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canary3d-obsessed · 4 years

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Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 10 second part

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Meta)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Unclean Realm

Lan Wangji has a Louis Henry Sullivan moment on seeing the Nie family home, becoming enraptured by its overwrought monumental architecture after a lifetime of restrained good taste and single-story buildings.

He approaches the fortress with the expression of delighted wonder that he usually reserves for when he’s looking at the moon or at Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian is like, yep that’s a building, all right, but he supports Lan Wangji’s kinks.

Meng Yao tells them about the Wen Clan directive, and has what appears to be a moment of genuine, affectionate amusement at Nie Huaisang’s reaction.

Jiang Cheng kinda blames the Lans for inventing the whole “indoctrination” thing and for encouraging his brother’s disaster bi tendencies. Wei Wuxian responds by complimenting the Lan Clan, almost like someone who met his true love got some real value out of the instruction he received there.

(more after the cut)

One of the great ironies of this story is that Wei Wuxian sort of becomes a rogue Lan disciple because of his relationship with Lan Wangji. He relies on Lan temperament techniques, uses music as a primary cultivation method, has committed all of the Lan rules to his supposedly terrible memory and cites them on multiple occasions, and is an important mentor for the younger generation Lan disciples. Because Hanguang-Jun is just that good in bed.

Xue Yang in the background of this conversation is channeling OP’s church-enduring, school-enduring inner 10-year-old.

Nie Mingjue, Chifeng-Zun, appears, and couldn’t be more different than his brother. On first watching this episode, I saw him as a grumpy, sexy, very emotional leather daddy man who is quick to anger. Rewatching, I see someone who’s struggling with a growing illness...the resentful energy kind.

Nie Mingjue’s handling of resentful energy is very different from Wei Wuxian’s straightforward interest and acceptance. NMJ has a traditional cultivator’s view of it, regarding it as evil and as something to resist, while he is literally carrying it on his back. He’s like a secret alcoholic who is preaching temperence, and can’t find a way to be reconciled with himself.

At this point of the story, Nie Mingjue is keeping it together, but is under a hell of a lot of stress, and Baxia’s blood thirst is already maybe a problem.

The Yunmeng bros think that Nie Huaisang’s fear of his brother is hilarious, because they don’t understand the situation. They think he’s just living in a hideously toxic family dynamic like theirs, when actually he’s in a loving, sorta healthy, if parentless, family that is being crushed under a generational curse.

Compliments for the Yunmeng Bros

I’m not the first meta poster to notice how happy Jiang Cheng is to be praised by Nie Mingjue.

He never gets this at home. Jiang Yanli praises him, but in that watery “you tried your best” way that doesn’t really stick. Nie Mingjue’s praise really means something, because he is a fearsome warrior and stern authority figure. And this is a double compliment, because Nie Mingjue says he heard it from Lan Xichen, and agrees with it.

Let’s Make Terrible Decisions

Keep Xue Yang alive, says Wei Wuxian, and Meng Yao immediately agrees, although I’m pretty sure he would have proposed that even if WWX hadn’t.

So they do, not realizing that “kill him later” is never a good plan for someone who 1. super needs killing 2. has a whole lot of death-dealing skills.

Future clan leader Jiang Cheng notices how smart and talented Meng Yao is. Xue Yang finds it hilarious when the trio praises Meng Yao, possibly because their evil team up is already underway.

Boss’ Bed Warmer Son of a Ho

The constant insults toward Meng Yao are about his mom, but there’s another level of leering implication, that Meng Yao seems to encourage in his conversation with the soon-to-be-murdered guard captain.

Nie Mingjue elevated him way above his expectations, and he is ridiculously pretty, which has to create rumors. In the Nightless City scenes when he’s fondling Baxia and telling Nie Mingjue’s family secrets there’s definitely a sense of intimacy that’s not just “loyal retainer.”

I feel like maybe this whole exchange is a bit of theater designed to show Xue Yang something without showing it to anyone else. Meng Yao didn’t need to have this conversation in front of his prisoner.

Let’s Do Exactly What We Said We Wouldn’t

Once the younger quartet are alone with Nie Mingjue, Wei Wuxian crosses the room away from his friends and practically into Lan Wangji’s pocket, if Lan Wangji had pockets.

He has no pockets and also has no personal bubble any more, when it comes to Wei Wuxian.

We could make a weapon out of Yin Iron, Wei Wuxian says, completely forgetting his entire conversation with Lan Yi, apparently. Lan Wangji doesn’t argue with this idea.

Nie Mingjue warns Wei Wuxian not to try it.

I stabbed a man in Qinghe just to watch him die

Nie Mingjue is like the Johnny Cash of the cultivation world, carrying the weight of his poor choices and trying to steer the young folk to the path of righteousness. But--like Johnny Cash--his bad choices have made him really fucking cool, so he isn’t very good at deterring anybody.

Meng Yao Didn’t Come Here to Make Friends

Immediately after Meng Yao’s fellow Nie clan people call him “son of a whore” again, Wei Wuxian meets him, is nice to him, addresses him by his military title, bows to him, asks why he’s away from the party, and thanks him for his service.

But Meng Yao has already decided to make friends with Xue Yang, so Wei Wuxian goes onto his list of people that he doesn’t give a crap about except if they can be useful to him. Then Meng Yao goes to make out hatch a plot with Xue Yang.

I’ll Sleep On Your Roof

Meeting SongXiao seems to have done away with the last of Lan Wangji’s resistance to his connection with Wei Wuxian.

He hears a noise on the roof and, when realizing it’s Wei Wuxian, he smiles one of his tiny reserved smiles before heading outside.

When he sees Wei Wuxian drunkenly sprawled on the roof, limbs akimbo, wine on his chin and neck, mouth full of poetry about the open road, Lan Wangji gives him the most fond look imaginable.

Then he reluctantly leaves, with his signature “say goodbye, but only when he can’t hear you” thing.

They’ve both come a really long way since their first meeting. Wei Wuxian is openly and vocally attaching himself to Lan Wangji...but is not actually entering his space or asking for anything from him; he just wants to be near him, and wants to let him know that. “I’ll sleep on your roof tonight.”

And Lan Wangji just...loves him. Wei Wuxian is drunk, embarrassing, demonstrative, eager to make a hell weapon out of yin iron, touchy feely, and absurdly sexy. And Lan Wangji is pretty okay with all of that.

I Might Have Been Drunk

Wei Wuxian carefully avoids telling Jiang Cheng where he was last night.

Even if he did get blackout drunk, he would have woken up on Lan Wangji’s roof. And I don’t think he was as drunk as that. He just knows Jiang Cheng wouldn’t like the truth.

Wen Fucking Chao, Again

Wen Chao shows up to be annoying and boring. This leads to a pretty good fight between Nie Mingjue and Wen Zhuliu. Note that when the chips are down, Nie Huaisang stands with his Gege without any cowering. Almost as if he had hidden reserves of bravery, and is not as helpless as he lets on.

Wen Zhuliu isn’t styled to be super hot, although he’s certainly compelling, and in Dance of the Phoenix he looks good with sensitive-guy hair wispies. I wonder what actor Feng Mingjing looks like out of character?

BRB, adding a tag to my follow list

Battle Bros

When the fighting breaks out, the Yunmeng brothers are decisive and united, with Wei Wuxian giving orders to Jiang Cheng and JC following without hesitation.

I feel like if these two could have gone through a few big battles together, instead of being separated during most of the Sunshot campaign, their whole relationship would have improved. On the battlefield, they respect, trust, and understand each other.

The Pointy End

Nie Mingjue is holding his own against Wen Zhuliu, but he gets distracted by Meng Yao hollering “Xue Yang has escaped” and then shanking the guard captain right in front of him.

Wen Zhuliu takes advantage of the distraction to aim a very slow stab at Nie Huasang, and Meng Yao jumps in front to get stabbed on his behalf.

When the Yunmeng bros show up to help NMJ, Wen Zhuliu immeiately yanks Wen Chao back behind him and points his sword at Wei Wuxian. He absolutely sees these two as a serious threat. Considering that eventually WWX is going to kill Wen Chao while JC kills Wen Zhuliu, this concern is not misplaced.

Wei Wuxian tells Wen Chao to stop being such a jerk, and Wen Chao menaces Wei Wuxian and gloats about the burning of cloud recesses. The burning, that is, of some part of cloud recesses that doesn’t include the library, the Jingshi, the main cultivation chamber, the rabbit warren, or Lan Qiren’s house, unless the Lan Clan is really really good at rebuilding things to very exact specifications.

In a rare moment of seeing Meng Yao’s internal thoughts, he is worried about Lan Xichen when he hears about cloud recesses.

The Yelling Part

Now we have the particularly nasty breakup between Nie Mingjue and Meng Yao. It’s...got some layers. Meng Yao is cowering on the floor, but is not apologizing.

He never apologizes throughout this encounter.

孟瑤無悔 - Meng Yao (has) no regrets

This scene is amazing and excruciating to watch, even more when you know what’s ahead.

What the Fuck is Meng Yao’s Plan

On one level this is Meng Yao, manipulative sociopath, setting up a cover story for his aiding and alliance with Xue Yang. On another, this is Meng Yao, loving subordinate, being tossed aside by his lord because he dared to stand up for himself.

He uses the same “scout’s honor” gesture we’ve seen Wei Wuxian use to swear he’s telling the truth. Wei Wuxian is always lying when he uses this gesture.

I’m...not sure exactly what Meng Yao’s plan is, with all these chess moves? By stabbing the captain in front of NHS, he created an opportunity to plant a cover story about Xue Yang’s escape. He might be hoping that Nie Mingjue will forgive him and keep him on, while Xue Yang can stay in his back pocket to be used later.

Dry eyes? Try Visene

Or he might be intending to get kicked out, given his non-apology. In any case, Nie Mingjue is weeping during this encounter, and Meng Yao...isn’t. He is signaling distress in his voice, expression, and body language, but his eyes are dry up until the last moment, and even then they just glisten a bit. In a show where every actor is an expert at crying on cue, that’s got to be a deliberate choice.

Which isn’t to say that Meng Yao is faking being full of emotion in this scene. It’s just that the emotion isn’t necessarily sorrow.

What Does Nie Mingjue’s Head Think

Flip the view and this is about Nie Mingjue being betrayed by a subordinate, who has turned out to be a self-serving murderer. And on another level it’s Nie Mingjue being betrayed by his lover, who was just using him for advancement.

I rewatched the later episode where we get the scene as Nie Mingjue’s head perceived it, and he’s particularly brokenhearted and disillusioned from his head’s POV. In that version there is a telling addition to the conversation.

Nie Mingjue asks about the guys who were roasting Meng Yao behind his back. He asks, if I hadn’t come, would you have murdered all of them?

Um. No, dude. Of course fucking not. That’s what a patriarchal authority does. That’s the way an angry Nie Mingjue/Baxia team might solve a problem.

Meng Yao has to use subterfuge to kill his enemies. And while he super hates being called “son of a whore” it’s absolutely not enough to make him kill someone, with the risk murder brings. Likewise, being treated well isn’t enough to make him spare someone. Nie Mingjue totally doesn’t get this, because he’s been the patriarch of this clan his entire adult life.

And Here’s the Actual Problem

There is a betrayal here, but Nie Mingjue is not simply a victim. Whether it’s a sexual relationship or a non-sexual bond of affection, there can be nothing solid in Nie Mingjue and Meng Yao’s relationship within a feudal society, because it is fundamentally unequal. Even if they love each other deeply - which I’m not convinced either of them does - every encounter they have is tainted with power dynamics.

Meng Yao has been elevated by Nie Mingjue and quite probably taken into his bed, as well as being told many family secrets, but has not been given a new surname (like, for example, Wen Zhuliu was) or independent power. More importantly, Nie Mingjue has not used his authority to remove or punish the many people who disrespect his subordinate. Lan Qiren would have had all of those gossipy fuckers kneeling in the snow, and Wen Ruohan would feed them to his mosh pit zombies.

Meng Yao is a murderous little snake, but he is right to be angry with Nie Mingjue about some things, and his pursuit of his own agenda is understandable.

Well, That Was a Slice

Meng Yao leaves, hurt, with a dignified bow; just as he did that one time when his dad kicked him down the Carp Tower steps.

Take note, both patriarchal authorities: that is his way of saying “I’m going to murder you one day.”

Nie Mingjue sits with his broken heart, as we realize that we’ve only spent 20 minutes with this guy and we’ve gone on an entire emotional journey with him. This episode packed in a LOT.

Soundtrack: Johnny Cash, Folsom Prison Blues

#fytheuntamed #the untamed #wangxian #meng yao #nie mingjue #my gifs #canary3d-original #the untamed meta #the untamed gifs #restless rewatch the untamed

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jinkicake · 4 years

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Really? You Still Have A Boner?

Nothing like your family being the ultimate cockblocks.

Ushijima Wakatoshi x Reader

For @dontfuckwpigeons !! I hope you like it!! I recognized your username and realized you were one of the first people to ever send me a request </333 !!! Sorry it took me so long to get to this,.... Ah, my brain is all Ushijima right now,,,, I wrote about 5k for him today HAHAHA ,,, only for my Wakatoshi!

