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#i don't have a lot of faith in what they'll do with them as angels
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So have you heard of that Obey Me: Nightbringer thing?? I saw it on their Twitter and I have no idea what it is but I don't interact with enough people in the fandom to ask
oh yeah, i saw that too! unfortunately i also have no idea what it is, so i can't help you here ^^;
i think i saw someone under it saying it's a prequel game of some sort? but idk if they actually knew or if it's speculation, so keep that in mind
#answering asks#anon asks#tbh even if it is a prequel game it's a little hard to get excited about#i'd rather they just focused on making the current game's writing better yknow? especially after s4 which... certainly was a season#it had writing. and characters.#i did eventually finish it and while the twist with simeon at the end IS interesting... why did they leave it til the very last minute#and then not do anything with it???#it's a cool story beat! i'd love to see it explored! but it is not a big enough mystery#to warrant spending the whole season wondering what it is!#is s5 even going to happen at this rate?? are they ever going to develop the new trio????#unless s5 comes out and it turns out s4 was just a really long haul setup for something GREAT#even so it still makes it kinda disappointing that those 20 lessons had pretty little real substance#even though there were TONS of potential lines to follow!!!!#sorry this happens every time i bring up s4 lol#i just start writing an essay in the tags. that being said i'm still gonna do it#anyway if nightbringer does end up being a prequel game... idk#i can't really see myself being interested in it#when the brothers as demons honestly still haven't been explored to their full potential#(AND DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THE SIDE CHARACTERS)#i don't have a lot of faith in what they'll do with them as angels#we'll see#also i have a mild confession to make. diavolo and luke don't really do it for me in canon#for diavolo i think part of it is just that i live in the uk and am incredibly jaded in terms of how i feel about monarchies#and i don't really like how om hand-waves diavolo as a ruler like 'everyone loves him and he is good and there's nothing wrong with royalty#he's felt like too much of a jovial dumbass as of late when that never really felt like who he was before#in terms of luke he has like three character gimmicks and they don't really stop to give him much depth after his brief stint in s1#the gimmicks being 1. child 2. bakes and 3. child again#THERE'S SO MUCH YOU COULD DO WITH HIM#he's like a baby angel but inherently still much older than a human right?? the psychology of it!! it could be so interesting!!#i keep meaning to actually add the stuff i've done with it into jtta but i can never find the right bit to add it to
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jacks347 · 2 months
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Would the listeners survive a zombie apocalypse? (In my slightly sarcastic, completely subjective opinion)
Idk man, I'm bored and got time to kill in church so here we are
(Tagging this is going to be a nightmare-)
(Edit from the future: It was. It really was.)
Redacted:
For sake of my sanity this isn't all the listeners, just the ones I'm still actively keeping up with (I'll get to the others...eventually)
Angel - Solid maybe. Out of all the unempowereds, definitely has one of the highest chances. But it would take an extreme streak of luck.
Babe - No...I'm sorry but no. Would be like one of those extras that you see eaten in the first minute of a horror movie.
Sweetheart - Probably. Can a zombie detect someone invisible? Sweetheart is smart enough to survive, they'll be fine.
Darlin - Yes if they have Sam to hold them back from sacrificing themself for the "greater good". No if they're left completely to their own devices.
Lovely - Depends on the version. Pre Adam, no. Pre Inversion, maybe? Post Inversion, definitely. Hard to die to a zombie apocalypse when you're a) already dead and b) literally immortal.
Treasure - Okay, I know Treasure is the newest addition to the roster and we haven't had a lot of time to see their personality develop but as of now? Yeah...no.
Freelancer - They'll do it on -3 hours of sleep simply out of spite. Freelancer has been through enough, they're just tired. They'd survive but begrudgingly.
Honey - Honey would survive out of spite and spite alone. Would definitely have that baseball bat from The Walking Dead.
GBA:
Guardian - ...you're kidding, right?
Darling - Yeah...no. Soft bby would never.
Faithful - Possibly? That stubborn attitude and medical abilities would help but has absolutely no combat training so ehhhhh, it depends.
Paradise - If she can break a pirate crew out of space Fort Knox and wrangle Yargwynn, a zombie apocalypse is pocket change. Paradise would own an apocalypse.
Partner - I swear I'll stop bullying the new additions. Once they're worth not bullying. The man made the zombie apocalypse, I guess we're gonna find out if he survives won't we? I'm not hopeful though.
Escaped:
Asset - No one in ATW even knows how to do basic math, the only way any of them survive is through sheer force of which they might actually be successful. So maybe.
Raven - Yes but she would have a mental breakdown about it so she would not be the same on the other side.
Slash - ...seriously?
Guest - Hm, a trained vampire slayer in a zombie apocalypse, I wonder what would happen! Obviously she'd be fine.
Intern - Entirely dependent on who they're trying to keep alive. If it's just them, probably. If it's them and the rest of their merry band of misfits, no.
Future Wife - You're funny. RIP my girl, no one will know her husband broke the fuckin timeline for some pancakes.
Agent Schäfer - Once the shock and panic wore off, yeah she'd be fine. Hope she doesn't get eaten during that freeze.
("Where's Lass?" When Desmond returns for more than five minutes, come talk to me about listening to Blue Infinity)
Nomad:
Pack Mom - Definitely. We already know she's a deadly shot and wasn't afraid to shoot a living person, a dead one would be fine. She will be perfectly fine.
Lass - Yes. Not with as much overwhelming power as Pack Mom but she'd get through it. I mean...she has formal sword training, I think she'd do okay.
Little One - Probably not. Out of the original Frosthaven romances, they are the least likely to survive. They'd put up a good fight though.
Lamb - Yes and no. Physically, she'd be just fine. Mentally, I don't know if she could do it. Slipping back into that killer mindset might just drag her under.
Chester's mate - Probably not. Out of all the new Frosthaven romances, they're the most average. They'd try though.
Harlow's roommate - No. I love them but no. Not our slightly stupid boat captain.
Caltraxus' TA - Yes and they'd hate it every step of the way. Would survive completely hungover if that was an option.
The Doctor - Probably? If not by her own merit then definitely through someone else cause everyone needs a doctor in the apocalypse.
Beau's mate - Yes. Literally fought a bear once. She will be just fine.
(The lack of fandom names for Nomad's listeners saddens me greatly. And also makes my work so much harder)
This was so dumb but I had fun so :P
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silvershiningtarot · 11 months
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🪬🪬PAC 18+ What’s Your Soul Contract Between You & Your Partner? 🧿🔮🪬
💋Take a moment to breathe in and Out. You can choose more than one pile. Take what resonates and what doesn't. This reading will be short. I know some of you don't like soul contracts. Plus this is my first time doing this. Reblog & comment on how you feel about it.
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Pile 1: This Connection hasn't manifested or entered your lives yet. This makes me feel that you and your partner still have karmic debts to deal with. You probably have karma with your family members or lovers, or friends that you still need to finish. This soul contract is divine timing for some of you. I sense that this must be a tough journey for both of you. I feel that your partner needs to clean up their debts with people. But it is slowly manifesting. But you guys aren't meant to come together in the union yet. This connection is like a beautiful symphony 🎻. This is a very harmonious connection. I don't want you to feel that this person doesn't matter or you'll never meet them. I believe that you will. But there's a lesson you need to learn to meet them and vice versa. You two should pay attention to music. Lyrics that pop into your head. This symphony was created in the highest of dimensions. I feel your angels and theirs are protecting your connection with them. See! This connection is about to happen and manifest. So ladies and gentlemen 🎩 gear up! Very soon you'll be meeting each other soon. I can feel that way. This connection is divine timing. You have to be patient💕. Keep on manifesting this connection. You're starcrossed Lovers. THIS IS A FATED CONNECTION!!! See! You have to stay strong. Many dark forces trying to stop and intervene in your connection. That's why I said you have to be patient. It's coming. Have faith and believe. You guys came from the stars ✨ That shit isn't easy. Look at that. You will heal this person, they are a fucking mess. So when you both meet each other they will be nothing but pain heartbreaks and sadness. I think that they'll be going through a lot. So in this soul contract, you two are meant to heal the past pain. Including your partner. Once you come into their life, they will feel so relieved and refreshed. You brighten up their world 🌎. Your love helped heal them. Before they didn't feel that they deserve love ❤️. Physical connection: The sacred union of bodies; two becoming one. This feels like you two won't stop touching. Every day they have to touch you. You'll melt to them and they'll melt to you. Time Apart: A time of separation. It seems that you two right now are in separation. So this is the time you two will meet soon. I feel that some of you, you're karmic debts are almost done. I don't know about them. But if they continuously repeat 🔃 the same cycle then it's going to be hard. They are going to keep delaying the connection with you. I won't blame them like it's their fault but it is both of you too. This is a partnership, you both have to make the effort. In my opinion, you are done with some of your karmic debts. Reaching Out: Except for a Call or text from your person of interest. So they are coming in soon. Just keep holding on. Twin Flame Recognition: You know this soul that mirrors your own. Bam 💥💥. You two are twin flames. This is a twin flame journey and contract. You both incarnated down here to handle what you need to handle. Once you two meet each other, they'll recognize you and vice versa. Twin Flame Union: Heart, Body, Mind, and Soul! Oh my goodness, you guys are on a tough journey. No wonder these dark forces are coming after you. They can feel it. Your connection is very rare. What I mean by that is, your connection with your twin flame is like no other twin flame connection out there. I feel that this is the beginning of time for you and your partner. Like you, two were the first that incarnated down here together since the beginning of time. Like ancient ago. Love Language- Quality Time: be the witness to each other's lives. Oh, snap! You guys love spending quality time with each other. That's beautiful. All you two need is each other. But in my opinion, don't get too lost in each other make sure you both balanced it out. Ahh! Rekindle An old flame returns. I don't sense that an old ex coming back but I could be wrong. Some exes sneak their way come into y'all lives. Remember those exes can be the dark forces. Maybe not all of them. See!
I was right again, Divine Timing: A serendipitous event. Let's just say some suspicious events happen you end up meeting your partner at a house party. Or a concert or a VIP Club. You meant to be a wealthy woman. I'm talking about a trillion. I don't see you being all that famous. Don't get me wrong you will get the fame but you are made to have mad money!! TRILLION! I'm saying that because I will manifest that shit for you. Didn't I say this? I was right. An old history love story. Your love story with your twin is ancient 📜 💞💕. This is your true love. I mean 😏 don't get me wrong you can date but I mean your soul is made for one man and one man only. If that makes sense. See! Star-crossed lovers. Star family 👪. You are on the right path🤗. You should keep going. No matter what your path is toward your twin flame. You guys are magnetic to each other. Look at that 4:44. That must be something. Ultrasound 📢 you meant to be pregnant. You are going to fall in love with your twin flame. Vice versa. Let's talk out. In this contract, you both will compromise with each other. If you are mad at them they'll talk to you. They will make amends with you quickly. People are going to say that you are using them or they are using you. Don't listen to people period. Wow, this pile is a long one. I feel that you'll be cooking dinner. Making home cook meals. Trying out new recipes. Best friend. This is your best friend you are going to be with. You two will be making music together. Y'all love is like teenage love. You should listen to this song. There's a message in there. You guys will release a lot of old habits. You will be transforming a lot.
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Pile 2: In this soul contract, you're meant to teach them, patience, understanding, calm, compassion, and empathy. If that makes sense. Oh, I see now! I believe that you are their mentor. You meant to help them grow. That doesn't mean you are their peace ✌️ it just means that you meant to guide them. This is why you may go through what you need to go through. So you can help your partner face the challenges that they need to be faced. See! This connection is about to happen and manifest. You will have to gear up. Omg, your career will improve and grow so much with your partner. You two meant to be in business together. They are here to help you with your career. Major abundance! You both will be wealthy together. So your energy and theirs will create a vibe of abundance and fucking wealth. This is amazing. Both of y'all contract is meant to be fucking wealthy together. Family Healing! You two meant to end a lot of generational curses. You meant to break this cycle. You both meant to start up your traditions together. Not what the family you grew up what thinks this tradition. Made up y'all own holidays, parties, and family events. You both will be moving on from family trauma and pain. You guys are each other's perfect match. You will complete each other. In the most harmonious way. So much harmony you two will bring each other. This is also a healing connection. You and Your romantic partner will transform. It will completely change your life around. You guys have a serious bond. You both will discover many things in common together. Man! Burning desires. Woah, y'all passion will just ignite. So you might meet them at a workplace. That's where your romance will start for some of you. Unexpected Connection. It seems to me that your connection is rare too. This is your soulmate. So are getting engaged to your soulmate? Proposal: Your romance is about to evolve and level up. I told you that you two will be breaking off from the world. I feel that you might kiss them on your first day at work. Because y'all connection is so intense. You guys will have a private relationship. It will be only y'all two and you two only. That's why I feel that you will keep things private. I don't blame y'all two. That's part of y'all soul contract anyways. Self-sabotage, either one of you will try to mess up this connection. One of you is a runner and the other one is a chaser. They know what it's like to be someone's puppet. They dealt with a lot of sociopaths, and manipulative people in their life. Aw 😦 I'm sorry 💔 for them. Sexual Healing. A lot of making love to each other. I told you that once you two connect y'all souls combine. You trust your husband. They trust you. This is your best friend.
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Pile 3: there is some serious magic going on with this connection. 9D realms and above are guiding y'all fabulous. The angels and the guides are protecting y'all connection and contract. This might be your twin flame or your High vibe Soulmate. This is a very powerful bond you two have. Heaven made. For some of you, this might be your ultimate person. Ahh! I see that they will help you because some of you might have a commitment phobia. They will make sure that you are feeling safe and secure. They will make you feel comfortable and grounded. This is the person for you. So I got a sense that for some of you, this is your twin flame and for a few of you this is your soulmate. You both meant to teach each other to be patient. You are their mentor, help them with knowledge. Open up their chakras. This connection with you is everything. They dreamed about it. You're their dream come true. They have been manifesting you since they were a child. Burning desire. You got a lot of passion for each other. Heavily passion. The second you guys into union. That fire will fucking burst. They will surprise you with something you'll never forget. Look at that. Follow the path of y'all ascension. See! The benefit of the doubt ❔ That's why I say some of you have committed phobia. You are going to have to give your relationship a chance. You two will start loving yourself. Start being confident and proud of being y'all self. This soul contract is part of the plan. Meaning as where everything was meant to happen in the first place. It is part of the plan you both agreed on. This is love at first sight with you two. Deeply kissing, being each other's cheerleaders. You guys are the greatest support group for each other. Big fans you both will be. When you look me in the eyes. I feel that you should listen to this song. This is destiny. Aggressive. You'd be happy. You or your partner will be aggressive toward each other. I sense that your partner is aggressive. Very masculine he is. You will grow a lot of knowledge with them. Teaching each other about the life you had before, becoming spiritual. Traveling around the world.
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Pile 4: You two share a past life connection. You two instantly saw and recognize each other. Both of you hit it off quickly. You two have a karmic debt to settle and heal. You both shall grow and ascend so much🌹. That's amazing. Your contract with them is for you to grow. Both of you were meant to get rid of toxic people and connection that wasn't meant for you or them. There might be a 3rd party situation that is in this contract. You two will make each other very happy. This connection makes you both feel trust and believe in the magic. Very Fairytales. I don't feel that this is a twin flame recognition. Maybe for some of you. A few of you. I don't think so. But you will recognize this is your person. A lot of sex you two will have. Burning desire again. Damn!! Sex sex sex!!!!! Perfect match. Yes, you guys are each other’s equal. Reaching out! They will be talking to you soon. Healing connection. This connection will transform your life. Both of y'all live. Falling in love ❤️. Suddenly you both will feel like this is the one. It might be the one for you. In my opinion, I feel like they are the one. This contract will bring you a lot of clarity. You guys will argue, and then turns into sex. Passion Sensuality. Sweet lovemaking. Oh my goodness, a lot of sexual healing. Act of service might be your love language or theirs. Super freaks! Sex all the time! You are going to be wearing lingerie. A lot of public kissing. Sex Machine 🤖. I can't with y'all. In this soul contract, a lot of fucking you two will be doing. A lot of it. I'm surprised for this pile they don't have a breeding kink. I don't think so. They just like fucking you.
