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mimizepp · 3 years

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polnareff + rohan + abbacchio + fugo comforting s/o hcs

i’m sad + writing this for myself and anyone else that might need it! sfw + very fluffy!

polpol

- this lil frenchman is sooo beyond worried for s/o when he notices that they’re acting different than their usual self (honestly it took him a little bit of time to notice and he feels awful that it took that long)

- tests s/o’s mood with a little joke or one-liner. the way they respond tells him all he needs to know

- hates seeing s/o unhappy and will mirror their emotions unintentionally

- really worried he did something to cause this and dwells on eveything he has said/done in the past week

- will sit down with s/o and ask what’s the matter, doesn’t mind if s/o doesn’t want to talk about it (he understands any pain or sadness s/o may be experiencing)

- all he wants to do is hold his amour and make sure they know he’s there for them. might shed a few tears as he hugs s/o

- tries to cheer s/o up with some funny-sounding french words

- will draw a warm bath for s/o and light their favorite candle. he’s fine with letting s/o have some alone time unless they want him to stay just to have some company (will defo have a warm towel ready for s/o when they’re all done relaxing because he’s that extra)

- will ask if s/o needs anything and rush to the store. he’ll return in an hour with every single food s/o likes along with many random little things that reminded him of s/o

- will play s/o’s favorite movie or tv show + cuddle with them on the couch and hope that he has helped s/o feel a little better (won’t be offended if none of this helped at all but will apologize profusely)

rohan

- notices immediately but waits to ask about it so he has time to think about his approach

- considers using heaven’s door to write ‘no sad’ in s/o

- will have the urge to take reference photos + takes all of his strength not to ask because... terrible timing

- will be very straightforward and ask s/o what’s wrong but might come off as a little dismissive. wants to get s/o out of this slump asap and goes about it the best someone like rohan (despises all other humans aside from s/o and only just tolerates koichi) is able to

- may take some time for him to understand how s/o is feeling and he won’t force them to talk about anything if they don’t want to

- will make some tea or coffee (whichever s/o prefers) and also bring some obscure object in the house that made s/o smile one time a few months ago

- forehead kisses

- will defo put off work until s/o feels better

- if s/o likes watching him do artsy things he’ll paint a nice little nature scene for them (will include him and s/o holding hands which even rohan finds to be the cutest thing ever)

- will ask s/o how they’re feeling multiple times

- gently reminds s/o that he loves them + tells s/o to take as much time as they need to feel better

abba

- this man has been through it. he immediately knows when his s/o is hurting and recognizes every sign and symptom

- blames giorno

- consoles s/o with acts of service (extra little kisses, prolonged hugs, helping s/o bathe, offering to do things around the house, etc.)

- will be a shoulder to cry on if s/o needs it + a great listener for anything s/o has to get off their chest. responds with a soft “mm.” or nod

- cooks s/o’s favorite meals and encourages them to join him in the kitchen as a little distraction from all the lows they may be going through

- will offer some wine if s/o wants, won’t let himself or s/o go too overboard on the red and makes sure they stay hydrated

- might cry a little if s/o starts crying. he hates seeing s/o in pain because he knows how hopeless they may feel

- will remind s/o he loves them and will ask if they want to snuggle up on the sofa for a little bit

- might read some gothic poetry / literature aloud to s/o as they cuddle

- will get s/o anything they may need, no matter how obscure

- offers to use moody blues to replay one of s/o’s favorite memories or show them anything that might make them smile

- doing his very best to get s/o back on track but understands that healing is not instantaneous

fugo

- the moment he noticed s/o wasn’t feeling their best, his mind looked like that one screencap from spongebob where they’re all running around through fire looking through a bunch of filing cabinets (i hope you know what i’m talking about)

- he doesn’t know if he should ask s/o how they’re doing or give them some space. after s/o notices his frantic pacing he decides it’s best to ask

- is a full on empath and has complete understanding of how s/o is feeling after he asks, even if they don’t say much about it. he knows s/o better than he thought

- gives s/o the time they need to relax as he prepares a little setup for them in the living room (loads of pillows and blankets out on the sofa for maximum coziness) and gets all of s/o’s favorite snacks arranged all cute on a tray

- immensely proud of the little fortress of solitude he made for s/o, hopes they understand how much thought and love went into the entire design

- asks s/o if they want to be alone or if they’d prefer his company (doesn’t mind if s/o needs alone time + knows that everyone deals with hardship in their own way)

- if s/o wants his company, he very gladly provides the best cuddles he has to offer

- silently calculates hundreds more ways he could help s/o feel better as they relax together

- takes note of every right move he made and memorizes each component so he knows for next time s/o needs some consoling

- kisses s/o in his favorite spot (jawline / cheek) and reminds them how much they mean to him

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ae0nx · 3 years

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FRUITS BASKET S3 EPISODE 1 + 2 RECAP!

Yayyy! Season 3! Finally! I’m hoping this season will make me understand/sympathise with Akito and maybe even Shigure a little bit more because... honestly? My opinions on episode 2?... I might get some flack for my opinions on them... 😬

But, first: I’d like to appreciate how on the Funimation app we got a little interview/message from a few of the english dub VAs! Specifically Colleen Clinkenbeard, Jerry Jewell, Eric Vale, Ian Sinclair and Brina Palencia (Akito, Kyo, Yuki, Kureno and Isuzu). And it was nice seeing some of their opinions of the characters they play and how much they’re emotionally invested in the story. (Ian’s such a nerd ‘I wanna see giant mechs later this season’ 😂 - I lowkey stan him lol)

You should definitely check it out if you’re interested in what they would have to say!

ANYWAYS, let’s get into it...

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EPISODE 1

I really love this depiction of the original zodiac and how you can just tell from the tone of the scene how desperately the God of the Zodiac was clinging on to these connections that they had with the participants in the banquet. How much they clung on to and loved the cat... Also, interesting how Tohru’s narrating this scene... almost like she can relate to the desperation of wanting to keep things the same... but we’ll get to that later. But also, Tohru is a God

This new opening is beautiful, I love the way that camera moves around the still illustrations and how the general tone just hammers down that... this season is gonna be some real shit lol (which makes me nervous for the opening for the second half 😳). It’s so warped and the general blue, grey and black tone that follows around every Akito scene we get in the anime has bled into every scene in this opening concerning the rest of the zodiac. Almost... like something is decaying. It’s great, it’s just very sad lol. I love the song tho, issa bop.

One of my favourite things in stories is when we get a bigger villain than the ‘pronounced’ villain of the story. Ren’s introduction through a manicured outstretched hand towards Kureno and Hatori is so weirdly gross in what it insinuates (especially when you apply her connection with Shigure) but again... I wanna know why she’s such an asshole to Akito specifically besides the bad mental health management within the Sohma compound. I have an inkling of what it is through memory of the manga, but like Akito and Shigure... I just wanna understand why.

Also, Ren is gorgeous and I’m sorry for simping.

I mean... she’s kinda got a point? She just didn’t need to be so mean about it lol. It’s pretty clear that the connection the zodiac have to each other is real and something they cannot control. BUT, wouldn’t it be easier if this connection wasn’t perpetuated by outer circles of the family and if Akito herself wasn’t so cruel about it? But, I guess Akito - through her relationship with her mother - kinda doesn’t know how to genuinely show love and affection. (Which brings me into my thoughts of how the manga ends and how I kinda... have a few problems with it which I will get to... when that comes lol)

Lol - weeeeeeeee! (flashes back to Tohru being yeeted into the river). Is this a part of Akito’s god-like powers?!

Again. She’s got a point! They’ve both got a point. But, they’re both the source of the problem. It’s really painful to see two mentally ill people duke it out. This whole institution is just rotten.

- I am super curious about what Akira’s relationship was like with the zodiac and if it was just as dark. I’m gonna assume it slightly already was, as the exclusion and degradation of the cat curse is already dark in itself but maybe the rest of the zodiac were just fine with how things were? I dunno if we actually will get the full backstory of Akira and his zodiac but I’m definitely intrigued

Ok, but if four crying children came up to me after I’d just consummated with my partner to reach out at my stomach chanting ‘we’ve been waiting for you’. That would disturb me and scar me for a while too so... 😂. I know it’s supposed to be ethereal and spiritual but... dude, wtf lol

...I don’t like how much I’m into Ren being such a Villain™ 😅

- Akito being seen as a crying child by the older zodiac members has always been interesting to me because yes, they could see her as that through mainly the age gap, general empathy and the way she sometimes irrationally acts out. But, also the depiction of Gods being seen as children having tantrums has being reflected in many different beliefs and myths (especially Greek Mythology) and I just like the fact that this all powerful, all knowing being would be compared to a child. It gives you a different perspective on power.

- Is the paper note in the CD case that Kureno gave back to Tohru an extra addition or was it always there?...

Mannnn... I really wanted Isuzu to fuck shit up after seeing Tohru so upset but... *le sigh* (outfit’s still on point)

But, I’m so glad we get an equal Ethereal Goddess to save Tohru! HANAJIMA! We love her, we stan her. <3

- ‘Tohru will be in my custody’ 🤣 I personally think Hana’s bluntness was a kindness in her conversation with Yuki because if I found Tohru upset? I’d automatically start firing metaphorical shots at everyone in that house

- Shigure fearing Hana makes me sleep better at night <3

Hana’s just like ‘hmm... sounds like someone I know... 👀’ I’m here for this parallel between Tohru and Kureno in the hopes that Tohru doesn’t ever get in as bad a situation as Kureno. Ahhh... Kureno... (Also, Laura Bailey was killing it in this scene as always)

- Hmmm... there’s something terribly poetic about Kyo saving Tohru’s scarf from oncoming traffic... but also, Kyo can’t help himself aha

KWEEEN! I love this look for Uo, it’s very Kyoko. I already said this in Season 1 but I STILL need to get wool-lined jacket. Outfit Appreciation goes to her - 3.5 stars.

<3<3<3 Friendship is magic!

- Megumi is such a good egg as always! From him going to get Uo to him being so wise with his outlook on love and how it takes time to really flourish. The best!

- This whole episode ends really nicely from Tohru’s return home and Kyo washing and returning Tohru’s scarf and Yuki being happy to see Tohru and Shigure being somewhat decent. It was nice to get a bit of relief after the tornado of emotions

Also, this was a nice screencap! Even Kyo is smiling!!! :))))

EPISODE 2

*takes sip of wine* ...ok.

👀... later lol

This scene really highlighted how Tohru is starting to see Shigure and the whole zodiac curse in a new and darker way. For the first time, it felt like Tohru was a little bit more guarded around Shigure and I hope they delve more into this season. Her description of her feeling around the curse being like a ‘dark well with no bottom in sight’ is pretty spot on. Ugh.

Aw! Is this the last we’re getting of Small!Momiji?! I love them :3 (Momiji’s shorts look a little shorter too, like he’s growing out of them ahaha)

- I haven’t found the Yuki fan club funny since their first scene in the anime but their poor disguises made me chuckle

- Yayyy! Kyo has an obsessive fan club too? ...Yay?? 😅 haha

- ‘I won’t kill them but they can go to hell’ why is Kyo speaking like me?! 😂

The fact that we got a scene of Yuki kinda admirably looking at a group of friends (boys and girls) playfully physically interacting and he unconsciously reaches out to Machi almost like he forgot about the curse? Heart eyes... 🥰

Again. Relatable. 😂 God, Yuki. You really are an airhead. Bless your soul. <3

And that look says it all. Damn. Kyo’s sense of hopelessness is heartbreaking but I still stand by it being understandable considering his circumstances.

Kyo freaking out about Tohru being visually upset was super cute but I couldn’t even appreciate the fluff because the whole scene had such a morbid tone to it, despite it being so visually romantic:

KYO’S FACE!!! 💔 Ahhh, my emotions!!!! Also, that shot from Tohru’s perspective under her bangs is great.

- Poor Mitsuru, I’d ask for extra pay just for dealing with Shigure’s ass.

Hahah - what a great metaphor!

- Now that Shigure’s ‘true form’, so to speak, has been fully exposed all his comments that are supposed to be teasing come off so much more awful. Him insinuating Mitsuru wasn’t ‘upper class’ enough for Ritsu was awful

COLLLDDDD. AS. IIIIIIICE. But seriously, Shigure this whole episode was cold in many different ways but I definitely felt this personally since I’ve been told something like this by a family member before... 😕 Also, it’s just gross how both Shigure and Akito are taking their own personal issues and mistrust of each other out on to other people. The curse and the institution behind the curse complicates a lot of feelings for sure, but there’s a difference between wrong and right and I get the general feeling that they both are just using the muddy waters to their advantage. Although, I feel like Shigure is taking more advantage of this than Akito but I’ll get into that in a bit.

- There’s also something about this episode that made me sympathise a lot more with Kureno in a more understandable way. But, it also makes me question the ending of this whole story and the resolutions that happen and what life for the whole Sohma institution/family looks like after the curse has broken.. I guess, I should read ‘Fruits Basket Another’ after this, huh?

😳... Shigure is so petty, man. Really?!

So...

I hate this relationship. I’m sorry. I know there are loads of people who like this relationship. And I’m still giving myself space for the show and the story to convince me why it’s worth it. But... I really don’t like this relationship. It’s so toxic. In so many ways. And in a weird way, this scene made me feel a LITTLE bit more for Akito than Shigure. It feels like Shigure gaslights everyone in his life but none no more than Akito, herself. I hate the fact that he keeps saying he loves her while hurting her or disregarding her. You know, almost like he’s treating her like a child. But on the other hand, I hate the fact that Akito has lowkey gaslighted herself into thinking she can treat people however she wants because she is ‘God’. I understand this is part of the way she was brought up and it seems like life in the Sohma compound has been very isolating for her so there’s been no one really to show her better (or have the confidence to show her better). But, at least I can be a little bit more sympathetic on her side than Shigure’s. I dunno... it’s just all very ugly and toxic and I’m hoping that it’ll turn around somehow.

I just hope it’s not one of those relationships that are ‘so good cos it’s so bad’.

...I’ll briefly talk about the ending theme to end this on a good note lol:

I really like this ending! I dunno if they’re gonna have two endings and two openings for this season but this ending definitely feels like it should’ve gone in the second half as it’s almost spoiler-y? But, then again what anime opening and ending isn’t packed with spoilers lol

All the illustrations are gorgeous, I’m assuming they were drawn by Takaya-sensei herself as it seems very much in her current style of artistry but my favourite illustrations are definitely the ones shown above! <3

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Ahhh! Fin! Sorry, about this one being super long and you probably having to scroll past a whole lot on your dash 😝 As usual, I had a lot to say. I’m open to hearing from people who actually like Shigure and Akito’s relationship btw, it’s just that everything before and episode 2 just really didn’t sail the ship for me, personally. I do want to understand! Haha

See you soooon!

#fruits basket #furuba #fruits basket season 3 #fruits basket 2021

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dreamlikeafangirl · 4 years

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Perfect [Chapter 1]

Summary: Nico has been looking forward to this skiing trip. Spending a long weekend in the snow with his friends, and, most importantly, Levi - what could go wrong? (A lot, apparently.)

Pairing: Levi Schmitt x Nico Kim (Grey’s Anatomy), side Jolex

Warnings: fluff, angst, skiing, minor injuries

Words: 4k

credit for the screencap of Levi and Nico cuddling: mygreyscaps on tumblr

Read on AO3

———

It would be a perfect day, Nico could feel it in his fingertips.

As a surgeon, the body part he trusted most were his fingertips. Not his stomach, sometimes not even his brain. And his heart? At the moment, it was pounding so much, Nico could feel it, well, right down to his fingertips.

He was looking forward to skiing, the feeling of loose snow beneath his skis, the fresh cold air in his lungs, the adrenaline and of course, intimate togetherness with Levi in the evening. Simply put: A perfect day.

They had decided to visit a Ski field over a long weekend; Nico, his mentor and friend Link, Link’s childhood friend Jo and her husband, Alex. And, how could he forget, Levi. Glasses. Or Schmitt. But in reality just Levi. Levi, his boyfriend. Levi, who seemed to constantly smile, but even more often looked as if a warm gust of wind just hit him directly in the face – adorably bewildered. Levi, who would tell endless stories about himself that were so absurdly honest and funny, Nico would have silently accused anyone else of making them up. Levi, who could make Nico laugh just as fast as he started to bug him – but in a good way, of course. In a let-me-interrupt-you-with-a-kiss way.

When the group of five doctors left the cable car that morning, the sun was shining down on them like a white spotlight. The freshly fallen snow looked like cotton and cream. And the wind blew with the (non-existent) force of a light breeze.

“The weather is great today!” Alex exclaimed. He was carrying his skis over one shoulder, and because he was a gentleman, he was also carrying Jo’s snowboard. She stuck her face out towards the sun and smiled consentingly.

“Right?” Link caught up with them, his snowboard under his arm. “I can’t wait to hit the slopes.”

“Same here!” Nico said. “I bet the pistes are fantastic, now that everything is still smooth.”

“Spoken like a true winter sportsperson” Levi mumbled while leaning on his skis for support. He was looking incredibly cute today, with his hair peeping out from under his helmet and his skis that were so much shorter than Nico’s.

Nico patted him on the back, almost throwing him off-balance in his ski boots. “Just wait, you’ll get there.” He grinned. “Two days, and you’ll talk like that, too.”

Levi shook his head. “I doubt it.”

The five came to a stop at the edge of a small hill that led from the cable car station to the first slopes. There, they began to clip on their skis. Jo was the first to finish and, while waiting, surveyed the others with narrowed eyes.

“Is something wrong?” Link laughed and put on his snowboard goggles.

Jo eyed Levi thoroughly, before answering: “I’m just not at all used to seeing you in anything else than blue scrubs.”

Nico followed her eyes with his. Levi wore a ski suit that was black, grey, white, and yellow, grey boots, and a black helmet, all of which suited him perfectly. Having heard Jo, however, he looked a little uncertain.

“Oh, don’t listen to her” Nico whispered, leaning over to Levi. “You look amazing.”

Levi laughed unhappily. Nico just now noticed how pale he’d become. He seemed shaky and nervous.

“Are you alright?” Nico asked.

Levi nodded his head unconvincingly.

Meanwhile, Alex shouted: “Guys, let’s go!” He let out a loud cheer and then pushed himself off the edge of the hill. Jo followed right in his tracks, laughing out loud as the wind caught her loose hair.

Nico couldn’t wait to go after Alex, too. The bright snow, the clear sky, it enticed him. Link, grinning widely, exchanged looks with him one last time, before boarding off. He went down the hill in wide, confident turns, and Nico pursed his lips, almost in awe. Link was not only the best surgeon he knew, he was also the best snowboarder.

“You ready?” He asked Levi, only then noticing that his boyfriend was still fiddling with his bindings.

“Obviously not!” Levi replied sharply.

Nico bent down as much as his skis would let him helped Levi secure his boots to his skis. “Don’t want you getting hurt.” He said with a playful tone when they were finished.

Levi just shook his head in silence and used his ski poles to push himself towards the edge. When he reached it, he started to slide down. Nico looked after him, stunned for a second. Briefly, he asked himself if it was something he did wrong. Then he dropped the thought. Levi was probably just a little angry at himself for appearing slow in front of his colleagues.

Finally, Nico slipped over the edge of the hill. He spotted Jo, Alex, and Link at the start of one of the slopes, waiting. Levi was about halfway down. Nico copied his turns, but after two curves decided he was going to slow. So instead, he just went straight downhill. This caused him to quickly gain speed and the pressure of the wind against his face to increase. His surroundings began to blur slightly and then suddenly it was only him and his skies. It was almost like Nico had fallen into a trance, one that caused him to block out everything but the cold air all around his body and the swooshing sounds in his ear and the speed and the adrenaline that made his every nerve tingle with excitement and joy.

