#I'm showing up regardless

[radiosummons]

This is supposed to be the outfit that "protects" Link from acquiring frostbite pfffttt

Between this top and the mandatory acrylics that come with the new arm, gotta say I'm loving how much Nintendo keeps leaning into GNC Link XD

MINI UPDATE: (Guys, I've already updated this post with the correct info. The "protects" part was supposed to be a joke about how skimpy the outfit was. I didn't realize the outfit gave an attack bonus at first, either. That was it. That was the post. You don't need to keep sending me messages trying to inform me about the frost attack. I know, I promise).

Update I: Just realized they gave him a set of blue acrylics for his left hand

Link really do be out here serving cunt 💅💅✨✨

Update II: Many thanks to the people who pointed out that this outfit gives you a special frost attack when in cold temperature areas, it doesn't actually protect you from the elements. I'll be honest, I am purposely avoiding any guides or walkthroughs for my TotK playthrough (since I'm trying to replicate my BotW experience). When I found the Frostbite Shirt, I was just happy that I finally had a piece of clothing that I thought could protect me from dying of hypothermia (was chugging spicy elixirs like you wouldn't believe) so I didn't notice the attack bonus until a bunch of you pointed it out lol

[respectthepetty]

YES!

@slayerkitty @respectthepetty IT’S OFFICIAL IT’S PRACTICALLY CONFIRMED THE MYSTERY IS A MYSTERY NO MORE!

[torchickentacos]

i will always shout praises of bi4bi but given recent discourse I feel the need to say that I love bi4het too! I just love bisexuality in general in its many forms, and anyone who only likes it when it's 'queer enough' for them is biphobic. Bisexuals should be able to bring their LaMe CiShEt BoYfRiEnD to pride without being made to feel like spectators and outsiders to their own event.

[sunlit-mess]

Do you also watch helluva boss?

ABSOLUTELY

[demidorks]

My Adventures with Superman is so Jason, Piper and Leo coded. I'm having the time of my life here.

[crystallizsch]

Hello! I would like to say that your art my favorite in the entire fandom, I don't know how to describe it but it just feels the best 💃 The way you draw the characters is very nice, Jamil is one of my favorites and you have his personality captured very nicely! Anyway, I hope you have a good day and I hope a lifetime supply of your favorite food drops from the sky for you 🤸‍♀️

AAHH THIS IS MAKING ME CRYYY ANON

i've never received a compliment about my art like this before so that's such an honor to hear 😭💕💕

THANK YOU SO MUCH I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST (*chucks this out here as another thanks*)

[sealeneee]

what's this. this bitch writes sometimes.

fandom: swtor

«failures», 762 words, pg-13, gen

warnings: swearing, suicidal themes, possible ooc

characters: theron shan & katona nardanna (oc); don't tag as ship

if you notice any typos/mistakes please let me know

Night has long fallen on Odessen as the Commander effortlessly steps over the railing of the base's roof. Carefully keeping her balance at the very edge, she grabs the banisters behind her, flinching at the coolness of the metal. Someone with a less grim mood would probably admire the starry void above.

"Going somewhere?"

The man's voice is rather casual for the situation he's facing. Katona smirks. At least he knows better than to get all teary-eyed at her.

"Yeah, wanted to go grab some bantha milk."

"What, you'd leave your kids all alone? I knew you were capable of cruelty, but that seems excessive even for you."

"«Kids», hah. Half the base's older than me, Theron."

"Aww, we're all still your little ducklings. Don't be silly."

The half-sincere, half-sarcastic tone of the conversation doesn't change. It has always been like that for them — masks of fake cheer not strong enough to cover the bleak nature of the conversation, but enough to chase away the heartrending unease of talking about your feelings.

"Seriously, though. What's bothering you? No promises on a resolution, of course, but I can offer things like getting blackout drunk or wreaking havoc."

"I already do the latter almost on a daily basis, Shan."

"True. So?"

"So."

The silence stretches for a couple minutes. It's never truly quiet — the soft hum of the electricity and the distant sounds of the local wildlife fill the void.

