#this scene made me emotional fam i had to gif it

[loveyourownsmiilee]

Talking Buddie Language: Ep 6.10

Oh it feels so good to have our fire fam back!! Tonight’s episode was so amazing and heartbreaking all at once. I’m still not fully recovered from it but I think we got some amazing moments between both Buck and Eddie that show their relationship is on the cusp of changing forever. Now the process may be a slow one but I believe we are definitely on the ride to Buddie becoming canon soon! With that being said, let’s get into their body language and behaviors from this episode!

Sand Turns Into Glass?

The first scene we get is of the beach call and I literally learn so much from watching this show. For instance, that when lightning hits sand, it can become glass. I loved watching Buck and Eddie working together again because I feel like it really has been such a long time since we have seen them be partners.

B: No rain, where the hell did it come from? E: I don't know. Really hope it doesn't strike twice though.

(Gif by @whattarush)

I love how Eddie not only looks at Buck but is the one foreshadowing what is to eventually come later on in the episode. Some may even argue that he jinxed Buck with this sentence. With this little moment, we see our Buck and Eddie partnership shine through a little in the sense where they are back to talking to each other on calls as if they're the only ones there.

Then Buck, being Buck, leaves to go keep the kids busy so that they won't see their father in that state. My favorite little moment is Eddie looking over to Buck with the kiddos, while he is still working on their dad. The show always makes it a point to have Eddie's eyes be on Buck at all times. Now whether the reason is he just wants to make sure his partner is in his eye level at all times, or because he simply can't take his eyes off the tall blonde. Either way, the way that scene was shot, it was done so that the viewer can see Eddie looking over towards Buck, while he is continuing his task at hand.

As Buck tries to keep the children occupied, he explains how the glass was made and tries to reassure them while giving them some very important life advice.

B: Hey, hey I get it. You want to fix everything. Trust me I know that feeling. But in life, things that we don't expect, they can just come out of nowhere.

(Gif by @stevenrogered)

Now this I believe is also foreshadowing a couple of things for Buck. We all know he's the guy who likes to “fix things”, courtesy of Eddie. Right now however, there may be things that will come out of nowhere for Buck that will have him questioning everything, such as if he is able to fix those things. We can expect a few things to come from the ending of this episode and how they will affect him in different ways. He is just putting it out in the universe and now the universe will pay him back with those things that come from nowhere.

Father/Son Bonding In the Heart Of The Station

Literally my heart is so freakin full from that Buck and Bobby scene. Nobody can convince me that they are not father and son. Buck really does care for every single member of that team and it is just so wholesome. It will make it even more emotional for when everyone is beside themselves, waiting for him to come back from his coma. But this scene really was put in to showcase how strong Buck and Bobby's bond is so when Buck is in the hospital, Bobby's reaction to it will be even more heart wrenching.

The part that had my heart the most was when Buck took the spoon to Bobby to have him try his chili. Not only was that so freakin adorable, but oh so meaningful as well.

BN: Pretty good.

B: No don't give me pretty good. C'mon it's uh, it's not right. It's missing something.

BN: Well.

B: Is there a secret ingredient? There is c'mon it's me, spill.

BN: Cocoa powder. Unsweetened. Cabinet above the sink. One tablespoon.

This is a direct callback to that Buckley-Diaz family scene in 6.01 where Buck explains to his boys that he has perfected his lasagna, it only took 3 tries. We see him trying to make the chili as best as Bobby's is. Once again, the making of food is a metaphor used for something else in Buck's life. Here it's also kind of like when he asked Bobby for what makes him feel at ease/happy in 6.01. Bobby didn't really give him an answer then but he did give Buck the secret ingredient in this scene. Which in my honest opinion, foreshadows Bobby helping him uncover the secret to what he is looking for, further on down the line. I believe Bobby will play a significant role in having Buck open his eyes to certain things and certain people in his life. These writers love their metaphors and I really believe this is used for Bobby helping Buck uncover the secret to being happy eventually.

Chimney Venting to His Team

I love when we get to see the different dynamics of the team members. We so often have Chim venting to his number one confidant Hen, that I think it was lovely for him and Buck to really talk about Chim's father. Meanwhile, Hen and Eddie were also providing their two cents but not with exactly next to either of their partner.

It's such an unusual circumstance that even Chimeny makes a comment about it after Buck mentions how he was glad that it wasn't the Buckley's who brought the drama.

C: Your parents were on their best behavior. I don't know why but that's something new for me to worry about.

H: Why are you worried about a lack of trauma.

C: Because it's unnatural Hen. Like the two of you down there tossing that ball.

The reason why I find this little bit so interesting is that it's no secret that Eddie and Buck typically are attached at the hip. Meanwhile, Hen and Chim are thick as thieves. So the fact that Buck isn't the one throwing around that ball with Eddie, really seems like such an unnatural situation. This word is used a few times during this episode and each time it is, it’s directed at Eddie and Buck.

The camera then focuses on Eddie's reaction to that, where he looks up at Chim in a sassy and annoyed way, indicating that Chim is onto something. Eddie just doesn't like the fact that he's that predictable and Chim is the one voicing that. We know Buck and Eddie are codependent, so why show Eddie sorta annoyed with Chimeny's assessment? He didn't technically lie in that moment, which is why Eddie's reaction to that really intrigues me.

Buckley's vs Han's: The Epic Showdown

Oh this has been something I have truly been looking forward to for such a long time. I just want to preface this by saying I do not know who those two people were because those were not the Buckley parents I remember. It felt super weird seeing them get along with Buck like it was natural. But I want to talk about the whole sperm donor debacle.

Buck is already a little too involved for simply being just a donor. They're sending him pictures and involving him in this pregnancy and I really don't know where this storyline is headed but I just don't believe him when he tells his parents (and the Han's) that he "is the donor. Connor is the father." He still can't say that confidently and there definitely is a bit of sadness underlying his words. I can't watch that and come to terms that he has officially made peace with his choice. I don't think he fully has.

But a few things I would love to discuss. First his mother's reaction was that of once again viewing her son as nothing but parts.

MB: "I think it's...great. You're a miracle baby yourself Buck. Why not share it?"

A miracle baby? Yes he was born for the sole purpose of saving a child and he "failed" at that. And here he is now, giving life to another child since he couldn't do that for his own brother. His parents’ behavior is rather unusual and I was not expecting their full support with this storyline. It still breaks my heart to see them thinking of him in that way and I was even more surprised to see them at the hospital visiting their son when he's injured. This just goes to further prove that their love for him has always been shown when he's been hurt. I think that with the next episode, we will see the difference in how they react to their son being in the hospital vs how Bobby and Athena do, Buck's chosen family. We already got a glimpse of them sitting in the room with Buck, while the Buckley's were standing outside. So I am interested to see how all that plays out.

Mr. Han really voiced something important in his dislike for Buck being a donor that I think will play a pivotal role in the future.

SH: A man cannot raise a child fathered by another man. It's unnatural.

Here is that use of the word unnatural once again. isn't it ironic that unnatural was used to describe both Eddie and Buck by Chim and his father? Now let's dissect this a little bit.

When one thinks of a traditional family, historical that has been taught to us that it should be a man, a woman and their children. Anything different is considered to be "unnatural" right? Especially for people who live in other countries where it’s not accepted to be anything different from the “traditional norms” that’s been taught to them. So two men raising a child together will definitely be viewed as “unnatural” to those kind of people, in this case Mr. Han.

Well what does one call what Buck is doing with Eddie and Christopher? Oh that's right, he is helping raise another man's child with said man. We all know this, Eddie know's this considering he chose Buck to be his son's legal guardian, and I think Chris also knows this, given the fact that he is in Buck's hospital room visiting him while he is in a coma next week. I think the only person who doesn't know this at this point in time is Buck. Buck needs to realize that yes he helped create a child that will be his biologically that he has no claim to. But he also has a child who is not biologically his that he can and does have some claim to. It was powerful for those words to be said about Buck to him, especially when we know he is in this weird limbo and doesn't know what he is seeking for in life at the moment. It makes the timing of it perfect as well because it's said to him right before he gets massively injured. Now cue the child he is helping raise keeping vigil by his hospital bed, talking to him, begging him to come back to him. Then have Buck wake up and realize how important said child is to him, thus opening the door for further revelations in the future and I think we can have a big win here.

I don’t know what it was about this specific scene but something really tells me that the baby is not going to end up being Buck’s in the end. There’s a lot of talk about choices being made, and how it’s a miracle. Something has got to give. The universe kept screaming at him when he went to donate so there’s gotta be a catch in there somewhere right?

I do also want to discuss the Daniel of it all. It was weird but totally expected of Buck to bring up Daniel again considering this is the first we are seeing the Buckley's all together again since "Buck Begins". Him asking his sister about their dead brother point blank was needed because we all know it foreshadows his appearance in this alternate life he is going to dream up while in a coma.

B: Do you ever think about what it would've been like if Daniel had lived?

M: Yeah, sometimes. You?

B: I think it would've been just like this.

Oh baby, oh baby baby this is not going to end well. This basically foreshadows Daniel being alive in his alternate world, and everything is all happy go lucky upon first glance. But it's absolutely not. He doesn't have his chosen family, he doesn't have Eddie and Chris. So he will definitely have to live a life in which all the people who are so important to him and who all play a pivotal role in his life are just absent. Sure he will have his brother, but at what cost? At the cost of everyone else he loves? Surely this coma dream is going to result in Buck waking up with some clarity and a new perspective on his own life. One in which he can genuinely look at who he is, the people who are always there for him, and truly be at ease with it all.

Buck and Eddie, being Buck&Eddie

The scene with these two idiots in love in the truck is everything!! Buck was explaining the whole Buckleys vs Hans situation but ended it as it being "a nice night." I think the choice of having Buck and Eddie being the one's discussing this in the truck was very telling because once again, Eddie is stepping up and reassuring Buck whenever he is self conscious of something pertaining to his life, especially when it involves his parents. Eddie always has Buck's back and it shows in their cute little interaction.

B: Felt like we were an actual family.

E: You are an actual family.

B: I never felt that way before.

Ok but can we please talk about Eddie making eye contact with him to make sure that he knows Eddie isn't bullshitting him. He loves to check in with him via eye contact and make sure that Buck knows that what Eddie is saying is true. And what is Buck's immediate reaction to Eddie's reassurance? He smiles and looks down like he always does in that cute shy way. They behave like this all the time and it drives me crazy because it just isn't typical platonic friends behavior. There is too much fondness in Eddie's tone of voice and Buck can't keep that fond smile off his face.

Aside from the heart eyes though, it was so pointed to have Eddie be the one saying that they are an actual family when he’s fully welcomed and made Buck such an important member of his own family. Something about Buck never feeling that way before makes me think there’ll be a moment in which Eddie explains to Buck that he already has a family with him and Christopher. And Buck will stop and realize that oh, absolutely no one has ever made him feel that loved and that welcomed before in his life. That the Diaz’s saw him and immediately went, “He’s ours.” I can’t wait for them to circle back to this moment.

I love how it's been months and we still haven't heard Eddie's actual thoughts on the whole sperm donation. He goes so far as to mention the Buckley's reaction while simultaneously avoiding verbalizing his own thoughts on the matter.

E: Sounds like your family had your back on the whole donation thing, that's definitely progress.

B: No they uh, they totally thought that was an idiotic decision. They just weren't gonna let Chimeny's dad have the last word on anything.

Why Eddie thinks it is absolutely alright to look at Buck so openly like he hung the moon is beyond me!! Not only that but him chuckling when Buck mentions how his parents thought his choice was "idiotic" goes to show his agreement with that. I still believe that there is a deliberate reason as to why we have yet to hear Eddie's real feelings on that subject matter. I don't think we will hear it until after Buck's recovery, possibly not until Kameron and Connor reappear before the baby's set to be born. And when we do finally hear his opinions on this subject matter, I think it's going to be life altering for Buck, hence the lead up to it.

Lightning Does Strike Twice and It’s Telling You Both Something

I have yet to recover from the last few minutes of this episode. I love how we got one last flirting moment between Buck and Eddie as Eddie hooked Buck to his line. I love when Eddie does that because it's his own little way of making sure his partner is ok and nothing will happen to him. Eddie is getting a little bit more ballsy with his flirting, I will say that.

E: Alright cowboy, go get em.

B: Alright ahh.

(Gifs by @swiftiebuck)

The fucking smirk on Eddie's face paired with his unabashed fondness for Buck is what makes me believe he has to know on some level about his feelings for Buck. It's not only his smile but also Buck turning back to look at Eddie one last time before making his way up the ladder. These two always have a way of just sharing moments like this one where they check in with their eyes and for a moment, it's like they're the only ones in the world. Sure it came stem from being partners for 5 years. But it also comes from their unconditional love and trust that they've formed throughout those 5 years.

Nobody talk to me about Eddie's reaction to Buck being hit by lightning. Not only was the man thrown off from his place at the bottom of the ladder. But he didnt even hesitate to get back up, put on his helmet to go after his partner. His main concern in that moment was Buck and his safety. You can see the actual moment in which Eddie realizes that Buck is hanging limply from the ladder. His face morphs into absolute devastation and concern as he runs up the ladder. The sheer heartache in his voice is very prevalent as he treks up after his partner. He is scared, he is on a mission to get to him as soon as possible. My favorite moment is that the second he is at the top, he pulls Buck up towards him rather slowly lowering him. It's like Eddie needs to have him in his arms so that he can make sure he's alright. This also is such a stunning parallel to Buck pulling Eddie to safety after he got shot. Not only that but it’s also paralleling Buck digging for Eddie while he was buried, which was also coincidentally caused my lightning. The last Buck that he yells is so shattering because he is trying to keep it together and save his partner, while simultaneously crumbling on the inside. This is his partner both on and off the field. This is the very man who saved Eddie numerous times and now he can't simply pull him up?? I think this is going to somehow come back and be an issue for Eddie. Something about his survivor's guilt and the failure to pull Buck out is going to be something I can see Eddie struggling with while Buck is unconscious.

(Gifs by @matan4il)

(Gif by @whattarush)

When he does finally get Buck down to the rest of the team, they confirm what we already knew: he has no pulse. I think it was great to have Chim be the one who administers compressions not only because Buck is technically his brother in law, but also because it was supposed to be Chim who went up the ladder instead of Buck.

Lastly, the fact that Eddie ran as quickly as he could and pushed Bobby away so that he can get to Buck further proves how important they are to each other. Bobby pulling Eddie back, knowing that Buck doesn't have a pulse, and making him drive is very significant. It parallels Bobby pulling Buck away from digging for Eddie in "Eddie Begins." Bobby is a smart man and I believe he knows just how important these two are to one another. He didn't want Eddie to see his partner lifeless because he knows from prior experience how that turned out when the roles were reversed.

(Gif by @diazly)

Now Eddie was last seen driving the ambulance but I really do believe next week is going to be important for us to see his reaction. From the little promo we got, we already know that Eddie is the one who takes over as soon as they get to the hospital and is the one trying to keep his partner alive. He also looks absolutely devastated as he watches them taking Buck away through the doors. The fact that Eddie and Christopher were suspiciously missing from the promo tells me that their scenes will be significant and really get everyone's tears going. I, for one, am excited to see the aftermath of this and how everyone handles their Buck being in a coma and possibly flatlining again. It's going to be an excited and heart breaking episode next week and I can't wait to see what it has in store for us.

Thank you so much if you made it to the end. I got to say I do feel so vindicated that itty bitty coma!Buck theory from all those months ago finally happened and I can’t wait to see what stems from it! All my love to you darlings 💜

#buddie #buddie language meta #911 spoilers #911 speculation #911 on fox #911 meta #buddie meta #long post #sorry if this isn’t my best I’m hungover

[soft-husbands]

Please go back and watch EP 8 bread scene of Kinn and Porsche again. What is that face Apo makes when they're sharing the bread, right before they go under the covers? Same episode but the kiss by the waterfall scene, right before the bodyguard interrupts them. Again, watch Apo's reaction. Also, episode 13, the graveyard scene. What is that face Apo makes when Kinn kisses him on the cheek? It's almost as if he's disgusted. Porsche is supposed to be in love with Kinn so why those faces?

Let's not forget all the uneccessary remarks Apo has made in interviews about Mile. Even saying that Bible is more of a main character than Mile is(which is true because we get more of Vegas' POV than Kinn's POV in the series and It's almost like Kinn was only there to be Porsche's love interest). But why did Apo feel the need to say that out loud and proudly at that? He then plays it off as a joke after making this comment because they(Bible, Build and Mile) all looked stunned for a moment. In another interview he mentions how Mile wasn't capable of controlling his emotions in certain scenes and blah blah. Why did he think it necessary to make such a comment? There was another one where he says that he always brushed his teeth before kiss scenes but Mile didn't and so he had to smell everything Mile had eaten that day. If the had an issue with Mile's dental hygiene, why not take Mile aside and tell him in a nice way instead of announcing it to the world, only to play it off as a joke after, because Mile was embarrassed. They are so many of these stupid remarks Apo makes in interviews that I could go on and on about.

I say all this to say that if that's the type of guy Mile fell in love with or decided to date, then I feel very sorry for him.

Don't ignore certain things because you want so bad for this ship to be real. Mile cares about Apo deeply, and that sucks because Apo is all about business and will do what is needed.

There’s not enough memes to express the disgust I feel about this ask anon get this shit away from me actually assess your life and redefine what love looks like because the only one I feel sorry for is you

Pls fam share with me your fave Porsche/Apo desperately in love moments I need some cleansing PLEASE

#ew anon ew pls stop you’re so annoying I’m LAUGHING #answering anons #asks

[ageofgeek]

Mrs. America (2020) | 1x09 - "Reagan"

uzo aduba as shirley chisholm margo martindale as bella abzug

#mrs. america #shirley chisholm #bella abzug #politics #feminism #uzo aduba #margo martindale #hulu #fx on hulu #second wave feminism #equality #ERA #this scene made me emotional fam i had to gif it #mine #creative shit

[soyala23]

Clint Barton’s Family

I’m just here sharing my two cents that no one asked for. I read a post where someone wrote people are starting to like Clint having a family and that the only reason people where against it originally was because a group of fans were too vocal that their OTP wasn’t canon [that’s such an oversimplification]. Fans for years, no matter what the fandom, complain and nitpick on how Hollywood handles their favorite characters so it’s unfair to target a group of fans for doing the same. Fans have the right to their opinions/feelings and shouldn’t be attacked for it.

My initial issues with the Barton fam, outside its awkwardness and randomness, were primarily how it crippled MCU Barton’s character. The Hawkeye series keeps taking a dig, at Clint, suggesting Hawkeye has a branding issue … really? I think not.

The truth is a lot of MCU fans never got to really know who Clint was. [Honestly, I think MCU hates Clint for some reason. Like where was Clint in CAWS when it’s about the fall of SHIELD? Whatever. MCU seems to only support heroes with flashy powers or tech imo.]

I guess ...I can get MCU’s attempt of using the family as Clint’s cornerstone, his impetus in becoming Ronin and doing whatever it took to get them back, after Thanos, but creating this family also came with consequences. Early on as soon as the family appeared, his wife wanted him to retire (as early as the 2nd Avengers movie) because they were having another child.

This took Clint out of the Avenger picture and forced him to be the least used original Avenger member… like taking house arrest because it was too hard on his family. I wasn’t thrilled about that. Clint essentially only made a guest appearance in Civil War and was completely absent in Infinity Wars. General fans didn’t have the time to connect with Hawkeye because he wasn’t there enough. It also makes you wonder how MCU Clint previously worked as an assassin and a spy, being gone months at a time, killing people, and still making it back home to be the leave it to beaver dad, but being an Avenger is now a problem. This didn’t make sense to me but that’s what you get with a choppy storyline.

Okay, so they gave him a family…but a 1950s family? Joss Whedon stated he wanted Clint to be different and normal [what’s normal anyways] compared to the other Avengers. So does normal equates to having a cookie-cutter family with a white picket fence living in a small town where the ever so polite kids can be raised with good morals? Are we returning to this old-fashion narrative to what an ideal family is because I can’t relate to it. [Is this why MCU made Natasha feel less than because she couldn’t have kids or like she should sacrifice herself because she had nothing to lose (i.e a traditional family)? I won’t go down this rabbit hole but that is pretty fucked up for the modern era.