Oh, how he had missed this feeling. “Whoo-hoo!” Nico exclaimed and pushed one of his fists into the air. His friends came closer way too quickly for his taste. Why wasn’t this hill longer? Sighing internally, he forced himself to slow down.

“That. Was. Amazing!” He shouted towards Link.

His mentor nodded, an excited look in his eyes. “You were right, the snow is perfect. This is going to be a great day!”

Nico noticed Jo doing impatient little feet-tied-to-the-snowboard jumps towards the edge of the next slope, and Alex staring in the opposite direction, the one they all had just come from. His gaze was fixed on Levi, who was still making his way down the hill, taking noticeably more time than the rest of the group had.

“You think Schmitt is gonna be able to keep up?” Alex asked Nico.

He furrowed his brow and just let the question sit between them for a second. Then he said: “Of course he will. We’re all equals here, right Karev?”

Alex just nodded. “You can count on it.”

By now, Levi was catching up to them. When coming to a halt, he accidentally caught an edge and lost his balance.

“Whoa!” Nico quickly wrapped his arm around his boyfriend’s waist, holding him up. “Easy.”

“You alright, Schmitt?” Link asked with a grin that was half-concerned and half-amused.

“Why does everyone keep asking me that?” Levi hissed.

Nico bit his lip. If his boyfriend wasn’t going to have a good day, he wouldn’t have one either. And he wanted to. For himself, and for Levi.

———

The group advanced to the next edge. The first piste they had picked was marked red, which meant it wasn’t easy, but not very hard either. Link had opted to start with a blue one (blue meant easy), Jo, Alex and Nico wanted to do red and Levi had stayed out of the decision.

So, red slope it was. Nico risked a glance over the edge, realizing it started off with a pretty steep section, after which it became gradually flatter.

“Well, that first bit could’ve very well been marked black.” Link said. Black was the highest difficulty.

Nico clutched his ski poles. It didn’t matter, he was ready.

“Are you still up for it?” Jo asked.

Link shrugged. “It’s our first run for today, and we all haven’t skied in a while. I still think we should do another one first, but I’ll do what you guys are doing.”

“And here I thought you were afraid.” Jo grinned.

Link laughed. “Oh, you wish. Race you down?”

“What’s the winner get?”

“Let’s say, uh, bragging rights for the whole trip?”

“You’re up!”

They both jumped to the edge awkwardly with their snowboards, and then got into their starting positions. Alex counted: “Ready … set … GO!” And then the two plunged themselves down the hill.

Nico and Levi looked after them, Nico chuckling, Levi wide-eyed.

“I’m betting on Jo” Alex suddenly said in a challenging tone.

“Alright, my money’s on Link then” Nico replied, still chuckling, and held a hand out towards his colleague. They high-fived in their thick skiing gloves and grinned at each other.

“What are we betting on?”

“Whoever loses has to buy the drinks for tonight.”

“Deal.”

Levi was already standing at the edge, ready to start. “You guys coming?”

“Right behind you, babe.” Nico smiled and pushed himself towards him.

As anticipated, the piste started off pretty steep. Nico struggled to maintain balance from time to time, even with the still flawless snow beneath him. Link had been right; this was not the ideal slope to begin the day with. But before he could think too hard about it, the difficult part was already over.

He stopped by the side of the piste and looked back for the first time, noticing that Levi was not far behind him. In fact, he caught up with him only a few seconds later.

“Wow, now that was a wake-up call” Levi said, a little out of breath.

“Yeah” Nico replied. “I don’t think it can get much harder.”

“I can already feel my muscle aches forming!” Levi laughed.

Nico joined in, and so did Alex, who had arrived last of the three. “Let’s just hope it stops at muscle aches.” He grinned. “Because one of us, lying on top of an operating table by Monday, instead of standing beside it? I can already see it in front of my eyes.”

“Bailey would kill us” Nico smirked. “Remember how she wouldn’t even let us go on this trip at first? Because ‘risk of injury’? Besides, I have surgery scheduled for Monday.” Monday was the day they would all be going back to work.

Levi gave Nico a long precarious look with, before sliding off.

Nico, a little confused, looked after him for a second before turning to Alex. “Let’s see who’s gonna get those drinks, huh?”

“Absolutely!”

The rest of the slope was no problem for Nico. It was exactly the right width, his skies were going smoothly, and not many other people were there. Perfect conditions. Once again, the piste was over way too soon, ending at the entrance point of a chairlift.

Link and Jo were waiting there with snow sticking to their ski suits. Both had red cheeks and big smiles on their faces.

“So, who won?” Alex asked after stopping next to Jo.

Jo and Link exchanged a look before bursting out into laughter. “We may have crashed into each other at the last second.” Link finally said, brushing a bit of snow off his jacket. “No one got hurt though, no worries.”

“So it was close, obviously, but there is no winner” Jo added.

Nico, who stood beside them with Levi, shrugged at Alex. “Well, I guess we’ll have to go to bed thirsty.”

“We made a bet” Alex explained to the two racers, wrapping his arm around Jo. “Looser would’ve bought tonight’s drinks.”

“Had I known that I would have put more effort into it.” She said.

Link laughed. “I thought this was all you got.”

“Oh, not by a long shot.”

“This again?” Levi mumbled to himself.

“Levi’s right” Nico said. The others turned their heads towards the two. “Let’s not waste our time standing around. You two can continue your bragging match on the lift.”

Link laughed, playfully shoving Jo. “‘Match’ would imply that we are on one level, and I don’t think so.”

“Ooh, you are moving on thin ice, Atticus Lincoln!”

One chair of the lift could transport four persons, so Alex, Link, and Jo (who were still bickering) got on one, and Nico and Levi took the next.

When they were sitting comfortably, Nico took off his ski goggles. “Levi, are you having fun? Because I don’t feel like you do.”

“Why would you think that?” He asked defensively.

“Well, you’re reserved towards the others. And me. And you’re a lot quieter than usual.”

“It’s not easy drowning out all this talk about drinks and who’s faster and whatnot.”

“I … do you want me to apologize? What do you want to talk about?”

“Ugh!” Levi threw up his hands. “You’re not getting it!”

“What am I not getting?!” Nico asked, voice stern. Then, he took a deep breath, calming himself down. “You’re right.” He said then, slowly. “I’m sorry. I don’t get it. I’m not you, I don’t know how you feel.”

The hint of a smile appeared on Levi’s lips. “I forgot. I always have to spell everything out for you.”

“Come on, that is not fair” A smile started to form on Nico’s lips, too, and he leaned his helmet against Levi’s. “But for real. What’s going on?”

“The others … I feel like they are treating me like a child. Like I’m an intern, here, too. Judging my look. Asking me if I’m alright, just because I took it a little slower on the first hill. And did you notice how Doctor Karev started talking about how one of us might end up on an operating table? It was right after I mentioned muscle aches.”

Nico frowned. “He did ask me if I thought you could keep up with the rest of us.”

Levi straightened himself in his seat. “Who did? Karev?”

“Uh-huh.”

He huffed. “I may have not skied in a while, but I am at least as good as he is!”

Nico gave him a little kiss on the cheek (which turned out a bit difficult with the helmets, but still). “I know you are.”

Their chair was slowly reaching the top station. “We can separate the group if you want to” Nico said. “Let Jo and Link have their races, while you and I get some peace and quiet on another slope.”

“Link’s your buddy. And I know you like spending time with the others, too.” Levi gave him a smile. “This is your trip as well.”

“But I’m not happy if you’re not happy” Nico replied, just as the chairlift was approaching its end.

“You’re so corny!” Levi shook his head, trying to keep himself from giggling.

Then, they got off the chairlift and joined the other three, who were standing beside a giant map of the ski field.

“Alright, guys. We are here.” Alex said, pointing towards a spot on the map with one of his ski poles. “Which means we can either take this next blue slope or go for another red one.”

“Let’s do blue.” Link suggested.

Levi agreed with him, earning them both an amused look from Alex and Jo. “Are you guys tired?”

“Come on, let’s not exhaust ourselves already. We have been here for less than an hour.” Link argued.

“Besides, if we take the red piste now, we’ll have to take another black one afterwards if we want to reach a lift of some sort” Levi said, gesturing to the map. “By taking blue, we are gaining access to a whole bunch of other slopes without having to take another lift.”

Nico nodded, smirking. “Good point.”

“So blue it is.” Link clapped his hands.

Before sliding off, Nico approached Alex. “Can you lay off Schmitt? This is supposed to be fun, not a competition. Except maybe for Jo and Link.”

———

Even though Levi did not ask for it, they ended up agreeing to split up after lunch. At noon, they stopped at a small restaurant by the side of one of the main slopes. It was furnished to look like a typically alpine chalet, and served traditionally Austrian and South Tyrolean food as well.

Nico and Levi ended up sharing a huge plate of Kaiserschmarrn, which was basically a big pile of fluffy sugary pancake pieces served with lingonberries and applesauce. It tasted amazing and had Nico wondering if he knew any restaurants back in Seattle that made alpine food. He decided to google it later and if yes, to definitely go there one day. Take Levi. Have a nice date night, and look back on lots of hopefully amazing memories.

“Did you know this dish was named after one of Austria’s emperors?” Levi asked, still munching on his last bite. “He loved it so much that they apparently just decided to rename it to honor this guy.”

Nico smiled quietly, and gently wiped a little bit of powdered sugar off his boyfriends chin.

Alex, Jo and Link were sitting across the table from them, also still digging in on their meals. “Would you guys mind if we both went off alone for a little after lunch?” Alex suddenly asked.

“Not at all.” Link said. “What about you guys?” He looked at Nico and Levi. “Do you want to go on your own, too?”

Levi shrugged. “Let’s decide along the way.”

“Alright.”

Back on the road – or better, on the slopes – Jo and Alex went on their ways. Meanwhile, Nico, Link and Levi decided to make a little round tour of the ski field to skim the area.

When they got on the first chairlift, the sun was still shining from the clear sky, with almost no wind and almost no people on the slopes as well. Nico could hardly believe their luck. Hopefully the whole weekend was going to be like this.

Unsurprisingly, the tour turned out to be lots of fun for him. He was with the man he loved; Levi, and his best friend; Link. Nico and Link both skied (or in Link’s case: boarded) in similar ways: better fast and a little loose than too slow. Levi on the other hand had a cautious style of skiing, which didn’t mean he was slow, just that he was taking it a little safer. Nico didn’t mind. He didn’t think the few instances he and Link actually had to wait for him were a waste of time. The others might have felt that way, but for him it was a welcome break to just catch his breath, appreciate the overwhelming view of the snowy mountains or have a quick chat with Link about the slope they just conquered.

Levi was also visibly happier than before. He got along really well with Link, the final ice breaker having been the discovery that Link was a fan of the X-Men comics, just like Levi. The next few chairlift rides they had then spend arguing whether a guy named Cyclops or a guy named Wolverine was cooler.

When the day slowly came to an end, Nico was still high on Endorphin and probably a whole bunch of other happiness hormones, too. His cheeks literally hurt from smiling all the damn time, but he couldn’t help it. He was sweaty and his limps were starting to get heavy, but still he felt like he hadn’t been this happy in a long time. But, he thought to himself, why wouldn’t he be? He’d spent the last hours with two people whose company he genuinely enjoyed, and had had probably the best skiing experience of his life. Why overthink this perfect afternoon?

Well, it was about to become the opposite of that.

They had agreed to meet up with Jo and Alex at the entrance of the cable car, which would bring them back down into the valley, where they had rented a cabin. The last piste Link, Nico and Levi needed to take was one marked black. It was short, narrow and pretty steep, and judging by the piles of loose snow all over it, it had already seen quite a lot of people today.

The three of them stared down the hill, nobody wanting to be the first to say ‘Let’s do it’ or ‘Let’s not do it’. Jo and Alex were waiting at the end of the slope, waving and calling their names.

Nico was pretty confident he could make it. A few short-radius turns, and it would be over. He just had to be careful not to hit one of the snow piles, because they had the nasty habit of slowing the skis down abruptly, causing the person attached to them to loose balance and fall – which was not a pleasant experience on a hill that steep.

He looked at Link first, who nodded, and then at Levi, who pressed his lips together, and after a short while nodded, too. After spending the day with them, Nico had no doubt either of them would make it down the hill.

“Well then.” Link said, adjusting his goggles. “Let’s do this, the others are waiting.” Then he pushed himself off the edge with a little jump and started to curve down. He was controlled, but not slow, and after barely a minute, arrived next to Jo and Alex at the end of the slope.

“Let’s not go at the same time” Levi said, still staring down.

Nico agreed. Better safe than sorry. “After you.” He smiled. “Again – I’m right behind you.”

Levi laughed, pointing a finger. “Hah, you better not be.”

He took his first turn, slow and steady. The second as well. Then, he got a little more confident and allowed himself to gain speed. Nico blinked, and the hill suddenly looked like a vertical wall. Levi seemed so tiny, his skis so short. Dusty ice was splattering out from under them when he took his next turn. The edges made a scratching sound, and Nico flinched. Oh no. Hidden under a layer of snow, he could suddenly make out floes of ice, and there were probably more all over the piste.

Levi just drove over one at a fast speed. Skis were made to slide over a surface of snow, not ice. On ice, skiers often had difficulties to maintain control. And Levi hadn’t seen it coming. He tried to slow down, but couldn’t do so without risking to loose balance. So instead he tried another turn, and barely made it.

Nico held his breath hoping for the icy part to be over. Then, he gasped when one of Levi’s skies suddenly lost its grip and slipped downwards. It pulled his foot and leg down as well, and now his balance was completely lost.

“Levi!” Nico called out. At the bottom of the hill, Link, Jo and Alex were shouting as well.

Luckily, it was just a scare. With a grunt, Levi managed to get back on his feet. Supporting himself with his poles, he was now standing still about halfway down the piste, breathing heavily from shock.

“It’s okay! You can do it!” Nico yelled, hoping his boyfriend could hear him.

Levi looked up to him, and then down to the others, who were still shouting inaudibly. With a determined look in his eye, he prepared for his next turn, gaining speed again. And while doing that, he completely missed the big pile of snow in his way. Levi’s skis got caught in the loose white powder, sending his body flying forward from the sudden loss of velocity. His helmet hit the ground with a loud cracking sound and then he started sliding downwards head-first, leaving behind a small trail of red in the snow.

“Levi!” Nico shouted again, this time from the top of his lungs. He was suddenly freezing cold. Levi was bleeding and not moving. Was he conscious? What had happened to him? A concussion? Or maybe something worse? A thousand thoughts were flying around in Nico’s head.

He saw Jo and Link running up the slope in their snowboard boots to catch Levi and only then realized that he was still standing at the top of the hill himself. But suddenly, knowing that he had to get to Levi as fast as possible, that stupid little hill didn’t feel like a challenge at all.

———

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this first chapter!

I have outlined the whole story, as of right now three or four chapters, but written only this one and parts of the second chapter. Hoping for a bit of feedback to motivate me :) But the story will definitely be continued.

Please feel free to point out any spelling/grammar mistakes I made, especially with the skiing vocabulary :) I'm always looking to improve my English :)

#Nico Kim #Levi Schmitt #grey's anatomy #Nico Kim fanfic #Levi Schmitt fanfic #Schmico #Schmico fanfic #Levi x Nico #fanfic #fanfiction #Jule'sffs

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natsspammityspamspamham · 4 years

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Dino Watches Anime (Jan 13)

With the snow outside and cancellations everywhere, I have more time to kick back, relax, and not do anything. Seriously, playing out in the snow and being an absolute bum is my specialty.

Dropped

Darwin's Game

It just seemed like Mirai Nikki but updated to smartphones instead of flip phones and with a new interface and system. Seriously, it’s like someone watched Mirai Nikki and went “I can remake this and rake in the money”. The animation wasn’t good (according to our local sakuga geek, there were less than 10 animators who worked on the 40 min premiere because of the inhumane conditions of the studio which adds to the yikes), the soundtrack was great (but I won’t watch a show just for the soundtrack/seiyuu cast), and overall, I felt like I didn’t want to put myself through a show like this.

Uta no Prince-sama

I couldn’t do it fam. I watched two episodes and nearly cried on the inside because it felt like Kiniro no Corda but with a new bland face with new bland characters. I never watched either of these fully. I tried to watch just for the seiyuu (*ahem* Miyuki Sawashiro), but imagine having your life hobbies made into an absolute joke by a character who can’t even read music and is in the composition department while her main song of choice is “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and the ikemen around her and swooning over it and writing their own songs for her. The guys all have the same faces too! They’re triangle heads that can only be differentiated by colour palette. I’m telling the difference based on voices at this point. I don’t want the ikemen, but I would like people to be into my music too ya know! You may think that I’m dropping this anime purely out of spite for the story and characters, and you’re damn right I am.

Seasonal Stuff

Pet

This is this close to being dropped, and I don’t mean for the strong BL vibes. It’s a little cringy but not that bad (I’ve watched a lot of cringe straight romance and to me it’s all the same). It just feels so poorly constructed right now. The universe just hangs by a thread with characters I feel ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for. Everything in this anime feels so cheap. I’m giving this one more week before I give it the axe.

Rikei ga Koi ni Ochita no de Shoumei shitemita

Okay, this anime is stupid, but we all went in knowing it was going to be very stupid. You’ve seen the screencaps. You’ve seen the cliches. Now get ready to have a pretentious science spin on it as if you haven’t seen these scenes a million times before elsewhere, and the characters (at least one of them) know it. The art... it’s present. I mean, character designs are giving the guys of Reddit what they want (especially with Sora Amamiya being really popular and singing the OP along with voicing the main character). Yuuma Uchida is also there. Nothing really worth noting here except “stay in school kids so you can become a pretentious science kid with no people skills!”

Dorohedoro

I might just watch this anime in place of “Pet” because this anime has a much brighter outlook and despite being CG genuinely looks better anyway. It’s the horror that I wanted to fill the void with (since Pet genuinely isn’t scary or innovative). Everything was pretty good with the first episode! I’m looking forward to seeing more!

From here on out, the rest of the seasonal list are the ones I look forward to the most! Get that head lizardman!

Runway de Waratte

At first, this doesn’t seem like something that would come out of Shonen Weekly, but it inspires a good message about being who you want to be even with limitations if front of you. You have a girl too short to be considered a model and a guy who designs fashion without having the money to pursue it further. I know nothing about style, but I do know things about being short! Maybe that’s why I have such a soft spot for it...

ID:Invaded

This anime gets more interesting as we go along. I’m all into murder mysteries and things like that, and with the sci-fi mixed it, I checked to make sure I was up-to-date with this one. Each episode gives a new mystery with more details outline our jaded and imprisoned detective’s motives and backstory. I wasn’t sold on the character designs at first, but once you get over that hurdle, it’s all good. I like the psychological aspects of it too!

Kyokou Suiri

Ever wish you had a female protagonist who was upfront about her romantic motives? Ever wanted to watch a show involving youkai? Here’s the show for you! Plus, her character design is so cute. Mamo sang the ED for this anime too. The animation is great, the story looks amazing (read ahead a few chapters in the manga), and this is one of my most highest anticipated anime for the season!

Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun

Here’s one of my favourite pilot episodes! This anime left such a strong impression on me that I went straight to my non-otaku friends going, “You’ve gotta see this guys”. The art style is consistent with the manga, and according to the not-so-quiet manga readers, we’re in for a really good anime.