"I just feel like... like I'm running in circles. Powerless. Chasing shadows. Grasping at the faintest leads, and feeling them slip away from my fingers. I've accomplished nothing so far."

"Tona. You have an entire military base under your command."

"That was all Lana. I didn't even know it existed", she gestures at the buildings below them. "I didn't even want to lead this! But as usual, nobody else can, blah blah, it falls to me." The dramatic offense in her voice is insincere, playful.

"Right. And the killing of the Emperor was Lana too?"

"No, but if you didn't notice," she taps her temple, "that wasn't very successful either."

"Jeez. You really find a way to undermine all of your achievements."

"I'm just stating the obvious. I've failed spectacularly in many aspects of my life." Katona chuckles and shifts her weight, still balancing on the edge of the building. "Yet somehow that hasn't stopped people from assigning more shit to me."

"I don't see how most things in your life can be categorized as «failures»."

"Let's go through the list, then. Getting rid of the Emperor? Certainly didn't work out. Stopping his kids? Work in progress. Makeb? Not sure, but I was chewed out by Saresh anyway–"

"Hey, as if she doesn't chew everyone out for every onething."

"Not the point. Still wasn't a good result. You know what else wasn't a good result? Fucking Ziost."

Theron's face darkens at the mention of the Imperial world. The failure of that operation can't be attributed to a single person, but he always seemed more affected by it than the rest.

"Anyway", Katona continues, not pausing to take a breath, "you get the point. I've failed many times. Guess the biggest failure is at being a Jedi — don't think I need to elaborate that one to you."

"No, you don't. But you know what?", he steps closer to the rails, "you're not the only one who failed at being Jedi here, Tona."

Katona turns to look at him, her expression skeptical. What he said is somewhat true, but the circumstances couldn't be more different. Theron doesn't stop at that.

"From one failed Jedi to another, let me tell you this. It gets better. Not quickly, that's for sure. But it does. And for days when it doesn't, I'll be here for you. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who shares the sentiment."

She doesn't answer him for a bit. When she finally does, her voice is softer, almost a whisper.

"Thanks." She smiles gently, turning her head to look at him. "So that's what we are, huh?"

"Yeah. Two nocturnal fuck-ups standing on a roof in the middle of the night."

Katona snorts.

"You came here of your own volition."

"Yeah, and now my volition says we're both leaving. You need at least a few hours of sleep."

Theron outstretches a hand, and Katona takes it, hopping back over the metal fence. The stars above them are just as uncaring, and the night air is just as cold, but something about the atmosphere doesn't feel as hostile and unwelcoming anymore.

[lesbians4buckleys]

hello 9-1-1 on ABC fandom. today i present to you.

911 cowboy au.

thoughts? good thoughts? amazing thoughts? cowboy thoughts?

picture this: the 118 is a wild west outlaw gang led by bobby nash, a man who was previously a rancher in minnesota but turned to the outlaw life after the passing of his wife and children. the gang consists of the 118 [a given] as well as maddie buckley and athena grant, and a few other side characters seen in the show.

anyways before i actually give more thoughts i wanna see if people like this idea so. tell me if you like the idea of a 911 cowboy au!

[notcsk]

i have to ramble about this bc i've seen no one bring it up (Boonboomger)

I think it's so fucking sick to see Mira and Jou's very different reactions to Taiya's lies and reckless behavior in the newest episode. Jou's just a big puppy, we know from the toilet episode that he sincerely wants to save people and protect the innocent, so he's really upset because he joined the Boonboomgers expecting to be a superhero. Mira's not heartless at all, quite the opposite, but I genuinely don't think that's what mattered to her at all in this case.

Because of episode 1.

"Let me guess. You don't like someone else taking the wheel for you."

I'm still on my OT3 + accelbrake bullshit, dw, but I knew from that moment that Taiya and Mira's relationship would be the most special to me. I'd bet anything that this quote is going to repeatedly come back and be relevant for the two of them in particular, because it clearly deeply resonated with Mira, who had previously just kinda gone with the flow, as shown with her ex-boyfriend and her various part-time jobs, but also with Taiya, because the scene makes it clear that quote is coming from somewhere significant to him as well (and hopefully episode 9 will shed more light on this through revealing some of Taiya's backstory, fingers crossed).

