#go start s2 and/or catch up on s1 if you haven’t already this show is a gem | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

tea-plantz · 1 year

Note

hello! could i request an amity x fem!reader where amity doesn’t get that much time to see reader at school, so she dedicates a weekend for dates and cuddles? tysm have a great day/night!!

Yesss Amity our fav lesbian! I absolutely love getting such sweet requests, and I’m so glad you asked. I wrote this as a straight up fluffshot and it turned out so cute! I’m in love fr

I wasn’t sure whether you wanted s1 Amity or s2/3, therefore I went ahead and picked out my personal cotton candy haired fav, hope that’s fine by you!

She/her for Amity

She/her for reader

-Amity Blight x fem!reader cuddle date-

Amity’s POV:

Ugh this is so annoying! Why does the teacher go on and on about this subject, and why does he talk so slow?! I don’t really know why I bother paying attention anyway, I mean I already know about this stuff because my mom made me study it last year, and it wasn’t even that interesting! Speaking of my mom, she’s been putting a lot of pressure on me lately. Ever since I became my own individual, colored my hair, started hanging out with the people I wanna hang out with, and most importantly: stopped being afraid of her, she’s been more controlling than ever! Mom expects me to put up with all these extra classes and discipline, but I won’t let her get to me. I just wish I could focus on something other than school once in a while… Or someone.

Y/n… I wonder what she’s doing right now.. probably just some boring class as well, haha. I really miss spending quality time with her though, that would be the perfect stress reliever… wait a minute, that’s it! We should do a sleepover! Yes! It’s the perfect thing, and mom won’t be able to bother us either since she’s gone for a couple of days. Welp that settles it! Me and my girl’s gonna spend the entire weekend together, and I’ll show Y/n that I’m an awesome girlfriend. I giggled quietly to myself at the back of the class, imagining what a wonderful end of the week it was going to be, while waiting for that darn bell to scream.

—————————————————————————— Your POV:

I was walking around campus while humming to myself, making my way to my next class. What was it again? Oh right! Beastkeeping! Today, we’re gonna learn how to tame a wild ratworm, how exciting! As I was walking, I suddenly heard someone shouting my name.

“Y/nnnn!!”

Huh? Who could that be? I turned around to find whoever was trying to get my attention. What I saw made me cackle a bit. Amity was running towards me at full speed, before stopping and bending down, hands on her knees while breathing heavily. After she caught her breath she shot up with a wide smile across her face. Such a cutie pie.

“Y/n! I’m so happy I found you!” She said while tucking her hair back behind her ears.

“Hi Amity! Glad to see you too! Now, what’s the rush about?”

“Oh! Well, I’ve been thinking aaand we should maybe I don’t know, do a sleepover this weekend?” Amity said looking a bit nervous, while bouncing on her toes.

“Yes, that’s a great idea! But, don’t you have schoolwork to catch up on? I mean we’ve barely seen each other all week due to your packed schedule.” I answered with a sad expression. I just miss seeing my sweet girl, but I haven’t been able to spend time with her all week, because her mom’s been signing her up for extra classes all over Hexside! Honestly, I feel really bad for her, it must be overwhelming.

“Yeah, I have been focusing an awful lot on my studies haven’t I, haha.. But not anymore! I’m gonna have a talk with my mother, and this time I won’t back down. Plus, she isn’t even going to be home this weekend, because she has an important business conference to attend to, so she won’t be able to bother us! Oh! Maybe we can have a Good with Azura marathon, and perhaps, y’know.. cuddle or something..?”

Amity’s whole face was practically burning up when she asked about that last part (insert tomato Amity) as a nervous smile spread across her face. I could feel my heart flutter as I looked at her with a small blush myself.

“Oh Amity! Of course I wanna spend the weekend with you! It’ll be amazing, gah I can’t wait! *gasp* but I’m running really late right now, see you later, hun!” I practically yelled as I blew her a kiss and ran away.

Amity’s POV:

She said yes! Aaah I’m so excited! Oh my Titan, I have to get home and get everything ready! I’ve gotta make sure that everything is absolutely perfect!

——————————————————————————

Your POV:

Whoof that was a seriously chaotic class. One student even almost got eaten by a ratworm, but alas me and Viney got it under control, thankfully. Oh that’s right! I have a date with Amity now! Is it even a date? Is it okey for me to consider it one..? Meh, it’s probably fine, like come, on we’re dating anyway!

~time skip to Amity’s house~

*ding dong*

I stood there waiting for one of the Blights to open the door as I placed my hands behind my back. Suddenly, the door swung open as Edric and Emira leaned on the doorframe, smirking as always.

“Y/n! Hi girl, how’s it hanging?” Emira said as she gave me an high five.

“Hi Emira! Lovely seeing you both, and I’m doing fine.” I replied with a closed eye smile.

“Hey mittens! Your girlfriend is here!” Edric shouted as he playfully winked at me.

Moments later we all heard the pitter patter of footsteps running down the stairs, before Amity herself appeared in the doorway with a tomato face.

“Edric! I told you to stop being embarrassing in front of-“

“In front of Y/n? Yeah I know, and I guess pet names are reserved only for your special girl here.” Edric said with a smug look as he and Emira leaned on a grumpy looking Amity who was busy hiding her face in her hands, which was practically burning up at this point.

“I hate you guys” she said with a sour tone.

“Love you too, Mittens!” The twins shouted in sync before walking away, laughing.

“Ugh, I swear those two do irritate me on purpose. Anyhow, Y/n hi! I’m so glad you could make it!” Amity said as she gave me a hug.

“I’m glad I could make it too, sweetie! Now, are ya ready for some Good witch Azura!?”

“Haha yeah I am, come on let’s go”

——————————————————————————

Amity’s POV:

Me and Y/n went up to my room which I had personally prepared with a bunch of blankets, snacks and pillows. As we entered I could hear Y/n let out a small gasp before turning to me with that adorable smile.

“You did all this? Wow! You’re just the best, Amity! This is gonna be so much fun!”

She’s just the cutest sometimes.

“Heh yeah! Now sit down N/n while I pop the disk in” (I’m not really sure how TVs and stuff work on the Boiling Isles, but let’s just pretend they work like on earth for the sake of the story)

I grabbed the remote before sitting down beside my girlfriend, who quickly cuddled up to me. I could feel my body stiffening up as she wrapped her arms around my waist. Carefully, I wrapped my arm around her shoulder before looking down at her, but to my surprise she was already up looking at me with that expression.

“W-what?” I asked.

“You’re blushiiiing” she said in a singing voice while leaning closer to my face.

“I- uh, no?” I said even though it sounded more like a question than an answer.

“Let’s just watch the movie” I finished, looking away feeling embarrassed.

“Sure, what ever you say mittensss”

“Stop it”

——————————————————————————

It’s been a couple of hours and we we’re currently on the third movie. I could feel my eyes starting to become heavy as I struggled a bit to stay awake. Then I suddenly heard a gentle snore coming from Y/n. Huh? My eyes wandered over to the h/c girl peacefully snoring away in my lap. Awww she fell asleep, and she looks absolutely adorable! I could feel my cheeks heat up as I carefully bent down, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. Then, I slowly lifted her a bit, being careful not to hurt her, before laying down beside her. Wow, she truly is beautiful I thought to myself as I rested by her side, taking my time studying her face. I’m so lucky to have someone like her in my life, I said in my mind while hugging her close to me.

“I love you, Y/n” I whispered before closing my eyes and drifting of, excited to spend the rest of the weekend with the best girl in the whole wide world.

This one took FOREVER to finish! Why the hell did I decide to make it so long?! Anyhow, I truly hope you guys enjoyed!

73 notes · View notes

all-chickens-are-trans · 2 years

Note

I would really like to see your outfit dissection because the purples and reds and Trent being so closely linked to Ted that he’s advertising the game Ted is in? After saying he roots for him? Makes me brush off my tinhat that I haven’t worn in years and go hmmmm

okay listen you have opened the gates of hell and therefore i will subject you to every thought that has crossed my mind when looking at this. it will not make sense and there is no logic behind it. you've been warned

trent literally has only five different outfits in the whole show so far. (trust me, I've catalogued them all and counted.) he wears the same exact thing almost every single appearance he has in s1 (except for the scene where he catches Jamie in the parking lot which is an outlier and i'm not sure it should be counted). he is basically a cartoon character, wearing the same exact thing over and over again -

until s2 where he suddenly gets more variation in his looks, probably to show that he's not so fixed in his role anymore and he's broadening his horizons to see what else fits

which is a way to say - his clothes matter. they matter like ted's hair matters, like nathan going grey matters, because this show is great at visual storytelling.

at first glance I thought the fifa promo look was a whole new different look, but no, we've actually seen all of these items before

the blue jacket is from 2.03, the press conference where ted calls trent "baby" in front of a room full of reporters 😶

the dark purple shirt appears in the same scene, and as well in the 2.01 press conference, that time combined with the dark red jacket that looks pretty much like the blue one. i'm especially obsessed with this one because it matches the color of rebecca's eggplant-colored suit from 1.09 so perfectly, and ted specifically calls attention to the color of that suit (i go bonkers over trent and rebecca parallels don't mind me)

the tie of course is the famous red tie that he wears throughout all of s1

the thing is. the whole look is so immediately a trent crimm look like you'd expect. it's his same old "uniform" from s1, just different colors, which is strange because he tries to leave that combo behind more in s2 when he starts wearing t-shirts instead of button-downs and ties more so honestly, i was assuming that timeline-wise, we're closer to s1 here, but that's definitely current James Lance hair so??? what does it mean???

i'm obsessed with all in-world and out-of-world explanations of this

in-world it's like. that's what was in his wardrobe when he was trying to look professional for the cameras, and it was in a more official setting than these press conferences where he wore t-shirts - of course he would wear a suit for this.

out-of-world it's like well, we need a quick trent crimm cameo, what have we got that'll make him immediately recognizable but not place him in any scene we've filmed so far? mix of s1+2 wardrobe stuff, perfect

BUT it's also kinda nuts??? if you're trying to timeline this and put it anywhere after the events of s2?? did they just casually ask a disgraced sports reporter who twice famously ripped Ted Lasso to pieces in a national newspaper to give a statement about Ted for their game?? why??

And why of all things did Trent show up and go "okay I only get one line, better make it a reference to my public love letter first article about Ted"??? adding that dramatic pause in there like??? WHAT

which leads me to my main thesis that Trent is aware of the fact that he is a character (the cartoon outfit in s1, trying to break out of it in s2), which makes him perfect for such a meta endeavor such at this fifa trailer. and his clothes and quote here are his way of telling us "look, i'm playing along, i'm playing the part of enamored sports reporter!"

which leads me to my hypothesis that trent will try and break out of the narrative in s3, find "something deeper", but alas his story's end is already written so he can never be free of the narrative, though he can break free of the role he has to play

okay i kinda lost the plot there for a bit BUT final thing

if you squint very, very hard, these colours make a bi pride flag

Fred over and out

#Trent Crimm #i've achieved nothing #i've explained nothing #anyway thank u anon i wanna hear your thoughts about the colors #ted lasso #my posts

13 notes · View notes

aurelion-cerulean · 2 years

Text

Time Skip Placement

Or why I think the time skip will happen at the end of Ep1, but IMO should be after Ep2.

This is long, FYI.

Before we get to the placement lets talk the length of the skip:

It has been established that there will be a time skip to account for the fact that the actors can’t reasonably pretend to be 15 year olds. The time skip will try to catch up to their ages, and I think it’s going to reflect Noah. He’s 17 now and will be 18 in October. Will Byers is 15 rn. In order to better catch up to his age (as he is the most reasonable to match), there will be a two year time skip. I know that there is a possibility of a 3 year time skip but this doesn’t work thematically.

They can't become "adults" yet. At least not the main young teen group. Or specifically Will Byers. It's a coming of age story, and lowkey that sort of applies they aren't "adults." There is a whole aspect of the fact that you can still have a coming of age story after 18, but for the sake of this let's say they're trying to keep it teen coming of age, aka genre convention.

This means that Season 5 will skip 2 years. Will Byers is 17. Either this takes place in spring of 1989 right before the 3 year mark. OR it will be in 1988, during the Halloween season again. Why 1988 around Halloween? Call back to S2 time frame AND S1 with the fact that Will Byers got captured on Nov 6. Usually the plot takes a week to complete, so S5 starts on Oct.31st, it could end on Nov.6th and we come full circle.

Someone could say that 1989 Halloween-Nov.6th. I see this argument, but I still think that Will should be under 18, for the genre convention. Before they graduate HS, and have to go off into the real world (this whole show is a metaphor after all). So I say the time skip will be 2 years. Will Byers will be 17.

Option 1: Time Skip Happens During Ep 1

Honestly when it comes to this option one of the biggest questions that comes with it is, what was so important that had to be addressed in the first bit of this episode that 4x9 did not address. And then we have to ask ourselves why. We’ve already had everyone get back together, roughly. We have already seen the big bad. So then WHAT must be addressed here before we get the time skip?

Either we get a weird military prologue here where we get to see what they are doing and then SKIP. Or we get some wrap ups of some specific things and then SKIP. This would mainly be, what happened to Max? And, El and Mike’s relationship. However if they were going to address both of these in the first half of episode 1, why leave 4x9 the way that it was left? There really is no point.

Skipping half way though the episode makes no sense, because there are too many why’s. Why didn’t you just address that in 4x9 if you were going to establish it and then essentially skip over it?

Option 2: Time Skip Before Ep 1

Note: This won't happen. The Creators wanted to film 4 & 5 back to back. There is too much that they have to address before the skip, and while they could do it all as flashbacks. That's not the best story telling method. However, for the sake of this, I am addressing it and the why's it can't happen.

This opens us up to a lot of questions. If Mike and El are still together, we missed their talk which is low-key important. If they are broken up, we missed their talk which is low-key important. Maybe it happened on mutual terms? Who knows, but that talk itself, after being built up through a multitude of scenes (and to be interrupted) can’t be skipped over.

The next big issue is, what was Vecna just doing in this time that El was trying to power up? Healing? Of course some hand waving could be like they’ve been fighting this whole time but they haven’t been able to fight him specifically. So it’s just been carnage for a long time, right? So how in the world are the parents reacting? Did we already have them join? Or are we assuming that they still know absolutely nothing and they're living in this potential quarantine zone not asking what their children have been doing for two years?

Lastly, Max. IDK if they’ll just hand wave away the fact that she’d be in a coma for two years. But most coma patients who recently came to consciousness can’t get up, start running, and chasing monsters. Maybe they’ll keep her in a coma for the whole season, or the ending part will mirror S2 a bit with them having to protect her. Maybe Max is helping fight Vecna in Vecna’s head. Regardless, she has to be addressed, and I’m just saying but every time we THINK someone is dead they show up again pretty quick.

Of course the Max element could parallel the saving Will from S1, and thus she really isn’t back until the end, but… something tells me this is not what is going to be happening. It’s a gut feeling. I feel like Max will be more like Hppper and come back quickly.

Option 3: Time Skip Happens After Ep 1

I’m not going to say that this is a bad idea. We would be able to establish any and all the conversations that need to be had before the time skip: El and Mike, parents, and Max. We could get the establishment of what the military plans to do. We also could get an explanation on why Vecna doesn’t just end the world (shout out to Dustin and Nancy who will figure this out).

It would mirror Ep1 of S1, in the case that the majority of the plot really starts to take place after the time skip.

The single episode could wrap up all the loose ends and give us a reason, but it might not have the time to address the other underlying conflicts. Namely this is: Lucas and Mike, Mike and Will, El’s headspace, Jonathan and Nancy, and Dustin’s headspace. Do I think that they could jam all of this into a 1hr episode too? Maybe? Let’s give them all 5min scenes; that’s 25min. Lets say that the ElxMike, Parents, and Max plots have only 5 min for reasons (which is really short for what needs to be said). That’s a total of 40min. So we have 5 min for the military involvement. 5 min for Nancy and Dustin figuring things out for Vecna needing to heal and the time they have.

If we are operating that the episode is 60min, then that is 50 min spent on all of these things, and not long either. There isn’t a lot of time to address any of these things. Maybe the episode is 70 min and I’m wrong, and they won’t be cutting the episodes substantially shorter. We’d have 20 min of leeway. It could work, especially since those additional side plots do not have to be long.

lol maybe I’m expecting too much for before the time skip.

Option 4: Time Skip Happens After Ep 2

TBH nothing much changes between option 3 and option 4, other than the fact that we get more time. This is also my choice: a mini arc before the final arc.

I really think the military showing up to address El will need to be a long scene. I can’t see it being less than 10 min. There is just so much here. They need to be show to find El. They have to have a fight with or for El. They need to be convinced that she is not the problem. Will they believe this? Likely not. OR El will have to run away and be hidden. This is likely (and would replicate S1), the question does then become where. I don’t have an answer for this, but I do think that it would be important to address this before the time skip, because they were literally right on El’s tail days before the time skip at the end of 4x9.

Secondly the parents. I can’t see them getting to know what the children have been up to in the last few years as less than 10 min. In fact I see this taking a particular amount of time. The kids having to convince their parents to help actually could be a really good set up for the rest of the season (with them all having to come together). However having a sort of rallying together after the time skip could potentially be a bit strange, especially if there is a quarantine. Like wouldn’t their parents be asking a whole lot more questions?

I also wouldn’t be surprised in Dustin’s mother wanted to leave but Dustin was like we can’t. This doesn’t work after the time skip. Now this could be a big plot thing for the whole of S5, with them having to admit their issues to their parents, but still if their town is under quarantine, are the parents really just NOT asking questions? Are Joyce and Hopper really covering this whole time like, yeah nothing is wrong? This doesn’t have to be before the Time Skip. But if there are 2eps before the TimeSkip, this could be the basis of the plot of this 2ep minor arc.

El and Mike. This needs to happen and where it could be a quick thing, something tells me that it won’t be and we will see their reactions to the break up. This leads Mike to two potential conversations for Mike. One, he confronts Will about the painting and the fact that Will lied to him that the painting was commissioned by El. After Will so cleverly hid that he was in love with Mike, I don’t think it’s likely that he’ll just say it outright. This would cause tension between them because Will never lies to Mike (this would lead to Will talking to his mother and/or Jonathan) Two, Mike talking with his mother about why Will lied and his relationship with El. Do I think this could happen after the time skip? Yea, but if the Will talk happens here I have a feeling that Mike will need to decompress. Mike will have a lot of emotions he’d need to address. Or Mike just internalizes it for the next two years, and doesn’t address it. TBH that second option seems a lot like Mike lol.

Meanwhile El’s headspace in specific needs to be addressed. She’s angry and she’s distraught about Max. El would need to talk to someone about her powers and that she needs to get stronger faster, because she wants to save Max. This person probably will be Hopper. He would need to convince her that going too fast is going to burn her out, thus she needs to slow down — that she doesn’t have to race to grow up (important for themes). This specific idea doesn’t work after the time skip. If El is rushing around after a 2 year time skip, someone telling her “you can slow down” is just…No. Girl already took 2 years preparing. What do you mean she needs to slow down now that the final battle is here? No. The slowing down to grow up aspect could still work, but it's not as much of a metaphor with her powers lol.

