#also I just think it would be really funny to squeeze all this into Season 6B

[soft-pine]

spn20rewatch: 2.20 what is and what should never be

this has got to be in my top ten episodes of all time! there is so much i love about it! it has my favorite favorite scene and then my other FAVORITE FAVORITE SCENE!!!

but before we get there it has some wonderful dean character moments.

dean's confused, withdrawn, performative kiss with carmen!

this whole scene watching his face go from performance to confusion and worry and back and forth! he is so funny and i love him so much!

but this is also a cruel foreshadowing that the next two kisses dean has are him specifically sacrificing himself and his body as a means to an end.

but we're not there yet so let's just bask in THIS!

DEAN: Well, who'd'a thought, baby. We're civilians.

or THIIISSSSS!!!

DEAN Dad's dead? And the thing that killed him was a... MARY A stroke. He died in his sleep. You know that. DEAN That's great.

or the way dean is so fucking happy to see jess and it's heartbreakingly sweet!

there is also so much that can be said about how even in dean's "dream world," he's the family fuck-up. he's never really thought much about his own future or himself but the best thing he can picture is his family (or most of them, HA!) alive and happy and safe. and i think there's a component of this where he has to remove himself (and John) in order to imagine it being possible. gutting honestly.

season two opens with dean yelling at john (though john can't hear him) and ends with dean crying at john's grave. i'm interested in the shared threads between these two iterations.

2.01

DEAN: I've done everything you have ever asked me. Everything. I have given everything I've ever had.

2.20

DEAN: Course I know what you'd say. Well, not the you that played softball but... "So go hunt the Djinn. He put you here, it can put you back. Your happiness for all those people's lives, no contest. Right?" But why? Why is it my job to save these people? Why do I have to be some kind of hero?

the speech in 2.20 is actually one of the very best explanations i feel we ever get for dean's relationship with john. because the issue is not only that john forced dean into hunting, it's that hunting saves people. like dean can rail against john and against his childhood that was stolen and against his future that will be stolen and against all the cruelty and harshness and ways he was parentified and it was subtly reinforced that his life literally mattered less than sam's or than strangers. but hunting does save people, goddammit and dean both cares so deeply about that on his own that many of these sacrifices would be freely chosen and he cannot fully hate or distance himself from his father because so much of what john did was actually just straightforwardly good.

abuse is messy. i think john winchester's characterization is perfect, actually.

dean can much more easily put to rest a father who played softball than a father who "got a bum rap around every turn. But you know what? He kept going. And in the end, he did a hell of a lot more good than he did bad." (8.12)

like dean has to remove himself and john from their family's lives to picture their family getting a happy life. but for it to feel easy, he also has to make this father one who just worked at a body shop (i'm extrapolating) and played softball.

so yes, okay this episode is a nonstop thrill ride of beautiful, cute, wonderful dean moments and utter heartbreak. so of course, the next thing i have to say is THAT THIS SCENE IS SO FUCKING CUTE!!!!! i can't stand it! (rip to the "I know how it sounds" that i didn't squeeze in because it was too long. because that line just kills me !!!!!)

but look look look!!!! he's so smooth and cunty AHHH

so it follows that what comes next is heartbreak. dean wants a future where mary is alive, where jess is alive, where sam is happy and safe and in college and alive. and it's not real and he can't have it and it will kill him but he wants to stay. so he stabs himself in the heart.

and in the next episode sam dies anyway.

... well here we are, this is already so long and i haven't even talked about my actual favorite scene. which also, i think, happens to be my favorite scene in all of supernatural....

Dean realizing one of the other of the djinn's victims is still alive and catching her as sam cuts her free.

DEAN: I gotcha. I gotcha. We're gonna get you out of here, OK? I gotcha. I got you.

the way the fact that he's in pain and weak and drained is layered throughout the desperate care in his voice here.... besties i don't have words...

all hail 2.20

[enha-hype]

enhypen when you want to try the haunted house with them

genre : crack, humour, fluff if you squint

warnings : cursing and uhhh idk mentions of creepy stuff?

a/n : a little something for spooky season before i disappear for another month or two cuz uni is killing me🙏🏽

⁀➴ yang jungwon

cautious but definitely one of the braver ones. a tiny bit scared but not so much that he isn't able to enjoy the experience. he'd hold hands with you but would walk ahead so you won't get too frightened. would 100% laugh at one of the ghost-actors at some point, maybe when they get up close in his face to try and scare him but he just finds it funny and bursts out laughing Imao. i feel like the whole haunted house experience would be the most fun with him cuz there's a perfect mix of fear/thrill and excitement so you'd both be scream-giggling a lot and teasing each other.

·｡⋆🕸️⋆｡·˚

[other members under the cut!]

⁀➴ lee heeseung

unbothered king #1. the ghosts are highkey ashamed of themselves - how and why is he not even batting an eye at most of the jumpscares? worse still, why is he straight up judging them like sir they're just tryna do their job 😭 he initially walks a few steps ahead of you to give you a heads-up on the jumpscares and everything but when the ghosts behind you start using the opportunity to try and scare you he comes to your defence. holds you close protectively by the waist and you love it so much that even if you're not all that scared you'll pretend to be.

·｡⋆🕸️⋆｡·˚

⁀➴ park jongseong

scaredy cat but he tries so hard to pretend he's not which makes it so funny if you manage to notice - cuz he's pretty good at pretending. mans has a reputation to maintain; he is not losing face in front of you. will make you walk before him - chivalry/courtesy be damned - and he'll claim it's so that he can watch your back but of course that's not really the case. will yell random shit to distract you from the fact that he is in fact not as brave as he's portraying himself to be. will disguise his scared screams as angry ones - at one point two creepy clowns pop out simultaneously from different directions and he yells “one! at! a! time!! where are your manners?!” might use you as a shield at some point but will pass it off as him trying to protect you xD

·｡⋆🕸️⋆｡·˚

⁀➴ sim jaeyun

wbk all of 02z are scaredy cats Imao but jake's probably the worst of the lot. so of the two of you, you would definitely be the braver one. no matter how scared you may think you are, he's undoubtedly more scared than you and he doesn't even bother hiding it. would 100% let you go first and lead him if you offer to, otherwise he will just cling onto you the whole time (highkey adorable tbh). will fall multiple times and once even ends up dragging you along so you end up on top of him. you'd squeal and be a little flustered but he'd be too scared out of his wits to process it. will just lay there on the floor resigned for a few minutes like why do we have to do this.

·｡⋆🕸️⋆｡·˚

⁀➴ park sunghoon

again, another scaredy cat but a littleeee bit braver than jake. holds hands with you but squeezes so hard every time he gets startled that you're positive your hand is gonna be fractured by the end. definitely curses quite a bit. at one point you get accidentally separated and you make the mistake of sneaking up behind him to scare him and he ends up unintentionally punching you (not too hard, but still 😭💀). apologises profusely after and is so mortified but also is secretly glad that he now has an excuse to get out early under the guise of making sure you're okay (even though you insist you are).

·｡⋆🕸️⋆｡·˚

⁀➴ kim sunoo

screams A LOT (the dolphin ones) so R.I.P. to your ears. but he's also so polite to the ghosts Imao. sometimes you're so busy laughing at his reactions you don't notice the jumpscares: 1) compliments them on really good scares (“ohhh that was a really impressive one, i have to admit”) 2) whines/complains cutely when he gets too scared (“ah why are you doing this to us...”, “oh come on this is the third time you've done this!”). the actors almost feel bad but hey they gotta do what they gotta do 3) gloats when he correctly predicts something/someone will come out from somewhere (“ha! i totally saw that coming, you didn't get me this time!”)

·｡⋆🕸️⋆｡·˚

⁀➴ nishimura riki

unbothered king #2. laughs a lot and makes the actors question their career choices. it's fun with him too when he's not being a menace - he'll sometimes join the ghosts in trying to scare you bc hey this was your idea after all and also he loves the way you hide your face in his chest. if you're actually genuinely very scared then he'll stop, he's not that cruel. his replies to what the ghosts say are hilarious and almost makes them break character.

ghost 1 : this is MY house!

niki : damn bitch, you live like this?

guy covered in blood : LOOK WHAT SHE MADE ME DO!

niki : hey don't blame her, take responsibility for your actions!

[huggywuggysuppy]

Gem and Pearl chatted lightly about the WL finale on Pearl's Dec 4th stream (here) and now we know what they meant.

Among references to Pearl's wet catness, at 1:55:30:

Gem: We're both a little bit pathetic in wild life, it's fine.

Pearl: I don't know if you can call yourself pathetic, Gem. I really don't-

Gem: I think-I think I was pathetic yesterday [in the finale.]

Pearl: You reckon?

Gem: I mean I've got like the biggest target on my back ever so it's like doomed, but I think it was a little bit pathetic

Pearl: mmmmm I don't want to spoil anything otherwise I would have a full blown conversation about why you think that. But also I can't. [because spoilers]

So why'd they say all that? Spoiler analysis ahead!

Gem lost her final life to the wildcard all alone at her base, which isn't the most interesting death. Many of the CC's have mentioned that a boring final death sucks -- even in the same stream Pearl mentions she hesitates to fight reds cause she doesn't want to inflict a bad finale on them. Also, in the ep Gem muses that she regrets holding herself back so much from murder -- the "sweat" accusations are really getting to all the CC's I fear. Gem isn't pathetic, and had a lot of entertaining moments in her ep, but the death was unsatisfying.

Pearl hesitated to even post her finale in part because she thought it was boring / unfulfilling. The wet cat bit is funny (and she's sort of owning it?) but even its origin is messy. Due to Aussie ping (as she demonstrated earlier in the stream), it was straight up improbable to get a mace kill, no matter how much she tried. She was fighting lag the rest of the episode too due to the wildcard overload. That was on top of episodes worth of failed traps, storylines, and murder attempts, that were largely foiled by not having enough time to do them properly. Placed final 5 as always, but she suffered the whole way there and mostly just survived without getting any kills herself.

Most importantly: neither of them got to enjoy/execute their divorce arc plans. It's an ongoing problem with WL but especially noticeable in the finale. Neither of them wanted to rush things, but the series forced their hands! Joel kept interrupting with (valid) murder attempts, and Pearl actively tried saving Gem when she was getting attacked by the rest of the server. Everyone loves and longs for another Murder Camel team up, CC's included, but it just wasn't viable. They agreed to hold off on their foreshadowed 1v1 until Gem was red, where she then died right before the wildcards deactivated (when there was room for lore/rp.) Overall, they were punished for pacing things out.

And why wouldn't they feel bad after that? Gem died unceremoniously, Pearl slogged through the ep with very little payoff, and neither got to fulfill their season long arcs. And that's what everyone's here for at the end of the day: telling a good story! Life series is special for its specific brand of focusing on RP, which is why the "a gimmick an episode" format hurt so bad. The CC's aren't pathetic, the wildcards are the problem.

(I hope the CC's feel better after the positive reception they HAVE gotten from the ep, as we still enjoyed the season and storyline they did squeeze in. Joel's ep in particular was still fire inc the final fight, although I dream of the au where Gem makes it to the end with him.)

(Pearl's stream line about "wanting a full convo" says good things about the CC's examining what went wrong and why so many people walked away unsatisfied. It's also sweet that the girlies don't want each other to think they're "pathetic /srs" instead of "pathetic /wet cat." I trust Grian + co. will figure things out for (hopefully) next time.)

