#they deserve happiness I don’t care if they’re bonkers

[snugglebeans3000]

Some cozy Jack recovering after the Beyblade world championships, looking for inspiration with a little picnic in the local park. I like to think after the championships he went through withdrawals from no longer having an arrangement, and one thing that always helped him focus was going outside and drawing in his sketchbook he found interesting. Sometimes Damian would join him, and Jack would teach him things about the real world that he never got to experience under Ziggurat’s care. It is my strong belief that Jack taught Damian how to make flower crowns in a picnic trip just like this one.

#mfb #metal fight beyblade #beyblade #ah #Jack beyblade #Jack #I just got new pink markers and MmMmmMMMM #so happy with them #I couldn’t get the legs or feet right but what matters is I’m trying at least #I love his design in masters but mAn does his redesign in Fury looks so comfy and idk safe??? it just feels like he’s a lot calmer looking #hc his favorite teas are mostly berry flavored #Damian likes the mild ones like chamomile or something like sleepytime tea #I wanna write a little one shot where they talk through their trauma together and afterwards have some well needed rest and self care #they deserve happiness I don’t care if they’re bonkers

[1doesnotsimplyhavejust1fandam]

I desperately want oblivious!Buddie to play out for just a LITTLE longer so we get some “off-screen” gems. As in, absolutely bonkers events and quirks that we don’t currently know, but slowly find out before the boys figure THEM out. Such as Buddie grocery shopping together, Buck knowing Chris’ (AND Eddie’s) SSN, Chris having Buck’s phone number memorized because he didn’t have a phone when they first met and would call him on the house phone like for the Hildy prank, Chris has called Buck his dad to one of the firefam or Carla, Buck and Abuela have weekly phone calls now that she lives in Texas, Eddie is Buck’s POA (and vice versa), Eddie has a second pair of keys to Buck’s Jeep (Buck doesn’t for Eddie’s truck ONLY because Eddie is a passenger princess and if he’s not the one driving his truck then he just hands his keys off to Buck anyway), as early as late season 3 Christopher was drawing Buck into his family portraits (bonus points if it’s before the well happened), Buck has Christopher’s drawings on his loft fridge, Buck uses the family calendar on Eddie’s fridge too, Eddie specifically doesn’t buy certain foods because Buck has a food restriction that the Diazes do NOT also have (canon vegan Buck anyone?), Buck picks Christopher up from school enough to be known to both the teachers AND administration, they have a shared google calendar that Eddie hates (technophobe) but Buck updates regularly, there hasn’t been a week where Buck hasn’t stayed the night at least once at the Diazes since the lawsuit (yes, even through the divorce arc idc, let me live).

The whole “didn’t know they were dating” thing is becoming more and more appealing to me for Buddie with every passing minute, and I just think it would be funny if we got Hen or Maddie or even Christopher to call them out on little things like this that they do that they didn’t really think hard enough about to realize it was partner shit, not best friend shit. Plus, I know a lot of people want Buddie NOW because of Buck being canonically bi, but I’m still happy to wait a little longer if it means giving both characters the patience and care their stories deserve. ABC making them canon the very first season after the network switch WOULD be iconic, but given that I’ve been both ecstatic and nervous about Buddie after last Thursday’s episode, I think they should pace it. Give them both full realizations about their sexualities, a lil crisis about it for each too, maybe a different man or two before each other, the jealousy they’re BOTH now famous for, just a pinch more therapy about the shock of it all, and then somebody or something to knock their heads together and make them realize that their partner has been right there all along.

Honestly, I won’t lie and say that some of these aren’t based off of fics I’ve read, but they’re also so basic to Buddie that I couldn’t tell you specific fics, and I also definitely tried to come up with some that aren’t from fics in my memory, but claim them if you want lol, I don’t mind

#buddiepher #buddie #eddie diaz #christopher diaz #evan buckley #Buck is bi!!! #buckley diaz family #this is canon to me #oblivious buddie my BELOVED #oblivious buddie #Chris come get your dads #buddie is endgame #buddie is coming #911 abc #911 s7 #9 1 1 abc

[likecastle]

Ronance Femslash February - robin proposes to nancy after a romantic dinner

Oh, anon. You sent me this very sweet ask and I’ve failed to fill it properly twice in a row now. But this time around, there is a romantic dinner, and a proposal, at least! I hope you still enjoy this, even though it’s not quite exactly what you asked for. I had a lot of fun writing it--both times. Happy Valentine’s Day, everybody, from your local slantwise romantic!

I’m accepting Ronance prompts all month for Femslash February. Anon asks are totally fine, and you’re welcome to send more than one prompt. Don’t be shy! Please, keep them coming! You can find previous prompts I’ve filled here.

Content warning for a brief reference to vomit (though no actual vomiting occurs).

In hindsight, the restaurant Nancy booked for dinner might have been a little too fancy. They don’t have all that much money left, and Nancy can already tell just from the lobby that it’s pricier than the guidebook made it sound. But it’s their last night in Paris, and she figures they deserve to treat themselves one more time.

“Merd alors,” Robin mutters as they’re ushered to their table, then promptly trips over the threshold of the dining room because she’s craning her neck to get a look at the stained glass ceiling. She only avoids falling flat on her face because Nancy grabs her elbow, and when Robin turns around to throw her a grateful grin, Nancy is almost too distracted worrying she’s going to trip again to notice how Robin’s smile lights up her whole face.

There’s a little voice in the back of Nancy’s head that’s insisting this night is going to be a disaster. They’re underdressed, for one thing, which the maître d’ makes clear with a disdainful glance that somehow manages to encompass both the oversized blazer Robin is wearing and the wrinkles Nancy couldn’t quite manage to steam out of her dress by hanging it up in the shower. But Robin doesn’t seem to care, and so Nancy tries not to feel self-conscious. Nobody knows them here, she reminds herself. They’re here to have a good time, not to make a good impression.

“This place is bonkers,” Robin says once the maître d’ has given them their menus and disappeared. “This is the sort of place you take your wife to apologize after she finds out about your mistress. I’m pretty sure there was a symbol for that in the guidebook, actually.” She opens the wine list and lets out a strangled noise that causes the couple at the next table to look over at her in consternation. “Uh, Nance,” she whispers, “the cheapest wine on the menu costs as much a used car.”

She turns the menu around so Nancy can see, and while Nancy is relieved to see Robin is exaggerating, she’s alarmed to find that the spirit of her assessment is spot on.

Nancy steels herself and shrugs. “It’s our last night,” she says, trying not to notice how the couple at the next table is obviously talking about them. “Let’s live a little.”

“Well,” Robin says with aplomb, “if the boss says I’ve gotta live large, how can I refuse?”

When their waiter shows up, Robin orders the second-cheapest red wine on the menu, and also an order of gougères to start—because, she says, “I know we said we’d try escargot at least once, but I just feel so sorry for the little snails. Imagine being boiled to death in your own home!”

Nancy doesn’t really know anything about wine, short of her mom’s penchant for drinking white wine with ice cubes in the summer, but she’s pretty sure this wine is good. Enough that by the time their main course arrives, she cares less about how nicely everyone else is dressed and doesn’t even bother smothering her laughter at Robin’s terrible jokes.

“Wait, wait,” Robin says, leaning forward conspiratorially. “I take it back. This isn’t the place you take your wife to apologize, it’s the place where tourists go to get engaged. Don’t look now, but that guy at your six o’clock is making his move. He could have at least done it at the Eiffel Tower or something, jeez. I said don’t look!”

Of course, Nancy looks. The guy is down on one knee as he makes an impassioned speech in English. Though the words are indistinct, his flat Midwestern vowels are familiar. It makes Nancy feel acutely embarrassed, like she’s watching somebody bomb a public presentation. The woman he’s proposing to looks like she’s about to burst into tears of joy.

“Oh my god,” Robin whispers gleefully, “did you bring me here to propose to me? Am I going to propose to you? This place is pretty romantic. Maybe you just can’t help it after an hour or so of all this ambiance.” She glances at the flowers at the center of their table, then up at Nancy with a smirk. “Maybe it’s a requirement here, like it’s part of the dress code.”

Nancy rolls her eyes and takes another sip of her wine, trying not to lose the pleasant, generous warmth that’s been sneaking up on her all evening. It’s just that there’s something about these big romantic gestures that puts her on edge. She used to think it was because she was above all that, too evolved to care whether Jonathan brought her chocolates on Valentine’s Day. Later, she wondered if maybe it was because she was always aware somewhere in the back of her mind that the relationships she was in weren’t quite right for her, like maybe she couldn’t love Jonathan or Steve the way she needed to to enjoy those saccharine romantic rituals. But the thing is, she does love Robin in a way that feels right, that takes up her whole her heart instead of just a small, safe part of it. She loves Robin completely, and she still can’t imagine being the one tearfully admiring her new ring as a waiter pours champagne. She knows Robin is joking about them getting married, but some part of her can’t help worrying that someday, further down the line, it’s going to be a problem that Nancy’s version of forever doesn’t include a ring and a white dress.

“Hey,” Robin says softly, and Nancy glances up to see Robin watching her fondly. “You want to get out of here? I’m not sure we can even afford to look at the dessert menu.”

Nancy doesn’t know how Robin does it. She’s much better than she would ever give herself credit for at reading Nancy’s moods, and she always knows just the right thing to puncture her bad attitude. “There’s nothing I would love more.”

They pay their bill and Robin practically drags her out onto the street. “Come on!” Robin cries, and they jog, hand-in-hand, under the golden street lights, even though they’re both a little too full and a little too tipsy to be running. They finally come to a stop on a bridge over the Seine, and the picturesque beauty of the night can’t even be undermined by Robin muttering beside her, “I think I’m going to throw up. Oh, god, if I throw up right now, it’s going to be the most expensive puke I’ve ever had.”

Nancy laughs. She can’t help it. She loves Robin so much—right here, right now, in a way that feels bigger than her body and also only just for her.

“OK,” Robin breathes, straightening up. “I think the worst has passed, no thanks to you. I didn’t take you for the sort who would laugh at someone else’s misery, but here we are.”

“How about I buy you some ice cream to make up for it?” Nancy asks, rolling her eyes.  “I think there’s a cart over there.”

Robin grins. “Oh, god, I love you so much.”

It’s still a thrill to hear her say it like that, out loud on a crowded street. She loops her arm through Robin’s and they cross the bridge arm-in-arm, hips bumping as they walk. Later, when Robin kisses her on a secluded stairway near their hostel, she tastes of sugar and strawberries and Nancy can’t get enough of her.

#ronance #robin x nancy #robin/nancy #robin buckley #nancy wheeler #ronance femslash february #femslash february #thank you again anon! #i had a great time with this and i hope that even though i didn't quite honor the letter of the prompt the spirit is still there!

[siswritesyanderes]

Yay Doctor who discussion! I missed talking about it since it's not trending much anymore, so if you ever have any more yandere DW headcanons/stuff to share I'm all for it lol

(I’m going to go ahead and use they/them pronouns for the Doctor, since I’m now broadening it to refer to any regeneration, including Thirteen, but if you want to request a specific Doctor, then that’s gravy, too.) This shouldn’t fly in the face of canon or how things work in the universe of the show too much, but also canon is pretty bonkers, so.

They use the TARDIS to control where/how far you go, but they don’t usually keep you shut up inside; the Doctor adores the universe, and they want to show you every beautiful sight on every planet, every moon, in every galaxy.

The catch is, the Doctor’s tolerance for danger is gone, now that they have you; the moment something mysterious or creepy happens (as it always does) in the place the two of you are visiting, they nope out of it so fast. No investigating, no problem-solving; they just drag you back to the TARDIS and shoot off in the other direction. (If it’s something particularly juicy or personal, they might just leave you in the TARDIS and solve the problem while you’re safe, but for the most part they stay out of stuff.)

(The universe becomes a darker place without the Doctor’s help, but they choose not to notice. Somewhat delusional yandere.)

Most Doctors aren’t particularly the jealous type. Not in the usual way, at least; they don’t care if you have flings, on the various planets you visit. You can kiss or *ahem* enjoy whoever you like; they consider it proof that they’re taking good care of you. Giving you a taste of all the joys of the universe. But it can’t be more than that! If you mention wanting to build a life with someone else, or settle down on any planet, you will never even see that solar system again. 

(You already haven’t seen your own solar system since they first took you to see the stars.)

