#'NO! BAD! we need to load out these “episode” one by one to build up the tension for season 2!'

[gomzdrawfr]

would u guys mind if i post like a gazillion shit in one day and then suddenly disappear the other and then dump an ocean of doodle again on the next

#can you tell i am very wow at handling social media #idk man #sometimes i have a tiny voice in my head that has like #a manager voice that goes #'NO! BAD! we need to load out these “episode” one by one to build up the tension for season 2!' #the urge to just fucking ramble and just drops like the entire lore of priceraven in one day #i will control myself #for now. #somedays the demons will win #gummmyspeaks

[maddys-nerd-blog]

Maddy’s Top Five Favorite TMNT Episodes from Every Series!

Welcome to my ranking list! My first of many, hopefully! I even spiced things up and made it all fancy with the different font! 😂 god I’m getting old.

A while ago I made a PowerPoint presentation for fun about the history of the TMNT and the franchise. From that point it led to me gaining a spot in a YouTube video series discussing the movies leading up to the premier of Mutant Mayhem, and it’s been one of the best things to happen to me despite the terrible stuff I’ve gone through.

TMNT really saved me at the lowest point of my life in the winter of 2022. It inspired me to go back to Tumblr. I met and befriended incredibly talented people in this fandom. And I’ve found a reason to be happy again because of it. The pain of losing my big sister still aches, and I miss her more each passing day, but I know she’d tell me to get off my ass and do what made me happy.

So for my birthday this weekend, I’ll share this with you guys to celebrate something that brought me joy through all this pain. ❤️‍🩹

Let’s talk turtles! 💙💜❤️🧡

Lemme explain the criteria for this real fast;

The episode had to have come from a current/ up to date show. It has to be fully completed!

The episodes have to catch my interest and the plot needs to be gripping! The angstier the better!

Any of the series episodes are candidates for a win! Except for certain ones that I’d rather not watch 🤣

SPOILERS BEWARE! Cuz… well, I dunno who’s finished the shows and I don’t wanna ruin the surprise for others!

Also, this never would have been possible without @jadethest0ne for inspiring me! Thank you for all you do in the TMNT fandom, your art/ analyses are wonderful!!! Please go give them support!!

Onto the list proper! Starting with the series that started it all: 1987!

The Maltese Hamster ( Season 3 Ep. 4 ) An excellent Donatello solo episode that takes the tone of a detective noir movie, but keeping the fun vibe of the show! Donnie gets to take center stage for once, April gets to use a laser gun, and the shift in tone sets the mood really well! It’s downright harrowing to watch a building collapse on Donnie and see him limping away from the scene in agony, passing out at Irma’s feet, trying to save his brothers despite the odds. Donnie’s my favorite turtle for a reason!

Raphael Meets His Match ( Season 4 Ep. 17 ) The first appearance of Mona Lisa, and I can see why the fans adore this ship so much! The chemistry between Mona and Raph throughout this one episode is really telling of how impactful one character can be to a franchise! Mona is really fun! She’s not just a token ‘girl character’ trope or an archetype, she can handle herself and kick ass alongside the turtles, plus she and Raph have some pretty witty banter together!

Beware The Lotus ( Season 3 Ep. 28 ) The introduction of Lotus Blossom! It’s speculated that the inspiration for Karai came from Lotus! Lotus and Leo had great chemistry together, it's a shame we only got two episodes to spend with her. She really is an interesting character with loads of story potential about finding your place in the world, discovering who you are, changing your destiny to make it what you want. This is me basically saying I am now part of the Lotus Blossom Fan Club.

Cowabunga, Shredhead! ( Season 3 Ep. 18 ) This is one of the fan favorite episodes, and after I watched it for the first time I could not stop laughing. James Avery does his best Mikey impression while playing the over the top Shredder, and everyone just accepts it??? It’s downright genius! The meme material from this one is plentiful!

Michelangelo Meets Mondo Gecko ( Season 5 Ep. 4 ) The introduction of Mondo himself, and he’s got a really cool design! On first viewing I was pleasantly surprised by his unique color scheme and his character! He’s a bad guy that gets a redemption arc by the end of the episode! I was rooting for him the whole time! It was this debut that made me adore Mondo, and he’s since become my favorite mutant character of the franchise!

Honorable Mentions are Donatello’s Duplicate and Turtlemaniac!

Next up is a controversial one, but I gotta be honest… ‘03 isn’t my favorite series for a lot of reasons, but I will admit! When this series had fantastic episodes, they were AMAZING. So I gotta give credit when due and give kudos to these wins!

The Shredder Strikes Back Parts One and Two ( Season 1 Episodes 17-18 ) Nothing really tops how good this show was in the first season, and these episodes take the comic storyline of Leo’s beatdown and bring it to life masterfully. For Leo’s segments of part one it’s spent mostly with no dialogue— the animation and music carrying how serious the scene is as Leo has to fight for his life against the Foot and how desperate he becomes as he grows weaker and weaker. The second episode is non-stop action as the rest of the turtles, Splinter, April and Casey have to fend off the Foot and Shredder as they fight for their lives in the antique shop. This is one of Michael Sinterniklass’s BEST performances as Leo in these episodes. The stakes are higher than ever before, the animation is gorgeous, and everyone gives it their all for this epic mid-season finale.

Same As It Never Was ( Season 3 Ep. 21 ) This is the episode I would tell people to watch if they think TMNT is just kiddie trash.

Bad Blood ( Season 6 Ep. 12 ) Probably the Fast Forward concept I wish got expanded on instead of giving it two standalone stories and dropping it entirely. It’s a cool idea that I wish got touched upon more often because, yeah, what would evil clones of the turtles look like? What kind of abilities could they have? There’s infinite possibilities! I could live without the new catchphrase ‘It's Ninja Time’ though. While Fast Forward is flawed, this episode was the one I thoroughly liked!

Insane in the Membrane ( Season 4 Ep. 19 ) The infamously banned episode, and all I have to say about it is two words. Holy. Shit.

The Real World Part One ( Season 3 Ep. 22 ) Any team-up with Usagi Yojimbo is a good one, and this was such a delight! It’s loosely based on one of the Usagi stories from the comics, and I loved how badass they made both Usagi and Tomoe! Leo and Usagi have great chemistry as always, and you can tell they have a strong bond with one another as warriors! Or boyfriends depending on how you interpret their relationship but honestly I totally see where everyone is coming from, THESE TWO ARE ADORABLE DORKS.

Next up is my all-time favorite incarnation of the franchise, 2012!! I have A LOT to say about so many of the episodes but alas, I could only choose five to discuss. One day… one day I shall make a thesis about it 🤣 for now however, here’s my top five faves from this series!

The Yojimbo Trilogy ( Season 5 Episodes 7-9 ) Oh. My. God. YES. The love letter to Stan Sakai’s comics, the beautiful homage to vintage Japanese cinema with the camera framework and action, and OH MY LORD, THE COLORS AND SHADING DURING USAGI’S FIGHT WITH JAY IN THE FINALE???? THAT’S CINEMA! Excellent voice acting by Yuki Matsuzaki, which was his first English speaking role and personally chosen by Sakai himself to play the ronin rabbit! My only complaint is that I wish we’d gotten more of the Yojimbo characters in here, like Tomoe or Gen! Otherwise I can watch all three of these episodes on repeat and always get excited!

Lone Rat and Cubs ( Season 5 Ep. 10 ) The final appearance of Splinter, the episode Kevin Eastman wrote, and a beautiful send-off to this character. It’s a flashback, yes, but this is the episode we get to see Yoshi adapting to his mutation as a rat, raising his boys, trying to be a good father and struggling to survive from the Krang. It’s a part of his life we rarely ever get to see, and this episode shows us why he was a great father. Basically it's a try not to cry challenge. For me, THIS episode is the series finale because it’s just a perfect conclusion to Splinter and his story.

Requiem/Owari ( Season 4 Episodes 25-26 ) The finale to the overall series, the finale to this overarching story, and it’s just as heartbreaking and suspenseful as you’d expect. The writers don't hold back their punches, and it shows that the gloves have finally come off. The characters we’ve come to love and care for are at their breaking point, the Shredder is the most threatening he’s ever been, and the team decides it’s time to put the monster down for good. Whoever thinks this show was just ‘kiddie trash’ needs to be sat down and shown this two-parter, because GODDAMN. Ciro Nieli treated this with so much care and respect. I cannot help but adore the team who put this together because the stakes have been raised to an all-time high, and the final showdown between Shredder and the turtles here is hair-raising, all reaching its climax when Leonardo finishes Oroku Saki by beheading him. It’s powerful, it’s devastating, and it’s a damn excellent showcase of why this series was the best iteration of the franchise to date.

The Fourfold Trap ( Season 3 Ep. 23 ) Yet another homage to a horror movie, only this time it’s a lot more intense. Based on Saw, this episode makes you sit on the edge of your seat as you can only hope that the turtles will escape the traps Karai’s put them in. It’s all nerve wracking to watch on a first viewing experience, POOR DONNIE OH MY GOD, CAN WE STOP PUTTING THIS BOY IN ELECTROCUTION DEVICES???? He still manages to create a plan to save his brothers even while he’s being electrocuted! Also, SPLINTER IS BEST RAT DAD. This episode will teach you the meaning of ‘angsty dread’ and ‘overwhelming anxiety.’

Trans-Dimensional Turtles ( Season 4 Ep. 10 ) THE TURTLES FOREVER WE DESERVED BUT WE DIDN'T GET UNTIL CIRO NIELI HOOKED US UP WITH THE BEST CROSSOVER WE’VE EVER BEEN BLESSED WITH! The OG turtles are all so much fun to see again both in and out of 2D, Gilbert Godfried is always a delight, the 2012 turtles in traditional 2D animation is awesome, and ALL THE OG VOICE ACTORS ARE HERE AND CLEARLY HAVING THE TIMES OF THEIR LIVES. THE ROB PAULSEN JOKE IS LITERALLY A BLESSING XD I only wish it had been longer!

Honorable Mentions are Slash and Destroy, Pizza-Face, Within the Woods and Mutant Gangland!

And rounding it off is the last— but certainly not least— series, Rise!! I adore this one!! It’s right behind 2012 as my favorite TMNT series just for the stellar animation!! It’s such a shame that this one had to end so unfairly, but today I’m giving it the love it deserves!! Please note that I have yet to complete season two of ROTTMNT cuz my life has been crazy hectic and I haven’t had the time, but once I do, I’ll go back and update this section if I find more episodes I liked!

Raph’s Ride Along ( Season 2 Ep. 8A ) Ummmmmm the 2012 VA’s playing parody versions of their turtles as yokai criminals??? HELL YEAH. If only they got Astin to play a character though! Then we would’ve had a reverse Turtles Forever reunion! I came out of this episode really loving the Mud Dogz as characters and wanting more, especially Dastardly Danny cuz Rob Paulsen is always a win! Too bad this show got canned before we could really get to know these guys. BUT HEY! That’s what the fandom is for! 🤣

Insane in the Mama Train ( Season 1 Episode 25 ) When I watched this series blind, this episode blew my mind. Seeing something so well done had me screaming in joy with how expertly this episode was crafted. The stellar action choreography, the great comedic elements splashed in to lighten the tense mood, the ANIMATION OH MY LORD. Disney, take notes. And that ending leaves a pit in my stomach every time, like OOOOF, those expressions! That sudden tonal swap!

Mystic Library ( Season 1, Ep. 20A ) Probably my favorite comedy episode! The timing for the jokes in this one specifically is so well done, and every single one had me in tears. I’ve been trying to commit Donnie’s library rap to memory but alas, I’ve been failing.

The Clothes Don’t Make The Turtle ( Season 2 Episode 10B ) THIS. MORE OF THIS PRETTY PLEASE. It's just SO MUCH FUN. I really don’t have anything else to say other than this one is a great treat, also, the reanimated fan cut of this is spectacular!!

Snow Day ( Season 1 Ep. 23B ) This, for me, is the Christmas special of the series even though it’s in no way related to the holiday or has anything to do with it BUT I DON’T CARE LET ME DREAM. I love this one for the adorable interactions and the bonding! Seeing the characters goofing off and having fun, enjoying the weather and spending time together outside of the angst? I CRAVE FLUFF LIKE THIS.

And Tada! There it is! I hope you liked this!! It was tons of fun to compile all my favorite episodes into one project and share my thoughts! This fandom has been nothing but fantastic and I’m proud to be in it!

Thank you to all who have inspired me to keep going and pursue my dreams. You guys are great! @queen-with-the-quill @tending-the-hearth @wasted-and-ready @tmnt-tychou @mermmarie @figuringitoutasigoalong @lameboobah @zandiiangelspit @pumpkinpie59 @indieyuugure @angelicdavinci @imagine4000

And thank you to my IRL friends who have pulled me to my feet and supported me. Not only are you guys the best people I know, but I consider you guys family. You really saved me last year. I’m honored to call you my friends 💓

What are your favorite episodes?? Lemme know!! 😁 Maybe I’ll do a movie ranking next!

