#1- holy shit my style changed very quick

[mauesartetc]

High Guardian Spice Redesigns: Mermaid Edition

I just couldn’t stay away. Let’s dive back in (pun very much intended) to some High Guardian seas.

Part 1 and Part 2 of this series covered the show’s general issues and the thought process behind my redesigns in depth, but as a quick recap:

I’ve styled the new art direction after 17th-century woodcuts depicting witchcraft (what with the magic in the story and all)

The master palette is reduced to six base colors, all taken from spices

Everyone’s pupils are now drawn like Snapdragon’s for the sake of consistency and making the art style look more unique

Now let’s look at the results of the mermaid transformation sequence and see what needs improvement:

(Screenshot from this video, and I must say the music and sound effects add some much-needed excitement to the scene, even with the sluggish pacing that holds the animation back.)

For starters, the tail colors seem a bit random. They don’t echo the girls’ hair, skin, eyes, or the clothes they wore on land - with one exception. Parsley’s tail matches her hair, giving me an idea as to how to make the tails more consistent across the board.

Also, the tailfins look pretty generic, like the first thing someone would doodle when they were bored without doing any research. What if the tails were inspired by fish that match each girl’s personality?

Plus, the weight of Parsley’s hammer would make it difficult for her to swim upward, while the water would significantly slow down Thyme’s arrows. And yet they get to keep their weapons while Caraway takes Rosemary’s sword? Yeah, it’d make more sense for them to leave all their usual weapons on land (except maybe Sage’s terrasphere-?) and take light, water-friendly knives for self defense during their mission. 

Bit of a nitpick, BUT: I get why Rosemary and Sage’s hair is loose now, since the free-flowing look jives better with the whole mermaid aesthetic. Okay, cool. But if their hair had already been held in pigtails and braids for hours that day, you’d think it’d have more waves in it rather than coming out perfectly straight in the transformation sequence.

(And this is more of a continuity error on the animation side than a design thing, but holy shit I just realized how much longer Rose’s tail is in the final shot compared to seconds earlier in the transformation.)

Enough yammerin’. Let’s get to the redesigns.

In the end I decided to merge the mermaid tails with the skin on their upper bodies, making them the same color. The first three girls’ skin color matches their eyes, though Sage was trickier. Her reddish eye color just made her skin look sunburnt, so I went with a green similar to the one used for the leaf design on her dress. Everyone has the same hair color they did on land (keeping them recognizable despite the major appearance changes), and the transformation now includes gills. Leaning into the fish elements helped me move away from the overdone Disney princess mold.

Speaking of fish, each character’s tailfin is now inspired by specific species.

Parsley- Pufferfish Small and unassuming at first glance, but not one to be trifled with.

Thyme- Barracuda This arrow-shaped fish reminded me of Thyme’s weapon of choice.

Rosemary- Great White Shark Based more on general vibes, really. I think Rose would freak out with glee if she had a tail inspired by one of these badass chonkers.

Sage- Swordfish An allusion to the sharpness of Sage’s mind. (Alleged sharpness, anyway; apparently some of the choices she makes in the show aren’t consistent with this characterization.)

Also, each girl now sports a pair of gloves with gems on them. These are terraspheres customized specifically to make blades appear in the user’s hands (and store themselves again) when she concentrates and performs the proper motions (shown below).

This way, the crew will always have access to weapons when they need them, but said weapons will be much more portable and useful for underwater fights.

As for the original accessories like decorative shells, earrings, tiaras and such... Ehh. They seemed superfluous to me, as they served no purpose other than looking pretty. The whole point of turning into mermaids was to help the undersea folk deal with a dangerous creature, not play dress-up. If a character design element is only present because “it looks cool” rather than serving the story or the character, toss it.

That’s all for now, though in the last High Guardian Spice post, I did mention possibly redesigning the dragons... Hmm.

#high guardian spice #character design #redesign #mermaid #mermaids #magical girl transformation #critique #criticism #anime #art direction #hgs

[elyfonart]

this one is half a sequel to this post and half yet another tribute to katara's incredible patience and inner strength

#the timestamp on the og comic is from this January #JANUARY???? #1- holy shit my style changed very quick #2- how the fuck is it july... #i was 16 back then.. practically a baby .... #anyway #atla katara #zuko #sokka #katara #atla comic #atla #atla incorrect quotes #avatar: tla #avatar #avatar the last airbender #im also gonna tag this as #zukka #bc the original comic is zukka #and this is its sequel kinda #but this can obvs be read as platonic #best bros #zukka comic #zukka art

[daddywright]

I have only recently got into the ace attorney fandom, and this story was the first story I read, and I feel spoiled! I absolutely loved every chapter, so I'm gonna word vomit here and tell you everything I love about this!

"She offers him a smile. It’s small, tentative, but it possesses a strength that makes a hidden part of him twist and burn with quiet envy." the first time we see nick's wish to be as strong as mia!

Considering the fact that nick didn't have any prominent figure in his life, it makes sense that he would look up to gregory so much

"Phoenix looks up, and starts walking towards Mia Fey

He doesn't stop for two years."

THE RELATIONSHIP THAT MIA AND NICK HAD WAS PRECIOUS AND DESERVES MORE THAN WHAT THE FANDOM GIVES THEM

"Larry’s arms wrap around him, squeezing almost too tight" People forget that Larry and Phoenix were good friends too, and Larry would help his best friend

"Nobody believed him, nobody but Mia" Maya is what Phoenix is to Mia and I adore that

"He wishes, desperately, that he’d said it while she was still alive. I loved you. For everything you did." Not you absolutely breaking my fucking heart

Also the first AA game felt unnatural in the sense of how seemingly unaffected Phoenix seemed at Mia's murder so I'm really glad you wrote it this way

"Expensive. Thoughtful. Too much." SHUT UP NICK YOU DESERVE ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING

Also quick break to mention how I absolutely fucking love your writing style and i wish I was literally half as talented as you cuz the last time I read something that made me feel this multitude of emotions was ocean vuong. And I practically worship Ocean Vuong. So now I worship you too

"You're a stranger to me // When will I stop hoping?" I never really realised just how badly nick musta been hurt by good ol' bratworth before this fic, but now that I have read it, it would have hurt him so bad

"Is this why you never answered my letters? Because I was a reminder? Because it hurt too much?" Honestly what happened to miles and phoenix's friendship hurts so much because it should have never happened, and miles didn't deserve that.

"Maybe Miles Edgeworth is not the man he thought he’d be, either." yo when I tell you this hurt I mean this huRT

Fun fact! My birthday is on the same day as DL-6 anniversary. Gregory Edgeworth died on my birthday. I feel horrible now

"monster. You were nine years old and he's a monster. " No one has made me feel this much emotion for what happened to Miles in a single sentence other than you. I commend you for that

"I love you," he says quietly. He has never said those words to anyone, except for Dahlia Hawthorne.

Maya sniffs in his ear, crushing him tight. "I love you, too."

He has never heard them back.

PHOENIX HAS NEVER HEARD THE WORDS " I LOVE YOU" COME BACK TO HIM ARE YOU FUCKING WITH ME WHY NOW I'M SAD

"Tell me everything. Every detail—" Miles is worried bout nick and why wouldn't he? gods you're so gay miles but tbf if I knew someone like nick irl i'd go ballistic too

"He determined the motive for his own assault...with amnesia. Naturally." My man's smart af and he is king

"Is that what she thinks of me? That I'm like that? That I don't care about who the bad guys really are?" Gumshoe noooo you're hella precious! Also this particular chapter was so well written! loved this soo much!

Also taking a minute to appreciate the pacing! Rarely do I ever come across an author who just hits that sweet spot of perfect pacing and you did! so thank you!

Alright so here are a few thoughts that I felt capcom needed to do which you did for us!

no. 1 - Address the trauma phoenix faced with not only dahlia but also with mia's death

no. 2 - Actually fucking flesh out a good relationship dynamic between larry and phoenix

no. 3 - actually! have! phoenix! be hurt! in bridge to turnabout! istg my man would not have dropped from a burning bridge to a freezing river only to have a cold

AUNT FRANZY AND PEARLS MAN!

THEY CUTE

ok so I have a LOT of feelings for bridge to turnabout and HOO BOY BUCKLE UP

So I always thought that in this fic, miles must have felt fucking awful! I mean he very clearly hates who he was and what that has led to but that must have been doubled over with this case! Phoenix would have died if not for mia and it would have been indirectly miles's fault. I think about that alot

Like he said that he very much regrets whatever he did as bratworth in the phone call with gumshoe but i don't think he anticipated this. poor edgeworth

Also I think this was the final nail in the coffin for miles. Phoenix forgave him, after all the fucked up shit miles did, and that made that man go "how is this guy so fucking compassionate awwwww shit I'm in fucking love with this idiotic brave man".

my main thoughts were "holy shit phoenix must have been feeling awful." like to learn that you were in love with a person who turned out to be a murderer but then not a murderer cuz everything you felt about that was real and just...... it must have hurt. He never fell in love with dahlia. it was iris, always. and WHAT ABOUT MILES DURING THIS!!! Like to learn that the man you love was falsely led to believe that he was in love with a person he rarely met and then learn that his ex who is not murderous might still be in love with him because "that was real. that part was real." like damn. people just gloss over this

also I feel terrible for iris F in the chat for iris lads.

Dahlia literally haunting that courtroom scene. I felt mia's power. I felt her desperation. I felt everything and I am once again in awe of the absolute power your writing holds.

also godsdamn pearls had to go through all that shit huh. also FRANMAYAAAAAA THANK YOUUUU

I too, am a hoe confused as to what I should feel towards diego.

Ok anyways we jump to disbarment now

"He just winks at her and says Maya has other talents, and if Mystic Maya overhears, she puffs up at him like the fish from the aquarium she saw once, the one with all the spikes and silly eyes."

you know what constantly amazes me? your ability to change tones so effortlessly. When writing from edgey's pov, the language is sophisticated. precise. when writing from pearly's pov your language is simplistic, child-like. from phoenix's pov it's natural. grounded

"She never knew anybody who made faces like him, growing up in Kurain, and it’s one of the things that makes him special." Yo phoenix is the most amazing uncle ever and we all know it ok he's brilliant

I'M RUNNING OUT OF CHARACTER LIMITS

PEARLY CALLING EDGEY AT FIRST SIGN OF TROUBLE I'M SOFFFFTTTT

“I think I did something really bad." trucy baby no it's not your fault

pearl and trucy bonding supremacy. my girls would fuck shit up

"She’d meant to do this properly, one day." Thank you for giving importance to maya's feelings. thank you for treating her like a real human being. thank you

“Everything that happened...for what? It’s only gotten people hurt. Pearly. Our mother.” Me. Me." I felt so bad for maya here. I wish I could tell you in precise words about how this exact framing of the sentence is what broke me. "me. me" maya deserved more, but mia did all she could

"What do scared kids need? ...Food." not you breaking my godsdamn heart again. phoenix just knows what's it like being a helpless child, and he'll be damned if he ever lets anyone face that again

“‘Course, Pearls,” he says reflexively, before frowning. “What for?” reflexively. if every man in the world could be like phoenix wright then the world would be worthy of the gods

"Another one?" give it 2 years edgey she'll be your daughter too

"after countless hours creating the man’s living space in his mind from the background snatches he’d seen in the man’s ridiculous video calls." NOT ONLY DO THEY VC FOR NO PARTICULAR REASON BUT ALSO MILES ACTUALLY SPENDS TIME TRYING TO RECREATE HIS ROOM?? BECAUSE HE WOULD ONE DAY LIKE TO BE IN IT??? good gods these bitches gay. good for them

"because just as day is light and night is dark, Phoenix Wright is an honorable man." damn straight. you love to see it (it being a 27+ year old man pining for another 27+ year old man)

also hey miles! how do you feel about the fact that the man you love changed his fucking major and degrees halfway through college just so he could see you again only for you to be incredibly rude to him and make him end up in jail! (i bully edgeworth cuz i love him)

"Wright finishes, shrugging like it’s nothing, like his commitment and belief isn’t the most extraordinary thing that Miles has ever faced." it's more than pining at this point. it's incredible faith and trust. Miles had someone who cared about him even after all those years despite him having changed so drastically, ofc he would be surprised. Miles loves phoenix and so do i.

also HOT DAMN YOU WRITING IS JUST * MWAH *

Also the whole segment where they kiss is just !!!!! miles wants! it's beautiful! THEY'RE IN LOVEEE

receiving poisonous bottles which your ex tried to kill you with. My man can't get a break huh

Miles being chivalrous and protective and absolutely stealing my godsdamn heart (and phoenix's too)!

Klavier being the absolute king that he is we stan

The hostage situation section? gods miles must have been terrified.

Phoenix not being able to promise pearly that he'd always come back home and miles hearing it and like... ouch. my heart. you didn't need to do that (but i love your for it)

GODS THE CLIMAX WITH KRISTOPH WAS SOOO SATISFYING AND LIKE MY MAN PHOENIX REALLY PUNCHED THAT BITCH HUH

klavier baby I am so sorry

ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL!

and thus my comment ends. I believe I have almost used up all of my commenting limits and i leave with these few parting words : HOLY SHIT YOUR AMAZING AND I LOVE YOU!

also I made a playlist on spotify for this fic! here's the link : https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3k8lRHiO8ZXQDLpiTUL7SN?si=fc3b35b4ab064867

gods this was long huh

GREAT GOOGLY MOOGLY....WHERE DO I BEGIN...THE FACT THAT YOU BROKE THE CHARACTER LIMIT ON AO3 AND MADE A PLAYLIST? WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?

thank you so much for all the amazing things you said....i am crying on a Wednesday morning knowing my writing was appreciated this much. thank you!

#ask tag #long post #my fic #nymphietonkslupin

[friendofhayley]

I’m back after my hiatus from fanfiction, to give y’all the best multifandom recs of the fics I read this month. Shoutout to all content creators who helped us live to see the close of this year. This fic includes 15 fics for Sterek, Larry, Winteriron, and Geraskier. The starred ones put me through heaven and hell *chef’s kiss*.

Sterek (Teen Wolf)

1. Six Letter Word for Romance by @troubleiwant | domestic kink - omg there’s only one bed - soft Derek - oblivious idiots in love - 6k

Stiles definitely starts off thinking it’s fucking hilarious that Derek-sourwolf-Hale does crosswords and cares about scuffs on his furniture.

But at a certain point, and he can’t pinpoint exactly when, “fully functional adult couple” somehow becomes a massive fetish of his. Derek in sweats and bare feet, nudging his glasses up his nose while he does the Sunday crossword? Unff. Derek filling out forms to get some renovations on his property approved? Oh God, yes. Derek putting away groceries and bitching that the corner store was out of the right type of Greek yogurt? Take me now, Stiles thinks, worrying at his lower lip with his teeth.

This can’t be normal.

2. *Dirty Little Secret* by @isthatbloodonhisshirt | Cora & Stiles bffs - no one can resist the Stilinski charm - celebrity Derek - human au - 91k

“Holy shit, this is a date!” he blurted out, turning back to Derek wide-eyed. “This is a date! You intended for this to be a date, this was supposed to be a date!” He figured if he said it enough times, maybe he would believe it, but so far, no dice.

Derek was scowling again—seriously, did he want wrinkles?—but he just reached into one of the bags and pulled out a burger, checking what was written on the foil in sharpie before handing it over to Stiles.

“Of course it’s a date, what did you think this was?”

3. Can You Feel A Whole New Part of Your World? by @isthatbloodonhisshirt | i genuinely don’t look at authors names i just click i am sorry for spamming you but you write too good - neighbors Sterek - emotionally mature Stiles - the ideal fluffy world you’d want to live in - 53k

Can you hear me singing in the shower?” Stiles blurted out, because he had to know, now. If one of his neighbours had slid that note under his door, then it meant Parrish as another neighbour could hear him, too! He had to know if this was all a huge joke and one person had walked by and overheard him and decided to fuck with him.