And well, if some of them like to do small things here and there to make your flings suffer, just when the opportunity presents itself, well that’s mischief, not jealousy. Not the same thing at all. Completely different, actually.

Their delusional behavior is a facade, but it’s as much to fool themselves as you. Fundamentally, the Doctor is addicted to you. You make them so happy, and the Doctor wants to be happy. Don’t they deserve happiness, after all this time? Don’t they deserve the basic indulgence of obliviousness? How many centuries have they been bearing this cursed mantle?

They make sure they have a means of making more of you, if something goes wrong, whether it’s as rudimentary as cloning or straight up pushing you into their time stream. (Different Doctors would have different methods.)

That isn’t to say that you’re dispensable at all! Keeping you perfectly safe and close and well-cared-for is like a salve to the Doctor’s centuries of guilt for how many of their companions and friends end up irreparably altered, displaced, or dead. The Doctor is able to see their own goodness exclusively in how well you’re doing.

They scan you with their screwdriver multiple times a day, to make sure everything is fine. You can’t develop a hangnail without them knowing about it.

They go full Demons Run on anything that poses an actual shot of hurting you; that threat is obliterated as mercilessly as the Doctor knows how.

The different Doctors have different preferences, where physical contact is concerned. All of them like to rest with their head in your lap, and many of them also like to sit with your head in their lap. Some prefer for you to sit in their lap so they can wrap their arms around you and rest their face on your back. Ten and Twelve are some of the few who lie still long enough to spoon. Ten and Thirteen are some of the few for whom kissing is a major part of the affection paradigm.

N*S*F*W headcanons (TW: mentions of noncon and somno):

None of the Doctors have too powerful a libido. If they want to have sex, there’s a reason: to have kids, or to make sure you love them, or to make sure they’re supplying your needs. (Sometimes, it’ll be a matter of “You had sex with this person from this planet, so now I have to make sure you’d also have sex with me.”)

None of the Doctors would physically force you. At least, they wouldn’t see it as physically forcing you. If they wanted to have sex (again, likely for the reasons above) and you didn’t, they would either go through a whole lengthy process of romancing/coercing you or just put you to sleep (drug you) and do it while you’re sleeping. Some might just medically inseminate you. But none of them would be likely to wrestle you down or tie you up. (Well, maybe one of the old Doctors, before Nine; I haven’t seen all of those episodes, but some of those old Doctors look strict.)

Nine is surprisingly clumsy, but enthusiastic. Constantly trembling, in equal parts horror and relief.

Ten is super soppy and gentle. Every movement is slow, like he’s pushing against the weight of his sins.

Eleven bites.

#yandere doctor who #yandere headcanons #male yandere #female yandere #not harry potter

[thiswasinevitableid]

76. it’s my birthday and you just fucking ruined my party and I don’t even know you

Danbrey, sfw or nsfw, please!

Here you go! I went SFW on this one

“Wow, dude, this is so fancy.” Jake takes in the dining room of Yosemite Lodge, “look, napkins!”

“Jake, we have cloth napkins back home.” Dani smiles fondly; while she’s more interested in the location and the decor, she agrees with her brothers overall enthusiasm.

The rest of Amnesty Lodge, where Dani lives and works, pooled their resources to surprise her with a weekend trip to Yosemite for her twenty-fifth birthday. She would have been happy camping, but they even went to the trouble of booking rooms in the main lodge and scheduling her a birthday dinner in the restaurant that looks out onto the valley.

Mama whistles at the menu from her seat at the head of the table, “damn, this is a good lookin dinner.”

Dani picks up the single sheet of paper, the silver writing informing her the meal with consist of a summer salad, shrimp scampie, and a strawberry rhubarb tart for dessert. When she glances across the table, Barclay is smiling down into his water glass.

“Oh my god, did you request a specific menu just for me?”

Her friend nods, blushing a little, “Head chef is an old friend from my line cook days.”

“Aw, you guys.” She sips the fancy cider Barclay ordered for the table, “you didn’t have to do all this.”

“You ain’t had a real party in years; seemed time to fix that.” Mama’s about to say something else when the fire alarm blares through the room and a server asks that everyone please exit through the side doors into the courtyard.

“Probably just a false alarm.” Barclay leans against a decorative rock.

“Uh, dudes? I smell smoke.”

Dani cranes her neck, tracks the path of the curling smoke through the lights from the windows to the main meeting room on the bottom floor of the hotel. A woman about her age, dressed entirely in red and black with, “The Lady Flame” emblazoned on her sparkly jacket, is talking and gesturing rapidly with disgruntled staff.

Two minutes later, the same woman steps onto the lawn with a sheepish smile.

“Hi everyone! It’s safe to go back in now. I, um, there was a tiny accident with some flashpaper. I think. Anyway, point is, I’m super sorry and there’s no more fire so please come enjoy my show. Oh, but, um, we have to move to the dining room due to some, um, ash.”

Just as she says this, one of the servers whispers in Barclays ear.

“Fuck. Sorry gang, sounds like we gotta postpone until tomorrow; whatever party booked ms fireball over there is gonna take up the whole restaurant.”

Dani sighs, resigning herself to a night of vending machine dinner as they head back inside. Then a hand settles on her arm and she’s locking eyes with the person who just ruined her evening.

“Hey, I always ask the cutest girl in the audience to be my assistant for the next bit. Do you want to-”

She pulls her arm away, “Yeah, hard pass, I’m not in whatever group decided to book you. I’m the person who’s birthday is getting turfed for your party.”

The magician cringes, “EEsh, I’m so sorry, I’ll, um, I’ll just.” She steps back, eyes glued to her black boots. As Dani continues into the lodge, she swears she hears the same voice go, “aw beans.”

---------------------------------------------------------

The spring sunshine feels perfect, the breeze is gentle, and there are literal bluebirds calling around her. Dani feels like a dang disney princess as she naps on a rock near one of the meadows.

Something--a chipmunk, she assumes--munches the grass below her.

“Dr Harris Bonkers, no! This is a national park and I’m not letting my only son go to jail for vandalism.”

Dani rolls onto her side in time to see the magician from last night scooping a massive, orange rabbit from the ground. When she straightens enough to notice she’s not alone, the woman freezes.

“Um. Hi. Again.”

“Hi.” Not feeling like rehashing last night, she studies the rabbit, “should he really be running around out here?”

“Not even remotely. He was supposed to stay in my room, but he gnawed his way out of his carrier, hopped onto the windowsill, and decided to bounce when he saw all the plants out here.” She cautiously sits on the edge of the rock, rabbit in her lap, “I really am sorry about last night. I never used to have problems during my shows, but lately it’s like my flashpaper has a freaking mind of its own. I was kinda hoping it wouldn’t screw with anybody’s plans but mine.”

“It’s fine.” Dani shrugs, “we’re just going to do a dinner re-do tonight.”

The woman bites a matte black lip, “Could I, um, make it up to you?”

“How?”

“Well, it’s your birthday, right? You’re supposed to spend your birthday doing things you like, so I could, like, keep you company while you do them?”

It would be nice to have a hiking buddy. Mama is taking a well-deserved nap, Barclay is off for a swim, and Jake found some rock climbers to hang with. And while the Lady Flame looked good last night, today she’s downright gorgeous. The dyed-red streaks in her curly, black hair, the freckles, black shorts that make her butt look incredible, all of it adds up to someone Dani wouldn’t mind spending the day with.

“Do you have shoes you can hike in?”

She kicks up one leg, showing off her Doc Martens, “I once walked five miles in these with no problems.”

“Great. Let’s get the doctor” she rubs the rabbit’s ears, “somewhere safe and get on the trail.”

--------------------------------------------

The hike’s only three and a half miles, but it’s taking them a long time to complete it. Not because they’re slow, but because Aubrey (as the Lady Flame calls herself) keeps stopping to look at or point out any interesting thing that catches her eye. It’s adorable.

Dani likes when she points out plants, because then she can show off a little.

“Dang, you really know your plants.” Aubrey stoops to take a picture of some Scarlet Monkeyflower.

“I run the teaching garden out back of the Lodge. Uh, Amnesty Lodge, where I live, not this one.”

“Coooool. I keep thinking about making Dr. Harris Boners a little garden when I finally find a place to stay put for awhile, but everything is always about how to keep bunnies out of your garden.”

“I mean, they can really trash it if you’re not careful.”

“I believe it, Dr. Harris Bonkers can take out a whole patch of rug in, like, ten minutes.”

“Herbs would probably be okay, clover too. I guess it depends on how much space you have.”

“Probably not much” Aubrey holds out a hand to help her across a creek, “traveling magicians don’t make much.”

Their talk turns to Aubrey’s life on the road, and her various misadventures trying to transport a fifteen pound rabbit on public transit. When they reach the waterfall that marks the trails end, they slip off their shoes and socks to dip their feet in the nearby pond, shoulders touching as they compare notes on growing up in sometimes stressful family situations.

It’s well after lunchtime when they get back, so they sit in the meadow and split a bag of chips, shooing away several overly ambitious squirrels. Mama joins them for a bit, and Dani smiles when she notices how quickly the older woman takes to Aubrey. Mama can never turn down a stray.

Dani’s already scheming for how to spend the last day of her vacation with Aubrey when the magician turns down her invitation to dinner. She’s a little disappointed, but Aubrey promises she’ll see her later.

Her birthday dinner redux is halfway into its second course when the lights at the front of the room brighten and the ones above her dim.

“And now, as an added, surprise treat for this evening's meal, the magnificent Lady Flame is here to dazzle you all with her astounding feats of magic!” The server at the edge of the room gives a thumbs up and Aubrey bounds into view, smile glittering brighter than her outfit.

To Dani’s delight, Aubrey is an amazing magician; her tricks are interesting, her patter is the same funny, energetic pace that their conversations were this afternoon, and her assistant is adorable. When she declares she needs a volunteer for her next trick, she’s holding her hand out to Dani before anyone else can raise theirs.

The trick turns out to be picking cards and showing them to the audience, though Dani notices Aubrey devotes as much sleight of hand to brushing their fingers together as she does to her act.

“And now, esteemed audience, I will produce a flower from my lovely assistant's hair!”

Dani smiles, then claps along with everyone else as Aubrey produces a spring of Larkspur from thin air. Literally, Dani cannot for the life of her tell where she was hiding it. Or how she was able to get what Dani said was her favorite flower on such short notice.

Aubrey finishes up her act (and doesn’t set anything on fire) to thunderous applause, and Dani spots Mama leaning over to whisper something to Barclay, who nods thoughtfully. It’s only after the magician has taken her last bow that Dani has a horrible realization; Aubrey went to all that trouble to make her birthday dinner memorable, and she didn’t get to eat any of it.

Her white sandals sink into the carpet as she carries a plate down to Aubrey’s room. When her new friend opens the door, she’s between worlds; sparkly jacket on top, red pajama pants on the bottom.

“I brought you some cake. Or, uh, I guess it’s a tart.” She holds out the plate and Aubrey takes it, cheeks going pink, “since you didn’t get the rest of the dinner.”

“Thanks” Aubrey steps back so Dani can join her in the room, “it’s chill that I didn’t get to join you all; I wanted to make up for ruining your dinner last night.”

“You already did way more than that. Aubrey, this was the nicest day I’ve had in months, and most of that is because I got to spend it with you.”

“I dunno, feel weird getting cake from a thing I crashed.” Aubrey is fidgeting with her bracelets, blushing harder every time she looks up and finds Dani still smiling at her.

“Can I give you something else instead?” Dani takes a half-step forward.

“Sure! What-” Aubrey’s words fade into a little sigh as Dani wraps her arms over her shoulders. Then her back bumps into the nightstand as Aubrey throws herself into a kiss.

“Hey” Dani teases, nibbling her ear as Aubrey holds her tighter, “you messed up my big reveal.”

“Aw dang, guess I’ll have to make it up to you.” Aubrey slips her hands down to the small of her back, “how does even more making out sound?”

Dani pulls her towards the bed, heart buzzing with warmth at the sight of her smile and the touch of her hands, “like the best birthday gift ever.”

#danbrey #aubrey little/dani #taz amnesty #meet ugly

[woodchoc-magnum]

L0ne St@r 2x12 Hate Watch

DO NOT REBLOG THIS ONE - thanks, I’m trying to fly under the radar with my negative opinions here

Usual disclaimer, and I mean it this time: If you watch and love this show, that’s great and I hope you continue to enjoy it. Please don’t read this - simply go about having a lovely day.