This message only works before the time skip, which means we need to see El rushing and pushing herself before the time skip. This needs an establishment of at least a few quick scenes and then the talk with Hopper. She needs a good father figure who needs to tell her she doesn’t need to grow up so fast — or El talks with Joyce, which would lead Joyce to realizing what happened with Jonathan. I probably need to do a whole post about El’s arc, and how I see it in S5.

Jonathan and Nancy need a talk. This won’t be an easy convo. We’ve been waiting for this talk for all of S4. AND we need to have it addressed what the two plan to do now that there is a rip in the sky. Are they going to college? No? This doesn’t have to be long, tbh, but them talking about their relationship actually might be, especially if Jonathan deflects. If there is a time skip, we have to assume that they will have talked about it. What’s the point in teasing it out as an issue between the two of them if the resolution won’t be shown to the audience?

Dustin needs time to mourn. Point blank. Mike probably does too, because he was close to Eddie too.

Steve and Nancy need to talk about that bombshell that Steve put in Nancy’s lap before the end fight in S4. This will be an emotional talk, I think. Might not be addressed until after the skip (which is a lot of baggage), in which case Nancy might be avoiding Steve.

We need to find out what happened to Max. Otherwise why leave us with the empty space? I wouldn’t be surprised if El visits Mx in the hospital too. IMO if we have the two eps before the time skip, we’ll get Max waking up.

Dustin and Nancy need a little time to figure out how much time they might have before Vecna gets back. I wouldn’t be surprised if they can’t figure it out, and El is like I need to get stronger now, faster. Then they find something. This allows the audience to know: okay this is why the two year time skip makes sense? Okay?

Lucas and Mike need to talk. I’m going to have a whole post about this. TLDR however, is that these two NEED to talk. Mike was drifting away from Lucas. Mike thought Lucas was changing. The two need to talk about their friendship BEFORE the time skip in order to help establish the ending (if it is about coming together in the end). Lucas is so afraid of losing Mike. Mike on the flip side probably has no clue about this because he’s so focused on Will and El. Mr. Oblivious needs it slapped in his face, and while they could have the talk after the Time Skip, I personally think it needs to be had before. We need to have it established to Mike that he’s been a shit friend, so that he can work on it in the Time Skip. When we see them two years later we can see how much work he has put into being a good friend, for real this time — and a better person. Also we can see how he respects whatever new interests that Lucas has. Having it the first talk between the two after the time skip could work, but I personally think it works better before.

Now do I think that any and all of this HAS to be before the time skip? No. Do I think that at some point that most of these things will be addressed? Yes. I just think that they work better before the time skip. Roughly the same things happen in Option 3 and 4, but the difference is that Option 4 gives them a bit more time to breathe than pushing them all into one episode.

This would make the first two episodes a whole mini arc. If you think that this covers too much and that it could be addressed over the course of the other 6 episodes, here are other things that have to happen.

I could go on. And like this is just knowing what we know as possibilities of what will be in the season.

#stranger things theory #stranger things season 5 theory #stranger things season five theory #stranger things #will byers #mike wheeler #lucas sinclair #eleven hopper #dustin henderson #byler #byler theory

6 notes · View notes

annakie · 2 years

Text

A List of Shows I’ve Watched So Far This Year

...and a couple of sentences about each one. Also some movies and podcasts, too.

I started keeping a list around the time the entertainment outlets started publishing their “Best of 2021″ lists near the end of the year so I would be sure to catch some good TV since I wasn’t sure what to watch half the time. So this list is partially from those lists, partially stuff I found in other ways like via tumblr gifsets on my dash, some things I stumbled upon, had already been watching, and some just because I was subscribed to whatever service a show was on and thought “Hm that looks interesting.”

Tried keeping track of movies and podcasts, too. Gonna do video games in a different post. Currently I have 34 shows on my “To Watch / Catch up on” list, and always adding more.

This is in no particular order at all.

Taskmaster (& rewatched a lot of it.) - OK I immediately lied. I moved this to the top because I honestly believe everyone should watch Taskmaster. It is the most joyful thing I’ve ever watched, I love it so, so much. Everyone I have convinced to watch the show has loved it. It curbs anxiety, it always always always makes me laugh, and there’s a lot of it to watch.

Taskmaster is a British... panel/game show, sort of, where five comedians/entertainers are at the whims of the Taskmaster (Greg Davis) and his assistant (Alex Horne, who is the true genius behind the show) and do ABSOLUTELY ABSURD tasks to earn his approval. The same cast stays for an entire season (early on 5 or 6 episodes, then 8, now 10.) Greg scores their efforts, and at the end of the season, the winner takes home... a bust of Greg’s head. Mostly bragging rights and a spot on the Champion of Champions special that happens after every 5th season.

I cannot express how much I love Taskmaster. You can just watch most of it for free on Youtube. Series 1 Episode 1 is a fine place to start, or maybe try season 4 for people you likely already know. Anyway, that’s the sales pitch. Everything else is just my opinions. Watch Taskmaster, unless you hate fun and don’t need a distraction right now?

I started watching it near the end of last year, and then synced up with @ahab99 and we watched the rest of it together. It’s been one of my favorite things to do this year, and the fandom is great. My favorite seasons are 4, 5, 7, 9, 12 and 13, but I love them ALL.

Kongen Befaler (Taskmaster Norway) S1 & 2 - I love Taskmaster so much I started watching the Norwegien version, which is slow going because I have to be in the right mind to watch something with subtitles, but the Norwegian version is very nearly as good as the original. Highly recommend it if you’ve finished with the original. I haven’t yet gotten to the New Zealand version yet because I’m waiting for ahab99 to be ready, but I know it’s also considered to be great.

The Great S1 & 2 - Speaking of great... watched this as it was on Alan Sepinwall’s best of 2021, and I trust him about quality of things most of the time. Enjoyed The Great a lot, not one of my favorite things of the year, but thought the leads were very good and also Sacha Dhawan was a nice surprise. It’s got a lot more grossout humor than you were probably expecting. But I’ll watch S3.

Halt and Catch Fire S1-4 - I’d watched S1 and the first half of S2 when it was airing, then fell behind, and my DVR broke, and I never caught back up. But Sepinwall had mentioned it somewhere in a review I read recently and put it back on the list. It’s a show that got stronger every season. S1 was really trying way too hard to be Mad Men But In the 80′s And About Tech, once they figured out the characters in S2, toned down Lee Pace’s character and made the “mousey wife” not so mousey, it got amazing. Loved it so much.

Station Eleven - The first few eps aired last year, and I watched it in real time, but the last three aired this year. This is one of the best things I watched not only this year but... ever. A story of love and hope after a world-ending pandemic. You would think “I don’t need a pandemic story right now” but yeah, you need this story. One of the most satisfying moments I’ve experienced in fiction near the end of the series, too. So good. Highly rec. This also means Mackenzie Davis was one of the leads of... the last two things I talked about and she deserves all the awards.

Hacks S1 & 2 - I love Jean Smart and had been meaning to get around to this one for awhile, so I got to it like a few weeks before S2 aired. Really funny and powerful story of two women in different generations who were there when they needed it the most. A definite rec.

Starstruck S1 & 2 - I watched this not only because Sepinwall recommended it, but because it was created by & stars Rose Matafeo, who is on series 9 of Taskmaster and who I adore because of it. Really funny, great story, a little frustrating, but well worth it.

Our Flag Means Death (3 times) - Thanks to tumblr for all the gifsets, and finding out Guz Khan (who is in S12 of Taskmaster) is in this show, I gave in and watched it. I didn’t watch it the first time til the week after it ended, but then I signed up for HBO Max to support the show and watched it three times in one month. Loved it. Can’t wait for S2.

Severance - Came for Adam Scott, stayed for holy shit what is going on here why do I have to wait week to week for more? I NEED ANSWERS NOW. Creepy, bleak, and very, very intriguing. Am on the edge of my seat for season 2. Another one of the best things I’ve seen this year/in awhile.

The Expanse (Some in 2021, some in 2022) - One of those shows I’d been meaning to get into for a long time and I knew if I could stick with it eventually I’d love it. I had tried the first episode a couple of times over the last few years and didn’t like it but... I was determined this time and stuck with it. I have LOVED Shohreh Aghdashloo for a long time and she got me to stick around. I honestly didn’t love the show until season 2 or so, but at some point I was all in, and was sad when I finished, though a couple of the seasons were weaker than others for sure, and learning the circumstances behind the removal of one of the main characters, who was another of my favorites, put a small damper on it. But I’m glad I finished it. Someone make a S7. :(

Upload S2 - Watched S1 and thought it was decent, S2 was... definitely affected by the Pandemic filming. It was OK, but not great. The season finale especially seemed cut off too soon. But I’ll keep watching.

Doctor Who Specials (New Year’s special and The Sea Devils) - New Years special was great, other one was okay. It’s nice that they’re addressing 13/Yaz. Even though, ya know, it’s almost regeneration time. There’s a lot about the 13 era I have liked, but also a lot of wasted potential. And I’m not a fan of the Timeless Child thing... have seen few who are, though.

I also rewatched the Husbands of River Song because the Taskmaster himself, Greg Davis, plays King Hydroflax in this episode.

Critical Role S3 + Calamity - Been keeping up with Critical Role still, though sometimes I fall behind a week or two. I have been enjoying S3 a lot, probably more than I enjoyed the first arc of S2. Having Ashley back full time is great, and I like the new characters. Been staying far, far away from the fandom and the drama, though.

Calamity was amazing. I know I posted a thing about maybe not watching but I did because of how everyone was talking about it, and it was everything people said it was. I cried through most of the finale. Thanks to @thequeenofmyownscreen for crying with me. :)

I have very much wanted to get into Dimension 20 since before Calamity and really want to now, but have yet to find the time.

Breaking Bad Rewatch (Just season 2.5 to the end) - After watching the first half of S6 of Better Call Saul, and hearing the second half is going to have more relevance to Breaking Bad, I went back and re-watched BB from the first Saul episode to the end, since I hadn’t seen it since it aired. For like the S2 and some of the S3 part I was fast forwarding through a lot of like, Hank & Marie scenes or parts that were a lot of people staring at each other, but after awhile I just settled in and re-enjoyed the ride. Worth it.

Better Call Saul S6 - As noted above, have been keeping up with BCS the whole time. Love it. Can’t wait to see how it ends. DON’T KILL KIM WEXLER, PLEASE SHOW.

(BBC) Ghosts S1 - 3 - Three of the main characters have been contestants on Taskmaster (Charlotte Richie - S11, Lolly Adofope - S4 and Katy Wix - S9) plus at least two guest stars (Jessica Knappet - S7, Bridget Christie - S13.) So after learning this plus seeing some gifsets on my tumblr dash and seeing it was on HBO Max, I watched. Really enjoyed it, highly recommend.

(CBS) Ghosts - While looking up info for BBC Ghosts, I saw CBS had brought the show to America. I thought “Well, let’s see how bad they fucked this up” and dove in, intending to watch just the first episode or three. I finished the (currently only, S2 is incoming) season in like a day and a half. They did a good job making both the living married couple and the ghosts American, retaining some flavor of the BBC version without it being a direct ripoff aside from the pilot and one ghost being a near carbon copy of the British counterpart. I think they did a good job making it their own. The Brit version is probably still better, but I don’t regret watching both and will watch the next seasons of both, too.

(New) Kids in the Hall - I was in High School when the Kids in the Hall was originally airing on Comedy Central here in the US, and things like “I’m Crushing Your Head” were as cool as Wayne’s World quotes. Wasn’t sure what to expect about the revival but I really loved it, a lot. Be warned if you watch it there is old man full frontal in uh, the first episode, lol. But seriously, it was great. And I’m flabbergasted and mad that it wasn’t nominated for an Emmy.

Only Murders in the Building S2 - I think S1 aired last year? Watching S2 now. What a delight this show is. As an Old, I grew up loving Steve Martin and Martin Short and they’re amazing here. I had no idea who Selena Gomez is before this show, and now I adore her. Enjoying S2 a lot.

For All Mankind S3 - I think I watched S1 & S2 at the end of last year, and except for that mindbogglingly terrible subplot at the end of the 2nd season, I really loved it. S3 has been likewise great so far. Even though the stupid subplot continues into S3. I’m a Margot and a Dani stan.

Mare of Easttown - When this was airing last year it felt like everyone was talking about it and how great it was, so I got around to watching it. It was, indeed, very good, with a resolution that was surprising but didn’t feel like came out of nowhere. Also more Jean Smart = good.

The White Lotus - I mean, I have HBO Max right now and this is another show people kept talking about when it was airing, so I watched it. Eehhh, it was okay. It was a good takedown of white people at their most white-people-ness. Don’t think it deserves the Emmy love it’s getting except for the guy who played the hotel manager.

The Umbrella Academy S3 - I keep up with TUA when it’s on, and enjoy it. Enjoyed S3 as well. Not as much as S2 but hey, enough to look forward to S4. Mostly glad this season Luther got over Allison, but Allison this season was uh... not great.

Stranger Things S4 - Just like most everyone else, watched ST4 and I did love it, though the criticisms of it is pretty valid, too. NGL, got pretty bored with the Eleven subplot in the first half and fast forwarded through it as I thought it was very obvious Henry = Vecna and it felt like otherwise we were rehashing a lot of other stuff. And the Russian Prison subplot could have been cut way down, too. But still, love Stranger Things. Can’t wait for S5.

Murderville - Will Arnett’s improv / cop comedy. Swung WILDLY in quality depending on who the guest of the week was. They were right to put Conan first and Kumail Nanjiani last so it started and ended on its strongest episodes. I adore Annie Murphy but it was uncomfortable watching her stumble through her episode. But I finished it and would watch a S2.

Resident Alien S2 - I think S1 was stronger so far, but still loving this show, and Alan Tudyk is great, so is his co-lead Sara Tomko. Could do with less Mayor and Mayor’s Wife who’s character’s names I can never ever remember, and more of everyone else.

Barry S2 & 3 - I watched S1 as it aired and never got around to picking up S2 or 3 until a few weeks ago. It’s very good, and very violent. Can’t believe they’re still gonna do a S4 after that S3 ending.

The Flight Attendant S1(ish) - I watched the first episode and thought... I am not into this enough to watch the rest of the season but I do want to know how it ends. So I skipped right over to the last two episodes. Maybe I’ll do the same with S2.

Gentleman Jack - Was interested in this from tumblr gifsets. Literally watched the first episode and a couple of hours later the cancellation was announced, lol. Overall, I enjoyed it but I hope Suranne Jones’ back is OK because she carried this show for all sixteen episodes. Anything focused on Anne Lister was great. But they could not write a subplot of side characters to SAVE A LIFE. The cast was great, (I mean they had Five himself Peter Davison!) with what they were given. But so many subplots either were messy, boring or went nowhere and were dropped without resolution. Still glad I watched it but... it feels like only Lister/Walker ever found its footing and everything else was... not there. I’d have kept watching, but not super upset it’s likely not going to happen.

Star Wars

Book of Boba Fett - I think I liked this series more than most when it was focusing on Boba Fett but also like... the criticism was fair. And yeah it felt more like a sub-show of The Mandalorian rather than its own thing in the end. It was quite cool seeing the whole gang, minus Cobb, fighting together in the finale. And also uh, this may be blasphemous, but I am slightly disappointed they brought Grogu back? I think they are victims to their own success if they don’t think the show can survive without Grogu, whereas I was kinda looking forward to Mando on his own. But I’ll enjoy Mando S3 either way, I think.

Even this review of BoBF became a review of The Mandalorian. *facepalm*

Obi-Wan Kenobi - Yeah it was messy blah blah but I really really loved Obi-Wan. We’d been waiting for Obi’s return forever and I think they did a great job making the show emotionally resonate. It was so great seeing Hayden back, too. And it also adds a little more emotional weight to ANH how too, with Obi-Wan having a relationship with Leia.

Star Trek

I watched all the Star Treks. Yesterday was the first NON-STAR TREK Thursday of this ENTIRE YEAR and I AM MAD ABOUT IT. Luckily Lower Decks S3 starts next month.

Prodigy S1.0 - There’s still more Prodigy S1 coming, but I am enjoying this show more than I thought I would, grading on the “It’s for children!” curve. NGL I am most invested in the Real Janeway & Chakotay stuff but the kids and Holo-Janeway are also great. Excited for more. And the Kobiyashi Maru episode was a fave, as well as the 1.0 finale.

(Rewatch) Picard S1 & then Picard S2 - I forgot most of what had happened in S1 so I rewatched it. I like it more than most people did, but I mean... there’s like no Star Trek I don’t like. S2 started strong, and I liked the ending, and a lot of what they did in the middle stumbled with some great moments and a few not so great. There were definite parts of S2 that... didn’t work. But it was also fun. Plus my Teenage Dream Crush (lol) showed up, which was a huge plus for me. And uhm... I am absolutely feral about what’s going to happen in S3.

Discovery S4 - I think Discovery had gotten stronger every season, and I again, have enjoyed every season. I do definitely agree I wish every season wasn’t universe-ending threats, and the bridge crew doesn’t get enough to do, but I mean... that doesn’t at all ruin my enjoyment of the show. I thought the universe-ending threat was at least new and original this year.

Strange New Worlds S1 - Ummm... yeah. It’s great. I’m mad about how great it is. It’s not my favorite of the New Treks (Lower Decks is probably my fave) but I do get why so many people say this is their favorite. REMEMBER THOUGH... we wouldn’t have this Pike, Spock and Una without Discovery S2.

MST3K

Mystery Science Theater 3000 S13 + Specials - I Kickstarted MST3k season 13 for uhhhh... more than I probably should have. I am really loving Season 13 so far. Jonah is great as always, I already adore Emily and her bots, and having Joel back in the riffing seat with J. Elvis by his side mashed the nostalgia button so hard. All the episodes have been hilarious, though some are more faves than others, but that’s normal. Really enjoying the “special events” too. Having something to do like, every other Friday by appointment has been nice, too. The chat is very friendly and actually funny. Ready to support them for as much as I can when S14 talk comes around.

The Mads Are Back - MST3k-related, Frank Coniff and Trace Belaiu have been doing monthly riffing livestreams since July 2020 and I’ve been to them all. So another monthly Tuesday night appointment. They also do a guest interview after each, which has been delightful. Was a big help early in the Pandemic to have another monthly “appointment” to look forward to, and I’m glad they’re keep on keeping on with the livestreams especially since Frank’s health problems. And I love that nearly all the old cast plus some of the new MST3k cast has come and hung out in the post-show with them. <3

Along with that, just rando, MST3K and Rifftrax episodes whenever I feel like it, often as white noise when I’m gaming or working.

Trashy Realtiy TV - I make no apologies. I don’t watch a lot of reality TV but I have watched these.

The Circle S4 - I just lilke the Circle, OK? Love is Blind S2 - It’s a dose of drama that I usually avoid. 70% of Love is Blind Japan S1 - Wanted to see the differences. I watched the pods and vacation part, skipped most of the “We’re back at our real lives!” episodes and just went and saw who made it to the altar and who said I do.

JUST STARTED:

The Other Two - Haven’t finished yet, but just wrapped up S1. A Sepinwall rec I wouldn’t have checked out otherwise. The Entertainment Industry Takedown stuff is kinda funny but nothing we haven’t seen before. What has made this show work so far is that yeah the mom + adult kids are very dysfunctional on their own but they love each other and their little brother a lot and that glue makes the show worth it for me.