Parrish gave him a weird look at the question, but answered anyway, making Stiles’ plans to leave the country speed up in his mind.

“Of course I can. You’re actually not bad. Though you have been singing a lot of Frozen lately, getting kind of tired of the soundtrack.”

4. Theory of Overprotective Canines by @petals42 | derek can turn into wolf - oblivious Stiles - future fic - mutual pining - 11k

Stiles is totally looking forward to living alone in his super cool apartment off-campus. He is. He is also very excited to bike to school every day, ready to set up an awesome game room, and definitely over his crush on Derek Hale. Completely over it.

Or at least he is until Derek decides he's moving in with him. And then turns out to be the perfect roommate. And then starts attending all his classes. As a wolf.

This is not going according to plan.

Larry (One Direction)

5. **The Changer and the Changed** by @homosociallyyours | literally the best fic of all time i want to live in there - girl direction - NYC ‘70s au - trans Zayn - the girls are so lovely - 59k

It’s the spring of 1977 and Harry Styles has just moved to New York City after graduating college. She knows she’s a lesbian. She just needs to figure out how to meet other lesbians.

Louis Tomlinson works at a popular women’s bookstore in the Lower East Side, Womon’s Direction, where she spends her days reading feminist literature, writing poetry, exchanging friendly barbs with her boss Niall, and dreaming of finding someone to love.

When Harry and Louis meet, their connection is instantaneous. Slowly but surely, Louis welcomes Harry into her community of women. Stonewall veteran and old school butch Niall; Liam, a land dyke who’s moved to the city for love; and Zayn, a lesbian musician who’s been ostracized by a vocal part of women’s community for being trans, welcome Harry with open arms, ready to help her find her place in New York City’s bustling lesbian scene.

6. others i’ve seen might never be mean (but they would never do) by @cherrylouvol6 | aaaaaaaa it’s lesbian When Harry Met Sally !!! - rom com - girl direction - coming out and first times - really great sex - 20k

Louis sighs.

“Do you remember what I said to you the first time we met?”

“That I’m naive and neurotic and would be hard pressed to ever find someone who could put up with me?” Harry snaps.

7. some things fade (some never do) by @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed | aaaaaa this story took me apart and back together again just like Louis and Harry - urban fantasy au - second chances - exes to friends to lovers - hurt/comfort - 25k

Matching tattoos. He’d never thought he’d be the type for tattoos to begin with, let alone matching or magical ones, but once Harry had put the idea in his mind it had never quite managed to disappear. And it had made sense. With their relationship a long distance one, this was simply another way of feeling close to one another. Of knowing where the other was, how they felt. It had made so much sense.

Back then.

8. we can take the long way home by @eleadore | i usually don’t rec my porn but there’s so much feels in this one - canon-divergent - kink discovery - friends to lovers - this was written in 2015 as a future fic but it felt like it was taking place now so good job - 27k

“Fertile,” Louis says, and then laughs because it sounds stupid to say out loud. He hasn’t ever really thought of himself in those terms. Baby-making terms. It’s just one of those things his body can do, like exercise, or go without tea. Doesn’t mean he will.

Winteriron (MCU)

9. **Dig No Graves** by @missaphelion | Tony finds out about his parents right after winter soldier au - Tony Stark has a heart - Bucky heals with bots and lots of sugar - slow burn - 142k

"I'm here to kill you, Terminator," Tony said slowly, "does that compute?"

The soldier looked up at him with wide blue eyes and no expression. "Okay."

Tony froze. "Okay," he echoed. "I tell you I came here to kill you and your response is 'okay'?"

10. A Rifling Matter by Penndragon27 | Winter Soldier has such a big crush on Tony’s weapons, he escapes Hydra au - identity porn - pining Bucky - fluff and angst - Winter Soldier is a fanboy and it’s cute - 37k

All the Asset knows is fighting, killing.

He also knows a good weapon when he sees one and Stark Industries... they make some great weapons.

11. *Winter is Coming (aka Fifty First Avengers Dates)* by @tisfan & @everyworldneedslove | enemies to friends to lovers to 50 first dates - pining Bucky - Tony gets amnesia - no Steve bashing but he’s a little bit of an ass - mental health issues - 109k

Bucky Barnes is still mostly The Asset, and he's pretty sure Hydra is going to come back for him soon, so in the meantime he's just going to keep an eye on the Avengers for them. But then Clint spotted him hiding in the shadows, so Tony came out and dragged Bucky back to the Tower, threw him in the shower, and fed him cheeseburgers.

Now The Asset is having anomalous feelings. In his pants.

Geraskier (The Witcher)

12. *no reason to run* by @yoursummerfrost | different meeting au - only one bed but camping - cursed Jaskier - soft Geralt!!!! - poly negotiations - 61k

"You'll change your mind one day," says the innkeep. "The road can't love you back."

What a strange way to flatten something so beautiful, Jaskier thinks. What a small way to love.

13. *He Fell into a Faerie Ring* by @geraltnoises | Jaskier gets bardnapped after the fight au - non-human Jaskier - soft Geralt - Jaskier encourages people to be kind and becomes a god - emotionally mature Geralt - 57k

Traders are a gossiping sort. If there was a scandal within the noble houses of Posada, you’d hear about it in Cretegor by the end of the week. So, the quick spread of a rumor about a little village in the Kestrel Mountain range was not at all surprising. What was surprising was the story that the traders wove. They said that Luibhtorrach, a sad, ghost of a farming town, had miraculously become a hub for trade, as if overnight. Their lands unbelievably fertile and brimming with crop. Even stranger, each and every one of Luibhtorrach’s people professed that their good fortune was the work of a mysterious beast they’d claimed as their personal deity. Most recent news foretold of their plans to throw a midsummer festival celebrating this newfound god. In preparation, silken blue banners were erected in every corner of the town, each bearing the symbol of their new patron: A delicate dandelion wrapping around a golden sun.

14. Barking Up the Wrong Tree by KHansen | 5+1 things - I’m worried about Geralt’s skills - non-human Jaskier - monsterfucker Geralt - crack treated seriously - 11k

Geralt is 100% certain that Jaskier is a vampire.

He's 100% proven wrong.

15. Bardic Idyll by Lisztful | fake relationship - Geralt is soft and oblivious - pining - fluff and angst - Jaskier you can’t show your emotions mainly through song! - 13k

Jaskier is certain he can win the Continent's annual bardic competition, but he needs to be accompanied by a dashing romantic companion in order to enter. Enter Geralt, who is definitely, for sure, only interested in the free food, and not at all in staring lovingly into Jaskier's eyes.

#monthly fic rec #fic rec #sterek fic rec #larry fic rec #winteriron #geraskier #larrie hijinks #witcher #mcu

[harrysbbby]

Don’t Forget Where You Belong - JJ Maybank x Reader - Part Two

A/N: okay so this one’s very longggggg but there’s so much storyline to get through, I think all the parts might be. But please let me know what you think!

Read part 1 here

You walked down the pontoon to where John B had just pulled up the HMS Pogue. You were carrying a cooler with full of snacks of your day on the boat.

“Morning y’all,” you said as you took JJ’s hand as he helped you into the boat.

“You brought food, thank God. I’m starving,” he said dramatically. You laughed at his desperation as he clamoured to open the cooler as soon as your two feet were steadily placed. You knew that the boys would never willing ask for or take your money. You constantly tried to help them out, but their pride was too strong. So, you compromised, by supplying all the food and beer you could get them each time you got together.

You opened the cooler, passing a beer around to everyone.

“You guys get through?” you asked, passing the freshly opened bottle to John B. The hurricane Agatha had ripped through the OBX the night previous. Your stepfather already had maintenance workers clearing your yard when you left this morning.

“Yeah,” John B replied, “Nothing major, just a tree fell but at least it wasn’t on the house.��� He shrugged. You laughed at his nonchalant-ness as your cheers him and took a sip of your beer.

“We were fine, but I’m pretty sure my dad’s gonna kill me for skipping out.” Pope said, glaring at JJ and John B. JJ hugged Pope from behind.

“But you love us anyway, buddy!”

As you reach further into the marsh Pope had taken over steering as JJ stood at the bow, his second (or was it third?) beer in his hand.

“Can you go a little faster?” he asked Pope as he brought the bottle further into the air, letting the contents spill out the neck. You scoffed and moved out of the way as the sticky liquid landed on your arm.

“Here we go. I'm movin'.” Pope said, pushing down the accelerator.

“It doesn’t work JJ,” John be said, crossing his arms and tilting his head back to get some sun.

“Yeah dude, not like you haven’t already tried like 6000 times,” you spoke with disgusting, now having moved to the back of the boat wiping your arm on your towel.

“I got this. It's gonna work!”

“You’re getting beer in my hair!” Kie exclaimed, moving to stand next to you as you rolled your eyes.

“JJ,” you were going to patronise him further, but you didn’t get the chance as the boat came to a static halt. JJ went flying overboard, flipping through the air and into the water. You and Kie fell straight forward on top of one another.

“Jesus, Pope!” Kie groaned as you rolled off the top of her. Both of you stay laying on your backs trying to catch your breath.

“You okay, JJ?” John B asked, peering over the side of the boat.

“I think my heels touched the back of my head,” you heard JJ’s voice come from the water.

“Well it’s shame, you’re missing the girl on girl action up here.” John B quipped as he helped you and Kie up.

“Oh, fuck off John B,” you said as you shoved him. You could see JJ still floating on his back in the water.

“Damn,” he sighed. He finally lifted his head to look at you. You stuck your tongue out at him and flipped him off as he began swimming back towards the boat.

“Pope, what did you do?” Kie asked.

“Sandbar. The channel changed.” He replied.

“No shit,” you replied dryly, sitting next to Kiara.

“Ugh, this is probably gonna mess this whole place up,” she said sullenly.

“Hey, I saved the beer, though!” JJ exclaimed, still in the water.

“Congrats, JJ,” John B said. You looked over the side of the boat and gave him a sarcastic applause. He flipped his hand through the air as if he was bowing. He continued to swim on his back towards the boat, bringing said beer to his lips and taking a sip. You laughed at his actions and he turned his head to smile up at you.

“Guys...” Pope interrupted, “I think there's a boat down there”

“Shut up, what!” John B yelled, running to peer over the side of the boat where Pope was staring down into the water.

“No way!” JJ said as he kicked faster, turning on his side using one arm to propel himself faster in the water, he other arm still holding the beer up in the air.

“No, no, guys. I'm serious,” Pope continued as you and Kie joined him looking over the edge of the boat into the water. You could see something white glistening in the water. “There's a boat down there”

“For real,” you confirmed.

“Guys... is this...” John B started but Pope interrupted.

“It’s a boat!”

“Holy shit, he's right. Let's go!” Kie exclaimed as she started stripping her clothes off her body and dive into the water. She was very quickly followed by John B and Pope.

“You think there's a dead body down there?” Pope asked as he bobbed in the water. Your four friends looked up at you as you stood on the boat still, hands grasping the bottom of your shirt as you hesitated.

“Get your ass in here!” JJ hollered.

“Come on!” John B yelled.

You gave in. Your clothes came off in two quick swipes as you dove in after your friends who had already submerged themselves into the water. The five of you inspected the boat. It was large, and expensive… wait it couldn’t be the sort you thought right? You grabbed the side as you swashed around trying to find anything noteworthy. As you began to feel your lungs tighten you pushed off the end of the boat towards the surface.

The five of you gasped for breath as you broke the surface.

“You guys saw that?”

“Yeah,” Pope and John B said.

“What the...” JJ began but heaved as he tried to catch his breath. The boys laughed at him as they hoisted themselves up onto the boat. Pope put his arms out for you.

“That’s a Grady-White,” you said as he helped you aboard.

“A new one of those is like 500 Gs, easy,” confirmed JJ, as he climbed up on the boat, before turning around and grabbing Kie’s arm helping her up, “that's a primo rig.”

“Yeah. That's the boat I saw when I surfed the surge,” he said, directing mainly at Pope.

“Maybe it hit the jetty or something?” Pope shrugged.

You and Kie exasperated at the same time, “You surfed the surge?”

“Yeah,” he said quietly, avoiding both your gazes.

“That's my boy. Pogue style,” JJ encouraged as he patted John B’s shoulder.

“What the heck,” Kie whispered in disbelief.

“Don’t encourage him JJ,” you scolded to which he rolled his eyes and draped an arm around your shoulders.

“Wait, wait. Do we know whose boat that is?” Pope asked

“No, but we're about to find out,” John B responded.

“Dude, it’s too deep,” JJ said stepping toward John B who had gathered the anchor.

“Only for the weak and feeble, JJ”

“Well, I'm not resuscitating you. I'm just making that clear up front.”

“That’s fine.”

“John B,” you interrupted the two boys quipping like an old married couple. John B’s chuckle disappears, and he looks at your serious expression. You know once John B set his mind to something, he did it, so you rolled your eyes and said,

“Diver down fool.”

“Diver down,” he confirmed.

“Yeah he is,” JJ yelled boyishly as he pushed John B recklessly into the water which earned a scorned ‘JJ’ from Kie.

After a few minutes he still hadn’t resurfaced.

“Should we go get him?” Pope asked, but almost as if on cue John B emerged from the water.

“Oh, my God. That took forever!” Kie sighed.

“Any dead bodies?” Pope asked.

“Looting potential?” JJ continued.

“No, just this motel key.”

“Great! We salvaged a motel key,” JJ said sarcastically as John B returned to the boat and started the engine.

“Guys, we should report the wreck to the coast guard,” Kie suggested as you took off through the marsh, “Maybe we'll get a finder's fee.”

“Yeah, and not work all summer,” JJ said hopefully. You laughed at him as you amused,

“No thanks to Agatha, ya batch!”

You had attempted to report the sunken boat, however after the hurricane the coast guard was uncharacteristically busy, so John B came up with the not-so-great plan of going to the motel to snoop through the room. How you managed to get dragged along each and every time, you will never know.

“This is your captain speaking. HMS Pogue comin' in for landin,” JJ whooped as he jumped off the boat and tied it to a post on the bank of the motel. It had been hit pretty badly, with lots of debris everywhere.

John B moved to join JJ on land, and you followed. The unspoken rule was always that if you had to follow them to do something stupid, you got to supervise said stupid something.

“Hey, don’t let him do anything stupid.” Pope said, pointing to JJ.

“Oh, we will,” John B smirked back.

“I’m not making any promises,” you grumbled as you walked past John B. JJ feign hurt as you approached him. As you got closer, he reached his arm out to tickle your sides. You grabbed his wrists as you giggled, “cut it out,”

“Be careful.” Kie said to John B.

“Yeah,” he nodded at her. She brought herself forward and placed a kiss on his cheek.

“I mean it.” She said more sternly. You noticed a flush of red on John B’s cheeks.

The three of you made you way into the Motel and up the stairs.

“Just be so careful, John.” JJ said dramatically grabbing John B’s shoulders. You laughed as you strolled behind the two.

“You are so weird,” John be stated.

“What was that about?”

“I don’t know,” John B said, “Maybe she wants us to be careful?”

“Since she heard you're being threatened with exile, she's just been, like, ‘Oh! Be so careful, John B.’” – “Get off me JJ” – ‘Oh, give me that John D already.’ When are you gonna swoop on that, man?”

“Can you not refer as Kie as something to ‘swoop on’ please?” You said pushing your way through the two, grabbing the motel key n your way. You twirled in it your fingers as you read the room numbers and continued to listen to them speak.

“Bro, you know the rule. No Pogue-on-Pogue macking,” John B said, “besides, you’re the one always hitting on her.”