SMUT // NSFW

W - 2,204

~~~

“Wakatoshi!” You exclaim and wrap your arms around his waist, it’s been too long since you’ve last seen him. “I’ve missed you.” Ushijima takes one look at your pouty lips and loving eyes and can wholeheartedly agree that it has been too long.

You glance up at him and then at your stairs, darting your eyes back and forth between the two. Ushijima slowly turns to look at the stairs, his curiosity gets the best of him. He looks back down at you and nods, giving you all the confirmation you need.

That’s how you end up in your room, on top of him, kissing him with your entire being.

“You don’t know how much I’ve missed you,” You whisper and flip all your hair to one side of your neck, you drag your clothed core along his own while ghosting your lips along his jaw. Already, you can feel him hardening in his pants and it sends a lick of heat straight to your belly. “I’ve missed you so much." You bring your lips to his, capturing them in a fierce kiss. Your hand cradles his jaw so you can tilt his face, giving you better access to control the kiss. Ushijima’s large hands grip your hips, pulling you along his clothed length, dragging you slowly so that you can feel everything. Your tongue snakes past his lips, molding with his own before tracing the back of his teeth.

You feel so hot, the temperature in the room is blazing and it’s only getting warmer.

Muffled moans sound throughout the room, your sweet ones mixing in with Ushijima’s low noises. You keep moving your hips, grinding against him with purpose.

The front door of your house opens quietly and you barely even hear it, you would’ve missed it completely had your mother not called for you.

“(Y/N)? I’m back!” Her voice rings throughout the house and you reluctantly pull away from Ushijima. You dip your head and rest it on his chest as you try to catch your breath, fuck you didn’t realize anyone was going to be home.

You push yourself off of your boyfriend while eyeballing the tent in his shorts, your hand reaches out to pat him gently before winking at him.

“Already? I have Ushijima over.” You yell back after opening your bedroom door, your mother goes silent for a few moments.

“What are you two doing upstairs?” She comments curiously and you refrain from rolling your eyes.

“Homework since we still have school, how was work?” You ask as you walk down to the front door where she is.

“It was alright, not that many people have been coming by the bank.” She smiles cheerfully and you awkwardly scratch the back of your neck. “Don’t mind me, okay? I’m going to be in my office working from home.” She pats your head before heading straight to the other room, glancing at you once before closing the door. “Say hi to Ushijima for me~”

You stand there in the hallway of the front door and blink owlishly. Ushijima comes down the stairs and stands behind you, with one glance at his shorts you still notice the slight bulge. You point to his shorts and Ushijima raises a brow, an unspoken conversation going on between the two of you.

“Oh, I have to take a call so you two need to be quiet.” Your mother warns as she pokes her head out from behind her office door. “Hi Ushijima, how is your mother today? I saw her the other day at the grocery store.”

You glance back at your boyfriend and subtly shuffle to stand in front of him, making it almost impossible for your mother to see his shorts.

“She is doing well, I am sure she would be happy to hear from you.” Ushijima smiles back politely and your mother places her hand over her heart.

“I’ll have to call her then.” She glances back at you and narrows her eyes. “You two behave.” She warns again and then goes back to her office, when she finally closes the door you lean back against Ushijima.

You let out a sigh of relief and simply relax against his chest, purposely rubbing your ass against his bulge. Ushijima stiffens behind you. His hands automatically grab your hips to stop you from moving but it doesn’t work. You turn around in his arms and wink at him again before making your way to the kitchen.

“Do you want to make something, I don’t know like, bake cupcakes?” You ask and Ushijima spins you around, pressing you back against the counter as he lowers his head to kiss you. It’s fast and quick, taking all the air from your lungs. You reach up to wrap your arms around his neck, a muffled moan escaping you as he presses himself further into you.

One of his muscular thighs rests between your own legs and you happily grind against it, squirming like you can’t get enough. Ushijima gently bites down on your bottom lip, sucking it into his mouth as the grip he has on your chin tightens. It all feels so good-

“What’s up, fuckers?” Your older sister slams open the front door. You gasp and pull away from Ushijima, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand as you try to smooth down your hair. One glance at his shorts and you can already see the tent rising back up. Fuck.

“Yuki, how many times do I have to tell you not to slam the door!” Your mother yells as she pokes her head out of her office.

Quickly you grab Ushijima’s hand and sneak into the living room, you push him down onto the couch before sitting in his lap. At the pressure of your ass on his hard cock, your boyfriend releases a quiet groan and tightly grips your thighs. You turn around to flick his forehead while trying to silence him, not realizing that you moving like this is just making it worse.

“What are you guys up to?” Your sister peeks her head into the living room and coos at the sight of you and Ushijima. “Aren’t you two just the cutest.” She gushes and sits down on one of the other chairs in the room.

“Not much, what did you do today?” You warily glance at her, noticing the familiar teasing look in her eyes.

“Literally nothing,” She groans loudly and picks up the controller. “ooh let’s rewatch Attack On Titan.” Ushijima lowers his head onto your shoulder and you awkwardly pat his thigh. “What? You guys don’t have to watch it with me, just go up into your room or something (Y/N).”

You would if you could but judging by the boner you’re sitting on, you two won’t be able to go anywhere.

“No, let’s watch it. I’ve been meaning to anyway!” You lie straight through your teeth and your sister glances at Ushijima, a bold smirk appears on her face.

“Well then, let’s begin.”

You barely get through the first episode before you realize you are bored out of your mind, Levi doesn’t even show up for the first nine episodes so what is the point. Judging by how engrossed your sister is with the characters in front of her, she isn’t going to go anywhere. Silently you beg that she leaves for the bathroom or to get a snack so you can sneak Ushijima back upstairs.

Nothing like that happens and before you know it, you’re already on the third episode. You shuffle around on Ushijima’s lap, despite the way he tries to keep you still, moving so that you can lay down and cover his lap with your thighs.

“Why do you guys watch this shit?” Your mother opens the door and glances at the tv with a grimace on her face.

“It’s not shit, mother.” Your sister sneers and turns to her. “It’s art.”

“Right, well, I want to go out for dinner. Yuki let’s go.” She leaves the room and your sister looks around.

“Why do I have to go with you?” She snorts and rolls her shoulders back arrogantly before looking at you. “Make (Y/N) and Wakatoshi come with us.”

“I never get to see you Yuki, you come back from college and avoid me!” Your mother yells and the groan your sister lets out rings throughout the house.

“You should be offended that she doesn’t want you two to come.” Your sister flicks you off before following your mother out of the house. A loud slam signals their departures plus the sound of your mother scolding your sister for once again slamming the door.

You glance at Ushijima and wait a few moments before even deciding to move, it seems too good to be true.

“Really?” You whisper and point at the tent in his shorts. “You still have a boner?” Ushijima simply stares back at you, a deadpan expression on his face. You roll your eyes and stand up from the couch, grabbing his wrist to pull him up as well.

“I forgot my fucking wallet.” Your sister yells and slams the door open once again. You throw yourself back onto the couch, splaying yourself all over Ushijima’s lap. “uh-huh.” She eyes you two oddly before picking up her wallet from the chair she was sitting in.

After her descending footsteps, the door slams again and you freeze as you try to listen for any other noise in the house.

“Are they actually gone?” You whisper and Ushijima tenses underneath you.

“I don’t know,” His fingers comb through your hair and you sigh appreciatively. You glance up at him and then at the stairs and once you get that familiar nod, the two of you are sprinting back up to your room.

That’s how you end up back on your bed, this time with Ushijima’s head between your legs and your hand covering your mouth.

“Oh, Wakatoshi,” You sigh loudly and Ushijima nips your thigh, you have to stay quiet.

“Quiet,” Ushijima warns as he thrusts his fingers into you.

“I-I can’t, I don’t even care if they hear me.” Your hands tighten in his hair and your thighs squeeze around him. Ushijima shakes his head before closing his lips around your clit. He sucks harshly on the little bud and it causes a high-pitched moan to slip past your lips. You can’t help but tighten around his fingers, just having Ushijima close to you is enough to make you cry out.

Ushijima rolls your clit with his tongue, the noises vibrate throughout the room as he slurps all he can get.

Neither of you has any shame.

His thick digits curl along your walls, stretching you deliciously and another mewl escapes your lips.

“Just like that Wakatoshi, I can’t,” You whimper and squeeze your eyes shut. You genuinely do not care if your family hears you right now, you don’t even know if they are back in the house. All you can focus on is Ushijima’s hot mouth devouring you whole. “yes. Yes!”

Ushijima’s name falls from your lips over and over again as you grind your core into his face, your back arches off the bed.

“Please, more,” You beg and Ushijima slips in a third finger, his tongue laps at your clit to soothe the stretch and your head begins to cloud over with pleasure. One single curl of his fingers is enough to make you rise off the bed, holding his head so he continues to suck on your clit. “I’m cumming Toshi~”

Ushijima continues to thrust his fingers and stimulate your clit, he works you through your orgasm to prolong your high. His favorite part is watching you bloom. Once you finally settle down and Ushijima has had his fill, he gently pulls his fingers out of you. He sucks on his digits while staring up at you and you groan at the sight, pressing your ass into the sheets as you clench around nothing.

In a second, your mind realizes how loud you were being and you cover your face with a pillow.

“They probably heard everything, they’re going to kill us!” You whisper, quietly screeching about your family, and Ushijima simply tilts his head at you. “Don’t just stand there, fuck me one last time before we die!”

Ushijima shakes his head and gets up to hover over you.

“They aren’t even home,” He tells you and you raise a brow at him.

“What do you mean?” You ask curiously and reach over to grab your phone, expecting some kind of teasing response from your sister.

It simply read : this hag is dragging me to an onsen, see you in the morning! Mom said no toshi for the night but honestly, do whatever you want!

“I didn’t hear them come in yet.” Ushijima reports and you toss your phone to the side before wrapping your arms around Ushijima’s neck and bringing him down so you can kiss him.

“They’re not coming back tonight,” You tell him excitedly and Ushijima simply blinks at you. “we don’t have to worry about them interrupting us.” You slowly continue to explain and Ushijima nods his head. You reach up to peck his lips before gently tapping his head. “Get to work!”

Taglist.

@yams046 @why-am-i-sad-and-sleepy @xhanjisungiex @xxashshs @chaosamu @angelkogane @augustdearly @kunimwuah @littleshopoflove @osamuonigiri @pearzuko @darksxder @macaronnv @nerdygremlin @buzzybeebee

#ushijima wakatoshi x reader #ushijima x reader #ushijima smut #haikyuu fic #haikyuu x y/n #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu x you #haikyuu smut

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snootsnoot-fiction · 3 years

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Sweet Anniversary

Pairing: Klaus Hargreaves x reader

Word count: 1.8k

Warnings: Fluff, food mention.

Author's note: I wrote this last year as a birthday present for @lemonboy-milo and this is also the first fic I wrote so feedback would be appreciated thank you :)

Summary: You're in a relationship with the one and only Klaus Hargreaves, and you wake up one morning to an empty bed.

It had been two years. Two whole years since the day his life changed for the better. The life of Klaus Hargreaves had been a rocky one. And unpleasant. In fact, the only time he felt any kind of sanity was when he was high. Especially when he finally got away from that excuse of a home and a father. In the end, only daddy’s number one was left.

The numbness Klaus always felt took the edge off every negative thing he felt. It didn’t stop him from feeling terrible, but deep down, there was something that made him want to keep going. What for, he wasn’t sure. The only real company he had nowadays was his brother Ben, and he wasn’t even alive. Every living person had either abused or abandoned Klaus, or they simply just didn’t care. Despite his powers, the man had always felt alone. Hard as he tried to feel otherwise. Life had been one long journey that he really did not like. Until today.

On this day, two years ago, Klaus had decided to walk into a coffee shop. He had been skulking from the world, somewhere near said coffee shop, and his brother trying to talk sense into him as usual. Then, by some random chance, he caught the eye of someone soon before they walked into the building. For one, small moment, time seemed to slow down. However, this person seemed to be shy as they looked away almost too soon. Ben had sensed it, though he simply watched as his brother Klaus watched after this mystery person for a few moments, before following.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Klaus was sat cross-legged on a random bench, just next to an alleyway. He was staring into space, not even hearing a word Ben said. After a long few moments, he came back to reality and looked at his ghost brother.

“I'm sorry, what?” The most uninterested look on Klaus’ face as his brother just looked away and ignored him. It was in that moment, with the coffee shop in his line of sight, he caught the eye of the most gorgeous person he had ever laid eyes on. Suddenly the look on his face turned to one of interest as he sat up and perked up. Unfortunately for him, you had soon ducked into the shop, leaving Klaus staring after you. Something about you tugged at his curiosity. You appeared to be shy. The Hargreave man could tell.

After mere seconds of inner debate, Klaus decided to get up. He told himself that perhaps he was in need of a drink. Walking over to the coffee place, he opened the door – eyes immediately finding the same cute person he had seen earlier, fumbling through his wallet as the person behind the counter called for the next customer. There was no line behind you, and Klaus could see you were at least a little distressed. So he walked up to stand next to you.

“Allow me..” Pulling a note out of his pocket, Klaus placed it on the counter.

“I’ll have what he’s having.” Then as the person began sorting change out, he added, “no no,” he sniffed, “keep it.” Klaus looked to you next to him with his signature, crooked, charming smile.

After you had both collected your drinks, you sat down at a table and started talking. You two hit it off quite well. Something just seemed to click between you. Klaus knew, from the moment he walked into the coffee shop, that there was more to this person than meets the eye. You were unlike any other human he had met, and he loved that about you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That was an important day to Klaus. You were important to Klaus. Meeting you changed his life more than he realised. The two of you eventually started dating. Nothing either of you were uncomfortable with. You also got to really know each other. Open up to each other. You had embraced one another. Whenever you opened up to him, he only loved you more. He wanted to do better for you. To help you. To be there whenever you needed him.

Of course, it wasn’t easy. You had your dark days, but he was there for you. He even recalled a few times when he had left the Academy in the middle of the night in order to be there for you. You’d tell him he didn’t need to, but he did. No matter how much you denied it, you did need him. Just like he needed you. The pair of you had grown so close within months, and he wouldn’t change a thing for the world.

You and Klaus had been living together only for a short while. You had both agreed to take things slow when you first started dating. Officially, you were together for over a year. For once in his life, his siblings seemed happy for him. Despite how shy you were, Klaus eventually had persuaded you to meet the rest of his siblings – having already met Ben. They all loved you. Granted, Five was a little blunt at first, but even he warmed up to you in his own way soon enough.

Klaus knew you, so he knew exactly what to do to make this day special and nice for you. For the both of you. He wasn’t entirely sure if you remembered, but he didn’t care. He just wanted to have this day. Just the two of you. While you were still asleep, Klaus got up, dressed, and left the place. Only for a short while; he knew exactly what he was doing. In case you woke up before he got back, though, he left a note on the fridge.

When you awoke, you were confused as to why the space next to you was empty. Why there wasn’t the warm body of your boyfriend cuddled against you. Giving yourself time to actually wake up, eventually you got out of bed. On your way to the kitchen to make a coffee, you heard the front door open. In walked Klaus. The love of your life.

“Where’d you go?” You asked with a curious look at the bag in his hand and the way he was standing; clearly holding something else behind his back.

“Didn’t you read the note?” He questioned. It was only then that he realised you must have just woken up.

“I literally just woke up…” you mumbled quietly. Still half asleep.

“Oh! Silly me!” Klaus let out a little laugh as he smiled at you. “Perfect timing though..” He put his stuff on the ground, making sure his body was in the way so you couldn’t see what exactly he had, “I just bought a few things.” Then he stood up and faced you. “Now dear,” he ushered you to the living room, sitting you on the sofa, “you just wait here.” Before he left, he turned the TV and Netflix on, then put The Great British Bake-Off on. He handed you the remote, in case you wanted to watch something else, before he left the room.

You sat there in silent confusion for a moment, then turned to watch the TV. You had long ago accepted how random and crazy the man could be at times. It was only one of the many reasons you loved him.

It wasn’t long before he reappeared – a bag dangling from his arm, and a drink in each hand. You recognised the drinks as the usual order you got from any coffee place. But why had Klaus done this exactly?

“Happy anniversary honey!” The biggest smile was plastered on his lips as he waved his arms up for dramatic effect, careful not to spill the coffees.

“It’s not…” your face twisted with confusion. “What?”

“I mean, it’s not our ‘anniversary’ anniversary,” Klaus rolled his eyes at his own choice of words, “but we met today – two years ago.” The smile was back on his face as he gave you a coffee, and sat down with his own, and the bag.

“That’s so sweet… but you didn’t have to do this.” After his words, it had all clicked in your head. This drink wasn’t just your usual order, but the same exact drink you both had when you met all that time ago.

“No! Don’t say that! I did have to do this…” Klaus set the bag and coffee on the floor before turning to face you, and sitting cross-legged on the sofa – a sofa that the both of you had cuddled on, and even fallen asleep on a few times since moving in together. The man gently took your coffee to put it on the floor and held your hands in his as he looked into your eyes. Those beautiful eyes.

“I didn’t have a life before I met you… meeting you has made me happier. Falling in love with you has made me happier. You think yourself as imperfect. Nobody’s perfect- hell! I’m far from it.” He chuckled a little as his voice broke slightly. “But to me, you are perfect..” His eyes shined with potential tears. “So I got us those coffees, some healthy, low calorie snacks for you, and all the cuddles you want. Because I love you, Y/N.”

As you listened to Klaus, tears gathered in your own eyes. Tears of happiness, and love. You wondered what you did to deserve him, but you weren’t about to question it. He was here. You had him, and he had you. By some great luck, you had him, and you couldn’t be more happy than you were when you were with him. “I love you too Klaus…” You couldn’t help the little giggle that escaped you. Before you knew it, your boyfriend had drawn you into his arms in a tight embrace, kissing the side of your head.

“Now…” Klaus begun as he slowly and reluctantly pulled away, his hands sliding down your arms to hold your hands again, “What d’ya say we cuddle and rewatch episodes of our favourite shows, yeah?”

“I’d love that.” You replied with the warmest smile you could offer. You didn’t think you could feel more blessed in the moment. More happy. Or more in love than ever before.

While you made yourself comfy, Klaus went and fetched a blanket. He moved everything you’d need closer before lying down on the sofa to cuddle. Your boyfriend lied on his back whilst you lied just next to him with your head on his chest. Whenever you wanted a sip of your coffee, he held the drink up for you. For the day, he wanted you to relax as much as possible. No worries. No anxieties. Nothing. Just you, him, the much-loved sofa, and some TV.

#the umbrella academy #klaus hargreaves #fluff #anniversary

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travllingbunny · 4 years

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The 100: 7x10 A Little Sacrifice

After The Flock - the show’s weakest episode in a long time - and an unfortunate hiatus after that episode, A Little Sacrifice helped get season 7 back on track. It’s one of the best episodes of the season: it was exciting, things finally happened - a lot, we got a big revelation about what the endgame is likely to be all about, there were fights, an attempted mass murder/genocide (what would a season of The 100 be without those?), some really good character work, and the first major death of the season.

Yes, Charmaine Diyoza was not a main character. but after being introduced as a villain in season 5, she has grown into one of the most memorable and interesting characters on the show - in large part due to Ivana Miličević’s charismatic performance - with a complex and morally ambiguous characterization and backstory (which I really hope to maybe learn more about one day in the prequel flashbacks? Please?). She has been one of my favorite characters since season 5, and I loved her development and her relationship with Octavia, her mother/daughter relationship between her and Hope, her past fights to protect “expendable” prisoners and her S7 attempts to find peace and renounce violence, and hope (!) that at least her daughter will get to have a different and better life where she wouldn’t need to resort to it. She became a (not so little) sacrifice for the better future we saw her dreaming of in season 5 in that conversation with Kane - maybe that dream is something we will see the new generations live in the series finale?

The one thing I wasn’t too happy about (I was OK with the lack of Bellamy cliffhanger since we got him in the promo for 7x11 right afterwards) was that Clarke did not have any more screentime than in the other recent episodes. But, especially on rewatch, she had some great subtle little moments.

You know what is not subtle? Sheidheda. He’s finding new ways to be completely OTT. This time he can finally stop pretending to be Russell, so he gets a makeover, more in tune with the...interesting Grounder fashion styles, chews the scenery even more, and then - thanks to Madi - he loses an eye (just as he did during his original lifetime), getting closer to his season 6 Emperor-like look, though he’s missing a cloak this time. He also doesn’t have enough facial hair to twirl his moustache, but he actually hisses at one point. This part of the episode was, this time, really fun and intense, including a really good fight scene and some really emotional and important moments for Indra, Madi and Murphy, but doesn’t need much analysis and doesn’t require attention on rewatch.

I’m still not sure how/if these two storylines will connect. But I can see a thematic connection of sorts: Sheidheda is the embodiment of the worst parts of the Grounder culture, with the worship of violence and power and killing all those who oppose you; and not just that - he’s all egotism taken to the extreme, the kind of “wild beast” as Anders would despise, but in this case, he would actually have good reasons to. On the other hand, we have the Disciples with their sterile white rooms, order and the propaganda of the abnegation of self in the favor of the collective, and dreaming of “transcendence” instead of trying to get back to the “old ways”. But they really come off as two sides of the same coin: both ideologies are about worship of and subjugation to a leader, both believe violence is the solution, and both are against love and see it as a danger.

Brand new opening titles - these opens start with a shot of Sanctum and end with the Bardo Stone Room with the Anomaly Stone - and guess what makes a cameo near the end of the credits? That’s right, Earth. I was starting to think that any return to Earth won’t happen, but now I’m not so sure.

Sanctum

The episode opens with the immediate aftermath of Shady’s massacre of the Faithful. We see Madi’s friend Rex (that’s his name according to the credits) - the Sanctum boy who offered Madi’s other friend, the null boy, to play soccer - mourning someone, probably his mother. This scene had to be there so we’d feel some sympathy and sadness over the deaths of the Faithful rather than just be relieved they’re (mostly) gone. One of the wounded ones is Jeremiah, the same guy who developed deep gratitude for Murphy for saving his son. Although the Faithful have been very annoying, I do feel a tinge of sympathy for this guy, who’s so clueless that he never understood he had any agency in what happened to his son and seemed really convinced it was all about the will of the “gods”. He now asks Murphy to take care of his son when he dies, but Murphy insists he will not let Jeremiah die. (Trey, the annoying a-hole who was brainwashing Jordan, and used to act as the leader of the Faithful, is credited in the episode but I didn’t see him anywhere - so I have no idea if he’s among the dead, or he survived and was in a deleted scene.)

Madi has a really nice mini arc in this episode. She already had PTSD from her experience and possession by Sheidheda in season 6, so she is absolutely terrified when she learns he is back, and when he threatens her in a really creepy way. Excellent acting by Lola. Later, after being comforted by Murphy and joining the survivors,she shows strength in comforting Rex for his loss; and in the end, overcomes her fears and risks her life to save Indra.

Not that it matters, but Sheidheda’s real name is Malachi. (I’m still gonna keep calling him Shady.) We learn that when he recites the lineage - the names and clans of all the previous Commanders, which we know from S3 is a Grounder custom for a new Commander to do. Of course, we only get to hear some of the names in the middle (a couple of random Commanders called Maffei kom Boudalankru - the Rock Line and Kemji kom Trishanakru) and the end, when he mentions Lexa and Madi. The show wasn’t going to spoil the prequel by revealing the names of early Commanders,

The fight itself was really intense and maybe the best Grounder-style duel in the show (yes, I prefer it to the 3x04 one, which involved too much showmanship to look as a real death match). Shady is obviously going to be there for a while and things aren’t going to get so easily resolved, so he wins and is about to kill Indra - who refuses to kneel to save her own life - but just as he’s about to kill her, Madi finds the courage to come as the Big Damn Hero at the crucial moment, pluck out Shady’s eye and save Indra’s life. But then as he is about to kill Madi, Indra decides to (metaphorically, since she’s lying and about to pass out) kneel in order to save Madi’s life. Indra’s arc with Shady has come full circle: this may finally make her understand her mother’s choice and realize she was unfair to her. She grew up blaming her mother for agreeing to kneel to Sheidheda and considering her “weak”. The battle had been lost, her father was already dead, and her mother made the best possible decision and wasn’t just saving herself but her daughter, too. Otherwise, as we see in this episode, Shady would have ordered the daughter to be killed, too, after the mother - as he thinks children of the people he killed should also be eliminated so they couldn’t pose a threat and seek revenge.

That last order even shocked Knight, who may be having some second thoughts about the awesomeness of “Sangedakru’s greatest champion” (but this doesn’t mean he won’t keep obeying him). Penn and the other Trikru guy we know, who are loyal to Indra, reluctantly knelt when Indra asked them to.

Madi, Rex and the other Faithful (including Jeremiah, who has indeed survived) have gone into hiding with Murphy and Emori - and hiding at the abandoned reactor. We didn’t see Jackson, but i’m sure he’s there. (Sachin is a guest star and must skip some episodes he’s not really needed in.) So now we’re finally reached the part of this storyline where Shady is in power and our heroes are the resistance. And Murphy is now, with Emori, a part of a power couple protecting these people and taking care of them (who would’ve expected that back in season 1?) - much like we’ve seen Clarke and Bellamy do over the seasons - even though most of the same people resented them for being fake Primes just a few hours earlier. Maybe they’re finally starting to get a clue and feel respect and gratitude to people who are trying to save them just because it’s a decent humane thing to do, rather than for being self-proclaimed “gods” who participated in their murder, oppression and exploitation.

