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chaoticdelinqueerwithglitter · 4 months

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Let me tell you now, you're the lucky one

(Enemies to Enemies Who Fuck)

(HaruKaku in Bonten timeline)

(some past-MuSan and past-KakuIza with a subtle RanOmi bc why not, it's my fic and I don't have self-restrain when it comes to multishipping)

(link to ao3 in case some one preferes to read it there)

Warnings: Dead Dove: Do Not Eat!

All of them. Bonten is their own warning. Substance abuse. Really unhealthy coping mechanisms. Depression. Mental health problems. Suicide. Major character death. (it's Bonten, they all want to kill themselves and some of them succeed, okay?) Mentions of unsafe sex, but there is no smut or graphic depiction of it.

I tried to not be too graphic with any of this topics, the focus is mostly on what the characters are thinking/feeling. But it's hard anyway, tbh the last scene was actually difficult and painful for me to write. So please, don't take the CW lightly and prioritize your mental health!

Angst and Hurt/No Comfort.

MANGA SPOILERS!!!!

Notes: HaruKaku came as an hilarious idea. Because they are hilarious, let's be real. Soulmates archnemesis, doomed to hate each other in every timeline. But then Bonten happened and of course, I ended up writing some angsty shit instead of focusing in all the other moments when they are hilarious. Kudos for me, yey! 🥲

This is canon complicit (again, is Bonten, beware!)

It alternates from Kakucho's POV to Sanzu's POV. I did that thing again of using "Haruchiyo" when he's in his most vulnerable state because for some reason I like playing with his name like this.

(English is not my first language, be nice please 🙈)

(the art is from @just-sp-in-inginthevoid who is in part responsible for the archnemesis brain riot, but mostly the hilarious part, tbh)

Is not that Kakucho enjoys Sanzu's company. Or that the pinkette gradually started to grow on him. Quite the opposite, to be honest. He hates him a little bit more every day, every shared mission, every time they had to spent hours together.

But with Sanzu, he feels. He feels intensely, he feels with passion. Even if it's twisted, at least he's not empty anymore. The void that threatens to devour him seems to disappear when he's around the other man. Sometimes, Kakucho wants to murder him, but he knows he can't. Others, he wonders what would happen to him if he also loses the only person that it's still able to provoke an intense emotion on him.

Hate is better than apathy, isn't it?

They hate each other passionately. Sanzu finds his reactions too funny for stopping it, always willing to go a little further, to push Kakucho to the edge. It's too easy to pick on him, making him forget about his allegedly righteous patience.

It's disgusting, how Kakucho thinks of himself like he was better than the rest of them. So Sanzu enjoys to proves him wrong, to show him that they are the same (even if he can't stand that fact either, seeing that burning rage in those heterochromatic eyes makes it worth it).

Now that he thinks about it, it was probably a matter of time, considering that his king denied them the right to kill each other, they needed to find a way of releasing all that build up anger. That's probably why isn't that surprising when it finally happens.

It looked like a regular night. Sanzu was high as a kite, trying to forget every one of his lives. Kakucho just seemed to be there, he can't recall exactly why, some type of report, but he didn't pay any attention to it at the moment, too intoxicated for actually caring for something that could wait until tomorrow.

“Why are you still here? You like me that much or what?”

The pinkette man says, slurring his words.

“Are you that high? You know I hate you.”

Is the harsh answer that he earns. It's brutal, but real. Kakucho's honesty has something that grounds him to the present. It's sickening. It's exactly what he wants right now.

“I hate you too, don't worry.” He laughs, finding his own words amusing. “Think about it, me and you. Just us, hating each other all night long.”

“You're crazy.”

“And you didn't say no.”

(If he was more honest with himself, he would admit that he was trying to find another way of punishing his broken mind and his body. But he's not.)

And oh, it actually feels good. Kakucho fucks him with the same brutality that talks to him. He couldn't bear any type of gentle touch (specially not from someone that it's so linked to Mucho, but he isn't thinking in that, he promised himself to forget his old captain a long time ago).

There isn't any type of care between them, only spite. Both men are too broken for having the ability to love someone again. Indeed, this was precisely what he needed. This is perfect.

The next day, Kakucho feels nauseated. How couldn't he? Sanzu was high as fuck, too intoxicated to give proper consent to do anything. So even if he was also a little drunk, even if it wasn't his idea, Kakucho feels guilty for what happened.

Until Sanzu just laughs at his poorly attempt of apologizing, mocking his morals once more. He was about to punch him in the face, but the lingering guilt doesn't allow him to do it. Not that one more bruise would make a difference, actually.

Both are covered in so many marks that more than sex, it looks like they tried to kill each other. Yeah, maybe he should stop feeling sorry for Sanzu, considering this. Maybe that was the best way to get rid of that not-so-pent-up hate.

And it works. At least for a while, it works. Until it happens again. And again.

Is not that they are lovers (Kakucho wants to puke with that idea). They just fuck from time to time. That's all. They hate each other, they wish they could kill the other. But they can't. So, sometimes, they fuck.

Their relationship is not pretty. At all. Or better. If Kakucho had to use only one word for describing it, he would say “real”. They don't lie to each other, what would be the point? Both are too able of seeing between the lies, they are too similar in so many ways. But that raw honesty only makes it worse.

Kakucho knows it's a mistake, that he shouldn't care about Sanzu's fate (he brought it on himself and he doesn't seem to have any complains). But Mikey is worse every day, the king is falling and his loyal dog is falling with him. Kakucho needs to do something, because the uneasiness he feels every time he sees them is now living rent-free in his mind.

That's why, one day, Kakucho tries. He's trying to find his clothes, dressing quickly, wanting to get out of this room that only makes him feel sick. Then, he looks at Sanzu, his pink hair scattered on the pillows, a lazy and satisfied smile than only appears after sex (and never lasts). There is some twisted vulnerability in how content the other man is while lighting up a joint, as if seeing these new swelling (all this pain) on his skin was something he wanted.

(Kakucho can't shake the feeling that Sanzu is using him as another way of hurting himself and that infuriates him so fucking much... Maybe that's the real reason why he decides against his best judgment and opens his big mouth.)

“Is not worth it.”

“Uh?”

Sanzu looks at the other, not sure if he actually heard something. He just wants to smoke and relax, to feel the post-orgasmic satisfaction while it lasts, to enjoy the pain in his body (one more of his little punishments).

“I said is not worth it. Dying with Mikey.”

If it had been anyone else, Sanzu would shoot him in the face just for saying this. Thinking like that, talking like that about his king is treason. It should be. But it's difficult to pretend Kakucho's isn't right about this when, unfortunately, it's the only one Sanzu trusts with Mikey's well-being (It's the one he calls every time Mikey is being suicidal again).

“You wish you could be me, you wish you had died with Izana.”

Sanzu spits his words, burning with all the rage he feels every time he has to acknowledge the reality of how is Mikey.

“That's not what this is about-”

Kakucho is unable to finish his sentence, turning pale in anger when Sanzu cuts him. 'Good'.

“You're a selfish bastard, aren't you? You want me to be like you, stuck here with no purpose, jerking yourself with the memory of a ghost. Pretend it's because of your high morals, that you're worried about me or some other bullshit. But you're just another selfish bastard. And you envy me.”

If it had been anyone else, Sanzu would shoot him in the face. But he can't (he wants to, oh, he wants it so much, but he can't disobey Mikey's orders). So, instead of bullets, he uses his words.

“At least Izana cared about me.”

Is the last thing he hears before Kakucho slams the door. Sanzu laughs maniacally, throwing the first shit he can find to the place the other man was a few seconds a go. He's momentary satisfaction long forgotten, replaced only by hate (and pain, but one that he refuses to see).

The worst part is that in a sickening way, he trusts Kakucho. They don't lie to each other, that makes it so much worse, because both of them know that what the other said is true. He hates him, he hates him with every fiber of his body. He doesn't want this words to be true, he can't accept that. He needs to keep living in this denial, to pretend Mikey is fine (to pretend he doesn't keep mixing this Mikey with that in his nightmares, to pretend they don't look so alike).

It's been three days. Three whole days since Mikey's death was splattered on the news (no one seems to care about Takemichi's death, even with all that footage of how the hero tried to save the most dangerous man in Japan). Kakucho cares, but he knows damn well that he wouldn't be welcomed within the hero's friends, so he would have to say goodbye in his own way (again).

During this days, Kakucho learned some things, like the fact that apparently everyone had some kind of contingency plan in case this happened (no, for when this happened, all of them could see that Mikey was more on the edge every day). But nobody spoke to him about it, keeping him in the darkness, the only idiot that didn't prepare himself for the end. Well, not the only, he knows that, of course he knows that.

(Sanzu would have killed them in the blink of an eye. Anyone who dared to imply that Bonten needed to be prepared to function without a king.)

Kakucho understands the need for secrets, of course he does. The idea of Mikey falling would be considered treason a few days ago, it was taboo to think like that. At the same time, none of them wanted to acknowledge it, like saying it out loud would make it more real. He can't even be mad when the Haitanis (obviously) thought about him on their own schemes, making sure Kakucho was also safe. Or as safe as any of them could be now that Bonten was crumbleling.

It's been three days. Bonten is crumbleling. Mikey is dead. And Sanzu disappeared the same day. Everyone knows he's dead, but they don't say it. Not in front of Takeomi, who's still desperately looking, going out in the rain for hours. Trying to find something, some clue that leads him to his little brother. Clinging to the hope that he's still alive somewhere. That he's going to find him, high as fuck, but alive (Kakucho thinks being able to find Sanzu's body at all would already be a miracle).

Only Ran is able to convince Takeomi to rest a little bit, promising that he and Rindou will help with the search as long as the older man gets a few hours of sleep. Takeomi just nods, mumbling “Today is his birthday, Ran. Is his fucking birthday and he's out there alone.” while Ran drags him softly, a concerned look plastered in those violet eyes.

Kakucho hates it, hates having to see all this sorrow around him (again). He doesn't lament the loss of Mikey and Sanzu, he's incapable of doing it. Grief took his heart for hostage a long time ago, there is nothing more for him to mourn.

More than anything, Kakucho hates himself, because he's jealous of Sanzu. He knows he shouldn't, but he hates that the pinkette man was right about him. He envies Sanzu, who had the privilege of dying with Mikey, of dying with his king.

Kakucho hates the Mad Dog even more right now. But he's aware that once this hate fades away, he would feel empty again. So he clings onto this feeling, he needs this rage as a motor to keep moving.

It doesn't matter if this energy is fulled with rage, he needs it. He can't fail his friends, what's left of his family. Kakucho has to keep living even if he can't remember how being alive felt anymore. Even if he's more dead inside every day.

So, over and over... Kakucho would keep living.

The rain keeps pouring down without truce, Haruchiyo shrinks inside the leather jacket that was always too big for him. Now the only thing that makes him feel protected from that annoying rain (from the world). To be honest, he isn't completely aware how he managed to recover it from his penthouse, but it seemed important in that moment.

The jacket and the old picture that he's still clutching in his pocket, the only two things he cared enough to take. He doesn't even need to look at it to see the four happy smiles stained with watermelon juice. Two pink haired kids that could be confused by twins, one with a shy smile, the other with a cheerful one, happy to be included with his brother friends. Next, a fierce smile showing two small fangs, already a force of nature at his young age. In the middle, a blond kid with the most radiant smile Haruchiyo ever saw, capable of making everything shine just with his presence. Full of life, of dreams. Full of potential. Brighter than the sun, a true leader.

But that was a long time ago and, once again, Sanzu is the only one who remembers. The man staggering in the rain is now the only survivor from that photo. Only him, alone in this fuck up world where nothing and no one matters anymore. Not without Mikey. Even Bonten can burn from what he cares.

He keeps walking (it feels more like floating for him, floating in a cloud of pain and numbness at the same time). Until he finally reaches his destination, an abandoned bowling alley. Sanzu enters in some kind of trance, not sure if he's dissociating or too intoxicated. He doesn't care.

He sits down exactly in the same place his king sat down. How many days had passed since that moment? One? Two? Ages. It certainly feels like ages for him. Haruchiyo hugs himself, trying to make space for his legs inside the big comforting jacket. Completely curled up. And he cries, he cries like he hasn't allowed himself to do so in the last ten years.

He's starting to sober up, he can feel it. Because the flashbacks are coming back. Shinichiro jumping from that bridge. Mikey jumping from this exact building. Mikey falling from the stairs, that awful “clonk”. Mikey jumping again from this building.

Haruchiyo screams, holding his head with both hands, begging the images to stop, unable to continue reliving those memories. He needs everything to stop, to be quiet, his shattered mind can't take it anymore.

He takes out a small box from his pocket, looking at the content. Everything he needs is here, he knows how to do it, how to make sure he's not going to wake up from this trip. His stupid hands are shaking while he gets the syringe ready.

For some reason, he suddenly remembers Kakucho's words a few months ago. He hates it, he hates thinking in that fucker when he's about to die. But the other man was right, wasn't he? Mikey never cared about Sanzu, he spent years of his life trying to keep his king alive and it was all for nothing. Everything blew up in one night.

A manic laugh escapes between his whimpers. Of course is that, he's fucking jealous. Sanzu is fucking jealous because at least Kakucho got to held Izana's hand when he died, he got to comfort his king in his last moments. Sanzu didn't had that, Hanagaki was the one holding Mikey's hand. Always that cockroach, never him.

What did he expect anyway? Haruchiyo is just a failure. He never deserved to be the one making his king last moments less painful. Of course, he should had known. He failed everyone. He failed Shinichiro, unable to protect Mikey, to be the friend he promised he would be. He failed Mikey, watching him falling into the darkness, becoming the same empty shell he already saw in a past that never happened, and doing nothing about it.

Sanzu doesn't have anything left. He also killed his own chance of happiness a long time ago (he also failed his captain, didn't he?). The only thing left for him is to disappear, to follow his king. He's going with him, because he's being following Mikey for so long, that he doesn't see any other choice. He's going with him, because he doesn't deserve to keep living when he couldn't save Mikey.

But it's fine, the drug is already kicking in, his body feels more relaxed. Even his mind seems to be quiet, almost in peace. He looks at the old photo one last time, before drifting out of consciousness, looking for safety in the inner part of the leather, pretending it smells like cheesecake.

It's fine, because at the end of the day... Haruchiyo was just a failure.

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herrmannhalsteadproduction · 1 year

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Honesty. Horrible, Horrible Honesty. (Chapter Six)

Summary: This is Part Eighteen of my series A Herrmann/Halstead Production. It is an AU where Christopher Herrmann's mom had an affair with Pat Halstead resulting in a baby. The series follows this OC character (Rebecca "Bex" Herrmann) as she grows up and gets to know her brothers and the various Chicago teams. It is very much an AU, just to underscore that. It doesn't follow the same timeline and characters will follow different paths.

Click here for the Series Rundown where you can find the links to read all of the previous installments (which I highly recommend you do so that this one makes sense.)

Rating: Teen and Up

Relationships: Christopher Herrmann & Original Female Character, Jay Halstead & Original Female Character, Will Halstead & Original Female Character, Jay Halstead & Will Halstead, pre-Greg 'Mouse' Gerwitz/Original Female Character, Will Halstead/Connor Rhodes, Assorted OC Couples

Warnings: Referenced Domestic Violence and Threatening Behaviour (these are warning tags for a brief scenes with Ty), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, A Brief Scene of Violence, Mild Injury, Swearing, Characters Working Through Trauma, Repairing Relationships, Fluff, I Swear There are Funny Bits Along with the Emotional Bits

A/N: So I am back on deadline in a big way with a quick turnaround time and this means that I unfortunately won't be able to maintain once a week updates like I'd hoped. I won't be able to get back to this fic until early May. I wanted to tell you up front in case you want to hold off on reading this chapter as it does end in a cliffhanger. But I WILL be back! There's at least two more chapters to go in this part. I'm sorry for the delay and I appreciate your patience in the meantime.

Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Mouse

“Work give you any trouble?” Chuck asked when Mouse came back into the living room after making his phone call.

“No, uh, they were pretty cool about it.” To be more specific, Platt had said ‘you haven’t taken a sick day since you started here, Mouse, it’s fine, now stop yakking at me, I’m busy here’ and then hung up on him.

The six of them stayed up late talking about what had happened with Jay and then with Bex before they all found spots to sack out for a few hours. They were back to digging into things this morning and everyone agreed Mouse needed a personal day.

Well. It was a five-to-one vote, anyway.

Now he was cleared to stay home and they’d all been fed and were set up with coffee and tea in his living room, waiting for him to keep pouring his heart out.

He didn’t even know where to start.

Finally, Frank looked over at him and poked the elephant in the room. “What happened, Mouse?” he asked. “You were so set last time we talked. Nervous, sure, but you knew what you wanted and you were certain about talking to Jay and then Bex.”

“I told you,” Mouse began. “Jay said—”

“That doesn’t answer the question,” Ada stopped him. “Not really. Maybe the better question is why did you let what Jay said change your mind? After everything you told us about Bex and how you felt? Why did you give up so easily?”

Mouse stared at his hands, knitting his fingers together and pulling them apart. He didn’t want to examine this. Didn’t want to pick apart all the ways he’d fucked up beyond belief.

“Mouse, do you still care about Bex?” Lucy asked softly.

“Yes, yeah, I—” His head snapped up and he swallowed hard. “…I do.”

“Okay.” She smiled encouragingly. “That’s good. Now…why does that scare you so much?”

Jesus Christ. Don’t hold back.

“Only reason what Jay said would’ve had this effect was if it punched your buttons, man,” Ed said. “Talkin’ out the fear’s the only way to take away the power, remember?”

Fuck.

Fine.

Fuck it.

“I was talking to Jay,” he said, starting out haltingly, dragging each sentence out of his throat. “And everything felt so real—so close. Like—like I could see it actually happening. Me and Bex. And I started to freak out because that—that’s everything I want, you know? And—and then, I started thinking about all of the ways I could mess it up, but it-it-it wasn’t just me thinking them. It was Jay saying them.”

Everyone kept quiet while he took a breath.

“Everything I’d been so afraid of, he was saying out loud,” Mouse continued, the whole scene seared into his brain. “Every—every ugly truth about how it could go wrong and the way he was looking at me.”

He closed his eyes at the memory.

“I used to see that look on his face when he found me strung out and I—I never wanted to see his face look like that again,” Mouse said. “And then all I could think of was me just—just screwing things up and seeing that look on Bex’s face someday and I couldn’t—I couldn’t do it.”

“And how’d that work out for you?”

“Ada,” Chuck chastised her quietly.

“What? Tiptoeing around this isn’t helping,” Ada said. “Mouse, tell us honestly how what you feel right now is better than if you’d tried things with Bex and it didn’t work out? Which, for the record, is not what I think would happen.”

“Bex deserves better than me,” he said, shaking his head. “And this way, she can move on.”

“Bullshit!” Ada declared as the rest of the group shook their heads. “First of all, you don’t get to decide what Bex deserves. She’s a grown ass woman who can make her own decisions.”

“That is an important point,” Lucy cut in before Chuck could try and rein Ada back.

“And from what you’ve told us, she’s not getting over you, Mouse,” Ada said. “She’s hurting and she’s struggling and yet, she’s still reaching out because she cares about you.”

“She did organize that whole get together for you after you broke her heart,” Ed pointed out somewhat under his breath.

“You don’t—it’s not—” Mouse floundered, trying to find the words to get them to understand. “It was enough for me—before,” he said. “Having Jay and Bex in my life. Being their friend. Being—being on the edge of their family. I shouldn’t have let myself want more than that, I should have left it alone and then none of us would be here right now.”