Blood and Treasure S2 - I would not watch this show most likely but Mark Gagliardi is one of the main stars (probably #3 on the call sheet I’d guess) and when a guy you kinda know is on TV, you usually wanna watch that guy being on TV. It’s a fun cheesy National Treasure like romp. This season was filmed in 2020 and JUST NOW BEING RELEASED and only on Paramount+ so we’re probably not gonna get more. The first two episodes released just this week so, we’ll see how the rest of the season goes. Mark’s character has his own subplot this season though so I’m excited for that.

Movies

TBH I don’t watch a lot of movies? There’s too many shows to watch. But I have watched these in the last 6 months...

Everything Everywhere All At Once - Everyone was talking about it so I wanted to experience it. As amazing as everyone said. I still think about it often. And get Absolutely Story of a Girl stuck in my head.

The Batman - Not a huge Batman fan, (like it’s FINE but whatever) but wanted to see Pattison’s take on it. Thought the movie was a little too long, and I came away with no strong feelings other than Pattison and Dano were both very good, and was excited to see Izzy Hands and Irving from Severance in the movie :v

Star Trek The Motion Picture - I’ve seen this like a half dozen times, and am always amazed at how many reaction shots of the cast’s face they padded the film with. Wanted to see the new enhanced visuals and cut. At least what they were gazing at for 15 minutes of the film’s runtime looked great. I need to finish rewatching the rest of the TOS movies. I’ve been saying that since I finished my All-ST Rewatch in 2020. SO I guess I didn’t actually FINISH that rewatch. Hm.

The Lost City - I truly don’t know why I watched this movie but I had finished whatever show I had been watching and didn’t want to start a new one yet so I watched this for no reason. Cast was good, movie was cheesy but also fun in a Romancing the Stone sort of way. Not great, but fun. Daniel Radcliffe makes a great villain.

Suicide Squad - I’m... trying... to watch the DC movies. I’ve only seen the two Wonder Woman movies, Batman vs.Superman and that first Superman movie, all when they came out. I’ve heard the second one and the Peacemaker show are great though so I’m trying to shove my way through the rest to that. Do I have to watch the Snyder cut? Anyway, this was fine, but felt like it was trying way too hard to be cool. Was entertaining at least.

Podcasts

I haven’t been listening to a lot of podcasts lately, tbh. Mostly I listen in the last hour before bed when I’m playing on my Switch and hanging out with Patchy.

The Taskmaster Podcast and Taskmaster: The People's Podcast - Yep been listening to the companion podcasts to Taskmater, too. The original TM podcast is hosted by Series 9 contestant Ed Gamble and it’s fantastic because he’s SUCH a fan of the show, and he’s a great interviewer. It’s a recap podcast, of the current episode if a series is airing or past series when one’s not.

The People’s Podcast is hosted by S8 contestant Lou Saunders + a guy who’s a fan (and a writer) who keeps meticulous stats of the show. Though there’s a bit of episode discussion it’s mostly a celebration of the fandom. Episodes are a bit more hit or miss depending on who the fan-guest is, but it’s a good effort and usually still entertaining. Especially loved them interviewing Norwegian Taskmaster Assistant Olli Wermskog <3

Hello From the Magic Tavern S4 + Patreon Bonus Content - I’ve been a fan of HFTMT since about episode 24 (When Craig Cackowski guest starred.) Through the years sometimes I’ve kept up, sometimes I’ve fallen months behind, but I have listened to it all, including the spinoff podcasts and signed up for the pateron on day 1. Still love these guys after all these years. If you want to listen to three guys and guests worldbuild a silly magical world, here you go. There’s like 400 episodes including spinoffs and Patreon content, you won’t run out any time soon.

The Delta Flyers - Technically as I’m a Pateron patron I watch the episodes online, not listen to them as a podcast. This is Robert Duncan McNeil (Tom Paris) and Garrett Wang (Harry Kim’s) Voyager rewatch podcast, that they started as a pandemic project, and they’re now in season five. I really enjoy their takes, even when I don’t agree with them, and there’s so much BTS content. Also the bonus content includes really great interviews with the rest of the cast pretty often, guest stars, directors, writers, crew, producers etc etc. I pledge at a mid-teir level now and don’t regret it at all. I usually watch while working, and sometimes I get a few episodes behind. And also sometimes I have to rewatch the Voyager episode before listening to the podcast episode. But very worth it. Going to miss this one when they’re done.

The “To Watch / Catch up On” list: Counterpart You're the Worst Miracle Workers Zoey's Extradordinary Playlist Pen15 Derry Girls In Treatment We Are Lady Parts Girls 5eva Squid Game Succession Reservation Dogs Evil I May Destroy You Love Life Shadow and Bone Yellowjackets New Girl Wheel of Time Lovecraft Country Atlanta Watchmen Tuca and Bertie Sharp Objects Devs Yellowstone Gaslit Abbot Elementary Shining Girls The Orville

Catchup: Cobra Kai Downton Abbey (last season or two + movies) Rutherford Falls S2

I am taking suggestions.

And then there are a bunch of upcoming shows or shows with seasons that aired in like 2021 that I haven’t mentioned here to watch like, the Lord of the Rings show, and S2 of Leverage: Redemption not currently on this list that I will watch as they come out.

No idea how someone with an actual life squeezes in more show time. I’m still like 90% in quarantine still (thx immune system) so... at least I’ve got the time.

#television #movies #podcasts #i am not tagging shows individually that's way too much work #If you are looking for a media rec list here you go #media #personal post tag thingy

2 notes · View notes

the-cult-of-russo · 3 years

Text

Hues of Gold

Pairing: Billy Russo x Reader

Request : do a billy russo x reader with the reader having an art job and them meeting due to that somehow

Warnings: none

A/N: Here it is, my first Billy x Reader. I'll be getting to the prompts in my inbox too but still feel free to send me more requests. You don't need to pick from the prompt lists, if you have an idea then just send it on over. Nothing is off limits and I write for every type of Billy. S1 Billy, S2 Billy, pre-show Billy, all the AU Billy's you can think of lmao Gimme them all.

You tilted your head a little, eyes sweeping across the paint on the easel in front of you. The piece was coming together nicely. You'd started at humble beginnings with your artwork as a street artist. You hadn't been able to afford art school and you didn't feel like people needed to if they just felt it. And you did. You'd been a hit with your expressionist art and before you knew it, you were getting wealthy clients and more money. Now you had your own little studio with an apartment on top. It wasn't flashy but it was yours and you loved it. The work you thought was good enough for your new clients would go up on your website, they'd buy them and then you'd send them off to their new home. It was simple and you got to spend every day painting to your heart's content.

You bit your lip as you mixed two golds together to get the perfect shade you were after. Some of your pieces were weirder than others, others being more realistic or using average colors. Some of them were darker in theme or used more vibrant colors with looser shapes. It was all dependent on how you felt when making it. The one currently being worked on wasn't finished by any means. Oil paint often required many layers and getting it to dry in between time. But if someone was to gauge your mood by this one, well… they'd say you were most likely sexually frustrated. It was a naked woman laying on her back on rumpled sheets, just her torso and a bit of her leg to leave the rest to the imagination. Her male counterpart was pressed up against her as the bodies melded together, his hand gripping her thigh. The colors you'd picked for this were hues of red, orange, yellow and gold, making it look like the couple were set ablaze. The epitome of passion. It was coming along nicely.

Your work cell rang breaking you from your thoughts. You gave your hand a quick wipe on the ratty towel next to you as you picked it up, answering with your full name.

"Hi, I'm lookin' for some art and I've heard you're the girl to go to," a smooth voice came through the phone. The fact that someone recommended this guy to you made you smile. It always did. It meant people were pleased with your work.

"I am. Have you checked the website? That's where my current pieces are," you murmured softly.

"I did but… I haven't really found the one yet. And a friend of mine tells me you've got a bunch of exclusive stuff at your studio," he replied.

You glanced around your studio. He wasn't wrong entirely although you wouldn't call them exclusives. You'd call them rejects if you were honest. Your new clientele were more demanding and it made you second guess your pieces more often than you'd like to admit. This led to many of them finding a home in your studio instead. You were unsure who the man's friend was as typically you didn't have people come to the studio. It was a very rare occurrence and you couldn't imagine him being interested in any of these pieces. But a customer was a customer.

"You're more than welcome to come down and look at them. I'm not sure you'll find what you're looking for though, I've kept them offline because they're in the reject pile," you snorted wryly. His smooth chuckle was soothing as it hit your ears and you nibbled on your lower lip.

"Well I'll be the judge of that," you didn't know what he looked like but you could hear the smirk in his voice. You told him the address before hanging up.

You were a little nervous of someone coming into your space and judging the art you'd already deemed not worth putting up for sale, but you decided to roll with it. It was too late now and it wouldn't be a good look for your business to tell the guy he couldn't come. You decided to continue the piece you were working on to keep your mind occupied, having no idea just when the man would decide to show, or if he would at all.

It was an hour later when the large wooden door knocked and you called out that it was open. You stood up and wiped your hands on the towel again, not that it helped much. You were sure you had paint on every part of you, it was half the fun of making art. The man walked in and you were a little surprised by just how handsome he was. He was dressed to the nines in a suit with his hair slicked back, the sides shorter than the top. He certainly looked like your usual clients but you couldn't remember any of your fancier clients ever bothering to call you, never mind actually coming to see your other pieces.

The smile he shot you was disarming and you replied in kind as you walked over to him. You reached out your hand to shake with his before retracting it rapidly when you noticed just how much of a poor job the towel had done. He seemed amused if his chuckle was anything to go by and you snorted.

"Uh… welcome. Feel free to look around. I haven't really got prices for these since I wasn't gonna sell them so I'll settle for whatever," you shrugged with a smile. Anything was better than nothing that you were getting by keeping them here. Besides, you were pretty sure he wouldn't even like any of them.

You didn't want to crowd him as he looked around so you went right back to your easel and sat on the stool. He walked around leisurely, stopping at each piece and looking at them. Your eyes kept flitting to him without meaning to, you weren't sure if it was how attractive he was or the nerves of having someone assessing your work this way. Maybe both. He didn't strike you as an art kind of guy honestly. Most of the rich clients weren't, they just wanted a statement piece for their walls for people to talk about. There wasn't anything wrong with that of course, but you'd be a liar if you said you didn't miss it back as a street artist when people bought a piece simply because it spoke to them and they loved it. Onwards and upwards though, right?

"So… who's the friend? That told you I had stuff here?" You asked after a moment, unable not to because your curiosity was getting the better of you. He glanced over at you from where he stood and smiled.

"Curtis," he replied. Your eyebrows raised a little with that information. You'd met Curtis back when you were a street artist and he bought something for the group he was running. He was a nice guy and he checked in every so often with you. You wouldn't say you were friends but you really liked him and you had some good conversations. You couldn't imagine Curtis being friends with this man though.

Noticing the shock on your face, the man chuckled.

"We served together when I was in the marines. He's a good guy, one of my closest friends," he supplied.

"You were a marine?" You hadn't meant to ask like it was such an absurd notion but it came out anyway. You just hadn't expected it He looked amused though and he nodded.

"Yeah. When I got out I set up my own private military firm, ex military people with no purpose. I give 'em somethin' to fight for. A brotherhood. We're doin' pretty well," he had a bright smile on his face, gesturing to his suit when he said they were doing well and you found yourself smiling back.

"You must be really proud. It's amazing that you're doing that for them. I mean… I never served or anything but Curtis tells me about some of the guys from his group sometimes. I bet you really help them," you said sincerely. You had no clue what it must be like to serve and you knew you didn't have the stomach for it. But some of the things Curtis had told you had made you sad and you were impressed that the man had set up something like this on his own. Something to help others just like him. He shot you another smile before going back to looking at the artwork and you couldn't take your eyes off him.

Figuring he'd catch you looking at him, you forced yourself to focus on adding more gold to the art you were working on. You weren't sure how long had passed until he spoke again and it startled you. You'd almost forgotten he was there.

"This one is… interesting. I like this one," he mused, eyes on the work on your easel as he stood beside you. Your cheeks tinged a little pink at the phrasing he used but you recovered quickly.

"Thanks. I like this one too but… it won't end up on the website. The last erotic piece I put on there apparently offended people," you said with a wry grin. He laughed, the sound low and short but his eyes went to you then. Holy shit, his eyes are… wow.

"Well it definitely doesn't offend me. How long will it take to finish?" He asked as his obsidian orbs went back to the painting.

"A couple of days at most. It's almost done and then it needs to dry and be sealed," it was nice talking about your work with someone, even as mundane as when it would be complete. You missed that interaction since you got the studio.

"I'll take it. How much?" he flashed you a smile that made your stomach flip around on you and you bit your lip with a smile back.

"That's up to you," you shrugged. You never bothered putting prices on pieces you knew you wouldn't sell and you hadn't expected to sell this piece. Even the prices on the website felt too much for you but it was born from the first wealthy clients and what they thought your pieces were worth. You just rolled with it, it wasn't like they'd miss it, right?

He hummed, the sound deep in his throat as he got out his wallet. You mused he must want it mailed to him when it was done for him to pay now rather than later but you were happy it was cash and not card. He handed you some bills and you counted it quickly, eyes widening as you blinked up at him.

"I can't take this. This is more than the pieces online," you frowned, holding out the money back to him. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, shrugging his shoulders.

"You said it was up to me," he replied with an easy smirk. Would you really sit there and argue with him about getting more money for it? No. But you were shocked he thought it was worth that much.

"I… thank you, sir," you smiled, stuffing the money into your pocket.

"Billy," he clarified, smirk still in place.

"Billy," you corrected with a shy smile. Something glittered in his dark eyes as you tested the sound of his name and he raked his teeth over his lower lip. Despite the fact you'd already given him your full name on the phone, you gave him your first name again and he mimicked you as he tested it out. Why did it sound so good coming from his mouth?

You cleared your throat, his intense stare was getting a little too much and you stood, walking over to the big table against the wall, grabbing a pen and pad.

"You can leave your details, I can mail it to you when it's done," you handed them to him and he twirled the pen around in his long fingers with ease.

"I'll leave my number. I'd like to come pick it up when it's done, if that's okay?" He asked as he scribbled his name and digits down.

"Are you sure? It's not an issue shipping it out," you replied as he passed you back the pen and pad.

"I'm sure. It gives me an excuse to see you again," he smirked, dark eyes boring into yours as your cheeks turned pink. He chuckled and with that he was out the door and you were left stood there gaping where he went. Did he really just…?

You stood there a moment longer, a smile working its way onto your face before you shook your head and sat back down at your easel. You glanced at the painting before setting to work and getting it finished. You couldn't wait for it to be done so Billy would come back. He was intriguing and you found yourself thinking of him as you continued your work.

#billy russo #billy russo x reader #the punisher

283 notes · View notes

supercorp-hosie · 3 years

Text

My thoughts for Legacies 314:

1) Clarke!!! I like his air of cockiness when he do all this things, and especially when Hope break this air😂😂😂 I think since the show is constantly letting him show up like this, maybe at some point he will eventually turn up or be brought back by my Sowanby team? Oh my Holarke heart! I just love their dynamic like how I’m entertained by Lizdon dynamics🤣🤣

2) I still see that artifact that was broken because of Landon unnecessary move, why? I thought the arc was over? It’s just hilarious when Clark tried so hard to break it, even using explosives, but Landon just break it by throwing it to the monster😂 these brothers, I can’t 😂 (I know it’s because of the presence of Cleo, but still, funny!)

3) Okay, the way Hope just ended up with Wade, doing a drama about undying teenage love, I can’t imagine 🤣🤣 sorry Hope, but Wade can be a good teammate. And Wade has a last name - Rivers! Congrats! Poor Jed, another person that’s appear later than him and got a last name.

4) I just inevitably thought about the other witch Gaby, and relates back to Penelope😆. What if Penelope comes back and starts a war with Finch, that would be fun🤣 I can imagine they somehow would have to work together to protect Josie if something happens to her. They can look past that because they both care for Josie so much. Penelope/Josie/Finch anyone? (I’m secretly shipping Penelope and Finch too in my head, OMG can you imagine the volcano erupting? Enemies to lovers trope??)

5) Finally SBS has a teacher other than Alaric now.

6) I do think that the compelling works. Anyway, considering what’s going to happen, I’m certain that somehow Ethan is going to remember what happened with MG. If he’s going to be a supernatural, I’m rooting for vampire. We are really lacking vampires here.

7) I love Hope’s magical surges♥️ and how other students is taking that like it’s a normal thing around them. Unlike the school tour.

8) I love Hope needn’t to turn around to know that it’s Josie right away♥️ and Josie do catch up things around Hope when she’s not around after she returns.

9) Josie lied to Hope that Lizzie needs help(even though it turns out to be true doesn’t mean she didn’t lie), to help Hope with her mental state. Is this toxic or supportive?? Maybe I should just count it separately?

10) The twins clothes!! Contrast colours, love them!

11) I wonder who drove there....Hope didn’t have a dl in s1 (but two years has past now?) while in 307, Josie apparently walked to Mystic Grill to find Finch(but Lizzie did drive before in s2)....so? I bet it’s Hope...but how the hell did they even have time for driving education?

12) Hope, looking at Josie: like I said, trap. 😂😂but she just doesn’t even get mad at Josie?? Exactly how many times did she let Josie escape like that?? Poor Landon got grilled when he lied😂

13) We don’t worry about dick here🤣🤣🤣🤣

14) I love Finch just confidently stand up for herself, challenging Jed. But no, I don’t like Jed being thrown down by a new wolf again. But having female alpha is appealing too, I love to see that when Finch challenge the old system, then get to improve the abusive hierarchy towards the omega/new wolf in the pack. I was conflicted. I love how they resolved the issue in the end! It’s win-win situation and I love how Jed and Finch bond! Brotp/Sistp! And I love that from Finch perspective, we can see that the wolves let Jed win because they love Jed as much because they know Jed cares about them a lot and just willing to let him win. Not because Jed was oppressing them.

15) Btw, I can’t believe they are using pool/billiards/snooker to decide who becomes the alpha. Really I just don’t like how it works, like leading a pack is a game. But some wolves are born alpha. In real life, a pack’s alpha is always the one to lead hunting, be vigilant of any threat that can harm the pack, they really care for their packs, like Jed. Whilst there’s this beta position in the pack, they recognise the alpha’s leadership, help the alpha keeping others in line, help take care of other members too. Just like what I’d imagined, Finch can fit the beta position very well, for the time being, because of their dynamics. I’m not saying that Finch doesn’t fit as alpha, I think that beta always has the potential to be the alpha of a pack. I just love that now the dynamics in the pack somehow really resembles how the social hierarchy of a pack of wolves in real life.

16) appreciation to Finch being badass at pool/snooker/billiards

17) when Andy just called Hope’s name, why don’t the trio be surprised? It’s not like they even meet before?

18) when MG showed up, I just immediately believe in him. Love that Alaric defended him. I understand Dorian though, he’s always sensitive of rippers as his family was butchered by one. Please don’t blame him too much. MG living in a cave breaks my heart, I just recalled that Hope was homeless when she’s out of Malivore too! Double heart breaks.

