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pinkandpurple360 · 6 months

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ITS ME, MAMMON 💚🃏

This man reeks of insecure corporate shame

A psychology theory…

“And I’ll be like a stepdad, who will love you, when it’s convenient!!”

It all really started for him in LooLoo Land, the-legally distinct-knockoff of Lucifers more successful Lulu World that reeks of insecure corporate shame.

When he said

“I raised you like the son I didn’t want!”

He was fucking lying his clowny ass off because he wanted a son even more than Fizz wanted a father of his own and Mam has not shut up about his father-son delusion for almost twenty goddamn years

The second image above, and all of the symbolism around it is the foundation of Mammons character and psychology. No really. This was not the introduction of Fizzarolli, it was the introduction of Mammon wearing Fizzi as his face. Vibe checked by a jaded 17 year old owl goth girl who can see through her own pathetic dads fake bullshit. This scene was the foreshadowing of the Musical Special. Everything from the green spotlight on Fizzi, the nasty personality of the robot which was closer to Mammons than Fizzarolli’s. Lots of symbolism. Especially the ripped off reference to Hazbin Hotels “I have a dream” song lyric. Has possible symbolism. I’m actually deeply disappointed the ep didn’t make a single call back to LooLoo Land at all. And Blitz was right there and wasted potential :(

Shown is a Fizzbot ‘Fizzi’ compared to his ‘dad’ mammon ahh like father like son as they say. Blech. Everybody loves Fizz, does anybody love you, Mammon? (Me, I do❤️)

So I’m going to get it out of the way and say it, Mammon is giving Leviathan a run for his money (haha money, get it?) because his envy and idolisation of his BFF Lucifer is so great that he’s trying to find his “very own pride and joy”, his own theme park, his own grand circus and adoring fans, and his own wholesome musical child knock-off of Lucifers more popular Charlie Morningstar.

He saw this

And he thought….

Aw, he so sad here :c Just do this one thing, for him x he’s just a giant evil baby man with four arms and eight eyes

He doesn’t really want a daughter though, he feels like he’d relate better to a (marketable) son. And I think that’s the real reason he made the comment about women not being considered the same way adults werent considered, only implings who want to grow up to be like him. (creepy..! I think that’s what tipped Blitzo off also poor Wally (another orphan like Fizz?) Wally didn’t make the cut 😢 YEET.

Anyway-His whole dream is being a father and son taking on the world to grow his empire. As long as he steals all the fortune. He must be insecure and full of shame if he wants someone to be his “new face” every year, if you really think about it. If the kid same is the gender as him and therefore a bit more like his own face in that sense, he’s not copying Lucifers daughter cause he has a son. It’s different and not the same at all.

But seriously it really shocked me when he started talking about being like a stepdad, and he was genuinely excited about it too? But this man doesn’t even know he wants to be a father and he’s probably never felt love before in his life. I guarantee this was a first sight “wow this kid kinda looks like me and he has the same innocent look in his eyes as Charlie, he’s mine now”

“I GAVE YOU EVERYTHING”

This for me. Made as big an impact as Oz saying he loves Fizz. It was very shocking. The opposite of greed is giving, and giving something to somebody is probably a massive fucking deal to Mam and I’d bet he doesn’t even know himself why he gave fizz so much attention

He also doesn’t kill Fizz? He SCREAMS at him, uses big intimidation tactics, sure, but didn’t actually lay a hand on him if you really look? He was fine with being uncomfortably physical and even violent before to him but isn’t now? (Fizz is forever so badass for this moment btw) How strange is that. This whole thing reeks of ‘scorned father’

Like he’s happy to keep exploiting Fizz but also just as fine in replacing him, even happy to see him possibly fail. So he really has no reason to be this possessive and attached. But he is. Oz says the song is about him and Fizz literally calls his name out and Mammon still ALLOWS him to finish his song he genuinely really enjoyed the song, he allowed him to make his speech, but only intervenes when he quits.

Why, because he wants the crowd to “love” him it’s very important to him - the money they give him is what he thinks love is. There is so many dads out there who respond to abuse allegations with “but I put a roof over their head and provide security” This is abusive father 101. I guess it could be just because Fizz is beloved by the masses, profitable, sure. But what if it’s because he feels the same way the crowd does about fizz, and doesn’t comprehend why? He clearly loves watching his performances. Even the diss track against him. Priorities.

It is just an extremely interesting concept to me if Mam is trying to copy Lucifers family, but the best thing he can come up with is a Brand Figure to be his “legacy” Capitalists man. He doesn’t understand what love is. But wants it. Wants to buy it. But it’s never enough.

“You are practically in my image”

Is literally another dad thing and to be more dramatic about this it’s the same thing we hear that ‘God made you in his image’ could this be setting up the theme of the show? Honestly my one criticism is that there’s enough sexual relationships in this show there didn’t need to be implications of him sexually interested in the guy he literally sees as his kid. A twisted boss/father story about a deeply lonely orphan clown child and a deeply lonely capitalistic clown spider over-idolising each other and entering an abusive family/work dynamic due to both of their tragic nativité and ignorance about love, is already a very mature story. It’s a 9/10 story but if Fizz and Blitz (an excellent way to incorporate him in the story) talked a bit about Fizz’s orphan status at the circus making him feel like there was always something missing, something Blitz had but he never did, it would have been 10/10.

#helluva boss #mammon #The Mammon Theory part 1 probably #cause this guy has so much going on #Helluva Mammon #Helluva Boss Mammon #Fizzarolli

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absolutebl · 5 months

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Favorite first kiss?

Favorite First Kisses!

Doozie of a question. Here we go...

1 Until We Meet Again

I mean COME on. How could this not be the #1 best first kiss? It's so gentle and so good and so hot and just... EVERYTHING a first kiss should be in life. A++ romantic

2 Old Fashion Cupcake

THE LONG SHOT. The desperation. The finger bite. The oozing THIRST. A++ quality desire incarnate

3 Why R U? Korea

Korea, scooping in a top spot? It's just the body language, the striding in, dropping the backpack, the surprised MUTUAL response (no flinching), and all the yearning. A++ want

(Foreshadow: This may... or may not... be my top kiss of 2023.)

4 Bad Buddy

Seriously boys, BOYS! You had to make it so beautiful and so painfully heartbreaking at the same time? Thanks for that. A++ pain

(They may have a light kiss before this one, I can't remember. I keep meaning to do a BB rewatch but I have to gear up for it.)

5 Semantic Error

I mean, well, OBVIOUSLY. Just A++ they perfect, no notes

6 Second Chance

I am pretty sure this one got best kiss of 2021. All you KinnPorche stans are sleeping on this little gem = Tong delivering what amounts to BLs best drunk kiss ever. FIGHT ME. A++ confused needy babies

7 About Youth

Speaking of sweet af first kisses from first timers. This one drips in sweet innocence including a rainbow and some smiles. A++ first sweethearts

8 HIStory 2 Crossing the Line

Okay the actors kiss for a dream sequence before this but this is the characters' first kiss, so that kinda counts, right? It's just such a pretty kiss. A++ stay on target, stay on theme, utterly unique

9 My Dear Gangster Oppa

Ya know this show is just so much fun and so solid and this pair deserves more accolades then their previous series afforded them. A++ finally, well done you

10 I Feel You Linger in the Air

Okay it's just all the dialogue and execution around this kiss is great and then the kiss ALSO doesn't disappoint. Plus permission and snark and so much more. A+++ class & storytelling

Also, whaan (sweet) is a really good word to have seared into one's brain in Thailand. Useful when ordering drinks.

Okay they kinda kissed before but this is the one that counts:

I didn't know how else to put this category but I had to include it so I could include this kiss:

We Best Love

The crying bridge-top kiss. I mean COME ON. One of my favorite kisses of all time. I love it when the weep+smooch.

La Pluie

Honestly? All their kisses are good so I can't remember if this was their first but, it great. Frankly, off all their kisses it's not my absolute favorite, but they deserve a mention because... wow boys. Just... wow.

The Eclipse

Because of their dynamic I am pretty sure there was something before this one, but this one lives in my head.

Be Loved In House I Do

I'm not sure this counts as their first because I can't remember the sequence in BLIHID (he through line is a bit wonky in my brain) but it is a killer kiss.

There should be more Taiwan but...

The thing is, once a Taiwanese BL starts delivering great kisses they just keep it up. So unless the narrative puts particularly strong plot intent on the "firstness" of that first kiss, they just get all sexy domestic muddled in my head.

Honor the Crumbs - Sides & Shorts, Best First Kisses

Some More

"You can kiss me, heong."

2 Moons 2 - MingKit

It's just such a sweetly perfect first kiss of the very first time variety. Before About Youth, we had these two.

Cutie Pie - NueaSin

Kissing the kiss that won them their own series. No other audition needed. In the land of amazing kisses, and up against Zee, this ONE stood way out. Very good boys. Very good indeed.

kiss x kiss x kiss - perfect scandal (AKA the office ep)

Look, this is the kiss we should have gotten in Cherry Magic. It's great, both the hesitant "permission given" first part and everything that comes next. Track this down if you can, it's a lovely little short from Japan.

My Secret Love - TimMai

Very minor side dishes but they were all I cared about in this show. They gave me the kiss I wanted even if they didn't get the screen time the deserved.

You're My Sky - SanAi

We all know they stole this show, not that there was much to steal.

Kiss Me Again - PeteKao

Maybe not the best as a kiss, but it was 2016 and this was SO SIGNIFICANT to the fandom, to the plot of the show, to coming out, to EVERYTHING. This is THE TayNew kiss. I will never forget it. Never.

I don't have a good screen cap but MarkOuwen's kiss in the taxi in Love is Science? was also fantastic.

(source)

Kisses as of Dec 2023. Not responsible for great first kisses that come after this date.

Opinion and preferences based on these ideas of good kiss chemistry.

I want you thoughts, RT and add your favorites or leave a comment. I'm sure I'm forgetting some.

MORE?

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matan4il · 14 days

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911 ep 705 first watch reactions

Of course 911 would "punish" the "You are the boss of you!" guy with an alien hand that attacks him, and does what it wants. Pooor Buck and Eddie paying the price for that...

Okay, love the storyline with Hen and Karen possibly eventually adopting an older girl. Too many shows just find easy, unrealistic ways to give their same sex couples kids, and I am really glad that 911 shows the reality of it, and that it is a more complex struggle for many, that it's an act of continuously choosing to be parents. That's actually an amazing, difficult thing, and it should be faithfully depicted and respected, for all of its heartache, and the little moments of triumph.

Buck and Tommy on a date, and Eddie comes along with Marisol? Love how Buck's bisexual awakening and coming out continues to involve Eddie so much. Tell me they're end game, even if they're not gonna get together right now, without telling me they're...

I did not need to learn Marisol is moving in with Eddie like this, with any build up, or even any sort of insight into the relationship, and nope, that does not bode well for them. IDK how 911 managed to do it, but they have somehow managed to give Eddie a love interest the show is even less invested in than Ana.

And the funniest bit, is that Marisol and Eddie's big development is only there to further Buck's journey anyway.