Shoot me but I like my characters darker and more complicated …sorry. Clint has just as much blood on his hands as does Natasha. Clint overcame a lot from his own broken family growing up. Bottom-line, there is so much to Clint that I didn’t think he needed a family to define his character, in the first place.

If you are going to keep going with this family narrative, it’s about time MCU added a little tension and some complexities. I love the scene with Clint and his youngest on the phone in Ep 3. I would have to be pretty heartless not to find this scene so emotional. Any decent parent will tell you that your kids matter most over any other relationship, so I get it. Now we see Clint alone without Natasha, SHIELD, and the Avengers so all he has left is his kids. Vulnerable Clint makes me sad. Here is a guy who is so used to being in control and now he is emotionally defenseless as he must figure out who he is, deal with being HOH, and rebuild his relationship with his kids. This scene did a great job portraying all these emotions with him breaking down and being forced to rely on the help from a young girl, he just met.

On the other hand, it bothers me that the kids keep guilt tripping Clint so hard. Clint was the one who lost precious time with his kids but for them they didn’t lose a second. He literally was on house arrest with his family, for 2 years before the snap, but they act like he is a deadbeat dad who was never around (okay idk what happened those 2 years after endgame though). Clint already spent alone time when the kids for holiday activities. I was like your dad almost died bringing you guys back… when he’s trying so hard and loves you guys more than anything. Makes me annoyed at the older kids because I can understand the little one not getting it. The kids are SO lucky, and Clint is actually a pretty great dad. He sacrificed so much for you kids, c’mon.

When it comes to Laura Barton, I’ll say this (before someone shoots me down). I respect Laura Barton’s character. She is (too) sweet but strong for she must be to essentially raise her family on her own while her husband was off being an assassin, a shield agent, and then an Avenger. Like I already said, I like characters who are more realistic and complex. It just bothers me that no matter what happens, Laura has a smile plastered on her face like everything is fine. I’m a woman and none of my girlfriends would show that much blind support and trust instead of some marital strain (that would be real and not necessarily a bad thing). Clint is not the same person he was pre-blip but Clint and Laura just picked up where they left off like nothing’s changed?

I’m not sorry to say I feel that the deep emotional bond (you can define this however you want because labels do not matter) between Clint and Natasha is a lot stronger than I feel Clint has with his wife. (Real life is complicated folks so it’s not a big deal.) I go with what feels natural to me. That’s not my fault… you can blame this on the poor character development from MCU. I need something more than just Laura’s existence to prove otherwise, but it seems now after 6 years they are changing Laura’s character (especially if she is who a lot of people think she is thus creating a new character angle). At least this makes me feel validated that the MCU also realized there were flaws they wanted to fix. I’m curious to see what they do with Laura, but no offense to Laura and even Kate (love her though) but neither can compare to Natasha. Like Clint said Natasha was the best that ever was.

Honestly, I think MCU likes messing and teasing both fandoms to keep all parties interested. I mean why would they juxtapose these two scenes back-to-back in the Hawkeye episode of Legends, prior to the launch of the Hawkeye series. (you can check for yourself)

Hawkeye is so good. I love how Clint is finally able to show his skills. The occasional sweetness is fine, but Jonathan Igla admitted he was inspired by Hallmark Movies (I dread those movies). I feel like even though my emotions are being tugged at endlessly, I don’t know where they are going with this. I’m hoping for a not so sweet/happy ending. I like drama. Just don’t make Clint a supporting character in his own show.

Some people will agree with all of it, some of it, or none of it. Others won’t even care. Let’s just agree to disagree.

Thanks for letting me rant. gifs from @theavengers, @nia-s-not-so-secret-diary, @clintfbarton, @rizahawkais @agentholland @mercury-is-a-planet​ and those that are uncredited

#hawkeye #hawkeye tv #deaf clint barton #clint barton #Clint Barton needs a hug #kate bishop #natasha romanoff #natasha romanov #black widow #clint and natasha #clint/natasha #clintasha #marvel #mcu #marvel mcu #marvelheroes #marvel avengers #the avengers #superheroes #badass #badass couple #he should’ve married his best friend #barton family #laura barton #lila barton #nathaniel pietro barton #cooper barton #disneyplus #jeremy renner #laura and clint barton

[solcomfortssouls]

Megalo box 2 episode 13

Structurally speaking season 2 mirrors seasons 1. The final of the emotional arc took place in episode 10. In s1 Joe and Nanbu had to face the fixed fight in megalonia and Nanbu's betrayal and Nanbu in the end chose Joe over himself and his safety, believing in him enough so he could believe in himself too. In s2 Joe and Sachio have that first fight in which Joe absolves Sachio of his guilt, forgives him and they accept each other and their responsibility for what went wrong, reconciling.

The emotional final was episode 10. Episode 11 was a prep for the external conclusion, making what happened so far bear fruit and show us how it turned out. It's a great way to conclude the story and make it wholesome.

I loved the parallel between Joe and Mac being knocked down. Both were able to get up again because of their families cheering them on, Mac for his son and Joe for Sachio. It was beautifully poetic, how they made both of these bonds equal and moving.

It was so significant for Joe to get scared and knocked down and for Sachio being able to ground and rise him up again.

I'm not a big fan of Mac, he seemed pretty boring to me, but I liked his final. Fighting on his own terms without Mac Time, keeping himself sane through love of his family and true friends, realizing his true potential as a boxer and being absolutely respectful and happy about the fight with Joe.

It was really just two guys with great respect for each other's skill wanting to fight. There was no hate, no emotional stakes, no need to be angry or risk your health, especially since both were messed up in different ways. Being able to do the sport they love the right way, with no hard feelings, just enjoying it, was great as a final.

Joe staying to hold the homely fort for the kids and live in peace, in light, with his family is a peaceful deserved ending. I love how he reassures them they will always have a place here, beloning but never overbearing, letting them grow while offering them a home.

That photo is so wholesome too! The whole fam together, along with Yuri and Aragaki and the mechanic guy, with the kids and with Joe in the middle with an arm around Sachio.

Sachio leaving at the end to follow his own path, the internship for a job he loves and will be good at is him moving forward, being free of his past and guilt.

Joe giving his beloved motorcycle to Sachio is meaningful in so many ways. It's the vehicle that made him a stray dog and nomad, what allowed him to drive alone, to drive off cliffs, to run away, at the same time true and characteristic of him and his wild untamed spirit and risk loving nature. Now Joe is settling in, not needing a risk and him driving a car, where he can transport more people, where he is responsible and loving to the gang again, makes so much sense and connects him to the future and home he chose.

While Sachio is following his own path, going into the world alone, as a sign of independence and growing up. At the same time it's not lost on us that this is Joe's signature motorcycle that went to the hell and back with him, connecting them the two of them further.

For Joe the motorcycle was him being alone. For Sachio it's his connection to Joe, his older brother, succeeding him, but on his own path.

I think Joe wanted that exhibition match to work with the whole team again. To be supported by them. He explicitly wanted Sachio to help him and is so special for a macho prideful champion and nomad all the way. This is Joe who always fought for himself, who didn't admit needing help like ever. It's nornal to find it difficult to ask for help, but it was even more so with Joe, so I loved he asked for help and Sachio was able to give him exactly what he needed. No one could have been the second Sachio could for him.

I won't lie, I was a bit disappointed Joe lost, cause he could have gone further, he was truly enjoying himself and he is just always the burning winner in my eyes. But Sachio thought more of Joe than of the win, just like Joe was counting him to, and it was so satisfying to see Sachio concerned for Joe, asking him how he is feeling and protecting him with the towel too.

Besides Mac didn't knock out Joe. That would have been the actiony indisputable win Joe had against Yuri. KO in the 13th round. Not a thrown towel.

But that's just my pride speaking. XD It made the perfect narrative ending for Joe's healing journey and family coming together. And Mac got his dreams come true just by being able to fight with my Joe in the same ring so. Joe was definitely satisfied with no regrets.

Megalo Box 2 was about a healing journey home despite obstacles and all characters stayed true to it.

After all the suffering and distress, being saved and encouraged by Chief and Marla, repairing past bridges, he can now just be there for the people he cares about, at peace. It made the last scene of him driving with Nanbu in the back so incredibly tranquil and calm...I felt that peace and balance and it was beautiful. This is what healing looks like and is all about.

#megalobox #megalo box #megalo box 2 #megalo box nomad #megalo box 2x13 #review #meta

[aeempress]

Apritello Express Evidences, part 3

Apritello, my dear friends, is really all hints, devil in details, little pieces that, in the end, become a huge picture.

I can't say that there are a lot of episodes with April and Donnie spending quality time together, no. But all episodes are important to understand how their relationship are involving, growing. If you have sharp eyes and think about all of this even a little bit, you will be surprised how gracefully their relationship changes and grows, how characters evolve.

Dear passengers, we're about to start. Mind the gap!

Episodes “The Gumbus” and “Mrs. Cuddles”. 

I think it would be appropriate to analyze these episodes in bunch, because they have common situations of spooky supernatural stuff and reactions of characters to this.

When you watch these two eps in raw, it's easy to see how alike are reactions of Donnie and April in some scary, really odd situations. 

Adrenaline ‘n’ reclessness

April is really into all spooky things in “The Gumbus”, she's not afraid of some creepy stuff and she's really brave girl who easily copes with stressful and life-threatening situations.

Donnie is incredibly calm and collected when alive doll talked to him.

But still, April was frightened about plush rabbit because it was really unexpected for girl, she wasn’t ready to realize that plush doll that she’d worked with is alive fear-eating monster who will hurt and intimidate to get their precious screams. But point remains: Donnie and April share crazy fearlessness, which turns into an adrenaline addiction.

And here I am, a science guy, who tell you: adrenaline is a big deal for our body. This hormone can even provoke an onset of romantic feelings. Chemistry and anatomy come to fill the gaps: when a person is afraid, their pulse quickens, a cocktail of hormones is releasing into the blood, which sharpen the senses and reflexes. It will create a strong emotional bound, that's important for maintaining romantic kind of feelings. The more impressions there are (even negative ones), the higher the chance that person will remember his|her partner, and want to see them again – the body gets hooked on adrenaline, like a drug.

That’s why D&A have so strong, unshakeable boundaries. They are so alike: their attitude to scary things, the way Donnie and April cope with them, the adrenaline addiction their share. They even express feelings the same way.

And one tiny detail: April and Donnie start the teasing Raph for his fear of mrs. Cuddles. So they become the first victims of plushie.

Friendly reminder: they were the 1st victims, and what’s happened with them we don’t know, because it wasn’t shown due to not ruin the atmosphere of suspense.

But we have a beautiful quote of mrs. Cuddles and this precious shot which explain everything

Raph: Where’s Donnie?

Cuddles: In a happy place where he’ll scream and I can grow forever and now you’re gonna join him!

In a happy place, huh? Tied up with April in Splinter’s bedroom, a really happy place. Hold a sec, are they -

And after that Donnie’s responding is killing me.

Donnie:[OS] I'm afraid of togetherness.

Yep. All normal here. We should continue.

"Operation Normal" even though doesn't show a lot of interactions between April and Donnie, however continues the general outline highlighting the topics that were mentioned earlier in the show.

Firstly, April's relationship with her classmates. We're able to see how poor her scholar life is in "Hypno Part Deux" and "The Purple Jacket". She has no "normal", human friends except some strange remora guy, more like acquaintance than friend, though. But still, having "be normal" kick she's fine with Donnie's weirdness ( Mikey is always beyond all normal comprehension, Raph goes weird while he's alone, without brothers, and his fear of miss Cuddles is no big deal to fam, Leo didn't show any weird stuff during the series, like, reeeeal weird, m'kay?).

Conversation between April and Donnie at pizza spot

Really interesting and smooth scene. We’ve got Donatello who stares at April while he’s waiting his favourite pizza, no big deal.

And his legs.

If a person is interested in you, during a conversation, they will put their right foot forward (a left-handed person is more likely to put their left foot forward) in order to close the distance between you. - Check.

being in company, peson will point the sock at the most pleasant interlocutor for them. - check.

April’s legs are ponted at Donnie. Checkmate.

Yeah, April is hanging out with Donatello and Leonardo, but the main focus of hers is on Donnie. 

All these scene makes me think that Donnie, knowing about how badly sometimes April  wants to be normal, is up to help her overcome this. Fight fire with fire:  fill up her life with all of this weird, mystic stuff so it will be normal with time. Regular people go to pizza spot to spend some quality time together, so we have pizza restaraunt here, in Hidden City. Make all odd normal, and problem will solved.

Donnie really tries his best, look at his face. Dee’s fine with all this bizzare things what happens to April, he’s fine with her. But still he fails, because April’s concept of normalcy differs drom Donnie’s.

And again, for Donnie it’s not a problem at all. He’s always was at the opposite side of normalcy and it doesn’t matter for him if April is in the same boat with him. Cause, as I said, Don’s fine with that.

Second, how much Donnie knows about April.

- Scoff! Are you really still on this whole "I want things to be normal" kick?

- Yes, what big city girl doesn't have a kayak and has hazmat suit?

Interesting detail here: this line launches Donnie’s flashback (because the first scene is from “Purple Jacket”, it’s Dee’s episode, obviously). And Don, as far as I can tell, has in his flashback moments with April when she did something reaaally impressive. His face is way more louder than any words.

- Short answer: no. Long answer: nnooooooooo.

- Oh, no! You know how April freaks out around the cosplay wizards!

These tiny lines are containing a lot of background, stories, intimate conversations that April and Donnie share. This show always does the same trick: we never see a direct action, we are only able to see a result or statement of the result. But series do a great work telling us with such small and imperceptible gestures that their bonding at this point is mutual. Not only D tells April about his inventions, family and fam's issues he has and even his falls, mistakes and failures. April does the same thing, sharing with Donatello one of the most important things to her. Problem that really bothers her.

C'mon, he'd even memorized Sunita's name, though April messed up with this situation a bit. It seems Donnie memorizes facts about April - he remembered the wi-fi password from old April's work as we can see in "The Longest fight" (he could hack it easily, he's a genius, why he's been keeping in mind some piece information that useless for a year? It doesn't make any sense)

Oh, and that. Just a coincidence, I guess?

Just alike suits, no big deal. Plus, the whole family has it (and something tells me that guys have suits at the behest of Don, so probably April does). But Donnie and April has a lot in common like emotional expressions, reaction about some kind situations, fight style and even tastes in fashion.

Also, it seems like Donnie's been watching April for sometimes.

While Leo was hiding in trash can, to not catch anyone's eye rather than April. He definitely couldn't know who was passing by, but there was Donnie to observe from above. That's why he was hanging down the stairs when Leo spoke to April.

It’s not the first time Donnie dress up as old lady to monitor April’s day.

Leo: Why do you always make us dress up as old ladies? Donnie: №1: confort, №2: to blend in as we monitor April’s day for max normalcy.

 3. Even when D took away this cosplay wizard, he's still keeping eye on her.

Oh no, you don’t. Grandmas here!

Donatello changes his foe to save April exactly. He fought all evening with Brutus, but when April slightly gets in danger, Donnie just attacked anyone who has intention to hurt her and ruin her evening.

Is that a flying turtle in an old purple dress?

April, who all evening was trying to look “normal”, hiding her real friends because they are mutant turtles and pretending that nothing unusual happens here, finally gives up when Sunita mentioned Donnie. Even though new April’s friend has asked her before about Leo.

His eyes. 

Donnie is really impressed but what he saw, and the reason - April O'Neil.

The episode "Warren & Hypno, sitting in a Tree" is another incredible piece of whole picture.

Turtle tank is decorated for April birthday in purplish scheme, definetely Donatello's work.

Dee's nonverbal speech.

• He seems more interested and softer than usual looking at April. It's easy to say comparing him with brothers. Mikey is in anticipation of fun mode, Leo relaxed and show his "whatever it will be fun" attitude, Raph is listening carefully, but still, Donnie could just turn his head in April's vouce direction, not a whole body.

• Warren felt Don's gaze while talked with April, so worm made the remark. Pay attention to the construction of the frame of neighboring scenes. The second frame is April's perspective. And Don is looking namely at her.

Indignation. Disappointment. Spark, storm, madness (i love this russian meme, sorry not sorry)

• Donnie seems sincerely sorry for this situation with April's b-day. And again, this soft gaze and "Raph, shut the shell up, your nonsense is upsetting her"-eyes.

• Donatello is kind of person, who’s avoiding a proper confrontation, so he rarely stands up for someone.  He were remaining silent, when Raphael tried to cheer April in the most radiculous way, but when Hypno tried to play with April’s feelings, Donnie blew it. 

He’s obviously in wrath as D emote that expressively. Yeah, he had much on his plate at April’s birthday, but it’s her b-day on the line, not his pride.

Warren used April, playing with her fan feelings. Her idol betrayed her, she was locked up in a cage, and now we have Hypno who wants to use her again by pitting and pushing for her compassion, because, it’s obvious - boys would do everything she said. 

And Donnie tries to keep Hypno away from her, protect her feelings from another betrayal. 

As he’s already stated - “For you, anything”.

The show always tells us: if you wanna trigger Don, bring April in. 

Hypno tried to turn this thing around, Leo did the same in “Al be back”. 

If Hypno-tamus did that accidentally as he found out that April O’ Neil is a birthday girl, so her wishes that day were laws, Leo did it on purpuse.

Leo is good at manupulating and pulling some strings, plus he knows his twin as back of his hand. That’s why Leo mentioned April in the end as she was always the most powerful argument, the reason and motive for Donnie. At second he’s even panicked, but remained calm. He almost blew up his coolheaded image because of one certain girl in yellow.

• Donnie is really happy to present Warren's arm to April. He even holds it like a rare, priceless treasure. D is really proud of himself right now: he saved the day, after all. The emotional reaction of hers is exactly what Donnie wants to get. And then, his final pose, while April is on 9th cloud from happiness - that's really territorial gesture, D claims his supremacy and confidence, telling "See? That's my happy birthday girl".

Leapfrog with a composition

Donnie and April are more and more eager to be together in the frame. Composition’s boners, m’kay.

Special ride for April

Yeah, Donnie used to offer his battleshell to give April a special ride. It even has  a seat and handlebars for her comfort. She can control the flight as well as Donatello, they are like co-pilots. But he never carried her on his back before.

Usually, April is carried by Raphael, on his neck/shoulder, and she’s fine with it. Raph is strong enough to carry her without any difficulties or slowing down.

It’s not Donnie’s weak to carry her - no, he strong enough to carry his battleshell with a lot stuff in it everyday, Don can carry Splints on his shoulder without any apparent difficulty. He strong enough to hold the weight of his battleshell+April. Oh, c’mon, D assembled the Turtle tank only by himself and this for sure requires a lot of physical strength in order to engage in auto mechanics. Try lifting the wheel with tyre, and you'll see what I mean. Of course, there is a jack, but it will not solve all the problems. Don could use hydraulics and Archimedes ' laws, but I'm sure he did most of it with his own hands. Lifting and carrying, all by himself.

Not the strengh what’s matter but another point.

The sequence where Donnie carries April on his back doesn’t last long, it’s pretty easy to miss, while Raph openly do that with April on him. 

Plus April’s gaze: she’s staring right at us with her “ninja-eyes” as if they were caught in the middle of something. The duration and length of the sequence, the way it is made all of this arouse certain thoughts. 

It’s like nobody should see this. Too personal. To be more specific - too close and intimate? 

Donnie stated a few times that he’s not into togetherness, tactile interaction and phisical side of contacts. Although he's fine with his brothers, don't forget that April is a girl. Even if she feels like part of family, she’s not his relative. She’s not his sister. 

Some people tend to avoid physical contact with the objects of their interest. And this behaviour fits in Don’s character. He’s anxious type with a lot of psychological and emotional issues. Yeah, he tries to cover it up, built a shell to protect himself, behave as confident extravert but he’s nothing like that. Sometimes D tends to distance himself from his family, to hide in his shell, and we've seen that throughout the show. 

Don hangs by his phone quite often, he addicted to this as his comfort zone, his peaceful cave, where everything is much easier,

Don pretends he’s so busy with his science stuff to ward off his brothers (ep. Mind Meld), 

Don went to the lab to work on his projects, while he could hang out with April and the brothers (ep. Mrs. Cuddles). And he left for what? To work on self-cleaning tooth pick, or the titan bust of himself? It’s seems like lame excuse to be alone. He’s definetely an intovert, who sometimes needs some space and time with himself. 