Reblog and Comment. If you want to know more information about this reading💋. You can go on my pinned post and check it out👉🏾👉🏾👉🏾👉🏾👉🏾👉🏾👉🏾👉🏾
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wonderingwhyiam · 9 months
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[GOS2 SPOILERS] About that Kiss...
I was looking at Mr. Gaiman's reply to that one ask about kisses and how he said "if you haven't got it by then you'll never get it". And I was thinking about all the gifsets and imagesets and meta posts unanimously calling the kiss Crowley's confession. But it's not a confession, at least not the confession of love that it's being taken as. (For that, we need a lot of context, but beware because it's a while before I get to the actual kiss.)
First: Aziraphale and Crowley have been in love, if that's what we can call the transcendental connection between two supernatural entities, since basically the start of the show. It's always been canon, they've both known about each other's feelings (think Aziraphale saying that Crowley gets so happy when he can rescue him, think Crowley accompanying his angel through the whole magic show song-and-dance because he knows Aziraphale is doing it for him). They're certainly not under the impression that their affections are unrequited.
Second: Crowley may know that Aziraphale loves him, but he also knows that Aziraphale's understanding of him and of love in general is different from his own. Crowley has understood that neither heaven nor hell are entirely black or white, and that's one of the reasons he wants to stay on Earth (along with many others). But Aziraphale hasn't, and a central theme of many S2 scenes is Crowley trying to show Aziraphale that the 'heavenly' way isn't always right. This leads to an ongoing conflict between them, one which neither of them acknowledge and Aziraphale doesn't even seem to be aware of.
To put this into perspective: think of that one friend, relative, partner, whatever of yours who is in a toxic/abusive situation. Think of your frustration that they just don't understand how bad it is, because they've never known any other way of living. And if you've ever been in the same situation and gotten out, then you know that it takes a lot of mental effort and willpower to realise that you need to get out instead of trying to improve it from within.
Now let's go back to Crowley. He, like the audience, finds it obvious that Metatron is only manipulating Aziraphale back into their control. Aziraphale just seems so naïve for thinking that it'll be better from the inside. Doesn't he see that Crowley and his bookshop and the Earth are where he'll be happy?
But from Aziraphale's point of view, a figure in extreme power who he trusts to be correct has just told him that he can have all three of these and more. Aziraphale has come to see that his coworkers and/or superiors aren't really good (remember the end of S1), but still believes that the side of Heaven is good overall (an example is the grave-digging bit). Textbook forgiveness of your abuser, but let's not get into that. A 'perfect' solution (bringing his partner into Heaven aka the abusive situation with him so that they can 'redeem' it and as an added bonus pull his partner out of a situation which Aziraphale thinks is bad) has just appeared. Why isn't Crowley seeing it?
So finally, third: what is Crowley going to do? he's been trying to get his angel out of this mindset for literal millennia, but Aziraphale still thinks that Heaven is unilaterally good. Aziraphale still tries to deny his love for Earth, despite his every action pointing to the opposite (such as the fact that he literally preserves books for as long as possible, but says 'nothing lasts forever' as if he's okay abandoning it all) and still thinks that Crowley would come to heaven if he could. At this point, Crowley knows that his millennia of love and effort aren't enough. He is starting to feel like they'll never be enough. And we get him putting on his glasses, shutting himself off, making some last-ditch attempts to remind Aziraphale that he's losing all of Crowley's faith and vulnerability towards him by repeatedly choosing Heaven. Not just that, he's losing the magic of humanity as well (no nightingales). Aziraphale says he needs Crowley, so why does he never try to understand him? Why does he always call it "tempting" and never accept that maybe there isn't a single definition of Good?
That kiss isn't a confession; there's nothing to confess. They've both thrown all their cards on the table and none of them match. It is not an "I love you." It is an "I love you, but." I love you, but I can't keep trying and waiting and trying and waiting only for you to choose your abusers every time. I love you, but your constant denial of my good intentions has worn me down. I love you, but I'm tired.
And so Crowley leaves. He'll wait, of course, with his Bentley, but he can't keep taking the first step and then being told he's going "too fast for" Aziraphale. And when Aziraphale once again chooses his own familiar hell in heaven over everything else, what else can Crowley do but accept it?
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solarbird · 2 years
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hold onto your rage
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Y'know all that frustration and rage you're feeling over the @GOP ripping away our rights, overturning #RoeVWade?
All that is what most of us queers have faced our entire lives. We're facing it again right now.
DON'T let it rule you, but DO hold onto it. You're gonna need it.
If there's such a thing as righteous rage, this is it. Some days, it will be the only thing that keeps you going.
(Ask POC around you about it. That's not my tale to tell - you don't get much whiter than Finnish, I mean, you do, but you gotta work at it - but it's real.)
I've dealt with these evangelical fundamentalist @GOP fucks for decades, and the first thing you've got to understand: there is no good faith from them, but it is demanded you demonstrate your own. And stick to it.
They'll demand "polite discourse and debate" even as they accuse you and yours of raping children to reproduce since "homosexuals can't reproduce on their own" - and proclaim you the villain if you even raise your voice about their blood libel.
There is no trick too dirty, and the only measure of truth is whether it serves the cause. They systematically lie, they systematically cheat, and they won't just bring a gun to a knife fight, they'll bring a gun to a debate, fire it, and then lie about that too.
Literally NOTHING the evangelical/fundamentalist @GOP say is in good faith. It's whatever noise fills the moment. If it's true, it's a coincidence, and if a lie had suited the moment better, they'd've lied.
I'm not saying this to be mean, I'm saying it because it's true.
And here's the kicker:
They enjoy this shit.
It's fun for them.
Because they enjoy power most of all, and the impunity to hurt others feels oh so very very good.
That's why you need this rage, why you need to keep it, not punish or scold yourself, not try to get over it, because that shit will not work.
What they want is their dominance, and your compliance and suffering. What they'll do to get it is anything.
Look, rage isn't good for you, I'm not pretending it is. I'm just saying that sometimes it's what you need, because righteous rage...
Rage is real good at helping you get through the hell they genuinely desire to rain down upon all of us.
Rage is motivating as fuck.
And I'd like to say there are a lot of better ways to get that motivation, because there are. But given what the queer community have gone through at the hands of the @GOP fundamentalist evangelical religious cult for my entire life, and how little cishets have cared...
...I can't say that I think these 'better angels' of motivation are enough. They've been AWOL far too long.
So there are times to be angry.
There are times in fact to be enraged.
We are in those times.
Keep your fury. You're gonna need it.
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dark-falz · 9 months
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Hey guys so I'm pretty sure I've mentioned I've been bouncing between this really cool farming game called Sun Haven and doing magic right so heh hih
I was looking into a spell I wrote a bit ago that I wanted to do and saw I could make a new magic circle with it.
I didn't have the space to draw it as largely as the original Algolian seal I morphed into a prosperity spell, so I left blank the middle text and a lot of alchemy symbols out.
Anyway for those curious about magic and using the Algolian seal as a magic circle, the breakdown is below. I'm probably gonna draw this circle on photoshop as well just so I have a better visual understanding of where I'm placing everything.
So yeah this already looks a bit different than the Algolian seal because I used both the Divine and Zodiacs, and I've also learned about things such as aspect symbolism in the circles 😅😁 I'm not going too into detail on what's what in this, mostly just how it's written. It is a multi target dream invocation spell.
"MUUT DITTS POUM" placements
These are the outer circles. The top circle closest to all the text is placed south, the circle below it is placed west, and the one on the right in between them is placed east. South and West faced circles contain Deities with symbolic colors of red and white. Blue is affinitive with West, but colors black and white are lucky where u can place them wherever and it counts. The east faced circle contains a non-divine target, which is why zodiacs are used. The Zodiac is affinitive with yellow and yellow is affinitive with east.
These positions are marked with candles.
The Ankh
Oh yeah. So. Hmm. Magic circles have an alpha and omega direction. Clearly the alpha would be between the Divine, and the target is connecting with the divine. So the. Hmm. The female part of the Ankh is the Shen, it symbolizes eternity. This is placed on the alpha side. The male part is the Djed, it symbolizes stability. It's placed on the omega side, connecting the two. I used this because it made sense to, given what all I was working with.
Photon Blast Placements
Uhhhh briefing a lot on this since it's mostly Divine beings. In a traditional circle this is where the names of angels, great companies/little companies go and I don't have reeeally that in my faith (or at least my section of it?) so I used other divine beings and their symbolism/aspect to fit these in appropriately. On the Zodiac side I used the targets rising and moon signs. Now that I'm here, they might be placed backwards but I'll have to look into that when it's not right now.
And now that I said that, I can say the Divine named in the rings are affinitive with a time pattern regarding aspects of stars/celestial bodies in the sky. Which is the closest I can get to copying angels, I believe. But again now that I'm here there might be some funky shit ima have to double check
The middle text
I will be keeping the same as the Algolian seal since it's fitting! 😀 "I wish it an alliance from several years ago, please protect us by virtue of you're the Great Light Power" yay I didn't need to look for words this time. (all those lines of purple text above the circle are the invocation its fine its likely fine I think they'll love this shit tbh)
Middle circle
Is a target, a candle affinitive with their zodiac is placed here.
I'm hoping to actually perform this on Friday as all energies with the day and moon phase will be in line but we'll see how my adhd and motivation hold up (or if I'm home) In meantime I'm going to try to shop a more proper image of the circle so I can draw it on papyrus later :3
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oveliagirlhaditright · 8 months
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Here be Monsters - A Bangel and Buffy & Faith and Angel & Faith Fanfic
Summary: When Faith tells Buffy she's been assaulted by a supernatural being--someone that Faith at first believes is an Incubus--and Giles then sends Buffy and Angel on a quest to destroy the Rugarus in town, it puts them on the path of a mystery that no one could have expected. Slight mystery. Canon compliant. Post-Helpless. Bangel. Buffy and Faith. Angel and Faith. Slight Fuffy.
For @bisexualblckcanary
Here be Monsters
Angel’s PoV
Angel didn't know what he was doing helping the Scoobies carve stakes, exactly. He wasn't a people person: that was a fact. And ever since he had lost his soul and terrorized the Scooby Gang, he knew they hated him: something he couldn't blame them for that at all. He hated himself.
So why hadn't he made one of his usual quick exits, like always, when he found that Buffy wasn't in the library yet, to save everyone the awkwardness here?
"…and anyway, I'm really starting to wonder if maybe we should start looking into buying stakes on Ebay, so we don't have to do this," Willow was rambling, in trying to fill the otherwise strange silence, Angel thought. Bless her. "Surely it would be more cost effective, like if we need to make stakes and research at the same time or something. But hey: this is just a crazy idea this wacky girl has had. Don't listen to m-"
"I think it's a good idea," Angel cut off her self-loathing thoughts, though he may have partially been lying here. He wasn't entirely sure he felt this way. Though maybe Willow had a point. And Lord knew the sweet girl could use some confidence. "I mean, you can find about anything on the Internet these days… or so I've heard. And if anyone thinks it's weird you guys are buying a lot of stakes, they'll probably just think you're vampire movie fanatics."
Angel threw the last bit in, figuring that Harris would be longing to say something about the FBI--or someone--thinking their actions were strange (as if they'd ever even look into them. Actually, they'd surely think the Watcher's Council, who Giles would get to flip the bill for this if they did do it, were gardeners), so he'd thrown that in there before Xander could say anything. He didn’t want to give the boy any more reason to speak, after all.
"Thanks, Angel!" Willow beamed.
"No, problem," Angel allowed, giving her a small smile.
"Yeah," Xander moaned, sarcasm clearly in every inch of his words. "Thanks, angel eyes." Well, it seemed Xander had talked, and—as always—was annoyed with him. Oh, well. It couldn't have been helped, Angel supposed. The boy just loved to run his mouth, didn’t he?
Out of the corner of his eye, Angel saw that Giles was also irritated, maybe in thinking that Angel would warm Willow up to him again, only to turn evil again and then try to murder her once more.
Resisting the urge to sigh—since his soul wasn't going anywhere any time soon, if he could help it—Angel reminded himself that these reactions were only natural.
It was just when he was thinking of leaving after all, when his pile of fifteen stakes were complete, that Buffy arrived on the scene.
And just like that, Angel had to remind himself he was a fool to doubt that his soul might not be going anywhere: Buffy was far too tempting: she wore a sparkly, yellow tank top, black dance pants, and orange flip-flops.
And while lately Buffy seemed to be wearing her hair up all the time—almost to contrast with Faith, who always seemed to have her locks loose—at the moment she seemed to have found a compromise: at the top of her head she had part of her tresses in a bun, while the rest of it hung down in curls.
As always, she was Angel’s stolen sun. And also, temptation incarnate. As she walked over to him, Angel spied chandelier earrings in his girl's ears that were somewhere between her shirt and shoe color. Tangerine?
"Angel," Buffy whispered breathlessly the moment she saw him.
And he, keeping up their game, smirked at her and said, "Buffy."
Giles cleared his throat then, tearing the former lovers apart from each other—to Angel's relief and chagrin—and Buffy seemed to remember where she was and what she was doing, as she jumped atop their favored library table and began working on a stake herself. "Sorry I'm late for patrol, guys. There was this whole thing with Faith. Would you believe that there was actually a guy she didn't want to sleep with, but somehow, he still manipulated her in to doing so? Anyway, she thought he was an Incubus, so I was being Research Girl for her. But an Incubus hasn’t shown up in Sunnydale in more than a thousand years, so… Now Faith is even more upset. I tried to convince her to come patrol with us tonight, that we'd be there for her, but she said no…"
A pen could have dropped in that moment and everyone would have heard it. That whole thing was rough. At lest the way that Buffy had described it, It didn't exactly sound like rape to Angel—and if it was, he would find down this man who had done this to the second Slayer and kill him. He and the demon, of course, were tempted to do so, anyway—but who could say for sure? And Angel winced, knowing that Liam and Angelus had used similar tactics with girls in the past, and he once again despised himself.
He also knew that part of the reason Faith wasn't here was because of him… the new Slayer had lost some of her trust in Buffy when she'd learned his girlfriend had lied to protect him, or so Buffy had told him.
"That's- that's horrible. Poor Faith!" Willow exclaimed. "Is there anything we can do?" And even though Angel knew that Willow had her problems with Faith, he knew that right now she would give the girl the shirt off her back to make her feel better if she could.
"You know how Faith is with emotions, Will. I imagine anything we say might make it worse. But if I think of anything, I'll let you know. Thanks.
"But right now, I definitely want to kill something. Giles, please give me something to kill!"
"I second that," Xander said, with a certain fury on his face, looking as though he were mere seconds away from punching the table or all the stakes they'd just worked on.
"Oh, umm, yes," Giles said, fixing his glasses—though Angel also noted the concern (as well as calculating) look in the Watcher's eyes. "Buffy, how do you feel about fighting Rugurus?"
"As long as I can hit them, I'm there."
And as the answer to that seemed to be a resounding “yes” for the most part, it looked like they had their itinerary for the night.
 "Do you have any ideas on how I can help Faith, Angel?" his Slayer asked him, as the two of them went out patrolling looking for said Rugurus.
In the end, not everyone had ended up going with the duo, since there was a chance Rugurus might not be a group that Buffy "could kill" as much as she might have liked—for the most part, one turned into a Ruguru when they were bitten by one, similar to how a vampire or werewolf were created. But where they differed, was while the bite would give the newly bitten an unbelievable craving for raw meat—to tempt them to sink their teeth into human flesh: their real desire—if they could resist that urge, they wouldn't fully turn. So there was a chance that some (or all) they would meet tonight could might only be in the process of transformation, and could return to normal if they refrained from their craving.
A.K.A. some they faced tonight might be innocent... And with tempers flaring after what they'd learned about Faith, Giles had decided not to send everyone on the warpath, just his Slayer and reluctantly Angel, since theoretically he should be able to sniff out a Ruguru and a half-turned.
"I wish I could give you better advice than giving her presents to distract her right now," Angel said, wincing, thinking of how often since he'd regained the soul, he'd sometimes used distraction as his own means of coping. Often with alcohol. "But… Oz had band practice tonight, right? And Faith likes music. What are the chances that Oz would be kind enough to write Faith her own song now?"
"I think that that's mainly a romantic thing he does for Willow—when he's not just trying to come up with songs for the band to hopefully make moola with someday--but I don't know, Angel, maybe," Buffy replied hopefully.