If you do love this show and T*rlos and are braving this anyway - do not come in here. I mean it. This is not a T*rlos friendly zone. I do not ship it. Please enjoy your ship in peace and harmony. I have no intention of getting into arguments with anyone, I will simply ignore you.

I have done everything I can to avoid this showing up in the tags, whatever the LS tags are. Don’t send me hate on anon because I’ll delete them; I don’t care if you think I should stop watching the show, I’m not gonna. I like to suffer.

Eddie Diaz for calm and strength and to centre ourselves:

Hate, as always, under the cut:

Let's do this fucking thing, I've heard bad things about this episode

And I already know I'm wrong about the arsonist which is ANNOYING but maybe also too obvious so that's okay, I also know who the arsonist is and all the main plot points but I’ve still got to watch it to really appreciate the subtle nuances of the episode:

Oooh Billy

I ship it

Billwen for the win

This show is so dumb

Billy is smarter than Owen, maybe he should be the captain of the 126

I miss his lightning scars though

He's TWO HOURS LATER FOR DINNER

TK is looking as bland as always

They seriously waited for two fucking hours for this guy

Maybe should've put some deodorant on before going to dinner there Owen

You know I can't imagine the OG doing a storyline as dumb as this

So Carlos' dad thinks it's someone who works at the 126 or just a firefighter in general?

Well gosh darn it, it looks like Owen fits that profile exactly!

At least we get some Judd early in the episode and I love him

Angela Bassett is executive producer on this show as well? I hope she gets paid cash money for this

Billy is the red herring and I fell right into their trap

I just really wanted it to be him

Ooh Grace was listening

Oh it's 100% the arson investigator and Billy is 100% turning Owen in, I love him

Billy is amazing

He's my favourite character on this show

I hope he's not working with Owen to get the arson investigator? I hope he's actually this devious

I want him to be THIS DEVIOUS

Why the fuck does Owen wear that hoodie everywhere

TK is now having a little bitch fit

"they can't do that, can they?" he asks in a monotone, his face blank and devoid of expression

TK's real real dumb

Oh ho ho is this the shoving scene

IT IS

God Ronen CANNOT ACT

Okay so while I think it is wildly unbelievable that they would send TK's boyfriend to tell him that his father had been arrested by HIS father – it seems like a conflict – I would like to say that Carlos is being calm and reasonable

And TK is acting like a little BITCH

This is escalating quickly

Oh TK you so dumb

THE SHOVING

Wow

FOUR TIMES

Wow

Your fave is problematic, yo

Carlos deserves better than this whiny little piece of shit

And now, an interlude while I rant:

Let's talk about how Eddie Diaz yelled at Buck once in a supermarket and the fandom has never forgotten it; how his character has been villainised despite everything else going on in the show at the time, for that one fucking scene – let's talk about all the fics where Eddie hits Buck, or punches him, or rapes him – because you know those fics exist – let's talk about the "Eddie is violent" narrative that parts of this fandom like to push because Eddie yelled at Buck, one time, once, in a supermarket

Totally ignoring the fact that at no point at all, in any other episode he’s been in, has he been violent towards Buck, at all - let’s talk about how the street fighting arc was out of character for Eddie, because he was struggling to cope and looking for an outlet - let’s talk about how Buck and Eddie moved past that whole storyline and strengthened their relationship; how they built a family together, how they’re a team and they have each other’s backs no matter what, and how, not once in the entire show, have they ever been violent towards each other or pushed each other around in anger - NOT ONCE.

And let's talk about this scene, where TK, ya boy, ya sweet tender boy, just shoved the man he says he loved four times, violently, in front of people at the firehouse.

I betcha any money he doesn’t get tarnished with the Eddie-Diaz-is-violent brush, because he can do no wrong. He’s the fan favourite, and this is totally glossed over by the end of the episode and nothing will ever be said about it ever again.

Because wow, you guys. Wow. If this was my ship, I’d be pissed.

Back to the hate watch:

And I know that whole fight is for nothing because I know the plot twist – I know that the dads are working together in order to reveal the real arsonist, the investigator – so they've basically turned their children, who are in a relationship, against each other?

Also why is Billy allowed to be watching the interview?

Goddamn do we really have to show the gruesome burn victim photos

I really want Billy to be devious by the way, and not in on the plan

Oh here comes TK, looking like the little bitch he is

God he's a fucking awful actor

This is the dumbest plotline ever

Equating OWEN STRAND WITH THOR? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?

BLASPHEMY

THOR IS THE GOD OF THUNDER

OWEN IS A DUMBASS

THE TWO ARE NOT EQUAL

Uh oh here comes the evil investigator

Do either of these men – Owen and Carlos' dad – stop to consider that what they're doing has kind of an impact on their children, who are currently in a relationship? No? Okay

Because this is one hell of an awkward situation

Does Owen genuinely think that Billy is the arsonist?

Interesting that the arson investigator wants any info Owen didn't give Carlos' dad, and he turned off the cameras/mics etc

This show is stupid

Arson investigator also knows that the sons are dating, interesting

"And you can pound sand!" oooh great comeback Owen

This episode is so BORING OMG

Why the fuck am I watching a shitty Law & Order knock-off when I should be watching a bonkers 911 episode

Oh no Judd's at Billy's

I really do think Billy Burke is good looking and it is a flaw of mine, I don't know what it is about him and he really doesn't look that good in this show but I really love Billy Burke okay

And I WANT HIM TO BE DEVIOUS

Oh Judd

Oh Judd thinks Billy is the arsonist

See this is why YOU DON'T LIE TO THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU

Oh he punched him

God damn everyone is violent in this show

Judddddddddddddd

Uh oh here comes trouble to the "vagrant's" hospital room

Oh it's the arson investigator, their little bluff worked, incredible, amazing, flawless etc

Wow how amazing

It was the ol' switcheroo

Judd punched Billy for nothing

TK and Carlos nearly came to blows for nothing

Now Owen is allowed to watch the interrogation? They'll just let anyone watch those things these days

OH MAN ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT BILLY WAS IN ON IT WITH OWEN THE WHOLE TIME?

Damn it I wanted DEVIOUS god damn it

Fucking cowards

"I assumed it was probably a trap at the hospital which is why I went there anywhere"

But why is he lighting fires

A FEW MONTHS?

A man is dead

Pure theatre

So annoyed that Billy isn't devious

But the Billwen ship sails on, clowns 🤡

Do we think the arsonist has the hots for Owen? 100% yes, right?

He's very happy to see him wink wonk

This doesn't even feel like an episode of 911, it's so goddamn dumb

"I knew you had darkness in you too" – that dude definitely wants to fuck him

Why is he lighting the fires?

They're so dumb

"And now I'm going to repay the favour" – he's talking about YOUR SONS

WHO HE KNOWS ARE TOGETHER

Wow these two dumbasses really have no fucking idea do they

OH HE'S BURNING HIMSELF ALIVE

Wow this is graphic

What the fuck is up with this show and the horribly graphic scenes lately?

That dude is dead yo

"Take away everything that's important to me" AND HE CALLS THE FIREHOUSE FIRST

THE FIREHOUSE IS THE FIRST FUCKING CALL???

Oh okay it did blow up and TK was there so I'll allow it

But hey look on the bright side – Owen gets to remodel again!

And isn't that what he's the best at?

Yo your firehouse is on fire dudes, better call the fire department

Does Judd apologise to Billy or no

Oh here we have TK and Carlos and their perfect love

And Carlos is the one apologising?

No.

Please tell me no

Carlos you are allowed to be pissed at him – ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME

"nobody has to apologise?"

YOUR BOYFRIEND PUSHED YOU AROUND

Oh my god

Wow

Okay.

Look I'm just saying that to me this would be a GIGANTIC RED FLAG but wtf do I know

I'm just saying because I have to – if Carlos was a woman and TK did that? Whole different story gang

Whole completely different mother-fucking story

This show, wow

Wow.

Wow. This is bad.

Domestic violence happens to men too, just saying.

Wow I'm so annoyed that I've paused it to type furiously and rant that wow, they're just not acknowledging that TK was totally out of line? Okay. Wow.

And everyone's just fine with it?

Oh they're just figuring out that he set more than one fire

Maybe there's something else you care about other than the firehouse, Owen

Maybe?

BILLY IS THE ONE WHO FIGURES IT OUT

See this is why Billy is the best

Oh no TK and Carlos are in danger

Oh it's so romantic isn't it? They're gonna fuck now that everything is okay

Wow he left a lot of bombs in Carlos' house

Damn Carlos is hot

No smoke alarms?

That fire has really taken ahold there guys

I'm gonna assume you do have smoke alarms and he disconnected them

Wow he really covered all bases didn't he

Put the bombs in the bedroom as well

RIP Carlos' nice house

"I love you too" after I violently shoved you around today

Oh who needs a fucking fire department when you've got Owen fucking Strand right?

"Carlos" he says flatly. "How are you doing?" he asks in a monotone

"I should've had an extinguisher in the bedroom" DUDE NO ONE DOES

And if TK wanted one in there, he's the fucking firefighter, he should've checked when he moved in instead of assuming like a dumbass

God this show is dumb as fuck and I hate it so much

Billwen for the win

"just a couple of crap magnets" fucking a-men Judd

This show sucks

Oh no TOMMY OH NO

WHAT'S HAPPENING

OH MY GOD

WHAT THE FUCK

What the fuck

Is he dead?

TAKE OWEN AND TK INSTEAD

I’m going to say one more thing about this T*rlos storyline - if they’d done this to Buck & Eddie in the OG, I’d be fucking devastated. Like... if Buck or Eddie pushed the other around the way TK pushed Carlos around, I’d be absolutely gutted. It’s really horrible that they went down that path - whether it’s OOC or not, and you can probably argue that it is - they shouldn’t have included the scene like that in the show. 

It just raises a whole slew of questions, like... is TK violent? Is Carlos used to being pushed around in relationships? Is the show saying that it’s okay that they got a little physical because they’re both men? Domestic violence is never okay, and this is kind of... saying that it is, in certain circumstances?

That is problematic as fuck and such bad writing.

These two are in a relationship where they are living together and supposedly love each other, and this is how the writers choose to portray it? If you’re a T*rlos shipper and you’re upset about this episode, I get it. It’s really fucking terrible that they included that scene - and I would bet cold hard cash it’ll never be addressed again.

This is why LS is a bad show. It’s shitty writing. Shitty storylines. Characters who are interesting are shoved into the background and glossed over in favour of the male white characters. The OG doesn’t have this problem - for everyone complaining that Eddie hasn’t been featured as much this season (and yeah, I hate it too) - you can’t complain that the characters of colour don’t get equal screentime. 

With LS - it’s the Rob Lowe show, and everyone else is just in the background. And that’s why it’s so frustrating to watch - they have a great cast, and this could be a really good show, but it’s just not.

Do you think the LS writers patted themselves on the back after this arc and were like, "yeah we nailed it, we're amazing?"

This episode is -1,000000/10. This show should be cancelled.

Two god awful miserable fucking episodes to go.

Diaz to cleanse:

#DO NOT REBLOG #lone star hate watch #enter at your own risk

[morgana-ren]

Ah fucked upness in fics. I work in a library, I'm single and my list of kinks (in fiction at least) has earned me several concerned comments from a couple of friends! I didn't even think they were that bad! Stuff like captivity and starvation, extreme petplay and humiliation, forced prostitution, forced breeding, any kind of noncon really, branding, bone breaking. Then all the psychological torture like isolation and mind games, bargaining 'on your knees for me and you'll get water today', random beatings threatening of family/friends. Just love it all! (In fiction, I'm stressing again for all those weirdo purists reading this!)

It's hard to find fics that go as dark as I like, I try write my own but I can never get that feeling of hopelessness and viciousness right!

Oh! All of those! A+ absolute A+! God I love that whole fucked up dynamic. Especially that "You will love me, even if it breaks you." bit. Especially the bargaining bit. Goddamn, that fuckin' thang got me goin' wild. I go nuts for all of it honestly, every thing you said. Got me goin bonkers like

"You'd like to eat today, wouldn't you? I just know you would. I've even got a little snack for you right here. Would you like it?"

"Yes."

"You know what you need to do. Come on now, do it."

"I don't want to."

"You want to eat, don't you? It'd be a shame for me to have to crush it again. Watching you lick the crumbs off the floor was so pathetic. Be a good girl and do what you're told and I'll make you happy, I promise."