[elsa-fogen]

At first i was going to reblog this from @justashadowlooker

but then it got too long and off-topic, i started retelling and quoting my own 10 years old fanfic, so i'm making it it's own post jjdsfjkdfgh

Too long don't read, was a Bloom fan, killed her hundreds of times, than became Icy fan, killed her few times as well, still a huge fan, wanna revive some of my old ideas

When i had just started watching winx, Bloom was my fav AAHAHHAH (it was 2008-2009 year i think). Buuut... being my fav means that you gonna SUFFER. It was always the case, even when i was little. But young me didn't know better than to just kill of a character. And Bloom died SO many times in my early fanfics and arts. I still remember one fic, it was also the first ever fic i posted on the internet, and it was horrible. I typed really slow at that time and i was looking at like 10 A4 pages of handwritten fanfic and was like... weeeell i don't need this part with description of the boat... i don't need this part about wind flowing in her hair or smth... i don't need spaces after dots and commas either. These were real thoughts of 9 year old me lmao.

the fic was about Bloom and Sky going for a boat trip date, but there was also some bitch that fell for Sky and her best decision was to throw Bloom away from the boat. As a result she was sucked into the screw of the motor or whatever this thing called. Sky dived after her and brought her back on the boat, but she died due to the blood loss.

In my handwritten version it was really long and tears queezing scene, but i was too lazy to type it all, so it basically was shortened to 1 (one) sentence: Bloom didn't make it to the port.

i also had a picture attached, it was i think a cover of some of the comics where Sky holds Bloom on his arms and they're stepping out of the water, but i photishoped it and added many wounds and BLOOD BLOOD EVERYWHERE!!!

I also remember photoshopping screenshots from the first winx movie, adding bloody wounds on Bloom and tears and trying to make her face sad lol. And also i remember, i didn't have access to the computer all the time in my childhood, and there was a weird time... when i'd got a chance to be on the computer, i would made a specific search in google, to find that one art with Bloom, being fucking stabbed, lying on the ground and crying, and touching the golden heart-shaped locket with the name Sky on it, and you could see that it was Sky's sword that stabbed her, and he was walking away in the distance. I could stare at that art for hours, imagining how it happened. I also remeber how the art suddenly stopped showing up at the search and i had only tiny squeezed jpg version of it, and i thought that google banned this art for being so violent lmao

Btw i found that art, it's by Chibiusa-Moon, here it is, and i remember it diffferently, i thought Bloom had enchantix on her lmao

BUT THEN SOMETHING CHANGED. I DON'T KNOW WHEN. I DON'T KNOW WHY. BUT ICY CAME AND DESTROYED MY LOVE FOR BLOOM, AND TOOK HER PLACE.

I suspect that it happened after i saw ep1 of season 3, because HAVE YOU SEEN THIS WOMAN IN THAT EPISODE?! SHE WAS ✨✨S L A Y I G✨✨ DAMN!!! She freed herself looking fab as fuck (i've only seen her battle uniform at that point, and her casual outfit shocked me, i was like HOLY SHIT?? DIFFERENT COLTHES?) (and it's if you forgen the HOLY SHIT, TRIX IN THE FIRST EPISODE OF THE SEASON?!!!), sayed the edgiest thing in the world, then freed her sisters, skated away from the giant snake ON HER DAMN HEELS AS A QUEEN!!!!! I think this was the moment when i fell for her. Maybe i'm wrong and it happened earlier, but this is all i can remeber.

Well, i also remember when my mom got me my first winx magazine and i was really disappointed that there were no Trix in the comic AHHASJGDAJS it was comic about bloom and diaspro going to the land of the dragons.

And, funny enough, i think i didn't kill Icy in my fics (mostly)

wait fuck. i remembered one (that was actually properly published and finished), let me just refresh my memory real quick- (gonna cringe soo hard ahaha)

oh shit i also remembered some stuff. In my later fanfics i was tending to make Bloom real psychopath, who decided to straight up destroy all the witches and all the dark magic. Hey. Hey. I bet 13 year old me wouldn't mind if i borrowed this idea fom her...

EHM ANYWAY, BACK TO THAT ONE FINISHED FIC!

It's so cringy written, but it's got the spirit HASHDHA. The trix summon some another army of darkness that was created to destroy fairies (hey), but at some point they lose control of it and the army turns against them. They have no ther choice but to seek help from the winx. winx of course don't want to help since their army attacked alfea... but the trix didn't give this order.

by the way tehre's one dialogue that i think is actually good and i think is in character

"But how do we know that it isn't one of your tricks?" - asked Tecna. - "Probability of this equals 85,9%!" Everyone froze. Nobody had this idea before. Then Icy shook her head. "No, it's not." "How do we know?" Stella said suspiciously. "If we wanted to trick you, we'd choose less humiliating way" Icy replied coldly.

in the end witches and fairies teeaming up, and going on an adventure to stop this army with some artifacts. Significant part of the way they had to make on their own without magic, and during that winx and trix are actualy growing to like each other. OH THERES ALSO A FUNNY THING LOL

But as a night roommate she [Icy] turned out to be very restless. She was moving all the time and mumbling something. And then at some point she screamed: "Damn fairies, i wish you all dead!" Bloom jumped on her place and still half sleeping replied: "Shut up, witch, or you're done for!" and fell back asleep. All in all, it was hell of a night.

i still think this is funny af-- damn these dialogues are only getting better. Next day they getting closer to their destination.

Suddenly they heard Stormy's voice: "Wait! there's some sign! Icy, can you read this?" "Why her?" Stella asked offended. "We all here can read!" "Except for you," Darcy noted gloomily and everyone laughed. "Ha, well, if you're so smart, come here and read!" Icy said with the sweetest voice. "And next time we'll ask you." Stella understood that she was cornered. To save the rest of her dignity, she came closer and started staring at the sign. "I-I cant for some reason, this handwriting is awful!" with dispair sloar fairy realised that she doesn't understand these letters. "And this cold is driving me nuts! Give me cup of hot coffee and warm blanket!"

then Icy teaches Bloom how to skate. And then Aisha (Leyla) dies by falling into some bottomless pit- After that they make it to their destination, but the army was waiting for them there

another dialogue

"Let's go!" Icy said decisively. "No, wait! I'll go alone. If they catch me, you all get out of here as fast as you can" [...] "No!" Bloom said. "I'll go with you!" "Fine. But they'll kill you immediately" "And you?" "And I will be tortured" Icy smiled.

I can't with this lol, Icy smiling at the thought of torture as a true psycho she is.

Icy touched the wall, making sure it's quite hard. "Well? What's next?" "You're the brain of the operation, you tell me!" redhead replied, crushing piece of the rock in her hand

i just like this interaction here.

"Winx Believix!" Winx screamed. And Trix didn't scream anything, Icy just snapped her fingers and all three were already in their witch uniforms.

yeah classic.

the fight begins, Icy is trying to understand what to do with the artifacts, Musa dies, then they teleport to some other planet where they can perform the ritual to destroy the whole army at once. They're reading the spell, but something is missing, and the army attacks them here too. This time Bloom is left to figure out what were they missing, and some drops of her blood fell on the artifact and that was the last piece of the spell. The army is destroyed, but Icy was seriously injuried when covering Bloom from attack from behind. Now they're flying back to Magix

FUCK-- guys i'm sorry. More dialogues on the way.

"Why are you here?" she [Icy] asked, opening her eyes. "Doesn't want to miss your death!" Stella screamed, she overheard the talk. "Shut up!" I [Darcy] replied. "Or I'll hit you!" "Oh-oh, I'm so scared!" "Discussed my funeral already?" Icy asked, surprisingly, without sarcasm. "Come on, don't listen to that fairy! She has only fashion and straw in her head." Icy smiled weakly. "Magix!" Bloom screamed looking out the window. Fairies came closer to the glass. "Where?!" Icy got worried. Golden-green disc of the planet surrounded by thick ring of asteroids was hanging in the center of the window. Icy could see it without moving. "And here my dream came true. I got Magix!" she lifted her arm and closed her fingers around the planet. "Didn't think that the view from the space is so beautiful..."

DSHGJADFKAJHSFDJG what have i done. This line about her dream coming true HITS HARD. Fuck, 13 y.o. me knew which buttons she should push.

Icy dies. Darcy and Stormy were forgiven because they helped to stop the army and for Icy's "sacrifice" and everyone very conveniently forget that they started the recent war. The end.

Damn that was a ride.

um, so where were we?... right i was saying that Icy became my new hyperfixation instead of Bloom...

And i had the whole trilogy planned, in the first one she'd escape from some prison and attempt another plan to counquer Magix, but fail, in the next book she'd be KILLED by Bloom but came back to life by making a deal with someafterlife owner (HA) and the last one where she actually succeeds... this one i din't think through at ALL.

I kinda wanna revive that plot fron the second "book" tbh, i still remeber it really well.

In a comic.

(i'd make it a crossover with Hazbin but it won't work unfortunately)

okay i don't know where and how to end this post so i'm ending it here, have a nice day thanks for reading i hope that at least someone made it to the end.

[actualbird]

HI!!! i wanted to ask ur opinion on how the nxx boys sneeze 😭 it was a hilarious thought because i was trying to sleep when suddenly i heard my dad make the loudest, most disruptive sneeze ever and i thought "thats so funny lol WAIT what if the tot boys sneezed".

i generally think the tot boys would be more "a-chooooo...." rather than a nuclear explosion but i need ur opinion. HOW WOULD THEY SNEEZE!!??

scream omfg i love this ask and i remember i actually talked about this with @samsspambox once forever ago so, without further ado

how the nxx boys sneeze

vyn: sneezes normal but my god he's super sensitive to allergies and, most of all, Pollen. which is hell, given that he loves to garden. but his easy workaround is just to wear a mask, and that usually saves him when hes working on his own garden. but come Pollen Season, and all the plants and trees spewing particles into the air, and hes a nose-clogged sneezy mess. his students know that when it's pollen season to not piss him off because he will be so cranky from all the sneezing and also the horrid feeling of only having one nostril unobstructed

artem: sneezes the Loud Dad Sneeze. he is the disruptive sneezer, the nuclear explosion. he is sneezing like how a lion roars deeply to establish its territory lines, except artem isnt a literal lion and does not do this on purpose. his sneezes are LOUD. the type of loud that makes people want to ask artem if hes okay afterwards cuz it's so loud it seemed like it dislodged a rib or something. it's immensely comical, given artem's usual quiet nature, that his sneezes are a force of nature. he could sneeze in his office and people all the way over in the pantry would hear it. he is, and i cannot stress this enough, so fucking embarrassed about it.

marius: the sneeze that keeps wanting to happen but Doesnt happen. you know, the cliffhanger sneeze, the sneezes that are like "ah...aaAAAHH...AAAAAAAHH—" and then the resulting "choo" doesnt happen. and this Not Happening just Keeps Happening. it's agonizing. marius will start a sneeze at 9:55am but the Conclusion Of The Sneeze only happens by 10:03am, once hes already in a meeting with the board of directors. how unsightly, he KNOWS, but the worst part really is the sheer anticipation. what marius would GIVE to have a normal sneeze.

luke: the tiniest kitten sneeze on the planet, and always 6 times consecutively in a row MINIMUM. back during the NSB Days(TM), the fearsome Agent Raven arrived at the training class he handles with a slight cold, saying he'll just monitor and teach and give pointers while socially distanced. the trainees were so scared cuz "wow, hes still coming in even when hes sick, how TERRIFYINGLY DEDICATED, to be expected from the FEARSOME AGENT RAVEN." and then luke steps back and grabs a piece of tissue, obviously rearing for a sneeze, and the trainees thought "oh i bet his sneeze is the Loud Disruptive one, just like his own scary fighting skills, to be expected from the FEARSOME AGENT RAVE—" and then

it's the smallest, cutest sneeze. one after the other. and another. and another. it was like hearing a squeaky dog toy get squeezed several times vigorously. it was like how you'd assume a pixie sneezes. it was like the sound sprinkles and pink bubbles would make if those could sneeze.

once luke is done with his consecutive sneezes (that, for the life of him, he could not stop) he promptly death-glares at the trainees and they all agree to Never Bring It Up.

but the consecutive kitten sneezes still follow luke through his life and all the way up to, yep, the nxx team being able to witness it

mc: awww, it's been so long since ive seen your cute sneeze!!

luke, nose clogged: it's [sneeze] not cute! [sneeze]

marius: it's so cute, i think my heart is melting

luke: shut [sneeze] up!

marius: AAAWWW, is the big bad agent having some twouble? >:3

luke: dont you f[sneeze]ucking patronize [sneeze] me!

mc: do you need more tissue?

luke: PLE[sneeze]ASE

[toasttt11]

approved, again

April 18, 2024

Lucia bit her lip nervously as they got closer to John’s parents house having been driving for a little under three hours now.

