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thebadjoe · 1 year

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BAD JOE'S DRDT CH.2 CRIME SOLVING THEORY PART 2

Hello! I'm the dude who made a ridiculously long theory post about the culprit for chapter 2 by bringing a good amount of points that makes sense, but also makes it hard to believe for most. Just like previously, the post I'm gonna make is gonna touch the big spoilers territory, especially if I end up being right. More importantly though, a good chunk of this post will CONTAIN HEAVY Ch.2 Ep.10 SPOILERS, SO BEWARE!!!

For those who haven't read my theory yet, here it is. Click me!

MAKE SURE YOU CLICK ON THIS LINK AND READ MY FIRST THEORY POST BEFORE READING THIS IF YOU HAVEN'T DONE SO ALREADY.

So, a while ago, my theory post was made after watching Episode 9, but not Episode 10 since it wasn't released yet at the time. And then once the stream of that episode came live, it was time to put my theory to the test, to see if there would be any reveal that would make my theory difficult to work.

For the most part, it's still holding strong. There is however something in that video that throws a wrench into my theory. More specifically, it messes up with my motive. Today, I am here to explain in details what I mean by that as well as giving you alternate solutions to that problem. Also, I'll be discussing a few other holes in my theory (that was there before ep.10 existed) as well as giving you a few more reasons why my theory could work.

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Step #1 : The note & the flashback

Yeah... let's start with that.

To remind the readers just in case, my theory is all about Eden being the culprit of this case. And... you can already see where I'm going with this.

Eden was pretty nervous and hesitant with revealing the note. But she eventually shares the note in a reluctant manner. Turns out... it's actually a pretty incriminating proof for her. But then... why would the note be found in the trash can? Why wouldn't she keep it instead of throwing it away if she was the culprit? Why would she help Whit and Rose to match the pieces of the puzzle being the ripped out note?

It seems so weird, but she claims right before that whoever made this note, they're trying to impersonate her. Makes sense, but she's still a tad suspicious. But then this happens...

We learn that the secret "Your younger sister killed herself, and you're the reason why." actually belongs to Arturo which is later confirmed by Eden herself. And to put icing to this messy cake, we also get the full explanation as to what happened back then which we get to view it as a flashback!

So yeah, with that explanation (flashback), not only do we learn why Eden was scared and hesitant in revealing that secret, we also learn that she became friends with Arei. Which screws up with the motive I had set up for Eden. For those who don't remember, it was supposed to be "She killed because of all the bullying, the overly excessive bullying from Arei was the final straw for her."

Because of that note and flashback, my motive doesn't really work on that theory anymore... or does it?

Nonetheless, there is a much bigger issue regarding Eden being the culprit. Thanks to this note and flashback, it makes Eden look a lot more innocent than usual. The odds of her being the culprit seem so... unlikely at this point, right?

Heck, there's even someone who made a poll asking who they think is the culprit after watching episode 10. Wanna know the % of votes towards Eden being the culprit? 1.6%. I repeat. 1.6%!!!! Like man... a lot of people don't think she is the culprit, moreso thanks to this episode.

Then... does that mean you're giving up on your theory?

Heh, not at all. I have an explanation for all of this. It's gonna sound crazy, but please, hear me out.

What if... this was all part of Eden's plan?

....what?

That's right! You heard me right! This was all part of Eden's elaborate plan and the reason why she would pull such a complicated plan is precisely because she seriously has the intention to win this killing game! Therefore, she pulled this grandiose scheme so that she would look the most innocent individual within this class trial and she pulled it off perfectly (so far).

Don't believe me? Then let me explain a few things. Let's consider this following fact first : the beginning of that flashback, from Eden sharing the secret to Arturo, to Arturo threatening Eden to Arei coming in to save the day and kick his ass, all of that is the truth. Otherwise, Arturo would've called it out if Eden was lying.

Now, let's get into Eden's pov and pretend that she's indeed the culprit. Considering how complex that murder scheme is, that part with her meeting up with Arturo to share the secret was also part of her plan.

She intentionally arranged that meeting to conflict so to create the possibility of Arturo blackmailing her. Add a convincing motive that Arturo commited the crime.

What about Arei coming in to save Eden?

That... it's hard to say. Easier answer would be no and that it was a very convenient timing that she ended up coming in to save Eden. It's also possible that she planned for her to arrive somehow. Probably not with a letter since they were not on good terms yet at the time. It's possible that Eden was keeping an eye to her surroundings to see if someone could hear her and Arturo in that medical room.

I know... it seems kinda weak, but I have a counterargument for this. Let me just finish explaining Eden's plan first.

So after being friends with Arei, she proceeded with the setup for her murder scheme, then knocked Ace unconscious with the turpentine. Then after this, eitheir two things happened : Eden wrote the letter to lure Arei into the playground to knock her out or Eden snuck up on Arei, knocking her unconscious, set up the rest then created a fake letter.

Regardless of which situation it was, she made sure to use a different handwriting than her usual for the note, ripped it and put it in the trash can. Whether it gets found out or not doesn't matter because she can easily claim that it wasn't hers.

Cause if we think about it, why would the culprit incriminate herself by leaving such letter out in the open? They could've hidden it somewhere much safer instead, but no, there was a reason for that. She did this because she knew the class would think that it wouldn't make sense for her to write that note and also be the culprit. So by leaving that proof in the open, she actually looks more innocent rather than suspicious.

And then if you take into consideration that she's super kind and sweet, the fact that she was acting nervous in the trial because she felt "threatened" by Arturo, her deception has paid off and now she looks incredibly innocent thanks to that buildup.

Eden is a lot more deceptive and terrifying than we can imagine if all I said ends up being the truth (for the most part).

What about that weak point of yours?

Right! It does seem like Arei saving Eden was not part of the culprit's plan for the most part, but it worked out really well for her. But did you know that even if Arei didn't save Eden, her plan would still work just fine?

Essentially, all Eden needed was someone to pinpoint as the prime suspect with a very valid motive. She only needed to meet with Arturo, to have him threaten her and the rest works out just fine.

It's just that if it happened that way, Eden would've instead snuck up on Arei, knock her out with the turpentine, murdered her, then fabricate this letter, or at least, something very similar.

It's also because of this that I don't think my original culprit motive is not quite thrown out of the water. Because if her plan actually didn't involve Arei saving her, then Eden wanting to kill to end the bullying would definitly work there. It's just that on top of wanting to end the bullying, she also wants to end this killing game, by winning on her own terms.

Now then, let's discu-

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Step #2 : Holes in my theory? Where?

Bro! I don't approve of your disguise theory! Eden is much smaller compared to Arei, so people would've known!

*sigh*

Yeah, this is an issue, but it's not impossible to explain. Let's start by saying that she couldn't hide her real height with heels simply because Arei only wears shoes.

I also doubt there's any kind of special powers or chemicals or skills that allows someone to be temporarily higher in height than usual and that would be a lame solution to this problem because I would be using hints that was never presented in the story on top of using things that doesn't exist.

So instead, there are 2 likely scenarios that could "probably" explain that issue.

People weren't paying attention enough to Arei during lunchtime because of all the arguing. Arei never spoke (obviously cause someone disguised can't replicate her voice) and no one ever spoke to her as far as we're aware. So it's not improbable to think they haven't really paid that much attention to her.

She was sitting down at the time, so it was harder to tell the height difference. I know what we saw were standing sprites, but we can imagine she must've been sitting down most of the time since they're at a cafeteria, surrounded with tables and chairs.

So yeah, not my strongest counter argument, but hey, it works!

Eden has different eye colors compared to Arei!

For the eyes, easiest solution to that problem is that she wore contact lenses of a color matching Arei's eyes.

But everyone has rather unique eyes, you couldn't replicate it with simply colored contact lenses!

Probably not, but it doesn't really matter. Look at this sprite!

See something interesting? You don't quite see her eyes very well, don't you? The disguised culprit could've easily hide any imperfections of the eyes with this pose.

What about the skin? Eden looks nothing like Arei!

Like I said before, makeup kit. I haven't watched these videos in details on youtube, but it's actually very possible to change a skin tone with foundation. Of course, since she'd have to do it on all her exposed body, it'd take a very considerable amount of time and effort.

Ah! I gotchu now! You just said that applying all this makeup would take a lot of time. There's no way she would have the time and energy to carry out a failed murder, a real murder, set everything up and take a long time to disguise yourself! It's impossible!

No, that's wrong!

Actually, it's very doable for someone like Eden. In fact, it's exactly because of this that she's likely one of the only classmate who could've carried out this whole plan.

I have the proof for you right there!

This goes way back. Prologue Episode 2.

"Sometimes I can work up to a total of 15 hours without breaks!"

I'm sure technicly anyone could do this with the proper motivation and determination, but take into consideration that she's used to doing this. She's done it before.

It's possible that she stayed up all night to carry out the plan, get her disguise ready and accurate for morning/lunchtime and then went to bed afterwards to take a nap before meeting up with Hu for cleaning duties.

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Step #3 : One more thing before I leave!

I know that some of you don't believe it's her despite everything I've thrown at you and that's perfectly fine. It's just a theory after all. I'm also perfectly fine with people coming up with different culprit theories, some more crazy than others and whatnot. I'm all down to uncover all kinds of possibilities we can uncover about this chapter.

However, I think it's also important to remind everyone of certain things that are probably facts to make sure we don't get too much off track.

So I'd like to give you guys a few pointers regarding what I believe would be the rules of a danganronpa murder mystery.

Based on my experience with this series and some of these fangans, I think there's a certain guideline and logic to follow. I personally think that from the beginning of chapter to the end of an investigation of that chapter, it's possible to solve the murder mystery with just that information.

Maybe not in regards to the whydunnit, but definitly for the whodunnit and howdunnit.

Although it's not usually easy to figure that out until you learn more information during the trial. They make it pretty challenging, but also solvable. I'd like to think that this applies to chapter 2 as well.

I think the creator intended it to be solvable with all the information given from the beginning until the end of the investigation of chapter 2.

This is one of the reasons why I seriously think Eden is the culprit in that murder mystery. I can only manage to solve it with Eden as the culprit.

But maybe you guys can with a different culprit. There's probably a perfectly explainable theory that I'm not seeing quite yet that could be plausible.

I'm looking forward to see what's about to happen in episode 11!

If you guys have any questions or anything you'd like to point out that I might be wrong, let me know!

Thank you!

#drdt #drdt theory #drdt spoilers #drdt solve #danganronpa despair time

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moorheadthanyoucanhandle · 4 months

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COMPLEX CHARACTERS

Opening today:

Freud's Last Session--The "session" in question is fictional, or at best nervily speculative--a meeting of the titular psychoanalytic pioneer with the Christian apologist C. S. Lewis. It's September of 1939; England has just declared war on Hitler's Germany, and Freud, who has fled Austria for England with his obsessively devoted daughter Anna, is in the agonizing homestretch of terminal mouth cancer. Irked by Lewis' parody of him in The Pilgrim's Regress (1933), Freud has invited the young Oxford don to his house in London for a civil but contentious chat.

Freud is played by Anthony Hopkins; Lewis is played by Matthew Goode. The direction is by Matthew Brown from a script he co-wrote with the American playwright Mark St. Germain, based on St. Germain's play (which I saw well-produced by Arizona Theatre Company in 2013). The play is a two-hander, but this handsomely-produced movie expands on it with scenes involving Anna (Liv Lisa Fries) and her partner Dorothy Burlingham (Jodi Balfour), flashbacks to Freud's childhood traumas and to Lewis' PTSD from the trenches in the earlier war, his eyebrow-raising cohabitation with Janie Moore (Orla Brady), etc.