Bardo

After 4 episodes, Clarke, Raven and Miller finally left the Stone Room! Yay! Jordan and Niylah stayed in it, and as it turns out, Jordan has a much more important and interesting role to play by reading the Anomaly Stone, while Niylah’s role in S7 has been to be exposition machine for Grounder history and have bad one-liners while Miller has the good ones. I’m glad there was no prolonged “OMG are they really brainwashed and on their side?” misunderstanding, as Clarke and the rest of the group, after learning about MCap from Gabriel, quickly realized that Octavia, Echo and Diyoza are only pretending, since they haven’t blown the secret that Clarke doesn’t have the Flame.

Speaking of one-liners, Miller’s “Get the flock out of here” really made me laugh out loud.

Callie is known as the Pramfleimkepa - the First Flamekeeper - which should mean she was never a Commander (I imagine that would supersede the position of the Flamekeeper or at least be as worthy of mention). I was afraid for a moment that Niylah had given the game away when she told Cadogan that - but fortunately, he didn’t understand what it meant, as he never knew that Becca called ALIE 2.0 “the Flame”.

Gabriel and Cadogan have a long conversation over dinner (or breakfast or lunch of whatever) about Earth before the bombs and Cadogan’s beliefs. The two of them are one of the few remaining humans who knew life before the apocalypse. (After Diyoza’s death in this episode, the only other people left from that time are the Eligius prisoners in Sanctum.) But while Cadogan is chronologically ‘older’ than Gabriel, as he was a Millennial, while Gabriel was born a couple of decades later, and because Cadogan has technically been alive for thousands of years on Bardo - Cadogan spent most of that time in cryo (same as Diyoza and the other prisoners). Gabriel is the real Old Man - at least 260 years old, having lived and experienced all those years. We learn a bit more about Gabriel’s background - that his family were from Colombia and his grandmother was poor, making him a “self-made man” - another contrast between him and the love of his life Josephine (which makes their season 6 parallel to Clarke/Bellamy even more perfect). Gabriel is the go-to-guy this season for having conversations about the worship of false gods and trying to challenge the Disciples’ beliefs. Cadogan, again, denies that he’s a cult leader (sure), reveals he doesn’t believe in God, and claims he doesn’t consider himself one (he sure doesn’t mind being treated like one, though). Instead, he claims his purpose is for everyone to “transcend” and become like gods - though he doesn’t really explain what that would consist of, and he also doesn’t offer any explanations as to why there is supposed to be a “Last War” and who the enemy in that was is supposed to be. Seven episodes have gone by with the characters talking to the Disciples, and no one has ever asked that question: who is the enemy? I guess they don’t even know that, they just think that, when they type in the code, they will learn who the enemy is and the war will begin, for... reasons? He also adds some BS about “this life” being unimportant compared to afterlife. (Now, to be clear - I actually do believe in the afterlife in general (though I don’t know in which form), but I really, really hate it when religions make the afterlife the focus and treat the life we actually know and are sure we have as less important, use it as an excuse to teach people to accept any sort of crap in their lives and not ask for more instead of living their lives to the fullest and trying to build something worthwhile in this life.) Gabriel is less than impressed with Cadogan, and challenges him by pointing out that “You can’t fight a war for the soul of the human race with an inhuman army” and that a life without love, individuality or freedom is pretty worthless, but Cadogan has the afterlife as a ready excuse, even though that doesn’t really answer the question.

The most important revelation that we finally get in this episode is that Cadogan has most likely mistranslated and completely misunderstood the ancient Bardoan text that he’s based his entire belief system on. And his mistake was in large part due to confirmation bias - he saw what he wanted to see, even though the idea of ending wars and violence by starting and fighting a war is absurd. (Niylah, for once, has a good line, when she points out that every major war is supposed to be the “last” but it never is.) Jordan’s interpretation - that it is really about a test that the species needs to pass - makes a lot more sense. Not a literal test - I really can’t imagine the show introducing some kind of godlike “higher beings” - but, I think, something that will require the characters to use all their strength and moral sense and all the experience they’ve had and wisdom they may have gained, to find the best solution to save the human race and rebuild the civilization, hopefully into something better (and it’s really not too hard being better than the mess of tribalism and constant wars and conflicts we’ve seen on the show). I don’t know what this will be, but the words “the orb becomes like a star” make me thing of a natural phenomenon.

It’s also cool that it was knowledge of the Korean language that helped Jordan decipher the text - proving how helpful it is to be familiar with multiple languages and cultures and how much it expands one’s way of thinking. Do Disciples speak any languages other than English? They seem to foster cultural uniformity, so probably not. (it’s also confirmed now that Monty was half-Korean on his father’s side - Chris Larkin is Korean, but the actress who played his mother, Donna Yamamoto, is Japanese, so I assume Monty is half-Japanese.)

If you doubted that 7x09 flashbacks were a waste of screentime, we get a confirmation early on that Echo has just been pretending to be loyal to the Disciples, while plotting revenge all the time, when she kills a Disciple and saves Hope from being sent to Skyring. This plot could have continued straight from 7x07, when Echo’s Azgeda ritual was strongly hinting that she’s out for revenge. (And yes, the writing in 7x09 was just that clunky as I feared - of course that Chekhov’s WMD that Levitt mentioned for no reason would be used in the very next episode for someone to try to kill all the Disciples in another Mount Weather parallel.)

A tiny bit of info about the Disciples - a Disciple addressed Hope as “Seeker Diyoza”. I don’t know if that’s a title for those trying to reach Level 1 or something else.

Hope, with her usual anger and impulsiveness, reminiscent of how Octavia used to be once, and her naive black and white views, is all for revenge-genocide, too, in spite of Octavia’s and Diyoza’s disagreement. Her mother tries to, again, teach her the lesson she tried to in 7x07, that she should turn to love instead of violence and killing (which carries a lot more weight when it comes from someone like Charmaine Diyoza rather than a hippy): “I know what it's like to kill innocent people for a cause, and I promise you, it's not gonna fill that hole in your heart. Only we can do that.” But Hope retorts that “There are no innocent people here”, echoing Nikki’s words to Nelson that “There are no innocent people at the end of the world”. It’s not that Hope doesn’t have a point that everyone in Bardo is a part of the society that’s been kidnapping and torturing her family and that stole her childhood, but collective responsibility is a concept that only works in terms of moral responsibility, not as an excuse to commit genocide because you’ve decided that everyone in the other group is evil and the “enemy” and deserves death. Some people have compared it to Maya saying “None of us is innocent”, but I don’t think this comparison works, because that line changes the meaning entirely depending on whether you are holding yourself and your society morally accountable for its failings and complicity in crimes against humanity, or if you’re using it against others, in order to justify hate and commit crimes against humanity.

Even though neither Clarke nor Octavia had huge screentime in this episode and may not have done anything big (like Diyoza sacrificing herself and saving everyone, or Jordan figuring everything out), they had some wonderful, subtle little moments that spoke volumes:

I loved the hug between Clarke and Octavia - where Clarke said her condolences to Octavia and then Octavia said them back, letting Clarke know she knew what Bellamy meant to her and that she is grieving just as much. (”I’m sorry, Octavia” - “So am I”)

Raven and Miller exchanged a wordless look - probably because of how awkward it was for Miller to see Octavia again. Although these 4 people all go back to season 1 (and it was the first time in a while they were in the same room), for Miller it’s been just a few weeks since she was Blodreina and he was her follower, and the last time they saw each other (in season 6), he yelled at her that he’s not following her orders anymore - which was about him struggling with his guilt and seeing her as an embodiment of it. But for Octavia, it’s been over 10 years and a huge character development, which Miller doesn’t know about. But they had no time to go over it - instead, she just hugged him and asked him to hug her back, and he did.

When the group went to find Levitt - still tied up and bloody after Echo had tortured him and killed two Disciples in front of him to force him to tell her about Gem9, the WMD that can destroy everyone on Bardo (he must be really traumatized one - Clarke obviously immediately realized what was going on when she saw Octavia come to check on Levitt, going by the look on her face, and her look when she turned to go and the others went after her, while Octavia was still there -as if saying "I realize you need a moment with this guy, but don't wait too long". Although Levitt looked disappointed and shocked that Octavia didn’t untie him, she was really doing what was the most reasonable way to try to protect everyone - the priority was to stop Echo from killing all the Disciples, which would include Levitt, but also to stop Levitt from alerting Anders, which he would’ve done, because Octavia also wanted to save Echo and her people. It doesn’t mean she doesn’t care for Levitt, but she’s not the 17 year old girl who’d go: “I just met you but you’re immediately the most important person to me and I’m going to prioritize you over everyone I know”.

And then we get to the final and most dramatic scene of the episode... Echo’s attempt to commit genocide out of revenge, while Octavia, Clarke and Raven tried to talk her down.

Octavia tried to reach Echo by, again, talking about their shared grief over Bellamy, as she did in 7x07, but again, it did not work - because Octavia and Echo, and Clarke and Echo, are different people, who grieve in different ways and think and act in different ways. It doesn’t mean that any of them are grieving more or less than another one - but their responses are very different. Octavia - this mature Octavia who is more able to empathize with others and doesn’t react with impulsive violence as she used to - responded by trying to reach out to others who were also grieving for Bellamy, Echo and Clarke, and validating their grief, too. Clarke reacted - after the initial shock and grief - by sucking it up, as she does, in order to take care of the others, and focusing on saving the people Bellamy loved, telling Raven “We do this for him” and focusing on saving Octavia and Echo. Echo, on the other hand, reacted destructively and violently and by killing people for revenge and then plotting genocide as revenge for 3 months. This is the only way she knows how to process grief - she’s never known a different way, as I’m sure Azgeda weren’t known for compassion and sharing feelings. When Bellamy was grieving Clarke in season 6, she asked him “When do we attack?”, because that’s what she expected him to do, too. She’s also lost because she hasn’t lost just a boyfriend, but a leader and anchor in her new post-Praimfaya life, and because she had made saving Bellamy her mission she was waiting to fulfill during the 5 years on Skyring. If she had carried out her plan, I’m not sure she’d know what to do with herself. (I don’t know what it says about the mindset of us, humans of 2020, that so many fans have decided that Echo’s way of grieving is the superior one and the one that shows that she loves Bellamy the best. It certainly doesn’t show anything good.)

Octavia’s next argument - that there are many good people on Bardo she’d be killing - was even less successful, as Echo threw her relationship with Levitt back in her face, pointing out that he stole her memories, talking of him as one of their enemies, and then even saying: "Way to honor your brother's memory!" Echo came off as very judgmental here, and more than bit hypocritical - after all , she personally almost killed Octavia twice, and Bellamy started trusting her and dating her on the Ring, after she had given them both far less reason to trust her than Levitt did. Levitt actually took a risk and was helping her against Anders just out of his feelings for Octavia, while Echo only helped Bellamy and others after she was exiled and had to in order to survive. She seems to value forgiveness only when it’s others forgiving her (”Who knows more about forgiveness than us?”), even though she never expected them to and was a bit shocked that they did.

Clarke then tried to use her standard “This is not who you are” plea, but it didn’t work with Echo, since Clarke doesn’t really know Echo, and the words felt empty. There really is very little reason for Clarke to think this is not who Echo is, except for her tendency to assume Echo must have changed for the better because she’s Bellamy’s girlfriend and Bellamy loves her (see their conversation in 5x12). Clarke also tried to use her own experience - as she did with Raven earlier in the season - telling Echo that “a choice like this” would haunt her forever (of course Clarke would bring up MW, it always goes back to MW for her), but Echo rejected that comparison and, for a moment, channeled me by pointing out that Clarke’s motivations were to save her people, while Echo’s are purely revenge. Which was, however, a strange argument in context - pointing out that Clarke’s reasons were much better and she had no choice but to kill all of the Mountain Men or let them kill all of her friends and family, while Echo wasn’t achieving anything good and could just save all her people and not take revenge on the Disciples. But Echo seemed to be telling Clarke that they different, and she cannot assume that Echo will feel the same way about mass murder Clarke does.

Then Clarke finally brought up Bellamy, pointing out that he would not want a genocide to be committed in his memory. I don’t know how anyone who’s watched the show for 6 seasons could disagree with Clarke. But Echo did. What’s more, she yelled "You have no idea what Bellamy wanted!" in a really angry, resentful way. It felt personal. I don’t know if Echo has felt romantic jealousy of Clarke over Bellamy - she has sure kept it close to her chest - but it certainly felt like some kind of possessiveness, like resenting the idea that Clarke was as close or closer to Bellamy and knew him better. In any case, this was a moment of extreme dramatic irony - because we know (and really, Echo should know as well) that Echo is the one who doesn’t seem to know, or is simply ignoring, what Bellamy would have wanted and who he was. And she should know. She was there when he talked down Riley from killing Roan, telling him “War made me a murderer, don’t let it do it to you too”, she was there when Bellamy refused to kill 283 prisoners in cryo sleep and said “Clarke didn’t die for us to go back and make the same mistakes”. And she was there when Bellamy was grieving Clarke but decided not to take revenge for her death - not even by killing the man who murdered her, Russell - but to try to honor her memory by doing what she would want and surviving and keeping their people alive. Which directly contradicts Echo’s statement that Bellamy would be doing the same she is if one of them (Clarke, Octavia or her) were killed. Does she really not know him? Most of the time they spent together were in a time of peace and boredom with just 7 people on the Ring. She seems to be projecting her own ideas and views and character into him.

Then Raven went on to agree with Clarke (but Echo did not resent her for saying it), pointing out how Bellamy has grown and changed and that the post-season 3 Bellamy certainly would never do that. I was slightly annoyed when she said that Bellamy of season 3 may do that - but to be fair, she did say, “maybe”. Now, season 1 or season 3 Bellamy was certainly angrier and more prone to black and white thinking when it came to enemies, and he may very well have agreed to kill all of the adult Disciples if he thought they were likely to be a threat to his people (which is what he did when he agreed to help Pike kill Lexa’s army), but he sure wouldn’t agree to kill any of them just for revenge, or to kill children and non-combatants (the one time he did it was MW, when he and Clarke knew there was no other way to protect their people from being horrifically killed, and he hated it and was haunted by it then). Nevertheless, that’s a minor thing as the point of Raven’s speech was the way Bellamy has grown and developed. Echo hasn’t really changed, certainly not as much as Bellamy wanted to think in S5. Is there still time for her to change?

In the end, love did save the day - but it wasn’t Echo’s love for Bellamy, it was her non-romantic love for Raven and Raven’s for her. Raven calling her a sister only helped pave the way - but she had to actually threaten to stay there and force Echo to choose between killing Raven and giving up her revenge, for Echo to finally stand down. The fact she did shows that maybe there’s still hope for her to change and give up revenge and violence for things like friendship.

But then Anders had to appear and ruin everything, He could have just tried to arrest the group, rather than threatening them and giving them speeches about how he despises them for being “beasts raised in the wild”. (I’ve wondered many times since 7x05 is Anders is supposed to be smart or a complete dumbass. He was definitely a dumbass.)

Diyoza took charge, as the most experienced and tactical one, and almost. And then Hope was again being her impulsive, angry, out of control self - Anders is always the person most likely to set her off - killing Anders (which I wouldn’t mind) but then also making her own attempt to commit genocide. (It’s funny that the four Disciples just froze and did nothing while all of that was happening.)

What happened then was both a heroic sacrifice and one of the best and most heroic death scenes on the show, a fitting ending for Charmaine Diyoza (even a visually beautiful death in a creepy way, as Diyoza turned into a crystal statue), with her final message to her daughter to be “better” than her in the future - and a heartbreaking loss for Hope, who has just been punished by the narrative/fate for her devotion to violence and hate and attempt at genocide, by causing her own mother’s death. She was obsessed with revenge for her lost childhood and the fact her mother was taken from her - instead of focusing on the future and what she still had. I’m sure that Hope will survive to the end of the series, and will have to question herself and change. She still has Aunty O to help her and be her family.

As we’re approaching the endgame, the show here made an obvious point about violence, hatred and revenge and having to give up those things - not for Anders’ unemotional duty to the collective, but for love and compassion/

Rating: 8.5/10

#the 100 #the 100 7x10 #a little sacrifice #the 100 season 7 #charmaine diyoza #clarke griffin #octavia blake #gabriel santiago #jordan green #indra kom trikru #indra #john murphy #madi griffin #sheidheda #emori #bill cadogan #hope diyoza

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ericsonclan · 4 years

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Unexpected Company

Summary: Louis and Clementine are having a chill date at Clem's house when Clementine realizes that Lee has company too.

Word Count: 2582

Read on AO3:

Clementine and Louis lay curled up together on her bed, completely absorbed by the events occurring on the laptop in front of them. They’d been rewatching The Last Airbender series together for the past few weeks after they both realized it had been years since they’d seen it. A.J. had joined in for some of their watch parties, but he was at a sleepover at Tenn’s house tonight, so they were on their own. They’d reached the point where Zuko and Iroh were on the run. They both chuckled as Iroh debated the risks of making a tea out of a plant that might just be deadly poisonous.

“Man, Iroh’s the best,” Louis commented, his words sending a tickling warmth through Clem’s hair. “Wish I had a cool uncle giving me sage life advice and making me tea,”

“Don’t we all,” Clementine murmured. Her hand shifted around Louis’ waist, pulling him closer. “Y’know, in some ways Lee reminds me of Iroh,”

“Really?” Louis chuckled. “I mean, the resemblance is striking, but…”

“Not like that!” Clementine smacked her boyfriend’s chest playfully. “It’s more like… they’re both mentors. Always encouraging, but willing to call you on your crap. Cheering for you, but hands off enough to let you make your own mistakes and learn from them. Stuff like that,”

“Makes sense,” Louis nodded thoughtfully, his chin brushing through Clem’s curls. “Well, I’m glad you have someone like that in your life, even if you found each other later than you would have liked,” One of his thumbs brushed across the scar on Clementine’s left arm. She’d told him what it was from. To think that a foster family could be negligent enough to let Clementine, only 11 at the time, be bitten by their dog then blame it on her… he couldn’t believe the things she’d been through sometimes. She really was amazing.

“Things are good now,” Clementine responded, fiddling with a button on Louis’ shirt. “That’s all that matters. Now I’ve got Lee, and A.J… and you,” She smiled up at her boyfriend who was grinning like a fool. A fool in love. Their lips met for a quick kiss, followed by another. Clementine pulled way reluctantly. “We’re going to have to go back like five minutes in this episode because I have no idea what’s been happening,”

“We can finish it later,” Louis’ foot tapped the laptop closed. He leaned forward to capture Clementine’s lips in another kiss, to which she eagerly complied.

Suddenly a loud clanging from the kitchen had both of them jumping in surprise.

“Are Kenny and Lee having a late night bakeathon?” Louis quirked an eyebrow. Lee had mentioned that Kenny was going to come over that night when Louis had dropped by in the late afternoon. The pair had simply nodded at the news, heading to Clementine’s room with a stash of snacks to keep them going through the Avatar marathon. They hadn’t exited the room since.

“Kenny’s not really the baking type,” Clementine mused over other explanations. “Maybe they decided to do breakfast for dinner. Lee’s always down for breakfast food,”

“Who isn’t?” Louis’ stomach rumbled loudly. “Speaking of which…” Reaching off the side of the bed, he rooted through the snack bags, looking for Skittles. He lifted them up with a triumphant cheer.

“How exactly are Skittles a breakfast food?” Clementine asked, her arms crossed.

“Skittles transcend categories,” Louis retorted, popping a few into his mouth and offering her the bag. “Any time is Skittles time,”

Clementine was going to come up with a sassy reply of her own, when she was surprised to hear a female voice coming from the kitchen. Her eyes widened and she shushed Louis quickly. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“It sounded like a woman. There it is again!” The pair listened intently. Sure enough, dulcet tones came from the kitchen, accompanied by deeper voices.

“Yeah, that’s definitely not Kenny,” Louis stated decidedly. “Not that I’ve met the man, but I’d be seriously floored if I turned out to be wrong,”

“It’s not Kenny,” Clementine jumped off her bed, leaning an ear against her bedroom door. She could make out the conversation a little bit clearer from here.

“Lee, seriously, it’s fine!” the female voice insisted. “You don’t need to cook for me at this hour,”

“Now don’t be silly. I’m not going to let a lady starve under my own roof,”

“Oh my god, my stomach grumbled one time. It’s not that big a deal!”

“Might as well listen to him, Carley,” Kenny’s voice travelled from the kitchen. “Lee doesn’t change his mind once it’s been made up. Besides, the man cooks a mean breakfast burrito,”

Clementine’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. Who exactly was this Carley woman and why had Lee not mentioned that she was coming as well as Kenny? The way they were talking made it seem like she wasn’t a casual acquaintance either.

“Why are we spying?” Louis whispered by Clementine’s ear, causing her to jump in surprise.

“We’re spying because there has to be a reason Lee has never mentioned this woman to me before. He never brings over people A.J. and I don’t know,”

Now it was Louis’ turn to raise an eyebrow. “Do I detect a hint of jealousy in your voice?”

“What? No! What would I even have to be jealous of?” Clementine huffed.

“Well, chances are if Lee’s bringing over a lady friend that there’s something more going on between them… maybe something romantic. Would that be a bad thing?”

“It’s not anything,” Clementine declared, pulling away from the door. “For all we know, they added a third teammate to their trivia night group,”

“Yeah, that’s totally the most logical option,”

Clementine narrowed her eyes at her boyfriend. She hated when he was smug. It usually meant he was right. “Y’know what? It’s getting late. We should probably call it a night,”

“Seriously? But Avatar!”

“Avatar can wait!”

Louis was loath to leave, but he could see that this turn of events had thrown Clem for a loop. Maybe it was best to give her some space and time to cool off.

“Well, alright then,” Louis reached for the doorknob, only to have Clementine tear his hand away.

“Are you crazy?” she hissed. “You can’t go out that way! The kitchen is right by the front door!” Her eyes turned to the window. “C’mon, we’ll sneak you out like I snuck you in the first time,”

“Would meeting Lee’s lady friend really be that bad?” Louis questioned.

Clementine shot him a cold glare.

“Alright, alright, you’re the boss,” Louis helped Clementine clear the knickknacks off her dresser before hopping on top and edging his way backwards out the open window. His hands gripped Clementine’s arms for balance. Even though they were on the first floor her window was still a good distance off the ground. He’d need a hand down.

-----

“Well, I hate to cut the party short, but I’d better head home before Kat starts to worry,” Kenny said as he stood beside the front door.

“You sure?” Lee asked, spatula still in hand. “The eggs are just about done,”

“Yeah, I’m sure. You two have fun without me,” Kenny raised a hand in farewell to Carley who was still sitting at the kitchen table. She returned the gesture with a smile. Kenny turned back to Lee. “See you next week for trivia night?”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Lee chuckled.

With that, Kenny stepped out the front door. The night air was chilly, and he quickly wrapped his coat more tightly around him. Luckily his car wasn’t far off, just a little way down the street. Walking toward it, Kenny glanced at the house fondly.

That’s when he noticed something. Half of a body dangling and kicking outside one of the first-floor windows. Clementine’s room.

“What the hell?” Kenny growled, quickly striding forward. What’s an ass doing outside Clem’s window?" Reaching his target, Kenny grabbed onto the pants of the culprit.

He was met with a frightened squeal. “Clem, something out there! Pull me back, now, now now!” Before Kenny could get a better hold on the jeans, the legs disappeared back inside the house and he heard a body thud to the floor.

Clementine quickly popped up by the window, giving Kenny an awkward wave. “Hey, Kenny. You heading out?”

“Clem, what the hell is going on?” Kenny growled. “It looked to me like some kind of hooligan was trying to break into your room!”

A young black man with dreadlocks popped up behind Clementine, looking at him with a mixture of fear and embarrassment.

“Well, umm…” Clementine awkwardly cleared her throat. “This is my boyfriend, Louis. Kenny, Louis. Louis, Kenny,”

Louis gave him an awkward wave. “It’s very nice to meet you, sir. Love the mustache,”

“You don’t get to like the mustache!” Kenny snapped, causing Louis to flinch. “Clementine, what are you doing sneaking this boy out of your room at this hour. Don’t you know you have a front door that would work perfectly-”

Before he could finish, Clementine’s bedroom door opened.

“Everything all right in here, Clem?” Lee asked, a concerned expression on his face. “I thought I heard you scream,”

“Actually, that was me,” Louis admitted, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. “Mr. Kenny surprised me is all,”

“Kenny?” Lee walked forward, seeing his friend standing outside the window. “What are you still doing here?”

“I thought I was stopping a break-in. This fool had his ass sticking out Clem’s window, looking for the whole world like some sort of burglar. I was just in the process of asking them why they hadn’t used the front door instead when you came in,”

“Well now, that is a good question,” Lee said, crossing his arms and turning to his daughter. “Mind telling us, Clementine?”

Clementine looked away, her own arms crossed. “We didn’t want to disturb you. You or your company,”

Lee’s expression changed to one of understanding. “You know what? I think it’s time we all called it a night. Louis?”

“Yes, sir,” Louis answered. He placed a quick kiss to his girfriend’s cheek before heading over to grab the leftover snacks. “Night, Clem,”