John rubbed her thigh with his hand that has been settled on her thigh for most of the drive, “What’s wrong?” John softly asked.

“Will they like me?” Lucia looked nervous, she knows she has met John’s family before but she only his teammate not his partner, it’s more important now and what if they don’t like her.

“Luce.” John gently squeezed her thigh, “They love you and my mom was so exicted when i told her i asked you out.” John reassured her, John knew his family all absolutely adore Lucia and they were all more exicted to see Lucia today than John.

“Okay.” Lucia nodded letting out a slow breath, she was still nervous but she knew John would not lie to her.

John squeezed her thigh once more as he pulled into his parent’s driveway and they both got out of the car leaving their bags in the car.

The front door opened and Jen came rushing out, “Lucia!” Jen beamed walking right to her hopefully further daughter-in-law, “We are so glad you could join Johnny.” Jen pulled Lucia into a gently hug.

Lucia let out a small sigh of relief as she hugged John’s mom back, “Thanks for having me Mrs. Marino.” Lucia smiled as they pulled apart.

“Darling how many times have i told you just to call me Jen.” Jen playfully reprimanded her.

“A lot, Jen.” Lucia laughed.

John smiled loving seeing the two together and eventually his mom turned around and pulled her youngest son into a tight hug.

John and Lucia followed Jen into her house and saw John’s dad, Paul, walking into the house from the backyard.

“Lucia.” Paul smiled and walked over giving her gentle hug, “How have you been?” Paul asked once they pulled apart, he immediately liked Lucia when he met her during the season and enjoys their talks together.

“I’m good exicted about some time off.” Lucia anwsered honestly to John’s father.

“Hello to you too Dad.” John playfully sassed after a few minutes of his dad completely ignoring him as he talked to Lucia. John truthfully did not mind whatsoever as he just loved how well Lucia fits in his family.

“Hi.” Paul sassed back to his son and fondly rolled his eyes pulling his son into a hug.

Paul, John’s older twin walked into the house having just arrived and saw John’s car in the front driveway.

“Johnny!” Paul beamed meeting halfway and pulling his twin into a tight hug.

“Hi Pauly.” John held onto to his twin tightly.

“Lucia!” Paul smiled even bigger as pulled away from hugging his twin and pulled Lucia into a tight big swaying them back and forth.

Paul and Lucia became friends right away and are always sending each other memes and funny videos backs and forth.

John has never had a girlfriend fit into his family the way Lucia does but also never had anyone become friends with Paul as easily as Lucia and Paul became friends.

Lucia and John spent the whole day with his family just spending time catching up and laughing. Lucia absolutely loved getting to see all of John’s baby photos and hearing about so many stories of him growing up.

Lucia really enjoys spending time with the Marino’s and she has never felt uncomfortable around any of them, something that is rare.

Lucia threw her head back laughing at a comment Paul made as they all sat around their table outside eating dinner together.

John smiled softly watching his girlfriend and twin laugh together, his arm was draped around Lucia’s chair and leaned closer pressing a soft kiss to the side of her head as she giggled.

Lucia turned her head still laughing but slowing down and sent him a soft smile that he enjoys receiving every time.

Jen and Paul shared a knowing smile as they watched their son and his girlfriend and they already knew Lucia was the only for their son but seeing them being together only made them think that more.

[nofacednerd]

okay finale thoughts

I don't think they took out any scenes but I do think it's funny that they renamed the title of the episode

hughie's... counter-proposal I guess? was so genuinely sweet that I'm mad it wasn't real

On that. 3rd time in back to back episodes not even 5 minutes in. That's gotta be a record. I thought they were actually going to acknowledge it as assault when he seemingly got very upset about the pegging joke she made and started squeezing the water bottle, but I guess not. My hope is that all the criticism they received while handling all of this, they'll actually take and acknowledge it in the show

Hughie canon bottom but at what cost...........

BUTCHER WITH THE TEMP-V INDUCED WHITE HAIR STREAKS. MY HEADCANON IS REAL

I think it's so funny that Butcher's last wish was for hughie to go to some random hooters in Nevada for him. Part of me wonders if he knew about the stupid Maid in Manhattan tour he went on entirely because it was his dad's last wish and wanted to see what he would agree to if he sounded sad enough about it

Ashley my problematic queen I hope you get to have fucking awesome scary superpowers next season and help take down the supes w the gang

Just. Shoutout to Erin Moriarty for being an insanely talented actress. Love that the shapeshifter just kept biting people as her go-to attack. Fucking knocked it out of the park

Annie choking the shapeshifter to death instead of using her powers felt symbolic somehow but it's 4 in the morning and I can't think about it rn. Good for her either way.

They also never actually explained why her powers just. Stopped working?? I'm guessing it was an emotional thing but I felt like things didn't change THAT much by the end of the season for her to suddenly be charged up enough to fly?

Okay but also. I'm kind of mad that they didn't acknowledge what the shapeshifter did to Hughie was assault and not only that but they had Annie get mad at HIM about it. Like girl hello???? Out of literally everyone I would expect at least Annie to understand, but for some reason they show loves having them have relationship drama that comes from fucking nowhere

That being said, I am SO glad they didn't break up again. That would have fucking sucked. Curious if the engagement thing will ever come up again since she got the ring back. I imagine if it does it'll be the end of the show

Also his little "FUCK YESSS" fist pump to himself. I just need to take a second to appreciate that that was so funny LMAO

I'm not gonna lie... I actually got pretty on-board with the Frenchie Kimiko QPR. aroace Kimiko you still live in my head rent free

I just know. I just KNOW. There's going to be SO MANY tentacle smut fics about Butcher by the end of the week. You horny motherfuckers are going to eat that shit up

Also going to be honest. I'm kind of mad they took out Neuman. She was such an interesting character and I always thought her views didn't conflict at all with the rest of The Boys, so I was really hoping for a redemption arc. She also had such an interesting dynamic with both Hughie and Annie (and Zoe having beef with Kimiko is fucking great). Idk she could have been a fun addition to the group

I was actually kind of excited to see The Boys split off to different countries and have to come back together next season, but I think them all getting kidnapped (and presumably thrown in prisons?) is much more interesting. I kind of hope they let Hughie be the main character again next season now that Butcher has gone off the rails and might? be a villain next season? But I know it's probably going to be Annie

Kimiko speaking I kind of assumed would happen at some point (since they established that as kind of her arc this season with the speech therapy) but I'm excited to see if that goes anywhere next season. I think best case scenario, she has selective mutism and only goes verbal sometimes. They've been pretty good about her disability so far

also speaking of, I've been trying to figure out what her sign for each of The Boys' names are and. is Hughie's supposed to look like someone running away because that's so funny if true (it's hard to tell because the captions are obviously not synced up with the visuals on her signing)

My overall thoughts are kinda... eh. This season ultimately felt directionless to me, too many plotlines trying to happen all at once and while I think individual episodes were really good, as a whole nothing felt super connected (I mean, in episode 6 Hughie was super fucked up over his dad's death and presumably what happened at Tek Knight's party, but episode 7 they just seem to have completely forgotten that he's having an active mental breakdown, a trend that continues into episode 8. And that's just one example from this season). I also think they fumbled the supes' plotline at the very end. I trusted the writers that they actually knew what Sage's plan was, but it mostly just seems like she swooped in at the end to tell us her plan worked, without saying what it actually was. I was hoping there was going to be actual clever writing there, but I guess it's hard to write the world's smartest character if she's only as smart as the writer's room can be.

I understand that, ultimately, it's incredibly difficult to write satisfying arcs with very limited time (this is an issue of streaming in general, not specifically an issue with The Boys), so I don't really fault them for that. I just hope next season is more focused.

The biggest problem with season 3 is, obviously, Hughie getting sexually assaulted three times in 3 back-to-back episodes, with zero acknowledgement (and on one occasion, implied mockery) from the show itself or anyone involved. I REALLY hope they take the criticism and actually make something of it next season, or at least acknowledge that it was fucked up.

Anyway, not a terrible season, but it had a lot of glaring issues. I'm holding out hope for season 5 being good, but it'll be another year or two before we get it anyway, so...

[eternalchiyo]

Everlasting Spark ~MANIAC 08~

“Boooh! You’re going to make a terrible wife, kitty!”

Kou’s voice was ringing annoyingly in her ear while she tried to chop up a carrot. Currently her attempts at it looked more like a display of a peculiar art installation for a very specific audience rather than anything edible. Ruki was busy with… something today, so Kou and she had been put on cooking duty. The objective? Cauliflower soup.

“Shut up and help me instead of tapping away at your little device!”

“It’s called a smartphone! How many times do I need to repeat myself?”

He hadn’t been much of a help despite making fun of her for her lack of skills. She was starting to think he actually had no clue either about how to cook.

“Hey, hey, look here for a second!”

Chiyo looked up and was immediately greeted with the brightness of the flash of Kou’s smartphone camera.

“Haha! Ah you look so stupid I need to put this on my story! Hashtag bad girlfriend, hashtag cooking disaster, hashtag I am a celebrity get me out of here…”

Chiyo glared at his back and squeezed the knife in her hand. It would be so easy, so easy to just ram it into him. It wouldn’t kill him; she was aware of that. But at least it would knock him out for a bit and grant her some blissful silence. Instead, she turned back towards her artistic carrot project and kept on aggressively chopping them.

The recipe said to add carrots, cauliflower and potatoes once the broth was ready. Carefully, she tried to add the ingredients together into the pot. Still, it splashed everywhere.

“Well, I guess it won’t get any better than that,” Kou said as he leaned over the stove to look into the cooking pot. “Let’s let it simmer for a while and season it later.”

Chiyo put the cutting board and knife in the sink and took a seat at the small kitchen table. There was a cute little wicker bowl standing on it with a few of the tomatoes Yuma grew in his garden. Some of them had really funny shapes.

She sighed. The Mukami really loved to play into the idyllic family thing, didn’t they? Chewing on her lips she wondered whether she was jealous of this or not. Somehow it felt really over the top how everyone was doing their chores, but they also seemed to be looking out for each other in a way that the Sakamaki household didn’t. Her own family also wasn’t like that. Most of the time she was home alone with some servants and her housekeeper, her father always away on some important business regarding the King’s medical department.

And on the rare occasion that he was home? Well, those really weren’t her fondest memories. The best he could do for her was ignore her. Sometimes they’d eat dinner together in silence, those times were the most awkward. Luckily it was made sure that a big bouquet of flowers was put in the middle of the table so at least they wouldn’t have to look at each other while eating. Her father wasn’t very fond of her face, he always looked disgusted when they happened to meet eyes.