19) MG diaries! I’m so proud of him, even Alaric validates his effort and his kind heart! I just rewatched 106 last night to do some fact checking for my hosie interactions 2.0 and twins relationships 1.0. MG has always wanted to be a superhero that saves lives. He has grown so much, from first fighting zombies, to super squad fighting monster, until now, saving normal people lives. I bet now Penelope can’t laugh at him when he first pitched his feelings to Penelope. Good job!

20) I’ve talked about the Finsie sitting together, so I only want to talk about how the relationship between Finsie is healthy for one another (for now, and at least they are not cringy for these two episode).They function independently and Finch doesn’t need to constantly worry about Josie all the time, like what Penelope fear of. Ofc it may also because that the twins have grown healthier.

21) even though Hosie were mind controlled, I just love how they have unspoken understanding between each other😂 Josie doesn’t need to tell Hope to make Lizzie stay with them to have Hope “as sonnum” Lizzie. Then only Josie said “stay with us”.

22) Hizzie hugs, and HOPE ANDREA MIKAELSON 🤣

23) I just love how Lizzie knows what to say to break Josie’s peace, while Josie knows how to break Hope’s peace. I see another spoken parallel from 308 about blindspot😂 Lizzie -> Josie -> Hope.

24) so if the drug sometimes doesn’t work on Lizzie, that means that there are times that Lizzie is really blue! Really at peace! I’m so proud and happy for her! Go Lizzie!

25) “ALL I WANTED FOR YOU IS YOUR HAPPINESS” this is so powerful! My Hosie heart! And really the last painful sentence, is fact. I’m sad for Hope because she’s so into that relationship until she can’t bring herself to do it and only leads to Landon leaving, but it’s also classic Mikaelsons(I feel), never giving up for their love ones. Appreciation to Landon, but still it’s strike three for leaving, please don’t let them be together again. It’s derogatory to Hope’s self-esteem.

26) I love badass Hope so much!! All the bodies she left! If I’m not already gay, she would have bent me into a mosquito coil by that scene, (so bent that I can’t be straight anymore). I love how Josie just let Hope outing her anger on these witches, freeze Andy, waited patiently for Lizzie and Hope to deal with Andy together.

27) I died laughing at these Pandemonium 🤣🤣🤣🤣 the badass trio in panda suit😂😂😂😂 I can’t! They’re so cute! And the height difference🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

28) How Hope tries to focus and dead serious in dealing with the upcoming monster but fails inevitably and miserably at Josie’s antics! All Josie does is laughing cutely at Hope and poking(?) her.

29) I love the trio so much!

30) haven’t watched any Star Wars, so I really thought that the one in the mask was Clarke until the Star Wars theme song started😫 too bad that Landon must have missed it.

31) Lizzie kissing Ethan is the last thing ever to have crossed my mind, so again, what the fuck?(sorry, language)

32) when I first thought about team building, I was thinking about finch + MG + Jed + Kaleb, but pack bonding, I’m satisfied too.

36 notes · View notes

rinharu-purple · 3 years

Text

About S2 PV CH 10-13

Yes, it is a belated post, since the chapters are out. But you still might enjoy reading this 😄😄

Starting with Kiro/Helios with a mullet (I can’t believe that he’s wearing a mullet).

He is in a seemingly abandoned venue with a fading microphone. Maybe he is imagining himself on the stage again? Someone has also pointed out that he might be deaf, because of the hear aid, but the singers always wear one on stage, so I don’t think that’s the case.

And then we switch to the embodiment of awesomeness goes by the name Gavin in a rooftop bar, chilling with a bottle of Tiger beer. Greeting MC with a “I am not here for you”, which is ironic, because in the previous PV 6-9 he said the exact opposite:

The way I see it, Gavin is giving us the good old push and pull treatment. Thanks babe :/

---

Victor is probably overseas (San Francisco maybe, it looks like the Golden Gate bridge in the background) and is buying a New CLA? (the letters on the background). But its a Maybach you’re leaning on Vic (and nobody buys them with the Mercedes star anymore btw, its too old school, but because it's a Maybach I'll let it slide unnecessary info)

His smile while texting with MC is very cute (probably his inside voice his calling her dummy but as long as it cant be heard from the outside we’re cool).

And the way the picture suits to the melody in those 4 single piano notes is really nice.

Lucien is back to his assassin mode, stealing stuff and going behind people’s backs, playing all sides against each other, scheming and such. Same old same old. Gotta admit though, that I like him like this the most. especially when he gets caught by the MC and keeps his composure like “Haven’t you heard? I am the lizard king in this no horse town” Smooth.

Nothing on Shaw. Sorry.

Joker is finally getting a sprite and is out there to get our LIs. Gathering proof on them etc. Let’s see where it goes.

Enter the angst:

Victor warns MC about pretending not to know him. Probably because he is already aware of the facht, that they are being watched, so he might be trying to conceal his relationship to MC, but I have no idea, how he is planning to do that, when they are both working for the BS.

But more importantly. Victor, a beige suit, with a black/brown shirt and a blue tie?!! You are an extremely rich guy, don’t you think that you should have the fashion sense which goes with it? Just because it looks good on Gavin doesn’t mean, it would look good on you too. Try something like this maybe?

While I am busy criticizing Victor’s Printemps ‘21 prét á porter look, this scene pops up out of nowhere accompanied by the melody going all crescendo, hitting me HARD:

I don’t even know where to start in this 4,5 seconds of heartbreak. Bullet points help:

- Symbolism is very strong with this scene. MC is shown falling into an inferno-like abyss with all red-fiery colors. And Gavin is responsible for it.

- Gavin is wearing his trench coat from S1 CH1, reminiscence to the start of the story. Also the red ribbon part of MC’s pullover might have been put there to symbolize the red string of fate. Having read @cheri-translate s translation on Gavin’s R&S earlier today about their inevitable attraction, it doesn’t feel like a far fetched speculation. Their souls are bound together and yet their hands are pulled apart in a way. We are so used to seeing Gavin and MC hand in hand or embracing, this feels like being hit by a truck. It also gives me some break-up vibes. Specifically because MC is reaching out for his hand but Gavin doesn’t move an inch.

- I need to say this though, his body and his face tell us two different stories. His body is stiff and doesn’t move, but look at his face:

Two things that stand out is 1) Ohmaygadheissohandsomeitmustbeillegal just kidding, not Gavin-stan gotta Gavin-stan swh 1) He is slightly biting his lip (the down curve on the edge of his mouth), so he is restraining himself from holding her (though I am almost certain that he would still subtly soften her fall with his evol). And 2) His eyes are filled with mixed emotions and his brows are furrowed very very little. He is showing only micro mimics so I am guessing that he is also trying to hide his relationship to MC, much like Victor.

Helios cutting MCs hair makes me only think about the Halloween 2020 event. No other comment on this. Again, PG is giving us some good throwbacks.

And the final blow with Lucien. The way its shown and the filter thats put on the scene hints towards a dream sequence. I don’t think it happens in the real world. Because for Lucien to lose the only source of color in his life is probably his worst fear. So having such a nightmare will probably lead to him distancing himself from MC even more.

OR, MC is going S1 CH11 all over again but this time around with Lucien. OR OR S2 CH 10-13 is S1 11-14 all over again, thus history repeats itself. Victor and MCs’ scene reminds me of this:

Helios threatening MC is much like MC finding out about Ares and as Areas threatens her not to be caught by him again.

MC falls again, but this time Gavin doesn’t catch her mid air.

Pretty sure its such my mind going to odd places, but the parallels are there, right? RIGHT?

Anyways this post didn’t come out as I desired it to be, probably because I took my sweet time contemplating it and the new chapter are out, so many of you must already know where I am wrong lol.

But above all CH32 falls tomorrow!!!!The most anticipated moment is right around to corner guys and gals!!!!

#mlqc #mlqc lucien #mlqc gavin #mlqc victor #mlqc kiro #mlqc shaw #mlqc ling xiao #mlqc zhou qiluo #mlqc li zeyan #mlqc bai qi #mlqc haku #mr. love queen's choice #pv 10-13 #PV 11-14 #mlqc second season

33 notes · View notes

cheri-translates · 4 years

Text

[CN] S2 Gavin and MC in Chapter 2 - Part One

🍒 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for Season 2🍒

This takes place on the same evening as S1 Chapter 1. So read it first if you need a refresher!

Timeline: Chapter 1 -> Chapter 2 -> R&S

Had to split this into three parts because it’s too long for one post!

Note: I won’t be doing main storyline translations for the other guys because I don’t have time to read the rest! 😭

Ch 2 begins with MC rushing to her company to find a group of reporters waiting at the entrance

What happened was that the STF received a tip that a large amount of prohibited drugs were found in the company’s warehouse, called “小针筒” ( “xiao zhen tong”) which directly translates to “small syringes”)

The reporters soon spot MC and barrage her with questions. MC tries to enter the company but can’t because of the crowd

??: Step aside.

A chilly voice appears. Along with the night breeze, the air surrounding the crowd lowers by several degrees in an instant.

The people part into two sides on their own, in awe and veneration. At the end of this path, I see the face of Gavin.

The boundless night causes his white uniform to appear even colder. His handsome brows are knitted tightly, and his gaze is deep as he walks towards me.

Gavin: You’re the legal representative of [MC’s Company Name]?

There isn’t a hint of warmth in his voice. I take a deep breath, clenching my hands into fists.

MC: Yes.

Gavin: [MC’s Company Name] is involved in the distribution of prohibited drugs. To cooperate with the investigation, please follow us to STF.

MC: Although I don’t know anything about what happened, I’m willing to cooperate with STF’s work.

I raise both of my clenched fists in front of him.

Gavin lowers his eyes to the fists I’ve raised. He casts a glance at the media personnel in the surroundings, then stares at me deeply, blinking slowly.

With a ‘kacha’, he personally handcuffs my wrists. The cold light from the handcuffs, along with the continuous photoflashes, illuminate the night.

Gavin: I’ll escort her myself.

Before they embark to STF, Gavin is basically in Commander Mode™ and assigns work to various teams. Once he’s done, he asks MC:

Gavin: Isn’t there anything you want to tell me?

With this brief question, I lift my head and look into the rearview mirror.

Gavin’s gaze seems to have been waiting for a long time.

I’m about to say something, but decide to purse my lips in the end, swallowing back the words.

MC: Not “now.”

Gavin’s hands pause momentarily on the steering wheel. He retracts his gaze on the rearview mirror, and the air returns to silence.

Gavin: We’ll talk in STF then.

In STF, MC has to remove all her devices and jewellery. Then, she waits in the interrogation room

MC starts pondering on how she has tried her best to avoid any large discrepancies in this world. Even so, Kiro’s anti-fans, the circulation of prohibited drugs, and Black Swan Core were not things that she recalls happening

She senses that there’s something off about this world, but can’t put a finger on it

The door opens to reveal an interrogator in his early 20s, and he doesn’t look amenable to reason

He fires questions at her harshly and she responds like a BOSS.

We get some important information from the interrogation: Apparently, the drugs enable Evolvers to have heightened abilities. If normal people use them, it could stimulate Evol abilities

Interrogator: Are you the enemy of the STF or the Special Operations Team?

His words leave me stunned. I lower my head and look at the handcuffs on my wrists. Gavin’s profile surfaces in my mind.

I gradually loosen my tense shoulders, leaning my back against the chair. I lift my head, staring at the interrogator with resoluteness.

MC: As long as the STF always perseveres in the direction of righteousness, and have every bullet fired in the name of justice, I’ll never be your enemy.

Interrogator: What if there comes a day when the STF leaves its path?

This question seems to slip out of his mouth without him realising it. But the corners of my lips lift slightly.

MC: At that time, there’ll be someone who will steer it back to the way it was. Because he’d never turn his back on the direction of justice.

Hearing this, he suddenly laughs.

The doors of the interrogation room are flung open. With a livid expression, Gavin walks in, glaring at him furiously.

Gavin: Tang Chao!

Tang Chao: I’m here!

The target of Gavin’s rebuke shrugs his shoulders, standing up gloomily. He teasingly leans over to Gavin, patting his shoulder flatteringly.

It’s as though he knows the art of changing faces.

[Note] MC is talking about 变脸 (“bian lian”), which is a Chinese drama art form where the actors use a device to change a mask on their face quickly.

Gavin: Participating in an interrogation on your own accord, violating...

Tang Chao: Commander Gavin, please listen to my explanation!

Tang Chao whispers something into Gavin’s ear, and Gavin’s brows smoothen out

MC guesses that Tang Chao told him about the contents of the interrogation

Once he’s done, Tang Chao hums a tune and prepares to leave the room

Gavin: But it’s still a violation. It will be marked as a minor offence. Report to the field. Twenty rounds. Close the door.

The bgm turns tense

After a moment of thinking, he walks over and removes the handcuffs on my wrists.

His line of sight falls onto the slight redness of my wrists caused by the friction of the handcuffs, and his brows knit.

As though forcing himself to focus his concentration on what’s before him, he sits on the interrogator’s seat.

Gavin: We’re now in the STF. Is there anything you want to tell me?

The same question as the one in the car.

Our eyes meet. Perhaps he has been waiting for my answer all this time.

MC starts explaining that her company has never been involved in the circulation of the drugs, but Gavin cuts her off and says that isn’t what he’s asking about

He asks if MC was the one who reported her own company to STF

MC wonders how he found out about it and Gavin is just REALLY COOL as he explains how he came to this deduction through the process of elimination

MC: It could also be... that my company was truly involved in the circulation of the drugs, and that someone discovered it and reported it?

I look at Gavin tentatively.

His certainty that I was set up - is it because of the results from the interrogation with Tang Chao, or because he doesn’t doubt my words?

With this, Gavin releases a cold “hmph”, as though he heard an interesting joke.

Gavin: Have you done such a thing?

MC: Of course I haven’t!

Gavin: So why should I waste my time on unnecessary inferences?

I freeze, and all the unease vanishes in an instant. My heart feels light, and I can’t help but lower my head with a smile.

Gavin didn’t suspect me. He never did.

Gavin: [coughs]. Back to the main subject.

MC confesses that she was the person who planned it. She planted fake drugs, and they were meant to lure the real circulators out

Gavin then points out that she didn’t have to implicate her own company

MC tells Gavin that she had three reasons for doing what she did. What Gavin pointed out was the second

The first reason was because she needed a safe place to talk to Gavin. To tell him about her suspicions that there’s a traitor in STF

Turns out Gavin already noticed it

SMART BOY is proud of himself:

Gavin’s suspicions were raised because the report relating to Kiro’s anti-fan incident didn't reach him (the anti-fan had traces of needles on his arm + he wasn’t very mentally stable - so he either injected himself with “Small Syringes” or it was forced onto him)

As for the third reason, MC tells him that it isn’t important - it was so she could tell him the truth asap when she got the chance. However, since Gavin never misunderstood her in the first place, she doesn’t bring it up

MC starts feeling dejected because her plans to tell Gavin that there was an internal issue with STF were somewhat unnecessary, and Gavin had figured out MC’s plan so quickly

As though Gavin senses that I'm feeling slightly defeated, he casts his glance towards the floor, placing a hand on the nape of his neck.

Gavin: But all of these are just my conjectures.

MC: Hm?

Gavin: Even though your actions are quite dangerous, they can prove my conjectures from a different perspective. In order to bring the truth to light.

Is he... comforting me?

Gavin: But the reputational damage to your company - have you considered it?

MC: Of course. But I didn’t do those things, so I believe in proving my innocence.

I tilt my chin slightly with a confident smile. Gavin seems to be infected by me, the corners of his lips curling upwards quietly.

MC tries asking Gavin to supply information to her if the STF finds any, but he flatly refuses her. He’s confident in STF’s abilities to catch the guy behind the circulation

Gavin stands up and walks towards me, returning me my phone and jewellery. At the same time, he tosses me a bracelet.

Suddenly, he freezes for a moment, as though he noticed something.

MC: What’s wrong?

Gavin: You..

Gavin’s lips part slightly, but he doesn’t continue. His gaze once again lands on the ginkgo bracelet he just tossed over.

I stare at the bracelet, then raise my head to look at Gavin. Puzzled, I lift it up.

MC: Is there a problem with this bracelet?

Gavin: Have you been wearing it the whole of today?

Images of me coincidentally bumping into Gavin during the day resurface in my mind.

I also remember that when I was held back, there was a foreign yet clumsy touch on my wrist.

At the time, I couldn’t see his expression clearly. Since Gavin didn’t make mention of it, I didn’t ask either.

Gavin: Aren’t you going to ask why I put this bracelet on for you earlier?

MC: Wearing this tracker is a way I show my trust.

Gavin’s eyes suddenly grow sharp, but he conceals it in a second. He speaks in a slightly languid manner.

Gavin: What did you say?

I’m suddenly at a loss for words, realising that I shouldn’t have said what I did.

MC: I... was joking. I just thought it was something you'd say. After all, you wouldn’t give me a gift out of nowhere.

Gavin: Why not?

His sudden question leaves me at a loss, but he doesn’t seem to need an answer from me.

Gavin: Forget it. Give me your hand.

MC: Hm?

Gavin grips my wrist, then takes the ginkgo bracelet from my hand and carefully puts it on for me.

Gavin: It wasn’t up to standard the last time, so I’ll do it again this time.

MC: You need to be so particular about putting on a “tracker”?

The light ginkgo bracelet reflects specks of light, without a hint of a dangerous aura.

He smiles, the light in his eyes refreshing and evident, like the coolest breeze in summer.

Gavin: Of course.

He responds lightly, meticulously hooking the bracelet. His fringe brushes his eyes, waves rippling in his amber eyes under the light.

His fingers are reminiscent of thin cocoons, gently brushing across my wrist, bringing with it a certain warmth.

Looking at such a Gavin, I think of a day from a very long time ago, when he had once meticulously helped me put on a ginkgo bracelet.

After going around in a circle, we have returned to our original places.

Gavin: All right, don’t take it off again next time.

MC: Aren’t I undergoing an interrogation? They prohibited me from bringing along any equipment or jewellery.

Gavin: There’s no need to remove it next time. Just say that I was the one who put it on for you.

He says this unexpectedly, leaving me seated in a daze, not returning to my senses even after a long time.

Gavin: How many more times do you want to be interrogated?

MC: No more, no more.

I hurriedly get to my feet and run after Gavin, noticing his slightly tender smile.

He coughs lightly. Before he opens the door, he turns to look at me.

The music is gentle and everything is beautiful

He tells her that STF will investigate the drugs incident, and will clear the name of MC’s company. Which is why she no longer has to get involved in this matter.

MC refuses

aND THEN THE MUSIC GETS TENSE AGAIN

Hearing me say this, the warm atmosphere disintegrates in an instant. Gavin’s eyebrows are tightly knit, and he looks slightly irritated.

Gavin: You no longer want your life because of your work with Black Swan? Miss Nox?!

He shouts the name solemnly, leaning his hand against the wall next to me. His voice brings with it conflict and vexation.

[Note] I've included the audio clip here for your listening pleasure

His sudden and evident anger gives me a fright.

MC: ...that’s not it.

I lower my head. When I see that the tips of our feet are about to touch, a sourness surfaces in my heart.

