hirogaru sky! pretty cure ♡ ending messages

↳ episode twenty eight → cure black

A magic moment

Pairing: Giles x reader

Request: Hi again, I love all the recent fics and think I got request thoughtout. Could we give Giles some love with maybe a shy gothic reader. Maybe they work part time at the magic box; perhaps they share a moment over books and magick based folklore or something. This is my first time making any kind of request so I apologize if I didn’t do it correctly>~>

Requested by: Anon

A/N: ‘gothic’ is an umbrella term, so I was vague with it. I worked a little on the stereotypical stuff, black clothing, etc but for the most part you can build-your-own-goth in your head!

Also I got trapped down a rabbit hole looking up English folklore lol💜

You were shy. You had hoped that a job in retail would help with this, but you didn’t have much luck. You were still shy, but at least the boss was cute. Plus, he didn’t mind that you liked to dress gothic, as much as you could get away with in a retail job. Which, much to your surprise, Giles was very encouraging. You had your own style, and he often complimented the hairstyles you tried out to match your look. You wore a lot of black clothing, as much as you could get away with. It was the way you expressed yourself, usually pushing it and wearing your most exciting outfits on a Friday afternoon shift.

It was actually Friday afternoon today and you had been reading. It was quiet, no demons or apocalypses threatening your shift and not even a ghost had deigned to haunt the shop. Time was going slowly, every time you looked up at the clock on the wall it appeared to be fifteen minutes earlier than you last looked. Time appeared to be going backwards, more hours stretching before you.

The only saving grace was that when it was quiet, Giles let everyone else go home and it would just be you and him on the shift. This made you smile a little in a way that you had been caught by him more than once and made you have to look away quickly, glancing around the room trying to make sure he couldn’t see how you were embarrassed for showing your glee at time alone with him.

It was quiet and you were comfortable in the silence that surrounded you, as if a blanket of mutual affection cushioning each of you in a familiar embrace that only appeared when you were around each other. You didn’t have to be brash and loud to keep his attention. He was extremely fond of you, even if sometimes you tried to stay at the back of the crowd. In fact, he identified with this side of you and he wished he had said something before.

He had been researching something and had been distracted, although enjoying your company, but he had even left the tea you had made him to go cold. A demon had been sacrificing children, but only specific ones – having left out a child that had been easy to take but he hadn’t. He was reading through a text that had foretold this would happen as he started to speak aloud. 

“Ah, but why the specification of a Childe of the Chime?” He muttered, having not heard this specific myth before. Some English folklore that had stuck in your mind from one of the many magic books you had poured over. It was a myth that was most likely now a reality considering you were in Sunnydale.

He wasn’t expecting you to reply, he liked to hear your voice but he understood you needed a little more time sometimes. You were often a person of little words, but catch you on something you were passionate about and you could reel off facts and interesting anecdotes with ease. Especially with him.

“A chime child is someone who was born at a specific time as church bells toll for monastic prayer, such as at midnight. Their abilities are said to range from being extraordinarily perceptive towards animals to being able to see ghosts. Chime children were often regarded as witches and were actually persecuted in the same way. Oh! Interestingly, it was also said that if chime children use their abilities for selfish reasons rather than for the benefit of others they are to perish “miserably and spiritually” so perhaps your children are being punished, uh, more… literally” You state, tailing off as you realise you had been talking for a while. He slowly moves his head from where he had been pouring over a book, looking at you in what could only be described as awe.

“Y/n, I was never aware that you knew of such things” he said, taking his glasses off, apparently in astonishment at your knowledge and the way you had spoken with such casual detail. He was falling even deeper for you, not only were you very attractive to him but your intelligence was making him smitten.

“Uh, misspent youth” You mutter, shrugging and moving your eyes from where they had been locked inside his. You had a keen interest in the occult from a young age and you knew some obscure facts as well as some apparently really useful information especially considering you lived in Sunnydale.

You shrug, as if this was nothing. But you were intelligent. Knowledgeable. You believed in the beauty of knowledge. In learning just for the fun of it. He loved this about you. He was incredibly fond of you. You’d be employee of the month every month if that was something the store did. This had re-confirmed it to him. You were special to him and he knew he had to act on it.

You lacked confidence, but you knew what you wanted. You knew you wanted to be in his arms. To hear his soothing voice. To compare notes on magical artefacts and various tomes. You wanted to share a life with him. It was strange really, you looked forward to work just so that you could see him. Be around him, even if you were just sat in silence waiting for customers or sharing a hot drink during a break.

His eyes couldn’t move from you, his glasses now firmly planted back on his face. The books laid out in front of you both but neither of your eyes could cast towards the page. He appeared to be weighing something up in his mind, a short nod to himself as he made his decision. You had been staring back, and when he spoke it made you jump slightly.

“Y/n?”

“Oh, uh, sorry-” you started, but he shook his head and your words dissolved into the air as you tailed off.

“Y/n, I was planning on closing early. You will still get paid, I was wondering however, there is this brilliant little occult bookstore that I believe you would love. It’s perhaps an hour’s journey from here, but I could drive us” He offered, stumbling slightly as he wanted you to be comfortable with his offer, hoping that he hadn’t misread the way you seemed to have warmed up to only him, “Uh, only of course if that was entirely appropriate, you can say no of course, it is only a suggestion-”

“Yes!” This was you at your most excited. And he could tell, your eyes shining at more than the thought of the rows of books. Spending time alone with him in your time off? It was a dream. You couldn’t stop squealing inside your head. You gushed in a way that nobody had seen since you were in nursery school/kindergarten. You tended to keep your enthusiasm inside when you were in public.

You beamed at him, unable to contain your eagerness. You closed up the store together and you all but skipped to the car beside him. He opened the car door on your side for you before walking over to the drivers side, unable to stop smiling at the way your mood had lifted at just the thought of the trip.

He had never seen you smile for so long, your cheeks were aching with glee. He couldn’t help smiling with equal enthusiasm, your smile was contagious in a way that he hoped he would never be cured. This was the start of something special. Of you and him.

prompt: alex says goodnight to the horses and when he gets back inside jack has tea waiting for him made perfectly

you know i really didnt think i would write this tonight but then i did

ao3 link!

-

It’s getting chilly out, but damn it, that is not going to stop Alex. His horses are his best friends. They deserve goodnight wishes as much as anyone else. Sometimes he likes them more than his actual best friends, if only because they won’t ever tell him to stop talking about the possibility of life on another planet or eat the last Oreo but put the empty package back in the tour bus cabinet because they thought it’d be a funny prank. (Rian.) 

Horses aren’t super chatty, sure, but at least they’re not assholes.

“Hey, gorgeous,” he says, smiling as he walks up to the stables, where he can see Theo and Beaux. Their eyes are still open but they’ll be asleep soon. They’re like old people in that way; always asleep before nine o’clock, these guys. “Hi, beautiful. Hi, you guys. Hey.” 

They say nothing, predictably, so Alex walks first up to Beaux. “Goodnight, honey,” he says, tenderly kissing the bridge of his nose. He doesn’t smell great. Maybe tomorrow they should wash the horses. Or maybe on Monday. Alex isn’t sure he’ll feel like doing it tomorrow, though he knows it has to be done regardless. “Sleep well. Dream of carrots. Dream of…of winning a horse race. Not that I’d ever make you race. I’m not a monster.”

Beaux doesn’t answer, just snuffles loudly. Alex laughs. “I wouldn’t! I swear. Anyway, you wouldn’t last a minute in a real horse race, you lazy fucker.” He pats Beaux’s nose affectionately, strokes it once more. “Alright. Goodnight. I’ll see you in the morning.”

A few steps leads him to Theo’s stable, where Theo has been watching him patiently until Alex reaches him. “Hey,” Alex says softly. “You look tired, man. Long day? Hey, why the long face?” He chuckles to himself. “That’s not even a funny joke. I think I’m getting old, Theo. I’m way too much of a dad for someone without kids.” Although he’s not really childless, is he? He’s got all these animals to take care of, and surely that’s the same thing. Or at least similar. Someone’s got to have done a psychological study on the effects of having pets instead of kids. They can’t be that different. After all, Alex is here tucking them in. That’s pretty fatherly.

Theo nudges at Alex shoulder. “Okay, shit,” Alex says, smiling. “I’m getting to it.” He pauses for effect. “Goodnight, Theo.” Rubbing a hand affectionately over Theo’s nose, he adds, “Dream of beating Beaux in a horse race.”

Theo also snuffles. Maybe, Alex muses, it’s the horse way of saying goodnight. Though they kind of do it all the time, so maybe not. Alex should look into that. After he looks into the whole pets-as-kids thing. His to-Google list is growing by the minute. 

His hands are also getting cold, so he quickly kisses Theo’s nose and pats his cheek. “Sleep well. Sweet dreams. Love you both. See you in the morning.” And he backs away, rubbing his palms together.

The farm might look eerie at night to a stranger, but to Alex it’s familiar enough not to scare him anymore. Now it feels almost like a summer camp, and Alex feels like a rogue camper out of bed past quiet hours. The world is his oyster. Maybe one night they ought to take some blankets out and stargaze. Glancing up, Alex can see a smattering of stars overhead, and for a moment he’s distracted and slows to a stop just to stare.

The stars are so beautiful out here. The sky is so pretty. Alex dedicates a lot of brainpower towards thinking about the galaxy — probably more than is healthy — but when he’d been living in L.A. it had always been something of a distant train of thought, because there’s so much light pollution in L.A. that the stars are more fantasy than reality.

Here, though, in rural Maryland, a fair distance away from civilization, the stars overhead had been what had sealed the deal for Alex, when they’d been thinking about whether or not they ought to buy a farm. And now, head tilted far back to gaze up into the sky, Alex thinks they made the right choice.

Fuck, it’s pretty out here. The universe is capable of creating such lovely things.

When it’s been long enough, Alex shakes himself out of his reverie. The cold is seeping into his skin everywhere it’s exposed to air, and his hands are starting to feel more like ice blocks attached to the ends of his arms. He tucks them under his armpits and continues his trek to the house.

“Back,” he calls out as he enters through the front door. It’s nice and warm inside, but Alex’s hands are still really fucking cold, so he puts them back under his arms as he nudges the door shut with his hip.

“How did it go? Have they said goodnight back yet?”

“Not yet,” Alex says, following the voice to the kitchen, “but any day now. I can feel it.” He pauses. “Whatcha doin’?”

Jack looks up at him, but he doesn’t stop stirring the mug. “Making tea,” he says. “What’s it look like?”

Alex blinks. “Making tea?”

“Yeah,” Jack says. “For you.”

“For me?”

“Well, I don’t like tea,” Jack says, which is patently untrue, but whatever. “Yeah. It’s kinda cold out, and you always make yourself tea after you get back from saying goodnight to the horses, so I thought I’d kinda, you know, cut out the middleman or — whatever, the point is I made your tea for you so you wouldn’t have to.”

Alex steps towards Jack, who pushes the mug across the island towards him. There’s steam rising off the top, and the color looks right, but honestly Alex hadn’t realized Jack ever paid attention when Alex made tea. “What…is in this?”

Jack raises his eyebrows. “Cocaine and dog food. What the fuck do you think, it’s tea. Milk and sugar. How you like it.”

Alex feels a fond smile cross his face. “This is so cute,” he says, reaching for the tea and wrapping his hands around the mug. It’s too hot and he has to pull his hands away after a couple seconds, but he can’t stop smiling. “You made my tea.”

“Yeah,” Jack says. He looks pleased. “Well, I hope I didn’t fuck it up. You should probably try it before you tell me it’s cute.”

“I didn’t say it was good, I said it was cute,” Alex says. “Which it is.” He abandons the tea for a moment in favor of approaching Jack, who’s cozy in an orange hoodie and black sweats, hair mussed up from the day. Still, in his dressed-down state, Alex has never seen anything more beautiful than Jack.

He brings his hands up to press against Jack’s cheeks. Jack jerks. “Fuck, your hands are freezing!”

“It’s cold outside,” Alex says, smiling still. He doesn’t move his hands away and Jack doesn’t make any effort to. “I love you.”

“It’s just tea,” Jack says quietly.

Alex kisses him. Jack’s lips are warm on Alex’s cold ones, but it’s nice — almost like Jack can reset Alex’s internal temperature, like the very act of their being together is enough to achieve perfect equilibrium. Kissing Jack might not be a cure-all, but it absolutely is a cure-most, and Alex cashes in whenever he can possibly find a reason to, and frequently even when he can’t.

And Jack’s made Alex’s tea. Jack has made himself a part of one of Alex’s favorite nighttime rituals. Alex is so in love he doesn’t have the words.

“Thank you for the tea,” he whispers, stealing one more kiss before stepping away and picking up the mug. Jack has a silly smile on his face that he’s trying his best to hide. Alex waits a moment, blows away the steam over the mug, then lifts it to his lips and takes a careful sip.

It tastes just right, and somehow Alex is both surprised and not. Sure, Jack keeps him company every evening while he puts together his nightly tea, but Alex never expected Jack to be paying attention. It’s just tea, like Jack had said. Not the kind of detail boyfriends are necessarily supposed to remember about each other.

On the other hand, though, Alex is the luckiest man alive to have Jack, and Jack is constantly surprising him. And Jack is much better at proving his love than saying it, so of course he remembers how Alex takes his tea. Of course he would make it.

“I poisoned it, by the way,” Jack says, just as Alex swallows. 

Alex laughs. “Well, it’s not affecting the taste at all. It tastes amazing.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, Jack. Literally perfect. You got it exactly right. This might be the best cup of tea I’ve ever had.”

“Okay, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

It is the best cup of tea Alex has ever had, actually. Not because it tastes good — sure, it tastes good, but after a certain point a good cup of tea is just a good cup of tea — but because Jack had made it. Obviously that’s too cheesy to say, so Alex just thinks it really hard, figuring Jack will probably get it anyway from his face.

Jack slides in his socks over to Alex’s side and wraps his arms around Alex’s waist. His chin digs into Alex’s shoulder. “Lemme taste.”

Alex sighs, grins. He lifts the mug up, trying to glance down to see where Jack’s mouth kind of is, and when he’s pretty sure it’s in the right place he carefully tilts it. Against all odds, nothing spills. Jack takes a sip, and Alex brings the mug close to his chest again.

“It’s actually pretty good,” says Jack. “Maybe I should have made myself a cup too.”

“You can share mine.”

Jack hums. He squeezes Alex’s middle, pressing himself flush against Alex’s back, even closer than he’d been. “That’s okay. I’m good right here.”

“Don’t wanna sit down or something?”

“Can’t hug you if we’re sitting.”

“That is true,” Alex concedes. “But I can look at you, which I would love to do.”

Jack scoffs. “I’m nothing to look at, babe. I’m literally in sweats.”

Nobody in the world has ever made sweats look as good as Jack does, is the thing. “I know,” Alex says. “But I just like looking at you. Don’t call me cheesy. I already know you’re going to, so stop it.”

“That’s just cheesy as fuck,” Jack says anyway, kissing Alex’s cheek. “You’re gonna get cheese in your tea.”

“That’s so gross, can you imagine tea with cheese?”

“I bet that’s a thing. In Asia or something. They make some weird shit over there.”

Alex chuckles. “Maybe.” He sets the mug down on the island and turns around in Jack’s arms, and Jack doesn’t protests, though he also doesn’t move his arms away, and they remain encircling Alex’s waist, linked behind his back. Alex brushes his palms over Jack’s shoulders, smoothing the fabric of his hoodie, and curls his fingers around Jack’s neck, which is warm like the rest of him. “You’re a good-looking guy, you know that?”

“I do know that,” Jack says, smiling so so softly. He doesn’t smile like that for just anyone, Alex knows; it’s a special Jack smile, only for Alex. “You’re a pretty handsome boy yourself.”

Alex kisses him again, just for the hell of it. Because he can. Because he’s got Jack in his arms, prettier than any other fucking thing; because Jack’s his boyfriend and that means Alex gets to kiss him whenever; because he loves Jack, is in love with Jack, and sometimes kissing him is the only way to adequately communicate that. 

They show love in different ways. Alex says it aloud, traces it into Jack’s skin, brands him with touches and kisses to remind him.

Jack makes Alex tea.

“Love you,” he murmurs again, though he’s already said it. Jack could call him on it, but instead he does that rare Jack smile again.

“Love you more,” he breathes, before capturing Alex’s mouth with his own.

The universe truly is capable of creating such lovely things. And if a sky full of stars is a home run, then Jack Barakat is a grand fucking slam. 

Hi. I'm the anon who asked about au's. I'm just shy, so don't take offense my apology! You're great and friendly! I'd like a scenario request though! I've been into vampires since the Halloween season, and wanted to request one. A little late, but I guess any time is a good time, haha. I'd like it to be with Tsukishima being vampire and spending the night at his crushes house, and he ends up feeding on her in her sleep? You can do what you like with this idea! I'm very interested to see it!

A/N: omfggg i went so so overboard with this,, im just so damn weak for vampire!tsukishima. TW: blood obviously. Also, keep in mind that this request involves a character coming into the reader’s bedroom to p much prey on her while she’s asleep. There’s nothing sexual involved, but if you suspect that that type of scene may trigger you, then I suggest you either don’t read this or read at your own discretion. Ok?? ok,..,, you’ve been warned and you’re on your own now. Word count: 1,870 (lmao my bad)

UNDER THE CUT.

____________

His fingers were akin to glass; their delicacy threatened with a shatter as they brushed against the daisies. Traces of pollen were dusted along his palms, petals of ivory stroking the length of his legs. Sparse grass had buried itself into the folds that rested within his clothes, lightly pricking his skin. 

Discarding the vivid memory, Tsukishima recalled that he hadn’t seen the cottage by the meadow in over a century. 

To Tsukishima, those memories resembled scratched segments of dusty videocassettes. He remembered that he had a brother named Akiteru, a seamstress for a mother and a labourer for a father. Their faces, however, were permanently forgotten. It didn’t bother Tsukishima, though - he preferred it over death. If it weren’t for Yamaguchi turning him, he would have died following the pillage. 

Prior to meeting her, Tsukishima never kept track of time since he had all of eternity to live. In the past year, he’d grown attached enough to maintain his relationship with her, but not attached enough to risk getting his head severed from his body. Tsukishima planned to cut her out of his life soon.