"You can never have too much closet space" LMAO the way 911 both made me laugh, and feel sorry for poor, baby bi Buck. XD

Hmmm. Were parts of this scene cut out? We don't get to see Eddie on his own date with Marisol, but constantly looking over at Tommy and Buck? Boo. I'm glad we at least got the BTS photos, then. But seriously, why!? That was gonna be so delicious.

Oh, Tommy's breaking up with Buck. I mean, good for him, and he ain't wrong after Buck's "after this, we're gonna go out looking for chicks" reaction, but man do I feel sorry for Buck. Him and Tommy might not be my end game (Buddie forever will be), but I do think this relationship could be good for our baby bi. Tommy being in the same profession, knowing what it's like to have this gap between who you are and the image of guys in your line of work, plus he's got more experience than Buck, is sure of himself, can help our boy figure himself out, and also Buck obviously does like his vibe. He deserves to be with someone he actually likes, not just the first woman willing to be with him that the plot pushed in his way.

Oh, baby Buck. :( You didn't even tell Maddie about Tommy. You really aren't ready it. But also (and as a Buddie shipper, more importantly), Tommy broke things off with Buck, but what is eating him up, is that he lied to Eddie. XD Yeah, this gonna end with wedding bells, sooner or later. On screen, off screen after the show ends with canon Buddie, or only in my head if 911 never dares make Buddie canon, I don't care. That kind of emotional devotion is not something that my hopelessly romantic heart can ignore.

OMG, this is how Buck comes out to Maddie? XD Via random pronoun mention, and as a by product of trying to figure out how to tell Eddie the truth? This is hilarious. lol It really makes it clear that, after all, the issue for Buck really isn't people knowing he is also dating guys (or checking their asses), even when it's the other closest person in the world for him, it's Eddie. Specifically. Buck's ready, even if he doesn't have the exact clear words yet, he's just not ready to tell Eddie. Can't imagine why. XDDD

What was that awkward post-sex scene with Eddie and Marisol? And the issues with her moving in are popping up a second after she has. But yeah, we have no idea who this woman is as a person, she's been a cardboard cut out so far, and then one of the first things we do learn about her, is that she would call her stuff better than Eddie's? Once again, this is not the stuff great romance is made of. Or... even just the stuff any kind of romance is made of.

Wait, Marisol was a nun, and Eddie didn't even know!? This whole ep is telegraphing in the news of how weird and awkward and underdeveloped this r/s is, not just for us as viewers who know nothing about Marisol, but apparently for Eddie as well.

And of course his Catholic guilt is gonna kick in now. I'd care, except 911 has given me absolutely no reason to. Seriously, I care more about Buck and Tommy after just 2 eps, than Eddie and Marisol, even though this is technically her 2nd season on the show.

Of course Buck went to find Eddie, and spotted him at the gym. Forever 201 vibes, with Eddie being the focus of Buck's attention. ^u^

I couldn't care less about Eddie's Catholic guilt crisis, and how it's actually a projection of what his real issues are with Marisol, but it's nice to see that as always, Buck's the one who can tell when something's off, and offer Eddie exactly what he needs (even when that's to talk to someone else, but Buck figures out immediately who the right person to address is), and then they just very naturally switch, because Eddie can also tell when something's off with Buck, and he wants to tell him something. Soulmates. THAT is the stuff that great romance IS made of.

:/ The imagery of Catholic nuns has not been around for over 2,000 years, please stop being ignorant about your own religion, and the very different way it looked in its early days.

Bobby is forgiven, he does give good advice, and his "her ex, the Lord" bit, which prompted that reaction from Eddie, is hilarious. XD

So... when Eddie is having issues with Marisol, he already knows he has to figure out how he feels about her, but instead of doing so, he goes to his safe place... Buck's loft.

Man, Eddie being into Tommy's choice of avoidning relationships with women, and hanging out with boys, after in the past, Eddie had dealt with his Shannon issues by running away from her, and re-enlisting in the army, where he gets to hang out with boys, when we all (Buck included) know why Tommy's "hanging out with boys"... I do like that if they want to (and hopefully they do), this further lays the groundwork for Eddie's own queer realization.

Buck and Eddie helping each other with their respective romantic problems, without realizing they are each other's respective romantic solution is gonna make me chew on my own fists. Again. But I'm not even a little bit surprised that Eddie was totally fine and accepting of Buck being bi, or that the first thing he thought of is how this reflects on them. Because their friendship IS way deeper and closer than normal for platonic friends, and Eddie's little reassurance is also an admission of that.

Man, for a second I was worried they also cut out Eddie in the loft, once more putting his thumb on Buck's pulse point possessively, in a perfect parallel to 303. I would have sued for emotional damages. But yeah, it says so much that the peak of emotional meaningfulness for Buck when coming out is in relation to Eddie, and that the scene itself peaks with Eddie, instead of finishing rushing out to take care of his own romantic business, hurries back to Buck first, to hug him, place his hand on Buck and give him orders. "Sure, you're gonna be dating this guy, but I'm still your real husband."

Well, at least Eddie amitted to himself and Marisol that he doesn't actually know her. But... I have never seen two people being both being so happy about not moving in together, and I'm supposed to think this r/s has a chance? Okay. Suuuure.

The scene with Buck going to Tommy to set things straight ready for something was lovely, it was nice seeing him excited, and get to choose, and hear he's wanted. But since the note Tommy and Buck's storyline in this ep should have ended on, is Buck showing Tommy he's ready enough to let others know he's dating a guy by inviting Tommy to come with Buck to Madney's wedding, then why is the very next scene playing the romantic switch again, making us think Buck's car just arrived at the wedding with him and Tommy, only for Buck and Eddie to walk in together? I see what you did there, 911.

Thank you for reading! If you're looking for more, you can find my s7 reactions tag here, and more of my Buddie meta and content in my pinned post. xoxox

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gingergofastboatsmojito · 12 days

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It's all in the side notes

I can’t believe why is not painfully obvious for everybody else too, it's like everyone notices everything around it except this huge elephant in the Sydcarmy room.

Let me explain:

The side notes on the script are what the actors play, not just the script itself. The subtexts, the nuances, the silences, all of that is indicated by the director and rehearsed over and over before shooting at least 2 takes of every single scene.

02X01 was about teamwork towards The Bear's opening, that's why the director opened and closed the ep with that, to make that point. The side notes were all about playing every single scene with a SOU, fast-paced dialogues, etc, because every second counts and that's why a clock was ticking on pretty much every scene.

When 02x02 ends with a close-up of Claire smiling after Carmy gives her the wrong number, that´s not the point the director tried to make, but that Carmy TOOK HIS FUCKING TIME in giving her the wrong number, he almost gave it to her in slow motion, meaning that as he was giving it to her he was deciding what he eventually ended up doing with the last digit. He was on the fence the whole time and ended up deciding to "cut her off politely" in a very Carmy way. That was a side note in the script (the speech rate and the "decide as you go", and "be doubtful first" part).

In 02x03, the Sydcarmy vs Clairmy battle really began and it continued throughout the whole S2, all side notes because the script was barely obvious about Claire until he said: "I have to call my GF" after passing the gas inspection. Notice a pattern here? Or is it just me?

02X04 was mostly focused on Marcus in Copenhagen and introduced us to Chef Luca, raising the question, on purpose leaving it as an unanswered question - that will probably be answered in S3- on whether Luca was talking about Carmy when he was talking about a chef that was way better than him and that inspired him to become the chef he is today and up his game as much as he could. In other words: Not Sydcarmy material. Except we buy into the whole SydMarcus shipping they tried to insinuate with the Facetime call, which I won't get into because I feel dirty even typing about it. How dare they? Is it because they are both black? WTF?!! Well, my point is this is probably the least Sydcarmy episode of the season and we need to make a mental note about who directed it.

02x05 This episode's arc is all about the script's side notes: "Who's Claire? / I'm saying goodnight!" is all about the intonation, not the actual words. This is the bridge of the whole Sydcarmy song, that's why it's mid-season. Notice something? I have...

02x06 The masterpiece, it's all about the side notes but again, super non Sydcarmy, it's just supposed to show us The Berzatto's background story so Syd is not part of the equation. Claire is, in a way that will later make a lot more sense during Omelette's panic attack, of course.

02x07 AKA: My favest, is also a non-Sydcarmy kinda ep. Is all about Cousin's arc. BTW: I 100% ship these 2 and I hope S3 brings more RichJess fluff and stuff:

02X08 is all about the side notes again and takes us right back into SydCarmy vs Clairmy territory. Carmy had to call his new GF after passing the inspection to give her the good news.

02x09 I shouldn't even have to say a damn thing about this ep. Other than pointing out the obvious: IT'S THE MOST SYDCARMY EP OF THE WHOLE FUCKING SEASON, TYVM!

All I'm gonna add is that Carmy is laying awake after having sex with her:

I already talked about the common blue light in this scene here.

I'm not even gonna get into his panic attack. I mean... Do I have to? Seriously?

Anyway...

Storer finally joined the ship Calo was sailing since the beginning of the season here and all the side notes in this script are HIS.

The cinematography is his, the music is his, and every line, because he co-wrote it with Sydcarmy CEO: Joanna Calo herself.

And so we arrive to 02X10 where Sydcarmy is eaten alive by The Bear but ironically enough the one who doesn't survive is the Clairmy team LMAO! Sydcarmy on the other hand keeps going strong (Ayo was promoted to co-star for a reason, she's no longer part of the cast, she's the female lead of the show now) and in S3 we'll get to see how exactly will that play out.

My point is: The director and then the editors in the ER with the EP's sign-off can change what the writers write if they choose to and the actors have to perform the side notes according to the director's instructions.

In this case, since Storer joined the Calo Sydcarmy ship as I previously mentioned and usually they co-write and always co-produce the seasons those scripts, side notes, musicalizations and editions ARE ALL THEIRS. Every time Calo touches something, she turns it into Sydcarmy gold, and Storer and her are on the same page. That's why most Sydcarmy eps of the season were hers or his or directed by both.

June can't get here soon enough.

#gingerpovs #the bear #sydcarmy #the bear fx #the bear hulu #carmy x sydney #sydney adamu #syd x carmen #sydcarmy for life

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radiosummons · 1 year

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My sister has been showing me episodes of OG Trigun--mostly in preparation for Trigun Stampede--but also because it's one of her favorite manga of all time.

And holy SHIT I cannot even begin to explain how fucking batshit this show is. Just hearing Johnny Yong Bosch's voice alone immediately sent me back at least fifteen years.

I have watched all episodes of OG Trigun while drunk, high and sober. And regardless of my state of inebreiation, I was always left with the exact, inescapable feeling of wanting to fucking die from the sheer nostalgic cringe and insanity of it all. I hate this show. I love this show. I'm fucking obsessed.

So, to all those who are curious (or would just like a mini idea of how to compare OG Trigun with Trigun Stampede)--here is my comprehensive list of things that ACTUALLY happened in Trigun that make me go absolutely batshit just thinking about them:

The sheer insanity of the--balls to the walls, barely held together with ducktape, spit and shoestring--of a plot, all with apparently little to no accuracy to the manga whatsoever. This both amuses and horrifies my sister.

