#I can't believe they don't carry over the characters from the previous seasons into the later eps!

[lesausageperson]

I AM NOW UP TO DATE WITH ALL OF SUPERTHINGS!!!!!!

I do prefer the comic-y superthings episodes to the animated show — mainly because the production value was higher and the rendering is WAY better and more detailed. not only that, but the superthings had spanish accents, and I think that's awesome. I wouldn't trade trasher's goofy-ass voice for the world though.

I do miss the simple yet creative designs of the early kazoom kids. they weren't as cluttered, and their outfits and head shapes were much more distinct and easy to tell apart by silhouette. I also wish the little superthings had a more important role later on, what with their own powers being very effective against even bigger enemies.

I'm excited for the neon series, and I loved the one before it too, despite me not getting many favourites from it. they look really good and the designs are much simpler, plus one of them is a banana and I love him very much already. I'm over the moon that enigma kept his relevance and the idea of a superthing turning into a humanoid kazoom kid is epic as well.

now that I'm rewatching the animated series after watching all of the previous storyline, I'm getting all of the references too! like trasher reading kid fury comics and stuff. I like that a lot.

this show is actually not as awful as I thought it endearingly was at first. it isn't amazing and it could certainly take a few leaves from the comics' book, but I like it much more after learning the context for a lot of it. I love superthings :)

also CLOWNY CAMEO ON THE BEACH EPISODE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MY MAN 🤝

[moldybonessmell]

The Umbrella Academy season 3 review post

I finally finished season 3 of tua even tho I've watched first two seasons first day they came out and oh boy do I have things to talk about-

To begin with, the things I like about new season:

- The way we finally dug into Allison's trauma and how she starts going psychotic is actually a good plot line especially the accent on how she just like any other Umbrella Academy people indulges in self-distructive behavior, she's really just like them

- Diego getting a kid as someone with the biggest daddy issues out there is a realistic plotline because having a kid (even if Stanley's not actually his) heals him in this regard tho he and Lila would get a kid anyway eventually but they really should've been more sad about Stanley thanosing out of the existence you know

- Five being the founder of The Temps Commission makes so much sense as he's the one with the power to travel time of course he's more powerful than it seemed

- Good music scenes. Music is what season 1 was incredible for and what I love about the show. In season 2 there weren't many scenes that caught my attention but in s3 it's definetely better. We got Klaus's death montage with "Crystallised" by The xx and celebration scene with "Another one bites the dust" by Queen + Luther on moon and "Friday I'm in Love" by The Cure these were really nice.

- The Oblivion Hotel is such a cool location and concept (a place for everyone) I like the change of place of action a lot, but the way it's a portal is kinda overused imo

- Lila and Five are still the best characters and carried the season

- Fei is such a cool chara with a distict character design (which most of Sparrow Academy lack tbh)

Now things I don't like:

- Ben being just a placeholder character is such a bummer because instead of getting angst and drama we got a mostly one-dimentional anti-hero who has a completely different personality from Ben. We got a tiny bit of his character when he admitted he just wants to be involved with everyone but it's really minimal.

I can't believe Klaus says "He's an asshole and he's dead to me" like WHAT DO YOU MEAN fuck no Klaus would not say that shit and he would not just give up on him. Yeah Luther says stuff like "I'm glad to see you even if you're different" or whatever but it's Klaus who've spent the most time with Ben.

The way literally any other actor could have played Sparrow Ben and nothing would change is lame af I hope in next season we will see more changes

- Same goes to my dear Grace who's just a placeholder for black hole worshipper like what do you mean we just got one phrase from Diego and that's it??? This whole bit with fake god and stuff really threw me off it didn't go anywhere

- The Sparrow Academy being one-dimentional characters in general like I get producers probably didn't have enough episodes to actually develop characters but holy shit are they boring.

Even if you want to make them just antagonists we had such cool villains in two previous seasons they were original and interesting (aka The powerless podcast-fan male manipulator Peabody and The Cunty Handler)

Also the way the fisrt Sparrows who died were the most annoying and cliche assholes makes them just filler charas

- How show tried to make us feel compassion to Reginald Hargreeves holy shit do I hate this guy- After Klaus realised his father was basically killing him over and over in his childhood instead of Klaus getting mad or upset and having a breakdown we got nothing.

He even came back to new timeline Reginald who's "nicer" for this asshole just to hurt him AGAIN

- Klaus mostly being a comic relief in this season is so fucked I love this character and in previous seasons we had a great look at his life and experiences but now he's just kinda there being high and that's it

"mm I guess he died a few times it's probably enough" - plot writers

no character development whatsoever is just upsetting.

And the amount of unnecessary traumatising aka Reginald training him was really not it, even if it's supposed to be a joke.

- Reginald being a two-faced ass like holy shit is this terrifying. Pogo was the one who gave Sparrows pills and now Klaus helped him to stop taking them and this asshole is taking advantage of naive and vulnerable Klaus.

It is in fact a good plot twist but bro I really did prefer Reginald being a cartoonish villian instead of actual pure evil like how does he have shitty motivation but still does just so much shit.

- The Umbrella Academy family having no improvement in their relationship. They still don't care Klaus relapsed, they still don't care about Viktor. All they care about is their own misery which is really in character but with three seasons out of the way and only one more left I would expect at least something you know.

- Viktor is still left out. Like bro the only compassion he had is only when he transitioned but this is it?? Bro's still waiting till someone comes and cares about him but not only this doesn't happen, he even gets rediculed by Sparrow Ben for that and called emo are you actually kidding me what's with all the hurt with no comfort???

It feels a lot like when you're mentally ill and your family kinda "walks on eggshells" to not trigger you but it's in quotes because they don't actually care. They act nice just because they think you're psycho and you would make less problems if they pretend. And this is very sad, Viktor is such a tragic character.

Okay that's it for now. If you have any thoughts please share in comments!

[saltygilmores]

Thoughts While Watching Gilmore Girls- Season 2, Episode 16, "There's The Rub", aka a Masterpiece of Gilmore-dom, AKA Forrester Can't Bring Me Down, AKA Jess Rory And Paris Eat Together And All Is Right With The World-Part 2

Before we continue I'd like to acknolwedge the sweet and thoughtful people who have been leaving generous compliments about this shitcircus of a thing I'm doing here. Mwah. Who's ready for more TTR? (PS-Don't forget to check out part 1 and all of the previous episodes I've recapped! You can find them in my pinned post. Tryna work on a new master index in the meantime).

Dean Forrester's reaction to a woman talking. Can I just ask a question? Forrester, why are you even with this girl in the first place? Why did this relationship drag out over the course of five long years? You clearly don't like her. Every word she says seems to bore and annoy you. You don't want to join in any activities with her. She's clearly not gonna have sex with you (yet). You don't respect her or support her in any of her endeavors. Every week you do something to frighten her or make her fear you, and frankly, she's not a big fan of yours either. Truly, what is in it for you? Oh right, it's cause you're using her so you can eventually fuck her Mom. Silly me. Carry on, you sexist worm (no offense to decent worms everywhere).

Rory:

R: Do laundry, and watch tv and eat the Indian food that I love but my mom hates. Can ya'll believe this is an actual exchange of words that is happening right now? They're really going back and forth so Rory can gain Dean's approval to do her laundry. Oh hey, my Gilmore Girls Bingo Card is filling up! We have a "Dean, are you mad?" TIMES TWO.

WHY SHOULD HE BE MAD THAT YOU WANT TO SPEND ONE EVENING WITHOUT HIM. RORY... PLEASE. This is so worrisome.

Idk maybe cause you're a fucking tapeworm? Sorry tapeworms. You're head lice. Your leather coat fucking smells.

WHAT IS HAPPENING? Dear God, Rorygil. I love you but please grow a spine. In the span of mere minutes we saw her cave under pressure from Paris to the point she agreed to tutor her for an entire week, which was totally unnecessary. Paris was asking for like, one evening. A minute later RoryGil caves under pressure from Dean, and now she's talking like she's going to cater to his every (probably sick and perverse) need like some kind of servant, just because he scowled when she said she wanted to do her laundry. THERAPY NOW, RORYGIL.This people-pleasing is wildly out of control. If therapy is not a viable option, just fucking kick Forrester in the nuts and tell Paris to chill because you'll have plenty of time to play Dysfunctional Marriage when you're older and married to each other someday.

(TWWGG is alone in her room, repeatedly saying KICK HIM IN THE NUTS out loud) IT'S OKAY NEIGHBORS. I'M JUST YELLING AT DEAN FORRESTER. FICTIONAL CHARACTER FROM EARLY 2000s TV SITCOM. SLIMY WORM. NOTHING TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT. GO ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS. Let me translate this DeanSpeak for you. I'm a pro. "I'm a saint": "I'm a saint for dating you even though you won't let me do things like come over while your mom is out of town and feel you up on the couch." "I'm confused": "I'm confused as to why you would ever prefer blissful solitude over giving me an awkward handjob on your Mom's couch." You know, if you weren't enough of a worm as it is, you probably fucking pressure her sexually too. Me singing to Dean Forrester:

Is a kissing coach a thing? Couldn't someone at the WB Network put aside a couple of bucks to teach Jared Padalecki how to kiss? Barring that, at least a blow up doll or pillow to practice on? The fault CLEARLY does not lie with Alexis Bledel.

Can you imagine you're AB, you fucking get paid to kiss Milo at work and if that wasn't enough, you're really dating him, so you leave your job where you got paid to kiss him all day and go kiss him some more at home... I think about this A LOT. Cut to Emily and Lorelai at the spa, where hell has apparently frozen over because Lorelai Gilmore has actually shut the hell up. Me trying to make small talk on a first date:

HA, someone won't shut up and leave you alone and is constantly invading your personal space! How about them apples, Lorelai!

What is this magical place called a "Quiet Room" and can I shove any gilmore girls character of my choosing in there at any time? L: Mom, you booked us for a couples massage. Do you know what most couples do 5 minutes after this is over? They have sex, together, probably while wearing their robes. Someone on Gilly Girls said S-E-X. I am scandalized! E: You've been pouting, sighing, sulking, mumbling, rolling your eyes the whole time. L: That's just how I detox. LMAO. What a stellar line. This episode is so great. Despite the presence of Forrester the Worm.

Whoa Nelly! What kind of cosmic alignment was in place that day for Lorelai to actually apologize for something?

Err, two things... Firstly: Mr. Peanut Pajamas. I always love Rory's pajamas and I wonder where they all came from. Secondly: Is Rory running a laundry service for all 9,000+ citizens of Stars Hollow out of her home? Five days a week she wears a school uniform. Where did all these clothes come from?