But the juice in the film is still in the theatrical sparring between the two leads, especially Hopkins as the chuckling, cheerfully furious Freud. He's as lovably cantankerous here as he was as Pope Benedict in 2019's The Two Popes. For his part, Goode is smart enough not to make Lewis saintly or jolly; he gives him an edge of defensive aloofness alongside a deep decency.

It's hard to say which, if either, of the two men's viewpoints St. Germain and Brown are most in symapthy with. Many of us are likely to feel ourselves somewhere between Freud's staunch and bitter rationalism and Lewis' somehow rather half-hearted pose of orthodoxy. But the point of the film seems to be that what underlies both is, at least partly, existential terror, of a sort to which intelligent, intensely imaginative people like these two are particularly subject. Neither strict nonbelief nor strict belief seems to offer much deliverance.

Mean Girls--"It's a cautionary tale..." So the Greek chorus characters Janis and Damian sing to us at the beginning of this musical remake of the well-loved 2004 teen comedy, pared down from the 2018 Broadway version. This may be the secret of Mean Girls, in each iteration: it really is a moral tale with a cautionary point, and the heroine really does go to the dark side.

As you'll recall, Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) is a smart kid who grew up in campsites in Africa; her mother (Jenna Fischer) is a researcher. When she lands at a suburban American high school for junior year, the divisions in cafeteria clique and caste strike her as similar to those in the animal kingdom. She gets sucked into spending lunches with "The Plastics," a circle of glamorous sycophants led by uber-mean girl Regina George (Renée Rapp). Cady agrees, initially, at the urging of artsy girl Janis (Auli'i Cravalho) and big gay Damian (Jaquel Spivey) to serve as a double agent in a revenge plot against Regina. But gradually, of course, the plastic begins to take over for real.

Or maybe the secret is just that the film, scripted, like the original, by Tina Fey (freely adapting a book by Rosalind Wiseman), is funny and sweet, but not so sweet that it forgets to be, you know, mean. Or maybe it's that most of the songs, by Nell Benjamin and Jeff Richmond, are delightful, and buoyantly staged by directors Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez, Jr.

Overall, these actors don't have the vibrancy or distinctive personalities of the original film's cast, but they make up for this with terrific musical performing. Rapp brings such a baleful moan to "Meet the Plastics" that she really is a little scary, and Rice shades herself from guileless to conniving very believably. A few vets are around; Fey and Tim Meadows reprise their roles from the first film, and Busy Phillips and Jon Hamm contribute funny bits. The standouts, however, are Cravalho as Janis and Spivey as Damian, both equipped with gorgeous voices and the ability to act while they're belting.

Fey's generous-hearted--and sensible--take on popularity and self-esteem has provided a solid and unsentimental piece of role modeling for teens (and the teens that endure within most adults) for twenty years now. Maybe this movie will extend it for another twenty.

#mean girls #freud's last session #angourie rice #renee rapp #anthony hopkins #matthew goode #tina fey #auli'i cravalho #jaquel spivey #liv lisa fries #jon hamm #busy philipps #jodi balfour #orla brady #jeremy northam

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perpetual-canon · 1 year

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Perpetual Canon

summary: This is as grand as it gets - Ace landed the gig with Gorillaz, and it's a chance of a lifetime for him. It is as clear as day - Murdoc landed himself in prison, and it's a chance for everyone to move on.

There's nothing more to it. Right?

Or: How to make sense of life when all its stories are sung at the same time?

Or all of them were part of the same song all along?

about the story: This is an AU where most of the Gorillaz insane lore is alt-reality storyline they come up for the fans & publicity stunts. The reality behind the lore is somewhat similar but not always as epic.

The timeline is a bit more sensible - in 2017-2019 (phase 5) when the story is taking place, it's been about 13 years since D day.

The story is full of creepy supernatural lore and fae laws and, no joke, is nearly 50% flashbacks.

Expect the feels, the funny, and the drama.

Ace has his ice powers, but with a twist. Same for some other characters.

Aaand, big spoilers, this is an AU where Ace is Murdocs son! But no one knows about it yet :D

This silly little idea is one of the main reasons the story exists, and so we share it in advance because we can.

Ages at the start of chapter 1: Stuart - 32,5 Russell - 31 Murdoc - 38 Noodle - almost 23 Ace - almost 22 Snake - 21,5 Big Billy - 19 Grubber - 20 Lil Arturo - almost 16

Damon Albarn & Jamie Hewlett - 40

pairings: 2doc, 2ace (one-sided), (past) Russell/Dell. This is not as dramatic as it sounds, promise :'D

pairings (that are slow burn and SPOILERS): Snake/Ace, Russell/Ace, Russell/Snake, Snake/Russell/Ace. This is the hill we built and are going to burn on, you guys are welcome to join :'DD

warnings: There will be warnings for each chapter/parts of chapters, when needed.

generally there may be: drug abuse, mentions/discussions of child abuse, discussions of trauma, suicidal ideation, unhealthy coping mechanisms.

about the format: There will be comics, short stories, text with illustrations, shitposts, basically anything that'll work for each piece. Updates will not be regular after chapter 1, but we are very much set to finish this project!

tags guide: PC!story - for the story bits PC!art - for the additional art PC!not in text but in spirit - for shitposts and inspo stuff PC!spoilers - idk, may need this one

—

You may recognise the comics from couple years back, and yeah, this is doublebassstory (now with a proper name! that is also a pun, yes :'D).

The hiatus and real life got us, but the story didn't let go, it's too fun, and totally doesn't hold us at gunpoint (: So we're back at it, and the goal is to get this whole thing out, and have some fun along the way (':

Most of the story is already planned out - plot, chapters, episodes and all (g-d help us).

The links to read Perpetual Canon, and the chapter plans can all be found HERE.

Feel free to hit us with any questions you may have.

#gorillaz #ppg #power puff girls #ace copular #murdoc niccals #stuart pot #russel hobbs #noodle gorillaz #sanford d ingleberry #lil arturo #big billy ppg #grubber ppg #gg gang #PC!story #PC!spoilers

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a-student-out-of-time · 1 year

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As an opponent of switch theory, I will try to answer the points that you present. 1. Firstly, the fact that Teruko prosopagnosia is mentioned in chapter 2 does not mean that it will play an important role in chapter 2, that if the author thought if Teruko prosopagnosia was mentioned in the chapter where this aspect is used, it would be very obvious, so they placed this mention on one chapter earlier in the hope that the reader might slightly forget, thus making the mystery harder for himself. and by the way, THE OTHERS DON'T HAVE prosopagnosia THEY WOULD NOTICE IF J SOMETHING IS WRONG AND HOW THE THEORY of conspiracy failed, how do you explain it?

2. To show that Teruko still feels pain for Min's death and that although she can pretend that she doesn't care, she will feel pain for people's deaths.

3. Isn't the CG where Arei epicly opens the door, the hair isn't the same length? artistic approach.

4. Why weren't we shown the wigs during the investigation? Maybe because they are not involved in the murder at all? during the search for the body of Arei Teruko, she would have noticed that something was missing here and the investigation returned in time, but if this did not happen, then they are unlikely to be connected with the crime. and what if wigs play a part in chapter 3 where teruko prosopagnosia comes into play.

One of the reasons why I don't like this theory is that it's not Arei's character to follow what plan is not clear, seeing as Eden the person she worries going through a difficult time thinking she's dead. Did Arei continue to pretend to be J after seeing this? NO it's not the character of Arei, it's not only an OOC theory for Arei but a theory of a completely waste character J that hasn't even started going through the character path.

//First of all, thank you for taking the time to offering some counter-arguments. It's nice to have someone addressing the points I've made.

//But I still don't see these as particularly strong ones for a few reasons. And by a few, I mean I've gone into a lot of detail as to why:

1A. It doesn't matter because, as I've talked about before, the only people who actually examined Arei's body were Teruko (the person who can't differentiate faces) and Arturo (who we've learned had reasons to half-ass the investigation, if not kill her himself). Not to mention they didn't exactly do a good job investigating her actual death regardless of those details, and what they found was very surface-level. Nobody would've found out it's not her because nobody would've known to check if that wasn't her body.

1B. The idea that they're placing that detail a chapter early, where it isn't going to be relevant, feels very wasteful to me. Yes, they did place setup in the prologue and chapter one, but those were small moments and would've come off as just comedy if you weren't paying attention. Xander's super strength was relevant to Chapter 1, after all; it proved vital in decoding the murder plan. Veronika asking probing questions about the details of Teruko's prosopagnosia is very different from Teruko not remembering Charles until Hu mentions his hair color and outfit. DR chapters are often each self-contained stories, and the details we get are always relevant to the case, no matter how small, and potentially the cases that come later. There's been no DR game that includes character details that don't become relevant at all until the next chapter. Putting in details that won't have payoff until later, unless we're talking about contributing to a larger narrative, doesn't happen here. That's not just a DR thing, that's a basic good writing thing; let the information we get in the middle of a story be relevant to that story, not just serve as setup for a different one.

2A. If it were as simple as that, why not just include a brief flashback to Min. Xander has gotten plenty of mention this chapter, such as when Teruko was playing with cacti and very clearly roleplaying a scenario where she defeats him and begs for forgiveness. That's definitely a sign she misses Xander. But if Teruko was referencing Min there, she would've said Min and Min would've appeared. Instead, the screen went black and we got no mention of what she was reminded of. I'm actually not fully convinced it was Min because...

2B. Something I haven't really discussed in detail here is the scene with Charles and Whit in the computer lab, where they're doing some hacking. Teruko asks about Charles' brother, the one he doesn't even remember, and Charles proceeds to ask her if she knows what Childhood Amnesia is. That also got no follow-up, as Teruko was hungry. I'm starting to think Teruko wasn't reminded of Min, but someone else from her past, which I'm certain is going to be VERY important given the nature of her motive secret.

3. Yes, but she was actually herself in that CG. I'm not talking about when she confronted Arturo, because that was very clearly Arei. I'm talking about the corpse found in the playground, whose hair is clearly longer than it's supposed to be. That was before the window of time where the two of them could've switched places, and thus the body found. And as I've said before, you can't just assign artistic license because Xander's look wasn't subject to that.

4. Again, the idea that things are only here for setup in Chapter 3 is unsubstantiated. This floor was created for Chapter 2, thus the things here- like with every other DR game- are going to be relevant to Chapter 2. Not only that, but we saw the wigs on three separate occasions in this chapter: when they first entered and got new clothes, when Teruko asked Rose about her secret, and when J tried to get Teruko to help her get away from Arturo. After that, the one time they went back there- when they were looking for Arei- it didn't pan over to show the wigs again, and that was the last time we saw inside the dressing room. That doesn't strike you as suspicious? Furthermore, why can't the wigs be relevant here and now, rather than later?

//To be honest, it sounds more like you're specifically trying to discredit my theory rather than offer a solid alternative. You can't just look at this and say "Well, none of it is guaranteed to be relevant now." Why not? What makes you so sure it isn't?

//You also can't just say "No, you're wrong" in a debate without some kind of solid basis for why I'm wrong. Otherwise, it comes across as you disagreeing on the grounds of "I don't like what you're saying."

//I'm not trying to be petty, I'm just offering my stance on debates. You need to work on your counter-arguments, though I really do appreciate you taking the time to offer them.