All the characters in this anime are also adorable and really simple-minded on the surface. Hanako-kun being a boy is a really funny twist on the local urban legend (I’m one of those kids who never dared to say “Bloody Mary” in the washroom so what can I say?)

Recently Completed

Hana to Alice: Satsujin Jiken

Remember Aku no Hana? This is what happens when rotoscoping has a bit more budget. This anime was slow, a little cringy, but it felt really real. The voices felt real, the characters felt real, and the story felt... mostly real. I don’t regret watching this movie art style and all because I think it captures a bit of the exaggerations of being a teenager (rumours blow up like balloons)

Sennen Joyuu

Satoshi Kon really has a certain way of telling stories. I’ve watched Perfect Blue, Paranoia Agent, and Tokyo Godfathers, and while this didn’t have as strong of a punch as the latter, this film was still strong. It shows a story of a young maiden’s resilience, perseverance, and undying love... all things I can’t relate to... but it was good!

Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo

This show was a trip. You thought it was a fanservice anime until things got really heavy. This anime was funny, it made me feel things with the themes it took on, and it made me remember that the best girl doesn’t always have to win to be a good anime. The art was cute and sweet, the voice acting was so fricking funny (according to the cast, the improv wasn’t always included but the ones that were left along with the dialogue were pure gold), and the story was exceptional for an anime which seemed to have no base whatsoever. And plus, this had something a lot of anime don’t... A CONCLUSIVE ENDING. Give this anime a watch if you haven’t. It’s melodramatic comedic romantic teen drama at its finest.

Orange

Speaking of melodramatic romantic teen dramas, here’s another one that fits that bill! Minus the comedy, more suicide, and far less cohesive plot. Imagine throwing letters into the Bermuda Triangle and having your 16-year-old selves really reading those letters. I was wondering how they were going to explain sending their letters to the past, but they should’ve come up with better BS than that. Aside from really bad plot holes, this anime was alright. It was slow... really slow. I finished this whole 13 episodes plus the movie in about 2.5 hours after trimming the slow recaps.

The art was alright. The story was slow, but near the end (excluding the last episode and the movie) it got really heavy. It hit close to home. I struggled with suicide for years, and I felt what this character felt. Certain lines of that dialogue just hit hard. It was depicted in a way that didn’t feel as romanticized. He wasn’t saved by just one person, his trauma didn’t go away just like that, it took a group of friends and planning to help him realize that there was more to life then just regrets.

Would I recommend this? I mean, it was recommended to me, but I’m not forcing this anime on anyone... not because of the themes but because it was darn boring and cliche 70% of the time.

Still Watching

Darker than Black: Kuro no Keiyakusha

Same things apply as previous entries

Hunter x Hunter (2011)

My brother expected me to finish this a while ago but I put it on the back-burner because the number of episodes seemed daunting. Everything else is good though.

Sousei no Onmyouji

I only watched the first episode.

Boku no Hero Academia Season Four

Same things apply as previous entries. It seems like the Overhaul arc will end in the next episode or two (depending on how much they milk this).

Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu

Groundhog Day but isekai. Seriously, this is a pretty big staple in terms of big isekai. Everyone’s fighting over who’s the best girl meanwhile Subaru is trying his best not to die every five minutes. Seriously, Subaru is a champ and what I’d want out of a Mary Sue isekai protagonist. Get em Subaru. Prove to me you’re not a car.

This will be me for the next few days because it’s getting colder where I am so watch me slip on the ice and die!

#dino watches anime

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spiderman-homecomeme · 5 years

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Day One - Hidden Connections

AN: You guys!!! Spideychelle week is finally here!! Ahhhh I’m so excited to see what everyone else as written and to share my stuff! Here is my contribution to day one! It’s a little short and quick, and there’s a fair amount of non-romantic stuff in it, but I just thought this idea was really funny and had to write it down! A huge thank you to @spideychelleweek for putting this together!

Prompt: Secret Relationship AU/College AU

Pls enjoy some 2.4k of humor, fluff, and a dash of angst.

“To whom it may concern,”

“Dear Sir or Madam,”

“Dear Mr. Bugle,”

“Hello,

I hope your day is going well.

My name is Peter Parker, and I happened to film the altercation between the criminal known as Rhino and the heroes Luke Cage and Spider-Man on the intersection of 42nd Street and 11th Avenue. I have some screencaps of it attached, if you are interested in the video for a blog post, let me know. I am willing to sell said footage for a discounted quick-sale price.

Sincerely,

Yours Truly,

Love,

Thanks,

Peter Parker

Releasing a puff of air through his lips, Peter hits send.

The clickable ad he’d seen while scrolling through Facebook said: SEND VIDEOS OF SPIDER-MAN. $1 PER SECOND*. It was only after he’d clicked did he notice the fine print: Spider-Man must be within the frame for the whole second, otherwise the dollar is void.

But that doesn’t matter. Peter has a full five minutes that Dronie had so graciously recorded for him of Luke Cage and him kicking Rhino’s ass.

And he really needs the money.

MJ’s birthday is four days away, a day which also coincides with his rent being due, so in other words: he’s essentially broke. While he does have money in his bank account, he only has enough for one of those things, not both, and he can’t really afford to be evicted at this point. He knows MJ won’t leave him if he doesn’t get her anything…

But she at least deserves something nice.

This video should net him roughly $300; he can take her out to a nice dinner, maybe buy her something actually decent for a change. Not another scarf.

And who knows? She might not even want to go out to a fancy restaurant, seeing as she’s turned down every offer he’s given to take her out in the six months they’ve been dating. Every date night, it’s either been take-out, a quick slice, or some kind of fast food. Not that he’s complaining about hanging out with his girlfriend; every minute spent with her was more than enough. And he’d be a liar if he said it wasn’t a little easier on the wallet.

But there was still that seed of doubt. Why did she never want to leave Queens? Why was it always such a rush to get back home? Why hadn’t she introduced him to her parents? The intrusive, relentless thought that her being embarrassed of him might have been a factor whispered darkly in the back of his mind. He knows he can be immature at times, both with his sense of humor and overall behavior, so, albeit shamefully, he could understand where she was coming from.

Maybe a nice present accompanied by a fancy dinner could help to prove that he can act like a grown-up.

Maybe.

The next morning, while happily munching on a bowl of Hulk O’s, he’s genuinely surprised to see a reply in his notification bar from none other than J. Jonah Jameson himself.

“I want to see that video. Will talk about your payment after I have it analyzed by my team.

Your appointment is today at 9am. Don't be late.

J.J. Jameson

Editor for the Daily Bugle Heralding Your Daily News │Tel [212] 555-7109│Fax [877] 555-0971

Sent from my iPhone.”

Peter only allows himself a moment to be put off by the the informality of Jameson’s response, brows crinkled as he turns to check the time.

8:30 AM.

He drops his spoon into the bowl, milk and soggy cereal splashing.

Well, shit.

He stuffs whatever clothes he can find into a backpack before roughly yanking his suit on; he flings himself out of his fifth story window, cereal bowl abandoned on the kitchen counter. Phone in hand, following along on Google Maps, he wonders how super heroes were able to find their way around big cities before GPS.

The next thirty minutes fly by in a blur, and Peter honestly doesn’t know how he’s able to put enough brain cells together to find a place to change into his civilian “interview” clothes. It’s a wonder he made it there in one piece.

The lobby doesn’t have any kind of directory, or any indication of where J. Jonah Jameson is supposed to be. In fact, Peter isn’t even sure where he’s supposed to meet the guy, unable to recall if there’d been anything like that in the email.

He gingerly approaches the front desk, ducking his head down slightly as he offers a smile to the receptionist. “Uhm, hello! I’m here to see Mr. Jameson?”

The woman gives him the the quick once over, visibly unimpressed. “You got a delivery, kid?”

“Uh, n-no.” Peter shifts awkwardly, smile fading. “He, uh, he sent me an email. To meet him at nine? Today? Right… Right now?”

“Hold on,” she says, her voice monotone, turning to the phone on the desk and dialing a four digit number with freshly manicured nails.

Peter starts to say, “Thanks,” but is cut off by the woman holding a finger up.

“Hey Ted, I’ve got a kid down here. Says he’s supposed to meet with Jameson. Do you know anything about it?”

She listens for a moment, nodding. “Okay, thanks.”

Click.

“Okay, kid, go over to that elevator. 17th floor. Someone will meet you.”

Peter smiles again, throwing a quick, but polite, “Thank you,” over his shoulder as he moves.

He’s met by who he assumes to be Ted, a slight middle-aged man with tired eyes. “Peter Parker?” He asks.

Peter nods.

“Alright, follow me.”

Peter isn’t taken directly to the office at first, only being seated in the waiting area just outside.

For thirty minutes.

9 AM, he said. Don’t be late, he said.

The door to the office is ajar, the sound of Jameson yelling at and berating some poor unfortunate soul over the phone almost as loud as the clacking of Ted’s typing on his keyboard.

“I don’t care what that weasel said, I want it done right this time! And if you had done what I’d told you to, we wouldn’t be having this conversation!” There’s a pause as Jameson presumably listens to the person on the other line begging for mercy. “Fine. Go with the lilac. It’ll clash with your comforter, you’ll see. Don’t come crying to me when you have to buy a whole new bed set.”

Another beat of just Ted’s typing passes.

“Okay. Love you, Mom. Buh-bye.” Jameson hangs up, before yelling out the door. “HOFFMAN!”

“Yes, sir?” Ted answers quickly.

“MY 9:00 IS LATE. IT’S 9:30!”

“No, sir, he’s here sir. He’s been here since 9.”

“WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME? I COULD’VE HAVE ENDED THIS CONVERSATION SOONER. MAKE A NOTE OF THAT, HOFFMAN.”

“Yes, sir. Will do, sir.”

“NEXT TIME, INTERRUPT MY PHONE CALL. STICK YOUR HEAD IN HERE. GIVE ME A SIGNAL.” He sighs. “Okay. Send him in.”

Ted looks over. “You can go on in. Good luck.”

Peter falters for a moment, wondering if he’s really willing to go through with this.

No. He is. MJ was more than worth it.

He says a quick, “Thank you,” before walking in to the lion’s den.

Jameson sits at his desk, looking up briefly, chewing on an unlit cigar. “Well, quit your dawdling, get in here.”

Peter picks up the pace.

The man glares at him for an uncomfortable few moments, sizing him up, before extending his hand. “You got the video?” He asks, skipping introductions entirely.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah.” Peter swallows, handing him the drive.

Jameson hums. “I was expecting someone… More… professional.”

It’s then that Peter realizes he’d left his apartment without even combing his hair or brushing his teeth. He hadn’t even bothered put on deodorant or to change out of his The Mighty Thorgi t-shirt. He’s wearing a pair of the day before yesterday’s and yesterday’s jeans, and to make matters worse, he’s wearing two different shoes; one grey converse and one blue.

“You homeless or something? Because there’s a soup kitchen around here.” Jameson spends the next few moments trying to plug in the USB to his computer, flipping it over and over. “Damn thing. HOFFMAN!”

Ted practically sprints in. “Yes, sir?”

Peter tries to speak. “I can do it if you—”

“—Don’t patronize me, kid,” Jameson snaps. “Hoffman. Plug this in.”

Peter watches in silence as Jameson’s expression never changes as the video plays out on his computer. Peter knows what’s on the video, he knows it by heart, in fact. He fought in it. When the video ends, Jameson leans back, his blank expression now seems thoughtful.

“I’m gonna give it to you straight kid,” He says. “It’s a good video. Now I can send this down to my lab nerds. They can calculate the exact amount of time that Spider-Man’s in a full frame. I’m guessing it’s gonna be around $120 to $150. But, that’s if we give you credit, of course. If you wanna sign the rights of this video over to us, we’re looking at, say, $350 upfront. You won’t be credited, though.”

To Peter, that actually sounds pretty good; he gets a good amount of money, more than he thought, and his name won’t be tied to his alter-ego. It’s a win-win. “Oh, yeah! That sounds great!”

Jameson’s smile is shark-like. “Great. HOFFMAN! GET ME CONTRACT A27!”

“Do you mean A63, sir?” Ted asks from the door, contract already in hand, placing it on the desk.

“Yes, yes of course. A63.” Jameson shakes his head. “Can’t get decent help around here,” he mutters.

Peter signs where Ted indicates. Jameson signs the last page and hands back the contract.

“I’ll be back with your copy,” Hoffman says as he exits the room.

Jameson then opens his drawer, retrieving a thick check book and grabbing a pen. “Parker Peterson, right?”

“No, no. Just… Peter… Parker.”

As Jameson writes the check, Peter takes the time to take in the office around him, his eyes drawn immediately to the portrait on the desk. His stomach drops as he realizes who it is.

No doubt about it.

That’s a picture of his girlfriend.

Why is there a picture of MJ… on Jameson’s desk?

“Pretty, isn’t she?”

Jameson’s voice startles Peter, and he looks over, the older man glaring right into him. “Huh?” Peter asks.

“She’s pretty, right? It’s okay. You can say she’s pretty. Beautiful even.”

Peter nods, voice soft. “Yeah. Really beautiful.” And he means it, more than anything, nervous as he is; MJ is the most beautiful person he’s ever known.

With the flick of his wrist, Jameson deliberately flips the portrait away from Peter.

In the amount of time Peter’s been in the office, Jameson has had two volumes: Loud and VERY LOUD. There seems to be a third setting, however. In a hushed, threatening tone, Jameson seethes. “Listen here, kid. I don’t need no smelly, grubby, unemployed jackass drooling all over my daughter.”

Wait, what?!

Fuck.

“I don’t know what thoughts were going through your sick little mind, but that’s my little girl, and I will be damned if she fuels your pervy little spank bank! Do I make myself clear?”

Oh, if only he knew...

Even though Peter could easily take down the older man, he still finds himself shrinking back slightly.

He nods profusely. “Yes, sir, of course sir.”

“Good.” Jameson roughly shoves the check at Peter. “Now get the hell out of my office.”

Peter doesn’t need to be told twice as he dashes through the door, nearly running past Hoffman who expertly passes him the contract copy.

“Have a nice day!” Hoffman calls as Peter disappears down the hallway.

Omw, the text read from MJ.

Luckily, Peter had already planned for arrival; the apartment’s clean, the floors vacuumed, Febreez has been sprayed. Conditions were perfect. All he needed to do now was sit and wait, mindlessly tapping his fingers against his thigh, the events from earlier replaying in his head on some kind of torturous loop.

The sound of the key turning the lock fifteen minutes later had his pulse quickening. She was here. “I brought Chinese!” She called as she set the bags down on the dining room table.

Peter cuts right to the chase, barely lasting a second. “So. I met your dad today.”

MJ nearly drops the lo mein, her eyes blown wide. “Oh my God.”

Peter shrugs.

“I am so. So. Sorry.”

He tilts his head a fraction, brows wrinkling in confusion. “Why?”

“I don’t know how he find out,” She says, almost to herself. “I tried to keep this— us— hidden from him. He chases away any guy who comes close to me; friend, colleague… One time a teacher said I was a remarkable student and he— It doesn’t matter. I’ve tried explaining this hetero-normative, misogynistic bullshit to him, but it just goes right over his head. He’s always had this… toxic paternity complex. Like, I know that he loves me, I guess, but that’s no excuse.” She folds her arms across her chest, glancing away, her eyes welling in frustration. “And I just didn’t want him to scare you away.”

Peter puts his hands on her arms. “Woahwoahwoahwoah. Hey. It’s okay.” She looks up at him. “He doesn’t know about us. I just went to the Bugle today to sell a video of Spider-Man… and I saw your picture on his desk.”

Relief washes over her, and she puts a hand on her chest. “Oh, thank God.”

“Nothing to worry about.” Peter grins, before growing confused again, expression crinkling. “I thought your last name was Jones?”

“It is.”

“Then…?”

“So’s my Mom’s,” she elaborates. “They just never got married. Or stayed together, really.”

“Ah, gotcha,” Peter nods.

A comfortable silence fills the room, the food on the table surely getting colder by the minute. But MJ finds that her curiosity is growing too strong. She has to know.

“What did he say?”

Peter snorts, face scrunching as he scratches the back of his neck. “A lot. He totally freaked out when I said you were pretty.”

“He yelled at you for saying I was pretty?”

“Well… It wasn’t really yelling. Just angry whispering. And...” Peter turns bashful. “I said you were beautiful.”

A small smile cracks MJ’s expression, and she looks back down at their now intertwined hands. “Gross.”

“I know.” He cups her cheek, thumb caressing the soft skin there as he stares deeply into her eyes. He leans in, placing a loving, lingering kiss against her lips. As he pulls away, they both sigh. “Just so you know…” He starts, voice barely above a whisper.

Her eyes gaze adoringly into his; she’s not even trying to hide how mushy she feels at this moment.

“You’re always the star of my spank bank.”

“Wait, What?”

#spideychelle #spideychelleweek2k19 #peter parker x michelle jones #petermj #fic #ahhhhhh here it is!!#hope you enjoy!

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calliecat93 · 4 years

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Top 5 Likes of Red vs Blue: Season 1

(Top 5 Dislikes)

Alrighty, the first Dislikes post is up. Which even calling those things Dislike is stretching it, to be honest. So let’s get to the Likes! Which there s honestly a lot to like in this season. Even though the Blood Gulch seasons are my least favorite and as a saga it’s just barely over Freelancer, these seasons are very endearing. I always enjoy going back over them, and I’m glad to be able to talk about a few of the reasons why. So let’s get to it~

#5. Early Installment Weirdness

You know everything I listed on that Dislikes list? That’s all due to Early Installment Weirdness. That essentially means things early on were quite strange when you compare it to a show’s current standard. It’s only natural that a show needs time to find it’s footing and not everything will work out or be done well. Especially for a webseries like this made by a bunch of video game nerds for what was originally planned for a miniseries, but the more ideas they got, the longer it went. So as I said, many of these things are very forgivable.

Plus, like I also said on that list, these things make the show endearing. The Blood Gulch Chronicles are very comedic driven compared tot he later seasons that are plot-driven. Things like the amateur voice acting, the weird stuff like the afterlife, and even the audio quality adds to the charm. It’s this weird show being made via a video game by some video game nerds. It feels like a newcomer’s indie project… which I guess it kinda is. And while machinima has been around before this, no one quite did it like how RvB did it. These things, as well as the other things I’ll get to soon, just help make it stand out.

Plus, if anything, it helps show how far we’ve come. Every dislike I listed has been improved. The voice acting is stellar, the audio is much better, the characterizations are stronger, and while there are still the occasional continuity issues many of them have gotten reasonable explanations. It’s fun to go back and see the lesser developed parts. You don’t feel annoyed with it, you have fun watching it not just because it’s funny, but because we’ve seen the evolution of the show. We can have fun with the older stuff, and that’s a great thing. It’s why I think these things should be celebrated, not mocked. I only put them on a Dislikes list out of necessity, but I love these things. I don’t want them to go back to it cause production standards are higher, but I’ll always enjoy revisiting it.

#4. Church Dies

Okay maybe phrasing it like that is kinda mean, but it is what happened so…

So I knew this was coming because Ten Little Roosters had this fact as a joke in Episode 2. But despite knowing about it, it was still a surprise to me. I mean they killed a main character? In Episode 7? And the character of the creator to boot?! Wow, that is ballsy. But the part I didn’t know about was that Church came back as a ghost. I guess I should have known since I had seen people talking about Church and he was still listed as a main character on Wikipedia when I was looking up stuff about the show. But tbf I didn’t know he died this soon or that it was only the first time.

