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nanaosaki3940 · 5 months

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Romance Manhwa You All Should Read...

So there are a few Korean manhwa that I have been reading recently. Some are new manhwa which I just picked up to read while the others are old ones that I read before and now I'm re-reading them again. All of them are of modern-setting with the premise of high school or college romance. 🥰🥰🥰

The new ones that I'm reading for the first time -

My First Love Hate

Seasons Of Blossom

Our Secret Alliance

Just Twilight

I Don't Hate Us

Cheese In The Trap

Revelation Of Youth

Operation Name: Pure Love

The Law Of Being Friends With A Male

My Introverted Boy

See You in My 19th Life

The old ones that I've read before and now re-reading them again -

Something About Us

Positively Yours

Marked By King BS

The ones that I haven't read yet but want to get into it -

Romance 101

My Younger Brother's Friends

Rewriting Our Love Story

1 Plus 1

Villain With A Crush

This Must Be Love

Now I wanna talk about some of the Manhwa series that I recently read in the last couple of days...

Our Secret Alliance

Manhwa Status: Completed Troupe: Childhood best friends turned lovers. THE NO. 1 BEST FUCKING "CHILDHOOD FRIENDS TURNED LOVERS" TROUPE MANHWA OUT THERE💘!! PERIOD😤!!!

No, seriously. I really enjoyed reading this series, and OMG !!! Female lead Se-i Yun and male lead Jaeha Kim are so fucking adorable!!! Se-i is a cutie, for sure, and seeing Jaeha as a boyfriend in this story raised my "boyfriend" expectations to an unrealistic height...

Also warning: you'll encounter a soft, bashful male lead here... so beware!!!

Seasons Of Blossom

Manhwa Status: Completed This story has four different parts: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. And damn, the stories are so good, y'all!!

(This is gonna be a LONG rant here btw...)

I really loved the 1st part of the series "Bomi's Flower" which is the season of Spring. The sweet female lead (Bomi Yun), one of the most popular and studious girls in school, has a little crush on the 2nd male lead (Jaemin Lee), another popular kid in school, but later finds out that her best friend/2nd female lead (Seonhui Kang) also has a crush on Jaemin. But the thing is everyone in their school ships Bomi and Jaemin together as a romantic couple. Seonhui also shows her genuine support to Bomi as a good friend if she ever tries to get together with Jaemin, but Bomi knows that deep down inside her heart Seonhui is hurting by the fact that Jaemin likes Bomi and everyone ships them, meaning her love towards Jaemin is unrequited. So to save her friendship with Seonhui and also to save Seonhui from a potential heartbreak, Bomi gets into a fake relationship with the male lead (Jinyeong Choi), so that Seonhui and Jaemin get the chance to be together... But the thing is Jinyeong is the complete opposite of Bomi. Unlike Bomi, Jinyeong is blunt, ruthless with his words, always has a straight bored look on his face, and has an "I don't give a fuck" kinda attitude. He doesn't fuck around and hates those typical high school dramas and bullshit. Even though he's a gaming otaku and only has two male friends, he's quite famous among the students; guys want to be friends with him because of his game recommendations and girls think he's really cute. Also despite the fact that he's shorter than Bomi in height, my man has balls for sure when it comes to speaking up about his mind or taking action for anything.

This story talks about how opposites attract one another, how to discover and learn new yet unexpected things, how to fall in love for the first time in life and that sweet feeling like falling in love in your youth, and how to break out of your own shell and discover a new side of yourself. This 1st part of the series will give you nothing but fluff, sweetness, and butterflies.

And then later comes the 2nd part of the series, the season of Summer aka Hamin's Flower...

Okay, this one was really tough to get through. Not because the story sucked or anything. It's because of how painful, angsty, and heartbreaking it is. In the 1st part (Bomi's Flower aka Spring), we get to know that the 2nd male lead Jaemin Lee had an older brother named Hamin Lee (the golden child of the family) who died 6 years ago by committing suicide. We don't get much info about Hamin Lee in the 1st part (other than the fact that he's Jaemin's brother) until it comes to an end and the 2nd part begins. The 2nd part opens up with Jaemin Lee and the gang bumps into a 24-year-old art college student named Somang Han who happens to be Hamin's girlfriend from high school. Through Somang's narration and flashbacks, we get to know what kind of person Hamin Lee was, how she and Hamin met and fell in love, and how he spiraled into depression which resulted in him ending his own life. And also through Jaemin, we get to know more about Hamin as a son and a brother and how their parents' rough parenting pushed him to darkness and depression. At first, when Hamin was first mentioned in the 1st part, I didn't think much about him and only felt empathy for Jaemin for losing his older brother. But after getting introduced to Hamin in the 2nd part and learning more about him through Somang and Jaemin's POV and narrations, I couldn't help but bawl my eyes out for him in every single chapter. It got even worse for me since I already knew where the story was going and what was going to happen to Hamin in the end (it was more like the Shinichiro Sano effect from Tokyo Revengers like you know who Shinichiro is and what happened to him but that doesn't stop you from falling in love with him despite him being dead throughout the whole series). RIP Hamin Lee; my heart will always go out to you, forever, always.

The 2nd part Hamin's Flower aka Summer talks about some heavy topics/subjects like - dysfunctional families, rough parenting going wrong, dealing with societal burdens and depression, losing your loved ones and dealing with the aftermath, your first tragic love story, handling regrets and dealing with your traumas, how to overcome those traumas, and finally how to let go of your past and move on with life.

Hamin's Flower left me in such a numb and gloomy state that I couldn't read the other two parts (Autumn and Winter), but I'll try to get back and read them sooner or later. Even though I haven't read the complete series yet, I'll still give out a biased statement - I really, really loved Bomi's Flower and Hamin's Flower, and these two parts will always gonna be my favs from this series (doesn't matter to me if Autumn and Winter are better than these two).

Cheese In The Trap

Manhwa Status: Completed The oldest series in this list...

This story... this story... Oh God, where should I begin?!?! I can't believe that I didn't read this until now!! This is a truly mature love story. If you read this wanting a simple light college romance, this is not for you. While there are very cute interactions between the main character and her love interests, it is a very well-thought-out and complex manga - definitely the most realistic I have read thus far. The character development is out of this world and adds a sense of tangibility to the characters that you really don't see in fiction normally. To explain, the important main and side characters in any story are always bound by rules of development to identify them as cogs in a narrative; we have underlying expectations about what the characters might do, or how they might subvert those expectations. But, this webtoon is the study of social relationships and the nature of people. You get to see that there will always be some sort of social hierarchy, that there are meanings and repercussions beyond what you expect to happen in life, and that we all have some degree of victim and perpetrator in us. We all cope and process in different ways, while also continuing and evolving in life the way we know how. Unlike anything I have ever read before.