//And I can understand the disagreement, I honestly can. It's a crazy theory and I don't even expect to be right about everything, and I totally get why you'd see this as nonsensical and that it would come at the cost of another character who's comparatively gotten much less development. But let me offer you an alternative to your final point of disagreement.

//Arei said several times in the flashbacks that Eden is someone she needs to protect. We don't know what exactly happened on her end of things, before or after she confronted David, or how all the other moving parts of this chapter fit together. We don't even know how the murder actually happened yet.

//With that in mind, we can't make the assumption that, if Arei is really disguised as J, that there would be zero risk of her exposing herself. As I've said before, that would be an easy way for David and/or the Blackened of this case to pin the crime on her, because all she'd really be able to defend herself with are hearsay on her part.

//And given that she knows David's, Arturo's and one more person's secrets, would it really be a stretch to say that she could convince J to help her? That maybe the two of them worked together to try and protect the others? Especially since J, knowing that Arturo pulled a knife on Eden, seems like the kind of person who'd want to take action.

//I never suggested the story sacrificed J so Arei could live. I'm suggesting that, much like we saw with Arei in the flashbacks, plenty of things could've gone on behind that scenes that show the two of them were major players in what went on. The flashbacks with Arei and Eden were phenomenal, so the very same could be true with J.

//That feels more interesting to me than "J gets stalked and harassed by Arturo for a chapter, and then gets to dunk on him in the trial." Yes, I'll be sad if she's actually gone, but what matters is how it actually happened and the circumstances that lead up to it.

//Again, we've gotten basically no details on the murder itself as of yet. Nothing that suggests things couldn't have played out like this, or, like with David, there isn't more going on here than appears from the surface. We can't say anything is ooc for anyone, because we don't know the full story here.

//When we actually start getting into the meat of this chapter's murder plot, how it happened and who was involved, as well as the last secrets, then we can start to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of my theory.

//If my theory is wrong, then it's wrong. But if I'm right, this could be an amazing trial that would rely on those themes of rebuilding trust. Especially if, like I said, Arei's goal was to help protect Eden, and unmasking herself now would threaten that goal. And for Teruko, it means having to actually put genuine trust in someone and hope they're not lying.

//Before we start considering what is or isn't setup for the next mystery, we should try and solve this one first with the tools we've got our disposal.

#mod talks #a student out of time #switch theory

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pedroalonso · 3 years

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i finished watching lcdp 5 and

i fucking LOVED IT, thank you.

The stuff from part 3/4 were really good in terms of the flashbacks between berlermo and the brothers and their trio as a whole, but the bank stuff back then was kind of draggy which sucked because the bank should have had the intense scenes.

But then along came part 5 volume 1 and HELLLL YES!!! The action was intense and thrilling. The stakes were high. The emotional moments were perfectly squeezed in between the scenes and they were all so potent. The ending was beautifully foreshadowed and Tokyo went out with fucking style. An absolute icon. (RIP BABYGIRL I CANT BELIEVE THEY TOOK YOU AWAY FROM ME WHEN WE WERE JUST STARTING TO GET ALONG. What injustice.)

Also, I CAN’T BELIEVE THE GANG FINALLY UNDERSTANDS THE MEANING OF TEAM WORK??? AHHH MY HEART. MY BABIES. MY RAGTAG BUNCH OF MISFITS.

Part 5 really made me appreciate the whole gang. I realize that I have my favorites of course, but I LOVE THEM ALL, okay. ALL OF THEM.

I will say though, that as much as I love Pedro, the Berlin flashback scenes were really odd and felt out of place. Sure it was FUN, but I couldn’t connect it to anything that was going on in the main heist, nor did it add any emotional depth to what was happening there (unlike Tokyo’s flashbacks where we learned more about her character and empathized with her RIGHT BEFORE THEY KILLED HER OFF lmao)

But I said this before, I honestly don’t care about Berlin’s son, and I was hoping the flashbacks were going to make me change my mind by seeing how it affects the whole story. But it DIDN’T, not at all. It felt like Andrés had his own thing going on that had NOTHING to do with the bank, which sucked seeing as how his flashbacks in parts 3/4 showed that this was the heist he loved the most. This was his obra maestra. This was the heist Sergio (and to a certain degree Martín), decided to do in order to honor his memory. And seeing him running around Copenhagen with his newly introduced son and sidecharacters he barely interacted with before, supposedly POST MONASTERY, without his brother or Martín? Well. Put that on the list of TOP 10 ANIME BETRAYALS.

I am hoping though that SOMEHOW they’ll tie his plot together with everything else and there will be payoff. But for now, I’m afraid to say that IN A SURPRISING TURN OF EVENTS, I liked the Berlin flashbacks the least. I still enjoyed them because of Pedro, but it was definitely the weakest link in the series. Sorry mi amooor.

ANYWAY, here are some of my favorite bits:

ANY SCENE WITH PALERMO. God damn, Rodrigo de la Serna steals every scene he’s in. He doesn’t just hit the mark, he OBLITERATES IT. His expressions, his eyes, the changes in his voice. Every tiny bit of micro acting he’s doing absolutely adds to the moment and he just fucking NAILS IT. My god. It made me miss the energy he and Pedro had, bouncing and playing off each other in the previous season. Hoping to get a little bit of that soon before the show ends. UGHH i miss my boys

the gandia fist fight with Bogota was exactly the kind of chaos I’m into yes PLEASE

Palermo/Lisboa In-Laws Slash Co-Leaders Power Duo MORE OF THAT TOO PLEASE

i really liked Monica’s arc this season and I love her for shooting Arturo to near death. RIP to her but i won’t feel guilty lmaoooo. Esther Acebo really brought it this season DAMN

I liked the Tokyo flashbacks bc Miguel and Ursula are both hot RIP hot people

All of the Andrés scenes were thankfully in character and despite hating the plot, I loved seeing him be a petty, evil, chaotic bastard

Andrés insisting Tokyo be in the heist was hilarious because we ALL KNOW how THAT turned out

Manila’s backstory was touching!!! I didn’t like her trying to mess with Monver though

ALICIA’S LABOR LMAO I JUST -- It was also hilarious as hell ok.

Also Marsella is too sexy for his own good THERE I SAID IT

That bit when Tamayo mocked Angel by making weird noises. I was like “Mans has officially gone off the rails”

The hostage escape was stressful but It WAS FUN. TEAMWORK

Sergio saying Raquel is the sexiest woman in the world but he loves her for her brains. LMAO.

That scene where Sergio apologizes to the gang for being caught and his voice started cracking when he said “Lo Siento Palermo” MAYHAPS I SCREAMED.

Tokyo’s death scene. Definitely just as jarring as Nairobi’s but as awesome as Berlin’s. It was a shock but it felt well done to me.

I NEED VOLUME 2 NOWWWWWWWWWWWW

#la casa de papel #lcdp spoilers #probs forgot some stuff but imma rewatch again later soooo #my initial reaction was i enjoyed it #let's see if by my third rewatch and much analysis i'll get to disocver more little easter eggs #alexx speaks #text

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facelessfrey · 3 years

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One other thing about this show in general that is still very much a problem this season...

I really feel like character development and relationship development is just not a priority. Most shows are able to weave in character and relationship development with the plot but Roswell seems fairly incapable of that. They get tiny little bits in here and there but it sort of feels like pulling teeth.

For example, in this episode, we got that tiny little scene between Isobel and Liz talking about Liz’s feelings for Max...which...duh, but it was this barely there scene. And we got two seconds of Rosa talking to Dallas that I suppose could be seen as character development but was all really vague so I don’t know what we were really supposed to learn there other than that she talks to a priest sometimes and hopefully that means she’s taking her recovery seriously? And the only other thing in this episode was I guess Greg gushing over Maria in his fundraiser speech but because there’s only a few cute scenes to back that up, it’s nothing more than “aww that’s nice”.

And I don’t even feel like the plot should be taking up that much time either that these kind of scenes need to be sacrificed but I feel like so many of the plot scenes feel slow? There just always seems to be a lot of standing around talking about sciency things or what they’re going to do and I feel like a lot of that could be trimmed down in place of actual action and characters scenes. I feel like even in a thirteen episode, heavy plot season, they should still be able to fit this stuff in.

Isobel should be able to have that female love interest we were promised. There should be tension there about what to tell someone new. We should see her trying to split time with alien hijinks and trying to have a relationship. Isobel “dating a woman” shouldn’t be reduced to one offhand line in the premiere episode about her sex life.

We should see more of Maria and Greg together and see that relationship building between them so it’s more than just some cute scenes and having to assume they’ve spent a lot of the last year getting reacquainted. We should know how Greg fits into the group and what he knows about the plot, if he’s been trusted with any of the alien stuff.

We should see more of Alex and Greg’s relationship. That one scene we got of them talking at the drive in was lovely but it was one scene. I feel like they put that in there and go “job done” and call it a day. I want to see them interacting. I want to know if Greg is worried about Alex constantly disappearing. I want to know more about how they’re both doing with Jesse’s death. We got Alex’s approval of Greg and Maria like it was a thing he’s been waiting for even though it was the first we’d ever heard of it. But I’d love to hear Alex talking about his relationship feelings with his brother. Maybe we could have found out more about him and Forrest dating over the year gap. Maybe we could find out how he feels about the current state of him and Michael.

We should see Michael and Alex being actual friends or at least being awkward friends. It shouldn’t be reduced to two scenes where Alex makes veiled love confessions under the guise of protecting Michael. I want to see their relationship build before they’re just back together cause they’ve said enough epic things to each other at a certain point.

I still want to see Maria and Liz being actual friends. I’m glad Liz is at least at her bedside but I still feel like we have more Liz and Kyle friendship scenes than we’ve ever had of Maria and Liz and that’s just not okay. I believe more this season that they actually are friends but I still want to really see it. Give me Liz and Maria talking about Maria’s feelings for Greg and maybe even addressing some of the Michael stuff from last season and how she feels about Alex and Michael possibly getting together in the future again. Let me see Liz talking to her about Max.

I still don’t believe Alex is really friends with Liz. That scene where they talked about Kyle was so awkward because they literally never have scenes together. I need to see them have friendship scenes. I need to know what Liz thinks of Alex and Michael. I’d love to see them have a conversation about her getting in too deep with the science and him getting in too deep with looking for his answers.

I kind of hated most of the Maria and Alex scenes last season because they all felt like weird set up for the threesome, but I’d be interested to see them interact now. I want to see them smooth things over in regards to Michael. We got decent friendship scenes with them in season one and I feel like they all just disappeared once Maria found out Michael was museum guy. Like give me him teasing her about Greg or her telling him to go for it with Michael because it’s obvious they still love each other.

I’d also love to see more with the parents. I know they’re adults in this version so parents are less necessary but Arturo is great and he’s been so sidelined this season. I wish he was suspicious of all of this alien stuff and eventually let in on the secret. Then he could thank Max for bringing Rosa back to life (and also kind of yell at them for how it happened in the first place) but at least he’d know how and why she was back instead of believing it’s just some sort of miracle or whatever they decided he should believe through Isobel’s mind control. But I want to see Arturo be a father figure to everyone. Just give me group scenes at the diner at the beginnings or ends of episodes where he gets to feed them all and they all get to talk like the friends and found family they are.