It was certainly a thing that took me by surprise. Especially since IIRC, Burnie hadn’t planned on doing it. He just came up with it since I guess at this point they knew it was going to go for longer than intended. Honestly knowing that a lot of this season was made up on the spot explains a lot of the weirder stuff like the afterlife scene… anyways! Yeah, it was something that legit shocked me. The ghost thing confused me for the longest time, but I was just glad to have Church around soon since he has easily become my favorite (sorry Grif, it wasn’t always you…) and this one on the spot decision? It lead to some of the best parts of RvB. BOth comedically and once it was time to become more plot-driven, it made some of the best drama and lead to my favorite saga in the show with Recollection. It’s a minor thing, hence hwy it’s at 4, but it lead to so much more and I love it~

#3. The Tex Twist

Adding Tex to this season was a great move. For one it allowed a lot of great things for later, like the Freelancers and the plot after Blood Gulch. Even before all the Freelancer stuff came out, having these agents who were pretty much paid mercenaries added plenty of potential for stories and even comedy down the road. It also helped that we had someone who was actually competent among the main cast, adding an actual threat level. Not to mention she has a very blunt sense of humor that helps her stand out despite being the only female character aside from Shelia.

Heck, making Tex be Church’s ex-girlfriend was a great move. It adds something a little more personal and also helps Church’s character. He was the grumpy, snarky one among the Blues and then he died not even halfway through. But this helps give him another dimension as a character since he clearly still cares about Tex and wants to free her of the AI. Sure he’s still grumpy, being dead will do that to anyone, but he showed some competence once Tex got captured and again still cared about her. Tex’s bluntness and non-caring attitude about these things as well as owning her bitch-like personality helped her not just be ‘the girl’ either. She’s the competent one, but she isn’t just there cause she was Church’s girlfriend. She’s tough, takes no shit from anyone, but she never really gets annoyed or exasperated by the others either. Her straightforward personality is not only funny, but lets her shine as her own character and the later seasons only help.

While IDR if Tex was planned, her being Church’s girlfriend I remember Burnie saying was not. This is kind of a precursor to something I always admired about the show, taking small things and weaving them into the story. Like taking the joke that the teleporter turns armor black and the Blues using that to their advantage to trick the Reds. You almost can’t tell that this wasn’t going to be nineteen episodes cause they did so well finding ways to extend the story by using what they had. Tex is a perfect example of this. Not just because of later, but even for this season it added some more humor, added to her character when she could have easily been this standard tough guy, and also helped Church’s character. It’s probably the best decision that Burnie made for this season, and I’m glad that he did.

#2. Character Interactions

On Dislikes, I talked about how the characters were not very fleshed out. This, as well as the show being machinimated, meant that the comedy and dialogue had to be really good. Fortunately, that was by far the thing that they nailed most in this season. As I said while the characters aren’t fleshed out, they /do/ still have character. Heck Burnie basing them off the people he cast was a very good mood in this regard. People like Gus and Geoff have known each other for years, for example. So this made for a lot of natural character chemistry and a lot of really good interactions. I mean people love having Grif and Simmons together for a reason. They just play off of each other so freakin’ well..

The interactions and dialogue are really good and even funny. Sure sometimes maybe they dragged a joke out a little too much. Like when Church was starting to talk about Sidewinder and Caboose kept interrupting, you just wanted Caboose to shut up so Church could get to the point. But at the same time, Caboose’s interruptions and Church’s annoyance felt so natural and funny. Or how Grif and Simmons messed with Donut and tricked him to get headlight fluid, and everything that led to. Not only were the contrivances funny, but the characters just bounced off each other so well. They didn’t need to be deep in this season because they all balanced each other out so well, which is pretty key when it comes to comedies.

I think that this is what allowed the show to thrive. People didn’t mind the machinima or how bizarre things got because we liked seeing these characters together. We enjoyed seeing them bicker and them getting themselves into something stupid. The dialogue was funny, the jokes, while some could drag, were timed well, and it just felt so natural. Despite most of the cast recording from different parts of the country (and in Gus’ case another country), you wouldn’t know it going off the interactions. It just worked very well and is very much what helped the show endure for this long, and it’s something I don’t feel has ever faltered even at it’s lowest point. That is saying a lot I think.

#1. Memorability

“Hey?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you ever wonder why we’re here?

You already heard the voices the second you saw the screencap, let’s be real. You look at Season One, and it’s clear that it’s not exactly a cinematic masterpiece. It’s made by people who had no idea what they were doign. Everything is pretty amateur. The comedy, while good, is pretty much aimed more at middle/high schoolers and some probably would not pass today. I know if I tried to watch the show when it came out when I was nine years old, my mom probably would have banned me from it. So then… why did it succeed?

Like I said, it’s flaws and character interactions made it endearing. There’s a lot in this season that we still remember. ‘Why are we here’ is the most obvious one, but this led to so much. Church being a ghost got us Recollection. Tex got us Project Freelancer. There are so many quotable moments, like Tucker’s Voltron line or picking up chicks in a tank. Moments like the first scene, Church’s death, Tex’s arrival, Donut’s pink armor/awesome throwing arm. We always remember these things. We always end up going back to Season One in one way or another. Sure, some stuff is jarring, but we don’t care.

Season One is just fun. No one knew that it would lead to one of the longest-running webseries made, including RT themselves. I mean this allowed RT to exist period. It’s just got so many moments that we remember and still quote to this day. Even the show will call back to several moments. I mean how many ways have they incorporated ‘why are we here’ into the show now? Not only is it still funny, but it shows how far we’ve come since. We wouldn’t have the rest or RvB or anything else we enjoy from RT without this season. As such, I think that it’s memorability and just general existence is the best part about it, and is my pick for Top Like of Season One~!

Okay, one season down. Fourteen more to go. Thank you for reading everyone~! This is done, but I’m just getting started! So stay tuned for Season Two~!

#rvb #rvb reviews #top likes/dislikes

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vrainsrewatch · 5 years

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episode 19 thoughts

this is... the most screenshot heavy post i’ve made so far, lmao, so please bear with me. as i’ve said, this is one of my favorite duels, and there’s a lot that gets covered here. like, seriously, i haven’t written this post out yet but i can guarantee this will be my longest so far lmao.

the beginning of the episode starts off fairly standard, and mostly dueling:

i really do love the pacing of this duel. i was glued to the edge of my seat while watching these episodes. i remember it so clearly, too, because i’d been binge watching from episode 16 that day, and got to like, 24 by the time i stopped, lmao.

ai does a lot of cute/funny stuff this episode, to help break up some of the more dark tones of the rest of it, like this:

it really makes me miss hi in this form :( i really like his soltis form, don’t get me wrong, but i miss him on yusaku’s wrist lol. i would say when things were less angsty, but, well. lmao.

we very quickly get akira’s rad boss monster summoned out:

and seriously, i just love the animation for it. it’s so sick. the door, the fire, how it looms behind him at first.... aaaaaa. so cool.

and of course the classic:

the worst part about this line is it’s said so often (esp in arc v LOL) that i actually. have slipped up and said it in normal, day to day conversation before. my boyfriend looked at me for like a minute and gave me the deepest sigh i’ve ever heard the first time i did that pff.

also:

i couldn’t not screencap this, given what my blog is for LOL

every time something reminds me of that painful final duel, i have to screencap it and make you guys sad with me. if i have to be sad seeing all this stuff, knowing where their relationship goes and how the series ends, so do you.

also, though, i forgot how often this was brought up before the bohman duel lmao. it makes that theory look a lot more credible, so it’s cool that it had all these little hints towards it, even if it ultimately wasn’t true.

seriously, my heart. i don’t think i need to talk much about this scene to make y’all sad, but really. they went from this to i loved you. ugh, god, i’m so sad thinking about it lmao.

there is so much to talk about between akira and playmaker and even blue angel in this episode, so i guess we’ll start here.

it is hard to decide that you want to take control of your trauma and do something about it. it is not easy. to see yusaku fight for that right so thoroughly is incredible, and really, really validating.

more sadness! seriously, this is too much. this deck was created specifically for him by ai. i don’t like this anymore lmao

but even besides that, often times the protag’s decks mean a lot to them, obviously, but i love that it wasn’t built strictly by yusaku. his cards were literally made by ai, and i think that’s such a cool twist.

but then, akira’s speech:

i talked last time about akira wanting to handle things himself, and i briefly touched on him thinking he knows best...

but i really admire how calm yusaku stays at that tbh. he gets angry, reasonably so imo, but he takes this so well. i know i was a much more volatile kid then he is, so respect lol

i’ve spoken at length already about akira, but i also want to talk again about how oblivious he is. he is so blinded by his own thoughts and feelings on the situation that he doesn’t stop to think about how yusaku might be feeling -- and worse, honestly, how his sister might be feeling.

it was why he was so visibly shocked when emma mentioned a few episodes ago that aoi wasn’t just a little kid anymore. it’s so clear that he still, at the moment, sees her as the six year old girl he swore to protect, and not the sixteen year old person she’s become. he doesn’t think about how she might be feeling towards his actions, or why she does what she does.

this is highlighted as early as episode 6 iirc, when he asks her why aren’t you happy? as much as i, personally, dislike his character, i can’t deny it’s very realistic and well written.

speaking of aoi:

i love how she’s written in this episode, too. but her entrance here is great, and i love how she stands up to him about this. it’s minor, but it’s still a good step. when she’s blue angel -- or blue girl, or blue maiden -- she feels comfortable doing that. at least a little, and it obviously grows throughout the series. i hope that transfers over to the real world for her, too.

and then, we finally get the full story:

i remember flinching when he started talking about it, remembering the shots of yusaku getting electrocuted from his duel with revolver.

i really love this. i said it last episode, but vrains handles yusaku’s trauma so realistically and it’s amazing.

i remember originally staring open mouthed at my tv screen while this part played. we got a bit of it from the other episode, but the full context truly shocked me. where’s that post that says “who thought this was an acceptable backstory to give to a card game protag” bc honestly??? YEAH

it’s still hard to watch. it’s still hard to see play out, even if it’s only fiction. even though i’ve seen these clips so many times, and written about them in detail a few times too. doesn’t matter lol. watching it in context actually still made my stomach drop.

which leads me to talk about reactions to this, actually:

the two that vrains focuses heavily on are blue angel’s and kusanagi’s, and they contrast really well here imo.

blue angel’s is a normal reaction. it’s horrified, both at the thought of it happening and at the fact that someone would actually do that to another person -- a six year old child, no less.

kusanagi’s is strained. he is angry hearing about this, thinking about jin. we’ve been told, and have seen in the last few episodes, how much the lost incident impacted kusanagi and his brother, but i really love that the show tells us that here, too, and shows the difference between hearing about a tragedy and being involved in some manner.

i did not expect it at all when first watching vrains, and honestly, it still impresses me how gracefully they handled it coming off of arc v (cough, shun i love you but really cough cough). no hate on arc v at all, it’s my third favorite ygo very close behind gx, but the difference between the two on how they handle these things is staggering.

this whole section makes me thing that ryoken talked to yusaku fairly often, after the first time. which is something i don’t see brought up often? but that’s so important imo. it meant that yusaku had someone encouraging him not just once or twice, but on the regular, but also it meant that ryoken was constantly risking himself to comfort that child.

we don’t see too much of ryoken when he’s a kid, but we do see him scared and crying over the lost incident. the fact that he was able to talk calmly to this child so many times is really amazing. it also makes more sense as to why ryoken feels so guilty over calling the police -- he probably felt that maybe if he had just kept up his encouragement, the kids would’ve all gotten out okay and his father wouldn’t be in a coma.

this was so powerful. it’s obvious, and i think anyone with half a brain would understand that the LI isn’t something that a kid would recover from easily, but i love this anyways.

he wasn’t saved. and even if he was in body, it’s still something he and all the other victims will live with for the rest of their lives.

this also is something i don’t feel like people bring up enough, but does this mean that yusaku went around asking the kids at the hospital when he was rescued? it’s not hard to believe they were all put together, at least for a short amount of time, but it’s still something i feel like people overlook.

i also love this, because it’s nice foreshadowing to how revolver feels. he’s not captured, not like yusaku and the lost kids were, but he is a prisoner. and just like ryoken saved yusaku, way back then, he is determined to repay the favor.

not just because of that, either. because that voice meant so much to him. because that voiced saved him. because that voice understood him, and was there for him in his hardest moments. god i love them.

i love this shot. it’s so dramatic, how the match the drum beats with flashes of everyone’s reactions.

but it drives home his point, and while i know most of akira’s development came through emma and aoi, i’m sure this helped, too.

i’ve sung vrains praises this entire post, but i’ll do it again -- this is incredible. this is so realistic. it’s so well portrayed. and it’s really honest to god incredible that we got a protag in ygo who was shown going to therapy.

ygo has always dealt with some pretty dark subject matter, and it’s never really been shy about showing it on screen. i’m not saying that at all. arc v obviously dealt with some pretty heavy stuff, and while i haven’t seen zexal (keep shaming me please) i know it does, too. 5ds obviously has the dark signer arc, and the later arcs concerning bruno and also yusei’s father, and gx has... well, it’s entire third and fourth season.

but we see everyone healing via card games. we see those shows talk about these things, but kind of at the same time, skirt around the subject matter; or if they do go deep into it, they pull out (ie 5ds) or the characters don’t get resolved properly (ie arc v).

idk where i was going with this but i just really love that this happened, this was shown on screen, and they stuck to yusaku’s character. they didn’t just... up and make his trauma and his world view disappear at the end. he has a bittersweet ending, but it suited him and his development. a lot of people were mad about it, and i get it -- i wanted him to be happy, too.

but that’s not always the case, and it’s really important to me that vrains doesn’t pretend it is.

anyways, though, i’m almost done with this episode i promise lmao. before the episode ends, we get this:

and i think it’s honestly kind of cruel that akira says this, after everything, and still maintains his point of handling it himself. he has heard, first hand now, how horrible the incident has scarred yusaku for life. and yet, he still is stubborn in refusing to relate or at the very least empathize.

what i mean by that, since we obviously see him attempt to last episode, is he refuses to look at it from someone’s else’s perspective or in a way that might make him uncomfortable. the way my boyfriend describes these kinds of people is that they “haven’t had their bubble popped”.

everyone has a bubble when they’re born, and that bubble shields you from realizing that the world is a cruel and hard place. even if you go through hardships, sometimes your bubble stays put, and you think that is the worst of what can happen.

i’m explaining this very poorly, because i’m running on not much sleep and i’ve been typing about this episode for like, far, far too long, but essentially, he refuses to step out of his comfort zone and recognize, in playmaker’s case, that he doesn’t have a right to interfere and that playmaker’s desire to handle it himself is justified and helpful for his healing. and in aoi’s case, that just because he does a lot of good for her doesn’t automatically mean ignoring her for work and keeping her locked in their house is an okay trade off. and also that she’s not a child anymore -- she’s nearly an adult and she deserves to be treated as one.

those thoughts seem to unsettle him. you can kind of see it in how detached he is after hearing all that come from playmaker. blue angel is visibly shaken up by what he’s said. akira doesn’t even flinch, because he’s not really listening right now.

i’m glad he learns to, or at least learns how to start, later on.

anyways, i think that’s enough for this post lmao. this took forever to type up, so let’s hope i actually have time to cover up to 21 here today LOL. if you read all that, thank you for your time on my kind of dumb vrains thoughts :’)

#vrains #episode 19

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kirinda-ondo · 5 years

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Rant/tell me about Cobalt and why u love him so much??

Ok so this is probably going to get very long, and very, very cheesy, and I hope y’all are ready for this.

Cobalt is a very special character to me and is absolutely my favorite character of all time, from anything in the history of ever. It doesn’t matter what other fandom I’m hyperfixated on or what character I’m saying is my son at the moment, if you bring him up at any time, in any context I will be there.

So you’re probably wondering how I got here.

Once upon a time, it was 2009 and I was a young weeaboo, constantly absorbing everything anime or manga I could. I had just come out from the Astro Boy movie, and I immediately wanted to watch the source material. I’d already seen a bit of it on adult swim when they were running an Astro Boy marathon, but I had to go to bed at 11:30 then so I didn’t get to see much. So this time, I went to youtube and I found all the (dubbed) episodes of the 60s series. (Sadly you can’t find them all there anymore and it’s a crying shame).

I basically marathoned them, but over in the sidebar where the recommendations were, I kept seeing the thumbnail for part 2 or 3 (this was back when youtube only let you post 10 minute videos and you had to watch anime in 3 parts) of the episode “Brother Jetto.” You could plainly see him, and so it was clear this was supposed to be Astro’s brother. I thought it was neat that Astro even had a brother, as I’d only known about Uran before. I wanted to know more, but I promised myself I wouldn’t skip ahead. Though it was very tempting at times, I stuck to my guns and watched all 83 episodes up to that point.

However, it was not actually love at first sight. When I finally got to this episode 84, I wasn’t really impressed. “Wow, he’s kind of annoying, what’s the point?” I had thought like a fool, but I was still willing to accept him as part of the canon, as I figured I’d be seeing a lot more of him now that he had been introduced. After all, that’s what they did with Uran! But then…. that pretty much didn’t happen at all, which I thought was kind of weird. After all, why introduce a new sibling if he’s not going to show up again?

But then I got to the episode “A Deep, Deep Secret” about 6 episodes later, and I found myself a little relieved that he wasn’t completely canned. Upon watching that episode, I’d found that he’d started to grow on me a bit, but he still wasn’t my favorite. However, the trend of him being gone for several episodes only to show up once in a blue moon continued until I’d run out of episodes. I moved on to the 80s series next (and then the 2003 series) having learned that Cobalt had been replaced by Atlas as Astro’s brother. While I enjoyed those series (the 80s one a bit moreso than the 2003 one), I found myself kind of missing Astro’s dingus brother that had barely seemed to get a chance. After marathoning all the series (at the time), I started doing some googling and found out he had a slightly better run in the undubbed Japanese episodes (which was also how I discovered AB-O! Hi fandom!) and I’d learned a lot more about him. But the most important thing I’d learned was that I was in fact very emotionally invested in this character now and I was in deep.

Mind you at this time the undubbed Japanese episodes were nearly impossible to find without purchasing the complete DVD set and a player that could play them (on account of the fact that the set was region locked from western DVD players) so for years I sat wondering more about what those Japanese episodes were like, as the forums only had plot summaries with a handful of screencaps to go off of. Nowadays you can watch all the undubbed (and sadly unsubbed) episodes here but 13 year old me did not have the knowledge to do foreign language googling at the time.

But still, my Cobalt-loving heart wanted more, so I scoured the English speaking internet for whatever I could find, official or fanmade. Official content was virtually nonexistent, and the amount of fanmade content, I could count on one hand. The general fan consensus at the time seemed to be “Who the hell is Cobalt” or “Eh, whatever,” which was a far cry from how it is now. But being horribly deprived back then, I did the only thing I could: I combed through the dub for every episode he was in, coming up with a whopping total of…..four (well technically five but in that one he’s literally only in the last five seconds with no animation or lines), and I watched them religiously. I could pretty much quote Cobalt’s debut episode by heart. (For the record I can no longer do this to the extent I used to, but should the opportunity arise, I can still quote large chunks of it).