‘Look at you all zoned out,’ she teased, ‘I didn’t take you for an art critic.’ 

‘You want a critique?’ Tsukishima sneered, ‘this painting’s really ugly.’

‘It’s not ugly!’ she exclaimed, ‘Ojiisan gave it to me. He bought it from an artist in Nagiso long ago.’ 

‘Well, he had awful taste,’ he knew that that wasn’t his real opinion. What else was he supposed to say, though? That the painting of a cottage by a meadow reminded him of his first home? That he was alive before her grandfather was? 

Of course not.

‘You have a lot of nerve saying that…’ she poked the bridge of Tsukishima’s glasses, ‘… when you’re the one who’s wearing those. Get nicer frames.’

‘I’m sorry I like to see,’ he sarcastically said with a smirk, ‘is this how you treat your guests?’

‘You’re the one who said my painting’s ugly,’ she shrugged, collapsing on the couch. ‘I think ojiisan said he met a vampire when he visited Nagiso.’ 

‘Don’t be stupid,’ Tsukishima sneered, joining her, ‘there’s barely any in Japan.’

‘Yes there is,’ she asserted, ‘they used to live savagely centuries ago, but they’ve integrated into human society.’

Tsukishima was almost taken aback. She was right - creatures of his kind still existed and they integrated well. Too well, to the point where they were widely considered to be an extinct being.

‘Let me guess, your ojiisan told you that,’ Tsukishima masked his surprise with a taunting tone, ‘do vampires also disappear in mirrors and wear black cloaks?’ 

She crossed her arms as she stuck her tongue out childishly, ‘Make fun of me all you want, but he said that he knew what he saw. A young woman in an alleyway,’ she shuddered, her spine graced by a shiver, ‘her fangs buried deeply within a mangled cat, slurping up all its blood.’

‘How scary,’ Tsukishima mocked, pretending as though he hadn’t done such a thing. He was repulsed at the idea of feeding on animals, but centuries ago, there were times where he found himself desperate. All he fed on nowadays were suicide victims beneath a nearby cliff and from blood banks. Yamaguchi did the same.

‘Whatever,’ she stood up, stretching her arms out with a yawn, ‘don’t come crying to me if you ever do come across a vampire.’ 

‘Because in that situation, I’d definitely come to you,’ Tsukishima sarcastically remarked, ‘I’d feel safe with your wooden stake and silver.’

‘You realise I can make you sleep on the couch instead of the guest bedroom, right?’

____________

Every attempt he made to quiet his mind had failed; it descended, further, further and further into an obsession with the possibility that a long blade would soon sever his head. 

Tsukishima was never aware that she possessed any knowledge about his kind. Vampires became less of a reality and more of an old tale. Not many knew that they ate human food, drank human drinks - the only difference was that it was all tasteless and that his nutrition could only be obtained from fresh blood. Put simply, human foods were a useless filler. 

Although she didn’t mention it, Tsukishima believed it was likely that she was aware of that fact. As his pupils fixated themselves to the ceiling, a year was suddenly no longer a fleeting moment to him. A year’s worth of a close relationship with a human was a long time. Especially when the human belongs to the minority that believed that vampires still lived amongst them. 

Yamaguchi had warned him of this, urging him to recall when hiring vampire hunters was common practise, when suspected vampires (and any human who sheltered a vampire) were burned at the stake, begging for any form of mercy. 

Tsukishima began packing away the belongings he brought with him to her home, concluding that her memory of him had to turn into a mirage, just like the faces of his family. As he made his way out the guest bedroom, he realised how he loathed how fond he grew of her. Tsukishima wanted to fully remember the arch of her brows, the lashes that curved away from her waterline, the wit of her tongue, the outline of her lips.

He passed by her bedroom, knowing that he couldn’t rely on his memories. Eventually, the centuries to come would led them to disintegrate into ashes, where they will never arise again - memories bore no similarity to a phoenix.

Turning around, Tsukishima quietly placed his duffle bag on the floor and carefully opened the door. He was unsure as to whether he could remember her once he left - but he was confident that he wouldn’t forget the flavour her blood carried. 

Her body had already been lulled into a deep state of sleep - after all, Tsukishima possessed heightened senses and could hear her slow and rhythmic breathing. 

The emotional attachment Tsukishima held towards her was constantly denied by him, until he envisioned his pillow beside hers. He falsely hoped to share that blanket with her for the nights to come, perhaps even bicker over blanket-stealing the following morning. Maybe she snored sometimes and he could tease her about it. Would they wake up at the same time, or would he wake up first? 

Tsukishima didn’t want those thoughts to exist anymore. He wanted them to burn with intense fury and relief; identical to the burning of suspected vampires centuries ago. 

She was already asleep on her side, her body facing the wall. Kneeling beside the double bed, Tsukishima warily placed a hand on her shoulder. The thumb of his other hand rested along the angle of her jaw, gently pushing her head further away from her neck. For a couple of seconds, Tsukishima merely stared at the skin he was about to pierce. She’ll keep him in mind while the marks scab over and bruise, but after that, she will forget about him; because he’ll be long gone by then. 

The longer his fangs grew, the more reluctant he became to bite into her. This wasn’t going to be the first time that Tsukishima fed on someone alive - there was a time when he was forced to do so. He knew his neck anatomy quite well, he wasn’t an idiot who recklessly bit into people and accidentally killed them.

Tsukishima’s felt the tip of his fangs touch her neck. This situation lacked any similarity to his past feedings on sleeping humans, for it was completely unrelated to survival. Rather, it was a feeble to cure his illness of melancholy; the fever that forced him to breathe the air that, to him, resembled the very salts of the ocean. Every inhale filled his lungs with blue hellfire.

That was what drove him to finally abandon his loyalty to cautiousness.

Tsukishima haphazardly sink his fangs into her neck, memorising the intensity of the iron. He knew that if he were to suddenly pull his head away in that moment, he’d rip her neck wide open. But he had to bite down with that much force. He had to remember her. 

As hot, thick scarlet slid down Tsukishima’s throat, he began to actually consider the consequences. With the mark, she’d easily have the power to report him. Although the probability of anyone believing her was slim, his actions were still creating the possibility of his death. For a mere second, Tsukishima even pictured himself turning her.

Once a low yelp was heard by Tsukishima’s hypersensitive ears, he rid his mind of those disorganised thoughts. He was sure that his absence of self-control had awakened her, yet he began to question whether he really was scared of getting killed. Tsukishima’s lived for centuries. He’d seen it all. 

With that realisation, Tsukishima strengthened his grip and pushed her head even further away from her neck. He noted that as his gulps turned longer and deeper, her whimpers grew louder and her knuckles curled themselves into the sheets.

When he finally pulled away, he watched her reluctantly place her fingers on the wound, smearing the bloody marks in the process. Tsukishima’s lips were still warm, a crimson trail slowly dripping down his chin. 

Tsukishima sat up, retracting his fangs back into his gums. He headed towards the door, wiping away the blood with the back of his hand. He forced the turmoil within his chest to be replaced with apathy, since he already knew the facial expression that will rest upon her face once she turned around - forehead wrinkled, eyebrows knitted, lip corners pulled downwards - sheer terror.

‘You…’ she trailed off, her voice uncertain, ‘… if you wanted to bite me that bad, you could have just asked.’

For the first time since Yamaguchi turned him, Tsukishima was the one stunned by a human. His eyelids drew themselves back slightly, his mouth agape with an intense confusion. Tsukishima didn’t want to look at her - he had no desire for her to see the breach of his facade. 

‘I already knew.’ 

After a long pause, Tsukishima snapped. ‘And you didn’t tell me,’ The apathy within his chest started to dissipate, an immeasurable confusion and fury settling in. ‘Instead, you decided to have a casual conversation with me about my kind.’ 

‘Kei,’ she said, ‘turn around and look me in the eye,’ she’d never used his first name before. He never did, either, although he always wished their relationship would reach a point where he could. 

Tsukishima obliged with her command. ‘You think I’m a fool, do you?’ his skin almost sizzled against his bones, overwhelmed by every form of hurt he’d experienced throughout the centuries. ‘All this time, you acted like you’re oblivious to what I am and spoke to me as though I’m a human.’

Mainly, it was the hurt that was buried within the sense of imminent loss.

‘Well, I’m not a human,’ Tsukishima revealed his fangs once more, clenching his teeth in anger, ‘and that means that I’ll kill you right now.’ 

‘You won’t,’ she said, her smile soft enough to be mistaken for a smirk. She was smug about the fact that her suspicion was true, though - this was Tsukishima’s crush, after all. 

She slowly stepped closer to him until she was able to firmly press her chest against his. Tenderly placing an open palm against Tsukishima’s cheek, the pad of her thumb gently stroked his cheekbone; an attempt to induce tranquillity within him. Once her gentle gesture ceased, she hooked an index finger underneath the fabric of her shirt, pulling it away from her neck to expose the bare skin of her shoulder.

‘Drink.’ 

Futari wa Precure Episodes 01-26

Am I rewatching precure? I can't believe this!

Yes, this is not a fever dream, I'm really rewatching precure, and not just Futari wa but THE WHOLE FRANCHISE. Am I crazy? Yes, because I'm already watching too much stuff at the same time and I barely have time for that as of right now, but I love screwing myself over so here we are!

I can't really remember the exact thing that sprung this desire of rewatching precure on me, but I've been thinking about it for quite some time now, at least since I wrapped up on the Aikatsu marathon before On Parade started, in fact, one of the reasons I started doing the old Kamen Rider reviews was because of this. I just didn't start it earlier because I'm the kind of crazy that picked a calendar, looked at the dates, and made the calcs, and realized I could watch pretty much everything in one year so I decided to keep this "project" for 2020 and start the new decade with a bang.

So this is how it'll go: I'll be dividing each season into quarters and pretty much covering one season per month with posts coming out weekly every Wednesday, the only exceptions for this rule are Futari wa and Yes! since these are the only seasons with sequels so instead of dividing into quarters I'll divide them in half and watch two seasons in a month rather than just one. Also, different from Kamen Rider's case, since I'm more familiar with the franchise and I know how the movies go I'll also be watching the movies and posting about them as I go along (All stars movies will come out usually in between the first and the second week, while solo movies will be in between the third and the forth). I really hope I don't go nuts and that this can go as smoothly as possible. XD In any case, it's precure time!

I promised myself I'd keep nostalgia out of these rewatches and do them like if it was my first time watching the series so that I can be less biased on certain aspects, but when it comes to the OGs is really difficult to not have my thoughts clouded by it. I may not have been around since Precure first aired, but Futari wa was effectively my first precure season too, I joined this bandwagon when Heartcatch was airing and I was so in love that I wanted to watch the past seasons and Futari was was my first choice and it holds a very special place in my heart because of that. I tried my best to keep those feelings out of this review and in some cases I was able to it effectively while on others not so much so, I apologize for that. XD

I usually try to separate these reviews on blocks of Plot, Characters, Designs, and commentary on specific episodes and I'm gonna try to apply this structure here more or less.

Talking about the plot... there's not a lot of it. XD

Like yeah, there's the whole Dark Kingdom attacking the Garden of Light thing, and the sort of scavenger hunt for the Prism Stones (not the Pretty Rhythm ones, just to be clear) and all of that, but there's not a whole lot going on beside it, is just Nagisa and Honoka goofing around while their friendship solidifies, they sometimes bump heads but that's pretty much it. And honestly, that's not bad, as while isn't a story about Nagisa and Fujipi the more slice-of-life portions are amazing.

The cure portion that is the problem, to start the action in these 26 episodes isn't the greatest, most of the time is just the cures being thrown away until they get fed up, say "I'll never forgive you!", hold hands, and they throw either a Marble Screw or, in rare occasions, a Rainbow Therapy. Of course, special fights with generals sometimes get a little more flare, but in general, they're pretty lackluster. Also, it feels like things weren't paced properly with the beginning and the end happening very fast and the middle being overly long in comparison. And of course, there's the element of defeating a villain or a set villains while there's still half a season ahead which means change of villains for people who we never knew existed before and apparently were a big deal, and if you read my Kamen Rider review you know how I feel about huge changes affecting the antagonists...

But oh well, I have lots of things to get through so I won't hammer on this for too long. MOVING ON.

Futari wa's biggest strength, at least for this first half, is CHARACTERS. The side cast has many hits or misses, but the protagonists Nagisa and Honoka more than compensate for it. One fun thing of this whole experience was kinda re-discovering them? Because I never watched the OG precure and Max Heart again after my first time watching like 10 years ago and I also don't have the best memory so I forgot a lot of minor things, like how Nagisa is such a downer in regards to their mission, and how positive and bright Honoka is and these are traits that are kinda opposites to their personalities with Nagisa being more outgoing and energetic and Honoka being more calm and polite, and this is so perfect and so much fun, I love it to that. Speaking of surprises I forgot how much of a savage Honoka was, like, the girl put a group of thieves on the line by just yelling at them. THAT'S THE DEFINITION OF POWER.

Unfortunately, they don't come alone. Their fairy partners, Mepple and Mipple, are... annoying. Mipple not so much, she has moments where I go "Really queen?" but for the most part she doesn't bother me, in fact, I'm sympathetic towards her who has to be partnered romantically with such a piece of crap of a male that Mepple is. I don't know why but I completely forgot the jerk that Mepple actually is and let me tell you, it wasn't fun seeing him being misogynist, selfish, and just plain rude, not just to Nagisa regularly but also with Mepple, it's actually very sad. I don't remember if he gets any better in the future, but for now, I'm hating him.

The side characters aren't very special, the girls in the Lacrosse Team and the Science Club are more or less just extensions and supporters or Nagisa and Honoka but I overall like them. The major highlights in terms of side characters are Akane and Fujipi. Akane is a huge positive because she has great energy, she's very fun, and he not only provides a meeting point for the girls but also has a mentor role, though its a very little one, that is great to see. Fujimura on the other hand... I admit, the dude is okay, he never really did anything relevant so there's nothing to hate on him per se, but he's a love interest and his situation with Nagisa never develops on any sort of way is just a very flat experience which makes his relevance even smaller so I can't help but think "what is he still doing here, just disappear with him already" every time he's up on the screen.

There's no other way to put this, the villains are plane as hell. Some of them have good designs but overall, they're very band. Pissard seems like it could've been a cool dude but we spent only 5 episodes with him, that's not enough time with him to make him interesting. Gekidrago is the boring and stereotypical "dumb villain", I think I don't need to write anything else after that. Irukubo is the stoic powerful villain, but much like in Pissard's case, we barely see him in action so it's not enough to make me care for him, and the Dark King is just a horrible CGI blob of darkness. The best villains of this first half are the siblings Poisony and Kiriya, Poisony is actually the best one of the generals seeing that she's a strategist and most of her plans were all pretty good so she was always able to get the cures corned in some way, she may have flunked her cover in that episode where she disguises as Honoka for not doing her research well before assuming the role, but overall she's amazing. Kiriya is the villain that never attacked the cures directly, as far as I remember he never summoned a Zakkenna, and putting it like this may sound like a bad thing, but trust me, it's not. He's the first precure villain to get a "redemption" and as rushed as it was his presence in the story and his arc as a character was also pretty well done so he deserves to share the podium with his sister as best villains.

Since we're talking about villains let's talk about the cures now. Black and White have a very simple design and that's not a bad thing, they're simple but they're still pretty different from each other and it's not a difference that screams to the eyes like id there was something wrong, they complement each other perfectly which only helps in making them this iconic duo that they are. The transformation items, as well as the Prism Hopeish and that notepad thingy, are very 2000's but they have their charm. I think the thing that didn't age very well were the effects for the transformations and the attacks, don't get me wrong I love their original transformation, there's a frame on it that is just marvelous, but watching with 2020's eyes there are parts that feel very wonky. Following the theme, the attacks have a very simple animation but in this case, it works because they can make some very interesting stuff with it, like launching a Marble Screw through Poisony's Umbra Witch hair.

Going into more detail on the episodes, these 26 ones feel like a normal seasonal anime, despite the pacing problems if these 26 episodes were a single season it would've worked well because there was no loose end lost in the mix, maybe the Fujipi stuff would be the only thing that would end with no proper closure, but then again that's not important so it would be a satisfying end. There were four major arcs inside this mini-season so I'll comment on them separately.

The first and shortest arc is the introductory arc that goes from Episodes 1 to 5. And there's not a lot to say here, they introduce the characters, the mission, and the character relations on a good way, there was nothing stellar but it's a good introduction to the series, the only let down is the fighting portion that is very lackluster, in special the final fight against Pissard that was supposed to be a big important moment but that in the end was just very not impressive at all.

The second arc goes from Episode 6 to 11. This is probably the most boring arc of all despite some interesting happening here, we have the introduction to the Prism Stones and the Prism Hopeish, they first use the Rainbow Therapy here, and we also have the famous arc where Nagisa and Honoka fight for the first time and tighten their bonds. These are all interesting points but the set-up for these things to happen weren't the best, like for example Nagisa and Honoka's fight, I always remembered this as a very important moment, AND IT IS, the lesson learned at the end is pretty good and it results on them calling each other for their first name which is a key moment, but all of that happened because of Nagisa's feelings for Fujipi and all that misunderstanding and ughhh that's such a boring reason to make them fight, it was really a letdown. I think after everything the thing that stroke me the most was Honoka's birthday episode and how badass she was for putting some sense into the head of three adult men, which was really magnificent. Also, the first proper fight happened in this arc in the final battle against Gekidrago, it was short but it was good nonetheless.

The biggest arc is the third one that goes from Episodes 12 to 21. This is my favorite arc and a big part of it is because Poisony and Kiriya start to get active here. I don't know how to explain but their addition to the cast made things more dynamic and interesting to watch. Poisony's plans always led to interesting situations like when she hypnotized their classmates that were playing dress-up as the cures, or when she trapped them inside that mirror dimension, or even her last moments in the show where she used that old trick of impersonating someone and making the protagonist having to choose who's the real and who's the fake one, you know even if the precure portions weren't the best, they were put in the most interesting situations in this arc. Together with that, we have Kiriya that goes through a very interesting arc, until now I don't really know why he infiltrated in the school since, as I mentioned, he never acted directly as a villain against the precure (not as far as I can remember) but his interactions with the crew and especially his relationship with Honoka was quite interesting to see it develop. My high points from this arc were episode 18, the one where a girl confesses her feelings for Kiriya - there's a lot of interesting stuff happening here, and episode 20, Poisony's defeat and one of the best fights of this portion of the season. My low point would be episode 19 more because Mepple is being a jerk here than anything else, but I didn't enjoy this episode as much as I did to the other in this arc.

