#SUCH A SILLY EPISODE. I AM HORRIFIED OF THE REST

[pookachuka]

can you guys tell what i listened to today

[scoobydoodean]

i gotta wonder why castiel, in claire's body, seemed to be hesitating to heal jimmy in "the rapture" episode. like he was saying "time to go to your real home in heaven" when jimmy was bleeding to death from a bullet wound. at this point castiel was like. freshly lobotomized so he might've just been being more ruthless in an attempt to manipulate jimmy into allowing castiel back in. but i always am a bit confused and was wondering if you had any thoughts

I think this very much has to do with "heaven's persuasion" as Cas calls it at the time. 4.20 "The Rapture" starts with Cas having learned that heaven will intentionally start the apocalypse and kill millions of humans in the process. He is so horrified by this that he decides to rebel. He enters Dean's dreams, but says even Dean's dreams aren't a safe enough place for him to reveal the secrets he's harboring, so he sends Dean to meet him at another location, and when Sam and Dean arrive there, the whole place is torn to bits. Cas fought multiple angels tooth and nail to avoid capture so he could tell Dean the truth—that the angels were going to start the apocalypse and let them all die. However, he was captured before he could pass on his knowledge and then he was brainwashed back into compliance with heaven's orders.

One of the things I think it's clear the higher ups told Castiel as part of the brainwashing process is that humans dying just means they go to heaven and live forever in peace where they are better off than on earth, so why even fight the apocalypse? Silly Castiel! There's no reason to fret! Humans dying is a good thing! It's a mercy killing! So when Cas returns at the end of 4.20, he is operating under this new worldview and the results are chilling.

CASTIEL Of course we keep our promises. Of course you have our gratitude. You served us well. Your work is done. It's time to go home now. Your real home. You'll rest forever in the fields of the Lord. Rest now, Jimmy. JIMMY No. Claire? CASTIEL She's with me now. She's chosen. It's in her blood, as it was in yours. JIMMY Please, Castiel. Me, just take me. Take me, please. CASTIEL I wanna make sure you understand. You won't die or age. If this last year was painful for you, picture a hundred, a thousand more like it. JIMMY It doesn't matter. You take me. Just take me. CASTIEL As you wish.

Cas acknowledges the suffering he's put Jimmy through and in his own way, is trying to show compassion in this moment, but his thought process is absolutely alien. He sees the compassionate choice toward his vessel as 1) letting him die instead of healing him (drink the Kool-Aid type shit) 2) possessing his little girl to "spare" him the suffering of possession. He doesn't really seem to understand why Jimmy would beg to be possessed again instead Claire. He's completely lost perspective on human connection to the point he can't grasp a parent putting their own child's well-being above their own no matter the personal cost. This is another function of heavenly brainwashing/the cult mentality. The angels have a hierarchy in which everything is (allegedly) for their father and they sacrifice for him, not the other way around. They, in turn, intend to slaughter humans in droves for their own peace because they see humans as beneath them in the hierarchy. Cas has been re-programmed to believe this is how things should be, so he absolutely cannot understand in that moment why possessing Claire instead of Jimmy is an absolutely horrifying proposition to her father and not a form of mercy in Jimmy's eyes at all. It doesn't compute with brainwashed!Cas's understanding of hierarchy.

We see Cas's brainwashing in regards to death and ascension into heaven as the ultimate mercy again—two episodes later in 4.22:

DEAN You know what's real? People, families -- that's real. And you're gonna watch them all burn? CASTIEL What is so worth saving? I see nothing but pain here. I see inside you. I see your guilt, your anger, confusion. In paradise, all is forgiven. You'll be at peace. Even with Sam.

Note that Cas clearly didn't feel this way before he got "sent back to Bible camp". He fought violently to reach Dean and tell him the truth before he was captured.

[thatdeadaquarius]

When I’m playing genshin, I’m mostly listening to either Paternity Court, or Steve Wilkos. Imagine the characters hearing all of the stuff and being so scandalized by the results and comments. Or being genuinely disgusted and heartbroken for the victims in more serious cases. I can def see a good chunk of them being invested

I don’t think I’ve listened to those yet! I do occasionally get on a true crime binge listen, however the weirdest thing my characters have heard has gotta be Game Grumps episodes or compilations lol

What if i listened to every season of Buzzfeed Unsolved.

What would we do then my Genshin characters, my people, what then.

I saw someone else write about this true crime documentary thing but they described everyone being pretty terrified or disgusted by the podcasts

Which I definitely think some would be literally horrified lmao

But also I think a lot of them definitely would be invested-

I mean shit,

you're listening to your God and they just start playing this like uncomfortably detailed intricate crime case/murder report???

I would be so interested in what kind of person they were, and why they were listening to true crime stuff, 

so needless to say characters like Heizou and Yelan would definitely be into it, maybe Kujou Sara as well?

I can see Zhongli getting into it too and Raiden

I mean don't get me wrong plenty would be disturbed

like rest in peace Barbara 🙏

but like it would be fascinating to them too!!

cuz they don't know anything about our world so they could learn a lot about it thru listening to this stuff

tho it probably cause a lot of confusion whenever they hear things like phone or computer or car lol

you know stuff that hasn't been invented yet for them or there is no equivalent, but they

would deffo interrogate u about ur world when u get to Teyvat

♤

okay but on a more silly motherfucker note-

what if I was playing Game Grumps around them lol, would they be like oh my God our Creator has the best comedians or hilarious friends

like you know how a king has jesters? 😭

I feel like they would think that instead of a recording definitely, especially because most of these things are just people talking and not like, a speech or something

because audio recordings could exist for them, they would probably get it in concept, they do have Ley lines that do that afterall (and now Kameras)

♧

Omg,

oh no, would they think that you're getting these reports in person??  Or even like your SOLVING all these crimes?? 

esp bc I know myself and I tend to sometimes be talking to Genshin characters like,

"damn that's how he got arrested? How stupid he could've blah blah blah i sound like a hardened cop playing a gacha game lmao blah blah...."

it'd be so funny to see that one play out

when u get whisked away to teyvat and Heizou and Yelan are just:

"oh my God can you help us with all these cases we love your mind, or get your servants to help us?"

THEY WOULDNT EVEN BELIEVE U IF U TRIED TO BE LIKE "no no please ur the professionals idk wtf im doing guys-"

Heizou/Yelan: 🤨🤨

"likely story Most Honorable God, but we heard quite the fascinating theories just last week before u descended, hmmm...."

u cant win, 

honestly everyone would probably just assume ur not only the god who created/built teyvat but also have a domain in justice, comedy or honestly whatever u be playing all the time, including music, people would definitely think ur a music god too

esp if ur like me and u just turn on a cool Spotify playlist while u play sometimes, like they've probably never heard so many radically different genres songs, and so many back to back

(could definitely see a myth about u having an immortal inexhaustible musician band that has access to all the songs of the universe that u make them play for you, once again, would be hard to deny bc that's a pretty accurate description of spotify lol)

♡

srry abt my ✨️ass writing✨️ anon!!

I am getting to these old asks so late I hope u guys r alright with getting answered so late, ya boy has been busy 

Im busy partially bc i have a end of year art exhibition!

Basically at my university, if ur an art major, u have to have some of ur best work from ur time at university and display it in a Senior year art exhibition in the university's art museum! Its super cool! And stressful! :D!!

Anyway im so happy i have no object permanence bc everytime i open my drafts or my inbox, even the old asks :( , are  a new surprise every time :D lmao

Safe Travels,

💀♒️

♡the beloveds♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist

[dwellordream]

thoughts on HOTD, episode 4, season 2 (spoilers below)

enjoying the continued focus on daemon's dream states. i like that the show is not afraid to focus on the underlying darkness of the daemon/rhaenyra relationship, and that it even names his actions as predatory. not because i need the show to moralize to me about it, but because it makes daemon a more nuanced character for him to have subconscious guilt and self-loathing over his relationship- he realizes he did take advantage of rhaenyra's naivety and idolization of him, and while he doesn't regret it, he does fear that part of him loved rhaenyra *the most* when she was young and easily idealized as the charming, impulsive princess, not a wife and mother with real world worries and mistrust of his intentions.

aemond stunting on aegon by flaunting that cole trusts him more, and that he has superior knowledge of valyrian- thus implying he is the more 'fit' heir, was pretty well done. that said, i think the rook's rest plan is dumb in canon and dumb here. hoping to corner rhaenys (or any dragon rider) specifically at a castle surrounded by open air and the sea just seems silly. i acknowledge that the writers could likely only change the circumstances of the ambush so much, it just irks me.

all the harrenhal scenes in this episode are fantastic. the sheer atmosphere and the spectacular set design go a long way to contributing to the gothic thrills. i wish the show could always be this openly fantastical. and gayle rankin's alys is excellent- i love her slightly nasal accent, her kirtle, her long hair- just everything about her. an actress with less charisma could not sell her blatant manipulative attitude or the snippets of dry humor. i'm excited to see her and aemond in a scene together.

i'm curious to see how long alicent's apathy and nihilism lasts. a lot of people have compared her to GoT's cersei in this episode, and i can see it, although i don't think cersei was ever quite so blasé about her son's reign. i suspect we may see her 'snap out of it' when she is confronted with the extent of aegon's wounds, though i hope she doesn't revert straight back to self loathing and blaming herself for it.

jace's reaction to rhaenyra's return is essentially that of an exasperated father confronting his teenaged daughter after she returns from a party at 2 am. i do think it is silly that rhaenyra confesses to her council that she made a last ditch effort for peace- it makes her look impulsive and naive in front of them. i think the writers are attempting to show that yes, it was foolhardy and that jace is right to be horrified, but i did laugh out loud when rhaenyra admits that she, just now, has decided to fully commit to the war.

the show's reliance on the prophecy of ice and fire is stupid- but i do like the idea of House Targaryen having a narrative they constantly reinforce to themselves whenever they need a justification for their actions. i'm not railing against rhaenyra using this as an excuse at this point- i just wish the show leaned less on this 'chosen one' narrative.

the scene of Vhagar lurking in the woods was some fantastic framing- very Jurassic Park, and the initial entry of Vhagar into the dragon duel is very well done. the entire fight scene, i thought, was fantastically choreographed- it truly was like a dance between first Meleys and Sunfyre, then Meleys and Vhagar. a lot of people were furious that the show depicts Aemond deliberately waiting to enter the battle when he realizes Aegon has shown up unexpectedly, and then having Aemond choose to attack while Meleys and Sunfyre are interlocked- but Aemond attacking without concern for Sunfyre and Aegon is what happened in Fire & Blood.

additionally, while some people have claimed that Rhaenys had 'ample time to flee' from the battle, the scene makes it clear that Meleys was badly injured, even before Vhagar gets her jaws around Meleys' neck. Rhaenys was either going to be hunted down and caught by Vhagar, or turn back and go out fighting, and that's what she chose to do.

overall, i'd say this episode was a solid 8.5/10. the last 20 minutes were amazing, especially the evocative 'dance' of the battle, and the harrenhal scenes were great as well.

[ewanmitchellcrumbs]

Ange as I await your post show thoughts 24 hours later, I kinda have to send mine in now (I can't help it...thoughts are swirling, though I will need to lie down)

Thank HBO for sparing us more Alicole fucking....the good thing about Cole being at war is that we don't have to see them fuck anymore thank GOD. This episode definitely felt more blacks-oriented, though the scenes we got of the Greens were still interesting, I think. Annoyingly, only two scenes with Aemond, one of which I definitely have thoughts on. The young Rhaenyra cameo...Matt Smith rlly told so much with his expressions, it was just, wow. Also Alys Rivers intro 👀

Helaena saying she forgave Alicent- my poor girl, she really deserves better than her hot mess ass family. The scene of Aemond caught by Aegon in the brothel....aside from getting so upset on his behalf, cause good grief, Aegon, even your friends know better than to laugh at Aemond, because he's AEMOND- it felt as though they're building up to Aemond being faced with a choice to betray Aegon and take the crown, most likely at Rook's Rest, when he's injured. I know he didn't snap back at Aegon because Aegon's king, and he can't hurt the King, but still. Of course, I have to mention.....FULL FRONTAL AEMOND. Yes, my heart did race fast as FUCK when that came on....I was NOT expecting it, and I am going to lie down now. The scene of Rhaenyra and Alicent meeting was definitely a choice...still not sure how I feel bout it yet to be honest. I liked the episode, despite my issues such as pacing and others, many of which I share with you. One of my biggest is just Aemond screen time, to be honest. He's yet to have. a proper scene with Alicent or Helaena, and idk....I suppose I just hoped for a little more green unity with him and Aegon, but I guess we'll have to see.

-🦋 anon

Hello! Once more using your ask to dump my episode thoughts.

I felt the absence of Otto this episode. I feel like Rhys’s performance has carried the last couple of episodes. It felt a little flat without him.

I know that they aren’t following the plot of the Dance as it happens in Fire and Blood but the show feels like sloppily written fan fiction at this point.

They couldn’t show us even a couple of minutes of the Bracken vs Blackwood battle?!

Very much enjoyed the introduction of Gwayne and Alys, their performances were minimal but incredibly impactful.

I don’t subscribe to Team politics, however, I do feel the writing favours Team Black, but to their detriment. Rhaenyra has been softened to the point she is unrecognisable. Her sneaking into King’s Landing dressed as a septa was utterly pointless, really silly and achieved absolutely nothing.

I’m also disappointed that Rhaena has been dismissed as a glorified babysitter.

And Helaena?! What the fuck?! She is devastated by the loss of Jaehaerys in the book - what the hell are they doing with her character?!

I did like Daemon’s “capture” of Harrenhal. Simon Strong is an absolute G, and Daemon’s horrified reaction to his hallucination of Rhaenyra was fantastically acted by Matt Smith.

I am so disappointed by the brothel scene - don’t get me wrong, Ewan’s acting was phenomenal, but it feels like such a flimsy premise to set the two brothers upon each other (I think we all know at this point that the writers are going to have Aemond betray Aegon) - this is such a ridiculous catalyst for it. I also fear they are going to further darken Aemond’s character by having him kill Sylvie.