I’d also love to see more Walt with Michael instead of just one or two scenes a season. He’s part of the mythology of the show. He knew their mothers. He knows about all of the alien stuff for the most part. He should get to be more involved. Maybe he could talk to Michael about his Dictator Dad feelings. I’d also love to see him with Isobel or Max or Maria. Or telling Alex he approves or something.

I feel like we’ve barely seen Ann Evans. She just sort of shows up once a season but I have no concept of her relationship with her children really. I wish I did.

I’m sad that they just sidelined Michelle when I feel like she just never really got to be anything despite being the sheriff. She should have gotten to find out the alien secret.

Which goes back to my whole lack of tension about the alien secret in the first place because it seems like everyone already knows or it doesn’t matter. Why is it not a dangerous secret? I feel like the whole Rosa thing in the flashback in season one was so that they weren’t found out and that’s why it was scary that Max healed Liz and exposed them. But then just...none of that matters. We don’t really get into how they feel about people knowing or any fears they might have.

I just feel like these things should be a priority for the show, to make a better show and they’re just not. If they used their time better, I feel like you could fit a lot of this in. I just want more. I want better and I don’t think I’m ever going to get it, which is a shame. It’s better this season but there’s still so much more they could do.

#roswell new mexico #this is a long rant #sorry #i have feelings

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laufire · 3 years

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RNM 3x04

Although I’m enjoying the season so far, I gotta say, the episodes feel super disconnected, this one most of all. I blame the fact that Liz (THE LEAD) and Rosa still aren’t participating in the main fucking plot :)))

I’m still extremely wary of Rosa’s storyline. I think it makes sense for the character, and that *for now* they’re keeping it in line with it being more about Rosa proyecting/exorcising her issues than about Wyatt Long’s manpain, but. I’m eyeing it. And I really want her to be more involved in the main plot/do more stuff. Now that Kyle is in peril and Long is leaving town (which made me wonder whether he’ll become a suspect, actually), I hope that’s where she’s headed. I loved her art (it always has so much personality in it, I love how they do it) and her quote about people changing and becoming who they want to be.

I feel that with this storyline I’m doing a reverse of my usual “things I roll with in fiction but wouldn’t stand for irl” LOL. Because if I was in Rosa’s shoes I WOULD try to deradicalize someone like Long -and there’s no shortage of people like Long in my hometown, so I’m not just talking out of my ass here-, less for him and more as harm reduction and for my own morals. But this could derail Rosa’s storyline in really annoying ways. And I REALLY don’t trust this show’s track record with race. On top of that, a lot of the discourse around redemption arcs~ conveniently omits the fact that only white male characters are pressumed to get them after they commit horrible acts. Why can’t Flint, a MoC, be the one to get a redemption arc instead, for example? It could’ve been painfully easy to switch their storylines, and it could’ve been interesting since Rosa actually disliked him in high school. But the show suddenly decided to care for Long’s inner life. Because white characters (and people) are afforded more complexity by others, more good faith.

I’m not TOO worried about Kyle because it feels too early in the season to fully close that plot. But if they killed him I don’t know that I could continue with the show. I adore Rosa, but her storyline isn’t grabbing me; and I dig Michael’s family drama with Nora and the dictator, but they’re not as ~dear to me. Kyle this season was the one reuniting it all. And they can’t kill him before we figure out everything with the communicator and his father!! C’mon. Anyway. I did love him this episode, helping out; and his scenes with Michael (my rareship is sailing! xDD) were great, from their bitchiness with the radio to their perspectives during their argument. The moment Michael pushes him to take cover and then removes Kyle’s hand from his shoulder asldkfjaf. This fandom is weak for not writing me multiple pages of this rareship, js.

Speaking of rareships sailing LOL, I can’t believe after my joke post about Bert x Kyle I got a mini scene asdlfjasdf, where Bert talks to Kyle and pays a compliment to his mother. I’ve also said since then that I wanted more Bert in the show, but frankly, I wish it was for more alien/conspiracy/fun stuff (like his artisanal beer or his werewolf obsession! or get into the main alien plot!), and not an Issue Storyline that I don’t even trust the show to handle properly.

Maria and Isobel’s vision quest was fun, although I resent the fact that the Liz we saw for half the episode was a fake (seriously, BRING HER TO THE DAMN MAIN PLOT ALREADY). I don’t care much for the two of them bonding, tbh, but if it’s what Maria wants, so be it. And her moments with Kyle this season have made me more lenient towards Isobel, at least. I’m also curious about some of the elements in the quest: the first things Maria sees are Michael sitting in her bar and Rosa painting her table <33. Bert is around being attacked by racists. I also dig that either/both of them pictured Kyle in his doctor getup (with the radio).

Wrt the vision itself, I’m still on denial about the dead being Kyle lol. I’ve heard all the theories: fake death to hide the aliens (I hope that can get solved because if Kyle couldn’t for some reason continue his career in medice it would CRUSH him), and his mother (please don’t) seem the most likely options after this episode. Others are Sanders (for the hints in last week’s) or even Arturo (for Rosa and Liz’s reactions, although obviously the “Valenti” crest wouldn’t make sense there). I also don’t see how it makes sense to cover Kyle’s death if Logan killed him? Unless Max tries to heal him and leaves a handprint. Anyway, I hope none of the above die and it can be resolved. And BTW: the SPN war flashbacks I’ve witnessed in the tags with the “killing” method are. Something. I think RNM still kept the scene dramatic and the audience concerned, but man. The risk of that reference... I don’t know that it was worth it lol.

BRING LIZ TO THE MAIN STORYLINE FFS. I like what we see of her on LA in abstract, but in practice... she’s the lead ffs. One episode where she’s out and having a nice time dancing (those scenes were lovely, admittedly) like this one can be great, but after three episodes where she’s been so removed of it all? Nuh huh. Given recent events (Kyle’s attack, the handprint on her chest reacting, her resignation) I hope it changes soon. And I hope Heath can be taken at face value, because I don’t trust this show’s track record with MoC that could inconvenience its storylines (see Noah and Diego, or even Flint). Also, I LOLED at her dream in the beginning, with her imagining Max apologizing to her and expressing her own concerns about getting lost in their relationship lmfao (as if that would ever cross his mind xD).

His scenes with Kyle seem designed to get Michael out of his funk wrt his heritage, and I appreciate it (especially if it’s THIS, and not the useless or even counterproductive pep talks of anyone else Michael cares more about that does the trick lol). I’m still eagerly awaiting for development on this front. Related to that, I’ve seen the theories about Jones being his father, but. Eh. It’s not that I don’t see how it could be possible (he’s incredibly powerful and can make fire), but. To put it bluntly? I don’t think the actor can pull off what I want from the Dictator. I want someone charismatic, and preferably visibly older than Michael that actually looks like his father. Jones would be a terrible miscast on both accounts. If they bring someone else JUST for Michael it could also be a sign of him really taking over the storyline (which I’m still iffy about because of my other faves, but it’s an interesting way to see where the show is headed).

I feel they could have taken Jones to more interesting places but there’s still time. The good news is that he shaved his godawful beard AND saved a dog’s life lol. Also, am I the only one that thought he might’ve known Noah, when he grabbed his and Isobel’s picture? I’m curious about that.

#roswell: new mexico #roswell thoughts #rosa ortecho #wyatt long #flint manes #kyle valenti #guerenti #rnm bert #bert x kyle #maria deluca #isobel evans #liz ortecho #michael guerin #the dictator #mr. jones #my thoughts #talking to the void #roswell spoilers #rnm spoilers

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blorbosexterminator · 3 years

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Tbh I don't want to see anything from them post-kiss but I WOULD love to see how Berlin and Palermo met. Like I'm genuinely interested in Martíns past and whether he was a criminal before meeting Berlin (I'm taking his line about killing Arturo and his conscious already being dirty as an admission that he's straight up murdered people before)

It's unlikely that they'll shoot flashbacks so far back in the past, but a mention of their early relationship would be nice! I like the room we have as an audience to imagine the different scenarios that might have brought them together though and I'm not sure that I'd love a DEFINITE answer, you know? But like you, I am very interested in getting more information about Martín's past generally speaking, out of the all main characters, he's the one we know so little about. I was sure that we would get something this volume because of that scene in season 3 of Tamayo holding Palermo's picture and saying that the key for them to win this is to know who this man is. But either that was just one of the many useless foreshadowing scenes that went nowhere or we'll get something in volume two.

If they do intend to kill him though, I'm sure we will get some good stuff about his past the way we did with Tokyo. And I have some hope for that because it seems Martín is involved in a lot of flashbacks next volume and because of the fact that they weren't spread out in both volumes, I like to think next volume will have a lot more focus on him the same way this volume did on Tokyo.

Let's hope it's because they intend to kill him lmfao.

(and I actually think he meant Nairobi here not his general past. But I'd be very interested to hear about his past killings if there are any lmfao. Actually I'd love that for both him and Andrés. If they straight up killed people before I want to know lmfao.)

#Martín Berrote #berlermo #lcdp

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lovecolibri · 3 years

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Things that did NOT Spark Joy-3x04

Not a whole lot of salt this week which is great and a marked improvement, but there is ALWAYS something to be salty about and I’m sure you can guess most of what it is, so join me in the mine, everything is well-seasoned down here! As always, good vibes are here.

WHERE IS THE MALEX CONTENT?! WHERE IS IT? (for references purposes I’m still yelling like Bug!Edgar in MIB. I have yet to find a gif to suit this specific reaction need. Ironically, where is it?!)

Why is there a dog that still does not belong to Alex?! Did they learn nothing from Buffy-gate?! #Get Alex Manes A Dog 2k21 (I would not be opposed to Michael keeping Lucky and him becoming THEIR dog eventually. I AM opposed to Max getting the dog because goddamn it Alex has earned this!)

Arturo my beloved, where are you?!

I am...so confused about what the point of that “trip” dragging out all episode was? The room with the “secrets” only ended up telling us about 1) Isobel wanting to start a self-defense gym (could be dropped in anywhere like during a talk with Michael), 2) about Jones which the audience already knew and was a dumb way to do the reveal to m*ria given that we didn’t learn anything else significant during this thing so it was basically a waste of time before getting to the funeral vision, and 3) we for some reason had Louise and Roy and the baby all together which I guess was supposed to be m*ria wanting to be included with Isobel, but it wasn’t very clear and felt more like needing to justify having them around for the Jones flashbacks so they used them more. We didn’t actually confront any “big” secrets that couldn’t be addressed outside this space so, what was the point when that screen time could have gone to any myriad of other things?

I just...could not care less about m*ria feeling “lonely” because Isobel hasn’t brought her into the fold. She's hated Isobel for a decade based on nothing but something Rosa said, and then she broke up with Michael and now she's whining about how Isobel isn't hanging out with her and making her part of the family?! Sorry, Isobel's been a little busy hanging out with her brothers this past year, one of whom clearly doesn't want to see m*ria or deal with her, and one who probably sees m*ria as a reminder of Liz. So now, we’re back to where exactly she fits into the narrative. If they are going to pair Isobel up with Kyle and still be focusing on the Pod Squad of which 1 very much doesn’t seem to want to be around her (and I don’t think Isobel would stand for hearing the way m*ria’s been speaking to Michael), and if they are putting Kyle with Isobel and he’s with Max trying to save him, and helping Liz (who is busy with Max dying and Heath and her job and how that’s going to tie into what Alex is working on), and watching out for Rosa (who has her own stuff with Wyatt going on), AND working with Michel and soon Alex on all the Deep Sky stuff, that doesn’t leave a lot of time for him to do anything other than doctor work for m*ria, Michael doesn’t want to be around her and he’s busy with Jones and Max and Kyle and soon to be Alex, Max has his own stuff with Jones and with Liz going on and soon that reporter lady and the racism storyline, and so unfortunately, we are stuck with the only characters available to prop her up being Alex and Greg. So not only are we not getting the space and emotions Alex should be allowed to have, we are having this friendship forced on us (although we didn’t have to see any of that this episode or listen to m*ria insult Michael for the umteenth time which was nice, but please stop making be dread seeing Alex please!) and now we have this “oh but I’m loooonely!” scene thrown in to make us feel bad for her. Stop trying to make her a sympathetic character while not addressing the reason her character isn’t liked!