If this drug can really heighten Evol, and can cause Evol to awaken in normal people, it definitely has an inescapable link to Black Swan Core.

I’ve been thinking back to the reasons why I started all over again, but the speed at which things are developing in this world have not given me much opportunity to do so.

Black Swan Core is this world’s biggest hint to me.

And this drug could be a certain key closest to it.

In order to return to how things were before. In order for all of us to see a simple and insignificant tomorrow.

I need the answer this drug can bring.

I lift my head slowly, looking at Gavin who is standing before me.

MC: This has nothing to do with BS. Everything I’ve done is for myself. In order to complete what I want to do, I’m not afraid of anything.

Gavin: Is this goal the same reason why you joined Black Swan?

His face is illuminated by the chilly lights. In his cold eyes, I see a complete me.

MC: Yes.

They leave the interrogation room

Tang Chao stands outside and has a report - the drugs in MC’s company were actual “Small Syringes”. Someone had swapped them

Before MC even starts panicking, it turns out Gavin has everything under control. The doors to STF have been sealed shut, and they can now catch the person who has been causing the internal trouble

Gavin: MC, don’t go off on your own. Wait for my arrangements. Tang Chao, take care of her.

Tang Chao takes her to a special room in STF which has around a hundred images of what’s happening in STF

Lu Yi is also around (the guy whose Evol allows him to control the flow of information i.e. he can send footage over to Gavin when needed

Tang Chao comments that his Evol is being able to tell if someone is lying

He gives her a earpiece which allows her to hear all of Gavin’s sexy commands. Tang Chao explains that Gavin wanted her to have the earpiece for ease of communication

I touch this tiny earpiece gently. Hearing Gavin’s familiar voice causes one to feel at ease.

Tang Chao points at a tiny button on the earpiece, signalling that she can talk if she presses it. But she just can’t feel for it, so he reaches out...

Tang Chao: The button is...

Gavin: Tang Chao, put your hands away.

Tang Chao: Commander Gavin, I haven't even touched her!

Gavin: If you do, your punishment of running will be doubled.

In the middle of the screens, Gavin’s arms are across his chest. While he waits for information on the next suspect, he looks into the camera coldly.

Gavin shouldn’t be able to see what’s happening, but Tang Chao is still trembling at the side.

Gavin: You should know that I wasn’t lying about what I said.

Tang Chao: Ah Sir, that’s not how my Evol works. I’ve been industriously listening in on whether these fellows have been telling lies.

Gavin: Then listen properly. MC, stay further away from him.

I laugh softly, taking a step away from Tang Chao in a joking manner.

With a bitter expression on his face, Tang Chao runs to a corner, while Lu Yi nods at me in resignation.

Tang Chao: Captain Gavin, I’m someone who knows your little secret. Could you lessen my punishment by two rounds?

Gavin: You can try.

In her mind, MC notes that despite how tense the situation is, everyone is pretty calm

Whether it’s Tang Chao or Lu Yi, they are simply one part of this group of talented individuals.

And Gavin is the captain of this special operations team.

Actually, I’m confused as to why Tang Chao would tell me all these things so directly.

In a corner, Tang Chao seems to sense my confusion. He points at Gavin on the screen.

Tang Chao: It was all Captain Gavin’s idea.

AND THEN GAVIN LOOKS INTO THE CAMERA AND MC NOTES THAT THEIR EYES ‘MEET’ LOL

I suddenly recollect the time I re-lived my 16 year old self.

Watermelons, bubbling soda, electronic fans and the incessant cries of cicadas, the rustling of pens and the voice of teachers have formed the musical notes of summer.

The youth who ran over from the window wearing a loose shirt - this time, I can finally see his eyes clearly.

They contain the same light as the him on screen - direct and candid.

Part Two: here

#mlqc #mlqc cn #mlqc spoilers #mlqc gavin #I almost combusted on numerous occasions

120 notes · View notes

hopetofantasy · 4 years

Text

Culture, parallels & meta - S3 E2

Zaterdag 10:21

That’s character: In this scene, they’re again establishing some of Robbe’s insecurities. We already know from previous seasons that he often feels like the third wheel, keeps to himself, lets people walk all over him or apologizes a lot, so that they don’t hate him or abandon him (like his dad did). But this scene takes it even further: he doesn’t want to be a burden. Not with stuff like his friend’s party mess, so he cleans up as early and fast as he can. Not with taking food that doesn’t belong to him, so he chooses to not eat anything instead.

Perfect parallel: Zoë mentioning “Especially the pasta” in this season, because Milan stole her pasta at the beginning of hers.

Surprise bitch, guess who? Milan’s one-nightstand appears to be ‘Georgy Chtchevaev’, a close friend of Jonathan Michiels (Viktor) and other cast members. Small, small world.

Oop, there it is, the homophobia / heteronormativity: Robbe’s expression at the end reveals how he longs for something like Milan has, but then realizes he might never have/want that. (Internalized homophobia is a bitch, y’all!)

Blink-and-y’ll-miss-it: The guy pulls out strawberry yoghurt from ‘Colruyt’ out of an almost empty fridge along with a spoon, from the cutlery drawer. Robbe’s gaze keeps lingering a tad too long on the half naked boy in their kitchen.

Zaterdag 14:43

C is for culture:

“Hey, I’m working here” - Teens are allowed to get a student job, as long as they’re at least 15 years old and completed the first two years of high school. The rules around how often they may work, has changed a lot during the last decade. However, nowadays, they’re allowed to work at a lower social security tariff as long as they don’t go over 475 working hours per year. Otherwise, they’ll have to pay the normal amount or even taxes if they surpass a certain income limit.

“No, I was just shopping” - C&A (Clemens & August Brenninkmeijer) is a Dutch chain store of origin with approx. 1,500 stores in Europe. They mostly attract older generations, as their style is seen as a bit old-fashioned and classic. That’s why their popularity significantly dropped in recent years, causing closures in some cities. - A smart move of putting product placement in a youth tv series.

Perfect parallel:

Robbe pulling a t-shirt off the rack to get Noor’s attention in this episode, him using the same tactic with a sweater in the last episode.

Noor sitting on a reluctant Robbe’s lap to kiss him here, Robbe happily straddling Sander to kiss and talk later on.

Oop, there it is, the homophobia / heteronormativity: Robbe again faking that he likes Noor’s sexual advances.

Lost in translation: Robbe’s mom texting him “Ziet ge mij niet graag?”, which could literally be interpreted as “Don’t you want to see me?”, but in this context it actually means “Don’t you love me anymore?”.

Blink-and-y’ll-miss-it: In case you didn’t catch it, Robbe is making a double joke with the t-shirt - saying that Noor is sexy as well as repeating the song on the store radio. Jana’s look at a disheveled Noor reveals that she knew Robbe wasn’t just ‘trying something on’.

Bonus: This season uses a lot of mirrors to reflect Robbe’s emotions and inner turmoil. Even his relationships with Noor and Sander are mirrored within the season itself: he never liked what Noor did for him (waiting outside the school, making out in public, going next level) and he was amazed at Sander doing the same. Mirrors are the perfect way of showing how Robbe has two faces: his ‘straight’ public persona and his struggling inner ‘gay’ self.

Zondag 19:59

That’s character: Zoë’s mom behavior is at full force here. When she spots her friends, roommates or boyfriend in difficult situations, she jumps to the opportunity to make them feel better. She instantly defends them, provides a shoulder to cry on, gives advice, feeds them when needed, tries to figure out what they’re feeling, ... Sometimes giving some tough loving too. Zoë just has that caring nature of her own. This probably stems from the fact that she missed out on parental figures and wants to feel needed as a compensation.

Perfect parallel:

Symbolism! Robbe walking away from his mom’s room in a cold-looking hallway, because he’s not comfortable (yet) with the situation. And him walking towards Sander’s room in a warmly lit hallway, since he’s at peace with what’s happening with his love.

Zoë asking Milan if he’s “Playing hard to get?” in this situation, Milan asking Robbe if his clothes say “Hard to get or playing hard to get?” later.

Oop, there it is, the homophobia / heteronormativity: Robbe analyses what Milan is doing with his partner, not really sure how to feel about it.

Nod to the OG: Zoë stating “The only thing you can do now is just be there for her and yes, that you have to wait”, sounds oddly familiar to the minute-for-minute speech by Sonja.

Funny coincidence: Milan making out heavily with his boy in front of Robbe and his salad, might look like a nod to the ‘Right in front of my salad’ meme.

Blink-and-y’ll-miss-it: Robbe’s other (thicker) coat is hanging on a hook in the hallway. Senne’s “If I had have known that, I would have tried harder” indicates that he probably had to retake a year in high school, because otherwise he’d been a student in uni earlier on.

Maandag 16:27

C is for culture: “Kwak en Boemel kwamen binnen” (= “Kwak and Boemel entered”) - Robbe is referring to two side characters in the Belgian comic books ‘Jommeke’, who are homeless, lowlife criminals. The main protagonist in the series is the 11-year-old boy ‘Jommeke’. He is clever, honest, brave, loves adventure and is recognizable by his distinct blonde bowl cut. It’s one of the best-selling strips in Flanders, besides ‘Suske and Wiske’.

Perfect parallel: Jens’ first time suggesting toothpaste to jerk off happens here in S3, but he repeats it again during wtFOCKDOWN.

Oop, there it is, the homophobia / heteronormativity: The boys questioning why Robbe didn’t go all-the-way with Noor yet.

Lost in translation: Noor saying “Is dat een eik? Want ik zie veel eikels hier!” has completely lost its meaning when translated. ‘Eikels’ means ‘acorns’, which come from the ‘eik’ (= ‘oak tree’). But ‘eikels’ also means ‘assholes’. That’s why she’s pointing out the oak tree, to diss the boys that they’re actually ‘eikels’.

Blink-and-y’ll-miss-it: Again, the very subtle hint at the beginning that Sander was at the skatepark - checking Robbe out. Robbe pulls the middle finger at the boys hollering. His skateboard has a ‘World Industries’ sticker on it.

Dinsdag 14:56

Perfect parallel:

Robbe arguing “A whole weekend on a trip with people you don’t know?” against Noor coming along in this episode, his flirty affirmative answer to Sander’s “Like a weekend trip with strangers, right?” in the next.

Amber and her match making skills again! First, she tried to set herself up with Senne in S1, then Jana and Zoë with Max in S2, now Luca with Aaron in S3.

Lost in translation: “Ik denk niet dat ze daar goesting voor heeft” - ‘Goesting’ is a typical Flemish word for anything that has to do with desire, preference or willingness to do something in any context (work, food, activities, sex, ...). That’s why Aaron answers him with “I had a different impression on Friday”, taking the “I don’t think she has ‘goesting’” in a very sexual way.

Oop, there it is, the homophobia / heteronormativity: The real reason why he doesn’t want Noor to join the trip, is him not wanting to fake his attraction to her. Except Robbe isn’t willing to admit that to himself yet.

Blink-and-y’ll-miss-it: Luca has braces!

Woensdag 12:21

Perfect parallel: Noor’s “And then you haven’t even seen the men yet” as a rebuttal to Moyo’s comments about art school girls in this episode, Robbe meeting the beautiful art boy Sander in the next.

Oop, there it is, the homophobia / heteronormativity: Robbe just doesn’t see the appeal in watching women dance, since he’s not attracted to them. But the guys don’t get why he says ‘no’ to the recital.

Blink-and-y’ll-miss-it: Noor is greeting Britt with a hug in the background. Moyo kisses the dance recital flyer right before going outside.

Donderdag 07:21

C is for culture: Robbe is making a sandwich with choco spread and speculaas cookies. ‘Speculaas’ (’Biscoff' in English) is a spiced shortcrust biscuit with origins in the Netherlands and Belgium. It’s typically baked for the ‘Sinterklaas’ and Christmas celebrations. Though, it can be eaten as a treat to accompany coffee, thee or ice-cream as well.

Perfect parallel:

Zoë saying “I think you’re not used to eating healthy” earlier this episode and Robbe making sweet sandwich at the breakfast table, confirming her statement here.

Milan taking revenge for Zoë on a sleeping Senne in this episode, him helping Robbe prank Moyo for being homophobic in a later one.

Blink-and-y’ll-miss-it: Milan’s breakfast is a banana. Senne pulling Zoë into their bed, without her spilling the coffee in her hand.

Vrijdag 18:02

Perfect parallel: Luca dissing Moyo’s sexist statements with “Do you actually have a girlfriend? ... I understand why” earlier, her saying “Moyo, then you better take a good look at it, because it will be the last time you’ll see that room” here.

Blink-and-y’ll-miss-it: Zoë and Jana hugging each other outside. Luca giving Moyo a clear wink after dissing him. Robbe didn’t expect Noor to sleep with him in the bunkbed, as his face falls when she says she will.

Vrijdag 22:04

C is for culture: "It isn’t because he isn’t here...” - The reason that Senne couldn’t join their trip to the seaside, is that he doesn’t have a fall break. Universities usually start their school year a week later than university colleges, so they’re the only ones who don’t have a vacation at the end of October.

Perfect parallel: Robbe looking at drunk Noor with a sad expression of “Why can’t I just love this girl?” in this episode, him looking at a sleepy Sander with a face filled with love in the last episode.

Oop, there it is, the homophobia / heteronormativity: Robbe trying to pry Noor’s hands away from his body.

Blink-and-y’ll-miss-it: Senne responds with “#metoo” as a joke, referencing the movement and him missing Zoë. Her face freezes for a few seconds to indicate that she is indeed jealous. Robbe’s little wink at Luca.

#wtfock #wtfam #skam #skam belgium #cpm rewatch

103 notes · View notes

tinkertayler · 4 years

Text

What I say out loud, trying to prove to myself and everyone else that I am a Normal Person: Fleabag is a great show! It can be pretty naughty, but it's hilarious and heartfelt. It's British and available on Prime. You should watch it!

My unhinged thoughts, boiling just beneath the surface, prepared to BURST through the floodgates of my mouth at ANY moment: So aside from the flawless performances and electric chemistry between actors (which I could scream about for a full hour, just give me a glass of red wine and a platform and I'll go OFF), the thing I love most about Fleabag is the writing, which is objectively impeccable and I will straight up STREET FIGHT anyone who says otherwise. The writing is brief and economical, yet layered and meaningful. Every word is carefully chosen, every story beat expertly planned. Distilling a complex story and realistic character development into such a short and sweet narrative is REALLY EFFING HARD and demands great skill as a writer, but somehow Phoebe Waller-Bridge makes it look effortless. It's amazing but also INFURIATING and I love it but also HOW DARE SHE.

The first season's narrative is a little meandering, dishonest, and emotionally distant, and this is by design; Fleabag spends most of the season desperately trying to keep the audience at arm's length, because she can't bring herself to be honest, accept her past, or confront her grief. Her life is adrift, filled with family dysfunction, guilt, loneliness, self-loathing, and empty sex. She tries to craft a funnier, sexier, happier version of her story for the camera and audience, to gain a sense of control over a life that feels broken, chaotic, and unstable.

When we catch up with Fleabag in s2, she is trying to make peace with the demons that haunted her in s1, and build a more honest relationship with her audience (and herself). But she’s still struggling; honesty means revealing and accepting parts of herself that she doesn't like, of which she is scared and ashamed. Enter the priest. He sees right through her, and immediately begins to break down her walls and defenses. Fleabag finally allows herself to be vulnerable, and it is through surrender--to being known, to love, to a kind of spirituality--that she finds strength and peace.

The second season is more emotionally intimate than the first, and the narrative is laser-focused. It tells you exactly what it aims to be within the first 2 minutes. "This is a love story". And from start to finish, it is. Between Fleabag and the priest, most obviously, but also between the priest and God, the Godmother and Fleabag's father, Fleabag and Claire, Claire and Martin, Claire and Klare (lol), and last but not least, Fleabag and herself. The season as a whole is an exploration of love, spirituality, religion, and the mortifying ordeal of being known.

(Sidenote: it’s shocking to me that PWB was originally adamant about calling it quits after the first season, because in retrospect, s1 seems almost like it was written as a prologue to s2. Fleabag's second season really is PWB's magnum opus; it is a perfect companion and conclusion to the first season's arc that not only beautifully builds upon, but ends up being even better than, its predecessor.)

I am CEASELESSLY amazed by this story’s ability to satisfy on a visceral, emotional level AND engage on a cerebral, philosophical level--often at the same time. NOTHING IS ALLOWED TO BE THIS GOOD! Simple moments contain layers of meaning; they vibrate with humanity, make my heart drop to the floor, and then have the AUDACITY to hold up to analysis. I'm going to give a few examples to illustrate my point because CLEARLY I HAVEN'T TALKED ENOUGH (!!):

“Where did you just go?”

The priest can see Fleabag's asides to camera because he is the only person in her life who is paying enough attention to truly see her--attention is an act of love, and he loves her;

"You don't like answering questions, do you?"

Fleabag's resistance to sharing the unsavory parts of herself with the priest exemplifies the paradoxical way in which we deeply desire and yet fundamentally fear being seen, understood, accepted, and loved for who we are;

"Kneel."

Fleabag says she wants to be told what to do, and the priest gives her this command. Kneeling is an act of surrendering to a power greater than oneself, be it God or love. While it could potentially be portrayed as a submissive or weak act, here it is portrayed as an assertive act that requires strength and courage. This is mirrored at the end of the season when Claire kneels and begs Martin to leave her;

“When you meet someone you love, it feels like hope.”

Is the priest talking about God, or Fleabag? Or both? I’ve already word vomited about the parallels this show draws between romantic love and God's love, so I will refrain from doing it.. too much.. more. Let's just say that God offers the priest hope in much the same way the priest offers hope to Fleabag, and maybe, just MAYBE, the transcendence of human love isn't too far removed from the transcendence of divine love. Okay I'll shut up now bye.

In 6 episodes and approximately 3 hours, PWB manages to develop multiple three-dimensional characters, use their specific experiences to explore universal struggles and truths, and deliver a tragicomic narrative full of callbacks, symbolism, humor, and pathos, where every emotional moment feels genuine and earned. It's smart, cerebral, and philosophical without ever losing its subtlety, humanity, or emotional resonance.

I guess what I'm trying to say is: Fleabag is perfect and has ruined all other content for me. Definitely for now, probably forever. I'm DEVASTATED and "it'll pass" is a LIE.

#your honor please let the record show that i was sober while writing 99 percent of this #(idk if that makes it better or worse lmao yikes)#fleabag #fleabag x the priest #screeeeaming into the night byeeee

244 notes · View notes

roccinan · 3 years

Note

1/? simply because you have the most galaxy brain thoughts ever,,, what do you think would've happened if they waited until s5 to reveal sergio and andrés were (half)brothers?

i do know that when my fam started watching lcdp at first i was so put off. like i watched ep 1 and the prof creeped me out. ""berlin"" creeped me out. e v e r y o n e creeped me out. and i was cringing so hard becz of the short lived romance angle with alison parker. i literally did not watch s1 at all xcept for like sneak peeks. highlights being the scene where berlin discovers monica is alive and does his dramatic door by door thing? that was so SUSPENSEFUL even tho i had no idea what was going on. DOMINGO DE RESURECCION remains forever iconic.