Not only is that romantic as hell to my sappy ass brain (especially since not even Chasshiro and Genba questioned Taiya's ruse or motives in episode 8, only Mira did. You even see Chasshiro falter and hesitate once Mira calls them out in the cage.), but also it makes Mira being the one to yell at Taiya so much more significant. Mira is canonically the biggest driving prodigy among the Boonboomgers. It's not about the team not being started for the sake of defending the earth, they're doing the right thing anyway. It's the fact that Mira finally found a purpose to dedicate herself to, one she's truly one-of-a-kind good at, but it was all for the sake of an unspoken agenda. Someone else took the wheel. If Taiya had told her the truth from the start, I know she would have taken to the Big Bang Grand-Prix like a fish to water, and doing hero work on the side would just have been a happy bonus! But he didn't. He made the decision for her without involving her in the process.

And look i just think that's a really fucking juicy dynamic unique to the two of them, and I can't wait to find out what made Taiya, the person who told Mira that quote in the first place, willing to go behind her back after that. We're going to be digging into this further, I'm so sure of it, with how Mira was singled out in episode 8, and I cannot wait for the angst but also how good their particular dynamic is going to be once she makes Taiya see that the team is willing to stand by his dream if he's willing to stand by them.

[vanmarkus]

you know what. I had a whole ass post in my drafts about the frankly unhinged and childish behaviour that still surrounds that 1 minute dinner scene despite how clear-cut it was... but I just remembered that being queer used to be illegal; in some countries as recently as during my lifetime.

not as in gay marriage, but as in existing as a queer person was illegal and punishable by law.

so idgaf about what some children bemoaning a fictional guy flirting with his own boyfriend say. I cannot be bothered about any of the people stirring drama and sending hate and all of that stuff... because it's not worth my time or my energy to even think about it, let alone address it.

if your life is so miserable that some ship wars and whatnot can rile you up enough to behave this disgustingly towards other fans, largely queer fans no less... I have no understanding or empathy, but more importantly; I have no time for you.

I am just here to enjoy a TV show full of queer rep that treats me and my peers with respect and doesn't other us in any way. and I am grateful to live during this era and not the one where two men holding hands could've gotten them killed. bless.

[eriexplosion]

If I could get tooth rottingly sincere here for a second.

The thing is I want TBB to have a happy ending more than I want air. And I know that all the predictions are more trauma, more death, more sadness, maybe everyone gets rogue oned and Omega grows up alone, and I'm not even saying that it's unlikely but god I do not want it. At all.

TBB has been about adapting to change, their changing lives and circumstances, their changing dynamics as a family, the change of having Omega in their lives, losing Cross, everything. But if it actually fully has a tragic ending, it will feel like all that change was for nothing. They were born in tragedy, lived a tragedy, died a tragedy. What's the point?

I am holding out a hope that this is just one long earn your happy ending that ends with them safe together as a family, whether they retire on Pabu or they are going to be doing missions for the clone rebellion, helping to rescue and ferry clones to Pabu as refugees, maybe. I think that the most meaningful thing that any clones can be allowed to do in this story is live. We've watched them be sacrificed by the hundreds for years, I just kind of want them to be allowed to fucking live. All of them, the batch and Omega. If they do a sequel series that follows the clone rebellion in a more general way, if someone dies for good there I can deal with it, but I want at least one story, one series, to show a little bit of change in the clones lives from start to finish.

[dye-it-rouge-et-noir]

"For particularly important things, it's always more reassuring to write them down like this." - Zhang Beihai

[ID in alt text]

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

i don't know maybe it's the translation i read but i guess i always thought it was made fairly clear that shuro never legitimately hated laios so much as he resented him for being able to be the way he was. much like laios (albeit for very different reasons) shuro's affect is frequently commented on by others to be strange and at a mismatch with the prevailing culture around him, being very reticent to the point of the part where he tells the girl he likes that he likes her being when he Proposed. quite a few characters say something to this effect! shuro was raised in formality and stoicism and i think has a tendency towards not rocking the boat even besides that, and now here's this guy who breaks every one of his rules and he makes it look so easy. it's like a two-pronged frustration of "doesn't this guy understand that you can't just do that" and "fuck, what would it feel like to be able to do that." of course he gets mad! it's frustration, but it's also envy.