Lee turned to the open window. “I’ve got things handled here, Kenny. Thanks for keeping an eye out,”

Kenny nodded. “Anytime. Night,” With that he was off. Lee closed the window then turned to Clementine. “I’m going to say goodnight to Carley and see her out. After that, do you want to meet up in the kitchen for some midnight breakfast burritos?”

Clementine silently nodded.

“Alright then,” Lee exited the room, preparing an excuse in his head for Carley on why they had to cut the night short.

-----

About ten minutes later, Lee returned to the kitchen. Clementine was already sitting there, an untouched plate of eggs and bacon before her. Lee pulled out the chair across from her, sitting down as well. They remained in silence for a minute or two before Lee decided to start things off. “I’m sorry I didn’t mention to you that Carley was coming over. That was inconsiderate on my part,”

“It’s not like you owe me an explanation,” Clementine mumbled. “I’m not a teenager anymore. Soon enough I’ll have found my own place and I won’t be underfoot anymore,”

“Now sweet pea, you know you’re not in the way. I know we agreed you’d stay at home through college to save money, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t enjoyed having you around for longer. Hell, if you wanted to keep living here you could invite Louis to move into the house instead,” Lee waggled his eyebrows teasingly.

That got a snort out of Clementine. “Yeah right,” Her eyes grew thoughtful before she spoke again. “It must have been hard being a single dad to me and A.J. all those years. I don’t know if you met anybody you wanted to bring home during that time, but I’d like to think I’d have been open to meeting somebody if you wanted to introduce us,”

Lee shook his head. “There wasn’t anybody during those years. You know that around the time I met you I was at the tail end of my divorce. It took a long time to heal from the pain. You and A.J. were key to that healing. During those years with the two of you growing up, I didn’t need anything more than the three of us,”

“And now?”

Lee sighed. “I didn’t go out looking for romance if that’s what you mean. Meeting Carley was happenstance, fate maybe. She was doing an article on the university and asked to interview me as a representative of the college. From there we hit things off and, well… there have been a few dates. I didn’t want to bring up anything to you and A.J. till I knew things were serious. Now I see that tonight should have been the night I introduced the two of you rather then sneaking Carley in under your nose,” Lee took hold of Clementine’s hand, clasping it gently. “Things may be changing with Carley being a part of our lives, but that’s a good thing. And it won’t change the love I have for you and A.J. a single bit,”

“I know,” Clem’s voice was soft. She squeezed Lee’s hand tighter. “I know it’s petty to be upset about something like this. I guess it’s just that things are finally… perfect. A.J.’s doing well, it’s my last year of college, work at the diner has been great and things with Louis…” Clementine trailed off, a smile playing at her lips before it grew serious once more. “I guess I’m just afraid of change. Growing up, every time change came my way it meant I was losing everything all over again. Maybe I should know better, but it’s still hard to picture change meaning anything else,”

“That makes complete sense, Clem,” Lee rubbed a thumb along his daughter’s hand soothingly. “Change is always scary, especially for someone who’s seen more than her fair share. I promise you, I’m going to take things slow with Carley. You and A.J. will always be my first priority,”

“You deserve to be happy too though,” Clementine lay her other hand on top of her father’s. “I’ll try my best to be calm about this whole thing and not let myself freak out. I want to be able to celebrate this change with you. Just… give me some time?”

“All the time you need, sweet pea,” Lee’s eyes were warm as he smiled at Clementine. She had come so far since he’d met her all those years ago. Sometimes he forgot the pain and fear that she still carried deep within her. But hope and joy were stronger now.

A rumbling stomach drew their attention away from the moment.

“Was that you or me?” Lee chuckled.

“You, but I’m starving too,” Clementine let go of Lee’s hand to pick up her fork. “Let’s dig in,”

“I couldn’t agree more,”

They chatted for some time after that into the wee hours of the morning. Sometimes the best moments were those that come upon you unexpectedly. That was true for the father-daughter pair as they joked and laughed, eating breakfast burritos until they couldn’t hold anymore. Whatever life threw their way, they knew they could face it head on because they had each other.

#twdg #twdg clementine #twdg louis #twdg carley #twdg lee #twdg kenny #clouis #twdg carlee #kenny lee brotp #lee and clementine #fanfic #ericson's diner au

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usagichibamamorutsukino · 4 years

Text

To all of the Mamoru/Tuxedo Mask Haters

This is my post on the Sailor Moon subreddit! I am very proud of the arguments I made and am extremely thankful for the amazing response I got! I got Reddit Gold for the first time in my life! I’m sharing it today here on my Tumblr, the place where I have found a wonderful niche of Tuxedo Mask and Usamamo lovers like me! Here is the link: https://www.reddit.com/r/sailormoon/comments/d0zm4c/to_all_of_the_mamorutuxedo_mask_haters/

Here is my post:

Hi everyone! I wanted to share my comment on a video interview of the Viz dub voices for the Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon Crystal anime, Stephanie Sheh (Usagi), and Robbie Daymond (Mamoru). The interviewer talked about why she believes it's justified to hate Tuxedo Mask and why he isn't right for Usagi. The topics I covered in my initial comment are included here in greater detail. I am basing my response below on: the manga, the original 90's anime and its 3 movies, Sailor Moon Crystal, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, interviews with Naoko Takeuchi, articles that analyze the storylines and utilize fact-checking references, as well as my interpretation and analysis that bases itself on the cannon and overall understanding of the portrayal of the human characters and interactions in the story.

Obligatory note: You are entitled to your own opinion as I am entitled to my own. However, I feel obligated to voice my opinion and defense for Tuxedo Mask as he gets so much hate in the fandom, and there is so much misinformation about him. There are so many posts and articles trying to prove that Tuxedo Mask/Mamoru is definitively a horrible character, that he sucks, he is useless, etc. It is one thing to have your opinion. It is another to be so vocal about your hatred for a character basing your hatred on misinformation and superficial arguments.

In my lengthy post, I will discuss specific topics and arguments that people bring up to defend their hatred of Tuxedo Mask/Mamoru and his relationship to Sailor Moon/Usagi. I hope you enjoy reading and gain some perspective.

In the original anime, Usagi and Mamoru didn't have any feelings or love for one another UNTIL they remembered their past lives

I rewatched Season 1 of the original anime this past week and took notes of each encounter between Usagi and Mamoru until they remember their past lives. I analyzed their dialogue, how the animators portrayed their body language around each other, as well as how they talk about one another to other characters. Let’s begin our study by reading this quote from the manga in Act 10 when Usagi recounts that in her encounters with Mamoru: “I would get defensive, and we would get into a fight. We actually never had a real conversation. But the truth is… I was always so excited and happy to see him. That’s why we ran to each other… isn’t it? The two of us were drawn to each other.”

In the 90s anime, Usagi and Mamoru have an initially confrontational relationship. Mamoru’s first impression of Usagi was of a girl who hit him on the head with a crumbled-up test with a horrifying grade. Usagi’s first impression of Mamoru was a guy who told her she should study more; she was mortified and embarrassed by this, so she stuck her tongue out at him and walked away, disregarding him as a “weirdo”. The second time they bump into each other, Usagi throws a shoe at his head by accident, and she doesn’t apologize. The third time they meet, they bump into one another when Usagi is dreaming about “her future boyfriend.” She mistakenly apologizes to a pole, and Mamoru finds this funny and says that she should watch where she is going. Naru asks Usagi if she knows who that guy is, as he is “totally gorgeous” and Usagi responds “Wrong! There is nothing gorgeous about him!” By the 5th and 7th episodes, when Mamoru sees Usagi, he goes up to her and says, “Hey!” like they were friends. At the end of their conversation in Ep. 7, when Usagi walks away annoyed, we pan back to Mamoru, who is smiling at her genuinely. Through all of these interactions, Mamoru and Usagi go from strangers who are annoyed by each other’s existence to people who run into each other so often that Mamoru can find some humor in it.

You have to consider that Mamoru is acerbic since he is becoming Tuxedo Mask without his knowledge, is sleep deprived, has retrograde amnesia, and barely has anyone in his life who truly cares about him. He meets this girl who has hit him on the head, has bumped into him and has been rude to him on multiple accounts, of course, he’s going to return Usagi’s comments. But as he spends more time around her group, the teasing becomes well-meaning. Usagi shows that she values his advice, such as in Ep. 17 and when she is deciding if telling Naru about Nephrite's evil doings is a good idea or not. Usagi was visibly jealous of Rei’s crush on Mamoru and her three outings with him. Mamoru brought up "Bunhead" when Rei stopped him on the street to ask him out. He mentioned "Usagi" when talking to Motoki when the conversation wasn't about her but rather about Makoto. She's on his mind from early on.

There is a fantastic post that also discusses some of the points of evidence that Usagi and Mamoru had crushes on one another before they remembered their past lives, https://aminoapps.com/c/sailor-moon/page/blog/my-thoughts-on-mamoru-and-usagi/eYX5_MMdI3udVa3xwNvqExdKarRMM0xGlrm . One of my favorite observations is this: "Mamoru mostly teased her about her love life. When we look at what a person mostly tease someone about, it can give us an idea about their true intentions behind it. Mamoru teased her about romance-related things quite a few times, saying she wouldn’t get a boyfriend if she weren’t more lady-like, teasing her about Motoki twice, and her 'not-so-date' with Umino (it really wasn’t though). Not to mention when Motoki asked Mamoru why he always treated Usagi like that, Mamoru says, 'I guess we weren’t meant for each other.' " Also, in reply to this post, u/Rockabore1 made a fantastic analysis regarding the deeper meaning behind Usagi and Mamoru's teasing in the beginning:

"I love that you point out all the nuance in the way Mamoru and Usagi's relationship grew from roasting each other to realizing they care about each other and actually love being around each other. When they met, neither were really emotionally mature enough at that point to figure out an excuse to spend time together, and they kept using teasing each other as a reliable way to do it. I talked to another redditor about a scene that strikes me as a very multilayered in that regard. In episode 17, since when Mamoru talked about qualities, make a girl beautiful after Usagi feels discouraged to meet with the photographer. He describes 'someone with a kind-heart and bravery to do the right thing even when it's hard to do.' He says it with a directness like he means it as 'I see these qualities in you.' Yet he plays it off by saying, 'Obviously, you lack those qualities,' in a challenging way. I read it as him giving her the determination to try and prove him wrong because he knows she's not a quitter. Usagi went to the arcade to get Motoki to boost her ego, which she knew he would since he's always supportive, and Motoki's platitudes made her happy but didn't inspire her, whereas, Mamoru challenging her was what pushed her to actually go out and prove it. When she leaves, Motoki notes how the two always bicker, and Mamoru seems to half-heartedly lament that things always turn into an argument when they see each other and that 'I guess we're not meant to be.' It seems like he's admitting that he doesn't know how to give her a compliment without feeling silly or embarrassed to act like a softie, and he doesn't know how they could change (which obviously they do, but at the time both were really stubborn)."

In Ep. 28, they already demonstrate to the viewer that they have crushes on each other. Usagi, sitting next to him, thinks to herself, “but hey, he does look pretty handsome," then out loud, she says, "Oh geez, what am I thinking stop it Usagi, Tuxedo Mask is the only one I love!” He looks at her, and when she looks away embarrassed, he smiles at her. At the end of the episode, when Usagi says that their painting came out beautiful, Mamoru says, “I’d say it looks pretty good considering who the model was…” and his eyes immediately shot at USAGI! But she thinks he’s talking about himself, so she reacts annoyed. And in the last episode of the first season, when everyone gets their memory erased, Mamoru smiles genuinely after meeting Usagi. This encounter was just like the first one they had at the beginning of the series and similar to their third encounter as well. His reaction could very well have been the reaction he had after meeting her for the first time, but we, the viewers, didn’t get to see it. They had an attraction to each other from the start. Usagi felt that she made two horrible first impressions on Mamoru and even though she obviously found him attractive (as she later states on countless occasions), she felt that “this is an attractive guy I would’ve had a crush on now thinks I’m a ditz, so I’m going to treat him like I don’t care about him.”

Mamoru is someone who came from an upbringing with little attachment and has been pursued for his looks and wealth for presumably a long time. Think about how many characters and villains have hit on him. How Motoki told Rei that he lives in an expensive apartment all alone because of his inheritance, and her eyes lit up. Usagi probably is the only girl who isn’t fawning over him when they meet and instead is capable of sparing jokes at each other’s expense. His way of showing his attraction is not the best, but Usagi isn’t perfect either. I also noticed how, when Rei bumped into Mamoru in a ploy to ask him out, he acted concerned for her falling down for a moment, asked if she was alright and went on his way. Rei stopped him again, and he reluctantly stuck around for coffee. Meanwhile, every time Usagi bumps into him, he sticks around for a bit to tease her and get teased back. Why did Mamoru go out of his way to spend more time with "the annoying Bunhead” than he needed to? He even goes up to her to spar and teases her, and she reciprocates too.

At the end of Rei's first "date" with Mamoru, she tells Usagi that Mamoru is probably Tuxedo Mask, Usagi says that there's no way that he could be. Mamoru asks, "huh, who is Tuxedo Mask?" like he’s genuinely curious after Usagi noted the comment about Tuxedo Mask. Umino interrupts and asks Usagi to continue their own “date,” Mamoru says, “uuu, so that’s your type, huh?” in a flirty manner. This implies, "oh, so that's why you act like you don't like me. I'm not your type." Usagi is embarrassed and blushing during this whole encounter. Later, in Ep. 30, when Yuichiro and Rei are hitting it off, Usagi is ecstatic about getting them together. Rei tells her, "you know Mamoru is my guy, so what are you trying to pull here?" Usagi blushes embarrassed, her crush on Mamoru is obvious, her jealousy of Rei is evident. Even Ami starts to see this in Ep. 31 where Rei excuses herself from a Sunday outing with the girls for a "date," Ami tells this to Usagi while nervous, knowing Usagi will react annoyed at the thought of Rei going on a date with Mamoru. However, on Mamoru's part, he never took the outings with Rei seriously. He saw her as more of a friend while she was the one pursuing him to go with her on “dates.” Also, when talking with Motoki about the girls, he seemingly got really nervous at the thought of Rei “liking” him as more than a friend. After he realizes that he is Tuxedo Mask and realizes his strong connection with Sailor Moon and the princess to who appears to him in his recurring dream, he basically stops interacting with her altogether. In fact, in this same episode I just mentioned, Rei calls Mamoru to ask him out on a date but is met with his voice mail. We pan to Mamoru in the balcony of his apartment, ignoring Rei's voice message and instead of thinking about how he is determined to get the last rainbow crystal to find the legendary silver crystal and recover his lost memories.

Who can forget episode 34, where Usagi and Mamoru discovered each other's secret identities. Usagi recognizes Mamoru walking along the Juban Shopping District; she playfully hits him on the back, “Hey there, how you doing guy?” He grunts in pain. She genuinely asks him, "What’s wrong?" He responds, “Oh, hey Bunhead, you're sure cheerful today.” Usagi: “Well, excuse me then, it just so happens that I am a cheerful person all of the time!” and sticks her tongue out, as she does. He responds with a smile, “I hope you’ll always be that way. Take care, okay?” and walks away, holding his shoulder. Usagi reacts, confused, “What’s with him? He isn’t acting like himself.”, and notices his shoulder is hurt, “Could he be hurt in some way?” Mamoru probably thought he was going to die in the battle with Zoisite; he was also depressed about not being able to protect Sailor Moon, in what Mamoru thought was his last time seeing Usagi, he was kind and told her that she should always remain her cheerful self. Worried, she follows him. When he discovers this, he is genuinely surprised that she was worried about him. Mamoru didn't have anyone in his life who worried about him. In the iconic elevator ride, he genuinely opens up to her. He tells her about his past, his recurring dream, why he is looking for the silver crystal, things he hasn't told anyone else before. When she tells him, “You know what? Before, I thought you were the worst person in the whole wide world. But not anymore, now you’re the second worst.” The way Mamoru looked at her as she blushed saying that, the way he prioritized Usagi’s safety over the rainbow crystals, the way he pushed her out of the way from falling icicles, the way he looked at her when he saw his Bunhead transform into THE Sailor Moon, the way he looked at her when he pulled out that rose and turned into Tuxedo Mask. Mamoru and Usagi fell for each other long before they discovered they were Serenity and Endymion. Sure, it's not as explicit and cinematic as how it is portrayed in the manga and Sailor Moon Crystal. But their attraction is there. They are on each other's minds from early on.

The way the writers developed their relationship is actually genius. By the moonlight, Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon flirt, and he calls her smart and beautiful, and he believes in her leadership and talent as a superhero. Meanwhile, by daylight, Mamoru and Usagi bicker like a married couple. It's like Lois Lane falling in love with Super Man but dismissing Clark Kent. The dialogue they share, their body language, how others notice their connection goes a little further than they realize; I recommend that you rewatch Sailor Moon Season 1 and the first arc of Sailor Moon R (Makaiju) and notice how Usagi and Mamoru act around each other and how their feelings for one another develop. It's there as clear as day, and honestly, it's one of the reasons I love Sailor Moon. It's the best story ever told. Heck, even the intro song is from Usagi's perspective, singing about her miracle romance with Mamoru.

I think the most notable difference between Usagi and Mamoru’s relationship in Season 1 and Season 2 is that Usagi is much nicer to him in Season 2. As a result, Mamoru is much friendlier to Usagi. This, in turn, provides heartwarming moments between them, such as when they took care of a baby, their first “date” at the arcade, Mamoru’s sigh of relief when Usagi shows up to interrupt Natsuki’s incessant flirting, his blushing when Usagi called herself cute and when he thought Usagi was on a date with Seijuro, as well as many more moments between them. The reason Usagi treats him much nicer is because, at the beginning of Season 2, Usagi remembered her previous lives, she remembered who Mamoru is, his personality, what they went through, how he puts himself in danger to protect her, how he died for her, and most of all, she remembered why she fell in love with him. It becomes her mission to get Mamoru to remember who she is, what they’ve endured together, and how they fell in love. The Makaijju arc serves as a retelling of their love story, as Mamoru falls in love with Usagi all over again. This happens gradually; he starts to see how this Bunhead girl went from someone who is rude to him to someone who enjoys his company, cares about others, brave, fun to be around, and is a kind friend. When they are both captured by the Makaiju tree, Mamoru asks Usagi if she is alright and reaches out to hold her hand. When he and Sailor Moon are being thrown and flung around the room, he holds on to Usagi/Sailor Moon’s hand even though this aggravates their antagonists more, causing them to inflict more pain on them. He jumps in front of Sailor Moon to protect her near-fatal blows, as she did for him, because in Usagi’s words: “I’m willing to risk my life in order to protect anyone I truly love.” At this moment, Mamoru had already fallen in love with Usagi again. It wasn’t until he felt the same love he had felt in his past lives that his consciousness, the Moonlight Knight, returned his memories. Therefore, he fell for Usagi before he remembered their past lives. His undying need to protect her literally took physical form as the Moonlight Knight. This proves that Mamoru doesn’t love Usagi because she is Serenity and because of destiny, but because he genuinely loves Usagi. The cutest part of this moment was Mamoru waking Usagi up after the battle, and calling her his little Bunhead Usagi Tsukino.

Many people argue that he fell for Sailor Moon and settled for Usagi once he found out they were the same person. It is undeniable that Tuxedo Mask felt strong feelings for Sailor Moon since he could sense when she was in danger and felt this urge to protect her. However, Tuxedo Mask made an enemy of Sailor Moon and the Sailor Senshi when it came to finding the rainbow crystals. In The Shining Silver Crystal, Mamoru and Usagi are confronted by Zoisite, who demands that Mamoru surrender his own rainbow crystals so that they can fight, and the winner takes all. Mamoru tells Zoisite that he will do so only if he promises not to harm Usagi and let her go. This was BEFORE he knew that she was Sailor Moon. He prioritized Usagi’s safety over his unwavering personal mission of finding the silver crystal. He didn’t do this for Sailor Moon; he did this for Usagi.

One of the most important arguments, if not, the most crucial evidence for the validity of Usagi and Mamoru’s love for one another is why they fell in love and if it is merely because of destiny, as many skeptics online cite this as the only reason Usagi and Mamoru are together because they feel obligated to stay together due to past in the Silver Millennium and “destiny.” I found a fantastic essay series by Sailor Moon and Me, all about studying the dynamics of Usagi and Mamoru’s relationship to ultimately answer if they truly love one another in the original 90’s anime. You can find the whole series here; I highly recommend you read it! https://sailormoonandme.tumblr.com/post/93343451085/usagi-and-mamoru-essay-series-contents-page-and

In conclusion, the author writes: “Would Usagi and Mamoru have wound up together if they had not regained their memories from their past lives? If given the right opportunities to get to know each other better, almost certainly yes. And those opportunities would’ve probably presented themselves somehow because their past lives/destiny would’ve been influencing them. Remember, they even met as children. Were they obligated to be together because of their past lives? Not exactly. Their past lives guided them and influenced them, but the personality traits that Serenity and Endymion found attractive in one another were present in Usagi and Mamoru and was likely what they’re modern-day incarnations found attractive too. In particular, these traits were on display as Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask and Usagi and Mamoru already effectively loved one another in through those identities anyway.” The author highlights a key aspect, the reason Usagi and Mamoru have fallen in love over and over again: they find each other’s personality traits attractive! Earlier in the essay series, the author brilliantly proves how, in the anime, Mamoru/Tuxedo Mask and Endymion act in the same way, as well as Usagi/Sailor Moon and Serenity. They are the same people, so if they fell in love during the Silver Millennium, they can fall in love again for the same reason, they like each other’s personalities!

Mamoru's breakup with Usagi

In the anime, after they finally get together during Sailor Moon R, he finally feels like he’s not alone. Then he gets these visions prophesizing that the woman he loves will die if he continues to be with her. He struggles with what to do; he just found someone who completes him, who gave him his lost memories and the meaning of his life. Who saw the best in him and believed in him even after him being brainwashed and soul strangled by the evil Metalia. He knows the pain that he’s caused her. He still has memories of being under Metaria's evil magic. He realized how possessed he was, enough to attempt to behead Usagi without question. He just learned that continuing to be a part of her life could put her in grave danger. He doesn’t take this lightly and breaks up with her because he thought he would protect her.

Mamoru thought that HE, HIMSELF, was the danger to Usagi. That's why he tried to get her to hate him. Even I initially judged the breakup arc as a victim of "bad writing" for Mamoru and Usagi's relationship. A few lines littered over a few episodes are unfortunately very negative coming from Mamoru's part. I cannot defend them when taken out of context. I am disappointed that the writers decided to include those few lines since they don't even correlate to Mamoru's character growth and overarching character arc over five seasons.

Furthermore, from his part, these comments are blatant attempts to portray himself as a despicable person, so Usagi would forget about him and move on. He thought that by getting Usagi to hate him, she would distance herself from him and be saved from the horrible fate he kept seeing in his nightmare. Many people use this as "evidence" that Mamoru "didn't love Usagi," and that he is a "horrible person." It is very easy to judge a guy breaking up with a girl as wonderful as Usagi and being so cold towards her. However, when you see Mamoru realize that marrying Usagi will cause her immediate death and that his only way of protecting her from this doom is to break up with her, he already hates himself. To provide more perspective of how this impacted him when he meets King Endymion in the future and realizes he was the one prophesying Usagi's death if Mamoru continues to be with her, Mamoru charges at him with anger.

There is no logical reason that Mamoru would willingly choose to make Usagi suffer. Why would he purposely put the only person he considers his family and his soulmate through so much pain and suffering. The breakup is as hard on him as it is on Usagi. This is clearly seen in Ep. 69, at the end, when he is crying by his motorcycle. He should’ve told Usako the truth about the dream. But she beats him to it in a later episode, and they decide to take control of their lives and be together, instead of believing in the nightmare. She was the one to believe in the strength of their love and do the right thing. Thanks to this arc, they learned that together they are unstoppable. Mamoru learned to trust Usagi wholeheartedly and to trust himself, as he felt that HE was the danger in her life. After the revelation that the messages from King Endymion were to test Mamoru's love for Usagi, even Mamoru realizes he made a horrible decision to lie to Usagi and hurt her the way he did. He realizes how dumb he was and latches on to Usagi and never lets her go again.

Furthermore, to provide a silver lining to the breakup arc, we have further evidence of just how much Mamoru loves Usagi. If he didn't love her, as so many people in the fandom like to claim, the breakup was his way out. But he didn't just up and leave. He hated that he had to be apart from Usagi. He truly loves her with all of his heart. He never once stopped calling her Usako. He never stopped being in awe of Sailor Moon's power, calling her invincible when talking about her to Chibiusa. He continued to help her and the Sailor Senshi in battle. He dreamt about marrying her; he imagined her face reflected on rivers; when he continued to run into her after the breakup, he was solemn realizing that it is fate that keeps making them meet.