As I did this and learned more about him in my desperate googling, I started developing jokes for what would become my first silly comics, for which I am known in this fandom for. The art and writing for these was….. painful, to say the least, so I don’t even like to think about it, but as I’d already had a decently sized following from drawing silly (read: bad) Sonic comics, they caught on decently well, and I’d even managed to drag my friend and son down with me into Cobalt Hell™. Together, we made a group for Cobalt fans on deviantart (which is still up, but I no longer run it, as I deactivated the account that modded it without transferring ownership, so now it’s likely a wild west hellscape that I’m a little scared to look at).

This seemed to help do the trick though, as Cobalt fans were slowly coming out of the woodwork and appreciating this good boy. On and off I’d spread my yelling about Cobalt (and my silly drawings) to different platforms like the Astro Boy forums and tumblr, and even as I got into different things, after awhile, things kinda grew without me. Now I’m not gonna be out here claiming I built this city myself with my own two hands, as a lot of people got dragged into this hell of their own accord, but I do like to think my, umm….passion at least helped generate some interest, and I can’t help but be proud of how far this fandom has come from “Who the hell is Cobalt” to “Look at this good boy, I love him” and literally all the other Cobalt fans I’ve met have been the coolest people (in general, not just because of their good taste).

I think what really changed my life though was when AprilSeven, a mod on the Astro Boy forum and also probably the original Cobalt fan, as she’d seen the 60s version back when it was originally airing, finally got a hold of the undubbed Japanese episodes, and graciously allowed me and a few of the other big-name Cobalt fans get in on that action, and boy howdy, the screenshots and plot summaries really did not do these episodes justice (at least in terms of Cobalt content). My understanding of him as a character expanded like tenfold, and my appreciation of him expanded even more than that.

…Which brings me into a nice segue in which I shift more into just exactly why I like Cobalt so much. Yes, there’s more. I warned y'all, this was gonna be a Pandora’s Box that could not be closed once it was opened.

I honestly just find him a joy to watch. A lot of what made him grow on me was just how funny he is. I’m a sucker for comic relief characters in general, and he has a personality that lends itself to comedy. In the anime version, he’s literally introduced right out the gate as being kind of a dingus. He’s naive, he’s way too trusting of obviously suspicious people, he’s easily confused, he’s easily distracted, he’s a klutz, and he just… regularly destroys the laws of physics and/or the fourth wall just because. Sometimes he also gets weird ideas in his head to do things that could have been done a completely different, easier way and weirdly enough, it actually kind of winds up working? It’s so fun to watch him approach problems because he’s just… so far out there sometimes.

But beyond being absolutely weird and hilarious, he’s just a really sweet kid. He doesn’t like to fight, he wants to make friends with everyone and everything, he will drop literally anything he’s doing, no matter how important it is, to help someone in need, he’s good with babies and small children and puppies (sometimes), he would fight (and sacrifice himself) for his family, and just means well even if he tends to bungle things up and make them worse sometimes. Honestly, and this is gonna sound dumb, but he helped me be a better person. I used to be an absolute asshole when I was younger, but once I’d gotten into Cobalt Hell™, I was like “I wanna be that sweet and good (but with a better sense of stranger danger)” and I made that effort and did that shit.

That being said though, he’s not perfect, and I wouldn’t want him to be. His flaws, though they kind of give him the short end of the stick in life, are a lot of why I find him so endearing. All the naivety and confusion and general lack of coordination I mentioned before aside, he’s honestly just really relatable. He’ll say jokes so bad that Uran wants to punch him, he’ll opt out of the plot because he doesn’t want to get out of bed, he’ll fight with his siblings over silly petty things, he’ll get frustrated if he tries something and it doesn’t go his way, he’ll absolutely partake in his siblings’ mischief (if not start it sometimes), and just so much more. He just feels like a kid you would know (or maybe a kid that you were at one point) and I really appreciate that about him.

Unfortunately, the canon was not kind to Cobalt, and I think a lot of that comes from Osamu Tezuka just… not knowing what to do with him after making him? Like in the manga, he was just kind of created as a really rushed contingency plan because they thought Astro was missing. Sure, he was taken in as part of the family afterward, but not many appearances later, he was killed off in a firey explosion… Until Tezuka decided to change his mind and let him live in the end. His grave’s still there though. He gets to see it. I know it’s a framing device to explain the circumstances of Cobalt’s retconned death but it’s kind of fucked up to let a boy see his own grave..

Even being brought back, Cobalt didn’t get to do very much. He’d get some good scenes with Uran, but a lot of the time, he was sort of just relegated to filling up space in the background, provided he actually survived til the end of the chapter. When he wasn’t getting forgotten by the plot and thusly zapped out of existence, he would wind up sacrificing himself in some way that wouldn’t allow him to continue to take part in the plot anymore (be it parts, energy, etc.) The most painfully egregious example of this is in the chapter “Youth Gas.” Astro and Cobalt are convinced to fight each other to the “death.” They’re not really dead, but Ochanomizu says they are and can’t be repaired. At first, there’s mourning for “two of the world’s greatest robots,” but then we see a funeral service in which only Astro’s body is shown and his parents are only mourning him, completely forgetting Cobalt exists. He’s never seen again for the rest of the chapter. Now I would assume this is just a writing mistake, but it really does make it look like Cobalt’s own parents wouldn’t even bat an eye if he died, so there’s that.

The anime isn’t quite as horrible, and it is kind enough to give Cobalt a more prominent role once he finally shows up (even getting a handful of focus episodes!), but he doesn’t go unscathed either. In this version, he has the misfortune of being created by Dr. Umataro “Father of the Year” Tenma before Astro was made and was scrapped because, to quote dub!Ochan, “his electronic brain wasn’t as perfect as Dr. [Tenma] wanted.” (read: he thought Cobalt was a dumbass). Cobalt is eventually found and brought into the family, but because he still winds up not being relevant to the plot a lot of the time, he is once again zapped out of the existence and looks like a victim of child neglect. As a result, he gets left out of family vacations and holidays, even in favor of Chi-tan, who is usually even higher on the scale of irrelevant Astro Boy characters. Unlike Astro, Cobalt doesn’t have any consistent friends to even remotely justify what he could possibly be doing offscreen by himself, so it just kind of implies a very sad and lonely existence in-universe.

And of course, the final, meta blow that literally every fan of Cobalt is still despairing about to this day: basically being yeeted out of the canon. After the 60s series, he disappeared off the face of the earth until 2015 when some lovely soul decided to bring him back for Peeping Life TV: Season 1?? (The question marks are part of the title). He’d be referenced again a couple years later in Atom: The Beginning, and will be here for the game Eshigami no Kizuna sometime in 2019 as a… moe anime girl. That’s a little weird, but I’m hoping these sorts of weird appearances will mean a trend toward putting him back in the canon (and hopefully being treated better).

It just hurts my heart to see such a good character get treated like this by canon. He deserves way better and it just seems really clear to me that Tezuka didn’t really know what to do with him. I feel like he has a lot of potential as a character, though. Regardless of what origin you pick for him, Cobalt is essentially existing as a worse version of Astro. I feel like you could have some good character development regarding how he would feel about himself in relation to Astro in sort of a parallel to how Astro might feel about himself in relation to Tobio, the person he was based off of. You could go some neat places with these sort of questions about identity and expectations, I think. Or if you want to just do something funny because your character arcs are getting too real now, you can just let Cobalt do some silly shit. He’s a versatile character!

I’ve done all this rambling and now I’m not really sure how to wrap all this up, so umm

Cobalt is a good boy and deserves better, please hire me Tezuka Productions, and thank you for coming to my TED Talk

#cobalt collection #kateh rambles #i feel like there's probably more i could have rambled about believe it or not but this is already so long.......

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duhragonball · 5 years

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Dragon Ball 054

Bulma and Krillin are just about to leave without Goku when he finally shows up at the last second. They open the hatch and let him in.

Goku finally takes that mouse out of his mouth and assures it that they’re safe, but Bulma reminds him that they won’t be safe until they make it out of the undersea cave they’re in. She’s only guessing that the area they’re in leads to an exit. If she’s wrong, or if the pathway collapses before they can reach it, they’re doomed.

As it turns out, there was a whole other thing Bulma needed to be worrying about instead: the sub runs out of fuel and now they’re literally stuck dead in the water.

So Goku uses the Kamehameha Wave to get them moving again. This screencap doesn’t really illustrate that very well, but it’s the best I could do. The whole thing is kind of questionable. Sure, Goku could probably generate enough force to push a submarine forward and out of the cave, but how is he pushing back against it, instead of just shooting ahead like he normally does? His attack instantly destroys the canopy of the sub, so all they can do is hold their breath and pray. What would it feel like to be pushed through the water that fast with no protection at all? Also, they shot to the surface very quickly. Wouldn’t that give them the bends? Oh well, it’s just a cartoon.

Meanwhile, General Blue rises from the briny deep. We have no idea how he made it out of the cave, but it shouldn’t matter, right? His entire unit is beaten or dead, and he has no supplies or vehicles. Even if his superiors at Red Ribbon Headquarters knew where to find him, they would just abandon him as a failure anyway. He’s done for... or so you would think...

The kids make their way to an island, which just happens to be the one where Blue’s base is located. Goku checks out his Dragon Ball, and he’s bummed out to find that it’s not the Four-Star Ball that he was looking for. It’d be funny if he threw it back, but I’m pretty sure he’s hanging on to them so he won’t get confused. The Dragon Radar can’t tell the balls apart, so the only way to find a specific one is to keep gathering them until your number comes up.

It is kind of interesting, though. The Red Ribbon Army never would have found this Dragon Ball on their own. Blue was searching the ocean floor, but the RR Dragon Radar wasn’t precise enough for him to realize that it had fallen beneath the ocean floor into that cave. Even if his people did manage to find a way into the cave, it would have required an even more thorough and exhaustive search to find it. I sort of wonder what would have happened if Goku hadn’t gone after this one.

Krillin wishes he could have scored some of that sweet rainbow treasure, and then Bulma reveals that she managed to grab a giant diamond on their way out. This has been improbably stuffed in her underwear the whole time. So it’s not like the entire trip has been a waste.

Even so, she’s had enough of this crap. Goku reminds her that she was the one who insisted on coming along, and she reminds him that he never mentioned the Red Ribbon Army was mixed up in all of this. She’s calling it a day and heading back for West City as soon as she can.

First, though, they try scavenging for food an drink in the abandoned buildings near the shore. Did they just not see the Red Ribbon Army logos on the walls? Stuff like this is how you can tell filler scenes from the original manga. Yeah, Toriyama isn’t perfect, but when he’s the one telling the story, he usually points out details like that.

Not that they have much to worry about, since the only guy still here tries to hide in the shelves. He overheard the kids talking about how they defeated Blue, and realizes that he wouldn’t stand much of a chance on his own. But right before they enter the room, he was on an open channel with HQ, so Goku ends up talking to Commander Red, though neither of them know who’s on the line.

Goku apparently still doesn’t understand how long-distance communication works, so he wrecks the station while looking for the source of the voice.

Back at HQ, Red just wants to know what’s going on. Presumably, he’s been tracking the Dragon Ball as Goku moved it from the cave to Blue’s base. But since no one is responding to his calls, he has to assume the entire Blue Unit has been wiped out.

The kids grab a Red Ribbon aircraft and head back to Roshi’s place. Bulma gives Krillin the diamond to pay Roshi back for his mini-sub, which was lost when the cave collapsed. She’s rich anyway, so she doesn’t need any treasure. Bulma’s kind of weird that way. She only joined this caper for the sake of adventure, but now she’s bailing out because things got too dangerous. There’s no reward in this for her, save the mere excitement, but she’s had her fill. Anyway, Krillin snifs the diamond, because it was next to Bulma’s genitals.

Back on the island, Roshi’s chillaxing to some tunes... No, wait, he’s listening to some sort of erotic audiobook. Seriously, I have no idea what this is. It’s a lady talking to the listener, saying stuff like “I’m walking on the beach. Oh no, I fell into the water, and now my bathing suit is wet. Well, I’ll just have to take it off.” Actually, I kind of dig how stupid that is. I like the idea of a sexy voice narrating really stupid things. “Oh no, I was cleaning the house, and the vacuum machine accidentally sucked up all my clothes!”

The kids bring Roshi the diamond, and he tries to calculate how long it would take him to spend that much money on strip clubs. I should point out that Roshi never returns that shrinking device Bulma gave him, nor is it ever mentioned again. My point is that I don’t really see Roshi paying for strip clubs. He’s the sort of dirtbag who’d try to find some way to get as much out of a strip club for as little money as possible, because he enjoys the public shaming aspect of it. Like, he’d hide in the strip club restroom and try to watch the dancers use the toilet. Master Roshi belongs in jail.

Speaking of crime, Launch sees Roshi getting a diamond and decides to steal it. I thought she was starting to warm up to the old man, but it turns out Launch has been playing a long con this whole time, just waiting for the day when Roshi would get something valuable enough to be worth stealing. She grabs the Red Ribbon air vehicle and vamooses.

So here’s a question. Launch has been living here for a while. Why doesn’t Roshi take all of her guns when she’s in her Blue mode? It wouldn’t completely solve the problem of Blonde Launch, but at least things would be a little safer. I think the answer is that Blue Launch wants to have a few guns on hand when she sneezes, just in case. So even if Roshi did try to sweep his house for weapons, Blue Launch would make sure he never found them all.

As Launch leaves, General Blue drops in. And I mean literally. This mofo swam all the way back to his base, killed the last soldier under his command, and followed Goku back to Roshi’s island with only a rope and a few other supplies. Dude didn’t even bother to change into a fresh uniform.

This right here is what I find impressive about General Blue. He’s gotta be the strongest guy on the Red Ribbon payroll, but more important than that is his sheer tenacity. Every time he seems to be beaten, he just keeps coming back, and he seems to get more dangerous with every setback he’s dealt.

I mean, look at this guy. He started the arc with an entire unit of troops at his disposal. Submarines, warships, whatever else he had. Roshi made short work of most of that, and the rest were wiped out when the undersea cave collapsed. Goku kicked his ass, and right now he has nothing to show for it. His only chance to save himself is to take back the Dragon Balls, so he’s decided to beard the lion in his den. He lost to Goku and Roshi when he had an entire army backing him up, and now he’s going to confront them again all by himself. He’s finished right? So you would think...

#dragon ball #2019dbliveblog #goku #general blue #krillin #bulma #master roshi #commander red #staff officer black #boy a ton of stuff happened in this episode #this was a good one #general blue saga

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slingspeacea · 6 years

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☆ // SUBJECT: THE EARP HOMESTEAD. LOCATION: PURGATORY, COLORADO

a collection of research exploring the idea, that if not for wynonna earp’s low budget and physical filming location, purgatory and its key landmarks should have been based in the united states, around the colorado river specifically. !important: earp roleplayers are more than welcome to also adopt this divergence if they agree with it, and may 100% feel free to REBLOG this post. please remember when interacting with my character, in all verses, that they are from purgatory, colorado, and not from canada. if after reading this, you feel bothered, please let me know and we can absolutely follow writers’ show canon in our threads!!

☆ // WARNING!!

this divergence is strongly opinionated. the writers of the show have confirmed the plot setting for the television series wynonna earp, is in fact located in alberta, canada. i am 100% aware that alberta is absolute show canon. however, as a roleplayer, creative writer, and western fanatic, i can neither ignore, nor let wyatt earp and doc holliday’s history get completely washed away for the sake of filming convenience. make no mistake. i love the show, the storyline, and i love the characters immensely; but because of both the comic book series, and nonfictional history, their story’s location does not make any sense to me or add up at all.

☆ // PART I. WYATT’S JOURNEY.

first, let’s begin with wyatt earp’s original routes and a few historical events. i’ve taken the time, and mapped wyatt and doc holliday’s trail out below in order. they were obviously riding on horseback and taking ferries or trains, so they wouldn’t have been using main roads or highways ( although busy trails later became paved highways and roads throughout america ). at only one point does wyatt travel through canada and it is during his two, long journeys to alaska. as you can see below, he really goes nowhere near alberta or calgary on his way to his next stop, seattle, washington.

it would make way more sense for purgatory to be located somewhere in the united states, in one of the towns wyatt earp lived or stayed in for a prolonged period of time. not to mention the old west is well... united states history, and all notable events regarding the old west happened in the states. the original 1993 wynonna earp comics even pay homage to places like tombstone ( and can i mention when the t.v series says they’re loosely based on the comics, they are hardly anything like them? like barely even remotely? ). it mentions white trash and trailer parks, hill billys, pabst blue ribbon, you name every southern stereotype, and they cover it. no surprise, it is based in america.

“ two u.s. marshals and a sheriff lie dead in san diablo, new mexico. when marshal wynonna earp hits the trail to bring the killers to justice, she uncovers connections to a devastating new drug...and a pack of redneck vampires! modern firepower and frontier justice --that's wynonna. “ wynonna earp, comic issue #1, summary.

but that’s totally besides the point, and another post probably worth making entirely. let’s get back to the real wyatt earp and docs holliday’s actual history. below are some maps, and i’ve linked bigger versions so they’re easier for y’all to see.

larger map images for reference: a, b, c.

exhibit one: map a. ↳ this displays his route from dodge city in 1875, up until his last ride to los angeles where he would also die in 1923. this map is all prior to docs death specifically, which is extremely important. why? because doc had obvious connections to both constance clootie and bulshar. this has become even even more so evident in season 3. wyatt earp did not travel through canada until after docs actual death. this alone raises a red flag as someone who thinks placing purgatory in canada was an easy cop-out by show writers, and as someone who often ponders plot holes in the show’s storyline.

another point i have to to stress, is that a majority of wyatt earp’s time with doc holliday throughout life was spent in the southwestern united states. their stomping grounds are where a majority of the route lines cross on the map, and they traveled between each of those cities, owning saloons, gambling, hunting outlaws, etc.. countless times. i’ll have more to add about this later under section iii, which heavily regards the revenants.

exhibit two: map b. ↳ map b is probably the most important of all three. it depicts what his ride would have looked like from wrangell, ak to nome, and then from wrangell, ak to seattle, wa. google maps actually wouldn’t let me map the whole thing through from idaho and washington to alaska, because fun fact, you have to fly and take ferries to get around from the usa to those alaskan towns. phew, can you imagine wyatt’s adventure to alaska on horseback and water?? his wife actually tried to stop him from making the journey because she was pregnant at the time, but of course, he saw an opportunity for wealth and didn’t listen.

alberta is a far stretch out of the way. he would have had to go over or around the canadian rockies, and since he was traveling to and from alaska from either washington state and/or idaho with a clear destination in mind, it would make no logical sense whatsoever. the red triangle, accurately labeled show’s location wtf?? is where the show’s canon ghost river triangle is located. i know what you’re probably thinking, they never say it straight up in the series, but writer’s confirmation aside, upon researching there is one particular episode which gave us show purgatory’s exact location right away. here is a picture of waverly in s01e03, with a map of purgatory. . . and here is another .... and now here is an actual, real map which indisputably matches waverly’s layout. note: those are not my screencaps, you can find the original post i got them from here !!

exhibit three: map c. ↳ vildal, california is where he built his home in 1911. the earps bought a small cottage in vidal, the only home they ever owned. beginning in 1911 and until Wyatt's health began to fail in 1928, Wyatt and sadie earp summered in Los Angeles and spent the rest of the year in the desert working their claims. The "happy days" mine was located in the whipple mountains a few miles north of vidal. wyatt had some modest success with the happy days gold mine, and they lived on the slim proceeds of income from that and oil wells. ( source: wikipedia. )

so, my question is likely the biggest plot hole in the whole freaking television series. how the heck did wyatt’s family homestead end up all the way near calgary, alberta, canada?? the show writers ignore this entirely and uses an insane amount of liberties. wyatt never had any children to begin with, but if one wants to paint the picture of family, love, loyalty, and closeness as they do on the show, i would think that the earps would have remained somewhere closer to wyatt’s grave. at the very least in the same country.

the other major thing to take into consideration, is that by the time map b and map c were traveled, real doc holliday was also dead and no longer amongst the living. i bet your thinking, ❝ okay so maybe vidal, california would have been an alright place for the show to take place, since that was wyatt’s actual only home. ❞ and i totally agree, but the more i thought about making this wynonna’s hometown and ground zero for the homestead, the harder i could picture the gang there. problem is, the landscape is nothing but desert. it’s hot and arrid. in vidal there are there are no prairie winds, or great plains, or chinook rocky mountain sunsets. on the show we see mountains, rivers, forests, and more importantly, large amounts of snow.

this leads the divergence trail back to none other than the myth, the man, and the legend, doc holliday. let’s dive a little more into his relationship with wyatt in the next section.