I hate this fucking show so much, and yet I love it and its characters so much, so I will return week after week, despite the fact it continues to break my heart.

[pinkanonwrites]

so how's episode 12 treating you?

OH GOD AM I FEELING A LOT OF FEELINGS

Spoilers for TriStamp below the cut!

First of all, let me just say, every moment of this episode was so SUPERBLY animated that it left me slack-jawed in awe. The color, the motion, the designs, the expressions. Genuinely felt like flawless animation.

I'm so, so heartbroken for Vash, the man who loves humanity so goddamn much, who will let himself be torn apart and shot at and let down again and again and again and still want to rest so softly by their side. He doesn't even need to be accepted, doesn't need to be loved. He just wants to be with them, however he can.

And Knives, who is so powerful and so far gone and yet still so scared and so soft. He just loves his brother and doesn't want him to hurt, for either of them to hurt anymore, but they can never understand the way the other feels no matter how much they try.

THE MILLY NAME DROP. THE ERICKS REVEAL. THE FLASH TO EARTH?????? GOD I WANT SEASON 2 RIGHT NOW.

Other little thoughts!!!

Vash's spiky hair 💖💖💖 I hope he keeps that style in season 2, I love the floofy hair but the spikes looked extra good on him.

Wolfwood's goofy-ass scamper while carrying Meryl was the only moment of emotional levity for the whole episode.

The Angel Arm looked SO FUCKING GOOD. Wanna write some stuff with horrifying, biblically-accurate angel Vash being loved like he deserves.

I know this isn't the last we'll see of Knives based on what I know from Maximum, but GOD, what a horrifyingly brutal way to go.

If his old red coat is gone, will he get his OG one in Season 2? With all the silly buttons and straps? I'd love to see it.

So basically yeah, this episode wrecked me and I absolutely forgive it, because it did such a bang-up job wrapping up the season.

[presidentdisastraofgallifrey]

Judging Doctor Who: Tenth Doctor

Disclaimer: This is all in good fun and I don't take fandom serious

Good episodes I like

New Earth - Cat nuns! The Doctor at his silliest! The return of Cassandra! Horrifying sentient clone people infected with every disease at once! What more could you want?

School Reunion - Sarah Jane Smith!!!!! This one does such a good job of showing the tragedy inherent to traveling with the Doctor, but how they'd all choose it anyway.

The Idiot's Lantern - another good balance of silly and creepy, and so very sad but like in a fixable way this time

Fear Her - I have heard this one is unpopular and I don't get it?? It's sad lonely children struggling to cope and accidentally hurting people. It feels very sweet and relatable and a nice filler type episode

Smith and Jones - this is SUCH a good intro for Martha with her smarts and bravery! Also! Judoon! On the moon!

Gridlock - this introduces so many cultural aspects of New Earth, I love it. Also horrifying but hopeful. I may have a type.

Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks - this felt like a very classic dalek plot but still with the obligatory new and unexpected lore, and the love story b-plot was sweet

Blink - Again, everyone loves this one for a reason. Sooooo creepy.

Partners in Crime - their dynamic is so chaotic. They enable each other. It's great.

The Fires of Pompeii - Just a very good story

Planet of the Ood - So beautiful and so sad!

The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky - I maintain the genius school bit was unnecessary, but I liked the rest of it! The horror of relying on technology until it turns on you! Sontarans are great! Also Martha is in this one!

The Doctor's Daughter - Oh the inherent tragedy of a war long outlasting living memory that started only months ago! Also the Doctor being sad about his family!

The Unicorn and the Wasp - I am a sucker for anything fitting an Agatha Christie framework, and it had a great dose of Doctor Who weirdness

Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead - It's scary! It's sad! River is there and she loves him and she sacrifices herself for him the very first time he meets her and he'll know that every other time!!

Turn Left - My actual favorite genre of episode of anything is when shows create their own alternative universe of what if? Also! Donna is so so ordinary but the most important person in the universe!

The Stolen Earth/Journey's End - This was a powerful finale, and I loved seeing everyone he'd ever known come together. And also Donna's end was so beautifully tragic

The Next Doctor - This is kind of au-adjacent while still functioning in universe, and I love the all around confusion and hijinks

Bad Episodes I like

Tooth and Claw - The cult part of the plot feels a bit contrived and the episode is all over the place. But the royals are werewolves and we have Torchwood backstory!

The Girl in the Fireplace - The implied romance is forced and the story itself is flimsy, but I enjoyed the time skips and the drama was fun

Love and Monsters - sure it's silly but it's also really fun

Army of Ghosts/Doomsday - I don't think the cybermen appearing as ghosts on their way from the other universe thing makes much sense, but it's a good tragic end for Rose and has one of my favorite scenes ever of the daleks and cybermen arguing

The Runaway Bride - yes I love Donna's intro and their dynamic, but if I really think about it this plot is ridiculous

Good episodes I don't like

The Lazarus Experiment - This falls pretty firmly into being a very classic who monster of the week format, but I was bored

42 - I just really don't love the genre of story where they're trapped on a single space old station/ship with an invisible enemy

Voyage of the Damned - I couldn't think of anything strictly wrong with it, but I was bored

Midnight - This falls under the same genre as 42, just not my thing

Planet of the Dead - a little uninteresting, but a fine episode technically

The Waters of Mars - ok, this story is actually great, but I can't handle the water zombies. I've only seen it once. I will, however, be reading the novelization

Bad episodes I don't like

The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit - It was a little all over the place and I think trying to bring in the actual origin of Satan was lazy writing

The End of Time - Just, what? Apart from not liking Simm!Master anyway, this plot made no sense and the Master's plan had no apparent goal and his characterization was SO over the top (yes even for the Master) and they brought Gallifrey in but in the worst way. That said, Ten and Wilfred are a great duo

Episodes that are kind of offensive

The Christmas Invasion - It was otherwise a little wonky but fun, but I can't get over the treatment of Mickey

The Shakespeare Code - Same as above, otherwise kind of weird but alright, except for the way Martha is treated

Human Nature/The Family of Blood - I actually love this story but it is SO upsetting the way Martha gets all the responsibility, deals with a ton of period racism and sexism despite being the most educated person there, loses the only friend she makes, is constantly brushed aside by the Doctor, and basically wins the day but is NOT acknowledged for it

Utopia/The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords - alright, this one is just bad for a number of reasons, but it goes here because I'll never be over brave, medically trained Martha getting her big independent heroic year which is...traveling and talking about how amazing the Doctor is while her family is held hostage

[another-random-object-show]

SEASON 1, EPISODE 1: CROSSING THE PIT.

AUTHORS NOTE: This episode took months to write, so sorry for the shift from Script Format to Novel Format.

(SCENE: A JUNKYARD AT NIGHT, CRICKETS CHIRP AND STARS SHINE. THE MOON IS A STRANGE ORANGE-YELLOW.)

SUNNY (EXCITEDLY): Moony! Moony

MOONY (TURNING TO FACE SUNNY): Hm...?

SUNNY (EXCITEDLY): WE GOT INTO AROS!!!

MOONY (CALMLY): Oh... ok!

SUNNY (RADIANT): even Lunartic got in! :D

MOONY (HORRIFIED): Gasp!

LUNARTIC (APPEARING): What? Whattareya gaspin' for?

MOONY (CALMLY BOWING): Nothing at all.

LUNARTIC (SINISTERLY): Good, because if you were gasping at me getting in...

Lunartic: Sunny would be getting it.

Moony (PLEADING): Loonie, please, he's JUST a kid...

Lunartic (sadistically): So? Children can get it too...

Sunny (excitedly): GUYS!! LOOOK!!

(A BUS DRIVES INTO THE JUNK, HONKING AT THE THREE.)

Sunny (excitedly grabbing Moony and Lunartic's Hands): The bus is here! LET'S GO! :D

Moony (weary): I have a bad feeling about this...

Sunny (waving excitedly as the approach the Bus's Entrance): Hi, Mr. Host! :D

The Gourd: Greetings...

The Gourd (Dramatically): I...

am the Gourd.

Sunny (excitedly): AND I'M SUNNY!! C'mon!! Let's goo!! :D

(Moony and Lunartic silently follow behind, and sit in one of the 3-person wide seats.)

(Sunny begins to yawn, feeling tired.)

Moony (nurturing): Maybe you should rest, sweetie...

Sunny (tired, closing his eyes.): okk...

(Sunny goes to sleep laying his head on Moony's Lap, which somehow doesn't combust.)

(Hours later...)

(BUMP! Sunny wakes up.)

(HALT!)

The Gourd (turning in his Bus Driver's Seat.): We're here.

Sunny (excited): YAY!! Let's go! =D

(All 24 contestants get off the bus and look around.)

The Gourd: One last thing...

(The Gourd levitates the Bus in the air, then claps, making it disappear.)

The Gourd (Cheekily): No leaving!

Question Mark: Where are we?

The Gourd (appearing behind Question Mark): Obviously the (a garble of the words "Texan", "Floridian", "Mexican", "Californian", "Canadian", "Italian", "Zealandic", "French", "German", and "Spanish") plains!

The Gourd (moving on): Now form 8 teams of 8! =)

Sunny (to Moony and Lunartic): Let's stick together! :-)

Lunartic: Alright. Moony?

(Moony is staring in the distance at Starry.)

Lunartic (scoffing): Jeez, just move on already...

Moony (reluctantly): ...alright...

(Cut to Phantous building his team...)

Phantous: Alright, we've got... 5? People?

(Comedai, Tragedai, and Mime are counted as 1, 2, and 3, while Paperplates says "Yep!" and is counted as 4.)

Phantous (thinking): Good...

(He turns and looks at the pool of contestants.)

Phantous (excitedly): How about these?

(He points at Hangman, Starry and House.)

Hangman (hovering over): Alright..

Starry (walking alongside): Sure, I suppose...

House (sitting): You guys are creepy, no thanks!

(⅞ Team Members!)

Phantous (to GyroGyro, Penta, and Cloudy.): You three?

Cloudy (intently): Sure! I'll join!

Phantous (excitedly): Yeah!

(8/8 Team Members!)

Question Mark (to Lunartic and Moony): Let's merge teams to make a full set.

Lunartic, overlapping Moony, said "Alright."

Moony noticed Sunny's disappearance and said— "Wait, where's Sunny—?"

Lunartic, shrugging, says; "Oh well, one less issue."

Sunny, holding GyroGyro, says; "I want him!! He's so silly!!"

Lunartic yells at Sunny, screaming— "Sunny, what have I said about—"

(GyroGyro haunts Lunartic into a daze.)

Question Mark, referring to The Colon Duo, adds; "also these two!"

Angel, at the same time as Devil, says; "Salutations!"

Devil, at the same time as Angel, says; "PERISH!"

Sunny, agreeing, shouts; "YAY!!"

The Gourd, listing, noted "then by automation, Star, Heart, Penta, Triangula, House, Cuby, Lightning and Flower are all on the same team!"

Sunny immediately chiming in ring; " Oh!!! I bet this team will be so FUN!"

("Team FUN!" is now Team 1's Team Name.)

Phantous shouts; "They're naming teams?! Well, I formed this team with Comedy, Tragedy, Mime and Paperplates since we were already a group... why not be..."

("The Masquerade" is now Team 2's Team Name.)

The Gourd, to Star, Heart, Penta, Triangula, House, Lightning, Cuby and Flower, said: "and you're...?"

House, confused says; "What?"

(Team "What?" is now Team 3's Team Name.)

Star offended, shouts: "THAT'S NOT WHAT HE—!!"

The Gourd, clapping, cuts in with: "Alright, be quiet now!"

The Gourd now turns around and stares at a piece of land.

Hangman, after a moment of awkward silence, asks: "So what's the first challenge?"

The Gourd then hovers his hands over an area, an aura pulsating as from the ground, a strange stone structure erects.

The Gourd now blasts upward.

Hangman disappointingly groaned; "I'll go after him."

House curiously asked; "How will–?"

Hangman groans before grabbing House and being raised by his rope upwards.

Hangman arrives, followed by The Gourd clapping.

The contestants appear as Gourd says–

The Gourd would now announce— "CONTESTANTS! The first challenge... is to cross an OBSTACLE COURSE DANGLING ABOVE LAVA! Watch the example contestants VERY closely!"

A Circle and an Egg are used.

"You must find a way to get to the other side of this vat of lava! Use either the large, yet trickety platforms, or the thin-yet-stable beams! If you fall into the lava and die, you are DISQUALIFIED!" Gourd says.

"Wait, you're going to let us die—?" Starry asks, being ignored as Gourd shouts "GO!"

"Oh, alright—" Starry said as we pan over to Team Fun.

"Guys! I have a plan!" Moony said.

"Shoot." Devil Colon said.

"Sunny and Colon Duo, you guys can carry us across the obstacle course while me and Lunartic simply do the obby!" Moony stated.

"Sounds good! ^^" Angel said, now picking up Question Mark on her head, While Devil Colon carried Exclamation Mark, who began screaming, on his back.

Sunny now jumped into the lava, being unaffected, and caught GyroGyro and Period.

The Colon Duo now flew over the Obby, and waited for Gourd.

"Hoho! Excellent loophole skills!" He praised. "I never said you CAN'T just avoid the obby, so The Colon Duo, Question Mark, and Exclamation Mark are safe!"

Switching to Team "What?" and The Masquerade.

Cuby began trying to hop across the large-yet-trickety platforms, inviting Heart along.

"Uhm, there isn't much room, darling!" Heart exclaimed, despite there being a perfect amount of room on the platform.

Paperplates jumped, only to be blown into the vat of lava and burn.

"7 members on The Masquerade remain!" Gourd annouced.

"Aren't you gonna bring her back or something?" Question Mark said to Gourd, who blinked, before closing his hand into a fist, and...

COOL 80S DRUM RIFF!

Paperplates was back! ...with a small stain of soot on her.

Mime and Phantous got across, since Hangman was carrying them, while Cloud carried Starry across.

"Alright, that means—" Phantous was about to speak...