[daz4i]

having a bit you improvised be so well accepted that it immediately makes it into the show is like crack to me as an actor

[coockie8]

wait there are actually people out there who think roy would be completely 100% useless in a fight without his alchemy???????

I cannot even begin to express how much I desperately hope any and all posts I've seen that even remotely imply this are joking, because, unfortunately, yeah, some people do genuinely seem to believe that, and it drives me insane.

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s3 episode 2 thoughts

(racing against time because a thunderstorm is rapidly encroaching but i need to know what happens next)

and for once, a storm did not disrupt my streaming experience! but i almost wish it did. because this episode made me very sad. let's jump in.

we got another “previously on the X files” at the start... is that what is gonna happen every time now?? not sure if i like that or not. but i'm sure it was useful back when you had to wait a week in between episodes, to jog the memory.

noooo not the alien gassing scene again!!! it was featured in our recap. and it was just as evil as the first time.

so now the story begins.

we're back in New Mexico. Albert is talking about the story of the gila monster. it is a great story! i wonder if they had cultural consultants for this season, or hired an Indigenous writer.

Albert announces that a great event took place on the plains!!! a white buffalo was born on the same day mulder was revived…. this is a powerful omen of great changes.

(and the buffalo didn’t look white, but tbh, probs hard to find one for such a scene, so perhaps washed out lighting was the best they could do. i understand the constraints)

does the theme sound slightly off? almost like it starts on a different beat now. OH they cut the whole thing short. well that would explain the difference i felt. why would they do this to me? i was well-accustomed to the rhythm! can't a girl groove a little?

okay, NOW we're back to the gun off between scully and skinner. and it’s tense!

mulder bursts in and I’m CACKLINGGG. please, this had to be the last thing he was going to expect. his boss and his bestie with guns in each other's faces. i’m cryinggg

(also her face. her face when she sees it is him. it's sooo good)

“you okay, scully?”, he asks, adding his gun to the fray “yeah”, she says, as she looks at the man back from the dead... ohhhhhhh... the sense of relief

and OHHHH they BOTH pull guns on skinner to get the tape back!! i'm SOOOOOOO seated. this is juicy.

and i hate to say it, but skinner is lowkey making sense here with his campaign to keep the tape. he says that they don’t want it back in "their" hands. skinner seems deeply confused regarding whatever the hell just happened but they finally agree that he should hold onto it for now.

this next part, when they leave his place. man. i'm just gonna keep it verbatim because it captured a lot of emotions:

"OHHHH LOOK AT HER FACE WHEN THEY GET ALONE TOGETHER OHHH SHE’S SOOOO CUTE OHHH THE LITTLE SMILE OH I’M DEAD"

it was SO sweet. she couldn't believe it. he tried to say something but she cut him off, saying she went to his father's funeral and told his mom she would be okay, because she knew it. she didn't know how, but she knew it.

(they were leaned in so close for so long... for a split second i thought they would kiss and then the elevator closed... ohhh. maybe they did and we just didn't see it)

((maybe this is the part where they kissed in the bloopers i have seen floating around? if so. i get it. i think i would have done the same had i found myself acting in such a scenario))

but the sweetness cannot last, and we are back to the hospital, where poor mrs. scully is dealing with learning her OTHER daughter was shot in the head. the head!!! a terrible place to be shot!!! they put melissa in an induced coma!!!!! melissa did not deserve this and scully doesn’t even KNOW this has happened!!

ohh, i’m sad. but we’re back with the lone gunmen, and things are okay in scully’s mind, because mulder’s back and they have a trail to chase and she doesn’t know yet that her sister was shot in the head. and i’m sad because she doesn’t know such a horrible thing happened, but also i want to be happy because she’s happy. her face when she saw him. i will think about it for decades.

operation paper clip mentioned... ah, yes, i have heard of this. they mention a nazi named “Victor Klemper”... is he real? verdict is in, one search later: victor is NOT real. but he has a very similar name to a real famous german historian!