“Of course, I’m hitting on her!” You were glad the two boys couldn’t see your face as JJ said this as it became hot as your stomach dropped. Whenever the boys spoke about Kie this was it always made your heart ache a little. You knew the boys loved you but not in the way they did Kiara. She caught their attention. They all had a thing from her, and although you didn’t necessarily want that kind of attention from your friends, it hurt to know that people always looked at Kiara as that, and not you. Well you wouldn’t mind it from one of your friends actually. You shook the though from your head as you peered down at the motel key quickly fixating yourself on finding the room.

“She's a super-hot, rich, hippie chick slumming with us,” JJ continued, “Why? I can't figure it out either, but who cares, bro? I know that door's locked because I've tried it. Have you?”

“You need help JJ,” you laughed as you came to a halt in front of the door. You were sure that the boys had been so enthralled in their conversation that they had completely forgotten about the task at hand.

“Not a little help, you need a lot of help. It's like every girl who just has a heartbeat, you're like... "Uhh!"”

You laughed with them, but the smile didn’t reach your eyes. JJ’s smiling face turned from John B’s to yours’ and his smile slipped as he saw your fake expression. His brows furrowed,

“What? It's not a big deal,” he tried to say nonchalantly, but it came out unsure.

“This is us. Twenty-nine.” You stopped their conversation as you pointed towards the door.

JJ pushed forward tapping three times on the door, “Housekeeping,” he said in a high-pitched girlish voice. You laughed as you rolled your eyes.

“Should we try it?” questioned John B. You shrugged as you nodded and placed the key into the handle.

“No power. No security cameras. No one's gonna know,” JJ said as you unlocked the door and made your way inside.

The three of you searched the room, looking for any evidence of who owned the boat, or what they were doing.

“A jacket… No name on the jacket… Nice jacket though”

“Definitely over 50. He’s got New Balances”

JJ was looking at a map, “maybe this is where they were fishing.”

You peered over his shoulder, “Nah, that’s off continental shelf. Big Swell, no one fishes there,” you finished looking at the papers on the table as JJ moved away.

“Coffee”

“Standard, tissues for when you get lonely,” JJ had started talking in a funny British accent. You looked at him quizzically over your r shoulder as he made his way towards the bathroom. A shrill “oooh” came from there.

“Did you find something detective?” You asked in an equally terrible British accent as you sorted through the files.”

“A really awesome Dopp kit you won't let me steal,” he said in his normal voice.

“Yeah, 'cause we're not stealing shit.” John B said as you could hear him punching in numbers on the safe.

“Punching shit at random. That will... definitely work,” JJ said. John B just grunted at him as he continued to put numbers in. You looked to your right where you saw handwritten numbers on a loose sheet of paper.

“Here try this,” you said handing the piece of paper as JJ moved back to investigate the map. He started jabbering on about swordfish or his cousin or something. However, you and John B both zoned out as you stared at the contents of the safe. You shared a shocked look before turning back to it.

“Have you heard of shoals?”

“JJ,” you interrupted him. “Check this out.”

JJ say what was in the safe and immediately picked up the gun.

“You picked up the gun,” you sighed into your hands and John B stood up to try and stop JJ’s childish swinging of the weapon.

“This is a SIG Sauer!” JJ mused as he pointed it in random directions with little “pow pow”s coming out his mouth.

“Put the gun back, JJ!” John B scolded.

“This is a fucking spendy gatt, man. Just... Bam! Bam!”

“JJ,” you warned him moving towards him to try and grab it, but he spun around out of your way, placing you next to the window. You groaned.

“Just take a pic of me. Right here,” he said spinning back around to face you.

“Take a picture of you?” You asked shaking your head.

“Yeah, like…” he said as he framed multiple different posing with the gun.

“Make our own incriminating evidence? Is that what you're talking about?” John B said. JJ’s shoulder slumped as his idea for a photo was shut down. You heard a tapping on the window. You yanked up the blinds to see Pope and Kiara on the grass waving their arms. They were mouthing something you couldn’t decipher. You lifted up the window and you could only one word coming from them: “Cops.”

“What is it?” John B asked as you turned around, a frightened look on your face. But it was too late. There was a rap on the door.

“Kildare County Sheriff's Department!”

“Shit,” you cursed under your breath as the two boys made their way passed you to the window. The climbed out. JJ helped you onto the sill as he climbed to the left side. You turned around to close the window behind you but as you stood up you lost your balance. You started to lean further and further backwards but JJ shot his arm out. He caught your mid back and pulled you towards him. Your chest was flush against his as he squeezed the two of you towards the wall.

The cops entered the room. They snooped around looking for any evidence. Shoupe opened the already unlocked safe. He took out the photographs and gave them to the constable as evidence. He then grabbed as wad of cash and gave it to her. You and John B shared a stunned look.

“What the fuck,” the words slipped your lips.

“What?’ you heard JJ ask in your other ear.

“He just slipped her the cash.” You whispered back.

You could feel your foot slipping on the thin ledge. You held onto JJ’s shoulders as you tried to reconvene your footing.

“You good?” he asked quietly. You nodded getting your feet in a position you could withhold. JJ readjusted his arm around your middle, but in doing so, the gun became lose and fell to the ground with a very loud clattering. You cringed as JJ pushed both you and him closer against the wall. Your faces were practically touching, you could see the air hastily coming in and out of his mouth in short, sharp breathes. You closed your eyes as you took a deep breath. You turned your head to John B who held a finger up to his lips. He could see more than you could, and by hi actions you could tell he meant as long as you stayed silent, the cops would notice you.

‘All right, let’s go.” You heard the cop say. You exhaled a large amount of air you hadn’t been holding as soon as you heard the motel door shut. You head fell forward onto JJ’s shoulder as you let out an exasperated laugh.

“Holy shit,” you breathed.

“Yeah that was close,” he sighed, giving your waist a squeeze.

You and JJ followed John B back through the window and down to the HMS Pogue. You untied the boat as Pope drove you away.

“Could have warned us sooner,” John B said, as you slouched into the seat next to him, rolling his shoulders to exude their tenseness.

“We would have, except Pope was on the math team,” she spoke accusingly, looking at him with eyebrows raised.

“You were on the math team,” JJ giggled.

“The cops took everything like it was a crime scene.” John B stated seriously. You nodded in agreeance.

“Did you find anything?” Pope asked.

“Did we find anything?” JJ asked sarcastically, “No I don’t think so. Oh, yeah we did,” he said proudly brandishing the gun and a wad of cash from either of his pockets.

“Oh my god...” you started

“What the hell,” Pope said incredulously.

“Dude, what?” Kie joined.

“Dude, chill. Come on,” he said, clearly not understanding why no one else was as excited as he was.

“You are going to be the death of me boy,” you said, frustratedly running your hands over your face.

“Why take that from a crime scene?”

“Better than cops having it,”

“Really, JJ?” you asked. He shrugged his shoulders and nodded sheepishly.

“I’m gonna lose my merit scholarship.” Pope spoke morbidly.

“At least you still have us, right?” JJ said wrapping his arms around Pope despite the gun and cash still being in his hands.

“I’m living the nightmare.”

The five of you had returned to the coast guard to try and report the boat again, but it there was a lot of commotion coming from the docks. You took a seat with a bunch of other on lookers. You took the final seat on the bench and JJ stood beside you as John B, Pope and Kie took seats around another girl.

“Who’s that?” John B asked as a body was wheeled past on a stretcher.

“Scooter Grubbs,” the unknown girl next to him answered, “He was out during the storm. Check out this pic I got. Dead bodyyyyy,” she leaned over with her phone showing the mangled body of the man.

“Insane,” John B replied mildly disgustedly. You shared his disgust. How could this girl have no restitution for taking a photo of a man’s dead body?

“Holy shit,” you heard JJ drawl from above you as he leaned over your body to grasp a look. He had a boyish smile on his face until he saw your stern expression to which he dropped his smile and let out an awkward cough.

A thought crossed your mind, “do you know what kind of boat he had?” you asked the girl.

She peered back at her phone as she answered, “Somehow, that dirtbag copped a brand-new Grady-White. Everyone’s out looking for it.”

You saw Pope and Kiara learn forward around the girl and make eye contact with you. You looked to John B who stared back just as alarmed. You turned to JJ who already held a stunned expression.

In an almost synchronised fashion, the five of you jumped out of your seats and bee-lined for the Pogue to head back to the Chateau. You were all thinking the same thing: this was not good.  

Tag list:

@downbytheouterbanks​ @thesailbells​ @sexualparkour​ @bestfriendmagic​ @mileven-reddie​ @nikki082489​ @treestarrrrrrrr​ @mynamessusan​ @kristinaxilliano​

#jj x reader #jj maybank #jj maybank x reader #jj outer banks #jj maybank fanfiction #outer banks #John B #rudy pankow

[missnewtuti]

Ok Woso fam, I feel like a lot of uswnt fans should get into softball.

The quick run down:

Softballs back for the first time since 2008. The US lost to Japan in the final gold medal game, and two of those players are on this roster (and this year will probs be a rematch)

Softball is basically faster, more fun to watch baseball. For the Olympics they have a bunch of “pace of play” rules that make sure the games average ~2 hours

A+ uniforms. Some have shorts! Some have pants and belts! Hats, visors, headbands, and braids galore.

Tall Amazon ladys throw ball real good

No fans means you get to hear the teams cheer for their batters and that’s real fun too

The US plays Japan in their final opening round game tonight at 9pm ET / 6pm PT. The gold medal game is 7am ET on Tuesday morning.

Ok, you in? Here’s the full scoop

The History

Softball hasn’t been in the Olympics since 2008, but it’s back this year. It probably won’t be in London in 2024, but it’s likely to be back in LA 2028 (LA has some great softball stadiums and has some of the best college programs).

The US won gold 🥇 in 2004 and were favorites to defend their title, but were upset by Japan 🇯🇵 in the gold medal match, walking away with silver 🥈

The US has two olympians from 2008, Canada has four, and Japan also has two. You can read more about them here.

The Format

6 countries are in this years tournament. They all played each other once, and the top 2 will play for gold. 3 and 4 will play for bronze.

So far, most teams have played 4/5 games. And with US and Japan both undefeated, they’re locked in for the gold medal game.

The Rivalry

So now the script is flipped from 2008. Japan - the host nation - is defending their gold. Japan has a professional softball league too, so a lot of folks play over there.

Two of the Americans from that 2008 team are back (more on them coming up next), looking to get some redemption.

Like c’mon this is one of those times we can root for the USA with some underdog vibes. Well ok maybe not full underdog, but at least we don’t have to do insane mental gymnastics to have a chip on our shoulder for this one.

The Amazons

Cat Osterman and Monica Abbott are both 6’3” pitchers who have been racking up strikeouts, and are looking to come away with gold after being upset in 2008. Osterman actually unretired when softball was announced for the Tokyo games.

They both still have a ton of impressive college records and some of the current team grew up watching them so that’s fun too. Apparently their coach calls them Fire and Ice.

Here’s an article about the fantasy draft new team every week league Osterman was a player/coach in. She always looks like she won’t take any of your shit and I dig that vibe. Apparently some of the team calls her Momma Cat which is adorbs.

I guess softball is less terrible for human bodies than baseball so these two ladies start every game, and so far Abbott has pitched 2 complete games and was the closer in Osterman’s two starts.

Softball is fun

So, first off, softball is a lot of fun to watch. You get all of the good stuff from baseball - hits and running and stealing bases and strike outs - but it doesn’t feel like watching paint dry.

It’s seven innings, and there’s a ton of rules to make sure the game doesn’t drag on. Pitching changes are quick, and they move between innings so quickly they don’t need to cut to commercial.

The pitchers all have their own little pitch dance they do, like I have no idea what’s going on but it looks cool.

Oh also, this is neat. They don’t make you throw the four balls for an intentional walk. You can literally just say nah, I’m not pitching you, just head over to first.

Some pitchers even hit, which is super neat. This post is gonna be mostly US focused, but here’s Sara Groenewegen, a Canadian pitcher who also hits (she’s usually their DP when she’s not pitching).

The Fashion

Ok, so not to be gay (don’t worry, that’s coming up in the next section) but holy shit softball uniforms are great. So much variety but all just really work (baseball should be taking notes).

I’m biased, but the US has some of the best uniforms. They can go full red, white, or blue, or they can mix and match. The USA on the pants is a nice touch, and I’m a sucker for a good belt.

But there’s a ton of variety. Japan wears shorts! And long sleeves. And hats. I couldn’t find any great pics but here’s one.

And the headwear - the glasses, the visors, the hats, the hairstyles. In my very scientific observations, softball seems to have the highest braid to player ratio of any sport. I guess soccer has buns and softball has braids.

Personally, I’m a fan of some good headband game, I’m sure JJ fans feel me. Some ppl wear face masks and others don’t and there seem to be a bunch of different helmet shapes and styles. Most teams seem to go with visors (I’m thinking so they have more real estate for the braid designs) but some teams go with hats.

Go Gays

As Pinoe once said, you can’t win a championship without gays. It’s just science. All three of US softballs gays (at least based on my cursory Instagram search 🕵️‍♀️) were involved in the US’s extra innings walk off win against Australia. (Chiddy hit the walk off, scoring Haylie and Ally).

Haylie McCleney

She’s the US lead off hitter and has an absolutely insane .727 batting average so far. She also recently got engaged, so that’s cute. Every team has that insane iron man - and apparently McCleney is that for the US. The center fielder leads a bunch of the teams trainings and workout stuff.

Ally Carda

First baseman Ally Carda has also been having a good tournament and is (dating? Engaged? Married? Idk it wasn’t in the Instagram caption and I didn’t feel like digging in) to a former US Softball Olympian (2004, 2008).

Amanda Chidester

Finally, we have Amanda Chidester, an outfielder (and sometimes DP). She secured the US spot in the gold medal match with her eighth inning walk off, earning the US a 2-1 victory over Australia.

She also has the arguably funnest Olympics storyline because she actually played a game against her fiancée, who plays shortstop for Mexico. (She had a sweet Instagram post about it).

The chaos

Softball gets rid of a lot of boring stuffy baseball rules. Rosters are smaller and players can re enter the game under certain circumstances so there can be fun shenanigans with pinch runners.

Also if there’s 2 outs and a catcher up on base, someone comes and runs for them so they can go put on their catcher outfit. Softball appreciates an efficient costume change.

In CAN vs JPN, the umpires messed something up and weren’t gonna let a Canadian pitcher re enter the game and the whole Canadian team just walked off the field like we’re not gonna play til you get your shit together.

So, in conclusion, women’s sports are fun to watch and softball is neat. Hopefully they get some hype these Olympics and we see some investment in professional leagues.

#tokyo olympics #usa softball #uswnt #I’m going down a rabbit hole of a new hyperfixation #who wants to come with me?

[riathedreamer]

Sorry for the essay I'm about to submit. I haven't watched any rvb0 yet, but I think the change in direction may be for a few reasons; 1- buying time so they can figure out what to do with the OG RVB cast without rehashing the same stuff, doing justice to their characters AND appeasing the fans who demand a Red based season (am one such fan).

[continuation of ask] 2- To attract new fans into the series. Ye Olde RVB jokes and running gags were considered typical, if not an accepted form of comedy for it's time. Whilst some people will be able to see it as a product of it's time, those jokes definitely will hit wrong with a younger audience now, and We've had the opportunity to grow and change ourselves and our opinions alongside the show. The action heavy stuff has a broader, if not safer appeal, so bringing in new fans will be easier. I miss the dumb idiots playing in a box canyon, and I agree that rvb shouldn't be driven by action. A bunch of idiots with guns and fuck all else to do is the very basis of the show, but those idiots have outgrown their sandbox and the writers seem to be reaching the end of their idea rope on giving them shit to do. Don't be scared to express your opinion here either, you are definitely far more polite about it than some others I've seen. [end ask]

It’s pretty funny to receive this ask today, because literally spent hours preparing a review of Zero today. A review I of course won’t post until after the entire season is out, because I cannot judge anything before that, and I will of course revise due to this and so much of it still needs to be written, but there are main problems I could address already now, or at least prepare a draft for. So pardon me that I copy paste part of the review here, I just like some of the points I made, and then I don’t get to rewrite thoughts I’ve already had.