"WHATTERS!! HURRY IT UP!! THERE'S ONLY 2 MEMBERS ON BOTH TEAMS LEFT!!" Star shouted.

Penta, Lightning, House, and Triangula are safe!

Sunny, Period and GyroGyro are also safe!

Switch to Moony and Lunartic.

"Loonie, c'mon!" Moony said to Lunartic.

"...I could kill you right now if I wanted to." Lunartic said.

"...Loonie, no."

"Do it.

For us."

Randomly, as Heart and Cuby were about to cross, an asteroid was thrown at the two, blocking their paths.

"Good girl." Lunartic said, now crossing the platform to be considered safe alongside Moony.

"TEAM FUN IS SAFE! MASQUERADIANS! WHATTERS!ONE OF YOU WILL BE ELIMINATED! HURRY IT UP!" Gourd annouced, as Comedy and Tragedy now rushed.

Star tackled Comedy, killing both himself and Comedy.

"Comedy is disqualified!"

"Yes!" Heart said, glad her off-screen suggestion worked.

"Which means since Tragedy crossed, albeit crying, THE MASQUERADE IS SAFE!" The Gourd announced.

"No!" Heart said.

"Team What?, you're on the chopping block tonight." Gourd said.

The Gourd now flies out of the chamber, flying downwards before teleporting the contestants back onto ground level.

"You have a few moments before the elimination ceremony begins! GOOD LUCK." The Gourd said, before cackling maniacally and dissolving into the air.

"Hey, hey! It's alright!" Phantom said, trying to comfort a flailing Tragedy.

"Eugh, overreaction..." Heart groaned. "For real..." Lightning agreed. "Tsk... speaking of which, I think we know who to eliminate..." Heart told Lightning, "Ugh, yes! That FREAK has GOT to go, like honestly, what was he even doing...?"

Star and Comedy were then revived.

"Let's go." Star said. "FREAKS! Follow me. WE'VE got a plan."

ELIMINATION TIME!

"Welcome to elimination, Team What?, all 8 of you will now vote for ONE person to be eliminated. Whoever has the most votes LEAVES, voting... is NOW."

IN THE BOOTH

"Goodbye, silent-y." Star votes Cuby.

"Nobody will miss you!" Heart blows a kiss.

"I have to get on their good side, sorry buddy." Penta votes Cuby.

"Uhm... I don't... like her... she makes me feel... uncomfortable." Triangula votes Heart.

House casts a vote.

"We've GOT to stick together! We're like, BFFLs right now!" Lightning votes.

Cuby angrily slams a button.

"The way they're treating poor Cuby... I despise that woman..." Flower sighs deeply and votes.

VOTES ARE IN!

"If you get a Marshmallow, you will be SAFE!" The Gourd announced.

FIRST SAFE IS...

Star!

"Oh yeah! I knew I could count on you guys."

Lightning...

"Let's go girl!" Lightning exclaims to Heart.

Flower.

"Ooh, yay! <)" Flower says, taking his marshmallow.

and House!

House opens his door as the marshmallow flies through.

Now half of you are safe;

and half of you are NOT.

"OWOWPSJWPNDPDJAPWJEOE!!!"

Triangula, you're overreacting. You're safe.

and so is Penta.

One of you got 3 votes.

The other got 5.

Heart is shocked as she stares at Cuby angrily.

THE LAST PERSON SAFE IS...

HEART WITH 3 VOTES.

Cuby is out, receiving 5 votes from the rest of his team.

Cuby begins frantically scribbling, however, Gourd begins to spin the Cube back into...

A lifeless Nintendo GameCube.

Flower stares in shock as Heart and Star celebrate.

"That's all for today...

SEE YOU NEXT TIME. :-)"

END.

AROS was written by TheWiseGuest.

All characters' voices, present or not, were acted out by L. Alberto S.

FIN.

JOIN ANOTHER RANDOM OBJECT SHOW TO WIN YOUR DEEPEST DESIRE.

Cuby holds the flyer, before gripping it.

[its-not-a-phase-mom-i-d8-demons]

The Brother’s Reaction to MC having a Nightmare

bAby

this gif... holy SHIT 

Lucifer

Whether you started the evening snuggled up under his chin or all alone in your room, he’s an extremely light sleeper since he’s got to keep an ear out for Mammon being stupid at 2 am

So when you start to move restlessly and/or whimper and cry, naturally he’ll awaken and see what the issue is

Lucifer will sit up and gently rest a tentative hand on your trembling shoulder, so as not to startle you

His presence only seemed to make it worse! Your tears got bigger and your cries got louder, your breathing became more uneven until you woke with a start, your own shrill scream scaring you into a frightened, crying ball in front of him

Boi is at a loss…

Was this his fault?

“MC, darling, what has gotten into you? Are you alright?”

“L-Lucifer?” You whimper, watery eyes roving aimlessly in the darkness “L-L-Lucifer?! Where are-”

Wrapping his arms around you and pulling you close, he reassures you: “I’m here, right here princess,” “I’ve got you, it was just a dream MC... nothing to worry about.”

Strokes your head, smoothing your rumpled hair and supporting your back while you hide your puffy, tearstained face in his collar and cling to him for dear life until you calm down

You’re still shaking when the usually stiff demon presses a kiss to the crown of your head and begins to rock from side to side, murmuring gentle, reassuring words in your ear

“Nothing can hurt you as long as you’re in my arms, MC.” “Deep breaths my love, deep breaths…”

Mammon’s vivid scary stories before bed had obviously been a bad decision, Lucifer decided as he dabbed your cheeks with a kleenex

his poor, sweet human having nightmares about silly campfire tales…

How endearing, yet upsetting

He’ll carry you to the kitchen bridal style and hold you close after getting you a glass of water, then carry you back to bed and tuck you safely against his broad chest for the rest of the night making a mental note to hang Mammon upside down from the banister the following morning

Mammon

He woke up from his dream about goldie who had read “∞” on the ATM and opened his door in answer to the frantic knock to find his favorite human crying

You rushed into his arms, burying your face in his chest to hide your shuddering sobs, nearly sending the now blushing Avatar of Greed off balance in your haste

“Jeez, human! Wha… What happened? Why’re ya crying like that?”

No, like seriously, plz stop crying babie or he’s gonna cry too

Returns the hug, holding MC firmly as he regains his footing and manages to shut the door behind you

“MC, sssh, I’m right here! You don’t hafta worry, ok? Luckily you’ve got the best demon on the job to make ya feel better! Hug me as hard as ya need, ok?”

*forehead and cheek smooches*

Lets you curl up in his lap until you can talk to him without stuttering or choking on tears

Holds you the whole time, almost as if he’s afraid to let go for fear you’ll cry again

“Bad dream? What was it about?”

“Th-Those characters from Levi’s horror game w-were eating you alive and I c-couldn’t move!” You whimper tearfully, “You were begging me for help a-and I couldn’t do anything to save you from them because every time I moved th-these ropes got t-tighter around my neck a-an-”

First of all, he’s horrified that Levi showed you those games when he knew they gave you nightmares. Unfortunately, you had to if you didn’t want to be called a normie for the billionth time that week

Second, he, the great Mammon, begging a mere human for help? Yeah right

Even though he knew in his heart of hearts that that would definitely be the case

“They’re not real, remember that. And if you still think those freaks are lurking in the dark, come find me and the great Mammon will protect you!”

You can't help but giggle and hug him more tightly, knocking him back onto his pillow

Neither of you felt like moving, so Mammon pulls the sheets up over your shoulders and you snuggle together until the morning comes

At the breakfast table, Mammon doesn’t hesitate to screech at Levi for giving you nightmares while cradling your tired, sleep-deprived body against him

Leviathan

Doesn’t hear MC’s knock at first, he’s too absorbed in the 14th episode of I Was Eating Avocado Salmon Sushi at a Hundred-Yen Revolving Sushi Restaurant When Suddenly I Was Thrown Back in Time a Thousand Years to the Heian Era, Where I Was Selected to Be a Personal Chef for a Princess and Was Later Chosen as a Possible Candidate to Be Her Husband… Now someone Please Tell Me How That’s Even Possible

As the knocking gets louder and more frantic, the otaku finally notices and pauses the anime, goes to the door and opens it a tiny bit

Just enough to see the teary-eyed MC, hugging their waist in discomfort, shivering in fear, and looking left and right down the hall for danger

“... Yeah?”

“L-Levi? C-Can I come in? *sniff* I just had a really scary dream-”

“I-uh… Ummm I g-guess,”

He lets you in and on a whim, places a tentative hand on your back

He expected you to push him away, but when you choked and rushed into his half-open arms and buried your face in his chest, leviachan.exe has stopped working

EXIT

What was he supposed to do with his hands?!?!??

MC was crying and he was just standing there like a normie? Wh… WhAt wOULd HenRy dO?

“MC, h-hey, it cant’ve been that bad… here, um let’s s-sit down a-and you can talk to me. Sound good?”

He feels you nod and leads you to his large gaming beanbag chair and you get squooshed against his side, shivering and sniveling, but warm and safe

Levi dries your face with the edge of his shirt and after a few moments of comfortable silence, you begin to explain your dream

The slimy creatures scaling the walls of the House of Lamentation with their slimy entrails dripping whitish goo in their wake. Eight spindly legs to each monster, sixteen sinister red eyes, and countless rows of gleaming fangs ready to take a chunk out of anyone who came too close

They managed to get into the house and they chased you and the brothers, but the otaku had tripped over a fallen suit of armor and a spider creature made its move before he could get away

At that point, you’d woken up absolutely terrified and rushed to see if Levi was ok

“But you’ve played horror games with me and we watched My Sister and I Found a Spider and Took It Home, Realizing Soon After it Was a Demon Who Eventually Escaped From the Glass Jar We Used for a House and Ate Our Toes, Transporting Us To Hell Where We Were F-”

“Yeah… I know… B-But it wasn’t that bad. I was reading one of the books Satan recommended. It was a really well-written horror story and it had very realistic pictures. I just can’t seem to get those gross monsters out of my head:(”

Your voice slowly trailed off and Levi realized what he had accomplished

You… You weren’t crying anymore!!

Also, you weren’t breathing really hard or shaking too much! Had… had this yucky otaku really calmed the human down?

*gasp* he was rubbing your back too!? And you hadn’t slapped his icky hands away?

You… you were ok with this? B-Being all snuggled up together on the beanbag chair?

“L-Levi, I-I’m ok now. I’ll leave you alone… I hope I didn’t wake you up…”

“N-No!”

“Something wrong?”

“No… I-um,” (he couldn’t let you get away now! This was perfect! He had you all to himself!! No WAY was he gonna screw this up!!) “You c-can stay a little longer if you’d like… I-I was in the middle of I Was Eating Avocado Salmon Sushi at a Hundred-Yen Revolving Sushi Restaurant When Suddenly I Was Thrown Back in Time a Thousand Years to the Heian Era, Where I Was Selected to Be a Personal Chef for a Princess and Was Later Chosen as a Possible Candidate to Be Her Husband… Now someone Please Tell Me How That’s Even Possible… Do you maybe want to stay and watch?”

“You don’t mind? I don’t want to intrude-”

“No! It’s fine!”

And so he fumbled with the remote and hit the play button, but couldn’t focus on a single word the protagonists were saying

You. Fell. Asleep.

On. Him.

Uh

“Maybe… Maybe MC doesn’t think I’m a… ‘yucky otaku’ after all… But don’t get your hopes up, Levi.”

Satan

He fell asleep in his chair, book resting on his chest when he heard a short, quick (almost frantic) string of taps on his door

Being a light sleeper (just like his papa), he immediately woke up to hear your voice on the other side of the door

“Satan? Are… Are you awake? *sniffle*”

It was you

What could you possibly want at this hour?

Upon opening the door, your body crashed into his own, but not before impulsively throwing your arms around his neck and breaking down on his shoulder

“M-MC? Are you alright?”

No, you weren’t

Judging by your stormy sobs and trembling figure, something must have shaken you up horribly for you to act like this

The sweet MC he knew usually kept their cool

He leads you to his big armchair and sits you down, careful to keep a firm hand on your back for support, both emotional and physical

Your eyes were wide and glassy, pupils darting to each corner of the room looking for monsters, bad demons, giant bugs, etc.

Finding none, you finally make shy eye contact with the blonde demon who has kept his arms close about you and dabbed your endless tears away until you were calm enough to speak

“MC, did you have a night terror or something?”

“*sniffle* M-hm. I-I’m sorry S-Satan, I was just so scared I c-couldn’t stay in my room all alone and you were the first person I thought of. So… I ran here. Did I wake you?”

“I fell asleep in my chair again MC. So I would have awakened during the night anyway,” He replied, “Plus, I don’t mind at all. I’m… I’m happy you came. What was your dream about?”

“It was really twisted… are you sure you want to know?”

“You’ll feel better when you talk about it and I’m always up for a story.” He smiled.

He sat back in his chair tentatively resting your head on his chest as you began describing the terrors from only minutes before

“Asmodeus and I, we watched some of those cringey teen romance movies this afternoon and somehow they morphed into a really scary dream. You and I, the rest of your brothers, the angels, Solomon, Diavolo, and even Barbatos were playing spin the bottle for some reason and I landed on you, but when I kissed you, you turned to dust! Th-Then when I landed on Mammon and Beel, the s-same thing happened again, but no one seemed to notice! Th-”

Noticing you were getting worked up again, Satan rubbed soothing circles into your back, hushing you gently and assuring you that everything was fine and ‘innocent’ kissing games weren’t actually deadly

Unless they were

But he didn’t mention that to you at that moment

Instead, he cradled you in his lap and read to you until your eyelids began to droop once more for some much-needed sleep

Being the good boy he is, he tucked you into his bed

BUT

Before he could walk back to his chair

“Satan, aren’t… aren’t you gonna lay with me?” You ask, tired, sweet voice ringing in his ears, “I-If you don’t mind that is. I mean it is your bed, after all, I didn’t mean t-”

He’s blushing up to his ears at your request, but nonetheless rolls onto the mattress next to you and you snuggle up close and fall asleep almost instantly

“As long as you’re here with me, you’ll be safe MC.”