I love it when Paris shows up on Rory's door step, she always looks like an abandoned puppy looking for a home for the night. And she sort of is. P: I tried to stay home and study by myself! But I can't! There is this aching in my heart that I just cannot ignore! It grows louder and louder by the minute! Rory Gilmore, I love you! Will you marry me? Okay, so I made up everything past the first line, but you know she was thinking it.

Paris guilt trips Rory into letting her stay because Rory feels bad that Paris' parents don't love her. Poor RoryGil. Just let her LIVE. R: Fine I'll study with you for one hour then you have to go home!

Narrator: Paris Geller would not in fact, be going home, but her NotGoingHomeNess would make for one enchanted evening.

Literally puppy eyes! This is after Rory said they would start studying after she got changed, and Paris responded "My hour doesn't start until you get back, right?" To be continued.

[suvarnarekha]

have you seen season 2 of tsitp? bruh the way s2 of tsitp has made me switch sides and become team jeremiah is crazy 😭. i don't get why they made him different from the books if they're likely gonna keep the same endgame. i just hope they don't character assasinate him to support their endgame.

i just finished watching it and YES IKR!? at this point, i don't even have the energy to be team jeremiah or team conrad because the writers have confused the shit out of me.

are they going to pull another never have i ever here? one season ending up with one love interest, other season with other. i loved the acting this season. it was BRILLIANT. but the plot? unpopular opinion (i think) but staylor and laurel were carrying this season and i had no interest in the main love triangle.

sussanah was the one guiding force between all of them and it felt sad at her death. however, conrad acting like a jerk at the prom was so messed up. i don't blame him for feeling that way, but you can't excuse your actions towards everyone else always, can you?

jeremiah's character was degraded though! like- his entire personality became "belly this belly that" which was so not supposed to be the case! i'm not expecting daisies and sunshines but his trauma over losing his mother was barely explored in his narrative episode? it was all about his love for belly and as real as that might've been, it felt so coerced.

one thing i liked was belly's (sort of) development. last season, she was confused about her feelings but in this one she felt settled. she was heartbroken over conrad, reignited her feelings for jere and we saw it. she grew and evolved from her previous shenanigans.

i just hope they don't character assassinate him to support their endgame.

it is too soon to make any assumptions yet, but i think they're going to a full circle. and that might be appealing, given they make it believable and sound. and like you said, don't twist and bend jeremiah.

[petalsmooth]

Oh, I agree it did. The thing that is on the show for disappointing their fanbase. Fans shouldn't have to pretend they liked something to boost numbers for the show.

After all, it was the buzz from the fans that brought Part 1 such hype and numbers. Because their enthusiasm was genuine. The show fumbled those last episodes and derailed all that positive buzz all on its own.

Maybe if they are going to film episodes so far in advance and hold them for a year after that they should at least do better at having outside parties review so if something receives extreme negative reactions it can be fixed while still filming.

And really some of what was reviewed negatively should have been foreseen from the start. They KNEW fans were sensitive to Colin being an afterthought, yet still wrote him that way and used Luke little. Still included little of Polin together those last eps. And why is Luke T's screentime greater than Luke N's in his own season in second part? And why do we have the actors saying that more rom com elements were inserted after Nicola and Jess saw his play AFTER the season was filmed? Isn't it Jess' job to understand the actor's strengths? It just feels like the show didn't realize what they had in Luke and sidelined him because had no confidence could carry the show and relied heavily on Nicola/WD drama and more Luke T gratuitous sex as a fail safe and it fell really flat once they saw the audience response to Luke/Polin in that carriage.

I still feel they are discounting him as an actor or the audience disappointment at having so little regard for HIM as a character, only an adornment to Pen. If they truly got how disappointed fan's are wouldn't advertise them in season 4 as a malewife with Pen getting additional solo lw story.

And secondary to that, as a showrunner how do you think advertising the season as a rom com and getting the general audience all excited is fair to do when you KNOW you wrote the second half anything but? How do you even BELIEVE having all that drama and anger in last 2 episodes was a good idea? The announcement from the engagement was already weighed down by having the decision to change the book where he KNEW she was W.D before got together. You had her lie to him instead. Then you color their wedding and marriage with distance, hurt and anger. And you think this was a good direction to take a friends to lovers/rom com book?

At very least could have balanced the drama and angst but didn't even do that. It was a flat out drag to watch those two episodes. ANd of course you finally give them over an hour for the episodes while previous episodes were cut in time over previous season, but you give more time to the episodes that depressed people the most. Just bad plotting, bad editing, bad story telling all around

Last part I don't feel is the show's fault of Polin's fans. If you, a general viewer, are turned off a show by some nutcases who can't distinguish between real life and fictional life than you probably weren't interested in the show anyway. I DO think some of the general audience did tune in heavily because of their obvious chemistry in interviews but that didn't go away just because has a gf. I do think those nutcases steered conversation away by Polin by focusing on that which yeah probably did hurt but not Luke's fault or ours to the shows. And IF the material on the show had been stronger the Polin fan excitement would have trumped that distraction.

[liopleurodean]

The Road So Far: Season 7

I'm back with another season review! If you miraculously found this with no context, I'm watching through all of Supernatural, and this is my recap/reflection of season 7. You can find my season reviews and episode notes under the "ashla chick flick moments" tag.

So. Favorite episode? Hard to say! 7x08 "Season 7, Time for a Wedding" was pretty funny (and had Leslie Odom Jr. as the presiding villain), 7x10 "Death's Door" was absolutely heart-wrenching in the best way, 7x12 "Time After Time" was a treat for movie buffs, and 7x13 "The Slice Girls" was a mixture of fun and heartbreaking. 7x18 "Party On, Garth" gets an honorable mention, but I'd say my favorite is 7x20 "The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo". Charlie is every bit as amazing as I expected her to be, and her budding relationship with Dean is great to watch. The entire episode is full of nerdy references and Charlie's natural charisma draws you in from the start (helped by her personal soundtrack, featuring Walking On Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves).

This season introduced a bunch of new characters, including Charlie, Garth, Kevin, and the ever-paranoid Frank, but it also brought back some classics! Becky was fun to watch, even if the whole situation was aggravating. Although we didn't actually see Pamela or Missouri on screen, it was nice to hear that the boys still remembered them. Meg featured a lot this season (I still can't believe she was allowed to drive Baby) and it seems like Cas is slowly coming back around, something that'll maybe help Dean's blood pressure.

Speaking of Dean and Cas, let's talk about that ending! They're currently stuck in Purgatory, which should theoretically be a breeze for Cas, but Dean's a little out of his league. I'm a little annoyed that Cas ditched him, but if anyone can survive the monster afterlife, it's Dean Winchester. Although, from the few seconds I've seen, he's gonna have a run for his money on this one. I'm excited to see how it plays out.

The season 7 storyline was fairly cut-and-dry, which is refreshing compared to the last few seasons. Of course, the Leviathans kept their secrets, but we knew who to kill from the very start. Dick Roman was a fun villain to watch, with his cutthroat policies, sound logic, and oozing charisma. Truly, he embodies everything that makes a politician dangerous.

We also got a tease for the plot of the next season, which involves Metatron, the scribe of God (not Megatron, the transformer). Incidentally, I'm kind of surprised that Sam made that mistake. Of course Dean would know the difference (at the very least he knew that Megatron was the transformer's name), but I expected Sam to know about Metatron. At the very least, Good Omens came out well before Supernatural, if there's no actual lore on the subject.

Watching Sam fall apart was the cherry on top of the cake (or pie) in the latest of Winchester Suffering. Not only was it hard for him to participate in hunts, but Dean really couldn't afford to worry about Sam more than he already did, for multiple reasons. As of the finale, both Dean and Sam are completely, truly alone, and I'm worried about both of their mental states.

I saw someone mention that, if Dean didn't trust Cas as much as he did during seasons 4 and 5, then no one would've trusted him during 6-8, and they're absolutely right. I might've mentioned it in my season 6 recap, but Dean was Not Having It™ with Cas and if it weren't for his previous friendship, I don't think Sam and Bobby would've cared as much as they did. Now, it looks like Cas is shaping back up, but I'm pretty sure Naomi turns up in season 8, and that'll screw Cas over again.

Well, we're nearly halfway through, and I don't intend to stop now. Watch out for the next episode. Carry On!

[when-did-this-become-difficult]

Yes. I also was glad it came back. And i also love how realistically they dealt with the box - a civilian finding it. I like how they wife sensed that her husband is not coming back and she took it to the police.

I also think Miriam should stay with the juveniles because they somewhat still receptive to her. At least more than adults seem to be. I also think if the character stays it is the road for her. Young people are still can change or can decide to change, older ones not so much.

Yeah. The crimes nature is not evened out. I mean releasing people who know how to handle automatic rifles and already killed people is not the same as pick pocketing and such. Also i somehow would not even put Bunny on that list because of what i perceived with the prison scenes. He defends himself if he has to but he doesnt seem that violent. I mean his thugs carry guns, he said something along the lines that the boss doesn't need a gun.

I hope Sawyer comes back. I would imagine a similar scenario, that he is needed in Kingstown especially now because i don't think the police is able to handle this heat if the things start to go really bad. I mean if not for Kyle, Ian would have been shot in the pizza place scene. Also from some pictures i have found Sawyer has a new haircut and different clothes that he wore previous seqson and the recent one, so i would assume that there is gonna be a new season. It really would not surprise me if Sheridan already shot season 3. He seems to have a crazy work ethic and people seem to be giving him a lot of trust - they know... -. I hope i see him significantly more. But i also hope for the same for Mikes assistant, Kyles wife and Milo.

I think Sheridan can surprise us. I mean Dillon played the sheriff in Yellowstone and he got into a restaurant hostage situation where he was in a restaurant as a guest when armed robbers came and Kevin Costner and Cole Hauser's characters saved the people and tried him, but he got shot in the chest and died there in the restaurant while trying to reach his daughter for the last time but he died before she picked up a phone... Kind of good scene it was. I really don't know about Ian...it could go either way like with any character in Sheridans worlds. Stevie i don't care much to be honest. In the scene with Sawyer harshly interrogating a criminal and pulling his ear to find out where the guy went who blew up his own kid and wife cooking meth at home, Stevie just straight up laughs and finds this amusing. But i don't know that was the actor breaking character or pure character.

Also i have the feeling Joseph is trying to play Milo. I mean he has a kid with that prostitute girl and it really seems so he tried to desperately get the info out the site worker before word reaches Milo. I find it hard to believe that Joseph is deathly loyal to Milo. I sense he is an opportunistic character, and opportunity just knocked.