“Shit! Kitty! You left the stove on high?? It was supposed to simmer!”

She was shaken from her thoughts by Kou’s loud voice. The pot was boiling over, spilling the soup left and right.

“Goddammit!”

Kou lifted the cooking pot from the stove and turned it off. The soup had spilled all over the cabinets too.

“Maaan, I thought you were going to keep an eye on it…” he said.

“You didn’t tell me to!”

“Ugh, whatever, just help me clean it before Ruki comes back,” he complained and tossed a wet cloth her way. She grumbled but tried cleaning the soup stains from the floor and cupboards anyway.

And they said cooking with the family was supposed to be fun.

Everyone looked down at the soup standing on the table. Big chunks of carrot and potato were floating in it.

“Well… I suppose it is soup…” Ruki said.

Somehow Chiyo felt very embarrassed about that result. Food was supposed to be a source of sustenance, right? It didn’t have to look pretty or taste good. Everyone at the table was a bit reluctant to try and eat it though, except of course for Azusa, who simply tossed in half a jar of dried chili flakes and happily dug in. Chiyo cut off a piece of potato with her spoon and ate it – it tasted bland.

“Ah, right,” Ruki began speaking suddenly. “Chiyo, I have good news. It seems that you will be able to go home soon. If things proceed to go as smoothly, that is.”

“So, the… uh… thing you had to attend went smoothly then?” Yuma caught himself before revealing too much sensitive information, unfortunately still catching stern glare from Ruki.

“Yes. Let us talk about it later.”

Chiyo eyed them suspiciously. There was still something they kept to themselves regarding this issue, and she wasn’t sure what exactly it was.

But this meeting… the important thing he had to take care of today… could he be meeting with the King? She wondered whether he was able to speak with him just like that. Shuu sometimes got summoned by his father, but that was on very rare occasions, and he always had hated it. She chewed on a bland carrot piece. Lately, Ruki had been making sure she ate her portions, so she forced herself to eat this soup, even though it tasted awful.

Later that night as she was getting ready for another day of school, she looked at herself in the mirror. The mixed bitemarks from Shuu and Ruki had almost faded, but the marks on her wrists were still there. Luckily, she hadn’t been alone with Ruki in a closed space ever since. She wasn’t sure if she could trust herself near him any longer. Sighing, she buttoned her blouse and tied the white ribbon over her chest.

Soon.

Soon she’d be out of here. No Shuu. No Ruki. Just her and her old home. Not that she enjoyed her time there in particular but at least she would be left alone by the world over there. A little hermit life until she turned to dust someday.

Then, a knock on the door.

“Lilith… are you ready…? We want to… get going… soon.”

As the days started to get warmer, the family started to use the car to get to school. Chiyo appreciated this, since she really wasn’t fond of sweaty clothes or having to redo her makeup. She grabbed her bag and stepped out of her room.

“Yeah, all set.”

She could feel herself getting restless, another full moon was about to come. Hopefully, by then, this world would be long behind her, maybe she should skip classes tonight. Especially the ones she knew Shuu would actually attend. Sitting next to Ruki also did not spark too much joy in her lately, not that it ever had.

She guessed she could hide out in the library for the time being, so as soon as they arrived in the classroom, she excused herself, saying she was going to the restrooms. Even during her brief stay in the room, she could feel the icy stare from the back of the class following her every move. Better flee now.

Once she arrived in the library, she quickly stole a pillow from one of the chairs and made a beeline for a secluded corner she was sure nobody would go for. She threw the pillow on the floor and sat on it, leaning her head against the wall. Her body felt hot… probably the approaching full moon. Ugh, this was such trouble. At least the cool air of the library allowed her some relief.

Taking a random book from one of the lower bookshelves she started to mindlessly leaf through it. She felt especially funky today, she thought. Full moons have never been this bad for her, was she getting sick again? Hopefully not.

Suddenly her eyelids and head felt heavy, and she couldn’t help but lean against the broad part of the bookshelf. Before she knew it, she dozed off.

When she woke up, she wasn’t in the library anymore. She was laying on hard stone; something was squeezing her body. It was slithering along the curves of her frame, sleek and cold. Her eyes slowly opened, revealing something scaly moving in front of her.

With a gasp she sat up. She was back at that strange church, only this time she wasn’t at the altar, she was… outside? Her surroundings all had a warm hue, as if the sun was setting at this very instant. Golden hour. But there was no wind, no sound, nothing that made the scene real.

“Long time no see,” a familiar voice greeted her.

The mystery woman was sitting on an old stone edge, sorting herbs. This time around she had not concealed herself with the coat and hood, letting her red locks fall freely over her shoulders. Such a stark contrast to the bright chartreuse of her sharp eyes.

The snake slithered further down Chiyo’s body, wrapping itself around her legs before slithering back to the woman and nestling itself next to her.

“Did you like the last dream I sent you?” the woman asked.

“You sent me that dream? Why?”

She didn’t answer.

Chiyo hauled her legs down onto the ground and made her way over towards the mysterious woman. The dry grass made scrunching noises under her feet when she walked.

Her locks framed her delicate face perfectly even though they looked a little unkempt and wild. Faint freckles adorned the bridge of her nose and cheeks. The woman’s hands that had been working on the bouquet of herbs stilled and she looked up at Chiyo with sharp eyes, before handing her what she had been working on.

Reluctantly, Chiyo reached out and took the bouquet from her, allowing the woman to work on another group of dried herbs.

“I really like the hemlock plant. It is very pretty don’t you think?” The woman gestured towards the bouquet in Chiyo’s hands; it contained a plant with slim stalks and hundreds tiny, dried flowers. Chiyo didn’t have any chance to respond before the woman started speaking again.

“It’s pretty and unassuming, a little bit like you.”

Chiyo frowned.

“Pretty… but deadly.”

With a gasp the girl immediately let go of the plants, making them fall onto the dry grass. The woman chuckled.

“Relax, it won’t harm you like this.”

Chiyo cleared her throat.

“You… are you my mother?” she asked.

The woman smiled at her again. It was supposed to be a nice and reassuring one, but something seemed amiss. Somehow it made a shiver run down Chiyo’s spine.

Suddenly the image in front of her started to get blurry, a terrible ringing sound invaded Chiyo’s ears; the woman in front of her and their surroundings losing form until they disappeared into nothingness.

It was the school bell.

How long had she been asleep for? She flinched and held onto her head with one hand. God, what a terrible headache again!

She blinked away the black dots forming in her vision and slowly stood up, holding the bookshelf for support. A bit of fresh air would do her good probably.

With heavy steps she began her way towards the rooftop.

The air in the building felt so stuffy like never before and she finally sighed in relief when the cold night air hit her and filled her lungs. Only after some time did she feel a pair of icy blue eyes stare at her from the other side of the rooftop.

She was too weak and not fast enough to flee the scene before Shuu suddenly appeared right behind her, trapping her between him and the iron bars used to enclose the rooftop area.

“You again…” he said, “Your scent is even more irritating at times like this.”

She whimpered weakly. Her body was too aware of his, her head spinning and her vision cloudy. A full moon paired with sickness; this really was a bad time to run into him.

“Shuu… please… I can’t do this right now…” she begged; her voice strained as she leaned her head against the cold metal in front of her.

“It’s never a good time with you,” he growled and took hold of her wrist which was holding onto the bars for support.

Suddenly he drew away.

“You…”

She gasped when he turned her around, there was a little more distance between them now, allowing her to breathe.

“Why is your wrist so thin?”

“Huh?”

Shuu’s eyes scanned her from head to toe, growing more distressed the more he looked at her. Did she look that bad?

“What are they doing to you, Chiyo?!” his voice was urgent in a way that she rarely had heard it in all the years she had known him.

“Nobody… is doing anything…” she gasped, “what’s it… to you… anywa–”

She didn’t get to finish her sentence before her feet gave out and she started collapsing. However, her body never hit the hard ground. To her surprise she collided with a broad chest. The smell of sandalwood invaded her nose immediately.

“I thought that I might find you here. Maybe I ought to keep you on a leash after all…”

She looked up weakly at Ruki, breathing labored and shallow. He held her gently in his arms, almost protectively. It was funny, she would have expected it to feel colder, but his embrace was comforting.

From the other side she could feel the murderous intent with which Shuu stared at them, or rather how he stared at Ruki.

“You bastard, what have you done to her?!”

Chiyo flinched. Shuu rarely raised his voice, but when he did, she always got scared. And right now, he seemed properly angry. Was it the effect of the coming full moon? No, it had to be something else; he had never acted out like that. The way he behaved... it was almost as if he didn’t have himself under control at all.

“Bold of you to assume I would do anything to her that she does not want me to. Though, judging by your and your brothers’ behavior, you do not seem to quite grasp the connotations of a simple ‘no’,” Ruki said with a calm voice which only made Shuu angrier, an animalistic growl forming under his breath. He probably would have lunged at the other man right now, if it weren’t for the fact that she was acting as a buffer between the two.

“Don’t act as if you and your lot aren’t constantly pestering Yui for her blood, not that I blame you of course, it is delicious, isn’t it?”

Ruki stilled but regained his composure in mere seconds.

“Trying to change the subject? How low,” he smirked before snaking his arms under Chiyo’s legs and lifting her up easily. “I am afraid I do not have time for something like that. You see, I have someone to take care of.”

She saw Shuu frown at him, but he didn’t say anything in return, or if he did, she didn’t hear it anymore. She let her head fall back against Ruki’s chest and closed her eyes in the hopes of alleviating the headache a little.

Ruki sighed. “You really should stop wandering about on your own.”

“Sorry…” she said weakly when he placed her on the leather seat in the car.

“What if I had not been there to catch you?”

He didn’t really expect an answer from her as he sat down next to her and told the familiar to bring them home. His cold hand moved her head onto his shoulder for support.

“I said I’m sorry…” she mumbled.

“You can do better than that,” he said, “Promise you will not wander around on your own anymore.”

“I promise…”

“Say it clearly.”

“I promise I won't wander around… on my own… anymore…”

She’d say anything he wanted her to, only to keep his soothing hand on her forehead as her consciousness slipped away again.

[fillingthescrapbook]

Let's Talk About: Fantasy High Junior Year and Ragenarok (Part 1)

I shouldn't have watched the teaser for next week's episode prior to writing this because-- Well, now I'm even more pumped for the finale and my thoughts for this episode were already very jumbled to begin with--

But begin we shall!

"Fabian, is there anywhere you want to live?" is a hell of a line at the start of the episode--especially with the context of a Bad Kid needing to steer the fall of Fabian's house to anywhere in Elmville.

Lou and Emily going all in on a bit in the background while Ally, Murph, and Brennan were figuring out the logistics of something was funny as heck. Ally really has gone far from the Freshman Year where the allure of a bit would have certainly derailed them from the more serious figuring-out-the-stuff talk with button-up boys.

But the most important revelation this episode? SQUEEM HAS FINALLY REACHED ELMVILLE! They still have some distance to cover but they're here!

And, can I just say, Siobhan rolling quick for the group roll just before Murph could was clutch as fuck. I must admit though that I also felt sad that we missed out on a possible addition to the collection of "I have just as good a chance as any of you to roll good" bits. It did allow the Bad Kids enough time to squeeze in a short rest though, so, hats off to you, Siobhan!

Now, onto the battle itself:

A Rat Grinder going down QUICK got me in my suspicious era. Like, what is going on with these rat grinders? Why do they have such high level attacks and yet--

Oh, never mind. The others' HP are more robust.