Asmodeus

Why… Why was he up so early? What was that noise? Wait… Where were you?

He could’ve sworn he fell asleep with you in his arms

Sitting up groggily he looked around after rubbing the crust of sleep from his eyes

Something was moving and whimpering next to him, caught in a snare of fluffy blankets

The fearful cries of “Asmodeus! Oh, Asmo please don’t die! No, no, no, NO!!” broke the sweet demon’s heart

Your ragged breathing turned to a blood-curdling scream and you shot upright, but the blankets blocking your vision increased your tearful unease tenfold and you began struggling even harder against them

Taking action, Asmo tugged at the sheets, doing everything he could to help you

When your face emerged from the heap, you took a great gasp of air and immediately began sobbing your heart out

Asmo paused, knowing it unwise to approach someone who’d just escaped the clutches of a nightmare, but he couldn’t just sit there and stare at you!

Luckily, you chose that moment to look around

Your eyes met his amber ones in the semi-darkness and you tackled him, wrapping him in an impossibly tight hug

“A-ASMO!”

“Darling, wh-”

“Oh my god! I thought I killed you! I r-ruined your pretty face! You just sh-shriveled up a-and-”

“Sweetheart, hey~” He murmured, closing his arms around your back and cradling the back of your head in his hand, “Don’t cry anymore, Asmo’s here…”

His gentle comforting coos as he rocked from side to side brought your tears to a halt and soon you were able to look him in the face

Your glassy, frightened eyes had almost a look of reverence when you ever so slightly cupped your palm over his cheek, afraid he would crumble away at your caress once more

When he didn’t, you let out a shaky sigh of relief and visibly relaxed; shoving your face in his shoulder and wrapping your legs and arms around him so he couldn’t escape

It was quiet for a moment

Asmodeus settled his forearms around your waist and said

“Dearest, are you alright?”

“I… I don’t know.”  You fisted his shirt in your palms and looked at him, “That was a really vivid one.”

“Tell me what it was about!” He smiled sympathetically and stroked your cheek, “I have bad dreams sometimes too, MC. If you tell me yours I’ll tell you a few of mii-iiine!”

You couldn’t help but crack a small grin as his sweet tone and nod

“Yesterday Beel told me about the one time he touched Satan’s favorite plant. He’d seen Satan pet the stalk and petals before and he wanted to do it too. (Satan is a plant dad, fight me) But when he touched it, it shriveled up and died on the spot. I… I had a dream where I touched you and you shriveled up! I tried to help you, but every time I touched you, you screamed in pain! Then… Then you died in my arms and I woke up.”

:(

You clung to the demon as he moved, lost in thought. Settling back into the abundant pillows and tugging a sheet over your shoulders, he began to speak

“That sounds absolutely terrifying! What would you do without me?”

“Asmo…”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding!” He nuzzled your cheek and hugged you tighter, “Why don’t we find a way to help you forget about it? I have a couple of suggestions… if you’d like to hear them~”

Beelzebub

He’d only been gone for a minute… or four… maybe five…? Right?

Why were you writhing around like that? You sounded like a lost little puppy and… were those tears?

“MC? Are you awake?”

No reply, just your continued whines of discontent and a steady stream of tears soaking the pillow

He dropped his snacks on the floor and carefully knelt on the edge of the mattress, putting a gentle hand on your forehead

Lucifer used to do that when he was sick, long ago when they still lived in the celestial realm. Maybe it would help you? Somehow? Hopefully?

The strangled sob that fell from your lips as you forced his hand away broke his big heart in two

Hold on, your eyes were closed! Wait, you were having a bad dream!

Throwing all caution to the wind (and not knowing the consequences of waking someone in this state) and began shaking you rather roughly, scaring you awake and making you bonk heads when you sat up too quickly

Now you were crying for more reasons than one

Your head hurt, two big scary hands had your shoulders in a tight grip, there was a large figure looming over you in the dark, your dream was still raging and replaying in your head, and it was really dark and uncomfortably warm

Even in the dim light, Beel witnessed the look of pure terror that crossed your face

You thought his heart was broken? Well it just fucking shattered

You were scared? Of him?

“MC, it’s just me! Don’t be afraid!”

He’d woken you up, but apparently he’d only made things worse…

Beel is vewy sowwy :(

Those lovely amethyst eyes…

“B… Beeley?”

“MC? I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you, I didn-”

You silence the ginger demon by throwing yourself into his arms in unparalleled relief, afraid you hadn’t really woken up and the shadow of your favorite brother was just MC’s Nightmare, Continued

Happy you’re in his arms, he squeezes back with all his might and burying his face in your shoulder

“I just had the worst nightmare Beel. I’m so happy you’re here…” You murmur, wiping your nose on your sleeve.

“Is your head ok?”

“M-hm.”

The pair of you sit in comfortable silence for a few moments, Beel offers you a tissue to dry your face, but you can’t seem to stop crying

“MC, maybe if you told me about it, you’d feel better!”

His sweet, honest smile made you melt

But the contents of your dream… You looked guiltily toward the bed on the other side of the room where you knew the Avatar of Sloth was sleeping peacefully

“You… You promise not to tell Belphie?”

“What do you mean?”

“W-Well I dreamt about that time… you know… when he killed me? He gave me a hug before bed like he always does a-and I love Belphie’s hugs but I can’t help but think about... that. I feel bad, it’s the same as holding a grudge! I’m sorry Beel.”

*insert pikachu face meme* = beel

“Why are you apologizing? It’s not your fault you had the dream.”

“I know… I feel bad though. Did I wake you up?” You ask, changing the subject.

“Nuh-uh. I was already up grabbing snacks.” He pointed to the untidy pile a few feet away. “Maybe some TSL and food will bring your smile back. Don’t worry about your dream MC, the secret is safe with me. Plus, you’re only human and I guess being killed would be really scary for you. I didn’t protect you that time, but if anyone ever tries to hurt you again, I’ll be there before you can say Burgers from Akuzon, ok?”

The smile lifts your lips before he finishes his sentence warms his heart and puts a happy smile on his own as you give him a final squeeze and whisper

“Thanks a lot, Beeley.”

Belphegor

It is said the Avatar of Sloth could sleep through anything, even the loudest storm and the echoes of 4th of July from the human world

But when the precious human cuddled up in his arms every night begins to move around and/or whimper in fear, Belphegor is awake in minutes only to find you squirming away from him and begging to some invisible entity “Just… Just d-don’t hurt them! I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry, please don’t hurt me I-”

The seventh born is squeezing your hand and whispering encouragement in your ear, telling you you’re safe and that it’s just a dream

Slowly opening your eyes you look around, still terrified and jumpy from your vision, but the warm hand intertwined with yours and the comforting arm around your back, plus the familiar scents of the twins’ room slowly bring you back to reality

“MC?”

“Belphie? I-Is that you?”

“Who else would it be, dummy.”

You ignore the half hearted insult and bury your face in his chest, allowing your heart to reach a normal pace and his natural scent and warmth to wash over you

“Tell me about it. Sounded pretty scary.”

“I’m sorry for waking you up Belphie, I know how you hate losing sleep…”

“Just… Be quiet and tell me your dream!”

“S-Sorry… Um, so I didn’t know you too well yet and an angel came and took the precious grimoire, but me and Beel were caught up in it and there was this whole thing with Purgatory Hall and Luke and-”

“Your stories can put me right to bed you know that? Anyway, so what happened? Did Lucifer tear the angel’s head off?” He looked rather hopeful…

“Of course not! Lucifer was gonna make me choose who I wanted to save, either Beel or Luke and I didn’t want either of them to get hurt so I said ‘both’ and Lucifer got really mad and scary and in my dream he ended up hurting Luke and Beel and he would’ve gotten me if you hadn’t woken me up.”

“You’re welcome.”

“... *sigh* Thanks for listening Belphie.”

With a sigh of his own, he pulled you into his arms, resting his chin on your shoulder

“It was just a dream. You don’t have to be afraid, you know. I’m right here for you. Always.”

“Aww, than-”

“Forget I said that! Shut up and go to sleep!”

[mk-wizard]

Big Hero 6 The Series: It could have been better

Hello, friends. Today, I will be analyzing a TV series based on a movie that I fell in love with for its colourful themes, deep plot, compelling characters, great CGI and memorable messages. Before I get into it, I want to take a moment to say that I have quit doing videos. They are too big of a pain in the petunia to make and I write better than I speak, so I will stick to writing essays, reviews and more. Anyway, onto the analysis.

All I can say about Big Hero 6 the series is that it had a great concept, it presented some great ideas and tried hard to be a cartoon of the times, but it could have and should have been a lot better. The show’s downfall all centers around trying too hard to be kid friendly which makes the shame sting all the more because Big Hero 6 was already kid friendly even with its dark themes, sharp edges and intelligent writing. If anything, even the brightest kid friendly cartoons (Steven Universe, She-Ra, etc.) had those things and actually benefitted from them. By needlessly trying too hard, character development got scrapped, the edges were all smoothed out, storytelling was subpar, the humour was too silly and the executive meddling in the end produced a dismal final season. However, I don’t want this analysis to be one lengthy negative rant about how awful the series was because in its defense, awful is an unfair word. It did have potential and ideas which are worth carrying over to a reboot that I hope will be done someday in the future. Also, we should root for a reboot because Big Hero 6 would not be the first story that needs it before striking gold. Just look at how many times Spider-Man was rebooted in film before MCU found the version that worked. Anyway, I will list all the things in Big Hero 6 that could have been better in my opinion;

1- Go easy on the laughs and be more generous with the action. - I love adding comedy to my own writing because I think a good sense of humour makes everything better, but Big Hero 6 is not a stand up comedy routine. It is a superhero story where we expect action, suspense and life or death situations that are to be taken seriously first. The comedy should be for relief and with the right timing. Also, the chibi cutscenes and having characters act like fools aren’t funny. Ren and Stimpy are the exception not the standard and their way of making you laugh doesn’t fit an action series. In a show as big as Big Hero 6, real life physics and danger matters.

2- Make the villains menacing and gritty. - I admit that after having a movie villain like Yokai who was the stuff of nightmares, it is going to be a challenging act to follow, but it was obvious that the writers were trying especially with some villains who could have easily gone into some dark relatable territory. For example, Mr. Sparkles (the gentleman in the photo above) embodies social media and Internet personalities. Right off the bat, you have a long list of things which embody the dark side of that like scams, fraud, using social media to dox or harass, driving people to suicide, online predators, the Internet personalities being very depressed people in real life, and much more horrifying things. When you stop and look at it, Mr. Sparkles even looks like the Joker which hints how dark and scary he could have been if the stops were removed. The same goes for enemies like Hardlight who embodies online gaming, Liv with cloning, Obake an amoral and insane scientist, and Trina and Noodle Burger Boy (more on him later) being evil robots. Globby especially should have been painted and written in much darker colours rather being played off for laughs because he has many parallels with Clay Face. The only two villains who I can say were supposed to be campy, charming and comical were Baron Von Steamer and Supersonic Sue because they were a satire of the Adam West style villains.

The rest of them needed to be dark and threatening including Mr. Sparkles. In fact, I would love a rebooted version of Mr. Sparkles who gives me the heebie-jeebies. Going back to Noodle Burger Boy, I must confess that I was actually excited when I heard that he was going to be the main villain of the final season because I thought he was going to fulfill his master’s final wish and as a reminder, Noodle Burger Boy was based on a super robot for military purposes.

It would have been fantastic if Noodle Burger Boy was upgraded into a full military war machine with a new threatening look. For that, I think all of the villains deserve to be rebooted and have their full potential unlocked for better or for worse.

3- A show about geniuses merits genius level art quality. - I am usually forgiving towards art styles, but in the case of Big Hero 6, the oversimplified style with minimal details and lack of textures did not suit the show. The characters blend in with the background which makes them look flat and the special effects were extremely dulled down. I also know for a fact that Disney can do a lot better than this because I saw how superbly Tangled the Series was drawn.

You can see and almost feel the difference in quality, the number of layers and level of detail between the two styles. I think there was no excuse Big Hero 6 was not done in the same style and at the same level if not better as Tangled.

3- Don’t dumb down or flanderize amazing characters. - I absolutely detest it when characters are flanderized because it makes them one dimensional and grating. For example, Go Go is tough as nails and extremely calm, but she is not cold or hesitant towards helping her friends. She doesn’t require very special episodes for us to know that. If anything, the movie version of Go Go reminded me a lot of Garnet in how she deconstructed the broody character. She isn’t cold or emotionless. Just calm and mature. Another good example was how Honey Lemon was rewritten to be overly positive to the point of toxicity, naïve and oblivious with a juvenile obsession with stickers. Then you have poor Fred who was rewritten to be an incompetent fool. The spark that makes Big Hero 6 shine is that they are a team of geniuses meaning they are all intelligent. Even Fred is genius in his own way just not a scientific one. He has a vivid imagination, he is resourceful and can get himself out of tight spots. Please, don’t turn characters into dummies especially if their intelligence is a part of them. It doesn’t make them better or funnier. It ruins them.

4- Tadashi needs closure and honour. - I am all for Hiro making peace with the loss of his brother, but Tadashi is to the Big Hero 6 team what Uncle Ben was to Spider-Man. His loss was the catalyst if not the reason. He should never be forgotten. Moreover, there was never any true closure to him especially with the possibility that he may still be alive up in the air. After all, like Callaghan, his body was never found and it turned out that Callaghan was still alive.

With that said, who is to say that Tadashi was not secretly still alive and just hiding or being hidden? This is something that Disney really needed to clear up if not for the fans, then at least as a service to such an important character. Never just forget about them.

5- The format can only be episodic with a deep plots, continuity and character development. - Random episodes with a mere monster of the day is an outdated format which doesn’t fit Big Hero 6′s modern and bright setting. In seasons 1 and 2, when the episodes were plot heavy with character development, the series shined brightest. It also helped move the story along, but with the final season, plot was removed, closure was abandoned or poorly written if any was given, and characters were disallowed from growing. A good example at how plot and character development could have made this series and its characters better was the relationship between Hiro and Megan. Would it have truly survived or would they have broken up?