2/? And OF COURSE the group bella ciao dance when they hit earth (hahah i thought the banda were actually like a "found family where they all love each other LOL") i am a SUCKER for found family. but anyhoo when i properly got intrigued was s2 when tokyo was kicked out (the music from that scene is still my favourite) it's just so dramatic..!! why am i telling u all this again? right, i haven't slept a wink and it's nearly 7 am pls forgive me if these rambles make no sense. i have a point with this.. i'm going somewhere

RIGHT. so when the fam actually rewound the ep cz i wanted to know WHY berlin did that (didn't fully realise how batsht crazy he can be), the russian roulette scene played. and pedro's acting. MAN. and like just that ep they made a point of showing us these flashbacks where sergio and andrés hug....

Hi anon! Thanks for stopping by- sorry took me a while to get back to you, will do my best to answer this string of messages (got all 4 parts)! Glad you like my thoughts XD

Firstly, I believe Andres/Sergio would be the biggest LCDP ship if the writers were evil enough to wait until s5 to reveal that they’re brothers asdfasdf. They’re already the two most popular male characters anyway.

It’d be especially crazy because it’s not like they tell the actors these things beforehand either. So that means there’d probably be a Serdres vs Berlermo vs Serquel fight every 5 minutes. I mean, even if not everyone agrees on everything in the lcdp fandom, it’s the most “peaceful” one I’ve ever been in because no character really gets in the way of any other ship (like even with helermo and berlermo there’s no true conflict since Andres is dead). But with Serdres in the mix?? CATASTROPHE. Everyone out here writing essays about how much of a bastard/bitch/homewrecker/motherfucker that Andres or Sergio or Martin or Raquel is. Never a moment’s peace!! so basically, a regular fandom lmao.

Then when we find out they’re brothers, it goes from catastrophe to Apocalypse. Suddenly serquel and berlermo have the upper hand. Everyone would double down and harass the crew/cast into whatever’s going on. Plot-wise, everything is the same though, just without Andres calling Sergio “hermanito.” Fandom however, would be a minefield! And I’m glad that’s not the case because I’d probably be an unfortunate serdres shippers XD No joke, my mother and I thought they were a couple in S1. So bullet dodged!

Secondly: haha, everyone creeped me out in S1 too, especially Berlin, I hated him, but thinking back, I think I mostly hated the fact that I didn’t hate him as much as I should have. I’ve made peace with it now but oh boy, was he a controversial figure in my head. I actually like the professor on sight though! IDK why, maybe because I thought his plans were cool or because of Alvaro’s delivery. I was afraid of an Alison Parker romance thing too- like, I do feel like she had a storyline that got dropped, but that part was quite cringey and overall unnecessary to the plot. Same with Ariadna, which was even cringier and even Less necessary to the plot.

Domingo de resurrecion was iconic though yes! And even with all that said, I genuinely enjoyed parts 1 and 2 because it was so different from anything else I’d seen. Not content wise, but maybe tonally? IDK, they were just really bold with a lot of things, like being objectively unafraid of having the protagonists (plural because all of them did LMAO) do objectively shitty things. Really kept me in suspense from beginning to end!

I’m usually a big fan of found families too! The funny thing is, then banda never struck me as a “family” until season 3. In 1 and 2, I was wondering what felt different about this show; then it hit me that these people remained colleagues to the end. Like, they backstabbed each other (repeatedly) and everyone was quite selfish, and only the bonds that were already there stuck. They were the opposite of a found family LOL But I think by S3, they went down the found family route and I didn’t mind because it makes quite a lot of sense for them to feel that bond after the Mint heist and almost dying/living together (and having witnessed 3 deaths together on the team). But I still doubt Berlin and Palermo were ever really part of this found family, with good reason XD

LOL the scene where Tokyo got kicked out is also among my favorites!! It was so funny and dramatic, and it was like, wow we can go anywhere with this now! Don’t worry- your rambles and thoughts are always welcome :D

I’m rolling over how you watched the Tokyo expulsion scene before the Russian Roulette scene haha. Also yes, PEDRO. Berlin may have been “controversial” to me at first, but I became Pedro’s fan from day one! Also the Hug is probably what made me like Berlin (despite my determination to hate him rip) in the first place.

3/? ... and like now that i think about it... tokyo had real guts huh. like she KNEW berlin was close enough to el prof to know his name (fhshshs imagine if she'd heard andrés saying 'hermanito' it's unrealistic that she didn't TBH. i mean obviously they decided to make them brothers only towards the end but like in canon universe. how tf did andrés de 'i raised my bby brother since he was 12 and i'd actually die for him and his stupidly brilliant plans' fonollosa go 5 months without slipping up once and calling sergio hermanito. or like,,, i like to imagine sergio kinda gave him lots of leeway(?) sergio's a lil oblivious too but like i'm sure half of it is.. that's my dumbass older bro shut up i'm not being partial you all have city names .. andr-berlin, pass the salt. like OOF. + sergio also knew his big bro was dYiNG so like. i'm sure they were sneaking in some quality time (i hope they did 😭 gosh imagine if sergio really did not ever consider the possibility of andrés dying in the heist so he'd tell himself he needs to perfect the plan now & anyway he'll have enough time to spend w/ his brother post heist in philippines. and then ... that happened :/

Tokyo has guts in place of braincells you bet that she’d do something like this, consequences be damned XD I also think it’s unrealistic for Andres not to slip up, but I have a feeling nobody besides Tokyo really tried to spy on them in private. I headcanon that Andres instead slips up and does things like ruffle Sergio’s hair or adjust his tie when other people are around. I also think Tokyo was convinced that they were a gay couple when she saw them hug XD And if Sergio never went on to tell the banda that Berlin was his brother, everyone would be giving Palermo such awkward looks after Nairobi accused him of being in love with Berlin LMAO.

I agree! I also imagine Sergio giving Andres leeway because he’s just so used to interacting with his brother that way haha. So either he’d go out of his way to ignore Berlin in front of everyone else or IDK, borderline telepathically communicate with him. Not even “pass the salt” has to leave his mouth- Berlin just puts salt into his food and cuts it up for him, in front of everyone who’s just staring like O.O

I actually do think Sergio never considered the possibility of Andres dying in the heist because he was just that confident in his own plan. Plus, Andres was probably the one person he expected to survive. And a lot of it has to do with Sergio’s attachment to him + Andres’ own habit of downplaying any illness/injury over the years, which I think is safe to believe canon. He was really in no condition to be in the heist, let alone lead it. Just the fact that he needs to take those injections is a big sign that he shouldn’t be there, but Sergio didn’t catch it because he’s human and blinded by faith :’) So yeah, I think Sergio was planning to spend proper time with Andres in Palawan and at Toledo, they just settled for those little moments by the fireplace.

4/? what always also just GETS me in the feels is that el prof was shown to be this in control creepily calm dude who is miles ahead of everyone. + in the 1st Toledo class itself we see how detached,, like how impersonal he is, how professional - choosing frickin CITY NAMES?! no 'personal relationships' ? (after recruiting his older brother, a father son pair, and war cousins... oh sergio 😂 he's such a frickin nerd and i love him) but like the earlier seasons really emphasised how robotic and down right COLD he can be. it still sometimes bothers me that he put the button in the car. he lead the police to his own damn brother, his blood, who took care of him and adopted him and was terminally ill and like - UGH i try to rationalise that sergio is that cold and unbothered. or that he has strict morals. but it still bothers me becz that button really sort of tipped andres' already unstable sanity. like andrés tells denver someth like you've robbed my future and after that he just seems so much more suicidal and accepting that he can't get out of the mint alive - WHY SERGIO WHY. I KNOW THAT AT THAT POINT YOU BASICALLY DIDN'T KNOW ANDRÉS WAS GOING TO BE YOUR BROTHER YET BECZ IT WASN'T WRITTEN IN THE SCRIPT BUT WHYYYYY

That’s so funny to me too LMAO No personal relationships, then he recruits these guys. Sergio, hello?? Also can’t forget how he just recruited his own girfrleind in the second heist too. Buddy! Love this nerd.

I don’t think that cold aspect of Sergio went away in later seasons either; he just had more opportunity to show a more open side of himself + without Andres, he had to metaphorically leave his comfort zone without a safety net. But in earlier seasons, he really did seem heartless at times XD Then again, we can argue that the same goes for Andres.

To be fair, I didn’t feel sorry for Andres over the button thing lol, but once the brothers reveal happened and all of Alvaro/Pedro’s headcanons came out and we know everything Andres did for Sergio, it makes what Sergio did REALLY harsh. We really just have to explain it through Sergio’s strict morals and him believing this to be the best non-fatal punishment for Andres, who at that point had convinced him he killed a hostage. And because he knew the television interview was coming up, maybe Sergio assumed Andres would use it to “clear” his name anyway. And empathy isn’t one of Sergio’s strong suits either, so through that lens, I can rationalize it.

Also it was lowkey funny to me how Andres was there like DENVER MUST DIE until he found out Sergio put the button there, then he was like “oh hermanito, you and your practical jokes <3″

Still, like you said, Andres and Sergio weren’t brothers yet at this point. They were probably supposed to be lovers lmao and had a dysfunctional Hannibal Lecter x Will thing going on. But because they made #hermanos canon, that button moment just feels very out of place now, especially given how much the two genuinely love each other.

Guess we could also say that Sergio’s just generally kinda bratty with Andres XD Like, he knows no matter what, Andres would forgive him anything. That’s how I see it anyway!

#anonymous #thanks for stopping by!#royalpaperhouse is this you my friend? :D

9 notes · View notes

joggerfive · 3 years

Text

Fic: Christmas Mischief

This is my Discord Secret Santa gift for @notebooksnshoelaces <3 Hope you like it, my lovely! Happy holidays!!

Simon and Five become christmassy Township Troublemakers™ and bring some festive cheer to Abel with a few pranks and surprises! Set in S1/S2.

(Link to fic on AO3 if that’s where you prefer to do your reading)

---

“Hello there, my dearest Five.”

Runner Five looked up from their notebook towards the doorway of the rec room. Simon swaggered in then slammed himself down on the couch next to Five with a grin.

“Where did you even get a Santa hat?” Five wondered aloud, reaching over to Simon’s head to touch the white pom-pom that was dangling from the top.

Simon playfully swatted their hand away before it could reach the hat. “I shall answer your question with another question. Are you up for some festive mischief?”

With a glint in their eye, Five immediately shut their notebook as their reply.

-----

“Jesus, it’s cold out here,” Simon complained, “even on the move, I’m bloody freezing.”

Five shook their head as they picked up a dirty shirt from the side of the road. It would be good as new after a wash. They shoved it in their bag and quickly caught up with Simon once more.

“You’re just grumpy because Sam made you take off your Santa hat.” Five replied.

At the mention of his name, the radio operator’s voice started coming through the runners’ headsets.

“It made your headset sit all weird! I’m not having you lose vital equipment in the name of Christmas spirit.” Sam rebutted indignantly.

Simon gave a fake cough, then mumbled the word “grinch”. Five smirked.

“Hey! I am not a grinch! I love Christmas!” Sam replied, sounding offended. “In fact, when I was a kid-”

Five startled as Simon gave their arm a couple of taps to grab their attention. Sam continued his story into their ears as Three pointed towards a street. Five nodded silently in response. Time for part one of the plan.

“Sam,” Simon started with a smirk, “What was that about geese? You’re breaking up.”

“What? No, I said trees.” Sam replied, coming through perfectly clearly.

“Bees? What have bees got to do with Christmas?” Three acted as confused as he could, furrowing his eyebrows together even though Sam couldn’t see him.

“Trees! I was saying how my family would choose a Christmas tree together!”

“Choose a what? And it was free?”

“A tree! And I didn’t say it was free!”

Simon tried to keep the grin off his face as he looked over at Five, “Sorry Sammy boy, you’re breaking up. I guess we’ll just have to hear your story about the free geese and bees later on, hey?”

“There are no geese or bees!” Sam exclaimed, before properly taking in what Simon said, “Wait, you can’t hear me? You should be able to, we haven’t had any problems in this area before-”

“-am. I –an’t hea- you.” Simon spoke in fragments, pretending to get cut off. Five gave a quiet scoff at the ridiculous attempt.

“What? Three? Five? Can you still hear me?”

Five looked over at Simon with an incredulous look on their face. They couldn’t believe it was actually working.

“Ca- -ear –ou.” Simon continued.

“Guys? Oh God, why can’t you hear me? Has a wire come loose? I knew I shouldn’t have cleaned in here!” A slight amount of panic started to become present in Sam’s voice, causing a small pang of guilt in Five’s chest.

Runner Three let out a last few incoherent syllables before turning off his headset and motioning for Five to do the same. When he saw Five’s expression, he sighed and turned off theirs for them.

“Oh, stop your worrying, Five. He’ll be fine.” Simon shrugged, “Come on, it’s this way.” He turned down the street on the left, instead of the route straight ahead that Sam had originally planned for them.

“We could’ve told him, you know.” Five mumbled, but followed Simon regardless.

“He would’ve ratted us out and you know it.” He rolled his eyes when Five looked at him with an expression like they’d just hurt a harmless little puppy. Which was kind of how they felt. “Come on, this is for the Christmas spirit! Just a quick stop at this shop and then we can tell Sam we’re okay. Only a few stragglers in our way and we’ve dealt with much worse, right?”

Five gave a reluctant nod, “Fine.”

Simon gave a loud whoop and a fist pump, which put a smile back on Five’s face, as they ran towards their destination.

-----

“Why do these places even exist?” Five asked once they were inside the shop, poking a bobblehead of Santa to make it nod. “Surely they didn’t get any business for ten months out of the year.”

Simon called out his answer from the other side of the store, “Yeah, but I bet the two months they did get business were booming.” On the last word, a couple of bells made a loud noise as a toy fell to the ground, Simon yelling out a quick ‘sorry!’ as he picked the elf back up and put it on its rightful place on the shelf.

The two runners were currently grabbing supplies from a Christmas shop aptly titled ‘Christmas Galore’, which although it appeared to be barren in a few areas (the clothes and candle sections mostly) it still had most of its contents covered in dust. Seemed like kitsch holiday items were not the most necessary thing to scavenge at the end of the world.

“Hey, look!”

Five whipped their head up from the Nativity display they were looking at just in time to catch the flying scrap of red fabric that was thrown their way.

“Now we can match!” Simon said happily. Five looked in their hands and saw a Santa hat. Slightly smaller than Simon’s, but it would do. They went to try it on.

“Can’t put it on now, you dolt.” Simon remarked as he shoved something into his bag, “Don’t think we would’ve found festive clothing in the pharmacy Sam thought we were going to.”

Five shrugged, “Maybe someone at the pharmacy was really into Christmas.”

“Alright smartie pants, if you wanna wear it then fine, but you’re doing the explaining.”

They gave Simon a glare before relenting and shoving the hat into their pack instead. The pair continued to grab whatever festive items they could as Simon whistled some Christmas songs to himself.

-----

Runner Five left their bunk on Christmas day with a spring in their step and a poorly concealed smirk on their face. Late last night, the secret santas had been putting festive touches all around Abel whilst trying not to wake anyone up. Five thought back to the moment they’d both tried to sneak into the kitchen through the window and Simon’s foot had gotten caught on the wood, causing him to land on his back with a loud thump, and bit their lip to contain their laughter.

Speak of the devil, as soon as Five entered the kitchen, their companion was already sitting at a table (Santa hat and all) with a mug in his hands.

“Good morning and a very merry Christmas, dear Five!” He greeted with a huge grin.

Five simply nodded as they sat down next to him. They were less of a morning person, but they’d make an exception for one day out of the year.

Simon took this as a reply and continued, “Where’s your hat then? Thought we were gonna be matching.”

Five looked confused for a moment, “My hat?”

“Yeah,” He replied, “I got you a hat. Did you lose it?”

Their face stayed the same for a few seconds, but they cracked when they saw Simon’s crestfallen expression. Reaching into their back pocket, they retrieved their Santa hat and put it on with a cheeky smile.

Simon gave a chuckle, “Had me there for a second. Thought my partner in crime had given up on me.”

They were about to respond when Simon looked over at another table, brimming with excitement. Five followed their gaze, only to be chastised.

“Don’t make it too obvious!” Simon hissed, “Act natural.”

The two mischief makers gave as many casual glances as they could to the other side of the room as Sam walked in, still looking half asleep.

Sam’s eyes widened as he saw the huge box on the table and slowly approached it. Three and Five watched as Sam read the label that was on top, which addressed the present to him. The box was big enough that it covered up Sam’s entire body from view as he sat behind it, making the troublemakers slightly upset that they couldn’t see their victim’s face. However, they knew it wouldn’t be a problem for long.

They watched as Sam (or just Sam’s arms, from their perspective) quickly opened the first box, then halted before pulling out a slightly smaller - but still quite large – box. Next, when that box was opened, another one was inside.

Over the next few minutes, Five had resorted to covering their mouth with their hand to ensure no giggles escaped and Three was pretending to take frequent sips from his now empty mug to hide his grin. There was a small group gathering around Sam as he continued to open the boxes and more boxes would reveal themselves. He was now on his seventh box, and his expression had changed from glee, to confusion, to annoyance.

The final box was about the size of the palm of Sam’s hand and the fervour with which he opened it showed just how done he was with the whole farce. After all the fuss, he held up a tiny SD card between his thumb and forefinger, looking over it with distrust as if he expected it to also have something even smaller inside. There was a note attached, which had been folded as many times as it could to be as compact as possible. The note read:

“Thought this would be a useful gift. Merry Christmas! From, Santa.”

Three and Five watched with delight as Sam read and reread the note multiple times, seemingly only getting more confused. Eventually, the crease between his eyebrows left and he let out a chuckle as he looked to his right and saw the ridiculous amount of empty boxes and wrapping paper on the floor, then pocketed the SD card. He looked around the room with narrowed eyes, seemingly looking for a culprit, making Three and Five tear their gazes away from him.

“How about we go see our next lucky contestant, eh, Five?” Simon said quickly as he saw Sam rise from his seat, probably to go interrogate people about his gift.

With that, the two scurried out of the kitchen, finally letting out all their laughter once they were alone.

-—-

On their way to their next destination, they caught sight of Janine shouting up orders to one of the guards, who was up on a ladder desperately trying to grab something that was seemingly tied above the gates that allowed people in and out of Abel.

Simon instantly changed direction to head towards Janine, his smirk flawlessly changing to a concerned expression as he approached. Five tried their best to copy him.

“Jenny, what’s up?” Three asked as they got close, “Something wrong with the gates?”

Janine turned around, her red cheeks almost rivalling the red plaid shirt she was wearing. She looked aggravated and tired at the same time.

“It seems someone thought it would be funny to tie some… mistletoe above the gates.” She said snippily, staring upwards at the object in question with a grimace.

Simon let out a chuckle, “And that’s why you’re making poor Jacob here stand at the top of a ladder in the freezing cold on Christmas morning? Come on, it’s obviously just a bit of fun.”

Janine folded her arms as she scowled, “‘A bit of fun’, is it? It may be Christmas but we still have runners scheduled to go out today, and this…” she pointed up at the mistletoe, “thing will cause nothing but chaos.”

Five bit their lip to try and hide their smile as Simon replied, “Chaos? It’s just a bit of fake plant that lets people give kisses scot-free. That’s it.”