“what would he be doing in a photo with your father”, asks scully. and why did she say this in a manner that was, to me, seductive? you know what? i think honestly it’s a me problem. shame on me for being distracted from the narrative by such things.

frohike and mulder reunion!!! it is sweet. but only for a moment is it sweet, because he breaks the news on scully's sister, who is horrified.

she runs really fast to try and go see her, but mulder catches up to her in the stairwell when she is almost out the door, and says the people who meant to kill her will be waiting at the hospital. oh, and melissa's earlier words from s2 episode 8, about mulder trying to get even, are prophetic here… “cause the only thing you can do for her right now is to try to crucify them", he says. it is a shame her wishes for peace and acceptance instead of violence couldn't be honored, and that going to visit her wouldn't be safe.

at the UN alien council. they are discussing this "serious mistake", of shooting melissa instead of scully. OH! the man from the funeral is there!!!

(for the sake of this episode, he shall bear the moniker "funeral man". but if he has a real name, please feel free to share. i'm asking you to do so. because i come up with these things on the fly. and i really could read the credits i guess but this is mostly just a one person operation with google only serving to check historical accuracy, not things as risky to spoilers as the NAMES of the CHARACTERS!)

((but i did see cig man/cancer man referred to in my notes once as "csr" which actually made sense. because i had spun one of those "fuck marry kill" wheels on here and gotten "csr x files" and i had no idea who that was referring to. but it turns out i did know him. kill btw))

funeral man is calling out cig man’s “ridiculously ineffectual assassins”, which, honestly, what did we expect from krychek? and oh, he is digging INTO cig man. it's enjoyable to witness. he’s being called out for mulder not really being dead AND the tape not really being in his hands like he claims. cig man LIES (average thing for him to be doing, all things considered), and tells the others on the alien council that “i’ll have it here for you tomorrow” which is an awful big promise. a very very big promise. 

next scene: a greenhouse! it's quite lovely until it isn't, because the old man tending to the flowers is victor, a nazi who got clemency under operation paperclip. so a very very bad fellow. scully is being mean to him, but obviously he deserves much, much, much worse. 

he asks about a formula and scully knows it, then says the photo was from west virginia. those are the only cryptic clues he offers. okay, off to a very mountainous road trip. god bless their poor souls. dealing with motion sickness on top of all the mess at hand.

funeral man is receiving a call from victor. they know each other? he snitched that mulder visited the greenhouse. and victor says funeral man was “venal”. new word learned! meaning susceptible to bribery!! is this the truth...?? i mean i THINK mulder comes from money due to the whole martha's vineyard thing, but does he have enough to buy his way out of this?

also. let's ask the real question. why is victor calling and dropping clues. is it fun for him.

anyway, the rest of the alien subdivision of the UN says that they are calling in “their friends who will handle this matter more satisfactorily” because krychek obviously sucks at his job 

KRYCHEK SPOTTED at the hospital! wait no it was actually just another random well-dressed guy stalking about. BUT YOU KNOW WHO IS HERE: ALBERT!!!!

did he come all the way here from New Mexico or was he is in the region... 😭😭 Albert, you deserve more than this earth will ever give you. so much has been taken from you. and yet you continue to give.

our agents are pulling up to west virginia. it looks like a ghost town, and i’ve heard that is an accurate depiction. they walk into an abandoned place. with bats in the building!! be careful!! they are rabies vectors!!!

(can you imagine if the show just ended here because mulder got rabies and died. pause to imagine this with me. then i will walk you back to the stuff that actually did happen)

ohh, and as they enter this place, the score is going wild!!! i'm rocking with it. i love a good score. the suspense is building. i ALWAYS want there to be violins to indicate suspense.

they find some locked doors with keypads, and they’re putting in 27828. it’s not working so he’s like "are you SURE scully?" and she says “i’m positive, Napier’s constant is the basis of all natural logarithms” and i giggled. and maybe also kicked my feet and twirled my hair. 