Really, Angel had known that. He'd been grasping at straws with his statement, and he knew it well… but what could he say? He wanted to help the other Slayer in some way. Whether it was because he still felt guilt over what happened with Kendra, or because he hated that Buffy had somewhat lost her friend because of him, he wasn't sure.
But before he could think it over much more, they were upon the nest. "Buffy," the vampire whispered in his Slayer's ear, not wanting to give their prey a head's up by his voice carrying. "Ruguru at twelve o'clock."
And they were, indeed, Ruguru they needed to be hunting, because they were currently tearing two girls apart. The one girl, unfortunately, was already dead. And while the other wasn't far behind her, Angel could still detect a faint heartbeat within her.
"Buffy… the blonde is still alive. If we can get her out of their clutches, one of us can run her to the hospital."
It was seeming like the best option here would be to split up, of course, even though Angel was loath to leave Buffy fighting Rugurus by herself for the first time, he thought he could make it to the hospital faster than she could…
There was a cave behind these three where un-turned could have been located, and Angel knew it wouldn't be fair if Buffy came across them and fought them, if they truly were un-turned and she thought they fully were. But what was the best choice here?
"Take her to the hospital then, Angel! I can handle a few monsters, who are just a bit hungrier than vampires!"
And if to demonstrate her point, Buffy had already charged into battle and had driven her stake along one of the Ruguru's arms, almost separating the lower part of said arm from the upper with her movement (the Ruguru howled out in pain with her action). Angel knew if she made said motion again, she probably would manage to do just that, and then that one wouldn't be much of a fighter at that point, at least…
He still hated to leave her like this, for a few reasons—one of them of course being that his demon was tempted to drink this already bleeding girl instead of seeing her to safety, but he knew he could fight that urge—but he wasn't really seeing any other options here.
Without any more preamble, Angel lifted this other blonde into his arms and wished his own golden goddess good luck—a scene that was somehow better and worse than the first time he'd said that to her. Then, he disappeared into the night.
Truth be told, Angel hated hospitals almost as much as Buffy did. He despised the illnesses that he could smell in the patients, and the hopelessness that he could detect in their family and friends.
He, perhaps, even moreso despised some of the games he'd played at hospitals before he'd gained his soul: letting some of his victims think they'd escaped him as they ended up at one, only for him to drag them away from their only hope…
He also recalled how just last year, he'd been responsible for Buffy, Willow, and Gile coming here. So, yes: if he never saw another hospital, it would be too soon. So he was glad that his business with the girl—Saya Baker, it turned out—didn't take long, and it seemed she would be okay.
Angel was just about to leave the building and see how Buffy had fared with the Rugurus, when he noticed Faith of all people in his peripheral vision.
Angel quite honestly couldn't believe that Faith was at the hospital. She didn't look injured enough to need any medical assistance that her Slayer healing wouldn't take care of (and Angel thought that if that insipid Watcher Wesley [who was sick right now] got word that Faith had come here for the doctors to look at some of her scrapes—if that was why she was here—he wouldn't be too happy about it… which was just ridiculous). He also didn't smell anything deeper in her, like cancer, thankfully. Hmm… could she be here because she had friends or family who were ill?
Truthfully, Angel really didn't know what to do with the other Slayer. And while his heart went out to her for what she was going through, according to Buffy, Angel knew that anything he said or did would just prove to set her off: he was her enemy. And furthermore, the one who was responsible for her decision to leave the Scoobies. Yes, it might have been best if he still decided to risk it all and talk to her, even with all of that. But despite everything Buffy had said and thought she had realized on Christmas, Angel of course knew he was a far cry from a good person.
So he'd decided to try and sneak past her, and hope that her Slayer senses hadn’t developed enough for her to sense him, when he noticed that his first assessment of her has been wrong as he sped past the girl: it looked like a rather strong creature had clawed her arm. And knowing that Faith wasn't the type to take that laying down—or at all—Angel had to stop and ask, "Faith, what happened to you?"
The new Slayer seemed to wake up from a trance, and with a vengeance, at Angel's line of questioning. And he felt that if they hadn't been in a hospital with people all around them, Faith would have thrown herself at him to stake him then and there. "I don't need your nose in my business, Angelus!"
Angel may have been crazy—actually, he knew that he was—but he was starting to put some things together here that he really didn't like. And he truly didn’t want to bring it up: he knew it would go over about as well as his telling Buffy that their dating could get out of hand had… But knowing that all that it took for evil to prosper was for good men to do nothing, he couldn't just leave it alone. He wouldn't.
Speaking softly and gently, the way he might have to a wounded animal—and maybe, just maybe, unintentionally the way he had when he'd attempted to thrall people in the past (which wouldn't work on a Slayer, since he’d never been great at thralling, so it was just so great that that was his voice for this)—Angel found himself pointing at Faith's arm. "I know you're not that reckless, Faith. I'm also aware that no one, in bed, can force a Slayer to do something they don't want to do…"
Faith was looking at him with eyes that said she positively wanted to dust him, and Angel thought she just might, but like a fool he swallowed and pressed on, anyway. "Has some abuser sweet-talked you into thinking he's not an abuser, and that… well, the things he's doing to you aren't abuse? Are you here hoping to talk to someone, because you know deep down that you’ve gotten in too deep?"
Angel was willing to bet the farm that whoever it was who had hurt Faith wasn't human, to be able to injure a Slayer the way they clearly had Faith here--maybe the demon had some type of compulsion, which could have explained a lot; if it was a vampire with thrall, it would be only too ironic. Though it was the slightest bit possible that they were human. However, that would make it all the worse. Because the amount of force they would have had to purposely put into their touch to be able to harm a Slayer… Angel didn't want to think about it.
At once, Faith exploded on Angel--pulling on his ear the way a mother might their misbehaving child. And with her strength—and his lack of it, since returning from Hell—he knew she was likely to pull it off. He thought she probably wanted to.
In the back of his mind—while Angel fought the urge to scream, as he already saw a few flecks of blood falling to the linoleum floor--he was somehow reminded of Buffy's one motion she’d done earlier tonight with the Rugaru…
"Nothing happened to me, Deputy Do-Right! Now how about you do me a favor and keep your inane observations about me to yourself, before I have to remind B that she was crazy to think that she couldn't make it through life without you? Capisce?"
"Hey, you two! Take it outside!"
"I'm leaving," Angel assured the nurse, pulling away from Faith with all of his strength. But not before the Slayer older than Buffy gave him a loo that clearly said, "you've picked the wrong battle," but what exactly she was trying to tell him with that, he wasn’t sure.
Visiting Buffy's house in the evenings was pure Hell now. In a sense, Angel supposed it always had been like that… being in close quarters with Buffy—especially in her bedroom, with her scent closing in all around him—made the man in him rise up and want to take her (it also made the demon go crazy for her blood, but he was thankfully good at forcing that back… even if it would be delicious Slayer blood).
Before her seventeenth birthday, her stuffed animals had seemed to look at him accusingly when he felt this way (her mother's thundering heartbeat just a floor below also reminded him that he was wrong to feel what he did for someone so young and full of life like Buffy). But that was nothing compared with now: when he knew he could never once lose control and act on his desires, or it would mean the cruelest vampire the world had ever seen back in action once more.
So, yes: being with Buffy in her room now was Hell—and Angel knew a thing or two about Hell—but sometimes he just couldn't avoid it.
Like right now: when he wanted to make certain that she was alright after her fight with the Rugurus—and apologize that he had had to leave her—and tell her some of his suspicions about Faith.
Thus he climbed up her tree and quietly slept into her window, perhaps expecting to find her sleeping, relaxing, doing her homework, or maybe even exercising… he hadn't expected to find a tired looking Buffy lying in bed—wearing a lovely pair of navy-blue pajamas, he might add—reading one of his favorite books: The Phantom of the Opera.
Her name was out of his mouth in question before he could stop it (wondering if he should go, because he didn't want to disturb her). "Buffy?"
"Oh, Angel!" she started, clapping a hand over her heart.
"Way to go, Buffy," the blonde Slayer admonished herself in a whisper then, with a shake of her head. "Wake up Mom, why don't you?" But then, with her attention back on Angel—a place he always wanted to be, even though he knew it shouldn't be there these days—Buffy got out of her bed and crept over to where Angel was still standing beside her window. "What are you doing here, Angel?" And the moment she was beside him, her left hand was instantly seeking out his own hand to hold. Angel couldn't help marveling at how natural it all felt.
"I just wanted to make sure that you were alright after I left you tonight," Angel wanted to add that leaving her was the last thing he’d wanted to do when she was still hurt by Giles' betrayal of her during her recent Cruciamentum—even if she was over it—and of course there was his becoming her enemy a year ago to think about… but knowing that saying either thing would just hurt Buffy more, Angel left his thought where it was and pulled Buffy into the safety of his arms, kissing the top of her head.
"Yep. Buffy is of the good and still the Little Engine that could. It was Buffy two, Rugurus zero. I kind of don't get why you and Giles were wigging about them earlier. They were no big. But knowing that my Watcher and my Angel care about me is certainly a treat I'll take any day. Mmm," Buffy voiced the last thing right as she stood up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his exposed collarbone. And Angel would be lying if he said he wasn't affected. But he tried to keep his mind on business.
"It was more because we know you don't want to accidentally hurt an innocent, Buffy… And speaking of innocents… I ran across Faith while I was at the hospital… And, well, I think you were definitely right in saying more of her innocence has been stolen from her recently."
Buffy looked at Angel with concern in her eyes then. And as she disentangled herself from him, he saw her gently put her book back down on her bedside table before she sat down on her bed, in order to better regard him. "Tell me everything," Buffy said tiredly.
And Angel did, hating that he had to make Buffy's impossible load even more thus. But was there anything else for it? Especially since Buffy might be one of the few who might be able to help the dark Slayer. And Angel knew how his girl longed to aid anyone that she could.
"Buffy… I saw Faith at the hospital, and she was really hurt. And you know how hard it is to harm a Slayer. And sure, she could have gotten the injury during patrol, but she hasn't been patrolling lately, has she?
"I think this ties in with what you were telling me earlier. And I think that Faith has fallen into an abusive relationship. But even then, it would be hard to bring physical harm to a Slayer. But abusers can be manipulative." And how Angel loathed his own manipulative past as Angelus. If he could go back and stop himself from being sired, so it would never happen—or keep himself from even being born—he would. "This manipulator also is not human, I’d guess."
Buffy nodded. And though it was simple action, the storm going on in her eyes was anything but. Angel was starting to see this from her more and more lately since her Cruciamentum, and he wondered if the tasks she had already had to face were too much for her to bear. It was unfair what the fates expected any one Slayer face, which was why he would lighten her load as much as he possibly could.
"Right…" Buffy muttered, running a hand under her chin, "because no Joe Schmoe could hope to leave marks on a Slayer…"
"Buffy-”
"Angel, did you happen to catch the scent of the culprit when you were around Faith?" Buffy questioned, completely catching Angel off-guard and interrupting the train of thought he’d had. He honestly hadn't thought that she would think to ask him that. Not because she forgot the abilities of the vampire, of course, but because he knew that thinking about what he could and couldn't smell from her had to make her uncomfortable.
"No, Buffy," Angel said, sitting beside her on her bed now—a risk, to be sure, but he hoped that the subject matter would keep both of their heads in the game. "Either I was too wrapped up in rescuing Saya,” ‘and not killing her,’ he thought but didn’t say. “Or the culprit could be a warlock who is masking their scent."
"Okay. Then we'll see if Will or Giles can do a locator spell on this person tomorrow. Either that, or I guess I'll be Research Girl again." Buffy sounded satisfied with her plan, and Angel found he couldn't blame her for that. It was, after all, a rather sound one.
He also knew that this should have been the end of their conversation here, and one of them really ought to have been finding an excuse for him to go, while they were still treading water… but that wasn't happening.
Instead, Angel crossed over and picked up Buffy's "Phantom of the Opera" book and gave it a once-over. He was relieved to see that she had the David Coward translation, even though he wasn't a fan of this cover for the novel.
"Interesting choice for a light read," Angel couldn't help remarking, a slight smile lighting up his face. "Where are you at in it?"
"'Poor, unhappy Erik,'" Buffy answered, her eyes having taken on a tragic look. And Angel knew why, of course. That was certainly one of the saddest parts of the story.
"You've gotten really far into the novel, then! That's great, Buffy! In a college interview, you might get asked about recent books that you've read, and this would be a good one to list. So, do you think Erik is redeemable?"
Only after the words had left Angel's mouth did he regret them. He'd honestly meant what he'd said: that this could be a great stepping stone for Buffy's future, and a part of him had wanted to help with that.
And, maybe, just maybe he'd been excited at the possibility of talking great literature with the love of his life.
But now he saw his mistake, of course. Because Buffy would say that Erik was irredeemable in the story: there was no way she couldn't. And he had done so much worse than the Opera Ghost. So what did that say about them? Why, something that Angel had known all along.
"I think, Angel, he wasn't irredeemable. He did regret his actions and let Christine go in the end. Though I do think that she should have ended up with Raoul. If things had been somewhat different with Erik, then maybe… but Erik frightened Christine and he started their relationship out with a lie." And Buffy looked Angel deeply in the eyes then, letting him know that that's what the difference was—Angel thought –since she, after all, had never been afraid of him and he'd never outright lied to her.
"I also agree with the author,” Buffy continued on, “that if people had just been nice to Erik, he wouldn't have become what he did. Instead, they could have benefited from his genius. But they weren't nice… I may have accidentally skipped ahead and read the part where Leroux said all of that," Buffy laughed.
Now it was Angel's turn to chortle. "More like: you jumped to the last pages early on, because you wanted to know the ending, right?"
Buffy rolled her eyes, no doubt for the fact that he thought that she would still do something so childish. But Angel noted that she didn't, however, deny the claim.
The vampire was about to say more: maybe something about how he loved Buffy’s heart and that she should never change, but then she yawned.
"I'm keeping you awake. You should get some sleep."
"No!" Buffy protested, grabbing onto Angel's arm the moment he got up from the bed that he’d only recently rejoined her on. "I'm awake. I'm Wakey-McFlakey. I could get up and do jumping jacks right now. I could-"
"Buffy." Angel gave his girl a look, before setting her favored book at the moment back on the table where she'd had it.
"…I guess I could probably appreciate this one night where I'm in bed early, yeah."
"That's what I thought. I'll see you tomorrow night." And Angel dropped a kiss to the crown of her head again, trying not to breathe in her sweet vanilla scent before he headed back towards her window.
“Angel?” Buffy asked, just as Angel’s knees were on the window frame.
“Yes?” he asked, curious about what Buffy could possibly have to say to him now when he could already tell that she was half-asleep. He wondered if she would be coherent. He was somewhat amused to find out.
“Don’t forget that you’re also the Raoul of the story.”
Angel did a double-take at that. He might have said more to Buffy’s kind words, but she was already asleep.
Raoul, huh? He wanted to believe he was Christine’s hero—though she herself was the hero of the story—and her great love, but he wasn’t sure he could. Though it was still a nice thought.
Smiling once more, Angel jumped first into his favorite tree and then leapt down from it. Then, it was back to the mansion for the rest of the night and day.
Angel had a feeling of déjà vu walking into the library to greet the Scoobies the next evening, and most importantly Buffy.
He supposed he shouldn't have, since tonight was starting off somewhat differently than the previous night—after all, he was here after Buffy, like he usually was—so perhaps what he was feeling was a sense of things returning to normal. Their normal, anyway.
And yet… Angel found he almost preferred making it to the library before Buffy did. Not because he much valued the time with any of her friends (except for perhaps Willow. And maybe Oz a little bit, even though they were both too laconic to speak to each other), but because he knew he was spending every second with Buffy that he could when he beat her here (for instance, if she was caught up with that Principal Snyder who seemed to abuse her, keeping her from the library so that she got here after him). But if he arrived late, he might have missed some precious moment of her time that he could have been a part of, if he'd been but a moment sooner, but would now never get back.
Angel was just about to try and explain some of these thoughts to Buffy, who was looking at him with a raised eyebrow, but he was interrupted from doing so by Cordelia's loud complaint of, "Giles, I'm not putting were-pumas into the file! The odds of Miss Slays-a-Lot facing them again has to be googolplex-in-one, compared to the trillion-in -one chance she had when she faced them the first time!"