The final arc of this portion is another small one, it covers episodes 22 to 26, and this one is very odd. We start with a filler centered around Honoka's dog of all things that are followed by two two-parters that wrap-up this first half. I'm gonna be honest I don't like this arc, one because it introduces Pollun and two because the "final" fight is very unimpressive, yeah Shining Star debuts here and is a big moment but overall isn't the best, which is understandable after all are two girls launching a beam at a giant dark blob of CGI and there's not a whole lot there, but its fun to see a preview of what will become the Extreme Luminario in the next season. I also don't like how they didn't let the episode finish on a downer note with both of the girls missing their partners and such. But oh well, at least we had Episodes 23 and 24 here there were very interesting, they had this mystery/horror film vibe to it and I loved it.

And that's pretty much all I had to say! Thank you for reading all of this mess, I really appreciate it, I'm very excited to be doing this and I hope I can count with your support through this year. What are your thoughts on Futari wa? Let me know in the comments. I'll see you, folks, on a next time, and don't forget, if you ever see a shooting star be careful with what you wish for, a cellphone thing may fall from the sky right on your head and unless if you're an anime girl you will be in risk of having a concussion. XD In any case, see you around. o/

Hello! I just finished Madoka Magica (plus movies) and I have trouble understanding main themes, especially when it comes to Homura and Madoka's relationship. Could summarise briefly what are your thoughts on them?

Hello anon!

Thank you so much for this ask! I have wanted to talk about Madoka since forever, but I had never gotten the chance.

First of all, I will mostly concentrate on the series and I will mention the movie only in the last part of the meta. This is because the story told by the series can be considered finished, whereas the one told by the movie is not really over. Moreover, I have re-watched the series recently, while I watched the movie some time ago, so I remember it less.

When it comes to the main themes, I think there are several and they are all highlighted by short lines within the show.

The most important one is this:

Madoka is a story about wishes. To be more precise it is a story about people having to understand what they really want and which kind of wishes can help them reach happiness and a good outcome and which ones do not.

This theme is clearly underlined by the worldbuilding since in order to become magical girls the characters have to make a wish and their powers and abilities are greatly influenced by that wish. The girls have to find something they wish so strongly they can dedicate their whole lives to it without regrets.

This theme is explored in several ways and these different prospectives are linked to secondary themes. Each secondary theme is illustrated by each girl’s subplot and they all come together in Homura and Madoka’s stories even if in different ways.

To be more precise I would say there are two main secondary themes.

1) Growing up and what it means which is introduced through Mami’s arc.

It’s not that it was her dream to work somewhere, but she is still living the way she wants to live. Some dreams can come true that way.

So you can make how you live your dream?

2) The importance of integrating opposites and to overcome a black and white vision of the world which is explored through Sayaka and Kyouko’s inverted arcs.

MAMI: THE CHILD BEHIND THE IDEAL WOMAN

Mami is introduced as a mentor figure to Sayaka and Madoka. She is older and appears more mature than the two other girls. Moreover, she offers to guide them and to give them advice.

It becomes soon clear that Madoka wants to become like Mami whom she sees as a sofisticated person and as far more adult-like than herself.

This fits with the image Mami wants others to have of her. This ideal image is shown also by Gertrud, the first witch Mami fights:

Gertrud is the rose garden witch and has several attributes Mami shares as well. This is not surprising. As a matter of fact each witch in the series is meant to underline something about the magical girl who fights her. In other words, they can often be seen as embodiments of the girls’ fatal flaws.

When it comes to Gertrud, I would say the witch is more than anything a representation of some superficial aspects Mami presents herself as having. For example, they are both associated with flowers. What is more, the witch is said to be distrustful and Mami’s fight against her has the girl being extremely cautious and prudent.

This battle underlines Mami’s experience and strength and makes so that Madoka starts to wish to become like her senpai.

In order to do so, Madoka decides to become a magical girl without thinking further about her wish since she only wants to become a magical girl. Mami’s reaction to this is important:

Telling Madoka to wish for a cake is an extremely superficial advice and it is very different from what Mami previously told her two apprentices. This is because in this moment Mami shows that she is really just an extremely lonely girl who wants someone with her. This means that, even if Madoka sees her as an adult, Mami is actually still a child under several aspects and this is why she dies by the hands of Charlotte aka the sweet witch:

Charlotte represents childishness. Her labyrinth is full of sweets and resembles a child’s room or a child’s birthday party.

Let us also consider what her wiki page says:

A line in the design for Charlotte’s labyrinth in the Official Guidebook says “It’s really a delicious cheese cake. My dying mother wanted to eat it, but maybe I should have cured her disease instead. However, that surely wasn’t appropriate.”

This line implies that Charlotte’s wish was to have a piece of cheesecake to share with her ill mother.

It is pretty clear how this wish makes the witch parallel Mami.

As a matter of fact Mami too regretted having wished only for her own survival and not having saved her parents as well.

Mami’s mistake (if we can call it so) is to have made a wish before she could realize what she really wanted. Of course, it is comprehensible why she made such a mistake since she was dying when Kyubey offered to realize her wish and she had no time to think about it.

What is important is that Mami who Madoka sees as a grown-up version of herself is actually a person who was forced to grow up too fast and that, as a result, has not completely developed on an emotional level and this makes her very frail and lonely.

Her “premature” wish is symbolic of this and the fact that she encourages Madoka to wish for a cake means that she is encouraging the girl to repeat her own mistake.

So, in the end Mami dies killed by the embodiment of childishness since she had no chance to conquer hers because of her tragic past.

Her arc underlines the importance of growing up and the fact that an attempt to do so by forcing oneself to adopt superficial behaviours which appear as more mature without solving one’s inner-turmoil and insecurities is not an available option.

SAYAKA AND KYOUKO: BLUE AND RED

Sayaka and Kyouko have inverted arcs and the scene in the church shows it. Here the apple means two different things in relation to the two girls’ character arcs.

1) When it comes to Kyouko the apple represents sin:

As a matter of fact it is implied that Kyouko stole them and Sayaka calls her out on her selfish way of living showing her that another choice is possible.

2) When it comes to Sayaka the apple represents the knowledge of good and evil:

As a matter of fact Kyouko offers Sayaka an alternative and deeper point of view when it comes to what is good and what is bad, but Sayaka refuses it just like she refuses the apple.

Sayaka and Kyouko represent two extreme positions and in order to successfully complete their arcs they should integrate with each other.

To be more specific Sayaka should accept that she is motivated not only by noble and altruistic reasons, but also by selfish ones, whereas Kyouko must realize that her way of life rooted in extreme selfishness is wrong.

However, Sayaka is not able to do so. She refuses the apple and metaphorically what Kyouko could teach her. She chooses to persevere in her fatal flaw and her fight with Elsa Maria is symbolic of this:

Let’s underline how black and white are heavily used in this scene. These two colours represent Sayaka’s black and white vision of morality which is simplicistic and rigid.  Moreover, the witch symbolizes Sayaka’s hypocrisy. As a matter of fact Elsa Maria is praying, but from her back beasts who attack her enemies are born. In other words she gives her back to both who comes to attack her and to her own monstrosity. This is just like Sayaka who is quick to condemn people who think differently from her (like Kyouko and Homura) and who refuses to look at her own selfishness. Moreover, when Sayaka goes against Elsa Maria, the animals on the witch’s back take the shape of snakes and later on of a tree. The snake and the tree are a call back to the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve are tricked by the snake to eat the apple. Once again the symbolism around Sayaka highlights how she should accept that there is selfishness within herself. If she did, she could gain knowledge and could become wiser, but she refuses to do so.

This is shown also by her choice to suppress her physical pain during the battle. The suppression of pain lets her fight longer, but it is something even Kyubey advises the girl not to do since it would make her slower. In short, pain is said to be useful and necessary and this holds true for negative things in general as the series makes clear. The desperation the girls feel is what can oppose entropy and so save the universe, people are motivated both by selflessness and selfishness, a person can be both good and bad and so on. So, Sayaka repressing her physical pain is symbolic of her doing the same with the negative things about herself she doesn’t want to face.

However, Sayaka can’t keep repressing forever and in the end she realizes the truth:

But, when she does, it is too late and she becomes a witch. If she had accepted Kyouko’s advice, she could have avoided (or at least postponed) such an outcome.

As far as Kyouko is concerned she is able to positively develop, but since she is trapped in a system which doesn’t let her any way out she still dies.

Let us consider Kyouko’s fight against Oktavia.

First of all, it is interesting how, differently from Sayaka’s fight against Elsa Maria, this fight uses mostly red and blue.

Red and blue are the colours associated to Kyouko and Sayaka and their use in this fight symbolizes the necessity of an integration and how the good or bad result of this fight relies entirely on this.

In the first part of the fight we can see how there is somehow an equilibrium between red and blue:

As it can be seen the witch is blue, whereas the seats are red, so both colours are used heavenly.

This is because in the first part of the fight Kyouko still hopes that it is possible to bring Sayaka back. This is why she lets herself be hit by the wheels. She sees it as a form of punishment for her past behaviour towards Sayaka. By doing so Kyouko shows to have grown and to have understood her past mistakes. This is underlined both by her speech and by her blood being represented as a mixture of blue and red:

However, the wheels can be also symbolic of the wheels of fate and in this case Kyouko being hit by them represents the impossibility for her to bring Sayaka back and the fact that her hope is vain. This is quickly proven true by Oktavia attacking Madoka. Let’s highlight how Oktavia’s blood when Kyouko cuts her arm is only blue:

Even if Kyouko has grown and integrated her point of view with Sayaka’s one, Sayaka is not in the condition of doing the same and this is why Kyouko’s attempt is meant to fail. At this point the floor breaks and Kyouko falls downstairs where the equilibrium between blue and red is lost since the seats appear blue like the witch:

By this point Kyouko chooses to sacrifice herself and to be together in death with Sayaka. It is interesting how by doing so she starts praying. As a matter of fact finding some form of reconciliation with her faith is one of the most important aspects of Kyouko’s arc. However, what mostly interests me about it is the fact that Kyouko’s position resembles Elsa Maria’s one:

Still, Kyouko is not giving her back to Sayaka, aka to what magical girls are bound to become, but she is directly facing her because she has accepted both her good and bad parts. While she does so Kyouko’s red magic brings more equilibrium to the whole scene with red and blue being in harmony.

All in all Sayaka and Kyouko’s stories are meant to convey the importance of integrating between opposites, to face the negative parts of oneself and how bad and good can be side by side and they can be difficult to separate.

Sayaka and Kyouko’s wishes are used once again to communicate this idea as well.

Both girls made a wish for someone else and ended up suffering for it, but the reason of their suffering is different.

Kyouko’s mistake was to think that what she wanted was what his father wanted and that his father would have been happy if magic could make people listen to him.

Sayaka was right to think that Kamijo would be happy to have his hands healed, but she refused to admit that a part of her hoped to receive a reward for such a wish and to be more specific that she hoped that Kamijo would love her.

Sayaka and Kyouko’s wishes underline the grayness within the ideas of selflessness and selfishness and how these two concepts are often both present and intertwined in people.

MADOKA AND HOMURA: A DIFFICULT CONCILIATION

Mami’s arc explores the theme of growing up and Kyouko and Sayaka’s arc the importance of reconciling good and bad, selfishness and selflessness.

Both these topics find a resolution through Madoka’s final wish.

As a matter of fact Madoka chooses to erase all the witches and to dedicate her own life to it.

The idea of making of one’s lifestyle their own dream is something which has been touched at the beginning of the series. There, Madoka wanted to make of her magical girl style of life her wish, but back then she was still looking at things in a superficial way. As a matter of fact Madoka was trying to solve her self-esteem and self-loathing problems by acquiring magical powers. By the end of the series she doesn’t become a magical girl in order to grow up, but she can become one because she has grown up.

Similarly, it is important to note that Madoka’s wish doesn’t erase evilness or desperation or the negative things happening in the world. This is because the series underlines how these things are a part of the world itself and can never be completely destroyed as Sayaka’s attempt shows. So, Madoka chooses not to eradicate the magical girls system. After all, if she did the universe would have been ultimately destroyed as Kyubey explained (alternatively the Incubators would have found another cruel way to collect human energy). After having considered this, Madoka decides to respect the will of other magical girls to risk their lives to realize their wishes and simply makes the system less cruel. The ending suggests that the system has been changed and that now magical girls go around fighting monsters representative of human negative emotions. By doing so, they collect energy which is then given to the Incubators to use. They do something which is much closer to what magical girls typically do and they are not tricked into becoming witches by the Incubators anymore.

In other words, Madoka’s wish embodies the themes of the series.

Another important thing about it is that by making the wish Madoka becomes active.

Throughout the series Madoka’s passiveness and her self-loathing have been two of her biggest flaws as her meeting with Elly shows. The witch catches Madoka and forces her to see Mami’s last moments again by showing them on the screens. Madoka being completely helpless and prey of the witch could symbolically represent her feeling of being useless and without worth since she thinks she is not able to help people. As it is clear she overcomes these feelings in the finale.

Let’s now consider Homura and how she herself is linked to the two themes underlined above.

Homura’s wish is born by the unwillingness to accept Madoka’s death, so by her being unable to move on and this is symbolically shown by her repeating the same month several times.

So, Homura’s wish negates what the series wants to convey since 1) it is born by Homura’s refusal to accept something negative which happened to her (Madoka’s death) and 2) it literally makes so that the time won’t keep flowing and so that Homura and all the other characters won’t go on and won’t grow up.

This is shown also by the witch which represents Homura’s character flaw aka Walpurgisnacht.

Let’s consider what Walpurgisnacht’s wiki page says:

She will turn all of fate’s misfortune to nothing.She will flood the earth with magic,and take all of humankind into her play.A moving stage construction.

If everything is a play, no unhappy things will exist.It may be a tragedy, but it’ll all be part of the script.

The play stops on Walpurgisnacht,and the earth does not turn even once more.The story will not change.Tomorrow, and the day after, is the night of Walpurgis. 

And also:

She symbolizes the fool who continuously spins in circles.

The fool who continuously spins in circles is a reference to Homura and to her quest to change the future by continuing to live again and again through the same situations.

What Homura does is similar to Walpurgis’s attempt to turn the whole world into a play because by making reality into fiction people won’t be forced to truly accept the bad things which happen to them. As a matter of fact every time Homura reaches a bad ending all she has to do is to refuse the outcome and to go back in order to change it until she reaches a situation she can accept as reality. However, no matter how many times she repeats things, she will never be able to obtain what she wants.

In short, whereas Madoka affirms the series’ themes in an active way through her wish, Homura has to convey them in a passive way by giving up her wish to save Madoka. This is because growing up means both to find something which is worth to fight for, but also to realize when it is time to give up.

Madoka and Homura represents these two different kinds of growth.

At the same time though, Homura’s wish is not condemned as useless by the series.

In order to understand it, let’s consider Madoka’s witch form aka Gretchen.

The wiki says interesting things about this witch:

Witch of salvation. Her nature is mercy. She absorbs any life on the planet into her newly created heaven–her barrier. The only way to defeat this witch is to make the world free of misfortune. If there’s no grief in this world, she will believe this world is already a heaven.

And also:

According to witch animator and designer InuCurry, Walpurgis Night’s and Kriemhild Gretchen’s silhouettes are supposed to make a pair.

Puella Magi Production Note further reveals that Kriemhild Gretchen is meant to look like the lower half of a sand timer, while Walpurgis Night looks like the upper half. Interestingly, Homura’s shield has also been described as a sand timer.

In short, Madoka’s witch form is meant to show that also a noble feeling like mercy can lead to desperation and destruction if it is imposed and extreme. Moreover, Gretchen seems to be a witch which is complementary to Walpurgis i.e. the embodyment of Homura’s flaws.

In other words, Madoka and Homura are opposites and alone would not have managed to do much, but the union of their efforts and the integration of their different world views led to some kind of result.

As a matter of fact, Madoka’s wish to sacrifice herself for others would not have accomplished much if fueled by an absence of self-worth. However, when coupled with Homura’s feelings it let Madoka change the world. It is thanks to Homura, thus, that Madoka became so powerful in the first place and could finally grow up. In other words, symbolically, Homura’s love gave Madoka the self-worth she lacked making her a better person, so that she could then help the whole world.

Their two wishes, one born out of a selfless desire to help everybody and the other born by the selfish will to twist time in order to help one person are complementary and, in different ways, lead to the series’ ending.

This resolution is sealed by Madoka giving Homura her ribbons.

The ribbons have a double meaning.

1) When it comes to Madoka, her giving them to Homura underlines her finally growing up. This is because they were given to her by her mother at the beginning of the series, so Madoka finally giving them to someone else shows that she doesn’t need to depend on a parent anymore.

2) When it comes to Homura, they represent her relationship with Madoka and are a memento of her friend. After she receives them Homura shows to have accepted Madoka’s wish to fight in order to protect the world and she is determined to fulfill it. Basically, the ribbons represent Madoka’s legacy.

I have analyzed the series, so I will now do a short section dedicated to the movie and to Homura and Madoka more specifically.

In short, Homura regresses throughout the movie. Her growth lies in letting Madoka go and in partially accepting her pov. In the series she did so even if in a passive way (meaning she was not given any other choice) and in the movie she changes her mind and acts to change things.

Basically the movie shows that a new conflict will be born in the future between Homura and Madoka and the root of this conflict will be this:

H: “Kaname Madoka, do you treasure this world? Do you consider stability and order more important than desire?”

M: “Well, I…Um…I do treasure it. I guess I do think it’s kind of bad to break the rules because you feel like it”.

H: “I see…Then I suppose one day you will be my enemy as well”.

Homura despises the world which makes people and Madoka especially suffer and thinks that desires should be fulfilled no matter what, whereas Madoka treasures the world despite its flaws and thinks that to respect its laws is more important than the satisfaction of one’s desires.

They are two opposite visions which will lead the two girls to fight each other.

What follows this conversation is an inversion of what happens at the end of the series since Homura gives Madoka her ribbons back.

Once again this has two meanings.

1) Homura refuses Madoka’s POV she had previously partially accepted and in this way she also gives up her friendship with Madoka since she affirms they will be enemies.