Cowabunga!! Have a great day!! 💚💚

#tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt 1987 #tmnt 2003 #tmnt 2012 #rottmnt #rise of the tmnt #maddys ramblings #tmnt analysis

[the-ninja-legacy-whip]

How would you rank each season and why? What did you like and dislike about them?(Including wildbrain if you want to)

ooooooooooh okaaaaaaaay fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine

*cracks knuckles* Just remember you asked for this

Buckle up bastards and bitches, we're tearing this shit apart!!! Going from worst to best so we can end on good taste!!! *loads my opinions into a bazooka like Lloyd with an Ice Cannon*

Rebooted- *drags hands down face* ....I really don't actually hate NS3, but as I mentioned on another post, a lot of things this season tried to pull off (read: practically everything) at least one other season did better. And I know it's not really this season's fault that it's such a mess, since it was whipped up in a whirlwind of unexpected serendipity, and it had less time to explore its ideas, but when people only truly remember and constantly bring up the worst parts about it, rather than few (if not far inbetween) good things that it brought to the table? Or people consistently straight up forget other things about it (primary shoutouts to Techno!Wu and the ninja going to literal space???) Yeah, probably not a great season overall.

Pros: Fun aesthetic, wasn't afraid to try new things, attempted to expand and build on previously introduced ideas, did well with the emotions and aftermath generated by Zane's sacrifice, Pixal, killer music, X-1 Ninja Charger, Sensei Garmadon, had the agenda of getting people back into Ninjago after it supposedly hit its grand finale and did succeed in that if nothing else Cons: Absolutely breakneck pacing to the point that its hard to recall what happens where, when, and even why, you could literally take out like 3-4 of the episodes (half the season!!!) and very little would be ultimately impacted, poor execution of: the established character arcs, dynamics, and motivations within the season (with exception of Garmadon); the attempts at further world building; and the ultimate impact of the antagonists (...people rave about Cryptor but he doesn't even really do anything!! And why did they need to bring the Overlord back at ALL—if this was really something of a Zane-centric season, Cryptor would've already been the perfect foil for him!! AND WHY PYTHOR. I AIN'T ACTUALLY MAD ABOUT THAT TBH BUT WHY THEN)

Hands of Time- This season's biggest issue is that it's...boring. Technically doesn't even do anything wrong, but even when trying to follow a mystery as big as what the heck happened to Nya and Kai's parents, or watching Lloyd begin to come into his own as a future master, or exploring the downfall of two ex-Elemental Masters who turned to evil...it comes off so...stilted and stale. Literally an episode is called 'The Attack'. The whole show is full of attacks, this gives me nothing!!! (But, to be fair, most of the other ep titles this season are pretty kickass). It's like NS6 in the way that a bunch of things happen (and not even nearly as incoherently) but 85% of it doesn't have any lasting or satisfying pay off, and most of it doesn't really mesh in a natural way either. A lot of it feels very contrived, with events happening just for the sake of it happening, and that probably contributes to why it's not quite as compelling as other seasons, despite absolutely having the foundation to be.

Pros: Has an interesting way of drawing parallels between several characters, added a good chunk of lore that generated fresh interest, Kai and Nya Sibling duo, introduced villains with unique motivations and complex history with the main character (directly or indirectly), Jay got that cool bike moment, getting to meet Ray and Maya, actually mention of Skylor being a "bad guy" previously and exploring some of her insight of that, previous EM info + flashbacks, Cons: ...executes a lot of the best things about it in such bland and unsatisfying ways, and could have been much tighter with tying its events all together–would've helped the ending (whether it was a "cliffhanger" or not) feel a lot more deserved and less....empty.

(Also not a real con for the season itself and its literally just a nitpick but I hate those outfits. How are they simultaneously overly-detailed yet so monotone??? There's no pleasing contrast nor a place for the eye to comfortably rest! How are my eyes to last beholding a season with THAT fashion?? This is literally the only time where the gi are a distraction to me because they're...clunky, in a way? But...y'know, given that impression, I suppose they do fit the season to a t, then— *bricked*)

March of the Oni- This season is like a collections of puzzle pieces for a good finale season...but, someone lost a few pieces from the box. Or a lot of them. Isolated, there's a lot of good bits that could've really thrived in a normal season format...but, once again, the limited number of episodes strangled the potential out of its own plotline, SO. Plus, it feels extra weak following off the heels of Hunted's already high stakes, and with these stakes supposed to be even higher, it just doesn't quite hit in the way it's supposed to. That being said, there's a lot of fun and/or intense character dynamics and moments interspersed throughout, and the ending was so cozy and bittersweet but lovely that I can't be too upset with it. It stuck the landing it wanted to, and I can respect that!

Pros: Very strong character moments, (mostly) well-placed use of nostalgia, beautiful music, and overall a suitable little wrap up to "Masters of Spinjitzu" Cons: Not enough room/time to let some plot points breathe (a problem common to a few other seasons as well), and the antagonists could have done more, especially given their previous build up.

The Island- I don't even really count it as a season but it's going here. It was just...okay. Not actually all that bad, but not out-of-this-world great either. Laid the foundation for lore expansion for Seabound which is appreciated, utilized the characters well (EXCEPT RONIN WHAT THE FUCK NO), and again, I can respect it for what it was trying to do. Just didn't do anything that really stuck with me in a mind-blowingly positive way.

Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu- Kiiiiinda wish this season was strictly about "Forbidden Spinjitzu and it's secrets", rather than the "Forbidden Spinjitzu" leading to...assorted shenanigans. Could've made for a good Wu season, honestly. Also kinda wish they'd taken the concepts for the Fire and Ice Chapters and made them into more focused stories on Kai and Zane (especially if they were going to go on and do or attempt that exact thing for Jay, Cole, Nya, and Lloyd properly). Wishing aside, while there was a bit of a lull getting things started, the excitement did pick up soon enough. This season did eventually introduce some fun twists, (mostly) enjoyable character dynamics, and having a little lighter of an adventure until it wasn't after MotO was a refreshing change of pace.

Pros: Lots of individual moments to dig into and get invested in, a nice expansion on the lore of Wu's past + other realms beyond Ninjago, Cons: A little hard to initially get into, and can be even harder to keep wanting to push through and watch to the end. Both the Fire and Ice Chapter have points where they feel a bit "aimless" in their middle portions of their acts, and the season as a whole simultaneously feels like it's longer than it needed to be + didn't always use the time it had efficiently.

Legacy of the Green Ninja- Fellas as I've been finishing up my planning for Legacy!S2, I have to confess this Season isn't quite the masterpiece we remember it as snksnksnksnk. There's literally 2-3 episodes that are ENTIRELY pointless, and none of them are even the """"filler"""" ones. It felt like it was trying to be a wacky shenanigan-of-the-week thing and a "dramatic world-ending thriller adventure" at the same time in both halves of the season, and that didn't always pan out in its favor, giving this season a bit of a lost/confused identity—especially one that so explicitly implicates Lloyd as being important, and yet most of the episodes are spent following the escapades of the Core Four still (which is not inherently a bad thing, but WHERE'S THE SO-CALLED LEGACY?!?! WHERE'S THE GREEN NINJA?!) ........anywho, negativity-fueled-by-recency-bias aside, even its short-comings still make for a highly enjoyable watch and rewatch, which isn't something that can be easily said for the previously mentioned seasons. And, there is still a LOT of funny, heartwarming, heartbreaking, and downright epic moments! But, not always immediately memorable ones.

(but also like please you have to UNDERSTAND there's literally a scene during the final battle where Wu, Misako, and Julien are on the ultra dragon and one of em's like "WE HAVE TO HELP" and, i swear i timed this this is legitimately accurate, TWO SECONDS LATER they make like two wing flaps going nowhere and Wu or Misako's like "THIS AS FAR AS WE GO" LIKE WHAAAAAAT?!?!?!!?! HELP LMAO)

Pros: Easy to get into, easy to keep watching, god-level music, and the simple ass humor still makes me laugh like a lunatic all these years later ("O'GRANDMA???" "I can make a little extra if I do the human piñata." "BEQUEATH! BEQUEATH!" *wordlessly using Zane as a battering ram* *the entire absurdity of Wrong Place, Wrong Time* *Dareth's existence*) Cons: The inconsistency of its overall direction still gives me whiplash all these years later, and I wish it had better embraced a singular identity, as that probably would've helped immensely both with character focus and the at times odd pacing of the plot.

Prime Empire- Finally, some good food! Similar to SotFS, this season took a while to kickstart and find its groove and keep it, but by the end it was sooooo much off-the-walls fun that it's hard to actually hate it. Lots of missed opportunities to expand on Jay's character though, especially when those Prime Empire shorts primarily focused on Jay released alongside the season would've been GREAT to see in actual episodes, and probably could've been what tipped it higher onto this list. While what we did get towards the end was super cool, it would've have MUCH more impact if it had better prior buildup. But, this season is incredibly solid in ways that may not be immediately obvious, though does still a bit to be desires at times too.

Pros: Fun and glorious setting for adventure, some very potent and very memorable character moments, SUPERSTAR ROCKIN' JAY, and a very strong finish that still gets me buzzed when it think about it. Cons: Slow start, many missed opportunities, left me wanting just a bit more (in the not-good way) despite the satisfying finish.

Crystalized- *folds hands in front of face* I probably should put this lower than Prime Empire overall quality-wise, but idk man, Crystalized scratched a lot of my personal itches...and also sent me banging my head into a wall, so. While I genuinely, honestly did enjoy my time with this season (I laughed, I cried, I "what the fuck"ed), there's the other half of my mind that just couldn't stop questioning sooooooo many decisions for the direction of the main characters, and constantly doing so did take me out of it way, way too often. For something that was going to serve as (another) big, grand send off...this one may have stuck the landing better than Hands of Time, but. IDK. Something still felt off at the end of everything.

Pros: (Mostly) incredible fight scenes, and action moments, we got to see perspectives of certain character dynamics that hadn't been explored before or not as often, there really is a lot of cool shit in here, loved the return of so many old faces, honestly very enjoyable if you're able to turn your brain off just a bit Cons: WHAT THE HELL DID THEY DO TO NYA, WHY ARE Y'ALL SLEEPING SO HARD ON THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY TO FINALLY GIVE LLOYD SOME REAL ACTUAL DEVELOPMENT THAT MADE SENSE, IF YOU WERE REALLY PLANNING ON "REDEEMING" HARUMI WHY DIDN'T YOU PACE IT OUT BETTER, WHY ARE THE CORE FOUR NEAR USELESS, DID WE REALLY HAVE TO SPEND A FOURTH OF THE SEASON IN A PRISON WAS THERE NO BETTER WAY TO GET OLD VILLAINS INVOLVED OR FOR RUMI TO INTIMIDATE LLOYD FROM THE SHADOWS, WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THE NEW NINJA, THERE'S SOOOO MUCH MISSED STUFF SURROUNDING NYA'S SACRIFICE/RETURN, AND WHY DID THEY SCRAP SO MANY ACTUALLY NEAT IDEAS FOR THISSSSSSS *dies*

Hunted- Gonna be honest, it's been a hot second since I've watched NS9 because everyone being in such distress stresses ME out just thinking about it (I'm apparently the people Jay was worried about lmao) and I haven't quite brought myself to subject myself to it again. However, I do remember it being an incredible watch and every episode bringing something epic to the table, and honestly I just see it as a sequel or a part 2 to SoG. Good music, strong character beats, satisfying in pacing all the way through; a great and surprisingly introspective season, just got outshined a bit by some of the pure spectacle and overall enjoyment of other seasons.

Not gonna give Pros/Cons here because I genuinely don't remember specifics—not because any of it was "Forgettable"; I literally just technically only watched it once snksnksnk. I know it's mostly nothing but good stuff with maybe a few snags here or there, but a superbly solid season.

Sons of Garmadon- Ah yes, one of two fan favorites. And a favorite of mine as well! Just...well, it's not really a Season I ever have the urge to go back to often, which is something the following seasons to come are about to have in common. It's got a rock solid plot, delicious twists, always kept me on the edge of my seat, had a lot fascinating locations and new lore...all wrapped up in a gripping entertaining time to be had. Though, it's kind of a season where you watch it once, are completely satisfied with, and then maybe only come back to it if and when you're rewatching the whole series (at least for me—that being said, I've watched season 8 waaay more than I've watch season 9 snksnk).

Pros: Well-thoughtout plot, fully compelling antagonists, another shout out to the music, dared to take some risks as the show entered a new era, and for once everyone felt like they were contributing as a single group, which was nice to see until they weren't Cons: As stated, already a very solid season; it's just a few scenes that probably could've used some polish for extra impact in hindsight.