It is a pleasure to talk, as always. :)

@minamartin always a pleasure! <3

I agree, I think that the whole box storyline was great. They subverted that same old boring scene that we've all seen already many times in thriller and horror movies, where the wife is just sitting there nervous but doesn't do anything, and gets killed—it's way more realistic for her to be like "uh fuck this I can't handle this" and run to the station to give up the bonds.

100%, Mariam should stay with the juveniles. I would be thrilled if they found a way to connect that to the plot without making the entire point of the storyline just "Mariam is stupid for trying to help people" and I actually have a little hope that they can do it! You can do it, guys! I believe in you! Haha

Yeah, I think Bunny is definitely experienced with violence, because you don't lead a gang that runs drugs and is intimately interconnected with prison gangs and—if I recall correctly?—is involved with sex trafficking somehow?? I'll be real, I skipped over a fair bit of Iris's storyline in s1 just to preserve my own sanity, so I might've misread some of the dialogue there. But I think Bunny must have a serious history to have gained his position. What makes him a standout leader, though, is that he's very much like Mike in the sense that he doesn't particularly enjoy killing and chaos, etc, he just wants the world to run relatively smoothly and for him to be in charge of his own little patch. I don't really know if this is true in real life in regards to criminal leaders, but in SHOW life, having him on the outside is hardly going to increase the amount of violent that occurs, and in show logic, it might even help keep the peace, relatively speaking.

Yeah, I think Sawyer will come back, as well as Mike's assistant. I was talking about it earlier this week and somebody mentioned that MIke's assistant wasn't in the episode, but she WAS mentioned by Kyle as leaving behind a post it note saying she'd be back or something, so surely she has to return at some point, or else what's the point of the sticky note? Milo we need more of for sure. Kyle's wife we at LEAST need once to see how the baby storyline impacts on Kyle.

I don't really think they've already shot season 3, because I think if they did, they'd have mentioned it when Jeremy Renner was injured in the accident. As a sort of "hey guys, don't worry, s3 still a go" way. Like I think right now, they don't have s3 yet, and they're waiting to see how well their leading man recovers to see whether or not they can go ahead with it, and to see if they need to accommodate him physically in the scripting or re-scripting of the season. Renner's not my fave, but the poor guy, seriously, yikes. I hope they can figure something out that doesn't put too much stress on his body.

Hmmm, but the thing is, I think they probably killed Dillon off on that other show Yellowstone because they knew Dillon would have to switch sets eventually to go work on Mayor of Kingstown. But now that he's firmly in Mayor of Kingstown, I only see them killing off Ian if the show's about to end. I also think that Stevie laughing was definitely in-character, as if it was out of character then I think the editors of the episode would've cut it out. It's definitely in keeping with the entire way that the police force (and most of the characters, let's be real) treat violence, like, they really are so casual about it when it's being done to somebody that they can compartmentalize as not being human, someone they don't have any empathy for (which again is most people alas).

Very interesting about Joseph trying to play Milo! If that is the case, Milo may have him killed or something...I don't know, Joseph is really and TRULY not the brightest lightbulb or the most capable guy. I mean come on, how many times has Mike kicked his ass—and Mike's okay, but he's not like the world's greatest fighter of all time, world class judo, he's just a capable guy (which leaves Joseph looking super incapable). I agree that Joseph is just an opportunist, but I am curious to see if this whole baby thing leads him to have any other motivations (such as interest in his family) that will make him clash with Milo.

I also really think that the madam character that Iris is dealing with is interesting...they're clearly trying to spend a little time setting up Iris's situation with what is essentially a combined club and brothel, right? Why would they spend all this time on these dynamics just to do nothing with it? So I actually have a little bit of hope that perhaps Iris will either learn from the women around her, including the madam, or that she will manipulate one of them into getting something—SOMETHING!—that she wants. I see them making a little bit of an effort with Iris, thank goodness, and I want to see where that's leading us.

So many questions and thoughts! I guess I'm gonna end up paying for more than one month of Paramount to see how it all ends, nobody look at me lmao *covers own face*

[mrsstruggle]

The Lost Child - Chapter 6 // Teen Wolf x Marvel AU

Summary: Y/N Stark was taken from her family when she was three years old. It's fifteen years later and her family believes she is dead. Then how is she living in Beacon Hills?

Warnings: Language, Mentions of Kidnapping/Death, Characters Being Attacked/Shot At, Fighting, Mentions of Injuries and Wounds, Character Being Carried, Possible Grammar Mistakes (please let me know if there is anything else)

Pairings: Derek Hale x Reader, Steve Rogers x Bucky Barnes, Bruce Banner x Natasha Romanoff, Vision x Wanda Maximoff, & More To Come

Previous Pairings: Tony Stark x Pepper Potts, Scott McCall x Allison Argent

Words: 2.3k

Note: I am posting new chapters every 2-3 days! I am trying to get on a consistent schedule!

Additional Note: While this is a Teen Wolf x Marvel AU, not everything is true to the shows/movies/comics. I had to change things for the story. This also loosely follows Teen Wolf Season 4.

One Last Note: Y/N was adopted by Tony Stark and Pepper Potts. I did this so that more people can see themselves in this story.

***I do not own Teen Wolf or Marvel or any related characters. This is a work of fanfiction and is meant for entertainment only.***

Masterlist

The Lost Child Masterlist

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter

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It's currently 3:00 PM and Y/N is out on an afternoon jog in the woods. She's usually at work at this time, but today she has the day off. She decided to use her free time to try and get her mind off the Deadpool. It's been a few days since she found out about it, and it just can't seem to leave her mind.

Her music is blaring in her ears as she runs deeper into the woods. There is a slight breeze in the air that cools her warm skin. The sun peeks through the treetops, lighting up the forest. She is oblivious to her surroundings as she tries to get away from her thoughts.

As she attempts to focus on her breath, she doesn't notice the other oblivious figure swinging from tree to tree. She tumbles to the ground as another body collides with hers.

"What the fuck?" Y/N groans out.

Peter runs over to Y/N's crumbled body, "I am so sorry! I wasn't paying attention, and I didn't mean to run into you! Sorry!"

"You're fine," she replies, wincing as she sits up from her position on the ground, "I wasn't really paying attention either." She looks around for her earphones that fell out during the collision.

"I still should've been paying attention," Peter tries to look for any injuries he might have given her, "I'm so sorry. Are you hurt? Do I need to take you to the hospital?"

"Please, take a breath," she continues to look for her earphones, "I'm fine. Nothing's broken or anything."

"Are you sure? Maybe we should take you just in case?"

"I'm fine!" Y/N slowly stands up from the ground, "I am a nurse. I think I would know if I wasn't okay."

"Right, right." Peter looks her over for injuries once again, "I'm just making sure. I promise I didn't mean to crash into you."

"And I promise I didn't mean to run in front of you," she smiles at him.

"What are you doing out here?"

She starts to wipe the grass and leaves off her clothes, "Well, my brother's with his friends, and my boyfriend's at work so I decided to go for a jog. Clearly I should've been paying more attention to my surroundings. What are you doing?"

"My leg finally healed up," he points to his previously injured leg, "so I decided to get away from my overbearing family and swing around in the forest. Oh my God, please don't tell anyone that you saw me doing that."

"You know I already figured out that you're Spiderman?"

"What, me? No..."

"You do realize that when I fixed your leg, you told me that it would only take a few days for your leg to heal, and you admitted to having advanced healing? I even said I was used to dealing with unusual patients and you never corrected me. You also never corrected me when I called you an Avenger. Plus, basically, everyone knows. You just haven't publicly confirmed anything," she states.

"I, um, I... okay, I am Spiderman. Please don't tell anyone!"

"Your secret is safe with me." she pretends to zip her lips shut, "So why are you and your family in Beacon Hills? This seems like a bit of a random place to be for a bunch of superheroes."

"We have a lake house that's just right outside of town. We haven't been here in years, but we decided we needed a much-needed break." Peter answers.

"Why haven't you been here in years? Is it because saving the world can get busy?"

Peter turns his eyes towards the ground, "Oh, um, we–"

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Y/N interrupts, noticing his uneasiness at the question.

"No, um, it's okay." Peter takes a deep breath, "We haven't been here since my sister was taken. She loved the lake house, and my family was never able to revisit it until now."

"Oh," Y/N looks at him with an apologetic look in her eyes, "I'm sorry for asking. I figured it was because you were too busy, or it was just one of twenty lake houses you own."

Peter laughs a little at her comment, "Surprisingly, this is the only lake house we own. Multiple beach houses, yes. Multiple lake houses, no."

"Damn, and I don't even own one house."

"Yeah, well, I don't own any either. They are all owned by my dad."

"I'm sure they'll all be yours one day. I bet your dad will give you one for your 21st birthday," Y/N teases him.

"How do you know I'm not already twenty-one?" Peter teases back.

"I'm really good at guessing people's ages." she smirks at him, "Plus, it was in your paperwork when I worked on your leg."

"Oh, so I'm so memorable that you even remember how old I am?" Peter smirks back at her.

"You definitely weren't the most unusual patient I've ever had, but you were the first person I had to remove splinters from their leg."

As Peter starts to laugh, his spidey-senses start to tingle. He knows they aren't going off because of her, but he can't seem to understand what has them on edge. He looks around at their surroundings in hopes of seeing what the danger could be that they sense.

Y/N looks at Peter's uneasiness as he looks around the forest. She closes her eyes and tries to focus on her hearing to see if she can hear something. As she reopens her eyes, she notices a red dot appear on Peter's chest.

"Get down!" She tackles Peter to the ground as a shot is fired. The bullet barely misses them.

"What the hell was that?" Peter yells.

"Hunters! Now run before you take a bullet to the head!" They jump up from the ground and start to run deeper into the forest as more hunters start to fire at him. They quickly jump behind two large trees to hide from the bullets.

"Why are hunters shooting at us? Aren't they supposed to shoot at other things?" Peter yells over to her.

"These are different kinds of hunters!" she yells back to him, bullets flying past her.

"What kind of hunters are they?"

"The kind that are currently shooting at us!" Peter rolls his eyes at her answer.

"Okay, you stay here, and I'll take them out!" Peter calls out to her, his spidey-senses screaming at him to protect her.

"Are you stupid?" she looks at him with an incredulous look, "There are at least a dozen hunters shooting at us and you think you can take them by yourself? Do you even have your suit with you?"

