ONE SCENE WHERE SHIT WILL GO DOWN THEY DON'T FAIL AT CASUAL INTIMACY THANK YOU FOR N O T H I N G

Let's not talk about the fact that the thought, Alec could mean anything but a break together from everything that's been going on, doesn't even cross Magnus's mind because no. Noooooo. I'd rather talk about how absolutey awesome both of their acting is. For Alec I really like the way he moves his eyes, like the gaze darting around alternating with the rigid stare. For Magnus, uh, everything, just like, his whole face is perfection?? Yeah, that works.

The way he interrupts because he just needs to get this over with as quickly as possible.

Dammit, he does this eyelid dip here, it's not a blink, it's just his eyelids twitching down for a second because this is like a slap in the face. And then he turns and takes a step away because his instinct is to run from this because what is this, this can't be

“Is this about last night? Because I'm going to quit drinking.”

Magnus “forever apologizing for being an 'inconvenience'” Bane, final installment.

Dammit, his face. And again with the deflecting, trivializing his feelings, anything to keep this conversation from going where he thinks it's going.

*EYE ROLL* Sorry but you don't get to play that card after being effin obtuse for 7 episodes, Alec. Nope. Nope.

Magnus, his usual walls rudely ripped away. He has no chance but to admit how shitty he's feeling. And if it wasn't for the circumstances I'd say “yay, finally some communication” but well.

“Fine. I'm in pain,” he says, and Alec turns away, breaking eye contact for a moment because the final confirmation is too much for him for a moment.

I love that Magnus doesn't deliver this line meekly. He's worked up, sure, but there's also a confidence when talking about their relationship. Breaking up is an unrealistic concept to him in that moment because it's so absurd. It's not fixing anything so why would it happen? Makes no sense. *insert weeping sounds*

Brutal and efficient. Very ic.

Damn how does even his blink convey so much vulnerability??? (Somewhere Lexa is nodding approvingly.) (Also why didn't I find gif sets of this :c)

“You said there's nothing I can do to make it better.”

There's an audible difference in his voice, because this part is true and he's not lying. The controlled monotone isn't there anymore. This is his real despair in the face of not being able to do anything to help Magnus.

“It's not your job to make it better.”

Again, if this was a constructive conversation it would be a great step in the right direction. But sadly it isn't, and so this is too little too late.

“Well, what am I supposed to do? Just stand by and watch you suffer for the rest of our lives?”

Alec is still speaking the truth, and this is his motivation to go through with it. Because a) he believes what Magnus said about never being happy again without his magic (sidenote, he didn't, in fact, say that, he said it might never pass (meaning being affected by the magic loss) and he's not happy at the moment, which isn't the same as he'll definitely surely never be happy again without his magic, but whatever) and b) he's sure he doesn't mean all that much to Magnus. He's his current love, but that's about it. Nothing special, not worth leaving such devastating traces in Magnus's life and he certainly doesn't mean as much to Magnus as Magnus means to him. And especially from that second part stems his gravely false assessment of the situation which in the course of consideration leads him to the conclusion that breaking Magnus's heart will hurt less in the long run than him not having his magic. There's also the fact that be probably didn't think about how him doing this to Magnus will confirm every last insecurity Magnus ever had about not being lovable, because I can't believe he would have gone through with this if he'd thought of that. Or at least, he would have been visibly more torn about it, maybe even talked out of it by Izzy, etc. But it's ic for Alec not to think like that, because in a way I guess he loves Magnus too much to really understand that Magnus has these doubts. And Magnus mostly playing his vulnerabilities close to his chest isn't working in his favor here either.

“This isn't you. You're not this selfish.”

This is what I mean. If Alec was less convinced that he's doing the right thing this line might have shaken him out of it. Honestly, I half hoped he'd object this, consequentally incriminate himself and Magnus would catch on that something was going on. But ofc that didn't happen.

The spark line, just. Ouch. Again, very clinical and minimalistc. The way Alec stares, his voice back to being monotone, the way he clenches his jaw. And then his work here is done and he's ready to leave.

It only gets worse from there. Magnus, frozen in disbelieve because this can't possibly be true, and then he starts begging and it breaks my heart every single time okay. To see him reduced to this desperation is just cruel.

I still can't help but note the way Alec readily turns around before Magnus has competely turned around himself. I think he was on the brink of giving in.

The way Magnus holds on to him, hands fluttering over his arms, shoulders, cheeks. The way Alec can't even look at him for the barest second, eyes closed, breath going heavy. Magnus's everything. Just kill me now.

And let's not talk about their kisses and Magnus's whispered words because no. There's nothing to say to that except perfection. Intense, top notch emotion portrayal on both parts.

Then Alec pulls away (how???? gotta admire commitment and an iron will when you see it but boy is it misplaced) and Magnus's hands tremble because this can't be happening, this can't possibly be real.

Note that Alec doesn't look him in the eyes once because he knows if he did, it'd all be over. Also note the look of utter betrayal on Magnus's face. It's not just hurt and heartbreak, it's betrayal because this is what this is. Alec promised him something, made him believe that he could trust in him, in them, and now he's going back on his word.

Well, this was fun, let's never do it again.

Look, I don't have the nerve for this anymore, so I'll keep it short and in no particular order: - Asmodeus is ass powerful and manages to distance-summon himself, yay, nice to know that the one time a shadowhunter doesn't act stupid and impulsive it still doesn't pay off. - Asmodeus killing pissed off warlock lady was both obvious and unnecessary. - His smile is creepy. - “My son needs me.” MY ASS - He still needs to support himself on the back of the chair because he's a weak bitch hahaha.

Conclusion: *sounds of despair*

I just watched the 3x19 promo and.... they're really gonna end Malec on a train wreck this season, aren't they?? Oh God. They hoped they'd have a forth season to work through it and that's why they served themselves with issues and second helpings of extra issues, and since s4 isn't a thing we're gonna get an unsatisfying as hell 2x20-style resolution in the finale. God please say I'm wrong but like. Arrgghhhh.

(Also, credit where credit is due: “Before we get started, does anyone wanna get out?” is the line from Captain America in TWS before the elevator fight.)

#shadowhunters #3x18 #alec lightwood #jace wayland #magnus bane #clary fray #jonathan morgenstern #isabelle lightwood #simon lewis #becky lewis #the seelie queen #meliorn #kyle #maia roberts #luke garroway #asmodeus #pissed warlock lady #malec #reaction

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