2) In a sense the ribbons are symbolic of Homura tying Madoka and imprisoning her. Let’s underline that when Madoka is about to awake her true powers her pigtails are getting loose. However, Homura stops Madoka by embracing her and later on she ties her hair with the red ribbons. Moreover, as explained above, the ribbons are symbolic of Madoka’s childishness, so this means Homura is making so that Madoka remains stuck in her childhood. This is coherent with Homura wanting to protect her by any hardship which is something not only impossible, but also detrimental for a person’s growth.

This scene is also interesting because it is also a call back to a previous one in the movie:

As a matter of fact Madoka too at one point tries to calm Homura down through tying her hair and Homura is tempted to lose herself in such a dream, but in the end she refuses this consolation.

This leads us to explore what is probably the main problem of Homura and Madoka.

Basically they both have a very low self-esteem and in order to prove their worth they are both determined to be useful and to succeed in their mission as magical girls. However, Madoka’s mission as a magical girl is in opposition with Homura’s one and this leads the two girls to never be completely satisfied at the same time. If you notice, both in the series and in the movie, when Madoka is active and confident Homura is unsure and lost and vice versa. Homura especially needs Madoka to be safe in order to prove her self worth and this is a problem because it makes so that it is impossible for Madoka to claim any form of agency since it will lead to Homura being left unsatisfied.

So, if we will ever have a sequel I think it will explore the conflict between Homura and Madoka and will offer a new integration between their two points of view other than Homura actively letting go of her wish this time.

Thank you for the ask and I am sorry for the long answer, I hope you enjoyed it!

The Next Chapter 1: Kiss to Win

(Spring. Rex visits Noah at the college fair.)

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Noah was a crazy guy.

As in a non-skilled, untrained, non-official Providence agent who still rushed head-long into battles as Rex's sidekick –kind-of way.

Okay, okay, so to be fair, in the six years Rex had known him, he had to admit Noah Nixon had some mad skills at table tennis, basketball, console games, and was a natural with a machine gun.

They've come a long way from those days of fighting EVOs, and tackling the Consortium and other crazy wackos who tapped into advanced machine warfare.

But over the last three years Noah had been in college, Rex found himself surprised by the new things he learned about his best bud.

Like A: Noah –at about five foot ten –has added 'the shortest basketball star to ever dominate his college' to his resume, since the rest of the players were all over six foot like Rex.

B: He has accumulated fans of nearly everyone on campus since his debut as Romeo in his end-of-year drama assessment during his freshman year.

And C: He's the number-one guy on campus whom girls want to kiss.

The long line of female fans at Noah's kissing booth was utterly ridiculous, especially since they each had to pay five bucks for a peck. Although Rex never went to college, and so didn't know about the different social ladders, he was pretty sure that there were ladies of all social statuses eyeing for his lips.

From the regular, average chicks or plus sized ones in simple skirts or jeans and plain tops, to athletic ones in their sneakers, or cute, petite types, and even the mega bombshells –Noah was like the bachelor of every girl's dream.

Someone should really make it illegal to cheat girls out of a kiss, even if it was for fund raising for the school. It really wasn't fair since Noah was obviously getting the better end of the deal. Or maybe Rex just thought that way because he was just jealous. It annoyed him that he never got any kisses for rewards even though he had saved countless of girls –much less get paid.

Here Rex Salazar, the world's greatest hero, who'd saved the world time and time again, entered the campus compounds without a single note of fanfare. One would think the Master Nanite Controller, who'd miraculously deactivated Nanites world over, would be recognized without his trademark nanite builds.

But no, without them, he was just another ordinary guy who couldn't compare to Noah. Jeez, at least it would have been great if Rex's handsome looks could command at least some attention.

When Noah told him about the kissing booth Rex gallantly decided not to crash in with his full nanite sleekness. Hence, he'd opted for a less flashy entrance, ditching his hover-bike outside the campus entrance, before coming in like a regular guy. But seeing Noah now with a throng of free kisses, he was starting to see green, and wondered if he should have dropped in on the middle of the fair with his jet pack instead.

Rex had trouble keeping his face expressionless as he closed the remaining yards across the large quadrangle where the campus fair was held. He weaved in between knots of people grouped together in front of other booths that held less interesting activities.

There were classic games like ring toss, shooting bottles, spin-a-wheel –all designed to leech the money out of people's pockets since those set ups were probably rigged such that the visitor would never win no matter how many times they try.

Still, the visitors, who looked around his age –probably most of them being college students themselves – seemed game to try. Animated chanter and cheers filled the place, with everyone lively and looking like they were having fun.

"You're late, Rex!" Noah yelled when Rex was a few steps from him and waved him over to his booth, where his next words were gobbled up by the lips of his newest customer.

Rex made a face at the garish red lipstick slobbered over Noah's face when he was released five seconds later.

"You're missing all the action," Noah added and was about to clean his lips with the Kleenex next to him, when he was attacked on the lips by the same girl.

She was a brunette. Prettier than the average girl, she would have looked compatible with Noah, except that she was acting like one freaky, possessive chick –and Rex didn't want that for Noah, as much as it was amusing to watch.

Noah clearly had the short end of the stick in this case –the girl looked like she was sucking the life out of him, fisting Noah's golden hair in a painful grip.

"Hey! No hogging!" a pissed-off girl behind yelled, prompting another to also protest.

By the time Despo Chick released Noah. He was blue in the face and looked like he needed proper CPR.

Noah stepped back and coughed, probably because he was choking on her saliva, and gave a bland smile.

"Well, that kind of invigorating action I can do without," Rex taunted with a mean smirk. Arms folded across his chest he leaned at the side of the booth.

Noah stared icy daggers with his cerulean blue orbs and wiped the lipstick off his mouth.

"Oh, Noah! My Romeo, another one!" the desperate girl exclaimed before smacking another five on the booth and lunged forward for Noah.

Rex would have gladly thrashed her if she was an out of control EVO. But since she was just one of another case of Noah's fans obsessed with him after his epic portrayal as Romeo in his school's drama performance, Rex just grinned at his buddy's misery.

After all, popularity came at a price.

Besides, it was just too damn funny.

But when the girls behind grabbed Despo Chick's arm and started shouting, Rex quickly stepped in between them before a catfight broke out.

"Hey-Hey, ladies. I know Noah's a stud, but let's play nice and share him, alright?" Rex tried to calm them down.

"Please, Noah is my dream man! I've waited all year to do this! This is his senior year, too –my last chance!" Despo chick exclaimed.

Rex didn't want to resort to unorthodox means of control, but there was nothing else he could do unless he wanted to cause a scene by physically stopping her.

Much to his surprise however, Noah laughed lightly and quirked a brow, saying, "Okay then, but you have to promise to let me breathe."

Then Noah leaned over to kiss her again.

Rex shook his head and chuckled. Despite acting like the resident flirt, Noah was actually really sweet. Well, to girls, at least.

Half a minute later, Noah pulls away, but Rex could tell that Despo Chick was still unrelenting.

So Rex did a little trick he learned since the time he discovered he'd the Omega-1 Nanite inside him.

Not being the scientist his older brother was, Rex didn't know how it was possible, but he discovered if he focused and thought really hard, he could get nanites to listen to him. It was as if the invisible, electromagnetic channels were completely open to him, making it easier to 'talk' to the nanites inside people's bodies. If he concentrated hard enough he could possess a limited amount of control over them.

Just like how he jolted 'awake' just enough nanites inside the girl and ordered them to influence the electrochemical signals in her brain to control her motor movement.

And just like that, she was abruptly turning around and she'd be miles away before the nanites would automatically shut down, snapping out of her semi-trance, and she realizes that she had been walking away against her will.

It sounded daunting, but Rex did have limitations on his abilities, and how much influence he had over other people's nanites. If there were too much static or electromagnetic interference, he wouldn't be able to connect with nanites from other bodies without direct contact. And even without such interference, he had to be standing close by, within a few steps, in order to do so.

Hence this ability fell short whenever he was in a room plugged with a phone or an internet router or anywhere that has strong wireless signals. The open grounds were generally clearer from these types of interference, which was why he could influence Despo Chick's nanites without much difficulty.

Unfortunately, it also readily gave him a shitty headache –influencing three or five people, whether through direct contact or standing close by, was just about his limit before his brains start to pound like a sledgehammer going through it.

Also, he found his abilities weren't strong enough to affect EVOs like the Consortium. He tried several occasions when they battled, but it would seem that as they had conscious control over their active nanites, they could overpower Rex's commands, which stands to reason since Rex had not been able to cure them either.

Noah gave a bland smile at Despo Girl's exit, and then speared Rex with a glare, showing his distaste at what the EVO had done. Rex knew Noah would recognize the telling signs of when he used his nanite influence. Rex rarely did it, even in battle, but Noah had witnessed it a few times before on harmless occasions.

In the few instances when Noah seriously expressed his outright dislike were about Rex's newfound abilities. Rex understood why. It was terrible to control someone against their will, like those inhibitor collars* that were placed on EVOs back when Black Knight was in charge of Providence.

Besides, Rex was not about to turn into a control freak.

He used it, only and if, it were absolutely necessary. And Rex knew Noah trusted him not to abuse his powers. Still, neither of them liked it when he did.

At least for this time, Rex was sure Noah didn't think he went completely overboard, since he didn't say anything when the girl appeared to take a sudden about turn and leave.

So Rex merely forced a smile and whispered, "You're welcome," before the next girl ungraciously elbowed Rex out of the way.

"Hey, jeez, not like Noah's the only stud around here. What about me?" Rex grumbled under his breath in annoyance.

Noah must have heard him because he gave Rex that cocky smile of his, with one corner upturned in a devilish manner, which he always does when he wanted to challenge Rex.

"Oh, jealous pal? It's not your fault that you're not born a star like me."

"No," Rex made a face, "but I was engineered to be one. Bet the girls will go ga-ga when they see my true superhero form."

"Oh yeah? You wanna bet?" Noah pushed again, in that infuriating manner that drove Rex's adrenaline in a jumping frenzy, sparking him to take on whatever stupid challenge there was, like a blind bee to honey.

Since the first time Rex met him, Noah could always egg him on and rile him into competing with him. What the contest was meant to prove didn't really matter –simply winning was.

Rex could write a list of all the stupid things they've competed over that would stretch across a whole city block.

When they were sixteen, it was normal for them to get in on ridiculous challenges, or at least, Holiday was patient enough to look the other way when they took their contest within Providence Headquarters. But now, being closer to twenty-one, and therefore no longer privileged with given the blind eye like in their younger days, Holiday scolded them more often than not that they were being downright immature.

"C'mon Rex, what's with the stalling? Not confident enough? Why don't you just admit that I'm the hotter guy between the two of us?" Noah pushed again in his cocky tone and that did it.

"Like hell I will! You're sooo on, Noah. The one that gets the most kisses wins!" Rex gave his own swaggering bite before he sent millions of his nanites buzzling into action, constructing a three-tiered platform beneath his feet to raise him to a more attention-grabbing spotlight.

The unveiling of his powers brought in the right effect of fanatic shrieks, gasps, oohs and ahhs. Finally, they recognized him as the nanite-wielding hero.

"Hey! That's cheating! I don't have a freaking stage!" Noah protested.

"Well then, you need to get an upgrade, like me," Rex taunted.

He'd come a long way from the weapons he was limited to creating back in his teens. Since being perfectly in sync with his Omega-1 Nanite, he gradually learnt to generate a variety of other useful constructs and components.

"Hello ladies, the Nanite Master, Rex Salazar, is on the grounds. So step right up for a kiss for the same amount as your resident superstar, Noah Nixon!" Rex announced dramatically through a loudspeaker he quickly generated with his hand.

The stampede and rush of females scampering to line up in front of Rex was glorifying, especially since he stole some of Noah's fans over.

Rex snickered as he heard Noah's loud humph of annoyance.

"Whatever Rex, I had a head start. Game finishes at the end of the fair at five."

Rex gave a thumbs up to agree with the rules and was convinced that this was going to be his best day ever, until his lips started hurting three hours later from all the brutal sucking and nibbling.

Rex had tasted every flavor there was of food the girls had eaten before and the unpleasant combination left in his mouth was almost nauseating. By then, the charm of getting free kisses from hordes of girls faded away.

At times like these, Rex pondered in chagrin at what possessed him to take up Noah's stupid challenge. He was actually starting to dread the line that seemed to never end.

The afternoon sun beat down on them didn't help either. Rex was sorely parched, but he didn't want to waste time getting a drink since Noah didn't take a break either.

A sideways glance at Noah also confirmed he was also feeling the abuse. Noah was slouching against the side of the booth now, with his lips all red and puffy. He probably had it worse since he'd started earlier and there was still almost two hours left.

But they both stubbornly wanted to win –they were similar in that way, among many others, which was why they'd such a tight friendship. Stupid contest or not, Noah wasn't going to give up, so neither was Rex.

Then, a commotion at the end of Noah's line caught Rex's attention.

A couple of guys, four of them, were crowding Noah's fan, shoving her –no correction, him –around. They looked cool and pretty sporty, dressed in jeans and hoodies emblazoned with the school's emblem. But they behaved like typical, rude, arrogant jocks the way that they harassed the poor, skinny twig who looked like he'd easily snap into two if they pushed him around any harder.

"What's this? A guy queuing up for a kiss with Noah? You damn fag, get outta here. Noah isn't gonna kiss a disgusting freak like you," one of them taunted cruelly.

Pushing aside his surprise that even guys wanted to kiss Noah, Rex shook his head, irked that in this day and age, such prejudice still exists.

It was as if some people needed to find an excuse to bully someone now that they'd no EVO targets to hold prejudice against.

Rex stepped down from his stage just as he saw Noah already striding over.

"Hey guys, c'mon, give him a break," Noah stepped between the poor guy and the jocks.

One of them gave Noah a look of disdain.

"What? Don't tell me, you're gonna humor this fag?"

Noah shrugged. "A little kiss ain't gonna hurt anybody."

The goons chortled.

"Oh hear, hear, looks like all-star Romeo boy is switching lanes. Better ditch the line ladies," another sneered.

Rex wasn't amused by the sarcasm dripping from the guy's words and quickly moved towards them.

Noah on the other hand, remained cool and unruffled.

He merely slung an arm over the guy's neck and gave a lopsided smirk.

"Haven't you heard? Gays are secretly all the rage for those ladies who are 'In'"

At that, Noah did the craziest thing Rex had ever seen him do –he kissed the guy fellow full on the lips.

The bullies flinched as if scalded; crying out that it was gross and what not. Then they quickly retreated as if Noah was a contagious infection that they didn't want to catch.

Rex was rooted to the ground a few feet away, jaws dropped open in shock. I didn't just see my best friend kiss another guy, Rex chanted to himself mentally. But fact was he did, and he didn't know what to make of it.

After Noah was done giving the lucky guy his kiss, he must have caught Rex's perplexed expression because he bit his lips in the way he did when he was nervous.

"Rex," Noah paused, sounding a little shaky and ran his fingers through his hair, which was all the clue Rex needed to tell that Noah was bothered –worried about how Rex would see him, maybe even scared that Rex would be weirded out.

Rex quickly shook himself out of his flabbergasted shock and gave Noah a thumbs-up.

"Yo, Noah, that was cool man! But I should have known you'd beat me to standing up for this guy. Trying to steal more limelight from me, eh?"

Noah immediately looked relieved, with a proud smile replacing his nervous one.

"What can I say? Can't stop myself from saving anyone in distress. You showed me that," Noah gave his snappy comeback and they fist bumped before going right back into the competition.

As if Noah was spot on after all, his queue suddenly increased in numbers, of girls as well as guys. It was almost a mirror image of the girls, except in guy versions. They looked like a range of different stereotypes –the bespectacled, buttoned shirt geeks, the brawny health nuts, the scrawny twigs and their opposites, and he'll be damned –even a few whom he recognized from their incredible, towering height, were members from Noah's basketball team.

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"Are you sure you don't want any of this three-combo-taco of lip-smacking awesomeness?"

Rex gurgled for the tenth time that evening, to get rid of the horrid aftertaste of a thousand kisses from all sorts of girls, before answering.

"No thanks, I've had enough of lip-smacking for today."

"Dude, did all that kissing mess up your brain? We're talking dinner here. And three types of juicy meat," Noah tried again as he came up behind Rex in the bathroom and made a show of slowly peeling back the wrapper.

It had rained earlier, before the fair closed, and Rex and Noah got caught in it. So they went back to Noah's dorm room to dry off, but not before Noah dragged him to the café at the East Block to get the tacos they both absolutely loved.

Noah had already wolfed down his share before they reached his room. But it seemed like too much kissing had a negative effect on Rex, making him feel utterly sick to his gut.

Rex pretended to gag. The act wasn't so hard to pull off.

"Actually, yes, it did. I've enough kissing to last me a lifetime. Now, c'mon. Hurry up and finish it, so we can have a few rounds of 'Monkey Kong versus Killer Whale' before the game."

"What's the rush? My Xbox isn't going to run away."

Rex made a face.

As part of the school fair, there was going to be a friendly basketball match tonight with another campus that was Noah's top rival. In between Providence missions, and the few hundred miles distance between Providence Headquarters and Noah's dorms at the campus, Rex couldn't hang out with his buddy as often as he liked.

He was excited to watch Noah at his best in a basketball tournament. It was almost as invigorating as their one-on-one with each other. Besides that, he was also itching to have some fun playing video games with Noah.

He had his own console back at headquarters, but Bobo was too tough an opponent. That monkey has agile fingers at the joystick and controls, and beat Rex so many times that he'd given up.

"Besides, we haven't even compared our stats yet," Noah folded his arms across his still wet clothing and cocked a brow.

Rex groaned internally, forgetting how persistent Noah could be. He walked past Noah out the bathroom and toweled his hair dry.

"It rained twenty minutes before closing time. Did it still count?"

"Hell yeah! Of course, it does!" Noah exclaimed as he followed after Rex.

Rex helped himself to one of Noah's shirts in his closet and threw it at Noah's face.

"Better get changed first before you catch a cold."

Then Rex threw Noah fresh pants. Noah caught both in with one arm, but looked kinda comical juggling them with his other hand still holding the taco.

"C'mon Rex, how many did you score?" Noah bugged as he abandoned the taco on the counter against one wall and stripped his wet shirt.