"Um," Peter looks down at his body, "no!"

"So, your plan is to just dodge the bullets and hope none of them hit you?"

"Do you have a better plan?"

"Yes, it's called you let me deal with them!"

"How do you plan on doing that?"

Y/N bends down and places her hand over the tree's shadow. Peter watches in shock as the shadow seems to morph itself into a bow.

"What the fuck?" Peter watches as she makes the remainder of the shadow morph itself into arrows. She places one of the arrows into the bow before firing at one of the hunters. She presses herself back into the tree as the arrow lodges itself into the hunter's right shoulder. "How did you do that?"

"Talent," she responds as she shoots off the remaining seven arrows, each one burying itself into a different hunter.

"I am so confused," Peter murmurs to himself as she drops the bow onto the ground.

"Do you know how to use a gun?" she asks him, bullets still being fired at them.

"My uncle taught me how to use them!"

"Great! Web a gun over to you!" Peter webs the closest gun over to him. He checks to see that it still has most of the bullets in it.

"Even though they are shooting at us, I don't know if I'm comfortable killing people!" Peter yells, looking down at the gun in his hand.

"Then don't kill them! Just make sure they don't kill you!"

"Do I need to get you one?"

"No, I have my own weapons." she turns to him, flicks out her long claws, and flashes him her bright blue beta eyes, "Now, just back me up, and let's take down the rest of them."

Peter watches as she runs out from behind the tree she was standing behind. She runs up to the closest hunter, who is switching out his bullets and grabs his gun before throwing him into two other hunters. With their attention on her, Peter shoots the hunter closest to him in the kneecaps.

Y/N elbows a hunter in the face before squatting down and slicing through his achilles with her claws. He falls to the ground, clutching at his ankle. She notices Peter shooting at a few of the other hunters and webbing them to the ground.

"Behind you!" Peter yells at her.

She turns around to see a hunter charging at her with a knife. The blade misses her by a few centimeters as he attempts to bring it down into her chest. Her claws rip through his arm before she stabs his knife into his leg. As he falls to the ground, a web flies past her, pinning him to the forest floor.

"Thank you!"

She looks around her to see that every hunter is currently pinned to the ground with Peter's spiderwebs. He even webbed the hunters she had shot with the arrows.

"Now that no one is shooting at us," Peter starts as he walks over to Y/N, "I have so many questions."

"About what?" she asks, playing dumb. Her werewolf claws and eyes no longer showing.

"Firstly, where the hell did the bow and arrows come from?" he questions, pointing over to the tree she was once standing behind, "Did you pull them out of the earth, or did you make them with air? I-I don't understand."

She chuckles at his behavior, "I made them from the tree's shadow."

"How?!" Peter yells, waving his hands around in confusion.

"Can you put down the gun, please?" she asks, looking warily at the gun in his hand.

"Sorry," he mumbles, throwing the gun onto the ground, "Now, how were you able to do that?"

"I'll be honest, I have no idea. I've just always had these abilities. I was adopted when I was about 5 and I don't remember anything before that." she states.

"Okay, then what about the claws and the thing you did with your eyes," he asks, pointing to his own eyes.

"I'm, uh, kinda a werewolf," she nervously looks down at her hands.

"A what?" he looks at her skeptically.

"I'm a werewolf," she flashes her eyes at him to reiterate her point.

"That's not possible," he mumbles in shock, staring at her beta eyes.

"You have an uncle who turns into a giant green thing and an uncle who's a god from another planet, but me being a werewolf isn't possible?" she gives him an unimpressed look.

He laughs a little at himself, "I guess you're right. I thought werewolves only turned on a full moon?"

"We can involuntarily turn on a full moon, but the majority of us have our transformation under control so that we don't," she informs him. "We mostly just partially transform, and we can do that without the full moon because of reasons my boyfriend has told me, but I wasn't listening because he was shirtless and had on a fantastic pair of gray sweatpants."

He rolls his eyes at her statement, "If you're a werewolf, why do your eyes shine blue? They look like they belong to a mermaid, not a werewolf."

"I'm a beta," she states.

"Okay?" he was still confused about her eyes.

"Alpha's eyes glow red. Beta's and omega's eyes glow either a blue or a golden color," she flashes her eyes at him again.

"What's the difference between blue and golden eyes?"

"Oh, um," as she contemplates what to tell him, a shot rings out from behind Peter. She immediately grabs the gun Peter discarded earlier as Peter ducks to the ground. She sees the remaining gunman hiding behind a tree and shoots him down as he attempts to fire at them again. She looks down at Peter, "Are you okay?"

He checks his body for a possible shot wound, "I'm okay."

She looks down at her right leg to see blood dripping from it, "I think I know where his bullet went."

"Now we definitely have to get you to the hospital," Peter starts to panic looking at her wound.

"No. Give me your shirt." Peter takes off his shirt with no hesitation and hands it to her. She rips it in half before tying it tightly above the bullet wound. "We have to go to Deaton. He'll know what to do."

Peter watches as her face seems to drain of color, "Who's Deaton? Are you sure we shouldn't take you to the hospital?"

"He's a veterinarian and he knows how to deal with this stuff," she states as she starts to limp in the direction of her car.

"I know you're a werewolf, but a veterinarian? Really?" he laughs a little as he tries to help her walk.

"Look he knows wh-what to do..." Peter catches her as she starts to fall toward the ground.

"I'll just carry you." he states, as he lifts her up into his arms, "Where exactly am I carrying you?"

"To my car," as she points in the direction of her car, she notices the blood on her hand appears black, "You might need to hurry. If not, I-I think I might be dead soon."

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@vicmc624 @mrspetxrs @freyathehuntress @fheresm @stefans-wife @taketimeandappreciate @youralphawolf72 @ornella0910 @shedsblood @ts1mp0ne @beautifulgrungekid @danielle-leah1997 @itmejado @ivettt @james-bucky-barnes-bitch @learning-howto-be-myselfx3 @darkenwolfie @lokiandbuckywife @xx-narcissa @llamaproblem @emily-roberts @me-unintentionally @inyourmomsworld

[mytvjunk]

Sex and The City (Reboot)

Some random thoughts on the first two episodes

-Why so little theme song? I was fully expecting for Carrie and the girls to strut down the New York City streets to their highly notable theme song composed by Douglas J Cuomo, or at least with an updated version of it, but we got nothing, but a straight shot to the opening scene at the restaurant. I'm guessing they chose to go this direction due to the signs of the times; because nowadays most shows don't have a full opening theme segment...so I kinda get it, but I still miss it.

-The other right away surprise was the little to no Carrie narration. In the original show she is the voice of the series, from beginning to the end of each episode, however she's only narrated some short thoughts twice in these two episodes. She didn't even narrate what she was typing on her laptop, which is a classic Carrie thing to do. I wonder why they chose to take this direction...maybe they thought this would be a more mature approach to her character, to show that she's not as much in her head as she was before. Who knows....

-The Samantha conversation between Carrie and Miranda seems very autobiographical. I wonder if Sara had any hand in writing that part. I desperately want to hear Samantha's side of things; cuz we all know she has the real tea of what went down between them.

-I'm trying to gauge the timeline of this story because if it is taking place in modern times (and I think it is considering the covid references in episode 1) then the kids should actually be a bit older than they are in this current timeline. Brady should be close to hitting 20, since he was born in 2002, but Miranda said that he was actually 17. Some where some how theres been close to a three year gap unaccounted for....unless Brady wasn't actually born in 2002. We need the writers to clarify for certainty LOL

-The BIG issue...I've gotta be honest, I didn't really see many previews or read about what might happen on this reboot, so I was a bit surprised and disappointed when I saw that Big was back on the show. I guess I was hoping they would write the man off completely...I just do not like him. He treated Carrie horribly and for the most part it was a toxic relationship. But thankfully he didn't have much screen time & we didn't have to go through any potential emotional damage as he'd done in previous seasons (and movies) And as cold as this going to sound, I felt nothing when he passed away. TBH I was more moved when Lexi Featherston fell out the window. Either way, good riddance sir!

-So 20+ years later and Carrie, the famed sex & relationship columnist and now sex/gender role podcaster is still uncomfortable discussing....sex! And although I agree that the subject of public masturbation was a bit over the top in their delivery & the talk about Bradys sex life was cringe, you would think that with all her years of experience and being surrounded by sex positive friends, she wouldn't be so closed off with having open conversation about the act of sex. I've always found that dichotomy quite temperamental because here was this person airing out her and her friends sexual escapeds, but on the other hand her own personal views on sex were quite close minded & judgmental. Remember how Carrie reacted to Samantha's relationship with sex? Her rebuttals were all laced with slut shaming take downs (see the following pics) I hope the writers give her an arc where she finally grows comfortable having these open conversations because I refuse to believe that she stays stuck in her old 90s/early 2000 ways. And as she said "We can't stay who we were, right"....well let's hope that she is about it!

-It is beyond clear that Samantha's presences is very much needed. Her voice was such an integral part to the cohesiveness of this show. With out her it all seems a bit bland and one note. I know that it's extremely early to judge, but so far Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte's lives are not interesting enough to give the show the punch of flavor it got from Samantha alone. On the upside I'm glad the writers chose not kill her off and gave her an opening ending to her story. A big part of me wishes that they were all trolling us and a few episodes in Samantha will shows up in all her amazingness to save the show. If only.....

Predictions:

I belive Carrie's new love interest will be the silver fox hottie from the podcast; who I assume might be a producer or some sort of sound engineer on the show. We haven't been formally introduced to him, but we got several reaction shots from him during the interview with Carrie and that was enough for me to be convinced that a relationship was going to happen LOL

-A twist I sort of see coming is that Miranda might have a tryst with Che. I feel like the writers are going to slowly build that relationship up and somthing between them might happen. Of course I don't ship this because I LOVE Steve and I love Miranda with Steve, but I can see somthing happening on that end, later on in the season, which will bring major drama.

-It seems like Lisa Todd Wexley will be the new addition to the group. Looking forward to seeing what role she'll play within this storyline

-----‐--------‐-------------‐-----

Overall I liked the first two episodes. They weren't the best episodes from the SATC catalog but the show is watchable. Looking forward to seeing what the rest of the season brings.

[kickasspt]

Halloween Ends | 2022 | 1h51m | R

I can't believe this is what David Gordon Green had envisioned for the end of a Halloween trilogy. I don't know what happened or who he had to please, the studio or some executive producer, but this is not a deserved ending.

The story of this film could have been interesting, but not for a Halloween movie, much less for the closing of a trilogy that deserved to be epic, after all the build up that was created in the previous films. Instead we had a movie where Michael Myers makes a long cameo.