All his cocky behaviour is showing off to hide insecure, diffident and vulnerable creature, softshell purple turtle. Yeah, Donnie has confidence in what he’s great in: tech, science stuff, where he’s only one is capable of. But if someone steps on his domain or doubts his authority, his true colours exposed.

And, once again, “Mind meld” is a great evidence of that. Would callous, unsumpathetic guy without heart have a wall with pictures of his fellows? I’m afraid not. Donnie has a soft, caring heart.

There’s an alley of his the dearest moments, because photos - are always memory, precious moments we want to keep. 

1 - from “Minotaur Maze”. Don loves good pizza, loves his brothers, and they have a little adventure together. Yeah, this photo isn’t on champ wall, but still.

2 - from “Mascot melee”. Important day for bros as they show themselves to people at daylight to rescue Raph and their operation to buy a new robe for his father. It’s their joint brothers dance, and D is loving to dance, remember? Definetely special occasion.

3 - from “Mascot melee”. Splints was really glad to receive a gift from boys. And Donatello, as we know, is always eager to achive for pop’s approval. This for sure must be in his precious moments collection.

5, 7 - from “Donnie’s gifts”. He even keeps a dorky photo, which Raph uses as profile pic at Donnie’s number.

8, 9 - “Down with the sickness”. It was funny to survive all the 7 stages to achive what boys wanted. They failed, but still.

10 - from “Al be back”. Who knows that Splints is so good at singing?

4, 6 - from “The Fast and the Furriest”. Strange choice, cuz, you know, photos ten seconds before his collision with April bat?

And yeah, he HAS April’s photo here. And at this pic it’s April, and April alone,without his brothers. 

Don’s a real softie, see?

And avoiding physical contact is a way to protect Donnie’s already shattered self-esteem. To not cause any doubts in front of girl which he’s interested in. That’s possible reason why we did not receive any heartwarming hugs in “The Purple Jacket”.

But Donnie carries April, because it’s her birthday. On the one hand, the girl claims that  her b-day is cursed, and Donnie could, by any chance, do something nice for her, and on the other hand - any request of the bithday girl - is the law, as we could see earlier.

Gift for birthday girl

There is no Donnie in the scene after Draxum throw off Warren's arm. While Raph comfort April about her birthday, Donnie was looking for it to present it to April.

He knows the best what is the most precious gift for her. Warren Stone, her idol, goat of making news; she have been in Stoneheads fanclub for 9 years. Also, it seems that Donnie is the one of turtles, who collected info about this worm.

Also, he stopped immediately when April stepped between them and show no disappointing (remind you about Donnie's sadistic science guy nature). The reason is April.

And another cute detail: their glasses are the same form.

Another episode "Mystic library" has slightly touched D&A interaction. But were talking about Apritello, it's all hints but quality.

When Mayham trapped in the mirror and Raph, Leo and Mikey obviously are not coping, April decides to call Donnie to clear situation up.

Donnie, mister "I ruin everything", she's going to call for help. I repeat this. April calls for help Mr. Science to solve mystic problems with her pet. MYSTIC PET.

 And he AGREES.

Turtles dissuade their friend from calling Donatello but after a while, April returns with Donnie, and sees the bathroom in ruins.

I'm gonna clear this moment.

1. April haven’t called Donnie.

2. Some time later she returns with Dee.

3. Our girl is pretty shocked to see her bathroom in ruins, argo she didn't see/hear Raph chose to solve problem with smashing.

It must mean only ine thing: April went for Donnie by herself. We don't know where was he, we don't know what the reason April brought Donnie with her by herself, 'cause we know that if she call Dee, he will definitely get to her immediately.

Something is definetely off.

By the way, April changed Don’s profile pic.Yeah, the first one is very informative since Donnie is a turtle and he’s purple and he has bandana. Seems like April have done it by herself, editing the photo of real turtle. She didn't put a lot of effort into this, this image doesn't show her real attitude towards Don. But second is more personality-tinged. Sleeping Donatello in all his gear - this detail can tell us about only one thing - he was photographed when he fell asleep after his sleepless night(s) working hard at something - is something she can catch or receive by boys (namely speaking, it’s Leo, according to Ben Schwartz stated in an interview, that if Leo had an Instagram account, that 60 to 70% of his photos would be his brothers caught sleeping or slipping on things). And still. April has a dorky and little embarrassing pic of Donatello and this is... Interesting and cute?

This profile pic remind me about ROTTMNT: Sound off! (2nd issue)

The next station is “The Purple Game”.

Another episode in which the interaction of the characters is small in timing, but great in content.

And once again: they have a lot in common. I’d never tired of repeating this thing ‘cause the series do the same trick, showing one thing from different points of view. April and April shares the same taste in games, the same attitude, the same mojo. 

But the most important thing here is how D&A interacrions are shown in this episode. Unlike other episodes, the interaction here is indirect, is provided by gaming.

Their customized avatars reflects their personality. I mean, the colour schemes (though Donatello has never shown any interest in yellow, he used it for customization of his persona), the way their avatars looking. Game even refering to Sherlock_Corn as “she”, albeit it’s impossible to refer to her avatar in female pronoun. Because, you know, design and nickname?

And the in-game interaction of the avatars resembles D&A irl relationships. Bootyyyshaker 9000 don’t like togetherness, he’s looking like Donnie’s expectation of himself (cool and tough guy, as D sees himself in his own dreams)

Their dialogue

Actually. Actually, Donnie and April are not able to hear each other as game has no voice chat, but their lines make an perfect dialogue nevertheless.

April:Bootyshaker9000? Donnie? 

Donnie:April? You’re the last person I need to destroy to achive rank №1!

April:Ditto!

Both:There can only be one!

Donnie said the cheat combination, so April would know for sure what he is supposed to do, but she has no idea.

So, once again: their sync is incredible.

And can we talk about that?

April’s attack

As it seems, attacks may be customized by players. Bootyyshaker has attack that refers at Donatello main feature - superior intellect.

And this attack isn’t effective, because REAL April O’Neil has a resist towards it. She has known D for years, she knows what he’s capable of, she’s aware of his nerd side. April’s immune to it, so Sherlock_Corn is.

 Sherlock_corn has a default attack - kernel cannon. It’s nod to her nickname: kernel, corn, the same book. But her second atteck is something reflecting her personalitiy. Plus, April is aware of Donnie’s “fear” of togetherness. All’s fair in love and war, right?

April took a lot of BS9000 hp by her “friendly hugs”. And, by the way, his sweet reaction for hugs.

So:

The selection of the final opponent. It might be literally anyone, but we wouldn’t be able to see Dee’s obsession in that case. Yeah, he’s already had a  demon possesion ™, but it was too easy to him to win. No challenge. No “kill or be killed”, “It’s me or you” mojo.  He needed some tough gamer for challenging, to develop his character, push him too far. And  April, actually, is an excellent choice to reveal the character of certain purple turtle.To expose his true colours. And April do a great job: they know each other, so battle will be spicy, they are both compepitors, they are so alike, so it would be intersting to watch Donatello vs April. And it will, ‘cause In-game April and In-game Don is somewhat different than them usual.

April is Don’s slayer for sure. She’s good at gaming, her last attack was almost fatal for him. So he had to to cheated on her. 

Captain Cuddlecakes. Yes, she know about his afraid of togetherness. And there’s lovey-dovey attack animation with this cuddling and Donatello’s persona behaves like him. And it was SPECIAL RUN, so... I haven’t the foggiest why. Cute detail, I mean.

Just look at it.  Isn’t it cute?(at least we got their hugs somewhere... kinda. kinda.)

“Snow Day“, albeit  being family episode, shows a lot about D&A relationship through “family war”.

First of all, the same taste in films.   

Donnie’s already shown the same attitude to fashion, scary things as Cap O'Neil, April shares the same gamer’s mojo as Donatello, but now? We have Donnie and April that are loving the same movie.

For love of purple supernovas, of all the Jupiter Jim’s movies (and there are more than 60 of them), that's a convinient coincidence, they like the same movie.

It stated in series several times that Dee is fond of Atomic Lass. He had crush on her when he was child, he admires her by all his heart, so it will make sense if films with this character he would be his favourite. It’s logical, isn’t it?

Atomic Lass, even if she is part of JJ-universe, however, isn't in every movie. Leo described "JJ: Pluto vacation IV" and there is no sights of Atomic Lass. Like, at all. 

Nevertheless, April’s claimed that “PV-4” is the best movie of the time, and Don agrees. 

April:What the whaaaat? Hold up, Skip. “Jupiter Jim Pluto Vacation 4″ is the best JJ movie  of all time.

Donnie:Ranked, by us, just now. So it’s basically official, no arguing.

And they do this thing again. Reflecting each other. Facial expressions, intonations, poses and etc. Haven’t I mentiones that? Mirroring is natural way to build communication. People, who communicate enthusiastically, who have sympathy to each other, feelings of certain nature, unconsciously copy each other's poses.

Direct reflection and close contact have a strong effect. This is used between lovers, people with close relationships or interested in each other.

And you can see that during not only episode, but through the whole series. 

Poses, gestures, facial expressions they share constantly. Even if they are apart, they are mirroring each other, showing their bound. Because Apritello is not always about sitting close, holding hands and blushing. Apritello is about staying together even if they are not.  It’s about solid foundation, about synergy, about chemistry Donnie and April share. And all of these are not always so obvious and clear, evident. But so realistic nevertheless.

And that’s why they splitted off the fam - they are too close and alike. 

I stated it before but DonniexApril team is way more effective than Donniexbrothers team. Donatello and April are equal, worth each other. They are comfortable with each other, their teamwork is amazing. 

They are always near, close to each other for the entire episode. Stand up for each other, side by side. They have no need to do team-building, because their sincronization is incredible. April works well together with Donnie, their skills compliment each other. 

I love that April in a first place look at Donnie to check is everything alright.

And a cherry on top?

This inviting gesture. Donnie just watched all along how his brothers and April try to throw some cold water on this situation (khem, it slipped). But when April call him with this inviting gesture, he’d like to help. 

In other words, he was waitng when April requests for his help.    

Composition’s boners

Sometimes it happens during the show, but this episode beat hte score at this point. I say only one word: physics. Or, more precisely, the force of attraction. Or, maybe Mayham.

... Anyway.

Fitting in the type

April can play not so nice against her enemies, she got steady hand and meanness, merciless and reclessness. She’s passionate and kinda badass, sassy - in a positive way, she’s baddest girl who can kick your butt if you mess with her, and she really good at this. 

She has a fire, and Donnie likes that. Dee never stated that directly but miss O’Neil impressed him so many times and in different way so it’s kinda pretty obvious. 

Just look how Donatello reacted the way April took Raph down a peg. Her actions are elegant, relaxed but really sly. She almost dare Raph to put his flag on top only to bring him down to Earth in really painful way. She destroyed Bros’ team so easily just by waiting a bit and by calling Mayham. 

She’s definetely got some pepper.

Pretty cute but baddest, don’t you think?

And Donnie was impressed for sure, he admitted it - “That is fun for me”. He don’t even stand a chance, c’mon: she’s smarass and elegant, she can be mean and cute at the same time. 

Even though that’s it for season 1 analysis (the last series is more appropriate  to review as part of 2nd season, plus it was a reaally big post, I need some time)

You can refresh this whole situation in the car 1 and the car 2 or follow the hashtag #apritello express as you please. It’s a pleasure of mine, keep in touch :)

#teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja #rise of tmnt #rottmnt #apritello express #apritello evidences #rottmnt apritello #aprilxdonnie #rise donnie #rise donatello #rottmnt donnie #rottmnt donatello #donatello hamato #rise april #rise april o'neil #rottmnt april #rottmnt april o'neil #tmnt2018 #donnie 2018 #april o'neil 2018 #apritello 2018

[damsel-loves-machines]

Parenting Shell-don with Donatello would Include:

Author’s Note: This took freaking forever when it shouldn’t have and I, for the life of me, can’t comprehend why. I would like to thank @aceing-it-spaceing-it​ for recommending this prompt to me. Just a reminder that I am not accepting requests at all at the moment. Everything that I usually write is all based on inspiration, but I couldn’t pass this idea up.

Here is an excerpt from my Interested in Donatello’s Tech writing, the piece that has started it all. Since it’s my piece of writing, I can copy and paste it without guilt.

S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.? He’s your son now. I don’t make the rules.

Donatello programmed him to call you ‘Mistress Y/N’ until his brothers somehow managed to reprogram the A.I. turtle behind his back (once again) to call you ‘Mom’. After chasing his brothers with his rocket hammer and fighting down the sheer embarrassment, Donnie didn’t bother with changing it back. The damage was already done.

A part of him liked it, too, but he is taking that secret to the grave.

Donnie does enjoy the fact that you treat and take care of Shell-don like a son just as much as he does. You make sure to keep track of Shell-don’s coolant to be changed thrice daily so that it doesn’t overheat and scratch behind all 8 of his favorite places whenever you have time.

You even decided to freshen Shell-don’s metal coat with polish every once in a while as a treat for working so hard.

He dubbed you ‘his favorite parent’. Donnie is only partially offended by that.

What a lovely introduction. Anyways-

Shell-don is baby. To you, at least.

“He is not an infant, Y/N. S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. is a very intelligent artificially-created being with a well-crafted independent personality that I have concocted-”

“He is also two-and-a-half months old. HE. IS. BABY.”

“....don’t you mean, “He is A baby?”“

“Don’t sass me, mister.”

“Mom, Dad. Please stop fighting.”

At first, Shell-don couldn’t...compute the reasoning why you were coddling and spoiling him like this. He wasn’t complaining, but he was very confused as to why you insisted he’d rest his hard wire for the afternoon while you took care of the rest of the chores he was assigned.

Shell-don confronted Donnie about this and his creator said:

“They have always had a great fascination with all of my technological inventions and achievements. However, the second you called them ‘Mom’, you completely won their heart. Even though the primary goal for that remark was for my embarrassment, but you made Y/N happy nonetheless. You’re my greatest creation and they acknowledge that. They love you just as much as I do, bud.”

Cue robo-tears.

If Shell-don isn’t scurrying around the lair or resting at his charging station, you’re carrying him around in his arms like how Misty carries Togepi all around Kanto.

While Shell-don goes for Donatello for basic things and physical guidance with topics revolving technology and the sorts, he goes to you for emotional support and chill times.

The warmth and softness of your body hits differently against his metal body when in your embrace, something that Donatello’s reptilian physique somewhat lacked in. Shell-don fully understands why Donnie always tries to “subtly” cuddle up to you whenever he can.

Shell-don is, at times, emotionally stunted with a hint of dead-pan snark. He gets it from his father. -_-

So whenever some sort of argument would ever erupt between the two violet turtles, you do one of three things:

1. You try to sit them down and talk to them both.

2. You pull the “I’m not mad. I’m just disappointed.” move.

or 3. You threaten to call in Dr. Delicate Touch.

So far, nothing failed as of yet.

You hound the two of them to teach you binary code. You can’t tell what kind of conversation they are having when they communicate in 0′s and 1′s and you hate being left out. They always seem to love watching you pout about it and continue with their aimless banter in a playful manner.

Once Donnie constructed a body for Shell-don, you made it your mission to make matching clothing for the two.

*enter The Clothes Don’t Make the Turtle music segment here*

Everything felt sweet until Shredder infiltrated the lair.

You were stuck at the lair during the tragic mishap, along with April and Karai. You ran to enlist Shell-don to aid in the fight to meet up with the others...

...until you saw the tech lab completely trashed.

You called out for the violet tech-terrapin. The only noise that answered your calls were sounds of broken static underneath debris and mechanical parts.

“...M..bzzt..m...mo...glitch..om?”

You knew that so long as his memory chip is free of damage and/or corruption, Shell-don could be rebuilt with his memory intact.

But the sight of your son’s tremendously damaged tech anatomy only made you shed your tears harder.

You reunited with Donatello later on, with help from April and her bike.

The violet-cladded terrapin took one look at Shell-don’s chip laying tenderly in your grasp before crushing you in a hug of his own, desperate in trying to find comfort for the both of you.

*Fast forward to after the Finale*

Donatello manages to rebuild Shell-don once the Sewer Fam managed to safely settle back down into their home with massive clean up and renovation.

You guys ever seen the ending scene of Big Hero 6? It’s basically that.

“Did I do well?”

“You did awesome, buddy.”

“We are so proud of you, Shell-don.”

#rottmnt donatello #rottmnt donnie #rottmnt donatello x reader #rottmnt donnie x reader #donatello x reader #donnie x reader #rottmnt x reader #rottmnt imagine #rottmnt headcanons #donatello headcanons #donnie headcanons

[space-blue]

i don't know if it will be of any value to you but still: usually when i go fic hunting i only shoot for smut, because it interests me the most, for many reasons. since getting into arcane i've done that sort of fic hunting a lot, and read a few non-smuts in the process, but none had much of an effect on me, let alone enough to check out what other works the author has written. you though, are the first writer who doesn't write smut (apart from like, one or two mild vanco scenes?) but i straight up subscribed to on ao3 anyway (and i can count my subscribed authors on one hand). your writing is simply amazing. the pacing, the emotions, how you build on top of canon in a very specific way and get it to work in your favor. it pulled me in instantly and made me stay. and i regret nothing. i think i've read all of your arcane fics so far and am genuinely considering putting aside my prejudice against star wars and watching it just to read what you've done in the star wars fandom as well. just wanted you to know that. quite a few of your fics i think back to on a daily basis, and nothing feels quite as joyous as waking up from a nap to a notification about a new work of yours. just wanted to say it. i wish you all the best 💗

Hey Anon, sorry I took a couple days to reply. You think this sort of nuclear grade compliment can be of "no value" to me? Or any writer? Gosh, do I have a bridge to sell you. Seriously, I nearly swallowed my tongue reading this and then needed to sleep on it two nights in a row before the emotions subsided enough to tackle the answer.

Rare is the writer who doesn't thrive on compliments of their work, and rarer still are the compliments higher than "I'll get in a shitty fandom to follow you" or "I love all your work despite your suspicious levels of aroace flavoured genfics" or "you're like my 3rd sub"

You can't imagine me red enough in the face, right now, as I answer this ask. What am I supposed to say? Thank you? A Keysmawjenfkjwenfkfn? A GIF??

I'm deeply honoured and flattered both, and I'll strive extra hard to go on, and *at the very least* wrap up all my Arcane WIPs (SW fans who follow me and read this are invited to shut up and not comment on that, I'm not taking sass or feedback at the moment)

Alright, this being said... I'd encourage you to try out my Original short stories before you go down the route of Star Wars, even if some of those are really old. I add to the series slowly. The ones I'm most proud of are All Father (historical fantasy in ancient Gaul), The Teacher (introspective sci-fi with body horror elements), and Blink (Urban fantasy FBI case). Bear in mind all my works were hit by the fucking kudos bot fairy so they all have around 38 to 42 extra guest kudos that mean nothing.

Then I'd even recommend this Little Red Riding Hood one shot (mind the tags) over Star Wars.

Why, do you ask? Well, even if some of my best works are Star Wars, and some of the best fics I've read are also Star Wars... Well...

It's extremely dicey to recommend Star Wars as a fandom. I fell in the cauldron as a child, you see. Wore my French dubbed tapes down to nothing, rewatching the entire trilogy every day sometimes, in the summer holidays. I was *obsessed*. I had an articulated Jabba the Hutt toy ffs. Then I moved on, I suppose, even if I watched every film... I didn't read the comics, or the books. I played a couple prequels Play Station games but not the rest (games were forbidden on the side of the fam that raised me).

Then at the ripe age of like 29, I picked up the Thrawn novels out of curiosity, wanting more SW content that wasn't the hot trash sequels. It was like falling down a rabbit hole.

Now I've watched everything but rebels, played more games, read more comics, fell head first into the fanfic side of fandom, even picked up digital painting just to do fanart for it... But it's STILL A FUCKING CURSED FANDOM.