☆ // PART II. DOC AND WYATT.

how wyatt and doc met in history & the show. ↳ earp had run two cowboys out of wichita earlier in 1878. during the summer, the two cowboys—accompanied by another two dozen men—rode into dodge and shot up the town while galloping down front street. they entered the long branch saloon, vandalized the room, and harassed the customers. hearing the commotion, earp burst through the front door, and before he could react, a large number of cowboys were pointing their guns at him.

in another version, there were only three to five cowboys. in both stories, holliday was playing cards in the back of the room and upon seeing the commotion, drew his weapon and put his pistol at morrison's head, forcing him and his men to disarm, rescuing earp from a bad situation. no account of any such confrontation was reported by any of the dodge city newspapers at the time. whatever actually happened, earp credited holliday with saving his life that day, and the two men became friends.

how wyatt and doc actually parted ways in history. ↳ according to a letter written by former new mexico territory governor miguel otero, wyatt and holliday were eating at fat charlie's the retreat restaurant in albuquerque, "when holliday said something about earp becoming 'a damn jew-boy.' earp became angry and left…." holliday and dan tipton arrived in pueblo, colorado in late april 1882. ( source: wikipedia. )

doc’s death in real history. ↳ in 1887, prematurely gray and badly ailing, holliday made his way to the hotel glenwood, near the hot springs of glenwood springs, colorado. he hoped to take advantage of the reputed curative power of the waters, but the sulfurous fumes from the spring may have done his lungs more harm than good. as he lay dying, holliday is reported to have asked the nurse attending him for a shot of whiskey. when she told him no, he looked at his bootless feet, amused. the nurses said that his last words were, "this is funny.” holliday died at 10am on november 8, 1887. he was 36.

wyatt visited sick doc before he died. ↳ wyatt heard of doc’s death shortly after he had died. he was close by in aspen, colorado at the time, and it’s thought that he may have visited doc before his death. josephine earp told a story about sitting beside doc’s deathbed, but it’s thought that she may have confused this with another occasion ( because of old age ). she additionally gave an account of doc and wyatt’s last meeting in the lobby of a denver hotel. both men were quite upset and josie said that wyatt cried afterwards. there’s also a story that doc’s gun was also sent to wyatt although again not a lot of evidence to prove whether or not it’s true.

wynonna earp flashbacks. ↳ in s01e03, wyatt visited his bedside, where doc is very ill and lying down in a tent. it’s implied doc was resting, wyatt packed up his things for him, and dispite his sickness, earp keeps urging him to ride with him to purgatory. doc rejects knowing he can’t and says goodbye. this is likely right before he seeks out constance clootie for immortality, in whatever town they were in. there is no viable way his transformation could have happened in purgatory, because the church in wynonna’s vision quest later on was somewhere on the outskirts of town.

on the series, doc holliday had already come across constance clootie, and gained his immortality before the best friends had their argument and wyatt disowned him for becoming something of the devil’s work. wyatt also finally admits to his family being cursed. doc was also as equally heartbroken about wyatt’s opinion of his choice, and throughout the series, we see how deeply he considers and takes an earp’s opinion to heart. despite being set in modern years, and appended romantic aspects aside, his relationship with wynonna mirrors that of his and wyatts.

consider that wyatt already killed constance clootie’s sons, and bulshar clootie is the man he was fixed on punishing for cursing him. it’s entirely plausible doc followed closely behind wyatt’s tail after being shunned, and that wherever wyatt was going was only a few days ride from doc’s staying place. the witch clootie admitted she turned doc ageless to hurt wyatt and succeeded, but we also know that where blushar goes, clootie is looking for vengeance. it’s conceivable to theorize certain suspicions such as, but not limited to; doc wanting take back his immortality due to wyatt’s rejection, and in turn while meeting clootie, got tossed with the final seal into the well.

the “earp well” lol. ↳ we know doc winds up in a well , but it’s location seems to appear elsewhere from it’s original place on the earp property in season one’s pilot episode, to somewhere in a random forest, in s02ep08. the earp property is said by wynonna to be only 10 acres ( 0.125 sq miles ). for a farm where you have to drive to get from point a to point b, this is not very large or inaccurate. all shots of the property are also mainly rolling farmland with no large forest vegetation resembling that of the well’s site. i’m going to chalk this discrepancy up to this scene having been in the pilot, having a low budget and limited choices for pilot filming location.

doc’s well was never on the actual earp property like some probably assume at first glance, but instead, somewhere else entirely. just go on ahead and re-watch. after retrieving peacemaker and talking to dolls, wynonna drives up to the purgatory town line, truck facing towards the town. it makes for a clear ( or not so clear ) clue hinting the well’s whereabouts. in s2ep08, juan carlo takes wynonna outside of purgatory to the outskirts for her vision quest. the well is clearly located in that area and tied heavily to the flashback in the church. from a teen wynonna was a drifter. she could have stashed the gun in an abandoned well anywhere, somewhere safe, and no where too close to the homestead. but here is another thought, doc and wynonna’s fates were entwined, so who knows? maybe she felt specifically drawn to that area and frequented there to clear her head when she was younger. merely a concept.

finally, bobos imprisonment in the well further proves it’s located elsewhere, since revenants can't step foot on earp land without being burned. this gives us some room to play for setting up wynonna earp’s story in colorado.

tying history and flashbacks together. ↳ this is where it gets complicated, where it’s hard to put things into words, and where my divergence really starts, because the show canon entirely ignores actual history when it comes to the true separation and deaths of both of these men. we have no clue as to the location in either of these flashbacks on the show, but we do see wyatt is wearing a jacket and scarf. it’s apparently cold outside so there’s at least that to work with. the state of colorado has cold winters, which also works in this divergence’s favor.

if the real doc holliday died in glenn springs, colorado, and the real wyatt earp was in aspen, colorado around the time of his death, we could place purgatory somewhere in that area. doc faked his death on the series, between the time he decided he would became immortal, and the time he was thrown in the well shortly after. sewing these realities together puts purgatory in colorado. doc’s death would make the location default. in regards to the comic taking place in the deserts of the united states, this divergence will also have that covered later on.

the canadian show takes an extreme with creative freedoms and gives no resolution whatsoever as to how wyatt earp somehow settled down in alberta, candada ( did they even do their fact checking?? ) or how every family member has lived there ever since. the actual wyatt earp had no children, and his home was and will always historically be in vidal, california.

so, let’s make this more believable. what if in another universe that isn’t real history, but makes a hell of a lot more sense when unified with the show’s, wyatt earp made a home in colorado after bulshar was buried? not only close to where is thought to be his best friends grave, but where he can keep an eye on, and protect, bulshar’s remains until he dies? bobo moved him, but where were they prior? on the show wyatt is also said to have been partially involved in entombing bulshar’s body. therefore, this explanation would make 100% total sense as to why wyatt and his wife never made it to vidal, california. his life’s journey would have been stopped dead in its tracks, so he could keep the demon who cursed his family from the widows, and make sure bulshar never returned. one could claim, in a historically based, fictional western series, that wyatt earp built a ranch because of this, and settled down with his wife in a town called purgatory, colorado.

☆ // PART III. WYATT’S CURSE, THE REVS, & THE GHOST RIVER TRIANGLE.

wyatt earp’s curse. ↳ the earp curse makes all people that wyatt earp had killed in his lifetime resurrect over and over again. those revenants can only be killed by the peacemaker which only the current heir can use. wait a minute. wynonna voice: say whaaaat?? wyatt never killed multiple people in canada. at any point in history. how would the 77 people he killed even get to canada if revenants can’t leave the ghost river triangle in the first place?? can you say, major woops? this is personally my favorite fudge up.

the ghost river triangle. ↳ the ghost river triangle is an area of cursed land, partially framed by the splitting of the ghost river into two, that imprisons the resurrected outlaws killed by wyatt earp. should a revenant cross the boundary line, they experience hell on earth. to quote waverly, in leavin' on your mind: '...everything from the mountains to where the north and south ghost rivers meet, forms the ghost river triangle. it cuts through the big city, contains thousands of square miles of forest, foothills, prairie, the badlands. and all of it...cursed.'

forest, foothills, prairie, and badlands? yeah, if we want to place divergent purgatory somewhere in the united states to make the show a little more historically accurate, the ghost river triangle definitely parallels to none other than the colorado river. the colorado river runs through colorado, utah, arizona, nevada, california, and all the way down to mexico. at least three of those states were in fact, wyatt’s stomping grounds before and after his historically recorded vendetta ride.

not to go with some total, mythical, movie cliche here, but in an alternative wynonna world set in the united states, the ghost river triangle could have also been named by the native americans who inhabited the land along the colorado river. factually, many parts of the colorado river are actually suspected to be haunted. let’s not get too carried away, though. alberta canada is in fact home of a real place called the ghost river valley, and there’s totally no disputing that.

wyatt’s vendetta ride ↳ in history the vendetta ride was a deadly search, where wyatt lead a federal posse for outlaw cowboys they believed had ambushed, and maimed virgil earp and killed morgan earp. the earp brothers had been attacked in retaliation for the deaths of three cowboys in the gunfight at the o.k. corral on october 26, 1881. from march 20 to april 15, 1882, the federal posse searched southeast cochise county, arizona territory for suspects in both virgil's and morgan's attacks. several suspects had been freed by the court, owing in some cases to legal technicalities and in others to the strength of alibis provided by cowboy confederates. up to this point, wyatt had relied on the legal system to bring the cowboys to justice. now he felt he had to take matters into his own hands.

i could be wrong, but i have a feeling the chase for bulshar is loosely based on this part of wyatt earp’s history. the parallel of his two own brothers dying, and two of clootie’s sons dying, is a little thought provoking, no? coincidental even? an eye for an eye, perhaps? there is a lot of wyatt’s history left to be uncovered and explored, and that’s if the show writers even decide to reveal anything else at all. on the show, wyatt got innocent people killed, there was one hell of a lot of collateral damage surrounding him.

i feel 100% comfortable standing firmly by the headcanon that after wyatt was cursed and his brothers were killed, that he went on a tear after bulshar and destroyed anyone who got in his way. this is important, because these events could be tied to his life in tombstone, arizona, and the events which took place in and after the shootout at the OK corral. if he was cursed in tombstone, then there is no way around it, one of the ghost river triangle’s points would have to begin there.

the revmap, i mean . . . revamp. ↳ below is a map which bases a divergent ghost river triangle heavily off of history. it takes into consideration doc holliday and wyatt earp’s routes, where doc’s last known whereabouts were, where wyatt would have killed the most men, and finally, his vendetta ride. in total the divergent river triangle’s perimeter is about 2,500 miles and takes 36 hours nonstop to drive. in contrast, the show’s ghost river triangle is 617 miles and takes about only an easy 12 hours to drive from point to point. purgatory is west of denver, and the homestead is about where the house icon is. ( larger image version is here. )

yeah okay, so the size may be of some issue, but vastness aside, there are three things this triangle does have, that the other doesn’t. firstly, historical accuracy. it includes nearly all of the areas where a number of wyatt’s targets made their peace. if we tie back to wyatt’s vendetta ride and the whole paralleling idea for a moment, many of the revenants who rode with bulshar would've died in various areas of colorado and the purgatory area. secondly, the terrain might aid with narrowing revenant whereabouts down. deserts and mountains surround a majority of these iconic towns. and lastly another argument can be made that because some revenants do want to end the earp line, few might've simply migrated to colorado and placed themselves somewhere closer within wynonna’s line of fire.

i could continue ridiculously blabbering on and on about why i chose this location divergence for my character. everything from climate, to terrain, and how there are salt flats in utah nearby, or my really strong distaste for how the show writers erased wyatt earp and doc holliday’s real history, but in honesty i think everything i’ve covered above nicely sums up my research and premise. anywhooo, that’s all for now folks, hope you enjoyed the read!

#- ̗̀ ♤ // — V: MAIN. » ̖́-#- ̗̀ ♤ // — V: CANON. » ̖́-#- ̗̀ ♤ // — DIVERGENCES. » ̖́-#- ̗̀ ♤ // — HEADCANONS. » ̖́-#phEW IT'S FINALLY FINISHED #if you have questions #don't be shy !!

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crystalkleure · 6 years

Note

For the character opinion-thing: Flee?

Free

VAMPIRE VAMPIRE VAMPIRE I love Free so much, holy shit. Free is absolutely one of my favourite characters.

For one, it was obvious exactly what was wrong with Free as soon as we saw him. He was bored. He’s the world champion. There were maybe two or three other people on the entire planet that could occasionally put up a decent fight against him. And he only saw those few people very rarely, anyway. So 99.9% of the time, there was simply no challenge for him in beyblading. Interestingly though, he constantly claims “Winning is fun. I always win, so I always have fun.” And yet, he says it so flatly, no enthusiasm behind it. Even he himself doesn’t believe it anymore. Because that is not fun. It is dull.

But the issues this was causing for him extend beyond just boredom, too. Being so high above everyone else around him skill-wise actually presented several other problems as well.

First, it created a sense of hopelessness in the rest of BC. They saw how far Free was ahead of them and felt like the distance was just insurmountable, and they could never catch up. Free constantly just…being better than everyone else, no matter how hard they tried, was demoralizing. Ultimately, they STOPPED really wholeheartedly trying to improve themselves because they felt like it was pointless, and Free basically ended up carrying the entire rest of his team through every tournament by himself.

…Which caused Free to realize they all relied on him far too much. He pulled the entire team alone. Though he also knew it was kind of his own fault it got that way, for the reason above. His overwhelming presence is what broke everyone’s spirits and turned them into the apathetic dead weight that he had to drag around. So he left. He didn’t want to leave Chris and the rest of BC – BC is his home, where he grew up – but he did it because he felt like it would be better for the club. He didn’t even particularly WANT to go with Alexander specifically, because he could tell that man was dirty somehow, but he was itching to get out of BC so badly that he just walked through the first open door he found. Alexander was a way out, so Free just opted to aggressively ignore his obvious ulterior motives.

Though, in spite of Free’s obvious resentment towards his World Champion status for the negative effects it causes to both himself and the people around him…the way he reacts when he finally does actually lose says something very interesting.

So, he lost to Lui, in one battle out of a slew of like 8415023620 they had just had in rapid succession. Free lost ONCE. And outwardly, he only looked shocked for just a second, and then it looked like he got over it. He was right back to his usual indifferent self a little while later. But, uh…yeah, he wasn’t over it. He was still thinking about it. It was still bothering him. It bothered him enough that he actually started training for once. And as I’ve said here [X], Free’s just so naturally freakishly strong that he doesn’t need to train hard to kick ass. And he knew that, that’s why he wasn’t bothering with doing it before. And yet now, one loss was enough to make him freak out and “train” [ridiculously improperly] hard enough to hurt himself. He lost just once and went absolutely fucking nuts [just in a quietly self-destructive sort of way, instead of a screaming, thrashing temper tantrum sort of way. Free didn’t want anyone to know he was upset or to worry about him].

I think maybe Free wonders if he has any real value to most people outside of just his strength. Like “I’m the guy everyone counts on to win. That’s it. Just win. So if I can’t always reliably do that…what else am I good for? Would anyone really still care about me if I wasn’t the strongest beyblader in the world anymore?”, which is an idea he would have formed due to the way he had to basically solo every tournament for BC for so long. And that sort of idea could have been what triggered that meltdown when he lost.

Free is so smart, but at the same time he can be so stupid. I think he overthinks things until they start eating away at him, and he starts breaking down. He beats himself up and isn’t exactly the best at communicating.

And unrelated to any of that, Free can also be a petty bitch when you piss him off, so that’s fun. Joshua shoved him around/embarrassed him on live TV and then lost the team tournament due to incredibly reckless behaviour [made the whole team, including Free, look bad], and THEN didn’t ever even apologize to Free for it. At all. And so Free basically spent the rest of the season silently tapping his foot at Joshua, glaring at him like he was just waiting for an apology or something. It was so passive-aggressive. He was SO MAD…and I mean, righteously so, but the way he went about it was just fucking hilarious. I can’t believe Josh never took the hint. Free was making it so very, VERY obvious that he was still very, very angry.

And after all of that unpleasant shit I just laid out, it wouldn’t be fair to just gloss over one of the most obvious things about Free: he’s [usually] so soft and sweet. Like, he’s terrifyingly strong and obviously inhuman, but he is so quiet and gentle? Just look at the way he interacts with the BC kids, for one. Like, that scene near the very end of the season with the little blue-haired girl [Honey? Is that her name? Wiki says so.], when she was so upset that he was hurt. The way he held her hand and told her he would be okay was So Good**.

And also, back when he came back to BC but Shasa was mad at him for leaving, he calmed her down and even gave her some beyblading advice. Completely defused the tension there.

This post is already too long, I can’t give drawn-out examples of every cute scene, but Free is just…friendly? It is actually HARD to get Free super pissed off about anything. Joshua just has some really exceptionally incredible Fuckup Skills.

**Speaking of this scene though, I think it and also Chris demanding that he forfeit the fight earlier because he was injured are the things that let Free know people do actually care about him, and not just what he can do for them. It was So Good.

Also Free doesn’t give a shit about personal space and that’s always funny. Fall asleep on kid sitting next to you on bus? Sure. Suddenly be like two inches away from someone’s face with no warning? Why not, wait why are you screaming. Casually pick up shiny new beyblade [that does not belong to you] and practically drool over it while its offended owner is standing right there? What’s wrong with that. God, I love Free.

10000/10. Free is the best petty, self-destructive, nosy, sweetheart vampire who is occasionally covered in nasty bulging veins. Even a disgusting veiny Free is still a good Free […even though the only reason he’s veiny like that in the first place is because something is very wrong…]. If anyone needs any more convincing at this point that Free is essentially perfect, take this screencap I’ve just had lying around and Understand:

#Beyblade Burst #Beyblade Burst God #Free De La Hoya #Everything here is so drawling and disjointed! Why do I always finish writing these things out when I'm 99% asleep!#CK replies #CK dissects #Also how can you not love Free's NAME. ''Free De La Hoya''. It's pretty.#Literally everything about Free is good

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pashpops · 3 years

Photo

LVLMAX

Debuted in 2007 as fresh-faced youngsters and back in action after completing their military service, LVLMAX are either a legendary senior group or washed up tryhards who can't accept their glory days are over, depending who you ask. But despite all odds, they've stayed together through enlistment, scandals, botched cosmetic surgery and 3 flop releases in a row. (Those odds might be pushed in their favour by a deliriously obsessive domestic and international fanbase and just enough nostalgia appeal/name recognition for the general public that they continue to sell out stadiums despite not charting in 4 years.)