Also, this story is under the tag of "Psychological Drama" and it's all because of the male lead named Jung Yu. God, I've such a love-hate relationship with him, y'all!! Like I love him but also hate him at the same time. He's mysterious, charming, alluring yet so damn confusing. Also, the fact that he's a sociopath with a bit of a Yandere-ish tendency in him and that he's also obsessed with the female lead (Seol Hong) in a very twisted way??? He's a walking red flag for sure, but then again not... In short, Jung Yu is a complex character and my simple brain just can't comprehend him. I also love the female lead (Seol Hong), the 2nd male lead (Inho Baek), and Seol's two best friends (Bora Jang and Euntaek Kwon). The only important side character I despise is Inho's twin sister Inha Baek (don't ask why; just go and read it for yourself and you'll know why... also I hate those bully characters too btw, just so you know...).

I Don't Hate Us

Manhwa Status: Completed Troupe: Childhood best friends turned lovers.

Another series with "childhood best friends turned lovers" troupe done right!!

The female lead (Wonsu Ha) and the male lead (Jaesu Sang) have been childhood best friends since their middle school days. They had been best friends through high school and college until one day Wonsu got herself a boyfriend. Jaesu has romantic feelings for Wonsu, but she only sees him as a friend and has platonic love for him. Wonsu then breaks up with her boyfriend, not because the guy is a cheater but because they aren't that compatible with each other, so they mutually break up and separate. Wonsu also gets separated from Jaesu because his romantic feelings for her were getting in the way of their friendship at the time, and also her relationship with her ex-boyfriend took a toll on her mentally and emotionally, so she cut off all her connection and simply focused on her studies and graduating from university. Years later, now working in a small yet growing company, Wonsu reconnects with an adult and more mature Jaesu, who now works in a multinational corporation, and that's when sparks and butterflies start to fly left, right, and center. Almost all the characters are likable, the story and the plot are realistic, and overall it was an enjoyable read for me truly.

Also warning: you'll encounter a soft, bashful male lead here... so beware!!! I mean, the fact that despite the bad boy looks and everything, he's so cute like a puppy is fucking adorable, yo!!!

My First Love Hate

Manhwa Status: On-going Troupe: Childhood best friends turned lovers

This one came out this year and so far I'm really enjoying it. Just like the previously mentioned series above, the female lead (Eunha Kang) is relatable, funny, smart, studious, strong-willed, and whatnot. The male lead (Seungmin Ha) is Eunha's childhood best friend since elementary school but they stopped hanging out with one another ever since he became a delinquent back in high school despite the fact that they went to the same school and were in the same classroom. Years later, Eunha got into a prestigious university in Seoul and later learned that Seungmin was also at that university!! Not only that, he also stopped being a delinquent for good and suddenly started dressing up like a nerdy college boy. When Eunha asked what he was trying to do, Seungmin simply replied that he was returning back to his old self again and wanted to reconnect with Eunha... But things got a bit spicy all of a sudden when a tattoo-bodied 2nd male lead named Ryu Seonhoo walked into the scene and Eunha had to tutor him for the GED test on a regular basis...

Also warning: you'll encounter a soft, bashful, puppy-like male lead AND 2nd male lead here... so beware!!!

Just Twilight

Mahwa Status: Ongoing Troupe: Strangers to friends to lovers

I won't say anything about it... JUST FUCKING READ THIS SHIT ALREADY!!!

If you're a fan of another famous manhwa series called "Positively Yours", then you'll also love this series since it's written by the same author. The female lead (Junyoung Yun) is literally my spirit animal and the male lead (Beomjin Kwon) is such a husbando material, y'all... like, just look at him!!!

That's all for now... I'll make more Korean manhwa recommendation posts again very soon!!!

My manhwa recommendation list posts - Link 1, Link 2, and Link 3.

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tiger-moran · 2 months

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I'm still thinking about Moriarty: The Devil's Game and sorry this isn't going to be complimentary about it.

One of my fundamental issues with this is just Moriarty is so 'nice' and ordinary effectively, aside from his mathematical brilliance he's just... some guy, until shit happens to push him into criminality. Just... I don't like the way it's gone to the extreme of 'what if Moriarty was a nice totally innocent and actually rather boring guy while Holmes is absolutely depraved'.

And why can't Moriarty just... be a criminal because he wants to be? Why has there got to be some 'deeper' reason for it and, worse, the same sort of bullshit reason that often gets ascribed to Holmes too to explain why he's the way he is, namely it's some tragic incident involving a woman (either by breaking his heart or also like in Young Sherlock Holmes for instance, where the girl the young Holmes loved was murdered). There doesn't have to be a reason for Moriarty being a criminal, he can just be one anyway? And that reason certainly doesn't need to involve killing a woman or having a woman 'break his heart' (or you know, not, as the case may be).

I like alternate takes on Moriarty that paint him as something other than the 'depraved evil villain' (though incidentally he isn't even that in the canon), I like stuff like Kurland's stories, even though I have issues with them and how Moran was largely replaced in them in particular, but the basic idea that Moriarty is not simply the 'evil villain' people assume he is but at the same time he is still someone who breaks the law and can be morally questionable at times is something I genuinely really like. But this story went so far to the other extreme, not only with Moriarty but also with Holmes and some of the other characters too, and I just... don't get what I'm supposed to find interesting or enjoyable about that.

And Moriarty is just so nauseatingly and heteronormatively romantic in this, not only going on and on and on about how much he loves 'Rose' but also about the marriage and having kids in the future (plus that ending. God, that ending, urgh). What is there in that take on Moriarty that I'm supposed to recognise or care about? There's nothing in that I, someone who loves Moriarty so much, can recognise or care about. Moriarty is just far too 'nice' and basically ordinary and also so romantic and sentimental it doesn't feel anything like Moriarty to me, and once he's basically pushed into criminality... he's still too nice about it even then. Yes I appreciate Moriarty having some morals and some limits on his behaviour and I absolutely agree he does have these even canonically, but in this he's still too conflicted about it, too obviously pushed into it rather than freely choosing to do this, and I just think that's a very boring take on the character. Moriarty can be a complex villain or antagonist or protagonist depending on the story without... all of that, without making him sickeningly romantic and 'lovey-dovey' (and straight) and basically a nice (and actually rather dull) man.