Speaking of, I see the funeral vision is still just characters making wild conjectures like “It’s Liz” only to be proven wrong immediately because they are just throwing out theories without taking all the information into account. Maybe Michael needed to hear Alex say he wouldn’t react that way, but also someone assuring him that Alex was way to0 calm would have been a nice way to tie Alex into the story and talk about him. Why are we still not taking Alex’s reaction into account? You think, even if him and Kyle WEREN’T friends, that he wouldn’t be upset at losing a childhood friend?

And about the vision, I'm confused and struggling to see the point of this plotline. Alex as been pissed every time which he wouldn't be for Kyle or Michael, so I'm not sure if their actions actually ARE changing anything in the vision. And if it's going to happen regardless, then what is the point of spending all this time on it when we could be focusing on all the other things like Deep Sky and how Liz, and Kyle's radio connect to that, and on Jones and the alien lore. It might all be coming together at some point, but right now it just feels like they needed a way to find a place in the narrative for m*ria because c*rina never bother to give her one, but because Isobel basically has the same powers now they need something else for m*ria to do and again, it’s also something with Isobel’s mind abilities that could easily belong to her so again, m*ria’s character feels superfluous.

Can Alex and Michael be allowed to share a single frame on screen this season? Just let them sit next to each other at the funeral!

I think it’s going to tie into everything with the vision somehow but this racism plot is just too much on top of everything else. Maybe we could focus more on Liz’s story and how it connects to Deep Sky and how THAT connects to Kyle and Caulfield, and how Jones fits into everything, and save the Wyatt/racist golem/force m*ria into the center because we don’t know what else to have her do, storyline for season 4. I’m just so much more interested in everything else going on. But at least it does seem tied in with everything and not totally a side plot, but I’d rather have time for the other storylines we have going.

Rosa is an addict, but season 1 m*ria and Liz were totally fine smoking pot and stuff which I always thought was a Weird Choice given Liz’s concerns about being like her mom and sister, but now suddenly m*ria is opposed to CBD and think’s it’s sketchy? Girl please. (Yes I’m fully aware this is a “look at her over there eating her crackers” level of petty but that always annoyed me about season 1 and yet now m*ria has a problem so Isobel can look like the “cool/fun” friend? 🙄)

And now for my little nit-picky gripe. Am I the only one just like...not super impressed with them giving us Michael's supposed to growth this episode? Because it's still kind of came out of nowhere. We know he talked to Alex but we didn't hear him say anything like “a good friend of mine once told me” which would have brought Alex into the conversation even when he’s not in the episode, and would show that it was something Michael’s been thinking about, not just having him spout off an entirely different philosophy than he had last episode which was only like, a day ago. And how could they NOT bring up Alex when having Kyle and Michael talking about family legacies?! Or, we could have seen Michael talking things out with Max and showing he’s struggling by trying to absorb Alex’s words and change his way of thinking, or Max could have mentioned he seemed more settled and Michael could have taken that time to talk about Alex. Again, we are missing steps in the middle. I’m happy to see Michael growing, but they are missing so many little, easy ways to tie Michael and Alex together in the narrative when they aren’t sharing scenes, and we know they can do it because they are doing it with Echo, so them NOT doing it with Malex hurts even more because it’s not that they can’t it’s that they won’t. And I’m....I’m just so tired. I still have faith and I know Tyler and Vlamis will give us The Most when they do interact, but like I mentioned in a comment today, there’s that song lyric that says “the opposite of love is indifference” and that was the problem all last season was, unless they were in their bubble, Michael was indifferent to Alex, and now Alex seems pretty indifferent to Michael except for the one sentence where he said he’d burn down the world if anything happened to Michael. Talk about going from zero to 100! Even if they don’t see any hope or think the other doesn’t care about them anymore, we should see them still caring, Like Liz being pissed and then quietly mentioning she was waiting for Max to come for her but he didn’t. We need these hints that Malex are still thinking about each other, even if right now it’s just sad, longing, and thinking the other doesn’t care. Because we the audience get to see that they both DO care and we get to sit back and call them clowns and wait for the delicious oh moment when they both come to their senses. I want to see the longing! Let them yearn for more than they think they can have! Even something like Michael looking at that picture of them in season one was more than we’re getting right now. Bring that picture back or something. Also, please let Alex have the same picture but battered from carrying it with him on his tours, and let us see it and have them talk about it! I am no longer asking.

finally, MY SWEET SON KYLE DID NOT DESERVE THIS!! I should not have to see this with my own two eyes! Someone get him a vacation package out of Roswell STAT and then maybe everyone will realize he’s doing The Most and will start helping out a little or at least not make his life even harder.

#roswell nm #season 3 spoilers #3x04 #things that did not spark joy #get alex a damn dog #anti maria deluca #i just know they can do so much more because we've seen them do it!

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achubbydumpling · 3 years

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Alright, I just finished Destroyer (2018) and a bottle of wine and I have some thoughts about this movie and lots of thots about Chris. Why am I writing this? Why not! I love reading other people's opinions, so here are mine.

Let's get into it!

(if you just want ~800 words of chubby kink brain rot skip to the +++ under the cut)

Thoughts and semi-serious movie review

(I don't know nothing about movies, so this is very subjective, but I'd love to hear your opinions, if you disagree with anything or just have something to add)

First, I went into this film completely blind. I had no idea what this film was about, I only knew that Seb was in it.

It starts off promising. Alcoholic detective who knows more than she lets on, an unidentified body and an old antagonist from our detectives past reappears. Plot is being set up, we get to know Erin, the story advances at a good pace and then 15 minutes in everything grinds to a halt.

The movie is very good at building tension, but has trouble reaching satisfying conclusions. Almost every scene just fizzles out into an anticlimactic or abrupt end. The characters seem static, with no real development apart from a few pieces sprinkles throughout, which makes emotional scenes feel unearned.

The movie drags on through it's 2h runtime. By the end I was honestly wishing for Erin to just die already, which probably wasn’t the intention with this character-driven film. We’re told that she is consumed by anger, but to me she just seemed bored most of the time. Like she was trudging from plot point to plot point.

Most of the characters in this movie felt like less than side characters, even Chris, who’s death is the inciting incident for Erin wanting to get revenge on Silas. Arturo was the only other character that stood out to me, but he only really got to shine in the Russian Roulette scene.

The flashback scene at the end was probably the best part of the movie. Not just because we finally got to see Chris for a bit longer, but because Erin finally has someone to play off of and even though she still seems quite stiff in her acting, this is in my opinion her best performance in the movie. 2/5 stars

"omg Sebastian Stan is so hot in this movie"-review

And now let's talk about Seb's look in this movie, because damn does he look good. Stuff I liked in no particular order:

the beard in the flash backs

the shaved head in the less far back flash backs

smoking. doing drugs! cocaine!!

rings

fake dating?? yes please (giving me ideas)

Seb's fucking silent movie acting, hmm jaw clenching and intense staring (his line delivery wasn't the best in this, but it might've been the phrasing)

"Nice ass." "It's all yours."

the grey sweater

rings

Chris' body language being all loose and open, going with where Erin pulls him, draped all over her back, arm around her waist

hnng Erin pulling down the big sweater and showing of his chest-shoulder-collarbone

+++ (weight gain, belly kink and more feedist nonsense from here on out) +++

that shirt is pretty big on him though, isn't it?

and his jeans are way too loose as well, "Nice ass"?, yeah, it'll be real nice with about fifty more pounds on him, when those jeans look painted on

he could maybe hide his double chin under the beard, but his love handles would be peeking out under the hem of that grey sweater, his belly creasing his waist band where it hangs over it, his lower belly hanging out as soon as he moves his arms and he constantly has to pull his shirt down, otherwise it works its way up until the entire spare tire around his hips is on display

idk if everyone is just short, but Seb looks so tall in this movie, imagine he's so tall that he starts out at 230lbs looking jacked, all brawn, functional strength, low insertion muscles, all stretched out, y'know?

and then he packs on weight, still working, still moving, but putting half the time he used to spend exercises, into eating, he eats what you put in front of him and then some

it's not like it's a burden, eating until he's full and then pushing himself a bit further, but your encouragement and the obvious lust on your face whenever you watch him eat, is an added bonus

when Erin suggests he steal the money with her, he refuses, he's got you and you'd never ask him to risk his life on the off-chance that you might be able to pull this off, so he gets out, back to being an FBI agent, back to you, and finally back to eating what he wants

ohhh he'd thought when you first explained to him how you liked bigger guys that he'd be doing this just for you, settling down, putting on a few pounds, it was probably inevitable anyway, but once you started, once he actually gained weight, he liked it, he really liked it

Chris caught himself sneaking his hand under his sweater to play with the tiny bit of fat that was starting to hang over his waistband

he'd always been confident, but feeling heavier made him feel more powerful, instead of rushing everywhere he took his time, long, unbroken strides, nothing could shake him

he was an excellent fighter, not easily swayed, but they take him out of the field when he gains more weight, he gets out, gets a job as private security instead and keeps gaining

300lbs and he's finally getting a real belly, but you could still see some muscles moving under his ribs when you trailed your fingers over them, he's tall, so all the weight has lots of places to settle

350lbs and his legs are straining aganist his jeans, the fabric between his legs thinning from the constant friction, looking at him you'd guess he was 250lbs, maybe 280lbs

but you didn't care too much about him looking smaller than he was, because when he got on top of you and let you feel all the weight you'd put on him, how heavy he was and you were just struggling to catch your breath with 350lbs of absolute beef cake on top of you, you couldn't really form a single coherent thought

it didn't take long for him to reach 400lbs, and you were all over it, you kept him pinned to the couch by the weight of his stuffed belly every night, riding one of his thick thighs until he'd finally digested just enough, that he could think about anything besides the dull ache in his stomach, you could see his eyes lose some of that hazy fog, his body going from boneless exhaustion to pressing his thigh up into you, matching your rhythm

as much as you loved Chris weighing you down, you had learned the positive sides of being on top of him over the last 50lbs he's gained, he was an impressive man, quietly commanding every room he was in, but you could make him fall apart, come undone beneath you and make him give up all this control

he didn't just do it for you, when you saw his eyes flutter shut and his jaw work to deal with all those overwhelming sensations, you could see him get lost in it, going elsewhere and yet giving himself up even more completely to you

he'd beg for you to touch him, to fuck him, to "please make me come, baby", even though he could easily take all that he wanted from you, he only ever asked for it and how happily you gave it all to him

lotsa text, but he's just too hot in this movie, like you can just imagine undressing him and finding a nice little belly under all those baggy clothes

#rambles #it's almost 5 am #some of this might not make sense but #I love reading this ramble-y type stuff from other people #maybe there's one or two of y'all that do too #might talk about the devil all the time?#write something about Sheriff Bodecker

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roccinan · 3 years

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Finally finished S5 vol. 1! Here’s a quick rundown of my thoughts if anyone’s curious:

I felt kinda betrayed by the Andres flashbacks because I kept paying attention to them expecting some kind of connection to the main plot. And there just wasn’t LOL. I can only hope that Rafael will do something extremely helpful for everyone else in vol. 2. Tatiana still doesn’t have a personality?? I was looking forward to her smh. Andres was idk, trying too hard to act like himself but the whole flashback just felt like a VR game or something where you play as Rafael and Andres is your father for some reason, and he has the same dialogue for every player.