Members: Duyeon/Big D (leader), San, Justin (fake maknae), Min, Jintaek, Daero (maknae), Sangwoo

Fandom name: Hundreds

Stage Name: Duyeon/Big D Birth Name: Kim Duyeon Position: Leader, Vocalist, Composer, Lyricist, Rapper Birthday: 1987 Zodiac: Leo Height: 179cm Weight: kg Blood Type: O Favourite Colour: Black Favourite Food: Good coffee Least Favourite Food: Bad coffee Hobbies: Writing music, DJing, making mixtapes

Facts: - LVLMAX’s musical genius, writes a lot of their music. - Very serious and passionate about his work as he is aware that everyone views him as “just an idol”. He tends to be very pushy about the “Real Artiste” thing, even when writing stupid pop songs about getting drunk and partying. - Self-proclaimed “hopeless romantic”, his groupmates prefer “idiot who falls in love at first sight”. - Ideal type at debut: someone tall and slender, with a nice smile. Ideal type now: someone with a beautiful voice.

BEHIND THE SCENES DATA: - Serial monogamist, very clingy and emotionally fragile. Has nearly gotten married about 4 times, but luckily none have happened or even made news, mostly due to San and Justin begging him not to reveal his relationships until they reach the 2 year mark. - Doesn’t have many sasaengs and didn’t even in their boom era because he would just stand outside and complain about his hardships and lecture those who would crowd around their dorm until they got bored and left on their own.

Stage Name: San Birth Name: Lee Minsoo Position: Rapper, Vocal Birthday: 1988 Zodiac: Cancer Height: 183cm Weight: 89kg Blood Type: O Favourite Colour: Light blue Favourite Food: Fatty beef Least Favourite Food: Protein shake Hobbies: Working out, video games, watching scifi movies

Facts: - Looks wild and hypermasculine on stage, but he’s actually quite mild-mannered. - Got picked on a lot in middle school for being into nerdy things, so he started working out, and was on the cover of a men’s magazine within a month of debut. - Still into nerdy things and has a reputation of being either the most entertaining member on variety or the absolutely most boring, with no in between. - Nicknamed “Mama-San” because he’s always fussing and worrying over his members and famously started crying on TV when talking about when Daero was called for his military service. His manly looks combined with his delicate tears became a huge meme, to the point where people who don’t even know who he is use the screencaps and gifs from that show as reaction images. - Ideal type at debut: someone smart and talkative. Ideal type now: someone strong-willed and who shares his interests.

BEHIND THE SCENES DATA: - Worries about Daero the most because he’s seen him get in lots of relatively minor trouble and doesn’t want him to get involved in serious shit just because he’s too naive to say no. His famous tears were more because he wouldn’t be able to look after him in the military than just the fact he had to go.

Stage Name: Justin Birth Name: Justin Park Position: Vocals, Dancer, Fake Maknae Birthday: 1989 Zodiac: Capricorn Height: 172cm Weight: kg Blood Type: O Favourite Colour: Pink Favourite Food: Candy Least Favourite Food: Pickles Hobbies: Girl group dances, making up new aegyo, teasing Minwei

Facts: - Born in Houston, Texas, but moved to Korea 13 years ago. - Was the industry’s #1 It Boy during LVLMAX’s debut and boom era, and has not changed his personality or style since then. - Infamous for his crossdressing, girl group dances, and extreme aegyo. - Well known as the industry’s “rumour factory”. Especially loves dating rumours about himself. - On every single variety show you can think of and a few more plus. - Used to have long platinum blonde hair during their debut and boom era, but had to cut it as it was literally melting off. His fans were distraught at the time, but they’re gradually coming around to the fact that he looks better with shorter hair anyway. - His predebut photos have become kind of a punchline because of how different he looks in them, having had his jaw shaved, his nose and eyes done multiple times, and his chin and cheeks changing shape every few years. He’s mostly settled into this face, but he posts with such heavy filters on social media that people can’t really tell if he’s going to change it or has already changed it. - Ideal type at debut: a pretty noona with lots of aegyo. Ideal type: the same

BEHIND THE SCENES DATA: - Desperately, desperately wants his boom era popularity back, but can’t comprehend why doing the same old cringe shit he did back in the day isn’t working. - Knows he’s a shipping magnet and that he got a large part of his popularity from people who ship him with Daero, but Daero has proven popular by himself, and he doesn’t like that Daero calls him “hyung” despite them only being a few months apart because it makes him sound old. - Convinced that Subi of DTSY saying he was her ideal type but then taking it back just means that she’s a tsundere playing hard-to-get, and he will NOT stop bringing it up. - Very, very vain. - Best friends with Minwei, but also a little jealous of his late boom of popularity.

Stage Name: Min Birth Name: Li Minwei Position: Main Vocal Birthday: 1989 Zodiac: Pisces Height: 180cm Weight: kg Blood Type: A Favourite Colour: Forest green Favourite Food: Anything super spicy and aromatic Least Favourite Food: Anything dairy Hobbies: Writing music, playing video games, teasing Justin

Facts: - Originally from Chengdu, but he’s lived in Seoul since debut and people can hardly tell he has an accent any more. - Got a lot of panda-related things during their debut and boom period and got into a fairly big scandal for donating all of it to a local preschool. His words were “I never even said I liked pandas. You assumed it because I’m Chinese, isn’t that wrong? It’s not that I don’t appreciate gifts from fans, but please think about the feelings of others.”. To this day he still has a contingent of antis because of how “ungrateful” and “overly sensitive” he was, but he’s stopped getting panda gifts, so he considers it worthwhile. - Even though he has a shy and quiet image, he gets quite rowdy and mouthy on variety, and has started to overtake Justin on variety show appearances because of how funny and outrageous his “no bullshit, just facts” behind-the-scenes stories are. - Ideal type at debut: someone gentle and understanding. Ideal type now: the same, but also someone who’s smart with money.

BEHIND THE SCENES DATA: - Was so upset by the panda gift scandal that he considered leaving the group, but the other members, especially Sangwoo and Jintaek, convinced him to stay. To this day it’s still the only time the group has ever fractured, and he’s very glad he decided to stay because his popularity has only grown since. - Feels a little sorry for Justin because they’re best friends but he doesn’t know how to tell him to change his act up without making him angry or having him assume he’s trying to sabotage him.

Stage Name: Jintaek Birth Name: Han Jintaek Position: Vocalist, Visual Birthday: 1987 Zodiac: Taurus Height: 190cm Weight: 70kg Blood Type: O Favourite Colour: Silver Favourite Food: Grilled chicken Least Favourite Food: Pungent foods Hobbies: Modelling, photography, cooking

Facts: - Better known as an actor to the public than an idol, and better known for being incredibly tall and having super long legs than as an actor. - Although he has a cool and chic image, he’s actually very warm and kind and is known to convert even the most staunch hater into a fan just with one short conversation. - Advocate for mental health, has admitted to suffering from depression and anxiety and wants to change the way people speak about mental health to destigmatise what he believes shouldn’t be a thing people are scared about talking about. - Ideal type at debut: none. Ideal type now: someone trustworthy and proud.

BEHIND THE SCENES DATA: - More than just depression and anxiety, he was suicidal as a teenager and once tried to kill himself rather than go to school the next day. Luckily, he was saved by his older brother who had just happened to sneak into his room to borrow something from him. To this day he still thinks about how much his brother cried while apologising for not understanding how he felt, and made a vow that he would try his best to be more open about his feelings and to replace those memories in his brother’s mind with happy ones instead. - Whenever he has dark thoughts, he cooks. He’s especially good at plating food, as he feels the perfect presentation can make even the most average dish seem spectacular. - Known to stick to Daero a lot, which makes a lot of people ship them. The truth is that Daero just has a high body temperature while Jintaek is always cold, and Daero is more than happy to cuddle for warmth.

Stage Name: Daero Birth Name: Yun Daero Position: Main Rapper, Main Dancer, Maknae Birthday: 1990 Zodiac: Pisces Height: 180cm Weight: kg Blood Type: O Favourite Colour: Red Favourite Food: Hamburgers Least Favourite Food: Tripe, anything with too much fat Hobbies: Working out, drawing, fashion and hair styling

Facts: - Has 20 piercings! - Has a rough and tough image on stage, but he’s actually very soft and gentle and a bit of a coward. - Despite all his piercings, he’s too scared to get a tattoo. - Even though he and Justin are about the same age, he still calls Justin “hyung”, to Justin’s dismay. - Very cuddly, loves skinship and hugs. His favourite thing is when people ruffle his hair and tell him that he did a good job, which they did a lot more back when he was the cute maknae, and not so much now after he’s returned from the army and gotten his nose bridge piercing, to his dismay. - Ideal type at debut: noona. Ideal type now: someone patient and kind.

BEHIND THE SCENES DATA: - Of his 20 piercings, 2 of them are through his nipples, and 1 is a frenum piercing (that is, just under the glans of his penis). He is heavily considering more genital piercings, but it’s hard to find the time off to let them heal. - Not very bright, and is easily convinced by others. This makes him a great target on variety, even though sometimes he’s still too dumb to realise that he’s the butt of the joke. - Gets into the stupidest scandals possible, like driving a forklift unlicensed.

Stage Name: Sangwoo Birth Name: Kim Sangwoo Position: Main Vocal Birthday: 1987 Zodiac: Virgo Height: 178cm Weight: kg Blood Type: B Favourite Colour: Light blue Favourite Food: Samgyeopsal Least Favourite Food: Limes Hobbies: Reading, hiking, singing

Facts: - LVLMAX’s ballad and OST king. - Like Daero, famous for his “gap” between his on and off stage personas. He has a dark and brooding persona on stage, but he has a fresh and simple aesthetic in his everyday life. - He’s very serious at all times and is often the unwilling “straight man” on variety. - Suffered a lot of trauma during LVLMAX’s boom era because of sasaengs who broke into their dorms and stole his personal belongings and antis who constantly sent him threatening messages and one who almost killed him by cutting the brakes of his car. - Ideal type at debut: Someone who looks cool on the outside but is innocent and kind on the inside. Ideal type now: Someone who has their own career and family so isn’t worried about being together all the time.

BEHIND THE SCENES DATA: - Because of his traumatic experiences with sasaengs and antis, he’s become very suspicious of everyone he meets and is paranoid whenever he’s in public. Because of this behaviour, he’s also become known as someone who’s very cold to fans.

#group: LVLMAX #c: Duyeon #c: San #c: Justin #c: Min #c: Jintaek #c: Daero #c: Sangwoo #profile

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lostsummerdayz · 4 years

Text

Lost Summer Sunbeams #1 Player Spotlight: Deezee Kujaku

by: Nay Holland

Hello! It has been a while since I last covered FGC content, so what better way to follow up with last year’s Winter Brawl 3D coverage than another one!

This year’s Winter Brawl 3D concluded as yet another success. Ever since the event started to follow the formula of placing emphasis on 3D fighters such as Soul Calibur 6, Tekken 7, and Dead or Alive 6, the competition across the board has been nothing short of explosive.

If anyone wants a definition of explosion, look no further than the Top 16 into Top 8 matches for Tekken 7. Some of the largest upsets and runs were established late into Sunday evening and everyone played out of their minds.

However, despite the “3D” in the title and its emphasis, Winter Brawl supports a wide range of titles under their name. It wouldn’t be a Big E event without it’s diversity after all.

2020 is looking to be the year of yet another anime fighter renaissance. With the release of Granblue Fantasy Versus, the release of Season 3 for Dragonball FighterZ, and the release of the latest update to Under Night In-Birth all within the same month, February proved to be a month of new beginnings.

What better way to usher in such a new beginning with the victory of not just a good friend, but a fellow team mate of mine as well?

I’d like to take the time to introduce a new series I’m working on with Lost Summer Dayz named Sunbeams. This segment is meant to highlight either up and coming players, underdogs of the FGC, or those who are just a delight to the community.

The FGC is a vast ocean of talent waiting for the sun to beam down upon them, so I want to cover players who I feel are key players of interest in my eyes into the public’s eye.The past weekend’s rays certainly shone bright for this lad.

On Saturday’s Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late cl-r tournament, the connoisseur of bad bitches himself, Deezee Kujaku, managed to win first place without dropping a single set.

Arguably the “baddest bitch” in the series, Hilda was the character of choice as he swept through winners in a climatic mirror match finish against an earlier opponent.

The following day I wanted to ask him a few questions as I spent the majority of the prior day congratulating him for his huge accomplishment. With the blaring atmosphere of the Soul Calibur 6 finals in the background, Deezee gladly offered a few of his words in not just his victory, but who he is as a player as well.

So, as a Lost Summer’s first of many to come, I present to you Kick Punch Block’s very own, Deezee Kujaku in this exclusive player’s spotlight!

Nay: I just wanted to say, once again, congrats on your big win yesterday. I see you rocking the medal you won yesterday! First I wanted to start by asking how long have you been playing fighting games? Starting from the origins down to the moment you started heading out to events.

DZ: I’ve been playing fighters since I was a kid, like, 1996. I didn’t really start competing until 2008. Went to a small local event and got washed, but it made me want to grow and start getting better at these.

DZ: I’ve played all kinds of fighting games and over time a few clicked while a few didn’t. Still, I’d like to try them all to see what appeals to me the most.

Nay: Which game do you think clicks with you the most? It’s safe to assume that Under Night is one of those games. Knowing you a bit more, I understand that King of Fighters and SNK games are a huge staple as well.

DZ: Right now, King of Fighters and Under Night really click with me the most out of everything I’ve played. However, I do have a fondness for other games like the Tekken and Marvel series. Most of my skill lies in the former two games though.

Nay: What do you feel those two games [King of Fighters; Under Night In-Birth] have that click with you more than other games you may have an interest in? What sets them apart from the rest?

DZ: It’s the colorful cast of characters honestly. A lot of players pick their characters based off of their archetypes like “I play grapplers or I play zoners,” etc. I just play a character I like. If she happens to be a grappler I’ll play that or if she happens to be a zoner I’ll play that. In King of Fighters and Under Night in particular, there are a lot of characters I enjoy, even those whom I don’t play. DZ: I’m a huge fan of many characters even if it isn’t Hilda. Honestly to get me to play a fighting game or any game, if the cast of characters are unique or interesting, it’ll make me gravitate towards it.

Nay: It’s funny you mention [grapplers and zoners] because Hilda is a zoner and Shermie is a grappler, so they couldn’t be any different from each other naturally.

DZ: Well, see the thing about that is Shermie’s a hybrid. Mainly if you consider Orochi Shermie as more of a zoner. I do use some of her tricks in Under NIght and vice versa. Sometimes I think “Hmm, I wonder if Shermie can do something similar to what I can do with Hilda,” as a way to make people more defensive. There is a little correlation, but at the end of the day there’s no real relation to the characters. I’d like to say I’m adaptable. If I love the character enough, then I’m willing to play and learn their style regardless.

Nay: Do you think that the opposite is true? Your experience playing Shermie and O. Shermie translating well into Hilda thus allowing you to play at a high level?

DZ: It helps a lot with my spacing. Shermie has unorthodox normals in her game and the same goes for Hilda in her game. So I have to see how each normal works from which distance. There’s other characters who I play such as Athena, Chris, and Blue Mary that I also use as a base for experience. I also like to watch other high level players play [Hilda] so I can understand what it is they are doing that I can use in my style and gameplay.

Nay: You also mentioned that your Winter Brawl victory in UNICLR is your first major win?

DZ: First major and tournament win in general actually. I’ve come close in several other tournaments. I’d get a 7th place here a 5th place there. I’d even get a 2nd place victory, but I never got first. I’m really excited for my win even though it was a small bracket. The few players that were there were really good players so it felt great to come out on top and win against my demons.

Nay: Bouncing on that and being your first tournament win, what would you say to those who have been playing just as long, even longer, or the newcomers who feel like they are also struggling to reach the grand prize? Those who may feel discouraged?

DZ: Don’t give up. Don’t give up. I understand it’s intimidating to newcomers and it’s frustrating to those who have been playing and you don’t feel like you’re good compared to others. Only one person can win, after all. However, the way I see it we all went 0-2 at some point. Eventually you’ll get to 1-2, then you’ll break even, then you’ll go 3-2, and suddenly you’re in top 8.

DZ: Don’t think because you didn’t make it out of pools or you did less than what you anticipated, you didn’t play well. Combo Breaker for example got 200 people. If you make it to 49th, even if you didn’t make it out of pools, you’re still in the top twenty-five percent. So take each loss in stride.

Nay: Are there any closing comments you’d like to say to anyone reading this right now to bounce off from what you’ve said?

DZ: Travel. Travel a lot. I know everyone is pushing the “support your locals” agenda which I agree with, but there’s a wider range of competition outside of city limits. You go to your locals to get comfortable in playing a specific game a specific way within the bracket. Once you feel comfortable enough, travel out to Combo Breaker or Big E events. If you’re West Coast then NCR/SCR or whatever major tournaments there are within your region.

DZ: Most players have a major within their region of the country so even if you don’t want to travel too far, there’s still always something close by at least several times a month. Just go out there and see how you do. You’re never going to progress if you don’t try and give it a shot. The worst thing you can do is lose and even then you try again.

Due to the nature of these tournaments in specialized events, the bracket was small. However, it was by no means a deterrent to his win as Deezee had earned every win and every victory leading up to the first place medal. After I’ve finished recording, I chimed in my own thoughts of “small tournaments vs large tournaments,” and in most cases the smaller brackets are the most dangerous.

The smaller bracket ensures that you’ll come across a concentrated group of people, all of whom may be really amazing at the game. The larger the tournament, the larger the density for various skill levels across the board. No matter how big or small, a W is a W! One should always feel proud of their accomplishments!

As this year is just beginning for Deezee, we of the Lost Summer Dayz thank him for his time in humbling our questions and we cheer him on as he surely places in more tournaments throughout the year! Congrats once again Deezee!

To view the tournament in its entirety, in which screencap credits are also credited to, check out this video by the KombatNetwork below!

Follow Deezee on Twitter

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Photography credit for Header goes to Photography by Dstyles

#winter brawl 3d #fgc #video game #esports

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nerdylittleshit · 7 years

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Welcome to Earth 2 – Alternative realities in Supernatural and their narrative purpose

(All screencaps by screencaped.net)

CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR SEASON 12 !!!

First of all I love alternative realities. It’s a trope almost every genre show uses at least once; some for just one episode, while it becomes a main plot line in others. It usually plays out a “What if”-scenario, by creating a different reality in changing a major plot element from the past (for example: What would have happen if character x never died?). It discusses the question how much certain events have influenced the character’s lives, but also how much they remain the same. The reason I love this trope is that if you do it right those episodes serve as excellent character studies.

The reasons for alternative realities are very different. Sometimes it is just a dream or a hallucination, especially if this trope is only used for one episode. Other times alternative realties can be created through time travel; by changing the past you can create a new timeline, different from the timeline you are coming from (a concept that has been used on The Flash). And then of course there is the theory that multiple universes already exist; fiction then plays with the idea of creating portals to visit other universes (see Fringe or DC’s multiverse).

While we have seen several alternative realties over the years on Supernatural, I would argue that none of those realties were real, but rather specifically created for the Winchesters. It wasn’t until 12x23 that it was confirmed that there are in fact parallel universes, something that I hope we will see more in season 13. Until then though let’s have a look back at the alternative realities we have seen so far.

2x20 What Is and What Should Never Be

You think these suckers can really grant wishes?