The absolute refusal on the part of the anime to actually explain literally anything. Like the fact that the show takes place in space. Or why humanity is on a desert planet. Or what Plants are, why they're important, why they're there, literally ANYTHING.

Seriously, if you've only ever watched the anime you would have no fucking clue what the Plants are or what they even do. And THEY'RE LITERALLY ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT BITS OF LORE/A HUGE PART OF THE PLOT OF THE ENTIRE FUCKING MANGA.

A major bit of Trigun's lore/setting is just straight up the events of Wall-E.

Johnny Yong fucking Bosch as Vash's English VA. Enough said.

Vash--by simply existing and (mostly) through no direct fault of his own--is capable of wrecking such sheer and complete utter devastation that there's an actual insurance policy people can file after their town is destroyed in the aftermath of him visiting. Iconic.

Monev is just Spiderman's Venom but with a purple and orange reskin. This was intentional on part of the creator as he is obsessed with Venom. Good on him.

This is only specific to the English Dub (we switched to the original sub for the more "serious" episodes, calm down), but HOLY FUCK the absolutely atrocious line deliveries somehow make the show even worse and yet ultimately so much funnier all at the same time!

Millions Knives is the name of Vash's twin brother.

Vash is bisexual. There are multiple occassions where he will call a random male character "Cute" or "Cutie." Somehow, I am not the least bit surprised.

Christianity exists. And the Church trains orphans to be assassins. This makes perfect sense.

"LUUV AND PEEEEAAACCCCCEEE!!!!"

In the second episode of the series (English Dub), there's an actual scene where an old man and his grandson LOUDLY lament the absolute devastation of their home in the most inappropriately cheerful and candid way possible. And then the fucking kid follows that up by just singing out of fucking nowhere "~Bad times are here LALALALALA!!!!!~"

Vash is part gun.

According to "company regulations," as insurance workers Milly and Meryl are not allowed to take part time jobs. They later take part time jobs. My broke ass resonated too fucking hard with this bit.

"Oh, maaaan! Why can't I just get a break?! Death and poverty like me so much, they've brought friends!" Fucking. Mood.

At one point, Vash does the crab walk to dodge a barrage of bullets. This is, surprisingly, quite effective.

"I'll whack you, mister!"

Legato's introduction is him sitting down on a bench and then PULLING A HOT DOG OUT OF A PAPER BAG WITH A HUMAN HEAD IN IT!!!!

Legato has his own personal saxophone player that just follows him everywhere???????

"Oh my. I'm about to go down in ~fllaaaaaammeesssss!~"

Wolfwood.

In EP 16, someone just starts randomly scatting in the background for no reason. No explanation is ever offered.

"My name is .... VASH DA STAMPEDE-DUUUH!!!!!"

Also in EP 16, one of the villains for that episode sounds, deadass, exactly like Jar Jar Binks. I am not joking.

Legato can blood bend.

There's a mini episode dedicated to Milly and Meryl. Vash shows up for five seconds hiding in a trash can. The joke writes itself.

"The DEADLY DODGEBALL HEAD!!! A simple technique to hold the ball in place with INTENSE SUUUCTION!! Try this at home! ;)"

Knives eats an apple, cuts his own hair and enters his impromptu emo arc.

Legato gets horny over the idea of Vash crying. Idk what to tell you, man.

Wolfwood shoots a child. Granted, said child was gonna try to kill Vash and a bunch of orphans. But still.

Vash makes up a dark song about murdering and killing people. The villains of that episode proceed to roast him for his shit lyrics.

Wolfwood doesn't understand why everyone is mad at him for KILLING A CHILD.

"I meditate diligently every morning. The subjects are life and love ... I quit after three seconds."

The actually downright amazing OST, that has no right to be as good as it is. No joke, one of the best anime OSTs I have ever heard in my life.

"And if you're still having doubts, check out my 100% accurate gunmanship!" *proceeds to shoot directly at the sky only then for a black cat to fall directly on his head. The cat's fine btw*

At a certain point, Vash fakes his identity, gets a disguise and goes under a false name. Said false name being "Eriks." He looks like if someone ran Hohenheim through the washer and then hung him on a clothesline for a week. I have ... no fucking words.

"What is this strange phenomena? Is it some sort of strange and twisted Christian science!?"

For as menacing as they make Legato out to be, he sure does shit all in the grand scheme of things. Also he looks like he raids Seto Kaiba's closet on the DL and duels monsters on weekends.

Vash will randomly have Bishie eyes. Arguably, his most Bishie moment is right after Wolfwood punches him in the face. I'll let you infer what you want from this.

Rem randomly appears out of nowhere to taunt Vash with nonsense riddles and haikus. No explanation is ever given until EP 17 for who Rem is, why she keeps reappearing in Vash's mind, if she's even a real person or just someone Vash made up, etc. Because of this, it just looks like Vash keeps receiving American Beauty-style rose shower psychic attacks while a random woman just spouts absolute nonsense at him. There is no way this explanation will prepare you for the actual experience of watching it.

"I am known as Valentinez Alkalinella Xifax Sicidabohertz-" *prolonged pause* "-Gombigobilla Blue Stradivari Talentrent Pierre Andri Charton-Haymoss Ivanovici Baldeus George Doitzel Kaiser the Third. Don't hestitate to call."

Vash gets adopted by an old woman and her granddaughter. It's actually kind of sweet.

A minor villain in EP 18 demands that Vash strip and then act like a dog. He proceeds to do both without a single objection. Wolfwood pulls down his sunglasses and leers at Vash's naked ass. My sister has informed me that this is actually canonical.

Rem is a hyper Christian.

Wolfwood takes personal offense to a burlesque dancer being absolute shit at dancing. Honestly ... I can't even argue with him.

"Hey, 'Thou Shalt Not Kill,' REMEMBER!? WHAT KIND OF CHURCH MAN ARE YOU!!!?"

Vash saves a town's Plant through the power of Bishie.

While trying to save a child, Vash and Wolfwood both get sucked into quicksand. Said child just watches them go into the ground. I would have done the same.

Milly, Vash and Wolfwood decide to share drinks and before any of them even take a single shot, Milly decides to strip naked. Vash and Wolfwood are very pleased by this. Meryl is not.

"WHOSE idea was it to USE THE GRENADE!!!?? He can't be identified for the reward if he's a pile of pulp, YOU DUMBASS!!!!"

Wolfwood calls Vash pathetic. This kickstarts yet another existential crisis within Vash.

"Thank GOD you asked! It's a long story, although it's kind of a short one."

For literally no reason at all, child Knives decides to embrace his Anti-Christ symbolism and goes full Joker mode. This is not at all accurate to the manga.

Vash and Knives are aliens/Plants. Rem thinks they're actual Christian angels. Deadass.

Milly forces Wolfwood to pretend to be her baby daddy for a whole episode. For pudding. Yup.

Vash enters a dom/sub relationship with a Pokemon gym leader looking lady and they engage in extremely explicit pet play.

Anyway, watch OG Trigun. If you've ever watched any sort of anime abridged series, it will definitely make things a little easier for you. There are definitely too many points at which this show feels like a YouTube Poop and I mean in that best and worst possible way.

Also Meryl is Best Girl. I will not budge on this.

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illustromic · 1 year

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// limited life ep 3 spoilers!!!

Ok I was gonna wait to share my hcs and brainrot about Impulse as boogeyman after watching more povs, but I gotta write this down now HEAR ME OUT

So Impulse's kill was fairly tame, right? There are other much more bloodthirsty boogies out there right? WRONG. The other players should be way more nervous around Impulse when he has a license to kill, and here's why:

It was clear from the start he had the boogey fever (or whatever you wanna call it) bad. In the first few minutes alone he seriously considered murdering his own teammates just to get relief. Sure, Scott and Bdubs also killed quickly, but they didn't seem to be driven by anything but normal nerves or mischief. Impulse was literally seeing red the whole time he was boogey, and nobody had a clue.

That's my second point. Despite being consumed by the curse way more intensely than the others, Impulse was calm. He stayed in control, he remembered his alliances, he LIED LIKE A PRO to several people, and when the time finally came to kill he didn't go for anything flashy or aggressive. He just cooly sent Pearl to her death and that was that. To everyone else he's still the same old friendly, conflict-averse, harmlessly clever Impulse.

But he had the same full-blown fever that drives guys like Joel and Skizz completely crazy, and he kept his head. Don't tell me that's not a little frightening.

#limited life smp #limited life spoilers #impulse #headcanons and rambles #I know I'm reading into this way too deeply lmao #but that's the fun part let me have this #ppl always focus on desertduo but I want the spotlight where it belongs today /lh /hj

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moonsorchid · 2 months

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Rewatching ep.28 of Love Between Fairy and Devil and having some *cough* strong emotions

Part 1 (because I have a lot to talk about)

(spoilers ahead)

Um, what does that butterfly do to Shangque?

Shangque, baby, no, no, no, no, don't do this to yourself

I can never get tired of Canglan sea visuals

So Jieli has to keep taking an antidote every three days? I had totally forgotten about that. I try to find reasons to justify Ronghao’s actions – apart from him being a total snack – and I am sorry but I fail

Oh, my baby is at the bridge. She is so happy! I was so happy too when I first watched this scene. If only I knew

Look how happy he is too! He is finally smiling naturally. So excited that he will meet Xiao Lanhua at the bridge

But hey, will his brother let him be happy? Noooooooo. Little brat

Btw, if I was Dongfang Qingcang and people were outside my palace messing with my personal life, I wouldn’t have kept my cool

This whole scene of people asking him to kill Xiao Lanhua, is causing me nausea, and I wish I was kidding

But I have to pause and admire DFQC’s costume and the light. He looks majestic and there has never been a scene where he looks more a King than this one – I think

For a moment there I thought he was going to burn them all and I got excited. But he just used like one of the last three remaining blasts of hellfire to half destroy a pillar

Xunfeng, seriously, please get a hobby, do something else with your life other than trying to ruin your brother’s life – yes, I am angry, very angry

DFQC is way calmer than I could ever be. He explains eloquently why Xiao Lanhua is the best and how he has helped him. He has come such a long way

I hate though that the kingdom learns first that he loves her and wants to marry her before she does

Awwwweeee, he wanted to prepare the greatest wedding for her. Now I am sad. We never got to see that wedding. Petition for a season 2 to see the wedding

Question: DFQC realized in Lucheng that Xiao Lanhua is the goddess of Xishan. Why doesn’t he reveal this information now to stop them from b*tching about her being a fairy?

Xiao Lanhua is waiting at the bridge

Awwwwe

Oh now, you are all “Please think twice” and you act like you care for your brother. You exhaust me, Xunfeng

Xiao Lanhua is still waiting and it’s night now

Oh no, not the scene with the spikes. Not my baby. I am not emotionally ready. Nooooooooo

I had not prepared any tissues – I am keeping them for ep. 31 – but I feel like I will need them. Damn, it's so much harder to watch this scene for the second time. I don’t want anyone hurting them, I can’t!