It makes sense to have more time to prepare for a quality season. I do not know if that’s the case. I hope it is. I get wanting new viewers, but I feel like this doesn’t necessarily means *more* viewers because people interested in the new season are literally being told they don’t have to watch the previous seasons, while fans who prefer the old style of RvB are being told this season is not for them. So if the Reds and Blues ever return, the people interested in Zero are gonna be so confused, I suppose. Urgh. No reason speculating about that until we know. As for the old humor – yeah, I get that, but I feel like there’s starting to be a great divide between “RvB” and “Zero” and that worries me. So if it’s just to make time for planning a season with Reds and Blues, I keep asking if Zero is necessary.

I would feel way better about Zero is it just presented itself as a spin-off, but for some reason, they cling to it not being a spin-off. This confuses me to no end, and so many of the issues would be solved by officially stating this divide from canon material. My main problem with Zero right now is this: [taken from the unfinished, unrevised review] “Zero forces its story into existence by ignoring established content rather than adjusting to it. Let’s call this for the hotdog-too-big-for-the-bun syndrome solely for the sake of the bow-chicka-bow-wow that’s coming now. Bow-chicka-bow-wow.” With this I mean like this story forces its way to exist at the cost of canon content. Examples of this being the sudden new inclusion of AOD which we’ve never heard about before, that sorta takes the place of UNSC, but is so big, but we’ve never heard about it? Another being how the very first lines erase the consequences of the previous season by fixing Wash’s brain damage. It’s literally ignoring established plot with quick-fixes so this new story can work. Another example how I feel like Wash and Carolina are just there for the sake for the new characters. I don’t dig how they’re written, it feels like they are just props the new characters use to build their own story. Carolina’s used to basically introduce and explain the new characters instead of letting them explain themselves, and Wash is just a damsel in distress, holy shit Wash, RvB is never kind to you huh. I just feel like the existing RvB is twisted into something else or ignored, so that this story can exist, and I am left feeling: why?

It’s obvious they wanted something *new* which leads me to another issue for me: [taken from the unfinished, unrevised review] “remember the philosophical question: if you replace all the parts of a ship one-by-one, is it still the same ship when you’re done?” If it doesn’t include the Reds and Blues, if it ignores previous plot, if the old characters feel miswritten, if it values animation over dialogue, if it values fight scenes over comedy, if it wants to be Fast and Furious instead of Red vs. Blue – is it still Red vs. Blue? Because it doesn’t feel like it for me.

As I said earlier, some of this could be forgiven if it established itself as a spin-off, but it won’t despite fighting against the original characters and material. At least, that’s how it feels like to me. We’ve had spin-offs before. With new characters and stories.

 Some people say that RvB should end. I can’t comment on that. Some say the Reds and Blues have run out of things to do. That I disagree with. [taken from the unfinished, unrevised review] “I mean, if we were discussing pretty much any other show, I’d probably agree that they were running of out content. But for the Reds and Blues… I think the PSAs nailed it this year! I’m not kidding, I had more fun watching the Reds and Blues discuss how to do laundry than Zero. You could literally give me an hour of the Reds and Blues trying to bake a cake or clear a gutter or simply setting down with an ordinary life, and I would trust them to make it worth the watch.”

I’m not saying Zero can’t be enjoyed. I’m not trying to spoil anyone’s fun. But for me, there are some obvious problems that I simply can’t come to terms with, and I will post my opinion, of course always trying to stay civil. I’m glad you enjoy my thoughts (so far, at least. I hope I haven’t pissed anyone off with this), and as always: I can only speak for myself.

#rvb #rvb0 #rvb zero #rvb critical #rvb0 critical #pls dont hate me for this #ill of course elaborate more in my review #which of course isnt finished until the show #cant judge anything properly until then #my rvb stuff #can be reblogged #why do i feel so scared posting my thoughts on zero

[myluciferiscody]

Look What I Found.

Pairing: Bobby Richter II x Ghost!Reader

Word count: 2,716

2 0 1 9 

You had a hitch that today was going to be a beautiful day.

You were roaming the campgrounds with your best friend, Xavier, early in the morning. It had been over thirty-years since you took your last breath here at Camp Redwood. After all that time, you finally started to see your predicament in a different light. While it sucked being your age forever and unable to enjoy life, you were with your friends. You had a great view of the valleys and the large lake that you occasionally liked to swim in. You loved watching the sunset over the water. You didn't realize your full love for nature until it was one of the only things you had left.

There was something different in the air on this fateful day. You had asked around to see if Xavier Plympton or Montana Duke had felt the same way. They shrugged it off, joking that the world was probably going to end and take everyone out of their misery.

The air was strangely cold, so you wore an oversized jacket with your shorts. You decided to take some time away from your rowdy friends and see if there were any baby animals you could fawn for a few hours. Xavier liked to tease you at all the names you had given chipmunks, rabbits, and skunks over the years until you named a particularly chubby squirrel after him. You saw Xavier Plympton Jr occasionally, his fat cheeks always full of food.

You were about to breeze past the entrance to the camp until you saw a car idling in the distance. You squinted at it, wondering if it was full of curious teenagers or assholes ready to tear the place up more than it already is.

You never minded having company around camp. You always tended to hide as tourists came and went. Every day it seems the fashion changed drastically. You watched as denim jackets slowly went out of style until they seemed to become popular again. You've seen jeans become more shredded over time, and those god awful chunky highlights seemed to finally go out of style.

You slowly hid out of sight as one of the doors swung open, and out stepped a dark-haired man. You could vaguely make out that he seemed to be rather tall, dressed warmly, and with a backpack. You waited for others to join him, but the car sped off, leaving a dust trail.

It was rare you had singles wander around the camp. Most people bought at least one friend with them, just in case the horrid stories of tourists disappearing after a visit here. You remembered the days when Xavier and Montana murdered many innocent people. It was a dark period that you wished you could forget.

As the man grew closer, you noticed he was at least in his early thirties. He was very handsome, slowly taking everything in as he pulled out something from his pocket, pointing it at the sign before you heard a click.

Did he just take a picture?

Your interest was piqued. That wasn't a camera you were used to seeing.

He observed the area quietly, occasionally raising the suspicious camera to snap a photo of the cabins. The more you watched him, the more you realized how good looking he was.

You decided it was time to leave before you got caught. You went to step over the large root of the tree you were hiding behind, not realizing it was higher than you anticipated. You let out a shriek as your sneaker covered foot snagged the root, sending you sprawling forward.

You hit the ground hard, your breath leaving you as you heard heavy footsteps rushing towards you. The man stood a few inches back as you scrambled to your feet, turning to look at him.

"Are you hurt?" He called towards you, his hands raised as you avoided eye contact, brushing yourself off.

"No, I just fell," you said, really wishing you would have just disappeared when you hit the ground. You were a ghost!

"Are you exploring too?" He asked a sort of timid, yet kind smile on his lips. You weren't used to this, what would you even say?

"Sort of," you said, deciding it was best to be friendly. "Uhh, what's your name?" You asked.

"Bobby," he said, finally putting down his hands. "And you are?"

"y/n," you replied, giving him a little wave. His lips twitched, giving you a small wave in return.

You decided to move towards him and out of the woods. Bobby watched you, his light smile slowly fading as he tried to pinpoint why you looked so familiar.

"I better get going..." you smiled, ignoring the confused look he was now giving you.

"What did you say your last name was?" Bobby suddenly asked.

"I-I didn't... but its y/l/n," you mumbled.

"Holy shit," he breathed. He shrugged off the backpack he was wearing, kneeling down as he quickly unzipped it and pulled out a thick black binder. You had a bad feeling in your stomach as he flipped through it, coming back to full height.

"Is this you?" He asked, turning the binder around and showing you a broad picture of you from the 80s. Your mouth fell open as Bobby watched you in fascination and fear.

"N-Nope, never seen her before in my life!" You deflected. Bobby frowned, and you were unsure if he was pained or just trying not to laugh.

"But your name is-?"

"Nope, not me." You said, before turning to head back to the lake.

"Wait a minute!" He called from behind, quickly stuffing the binder back in its place before he chased after you. You kept a quick pace, your head down as he eventually caught up to you.

"How are you still alive?" Bobby asked as you kept walking, steering clear of the lake when you saw your friends standing on the dock. You headed towards the kitchen, knowing there was a clearing you could go unheard.

"I don't understand what you're saying." You mumbled.

"You haven't even aged!" Bobby said. "What are you-?"

"I'm not trying to be rude, but could you leave?" You snapped, looking back as he slowed to a stop. There was a considerable amount of space between you now.

"I'm just... Trying to understand," Bobby said, looking a little sad now. You sighed, realizing you shouldn't have snapped at him.

"Who are you?" You asked, trying to figure out who this man was. "Why are you here?"

Bobby stood in silence, looking as if he were debating on how to answer that. You crossed your arms, patiently waiting as the air around you grew colder.

"I'm Bobby Richter," he said softly. You stared at him as his words sunk in, and you realized how stupid you were. "I'm trying to find out information about my father."

"Mr. Jingles," you whispered.

"So it is you? You were one of the victims here in 1984?" Bobby asked, moving closer to you.

"Your father killed me," you replied, closing your eyes. You haven't thought of your death in a long time. "He murdered my friends and me."

"How are you here?" He asked again, his tone becoming more severe.

"I'm dead," you shrugged, almost enjoying the horror that crossed his face. "I'm a ghost. A lost soul trapped here forever."

"I don't believe that. Ghosts aren't real?" Bobby shook his head.

You giggled, "Bobby, things aren't always what they seem."

He didn't quite know what to say to that. Bobby thought your laugh was cute, but this wasn't what he expected to find when he came here. You were as young as you were thirty years ago. This didn't make any sense. Then again, most of his life didn't.

"Look, I'm just here to find out what happened to my father, I'm desperate," Bobby said, and you could see the hurt lingering just below the surface.

You knew that you'd have to prove to him that you were telling the truth for this to work. "Okay. Follow me." You said, not waiting as you walked past him, knowing your friends would be able to help.

-

Bobby chugged down his bottle of water as you took a seat next to him on the stairs. His forehead was beaded with sweat.

"Believe me now?" You teased, enjoying watching him squirm.

"Yes," he said. "I'm sorry I even doubted you."

"No hard feelings," you shrugged, and he smiled at you. "You learned your lesson."

Bobby laughed, taking a moment to observe the surroundings. The clouds were starting to move in now. You hoped it would bring a storm, you missed the rain.

"Was Montana telling the truth?" Bobby asked, bringing your attention back to him. "You haven't seen my father since?..."

You smiled sadly, "No, we haven't seen him. There are times I wonder if he was somehow able to avoid being trapped here."

Like yourself and the others, Bobby was still perplexed about how any of this made sense. You had come to the realization ages ago that you'd never have an answer why souls never got to leave this place. But it would make you angry knowing your murderer might have gotten to go to another place after his death and you were stuck here.

You noticed the strange device sticking out of Bobby's pocket. He was deep in thought when you poked it with your finger. He looked down before looking at you with a nervous grin, "That's my phone, y/n," he said.

"Oh... There's no wire?" you asked. 

Bobby laughed louder now, "No. It's all wireless, see?" he pulled it out, showing it to you. You came to learn that it did many things, including taking pictures, watching television, and shopping. You were amazed by this, wishing you had the chance to use it yourself.

"I can't believe how much the world has changed," you said sadly, seeing the darkened clouds hovering closer. "What year did you say it was?"

"We're halfway through 2019," Bobby nodded, now observing the sky with you. "Half the time, my life doesn't feel real anymore."

"What do you mean?" you prodded, seeing that he was back to being serious. You kind of liked that about Bobby, you realized. 

"I've lived my whole life wondering about who I really was," he said, "I was young when I finally learned the truth. How my mother died, who my dad was, what happened here, all of that stuff. I don't think I quite processed it until I was about to graduate high school. My aunt, who raised me, started to hate talking about it, I was annoying asking her so many questions. I just wanted to know who my parents were. I wanted to know what really happened."

You nodded, still in disbelief that Mr. Jingles, the man partially responsible for the death of your friends, had a son sitting right in front of you. Bobby was typical; he had a sense of humor, he was sarcastic, he was ambitious. You always felt bad for him, especially after time passed, and you weren't angry anymore. Montana always said that we'd finally see his son, but you never would have expected this.

"When I was able to finally come out here..." he laughed, "I've heard all the stories about this place. The whole world has. I was a little worried that I wouldn't make it out alive, but... I didn't expect to meet you, either."

You were surprised to feel a jolt of happiness hearing his words. 

"I figured if I could at least see the place that haunted my dreams for so long, maybe one day I'd be able to accept what is and put it behind me." Bobby gestured towards the cliffs where a storm was approaching. "Is there anywhere we could go?" he asked.

"Follow me," you said, and the two of you hurried off towards the recreational room. It was one of the few cabins that remained in decent shape; no leaks, no rotting wood, nothing. 

You made it safely inside once it started to rain, and you sat in a chair across from Bobby, who looked as invested in the rain as you did. You sat in comfortable silence, listening to the rain's patter on the windows and the roof above. 

"y/n?" He asked.

"What's up?" you asked, admiring the lightning that lit up the sky.

"You know, I did a lot of research about what happened here," he said, staring at your feet. You looked at him now, "And I read about how you died..."

You took a deep breath. You haven't thought of that in so long. At this point, you hardly remembered what it felt like. Your friends never liked to talk about 1984. It was almost like it never happened. You told Bobby this, seeing a hint of relief in his eyes.

"I just don't want to think of anyone hurting you." Bobby admitted, smiling at you. You reciprocated, finding that you loved talking to him.

"I don't remember, I guess time does heal." You shrugged, thinking of how your mother would always say that when you were in high school.

"I'm happy that you don't." He whispered.

You talked to him until the rain let up. The day was coming to an end, and you knew that he couldn't stay here with Margaret Booth on the loose. You swore to yourself already you'd protect Bobby.

"You should really head home, it won't be safe here after dark." You told him as you stepped outside, the air crisp. You hugged yourself as Bobby frowned.

"I don't want to leave you," Bobby said, and you stepped down into the wet soil. He stood at the top of the stairs, looking down at you.

You grinned, "I'm flattered, Bobby. But I'm serious, it's best if you stay away from here."

"And you can't leave?" He asked.

You shook your head, your smile fading. "I wish I could."

You followed Bobby towards the entrance. He rented something called an Uber with what little connection he had left. You still had a good twenty minutes with him until it was time to part ways. He continued to try and persuade you to let him stay.

"Bobby, don't you have a girlfriend or a wife waiting back home for you?" You teased as you stood in front of the lake in the sand.

He giggled nervously, "No, I don't actually,"

"Oh, I would have thought a stud like yourself would have a girl on the side, you know?"

He scoffed at you, "Nope, nothing like that."

You talked near the lake until his phone said the driver was three minutes away. You finished the trek to the entrance, stopping just before you knew you would be pushed back. Bobby paused, too, turning to look at you. The invisible barrier separated you now.

"I just want you to know that nothing you say will keep me from visiting," Bobby claimed, giving you a mischievous smile.

You smirked, "I'll hold you to it, Richter."

You could see the distant headlights of his ride. Bobby glanced behind him before looking at you with a solemn expression. You were saddened that he was leaving, but it was the safest thing he could do.

"I guess I'll see you around?" He asked.

You nodded, "I'll see you around..." you whispered.

Bobby grinned, before turning and walking down the path. The car was right down the road. Almost as an afterthought, you called out after him:

"Don't forget about me!"