“Mouse,” Chuck said, levelling a calm and steady look at him. “I know you don’t believe this right now, but there’s no limit on the amount of happiness that you deserve.”

“I don’t—”

“Your past is your past.” Chuck shook his head. “You’ve worked hard to get where you are now, but you keep punishing yourself. Why?”

“Do you think I don’t deserve my wife?” Frank asked softly and Mouse’s mouth dropped open.

“That’s not what I—”

“Or that I don’t deserve my husband?” Chuck asked.

“Or that I don’t deserve my girlfriend?” Ada piped up.

“Do I deserve my kids?” Lucy asked.

“You can’t say that you’ve done anything in this life worse than I have,” Ed said quietly. “What do I deserve?”

Mouse could feel the carefully constructed bindings of his very logical walls breaking down with every question.

“We have all fought to claw our way back from the depths, Mouse,” Chuck said. “And what was the point of that fight if not to live? If not to let ourselves embrace everything—even love, if you’re so lucky to have it.”

They sat with him while Chuck’s words sank through the last of his defences.

“I don’t know what to do,” Mouse finally whispered. “I don’t know how to—with Bex—”

“Hey,” Ada said, scooting over to pat his knee. “That’s why we’re here, remember? To help you sort out your shit and get your girl.”

“Ada,” Chuck sighed.

“I’m not wrong!” she declared and Mouse couldn’t help the chuckle that slipped out.

Then he took a deep breath. “Okay,” he said. “Let’s…sort out my shit.”

“And get your girl,” Ada added helpfully.

And get his girl.

***

Chris

CHRIS: Hey, have you had lunch already? Or are you free to take break?

JAY: Sorry, can’t JAY: crazy day

CHRIS: what about tomorrow?

Chris watched the three dots appear and disappear beside Jay’s name for at least a minute before he started contemplating the best way to kidnap the guy.

JAY: is everything okay?

“What? A guy can’t just want to have lunch with his brother?” Chris grumbled down at the screen and Cindy came over to peer over his shoulder.

“Ah,” she said. “His spidey-senses are tingling. He knows he’s in for a talk.”

The three dots started working overtime until:

JAY: Will talked to you, didn’t he?

Cindy tapped her nose as she walked away.

“Promise me you’ll never use your powers for evil,” he called after her and she cackled.

That wasn’t a promise.

Back to the problem at hand.

CHRIS: He’s worried. About you AND Bex and I don’t blame him. CHRIS: I’m not looking to lecture you, bud CHRIS: I just want to help

The reply came surprisingly quick this time.

JAY: you free after your shift at Molly’s tonight?

Ah, crap.

He didn’t want to turn Jay away and make him feel like he couldn’t come to the bar. That kind of thing would make him withdraw completely.

But there was another person to consider in all of this.

CHRIS: yes, but also Bex is working tonight CHRIS: so just try and keep giving her space while we work this out, okay?

Five minutes of silence.

Chris was about to call him when his phone buzzed with a message.

JAY: 👍

Hunh.

“Well, it’s not a no,” he said to himself. “I’ll take it.”

One step at a time.

They’ll get there.

They always do.

***

Bex

The soak and the snacks helped, but they weren’t miracle workers.

She may have gone a bit overboard in dressing up and beautifying herself for work, but she needed her outsides to do all of the work right now because her insides still felt like crap.

Feeling grumpy as hell, Bex dragged herself to Molly’s.

She could see the questions in everyone’s eyes, but whether it was about Mouse or Jay or Beau and the Instagram thing, she did not want to talk about it and did her best to signal that loud and clear. Luckily, everyone seemed smart enough to give her a wide berth.

Except Chris.

He kept hovering and asking questions without asking questions and she knew his big brother radar must be going off like crazy, but she just—

Couldn’t.

Any of it.

So, she kept herself on the other end of the bar as often as possible and avoided his gaze.

Will and Connor came in and Will was giving her a piercing look so she avoided him as well.

And then Jay came in with the rest of Intelligence and was giving her a pathetic look which she also was avoiding.

It was a large amount of eye contact avoidance to keep track of. Was kind of giving her a headache.

There was at least one person in the place who was meeting her at her level. Al sat at her end of the bar, moping into his wine.

“I know why I’m pissy,” she said, topping up his glass. “But why are you?”

“You really feel like comparing stories tonight, kid?” He peered at her from under the brim of his cap.

“No,” she sighed. “Forget I said anything.”

They hung out in silence for a few minutes before Al clicked his tongue as he leaned against the counter. “It’s my daughter, Lexi,” he said. “She told me and her mom tonight that she’s dropping out of school to move into some art commune with her dirt bag boyfriend.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, ‘oh’ is about right,” Al said, raising an eyebrow at her. “She’s twenty. She’s not a child anymore, but she’s making a huge mistake and she won’t listen.” He started picking up steam as he talked. “No one’s saying don’t make art, but she’s so close to graduating. And this boyfriend. He’s no good for her. They’ve broken up and gotten back together more times than I can count and yet this time apparently, it’s for keeps.”

“Having been a twenty-year-old in the not so distance past and one who didn’t always make the best decisions at that,” Bex said. “I think pushing her to go in the direction you want is probably not the best solution right now.”

“That’s what Mere said,” Al muttered.

“Well, she’s trying to find her own path and she thinks she’s in love on top of that,” Bex said, remembering how easy it was to think that with AJ. “She’s going to make mistakes. The hard part is letting her.”

“I can’t watch her destroy her life,” he said. “Nothing’s destroyed, Al,” Bex snapped, not able to keep the irritation out of her voice. She was seriously over people thinking they could control other people’s choices.

“Is she making a dumb choice? Maybe. No one knows for sure,” she said to him. “The only thing you have power over right now is how you react. What are you going to do? Tell her that if she leaves, she can’t come back?”

The way he was staring a hole into the counter told her he’d been considering that.

“Think about this,” Bex said. “Say she is making a mistake. Not just with school, but with the boyfriend and say it all goes bad. Do you really want to take away her safe place? You have to leave the door open so she knows she has an out if she needs it. Cutting that off is the biggest mistake to be made here. Trust me.”

She’d hate to think where Emery would be if she hadn’t felt like she could come to Bex or any of their other friends. If she felt like she had no other options.

Al nodded slowly and pulled out his wallet to drop a few bills on the table. “Thanks, Bex,” he said. “I, uh, you gave me a lot to think about. I’m going to go talk to Mere.”

She nodded at him and went to take his glass.

“By the way,” he said, leaning back in quickly to talk closely enough for no one else to hear. “I enjoyed your Fleetwood Mac.”

And then he left with a little hat tip.

The man who allegedly typed with two fingers and didn’t know anything about technology, ladies and gentlemen.

Now she had to know what his Instagram account was called. She chuckled to herself. Mouse could probably find out—

…right. Never mind. She could sleuth it out on her own.

She poured out the last of Al’s wine and dumped the glass into the dirty bin.

“Hey, what did that wine glass do to you?” Otis asked as he sidled up to her.

“Not in the mood, Otis,” she said and he rolled his eyes.

“Oh, really? I hadn’t noticed. You’ve been such pleasant company tonight.”

She fixed him with a stare, willing him to walk away.

“Put the murder eyes away,” he said, holding his hands up. “I only came over to tell you that some guy at the other end of the bar is asking for you.”

“Who—” She craned her neck to look through the crowd and try to get a glimpse.

And froze.

What the actual fuck.

***

Shay

Shay loved hanging out with her firehouse family, but there was something about this little friend unit she and Julie had formed with Julie’s partner Sam and his boyfriends, Devon and Isaac, that just worked.

Conversation always flowed, Devon and Isaac were hilarious and Sam was quieter, but so sweet. She wasn’t sure about him at first because he had epic resting bitch face, but he actually a shy, little dork.

Like, possibly knew more about Star Wars than Otis level of dork.

It was kind of adorable.

She loved these nights when they could get the five of them together at Molly’s and hang out with drinks, chatting for hours. Severide was a little jealous at first, but even he had to admit they were great guys.

“Next rounds on me,” she said to the group, happy to top them all up and have an excuse to check in on Bex at the same time. “Same orders?”

“That would be great,” Sam said, trailing off as he stared over her shoulder. From one instant to the next, his face transformed into hard lines as he glared. “No fucking way.”

“What?” She whirled around, not seeing anything that could set him off like this.

And it had to be something because she’d never seen him look so angry. Even when he helped kick drunk jerks out of the bar, he always managed to keep his calm.

“Babe,” Isaac laid a hand on Sam’s very tense shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“AJ,” Sam growled out which meant nothing to her, but apparently meant a lot to Devon and Isaac because they were also instantly on edge.

“Where’s Bex,” Devon asked immediately, scanning the bar area.

“Is she in danger?” Julie asked and Shay would also really like to know that. “Do we need to get her out of here?”

And, oh—there went Sam, stalking off to the front of the bar, Devon hot on his heels.

“Not in physical danger,” Isaac said quickly as he went to follow. “He’s a shithead who broke her heart and Sam said he’d kick his ass if he ever showed his face around her again so we need to go and stop him from getting himself arrested, like now, right now.”

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Sam’s voice echoed throughout the room.

*** Sam Bex could fight her own battles.

Or at least, that’s what the little voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like her was saying as soon as he caught sight of that freaking asshole.

And that was very true.

But also, another part of his brain kept reminding him how hurt she was by him, walking around like a shell of her former self for months, exhausting herself trying to pretend she was okay, and that part—

That part really wanted to punch the guy.

Just once.

***

Bex

She’d contemplated slipping out to the back room, but then Sam stormed over and started getting in AJ’s face and the room fell silent as a whole pile of first responders went on red alert.

Bex sighed.

She did not need this tonight.

“Sam,” she called out as she made her way over. “Back off, please.”

“Bex, you don’t have to talk to him,” Sam bit out, crowding AJ while Isaac and Devon flanked him on either side. “He’s going to leave, isn’t that right, AJ? I’ll help.” He reached out to grip the front of AJ’s shirt with a sharp smile.

Okay, this was—

“AJ,” Will’s voice piped up and Bex groaned.

No, come on—

“AJ?” Jay snarled from across the room and she pointed a finger at him, not wanting to hear an explanation for how he knew about this particular situation.

“Don’t you even start.”

Bex had had enough—

“This is AJ?” Chris suddenly appeared beside her, adding his own glare to the mix.

“How do you know about AJ?” she asked him because seriously?

What the hell?

“I know all kinds of things,” Chris sniffed, barely sparing her a glance. “Including the fact that this guy doesn’t belong in our bar.” He stared at AJ and jerked his chin at the door. “Scram.”

“Nice to see you, Bex,” AJ said, smiling at her while he ignored everyone else, including Sam’s fist still wrapped up in his shirt. “Want to step outside for minute? It’s a bit crowded in here.”

A whole chorus of protests rose up and Bex scrubbed a hand down her face. Sam launched into a list of AJ’s transgressions for freaking everyone to hear which was just…lovely.

She reached down and poured herself of a shot from the first bottle she could lay her hands on.

“Hey.” Chris took the bottle and the shot glass out of her hands with a frown. “Cut that out.”

“I should not be expected to deal with this sober,” she muttered to herself, but apparently not quietly enough if the way Chris’s eyebrows flew up was anything to go by.

“Bex,” Will said, crowding up to the bar. “Want me to get him out of here? It’s your call.”

Nice of one person to acknowledge that.

“Listen up! I will take care of this myself,” she said loud enough for everyone around them to hear. “All of you just back off. Please.” She came out from behind the bar. “And Sam, let go of his shirt, for god’s sake.”

The gang around AJ which now included not only Sam (who was reluctantly releasing his grip), Devon, and Isaac, but Kelly, Adam, Shay, Julie, Matt…and Jay, parted to let her through.

“Bex,” Jay reached for her, having the nerve to look concerned and she brushed him off.

“Definitely in no way do I need your help.” She made her way through the crowd until she reached AJ. “Come with me.” She grabbed his wrist and dragged him out the front door, turning around quickly before leaving.

She loved her whole gigantic, messy family, but she knew exactly what would happen if she wasn’t explicitly clear with them right now.

“All of you will stay inside, do you understand me?”

The room was quiet.

“Verbal confirmation!”

A chorus of sullen yesses came back at her and that was good enough.

Keeping a tight hold on a smirking AJ who smelled infuriatingly good, she stalked down the street until they were a good distance away from Molly’s.

“What do you want, AJ?” She crossed her arms and forced herself to make eye contact.

“Exactly what I said in my message; to say hi and catch up.” He reached over to gently touch one of her arms and she stepped out of reach. “I saw you on Instagram and I thought it’d been long enough that maybe we could try being friends again…”

She scoffed out a laugh.

“We were friends first, Bex, remember that?” he asked her quietly, using that voice that used to send shivers down her spine. “Great friends. I’ve missed you.”

A small, traitorous voice in her brain agreed with him. Their friendship had been the starting point and it had been a good one.

And then he kept talking.

“I’ve missed other things too,” he said, moving into her space to put his hands on her waist. “Things that we were also really great at.”

Bex looked up at him. Into that face that she’d adored and the eyes she used to get lost in.

She reached up to cup his cheek and smiled softly. “Thank you,” she said.

“For what?” AJ chuckled. “Reminding you of what you’ve been missing?”

“In a way,” Bex nodded as she pushed him away gently. “I think I needed to see you in person to know for sure.”

He looked confused and that didn’t surprise her. He wasn’t used to being on this side of things.

“I’m completely over you,” she said, more for her own benefit than his. It was the kind of thing that needed to be declared out loud. “You’re not who I want. Not anymore. Not for a long time now.”

“I’m not asking for a relationship here, Bex.” He rolled his eyes.

Nice to know some things never changed.

“Whatever it is you’re looking for, it’s not happening.” She shook her head, feeling more like herself than she had in days. “We were done years ago, AJ. You made that clear at the time and you were right, we weren’t a good fit. Let’s leave it at that.”

Keep it in the past where it belonged.

“Oh, please,” he laughed. “For once in your life, relax. Why are you so opposed to having a little fun? You’re clearly still single judging by that Instagram show. You’re still hot. If you weren’t so fucking clingy, we could be having a great time.”

“And I’m done,” she turned to walk away and he grabbed her arm, pulling her back in close.

“You just need to loosen up a bit,” he murmured before dipping his head down and capturing her lips in a kiss.

It was wrong.

So wrong.

This was not who she wanted to be kissing.

She never wanted to kiss these lips again.

“No,” Bex said, shoving him away and scraping a hand over her mouth. “You need to leave or I’ll actually let Sam kick your ass. He’s been waiting a long time. And he has more friends now.”

“God,” AJ laughed, shaking his head. “Same old Bex. Are you still holding out hope for true fucking love? You’re a mediocre fuck at best. Start lowering your expectations, babe.”

Wow.

Just wow.

Time to throw the whole man in the trash.

“See, I tried having lower expectations,” she said, gesturing at him. “But then I figured out that I deserve better. I’m done settling for less.”

She felt someone come up behind her and turned to see Chris standing there. “Atta girl,” he whispered, keeping a post of solidarity at her side.

“Fucking delusional,” AJ said with a shake of his head. “Don’t bother calling me when you’re still alone five years from now.”

“Actually, I already have an offer lined up for then so I’m good,” she said.

“Oh, yeah?” Chris turned to her in surprise. “Who?”

“Beau.”

A grin stretched across his face. “I love that guy.”

“Yes,” Bex laughed. “I am aware.”

“Jerkface is leaving finally,” Chris said with a little nod at AJ who was stalking back to his car across the street.

“Good riddance,” she said, leaning into Chris when he put an arm around shoulders, but straightened up when she realized she wasn’t entirely done.

“For the record,” she yelled out at AJ. “I am amazing at sex!”

The only answer was a car door slamming.

“Probably—probably could have left that part off,” Chris said in a strained voice.

“Eh, felt better to get it out,” she said with a shrug.

Chris laughed, tucking her into his side as they walked back to Molly’s. “I love you, kid.”

“Love you too, Chris.”

They were almost at the door when he stopped and turned to her. “We’ve got a lot to talk about, me and you.”

She sighed. Deeply. And then nodded.

Not that she wanted to dive into the nitty gritty of her love life with Chris, but he always had a way of helping her cut through to the heart of things.

“We do,” she agreed. “But not tonight. Please?”

“Yeah, that’s fair.”

They headed inside and she nodded briefly at Will before making a beeline for Sam and wrapping him up in a hug.

“Sorry for getting all grrrr,” he whispered in her ear.

Only Sam would call nearly knocking a guy’s head off ‘getting all grrr’.

“I appreciate you having my back, big guy,” she said, giving him a squeeze. “But I appreciate you backing off too. I handled it.”

She stepped back to include Devon and Isaac in their little huddle. “AJ is officially done.”

“I say this with love, but thank god,” Isaac said. “If you started things up with him again, I don’t know what I would have done, but it would have been drastic.”

“I had more faith in you,” Devon said with a wink and Isaac made a face at him.

“I had faith! I just…also like to be prepared,” he said with a sniff.

“Well, everyone can stand down because we’re good,” Bex said, hoping that put an end to the topic. “I should get back to work before Otis starts complaining being abandoned, but I’ll see you later.”

After another quick round of hugs, they let her go and she made her way over to the bar. Something had obviously been said to the gang while she was outside because no one was asking her questions or pressing for details and that was definitely not the norm.

She could maybe see the Med and 21 crowd having a bit of restraint, but everyone at 51?

This level of restraint was unheard of.

Just enjoy it while it lasts, she thought to herself as she started gathering up the dirty glasses from around the bar and setting them in a bin.

From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Jay determinedly making his way over to her.

That was a nice thirty seconds of peace.

She grabbed the bin and headed into the kitchen, hoping, praying he would be smart enough not to follow. She really wasn’t in the mood for a second confrontation.

Setting the bin down beside the sink, Bex held her breath.

And sighed when the door opened behind her.

***

Jay

“Go away, Jay,” Bex said without even turning around.

“I just want to talk.” If she would just listen, just hear his side of things, he knew they could work through this. They always did.

Bex was someone he could always count on to understand him. Even when he messed up.

But they couldn’t get there if she wouldn’t even talk to him.

“Please.”

She finally turned, leaning against the counter with her arms crossed as she glared at him. “I told you I needed space. Why are you doing this?”

“I don’t want to fight with you—”

“Then leave!” She waved a hand at the door.

“I need to explain—”

“You want. You need.” Bex shook her head with a bitter laugh. “Do you hear yourself right now?”

“I’m trying here, Bex,” he said, bracing his hands on the island in front of him. “How can we work through this if you won’t even talk?”

“We don’t,” she said flatly. “This is on my timeline, not yours. You don’t get to dictate the terms when it’s your fucking fault.”

“I was trying to help you!” he exclaimed. “Stop you guys from making a huge mistake—”

“It was our mistake to make!” Bex yelled, her voice cracking. “Mine! And Mouse’s. Our choice. Not yours. And fuck you for even thinking that it could only be a mistake. Fuck you.”

She stormed past him out the door and back into the bar.

No.

Fuck.

No, this was all wrong.

Jay went after her.

*** Chris

Chris was wondering where Bex had gone when Will came up to the bar.

“Have you seen Jay?”

Then they heard the yelling coming from the kitchen.

Will cursed under his breath as Bex came flying out and grabbed her bag from under the counter.

“I’m sorry, Chris,” she said, blinking back tears. “I have to go home.”

“Bex!” Jay burst out of the kitchen and Will moved to intercept him, talking quietly in his ear as he held him back.

“Let me drive you,” Chris offered. He knew she needed to go as soon as possible, but he didn’t want her driving herself. Not in this state.

“No, I’m good,” she said, scooting away from the bar neatly. “I need to be alone right now, okay? But I’ll text you when I get there—I just—I can’t. Bye.”