This movie should never been 4 years after Halloween Kills, but rather with a shorter timeline compared to the previous one, so as not to lose momentum, which after the death of Laurie's daughter, seemed to be in a path for a great showdown.

Some thoughts about this movie...

A finale to a Halloween saga with Michael Myers but where the killer is another guy, it's a disrespect to the original and the fans. As well as the introduction of new elements to the narrative, which appear without any framing with the previous films (It's Star Wars all over again...). If Michael's power comes from the deaths he inflicts, why the hell was he hiding in the sewer for 4 years?

Michael Myers VS Corey:

The scene of Michael Myers fighting Corey in the sewer was a spit in the face of fans, after the character of Michael that had been crafted in Halloween 2018 and Kills, Corey would never have gotten out of there alive.

Deaths in the movie:

All the deaths in this movie feel like they had to be justified, there had to be someone who had done or said bad things to another for there to be a reason to get stabbed in the gut. In part I even understand because Michael is not the one carrying out the killings, but Michael Myers is pure evil, he killed his sister just because, there doesn't have to be a reason behind every killing.

The death of the radio DJ:

While not bad, that tongue snip is completely out of context for a Halloween movie, a failed attempt to do something different, Michael had never done that. (and it wasn't him, but it doesn't match the tone)

Laurie Strode VS Michael Myers:

We spend an hour and a half dealing with a movie that looks like an alternative universe to what had been created up until Halloween Kills, and then the final confrontation turned out to be an unsatisfying kitchen fight. And it looks like they tried to weaken Michael Myers so that Laurie could kill him. In a 2 hour movie, there should have been at least 2 confrontations between the two and the last one should have been memorable.

Final thoughts:

I think that the beginning of the credits with the lettering of Halloween III: Season of the Witch, a film that I like, is David Gordon Green preparing us for what we are going to watch and saying "So, now that I got your attention, and you want to continue watching Halloween movies and Michael Myers killing people... here is something completely different that I want to show you and I will sprinkle it in the the end with Michael and Laurie final fight, because that's what you want".

I admit that they made a bold film, but this was not what we signed up for as a final chapter.

Directed by: David Gordon Green

Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Andi Matichak, James Jude Courtney, Rohan Campbell, Will Patton

Genre: Horror, Thriller

[h50europe]

Why the ending of the series finale felt off for many of us (and what PL could have had really in mind) - Aphorisms

As you can easily see from the photos, season 11 was a safe bet, as was a new team member, McCole. What could have been, it says, written by Justin, the wife of Alex stunt/stand-in double. I'm going to play the advocatus diaboli.

In the penultimate episode of H50, Lenkov created a new character. He was sort of based on Steve, but also not. As it turned out in the last episode, Cole and Steve also had a mutual friend: Catherine. Why does that not really surprise us? The rumor mill was really churning, and it was a given that PL was definitely going to bring her on board. So, without further ado, he made her a key person. She was the one who cracked the ominous code that Doris had left for her son. Question, couldn't Jerry have done that just as well?

Anyway, PL set up Cole and Steve. But the chemistry - for us - wasn't really there. They could have just as easily put anyone next to Steve. PL built on the military past of the two (what else) and finally the common denominator: Catherine. Oh, how original. NOT. If you look at this constellation, you can already guess where this was going. But there remained this one obstacle: Danny.

Well, no problem, Lenkov thought and had him kidnapped without further ado. All planned because of all the great McDanno moments we got to see in season 10. So appropriately for lulling, even if these moments did not have nearly as much heart as in previous seasons, but hey, the fans would swallow and relish it, PL thought.

Then came the obligatory threatening call from Daiyu Mei (note the clever pun ala Yoda: die you may...), and the drama unfolded. The whole thing was further clarified by the words of Wo Fat's ex: "I have the person you care about most in the world." Bummer, as she is not talking about Catherine but Danny. Queerbaiting at its worst. Then comes the usual. And during the escape attempt, Danny, who is already half-dead, gets shot. So far, so good, or not.

Danny's injuries could have easily been fatal. So now I'm going off the premise and just claiming that this was PL's original plan. Why? PL did mention at one point that he could imagine H50 without Steve or Danny, but he certainly wasn't stupid enough to believe that. It was nothing more than a smoke grenade. But what PL had wanted for a long time was the end of McDanno. He preferred another ship. But while McDanno sailed blithely across the seven seas, PL's fav ship never left the harbor. But now, he had the ultimate opportunity with a new, equal partner at Steve's side (Book'em Cole), who also pulled Catherine out of a hat.

PL's heart did somersaults. What a great plan that was. Alex didn't say anything about really wanting to quit, even after the series ended. While he had been open about his departure after season 7, there was no need to hide this fact now in season 10. And as you can easily see, all signs were pointing toward season 11. What PL didn't count on was the massive resistance from CBS.

In contrast to PL, they had no problems with Scott/Danny or McDanno. They knew that this was the heart and soul of the show. And PL's protector Moonves was no longer available because he had been kicked out of the network. So PL's back was against the wall. And nothing and nobody could change that. Too bad, because actually, PL had everything perfectly planned.

Danny would either die on the way to the hospital or later in the hospital. This would lead Steve to a massive revenge attack, which should have ended in a brilliant showdown (brilliant for PL, not necessarily for the fans), but Daiyu Mei escapes eventually. Then, Steve would have been driving around aimlessly. We were possibly shown some flashbacks, only to end up at Casa McGarrett, where Catherine would have already been waiting for him. Nice reversal of the goodbye scene from season 6.

The conversation between Steve and her would have been similar to Danny's, except that it wouldn't have been about his parents, but about Danny and that he just can't take it in Hawaii any longer. Too much reminds him of his dead friend. Steve also wanted to pay his final respect and bring him back home to Jersey. Of course, Catherine suggests joining him. What else? Now that one ship sunk, PL could easily replace it with HIS fav ship. And because Cole has done so well, Steve also entrusts him with the task force's leadership. Before Steve leaves to accompany Danny on his last journey, he hands Cole his credentials.

Steve and Cath stand next to each other at the airport and watch as Danny's coffin is loaded onto the plane. Then they board the plane together, ending with them holding hands as we know it. Fade out, season 10 ends.

How would it have continued in season 10? Danny's funeral would have happened off-screen, like so many other pivotal scenes. Steve would have maybe spent an episode or two mulling it over and then returned to Hawaii to hunt down Daiyu Mei with Cole and the team, which now included Catherine.

So much for Lenkov's wet dream, um, plan. However, because CBS knew that McDanno was the heart and soul of the series, they found this idea more than lousy and turned PL down. We could imagine that Alex also threw in that he would certainly not continue without Scott. There was a short back and forth, and it was decided to cancel the show. So we've come full circle to the sloppy, heartless execution of the last episode and the absolutely meaningless words PL put in Steve's mouth as a result. Due to lack of creativity and apparent lack of time, the deadline seemed to be predetermined, considering how quickly the soundstages at Diamond Studios were obliterated.

The crew was equally surprised when PL succinctly informed them that there would be no season 11. See the post from an angry crew member on IG.

Can we prove any of this? Nope, but it's the only reasonable explanation for why the show ended the way it did. Namely, completely illogical, with a Steve who was more than just off the rails. At the very beginning of the series, Steve gives completely different reasons for staying. If you do a rewatch, you'll see.

Everybody knows that you don't solve problems by running away. You don't get rid of the weight that you carry around with you. Steve may be a stubborn mule, but one thing he has never been: self-centered. And if Danny was really the most important thing in the world to him, as Mei said, then he wouldn't have dumped him in the end. Because that's what you do when you really love someone, you stay and fight against all odds. Especially when someone is in a bad place, like Danny, who has just jumped from the brink of death.

You don't suddenly go on a self-realization trip and kick the person who's already lying on the ground. But that's exactly what Steve did. At least the way PL wrote the part. The man must have really lost it when he wrote those lines. I'm sure he was enjoying pure schadenfreude.

And if you take a close look at the two protagonists, you can clearly see the reluctance with which they shared it all with the audience. There was no more room for any affectionate ad-lib actions that we knew from before. They could only stubbornly reel off what was in the script. PL would have done well to sit down with Scott and Alex and find a common solution instead of imposing his version on them and the audience. That's what people with integrity do, but the man never any.

In our opinion, the show's ending ranks among the dumbest and most unimaginative of all time. Rarely a person manages to drive a show against the wall in such a way and at the same time assassinated the main characters. PL shouldn't be proud of it. He should rather stand in a corner and be ashamed of himself.

And now you can go ahead and bash us, or just ignore the whole thing and keep on scrolling. Thank you for your time and for letting us share our thoughts with you.

[windbournefree]

AARON SORKIN'S "WOMAN PROBLEM" AND THE NEWSROOM

After binging on The Newsroom (and loving it) created by Aaron Sorkin I got to thinking about his reputed "woman problem" when some YouTube commenter described all the female characters on the show as "twits." That's a characterization I strongly disagree with, and will show why, but also can't shake the intuitive sense that his portrayal is rightly controversial. By that I mean it is right that it should be a matter of discussion, not that it is necessarily wrong. The people holding the discussion need to decide that for themselves.

First the bald facts. Women in this drama hold power: Leona founded and still owns the company, Mackenzie is the Executive Producer of the network's flagship news program with a male second-in-command and many male staff, Sloan is the acknowledged smartest person in the company with far more lucrative prospects awaiting her should she choose them, Maggie is promoted instantly from a personal aide to an associate producer by a woman despite her youth and inexperience. Women are in leadership roles with real power that they do exercise.

In their relationships to men, the women in The Newsroom engage in give and take.

Mackenzie may look at Will like a doe-eyed schoolgirl at times but she's in love with him and is self-recriminating about previous behaviors. She isn't like that with any other male characters. Even with Will she frequently takes charge and makes him follow her direction, which he does. Mac exercises real power in her relationship with Will from episode one on. When Will doles out his "punishments" she only takes them to the degree that she believes she should. She holds the power at any time to say, "That's enough!" which she does in regards to the engagement ring. When she does that he realizes he's gone too far and changes his behavior.

Maggie coddles Don in most of the scenes we see of them and breaks up with him mostly in scenes we don't see. I'd venture to guess that the early breakups happen because the relationship has no room for her passion and she gets tired of soothing his ego to make things work. In contrast, Maggie's drawn to Jim because he awakens and allows room for her passion. Most employees who confront and yell at their bosses as much as she does with Jim would be suspended and/or fired. He lets her get away with it to a degree because he recognizes that that same passion drives her to become an excellent journalist. And because he likes her. Both are true. Every once in awhile he has to reprimand her in public to assert authority over his team or it gives permission to his other staff to behave the same way. Maggie is no shrinking violet. She is strong and self-directed and refuses to allow a man to control her. Most of her errors come from inexperience and human frailty. None of them occur because she's a woman.