That said, the flashback heist itself was fun to watch. It was just bizarre seeing it in the middle of the bank heist for no reason. @ alex pina, you could have just removed all of it and cut it together into a side-story for release next month. You’re welcome for that brilliant marketing idea!

I still don’t see the relevance of berlinito? They could have completely replaced him with Sergio in the flashback or just had Tatiana be Andres’ partner. Just not a fan of this subplot. Even weirder is how it looks like Andres is actively trying to get his wife and son together- why would you do that and then act betrayed later??

That said, the 2-min flashback of Sergio and Andres in the last ep. was objectively superior to all of the above and the only scene where Andres actually felt like himself instead of some NPC.

ANYWAY, the bank heist!! Not a lot to say because overall I was pleased. It was fun, intense, and emotional, and everyone played really well off everyone else (for the most part lol). As an ensemble and as a whole, I loved it. I just didn’t like the individual bits and pieces, like-

Was expecting to see more negotiation on Raquel’s part. Martin didn’t really have the chance to be unhinged, like the writers were purposely pushing him to the side whenever a situation could use his craziness. I felt like Monica’s reactions were realistic (even though I was like “seriously!?” when they tried to save Arturo) but the execution was very awkward.

Please don’t cancel me, but I honestly forgot Helsinki and Palermo were together until they mentioned future dates asdfasdf. Maybe because I started shipping Bogota and Martin halfway through ep. 1- these two honestly had a lot Chemistry to me!? Is it just me :’D Like, they seemed to mesh very well to me. I’m sorry but I wish Bogota/Palermo was canon instead

Speaking of Helsinki, I was hoping to see more of him! Was legit so scared when that happened to him. And hmm, personally I thought that Martin wasn’t angry enough at the people who threw the grenade. He worried for a couple scenes, and then went on being perfectly calm. which isn’t that big a deal, but really man? You kept trying to punish your own teammates last season but you don’t hold grudges against this? I wanted to see him go Feral and avenge Helsinki by blowing up someone else’s leg.

I was hoping to see more Nairobi too :’) And so unfair that Oslo didn’t get a spotlight flashback asdfasf

Alicia’s water breaking arc worked better than I expected, so no complaints there! Not sure how I feel about them pairing her with Marseille(?) but it’s not something I’d complain about, I guess. The Manila-Stockholm-Denver triangle though... I did feel for it, but I was also like, “Manila read the room.” Monver are not breaking apart but I have a feeling Denver might die next volume

Lastly, Tokyo’s arc was beautiful. Everything I wanted for her and more. The surprise-twist Berlin parallel. The flashbacks to her ex-boyfriend. How she fell in love with Rio. Her love for her found family. How she went out so gracefully but so epically. Cannot think of a more Tokyo way to go :’D I don’t tear up often, but Tokyo’s death really made me feel. I’m still really shook over it. She was my favorite female character and top favs- I loved her, flaws and fucked up choices and all since the beginning, so her death really really got me. But it was so beautiful that I wouldn’t change a thing :’)

OK one last complaint: those Suicide Squad TM military special forces were so overhyped. you’d think with those introductions, they would be this elite amazing squad and they were just some guys in the end. Also miffed that they got the whole “these are UnHinGed criminals!!” intro. when that was supposed to be the angle on the banda from the outside. It just felt like they were shoehorned in there to make the banda look like sane, clean heroes by comparison. S1/2 Berlin could have taken on every member of that “elite” squad by himself and won, okay. These guys weren’t even as “dangerous” as regular ol’ Suarez and co.

#OK and I think that covers most of my thoughts!#lcdp5 spoilers #just personal opinion #asdfasf during the alicia scenes #mother turned to me and said 'when I was pregant with you- you tortured me for 36 hours'#SHE CALLED ME A WARHEAD BASICALLY asdfasdf #also Andres being so adamant on recruiting tokyo is so funny asdfasdf does he regret it??#can't believe I accidentally predicted the Andres-Silene 'friendship' of all things asdfasdf

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lambourngb · 4 years

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Post finale thoughts: I watched live, I never do that since I am usually spending time with my partner on Monday nights, and he doesn’t watch the show. I pulled the ‘it was just my birthday during the plague card’ and won. (Or lost?? hahaha) Anyway. Long rambling thoughts under the break.

It’s like they heard my complaints about the pacing of 2x11 and 2x12, and said “hold my beer” for 2x13. So much happened, and happened so fast, I could barely get invested or get mad about it. Is that a victory? Are we not allowed to sit and breathe in any of the emotionally destroying scenes?

I listened to malex shippers through this season say “don’t worry, Miluca is breaking up in the finale” and I kept shaking my head going, “No? Like they seem solid? They really care about each other?” and then it actually happened- immediately after an “I love you” exchange no-less... and I’m like, what the hell? Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that’s over but it still felt emotionally empty. But no time for that feeling because there’s more to go---

I absolutely loved the 1947 stories though, and now I wonder about Tripp. He really loved Nora. How did he survive watching her pace the cage in Caulfield? Pre-season 2 I was very meh about the flashbacks because I had enough to feast with the main cast, but now, I take it all back. I would have loved more of ‘47 and less of the Stef storyline. I want to know how long that skeleton was there. Do we have only Jesse’s word that Tripp was an old man in 1987? Does Arturo remember him? Also Harlan is a moron because a body under a wooden floor would have had some significant decomp smells for weeks and months. I guess no one walked by the shed while that was going on....

ETA: Okay Alex told Michael when the shed was built by Harlan when he was 70, so what year was that ? Tripp was alive in 1987 according to Jesse but I still don’t trust anything Jesse said about Tripp being factual since he was only sharing that to manipulate Alex into trusting him (and somehow getting the ship piece from Michael). I want to like Tripp but....yeah.

Liz- I love her and still do, but I was rather waiting for the hubris of science experiments to come into play and I felt rather robbed it didn’t materialize, that the conflicts between her and Max were very set in the relationship dynamic? Wanting to know who she was outside of him? Lots of build up over ethics and exposure, but then it came down to it, it was boundaries and preservation of self while in a soulmate relationship....Though if anyone studies Stef and her recovery too closely, that hubris card will still be in play.

Other things I was looking forward to and was left a little empty by- Jesse Manes dying. It was... very quick and I could barely enjoy the moment. I will have to re-watch the town gossip scenes to figure out how a veteran getting shot during a fire is dying a hero? Was Michelle Valenti just so happy Jesse was dead, she didn’t investigate the discharge of a firearm? Again, I’m happy he’s dead although it was something I didn’t anticipate happening with how the show was trending toward redemption messages. Jesse was a lost cause, but Flint is not? Both radicalized young but one you still have time to save? Okay.

I absolutely loved the shed scene. Michael going for the hammer, Alex still flinching a bit away from it, before he is reassured by Michael? I could have lived in that scene. Maria sending Michael with food- what a choice, bringing a casserole to the family of the man who killed yours- I loved that growth for Michael. He showed up for Alex and for Gregory. Good god I would have loved the look on Greg’s face when Michael shoved a dish in his hands, “thanks for killing him but also I really wanted to do that myself, here have this meatloaf?”

As for the song and the ending Malex scene, I enjoyed it. I didn’t want Michael hopping from one relationship to another, so I get why he didn’t immediately drop to his knees with a marriage proposal. I do wish he had stayed in the bar, listened to the song, let Alex know that he was still working on meeting him halfway.

And the Forrest stuff? So I dunno if this is unpopular or what, but I do not ship it for the same reasons I never shipped Maria and Michael. I am an OTP diehard, cosmic soulmates or bust. I blacklisted Forlex last October once his name was released and have no intentions of whitelisting it. With the departure of Jesse, there’s room for a reoccurring guest star, and as much as I would love Gregory Manes stepping in, I am pretty sure those minutes are going to go to Forrest in S3. My pre-season 2 thoughts were, “okay they can both date other people at the same time and move back together when the time is right” and now it’s shaping up to be another round of “watch one date and the other be alone” ? Do not want. I didn’t like it with Alex, and I don’t like it with Michael.

Also some of the discourse around that final scene- the whole “good it’s time for Michael to pine” or “Make Michael stew in jealousy” - makes me intensely uncomfortable and it’s directly counter to what Alex wrote in his song- he doesn’t want to keep score anymore with Michael. So can we just stop with that idea that Michael needs to be punished while he sits on the sidelines during this whole Alex dates Forrest thing? I get why people want it, because that’s how fandom saw Alex while Maria and Michael dated but it’s not what the character Alex Manes wants?

Anyway, still have no idea what this show is supposed to be about. Is it cosmic soul mates with alien imprinting? Is it you can love many people at the same time? Is it have fun with someone else until you settle down forever?

Final thought- Listen, I can write a fixit with a dead girl coming back to life and Noah getting flambéed. That fit very nicely with a crime story/investigation frame. What am I supposed to do with clone (?) Max? Or Max’s dad? How am I supposed to make that make sense?

Staring down the barrel of a long hiatus with the carrot of “happier and lighter Malex” in s3 held out in front again, with the whole promise that Carina wants Malex’s reunion to be emotionally earned.... and 2x13 is littered with unearned plot resolutions. So. Still a clown I guess. Still here.

#basic malex trash shipper #roswell new mexico #rnm season 2 spoilers #2x13 Mr Jones Thoughts #this is neither a yay or nay post #i'm tired

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stayextrafrosty · 4 years

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I am Your Future, I am Your Past: Chapter 4

A Roswell New Mexico soulmates AU

I enjoy writing flashbacks too much.

Also, my love of Fall Out Boy always finds its way into my writing so... sorry

Read on AO3

Alex stared at the ceiling, racking his brain for some sort of logical explanation. Tessa was not some god or angel. She cared deeply for people and was by no means perfect. If he remembered correctly, perfection was a requirement of celestial bodies.

He groaned, pulling himself up from the couch. He needed to go somewhere. Anywhere that wouldn’t let him be alone with his thoughts. He would go see Liz. That always helped. He didn’t know if he could face Maria right now. Whatever Michael was telling her was a lie. He could feel it.

He tried listening to the radio on the way to the Crashdown but nothing ever stuck. Every song that played just annoyed him and every podcast on the local stations was about Aliens. He had grown tired of rumors.

Even the worst traffic was manageable in a small town like Roswell. The streets looked crowded but rarely was there any delay. But today was different. Cops directed the traffic away from where he needed to go. He turned off to a side street, still remembering all the ways to avoid being seen.

He pulled up to the Crashdown only to find police cars with their lights on. He parked his car in the back next to the dumpster before walking around front. He looked around and saw Max first.

“Hey! What’s going on?” He ducked under the police tape and one of the other officers stopped him.

“Sir, this is a crime scene—”

“Easy, Osorio. He’s a friend of the family,” Max said, walking up to them. The cop tipped his hat and headed over to the larger group.