Would Richardson Mole have eventually lost interest in his obsession with besting and bullying Fred or would his obsession consume him compelling him to become a super villain? I do see quite a few similarities between Mole and Reverse Flash.

Then you have Karmi who is in my opinion, the biggest wild card of the bunch. She was intentionally introduced as an arrogant, prickly and unlikable yet complex character who rivaled Hiro bitterly.

Yet had a huge crush on his alter ego and as time went on, started to grow up and even form a friendship with Hiro. What would have happened further down the road with her? Would she have become a super hero herself? Or maybe even another love interest for Hiro kind of like how Black Cat is for Spider-Man?

Is Obake really gone?

What does the future hold Diana (Liv’s clone), Liv herself or the Sycorax the genetics company?

Is Alistair Krei going to become an ally to Big Hero 6 or an antagonist? There is also the issue at how little we know about the other Big Hero 6 characters other than Fred, Hiro and Baymax. What are Honey Lemon, Wasabi and Go Go’s backstories? These questions matter and while not every mystery can be solved, leaving none of them solved is lazy writing.

6- Executives, kindly stay out of the writing and any other part of the creative process. - I’m sorry, execs, but there is no nice way to say it. History itself proves that every time executives got involved in the creative process of any media, it got worse not better. Leave the writing to the creative team and the execs should only handle the legal stuff. Please. We understand that TV is a business, but writing itself is not. It is an art which you just don’t have a talent for. Let the creative people do their thing with the freedom necessary and you do your thing, deal? Deal.

7- Focus on Hiro and Baymax. - The are the main characters so keep them at the heart of the series no matter what happens around them. That is all I can say.

And that sums up all the things that could have made Big Hero 6 the series better, but this is all just my opinion. What is yours?

PS: I am well aware that the Big Hero 6 series is being retconned because a new series called Baymax is in the works as well as the long awaited sequel to the first movie. I am looking forward to both with an open mind. PPS: I also am aware that some people liked this show the way it was including the art style and I am cool with that. An analysis for art that includes cartoons is never right or wrong. It is solely based on opinion. I may have thought this series could have been better, but there are people who make arguments that it could have been worse.

[sunshine-stars]

Deja vu

Flynn remembers some of her happy memories with Carrie. Then they see her Instagram posts with Kayla doing the same things.

Inspired by Deja vu by Olivia Rodrigo

Word count: 2707

Car rides to Malibu

“We’re going to Malibu? That’s awesome!” Julie exclaimes.

Carrie laughs a little. “Yeah, my Dad has to meet with some business people there and didn’t want to leave me alone so he invited you guys too.”

Flynn’s over the moon. They’ve been to Malibu a few times, most of them with Carrie and Julie, and it’s always so much fun. It’s about an hour one way and it means that they have a little road trip, which is always more than a little chaotic.

“You know I’m in,” Flynn answers, smiling. Julie agrees and they make plans to go the next day, after asking both of their parents.

“You’re stealing all of the sour keys! How dare you?” Flynn yells at Carrie. She knows that they’re her favourites and she’s eating them all, the traitor.

Carrie huffs. “Only because you’ve already eaten half of them and I want some too!” Her lips are slightly stained green and Flynn can’t help but look at them. They’re probably so soft.

“You’re just lucky that the green one’s aren’t as good as the orange one’s, or else I’d have to kill you,” Flynn replies after a beat too long.

Julie takes a sour key and between bites says, “You’re both wrong, the purple one’s are the best.”

“Of course you think so little miss purple,” Carrie teases.

Julie gasps. “Hey! Flynn’s the shortest, not me!”

“How did we get back to this?!” Flynn groans. “Weren’t we just talking about how Carrie’s a thief?”

“I am not! You’re the hoarder, you made me take them. Besides you being the shortest is so cute and fun.” Carrie raises an eyebrow with an evil little smile.

She’s obviously trying to get on Flynn’s nerves, and she’s succeeding, but why does Flynn’s heart speed up when she calls them cute? Why does her mind go blank for a second as they feel very happy?

She shakes her head a little to steady themself. “You do realize that you’re stuck in a metal box with me, right? Where I could kill you and no one would know. So I suggest you shut your mouth before I make you.”

Carrie coughs a little as her face goes slightly pink. Julie’s just looking knowingly at both of them. What just happened?

Carrie’s Dad turns around in his seat to look exasperatedly at them, though there’s a little smile on his face. “Settle down kiddos. Flynn please don’t kill my daughter, I love her. Carrie please don’t try to aggravate Flynn. Also why can’t you all just share the sour keys? You all like different flavours.”

“Because once Flynn finishes all of the orange one’s she eats all of mine and Carrie’s,” Julie responds like something weird didn’t just happen.

“It’s not my fault that there’s always less orange one’s! It’s not fair! Why aren’t you also telling off Julie she participated in this?” Flynn frustratedly and loudly says.

Carrie’s Dad sighs. “Julie wasn’t yelling and trying to annoy you two. Why do you and Care bear always get into silly arguments?”

Julie mumbles something that sounds suspiciously like, “It’s because these two idiots are in love with each other and won’t admit it.”

Flynn glares at her, but she just flashes her perfect little angel smile. Julie’s so sweet that no one expects her to be a little devil, it’s stupid.

Flynn suddenly realizes that Carrie has been very quiet. They turn to look at her and she gasps. There’s only one sour key left… and it’s an orange one.

“Bubblegum, Pinky Pie, Sappho, lollipop, sweetheart, love of my life can I please please have the last sour key?” Flynn quickly rambles.

They just have to get the last one and she’s not above begging for it. So what if her begging includes calling people sweet pet names to bribe them, and so what if they do it more with Carrie? It doesn’t mean anything. It’s just a coincidence, right?

Carrie looks down and avoids their eyes, her cheeks turning even redder than before. Is she okay? Why has she been acting strange? Flynn has no idea, but they hope for the best.

“Well since you asked so nicely, soda pop.” Carrie hands her the sour key. If Flynn didn’t know any better they’d say she was flustered, but that can’t be right.

Flynn flashes Carrie a wide smile as they start to eat the delicious treat.

Strawberry ice cream, one spoon for two

“You said you didn’t want any ice cream.” Carrie crosses her arms and glares at Flynn.

“That was before I saw how good it looks, and I love strawberry. It’s like the best flavour and it reminds me of you.”

Julie sighs and looks at them disapprovingly, but also slightly amused. “Flynn honey, you said you didn’t want any because your stomach hurt from all those sour keys. Ice cream will only make it a lot worse.”

“I’m feeling better now,” Flynn argues. “Besides now that I want it it’s all that I’ll be thinking about. Do you really want me to be constantly thinking about and bugging you for ice cream? I have seven sodas all the time. It's fine.”

Flynn may have a massive sweet tooth, but how can she not when it tastes so good.

“That’s not healthy and I still don’t like it,” Julie scolds.

Flynn just shrugs in response. “Okay, mom.”

Julie throws her hands up in the air and Flynn turns back to Carrie with pleading eyes.

Carrie just sighs and passes it over. “You’re lucky I like you, babe.”

“I know, sweetie.” Flynn thanks the universe for it everyday. They have no idea where they’d be without Carrie, and frankly, they don’t want to know.

Flynn ignores the fluttering in her chest as they take a bite of the strawberry ice cream and almost moans. The cold sweet fruity taste is so refreshing on this warm day.

It’s a shame she has to share it with Carrie, they want it all to themselves. The thing is that Flynn would do anything for Carrie. Sharing ice cream with her is the least they can do for this truly amazing girl who somehow loves her.

And trading jackets

Carrie wraps her arms around herself. “This ice cream is making me cold.”

Well that’s not allowed. Carrie is this warm ray of sunshine in Flynn’s life and she’s just not allowed to be cold. Not when Flynn’s wearing a perfectly good jacket.

“Here take mine.” Flynn passes it to her with a smile.

It’s their jean jacket that has a bunch of patches and embroidery that Flynn either bought or made. There are lesbian and nonbinary flags that they all put on together after she came out, along with a hundred other things that all have a special meaning. It’s precious to her. If it were anyone else they’d be hesitant about letting someone wear it, but it’s Carrie, it’s a no brainer.

Carrie looks up at them, rubbing the fabric between her fingers. “Are you sure?” She has a hesitant and caring look on her face. She knows just how much Flynn loves the jacket.

“Of course, Sappho.”

Carrie smiles softly as she puts the jacket on. Flynn has to catch her breath. She’s wearing their jacket and she almost explodes.

For a second Flynn wishes that they were dating. That she was giving their girlfriend her favourite jacket. That she could wrap her arms around Carrie, kiss her perfect lips, and ramble about how gorgeous she looks and how her wearing their jacket makes her feel so happy. It’d be something out of one of those cheesy rom coms that they watch to make fun of, but secretly like.

Flynn’s daydream is interrupted by Julie’s laugh.

Laughin’ ‘bout how small it looks on you

“It’s so small on you,” Julie says between giggles.

Flynn looks at it again and sure enough it’s too small for Carrie. They’ve had it a couple years so it’s a little small on Flynn, but it’s too sentimental to throw out and it still fits. On Carrie the sleeves come up a bit too much above her wrists and she can’t really button it up.

It should be something for Flynn to laugh at like Julie, but it almost adds to the charm of Carrie wearing their jacket. The imperfections make it real. Besides, perfection never lasts. Robert Frost said “Nothing gold can stay,” but this isn’t gold. It’s as precious as it, but maybe, just maybe, this can last. This moment, their friendship, hopefully it can stay.

Watching reruns of Glee

“Seriously? Why is Rachel always in the spotlight? The rest of them have good voices too,” Flynn complains. Their legs are thrown over Carrie’s lap as they watch a random episode of Glee

Carrie scoffs. “I have no idea. I’m passionate about being a singer, but I’m not that self absorbed. You don’t always need to be the lead.” She leans back on the couch more. “Besides, I can sing better than her.”

Bein’ annoying

“Not self absorbed, huh?” Flynn teases.

They know that Carrie has an absolutely angelic voice that they’re constantly in awe of. She can definitely sing better than Rachel and she’d fight anyone who disagrees. It’s just that teasing Carrie is so much fun. Basically half of their relationship is bickering with each other. Julie says they act like a married couple, but she always sees stuff that isn’t there.

“Shut up.” Carrie moves Flynn’s leg off of her.

Flynn gasps and looks at Carrie with a horrified expression. “How dare you?! Do you not love me anymore?! Betrayal of the highest order! Dishonour! Dishonour on your whole family! Dishonour on you! Dishonour on your cow! I can’t even look at you right now. My heart… it hurts.” They dramatically turn away from her and sigh, acting hurt.

Flynn doesn’t even have to look at Carrie to know that she’s looking at them with an exasperated expression on her pretty face. After a minute she feels a body lay on top of them.

“Can you please stop being such a drama queen? Of course I love you, you idiot,” Carrie says quietly into their ear.

At that moment Flynn realizes just how close Carrie is to her. She’s pressed up against them and her face is literally a breath away from theirs. She has to fight not to get flustered at the fact that this gorgeous girl is oh so close to them and how they are so aware of her every little movement.

Flynn swallows. “Says you, and what happened to babe?” It’s the best thing she can come up with at the moment.

“You’re still the love of my life, soda pop, but when you’re being a bit of an idiot I’m gonna call you an idiot. It’s how it works hun.”

Carrie can’t just say that. Especially not when she’s this close to Flynn who feels like they’re going to combust. It’s just not fair how she doesn’t have a single coherent thought in their mind. Her brain cells have decided to go on vacation to leave her speechless, which they very rarely are.

Flynn doesn’t even bother to wittily respond, partially because she can’t, so they just half watch the episode of Glee that’s still playing and enjoys the moment.

Singin’ in harmony

“For the last time bubblegum, I can rap, but I can’t sing.”

“Come on, at least try. You can’t possibly be as bad as you think,” Carrie pleads as the sun sets around them, painting the world a soft pink.

Carrie looks breathtaking in this glow against the pink sky. Pink has always been her colour. The shade doesn’t even matter, anytime she wears pink Flynn just has to do a double take. Not that she doesn’t look incredible in everything else, pink just kind of enhances it even more.

“You’ve heard me sing, pinky. Don’t act like you haven’t. You know it’s terrible.” Flynn walks slightly faster. If they keep looking at Carrie against the beautiful sky she’d do anything she asks.

Carrie puts a hand on their shoulder, making them stop for a moment. “Yeah, but I can’t remember the last time I heard you sing that wasn’t just singing terribly on purpose to random songs on the radio. Please, I promise I won’t make fun of you.” She just looks so genuine as she says those soft words. It’s enough to make Flynn fall head over heels for her once more, but really, she does that every second they’re with her.

“Maybe later. We’ll try to sing in harmony together.” Flynn takes Carrie’s hand. “Let’s go watch the sunset by the ocean.

Carrie smiles widely and Flynn automatically does the same

I bet she’s bragging to all her friends , sayin’ how you’re so unique

Unfortunately, Flynn never got the chance to sing in harmony with Carrie.

Flynn told herself she wouldn’t look at Carrie’s Instagram, but they just couldn’t help it. She misses her so much and it’s better than nothing, right? Plus Carrie hasn’t blocked them, and Flynn hasn’t either.

There’s a picture of Carrie and Kayla in Carrie’s Dad’s car. They’re both smiling and looking at the camera and eating some kind of snack, but Flynn can’t quite tell what. The caption says that they’re on a road trip to Malibu.

The next post shows Carrie and Kayla sharing strawberry ice cream at an ice cream shop in Malibu, there’s only one spoon. Carrie is wearing Kayla’s beautiful trademark purple jacket.

A picture of them watching an episode of Glee, both sprawled out on the couch together. They’re smiling widely and just look so happy.

Then a post of the two of them posing at sunset, the sky a soft pink that makes Carrie look angelic.

So when you gonna tell her that we did that too?

Carrie did all that with Flynn. They carry the memories so close to her heart. They mean so much to them. They’re a reminder of how it was before, when it was good, when they were all happy.