Way of the Ninja- Well, if I'm including the Island, might as well include the Pilots! It's only above Hunted/SOG here because *I* happen to like it more and have rewatched it a great many times haha. Honestly the only cons are that I wished we'd had some little adventures in the Ice Fortress/Floating Ruins, and that the ninja themselves had more of a presence in the ultimate confrontation with Garmadon. Otherwise the Pilots did an absolutely fantastic job of laying the groundwork for the show to come, and using witchcraft to hook many of us into adoring these characters with insane chemistry from the get-go with nothing but the bare minimum. Nothing but love and respect for my pilots! <3

Skybound- Only reason this is higher than the previous three on this list is because *I* personally enjoyed it more, that's all. For overall quality and consistency, Hunted, Pilots, and SoG clear it easily. ANYWAY I LOVE SKYBOUND. It's probably actually my second favorite season these days but I'm already about to be crucified for putting it this high on the list rip. Oh there's plenty of things wrong with this season: out of character moments including but not limited to misogyny, contradictory statements, contradictory actions, saying things they would never say prior to this season; the antagonist has wildly changing motivations almost every episode along with uncomfy tendencies, every episode feels wildly different and/or disconnected from the others, the things are happening all over the place at any given time...it's chaotic, messy, and I LOVE IT. It's a mess but it's my mess and if you dig deep enough there's a lot to love buried in the muck that I, as an individual, feel that makes the season worth it all <3

Pros: PIRATES, everything about Jay, Watching Jaya develop over the course of the season for better or worse, getting some insight into the other characters via the wishes they make, watching Jay get his moments to be the absolute badass and even Nadakhan acknowledging that (just with some horribly misguided but well-meaning intentions of the heart but he's HUMAN), the HUMOR, the Ninja Replacements and Jay getting to show off some leadership FINALLY, Jay whump, Lloyd's pirate impression, Lil Nelson!!!, Jay with an eyepatch, crashing a wedding, Echo Zane!, a commentary on how people perceive us and how we perceive ourselves can lead to great inner and outer conflict, pretty ass animation scenes esp for being in the earlier era, we got the greatest gi to ever grace our unworthy presence despite being folded the wrong way, did I mention Jay— Cons: Literally everything stated previously and probably more I'm sure you already know. But also why did they randomly MAKE DARETH LIKE THAT GOOD LORD WHY this is on par with Ronin in the Island IS2G

Rise of the Snakes- The vintage classic!!! Not ~perfect~ by any means BUT it told a cohesive story while giving everyone (even including Nya!) a little bit of spotlight and some significance and brought it all together so neatly with emotion and FUN that of course it had the power to reshape our childhoods (or teenhoods. Or adulthoods. Or nowhoods). Really its biggest flaw is simply that it was first, thus of course having a little less polish and therefore had to pave the way for better seasons to follow, but it was still a mighty tough act to follow.

Pros: Many establishing moments for the main crew for their adventures to come, antagonists that were funny, threatening, and had some pretty convincing motivations, Lloyd, highly memorable overall, easy to jump back into, gave us the legendary Weekend Whip (unless that was in the credits to the pilots too i don't remember) Cons: A bit dated nowadays, and rough around the edges, but doesn't do anything inherently wrong either. I'd say the pacing is a little quick, but in this season in particular its masked so well that you really only notice if you're looking for it (which I had been)

Master of the Mountain- And now, the truly cream of the crop. NS13 was the thing we've always wanted and always knew we needed and finally the powers that be delivered. I could rave day in and day out about Cole finally getting some much deserved focus, but for as strong and heavy-hitting as his whole arc was, the stories of the other ninja pale a bit in comparison, leaving this season unable to break the top three. Otherwise a masterclass in storytelling. And Cole.

Pros: COLE SEASON, HYPE AF FIGHT SCENES, COLE'S MOMMY, VANIA, THE UPPLY, WU AND COLE DYNAMIC, ZANE THROWING ROCKS AT KAI, THE VOICE DIRECTION (esp Lloyd, Cole, and Kai), THE SUBTLE MYSTERY OF IT ALL, THE MUSIC, THE INTRIGUE, AAAAAAA Cons: NOT ENOUGH COLE, antagonist was a bit bleh (though those fight scenes he had SERVED), could have had a little better utilization of the characters outside of "Cole's crew"

Seabound- MMMMMMM EVERY SINGLE EPISODE HIT SO GOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!! NYA EATING FOR REAL!!! THE GODDAMN INSANE FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHY!!!! THE PEAK VILLAIN!!! THE MUSIC! THE EMOTIONS! THE PAPERGIRL! THE BENTHO! THE PILLOW MINT! THE CRUMBLING COOKIE! THE JAY ALMOST DYING FOR HIS FRIENDS! THE NYA BASICALLY DYING FOR HER FRIENDS! THE SILENT I LOVE YOU!!! THE UTTERLY GUTTING WAY IT ENDED AND LEFT ME COMATOSE FOR THREE DAYS!!!!! IT WAS SO BEAUTIFULLLLLLLL WHO GAVE THEM PERMISSION TO POP THIS HARD

Pros: *gestures wildly* Cons: It made me sad

Possession- Here we have the other fan favorite season, the bible for all people Morro-obsessed. Essentially the Seabound of the older era but with significantly less emotional devastation snksnksnk. Top-notch characterization—the Core Four have never been better with their dynamics, humor, and teamwork, it's the first real time Nya (and if we wanna be picky, Cole) get some dedicated introspective time, Lloyd is truly put to a very personal test, Ronin is there, and Morro serves as both a fantastic antagonist and a foil for all those he opposes. Simply isn't the top spot strictly because when I think of my favorite season...this ain't it, though it absolutely deserves to be.

Pros: THE CHARACTERIZATION FOR ALL, AMAZING ANTAGONIST, ALSO BEAUTIFUL ANIMATIONS, HUMOR AND HORRORS IN ONE GO, EXTREMELY REWATCHABLE, MOAR MUSIC, ENDED BITTERSWEET BUT WITH HOPE AND A SICKASS QUOTE Cons: Perhaps a touch overhyped but that's not actually the season's fault nor is it actually a con I just needed to put something here this thing is honestly airtight perfect when it comes to seasons gfgsfddfdhfkls

Tournament of Elements- yes. Yes. YEEEEEEES. To be fair this should be #3 or #4 overall quality wise MMMMMBUT I THINK ITS POTENCY CLEARS THE GAP! Season 4 ran so Season 5 could fly!!!! THE RECIPE FOR A PERFECT STORY, just, perhaps a touch undercooked, BUT THE INTENTIONS WERE FELT AND I VIBE WITH THEM H A R D

Pros: IN A SEASON WHERE THE VILLAIN DIVIDES PEOPLE WE LEARN THAT THERE IS STRENGTH IN KEEPING AND MAINTAINING MANY DIFFERENT KIND OF RELATIONSHIPS EVEN IF IT SEEMS HARD AND IMPOSSIBLE AND IN SPITE OF OUR DIFFERENCES AND EVEN IF WE DO FIND OURSELVES DIVIDED, WE SEE WE ARE STRONGER WHEN WE ARE ABLE TO COME TOGETHER AS ONE. THESE THEMES ARE SUPPORTED BY THE CHARACTERS, MUSIC, PLOT, THE ANIMATION OF THE EXPRESSIONS, AND I THINK THIS IMPORTANT OVERARCHING MESSAGE TRIUMPHS OVER EVERYTHING ELSE AS IT TRULY RESTS AT THE HEART OF NINJAGO AS A WHOLE *mic drop* Cons: Wish it delved just a bit more into the other EMs–what in the world have they all been up to??? Also wish the season ran with the tournament theme throughout the whole season rather than suddenly bouncing around in like the last three or so episodes–that kind of killed its momentum when it needed it the most. But, it still definitely stuck the landing!

#ninjago #lego ninjago #idk what else to tag this #i'm going to bed bai #don't mock my typos

[highfantasy-soul]

Looking at how media has progressed, specifically TV shows, it's so funny how quickly the 'new model' takes over everything and people just...idk, freak out? heavily criticize? get a false sense of superiority over? any show that steps foot outside their newly expected box.

Memories are short, we know this. But it really wasn't long ago that TV shows put out pilots that were filmed entirely separate from the rest of the season and that pilot had to do really well in order for the show to be picked up at all. This led to pilot episodes being suuuuuper blunt about the concept, characters, world, and plot (and many times some stuff retconned in the subsequent episodes). Because those TV shows that survived have become well known and well loved, those first episodes/seasons have been rewritten in people's minds to the point where they genuinely don't remember how hamfisted writing was at the beginning of the show - because that's how they got people to be interested in watching.

It wasn't part of the model to 'show not tell' and stretch basic character beats out for the entire season. Due to the format, they front loaded exposition to let the watcher get a feel for the characters/world and THEN slowed down and settled in. Once we moved to a show structure where things were connected (part of a franchise), shows stopped front loading so much though it was still there- after all, they were still airing week-to-week on cable. But they trusted the 'built in' audience because the show was based on an already popular thing.

Then Netflix started dropping shows in one huge chunk. Now, you didn't have to worry about hooking a viewer immediately and shoving the whole world building exposition into the first episode, you just needed to give them the basics (especially if it was fantasy) and then provide a cliffhanger at the end of each episode that would support the 'binge' model of viewing.

Now, we've started to shift back to a weekly format for many shows, though they all seem to be still part of franchises, so that audience is already built in. But we do get '2 episode' or '3 episode' premiers to let the set-up take it's time while still giving viewers enough to ground them in the world and look forward to more.

So the point here is that none of these writing formats is 'wrong' and none of them are 'right'. They shift to accommodate how the show is going to be viewed. When people criticize 'wonky pacing', I just can't help but roll my eyes. Maybe you personally don't like the pace, but the pace isn't 'wrong'. Hell, I love high fantasy and people freak out all the time about the slow pace of that. People see shows dropping at an unconventional rate and declare that it's because the studio has no faith in the project and it's bad, actually (see Echo, which was really, really, good actually).

When people criticize 'heavy exposition' in first episodes, I roll my eyes again. That's what you do when you're introducing people to a world (especially a fantasy one) and the story isn't centered around figuring out how the world works. Sure, if you like slowly figuring out how the world works, then a show that doesn't explore that might not be your cup of tea, but recognize that and know that that's personal taste, not objective writing truth. First episodes can be REALLY GOOD and also have heavy exposition.

I like being able to look at all the different ways storytelling is done - the different paces, focus on different things, etc etc. Classics are written VERY differently from modern stuff, stories from different cultures are extremely different from ones you've always grown up with, thrillers are going to be told differently from cozy fantasy. None of these are 'wrong' or 'bad writing' because it's not the other. They're just different.

I guess what I'm saying is get out of your little 'media critique' bubble and understand there's no one correct way to write a story. Your obsession with 'spotting bad writing' is actually defeating your ability to critically examine media outside your extremely narrow world view. Look back to the past and realize things were done so differently then, but understand that it wasn't 'bad'. Look to other cultures/genres and understand one isn't 'better' than the other and should be the 'standard'.

It's ok to prefer one way over the other, but be careful tossing out the blanket, nearly meaningless now, 'bad writing' criticism as if you actually know what that means.

(Why does all my annoyance at 'media criticism' feel like it always circles back to Cinema Sins and the irreparable damage they did to people's brains?)

#media criticism #tv shows #media writing #tv writing #writing advice #I never know what to tag stuff like this because it's not like it's explicitly 'fandom' related and I DO NOT want to just attract the most #annoying parts of fandoms I tag #because this is about like all recent tv shows - since everyone has now decided that they're media writing experts and their opinions are #actually factually what 'good writing' is even when it's the most dog shit takes I've ever seen in my life

[rui-drawsbox]

Hi, it’s me again *blows up several buildings and kills eighty seven bystanders with my sheer aura*

I figured out more stuff for my gay little episode outlines, so anyways, here’s the outline for episode two of my horrifying little plot idea for your Magical Knight Arashi au:

K, so after the bullshit Arashi dealt with she deserves a break, too bad, anyways the sword turned into an aesthetic looking makeup brush when she detransformed. Me thinks, she deserves a transformation item.

Anyways she a student so it’s education time, and by that I mean school + drama

she and Mika talk again, it’s fairly normal, he’s still a weird little man pretending to be a tsundere but he does ask if she liked the bear charm he gave her, she fucking loves it btw cuz it’s adorable. (Little standoffish man ain’t used to interacting with normal people, living with Shu does that to you ig 😔)

Mika, being the self sabotaging king that he is, asks if she has anyone better to talk to. Arashi is of course like “no” but with a tone that clearly means to indicate “are you ok?” But Mika doesn’t get that. So Arashi talk about her friends to him. Izumi, Leo, and Ritsu <3 and then she invites him to eat lunch with them.

Mika declines :( (for good reason but we’ll get to that eventually, he does kind of want to go but he knows he can’t, and it’s a Shu thing btw, Shu wants him to blend in and making friends is kind of part of that, it’s just, another thing)

anyways we cut to the class where Leo is, Shu is introduced via a goofy yah funny way, like he’s the comedically stuck up classmate.

he and Izumi are fighting

Leo is trying to break up the verbal smack down but like, it ain’t really working, eventually once these bitches tire each other out or a teacher intervenes they’ll stop.