This breakup isn’t my favorite part of the season at all, but it provides real character development and allows us to explore Mamoru’s fears and heartache. You see Usagi gets heartbroken, but she doesn't lose faith; she doesn't stop believing in Mamoru and love; she still has her circle of friends and family to fall back on. Mamoru had no one. Usagi was the only one he let in his heart. In the Sailor Moon R movie, he tells Usagi that his years of loneliness were worth it because he found her, and that she is his family. For years, Mamoru had the same dream about a princess who pleaded to him “find the silver crystal, find the silver crystal.” And this princess ended up being a real person! The girl with the weird hair he kept running into, Bunhead, Usagi, Usako! Are we internalizing how insane that is? To have literally no memories before your sixth birthday, to not remember your parents, to be an orphan with no family or close relationships, to have a recurring dream that wakes you in a cold sweat about the same person every time that pleads that you find this mysterious crystal you know nothing about? It’s insane. Of course, Mamoru has trouble with interpersonal relationships in the beginning. It’s thanks to Usagi’s constant love towards him and their growth as a couple that he becomes a kinder and more trusting person as the series goes on. Mamoru's connection to Usagi is so much deeper than the anime lets on at surface level. Mamoru went from someone who has had his memory stolen already three times, to someone who has finally found the love of his life, who was no longer alone, to someone who was forced to break his soulmate's heart and be pushed back to loneliness.

I recommend this great article that talks more about the breakup and Mamoru's perspective! http://starlight.csmalecki.com/reads/breakup.php

Mamoru's relationship with Chibiusa

On that note, of course, Mamoru felt a connection to Chibiusa. He was an orphan with no family, he finds this little kid all alone, of course, he is going to feel an urge to help her feel less alone. He connects with Chibiusa because he sees Usako in her; because he no longer has anyone else to fill the void of loneliness. Mamoru and Chibiusa are some of the characters that carry the underlying theme of loneliness in the Sailor Moon story. Chibiusa saw Mamo as someone who reminded her of her dad, and for a little girl who feels helpless and is separated from her parents, utterly alone in this strange world where she doesn't know who to trust, it is reasonable for her to latch onto him. She sees these people who look like her parents and Sailor Senshi back home but behave nothing like them. Mamoru is one of the few characters who is continuously nice to her and there for her; logically, she would want to be around him. There is an excellent article that talks about Chibiusa's "Electra Complex," I highly recommend you read it: https://shojopower.com/beautiful-like-you-black-ladys-uncomfortable-electra-complex/. Basically, it concludes that Chibiusa's "Electra Complex" is NOT sexual desire for her father but instead not being able to relate to her mother, "The Electra Complex is less about a daughter’s sexual desire for her father, but much more about the relationship between daughter and mother; the female child and her best friend." Once Chibiusa becomes Black Lady, her innocent feelings of love and attachment towards Mamoru get exploited and tainted and manifest as "sexual" attraction. But in reality, once Chibiusa can relate to Usagi, her "Electra Complex" is resolved, and Black Lady is defeated.

Tuxedo Mask is "useless."

What a double standard. Just because he is a man, he has to be the Batman or Spider-Man of the story? It’s called Sailor Moon. She is Wonder Woman; he is Steve Trevor. Tuxedo Mask exists to help Sailor Moon and support her, but Sailor Moon is the protector of the universe. The story is all about her and her fellow Sailor Senshi. It’s a female empowerment story; if you think that a male character is “useless” because he isn’t the one saving the day, you are missing the point. Tuxedo Mask has physically aided the Senshi in combat on countless occasions.

Furthermore, during numerous battles, if Tuxedo Mask had not shown up to shoot a single rose, Sailor Moon and the Senshi would have been goners. He utilizes his knowledge of physics and math during battles and is capable in hand to hand combat, as well as a formidable swordsman. In the manga and Sailor Moon Crystal, he has his own super-powered attack, Tuxedo La Smoking Bomber. Even cooler, he has a combined attack with his daughter, Pink Sugar Tuxedo Attack. He takes the place of Sailor Earth and Sailor Sun, as he possesses the golden sailor crystal. Concerning Earth, he recognizes it as his guardian planet and can "see" what the Earth feels. Concerning the sun, Takeuchi made him a Leo, a constellation related to the sun, also, when he dies, Nehellenia states that he is "The Prince of Earth, protected by the Sun."

He buys the Senshi time to power up for their Sailor Planet attack; he's freed them from traps from where they can't escape alone, he distracts villains and disables them with supernaturally strong rose darts, allowing the Senshi to give the finishing blow. I have to note; his aim is deadly. His rose darts took down Queen Beryl and Fiore, as well as others. He doesn't leave the scene until he sees the situation is under control and that the girls can handle it from there. In his dying words during the Stars arc, he proclaims that the Senshi will stop Galaxia, that she doesn't stand a chance. He believes in each of the Senshi's strengths and gives them useful advice that they apply to the situation and helps them succeed. In the story, his character supports female heroes and helps them do their best. As a female, I feel completely empowered and inspired by Sailor Moon/Usagi, by each of the Senshi and the story in general. It is rare to see female superheroes kicking butt, in a world of countless Iron Man, Captain America, Batman, Superman, and Spider-Man movies and a less than a handful of Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel movies. A male superhero in a female superhero driven story is not "useless," they simply aren't the star of the battle, and there is nothing wrong with that.

The consensus is that Usagi's kidnapping by Prince Demande is straight-up assault and absolutely repulsive from Demade's part. And rightfully so, Usagi, in tears being grabbed and forced to kiss him is horrible and uncomfortable to watch. Compare this moment to Mamoru's kidnappings. He has been objectified and kidnapped by countless villains in the story. How is this different from Usagi's kidnapping? He is forced to kiss his own daughter possessed by evil, pinned against a wall by Fish's Eye trying to get a kiss from him while he is explicitly rejecting this and saying no, was submitted to bodily possession by Metaria's dark magic on two occasions with Queen Beryl (who is obsessed and infatuated with him) doing who knows what to his unconscious body. I could go on and on, Fiore, An, Mio Kuroki; there are many occasions where Mamoru has been objectified, kidnapped, and assaulted. It is disturbing that so many people interpret this as "weakness" from Mamoru's part. These assaults and objectification are against his will. A man who has been through these horrible experiences is NOT weak. Please don't contribute to this harmful double standard. A person being assaulted is a victim, regardless of their gender.

Finally, in the first episode, when Sailor Moon is crying because she doesn't know how to fight the monster terrorizing her best friend, Tuxedo Mask appears to her and tells her "Sailor Moon, crying won't solve anything." Taken at face value, this comment is bewildering since, in that scenario (and another battle scenario in Sailor Moon SuperS), her crying became ultrasonic and incapacitated her enemies. But this comment goes further, this comment sets the tone for Usagi's series-long journey into maturing and getting over her crying habit; this is part of Sailor Moon’s character development. This personal growth is highlighted in Ep. 74 when Usagi decides to face Rubeus alone to save her friends. She reflects on how, before she would've been a total crybaby if she had to go by herself to defeat a villain, she is amazed at how far she has come emotionally. She realizes that truthfully, "crying won't solve anything." As the seasons go on, her being a self-proclaimed crybaby is still used as a point of comedy, but in the moments of real desperation, she handles herself with maturity and bravery. So, ultimately, she valued what Tuxedo Mask said to her the first time they met.

Usagi and Mamoru's age gap

One of the biggest points of misinformation in Sailor Moon is Mamoru and Usagi's age difference and the legality of their relationship. Mamoru Chiba is 17. At the start of the manga, Takeuchi intended for Mamoru to be as young as 16. Usagi Tsukino starts the story as 14, but she actually isn’t 14 for very long. The Japan school semester begins in April, and her birthday is in June. This means that Seasons 1-3 happen pretty quickly. Therefore the age difference between Mamoru and Usagi isn’t that drastic at all. Furthermore, the fact of the matter is, Mamoru behaves older than he is. Why? He has had to mature very early on in his life. He has had to take care of himself for presumably a long time. Usagi has the perfect nuclear family and at the start of the series and is rather immature. She matures as the series goes on because of her responsibilities as a guardian and protector of the galaxy. At face value, it's easy to judge Mamoru and Usagi's relationship as one with a significant age gap. However, this isn't the case. 2-3 years of age difference is not outstanding at all and in Japan even less so. They are both above the age of consent of 13 and are still both teenagers. Even in the original anime, many scripts list Mamoru as a 17-18-year-old college student, and Usagi becomes 15 early on in the series timeline. He is shown to be extremely intelligent, so being a 17 year old in college is absolutely plausible. An important point to address, he is shown driving a car when the minimum driving age in Japan is 18. However, Haruka is 16 and drives a car and even a helicopter. I’m not losing any sleep over the fact that Mamoru could be driving a car before he is 18.

People argue that if Mamoru were precisely the same age as Usagi, the "problems" would be "fixed." But like I stated earlier, Mamoru behaves more mature because he was forced to be independent and self-sufficient from a very early point in his life. Even at 14, Mamoru would appear and behave much more mature than Usagi does. He is still obviously immature in how he deals with his crush on Usagi. When Takeuchi wrote the story about Serenity and Endymion, she was basing herself on medieval romance stories where the lovers are many years apart in age. Hence, the age gap was intentional in that aspect. Again, as I stated previously, 2-3 years of age difference is hardly noteworthy, especially as the series goes on, and they mature together.

Here is an excellent post that further discusses and debunks the age gap legality rumors: https://tiny012.tumblr.com/post/184025521241/in-the-defense-of-mamoru-chiba-because-bitch-im

Final thoughts and conclusions about Usagi and Mamoru's relationship and Tuxedo Mask

In the end, Usagi and Mamoru mature and grow together; they are each other’s rock. Mamoru becomes a more laid back person around Usagi, like when he takes her to see the cats at the abandoned house to cheer her up in Ep. 91. Usagi asks him, “but are we allowed to go in there?” and he responds, “I don’t know! Who cares!” and hands her a little kitten. I love Diana’s comment in Ep. 146 about how both Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion fake being sick together to get out of meetings and commitments.

Mamoru loves Usagi for who she is; in some ways, she is everything he's not, and he loves her for that - they complete each other; he keeps her grounded while she lifts him up into craziness. And he adores it. Mamoru has told Usagi: "Never apologize for being yourself.”, "Your strong will is what I love about you most.” and “Just being with you makes my life complete.” When Fish’s Eye questioned Mamoru on why he doesn’t want to be with anyone else but Usagi, he responds, "She’s full of dreams. That’s why.” In Stars, as Chibiusa is fading from existence due to Nehellenia’s curse on Mamoru, she pleads that he remembers that both him and Usagi have always shared the same dreams. Mamoru and Usagi are pretty different, sure, but in reality, they have the same visions for the future; they share the same values, and they have the same dreams. They complement each other beautifully, and that is why their love is as strong as it is. Usagi may be a bit clumsy and a crybaby, but in Mamoru's eyes, she's perfect.

People also bring up Mamoru's avoidance of public displays of affection with Usagi as evidence that "he doesn't really love her." In Japan, public displays of affection are seen as rude and inappropriate. When Mamo is alone with Usako, they share countless cute moments. Kisses, hugs, affection.. they love each other. Let's not forget when Mamoru gave Usagi a promise ring at the airport and kissed her like they were the only two people on Earth. His last words were "Usako." He has taken countless blows and stabs in Usagi's place, and she has for him too.

We saw them fall in love over and over, as Serenity and Endymion, and as Bunhead and Jerkface. Even when brainwashed initially in Season 1, Mamoru couldn’t bring himself to hurt her and kept unconsciously helping her succeed. You can brainwash him, kill him, erase his memory, separate him from her, but there is nothing you can do to make Mamoru’s love for Usagi fade. In the words of Toru Furuya, the voice of Mamoru: "He loves Sailor Moon and Tsukino Usagi with his whole heart. I think he’s a very great person."

Finally, Tuxedo Mask gives Sailor Moon strength; he supports her to become the best superhero he knows she can be. He does his best to help the Senshi in battle, but it’s a story about girls protecting the world. Takeuchi wrote this character to fit that narrative; he is one of the characters she holds dearest in her heart. Few people can really understand the beauty of Usako and Mamo together and how Sailor Moon is breaking the stereotypes of gender roles. If you can’t understand that, it’s your loss.

Tuxedo Mask is the hero Tuxedo Mask haters deserve, but not the one they need right now, so they’ll hunt him. Because he can take it, because he’s not a hero. He’s a silent guardian, a watchful protector, a Moonlight Knight.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

#sailor moon #tuxedo mask #usagi #usagi tsukino #usamamo #mamoru x usagi #usagi x mamoru #pgsm #sailor moon aesthetic #sailor moon crystal #anime #90s anime #mamoru chiba #mamoru #pretty guardian sailor moon

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xsecretblastsx · 4 years

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1x12 - School lies

I’m back! It wasn’t my intention to take so long between the last recap and this one, but long story short, I was sans computer for a few days, and doing these on my phone is no fun.

So anyway here we go. Recap after the break.

Thoughts I had while watching the episode:

That looks like the most unpractical key ever

Nothing gives more the idea that this a party of super rich kids than the fact that they’re drinking in martini glasses, and not red plastic cups

Refreshing to see Nate being the one chasing after Blair, and I know she’s not avoiding him of her own volition, but he deserves it anyway.

Not that it wasn’t obvious but it suprised me that Chuck actually admits to Blair that the sight of her and Nate make his stomach turns.

I love Serena’s bathing suit

Someone should have told Dan that is annoying he keeps taking Vanessa to all these parties she isn’t actually invited to. 🙄

Gotta give it to the headmistress if she actually thought she could expell 2/3 of the Junior class

Blair’s rant with the headmistress is hilarious, it also sounds like the plot of a coming episode, about being innocent and then doing the stupind thing someone and the doing the stupid thing with someone else and pretend she have never do the stupid thing before

Nate and his heartfelt letter to Blair, aww. Poor Chuck, still plotting, still getting nowhere, and I can´t help but feel a bit bad for him every time Nate makes an insinuation about his night with Blair, he ain’t pulling that indiferent face very well.

Sorry Rufus, but I kind of agree with Lilly on this one, he did send her mixed messages.

Seriously Dan stop taking Vanessa everywhere.

You can always count with Chuck to tell it like it is, though I do feel for Dan here, mostly because I can relate a bit, private school ain’t easy when you’re not part of the rich kids group.

Dan is so frustrating because even when I agree with him on principle he the way he says things to Serena, always trying to make her feel bad for being from “that wordl” annoys the hell out of me

For all Vanessa’s morals that was invasion of privacy, no but really how easier everyone’s lives would have been if Serena hadn’t met Dan Humphrey.. or more exactly if he hadn’t met her.

Vanessa telling Chuck that he’s sick, and yet she still takes the money. The sad fact of life that we can all have our morals, and yet money is still money.

Dan and Serena really did have a variation of this conversation time and time again, it’s so tiring. Like the particulars may change but at the crux of the argument there’s always the same thing. 😪

Blair calling what Nate did the most romantic thing someone has ever done for her... I don’t even know what to say.

I feel really bad for Serena, because I just can’t help thinking how crappy every guy in her life must have been to really believe that Dan Humphrey is the best thing that ever happened to her, and a bit worrisome that she believes he’s the most important thing in her life.

For all her faults Lily does loves her children.

Nice Vanessa, you still preached and acted all morally superior, but that was nice.

I’ve always loved the scene between Blair and Vanessa in the cafe, it’s one of those moments I actually like Vanessa, and I love Blair reluctantly doing nice things for others. Also that was a good joke on Chuck

Yes Serena! he’s making it and upstairs downstairs thing, he always does, he always will.

And so the first death of Rufly in favor of Derena on this show.

Nair is back on again... for now.

So, I actually ended up liking this episode more than I thought I would. It’s one of those episodes that I looked back as filler episodes, with a typical high shcool drama plot, and yet there are some interesting bits here. On this rewatch I realized that this is a very Serena episode. Sure it’s focused mainly on her relationship with Dan, and I’m not a fan of the show making it like a big part of the reason Serena leave behind her wild ways was because of Dan, while in reality that was something she had decided to do for her self and she deserves recognition for that.

That being said is true that Dan was a big influence on her, and sometimes that’s good and sometimes not so much, it’s good to have someone that inspire us, that encourages us to be the better version of ouserlves, and Serena sees Dan that way, and it’s positive for the most part, the sad part is that he laces it with a dosis of judgment and he always frames it as if she should be ashamed of having a privileged life, among other things. This episode is very telling in this dynamic and also the importance Serena has gave to the presecen of Dan in her life, and seeing her talking to her mom about it is such an emotional moment for many reasons. It lowkey let us know how damaged Serena really is, and how love has been really lacking in her life.

She clings to Dan because all of her life she had been gettin attention, being loved and adored, for all the wrong reasons, for very superficial reasons, and for her Dan is the person that really sees her, he wants to be with her because he likes her, the Serena that’s an actual person, the Serena that can be this amazing person, the better version of Serena. She was starving for that kind of understanding, so much that she gives him the center place of her life, and she wants it to last forever, because with Dan she feels her life is better, she’s better. There’s of course a lot of red sings on this way of thinking, she stil hasn’t learned how difficutl it really is to live to the expectations of Dan and the pedestal he puts her. But this makes it easier to understand why despite everything that happened later, she still sees Dan this way, and the way she feels here is why she sees this period with rosed tinted glasses later all.

Going back to her scene with Lily, I’ve always seen people calling her selfish for this, for telling her mom to pick Bart over Rufus, and yes it’s inherently selfish, but also again very telling of how her mother’s love life and how incosistent it made their lives really affected her, and Lily understands this, and that’s why she agrees to marry Bart, because she realizes how much she hurt her children, how Serena seems to be finally happy and in a positive way no less, and she owes it to them, and that’s why she sets her own happiness aside, because she had put it above her children for so long, and I’m glad she did, and it also was a moment of personal growth for her, and most likely I don’t think Rufly would have made it very far here, they weren’t ready yet it was too soon, and on a more selfish level the union of Bart and Lilly was the birth of another relationship I love a lot on this show. So thanks Serena.

And last bot not least this episode brings Nair back, the triangle between Nate - Blair - Chuck gets all set up for the next week episode, so I really won’t get into it now, just felt like mentioning that it was actuall nice seeing Nate put the effort for once, he’s a simply guy, a very typical guy in fact the kind that likes the girl when she doesn’t like him back, yet I felt for Blair getting the love, attention and romantic gestures she always wanted from Nate, and I’m glad she got it, it was after all the dream she had for them growing up. Their relationship is doomed obviously, even if Nate never find out about Blair’s affair with Chuck, the fact was they were getting back together for reasons that weren’t sustainable on the long run: she out of nostalgia and childhood dreams, him because he saw her as a novelty, a new Blair. Once a mistmatch, always a mismatch.

Random bits I noticed:

That shot of Lily on the restaurant watching everything around her really reminded me of that scene in Titanic where Rose is having lunch with her mother and some other ladies and she sees this little girl learning about manners and suddendly it’s clear as day how much of a never ending cycle of appareances that life is, how exhausting and how much of a prison that life is.

That classic car Rufu’s drive off was lovely, where can I get one?

#gossip girl #gossip girl recap #gossip girl rewatch #1x12 #school lies

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cawsaurus · 4 years

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Adventures in watching The Terror when you’re legitimately face-blind

Re-rewatching Horrible from Supper

Aw, watch Young alive and well, talking with THartnell in the flashback scene

The first time I watched this episode I could tell there was something wrong with (Real) Hickey's face/hair, but assumed that my face-blindness was playing tricks on me and dismissed it.

Ah, yes, the crew filling the boats with *checks notes* cutlery and furniture. Fitzjames notes this, and perhaps inspired by the resource waste that was the Carnival, is against it.

Manson is hopeful that the Little’s party might have dinner ready for them, but is dismissed by a very pessimistic Gibson. THartnell disapproves of this and glares at Gibson, but continues working.

This is the first time I successfully recognized Armitage!!!! He's talking with a Robert Golding (???) who I've literally never noticed before.

Tozer knows well that when you're being pursued by a bear you don't need to outrun the bear, but the person next to you. And he hopes that the person next to him happens to be Hickey. He doesn't seem to think much of him at this point, and yet a few moments later he agrees to join him.

Gibson is also skeptical about the Inuit helping them.

Morfin is looking like shit. Collins rushes to help him carry Goodsir's stuff... which allows him to hear Goodsir as he tells Bridgens about possible treatments for Morfin's illness. Coca wine, huh?

Hickey still can't lie worth shit, but is VERY good at leveraging people's moments of vulnerability. Here he has Gibson be the one to suggest they leave the others behind. Also present: Manson, Tozer, Armitage, Golding. And thus the core group of the mutineers is established.

Gibson mentions there are 40 men in their party, the other 50 were sent with Little to set up an outpost. So there’s just 90 people left? It should be 105.

Tozer suggests they wait until they're on land to leave, so the rest of the group will help them haul the supplies through the ice

Hickey already aiming for rank here

I see 7 men being left behind in the ship

They leave the ship on April 22 1948

Compare Ross the elder riding atop a boat during his march vs Crozier hauling with his crew

Blanky compliments THartnell's eye for reading the ice. In a different world where THartnell lived, would he have become an ice master?

Hickey watches Hodgson consideringly. What does Hickey see? Is this related to Crozier complimenting THartnell?

Shipping aside, I don't think Collins and Goodsir where close before this point because:

COLLINS (When told to open up): I've tried, sir. GOODSIR: Well, you haven't tried with me.

Some excellent active listening from Goodsir. Can recognize some techniques. However he's overwhelmed by Collins explanation. He wasn’t ready for it.

The way Crozier puts Goodsir under his wing ("We share a burden, you and I, keeping this (the secret of the tins)") reminds me of how how he praises THartnell. I get the feeling Crozier is very conscious of how important it is to build relationships with the crew. If only he had had more time I think he could have prevented the mutiny

I like to think that Hickey is gleeful that someone is agreeing with him at last that the dog is being treated better than them. This is probably the point where he gets the idea to eat Neptune. The discord server confirms the men having lunch with him are Armitage and Pilkington.

Hickey catches Goodsir dragging Silna out of the line for food.

Morfin and Tozer are the ones to find out the rescue mission failed. Fitzjames confirms that they only made it 18 miles before dying. I see at least 5 corpses.

Crozier wanted to go with Fitzjames over the ice wall before the others in case there were any other unpleasant discoveries at the other side e.g. Little's party not making it

Crozier asks Little indirectly if he saw the rescue party. He's not going to tell him?

Right away Tozer wants to arm more men. He suggests Armitage, Crispe, Manson, Seeley, Coombs, and lastly Hickey. If you add Gibson, Golding and Pilkington to that list, that's 10 people total that are on the mutineer’s side. Hodgson will later reluctantly join them (11 people)

Crozier is suspicious.

There are only 8 marines left.

CROZIER (pointedly, to Tozer): It's going to be difficult to surprise us on such level ground, hm?

Crozier memorized where everyone was from to be able to use it at key moments. Here he uses it to try and convince Morfin to stay alive.

Morfin commits suicide by Tozer :(

Between the sledge party (~5?), the men left in the ships (7) and Morfin, the body count for this episode is now at 13. Later Hickey will stab 2 people, bringing it up to 15.

THartnell reaches out to comfort Goodsir, but Goodsir shrugs him off

By the way Goodsir is hyperventilating it looks like he's having a panic attack. Thank God Silna is there to comfort him.

Crozier asks THartnell to find out who else helped Hickey get Silna

After Jopson complains about Crozier shaving his job away:

CROZIER: I need to hold a command meeting this morning for Captain Fitzjames ande the lieutenants. I'll let you gather them. JOPSON (with the slightlest hint of sarcasm): Oh, thank you very much, sir.

Jopson is such a little shit, I love him so much.

While the other officers discuss the situation with the tin cans, Hodgson is send out with THartnell and Manson to bury Morfin. He peers down at the little mound under which Morfin lays.

And then he comes back and finds out they had a big talk without him and that Jopson was promoted. A steward! Promoted to lieutenant!

(#OfficePolitics)

And that... that's the moment of vulnerability Hickey exploits.

Hickey doesn't tell Hodgson what happened to Morfin. He asks him. He's most successful when he lets others talk.

Hickey says the food would be divided into "nearly a hundred portions", so there's less than 100 people alive at this point.

HODGSON: God, blind me.

He's so ridiculously Victorian.

Was there ever a more Hickey sentence than "Survival is a nasty piece of business, but we do what we have to do."

I like that Hickey recognizes he's more suited to be a powerful man's right hand man. He likes running things from the shadows.

Why does Hodgson send Hickey with Irving???

Hickey has to adapt here. By his expression I don't think he was planning on encountering those Inuit at that point (and how could he be?) I think he decided to kill the other two on the spot.

#the terror

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acrazyobsession · 4 years

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“Framed for Murder” Episode Analysis

We had “Blood at Wheel” where Jack realizes how much he cares for Phryne. Not being able to face the idea of one of her reckless stunts taking her away from him, he steps away to save himself. Phryne realizes just how much a part of her life Jack has become, and the idea of them not working togetherーnot having after-case drinks together crushes her. Then we had “The Blood of Juana the Mad” where they have to work their first case together (thanks to Mac), yet not really together. At one point, Jack says, “I need you to go. Please, go home.” It was all very heart-wrenching. However, Jack can’t deny how well they work together and does come to realize that being away from her is more painful than the possibility of losing her. So he willingly decides to follow her lead: “I’ll try to stay in step.” And Phryne of course is happy to have him back in her parlourーand in her life.

So, now we are at “Framed for Murder” - their first case officially back together. How easily are they going to be able to get back in step with each other? Did their estrangement have a negative effect on their case-solving abilities?

I think they have fewer interactions than usual; however, the times we see them together are GOLD. They seem to have not missed a beatーwith their banter or their partnership. If anything, I noticed more support for each other. They seem VERY happy to be working together again and are having fun. Though there are a few things that I would like to just ignore happen altogether in this episode.