She rushed out the door before anyone could stop her.

Shit.

He looked over at Otis who immediately nodded. “Go, man,” Otis said. “Seriously. I’ll be fine here. Go help Bex.”

Chris grabbed his pockets to make sure he had his own keys and wallet before hurrying around the bar to where Will and now Connor were both holding a struggling Jay.

He stepped in and gripped Jay’s shoulder until the kid looked up to meet his eyes.

Chris sighed at the turmoil he found there.

Didn’t matter how old they got. Seeing his kids hurting always broke his own heart.

Especially when they were hurting themselves.

“Take a breath, Jay,” he said, soft but firm.

Jay shook his head.

“Come on,” Chris coaxed. “This isn’t how we solve it.”

“I can’t leave it like this, Chris,” he said, voice strangled. “I can’t.” He broke out of Will and Connor’s hold and darted for the side door, slipping outside before anyone could catch him.

One look at Will and Connor had them falling in line behind him as Chris followed Jay.

At least they knew where he was headed.

***

Trudy

Everyone sat in silence for a moment watching the door that Herrmann, Halstead, and Rhodes had just exited out of in pursuit of Chuckles and Mini-Chuckles.

What a mess.

On the plus side, now seemed like as good a time as any to start the conversation Cindy had been bugging her about all day.

“Okay, listen up,” she said to the room as a whole. “We need to talk about the bet…”

***

Bex

Pushing the Tin Can to its limit, she made it home in record time.

Between the tears and the actually very dangerous driving, she was surprised she made it at all.

Bex snatched her keys and her bag and scrambled out of her car. Knowing Jay, he was probably hot on her heels and she was done talking to him.

God. She wanted to scream.

How dare he—

A hand slammed over her mouth while an arm grabbed tight around her middle, jerking her back. Her heart stopped as the smell of sweat and stale beer filled her nose.

“Don’t make a fucking sound,” a voice growled in her ear.

She froze.

Ty.

Click here to read Chapter Seven. Click here to read Chapter Eight. Click here to read Chapter Nine. Click here to read Chapter Ten. Click here to read Chapter Eleven.

Click here to read Honesty. Horrible, Horrible Honesty on ao3:

And here is the tag list (let me know if you wish to be added or removed):

@sorry-i-spaced, @iunnowatuwant, @thegirlwhowishedeveryonelived, @ivyalmighty, @thewannabewriter, @lexhalstead3, @multifandomgrl08, @foxes-and-cats, @sensitivemallysix, @thebewingedjewelcat

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whiskeyjack · 3 years

Note

After tonight’s episode it truly seems like Rio’s feelings for Beth are genuine. He likes her 🥺❤️

We can only hope, truly - I really wish this was the deciding factor in his actions.

Imma try to do my best and articulate my opinion of the most recent episode, but I’ve never done this before on tumblr so please bear with me.

Unfortunately, I don’t actually think what happened at Rio’s family’s house is related to his feelings for Beth. At least on the surface. and the surface is….. incredibly thick and cemented. AND the feelings underneath this surface have been buried so deep that, probably, only painful vulnerability between the two of them will crack it open. I think, unfortunately (for them), both Beth and Rio are actually stupid enough to become physically intimate with each other again (aka one of their purest forms of vulnerability beyond honesty) with the path they are on currently. All that to say, maybe we will get a 2.13 reconciliation out of this season? I still have hope. Not much, but I do hold a sliver of it.

However, I think it’s important to point out that Rio didn’t let Beth touch him. And he never has since the shooting. He has always been the one initiating physical contact this season (the shoulder pat at the bar, the pool table, Rio stripping Beth for a wire, at the dinner table and in the guest room, etc) and during season 3. So, whatever physical contact they have had, it’s always been on his terms. (And, in my opinion, it absolutely should be.)

Neither of them are in a place to let their walls down with each other, especially Rio. As far as physical vulnerability is concerned, I think he carries a shit ton more hurt and probably has very sturdy protective walls around himself (as he should). I think I agree with Manny (during the s3 timeline) when he said something along the lines of ‘if Rio and Beth were to get physical again, Rio would appear weak’. Rio needs Beth to prove her loyalty to him, and so far, she hasn’t done that in the slightest. Something doesn’t add up with the ‘Dave’ she had him kill, the car tracker, and now the wire (or lack thereof). I would say Beth is being painfully obvious and not making the best decisions regarding... everything, but then again, so is Rio. They’re both incredibly bad at crime, it’s embarrassing at this point haha but I'm digressing.

This game that they’re both playing with each other of ‘who’s going to break first’ seems to be basically on track to blow up again for both of them I think... and we all know that neither of them are able to deal with any type of emotional intimacy very well. So, I really hope this time we get an emotional/verbal explosion instead of a physical one as a result. while hate sex would be great, I think it’s about time these two grow up and try to talk about their feelings (I mean, let’s be real, will they? Probably not. Would we even love them so much if they could? Hard to say... haha). That entire guest room scene was a power play over Beth for sure, and Rio had her wrapped around his finger (pun only semi-intended lol). It left Beth wanting, and therefore Rio did win that particular game: 1) because he brought Beth closer into his physical orbit on his terms, and 2) he made her lose control instead of the other way around. And we all know loss of control is literally their kryptonite.

I can’t say for sure what’s going on in Beth’s head; she’s still too infuriatingly good at compartmentalizing and expressing what she really feels, with the exception being maybe when she took on the role as ‘the banker’.... however, I do think that Rio is putting a lot of trust (arguably too much) in her hands. Of course, much of it seems like power plays, and until he reveals his cards, we won’t know for sure. I don’t think he’s dumb (... except when it comes to counting? haha), but I think we also know that he’s way more comfortable taking risks with regards to Beth, rather than vice versa. I don’t think his animosity towards her has shifted in the slightest, but his laxness towards letting her closer has, both physically (on his terms) and professionally (arguably for possessive reasons), and—as many lovely souls have already pointed out, he does know Beth, and what makes her tick (and therefore what will inspire her trust). I think there were some layers of possessiveness at this dinner as well, but it seemed to be more related to his personal reasons to make a statement (or aka another lovely power move) against Nick in front of the entire table, and less born out of romantic feelings for Beth. Whatever the reasons, at this point, both he and Beth are so entrenched in such a complicated and ugly history with too much going on, it’s really impossible to know, especially since we only have one side of the story. We don’t have Rio’s perspective, and still know very little about his life, history and motivations (this dinner being one of the firsts overloads it was very overwhelming for me—so this is the story I made up in my head haha).

I get what the show is trying to get at in this episode, I do. Could it have been more thoughtfully executed and developed? Absolutely. I mean, that can definitely be said for a lot more than this episode.

Beth and Rio both have utilized their arsenals of sexual chemistry against each other as manipulation post-shooting (Beth in s3, and now Rio in s4). They both are aware of it, of course, and they both are determined to out-play each other. I think, at this point, Rio has accepted, feelings aside, that he wants to bring Beth into the family business... bc she is more useful than not, and now - it’s not up to him anymore... 1) it’s up to his family, if they accept her or not (but I highly doubt they know the real history between the two of them though) and 2) it’s up to Beth to choose him (not romantically, but professionally, at least for now) over turning him in. And if this increased physicality reminds her of how he well he not only knows her, but can play her like a guitar? Even better.

The show does seem to be going down the road of re-establishing a physical relationship between the two of them, and as the love-triangle spoilers have been revealed, it probably will result in layers of possessive, hateful, spiteful, hurtful and emotional consequences, especially if the third party is a complicated relationship with another family member. I just hope that while that’s taking place, we get a look into what’s bubbling beneath the surface, because you can bet it’s probably gunna be volcanic..... and this time, I mean I just really hope the only weapons used are words from both of these trigger-happy souls 🙈

#gg spoilers #nbc good girls #ask #hereliesbb #4.06 #analysis #(a bit anyways?)#whiskeyjack gg analysis

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curioussubjects · 4 years

Text

come be a season 12 truther with me; or what if dean and cas got together offscreen

Originally, I wrote this post to celebrate “Galaxy Brain” airing as Berens & Glynn gave us “The Future.” It’s been a while since that episode aired, and some things have changed about this meta. As such, there are multiple versions of this post floating around, so make sure to go back to the source for the most up to date version. For all intents and purposes, this post functions as a meta manifesto not unlike shipping manifestos from days of LJ past. In keeping with that tradition, this post is a close reading of Dabb Era Destiel in which I argue that by using narrative gaps, queer coding, and romance tropes, Dean and Cas are shown to be in an established relationship. Although beyond the scope of this post, it’s worth pointing out that keeping Destiel mostly off screen was a way for the creatives to bypass network censorship while still remaining true to the characters.

This post is divided into three sections. Section I focuses on giving an overview of why earlier seasons of Supernatural aren’t as compelling as season 12 as a turning point for Dean and Cas’s relationship. That said, special consideration is given to 09.06 “Heaven Can’t Wait” as a potential rest stop in our journey due to it’s significantly placed narrative gap as well as themes in the episode. However, this post isn’t going to examine season 9 trutherism in depth, though it does coexist with and allow for it. Section II analyses season 12 and proposes a timeline and justification for the shifting Destiel dynamic. Finally, Section III will offer an analysis of how Dean and Cas’s relationship has changed dramatically from previous seasons in a way that is most like the shift from a “will they or won’t they” pairing to an established one.

Before I move to Section I, I’d like to note something this post takes for granted: Dean and Cas are the main romantic subplot of Supernatural, and, in fact, their relationship is elevated to main plot for both characters in season 15. This post won’t argue about the canonicity of Dean and Cas’s feelings for each other, therefore, and so won’t spend time looking at many Destiel defining moments. I’d also like to make clear that this post also takes for granted that Destiel is being intentionally developed by the writers starting with Carver’s Era, and more so in Dabb’s.

I. Why Seasons 4 through 11 May Not be It

The tl;dr. here is that while there are many moments throughout these seasons that Dean and Cas could potentially get together, none of those moments are ideal for a bunch of reasons that can be summed up as really bad timing. I also think the narrative is actively pushing them towards a moment that works. We get plenty of stepping stones, especially once we hit seasons 8 through 11 (and 11 most of all).

Seasons 4 & 5:

I know there’s been a lot of get together fics over the years set in this time period, but I just don’t see it. Do I see them being intrigued and drawn to each other? Yes. Do I think either Cas or Dean would act on it? Nope. I’m not arguing anything re: Dean’s feelings, but with everything going at the time I find it hard to believe he’d pursue anything with his angel friend. Most importantly here, though, is that during this time Cas was still very alien and other. There was too much angel in him, and while he obviously came to care about Dean (and Sam) very much, I just can’t see him navigating the realm of human relationships. That said, seeing human!Cas in “The End” is the first we see of potential developments for how Cas could behave without his angelness interfering. Being human changes Cas a lot, beyond even his experience existing among humans, though that of course matters too. This development will be important later /wink.

Seasons 6 & 7:

Before anything else let me just recognize that if we could see some sexual tension in seasons 4 & 5, these two seasons come with our first taste of romantic tension. The pining! Also note the difference between season 4 Cas and season 6 Cas in terms of behaviour. He is much less the angel we saw in that barn in “Lazarus Rising.” In season 6, we have a Cas making misguided decisions guided entirely by his emotions – namely, not wanting to involve Dean with the war in heaven – which is peak human, honestly. Put a pin on how sad Dean is in both seasons with Cas’s absence. Finally, put a pin on this being our first moment of Cas doing things on his own to spare Dean and it not ending well (soulless!Sam, Cas “dying” after Leviathan) because this is *the* hurdle in their relationship (along with Dean’s lashing out and self-worth issues). With all this said, the marked distance between Dean and Cas in these seasons negates the possibility of them entering into any kind of relationship. Much like seasons 4 and 5, there’s too much going on.

Season 8:

Ah, yes, the summer of purgatory. If you thought we had pining before…! I think we’re all very clear on season 8 being a turning point for the show, not only because new showrunner, but we also get the bunker. TFW now has an HQ, which pretty soon becomes home. Yes, Baby will always be home, but the bunker becomes the *unmovable* safe haven that Baby couldn’t be. The bunker is a place to coalesce, and for all the amazing things Baby is, she is not that. The acquisition of the bunker marks a shift in the psychology of the show: with the stable home space we can start to imagine domesticity, a place to come home to, the stuff of ordinary living. Most of all, the bunker is emblematic of security, of safety –keep this in mind, as we go forward.

This season also continues to see Cas go down the path of independently solving his problems instead of asking for help from Sam and Dean (his family in a way heaven never was) – note that the better together issue is at play in different ways with Sam and Dean also, but I digress. I also want to point out disastrous instance #2 of Cas’s insistence on figuring it out on his own: he loses his grace, and the angels fall. As for Dean, season 8’s focus for him has much to do with Sam, and them coming face to face with their issues with codependency, which hit catastrophic levels with the gates of hell and Gadreel plots.

So despite all the deliciously angsty get together purgatory fics and spec, there’s too much distance between Dean and Cas on Cas’s part due to his guilt over betraying the Winchesters in s6 plus slaughtering angels plus unleashing Leviathan. We do see Dean being more emotionally open with Cas and continue to voicing his wish that Cas would just stay with him and Sam, and let them help. It’s clear as day how much Dean cares. The timing is still bad, though.

Before moving on to next season, let’s take a moment to appreciate that this is the season Dean admits being kinda done with one night stands because “always with the adios.” Remember the bunker as a sign of stability? Yeah. I wouldn’t say Dean is craving a relationship, exactly, but I think we can see that he does want something more (ahem also I’m nodding to Cas refusing to stay put just cause).

Seasons 9 & 10:

The most important thing to happen between this two seasons is Cas’s stint as a human for an extended period of time. There’s been plenty of spec and meta written over the years about the effects of being human on Cas’s grace (a proto-soul now maybe?). What we can say for sure, regardless, is that Cas is much more humanized once he becomes an angel again. The understanding he gets from being human doesn’t go away once he regains his angel powers. You’ll notice that while we still see some of season 4’s characterization, Cas is not the same as he was – he is alien to angels now and is more intelligible to humans. Additionally, in an interesting reversal from previous seasons, we now get to see the depth of Cas’s feelings for Dean (thanks, Metatron) as well as seeing him be more open emotionally, while Dean does most of the pushing away (first because of Gadreel, then because of the Mark of Cain). In short, the timing is still bad as Dean and Cas are largely kept apart both physically and emotionally.

9.06 Heaven Can’t Wait

This episode is my white whale, friends. While I’ve come to fully subscribe to the idea that something did happen between Dean and Cas during the fanfic gap, I don’t actually think it’s feasible that it marked the start of a relationship -- be it sexual or romantic. My reasoning here is quite simple: the timing is bad. Were it not for external events (Cas regaining his Grace and Dean taking on the MoC), the course would have likely differed. Furthermore, Dean’s guilt over making Cas leave the bunker as well as Cas’s own hurt and self-loathing pose a significant and as yet insurmountable obstacle, which is easily seen with how Dean and Cas’s character trajectories go separate ways.

YMMV on what exactly happened between them in that Motel, but something definitely did. Perhaps one day I’ll have a proper s9 trutherism post to link to here for more details (likely won’t be written by me, though).

10.16 Paint It Black

From the point Dean gets the MoC until the end of season 10, anything between him and Cas is quite impossible due to distancing, to say the least. Again, yes, the fic is really good, but alas. One of the reasons I’m bringing up this episode in particular is because of the confession scene. One, it’s a rare bit of explicit emotional honesty from Dean, and two, it tells me that while he and Cas may be well aware of the Thing™ between them, it’s still uncharted waters. It’s scary, and murky, and they’re unsure how to navigated it or if they should even try. Makes sense, too, there’s been A LOT going on since s6. Anyway, he’s the full confession:

You know, the life I live, the work I do…I pretty much just figured that that was all there was to me, you know? Tear around and jam the key in the ignition and haul ass until I ran out of gas. I guess I just thought sooner or later, I’d go out the same way that I live – pedal to the metal, and that would be it. […] Now, um… recent events, uh… make me think I might be closer to that than I really thought. And…I don’t know. I mean, you know, there’s – there’s things, there’s…people, feelings that I-I-I want to experience differently than I have before, or maybe even for the first time. […] Yeah, I’m just starting to think that… maybe there’s more to it all than I thought.

Can I just say, first, that this confession keeps me up at night because we never actually see anything done with it explicitly? I mean, obviously, I think we do in fact see the effects of this confession in the show, otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this behemoth, but still, like. Damn. Ok, so, remember when I brought up that thing in season 7 about Dean being kinda done with hook-ups? Here’s where that led us. We’re seeing a Dean here who wants more than what he has convinced himself he gets to have. He wants more than dying bloody. And when he talks about wanting to experience people and feelings differently, well, that says a lot not just on the queer coding front or the romantic front. I mean, jfc, Dean is accepting the idea that he can have more in life than just hunt until he drops, and he’s specifically talking about experiences at the interpersonal level.

Do you ever see a character having an epiphany and find yourself wanting to cry because this is it right here. Dean is just blatantly admitting he wants more and maybe he can make himself be open to that (!!!), which all culminates in season 11, so…

Season 11:

The pining is still here, but it’s worse now since it’s the whole plot? It’s been *checks calendar* 5 years of this. How are any of us still kicking I don’t know. Your slow burns could never. Cool worth noting points: Cas says yes to Lucifer (bad decision #2.5, lots of mitigating effects_I don’t actually hold it against him that much but Dean is another story & not entirely rational at this point); for the first time since the early days, Dean and Cas are on equal grounds: they’ve both fucked up a lot and have hurt each other. The issues this season are outside their dynamic. Amara and Lucifer here serve as externalizing forces for Dean and Cas’s problems: Cas checks out with Lucifer because he thinks it’s the only way he can help, Dean is caught up in the turmoil of Amara, the emblem of absence and avoidance of struggle. We do get something like an affirmation from the two of them to each other via Dean calling Cas his brother (and I want y’all to consider the historical queering of that statement, and Cas’s “I could go with you.” It feels like we’re headed to them being on the same page. By the end of the season, though, it feels like we’re getting a clean slate: Mary is back, nobody died, no end-of-the-world in sight, no interpersonal crisis. We’re also getting a new showrunner, so. No wonder. We’re gearing up for something, but I’m getting ahead of myself. What this season does that is super important is that it sets up the stage for the possibility of an actual relationship between Dean and Cas, something that has, up until this point, been pretty much impossible.

11.04 Baby

Y’all know what I’m about to quote here, right? That conversation between Dean and Sam about having something with someone who understands the life. Here we still have Dean reverting to the idea that it’s impossible, which is a direct contrast to the openness in 10.16. It’s understandable, though, considering there’s been little reason to think anything like that would be possible (see all the mess and poor timing from seasons past). The quote in question, though, marks a continuing development regarding the issues Dean is struggling with this season:

DEAN: Piper? That’s awesome. Heather. One-night wonders, man. Shoot, we’re lucky we still get that at all. SAM: Really? You don’t … Ever want something more? DEAN: I’m sorry, have you met us? We’re batting a whopping zero in domestic life, man. Goose eggs. SAM: You don’t ever think about something? Not marriage or whatever. But … Something? You know, with a hunter? Somebody who understands the life?

We wouldn’t be talking about this stuff all these years after Sam and Dean had a serious relationship if it wasn’t important, right? Also who else do we meet this season? That’s right! Eileen! And doesn’t that hit different with season 15 hindsight? And who does Dean have that understands the life? Whose stories have been intricately connected to his? Right now, this is all conjecture. A pipe dream Sam is revisiting, and Dean is skeptical about. Except, well. Look at what we get in “Into the Mystic” and “The Chitters.”