Leo tries to calm down and comfort Izumi with a hand on his shoulder but Izumi brushes him off

Leo also tries to invite him to lunch again and he tells Izumi that he, Arashi, and Ritsu all miss him at lunch

Izumi declines and says that he has to go before storming out of that classroom as soon as the bell rings

Leo complains to Arashi and Ritsu about Izumi at lunch.

After Leo is done venting his frustrations Arashi brings up the weird shit from the night before

She tries to show the photo she got of the mannequins? No, weird living dolls. On her phone, but all the photos are blurred out.

Ritsu is like “So, what are we supposed to see here?”

Arashi explains and shows them the gem mark + the makeup brush + the 87 photos she got of her new cat.

Leo and Ritsu believe her cuz like, they’re besties, and also, it’s Leo and Ritsu, they’ve dealt with weirder, Aliens + Rei Sakuma

anyways the besties decide that A. Arashi needs to do something fun to get her mind off things + B. They want to do something for Izumi cuz he’s been super stressed recently

So they go out together to look for something to buy him. Girlboss mall trip <<33

After browsing through a few shops they pick out a couple things for him, a nice shirt and some ink for that pretty glass pen he likes to use. (Leo picked out the second one)

They go to a little cafe with those cute colorful drinks in the mall for a snack. This is the usual hang out spot for a lot of the younger students, like the first years, especially if they like sweets.

Ritsu notices something is up.

there are gold strings creeping along the floor, and they seem to be going toward Arashi’s bag

Ritsu grabs her bag and stand from his chair.

Arashi and Leo are of course like “??????”

but they go along with what he’s doing, the strings start to follow him so he gets up and goes lmao, the three of them leave the table and their drinks behind. (At this establishment you pay at the counter so they’ve already paid for the drinks)

These bitches actually get chased by the strings until they end up in a deserted place (the fucking back alley outside the mall where people usually load stuff from trucks)

Arashi grabs the makeup brush out of her bag so she can transform to do something about the strings, maybe cut them?? She doesn’t really know

So the strings form these circles on the ground right? Cool. They open up little portals and the dolls materialize out of the strings (it kind of looks like they’ve been woven together like a tapestry)

Arashi is trying to transform but she cant figure out how to do it. So Leo starts beating the fuck out of the dolls like the feral street cat that he is.

he starts getting his ass kicked and when he’s about to get slammed into a wall Arashi figures it out and transforms

she deals with the dolls pretty easily and they unravel back into little piles of string

anyways things go on, these three besties go back to the house to play with the cat and also patch up Leo’s scratches.

also Tsukasa saw the whole fight, oops.

yeah he saw them leave the cafe in a panic and decided to follow just incase the kids from his school were in trouble and he legit saw the entire thing. Have fun dealing with this Arashi.

I’m having a lot of fun with this Lmao. I hope you enjoyed this <<33

thank you for the wonderful ideas Rui. I have so much more that I want to write about this Lmao. I’ll be back when I have time and another outline that I want to share <<33

*gets out of a timetravel machine* hello, misano from almost a week ago :)

i would drawn all of this before but 1. i had no idea how and 2. last week i was in my house only to sleep haha /sobs

now going to the central theme!

early series Mika got the same social skills as a 11 years old introverted otaku obsessed with yuno gasai frfr

Shu being unbearable for Izumi is so fking funny to me for no reason. I've always felt like when these two meet they would pull each other's hair idkwhy JDFAS

Izumi is so done with that school that he can't not-be an asshole :)

also i've been acting like i know how tf Arashi's cat looks like but i can't denie it anymorE i think is this cat from that card cuz is the only one i can find

I like to think that some moment out screen she went to the closest pet store and just bought half of the store for her new kitty

thanks to Ritsu for noticing those strings or our series would end up a lot earlier than planned 👏👏

also while they run away from the strings you can't tell they didn't hit at least ONE kid like

Ritsu: *hits a kid with the bag*

Leo: holy shi-

Arashi: SORRY CHILD SORRY MA'AM

also i fully want to think that Tsukasa followed them expecting something surreal, but like drugs or them just doing a joke video surreal, not *now i suppose that i live in a magic world where people can transform and bring out a sword out of nowhere in seconds, and also there's fucking living dolls* surreal

anywys, amazing work as always my dude c:! I can't wait for the next chapter!! <-already read it 5 days ag

ME DESAPAREZCO *throws a smoke bomb**trips and falls*

#i dont have a lot to add today haha #im mentally dead #actually this whole blog was a joke and im just an AI trcking everyone #rui draw smth #ensemble stars #enstars #ensemble stars fanart #arashi narukami #(omg magical girl arashi) #mika kagehira #leo tsukinaga #ritsu sakuma #izumi sena #tsukasa suou #shu itsuki

[the-big-nope]

So as not to continue spamming my discord group, gonna start off-loading TLOVM thoughts here, because I love examining how this show works as an adaptation, and in this particular post I just wanted to comment on how delightful (in both a dramatic and also a "this is clearly meant to toy with the non-critter audience" sense) I find how they did "The Sunken Tomb"/"Those Who Walk Away." Because if you don't know how things went in the campaign, it is a constant, stressful bait-and-switch over which twin is going to come out worse in the end.

If you don’t already know what’s going to happen, you'd think from the way they handled the build up in Sunken Tomb (Vex being the more focal character, telling Vax in the flashback that she doesn't need him, Vax descending alone into the hole in the tomb) that something bad is going to happen to him, but NOPE, it's Vex that gets toasted. Then in the next episode during the resurrection ritual, the way they visualized the Matron accepting Vax's offer was by cutting a thread. Stream watchers know those threads symbolize fate and what that represents for these characters and their stories, but people who don’t know that would probably think "thread of life," like the Greek Fates cutting someone's lifeline. Using that reasoning, one would assume Vex is dead. But NOPE! Then when Vex wakes up and there's a notable segment of time where Vax isn't shown at all, people are made to think "Oh god, she took the deal, he's dead or gone and they're just stalling the reveal." BUT NOPE! I just think it was a clever way to play around with the genre savviness of the non-critters watching the show.

I almost wish they'd pushed it a little bit farther by not having Vax already in the armor. It just appearing on him was spooky in a fun way and it was probably because they needed a strong visual cue that the deal had been accepted, so I can understand why they went with it, but I still wonder if leaving it ambiguous and letting the non-critter audience be stressed the whole episode about what the fuck was going on with Vax until he passed the test might have made awakening the Vestige even punchier, even more epic, and one last sneaky bit of whiplash for the audience. After he solos the not!Beholder they think "oh, this is actually a cool thing! We were worried for nothing!" And they're lured into a false sense of security for a short bit before his last vision at the end of the episode dampens the mood, confirming that no, there is in fact a steep price that has to be paid here, and this matter is far from resolved.

#The Legend of Vox Machina #tlovm #lovm #tlovm spoilers

[crazy56u]

Happy Valentines Day, time for newspapers and jackass raisin-looking fuckers.

“Last time on Quantum Leap: Oh, I bet you thought we forgot about that chip subplot… Get fucked.”

And now the wolf is in the hen house, and odds are he ain’t fucking leaving.

Also, Ben wrote a letter; in unrelated news, Tom is pissed.

Hard cut to the 80s!

Cinematic parallels: Ian got an ominous phone call last week, Ben gets one today.

“Look, I could tell you more about the people who are gonna die, but because I hate you now- (CLICK!) (beeeeeeeeeeeeep)”

“God, where do I find you people?!” …the want ads?

Why does the guy Ben leapt into look like Jack Quaid?

Ben, you are doing swimmingly at acting normal today.

And the reporter is dismissing the fact Ben got an ominous phone call, and I vividly remember a car blowing up in the trailer for this episode, so, 5… 4… 3…

“Look, I’m Connie Davis, fuck your phone call.”

“This is the biggest story I’ve had in months.” And hard cut to Halloweentown.

“Steve, exactly how big is your pumpkin?” Big enough to topple the government?

I love how you can tell Connie wanted to die the second “Good gourd” was spoken.

“Now Steve, I know your viewers are dying to know- just like how your wife is probably literally dying, based on that cough-”

Meanwhile, the real 3 Ws: Waffles, wine, and Wednesday afternoon napping

“Okay, Steve said words, I wanna leave now.”

“There, I punched the camera, that’s how you know the battery died.”

“Look, Ben, you stopped a stroke, but car crashes are a little more unpredictable. Also, there’s this guy, Gideon-“

And I’m hoping to God the produces bought that number before someone tried to call it…

“Can we please focus on the leap, and not the subplots?”

My guess, Connie got fired for talking shit about Barbara Walters.

“And now she does-“ “Pumpkins.” Phrasing.

The more pumpkin puns she is forced to hear and say, the more Connie wants to die.

And cut to Newton’s shit ass cradle.

[Full disclosure: I am actively muting the parts of the episode involving Gideon. I have captions in, but still.]

“All I’m suing is blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.”

Just saying, Ben had three shots to indirectly erase Gideon from the plot, and I doubt this one’s gonna be the one.

“Look, sir, I’ve been kept in the dark, maybe let me in on this subplot?”

[And now I am actively glad I am muting Gideon; I can just tell he’s saying this bit of expo with a smug tone.]

Oh fuck you, I wrote “blah blah” because I didn’t have time for your bullshit, you don’t get to use “blah blah”.

…calling it now, whatever “needs” to happen, Magic is gonna take one for the team.

[Sound goes on.]

Meanwhile in the parking garage of doom.

Bean, you suck at the news.

…okay, I was joking, but is the parking garage haunted?

Fellas, you ever get cockblocked by an answering machine?

“Look, man, I know I have a gun and a ski mask, but you are freaking me the fuck out; why were you talking to a ghost?”

Dude, Ben doesn’t even know what the story is. Neither do we!

Game Theory: The guy actually forgot to check if his gun was loaded, and had to pivot at the last second.

“That’s right, I punched you in the face, I hope you learned something today.”

[“Okay, Ben blacked out, cue the title.”]

Stop telling Ben to drop a thing he knows shit all about.

…is it bad that I thought she was gonna dump whiskey on his wound?

“I think we have a story-” “A concussion.” A story-driven concussion.

BREAKING NEWS: Pumpkins are attacking people!

“Look, I had to make you look like a dumbass to save your ass.”

“What if this is the next Watergate? You know, I heard the real reason that got tipped off to the press was because a college professor snuck into the building so that this one student could say goodbye to her dad before he went to Vietnam! He even did a dance on the steps and talked to a ghost!”

“Rule one of doing work: See rule one.”

“Why are you always covered in blood, and do I keep thinking that’s low key hot?”

Ben, the universe can suck an egg.

“You’re the best leaper I know.” Meanwhile Elsewhere, Sam Beckett is seething.

“It was either being a journalist or being in the military, Ben.”

Ben 100% stole that whiteboard.

And now Ben and Addison have to figure out what the plot is.

“What do we know?” “Not much.” For example, throwing this out there, the date?

“A suit works at a company.” Mic drop.

It took mentioning a lawyer for us to get within the ballpark of the date this leap is happening on.

“There, I wrote ‘Lawyer’ big. Are closer to solving this leap?”

That fucking beast of a computer…

“Look, it’s an all-nighter, and I want a distraction from the Gideon subplot.”

Ben, no, you were doing so good, don’t get distracted by relationship shit!

I have a sinking suspicion that wasn’t all the coffee Ben drank…

Okay, so, technically Tom was the puppet.

“Look, I can do my job and be pissy about relationship bullshit.”

“I got a call at 3 in the morning telling me to burn Quantum Leap to the ground.” I swear to fucking God if that was an indirect way of saying NBC’s cancelling the show…

[No sooner did I type that, Tumblr tried eating this post, I ain’t taking any chances, part 2.]