I can't, in good conscience, recommend it. I COULD give you exact pointers to watch stuff which I believe is super well done. I still feel like the Original Trilogy (OT) is an undying classic that you should watch because they're good and fun cinema. [Although I warmly recommend you pirate the original, non-CGI augmented version of the film, even if you have D*sney+. The CGI-redone version sucks ass]

But almost *everything else* that came out of SW is fucked one way or another. Shitty CGI or acting, childish dynamics, plot hole galore, problematic and insensitive attitudes on the creators' part, and most infuriatingly: derivative, cash grabbing, cameo ridden drivel packed in unoriginal storylines and foreeeverrrr more problematic shit. It's... Not *good* to be a SW fan. It's a fantastic universe, and the sand box offers so so soooo much.

But I don't write fics because the universe is so cool, like in Arcane. I write Star Wars fics because the canon, outside of the OT, has a tendency of being infuriating and broken. I write to fix. I read to fix. To expend on all the stuff they never bothered to cover.

We're always angry in the SW fandom, and D*sney is milking us in the most disrespectful way possible. I'm HATING the BoBF show, and I STILL have to watch it, and feel my fan soul crumple as they drag out my favourite characters in live action and make them look shit and do nonsense stuff. It's like a curse. Like I can't not watch, even though I wish I could.

*Sigh*

This being said... Some of my fics are easy to get into fandom blind... Watching the OT gives a good grasp of the universe. If you are the type who enjoys drinking while watching B movies, and/or have friends who are into SW... You could probably get yourself through the Prequel Trilogy. They're corny, look garbage (omg don't even try SW fans, I wear the shield of 60+ TCW era fics to my name) and the only two actors actually pulling their weight and having fun are Ian McDiarmid and Christopher Lee. BUT, the Story under the dumpster fire is excellent. The meme potential is very well known. My prequels meme folder is a place of endless tears of joy and I can always use it as a pick-me-up lol

There's potential. It's not a good trilogy, but it's a peak quality sandbox!

Next up, the Clone Wars TV series fills up so many blanks in that era and story... It entirely fixes the character of Anakin Skywalker, introduces undying loves like Ahsoka Tano and Cad Bane... But—again, always, forever with the BUT—the first 3 seasons are a slog, every episode featuring Padme or the droids is like sand paper to the brain. From season 4 onward it becomes a tolerable kid's show, and then all of a sudden you're hooked... And out of nowhere the final season is like "Hi, let me punch you in the fucking GUTS"

I have stoic guy friends who fucking cried in that finale. It also ends up looking gorgeous. So of course it lulls you in that false sense of security... Like you can finally enjoy some SW content without qualms... And then literally the next show you pick up slaps you in your damn fool face, and it feels sticky, so you rub your cheek and your fingers come off white and you go "Aaah yes, I was wearing my clown makeup"

So anyway... I'd LOVE to see you come fall down and suffer with us. There IS joy to be had in this fandom, and it's possible you'll find more for yourself than most, by virtue of not being one of the fans who were reared by a set of video tapes. Seeing Luke's character being put in a blender might not make you want to retch your soul out.

But I don't want to be the one who brings you down. I'd have less qualms luring you into the Hannibal fandom than SW. Or honestly I could point you towards single episodes, recaps, AMVs, or even just gif sets, that are all you really need to enjoy some of my works.

No matter what, I'm deeply, profoundly flattered by the emotion, anon, and I kiss you on the mouth and spin you around and show you all my blooming crops you've so thoroughly watered.

#anon ask #thank you anon #star wars #arcane #sw #fanfic #thanks for the ask! #no like seriously #blush #star wars fandom

[praphit]

Shang-Chi! and the Rings of Daddy Murder Death!

When the trailer for this movie first came out, I was hyped! From the cast, to the bad ass bus scene, to Wong vs The Abomination,

 I was sold! 

Of course you had the people who came out saying "This is Marvel trying to be woke again. Hate crimes against Asian people on the rise, and here comes Marvel with Shang-Chi" We know this to be crazy, because Marvel already had this in the works, but certain people still reacted that way. But, even if that notion were true, would that be so bad?

It wouldn't absolve the ignorance, hatred, violence, and toxicity. But, if someone in Hollywood said "We've screwed over Asian people in films for like... ever. What if this time we choose a popular Asian character to base a movie on, and we DON'T do that?"

Now, (being that this movie supposedly leans on Chinese culture, with Shang-Chi being Chinese) China might argue that they still did them wrong (valid racist historical ptsd, cultural splicing, the whole martial arts thing, plus the main character is actually Canadian). It's not my place to weigh-in. But, I will say that making Shang-Chi Canadian, NOT a martial artist, but instead a hockey player, who loves Drake, and co-starring another Canadian, like Micheal Cera or someone 

probably wouldn't have worked as well for the MCU. Then, maybe Canada would have a problem with Marvel. I don’t envy movie-makers in this context. 

When I was a kid I was big into Black Belt Theater, Bruce Lee movies, 

Bruce Leroy, 

and within my love for martial arts and fighting entertainment was 

Shang-Frickin-Chi. 

I liked it, though I remember it being a lil racist. It's weird going back in time to see your fav childhood shows and books that wouldn't fly today:

I mean we've certainly been a lot more sensitive these days:

Regardless, Shang-Chi is here! (played by Canada's main man Simu Liu) He goes by the name of Shaun! 

Don't let that name fool you. Shaun will whup that ass! He says "Bleep all those super powers, and serums, a suits, and magic, and the rubber bones of Widow! That's some ol bullshit! All I need is my Wu-Tang style!" A style fueled by his daddy issues. And he's got some serious daddy issues. To be fair, his dad is the villain of the story. If your father was the active villain of your story, you'd also have issues.

Awkwafina is his sidekick

(much better than Michael Cera would be), she plays as Katy. That's fun. Every Katy I've ever known has been fun... and a heavy drinker:) This Katy is here to drive fast and crack jokes.

Ladies and Gentlemen, your new Marvel duo!

It's not just daddy issues for Shang-Chi, but mommy issues (she dead), avoidance issues, his sister kicks him in the balls. He didn't even seem shocked. I mean, his balls were shocked, for sure, but it seemed like she just did that all of the time. I'm imagining Christmas when they were kids. "Here's your gift, bro. KNEE TO THE NUTS Merry Christmas" What kind of relationship is that? And why?! - well, he did abandon her for like 10 years, but... you know, that's plenty of time for her to get over it, right?? So, we'll say sister issues, his daddy training him to be an assassin issues, and his friends have issues with him! - AND KATY! They don't respect Marvel's new duo. They think Shaun and Katy should be doing more with their lives.

They are both valets during the day, and at night they rock drunken karaoke. That seems like the perfect life to me.

But, Daddy and his power rings couldn't allow them to keep living the dream. I haven't mentioned the ten rings yet. 

They give him super-duper-magical martial arts powers, and make him eternal. AND made him an asshole.

To be fair, he was probably already an asshole before the powers. He's been killing a lot of people. You figure he's been around for 1000+ years. His wife is dead, and he has no hobbies. It's not like he kills a few people and then goes home to read a book, or play video games, or make TikTok videos. It's sunrise to sunset killing all day, every day for generations. Then, he forms an evil terrorist group called "Ten Rings" to amplify his killing.

"Murder Death Rings" are what they should be called.

"Daddy Death Punchy Time"

""Dead Doomy Rangs of Killer Dad"

"The Legendary Killer Rings of Deadly Death Death Murder Pops"

"The... " sorry, I've been drankin a lil bit while I write... I lost my place.

I like "Daddy Death" Where was I?

Right! He can't have Shaun being happy! We've gotta get this plot going, so he sends the only white dude he can find in this movie to start some trouble for them. I guess, there might have been a couple of more white people in the film, but they all got the snot beat out of them in that bus scene. This white dude's name is "Razor Fist", yep... "Razor Fist!". 

At least they didn't stick to the original design. 

Ridiculous. How does he use the bathroom?

He's played by Florian Munteanu, who is a former heavy weight boxer. Yeah! Was also in "Creed" his nickname is "The Big Nasty". Isn't that a drink? A bartender once offered me to sample a drink called "The Big Nasty". I chose to go with a drink that doesn't have "nasty" in its title. ... I think he was offering me a drink.

???

"Daddy Murder Death" and "Sharp Fisty Man" spark this thang. And Shaun becomes Shang-Chi, beater of ass!

The visuals in this movie are the best Marvel has done to date. The action is so good. I just got finished raving about the action in "Black Widow"; this surpasses that. I dug the cast. I know some people don't like Awkwafina, but... get over it. She was great in this; everybody was!

I loved the soundtrack! I'm not normally the "I loved the soundtrack guy" , but it was perfect. It begs to be mentioned.

No issues with the story. And the emotions that they're stirring in you. Whew!

One moment I'm enjoying the beater of ass, then Katy is making me laugh, then the slew of issues got me in my feelings, then the visuals wow me, then more swelling issues, back to ass beating - all the way through.

And the ending! True, Marvel has a formula (and this sticks to it), but if it ain't broken, why bleep with it?? The ending was Game of Thrones-ish, but with light so a brotha can see, and all the colors of the rainbow - like a Skittles commercial with martial arts.  Fun! - so not like GOT at all, I guess. The only fun they had was when there was torture or prostitution going on.

I don't have anything bad to say about the movie. They could have shaved 5-10 mins off, but I won't take off for that; there's just too much to love about this!

Grade: A+

Fun for the whole family! I can see the fam working through some issues after the watch.

Daughter: "You know, Dad. That asshole dad of Shang-Chi kinda reminds me of you."

Mom: "Daughter! You do NOT talk to your father that way!"

Daughter: “Just sayin...”

Dad: "That's interesting, cuz his ungrateful, bitch of a daughter reminds me of YOU!"

Mother and Daughter: *gasp

Son: *laughs

Dad: "All I want you to do is take your school work seriously and maybe date a guy who doesn't smell like weed!"

Daughter: "I'll have you know that's his natural smell! And maybe I'd focus more on school, if I didn't have to focus on YOU being such a BLEEPING ASSHOLE, DAD!"

See, that's healthy dialogue, right there. Maybe the family that watches this movie buys mommy a bunch of guns for protection, so she doesn't end up dead like the mommy in this movie. Like a ridiculous amount of guns!

And I could see brother and sister kicking each other in the crotch to resolve their differences. BUT, if they're close-by, fighting each other, then there's no time to abandon one another.

Marvel does it again!

Whichever of the Marvel films is your favorite, this one will probably be up there as well.

#shang chi #johnpraphit #praphitproductions.com #shang-chi #Marvel Comics #simuliu #awkwafina #praphit #Movie Reviews #marvelcomics #florian munteanu #bignasty #China #Canada #michael cera #family #therapy #action #Martial Arts Movies #bruce leroy #racism

[what-do-1000-swords-look-like]

Taylor and Ana (and the cameraman with no name) are stand-ins, for both Buck and Eddie

I had kind of already thought this was the case but it was definitely confirmed for me upon rewatch of the 4x13 and 4x14 episodes.

The first thing I looked at was the welcome party scene in 4x14 for Eddie. I'm still not sure if this was a surprise or not but the way the scene was shot to show us Eddie and Buck before opening the door makes me think that maybe it wasn't completely:

while Buck opens the door for Eddie and is smiling at him, Eddie looks down but doesn't appear to be smiling himself or even look passably happy to be quite honest

door opens to reveal in this order: Carla, Christopher, Ana, then Taylor and Pepa with Abuela running in from behind

Christopher is front and center; behind him are Carla and Ana, in the same position, Taylor is not behind Christopher but is next to Carla though slightly further back; Pepa and Abuela are behind Ana

when door opens to reveal Christopher, Carla, and then Ana, this is when Eddie looks up

when Eddie greets Christopher, Carla and Taylor are watching Christopher (like Buck in the doorway) while Ana and Abuela are watching Eddie and Pepa is moving things around in the background

Carla and Ana turn to look at Abuela who is looking at Ana, we see Eddie kiss Christopher’s forehead and crouch down, then we see Buck’s smile as he watches them -> next scene is Hen, Karen, Denny, Hen’s mom, Evangeline, and Nia eating lunch together

voiceover as Buck opens door for Eddie to reveal everyone there: “sometimes just making it through the day” then we see Eddie smiling and covering his face as he walks in *Bobby voiceover continues* “can be a struggle” then we see Eddie kiss Christopher’s forehead “we collect scars” shows Buck watching them, smiling

Abuela kisses Eddie’s cheek, holding onto his face; Eddie kisses Ana’s cheek as she holds onto him; Carla hugs him; Pepa kisses his cheek; Buck watches everything from the open door, smiling; when we see Taylor again, she’s watching Eddie and Pepa smiling just like Buck; we don't see a greeting or exchange between Eddie and Taylor

I always thought that setup was weird, that Taylor would be there out of anyone, especially since we never saw her meet Christopher (which if she's going to be Buck's girlfriend, you would think that's an essential scene to show her importance, especially in light of the legal guardian reveal) and there has been tension and somewhat dislike between her and Eddie. She may be dating Buck now, but why is she there compared to Bobby or the 118 fam or even Maddie? Maddie is going through a major event right now so that makes sense in light of her talking to Chimney before this sequence of events at the end of the episode, but ultimately if the show wanted her there for a reason, they would have done it. Same goes for Chimney and the 118 fam. Even Eddie's parents and sisters if they wanted, like they were there when Eddie's probationary period ended in season 2 and Shannon had passed away. The intention? Because they wanted to show this setup in particular.

These are the people outside of the 118 fam that are important to Eddie's life (Christopher, Abuela, Pepa, Carla, and of course Buck), not to mention people who are important to Christopher as well. Eddie's parents and sisters aren't here because they're not imperative to Eddie's character (and they are no longer as involved in Christopher's life as they were in the beginning) and the events we just witnessed the last two episodes. Especially, after the legal guardian reveal. He made it pretty clear to Buck how he feels about that. Then we have Ana, whose importance I am not dismissing, and I do think she's important to Eddie (and Christopher) but not in the way she was presented before 4x13. To me, when watching Eddie leaning in to kiss her cheek, this to me, on Eddie's behalf is a very friendly gesture, respectful, affectionate, but restrained. His kiss to Christopher's forehead showed a little more emotion to it (which makes absolute sense) than his kiss to Ana's cheek. Ana is holding onto him as she would if they were going to greet each other with a full on kiss (it doesn't have to be passionate, it can just be a simple peck from significant other to significant other) and it almost made me think that she was helping him balance a little since his arm was in a sling and he was leaning forward (I could be reading too much into that part of it though tbf). He is not doing the same, for logistical reasons (arm in sling), but also it seems for framing reasons. Like Eddie said in 4x13, Christopher loves having Ana around and Eddie is seeing her, but we still have not seen a full on kiss between them (which of course signals romance), which is odd even if Carla had never said what she said to Eddie. We've seen flirtation, attraction, shy almost awkward (but cutely so) getting to know one another in the beginning, and of course three dates. Just like we didn't get to see Taylor meeting Christopher, we also haven't seen Ana get to meet Buck properly (we only saw Buck aware of her existence and watching Christopher while Eddie was on the math date, and Buck's pushing Eddie to give it a shot before that - the first time we see them interact is when Eddie is shot). So my guess is that Ana is important to Christopher, Ana does matter to Eddie but not in the way Eddie matters to her or that everyone expects them to matter to each other.

Taylor is absolutely not important to Eddie's life and is the piece that doesn't fit in this gathering scene, or the odd man out (they even show this in the clothing as well as the framing/positioning, she very clearly doesn't belong in this picture, Ana fits more than she does). The only way she's affecting Eddie's life moving forward is her involvement with Buck. But notice the shots of her after Eddie goes to greet Christopher. She is watching, smiling almost adoringly, and who do we see adjacent to her on the opposite of Eddie, who is also watching the Diaz boys, smiling? Buck. And who is next to Taylor mirroring her watching and smiling, until her attention is diverted by Abuela? Carla. Taylor is not watching Buck, or even Eddie himself (until he's crouching down). Taylor is watching Christopher while Ana is watching Eddie. Considering what we know about Taylor's character so far (not saying that she isn't compassionate or empathetic at times but us not seeing her meeting Christopher or Buck talking about Christopher's importance to her, other than him needing to go see him after Eddie is shot) and how the only time Eddie comes up/is involved/interacts with Taylor was the episode where there was clearly tension about the treasure between them aka Buck, this is very telling. Can she just be affected by the endearing scene of father reuniting with son after almost dying? Sure. It's a heartwarming scene for anyone who's watching, especially for those who know how much Eddie loves his son and vice versa (like Carla, Pepa, etc). But her eyes never leave Christopher and Eddie never greets her (that we are shown) and Buck never leaves his adjacent position as he takes in the scene. She is mirroring Buck. And why? Buck could have easily stepped into the room behind Eddie, he could have moved over to Taylor's side (which could have prompted a greeting from Eddie to be shown), he could have moved inward after Eddie is done greeting everyone. Instead they keep Buck on the periphery, on the threshold of the open doorway (interesting location for him to be in), quietly observing and enjoying the moment. Because this is what Buck cares about, this is what Buck wanted. Which is why Eddie greets Christopher first (besides for very obvious story reasons and of course for father and son) and Taylor's eyes are just as glued to the interaction as Buck's are. Also, while we see in 2x03 that Buck observes Eddie reuniting with Christopher after the earthquake, we never actually see Buck meeting Christopher though we see how enamored Buck is with Christopher right away (almost as if he wouldn't be able to take his eyes off of him, right? Because he adores his little BFF that much? Sort of like someone else in this party scene whose eyes never deviate...). Point being that Taylor is a stand-in for Buck here.

Plus, a fun little fact: 3x01: Maddie (who has been paralleled to Eddie many times) brings Buck to his surprise party at Athena's that she orchestrated & Eddie is the first person to rush forward to hug Buck (after Buck greets Athena who is only there because she let them in, squeezing her hands) and we see that while Christopher is in the front, he's not in the center; 4x14: Buck brings Eddie home to his welcome party (which he presumably orchestrated or at the very least helped since Taylor is there) & Christopher, who is front and center, is the first person Eddie walks over to greet. Christopher is the most important person in the world to Eddie. So this is a definite parallel.

Then we have the ending scene between Buck and Taylor alone, where Taylor comes back after running away. The wording to me here is very deliberate: Taylor: “You are not dead.” Buck: “Yeah and you came back. Uh, wasn’t sure that was gonna happen.” This is an odd choice for Taylor to start out with, don't you think? Yes, it could be related to her giving him a hard time in the previous scene, reminding him that he's not invincible, and this could be her teasing him like she does. But if you were to put Eddie in Taylor's place for a second, imagine he and Buck are saying these lines to each other, it makes absolute sense based on Eddie and Buck's last scene together (Buck trying to keep Eddie awake - Eddie: "Are you hurt?" Buck: "No, no, I'm fine... Just stay with me.") and it's very clear that Taylor is standing in for Eddie here. And this cements that framing: Taylor: "“You didn’t chase after me” -> next scene, Buck is running through halls to see Eddie.

Plus, we also have another moment where they make a parallel/connection between Eddie and Taylor in the beginning of the episode: When Taylor sees blood on Buck’s clothing: "Is that blood?" -> Eddie sees blood all over Buck: “Are you hurt?” Then we proceed to see Taylor not only reassuring Buck emotionally and taking care of him while he's in shock, but we also see her making sure to remind Buck that she can't go see Eddie's son with Eddie's blood all over him. Her clothing even makes me think of military, I admit it's a leap but she has black clothing on underneath a green jacket and it automatically just makes me think of military (we see the same type of setup on Athena's clothes when she pulls up to the shooting scene), but that's just my personal read of it. But ultimately, Taylor was standing in for Eddie here.