Brennan clustering his bad guys is always funny to me. Especially when you see an Intrepid Hero fight the urge to moustache-twirl as they see Brennan unconsciously giving them an area of opportunity. And it happens twice this episode!

Zac--not Gorgug--being so angry at Mary Ann passing her saving throw was hilarious to me. Especially because another Intrepid Hero tried to stop her from saving--only for Mary Ann to be naturally resistant anyway.

Riz going full maniac, saying "make sure to cut his head off so he can't be revivified--" and then Murph pulling back… Murph, the actor that you are! Chef's kiss.

My absolute favorite part of the episode though was when Zac had to reroll a bunch of dice. Ally asked why, and Zac cited one of Gorgug's feats. Having Ally say "I thought we were honoring something" absolutely broke me.

It's funny to me how Kipperlily was created to be the foil of Riz--but she's not really Riz's nemesis. She's Murph's.

And I rejoiced when Brennan, pulling the Box of Doom out again, got a stern "put my partner down" from Ally. It's been a while since they returned to this bit. I thought they had forgotten their relationship.

With this season coming to a close… I have to say that it's really one of the most enjoyable seasons of Dimension 20 for me. Is it my favorite Intrepid Heroes season? I think A Starstruck Odyssey and the first season of The Unsleeping City are still fighting for the top spot… But Junior Year is definitely following those two.

Especially with Brennan finally gifting Ally with Ice Feast--not realizing the implications of said spell to his finale battlemap.

And lastly… the way Brennan said "reincarnate" at the top of the episode? Saying "re-ANKARNA-te Porter?" The yelp I yelped.

I can't believe the season ends next week.

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

Ranting about the old Netflix Marvel shows:

Looking back at the original NMCU as a whole, while I think the general consensus is that this side of the MCU fell off when “Iron Fist” premiered, I think the real issue is more complicated then that. I think that the Netflix shows started off strong, but couldn’t implement their long-term plans for their side of the universe due to mismanagement/lack of collaboration. Oddly enough, the NMCU sorta reflects the current issues with Phases 4 and 5 of the mainstream MCU.

When you look at the shows overall, it feels like a bunch of creators were given free reign with these characters, and it shows. All of them had their own distinct identity, as well as what audience they were targeting. The problems started occurring when the shows had to start connecting.

I can’t say this for sure, but it really feels like no one was put in a Kevin Feige-like position to direct the overall journey. Instead, it feels like Jeph Loeb and Marvel Television (which was its own thing before being absorbed by Marvel Studios) just sorta mandated that the shows need to have a big crossover event. It made sense, especially since the Arrowverse was pulling this off as an annual thing with their shows. While it sounds good on paper, I feel like none of the teams behind each show were in sync with each other:

1) Daredevil didn’t really find a good way to balance the needs of the show and the needs of the crossover. Rewatch season 2 and you’ll notice that while the Punisher storyline feels more thought-out, the Elektra storyline feels jumbled and incomplete. In fact, the first 4 episodes are focused on Frank, and then all of a sudden, Elektra is pushed into the story. I can’t prove this but it feels like the original idea was to focus on Frank Castle, but then Elektra had to be introduced in order to set up “The Defenders”. Which was premiering the following year.

2) Jessica Jones didn’t even bother building up into “The Defenders”.

3) Neither did “Luke Cage”.

4) Although I have a ton of separate issues with “Iron Fist”, I do feel sorry for the production team. This show had the unfortunate burden of having to introduce its hero while also doing most of the build-up for the crossover. To make matters worse, if you read up on the behind-the-scenes development, you would know that the show was rushed out. Finn Jones was literally learning the fight choreography minutes before filming.

I have this funny feeling that Marvel Television set up the schedule for each show and refused to change it. Given more time, Netflix could’ve made it work. I can easily imagine the Elektra storyline being its own season of “Daredevil”, “Jessica Jones” and “Luke Cage” each having a season focused on the Hand, and “Iron Fist” being given more breathing room to introduce Danny Rand before diving into the crossover.

But let’s say Marvel Television didn’t want to make people wait that long for a crossover. Then they still failed to move the storyline of the shows in a way that could naturally lead into “The Defenders”. You’re telling me Jessica and Luke couldn’t have at least had a 1-2 episode subplot about the Hand? Or that the Daredevil team couldn’t have introduced Frank Castle later on in order to prioritize Elektra, who is arguably the most important character in the crossover? “Iron Fist”, while not a good show, at least tried to lead into the crossover.

(Side note: Just as a reminder, a common problem people had with the NMCU was that each season was too long at 13 episodes and that the shows didn’t have enough story to squeeze in. Jessica and Luke could’ve definitely worked in a 1-2 episode Hand stand-alone subplot to offset these issues)

I don’t mean for this post to take away from any of these shows. I still am fond of the NMCU. But looking back at it, I can’t help but feel that they were mismanaged. Good on their own, but since they had a crossover miniseries set up, there needed to be stronger collaboration between each show. Or, at least move the damn crossover if the shows weren’t ready for one.

[justmenoworries]

Lore Olmypus Episode 271 Spoilers

We're in the endgame now. I guess.

And I feel absolutely nothing. Any tension that could have hyped me up for this moment was squashed by my frustration with every character's lack of thinking skills.

Why exactly are Hera and Persie passed out on the ground? Kronos didn't even do anything yet, all that happened was that he closed the door after Hera and Persie managed to squeeze through at the last moment.

Speaking of, this episode shows us that Kronos is huddled up in (what is presumably) his cell deep down in Tartarus so how exactly did he control the door?

It will never be not funny to me that Kronos, ancient tyrant and titan of time (*rolls eyes*) sounds like a modern-day incel whenever he talks. And then other times RS remembers she's writing the supposed Big Bad and has him switch to more appropriate language on the fly. The whiplash is unreal.

Persephone: "Kronos is powerful but erratic. This makes his behavior hard to anticipate."

Oh, is that RS's in-universe excuse for Kronos switching motivations every time we see him? First he wants to return to the world of the living, then he wants to take revenge on Hades, then he suddenly wants Persephone but actually he wants Hera. And now he wants... Hera again, I guess. Holy constantly shifting goals, Batman!

Kronos: "I will take pleasure in your gradual and painful destruction!"

also Kronos: *proceeds to sit in his cell and do nothing for the entirety of the episode*

If you want to make Kronos actually menacing instead of just annoying, maybe have him do more than an occasional supervillain-laugh RS.

I will admit, the visual of Hera and Persephone slowly descending into Tartarus and past all these human souls reaching out for them from their cells is cool. It makes the whole situation actually feel tense and scary, knowing there's something terrible waiting for the protags down this endless pit but also knowing that they have no choice but slowly climb towards it.

Or it would be if RS didn't ruin it with Persie doing very obvious cover-ups for story flaws a lot of critics pointed out while she's descending.

Like "Oh, I don't talk or think about how the fuck Apollo managed to channel my powers or where Hades actually is because I'm disassociating from it as a defense mechanism."

Persie that would be way more convincing if you'd done literally anything besides sitting on your ass and whining this season.

This constant narrative that everything is just too much for poor girlboss Persie and that's why she's doing fuck all doesn't really work when all that happened is that people rightfully called Persie out for making a mess while Persie hid away in the Underworld. Rather than work on solutions to the problems she caused or at least try to help with the fall-out.

She hasn't tried to learn more about her powers or about her deal. She didn't try to get in contact with Erebus. She hasn't done anything to try and free Melinoe from Kronos. She didn't help with the preparations for the sleep dive, neither did she even offer to take part in it even though it concerns both her and Hades' kingdom. She refused to participate in the meeting between the gods on what to do about the "plague" but still felt the need to make commentary over the phone. She hasn't come forward about Apollo's numerous crimes to keep him from taking over Olympus, even though she has several powerful deities to back up her claims.

Every time Persie could have chosen to become more than a passive bystander, she had some other character step up and do or say something instead.

Hera: "So are the fertility goddess stories real and you are one?"

Is... is that not common knowledge at this point?

The Fertility Goddess Mystery Box is becoming bloated with how much shit RS keeps putting in.

So apparently whatever Apollo did with the help of Ouranos at the broadcast was only "manufactured" and any greenery he managed to create with Persie has presumably died again by now. Okay. Persie knows this how?

The irony of RS making Hades look exactly like Kronos in the flashback to him and Persie accidentally doing the going giant-thing.

Persephone: "I did make [Apollo] bleed from his eyes and ears though, so that's a win."

Huh?

Persephone: "It's something I can do with my new powers; I was sort of able to rot his physical form from the inside."

Huh?

Persephone: "I think I can do some damage to Kronos that way."

HUH???

Hold on, so does Persie know how her powers work or does she not??? What is it with this cloud somersault in logic???? When the fuck did she figure this out????

Hera: "I'm not really one for combat."

Girl you fought in the fucking Titanomachy, what do you mean???

(The way RS repeatedly portrays women as physically helpless and incapable of defending themselves without outside help, I want to throw up all of my organs)

Alright, as much as I hate everything leading up to it I actually like the conversation between Hera and Kronos. Hera using Kronos' victim complex and egocentrism against him is actually really clever. And I like the small glimpse we get into Kronos' past and how Ouranos' abuse helped shape him into the monster we know today.

Kronos justifying his own cruelty by comparing it to Ouranos' allegedly much more evil deeds while completely missing that his actions have made him no better than Ouranos is neat. That's abusers for you. "I know I hurt you but I could've been worse! Also I had it way worse than you! Pity me!"

I did not expect Hera drawing this paralell between her and Kronos, of being deities who did horrible things for the greater good and ended up despised despite the sacrifices they made, but it's cool.

It's bullshit, but it's bullshit Hera knows Kronos will buy because of just how blind he is to his own faults.

Okay, final thoughts.

Someone else pointed this out, but this is literally just the season 3 finale again.

Kronos takes over a large part of the Underworld and controls the bodies of a bunch of powerful deities, Hades among them.

Persephone has to descend to the Underworld.

Another powerful god tags along with Persie and does 80% of the work to set up Persie's #Girlboss victory.

Not RS building up a different villain all season and then just going "Sike! It's Kronos again!"

At this point, I fully expect Ouranos and Apollo to be defeated off-screen.

[username599]

Everyones talking about the changes they don't like about the Percy Jackson show, but personally there are only a few changes that I didn't like.

I wish they would have done the spiders in the theme park, because it does show Annabeth's character and really shouldn't have been taken out. I did really like the changes to that scene though I just wish they included the spiders.

Everyone is talking about Gabe not being that bad but they have to realize that this is a show for children and it is censorship and there have been signs of abuse just not "textbook" abuse.

I wish they included the hellhound because it kind of upped the stakes in the books. It showed that the thief was someone at camp because hellhounds can only be let in by a camper. Also sword fighting with Luke was something I wish they kept in.

The 1st 2 episodes were rushed and I wish they were either spread out more into 3 episodes or the episodes were like an hour long rather than 30-45 minutes. I understand that it is a kids show so shorter episodes are what is typical, but for a season that is so reliant on the 1st episodes they rushed It all so much and could have added an extra episode.

Last thing that I think really should have been added was the zoo truck. We didn't get the discussion with Percy and Annabeth which make since because they already have similar talks in other episodes, but Percy didn't talk to the zebra. It's so funny and weird in the books and I think it would have been a really fun addition to the show. I hope we do get that in later seasons though because it is a funny, unimportant (yet still kind of important) part of Percy's character as a son of Poseidon. I've haven't seen anyone talk about this at all but I think it was a weird thing to take out.