And they keep on hitting the spike over and over and over again. *trying not to cry*

Xiao Lanhua is still waiting. I mean they could have done that with the spikes the next day. Let them have a romantic night for crying out loud

Aaaawe, he arrived. My heart.

This should have been the most romantic scene of the show, not one of the most heartbreaking scenes *pouting*

Their first kiss as a couple *melting*

Love how she pulls away and he still wants to kiss. Not sure if that was in the script *wink wink*

Why did her bracelet do that sparkle thingy? What did that mean? Why now?

Poor DFQC and poor Xiao Lanhua

I hadn’t realized on my first watch that he created thunder. So, Xiao Lanhua knew exactly how he felt

He went through all this excruciating pain and he still thinks of keeping her warm

Awe the marriage proposal. Finally something cheerful. I love that he had planned to have the proposal the day after they would hang the locks at the bridge. Who knew he would be so romantic *heart shaped eyes*

Xiao Lanhua is all like I don’t care about the treasures and stuff, but look, I made you this grass bracelet, will you marry me? She always has a way to subvert his expectations, right?

Oh come on, Xunfeng, let them kiss! I wanted to end this part on a good note, but you just had to show up like a fart during a date

Stopping here and pretending Xunfeng never happened. They just got engaged, grass bracelet and all, they are happy and ready to kiss.

Part 2 coming soonish (depending on my blood pressure I guess)

#i apologize about the language and the ranting #i am usually polite and kind and a lady #but not when i watch this show #it has my emotions running wild #it's just a show #i keep reminding myself #however don't let this fool you #i adore every second of it hehe #exactly because it evokes such strong emotion #love between fairy and devil #lbfad #rewatching #mine #orchid's reactions

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bronx-bomber87 · 7 months

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Happy late Tuesday evening fandom. :) Ahhhh we’ve reached the ‘Feelings’ episode. I remember when it first premiered I lost my damn mind. I don’t have actual cable (cause too damn expensive lol) So I didn’t look up the preview for the next ep. I just watched it next day with Hulu. I went into this episode completely blind. When that scene came up, I went from in shock to laughing my damn ass off. Eric and Melissa get a gold star x 1000 for that scene. For the whole ep really. I can’t wait to delve into this one. I can already tell imma struggle with the gif amount ha Let’s get going.

3x09 Amber

We start off with Jackson and Lucy listing all the ways they’re excited to be graduating from the program. Nolan tagging along not adding to it cause he is stuck a month behind them LOL What happens when you go rogue and don’t listen to your T.O ya turd…but I digress. Lucy has a Lucy-Lesson themed last day planned for her and Tim.

Gotta love her for being herself no matter what. Massive respect. Tells the boys she has a list full of steps to ensure a healthy parting. Of course she does haha That she’s going to make Tim go through every single one of them. I adore this woman so much. She truly is exactly what that man needs I love it so much. Jackson asks how she’s going do this? She laughs and says trickery HA Oh Lucy I love you so.

We join our lovely duo in their shop. Lucy saying how it’s their last shift together. Tim gives her nothing. Her adding kinda crazy huh? He says ‘Not really.’ Oh Timothy fighting the feelings from the jump. Lucy can’t believe he could actually feel this way. Trying to goad him into to saying something. How they’ve ridden shoulder to shoulder for over a year now.

Tim shakes it off saying there will be a new rookie in that seat that’ll annoy crap out of him soon enough. Ok Tim… LOL Like you don’t love her ‘annoying you’ at all. Or talking about your personal life. Lucy keeps pushing it saying ‘So you’re not going to miss riding with me at all?’ Tim continues his deflection saying it’s a job not ‘happy hour’

Does he hear himself? Acting like you’re not going to miss her. Ain’t no one buying what you’re selling Timothy. His reply thrills Lucy though. Flagging all of this behavior as denial. She’s not wrong. It’s not just a river in Egypt as they say. He’s swimming in it doing laps. Tim is feeling like some Lucy like lesson is happening and says what? Lucy disregards him and plays it off with a 'Hmm? Nothing...' Baha

Lucy asks if Tim sees himself as her mentor? He says no. He’s just her T.O. That it’s his job to make sure she’s not dangerously incompetent. When Lucy is released Into the world it’s not a disaster. Did he just decide to be a lying liar when he woke up this morning? Be in an absolute denial about their bond and what he is to her? SMH Oh Tim. Lucy shakes her own head not letting him affect her in the slightest.

Tim tells her he couldn’t wait to get off probation. Lucy replies she is very excited. Then goes into saying it’s important to acknowledge the loss for them both with this. Tim gets SO defensive when she calls it a 'Relationship' So she follows it up with partnership or mentorship LOL Man is seriously in massive avoidance of his feelings about today. He doesn’t understand why she needs closure. Lucy is going to see him at the station the next day as he mentions.

Thus begins Lucy’s list. This starts when he asks what there is to talk about? It's so funny she has a list prepped and is going to make this happen. The second Tim see's this he grabs the list and chucks it out the damn window. Now if only your feelings for her could be dispatched that quickly eh Tim? She says littering is a $250 dollar fine. HA Tim replies that it was worth it. My god these two. Cracks me up so much. It’s like he’s purposely being obstinate so their eventual departure won’t be as hard.

If he’s a dick she won’t miss riding with him. Oh Tim you forget being a dick how this whole thing started my love. Naturally Lucy came prepared af with a second list. I’m dying. Did he really think his girl was only going to have one copy? You trained her Tim. Also Lucy knows you so damn well she made sure to have a second one. I adore them so much my heart may implode with happiness ha Lucy continues on without missing a beat. Like he didn’t just throw out her original copy LMAO

They get an amber alert about a child abduction. The suspect is the husband. They’re going through a messy divorce. He was removed from the hospital due to being a threat. He has a sordid past of drug use and intent to sell. It’s not good…Angela gets ahold of the mother. Says her ex will do anything to get a fix. Even selling their baby. Good lord...

Lucy makes comment to Tim how awful this is. That the mother must be going out of her mind. Tim tries to take a pot shot at psychology again in his reply. Saying how if the parents had properly worked through their separation this could’ve been avoided? Lucy shuts his ass down immediately. She knows he's trying to undermine her list and her psychology prowess. Lucy says no the mother needs to get away from this man asap.

She tells him having easier access to counseling and mental health resources could prevent things like this. Tim seems like he is being a jackass in the moment. I mean he kind of is. BUT I have no doubt he grew up in a house where mental health was discredited by his father. That it was a sign of weakness to have emotions let alone any mental health issues. I’ve said this before we are the product of our environment growing up. Even when we fight against it things still come out.

To Tim growing up psychology was stigmatized I believe. (it was for me too) So naturally his first inclination is to discredit it. Make fun of it because he doesn’t actually understand it. Leave it to Lucy teach him why it is important. How access to help and normalizing having mental health issues is important. Her next line says it all. She could not be more on the nose in her reply above.

Tim tries to turn it around again on her but she is on her shit today. Not to to be trifled with Tim. He knows she is a formidable opponent. When he says later on he’s going to miss riding with her. These are the moments he will miss the most. Her challenging him, standing up to him. Which in turn makes him grow because she shows him the world through a different lens.

Lucy does what she does best. Crushes him with her reply and throws his words back at him in the process. It’s a twofer. That look of his... He knows when she’s got him and he has no recourse. Lucy can’t help but gloat after that. She earned it and has his number. Boy is Tim so very aware of that. She’s got his goat as they say. It’s glorious.

They find out the dad didn’t take the kid. A random woman did. Now the case has shifted in a more stressful way. This portion is what I like to call 'Tell me you’re married when you’re not married.’ A Tim Bradford Edition. Lucy is freaking out waiting for the ID on this woman. Saying they’re wasting time while this baby is out there. Tim tells her she needs to get her head on right in case this goes badly.

Lucy snaps back she’s squared away. Tim disagrees vehemently by replying if she was she wouldn’t have said that… He’ starts out strong then makes the mistake of saying ‘Look you’ve been lucky on the job so far..’ Her face oh my lord. Ready to chew him out and Tim instantly regrets what he says. Love love this moment for him.

He recognizes what he’s said was hurtful and wrong. Then apologizes and says it came out wrong. Good Hubby. Well intended but very wrong. Look at our boy self correcting all on his own. So proud. He then compliments her as his continued apology. Telling her she’s been through hell, stuff that would’ve broken a lot of veteran cops. That being said he tells her a dead kid is different.

That a dead kid will change her forever. We all know he does not want that for her. She’s been through quite enough. Lucy concedes to his point. Saying she hopes their last shift doesn’t end with that. They both look emotional and Tim replies ‘ Me too...’ The most honest he’s been this entire episode with her. He knows she’s upset so he’s wonderful and brings up the list he can’t stand. Knowing it’ll distract her in the best way possible.

She lists off surrounding yourself with people who support, value and energize you. Tim is nodding along thinking he checks all those boxes for her. Then she says it’ll have to wait till later. Oh Lucy this man is all those things for you. You don’t see it just yet. He looks a little hurt she bypasses this. Like he isn't that for her. He supports and values her so much. Him asking her to revisit the list, despite his dislike of it is the epitome of what she just spoke above. Love is blind and not in the best way sometimes haha

Lucy continues on saying to reflect on lessons learned. Good and bad and express gratitude. Tim is nodding along not hating where this is going. Genuinely asking her 'What he taught her that she is grateful for?' Her answer is perfection especially because we know how this episode ends. The absolute best thing he taught her was not to second guess herself. To see the BAMF he noticed from day one. Them reminiscing about Plain Clothes Day is the best.

How one look from him could send her into a tailspin. Tim is in complete agreeance with her assessment. Even smiling thinking about how far she has come. Teaching her to trust her instincts is one of the best gifts he could’ve given her. Especially since it strengthens her resolve to go against him and what he would do. She already had that in her but he reinforced it. Taught her to trust in it even when it didn’t go his way. He couldn’t be prouder of her and this moment is a beautiful reflection of that.

Lucy takes a lovely moment and ruins it for Tim with mention of UC. Saying how trusting her instincts like she does now will be crucial for UC work. We watch the happy proud face devolve into one of worry. Tim asks her if she’s serious about being UC? Lucy seems insulted by this question and says ‘Yeah why? Do you not think I’m tough enough?’ Thinking does he not remember her successful op?

Tim tells her it’s not about being tough. He knows she’s tough. He thinks she’s too sensitive. Lucy looks so damn offended by this. (as she should be) He brings up Tamara and what she’s done for her. Her need to relive their last year plus together. Lucy defends her empathy fiercely. Saying it's what makes her a good cop. Tim tells her yes but not a good UC. Lucy is wounded and says as much 'Ouch…. ' When you know the scene you can see Lucy resetting. Formulating her plan to get back at Tim for what he said.

She starts off with a compliment. Telling him he was right. That he’ll always tell her the truth no matter how painful. Which is all true but Lucy is legit setting him up for this moment. Lulling him in. She gets serious saying she has been hiding behind her checklist all day. That she needs to tell him something she's been avoiding all day. You can see how Tim is almost holding his breath as she continues to speak. Not sure where this is going but having an inkling of it...