#quantum leap #the outsider #spoilers #halloweentown #archer #star crossed #to be continued

[riverstardis]

not in holby anymore:

oh this is the wizard of oz one skdjjfgj that opening’s so weird

charlie and duffy are treating a patient dressed as dorothy and then standing playing snog marry avoid and jacob tells them off for chatting SJDKFJJ duffy would snog louise, marry ethan, and avoid jacob

lmaoo charlie tells jacob he doesn’t have to go round shouting at everyone because of how bad the inspection report was and he bets him he can improve things in a different way and they come up with a plan

sdjkfkg jacob tells the nurses and noel the trust have come up with a new team building exercise where they have to work on their weaknesses and tells louise to “be kind”, noel to “engage your brain”, and david to “grow a pair” hmmm remind you of anything?

some people parking directly in front of a fire exit… there is no way this could end badly is there

lmao max and jez stole alicia’s tablet and posted on her social media and apparently her mum now thinks she’s a pregnant white supremacist💀💀💀

was this a special for a specific occasion or something???

ohh this scene with cal and ethan at their lockers!! with ethan looking at his dating profile and cal’s like “had any nibbles, nibbles?” skskkfkg

cal steals ethan’s phone to look but there’s no one there and ethan says he’s waiting for the right girl and cal says “come on there’s loads of talent on here” and starts looking through them

“oh look, that’s the fit f1 on keller” jasmine burrows. she was an actual holby character right? rather than someone they just made up? her name and face do ring a bell.

he keeps looking through them like “oh hang on- i’ve had her” and ethan’s like “unfortunately there isn’t a filter for girls my brother has slept with” SJDKFKF

cal starts editing his about me bit and ethan tries to protest but he’s like “trust me on this one bro, give it an hour… or two, and they’ll be ethan out the palm of your hand” THATS SO BAD😭😭😭

ethan tries to get his phone back but cal says he’ll hang on to it and leaves skdkfk

fun fact when i last rewatched this episode last year i posted a clip of that scene on twitter and RICHARD WINSOR QUOTE TWEETED IT ! he follows one of my mutuals and she’d rted it so i assume that’s how he saw it bc otherwise??? that was a wild day because on top of that i posted sahdor fanart on insta and both arin smethurst and milo clarke saw it, commented, and shared on their stories and milo followed me and then arin followed me the next day!! i was like what on earth is going on today?!?!

yup someone sets the fire alarm off and now people are getting crushed at that blocked exit

david being a hero jumping down from an upper floor to move the car!!

wait a second… a crush… like the wicked witch being crushed by a house?? i never realised that before😭😭

charlie going “somebody please pass me an oil can, i think she’s rusting up!” lmaooo. louise says why’s he acting weird skskfkjf just you wait louise

aw no one believes david that he jumped off a three story building

big mac mention!

sjdjjfjg there’s a drunk frequent flyer and neither ethan or cal want to take him but cal’s like “tell you what, you take him and you get your phone back” and ethan goes “that’s not how it works! … apparently it is” bc cal’s walked off already😭

charlie going “we don’t need you to be a cowardly lion, david. we need you to roar.” and then making him repeat it and making him roar and he does a massive roar in the middle of resus SJDKFKGKKG

david impressing jacob finally

cal gives ethan his phone back and he has 8 messages but only because cal changed his bio to say ‘easy going doctor💲💲💲 …looking for some fun. NSA’ 😭😭😭 also i think one of those messages is from the f1 on keller judging by the profile pic

aww his likes section lists literature and french films yep that sounds about right. also his age is 30 according to his profile which means this episode is not set when it aired because it aired on the 26th november when he would’ve still been 29.

he asks what nsa means right as alicia walks in and she answers “no strings attached. didn’t think that was your sort of thing?” and he’s like “no! it was cal’s idea. i’m certainly not looking for an… nsa”

she says there’s nothing wrong with a bit of online dating and asks to see and he gives her his phone and she rewrites his bio “keep it brief but meaningful. who’s that physicist that you like again?” and ethan looks a bit shocked but goes to answer but she remembers so they say it at the same time and then she types out a full quote/poem by his favourite physicist FROM MEMORY and then smiles at him and cal is just completely oblivious… mate your brother and your girlfriend are having an emotional affair right in front of your eyes WAKE UP MAN

anyways scibblesssss🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

and here we see ethan falling in love😭 in s33 he tells alicia that that was his favourite quote and this was the moment he realised he “loved being around [her]”🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 actually after this i may go screen record those two moments and post them side by side because THEYRE SO CUTE

lmaooo louise david and noel are all remarking on how well they did to jacob and then louise mentions the name of the person in HR who supposedly came up with the team building exercise and david recognises it as the name of dorothy’s uncle and that makes them all realise it’s a stitch up SKDKKFKGKG

loll the flashbacks to earlier with charlie betting jacob he can get better results out of people only using the wizard of oz references than shouting at them

then another flashback showing that duffy promised to buy charlie breakfast if he could stop jacob shouting at everyone sjskdkkf and now jacob’s just as mad as the others

this is such a wild episode, who came up with the idea of doing a wizard of oz based episode like?????

#classic casualty #not in holby anymore

[miraculous-musings]

Hot Takes on Chloe and Marinette

Okay. So I’ve talked about people pulling characters out of character and context soley to shit on them, or boost them by tearing down other characters.

People saying Chloe is a good character the writing screwed over, that Thomas Astruc screwed over. Who deserves redemption. And I think they’re largely right. I think Chloe could have been written better as both a villain, and had a much better redemption arc.

However.

These same people I have seen time and time again, argue that Marinette is inherently a Bad Person. They throw a ton of accusations at her over her crush/actions towards Adrien. The biggest one being stalker, which is such a load of bullshit.

The three primary reasons I’ve seen are:

Her having his schedule mapped out on her schedule/calendar. It’s not just his stuff, and we’ve seen it in multiple episodes. It’s basically like if she had an agenda to keep track of her work/plans and just added his info to it. In case she wanted to maybe bump into him or try to talk.

From what we’ve seen, the school building is basically just a square around the Gym. 2 floors. Taking into account we know they have multiple classes together... it’s really probably not that hard to put together what his class schedule is. Or if he has fencing or mandarin afterwards.

 We see Marinette is consistently this hyper-organized and well put together young girl. She plans in advance, and tries to cover all her obligations, and plans. So if she has her FIRST EVER CRUSH, it makes sense that she’d want to know what he’d be doing. Maybe be able to bump into him (but is too shy to do so.)

 We never, ever see her take advantage of knowing this information, information other people probably have but just didn’t map out on an agenda.

She doesn’t follow him around to be creepy, or threaten him. The only times I think we even see her at some planned thing he’s doing is after someone else told her he’d be there. 

The other is the photos. Which. He’s a celebrity. He has photos everywhere. In magazines, on billboards, on ads. He’s in her class, sure. But she didn’t skulk around sneaking pictures of him in personal moments. They’re from magazines, most likely. (Also, his background on his computer, the one thing he can decorate that his dad can’t just see- is Ladybug.)

The people I’ve seen call her out say she isn’t called out enough on her ‘bad behaviors’ and I have to wonder if we’re watching the same show. All the show does is call her out, even when she’s RIGHT. She is constantly framed as being ‘wrong’ even when she is correct, or the problem wasn’t her fault. And she owns up to it even when it ISN’T HER FAULT?

She’s a responsible 13 year old girl, organized. She‘s not a terrible person who needs to ‘pay for her actions.’ I’ll go over my idea for a potential chloe rewrite and a dynamic shift in my next post but good lord.

#ML #Miraculous ladybug fandom salt #mlb fandom salt #miraculous ladybug #MLB #MLB Marinette #MLB Chloe #MLB Adrien #miraculous musings #Miraculous ladybug and chat noir

[isagrimorie]

jennifermaydesigns: Ok, ok, I’m finally getting around to really posting in depth from this season of @cwlegacies. No longer teasing, here is Hope from what we on production called 403, your 407, “Someplace Far Away From All This Violence”. I LOVE westerns, and found out during the interview process that there was going to be one in season 4. I tried to play it cool, but inside I was nerding out. Once I got the story area for the episode (@josemolinatv and @banansroz wrote it) I knew there needed to be a nod to the “Red Sash Gang”, and for me, our Legacies version of that was a red neckerchief with a leather clasp emblazoned with the Mikaelson crest. Thanks to Ross Anderson, our prop designer, he knew exactly the vendor we should use, and we sent the leather off for etching. As for Hope, while in reality she was in the beginning stages of being the Tribrid, Lizzie has already built her up into this bigger demon in her head given all of their history. She was both Calamity Jane towards the end of her infamy while also Annie Oakley at the beginning of hers, not afraid to show her badassery no matter what gender conformity society placed on it. Through the scroll here I have photos from screen, concepts, first fittings before any aging and alterations happens, and research. She will forever be one of my favorite costume designs. (source)

I love the leather clasp with the Mikaelson crest.

Also, look at the detail on this vest -- this just goes to show that even in the AU Westerns Mikaelsons are loaded with money.

I adored the Western episode too. Also, Lizzie building Hope up as a bigger Big Bad in her head with all the mythos that came with it, similar to making Hope into Lord Marshall in Lizzie's Star Wars self insert.

Both times, Hope is a big figure in Lizzie's head.

(Also, this is why Aurora was wrong about her assessment of Lizzie thinking she was better than other people because Lizzie never, in her life, thought she was better than Hope Mikaelson).

#tv: legacies #costume design #hope mikaelson #lizzie saltzman

[backjustforberena]

Please talk more about Cam and the bomb and how it relates to Bernie.

Okay *cracks knuckles* let’s get into this. It’s been a while since you sent this ask in, so sorry for the wait! But yes, as much as Cam’s descent into revenge and murder is weird as hell and not consistent at all, the fact that he goes out via a bomb is quite interesting to look at, just on it’s own. Both in how it’s decided by Cam, and the effect it has on Bernie- there’s a painful irony.

Although, I do want to preface by saying this whole thing was a radical escalation for Cam. Cam never committed outright murder. All his acts were done out of desperation and perceived need in order to get what he wanted or something along those lines. He wasn’t like Fredrik, shooting up the place or continuing his research knowing people would die. As far as I remember, a lot of his acts were letting his patients die, or engineering ways in which he could save their lives but it didn’t go right or SOMETHING. To go from not preventing Evan’s death to literally planting a bomb in order to kill people and hurt people... that’s a leap. But obviously, not the point of this ask. We can question the producer’s choices later.

As I’ll illustrate, I like that it’s a bomb, rather than something like a shooting like Fredrik. Not only would that really have been copycat, but a bomb as a method works well to highlight just how far Cam has fallen and how it all ties back to Bernie in the end:

That’s how he thought his Mum had died.

A lot of his reasoning, the things that he says to people, is about not being good enough or thought of as good enough, about being underestimated, about feeling undervalued, underappreciated, and unloved. Heck, his first episode, he tells Bernie, albeit sarcastically: “I’ve always been such a burden.” - well, now Bernie is the burden. Bernie is the shadow he can’t get away from. If he thought it was hard to live up to her when she was alive, it got a HELL of a lot worse when she was killed by a bomb. Even people who had never met Bernie would compare him to her, saying that he’d never measure up. 

Cam makes this bomb prior to knowing his Mum is alive. His original plan is to escape. Not to die. It’s to blow up AAU specifically and get away with it (I think - that episode is the biggest load of garbage actually, but that’s by the by). What he plans to do after that, who knows, but when he realises he’s stuck on AAU, he says I need to be on Darwin. Aka, on a ward that won’t be in the blast radius. I don’t know, there’s something very visceral about the idea that he’s specifically blowing up AAU which was a ward that he first came to, a ward that his Mum put everything into.

Essentially, it’s the closest thing he can get his hands on that represents Bernie. And he’s blowing it up. It’s not just a final act of revenge against the hospital and the people there, it’s also metaphorically blowing his mother up again. I think Cam probably tracks everything bad down to Bernie, in the end. And certainly that was where his arc truly began: with the news of her death.

He probably found out how to build a bomb, or at least began to accumulate that knowledge, due to his mother’s death.

This kills me a little bit. It’s easy to see Cam and be like “how the hell do you know how to build a bomb?” - in fact, Bernie does. She flat out does not believe it. But, you see, the thing is, is I’m pretty sure he knows because she “died” from one. We see, on screen, after Bernie is pronounced as MIA, him not sleeping and googling ‘possibility of surviving a bomb blast’ or something like that. How many steps would it take for him to be looking up how IEDs work? Not many, I’d wager, especially since be becomes so angry at Bernie. Ergo, the only reason he can do what he did is because of his mother. So... that’s a fun angle.

“You built a bomb?” “Your child.”

The bomb becomes an instrument to hurt Bernie with, not just physically, but emotionally. Think about it, her entire adult career, or most of it, was with the Army, fighting against terrorists and bad actors. She’ll literally spent over a year trapped and held hostage, forced to help a local militia who were certainly responsibly for the explosion that occurred in the airport hospital. She has intimate knowledge of this language of violence.

Bernie knows the types of people who build bombs, especially those that think themselves as righteous, as right, and who don’t care for the innocent people they harm in the process. Cam is forcing her not only to confront his own past actions (the things that landed him back in jail in the first place) but the reality of what he is now. It’s not just the fact that it’s her son that has chosen to be this destructive, it’s the fact that it’s HER son. Out of all people. 

Despite the sacrifices she made, the thing Cam took away from her career fighting terrorists... is how to become one. 

She tells Ric that she: “ate, breathed and slept this for four tours solid” - specifically on her experience dealing with blast injuries, shrapnel, amputations. Bernie has mentioned working on poor sods blown up by landmines, on seeing people reacting to watching their friends die, and  Cameron, by doing this, is attempting to invalidate all of that. He knows flat out that this hurts her, and it’s what he wants. Cam’s constantly prodding and poking and looking for any and all kind of reaction from his mother. 

So, yes, it hurts her because he’s on the side of the enemy now. And where blasts are concerned, he should know better. She should have taught him better. She should have raised him better etc etc. And he knows that just as well as her and that’s why he’s using it to cut her deep.