Although there are a lot of changes that I don't like I agree with a lot of the changes. They seem to be including more mythology into the series that what is in the books. The Medusa episode was SO good I love everything about. The gold throne was really good and I absolutely loved the speech that Annabeth gave to Hephaestus. What happened in the books at the amusement park, I'm pretty sure, didn't really relate to mythology so adding the throne added something that would make more sense in the Greek world. I love that they are giving Grover more plot, the lotus casino with Augustus was just so good and really added depth to who Grover is. A lot of people didn't seem to like the addition of Luke's moms story being so early in the series, but I think it will ultimately make the betrayal hit a lot harder.

I love the change of the timing of seaweed brain and wise girl. In the books they starts as insults to one another before they become friends, but they don't call each other that until after they become friends in the show. In the books it is used repeatedly as an insult and changes to an endearing teasing, but I like that it never was really an insult in the show rather it's just like a fun nickname that didn't start as an insult.

For the next episode, episode 7, I'm interested to see what they do for it because the sneak peek includes so many different things that I think will be hard to squeeze into 1 45 minute episode.

Personally I think this show is what Rick would have done now. When he wrote the lightning thief he was an inexperienced author and now he had written so many books and probably has done so much more research on Greek mythology.

[babysharl]

I was tagged by the lovelies @fueledbyremembering, @amarynas and @epylonia (edit: just realised @celientjeee tagged me too hahah) to post a snippet of one of my WIPs, and when I asked Ella just how long a snippet should be, she suggested I posted two hahah So here you guys have a snippet of my polyam Max fic set in 2022 that I don't know if it'll ever see the light of day, and then a very very short snippet of another Lestappen fic that I hope to have some time to work on someday.

I know everyone's already been tagged, but if you guys @celientjeee @fabbyf1 @drivestraight want to post another one I'm tagging you ^^ (obvs no pressure)

Snippets under the cut

Polyam Max,

"You may have had a point." Max said as soon as he got to his driver’s room, knowing Kelly would be waiting inside.  Kelly arched an eyebrow at him.  "I went out of my way to talk to him about the weather."  "You did not." Kelly’s eyes shot wide, a grin pulling at her lips. And then she was breaking out laughing. "Oh, Max."  "It's not funny." Max mumbled, running a hand through his hair, thinking he should probably be hitting the showers right now. He had to smell disgusting.  "It kinda is." Kelly laughed. Then shook her head, coming closer to him and reaching for his left hand, squeezing it softly. "Just talk to him."  "Talk to him? I think that would put me straight back into the hating zone. I’m not even sure he’s… And he has a girlfriend."  "I'm not so sure about that." Kelly frowned. Max looked at her questioningly, but she went on, "I didn't mean talk to him in any particular way, though. Just talk to him like you would Lando or Dan. You can be just friends too, you know?"  "I doubt anything will come out of it even if I do… uh. Approach him.” Kelly arched an eyebrow at him, so Max kept on. “He has a girlfriend. Don't even know if he's bi." And that made her snort. "That man's bi. I guarantee it." She kept laughing, and Max stared at her, not really knowing what to do now. Yeah, Kelly had been right in Spain, but that didn’t mean Max could do anything about it. "I even think he has a crush on you too." "Kelly, don't."  "Okay." She raised her hands in surrender. Then came closer again, pecked his cheek and pulled a face, "You stink."  "I know." 

Aaaand second snippet for the other fic,

It's been an unspoken agreement between them for years. If come summer or winter break they weren't in a relationship, they spent it together. It never survived come the routine of the race weekends again. Or better said, they agreed it was better to kill it before it could bleed out during the season. But it wasn't enough. Breaks had never been enough, and both of them knew it. Both of them had known it. Max knew Charles felt like this too. He also knew Charles would just say it was all too complicated.

[ravenya003]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Out of Mind, Out of Sight; E01E11

I dig this episode! In the grand scheme of things it’s fairly negligible, with a Monster of the Week who never reappears (even though she should have) and a fairly oddball premise (once again “mystical Hellmouth energy” is the real villain) but which also happens to be our first Cordelia-centric episode (demonstrating she has more depth than we’ve so far given her credit for) and guest stars none other than Clea DuVall.

It becomes even more bemusing when you take into account the fact that this is season one’s penultimate episode, for aside from a tiny subplot that sets up the finale and introduces Angel to the Scoobies for the first time, Buffy spends most of it trying to hunt down an invisible girl.

The more I think about this episode, the quirkier it becomes.

To start with, there’s some debate about what this episode is actually called. In some regions it’s referred to as “Invisible Girl,” and in others “Out of Mind, Out of Sight.” I'm not sure why, but I don’t think anyone could disagree that the latter is an infinitely better title than the former – not only is “Invisible Girl” a massive spoiler, but it also clashes with the next episode title: “Prophecy Girl.” Two girls in a row? That doesn’t flow very well.

On the other hand, “out of mind, out of sight” is not only a famous idiom, but also a very literate description of what happens to Marcie Ross in this episode. Everyone ignores her, and so she disappears. Plus, this is the title that appears on my DVD menu, so as far as I’m concerned, that’s the official name of the episode.

The episode kicks off, and Harmony is back! The first of the Cordettes to make a return appearance. She and Cordelia are jabbering in the hallway about the upcoming school dance, and Buffy overhears wistfully, no doubt recalling her days when she was popular. Now she’s a clumsy weirdo, scorned by the girls who would have otherwise been her friends.

It’s a rather heavy-handed scene, though an important component is that Harmony points out that: “she’s always hanging out with that creepy librarian in that creepy library.” Again, the other students might be spurning Buffy, but they are noticing what she’s getting up to. It all contributes to the subtle lead-up to the events of the Prom in season three.

In English class they’re discussing The Merchant of Venice, which is funny because I just watched the 2004 version last month. Amusingly, Cordelia has no sympathy whatsoever for Shylock, but it’s worth noting that she has an argument to make and demonstrates that she understands the material. Cordelia might be awful, but she’s clearly not unintelligent.

Also, we’re introduced to another member of the Sunnydale High faculty: Ms Miller, who is also the show’s third (?) featured Black person. I really should have been keeping count of these rare sightings of melanin skin in what is meant to be a Southern Californian town.

We cut to Mitch in the locker room, who is making a lewd comment to his friends about Cordelia. We actually met him a couple of scenes ago as Cordelia’s latest squeeze, and a fun fact is that he’s played by Ryan Bittle, who was the original Todd Wilkins in the Sweet Valley High series. Why is this relevant? Because the second actor to play Todd Wilkins was Jeremy Vincent Garrett, who also features on this show, in season two’s “Go Fish.” I enjoy these little coincidences.

He’s getting dressed after his shower when a levitating baseball, swiftly following on the heels of a malicious giggle, starts to beat the shit out of him. I can’t say it’s not a little satisfying (let’s be real – that gross comment he made about Cordy was to give us permission to enjoy this beatdown).

Just to really drive home the fact that Buffy is feeling lonely and left out, Xander and Willow start laughing about an in-joke that remains incomprehensible – something about a field trip, some antlers, and a hat. It never gets explained and it never gets brought up again. And to further hammer home the point, just in case you’re not getting it, Buffy divulges that she was once the May Queen at her old school. (Cordelia is campaigning and refuses to give her a cupcake).

The news breaks that Mitch has been attacked in the locker room and Snyder appears out of nowhere to announce that: “no one’s dead... this week.” Heh. Mitch is wheeled out on a gurney and manages to tell the assorted crowd what happened, and when Buffy goes to investigate, the Slayerettes very handily distract Snyder with talk about how the school is going to be sued. That’s teamwork.

There’s not much to see in the changing room, only the word “look” graffitied on the lockers. I’m also compelled to point out that there are no cops on the scene. I mean, they call an ambulance but not the police? (And yes, I do understand why the writers were loathe to involve the police force on a regular basis; it’s a discussion point I’m working my way up to).

In the cafeteria, the Scoobies and Giles are discussing their options and draw the obvious conclusion that it’s poltergeist activity. Buffy doesn’t think the attack was random, and Giles promises to draw up a list of students that’ve gone missing recently. In a slightly weird moment, Giles tries to recruit Xander into do some research, though in hindsight it’s just setup for a joke in which Buffy suggests he interview Cordelia instead, and he leaps at the chance to hit the books.

Harmony is commiserating with Cordelia about Mitch, though she’s mostly concerned about how awful he’s going to look in the Prom pictures. This segues into an interesting creative decision: we suddenly switch to a black-and-white flashback that depicts Cordelia and Harmony being approached by an unseen girl (it’s shot from her point-of-view) who is scornfully dismissed.

I’m not entirely sure if this was the best way to reveal Marcie (though technically, we don’t actually see her at this point) but this is nothing if not an oddball episode.

Back in the present day, Harmony is abruptly yanked off her feet and thrown down a flight of stairs. Yikes, it’s actually very wince-inducing, so well done to the stunt double. Buffy is on hand to help, and Snyder pops up to say: “don’t sue.” Heh heh.

Someone brushes past Buffy that she can’t see, though she hears a malevolent little giggle. She follows it into the band room, but fails to notice a hatch opening in the roof.

As the students leave at the end of the day, there’s a quick panning shot away from two distinctive-looking men in black suits and sunglasses (don’t worry, we’ll get back to them) and Buffy tells Giles that their ghost theory no longer holds water: she felt someone bump into her, which isn’t a typical trait of ghosts.

Their next option is simply a girl who is invisible, though Willow gets a cute moment when she says: “is she a witch? Because we can fight a witch.” (Continuity!) And yet whoever this girl is, her motive is clear, since the common denominator in both attacks was each victim’s proximity to Cordelia. Man, I really miss these detective-based episodes in later seasons.

There’s also a rather sad moment when Willow and Xander depart, and you can hear him ask: “do you wanna come to our place tonight for dinner? Mom's making her famous phone call to the Chinese place.” We learn so little about Xander and Willow’s families, and yet every glimpse we get is pretty dire. It’s a shame in a way that the show never delved into their backgrounds, because it would make sense on a psychological level that their absolute commitment to Buffy and her cause is based on not getting any love or validation at home.

Buffy decides to keep a watch on Cordelia, who for some reason is preparing her May Queen dress with her friends in a classroom after school hours (is there a reason she’s not doing this at home??) But I’m taking a moment to express my fondness for the fuzzy aesthetic of season one: the grainy quality of the footage, the slightly sluggish pacing, the rather unwieldy blocking – it’s such a far cry from the snappy editing and glossy visuals we get these days, and I love it.

Also, I feel that none of the girls in this classroom scene were given much direction, as there are some very awkward ad-libs (“how does the, um, hem go?”) and blocking (what on earth is the girl with the paper decorations doing?) going on. It’s charming in a very excruciating way.

Buffy peers at them through the window in the door, looking wistful, and are you getting it? I’m worried it’s too subtle. Buffy feels isolated and ignored, people! This might be thematically relevant later on!

Buffy draws away from the door when she hears flute music, but cannot find its source. In a nice segue, Giles looks up from his research in the library, also hearing the flute. He starts to investigate, and... okay, I love this scene. Giles meets Angel for the first time, and it’s nothing like I would have expected. (I actually started watching Buffy at the start of season three, and so season one always felt a bit like a prequel – and like I said, this meeting was not what I had anticipated for these two).

First of all, Giles gets a fright because he sees his reflection in a glass bookcase which demonstrates he’s alone – only to turn and realize Angel is standing right beside him. He looks back, and sure enough, vampires cast no reflection. That part is nicely done, and is solid setup for later in the episode when Angel’s vampiric abilities allows him to enter the gas-filled boiler room (heck, it even creates a neat comparison to Marcie’s invisibility, even though those two characters have nothing whatsoever to do with each other).