Let me start off with this. I truly believe there is a kernel of truth to what she’s saying here. The things she says and brings up are accurate af. The way she assembled this convo on the fly. To me means she’s had this convo before in her head. Her saying it out loud brought some truth to it. S3 is where I believe the the attraction and work flirts were kicked into a very high gear. And now she was no longer going to be his rookie.

I don’t think this would’ve been the right time for them to start IMO. They weren't ready. I’ll always be for the timeline we received and what leads them there after this ep. But to say there isn't feelings of some sort on both sides at this point is foolish. With all they've been through over the last year or so.

The minute Lucy says she has feelings for Tim it starts the overdrive for him. Lucy doesn’t even let him reply. Just steamrolls over him. He can't even get a full sentence in above. Then hits him with another emotional bomb bringing up 2x11. How he saved her life. I mean faking or not she knows the bond that forged for them. So she is starting out STRONG with saying this. Tim is in complete paralysis from the start of this 'confession'

The more she speaks the more he panics. Not because he doesn’t feel the same way. I think she’s nailing everything squarely on the head and he’s freaking out because of that. You watch Eric’s face and the myriad of emotions flitting across it. Goes from confusion, to realization, then he just panics and shuts down. She’s bringing up huge points. Him saving her life that bonded them in a way no one could ever touch.

How he is protective of her, why he doesn’t want her to go into UC is because of his feelings. To me where is the lie in this? There isn't. Now like I said Lucy is clearly doing this to get back at him. What she doesn’t realize is she’s exposing him and that explains his overloaded reaction. She’s exposing feelings he has repeatedly forced down into the depths of his soul.

Because her being his rookie he would never ever cross that line. Nor would I ever want him to. We all know Tim can’t handle his emotions well. Especially when it’s this intense. The one person who can usually guide him is the one provoking it in this moment. I truly believe she fell first. When he was a dumpster fire and there was no way in hell he could’ve reciprocated at the time. It was one way for a little while. But over time Lucy Chen has repeatedly wormed her way into his life. 2x11 was the start of those emotional dominos for him. They've been falling ever since.

I’ve said before Tim doesn’t really understand why he feels the way he does about Lucy. Only that he does and it usually a driving force for him. To Tim in this moment it feels Lucy is calling him out. That she is pulling out this deep dark secret. One he thought he kept hidden away pretty well. This gif above is everything. He is literally malfunctioning at her bringing this up. She has short circuited him and it’s so funny tbh. He can’t process anything she’s saying. Eric you are the king of facial expressions good sir.

The hits keep coming through out the scene and he can’t form a thought. Once he does his replies are so stilted and funny. He’s stumbling over himself. Trying to compliment her and not hurt her feelings. Because even if he does have hidden feelings no way in hell this man is ready for them. To face them or realize what comes with them. It shows so very much in this scene. He’s trying so hard to be delicate about this and not hurt her. I love him for it tbh. Says he's flattered 'She's a great girl. I mean woman. Uhhh....' LOL Even says crap at the end cause he is at a loss for words. She has made him speechless.

It’s then Lucy breaks and laughing her ass off. Poor Tim he was having a DEFCOM 1 panic attack. Trying to be gentle and sweet about his reply. Then she laughs. And he is so so mad at her. The way he says ‘Oh you’re sorry.’ He is not pleased. She just put him through emotional hell and just says she’s sorry. I mean it was a hell of a comeback to what he said to her. Rightfully deserved with how he told her she wasn’t built for UC.

What a straight up lie that was. Really just his desperate fear trying to keep her from it. Lucy got him real good though. Probably the best of her career in that moment. Lucy for the second time that day parrots his words back to him. Uses them against him. The capper to her moment. Listing off all the ways she just pulled off what he said she wasn't capable of. I mean well done madam. You broke him. You broke him real good. He's so upset about it.

Her 'fake' confession comes at a cost though. The tension afterward is palpable. Tim is so visibly upset. It’s not because she got him. I do think that very much is part of it. The other part is the can of worms she potentially opened. She never gave him a real chance to reply. To get his head on right. Because idk he would’ve 100 percent said no to her. Probably would've have some non comittal answer cause it's Tim. But it wouldn't have been a straight up no. Why I say this is because when Tim Bradford is sure of something he is decisive af.

Like the screenwriter question from 3x07. It was an instant and firm no. This he struggled so very hard with it. The looks between them above are *phew* chemistry personified. Never had a ship say so much with just a look. Lucy thinks he’s really mad at her because of the trick itself. Rightfully so why in the hell would she actually think he might have feelings for her?

Lucy says she made it weird didn’t she? Tim deflects and says 'Nope.' She made it weird and knows it LOL. Lucy tries again and says she was just trying to make a point. She starts to backtrack and even in his anger with her he refuses to let her do that. Says not to because if she does it’ll undermine her point. The way she smiles at him. My heart. Takes care of her even when he’s mad. Yeah no feelings there between them….

Then we reach the iconic parking garage scene. The end of an era for them both. Only fitting they do it in a spot that has held some meaningful moments. This scene is the perfect way for them to end this work relationship. One that ended up meaning far more than either of them ever anticipated. Tim denying all day how much he was going to miss riding with her. Waiting till this moment to reveal that wasn't true.

I love how the scene starts. Her saying ‘We did it’ Tim refusing any of the credit per usual says 'No you did it. 'He waits to the very last minute in his eval of her to say he will. Because well Tim. We all know and love him for it. It's a beautiful parallel to Plain Clothes day. A wonderful way to measure the immense progress she has made since that day. When all she did was second guess herself, let Tim rattle her cage most of the time and didn't trust her gut.

It was Tim’s mission to build that confidence in herself. To push her in a way that she would grow and never doubt herself again. Not only that but have the confidence to stand up for her instincts even when they were in stark contrast to his. Why his eval of her is just perfection. The words her soul had been longing to hear. The way he is looking at her while she reads this. Oh my lord. Just look at the man's eyes. Heart eyes for DAYS. Admiration and love shinning in them. Bursting at the seams with pride for her.

You know Lucy has been yearning to hear that from Tim. Long before Plain Clothes Day. Something she wanted to earn from him. Reason being Tim has always been in her corner. Seen her really seen her since day one. Had faith in her like no one in her life ever has before. She grew up starved for attention and words of affirmation. For support of any kind. Parent's who didn't see her worth. Or praise any life choice she made. I did as well unfortunately. Feel you Lucy. So you long for those you respect to give you them.

To have that reassurance you are worth it and worth investing in. Lucy has wanted this from Tim for ages. He is beaming as she is reading her last eval. All he wanted to do was continue to empower her and his parting words do it beautifully. To have him write that out and her to feel how proud he is of her is glorious. The way he is looking at her is not how one looks at his former rookie. The level of heart eyes he has for her is always unreal. In this scene it’s explosive.

The flirting, the support, the teasing it all encompassing their relationship to this point. They shake hands for far longer than is necessary. LOL As he tells her not to ever let someone tell her she can’t do something. Not even him. I love this so much. Him accepting her going against the grain and praising her for it. Ugh my heart. Having a loaded hand shake while having those looks on their faces. Idiots in love who don’t even know it. She hands him her present. Saying they’ve reached the final step. Acceptance their checklist is complete. He is grinning like a fool.

The scene finishes off perfectly with her pranking him with a call back to 2x01. The flour bomb. Fully encompassing this end of an era moment. This “gift” being her “thank you” for every lesson she ever learned. Her version of payback for all his Tim tests haha The look on her face is so damn cute. She is quite pleased with herself for this idea. Tim can’t even be mad about it. She had his number all day. Hell the last few episode really. Just shown her amazing growth right up to this moment.

Their competitiveness is one of their love languages. A massive one really. Their pranks would be another. It's another form of affection between them. It all ends up to the same thing. I adore them so much. Their final words have me squeeing. They call each other by their FIRST names with no last name attached. Which Lucy has done but a rarity by Tim.

The end of an era and the beginning of another is what this scene represented to me. The extra flirting, the extended handshake and how flirty and intimate saying each others first name was. God I love these sfm. Their slow burn is one the best I’ve had the pleasure to go through.

Phew that was a content heavy one in the best way way. Hard to believe we only have 5 left in this season already.

Side notes- Non chenford

I ADORE Angela going back into her T.O. days just for Jackson. It’s so nice. How far they’ve come. Didn’t want him to finish up his final day as a rookie at the front desk. Bad ass woman.

The SL about the woman and her baby gets me in the feels makes me sad. Angela handles it like a pro when she gets on scene. So good.

Nyla is so good to John. Sees he’s bummed about Lucy/Jackson moving on and he’s stuck. She invites him to dinner with her and Lila. He says he doesn’t need the pity it’s ok. Damn Nolan take her being kind geez lol She turns it around says it’s not pity when he’s paying lmao Nolan is a schmuck but I do love their dynamic.

Thank you everyone who supports these reviews. I enjoy doing them so much. To have them so well received means the world. The likes, comments and reblog are all so appreciated. Shall see you all in 3x10 :)

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starberryes · 2 years

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don’t you (forget about me) | steve harrington x reader [PREVIEW]

“Oh, great, she’s here,” Steve says, stepping away from the door. "First of all, Harrington," You scoff, glaring at that mop of hair with all the rage you can muster. "I have a name. Second of all, we are talking here—” Steve rolls his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever—" "You did not just roll your eyes at me—” Dustin sighs. "Here they go." (or: You've always thought Steve Harrington was a weirdo. When you find out you might be in terrible danger, he might be just what you need.)

pairing: steve harrington x fem!henderson!reader (she/her pronouns used)

words: ?

a/n: i loved stranger things season 4 and i love this man. LOVE him. i had to write something for him<3<3<3 so im giving you guys a snippet of this story im working on. if anyone would like to be added to a taglist lmk. ST4 SPOILERS. this is set in season 4 ep 3 "the monster and the superhero" and follows vol 1 canon

disclaimer: english is not my first language so please let me know if there are any mistakes.

NOW FULL VERSION POSTED HERE

After breakfast, you give Dustin a ride until you arrive to a neighborhood that is most definitely not Lucas Sinclair’s like he told you it would be. You turn to stare at your brother before you actually unlock the door, confused.

“Where are we?”

Dustin looks at you with his best innocent smile. “I told you. Lucas’s.”

“Okay, you might lie to me whenever you want, just not to my actual face, Dustin.” You roll your eyes, and he mirrors you. “Seriously, why did you make me come all the way down here?”

“Why do you care?”

“I know we’re doing this to get mom off our backs, but there is a killer on the loose,” you say. “So, pardon me if I’m also a little wary about dropping you off at unknown locations, or whatever.”

“Fine,” Dustin sighs. “I’m here to see Max and Steve.”

“Steve?”

“Harrington.”

You blink at him. “Fucking Steve Harrington?”

“See?” Dustin rolls his eyes again. “This is why I didn’t tell you! You are extremely uncool about Steve, you know.”

“I’m not!” You try not to dwell about how defensive you sound, even to yourself. “I’m extremely cool about him. I’m extremely cool about the fact you hang out with that douchebag with stupid hair.”

“He’s not a douchebag! I don’t get why you hate him so much.”