"It's embarrassing and cruel! I don't want to!"

"More embarrassing than crying and sniveling for hours in this disgusting little cell? I can hear you, you know. Even when you try to stifle your cries. It's almost cute. I don’t want to have to hurt you again. You don’t want that either, do you, baby?"

"...You promise you'll give me the food this time?"

"If you say it right. Come crawl in my lap, just like that."

"I'm sorry that I’m a disobedient, rude little bitch. Thank you for being patient with me and taking care of me even though I don’t deserve it. I- I love you, daddy. I’ll make it up to you.”

“Hmm... You can do better than that, but it’s okay I guess. If you really want the food, why don’t you show me how much you mean it?” 

“But you promised!” 

“Last I checked, you don’t make the fucking rules. I do. Get on your knees before I get angry. I’ll feed you, alright.”

I straight up go wild, dude. I love the dark shit because I love the thought of someone being so fucking wild and crazy for me that they lose their bafuckin’ mind. They know it’s wrong and they don’t really care! All that matters is they have me. Love it. Just love it. 

You’re not alone! Not even remotely! And don’t let people judge you for it! We should all analyze our kinks and try to be happy and healthy but as long as you’re safe and take care of yourself in the real world, I don’t see a problem! 

I don’t know if I can get the level of viciousness right for you (I always want them to have a soft spot for me in the end, like they’re not willing to kill me or usually share, like I gotta mean something or it loses the appeal.) If I’m replaceable, what’s the point? But I’d be happy to try! 

#Morgana and friends #nsft #b o n k e r s #love it so much #You can replace daddy with whatever it's just the first one that comes to mind

[aromanticbuck]

One Chicago of course!

otp

Moustead. They’ve taken over my entire body at this point those boys own me.

favourite canon pairing

really torn here between Upstead and Stellaride. they’re tied. they both have rights. they deserve the world.

worst pairing ever

manstead. garbage ship. no disrespect to people who do ship it, but it’s a big no go for me

guilty pleasure pairing

Sevasey. I care they. I just want them to be happy.

a pairing you want to see more

I know I just started Fire s8 like... yesterday, or something, but I love Violet and Gallo. I know I’m going to get more of them as I keep watching but what if I want more now???

that pairing everyone likes but you’re like “lol no”

...can I say Manstead again? that’s the only popular pairing that I just. I don’t like it. I don’t care for it. every other ship I’m like “yeah, if you’re happy, go bonkers” even the unpopular ones I’m just. no! stop it!

favorite non-romantic pair

Will and Stevie no, I’m gonna change it up. Mouse and Platt. “Alex, they only have like 3 scenes together over the course of 3 seasons” I don’t care! one day I’ll write my character study about Mouse’s mommy issues and we can all cry about Platt adopting everyone at the 21st as her kids!

[ put a fandom in my ask ]

#answered #anon #alex says things #one chicago #cmed #chicago med #cpd #chicago pd #cfire #chicago fire

[radramblog]

AFR Precon Commanders

Look I literally did this last week, but also, I haven’t really thought about Magic since then, so I don’t have any particular ideas about what to write other than just another long list of cards. I had an idea for an Ebondeath dech tech, but I’m going to put that on the backburner for a day where I have a bit more time.

Besides, there’s a reason Set Reviews and the like are so popular among players. They’re fun to make, and they’re fun to read/listen/watch. And for whatever reason, WoTC has opted to give us effectively two full Commander sets this year, with AFC having just as many precons and almost as many new Commanders as the 2016 precon offering. So there’s a lot going on, and a lot to talk about.

With only 12 new cards to talk about this time, and them being actually designed for the format, I’ll try to spend a bit longer on each one. And the first one is….

Catti-brie of Mithral Hall

There’s a lot going on here for two mana. Catti-brie is Selesnya’s second Equipment Commander, with her compatriot Nazahn being a bunch more impact, but also triple the mana cost. This is besides the part where Nazahn is not that good outside of finding his absolutely bonkers hammer.

I think Catti-brie has a lot of potential. With the right build, she can get very large very quickly, and considering she costs two whole mana, that’s fairly impressive. With no ramp and just Grafted Wargear, she’s swinging for 6 commander damage turn 3, and only getting bigger from there- literally a 3-swing clock with the extra counters.

I literally cannot envision you ever using that last ability unless someone snipes her mid-combat. But you probably don’t need it? I like her either way. Bit awkward she releases the same day as fellow two mana Selesnya Commander that gets bigger for (deckbuild mechanic), Trelassara.

 Galea, Kindler of Hope

…eh?

Okay, so it Future Sights, but only for Auras/Equips, and it gets the Sigarda’s Aid ability for Equipment, which is kind of gross- you get the card and mana advantage at the same time there. As someone with a Gruul topdeck deck, I know that Green doesn’t really offer much to that pie, but I know Blue absolutely does- not gonna be super hard to manipulate and chuck the swords you want on top of the deck.

But like…eh? This commander doesn’t excite me. They’re obviously powerful, but I just don’t care that much. There’s nothing they do that other things don’t, you know? Bant already has topdeck in Amareth, Auras in the three commanders from the Bant Enchantress deck, and arguably Voltron in Rafiq. I guess this is Bant equipment, but…Rafiq………..

 Karazikar, Eye Tyrant

Goad is such a fun mechanic, and I’m so happy to see it every time. Not only does this basically Edric in Rakdos, it also helps you force the issue? Yeah okay, that’s a solid commander. 5 mana is awkward, especially since they can’t really swing in safely themselves that often. With that in mind, the tap ability is deceptively strong, especially combined with, say, Menace.

There are currently 372 Kardur, Doomscourge decks, which is way, WAY more than I expected. I’d imagine a lot of those are switching to Karazikar, considering it’s basically the same but better. Not that I ever really care for “just better” cards, but not everyone sees things the same way I do.

 Klauth, Unrivaled Ancient

What if we made Savage Ventmaw a legend? Okay, cool, but also we fixed it so you can’t go infinite. Wait no stop don’t put Ventmaw in the deck anyway noooooo-

Whoever decided this should have Haste deserves a raise, as the card would be nigh-unusable without it. As it is, this is going to basically let you doublespell constantly, especially if that first one has Haste. Ramp, Beaters, and X-Spells are going to abound. It’s hardly the most unique Gruul commander- Radha 2 exists, after all- but it’s still a solid one.

 Lorcan, Warlock Collector

I think I’ve played D&D with this guy before.

Lorcan is basically Grave Betrayal in the zone. Upside: Grave Betrayal is a bonkers card, and this doesn’t have the end step clause. Downside: 7 mana in the zone is huge, and the life cost will add up very quickly. Upside: Unironically the exile clause is good, since it means you get to effectively grave-hate with this guy. Downside: some good cards, like Marshland Bloodcaster, are Warlocks, and you don’t want to be exiling your own things.

Lorcan is probably a very fun commander, because Grave Betrayal is fun and cool. It’s probably not actually a very good one. I like it in the 99, though? Might pick one up for Gonti.

 Minn, Wily Illusionist

Okay I don’t care if this card is good it’s so fucking cool. Finally, Illusion Tribal! Get out your Krovikan Mists and Lords of the Unreal! Blue has no trouble drawing extra cards, even on your opponent’s turns, so she’s going to be pumping out a bunch of these tokens.

Oh, also that second ability is bonkers. It doesn’t say nonland, you can ramp with this! Very solid for a more permanent-based Blue deck. There are also just a bunch of random Illusions that this greatly benefits- Murmuring Mystic and Mordenkainen and Meloku all make tokens, and Draining Whelk and Fathom Seer have the type. Not a huge number of sacrifice outlets, but Drowned Rusalka is probably the best it has ever been here. Very interesting card.

 Nihiloor

Mx steal-yo-girl here is certainly a unique effect, but not the most interesting one. The second effect benefits Theft tribal, but not, like, well? Though I suppose ganking creatures is a strong enough effect already.

And yet, on this one it’s really awkward? Esper isn’t known for bigboy creatures, but that’s something this deck wants, apparently. It has a lot of potential, but also, there’s a huge amount of setup and a huge potential to get blown out, since blowing them up gives all opponents their guys back immediately. I like what they were trying to do here, but it’s a tad naff.

Prosper, Tome-Bound

Ah yes, the one everyone’s hyped about. And for fair reason, this card is cool as fuck. It’s a unique effect in the colour, and it’s both card advantage and ramp in one card, and it’s in Rakdos of all combinations? Also, it’s a Tiefling, so surely people are horny for him. There’s a good reason this is the most popular commander from the set, including the main set cards.

This is not the only cast-from-exile matters commander in existence- Laelia came out this year too, but she’s weaker and also not black. The extra colour adds a bunch more to this- theft effects mostly, but also more Cascade cards like Bituminous Blast, things like Dream Devourer, and fucking Valki babyyyy. Add in the black Artifact synergy and you’ve got a both flexible and powerful general.

 Sefris of the Hidden Ways

This is probably the only commander that’s going to see any play with the Venture mechanic, so get it while it’s hot. “From anywhere” is a huge line of text, and I suspect Syr Konrad is going to find his way into a lot of Sefris decks.

I’m sure there’s a combo this can do or something, but at the end of the day: Do you like the dungeon mechanic? If so, you’ll probably like this card. If not, you probably won’t. Also, since they are surely not going to make more Dungeon cards any time soon, and maybe never again, this deck is going to look very the same for a very long time.

 Stormvald, Frost Giant Jarl

Sheesh, Bant kinda lost out on this one. Storvald is so incredibly eh.

Ward 3 is, like, juuust on the edge of not really doing that much, where it makes removal cost 4-5, so it’s awkward, but you’re still going to do it if the target is threatening enough. What I’m saying is that it isn’t actually an especially good protective ability on your 7-drop, even if you are in Green.

Making creatures big is decent enough- I’m of the opinion that Gigantomancer is an underrated card, and this gives more colours for things to embiggen. Making things small is slightly less relevant, especially since your 7/7 commander and beater are likely to be crunching through most things anyway. The card is fine, but unexciting.

I like Bant well enough as a colour combination, but like, none of the commanders are my jam. Maybe one day.

 Vrondiss, Rage of Ancients

Iiinteresting. Look, let’s not beat around the bush, dice-rolling isn’t really a thing unless you’re silver bordered- yeah you could get a few of the better things in there, but you’re probably better off just playing ping effects. Pyrohemia this fucker up.

Enrage was a funky mechanic that didn’t actually get a commander, aside from just the Dino tribal ones. But now we have a proper one, and they’re a Dragon to boot. Also, this is probably the easiest its ever been to generate a bunch of Dragon tokens, so getting triggers from them is real easy, even if they are one-shot-pops. Keep in mind that doesn’t say Combat Damage, so Scourge of Valkas and Dragon Tempest are kind of a nonbo.

Gruul obviously already has Dragon Tribal options, but this is still a good thing to have around.

 Wulfgar of Icewind Dale

WoTC apparently decided to throw everyone a curveball on this one. Because from my recollection, everyone on r/custommagic assumed we’d get this effect at some point, now that technology like Panharmonicon exists, but they and I assumed it would be, you know, Boros. The colour combo that probably needs it more. Gruul, really? Come on Gavin, you’re a great dude but what the fuck is this.

Sigh. That’s not especially fair.

This combos with like half a dozen things to make mana and probably triple that to make damage. And there’s surely ways to draw cards, and blow things up, et cetera, et cetera. I’m just salty. This isn’t the note I wanted to go out on!

Fuck it, at least you can still double a Drakuseth trigger. But my Aurelia……..

#ramble #adventures in the forgotten realms #mtg #commander #edh #mtgafr

[allthefilmsiveseenforfree]

What Lies Beneath

So my wife is incredibly supportive of my movie-watching goals. She helped me set up my blog and my Patreon, she was my very first patron, and she watches at least half the movies with me. As my patron, she has the right to request one movie per calendar year for me to review just for her. But sometimes she tries to skirt the rules by insinuating, nay, cajoling nonstop in her goal for me to watch a movie she wants me to see without it counting as her “official” selection. And because I love her, I (sometimes) allow it. Such was the case with What Lies Beneath, a twisty psychological haunted house thriller that stars two middle-aged, serious actors (Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer), and that I shockingly wasn’t lining up at the megaplex for when I was 13. What did my preteen self miss? Well...