Bernie can not only visualise the damage he’s going to potentially do to people, but she can remember it. This is a woman who has been blown up twice before this. Her “sweet boy” has turned into something she can’t recognise, and he’s putting all the blame on her. Because all of this is because he’s “your [[her] child”.

His changed plan.

So, Cam’s original plan wasn’t to die. Then he’s like: okay, I’m going to die. Admittedly, he didn’t have much choice on the matter considering he was handcuffed to a bed with a bomb in the basement. But still, he thinks to do that and say that. And I think the reason he does it, as with everything, is because of his Mum. None of this is going to plan. People aren’t taking him seriously, he’s been hit by an ambulance, his mother’s alive and he has no power, no authority and no one looking at him telling him how clever he is. 

In fact, worse than that, his Mum is looking at him and saying she’ll support him. She’s pitying him. She’s saying he has a future, saying that the things he did are not so bad, no so big, not so momentous that it’s made an impact on how she feels about him (positive or negative, doesn’t matter, he doesn’t see it), and he has always HATED how she feels about him. Add to that his all-round sense of abandonment and hatred that he has towards his mother and her actions that made them both be where they are, and a good dose of self-pity because his future will be rotting in jail and never seeing his daughter...

Cameron says he’s going to die. That he intends to. And he’s so annoyed when he doesn’t die in the bomb blast. I’m almost certain I’m explaining this badly. I suppose the be all and end all is that Cameron dying is the thing that could hurt Bernie the most. What could hurt her even more was him choosing to die and making her live. And it’s all wrapped up in the idea that Cameron died the way that Bernie should have. Parents when their children die say things such as “It should have been me”- for Bernie... it could have been, back in Mogadishu.

#bad meta

[daisylikesmedia]

Series 6 Episode 7: A Good Man Goes to War

Heyy everyone, today we’re checking out one heck of an event episode of Doctor Who, A Good Man Goes to War. This is an episode that I came into not knowing how I felt about it on my first watch, so I was really looking forward to coming into this watch on a blank slate. Let’s see how I found it.

First of all, damn this episode has stakes. I really appreciate the scale of the story they’re telling here. The first 15 minutes build up so much anticipation for the Doctor’s reveal, with him recruiting all these people who have debts owed to him, and it makes it that much more rewarding to see him turn Demon’s Run against itself. I do find the Doctor’s army a little underwhelming (it’s just the Paternoster Gang, Dorium Maldovar, and Rory. like CMON surely you can do better than that Doc fsdglkj), but filling this episode with too many characters would’ve made it even harder to follow so I appreciate the fact that this area may have had to have been toned down.

One very important thing we do need to talk about in this episode is the Doctor’s pacifism. Typically the Doctor is a character known for not liking guns, not wanting to start fights or cause harm, etc. This kinda flies out the window in this episode and whilst some may use this as a point to criticise the story with, I think this episode does show awareness of this and the fact this is a version of the Doctor pushed to his limits. When the big standoff with Kovarian happens, there’s a lot of good talk about how good men have rules and how she won’t wanna know why the Doctor has so many. Sure it *is* kinda edgy for Doccy Who but I eat it up. I love seeing the Doctor pushed to his limits and this is another episode where we get to see that. I mean the guy turns an entire army against itself and turns their captain into Colonel Run-Away, he’s not a happy bear in this story sflgjdk.

Another character that I wanna address now for the sake of my future reviews is Strax and how his existence impacts how we, as viewers, see the Sontarans. I like him, I think he’s nice. A lot of the jokes imo land and the only issue I had with him this episode was him joking sometimes in very very serious moments that didn’t need a one-liner. Overall tho, I think he’s a good addition to the cast and I don’t think his existence makes the Sontarans completely devoid of threat. In my opinion, the Sontarans had a lot of damage done to them in the series 4 two-parter, where their “honour” that the species is supposed to hard abide by was super inconsistent throughout that episode. I do think Strax being around made creating a separate Sontaran story kinda impossible until the Paternoster gang had been filtered out, but I don’t really mind that all that much, it’s not like they were around all the time in the classic series either.

Finally, let's address the pacing of this episode. It’s a bit messy, I’m ngl. I talked earlier about the first 15 mins being this big build up, but what I wasn’t ready for was us walking into the room where our final scene takes place 20 minutes before the story’s over. For an episode of this size and scale, the fact that the actual “war” part of the episode takes up maybe a third of the runtime is a bit saddening when I feel this story really does have bucket loads of potential. Even IF I can see why they needed room both at the start for intro-ing characters and at the end for the big reveals about River Song. This is an episode that was probably deserving of two parts or just the length of a special/series finale, but sadly it didn’t get that treatment.

TL:DR/Overview: A Good Man Goes to War is a very fun episode. We get to see the Doctor pushed to his emotional limits as he kicks off a high-stakes war to find his friend and her daughter. Like yeahh the episode does have some pacing issues, and the writing can be messy at times, but hey it’s like bad pizza. I can acknowledge it not being perfect food but you bet I’m gonna enjoy it. This is A tier for me. I do find it very interesting how I preferred this to the series 5 finale, which is also a high stakes episode with lots of crossover and a Doctor being pushed pretty hard, but I think this story just kinda fascinated me more as a Dr Who viewer. I really respect the ambition of series 6 and this is one the episodes that displays that.

#daisy reviews media #doctor who #11th doctor #a good man goes to war

[richardsphere]

Leverage Redemption Log: The Bucket Job

Title makes me think "bucket list"? either that or Keeping Up Appearances? (had to google "that show with the bucket woman" to remember the name) --- bells are playing and there is a giant semi-hollow pipe-structure of a snowman outside the building we're in. Its Christmas Special Time.

Librarian is giving the children some classic reading recomendations based on his knowledge of their likes (the girl likes pirates, which is a nice little gender-stereotype breaking to sneak in there without drawing attention to the subversion. Love it when shows feel confident doing that without the need to detract by boasting about it.) Young Man used to get Sherlock Holmes.

And the librarian is having a heart-attack... --- Harry is calling his daughter. His daughter doesnt want to spend the holiday with him because Mom is going on vacation to some resort (I think Aspen is a resort town in the states?) Ok either he has a son as well as a daughter, i am misremembering him as having a daughter, The daughter might be trans, or Nick is short for Nikita/vero-Nic-a, or Nick is more gender-neutral as a name then i thought (wouldnt be the first time, i went years thinking Sam was exclusively a female name because the only "sam" i ever heard of was from Totaly Spies). I am not sure which is the case. (im gonna place money on its a shortened-nickname though) Ok Sophie confirms its a daughter.

Elliot has been cooking, Parker is taking the long-distance part of Long Distance Relationship a bit hard around the holidays.

Knock on the door: its Doyledude. He's asking for Elliot by full name (sus). --- Doyledude's gay and his dads a preacher who didn't aprove of "woke" books like Charlie and the chocolate factory. (Yes Christians are that bad. Source: My dad got a chainletter that refered to the antichrist as an "avatar" of satan once and "The last airbender" and the blue smurfs were both insta-banned from the household forever).

--- "I am totally fine with revenge it allows us a range of outcomes the mark deserves". good line.

"Guess theres a lot of maurice's out there" KNEW IT, the moment they named him "blanche" i suspected we were gonna be getting a Maurice Leblanc reference. (of course they'd go for Arsene Lupin in an episode about the importance of libraries)

Harry's "so do I" is a simple joke but it lands well. 8/10.

I think we found todays villain: Its the guy harassing a homeless man for using the library. (fuck that guy) Ok ominous cut of someone taking pictures of Elliot. --- Sophie is walking around the theatre loading 100 checkov's guns at once (confetti cannon, Parker is booking a helicopter, red sportscar, Harry has a cane)

Sophie does a speech about the team needing to remember that this is a good person.

Elliot has gotten some of his old budies to work stuntmen. Parker is asking the very crucial heart-attack related question. Our safeword is Winnebago (google says its a campervan? Honestly, if it werent for the whole "automobiles are deathmachines I dont trust myself with" angle, i'd like one.) --- Librarian dude takes one look at the red sportscar and just thinks "dafuq kinda spy are you?" before stealing a regular car like a sensible person on the run from crooks would.

So, clearly the guy is either a someone bad upbringing who brought himself around, or an actual retired spy himself, who reads those books primarily out of nostalgia.

Ok its misspent youth, also the way he casually tosses the phone out the window. Love this guy. --- Im gonna be honest, while i apreciate the consistency of parker still being the Christmas Monster, the way her characterisation has mellowed out to using store-brand santamugs after she was first introduce as off-the-wall enough to use priceless jewelry as garlands is weird to me.

Breanna carelessly dismisses an attack on their own firewalls and servers. Harry's moustache is bad but the eyepatch is worse. --- Four stars? Comeon man. (good improv)

Actual Goons are here! "take spencer" knew it! no way that Doyledude would know Spencers full name. Mr Blanche has stolen a sportsbike. --- Turns out yeah, he was a former spy. Its RIZ bitch (did we get a name? I dont remember) she's looking for "the ledger" (presumeably a list of secret identities. We're looking for a book kept by a librarian. Its in the library. Probably that book samurai book he's been reading regularly) Ok so this is definitly becoming a recurring thing with the way she first used Elliot to find which guys to hire and is now talking about making him an instructor. Is she the secret person he's been phone-ing that breanna was asking about this whole episode? (i thought it was the Supercop from Arlo) --- Blanche has a gun pointed at our heroes. PTSD in a bottle, cause thats a thing that exists now. Wilson is still holding old job secrets from them? Thats... weird. --- Wait, Elliots dad is alive? But I thought that the episode ending implied otherwise? (Might be me being bad at understanding the subtext of that scene, might be a retcon) --- Mr Blanche has already beaten all the guards in the time it took a drugged out Elliot to break a chair. (Pretend to be the new guy, classic "heavy object in a sock" prison-improv weapon. 8/10, guy knows what he's doing, but is also a bit rusty and forced into improv mode) --- Turns out, he didnt retire because he wanted to retire but because no one would believe the ledger was destroyed. Luckily floppy disks suck at long-term storage.

Harry is talking with his old boss, trying to be the angel on his shoulder while the boss is trying to be the devil on his. (still really odd that we went through the trouble of establishing our heroes broke in to find Harry's ledger of old sins and that we're now going the "Harry wont tell them his old sins" route.) --- Copperhead and Elliot are talking. Copperhead does not want to go out by cancer. (we're faking his death and assigning him to International arent we?) --- Confetticannons are a go-go! (they're meant to simulate pages being shot by guns)

Blanche got disarmed and shot with his own gun. (definitly a death-fake) --- Huh, RIZ-woman doesnt actually kill the guards who fail her objectives. She just blackmails them into following their NDA's. (profesional)

Yup it was in the big samurai book. (obviously) and he's getting the rental.

OK so Hardison sent the library boy. (explains why he knew Spencers name)

Ok So Elliots dad is alive just not around for the holidays ever.

#leverage #leverage redemption season 1 #leverage redemption #The Bucket Job

[pennzance]

Ghostbusters: Port Huron (Episode 11)

Episode 11: The First Day

September 8th, 1998

Field operation report by Eric

Oh my god I want to go home.

I have never, in my entire life, felt the kind of pants-loading terror I have felt in the last 24 hours. I’m not even ashamed to say it, I have cried, screamed, and begged for my life more times in the last day than I thought I’d ever do in my lifetime. The things I have seen and heard and the feelings of sheer, out of my mind fear I have succumbed to repeatedly are like a crucible for the human soul that, should I survive it, will leave me either a broken shell of a man or the toughest son of a bitch to ever walk the Valley of Death.

The ghosts are nasty too.

MOST of my issues so far stem from the General. This guy is un-goddamn-real. I thought Amber was kind of a hard ass (every team needs one, apparently), but this guy takes the cake, the oven, and the entire bakery and chews all that scenery like he’s the villain in a bad translation of a Japanese RPG. He insists on being called General, and I’ll be honest I cannot tell if he has a real name because everyone just went along with it. He’s certifiably insane.

He took a real shine to Amber, too. He found out she was Air Force and I guess he was a Marine and there’s some friction there? She keeps calling him ‘the crayon eater’ when he isn’t in the room, so maybe there’s a funny story there I can get out of her later. Bryan and Jeremy figured out real fast that staying out of his way was the best way to deal with the man, but me? He zeroed in on me as the team leader and he… has not been kind about it.

Every time that man shouts “Port Huron, get over here!” my legs demand that I flee for the hills. My nerves are shot and frankly I was looking forward to going up against horrors I could legally blast with a Proton Pack.

But the problems started way before we got into Eloise. When we pulled up in the Ecto-908, the engine died all on its own. When Bryan tried to turn on the PKE Meter, it sparked and died. Nobody had ever seen that happen before. I breathed a sigh of relief when Jeremy booted up his Proton Pack, at least THOSE were working.

Equipment woes aside, we got ‘organized’ by the General. Our team, the twelve guys from the Flint branch, and the six people the Detroit branch sent altogether made for 22 Ghostbusters in one place. Some people might think that was overkill, but oh man would they be wrong.