Because you remember him and his friends making fun of you all throughout High School, his sneering and stupid stares. Like your brother, you’d never fit in— you never liked going to parties or drinking and you never made an effort to be liked by him and his group of popular dorks, instead you spent most of your days in the library, reading, hiding from Steve and his friends. Whatever honorable things Dustin saw in Steve Harrington you think he might have imagined them.

Now, in your last year of High School and with Steve becoming a social pariah, you can’t hide the fact that you still dislike Steve was much as you did back when he was still King Steve. Steve, for however much Dustin insists that he’s changed, upon first meeting you had tried to sweet talk you as if he didn’t know who you were. And you had barely kept it together enough to tell him to fuck off. Ever since then, you and Steve Harrington had hated each other’s guts. Your mutual dislike of each other is not lost on Dustin, who continues to mostly ignore it and tiptoe around it as best as he can.

“He’s not not a douchebag,” You murmur. “Why is he hanging out with two fourteen year olds during spring break? Isn’t the barf bag, like, supposed to be in college, going to frat parties, having a life of his own?”

Dustin doesn’t appreciate the way you talk about him, clearly, but he still replies, albeit unhappily. “He’s helping me with something.”

“With what?”

Before Dustin can respond, someone knocks on Dustin’s window. You jump, surprised, but it’s just Steve and Dustin’s friend little redhead Max, looking bored and impatient. You groan and reach over Dustin’s seat to roll the window down.

“Do you mind?” You say to Steve. “We’re talking.”

“Oh, great, she’s here,” Steve says, stepping away from the door.

"First of all, Harrington," You scoff, glaring at that mop of hair with all the rage you can muster. You ignore Dustin’s groan. "I have a name. Second of all, we are talking here—”

Steve rolls his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever—"

"You did not just roll your eyes at me—”

Dustin sighs. "Here they go."

“I did not roll my eyes—”

“You absolutely did!”

“There was something in my eyes.”

“That something was lies!”

“Jesus fuck,” Steve finally throws his arms up in exasperation and turns to your brother, ignoring your insults. “You done talking to your lovely sister, Henderson? We got a counselor to see.”

“What?” You frown at Dustin, irritation immediately melting into concern. “What’s he talking about?”

“Steve, shut your mouth,” Dustin glares at Steve, who shrugs and finally steps away from the car. “Nothing, (Y/N), seriously. See you later?”

“No.” You shake your head. “What does he mean a counselor? Are you seeing Ms Kelly?”

“Nothing’s wrong, I promise. It’s—” he looks like he’s scrambling to form an excuse, then his eyes lands on Max. Something flashes across her face and she speaks next.

“It’s for me.” she says, “Chrissy died in my neighborhood.”

“She’s kind of freaking out,” Dustin says, and when you finally turn to look at Max you realize how tense she is, her shoulders square, with her lips forming a straight line.

“Oh. That sucks. Hey, Max.”

“Hey,” she greets, awkwardly. It’s part of her charm, you think.

“See?” Dustin asks. “Can I go now?”

You nod, a little shaken up for some reason. Maybe Chrissy’s murder still made you feel slightly ill, and the mention of it made you feel even worse. You couldn’t imagine what Max might be going through. It didn’t help that they had found another body this morning, either.

“Ye— yeah. Sorry. I hope everything’s alright, Max.”

“Yeah,” she nods.

Dustin nods to the door. “Can you unlock the door, then?”

You wordlessly comply, and as your little brother steps out of your mom’s blue Ford Cortina, you talk to Max once again. “Ms Kelly is great help. I’m sure she’ll make you feel better. She really helped me this year, you know, she’s a great listener.”

“Yeah, I know,” Max says. “I’ve been thinking about seeing her for a while, a—actually. I’ve heard she’s well… you know… fine, or whatever.”

“Hey, there’s no shame in that,” you shrug. “Lots of people go to see Ms Kelly… Actually, now that you mention it, Fred Benson, the guy they found this morning, was seeing Ms Kelly too. And Chrissy Cunningham.”

Dustin pauses before closing the car door. “What do you mean?”

You blink, slightly confused as to why you’d even bring it up. “I’ve seen them in Ms Kelly’s office before. I’m not sure why I’m even mentioning it, sorry.”

“No, no, (Y/N), that’s…” Dustin says, then doesn’t finish. “You’ve been seeing Ms Kelly too?”

“Yeah,” you nod, a little ashamed. You think about telling Dustin about everything that’s been going on, the nightmares, the guilt— but then you glance at his friends looking expectantly at him and cower. So you don’t continue.

It’s Steve who breaks the silence. “Dustin, let’s go.”

“I’ll see you at home?” Dustin says, a little softer.

“Yeah, yeah. I was gonna go to Dinah’s near Ave Park, but do you think you’ll need a ride later?”

“Steve’s got his car,” he says. “Don’t wait up, okay?”

You nod, watching him leave.

#steve harrington #steve x reader #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x female reader #stranger things #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington fic #steve harrington one shot #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x yn #stranger things fic #stranger things imagine #joe keery

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shortpplfedup · 8 months

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Only Friends Character Rankings Episode 5

It's The Date Episode! And honestly, fucking outstanding. The core six pair off and spend the day lying to themselves and each other. It's mostly cute and sweet but the undercurrent of shit about to hit the fan hangs over the entire episode. It's sort of the calm before the storm. Last week, Boston held onto his top spot in the viewer rankings for the second week in a row, with Ray and Nick rounding out the leaderboard. Can the most miserable bastard in the world do the hattrick? Here's this week's winners and losers.

🔺1. Top (2)

Why don’t you try Lasik? A friend of mine had it, and they said their eyesight is so much better. But now that I think about it…I don’t want you to get it now. I like you better looking like a nerd.

Look, ain't nobody more surprised than me, but this man legit got every goddamn thing he wanted this ep. Top putting on the perfect man act (and I am more convinced than EVER that it's an act) was fascinating to watch. Studiously ignoring all the various signals put out by various other men all day, knowing Mew's eyes are on him. The fucking INSTAGRAM COUPLE PHOTO. And then the knockout blow: when he looked Mew dead in the eye and said 'I love you' I said out loud OH YOU MANIPULATIVE MOTHERFUCKER WELL PLAYED. Do I think Top has bad motives towards Mew, no. I just think he likes the idea of Mew a lot more than he actually likes Mew. And now that Mew's given up that bussy, I'm counting down to Top finding a mistress to give him some variety.

🔺2. Nick (3)

-You’re acting weird. -Weird how? I’m just… I’m just shuffling up my style.

Speaking of getting everything you want, Nick looked like he won the lotto when Boston started talking about settling down. Never mind that Nick is doing ALL of Boston's work for him. Never mind that 3 separate people have now told Nick that Boston ain't shit. Nick is euphoric. Nick has ascended. Nick is doodling 'Mr. Nick Boston's-last-name' in his Trapper Keeper. Nick is going to the gym and dressing more upscale. Nick is giggling when Boston asks to spend the night instead of fucking off as soon as they finish fucking. Nick is headed for a crash so great I'm SALIVATING.

🔺3. Boston (6)

I feel like I should stop sleeping around for a bit. It’s been feeling so empty lately. In the end, I want to have sex with someone I can… talk to for a little, you know? Like, have great sex, have good chats, and…someone I can get affectionate with. Right now…there’s only you.

Told y'all you can't keep a bad bitch down for long and Boston's already bouncing back. He might have had a moment of weakness and tried to be nice for exactly one day, but Nick getting drunk and stoned and running his mouth about how cute Sand and Ray were activated his asshole glands. He smelled happiness and said NOT ONE FUCK OF THAT ON MY WATCH. Boston is that Marie Kondo gif, he fucking LOVES mess no matter how much he goes on about hating drama. He will always poke the hornet's nest. Shutting the fuck up was free, but he just COULDN'T. And thank god, because Ray punching him in the mouth was like 3 of the 5 top things that happened this ep.

🔻4. Ray (1)

-That’s a nice top. Where did you get it? -This thing? It’s secondhand.

Whew Ray's day slummin' it was so classic I shed a tear. I can't really adequately describe his facial expression through the whole day, but 'condescending amusement' is closest. His enjoyment of Sand's company is very real, as are his attraction and hints of affection, but he absolutely does not consider that man his equal, and that's why he doesn't even consider the 'boyfriend' label. No matter what Ray's feeling, Sand's demi-monde, not part of his world. He likes that Sand treats him like he's special, he likes that Sand seems to always want him around, he likes that Sand will take care of him, but he'll never take Sand seriously. This would be true even if he wasn't in love with Mew, but being in love with Mew makes it all worse. Pathetic, I love it.

🔹5. Sand (5)

I work. I save up money. I sleep. I dream. I go to bed alone, wake up, and go to work. Until…he came along. It’s like somebody presses pause on all my 24 hours. Next thing I know…I’m living my 25th hour. Ray’s extra hour.

Oh SAND. I've been saying from jump this is hurting most because SAND KNOWS BETTER. When Sand called Ray his 25th hour I wanted to SCREAM because BABY BOY YOU KNOW BETTER. This dude is either drunk or hungover all of those same 24 hours you are grinding out a living, but you wanna spend your birthday with him because he makes you feel sparkly. He stays sneering at how you ain't got no money and work 17 jobs, but because he does it with a twinkle in his eyes you're blind and deaf all of a sudden. He told you HIS MOTHER DRANK HERSELF TO DEATH and you pour him another drink. I ain't feeling sorry for Sand anymore, he did this to himself.

🔻6. Mew (4)

-Does this mean I passed your test? -Yeah. You’ve convinced me that you really only have eyes for me.

Mew really tried to play a player and ended up playing himself instead. Like, in one way he's won: Top's his boyfriend, and honestly very likely to stay that way. But Mew should have been careful what he wished for because 'boyfriend' and 'faithful lover' are two very different things.

⭐7. Sand's mom

You keep nagging at me, you know that? Who between us is the mother, exactly?

WE AIN'T MET THIS LADY FOR NOTHING! My Sand/Top half brothers theory LIVES!

⭐8. Summer

Sorry to chat you up, but I’m alone, after all.

Poor girl's a hottie but didn't stand a chance.

#only friends the series #bless this mess #only friends weekly character rankings #i support gay wrongs #only friends #only friends series #bl meta series

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baronessblixen · 6 months

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Little Sanguinarium prompt whenever you feel like it: Mulder to Scully: "Well, not everyone can say they're the most beautiful wherever they go."

UST-filled post-ep fic: Mulder thinks Scully is the most beautiful person wherever she goes. She doesn't believe him so he tries to make her see it his way. (wc: 1,258)

Tagging @today-in-fic @xffictober2023

Fictober Day 18: Beautiful In My Eyes

They’re working on their case report. At least in theory. Mulder is clearly not typing, his thoughts elsewhere. She’d like to be elsewhere too. It’s after 4 p.m. and she’s tired and hungry. Maybe a bit cranky. And much like Mulder, her thoughts aren’t at all on their most recent case. The one Skinner wants a report on. She sighs and Mulder’s head shoots up, his interest immediately piqued.