Angel blinked. "You faced were-pumas, Buffy?" He wondered where he'd been during this scenario. Had it been the time Giles had sent him away to deal with one of his favorite cousins (read: one of the last followers of the Master) in Florida?
"It was at the same time that I had to deal with the Muses here in Sunnydale," Buffy explained, waving away his concern. "No big."
Except at the time, it had been a big deal. Angel hadn't been there for it—as that had been his trip to Florida, he knew now—but he remembered well how Buffy had fallen into his arms with relief the moment he returned to Sunnydale, and the tales she had told him. The fact she could laugh about it all now said so much about his Buffy's strength. How he loved her.
"So, about those were-pumas," Oz continued the inane comment Cordelia had made as she worked to recreate the Slayer database that Willow and Giles had once made, but had since been destroyed. "Do we think one of them could be what hurt Faith?"
"I just said-" Cordelia started, appalled, continuing to tap on the computer keyboard one key at a time, as she sat behind everyone else who was at the library table now. "Oh, whatever. You losers never listen to me, anyway. Fine. Think it's were-pumas, even when the chances of that are-"
"I doubt it," Angel cut in, breaking up this fight before it could really start, since he knew that both camps were probably completely off base. "I would have smelt it on her. I think-"
"Yeah, because we all know how reliable your nose is, Dead Boy—and how gross it not is to talk about that—and that we can trust you."
"Xander!" Giles admonished the boy, honestly surprising Angel. He knew what it must have cost the Watcher, of all people, to defend him. "Angel has come to our aid numerous- numerous times now, every time that he has his soul. So I will advise you not to take such a harsh tone with him. And as it is, his abilities are very much of aid to us when it comes to finding out what's going on with Faith."
"Thank you, Giles," Angel said earnestly, looking the older man directly in the eye for a moment, so he would hopefully know how much stock he was putting into the words "Xander does have one point, however. If it's a warlock, he could be messing with my sense of smell."
"Are we thinkin' it's a human who hurt Faith, then?" Willow ventured nervously, a crestfallen look on her face. And it didn't take a genius to figure out why. She'd figured out just as he and Buffy had how near impossible it would be for a human to hurt a Slayer, and that they'd really have to try to do it.
"I doubt it, Will," Buffy promised her friend, reaching across the table to where she sat beside Oz and patting her hand once. "They'd really have to be cooking with oil to manage that. And there's no law saying only we mere mortals get to play with magic, right? …Even though there should. Because a demon doing so, even when they're already overpowered, is just not fair."
What Buffy didn't say, of course, was a Slayer could also be a witch. Not that anyone suspected that Buffy had harmed Faith or that she was a witch, of course (nor should they), Angel knew. Or that Faith was a witch who had done this to herself. But Angel did know for a fact that there had been at least one Slayer witch… or one who had been suspected of being a witch, at least. He supposed the question was whether or not the Watcher's Journals did…
"So what you're all really saying here, is you have no clue what's going on with Faith and you're wasting time distracting me with your pointless theories. Gee! Why am I not surprised?" Cordelia piped up, while looking at one of the Watcher's Journals herself now.
"I hate to admit it… but Cordy may have a point here, Buff. I know we all ruled out talking to Faith. But you’re her Sister Slayer. That has to get you some street cred, right, and maybe get you in the door. Do you think you could try it?" Xander asked sympathetically, laying a gentle hand on Buffy's shoulder now.
And though Angel knew this was done in friendship—it was—and surely was what was needed to get them all where they needed to be now, he couldn't help a moment of jealousy, as he once again remembered that Xander could see Buffy in sunlight and he couldn't… and that Xander could go all the places he couldn't with Buffy. Thankfully, the jealousy passed quickly.
Buffy buried her face in her hands for just a moment, seeming helpless—and how it pained Angel to see it—but she was at once herself again. "Yeah. I can try shooting the breeze with Faith. I mean, what's the worst that can happen?"
Angel hated that the smile she painted on her face now for everyone to see, and how it broke at the last moment.
And he promised himself that no matter what, that somehow, he would be there for Buffy when she confronted her fellow Slayer… whether she knew it or not.
Buffy's PoV
Buffy wasn't exactly thrilled about the idea of trying to meet with Faith. She knew she should have been: she should have been chomping at the bit to be there for her sister-in-arms, the way that Buffy often times wished that her friends could constantly be there for her. And she did feel that way. Truly.
…But it was just so hard with Faith. There had been a strange tension between them ever since Faith had found out that Buffy had lied to her about Angel—something that had never gone away.
But even before that, things hadn't always been easy between them. Buffy could never get over the sense that Faith was trying to steal what was hers—ridiculous, she knew—and she had to wonder if there would ever be a feeling of ease between them.
But Faith deserved someone in her corner. Especially now. So Buffy was putting on her big girl panties and doing what needed to be done… but the moment she walked into Faith's apartment—seeing her deal a killing blow to a Ruguru herself, with tears streaming down her face—Buffy wondered if she'd made the right choice.
"…Faith?" Buffy choked out her companion's name.
Faith whirled on Buffy then. And if Buffy had actually caught it (and she wasn't entirely sure she had), she thought that Faith might have looked some sort of mix of embarrassed and traumatized before settling on angry.
Scrubbing at her eyes, seemingly to stop her tears, Faith snapped, "Well, I guess you figured it out now, huh? Figures."
"Figured… what out?" Buffy echoed back, feeling at a complete loss. She thought she was getting pretty good at figuring out mysteries, but what Faith was talking about was completely beyond her. They slayed Rugurus, as they did all kinds of Hell beasties. And it was traumatizing that they were once human, yes, like a lot of their job was, but Buffy couldn't fathom why Faith was getting so bent out of shape over this.
…Wait a second. Wasn't that the girl that Buffy had had Angel take to the hospital? Had she been bitten without either of them knowing it, after all… and had then fed and fully turned? Was it possible that Angel couldn't smell half-turned Rugurus to have known she'd been bitten?
"That I lied to you, of course, Pollyanna. And was never assaulted. And man, do I just love that I had to get to a place where I would lie about something like that when I hate liars," Faith snarled, with a faraway look in her eyes. Was she remembering what had happened before and what had caused her to lie?
"Faith… I don't understand," Buffy admitted, feeling very small and vulnerable, as she crossed her arms over her chest now. But she already didn't like where this was going. It, after all, could only end in heartache for Faith.
Faith sighed. And that, at least, made Buffy feel somewhat better, because it was closer to the sadness she should have been feeling here, in having lost someone she cared about, if Buffy was guessing things correctly. Faith trying to hide it in being livid couldn't possibly be a good thing.
"I don't know why I'm going to tell you this now, B. Me not wanting to tell you before is the whole reason I probably fell into this mess. But I didn't want to be compared to you and Angel—and your shipwreck of a story—and I knew that's what everyone would say-"
Faith was clearly getting going off the deep end again. And she backed away from Buffy—to try and get a handle on her temper, the blonde Slayer guessed—before she continued with, "It all started when I stole a car. A real great choice, I know. But I was capable of doing that, but somehow not smart enough to know how to put gas into the clunker. That's how I met Saya. She saw me struggling and helped me out.
"We talked a little bit then—and she liked me right away and wanted to hang sometime—but I wasn't that trusting. Knowing she used that gas station to get groceries, I decided to go out of my way to another one to get my goods. But one day, wouldn't you know it? She happened to be there. Shopping for a nice card for her sister's birthday, or some shit.
“At that point—even though I'm really no romantic, B, I'm thinkin' maybe there's something to this. So, we go out. And then we go out a few times. We watch the ‘Clue’ movie at my crappy apartment, ‘Fight Club’… and the whole time, Saya doesn't even pressure me for sex. It's kind of nice. I should have known it was too good to last, because she-"
"She got bitten by a Ruguru," Buffy figured out. Of course. And she had come to Faith, probably freaking out (maybe Faith had even told Saya she was the Slayer so she knew she could confide in her). The two of them would have been convinced they could make it work, as long as Saya didn't feed. But even a semi-Ruguru must have had some strength, which explained the marks Buffy had seen on Faith's shoulders.
And when Buffy had asked her about them, Faith had said she'd been assaulted because, in so many ways, she didn't want to be told her and Saya's story was like Buffy and Angel's. Would Faith have been afraid she'd have to face the fact they were doomed if she told the Scoobies the truth, the way everyone seemed to think she and Angel were? Did Faith think she might have told Giles on her if she knew the truth, and then he might have pressured her to slay Saya even if she hadn't gone full Ruguru?
The night Angel had seen Faith in the hospital… had Faith been seeing about getting a psychologist for Saya, in hoping that would help her fight her urges and the change?
In the end, despite their best efforts, it seemed Saya had given in and fed and now Faith had been forced to slay someone she'd started to love.
"Faith, I'm so so-"
"Save it and get out, Buffy. I don't want your pity!"
Of course Faith would see it as pity, Buffy thought—tears starting to sting her eyes now—when she still had Angel.
"At least let me help you bury he-"
"I said leave! This is something I have to do, and me alone. And I swear to God, Buffy, if you get in my way. I will kill you."
"Faith," Buffy started, walking towards Faith because she knew her sister Slayer couldn't mean that. She just couldn't.
But suddenly Angel was there, standing behind the threshold of Faith’s room, and imploring of Buffy the same thing that Faith was.
“Buffy, let Faith have her wish. We can check on her later, when she’s feeling better.” That was the last thing Buffy wanted to do now. She knew that Faith needed her; Faith was raising up her castle walls even higher to protect herself. Pretty soon, no one would be able to reach her within them. Not even Faith herself.
But there was a certain urgency in Angel’s tone that Buffy didn’t understand, but trusted all the same. So, despite herself, Buffy joined Angel outside the small apartment and let him begin leading her away.
“Faith, if you need anything-” Buffy begged, but Faith was already cutting her off with, “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. You’ll ever be the perfect little girl scout and help me out. I can handle this, like I handle everything. Including your Boy Toy, if you don’t get out of here, Buffy!”
Buffy hated to admit it, but Faith threatening Angel was the last straw. Threatening her was one thing, but alluding to making an attempt on Angel—when he was still weak from Hell—terrified her. Buffy didn’t know if Angel would at all survive a fight with the other Slayer, if Faith really put her mind to it. And in her grief, Buffy thought that Faith might actually attack him, if she thought that it was unfair that Buffy got to keep the one that she loved and she didn’t.
“Okay, we’re leaving.” And with that, Buffy led Angel out into the night, almost wishing that she’d never come to Faith’s to be confronted with this tragedy in the first place. For so many reasons did she wish this.
She felt numb now—not unlike how Faith herself was now, which Buffy hated—and she didn’t know how long she’d been walking, or even where she was going, until Angel grabbed her hand to halt her. “Want to go to the park?” he asked with a shrug, far too innocently for someone who had surely witnessed everything that she just had. She should have known that he’d been spying with her.
And really, Buffy was glad Angel had been watching out for her in this situation, because she didn’t need to get into a fight with Faith (something he had saved her from)—and she knew she’d been getting close to that with Faith’s temper—but part of Buffy couldn’t help feeling that it made everything worse, because now instead of there being even more bad blood between her and Faith (something she wanted to believe she could have handled), it was now between all three of them. And so someone else had even moreseo joined the “Let’s Hate Angel” club.
“I want to kill something, Angel!” Buffy argued, finally noticing that her popping hot anger had subconsciously led her to Restfield Cemetery where she could get some action.
Buffy pulled out Mr. Pointy from her pocket, and was about to run towards the vampire that she thought she could feel pinging on her radar aways away, but Angel had wrapped his arms around her waist to stop her before she could move an inch.
“No, Buffy,” he whispered into her ear. And if she shivered at all, it was because of the chilly night air, not because she felt any of the things for Angel that she wasn’t supposed to. Not at all. “Your anger is making you see red, so you going after vamps tonight would just be asking for trouble.”
Buffy wanted to argue that she’d used this to aid her in slaying vampires and other nasties many a time, thank you very much, but deep down she knew that Angel was right. She was too distracted to do any serious damage.
Slumping in his arms irritably, because she felt a bit like a kid being told they couldn’t have dessert until they ate their veggies (and whoa. Since when had she enjoyed slaying so much?), Buffy relented with, “Fine. The park, you said?”
Angel nodded without a word, but he did take Buffy’s hand into his own. She’d appreciate that little wonder, at least. Then, as if they’d been walking hand-in-hand together their whole lives—if only they could, Buffy thought with a broken heart—he began leading her towards their intended destination.
Idly, Buffy wondered why he didn’t suggest going back to the mansion for this discussion they were inevitably going to have, but Buffy supposed he must have had something up his sleeve.
Before much time had seemed to pass it all (Sunnydale really was too small. Didn’t it know she needed any excuse she could get to be with Angel? Especially right now?), the two had reached Hammersmith Park.
Angel untangled his hand from Buffy’s, which was definitely a disappointment, but only to hop on the first swing that he saw before him and begin swinging: something that was so bizarre and hilarious to Buffy, that she could almost forgive not being in his arms any longer. Almost.
He indicated with a head motion that Buffy should take the swing next to him; and who was Buffy to deny this strange whim of Angel’s?
Once the two of them had swung together for a few minutes, and Buffy had amused herself by trying to catch Angel’s hand a few times while they did so, they both came to a stop and finally began discussing the Heavy.
“It was my fault, Buffy. I should have known that—Saya, was it?—had been bitten. Twice, it sounds like. I’d never faced Rugurus before, but I’d read about them a lot and I assumed I knew everything there was to know. But I should have guessed that those half-turned would be different… that maybe they wouldn’t have a smell to them. If I had, I could have pieced this all together. Maybe I could have stopped her from changing and Faith could have avoided this whole awful story. You sent me to take care of Saya that night, and I should have done a better job at it.”
Right in front of them, a mother was tying a balloon onto one child’s hand while handing another one of her children a snow cone. It was a cute sight. Buffy figured that this had to be the reason that Angel had wanted to go somewhere, rather than just going to the mansion: so that they would hopefully see people out and about and remember there was still good in the world, even if right now it didn’t seem like it.
“It’s not fair to blame yourself like that, Angel. I mean, who would have ever guessed that. Everything else has a scent, like full-fledged Rugurus. So who would have thought those first bitten wouldn’t? Life just sucks.”
Angel had nothing to say to that, as he seemed to suddenly find his shoes very interesting, and Buffy hoped that he had taken her words to heart and believed her. But knowing him, he had found a new thing to forever beat himself up about.
“What are we going to do about Faith?” Buffy finally asked the dreaded question, tightly grabbing the chains of her swing and—for whatever reason—refusing not to look at Angel right now. Was it because she thought that Faith’s story ending so badly was further proof that she and Angel were destined to forever be Romeo and Juliet themselves? “Should we tell the others that we found out what was going on with he-”
“I wouldn’t,” Angel answered right away, with what almost sounded like a scoff to Buffy. “At least not right now. She won’t thank you if you do. Maybe later… If you tell anyone, I’d tell Giles and try to get him to talk to her. Though I don’t have much love for the Watchers’ Council—and you certainly wouldn’t know it from anyone else but Giles—they’re somewhat trained in psychology. Maybe, once she’s healed a little, he could talk to Faith. But for now, I think the best thing to do is to try and let this whole thing blow over…”
There was something in Angel’s tone at the end there that hinted to Buffy that there was more than what he was telling her—she wondered if it had to do with his past—but she had the feeling he wouldn’t tell her if she asked. And she really didn’t feel like digging up more skeletons tonight, so she let it go. For the moment.
“You think everyone will be satisfied that I couldn’t crack Faith, and to just leave the ‘mystery’ unsolved?”
“On the Hellmouth? Yes, unfortunately.” Again, it seemed like there was more Angel wanted to say here, but whatever it was, it seemed his lips were sealed for the night.
Later, when Buffy was feeling more on her game and like her punning self, she’d really have to do something about that.
Buffy had suffered a few losses since becoming the Slayer, but until tonight, she’d never found one where she’d have to be quiet about something. She wasn’t a fan of it. At all. And if Faith wasn’t so unreasonable, she knew she wouldn’t be taking to such a thing, and rather be charging in like a bull in a china cabinet.
“Well, I hate this,” Buffy tried to laugh, attempting to get closer to her usual self. But it might have sounded more like a cry. She wasn’t sure.
“Ditto,” Angel agreed, seeming to try for a strained smile himself, as it appeared that he was in complete accordance with her.