A fucking GREAT movie is what I missed. I won’t sugarcoat it - this was a huge surprise in the best way. I won’t spoil the ending at all, because this is one film I think you really need to watch unfold for the first time without knowing exactly what’s going on. Basically, Claire and Norman Spencer are new empty-nesters, and in their gorgeous Vermont home all to themselves, strange things start happening. Is it something to do with the mysterious new neighbors? Or maybe some past traumas that are dug up over the course of the movie? Could their house be actually haunted by some malevolent spirit? All of these are distinct, and delicious, possibilities, and it’s a hell of a lot of fun figuring out what exactly is going on.

Some thoughts:

A VERY GOOD DOG at the very beginning! I was so concerned for the dog at a few points in the film, but the dog (Cooper) is absolutely fine and remains happy and carefree all the way to the end of the film. 

I have always had a thing for Harrison Ford, and that is not diminishing at all as I watch him shirtless in bed while writing a paper about science. Unf.

Very into the way this exposition is handled - Claire (Pfeiffer) missing her daughter and finding the Julliard tank top in her dresser, then looking through photo albums where we see the daughter wearing it, then see Claire studying at Julliard, then see HER wearing the tank top, plus some articles about Norman’s father dying and photos from a car accident in which I think her first husband died. It’s all tiny pieces of exposition, just little bits of information that you, the viewer, have to put together and remember, and I love that. 

Don’t love Norman (Ford) gaslighting her about what to do about the neighbors. If you mind your own business and never reach out when people sound like they need help, that’s how people get hurt. Makes me think he has something to hide or maybe some kind of connection to the neighbors?

Loving the Rear Window vibes of spying on the neighbors, thinking you’ve witnessed a murder, complete with binocular surveillance.

There’s a lot of wind in this movie. Wind is basically like another character.

The layering of dialogue - Norman and his friend are talking about a colleague who got fired for stalking an intern, and Claire and her old friend are catching up. The two conversations are overlapping, and I think they’re both important but we’re so wrapped up in Claire and her friend that that stalking conversation gets buried. This is really well-thought-out character development and building of backstory and motivation. I haven’t watched a movie this skillfully thought out in quite awhile.

I hate the way Norman diminishes her. Like he’s charming and he’s Harrison Ford, but he kind of implies that she’s hysterical or silly for the things she’s been experiencing, and laughs at her expense. 

She didn’t say goodbye after playing with the Ouija board. ROOKIE MISTAKE, everything that happens afterward is clearly a result of poor Ouija etiquette. 

Oh interesting, so she was in a terrible car accident a year ago, which is part of why everyone is worried about her mental state and fragility. We don’t discover this until HALFWAY THROUGH THE FILM. This is storytelling like prestige television does it, and it’s so unusual to see in a film now that it keeps bowling me over. 

Their water bill is gonna be sky high after this. These completely full tubs? The rates are astronomical.

Oh no things have escalated so quickly - I feel like I’m trying to outsmart the twist at every turn and I can’t quite grasp it, which is good because I actually think this is an incredibly plotted movie that’s so purposefully and carefully crafted. I can’t help but feel that we are missing so much now, because we just don’t get mid-level budget domestic dramas with A-list actors like this anymore. I think their era might have completely passed, and that’s a damn shame because the nuance and care here makes this such a delightful and surprising ride to take.

A huge part of that is Ford and Pfeiffer just absolutely nailing how they play every single scene. Their chemistry is great, and watching them play off each other, you can sense all the layers of their relationship, all the past traumas and the lies and the reconciliations. 

He says “I know you’re going through something I don’t understand and I’ve tried to be there for you” but like...have you, Norman? You’re always working, you shut her down every time she wants to talk. 

The brilliance here is that you don’t know if something supernatural is actually going on or if there’s a rational explanation, and I’m so here for the ambiguity. We simply don’t get enough ambiguity (that’s purposeful) in mainstream Hollywood films anymore. It’s all in the indies, which are great, don’t get me wrong! But I want more audiences to see how it could be done.  

I know I just keep going on about it but every new scene reveals a detail that feeds into the overarching mystery in such a natural way. For example, this NICE callback to the key, which I had totally forgotten about. This honestly is a fantastic slow burn of a film, really well done. 

I’m so enjoying Harrison Ford using his charm and his looks and his general Harrison Ford-ness to play a not very nice guy. He’s not a lovable rogue like Han Solo or a stubborn adventurer with a heart of gold like Indiana Jones, he’s just a guy who thinks he deserves to have what he wants at any cost. He’s worked hard, he’s a “good guy” and he thinks that he’s entitled to have things go his way just because. 

Holy shit the symmetry with the first scene of the film to the big climax - that’s just some damn good writing, that is. 

I’m so pleased that there’s no music at all during this final sequence - the score had been a bit overbearing at times, but this eerie silence with just the water running is, frankly, terrifying.

One slight critique - the movie has almost as many endings as Lord of the Rings. You think it’s done, and then there’s another whole section that you think is gonna be the last, and then everything’s underwater again and it’s STILL NOT DONE. But in a good way, I didn’t get nearly as pissed as I do at the end of LOTR. 

Holy fucking shit, Clark Gregg wrote this?????? Agent Coulson Clark Gregg?? This is my absolute favorite bit of movie trivia I’ve learned all year. 

Did I Cry? No. 

I am never going to stop talking about this movie. Wife was right, and I will say it loudly and publicly - I am so glad she cajoled me into watching this film. If you haven’t seen it, watch it immediately. It’s smart, it’s well-paced, it keeps you guessing, and it boils over into an absolutely bonkers climax in the best way. I will be thinking about this for aaaages and missing the way movies outside of the “Disney/Pixar/Marvel vs. teeny independent Spirit Award winner” machine used to get made. 

If you liked this review, please consider reblogging or subscribing to my Patreon! For as low as $1, you can access bonus content and movie reviews, or even request that I review any movie of your choice.

#121in2021 #what lies beneath #what lies beneath review #harrison ford #michelle pfeiffer #clark gregg #movie reviews #film reviews

[secndlife]

omg i'm so sorry it has taken me so long to respond, i got lost in the sauce D:

ahhh brazil to poland sounds very drastic but also very cool (no pun intended)!!!

you deserve any and all love you receive for mmf!!! it's rly so good, i can't shut up abt it lol !

mingyu IS a malewife, i agree!! and omg plz, hoshi recording the spider mv drove me crazy lajdfalfja like SIR WATER U DOING but also, carry on :) or like in that christmas in august gose where he just sat there and watched...he's the moodmaker which is very important and necessary!

yesss after i read one last time, i read one and two small petals and that one hurt almost as bad :") i'll have to check out passion (flower), i have been slacking on reading fics lately :/

jeonghan rly is so versatile!! i love enemies to lovers fics, and he truly is one of my favorite members to have that dynamic w. you definitely made sense re: characterization! i have dabbled in writing fics and so i totally understand that. i think part of why i enjoy writing fics based off of real ppl/established characters is that it gives me a template of a character, but like you said, bc we only know part of who they rly are, it gives me a basis of where i could go/explore their personalities deeper. i feel like i just rambled so lmk if that doesn't make sense hahaha

ahhhh mmf2 i cannot WAIT i saw your post re: fights and tbh i love fights (HELP) so i'm vvvvv excited for it !!! also related to that. writing rly is hard lkadjfkldaf but that's why i commend you so much, it's not easy and on top of that, you do a pretty damn good job!

ugh gyucheol sometimes -_- they fight so much and also i want to fight them too, just put me in a ring w them and let's BRAWL (but now that you mention that they're both fire signs, this totally makes sense as i am also a fire sign LMAO)

okay so you mentioned gose, which episode or episodes are your favorites? are there any you'd want to be a part of as like a member/watch as like a live audience type thing?

i feel like we can't move on without asking what your fav title tracks are! top 5 fave tracks (can include b-sides)?

- 🍳

IT'S OKAAAAY i hope you're having some rest and taking care of yourself!!!!

ok lemme add a cut and we can continue

it was indeed very drastic tbh but i have no regrets !!! it's literally going to be two years tomorrow so WOW IT'S BEEN A RIDE.

plsssss 🥺🥺🥺🥺 it's almost at 1k notes that's absolutely insane for me like literally. bonkers luv ! it makes me super happy tho that people really like it 🥺

SOONYOUNG IS ABSOLUTELY INSANE I CAN'T WITH THAT did u see vernon saying something like that on his latest vlive THIS ONE and he's totally right soonyoung's role as mood maker is so important :/ my boy :/

one and two small petals was such a big deal to me i was so obsessed !!! passion (flower) you need to dm the author tho :/ they took it out but they were still sending links through dm hehe IT'S WORTH IT I PROMISE !!!!!!

pls e2l with jeonghan HITS DIFFERENT!! it's literally a dynamic i feel suits him sosososo much! and yes same like i have some perspective and something to roughly shape it but i can also "play" with it as i go and according to what suits me. AND YES ALL OF IT MADE SENSE AND I TOTALLY AGREE 🤝

THE FIGHT SCENEALKSDJAKLAD me the other day: no mmf couple doesn't fight. also me: writes a LONG LONG scene on them fighting. i'm excited tho bc i think it's a necessary scene that adds a lot to soonyoung's character and his vulnerability bc mc's shows more in mmf and now it will be a moment for Him you know.

OMGGGG A FIRE SIGNNNNN!!!! I LOVE FIRE SIGNS !!!!!!!!! WE'RE THE BEST PLS!!!!!!! i really really love gyucheol they're so fun i love them. my friend were writing me a poly gyucheol au where i'm their gf it would be a crazy dynamic aksdjaksjkf bc i'm literally like cheol so i think it'd be so fun

OMG GOSE i fucking LOVE the playground gose that one makes me so happy it's literally a serotonin boost. i also love the ttt ones i would love to be on the hiperrealism one bc i'm 100% sure soonyoung throws up from drinking when he goes upstairs so i would like to be there for confirmation !!! i also love bungee jump even tho i would never do it. and don't lie 1 and the tag !!!!!!! HBU???

ok this is HARD. but. uh! second life (WHO WOULD'VE KNOWN), home (i have a tattoo written "i'm your home" hehe), ah! love (they did it all for me there really), together (PLS THIS SONG MAKES ME SO HAPPY AND NOSTALGIC IT HITS DIFFERENT) and odihtd (this was one of the first svt songs i really really liked it). but this is so hard tho their discography is so good !!!! hbu share yours !

#🍳 anon

[luninosity]

Going through some older paperbacks, found my 1989 copy of Queen’s Gambit Declined by Melinda M. Snodgrass, decided to reread.

It inarguably reads like a slightly older fantasy - there’s that certain Epic Fantasy Style of the 1980s, definitely not contemporary - and I don’t know if I’d say it’s good exactly (entertaining, yes! OH GOD YES) but I would highly suggest you all find a copy, just because:

I had forgotten 1) how absolutely bonkers crazy this book and the entire plot is (like...what even. WHAT EVEN. Have you ever wanted a historical fantasy (or “anti-fantasy,” as the intro calls it) in which a young William of Orange (yes, the historical one) has magical powers and fights Cardinal Mazarin to save the world while flirting with basically everyone? also there’s sex-activated magic? and like...horse shapeshifter magic?? and a Sexy Northern Swordsman? and guest appearances from the King of France, the Duke of Buckingham, and Baruch Spinoza, to name only a few? all set to a backdrop of mysticism drawn straight from Robert Graves’ The White Goddess, which also provides all the chapter opening quotes? have you ever wanted all that? WELL HERE IT IS, PLUS MORE.)

and

2) how incredibly thirstily bisexual this book is. Like...every. single. main character. is the epitome of Disaster Bi. On pretty much every page. I’ll try to take a couple of pictures of some of the best moments, but just know that this book includes:

-a meet-cute in which Haakon (the previously mentioned Sexy Northern Swordsman) tries to cheat William (the Prince) at cards, William catches him in the act, and then they are so mutually impressed by each other that they save each other from a shipwreck while doing Cute Banter over who owes who more

-ONLY ONE BED AT THE INN. WHEN THEY’VE JUST ESCAPED THE SHIPWRECK. (bonus points for, in the words of the novel: “the prince was not having a restful night.”) (extra bonus points for: the innkeeper doesn’t know who they are, but clearly, CLEARLY assumes the pretty young man and the swordsman are here to hook up.)