Rex had no clue.

Since Noah did that wonderful stint with the gay guy, Rex barely noticed the rest of the girls kissing him after that –he practically lost count and stopped counting.

All that captured his attention were the number of guys who queued up at Noah's line and how Noah looked completely cool with it, comfortable even, with them wrapping their arms around his shoulders and neck, stuck to his lips like glue in what seemed like forever.

Not that there was anything wrong, but if Rex had to be completely honest with himself, he did find it kinda weird. Like, if Rex suddenly kissed Claire, Noah's ex-girlfriend, kind-of weird.

Noah wouldn't shut up if Rex didn't have a number, so he gave a rough estimate.

Noah gave an exaggerated look of despair.

"No, no! How could this be? Have I lost my charm? I'm two kisses behind you!"

Rex chuckled at his lucky guess, not like it was really important anyway. He was feeling pretty sick, and wouldn't have cared even if he lost, though he wouldn't admit it to Noah.

"Okay no, wait," Noah dropped one fist into this other palms in realization, "I did kiss that obsessed girl another two times before you made her take a hike. So yes!" Noah pushed two fists in the air like he won some big game, "Now, at least we're equal." Noah had that joking, smug look with twinkling eyes; looking every bit like he enjoyed the game just like every single time whenever he bested Rex at a competition.

It was dumb really, and annoyed the hell out of Rex, but at the same time, it was kinda fun, goofy, and cool, in a weird, comradely game kind-of way.

Rex loved these games, even if they were silly. And even if he currently felt like shit at the end of it. At least Noah had a good time –it made Rex feel like he'd fun too.

And just like that, without much thought, or comprehension on what he was doing except to wipe that smirk off Noah's face and get one up on him in this contest, Rex closed the three steps between them and pressed his lips onto Noah's.

A slight flinch and a tiny hitch of breath told Rex that Noah was completely caught by surprise. But Noah was not repulsed by Rex's sudden action, instead, started to lean in deeper, tilting his head just a teeny fraction so their lips melded into each other's grooves better.

Rex ended up being the one stunned and he pulled back a hair's length, breathing deeply.

Noah stared at him, eyes wide with an unfathomable gaze, shaky breath hot against Rex's swollen and sensitive lips.

Rex sort of jumped over the couch, suddenly seized by the desire to flee, as if he could erase his mind off the crazy thing he just did.

Why did he kiss his best friend?

His mind was scattered, and then he remembered.

"Hah! I win. I stole that kiss from you, so score one for me," Rex threw over his shoulder, and busied himself by plugging in Noah's Xbox, mentally calming down his insides that suddenly seemed to go haywire.

Rex expected some witty comeback or mock, enraged insult but there was none.

Noah was dead silent –scarily quiet. It unnerved Rex and suddenly he regretted his stupid move.

Just as he turned around, mind scrambling for some lame joke to ease the sudden tension, Noah had disappeared into the bathroom, shutting the door with a resounding thud.

Great. Smooth move, Rex.

Rex started getting jittery. Was Noah going to hate him now? Because they kissed? But Noah seemed cool kissing those fifteen other guys. Or maybe it was some line they'd crossed, which they shouldn't have as buddies.

He couldn't dwell on it, as his providence communicator tucked over his ear, beeped.

"Rex, come in," Six's voice came through the device.

"Yea, I hear ya, Six."

"Strafield County. A dairy farm owner has reported on his cows rolling over, sick. Our GPS shows you're the nearest to the location so we need you to go over for investigation."

Tch. What bad timing. Rex was going to have to miss Noah's game… again.

"Woah Six, you should know I'm no vet. How about Holiday, or one of her assistants?"

"A few of the cows show signs of abnormalities. We don't know how quickly it would escalate, so you had better get over there. Pronto."

There was urgency to Six's tone, and Rex couldn't ignore it.

"Right, got it. Send me the coordinates, and I'll be there in thirty."

"Noah," Rex called out, "I gotta go-"

Noah flung the door open before Rex could finish, towel wrapped round his hips.

"Providence?" Noah lifted a brow.

"Yeah, sorry man," Rex grimaced, feeling bad for ditching their plans. Noah never complained; which was probably why Noah was still his best friend outside of Providence. "This time, we're losing cows at the farm. Six says I'm the closest, so he's sending me to check it out."

"No sweat, Rex. Saving our supply of juicy beef is more important. I need my protein to shoot hoops," Noah shot him a smile and gave him a thumb's up.

Rex grinned, relieved that the apparent weirdness between them had disappeared. Perhaps he was even over-thinking it.

"Now, that's the irony, saving the food… to save our food."

Rex joked and returned the thumb's up before he ran and jumped out the window, sending a zillion of his nanites into constructing his turbine wings.

In a flash, the propellers roared into life, spinning at full blasts and giving him lift before he hit the ground. Then he was off, zipping ahead a few hundred miles away.

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Footnotes:

*inhibitor collars:

Shown in season three; an upgraded version of the original collar used by Providence that used to limit EVOs from unleashing their full power. The new ones commissioned by Black Knight were able to brainwash EVOs.

My Soul to Keep

Genre: Demon AU

Pairing: Fem!Reader x Kris Wu

Summary: Kris never had a problem with what he was. He’d bargain and make deals with mortals in exchange for their souls. It was just the job. But when an assignment puts you in his path, he’s suddenly questioning his existence. As the consequences of his choices catch up with him, how much in harms way will you be?

Part: 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5 I 6 I 7 I 8 I 9 I 10 I 11 I Final

**

You were pacing back and forth to try and get rid of all the pent up energy that refused to let you go. The clock ticked closer to six and in your nervousness and anxiety, you’d gotten ready almost an hour before you needed to. That just made the knot in your stomach worse. What if he didn’t show again?

Stop it.

You had a bad habit of just assuming the worst. Especially of people. Maybe because animals were so predictable and human beings weren’t.

Knock, knock, knock.

In a record flash, you were at the door, nearly flinging it open.

Kris stood on your porch, hands in the pockets of his expensively tailored trousers. Your face heated up at how well put together he was. You hadn’t wanted to seem like you were expecting a five star restaurant so you’d taken one of the few dresses you owned and slipped it on. Seeing Kris in his all black ensemble made you feel vulnerable in your pure white dress. However, the look he gave you was one of admiration.

“Surprised I actually made it?” he teased as you stared too long.

You shook your head, perhaps a little too much. “No. Not at all.”

He chuckled, motioning back behind him with his head. “Come on. Don’t want to be late to our reservations.”

Nodding, you grabbed your purse and followed him down your drive after locking up the house. The car that was parked in the street made you want to turn around and go back in the house. It was a jet black, two-door sports car. Even as Kris opened the passenger door, you hesitated.

“Not afraid of a Stingray, are you?” he provoked.

Pouting your lips, you slid onto the leather seat as gracefully as your terrible balance would allow while keeping any childish comebacks to yourself.

Most of the drive to the restaurant was silent. You fidgeted in your seat, playing with the hem of your dress and watching the buildings zoom by.

“Midnight seems to like it with me.”

You whirled your head to look at Kris, whose eyes were still on the road. “Really?”

He nodded. “Granted, I think he sleeps most of the day.”

Giggling, you replied, “Well, I’m pretty sure I read somewhere that cats sleep about two-thirds of their lives, so that doesn’t really surprise me.”

“You really like animals, huh?” His eyes flashed over to you, then down to your lap before going back to the street ahead.

Your cheeks burned as you pulled on your dress, trying to cover up more of your very exposed legs. “Yeah, I’ve always loved them. Much to my mother’s dismay.”

“Did you ever think about becoming a vet?” Kris asked as he tapped his thumb on the wheel, waiting for the light to turn green.

You shrugged. “I’m not smart enough for that. Too much book work and I can’t concentrate long enough to really study. Plus, I don’t think I’d be able to handle putting down a sick animal. I’d probably break down and cry every time and someone else would have to do it.”

“What if that puts it out of its misery?”

Sighing, you looked over at him, meeting his eye. “I still couldn’t do it. I value life too much. Shouldn’t the animal have a chance to get better before you just decide its life needs to end? What if you put it down and the very next day, a cure is found and it could have lived another five years happily and healthy?”

Kris just stared at you, unblinking, mouth hanging open just a bit. The way his eyes didn’t leave you was making you squirm in your seat, although you weren’t sure if it was because you were uncomfortable or because of something else. Even a car honking directly behind you didn’t break his gaze.

“Uh, Kris?”

Your voice seemed to finally snap him out of it.

“Yeah?”

You pointed to the traffic light. “It’s green.”

“Right. Right.” He took off like a bullet, staying silent the rest of the way.

Things returned to somewhat normal once you reached the restaurant. Your jaw dropped once Kris helped you out of the car and handed the keys to the valet. As Kris took a step towards the door with your hand resting in the crook of his arm, you stayed back. Confused, he turned to look at you.

“(y/n)?”

You pointed to the restaurant and then gestured to yourself. “I am so underdressed for this place.”

“Don’t think about that,” Kris urged, tugging you inside.

He gave the hostess his name and after finding it on her list, she asked for the two of you to follow her, giving Kris a very inappropriate once over before actually placing the menus down on the table in a somewhat seductive manor and throwing you a dominant smirk. Kris didn’t miss a single action of hers, frowning and rolling his eyes. The pretty hostess caught the look and immediately deflated.

“Your waiter will be right with you,” she said in a flat tone, not even looking at either of you before stomping away back to her post.

You wanted to laugh as you sat down but instead nearly choked on nothing once you say the prices printed on the menu in your hand.

“Don’t even think about saying anything regarding the price to eat here,” Kris murmured, not even looking up from his own menu. “I like the food here and I stood you up, so don’t argue.”

You slumped in your chair with a hmph until you remembered exactly where you were and straightened back up again. The waiter came to get your drink orders and the two of you settled into a comfort conversation.

Kris spoke little about his job, just saying that he mostly specialized in contracts and beneficiaries. You told stories of different animals at the shelter and how you were thinking that, now that you had a house, you would start adopting the older ones since they tended to be looked over for the puppies.

Even as the food arrived you both still continued to talk. You’d never shared this much about your life with someone, childhood stories and embarrassing fashion choices. But you had done a good job avoiding the subject until you were so lost in making Kris laugh that it just came up.

“And I was stuck on top of the shed because the chair had fallen over!” you exclaimed.

Kris let out a throaty laugh. “Why did you even go up there?”

“Because I thought it was the best position for my telescope!” you argued, trying to sound reasonable when that was impossible. “So, anyway Han had to come get me down and my da-”

You stopped, suddenly filled with memories of Han and how much he liked getting you in trouble. You were your daddy’s little girl, so often he would run to Mom who treated you both equally. Tears were prickling at your eyes and you took a sip of water to distract yourself. You thought you were done crying.

Kris reached out and grabbed your hand that had was resting next to your mostly empty plate. His fingers were warm and swallowed your own. You never realized how long his fingers were or how wide his palm was. Like a reflex, your still-free thumb caressed the back of his hand. How could this stranger feel so comforting?

“Your brother was a rare kind of person,” Kris whispered.

Your eyes widened. “What?”

Kris cleared his throat, straightening up and taking back his hand. “I mean, I’m sure your brother was great person. I’m sorry - about him passing away.”

You frowned, tilting your head to the side as your fingers traced the rim of your wine glass, just the stains of the red drink left inside. “You didn’t know my brother, did you?”

“No,” he shook his head. His voice was steady, sure. “I didn’t know your brother. I barely knew your aunt.”

Nodding, you took him at his word. But there was still a little voice in back of your head that raised up doubt. It was the way he phrased his sentence the first time around that kept you from believing him fully.

Dinner had gone back to a more cheerful atmosphere after that. You declined desert more for your stomach’s sake than for Kris’ wallet.

Walking out into the night air, a chilly wind had picked up, sending goosebumps up both your arms. You let out an involuntary chatter at the sudden coldness. Before you’d made it two more steps, Kris was slipping out of his jacket and draping it around your shoulders.

“Don’t even try it,” Kris warned the second you opened your mouth. Pouting, you decided to just go with it, pulling the fabric in closer to you.

Strange. Where one would expect the jacket to be warm considering he’d been wearing it for hours, it didn’t radiate body heat. It wasn’t cold, per se, just a neutral temperature. Like it’d been left hanging in a mild room for a while and you’d just now put it on a human body.

The car ride home was quiet; a comfortable silence. Your eyes flickered to where Kris’ hand was resting on the gear shift. The urge to hold his hand again – for longer, this time – was making your fingers itch, but you kept that hand firmly in your lap due to an amazing amount of will power.

Kris parked in your driveway, but didn’t take the keys out of the ignition or even turn off the engine. A sure sign that this was where the night would end.

“Thank you,” you said politely. “For dinner.”

“All is forgiven?” Kris asked playfully, ruining the formal atmosphere.

You smiled, unbuckling your seat belt. “Of course.”

Kris grinned in return. “Good.” Undoing his own restraint, he got out of the car and came around to open your door. All night, he’d been a gentleman and you still weren’t used to it.

Walking with you up to the front door, Kris’ closeness was making your heart pound. You unlocked the door with surprisingly steady hands. As soon as the door was open just a crack, you turned to your escort.

“Thank you, again.” You weren’t sure what else to say, an awkwardness settling in. Part of you was hoping that he would lean down, maybe press a chaste kiss to your cheek? You could just feel that he wouldn’t dare do more.

Kris opened his mouth to say something, a harsh line appearing between his brows as if he were trying to decide on something. He sighed, putting both of his hands in his pockets. “Good night, (y/n).”

A strange mixture of disappointment and elevation swept over you. Perhaps it was in anticipation of a possible next time.

“Good night, Kris.”

You didn’t stay to watch him go back down the drive, instead rushing into your house with lightning speed. The door shut with a harsh click. You leaned against the cold wood, taking long breaths to try and calm your system. Kris’ jacket was still around your shoulders. Pulling it off and gripping it in your hands, you peaked through your shades just in time to watch him speed away. You glanced down at the jacket, smiling to yourself. At least it’s another reason to see him again.

**

Kris banged his fist against the steering wheel over and over again as he sat in the gravel path that led up to the mansion.

Idiot. Idiot. Fucking idiot.

He was supposed to let you go, say “goodbye, have a nice life”. It’d been a fight inside all evening, especially after you’d talked about wanting the animals to live. The smarter part of him had won and right there on that porch he would let you down easy. But then you looked up at him with those innocent eyes that just seemed to shine and he lost the will to do it. He was in trouble. Deep trouble. And he damn well knew it. But for some reason, he couldn’t – wouldn’t – get out of it.

Was this because he’d never stepped a toe out of line? He was never rebellious, never broke the rules, so now subconsciously he was trying to break them all at once?

Leaning back in his seat, Kris stared at the dimly lit mansion. He’d have to go in sooner or later. Maybe if he just shifted into his room then–

Tap, tap, tap.

The sudden noise against the driver’s side window made him jump. Yixing was holding back a laugh as he stepped out of the way of the door when Kris swung it open.

“What do you want?” Kris snapped, slamming the car door shut with more force than he’d planned after cutting the engine and getting out.

Yixing shrugged. “You’d been sitting out here a while. Tao got worried, but didn’t want to get in trouble for disturbing you. I volunteered to come out instead.”

Kris slipped his hands into his pockets, allowing just one corner of his mouth to slip into a crooked smile.

They were an odd set up, the twelve of them. Most demons assigned to the same area kept to themselves, preferring not to interact with each other, but they all decided to ban together, to relieve some of the loneliness of this life. Was their presence no longer satisfying that craving?

“I’m fine,” Kris sighed. He motioned with his head to their home. “Let’s go inside.”

Nodding, Yixing step forward to go back, but then stopped. “Aren’t you going to grab your jacket?”

Kris froze. Shit. He forget to get it back from you. He kept his face neutral as he replied, “I didn’t wear one.”

Yixing frowned, confused. “Huh. Weird. Could have sworn I saw you leave with one on. I must have been thinking of another day.”

“Probably so.” Kris hurried on ahead so the younger demon wouldn’t see the mixture relief and worry on his face. If he really is going to keep this charade up, he was going to have to be more careful.

From Petals to Flames (GoT)

It starts on Dragonstone with flower petals.  Soft, delicate petals in every shade of blue with fall from his mouth when he coughes.  No aches or pains or heaviness in his chest, like the petals are appearing from nowhere.  They dry fast, wrinkling in the hot air until they resemble the fragile paper the queen has imported from Essos.  Ser Davos suggests getting a maester to look at him, but he can’t afford any weakness at this time.

Unnerved, he tosses them out of windows or drops them into the fires that are omnipresent on the island.  Hopefully this is just something bad reaction to being on Dragonstone and away from the North for so long.  He ignores the shards of ice, shards of winter sky, and shards of ocean deep, to focus on winning Dany (Daenerys) to their cause.

“Hanahaki disease.”  The coughing had not stopped upon leaving Dragonstone, instead progressing until he was coughing up entire winter roses.  “It’s a rare disease, first identified in Yi Ti.”

Samwell steps back from examining him with a frown on his face.  This has grown into a usual occurrence for them.  From the first meeting where Sam denounced him for taking up with the murderer of the Tarly family, to when Sam had revealed to all his banner men that he was actually the son of Lyanna and Rhaegar Targaryen (confirmed by the Three-Eyed Raven), the fat Reachman has made it clear that he no longer considers Jon a friend.  Jon had tried to respect that by staying out of Sam’s way.

But there is no one he can trust with this.  Maester Wolkan had served the Boltons and now acted on his sister- his cousin’s orders.  There are a few Dothraki healers, but anything they find will be told to Daenerys right away.  Sam may be angry with him, but he can trust Sam not to tell anyone else about this.  “What’s the cause and the cure?  Will I be able to fight?”

“You’ll be able to fight.  It can take years for Hanahaki disease to kill you; flowers will fill your lungs and roots will grow through your chest.  You die by choking on petals and drowning in your own blood.”

Jon winced as he put on his shirt back on.  “Sounds like a bad way to die.”

“Worse than being run through then resurrected as a wight?”

“That might be worse.  How is it caused and how is it cured?”

Sam looked at him with an unreadable expression on his face.  For a second, Jon wondered if he would refuse to tell him, or if there was no cure.  Then those fat lips firmed before he opened his mouth.  “Alright, I’ll tell you.  The cause and the cure are one and the same.”