There were a few elements that I liked. I did kind of like Watson, though it's a very dark take on Watson and unpleasant in some ways, but while he was one of the 'bad guys' in effect, he was much more nuanced than most of the others and I found him far more interesting than Moriarty or Moran (or anyone else) but I do think a big factor in that is... he felt more like Moran than Moran did, really.

I liked that Moriarty had respect for a woman who characters such as Holmes just dismissed as a "whore" and I liked Charlotte whenever she wasn't being shoved in as Moran's 'love interest' (which was most of her appearances/references to her unfortunately).

I liked Moriarty's brother being brought in including with the train stuff, even though he sounded like a kid so it was hard to buy him being a stationmaster.

And I appreciated them actually calling Moran Moriarty's partner and friend, actually using those words. But... even that was still done in a way that let it down and ultimately that was wasted on me, it still wasn't enough to make me like them or care about the relationship.

And Moran... Moran was just... he's fine? But that's all. I don't feel anything much for him beyond... yeah he's OK. I mean for one thing I cannot register him as being Moran with that accent, I just can't, and another thing was again with him we got too much emphasis on him liking women (because god forbid anyone suspect Moriarty and Moran might be queer I guess).

And Irene Adler, who I love so much in the canon, well... the less said about her in this the better I think.

I just don't really get who this was aimed at, it made both Holmes brothers absolutely hateful and villainous (but not even interesting in their villainy), it made Watson practically one of the villains even if he was better and more interesting than others, it killed off one of the police inspectors and basically ruined the life of the other main one from canon. It completely screwed with Adler. So... was this aimed at people who actually hate the character of Sherlock Holmes? Or who hate the stories and all the characters in them? Or was it aimed at people who already care about Moriarty and Moran? But that's not many people really, and I already care so much about Moriarty and Moran and I didn't like it at all so...?

And I'm feeling like it was aimed mostly at people who don't care or know anything about Sherlock Holmes overall at all? Like the Adler thing, like Porlock's identity, these are SO obvious if you know anything about the canon and that does spoil the ~dramatic twists~ many episodes later. But what was the point of doing any kind of Sherlock Holmes adaptation in that case, if they were basically catering for people who don't like or know the stories?

AND ANOTHER THING

Yes they used the words partner and friend to describe Moran in relation to Moriarty and had him being very loyal to him (although with that shit ending it doesn't exactly make it look like Moriarty cares so much about Moran after all) but a lot of their relationship was just... us being told stuff, not actually being shown anything, like we're told they're friends, we're told Moran is his "partner" but it's like... it started off at point A where they've never met before and jumped to point Z where they're apparently partners and best friends and we barely saw anything in between, it skipped right over most of the other points. Whereas we got endless bloody 'James and Rose' flashbacks, we got other scenes that dragged on pointlessly for no reason, but there was almost nothing shown of Moriarty and Moran interacting as friends, or developing an actual close bond, it was just... said to exist and that was it. And that was really not enough to make me care about them in this universe. So Moriarty didn't leave Moran behind when he could have done so when they escaped from the prison which I guess is partly why Moran latches on to him but that only goes so far I think, and most of their scenes together are action scenes or them dealing with business stuff or whatever, there's very little to show them becoming close, coming to care about each other. There was so much bloody 'James and Rose' stuff that I absolutely hated and so much of Moriarty being nauseatingly romantic over 'Rose' but realistically almost nothing actually shown for Moriarty and Moran and their personal relationship.

I'm sorry I just did not like any of this or understand realistically who they were trying to target it at but whoever their target audience was it clearly wasn't me, despite me being one of the biggest fans and champions of Moriarty and Moran in existence, the one who has poured my heart into writing many, many thousands of words about both of them, of fic and character analysis and meta and all of that. I still wasn't the target audience for something that was meant to be about Moriarty and that actually not only remembered Moran exists but made him a major character and explicitly called him Moriarty's friend, and I didn't like it at all. And that just really sucks.

#James Moriarty #Sebastian Moran #Sherlock Holmes #Irene Adler #Dr John Watson #Professor Moriarty #Moriarty The Devil's Game

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imalemonthatrants · 2 years

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Some mildly fleshed out story ideas I have stuck in my head, but unsure on how to write right now. They're also long fic ideas, which is something I don't want to write when I'm struggling to update my singular one on ao3 as is.

Idea 1: Catfished

Sanji/Zoro, Law/Zoro, Sanji/Luffy, Law/Luffy

Modern AU

Photographer Luffy innocently uses his long time best friend, Zoro's face to catfish Sanji and Law on a dating app. After finding out, and everyone telling Luffy why what he was doing was bad and wrong, Zoro was pestered by Luffy to meet them as they wished to meet the "real" Zoro. So he does, apologizing for Luffy's mistakes and willing to reimburse them for whatever they've spent on Luffy. Sanji asks for a dinner date and sex. Zoro's shocked, but after thinking on it, accepts, as he felt that this would help the man get over whatever lingering feelings the man may have over Luffy or his face. Except it's obvious Sanji still thinks he's Luffy during the date, which Zoro pointed out strongly that he wasn't and this was quite literally the first time Zoro's had sex. It ends in tragedy and after seeing the man so distraught post sex, he reluctantly offers to help the man meet Luffy.

After dealing with Sanji, he meets with Law, intent on also apologizing for Luffy's actions and giving whatever reimbursement necessary, but the lingering signs of sex on Zoro was evident all over his exposed neck, making Law pissed and saying he wanted to fuck Zoro. Zoro agrees again, thinking badly of the man, but realizes throughout the rough sex that the man simply assumed that Zoro was trying to end things through sex with multiple partners after leading them on. So Zoro admits that the previous time was his first time, and that he really hadn't thought about the lingering evidence of his actions when meeting him, which helped cooled the man's rage, but also ruining the sexual situation. Once again, post sex, Law is obviously upset knowing he would never meet Luffy again, and Zoro once again displays an olive branch to let Law meet Luffy. If only to make things fair between Sanji and Law in their opportunity to woo Luffy. Especially as both of them are genuinely interested despite Zoro warning them that Luffy was asexual. Except, as time goes on, it seems that Law and Sanji are increasingly becoming more and more interested in Zoro more so than Luffy.