Bobby stopped, swiveling around to gape at you. You stared back, feeling like you just offended him.

Bobby started towards you again, taking you by surprise when he grabbed your waist, pushing you back a few paces before kissing you. You were in shock, your hands up as you melted into him. It was short, but you missed the touch of another person. Bobby pulled back, looking down at you sadly.

"I'll never forget you, y/n," he whispered, and you watched as he slowly pulled back, heading to the car now idling feet away. You watched as he glanced at you from the window before he disappeared out of sight.

#bobby richter #bobby richter x reader #dandy mott x reader #ahs 1984 #ahs imagine #xavier plympton #montana duke #ray powell #chet clancy #bobby richter imagine

[lobster-tales]

College AU - Rangshi

This is for the first day of the Winter ATLA Femslash Week! This work is available here on AO3. 

Prompt: Kiss/First Kiss or College AU 

Yun invited Kyoshi to join the university's fencing club. He forgot to mention that the sabre coach's daughter was hot.

When Kyoshi entered the practice gym for the first time, she didn’t expect the noise. Voices of students and referees mingled with sneakers scraping on the floor. The most unique sound, however, was the clash of the fencing weapons. She had thought the swords would clang together harshly, like in the movies. Instead, they met with hollow clunks.

A small group of students sat on the bleachers, taking a water break. Many of them were looking her way, curious but not wanting to approach. Kyoshi inhaled deeply, forcing herself to walk towards them. As she got closer, more of the students looked up. She heard the whispers; “Holy shit she’s tall,” “Do you think she’s a professional?” “I hope she’s not a foilist.”

Kyoshi was used to being gawked at. She had a naturally intimidating presence, and most people used it as an excuse to avoid her. For Kyoshi, loneliness was like a knife in her side: less trouble to leave it be rather than let everything spill out. 

“Foilists! Back on strip!” The students evacuated the bleachers, passing by a figure that barely surpassed her in height. The man’s face held lines that betrayed his age and good humor, chin blanketed by a long beard. He shot Kyoshi a grin, and relief flooded her system. “Hello there; you must be Kyoshi.”

“Yes,” she hesitated, unsure how to address him. “...Sir.”

The man let out a boisterous laugh. “You don’t have to call me ‘sir’ unless you’re in trouble. The rest of the time, you can call me Kelsang. I’m the foil coach.” He stuck out a large hand, and Kyoshi took it. “Yun was adamant that you’d be here, though I should tell you that practice started an hour and a half ago.”

Kyoshi felt warmth in her cheeks, and averted her eyes. “They… needed me to stay an extra hour in the kitchen.”

“Oh, so you’re a chef then?”

“... Dishwasher.”

He nodded respectfully. “Honest work.”

Kyoshi wanted to drop the subject. “Where is Yun?”

“He’s on strip now,” Kelsang said, indicating a duel that was taking place. “You want to watch?”

She followed Kelsang, surveying the gym as they stepped towards the center. She picked out three distinct practice groups. At the center, a team wore all white and held large weapons. The group behind her had smaller weapons, and silver vests over their white gear. The third team was still warming up at the back of the gym.

Kelsang noticed her evaluation. “How much did Yun tell you about fencing?”

“A little. I know he fences epee.” They joined a handful of students watching a duel. Two masked fencers stood directly across from each other. For each fencer, an electric cord plugged in beneath the large bell of the weapon, disappearing into the sleeve of their white jacket. The cord reappeared behind their bodies, pulled taut from a metallic box at the edge of the strip. 

One of the fencers was stiff, awkwardly swiping the weapon up and down. His opponent was completely at ease, stance low to the ground as he casually knocked the other fencer’s attacks aside. Yep. There’s Yun.

Kelsang leaned over, explaining the basics. “There’s three weapons: foil, epee, and sabre. To put it simply, epee and foil are the swords that you stab with, while sabre hits from the side of the blade. Of the three, epee is the largest and heaviest.”

Yun’s opponent lunged, nearly losing their balance as Yun gracefully moved out of the way. The tip of his blade landed on the other fencer’s arm. 

“Halt!” The voice belonged to a referee. He seemed to be similar in age to Kelsang, though his features were far more serious than the foil coach. 

“That’s Jianzhu,” Kelsang said. “He’s our epee coach.”

Jianzhu called, “Counterattack arrives. 4-0.” The fencers readied themselves again. “En garde, prêt, allez!”

Kyoshi frowned. “Wait, what just happened?”

“Yun got the point, so they return to en garde and another round begins.” Kelsang smirked. “Usually, we just say ‘en garde, ready, fence’, but Jianzhu likes being pretentious.”

The statement earned Kelsang a glare from the referee, who quickly turned his attention back to the match. 

Kelsang continued. “In epee, you score points from the tip of the weapon. You can hit your opponent anywhere on their body, as long as you hit them first.”

The other fencer went for Yun’s toes. Yun gracefully lifted his foot, stretching his leg and bringing his heel down in a lunge. His blade landed on the opponent’s arm. 

“Halt!” Jianzhu called. “Attack no, counterattack arrives. 5-0, bout.”

The opponents removed their masks, reaching out with their left hands to shake. Yun looked towards Kyoshi, his eyes wide as he shot her a breathy smile. “You made it!” He unplugged his blade, passing the cord to another fencer. His messy bun flopped as he trotted towards her, eyes twinkling as he pulled her into an embrace. Despite the sweat, he smelled like warm spice. 

“I’m here,” Kyoshi said stiffly, enveloping him in her tall form. She felt the eyes of the other students. No doubt several if not all of them had crushes on Yun, and here she was in his arms. Not that she blamed them; Yun was easy to fall in love with. 

“Jianzhu,” Yun said, pulling back. He threw his hands wide, displaying Kyoshi in front of the coach. “This is Kyoshi! She’s the one I told you about.”

Jianzhu considered her, nodding courteously. “Kyoshi, welcome. We’ve been needing another epeeist, especially someone with a lot of…” He tried to put the words delicately. “... Reach.”

“Hey, I saw her first!” Kelsang chuckled. “I already claimed her for foil.”

“She can decide on her own!” Yun said indignantly, but leaned toward her to loudly whisper, “But epee is the best.”

Kyoshi smiled shyly. “If it’s alright, I would like to look at the other weapons.”

“Sure!” Yun pulled her away, calling back to Jianzhu, “I’ll be back!”

Foil was next. Yun showed her the lithe blade, explaining the basic rules. They watched several bouts before she asked, “What about the third one? I didn’t see another set of strips for them.”

Yun rolled his eyes, indicating the far end of the gym. “They’re just setting up now. Hei-ran keeps them doing warmups for most of the drill time.”

“Can we watch?”

“Of course!” Yun practically dragged her to the sabre area. “You’ve gotta watch one of Rangi’s bouts.”

“Rangi?”

“Yeah, she’s insane on strip.” He shrugged. “I mean, she’s the coach’s daughter, so it’s no surprise.”

An older woman with black hair eyed them as they approached. Yun introduced her as the coach, Hei-ran, before asking when Rangi would be fencing.

Hei-ran cocked an eyebrow. “She wasn’t planning on fencing today. She’s doing private lessons.”

Yun smirked. “Not if I can help it.” He briefly took Kyoshi’s hand. “Wait here.” Before she could respond, he was already jogging across the floor to two fencers, both in full gear. 

Kyoshi stood beside Hei-ran, aware of the coach’s perfect posture. As a habit, Kyoshi slouched in an unsuccessful attempt to make herself smaller. Now, she mimicked the coach and straightened her back.

The two of them watched the sabrists set up the strip and change into their gear. Hei-ran glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. “So, Kyoshi, have you ever fenced before?”

“No.” She hesitated, not wanting to relinquish more information than necessary, but she sensed Hei-ran would not be satisfied with the simple answer. “... Yun actually asked me to come.”

“And how do you two know each other?”

“We went to high school together. After graduation, he came to the university while I did my associate’s degree at community college.”

Hei-ran considered her. “A very responsible decision. Your parents must be proud.”

“Yeah…” Kyoshi pressed her lips together. “I uh… I actually don’t… have those…”

“Oh.” Hei-ran looked like she was uncertain whether to emote sympathy or not, and settled for, “All the more impressive.”

“Thanks.” Kyoshi shifted her weight. She hated feeling like a statistic. “And what about you?”

“My father was a fencer. I learned at a young age, much like my daughter. An injury prevented me from getting my A rating.” She noted Kyoshi’s confusion. “The US Fencing Association rates fencers from the lowest level, U which stands for unrated, to the highest level A.” Hei-ran nodded towards the strip, where a masked opponent stood across from Yun. “For context, Rangi is a C-rated fencer.”

“Ah.” Kyoshi watched as Yun donned a silver jacket over his white gear. Rangi was already sitting in a low stance, the cords plugged in to her gear. Yun finished hooking up his own weapon. He flashed Kyoshi a grin and placed the mask over his head. 

Hei-ran cleared her throat. “Excuse me.” She moved to the strip, hands out to either side like a conductor. “Fencers, en garde. Ready. Fence.”

Kyoshi could have blinked and missed the attack. Her jaw dropped as Rangi immediately stood from her long lunge, turning her back to Yun as she returned to her starting position. Yun laughed, taking the point against him in good stride. 

“Attack arrives, 1-0. En garde. Ready. Fence.” 

This time, Kyoshi’s eyes kept up. Yun and Rangi lunged concurrently, clashing together. 

“Halt! Simultaneous. No point. En garde, ready, fence.”

As the bout went on, Kyoshi made mental notes of the style of fencing. Unlike in epee and foil, there was very little back and forth, no hesitation. The three minute timer on the clock usually only ticked down a few seconds before the round was over. 

“Halt! 1-4.”

Yun whooped and called, “See that, Kyoshi? I got her!”

Truthfully, she hadn’t seen the point, but gave him a thumbs up anyway.

“En garde, ready, fence.”

Both fencers took one step forward, but to Kyoshi’s surprise, Rangi moved back. Yun advanced cautiously, before he took a quick step and lunged, swiping at her arm. Rangi held out her weapon to block the attack with a parry, and Yun immediately retreated. Rangi advanced towards him slowly, flicking her blade up and down. Yun jolted a few times, anticipating an attack. Rangi kept pushing him towards the end of the strip, toying with him. 

When Yun was at the edge of the strip, he lunged. Rangi was faster. She rushed him, her blade clicking against the top of his mask as she drove past him. 

“Halt! Attack no, attack arrives. 5-1, bout.”

Kyoshi stared at the lights on the scoreboard. Green and red were both lit up, and she furrowed her eyebrows in thought. If both of them attacked at the same time, then why did Rangi get the point?

She looked up just as Rangi removed her mask, her cluttered mind blanking instantly.

Rangi’s black hair was cropped just above her shoulder, half of it pulled into a messy topknot. Her angular features were clean, and Kyoshi realized she hadn’t even broken a sweat during the entire match. As Rangi exhaled, her lips parted slightly. Kyoshi’s own breath caught in her throat at the sight. Rangi’s dark bronze eyes landed on her, and for a moment, Kyoshi thought she might fall to her knees. 

Rangi reached out to shake Yun’s hand. He took her fingers in his, tilted her hand, and kissed her knuckles. Kyoshi stiffened as he did so. Part of her had always been envious of Yun’s good looks, his ease with people, but those feelings were nothing compared to the jealousy that ripped through her now. 

As the fencers unhooked from the strip, Hei-ran noticed Kyoshi’s pallor. “Are you alright, Kyoshi? You look ill.”

“I- I’m fine.” Kyoshi regained her composure. “I was just… impressed by the... fencing.”

“I see.” Hei-ran’s voice held a fleeting compassion. “It can be daunting at first, but we’ll provide any training you need.”

Yun and Rangi both approached them. This would be the fourth time Yun had introduced her tonight. Kyoshi usually limited him to three at any given social event, but for some reason, she didn’t mind. “This is her, Rangi.”

The sabre fencer stuck out her hand. “Yun’s told me a lot about you.”

Kyoshi slowly took her hand. She wished she could mimic the way Yun had tilted her knuckles. She wanted to lay her own mark there.

Rangi gave her a strange look and she realized she’d been holding her hand too long. Kyoshi let go quickly. “Hi. Same.” She was telling the truth; Yun had told Kyoshi about a sabre fencer. He’d left out the part where she was drop dead gorgeous. 

Yun threw his arms around both of their shoulders, reaching high to grab Kyoshi’s. “Practice is almost over, and Tuesdays are milkshake nights. The diner’s just across campus.”

The hour was getting late, and Kyoshi was exhausted from work. She felt, though, that there was no excuse strong enough to keep her from getting to know Rangi.

Huffing playfully, Rangi grumbled, “Fine, but I need to be in bed by midnight.”

***

At 2:00 AM, the three stumbled out of the diner doors. Yun dangled between Kyoshi and Rangi, clutching at his stomach. “Okay, maybe three milkshakes was too much.”

“You think?” Rangi growled. “Come on, where’s your dorm?”

They supported him for three blocks, finally resting outside the massive hall. Yun managed a weak salute before staggering inside the building. Once he was gone, the two dissolved into giggles. 

Rangi shook her head fondly. “He is something else, huh?”

The same jealous feeling pricked Kyoshi, and her laughter was cut short. “Yeah… sure is.”

Stretching, Rangi asked, “You live on campus?”

“Yep. C Hall.”

“Perfect. I live in B. We’ll walk together.”

The streets of campus were well lit. Buildings towered around them, their purposes mysterious in the dark. Save for the occasional studious night owl, Kyoshi and Rangi were alone. 

Rangi broke the silence first. “I know you didn’t get any practice time, but how did you feel about fencing?”

“It was cool.”

“... Would you be interested in coming back?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Rangi eyed her. Like her mother, she was never satisfied with the easy answer. “So how do you know Yun?” 

Hei-ran had asked her the exact same question only hours before. Part of Kyoshi wanted to repeat her answer, but she fell prey to a stronger urge. She had already given away too much of herself tonight. “From high school.”

Though Kyoshi was nearly a head taller than her, Rangi had set a rapid walking pace. Kyoshi had finally adjusted to her speed, but when she glanced to her left, she saw Rangi was no longer beside her. 

Rangi’s voice came from behind. “Do you have a problem with me?”

Kyoshi whipped around. Rangi glared at her intently, arms straight at her side. Kyoshi’s mind raced as she wondered what she had done to deserve such an aggressive response. “What?”

“You haven’t said more than three-word sentences to me all night.”

“Y-yes I have,” Kyoshi said feebly. She knew Rangi was right.

“You had no problem talking to Kelsang or my mom. So what is it about me? Did I do something?”

Dread clutched Kyoshi. The only way Rangi would have known about her conversations was if she had been watching her. Everyone was watching you, she told herself harshly. You’re impossible to miss. “No, you didn’t do anything at all, I just…”

“Just what?”

“I just…” Her mouth tried to sculpt her feelings into words. “I… think you’re cool.”

Rangi’s eyes widened slightly. She must have been prepared for something worse. “Oh.”

“Yeah.” The statement had been painfully simple, but Kyoshi felt more vulnerable now than she had all night. 

“Well… I think you’re cool too.” Rangi spoke carefully, almost like she was afraid of spooking her. “Actually, I was really looking forward to meeting you. Yun talks about you all the time.”

“Right…” Kyoshi trusted Yun’s word, but this entire exchange would have been easier if she was a complete stranger. 

“All good things,” Rangi said quickly. “Just that you’re… hardworking. And strong.”

Kyoshi wasn’t sure how to respond other than, “Cool.”

After a pause, Rangi cleared her throat. “We should get back to the dorms. It’s late.”

“Yeah.”

The rest of the walk passed in silence. Kyoshi almost preferred the lack of conversation. She wanted nothing more than to be near Rangi, close enough to feel the energy that radiated off of her. 