It is also available on AO3

The faith and trust that Phryne has in Jack just warms my heart. Her friend Raymond calls, freaking out about a dead body in the studio, and she immediately calls Jack. Though I am confused...did she call Jack directly? Because he didn’t seem to know she was part of this. Maybe she just called the station, which would be weird because she usually calls and talks with him (most recently “Dead Man’s Chest”). I am not surprised that she called him, this isn’t just a case of a missing person, there is a dead body.

Then there is the fact the Phryne seems to be looking for Jack as she walks through the studio with Raymond. I didn’t notice it the first time I watched the episode, or probably even the second or third time, but as I was rewatching it for this analysis, I noticed it. Of course, she could just be looking around at the studio, but my shipper heart says that she knows he is there somewhere and wants to see him.

J: Miss Fisher. P: Hello, Jack. J: For once, it seems entirely appropriate that you should turn up. P: Well, of course. I'm the one who telephoned for you after Raymond alerted me to the situation.

I don’t know if I will ever get over how she says, “Hello, Jack.” The way his name comes from deep in her throat--Essie’s voice is always amazing. I need a compilation video of all the times she says his name!

Anyway, Raymond is unsure of Jack. He apparently just wanted Phryne’s detective skills, not wanting to bring a lot of attention to the studio. But she reassures him, “Don't worry about the Inspector. He's very discreet, Raymond.” This both gives Jack a compliment and shows her trust in him. She is very glad to be on good terms with him again. And when Raymond refers to Phryne as a “detective,” Jack doesn’t roll his eyes or even look vexed! Without missing a beat, he allows her access, “Well, I'd be interested to hear your opinion, Miss Fisher, as a fellow detective, since I have no doubt you'll make your opinions known as some point.” And why wouldn’t he? He had just experienced what it was like to not have her work a case with him, and he found he didn’t like it. Before this point he reluctantly let her join, but now it is more deliberate. They have crossed a bridge and have decided to do this dance together. She called him immediately instead of waiting until she gets into trouble, and he immediately welcomes her into the case. A little compromise on both their parts perhaps?

They do seem to be on the same page during this case - in agreement.

After Phryne has given her opinion on the evidence she sees, Hugh states, “That's exactly what the inspector thinks.” Then, when Jack is questioning Raymond on where he was the previous evening, Raymond tries to get Phryne on his side, “You think I murdered him? I had to get my assistant to kill a spider the other day! Phryne, tell him.” I love how she glances at Jack for a second and you think she is going to back Raymond up, but then she turns to her friend, “It's a fair question.” Granted, she does stand up for Raymond later, but at that point, Jack is thinking of Raymond much more seriously as a suspect, and she just doesn’t believe he could have done it. But here, Jack is just trying to do his job and get everyone’s whereabouts. And Jack’s face!

And then a little bit later, Phryne is talking with Lily Luscome and Jack shows up.

J: We seem to have come to the same conclusion. P: I knew you'd catch up.

They do know each other pretty well. The way they talked with Raymond and the cast/crew together, and then go their separate ways to do what they do best (Jack with Clara, and Phryne with Raymond to explore the dressing room), and then both arrive back at Lily…her party she takes Clara into the kitchen...And then at the end, while talking with Clara, they come to conclusion and Jack says, “I'll go to Raymond's, pick up Jefferson. You go to the studio.” He doesn’t even take a second to try and figure out how to get both Lily and Jefferson, he is actively involving her and it just made me so happy. He could have gotten a constable to do it, but he knows she can do the job.

Let’s back up a little. It is really nice to meet one of Phryne’s childhood friends, and to see that he too was able to pull himself out of poverty and Collingwood and make something of himself. Plus we get this gem:

P: You always were a scaredy-cat! R: What, because I wouldn't throw firecrackers at the police? That was just a bit of fun! Your sort of fun always led to trouble. P: Still does.

Also, before we move on, can we talk about the LOOK between Jack and Phryne when Lily says “The man was an octopus, but I wasn't about to kill him for trying to cop a feel.” These two just kill me!

Let’s carry on...I don’t particularly care for the way that Jack almost flirts with Clara. There is definitely a twinkle in his eye. I think I am going to go with the idea that he isn’t so much flirting as he is just so freaking happy that he can’t help but have a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his face. Because Clara isn’t flirting allーI think she keeps the same expression through the whole scene. Besides she has a thing for Raymond. But I like that he doesn’t make fun of her or disregard her when she says she has a photographic memory.

On the other hand though, we have Phryne. Who is raking her eyes over the bare chested guy who pulls out chairs for her and Dot. Her obvious thirst seems hard to miss, but maybe I just didn’t pay attention the first 4 times I saw this episode, or maybe I just blocked it out, because I don’t remember seeing that look on her face. It looks like she just wants to eat him up right there.

I probably would have been fine with that piece, because it’s Phryne, except, I am guessing he is the one she sleeps with at the end. Let’s jump ahead to that bit, because I have some things to say to TPTB. [This is where it gets a bit ranty] I just feel like this season was building to something. Season 1 ends, Jack has gotten a divorce, leaving him available. Phryne really steps up her flirting game with that Roman soldier costume, and he looks almost ready to dive right in. “Murder Most Scandalous” hits a little close to home for Jack, with his former father-in-law as the prime suspect in a murder investigation, so we will give them that episode, and “Death Comes Knocking” there is Warwick.

But, starting with “Dead Man’s Chest” we start to see a change. She calls him in need of a numismatist and then again because she needs someone more competent. He comes to her aid, and they have their date under the pier. Then comes “Deadweight” (granted she brought the Greek home with her, but that didn’t pan out) where they go on a roller coaster date, followed by “Murder a la Mode” and her “lethal dress” (Jack’s words), leading up to that moment in “Marked for Murder” at the footy match when he puts his scarf around her neck and they just stare at each other as the confetti falls around them. I die everytime I see it. I swear that is the moment when she realizes that her feelings are a little more than friendship. She isn’t comfortable with them or ready to act on them yet, but she feels it. Then, we go through a bit of a rough patch with “Blood at the Wheel” and “Juana the Mad,” but they figure it out!

With the way they act together in “Framed for Murder,” it does seem like Phryne’s experience of losing Jack might have pushed her to think about her feelings for him. Now, I didn’t expect her to jump into a relationship with him, or even for us to see a lot of development in that area in this episode; however, I feel we kind of took a step backward. Phryne, you could have just ogled him. You didn’t have to sleep with him. My shipper heart hurts.

Rant Over...shall we continue?

I love Phryne’s response when someone asks Jack why she is there, and she butts in, “I am bankrolling a substantial portion of your salary, so I could advise you to answer the inspector's questions!” I just love how she doesn’t dive in with her own questions (I do love though when Jack sits back sometimes and just gives her the reigns), she again lets Jack do his jobーwhat she called him there to do.

When they meet Raymond’s house guest, we see normal Phryne levels of flirtation with Jefferson as she shakes his hand. I do love the little look Jack gives her, though. He seems amused, like he has missed this.

Phryne decides that she should take the place of the now deceased director. Raymond must have determined that Jack was a good chap, because he gets his opinion on Phryne’s idea:

R: “You always did have a knack for bossing people around, don't you agree, Inspector?” J: “Yes, I believe director would be the perfect role for you, Miss Fisher.” Jack is very playful, and easily goes along with Raymond’s teasing. However, back in “Blood at the Wheel,” there was an exchange that went very differently: P: I seem to be able to handle my Hispano-Suiza without any trouble. Don't I, Inspector? J: I doubt a police officer is the right person to ask.

Quite a different tone in Jack’s response there. Overall, in this episode, it just seems like they are having a good time. Enjoying the fact that they have gotten back to this point. However, Jack does get a bit frustrated with both Phryne and Raymond as he doesn’t let her in on the interview. And another bit that I seemed to have missed the first couple go-rounds, was this line:

J: Clearly he was more afraid of you.

Phryne didn’t think it was funny, and walked out of the station, but I did! And Nathan Page’s dead pan delivery was perfect.

I was disappointed that Jack wasn’t invited to the party, but he probably had his hands full with the case. So, again, she was getting information her way and he was doing his part. And at least he shows up (even if it is to question Raymond), and we see that wonderful “how to remove one’s coat without letting go of one’s hat” piece. If you haven’t seen the pic play-by-play by @izzyandlouie seriously check it out.

Can I just interject this gem as well:

R: You can operate a camera, can't you? [You could hear a pin drop it’s so quiet, and it takes her a beat to respond] P: Of course! Blindfolded, in the dark.

Phryne Fisher may not like it to be known that she doesn’t know how to do something, but if she doesn’t know something, she is going to go figure it out! And doesn’t she look absolutely gorgeous in that scene where she catches Jefferson in Raymond’s office!

Then we have the end scene...our favorite couple having a drink in the parlour...things are back to the way we like them.

J: And what were your girlhood dreams Miss Fisher? P: I’m living them Inspector.

I haven’t spent too much time thinking about what exactly Phryne means by her response to Jack’s question. But I guess I would like to think that as a child she had a lot of dreams, and now as an adult with resources, she is able to do them all. Maybe she has a checklist, and she is slowly getting to check them all off.

Credit: screencaps | gifs by me | transcript

#mfmm #mfmm review #mfmm analysis #framed for murder #episode analysis #phrack

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setoangel01 · 5 years

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Y’all can blame my nephews for these. Their obsession with Pokemon has me re-watching the old episodes that I grew up with and dammit, the nostalgia is real. T_T The first few seasons only though since after Misty and Brock left, that was when the show stopped being good for me. The only Pokemon I care about are the original 151 and nothin’ changing that. Rewatching it back, it’s still a great show surprisingly. Even better considering things I didn’t appreciate as a kid lol. The other thing about the second watch through is how much I love Gary motherfucking Oak. He used to irk me as a kid by how much he relentlessly teased Ash but now he’s just funny and I like his character arc in how he was such an egotistical, playboy asshole but after his fight with Giovanni, he really mellowed out and even decided to give up his dream to become a researcher like his grandfather. Oh, and hate me all you want, Gary and Misty would be fucking hot together. XD As a kid, I wanted nothing more than for Misty and Ash to get together but rewatching the show now, Ash basically abandons her at the end of their travels so he could fulfill his dreams. Years pass while she waits in vain for Ash’s return, Misty would train, keep her gym and basically get into a comfortable routine. Gary, a reward-winning researcher by this point, decides to start researching Water Pokemon and reluctantly ask for her help (given the push by his dear old gramps of course). Initially, there would be near constant arguing and clashing because of their similar fiery personalities and egos but after awhile, they’d grow to respect the other and learn they did a lot of growing up since they were kids. At first, she’d fight any romantic feelings she’d grow toward the stunning professor but with his undeniable charming ways, he’d get to her and hell, I don’t see Misty waiting forever for Ash -- and let’s face it, Gary ain’t a bad choice. ;-3 And let’s be real, the sexual tension between these two would be intense as fuck lol. That’s my headcanon anyway. XD

#Pokemon #first gen pokemon #Gary Oak #misty waterflower #Egoshipping #Professor #Gary wears reading glasses #fight me #misty x gary #Misty #Gary

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crescentmoonrider · 5 years

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Fics I sorta want to write, sorta don’t want to, probably never will (a non-exhaustive list)

A:tla/LoK

Of the inequality of palindromes

What it is : A canon divergence in which Noatak and Tarrlok leave together, build the Equalists much earlier, and the world once more descends into war. Avatar Aang is killed, Equalists occupy most of Earth Kingdom and spread the mercy of the Spirits-sent brothers who will make all equal, and a young Korra is raised behind the walls of the Northern Water Tribe. Also Jet is here, somehow, and would probably be one of the PoV characters, maybe along with Tarrlok ?

Why I want to write it : Lots of potential here for a lot of stuff, I’ve always loved Tarrlok and Noatak’s story, I already made a few sketches after the inciting dream and I kind of like what this all looks like. Lots of situations, lots of characters, lots of trauma. I feel like it could work with a non-chronological storytelling - or at least less chronological than A viper-lizard’s tales - and I’m curious to see how I would go about structuring that.

Why I don’t want to : The Timeline Is Fucked !!! I seriously have no idea what would be going on with the dates and ages of most characters and just trying to figure out and make sense of that stuff is killing me. Also, it would be Long, and Viper-lizard will probably have exhausted me by the time I finish it, so starting another long fic would be. HHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Ace Attorney

I will fill your thermos with Worcester sauce or so help me

What it is : A canon divergence in which bratty prosecutor Miles Edgeworth and Diego “I think I am a good person but I’m barely there” Armando somehow join forces to take down Dahlia. They’re both douchebags who despise each other. It’s a great collaboration. They meet one young and innocent Phoenix Wright at the legal library and it’s all downhill from there.

Why I want to write it : Douchebag duo !! Reluctantly working together !! I want these two to interact and to barely resist kicking each other in the shins like the little brats they are. And well, I’ve already made Content(TM) for this, so I’d say it speaks to how much I like the idea. There is a scenario somewhere in my mind and in the sketches I did.

Why I don’t want to : I’m barely in this fandom anymore (if I ever really was) and I don’t like research. What the fuck is a legalese and do I need to know it to write about lawyers ? Whatever the answer may be, I’ll have to look shit up, and it will take time, and I’ll get distracted, and the fic will never write itself.

Hannibal (NBC)

Ode au pêcheur (long ver.)

What it is : A role-reversal AU, in which Hannibal is not a cannibal but still a psychiatrist, and Will is a teacher and profiler with a, uh, taste for uncommon meats. They still meet during the Shrike case, which is what the current Ode au pêcheur is about, and this would be the following events.

Why I want to write it : For one, I already wrote a short piece for this verse, so jot that down. But also I want to explore the change in dynamics, and also Hannibal being completely fucked up but in a different way. And writing Will as this kind of mysterious and fascinating being through Hannibal’s eyes... yeah, that’d be good.

Why I don’t want to : I spent hours reading the scripts, deciding what I would and would not keep, how to phrase it, for a 878 words standalone. I do Not want to know what I’d do with a long fic.

Six Sibylline Books (oracles willfully blind)

What it is : A Psycho Pass AU, with Will as an Enforcer specializing in profiling, having been declared a Latent Criminal since he was 6, because of his high empathy. He lives in fear of the day his Coefficient will reach 300. Hannibal is, of course, criminally asymptomatic, and working as a therapist for the government.

Why I want to write it : Let’s be honest, these two in the Sibyl System would be a fucking mess, and I for one am here for it. Mostly I want to see Will struggle with his place in this world, and watch what his Becoming would be like. Hannibal as a worse version of Makishima who just does shit for fun is terrible too, I love it. He probably wouldn’t even try to do a revolution and pretend to help people, the asshole.

Why I don’t want to : I Would Die. Two very complicated shows with literary references and philosophy mixed in just about every sentence, and a very well-rounded world as the setting ? Instant death. Or a very slow one, induced by the constant need to reference every little detail.

Kekkai Sensen

Fallen Hellsalem

What it is : A noir AU in which Daniel Law is a hardboiled detective who has been looking for answers regarding the disappearance of his younger twin brother for the past three years. A two-parters (by which I mean, two fics of consequent length, or a Huge fic with two very long main arcs), with the first case introducing the world through Steven A Starphase being accused of murder and needing Daniel’s help to find the real culprit. Turns out he didn’t do This murder but is also a crime lord involved in the disappearance of many other people, reigniting Daniel’s quest for answers. The second case is actually much more focused on the actual investigation surrounding Marcus’ disappearance, with Daniel gaining an apprentice in the person of Leonardo Watch, and learning to let go of the past a little.

Why I want to write it : I made a 5 page comic of the very first scene in 20 days. I just really like the noir aesthetics, and also Daniel. I have something resembling the beginning of an actual plot. I love Daniel. Did I mention I love Daniel ? It would be very interesting to have to actually think things in advance and build a case that makes sense.

Why I don’t want to : It would be so much work !! Two parts ?? Two fics for one story ? Or even just a Mega Fic - I would just fucking die. Also, while having to figure out how to build a case that makes sense is a fine challenge, it’s also a Lot of work, especially when I’m more the type of writer to figure stuff out as it comes, or to plan for Big Emotional moments and then turn the plot around it so that it all works organically. I’m not really a planner of plots, more of scenes. Plots kinda just happen. And that doesn’t fly for detective stories if you want it to be decent.

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Psycho Pass

The blind Sibylla (long ver.)

What it is : A canon divergence directly following the events of The blind Sibylla (in which Akane shot Makishima during episode 11). Makishima didn’t die but is injured, still somehow escapes ; meanwhile Akane is kind of scouted by Sibyl because she shot a guy with the intention to kill him and her Crime Coefficient didn’t rise, and she considers the offer. Kogami gets a phone call that leaves him sick to his stomach, and he too has to make a choice.

Why I want to write it : I mean, I already wrote two short chapters on impulse, so it’s more of “why I want to continue it”. Anyway the answer is that I’ve got ideas and I want to see where they go. Also if I can get Kagari and Choe Gu Sung to stay alive that would be swell.

Why I don’t want to : Psycho Pass Is Complicated. The worldbuilding is on point, but that also means fucking it up is incredibly easy. Also the literary references. It would be a lot more work than I am used to putting into my writing and I really don’t feel like memorizing the wiki and constantly rewatching the series just to get everything as accurate as possible.

Reborn

The illusion of love and the reality of hate

What it is : A TYL 186918 story about Hibari and Mukuro navigating their hate-relationship and trying to make it work. Especially after Mukuro was thought to have been killed by Byakuran. Would involve Mukuro asking Ryohei for advice because he is literally the only person in a stable relationship who has any idea what he’s doing, and also he knows what Hibari is like. A contract is drafted. I’m not saying Mukuro and Hibari get hate-married but. They get hate-married. Kind of.

Why I want to write it : I’ve wanted to explore a full-blown, healthy blackrom for a while now, and these two are one of my oldest ships, and also one I’ve written a lot for in the past. Love me a good mix of fucked up shit and humor. And boy would there be fucked up shit between these two.

Why I don’t want to : Two words : Sex Scenes. I can’t imagine this story (or this relationship, for that matter) without sex, as it would be one of the most primal way they have of communicating with each other, along with fighting. But I’ve never written smut in my life. Also I barely remember the TYL arc (better than the later ones, but not by much) so I’d have to look that up again, and probably more (likely re-reading the whole thing), but that’s a minor issue.

Red Raven

Cave Canem

What it is : An early canon divergence in which Ricardo gets lost in the panic of the five days of blood and is believed to be dead, while Walter meets Calogero at Castor Arte and decides to follow him around out of a mutual hatred of the Scaggs. Anyway Ricardo joins the Red Ravens because he believes he was abandoned and can’t trust the mafia anymore, while Walter more or less gets adopted by Calogero and becomes Laura’s right hand.

Why I want to write it : I just. I love this manga so goddamn much,,,,,,, Also Walter and Ricardo are very similar while being pretty different, and the changes in dynamics a switch would make are. Pretty darn interesting. I made sketches. I want to see what would stay the same and what would go differently. I want to send more Red Raven content into this world.

Why I don’t want to : This fandom is comprised of three people and a crow, and I know myself well enough to be certain I’ll have trouble staying motivated in these conditions. Also this would be Long, I can feel it. And I don’t really have a scenario planned, so that’s that.

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle

Snow blossoms

What it is : A canon divergence (?) in which Fai (the dead one, not our Fye) is a dream-walker and meets child Kurogane a few times this way. At one point, Kurogane promises to find Fai and Yui and to help them, no matter what. Later, the then grown Kurogane is eternally confused by Fye’s presence for one more reason.

Why I want to write it : It’s an old headcanon of mine that Fai is a dream-walker, I figured I might as well do something with it. Also I want to write this kid !! Give him some life !! And of course the KuroFye angst might just triple from this. Also, the truth is that I started this one (in January 2018...), and it looks promising. I already have a structure for the first arc, so that’s neat.

Why I don’t want to : For one, it would be Long, and as mentioned earlier in this post, I don’t think I’d have the strength to go through this again. For two, TRC is a cool story that I like a lot, but I hardly think about it anymore most of the time.

W.I.T.C.H.

Whispers under my skin

What it is : A canon divergence in which Cedric (still in his kind librarian skin) seduces Matt as a way to get to Will, and it backfires horribly when he realizes he is loved by this human and Phobos will never love him like that, and he will never get what he really wants. So at the final battle in Meridian, instead of going full Super Saiyan Lizard, he betrays Phobos. He gets badly injured, but he also gains a half-freedom as thanks from Kandrakar, in the way of a human life (plus some minor magic if the girls allow him to) and a duty to help the Guardians in their mission.

Why I want to write it : Like many of my dream-inspired things, it is very weird, and for once I think it’s a very good thing. Yes I had a dream in which Matt and Cedric had A Thing, no don’t ask me how that happened I don’t control my brain. Anyway, I’ve always liked Cedric and I want to explore his character, and the dynamics he could form with the girls in such different circumstances. Also, I’d get to play around with the magic system, which is very cool.

Why I don’t want to : I re-read my w.i.t.c.h. comics maybe once every two years, and while some of them still make me cry (why did you have to die you filthy lizard man), it’s probably not enough of a basis to start a Long Fic. Also it would be Long and I am tired. And ! I don’t have nearly enough references at home and that means I’d have to look shit up, and the wiki is Not Great, from what I’ve seen.

#shut up yumi #fics ill probably never write #you are all free to ask more about any of these. or just to ask me if im alright #i also want to write some cableshipping someday but i have even less of an idea for that so #like ive got headcanons but i dont have a scenario #and like i said this is a non-exhaustive list #and theres a lot of stuff i dont want to write but still want to draw a lot for (like the kazetsuyo AUs or the aa atla AU)#and of course theres the 'i want to write it and i hope i will someday' category which is not this one #but to which the twewy fantasy AU belongs #theres no 'sorta dont want to' for this one i really want to make stuff i just never do #btw most of these title are non-definitive in theory

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zetalial · 5 years

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BH rewatch episode 23

Previous Episode Next Episode

Episode 23 Girl on the Battlefield

Wow. What was this episode? So much happened. I’m not sure if I can even have an opinion on anything as something else happens before I can digest what was happening. I’m exaggerating slightly – I have lots of opinions

So Alphonse is chasing after Scar. Edward is still in the alley with Winry, comforting her, and he gives her his red jacket. He doesn’t stick around long though as he needs to go and help his brother. Winry sits there feeling useless, that all she can do is wait (yeah we hear Winry’s thoughts all the time. It’s almost strange because we rarely hear the inner thoughts of other characters except when they’re expressed aloud.). Edward orders some of the soldiers to take care of her as he runs off.

Meanwhile, Ling is running away from Wrath with Lan Fan still over one shoulder. (Is Ling supernaturally strong and fit?) Yeah, he got out of the room somehow. I swear last episode he was practically cornered but whatever. Wrath gives chase.

As Wrath is chasing them, he hears that Scar is still out and about and orders Gluttony to deal with him. Why does he even think Gluttony can deal with Scar? Scar can just blow him up every time he gets close, which Gluttony has to given his only weapon is his face and he’s not very smart.

I am also wondering where Envy is. Last time we saw him, he was still just hanging around Central. He should really be helping out too. With his powers, he’d theoretically be able to be quite discreet in watching over the Elrics. He’d be far better than Gluttony.

Anyway, Lan Fan tells Ling not to be noble, that a leader needs to be there for his people and they need him alive. He doesn’t want to abandon her though. Lan Fan is looking at her severely injured arm and realising she’s useless to him while injured like this and she’s only weighing him down. We see her lifting her good arm to make a strike but we don’t see what she does before the scene shifts.

Al is still fighting Scar, saying he’ll make him pay for Nina and the Rockbells, Ed soon joins him. Oh, Scar notes Al is in a metal body and wonders at how he can use Alchemy when it put him in that form. Al points out that the alchemy also saved his life and he’s thankful to Edward for it. Now the fight is in a much more open space.

Then Gluttony appears and Ed and Al identify him as a homunculus and so the three of them all start working to fight Gluttony. It seems its Scar’s first time hearing that term though he has fought Gluttony before. Honestly that Gluttony even manages to bash his face into Scar is impressive. The homunculus is hopelessly outmatched.

Then, Ling appears from the Sewers and he’s taken his yellow shirt off to show off his muscles and cuts Gluttony in half with his sword. He asks Edward to make some restraints and Ed creates some metal coils. Ling quickly ties Gluttony’s regenerating body with them. He does it so tightly that Gluttony’s body is stuck constantly trying to expand but can’t because of the coils and so he’s completely trapped.

Riza appears in a car then, and shoots Scar in the leg. She’s in a paper-thin disguise of glasses and her hair down. It’s to trick the watching soldiers as she takes Ling and the trapped Gluttony away.

So Ed and Al have cornered the wounded Scar and intend to… capture him I assume? But then Mei appears, kicking Alphonse back. She calls Edward short – apparently unaware that she is a complete midget herself. She’s meant to be like 13 or something, right? Anyway, she makes three Alkahestry circles, causing a reaction from a distance to cause some explosions covering the area in smoke. Ed is very interested by this as he recognises it’s not normal alchemy. Mei then escapes with Scar.