“Bored?” he asks.

“Tired,” she says.

“We can finish up tomorrow.”

“Something else might come up tomorrow. Mulder, I hate this as much as you do, but procrastinating is not going to help.”

He makes a noise and leans back in his chair, his hands behind his head.

“Have you ever thought about it?”

“Thought about what?” she asks, trying to make sense of what she’s already written.

“Getting plastic surgery.”

“Not seriously,” she says, thinking about the time she wanted to have bigger boobs. She was younger then. Much younger. “Have you?”

“With a nose like mine? Of course.” He holds his pen up to it as if trying to see how the two compare. She narrows her eyes, watching him.

“You surprise me sometimes,” she says. “Have you looked in a mirror?”

“Every once in a while,” he replies with a grin. “Are you saying I’m good-looking?”

“You know you are.” She clears her throat and hopes she’s not blushing too furiously. With her complexion, the slightest flush of her skin can reveal her true feelings. In high school, she could never keep her crushes a secret for long. Melissa always got it out of her because eventually, little red splotches would appear on her skin and make it obvious.

“And anyway,” she goes on, hoping Mulder will just let it go, “I think everyone wonders sometimes. What would it be like to be more beautiful? Just look at the cosmetic surgery industry. For some people that’s all that matters: to be the most beautiful person wherever they go.”

“Well, not everyone can say they're the most beautiful wherever they go,” Mulder says, cracking a sunflower seed between his teeth. “Not when they’re in a room with you.”

“Right,” she says, not taking him seriously at all. “We really need to finish this report, Mulder. Otherwise, we’ll never leave this office.”

“Did you hear what I said?” he asks. She’s staring down at the file, so she hears rather than sees Mulder round the desk and stop in front of her. She gets a whiff of his scent and wonders for a moment how he can still smell so good after a day at work.

“Scully? Did you hear what I said?” He’s not letting it go. Sometimes he’s more stubborn than a mule.

“I heard you,” she says, but doesn’t look up.

“You don’t believe me.” He’s not even asking; he knows.

“Mulder, I know I’m an attractive woman.” She finally meets his gaze. “But the most beautiful person? That’s a bit much.” He shakes his head, not once looking away from her.

“You are.” There’s more to what he’s saying, but it hangs in the air between them. She’s scared to reach for it.

“Can you drop this? Please? We need to finish this report.” That damn report. That damn case, too. That’s what brought his question on in the first place.

“In a second,” he says. “Why won’t you believe me?”

“I believe you, okay? Can we work now?”

“Your eyes,” he says, his voice so soft that it takes her breath away. “Before I knew you, I’d never seen eyes like yours. They’re so big and round. And Scully, they’re so blue. When I first met you, I thought of ice. But your eyes aren’t ice at all. They’re the color of the ocean you love so much.” She swallows hard, her mouth hanging open.

“Then there’s your nose. Did you know that the tip of your nose moves when you talk? Sometimes I can’t listen to anything you say because of it. But that could also be because of your lips.” He’s come closer and has crouched down. He’s level with her now and she feels frozen in place. For a moment she thinks, almost hopes, that he’s going to touch her. But the only part of him touching her are his eyes. She watches him as they wander to her lips. Instinctively, she licks them and sees a smile appear on his face.

“Hmm, yeah. That’s all I’m gonna say. And that’s just your face, Scully.” His eyes meet hers and she sees the honesty in his. Vulnerability. He’s letting her see a side of him she hasn’t seen before. He’s opening his heart to her. “If I wrote poetry, I could fill volumes with how beautiful you are. Your face, your body, and your mind. Oh, your mind. That might be the sexiest of them all."

“Because men are so attracted to intelligence."

"Well, I am." He's looking at her and not even blinking.

Mulder,” she whispers. “What are you doing?”

“Telling you the truth.” He shrugs. They don’t do this. They never do this. There have been moments when she thought about the two of them as more than partners. Sometimes out of fear or desperation. Many, many times out of sheer attraction. She knows they’re attracted to each other. She’s seen him look at her from time to time. But mostly, she’s chalked it up to her being around him every day.

She knows about the videos he watches and has seen the actresses that star in them. They’re tall and brunette. Sometimes blonde. Not once has she seen a redhead. She’s also seen him check out women while they were having lunch, or on case. Never a redhead there either. All of that makes her want to dismiss what he’s saying. Maybe he’s only doing this to flatter her so she’ll write the report on her own. If it weren’t for his eyes. She knows Mulder. Has had years now to study and get to know him. More than that, she knows the tell-tale signs of attraction. And right now, while Mulder is looking her in the eyes, his pupils are dilated.

“Are you doing this to get out of writing this report?” She just has to know.

“That thought never crossed my mind,” he says with a sweet smile. “Would that have worked?”

“No.” Mulder laughs and she’s tempted to give him a taste of his own medicine. Because she, too, could compose sonnets about how beautiful he is. Starting with his mind. Beautiful, brilliant mind. Then there are his puppy eyes, and his pouty, luscious lips.

“What are you thinking about?” he asks.

“The case,” she lies.

“Liar," he says, his face so close that the tip of his nose touches her. "Why would that case make you blush?” Now he's grinning at her. “Don’t worry,” he says, moving in even closer so that their mouths are only a hairsbreadth apart. “I won’t call you out on starting at my lips.”

“I wasn't,” she says with a gasp, despite having done exactly that.

“If you say so.” The moment breaks and he gets up to return to his own chair, to his part of the report. “Let’s finish this and I don’t know about you but I’m starving. Wanna join me for dinner?”

She’s definitely hungry. And she knows her hunger could be dangerous. Especially after everything he’s just said. And yet, she doesn’t even need to think about her answer.

“I’d love to.”

#fictober23 #i'm under 200 prompts with this one #i will never answer all of them huh?#anyway enjoy this ficlet written by someone who hasn't been sleeping much and hopes it still makes sense #why am i talking about myself in the third person omg #msr #xf fanfic #my writing #my fic

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spop-romanticizes-abuse · 5 months

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Okay one last ask, this time a bit more coherent. I was going to write about how disappointed I was with how hordak was handled, how much potential he had to show cult trauma (which was passed over to catra via the chipping episode) which could've paralleled Adora realising she's not a weapon but a person, to help the resistance thanks to his previously established extensive experience commanding Prime's fleet (but no, gotta have catra tap into the hive mind) and show that the clones were taught to be evil and didn't start out that way (but no, let's just introduce a nameless clone who's there mostly for comic relief) but I won't do that. Even though I'm salty that his defect was completely forgotten about and the villain we've had for 4 seasons spent most of season 5 offscreen.... I won't. It's an essay for another time.

Instead, I'll just point out the moments which, in hindsight, made me realise just how little SPOP cares about the original material or the story it was supposed to be telling:

One of the first eps of season 1 shows a multitude of silhouettes of different princesses. We only see a few of them (why tease them if they'll never show up on screen?)

Adora's friendship with Swift Wind is underutilised and he's mostly shoved to the sidelines

Sea Hawk

The war isn't being taken seriously (something which you've brilliantly discussed before)

Nate doesn't bother to explain what Gray Skull even IS until a brief moment in s5 where it turns out to be the name of Mara's rebellion cell or something. It was literally a second which I almost missed.

Adora's arc about finding her family and potential hinting at Adam and the extended MOTU universe is dropped.

The princesses don't act like processes and are barely even friends with each other.

The theme of "friendship conquers all" is quickly dropped as the princesses stop seeming sympathetic (cough, mermista and perfuma) and friendly with each other. At the end of s5 they had a great opportunity to parallel the s1 finale, but nah, gotta make it all about catra.

Micah, a former KING and magician of great power, spending s5 as either an awkward dad or chipped so that catra wouldn't face any consequences for killing Angella.

Sorry, who? Angella? Yknow, the one Catra killed in s3 and whose death haunted all of s4 and which was never discussed again in s5.

Entrapta getting more shit from the alliance than catra or scorpia put together despite being responsible for less bad stuff and the show still trying to gaslight us into thinking the princesses are her friends.

Worldbuilding? What worldbuilding?

^^ (i have nothing more to add)

#spop critical #spop #spop salt #spop criticism #spop discourse #she ra #anti catradora #anti catra #anti c//a #anti spop #antic//a #anticatra #anticatradora

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thatpodcastkid · 25 days

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Magnus Archives Relisten, MAG 4 Page Turner

Analysis of MAG 4, Page Turner. Spooky book time! Spoilers ahead.

Jurgen Leitner? Stupid idiot motherfucking Jurgen-

Sorry about that got possessed for a second. Anyway, first Leitner statement! Let's get into it while I try to control my rage.

Facts: Statement of Dominic Swain, regarding a book briefly in his possession in the winter of 2012.

Statement Notes: So much in this episode! First Gerry and Mary citing, first Leitner and Mike Crew mention. Crazy how relevant this episode was and we all had no way of knowing.

Starting simple, I would just like to say that as a theatre tech, Swain is so accurate and so real. "Doing a little bit of everything?" Real. Trying to see friends work but you also work at the same time? Real. Work place romance? Real. Not being able to relax when you see a play because you know all the tech stuff that can go wrong? Really real.

What I really loved about Dominic's statement though is the highlight of the ozone smell. He walks all around London with that book, shows it to Mary and Gerard, shows it to friends, and no one else mentions the smell. Yet, when he shows it to his ex Katherine Mendes, she said it "triggered her vertigo." This happens with a lot of the cursed items in the show: they don't have one general effect, but target the specific sources of fear and anxiety in the owner. Katherine apparently gets vertigo often, so The Vast would naturally trigger than height-based stressor. But Swain has a specific fear of lightning and the ozone smell because of what happened to Mike, so torturing him with that smell is the most effective way to cause fear in him.

There's also some really classic cursed object horror going on here that I love. Swain tries to sell the book the whole episode, but calls it "his book" fleeing Mary. Additionally, he says that he thought about giving it away, but felt that "wouldn't count." Very similar to Do Not Open here and a lot of cursed object horror in that there needs to be some kind of debt or reciprocity established rid one of the object.

I also just love the line "walking felt as natural as falling." It really conjures the idea that he can't control himself, that he's stumbling to Mary's shop uncontrollable just as he would fall through the sky: completely unable to stop.

Entity Alignment: Dominic translates "Ex Altiora" as "From Higher" or "Out of the Heights." That's just such insane Vast energy, the idea that whatever the book does to you will spawn from the open empty sky and you won't be able to stop it, just as you'd never be able to stop falling.

Obviously this episode is generally Vast aligned, but that painting of the Eye really freaked me out. "Grant us the sight that we may not know. Grant us the scent that we may not catch. Grant us the sound that we may not call.” This engraving very much encapsulates the point of the Eye and the Archive, and weirdly foreshadows what Jon goes through later. It is essentially saying, "Let me witness the fear and pain of others so that I don't have to experience it myself." Why would Gerry paint this? Especially given that a giant eye gives Elias direct view into his home. What is the goal?

Character Notes: Jurgen Leitner? Stupid idiot motherfucking Jurgen Leitner god damn fool book collecting dust eating-

Sorry what happened I blacked out.