Giles recognizes him instantly, and Angel reassures him that he’s in no danger. Also, that he’s been trying to stay away since it hurts to be around Buffy. Um, sure. You’ve interacted with her, like what – seven times? And you’re in excruciating emotional pain when she’s around? I get that vampires score high on the melodrama scale, but honestly. Maybe he’s talking about literal pain since the last time we saw him Buffy accidentally seared a crucifix into his chest.

It doesn’t matter, because the most fascinating thing about this scene is that Giles doesn’t automatically enter Dad Mode. In fact, he seems a little awestruck with the idea of a vampire being in love with a Slayer, calling it “poetic.” I love that they made this choice for him; that you’d fully expect him to be disapproving of what Angel is doing, and instead finding it romantic.

We then get to the plot-relevant part of the scene, which plays out like a sneaky little alleyway thoroughfare to the events of the finale. Angel has approached Giles because he knows he’s researching the Master, and Giles laments the fact that so many texts of prophecy have gone missing.

I am POWERFULLY interested in the fact that there are apparently volumes of Slayer prophecies that detail what her role is in the “end years.” So many questions. Who wrote these books? That Aurelius guy? Are they just about the Master or do they involve all the other apocalypses that Buffy has to face? How does Angel know how to get hold of them? Who are his contacts?

Sorry, I just love the whole concept of prophecies, even though in this case, it’s clearly just basic table-setting for the unfolding plot. We’re not meant to be interested in anything beyond the fact that they exist, even though I would TOTALLY sit down to read an ancient tome that detailed prophecies concerning the Slayer line. That would actually be a total delight. Damn, I’m excited just thinking about it...

Okay, so the POINT of this entire exchange is that Angel promises to bring Giles something called the Pergamum Codex, which the latter believed had been lost in the fifteenth century. It has the most complete prophecies about what to expect from Buffy’s upcoming conflict with the Master, and it’s cute how Giles geeks out a little about getting his hands on it.

We are prepping for the next episode here, but the scene ends on an even more overt parallel between Angel and Marcie when Giles informs Angel they’re researching an invisible girl. It’s kinda funny actually, since he’s essentially saying “I know the end of the world is imminent, but first we gotta take care of this invisible teenager.” He remarks that being invisible would be a heady experience, and Angel advocates for the enjoyment of seeing one’s reflection in the mirror each morning.

Which segues us into... another flashback, this time one that shows us Marcie’s face as she’s – sure enough – looking at her reflection in a restroom mirror. Again, it’s a somewhat interesting way to reveal the identity and visage of this character, as all this context is still very much a mystery to Buffy and her cohorts (it’s rare that the audience gets clued-in before the protagonists) but it depicts her once again getting the brush-off by Cordelia and Harmony.

Back in the present day, Principal Snyder announces Cordelia as the May Queen, and promptly disappears from the rest of the episode (Snyder, not Cordelia). She begins her acceptance speech, while Buffy looks on from the walkway.

The suit-and-sunglasses men are noticeably loitering nearby, and Willow mistakes them for Cordy’s bodyguards before presenting Buffy with a list of missing students. The latest is a girl called Marcie Ross, who went missing six months ago. Hmm, if these episodes are evenly spaced over the course of a school year, that means she went missing sometime during the events of “The Pack” or “Angel.”

Willow and Xander claims they’ve never heard of her, but according to the list, Marcie’s only extra-curricular activity was playing the flute. The flute!

Buffy investigates the band room, and this time notices the hatch in the ceiling. She climbs up into the crawlspace and discovers where Marcie has been living – it’s a bit sad, since there’s a teddy and her flute, as well as a yearbook that confirms it’s indeed Marcie Ross who has been terrorizing the school.

Unbeknownst to Buffy, Marcie is in the room with her, and a knife starts levitating in midair as she searches her belongings. However, for whatever reason Marcie opts to not attack, and Buffy climbs back down into the classroom with her yearbook in hand, none the wiser.

In a quick scene, Ms Miller is alone in her classroom when Marcie whips a plastic bag over her head and leaves her for dead. Luckily, Cordelia arrives just in time to save her, and the pair of them turn to see a bit of chalk write “listen” on the blackboard behind them.

Buffy has brought her evidence to Willow and Xander in the library, and they’re perturbed when they realize they signed her yearbook (and attended classes with her) without ever registering her existence.

Giles comes up with the theory that this phenomenon isn’t magical in nature at all, but rather scientific – that because nobody noticed Marcie’s presence, she literally became invisible. Nah dude, it’s not physics, it’s just funky Hellmouth energy doing its thing.

We’re treated to one last flashback in which Marcie is sitting in Ms Miller’s class, being completely ignored by students and teacher alike. As she raises her hand in vain, she watches as it disappears before her very eyes.

Back in the present, Cordelia marches into the library in search of help. Again, this is a nice bit of lead-up to the Prom, since a. she knows where to find Buffy, and b. feels like she can call upon her for assistance when things get weird. It’s becoming public knowledge on campus that this is what Buffy does. Cordelia has also realized she’s the common element in these attacks – confirmed by the photo of her in Marcie’s yearbook that’s been rather viciously scribbled on.

Cordelia refuses to skip the May Queen celebrations that night, and Buffy backs her up: using Cordelia as bait could be a perfect way to draw Marcie out of hiding. Giles aims to work on a cure for her invisibility, while Willow and Xander will keep researching.

But the problem with invisible assailants is that they could be anywhere – like say, in the library stacks, listening to everything being said.

Buffy escorts Cordelia to a janitor’s closest where she can change into her dress, and the two exchange some nice dialogue about the nature of popularity. Cordelia expresses empathy for what Marcie’s going through, and divulges that she too knows what it feels like to be lonely. According to her, you can be surrounded by other people and still feel alone, and Buffy presumably realizes what the viewer has known this whole time – that she has the better deal when it comes to her friends. She might not be as popular as she was in L.A., but Willow and Xander are worth a thousand vapid Cordettes. And deep down, Cordelia knows this too.

Speaking of Willow and Xander (and Giles), they overhear the sound of a flute in the hall and start following it... naturally it’s a trap, and the three of them are locked in the boiler room with a tape recording and an open gas valve while Marcie drags Cordelia out of the janitor’s closet through a hatch in the ceiling. God knows where she got the upper body strength to pull THAT off.

Not realizing her friends are in danger, Buffy goes after Cordelia. The rest of the Scoobies try to escape the boiler room, but the door is locked and trying to break it open might cause a spark that could trigger an explosion (hey, I wonder if this episode is what inspired the idea of eventually blowing up the entire school at the end of season three).

Buffy reaches the crawlspace in the ceiling, only to fall back through the roof and get injected with something contained in a floating syringe – next to her is Cordelia, already unconscious.

When she wakes up, she’s at the Bronze. Again, how did Marcie manage to pull this off? She and Cordelia are tied to fancy chairs, and the word “learn” is written in glitter on a nearby curtain. Marcie makes herself known, waving a scalpel around and declaring that she’s going to pull a To The Pain on Cordelia’s face. Clearly she’s a fan of The Princess Bride.

Buffy tries to talk her out of her vengeance, while the Scoobies desperately try to escape the boiler room before succumbing to the gas. Luckily for them, Angel turns up with the promised Codex for Giles and drags them to safety, while Buffy yanks herself free of her bonds, closes her eyes, and uses her super-hearing (another Slayer ability?) to pinpoint Marcie’s location.

At just the right moment, she tackles Marcie into the curtain, exposing her whereabouts. It’s at that moment the FBI agents burst through the door and take Marcie into custody. It’s played for laughs a little, what with Buffy calling them creepy and the agents wishing her a nice day, but she does manage to establish that this sort of thing has happened before, and that Marcie will be “rehabilitated.” She’s taken away by the agents, while Buffy unties Cordelia.

So another episode ends with no deaths! For some bizarre reason, the Scoobies keep the fact that Angel rescued them from her (it really annoys me when they do this, and it’s not even clear why they do so) and Cordelia approaches in order to give them heartfelt thanks... at least until Mitch turns up and asks why she’s talking to these losers.

She snaps back to her usual self – though there’s been some progress there, and we the audience know that there are hidden depths at work.

Finally, Marcie is ushered into a seemingly classroom where nobody but the teacher can be seen. Still, the place is clearly filled with people, as a chorus of voices greet her as she takes her seat (but how’d she know what desk to sit down at if everyone is invisible?) She opens her textbook to a chapter called “Assassination and Infiltration” and laughs to herself.

A classic mid-tier episode, but also an oddball one in several respects. I guess I’m chuffed over the fact that the second-to-last episode of this season is a fairly throwaway story about an invisible girl, which also includes a tiny narrative thread that involves things like Angel meeting Giles and delivering an important Plot Coupon for the finale.

At a time where television shows are essentially big movies split into eight or so episodes, it’s an amusing reminder that writers once had to give consideration to the way their stories were structured. And that could lead to some quirky creative decisions. So yes, it bemuses me that this episode gives Angel a little sliver of a subplot that sets up the finale while Buffy is fighting an invisible girl who will never be seen again.

That said, Marcie is referenced again – though not by name, if I recall. Xander asks Buffy if she’s been felling ignored when she gets turned invisible in season six, and there’s a throwaway gag in season seven in which Buffy spots a girl turning invisible at the rebuilt Sunnydale High and tries to assure her that she’s “seen.”

But Marcie was perfectly primed to return at some point – more so than (for example) the Mantis eggs at the end of “Teachers Pet.” Hindsight is 20/20, and yet it’s impossible not to feel a little disappointed that the show didn’t take the opportunity to seed the existence of the Initiative with this episode. How easy would it have been to retcon the agents of this episode into Initiative recruits in season four, and for Marcie to return in some capacity during that season? That final scene demanded a Sequel Episode.

But having deliberately drawn a connection between Buffy and Marcie and setting them up as foils, what with both of them feeling ignored and out of place, it was odd that the episode ends with Buffy simply dismissing Marcie out of hand. That she went from “we did this to her” to “you’re a raging looney” just didn’t feel right. That Buffy is empathetic is a pretty crucial component to her character.

So it’s a bit difficult to discern the final message here. Perhaps it was “there but for the grace of my friends go I,” since Buffy is grounded by her friendship with Willow and Xander, and clearly isn’t going down a bitter or resentful path when it comes to the way Cordelia treats her. That's the most crucial difference between herself and Marcie, and ironically, this episode marks the beginning of a friendship with Cordelia.

Miscellaneous Observations:

I’d like to think that Marcie’s “lesson” stayed with Cordelia. She shrugs it off by the end of the episode, but she does improve from here on out, and I’d like to think that she’s realized that the way she treats people matters.

I like the little detail that Angel offers to go back into the boiler room to turn off the gas since “it’s not like I need the air.” It demonstrates that vampirism does have some specific advantages (which will also turn up in the very last Angel episode) and kind of feels like foreshadowing for the next episode, in which he’s unable to perform CPR on Buffy.

During my high school years, I recall having to study a play called “After All We’ve Done” in which a boy is constantly discussed by his family and peers, but never actually seen on-stage. They’re constantly talking over him, micro-managing his life, making unreasonable demands of him, and eventually crying “after all we’ve done!” when he snaps and destroys an art exhibition at school. But like I said – he’s never actually seen on-stage. The point of the story is that he’s entirely acted upon, and I think of it every time I watch this episode.

Also, this YouTube prank of a guy convincing his younger brother that he’s become invisible.

Speaking of high school, among my friend-group the phrase “have a nice summer” became something of an in-joke thanks to this episode. We all wrote it in each other’s yearbook just to wind each other up.