Rangi halted once more, facing a stone building. “Here’s B Hall.” She glanced back at Kyoshi and offered a curt, “Goodnight.”

“Wait.” Rangi’s eyes pierced her, and Kyoshi realized she had said the word out loud. “Um… That last point… during your duel with Yun?”

“Bout. We don’t say duel.”

“Right, bout.” Kyoshi pressed her lips together, thinking. “Why did you get the point? You both hit at the same time, so wouldn’t it have been...” She struggled to recall the word Hei-ran had used. “Simultaneous?”

Rangi considered her wordlessly, and for a moment, Kyoshi was afraid she wouldn’t answer. At last, Rangi said, “In sabre, we have something called priority, or right of way. Essentially, it means offense and defense. It’s like… soccer. You know how in soccer, one team has the ball and the other has to defend?”

“Yes.”

“It’s like that. Right of way is like the invisible ball. So even if both fencers attack at the same time, whoever was on offense gets the point.”

They stood a few feet apart, directly in front of each other. Kyoshi took the last few seconds to memorize the lines of Rangi’s face. She wondered briefly if either of them had the right of way at this moment. The obvious answer was Rangi. Even though she’d only known her a few hours, Kyoshi recognized that Rangi always acted first. 

“Well, goodnight, Kyoshi.” Rangi was about to retreat. 

A heady mixture of exhaustion and night air spurred Kyoshi. She decided to take the moment, seize the offense back. She reached for Rangi’s hand. Before she could stop herself, Kyoshi lifted Rangi’s knuckles to her lips. “Goodnight… Rangi.”

Kyoshi saw her bronze eyes widen, but turned away before the rest of her face could react. She made for her own dormitory, walking with purpose but not with urgency. There was no sound but the wind in the black trees, the unfaltering steps of her own feet. 

#winter atla femslash week #rangshi #college au #fencing au #kyoshi novels #my fic #atla fic #atla

[jayjaysocks]

Listing my favorite animes (because I’m jumping on the bandwagon)

❗️⚠️ *spoilers!! (Duh)* ❗️⚠️

5. Deadman Wonderland

I was really really sad when I found out this anime got cancelled. The music was fantastic, the animation was really good, and the voice acting was incredible. Even the fucking dubbed version (I loved the voice they chose for Senji. God he was hilarious). I binged this show so fucking fast it wasn’t even funny. I loved watching the characters go through their own struggles and grow as people in the very small amount of episodes provided. There was a lot of development within the snippet that we actually saw, and I was thoroughly impressed with how well it was done. I wanted to scream or something when I found out there wouldn’t be a second season.

Sigh. Oh well. At least we got some of the manga’s masterpiece translated into a show, even if we were missing some fucking awesome characters.

4. Guilty Crown

Ugh, don’t even get me started. This anime was beautiful and I got so invested so freaking quickly. I literally go back every few years to rewatch it because I get ship starved.

Shu and Inori’s story was so beautifully done; between Shu uncovering his courage and Inori’s journey of self-discovery, I was continuously awe-struck and filled with feelings—I mean, I had never felt such raw emotion while watching something and I was completely blown away by the affect it had on me. Anger, hatred, sadness, it was all there (even for the main character lmao) and it was one of the first times I had ever felt a ship so heavily that I literally cried at the end. It was one of the very first Animes I’d ever seen and was one of the reasons I got such a taste for them. Thanks for throwing me down that rabbit hole, GC.

3. Soul Eater

This was literally the first Anime I’d ever seen, and my god I couldn’t have asked for a better starter. What I like about this one is that it’s style is so unique and different. It’s very punk and grunge, something I admired and appreciated in a genre that is normally the opposite (like Guilty Crown, for example). Also the fight scenes were badass, like holy shit just look at that gif ??? Freaking amazing.

I loved the way the show transitioned from light hearted to intense and adrenaline pumping so effortlessly. That can be said about a lot of shows, but this one went from *haha cute show* to *holy shit, like they’re actually gonna die ohmygod howaretheygoingtosurvivethis* so smoothly I was genuinely surprised. They made one of the main villains actually cool and each character had their own beautifully done arc. I loved and adored how the show solidified and expanded on the different friendships/relationships that were involved—specifically Soul and Maka’s (also, holy shit, Stein’s arc? Fucking prime, dude). There was a lot of growth in each and every friendship (CRONA!!!), and that really pushed the viewer to invest in the individual characters.

I am fucking delighted that this was my first anime, and (though the ending was a little anticlimactic) it remains one of my top favorites to this day. It set the bar pretty fucking high, and for that I am extremely greatful.

No one asked for Soul Eater: Not! It is the unspoken sin of the Soul Eater world (then again, it is called Soul Eater: Not!)

2. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

If you have been following me for a while, then you are no stranger to my love of FMAB. Some of my most popular posts are about this anime, and for good reason.

Unfortunately, I was late to the party. I actually didn’t watch this until last year, but got invested really damn quick. I have a tendency to be extremely picky about the animes that I watch/like (which is why NONE of these shows are that recent), to the point that I will literally research them before I start watching (a bad habit, do not copy me). I have an incomparably hard time finishing a show when I start, because I get bored really quickly, but this was an exception. I started watching and I just... didn’t stop. I spent a straight week watching FMAB, gobbling it up during any small amount free time I could manage, and finished it before I even knew what happened. I wasn’t picky about it, I didn’t research it, I just dove right in and gosh, I was not disappointed.

The subtle romance that was alluded throughout the entire show was super cute, the devotion the brothers had for each other was to die for, and the struggles that each person went through was more than moving. I never once found myself bored while watching, and that’s saying a lot for my adhd ass. I was invested in each and every second of that damn anime and I was never, ever left underwhelmed. That probably had to do with the fact that every. Single. Character. Had a purpose. I’m not even kidding. Every single person contributed to the big fight at the end and that alone is fucking fantastic.

Not to mention ALL the women, every female character, was a badass bitch. None of them were reduced to sex appeal or romantic subplot, they all had real feelings, real arcs and real, unadulterated badassery that I thoroughly admired and appreciated. I could watch this anime over and over again every single month and I wouldn’t get bored. Between the emotional struggle, self discovery, and personal development of each character, I promise you will not see a lack of plot or meaning here. The more you watch, the more you discover and that is not a lie. There are so many layers to its story, which only makes me wish I had watched this sooner.

There is nothing I have to offer in the ways of criticism, and for that I couldn’t be happier. Thank you, Hiromu Arakawa, for such an incredible piece of art. You deserve every bit of love that this manga/anime gets. You go girl.

1. Cowboy Bepop

Holy shit holy shit holy shit this anime is so fucking good and it has been my favorite for so damn long. I have been watching anime for years, and while some of the shows in my list have moved around, this one has yet to be bumped down from the top (and I doubt it ever will). There’s a reason it became such a cult classic.

For starters, the animation. I mean, just look at Spike and the way they animate his fighting (yes I am aware that this gif is from the movie, but that still doesn’t change my point). The sequences in the show/film have been reused in many other shows and for good reason. It’s good, incredible, actually and they make him look so badass with just a few hand movements. I was consistently impressed with the way the fight scenes were portrayed and wasn’t ever left underwhelmed or disappointed (or, for that matter, feeling like they completely over exaggerated/overcompensated the scene with huge close-ups and tons of debris and lights). I loved watching this and my heart was always pounding with every intense interaction. I didn’t feel bored during any of the episodes and always found myself laughing when they cracked a joke—pretty much all of their funny lines hit and that’s saying something, dude.

The show, while having a lighthearted surface, has a heavy meaning that you don’t see at first glance. It’s about dealing with grief and loss, and how the characters themselves accomplished that in different ways. The most prominent quote is the biggest indication of its moral “you’re gonna carry that weight”. Basically: ‘You’ve gotta pick up your baggage, because the world moves on, with or without you’. Or ‘You’re going to carry that weight whether you like it or not, because life keeps going’. When I figured out the show’s actual message, while staring at my ceiling in the long hours of the night, I almost cried. This realization brought something entirely different to the table, a new understanding of the show’s characters and overall essence.

The main characters, all of them, had depth. They had real, palpable depth, and even if you didn’t want to care you found yourself seriously interested in their lives. Each of them had relatively shitty pasts. Faye with her lost memories, Spike with Julia and the people who fucked him over, Jet with his old flame and the ISSP, Ed and her/his father... throughout the entire show we got to see how all of them dealt with these things, whether they wanted to continue on with life or not. The way they portrayed it was engaging, because the characters individual, contrasting journeys weren’t repetitive or one note. The beauty that the show holds so achinging close to its core, the layers of grief that the characters are wrapped in so delicately is almost suffocatingly real—because they’re all different. It’s something you discover when you think on the subject in a deeper light, which is another reason why I enjoy it so much. It has both a surface story and a deeper one. You can either take the show at face value or choose to understand the underlying moral.

This show inspired my very first, thoroughly fleshed out OC, and continues to inspire me to this day. It has contributed to my own personal growth, and has helped push me to continue my art and writing. It is beautifully written, beautifully executed and even though some of the episodes seem like filler, it has never disappointed me. I rewatch it all the time because there’s something so infinitely refreshing about the beauty of this anime, whether it be the way we watch the characters develop or the overall moral it portrays. This show has given us a message that is essentially timeless, it can be ‘carried’ through generation after generation, and still have the same impact—something I absolutely fucking adore.

I owe so much to this anime, including my very own artistic development. I discovered it during a really shitty time in my life and I couldn’t have asked for better timing. I will never tire of the bittersweet message or the thoroughly fucking fantastic animation. Everyone who contributed to this masterpiece deserves love, because it’s seriously fucking gold.

#deadman wonderland #ganta igarashi #shiro #soul eater #soul eater evans #maka albarn #blackstar #tsubaki nakatsukasa #death the kid #liz and patty #franken stein #crona #guilty crown #shu ouma #inori yuzuriha #fullmetal alchemist: brotherhood #edward elric #alphonse elric #cowboy bebop #spike spiegel #faye valentine #jet black #edward wong hau pepelu tivrusky iv #ein #anime #anime aesthetic #anime gif #fmab edwin #inori and shu #soul and maka

[niksixx]

For the blurb/drabble thingy, doing Axls hair and makeup before a show and bein all cute idk? 👉👈😳 like the glam era hehe

For Jeordie! Blurb 1/25 :) 

So Axl Rose is a very particular man and he likes things the way he likes them and he wouldn’t ever compromise, especially when it came to the way he wanted to present himself on stage. Some makeup artists were either too plain or too bold for his liking, but your style, your vision, was just right, and Axl had taken a quick liking to you. And when he sat down in the chair in his dressing room in front of the vanity, he eagerly awaited your gentle touch in his hair or the soft strokes of the brushes you’d use on his face. And he would talk to you nonstop because you were just so interesting to him and he wanted to know everything about you like what your favorite makeup product was, why did you become a makeup artist, if you had any other hobbies. And GNR would be getting ready to film the Welcome to the Jungle music video and Axl trusted no one else to do his hair and makeup, and he would just stare in awe at the mirror as you worked your magic, and he couldn’t help all the sweet compliments that fell from his lips because holy shit you had an incredible talent. And when you were doing his makeup you’d be super close to his face and his cheeks would heat up so fast and he would try to look anywhere else rather than right at your face but he’d end up failing and just smiling softly at you as you applied a bit of dark lipstick to his mouth, and when the music video shooting was over he’d go back to the dressing room and there you were waiting with a comb to un-tease his hair and makeup wipes to smear off the makeup on his face, and he would thank you over and over for your hardwork and you’d grin back at him and try to push away the butterflies that were stirring wildly in your belly because oh my Axl Rose appreciated your craft!!! And when you were finished cleaning up his face and he changed into a fresh pair of clothes Axl would do everything in his power to stall because he didn’t want to leave and he’d probably end up blurting out something like ‘can I do your makeup one day” and he would nearly faint because you agreed and then he’d start to sweat because shit, he had no idea what he was even doing with makeup and he really liked you and enjoyed your company and he didn’t want to ruin anything between the two of you and oh my gosh I’m screaming

#niksixx blurb night

[movienotesbyzawmer]

August 30: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

(previous notes: Mission: Impossible III)

I bet the powers that be at the Mission: Impossible movie factory didn't lose any sleep over the stupid colon in the title that screws everything up. I mean, just look at that up there with the colon after my date, then the colon in the middle of the OG title, and then it's like, well, you can do whatever you want with punctuation but we're adding a subtitle after it now and you just have to deal with it. On posters and stuff it's just "Mission: Impossible" and then underneath those words they put "Ghost Protocol" so they don't have to deal with it. What a mess. I tell you it is a damn mess is what it is.

Anyway, we have arrived at the M:I movie that, more than any of the others, just really hit the spot for me when I saw it upon its original release. I saw it at the end of a frustrating and tiring work day and it was exactly what the doctor ordered. At some point in the middle I realized that I was enjoying it thoroughly without having to tolerate the kinds of flaws that were apparently part and parcel of this kind of movie. Maybe there were flaws that I just wasn't registering. We'll soon see.

Continuing the tradition of making very hip choices for the directing duties, here we have the live-action directorial debut of Brad Bird, who started off directing episodes of The Simpsons before moving on to no less than The Iron Giant and The Incredibles. Dude had two Oscars on his mantle by the time he showed up for this. Press play already!

Um Sweet Christ those opening shots look gook in 4K like HOO boy

Whoa, neat opening where Sawyer from Lost is chased off the top of a building in Budapest but his jacket deploys an air mattress right as he almost-hits, but then he's shot by Lea Seydoux in an alley, rat-a-tat-tat with the action here, like what is up

Simon Pegg is back, and he's being tricksy with the tech in a prison! He's opening cell doors and the prisoners are surprised and delighted with that twist! He plays them a jazz standard on the intercom and Ethan Hunt suavely emerges from one of the cells. Fun silly things ensue involving Ethan's rebellious and confident independent strategy and a small riot that seems kind of like a bar fight.

He has made a pal in the joint and he's breaking him out. Some kind of cool tech creates a really sweet vortex-y hole in the floor and they are swooped up by their helpers, it's fun.

We're introduced to Paula Patton who is a new team member, and then the credits roll, and they are spirited in a way that recalls the first movie, also showing real scenes from later in the movie.

Flashback to the thing that was happening with Sawyer shows how that botched operation, something about a file and a courier, got Sawyer killed because lots of bad guys were all over the place there. AR contact lens technology figures prominently, and that is a good idea (plus we totally might have those soon, right?).

0:18:16 - Once again we begin the movie without the leading lady from the previous one, but we're starting to get an explanation here. Or just a tease of one I guess.

And quickly we get a sneaky-style self-destructing message that sets up that Ethan has to disguise himself as a specific Russian and sneak into the actual Kremlin. This movie 100% gets what a Mission: Impossible movie is supposed to be.

This time, they aren't using fancy masks or voice shifter things, just costumes and a fake mustache. They comment about that in the dialogue but don't explain why.

0:24:52 - Dialogue mixed SO QUIET here I have no idea what SP just said. It seems like you're supposed to have heard it.

But that is quickly forgotten when they use the coolest spy gadget of them all - a screen that is placed in a corridor that makes the guy at the other end of the corridor think it’s the corridor, but it's a screen and SP & Ethan are hiding behind it and it is super super neato I love it

Then just when it's cool that that is going well, it's suddenly cool how NOT well it's going because someone is spying on their spycraft! The thing they were going to heist isn't there, and someone deliberately makes their comms thing be heard by the bad guys!

And THEN we see something we really didn't think we'd see and it is kind of mind blowing - Ethan escapes from the Kremlin with a very smooth quick-change of his disguise that we see him do in all one shot… but then the Kremlin totally explodes and it explodes all over Ethan as he's running away! It looks amazing!