Now we move to Ana. Despite Carla's words hanging over Eddie's and our heads from the previous episode, and Ana literally stepping aside when Buck arrives to see Eddie in the hospital, they made it very clear that she was a stand-in for Buck in this episode. Besides the obvious clues they dropped, the show went out of its way to put in subtle ones as well. There are three scenes in 4x14 where we are shown this:

1) where Ana is sitting by Eddie's bed and the nurse comes in: She asks him if there's been any change and he reassures her that Eddie is going to be okay basically. The very first thing I noticed: Ana is wearing a dark dress (covered by a light sweater). Ana's style is usually light, very feminine, almost elegant if you will, light colors (like we see the sweater is), sometimes bright, sometimes paler colors. The only other time we've seen her in dark clothing that I can remember is when she gives Eddie the bad news about Charlie in Sheila in 4x13. We know that Buck is not in the best place emotionally right now. Eddie still hasn't woken up, the sniper is still out there, Buck feels as if he failed to protect Eddie, etc. But then I also noticed Ana's hair was pulled back in a braid. Which is interesting because iirc, this is the first time we've seen her hair done in a different fashion (other than her hair halfway pulled up in previous episodes) to her usual hair loose and touching her shoulders, framing her face, softening her look, etc. While the braid is over her left shoulder (more on that in another post), still, that was an interesting choice the show made. We know that Buck would be here if he could, but he has made Christopher his first priority which we know is exactly what Eddie would have wanted him to do (cemented by Christopher's call with Eddie and then Buck's convo with him afterwards). But we also see that others are contacting Buck to keep him updated on Eddie's condition: Chim, Hen, and Albert waiting for Eddie to get out of surgery (where Albert mentions Buck); Bobby texting Buck about Eddie making it through surgery (which leads to Buck's breakdown); someone texting Buck to let him know that Eddie still hasn't woken up when Christopher wakes him up, wanting to call Eddie, and Buck has to tell him that his dad is still resting and maybe later; Ana calling Buck to let him know that Eddie awake (after Taylor kisses Buck and runs). Ana's pure role here was once again (just like in that kitchen scene in 4x13) as a relay of information. And I'm going to take it a step further and state that she is absolutely a stand in for Buck in this scene.

2) when Carla talks to Buck: we see Buck sitting in the exact same seat at the table that Ana had been sitting in at the dinner in 4x13. We see Christopher sitting in a different seat, where he and Buck are facing each other, though they're not actually talking and focusing on eating. This positioning/framing and even performance/direction is very purposeful because they are showing you that a piece is missing from this table: Eddie. It doesn't mean that Christopher doesn't love to have Buck around (as he playfully teases about Buck's snoring to Carla) or vice versa but this is an incomplete picture and they're showing us that. Then they have Carla arrive to take Christopher to school. Carla who also had been a part of the dinner scene. Which once again emphasizes who is missing. Buck: "It's weird. The team feels off without Eddie." Then we see Carla have a sort of similar convo with Buck that she did with Eddie in the previous episode, where she's focusing on him, sitting in a similar position to Buck as she was to Eddie when telling him to follow his heart. Not to mention, we see day vs night literally here, it makes sense story wise since Carla mentions Buck's rest and the routine of school, but they could as easily have shown Buck making dinner for Christopher and Carla is there, ready to leave or mentioning it's close to Christopher's bedtime (even though it wouldn't be a happy occasion like Eddie's dinner, there is no celebration here obviously). But they purposely chose for it to be daytime and to show the contrast in a subtle manner because it's hard to ignore how different this picture is without Eddie (and of course, without Ana).

3) Buck rushing to see Eddie when he wakes up: Once again, we see Ana who is wearing dark clothing and has her back to Buck but she's looking over her shoulder at Buck and smiling wide. This bright smile absolutely caught my attention. Other than Ana calling Buck to let him know that Eddie is awake (which we don't hear her voice on the line, we only see her name and hear Buck ask her if everything's okay), we've never seen the two interact before. So why the bright smile? Could she be happy and relieved that Eddie is awake? Sure. Could be she sharing that relief with Buck because they both were worried about Eddie? Absolutely. But Ana's positioning makes it very clear what it was about. Once Buck reaches the door, Ana immediately steps to the left, revealing Eddie who is giving Buck a tired smile "Hey Buck" and then Buck is smiling back "Hey." Ana was a stand in for Buck and also served as a link or connection between Eddie and Buck. Once Ana's purpose is achieved, once Eddie is awake and we see him and Buck reunited, Ana is no longer in the picture, until we see her at the welcome home party. It's very telling that the emotional aftereffects (which turn out not so much to be about his close brush with death again but more about what Buck said, thinking he's expendable) comes into play between Buck and Eddie, and not Eddie and Ana or Eddie and Carla or Eddie and Bobby. We do see him reunite with Christopher (and Carla) via facetime but it isn't until Eddie gets off the call that we see him affected, before says anything about himself. "He doing okay?" Another telling piece of Ana not being there for Ana is her hair is now completely up in a bun. Once again, the show went out of their way, down to the tiniest detail to show us this scene isn't about Ana or her relationship with Eddie, she's merely a movable device being placed where she's needed. And in this scene, she was needed for the link between the two guys.

We also see Taylor and Ana paralleled in the guys' lives quite a bit. When we see the kiss scene between Buck and Taylor, she still has on black clothing but lighter outerwear (just like Ana in the Eddie bedside scene). Not to mention this scene seems to contrast with the kitchen scene between Buck and Eddie in 3x09. There is no soft or low lighting here; the lighting is completely different to 3x09. Taylor is not as comfortable as Eddie was. She's frustrated with Buck and she's drinking wine, solo. This scene even contrasts with other scenes between Buck and Ali and Buck and Abby in the past. This isn't a comfortable or even intimate moment. Even though Buck seems at ease and more than okay with her kissing him (it's what he's been wanting for a bit now), Taylor is never truly at ease, resulting in her running in the end, and she's pissed at Buck and reminds him that he is not invincible. (which later contrasts with the "expendable" moment) And of course when we see Taylor again, where she comes back, she's wearing a green outfit (and she still has those lines that make it apparent that she's standing in for Eddie here) but ultimately looks like herself for the most part, as does Ana when we see her again (after Eddie and Buck talk). Thus, we have Taylor and "the cameraman with no name gets a cut?", both mentioned by Eddie in his team up with Buck at the dig site, and mentioned by Taylor herself in the kitchen scene with Buck and Eddie where they discuss splitting the treasure and what their cuts will be.

The two ladies are literally stand-ins and presumably being used to move Buck and Eddie closer to a realization or "software upgrades" in their stories, separately and together. We may very well get Buck 4.0 at some point in season 5 and Eddie knows now that he needs to follow his heart, not Christopher's, when it comes to a partnership/relationship.

But regardless of the standing in that these two ladies are doing, something is still off for these two guys, even after that incredible legal guardian reveal. Because it's showcased not only by Bobby's voiceover when Eddie is back home, with Taylor's obviously sticking out like a sore thumb presence, it's also shown by the scene where Albert makes it to the roof.

We see the 118 fam there, cheering Albert when he completes the course. We see Buck, Bobby, and Eddie standing in the back. After they're all done clapping for Albert, we see that Bobby is in between Buck and Eddie again, and once again, they're not synced up. Buck looks more relaxed, easygoing, his shirt isn't tucked in but we still see his belt, still looking put together. He and Eddie are wearing different shirts. Eddie's shirt is also not tucked in but it's covering his waist where the belt would be (if he were wearing one). He's wearing sunglasses as are Chim and Hen (showcasing that solid partnership again) while Buck and Bobby are not. Buck is leaning on Bobby with an arm hanging casually over his shoulder. We're being given the message again that Buck and Eddie, despite what happened with the shooting and the legal guardianship scene. Despite the framing of that conversation that Buck and Eddie had (both guys are mirroring each other, a pair; Buck's right arm and hand mirrors Eddie's left arm and hand; Buck's left arm pretty closely mirrors the position of Eddie's right arm minus the sling, you literally cannot see Buck's left hand as he keeps it behind his leg but close to his side; plus have you seen these guys wearing their watches on opposing wrists? just saying) and how they both were clearly physically and emotionally engaged, there's still something between them.

My guess? Taylor. And not so much her as a person, but her presence in Buck's life and what it means and what it can affect moving forward. Why do I say this after I just rambled on for pages about how Taylor is a stand-in just like Ana? Because of two big reasons:

1) Buck said to Taylor when she comes back: "I always used to feel like I wasn't enough and I don't want to feel that way anymore. So if you don't want me..." This is before the "expendable" scene. Even though that scene was important not just for Buck and Eddie's relationship and for Eddie's character but also Buck's, I feel it's extremely important to note here that Buck has this realization (about him not wanting to feel like he isn't enough) before he and Eddie have that conversation. And he says it to Taylor of all people, a new (or renewed I guess) love interest. It doesn't mean that Eddie isn't right, that he isn't really getting to the heart of the matter (no pun intended), but the show made it a point to mention (and show) that Buck has been in therapy during the pandemic, that he is working on himself like he told Maddie when she asked him about it. He not only didn't chase after Taylor when she ran because Eddie took priority, but also because he is growing. And to get to where we need to go, that's important for Buck for sure, but now it's not just Eddie that Buck is sharing himself with.

2) The very person that Taylor told Buck back in season 2 who didn't seem to like her was: Bobby. That was who she was trying to get a story out of, more than anyone else. That was whose story (besides the firefam getting dosed) that she wanted to use but the network wouldn't let her. That is who has been in between Buck and Eddie most of 4x12 (and if he wasn't just by himself or in the middle at all, he was usually present) and is now in between them again in this shot. He has no sunglasses on, just like Buck. Buck is leaning on him. Buck is relaxed and happy. Eddie is not. Eddie has his arms crossed. The way he's standing is almost angled slightly in the other direction to where Hen is, like he's putting all of his weight into his left leg in a way. The different shirts, the different shades of khakis...

As much as Bobby has been paralleled to Eddie and Buck separately and then we also have the Bathena parallels, when he's in between them, he is not just Bobby. In 4x12, he chose to separate Buck and Eddie, telling Chim to go with Eddie in the helicopter instead. He was the one who had to shout directions to Eddie when Buck was being lowered into the septic tank. He's the one who vocalized how much Buck stunk up the place and walked away after Eddie did (which is a so-called separation tactic if that makes sense, not the actual term or intent, I know, but it's very much seen as us vs him in the subtext if you will). He's the one that responded to Buck's "we just wanted to" after the scene where Buck asks Taylor "I can still hate him, though, right?" Bobby is Taylor in these scenarios. This is also why Taylor (being extremely out of place, again like a sore thumb) is at the breakfast table at Athena's, and the cameraman is not (nor is heard from directly this episode). This is why Taylor is at Eddie's welcome home party and it feels somewhat off.

So as much as Ana and Taylor are stand-ins for Buck and Eddie, alternating and moving into position for whatever is needed story wise, Bobby is very much a stand-in for Taylor when in between Buck and Eddie. And that's a part of what I think we'll see playing out in season 5.

Ana has been pretty much sidelined by 4x13 and 4x14 (even though she may still play a small part in season 5).

But Taylor has not...

And that's the contention point for these two.

#buddie #buck x eddie #otp: there's nobody in this world i trust with my son more than you #buddie meta #ana and taylor #eddie and ana #buck and taylor #i'm ngl i can't wait for season 5 #i am feral #i know they're shooting season 5 rn #but who cn i venmo or bribe to get a picture from set #it can be of nothing and completely out of focus #idc #i'll still analyze the f*ck out of it #911 fox #is there a buddie detox program available y'all #i might need it #these two are killing me #911posts

[rotblut]

will you be watching netflix's HELLBOUND?

.

spoilers

THIS DRAMA WAS BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING THE WAY I HAD THOUSAND MENTAL CIGARETTE BREAKS BECAUSE OF THIS FUCKING BORING ASS DRAMA OMG THIS COULD HAVE EASILY BEEN A 2 HOUR MOVE THERE WAS NO FOKN NEED (AND I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH) FOR IT TO BE A 6 HOUR DRAMA LIKE???????????????????? INSANE INSANE INSANE!!!!!!!!!!!!! I KNOW STORIES DON'T NEED TO HAVE A POINT AND THERE ARE STORIES FOCUSING ON CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AND SUCH BUT WHAT WAS THE FUCKING POINT???????????????????????? WHAT WAS IT??????????????????? humans are good at the end of the day????? no fuck out with this shit.

NAAAAAAAAAAAAAA so mad first of all ep1-3????????? fucking waste of time do not need .was not helpful. YAI was a creepy leader with no charisma and good for me and him that he died. fucking HELL GOD GAVE THIS POS 20 YEARS FOR HIM TO GET BRUTALLY BEATEN TO DEATH AND DIE WHILE ALL THE OTHER PEOPLE GOT LIKE A FEW DAYS??????????????? MAKE IT MAKE SENSE??????????? a girly girl got only 30 sec before they killed her????????????? fucking hell

these 3 mfs i swear

this gif was basically all of hell/bound summed up

anyway fucking hell what a lame performance of YAI but his character was lame so i guess he did what he had to do but DAMN THIS WAS NOT FOR HIM THIS WAS NOT DOING HIM ANY FAVOURS! the other character in ep 1-3 aside from this bish

can and should have all died the way they were annoying. and i mean every single one of them all the side characters all the extras. the old main cop cop and his fucked up daughter? throw them in the trash. it would have been better if they died too damn. the fuck happened to those that made it out alive after ep 3???????????? doesn’t matter because nothing makes sense.

and i was this petty i did not want to fast forward or skip scenes so i needed 2 fucking hours more or less to finish a 40-50 min eps like i cannot. the first 3 eps could have been easily edited into 1 ep and be done with.

i swear. ep1-3 was a 1/10 rating this felt more like a prologue. it was dumb.

ep4-6 was better than the first 3 but also fucking annoying to watch. would give the last 3 eps a 4/10.

this husband king tho the mvp kinda and saved it for me!!!!!! he kinda not good looking but he did so much for me!!! he outacted everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! he got me a lil weak for real him and WJA??????????? they pushed me to finish this shit. but both him and his wife made sometimes annoying ass choices.

AND I FUCKING HATED THEIR CGI BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NO WONDER GOD WANTED IT TO DIE AT FIRST BECAUSE I WOULD WANNA KILL THAT ABOMINATION TOO: there was no point of a cgi baby god. killed the mood  whenever there was an emotional scene between hubby and wifey. they were crying because of their cgi baby and they focus on the baby

anyway ugly cgi baby aside look at them

did not expect them to be the ones i would come out with but they were tragic sad and he loved the wife and baby a lot he was crying 85% of the time. for real i love a man when he cries because of the love he has for his fam. only good thing about this damn ass drama was this man. every other man was trash. top 5 best men in 2021 and he’s in the top 3 of best dads. he was a good one. a good short lived dad. 

moving on

this crazy ass mf outacted YAI!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this mf saved the 2nd part when it comes to the bad guys. he was GOOD! it’s the glasses. and the crazy eyes. and the hair. 

#frage

[petersthree]

I was looking through my blog and came across a follower celebration that I was supposed to do and definitely never did for some reason and uh. That’s definitely not happening now but I did want to just do something, so I thought - I follow a lot of great content creators, so why not highlight them?

A lot of people do multiple things even if I only put them in one category so check out their tags and their work. <3  

Glorious Gifmakers:

@olisgifs makes such fantastic gifs (and she did this lovely header)! Her gifs are so thoughtful of the characters and who they are as people, and you can tell that she really loves all the characters. || Favorite set || Favorite series ||

@anya-chalotra has some of the most amazing gifs I’ve seen on this site. She experiments with such a cool style and every gifset I’ve seen of hers has absolutely taken my breath away, they’re amazing! || Favorite set ||

@tuafives honestly the fact that she believes in Hufflepuff Five already makes them a fantastic blog, but her gifs in general are just fantastic! The coloring is always so pretty and I’m obsessed with them. || Favorite set ||

@charmingqueenie I’m always hit with a blast from the past from her gifs in the best possible way. Some of the best Charmed gifs I’ve seen honestly, and her LNC series has my whole ass heart. || Favorite set || Favorite series ||

@inappropriateexplosions Experiments with such different styles and I love it! [meme voice] She has the range, dahling! I love seeing what different style she’s going to do next and it’s always absolutely lovely. || Favorite series ||

@challengerblue Her gifsets need more love and it is a crime, because LOOK at her edit tag!!! These are all such beautiful gifsets and I am obsessed with each and every one! The coloring! The scenes chosen! The talent! || Favorite set ||

@captain-flint Every time I see one of their sets: “Oh the talent jumped out huh?” Has so many lovely Buddie sets and Eddie sets in general and I love them all!!! || Favorite set || Another Favorite ||

@joel-miller honestly I’m getting repetitive here but I can’t help that every single gif-maker is just so so talented. Has fantastic sets and probably my only mutual who also gifs TLOU which??? I love!!! || Favorite set ||

@chloedoeslucifer has such lovely sets!! I’m a particular fan of her parallel sets because she picks up on SO many parallels that I didn’t even notice and it’s amazing. || Favorite set ||

@i-am-irondad Libby’s sets make me so emotional??? Such great Iron Dad/Iron Fam content in particular and it feeds my soul, I just love these sets and the found families that she gifs. <3 || Favorite series || Favorite set ||

@stevenrogered I think the one good thing about the “since you’ve been gone”/”in your orbit” feature is that I got to see their awesome gifs for SO many fandoms that I’m in (and also made me think I was following them for a very long time and I was so sad when I realized I wasn’t lmao). Just fantastic gifs all around! || Favorite set || 

@diegohargreves I love love love the coloring used in these gifsets! The yellow in particular is always fantastic and I rarely see it used in gifsets, so I appreciate seeing it - they’re always so vibrant and lovely sets! || Favorite set ||

@felicityollies has gifsets that I admire from afar now that I don’t watch Arrow anymore lmaooo but there’s always going to be a part of me that still ships Olicity and that part of me dies with how good her gifs are! Genuinely just *chef’s kiss* || Favorite set ||

@vaughnsgreenwood I also look at Dannii’s sets from afar because we don’t share many fandoms but her skills are just FANTASTIC. Also, even though I’m not going to watch the new Charmed her gifsets make me ship Harry and Macy so thanks for that lol. || Favorite set || 

@marcomardon graciously lets me call her Canada since I had very little reading comprehension when I read her blog, and also makes great sets! I love her stuff, especially when it comes to the rogues!! || Favorite set || 

Amazing Artists(/Graphic Makers):

@undead--hotmess has such lovely art! I’m so in awe of the talent, their paintings I’ve seen I’d say would look like real photographs like...it’s amazing || Favorite piece ||

@superbandnerd99 Okay real talk idk if she has more works on tumblr but I just need to share this one because it’s beautiful and everyone should see it and I’m 1000% updating it when she has the final piece out!!

@the-maidofmischief like some of THE best icons I’ve seen??? I love them all so much??? They’re so vibrant and colorful and absolutely beautiful and I’ve made it a mission to have basically all of her icons on my different social media accounts lmao || Favorite piece ||

@fengshuismirke her art is just. SO good. I was so blown away by a Martin piece that I’m tagging in here but I’m just in awe of her work!!! Check out her “my stuff” tag because she also writes! || Favorite piece || 

Wonderful Writers:

@ginnxtonic Ho boy. Ginny’s fics.....her writing is so good that I am now invested in the lives of AU children of Theon/Sansa in Game of Thrones. That’s how invested her fics will get you. They’re so wonderfully in character and she puts real heart and work into her fics and it shows. || Favorite work || Favorite series ||

@aprilthegayqueen has such wonderful fics! The ones I’ve read have been slice-of-life and character studies and I absolutely love them. They’re also in fandoms I haven’t been in for a while and they make me want to immediately rewatch. :’) || Favorite work ||

@zaritomaz hnnnng Mina has written some of my FAVORITE works of all time. She has such a talent for writing and it’s always just so beautiful, poetic, and lovely. || Favorite work ||

@nightskywriter has such lovely fics!! I personally have read through all her TUA fics and they’re *chef’s kiss* fantastic. She has a very fun style of writing and it really shines through! || Favorite work ||

@incendiaglacies Has such a long and varied history of writing and it’s awesome! I sadly don’t share many fandoms with her anymore but I’ve seen her Dream Movie challenge and I’m reading through her book and she’s just such a talented author with such cool ideas! || Favorite work || Check this out! ||

@hedgiwithapen the ANGST hedgi writes oh my goodness. I’m pretty sure a common tag on multiple people’s blogs for Hedgi’s fics is “dammit hedgi” lmao! Amazing stuff (even if they fill me with pain). || Favorite work ||

@deadtedkord Meg’s writing....it is just......so so good. They’re pieces upon pieces of just fantastic writing and literally any compliment I give here would not measure up to how awesome her fics are. || Favorite work ||

I’m sorry if I missed anyone, know that even if you’re not on here it’s bc I have no brain cells and that your work is awesome (and please send me your stuff, I love to see it)! Be sure to give these folks some love, tags, and comments. Thanks to all the content creators out there, you guys are awesome. <3

#janie's 6k celebration #so fun fact #this is like 2 years late bc i realized i'm close to 7k now and i was like 'hm what did i do in previous celebrations' and realized #'oh. did not do this celebration at all' but y'know #even better bc i get to highlight even more folks!!!!