“Angel… do you have anything to make this night better?” Buffy wailed, swinging closer to him so that their legs brushed. She knew that she was begging and probably sounded like a child—even after Angel had gone to the trouble of bringing her to the park here, in order to improve things a little bit—but right now, she just didn’t care.
Buffy’s favorite vampire didn’t seem to have an answer for a long time. Buffy was even about to mention that maybe he should give up on trying to think of anything to improve this night and just walk her home, but finally he seemed to have come up with something and he offered her a small smile. “Well, in the musical adaptation of Phantom of the Opera, Christine comes back while the Phantom is alive to give him back his ring. It sort of serves as an extended goodbye for them. And in some versions, depending on the actress, she might kiss his hand.”
Huh. In the novel, there was something similar to that: Erik had asked Christine to come back and bury him when he eventually died, and she did. And she buried him with said ring. Truthfully, Buffy liked Christine being kind enough to return in both endings, but maybe she did prefer this musical one. Perhaps she’d have to check this musical out sometime.
“That is a nice little epilogue. Thanks, Angel,” And Buffy blushed, despite herself, before she kissed her boyfriend on the cheek, for she knew too well what he’d been trying to get at with his explanation, after all.
Maybe there was a bit of hope for those who loved monsters, after all.
Author's Note: Rugarus were a monster from the TV show “Supernatural” that I used here.
I tried not to use any references to the Buffy novels for this fic, and I succeeded for the most part except for in two places: The first is that Buffy does fight the muses in the book “Power of Persuasion” and Angel is gone until the end of the book, for he was a mission Giles gave him (and Buffy is very much relieved to see him at the end, resting her head on his shoulder). Though we don’t know what that mission was. I made one up here.
The other is that in the novels, Willow and Giles do create a Slayer database to try and better figure out stuff that Buffy might face on the Hellmouth: A.K.A. they give it all of the stuff Buffy’s faced, and they hope it’ll spit out data for them, like, “It is likely that Buffy will face X on this date.” At one point, Cordelia ends up working on it, after her dad gets caught cheating on his taxes (because Willow is too busy to at the moment) and Giles offers to pay her to, which is why she does it (though I forget if this is before or after the database is destroyed—yes, it gets destroyed—like if she’s adding to a working one or trying to rebuild it). I have Cordelia working on it in this story, as it’s a good reason for her to be there after she and Xander have broken up and she’s left the Scoobies. Yep.
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kittenzeke · 2 months
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1: Why haven't I run into the love of my life yet?
NINE OF CUPS
I haven't put enough work into my physical health yet. After I'm stronger, and further into my transition, it's more likely someone will be attracted to me. I also will naturally put myself out there more often. I don't get out a lot right now and it takes effort to meet new people. They don't just materialize out of nowhere.
In other words?
I need to do my best with what I've got now. I need to be content and focus on gratitude. It will attract even more to be grateful for.
2: How can I fix this—how can I run into them ASAP?
PAGE OF COINS
Remember the advice and encouragement other times this card appeared for me. Continue to follow its guidance. If I keep at the pursuit of my other dreams/true life's purpose, my person or people will show up somewhere on that path.
Remember to stay consistent and faithful. I need to open my heart and be ready to accept the love that I will find soon enough.
3: What should I do to get ready to meet them?
THE MAGICIAN
This card has a lot to do with manifestation and healing. Perhaps invest more energy/time into sowing more positive seeds. Continue to work on improving my thinking and life.
Maybe do some simple candle magick to attract love into my life. There are deities that have brought me potential suitors in the past.
Keep developing my skills (especially with writing and art) and keep exploring my abilities and potential. I still have a lot of learning about myself to do.
4: How will I know that I found them?
ACE OF CUPS
This is a super promising card. For one thing, whoever this is will want what I want.
5: Where will I find them?
ACE OF COINS
Probably in college, or the art community.
6: When will I find them?
WHEEL OF FORTUNE
They'll appear soon enough and when I least expect it.
7: What kind of tips do my guides and angels have for me?
FIVE OF CUPS
I have been so absorbed in my sense of hurt/loss from previous situations that I've been oblivious to potential new ones, or whatever can be salvaged.
8: What will my first impression of them be?
FIVE OF WANDS
Whoever this is will be very passionate.
9: What will we share in common?
QUEEN OF SWORDS
A lot of worthwhile ideas.
"The Queen of Swords swoops in when we are facing a lot of self-doubts to tell us that our ideas and opinions are valid. She pops up when we need that reassurance that our authentic selves are worth listening to. Some advice Queen of Swords may offer is: Your ideas are valid and worth following up on." - Energetic Tarot
This card is described as a greatly favorable omen in terms of love.
10: What can I do to make my bond with them last?
THE SUN
Celebrate the positives.
Stop over thinking certain situations so much and simply enjoy them.
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animehouse-moe · 1 year
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No Longer Allowed In Another World Volume 2: Ningen Shikkaku
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The stage is set, a world in front of the characters with infinite futures at their fingertips. All it takes is a single step, one small stroke of a pen to begin. But, since this is a parody series, it goes nowhere and a whole bunch of ridiculous (equal parts comedic and cool) happens. The real question is where to begin?
How about with the titular Osamu Dazai himself? The writer of "No Longer Human" (which this manga's title is a parody of), as well as other novels such as "The Setting Sun" or "The Flowers of Buffoonery", though some may know him as the lead character in Bungo Stray Dogs. Osamu Dazai is a twisted man, himself seeing the irony in his own existence.
Would I say I'm disappointed in his characterization? Sort of, yeah. They sort of glorify his appearance as the suicidal novelist, which I don't really mind, but they drop a lot of his more negative aspects, which I feel help contextualize much of his reason for acting. Without that layer of depravity it feels like Osamu Dazai's.... sort of a good guy? He provides life lessons to those around him, and even supports people for the sake of "good". Without any sort of negative aspect to his character, you don't get the sentiment of pity or salvation that should arise from good deeds. You don't get the feeling that Dazai is acting to absolve himself, to delude himself into believing that he can still be a normal person.
Alas, this is a parody manga and not many people read much of Osamu Dazai's work so I don't really expect much more, but for once I wished to throw my words into the void.
Moving forward, the comedy is still fun, and with a proper direction and foundation under its feet it can do really well. Runnings gags already arise, and the whole straight man act works pretty well for it.
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Even though I griped about Dazai's characterization in this manga, I really must admit that it's enjoyable in its own way. I think if you just take the overall "idea" of Osamu Dazai as the suicidal novelist it's very enjoyable. It's just that it's a far cry from Osamu Dazai. His personality is still very prickly, and pivots to focus on scaring others with his actions. In truth, it's miles better than a lot of genuine isekai protagonists, so maybe they should start taking character inspiration from famous historical figures.
While on the topic Osamu's character, I want to drift over into art for a little bit. The overall world is somewhat simplistic, but the characters have a nice degree of charm to them when there's a concept in mind. However, as you can see with the young boy above, when there's not something strong to latch onto, they can end up rather vague and stereotypical. The worst part of the art though is building exteriors. It's well hidden with angles and other details, but they're more than likely just models copied over from some 3D software.
A good example is this great scene. The camera angle, the layout, how it leads the eye and the feeling it elicits is really good, but the buildings (especially the church) stick out like a sore thumb.
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Now, the meat and potatoes of this volume: where it's going and what it wants. I've got to say, I think it's a really fun idea that incorporates a name drop for the series and incorporate some of Dazai's passion for writing into it. The idea of the "fallen angels" and exploring the depravity of humanity instead of what wrests inside of Dazai is fun, and having the girl he died with on the other side is a really nice plot point. At this point it's more a matter of how they execute on it if it's able to be good, but I have faith they'll find a way.
All of this said, I really don't think my stance on the series has changed between volumes. No Longer Allowed In Another World isn't a catchall manga, it probably doesn't even have a huge audience. It's a sort of trashy but rather fun isekai parody that plays off a gimmick to establish substance and a comedic routine. If you don't like parodies and non-sequitur humor, this probably isn't something you'll like. If on the other hand though, you do find those aspects interesting, you might enjoy reading this series.
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tuiyla · 1 year
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Buffy s3 quick thoughts
Alright I simply must write out Buffy s3 thoughts before we go any further. Up to 3x08 right now.
The double Slayer of it all
This is something I for sure wanna do another post about and who knows how my feelings for about Faith evolve but I just wanna note that the double Slayer thing is super interesting and thus far they're not doing enough with the concept. Sure, Kendra and Faith are both foils to Buffy and they form a spectrum where Kendra was more reserved and organized but also more mechanical and less her own person than Buffy. And Faith is wilder, a loner, troubled kid who's overall more willing to dive in head first and embrace darker aspects which is dangerous no matter how cool she looks doing it. Compared to just one of them, Buffy might seem inadequate from certain aspects but compared to both she's balanced. And the show certainly does still treat her as the one true Slayer which is where my problems come in.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say we'll see a LOT more of the Buffy and Faith parallels and comparisons so I'm not going to lament the lack of that just yet. I do however feel like the existence of another Slayer should be treated more seriously in-universe. Not only should another Slayer be a constant reminder that Buffy died and came back but it should reshuffle her whole identity, hitherto shaped by being the Chosen One. She's now part of the Chosen Two and on the second second Slayer at that and it barely registers as an existential crisis? Couldn't be me. I'll elaborate on this later (if you'd like?) but yeah I just wish the show tapped into the enormous potential of this more. Also the Council?? And the Watchers?? Should not be as chill about this. But maybe there are upcoming things that prove they aren't.
And then there's how quickly Kendra as a Black woman was discarded and not really mourned at all beyond being a footnote in Buffy's really bad no good terrible day. She was a plot device to get the shitty day to be even shittier and replaced with Faith, a Slayer with a much larger role very quickly. And I just think that's not a great look for the show in terms of race. And the 1998 and "different time" card doesn't really fly. It is what it is.
The Scooby Gang and friendships/relationships
Okay first of all I think there's only been a Scooby reference once so far so I hope the fandom didn't stick with this term for two decades because of that one-off line. Second, and I don't even know why I'm getting started on this when I know I won't elaborate properly but they way people are way too quick to be harsh on Buffy bothers me. There are instances when I think she should get what the hell hero moments but my good 3x02 was painful to watch. I'm cutting Willow some slack because generally she's the best friend you could have and handles things way more maturely than the others do, all the while being adorable. But s3 is when I stop resisting being pissed off by Xander. Overall the series does seem aware when he's being an ass but not enough for my tastes and the vibe of 3x02 was way too "both sides were wrong" for my taste when really Buffy was way more justified in her hurt than any other character. I did appreciate Cordy standing up for her, but I also often feel like Cordy deserves better friends - certainly a better boyfriend - and frankly a show that threats her better. God only knows if that show will be Angel or not.
And not only friendships but the romance drama. Sure, it's expected but I can hardly believe anyone actually liked the Willow and Xander thing. Oz is alright but he's also kinda flat as a character and even being a werewolf doesn't give him much colour. Like I said, Cordy has always deserved better than Xander and though I feel like they'll inevitably get back together, I wish they wouldn't. Swear I had more thoughts on romances but they're largely frustrating so I'll leave it at that.
3x07 is always cursed
Actually I'm not done talking about Faith because I really need to talk about the lackluster writing of 3x07. I'm not mad that conflict is arising between Buffy and Faith, I'm mad that it's done poorly. Like I said it's such a rich potential for a juicy juicy dynamic and not only are they not utilizing it, they half-assed their big break of trust moment. Mrs. Post was way underdeveloped, along with Faith's ch actually. Because if only we spent more effort on establishing Faith as someone who's hard to trust and has issues and easily retreats into hurt and isolation I'd be a'ight it hurts to see but I get that she'd be sus of Buffy from now on. But we didn't. There were no real Faith focused moments between her introductory ep and 3x07. She gets offended when the Gang holds the Angel intervention without her but the baddie Watcher barely has to do anything to get Faith to act all stupid about it. The whole Xander scene and then immediately wanting to attack Angel, it just came out of nowhere and honestly made me feel like I missed a scene. It's not completely unreasonable for a Slayer to want to kill a vampire as notorious as Angel. After all, Kendra also left Angel for dead and that was before he went back to being Angelus. But this was just so... convoluted when it really didn't have to be.
This could have been the start of a really compelling arc that hurts me, personally, as someone who's ready to be baited by Fuffy - and for all I know, it might turn out to be delicious. But the initial conflict was so poorly executed and half-assed, and after the Angelus twist of season 2 I'm expecting better. If you can deliver that much of a gut punch with Buffy's bf you can do it with her gf, too. I dare BTVS to break my heart over Fuffy but ONLY if they do it right. Do it, you cowards, write me a tragedy.
And that was Buffy corner with tuiyla! Stay tuned for when we jump back in time and catch up on seasons 1 and 2.
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sophsun1 · 2 years
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hello hello!
it's been very cool to watch you power through Buffy, any thoughts so far? characters you like etc etc?
also you into season 5 yet?
Hey!
I've just started S5 and am on episode 2 at the minute so just processing the whole Dawn twist and how that will fit into everything.
It's easier to say who I don't like I guess Xander is my least favourite (I know he's a self insert Joss so that explains some of the writing) but I will say he was more way more bearable in S4 and his relationship with Anya kinda works and I absolutely love her. Riley has the personality of a wet paper towel and I was struggling through S4 and that whole initiative story and now I'm waiting for him to have a gruesome death because he's still in S5 and poor Buffy and me deserve better.
Adore Willow/Buffy's friendship. Gile's being everyone's surrogate father figure especially Buffy's and his closeness with Willow is everything. It's only Xander he doesn't care for as much lol. Faith was a good villain with the whole dark side of the slayer thing and Eliza was great but I can take her or leave her. Plus I'm expecting her redemption arc to come.
Oz and Willow were sweet but he was kinda a wasted character didn't really do much apart from the werewolf backstory they threw at him before he left. Tara seems like a sweetie waiting to see where she and Willow go and them both being witches. Cordelia was good as the bitchy girl but not developed after that and she isn't someone I think of when I think of the show.
Spike is great both as the evil vamp and his comedic side, James Marsters portrayal is why he's so loved because he really makes it work. They kinda didn't know what to do with him in S4 without Dru so he was the comic relief which gave fun moments but I'm waiting to see what they do with him now. Highkey terrified of the 'Spuffy' thing to come *prayer circle*
Harmony being an airhead useless villainous vampire - genius! Her and Spike I'm laughing a lot.
From previous seasons
I loved the Spike/Dru dynamic and was sad she wasn't in more episodes. I see she's listed in this season so it'll be fun to see her again and Darla because I'm intrigued in her backstory with Angel and the others plus Julie Benz is so beautiful <3
Wish we had gotten more of Angel/Spike/Dru being an evil OT3 than the bits we got.
Angel being Irish is the stupidest funniest thing because his accent like the many accents on the show is Not Great. It's not like they go deep into his Irish ancestry or it impacts his story it's random and the flashback outfits/wigs are so bad lmao.
I'm a bangel (terrible ship name) fan. They appeal to my teen self who would've loved them. Yes they're a romantic cliché in parts but idc I'm here for the whole doomed lovers/cliché tropes/always loving each other in any universe thing they have. Plus Sarah and David's chemistry is wow. I don't know how they'll end them truly seeing as they keep referencing them.
Season 2 and 3 have been the best so far loved the S2 finale with Buffy killing Angel and the S3 graduation ending.
The main cast are great there aren't any weak actors. SMG is the perfect casting can't imagine anyone else playing Buffy.
I'm glad I decided to finally watch it even though it is a slog with there being 7 seasons with 22 eps each. It's all kinda blurring into one very very very long movie and I'm forgetting each previous season as I go 😂
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arctic-comet · 3 years
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Osblaine week 2021, Day 2: Lyrics
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Over the last several weeks, I have carefully curated a playlist for Osblaine. The final total length of the playlist is 2 hours and 53 minutes.
The playlist can be found HERE
Click "Keep Reading" if you're interested in the introduction, commentary, more graphics and the full tracklist.
For full disclosure, I have to give some of the credit to my amazing fellow Osblaine fangirls @dystopiandramaqueen, @splitscreen and everyone who participated in a certain conversation for the original inspiration and even bringing up some of the songs.
You should look at the playlist in five parts: one section for each season that's aired and one section for the future (because I like to end things on a hopeful note).