-everyone constantly, repeatedly, notices a) how pretty William’s eyes are, and b) how attractive his personal pages/attendants are, especially “sweet Hans”

-”You’re not a prince, you’re a brat.” (paired with, “You are an uncouth northern barbarian!”) (also: “I’ve never taken orders well.”) (and also: “...perhaps it is of benefit to me that I’ve fallen in with a man of your experience.”)

-the whole chair thing! (paraphrasing: ”They didn‘t get you a nice chair befitting your prince’s rank at the fancy banquet table. That’s an insult.” “Don’t worry about it--” “I’m getting you a chair.” *Haakon walks off, comes back with the actual king’s chair* “You deserve this one.”)

-”You interrupted me for THAT?!” “You didn’t have to listen!”

-Father Armand: “so...William...was raised in a very...male household...and His Highness...enjoys a good deal of private time in the company of handsome soldiers...”

-to emphasize the bi, not just gay: William’s totally having sex with Sagitta (the woman who’s his magical tutor), but he’s SUPER-CONFLICTED about it, and so is she, because she’s not supposed to fall for him, and also she has Secret Motivations as far as serving the cause of magic (bonus points: he was a virgin before that) (extra bonus points: the moment when she’s all, “Haakon doesn’t need to be here for this one thing we’re doing, he can’t do magic!” and William straight-up says, “I think this has more to do with jealousy than sound magical advice.”)

-that time all THREE of them share a bed! ...at first just like...super-casually, like, sure, we’re all just going to flop into a cuddle-pile in William’s giant bed and talk strategy...and then Haakon gets up to go, because he’s perfectly aware that William and Sagitta have a weird sex-magic thing going on, and William says, “No, stay, I feel safer with you here,” and Haakon, with no hesitation, dives right back into bed and, to quote, “drew the prince into his arms”

-”I worked hard for this rain. Don’t be ungrateful.”

-the approximately five hundred times William does something reckless and magical and gets hurt and/or captured, and Haakon’s thought process goes something like, “dammit not AGAIN, why am I still taking care of you, OH HELL I CAN’T EVER ABANDON YOU, I SHALL RESCUE YOU AND CARRY YOU TO SAFETY”

-they RESCUE A BABY. William wants to be a father someday.

-William, to Haakon: ”Sagitta’s finding a bedroom for us. Meet us there.”

-at various points they ALL do the “Go, save yourself, leave me!” and “I’m not leaving you!” moment

-”Do you also, perhaps, like me just a little for my own sake?” (William’s answer to this is, “Oh, Haakon, can you doubt it? I love thee well.” to which Haakon says, “Just wanted to hear it.”)

-(I should point out that it doesn’t quite get to a happy polyamory ending because there’s a specific thing that happens to Sagitta that’s...let’s see, trying to avoid spoilers...a kind of punishment for some of her choices...but it’s fairly ambiguous, and William still has magic, so like...there’s totally room to come up with a new head-canon that brings her back to William and Haakon, who ARE both very much alive and together at the end and still doing Cute Banter)

-(some possibly problematic bits: William and Sagitta sleeping together could come across as a bit uncomfortable because she’s the one teaching him, er, magic that includes sex magic and he’s a virgin when they start, but they’re roughly the same age (as far as one can guess her age, since she’s magical, but she’s physically a young woman) and he does totally consent, like, he’s definitely up for it! and he’s twenty years old, so he can consent as far as being of age and all, but just fyi about weird power dynamics; also, some general period-typical Church-related homophobia - like, even someone raising the possibility that William likes handsome soldiers makes some Church Fathers etc shiver - and also that one super-weird moment when it feels a lot like...William deliberately sort of...flirts with his uncle??? to get his uncle to send a letter on their behalf? like, the text literally mentions his fluttering eyelashes over soft eyes and a gaze of admiration, and then his uncle Charles caresses William’s cheek, and says, “Flatterer, you look like your mother, and I loved her, you know,” and then agrees to send the letter? and then the plot moves on, but that’s...yep, that’s a thing that happens in this book.)

#1980s fantasy #melinda m. snodgrass #queen's gambit declined #i can't even #i don't know if this is a book rec or not #but it is amazing #i have no words #lgbtq fantasy

[thiswasinevitableid]

For mermay: #30, wreckage with Danbrey in either SFW or NSFW? Thank you so much!

Here you go! I went with SFW. Dani’s design is based on a Golden Shiner, Aubrey’s on a red-tailed shark.

“Dr. Harris Bonkers? Where are you, you sneaky sea bunny?” Aubrey circles the rocks, sets her hands on her hips and flicks her tail with a frown; for a creature with small fins, that bunny can be incredibly evasive. 

“We only have an hour to practice, silly bunny. If you don’t come out, I won’t be able to use you in the show.”

When her pet/assistant doesn’t emerge, she sighs and swims off to her super secret test stage. Then she smacks straight into someone and shrieks in surprise.

“GAHoh, oh my god you scared me.” 

“That, that makes two of us” the mermaid she collided with stares at her, golden eyes wide with alarm.

“I’m sorry, this place is always abandoned.” She gestures to the sunken ship, one that’s been here since her grandparents were children. 

“I, um, I kind of figured. That’s why I holed up here.” In the filtered sunlight, her tail glitters pale gold. A treasure at the heart of the wreck.

“Are you new in town? I feel like I would’ve remembered seeing you before.” She smiles, hoping it comes across as smooth but not too smooth because she does not want to freak out the cute mer floating in front of her.

“Yeah. I can’t afford any of the spots in town.” She sighs, giving Aubrey the distinct sense this is not a new situation for her.

“You could come live with me! Not like, with me with me, but I live in the Lodge in town and I know there are rooms open. It’s super cheap.”

(If it wasn't, Aubrey would give her the “cute mers with freckles” discount).

“Um, okay, sure. Let me get my stuff.”

“Sweet! Wait, uh, it might take a few more minutes, I have to find my sea bunny.” She swims into the wreck after the other mermaid, poking her head into her pets’ preferred hiding places. 

“Is this him?” The mer holds up two woven seaweed bags. On top of one of them is Dr. Harris Bonkers, so white he almost glows in the darkened hull. 

“It is! Come here you naughty nudibranch.” She scoops the bunny into her palms, then sets him on her shoulder. 

“He’s cute” The mermaid pets his side, “what’s his name?”

“Dr. Harris Bonkers, PhD. That last part is a human school thing, but he worked hard for it.”

“Nice to meet you doctor. I’m Dani.” She smiles at Aubrey, the expression as beautiful as moonlight on dark water, “what about you?”

“Aubrey.”

“Nice to meet you too.” She gives the bunny a final pet and swims out of the ship. Aubrey hurries to catch up to her so they can travel side by side. 

“So, um, what do you use the wreck for?”

“Magic practice!” Aubrey sweeps her hand  through the water, leaving a rainbow of light in it’s wake, “it’s not, like, super secret or anything, but there’ve been a few, um, mishaps that mean it’s better if I practice away from town.”

“Mishaps?” Dani shoots her an amused smile.

“I once made a huge chunk of reef disappear. It took a whole day to get it back. And there was the time some seaweed floated past while I was practicing and turned into a sea serpent. Relatedly, sometimes a sea serpent follows me around and calls me mom.”

Dani laughs and Aubrey suddenly has so many stars in her eyes you could use them for navigation. 

“That doesn’t sound too bad.”

“I mean, it really isn’t. Those are the only big fuck ups, but I’ve decided I’d rather be safe than sorry. I’d hate for someone to get hurt because of me. Um, what about you? Just come to Kepler for a change of scene?”

“Sort of. I’m an open ocean mer by birth but it gets lonely, and sometimes your own kind will chase you off of nice places to call your own. So I decided I’d come here and try to make a home.”

“The Lodge is a good place for it. I, um, I ended up in Kepler after my mom died and my dad and I drifted apart. Mama gave me a place to stay and kept an eye on me; I bet she’ll do the same for you.”

It’s a bet she wins every time. Mama welcomes Dani in with a smile, tells Barclay to make a big dinner to celebrate a new resident, and shows her to her room. Aubrey stays by her side, chatting as she unpacks her bags. Her belongings are sparse, practical, and the only flashy item is a comb with a pearl handle. 

They talk until Dani is yawning and Aubrey keeps bumping into walls because she’s too tired to fight the current every freaking second. Aubrey says goodnight, tells Dani to come find her if she needs anything. Dani promises she will, brushing their tails together before closing the door. 

As she swims to her room, Aubrey’s thoughts swirl like a school of sardines. Dani’s room is so bare. Dani deserves a room overflowing with beautiful art and sea glass jewelry and vases of sea flowers. 

It’s lucky, then, that Aubrey knows just the mers to help her out.

--------------------------------------------

“Oh wow” Dani holds the strands of blue and white glass up to the windows, “Aubrey, this is beautiful”

“Glad you like it” she feels like the red in her tail deepens whenever Dani smiles at her like this, “Ned owed me a favor, and I thought some sea glass curtains might make the room more, um, homey.”

Dani swims to her, rubbing their cheeks together, “You’re the best.”

“Heheee, um, I mean, I’m super glad you like it!”

--------------------------------------------

“Did you draw this?” Dani turns in a slow circle, searching for the perfect spot to hang the picture Aubrey brought her. 

“Nope. Indrid did. He was selling some of his stuff this weekend, and I remember you saying you thought Atlantis was one of the prettiest places you’d ever seen. So I, um, I figured you’d like one of his pictures of it. You know he’s actually from there. Like, he’s one of the citizens who sunk with the city.”

“That’s wild. Wait, doesn’t that make him super old?”

“Yeah. Duck doesn’t seem to mind though, and he tries hard to keep up with the times. He mostly succeeds. Mostly.” She snickers, remembering the time Indrid tried to say he thought Duck was handsome and it came out as “looks like a million red-hot lobster claws.”

“C’mon” Dani hooks their tails across each other, ushering her across the room and causing her to completely forget what she was saying, “help me decide where to put this.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I wasn’t able to wrap these, but they’re totally a present for you.” Aubrey holds out the two pots of starweeds, “Duck said they’re a great way to garden in a small space. I know you’re helping with the big garden out back, but I kinda figured you wanted some in your room too.”

Dani takes the pots, not bothering to keep their hands from touching, “Thank you, firefins, they’re lovely.” She sets them on the windowsill, picks up her comb on the way back, voice much softer when she asks, “would you brush my hair before we go down to dinner?”

“Sure!” She loves brushing Dani's hair; if it’s the only time she ever makes the other mer sigh happily, the only time those golden tresses cascade down her fingertips, she’ll die happy. 

As she carefully guides the brush through Dani murmurs, “my mom gave me that. She said it’s been in our family for generations. Apparently an ancestor was given it by a human lover.”

“Dang” Aubrey’s amazed anything this beautiful wasn’t just swallowed up by the open water, “I’m glad they hung onto it; it really is gorgeous.”

“I um, I, I want you to have it.” Dani turns to look at her just as Aubrey pulls back.

“Dani, that’s so sweet, but I can’t take this from you. It’s you connection to your family. To your mom.”

“Oh.” The mermaid takes the comb when she holds it out, “okay. Let’s, um, let’s just go meet the others.”

---------------------------------------

“...been like that for the last two days. I know you spent a bunch of time in the open ocean, so I wanna know everything there is to know about what dating is like for mers out. I’ve got to show Dani just how much I care about her.”

“I see” Ned rests back in his chair, watching Aubrey as she swims back and forth in agitation, “I shall do my best, my friend. Let me think...gift giving is common, but that’s the case for all but deep sea merfolk. Painting your scales...no, that was southern mers in general. Aha!” Ned snaps his fingers, “because open ocean mers are nomadic, giving them things for building a home is a sign of commitment and romantic interest. If the feeling is mutual, one might also offer a precious item as a token of affection.”

“Precious item? Like a family heirloom? Hypothetically?”

“Yes, I’d imagine that would fit the bill nicely.”

“Aw beans! Thanks Ned, gotta go, talk later byeeeee.”

---------------------------------------------------

“Dani!” Aubrey rounds a patch of sea grass.

The other mer looks up from where she’s collecting urchins, “Aubrey? Is everything okay?”

“No! Or maybe yes. Dani are you, were you trying to tell me you wanted me to be your girlfriend?”

“Yes, but I’m starting to think that wasn’t as obvious as I thought it was.”

“Nope!” Aubrey launches herself forward, gathering Dani in her arms. The other mermaid laughs, rolling them over to lay in the soft grass. 

“I’m sorry” Dani kisses her cheek, “I thought I was being obvious.”