“When someone comes back through the gates, their first port of call is to go straight to the hospital for bite checks, not to…” Her nose scrunched up, “kiss someone. What if the person coming in is bitten? And the mistletoe malarkey gives them a few extra minutes to hide their bite? What if the person that’s bitten kisses another person?”

Simon hummed in thought, “I don’t think that someone that’s bitten kissing someone else that isn’t bitten would cause the other person to become a zom too. I don’t know though. Haven’t exactly been doing any kissing research.” His eyes lit up as he saw an opportunity, “Maybe we could do some research, ey, Jenny? Strictly for scientific purposes, of course. For the greater good of the township.”

Janine’s eyes widened, her cheeks once pink from the cold and exasperation now blushing for a completely different reason. “Would you like to take over from Mr. Quinn?” She asked Simon, gesturing to the man that was still trying to grab the mistletoe but couldn’t reach due to the fact that the ladder was too small. (Luckily, Five had the forethought to hide the taller ladder that Simon had used to hang the mistletoe up, and it was currently in one of the barns.)

Simon paused for a few seconds as he feigned thinking, “No, I don’t think I’d like that.”

“Then I’d suggest you leave swiftly. Before I make you do so.” Janine concluded.

“Righty-o!” Three replied, giving her a wink before turning away, “Good luck up there, mate!” He shouted up to the guard, who didn’t give a reply. (At least one loud enough that Simon could hear.) Three and Five began to walk away.

“Si?”

They both turned around as they heard Janine speak once more.

“Yeah?” He replied non-chalantly.

“How do you know the plant is fake?” She asked.

Simon paused, “What’s that, Jenny?”

“You said ‘a bit of fake plant’ when referring to the mistletoe.” She said calmly, “How do you know it’s fake? I can’t tell from down here. How can you?”

He quickly scoffed, “Well, it’s obvious, isn’t it? Where’s someone going to find real mistletoe anywhere these days?”

Janine seemed to ponder his answer for a while, staring him down for multiple moments. Five was glad that steel gaze wasn’t on them, they weren’t sure they could handle the pressure as well as their partner.

“I suppose that’s true.” Janine conceded, though she still seemed suspicious. “Very well.”

Three took the answer happily, grabbing Five’s arm as he began to walk away from the scene of the crime once more. “See ya later, love!” He shouted as him and Five scurried away as quickly as possible.

--—

Throughout the day, people started reporting more instances of Christmas mischief.

In the hospital, there was tinsel of all different colours lining each cot. Maxine removed it from beds that were currently being used, just in case a patient tried to stand up and got their leg caught, but happily left the empty beds decorated, enjoying the little bit of brightness it brought to the room.

Jody had been gifted a single knitting needle, with a vague clue to tell her where the next one was hidden which caused her to go on a wild goose chase around the township.

Multiple people saw animals in the farmyard wearing festive hats and headbands, though most of them had wrestled them off by afternoon.

Sara had been gifted a bottle of whiskey, but a padlock on the top prevented her from opening it. There was a riddle attached saying what the combination was, but instead Simon and Five saw her asking around for a hammer or a crowbar.

All the individual jars and tins in the kitchen cupboards had been wrapped in patterned Christmas paper, forcing all the people working there to unwrap each and every one. (If they were to count the amount of ingredients, they would’ve realised that they were a few more than there were the previous day.)

Then, somehow, a rumour had started that Santa himself was going to be visiting Abel. The children whispered happily about it, the parents all gave each other broad smiles, and everyone was trying to suss out who this Santa could be.

-—-

That afternoon, hidden away in a barn as far away from the other residents of Abel as they could be, Three and Five were getting changed into their costumes.

“I still think I should be Santa.” Simon huffed from behind a stack of hay bales, his voice straining with exertion as he tried to get into his outfit.

Five replied, already dressed as Santa Clause, complete with a bushy white beard and big black boots (Evan wouldn’t miss his boots for one day, surely), “The Santa trousers were so short on you that most of your calves were showing. And the jacket showed your midriff. This is for the best.”

“What’s wrong with people seeing my wonderfully toned calves and midriff?”

Five rolled their eyes while fiddling with the fake beard.

Simon’s head popped out from behind a hay bale to glare at his companion, “You just rolled your eyes, didn’t you.”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” Five replied coolly, “Now hurry up, the kids will be waiting already!”

“Alright!” Simon huffed, “I’m coming out.” He let out a heaving sigh as he wondered out from behind his hiding spot.

Five let out a full belly laugh that would’ve rivalled Santa’s.

“Oi!” Simon shouted defensively over the sound of laughter.

“Sorry!” Five choked out, “It’s just… Wow. And I thought the Santa outfit was short on you.”

He was wearing a green and red elf dress that cut off at his mid-thigh, accompanied with an elf hat that had a golden bell on the end.

Simon folded his arms, then realised it made the skirt ride up even more, and brought his arms back down to his sides. Even in the low afternoon light, the redness on his cheeks was obvious.

“Oh, come on,” Five said, walking up to their elf, “For someone who’s streaked multiple times-”

“This is going to be in front of children!” Simon said indignantly.

“Yeah you’re right,” Five agreed solemnly, before breaking out into a grin, “They’re going to be scarred by your pasty legs.”

“Pasty?!” Simon cried out, “Hey, I-”

“Speaking of the children, we don’t want to keep them waiting, do we?” Five continued with a smile.

Simon let out a large exhale, “Fine. You’re right. Best get this over with.”

Five chuckled, “Aw, come on little elf. Cheer up. It’s Christmas!”

At that, Simon perked up. “Yeah, I guess it is. Alright. Let’s put on the best show Abel’s ever seen.” He held out his arm for his partner in crime, who happily linked their arm with his.

They walked back towards the centre of Abel together, Simon’s hat jingling the whole way.

#zombies run #zombies run!#simon lauchlan #runner five #sam yao #janine de luca #zr secret santa 2020 #fic #my fic #text

12 notes · View notes

neighbourskid · 3 years

Text

2020

What a year, huh? Surely not anything anyone has expected to happen when we woke up on this day a year ago. I certainly haven’t. I’m not even sure, now, where to begin to sum up this year like I’ve done years prior. But then again... I may just as well just dive right into all the media I consumed this year, as I have done every year. I haven’t kept track as detailed as I have last year, but my year was definitely punctuated by pieces of entertainment that have come into my life.

Continuing on from 2019, my obsession with Good Omens was still going strong. Which was ideal, since I was gonna spend the first half of the year writing my Bachelor thesis on it. The intensity of the obsession may have waned a bit since, but I still love that show and book dearly and hold it close to my heart, and I don’t think that will ever stop. But while Good Omens was certainly an overall theme throughout my year, there were some other things that actually stood out.

With January came new episodes of Doctor Who, and having returned to that particular bandwagon the year prior, I was all about that. Jodie’s second season finally brought what I had longed for in her first--a darker kind of Doctor. She wasn’t quite as bubbly anymore, you could finally see some of the depths in the character that I loved so in the previous regenerations, which made me love Peter’s Doctor so incredibly much. In this season, I felt, Jodie was finally becoming the Doctor. Overall, that season catered to me personally every single episode. So many of the time periods they visited were of people I loved, and the introduction of Sacha Dhawan as the Master was absolutely....well, masterful. Sacha is brilliant in that role and I am utterly stunned by his talent. Although both John Simm and Michelle Gomez brought things to the Master that I liked, it’s Sacha’s completely unhinged take on it that made me finally like the character. He’s a madman and I love it.

The next major thing was The Good Place. I tend to have a talent of getting into shows just as they either ended their entire show, or the final season is just coming up. It’s happened quite a bit, and it was the same with this. I finally binged the show early in January and it would end its final season at the end of the month. True to form, I was completely obsessed with it for about a month, before I only occasionally thought about it again. But, thinking back now, I get this incredibly fond feeling for this show, and I remember that the finale absolutely wrecked me and I basically ugly sobbed through the entirety of it. Also very true to form, actually. I want to rewatch it again some time, but honestly preferably with someone who has never seen it before. Which, obviously, is a difficult thing to do given, well, everything.

Next up is something that surprised me a lot. In the middle of having to write my BA thesis, my procrastination thought it would be a great idea to rewatch and catch up on the entirety of Criminal Minds. And so I binged 15 seasons of that instead of writing my thesis. Which, coincidentally, had also just aired its final season not long before I started my binge in March. Rewatching this, I realised just how little I took in of the actual, like, stuff in the show when I first watched it as a teen. Although I mostly cared about the characters and their found family this time around--although I do find the cases really fascinating most of the time too--I noticed just how much I am not watching this for the fact that they are in the FBI. I was hyperaware of how often they shot at people before doing anything else, how many of the suspects died before ever being questioned or being brought in, and it made my skin crawl. I am aware how fucked up the criminal justice system is, and especially in the US, how the police functions and how incredibly glorified they are in the media. But rewatching this show, I realised how little I actually paid attention to anything when I was younger. Big yikes. Still, I remembered my love for these characters, and I really enjoyed that rewatch a whole lot. Found family will always get to me.

Once I finished writing my thesis and handed it in early in July, I then found my next momentary obsession: Community. The show had finally come to Netflix earlier in the year and a friend of mine had watched it then. I remember watching that pilot episode back then and being completely uninterested in watching it. The comedy felt like it wasn’t quite up my street, the characters were entirely unlikeable, and I especially disliked Jeff who the show was more or less centred around. I binged Criminal Minds instead, but then decided to give it another try. And, well, I watched it twice through without taking a break to watch something else in-between. Ironically, and maybe actually unsurprisingly, Jeff ended up being my favourite and I found myself relating a lot to him and his arc throughout the series. I even found myself writing some short ficlet-like things in the notes app on my phone. I made an attempt at starting a third watch, but I guess then the month was up, and my brain decided it was time for something else. My hyperfixations usually tend to die out after about a month. Which is why my complete devotion to Good Omens was a pleasant surprise. I did, however, end up watching quite a bit of Joel McHale and Ken Jeong’s The Darkest Timeline podcast throughout August.

Early in September, while already preparing for the new term at uni, and my first semester in my Master’s studies, I then turned to New Girl. Friends of mine had seen it and recommended it, and I remember watching probably the entire first season on TV while I was in San Diego the first time around back in 2016. Or at least I think it was the entire first season. Either way, I binged that whole thing, realised through Nick Miller that the go-to character I am drawn to and tend to project on in any piece of media is usually what I like to call “the garbage man,” which Nick is a prime example of. And although I spent a month watching the show in-between starting university again and volunteering at a film festival, I didn’t spend much time afterward thinking about it and moved on to other things rather quickly. I enjoyed watching it, that much I remember, and I’m pretty sure I cried at the finale because it was done wonderfully, but seeing as another month was up, my brain was probably like “okay fine that’s enough”.

I then spent most of fall and early winter watching every single bad Christmas movie available on Netflix, which was quite fun. In that moment of festivity, I also watched a movie I found absolutely brilliant and fell in love with immediately. It’s a beautiful movie called Jingle Jangle, it has a magnificent soundtrack and is absolutely incredible. I had no idea Forest Whitaker could sing and he completely blew me away. If you haven’t seen it already, I highly recommend it. It doesn’t matter that Christmas is already over, it’s beautiful either way.

By the time December finally rolled around, I was already over the whole Christmas thing, to be honest and I turned away from festive movies or shows, and eventually ended up finally picking up a gem I had heard much about and had been meaning to watch for a while. A show which, as it were, also aired its final season earlier this year. This little show is Schitt’s Creek. I will be going on about what this show means to me probably in another post at length, but for now just let me say: if you haven’t seen it, find some place to watch it, and put this beautiful show in your eyeballs. I am on my second run through already (although I’ve seen the second half of the show a second time already while watching it with a friend on their first run through), and it brings me so much fucking joy. It’s a gift, this show. And it will likely stay with me for a very, very long time.

That’s about it for the big things. I also watched a whole lot of other stuff, including entirely new things, or just newly released seasons of things I was already watching. Here’s what I can remember off the top of my head:

Charlie’s Angels (2020). The Night Manager. The Witcher. Dolittle (2020). The Librarians (rewatch). Harley Quinn (2020). Sonic the Hedgehog (2020). The Chef Show (S1 part 3, S2 part 1). Avenue 5. Money Heist (part 4). The Good Fight (S4). Brooklyn Nine-Nine (S7). DuckTales (2017 reboot). Frankenstein live. Staged (2020). Hamilton. Sense8. Julie and the Phantoms. The Boys in the Band. One Night in Miami. Enola Holmes. Supernova. His Dark Materials (S2). Happiest Season. The Great Canadian Baking Show.

I also got some reading done in-between what I had to read for my thesis in spring, and then for regular university courses in fall. Here’s some of what I can remember:

Anthony Horowitz, The House of Silk. Ramona Meisel, Sunblind. Donna Tartt, The Secret History. Good Omens novel and script book. Matt Forbeck, Leverage: The Con Job. Keith R.A. Decandido, Leverage: The Zoo Job. Greg Cox, Leverage: The Bestseller Job. Greg Cox, The Librarians and the Lost Lamp. Greg Cox, The Librarians and the Mother Goose Chase. Greg Cox, The Librarians and the Pot of Gold. Neil Gaiman, Marvel 1602. Christina Henry, The Lost Boy. Neil Gaiman, Norse Mythology. John Green, An Abundance of Katherines. Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Aurora Leigh. Maria Konnikova, The Confidence Game.

Having mulled over all this entertainment I consumed in 2020, there are also some non-tv or book things I need to point out. As many, many other people around the globe, I have also spent a large amount of time this year on my Nintendo Switch, playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It is a game I have waited for since the Switch was first announced, and I fell in love with it from the moment the first trailer dropped. It has brought me great joy in this weird fucking year, and I have more or less consistently played it since it came out in March. I ended this year with the in-game New Year’s Eve celebration and I feel like that summed up this year quite neatly and appropriately.

This year also brought with it another game very close to my heart: Super Mario Sunshine. With their release of Super Mario 3D All-Stars in September, Nintendo finally brought my all-time favourite Mario game to my all-time favourite console, and I played the entire game through in the first week of owning it, in-between university courses and volunteering at the film festival. Also contained in that package was Super Mario Galaxy which I have also played through in its entirety since. All that’s left for me now is Super Mario 64, which I am excited to play through in the coming year.

And to round off my year of entertainment, there are two more things I would like to mention. First, David Tennant Does A Podcast With..., which released its second season this summer. It is one of the only, if not the only podcast I keep up to date with and listen to immediately whenever a new episode drops. I’ve loved the first season dearly, and David came back with some incredibly fantastic guests for the second season as well. I can’t wait for what the podcast will bring in the future, but I will wait patiently until it is time. I can highly recommend it for everyone who likes interesting conversations between lovely people who clearly adore each other a whole lot.

And finally, while this year brought a whole lot of bullshit with it, it also gave me something I never thought possible and did not even dare to imagine in my wildest dreams. My all-time favourite show announced that it would be rebooted with the same main cast (minus one), a new wonderful member, and involvement of the original creators, and even started filming already in summer. Leverage is coming back. I still cannot believe it. I hoped for a movie, always. That maybe one day, they might bring the gang back together, for one last job, just one more encore. But to get a whole new tv-show with Aldis, Christian, Gina and Beth returning? With the addition of Noah Wyle? I can’t wrap my head around it. I am so excited for this. I predict that I will ugly sob through the entirety of the pilot episode, if not the first season, and will have to rewatch every episode because of it, but I have no doubt that it will be brilliant and wonderful.

True to form, I have now gone on about tv shows and movies for far too long, and haven’t really said anything about this year at all. 2020 was fucking weird. And I don’t think 2021 will be much different quite yet. I wrote an entire BA thesis in 2020. I successfully finished by Bachelor’s degree and started my Master’s studies and even got some excellent first grades in as well. I was lucky enough to be able to see some friends and family throughout the year, and even celebrate my birthday with a small circle of friends. I’ve become closer with friends, shared experiences I wouldn’t trade for the world, and, I think, maybe also grown a bit as a person.

I started this year excited to finally be able to start taking testosterone in February, and to finish the first part of my studies by summer. Although I did both of these things, they didn’t happen quite how I imagined them, but I am glad that I could do these things nevertheless.

2020 was a hell year, for sure. But there were some moments in there that I wouldn’t want to lose.

I’ve tried very hard to not be optimistic about this upcoming year, and rather take a more realistic, even pessimistic approach. But I can’t help but be hopeful. Hopeful that this year will be kind to us, and if it isn’t, that at least, we’ll be kind to ourselves and each other. It won’t be easy, and not much will change, I think. But we have to approach the coming time with kindness and compassion. That’s where I’m at currently. And I think that’s all for now.

Be well, friends, and take care.

12 notes · View notes

diegvsknife · 4 years

Text

After I had watched season 1 back in 2019, I made a post talking about what I thought of each of the siblings and how much I liked them, so I figured that I should do this again now that I watched season 2 because man things have changed quite a bit.

Luther: Big yes. His development this season was so good. I never quite hated Luther as much as everyone else did, for most of season 1 I actually thought he was just fine, until the whole thing with Vanya happened of course. Now though? He got that redemption and it worked. I liked the fact that, upon meeting Vanya again, he immediately apologizes to her and even realizes that what he did was wrong. I thought it felt genuine. He admits this again later around Diego, too. I had believed that Luther could be redeemed and heck he was. He's not a favorite but I do like him now and him interacting with the others (specifically Diego and Five) was hilarious. So good on him! And I'm glad the fandom seems to be accepting him more now too. He definitely had to redeem himself most out of all of them and I'm happy that it was succesful.

Diego: Well what do you expect me to say, this account is literally mainly Diego themed. He's been my BOY since season 1 and nothing has changed about that. I did feel like he was done a bit dirty in season 2 because him having a boner for both JFK and Lila was overshadowing a lot of his further development but that's more on the writing than on him. I also feel like they dumbed him down a little for whatever reason? Like, sure, he's not meant to be some genius like Five, but he sure used more braincells in season 1- He did have some really awesome moments again though. which I listed in a previous post, and his development from "I'm a lone wolf and I need to do everything on my own because I can't trust anyone" to "I'm starting to accept that it's ok to rely on others and that I don't have to go through shit all alone and I'm even admitting that I love my family in front of them" was beautiful. I won't get into that much detail here because I talk about him a lot anyways and will continue to do so, so I'll leave it at this. I could go on about him for hours though. Obvious favorite.

Allison: Y E S!!!! Just. Yes. Imma be honest, I didn't like her that much in season 1 all things considered, she had some great moments there but overall I was iffy about her and also her ability and the way she would use it. Cue season 2 and everything changes. The fact that she stopped using her power because she wanted to accomplish things on her own and only used it when absolutely needed was a huge improvement and I loved that part of her development so much. And the way that they made a good part of her plotline revolve around activism for equal rights was! Absolutely! Amazing! It was handled so well and her being that strong, independent woman fighting for her rights as a person of color really made me adore her. It didn't have much to do with the main plot of the show but this side plot might have been my favorite this season. Also her relationship with Ray was honestly so goddamn precious, it got me into my feelings a lot. They deserved the world. So yeah! Once again, I think her development worked out super well and I love her a lot. Also...not really an important thing but my GOD her style this season! From the hair to the outfits...gorgeous. Even greater than in s1. I'm gay yes that's all

Klaus: Honestly, not that much has changed since season 1. Admittedly, he didn't go through that much development (frankly, he didn't need to as much as certain others) and yes a good chunk of his screentime was comedy relief, but he's just so loveable. After s1 he was my third favorite and I think that's still the case. Also, the thing with him and Dave HURT like damn haven't we and Klaus suffered enough already in season 1? I get it, none of the siblings get to have successful and lasting relationships, it's almost a joke by now, but that doesn't mean Klaus needs to suffer even more. But also good on him for managing to be slightly less intoxicated overall!! So uh yeah. My opinion on him hasn't exactly changed so that's all I got but I love him!!! Who doesn't, though, let's be real.