Sloan clearly wears the pants in her relationship to Don which, to his surprise, he doesn't mind. Ever once in awhile, though, they switch roles or just relate as equals. Don goes from dating the young intern who part of him wants to dominate to dating the highly intelligent, self-directed professional who no man can dominate and becomes a better version of himself as a result. Sloan's errors in her first broadcast about Fukushima occur not because she is scared by Will as a man but because she's scared by him as respected professional. His gender doesn't matter to her. When Charlie yells at her about it she tells him strongly, "Do not call me 'girl,' sir!" And that's to the head of the News Division.

Leona clearly rules the roost and fights with Charlie as an equal or as a subordinate, never as a superior. They fight the way old friends do.

In no respect are women as a class portrayed as inferior or subordinate to the power of men. So why do I get that intuitive itch that there's something old-fashioned about Sorkin's writing on gender relations?

I think it's that some of the male characters in The Newsroom tend to be the carriers of logic and reasoning while the female characters tend to be the carriers of emotional expression. This isn't always true: Sloan is highly logical (while also passionate) and Charlie is highly emotional (while also reasonable) and Neal carries both in balance. It's certainly true, however, of the Jim & Maggie relationship which is intended as a reflection of the older Will & Mackenzie one. Remember how, in episode one, Mackenzie points out Maggie to Jim and tells him that she's a younger version of her before she grew into herself and got hotter with age? And why has Jim long been Mackenzie's choice for supervising producer? Could it be because he reminds her of Will? I think so. I also think it's fair to assume that Sorkin does not intend for that rational/emotional dichotomy to typify all gender relations since he gives us alternate examples. More likely it's because Sorkin is a brainy guy who prefers an emotionally expressive woman to bring balance into his life. When he writes romance it comes out of who he is, what he likes. That's how he connects to the material at a feeling level. Some viewers may prefer a flip on those traditional associations and the Don & Sloan relationship may have been his attempt to provide that. It's not where Sorkin feels at his strongest or most natural, though, so he writes what he knows.

There ARE problems with The Newsroom, though, that I think if addressed would have reduced criticism. In no way should bosses be allowed to date subordinates over whose careers they have an influence. The producers decide what stories are aired. The career of a journalist rises and falls with the number and quality of stories they get aired. Dating a subordinate in this environment is a breach of ethics and most professional workplace standards. To be fair, Maggie was first an intern then a personal aide and only became an associate producer (journalist) as Don was on his way out so it wasn't a total breach; definitely in the gray area, though. The sexual tension between Jim and Maggie, obvious to everyone (as Sloan pointed out in the finale), often broke out into open conflict. Mackenzie should have addressed this conflict as their supervisor but instead encouraged it. As Jim points out it was Mac's idea for him to get together with Maggie in the first place. Again, it was Mac's advice to Jim to "gather ye rosebuds while ye may" that led to his and Maggie's first kiss and then Jim deciding this was wrong. Mackenzie's regrets about her relationship with Will colored her judgment and led her to offer advice that may have been okay coming from a friend but was inappropriate coming from a supervisor. She could have been rightly disciplined or even fired by HR if found out. Jim does decide that he can't date a subordinate however he feels but Mac should have intervened and threatened to move one of them out if they couldn't handle the tension in a professional manner. In the series finale Jim offers the Supervising Producer position to the woman he's in love with. How is that not an HR violation? How would Maggie's career not be dogged by rumors of "sleeping her way to the top" if she accepts it?

The other thing is the way emotional conflicts between several of the characters break out into office wide battles. Talk about an unsafe working environment! I can't see how the entire management staff wasn't fired on an almost weekly basis. And when Mackenzie commends Maggie for her loyalty by saying she wouldn't complain to HR if her hair was on fire I cringed. Is that the message you want to send out in a #MeToo world?

Aaron Sorkin says he likes to write "very romantically, very idealistically." The chaos in the newsroom is intended for laughs, not to be taken as a serious reflection of a workplace. The characters are flawed and frequently do not do what they should. The lack of HR supervision is even mentioned by a character in season one so there's awareness that liberties are being taken. I don't think there's an inherent woman problem here, just a production not as sensitive as it might be to the struggles women face in the workplace. There are good reasons why "no dating" policies are in place, why it's unprofessional to carry your personal life into the workplace. Workplace comedies routinely feature HR nightmares for the sake of laughs: Brooklyn 99 is a good example. We don't take them seriously. It's the sheer intelligence of The Newsroom and the realistic setting that may make the comedy part seem more serious than it is. Personally I see the show as a kind of joyful fantasy; Sports Night without the canned laughter. If you can separate the fantastic from the realistic I think you'll find that The Newsroom is actually very empowering for women.

[verobatto]

Agent Clarence Morley and the Fish

Visual Narrative Meta. Destiel Meta. 15x06 meta. Golden Times.

Okay, this is my third meta about 15x06, the visual narrative wasn't so huge like in previous episodes, but it was very present.

I want to talk about the name Castiel had chosen, is Clarence (we think in Meg immediately) but the last name is Worley, is a character from a movie, True Romance, in which he meets a girl and eat pie, some room com

If you want to check out my others METAS, here and here you have the links.

The Bad Joke, that wasn't a joke

The first scene between the brother was very symbolic. Dean keeps eating a lot, and he enters reading a joke from a cereal box...

"What's around a bad temper? A vicious circle"

This is self referencing over here, my friends, because is talking about how Dean is stuck in his toxicity, and his way to "solve" his problems and repress his feelings m is a vicious circle that never ends, and he's playing in the same line, and lying to himself. The bad temper, is a reflection of Toxic Dean, and he's trapped in this vicious circle, and he needs to MOVE ON to make things changing.

And looks how poetic and philosophical Meredith had written this... Because Sam is carrying a box that says keep'er moving and by the end of the episode we had Cas saying this...

This is the fable here (remember my meta about how Dean learned like in a fable? The link is here) Now Dean has to learn to move on, and change. He can't be the same guy that pushes everything down and calls the love of his life BROTHER, that's not gonna work this time to make Cas coming back (this is something I discussed with my friend @mrsaquaman187 the other week) this time it has to be something HUGE. A HUGE CHANGE coming from Dean. Moving on from his vicious circle to UNDERSTIMATE and VERBALIZATION of his true feelings. That way he will be free.

And that's why we had Dean trying to see how Sam would be I he vomit his truth in front of him in episode 14x04, or talking about meat man, or spitting out food that's he thought he would like (spiced snack and old cereal) but he didn't at the end. Maybe related with next episode when that waitress will hit on him, maybe he will reject her... Because he knows what he wants, but he just is afraid of it.

I already talked about Dean's pajamas... But here you have, there was hot dogs there too... And is amazing. The burgers are Castiel people!

Dean doesn't believe CAS is gone for good

He is in deny, he can't believe CAS is gone, he thinks he will come back soon. Is nothing, is not that bad, at all.

That's the lie he keeps telling himself. And maybe if Sam is texting him, he will be here soon...

"Is just a few hours... He'll turn up."

Okay, this is concept I already had written in my Destiel metas from this season, but look at the DESTIEL LADY here, we already talked about her book referencing the Destiel Break Up, but now... She said this quote, when the mother was worried about his son...

Like... Don't worry, he will come back soon. Is nothing, just a few hours.

That's the exactly the thought (lie) Dean has about Castiel. Is nothing, he always comes back. He will be here soon.

Golden Times... When Dean was my smart fish

Cas is remembering with melancholy his friendship with Dean, and everything in that Fisher store makes him recall Dean. First of all, is full of fish, and there's that colored fish too there, I analyzed the colors and the meaning of keep moving in my previous meta for 15x05. This is a beautiful parallel to Dean recalling Cas with melancholy in episode 14x04 and 14x06.

The red witch was a mirror of Chuck

Look how the witch with the Case/Happiness dress was talking about her mother...

This time is for CAS, even the depressed Dean mirror there, putting liquor to his coffee had a fish in his t-shirt.

Okay, we were with @agusvedder talking about this, and by the way thanks to her for making all these beautiful gifs for this meta and taking the pics, we noticed she talked about her crush... Exploding like a water balloon... (Just like Cas did in 4x22) and then how he tried making her to sell her soul to a demon... Like Dean did. So... That mother is Chuck, for sure, because he wrote those things, we are sure of that... And because then the little sister said she made her dissapeard for one week is talking about how Chuck played by killing Castiel or not even writing him.

A very meaningful conversation in the woods

Dean mirror entering into another wood, my theory says each time we see a wood, is a mirror of the Empty. So this time she enters with Castiel. When they're searching for her son, she talks about her boss...

And how he promised things would change, but it didn't, so she had to move on to make things change... Again the same concept...

ND Cas talking and sharing his experience with Sam and Dean and how he had to go too... (Again... Golden times...)

Cas is a miracle

And I want to talk about how @weirddorkylittlediana pointed in episode 14x09 how Dean said it was a miracle when Donnie opened his eyes and came back from his coma thanks to Castiel's powers...

Now... We had him healing (hardly) to this boy and her.mother saying HE WAS A MIRACLE.

So, idk if this is relevant, it looks like, and maybe, could be connected to something that will happen in the Empty.

@agusvedder and I were talking about how the Dean mirror was speaking about a silver mine, again the silver concept as in knives and steaks through the heart, and how Castiel killed the DJin by using his angel blade, and the DJin being an Empty mirror, a monster who puts people to sleep.

And Castiel killing him, I hope he can kill the Empty too and reach the huge improvement of character by defeating everything what the Empty means, his fears and dark feelings, like the guilt and depression.

To Conclude:

We had another fable from Meredith's hands, in which we had reached the concept DEAN HAS TO CHANGE. HE IS LIKE A CATERPILLAR WHO NEED TO BE CLOSED, ALONE FOR A WHILE IN HIS COCOON, AND THEN REAPPEAR LIKE A BUTTERFLY.

He needs his introspection, and I hope he will have it in the next episode, when writers reveal to the GA that Dean is Bi. (NO MORE SUBTEXT, BUT REAL TEXTUALISM.)

Castiel recalling with melancholy his friendship with Dean is a parallel to Dean in episode 14x04 and 14x06.

Castiel is a miracle, and he's the one that gives us the concept of keep moving to make things change.