(End game, I think it'll end up with both Luffy and Zoro getting wooed by one each. Plus, Zoro also falling for one while distraught because they're into Luffy, his best friend. And Luffy, who really wants the world to know how amazing his best friend is and that they're "a package deal". Platonic soulmates Zoro and Luffy with end game either Law/Zoro and Sanji/Luffy or Sanji/Zoro and Law/Luffy.)

Idea 2: Fake Dating Trope

Law/Zoro

Modern AU

Zoro's terrible ex (Saga) is getting married and dared to send an invite to him. All his female friends (Nami, Kuina, Perona, even Tashigi!?!) insist on him going with a hot and successful man in order to prove that he's much better off without the guy. Except Sanji was way too straight to be able to play the role and Luffy wasn't exactly "successful", and plus, Saga knew them and Luffy's brothers. Luffy offers Law, remembering that Law said something about "needing a scapegoat" to dissuade his adoptive father from setting him up for blind dates. Thus, Law and Zoro meet and make an agreement on pretending to be each other's partner.

Except, with how straight laced both of them are, it was obvious that neither of them were familiar with each other and extra obvious that neither of them are good at acting and are very much NOT dating. Luckily, the wedding is in six months, and Law also had six months before procuring a partner to show to his adoptive father, so they had time to practice this. It's extremely rough at first, but after a breakthrough, they find themselves... actually falling for each other?

(I had thoughts on maybe making Law in an unrequited love for Luffy in this, too. Or a Law with a Doffy that's in some sketchy business and "tests" the strength of their love, which Cora disapproved of afterwards. I also had ideas of making Zoro knowing Kuina's family and at some point, Kuina was arranged to marry Cora to try to bind their mafia groups together with marriage (EVEN THOUGH CORA IS SO MUCH OLDER THAN KUINA), and Kuina uses Zoro as her "jealous lover she doesn't want to leave" as an excuse to reject Cora, giving a fun time where Zoro finally meets Cora while fake dating Law, and then is like "Holy fuck. This man is part of the mafia, LAW IS INVOLVED WITH THE MAFIA???", and also "holy fuck, I literally interrupted their blind date by STEALING THE GIRL AWAY AND NOW I'M IN A FAKE RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS SON, TRYING TO PRETEND ITS NOT FAKE. Also, I fell in love with said man in the middle of our act." Probably won't write those ideas in this one in the end, but it was still a fun thought. This one is super cutesy, I think, and I think it would be so fun to write them when they're like "oh fuck, I'm in love with them, but the other probably wants to end it off after everything is over". Or the unrequited requited love while faking dating)

Idea 3: Arranged Marriage

Law/Zoro

Sci fi? Omegaverse? Mafia? Animal characteristics? All of the above?

My ideas on this is all over the place. I just want an arranged marriage lawzo. Lel.

Idea 4: he was hot? Trope

Multipairing Zoro? Maybe a one shot.

Modern AU or Fantasy AU

Just a Zoro for some reason, hides the way he looks, intentional or not, and there are rumors of him being ugly. Then they see him and go oh no, he's hot. A mixture of people that fell for him before seeing he was hot and a mixture of people falling for him when seeing he was hot.

(Really, this would probably just be a one shot of me literally just spouting praises of how beautiful my favorite character is, inside and out, under the disguise of multiple different characters.)

#roronoa zoro #sanzo #one piece #lawzo #zoro fic ideas #fic ideas #brainrot #i wanna write them #but its so damn hard #imagine being good at writing #cant relate

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beetlegoose01 · 3 years

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stolen whispers: chapter 1

AN: this fic isn’t a request, it’s a story i’ve been preparing for a lil while and I’m so excited to share this with you all <3

I’ll link it on my Archive if you prefer to read it there. Also warning, there’s quite a few OCs.

Time: 2028 (Scorbus have been married for two years)

Summary: When a new generation of Death Eaters kidnap Scorpius, Albus and Rose put aside their differences to rescue him.

TW: Kidnapping/Language/minor violence

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Two witches wearing shadowy black robes entered the tavern, finding a table near the back. They ordered their mead, waiting for their third partner impatiently. It was a crowded area, so thankfully there was a small chance they would be overheard.

"We don't want more mead." The first woman growled, tapping her long nails at the table. The bartender, a tall man with a mustache put the drinks down.

"I didn't think so." He lips curled into a grin as he morphed into a younger man with wild dusty brown hair, wearing matching robes. He was handsome, but had an eerie presence to him. Any reasonable person would have at least flinched at the transformation, though neither witch did. "Hello ladies." He grinned cheekily.

"Soren, enough playing games." The second woman said, though she was smirking.

Soren barked out a laugh. "It was funny, Mara. And you know it."

The first woman, Lilith narrowed her eyes. She pulled down her hood, revealing cascading inky black hair down her shoulders. A scar that showed no sign of mending was down her cheek. "Your skills are impressive, but useless if you don't use them for our own gain. Don't forget that." She pulled her hood back.

"Understood." He murmured, taking a seat.

"We have much to discuss," She continued, flicking her wand idly. "Our current plan in action. Our...act of revenge. It's been thirty years since The Tenebris was wrongfully killed. I am sick and tired of his name being tossed around in history like he was some monster. He was on the right side."

"Are you certain we want to call the Dark Lord that?" Mara asked suspiciously.

"Shh! You know if anyone hears us, they'll lock us up for good. For speaking our minds." Lilith said. "It's safer we call him by his code name."

Her companions nodded.

"Because of his loss, we have mudbloods in positions of power. Our siblings that fought for his cause are locked up. Or worse, dead."

Mara and Soren looked grim.

"If we had more allies, perhaps we would have had a chance." Soren noted. "We weren't even alive then but...I have a feeling if we were..."

"Just because we weren't alive then, doesn't mean we don't have opinions over the lives stolen!" Mara argued. "That damn Harry Potter."

"Correct. And Soren is right too. For once. If we had more allies, or better yet...certain allies didn't betray us. The Malfoys for instance." She took a sip of her drink.

"Are you suggesting something?" Mara asked.

"Of course I am, don't be so daft." Lilian said, deadly calm. "I want to make that family suffer for what they did. My uncle Vincent Crabbe died for their selfishness. Draco Malfoy had a chance to save him, and he refused like the coward he is. His mother Narcissa lied to Tenebris' face. They are backstabbing filth that besmirched the Sacred 28. No, it isn't just about their betrayal or avenging those we lost in the war. Think of the big picture. They have the capabilities to join our side. To...respawn a new generation of Death Eaters. But that's not all...

"The Malfoys have lots of gold." She drawled. "Surely, they'll spare a few for us in exchange for something important. Or rather...someone."