“Max, where’s Liz? And Rosa?” Alex had seen his fair share of hate crimes directed at their family. It doesn’t usually require this much police involvement.

“You shouldn’t be here, Manes.” He laughed humorlessly. Was Max really trying to make him leave his friends?

“The hell are you talking about? What’s going on?” He straightened his shoulders, shifting his feet slightly. He was a commanding officer of the air force; he wasn’t going anywhere until he knew what was going on. Max grabbed his arm, pulling him to the side. His whispers were angry.

“Alex, it is not safe for you here.” His eyes widened as he glanced over Max’s shoulder. This was something targeted? At him? He yanked his arm away from Max.

“I’m going inside.” He walked as quickly as he could. Max would have to handcuff him if he wanted him to comply.

He pushed the doors open, taking in the broken glass and tables. Liz and Arturo stood toward the back of the restaurant. Neither of them seemed hurt so he allowed himself to release a breath.

“Liz,” he called. She looked up at him, her face tear-stained. He rushed over to hug her. “Where’s Rosa?”

“She wasn’t here when it happened, thank god.” She paused for a moment, seeming to realize who he was. “Shit Alex, you need to get out of here.” He shook his head.

“Why does everyone keep saying that? What the hell is going on,” he demanded. He looked around and then he saw the graffiti. Sprayed across the wall were giant red letters.

Bring Alex Manes or everyone will die. The old cattle ranch.

He could hardly comprehend what he was reading. Why wouldn’t they just come after him directly? Why go through all this trouble just to get his attention?

“How did this even happen while you were open?”

“Flashbang. Multiple actually.” Alex turned to the new voice. A boy with green hair and rubber gloves held three flashbangs. They didn’t appear homemade. They could have easily been official US Army gear.

“And who are you,” he asked cautiously.

“Forrest Long. Weapons consultant for the Roswell police department. By the look on your face… I’m guessing you’re Alex?” Forrest offered a sympathetic smile.

“Those look like something professionally made,” he said without answering the question. He hummed in agreement, looking impressed.

“Definitely. US army quality, actually. Did you serve?” Alex was almost put off by how friendly he was being. Shouldn’t he be questioning him about the graffiti, not his background?

“Uh, yea. Though I’m on leave now.” Forrest smiled at him.

“I thought so. You give off that vibe,” he said casually. Another officer called to him. He looked over his shoulder and gave a polite nod. “Sorry, duty calls. Hope to see you around Alex. And don’t worry about that. I’m sure we’ll catch them.” Alex smiled, thankful for the reassurance. Max took his place as he left.

“Alex. The sheriff thinks it would be best if you went into protective custody. Or at least stay home until we find this person.” He raised his eyebrows in shock.

“You can’t be serious? Did you forget I served in the Air force? It’s literally my job to protect people and you’re not even gunna let me do that,” he asked, enraged. Max opened his mouth to retort, but he cut him off. “Everyone that was here was threatened! I’m not going to sit back and wait while you guys do a half-assed job at finding this guy!” Liz rested her hand on his arm.

“Alex—”

“No, Liz. I’ll figure this out myself. I will not let other people get hurt because of me.” He stormed out the front door, fully intending to drive over to that ranch right then.

Whatever this creep wanted, Alex was going to find out. He just had to stop at home and pack extra weapons. He would put on a bulletproof vest. Go in at 1900 hours. Use the shadows as cover. He almost made it to his car before Max stopped him again, shaking him from his daydream.

“Hey. You do not get to rush in there without thinking,” Max scolded.

“I’d rather die than let anyone else get hurt because I was too scared to show my face,” he yelled back. He’d made the mistake before…

“Think about Michael!” He froze. Michael’s name woke him up. His rage vanished. “If you get hurt…” Max didn’t need to finish the sentence. He clenched his fist, slamming it against the side of his car.

“Damnit!” He looked back at Max. He watched him sympathetically.

“Look, I know it sucks. But I swear to you, we will figure this out. Do not go to that cattle ranch,” he promised. Alex ran a hand through his hair. There was nothing he could do. He was useless. “Call Michael and tell him what’s going on. This could be a trial.” He nodded, opening his car door.

Alex watched Max walk back to the front of the building. He covered the mark with his hand. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if Michael got hurt again. The way he was talking earlier made it sound like he didn’t have a choice. He would be hurt again and there was nothing Alex could do about it.

He pulled onto the road, pressing Michael’s contact. The Bluetooth in his car was finally working. Would he be annoyed? Maybe he should just go back over there. Then again, if Maria was still there…

He shook his head. He was happy for them. They were good together and seemed healthy. Something he and Michael never were. They didn’t have time to figure it out.

“Alex, what’s up? Weren’t you just here a few hours ago?” Michael’s joking tone helped relieve some anxiety.

“We have a problem, Guerin. Someone all but destroyed the Crashdown.” He sighed.

“Probably Wyatt Long and his friends. Bunch of racist pigs. I’ve kicked their asses enough times they don’t go to the Wild Pony anymore though.” Alex wanted to laugh at his cockiness. Too bad that wasn’t the case.

“It wasn’t them. It was a targeted attack… At me.” Michael went silent on the other end. He was worried the phone disconnected until he spoke.

“Are you ok?” Alex could hear the shaking in his voice. He rested a hand on his chest, feeling that something was wrong.

“Yes, I’m fine. The attacker left a note. They disoriented everyone before writing a message on the wall. ‘Bring Alex Manes or everyone dies.’ I can’t just leave this alone.”

“Did they give a time or location?” Alex turned onto his street, hardly noticing he was in his neighborhood.

“No time but they said they wanted to go to the old cattle ranch. I’m guessing they’re talking about the one just outside of town.” He and Michael had spent nights out there stargazing when he needed to get away from his father.

“Well then they’re not professional. What kind of criminal doesn’t set a time limit for a bounty?” Alex pulled into his driveway.

“They’re some kind of professional. They used Army level flashbangs.” Alex heard shuffling on the other end of the line, followed by loud clangs of what he guessed was metal.

“Ok. I’ll go with Max to check it out. You stay home where it’s safe.” Alex couldn’t stop the sarcastic laugh that followed.

“Fuck, now you sound just like him. Did you miss the part where I said I can’t leave this alone? I’m not just going to hide.”

“Please, Alex…” He sucked in a breath. Was Michael Guerin begging? As much as he wanted to give in, he stood his ground, though he softened his voice.

“If this is some sort of trial… I need to be with you. We’re better off together,” Alex reasoned. He didn’t have time to consider how it may have sounded. He heard him sigh again.

“Fine. I’ll be by tomorrow with Max to figure something out.”

“Fine.”

“Why do you have to be so bullheaded,” Michael teased. His tone lightened considerably, but he could still feel that something was wrong.

“And why are you pretending to be calm about the issue?” He sighed heavily into the phone.

“Because.” Alex shook his head and scoffed. “What do you want me to say Alex? That the idea of anyone hurting you makes me want to hurt them ten times worse? Somehow I think you’d frown on that.” He had no idea how to respond. The idea was barbaric, but that certainly didn’t stop the flutter in his heart. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” The line clicked off.

He sat there, considering his words. The mixed signals were dizzying. Sometimes he’s talking about Maria and pushing him away. Other times he holds him close or says things like that. Alex needed off whatever ride they were on.

Michael cursed Max sometimes. He understood they needed backup but who was this guy? Some ex-military weapons specialist? Sure, he seemed nice enough but should they really be getting outsiders involved in this curse business?

“He’s one of the best we got. Jenna couldn’t come because she’s stuck questioning witnesses. This isn’t exactly official business. Actually, the sheriff specifically told me not to go to this place.” He was grateful for him bending the rules. He knew Max could get fired for this. He looked over at the guy with green hair talking on his phone.

“What was his name? Forrest?”

“You’re not always the smartest person in the room, Michael” He rolled his eyes

“Yea yea.” Forrest hung up and made his way over to them.

“Sorry about that. Family crap. What’s the plan?” He stood with his back straight and feet planted. He showed complete respect for Max even though he was probably higher ranked from a military standpoint.

“This is my cousin Michael. He’s helping us out with this. He’s a friend of Alex’s,” Max said. He reached out his hand. Forrest took it with a smile.

Were he and Alex friends? He wasn’t sure. They talked about things, but it wasn’t the normal stuff. Did he still like music? Does he still have a bag of cheap makeup? What was his favorite color? It was always about curses and the past.

“I look forward to working with you. If Max trusts you, then so do I.” Michael gave a stiff smile and nodded.

Shortly after, he was climbing into the passenger seat of Max’s undercover car. Forrest followed behind them in a van that had a handful of tech and tools. He watched the desert zip by, not usually having the chance to take in the scenery.

A small town like Roswell didn’t have the funds to have tree’s imported so there was mostly just cactus and some bushes. They needed rain otherwise there was going to be issues for the farms on the outskirts of town.

The cattle ranch where they were headed seemed too specific. He and Alex had spent a lot of time there. Michael had often thought about it while he was gone. They were some of the good memories they had before he started pushing him away…

Alex shivered next to him, curling up against his side and burying his face in his shoulder. Michael smiled, wrapping his arm tighter around his waist.

“You sure you don’t want to go back? It’s a bit colder than normal.” Alex shook his head.

“Not tonight. With Greg dropping the news that he was leaving for the reservation, my dad’s in an extra bad mood.” He pressed a kiss to his head. He wanted nothing more than to get a small trailer where they could live together. Then maybe Alex would have a chance at the life he wanted.

And maybe they could go through it together.

The curse hadn’t manifested. Maybe they wouldn’t have to go through more pain and suffering at the hands of the gods or whatever. He watched as clouds started to cover the stars.

“Hey, I understand about not going home but we should find some shelter.” He felt him shift to look up at the sky.

“Let it come,” he said, sounding almost depressed. Michael chuckled.

“You say that now but what happens when we’re both soaked and looking for someplace warm?” Alex shook his head, laughing along with him.

“I mean, you’re pretty hot so…” Michael was glad it was dark so Alex couldn’t see the blush. He was always surprised by how bold he could be. And he loved that about him.

He pressed another kiss to his forehead, then to his cheek and finally his lips. Alex laughed into the kiss but responded eagerly. He ran his hands up his chest to rest on his jaw, deepening the kiss. He ignored the pain in his hand to hold him tighter.

Lightning cracked and the sky opened up, dumping water onto both of them. They both burst out laughing, scrambling to collect the blankets and make it back into the truck. Jumping out of the back of the truck, Michael yanked the door open, shoving blankets inside. Alex handed him the last of them. Michael took in the image of the soaked boy.

“What—”

Michael pulled him in, kissing him again. The rain soaked him clean through but he didn’t care and Alex didn’t seem to either. They held each other, letting the rain fall around them. Alex’s hands were tangled in his hair. They separated, just breathing each other in.

“Hey, I’m not going anywhere,” he promised.

Michael wanted to be foolish enough to believe him…

A particularly rough bump shook him from his daze. Rain, the cattle ranch, and promises that were broken too soon. He looked around the now residential streets.

“Welcome back to the land of the living. You know I said your name like ten times?” Max glanced over at him, an eyebrow raised.

“Sorry. Just old memories.” Max rolled to a stop on the curb in front of Alex’s house. He turned off the engine but grabbed his arm before he could get out.

“I still think it’s a bad idea to bring him with us,” he said. Michael was in full agreement, but it didn’t seem like there was much they could do.