(i am learning, through this liveblog, that nothing makes me blush more than pretty people reciting semi-obscure facts. make of that observation what you will, because op will be contemplating it for a while)

they finally get it open!! i never doubted your number skills, scully. but before they go in, she’s worried about how he’ll feel!!!! what if his father was a bad guy :( “I just know how it would affect me” :((((( she is so thoughtful...

(i'm torn between making a genuine observation on the fact that despite she just learned her sister is dying, she still makes time to be certain mulder is okay with proceeding because it could be upsetting to him. and the other thing i'm thinking about is that that one meme that says "pearl is so kind" and i'm just imagining scully there instead of pearl. i suppose there is room for both)

back to skinner’s office. cig man has arrived. skinner is approaching him like an animal its prey, while bill clinton looms over the corner. 

skinner says he MAY have found the cassette and cig man is PISSSSSED at the implication he would “work deals”. well king!! you may have no choice!

(i hope that what skinner REALLY has is an identical cassette that just has syllables that LOOK like Navajo code but actually mean absolutely nothing. that would be evil and entertaining to me)

cig man looks like he is gonna CRY he is so desperate! but he is basically saying he’ll kill skinner if he has to, so watch out. and AGAIN. banger tv score as all this goes down.

our agents are in an old mine. it’s very dark and full of records!

(turns on the lights and sees the rows of cabinets stretch for what seems like eternity) “lots of files” “lots and lots of files” <- so true

mulder kinda sounds like he’s gonna have a breakdown. all the files have tissue in them... gross???? he asks when she was born so they can check that year’s files AND SEE IF SHE IS IN THEM. OH GOSH. 

and they find her file right away!!! it has a tissue sample and everything, and it’s recent, and that means the project must still be ongoing, despite how abandoned this mine is.

THEY FIND HIS SISTER’S FILE!!!! we are getting so close to answers. but there is a sticker over her name, because the file was originally his. so someone swapped his sister for him???

he’s freaking the fuck out at some large noises, and he runs and leaves her in the archives. something is hissing. AN ARMY OF ALIENS SCAMPERS BY???? they are running from something. HUH??? dana scully alien encounter??? did they just run by her or was that a different corridor in this endless mountain maze. did she see them. it was like a stampede. very hard to miss.

it seems that the aliens from the spaceship are coming and mulder is drawn to them. HIDE! HIDE FROM THEM! THEY WILL TAKE YOU!

he sees a GIANT spaceship flying over the compound. like giant and it’s super bright and it just. flies over. well, I guess west virginia isn’t a bad place to hide such things. due to the lack of people there.

this is not a dig at west virginia it's just rather sparsely populated.

scully is down in the archives still, and a whole lot of people are rolling up with guns. NOOO!! they are shooting at him!!!! with a stormtrooper aim. he is escaping their bullets as if this is just a jungle gym for him.

REUNION in the dark archives!!! scully found a back way out, where it seems the aliens left!!!! they're running into the woods together!!! it’s almost romantic!!!

skinner cam. he’s in maryland. at a nice little diner in the middle of nowhere. WITH OUR AGENTS!!!!

mulder says the hit squad looked like CIA, and i assumed there was some CIA-FBI tensions, but i’m unfamiliar with the lore, in terms of both real life and txf universe. it seems it’s severe though. skinner says he’ll negotiate their lives for the tape but mulder is like NO the public deserves the truth. which is lovely. i love ideals and sticking to your morals. and he’ll die for it bitch!!! he did once!!

“in your wildest dreams, what do you possibly hope to find, agent mulder?” “why they killed my father. and what happened to my sister” ohhh mulder sounds so scared and hurt... because he is. all this talk of truth and morals guiding his life but also this whole thing is so intensely personal for him, it seems impossible to separate one cause from the other. ohh i'm emotional. 