"Someone?" Soren paused. "What are you suggesting?"

"Regretfully, Astoria Malfoy has passed on." Mara didn't sound the least bit sympathetic, instead stated it blandly. "So using her as a ransom for Draco is a no go."

"Ah, but there is still someone left." Lillian said, removing a small photograph from her cloak, she slid it across the table.

A young man with platinum hair was pictured, beaming brightly in Healer Robes.

"Scorpius Malfoy."

Soren and Mara exchanged a look of satisfaction.

"Bring him to me."

~~~~~~~~~~

The best thing about mornings, at least to Albus, was waking up beside his husband. The sun's bright rays peaked through the window of their cream colored bedroom, slowly stirring them both awake. If it was up to him, he would stay in their warm bed, arms wrapped around Scorpius until noon.

Scorpius rolled over, so that they were facing each other. His eyes fluttered open, and Albus felt his heart melt at his sapphire eyes.

"Hi." He yawned. His voice was slightly croaky, no doubt from the morning.

Albus replied by nuzzling his nose, then kissed his cheek. "Hi honey."

Scorpius laughed lightly. "Let's get up then. Start the day? It's a Saturday. We have the whole weekend to spend together."

"I'd rather spend it here with you."

Bathilda mewed from the kitchen.

"But our child is hungry." Scorpius teased, stretching as he slid out of bed. Albus begrudgingly slumped after him, not eager to wake up before ten am. But his own stomach was growling too.

"Speaking of children," Albus said, starting to work on their breakfast as Scorpius poured Bathilda's food. "Iris is pregnant again. James told me through a Howler yesterday."

"Really?" Scorpius' eyes widened. "That's great news!"

"Yeah, not for my ears." He commented dryly, still traumatized by James' excited screeching in his ear. "Baby number three." He whistled. "Do you think they're trying to make an entire quidditch team? With Teddy and Vic's lot included, they're on their way."

Though he was joking, Scorpius noticed that Albus was glowing, happy for his brother and sister in law. That was one of the many reasons he loved Albus. His love for his siblings.

"Perhaps. When are they due?"

"September. Which means...that's where they scurried off to last Christmas party." Albus quipped. "To have a little fun."

"Albus!" Scorpius scolded. "Honestly, only you would make a beautiful moment gross."

"It's life, Scorp!" He chuckled. "You're a Healer, you should know these things."

"We'll have to visit. Maybe bring a gift basket to congratulate them." He mused, smiling fondly. "I can't wait to meet our new niece or nephew." There was a wistful look in his eye that Albus caught.

"You've got that look on your face." He noted, amused. He served the plates of bacon sandwiches on the table.

"What do you mean?"

"That Scorpius 'I want something but I'm not going to spell it out for you' face."

"Oh."

"Yes, oh." Albus said, forest green eyes brightening in amusement. "What's up?" He took a seat, tucking into breakfast.

"Well," Scorpius started, staring at his food. "I was thinking..." He stopped himself, hesitant to continue his train of thoughts.

"Yeah?" Albus nudged him gently.

"I want a child." He said, his voice quiet, but firm. "I love my nieces and nephews so much, but they aren't...ours. I want to start a family with you, Albus. Raise a little one of our own to be bright and wonderful and brave and..."

Albus' expression softened. "I do too. You know I do, Scorpius. It's just...difficult right now." He stared at his wedding band. "You know it's harder for us than any hetero couple." He waved his hand vaguely. "Adoption is hard, surrogacy is expensive. Maybe once we settled into our careers more, we can talk about it."

"I think we're ready to go beyond just talking about it, Al."

"We're still young. We've still got time. But...I definitely want to work it out. Somehow, we will. We always do."

Scorpius beamed, reaching to kiss Albus' knuckle. "Thank you." He sat up abruptly. "Oh, I almost forgot- it's the farmer's market today."

Albus snorted. "You're exactly like your dad, you know?"

"Yes yes yes, but we should go!" Scorpius said, levitating the plates to the sink and it automatically was clean due to the floating sponges.

"We? I've got some work to do. I'm not very fond of small talk with old people selling fruit."

"Al, it's really good fruit." Scorpius said seriously. "And it's not all old people. I've seen some of our old schoolmates there."

Albus cringed. "That's even worse."

"Don't be so dramatic. Are you still coming?"

"Mm, but I should really finish this article. Go on without me."

"If you're sure...do you want me to bring anything back?"

Albus thought for a moment. "Those strawberries Ms. Beaker sells. Please? Strawberries and cream sounds so good right now."

"Brilliant, I'm on it." Scorpius did a mock salute.

"Have fun." Al waved as Scorpius appatered, leaving the kitchen empty. Albus went straight to work on his article.

~•~

The market was lively and merry, despite the early hour. Scorpius had stopped by the strawberry stand first, in case he forgot.

Ever since they had moved two years ago, Scorpius had found himself drawn to the quaint farmer's market. Not because of the delicious, fresh food, but to socialize. He made quite a few friends with the muggles who lived around there...mostly old ladies. The early days of their marriage, Albus would join him. Before life got in the way, and work had to be done.

Not that he wasn't busy himself. He only had two days off as a Healer, sometimes less. He didn't know how they would manage childcare, but like Al had said, it was best not to dwell on the future.

"Scorpius? Is that you?"

He turned around, following the voice from behind him. "Polly ...Chapman?" He uttered blandly, praying he wasn't mistaken. He didn't have the best memory- even with old schoolmates who bullied him.

"Yep." Polly said, laughing lightly. "It's me. Been a while."

"It has." Scorpius shifted his weight. "How are things?"

"Great!" She smiled, swishing her blonde ponytail, the same air of confidence from when she was a teenager. "Yann and I are engaged."

"Oh! That's wonderful." Scorpius said, pretending to sound pleased. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you. I proposed to them last month. It was just as I had dreamed."

"How is...Yann?" Scorpius did not actually care how Yann was.

"They're good! Brilliant actually, since they passed Auror training." Polly looked genuinely proud of them, which he had to admit was adorable. "Are you and Albus still..."

"Yes, yes. We um, er- we've been married almost two years actually." He added.

"Aw, that's very sweet. You two were always very close, yeah?" Polly looked at him, and Scorpius nearly walked backwards, intimidated by her stance. She still was extremely scary, like a lioness but with a great sense of fashion. "I know...Yann, Karl and I weren't the best to you two but perhaps we could..." She trailed off. "I'd like you both to come. To the wedding. If you'd like."

That...wasn't what he was expecting. He half expected her to invite him to another Blood Ball.

"Pardon?" Scorpius asked, dumbfounded. "I mean- yeah, that sounds great! Fun! Yes. That sounds nice. I'll bring it up to Al."