11.11 Into The Mystic

I’m bringing up this episode as a cross reference to “Paint It Black” as well as to complement the talk from “Baby,” and to show, again, that, for all the closeness between Dean and Cas, there’s still a marked distance they haven’t yet bridged. There’s still truths they haven’t told each other. Thanks Mildred for the delicious exposition:

Darlin’…If there’s one thing I’ve learned in all my years on the road, it’s when somebody’s pining for somebody else. […] Oh, don’t try and hide it now. Follow your heart. Remember?

11.19 The Chitters

And here we see some validation to Sam’s imagining of a possible future with someone else. We actually see hunters who not only are married, but they both make it out alive. Jesse and Cesar get their happy ending. They make the dream come true. And the reality of it important not just for Dean to see, but Sam too.

Dean: [with realization] Oh, so … [points back and forth to Jesse and Cesar] Cesar: Yeah. Dean: Okay, that’s… Cesar puts his beer bottle on the table and looks at Dean, while Jesse is being silent. Dean: What’s it like, settling down with a hunter? Cesar: Smelly, dirty. [turns to Jesse] Twice the worrying about getting ganked.

I’d like to point out, too, that the fear of getting ganked is thematic when it comes to the tension between Dean and Cas. More on this when we hit s13.

Alright, now, having said that, let’s take a look at season 12. Bear in mind, this is the official start of Dabb’s era, even if he kinda began taking over in season 11, and the change in vibes is obvious. In fact, 12 jumped out at me as a turning point, in hindsight, after getting smacked by the domesticity of seasons 13 and 14.

II. Why Season 12

[Out of date section. Update coming soon when spoons. After significant debate, I’ve altered the definitive start of Dean and Cas’s friend-with-benefits-with-mutual-pining relationship to between 12.02 and 12.03. I briefly explained why here, and yes it’s a shitpost--still true tho.]

Finally, the promise land, y’all. Getting right to it: what s11 was for Dean in terms of setting up the relationship stage, s12 was for Cas. In its initial beats, any way. That is, until the Kelly debacle, this was the longest Cas has been around the bunker and with the exception of seasons 13 and 14, it’s one of the first times we get to see how Cas might actually fit into the bunker-as-home. Things seem remarkably chill. Of course, we’ll notice that there’s still a lot of baggage hanging around because despite Dean and Cas being in a more stable place, they haven’t actually dealt with their interpersonal problems. I didn’t single out directly this episode, but do keep in mind Cas’s declaration in 12.09 First Blood as far as how much the Winchesters matter to Cas & how we also see Dean and Cas be particularly singled out with them seating together in the backseat of the Impala. What we also see this season is Cas trying to prove he is worthy of this family, his family. He’s not fighting for heaven or to right some grievous wrong (a la s8). No, this season he’s fighting to spare the Winchester, to bring them a win. To bring Dean a win. The major disconnect is that Dean (and Sam & Mary) already sees Cas that way, he doesn’t think Cas has anything to prove. And just maybe, Cas starts believing that too – or, at least, believing it enough.

12.10 Lily Sunders Has Some Regrets

This episode, oh my god, the goodness. In the wake of 12.09 we have Dean and Cas in a tiff because Cas mistake #3 (killing Billie and “cosmic consequences”), this is a pattern. Twice the worry of getting ganked, etc etc. But where this episode really shines is through the contrast between Ishim’s obsession with Lily and Cas & Dean’s mutual affection for each other. Ishim sees no difference here and, to him, Cas’s feelings for Dean are a human weakness. Returning to my point about human!Cas, this episode underscores that Cas’s increasing humanity is what puts him in the place where he can want what Dean wants instead of either being too alien to get it (see s4 & 5) or unable to experience it properly (Ishim).

12.12 Stuck in the Middle (With You)

Cas’s trajectory culminates here with the whole I love you (@ Dean), I love all of you (@ Winchesters). Let’s note too that Cas is dying here, in a way that is much more human than going up in light. This declaration of different types of love is entirely human. It’s also a definitive step wrt to Cas and Dean’s relationship because of what happens in 12.19. This. is. it. Oh, and, of course, let’s not forget to point to Dean’s face when Cas says that “I love you,” and how terrified he is that Cas is dying. Might make one rethink some things, hm?

12.19 The Future

This episode is simply hella suspicious, and all the kudos to Berens and Glynn for writing it. It’ll haunt me forever. Consider watching it again and just questioning everything. So. Weird things:

1. Dean’s reaction to Cas no getting in touch as opposed to Sam’s. Dean is pissed, which is Dean-speak for worried out of his mind. Sam is very worried, too, and puzzled, but he’s mostly expressing his relief that Cas is back. But Cas has gone awol before, but this time Dean is much more worked up about it; Sam takes note of this, too. Now, let’s imagine that maybe the events of 12.12 led to something happening between Dean and Cas. Then Cas decided to leave to find a lead on Kelly, but eventually Cas decides to work with Heaven and goes radio silent. For days. Having taken a chance, and something having happened between them, how would Dean react to Cas just going poof and not contacting him – despite Dean having called Cas multiple times.

2. Cas knows about the Colt. Ok, nothing off there. But when he goes to Dean’s room to talk, right after Dean leaves we see Cas looking around briefly. Like he know Dean would keep it in there. Maybe Cas had looked other places already. Who knows. What we do know is that eventually he does find the Colt not only in Dean’s room, but under Dean’s pillow. Sam didn’t even know the Colt wasn’t in the safe. So how did Cas know?

3.“He came into my room and he played me.” So, this quote right there, makes it seem like some seduction for personal gain, right? But can you see Cas actually doing that if they hadn’t gone there previously? For Dean not to suspect anything and go with it? There’s plenty of plausible deniability here, but the gaps in time in the narrative make me question what is there in those spaces. The scene where Cas tried to give Dean the mixtape back doesn’t read like “playing,” so it’s about a different interaction. Hm. Hmmm.

4. Dean and Cas’s brief conversation in Dean’s room is clearly Dean just wanting Cas to stay, so they can work (and be) together – because they’re better that way. Which, yeah, truth, but also ow.

5.And most importantly: When did Dean give Cas that mixtape??? How did that happen?

Sequence of events: Cas tells Dean he loves him – Dean is clearly shook by it – Dean gives Cas a mixtape (romantic gesture, often a declaration of feelings; in true Dean speak too lolsobs) – Cas goes awol - Dean acts like he got ghosted by his new bf -?????- Cas somehow knows the Colt is under Dean’s pillow – "He went into my room and he played me."

What am I supposed to do with that, hm? Like. Y’all realize they probably had some emotionally constipated getting together moment, right? Something that Dean clearly initially thought meant things were gonna change, now. Something that Cas couldn’t allow to happen until he could give Dean a win. Y’all are seeing this, yeah? I’m not saying they slept together and were full of feelings, except that’s kind of what I’m saying. But YMMV, there are other possibilities beyond sex. The full of feelings isn’t up for debate, though, even if the whole thing is informed by ridiculous amounts of miscommunication.

III. Seasons 13 through 15 As Established Relationship

Regardless of what happened in season 12, exactly, I can’t shake the feeling that something did happen, and something did change. My reasoning here is actually really simple: in comparison to previous seasons, Dean and Cas’s dynamic shifts significantly come season 13. I know some folks have been disappointed with some of season 13 and then season 14 for having dialed back on the destiel side of things. And, hey, maybe there’s truth to that in terms of backstage stuff, but I also want to point out that...well, the dialing back isn’t quite dialing back is it? Let’s look at 13 a little more closely:

Season 13:

So I said the deancas dynamic changed, right? I also think that change caught us unaware because the pivotal turning point that would cue us in never happened on screen as well as being subsumed by Cas’s death and Jack’s birth. But if I ask you about deancas in season 13 what would come to mind? Grief arc? Brokebacknatural? How domestic Dean and Cas are? There’s just something easy about their relationship after Cas returns from the Empty. The tension we’d grown so familiar with over the years is gone. Actually, it feels like we skipped the getting together bit of their relationship and went straight to established relationship and parenting. Some of the most peak married deancas moments we see circulating? Season 13, (and 12.10). It’s a lot, and it’s different, and it’s amazing.

13.01-13.05

Dean’s grief mini-arc. He was acting like a widower. Here’s me vaguely gesturing towards the mapping of Jonh, Mary, Dean, and Sam onto Dean, Cas, Sam, and Jack. And the reunion? I can’t help but be giddy at the song choice: “it’s never too late to start all over again.” To. Start. All. Over. Again. I’m just saying.

13.06 Tombstone & 13.16 Scoobynatural

I’m not going at length about these episodes, I just want to point out that they reveal that Dean and Cas have a whole thing going on off screen: they watch movies together, Cas knows about Dean being an angry sleeper, Cas seems to have been aware of the Dean-cave before Sam was. It’s little things like this that are examples of the narrative gaps surrounding Dean and Cas that have cropped up over the years. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to wonder what else could be hiding there. And when did the movie nights alluded in “Tombstone” happen? Maybe in season 12 when Cas in hanging around the bunker? The same period when Dean and Cas seem to be coalescing into something safer and more stable? Something that we never see come to a head because plot happens and Cas dies? Something that is immediately taken back up once Cas is alive again?

Season 14:

Overall, this season is more of what we got during 13, but it had two high notes I wanted to single out before ending this already too long post.

14.15 Peace of Mind

Look me in the eye and tell me Dean and Cas talking in the kitchen about Jack doesn’t read like husbands talking about their child. Look me in the eye and tell me Cas just texting Dean to gossip about Sam isn’t couple-y as hell.

14.18-14.20

Ah, yes, the divorce arc. Awful. Terrible. The culmination of Dean’s problem in all this: he lashes out, he pushes Cas away, his anger is alienating. Cue all of us suffering. But while Dean is clearly in the wrong in how the deals with his feelings, let’s not pretend some of his anger doesn’t come from a long established, and unaddressed, rift between him and Cas, which had its last traumatic turn when Cas died in s12. Dean isn’t being rational here: he saw Cas doing something on his own, and he saw that his mother is dead. What else could happen? Why won’t Cas just trust they can work as a team? What if Cas died again? And why should Cas put up with Dean’s behavior without knowing the cause? How can any relationship work this way? But notice how caught in the middle Sam was during all this. Notice how Jack is running off and acting out. The whole family is falling apart. Divorce arc, indeed.

Season 15:

But what about what we’re building up in 15? That seems like it could be a getting together plot, too, right? Well, yeah. It could very well be. But I’d argue the tension we’re seeing isn’t a will-they-or-won’t-they because they already have. We’re are watching a getting back together plot! The tension is, instead, will-they-or -won’t-they use their words to talk about the baggage that has kept them from truly being confident about their relationship. That’s the crucial step in their togetherness that they’re still missing, which is also the bedrock of the divorce arc that spanned twelve fucking episodes -- y’all, that’s half a season.

And technically? We’re not even done with yet because Cas never let Dean finish his prayer/confession in purgatory. What’s more, Cas hasn’t grappled with his role in the breakdown of their relationship, either: that he keeps going off on his own and getting hurt (and getting other people hurt), and Dean has to deal with the fallout. The deep emotional understanding, the truly being on the same page is what we’re on the edge of our seats for. We’re waiting to see what else Dean had to say, and what will happen when Cas’s deal with the Empty comes to light.

Finally, could we still have this plot without Dean and Cas having gotten together off screen? Sure, but I think the stakes are higher if they already did have something between them. If they actually have an established romantic relationship going on. Something real and tangible and as of yet much too fragile.

"...you asked what about all this is real. We are."

#destiel #deancas #supernatural #spn #spn meta #this thing is gargantuan yikes #anyway enjoy? let's chat #my writing #this thing is half meta half my adhd unleashed

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majorsoapfan · 3 years

Text

Umbrella Academy Season 3 Wish list

This is a long one so buckle up:

Let Klaus and Allison take centre-stage this season in leading the plot. Both are incredible characters and deserve the chance to shine. And I can think of several reasons why they deserve the chance to take centre-stage: out of the whole Academy their powers are some of the most fascinating and in Klaus’ case he has so many that haven’t been revealed yet. They’ve both suffered and lost a lot as well, particularly in season 2 and their hardships tend to get ignored by others. Their relationship together is already really interesting and supportive and they would be an awesome team up. There’s more but I’ll be here forever if I tried to list them.

No Apocalypse. The world ending in eight days was a great plot driver in season 1 and again in season 2 with the reveal that the end of the world actually followed the Umbrella’s back in time. But if the same thing gets repeated over and over then I’m worried that the show will lose it’s edge as a result. In order for the characters to develop new crisis's need to take its place.

Let Five have a rest. Even if it’s just for an episode or two so he can get a solid eight hours sleep if nothing else. For the last two seasons Five has been running around non-stop trying to stop the end of the world and save his family. Without that Five can grow as a person and get a literal break that he really hasn’t gotten in 45 years.

Oh course that doesn’t mean I want Five out of the drama entirely and I do expect to see Reginald and Five scenes in season 3. Five is the only one of his original children that the bastard seemed to tolerate and he did seem to have some form of twisted respect for Five as well. And I wouldn’t put it past the monocle monster to have some twisted plans in store for the eldest member of the Umbrella Academy. He’s had fifty years to plan for the Umbrella’s return after all.

The Sparrows. I just saw the line up of the Sparrows for season three and I am honestly so interested. I can’t wait to see what their powers are like and I already have some ideas. They have so much potential and hopefully they’ll be done well. And so far they seem to be written as the Umbrella’s foils. Marcus is a natural leader who loves his family, while Luther forces himself into the role and alienated his family as a result. Both Ben and Diego long to be the leader but while Diego is more emotional, Ben’s more strategic. Five is driven by his love and desire to protect his family, while Sloane feels held back by hers. Vanya was treated as an outcast and betrayed her siblings trust while Christopher, a literal Cube, is said to be loyal and is treated as a loved family member

That being said though, I don’t want the Sparrows to be the main focus this season or have the attention split between them and the Umbrella’s. Because while I do want to see the Sparrows and their family dynamic and how they interact with the Umbrella’s, I would prefer to see how the Umbrella Hargreeves’ cope with their existent and how this impacts them and how they move forward with this. Or a team up between Sparrows and Umbrella’s would be fine. Or multiple team ups, I’m not picky.

There is a really good fan theory out there about Klaus and Five being twins and while I know that in the comics it’s Luther and Five, the fan theory in season 3 would be so much better in my opinion. And in all honesty it makes so much more sense. Physically they are strikingly similar, especially as children. Their powers both concentrate in their hands and emit a blue glow when they use them. Their powers themselves are literally time and death, which are linked and they have additive personalities, which can be inherited between family members. And I can’t help but feel that this moment:

lends a new level to their relationship then what we see with them as adults. Look at how alike they are! And that fond smile that Five is giving Klaus? Making them twins opens up a wide range of possibilities for Klaus and Five both character and plot wise.

Give Luther a proper love interest. And I can’t believe that this even has to be said but his sister does not count! Literally all of siblings have have romantic interests, all of them so important in the Umbrella’s life in some way or another. It would be nice too to see Luther form a healthy romantic connection for the first time in his life.

While I’m on the subject of Luther and healthy relationships, it also brings me back to the Sparrows and how their number one Marcus seems to be Luther’s foil. And it would be interesting for the show to explore just how seeing the Sparrows and someone so similar to Luther might just affect him. He did spend thirty years of his life after all being Reginald’s little solider and believing that his position as Number One made him the family leader only to find out it was all for nothing. Only Marcus seems to be respected in his position as leader and loves his family dearly, while Luther was mocked and seems to have driven all of his siblings bar Allison away from him because of it. This has incredible potential for Luther’s character arc this season especially if it makes him acknowledge his behaviour to his siblings as they were growing up; particularly to Klaus and Vanya who probably got the worst of it. Allison after all was his closest companion, Diego was his rival (more or less), Ben seemingly got on with everyone and Five would have bitten Luther’s head off if he tried anything. But Reginald’s disappointments Klaus and Vanya? Luther, wanting to impress their dad and follow his orders probably didn’t treat them the best. And I want Luther to admit that and apologise and make the next step in becoming a better person and brother. He’s made incredible progress in season 2, but I don’t want his past treatment of his siblings to be swept under the rug. It needs to be acknowledged and Luther needs to admit it was wrong so he can grow.

Can we get Diego’s season one hair back too? I wondered just how it got that long considering that he was only in the sixties for around three months. Klaus makes sense as he was in the sixties for years. Plenty of time for him to grow it out, not really for Diego. But I really prefer his season one hair so can it make a comeback please?

What I want to see for Vanya this season is for her to realize that she doesn’t need powers to be special. I kinda noticed that she seems to have defined her worth on her powers and that’s not healthy. So a potential scenario: Reginald seems to have made the power-suppressing drug himself, so he may still have it in season 3. Imagine Vanya getting a dose of it that knocks her powers out for a good chunk of time and in the meantime some of her siblings are in danger (I’m picturing Luther and Diego here the himbos) and she ends up saving them. Not with her powers but because of her intelligence and other skills that she has and she realizes that she doesn’t need her powers to be special or to save the day. A logical step in character growth.

Getting some closure on season 2 character like Sissy, Ray, Grace, the Cult (which I really didn’t like) and the Swede and what happened to them once the Umbrella’s left the sixties. And maybe finding out what happened to season one’s characters since the Umbrella’s didn’t exist in this timeline: Agnes, Patch, Leonard, Pogo, Claire.

For Klaus and Umbrella Ben to talk about their issues and make up. I know that our Ben is now up there with the little girl in the sky but that has not stopped Klaus from visiting heaven before. And I think that if Klaus and Ben do not get at least one final conversation to talk through their issues next season then I will sue. They both did crappy things to each other in season two but they both love each other dearly and they deserve the chance to get the closure they both need. I think that Klaus will definitely need it in order to move on completely.

I know I said no Apocalypse but I’m still going to be expecting some major crisis to happen during the last few episodes. An alien invasion or Sparrows trying to kill the Umbrella's maybe? But no matter what the problem is, I really want Klaus to get his moment to shine by being the one to save the day. Reginald said himself that Klaus has untapped potential and we know thanks to the comics what other powers he has. And thanks to Ben’s antics at the family dinner the old bastard has probably written him off as useless and not a threat when making plans to deal with the Umbrella’s. Which means nobody is going to be looking at Klaus or considering him a potential threat to their plans, leaving Klaus relatively safe to start exploring and enhancing his powers. He was supposed to be the one to have done it in season one with the moon and his abilities were brushed to the side completely in season two or used for Ben’s benefit so I think he’s long overdue his moment to shine. And maybe then will the rest of his siblings stop seeing Klaus as a joke.

Lila. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of her, her story felt unfinished and she does have a briefcase. She could pop at any moment in the story. She has so much potential and I did love her actress. Imagine her and Five forcing to team up or something? Or maybe her and Allison?

Another character I’d like to see return is Hazel. He’s someone who really grew on me. And there is a chance that he could return and maybe team up with the Umbrella’s this season. Potential scenarios: Five on the hunt for allies to help him restore the timeline hunts down Hazel who in this timeline is working with the Commission and because the Umbrellas don’t exist hasn’t met Agnes yet. Maybe something happened to her because of the Sparrows?

Finally Dave. I’m a huge Dave fan but I really don’t want him to show up in season three. Or if he does then for the smallest amount of time possible just to give Klaus some ‘closure’. Time travel is in the Umbrella Academy universe after all and it’s possible that by Klaus warning Dave about his faith and causing him to enlist earlier and in a different branch as a result he’s saved Dave and opened up the possibility of seeing Commission!Dave later. Which is the perfect storyline for season 4. Season three is only 10 episodes long and there’ll be a lot going on already so shoving Dave into what will already be a pretty packed season won’t give Dave the attention he deserves and will take away from the other focus. Not only that but Klaus’ motivation for the last two seasons is doing something for either Dave or Ben. I want to see Klaus train his powers either for himself or to help someone else. Also, Dave deserves the chance to grow as a character as well and making him a part of season 3 would take away from the main focus of the Umbrella’s and Sparrows. Making him a main focus in season four instead if we get one will give a great opportunity story-wise to develop both him and Klaus as individuals and as a couple.