“I’m aware it’s a bad idea but if you can talk Alex out of it, please do.” They got out of the car, walking over to Forrest next to the van.

“We picking someone up,” he asked, seeming slightly confused? Max nodded and started up to the front door. They didn’t even have to knock before Alex had opened up welcoming them all in. He did a double take when he saw Forrest.

“Not to be rude or anything but what are you doing here?”

“Max asked for my help, though I should be the one asking the same question. We don’t usually bring the target of the bad guys on missions,” he said, though not accusing. Did they know each other?

The three of them stepped inside. The inside of his house was almost claustrophobic with all of them. Michael couldn’t stop looking between Alex and Forrest. Alex was smiling, being more open. Alex lead them all to the kitchen, offering water.

“What’s the plan? I can go in as bait, I have vests and the like.” He wanted to shoot down the idea immediately. Thankfully, Max was way ahead of him.

“No way. The idea is to keep you safe Manes.”

“You don’t just throw a hunk of meat into a wolves den and expect it not to attack,” he added. Alex sighed, looking between the two of them.

“I mean. It’s not the worst operation plan. We used to do stuff like that all the time in the Army,” Forrest said. Michael wanted to punch him in the face. This is why they shouldn’t have brought in outsiders. Alex was looking at Forrest appreciatively.

“He goes in, wearing a bullet proof vest, hell we could probably throw him in full combat gear if we want to be extra cautious. This person obviously wants him for something so we really have no reason to think he’d get hurt anyway. I have thermal imaging in the back of the truck. We can use that to pick out the assailant. We’ll all have weapons and we open fire when they show themselves. If you want to get greedy, we can have Alex question them beforehand but I recommend making sure they’re immobile first.”

The way he talked made it hard to argue. Some details were missing though. Before Michael had time to say anything about the obvious plot holes, Forrest continued.

“I can walk with Alex, make it seem more like we’re giving him up so no one else gets hurt. They’ll probably ask me to surrender my weapons, which I will do. We’re going to need the cover of the night for this. Not that I don’t trust you two and your stealth but just to be safe. Alex, I’m sure you can handle yourself but I’m going to need confirmation you’ll run if things go south.” His face fell slightly. He wasn’t sure if he had ever seen Alex run. Walk quickly yes, but never run. Did his leg allow for it?

He reached down, lifting his pant leg. Forrest followed everyone’s gaze to the metal and plastic prosthetic.

“I would say yes but I haven’t quite gotten to the running part of physical therapy.” Forrest blinked a couple times before smiling at Alex.

“Then you can just count on me to have your back,” he said, raising a hand to salute him. His little smile returned. Michael clenched his fists, wondering when the last time that smile was directed at him. He turned toward Max. “What do you think? You’re the boss.”

He and Michael looked at each other. The plan itself was simple but with the little information they had, it was pretty solid. As much as he hated the idea of Alex’s safety being anyone’s hands but his, a former soldier was probably the best bet.

“I can’t disagree with anything you said so I’d say we’re good then. We’ll ship out at 8. We’re going on the assumption the person who wants him will be there. Considering they didn’t give a time. We have to also consider the person who wants him might not be there at all. We need to take whoever shows up alive.” Forrest and Alex nodded.

“We’ll talk about positions as we drive later, see what kind of cover we have,” Michael added. Everyone nodded. “If you’re waiting for a ‘hands in’ thing it’s not happening,” he joked after a few seconds of silence. Forrest grinned and Alex chuckled. Max just shook his head.

“Let’s go get food, Michael. We’ll all need it,” he said, heading for the front door. The tugging at his heart tried to keep him from leaving but he couldn’t think of a good reason not to leave him with Forrest. He glanced over his shoulder at Alex, who just watched him. Then he turned and followed Max. He was almost out the front door when he heard Forrest say something to Alex.

“We should go get something too. Wanna come with?” His blood boiled but he forced himself to keep walking, digging his nails into his palms.

“Sure.” And he had to pretend his heart wasn’t ripped out of his chest.

Alex sat in the van with Forrest. Whatever he had felt earlier had him worried. He had physically grabbed at his mark, then had to try and play it off as stress tension in his shoulders. The drive thru was running slow but Forrest had insisted the place was worth it.

“All I’m saying is good Mexican food or even tex-mex doesn’t have a drive-up option,” He said, laughing. He shook his head.

“You only say that because you’ve never had this.” The window finally opened and the worker handed the bag of food over. He thanked her and pulled into a parking spot to adjust how things were being held.

He handed the bag of food to Alex and he had to admit that it smelled delicious. He slipped his wallet into his back pocket before pulling out of the spot slowly. Someone in another car honked and the van jerked as he hit the brakes. He laughed as Forrest shook his head.

“Am I going to die due to your inability to drive a car without a rear window?” He watched the SUV drive past. He raised his finger, telling him to wait.

“In my defense, the person obviously ignored that I had the right of way,” he said, smiling.

“Suuure,” he drawled. Watching this guy be so comfortable with himself made Alex hopeful. He wasn’t bad looking either. Did he like him? Maybe a bit. But with his luck, he’d be straight. He could rarely judge correctly.

“You into music,” he asked?

“Yea. Used to play guitar in my angsty teen days.” He laughed and turned on the radio. He tuned until he found an alternative station. There wasn’t much other than country and top 40. The signal wasn’t great, but it was enough.

“Well this station plays a lot of stuff from the two thousands so as long as you’re still ok with listening to angsty pop-punk.” He smiled, watching him tap along to an old Fall Out Boy song.

Ok. He really liked him.

Alex half sang along, still embarrassed about singing in front of people. It was easy talking to him. They shared interests. He understood some of the things he went through while at war. They pulled into his driveway; Max’s car wasn’t back yet.

“This was fun. Maybe once all this is over, we can go out again?” He blinked in surprise. Wait… He’s serious.

“Uh…”

“You don’t have to answer right now. Best not to make promises on adrenaline.” He took the bag from his lap and hopped out of the car. Alex shook himself from shock and followed him. He half jogged to catch up, still unsure of what his leg could take.

He pulled the keys from his pocket, unlocking the door. How could he tell? Was it obvious? Was that even a bad thing? Was he seriously interested?

They moved through the house and back to the kitchen. Forrest pulled the food out of the bag, setting it down in front of two seats at the table, respectively. He watched him.

“How did you…” The green haired boy glanced up at him then smiled sympathetically.

“I didn’t. But I figured I’d give it a shot. Not exactly a fan of the closet after spending so much time in it.” Alex was jealous. He was out but only to his close friends. He’d tell someone who asked but he wasn’t comfortable displaying it openly.

“Look. I’m comfortable with myself. But if you’re not, then I won’t force you to do anything you’re not ready for. If you ever feel like giving it a try, just give me a call.” Alex smiled at him. Maybe it was time he learned to be ok. His father didn’t control him anymore. There was no reason for him to be scared.

“If your offer still stands… I’d like to hang out when this is all over.” Forrest grinned at him, nodding appreciatively.

The two of them sat at the table, chatting casually. Alex refused to admit the food was good, even though he ate everything. Then again, he had always been a nervous eater. Whatever happened tonight, he had to make sure it ended. He needed to protect his friends.

The front door swung open, Alex hearing Michael and Max talk quietly. He looked over at the clock, realizing it was almost time to leave. Time had never gotten away from him like it did while he was talking to Forrest. He needed to mentally prepare. Alex cursed his lack of awareness. It was one of the first things they taught in basic. Always be aware.

“Hey, don’t panic. I’ve got your back,” Forrest said, resting a hand on his arm.

As much as Alex wanted to relax, the only way this mission was going to go smoothly was if he was in fight mode. Shut down all emotions. No thinking. Stick to the plan.

A quick stab of pain in his chest made him turn. He locked eyes with Michael. How long did they just stare at each other? It felt like years, but it must have only been a moment. His eyes had glanced down at Forrest’s hand on his arm. He saw the way his jaw clenched. The muscles in his neck. The way he scrunched his nose when he sniffled.

They looked away from each other, Alex casually pulling his arm away from Forrest, concentrating to make sure it didn’t seem like he was embarrassed to have it there. Although that might have been the case. He liked Forrest. There was just something off about Michael seeing it.

“You guys ready for this? Alex,” Max asked. He nodded, letting his mind shift into battle mode.

“I’ll grab some extra supplies. Be right back.” He stood, his arm brushing against Michael’s as he passed.

“Do you need help with anything,” Michael asked before he got too far. He paused. He didn’t really, but something felt off.

“Sure.” He followed him in silence. He stood at the door, just watching Alex move about his room. He pulled open the closet, moving clothing to the side to access the safe where he kept guns and ammo.

“Do you like him?” The question caused him to miss a number for the combination. He shook his head and restarted, laughing at his suggestion. He just needed to play it cool.

“Max? I mean he’s alright,” he joked, trying to deflect.

“You know what I mean, Manes.” The flutter in his heart returned. He pulled the safe open, looking for as much time to come up with an answer as possible.

“What if I do? Careful Guerin, you almost sound jealous.” He tried to keep the bite out of his voice. What right did he have to be jealous? He was the one always pushing him away. He stood from the safe, slowly turning back towards him. Michael's fists were clenched.

“I just mean that you should be careful. Relationships complicate things. Remember Maria. I have to keep her in the dark so she doesn’t get hurt. I’d just hate for you to have to go through that,” he said, not meeting his eyes. Even without the mark, Alex knew his tells at this point.

“And you still try to lie to me. You’ve never been good at that,” he said, focused on loading his gun. He snapped the mag into place, double checking the safety was on before setting it down.

He felt Michael’s presence beside him. He had moved silently. Alex looked up, almost bumping his nose against his. He didn’t move away. A soldier never backed down. No matter how hard and fast his heart was beating. Michael glanced down, then proceeded to lay a hand over his heart.

“Remember that works both ways,” he said softly.

He backed away, picking up the boxes of ammo he had laid on the bed. He left the room without another word. Alex took a deep breath, calming himself. He would worry about that later. He had to focus on the mission.

He walked back to the closet, pushing things around, looking for the bulletproof vest. Once he finally located the damned thing, trying to pull it out was more effort than planned. Stuck on the closet door. Alex cursed, trying to find where the strap had snagged on. He groaned in frustration. There was a chuckle from behind him. Looking over his shoulder, Forrest stood there with a grin.

“Need some help with that?” He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

“Yea, I guess so.” Forrest came and reached over him, close enough to smell whatever cologne he was wearing. So different from Michael. More of a spice. He unhooked the vest from a metal part of the door and pulled it out.

Alex smiled and stood with him. He looked back at the closet, thinking if there was anything else he needed. Then he shut the doors.

“Thanks. Probably just stress. I’ll be fine once we get going.” Forrest rested a hand on his shoulder.

“I have no doubt. You are a hero after all.” Alex raised an eyebrow. “I do my research purple heart guy.” Alex couldn’t stop the grin. He was flattered. He had gone through the effort of learning about him.

“Well I’m glad I’ll have you there as my backup,” he said, picking up the gun from earlier. He reached for the bulletproof vest too, but Forrest shook his head.

“I’ve got this. Let’s go.” He followed him back to the other two. Once they reached the kitchen, they all fell silent. The pressure to make sure nothing went wrong weighed on all of them. Alex straightened his shoulders and lifted his head.

“Let’s do this.”

#malexweek20 #malex20 #multichapter fic #soulmates au #alex manes #michael guerin #malex #roswell new mexico fic #feedback always appreciated

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