One of my all time favourite episodes of this show. A study in Dean. And of course super painful (what else did we expect?). A djinn attacks Dean and transports him into a reality where his greatest wish comes true: that his mother never died. What is interesting to me is that we don’t see the actual reality of what would have happened if Mary never died but instead what Dean thinks would have happened. Not even a djinn would have had the power to know how this reality would have actually looked like. By letting Dean create this reality though the djinn improves the chances of Dean staying in there. Because of course Dean would create a reality he thinks is realistic. Instead of waking up in a perfect world though we see a reality full with little flaws, that tell us a lot about Dean.

In a world where Mary never died Sam and Dean grew up normal; they never became hunters. Sam went to Stanford and proposed to Jess (just like the real Sam had intended to do), Dean became a mechanic the way his dad used to be and had a beautiful girlfriend with a respectable job (Carmen was a nurse). But his dad is still dead (even though he died less painful) and as it turns out he and Sam don’t get along. In fact Dean was kind of a jerk. People constantly ask him if he had been drinking again, implying that he has an alcohol problem in this world. Sam doesn’t even seem to be surprised when he thinks Dean is stealing from their mother. There is an excellent meta about how all of Dean’s failures (his drinking, stealing etc) are results of his hunting life, but the fact that he still has these flaws in this supposedly perfect universe tells us that he thinks this is who he is, not what his life as a hunter made him into. The more you look at this episode the more depressing it gets.

In hindsight to season 12 it is also interesting to take a closer look at Dean’s parents and the hunting life. Even though his mother never died in this reality John remains dead. Though there is no date on his gravestone we can assume he died around the same time as the real John did. The absence of John in Dean’s perfect world could be interpreted in several ways. It is possible that Dean wasn’t ready yet to face his father; unlike his mother’s death the loss of his father was still new. We could also argue that a perfect world for Dean is indeed a world without his father. Despite the fact that Dean loved his father he also acknowledged that his father wasn’t perfect. The show pretty much confirmed the child neglect, and there is enough subtext to at least discuss the possibility of child abuse. We also know that Dean knows that the marriage of his parents wasn’t perfect (see 5x16), so it’s possible he didn’t wanted to see them fighting.

The resurrection of Mary in season 12 is the biggest confirmation that the djinn-reality was in fact created by Dean, because his version of his mother has almost nothing in common with the real Mary we saw last season. Dean was only 4 years old when his mother died; he clung to the little memories he had of her and created a very idolized version of her in his mind (that the real Mary could never live up to). I think it was @elizabethrobertajones who pointed out that the Mary we see here has little to none personality. She is reduced to be a perfect mother, nothing more (does she have a job? Friends? Any kind of life outside her family?). She is worried about her son and in true Winchester fashion she comforts him with food; she makes him a sandwich. And for all the pie meta out there we should write a bit about sandwiches as well. Because guess what, in both 5x16 and 12x22 (where we encounter memories of Dean and Mary) Mary makes Dean a sandwich. Pie isn’t even mentioned in 2x20. (In all fairness though I think pie didn’t became a theme before 2x21).

The other aspect of 2x20 is the hunting life, or rather it’s absence. I have written plenty about Dean vs the apple pie life. Season 12 picked up this theme again, with Dean telling Mary in 12x01 that he made his peace with their lives as hunters and later we see Mary’s wish for her sons to have a normal life as the reason why she choose to work with the BMoL. In 2x20 Mary never died but monsters are still real. And in the end this is the reason Dean returns to his reality; he can’t live in a world he never saved. Even though the event that caused him to become a hunter was prevented Dean still remains a hunter. All of his flaws, caused by his life as a hunter, remain in this new reality. Opposed to this, the only good thing about his life as a hunter, his close bond with his brother, doesn’t exist anymore. None of this is enough though to make him return to the real world; Dean can live in a world where he sees himself as a failure (he still does in the real world), where he is no longer close to Sam, as long as his family is happy. What he can’t live with are the lives he never saved in this world.

This episode tells us a lot about Dean, how little he thinks of himself, how he cares more about the happiness of his family than himself. How he is willing to give up his perfect world for the life of strangers. How in the end he proves to be what he would never think of himself: a hero.

3x11 Mystery Spot

Okay, look. Yesterday was Tuesday, right? But today is Tuesday too.

It’s funny until… it isn’t anymore. This time an archangel fabricates an alternative reality in order to teach Sam a lesson. He lets Dean die over and over again, making Sam reliving the same day again and again, without giving Sam the chance to prevent Dean from dying. It is almost like an earlier version of 5x04, with both Lucifer and Gabriel trying to teach the same lesson: no matter how you change events the result will always be the same. You can’t outrun your destiny. Destiny vs free will becomes one of the major themes in season 4 and 5, but this episode serves almost like a foretelling of it. Even more so when Sam finally reveals Gabriel and he in turn lets Dean die again, but this time without resetting the day. Sam all of sudden his to live with his brother’s death and turns to the dark side. It’s a prediction of what we will see in season 4, though it leaves out Ruby of the equation.

The alternative realities (each Tuesday is a different reality) are created through time travel, something we see again in 6x17. Though I would argue that Gabriel didn’t create a parallel universe every time he travelled back in time (even archangels don’t seem to have this power), but just changed the present every time. Gabriel tries to teach Sam that he can’t prevent his brother’s death and that he has to learn to let go. Given Sam’s revenge quest I don’t think he learned his lesson. Gabriel still sends him back in time, with Dean alive, which was maybe something he had plan to do all along, because it wasn’t Dean’s time to die yet. We don’t even know if any of it was real or if all of it just happened in Sam’s head. And while Sam arguably didn’t learn his lesson Gabriel did; he knows now what the death of his brother will do with Sam. It is possible Gabriel knew about heaven’s plan for Sam (saying yes to Lucifer) and this was his way to find out how likely it would be that Sam would indeed say “yes”.

In the end it is not clear if Sam only remembers all of the Tuesdays but also the six months after Dean’s death in the alternative reality. Either way when Dean dies his reaction to it is very similar to what we see here.

4x17 It’s a Terrible Life

You don't wanna go fighting ghosts without any health insurance.

Or another time an angel creates a new reality. This time though it’s Zachariah (he does the same thing in 5x04). Again we see the Winchesters living a pretty normal life, though the lesson that Zachariah tries to teach is the exact opposite: that Sam & Dean are meant to be hunters and that any other life wouldn’t make them happy. Instead of giving them a life similar to what we saw in 2x20, which is probably still the closet to what a normal life would have looked like for Sam & Dean, Zachariah twists established facts. Dean becomes the opposite of who he is: instead of blue collar working guy he is the director of Sales & Marketing, he drives a Prius instead of the Impala, listens to NPR instead of classic rock, eats salad instead of burgers and is seemingly interested in feminine things just as watching project runaway or doing the master cleanse. He went to Stanford and his parents are Bobby and Ellen and his sister is Jo. Funnily enough a lot of those things are facts we associate with Sam. It is Sam who went to Stanford, who prefers salad over burgers and tries to live a healthy life. Sam on the other hand is “just” an IT-guy and the only other thing we learn about him is that he had a financee named Madison. Furthermore in this reality it is Sam who wants to leave his normal life behind, who feels like he doesn’t fit in, whereas Dean is the one who is reluctant about leaving his old life behind. And in the end it all comes down to Dean, because he is the one Zachariah talks to.

At this point of his life Dean struggles with being a hunter and with the task he has been given (to stop the apocalypse). Zachariah creates a reality/identity that is the exact opposite of what Dean is/what he has. And he does so to show him that the life Dean has, that as a hunter, is what he really wants and who he is destined to be. I think Zachariah gave Dean several of Sam’s characteristics because for once the show has always portrayed Sam and Dean as opposites (though the reality of course is a bit more complex than this). The other thing is that Dean perhaps is a bit jealous of Sam. Sam had a way out, had a normal life, even if it was only for a short time. So Dean, who see himself as a grunt, gets the higher education here, the better job, his adopted family becomes his real family (and his actual brother a stranger) and he is allowed to admit to like things our Dean would never (performing Dean anyone?). But it takes nothing more than a simply ghost hunt for the facade to break. Sam might be the first to suggest to leave their lives behind but in the end Dean comes along as well: he realizes that his current life doesn’t make him happy, that there are more important things to do. It is the lesson that Zachariah had tried to teach him all along: that he was born to be a hunter, no matter what. Even in a reality where he grew up normal, where he had access to education, had a great job and felt no longer the need to pretend to be anyone else he still ended up hunting. Zachariah tries to tell Dean that not the circumstances of his life made him a hunter but that it is in his blood. It is something we saw in 2x20 as well: no matter the circumstances Dean remained a hunter. But in 2x20 Dean’s memories of a life as hunter were still intact. And even though Zachariah tells Dean that he altered his memories (so technically this isn’t an alternative reality, but an alternative Sam & Dean) I think Dean still subconscious remembered his old life. Because he needed to in order to learn his lesson.

Zachariah’s lesson is that Dean needs to accept his destiny and that his destiny is to be a hunter, no matter the circumstances. It is the opposite of free will. Sam and Dean still had their old memories (Sam’s visions) and Zachariah carefully manipulated them in a way that they would get to the same conclusion as he did: that they are meant to be hunters. Ironically it is a lesson Dean has already learned: in 2x20 he remained a hunter even in his perfect life, and later in season 6 while he gets the apple pie life he can’t stop being a hunter and ends up back on the road. It is something Dean already believes about himself: that the only thing he will ever be good at is hunting and that he has no chance to live a normal life. By season 12 though he has accepted his life as a hunter, he values it and furthermore since 12x22 we know that Dean acknowledges that what happened to him wasn’t fair, that he never really had a choice, and that the circumstances made him who he is and no destiny.

5x04 The End

Whatever you do, you will always end up here. Whatever choices you make, whatever details you alter, we will always end up—here. I win. So, I win.

I always feel like this episode deserves a special place because it is the one alternative reality that inspired the most meta, fan art and fan fiction. My personal relationship with this episode is kinda complicated. From an objective point of view I appreciate that it is clearly one of the best episodes of the whole show, beginning with Ben Edlund’s writing and ending with the terrific acting from everyone involved. Personally though I hate to see these dark fucked up versions of the characters; it breaks my heart every single time to see them like that. But then again that was the point. And seeing how it is again Zachariah who was responsible for this, this is the reason why he is one of my favourite villains of the show.

The interesting thing about this episode is that when it aired nobody could tell if what we saw was time travel or an alternative reality. By the time the episode was written nobody could know the show would air long enough that we would actually get to see 2014. And up until then there was still some discussion if this reality might still come true. Even now there are some people who argue that Zachariah did indeed show Dean the future – one of many possible futures (the one where Sam said yes to Lucifer).

I personally always saw this episode as an alternative reality Zachariah created to get Dean to say “yes” to Michael. While angels have the power to travel back in time I don’t think they can travel in the future as well. The future is too fluid and could change every minute (and therefore Jack showing Cas the future in 12x19 should be another indicator for not trusting him). And in fiction showing someone their future never ends well (#self-fulfilling prophecy).

So let’s take a look at this episode as an alternative reality created by Zachariah for Dean. Zachariah wants to show Dean what happens when he doesn’t accept his destiny, doesn’t say “yes” to Michael, and Sam on the opposite does. Interesting enough it doesn’t end up with “all your friends are dead”-scenario. The only character that dies is Bobby (though I think he also represents hunters in general, because none of those we know seem to be alive anymore). No, Zachariah shows Dean that there are fates much worse than death. First of all the world as we know doesn’t exist anymore. The croatoan virus has killed many people and the few left try to survive somehow, gathered together in small camps. Cas has fallen, becoming almost human, whereas the angels don’t care anymore. He tries to numb himself with drugs and sex. He is broken and though it isn’t explicated stated the subtext makes Dean responsible for Cas’s state. If Cas is broken though, then future!Dean is something even darker. He kills infected people without mercy and is willing to sacrifice his friends and people who look up to him to have a shot at killing Lucifer. And then there is Sam, who has long ago given up and said “yes” to Lucifer. Sam exist no more, just his body who is worn by the devil. It is the final piece that breaks our Dean from the present. In the end Dean learned his lesson, but not the one Zachariah tried to teach him. He doesn’t say “yes” to Michael, but instead realized that the only way to stop the apocalypse is in working together. He tells Cas to never change, appreciates him for who he is after he saw how broken future!Cas was. He turns to Sam, forgives him, in order to prevent his little brother to say “yes” to Lucifer.

The brilliance of this episode comes from its darkness. If 2x20 showed us a more or less perfect world, this is the opposite of it. This is the worst case scenario for Dean. A world he couldn’t save, where everyone he ever loved is either dead or just a broken shell of what they used to be. In hindsight it showed us the darkest versions of each character: three men who stopped caring about the world and themselves. Who are no longer willing to fight. Who gave up.

I bet Dean still has nightmare about this world.

6x15 The French Mistake

Don't like this universe, Sammy. We need to get out of this universe.

Aka the most meta episode to ever meta. Seriously I don’t even know how casual fans watch this, because they miss out all the fun and references. I don’t think this episode had a big meaning for the overall narrative but was rather a gift for the fans, and the show making fun of themselves. Of course we can argue if the reality we see here is actual real, but then again I don’t think that an angel like Balthazar has the power to transport humans from one reality to another. I rather think that just like in 5x04 this reality was created, this time though not to teach the Winchesters a lesson but to hide them. It might be a stretch, but given that the Supernatural books exist in Sam and Dean’s universe it is possible Balthazar created an universe where those books were adapted and Sam and Dean are forced to act out their lives from their own reality. They still learn a lesson though: a) they are really bad at acting and b) they prefer their own lives, without money or fame, but where they get to be brothers and save lives.

6x17 My Heart Will Go On

You see, I save a boat, one thing leads to another, which leads to another thousand things, and yada, yada, yada.

Or an exercise in alternative history. Balthazar travelled back in time, prevented the Titanic from sinking and thousands of people who should have died didn’t and therefore changed history in a massive way. These people and their descendants then would cause thousands more souls that Castiel needed in the Civil War that happened in heaven in season 6. Unlike the other examples where angels or a djinn created an alternative reality this reality was real. By changing the past Balthazar changed the present. A lot of the old reality is still true: Sam & Dean are still hunters and they still prevented the apocalypse. Some of the details of their new reality change though: they drive a Mustang instead of an Impala and Cuba is a popular holiday destination. The biggest difference though is that Ellen and Jo are still alive and Ellen is married to Bobby. Fate now tries to fix this mess: she kills the descendants of the people who should have died on the Titanic, as none of those people should exist in the first place.

This episode again focus on the theme destiny vs free will. Atropos, one of the three fates, followed the script until Sam and Dean and Cas no longer followed their destiny but wrote their own ending. Her job became obsolete. And it is because Sam & Dean & Cas threw out the script that Balthazar followed no longer the rules of not changing the past. While we had time travel episodes before (4x03 and 5x13) Sam and Dean never changed the past – they were also meant to go back in time, still following the script. And while it is possible to still change your destined future changing the past will have massive consequences.

The moral dilemma for Sam and Dean is that while they know what Balthazar did was wrong they also know that going back in time and let the Titanic sink once again will cause not only the death of the people on the ship but also Ellen and Jo’s death. In the end neither Sam or Dean have to make this choice (though they decided to kill Atropos) but it is Castiel who learns that even though destiny no longer exists you can’t change the past like this. Otherwise he could have prevented the apocalypse by simply going back in time.

Cas says you don’t need to be ruled by fate. You don’t have to follow the path that is destined for you. But in order to change your future, to become a master of your own fate, you need to let go the past.

12x23 All Along the Watchtower

This is a world where you were never born. It's a world you never saved.

For all my talking about alternative realities this is the first time I would argue that we see an actual parallel universe. All the other alternative realities were specifically created for the Winchesters, or in the case of 6x17 our reality was changed through changing the past. The world we see in 12x23 though is a world that exists parallel to the universe Sam and Dean live in. And it took the birth of a Nephilim (and not just any, that of an archangel) to open a portal to that world. So while I think angels have the ability to alter the reality in some ways (through time travel or for a limited time) they don’t have the power to travel to parallel universes. And there is a reason for it. Because if anything season 12 was about cosmic consequences (tagging @mittensmorgul because I know she wrote a lot about this). In 12x09 Billie tells the Winchesters that breaking their deal (the life of a Winchesters for getting them out of prison) would cause cosmic consequences. Cas is the one who breaks the deal and seeing how he ended up dead in the end we can argue that these are the consequences. Billie’s deal though wasn’t about Cas originally but about the Winchesters. Technically both of them should be dead by now. They both died, multiple times, but were brought back again and again. They disrupted the cosmic order and cosmic balance. Bringing back Mary, who of course is supposed to be dead as well, is the cherry on the cake. If unsinking the Titanic caused a ripple effect than so does resurrecting Mary, even though the past stayed the same. We can argue how many of the things that happened in season 12 wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for her. By the end of 12x23 the universe in a way fixed that cosmic unbalance by taking Mary out of the equation again, though of course by now the damage is already done (the birth of Jack which causes another power unbalance). And while I personally loved that they brought back Mary and what they did with her character the show followed through with the thought that her resurrection would have consequences on a cosmic scale. And while I hope that they bring Cas back in season 13 I also hope they show that his resurrection will have consequences as well.

So what does this got to do with parallel universes? Now that we know they exist imagine they were ways to easily travel to them. Many people already speculated about the possibilities of seeing alternative versions of our characters (such as alternative Bobby). But what if they cross universe? Just like Mary they would be at a place where they are not supposed to be. Even the fact that Lucifer and Mary from our world ended up in another universe will have consequences. Because in that universe Mary is again supposed to be dead and there is a chance that this universe has now two Lucifers. Which is the reason I think we will see this universe again and fix some of the mess (though I hope they finally kill Lucifer in the process).

On a meta level this episode works back to back with 12x22. In 12x22 Dean confronts his mother about the deal she made – the deal that would bring back John, therefore cause the birth of her sons, marking them as vessel and would result in her own death. Dean lists all the consequences of that deal – how he had to grow up without a mother, what it did to his father, what it forced him to become (a parent), the horrible things Sam had to live through (losing Jess, going to hell etc). 12x23 now shows us a universe where Mary never made that deal. John died and Sam and Dean were never born. We can only assume some other poor souls became the vessels for Michael & Lucifer and the apocalypse that Sam and Dean prevented actually happened. It shows us that for all the horrible things that happened after Mary’s deal that in the long run it saved the world. In 12x22 her sons forgave Mary for the choice she made. 12x23 showed us the cosmic consequences of said deal.

No matter if the alternative realities we saw on Supernatural were specifically created or showed us in the case of 12x23 an actual parallel universe the narrative purpose is the same. Faced with different realties our characters are meant to learn something about themselves, about who they are but also how the choices they and others made influenced them. Some showed us their darkest versions (3x11 & 5x04) and in some ways served as foretelling. Some question if they are meant to always be hunters (2x20 & 4x17). In the end it is both the circumstances and our choices who made us who we are. We can’t outrun our past and the influence it has on us. But we don’t need to be ruled by our past as well: we can learn from our mistakes and find a better way. And if anything I think this was the biggest message from season 12.

#supernatural #supernatural meta #spn meta #spn 12x23 #alternate universe #spn 2x20 #spn 3x11 #spn 4x17 #spn 5x04 #spn 6x15 #spn 6x17 #my meta #what is and what should never be #mystery spot #it's a terrible life #the end #the french mistake #my heart will go on #all along the watchtower

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