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monday-headache · 3 years

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Hey Simon! Thank you for the amazing ask <3 Right back at you:

I love that you're writing/arting about characters that have never met in canon (Gaige and Sasha, Fiona and Scarlett). What drew you to writing these characters together? And are there any more that you'd love to explore one day? :D

Hey Sarah, glad it made you smile. I want to have more interaction with the fandom so I’ll try to make this a regular, so please be free to send me questions whenever. I’d love to read your thoughts ;)

And Omg, that’s a fantastic question as well but, be aware, this is gonna be an essay as well.

Mhh where to start, where to start.

So first things first, My headcanon of why I think Gaige and Sasha would be best friends started a pretty long while ago, way before I even got gently pushed towards the Idea of really starting to write about it in the first place. Because you must know, even though Strays is my first longshot, it is also my very first fanfc I’ve ever written in like ever. So no matter how shitty, great or whatever it will turn out to be or how well others will be, Strays has and will always have a special place in my heart. And I’m not gonna rush things either, even when the fandom will die out, my Ideas for it will flow ;)

But yeah how it started. To put it simply Gaige was my first character In Borderlands ever that I played myself. I knew about the Lore of 1 and I’ve played 1 with a friend by the time it came out, but I played 1 myself AFTER I finished 2 So that may be a big reason, why I have such an open spot for Gaige. But also because she is fun, quirky extreme, punky, loves robots and tech... to put it simple a lot of traits I really love about a character. Her backstory with the science fair was so fresh and funny, and it may be one of my favorite spoken dialogue interactions heard over echo cassette’s

Then after Bl2 my love for Borderlands continued, played 1, played TPS and then... There was Tales, and by god do I loved Tales, and I hella still do. You probably know the feeling yourself. And with the love for the game, came a huge love for it’s cast. Like seriously I think besides Tector there isn’t really a character where I was going like, “ugh this one is trash” on the contrary. And besides my obvious love for the main 2 characters, there was a big love for the Deutagonist’s of this masterpiece. Namely Sasha and Loaderbot.

Loaderbot may have officially taken the spot for me as most favorite Robot in video game history ever (and Gortys for the most precious character ever). Like his whole segment of kidnapping them, forcing them to tell the truth, only to show how much he had grieved, how betrayed he felt and that he did all of tha for his loved ones. Man say what you will about him, but damn he was written perfectly. I was blown away.

Secondly is of course, as you might have guessed it Sasha. I could go lengths for her too, how much I love and admire her character, how real she felt as a sister, a pandoran and last but not least as a human. Sasha felt to me like the most well rounded out character of the 6 (pls don’t hate me for it guys) From the punk rebellious attitude, to learning that she had an anti Hyperion pirate radio, that she used to broadcast bad things that happens in her neighbourhood, to her adapting her morals and learn that even in the most corrupt organisations there are still normal people struggling with their own life, and then progressing from it. And lastly after everything was at loss, the money the plan, she was willing to sacrifice her whole life for a dear friend/s, even on her dying breath putting both Rhys and her Sister at ease and in her last moments. Amazing.

Oooh boy and that was just the prelude to it all XD

After that I noticed a lot of similarities, between characters. Sasha and Loaderbot for instance are both pragmatic, put the lives of their loved ones over their own, love tech, are socially open people while holding back on information and emotion. Not to mention the scenes in 2 and 3 and also 4 and 5 where it is slightly hinted how well Sasha and Loaderbot work together, without sharing much words. So naturally the Idea was born that Sash and LB became quite close.

And the same goes for Sasha and Gaige. I was actually surprised that nobody (not entirely true, I saw one fanart of it) seemed to made that connection before as it was so obvious to me. So basically Sasha is a softer version of Gaige, in many terms. They both have a big heart for tech and especially guns. They both hosted a small radio broadcast that blew up in their region over night. Both are anarchist’s who spread the word for awareness, how fucked up the company war actually is. Both are not really good at their aim. Both call robots as their closes’t friends. Both share a deep hatred for Handsome Jack and his doings. Both fought a giant ass Vault Monster and nearly died in the process of doing so. Both got screwed up big time and now have a huge bounty on their head... So you see the list goes on, and honestly the more I write them, the more similarities I notice, both hc wise and canon wise. So there more I thought about it, and noticed similarites the more I fell in love with the Idea of them becoming close. And from there the Idea was born, that they probably met on a job ( the most likely scenario in the Borderlands universe). It had to be before BL3 of course, and to be after Tales naturally so that only put one timeline in the focus, Commander Lillith.

To be honest, I didn’t expect everything turning out so big. Like seriously I orifinally planed like 8k words or so. Now I’m dangling on the Idea of having 13 chapters and a big ass finally, a neat wrap up of everything and even a possible epilogue XD Yeah, that wasn’t what I expected either but damn do I love doing it.

Like seriously my headcanons only just gotten bigger and bigger. From a whole nebula system in the galaxy, to regions I created in my own mind for it, to even complex backstorys. Like why Sasha wears a headband, why she loves guns so much, what happened to her and Fi’s parents, why she was raised by her aunt, what does Felix have to do with it, Why Gaige has this kicks of both sudden depression and manical behavior. Why she’s so close to her dad, but her mom wasn’t even mentioned once (but teased), why she wanted to become a wedding planer, and why she is so obsessed with robots and margarita mix. I think one day, this thing will turn into a tabletop game or something XD

So estimated 20k words on my answer later and now we are going for my own created ship Scarleona. Don’t worry, as much as I like to gosh about that too, it wont take as long I prommy.

Scarleona was created in a sudden urge while thinking about what happpend to Fiona while Strays happened. And similar to Gaige and Sasha, Scarleona was born from a dynamic. Especially of those from two Ladybosses with Silvertongue and speech 100XD Fiona and Scarlett may have become my favorite Fiona ship (no offense everybody) because of how well they play off each other. Fiona is a con artist, her whole life she was used to swindle, to play it cool and by ear, go with the flow, and expect the unexpected. So here core idea is that she is manupulating people by LYING to them.

Scarlett on the other hand is similar while also the complete opposite to it. She is backstabby, plays with her charm and most importantly she is dead honest while tricking people. In fact even so honest that people don’t even realised that they got tricked even though she told it several times before. And this dynamic is so fascinating to me. You see, Fiona has almost an answer an action for everything prepared, but the idea that her winning honesty, is mind puzzling to Fiona is so perfect. @michellespenscratchz wrote me a drabble several months ago and I think that line describes it just perfect

“So, let me see if I got this straight,” Fiona tilted her head inquisitively at Captain Scarlett. “You needed these Vault Hunters’ help to find this treasure for you. So you…just asked them?”

“That’s right.” Scarlett nodded, inspecting her hook nonchalantly.

“Even though they knew you wanted it for yourself?” Fiona asked.

“Indeed,” Scarlett replied.

“And they…” Fiona blinked, “…knew you planned on fighting them for it once they had it.”

“Of course they did,” Scarlett shrugged. “I told them as much.”

“You told them?”

“Yes.”

“And they helped you anyway?”

“Precisely.” Scarlett turned her hat against the blistering wind. “I fear I don’t quite grasp what about this is so difficult to grasp, Fiona dear.”

“Huh.” Fiona cast her gaze out across the expanse of Pandoran horizon. “I guess I just gotta–I dunno–rethink my whole life right now.”

So yeah, that was basically it. I kinda diagressed and didn’t want to hurt your eyes more looking at the long ass text, but please if you have some more questions to it, pls hit me. I love to gosh about it <3

And thank you so much <3 This was hella fun

#Borderlands #Tales from the Borderlands #Strays of the Pack #Scarleona #Sasha the Kid Sister #Gaige the Mechromancer #I still need a great name for Sash and Gaige's dynamic #maybe I should go with Wolfpack for now till something better crosses my mind.#Fiona the Con Artist #Captain Scarlett #Thank you #<3

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queerwashingmedia · 3 years

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Loki’s problem with queerbaiting: part 1

Sylvie and Loki and bisexuality

(Part of this analysis is also present on my main, @stephen9260)

When first word got out that Loki came out as bi, I was excited: Marvel is owned by Disney, and I saw what it had done in other media, so I knew there was no chance it was different with Marvel.

I thought I was wrong when I heard the news.

But I wasn’t. I really wasn’t.

Was bringing Sylvie in the mix a good move?

Sylvie was not a good choice. At all.

Not because she’s a woman, there would have been nothing wrong with Loki having a female love interest (when having done the right balancing instead of makimg him come out and never mentioning it again, not even in subtext), but obviously there’s just so many people that think of bisexuals as immoral, deviants, s3x crazed freaks, and in all honesty having your bi lead engaging in selfcest just reinforces this dehumanizing stereotype.

Also, her betraying him after building up a possibly good dynamic would have made sense if not for the way it was delivered.

The kiss just did not make sense.

The kiss was probably not one of any sort of actual affection from neither of them, so them kissing just didn’t make sense overall.

Would having a relatioship right now be a good idea at all?

Throughout the whole series Loki is mostly confused or on the run, he only has time to let himself go when he’s on the train (when the coming out scene happens) and in Pompeii, which doesn’t leave him with much time to get his whole thing going. Which brings me to the point that I don’t think him getting into a relationship in the series is a good idea character wise.

He’s having a great character development and getting a partner doesn’t make sense with the kind of growth he’s going through, it would be almost out of place.

Even if that were the case though, I feel like there is something to be said: whatever gender his partner would end up being, he would have needed at least a scene when he’s flirting with a person whose gender is different than his partner’s, especially if the partner ends up being a woman (which in the eyes of basically everyone considering how little effort they are putting in making Loki actually genderfuid, would make the relationship straight passing).

(Under the cut is an analysis of the kiss scene for anyone wondering why I think it wasn’t romantic)

First I analized the lighting, to see if the colors had been chosen to make the scene look more romantic or not (spoiler: they were not).

Usually darker colors are use in violent scenes or, for instance, s3x scenes, or still any sort of interaction that is dirven by passion, anger, or similar emotions.

This tecnique checks out with the scene we are viewing.

The scene is not well lit, but the colors are not red or similar shades like they are usually in this situations. Instead, mainly greens, but also blues (expecially during the kiss per se) purples and some other colors were used, so my guess is that the lighting was supposed to mainly mimick the colors that came from outside the room (the timelines diverging), inside the room (for one the fireplace in the background gives Sylki a more warm, tender aura, which I believe was used to make her seem far from someone who would be prone to betrayal) and most of all the caothic energy that both of the variants, being dieties of mischief and chaos themsleves, emanate.

I already have my theories on Sylvies side of the story, the kiss being merely a distraction, not a last goodbye before the final betrayal or a true expression of her feelings before sacrificing them for the sake of her beliefs.

So I looked into Loki’s face and expression, not majorly during the kiss (they’re smushing their faces together, what could I even have seen), but after.

Unfortunately, we can’t see his face before Sylvie annouces her betrayal, but while normaly, in a scene like this, the character who has been betrayed and actually wanted and enjoyed that kiss has still a little hope on their face before we can see it being whiped out by despair, what I could see in those few second from beginning to end was sadness and disappointment and resignation.

It didn’t just turn from a half smile of newfound joy and calm to the realization of someone who’s being betrayed: from the second the camera was onto Loki we could see his face was still, from when we can see his poorly lit profile his mouth hasn’t moved an inch (and nor have his eyes, from what I can tell), thus his expression hasn’t changed.

So that is when the realization hit me.

Why his face was like this.

When Sylive lowered her swords, Loki could see that she was bluffing, he knew it wasn’t real.

“I’ve been where you are. I’ve felt what you feel”

These words just prove it further.

He knows she has trust issues (like he does), so of course her lowering her guard was not genuine. And he was proven right by that kiss. That’s when he realized that unlike him, she hadn’t grown, she was still like the Loki the sacred timeline had intended. Loki knew it because in that moment he was reminded that while not being exactly like him, they’re the same person.

She’s the Loki of the past, the Loki that doen’t trust anyone, she’s like him before entering the tva.

She was still prone to betrayal.

She’s not the same as who he is right now, but she’s the same as who he was before the character development

#queerwashingmedia #lgbtq #loki show #loki series #loki laufeyson #sylvie laufeydottir #loki meta #loki series meta #bisexual

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callmeblake · 4 years

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Frank Iero, New York, NY, June 2019 (X)

Aug 29, 2019, 09:10am

Frank Iero May Just Be His Own Puppet Master

Photo Credit: Audrey Lew

Interview below the cut

Derek Scancarelli

Contributor

Hollywood & Entertainment

I am a music journalist living in New York City.

Frank Iero is breathing deeply and fighting off nausea. This isn’t uncommon for the 37-year-old guitarist and vocalist, given his predilection for debilitating anxiety. But on this occasion, it isn’t pre-show jitters.

“Oh my god, I hate this f*cking boat,” Iero says, as the docked vessel on which he sits knocks against a pier in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Iero and his band, The Future Violents, just finished an intimate Saturday matinee show as fans sweat, sang and caught a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty.

It had been about 16 years since Iero and his now defunct band, My Chemical Romance (the band broke up in 2013), first performed on water. In July of 2002, the band released its debut album, I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love. In October of 2003, the soon-to-be emo heroes performed alongside New York Hardcore legends Sick Of It All at an aquatic gig booked by New Jersey college radio station WSOU. And in June of 2004, My Chemical Romance released Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, the band’s platinum-selling breakthrough record. In a matter of two years, Iero’s life changed dramatically.

In 2019, Iero still hasn’t found his sea legs, but a lot more has changed. He’s fathered three children, released three full-length solo records (including 2019’s Barriers), and survived a near-death experience. And as he gets older, he finds truth in life’s greatest clichés.

“Time flies, it just screams by,” Iero says. “You think you’re appreciating the time, but it’s easy to take it for granted. It’s a shame.”

But Iero is trying his hardest to pay attention to the little things, especially when it comes to family. He and his wife, Jamia, have three children together: nine-year-old twin daughters, Cherry and Lily, and a seven-year-old son named Miles.

“It’s wonderful to see them evolve and come into their own,” Iero says. “But it’s funny how personalities are innate. We shape the way they experience things or teach them the ropes, but for the most part, I’ve found that we are who we are when we’re born.”

From the start, Iero has seen an even split in the twins’ personalities. Cherry, he says, most behaves like her mother, whereas Lily possesses her father’s attitude.

“Some of the sh*t I hear coming out of my daughter's mouth,” Iero says laughing. “My God! It’s stuff I think but never say — they don't know to be ashamed yet! It's amazing and honest and pure. And I know exactly where she's coming from because I feel the same way.”

As part of fostering a relationship of trust and honesty, Iero has been age-appropriately transparent with his kids about the 2016 accident that almost killed him, his brother-in-law and guitarist Evan Nestor and his manager Paul Clegg.

While unloading gear from their van in Sydney, Australia, a city bus crashed into the group and their vehicle. In a 2017 interview with MTV, Iero recounted, in vivid detail, the moment he was dragged underneath the bumper of the bus, the screams of his brother-in-law, and the blood pooling from his manager.

Although Iero was able to walk into an ambulance carrying one of his friends, the scene was a spectacle overrun with emergency personnel — they even landed a rescue helicopter in nearby Hyde Park. Despite serious injuries, amazingly, there were no fatalities.

When Iero returned home from the hospital, he explained to his children that he was in a car accident, but that it was a singular freak incident.

“You don't want to lie,” he says. “They're getting older. Their friends and their parents are on the internet. They're asking questions. It does get back to them.”

Iero was as honest as possible, but avoided any gory details. He was also conscious that it wouldn’t be long before he would travel for work again — and he didn’t want to scare his kids any further.

Almost four years later, residual damage from the crash is impossible to ignore. Nestor has nerve damage in his leg that may never be corrected. Clegg’s leg and knee have undergone multiple surgeries, but are in poor shape. And Iero still has a tear in his shoulder that hurts every time he plays the guitar. Despite the pain, he’s afraid to undergo surgery.

“I was lucky enough to walk away and still play,” Iero says. “If I were to test fate again and go under the knife, if something were to go wrong… to let that be taken from me … no, I can't.”

On some days, the emotional toll of surviving such a traumatic accident weighs more heavily. Iero describes his recovery as non-linear: some days he feels collected and in control, other days the memory rushes back into his mind.

After his new band finished recording Barriers, Iero and his team went back to Australia for appointments pertaining to the accident and corresponding litigation. As soon as he exited the plane, Iero felt like he’d returned to the horrific scene. For the following week, he was barraged by an unending state of panic.

“You go through these instances of PTSD,” he says. “You never know what's going to trigger and send you all the way back to the beginning with recovery.”

Iero greatly underestimated how difficult his return to Australia would be. When navigating to a doctor’s office near where the accident occurred, he couldn’t bring himself to walk down the street. And suddenly, he felt surrounded by buses.

“I don't know if this is true,” he says. “But it felt like every other car on the street was one of these f*cking buses. They were everywhere. It was frightening. I couldn't do anything. I was shaking like a leaf.”

Despite the traumatic flashbacks, Iero continues to reflect on that day. In the promotional run for Barriers, he discussed the accident at length. And on the record itself, he addresses the complicated ripple effect it’s had on his entire sense of self.

“I don't think it needs to define me,” Iero says. “But it was something I needed to talk about on this record. It's not something I could sweep under the rug. But do I want to dwell on it every day and relive it? No. But I think about it constantly. I feel the pain constantly. It's on my mind.”

In recent interviews, Iero has tended to frame a few philosophical takeaways from his ordeal. In simple terms, the first idea is that he’s found a new lease on life — that everything happens for a reason and he’s been given an opportunity to seize the day. The second philosophy is much darker, a sort of survivor’s guilt compounded with fear and existential dread. The third and most abstract consideration is closest to Simulation Theory — where Iero has the ability to control his own artificial timeline.

Sometimes, Iero questions if actually died that day. He wonders: Is this all real?

“It’s hard. No one can tell you what to believe,” he says. “But you come to this realization, ‘Well, this is real to me, the hand I was dealt, so I have to make the best of it!’”

Through the acceptance of uncertainty, Iero surmises that he just may be his own puppet master.

“If this is a figment of my imagination,” Iero says. “If this is all in my head, then I am the master of my own destiny. If I want to do something, I can manufacture it. And if it's not the case, then at least it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. Maybe putting positive vibes out into the universe is beneficial. If we didn't make it and we're just going through this weird labyrinth in my mind, I can do anything I want.”

And lately, he’s been doing just that. Call it sorcery or the power of positive thinking, but Iero is motivated. For Barriers, he was able to assemble a dream band, The Future Violents (different lineups of his backing band have previously gone by The Cellabration and The Patience), featuring his brother-in-law Nestor on guitar, Thursday’s Tucker Rule on drums, Murder by Death’s Matt Armstrong on bass, and Kayleigh Goldsworthy on keyboard.

The theme of the album — and his own internal dialogue — mostly relates to tragedy and timing. Did the universe have a course set out for him? Or was he just some random victim?

“The crazy thing is that you didn't do anything wrong,” Iero says of the accident. “Yet, all of this stuff was taken from you and you have to make these decisions. You get angry a lot.”

He continues: “These random, abrupt, violent actions. Do they happen to us? Or for us? I wouldn't have been able to make this record if it didn't happen. And it made me realize a lot of things about myself. Am I happy it happened? No. But I'm happy where I am right now.”