[oikawasbread]

Idiotic horror story |Bokuroo crack

[a/n] : i love their stupid asses sm!! 

_________________________________

‘‘No, bro. Listen. If your leg got cut off, how you gonna feel the pain-’‘

‘‘IF YOUR LEG IS GONE!!! I GET IT BRO!!’‘

‘‘Yeah, Kuroo. See? It actually makes sen-‘‘

‘‘Wait, Bo. Did you hear that??‘‘

_

The two idiots were cleaning the gym and talking about random stuff, when the door slammed and ,at the same time, a scary ass thunder made everything quake.Their smol brains immediatly thought about a similar horror movie scene they saw the night before, and the fact that the mysterious man had a hatchet in his hand didn’t help at all.

‘‘Quick bro, throw some volleyballs at him!!!‘‘ Kuroo orders Bokuto and as soon as Bokuto starts doing his job, Kuroo grabs a broom and starts hitting the outsider in his stomach. 

As soon as the motionless body makes contact with the ground, Bokuto grabs Kuroo’s ass hand and drags him outside of the gym.

They start to run but Bokuto steps into a puddle and slips, taking Kuroo to the muddy ground with him. 

‘‘FOR REAL BRO????? CAN’T YOU SEE THAT WE COULD LOSE OUR LIVES TONIGHT??? CAN’T YOU RUN WITHOUT FALLING ON YOUR ASS?‘‘

Kuroo stops yelling as soon as he sees that Bokuto’s eyes are blank and he’s just staring into the void with no emotion showing on his face.

Great!! Kuroo achieved Bokuto’s emo mode.

(slap)

‘‘Kuroo!! What was that for? I thought you were bae? So you’re just..fam..‘‘

‘‘Holy shit Bo, just keep mov-’’

Too late. The man with the hatchet was standing right next to them, looking down on the two scaredy cats. He was soaking wet because it was still raining and he had the most annoyed and angry face they’ve ever seen. But Kuroo knows what to do. He’s clearly an expert when it comes to action or horror movies, so he literally slips between the man’s legs and Bokuto follows his lead.

Bokuto grabs a stone and throws it at the attacker’s head, watching him plop into the muddy puddle. They are literally so happy, so Bokuto throws the loudest ‘’hey hey hey’’ of his life.

That’s the sound that helped Akaashi find them. The poor man was running towards them and tried to catch his breath. 

‘‘AGAAHJSI!!!!!! YOU WON’T BEL-’‘

‘‘That’s very cool Bokuto-san, but please help me find Mr. Boris, the janitor! He was supposed to bring us a hatchet for the campfire and no one can find him.‘‘

....

Kuroo : He.. didn’t happen to have a hatchet in his hand, right?

Akaashi : Are you deaf, Kuroo-san? I literally said he had to bring us a hatch-

Wait a minute. 

Bokuto immediatly puts his whole hand on Akaashi’s face, covering his eyes. But a second later, Akaashi smacks his ass hand and runs to the motionless body of Mr. Boris. He checks if he’s fine and walks him to the camp-fire to get him a hot chocolate milk.

-

Bokuto and Kuroo were just eating some roasted marshmallows when Akaashi runs to them with the most annoyed expression they’ve ever seen.

Bokuto and Kuroo simultaneous scratch their necks and pretend to talk about something very important.

‘‘Bokuto-san.’‘

*gulp*

‘‘Kuroo-san.’’

*gulp*

‘‘Come on inside. We have rice balls and ramen.’’

They both sigh of relief and smile at each other behind Akaashi’s back because they managed to get away with beating up Mr. Boris.

‘‘And while we’re eating, you can tell me why you two assaulted Mr Boris.’‘

They both now are in emo mode, and run a few steps to catch up with Akaashi.

‘‘AGAAAHJIH!!! I told you that you won’t believe this story!!! So-’‘

The old man was watching them from the balcony, drinking his hot chocolate milk, letting out a subtle giggle and planning out the disturbing of his new victims.

Haha I’m joking. Or maybe not.

#bokuroo #bokuaka #bokuroo crack #haikyuu #haikyuu crack #bokuto #Kuroo Tetsurou #bokuto x kuroo #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu!! #haikyuu x scenario #kuroo

[agentelmo]

The X-Files MSR Analysis Series: Season 1 Episode 12

“Fire”

Previous episode analysis - 1x11 Eve.

Oh Fire, what an episode.  The first time we see Mulder actively pursue a woman and it’s not Scully.  WHAT IS THIS FUCKERY.

It’s okay though, because it turns out Mulder’s ex -- Phoebe Green -- is a real piece of work, making it quite easy to dislike her, which is handy because I think that’s the point.

There are two MSR angles here.  The first is how Scully is really there for Mulder as a friend.  She sees he is vulnerable and is protective of him; she is caring and reassuring even when Mulder seemingly dismisses Scully in pursuit of that British poontang.  The beauty of their blossoming platonic bond really shines through in this episode.

The second angle is that Mulder has exactly what he desires right in front of him, but doesn’t see it.  Phoebe is a tantalising reminder of a lifestyle he’s given up -- having a woman in his life -- someone to love and care for who loves him back.  But everything that he desires in Phoebe is already there in the form of Scully.  The issue is that Mulder doesn’t allow himself to see her as anything more than his  partner, his friend, and so doesn’t recognise that he has this incredible woman right under his nose already.  

With this in mind, there are parts of Fire that almost play out like a stereotypical romcom.  The male protagonist with the amazing female best friend who is perfect for him but he just continues to pursue terrible women, all while the best friend looks on from the sidelines, picking up the pieces, supporting him.  Until one day... *cough* seven years later... *cough*

So since this is an MSR review series, I tend to start with Mulder and Scully, not the cold opening.  But I have to comment on this, being English myself.  

What were they thinking?  It’s actually kind of painful seeing these frankly horrendous actors talk in exaggeratedly hoity-toity English accents.

Tally ho, pip pip, cheerio!  

Did you feel that?  It was the collective eye roll of the entire population of Ireland.

If this gets any worse we’ll be giving Dick Van Dyke a run for his money.  But hey, thankfully we’re not here long since Lord Moneybags McPoshface goes up in smoke.  

Now we’re off to see our favourite FBI star-crossed lovers. Muldo and Scullywag!

So this episode confirms that Mulder and Scully do have other cases between episodes that we just don’t see.  Fertile ground for the old fanfic writers, amirite?

In fact, it’s reconfirmed again in the season 10 episode, Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster, where Mulder recounts how one time the two of them went on a case looking for a “rock-like creature”...

Only to discover it was a publicity stunt by a local landscaping business. 

Yeah, I don’t remember that episode.

Makes me wonder who were they prosecuting in Fire?  What case was this?!  What cute MSR moments are we not getting to see?!

So we start with these two coming out of a hard day at court, Mulder jokes with Scully about the case.

Epic bants, Mulder.  You slay me.  And Scully too, apparently!  She’s fucking giggling.  GIGGLING.

Look at how cute they are.  Having fun and enjoying each other’s company so effortlessly.  There’s no guile about it, they are just comfortable being themselves.

Is it weird that I just feel happy seeing Mulder have a friend?  He’s actually a pretty sweet, charming guy when he lets that side of himself out.  Few people gave him the chance, and after so many years of being labelled “Spooky”, combined with some clear trust issues, he rarely gives anyone else a chance either.  

Until Scully, of course.

Mulder relaxed and just having fun with Scully is my jam, fam.  She laughs at his joke and he laughs at hers.

Just get fucking married, already.

Sadly, all marriage plans must be put on hold since some British bint arrives and ruins everyone’s day.

This “practical joke” Phoebe plays with the cassette tape gives some possible insight into the kind of relationship she and Mulder had when he was at Oxford.

She appears to enjoy toying with the emotions of others and then makes light of the consequences.  I mean, here she makes Mulder and Scully believe they were about to be killed by a car bomb, but then makes no apology for it.  Especially to Scully, someone she doesn’t know from Adam.  

Mulder, clearly accustomed to her torment, doesn’t even bother to chide her for the prank, despite clearly scaring the shit out of Scully.   I think he knows it’s easier to just play along.

Nicolas Cage, is that you?

Phoebe seems like the type who would say things like “it was only a joke” or “what’s the big deal?” or “stop being so over-sensitive” etc.  The kind of gaslighting cunt that makes people crazy in an intimate relationship.

What’s interesting about these two is that it’s apparently been 10 years since they last saw each other, but Mulder wastes no time dredging up their romantic history like no time has passed at all.  Making it abundantly clear that 1. Mulder isn’t entirely over Phoebe, and 2. he’s still resentful towards her for whatever it was she did to him in their relationship -- more on that later.

So spinning off on a tangent for a moment here... This all throws some serious shade on Mulder’s relationship with Diana Fowley.  You would think that whatever left over resentments or lingering feelings he had towards Phoebe would have been resolved or at least faded in the wake of a new long term relationship with another woman.  Mulder later says in this episode that he has spent the last 10 years trying to forget Phoebe -- it’s within those 10 years that he had a relationship with Diana.  

This would place Mulder at Oxford in approximately 1983.  He met and started dating Diana when he left Quantico which was three years later in 1986.  We don’t know when their relationship ended, but let’s assume it was when she fucked off to Europe to work for the Syndicate in 1991.  So, he was in a relationship with Diana for approximately five years and in all that time he still harboured feelings for Phoebe.  Wow.  It’s strange to think, that 100% canonically Mulder wasn’t over Phoebe when he was with Diana.  Perhaps Phoebe was his first love?

I mean, it’s possible -- he was very young then.  It would certainly explain why he doesn’t ever romantically pursue Diana when she returns, even though he could have, and she was certainly interested.  Perhaps his feelings for Diana weren’t quite what we’re led to believe?  Or perhaps it’s simply that his growing feelings for Scully just made things too complicated.  Personally, I blame Amor Fati for muddying the waters on that one.

Aaaaaaanyway, back to Fire.

I love Scully’s face when Phoebe feeds Mulder this cheese-tastic line.

She’s clearly uncomfortable witnessing this, most likely feeling somewhat of an awkward third wheel.  Not to mention a little put out -- dat’s my man biyotch!

I jest, but I wonder if there is some truth to the idea that she felt special to Mulder because he is a loner.  This man who doesn’t let anyone get close chose her to open up to.  Yet she’s now realising that wasn’t always true, and perhaps her connection to him isn’t as special as first thought?  I mean look at her face, she clearly does not like this.

The dynamic between these two women is intriguing too.  Phoebe clearly makes Scully uncomfortable.  Firstly, Phoebe never acknowledges Scully’s presence; only greeting her when forced to by Mulder’s introduction.  

To play this joke on the two of them, Phoebe had to have been watching them approach the car and no doubt overheard their conversation -- noting their close relationship.  Seemingly she’s already sized Scully up as rival for Mulder’s attention -- someone to undermine -- and so expertly removes her from every interaction the three of them have by outright ignoring her.

It almost works too, Mulder is clearly enthralled with Phoebe, gazing at her the whole time in this dreamy way, but as soon as Phoebe says this: 

It breaks Mulder out of her spell almost instantly -- he even physically pushes her back.

Talking shit about Scully is the point at which Mulder will no longer play along.

There’s some interesting symbolism in this scene with the camera work too.  Where Phoebe and Mulder are always in frame together, and Scully is separate -- the camera reflecting how Phoebe’s relationship to Mulder re-positions Scully as the outsider.  

So before we move on, I gotta share the amazing eye fucking that is going on during the cassette tape scene in the car.

That second picture looks like it should be captioned “find someone who looks at you the way Mulder looks at Scully.”  I mean, geez man.  His face is a weapon of mass seduction.  He really should have a licence for that thing.

Next we’re in basement HQ and Scully notices straight away that something is up with Mulder.

She keeps eyeing him as he is clearly becoming more and more uncomfortable.  But why might that be?  On first viewing you could be forgiven for thinking Mulder is just getting hot under the collar -- pardon the pun -- chatting away with his old flame.  Pardon that pun too.  Potentially this is what Scully assumes as well, but we know with hindsight that it’s because he’s listening to Phoebe ream off the details of how her suspect likes to burn people alive. 

Phoebe maintains her campaign of exclusion.  Trying to undermine Scully by completely ignoring her, and then throwing out a reference to a “private joke” she shares with Mulder -- drawing a clear barrier between the two of them and Scully.  She’s making it clear that she’s talking to Mulder and only Mulder.

As Phoebe leaves, having never once glanced in Scully’s direction, she suddenly says goodbye to her, treating her as an afterthought to emphasise that Scully is neither needed or wanted.

Seriously, dis bitch man.  Scully is onto you.

As Phoebe tries to erect barriers, Scully immediately kicks them back down again as she straight up asks Mulder what’s this private joke is.

That’s my girl.

Mulder concedes, but you can tell he is embarrassed.  I love that you can see the exact moment he decides to just tell her the truth.

Up until this point Mulder has kept his private life quite guarded, even from Scully.  For all the world to see, he is a man entirely about his quest.  Revealing to Scully that he has the same frailties as any other man -- falling in love with the wrong woman, for example -- is making himself vulnerable to her too.  The fact that doesn’t stop him is a testament to their relationship at this point, to how much he trusts and respects Scully.  He feels safe with her.

Only living for his quest is how Scully saw Mulder too, so to see that he can be consumed by something other than the X-Files -- be made vulnerable by a woman -- is surprising to her.  She’s seeing another side to him.

When Mulder starts to deny he’s affected by Phoebe now, Scully takes the opportunity to dig him out a lil’ bit.  Of course she’s gonna call him out on his bullshit.  That’s what friends do.

What’s striking about this exchange though is that shes not jealous.  She’s amused.  Shes truly playing the role of his best friend, looking out for him rather than being the best friend secretly in love with him -- which she totally is by the end of season 1.  What?  Fight me.

That switch Scully talks about in season 6′s Rain King?  It’s not been flicked quite yet.  She still only sees him as a friend, someone she cares about deeply, but she’s not at “the only person you can ever imagine yourself with” point.  Not quite yet.

Guys.  Did Scully just make a dick joke?  Like, not just any dick joke... but an erection joke?  And, and... not just any erection joke, but Mulder’s erection joke?

Wut.

Also what the heck is that voice she puts on? “Is that what you were extending?”  She is so cute when she’s teasing him.  UGH!

Now this is where I see some of the romcom-y aspects of the episode come in.  Mulder is honest, open and unguarded with Scully -- playful, even.  He’s being his usual self again.  This cool, controlled act he seems to don when Phoebe is around is completely shed and they banter away again like they did moments before Phoebe arrived.  Basically, with Phoebe, he knows revealing weakness is danger, whereas with Scully he can let his weaknesses show.  

Dude... the perfect woman for you is right there.   RIGHT THERE! OMG.

Unfortunately, this could then mean something negative for the MSR, at least here and now in season 1.  That perhaps Mulder doesn’t even allow himself to see Scully as a “woman” i.e. as a sexual being.  Thus she is safe to bare his soul to, she’s his friend and partner only -- a non-threat.

But I suspect that’s actually what Mulder needs.  To see Scully this way first.  A friend and equal first and a lover second.  Even when they are finally together I believe this is how they continue to see each other.  

Entering into a romantic relationship with Scully then, would be the ultimate statement of self-healing for Mulder.  That he can find love with a nurturing, caring, loving woman rather than an emotionally damaging one.  Let’s stick a pin in that thought, we’ll come back to that.

So Mulder and Phoebe go down to the arson specialist, Agent Beatty, and he proceeds to slather all over Phoebe.  He’s being quite gross and creepy, actually.  Almost makes me feel sorry for her.  

Yeah... Almost.   

Thing is, she knows the power she wields over men and uses it against them.  More power to her when the men in question are like this guy.  But Mulder?  She’s basically kicking a puppy.

It always bothered me how OTT Agent Beatty is with Phoebe.  Is it the British thing?  I am not the kind of woman to tear another woman down about her looks -- Phoebe is beautiful -- but the guy is falling over himself.  Is that really warranted?  It’s gotta be the accent.  I don’t get it, but then I am British too so, yeah, it’s like being Superman on Krypton.  Big deal.  We all have the super powers so it’s hardly special, ya know?   😂😂

All while this is going on, Scully is there but unsure where her place is.  Phoebe’s exclusion tactics clearly working their magic, because it seems Scully is starting to feel a bit insecure about where she fits into this new three-way dynamic.  She’s no longer sure if her place is alongside Mulder, so she just loiters in the doorway.  

The camera focuses on her a couple times and at first she’s just listening in. But then she seems to crane her head around to look at Mulder; possibly noticing that there’s something up with him?

Remember, this is happening before Mulder has told Scully he doesn’t want her on the case.  So there’s something quite sad about this.  Scully standing alone in the doorway, unsure of her place.

Sir Malcolm Marsden’s dog is named Jackson.  Really, Chris?  Really?

I think Chris Carter has a very short list of names that he must use again and again otherwise anything he writes will simply spontaneously combust.

Now this next scene is probably one of my favourites in the entire episode, because as insecure about her position in all of this Scully seems to be feeling, she isn’t one to be so easily pushed aside.  So she appropriates the three pipe problem “private joke” from earlier, and completely hijacks it’s meaning to make it their private joke.

She is the Watson to his Sherlock, and Phoebe?  Phoebe is Moriarty -- “mind game player extraordinaire” as Mulder describes her, a foe who likes to play at being a friend and who is decidedly the true outsider of this three-way dynamic.

Not to mention, Mulder truly is the Sherlock to her Watson too.  He is the ideas man, the guy who is so completely in his own head that he sometimes fails to grasp the human element.  I mean, how many times throughout the series do we see Mulder eff things up by not dealing with people very well, necessitating Scully to step in?  

In fact, you don’t have to go very far to find the last instance of it.  In the previous episode, Eve, Mulder has to be rescued by Scully when dealing with one of the murder twins parents.  In many ways, Scully is his connection to the outside world.  His human credential, as David Duchovny once so poetically put it.  In the same way Watson is Sherlock’s.

So Mulder tells Scully she’s off the hook on this case because he believes Phoebe is playing a mind game with him, a practice of hers he seems acutely familiar with.

Scully concernedly eyeing up Mulder all episode is suddenly vindicated.  He is clearly distressed and Scully switches tack.  She goes from teasing to protective.

That worried look on her face, the way she leans forward, searchingly.  She’s seeing how unnerved he is and she can tell he’s upset.  She is truly his best friend in this moment.  She doesn’t judge, doesn’t criticise -- she just hears him out.

Mulder has already confided that he “got in over his head” with Phoebe, and so now all past questions about whether Mulder truly trusts Scully seem to fall away here, because he’s now freely baring his soul to her.  The flood gates are open.

Phoebe is fire.  Wow.  She terrifies him.  But there is a double meaning here.  Not only is she like fire in that she represents a painful memory that laid the way for emotional trauma, but she’s like fire in the way that draws a moth to its flame.  Mulder being said moth.

She’s dangerous, but he’s attracted to that danger.  Something about Phoebe pulls him in, almost against his will.  He walks out of the office determined to face his demons, but ultimately ends up willingly ensnared in Phoebe’s web, yet again.

Unfortunately it seems Mulder is drawn to the leggy, brunette, femme fatale type.  I mean, look at Diana.  Perhaps this is why he doesn’t look at Scully that way for such a long time, she’s not the kind of woman he would ordinarily go for.  Not in just looks, but in the element of danger.  In the same way some women are attracted to the bad boys, perhaps Mulder is attracted to the bad girls.  Women who emotionally mistreat him.  It would certainly align with the idea that we seek out unresolved past traumas in intimate relationships, doomed to relive them.  Perhaps Mulder has mommy issues.  I know that’s certainly a popular fanon concept.

Ultimately what it comes down to is trust.  Mulder’s trust in others was probably damaged considerably by Phoebe.

Think about the circumstances under which he met her.  He’s left his home; left his country; gone to college as far away from his old life and miserable, divorced parents as he could get.  He’s looking for a fresh start, a way to leave the past behind.  Running all the way to England is one way to do it.  There he meets Phoebe.  This brilliant, beautiful woman who takes an interest in him -- wants him.  