I hope you like this meta. See you my dears!

Tagging @metafest @gneisscastiel @magnificent-winged-beast @agusvedder @weirddorkylittlediana @michyribeiro @whyjm @legendary-destiel @a-bit-of-influence @thatwitchydestielfan @misha-moose-dean-burger-lover @lykanyouko @evvvissticante @savannadarkbaby @angelneedshunter @trickster-archangel @dea-stiel @mybonsai1976 @anarchiana @angelwithashotgunandtrenchcoat @trashblackrainbow @destielshipper221b @mishtho @dancingtuesdaymorning @feathered-castiel @bre95611 @zoerayne2426 @justmeand-myinsight @that-one-fandom-chick @proccastinate @studio-hatter @pepevons @liwopanyaasss @poorreputation

Buenos Aires November 22nd 2019 5:37 PM

[crackers4jenn]

Stranger Things spoilers behind the cut

Holy crap, the last two episodes were so intense--and so good, I must've wept upwards of 8 times. Overall, this has been one of my favorite seasons, and not just because of Nancy constantly reevaluating her life and why, specifically, Steve still isn't in it. BUT MY THOUGHTS:

I was expecting sooooo much more to happen between Will and Mike, but dang! Hand that Noah kid all the awards, he wasn't wasting what little screentime he had. Him stifling his crying into his hand????? After talking to Mike about El but really about HIMSELF and Mike not getting it???? GOD. I know people have been real dang quick to call out the lack of, well, anything explicitly indicating Will has feelings for Mike as queerbaiting but, what?! I feel like his feelings have been SO evident and handled sooooo carefully and beautifully, especially in how Jonathan has been observing it all. I can't imagine the show is just gonna make this a one-off thing, it, like everything else this season, had a dot-dot-dot of "to be continued" all over it. (Also, the painting reveal was worth the wait! You just know Will's 'El commissioned it' lie is going to catch up with him.) (Also also, Jonathan is probably my least favorite main character, just in terms of like... how much screentime I wish he had, but every scene he shared with just Will was a 10/10 no splash slap to my heart.)

I can't believe they killed Eddie!!! I was full on Troy "my emotions, MY EMOTIONS"'ing from the second he and Dustin committed to being decoys, to him buying everyone more time and staying in the Upside Down, to him deciding to stop running, TO DUSTIN CRADLING HIM AS HE DIED. Ahhh!!! I kinda figured, even with all the "ohhh, so many characters are gonna die" talk it wouldn't be a main character, and it wouldn't be Robin, so it had to be him, but I was still bummed. I know Steve-and-Dustin is an untouchable duo but the Dustin-and-Eddie dynamic carried the second half of the season for me.

Thank god El was piggybacking from a pizza freezer and could save Max. Semi-save her. The Vecna deaths were already horrific when they were happening to characters we didn't really have a lot of emotional investment in, but seeing Max go through that? While Lucas was losing his mind with grief???? I know I already said Noah was killing it in these final episodes, but honestly, hand alllll those kids an award, they were on a whole other level in vol. 2.

Sooooo happy Joyce and Hopper are leaning hard into their feelings for each other. You know, why keep fighting it when one half of you was legally declared dead for 8 months. They're so sweet and they deserve to go on that damn date.

The reunions between Will + El, Hopper + El, and Joyce + El had me straight up sobbing. I love their family! If I had been an emotional robot the entire previous time, if I hadn't had already sobbed a million times and stayed dry-eyed, El and Hopper's convo in her room would've gotten me to break. HE'S HER DAD 😫

Still here for the Stancy of it all. I'm juuuuust a little disappointed we didn't get more of a reaction to Steve pouring his heart out about Nancy being the one in all his Harrington brood family vacay dreams (!!!!!!!!!) but, like, she's with Jonathan. She loves Jonathan. I appreciate that no lines were ever really crossed. But now she knows how she feels. She can do something about it if she wants to, especially because! It's so clear the show is trying to do with Nancy/Jonathan what they did at the end of s1 with Steve/Nancy. That "oh, I don't think I'm emotionally in this relationship anymore but I'm gonna put on a brave face and power through" thing I despise so much. If there's a time jump next season, I'm gonna be real surprised if those two are still together. And if they are, you know it's gonna be by a damn weak ass thread. They love each other but they're not even TRYING to be there for each other.

And back to making this a Steve/Nancy bullet point! You know who was there for each other this season? Steve and Nancy! In so many "look at how far they've come!" ways. Their faces and the way those faces were looking at the other all throughout this season? Exquisite. 🤌 They just have soooo much chemistry. All the show has to do is let the camera linger on Steve staring at Nancy a little dazed, a little lovestruck, and Nancy staring back at Steve a little smirky, a little flirty, AND I AM SOLD, BABYYYY.

Which makes Nancy running into Jonathan's arms, IN FRONT OF STEVE, after everything, all the more soul-bruising. Some good looking out by Robin in that moment, though. Just like Steve was there to try and console her after she peeped HER crush locking lips with someone else. Their friendship is one of my faves.

(I just remembered when Steve and Nancy jumped back into the Upside Down and almost kissed!!!!!)

In conclusion: 🥹♥️

[marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer]

MTVS Epic Rewatch #183

BTVS 7x04 Help

Stray thoughts

1) I feel that season 7 had started on the right foot, and Help is one of the prime examples of that. Hardly ever were MOW episodes the most memorable of the show, albeit a few exceptions that include unique premises and/or demons (Hush, OMWF.) But I feel Help is definitely one of the strongest episodes of the season. It is in no small part because of Cassie Newton. And let’s be real, how often is the victim more memorable than the monster? The actress who plays Cassie does a marvelous job of playing the “woe is me” type without being obnoxious, which is quite the feat. Instead, Cassie comes off as sensitive, intuitive, empathetic, and, unfortunately, doomed. But I think the real reason this episode works so well is how Cassie’s predicament mirrors Buffy’s, and ultimately, how Cassie is just yet another person of the countless Buffy feels she failed to help. But more on that later.

2) The montage of Buffy trying to counsel the kids is pretty neat because they kind of nailed their different reactions to being counseled. You’ve got Amanda, who’s honest and opens up immediately and kind of welcomes Buffy’s pieces of advice. Then the douche (who also played a douche in VM, btw…) who is basically just a douche. And the kid who doesn’t want to talk and just stares at her. And then there’s Buffy, who kind of doesn’t know what to do with any of them, regardless of their attitude.

3) 

XANDER I bet she's giving them great advice.

WILLOW Absolutely! Those kids are lucky to have Buffy looking out for them.

That’s sweet! Especially considering Xander and Willow are having this conversation on their own. They’re being 100% honest. 

4) Willow’s timid and insecure demure is such a welcome change from her almighty and overconfident demeanor in season 6. And it’s an arc that eventually pays off.

WILLOW I don't know what I can do. I mean, frankly, I'm scared of what I might do. 

XANDER Yeah, I get that. Figuring out how to control your magic seems a lot like hammering a nail. Well, uh, hear me out. So you're hammering, right? OK, well at the end of the hammer, you have the power, but no control. It takes, like, two strokes to hit the nail in, or you could hit your thumb.

WILLOW Ouch.

XANDER So you choke up. Control, but no power. It could take like ten strokes to knock the nail in. Power, control. It's a tradeoff.

WILLOW That's actually not a bad analogy.

XANDER Thanks.

WILLOW Except... I'm less worried about hitting my thumb, and more worried about going all black-eyed baddy and bewitching that hammer into cracking my friends' skulls open like coconuts.

XANDER Right. Ouch.

WILLOW Sorry. Xander, being back here... I don't know...

XANDER It'll take time. Are you sure you're ready for this?

Also, kudos to Xander because I think he was doing a great job of acknowledging Willow’s concerns while giving her sound advice, you know? He wasn’t his typical “it’ll be okay” self. He was honest. He admitted it would take time and that it would be hard on her, but he didn’t doubt for a second that she would make it. 

5) And then…

6) This is perfect…

BUFFY It sounds like it's difficult for you. Like maybe your sister makes it hard for you to establish your own identity. You said she's controlling, she doesn't let you make your own decisions— 

On a more serious note, though, how does the school allow Buffy to counsel her own sister? I mean, talk about conflict of interest, right?  

7) 

PRINCIPAL  When I was in high school, I had a thing with this guy, right? Real bully. I kept telling everyone that he'd better sleep with one eye open 'cause I was gonna bust his ass. Well, I got suspended. Talk like that is taken pretty seriously where I come from.

BUFFY The hood?

PRINCIPAL Beverly Hills... 

Yeah, Buffy, you know what happens when you assume...

8)

PRINCIPAL Every time there's a threat like this, we do the same dance. Inform teachers, search lockers, but we can't—we can't know what's gonna happen, and we can't search their brains. We just—we just do what we can.

BUFFY It's not enough. I need to fix this. I don't usually get a heads up before somebody dies.

This is what’s interesting about what Carrie represents, both in the show and in real life. Buffy goes into this purely as a counselor, and she soon finds out that her resources as such are very limited. She probably thinks Cassie is having suicidal thoughts, and Buffy finds herself helpless to prevent this. The education system’s red tape makes it impossible for her to take action in a more effective way, and there’s no demon she can kill to prevent Cassie from dying. This is addressed again when she goes to Willow and Xander.

XANDER Buff, you spilled a cup of coffee. I'm not saying you don't have slayer grace, but it's not the first time.

WILLOW I mean maybe, just maybe, you're trying so hard to help that you're seeing paranormal when there's just normal.

9) Wow is this joke dated!

WILLOW Have you googled her yet?

XANDER Willow, she's 17.

Side note: did you know this line right here made BTVS the first TV show to use the word “google” as a verb?

10) It seems Xander took a line from Veronica’s book, right? You marshmallows out there will get what I mean...

BUFFY Wow, that's a lot of poems.

XANDER Poems. Always a sign of pretentious inner turmoil.

11) 

WILLOW I don't know. I mean, a lot of teens post some pretty angsty poetry on the web. I mean, I even posted a melodramatic love poem or two back in the day.

XANDER Love poems?

WILLOW I'm over you now, sweetie.

12) Buffy was really stepping over her boundaries, though…

BUFFY We know you've been picked up by the police a couple of times. We wanted to know if you still—  drink a lot.

MR. NEWTON What's that got to do with Cassie?

BUFFY Frankly, we were worried that you might—drink too much and hurt Cassie. That's all. (that’s all???? you’re accusing this guy of beating up his daughter!!!)