Now she’s doing all that with someone else. Flynn’s not jealous, but they don’t understand how Carrie’s able to do all of this. Flynn can barely think of road trips, strawberry ice cream, her favourite jean jacket, watching glee, and pink sunsets without being overwhelmed with her feelings and memories of Carrie.

She thinks it’s special, but it’s all reused

Flynn can’t help but wonder if Carrie does all of these things with her friends. She’s obviously allowed to, but Flynn kind of thought she was special. They thought that maybe there was something else there. That maybe their feelings weren’t completely one sided, but that doesn’t matter anymore.

That was our place, I found it first

They both found that ice cream place in Malibu with Julie. It became a tradition to go there every time they went on a road trip there with Carrie’s Dad. It was important to them.

That post hurts slightly more than the rest. Flynn saw that place the first time they went to Malibu and dragged them all in. They wish she could go there again with Carrie, but that’ll never happen. Not after… everything.

I made the jokes you tell to her when she’s with you

Do you get deja vu when she’s with you?

Carrie has to get deja vu when she’s with Kayla, right? She can’t have just forgotten everything they’ve done together. Their entire friendship.

They were as close as could be for years, and now they’re nothing. The girl she knew and loved isn’t quite there anymore. Now she’s been replaced by mean comments and rude looks. Flynn hopes that they can get back to where they were, but it’s not likely.

Do you get deja vu?

Flynn gets deja vu when looking at her posts. She gets a sudden wave of nostalgia and wants to look through her closet to see her favourite jacket and all of their clothes that are connected to memories of Carrie.

Their friendship was as precious as gold, but just like in the poem, it didn’t stay.

Taglist: (send an ask to be added) @lyxchen @sunnysbright

[itsclydebitches]

something I've not seen really brought up: did Salem just not tell any of her subordinates how The Hound was made or why she wanted the silver-eyed girl alive? Because it seems like a really quick fix to the whole "Cinder wants Ruby dead but Salem wants her alive". I'm pretty sure Cinder would be on board with capturing Ruby if she knew that Ruby would be turned into a grotesque monster made to fight and kill her family and friends.

Considering the whole villain gang seemed surprised by the Hound’s presence in the whale and then it died, Salem “died,” and the entire thread was dropped for the rest of the volume: no, not to my recollection. Frankly, I don’t think the writers knew why Salem wanted Ruby alive between Volumes 4 and 6, maybe 7 too. I personally never got the sense that the story was treating this as a mystery. The villains are trying to kidnap Ruby, the villains tried to kill Maria, but no one prior to Ruby’s scene on the mansion steps put two-and-two together to ask, “Why am I different?” Only we, the audience, did the work of theorizing on our own, leaving the actual text just feeling like an excuse. Why wasn’t Salem out to kill Ruby in Volume 4? Because she’s the protagonist and she can’t die. It’s a lot easier to explain her miraculous survival against so many odds if the villains are out to kidnap, not kill. Why do they want to kidnap her? Just generic, villainous reasons. The story never encouraged us to pay attention to that, we just did because we’re invested in the show and constantly hope it’s better than it actually is. 

As you say, back when Cinder was focused on killing Ruby (which is also a motivation that’s been dropped. Neo cares about Ruby now whereas Cinder only seems inclined to kill her in as much as she’s inclined to kill anyone who gets in her way), this would have been an easy way to keep Cinder in line. Vague, “I need the girl alive” doesn’t keep Cinder from potentially screwing up your SEW plans in an effort to seek her own revenge, but “I need the girl alive to make her life a living hell” just might. But again, that threat didn’t stick around for long because Cinder’s own motivation kept slipping. By Volume 5 she’s ignoring Ruby to fight Jaune and attack Weiss. By Volume 7 she’s outright telling Neo that going after Ruby is what she wants, Cinder is focused on Fria, then Penny. And the concept of mutant grimm made out of SEWs was never on anyone’s radar, including the villains’, which is just one of the reasons why the grimm!Summer idea reads as silly to me, rather than the horrifying revelation we’d been seriously theorizing about for five years (which is what you get when your characters actually question what’s going on and strive to find answers). Who was this faunus guy? How many other SEWs are there and have any others gone missing? Why didn’t Salem tell her minions about these plans? Why is this the first time we’re seeing this experiment? How is it done? Why the sudden change in MO? And if these experiments are so important  — worth kidnapping rather than killing for  — why didn’t Salem ever check in on her Hound? Maybe express a little anger that it was presumably killed? The story nerfed it with a single silver eye blast + knight (clearly not the ace it’s originally presented as) and Salem forgets all about it, reforming and then blasting off without a care. Is this really a nefarious plan if the woman implementing it doesn’t seem to remember it exists? 

Motivations in this show only stick around for a couple of episodes at a time, a whole volume if we’re lucky. The concept of Salem telling her minions about these experiments implies that there’s a long-term writing plan here that’s influencing the characters’ choices. I really don’t think there is. It’s more likely that this was a cool concept introduced for Volume 8, we’ve likely dropped it now for new, cool island stuff, and it’s entirely up in the air if we’ll ever come back to it. Will there be an actual Summer arc, or will the story leave things at, “Oh no, mom is grimm dead rather than normal dead-dead, that made us sad for a scene”? It’s impossible to tell with RWBY nowadays. 

[katsidhe]

Ranking Every SPN Season Premiere

15) 11.01 Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire. For an otherwise strong season, s11 sure started and ended in D tier. Not only is there a baffling amount of screen time spent on Cas’s weird and uninteresting rage spell, Crowley’s sexcapades, and too many one-episode characters, but the whole thing is sewn together with uneven flashbacks. The core concept itself is off: Darkness-as-rage-zombie-infection feels totally out of place in the rest of the season, and any personal fallout from 10.23 is mostly brushed aside. The only thing I like about 11.01 is Sam’s determination to find a cure and save everyone, and the mention of the cage.

14) 10.01 Black. Just because I do quite like demon!Dean’s apathy doesn’t mean it’s gripping television: he’s much better in 10.02 and 10.03, and most of 10.01 is spent on Crowley’s overdramatic griping. Cole is objectively very silly, but, look, I’m only flesh: Sam bloodied and in a sling and tied to a chair is good content, and rescues this one from D tier. 

13) 15.01 Back and to the Future. Just like 11.01, 15.01 has to brush past Dean’s willingness to execute a family member in the previous episode, and it introduces a pretty weak zombies plot. However, it gets major points for Sam’s bullet wound visions, and is generally much better staged than 11.01.  

12) 6.01 Exile on Main St. A genuinely interesting episode for Dean--both his domestic montage and being faced with Samuel are fresh takes on his relationship with family. Soulless is great, but isn’t quite hitting his stride; 6.01 lays groundwork but hasn’t yet built into s6′s greatest strengths. 

11) 3.01 The Magnificent Seven. This one’s kinda campy, but there is some legitimately horrifying imagery, like the guy forced to drink drain cleaner. The deadly sins demons are underwhelming on the whole, but Ruby shows up in fine form, and Sam’s anger with Dean’s willingness to throw his life away establishes a great tone for s3. 

10) 8.01 We Need to Talk About Kevin. Kevin is badass, Amelia is amazingly, unapologetically polarizing, Dean is raw, and I don’t really care about Benny. Sam is in a healthier spot right here than we’ll see him for a long, long time, which tees up his anti-recovery arc quite nicely. 

9) 1.01 Pilot. It’s a solid introduction. Sam and Dean’s chemistry is potent and undeniable from the get-go. The way they work together so well, layered on top of so much conflict both spoken and unspoken, the things they want and the things they deny wanting--their first time interacting as adults out from under their father’s influence. It’s good!

8) 12.01 Keep Calm and Carry On. Look, I pretend to have complex opinions, but actually I am very, very simple: I just want to watch Sam tied to a chair and tortured. This is the best BMoL episode of the season by a long shot. On top of that, Mary’s introduction forces the uncomfortable and fascinating realization that she’s not going to fit quietly into Dean’s expectations. That final scene of Sam hurt and imprisoned without hope is gorgeous and memorable. 12.01 promised a lot for s12, and it’s a shame that most of it didn’t get followthrough.

7) 14.01 Stranger in a Strange Land. These next four are difficult to arrange, because they’re all so different. This episode has pretty much the only even vaguely interesting material AU!Michael gets all season. Far more importantly, Sam has the weight of the world on his shoulders, and it’s a great look. He has a beard, and he’s looking after Nick (!!), and he’s leading a group of hunters, and he declares that Hell itself better stand the fuck down. Sam for King of Hell 2k18. Iconic. 

6) 2.01 In My Time of Dying.  John’s deal, and his directive for Dean to save Sam or kill him, is a major turning point that colors everything for years. The human intimacy of the small-scale family drama, unfolding with no magic besides a terrible soul deal to rely upon, feels personal and real. Plus, Sam and Dean communicate via ouija board.

5) 5.01 Sympathy for the Devil. Meg and Zachariah are both in fine form. The apocalyptic set pieces are teed up and ready to be set loose. Sam jumps on the bandwagon of his own castigation, and it aches. Lucifer’s introduction is quiet, and chilling, and note-perfect.

4) 13.01 Lost and Found. It’s hard to significantly change the landscape of a 13-year-old show, and for the better, but 13.01 does just that. Jack is a breath of fresh air. His dynamics with Sam and Dean are complex and heartbreaking--he asks after his father, Sam locks himself in a cell with him. Dean’s blank absolutism mixes uneasily with Sam’s relentless determination and Jack’s innocence. It’s a wonderful new twist on an old formula.

3) 4.01 Lazarus Rising. Dean crawls out of his own grave, Sam’s with Ruby, Cas blows out windows and burns out eyes. 4.01 throws the mythological doors wide open with the introduction of angels, and ratchets the season up to an apocalyptic scale: it’s awesome. 

2) 9.01 I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here. I am always and forever intrigued by Sam’s Mind Forests. Dean does something unforgivably horrible to Sam, and in doing so, opens the door to a fascinating arc, wherein his choices here and his treatment of Sam are deconstructed and then reconstructed and then deconstructed again. I’ll never get tired of season 9, by which I mean I’ll never get tired of the fallout from the BOLD choice that 9.01 made to put this conflict front and center. 

1) 7.01 Meet the New Boss. If you thought I wasn’t going to put Hallucifer first, you must be extremely new here. Sam’s psychological undoing is chilling and deeply claustrophobic and possibly my favorite thing the show has ever done. On top of that, we have Godstiel’s terrifying purges, Sam and Dean summoning Death in someone’s living room, and even a taste of cosmic horror in LeviaCas. I would tell you how many times I’ve watched 7.01-7.02, but I’ve wholly lost count. 

[erin-bo-berin]

Second Chances

MASTERLIST

This was an anon request based on the series finale. If you’ve yet to see it and don’t want any spoilers, feel free to bookmark this to read later. This isn’t really spoilery if you already know what happens, but I won’t take offense if you wait to read this after watching the episode. This is just my take on a different way it could’ve gone with the reader involved, also with a bit of inspiration from the Derek episode, a thing that happened to him and Savannah. Anyway, you’ll see. Prepare yourself for some Spencer angst and mystique. Happy reading!

Spencer Reid/Reader

Rating: G (angst and fluff)

Word Count: 2,810

Chaos surrounded you.

You had the oddest sensation that everything around you wasn’t really happening even though it actually was. Everything and everyone seemed to be moving in slow motion.

You were standing in the middle of the hallway when the stretcher passed by you.

In reality, it probably whizzed by, the doctors and nurses running and darting around, energized by the adrenaline rush of helping an incoming patient. In your mind though, time slowed even further, your heart beating rapidly in your chest as you fought the dread in your stomach from seeing your boyfriend on said stretcher. He was unresponsive, pale and in bad condition.

He was being rushed into emergency surgery. The doctors suspected a possible cerebral hemorrhage or even an edema; bleeding in the brain or swelling of the brain in non-medical speak.

You were suspended in time, frozen in place. Your world was crumbling around you.

You felt hands on your arms as you were led to a chair in the waiting room. The person pushed you gently down to sit before sitting down next to you and taking your hands in theirs.

It was only then did you feel the ache in your head and behind your eyes, the side effect of your hysterical crying. You’d been crying this entire time and hadn’t even realized it.

Penelope Garcia squeezed your hands and you looked up at her, her face a little blurry from your tears.

“He is strong. He will get through this,” she said.

With that, she pulled you into her arms and hugged you tight.

•

Spencer was in a cemetery, on a bench. It was warm, with a slight breeze in the air to ruffle the loose curls that fell over his forehead.

He stood, walking to the nearest headstone to get a better look.

“Where am I?” he mumbled.

He stopped in front of the headstone and he gasped at the sight. It was his own. It read:

Spencer Reid

1981-2020

Beloved son and friend

Devoted agent of the FBI’s BAU

“What happened?” he wondered out loud, more confused than alarmed.

“You were injured, Spencer.”

The voice caught his attention. It sounded familiar, but it couldn’t be who he thought it was.

“You’re on a journey.”

He turned around, surprised to see the familiar brunette sitting on the bench he’d been sitting on just moments before.

“Maeve?” he whispered.

“Hi, Spencer,” she smiled.

He crossed to her quickly, falling on the bench at her side.

“Maeve, is it really you? But, how?” his hands reached to touch her face, “I’m so, so sorry.”

She smiled, putting a hand over one of his on her face and then pulled his hands into her lap, holding them both with hers.

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. It’s not your fault what happened. No matter what you think.”

“How are you here? What happened?”

“You remember Everett Lynch, don’t you?” she asked.

Spencer thought for a moment, the name sounded extremely familiar.

“Oh yeah. We’ve been hunting him for a year.”

“You thought you had him captured and were going to move in when he ignited a bomb. You were injured badly in the blast.”

“Am I- Am I dead?” he whispered.

“No,” she shook her head emphatically, “But I’m here to help you.”

“How?”

“Well first, I need to tell you something okay?”

He nodded, waiting.

“I know firsthand just how hard of a job you have, Spencer. But the world is such a better place with you in it.”

He smiled through the tears that had been forming in his eyes.

“Come on,” she stood, holding out her hand, “We don’t have much time.”