“and what they did to agent scully”, he adds OHHHHH oh man. his family. they took his family. and he needs revenge, he needs to know. and she is included in that. MAN.

scully says they should make the deal, he says “what makes you think there’s any such thing as justice?”, it’s heating up. again, i say: replace the cassette with out of context Navajo syllables. hire me for the FBI.

i was concerned about scully advocating for the deal- does not the truth mean something to her? of course we know it does, but she is being realistic. the truth won't mean much if they're on the run forever, and there is no one to corroborate their story. but she clarifies:

"i want exactly what you want. but i need to see my sister” :((( they both look so sad

“it’s up to you, scully” he’s mad and torn but he leaves the choice to her because her opinion is the one he cares the most about :( and really there are no good options, it's an awful situation

she said to make the deal, but not hand over the tape until mulder says to. hmm. will this plan work?

“i’m sorry about your sister, scully”, he finally says, and she replies that “i just need to know she’s going to be okay”. but i’m not sure it’s looking so good for her and that makes me SO SAD. on the ride home, she sits in the back and lets mulder take shotgun. and i realize, this is because she’s probably gonna cry back there and try to hide it. OUGH.

albert back at the hospital! he prayed over missy for two days. have we said thank you to him? and if so we should keep saying it until we all perish.

but he has received news from the north: the white buffalo calf that was such a strong omen is no longer drinking its mother’s milk. and the mom is sad, and then she died. this is not a good sign. “for something to live, another thing must often be sacrificed”, he says, and it becomes clear someone is not making it out of this episode. i hope against all hope it was krychek that was going to bite it.

it was not :(

skinner here at the hospital to see melissa. he tells scully’s mom that dana is okay, but in a very serious situation they hope to reverse :( 

albert points out that some guy has been snooping in on their room (and it wasn’t krychek, whose name corrects to all caps in my phone, because i only speak of him with hate in my heart) but just some other similar looking guy. skinner says albert, you stay here, i’m going off. hopefully for some hospital violence. hospital violence ensues!!! and this time krychek IS there.

but the violence does not go in the direction i hoped for, which was for skinner to kick some ass. it's three on one, they beat him and leave him in the corner and take the tape!!!! noooooooo!! poor skinner, i was coming around to you.

also leaving this next part verbatim because it is funny:

"fucking krychek i hate everything about you and i hate your new slicked back greaser hair and i hope you trip and fall and all of your limbs fall off and the doctors wonder how they can even happen because they have never seen it before WHAT NOW HE’S RUNNING??? the car blew up before he ran away. and the folks he was running from SEE him running away so he literally can’t even do a good job at bailing"

(if you need a translation: krychek's fellow assassins stopped to grab some drinks, so he pocketed the cassette and left before their car blew up)

back at the greenhouse. our agents are looking for victor, who apparently died yesterday. and funeral man is here!!! they openly accuse him of killing victor. he does not deny this claim.

funeral man is going on about roswell, operation paperclip, and mengele. he’s going on about hybrid orchids and mulder realizes that victor must have been trying to create an alien-human hybrid. which would explain the smallpox vaccination scars in the alien bodies found in New Mexico. FUNERAL MAN. WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON??

he's on the side of whoever can solve his little riddles i guess

mulder is MAD his dad was involved with this, but scully says it can’t be true, because DNA wasn’t even a thing people knew of until 1944. i mean, they’re lying about a whole lot. why not lie about the timeline of DNA discovery, too?

funeral man says men like mr. mulder were instructed to gather genetic data on the general populace, and that his dad had objected strongly to its true purpose. allegedly this experiment was for post apocalyptic identification, which doesn't really make sense to be, but okay. hundreds of millions of americans had their info collected from smallpox vaccine data.

scully is saying that it’s all a lie, that he’s saying everything mulder wants to hear, and i'm agreeing with her. funeral man says “why would i lie to you?” um better question: what would you gain by telling the truth??

mulder flat out yells that she was abducted by aliens and this doesn’t go over well as you can probably guess. she is working overtime to NOT think about that. so she walks away from the whole thing.

leaving just the two conspirators. OH, listen to this: funeral man claims they took his sister as insurance because his father threatened to expose the project!! “you also threaten to expose the project. you’ve become your father” <- hmm. that is a bold claim. because mulder has never willingly engaged in the creation of alien-human hybrids. 