MR. NEWTON Oh. Oh, I see. That's-that's all. You just come in here in the middle of the night, into my home, and start accusing me of beating on my daughter? That's all?

BUFFY We just want to make sure that Cassie's—

MR. NEWTON Well, that's a lie! Who told you this? Did Cassie's mother put you up to this, 'cause I pay my support, OK? To the dime! She just wants to take away the one weekend a month I get to be with my girl.

I’m sure in any other town but Sunnydale this type of behavior would get a counselor fired, right? 

13) And isn’t Cassie Buffy’s mirror image?

 CASSIE You think I want this? You think I don't care? Believe me, I want to...be here, do things. I want to graduate from high school, and I want to go to the stupid winter formal... I have this friend, and it would be fun to go with him. Just to dance and hear lame music to wear a silly dress and laugh and stuff. I'd like to go. There's a lot of stuff I'd like to do. I'd love to ice skate at Rockefeller Center. And I'd love to see my cousins grow up and see how they turn out 'cause they're really mean and I think they're gonna be fat. I'd love to backpack across the country or, I don't know, fall in love, but I won't. I just never will.

This is pretty much Buffy’s plight to a tee, right? The wanting to have a normal life but knowing she won’t be able to. I actually made a parallel set between this speech and Buffy’s in Becoming, but there are so many other examples of Buffy voicing this same concerns and wants (Welcome to the Hellmouth, Prophecy Girl...)

14)

SPIKE Yes. There's evil. Down here. Right here. I'm a bad man. William is a baaad man. I hurt the girl. 

BUFFY Spike, stop it! What did you do?

SPIKE I hurt you, Buffy, and I will pay. I am paying because I hurt the girl.

BUFFY Spike. No. It's not me. It's a different girl, OK? Her name is Cassie Newton. Please, do you know anything specific?

SPIKE Don't—don't leave me. Stay here, and help me be quiet.

BUFFY  I think it's worse when I'm here. 

On the one hand, I think it was necessary to see Spike flogging himself over what he’d almost done. I mean, how do you keep a character who’s done what he did without having him beat himself up for it? And I get that Buffy, as the victim of his assault, needed to be the person to witness how guilty and sorrowful he was. But... on the other hand, the writers had put themselves in a no-win scenario. They ruined Spike’s character development by having him almost rape Buffy, and now the only way to turn things around was to have Buffy, his victim, feel sorry for him. She shouldn’t have been put on that spot, especially when so little thought was given to her own trauma (a few flashbacks in Beneath You, that was it... never again does she flinch from Spike’s touch or get away from his company...) At the same time, Buffy is this type of person, the one who constantly puts the other cheek. Not only does she forgive easily but she also takes care of those who hurt her (think of her comforting Willow right after she almost had Dawn killed, or the oh so many times she tried to help Faith after one of her betrayals...) She is selfless, and I don’t see why this time should have been any different. Still, I can understand why this can make people uncomfortable. It sets a weird - to say the least - example for assault victims. But I don’t think it’s fair to say Buffy was out of character. 

15) I kind of liked this guy until he said this…

BUFFY You aren't mad at Cassie, with her rejecting you like that?

MIKE Nah, she's a girl right? Making boys crazy is like your job description.

Well, your job description is being a stupid dumbass, apparently. And Buffy laughed??? Buffy would NEVER laugh!!!

16) 

PETER Back off. Get back! Get back, you stupid bitch! 

Now that’s the Buffy I know and love.

17) I have nothing to base this assumption on, but I’m guessing they had Spike beat up the douche and get a headache because fans might have bought the previous season’s red herring that he had gone on the quest to get the chip removed, so this was the writers’ way of telling the fans: “Spike still has the chip, he really did get his soul back.”

18) This is so sad…

19)

WILLOW Cassie didn't know? Then it was fate?

XANDER I think she was gonna die, no matter what, wasn't she? Didn't matter what you did.

BUFFY She just knew. She was special. I failed her.

DAWN Uh-uh. No. You didn't, 'cause you tried. You listened, and you tried. She died 'cause of her heart, not 'cause of you. She was my friend because of you. I guess sometimes you can't help.

BUFFY So what then? What do you do when you know that? When you know that maybe you can't help?

It’s kind of odd that Buffy went seven seasons without asking herself this question, though. It is a quintessential superhero question, after all. And it’s very similar to the question that’s brought up on ATS in season 1, although we do get an answer there. So, Buffy, here’s your answer:

If nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do.

[cherrymiyaa]

I'm a major Atsumu stan but i acnjoy let this Oikawa slander happen and here's why:

We get to judge Oikawa's character much deeper than Atsumu's for two main reasons

1) We delved deeper into his backstory than Atsumu's and get to see different sides of him

2) He has a larger effect on the two main characters at different stages (Kageyama pre timeskip, Hinata post timeskip)

We are given Atsumu's backstory too, but it focuses more on his aspirations of becoming the best setter and his insecurity only lays in the fact that other people don't like him, though the latter is an assumption as the anime and manga portrayal shows that he does not really care about the likability factor. In terms of socialising, he only actually cared about having Osamu by his side, hence the strong reaction about his twin not making to the youth training camp. (The Inarizaki team is a special case as he certainly has deep rooted respect for Kita but no one else can replace what he has with Osamu, his best friend and brother both) Atsumu gets the privelege of showing how he fell in love with volleyball alongside Osamu and then staying in love with it after Osamu leaves. Maybe it's because of his athletic prowess, but his only insecurity is his brother outdoing him, and then later Kageyama being a better setter.

This is in contrast to Oikawa who's backstory focus more on how he reacted to his perception of being lesser than seniors, peers, and juniors. We routinely see as a much more "likeable" personality on and off the court, but it comes off as manipulative because we see both his inner and outer demeanor. If you've ever interacted with someone who's been insecure about something everyone thinks they're the greatest at, then you will know this is normal. Or even if you just do a little introspection on the mask we put on to interact in certain circles and situations. How they want others to see them is worlds apart from how they actually feel, but the pressure to maintain this outer persona keeps them from revealing it. (Also Iwaizumi doesn't strike me as the sort of person to remain friends with someone if they were that bad of a person, and he isn't exactly the benchmark for good person, but he's up there for being honorable after stopping Oikawa from hitting Kageyama.) The incident for almost striking Kageyama is from being in middle school, a time period one which we see the coaches, the actual adults in this situation, do nothing (highlighted in the fact that they did nothing to support Kageyama when his teammates deserted him in the court. This gives us reason to believe they did nothing to support previous players, such as Oikawa, either.) And we're not even starting on the knew injury and it's domino effect on his confidence and performance.

TLDR: The backstories show us Atsumu falling in love with volleyball through competing with his brother until he falls into it deeply, and show Oikawa's lasting insecurities that he can't shake off even in high school

Moving on to 2, because of the effect Oikawa has on Hinata and Kageyama due to being from the same region, and as Kageyama's senior, he will obviously have a more profound relationship with them. The interesting thing, and it might just be me, is that Kageyama didn't hate Oikawa for almost hitting him (his baby face looks like he didn't even register it), but rather he is envious of the attention he can hold over the court. When compared to how his peers treated him, it's no secret he'd feel that way. And combine that with his grandfather's passing, there's more reason to believe Kageyama's issues stem from his personal life development than Oikawa. If he believed him to be such a bad person, he wouldn't have approached him for advice in season 2 (chapter 83 in the manga). And him being there for Hinata in Brazil may not seem significant but was a well needed reminder from home for Hinata; plus you can see the respect Hinata still carries for him because he hasn't outgrown the title and he is still regarded as being above Kageyama.

TLDR: Judging Oikawa more harshly because of how we see him affect other characters is unfair because it ignores outside factors and those characters still regard him as one of the best

Concerning his choice to leave Japan, it is not all that different from Hinata's decision to train in Brazil. Oikawa wasn't rlly subtle in his rivalry with others from the monster generation and playing on the same team as them would not give him the closure he wanted. Being on the Argentinian team allows him to play against Japan, aka the team of almost all the people he's wanted to challenge on the court, on some of the biggest stages of the world (Yearly vb tournaments and Olympics). And about playing in a non Japanese club, once again, Hinata does the same when he joins the MSBY Black Jackals for a season to play against Kageyama and then goes back to Brazil the next year.

TLDR: Oikawa playing for Argentina is the best decision for him and us no different from Hinata playing for a Brazilian club after a season at MSBY

I love Atsumu with my whole heart but Oikawa is not the mean spirited asshole a lot of people in the fandom make him out to be and it's time people accepted that.

Why I love Atsumu but could care less about Oikawa, this could be a ten page paper written by moi.

We are going to start with oikawa. While his character has purpose and is well rounded, he lacks likability.

He is narcissistic (we see him having a fit over Kageyama asking him for help) and brash and manipulative (it’s literally said that he will get what he wants from his team).

I’ll give the devil his due, he’s a great setter and has taken a ton of time to hone his skills and get better. Not just with a ball but also with people. We see his growth from high school to the 2021 Olympics. But… where he falls short for me is here: instead of working with other characters who are literally called the monster generation, he ran away from his problems.

Oikawa literally said, I don’t need this team, or these people, or Japan. I’m out. Pretty egotistical and narcissistic to meeee. Oikawa is narcissistic. There is no other way to explain his personality.

That being said, Atsumu isn’t perfect either he is self centered and whiny and loud and obnoxious.

But here’s where the two diverge and I lean towards liking Atsumu better and simply disliking oikawa.

Self centered is putting yourself in the middle of everything.

Narcissism is cutting everything out that’s not yourself or is beneficial to you.

Atsumu whines to his brother about not being good enough and Osamu literally calls him a scrub and says do it and quit whining about it. Atsumu is loud and his team mates don’t like him in middle school. He doesn’t care. He doesn’t let it affect him on the court. While he is cocky and annoying, he’s also respected. When he joins MSBY he has grown into himself and has mellowed.

He is able to boost everyone around him to his level. He has high expectations for his teammates and he pushes each one to be their best.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that Atsumu hooks himself into the team of horses pulling a heavy load where as oikawa is the driver.

Both setters are obviously talented and have mad skills and I do understand why people like oikawa, but for me, I simply don’t. For me, he’s all surface level niceties and cattiness. For me, he manipulative and cruel and calculated and bitchy.

And Atsumu, he’s just an idiot with skills, he speaks before he thinks and is just in general led by his heart. He is doing his best even when he puts his foot in his mouth or is razzing his team too hard. He doesn’t put up with bullshit and will call ya on it.

TLDR: oikawa is calculated and bitchy Atsumu is a blunt dumbass.