The playlist contains a lot of the following:
Music from movie and TV soundtracks
Instrumental music
Remixes
Classics and covers of classics
Country music. I blame Florida. My sincerest apologies.
Some of the songs were chosen because they reminded me of a certain Osblaine scene, and some of them aren't specific to particular scenes but chosen for the general Osblaine vibe. And most of the movie/TV music I chose have been used for couples that remind me of Nick and June.
Part I- Season 1, first 12 songs of the playlist:
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Forbidden Love- Abel Korzeniowski, Jasper Randall, The Hollywood Studio Symphony (Romeo & Juliet)
Fireflies- Owl City
Echoes in Rain- Enya
My Ghost- Glass Pear (Bones)
Daring to Hope- Anne Dudley (Poldark)
Everytime We Touch- Cascada
1000 Times- Sara Bareilles
Too Good At Goodbyes- Sam Smith
In Case You Don't Live Forever- Ben Platt
To Find You- Cast of Sing Street, Brenock O’Connor
She- Elvis Costello (Notting Hill)
Miracle- Instrumental- Cö Shu Nie
Hanging By A Moment- Lifehouse
Commentary:
The first instrumental song IMO works as an intro for their entire love story.
The next two songs are more about having the right vibe. It's a little ambiguous and dark because that's how their life is in Gilead.
Leave my door open just a crack
Please take me away from here
'Cause I feel like such an insomniac
Please take me away from here
Why do I tire of counting sheep?
Please take me away from here
When I'm far too tired to fall asleep
***
Wait for the sun
Watching the sky
Black as a crow
Night passes by
Taking the stars
So far away
Everything flows
Here comes another new day
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah
***
"My Ghost" is June's POV before they sleep together, wondering if she can trust Nick:
Who can you trust, in this place?
And whom can I put my faith?
If you're real, then show me now,
Who you are
The last two songs are for episode 1x10, for both Nick’s reaction to June’s pregnancy and the beginning of her first escape attempt (arranged by Nick).
She may be the face I can't forget The trace of pleasure or regret May be my treasure or the price I have to pay She may be the song that summer sings Maybe the chill that autumn brings Maybe a hundred different things Within the measure of a day
Part II- Season 2, next 10 songs:
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Love Will Keep Us Alive- Eagles
So Easy- Phillip Phillips
Incomplete- James Bay
Rewrite the Stars- The Piano Guys (The Greatest Showman)
I’ll Be Your Shelter- Taylor Dayne
Love Never Fails- Brandon Heath
P.S. I Love You- 05:11- John Powell (P.S. I Love You)
It's A Girl- Mychel Danna (The Time Traveler's Wife)
I'll Stand By You- Josh Groban, Helene Fischer
The Miracle of Love- Eurythmics
Commentary:
The first four songs cover June’s escape attempt and the time they share at the Boston Globe.
"Incomplete" is Nick's POV from when she's on the run and he knows she'll be gone from his life soon. He lives in the moment.
I don't wanna look down
I don't want us to break up in the clouds
All I want is to stay us, to stay with you now
"I'll Be Your Shelter" is for when June's mental health is at its lowest point and he goes to Serena to beg for her to get June help.
What you need is a friend to count on
What you got baby you got someone
Who will stay when the rain is fallin'
And won't let it fall on you
P.S. I Love You takes me back to episode 2.09, Nick’s selflessness in the episode and of course the scene where after telling June that Luke loves her, he tells her that he loves her too, despite believing she probably doesn’t feel the same way.
It's A Girl makes me think of the beautiful moment they share during June's false labor when he helps her out of the van and they climb the steps together.
I’ll Stand By You is for 2.10, Nick holding June after she was heartbroken over Hannah and over what the Waterfords did to her and clinging onto him.
Part III- Season 3, next 6 songs:
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Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close- Alexandre Desplat (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close)
All I Ask- Adele
Never Enough- Loren Allred (The Greatest Showman)
I Don’t Wanna Live Forever- Taylor Swift, ZAYN (Fifty Shades Darker)
Love is Gone- SLANDER, Dylan Matthew
Constellations- The Oh Hellos
Commentary:
For obvious reasons, it was extremely difficult to pick songs for this season.
The first (instrumental) song is for the beginning of the season with June coming back to the Waterford house and them then saying goodbye to each other on the street.
All I Ask, Never Enough, I Don't Wanna Live Forever and Love Is Gone are for their night together in June’s room at Lawrence’s (the one we didn’t get to see sigh). They know it's possible it's all they'll ever have, and they'll take it, but it'll never be enough.
I will leave my heart at the door I won't say a word They've all been said before, you know So why don't we just play pretend? Like we're not scared of what's coming next Or scared of having nothing left
Look, don't get me wrong I know there is no tomorrow All I ask is
If this is my last night with you Hold me like I'm more than just a friend Give me a memory I can use Take me by the hand while we do what lovers do It matters how this ends 'Cause what if I never love again?
***
All the shine of a thousand spotlights
All the stars we steal from the night sky
Will never be enough
Never be enough
Towers of gold are still too little
These hands could hold the world but it'll
Never be enough
Never be enough
***
I'm sorry, don't leave me, I want you here with me
I know that your love is gone
I can't breathe, I'm so weak, I know this isn't easy
Don't tell me that your love is gone
That your love is gone
"Constellations" is for their long separation and the doubts that I'm sure plagued them both during it. Would they ever see each other again?
Part IV- S4, next 12 songs:
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All of Me- John Legend
(Everything I do) I Do It For You- Bryan Adams
Iris- Natalie Taylor (City of Angels)
She Was Like A Bright Light- Hans Zimmer, Rupert Greyson-Williams (Winter’s Tale)
Noah's Last Letter- Aaron Zigman (The Notebook)
What’s In The Middle- the bird and the bee (Bones)
ivy- Taylor Swift
Footprints in the Sand- Leona Lewis
Remember Me (Lullaby)- Gael Garcia Bernal, Gabriella Flores (Coco)
On The Nature Of Daylight- Max Richter
My Heart Will Go On- Basil Jose (Titanic)
The Story- Sara Ramirez (Grey's Anatomy)
Commentary:
There were sooo many songs I wanted to include in part IV, but I controlled myself and ended up with this particular dozen.
"She Was Like A Bright Light" and "Noah’s Last Letter" are an instrumental double punch to the gut for Nick’s time in Gilead during episodes 4.07-4.09. The first one is meant for when he finds out June made it to Canada, and the 2nd for is for when he starts to gather info on Hannah to give to June.
"What’s in the Middle" and "ivy" are June’s POV of episodes 4.07-4.09.
"What's In The Middle" has more of an angry and confused vibe, and June was definitely both in episodes 7 and 8.
Losing your head is such a common theme
All your brains are falling out, falling out the open seams
Where is the heart, is the heart of the matter
I will empty out my skull of all this useless chatter
On the other hand, "ivy" has this haunted vibe, but there's also reverence and acceptance, which she begins to achieve in episode 9.
Oh, goddamn
My pain fits in the palm of your freezing hand
Taking mine, but it's been promised to another
Oh, I can't
Stop you putting roots in my dreamland
My house of stone, your ivy grows
And now I'm covered in you
The next three songs are of course all for their reunion in 4.09, and I couldn’t resist including the song that was actually played in the scene.
"The Story" draws the season to a close nicely, with June understanding that her current needs are different from what they used to be and that there’s someone who understands her completely (and it’s not Luke).
You see the smile that's on my mouth
It's hiding the words that don't come out
And all of my friends who think that I'm blessed
They don't know my head is a mess
No, they don't know who I really am
And they don't know what I've been through like you do
And I was made for you
Part V- Season 5 and Beyond, the last 6 songs
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Secret Love Song- Little Mix, Jason Derulo
Burn With You- Lea Michele
The Bones- Maren Morris
Feels Like Home- Auli'i Carvalho, Keegan DeWitt
Love Will Find A Way- Piano Covers (Lion King II)
Like I'll Never Love You Again- Carrie Underwood
“Secret Love Song” is a more angsty tune about a love that’s still kept a secret like June and Nick’s love (as far as most people are concerned). Now that they’ve already made out in front of the man who raped and abused June and made Nick watch him do that, I want to believe they can let go of the secrecy in S5, at least when it comes to a few people.
I'm living for that day Someday Can I hold you in the street? Why can't I kiss you on the dancefloor? I wish that we could be like that Why can't we it be like that? Cause I'm yours, I'm yours Why can't you hold me in the street? Why can't I kiss you on the dancefloor? I wish that it could be like that Why can't it be like that? Cause I'm yours Why can't I say that I'm in love? I wanna shout it from the rooftops I wish that it could be like that Why can't we be like that? Cause I'm yours Why can't we be like that? Wish we could be like that
***
“Bones” is about a relationship with a strong foundation, which IMO they do have. It will carry them in the future, too. They’re more into each other now than ever before and especially June is coming to terms with how strong that love is. They’ll weather any storm.
When the bones are good, the rest don't matter
Yeah, the paint could peel, the glass could shatter
Let it break 'cause you and I remain the same
When there ain't a crack in the foundation
Baby, I know any storm we're facing
Will blow right over while we stay put
The house don't fall when the bones are good
***
“Feels Like Home” is more hopeful. Their home is with each other and I hope that’s something that will be explored more in the future.
Take me, I'm ready
Go slow but go steady
To a place that we can call our own
I wanna know what feels like home
***
“Like I’ll Never Love You Again” is a good conclusion for the playlist. It’s hopeful and a testament to an epic love.
I wanna love you like the rain on a roof
Stronger than a bottle of a hundred ten proof
I wanna take love to places that love has never been
Yeah, I wanna love you like I'll never love you again
And I'll love you again
Oh, and again
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...a month late... A birthday year ahead reading for Kim Taehyung... Featuring a startling revelation?! ... Sir Taehyung???
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Sometimes you do a reading and something arises that you didn't even ask for and never expected... But we'll get to that.
In terms of advice for this year for Tae, with the reversed ace of cups and reversed 4 of earth (pentacles) coming as significators of this reading, there's a real message of needing to unblock and release certain energies, situations, attitudes... Imagine a clod of earth blocking a water pipe and the pressure is building up behind it. Eventually something has to give, and it should be that clod of earth... Not the pipe.
Reversals for me generally indicate blockages in areas of a person's life. With an ace of cups in reverse and a four of pentacles in reverse, I'm feeling a blockage in emotional connection or at least in being able to express one's emotions with ease... Which maybe leads to compensating with shows of material wealth... Over spending... Overgenerosity... This is interesting because I think Tae seems to express his feelings and affection for his friends and family pretty well... At least from what we see... But these cards are indicating to me that he struggles a lot with this actually and that he tends to bottle things up until he explodes (like my blocked pipe analogy) or tries to express feelings through ostentatious gifts or compensates for not expressing his emotions healthily by overspending... Essentially the advice is to unblock these energies... To learn earn to release and express his emotions in a healthy way.
Going into the more specific advice cards for the year ahead, we're starting off on an extremely positive note with The Star and the reversed 3 of water (cups). I see with this that there's real potential this year for Tae to fulfill a dream or desire. Something he wants for himself. A personal goal or project that he works on alone. With the 6 of wands and King of Earth (pentacles) we can see that pursuing this will bring him a lot of praise and success as well as greater wealth and stability. This could be anything from a solo music project, to another acting job... I'm not sure exactly what it is other than it's a real wish he has and wants to do it for himself. The advice here is simple; go for it, it will be successful.
At the centre of this reading we have the reversed Sun and the 2 of water (cups). Even reversed, the Sun is still such a positive card... It's just the energy is blocked, delayed... What I'm getting from this is that there is actually a love connection manifesting for Tae in the future which will bring him a lot of happiness... But for now he's going to need to be patient because the timing isn't right. It's coming... Just not quite yet... Though not in the too distant future... Maybe even next year?... It depends on what happens between then and now of course... But i do see happiness in a relationship ... It's just the energy is blocked so it won't manifest for a bit. If he can learn to open himself up and express his emotions this will help bring any desires he has for love into fruition...
For now though he has to work on himself. With the High Priestess and Strength here I'm seeing, and feeling, a powerful development of spirituality... Honestly it was visceral. I think it's highly likely that this year Tae may begin to explore and develop his spirituality more seriously... Certainly there's some deepening and strengthening of spiritual beliefs going on here. His faith in his intuition, in the advice coming from his spiritual guides, will become stronger. As he listens to his guides and gets confirmation over and over his faith is continuously going to deepen, as is his wisdom and understanding of the world.
The last two tarot cards of advice for the year ahead are the 2 of wands and reversed 7 of water (cups). What I see here is the advice to not be afraid to consider his options and step outside the box. He has so many talents and so many opportunities to use his skills and gifts... He's being advised to look at them all... Give them all some thought... And not feel like he has to stick to one certain thing or path when he has so many roads he can walk before him.
Now, for the oracle cards, I got first Winter Solstice: Reflection. Honestly this card made me start humming Singularity, which was interesting (the lyrics make so much sense in this case) ... I feel again a sense of needing to release something. In this case, I get the message of needing to reflect on the past, on all things that have happened, good and bad, lessons learnt and how much he's grown up and matured... And release that which is holding him back from moving forward. The negative emotions and fears which keep him bottling up his feelings and being so wary of opening up to others... This is an interesting one of course because Tae is in a position where there is a legit rational argument for why he should be guarded and wary of new people... But at the same time, you can be sensible without locking your heart away entirely and living with a lot of fear and worry about your connections with others isn't healthy... There has to be balance. Basically... I think this card is telling him to reflect on himself and realise how far he's come and how much stronger and wiser he is now... He can trust himself and his intuition.
Okay... And now this is the card that gave me chills in this reading... This deck is called 'Angels and Ancestors' and I thought it was a particularly good deck to use for Tae because... Idk if I've mentioned it before but, wow, he has such strong ancestral energy surrounding him. His family probably don't play with paying respect to the ancestors because there's really such a strong link there...
Anyway, for his advice for this year I got the Knight card which says 'Be brave and honest'. However, more than just a message of advice for the year I got two distinct impressions that literally gave me chills and goosebumps... First that one of the main ancestors or spirit guides that's looking out for Tae right now was a Knight... Or the Korean equivalent thereof... A noble warrior with a sworn sacred code of morality... And second, that Tae himself, in a past life, was a Knight... (?! When I tell you i was shook!)... Not only that, but, and I kid you not, I heard French in a man's voice (I don't even speak French!!!) saying something like "Mon coeur... Lion..."?... I couldn't understand or make it all out but I recognised those words so they stuck with me. As did the impression that they were part of some kind of personal motto or vow... My heart like a lion...? Honestly I was just stunned at that point... I wasn't expecting to be told anything like this and if there is one thing here I'd like to tell Tae most it's this... This was a lot and unexpected and also... Really quite personal... So I didn't want to pry into it or ask more... I can only say, in terms of advice, I feel like knowing this and coming into that noble warrior, brave, chivalrous energy would bring him a lot of strength and comfort.
Finally... After that surprise... The angel oracle card for his year ahead was Fiona. This card says: Now that you've asked the angels for help, be open to receiving divine guidance and assistance. You deserve heaven's help!
This definitely resonates with the message of his developing spiritual beliefs and opening up to his guides and i think he's definitely already on the right path in this regard. Once he's open to listening to his guides, his angels, his ancestors... They'll lead him to wherever he needs to go and protect him from harm.
The numerology of this reading comes to 11; a number in numerology which speaks to high vibrational spirituality and receiving guidance from angels and spirit guides. Once again I'm struck by the message that this is a year of spiritual exploration for Tae.
I think this has the potential to be an amazing year of success for Tae, both materially in terms of his career and spiritually as he develops his intuitive gifts and strengthens his connection to his guides. He has the power of his ancestors behind him... And they're strong. He's in good hands truly. Bless you Sir Taehyung!!! 💜 💜💜 ♞ ⚔ 🦁 ❤️
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caranfindel · 5 years
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Recap/review 14.18: “Absence”
THEN: I am a Winchester! Which means I do awful and wonderful things! Like saving Sam (Saaaaaammmm!!!) and torturing Nick and doing Something Bad to Mary! And possibly losing my soul! Whoopsie!