chat, do we believe him? i feel that samantha’s abduction being an act of random and horrific tragedy seems more likely. and possibly more poignant. 

krychek is on the phone with cig man. “i’m alive. isn’t that a surprise?” “yes, yes, good good good. where are you?” <- LMAOOOO king of playing it casual

“somewhere where you’ll never find me, you double crossing son of a bitch” hmmm. the double crosser gets double crossed. shocked pikachu face. he threatens to make cig man “famous”, which i wouldn't be opposed to, which is NOT the same as endorsing him or his actions. 

cig man says there is no deal to make regarding the files and the agent’s lives. oh, so he thinks he can just have both, i see how it is

very sudden cut to mulder at his mom’s house at 2 am. asking his mom if she ever had to choose a favorite child. she keeps denying and denying until:

“no. i couldn’t choose. it was your father’s choice. and i hated him for it. even in his grave i hate him still” OHHHH this is adding validity to the theory that funeral man was telling the TRUTH???? poor Samantha :(

wait this is SO sad. and to think of how harsh his dad was to him while he was alive. how he must have expected the absolute best from his son because he knows he chose him over his sister. and how the only consolation for having to make that choice is to expect his son to be Perfect. which could never happen. just leaving him in deep distress. man. that is truly messed up.

man. i feel like we need space for that revelation.

but cig man is at skinner’s office. lighting up. as usual. skinner says he has the tape in exchange for the safety of the agents, but cig man says he knows skinner is bluffing

HOLY FUCK: “you ever wondered what it would be like to, uh, die in a plane crash? of botulism? even a heart attack?” <- HUH???? his melodic cadence makes this even scarier. goodness that escalated quickly.

“i’m not finished yet” (skinner fetches Albert) ALBERT??? I LOVE HIM TOO MUCH FOR HIM TO BE AT THIS SCENE. GET HIM OUT OF HERE. KEEP HIM SAFE. OH: ALBERT CAN RECITE EVERYTHING FROM THE TAPE. 

albert please do not bring this risk upon yourself, i mumble to myself OH! he told 20 other people from the tribe. “so unless you kill every Navajo living in four states… that information is available with a simple phone call. welcome to the wonderful world of high technology” wow. skinner if you had access to the tech i know about i think you would be so pleased. or maybe not. regardless, a good play. just KEEP albert safe i am NOT messing around.

cig man gets scared and leaves. as he should!

mulder at the hospital. scully is sitting alone. NO??? NOT MELISSA??? 

no, it can't be true, but it is: melissa died in surgery.

they both agree they need to get back to work so they have something to keep them from going insane with grief. their whole exchange was very emotional and powerful, but i was too sad to make extensive notes, so i'll have to circle back to that someday.

and she says “i’ve heard the truth. now what i want are the answers”. he holds her while she sits and stares at her sister's empty hospital bed. 

NOOOOO. i am filled with such sadness. scully now has to live with this belief that her sister died for her, and that she didn’t get to say thank you. and i’m very sad because i liked melissa a lot and scully deserves no pain. and her poor mother... oh, there are real tears in my eyes while i type this.

and mulder, forced to know that his father chose him over his sister, that his father was involved in what he sought to destroy, that had his father picked any other line of work, he could have had a normal, happy childhood. what the fuck. this is sooo evil. i’m sad!!! yeah i’m crying about the damn alien show. so what!!! so what!!!

listen, just because an episode is sad, does not mean it wasn’t good. it was a very good episode. i’m just sad. sometimes multiple things can be true.

grief of our main agents and their families aside, my top concern is Albert. is he going to be safe and protected? can he continue to spread the oral tradition? maybe get it written down too, for extra insurance? typed up? saved? backed up? written in notebooks? stored in archives? is he even telling the TRUTH? do other Navajo men actually know to recite the files and how to decode them? that seems like it will take a very long time to learn.

my main takeaway from the episode is to not work for the government because they will ruin your life.

it was a good episode. a great episode, even. but I’m gonna need about 30 beach episodes to make up for it. and also for the og theme to come back because you can’t change that up on me once I’m in a pattern.