After all that talk of ghosts, I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t one. But technically, isn’t Sunnydale High already haunted by the spirits of that student and teacher who were having a love affair back in the fifties? It’s amusing to think they’re haunting a completely different part of the school while Buffy was trying to hunt down Marcie.

I still think it’s weird that Angel appears in this episode and not “Nightmares,” which could have showcased his character in an interesting way. Still, there’s got to be a fun story about how exactly he got his hands on the Codex.

It was fun to see Clea DuVall, and yes, this was one of her earliest projects. I know her best from The Faculty and the first season of Heroes, but she’s been working regularly over the years, most recently in The Handmaid’s Tale and American Horror Story.

As fond as I am of this episode, there are some lingering questions. Like where on earth were Marcie’s parents? Did they ignore her too? Is there a reason she chose to hunker down in a nest at the school instead of just being invisible at home?

I mentioned in the summary that perhaps the threat of the boiler room blowing up was the inspiration for the entire school going kaboom at the end of season three. On a similar note, the fact that Buffy blames the student body for Marcie’s invisibility complex also reminded me of Jonathan. Like Marcie, he’s aggressively ignored by everyone – though in his case, it’s also the audience who partakes in the “not noticing” his presence. I wouldn't be surprised if the idea of his character stemmed from this episode.

All that in mind, I’m deeming this one an Innocuously Important Episode. It’s very indicative of season one, in which the writers were still playing around with the rules of the premise, and not for the first time building their plot around a metaphor (much like “Nightmares,” the real villain is the way perception can affect reality – this angle largely disappeared after season one).

Best Line: Giles: “The loneliness, the constant exile, she's gone quite mad!” Xander: “Yah think?” Okay, it’s not that clever, but Nicholas Brendan slathers it in so much sarcasm that I have to give it props.

Best Scene: When Cordelia reveals some hidden depths and bonds with Buffy through the door of the janitor’s closest. It’s been eleven episodes, and she’s finally humanized a little.

Biggest Unanswered Question: How did the FBI know that Marcie had turned invisible? It suggests some sort of inside man who can report on the strange goings-on at the school, but this thread is never picked up on. Again, it’s a shame that the show never tied them in with the Initiative.

Death Toll: For the second episode in a row, no fatalities! That leaves us with:

Grand Total: Fifteen civilians, fifteen villains, one ally.

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 10/05/2024

The Jamminest of All

Season 5 Featured on: The Space Jam Charity SLAM!: First Quarter

Ripped by Nozobot

Requested by TimTom! (Request Form)

I think I mentioned it before in a post once or twice, but part of what makes Space Jam so difficult to cover on here is because its the kind of mashup source that's almost intentionally used uncreatively a lot of the time. It is THE mashup song even more than All-Star is - a nostalgic 4/4ths time signature tune with verses so catchy yet oh so redundant, they can be interspersed together with just about any piece of VGM and end up creating a new earworm. Hoopache was interesting if only for breaking that trend by its time signature change, and Space Jam has been used as a *supporting* source to great effect in rips like Mother, Father, Technoman to maintain a rip's momentum - yet for a while, it felt as if getting creativity out of Space Jam mashups was like squeezing blood from a stone. That was, of course, part of the joke, and further part of what led to the Space Jam Charity Slam!: a charity event wherein viewers could donate to request Space Jam rips to be made, althewhile also being provided hours upon hours of brand-new Space Jam content. Space Jam stocks were at an all-time high - and all rippers were on deck.

I'll be honest - I didn't exactly pick The Jamminest of All to cover today necessarily because I believe its the BEST rip from the event, because I've honestly not LISTENED to most rips from the event. With 500+ rips uploaded in total, its a daunting task to go down - yet one that's undeniably fun to put on shuffle if only to see the funny thumbnail changes. Yet what stands out to me about The Jamminest of All is specifically how it connects to the end of the last paragraph - how ripper of all sorts were all on board contributing to this massive bonanza, even ones you'd never think would have interest in Space Jamming. Not that I'd say Nozobot is above being a little stupid - Sex - Steve Harvey remains the most stupid video on this entire channel - but they're also the kind of ripper that made Assassin's Sneed, Hidden Headtoilets (skibidi toree 2) and tons of fantastic YTPMVs on their own channel. What I mean to say is, they're not one to cut corners, one to always put their own spin on things - and when given the task to do a Space Jam rip with The Jamminest of All, you can really feel that personality exuding from it.

I mean first of all, the choice of song alone. Lucky Strike isn't exactly one of Maroon 5's biggest hits, released right as the band was sort of, um, getting bad - but it is, fun fact, the first Maroon 5 song that Chaze the Chat ever used on SiIvaGunner for a rip. The contrast between it and The Jamminest of All is insane - the former primarily just using its instrumentals to add touches to an Undertale song, wheras this rip is hitting us with Space Jam's background vocalists being pitch-shifted right off the bat. Within just a minute's runtime, Nozobot crams in so many fun uses of the Space Jam audio - I love how perfectly the "yes sir, yes sir" is replaced with "Space Jam, Space Jam" just through removing a measure of the Space Jam intro, the way Barkley's lead vocals end up feeling so seamlessly hype despite how much they've been shortened and spliced up - and all the while, the rip is having tons of fun sprinkling in clips from NBA Jam and Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden just for flavor.

Still within that same minute, the rip briefly turns into an actual Space Jam mashup, with Adam Levine's vocals returning for the bridge in the typical 4/4 Space Jam mashup format - only for the chorus to break out into the biggest surprise of the whole rip. No matter how many times I watch it, the NA-NA-NA-NA-NAs from the original Space Jam being pitch-shifted to the "ooo-oohs" of Lucky Strike's original chorus always just cracks me up - its such BRILLIANT use of such a minescule, oft-forgotten part of the Space Jam tune and EXACTLY the kind of thing that I'd suspect Nozobot of coming up with for a rip using it. I realize now that I've practically walked you through the rip's entire runtime - but I hope you understand why! Every step of it is crafted so expertly, yet never to a clinical degree - always with Nozobot's patended craziness just an inch away from breaking free.

Despite that zaniness still present in The Jamminest of All, it's remarkable how "controlled" it all ends up feeling. I can't quite describe it - its as if Nozobot actually engineered the rip with a three-act storytelling structure, and it ends up working far better than it has any right to. But then, that's part of why Space Jam rips can be so fun to follow - amidst all the people just making the simple ones for fun, the likes of which were plentiful during the Charity Slam! (many of which were fantastic), there's always going to be true gems like this, rips that find frankly insane mileage out of such a played-out source all of these years later. Hell, you remember how it was used in my rip :) right - even the most "played out" mashup joke still has enough life in its bones to bring so many incredible rips to fruition. Be it through ironic enjoyment or post-ironic enjoyment, who really cares? Slam Jam's fun, and The Jamminest of All is a testament to how fun it can be when wielded at the hands of a true expert.

[itsyamutha]

Anything to help ~ Carl Grimes

Carl x reader

Season 6

Alexandria/ eye patch

Warning: oral given, swearing (let’s just imagine we’re 18)

Word count: 1027

It had been 3 days since carls eye incident. I had finished my work for the day and remembered that Carl was told to rest. Why don’t I go check on him and see if he needs anything. Carl was my best friend and we always help each other out. If it weren’t for my uncle Hershel taking them in I would have never met him. Ever since then I had developed a crazy crush on him, but he’s my best friend. I don’t want to mess up our friendship. I walked in to his room to see him slumped.

“Rise and shine sleeping beauty.” I knocked on his door frame. When he sat up in bed was when I realized that he was shirtless. I handed him some pain killers and a bottle of water.

As he took his meds my eyes veered down to his chest and toned stomach plus the bullet wound from when we met.

“Ay my eye is up here.“ he spoke snapping me out of it.

“Damn I see we’re feeling good enough to make jokes,… also too soon.” I giggled.

“Well I thought it was funny.” He replied. I shook my head in response to his comment.

“So how are you feeling today.”

“I’m a little sore, kinda dizzy and I have a killer headache but that’s about it.” He said holding his head.

“I haven’t really left this bed much so my whole body is stiff.” I felt bad because I knew he was in lots of pain.

“I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Actually yes there is. I haven’t taken a shower and since I’m all disoriented, can you help me get to the bathroom?”

“Of course can.” I replied. He removed the blanket and slowly sat up on the edge of the bed. I wrapped my arm around his back and helped him stand. We walked to the bathroom one step at a time. He held himself up on the bathroom counter.

“Do you need anything else?” I just want to make sure he was ok.

“I think I’m good for rn.” He answered with a weak smile.

“Ok, we’ll I’ll be in the bedroom so just yell for me if you need anything.” I walked leaving the door cracked a little. I walked over and threw myself on the bed. About five minutes later I heard the shower turn off.

“Y/N. Can you come here?”

“Yeah.”

He was holding a towel around his waist. DAMN HE LOOK FINE!

“It’s too hot in here it’s making me nauseous. We slowly walked to the bed. He sat down with the towel on his lap. I handed him his clothes.

“I’m sorry but can u at least get my boxers to my knees so I can pull them up. I helped him with the boxers then turned around so he could pull them up.

“Ok your good to turn back around.” He said. I helped him put on his sweatpants as well. After, I sat next to him on the bed. He placed his hand on mine and looked me in the eyes.

“Y/n thank you so much it really means a lot to me.” He lightly squeezed my hand.

“Carl you don’t need to thank me. Your my best friend that’s what I’m here for.” I reassured.

We stared at each other for a moment before I looked down. He lifted my chin and kissed me. I instantly melted into the kiss. The kiss started to become more intense. We readjusted so that I was straddling him. I pulled away for a second.

“Wait am I hurting you.” I asked.

“No, not at all beautiful.” My heart fluttered when he said that. I started to kiss down his chin and his neck. I pulled away and connected with Carls lips again. His hands traveled all over my thighs and my ass lightly squeezing. I pulled away to attack his neck again leaving faint marks. My hands rubbed up and down his chest. I slowly made my way down his chest.

“God you’re so gorgeous” he gasped. I slipped one finger under his waist band.

“May I?” I looked up at him.

“Yes you may.” I rubbed the bulge before pulling his pants and boxers down. I wanted to tease him so I licked the tip. I felt his body shutter underneath me. I did it once more.

“Please Y/n.” He looked down at me with a pleading look. I spit on my hand and stroked him up and down before taking his length in my mouth. Carl threw his head back and let out a low groan. I moved up and down for another two minutes. I felt his body twitch so I knew he was close.

“Oh fuck this feels so good.” He growled.

“Uh fuck fuck….uh….. FUCK.”

I felt a warm liquid shoot in my mouth. Without thinking I swallowed a moment before connecting our lips again. We cleaned up and Carl threw on a shirt before heading downstairs.

Michonne and Daryl walked threw the front door.

“Oh hey guys.” I said handing Carl a cup of water.

“So how ya feelin kiddo.” Daryl asked.

“I feel fantastic.” He said with a smirk.

“Yeah I can tell by all those hickeys.” Michonne said giggling. I froze not knowing how to respond.

“Are they really that bad?” Carl asked. I smacked his arm and they all started laughing.

“I hate y’all. I’m going to go make dinner now.” I walked away. A few moments later I turned around to see Carl. He rested his hands on my hips and pulled me closer. Our lips met once again. Before he whisper in my ear.

“Y/n, I love you.”

“I love you too.” He sat down at the island.

“Oh I just remembered I have a surprise for you.” He raised an eyebrow. I pulled a X-men comic out my bag.

“I love you even more.” He exclaimed