Right after that there is some fun with subtitles - Ethan is in the hospital all damaged and concussed and stuff, and the news is talking about the obvious big story, and the subtitles are in Russian. At first I was like, "hey is my home theater tech busted?" but no, the subtitles become gradually more in English as Ethan starts to come out of it. Then we see with subtitles that Ethan is reading lips about the police people that want to be bad guys to Ethan.

After Ethan escapes, we shift to a wholesome-looking Russian family we haven't seen before. The scene is a nice little piece of drama about how the dad sees the Kremlin news and wants to get the family out of there, and very quickly that goes south and thugs have them all at gunpoint, it's nicely done

Ethan is being extracted by two new characters played by accomplished, Oscar-nominated actors Tom Wilkinson and Jeremy Renner… the conversation is dire and I don't want to type during it gahhh gah gah gah I am watching because holy shit this goes south too! TW informs Ethan that the DoD is going to frame him for blowing up the Kremlin and his only choice is to escape. He's telling him HOW to escape in a funny way, but they are attacked and it's visually very interesting and TW is headshot and they are in the water and it is such bad news for Ethan and his new colleague played by Mr. Renner, I probably typoed a lot during that because it was so hard to look away.

So Ethan is on the hook for the terrorist attack of the century and he's being chased by a little battalion of thugs who just shot that important spy boss, and he's in Russia. It is very not good for Ethan.

He's with JR and JR is playing a different character for him. He's a bookish analyst guy who feels very out of place in action-land.

We're learning about the main bad guy, Hendricks, who was the guy that screwed everything up in the Kremlin. He's a super-smart theoretical physicist or something who has big, well-thought-out ideas about destroying the world with nukes, and he took nuke codes from the Kremlin. So things are just really really hairy and it's effective storytelling is what I'm saying.

Also effective is that they met up with SP and PP on a neat secret train car thing that is well appointed with spy gear

And VERY VERY EFFECTIVE is what happens next, which is a series of establishing shots of Dubai which KILL ON MY TV. I am glad I have a 4K panel, kids. This begins what I recall as being an extended sequence of sweet-ass suspense. Ethan has to break into a server room by climbing the outside of the 130th floor of the Burj Khalifa using glove-gadget tech that will hopefully work. There is at least some actual Tom Cruise clinging to the side of that building. It's so cool looking. And to make matters worse, a dust storm approaches! Or should I say "to make matters even cooler looking". Yes I should. Please read that part.

Paula Patton's character seems underdeveloped so far, especially compared to her teammates Simon Pegg and Jeremy Renner.

Jeez you guys, if you like suspenseful action scenes about barely surviving climbing a skyscraper this movie is for you.

1:05:34 - In the middle of a tense conversation we see that they were using the maskmaker but it wasn't working. They just don't want us to have mask fun in this movie. They hate mask fun. Why does Brad Bird hate mask fun.

Oh then this scene which is neat - bad guys are meeting with LS… but Ethan and JR are taking their place, and PP is taking LS's place for the real bad guys one floor down. The movie explains it better than me, but it is pretty exciting, the two meetings happening at the same time with opposite trickery.

Hah, SP does a sweet fake-hand trick to get the diamonds from the bad guys so he can get them to Ethan and JN, and JN is doing the thing where he uses the contact lens tech… gosh why are you even reading this, just watch the movie. I really like the tricksy espionage.

It all falls apart because LS spots the contact lens in JR's eye. The plot is moving along in a way that, I'm once again noticing, would normally require more half-assed-ness. It's just a solid spy plot. Which probably makes these notes more boring. Poor you.

LS dies by getting kicked out of the open window of the Burj Khalifa with a brewing sandstorm in the background! Neat looking!

And then a thing where Ethan is in a thick dust cloud and he's tracking the important paper thing with his tracker device, and it starts moving quickly at him and we realize just as it's too late that it's in a car that's gonna run him over! Then that mechanic gets used in a car chase in a dust storm, which we don't see very often outside a Mad Max movie, and that climaxes in a really cool looking collision, followed by the reveal that one of the nuclear code bad guys was Hendricks in a supermask. So we DO like mask fun after all! Except why do we care that it was Hendricks?

A scene where JR is confronted for maybe being a double-crosser has a beautifully choreographed gun-get-grabbity-grab thing that was probably super fun for the actors.

1:27:05 - JR tells a story that at first we think is that family we saw briefly almost scramming, but no, he's talking about Ethan, and what seems to be a story about Ethan's wife (Julia from the last movie) getting killed in Croatia, and Ethan killing six Serbians for revenge, and that's why he was in prison in the beginning? It's still a little mysterious and kind of complicated. It doesn't quite fit with what we think we know.

Dubai imagery is pretty. I have been to Dubai. I am standing by for your marriage proposals now.

I didn't really follow how we got to this point, but Ethan went for a walk and met with some underworld Dubai person and made a deal the ended up with a huge cache of spy gear and a private plane to India. I went to India like right after Dubai. I have my own car and a job kind of so you might need to calm your hormones at this point.

A probing exchange with PP establishes that indeed Ethan's story is that he killed the men who killed his wife. Doesn't really seem legit, though. There's more to the story, clearly.

One of the tech things they play with on the plane is the most magic-seeming one. It is a suit that looks like tight chain-mail, and it floats over a cart, like a magic carpet that you wear.

We're introduced to Brij Nath, whose name I had to look up so I could tell you how it is spelled. He has an access code that they need, which seems like they just kind of simplified the situation, and he's one of those only-kinda-bad bad guys that's really just a pawn, for our heroes as well as for these storytellers.

The wearable magic carpet gadget is fun and funny! SP has to remote control JR wearing the floaty-suit and JR is trying not to freak out too badly, and maybe on purpose it recalls the scene from the first movie where Tom Cruise hovers parallel to the floor.

Hendricks is now in a secret room in the place where they all are, and he has a bad-guy briefcase computer and orders some subordinates to do something with a virus, and I don't actually understand what's really happening but am I to believe that Ethan et al are thwarting literal nuclear terrorism here in Mumbai? Right here at this pleasant party at the palace of an only kinda-bad bad guy?

1:48:30 - Ha, the climax of the wearable magic carpet thing involves JR barely surviving by doing an acrobatic stunt that seems oddly intuitive and satisfying. You'll just have to watch the movie to know what I mean.

The spy-tech car they have is rad.

They fail to prevent the launch of a nuclear missile! We see it come out of the sub and start missiling toward its destination which we have learned is California! Hendricks mutters things about how that should get the ball rolling making world powers hate each other and nuke each other and may there be peace on Earth, he also, yes, says that.

A chase on foot has Ethan and Hendricks suddenly brawling on an exotically elegant robotic parking ramp. Platforms move around mechanically and transfer unmanned cars to different areas, and it is against that video gamey backdrop that Ethan and Hendricks struggle to get that sinister suitcase which is all bouncing around that environment. Unexpectedly, Ethan's hope of grabbing it is thwarted by Hendricks suicide-jumping down several stories! We see it! He definitely does that! Ethan drives a car off a thing to follow him, plummeting down hood-first, and the airbag saves him! He gets the briefcase and barely saves the day in time!

Again a denouement making it very clear that everything is really shockingly okay and tidied up. Even the thing with Ethan revenge-killing Serbians and the thing with his wife is cleaned way up, but with an elegance and sweetness that elevates this movie above the others. She's not dead after all, just fake-dead for her protection. And they're only where they are in Seattle so he can glimpse her lovingly across a marina.

So! I feel strongly that this is the best Mission: Impossible movie! It is an extraordinarily deftly-constructed spy thriller! It's got all the funnest types of things that are in the other movies, and other fun spy thrillers, but with so much less garbage! They did a great job and they should be proud.

#Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol

[velcrooooo]

hello!! i really like your minecraft builds and i was wondering if you had any tips/places you recommend looking at for people trying to improve? thank you in advance for your time, have a lovely day!! :3

Hi anon!! First of all this is very kind of you if people keep sending me nice asks I'm going to develop an ego. Quick someone send hate to cancel it out

ANYWAYS.

To be frank with you I am still an amateur builder I think, and I still have a lot to learn, but I CAN offer some advice and tips that I would've killed to have while I was still starting out. I'll pop them under the cut to keep from being obnoxious

So!! If you found me through the mansion build, hello, I did not expect that to blow up like it did, quite honestly I was caught at a good time with that

The best advice I can give is HOLY SHIT PRACTICE. I am constantly thinking of new ideas or watching people build or. Y'know. Actually building on my own. Building in survival is a lot more difficult than building in creative, so I will not be talking about like. The process of gathering items and such

Now onto some actual tips.

(Keep in mind I am my own person and I am in no way a teacher of any sort, so just because these work for me doesn't mean they'll work for anyone else. Don't get discouraged if none of this is helpful, it just means I'm not the right person to teach you this)

1- If you're practicing on your own, I personally reccomend trying to build something you might not have the technical skills for. Like. Even if it doesn't turn out exactly how you want it to, it's a good way to maybe learn something new! The process of learning for me has involved a lot of trial and error

2. Do not be afraid to change something up! If the original color pallet you chose isn't working out, change it as much as you need to. Some blocks work together in theory, but in practice, it might not end up looking great. Figuring out blocks is DIFFICULT and I personally struggle with it a lot.

3. Do not be like me. Try to fill up empty space in your build in a way that isn't a billion different windows. This is easier to do on a smaller scale, but if you're doing a really big build, I just. Do really elaborate pillars and framing to make the walls look busier. Actually, come back to me on this one, I'm still figuring it out.

4. ITS OK TO LOOK AT REFERENCES AND USE TUTORIALS. IT IS OK LOOK AT REFERENCES AND USE TUTORIALS. If you do a tutorial then you are learning new skills that you can eventually use on your own in your own builds!! This is GOOD! DO NOT BE AFRAID OF TUTORIALS (this one is also directed at myself a tiny bit)

5. Make your peace with roofs. Roofs are your best friend. Learn to do roofs or die by my blade. A really good roof, especially on smaller builds, can be a REALLY good thing!!! I've seen some really incredible builds really get tied together with some funky roof shapes. I envy the people who can just bang out a really good roof without a reference

6. Add some texture to your builds! Throwing in some andesite and stone bricks into your stone wall will add a lot more ✨ flavor ✨ to the build. I also reccomend doing gradients* , because those can also make your build look interesting!

Ok. So. Those are a handful of tips I can offer to you in these trying times. Any and all skills I have come from watching a lot of minecraft youtubers who are good at building, so if I may, I will direct you to a few of said people! Some of them have videos that go a little bit more in depth with building techniques, which is always really helpful for me, a poor poor little man who has no idea how to do things on his own. Some of them don't really do tutorials or anything, but just. Watching them build has taught me some stuff

fWhip

THIS MAN. THIS MAN IS GENUINELY ONE OF THE MOST INCREDIBLE BUILDERS I HAVE EVER SEEN. He builds a lot of diagonal houses which is cool and funky and holy shit he knows how to build cities. Highly highly HIGHLY reccomend checking him out

GoodTimesWithScar

He doesn't really do tutorials I don't think but I adore his building style, and I just like watching him work. Really cool dude 11/10 very good at terraforming

SmallishBeans

He. He just.... Builds. Really fucking well I might add! But like. Is he ok. I don't know. He builds entire castles in under four hours. I live in awe and terror of this man.

Grian

IS IT REALLY A LIST WITHOUT GRIAN. He does do tutorial videos that go into detail about some building stuff and it's all been extremely helpful for me and I literally can not reccomend this guy enough

*Grian has a video talking about gradients in builds and it's actually really interesting I seriously reccomend it

In short.

Practice!!!! Just do a lot of practice and do your own research for building tutorials and such. Some stuff will be easier to get the hang of than others. Don't get discouraged. I'm baffled that anyone came to me for advice, but I hope this was at least a bit helpful!!

#OOF this was a long one #apologies for rambling aha #asks

[alwaysraineh]

1, 3, 5, 7, 12, and 13 for fanfic end of the year asks!

i took forever but i’m alive and mostly well and here is an outpouring of love for you my dearest kellan ilysm!!!!!!! 💕🥰🥰💕💖💖💝💘💕

1. favorite fic you wrote this year

i answered this in jo’s ask but if i had to pick a second favorite i think it would probably be either tell me, love (how destiny is bullshit) or the kindest thing (is to never leave you alone) which are both witcher fics (and h13oly shit do i have a title style or what jfc i need to change that) and i had a lot of fun writing!!

3. favorite line/scene you wrote this year

hhhhhhhh am i allowed to pick a few??? .... my answer is yes bc it’s my blog and i do what i want and also not all of these are from finished OR published fics so... sorry lol (in retrospect, as i finish this ask... i may have chosen too many favorites.)

a. ‘No one is hunting Harry Potter, not anymore.’

b. ‘Castiel stands before the sign as one might stand before a ledge; world-weary, tottering on the very edge of their will to process the absolute bullshit that life has thrown at them. If he were a more aesthetic man, he might have a cigarette dangling forgotten between his fingers, or a fifth of whiskey in a crumpled paper bag. Perhaps a stiff breeze to ruffle his hair dramatically as he contemplates losing the last feeble connection he had to a life before.’ 

c. ‘He pauses as he passes the open doors of the drawing room; the sound of Granger’s screams and his aunt’s manic laughter resonate through the silence. He’s not sure he’ll ever be able to pass this room without hearing them, without seeing the fear in Potter’s eyes, without feeling the claws of his own panic scraping inside his lungs. Two house-elves are carefully pulling down the last piece of art in the room, an old family portrait that Draco vaguely recalls posing for when he was seven, or maybe eight. The house-elves jostle the portrait; they are quick to steady it, but it has unbalanced the figures inside. The painted version of Lucius is unfazed, but painted Narcissa is leaning down to wrap an arm around painted Draco’s shoulders. Seeing the fear in his own eyes as the portrait wobbles is enough to steal the breath from Draco’s lungs.’

d. ‘”He hurts,” Cole says, meeting Dorian’s panicked gaze with one of equal terror. “I don’t know how to help him, I- I can’t help him.”’

5. most popular fic this year

oh, BY FAR it was ‘tell me, love’ and that’s not even just this year, that’s all time. i’ve never had a fic be that popular and its an odd feeling but a very good one

7. longest completed fic you wrote this year

uhhhhhh i don’t think finishing ‘just breathe’ counts since i started it two years ago and only finished it this year (wordcount 29k) so i think technically my longest would be ‘ad astra’ which is just under 5k

12. favorite character to write about this year

quarantine reverted me to middle school trash (but with taste now bc fuck jkr) and i have to say, with only a small amount of shame, that i really really really loved writing about goddamn draco malfoy this year

13. favorite writing song/artist/album of this year

ahaha hozier. always hozier. literally anything hozier at any time anywhere. hozier owns my entire being. but i think a close second would have to be either i’ll be good by jaymes young orrrrr maybe please don’t say you love me by gabrielle aplin bc holy shit both of those are just so good

#i forgot my links but im too lazy to put them in now #ty kell!!! #ask game #my writing #harry potter #the witcher #taz balance #dragon age #(specifically inquisition) #(also pls talk to me about my inquisition fic bc its completely headcanons about my inky and ill never finish nor publish it) #(but dear god do i love it)

[noctuascion]

I'm gonna make 2 requests, because I'm greedy and a little Cryptage starved right now. Also, you write so good and you have this way of turning a phrase that makes me super jealous so here goes. 1) FAKE DATING! Just... always with the fake dating. 2) Not sure how the lore works on your au but if it's applicable, either vamp crypto accidentally exposing wolf mirage to silver or wolf mirage exposing vamp crypto to sunlight.

;; Be as greedy as you want, sweetums. I love writing your prompts and also love you so it works out. uwu

Also, anything to keep me from falling asleep lol

I'll write your second request in a different post, but it'll be a bit. I write kinda slowly chjdjw ;;

--

Elliott Witt has had a lot of things happen to him. He's had first loves, first kisses, first everythings. He's done a lot in his life, but, in all his years of living and loving, he didn't think fake dating his rival would ever make the list. It did, though, as much as both of them resented it.