Mei doesn’t seem to be aware that Scar is a killer. She has no idea why a group of Amestrian soldiers and Ed and Al were attacking him and she never asks! She just heals his injury. I hate that she’s just ignorant here. It’s so much more interesting if she knows and decides to help him anyway. Or at least have her be curious but show Scar trying to hide the truth or something. But, no, it’s just never addressed. (Also how many daggers does she have? She just used 15 of the things and 10 of them are definitely lost to her. Where does she keep them? Mei’s ridiculously powerful (throwing those 10 daggers perfectly) which I’m fine with but her being so out of the loop and how little information we get about how her power works is a little more annoying.)

Oh, Al has her panda. There’s a brief comedy scene of him holding on to him in spite of Ed’s protests about stray animals. The panda has this gag of a pyramid of hierarchy of Al on the top. I’m not sure why Ed was on the bottom with Yoki – it barely met him - more jokes at Ed’s expense?

Okay, so Lan Fan cut off her arm and attached it to a dog as a decoy while she and Ling escaped into the sewers. Wrath is fooled by this. When he follows bleeding arm and discovers this, his response is basically. “well-played”. This is a nice trick but I really think we should have been shown a bit more of it. Wrath was following them reasonably closely. He’s very quick while Ling was carting around Lan Fan on his shoulder. I would have liked to see them attaching the arm to the dog and then hiding in the sewers. Otherwise too much is happening offscreen. Like, when Mustang was fighting Lust, he cauterised his wound, walked through the empty laboratory and drew his array in his own blood all off-screen. (And got Havoc’s broken lighter working.)

Honestly, I’m not sure this is really feasible. I’m not sure I can believe that Ling really got away from Wrath long enough to pull off this bluff.

Oh well. So Lan Fan is wrapped in Ling’s jacket in a pretty dire state. Ling is in a car with Riza and convinces her to go and get Lan Fan. They take her to Doctor Knox’s place – Mustang got him to reluctantly agree as per usual. Wrath notices Riza and recognises her despite her ‘disguise’ and decides its best he deal with Mustang.

So we cut to Winry, who is waiting in the military and she’s talking with Wrath – well Fuhrer Bradley anyway. Ed comes in to see her and Bradley gives him a subtle warning that he should take care of her.

Winry gets a phone call from Rush valley and all her customers are begging for her to come back. (She was only there from Episode 11-15 and there’s dozens of automail shops and she’s only 16. Why on Earth are they trying to make her skills so ridiculous? This is way too extreme.) Just as she was having tough feelings about being stuck always waiting.

So she heads out on a train and they say goodbye to her as she leaves for Rush Valley. Ed tells her that she’s not going to cry again until it’s tears of joy when they’ve got their bodies back. She agrees. As they leave, Winry realises she has feelings for Ed. (Yeah more of her inner thoughts are being stated to the audience.)

Ling gets introduced to Mustang who thanks him for all his help. Ling, Lan Fan, Ed, Al, Mustang and Riza are all in this safe house together as Lan Fan wakes up. Ed apologises for her getting hurt but Ling says that it was his plan and Lan Fan was willing to make the sacrifice, doing what he could not.

Oh and Ling informs them that Bradley was a homunculus. Huh, a few episodes ago they seemed close to deducing that themselves but yeah it makes sense that Ling can just tell them. They act with typical horror as you’d expect. (Ling foreshadows that Bradley is different from other Homunculi too.)

Lan Fan explicitly draws attention to how her distraction plan was based off her and Ed’s fight. Aww, I thought it would be cleverly not mentioned. But they had to say it. (I’m just disappointed because I was feeling clever for noticing the parallel.) Lan Fan notes again that she is useless to Ling and Ed recommends automail.

Mustang wants to use Gluttony’s Philosopher’s stone to cure Havoc’s injury. Ling protests, saying how Lan Fan just got injured for it and he deserves the stone. Ed cuts in, pointing out how he needs the stone to fix his brother’s body as they’ve been searching for it for so long. It an interesting dilemma. Ed should be pretty urgent to fix Al knowing that his soul is being rejected but on the other hand Ling’s got a duty to his people and he is chiefly responsible for this capture (though it was only possible with Ed and Al luring the homunculi out).

But the argument is quickly cut short as Gluttony reacts to the mention of Mustang, who killed Lust, and with extra determination breaks out of his bonds. Nice to see he cares so much about Lust. His stomach opens up to show the giant gateway inside with the eye inside. It’s eating power takes out what looks like an entire wall and a car.

—————-

And finally, finally the episode is over. Wow, they stuffed in a lot. Can you believe it’s only normal length? Course, everything was very brief as a result. Sometimes the pace is too much. I guess I like it but more time could certainly have been spent on some events. I’m mostly thinking about Ling and Lan Fan. Their storyline is way too rushed here.

You know I’d like a reason to like Ling but how can I if it’s going to rush through the part where he is horrified as he ties his best friend’s bloody arm (which she just cut off for him) to a dog while she is practically bleeding to death next to him and he’s in a hurry. That’d be just the sort of scene to make me sympathise with him. We’d get to feel his guilt, mixed with a sense of duty and the dark side of Lan Fan’s loyalty. Instead we get him telling her not to do it and then a cut to him jumping out of the sewers with his shirt off and cutting Gluttony in half. Yeah, I get it, he’s ‘badass’ and a loyal friend. But his most interesting scene was offscreen! Instead we’re messing around with setting up Ed/Winry.

I’d also have appreciated lengthening the Philosopher’s stone argument. It’s interesting to see Edward, Ling and Mustang all in an argument where they all have compelling reasons. They’ve all sacrificed a lot after all. It’d be great too as it’d make the moment where Ling offered the Stone to Edward at the end of the series more meaningful.

I’m going to keep a watch out for the use of inner thoughts being stated to the audience. Often thoughts are expressed out loud but I think inner thoughts being shared is actually pretty rare. I feel like Winry’s thoughts have been shared before (just the other episode she was thinking in her head about Ed’s broadening shoulders). I don’t recall any other characters having this happening but maybe I can’t remember. Either way, I’ll keep an eye out in the future. (I’m curious if this is unique to Winry. Which would be weird as she’s not the protagonist of the story and I don’t see why her inner thoughts would deserve special treatment.)

But it’s not a bad episode or anything. A lot happened and it was good, I just wish more time was spent on some of these events not that any of them were bad. But they don’t have the full impact if there’s not a chance to dwell on them a bit.

#fma #fmab rewatch #Gosh imagining that heart-wrenching offscreen Ling scene #it would have been amazing #I'm honestly a little angry it was offscreen #Why?#For a twist reveal when he pops up out of the sewers?#That's nothing compared to the scene we lost.#where he would be handling Lan Fan's arm #with urgency but his emotions would be getting in the way #but sorry Ling it was offscreen so I still can't like you yet #Do I seem like I hate Winry?#I don't #her additions in this episode were just bad is all #they didn't touch on her feelings about Scar at all #just her feelings of being left waiting #and her feelings towards ed #meta #myposts

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odanurr87 · 5 years

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Recreating a puzzle: A look at Voltron’s Seasons 3 through 7

A few days ago I happened to watch a video recommended to me by YT titled, “How Voltron Became a Tragedy | Part 1: Production.” This video essay, referencing other sources, expounded upon the show’s multiple production issues, but in particular how and why the roles of Shiro and Keith changed as the series progressed. At the end of Season 2, it is pretty much accepted by everyone that Shiro had either died or vanished, leading Keith to reluctantly take up the mantle of Paladin of the Black Lion at the beginning of Season 3, something that had been (weakly, to my mind) set up in the previous season. That was exactly the story the executive producers, Lauren Montgomery and Joaquim Dos Santos, had originally envisioned: Shiro’s death fighting Zarkon during Season 2′s finale would be the catalyst that would push Keith into the leadership position in Season 3.

For better or worse, Shiro had apparently been well received by audiences, so much so that Dreamworks’ executives were banking on him to sell toys (see here). There was only one problem, Shiro was already dead and Season 3 was probably well into production, if not finished already. There was only one thing to be done, Season 3 would’ve to be edited to bring everyone’s favourite space dad back to life. After watching The Sin Squad’s video, I decided to rewatch some of the seasons, starting with Season 3, but looking at them with a more critical eye, and bearing in mind that Shiro would have to be inserted into a season that hadn’t originally accounted for him. I watched up to and including Seasons 6 and 7 to see if I could make sense of... other issues. I wanted to see for myself what the author of the video essay was arguing. In the end, I think I managed to piece together what the original Season 3 was meant to look like and then some.

NOTE: The following is pure speculation on my part. It’s nothing more than a fun mental exercice that I decided to engage on, but I think it’s probably on the right track. I’ll let you, the reader, decide.

Buying time: The new Season 3 of Voltron

It should come as no surprise that with the mandate to resurrect Shiro in a season that no longer featured him and was probably wrapped up or close to, the creators would need to buy some time to effect the necessary changes to the existing episode line-up. I believe this explains why Season 3 went on to have only 7 episodes, as opposed to the standard 13 of previous seasons, as they just didn’t have enough time to work on all 13 episodes. Season 3 was released on August 4th, 2017, while Season 4 was released on October 13th, 2017. While I’m not arguing the creators used these three months to work specifically on Season 4 (I wouldn’t know, but I’m guessing they probably had it wrapped up sometime before), it is probably indicative of the delay caused by the rewrites. This new Season 3, comprised of only 7 episodes, would feature at least one completely new episode designed to re-introduce Shiro, Episode 305 “The Journey.” Furthermore, Episode 306 “Tailing a Comet” would be edited to incorporate Shiro, but the editing would be constrained by preventing Shiro from joining the team on the mission via the Black Lion not recognizing him as her Paladin. After this, we’re only left with one more episode in the new Season 3, and that’s “The Legend Begins,” a story that conveniently focuses on the old Paladins of Voltron and so requires minimum tampering. I cannot say for certain “The Legend Begins” was a new episode, but I’m leaning towards the notion that it was crafted to serve as the new Season 3 finale, as we would only have been through half the season at that point and the previous seasons didn’t have a mid-season finale. But this could only serve as a temporary solution, as Shiro couldn’t possibly be benched for the entire season or else there would’ve been little point in bringing him back. If Shiro had to come back no matter what, then Keith would have to go.

Welcome to the future, Keith.

In Episode 401 “Code of Honor,” we see Keith is now working with the Blade of Marmora on what are supposed to be temporary assignments as he’s still acknowledged by the team as the pilot of the Black Lion. Meanwhile, the rest of Team Voltron are on parade duty, trying to build a coalition to stand against the Galra Empire. This episode always rubbed me the wrong way as it created a friction between Keith and the rest of the team that wasn’t there a few episodes ago. His joining the Blades came out of nowhere and Shiro’s harsh attitude towards Keith (“This isn’t a request, Keith. That’s an order.”) was very much unlike him. While I don’t dismiss the possibility out of hand that some version of this episode may have existed in some form, I agree with others who’ve suggested “Code of Honor” was probably a new episode that was never part of the original Season 3 line-up. Keith had to go and Episode 401 was created to explain away his absence. Out of the remaining 5 episodes of Season 4, the next 2 have minimal Shiro presence, and Episode 404 “The Voltron Show!” adds nothing to the overarching storyline, but it has some nice meta references to executive meddling as The Sin Squad’s video astutely points out. After these, we’re left with the two-parter, “Begin the Blitz” and “A New Defender,” and it’s curious to note Keith only returns in an active role in the latter (he had previously appeared in “Begin the Blitz” standing next to Kolivan on a view screen, but didn’t even talk). However, I can’t help but realize Keith’s actions in the Season 4 finale are largely irrelevant and replaceable, what makes sense as Keith was originally slated to lead Voltron in this strike against the Galra.

Another thing I noticed was that it is Lance who goes into a motivational speech telling Allura how she is “the one who brought everyone together” and how she is “the heart of Voltron,” giving her the confidence she needed to connect with Voltron on a deeper level. I can’t help but think that, with Shiro there, he would’ve been the natural candidate for that kind of talk as that is what leaders are supposed to do, and what Shiro has been known to do in the past. On the other hand, if it wasn’t Shiro but Keith who’s supposed to be there, then the idea of Lance giving the speech makes more sense, as he was also the one who talked Keith into accepting the Black Lion’s decision and taking up the mantle of leadership.

There is another possible take on this scene that I can’t dismiss altogether and that’s been nagging at me ever since I finished piecing this together. It’s possible Keith was originally slated to talk Allura into connecting with Voltron and not Lance, proving he had grown into his leadership role. With Keith gone, there would’ve been no problem reworking the scene to fit Shiro. However, I wonder whether romance had a part to play in this matter. It’s possible the scene was reworked to have Lance talk to Allura instead in order to set up a potential relationship in the future or perhaps to account for one that had already been set up. This might also explain that bizarre scene in Episode 503 where Lance unlocks King Alfor’s bayard... never to be seen again until Season 8. You can see the dangers of trying to reverse-engineer what exactly went on behind the scenes with limited data.

Who was originally supposed to give this speech? Maybe we’ll never know.

The episode ends with Lotor making an eleventh hour appearance to save Voltron (stealing Keith’s thunder). In the end, I think it wouldn’t be too far from the truth to surmise the following from Seasons 3 and 4:

Episodes 301 to 304 were part of the original Season 3 storyline where Keith would slowly grow into his role as leader of Team Voltron while also serving to introduce a new foe, Prince Lotor (who coincidentally has a Voltron-like team of his own and is also half-Galra).

Episode 305 was not part of the original Season 3 storyline, and was crafted as a response to executive pressure to bring back Shiro.

Episode 306 was reworked to feature Shiro but retained the core of an original Season 3 episode.

Episode 307 was probably a new addition to serve as season finale.

Episode 401 was a new episode meant to explain Keith’s absence from the team.

Episodes 402 and 403 were part of the original Season 3 storyline, edited somewhat to change Keith into Shiro.

Episode 404 was definitely a new addition and I posit that it was probably created to comply with a mandatory 13 episode order for each season (I’ll explain why shortly).

Episodes 405 and 406 were part of the original Season 3 storyline, reworked to turn Keith into Shiro, while also giving the new Keith something to do.

If we can agree on the above, then another issue presents itself. If 4 out of the 13 episodes of the original Season 3 are new, then what happened to the original 4? Have they been lost to us forever on the cutting room floor? It would seem like a waste of effort and time that I doubt the creators could afford. I did ponder this for a while and thought it was a futile exercice at first... until I finally asked the right question. What was the real ending of the original Season 3? If new episodes could be created and old ones reworked, there was no reason to believe some couldn’t be reshuffled, so why should we assume that "A New Defender” was always a season finale? And if it wasn’t, well, what was the original ending?

Season 5 and the “lost” Season 3 episodes

I feel this is a natural extension of what The Sin Squad’s video argued so don’t give me too much credit. It was pretty obvious, really. Where else could the original Season 3 finale go but forward into Season 5? On a hunch, because I didn’t recall the exact details of the episode, I checked the 4th episode of Season 5, “Kral Zera.” I skimmed all the way to the end to see if the episode had the makings of a season finale and was rewarded by this...

Fuck me if this isn’t just about a perfect way to end a season that makes you giddy with anticipation.

This was a very good sign, but I had to make sure so I skimmed through the first three episodes of Season 5 as well as a couple after Episode 504. The result was better than I could’ve hoped for. Not only do we see a Shiro that is an asshole to Lance in Episode 503, but we also see him side with Lotor against the rest of Team Voltron, not to mention he had the balls to lend him the black bayard during his fight with Zarkon and also goes against the team’s decision and backs Lotor anyway in his bid for the throne. This is not Shiro, this is not Kuron, this has Keith written all over the place. Only Keith would act so recklessly and impulsively, perhaps conflicted by a kinship with Lotor due to their shared Galra heritage, coupled with his usual desire to settle things quickly and often on his own. Also, if you pay close attention, Shiro stops being an asshole and acting out of character after these first four episodes of Season 5! Last but not least, the focus of the story after Episode 504 shifts to Allura's relationship with Lotor and their work to unlock the secrets of Altean magic, not to mention Keith takes on a more active role than the one he had had up to this point.

And thus we now have a clearer picture of what the original Season 3 was supposed to be about. It was the story of Keith and Lotor, the parallels and differences between two people with shared Galra heritage who had been groomed to become leaders. It was the story of Keith trying to fill the hole left by Shiro as the leader of Voltron and succeeding and failing in equal measure. It was the story of Lotor trying to leave his father’s shadow and ascend to the throne of the Galra Empire the only way he knew how, the Galra way. It was a story that would see new alliances forged to overthrow the old regime and have Keith make a decision that would have lasting repercussions for Voltron and the universe at large. It would’ve been as tight a season as its predecessors had been and this is what I think the season might have looked like at one point:

Episode 301: Changing of the Guard

Episode 302: Red Paladin

Episode 303: The Hunted

Episode 304: Hole in the Sky

Episode 305: Reunion (currently Episode 402)

Episode 306: Tailing a Comet

Episode 307: Black Site (currently Episode 403)

Episode 308: Begin the Blitz (currently Episode 405)

Episode 309: A New Defender (currently Episode 406)

Episode 310: The Prisoner (currently Episode 501)

Episode 311: Blood Duel (currently Episode 502)

Episode 312: Postmortem (currently Episode 503)

Episode 313: Kral Zera (currently Episode 504)

Feel free to rewatch these episodes and draw your own conclusions.

Beyond Season 5: The many returns of Shiro

Having arrived at this point, after more or less successfully restoring Keith from the Shiro/Kuron clone and reconstructing the original structure of Season 3, one feels almost compelled to find more evidence of similar tampering, and therein lies the danger of pushing a theory too far. I watched Seasons 5 and 6, paying close attention to Shiro and Keith to see if either could be replaced, but I’m afraid I didn’t see anything to make me suspect the episodes had been edited in a similar fashion. I am led to believe that the season restructuring that went on behind the scenes bought the creators enough time so that the remaining episodes of Seasons 5 and 6 were built from the ground up to accommodate the change in narrative, namely having Shiro as the leader of Team Voltron while Keith was doing his own thing with the Blades. This is not to say however, that Season 6 wasn’t tampered in any way, shape, or form, but if so, it was done to accommodate other issues in the ongoing narrative of the show.

Introducing Kosmo, the cosmic wolf.

Of particular interest is Kosmo’s impromptu appearance in Episode 602 “Razor’s Edge,” a sort of cosmic wolf that has the unusual ability to teleport and whose design bears a curious resemblance to Shiro, as has been previously noted by @ptw30 here. If memory serves, Kosmo only ever uses this teleport ability during his introduction in Season 6, an ability that would serve a more prominent role in the first half of Season 7. @ptw30 argues that Kosmo is, or was supposed to be at some point, the real Shirogane, who perhaps decided to contact Keith after his failure to warn Lance. On the other hand, there’s another post, which I recently shared, that provides a different spin on the above theory, titled “The Wolf, the Atlas and the Bayard” by @janestrider. @janestrider suggests the wolf was merely added to Season 7, replacing what would’ve originally been Shiro’s role. According to this theory, Shiro would’ve returned as the Black Paladin and would’ve gained teleportation powers for all his troubles.

Initially, I was inclined to side with the theory of the wolf replacing Shiro, but after dwelling on it for a while now, I find myself agreeing with @ptw30′s take on things. Remember, Lauren and Joaquim had originally wanted Keith to lead Team Voltron after Shiro’s “death,” and I they fought hard behind the scenes to make this happen ever since they got the mandate to “bring Shiro back.” Evidently, they eventually got their way as Keith returns in Season 6 to lead Voltron against Lotor, and I doubt Lauren and Joaquim wanted a return to the status quo of Seasons 1 and 2, with Shiro in the chair of Black and Keith in the chair of Red (more on this later). This was their chance to get back on track with their original vision, but that meant wrapping up the Kuron storyline and putting fake Shiro on ice. How did they manage to convince the Dreamworks’ execs to “bend the knee” and bench Shiro? By assuring executives they were already working on his return, and this is where I believe the cosmic wolf comes into play. Be forewarned, from here onwards, I am speculating beyond the realm of what would probably be considered safe. This is just my interpretation and it might be utterly wrong or on the right track but may still not account for everything. Are you up for that? Read on.

To Shiro or not to Shiro, that is the question.

The most egregious culprit that has us all theorizing about tampering in Season 7, is Shiro’s presence, or lack thereof. Let’s be honest, for the first half of Season 7, and save for the flashback-heavy first episode, Shiro has such a minimal impact on the events around him that he might as well have been added to the scenes as an afterthought... or at someone’s request. Let’s look at some of the evidence:

In Episode 703 “The Way Forward,” when Keith takes off to help Acxa it is Lance he turns to to lead the Paladins safely, not Shiro who’s supposedly there and is the most experienced of the bunch when it comes to escaping from the Galra. Shiro just stands there and follows the others. It’s also been observed that Shiro’s helmet is not on the table with the other Paladins’ helmets.

Episode 704′s “The Feud!” is yet another “interlude” episode that doesn’t even feature Shiro.

In Episode 705 “The Ruins,” Shiro doesn’t jump in the hole carved by Allura as the Paladins rush to aid Keith.

In Episode 706 “The Journey Within,” he has one intervention before events eventually sideline him and the story focuses entirely on the bond between Keith, Lance, Hunk, Pidge, and Allura. I think the writers were probably trying to make up for lost time trying to build Keith into the leader he was originally supposed to be (this is echoed later in the season in episodes like “Know Your Enemy,” where he has a rather heart-warming conversation with Hunk).

It is only starting with Episode 709 “Know Your Enemy,” that Shiro’s presence starts to get acknowledged more. I personally think this makes sense for one simple reason: Shiro was not supposed to be there, not conscious anyway. Let’s go back to Season 6 for a bit. After Keith’s duel with the Shiro clone, he places him in a stasis pod, and he’s brought back by Allura in “Defender of All Universes” when she withdraws his consciousness from the Black Lion and places it on the Shiro clone’s body. Shiro’s back everybody! Except he doesn’t appear in the final shot of the season, and he’s immediately back into the stasis pod in the next episode because the clone body is apparently rejecting Shiro’s consciouness. No, this sounds like a rewrite to me. Why would you wake up Shiro in one episode, only to send him to sleep in the next? It doesn’t make sense.

Here’s what I think happened. Lauren and Joaquim introduced Kosmo in Season 6 to pave the way for the real Shiro’s return, probably sometime during Season 7 or after. They apparently made a big deal of not wanting to spoil the wolf’s name and even Keith says in Episode 705, “I figure when he’s ready, he’ll tell me his name.” I figure Kosmo would’ve merged with the Shiro clone’s body somehow, maybe by transforming into his missing arm, kind of similar to what happens in Episode 710 with Earth’s bionic arm and the Altean power source. Maybe the clone regained consciousness and went berserk and Kosmo merged with the clone to bring back Shiro. I don’t know, and I think the writers probably hadn’t nailed the details down either when someone realized Shiro would be absent for a good chunk of Season 7 and, for whatever reason, he needed to have more screentime. Maybe someone thought it was a downer to have Season 6 end with a comatose Shiro and weren’t entirely sold on the cosmic wolf idea. Déjà vu? This presented a problem because several Season 7 episodes were probably well into production and could not be reshot without incurring in signifcant expense and time. The solution? Have Shiro return ahead of time... again. I can only imagine Lauren and Joaquim’s frustration. Their plans had been derailed once by exec interference, and they were about to be derailed again.

Shiro returns... again.

It was too late to remove the wolf, as he had too much screentime and that would imply a lot of work. There was little point in removing him anyway as he would only become Shiro in some potential version of the show that now would never come to pass. The problem wasn’t the wolf, the problem was Shiro, or his lack thereof. I’m not entirely certain to what extent Season 6 was reworked, but I’m inclined to believe the ending to “Defender of All Universes” was altered to have Shiro return earlier by having Allura perform the consciousness transfer. There, the gang was all back together now and you had a happy ending to Season 6. What would the original Season 6 ending would’ve been? I’m not sure, but lately I have been musing if some episodes from Season 7 could not have been part of the original Season 6 ending. In particular, it’s possible that, after defeating Lotor, the Paladins would’ve been captured by his lieutenants (Episode 702), only to be saved by Acxa who would inform them three years had passed (Episode 703). With the lions depleted, Shiro in stasis, and having gotten a taste of how the universe had changed (for the worse) in Voltron’s absence, it would’ve provided a nice cliffhanger ending for the season, if perhaps a tad depressing. Of course, it’s equally possible that these episodes were always meant to be in Season 7 and I’m woefully wrong.

This was only the beginning, as Shiro would’ve to be added into several of Season 7′s episodes. You could get away with the idea of the clone rejecting his consciousness for an episode (and even then they included lots of flashbacks of his relationship with Keith, not to mention that silly and tone-deaf Yalmor adventure), maybe waste some time with passenger arrangements, and throw in something like “The Feud!” to make the gaps less noticeable. I honestly don’t know the extent to which Season 7 was reworked to hide Shiro’s absence. I don’t think “The Last Stand” two-parter was specifically created to account for this, as I believe that’s a story Lauren and Joaquim probably wanted to tell to set up their Macross dreams. I also believe we can affirm, with a relative degree of certainty, that there’s a before and after marked by “The Last Stand” two-parter. Before this interlude, Shiro has minimal impact in the story, but he definitely has a more prominent role after. And here’s where I want to quote something Lauren and Joaquim said in an interview with Hypable published on August 10th, 2018:

You also had Shiro step into a hugely pivotal role as Captain of the Atlas. Was this a path that you’d always envisaged for him, or was it something that developed as the show progressed?

LM: A little bit of both. There was definitely a version of this show where Shiro was not around at this point.

JDS: There was also a version where Shiro was going to be back to piloting the Black Lion.