“I mean, I guess you were, we just had a communication breakdown. I just...I can’t believe you’d give me your most treasured possession.”

Dani leans down, kissing her until her lips are buzzing with delight and their tails are wrapped tight around each other, “Sweetheart, the only treasure I need is right here.”

#danbrey #aubrey little/dani #taz amnesty #mermay #mermay fills

[woodchoc-magnum]

911:Lone Star 2x08 Hate Watch

Here we go, though I heard mixed reports that this episode was better than the OG's 4x08? So we'll see.

Diaz for strength:

And the hate is under the cut:

Things are almost instantly off to a bad start with TK as the very first person we see

Oh god SERIOUSLY WE'RE DOING THIS SOBER ANNIVERSARY FIRST FUCKING THING?

Like don't even ease us into it

We're just going right into the schmaltz INSTANTLY

"My parents got back together" oh TK you are in for a RUDE SHOCK MY MAN

No masks at this party

No social distancing

Pandemic, what pandemic?

Oh shit SHE'S MOVING OUT ALREADY

"We were right not to tell him" YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO TELL HIM AT SOME POINT YOU ASSHOLES

Just when I think Rob Lowe can't be more of an asshole, there he goes, out-assholing himself

Oh do you guys call cash registers "tills" in America? I thought that was a British/Australian thing

Please let him blow up

Please let him blow up

Oh wait does Carlos have more than 30 seconds in this episode? WHAT'S GOING ON?

Damn he didn't blow up

Uh oh TK's come home to Lisa Edelstein moving out

RELAPSE?

Wait was she just gonna fucking LEAVE? WITHOUT TELLING HIM?

Oh TK you dumb fuck

God he can't act, he is such a bad actor

Everything is in a fucking monotone

It's a complicated question? Bitch you're pregnant with someone else's baby and you're also in love with that someone else

Oh shiiit TK you're so dumb

She came down to Texas, fucked Rob Lowe's brains out, rushed back into everything and now she's pregnant and fucking back off to New York – smooth move

Who is this mysterious Enzo? I would like to meet him

Ronen can't act. I know I keep saying it but he's like a robot.

Wow Carlos has been in SO MANY SCENES WHAT IS HAPPENING

Is his dad a cop? Did I know this?

I can't remember the name of the guy who plays Carlos but here's what I'm going to say – dude is about a million times better at acting than Ronen Rubenstein. There is actual EMOTION IN HIS VOICE AND ON HIS FACE

Is his dad a lawyer? What's the deal here?

I feel like this is a conflict? Should the dad be investigating the son? Oh he's a Texas RANGER

I still feel like it's a conflict, ngl

I'm bored

Dude's dad doesn't believe him and he's gonna be proven wrong isn't he

Wow this dad is almost worse than Owen, he has no faith in Carlos whatsoever

What a dick

Hey maybe you two should've just FUCKING TOLD YOUR SON THAT YOU WEREN'T GETTING BACK TOGETHER AND THAT IT WASN'T OWEN'S BABY, THE DUDE IS IN RECOVERY

And the lack of concern from Rob Lowe about his ONLY SON IS FUCKING STUNNING

Okay so my theory is that Rob Lowe allowed Carlos to have lines in this episode of the show provided that he was the one in the scene with him

Look at Owen actually trying to do the right thing here and not be selfish for once, amazing, we love to see it

What is with everyone in this show having terrible fathers

I'm bored AGAIN

"there should be a heart behind that shield" god give me a fucking break, you're nicer to Carlos than you are to your own son you dick

No masks anywhere at the scene, no masks on anyone at the fire

It's like they remembered about the pandemic for the scene at the bank and then forgot about it again for the rest of the show

Ooh is there going to be an EXPLOSION?

What is with me and things blowing up – look I watch this show with the understanding that bonkers things are going to happen and I'm a simple person who likes when things go boom, what can I say?

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM

Good explosion

Oh now daddy dearest knows that Carlos wasn't lying and he didn't fuck up

I bet he feels like a right fuckhead

I disagree with the assessment that this was better than 4x08 of the OG, at least the OG has people who can act – at the very fucking least

And no Rob Lowe

Oooh Carlos' dad is as cold as fucking ICE

Yeah Carlos you stand up for yourself, you're getting lines in this episode and I'm so happy for you

TK is such a whiny little bitch

His voice just grates on me, god he fucking sucks so much

OOOOH IT'S A TRAP

THEY'VE BEEN ENSNARED IN A SCHEME

That dude don't look so hot

God damn Nancy with the sick burns (her name is Nancy right?)

Oh TK leaving a CLUE what a smart little cookie, someone's been reading his Nancy Drew books hasn't he? (is that reference too old?)

"In American" BITCH

"we're not surgeons, we're paramedics" – he SAYS EVERYTHING IN A MONOTONE, there is no emotion in his voice AT ALL

Oh no Carlos is waiting for his man

Wait is Carlos going to save the day?!

No I bet Owen does, I will not get my hopes up

They're gonna perform surgery in a restaurant? I mean I suppose Hen and Chim could do it but I don't know about this bunch

Oh shit TK just knocked the FUCK OUT

It's about TIME

You know, if he actually relapsed because of these two assholes, they would totally fucking deserve it

Rob Lowe does not seem worried literally AT ALL

His son is missing and he's just like, okay cool

Oh wait he was playing it cool – okay fine, I retract my previous mean statement

I love that TK is just knocked the fuck out while the women do the work

Can I marry Gina Torres or is she already married or… what's the go there? Would she want an Australian wife with two cats?

These two dumb bank robbers really think this dude is going to live?

DO NOT STRANGLE GINA TORRES YOU MOTHER FUCKER

Oh shit the one nearly dead bank robber killed the other one

Carlos is going to find TK's special little clue and HE DID

What a good boyfriend

Good thing Rob Lowe has Carlos here, we can see who the brains are

Carlos is just out here solving mysteries, maybe HE'S the one who's been reading Nancy Drew (does anyone read Nancy Drew anymore?)

Ooh Carlos with the trusting of the gut YOU GO GIRL, go GET YO MAN

Though real talk you could do better

I mean ngl if this was Eddie storming in to rescue Buck I would be ALL OVER THIS, this shit is MY JAM but it's TK and Carlos so who fucking cares

OH SHIT HERE COMES GINA TORRES HERE WE FUCKING GO

OH YES NANCY

YES THE LADIES ARE SAVING THE FUCKING DAY

WAIT

ROB LOWE FIRED THE SHOT???? WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?

HE IS A FIRE CAPTAIN

WHERE DID HE GET A GUN FROM?

I think Carlos' dad is flirting with Rob Lowe

Look at him standing up for Carlos

Oh and NOW the dad is being nice, okay

How the turn tables

This Strand family drama is the most boring fucking shit ever, I legit don't care

OH GOD

WHY ARE JUDD AND GRACE DRIVING IN THE RAIN

NO

NO

WHEN DID IT START RAINING LIKE THIS?

SHE WANTS BABIES JUDD

THEY'RE GONNA HAVE A BABY

NOOOOOOOOOOO

FOR FUCKING SERIOUS IS THIS SHOW FUCKING SERIOUS DO NOT BREAK MY HEART

Look obviously they’re going to be all right because they already killed Zombie Tim this season, but still. Not Judd and Grace, the two best characters on the show!

Okay, this episode was marginally better than other episodes but it still sucked, so I’m giving it... 4 out of ten. Honestly, it does lose points because Rob Lowe is the one who shot the dude? Like actually wtf?

BUT it must be in Rob Lowe’s contract that nobody gets to do anything cool in this show but him so it does make sense.

Really not gonna miss Lone Star the next few weeks, see you after the hiatus for more hate watching!

And Eddie Diaz to cleanse our hearts and minds:

#lone star hate watch #hate watch #hey carlos got airtime!

[elv--eyera]

A GIF-by-GIF Analysis of the 2013 Revival of Jekyll & Hyde’s version of “Transformation.”

TRIGGER WARNINGS: talk of needles / injections. Mention of potential bodily harm / death. Some bad language.

The 2013 revival went in a very, very different direction than how the scene is normally staged, so I wasn’t originally going to start this little series with analyzing this one. This “Transformation” goes far, far beyond the usual bad lab safety, and I felt like it’s be especially weird to apply any sense of realism to this production, where the concepts seemed to be all over the place. People wanted this one, though, and I’m going to give the people what they want, dammit.

This writeup could actually make the case that based on this HJ7 setup, 2013Revival!Jekyll is the most mad-scientist-esque interpretation of Jekyll that the musical’s ever featured.

A disclaimer: I’m not a doctor or a scientist. I’m just one (1) smartass that did a bit of research and is taking things both far too seriously and not quite seriously enough. I am not pointing out every single issue here... just the absolute worst ones. And yes, it’s dumb to apply medical / scientific standards to a theatrical production. But it’s also fun, on occasion!

You can watch the scene here! 

Let’s get this started with a bang!!

For starters, Jekyll really should put on protective gear like a lab coat, safety goggles and gloves if he’s going to be working with a chemical formula.  He doesn’t do those things, but Constantine at least puts on an apron halfway through This Is The Moment. (It’s a leather apron because this is the 2013 revival, so of course, it’s leather. Because... ~aesthetic~ and ~steampunk~ and ~sexy~.) 

“delicious. finally, some good fucking gloves.”

I watched this video after watching about 10 ish other Jekylls not wear gloves or ANYTHING protective, so I was absolutely rejoicing to see someone finally have them. Also, I like the kind of endearingly awkward way Constantine fiddles with them in between This Is The Moment and Transformation, but that’s not lab safety related, so, moving on-

Now we’re getting to the bad lab safety - all these gigantic flasks of chemicals were all open and unattended when he came back! Leaving it open is just making it so easy for your freakin’ formula to get contaminated!  Not only has that probably ruined the shelf life of the chemicals, you definitely shouldn’t just leave them bubbling.

Also, watch how in the above gif he has to pour the green formula in each tube individually, one at a time...

... but the red formula affects all the tubes after only one drop. 

Make it make sense ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

After making me SO happy by wearing gloves, he just flings them on the damn floor. That made me sad! I cared about those gloves, Constantine. Those gloves didn’t deserve that, Constantine! My disappointment is immeasurable, and my day is ruined. 

After he wheels the giant tubes of formula up to the sky, he starts to go all stabby on his neck and wrist, putting the IV tubes with injection needles in the little holes of the metal gauntlets. I wanted to try and not try to push realism on this too much because that’s obviously not what they’re going for, but this in particular would fuck someone up and I just gotta go into that. 

The neck is literally the most high-risk place to inject a human. It’s so easy to fuck up your breathing or heartbeat or brain by injecting into the wrong spot and hitting the arteries. Putting on the gauntlet thing would make it super hard to locate and inject into a vein, making it super easy to trigger all the issues that happen when you miss a vein and just go all stabbity stabbity on your friggin’ neck. Also, if he was going to do this on someone else, how does he account for where their veins are? 

Okay, I’ve gotta address this - Six different tubes / injection sites with ten giant jugs of evil juice is WAY too much HJ7 going into one person at one time!! Your body is going to be 100% flooded with chemical evil juice!! You’re gonna OD on the fateful brew!! And it’s bubbling - for god’s sake, Jekyll, if you inject a liquid with tons and tons of air bubbles, you are going to get an air embolism and fuck yourself up!!!

*deep breath*

It’s becoming super clear that they went for a cool-looking steampunk aesthetic, and I get that, and that’s valid... but along the way they created something that would horribly, absolutely fuck up an actual human person. I don’t want to get too far into all of the different reasons and ways it would unless someone asks for more detail (which I kinda hope someone does, honestly). I’ll just leave it at this: with this setup, Henry Jekyll is actually incredibly lucky that he somehow became a physically healthy but murderous dude, as opposed to dying painfully. 

Back to the action - this really bugs me, and let me know how you feel about this - why is everything already set up for him to administer the treatment to himself when he didn’t plan on doing that until right before this song? Specifically, why on earth would the lever to administer the treatment be placed on the chair of the person who’s receiving the treatment?

Also looking at his reaction - geez, maybe it hurts cause you’re injecting gallons of evil juice into your body without even looking for one vein!

OK, so when he (as Jekyll) put in the little IV things, he winces a bit, right. But he just flings them off as Hyde! That’s got to HURT!! 