Seriously though, my biggest takeaway about Leitner in this ep is that he doesn't spell his name with an umlaut like others. Why did Jonny include that detail. What does that do for me.

I do love that the only information Swain could find on him was that he lost a bidding war over a book to "GRbookworm1818" who is so obviously Gertrude it's hilarious.

I think it's so weird that Swain couldn't find anything online about him, though. Leitners are clearly around, so wouldn't there be some kind of chat room or reddit post about one? Builds my theory that the Entities or at least the Web has some influence over internet content in this universe that it doesn't have in The Magnus Protocol universe. In TMAGP, the OIAR sorts through things found in databases and the internet, but in TMA the Archive seems to be the only source of real supernatural info, proving that Elias or someone else was controlling the stream of information in a way that the entities aren't able to (yet) in TMAGP.

Let's turn away from the most hated character on the internet to talk about the most loved: Gerard Keay.

Our first intro to Gerry is death metal music blasting from his bedroom at two am which is just, so on brand.

(Also want to point out that Dominic Swain didn't realize it was 2 am until he heard the music. Missing time is another motif that keeps coming up in this show.)

I also forgot that Gerry painted in this universe, so it's nice to see they kept that connection in Protocol.

The thing that's truly key (no pun intended) about this episode though is the ritual Mary performs, blaming Gerry for her fake murder. I believe this is the episode she binds herself to the Skin Book, but I can't figure out when/how she would attach Gerry. Also, the case against him was thrown out because a "key piece of evidence was deemed inadmissible." Was this Gertrude pulling strings, Mary using magic influence, or some other powerful eldritch bureaucrat pulling for our boy? Who's to say.

Mike Crew is really only mentioned in this episode, but it did get me thinking about the relevance of scars in the show. His Lichtenberg scar influences who he is and what he becomes as an Avatar. Very similar to Daisy naming herself after her scar and pursuing law--which would lead to her becoming an Avatar--because of the event and injury. Also, Jon's "markings" are what allow him to start the Eyepocalypse. Physical manifestations and reminders of trauma shaping who we become really is a theme in this show.

And of course, Jon. He is such a terrible liar yet him believing in the supernatural was still somehow a plot twist. Proves how good a writer Jonny is, honestly. He doesn't believe in the supernatural, but is absolutely terrified of Leitners and is working on an "institute project" to eradicate them? I would love to know how this project worked. Was it just research? Was there a team dedicated to finding and collecting Leitners? He also mentions "the incident in 1994," is that when the library was destroyed? Or is just another terrible Leitner incident.

Crazy ep, one of my favorites. Let me know what you think!

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meilas · 1 month

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Socks’ Star Trek must-watch list

Socks’ list of must-watch Trek episodes

OG Trek

Welcome to the NCC-1701 starship, known as the Enterprise. The captain and crew follow rules when the plot says so, the captain is often on away missions with his top-ranked crew members leaving some unqualified guy in charge, and the captain gets to snog a lot of ladies. Like, a lot. Seriously. This series features lots of questionable fashion choices, including men’s heeled boots and miniskirts.

Space Seed - our introduction to Khan Noonien Singh, played by Ricardo Montalban. Khan is the villain of the second Trek movie Wrath of Khan which is why this episode is on the list.

Taste of Armageddon - Do you remember the game Battleship? Two planets wage a war against each other. There is staggering loss of life, but no destruction. The Lottery in Space.

Mirror, Mirror - obligatory parallel universe episode! This parallel universe shows up later in Deep Space Nine which is why it is on this list.

Trouble With Tribbles - Clue in Space. Just a fun episode. Also shows up in Deep Space Nine!

A Piece of the Action - another fun episode. And the reason I don’t know if the proper expression is concrete galoshes or cement overshoes.

Let That Be Your Last Battlefield - two individuals who are the very last members of their races who were at war are still trying to kill each other. This episode was about racism and it is not subtle about it at all.

Next Generation

Welcome to the NCC-1701D, also known as the Enterprise! Not the Enterprise from the original series, but a younger, more advanced starship that is the successor to the Enterprise name. And since the Enterprise and trouble go so well together, the crew of this Enterprise find lots of adventures to keep them busy as they explore strange new worlds and seek out new civilisations.

Encounter at Farpoint - The very first episode. Not great, but it also serves as an introduction to Q, who will show up several times throughout the series. So that I don’t fill up this whole post, just go ahead and watch every Q episode (which will 99% of the time have Q in the title.)

Measure of a Man - Data is put on trial to determine if he is property or his own person, and Riker is forced to testify against him for plot reasons. This episode explores individuality and friendship.

Q Who - I said I wouldn’t fill this up and I won’t, but this episode is special because it introduces the Borg. There’s also a great moment between Picard and Q toward the end.

The Survivors - An elderly couple are the last survivors on a planet. Hard to explain why I like this episode without giving away the whole plot.

Sarek - This episode can be pretty sad as it deals with dementia and what it can do to people.

Menage a Troi - Any episode with Deanna’s mother, Lwaxana, is always a funny one. (Except the one that is sad, more on that later.) This episode is excellent because we get to hear Sir Patrick Stewart recite Shakespeare in the most over-the-top delivery possible.

Best of Both Worlds, parts one and two - THE CLIFFHANGER TO END ALL CLIFFHANGERS HOLY SHIT THIS EPISODE HAS ALL THE DRAMA

Family - A follow-up to Best of Both Worlds. Deals with family that is gone, family that can be A Bit Much, and family that is estranged.

Suddenly Human - This episode is similar to the Deep Space Nine episode Cardassians: a boy who has been adopted by others is discovered and found to have living family who want him back. Which family is the child supposed to stay with?

Darmok - An episode all about language and how ideas are communicated. Yes it has some flaws, but overall it is interesting from a linguistic point of view. By the end of the episode, you will understand how darmok=memes and inside jokes.

The First Duty - A good Wesley episode. This explores truth, loyalty, and doing what is right.

I, Borg - The Enterprise rescues a Borg teenager, who begins to develop individuality. He is named Hugh. Hugh is adorable.

The Inner Light - THIS IS THE BEST EPISODE EVER. IF THERE IS LITERALLY NOTHING ON THIS LIST THAT SOUNDS INTERESTING PLEASE AT LEAST WATCH THIS.

Rascals - Picard and a few other randos (no seriously why is this bunch of people even on a shuttle together?) experience a transporter malfunction and are beamed aboard the Enterprise, except they materialise as pre-teen children! This episode is just pure fun. Contains: bby!Picard throwing a tantrum, and bby!Guinan jumping on the bed.

*Frame of Mind - This is a pretty heavy episode that deals with hallucinations. Riker is supposed to be performing in a play, but suddenly he’s in an alien mental institution and accused of murder. Riker repeatedly flashes between being on the Enterprise and being in the institution and he increasingly cannot tell which is real.

*Technically, this episode does not contain gaslighting even though it will seem like it. Please make sure you are in a good place if you decide to watch this episode.

**Dark Page - Lwaxana Troi is back! But something is up with her.

**I can’t explain why this is a serious episode without giving it away, so here it is: this episode deals with child death.

Deep Space Nine

By far my absolute favourite series, and the only one I have seen every episode of. Deep Space Nine is about a Cardassian space station that is now occupied by joint Federation and Bajoran forces. Deep Space Nine just so happens to be situated right by a stable wormhole that goes to another quadrant of space that would take years and years and years to travel to by starship alone. Naturally, everyone wants to be in control of the wormhole. The closest planet, Bajor, was until recently occupied by Cardassians. (Think of Cardassians as Space Russians.) The Bajorans are deeply spiritual people (literally every fucking Bajoran subscribes to the same religion) and they believe that their gods reside in the wormhole. (THEY ARE WORMHOLE ALIENS FFS AND THEY DON’T CARE ONE BIT ABOUT BAJOR OR CARDASSIA OR THE FEDERATION.) Because this series is set on a space station that does not go anywhere, we get to see that actions have consequences. If Next Generation was the fuck around series, this one is the find out series.

Emissary - A two-parter and our introduction to Deep Space Nine and the majority of the major characters in this show.

Past Prologue - This episode is important because we meet Garak, a tailor and the only Cardassian still living on the station. What could he possibly be doing here?

Duet - A Cardassian arrives at the station, as they often do, but this one seems to be hiding something. This explores topics of colonialism, genocide, terrorism, and how complicated people really are. This was one of the episodes that made me watch the entirety of DS9. (The other was Take Me Out to the Holosuite.)

Cardassians - Another Garak episode. This one has a similar plot to the Next Generation episode Suddenly Human. Garak and Bashir discover a Cardassian boy is the adopted son of a Bajoran man. But since Bajorans and Cardassians kind of hate each other because Cardassions tried to colonize Bajor, there is a concern that the Cardassian boy is being abused by his adopted father. To make matters worse, Gul Dukat gets involved. (Gul Dukat is played by a native Wisconsinite!)

Shadowplay - Kind of similar to the Next Generation episode Survivors.

The Wire - Garak episode! This episode deals with the topic of addiction and friendship.

Second Skin - Kira might actually be an undercover Cardassian agent?!?

Crossover - Welcome back to the mirror universe, which we haven't seen since the OG series. Here we find out what happened after Kirk left that universe. Told you this was the 'find out' series.

Fascination - A fun Lwaxana episode

Past Tense, parts one and two - Time travel episode! This episode takes place August 30-September 1, 2024. The Bell Riots occurred in San Francisco, and were a turning point in earth history. These are pretty heavy episodes, and they deal with things that still resonate today: poverty, racism, classism, homelessness.

The Visitor - Similar vibes to The Inner Light. Sisko jumps through time at increasing intervals. Meanwhile, Jake lives his life with his father literally popping into existance for a short time only. Jake is older every time. Sisko is not.

Trials and Tribble-ations - The 'find out' episode to OG Trek's Trouble With Tribbles. This is just a really cool episode that blends footage from OG Trek with DS9.

Things Past - An interesting episode where some of the crew wake up in the bodies of people living on the station during the Cardassian occupation.

Ties of Blood and Water - Kira's Cardassian "father" (the guy from Second Skin) arrives on the station.

In the Cards - Jake and Nog do increasingly weird tasks in their quest to obtain a baseball card for Jake's father. Oh and that bitch Kai Winn is there too.

Statistical Probabilities - This episode introduces the Jack Pack! They're a bunch of genetically altered humans, just like Bashir! Oh, and they are extremely neurodivergent and would probably be tons of fun to hang out with.

Far Beyond the Stars - The crew, but what if they were science fiction writers in the 50s? Deals with the topic of racism.

In the Pale Moonlight - How far is Sisko willing to go to get the Romulans to join the war against the Dominion?

Take Me Out to the Holosuite - One of DS9's obligatory holosuite episodes. A Vulcan that Sisko knows shows up and in a very un-Vulcan-like manner boasts to Sisko that he and his crew are superior beings who have been trying Sisko's favorite sport and just absolutely crushing it. Sisko challenges him to a baseball game. The only problem is that most of his crew are not human and have never played baseball before.

Chrysalis - Have you ever read Flowers for Algernon? The Jack Pack returns.

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