•

Spencer had been put in a medical coma after his surgery. It was good for his brain to slowly start healing the doctor had said.

You were sitting one one side of his bed, Penelope on the other. The rest of the team were out in the field busting their asses to find Lynch.

“At least he made it through surgery okay,” Garcia said, trying to be upbeat.

“Yeah, that’s true,” you nodded.

Your hand rested in his and you didn’t want to let go. It hurt so much seeing him lay in a hospital bed, his condition so up in the air.

The doctor still wasn’t sure just how much damage was done to his brain; that would be something that would be answered once he woke up.

“I’m scared,” you whispered to her.

You’d had plenty of scares with Spencer before due to his job, but never something this severe. This was horrifying, the thought that you could possibly lose him and everything you shared with him.

“I am too,” she answered honestly.

Your eyes watched his calm, sleeping face.

“I wonder where he is right now.”

•

“I’m still confused. You’re here to help me?” 

Spencer was walking next to Maeve, her arm looped through his. For a cemetery, it was surprisingly beautiful. The grass was bright green, flowers covered every grave in a multitude of colors and the sky was a bright blue. 

“In a way, yes,” she answered, “You’re at a crossroads aren’t you? Something has been weighing on you hasn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Spencer sighed, “Sometimes I’ve wondered if this job is worth it.”

“You’ve seen a lot of bad things. You’ve been through a lot of bad things. It can change you.”

“Yeah, it does.”

He looked out across the landscape, thinking. This was something that had been weighing on him for a long time.

“You also save lives. You stop monsters too. Isn’t that what you enjoy doing?”

“I thought I did.”

She held onto his arm more tightly, pulling him to a stop in front of her.

“No one deserves to go through everything you’ve been through in the years you’ve worked at the FBI. Being kidnapped, a drug addiction, multiple hostage situations, multiple gunshot wounds, losing people you love and you’re close to, prison-”

“Losing you,” he finished, quietly.

“Yes, that too,” she nodded at him somberly.

“It’s not always been the easiest job to have,” Spencer sighed.

“You, of all people Spencer, don’t deserve what happened to you. But it did and you’re strong. I know you aren’t going to let your trauma win,” Maeve said.

She started walking again, Spencer matching her pace.

“I’ve missed so much too.”

“How do you mean?” she questioned, looking up at him.

The sun was shining bright on her face, casting a soft glow on her skin. She looked like an angel. Maybe in a way, she was his angel.

“I’m almost 40 and I don’t have kids. I barely have a serious relationship. My life has revolved around the FBI for 15 years. I’ve lost so much because of it.”

“You’ve gained a lot as well though. Close friends that are just like family, the knowledge that you’re making the world a better place even in the smallest way and of course, Y/N.”

He was surprised.

“You know about Y/N?”

“You would be surprised at the amount of gossip on this side,” she chuckled.

“Come on, I want to show you something.”

•

Monitors beeping was the only sound to cut through the quiet of Spencer’s hospital room.

You had hardly left his side since he came out of surgery. Garcia almost had to physically pull you out of the chair just to get you to take a breather and use the bathroom.

She had been floating in and out of the room as she took calls and kept working, simultaneously researching for the case and keeping the team up to date on Spencer’s condition.

She’d stepped out earlier, leaving you alone with Spencer.

The doctor had told you earlier than talking to Spencer might be beneficial, that he could possibly hear you. You felt a bit silly attempting to, especially in front of Penelope, but you decided to give it another shot.

“Hi baby,” you whispered, squeezing his hand, “It’s me, Y/N. I haven’t left your side. I would’ve probably sat by your side in surgery if they would’ve let me.”

You chuckled brokenly, holding back tears. Your hand touched his cheek. It still felt warm and soft like it always did. The only difference was he wasn’t awake to react to your gesture.

Your fingers pushed back a stray strand of hair that was curling against his forehead and falling in his eyes. You pressed your lips to his forehead.

“Everyone is so worried. Especially me. I know they put you in a coma for your brain to heal, but I’m still worried about you. I just want to know that you’re okay, that that big, amazing brain of yours is okay.”

The steady beeping of his heart monitor was the only answer to your emotional outpouring.

“I don’t think I could be the same without you Spencer,” you whispered, “You’ve changed my life so much, for the better. I don’t think- no I know I can’t live without you.”

Your hand, still resting on his cheek, stroked it softly.

“Please come back to us. Come back to us with all your knowledge and statistics. I miss hearing you talk like a genius already,” you smiled, wiping your tears with your other hand.

“I miss your beautiful hazel eyes, that beautiful smile, your beautiful soul. They make my day better, you make me better.”

You’re silent a little while, trying to control the overflowing feeling of emotions whirling inside you like a tornado.

“I think I can speak for all of us that we’re ready for you to open those hazel eyes already. We believe in you Spence. You can get through this.”

Your hand returned to his and you thought you felt a slight squeeze in return but you couldn’t be sure.

You squeezed his hand gently in return, regardless if it had been just a reflex or not.

“I love you, Spencer.”

•

“What is this? My grave?”

Spencer was once again worried and confused.

“Am I dying?” he asked, turning to look at Maeve.

“Technically, no. But this is where you have to make your decision on what you’re going to do Spencer.”

“I don’t know, Maeve. I can’t think clearly. I just feel...lost.”

“I know,” she smiled kindly, “That’s why I’m here to help you.”

She paused, studying him.

“You’re scared.”

“I am,” he admitted, “Can’t I just stay here with you? Where everything is so peaceful and easy.”

She laughed gently.

“I’m afraid you can’t. The world needs you to do what you love. Have you done that?”

“I don’t know,” he answered hesitantly.

“Sure you do. What do you love?”

He looked at her, watching her as she waited for him to respond. 

“Well, I love magic. And ghost stories.”

“What else?”

“Jell-O,” he paused, thinking, “Kumquats. Uh...teaching, learning. Books. Hope. Making connections.”

She nodded encouragingly.

“Making- Making a difference. And...Y/N.”

A part of him felt guilty admitting it to Maeve though, like somehow he was letting her down.

“I would expect so,” she grinned, touching his arm, “What do you love about her?”

He bit his lip, feeling conflicted. He did love his girlfriend very much, but he had loved Maeve too.

“Don’t feel bad,” she urged, as if she could read his thoughts, “I know you loved me and I’m more than grateful to have been a part of your life, but Y/N is your future. You have every right to be happy and to love her. Now, tell me.”

“Well, for one she’s amazing when it comes to my job. It’s hard to find someone when you have this job, that you can trust, someone that understands.”

“I imagine so.”

“She’s...she’s beautiful. I didn’t expect to meet her when I did,” he chuckled, “I didn’t really expect to have the ability to love anyone after what happened to you.”

“But you did.”

Maeve looked at him like a proud mother. She looked at him with ease and pure happiness. It helped lessen the guilt he felt earlier.

“I did,” he smiled.

“How did you meet her?”

“Well I met her at a bookstore for starters,” he laughed and Maeve chuckled as well.

“That’s definitely on brand for Spencer Reid.”

“She was having trouble reaching a book, so I got it for her. It turned out she was just exploring classics and was having trouble figuring where to start and I suggested a few that might be easy on her.”

“What did you suggest?”

“Great Expectations, some Mark Twain. You know, typical reading for me.”

“And that was the beginning of the blossoming romance huh?”

“You sound like a cheesy romance movie,” he grinned, “But yes, it was.”

“Tell me more.” 

“She’s smart, maybe not at a genius level, but that’s not a bad thing at all. I like it. It’s refreshing,” he smiled a bit.

“I may not be able to talk to her about things like I did with you, but I’m also able to tell her and teach her things that she never knew. It makes me feel good to be able to do that.”

“Anything else?”

“She has a big heart. She’s always there for me. She’d give up anything to help me or the ones she loves. She has a great laugh. I love when she laughs so hard she’s practically laughing without sound coming out. It especially makes me happy when I’m the one to make her laugh that hard. I love that she loves books like I do. We may not have the same tastes, but it’s always so nice to spend time in each other’s presence just reading. Those are some of my favorite moments with her.”

Maeve was smiling at him, watching him intently. He could tell she was happy hearing him talk about Y/N.

“I’m afraid of hurting her though. I’m afraid my job will somehow hurt her. I’m afraid of dying, that I am dying and leaving her.”

“That’s why you can’t stay Spencer.”

Maeve took his hand, one last time, giving it a squeeze.

“The team needs you, your friends need you, Y/N needs you. Your girls will need you too.”

“My girls?” 

His brow furrowed in confusion, not understanding what she meant.

“I don’t understand.”

“You will.”

She wrapped her arms around him, her hands on his back as she hugged him. He held on to her tightly, a small part of him afraid to let go.

“Spencer.”

The voice came like a whisper in the wind. It sounded like someone was calling him from the other side of the cemetery.

He pulled away from Maeve, looking behind him, as if he expected someone else to show up. No one was there. When he turned back to face Maeve, he realized she was gone.

His heart ached. He knew she wanted him to let her go. In a way, she was right, in so many ways. 

It was time to go.

He looked at the gaping hole that had suddenly appeared in the ground next to his headstone. 

Sometimes, all it took was just one step forward.

With a deep breath, he put one foot forward and fell deep into the darkness.

•

You had fallen asleep next to Spencer’s bed, your hand still in his. 

“Y/N?”

You stirred, thinking you’d heard your name. You sat up in the chair and saw Spencer looking at you groggily. He must have just woken a few moments earlier.

“Spence!” 

You threw your arms around him as carefully as you could, tears of happiness blurring your vision.

You pulled back, your hands resting on either side of his face. 

“We were so worried. I was so worried,” you half laughed, pulling away to brush your tears away.

“Don’t cry. I’m okay.”

He smiled, kissing your hand, holding on to it tightly.

“I have to be here for the team, for you and for my girls.”

“Your gir-“

Your question was cut short by the nurse coming in. A flurry of activity had followed as they checked his vitals, his doctors checking on him and the team immediately coming to see him. You didn’t have time to question further what he meant and soon forgot it.

A month and a half later, Spencer was fully recovered and back on his feet. You were so happy that he’d been given a second chance at living.

It came as a surprise when you discovered you were pregnant. Both you and Spencer were floored and overjoyed at the same time.

It was an even bigger surprise when you found out you were having twins. Somehow, it surprised Spencer the most when you found out. 

You and Spencer were expecting twins, yet the surprises didn’t stop there.

They were twin girls.

Tag List: @dreatine​ @reid-187​ @groovyreid​ @reidslibra​ @suvikamahes98blr​ @fuckthealarm​ @whatspunispun​ @iamburdened​ @cindywayne​ @thomasfoockinshelby​ @tinyminy88​ @theitcaramelchick​ @missprettyboy​ @hushlilbabydoll​ @sammy-jo1977​ @theonlyone-meeeee​ @haileymorelikestupid​ @lemonypink​ @multifandommandy​ @teamkiall​ @redbullchick​ @ifeelloved​ @one-sweet-gubler​ @nanocoool​ @delightfullyspeedyearthquake​ @unsteadyimagines​ @ughitsbaby​ @inkwiet​ @pennythetechgoddess​ @capt-engr-ssa​ @sixx-sic-sixx​ @mipetronella​ (sorry for some reason it won’t let me tag your spencer account?) @reidsstudies​ @disney-dreams-world​ @chocolatecalzoneherringbonk @mggwhore​ @andiebeaword​ @cupcake525​ @be-the-bravest​ @gretaamyk​

[sunshinejihyun]

35. Tim and MC please?!?! Love you tons!!

@kingkassam asked: 35. (I’m in love with my best friend) Tim and MC please?!?! Love you tons!!

Author’s note: Babe, thank you so much for your patience with me while waiting for me to write this (and answering some of my questions about season 1 since I haven’t played in forever). I love you so much and I hope you like this!

Warnings: Jen’s kinda a jerk? but other than that nothing

Summary: A year and a half after leaving the villa, Tim reevaluates his relationship

Word count: 2520

Masterlist

When Stars Align, They Burn Bright

A year and a half after Tim and Jen had won second place on Love Island, he was seated on a couch next to Jen, watching the season he was on for the first time since they had left the villa. It wasn’t that they avoided watching the show, they just wanted to live in the moment, get to know each other outside of the villa.

The villa was so different from the outside world; in the villa there were only so many options and everyone got along. Everyone was hot and kind of attracted to each other so it was easy to find someone you wanted to spend time with in there. But outside… proved to be more difficult. Jen’s parents didn’t like Tim and she wanted him to be someone he’s not. Sure, he’d put on a tie for a nice night out if needed but that wasn’t him on a normal day. They had their ups and downs, but it was Jen’s idea to watch their season. To watch them ‘reconnect’ for the first time and see them fall in love on screen.

But now, Jen was looking at him with the most horrified face he could imagine. The Tim on screen was currently narrating what happened during Cherrygate when his best friend found Levi and Cherry kissing right after a recoupling. Tim was smiling at the camera and rubbing the back of his neck. “At that moment, I swear it’s like everything hit me at once and in my brain I was like ‘mate, I’m in love with my best friend!’ and when I thought about Levi pieing her off like that, it drove me absolutely crazy.”

Jen flipped off the TV and flipped her hair off her shoulder before sighing. “Well that’s something I wasn’t aware of.”

Tim sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, just like younger him did on screen. “Nothing ever happened, and we ended up happy together in the end.”

“Are we happy, Tim?” Jen’s voice came out softly and he could tell she was nervous. “Because I’m not sure I am, not anymore.”

“Is this because I forgot to shake your father’s hand when we met them for brunch the other day? Because I can-”

“Tim,” Jen’s voice brought him back to the present and his heartbeat picked up, sweat starting to gather around his brow. “Seriously, when was the last time you felt happy.”

Tim thought back on their relationship and sure, there were laughs here and there and Jen didn’t make him miserable, but the last time he was truly happy and not just going through the motions was probably about half a year of being outside of the villa.

The last year wasn’t horrible, not in the slightest, but all they were doing was staying together because it’s what everyone expected from them and they still liked the other enough, but they fell out of love a long time ago. Both of them knew it, yet no one wanted to admit it.