The General’s plan was to start out on the outskirts of the property and work our way in. This would have been fine, but he also decided that throwing team cohesion out the window and making us all mix up was a good idea, and I’ve already filed a formal complaint about that nonsense.

And that’s how I ended up walking three miles to the opposite side of the Eloise compound with two guys I’d never met before on what promised to be the hardest day I’ve ever had since I became a Ghostbuster. Both of my new teammates were from Flint, one guy bigger than Jeremy named Dabonovich and a slightly smaller-but-still-big guy with a hat everyone kept calling Microwave. I’m sure that’s a nickname based off a joke I don’t get, and frankly I don’t have the desire to understand it anyway.

We started off on the eastern border of the property, near some of the buildings the county was able to knock down. Microwave’s PKE Meter was functioning out here, and before long we were finding vapors and slimers in groups. We were able to discorporate a lot of them, just nuetronize them right out of existence, but it was slow going. They weren’t particularly threatening, but there were a LOT of the buggers. Dabonovich is a good shot, and nothing seems to scare the guy, which is fine, but Microwave was a little more… I think the term Amber would use is ‘squirrely’. His eyes were always darting elsewhere when you would look at him and he wouldn’t speak above a mutter unless you said something.

About every 90 minutes or so, the General would drive up in his compensationally large truck. That’s what they were using to haul the mobile containment grid, which looked like a big red septic tank with the grid controls and panels stuck onto the side. The sight of it did not inspire a lot of confidence, let me tell you. He seemed disappointed we hadn’t caught anything substantial that would require the traps to be emptied yet but moved on his way.

The spooks weren’t the only issue we were running into. Since the place was covered in a lot of rubble that used to be buildings, there was a lot of debris everywhere. Twisted old bed frames, the remains of doors, the remains of walls, steel beams, glass, timber of various shapes and sizes, it was pretty much a minefield of tetanus hazards. Suffice to say, progress was slow.

The most enjoyable (for me) part of the day came when we found the body of a drifter who had been in one of the buildings when it had been bulldozed. Well, we found MOST of the body. What we did find had a unit tattoo that Microwave said was common among Vietnam veterans. Dabonovich was adamant we should give the guy a proper burial, and I agreed.

Then the day got way, way weird. I’ve never actually seen a ghost be… born? Created? I’m not sure what the terminology is. But the wind kicked up and there was this low noise. Microwave shouted that the PKE Meter was spiking, and I think I responded with a super sarcastic “Oh, really?”

I’m not much for the classification system in the employee handbook, but I’ll argue till I’m blue in the face that this was a Class 3, not a Class 4. To be a Class 4, we’d have to be able to identify the entity, and while I’m sure it was the ghost of the body we found, I don’t know who that was so I can’t say it was an identifiable entity. Anyway, splitting hairs here. What I DO know is this guy was an asshole, because he came out of the rubble swinging. Swinging rubble. It was the Ice Museum all over again.

Microwave took a brick to the head and went down like a house of cards. Dabonovich and I tried to hit it with the Packs, but it just shielded itself with a whirlwind of masonry. We had to get closer, and I had just the tool for the job.

I’d been lugging it around all day, and now I got a chance to plug the emitter hose into the gauntlet I had Jeremy put together for me. It was VERY warm, concerningly so, but I had bigger things to worry about. I shouted at Dabonovich to get the trap ready, grabbed a piece of sheet metal to use as a shield, and charged. Not my brightest move, but damn effective.

I know I got pelted by some stuff, and I’m feeling it right now, but I was able to break through the debris and punch that ghost right in the face. There was a moment of total shock, I think for both of us, and it started to scream at me, so I punched it again. I just kept punching it until Dabonovich came over and pulled me away, stomping the trap open and sucking the guy inside.

When the General came back around, we caught a ride back to the other side of the property to get Microwave checked out and myself patched up. The rest of the Port Huron crew came back gradually, all of us looking worse for wear, but nobody was badly injured. We piled back into the Ecto-908 and Amber’s Taurus and went back to the Best Western. Now that I’m done writing my report, I’m going to sleep off some of these bruises.

#pennzance writes #ghostbusters #ghostbusters port huron

[calendarcrawl]

January 2023

THE PEAR TREE INN

HOOK NORTON, OXFORDSHIRE

8th January 2023

And we’re back! Everyone’s favourite calendar based beer-venture has returned for the first time since Covid.

Lots has changed in those 3 fallow years: we’ve had a global pandemic, full scale war has returned to the European continent, I’ve become a dad and my daughter has seen one third as many Prime Ministers before her 2nd birthday as I’ve seen in 35 years. It’s all very strong and stable.

What hasn’t changed though is our thirst for a good pint and a nice boozer. But why pick and choose where we go to do that when we can just leave it entirely to chance? After all, we’ve had the last three years to pick and choose our drinking establishments. So what me and the boys decided, was that we needed some (more) uncertainty in our lives. Enter “Olde Worlde Inns Calendar 2023”.

January saw us roll out the red carpet to Calendar virgins, Karl Taylor and Jack Rowley, who would be picking up their first cap and joining us in our perpetual hobby of drink and bad decisions.

This month, we were thrown in at the shallow end for a relatively short drive to the Pear Tree Inn in Hook Norton, Oxfordshire. When I say “relatively short drive”, I mean it. There’s been Stranger Things episodes that are longer than the drive to Hook Norton. So we were grateful for that. But easy to get to doesn’t always mean it’s going to be easy to love...

While the calendar pub itself was a beautifully rustic, old fashioned rural boozer - the nearby town of Banbury, where we decided to try our luck for more frivolous and exotic beverages, proved to be nothing short of a clusterfuck. But let’s start at the beginning.

We started the trip with a quick pint at The Gate Hangs High on the way into Hook Norton. This was for recon purposes to see if it was worth travelling back out to later. In short, no. Nice enough place but only one ale on, and it all felt a bit light and airy in there. We like our pubs like we like our women - dark, miserable and wet (by which I mean, serving alcohol, not flooded).

Thankfully, the calendar pub had plenty of darkness and intimacy. It made a pleasant change from the typical calendar establishments, which are predominantly gastropubs you can’t wait to move on from. There was 5 or 6 cask ales on and a couple of keg lines, all predictably loaded with Hook Norton beers, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. We had a couple in there, snapped the photograph and then went for a 3 minute walk down the road to the Hook Norton Brewery.

The building itself is an old Victorian tower brewery that looks like something from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Having done a fair few brewery tours in the last year, we decided instead to just have some food and get on our drinking shoes. From what I remember, I had Pie and Mash washed down with three pints of different stuff I’ve not had before (a Rye beer, a pale ale and a gluten free beer). It also turns out we were sat next to the owners of the brewery - so after a quick chinwag with the matriarch of Hook Norton, it was time to try out the local taxi firm and check out Banbury.

The taxi dropped us off at the ‘best pub in Banbury’ Ye Olde Reine Deer Inn. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the pub. It had plenty of character and all the Hook Norton you could possibly (not) want. But in hindsight, we shouldn’t have gone here first because the Apothecary Tap (craft beer bar and main reason for our visit to Banbury) closes at 8pm on a Saturday night. And the gaffer didn’t trust us to have “just a quick one” when we rocked up at 7:45pm.

Things went from bad to worse when we ended up drinking in a pub called the Banbury Cross Inn, a place I’d file in the “Not our scene” category. We then tried to find a craft beer place called Tap Social something or other but Google Maps sent us some inaccessible route via a canal.

With the merciless sands of time pushing past 9pm and Banbury clearly suffering from some sort of post-New Year malaise, we decided to cut our losses and get a taxi back to the calendar pub (where we were also staying). If our visit to Dunkirk back in September taught us anything, it was when to call a tactical retreat.

And thankfully, that proved to be the right move because not only did we get to enjoy the Pear Tree Inn on a wintry Saturday evening, but the lovely landlady also hooked us up with a fully loaded cheeseboard on account of it being Cheese Night. And so it went, that we’d finish our trip to Hook Norton with a bit of a lock in, drinking with the staff until about 2am before finally calling it a day.

And guess what, Jon fell asleep drinking again.

[cjsinkythoughts]

Rocks, Shoulders, and Ears

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Reader

Word Count: 3501

Warnings: !FATWS SPOILERS!, Cursing, Major Angst in this one, guys, Loads of Feels (sorry not sorry), John Walker being a douche (I really don’t like the guy)

A/N: I’m SO SORRY! I promise I was planning on it being shorter, but I went a little overkill with the angst! There’s just so many feelings and not enough space in my heart and soul, so I had to pour them out here! You get to see more of Reader and Sam’s relationship in this one and there’s major Bucky Feels towards the end (in my defense, this is based on the Couples Therapy half of the episode).

I’m really hoping we get to see Bucky go to Louisiana next episode! I’m holding out for it! I have a few ideas that include Sarah, but I need the episode! Ugh! Now we have to wait a whole ‘nother week! I really shouldn’t write three chapters on one episode in one day. I just couldn’t help myself!

Anyways! Please enjoy this part and thank you so much for all your support! Seriously, it’s meant so much to me, especially after the week I’ve had! If you haven’t checked out the previous parts, my FATWS Series Masterlist is HERE, so please go read those first. Like always, this isn’t beta’d so please excuse any mistakes! Enjoy, babes!

!SPOILERS UNDER CUT!

The last thing you remembered was falling asleep in Bucky’s arms after walking a few miles. And a hospital in DC wasn’t exactly what you preferred waking up to, but it’s what happened. Turned out, not only was your shoulder dislocated and your thigh was strained, but you had a mild concussion. Your arm was in a sling and your palm, which you had completely forgotten about after you wrapped it while on Bucky’s back, was wrapped properly. Luckily, your thigh wasn’t too bad, but they wanted to put you on crutches, which you refused immediately.

You had to get out of that building. You had no idea where the guys went, which was weird because you were sure they’d never leave you alone. Especially in a hospital.

You quickly snuck your way through the halls after grabbing your bag which - thank God - was left on the seat besides your bed and changing into an extra pair of clothes. 

You tried calling Bucky’s phone, the one he had specifically for you, which he always always answered. He even made an excuse to go to the bathroom once when you accidentally called in the middle of a therapy session. Nothing. You called the number four times before trying Sam’s phone.

It clicked on the first try.

“Hey. Listen, sorry for leaving-”

“Where the hell are you?”

You heard him sigh. “I was just about to explain, so hang on a second there. You weren’t waking up, probably because that concussion you forgot to mention to us-”

“In my defense, I didn’t know.”

“Sure you didn’t.” You rolled your eyes, throwing your free hand up, exasperated. “Anyways, Bucky wanted me to meet someone, we’ll talk about that when you inevitably get here, put we had a bit of trouble and Bucky was arrested-”

“What?!”

“Chill your pants, Y/L/N. Just listen. We’re in Baltimore. I’ll text you the address. Get here soon and I’ll explain the whole thing. We’ve been here for a couple hours, but there’s people on their way and we’re getting everything situated right now.”

“Okay. Fine. But you’re in trouble.”

“Don’t I know it, babe. Now hurry your cute little ass here. We’ve got stuff to talk about.”

*****************

The ride from DC to Baltimore is usually an hour or so, but you’ve got resources, especially in the nation’s capital, and riding the bike you got, being able to go way over the speed limit? You got there in half the time. Being an Avenger really does have its perks.

The moment you got there, you hopped off the bike, not even bothering to turn it off, and stormed into the precinct. You headed straight over to the desk, but a pair of hands caught you by your uninjured arm before you could make a scene.

“Hey, hey, hey.” Sam spoke softly, squeezing your bicep gently. “He’s okay, alright?”

“Why is he-”

“He missed his court-mandated therapy session.” Sam informed you, pulling you over to where he had been sitting previously. “There was a warrant out for his arrest. They had to bring him in, but it’s fine. His therapist’s been contacted. She should be here any minute to get him out.”

Your head fell back at his words. His therapy. How could you forget? You let Bucky complain to you about it and played along sometimes, but you really did think it was good for him and you tried supporting him. Yet you made him miss it and now he’s in trouble.

“Hey. Y/N. Look at me.” You found Sam’s worried eyes, his hand coming up to hold the side of your neck. “He’s okay. He’ll be out in just a bit. It’s fine.”

“It’s my fault, Sam.”

“No. It’s not. He’s a grown ass man who made the decision to skip.”

You shook your head, holding his wrist for something to anchor you down. “No, Sammy. I brought him along. I should’ve been more responsible-”

“I know we’ve joked around about you being in charge and stuff, but…you know it’s not all on your shoulders, right?” Sam tilted his head slightly, eyebrow pinched in confusion making his eyes narrow. 

You turned your head, not wanting to look at him. You didn’t need another set of deep eyes to fall into. “Sammy…I promised him I’d look after you.”

“I know. And that’s fine. But looking after us - looking after him - doesn’t mean you have to be there to hold his hand and take the fall for him. He’s not a child. Hell, he’s a hundred years old. Tell me you understand that.”

Licking your lips, you closed your eyes and shook your head again. “I-I can’t-”

“Is that why you’re obsessed with finding Wanda?”