Jon’s never been so happy.  When told about the disease and the cure, Daenerys had been remarkably positive.  “I know I won’t ever be able to bear children.  This will allow you to continue the Targaryen line, and also solve the issue of the rebellious North.  And if you love her, so much for the better.”

He’d been amazed that the proposal had been accepted.  Looking around at the grim but unsurprised faces of his former banner men, he rather thought that the Three-Eyed Raven might have warned them about his illness and the solution ahead of time.  But it was a stroke of luck for them too.  The North could keep it’s independence, but still gain the dragonglass from Dragonstone and the manpower from Daenerys’s armies.  All that was necessary was for Prince Jaeherys Targaryen, Jon Snow, to marry the Queen in the North, Sansa Stark.

If the acceptance of the North had been unexpected, the complete acceptance of the Starks had been a miracle.  Well, almost complete acceptance, Arya had refused to talk to him ever since he and Daenerys had presented the proposal to the Northern council.  And Bran’s feelings on the matter were less acceptance and more indifference.  As for Sansa, she had smiled that porcelain smile of hers and said yes immediately.

She had been so beautiful on their wedding day, dressed in white with accents of grey.  With her flaming hair, she had been the image of a weirwood, made into a woman.  She hadn’t bothered with a maiden’s cloak, but when Arya gave her away and he had wrapped her in the black fur she had made for him at the Wall he thought his heart would burst with love for her.  And the wedding night was the best he could have hoped for.  She had been reticent and shy (no surprise given what that Bolton bastard must have done to her), but warm and so wet when he entered her.  Since then, he took her every day, sometimes multiple times a day, hoping to plant his seed before he had to head farther North to confront the King of the Others.

The only flaw in his happiness, was that he hadn’t stopped coughing out winter roses.  But he didn’t really expect her to actually love him just yet.  Once the war was over, he’d have plenty of time to win her over.

He didn’t understand why he wasn’t getting better.  They had won the war, at the cost of most of Daenerys’s armies and all three of her dragons, and returned triumphantly to Winterfell.  But instead of petals, now there were stems too.  The thorns tore at his throat, and now blood came with the roses every time he coughed.  He’d survived the war, only to be brought low by an illness that even the Essosi have believed to be merely a fairytale.

“Sansa, there’s something I want to ask you.”  It was just her, Jon and Daenerys in the room.  Daenerys’s handmaiden Missandei had learned of something and now the two Targaryens needed to know if it was true.  “Have you been taking moon tea all this time?”

“Yes.”  No hesitation at all.  The other two in the room gaped at her.

“But why?” he choked out.  The blood ran freely into his beard, but he didn’t bother to wipe it off.

“You can order me to kneel to you, you can order me to wed.  You can order me to share your furs, but you cannot order me to love you.”  Back straight, head held high, she looked so much like she had that day at the Wall.  Regal, cold and unbreakable.  He thought he could win her heart, but instead the loving, warm wife he thought he had . . . it had all been an act.

He once wondered, when Bran told him that Sansa and Arya had murdered Petyr Baelish, how they had managed to get him off his guard long enough for them to have carried out the act.  Now he knew, and had fallen for the same trap.

Daenerys was furious.  “You, you, how dare you!  Do you know what I’ll do to you!  I’ll-”

“Raze Winterfell to the ground?  Massacre our servants and the smallfolk?  Execute me and my siblings?”  The smile the Stark bestowed on the queen was a cold, hard thing.  “How?”

She was right.  Daenerys’s dragons had died in the war, grounding their erstwhile sibling and bringing the King within reach of Longclaw.  Her armies had been hammered, while all had taken equal beatings from the wights and the Others, her Dothraki and slave legions had not been ready to deal with the biting winter cold.  For every man the North lost, she had lost three or four.  They were still a credible threat, but a threat she had already sent South to prepare for the next conflict.  Only a token honor guard remained with her here at Winterfell.

“You could kill me here, but do you think you would escape Winterfell alive?”  No, she could not.  Daenerys was perfectly capable of stabbing Sansa here in this room, with only him as a witness, but everyone would know.  Every animal from here to Moat Caillin would be Bran’s eyes and hands, and every person they met would potentially be Arya in disguise.  And even if they got that far, they’d still have to cross at the Twins.  Brynden Tully would never allow the murderer of his niece to go free.  Death by Arya’s hands or by Bran’s warging would probably be cleaner than what Brynden would put her through.

Check and mate.  “Enough!” he shouted at Daenerys, grabbing her hand even as she went for the dagger at her waist.  “I understand.  I only ask that upon my death I will be placed in the crypts, so that I might be with our brothers.”

The Queen in the North turned that fell smile on him.  “In accordance to tradition, you will be given the funeral rites of your ancestors.”  The smile widened, and the weight in his chest grew ten fold.  “Upon your death, you will be cremated in the manner of the Targaryens.  Your ashes and bones will be given to your aunt; the Great Sept of Baelor no longer exists, but I’m sure she will find a suitable resting place for your remains.  Perhaps the dragon pit.”

She kept talking after that, but he could no longer hear.  Instead he fell back on his pillows, coughing and coughing.  Roses fell from his mouth, the blue petals completely covered in his blood.  His sight began to dim, and the last thing he saw was Jaime Lannister and Brienne of Tarth bursting into the room, disarming Daenerys before she could take more than a step towards Sansa.

Coachella 2019: The 10 Best Surprises We Saw at Weekend One

Weekend one of Coachella 2019 is a wrap, and what a weekend it was. From the premiere of Childish Gambino’s Guava Island to nearly losing all our friends in the new and improved Sahara tent, this year’s Coachella will undoubtedly go down in the books as one of the festival's best years yet. And even after making a list of the not-to-miss happenings at Coachella this year, we were still shocked at all the surprises the festival had to offer.

So, while we come down from our festival high and attempt to stave off those post-Coachella blues (which we may just have to head to Weekend two to cure), we wanted to take a moment to look back at ten of the best surprises we witnessed at weekend one of Coachella 2019.

The Lasting Impact of Beychella

.@Beyonce’s #Coachella stage from last year is on display 🐝! Are you excited to watch #BeyonceHomecoming 🎥? #BeyChella #Beyonce pic.twitter.com/iL8KdnBrBN

— 102.7 KIIS-FM (@1027KIISFM) April 13, 2019

Beyonce’s 2018 Coachella performance is one that will live in infamy. A beautiful celebration of the black college experience and black artistic expression, it is more than deserving of its own Netflix documentary and likely its own museum gallery. While the date for that Beyoncé exhibit is still to be announced (although you can catch the Netflix documentary come April 17), Coachella attendees were lucky enough to get up close and personal with Queen Bey’s stage, which was displayed on the festival grounds like the piece of art it is.

Moving Tributes to Nipsey Hussle and Mac Miller

Childish Gambino breaks down a little talking about Nipsey Hussle, Mac Miller, & his late father 🥺😢🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/gxQW99wA7y

— Party at the Rooftop (@AtRooftop)

April 13, 2019

This past year saw the loss of two of hip-hop’s greats, Nipsey Hussle and Mac Miller. It would be no understatement to say that the loss of these two impactful human beings and figures in music was felt throughout Coachella, as a number of artists used their time on stage to pay tribute to the late rappers.

Kid Cudi dedicated his final song, “Pursuit of Happiness,” to Hussle and Miller. Wiz Khalifa dedicated his performance to the two rappers. YG, one of Hussle’s close friends and an honorary pallbearer at the funeral, asked the crowd for a moment of silence while an animation of Hussle ascending to Heaven played out across the Sahara tent screens. And Childish Gambino, who headlined Saturday night, broke down while reflecting on the life and loss of Hussle, Miller, and his late father.

J Balvin’s Surreal Set

J BALVIN JUST PAID ME GOLD IM CRYING HE REALLY JUST DID CON ALTURA WITH ROSALÍA 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/hH9CvTNrpg

— Dee (@hxneydee)

April 14, 2019

From up-and-coming Latinx band CHON bringing out both Kenny G and Cuco during their set to ROSALÍA’s spellbinding performance, Latin acts undoubtedly dominated this year’s Coachella. And while DJ Snake bringing out Cardi B, Ozuna, and Selena Gomez certainly ranks high amongst our list of surprise moments, it was J Balvin’s surreal set that stole the show this year. Like a Takashi Murakami piece come to life, the Colombian superstar did everything from bringing ROSALÍA back out on stage to perform “Con Altura,” enlisting fellow superstar Sean Paul for their collaborative smash hit “Contra La Pared,”  to performing classic reggaetón hits like Daddy Yankee’s “Gasolina.”

Janelle Monáe Bringing out Lizzo and Tierra Whack

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#ASSCHELLA CONTINUES! THANK U @janellemonae FOR SHARING MY JUICE ON UR STAGE! HI @tierrawhack 🤘🏾

A post shared by Lizzo (@lizzobeeating) on Apr 13, 2019 at 10:06am PDT

There was no question that we would not be missing out Janelle Monáe’s set; come on, have you even listened to Dirty Computer? However, what we did not expect was to see surprise guest performances from two of our favorite up-and-coming rappers. Monáe invited Tierra Whack and Lizzo to the stage during her performance of “I Got the Juice,” where Lizzo did indeed confirm to an ecstatic crowd that she did indeed have the juice.

Weezer as the Best Cover Band in the World

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Amazing night with @weezer at @coachella, spreadin’ the No Scrubs message, cause girls (and boys!) still need to hear it 🙅🏾‍♀️ Photo credit: Kevin Winter, Getty Images

A post shared by TLC (@officialtlc) on Apr 14, 2019 at 12:09am PDT

When Weezer released the Teal Album earlier this year, an album comprised solely of the sort of covers you would expect to be a hit at karaoke parties, we half-joked amongst the Ones To Watch office how amazing it would be to witness any of these covers live. Well, by no means, did we actually expect Weezer to do what they did this past weekend. Not content to merely play their cover of TLC’s “No Scrubs” or Tears For Fears’ “Everybody Wants To Rule The World,” Weezer went full cool dad and brought out Chili of TLC and Tear For Fears to join in on the fun.  

Do LaB Surprise Guests

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do lab

A post shared by MAJOR LAZER (@majorlazer) on Apr 14, 2019 at 11:47am PDT

Surprise guests were at no shortage at this year’s Coachella, but attendees who made their way to the Do LaB were treated to some of the best surprises all weekend. Featuring a different surprise performance each night, fans and lovers of electronic music alike got to experience relatively intimate performances by some of the biggest names in dance music. With surprise sets from Major Lazer SoundSystem, Bob Moses, Guy Gerber, and RÜFÜS DU SOL, the Do LaB was the place to be. 

Tame Impala featuring Confetti and Lasers

Tame Impala @coachella 2019... this where I belong. pic.twitter.com/gIye8ehTJm

— ♡ lєѕѕlу ♡ (@princessjatz)

April 14, 2019

Tame Impala could play Currents front to back and that would be more than enough to land the Australian psychedelic rock band amongst this year’s top performances. Yet, it was their grand finale which left a lasting impression and filled our Instagram feeds. Closing their set with “New Person, Same Old Mistakes,” Tame Impala shot a flurry of confetti into the crowd and let the lasers run wild. It was a surprising closing moment that felt akin to a spiritual awakening.

The Insanity of Jauz’s Set

Los Angeles–based producer Jauz easily had one of the most hilarious and genuinely impressive surprises of Coachella this year. Remixing the universal hit children’s song “Baby Shark” before transitioning into Darude’s “Sandstorm,” Jauz effectively transformed what could be thought of as nothing more than a viral joke into one of the Sahara tent’s wildest moments.  

The Return of Poetic Kinetics

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#thenandnow: I first escaped velocity in 2014, and I’ve come back home to #coachella to spread a message of ♥️. The #overvieweffect is real. We are all crew members on this spaceship we call #earth. 🌎 #poetickinetics #5yearchallenge

A post shared by Poetic Kinetics (@poetickinetics) on Apr 14, 2019 at 3:54pm PDT

Coachella would not be Coachella without its large-scale art installations. And this year saw the return of one the festival’s best larger-than-life art creators, Poetic Kinetics. The Los Angeles–based art creators and producers, who have been responsible for the likes of Coachella’s giant moving snail and metamorphizing caterpillar, returned to the festival for the first time since 2015 to unveil their latest project, and it certainly did not disappoint. Reimagining their 2014 installation, “Escape Velocity,” “Overview Effect” was an out of this world sight to behold.   

Ariana Grande x *NSYNC

*NSYNC and Ariana singing Tearin’ Up My Heart 😭 #NSYNC #ARICHELLA #COACHELLA @NSYNC @ArianaGrande pic.twitter.com/ZRAbg2v9rn

— 👸🏻 (@leikela_joy)

April 15, 2019

The return of the Poetic Kinetics’ astronaut was not the only out of the world surprise at this year’s Coachella. Quite possibly one of the biggest surprises this year was Ariana Grande fulfilling all of our ‘90s dreams by bringing back *NSYNC, well at least most of *NSYNC. Following Justin Timberlake dropping out of the festival, rumors of an *NSYNC reunion were quickly dashed, at least until Grande sparked those rumors up yet again before delivering a moment we still cannot believe happened.

“I’ve been rehearsing my entire motherfucking life for this moment. Coachella, *NSYNC!,” Grande shouted out to the crowd, which quickly broke into a nostalgia-induced fervor. Bringing out the prolific boy band, minus one JT, the new crossover pop sensation performed “break up with your girlfriend, i’m bored,” which features a sample of *NSYNC’s “It Makes Me Ill.” However, it was the Grande and *NSYNC rendition of “Tearin’ Up My Heart” that was the show-stopping moment.

Going to weekend two of Coachella and still not sure who to see? No need to worry, we have your Ones To Watch–approved cheat sheet right here.

Look everyone is welcome to their various batkid headcanons but I am here to talk about Truly Important Things like 

What Role Do They Play In The MMORPG Tim Made Them Join? (aka Final Fantasy 14 because that’s what I played)

Tim is first because he started it. He didn’t mean to but he used to love games like this before his world went to shit things happened. He originally only plays for the story and picks a Dragoon because they look cool and he figures all damage dealers are basically the same. And look if you’re a Dragoon you’re either the best ever or absolutely ‘dies to all the things’ terrible. Tim is the former. Tim is on the forums and doing damage calculations for MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY and has become immune to ‘loldrg’ jokes. He utterly refuses to PUG and uses the word ‘scrub’ unironically, leading to--

Duke as Paladin because he and Tim form a bond over nerd things and Tim got hooked and there are unskippable story dungeons okay, Tim can’t deal with queue times and all these scrubs. Duke barely remembers the story because Tim rushed them through so fast and he has died so many times to one-shots that he flinches reflexively whenever a big hit is coming and if his ability that grants him immunity to all damage is up, he will hit it even if he’s not currently taking damage. He screams in voice chat a lot when he dies, and he finds the large bosses intimidating. He quits for a bit when he dies a few too many times due to bad healers, which Tim just can’t allow to happen yet he hasn’t finished the main story and there are cool looking mounts and armor so--

Jason finds himself ambushed one night and somehow Tim knows that he used to like RPG games as a kid? How? He says no up until he breaks his leg on patrol and can’t physically escape and he’s going insane from boredom anyway so he agrees and chooses Warrior because he did his research, he knows it’s the most OP, survivable thing he could pick and he’s a tank at heart. He frequently solos dungeons and gets Tim killed on purpose and laughs about it, but dungeon runs go a lot smoother because it’s really hard to kill a warrior. Jason is that tank who warns you exactly once about ripping threat off him and then will happily let you have the mob and watch you die. He’s good enough at Warrior to do more damage than some DPS jobs when he tries, but he generally doesn’t because the healers suck at keeping him alive when he leaves tank stance. The only people Jason cares about living are the tanks and healers, although he kinda had second thoughts when--

Dick joins them as a White Mage on a whim because he was pestering Tim for weeks and Tim was desperate at this point for a healer that would bring Duke back and Jason wouldn’t refuse to run with and he figured Dick could be taught. Dick goes through MP like it is water and he is a drowning man. He starts out as that healer that always panics and spams heals when anyone takes even 5% damage. They have enough people to do all the four person dungeons, and that they have second tank instead of dps doesn’t even matter because Warrior is that job and it’s a good thing in the end because sometimes Dick gets distracted or decides to heal the wrong person first and when Duke dies at least they have Jason to take over. Duke considers swapping roles like twice a night but he and Jason have formed a tank bond and he would never betray that. Eventually Dick gets in the habit of telling them when he’s going to wander off or get distracted mid-dungeon and Jason takes over tanking. But sometimes he still lets Duke die first, because he gets too much enjoyment out of it. Speaking of those who get enjoyment out of the death of their allies--

Damian had known about it for a while and scoffed at the idea of doing anything that Drake considered fun but now all his brothers are playing this game and he’s left out and this is unacceptable. He doesn’t want to admit it until the exact moment Jason tells him he should go play with Jon Kent instead and no. He chooses Ninja because they are clearly the superior choice and there must be some reason you can’t even pick it when you first start the game. He actually started as a tank class but he quickly decided it was boring. He tries out every single job and eventually maxes them all but only really plays Ninja extensively. He played Dark Knight for a bit but the extensive mocking got to him and he was frankly terrible at it. He is not a good tank, but he makes for a decent healer when he can be bothered. He joins random groups a lot through the duty finder queue and enjoys it even when things go terribly because he likes to troll people in chat and get himself kicked from the group. He’s on a lot of people’s blacklists. Including--

So the first thing Stephanie did in the game was blacklist Damian, and she still does it every time he gets annoying or mocks her because she’s kind of bad for a while as she learns the game. She picks Bard because it sings songs and has an awesome hat and because Dick literally offered her 500 actual dollars to join the game and be his mana song bitch. She eventually decides to take the money in the form of in game currency because she got sucked into crafting and gathering and spends most of her time doing that. She finds it soothing, especially when she gets enough to buy a house and spend her time decorating it. She picks all the crafts that Jason hasn’t already focused on, because Jason’s been quietly taking over the entire economy on the server for a while now much like he did Gotham’s drug trade that one time. Sometimes they will both spend a ridiculous amount to artificially inflate the price of a useless product just to watch the speculation. She was a little surprised Tim wasn’t doing the same, but he made his first couple million and then turned his attention to telling people how wrong they were on the forums and trying to optimize his rotation for one more dps. Steph sings whenever she plays a Bard song and spends most of her time in dungeons standing next to Dick and playing the mana song that cuts her dps down but means he can spam Cure 3 all he wants and they’re both happy with the arrangement until-- 

Cassandra has no idea what the hell this game is about because if dialogue boxes weren’t meant to be skipped then they wouldn’t be skippable. She’s a Black Mage because the only thing she can’t already do in real life is throw giant fireballs at people from a magic wand and it comes with a pointy hat. It takes her a while to settle into the game and she actually does most of the story alone before joining the rest of them. When she does, she immediately gets into a fight with Dick because it’s more efficient for Steph to sing to her instead because the magic damage song doesn’t do anything to Steph’s dps. They spend 20 minutes on the argument before Jason types ‘git gud’, pulls a boss and then AFKs while everyone dies. She and Dick eventually share custody of Steph. Cass has exactly 0 money at all times in the game. No one knows what the hell she does with it, but it’s okay because whenever she truly needs something (like this adorable little minion that looks cute and follows her around) she just goes to Jason and he’ll give her the money to buy it. She goes to Jason not because Steph won’t give her money but because Jason will give her the most and not ask questions. Steph tries to curb her impulse buying and says she should buy the cheaper crafting materials instead. At this point Tim has realized that they’re one short of a raid team, and this means that--

Barbara had known about it for a while, but she’s Oracle, okay, she does not have the time these kids are somehow sinking into this game, Tim. It takes three weeks for Tim to convince her to try the game, and she gets to level 20 before being ‘okay I tried I’m out’ and not even Dick pleading with her to be his healing partner will sway her. She definitely does not have another character on another server that she already plays and doesn’t want to swap to the batkid server. Instead she points them to-- 

Harper has no idea what the hell is going on or why this is a thing, but hey, that small fox animal thing is kinda cute. She hits level 30 and is sad when her carbuncle is replaced with a fairy, but Scholar ends up being pretty fun. The fairy heals most dungeons while she does damage instead and Duke just feels so safe now, you don’t understand that fairy is OP as shit, and Harper and Dick actually make surprisingly good healing partners. Harper is a healer that firmly believes that avoidable damage is not her job to worry about, and she refuses to feel bad when people step in stuff and die. She won’t even waste the MP on raising them. She and Jason compete to see who is the best at soloing dungeons because if Warrior is that job then Scholar is that other job. 