IN CONCLUSION: 

There’s so much to say here. The designers seemed to want to create a thrilling, interesting-looking showpiece for Transformation, when the actual interesting thing about the scene is not the formula itself or how it’s administered, but how Jekyll reacts to it. This setup is absolutely, insanely bonkers, but somehow the most ridiculous thing about this isn’t the absolute overkill of the tubes and LED lights and giant bubbling flasks and electricity sound effects. No. The most ridiculous, gobsmacking thing about this, is that he lives.

It’s interesting to think about this, though - The unprecedented, dangerous aspect of Jekyll’s research, and the mad-scientist angle isn’t usually something played up in the musical. I think that’s worth exploring. I wonder what the creative team’s thought process was when conceiving this whole thing. 

Thanks for everyone that read this and huge special thanks to those who reblogged the Henry Jekyll Lab Safety Discourse and who encouraged me to write this. I hope you enjoyed reading this. I know too much about injections now, and it’s because of you. 

#Jekyll & Hyde #jekyll & hyde the musical #henry jekyll #jekyll and hyde #constantine maroulis #jekyll #I cant watch this without going OWWWW #Thanks y'all #j&h lab safety discourse #my j&h shitposts #THAT'S TOO MUCH FATEFUL BREW

[keagan-ashleigh]

Even though I am not mad at this ending and think some aspects of it were nice, there is still a few things that I actually think were... not good. I am going to talk about what I think was right then explain what I think was wrong (I defend them in my last post, that doesn't mean agree with everything they did).

Like I said in my other posts, I don't think the writers are ill intentioned but just sloppy, and a little bit clueless. Like, I don't think they actually sat down and said "ah ah lets get people mad 😈". We can't brush away the fact they have really been trying to do something right, it's easy to judge on a single episode but the show as a whole has been very progressive and meaningful in terms of representation, advocating for equality, and in terms of respecting the fandom and especially fanwork. They have been on our side all along, writers and cast, so, no, I don't think they actually meant to hurt their audience.

I am struggling to formulate my point, it'd be easier in my mother tongue, but I think we idealized their writing, so of course they can't meet our expectations in terms of quality. For starters, I have never thought Supernatural writers were excellent to begin with. They have done amazing things in terms of storytelling, but also, they did some really disappointing writing, it has been irregular in quality since a long time. So it's not a surprise that they don't meet expectations. But I sincerely hate the idea that they're accused of being willingly abject with the fans by disrespecting the characters, I am not excusing everything but I don't think they deserve such virulence.

They don't disrespect the characters, they've just never read them like the fans did. They failed to give them the perfect ending because they really did think this is the ending their characters needed. That doesn't mean they didn't give an ending that was decent it's just not the ending that meets the perception we have of the characters, it's the ending for the characters they wrote, not the ones we read.

We see characters that have been fighting for freedom and that fight against fate, we have seen their growth from a perspective the writers don't have. What the writers gave them is the end they where supposed to meet at the beginning. Dean deserves rest and to be at peace with himself, Sam deserves a normal life, they gave them that, 100%. It fits the characters they wrote, it gives them an end that ultimately suits them. There isn't an issue with that in itself - I know everyone in my timeline might disagree with that lol. Considering Dean has been fight his whole life, fighting for survival, fighting to please his father, fighting to fulfill Chuck's desires, in the end he just chose to not fight, to give up because for the first time in his life, it's okay, he can go, there is no battle he needs to fight anymore. Sam has been robbed from a life he wished for, a life he designed for himself that has been taken away because hunting called back to him, the writers gave him the ideal life he wanted, a wife, a kid, a house with a fence and he died of old age peacefully. I've seen people complain that it's back to square one because that was their initial destiny, but, in fact... this is ok. Castiel end his story by finding love, by standing for himself, and by sacrificing everything for the one person he loved the most. That is, in fact, in character. Their end was beautiful in itself.

Now the issue I have with that, is that the writers obviously lost grip on the meta aspect of their writing and failed to see their characters were going in a different direction than the one they wrote. They failed to see this wasn't their characters anymore, and failed to take into account our perspective. Which is ironic because they convinced Jensen that their ending was true to the audience's perspective. We've been reading into the fact Chuck was the writer loosing grasp on his story, that the story was handed to the fans because it belongs to them - I think it's right to read it like that, but I also think the writers are just clueless about that reading. We gave them much credit for this meta aspect but I don't actually think they were controlling it as much as think.

The issue I have with this ending, mostly, is what I think has always been their flaw, they struggle with construction and rythm, and struggle with making their point come across. They naively think they gave us treats, like the dog reference, the pie contestcontest, they integrated that sloppily to this episode.

I've seen people ask what the pie contest meant... It's an inside joke with the fandom. It's there to talk to us through the show, it's sloppy but the intention here is to say "here is a wink for the fandom that did such good job at imprinting the show in pop culture and had such fun turning the pie thing into an immortal meme, thank you, here's one last laugh for you" (I did laugh). I also think somehow to them it meant giving a return to normalcy to Dean, gave him a bit of naiveness back, to show that his heart was lighter due to the fact he solved his issues with self loathing, with baring all the responsibilities by himself, it shows him at peace. And that's one of the reason why I din't think they completely ignored his character development, they were bad at showing it though, because the rythm was bonkers. They didn't took the time to actually tell it, but Dean did solved his issues between ep 19 and ep 20. He DID found normalcy, peace of mind, self love, and relief, he didn't just found happiness in death, he welcomed death because he was happy with his life. And we see him go to heaven and be happy in heaven because he never thought he'd make it there. What the writers did wrong is that we read that Dean was at first seen as daddy's soldier and didn't want to go like this, he believed that was the end he deserved because he didn't think he worthed much. One perfect ending for Dean would have been to go, but older, not on his old man's unsolved case, and not so stupidly, after everything, being beaten by a rusty nail doesn't feel right, it feels rushed. But it's mundane, it's almost a normal way to go after all, there is no big epic fight, this is just life being a bitch, and for once it is not a celestial being or a undefeatable entity, it's just a plain normal boring nail. It means, this is a calm way to go, the stakes aren't high, it's like, the complete opposite if what he has had since series 1. I understand what the writers meant. This is giving Dean an ending that wasn't as stressful as all the others, for the first time it is not an apocalypse to stop, and so he looked at the situation and thought: "that's it, the world won't end if I go, I don't have any burden on my shoulders anymore, I can go". I doesn't work but I understand what they meant.

What they didn't realized also was the fact we have read the character as bisexual, that we consider him canonically bisexual, and that killing him sends a bad message. But they don't actually think he's bi, we believe they did but that is something that we have read, not something they actually wrote. So, yes they are really clueless about the message they sent here.

If they did, which I doubt, then Dean's happiness was with Castiel, and since he wasn't on earth, he could only go to heaven, hoping that Jack brought him back (which he did). But I doubt they did because if that was the case we would have had a reunion. I'll come to that later.

But first, Castiel. Castiel's arc ended with him finding the one thing that makes a human a human in this universe : love. The angelic sensebif love was devoid of actual feelings, either in a platonic way or romantically, the angels have been depicted as obedient, stone cold, practical. In Castiel's ending, all of that is gone. I think his end should have been different because he and we deserve more that yet another kill your gays, but it was in character for him to devote himself to love in a final act of irrational and deep care for humanity, for those he thinks about family and for this man he loves and lost his wings for.

As a final act of love for Dean and humanity, he shaped with Jack a heaven that gives people the freedom to choose they're own perfect heaven. He designed it perfectly so people in heaven have free will. He designed a heaven that was meant to give Dean a sense of completion and that gave him the happiness and freedom he deserved (noting that he was happy before he went there).

What they did wrong was not showing Jack bring him back, it was not actually telling how he designed heaven for humanity, because as far as I can see the point didn't came across. It was also not taking time to show that it is not heaven and death that gives dean happiness and relief, they should have said Dean was at peace before going there. And it was not reuniting them.

That was their biggest mistake in my opinion because we needed to see a response from Dean. I have read somewhere Jensen actually think the fact Dean didn't answer doesn't mean he doesn't feel the same. I think he did wanted to tell something, he did love him, no matter which way, he did love him, I saw it cristal clear because Jensen is actually a good actor and got that across not only in episode 18 but in the whole show. He wasn't always on board with the idea because he had his own perception of his character but he knows the audience saw something he didn't and eventually took that in account and you can actually see it in his acting. Maybe Misha convinced him, you know he on the other end has always been open to it. Anyway, Dean had stuff to say. I think the writer considered he already did, by calling Cas family, by saving him over and over, I can't be sure, but they apparently didn't think it was necessary to make him express what he had to express and that is why they make him say to Sam that the pain isn't gonna go away and that he can only move on.

But they needed to be together in the end. To counteract the kill your gays. We needed a end à la Song of Achilles, so the sacrifice they both did was actually worth it. Instead they reunited the brothers, again, unaware that they portrayed a toxic codependency all along, I absolutely don't think they ever saw their relationship like that. I think they thought it was emotional and cute, and beautiful. In a way it was, but in another way, we needed more for both if them than Sam waiting to die in order to ve with his brother again. They say "you can go now" as if the sole purpose of his life from that point was to die. They really were oblivious to the fact that makes Sam not actually living a live he actually enjoyed and got involved in, they may have make him laugh with his son and be a better father than his own ever was (I don't think he was teaching him to hunt, the tattoo just meant he's protected from possession) but the whole message is that "you've walked in this life by default, waiting to be able to join heaven, not because you chose to".

I don't think the writers have really thought through what they were actually saying because they didn't took enough time to show and tell what they actually meant. On one end they failed to grasp what they birthed prior to that, on the other hand they failed to make themselves clear about what they mean. We lose much of their intent because they don't master their rythm, and fail to check what is really coming across the screen.

I don't think they are disrespectful, I don't think they delivered a bad or inappropriate ending, and I don't think they were intentionally homophobic, I just think they didn't give us the most appropriate ending. In the end it still feels right to me because I understand what they did, the characters where in characters, and it was a beautiful goodbye to me, but I am not entirely happy with it because I think they missed the point because, precisely, they are too much in character. They shouldn't have given us in character, they should have given us change, evolution, growth, from what the characters have been until then, and they should have been more explicit, because the way we read them absolutely calls for that. By staying too close to what they think they wrote they couldn't possibly satisfy the audience.

Like as said in a previous post, they were also playing safe with destiel, and I think they made a mistake. But yet again, I wasn't even expecting the ship to be acknowledged at all, so to me what they did was unexpected and nice. A big lead character, not a secondary but a lead, from one of the most popular show in television is canonically gay, there's that! And actually, there isn't much big shows that can say as much. The actual norm is still very low despite more and more shows being inclusive, they actually did better than the norm. I know it's not enough, I mean, I too want representation, I am a bisexual woman, I know we need better, but sometimes we can just be grateful for the little steps people are taking. We may believe it's nothing but it is not, they've done something great, not ideal, but great. They have taken the step Sherlock wasn't willing to take, they took a step so little shows were willing to take. Accusing them of being intentionally homophobic is just plain disrespectful for the impact they've had on television considering representation in popular shows.

They just committed a mistake by staying true to Castiel's character and making him sacrifice and by not bringing him back. They had good intentions, but were clueless about the implications of what they did. They intended to be faithful to the characters they wrote, and missed to be faithful to the characters they actually created.

No it wasn't the ending that I think would have been great. But I don't think they completely failed to give a nice ending that really says goodbye and thank you. It just could have been better, it doesn't deserve all the backlash I'm witnessing here. It deserves criticism, and it deserves for some of its issues to be addressed, but also, some people need to take a huge chill pill because it wasn't the horror they believe it was. Destiel isn't canon, yet they still brought their characters to peace.

And, to finish, I've seen a post say it sent a bad message about depression too. I have depression, and let me tell you this year it is getting heavy on me because shit happens. Yes, it kinda can be read as "you only find happiness and peace in death", but like I said I don't think they go to heaven go find peace, I think they go to heaven feeling at peace and happy because they did solved their issues before that. I personally didn't read it in such a bad way, au contraire, I think they got the peace and healing they needed before dying, but the writers weren't clear about it. But yes, can be read like that and maybe they should have think twice about that too.

To conclude: yes it was flawed, no it wasn't great, but it wasn't that bad either. I feel fine about it because I get what they meant, and I am fine with writing my own end for them.

Also, let's not forget we're in the midst if a global pandemic, we have to be indulgent with the fact they couldn't do everything they wanted.

#my posts #supernatural spoilers #supernatural #destiel #supernatural finale #spn last season #spn spoilers #spn