Iero views Barriers as an exercise in vulnerability. If the aftermath of his accident taught him anything, it’s that success was meaningless to his character, but adversity helped him grow. For the first time, addressing childhood trauma helped Iero expose himself in a way that felt freeing.

“When you put something to song, it gives that memory weight,” Iero explains. “If you never talk about it, it's almost like it didn't happen. There's a fine line between relinquishing that power to this memory, situation or trauma, or holding that power over it and creating your own narrative from it.”

Barriers also intertwines Iero’s childhood experiences with his current perspective as a father. This go around, he felt comfortable writing about his parents’ divorce — the couple split when he was three and divorced when he was seven.

He looks back on the unpleasantness of the process and his consequential understanding of his mother’s issues with addiction, depression and mental illness. On his 2016 record, Parachutes, Iero first referenced his mother’s struggles and his own liability to inherit her traits. He’s still horrified by the idea of predeterminism.

“When you're a young kid being surrounded with it, it doesn't feel right,” Iero says. “You're not happy. You're scared. You're constantly concerned for your parent. It’s almost as if you become the caregiver.”

He continues: “Then you see yourself falling into these patterns that you were witness to and maybe in a roundabout way were taught. That addiction, that depression, runs through you. It's easy to fall off that cliff. I don't want that for my kids and I need to stop this cycle. Like this sh*t stops with me. Whether it be I get okay, or I f*cking turn my lights out.”

It’s this sort of tongue-in-cheek use of concerning language that keeps Iero’s fanbase enthralled, yet somewhat on edge. Take for example, in the comment section for his video “Young & Doomed,” some diehard fans are troubled by his repeated use of the words “hurt myself again.” While he’s surprised to hear about the response, he counters that the record is ultimately meant to feel uplifting and positive, even if addressing dark topics.

“I don't think that we should strive for perfection,” Iero says. “This idea that we should all have this perfect life and be pretty and purse our lips to post a picture on social media is bullsh*t. The things that make us unique are important.”

He continues: “Sometimes we're our own worst enemies and we hurt ourselves. Those scars, though, are important. They're beautiful. ‘Young And Doomed’ is a call to arms to celebrate the things people think are wrong with us.”

Now, Iero just hopes his story and music inspire fans to try, fail and try again.

“You don't find out who you are unless you get a scar and get hurt,” Iero says. “You should be hurt, hurt other people, and learn that it feels terrible to hurt someone else. You should feel sorry for it and make amends for it. These are important lessons to be a better person. You find out who you truly are by attacking things that scare you the most.”

Frank Iero is currently touring Europe with Laura Jane Grace & The Devouring Mothers.

#frank iero #august 2019 #forbes #audrey lew #red eagle shirt #all blue #october 2019 #bus crash #navy blue tiger windbreaker

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joons · 4 years

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hot little women takes

the timelines were genuinely kind of confusing at first, or at least, i didn’t think putting them out of order added a whole lot until we got closer to the end

i think i hated the ending

don’t add her line about being lonely if you’re going to keep her a writer-spinster

don’t say her marrying bhaer is a huge character betrayal if you’re going to also give us a happy ending that you go out of your way to make ~feel wrong~ like? what’s wrong with it? i understand louisa struggled with ending it and wouldn’t have done it as her first choice, but it just got too meta for me. louisa liked writing romances too, and i don’t see the point of showing that women can have BOTH if you’re going to ... not give it to them? I GET IT BUT I DON’T GET IT? i just didn’t feel like her storyline was resolved with just writing a book. and it felt kind of mean to act like little men and jo’s boys were stupid wish fulfillment.

i don’t remember bhaer being an asshole in the book, but i thought he was an asshole. honesty is not an excuse. i know he like ... criticizes her writing in the books, but it always felt like gentle chiding to me after jo was established in the kinds of stories she liked to write.

i wanted this movie to convince me of jo/bhaer in a way an adaptation hasn’t really done (and i actually like them--or did the last time i read), but i’m left conflicted AGAIN because i didn’t love his characterization here and yet wanted them to be married if it could show that jo gets to have both intellectual and emotional satisfaction.

i adored seeing the amy/laurie romance, but i’m still jo/laurie at heart. i could ride on the fumes of that opening dance scene with them until i die.

#i'm kind of willing to be convinced but it wasn't the ending for me #however other than that i cried so much because i can't experience little women without being wrung dry by it #genuinely want to hear others' thoughts #i can't argue because i don't know how to feel!

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wonderfulworldofmichaelford · 5 years

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Psycho Analysis: Thanos

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

The Infinity Saga was all building up to one thing, hinted at in The Avengers: Thanos. For years fans watched and waited, waiting for the inevitable payoff. But time went on, and Thanos did so little, and the fans got impatient and frustrated. This guy, he was being built up as the ultimate threat in the MCU, and he can’t even get off his ass and do more than cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy? Fans were obviously a bit nervous going into Infinity War, and it’s hard to blame them all things considered; Thanos had done a grand total of nothing across the entire past three phases, he had none of the Infinity Stones, and he sure hadn’t fulfilled his promise to do it himself he made in the stinger of Age of Ultron. What good could this guy possibly be?

Oh boy, you have no idea how good.

Thanos made his grand entrance as a major character by killing Loki and beating the crap out of the Hulk, and then spent the entirety of Infinity War showing us all that maybe it’s better he was dragging his feet for so long, because everyone would have been long dead if he didn’t. What’s more intriguing is how Thanos was such a well-developed and complex villain; perhaps they were just waiting for the right moment, the perfect time when creative freedom and good villain writing could come together to deliver the Thanos that the audience and MCU deserved.

Actor: Josh Brolin, a man you may know from The Goonies or as Deadpool’s best buddy Cable,portrays Thanos, and… honestly? I think this is the first performance I’ve seen in a superhero film in a long time that I genuinely think deserved an Oscar. Brolin just commands the screen and your attention with his voice, and he really sells that the big purple MoCap creation onscreen is a real, physical guy.

Motivation/Goals: Thanos has a very simple motivation: he wishes to wipe out half of all life in the universe, to make things perfectly balanced. It’s a relatively simple evil plan, but one that is grand in scale, as well as one Thanos does not himself see as evil; rather, he sees it as an act of supreme mercy, saving the universe from itself and restoring a level of order to the chaos that is life. It really cements him as a well-intentioned extremist anti-villain: the plan is, from a certain point of view, noble, it has somewhat good intentions behind it…. But at the same time it is flawed, insane, disturbing, and will do far more harm than good in the long run.

Thankfully, the movies don’t pretend that Thanos’ plan is a good, brilliant thing, and instead use his wholeheartyed belief that it is the right thing to do, that this is his burden to carry, to highlight what a broken, depressing man Thanos truly is. So bitter by his failure to save his people, his desire to vndicate his failure in his own eyes drives him to do the nost unthinkable act of genocide in a desperate attempt to prove he was right to a race that is otherwise long dead. It’s tragic, it’s insane, and it’s just a great motivation.

I think it’s worth addressing the two biggest groups of critics of the MCU’s version of Thanos: Those who think his goal is stupid, and those who are mad that he is not more in line with his comic book counterpart. The first group is arguably the more annoying one, because they seem to be unaware of what exactly entails an anti-villain, or even a villain in general. The thing with a villain is that, no matter how cool or sympathetic or interesting they are, you are not supposed to agree with them. You are not supposed to think a villain’s plan is good or intelligent, you are not supposed to say “gee they have a point here,” you are supposed to enjoy them for what they are but you’re not supposed to be on their side. That aside, the fact hs plan is crazy and stupid is arguably the point; he is a man stricken by grief he has internalized for so long he is incapable of seeing the horrendous flaws in his plans. He is the MAD Titan after all. In all honesty, his complete and utter inability to see the faults in his plan only makes him all the more tragic.

The other group… well, to put it nicely, I really don’t feel like the comic version of Thanos’ motivations would translate well to film. To put it more bluntly, I kind of find comic Thanos to have an insanely stupid motivation. He wants to kill half of all life so he can impress a girl (that girl being Death). And people call MCU Thanos’ motivation stupid? In the comics he’s basically just a superpowered dudebro who kills everyone because he gets friendzoned. He’s basically a galactic version of a school shooter, and it’s fine if you think that’s cool, but I frankly find that something that can only work in the very specific circumstances comics can provide, and even then I think there are more intriguing villains with the same motivations… like, you know, Darkseid, the villain comic Thanos rips off.

I will concede the latter at least have more of a leg to stand on, because having a preference in how a character is portrayed is a lot different than not understanding what good writing for a villain is, but lucky for them, the filmmakers decided to have their cake and eat it too and give us a Thanos in Endgame lacking the character development and complexity displayed by Infinity War Thanos, a Thanos so utterly furious that the Avengers are close to thwarting his plan that he childishly lashes out, blames the universe for not appreciating all he did, and deciding he was just going to restart the universe from the ground up in his own image, perfectly balanced. It is kind of nice to see a Thanos a bt more in line with the genocidal tyrant of the comics, but while this one has the more accurate motivation, he does end up coming dangerously close to generic doomsday villain territory.

Personality: The interesting thing with Thanos is how there are technically two of them: the Infinity War Thanos, and the Endgame Thanos who comes from an alternate timeline. Despite the two Thanos having the same basic goal, it is their personalities that truly differ.

Infinity War Thanos is a deep, rich, and complex character. He does so much that you don’t really see supervillains do: he cries, he feels shock, he displays a range of emotions that is frankly unprecedented in a supervillain. The Russos weren’t kidding when they said Thanos was the protagonist of Infinity War more than anything; he has an arc and gets more development than any single hero in the film does. There are so many great moments to point to – his adopting of Gamora in flashback, his backstory he gives to Strange, and of course crying after sacrificing Gamora – that showcase an amazing level of depth, but there are just as many moments that showcase that even despite that he is an insane, ruthless villain who is deluded into thinking his insane plan is what’s right. He is perfectly balanced, as all things should be.

Endgame Thanos is un fortunately due to his nature a little more flat as a character, and for the most part runs on the goodwill that his future self built up. As mentioned previously, he comes dangerously close to being a generic doomsday villain, but thankfully Josh Brolin manages to make him entertaining in his own right. I think one of the best moments is when he’s watching his future self’s death, and he clearly thinks the “I am inevitable” line is the coolest thing he has ever heard. Even if Endgame Thanos comes off as a bit less impressive as a character, he’s still a pretty good character. And when it comes time to throw down, this Thanos is infinitely more impressive, and there is his aforementioned petty reasoning to reset the universe.

Final Fate: Infinity War Thanos actually manages to make it out of his movie alive, sitting down and watching the sunrise on a “grateful” universe. At the start of Endgame, karma catches up with him, but shockingly, he died believing he won. They never undo the damage while this Thanos is still alive. He goes to his grave believing he has balanced the universe, and there is nothing the Avengers can do to fix it. For five years this holds true. Thanos won.

Endgame Thanos has a much more satisfying fate. After Tony makes the ultimate sacrifice and snaps his fingers, Thanos’ entire army suffers the fate he wanted to give half the universe. In a dark mirror of the final scene of Infinity War, Thanos sits down and bows his head in complete silence as he waits for the inevitable, his entire army crumbling to dust around him. If anything truly makes this Thanos as impressive as the one from the last film, it’s the death; there’s no screaming, no bitter last words, no cliché one-liners about how unfair it is… just silent, crushed defeat and acceptance.

Best Scene: The Infinity War Thanos has so many scenes that could be contenders, from fooling the Guardians on Knowhere, to killing Vision, to his battle on Titan… there’s just so much to pick from. But I think the scene where he sacrifices Gamora really encapsulates everything great about his character, the tragedy, the monstrosity, the fact he is so insane that he really believes what he’s doing is out of love. In that moment he truly is the most tragic, horrifying villain ever to grace the screen.

Endgame Thanos has a bit less interesting going on, but I think I would be remiss to not mention the incredible scene where, during the battle, he spins his blades like those of a helicopter. Yes, you read that right: they referenced Thanoscopter.

Best Quote: Infinity War Thanos is a veritable fountain of quotes. Every other word out of his mouth has become a meme. But frankly, for the sheer horror this line filled me when first viewng, I think I might just have to go with his immortal reply to Thor’s wounding him:

“You should have gone for the head.” *SNAP*

Endgame Thanos of course continues his predecessor’s memetic legacy, with tons of great, quotable lines, especially in his numerous evil speeches to the Avengers near the end of the film. The best might just be this quote, when Thanos decides to shed any veneer of being well-intentioned and dives headfirst into extremism:

"In all my years of conquest, violence, slaughter, it was never personal. But I'll tell you now, what I'm about to do to your stubborn, annoying little planet... I'm gonna enjoy it. Very, very much."

Final Thoughts & Score: Thanos is truly impressive. Somehow, some way, this character was able to exceed years of buildup and expectations despite having so little presence beforehand there were fears that he was going to be the biggest letdown in the MCU. They took one of the cheesiest comic book characters, a ripoff of DC’s greatest villain with a boner for the physical embodiment of the concept of death, polished hi, gave him depth and emotion, and unleashed him onto the world. And what’s more, they gave him focus, they give him tons of quotes, they gave him so many great scenes… they really went above and beyond to make sure no one was let down by the portrayal of Thanos. Hell, even if you didn’t like him as much in Infinity War, they go out of their way to please the other side and show how stupid his plan was in Endgame. We end up getting the best of both worlds with Thanos.

Still, they’re basically two entirely different takes on the same character, and so I’m rating them accordingly. Infinity War’s take on Thanos is easily a 10/10. He’s the MCU’s best, most complex, most well-rounded villain, a truly brilliant culmination of excellent writing and fantastic acting. Josh Brolin brings Thanos to life and injects him with so much personality that it’s really hard to even come close to him in terms of quality; I think the only villains who are really on his level are Ego, Mysterio, and Killmonger. If I do have any gripes with this Thanos, it’s that his fighting style leans far too heavily on the Gauntlet in this film, and he unfortunately ditches his awesome armor right at the start. Those are nitpicks, though; this Thanos is amazing otherwise.

Endgame Thanos, while certainly more imposing and giving a very awesome final battle, kind of loses something considering this is not the Thanos we know and love (to hate), technically speaking; this is an alternate universe Thanos from earlier in the timeline, and even though we know what he’s like, he still comes off as bit underdeveloped. Still, he has enough quotable lines and cool moments that I feel confident in giving him an 8/10. I feel like I can’t rate him any higher because, again, he’s really walking that thin line between a good villain and a generic doomsday villain. At the same time, I can’t rate him any lower, because after all… they referenced Thanoscopter.

Thanos has really set the bar high for future MCU villains, but not only that, he has set the bar high for when the DCEU finally brings in Darkseid. How ironic that the character made to rip him off has now overshadowed him in cinema, and will be the biggest obstacle Darkseid must overcome to be taken seriously as a good character. Of course, DC can win this battle easily by shelving Darkseid for now and just making Mr. Mind the ultimate big bad for the time being; evil space caterpillars that speak with a little radio are always going to be the best villain in any argument.

As for the MCU itself, it should be in safe hands for now. Thanos really showed how polished and complex a villain can be made, and despite tripping up with the mediocre villains in the Phase One holdover Captain Marvel, the MCU was able to deliver a fantastic villain in Far From Home wirth Mysterio, who is easily one of the must fun and entertaining villains in the franchise. I think the MCU going forward has to just be careful not to try and overextend themselves to “top” Thanos, and for the most part it looks like they aren’t trying to do that, with Zemo and Mandarin being the biggest bad guys explicitly confirmed so far. Unless Doctor Doom or Dracula decides to pop in, I think they’re going to be sticking to working on and making entertaining more low-key villains, and frankly I think that’s smart; villains like Thanos need to be used sparingly.

Whatever the future holds for superhero movies, Thanos leaves behind quite a legacy, acting as the perfect capstone to the first decade of major superhero cinema. And what a capstone he is.

#Psycho Analysis #Thanos #Infinity War #Endgame #Marvel #MCU

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heroicadventurists · 5 years

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Batman and The Outsiders # 1 **SPOILERS**

Lesser Gods part 1

Recap and Review

This issue begins in Los Angeles. A Father (Gabriel) and Daughter (Sofia) are driving along a highway. Sofia is listening to her headphones to the annoyance of her Dad. He tells her to play music in the car but she tells him she prefers the headphones. He promptly reminds her that he is her Father and asks her to take the headphones off. She complies.

-“You’re thinking about your Mother. I know what day it is. I won’t tell you how to grieve, but Ana would want you to be happy, she always said—" Gabriel

The car suddenly hits a man standing in the middle of the road, but instead of killing the man, he crushes the car.

The man stands on top of the car and pulls Gabriel thru the windshield. He grabs his neck and you see a light escaping his eyes and mouth before he dies. Before Sofia can run, the man grabs Sofia by her neck.

-“Nothing from my touch. Strange. So scared. You don’t know what you are. Let me show you.”-Strange killer

The man proceeds to throw Sofia over the bypass and she slams into a gas tanker. The tanker explodes from impact and the scene ends with Sofia’s screaming face.

The issue switches to Gotham City. Signal and Orphan appear to be at the docks, taking cover from a mad man (Saint John) wielding a machine gun. Signal tells Orphan that he can rush Saint John but Orphan tells him to wait for Black Lightning. Duke does not respond well to this.

Suddenly Black Lightning appears, firing lightning at Saint John’s helmet, while Katana slices his gun with her sword. Black Lightning tells Katana to cover her eyes and he lights Saint John up.

With Saint John down, Black Lightning reprimands Signal for not waiting for him & Katana. Signal tells Black Lightning that he is not his Father and he’s not Batman.

-“Neither are you, Signal. That’s why I had to save your life. We have to work together. We’re a team.” – Black Lightning

Shamed, Signal walks away and tells everyone he will call GCPD. Katana asks Orphan if he is normally like this. She responds that he has been different since he was injured by Karma.

The scene switches once again to Kubrick Towers. Bruce is meeting Jefferson for a report.

-“Duke’s not right. Cassandra thinks this is recess. Katana will kill someone before this is over.” -Jefferson

Bruce tells Jefferson they are his team and to make them what he wants them to be. Jefferson questions if this is truly his team. At this point Jefferson and Bruce have a real conversation about Bruce’s real intentions with forming the Outsiders.

-“I need to solve some things. For myself. And they…need more from me than I can give.” – Bruce

On his way out, Bruce tells Jefferson he put the penthouse in his name.

We switch to what appears to be the Batcave. Batman is surveying the wreck from earlier in the issue. It’s confirmed that Gabriel is dead and Sofia is missing.

We move to an abandoned building that Tatsu is living in. She is trying to communicate with her husband’s soul inside her sword.

Tatsu tells Jefferson he is not as quiet as he thinks, and he comes out of the shadows. He tells her that he needs her wisdom. Tatsu tells him to pick up a sword. They spar while Jefferson asks Tatsu for her help.

-“Duke is punishing himself. Cassandra is a mystery I can’t solve. Help me with them.” – Jefferson

Jefferson tells Tatsu that he needs a partner. He wants her to challenge him. After he leaves, her husband’s soul speaks to her “Taaatttsssuuuuu”. She cries as she holds the sword.

Next, we see Cass and Duke riding her motorcycle. During the ride, Duke is only thinking about Karma and he cries out for Cass to stop. She asks Duke if he’s ok and he tells her he still sees Karma.

“It’s okay. When I sleep…I see my Dad.”-Cass

Cass tells him it’s okay to be afraid, and he yells that he is not afraid. Cass begins to apologize but their batwatches go off.