NOW: Sam and Dean are just getting back to the bunker after the events of the previous episode. I assume they've given Donatello a ride home (which, as we've established, is x hours away), but maybe they stuck him in a cab like they did with Claire that one time. Maybe they found a car for him back at the abandoned warehouse. Sam drops his bag on the map table and they both start calling for Jack and Mary, but aren't too terribly concerned about them not being there. "They probably just stopped for a bite on the way back," Dean hypothesizes, when they settle in the library with a couple of beers. Um. Jack zapped them to Nick's cabin, didn't he? So what is on the "way back?" Are they going to zap to a McDonald's first? What is important is that Sam is still wearing that orange plaid shirt. And they're both pretty unperturbed, even for them, about what just happened.
Here's to another miraculous Sam Winchester survival. Gotta say, man, if Jack hadn't have healed you... you know, lately, it feels like we'd be up the creek without that kid. I mean, first he takes care of Michael, and then Nick...
I know, and he even got the blood out of my new orange plaid shirt, which means I can keep wearing it for this entire episode.
Yeah, I been meaning to talk to you about that. You've been adding a lot of orange to your wardrobe lately.
Just this shirt and that one jacket.
It's more orange than anyone needs. Sure, it fits you great, but so does that red and black plaid. Why don't you wear that shirt some more? Or that solid black shirt you have?
Sorry, but you know I'm a Texas fan. You're just going to have to put up with the orange.
At least I think that's how the conversation went. I could be remembering wrong.
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I'm just saying. It's a lot of orange.
The point is, Dean appreciates Jack and recognizes everything he's done for them. Dean pulls out his phone to call her and they hear a buzzing, which is her phone, on the map table, right to Sam's bag. Sam, I know you're recently back from the dead (or near-dead) but it does seem like you would have noticed the phone there. (Also, how close is the library to war room? This makes it look like the map table is practically in the library.) Her keys are next to her her phone, and it's not until this very moment that I realize they didn't know she and Jack zapped to the cabin - they must have thought she and Jack drove there. Because obviously they didn't have a lot of conversation about it. Even though they had a long drive back and it does seem like Sam would have called his mother and asked how their end went.
Anyway. They're perturbed now. Sam tries to call Jack and we see him, staring, ignoring Sam's call.
Title card! (ha ha, I forgot we were still in the Now.)
The guys are making phone calls to all their contacts, and Sam reports Rowena has a spell that might be able to track Jack down. Oh, I love that Sam calls Rowena for help. LOVE IT. Dean gets a call from Cas and gives him the scoop. "Were they together?" Cas asks. “Alone?" Cas looks more Cassy than usual, and then tells Dean about the snake. "I don't think Jack is well, Dean," he says. Dean hangs up on him, which seems kind of rude, but neither he nor Sam act like the snake story is particularly significant. Then Sam gets the brilliant idea to track Jack's phone. (Sidebar: Should Cas be able to use his angelic powers to locate Mary and/or Jack? Discuss.)
Sam fires up the phone tracking website and expositions that they should be able to track him as long as his phone has power. (Listen, guys. You need Find My Friends. Best parent app EVER. It locates him in Nepal, but then he immediately appears in Peru. "Jack's flying," Sam says.
Eventually Jack tires of Paris and Lima and Madagascar and and flops to the ground back at the Cabin of Death, next to Nick's stolen truck. He pulls out his phone, revealing a low battery (so much for that plan, Sam) and several missed calls and messages from the rest of TFW 2.0. He has some flashbacks to happier times with Mary, and then in the background we notice someone standing on the porch of the cabin. They're wearing jeans, and their face is hidden in the darkness, and I'm open to the possibility that Jack actually zapped Mary somewhere instead of killing her (and according to the 14.17 poll, some of you are also open to this), so for a second I think it's going to be Mary standing there. But no.
On the TV:
Nick?
Hmm. Guess again. Hello, son.
At my house:
OH FUCK.
?
Sorry. I'm just really tired of him.
So, after Jack left to do more important things (Saaaaaaammmmmm!!!!), Lucifer made it back into the world? I mean, this is awful, but it would mean Lucifer is the Big Bad instead of Nick, so... not ALL awful? But it's not Lucifer either - "I'm your subconscious, or whatever," he says. Oh god, it's Hallucifer. Jack has his own version of Hallucifer, JUST LIKE HIS PRIMARY DAD. He's here to help, allegedly, though he doesn't seem all that helpful. "Buddy, you killed Mary Winchester. You cannot come back from that, and you know it." Well. I guess she's officially dead, then. Or is she? Where's the body? I mean, Hallucifer is just Jack's subconscious. So if Jack thinks he killed Mary, so does Hallucifer. That doesn't make it so. Jack tells Hallucifer that it was an accident, and he's all, sure, tell Sam and Dean that, I'm sure they'll understand. (It's funny because it's not true!)
Cut to the Winchesters, driving through the night. Sam expositions that Cas will meet them at the cabin (how do any of them even know where this cabin is?) and speculates that maybe Lucifer is behind whatever happened, not Jack. And maybe Jack thought he was being kind when he killed the snake. Because Sam is grasping for anything that exonerates his son (sob!). But Dean's not accepting it and doesn't want to talk about it. Then Sam's laptop or tablet or whatever he's using beeps with notification that Jack's signal has been lost. Uh oh. (So I guess that's how they found the cabin?) Oooh, yes, we actually get confirmation that it's in Longton "KA" (which doesn't exist and I suspect is supposed to be KS, SERIOUSLY, GUYS).
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Longton KANSAS is 4.5 hours from Lebanon. In case anyone but me is curious.
When they get to the cabin, there's no sign of Jack or Mary or Hallucifer. Just the stolen truck. Sam goes inside and Dean looks outside and oh, who's going to be the one to find the body? First I'm sure it's going to be Sam, because there's a lumpy pile of blankets on the bed, but it must just be blankets, and Sam doesn't even look under them. He does find a body, but it's Nick, not Mary. And then I'm sure it's going to be Dean, because he comes across something disturbing outside and ignores Sam's calls. But what he found is... well, it's hard to see what it is in the dark. Apparently it's a blast zone. A big one.
Cas is sitting in his truck somewhere, having his own warm and fuzzy Mary flashback where she eats a candy bar after a hunt without washing her hands and refuses to let Cas heal her because she's still a little bit afraid of him. He tells her that, no matter what other things there are to deal with, Sam and Dean are glad she's here. "Finally they don't have to be so alone." Wow, that's a dumb thing to say. Mary agrees with me and says "Castiel, they were never alone. And if they were, me being here wouldn't fix that, since I'm always off doing other things." That's how I remember it, anyway. Reverie over, Cas gets out of the truck to face the music - he's at the Cabin of Death.
Inside, Sam is covering Nick's body. He and Dean have some concerned conversation about whether Nick deserved whatever Jack did to him and conclude that Jack must have made it as painful as possible or otherwise killed him in some inappropriate way. And there are very good, valid reasons for them to come to this conclusion. I mean, I can't think of them right now, after watching the episode twice and ruminating for several hours, but I'm sure something will come to me very soon. Let me just go check my Tumblr feed again. I bet they're there.
(Seriously. Nick looks like he was burned out by an angel. That's all.)
They're surprised when Cas walks in, because they didn't hear his giant truck or see his headlights in the dark Cabin of Death. They tell him they haven't found anything except the blast site that looks like something "angelic, but bigger." Dean theorizes that it could have been Lucifer, but Sam points out that Jack said he took care of Lucifer, and I'm not sure why they've reversed their positions. Because in the car, Sam was the one who thought it might have been Lucifer. Script mix-up? Someone brought Jensen the wrong pages? Anyway. Dean says "If he did something to her, if she is... then you're dead to me." Pointing as Cas, because Cas knew something was wrong with Jack. Well, that hardly seems fair. When he first told you the snake story, Dean, you didn't think it meant anything at all. But NOW, all of a sudden, it was some ironclad harbinger of doom?
"I was scared. I believed in Jack for so long. I believed that he was good. I knew that he would be good for the world. He was good for us. My faith in him, it never wavered, and then I saw what he did. It wasn't malice, it wasn't evil, it was like Jack saw a problem and he solved it, with that snake. What he did wasn't bad. It was the absence of good, and I saw that in him. But we were a family and I didn't want to lose that..."
And I'm going to stop here, because this is the most important part of Cas's speech. This is the core issue. Jack's not bad, he just might not be good either. He thought he was doing the right thing. And he's family. Is any of this familiar, Dean? Any of it at all? Cas also says that he wanted to "fix it" on his own, so he left and didn't tell anyone. Neither brother asks how he thought he was going to fix it, but I guess they'll get the story of the failed faux Samulet someday. Right now we just have Sam looking sad and guilty and Dean looking angry and guilty but mostly angry.
Sam's phone rings - it's Rowena. She says she was unable to scry Jack because "his energy is too unstable; it's like looking at the sun." And as for Mary? "I don't know what happened, or where she is, but I can tell you with certainty - Mary Winchester is no longer on this earth." At this point, I'm still ready to accept that she's been zapped to a different dimension. I mean, there's no body. But TFW accepts it as her being dead, and Dean starts throwing furniture and Sam is despondent and flinchy (and hoo boy, I love that combination.)
So what do we do?
What do we always do when we lose one of our own?
Bad things. Very bad things. He declares "we fight to bring them back." And they will call on Rowena, because "she's got the Book of the Damned; she's resurrected herself more times than we can count." (Not to quibble, but we've only seen her resurrected twice. You yourself have been resurrected more times than that, Dean.) He orders Cas to go to Heaven and find Mary, and orders Sam to tell Rowena they're on their way. Mmmm, angry bossy Dean. I like that combination too.
Another thing I like about this scene is that it's one of those times when Sam turns into the little brother. When he looks at Dean and asks "what do we do," because that's how this works.
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So much to like.
We go to Rowena's place, and if you're wondering where she lives and how far it is from the Cabin of Death, you're not alone. She's working away on her spell, though it sounds like she says cumin so maybe it's actually a chili recipe, when someone bangs on her door. "That was fast," she says. But when she answers the door... oh god, it's Jack, and for the first time in this episode I actually feel some concern. DO NOT HURT HER, JACK. (Rowena, I apologize for not appreciating you when you first arrived on the scene. I adore you now and you must remain.)
She pretends she doesn't know what happened, asking if he's well and telling him 2/3 of his dads are looking for him. He admits he accidentally killed Mary by just thinking it for a second and oh, imagine how horrible that would be, if the awful things that popped into your mind for one second actually came to pass. Or maybe I have more intrusive thoughts than y'all do. Anyway. "I need to undo it," he says. "You need to help me undo it." She explains that the magic she normally uses has to be in place before you die, so he suggest the book (I adore the way she says book) and she tells him about the spell. It requires "enormous power" but simple ingredients that could probably be found in the bunker.
Someone bangs on the door again - it's Dean. Jack accuses her of stalling, but they only talked for like 90 seconds, so, okay. She asks him to talk to his "kin," but he grabs her arm. Sam kicks the door in (with hair in his face and yes it is hot) but it's too late - Jack has zapped her out.
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Sadly, I have not found a gif yet, so this will have to do.
Cut to Cas at the Stairway to Heaven, calling for Naomi. No one responds.
Jack and Rowena appear in the bunker, and he pulls her along, but happens to notice some gouges in the floor. And now we get another flashback. Mary is trying to teach him how to handle a knife, and he keeps dropping it on the floor. She's all sweet and supportive and blah blah blah, and Jack says Dean will kill him for gouging the floor when they get him back, so this must be during the Michael!Dean period. Mary pulls the table over to cover the damaged floor, but who is that in the background? It's bearded Sam! Oh, long lost Beard of Despair! How I've missed you! (Is it fake? Is it real? Was this a deleted scene? Or did they plan for what was coming, and film this before he shaved it off? Does Jared just grow a beard that quickly? I DO NOT CARE.)
He feels bad for not being there for Jack while he was busy looking for Dean, and then he apologizes for complaining to her. But she's relieved not to be the only one with "parental guilt." Because they went through so much without her, and then things were "complicated" when she got back. "I'm just saying, parenting is always a struggle. You always feel like you're failing, but then you look at them, and somehow, they're amazing. Somehow, they're literally the bravest, kindest, most heroic men on the planet." Well, this is true. Very true. And I'm glad she's giving Sam the praise and validation he SO deserves but come on, Mary. What do you know about parenting? You did it for four years. When did you feel like you were failing six-month-old Sam?
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YES, MARY, I WANT TO TOUCH IT TOO
Fade to Sam. Interesting that Jack's warm fuzzy flashback turned into Sam's. (It's because Sam is his primary dad! It is known!) They're still at Rowena's, and Dean is still ranting about Cas not telling them about the snake. EVEN THOUGH DEAN DIDN'T CARE ABOUT THE SNAKE WHEN CAS FIRST TOLD HIM.
Cas, Cas should have told us. As soon as he saw Jack going Dahmer on his stupid snake, he should have told us.
Dean, it wasn't just Cas. We knew Jack was dangerous. We always knew. Long before he killed Michael. You more than anyone. I mean, from the very beginning you knew. But, you know, we fell for him, because he had a good heart and a good soul. And then, he didn't. And that's on me, too, by the way. I mean, I'm the one that made the call to bring him back. He didn't ask for that. I decided for him. And you warned me.
Oooh. Sam. No. Because:
1) Dean didn't KNOW from the very beginning. He was, in fact, WRONG at the very beginning, when he thought Jack was evil. Jack was not evil, and you insisted on giving him a chance, and YOU WERE RIGHT. Jack becoming "evil" in the future (and he's not even EVIL, he's just naive and untrained and too powerful for his own good) wasn't anything Dean predicted.
b) Dean didn't exactly fight very hard to stop Sam from bringing Jack back. Seems like most of his concern was that it wouldn't work, not that it was a bad idea in and of itself.
Then Sam says "You know, after Maggie and the other hunters died, I just left. I just dumped Jack on Cas and left." Well, I'm not a big fan of "Maggie and the other hunters" (reminds me too much of "Sting and the Police" and I don't know why Maggie - or Sting - were so damn special that they deserved to be singled out as the only ones in the group with a name), but I also don't have any memory of Sam leaving after Michael killed the other hunters. And when he did, he wanted to take Jack, but Dean wouldn't let him. But Sam says he knew something was going to happen and he's wallowing in guilt. Dean admits that he also knew there was a risk, because of what Donatello told him about not being sure. Well, thank Chuck for that. I'm glad Dean's not letting Sam shoulder all the blame for something that wasn't his fault.
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Angry Dean and sad Sam, two things I adore.
Back at the bunker, Rowena is gathering her cumin and other ingredients. Jack's getting impatient, and she tells him that she could have fought him, but she didn't. "Because you want the same thing the boys want. That I want." This is a beautiful, beautiful moment, with Rowena wanting what "the boys" want, but it's interrupted by Hallucifer, who doesn't even know why Jack is doing any of this. "To ease your guilt? But you don't have guilt any more, do you, Jack? Admit it. You don't feel anything any more." Well. Everything Hallucifer says comes from Jack's head, so what do we think about this? Does Jack really not feel anything any more? I disagree. If he didn't feel anything, if he didn't want Mary back, if he didn't care about forgiveness, why would he even bother? So I think our boy does feel something. Rowena is disturbed by Jack talking to his hallucination, but she carries on and finishes the spell. They have everything they need except the body. Oh.
Stairway to Heaven. Cas isn't going anywhere until Naomi talks to him. Someone finally shows up, but it's Duma.
Where's Naomi?
Well, I'd tell you it's none of your business, but you already know it's none of your business. Naomi just gets paid more than I do, and we've already got all the regular guest stars in this episode, so we had to cut some corners.
At least that's how I remember it. She tells him Mary is at peace in "a special Heaven" and "is complete" and he should just let her be.
Jack takes Rowena to the Cabin of Death, but Mary's body isn't there. He thinks she should be able to complete the spell anyway, but she says she can't. He wants to do it himself, but she says he's in no shape, and "disposition affects execution." She tells him that whatever he brings back won't be Mary, and refuses to help him and OH I'M CONCERNED FOR HER AND HE REACHES OUT AND PUSHES HER and she just ends up being shoved back into her apartment. WHEW. She calls Sam and tells him what Jack is doing, and that it won't work because there's no body, and Jack has snapped and they need to stop him." Necromancy is a delicate art, unpredictable under ideal circumstances. In his state, I fear your boy will bring back something terrible." WELL, THAT'S ENCOURAGING. (Also, Rowena is hilarious in this scene.)