One of the promotional managers had called them in for a quick meeting. Basically, he laid down that they were to start appearing in public more and that they were doing it together. At first, Elliott had been on board. Having more time in the limelight sounded amazing, but then came in Park, who was now going to be his boyfriend.

Now, he's not saying Park's disgusting or revolting or that he isn't comfortable enough with his sexuality to be able to freely hug and tell his buddies he loves them (because, well, his only friends are a lesbian and a drug addict for the most part), but he's straight, a ladies man! Sure, the kid's pretty and everything, but he's not feminine either. He has his own special type of charm that's not entirely easy to put into words. (He has nice legs, though. Elliott will give him that much.)

He's glad, though, that he's not the only one entirely against this. Park managed to miss a lot of meet 'n greets, forgoing seeing his fans and opting out of photo shoots. He's rarely seen in public, and, if he is, he looks about as shady as a drug dealer—hiding his face, oversized clothing, etc. He hates the spotlight, Elliott quickly figured out, and that was his only real issue with this whole ordeal.

And when Elliott pointed out that he seemed to be perfectly fine with dating him, he called him what he assumes are curse words and insults in his native tongue before telling him he'd sooner date Nox.

However, their word was final, and the two were now a "couple" in the eyes of the public. Their fellow competitors were allowed insight on their little "agreement," and they did what any supportive friends would do: they laughed and wished the new couple a happy life.

Today was their first official "date" as a couple, so Elliott intended for it to be at least somewhat decent for them. He was aware Park hated public places, but they wanted them to be seen in public together. He couldn't please both parties, so he decided a small, family restaurant would be their destination. There wasn't a lot of people that normally visited, but Elliott was a personal fan of the food served there. The atmosphere was warm and friendly and he's sure Park would appreciate that much.

Why am I trying so hard again…?

Shrugging, he pulled on his second nicest jacket—a nice yellow shade that went well with his white shirt and blue jeans. His hair was done up in its usual style, though he lacked the goggles he normally wore, so his hair fell in his eyes a bit. He was sure Park wasn't going to try too hard, so he didn't either. It was a casual outing, after all; no need for either to wear anything extravagant.

Well, Elliott was wrong when Park met up with him wearing a white turtleneck, a nice black blazer, and matching slacks. He suspects a turtleneck because he's at least trying to hide his cybernetic implantations without being too obvious and still looking like effort was put in. There was such a stark color difference, though—he felt like the sun next to the moon.

"Oh, h-hey, you look…" Elliott trailed off, unsure if he should give a genuine compliment or play it off like a joke—but he's already stuttered, so he may as well commit, "… good—you dress up nice."

"Paquette and Wraith helped." He huffed, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "I wouldn't have put in so much effort otherwise."

"Such a heartbreaker, Kim."

Elliott chuckled before reaching out and opening the door, gesturing for him to hop inside his car. The hacker rolled his eyes before slipping inside, the trickster shutting it before hurrying to the other side.

"Where are we going?" Park asked once Elliott was inside, turning the engine on and beginning to leave the complex.

"I know you don't like public places, and a movie is a terrible first date, so I picked out a small family restaurant that has some of the best lemon cakes I've tasted. Not to mention some people will see us, together, so it'll make the higher-ups happy, y'know?"

"Hm. You're smarter than I thought you were."

"I'm full of surprises, sugar."

"Don't push your luck with this 'dating' thing, Witt."

"Oh! That reminds me—we should probably establish some boundaries." Elliott took a right, keeping his eyes on the road but focus elsewhere. "Personally, I don't really care. So long as we don't have sex, I think I'm good otherwise. How about you?"

"No kissing, holding hands, touching in general, stupid pet names, or sex."

"… Well, you've eliminated every possible way of showing we're 'dating.' Anymore you wanna ban there, kid?" Elliott sighed, stopping at a red light and looking over to where Park was seated, glaring out the window. "This is definitely more like a friendly outing, if anything, but no one's gonna talk about us if we just seem like friends. Higher-ups will have our necks."

"I take back what I said earlier. You're an idiot if you think I care about whether or not they're happy with what I do."

"All right, fair point. Can we at least hold hands? That shouldn't be too much to ask."

Park sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and sinking into his seat. "Fine. If it'll get them out of our business, we can do that. But only for a few seconds."

"Gotcha. Man, whoever dated you in the past must've been as touch-adv—avd—ad—ad… adverse as you."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"… Holy shit—you've never dated anybody."

"Shut up."

"No, no, that just makes this whole thing worse!" Elliott began driving again once the red light changed to green. His eyes returned to the road as well, though he was no less focused on the topic at hand. "You're experiencing a date for the first time with someone you don't even like, a-and that's not fair!"

"I—"

"No, y'know what? No, you're getting a date. Getting everything! You're getting the ol' Mirage charm, gonna get swept right off your feet."

"Witt—"

"No buts! You're being dragged out of your cave and getting screwed out of a first date with someone you're actually interested in. The least I can do is be as good to you as possible."

Park only stared at him, silent, before an amused breath left him, letting himself smile. "Okay."

—;;

Park wasn't a conversationalist, Elliott quickly found out. He was very quiet and reserved, which didn't help much either. He was, however, a great listener, and Elliott loved to talk, so, in a way, it worked out for the better.

The small restaurant they were seated in was relatively quiet, but they could hear hushed whispers about them being together, seated in a secluded booth that helped alleviate any anxiety Park might have with being seen by a bunch of people.

The holographic expert had ordered himself a steak, medium rare, with a salad on the side. He opted out for any alcohol, since he was the driver and he had no idea if Park was comfortable dealing with someone drunk, so all he ordered was some tea. Park, though, only asked for steak fries and a soda.

"Y'know," Elliott said after taking a sip of his tea, "you should get more meat in your diet. Helps build muscle, gets some meat on your bones."

"Hm…"

"C'mon! You also never join us for dinner. Or lunch—or, actually, I don't… see you eat. You eat, right?"

"Yes."

Elliott hummed in suspicion, a hand smoothing down his beard, though Park's stoic gaze didn't relent any. "All right… What do you normally eat?"

"Usually from whatever takeout menu is closer."

"… How are you even standing right now?" Elliott looked sad for a moment before shaking his head. "Let's make a quick deal here—"

"We've already made a deal."

"Let's make another. If you agree to come out of your cave for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I'll agree to do whatever you want. Anything. Well, except really bad stuff. Like, I won't kill someone. Too far."

It was Park's turn to hum, taking a sip from his straw, before placing the glass on the table. "I benefit from this more than you do."

"I get the benefit of helping my sweet sugar plum get better, even if it's just a little bit."

Park raised a brow. "What did I say about pushing luck?"

"Ya love me. You wouldn't leave me on our date like this… Well, I hope not."

Park wanted to roll his eyes, say "I would and I will," but he didn't. He kept silent, giving Elliott a look, who seemingly took the hint and changed subject.

"So, have you ever been asked out before?"

"Isn't that a bad topic for dates?"

"Just curious. Feel free to not say. Besides, it's not a real date."

"Don't let them hear you say that." Park stirred his drink with his straw absentmindedly, watching it fizz up at his ministrations. "No, no one's ever asked me out."

"Really?"

"You sound surprised."

Elliott laughed in disbelief. "Well, yeah! I mean, you're…"

"What?"

"I dunno—gorgeous, beautiful, cool and mysterious! You'd think girls would be all over you."

"I'm not exactly pleasant to be around, Witt. I'd think you'd have figured that out by now."

The trickster waved a hand, like he was denying Park's claim. "You're rough around the edges, but you're not horrible." He shrugged, taking another sip from his drink. "I'm sure someone out there's just dying to wanna date you! Or maybe you haven't met them yet. Who knows!"

Park let another faint smile curl his lips, looking into his drink. "Who knows, indeed."

—;;

Day two of their time as a couple was during a duos match (of course it was just them), and Elliott had counted this as possibly his most unlucky match.

They had landed at Epicenter and Park landed on top of the tower, alone, and Elliott landed on the ground with two other squads, one consisting of Nox and Octavio and the other being Natalie and Ajay. Nox had trained his sights on him immediately and began chasing him down (the sadistic bastard), and he had to rush to find a gun. All he could find was a P2020, and it wasn't exactly a fair match against the scientist's Spitfire.

Neither of them had any shields, but just a couple of shots from the toxic trapper's gun was enough to down him, slipping on ice and colliding with the hard ground.

"Oh—fuck!" the trickster cursed, trying to crawl away from the man towering over him. "C-C'mon, Caustic, don't you have anyone else to shoot at?"

"No."

"That's a lie and you know it."

However, before Nox could kill him off, the sound of a Sentinel going off, following by Nox quickly being down, sent a wave of relief through his system, looking over onto the cliff to see Park perched atop it, the bolt-action sniper in his hands.

No scope. That's kinda hot.

The hacker had shot off a few more rounds, and Elliott could hear Octavio shout in pain, before he began sliding down the hill, swapping out his sniper for a Wingman. The revolver was shot off twice before Nox's death box suddenly popped up in front of him, signaling the end of that squad.

However, they still had Natalie and Ajay, though they'd been injured by Octavio. They were clinging to D.O.C.'s healing up until Park tosses a grenade where they were healing. Natalie hadn't escaped fast enough, and she ended up downed, whereas Ajay was only injured.

She put up a fight, firing off her Alternator with frightening precision, and, had Park not hit his shots, he would've been killed off.

However, the man calmly approaching his fallen teammate was enough of an indicator that he won that battle, only a few wounds and scratches indicating his prior struggle.

"Kid, if I didn't know better," he said, pausing to let out a grunt at the syringe being plunged into his chest, "I'd think you're trying to show off and steal my heart."

For a moment, Park was silent, helping Elliott back to his feet, before a smirk crossed those dashing fractures, looking up at the other with a faint sense of mirth dancing in his eyes.

"Did it work?"

For once in his life, Elliott was left stunned, mouth open, unable to formulate a response, before the surveillance expert left to loot.

He regained his senses after a moment, blinking himself back into reality, and shutting his mouth.

Kid's full of surprises.

—;;

Their third date wasn't for the public. Their third date wasn't even suggested by Elliott. Park had just grabbed Elliott by the arm, dragged him out to god-knows-where, late at night, and laid down on a small hill. He didn't say anything, didn't give any explanation, and, honestly, Elliott didn't expect anything less. He just laid down beside the other, looked up at the stars, and let out a breath.

However, as Park's own mind was clear, hands resting on his stomach and a leg bent at the knee, Elliott's own was filled with thoughts of confusion, his hands behind his head, acting as a pillow.

Park was such a strange guy. One day, he acts like he's the bane of his existence, and, the next, he's smiling and making quips that make Elliott's heart race. Elliott's been with a lot of people, and he's learned a lot from his time with them, but there's never been a time where they've made him feel like… this.

They never badger him about his gross, smelly hair spray, they never playfully banter with him, they never push him off of exploding trains, and they certainly never made him speechless, never made him feel like he lost the ability to function. They never treated him like a person. They always just treated him like… Mirage.

"Hyeon?"

"Hm?"

"I don't think I'm straight."

"Mm. What makes you say that?"

"Because I think I'm in love with you."

Park smiled, letting out a quiet laugh. "You don't even know how I feel about you."

"I don't. You're weird, and you're never forward w-with how you feel, but… I just… thought you should, y'know, know, since we're doing this whole… thing."

"Mm. The fake dating thing?"

"The fake dating thing, yeah."

"… Do you want it to be fake anymore?"

Elliott turned into his side, Park own head moving to meet his gaze. "No."

"Mm. Good." Park's head turned back to the stars, shutting his eyes. "Neither did I."

#apex legends #cryptage #oops this was really long !!! #but that's okay #i hope you at least enjoyed my gross cheesy cliché nonsense #i'll get to working on the other one i promise #maybe make it a little shorter lol #lenardo does a write

[laneyliveblogs]

After finishing Bojack, these are my personal top ranking of episodes throughout the entire series:

10. A Quick One, While He's Away (6x08) : I want to start off the list with an episode from the first part of the season. A lot of people felt underwhelmed, but I loved shifting the narrative of seeing how this man can heal to how those women he hurt cannot. Of course we see Diane and Princess Carolyn, but this episode featured so many women he has never fully grappled with how he hurt (e.g.: Sarah Lynn, Gina, Kelsey, Penny, etc.). The show is so focused on men's suffering it was excellent to see this lens flipped, even if for an episode. Also I needed closure on Gina and Kelsey and I am so happy I got to see these characters revisited.

9. Let's Find Out (2x08) : Honestly I added this episode because it makes me laugh the most. A lot of these other ones are my "holy shit" or "wow that's insane" episodes but this one I just really thought was funny and the epitome of Bojack Horseman witty, celebrity pop-culture comedy. Also the first time I watched it I was in my English class supposed to be listening to the lecture and tried to keep it together when Bojack says, "Elijah Wood?" And the money lights on fire.

8. Stupid Piece of Shit (4x06) : This episode hit a little too hard the first time I watched. Even though it's 100% what edgy douchebags who take inspiration from Bojack say is their life, I really felt that internal monologue, especially when Hollyhock asks if it ever changes. Also you can pinpoint this episode as the first time they really start experimenting with that fun scribble style that carries through the seasons.

7. The View From Halfway Down (5x15) : There's so much to say about this episode. It is a not-so-subtle nod to the whole series in every regard. I don't want to spoil anything too much but I cannot believe the opening sequence spoiled season 6 before it was even written. Absolutely brilliant, beautiful, and artistic lens to look at death through.

6. The Old Sugarman Place (4x02) : One of the most innovative collaborations of time in an episode, to the point where they literally blur the time together. Also a great introduction piece to how Bojack copes post-Sarah Lynn. Very good storytelling and character development.

5. That's Too Much, Man! (3x11) : It pains me to rank this one so low. I've ranted about it before, but this episode kills me so much. Hones in on the conversation of addiction and sets the stage for the next 3 seasons. Psychedelic, unique, creative, mind-bending: absolutely stunning in visuals. The ending shot in the planetarium is outright haunting.

4. Hooray! A Todd Episode (4x03) : This episode made me very happy. It's A great little piece giving dimension to a silly character. They still fix in fun hijinks and share how much he does but then still allow for his character development. I watch this episode whenever I feel down, I really love it.

3. Time's Arrow (4x11) : For obvious reasons this one is in my top 3. This episode was revolutionary and I still stand by saying it was snubbed. The writing is flawless and crescendos the whole season. I think this episode is perhaps the biggest "OH SHIT!" when you realize who Henrietta is, at least for me. You really understand Beatrice as a character and the worldbuilding is fantastic from this older era. Also the scribbled-over face is the best artistic design for her character.

2. Free Churro (5x06) : I have never been so impressed by Will Arnett. He said this has been his most difficult role, which could make this episode his best work. Nearly 25 minutes of just him monologuing. And it is intriguing as hell. The episode has a plot, a narrative, a cohesive story, character development, plot development, and altogether artistic craft. Legitimately one of the best television eulogies of all time, I might only top it with The Haunting of Hill House episode 6, which isn't really a eulogy. Otherwise, this is it for sure.

1. Fish Out of Water (3x04) : Not only my favorite Bojack episode, but my favorite episode of television. Many series have played with the idea of a silent episode, but none have executed it quite so well as Bojack. They created feasible, in-world reasons for silence, introduced a whole new world, and shared a beautiful narrative with only speaking at the very beginning. The story of Bojack helping the baby seahorse is heartwarming and a rich story. Not to mention the music and design is exceptional. I have loved this series for years now, and I am so thankful for Raphael Bob-Waksburg for creating this story, and for creating this episode above all else.

#bojack horseman spoilers #bojack horseman #bojack horsemam season 6