Polly was glowing. "Brill! I've got to go, but we should all hang out sometime. Like old times."

Like old times? Scorpius thought. When did they ever hang out?

Nodding mutely, he walked away from Polly with a puzzled, but cheerful expression. He hadn't completely fucked up the conversation, which was always a plus. It still felt odd that Polly Chapman of all people was talking to him, let alone inviting him to her wedding. It was bizarre.

He passed the final vendor, and was surprised and amused to see a tiny girl, no more than seven standing behind it. She had a Brownie uniform on, bright rosy cheeks and pigtails included.

"Would you like a biscuit?" She squealed.

It had taken him a moment to respond, he was still thinking of Polly being kind to him "Oh erm- of course." It was impossible to say no to an adorable small child. He reached for some muggle money, handing her the pound notes. "Just the one box please."

"Okie dokie!" She said, handing him the box. She waited a moment, pouting. "Go on, try it." She urged.

"I really shouldn't I-"

"Please?" The little girl gave him the most pitiful expression. "It's for a good cause, mister. We're helping orphaned puppies find homes."

"Well, alright. For the puppies." He fumbled open the box, taking a polite bite out of the cookie. It was a classic lemon cookie with powdered sugar, one of his favorites. But the second he swallowed, he felt dizzy all of a sudden. "What..." He stumbled back. "Oh my," He gulped, the entire market swirling around him. Something wasn’t right. "is there something in..."

He would be damned if he let this happen without some sort of fight. Throwing his basket aside, he collapsed, slipping into unconsciousness.

"We've got him."

#Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy #Albus Severus Potter #Char Fanfics #Scorbus #Married Scorbus #LOTS of OCs #James Sirius Potter #Polly Chapman #Yann Fredericks #Scorpius Malfoy #Albus Potter #Fanfic #Writing #Kidnapping

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littlemisssquiggles · 5 years

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Do you think we'll see any Snowbird action in the next episode? CRWBY does seem to have a habit of hinting some kind of relationship between Crow and Winter. TBH I'm just a shipper with needs

OoohI’d love to see some Snowbird quips next episode. It’d be cute to see Qrow getunder Winter’s skin. You’re not the only one who feels like there was somethingbetween them before. My theory is that Qrow and Winter actually did share aprior intimaterelationship but it was during apretty rocky time for Qrow. Summer had just passed away and Qrow was dealing heavilywith the depression of that.

WhenI imagine Snowbird,I picture their relationship being somewhat like Mark Sloanand LexiGrey from Grey’s Anatomy. A couple between an older man and a youngerwoman that had its fair share of ups and downs but no matter how many times thetwo would fall part, they always gravitate right back to one other because theywere soulmates or the closest equivalent to it.

Y’know what’sinteresting. I find it rather ironic that both of Qrow’s past hinted loveinterests share names that match seasons: Summer and Winter.

Summercomes before Winter in the order of the seasons so going back to my firstpoint, after Summer passed, Qrow probably hookedup with Winter for a while and things were probably beginning to get alittle serious between them. Maybe they even had one night of doing the ole meet and greetbetween the sheets which led a naïveyoung Winter to think that there might be a future with them or something.

Winter,more or less comes off as someone who appears strict and cold, only showing a softer side of herself to those she cares about. She onlyreserves her warmth for the people who are dearest to her. Before that was onlyfor family members like her younger sister Weiss.

QrowBranwen was probably the one man Winter actually allowed into her heart who wasn’ta person she respected like General Ironwood. This is going to sound cheesier than an omelette du fromage but…imagine if…at some point, QrowBranwen had managed to thaw away Winter’s frozen heart to the point that shemight have found herself falling in love with him---genuinely in love. Not the fakekind that her father used to manipulate her mother and their family.

Imagine…Qrow being Winter’sfirst love but just when Winter was beginning to enjoy that warmth, it’ssnuffed out by Qrow himself who basically made it seem like he didn’t feel thesame way. Imagine Winter Schnee losing her virginity toQrow---actually opening herself up to him to that degree which wasn’t easy forher. Only for Qrow to pull the fuck boyapproach and basically tell Winter that it was just sex to him and nothingmore.

Theway Winter acts around Qrow reminded me of a bitter ex who got hurt by theirlast relationship and still hasn’t gotten over it. And rather than forgivingtheir ex and moving on, they remain spiteful and angry. I feel like that’s whathappened with Qrow and Winter. They hooked up. Winter was beginning to fall forQrow, thought they had something going on but the minute Winter got closer tothe Branwen Man, he suddenly pushes her far away.

Andto add more insult to injury, the next time Qrow interacts with Winter, hebasically acts as if their breakup didn’t affect him as much as it didher---that their entire relationship meant nothing which, for Winter, onlyadded more salt to the wound.

Nowjust to clarify something, even if Qrow Branwen did put the ole ‘Screw ‘em andLeave ‘em’ approach with Winter, I don’t think Qrow would willinglydo that. Qrow might look like a promiscuous charmer but in reality; he strikesme as the kind of guy who takes every relationship he has seriously. I mean, I’dexpect him to given his semblance and I’d like to think that Qrow’s only ever loved two womenin his life.

Ina way, Qrow is like Tai Yang to me. My theory is that just as Raven was Tai’sfirst love, SummerRose was Qrow’s first love---the one he envisionedhimself having that happily ever after withbut because of his curse, Qrow had to unfortunately let Summer go. And the nexttime Qrow saw her, not only had she moved on with his ex-brother-in-law---theformer lover of his own sister but the two had also started a family together---the family that Qrow was supposed tohave.

SeeingSummer end up with Tai must’ve been quite the kicker forQrow if my theories about him and Summer are proven true. And to add moreinsult to injury, just when Qrow figured his luck in his love life couldn’t getany worse, Summer ends up dying in his arms while trying to protect him. Atleast by my theory.

Ican see Qrow’s past with Summer being a crutch that might’ve prevented him fromhaving any other meaningful romantic relationship afterwards. The one exceptionwas Winter. I’d like to think that Winter could’ve been the one other personQrow possibly saw himself with but…before that could go anywhere, Qrow had nochoice but to break Winter’s heart for two very good reasons.

Oneof them being his misgivings over his misfortune semblance and two…what if…General Ironwood wasn’t too thrilled about Qrow getting too chummy with his best operative and sort of gave Qrow awarning in regards to Winter. He didn’t actively try and stop Qrow frompursuing Winter but his omens about their relationship was enough to make Qrow reconsiderit.