Jack sits in the corpse-less blast zone and performs the ritual and a huge swirling purple cloud appears overhead and I'm thinking, is this our out? Is Jack going to summon something awful, something that can be the Big Bad so he doesn't have to? Please? He notices the Impala nearby, and uses his powers to stop it in its tracks. Luckily it's just right outside the cabin. Sam and Dean run toward him, and we see him looking down at whatever he has summoned, but he doesn't look happy about it. Neither do the Winchesters. "It didn't work," he says, before zapping out.
Oh, the thing he brought back is Mary. Well, Mary's corpse, apparently. Dean holds her and finds her still dead, and he's sad and we get his flashback, which is just Mary leaning on him, asleep in the car, and then Sam comes and holds Dean as he holds Mary and everybody's sad, we're all sad, so terribly terribly sad and we get a crane shot and it's a very lovely scene but I can't help thinking um, correct me if I'm wrong, but we do have that missing piece now, right?
Jack ends up at some industrial kind of place, where Hallucifer tells him there's no going back. "Cas, Sam, Dean, they're never going to trust you again. And you know what that means. You can never trust THEM." And oh, this is Jack's head telling him that. Poor baby.
Bunker. Sam has his box of treasures and he's looking at the few remaining family photos. He looks up, full of hope, when Cas comes in. But Cas tells him Mary is in Heaven and at peace. Dean shows up in time to hear this, and asks if he's just going to take Duma's word for it, because she's a known liar and also might possibly be that dude from The Empty. He says no, he actually saw Mary's Heaven, and we see her door with the dates 1954-1983 and 2016-2019 on it, which of course begs the question of what Sam and Dean's doors are going to look like.
He says he saw her with John (way to bury the lede, Cas), and they're full of joy. But was it really John? Haven't we established that most people are in their own individual Heavens, and if she has a John, it's just an avatar? I mean, John's name wasn't on the door. And I expect Dean, at least, to insist they try to bring her back anyway. But Sam says Rowena told him that what Jack brought back was just an empty replica, "incapable of holding life." (I mean, I feel like that sometimes.) "So what are we supposed to do now?" he asks. And again, Sam is looking to Dean to lead them through this, and yet he's got to know what they SHOULD do. He's got to be thinking of Mary, safe and happy in Heaven, and of ripping someone (anyone, no one in particular, right Sam?) away from that and forcing them to continue on Earth just because you can't be without them. He's got to be thinking of that.
"What we always do," Dean says. And the last time he said that, in this very episode, it meant we do something awful, we throw our own lives away or make some horrible bargain or damn the world in order to bring her back. But this time, it just means that we give her a hunter's funeral. And Sam doesn't look like he was ready for that after all.
So Mary gets a very dramatic pyre, and a montage? Did anyone else get a montage? Ellen, Jo, Bobby, Kevin, Crowley? JOHN? ANYONE? A FREAKING MONTAGE? NO. Grrr. Cas tries to get closer to Dean and Sam puts out a hand and stops him. Also, Sam burns a photo of her and I don't know why.
And finally, we cut to the library table where Sam and Dean carved their initials and we see they are joined by a M.W. Um. What about John? Didn't he get to carve his intials? (NO. Those are only for people who get a montage.)
Also, now that I'm going back to get screencaps, it doesn't look like her intials were there at the beginning of the episode. So she didn't carve them, one of the guys did. And not Dad's? Cold, boys.
You know, last week, like, five or ten minutes before the end of the episode, I thought if Jack hadn't cemented his place in Dean's heart already, he's certainly there now. Because he saved Sam. No matter what else Jack did or is doing or will do, he saved Sam. And I want someone to point that out. I want Sam to say "no, I'm not ready to give up on him, and you realize the only reason I'm here to argue with you is because Jack saved me, right? And if he is soulless, he lost it by saving our asses, right?" (Is this because I watched "Clip Show" a couple of days ago and watched Sam frantically try to soothe Sarah as she died from Crowley's handiwork, and I want Jack to get the same kind of second chance that Crowley got? Maybe.) Now, I realize killing Mary is more awful than anything Crowley (or any other enemy-turned-frenemy) has done to them. But it was an accident. And HE SAVED SAM'S LIFE. Come on. That counts for something.
(Sidebar: We also learned, in that scene back in season 8, that Crowley's mother was a witch. {blows a big wet kiss to the Continuity Fairy})
So, how do I feel about Mary being gone? Here's the deal. This show, at its heart, is about two (or three) men who have a giant bleeding Mary Winchester-sized hole in their lives. Filling that hole does not make for good television. And the Show tried to make her interesting and edgy by playing against what we thought we knew about her (she can't cook! she can't stay away from hunting! she sleeps with both Arthur Ketch and New Bobby!), it tried to make her both a source of conflict and a source of comfort, and ultimately (as far as I'm concerned) it just failed. She was so much more effective as that siren song of the impossible apple pie life. I said earlier and I'll repeat it here... the fact that they had to retcon all of these warm fuzzy flashbacks, instead of using actual clips, just shows how shallow these relationships were. There wasn't anything real to fall back on. And the way they spend these two episodes trying to make us care? It had the opposite effect on me. I'm glad to be shed of her.
But maybe that's just me. Maybe absence will make the heart grow fonder. We shall see. Come on and tell me what you think, and remember, no spoilers in the comments, please!
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purplerose244 · 5 years
Text
MY THOUGHTS ON EPISODE 98!!!
SPOILERS ALERT!!!
And adding this to the pilot episodes, which are four in two episodes, we finally reached 100 episodes of Ninjagooooo!!! 🎊🎊🎊 YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! 🎉🎉🎉
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I can't believe we really achieved this, like, I remember getting interested because of that elevator gag with Jay in season 1, now look at this!!! 😍😍 I love this show, I love how much I have grown during it, and I can't wait to see what the future has in store for it!
And after getting all hyped with this, let's get to the episode! 😎
I wanna start by saying that, back when I watched it, I really liked Day of the Departed, but I would've LOVED IT if it was a season. Like, it's clear that a lot could've been done, and it came out really freaking cool but not mindblowing (and I kinda expect that from my favorite show, not sorry 😙)
My opinion on March of the Oni is similar, I definitely enjoyed more than DotD because it was basically a season of four episodes, it's just that some parts went by a little fast.
But you're asking if I liked it, right?
OF COURSE I DID! ❤❤
And let me tell, with the amount of parts coming from pilots and first season, I can die happily 😆 That's what I love about Ninjago, even when I think it's not perfect, there are still moments that I fall in love with immediately!
LET'S GO THEN!
For the start, Faith's story. I'm so sorry for the poor dragon hunters, can't even have the time to fully redeem themselves that darkness arises 😅
To be honest, when the ninja arrived and Wu was smiling at them like waiting for good news, I was too worried for Cole and was grieving like all of the ninja 😢 Then it reminded me of that one scene in Kung fu Panda with Shifu being all "ah yeah, I really need good news" with his messanger and it turns out it's fricking Tai Lung coming for him 😂😂
But yeah, that was heavy. And Garmy was still merciless with his brother, as much as with his wife (weird that I kinda enjoyed that part? He never went all bad against her, not even as Lord Garmadon. He is full beast now)
And oh man. WU'S REACTION.
One of his first pupil, the first leader of the team; not only that, Cole was always there when Wu turned into a baby and grew up, he basically became a second father for him in a weird but cute way. Can you imagine the grief? It would be really sad if he got to remember him being to affectionate with his infant version, singing for him 😭😭 (woa, fanfiction idea!)
Well played, I must say, Ninjago crew. I'm already on feels mode 👏 But don't think you can fool me again writers, I'm not that easy to impress for y-
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*throw away the pizza she had for dinner* NO PRIMARY NEEDS WILL COME BEFORE THIS, KAI FREAKING SMITH IS BACK OMG YAS YAS YAAAAAASSSS!!!!! 🔥🔥🔥❤❤❤
... I screamed at that part. A LOT.
It's been AGES! He wore it two pilot episodes, period, he looks so young 😍 From this point of few I appreciate that he changed design, it's like he really grew up from before. And he looked so worried, or disappointed? Maybe because he gave up on being blacksmith a long time ago for doing something he's actually good at, and going back again it's like saying he didn't improve at all...
... or maybe I just overthink Kai all day all night
MY FLAME BABE 😍
Well, forge happens, no Ray and Maya but it was kinda hopeless anyway 😅 I really want them to come back, come on Tommy!
And bam, golden weapons. BAM 👊
They made me feel way more excited than I thought, I really squeaked all over while they were fighting! ☺ Back then there was nothing more important and powerful, and now they are back. But I think the golden power in them is weak? I guess they forged in a different way the first time, or maybe they need to be charged by golden power user. I don't know but good job anyway, my hot blacksmith 😚
Meanwhile, in another dark place...
I screamed again 😅
I was just super happy to see Cole fully alive and not frozen and stuff. I thought it had a deeper meaning him moving, but then I guess he woke up in time? And wasn't in the middle of the toxic darkness, thank lord 😵😵
Or maybe they'll explain it better next season and it's important? You never know
Kirby did his best at talking to himself 😂 Rocky you gotta stop loving your best bud that much, you were panicking just like him 💙 Also the part when he was so close to despair, man if I wanted nothing more but broke my phone screen and give him a hug 😢
Luckily, cuteness came to my rescue
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"WE THOUGHT WE LOST YOU, YOU... YOU... YOU JERK!!"
My bruise heart is beating faster? My bruise heart is beating faster 🖤💙🖤💙 Sorry, can't help it, moving on!
I missed some full team fighting action! I wanted more, especially with the new golden weapons and how amazing the landscape look now near the monastery ☺ But it was cool, and I love Nya and Lloyd fighting back to back since they don't have golden weapons! Also Wu is getting so active in season 9 and 10 😊 And Faith is a queen 🖤
While we're at it, my idea is that Garmadon's doubts about his evilness are meaningful, but not for now. I like that they didn't push him into full redemption, it would've been too early. He clearly wants to know more about himself and his family. I think that the next adventure will be important for him, even if I still don't know how, maybe a full life-changing field trip (if so, my warlord, I have a half burnt prince from the Fire Nation to recommend 🔥)
... I did enough serious stuff for him, right? Well then...
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... OKAY I CAN'T 😂😂😂😂
Like, I get the point and everything about him being almost full oni and stuff, but I can't look at his face 😂 I think it's the only part I really don't think it fits, the rest is pretty cool. I like the staff, looks all sorcery. They even used the design of the oni masks, nice touch.
... still, the face is weird, happy it didn't last 😙
Back to the monastery, everyone's scared, it might be the end, I actually liked the situation very much for the yang proposal. Jay stopped overthinking and went for it, it's hard for someone like him 😂
And of course Nya was ecstatic, and when our goddess is happy I am 💙💙💙
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THEY HAVE THE MEDALIONS ON THEIR CHEST IT'S SUCH A CUTE AND ROMANTIC SYMBOL!!! 😍😍😍
I'm a sucker for romance, I'm sorry 😅
I'm also a sucker for references from past seasons, so...
*inhale*
THE FREAKING TORNADO OF CREATION!!!! FINALLY, AFTER THE FERRISWHEEL IN THE UNDERGROUND, THE ULTRA SONIC RAIDER AND ALL THE GAMES THAT HAD IT FEATURED, IT'S BAAAAACK!!!! THANK YOU NINJAGO FOR THIS GLORIOUS DAY!!! NINJAAAAAAAA-GOOOOOOOO!!!
*exhale*
They played it as they didn't use it again because it was kinda a miracle... I guess I can buy that, even if the Hagemans explained that they didn't expect Ninjago to continue and put the ultimate power immediately in the pilots... regretting it 😅 So I'm not hard on the writers in general, I'm happy to see this old friend back 💛
They all used spinjitzu, and the new design is so good, I was so happy!!! 🤩🤩🤩 Well I was, but then... boy... 😳
Now... let me tell you... how FREAKING nervewrecking... the last minutes of the episode... have been for me
First of all, the transition in black and soundless was so sudden that it got me thinking "okay this is new, got a weird feeling about it". Lloyd wakes up into such a heavenly beautiful place with a paradisiac great view. And I was already on what the frisk mode, because the others are gone and there's a beautiful golden dragon right there. And I freaking love those (I WANT ONE), so I got distracted.
Then a voice. Good Garmadon? I guess it could be, but why now and here? The heck?
Then of course I recognized him...
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Because he still gives his back to the camera 😂 Also he freaking called him Lloyd MONTGOMERY Garmadon, I can't even 👏👏 This compensate the fact that I kinda wanted green bean to just go and call him granpa 😘
And while I thought it was super cool and over the top and reminded me again of Kung fu Panda, the third movie this time, I was still thinking from time to time:
"This looks like afterlife."
"The first Spinjitzu Master is gone."
"This can't be happening."
"This can't... can't..."
And after making sure to remind us that yes, first Spinjitzu Master-san is indeed Wu's dad, with his wise words because...
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... he said that. THAT. Come back to your friends, or come with me. Go back being the green ninja, or reach the light once and for all. And darn it. I could feel my heart pulsing in my head. It ached when Lloyd extended his hand, and suddenly everything went white.
Back to the monastery. Guys are fine, Jaya is still beatiful and my poor sweetie flame got under a colomn thanks Cole I bet lavashippers appreciated
Then the worry. All of then running to him, checking, my flame so scared, "come on buddy, wake up". Wu following, he's the only hope, he can manage...
He can... can...
"There is nothing to be done."
I sobbed. Like, I didn't even dare to look at the time, I was too scared. I just didn't want it to be real.
Gotta say, when it comes to grieving, Ninjago makes me feel the most. Jay stuttering, asking Wu to help him. Nya sobbing calling his name. Kai slowly shaking his head, so desperate, like it wasn't enough they lost Cole even if not for long, and then going to comfort Wu because Garmy is not his brother right now and he's not showing emotion at all (although he was backing off, I wonder if he was trying to keep the distance from such a strong scene)
... and then Lloyd came back
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! 💚💚💚💚💚
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I CRIED FOR HAPPINESS, THE TOUGHEST SECONDS OF MY LIFE!!! MY GREEN BEAN, MY SUNSHINE BOY, MY SWEET ANGEL IS HERE AND HERE TO STAY!!! 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
Also Kai and Cole hugging, it was really sweet 🖤❤🖤❤
Oh man, OH MAN 😵
They put everything into that last fragment, now did they? Very nice, loved every part of it and it's really cool how we now kinda know what could be waiting on the afterlife 🤩 I wonder if there is more of that world...
This is why I said I wanted a longer special/season, we had two beautiful moments of pure sadness, really impactful and intense, that could've been even stronger if we had more time to struggle. But you know what? I died inside twice, came back to life twice as well, and nobody died!! 😊 ... except the oni I guess. I think... they died, didn't they?
Well whatever, going for the end!
Okay can I call upon myself the frame meme of Gravity Falls without actually showing it? I can't put more pictures 😅
"Oh, this."
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"This is beautiful."
It's both extremely funny for the claw lego thingy, and meaningful. Only they could do that. Only those that really follow Ninjago could recognize this. I just like it a lot, the Tornado of Creation in its on way ❤💚💙🖤💦💎
(give me white and gray hearts emoji you COWARDS)
And of course, reunion for the finale
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Sky you have no idea how happy I am to see you, girl I missed you a lot 😘 Also dat wink, Kai you might be the next to the yang proposal 😙 Cyrus is okay, I'm happy, and random Ronin because why not? He has better things to do than being caught up with all this drama 🤣
AND THE POSTMAN IS THERE 😎 Of course, our greatest ruler appear! 💪💪💪
While at the end that little moment between Wu and Garmy, I wonder what's waiting for the two sons of mister too shy for facing the camera 😜
And of course our Ninjago alphabet, THE END, with mama dragon who seems to be okay, good 😊 Pretty cool
Well guys, this is it. I enjoyed, no matter how it could've gone as a full season or other formats, it's refreshing knowing that they still remember stuff from the very beginning (MONTGOMERY 🤣🤣🤣). I think we had a good ending for a good beginning to a new fragment of Ninjago, involving what, I have no idea 😅 Also I really appreciate what they did with my Kai, the hotheaded, cocky but selfless warrior that I love so much. Thanks a lot ❤❤
Guess we'll find out sooner or later what's in store for this show, for now I'm done! Thank you guys a lot for all the notes in the last post, you guys are amazing! 😁
Nothing else to say, see ya around! 💜
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