LM: Yeah, it’s been through every possible version of the story. Ultimately, when we finally got to where we knew we were going to be able to move forward with Keith as the Black Lion pilot, and still have Shiro in the show, we wanted to pay as much respect to Shiro as we could because he was such an important character. And in a weird way we kind of keep the team together a little bit. Shiro moves on to this other ship, and he has a whole new crew, but he’s fighting alongside his team, these Paladins that he’s basically taught how to be Paladins. And so I think it was just rewarding for us on a happy, warm, fuzzy feeling level. Where he’s there, and he’s got kind of the most bitchin’ ship of all of them.

JDS: You know, that was our big pitch internally, when the executives were saying, “well, how is this going to play out?” They were asking us questions, and we got to have this big meeting where we said, guys, Shiro is going to be Captain of the Atlas. They were like, “okaaaay,” still thinking that it was very much just the Atlas battleship. And we were like, “and the Atlas does something really cool.” They were all in at that point.

And this is where I agree with @janestrider that there was a version of Shiro going back to being the Black Paladin, it’s just that I disagree with where and when it would’ve taken place. I believe Lauren is correct in saying there was a version of the show where Shiro wasn’t around, and that version was the “Kosmo is Shiro” storyline that seeped into some of the earlier Season 7 episodes. I believe Joaquim is also correct in saying there was a version of Shiro going back to piloting the Black Lion, and that version was being considered as a potential alternative while Lauren and Joaquim were trying to convince execs to keep Keith around as the leader, and would probably have taken place after the Paladins arrive on Earth. I also don’t entirely dismiss the possibility that some of the latter Season 7 episodes had to be reworked in the way suggested by @janestrider, replacing Allura with Shiro at the head of the Atlas battleship. This would explain things like why Shiro needed to have that Altean crystal in his arm (so he could interact with the ship in the same way Allura did with the Castle of Lions), or why the Blue Lion (painted Red afterwards) didn’t immediately beckon Lance’s call (in fact, Keith drops a curious line in Episode 710, saying “And Red saved my life numerous times” when the Paladins discuss the idea of calling their lions).

Conclusion

Having arrived at this point, allow me to put an end to my speculatory ramblings, or else I’ll start seeing edits everywhere, if I’m not already. What is the bottom line? I think Shiro’s voice actor, Josh Keaton, put it best, “Shiro’s great at everything but dying,” and that caused problems for Lauren and Joaquim not just once, but twice. As a result of all the behind-the-scenes work to accommodate Shiro, the end product we got was considerably less tight than Seasons 1 and 2 had been, and the battle to rescue Keith from the clutches of corporate meddling left several casualties in the character development department. It’s possible that this had repercussions in Season 8, but I have yet to analyze it with a critical eye. At the end of the day, and like I said at the beginning, this is just a fun mental exercice I decided to indulge in, spurred on by The Sin Squad’s video. Maybe this is what happened, maybe not. Perhaps time will tell, but in the meantime, why not watch a fun video about Shiro bragging about his invincibility? He’s definitely earned it.

youtube

#voltron #voltron theories #voltron theory #voltron legendary defender #keith #shiro #kosmo

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travllingbunny · 4 years

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The 100 rewatch: 5x05 Shifting Sands

After four really strong episodes at the beginning of season 5, this is a slower episode focused on developing the new dynamics. This episode is by no means bad, and there are some lovely character moments in it - but this is, unfortunately, where the plot starts getting kind of boring. It’s the start of many subplots that, either intentionally or unintentionally, ended up not mattering much for the overall story.

Some of the subplots introduced:

the mutant worms - I’m not a fan of this subplot, which the show will literally chuck out 5 episodes later. Also, it’s gross. I don’t like to have to actually avert my eyes from the screen. The show was really going for the Alien vibe here.

Zaven romance was probably meant to be Raven’s endgame, but unfortunately, Jordan Bolger got another role and we know what happened. And now all that screentime devoted to the development of their relationship feels like a waste of time, which may be unfair to season 5, but it is what it is. In itself, it’s not the worst romantic subplot by any means, but it’s another rushed romance.

It seemed like the show was going somewhere with the friendship between Diyoza and Kane (with some flirty moments that could have at least suggested even more) - don’t get me wrong, I was very much against it being a ship (not a fan of Stockholm Syndrome romances, and Kabby is one of the very few well developed romantic relationships on the show), but every relationship involving Kane got pushed aside when Henry Ian Cusick decided to leave the show. In S6, only Kabby and his friendship with Indra were addressed. On the other hand, it’s always it’s nice to get more Diyoza backstory, which we get when she tells her story to Kane: her suicide attempt - when marines who used to be her own team came to arrest her and after they killed her father.

Both Diyoza’s shock collars and Vinson are introduced. Vinson is a very unusual character for The 100 - which is full of leaders, warriors and cult leaders, but which doesn’t usually feature cannibal serial killers. I have to say that I quite liked where they went with this character - he was like an embodiment of Abby’s demons (addiction, cannibalism during the Dark Year) and the demons that almost destroyed the Kabby relationship.

The last scene sets up the main plot of the next episode, which is Octavia and Bellamy arguing about Echo… Not the best subplot out there.

In Eden, Diyoza shows again that she may be ruthless but she’s smart - she is against waging war in Eden and potentially destroying the only habitable land on Earth. Not such good news: she wants to use missiles on Wonkru, which makes sense - especially since they are, from her POV, a bunch of dangerous fanatics. (Actually, they are a bunch of dangerous fanatics, period.)She is aware that the rest of Spacekru are still somewhere in the woods, as is Madi (since she knew 5 of them were almost captured by her people, when Madi saved them). The rivalry between her and McCreary is highlighted again - and we also learn about their history. (Which is going to be important because of a certain reveal that will be coming soon…) I guess Diyoza was more honest than McCreary knew when she dismissed his sexual prowess as “that was torture, too” - since we learn in S7 that she had sex with him to get him to be on her side in the rebellion.

Diyoza’s choice of sex partners may not be the best, but she has good taste in music and hates speed metal or trash metal or whatever that was just as much as I do. “Play something with a beat” - exactly!

Kane in the meantime offers intel on Octavia in exchange for a guarantee of protecting Raven and Murphy, but his other reason is that he thinks Octavia will get all of Wonkru killed and wants to stop her.

And we get more of McCreary torturing someone, this time Raven and Murphy. McCreary torturing various people is a recurring thing this season. Is there any episode where he isn’t either murdering, torturing or both? I guess no one has told him that torture is not an efficient or reliable way of extracting information… but it’s quite possible he doesn’t care. Shaw gets to be reluctantly present during someone’s torture again - not a great way to get to know your future girlfriend. The fact that she’s in pain and tortured for who-knows-which-time may be why Raven is showing her judgmental streak again, this time dissing Shaw for lying about the fact he was the one who disabled the missiles and accusing him of getting them tortured to save his ass, which is technically true but ignores the facts that 1) he saved hundreds of Wonkru, 2) he saved Raven’s and Murphy’s lives, and 3) admitting the truth wouldn’t have helped anyone. But Raven also shows her smarts and comes up with a good plan how to get Murphy out so he can inform others about the missiles - and does some really good acting when she pretends she’s furious with Shaw.

One of the highlights of the episode is Murphy meeting Madi for the first time (”hobbit” as he refers to her), as everyone is in the Rover that Madi is driving. Murphy is not happy when Madi says she thought he would be funnier, and even less so when she says Octavia is her favorite. (It’s OK, Murphy, Hope and Jordan (during his rebellious phase) will love you.)

Contrary to what you’ll often hear in the fandom, Spacekru have been, in these early episodes, talking repeatedly about the fact that Clarke saved them and thanking her. They mentioned it all by themselves in 5x03. Bellamy told Clarke ‘Clarke, you saved us all!” in 5x04 and Raven tearfully thanked her for saving their lives. And now Echo tells Madi they wouldn’t have made it without Clarke, and Harper confirms it.

When Murphy realizes that his shock collar/tracker can be used as a bomb, he tells the others to leave him and save themselves and go warn Bellamy - which , I believe, is the first time that Murphy has been really unselfish and unconcerned with saving his own life. Emori has, up to that point, been hostile to him, accusing him of selfishness (she even jumped to the conclusion that he left Raven to die to save himself). But the moment he says this, you can see her face and her whole attitude changing. She says nothing, just staring at him - and then stays with him instead of going with the others. (Murphy will again be unselfish and ask others to leave him to save thrmselves in the season 5 finale, and Emori will refuse to leave him.)

………..

In Polis, there are more reunions: Clarke gets to interact with Jackson and Miller. Jackson tells her they could have used her in the bunker (Clarke replies that they had her mom, and Jackson’s silence hints that something is wrong, but she’ll only find out what much later).This is an interesting “What if” - what if Clarke and/or Bellamy had been in the bunker? How would that have affected everything - Octavia and Abby, above all? Indra later tells Bellamy that Octavia needs him. She is clearly not one of those who drank Kool-Aid and hopes for Bellamy to be a good influence on her, the way she obviously wishes she could be, but Octavia is not listening to her. Cooper, on the other hand, is Octavia’s yes-woman and clearly encourages her worst behavior. Miller still seems somewhere in between at this point - unlike Jackson, he tells Clarke not to get involved, but then changes his mind and tells Blodreina that Clarke has something to tell her.

(This is also a rare occasion: an actual Mackson kiss.)

Clarke and Bellamy are starting to realize that Octavia is pretty scary now, starting with the way her cult worships her and turns against anyone daring to criticize or question her, and then with the way Octavia herself has changed. The episode does a good job of showing that she has been losing her grip on reality, and apparently drinking her own Kool-Aid a bit too much. She is obsessed what she sees as her messianic role pf delivering her people to Eden, and trying to get her people through the desert during the sandstorm, contrary to the advice of Clarke, who actually knows the terrain, (Maybe she’s taken it too much to heart to continue Jaha’s legacy.) Some of the things Octavia says in this episode:

“The wind hasn’t met Wonkru” - many people mock it as one of the worst lines in the show, but I like it, I think it’s intentionally hilarious, one of the few funny moments this season - and meant to show what ridiculous things Octavia says when she’s boasting in front of Wonkru. All the Wonkru members fully accept it while only Bellamy and Clarke are looking at her with WTF? faces.

She also says “Wonkru doesn’t retreat” And then orders retreat at the end of the episode. She’s not fully delusional.

“That valley is (our home) and we’re taking it back” - Back? When did she/they have it exactly? I guess she may just be considering everything that any of the clans had/where they lived as belonging to Wonkru… but she’s never even been there

“Thanks to you, we’re at war” to Bellamy again (would it have been better to stay locked in the bunker forever?)

“You don’t understand because you’re not one of us”

and finally, she straight up threatens her brother if he keeps questioning her.

During a meal by the campfire at night, while Wonkru are chanting “All of me for all of us”, we find out that Octavia is trying to live by the “Love is weakness” maxim, which is here retconed as something that all Flamekeepers teach all Commanders (and that Gaia is teaching her now, accordingly), rather than just a Titus/Lexa thing, as it seemed in season 3. (Which in itself was a retcon, since it first seemed in season 2 that it was just something Lexa came up with as a result of her tragic experience with losing her lover Costia.) And yes, it’s love in general, not just romantic love. “Love no one, and no one can hurt you”, says Octavia, and she clearly includes her brother in that. Indra rejects that and replies with “I love you”, asking if that makes her weak. This is a recurring theme in the show: Clarke and Octavia have both gone through “Love is weakness” phase. (And now in season 7, it’s time for Bellamy - only this time, this idea came to him in the form “love is selfish”, and that he should love all mankind rather than focus on love for individual people.)

Clarke finds something “beautiful” and impressive in Wonkru’s unity - maybe because she has been alone for so long. The long isolation has changed her - she seems less assertive when she’s around others, although, to be fair, it doesn’t help that she’s not in the position to be a part of the leadership while they are around Wonkru. But she’s also shy and vulnerable when Bellamy - after telling her how amazing she was for surviving so long on her own - tries to make her talk about that time. She starts saying “Well, I wasn’t alone” - and if she immediately answered “I had Madi”, that would be nothing strange, but the way Clarke makes a long awkward pause and seems to catch herself, before saying “I had Madi”, and then quickly leaves, almost as if running away - suggest that maybe she was, for a moment, thinking and going to say something else - something about radio calls that allowed her to keep her sanity. Subsequent events have certainly supported this interpretation - we will learn in 5x13 that Clarke has been keeping it a secret from Bellamy (when Madi tells him, she says “I probably shouldn’t be telling you this”), and when Bellamy finally reveals in 6x01 that he knows about them, Clarke is again very shy and embarrassed and almost runs away from the conversation.

But at this point, Bellamy doesn’t know any of that, and I don’t think he understands Clarke’s state of mind. To him, it must seem like she’s withdrawing into herself.

Later on, the two of them get another moment, and this time it’s Clarke’s turn to tell Bellamy how awesome he is. She praises him for not killing the prisoners in cryo and for saving her, and says “the Heart and the Head” - recalling their conversation from over 6 years ago,. in 4x13, when she told him to use his head and not just his heart. She’s saying that he’s using both his heart and his head now. Bellamy repeats “The Heart and the Head”, and I believe that’s the first time they’ve said that phrase to each other. Now they have another canon catchphrase to describe their relationship, in addition to “Together”. (They will say it again - a little different - in 6x10: “The Head and the Heart”.) Clarke then asks Bellamy “What does your head say about fighting a war (etc.)” and he replies “Same as yours”. Which is just crying for a callback to happen in the final season. Will we get Bellamy and Clarke saying “What does your heart say…”?

Clarke - in a rare moment of medically treating someone (something she did a lot in season 1, but rarely after that), saves Octavia’s life from the worms. And - in one of her better moments in this episode - Octavia thanks for her saving her life. Sadly, their relationship is not going to be that harmonious in the rest of S5.

And at the end of this episode - more reunions! The rover comes with Madi, Monty, Harper and Echo, with three memorable reunion moments:

I love the moment when Monty greets Octavia (he still has no idea how much she has changed) and she greets him back with the most awkward smile ever. It’s like she isn’t sure if she can be Octavia now that she’s Blodreina but she’s acting like her old self for a moment with an old friend who has no idea what she’s like now.

And this is just moments after she has threatened her brother. This camerawork in this episode is quite interesting - the way it plays with focus. When Octavia threatens Bellamy, while Clarke looks at them, concerned, we have Octavia/Bellamy in focus and Clarke out of it, and then the reverse.

And then in the reunion scene at the end, after we see Clarke and Madi running into each other’s arms for a big hug, and then we also see Echo and Bellamy running towards each other - it’s interesting and very telling that. as we see Clarke and Madi hugging and Bellamy and Echo kissing, in the same frame, the Becho kiss is out of focus throughout, while the camera zooms on Clarke’s reaction. While the first Becho kiss we saw (in 5x01) served the purpose to reveal the relationship to the audience, this time, the kiss is there just for Clarke’s and Octavia’s reactions to it, and this frame screams - what matters here is Clarke finding out about Becho.

Does this look familiar? Oh yes, we saw the same kind of scene and the exact same facial expression from Clarke in 1x05 when she learned that Finn had a girlfriend.

(But in case you ignored this moment, since it’s subtle - the dramatic music only starts with Octavia’s reaction to seeing her brother with her old enemy, which is the cliffhanger - don’t worry, you’ll get another scene of Clarke looking sad while Becho are kissing, in the next episode.)

And here’s the (melo)dramatic cliffhanger! I guess the audience is supposed to be on Bellamy’s and Echo’s side as Octavia is showing once again she can stare daggers - but I suspect many were on Octavia’s side on this one, since we’re pretty much in the same boat as Octavia and Clarke -, for us and for them, comes from nowhere, after we’ve only known them as enemies. Especially Octavia - Clarke did spend semi-amicable moments with Echo and witness Bellamy spending them just before Praimfaya. Octavia's last memories of Echo are… Echo mortally wounding Ilian, Bellamy almost strangling Echo for trying to kill Octavia/cheat them all out of the bunker, and Octavia banishing Echo. and Echo briefly trying to threaten her with telling the other Grounders about the Skaikru rebellion.

Was this really necessary in terms of the conflict between the Blakes? I don’t think so. They’ve already been butting heads over Octavia’s leadership and actions and her intention to fight a war - but yay, we are getting an episode centered around Octavia objecting to Bellamy’s girlfriend, which will ultimately go nowhere and matter little in terms of overall Bellamy/Octavia relationship this season.

Body count: 12 Wonkru members died: Obika died a horrible death from mutant worms. (His death will haunt Miller, who was with him when he was attacked by the worm, during the red sun eclipse in 6x02, when Miller hallucinated having bugs inside of him and yelled he would end up the same as Obika.) 11 other Wonkru members died from Diyoza’s missile, which means there are 801 left.

Rating: 6/10

#the 100 #the 100 rewatch #the 100 5x04 #shifting sands #the 100 season 5 #octavia blake #bellamy blake #clarke griffin #charmaine diyoza #abby griffin #marcus kane

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artificialqueens · 6 years

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They Don't Love You Like I Love You 4/? (katlaska) - kamylove

“There is absolutely no factual or metaphorical fucking going on.” Not yet, anyway. Or, Katya and Alaska take the slow train.

It helps Alaska to know she’ll be seeing Katya soon, to know she’ll be able to look into Katya’s eyes with no camera in between, to make sure sure Katya’s as okay as she claims in the days after their phone call. Not that she’s ever known Katya to lie about her mental health; Katya’s more open about it than almost anyone. It’s just that Alaska knows what it’s like to lie to herself.

And Katya hasn’t been dumping her entire psyche on the internet as often lately, so there’s less information to go on.

Alaska turns down the offer of a ride from the airport. Instead, she waits 83 minutes for Katya’s plane to arrive, and buys an iced coffee the way Katya likes it, to take to the gate.

She doesn’t get a chance to hand it over. Katya walks right up to Alaska, pulls her close, and buries her face in Alaska’s neck.

Alaska hugs back, careful not to spill the coffee. “Hey,” she says, and Katya sighs like she’s put down a heavy load.

Are you okay is such an empty question. Alaska says, “Missed you,” instead.

Katya squeezes her tighter and just breathes. Alaska rests her cheek on Katya’s head and they stay that way for a long time, just two gay boys in the sea of travelers that, for these few moments, is passing them by.

<><><>

“I really am okay,” Katya says, as they head to baggage claim. “It’s just nice to have someone who won’t judge me.”

“I judge you for all sorts of things,” Alaska says. “Like that fucking raccoon.”

Katya, waving her drink around in a way that often leads to a big mess, fakes an insulted gasp. Alaska laughs and takes the cup away from her, just in case.

“That fucking raccoon is my best friend!” Katya says. “Don’t insult her, she’ll hear!”

“Is she in your backpack? Is she listening right now?”

“No, but we share a deep, devoted, psychic link.”

“That makes it even more-”

“I lied,” Katya says. She stops without warning in the middle of the concourse, annoying the family behind them.

“What?” Alaska says. Usually she can follow Katya just fine, these days.

Katya looks her in the eye. “I’m a shitty liar. I don’t care who judges me. I just wanted it to be you.”

Alaska feels something warm and unexpected bloom in her chest. Honestly, it hadn’t crossed her mind to question why Katya had called. “I’m glad,” she says. “I’m glad you called and I’m glad I could help.”

Katya smiles at her, and they keep walking.

<><><>

They are, thankfully, not performing that night, so it’s almost the reverse of that first night in Aspen: room service, a couple movies, and Katya falling asleep sooner than either of them expects. Alaska watches her sleep longer than she thinks she should.

In the middle of the night Alaska hears a text notification on her phone, and decides to ignore it. But a few minutes later the phone actually rings and she reaches for it blindly, moving nothing but her arm.

It’s Roxxxy, who must have just arrived, and who sounds wide awake. “Where are you? I went to your room. Are you in there and being rude?”

“I’m in Katya’s,” Alaska says without thinking.

“Really?” Roxxxy says. “You and Katya? You might be skinny bitches, but that’s just hot.”

Katya stirs and throws an arm over Alaska, but Alaska, not wanting to wake her, slips out of bed and into the bathroom.

“It’s not like that,” Alaska says. “She needed a friend. I fell asleep.” It isn’t true; she’d never intended to leave. But she’s not ready to open it up to questioning.

“Okay,” Roxxxy drawls. “So, how many times have you fallen asleep in Katya’s room?”

“Oh, my God,” Alaska groans. “Leave me alone.”

Roxxxy’s still laughing when Alaska hangs up.

<><><>

It’s a short series of shows on the East Coast, just a couple weeks, with most of the All Stars 2 girls. They know each other so well by now that they can just relax and have fun and make people laugh.

Katya can’t even explain to herself what a relief it is to have Alaska there. She loves all the girls, and she’s happy to have them around, too. They keep her busy and entertained. They’re family.

But it’s so nice, and so easy, to have somebody who can keep up with her no matter what, somebody who won’t ask her to slow down or repeat. Their brains spark off each other, like fireworks. If left to their own devices, which happens more and more lately, they’ll take off down a rabbit hole and look up to find hours have passed.

All the Ru girls are smart. Many of them are brilliant. But there aren’t many who are as quick as Alaska.

They rewatch Katya’s episode of Hey Qween together, and Alaska laughs and laughs at how shell-shocked Jonny looks. “You broke him!” she says.

Katya preens. “ADD is my superpower.”

“You can leap 20 topics in a single bound,” Alaska says.

Katya preens some more, but she can’t keep it up. She laughs instead, flailing a bit for effect.

“It’s disturbing how easy it is for me to follow you now,” Alaska says.

“Agreed,” Katya says. “I worry about you.”

“When did I start liking you so much?” Alaska asks.

“I have no idea,” Katya says, “because I am a heartless, hateful bitch. And I’ve never even eaten you out, which is usually what makes me so popular.”

<><><>

Katya: dinosaur

Alaska: bat

Alaska: You are sitting three feet away from me.

Katya: spoilsport

Alaska: harmony

Katya: turnip

Alaska: cowboy

Katya: Czechoslovakian

Katya: eclair

Alaska: jerky

<><><>

Alaska colors in pages from Katya’s coloring book, making them as garish as her imagination can come up with. She likes to practice keeping a straight face when she hands them to Katya, who always pretends to be offended.

“I really question your taste level,” Katya says.

Alaska just gives her another.

<><><>

“So, Miss Alaska,” Alyssa asks her while they’re in line at Starbucks. “Tell me the truth. What is going on with you and Katya?”

“I hate her guts,” Alaska says. “Everyone knows that.”

“All right, all right, if that’s the way you want to play it. But there’s something there.” She points at Alaska’s eyes, and then her own, with two fingers. “I can see it.”

“Well, then, you need to explain to me what that is,” Alaska says, “because I don’t see it.”

Alyssa makes an Alyssa face, but it quickly shifts to something more more mischievous as she says, “She likes you, too, you know.”

Alaska groans. “Will you stop?”

“Okay, I’ll drop it,” Alyssa says. “I can take a hint.”

“Since when?” Alaska asks.

“You shady bitch,” Alyssa says cheerfully.

“If you want drama, you’re going to have to stir it up yourself,” Alaska says. “Try Phi Phi.”

“Ooh,” Alyssa says. “Seriously shady bitch.”

<><><>

“Tell me the truth,” Ginger says quietly, as she and Katya touch up their faces in the same mirror during a show. “I already know you’re sharing rooms.”

“Friends with room sharing benefits?” Katya says.

“Is that the only benefit?”

“Is having access to her wig wardrobe a benefit?”

“You tell me,” Ginger says.

“Honey,” Katya says. “Look at this tragic thing I am wearing.” It’s intentionally ugly, to go with the rest of her look, and she twirls to show it off. “What do you think?”

“Tell me you don’t have a fetish for those long, blond locks?” Ginger asks suspiciously.

“Is not fetish,” Katya says in her Russian accent. “Is obsession. Why you cannot keep straight?”

“Ain’t nothing straight about that,” Ginger says.

<><><>

Alaska: pogo stick

Katya: You’re sitting three feet away from me.

Katya: cactus

Katya: fossil

Alaska: artichoke

Alaska: talent

Katya: Alaska

Alaska: That’s cheating.

“What the fuck are they doing now?” Detox asks.

Tatianna says, “I don’t even want to know.”

<><><>

After the tour, half of the girls, including Katya, are off to Europe for a month, and the rest, including Alaska, go their separate ways.

Alaska has a week in LA and too many things to squeeze in: meetings, interviews, a recording session, dry cleaning. But Willam talks her into going out by saying, “Support your local queens,” which Alaska can never resist.

Standing there, cranberry juice in hand, sighing the occasional autograph as Willam flirts with everyone in a twenty-foot radius, Alaska has trouble keeping her mind on the show. The drag is good, and she claps and cheers and tips, but she reluctantly admits to herself that it’s not where she wants to be.

She’s home so rarely now that she feels out of touch. But she doesn’t think that’s the real problem.

“What’s with you?” Willam asks eventually. “You’re a real downer tonight.”

Alaska just shrugs.

“It’s not right, working as much as you do. You need to say fuck it sometimes.”

“Fuck it,” Alaska says.

“Weren’t you seeing a guy?” Willam says. “The one with the glasses? He was hot. I would have done him.”

“That was months ago,” Alaska says. “I don’t know. He was nice, but he couldn’t hold my attention, you know?”

“Been there, done that,” Willam says.

(A long time later, Katya will say, “You’ve held my attention for at least .09 seconds, which is impressive considering my average is .03,” and Alaska will say, “I’m three times more interesting than average!” and Katya will look at her like she’s an idiot and say, “Duh. Everybody knows that.”)

<><><>

Alaska stays just long enough after the show to say nice things to all the performers, and to demand that Willam give her phone back. (“Be in the moment,” Willam had said. Alaska had rolled her eyes.) She’s performed here many times; she knows where all the exits are, so she sneaks out while Willam’s not looking.

When she turns the phone back on, on the way to her car, she finds just two texts from Katya, which is a surprise.

“Bored. Lonely. Bored,” says the first, and “Need constant entertainment,” says the second.

Alaska facetimes her, and finds Katya just waking up, her hair sticking out in all directions.

“You need a constant audience,” Alaska says.

“That too!” Katya says, pointing her finger at the screen like Alaska’s said something earth shattering.

“Trade?” Alaska asks.

Katya makes a face. “Not that kind of audience,” she says. “Or that kind of lonely.”

Alaska knows exactly what she means.

#alaska thunderfuck #katya zamolodchikova #katlaska #fluff #slow burn #they don't love you like i love you #rpdr fanfiction #kamylove #tdlylily

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