Desperate for comfort, for love, for understanding, he lets her in.  I think he lets her in so completely that she knows everything -- his darkest childhood fears, his secrets.  Probably knows all about his sister too.  I think he gave everything to her and she lit the fire and watched him go up in smoke. 

Phoebe is fire.

Scully, bless her, now feeling quite protective over puppy, seeing how vulnerable he is to Phoebe, offers to help on the case.  But Mulder declines, believing he can handle it himself.

Yeah good plan, Fido.  Let’s see how that goes.

I’m just sayin’.

Now there’s some strong suggestions made about what might have happened between Mulder and Phoebe when they were at Oxford.

Phoebe compliments Mulder on his interview technique, and how he managed to persuade the witness to cooperate after she had confessed to lying to her partner about where she was the night before.

To which he quips back...

So the suggestion being made here, is that she had one or two indiscretions of her own during their relationship.  Namely, that she cheated on him.  If we think of how this episode ultimately ends, it’s a pretty safe bet.  The look on his face when he sees her in Lord Marsden’s arms is the look of a man who has been there before, and is not even surprised.  Almost like he had been waiting for this all along.

So I think it’s fairly certain she cheated, probably several times.  From the sounds of it he forgave her and took her back every time and was probably a push over about it.  Firm but polite.

And you know what?  I can absolutely see Mulder being like that.  As mentioned before, Phoebe was probably the first woman he opened up to emotionally.  So severing that bond would have been a huge loss, leaving him incredibly vulnerable to emotional abuse -- he would have forgiven her anything if it meant holding onto her.  

My impression of Mulder is that through all his bravado he feels very deeply and so, when he does let people in, he can be very easily hurt.

His behaviour much later in I Want To Believe demonstrates that quite well.  Mulder is clearly very hurt by Scully’s suggestion that she won’t come home if he continues working the case.  He sees this as a rejection of the person he is -- “...this is everything I know, this is who I was before I met you...” etc etc.

Later when he goes to see Father Joe at the hospital Scully comes across him first, she grasps his hand but you can see he’s not comfortable with it -- he feels vulnerable around her, she’s essentially broken his heart and he’s doing his best to bury that and keep focused on the case.  She hurt him and his walls are up.  He takes his hand away again, and can barely even look at her.

When she can see he’s avoiding her, trying to run away, she calls out to him.  Tells him that she does understand this stubborn, passionate, drive of his -- that it’s the reason she fell in love with him in the first place.

But he is still too hurt to be understanding.  He’s defensive, and saying something he no doubt regrets later.  He’s let her in, deeper and more completely than anyone has ever been, so for her to reject him this way isn’t just a disagreement he can work out later, it cuts him very deeply.

Bare in mind, this is in 2008.  So you can imagine how much more fragile and vulnerable he was where love and women are concerned back in his Oxford days in the 80′s.

Anyway back to Phoebe…

Mulder’s sharp comment clearly strikes a nerve with her, and she chews him out for holding onto what happened 10 years ago.  Mulder then infamously says...

So who wants to bet that he might have walked in on Phoebe with another guy?

Remember how Mulder later catches Phoebe with Sir Marsden?  I suspect there’s a mirroring of the past in the present.  You gotta feel for Mulder, though.  It’d be difficult to let go of something you can never unsee with the passage of time to dull the memory.

Not to mention other memories that can’t be dulled; like that one time they fucked in a graveyard, apparently..  Oh good times, good times.

Soooo... Mulder fucked Phoebe on a tombstone?  Yikes.  That’s simultaneously creepy as fuck and so Mulder all at once.

Also, with a bit of Google-foo I discovered that there is no grave for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in Windlesham.  He was originally buried there in a rose garden, but was exhumed and re-interred in Hampshire in 1955 – as far as I can tell, there is nothing left at the original Windlesham grave site.  1955 is long before Mulder and Phoebe would have been there.  So… yeah.  Whoever’s tombstone they were fucking on, it wasn’t sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s.

Perhaps there’s a metaphor for their relationship in that.  A complete lie?  A huge error in judgement?  That which appeared to be something it wasn’t?  You could go on forever.

Dana, babe... you need to get a freakin’ light bulb up in that office.  No wonder the two of you wear glasses -- that poor lighting is not doing your eyesight any favours.

Next we see that Scully -- despite Mulder’s insistence that she not get involved -- has decided to help him anyway.   

There are two reasons for this. First, she’s feeling insecure, she’s been dismissed by Phoebe and, to a lesser extent, Mulder too.  The two of them are still feeling each other out and defining the parameters of their working relationship, so I think there is a part of her that seeks some kind of approval from Mulder.  She is determined to assert her worth.  She’s worked with him long enough to know he can use her help; but I think a part of her wants to prove to Mulder that she can’t be so easily replaced as his partner.

The second reason is simply because she’s feeling protective over him after hearing about his history with Phoebe.  She can see he’s vulnerable and it concerns her -- she’s never seen him like that before, and she’s quick to fly into protective mode when she feels he’s in harms way.

What I love is that Scully proves her worth with flying colours.  Coming up with a stellar profile which pegs the guy perfectly.

Seriously, who is the profiler between these two?  Seems the majority of the profiling we’ve seen thus far has come from Scully.

She has the presence of mind to check immigration records for British citizens with a connection to the Marsden’s or previous victims that have recently come into the United States.

She also correctly analyses which accelerant he is likely using.

 As well as how he uses it.

Cough syrup?

Paint?

She does all this work without a sniff of help from Mulder or Phoebe.  They’re too busy fawning over each other and planning a little fuck buddy interlude at a swanky hotel.

All the while Scully is getting the job done.

She is forever the MVP of the series.  Seriously, Mulder and Phoebe would have been up fudge creek without a paddle if she wasn’t working the case.

The next scene with Mulder and Phoebe seems to lay the foundation for why Mulder finds himself being drawn back into Phoebe’s thrall.  

He shares his theory with her that the arsonist has some kind of pyrokinetic ability and Phoebe agrees without batting an eyelid.  Mulder laughs at her because he’s quite taken aback by this.  He’s more used to Scully who would have challenged him -- grounded him -- and got him to think of how what he’s suggesting could be scientifically possible.

Without that challenge, Mulder doesn’t even consider how the killer is doing it beyond “he did it with his magic fire!”  Thus missing the significance what Scully is investigating -- the accelerant.

Mulder has a bit of an issue with confirmation bias, so as soon as he gets even the slightest inkling of some kind of paranormal goings on, he will straight away gravitate towards avenues of investigation that prove his theory.  People agreeing with him plays into his egomania – having this beautiful, “brilliant”, woman agreeing with him is gonna get his “juices flowing” too.  But it also blindsides him -- this is a man that needs to be challenged.

While investigating apart on this case, they are coming at it from their own unique point of view, but both are missing a significant piece of the puzzle that they fill for each other.  If Mulder hadn’t ditched Scully they would have arrived at the complete answer by now.  That the killer cannot control fire, he does not have pyrokinesis necessarily, but he does have the unique ability to ignite fires if a powerful enough accelerant is present.  

In Fire, Mulder hasn’t fully recognised it yet, but this is the unique and beautiful dynamic that makes them perfect partners.  As he later says in season 11′s Nothing Lasts Forever -- they are reason and faith in harmony.  It’s been their magic formula from the very beginning.

Unfortunately their harmony is being stifled.  Mulder is distracted by Phoebe -- her agreement has flattered him, stroked his ego, and with that she goes in for the kill -- easily seducing him with an offer of spending the night together. 

It’s bittersweet to go back and watch this episode now; seeing Mulder pass Scully over in hopes of bedding Phoebe, knowing what we know now; what Mulder will come to realise.  That the woman who is perfect for him is the one that’s always right next to him. 

Ah the folly of youth, eh?

Oh Mulder...

He’s such a pathetic puppy.  The idea of getting laid gets him all giddy.

I think what you can take away from this, is how over the fucking moon he would have been in All Things when Scully comes to his bed.  I mean, can you imagine? 😂😂

Theeeeen it’s awkward-conversation-with-Scully time.  Mulder is clearly not focused on the case at this point, he is far more invested in getting his head away than catching this arsonist because Scully is there saying hey, I might know who this guy is, and he’s like, “yeeeeeeeah, that’s nice, but this is not a good time for me soooo...”

I mean, wtf Mulder!  Sir Marsden’s family is at risk, he has a wife and children.  People have been burnt to death by this guy and you’re all nah, sorry Scully I haven’t got time to solve the case, I am kinda busy right now trying to get laid.

Fuck. Me.  What a douche nozzle.

Look at Scully’s face at the end of the phone conversation.  She’s not liking this new side of Mulder at all.  She keeps pushing against his obvious resistance because she believes he’s ditching her in favour of Phoebe.  Her insecurity is more palpable here -- but this isn’t necessarily romantically driven.  I think she’s feeling insecure as his partner; like she’s being replaced.  Whereas Mulder just wants to fuck Phoebe; working with her is actually beside the point.  Poor Scully.

Then it’s the scene you’ve all been dreading!  Yep, it’s the dance/kiss scene.

So it starts with Mulder milling around the hotel lobby waiting for Phoebe to arrive, but she ignores him and walks straight by.  Mulder was clearly thinking they will be spending the evening together as well as the evening together, if you catch my drift.

It suggests that Mulder was actually interested in rekindling their relationship -- he was planning on a romantic evening with Phoebe  I mean, look at what he’s wearing.  He’s “undercover” but he could have gone as a bodyguard to one of the other guests, or as a member of staff to give him more freedom to move around without raising suspicion.  But no, he’s dressed to attend the party, not to stand guard dog outside of it.

He wanted to dress up for her.  I don’t think he was just in it for a one night stand.  He loved Phoebe once, and I think if she didn’t fuck him over later in this episode, he was in very real danger of falling in love with her again -- her betrayal pulled him back from that precipice.

Let’s not think about that too much.

He looks vaguely pathetic standing in the hallway, desperately waiting for Phoebe to throw him a bone.  

Phoebe, of course, wouldn’t want Mulder and Sir Marsden in the same room together since she’s playing both of them.  Yet, despite the fact she’s ditched him the entire evening, with just the tiniest scrap of attention, he’s eating out of her palm again.   

She truly does have a power over him.  For some reason he is enthralled by her, and it seems to be related not just to her beauty, but her intelligence, her “brilliance” as he called it.

But you know who else fits that criteria?  Yeah, not even gonna say it.

Scully is genius-level brilliant.  It’s a very rare occurrence when she’s not the smartest person in the room.  She was perhaps less conventionally attractive for the 90′s. She has a 1950′s Lauren Bacall-esque screen goddess look to her, especially in seasons 1-3.

Which is my only explanation for why people fall all over themselves when Phoebe is on screen but seemingly fail to notice Scully at all.  Oh that, and...

So back to this dagger-through-the-heart scene... Phoebe uses sex to lure Mulder in several times in the episode, and it happens again during this scene.

Scully arrives in time to see them start dancing and is more irritated, or fed up, than jealous.  She’s arrived at entirely the wrong moment and now she has to wait.

This episode does then establish that Scully wasn’t in love with Mulder this early on.  Attracted to him sure – but not so attached that she would be jealous of him with another woman.  We know exactly what that looks like for Scully, and when that woman is jealous she is completely incapable of hiding it.

As much shit as they’ve been through together at this point, it has still only been a matter of months since they met.

Although I think she does experience a bit of a sting when she sees them kissing – rolling her eyes at him.  This wasn’t what she came up here for.

She’s there to work, to focus on the-- wait....  WAIT.  WAIT.

Is that butt groping I see, Mulder?!

It fucking is!

That horny, sex-starved, puppy is just gagging for it!  GAGGING.

Fuck.  Seriously, in All Things I think he must have all but attacked Scully.

ANYWAY.

Scully is there to work, to focus on the case, while Mulder... well... 

Mulder is distracted by a handful of ass cheek and a tongue down his throat, it seems.  

It might be crossing her mind that she had decided to forego her own love life to work with him on the X-FIles back in The Jersey Devil.  She’d berated him for not having a life, and yet, here he is.  A taste of her own medicine, perhaps?  Let’s not forget, Mulder had a similar scene waiting for Scully as she went on a date, staring at the clock looking miserable.  

I suspect she’s probably also wondering what the hell happened to trying to avoid getting ensnared in the flames of Phoebe Green??

Scully then stops dead in her tracks as she sees Creeper McCreeperson hiding in the foliage.

But she doesn’t get the chance to think about that for too long before she spots that there is a fire on the 14th floor.  She rushes out to tell Mulder and Phoebe and then proceeds to raise the alarm in the rest of the building.

Dana Katherine Scully -- MVP.

Phoebe informs them both that the children are on the 14th floor, and so Mulder, being the action hero that he is, decides to go up there -- people need help and so he will save them, that’s his edict in life.  No matter how difficult it is for him, he’s going to try because that’s what he tells himself he must do.  In the psychotherapeutic sense, he is every bit a “rescuer”.  A person who feels connection to others through saving them.  It’s how he has learnt to relate to other people.  

The rescuer identity usually emerges in childhood in reaction to a feeling of powerlessness.  The child may have experienced their parents as emotionally unavailable, distant and unable to meet their emotional needs.  With these needs being unmet, the child learns to experience love and connection vicariously through meeting the needs of others.

Think about it.  Mulder lost his sister when he was supposed to be looking after her, and in his memory of these events he is powerless to stop her abduction -- no matter what he tries; grabbing a gun, screaming for help; nothing works.  We know from the Pilot that his parents refused to talk about what happened to Samantha and as a result the family fell apart -- his parents divorced and the first chance he got, Mulder got as far away from them as he could; going to Oxford.

To compensate for this trauma; the unimaginable weight of guilt and powerlessness he felt to save Samantha, he saves anyone and everyone he can.  This way he can sooth that voice in his head; the voice that tells him he is worthless, unlovable.  From his 12 year old perspective, his parents withdrew their love when he failed to save Samantha, and so now his self-worth is tied up in a need save -- if he can save someone, he is worthy of love.

So regardless of how terrified he is, he goes head first into the fire to save those children.  

He doesn’t want to do it, in his mind, he has no choice.

In a way, it makes me wonder if that’s why he took back Phoebe despite the fact she cheated on him.  Perhaps he saw her flaws, saw her destructive behaviour and believed her could save her.  Men and women often fall into the trap of believing they can change their partners through love.  Perhaps Mulder believed if he loved Phoebe enough, she would change -- that effectively, he would save her?

Poor Mulder.  He pushes himself to the point of passing out to save those kids, but fails.  While everyone else, including Phoebe, is fawning over Creeper McCreeperson for ultimately being the one to save them...

...it’s Scully who searches for Mulder and immediately goes to him when she sees he needs her help.   Regardless of where she falls on Mulder’s priority list, he’s always at the top of hers.

This whole hotel scene really tells you everything you need to know about how these two women feel about Mulder.

One casually discards him when it’s convenient, while the other will wait for him, and be there for him even when he doesn’t ask for it.

Even when he pushes her away.

The next scene emphasises this further, with Scully sitting at his bedside taking care of him.  Handing him water as he chugs up his innards and the first thing out of his mouth is...

The script notes for this scene are well known now.  Mulder apparently wakes to see Scully and muses on the fact this was not the woman he had anticipated ending up in bed with.

Chris Carter’s writing, everybody. 

Thankfully Scully is sensitive enough to his shame and embarrassment that she doesn’t give him a hard time.  In fact, she’s mothering him, using that soft, gentle, loving voice that she usually reserves for talking to children.   

She’s trying to sooth him, knowing he is going to be hard on himself.

When she asks what happened, he is entirely honest with Scully.  They have established a level of emotional intimacy in this episode that they’ve not touched on since Mulder’s emotional confession of his childhood bedtime ritual in Conduit.

This intimacy gives Mulder a feeling of safety that I suspect he hasn’t experienced in a long time.  He can be wholly open with Scully, all his weaknesses and vulnerabilities laid bare for her.  Represented physically by his walking around almost naked in front of her, wearing nothing but black silky boxers.

Oh Mulder, he really goes all out when he think’s he’s gonna get some.  Which just makes me think all sorts of fun thoughts about Mulder and Scully’s season 7 sex life.

(Here ya go, @allyinthekeyofx these gifs are dedicated to you.)  😉

There’s a significant shift in Phoebe’s behaviour when she enters the room.  First, she directly addresses Scully, and holds a whole conversation with her.  Shocker!  She dismisses a piece of vital information Scully gives her, of course, but she still has noticeably adjusted her approach to her.  She doesn’t seem to be treating her as a threat anymore.

When Mulder comes back in and sees Phoebe, he suddenly becomes conscious of his body, of his exposure and vulnerability, so immediately covers himself.  

The difference in the level of intimacy he feels safe sharing with these two women is clearly drawn by such a simple gesture.

It then becomes apparent why Phoebe is behaving differently, she is returning to England.  Mulder is clearly disappointed to hear she’s leaving.  Again, reinforcing the idea that perhaps he was hoping for more than a one night stand.  Was he hoping she would stay in the US for him?

Phoebe’s dwindled interest in Mulder is palpable.  She seems to have given up her romantic pursuit, no longer bothering to ostracise Scully.  She politely, and it seems genuinely, bids her goodbye as she leaves. 

Knowing full well what she’s just witnessed -- Mulder essentially being dumped -- Scully is ever protective.  Looking out for him once again.  It’s a shame you can’t hear gifs, because it’s all in that soft, gentle, tentative tone of voice she uses when she asks him...

Mulder is clearly deflated, but I love the next exchange between the two of them.

This is Scully’s chance to shine, to prove herself to him.  She basically single-handedly solves the case and discovers who the arsonist is after Phoebe and Mulder spectacularly failed.

She’s clearly making a point to him in outlining the entirety of her investigation.  She wants him to know exactly how much she has done.  Mulder seems to be only vaguely interested.

That is until she gets to the climax of her little tale, and he flips into overdrive realising they now have what they need to find this guy.

Scully’s face as Mulder leaps into action is perfect.  That smug smile of satisfaction.

Whose “brilliant” now, eh?

Mulder flies over to Cape Cod to warn Phoebe, only to find her wrapped in the arms of Sir Marsden.  Oh hey, I made these gifs already!

Mulder’s face... It all makes sense to him now.  This was all just another game.  She played him, and she played him good.

But it seems Mulder has finally learnt his lesson.  Fool me once, and all that.

Since it was clear Mulder hadn’t fully let go of his feelings for Phoebe in 10 years, I’d say this was a good thing for him.  If she had gone home and he was left to pine over her, that would have been disastrous.  So it worked out for the best, if a little painfully for Mulder.

It’s called tough love, bitch.  Suck it up.

After this moment, Mulder’s entire demeanour with Phoebe changes – he’s put his barriers back up, and the detached Mulder tone comes out.

He’s looking at her like he can’t quite believe he almost fell for it again.

When Scully arrives later, she can tell straight away that Mulder is upset.

Again, Mulder… what you are looking for is right in front of you.  He brushes it off, but she’s watching him intently.  She’s so protective of him, it’s so sweet.

So they discover that the arsonist is not the driver, but is in fact the caretaker, and as we know, has painted up the house with argotypoline -- rocket fuel.  

In a repeat of the hotel scenario, the children are up stairs in a building that starts going up in smoke.

Mulder valiantly but stupidly tries to put the fires out.  Bath towel vs. rocket fuel, Mulder.  Seriously?

Finally realising that whacking a rocket fuel fire with a towel is the stupidest thing he’s ever done whilst sober, Mulder orders everyone out of the room.

However, Mulder does find a moment to continue his hand’s love affair with Scully’s back.  All in the midst of facing his darkest fear of fire – nice!

Now this is going off book a bit, but I get the sense that there was supposed to be some kind of scene where Scully is in danger in the fire and Mulder overcomes his fears to save her.

I say this because there is a cut line of dialogue from the original script where Scully says “don’t let it be said that you wouldn’t want through fire for a woman” and Mulder apparently replies “and don’t let it be said that I wouldn’t do it for you again, Scully.”

To whoever it was that decided to cut that.  CC, I’m looking at you.

I mean, that’s pretty heavy handed stuff… perhaps they realised it was a bit too heavy handed for a show that was supposedly never going to put these two together romantically.