Five: Sort of the same thing as with Klaus. Five is still pretty much the same little, sarcastic shit of a genius and I like him a lot, much like after season 1. Though I was maybe slightly disappointed with his development (or lack thereof) in s2. Last year I talked a bit about how I wanted him to grow as a person and learn that it's ok to feel things, now that he wasn't alone anymore. I wanted him to start accepting that he doesn't need to do everything alone anymore and that it's ok to rely on his family, much like Diego in his development. We didn't get all that much of it in s2 but I suppose it's also nothing that should be rushed, not with a character like him. I did however see improvement in the way that he was more open admitting that these people are his family and that he would do anything in order to save them. Despite calling them all kinds of insults and not always being particularly nice because that's just the way he is, it definitely became more apparent that he cares about them and I like that. A scene I found particularly interesting was Five saying that "he was done with the killing" to the Handler after the board massacre. He only did this for his family. To save them. Cold-hearted assassin Five doesn't want to kill anymore. It really does emphasize that he is human after all and that he does have feelings no matter how hard he pretends he doesn't. Furthermore, the scenes where he was around his other self showing that even he wasn't always super composed and everything. Let Five learn to be human again!!!

Ben: ...do I really have to do this? I think I'll cry talking about him. Oh well. After I had watched season 1 twice, I came to the conclusion that he was my 2nd favorite. This is still and perhaps even more so the case now. I always adored the way he's so incredibly kind and caring. And I like the way that in s2 they put more emphasis on how frustrating it often was for him to be stuck like this not being able to do anything and seeing the only person he can interact with throw his life away like that. When the siblings had all reunited again and Ben said to himself "I missed you all...so much." That shit made me weep. He cares about his siblings so much :( His little crush on Jill was so cute too, like, aww. And!!!! Klaus eventually allowing him to possess his body for a while. The way he took in every smell and every feeling for the first time after so long...I loved that. It's what he deserved. As well as the scene he had with Jill AND ALSO THANK YOU DIEGO FOR HUGGING "BEN" THAT WAS SO PRECIOUS AND AHH!!! So uh yeah. I LOVED all about that part so much. And then...oh. my. God. The first and I think only scene in season 2 that genuinely made me bawl my eyes out. Like for real. Not even kidding. BEN LITERALLY SAVED THE GODDAMN WORLD!!!!!!!! HE DID IT AND HE DID IT ALL BY HIMSELF. HIM! HE! BEN HARGREEVES! The way he comforted Vanya and told her that she wasn't a monster at all was just so beautiful and, for one last time, once again emphasized just how caring and kind he is. When he asked for a hug...that's when I just could not anymore. I'm tearing up thinking about it. He deserved that hug so, so much. I'm glad he was no longer afraid of the light and ready to pass on, literally saving the world in the process. I'm so endlessly proud of him, you don't even know. If anyone owned this season, it was him. Just like that.

Vanya: my opinion on her has somehow changed a lot yet not at all at the same time. How that works? I don't even know. I was feeling mostly neutral about her after season 1 and I still do? First things first- Memory loss is an absolutely turn-off for me most of the time. I'm not sure why but it's just a trope that annoys me to no end. In this case I didn't find it annoying at all though? Sure, it was kind of a cheap way to avoid Vanya having to deal with the aftermath of what happened in s1 while being stranded in Dallas alone a few decades into the past, but I thought it worked pretty well. The road to her regaining her memory was interesting too. Overall she's just not really my type of character? She just doesn't catch my attention that easily but I thought she was written REALLY well this season and I liked her development. Specifically her learning to come to terms with who she really is and also learning to control her ability and use it to protect the people she cares about. Also.. the wlw serve....god thank you so much YES. Ahem. Yah. Overall not a favorite but I like her too!!

And that's what I think was really good about season 2. It made me genuinely like all of them. I left season 1 not really thinking all that highly of ike 3 of them but now I do find all of them really likeable! And that's great, honestly. So yeah! That's it. Maybe I'll talk about the other s2 relevant characters at some point, who knows!

#the umbrella academy #tua #klaus hargreeves #luther hargreeves #diego hargreeves #allison hargreeves #five hargreeves #ben hargreeves #vanya hargreeves

32 notes · View notes

katyatalks · 4 years

Text

Otomedia April 2019 - Character Designer Kameda, Eyecatch Team Kenja, Series Co-ordinator Seko & Director Tachikawa - Interview Translation

Here’s Character Designer Kameda, Eye-catch Team Kenja, Series Co-ordinator Seko & Director Tachikawa’s interviews from April 2019’s Otomedia! Semi-summary style as there’s a lot to get through - naturally, this is a long one, but there’s plenty of cool stuff in here that makes for a good read. Includes stuff like why certain scenes were cut from the anime (boxcutter Minori, the cat, etc.), Joseph’s original character design, where Reigen got some of his ‘wise sayings’ from, the reason behind the kaleidoscope imagery in the S2 intro and outro, and plenty more!

KAMEDA YOSHIMICHI Character Designer

Asked how the production environment was for season 2, he says that it was “strangely pretty hectic - lots of stuff going on (laughs)”. States that with season 2 they understood the direction that MP100 would take more than they did with season 1. Something he and Director Tachikawa struggled with in season 1 was what kind of anime style would be best for the manga.

For season 2 the majority of the staff working on it had seen season 1, so production was steady.

He says that before season 2 he’d been working on “Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's Treasure Island”, but work for season 2 began before he was finished with that film.

Just before working on season 1 of MP100 he’d worked on One Punch Man, “and it’s thanks to that that I was able to snap into work on Mob Psycho 100, but this time around it was a bit of a hard fight.” While drawing the designs for the new characters who’d appear in season 2 he eventually found himself readjusting to the proportions of MP100 (vs. Doraemon’s style)

Mentions how Tachikawa has been working on the MP100 OVA previously so getting back into work on Mob Psycho didn’t seem to be that strange for him, but for Kameda personally it took a bit of getting used to.

He’s asked if there’s anything regarding Mob’s character design that is essential to maintain a certain ‘Mob’-ness about him, to which Kameda replies; “The length of his fringe/bangs, ie. whether or not you can see his eyebrows.” Discusses how there’s only a certain amount of space between where his hair ends and his eyelids start to give an expression, and the depth of his expression varies greatly depending on if he has eyebrows or not.

“Mob is a character who isn’t really expressive, but regardless, it is important to be able to show his expressions. That’s something I told everyone to pay attention to.”

“In season 1 we avoided drawing Mob with eyebrows as much as possible, but in season 2 we see them again and again, and then we have the super handsome sparkly-eyed Mob that we see in S2E5! Since that episode, even in his normal state, it became fine to give him eyebrows (laughs).”

“This season, he’s had a lot of angry scenes. The start of episode 9 has him quite notably angry. For that, you’ve got to give him eyebrows.”

Q: “Would you say season 2 lifted the ban on eyebrows?” A: “Season 2 lifted the ban on eyebrows!” States he himself didn’t draw eyebrows much at all during season 1. “Right now, I’m doing work on the final episode, and I’m giving those eyebrows a certain plumpness (laughs).”

He is asked if there were any other changes made to the characters. “This is a very minute change, but for certain characters like Mob and Reigen I made a change to their silhouettes - beforehand, their hair had a rounder shape, but now their hair has become a little more playful.”

“I suppose rather than a choice I made on purpose, their hair ended up this way because it’s easier to draw. It’s probably the result of the great amount of advertisement art I drew after season 1 finished broadcasting.”

Asked what he thinks season 2’s “power-up” point is or where it’s changed compared to season 1, he says that they had a lot of young animators participate this season and the quality of their digital work was amazing.

Mentions how with digital animation the look of things like smoke and sparks, and spatial representation, improves.

“For example, in S2E3, when Reigen is looking through the window, the camera passes by him and while approaching the girl, the camera turns to the wall and enters it… the animator made the environment for that scene in 3D with a virtual camera.”

Q: ”A good amount of new characters show up this season - which of them is your favourite?” A: ”Shinra Banshoumaru! I made him chubbier than he is in the manga. His belly that sticks out, his short legs, his harem pants… I drew those, but Tachikawa-san told me I was going too far. But I persisted; ‘Tachikawa-san, we live in a time where there’s no chubby characters in anime! If there’s any anime that can challenge that it’s Mob Psycho 100!’ I was like a bulldozer with the things I said, and as a result I got him how I wanted him!... I say that, but Tachikawa-san also topped-up the amount of belly-sways Shinra has (laughs).”

He's asked about characters post S2E9, to which he mentions Joseph's clothes being different in the manga. "He wears a greyish suit in the manga, but I feel like Joseph has more of a white image. Plus, a grey suit would overlap with Reigen. At first I had Joseph wear a black leather jacket, but a few days later I reviewed that and went, 'nah, that's not right.' I had it changed to white."

He is asked about any scenes up until S2E9 that he particularly fussed over, or any that left an impression on him. “Episode 7. It’s a great Reigen story, and I had the privilege of being the animation director for it. I paid great attention to Reigen’s expressions. It’s an episode with a lot of good cuts, so I wanted to make sure they were all the best quality they could be.”

Q: “Of those cuts, which would you say is the best?” A: “It really leaves an impression on you in the manga - when Reigen says, ‘You’ve really grown up, haven’t you’, a message for beyond the camera. [...] Then, in the final part of the episode, when he talks to Mob on the bridge. Episode 7 truly has some great expressions; my favourite faces.”

He’s asked if there’s anything coming up that he’d like us to pay attention to & any highlights - mentions the battle between Shibata and Gouda. Says the anime brings action and originality that only anime can achieve.

His final message to readers is that if you haven’t read the manga yet, don’t go running to read it, wait for the anime first, so you can experience the tension of not knowing what happens next. “The quality of season 2 is insane, right up until the end.”

---

KENJA Eyecatches Kenja are described as a video production group, who have made promotional advertisements for MP100 (both for the manga and S1 of the anime), and were in charge of the eyecatches for season 2. The eyecatches were mainly made by koya, Takarai & 0gt. koya, their representative, has worked as ONE’s assistant, and Takarai participated as an animator this season.

Asked how they ended up doing the eyecatches for season 2, koya says that Satou Miyo (who was in charge of the season 1 ending) was a classmate of his when he was a graduate student. “We got back in touch and the message I got was, ‘I’m doing work on the ending of Mob Psycho 100, do you want to work on something too, koya-kun?’ (laughs).”

Takarai had his way in via already being an animator for the show, and koya discusses being ONE’s assistant. “ONE-san and I get along very well, so I’d tag along to anime events. I got talking to Director Tachikawa and now here we are.”

They were originally told that it’d be fine to have the same eyecatch for before and after the commercial pause, but they were worried that watching the same thing twice would be a bit unbearable, so they made two for each episode instead.

koya: “Ended up being tougher than I thought (laughs).”

Takarai: “Well, simply put, we doubled our work load (laughs).”

The eyecatch for episode 3 is brought up. Takarai; “Eyecatches have this image of being stand-alone things, but for this episode, it snuggles up to the plot. It was a choice that made me anxious, but looking at everyone’s reactions to it, I was relieved.”

Their final message to the readers comes from koya, who states that going on Twitter and seeing everyone react to mob psycho 100 stuff as it happens in real time is very encouraging. “Even just, ‘I wonder what the eyecatches will be today?’, makes me happy.”

---

SEKO HIROSHI Series Co-ordinator

Asked where he thinks season 2 has powered up compared to season 1, he says that season 1 had to introduce all the characters - season 2 starts off with the characters introduced, so the action kicks off full-throttle.

He’s asked what his thought process was in choosing what parts of the manga to leave out of the anime. “My process is, I first write with absolutely everything from the manga in the script, then choose what to cut from there. The flow of the story as a whole is important - I keep that in the forefront of my mind, and choose to keep things that are vital to the story. Other than that, I try to keep scenes that show off the personalities of the characters. There’s been moments where I’ve had to cut scenes, even though I really like them, just because they wouldn’t fit into the length of the episode…! Other than episode length, there’s also parts of Mob Psycho 100 that we wouldn’t have been able to include due to broadcasting code.”

He’s asked which character he thinks grew the most, to which he says Mob. “What stuck with me was episode 3. ‘Mob’s been thinking about this kind of stuff’... I was like, ‘oh’.

He’s asked if there’s any other character he feels has had a big change since season 1. “Naturally, Reigen. [...] I feel like Reigen has had a layer peeled back, after episodes 6 and 7. He’s an adult, and he does act that way sometimes, but there’s parts of him that haven’t matured… but I feel with the completion of that arc, he’s taken a step closer to becoming a fully-fledged adult.”

He’s asked if there’s been any part of the season up until episode 9 that’s particularly left an impression on him, to which he says episode 8. “The marathon. [...] That was a part that made me think, wow, this manga is amazing. You have a regular school marathon, and then come home to find your house on fire - not something you’d be quick to find anywhere else, huh. (Laughs)”

He discusses how originally season 2 was 12 episodes, and the house fire would’ve come at the end of Part A of the original episode 8, and Claw Arc would commence with the B part. It was with Warner Brother’s intervention that season 2 became 13 episodes, as an individual from Warner Bros. wanted to have the fire come at the end of episode 8.

He’s asked which of the new characters in season 2 has particularly been on his mind. “His entry is a little later on, but I love Serizawa from the Ultimate Five. How should I put it… it’s not surprising that he’s the way he is. He was a hikikomori, and he doesn’t know anything about society, so he believes in and follows his ‘boss’. I think this sort of situation can happen to anyone. He was brainwashed, so to say. But, what becomes of him? His story is one that I really love, so he’s definitely the character on my mind.”

He’s asked what it is about Mob Psycho 100 that makes it Mob-Psycho-100-ish, to which he says that the characters don’t feel like they’re just characters - they’re all a bit hopeless but that’s what makes them loveable.

“The Telepathy Club guys, for example… if they were real they probably wouldn’t be able to become proper members of society, but we still think of them fondly. Perhaps we’re too harsh to people who we deem hopeless in this world of ours.”

“No matter who you are, ONE-san will be warm to you. I think the goodness in Mob Psycho 100 comes from ONE-san’s personality.”

---

TACHIKAWA YUZURU Director

Says that the average age of people working on season 2 dropped slightly compared to season 1. “We had people who love the manga, people who had only seen season 1, and those who love both. So there was a harmonious atmosphere.”

States that there was a lot of creative freedom given to the staff. “We can play around. That’s a merit of a show of this calibre - you can do as you please.”

States that Season 2 powered up compared to season 1 when it comes to emotions. Says that even in fight scenes, the personalities of the characters and their relationships shine through, which is something he wanted to maintain when shifting the MP100 manga into anime form.

“There’s quite an oscillation when it comes to emotions in the first half of the season. Episode 1 is warm and fluffy; episode 2 has a mix of laughs and horror; episode 3 impacts you… as do 4 and 5 (laughs). Then, episodes 6 and 7 moved plenty of our staff to tears. They’re full of heart.”

States that within all this oscillation, “from the start to the end, something we paid attention to was making sure the theme of ‘Mob’s ongoing growth’ was present. That ‘he is able to change himself’.”

“He’s able to change because he has everyone, and everyone around him is able to change, too.”

Discussion of season 2’s ED. “The emotional intensity of season 2 shifts a lot, and when the show makes you feel down it makes you feel /down/. So, I asked for an ending that’s warm and fluffy - something that calms you when you watch it. The illustrations are incredibly cute, but actually, the ending is not just cute - there’s stuff depicted that holds a deeper meaning.”

He’s asked about the kaleidoscope imagery present in the intro. “Originally the S2 outro didn’t have any kaleidoscope imagery, but I wanted to add it in, so now there’s that link between the intro and the outro. Mob continuously changes as a result of the people he meets… that’s a theme of the outro, but it’s also a theme of Mob Psycho 100 in general. There’s several parts within a kaleidoscope, but put the parts together and they create something new and charming. Mob gains friends, and as a result of all these different friends, he’s able to grow… that’s the meaning behind the kaleidoscope, and why it’s present in both the intro and outro.”

Interviewer brings up that Tachikawa previously said that season 1 was written with Reigen & Mob’s shishou-deshi relationship at its core, and asks what is at the core of season 2. “Reigen is also a protagonist-type character in Mob Psycho 100, but this time around we focused on Mob… season 2 has ‘The people surrounding Mob and his relationships with them’ at its core. Episodes 6 and 7 are pretty firmly about Reigen in that ‘people surrounding Mob’ role. Then there’s Mogami, and Serizawa later on. But, even deeper at its core season 2 focuses on how Mob grows as a result of the people he meets.”

Interviewer brings up that Tachikawa previously said he wanted to animate Reigen’s press conference, and asks how it was having that wish become reality. “We have it in season 1, that scene where Mob meets Reigen for the first time. When we put that in season 1, we thought if we’d ever get to animate the press conference, we’d use that scene again but have Reigen’s monologue from the manga this time around. I’m glad we were able to do that.”

Reigen’s past not being in the manga is brought up. “With the anime, I wanted to show a bit of how Reigen ended up where he is now. We don’t see the company Reigen used to work for in the manga. Occasionally, Reigen will come out with some ‘wise sayings’, such as ‘the secret behind business success lies in your smile’, so we thought it would be good to have those words come from where he used to work. We struggled deciding whether Reigen’s past should be as a water filter salesman, or as an insurance salesman. Ultimately, we asked ONE-sensei, who decided for us: ‘I like the idea of him selling water.’”

Discussion of Tsubomi coming to S&S as not being in the manga. Tachikawa wanted a scene in which Reigen, Ritsu, Teru do something for Mob - “something that sets things back to normal, after Whitey Arc.” ONE gave the idea, then published it as an omake manga.

He is asked what he’d like us to pay attention to with the final episodes. “Each character has their own motivation, but at the end of the day those motivations all add up to ‘defeat claw’.” Mentions a bunch of new characters making their entrance.

His final message to readers is that a lot of work went into the final episodes and attention was paid to detail, so please enjoy.

---

Original twitter thread has a few more pictures in it, link to that is here.

Otomedia April 2019;

ONE’s special interview here.

Sakurai Takahiro [Reigen VA] & Itou Setsuo [Mob VA] joint interview here.

Kokuryuu Sachi [Shou VA] interview here.

Itou Setsuo [Mob VA] & Irino Miyu [Ritsu VA] interview here.

Character Designer Kameda, Eye-catch Team Kenja, Series Co-ordinator Seko & Director Tachikawa's interview here.

#mp100 #mob psycho 100 #otomedia april 2019 #interview #kameda yoshimichi #tachikawa yuzuru #kenja #seko hiroshi #my stuff

75 notes · View notes