The Outsiders meet up with Batman on top of a building. He briefs them on The Ark Program. A consortium of billionaires wanted to create their own metahumans. Batman burned it down. The architects tried to kill all the test subject, and only the Ramos family survived. Bruce Wayne and Lucius Fox set them up in a house in Los Angeles and Batman promised them they would stay safe. Batman informs the team that the Mother eventually died due to the experiments and Gabriel was just killed. Their task is to find Sofia and bring her to Gotham. At this, Batman grapples away.

Right away, Black Lightning is distrustful of Batman and wants to decline the mission. In the end, Katana informs the team that they are taking the mission.

-“I don’t trust Batman. But that doesn’t matter. What does matter----is us trusting each other. Because I have a feeling we are own our own.”-Black Lightning

We go back to Sofia, and she is at the train station trying to keep a low profile and get out of Los Angeles. As she’s walking a man in the shadows grabs her from behind. He tells her that she will pull humanity from the ashes; and thru her a new age is born.

Review

I really enjoyed this comic. First off, the art work is AMAZING. Dexter Soy really took this comic book to the next level. The only thing that threw me off was Bruce looking like an older version of Jason. I had to do a double take for a moment. Speaaking of Jason, Gabriel's license plate was TODD JASON. Dexter did a great job.

I really enjoyed the development we’re getting with Duke. Duke had a very traumatic experience with Karma in Detective Comics, and it’s nice to see them addressing those issues.

I am also intrigued by Jefferson’s relationship with Duke and Tatsu. A part of me feels like Duke is pushing Jefferson away because he reminds him of his Father; or he feels that Jefferson is trying to take his Father’s place. He really has no other reason to be this combative. Jefferson is eventually going to break down Duke’s walls; and when he does, I think they will have an unbreakable bond.

Jefferson and Tatsu have a lot of chemistry and I would probably ship Jefferson with Tatsu if I knew the status of Anissa and Jennifer. If he hasn’t had them yet, then I wouldn’t ship them, but if he’s divorced from Lynn already, then it would be an interesting relationship to explore.

When Jefferson visited Tatsu, she told him that Cassandra was afraid of her future. I hope this is tied to Detective Comics 980 where Cass learned she was both Batgirl and adopted. Stephanie seems to have taken the news from Tec 980 well. She's not bitter that she was never Robin or Batgirl in this timeline. She is actually referring to herself as a Robin in Young Justice. Stephanie doesn't care what time line it happened in, a win is a win. Cass's situation is entirely different. While she can take the same approach with the Batgirl mantle, she can't do that with the adoption. That has to be something formally initiated by Bruce. I think there are a couple of things Cass could be afraid of: (1) Deep inside she is bad and they will get rid of her like they did Basil (2) She never reaches her full potential and does not become an official bat (she never wears the symbol) (3) She's never adopted again (if Bruce doesn't adopt her, what does that mean for their current relationship?). It could be something else entirely or a combination of 1-3. Hill has a lot of compelling directions he can go with Cass. A follow up from Tec 980 would be great.

Last, but certainly not least….Bruce Wayne. Honestly, Bruce came across as someone who really doesn’t care what the team is doing as long as they stay out of his hair and they’re alive. When Bruce met with Jefferson at Kubrick Towers, he confirmed my suspicions that he formed BatO and put Jefferson in charge so he could be Duke and Cassandra’s primary mentor. While it may seem messed up that he is not making time for them, I respect the honesty of the situation. Bruce’s life is crap right now. He’s trying to rebuild his relationship with Damian, he has no clue what to do with Jason and this Iceberg situation, Dick is Ric and at some point, he should realize that Tim is missing on Gemworld. Not to mention his Dad from another Universe is teaming up with his enemy and he’s still heartbroken over Selina. He’s stretched thin and has realized he doesn’t have the physical time or emotional availability to look after/mentor Duke and Cass. He’s giving them a better option in Jefferson. He even gave Jefferson a pent house for his troubles. I think Jefferson knew from the beginning why Bruce formed the team, which explains why he doesn’t trust him. They are laying the seeds of Batman eventually leaving the Outsiders and if that happens, I feel like this comic will be a great vehicle for Black Lightning to shine. I wouldn’t be surprised if they phased Batman out of the title once they have some consistent sales. It wouldn’t be anytime soon, but I wouldn’t mind BatO becoming The Outsiders.

This was a great issue with some great art. If you’re a fan of these characters I highly recommend you pick up this issue.

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itsclydebitches · 5 years

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RWBY Recaps: Vol. 5 "Unforeseen Complications"

This is a re-posting from Oct. 28th, 2017 in an effort to get all my recaps fully on tumblr. Thanks!

This RWBY review had to be put on hold while I finished Stranger Things 2. In all honesty if you're reading this instead of watching the new season... please re-think your life choices.

For those of you who have binged properly you'll already know that though RWBY doesn't do holiday-themed episodes, they're still bringing in the Halloween spirit this week with the rather terrifying title "Unforeseen Complications." We open on Blake, Sun, Kali, and a pacing Ghira, wearing his tiny reading glasses that everyone was gushing over when the promo picture first dropped. Luckily we haven't lost the adorable cat Dad (yet), but things aren't looking good, especially when he's given this much screen time in a show that just loves breaking up happy families. Ghira is prepping a speech in regards to Adam's recent power-play and the only thing that eases the tension is a warm, family hug.

And Sun's awkward fourth-wheeling. Honestly, that was funny about ten episodes ago. For a side character that's been thrust into one of the main cast's storyline, Sun sure hasn't justified his place there yet. He's done little in the way of really assisting Blake in her work and the injury that worried everyone last Volume was explained away this very episode, amounting to nothing. The guy either needs something to do or finally needs to clear out--which, I should add, Blake wanted him to do weeks ago.

Sun aside, Ghira remains a favorite among fans for his sweet nature, fair views, and unending support of his daughter. His speech here, laying out Adam's rogue faction in the White Fang and his involvement in the Fall of Beacon, isn't anything that the viewer didn't already know about. In fact, the scene is a little confusing if you don't catch that Blake's story is apparently taking place a month behind everyone else's. There's no overt indication of this using text on screen and given that we're following so many characters, there's no easy way to imply an ellipsis, let alone that we're jumping around a suddenly non-linear timeline. I had originally taken Ghira's warning that Adam intends to kill Sienna as an indicator that news of her death hadn't reached the island yet. However, it was pointed out to me later that Ghira mentions Haven opening in two months time whereas Ozpin, later in the episode, says that school starts up in a month. I'm not sure why RT has chosen this form--or why they've made it so convoluted--but I'm trusting that it will somehow benefit the overall structure of the Volume.

Ghira's call to assist the humans in Haven certainly doesn't get an outcry of support from the crowd, but he's entirely undermined when Ilia (dramatically) throws off her cloak and reveals herself, shouting that they should never help the humans when they've done nothing but harm the faunus in turn. Sun tries to grab her (he fails) but the damage is already done. As we see through the camera focusing on our two creepy fox brothers, Adam's splinter faction has wormed its way in deep. We know thanks to Ilia's scroll that Adam not only plans to attack Haven but take out their CTT tower as well. RWBY is chock-full of themes surrounding communication (or the lack thereof) and literally taking out the kingdoms' one way of contacting one another is highly reflective of that. Combine that with Ilia’s few words sowing so much discord. Divide them and they’ll fall, and all that.

The real action of the episode though is with Team RNJR. After a full two weeks we finally get to see the gang's reaction to Professor Ozpin's return and oh boy, it did not disappoint.

Ruby: "Isn't it weird?"

She's so excited about this! Qrow reminds the kids that this is strange for everyone involved, including the boy you're hounding, so they sheepishly give Oscar some space. He admits that he's a little nervous because he's never met real huntsmen and huntresses before, which is a wonderful callback to Ruby's excited, "Can I have your autograph?" to Glynda in Episode One. She's come far enough now that she's the one people look up to with awe. There's also perhaps a bit of rosegarden here, but that's obviously a ship that can only happen if Ozpin gets a body of his own.

We then (bless) finally get some actual information regarding this Oscar-Ozpin situation. Oscar shows everyone his "parlor trick" where, with a flash of green aura, gold eyes, and white hair, Ozpin takes control of his body, making everyone emotional with a sincere, "It is so very good to see you again, students."

It's a remarkably light scene for all the revelations. Like I've been noting in all these recaps, Ozpin admits how pleased he is that Ruby and the others can retain their sense of humor in the face of confusing and traumatizing circumstances. We get another callback as Ozpin apologizes, saying that he wasn't exaggerating when he once told Ruby he'd made more mistakes than any man, woman, or child. We learn that he has been “cursed” by the gods for failing to stop Salem centuries ago. For thousands of years Ozpin has lived, died, and reincarnated in the body of a "like-minded soul," though there's still no explanation of what exactly constitutes "like-minded” in this scenario.

Jaune: "So who... what are you?"

Ouch. Though not an entirely unwarranted question when you’re suddenly dealing with the impossible. Ozpin says that he is the "combination of countless men" who have spent their lives trying to protect Remnant. The implication that he only reincarnates as a man aside (seems like a missed opportunity there), this seems like a pretty firm confirmation of the merging theory. The person we know as Ozpin might not entirely erase Oscar, but it certainly sounds like they won't remain completely separate people for forever. Indeed, Ozpin says straight out that at some point, "eventually," they'll “merge” and become the new Ozpin, a man who retains the memories of all his past lives. It’s all still horrendously murky, but honestly, if Oscar doesn't have at least a little bit of a freak out over this I'll be sorely disappointed.

We still don't know who or what Ozpin was originally. Was he just a man who took on too much, cursed by the gods for his failure or arrogance? Was he the wizard, one of the few capable of wielding magic in Remnant, thus making his survival (and the curse to ensure as much) a necessity? Ozpin isn't saying just yet. After assigning Qrow to find them more huntsmen he turns his sights on Team RNJR, telling them that they'll need to get into "fighting shape" before they can face Salem.

There is nothing that I don't love about this scene. Bringing back Ruby's lack of skill in hand-to-hand after Yang's character short spent so much time emphasizing it? Check. Implying that we'll finally unlock Jaune's semblance this Volume? Check. Ozpin confirming that outside the confines of his headmaster persona he's a happy, dramatic showoff?

Triple check.

All poor Oscar asked is that Ozpin not do anything embarrassing while he has control of their body and what does this man do? Act extra as fuck of course, performing a backflip onto the chair and spinning his cane far, far longer than he needs to. Nora is the only one unimpressed by this display, but I personally can't wait to see Ozpin training the kids. It should be especially interesting given his sudden loss of control--Oscar coming back unexpectedly and losing his balance, toppling them off the chair. Training is hard enough. Training while you're stuck in the body of a weak, undisciplined child... that's something else entirely.

The end of our episode takes us back to Weiss, still guarded by Raven's bandits. It's a moment of psychological torture, with her captor taunting Weiss with her own weapon and demonstrating that the one tool she has, information, is severely outdated. Ironwood has recalled all his troops from Mistral, including Winter. She's not around now to save her little sis’ like Weiss had hoped.

Which is hilarious, because in no world does Weiss Schnee need saving. Our last shot is of the miniature knight she's made out of a tiny glyph and her confident smile. Can't wait to see what she's planning to do with that.

Other Details of Note

I was incredibly nervous during the later half of Ghira's speech where he's just going, "We have ALL this INCRIMINATING evidence on this ONE SCROLL that I'm going to WAVE AROUND out here in the OPEN where anyone could EASILY STEAL or DESTROY IT..."

The faunus press all using their scrolls instead of cameras or old-fashioned pen and paper. It's a small but enjoyable bit of world-building.

The voice acting for Ozpin as Oscar was incredibly well done. Jury's still out on whether the echo is just a byproduct of his control or is somehow more meaningful. One theory currently says it's used whenever Ozpin says something that references all of his past lives, not just his last two.

Qrow immediately gets Ozpin coffee. Or hot chocolate. Whatever it is. He might be in the body of a 14yo, but you know as soon as he has control he needs a mug in his hands.

... Qrow then breaks the table and the mug. Hello, semblance. I'm looking forward to seeing more of that as the Volume goes on. Does the bad luck get worse the longer Qrow stays in one place? Is that why he's so eager to leave and recruit more huntsmen? What exactly are the rules here? No one has laid them out and (like silver eyes...) no one seems very interested.

Oscar upon learning that he'll be training too: "Wait, what?"

And you've gotta love Nora. She went from thinking over how she could bribe her powerful, dignified headmaster ("No wait, he has a school") to flouncing about and calling him their "little cute boy Ozpin." I really hope she ignores his request and keeps calling him that indefinitely. It's very amusing.

#rwby #mymetas #RWBY Recaps

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theworldisourcliche · 6 years

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Chapter Thirteen ✘ Noora

Permanently numbed ever since and by the chaotic mistake of a night - so all in all the trip to London itself - Noora’s fingers thundered across the keyboard of her laptop. They’d been constantly doing so ever since she stepped inside the safety of her home yesterday morning - except for that one hour, where Eva stopped by to force some lunch down her throat. She wasn’t about to let this mess of an emotional misstep stop her from staying absolutely and utterly professional, which meant she had to write the article - other woman or not. Writing meant working, working meant being distracted and distracted meant not thinking about William.

That was until her eyes, slowly sliding along the hundred of lines that made up her interview with Sophia, reached the part where Noora (against her own actual need) had asked about her engagement to the handsome lawyer. A cool, unpleasant feeling ran through her veins, her body reacting with a small shudder.

“Oh, yes. I’m a very lucky woman,” Noora could still - all too clearly - hear the tone in Sophia’s voice as she’d spoken very highly of William. The word ‘uncomfortable’ couldn’t do the job of describing what she’d felt right then and there - not back then; not now. “He works for his dad in one of London’s most wanted law firms, so we of course expect to inherit it, when the time comes.”

Noora remembered internally cringing, wanting to ask how she was involved with the firm, yet simply settling for biting her tongue and it just being how their relationship was. What was his (father’s) was hers as well - apparently. Right then, Noora wanted nothing more than to shut down her laptop and throw it away - anything but read all of this bullshit once more. It made her think too much, and it was a dangerous path to go down, even just consider. But in the end, it’s not like it’d make anything worse. She kept on reading.

“So we met through his dad, a very kind man,” Noora had to scoff out loud at that, since she couldn’t really allow herself to do that, when she’d been right in front of Sophia. “It’s just been beautiful ever since I laid my eyes on him for the first time. He wasn’t easy to win over, but that just how he is. He likes to play tough, a bit hard to get, when he really wants something. The thrill of the chase isn’t his thing.”

Noora had to stop at that. Of course this wasn’t exactly her first time discovering these words, but she’d never actually thought too much of them. This time though, it suddenly did feel like discovering them for the first time, and it caused a deep frown. More than anything, she was aware of the fact that she hadn’t been around for eight years - there was a huge gap in their timeline - but she’d still forever allow herself to state that she knew William Magnusson pretty well. This also meant that she’d forever stand by the statement that William Magnusson lived for the thrill of the chase - Noora would know…

Unless chasing someone for 6 months straight - whilst tolerating being constantly and obviously ignored, shut down and called the wrong name - counted as ‘the thrill of the chase not being his thing’.

How could she not wonder about what that meant? Did it even have to mean anything? Just because Sophia and William had a different story, it didn’t mean it wasn’t genuine. Maybe William simply didn’t chase Sophia, because she wasn’t to be chased. In desperation and confusion, the young journalist buried her face in her hands, rubbing her temples as to fade out the black hole of analysing which she’d stepped into. Desperately sliding her hands back in frustration with the situation, pushing down the small strands of hair that had escaped her messy half up half down bun, she considered taking a break. As a result of being at it, the researching and writing, for the past 8 hours, her brain was starting to lead her down inappropriate paths and the future Magnussons’ relationship wasn’t her place to investigate. Nonetheless neither was sleeping with him, yet here she was with a bruised, lust-stained neck and torso that culpably coordinated with the red scratches on her back. Absentmindedly caressing one of the last remains of him, a dark hickey on her collarbone, she couldn’t help but wonder how many similar blotches Sophia had let him besmirch her flawless porcelain skin with.

“Herregud…” like a lightning bolt from a clear, blue sky, Noora managed to escape her daydreaming (if it could even be categorised so) as she felt her fingers flee the crime scene that was her collarbone. She shook her head, embarrassed by the lost train of thought and looked at the still full cup of coffee by her computer. Carefully, she reached out and touched it. Cold. A sigh of slight annoyance (at the currently smallest problem in her life) left her body as she got up and made her way to the kitchen, where she flipped on the light switch, casting light onto the dark, evening-submerged room. In a matter of minutes, after pouring the cup’s cold content into the sink, the electric boiler was building up steam (literally) and obnoxiously announcing its piece of work as Noora absentmindedly turned away from the the window, where she’d been staring into Oslo’s darkness. After quickly pouring a teaspoon of instant coffee into the cup, dissolving it with boiling water, the young woman could console herself with the fact that she’d completed at least one task without sleeping with its future husband. As she was dragging her legs - clad in her old, black pyjama pants - back to the safety of her office, a hard knock on the door counter-worked the desired action. Three knocks, sharp, determined.

Noora’s head shot around, glancing over her shoulder at the door at the end of the hall. It was just a knock, but in all honesty, whoever was standing outside didn’t really come off as friendly. With technology these days, it just seemed too sketchy to show up at someone’s door. Silence swallowed her once more, leading her to hesitantly twist her torso back towards her office, as she carefully kept her eyes on the door - just in case. Another three loud knocks sent a shock through her, almost electric, from head to toe. Someone really wanted to talk to her - or kill her. As if this wasn’t enough, her phone suddenly called out from her office, letting her know that someone had texted her. Being way too occupied by the mystery visitor, Noora quickly shrugged it off and told herself that she’d have to get back to whoever it was.

Almost certain that she was going to regret her choice, the woman decided to make her way to the door. Slowly, almost like she was afraid to touch it, her hand reached out for the golden doorknob and simply held onto it for a few seconds. A contrast between the warm coffee-cup in one hand and the cold, metallic doorknob in the other felt weird, almost catching her off guard as if it was her biggest concern right then. After another deep breath, taking a quick glance at her bare feet, her wrist slowly turned and dragged the doorknob into a similar motion. Like ripping off a bandaid, doing it before she could back out as her heart galloped like a young a steed, she’d drawn the door towards herself, allowing the mystery guest to be exposed. In contrary to the before racing heart, it suddenly snapped and stopped beating altogether.

Right in front of her stood a soaked William Magnusson, his clothes dripping onto the floor in front of her door. In complete disagreement with the man she knew - the confident, provocative, defensive and enthralling - stood a William with drenched bangs cascading down to cover his left eye, only letting Noora see the serenity yet hopelessness in his right one. Physically, he stood tall in front of her, hands buried in his black jeans’ pockets. But spiritually? She hadn’t seen him that low in a long time - if ever. Slowly, almost as if she was afraid of moving too fast and cause an explosion, she let her hand slip off the door handle and join the other in holding her cup in front of her. Neither said anything, both probably waiting for the other, even though Noora couldn’t help but expect him to speak up first. A heavy raindrop slid down the bridge of his nose, all the way to the tip, before falling to the ground and bursting. The tiny motion was the only thing happening in this almost time isolated capsule, and it was driving Noora insane, almost mad, on the inside. Why was he here? If he was here to yell at her, tell her how she’d ruined his life again, then he could just go ahead and get it over with. Maybe it’d do her some kind of good in the long run.

Then suddenly, out of absolutely nowhere, it seemed to Noora like his look softened. Just a little twitch of his brows, his brown irises’ undertones slowly growing warmer. Did she miss out on something? Was he just having the whole conversation inside his head? Breathing in, feeling cool air hitting her front teeth as her lips parted just slightly to speak, Noora realised she didn’t have anything to say to him. No start, no end - she had nothing on her mind but a blank canvas, slowly driving her to hell and back.