If it had been left in, it would have drawn a clear parallel between Phoebe and Scully.  Still along the vein that the episode is already toying with throughout, but those lines of dialogue would have made it far more blatant.  The comparison being that Phoebe is fire – she is a tormentor, a symbol of sexual desire and emotional pain for Mulder.   As such, his relationship with her compounded his fear; she feeds them.  Whereas Scully is a soothing, caring presence.  A symbol of love and friendship, and emotional healing for Mulder.  As such, his relationship with her helps him to overcome his fear.

The episode does still maintain certain aspects of this – once Mulder has severed his bond with Phoebe, and reunites with Scully, he does put himself between others and the blaze, trying to put it out.  He also takes control of the situation and orders everyone out of the house.  He’s no longer freezing at the sight of fire.

I really like that as they shuffle everyone out of the house, Mulder tells Scully to find a fire extinguisher but tells everyone else to get out.   It’s him and Scully again – together as partners, she’s the one he trusts to have his back.

Mulder, Gawd bless him, summons up the courage to face his fear without needing to save Scully in the end, its having the chance to vindicate his earlier failure at saving the children that motivates him to push forward.

Bless this brave puppy.

Success!

But yeah, being pulled from a burning building twice in one night?  Those kids are fucked.  Traumatised for life.

So remember I said there was some interesting symbolism with the camera work in the opening of the episode.  Well, now we’re at the end, the framing has flipped.  Mulder and Scully are reunited as partners on the screen, and now, with Phoebe’s influence over Mulder dashed, she is framed as separate from the two -- the true outsider.

The final scene is very sweet, and symbolic of Mulder and Scully restoring their equilibrium as they return to the casual bantering we saw from them in the beginning of the episode, before Phoebe showed up.

Where we started was that Phoebe was the one in on the joke, now she’s the butt of it.  Scully does have a fun side too.  

I just gotta say, she looks especially beautiful in this scene, thankfully this was a good wardrobe day for her.  Season 1 was very hit and miss.

Scully asks where Phoebe is, and Mulder, clearly more relaxed than we’ve seen him the entire episode, shrugs – he doesn’t know, and seemingly doesn’t care to.

Now if we were to get the romcom ending, Mulder would have noticed all the times Scully was there for him and would have thanked her, or at least recognised that he did need her help after all.  Or maybe he’d tell her he’s thankful she didn’t listen to him when he told her not to help.  But this is the X-Files, so... yeah who the hell do you think you’re kidding?

Phoebe also sends Mulder another tape, but he doesn’t need to hear it.  He’s free of her thrall now, and so there’s nothing she could say that would be meaningful to him anymore.

Would have been a nice touch to see him drop the tape in the trash, but I think we get the idea.  It took 10 long years, but Fox Mulder is finally over Phoebe Green.

Next up… My favourite episode of season 1.  1x13 - Beyond the Sea.

#thexfiles #x files #txf meta #txf analysis #MSR #x files msr analysis series #xf gifs #xf screencaps #fox mulder #dana scully #chris carter #david duchovny #gillian anderson #phoebe green #txf 1x12 #fire

[lizzybeth1986]

Quick Thoughts on TRR Book 2 Chapter 18

• Predictions I had made for the two Finale chapters (probs not on my blog but I did say this to several mutuals):

1. Chapter 18 would be filler, Chapter 19 would be likely where shit hits the fan.

2. Diamond scenes would be split between the chapters, 2 LIs per chapter: Hana and Maxwell this chapter, Drake and Liam next chapter.

3. Why? Because Drake was the only LI with a diamond scene last week, and because given how ominous Liam’s future would be, there is a chance they will up the drama/tragedy quotient by having his diamond scene just before it strikes (remember how we got a love scene just before the fiasco at Coronation??). Hana and Maxwell have not had diamond scenes since NY, so obviously they would get a lion’s share of this chapter.

4. LIs would have significant conversations with the MC about their relationship during the diamond scenes. The scenes will be priced at 30 diamonds each - that was exactly how much they priced “last moments with LI” in Book 1. (I see they didn't do this for Maxwell possibly because no sex compared to what the other LIs are getting) (Future prediction: I think Drake’s scene might have some stuff on his real role in court but I can’t be sure, and hopefully Liam’s will expand on family history).

5. Another future prediction: We may or may not get another plot related diamond scene (similar to Olivia’s in the Book 1 finale).

• I didn’t anticipate the impromptu photoshoot or Bertrand and Savannah reuniting or Madeleine appearing at the end (tho I wasn’t exactly surprised she did, we were bound to see her sometime or other). But the rest? On. The. Money 😎

• Okay let’s start this shizz fam!

• Today’s title: Noble At Heart. Though it actually should have been I Got Land and A Fancy Title Only Because Pixelberry Wants to Justify Getting Me Involved In Some Really Complicated Political Shit The Next Book.

• We’re still not done impressing people. In fact we’re never going to be done impressing people. I fail to understand why the MC is so surprised about this. Boo, this is what you signed up for by being royalty/nobility. You’re not GOING to have a life of your own from now on *shrug*.

•

The epic shade Bertrand Beaumont, Duke of Ramsford, gave to Prince Leo tho 😂

•

I KNEW naming my duchy Daniel Henney was a good idea! 😁😁😁

• There are mixed responses on Liam’s new suit but I kinda like it? It defines his chest quite nicely I think xD xD I wish it had been a slightly duller/lighter shade of blue tho, similar to what we saw on the cover. The blue suit on the cover wasn’t this bright.

• I really wish his bow could have been silver instead of gold though? Blue and silver are Cordonia’s national colours and it would have been fitting to have him wear those to the Homecoming Ball.

• Also I think the extra diamond scene if you’re engaged to Liam is such a lovely bonus, even if I think the dress for that picture was a little too top-heavy for my tastes and WTF why does my MC have two left hands. But the picture looked sweet xD

(See the skirts are flowy and wonderful and the sleeves are lovely but I feel like there’s too much going on with the bodice!)

• Sample this dialogue exchange (if the MC says “we would have still found a way to be with each other”):

Liam: I know we have our share of history [in the palace ballroom], but to me, it will always be the place where I first saw you in Cordonia…the moment I realized you had come into my life to stay. Since then, I’d wondered time and again if I would ever stand beside you like this. Now that we’re engaged, there are a million memories I want to make with you.

MC: No matter how bleak things were, or how hard it got…I knew we’d find a way through.

Brb crying 😭😭😭😭

• I have a feeling there might be some emotional importance to this photograph later if you buy it - esp if something happens to Liam or they are not able to get married yet. It could be a reminder of happier, more hopeful times, or Liam could look at this and view it as motivation for a future he wants to give the MC. IDK how it will work out but it would be great if they did that.

• MC: Together, we’ll be unstoppable.

Liam: I think we already are.

Hold on to that thought, you two. You’ll need to prove it pretty soon the way this book is going.

• @feisty-mary pointed out that we get a caption for impressing Justin and speculated on a likelihood that it might have some importance in the future. That kinda depends on how the writers are going to spin his cryptic “our paths may cross again”. Ally? Enemy? He’s like Madeleine now, you don’t know yet which direction this character will be headed.

• Why did they make Hana’s selection look like an over-frosted cupcake? 😣 Stop doing my fashion queen dirty.

• Olivia’s selection was nice but I’m not sure about the tiaras for either.

• It’s interesting how they have gowns that are custom-made to suit what Liam is wearing (Hana mentions this): the pink gown I’m guessing is meant to suit Liam’s blue suit overall, and the gold one to match his bow.

• Fam this tiara is clashing with my pretty gold hairclip help.

• Now that Olivia has found out who was responsible for the threats, can’t do anything about it because it would hurt Liam, and basically feels she has nothing left to investigate, her work seems done. But is it really?

• There’s still so much story left to Olivia. Esp re: her parents. That’s why they’re keeping her appearances limited to just helping the MC this book. Book 2 is supposed to be about the MC clearing her name and defining her relationships, but Book 3 will undeniably be about Cordonia. Olivia’s story is a big part of that history so I guess it makes sense for them to put it off till then. @ladynevrakis and I have this theory going on about how Olivia’s parents might have been trying to protect Liam’s mom - I personally think that would be a great way to tie those two stories together!

• Only Olivia Vanderwall Nevrakis, Duchess of Lythikos, would suggest placing her future queen in a dungeon. Only Olivia 😂

• I’m not going to say much about the Hana lake scene, esp since it’s largely a sex scene and the non-diamond buildup is just as important, BUT HANA STANS CONGRATULATIONS I’M SO HAPPY FOR YOU.

• So Hana’s going to stay with us, Drake might stay/visit, Maxwell might visit, Olivia might return to court when she hears about Liam and Liam…man that depends on what happens next chapter 😟 So we’re kinda starting to get a clearer idea of where the gang will be at.

• The scene with the guys, Bertrand, Savannah and Bartie was sweet, but my lack of investment in Bertrand/Savannah doesn’t really let me enjoy it. I think PB did all three characters (Bertrand, Savannah, Maxwell) a disservice by handling that story the way they did. Savannah’s story started out as this very emotionally charged mystery that kept Drake going in Book 1, and people got invested enough, but IMO it was handled so shoddily you end up feeling irritated at Savannah and Maxwell for how they handled things, and saddened because Bertrand’s entire character gets shortchanged so that the only thing he seems to care about anymore is Savannah (which is fine, but the reason I liked Bertrand in the first place was the way he was depicted before she came along). So Savannah is still a big part of Drake’s story, and the Beaumont brothers’ history, but the investment in her is simply not there anymore. At least for me. Sigh.

• Also CONGRATULATIONS MAXWELL STANS! The screenshots I saw looked sweet and I’m glad they had that all-important chat about how they want to move forward. I’m guessing Maxwell’s relationship will take time since they’d just confessed to their feelings in NY and they’d need a lot more development as a couple before they reach that stage. But I’m guessing that will happen in Book 3! Splurge on those diamond development scenes like your life depends on it till then! XD

•

If Liam is sending his personal security detail to guard me…then who’s guarding Liam?? 😱 😱 😱

• Adeleide looks very happy for the mother of a thwarted almost-queen. But she did mention that becoming royalty was changing Madeleine for the worse so I’m guessing she thinks her daughter almost dodged a bullet there. Plus, free booze.

This is Adeleide when she talks about Madeleine.

• I’m totally waiting for you to get that “hip hopera” of yours’ ready, Maxwell. Like Elvis Presley would say…

• I like the idea of Bertrand getting some love in his life…I just want to be able to enjoy the good ol’ curmudgeony go-getter Bertrand we all grew to love while we’re at it. Is that too much to ask for, PB? Is it?

• “Will Madeleine spoil your big night?” - I don’t think you would have placed her so early in the next chapter if that was the case, PB, cmon (then again, the message at the end of Chapter 18 last book didn’t sound that threatening either and look what happened there. So I could be wrong). Plus, I think we have bigger threats to worry about, threats we don’t even know about yet.

• So I saw a screenshot of what would happen if you’re with Liam and tell Hana you still want her, and she seems okay with it. I have the same problems with this scene that I have with the other scene - in fact more so because at this stage the MC is officially engaged to the other LI. But you know what worries me more? That there was such an intense reaction when Liam did it (including people stating they were glad they did not choose him and comments on Liam’s “integrity” - thankfully most of the people I followed pointed out how OOC it was) but almost-radio-silence when it came to the other LIs doing the same thing. I mean Drake last chapter still got to imply that he’d be more than happy to take us up on that offer if we chose the “tour of the room” option, and Hana here immediately agrees to what the MC wants if she implies that she is willing to cheat on Liam with her (unless the MC has Liam’s consent on this, that’s what it is). Very few actually commented on either. That’s not fair, fam. You can’t hold one LI accountable for something like this and not say anything about the others.

(People who may have taken the option to have sex with Liam while being with the other LI, and continued the chapter, does the MC inform their LI about this development?)

For me, the problem in both cases is that the MC doesn’t bother to ask the other person. She doesn’t say “look this is what I want to do, but I want to talk to both you and my fiance before I move forward”. She just takes what she wants from whoever she wants and the LIs just let her. It makes me feel sorry for them and really angry at her.

• Is it me or will Hana have an outdoor kink too? Homegirl has her first time with the woman she loves just as the setting sun kisses the lake xD

• Next chapters the finale, fam. The sex is going to be HELLA. The drama is going to be HELLA. And the wait for Book 3 is going to be…not hella.

• Will Liam finally have sex with my MC in a bedroom? Or will we find some other nice outdoorsy place since the hedge maze is already done? Whatever it is, we’d better get a scene absolutely worth 30 diamonds. No fade-to-black bullshit. LIAM STANS WILL RIOT.

• This is my MC to Liam next chapter:

Credit to @callmetippytumbles the genius who began the trend of putting gifs on her “Thoughts” posts. I can’t imagine NOT using them now thanks to you 😂

#the royal romance #liam x mc #trr liam #trr hana #trr maxwell #trr drake #trr olivia #trr bertrand #trr quick thoughts #quick thoughts

[cocogukkie]

2020 in review: kdramas (the heart fluttering, the disappointing, the saviors of 2020)

it’s december 31st! the new year is quite literally upon us (some of y’all are already in 2021) and my procrastinating self has chosen to upload this today. i’ve always loved these rec lists and I wanted to do one for 2020! this year was a rollercoaster for kdramas with some excellent ones and some not so excellent ones. i watched all of these in 2020 but not all of them were released in 2020.

if you want to use my questions to make your own list please do!! or give your favs in the tags, i’d love to read them. (fair warning, some of these have multiple answers bc i just can’t choose one!!)

drama that made me laugh

When The Camellia Blooms (2019)

i finally got around to watching when the camellia blooms this year and it. was. so. funny. oh my goodness, the comedic timing in so many scenes was pure excellency and im kinda mad at myself that i didn’t watch this last year. this isn’t just a comedy for those who are interested, its a thriller/romance but its also so fucking funny. definitely watch this if you want to laugh (and be touched bc the emotional scenes in this one are beautiful)

drama that made me cry

Sweet Home (2020)

hahah….. um this one is gonna go to sweet home friends. i went into this one with zero expectations and the first couple episodes didn’t really wow me? but i kept watching and holy shit fam. this show really picks up story-wise around ep 4 and makes the viewer love a lot of these initially unlikable characters. all i can say is that the end was devastating for me and i cried quite a bit. (warning, there are a lot of mature themes in this one so make sure you look for trigger warnings or send me an ask and i’ll list them all out for you) 

best OST

Itaewon Class (2020) 

i loved the ost for itaewon class!! the music is just so inspirational and pump up music, its so good. my favorites are ‘you make me back’ by woosung and ‘start’ by gaho.

drama with chemistry royalty (aka the best couple) 

i have three for this one because i just cannot choose one. 

It’s Okay To Not Be Okay (2020)

we recognize this one as one of the best things to come out of 2020. go moon young and moon kang tae have some of the best chemistry i have ever seen in a drama couple. i waited on the edge of my seat every single week for the next couple of episode just so i could fawn over these two. they work so well together, lift each other up, and so fucking funny together and support one another. while they’re not the chillest couple (lmao) they’re most certainly one with the most personality. they’re so cute and bicker and they just get each other. who could ask for more.

Flower of Evil (2020)

our badass mom and dad 😭😭. this was another peak drama that came out this year and our married partners-in-crime-but-not-really had amazing chemistry. baek hee sung and cha ji won were so cute as a married couple but they were even more precious later on in the drama after certain things unfolded (no spoilers). they both just get each other and protected one another as well as on the most precious kdrama children this year, their daughter eunha. they were so wholesome, flower of evil is so very worth a watch.

Into The Ring (2020)

this was one of the more underappreciated kdramas of the year but hoo buddy was the main couples chemistry top notch. they were so friggin cute and i just couldn’t. goo se ra is highkey one of the best female characters i’ve ever seen, she’s absolute chaos, lawful chaos, but chaos nonetheless. her other half, seo gong myung is opposite from her as lawful neutral. he’s just along for the ride that is se ra and loves her. they’re both so very fond and protective of each other and back each other up!! very very cute and you’ll definitely replay more than a couple of their scenes together.

most disappointing

Record of Youth (2020)

it’s sad but true… i went into this one with so much hope and excitement (i was riding off that ‘psycho but its okay’ high) and i was vastly disappointed. the plot mostly focused on the male lead, and there wasn’t much characterization for the female lead which i didn’t like. honestly, i only cared about maybe 3-4? characters in the whole drama. the rest were absolutely terrible or plain boring and i ended up skipping eps 14 and 15 and just watched the finale. i would not recommend tbh.

drama you can’t really get through

Crash Landing on You (2019)

this one is absolutely on me, i want so badly to love this one. but i just… can’t seem to get past ep 2? i’ve tried!! i swear, but i just cannot get through it. maybe in 2021, i can try again and i’ll enjoy it more.

drama everyone else liked but was meh

Kairos (2020)

i though kairos was a bit predictable tbh. i know those of us who did end up watching it really liked it but maybe its because i watch so many crime/mystery shows that this one didn’t really do it for me. the writing is quite solid and everything connects well, i would recommend that those who don’t really watch thrillers, to watch this one. (also the friendship between the female lead and her two friends is suuuper cute and worth it alone to watch kairos)

favorite romance

It’s Okay To Not Be Okay (2020)

yeah… this one wins again lol. what can i say, i just loved it so much and the main theme of the show is romance (its also a comedy and a mental health/healing drama) all i can say is watch this if you haven’t yet, its definitely worth it!! 

favorite mystery

Memorist (2020)  & Watcher (2019)

i really enjoyed these two mystery dramas. both were super fun to watch and very kinda unique in their own ways. i liked memorist because it was lowkey funny and i liked the relationships between the characters, but most importantly i couldn’t guess the main antagonist by the end! i really thought i knew who it was and then i was completely wrong lmao. watcher was also very good, the main trio had really good chemistry and i really cared about all the characters. (also i’ll never say no to watching seo kang joon) plus the plot twists threw me a bit at the end which is always a feeling i welcome, i love being surprised and wrong (as long as it makes sense)

favorite slice of life

Hospital Playlist (2020)

oh my goodness, i was late to the hospital playlist party and i regret it because this show is so. so. good. its just a slice of life following 5 friends who are doctors and work at the same hospital together but its so much more than that. this is honestly one of the first shows i’ve seen that are optimistic? in the show, every time i thought a plot was going to play out a certain way (usually negatively, as tends to be life unfortunately) it surprised me by taking the more optimistic wholesome route. characters in subplots changed for the better, became more understanding, chose to do the right thing, etc. if you want a feel good drama where the main characters have wonderful platonic chemistry and just care about each other but is also super funny, watch hospital playlist!! (season 2 is coming out early 2021 and im so pumped)

favorite fantasy

The Untamed (2019)

this one is a cdrama but i watched it in 2020, mostly because of how many people on the internet were adamant that the rest of us watch this and ngl they were v right. the untamed was very very good and im really glad i gave it a chance and watched it, its also my first cdrama ever. the chemistry between the male leads is honestly what makes this show and its worth the 50? i think? episodes. to be completely honest the fanfiction for the show are peak and if you do watch this, go straight to ao3 and you will not be disappointed.

dramas that saved 2020

The Uncanny Counter (2020) & Run On (2020)

these two dramas are among those that started airing at the end of the year and will go into the beginning of 2021 and absolutely saved the end of 2020 for me. while neither of these are finished, both have been excellent so far and worth starting. uncanny counter has the best use of the found family trope i have ever seen. i fucking love the four counters and their relationship with each other, how protective they are of one another. they all have amazing chemistry and the actors have amazing chemistry in the making films.

run on has one of the cutest couples that will definitely make my best chemistry list for next year. i didn’t put them on this list bc they actually haven’t gotten together yet but once they do, they’re gonna be freaking adorable, i can already tell. there’s no specific grand events propelling the plot forward, but just following the lives of these unique, interesting and relatable people who have casual yet entertaining conversations with each other. the show is super soft and the main couple are so straightforward and honest (plus theres mutual pining!!)

best dramas of the year

here are my best dramas (and one movie) watched this year, no further explanation given lolol. just watch them and enjoy because these are fucking excellent in the feels department. trust me 💞

It’s Okay To Not Be Okay (2020)

Flower of Evil (2020)

Itaewon Class (2020)

Hospital Playlist (2020)

One Spring Night (2019)

Midnight Runners (2017)

Hot Stove League (2019) 

I hope this gives you some fun stuff to watch!! or convince you to start that drama in your watchlists! 

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