You frowned at his question, eyes snapping to his. “I’m worried about her, Sam.”

“I am too, but she can handle herself. And if she doesn’t want to be found, you have to let her be. I know the Avengers were your only family. I know how much Steve meant to you-”

“No.” You pulled away rather harshly, digging your nails into your palms, trying not to cry, ignoring the wound you were irritating. “No, you don’t. How could you understand my feelings for Steve when I don’t understand them myself?”

Sam always had this ability to make anyone feel important, just by looking them in the eye. It was something you always admired about him; the way his smile could light up a room, those warm eyes making everyone’s fears go away. They reminded you of hot chocolate. Something that could soothe your worries, comfort you, warm your very soul from the ice tragedy and heartache tend to big on.

You promised yourself you wouldn’t cry in front of people, but with the way he was looking at you, it was hard to keep the tears from slipping.

“You loved him, Y/N. Why is it so hard for you to see that?”

“I didn’t - I wasn’t in love with him, Sam.” You argued, wiping your cheeks aggressively and turning, crossing your arms defensively.

“What do you call it then?”

It was a rhetorical question, Sam copying your movements and sitting straight to watch for Bucky coming out. A rhetorical question that you didn’t know the answer to. Because you weren’t in love with Steve. No. Maybe you had been, but somewhere along the way he passed your heart to Bucky. So why did it hurt so bad?

You refused to dwell on it anymore, clearing your throat and dabbing at your eyes one more time before changing the topic. “Why are we in Baltimore?”

“Bucky wanted me to meet someone. Isaiah. You know him?” Sam turned back to you, his warm eyes shifting into something else. Suspicion? A bit of anger? Annoyance? You couldn’t tell.

“Isaiah? I don’t think I know any Isaiahs. And definitely not here. Why? Who is he?”

Sam shook his head, eyes darting around the lobby. “We’ll talk about it later.”

You nodded, although now your curiosity had peaked and you wondered who this guy was that made Sam so agitated. While you waited, you felt your eyes drooping and you let your head fall onto Sam’s shoulder, who chuckled.

“You’re still tired? You know you slept for, like, twelve hours, right?”

“I haven’t been sleeping much.”

Sam turned his head to kiss yours. “Y/N, I know you want to care for everyone, but you’ve gotta take care of yourself too.”

“I know.”

“Okay.” And with that, the subject dropped, Sam pulling out his phone while you rested your eyes.

It was another ten minutes or so before Sam’s name was called and the both of you stood up to greet the speaker. A woman, Dr. Raynor. Bucky’s infamous therapist.

And speaking of infamous. The moment you heard his voice, you squeezed your eyes shut, hoping it was just your brain malfunctioning. And then he was walking towards you, calling Bucky ‘Bucky’ like they were old pals and he was saving him from something terrible.

Your face scrunched up as Walker talked about stopping Bucky’s regular therapy sessions. “He’s too valuable of an asset to have him tied up-”

“Don’t call him an asset.” You snapped. “He’s a human being with needs, and therapy-”

“He’s a super soldier with skills that we need.” Walker cut in, making you scowl as he turned back to Raynor.

You scoffed in disbelief at his words, turning on your heel and walking away before he did, heading straight for Bucky, who lifted his right arm, wrapping it around your shoulders once you were close enough.

“Are you okay?” You whispered, closing your eyes and trying to relax in his hold, breathing him in.

“Are you? Should you be walking? What did-”

You shook your head. “I’m fine.”

“Really?”

“Promise.” You sighed out with a nod, squeezing him once more before pulling back as Raynor stepped forwards, ordering Bucky and Sam to do a session with her. You almost laughed when Sam tried refusing, a little chuckle actually leaving your lips when Bucky slumped, dragging his feet like a kid going to the principal’s office.

You followed, Bucky holding the door open for you. “Thanks, Buck.”

“Of course, doll.” He gave a small smile, before walking in after you, Sam letting out a, “hey!” when Bucky shut the door on him, making you roll your eyes. You let the corners of your mouth tick up slightly in amusement. Yes, they annoyed the hell out of you, but you had to admit it was pretty funny sometimes.

“I believe I asked for James and Sam, Ms. Y/L/N.”

“It’s Agent, actually, and I think I’m gonna sit in.”

Raynor narrowed her eyes. “I don’t think-”

“That wasn’t a request.” You threw her words to Sam back at her, making Sam smirk. You shot him a wink as she relented with a sigh. 

“Fine. Just as a spectator. Don't interrupt.”

You raise your hands in surrender, slipping around the table to stand in the corner as your fellas sank down into the seats across the table from her.

A small puff of laughter came from you at the lack of response when she asked one of them to start. She shot you a warning look over her shoulder, but you shrugged. You couldn’t help it; it was like all those times back in grade school when a teacher asked for a volunteer to read in a classroom full of rowdy kids and crickets followed.

Once she mentioned the next exercise was used for couples, you had to laugh, making both men shoot you begging pouts.

“Y/N.” Raynor glared at you, so you controlled yourself, gesturing for her to continue.

Her miracle question did work so well, neither of them cooperating well.

She didn’t even bother with you when you started cackling after she mentioned the “soul-gazing exercise” and Bucky thanked her, Sam commenting that he would like this one. You gave a teasing wolf-whistle when they got close, one of Bucky’s thighs between Sam’s and vice versa.

“Doll.” Bucky whined at you.

“Listen here, smartass-”

Raynor cleared her throat, cutting Sam off from finishing his statement towards you. You leaned back against the wall, crossing your arms with a smirk. After all the bickering and side taking they’ve put her through, letting you enjoy this was the least they could do, and they knew it.

Of course, this exercise didn’t work out either. A staring contest. Children. She was best friends with literal children.

But then something happened. Something you never thought would happen. Raynor asked Bucky why Sam aggravated him, and Bucky looked over to you, his eye growing sad in a way they only did when Steve was involved.

“Steve believed in you.” Bucky told him earnestly. “He trusted you. He gave you that shield for a reason. That shield? That is…that is everything he stood for. That is his legacy. He gave you that shield, and you threw it away like it was nothing.  So maybe he was wrong about you. And if he was wrong about you, he was wrong about me.”

You heard his voice crack a little at the end as he slumped down in his seat, you jaw dropping slightly. You listened to the rest of the conversation, catching the way Sam grew irritated again, something that you didn’t previously think was possible, but was happening more and more now.

Why wasn’t Sam talking to you? Why was he holding all this in suddenly? And why…Bucky…he didn’t tell you that. Why didn’t he say anything? How could he ever feel…

But you knew how he could feel like that. Yes, Steve believed in him so much that he tore the Avengers apart for him…but he was the only one willing to do that for him. Yeah, you and Sam and Wanda and Clint, you all joined their side but, being honest, it wasn’t because you believed in Bucky. It was because you believed in Steve. Of course, it was different now. You believed in Bucky with your entire being, and you believed in Sam with your heart and soul, but…did either of them know that? Did they believe you when you told them? Or did you not tell them enough? This whole time you thought you were doing right by Steve - trying you damn hardest to watch out for them. But it obviously wasn’t enough. And that was on you, no matter what Sam said.

You read people. That’s what you’ve always done, that’s what you’d always do. It was the reason you earned your spot on the team. You read people and situations and could figure your way into their heads in a second. Years and years of undercover work taught you how to do that and how to protect yourself while doing so.

So why? How? How did you miss something this big? How did you miss the way Sam was holding onto something? Why did you ignore the vexation in his tone for the last couple weeks? How did you miss that Bucky was hurting that deeply? Why didn’t you do anything more for him?

You left the room before either of the boys, but you heard Sam standing up as you walked out the door.

You should’ve known you weren’t the only one holding things in. Of course they were. The difference is, you were supposed to be their rock, the thing they could hold onto to ground themselves, the shoulder for them to cry on, and the ear lent to them whenever they needed someone to listen. That was your job. It wasn’t their job. Not for you. Your rock - your shoulder, your ear - he left you. And you thought, after all he did for you, if you just returned the favor for his best friends, you’d…you dunno. You’d be closer to him, maybe.

But you couldn’t. Because you weren’t Steve Rogers. And you knew that from the start, but you had to try. You tried. And it wasn’t working. He made it seem so easy when he did it for you. Clearly you didn’t give him enough credit for dealing with all your shit on top of his own.

“Doll.” You didn’t stop walking, needing to get outside for some fresh air. “Doll, hold on. Wait a minute.”

He grabbed your arm as you made it outside, spinning you to face him. “You didn’t tell me.” You spoke quietly, your voice fragile as you stared at him, confusion and hurt in your eyes. Were you really that bad at doing your job? Did you really already fail him? He asked you to do one thing…

“I didn’t…I didn’t want you to deal with my problems.” You opened your mouth, but he shook his head, holding your face between his hands. “I’m not stupid, Y/N. I know something’s going on with you. You’re good at hiding your nightmares at night, but I’m better. You’re jumpier than usual. Quieter. Every time Wanda’s brought up, you turn away. And the other day? On the truck? You froze. I was watching, doll. It was just a second, but you froze. You never freeze.”

“It’s not your job to worry about me, Buck-”

He frowned, tilting his head. “Not my job? Aren’t we friends? Isn’t that what friends do? Or am I just a job to you? I know you promised him to look after me. Is that all I am to you? A responsibility?”

You shook your head vigorously, holding onto his wrists. “No. No, Bucky, I just-”

“Do you think he was wrong about me?”

Salty diamonds ran down your cheeks as you clenched your eyes shut and shook your head. “No.”

“Did you ever believe in me? Did you ever care or was it all just because Steve? Is Steve the only reason you tolerate me?”

“Don’t say that. God, please don’t say that.” You begged quietly, meeting his gaze again. Every beautiful detail was laced with devastation, eyes imploring her to make him feel better. “Of course I believe in you. I have since Wakanda, you know that. Yes, okay, maybe Steve is why I helped you at first, but-but…I care about you, James. So much so that it hurts sometimes. He wasn’t wrong about you. Or Sammy. You both mean so much to me. Okay?”

You watched his Adam’s Apple bob as he swallowed thickly, nodding slightly. You both simultaneously moved to get closer, him pulling you while you stepped into his chest, arms around his waist. His arms were tight around your shoulder, holding you just as firm as the kiss he planted on your forehead.

Sam came out, planting himself besides you as you pulled away, Bucky wiping your eyes. “I feel better.” He huffed out sarcastically, making you smack him in the arm. “Ow! Yeesh. Women these days.”

The sudden siren of one of the parked police cars made the three of you look over, spotting Walker and Hoskins. You groaned. “Did he see that?”

“Hey,” Bucky caught your jaw between his fingers, shaking his head. “Who cares? It’s between us and us only. Right?” You nodded, making him kiss your forehead again, a whisper of “attagirl” against your skin. You hadn’t heard that from him in a while.

“Gentlemen!” Walker waved them over, nodding at you. “And lady.” The three of you reluctantly walked over, Bucky going to lean on the police car Walker and Hoskins were near and you hopped up to sit on the hood of the police car across from them, Sam besides you.

You got information from Walker, who was once again trying to get you to work with him, but Sam summed it up nicely, explaining that the three of you didn’t have to follow the rules he did. You started to leave, Bucky tucking you under his arms once you slid off the car, when Walker stopped you once more.

“A word of advice, then. Stay the hell out of my way.”

You grumbled under your breath as the faker and his lapdog walked off. “I’m gonna kill him.” You vowed as the three of you started in the other direction. “I swear to God, I’m gonna rip that shield off his back and use it to beat him in that stupid face of his-”

“Down, girl.” Sam jested, flicking your ear. “We need a game plan. What’re we thinking?”

Your eyes narrowed as Bucky piped up, talking about the Isaiah character - who you still didn’t know - before HYDRA entered the equation.

“Absolutely not.” You shook your head, tugging his arm to make him stop once he mentioned Siberia. “Do you remember Siberia? Because if you’re actually suggesting what I think you’re suggesting, we remember Siberia very differently.”

“He’s our best bet-”

“So you’re just going to go sit in a room with this guy?”

Bucky scrunched up his nose. “Ye-yes…”

A beat of silence passed before Sam gave his stamp of approval, but you still disagreed. “There’s no way this’ll end well and I refuse to let you-”

You found your face between Bucky’s hands again. You really wished he’d stop doing that and just ask for your attention. You didn’t mean that, of course. You’d be held by him every second of every day if you could. “Don’t you trust me, doll?”

You licked your lips, looking around the darkened street. This was not a good idea. A bad plan - a terrible plan, really - but, unfortunately, it was the only one you had. “Dammit. I’ve got a really bad feeling about this.” You finally sighed, running a hand through your hair after Bucky let go of you, his eyebrow quirking.

“Is that a yes?”

Sam nodded. “We’re gonna go see Zemo.”

You tugged Bucky’s hand when he nodded back and went to walk after Sam, who started walking around the corner, making him stop. “And yes. I do trust you. With everything I have, Buckaroo.”

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