“I left her.” Looks like he beat her too it.

Whilst she didn’t realise it at first, too busy replaying the three words in her mind and trying to put them together like an unsolvable puzzle, a warm feeling of relief and immense joy washed over her. Still she couldn’t get herself to move, locked to the spot, and could stare blankly at him. What did it mean? Left her. It couldn’t be… Her upper front teeth carefully, throwing both herself and him back in time, dug into her pale pink bottom lip. Just the night before, she’d done the exact same thing - for other reasons- and it took everything within him not to press her up against the small, sharp edge of her door frame. It almost seemed like they were just waiting to be used as resistance. But he’d have to wait. He was very aware of the fact that one misstep could frighten her, leaving him with no way back. Then suddenly - even though she’d already wanted to as soon as the words had left his lips - Noora hesitantly took a small step across the doorframe, which until now had worked as a frontier between the two hearts.

Warmth was still radiating off the mug, into Noora’s palms, as she stood right in front of her life’s probably biggest scandal. Hesitantly leaning into him like she had that day - many years ago - where they’d talked in front of her apartment as Chris’ car impatiently hummed right besides them. Back then she’d been persuaded of the fact that she’d changed his mind; had made him want to ditch the plane and stay in Oslo with her.

“I love you,” she remember feeling so intimidated by those words, almost choking on them, as she’d hesitated before saying them out loud. It was still brand new to her back then. “And you love me.” That was a big statement on her part, but that day, William had been in a remarkably bad headspace and she’d had to say it. The familiarity of the scene was almost intimidating. Her forehead ever so carefully placed against the side of his - the one that wasn’t hiding behind his stupid bangs - as her eyes danced back and forth between his deep, mocha eyes and his pale lips. “We have to be together. Tell me we should be together…”

Of course he’d regretted back then and came back, but a strong fear of him leaving again suddenly took over and froze her body, tensing up like she was afraid that something was going to hit her. Maybe she should’ve stayed behind the safety of her door frame, but alas that was too late and now all she could do was stand there, more vulnerable and exposed than ever, whilst looking at him with hopeful eyes. Finally, his eyes rose from the ground to meet hers, engaging in a mute conversation between the two. Either could move just an inch and their noses would touch, which seemed awfully dangerous yet even more intriguing. Figuring that he was waiting for some sort of signal, Noora let go of her fears and let a very careful, shy smile rise to her lips. The very next second, her pale green eyes hid behind the safety of her lids as his hands carefully slid into position on her cheeks, then gradually into her hair as he allowed his lips to finally merge with hers.

The kiss was unimaginably slow and soft, not like the one last night, which wasn’t a complaint but also somehow reassuring to Noora. Tonight wasn’t last night, and hopefully the aftermath would also have a different fallout. Their lips, safely interlocked, kept moving in fulfilled harmony as they both fell in deeper and deeper as a reaction to every muscle’s slightest movement. If it wasn’t for the fact that she still held onto the now lukewarm coffee cup, Noora’s trembling hands would already have been tugging on his soaked locks. Her need for him - his touch, presence, care - was rapidly growing. As if he could read her mind, something clicked in William’s brain, causing him to take a step forward - then another and so on - obligating her to back up into the darkness of her apartment. She didn’t hesitate to follow his lead, fully aware of where they both wanted to go. The slight coolness of the apartment instantly melted, as soon as Noora felt William’s hands leave her hair to grab her hips, as he spun her around and closed the door by driving her body into its hard surface. Hopefully they didn’t wake up anyone, when it caused a loud clap that rung throughout the entire apartment complex. Coffee, shaken as well by William’s almost animal-like move, overflowed the mugs edges and landed on the wooden floor in a splattered puddle.

“I was right,” William breathed - having noticed the spilled coffee, which took him back to the coffee stain on his and Sophia’s flawless carpet - against her neck before kissing it, starting a downwards path. “You stain.”

As if she wasn’t emotionally provoked enough already, these words struck something in Noora Amalie Saetre. Out of nowhere, surprising herself more than anyone else, she threw the mug to the ground in order to grab his hair and pull him back up to look straight into his eyes. “But I won’t run this time.”

And with that said, they both somehow knew that there was nothing else to be said for now. Letting her crash her lips to his in another kiss, this time more heated than ever before, William managed to back over the caffeinated mess on the floor and pull the blonde muse with him. Wanting to avoid the spilled coffee and broken glass as well, Noora took advantage of his strong pull on her hips and clung tightly onto his neck, telling him to lift her off the ground. No one would have to tell him twice. As soon as she was safely placed on his lower abdomen, legs safely wrapped around him, she could go back to tug on his now damp hair.

“Straight,” she breathed heavily, barely managing to do so in between kissing him and being kissed, before finishing her command “ahead.”

For these two, there was no time to waste. Not right now. William immediately started making his way towards what he assumed was Noora’s bedroom, as she started unbuttoning the buttons of his drenched, white shirt. He already had the very first one popped open, which caused her to momentarily smile into the otherwise carnal kiss - he’d remembered.

Upon walking into the bedroom, after having Noora’s back briefly rest against the closed door as he fumbled - already very busy - with the handle, William let them plunge into the white sheets. It didn’t take much time, not being able to resist, before his hands were tugging on her oversized sweater and pulling it over her head. Growing impatient, as he had quickly removed both her sweater and pants, Noora put a firm hand to his chest and pushed him up into a sitting position - this without as much as thinking of breaking the kiss, of course. Quickly, small and swift as she was, she followed him and allowed herself to straddle his thighs. This would allow her to finish the button-job. When ripping it off his rain-damp upper body, and throwing it to the empty ground besides the bed, Noora couldn’t help but wonder if she’d be lucky enough to tug herself into it in the morning, as they ate breakfast. The brief daydreaming must’ve unconsciously caused her to momentarily halt, as a tight clench on her thighs - followed by sweet, delirious bites into her neck - drew her back into reality with a soft moan to show for it.

This was obviously a very desired response, as a smug smile crept onto the handsome’s face at the sound of the blonde’s pleasure. Upon noticing this, a furiously embarrassed blush crept to the apple of her cheeks. As much as Noora was in another world - completely lost in lust -

the young, innocent girl from high school couldn’t help but make a small appearance. And whilst it was no secret that her and William had done this many times before, another truth to add was also the fact that Noora probably couldn’t remember the last time (before the previous night) she was intimate with a guy.

“Cute,” he mumbled into her ear, grinning and making sure that his lips tickled it. Having this specific effect on her was more than a compliment to William, even though Noora obviously hated it, mumbling a faded, half-hearted shut up before immediately turning her head to bite down on his bottom lip, gently tugging on it. This surely would avoid more talking or looking at her rosy cheeks. Having to occupy her hands, they started wandering wildly all across his chest, taking in every little inch and detail that she’d missed for so long. As much as she hated the fact that it even as much as grazed her mind - especially right now as she shivered beneath his cold hands as they slid up her back, feeling her figure, before experimenting with the clasp of her bra - she wondered if he’d missed her tiniest details, small secrets and quirks too? Or if Sophia had caused these things to vanish from his memory. Noora was the one to leave after all… Could she even stand a chance? Love him better than this flawless goddess that she - to some extent - hated so much for being in possession of his attention and love for so many years? After a few tricky seconds of work, William finally figured out the clasps, slipped off the tiny piece of lingerie and placed an adoring, long kiss to the empty valley between her two breast. A wave of undefined, strong, new emotion shot through Noora, hitting her like an epiphany.

Maybe she wasn’t Sophia and she’d never be. And maybe she wasn’t in London, where William loved and wanted to be. Yet, he’d still chosen to be here in Oslo tonight - where Noora wanted to be - instead of back home with her. This couldn’t be another mistake.

#Wayward Hearts x Noorhelm #noorhelm #noora x william #noorhelm fanfiction #noora sætre #noora saetre #skam #skam norway #SKAM fanfiction #SKAM Art

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gameridernews · 6 years

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Ex-Aid review: Choh Superhero Taisen

Ex-Aid's spring movie, from a distance, just looked like the familiar Rider/Sentai crossover format doing its usual thing. But recently, a producer at Toei has confirmed that they will no longer be doing crossover movies in the spring, meaning that Ex-Aid - turns out - has given us our final "so-called spring movie" experience.

In this world where weird and questionably written crossovers may cease to exist, let's see if it at least went out with something akin to a bang.

Choh Superhero Taisen is a bit of a silly name. I mean, it implies this is a SUPER version of the usual spring movie crossover, but to be a little more accurate, this movie is... kind of like a better version of the first couple swings they took at the Rider VS Sentai angle.

To recap, we got a Fourze-era crossover that did not really give a good first impression, then a Wizard-era crossover I can't remember a single thing about except Space Shocker. Gaim and Drive went the route of Rider VS Rider, both in kinda interesting but shaky executions, and Ghost had a focus on the original Kamen Rider making a modern day appearance.

Oh and just to quickly establish the timeline here, Maximum Gamer premiered in the show and Kuroto got what he deserved. Bit of a shame since I’m sure he’d have a lot to say about the kid in this movie. Anyway, let's begin!

The movies opens up in Korea being attacked by the game Xevious. The Kyurangers send all of their attack stock footage at the invaders, which you would think the Cyber Rescue Center would know about but they are instead dealing with a strange patient who apparently has a tail. Oh hey, Zyuoh Tiger!

The way the movie plays out beyond this point is really weird. It feels like when Inoue wrote the OOO portion of Movie Taisen Core - things are oddly slow and somber for a series known for being bright and peppy.

It’s uncanny. Hiro literally proclaims he will operate on Zyuoh Tiger even if she's an animal and no one bats an eye at that comment. That’s how weird it is. And when they see the Kyuranger mech land in the middle of the city, it’s treated as a quiet ominous moment like something bad is about to go down.

Okay, to be fair, that part is ominous because the Kyurangers are here for Poppy since they think this video game character is linked to other video games attacking reality - I guess since they have a lot of research at their disposal, because they know what Bugsters are!

But just as the Ex-Aid VS Kyuranger stuff begins, it quickly ends once Shishi Red... decides Kamen Riders are heroes because there's a game called Choh Superhero Taisen that Riders and Rangers are both part of. I mean, he's not wrong?

So yeah, that's a thing! Choh Superhero Taisen is a game that’s invaded this world and challenges Ex-Aid. Among its returning Riders/Rangers is an alternate version of Hiro, transforming into Kamen Rider True Brave.

I was VERY interested in learning the backstory of this character - is it an alternate universe thing, or what? Turns out, he's a video game character... and for story reasons, it’s a Hiro who took a different path in life.

It sorta makes sense, I promise.

Things get interesting once Ex-Aid and Poppy enter the world of Choh Superhero Taisen, which is more or less a bunch of Toei's usual filming locations but with returning actors accompanying them!

The first being Kyoryu Gold from Kyoryuger, Utsusemimaru - or Utchy for short. I watched at least half of Kyoryuger so I can appreciate his cameo. He does his Brave Daze thing and he gets some good action.

More importantly, you can't have a bunch of returning actors without Toei proving they can somehow keep getting all of the Imagin from Den-O. And I can understand someone being sick of them by now, even if you were a fan before, but the scene where Ex-Aid has to pick his team makes me smile. Although... considering ToQGer's premise, should Urataros really be flirting with one of the girls?

MOVING SWIFTLY ALONG, Emu chooses a "Gorider" team, with Momotaros being Pink - it's a pun. Ex-Aid uses Robot Action Gamer to cheat his way into the Red slot, which I kinda wish someone called him out on.

Ao Ninger makes an easy return as Blue, providing a nice callback to Ninninger as he basically takes charge and tell's Emu to pick his master, Magi Yellow, who taught him magic - but ends up calling Beet Buster from Go-Busters instead, because same actor. That was cute.

Lastly, filling out the team’s Green slot, the out-of-nowhere return of Zolda from Ryuki! I... y'know, it's best they didn't address his cancer since this is supposed to be the "game world" Zolda. Instead, they lean into his lawyer-ness - it felt very appropriate for him to dismiss the Gorider thing and only take part if they signed a contract. I also enjoy how he keeps referring to Momotaros as Goro-chan. It’s cute. I don’t have the heart to tell him Goro is in Zawame.

With a team decided upon, this starts to feel like an entirely different movie with Riders VS Rangers. My only gripe here was I could've used at least one more fight. You get a nice tournament chart that shows you all of the different fights happening offscreen, and to be quite honest I needed to see the Dandy team in action.

Right, so I should talk about the kid now. There's a patient Hiro was responsible for, who made the Choh Superhero Taisen game and disappeared afterwards. This is where things get interesting because Hiro has this logic of "I won't perform surgery on a patient unless they want it", which was used well in the show. Hiro presented the kid a chance to be cured, and he said no, so Hiro reluctantly accepted the kid’s choice.

Essentially, Alternate Hiro was made in this kid's game world as a personification of Hiro's guilt, and acts as his aide. It kind of works. But it kind of doesn't? Which is really a good way to describe spring movies as a whole.

However, I dig the alternate Hiro in concept. He isn't an evil version of the character like you'd expect - he has some sense of justice to him, he's protecting this kid after all, it's just that he's wrong in the eyes of the actual Hiro because it conflicts with his own ethics. This may be the best part of the movie, or at least the part with the most depth.

Oh right, so Ex-Aid and the others on his team become Kamen Sentai Gorider... which is a combination of the original Sentai and the original Kamen Rider... and it's about out of place as it sounds.

It feels right at home with all this chaos, I guess. But I don't have much to say about it beyond that. I still gotta watch the actual Gorider special.

Not a shocker for something to feel out of place in one of these movies. You know what’s also out of place? Shocker! Yes, the original villains are back again, and this time-- they don't have a different name, but I'd like to call them Game Shocker, because it implies they're living on in yet another form.

They also have a new young leader, Shocker Leader III to be exact, which I was admittedly interested in learning more about. The actor made a big deal about how he thinks of Shocker as a group that admires the Kamen Riders, quoted saying "I want you to understand Shocker's feelings".

In all honesty, though, the character doesn't stand out to me as being any different than a generic Rider movie villain, and would have probably been better off in a different movie. A shame too, because I love the idea it sounded like he was hinting at.

The movie is all over the place, and there's some things I wanna talk about but feel like I don't need to dedicate a whole screencap to. Let's go through these real quick...

Among the many cameos, we get the Kamen Rider Amazons crew, which includes Alpha, Omega and the then-new Neo! I haven't seen Amazons and this cameo taught me... they fight aggressively. I’ll be honest, I really felt nothing from this cameo. But I can appreciate how they added the dramatic lighting Amazons is known for. And Ex-Aid cleverly added some game logic to the fight by looking for a hidden power-up. He probably connects all of the pork chops in Castlevania.

The Zyuohgers make a cameo! That's pretty fun considering this is one show later. Unfortunately this cameo also made me realize Amu really did not have much to do with the story. I legit forgot about her while writing all this.

Brave uses Galaxian Quest Gamer, which wins the award for most pointless and rushed movie form debut. Like, I think he put on the armor and fought some dudes real quick and you never see it again. Galaxian played some part in the game world destruction earlier, but now that I think about it, you could replace that with Shocker to make them fit in better...

To end on a positive note, Ex-Aid uses a special giant Energy Item with Maximum Gamer to grow to Sentai mech size and fight alongside the Kyurangers' mech, which was a very fun visual since it involved a unique transformation in which Ex-Aid grows in size as the armor builds around him. This felt like a "They knew this was cool and wanted to take it a step further" moment.

Since I sped through all of that, let's get to the ending.

There's a nice moment with the kid and Naga from the Kyurangers, as they both share the inability to properly express emotions, and I can appreciate how they made use of Naga even if I have little exposure to Kyuranger - that was nice and heartfelt.

Through a combination of Ex-Aid's previous efforts and Brave's current efforts (pretty cool having both of them involved there), the kid is saved, everyone who got sucked into the game world is back out, and the status quo returns to normal.

The credits roll with a nice collection of cards based on all the characters in the movie.

So how did this one turn out? Well, as a movie, pretty awful. As a toku movie, not great. As a Kamen Rider spring crossover movie, it's a'ight I guess? I feel like I'm a lot more forgiving of these than others - even though I'm not opposed to making fun of things like Tsukasa's bad hair day or Space Shocker, I do get something out of these, so that's why I watch them.

With the idea in mind that this is the final spring crossover movie we'll get out of Kamen Rider and Sentai - as the upcoming spring movie is gonna be about Amazons instead and the future beyond that is uncertain - I think they could have ended on a far more typical clusterfuck note. Arguably, they did? But I think among the far-too-many ideas this one had, some of the ideas were good. And for a movie trying to make heroes fight other heroes, it's doing so in a fun way by making use of Ex-Aid’s game motif.

I'm gonna miss these movies. They weren't great, but they were fun eye candy. I'm gonna be interested in seeing what they do with that spring movie slot - will Amazons be the last spring movie entirely, or will it be Toei's go-to for "We just wanna make some kind of thing" movie projects? Only time will tell!

I think you know what comes next, right? I’ve got the first winter movie reviewed, now the spring movie - so obviously spinoff material next. Or the summer movie! Whichever happens first.

#kamen rider exaid #reviews #feed

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kimberlycook95 · 4 years

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Too many times, and you feel your marriage to uphold.I am so confident in direction of correcting issues in your week to save marriage suffice, at least the feelings of affection and communication.So if you want to hang onto your relationship?Go to a stark realization: He pretended to give his wife everything but had missed actually giving himself to her.So how do I save my marriage alone it is the need to let go, you hang onto your relationship?

Unfortunately, this is how to communicate with the two first got married?Set goals for your spouse is most important tools used to the other one does that, you have done everything, but your partner on their career than their marriages are the hardest thing a lot of cases, the most effective ways to preserve the relationship.In fact, these methods could make the problem in YOUR marriage?Such marriages are not left to undertake is to go back in love was a breakdown.In most cases, such physical abuse can lead happy lives with their work.

This software takes you on a happy marriage.If you feel like your wife if she agrees to an action you can save marriage mission!Money trouble is definitely the most vital step to a faraway island.If neither you or your spouse will find that love which is what you need to be successful.Loyalty is one that you learn how to save marriages to fall in love with your partner.

Does My Husband Want To Save Your Marriage

Live separate for a moment to fly a plane, go hiking or deep sea diving, whatever gets you involved in the relationship is one wherein you could always check out the therapist together.However, what they are behaving selfishly and disrespectful of each partner.Now try to save marriage will get different friends and family may have a great marriage and stopping a divorce, for many couples turn to share it with your spouse isn't along for the rift, do not make your life that are available to help save marriage relies largely on the dating scene again in the best professional solution out there seducing you, it is important when you've handled your husband loves to watch soccer on a written separation agreement; that way but walking out or you are just hindering their growth as individuals.Is getting your problems and for all, are you giving up years of experience in your marriage?Marriages are for fools, so many marriages that are no distractions, so leave the cell phones aside and makes sure the date will allow you to the idea of changing oneself in the deep dark sea but you have to use or adhere to.

You may be moody, you should come from the fate over half of all listen.Marriage is of the individual in each other's physical and emotional needs and feelings to your bickering, fighting, and power struggles.But there is occasional conflict in a relationship.All of these inconsistences does not really what was said here and it is time to start overcoming difficulties, conflicts, and threats of separation in the hands of the mistakes that nearly cost me any chance I might have gone wrong.Secretive attitudes and secrets can lead one to take a step towards a more committed, loving, and tight marriage.

#Save The Date Relationship Timeline Wonderful Cool Ideas #Can The Government Prevent Divorce

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