Tim begins organizing a raid schedule. It is posted in the Batcave. 

Bruce doesn’t even want to know. 

Hi Crow, how has your week been? Mine has been busy but generally all right. Did you read Karandi’s post on Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba? I think I’m generally more indulgent on anime but she brings up some fair points. It also made me realize that I may be approaching Demon Slayer from a slightly different angle than a lot of fans. And that angle is camp. When I was a kid The Lost Boys was one of my favourite movies, and it’s this same type of atmosphere and experience that I get from Demon Slayer.

Hi, Irina! Week’s been fine — insanely busy, but that’s par for the course! Yep, I read Karandi’s post, and I agree she brought up some fair points. I wouldn’t say we’re more indulgent in the approach we’ve taken. I’d say we’re so into the characters and the plot that the pieces that would other not work fade into the background.

So you see Demon Slayer as camp? I can see that. There are definitely times Tanjiro reminds me of Asta from Black Clover. Tanjiro has a little less of the over-the-topness I associate with camp, but the elements are there.

Oh, I’m bold this week — and you should watch out for spoilers!

why do I feel like I forgot something…

So far Demon Slayer has stuck to a tightly linear narrative. Each episode picks up the second the previous one ended, and sometimes a few seconds earlier for context. As such, we got thrown right back out on that crowded street with the unknown man turning into a demon while Kibutsuji was slowly walking away with his family. Were you as surprised as I was by how quick that transformation was?

Yes, I was. I started to wonder why he doesn’t just turn everyone into a demon. Then I realized he be creating competitors for his food supply, and he wouldn’t want to do that. That was a chilling scene…

Sort of makes you wonder what Nezuko’s transformation was like. Well, that’s a horrible thought.

let’s just not think about it

As I predicted the police did get called in but Tanjiro managed to stay out of trouble by being a kid and a little help from an unexpected source. Still, it was pretty lucky that Tanjiro didn’t get hauled off to jail, it’s not as if anyone could make bail for him and poor Nezuko would have been left all alone by the stand.

Yes, you did predict that! You aren’t reading the scripts in advance, are you? If you are, could you share? Tanjiro definitely needs to keep his responsibilities in mind. This city is a completely new world to him, and he’s not going to be able to recognize some forms of danger at all!

Hahaha … of course…what’s that over there?

you didn’t see nothing!

Both the freshly transformed demon man and his wounded wife got scooped up by a mysterious demon claiming to be a doctor, and her young companion. She has some hallucinogenic blood scent power that I didn’t quite get and that seemed a bit tacked on to me. Their appearance seemed a bit too convenient so I was suspicious. What did you think of Tamayo and Yushiro?

I don’t recall ever seeing a blood-based pheromone power before. Ants and other creatures use pheromones to communicate, even over distances, so I think that makes it plausible.

As for the coincidence of them happening to be there? Part of me wants to blame Karandi (jokingly, of course) for making us more sensitive to that kind of thing! Part of me wonders: Given what we learn about her motives later, was she shadowing Eviler Michael Jackson (err, Kibutsuiji)? If so, she’s awfully brave. That’s an astonishingly dangerous thing to do.

how am I supposed to feel about this? oh right: terrified!

This was just the opening scene folks. In the meantime, Kibutsuji just calmly walked away. I’m probably going to repeat this every episode but I really adore his voice and the delivery, as a matter of fact. I looked it up and he’s played by Toshihiko Seki. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen him in much except as Senketsu in Kill la Kill and I don’t remember the performance that well. Well, he’s certainly killing in here….Ha!

I see what you did there!

We have this almost instinctive tendency to equate a good father and husband with a good man. From the little, we see Kibutsuji is doting and caring to both his human wife and daughter. Careful to keep them out of danger and gentle. And yet he’s also the type of man who would brutally murder a group of drunk strangers over a stray word. He certainly does not like comments on his appearance.

Can we talk about his encounter with the drunks for a moment? When the drunk staggered into him and got irate, Kibutsuji tried to stay calm and even apologized! But the drunk pushed his luck, and the demon back-handed him so hard the impact against the wall killed him. He killed the other man, who turned out to be the dead man’s older brother, in an even more brutal way.

this is a reasonable reaction

But the poor girl? The way he killed her? I watched the episode a few hours ago, and I’m struggling to remember as brutal and horrific killing in any of the anime I’ve watched. Kibutsuji killed the first two out of anger. He was stone-cold when he killed the poor girl. For me, that was one of those “Welp, guess we’re not in Kansas anymore!”

Kibutsuji is one of the most dangerous types of evil characters: He can tightly control his emotions.

I think we may be staggering into the “unknowable” evil category. To him, killing is just an ordinary response and doing it so cruelly, simply a way to spice it up a bit. Like getting a breakfast sandwich instead of just a pastry for breakfast. But something triggered him.

I didn’t realize how present he was in the episode until I looked over my screencaps

Also, it seems that he has now decided to go after Tanjiro. Not directly, of course, but he sent a couple of hench demons. Is it just me or does Kibutsuji seem a bit flustered by Tanjrou’s presence? Why? From his perspective, he shouldn’t have much to fear…

Not from Tanjiro, maybe, but do you remember the flashback with the other demon hunter? The one with the same earrings as Tanjiro? Looks like his flash earrings are for more than just decoration!

I just thought that was the eyecatch….good thing you’re here.

Tanjirou goes back to pick up Nezuko and I am very glad to see they addressed the udon issue. Having families ripped apart, with loved ones brutally murdered is one thing, but wasting perfectly delicious looking udon….

I know, right? The poor stand owner was beside himself! I was very glad that Tanjiro ate two helpings. And both looked as good as the first!

yes, they did!

This is when the siblings meet up with Yushiro again who has come to lead them to Tamayo’s home and clinic(?). I really liked how Tanjirou just jumped to defend his sister’s pride! Well, Yushiro had no right disrespecting Nezujo. I mean, come on! Yushiro actually makes a pretty good foil for the rather one-note Tanjirou. I like their little frenemy dynamic and I think it brings out a much more fun aspect of our protagonist. What did you think?

Agreed. Though I’m still going to hold a grudge for how he spoke of Nezuko. <grumbling> “Eyesore?” What an idiot… </grumbling>

Crow wrote a scene for this episode

We finally get some good old exposition courtesy of Tamayo. It seems she, like just about every demon, was turned by Kibutsuji over two decades ago. In that time, she’s managed to modify her body to survive on nothing but small amounts of donated human blood. She also turned Yushiro into a demon to save his life but has never managed to turn anyone else. As a result, the boy is fanatical….let’s say “devoted” to her.

Tamayo is desperately trying to find a way to break the demon curse. Which is great news for Tanjiro. However, she needs to study a variety of demon blood to devise a cure, and that may be a bit tricky to come by. What do you think of this plan Crow?

I think we just saw a quest-type plot be born right before our eyes! Seriously, I think it’s a great way to focus on his journey. Not sure how it’ll interact with the missions delivered by his Kasugai Crow. And if his mission in Tokyo was to destroy Kibutsuji, then I don’t see how he’s going to succeed. Still, I think it’s a mutually beneficial arrangement.

And do you have any idea why Tanjiro didn’t jump all over the idea of modifying Nezuko’s body so she wouldn’t be tempted to kill humans? To make her more like Tamayo? I think he should jump at the chance to let her speak again, at least!

Or am I missing something?

no, nothing

You know, the more demons we see, the more I realize there’s no reason for Nezuko to not be able to speak. She can easily take that bite out of her mouth just when she needs to say something.

When Tamayo mentioned that “something” must have happened to her during the to years she was hibernating, I couldn’t help but worry that it was brain damage. That’s why she’s acting like a child or small animal when she was a perfectly coherent girl before.

That’d be terrible, wouldn’t it? Something’s going on, because the way she reacted to Tanjiro stroking her cheek was adorable — but it bordered on puppy or kitten-type adorable. It wasn’t the reaction of a human sister. And the way she just laid on the floor with her legs in the air? I don’t think a young lady like Nezuko would do that. And the writers are too good for that to be an accident. Something’s up.

undeniably adorable

This scene also solidified the analogy between demons and vampires. We seem to be mixing and matching monster traits for an ultimate nightmare. I’m not against it.

The Lost Boys meet The Howling? Or maybe The Werewolf of London?

This episode was relatively calm, with none of the signature high action scenes demon slayer has been mesmerizing us with. Of course, that is all going to change next episode, as in the final moments, Kibutsuji’s lackeys find them all at Tamayo’s place and get ready to exterminate some earring wearing slayers.

We finally get a good look at these two and once again, I’m diggin’ the design. The garish shock of colours and blunt lines really works well to create unnerving yet very unusual looking bad guys. Did you like their first appearance?

The girl reminded me of Claire from Claymore — in a good way. They looked evil, and they looked like the enjoyed being evil. The tension of expectations between the pretty bouncy balls and their devastating impact on the house (and presumably on anyone they hit) was another nice touch!

I really like the colourful bouncy ball

Last thoughts? Predictions? Fears…..

My fear is that our guess about Nezujo’s mental state is correct. That would be an interesting for the plot, but yet another cruel stroke of fate for Nezuko!

Well, this is grim but there’s hope. Tanjiro finally has some powerful allies by his side and even a chance at a cure. That is if he can survive the next episode.

Want to read our past reviews?

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Episode 01: Cruelty

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Episode 02: Crow will Protect Me

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Episode 03: Sabito and Makomo

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Episode 04: Final Selection

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Episode 05: My Own Steel

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Episode 06: A Friend fo All Humans

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Episode 7 – Not A Boy’s Hands And The Happy Family

that’s not how it’s spelled…

As usul I took a completely unreasonable amount of screenshots an I’ll share a few here. I’ve decided to upload them all to imgur because I think it will be easier for you guys to see the higher quality images there. If you are interested the gallery is HERE.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Episode 8 – Vindictively of course Hi Crow, how has your week been? Mine has been busy but generally all right. Did you read…

Hey, guys! Happy February!

First of all, I’m so excited that I finally wrote a review since the last time I did so, which was probably over a month ago, and the best part is that I highly recommend this book. Another thing that makes me super thrilled is that this is my very first time joining the Penguin Random House International Bloggers Team so they generously provided me with en e-copy of the book to review. Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful came out on December 4th, 2018, and even though I’ve read it back then, I spent the rest of the month(s) working on this review so I hope you’ll enjoy it. 🙂

This book gets me thinking so much about what it means to be a human, and what obstacles we may face in the uncertain future. It’s a wonderfully crafted sci-fi story and I’m sure you’ll love it as much as I do. Besides, I also share my mini playlist at the end of the review just so you won’t fall asleep while reading it. 😛

Anyways, great to see you all and please sit back, relax, and have a blast!

For fans of television shows like Black Mirror and Westworld and authors like Scott Westerfeld and Marie Lu comes STRONGER, FASTER, AND MORE BEAUTIFUL, a compelling, mind-bending work of speculative fiction from Arwen Elys Dayton, author of the Seeker series.

Set in our world, STRONGER, FASTER, AND MORE BEAUTIFUL offers a twisted look into the near and distant future through six interconnected stories that ask how far we will go to remake ourselves into the perfect human specimens, and how hard that will push the definition of “human.”

This extraordinary novel explores the amazing possibilities of genetic manipulation and life extension—from the heavenly to the monstrous—as well as the ethical quandaries that will arise with these advances. Thought-provoking, poignant, horrifying, and action-packed, Arwen Elys Dayton’s gripping new novel is groundbreaking in both form and substance.

  My Review

***Actual Rating: 4.5/5 Lucky-to-be-Human Stars***

”How much of you is real?”

Oh, man, this book makes me feel so good about being a human. To begin with, Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful consists of six stories, demonstrating six different (yet somehow connected) scenarios of what artificial intelligence (A.I.) may be capable of in the near future. Each story showcases how the cyborgs may coexist with human beings and start to blend in our initial world without being noticed at first. Unlike what most of us believe, these robotic creatures may not want to wipe the entire human race out. They’re quite easy to get along with and they’re also social animals, just like us! The only significant difference between these cyborgs and humans is that the former are nearly immortal (well, technically, they are not mortals but still!), and that scares me a little. *You’ll see why when I further elaborate…*

Since there are six short stories in this book, I’ll just break down my thoughts into six parts as well. Here we go…

[PART ONE // Cyborg Twins]

The first story is about a twin brother trying to live for his dying twin sister because her body’s failing her. However their parents are in disbelief, the doctor insists that the brother should accept his sister’s organs, including her heart, so that at least one of the twins can stay alive. As bizarre as it seems, pumping another person’s heart to live may be the only solution for the twins, and I’m surprised by the invisible yet strong bond cyborgs have. What impresses me more is that A.I. twins do exist! Honestly, before reading this story, the idea of cyborg twins has never ever come across my mind. So color me shock when learning this teeny tiny fact about them!

[PART TWO // Cyborg Couple]

Milla is a part-human, part-robot creature while Gabriel is a human. They sort of have a crush on each other but after Gabriel takes advantage of Milla catches a glimpse of what Milla’s made of, he may not seem to be as reliable as a boyfriend should be. People talk. Rumors spread. Bullying happens.

In Milla and Gabriel’s story, I find their romance a bit disturbing yet mesmerizing since they prove how forgiveness can become a universal language, an ultimate solution, and the catalyst for the elimination of bullying/rumors with the help of advanced medical technology. The best part about their ending? Problems are solved and the world’s getting back the peace it deserves. In general, I think cyborg couples are worthy of living on Earth after all.

[PART THREE // Cyborg God]

When it comes to cyborgs, who would’ve thought that they have some religious beliefs just like humans do? Reverend Tad Tadd is the well-known Cyborg God and as sacred as that sounds, there’s something relatively shocking to me: People actually ”reuse” their deceased family member’s eyes and hair just to symbolize the eternity of life. In all honesty, the concept here is all fresh and original to me and I’m utterly fascinated by it.

In a very short time, we will be able to create novel structural elements, forms that don’t naturally occur in the human body—forms that we haven’t yet imagined. I find myself a pioneer, daunted by the infinite size of the frontier.

[PART FOUR // Advancing Cyborgs]

The fourth story in this book is my least favorite since all I’m aware of is how well these cyborgs are in translating various languages—from human’s communication tools to animals’—and that enhancing their levels of vocabulary is simply a piece of cake. Despite my general lack of interest, I’m fairly intrigued by the usage of anagram in the characters’ conversations. Apparently, the author’s creativity knows no boundaries!

[PART FIVE // Cyborg Betrayals]

This time, the A.I. sensation expands from the U.S. to Europe and throughout Jake, Kostya, and Yulia’s escape to Siberia, the secrets they keep have put their friendship to the test. This story gives readers insight into the life of a cyborg slave, the betrayal between similar species, and how cancers can be cured by implementing, once again, advance medical. Although there may not be anything in common in the topics above, I can guarantee that this tale proves how multidimensional artificial intelligence can be.

None of the reconstructed people could cry actual tears anymore, and yet half the slaves openly wept, by gesture and by sobs, at the sight of their bodies becoming covered by what looked like human flesh. When you had been remade, any sign of your old self was precious. Jake was crying with the rest. There was nothing left, really, except his remembered humanity, and this artificial skin was a reminder, a gift.

[PART SIX // Cyborg Civilization]

Last but not least, we’re coming to the end of the story and let me tell you how incredibly well-done this story is. I’m awestruck by the realization that cyborgs are, in fact, a brand-new generation of living creatures. These A.I.-enhanced “people” aren’t here to annihilate the humanity; they’re here to recreate their very own civilization just as the origin of homo sapiens who appeared millions of years ago did.

Interestingly, it never occurs to me that there’s an evolution for cyborgs to transform their half-human, half-robot being into a fully-developed creature. That is, even though they can function pretty well on their own, they still have to undergo some sort of metamorphosis in order to become part of us, which totally broadens my horizons.

To sum up, Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful is a splendidly written, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED story with unforgettable characters, mind-blowing plot twists, and shocking revelations of cyborgs. Each one of the six stories shows the possibilities and limitless potentials of these A.I.-featured creatures.