Sojust like with Summer, Qrow walked away from another potential love interest.The only difference is while Summer moved on while still caring deeply forQrow, Winter was the opposite. Bitter and a bit snarky.

Butin a strange way, I’d like to think that Qrow prefers things between him andWinter to be this way. Winter’s hatred toward him acts as the perfect repellent to keep her from ever getting tooclose to him again and in Qrow’s head, that’s much better.

Eitherthat or…Qrow and Winter have no real romantic past. They just met on a whimthrough their primary affiliations with Oz and Ironwood. Qrow probably does like Winter but she’s so uptight that he gets a betterkick out of teasing the living daylights out of her rather than just straightflirting with her or asking her out on a date---like a kindergartener throwinga pencil at their crush trying to get their attention. And Winter, who’sprobably a bonified dumbass to her own feelings and romantic gestures ingeneral, mostly takes Qrow’s attempts at charming her as immature quips forlaughs at her expense which she doesn’t shy away from throwing any punches rightback at the Branwen male.

Basically;the Snowbird ship is just a pair of adult toddlers who don’t knowhow to express their feelings for one another properly so rather than talk theyjust channel their sexual tensions through sword fights and naïve bickering. Stillvery entertaining to watch though.

I’dlike to believe that if Qrow and Winter we to stop their quips, they might realizethat they oddly like each other more than they realized and that can turn intoa romance.

Atleast, that’s my theory. Man I’d love if Winter’s return drops the bomb on herand Qrow sharing a former romance. I like the idea of Qrow seeing Winter as his second chanceat a happy ending but once again he’sforced himself to not take it out of fear that he might end up losing Winterthe way he lost Summer.

Ironically,the same could be said for Winter in a sense. I doubt her experiences inromance have been favourable. I mean just look who she has as her example. IfJacques is the type to use his family to get what he wants, imagine if therewas a time Jacques had planned to marry Winter off to some rich smuck butIronwood manged to save Winter from that by awakening her true potential. Afterthat Winter must’ve shut herself off from the possibility of love and a lifewith a companion. Who knows?

Idunno, if Snowbird gets to a point where Qrow falls for Winter andbucks up the balls to ask her to marry him orwhatnot, he better do it in a similar fashion as Edward Elric from FullmetalAlchemist Brotherhood just to have that parallel. Now that I think about, Qrowand Winter kind of remind me of Ed and Winrey. Huh…very interesting.

Don’tworry Local,I’m a shipper with needs as well and I honest would love tosee Winter and Qrow hook up because I think they can work and again, I cannotstress this enough, it’s bought time Qrow Branwen gets his own happily everafter.

Hesays he’s cursed but perhaps Winter will be the white knight that Qrow has beenwaiting for to lift his curse.

MaybeWinter will get him to stop drinking or even better, perhaps Qrow will make thehonest decision to seek professional help to aid with his alcoholism anddepression because he wants to make what he and Winter have work. #QrowDeservesAHappyEnding#SnowbirdEverAfter

Waita minute, if Qrow and Winter were actually get together then Weiss, Yang andRuby would become family through marriage.

Weissis Winter’s sister. If Qrow and Winter got hitched, Qrow would become Weiss’sbrother in law. But Qrow is Ruby and Yang’s uncle. So…if Weiss become’s Qrow’ssister in law, that would make her Ruby and Yang’s…aunt-in-law? What?

NowI’m imagining Yang and Ruby poking fun at Weiss and teasingly calling her ‘auntie’.

IfQrow does end up getting engaged to Winter at some point---if possible---then Ihope Qrow reconciles his longstanding friendship with Ozpin in time so that Ozcan at least be there at his wedding. Ozpin was practically the closest thingto a best friend and a father-figure to Qrow. Oz has to be there to see Qrowget his happy ending because I’d like to think that’s something Oz wanted forQrow since they met. But these are just my theories here.

LittleMissSquiggles (2018)

#squiggles answers: rwby #winter schnee #qrow branwen #rwby snowbird #weiss schnee #rwby theories #rwby volume 6 theories #local-conservative-minority

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reviewsbyracine · 4 years

Text

I SAW AN EPISODE OF LAW AND ORDER: SVU: “Babes”

With everything crazy happening in the world, it is important that we still depend on the little things that make everything feel right. For me, I know that I can always depend on classic episodes of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit to help me feel at home. There's something strangely soothing about Benson and Stabler working together to solve a sex crime. (And yes, I know that Christopher Meloni left the show nine years ago - as far as I'm concerned, the Stabler episodes are the only episodes that matter.) When it comes to rewatchable episodes of SVU, I always come back to “Babes," a season ten episode. So with nothing better to do, let me tell you why it is possibly the best episode of SVU ever created.

"Babes" starts with our usual fake-out cold open: characters just trying to enjoy a night out before stumbling on a gruesome crime scene and then we never see them again. This time, it's the last diners at a restaurant. Despite holding holding up the kitchen staff from going home, the gentleman on the date asks to order desserts (despite the fact that they seem to be eating salads) and suggests flambé because it's "exciting." The irate waiter tells them that "the only thing that's flaming is the maître d'."

Just then, a man on fire can be seen screaming and waving around just outside the restaurant. Yes, that's right: SVU set a man on fire and made a visual gag out of it. A poor bus boy throws pitchers of water on the man as he collapses dead into the restaurant.

Stabler and Munch arrive at the scene (Benson is at a conference for… some reason) and meet up with M.E. Warner, who shows them that our John Doe is not only charred to a crisp but is also missing his private parts. When Munch asks where the victim came from, Warner tells them with a straight face to "Follow the bloody brick road."

Someone give SVU's joke writer a raise because John Doe's not the only one who's on fire tonight.

Back at the station, Warner rehydrates his fingerprints (what?) and discovers his identity is that of a homeless man named John Galli. They visit Galli's father, played by Michael Badalucco, a man who hates cows more than coppers. Mr. Galli informs them that his son had been targeted by "Street Cleaners," a vigilante group that runs around beating up homeless people and posting videos of their exploits online. Planning a sting to catch the Street Cleaners in action, Tutuola suggests they "introduce them to the laziest, filthiest bum they've ever seen."

Smash cut to: Munch pretending to be a homeless wacko screaming conspiracy theories into the night. No joke, this edit is hilarious.