His silence hung in the room and Jen got up, wiping her sweaty palms on the leggings she was wearing. “That silence answers more than you could ever know.” Smiling softly at Tim, she moved to leave the living room. “I think this is the end of us, Tim. You don’t have to move out right away but also… please don’t linger.”

Tim couldn’t fault Jen for asking him to leave; this was her apartment originally, it’d be silly for her to move out and him to stay and so he pulled out his phone and dialed the one number of the person he knew would take him in, no questions asked.

“Hello?” Her voice was quiet, like how it used to sound when he’d wake her up from a nap on the sun loungers in the villa. “Tim?”

“Hey mate, how was your nap?” Tim teased and she giggled on the other end.

“Great before some monster woke me up!” She readjusted herself and sat up. “Are you ok? You don’t normally call me out of the blue.” “Actually…” He trailed off not knowing how to start explaining things. “Wanna have a sleepover every night for an unknown amount of time?”

“Excuse me?” She was taken aback, Tim could tell by the way she laughed and he nervously laughed along as she questioned him. “What’s going on?”

“I think Jen and I broke up?” Reality was crashing down all around him and Tim felt himself start to break. “And I really need to spend time with a friend right now.”

“Oh Tim,” the tone of pity escaping her lips did nothing for him and a sob tore out of his throat. “When do you need me to pick you up? As soon as you need me, I’m there.” So, they planned that she would pick him up in three days and he was allowed to stay in her flat as long as he needed, all he needed was to buy some groceries from time to time.

After they finished their conversation, Tim started packing up his things, tentatively walking around Jen’s apartment while trying to gather up everything without running into her. He still had boxes left over from when he moved in and since Jenn didn’t like most of his decorating, all he really had to pack was some clothes and notebooks that held all the raps he wrote inside.

Sleeping on the uncomfortable leather couch Jen’s parents bought her for the next two night’s would be hell, but what got Tim through it was thinking about how he got to see his best friend soon.

When she pulled her car in front of the apartment complex later that week, it’s like a weight lifted off Tim’s shoulders and when she jumped out the car and wrapped her arms around his waist, Tim felt like a piece of his heart was put back in place.

“Oh my gosh I missed you so much.” He whispered, burying his head in her soft hair and she squeezed him tighter.

“I missed you too, Timye.” She responded, a teasing lilt in her voice as she brought back the nickname she gave him in the Villa. “Do you mind driving for a bit? I drove a long way here and I’m knackered. I need a little nap.”

Tim caught the car keys in his hand as she tossed them to him before bending to pick up a box full of clothes. “Yeah of course, I appreciate you coming to get me. Not many people would, to be honest.”

“Is that who I think it is?” Jen called out from the balcony and waved down at the girl standing next to Tim. “How’ve you been? It’s been forever hun!”

“I’m pretty good, yeah! Tim and I are gonna have a sleepover for a while! How are you, babe?” Tim saw Jen’s genuine smile drop off her face and get replaced with one of the fake ones, like the smile you plastered on your face when you ran into someone in the grocery store from primary school you never got along with but knew enough to exchange pleasantries. His stomach dropped as Jen’s cup of water got bumped by her elbow and the water poured over the railing, splashing onto his best friend.

“Oops, sorry hun! My mistake!” Jen nonchalantly waved off what she did and continued on. “I’m good, Levi’s gonna come visit me soon, want me to tell him you said hi?”

“Er, no that’s okay thanks, we’re not together anymore and haven’t really talked since we split.” Tim felt the girl stiffen next to him and he hurriedly moved to rush her to the car. “I think we need to go, we have a long drive and don’t want to be driving all night. Come on, I’ve got some spare clothes you can change into.” Without looking at Jen, Tim grabbed his last few boxes and shoved them haphazardly into the back of the car and jumped into the driver's seat. Glancing at the girl in a soaking wet tee shirt, he gestured to all his boxes in the back. “Go on mate, you’re soaked. Take some of my clothes for now.”

“Thanks,” she replied before unbuckling and leaning on the seat to dig through the boxes. Tim had to keep his eyes on the road and not think about the fact if he looked over to his left that her bum would be right there in his view, but telling himself not to think about that caused him to think about it more than not. It was a relief when she turned and sat herself back in her seat.

When Tim turned to steal a glance at her, her shirt was off and she was working on flipping one of his gray tees the right way. The car swerved as Tim did a double take. “Mate, put some clothes on, my god!”

She laughed and the sound put another piece of his heart back in place. “What? It’s not like you haven’t seen me in a bikini a million times before.”

“Yeah but seeing your undies just is… different.” Tim laughed at how ridiculous he sounded and he turned his attention back to the road. Once she had changed into some dry clothes, she propped her feet up on the dashboard and leaned her head on the window, eyes already closed.

Tim made sure to drive carefully and swerve softly to avoid any bumps that could have woken her up.

A week later, they were both sitting together on her dingy brown couch, her feet resting in Tim’s lap as he gently ran his hands over her calves before teasingly pinching one of her toes and making her squeal.

Once she had tucked her feet out of the way of Tim’s attacks, she turned to him. “Are you gonna tell me what happened between you and Jen that made you guys break up? Last we talked, you were considering buying a ring.”

Tim wasn’t sure how to explain, not really. So he said the only thing he could think. “Did you ever watch our season of Love Island?”

She shook her head no, so Tim got up to retrieve the TV remote sitting on its spot on the mantle and going to queue up the series, specifically the episode that caused Jen to voice her feelings about everything wrong with their relationship. “We were just going through the motions for the longest time, but we weren’t in love anymore. And then we watched this part of the series, and Jen just… she asked me if I was happy and I realized I wasn’t.”

Pressing play, Tim saw Cherry lean in to kiss Levi and the girl next to him tensed. “Tim? There better be a good reason you’re making me watch this. Because, ouch.”

He shushed her and pointed to the screen where Tim was now sitting on the beach hut chair, smiling at the camera. “What do I think about Cherry and Levi? Man, I hate what they did to her. Watching Levi pathetically graft on her for days and then when he got her he immediately pied her off? That’s shit, it really is. But after… when she came to me to comfort and just let me hug her for the longest time… At that moment, I swear it’s like everything hit me at once and in my brain I was like ‘mate, I’m in love with my best friend!’ and when I thought about Levi pieing her off like that, it drove me absolutely crazy.” The Tim on screen chuckled awkwardly as well as Tim did, the girl next to him had stilled, watching the TV intently. “Talia’s gonna help me come up with a plan to see if she’s interested in me, but I don’t think she is. That’s okay, Jen’s fit as hell and has been grafting on me some, so if it doesn’t work out I guess I have options! But this girl... she shines so bright, like a star. I don’t want to see her settle for someone who’s gonna burn out her bright light. She’s something special.” Tim’s best friend reached over and grabbed the TV remote, cutting off the rap he was currently spitting on screen.

“Tim,” she whispered, hand reaching blindly towards him. He offered his hand to her and his heart ached to meet her eye in that moment. As she grasped his hand tightly, Tim’s heart pounded intensely in his chest. “I never knew.”

“I know you didn’t. You seemed intent on making things work with Levi so I didn’t want to say anything and ruin our friendship and your relationship with him.” He squeezed her hand and she squeezed back. “Are you mad at me?”

“Yes!” Her voice came out in a shout and neither of them expected it, both of them jumping and looking at the other wish eyes wide open before bursting into laughter. When they had calmed down, she rephrased. “I’m mad at you because I wish you would have told me. It would have saved me from a lot of what I thought was one sided pining.”

She looked up to meet his eyes and he saw sincerity all over her face. “You’re serious? You loved me back?”

“Seeing you with Jen killed me. Levi even knew that. Dunno how we lasted so long outside of the villa, to be quite honest with you.” She sighed and let go of his hand. “He knew I had feelings for you up until the day we broke up.” Without responding, Tim moved so his body was laying across the couch, his upper half laying in her lap. Her hands absentmindedly dropped to his hair and started massaging his scalp. “Are you okay?”

He knew the tears in his eyes would threaten to fall as soon as he met her soft eyes but he did anyway and her fingers immediately moved to wipe the salty drops away. “I just… I forgot what it felt like to feel loved and all of a sudden everything crashed into me at once and I just… this may be stupid to say but I love you. I always have, since that day in the villa that I realized it, and probably even before. I love you. I love you so much.”

She took his face in her hands, and squished his cheeks and he sat up and did the same, both of them staring intently into the others eyes, studying each other like this was the first time they saw each other openly. “It may be stupid, but I love you too. Tim, I love you.”

Hearing her say his name in that sentence pieced the rest of his heart back together, helped him come to terms with the last year where he fell out of love with Jen. But no matter how long it has been, he was constantly in love with the girl sitting in front of him, and it may be stupid, but love makes you do stupid things,

Curling into her soft body, Tim felt more at home than he’d felt in the last year and he couldn’t believe how lucky he got, it was like he got his own shining star.

[kolbisneat]

MONTHLY MEDIA: January 2021

A new year but this monthly recap of media consumed keeps on keeping on! Here’s how January shaped up.

……….FILM……….

Little Shop of Horrors (1986) I’d forgotten how bonkers the ending is. Just so much fun and hopefully someday I’ll be able to check a stage production of the musical. Funny and horrifying in a way that only the absurd can be.

Time Bandits (1981) Just surreal. I wasn’t exaaaactly sure what to expect but somehow it completely delivered. I love a good fantasy picaresque. Silly and sincere but perhaps not the best pacing, I still love the whole premise and execution.

A Simple Favor (2018) In looking up what year this was released, it appears to be billed as a black comedy and...okay. It’s absolutely a weird movie and maybe putting it into a category is unfair. Some of the twists definitely feel like they’d work better in a book. I sound like I hated the movie but I mean...it kept me hooked the entire runtime, but I’m not sure I’d recommend it. Like I said, it’s a weird one.

……….TELEVISION……….

Chernobyl (Episode 1.01 to 1.05) Oofadoof. I mean I knew it was going to be bleak, but I wasn’t expecting the parallels to the current situation (science denial, underplaying severity due to politics, and just a general attitude of “I can’t see it so it’s fine”) to really hit home. Not for the faint of heart but really fantastic television for those that can stomach it.

Superstore (Episode 1.01 to 1.11) After Chernobyl, we needed something a little...lighter. It’s one of those sitcoms where you don’t reeeeeally need to watch them in any order, and it’s nice and light and fun. I mean I was sold on the idea that the co-lead is Ginsberg from Mad Men.

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (Episode 4.01 to 4.08) Across four seasons there were absolutely a couple episodes that really delivered on the premise (or at least what I had hoped from the series). Batibat! The “TV” episode! All good stuff. But the rest of the time it just felt like it both had too much going on (in the background) and not enough happening (in the foreground). And I was shocked, SHOCKED, at the implications of the very last scene. Why include this?!? Anyway I might check out the comics in the hopes that it delivers a little better.

The Bachelor (Episode 25.01 to 25.04) This season started strong, but I’ll admit that Victoria feels like a villain from the early 2000s and this past episode (where new contestants are introduced) felt like the show at its worst (mean-spirited, focusing on women fighting each other, and at the same time kinda dull). Will it get better? I mean hell if I should know. 

The Stranger (Episode 1.01 to 1.08) Solid British mystery series and Rupert from Ted Lasso makes an appearance! The season started with some...frustrating decisions being made, but the series evens out after a few episodes and most of the characters learn from their questionable decisions so overall, a satisfying watch.

……….READING……….

Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett (Complete) I’ve always loved Pratchett’s writing and Discworld is, without a doubt, my favourite fantasy setting. It really feels like he’s hit his stride with balancing fantasy tropes, novel ideas, his humour, and his good-natured characters. Fantastic read and I can’t recommend this series enough. If you’re looking for an alternative to grimdark fantasy, this is it.

Animal Wife by Lara Ehrlich (Complete) A beautiful collection of short stories that almost feels like a collection of long-form poetry. There’s a rhythm and musicality to each entry that is unlike anything I’ve read before. Perhaps not as over-the-top or...fun...as the cover would hint at, but it’s still a collection I 100% recommend.

Feel it Out by Jordan Sondler (Complete) While certainly not a replacement for therapy, it’s great to have a lot of general advice and support in a concise, beautifully illustrated format! Check out Sondler’s work and if it resonates, so will this book.

Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment by Roger Stern, Mike Mignola, Kevin Nowlan, and more (Complete) Having only seen Doctor Doom in a few cartoons and the movies, this is still my best introduction to the character and gives a glimpse as to why he’s such a good villain. It actually works well at introducing both Doctors and has a great inciting incident as to why these two join forces. Really great reread and now I want more stories of both characters!

Silver Surfer Black by Donny Cates, Tradd Moore, and Dave Stewart (Complete) Rereading this cause I love how concise, fantastical, and psychedelic it all is! This and Cosmic Ghost Rider (who I’m just learning was also written by Cates) are two of my top reads of recent Marvel stuff so I plan on checking out his Guardians of the Galaxy and Dr. Strange offerings next!

……….AUDIO……….

Off Menu (Podcast) Love the concept (interviewing mostly comedians on their ideal meal) and the hosts are excellent.

The Chernobyl Podcast (Podcast) An excellent compliment to the series and I wish more series would dive into production like this; I love a good peek behind the curtain.

……….GAMING……….

Inside (Playdead) So atmospheric and spooky and probably the upper limit for me, as far as “scariness” in games is concerned. It does a great job of changing things up and each puzzle really feels like a set piece. No filler and I’m only now just mentioning how beautiful the game is. 100% recommend.

Hades (Supergiant Games) I wasn’t sure I’d like it (Roguelike games are not my jam) but this is proving to be a loooooot of fun! Though I have a deep love of Greek mythology so there’s probably some bias creeping in. Anyway I’m knee-deep in this and am more than happy to chat about it if you’re playing as well.

Neverland: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting (Andrews McMeel Publishing) Holiday special has wrapped up and now the group is stuck in a hive of giant insects! The longer recap is on Reddit and is chock full of hexcrawling details.

And that’s it! As always, let me know if you have anything to suggest and happy Sunday!