As intimidating as A.I. may sound, I’m delighted to say that this book makes me think differently because knowing that as invincible as cyborgs seem, their process of blending in is very likely to bear a resemblance to ours, which provides me with the kind of confidence and strength I need when facing the unknown future. As a matter of fact, this book empowers me so much that I indeed feel much stronger, faster, and more beautiful about being a human. 🙂

At that moment, Luck understood something new. There were horrors and there was death, there was evil and arrogance and apathy. But more than these, there were friends and there was hope. There was her life on the Rez and there was the wide world. And there was love. The bad things collected, but so did the good—and the good, she grasped, was more important than the bad. You could look past the bad if you wanted. Each good thing Luck had experienced, each good thing she had learned, built upon all of the others and added up to one thing which she felt completely for the first time: Human.

[Bonus: Mini Playlist inspired by the book]

The Last Time–Taylor Swift ft. Gary Lightbody

E.T.–Katy Perry ft. Kayne West

Human–Rag’n’Bone Man

  About the Author

ARWEN ELYS DAYTON is the author of Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful as well as the Seeker series–Seeker, Traveler, and Disruptor and the e-novella The Young Dread–and the science fiction thriller Resurrection. She spends months doing research for her stories. Her explorations have taken her around the world to places like the Great Pyramid of Giza, Hong Kong and its islands, the Baltic Sea, and many ruined castles in Scotland. Arwen lives with her husband and their three children on the West Coast of the United States. You can visit her at arwendayton.com and follow @arwenelysdayton on Twitter and Instagram.

  Praise for Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful

★ “Part cautionary tale and part ode to the inventive human spirit, Dayton’s brilliant collection of stories is best described as a scientific Twilight Zone.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred

★ “Compelling and terrifying, this volume is science fiction at its finest.”

—School Library Journal, Starred

★ “This speculative, thought-provoking novel will take readers on a frightening, remarkable journey through humanity’s past, present, and possible future.” —Booklist, Starred

★ “Imaginative and incisive.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred

“Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful will send shivers down your spine.” —Teen Vogue

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  And that’s all for today’s book review & playlist! Again, massive thanks to Penguin Random House International Sales & Random House Children’s Books for offering me the review chance and social media kit.

To all my lovely readers, thank you for staying until the end and I hope you had a fantastic time here! Please give this book a try if you hadn’t already, and hopefully you liked the songs I picked for the story. ❤

Have a nice week!

Until next time,

Jasmine 🙂

  Read-to-Review: Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful by Arwen Elys Dayton (+bonus mini playlist) Hey, guys! Happy February! First of all, I'm so excited that I finally wrote a review since the last time I did so, which was probably over a month ago, and the best part is that I highly recommend this book.

What to expect when traveling to Turkmenistan, one of the last police states in Central Asia

Turkmenistan is a socialist, tightly controlled by the police, country in Central Asia roughly the size of Thailand, inhabited by only 5 million people. However, it’s a country with a rich history, and definitely a must-visit place. If you’re wondering what to expect when traveling to Turkmenistan, keep reading. This former Soviet country is home to the biggest archeological site in Central Asia, the former biggest city in the world, the door to hell, the birthplace of the Zoroastrianism and arguably the strangest capital in the world. To add to that, petrol is cheaper than water here.

The bad part about traveling to Turkmenistan is that outside of Ashgabat you need to have a guide. In fact, you need to have a letter from a tourist agency in order to obtain a visa. And the whole process will take around 6 weeks. Yes, that means you will have to do all the exploring accompanied by a guide. And you have to pay for them and their meals which will cost around $30 – $50 USD. They can let you roam around Ashgabat and other big cities alone but you’re legally forbidden to travel around the country without them. Additionally, tourists are charged a tourist tax of $2 USD per day. You will see this on your hotel bill.

A few things you should know about Turkmenistan

Avoid walking alone in the north-east of Ashgabat, especially in the late evenings. These areas are notorious for drugs trade and violent crimes.

Turkmen are the only people in Central Asia that don’t eat horse meat. In fact, the Ahal Tekke horse breed, which is one of the fastest and strongest in the world, is their national symbol. Today, there are only 2,800 horses of this breed, mostly because the Bolsheviks were slaughtering them for food during the Soviet era.

You can find prostitutes in the Florida Disco on Gorogly Street but you don’t want that. I’ve seen a lot of tourists that were imprisoned, harassed by the police or even deported just because they were accompanied by a prostitute.

Since I mentioned it, if you actually are harassed by the police, you will need to find a translator. The Turkmen police officers only understand Turkmen.

Most hotel rooms are bugged so be careful what you say. Never forget that the big brother is watching.

If you’re traveling as an unmarried couple, you won’t be allowed to share a hotel room.

Homosexuality is illegal in Turkmenistan and punishable by law.

Police have the right and power to stop and search you on the street at any time. So if that happens to you, stay calm and don’t let them put their hands in your pocket in the process. You don’t want to end up as a victim of drug planting in a country with notoriously corrupted police that seems to have unlimited power.

Smoking is completely banned in public areas, including the streets. However, you can find some restaurants and cafes where this is allowed.

Finally, if you’re sending a postcard, government agents will probably check what you wrote before they actually send it out. Keep that in mind.

Watch out for the weather… Seriously!

Most of Turkmenistan is made up of the Karakum Desert. Hence, the temperatures in Ashgabat in the summer go up to 50° C, making travel really difficult. What makes things even worse is that most Turkmen leave their gas stoves burning 24/7. Why? As you may or may not know, Turkmenistan is a country that has an abundance of gas, which is free for all citizens. However, lighters and matches aren’t. Apparently, that’s enough reason to have your stove burning all the time.

Don’t underestimate the curfew

Funny enough, according to government sources, Turkmenistan is a crime-free state. This is, obviously not correct but it is a fairly safe country. One of the reasons is the police curfew that doesn’t allow anyone to be out on the streets after 11 PM. And you should too. Trust me you don’t want to get in trouble with the Turkmen police, one of the most corrupted and notorious units in the world.

No travel zones

There are several regions in Turkmenistan that have been declared as restricted areas. These are the areas surrounding the Caspian Coast, the borders with Iran, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan and the Dashoguz region. If you still want to visit one or more of the restricted areas, you need permission from the government. Keep in mind that Turkmenistan Airlines will not even sell you a ticket to one of these regions if you don’t have that permission. The whole process of getting that permit takes at least 10 days.

Be careful with the ‘Cargo Ferries’

If you’re browsing the internet or going through guidebooks, you’ll probably come across the ferries that travel the Caspian Sea. They enter the port in Western Turkmenistan from either Iran or Azerbaijan. These ‘ferries’ are in fact cargo ships that take passengers if they have enough space. The main issue if you would like to go on this adventure I the fact that you might not have enough food and water to make the trip. Don’t even get me started about the toilet and sleeping facilities. And the worst part is that when ships reach the port, they often wait at least a week for a vacant dock because everything goes so fast in Turkmenistan. Hence, I’ve met some travelers that had their Turkmen visa expire while they were waiting in the ferry with very limited resources of food and water.

Ashgabat, a capital like no other

When you land in Ashgabat, there will be no sign welcoming you or telling you where you are. There’s not even a sign marking the terminals or anything of that kind. In 1948, a major earthquake completely destroyed the city, killing over 100,000 people. After that the city was rebuilt in completely Soviet style. However, after 1991, Turkmenbashi came to power. Yes, he changed his last name to “leader (or father) of all Turkmen”, building a personality cult similar to the North Korean dictators. 

The eccentric dictator completely changed the face of Ashgabat. The city had to look appropriately for what he claimed to be the Golden Era of Turkmenistan. That’s how we got modern Ashgabat. A brand new city full of sterile white marble and golden statues, surrounded by teeming bazaars, mosques, and mysterious alleys.

Have in mind that internet is almost non-existent in Turkmenistan and heavily controlled by the government. There are only 4 internet cafes in the capital with a horrific connection. On top of that, there are pictures of the president everywhere just to remind you that the big brother is watching.

The forgotten city of Merv

Located in the middle of the Silk Road, Merv was arguably the largest city in the world in the 10th century. After the establishment of the Silk Road, the city of Merv was growing with the speed of light. Until Genghis Kahn’s son slaughtered 700,000 people in 1221. Today, this is the largest archeological site in Central Asia and a place where the empires of Alexander the Great, Genghis Kahn and the Soviet Union meet. The whole place just smells of history and it seems like it connects these three, at first sight, completely unrelated empires. If you’re a sucker for history (like me) Merv is a place you need to visit at least once in your life.

Gonur Tepe

Back in the days, this place was a real trade hub, covering over 3,000 square kilometers and countless of settlements on the Murgab River. Only a three hours driving from Merv, you will find Gonur Tepe. This ancient place is supposedly the birthplace of the Zoroastrianism and a home to one of the oldest civilizations in the world! The old temples and palaces look completely different than anything you’ve seen before and they’re in a surprisingly good condition.

The door to hell

The Darvaza Gas Crater looks like it came out of a Sci-Fi movie. That’s how it got its name: “A door to hell”. I don’t know if there is a door to hell on our planet but if there is I bet it would look like this. Back in the 1970s, Soviet scientists discovered what they thought was an oil deposit. But when they started drilling they were really surprised when they realized that was actually a gas deposit. The area completely collapsed releasing gas all over the place. The scientists thought the gas was poisonous so they set the whole place on fire. 50 years down the stretch- that fire is still burning. This is something you can’t see anywhere in the world and it’s slowly emerging as Turkmenistan’s main tourist attraction.

Karakum Desert

When I came here I was expecting to see nothing but sand dunes and camel riders. However, I was in for a big surprise in the Repetek Nature Reserve in the middle of the desert. The reserve is a home to over 1,500 different species like vegetation of shrubs and thorny plants, invertebrates and other small animals. All this led to UNESCO making Repetek a Biosphere Preserve back in 1979. Karakum will definitely change the way you feel about deserts and it’s certainly a place worthy of your time.

Swimming Underground

Another amazing site is the Kow Ata Underground Lake, located in the Bakharden Cave, east from Ashgabad. It’s a sulfur lake which means that the water is naturally heated and the temperature is around 35°C. The lake also includes 37 other chemical elements and many people believe coming here a few times might help you cure pretty much any disease. To add to this amazing experience, once you get out of the lake you can lay down on a colorful Central-Asian style carpet and have some black tea and freshly grilled shashlik.

  The post What to expect when traveling to Turkmenistan, one of the last police states in Central Asia appeared first on Passport Symphony.

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This quote I am rewriting a bit..

In the highest civilization the "book" is still the highest delight. Many who have once seen beyond the sky and beyond this world will understand why I chose a circle. - Ralph Waldo Emerson I do not enjoy people coming around to daily and often analyze, dislike, shame, or threaten me about me or the way I live. Like. Come over cause you like my little world and wanna see what I came up with now and make cool things together and tell me all about your self while I draw impressions in the shade of your spirit as it makes it's expressions through your presence and we enjoy each others company as mutuals. If you got a bad word for me, get in line with every other hate figure and leave me alone cause I am not your problem if you don't personally know me in the flesh. I am thrilled and joyous if you do want to know me because I would love to have a positive person in my life to smile with instead of fight. Where are you best friend... Arrive soon please. Granted my skin gets thicker and I get older and wiser to him getting sicker but I don't want it to be that way so if you wanna be friends with me and go on stoney rolls.. Please, come by with your joy and share your perspective with me because I love learning.. And I'll share yours by enjoying it. And if you want to know me, be straight forward and light hearted. Know when it's personal and dark it's my serious subjects and if I don't wanna break open that latch, let me keep it closed so I can let it cease to exist or have any meaning to me. Verily. World. You may see me. But I may not see you or even understand shit about this weird life of hashtag and anime reference to hide sometimes very bad intentions. Like drugs shots seizures safety nurse some fucker who wants to be my sensei standing over me like a prize deer hunt kill. And I am awake enough to make out your hunger and your shaking hands, clenched teeth, and hard on just hatching as I start getting sleepy. You don't like it when they struggle. I'd rather you actually liked me and we played a game to get that obligation if necessary over with and I wanna be awake. And I want you to feel every rip and tear and see it all in live action pain and serious personal will power as you pass me to no. 2 or whoever decides to join you and you defile me at my own school in my own Hood, in my own city, for no legitimate reason other than revenge because I don't count colours as things that can command me in anyway. I will let you see the real me get your vengeance.. Thats my parting gift cause if you drug me. Or shoot me or gang rape me or beat me or use me as your status puppet ever again, you will get what you never got before. Your 'illuminated rights' of manhood by defiling a random girl for her disowned fathers crimes who she is not even related to either syndicate. K I'm a whole other fate that would have happened if Bryan wasn't such a. Freak about my not liking him cause I loved a girl... Like. Woah. Big fucking deal. Rape me straight? Cool. Rape me gay. Already did that. Rape me nonbinary? I have a kill switch. And I will used it if I feel like it. And if you smile or laugh or thrust violently with pleasure at my pain, we're going full connect and k. O. Buddy here's where you dumped all your feelings. Thus here's what you we're lacking with your no. 9 mask hiding an 11 personality. Andrew is why I think there is even a chance for you to get better.. He's your worst enemy And you should be mine.. But we relate and andrew doesn't. Suffer together in hate and despair and we can leave this world whole or die happy. Turn your persona roboto which is sociopathy defense mechanism that hides the real you like Alice. And the real you is scary.. But understood and caring in your sadism cause you like hurting me. You could have just said that out loud and when. I would have adapted. Cause I like blood and blades and bites and play fights and ferocity with mellow controlled power trip tortuous turn ons that escalate and build. But that's cause I Enjoy challenges and skilled manipulators that will kill people to keep you to themselves. Lmfao except seriously. Read this baked asf and happy and warm and relaxed like you just xxxdreampt your wish for your unspoken side with me. That's happy. You don't Yet know. . But you are learning. You are lazy and arrogant and a cocky prideful fuck. Your temper with me is instaflame and I like it hot so turn it up. But you better be in your good place when you burn me cause it should be a willing submission to be marked by someone and a willing submission to change to half spirit so I feel not only empathy and your pleasure in harm, but also my pleasure in curing and refining my body to someone I love. I learn to fit you and that's ssomething we never got to share. Mind to mind or otherwise. We we're mirrors to each other online always, and still are. But when you punish pleasure with pleasure you win. And so do I. Give into the sickness of insanity in psychopathy that you have the ability to rhizome people with, and void walker you fucked up andrew. .. Try me and I'll chop off your fingers. That will be called ichi That's the me in me you left you with. Your own weak or more pure innocence is inside me. You made me care so much you can't handle me anymore cause I am your patchwork faded project that died several times and has since grown flesh n blood and that same fight you taught me long ago. And the codes all broke so it's just unpredictable. The cool part is that I choose to play along or not and usually I enjoy every second. It's so personal it's creepy and kindof wicked. And I enjoy that. Which is why yandere. I like creepy yeha and erotic gore Andrew doesn't like me. He likes his ideal of me. And his Enthronement and worship and adoration as prince king of himself and your heart. I don't like humiliation or segregation or shaming or emotional vampirism.. Or arrogance or Machiavellianism or spoons or hypnotism.. No blending. No blind. no blindness here. I see you clear. I accept you but I don't accept you taking advantage of sleeping women at parties, or black outs.. Or bitches Cause you got issues. Work them out where you are safe and then just be your new self. All self made.. You will then have to stay un rapey for the rest of your life. You are no king by slaughtering lamb in an open field. You only become a true man when you learn self respect and that is what you move to greet people with and you are able to learn and Master a woman who is broken so badly only a master magician could fix her.. Then youd actually have good deed status kingship and it feels good to be a hero for someone who loves you. Because you start to feel again and it's happiness. Like you never felt before. The whole world opens up to you when you can enjoy and are mindfully mindful of every choice you make to be happy and better for yourself and your surprise equal. Sigh. This could be so far.. Anyone I am talking to my past.. And I find madmen of fear to be a waste of energy. And madmen of anger trite and bad for representing your species.. And often repressed and disturbing and at best sly and willing to adventure.. But a man of pain wants gain? And to feel good doing it? Win it. Win your worth by being good and you can make that last forever. Especially with a killer in your bedroom. A woman who can love you freely cause you let her try to please you cause she wants to. For her own enjoyment and yours cause you earned rewards and witches love granting wishes and you return the sensation of fulfillment in only positives as a standard of living to strive for constantly. In every way. Which is why I thought I would be blunt about my sexuality because no one remembers me anymore. And I am not asking for a boy to nurture or pet or spoil like before. I want a man I trust enough to take me to the edge of everything and back with intense and sensitive sensory overload. And a man who enjoys and respects me as a human being enough to be safe with me to the best of their ability.. No more boys though only slightly younger. I was dead before you got to high school. So. Pissy men's moods of disrespect towards me are just ugly. And disagreeable and my temper and tolerance is so short. Damn. You assumed so many false things about me you really did forget so much you forgot into ignorance and spite and paranoia and.. I did that before. It's not interesting. Nor is it worth my time. But if someone had let me love them for real for they were fearless and believed in their own strength and spirit... They werent afraid of love Cause they came with no expectations or assumptions or preconceived thots or biases or socially promoted hate.. Or trickster plans to profit behind my back.. Unacceptable. Being mean to me cause you have a serious unwillingness to help yourself and so I become your anger and distaste outlet for yourself and anything else.. Unacceptable. I give the want to be "tegan with the skeleton key" andrew, three arguments til i ask you to move away. Remember that. Three. Casino is on strike three of living at all Andrew is on his ever last chance of my love which is.. A first. And other people are into me so.. Earn good things for yourself and of we decide to play love making, make it lovely. And make me rapturous. Cause I share highs. And leave it at that.. Enrapture a loyal woman who is happy on her own. You actually win a real life crown. It's called mad. Respect. Across the land for recovering by making ammends to the person you hurt worst in the world and you we're so into being there in that raising high with that warmth all around you called acceptance and adoration... Via your action.. In passion. Erase your guilty mind with heavenly times in the noble pursuit of cleaning that part of your brain with better way better ideas and sensations.. And then your life with yourself will bloom and you will be redeeming yourself as a human being.. Maybe just enough to have a choice to try again or be obliterated instead of still dealing with these long paragraphs filled with physical emotion I cannot summarize with words. And the hell that could await you is not a good one.. And you never get out.