Anyway, the Street Cleaners run out to beat up Munch and are quickly arrested. The detectives take off the perps' ski masks and one of them is a girl. The music treats this reveal like it is the most shocking thing that could ever happen. Obviously, they didn't kill Galli - SVU always throws a red herring at you in the first ten minutes and this episode is no different.

Returning to the station, Stabler and Munch find a blowtorch that was found at the scene and can be traced back to the science lab at Blessed Heart High School. Their guide at the school is Max, the president of the school's chastity club (remember this for later), who informs them that the only student who has access to the lab after hours is senior Alec Bernardi. Stabler and Munch spot Alec, who immediately looks guilty and tries to escape the cafeteria. Munch tells Alec that he looks like someone lit a fire under his ass.

"Fire?" Alec asks, sweating. "I don't know anything about a fire."

Smooth, Alec, real smooth.

He's got a burn on his hand so it's obviously him. They bring him to the station for interrogation, where Benson returns from her conference just in time for Alec's mother Peggy to burst in. Peggy is played by the incredible Debi Mazar, so even though the episode was cruising along at a comfortable seven or eight, the energy level has now been dialed up to eleven. Alec is proud of mutilating and immolating Galli and reveals that he did it because Galli raped his little sister Tina and got her pregnant.

Benson speaks with Tina, who vehemently denies being raped. However, she is pregnant. Turns out, she seduced Galli to get pregnant on purpose because she and her friends are in… you guessed it… a pregnancy pact! That's right, this episode's ripped-from-the-headlines story is the Gloucester High School pregnancy pact, where a bunch of teenaged girls got pregnant on purpose.

Benson tells the girls that they are stupid. "What's the big deal?" one girl asks. "That vice president lady's daughter is gonna have a baby. Why can't we?"

The pact's ringleader is Fidelia Vidal, who is excited that she and her friends are "totally gonna be the hottest MILFs on the block." Her father, Not-Bobby Canavale, wants Benson to leave because she is scaring Fidelia with some truth talk. Suddenly, her boyfriend bursts in, having just heard the news of her pregnancy - and it's Max, the chastity club president. Oops. Fidelia's baby daddy is not Max but is instead a twenty-two-year-old rapper named Dizzer.

Let's talk about Dizzer. In an otherwise perfect episode of SVU, Dizzer is a straight-up garbage character. Dizzer is a white rapper who works at a place called Skribble Skratch Records. His motto, airbrushed on his shirt, is "reckin' decks 'n' gettin' sex" and he attempts to get a fist bump from Tutuola, calling him a "brother." Again, this guy is white and he is trying way too hard.

Stabler hands him a court order for a DNA test and the detectives leave to let Not-Bobby Canavale know that they're actually getting stuff done this episode and everything's going to be alright. Not-Bobby Canavale goes to Fidelia's room so they can go get the amniocentesis done and make a DNA match, but her door is locked. Stabler shoulders the door open because he's an animal and the parents and detectives are met with a disturbing sight:

Fidelia, dead, having hanged herself on her ceiling fan.

Obviously everyone is distraught and it's a genuinely shocking moment. Not-Bobby Canavale comforts Max, and Michael Badalucco is spotted moping in the crowd to remind us that he is still in this episode. Fidelia's mother lets the detectives know that someone online was calling Felida names like "slut" and "whore." The email address leads them back to Dizzer, but he denies having sent the harassing emails. His alibi is that he was taking part in a threesome in Brooklyn and reminds the detectives of his motto/airbrushed shirt. Tutuola looks ready to punch this man. The detectives take his phone into evidence and thankfully we don't have to deal with Dizzer ever again.

Tech agent Morales proves that the IP address actually came from an internet cafe and holy shit the culprit turns out to be none other than Peggy Bernardi, seen in some seriously unflattering ATM camera angles. Peggy proudly shows off a onesie for her new grandbaby that says "My grandma is a GILF" and high-fives Tina. When Stabler and Munch confront her about her harassing emails, Peggy goes off on a warpath about how Fidelia ruined her kids' lives and kicks the detectives out of her house. ADA Greylek suggests that they hit Peggy with criminal impersonation and reckless endangerment, among other charges, and Munch reminds the group that Peggy only used words against Fidelia and to arrest her would go against the first amendment. Good ol’ Munch, always a voice of reason. Before they have time to commit to what exactly they're arresting Peggy for, word comes in that a mob has formed outside Peggy's apartment, led by Not-Bobby Canavale. Stabler and Munch arrive to rescue-arrest Peggy.

On the stand, Peggy says that sending harassing emails to a hormonal teenaged girl was "just a goof." A large television is presented so that Peggy can awkwardly read her fake-teenage bibble-babble to the courtroom. We get to learn what "OMFG" and "STFU" mean. In her last message to Peggy, Fidelia writes that her "fath is knocking," implying that their conversation was ended because Not-Bobby Canavale was at the door. However, Tina suddenly comes to a realization and informs the courtroom that "FATH" actually stands for "first and true husband" in some dumb chastity club lingo.

Stabler and Munch realize that Fidelia's "FATH" was Max, who comes clean: when he realized that Fidelia had cheated on him and didn't love him, he killed her and faked her suicide. Case closed.

Max and Alec are put away for their crimes and Peggy is let go. ADA Greylick gives Peggy some unnecessary attitude and Peggy goes fully ballistic, strangling Greylek and screaming "I'm a good mother!" Greylek tells Stabler to "collar that bitch for assault" but Stabler sees poor Tina in tears, having witnessed everyone she knows and loves fall apart in front of her. Mr. Galli offers to take Tina in, given that she is pregnant with his grandchild, and promises to help her raise the baby. The episode ends on a rare moment of kindness.

So what makes "Babes" the best episode of Law and Order: SVU? The episode features a lot of "ripped-from-the-headlines" moments, from the Gloucester pregnancy pact to the the suicide of Megan Meier. There are some genuinely funny moments in the episode and the performances are pretty great, especially Debi Mazar. And while Benson isn't featured all that much, it's a pretty heavy Munch episode, and he's always great. The episode starts with a homeless man on fire with his penis chopped off and still somehow finds a way to get more crazy by the end. "Babes" is a season ten episode, which means it's SVU in their bonkers prime, a few seasons before Stabler left but long enough into the show's run for them to feel blindly confident in what they were doing. If you are able to stream this episode, I highly recommend checking it out - it will almost definitely improve your day.

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