#and I got obsessed with this one woman from season 4

[chippdhearts]

new hyperfixtion dropped

[coolspacequips]

I gotta give black sails it's flowers for having multiple bisexual poly relationships, mmf AND ffm at that lol

The first was such a delightful and unexpected twist that really puts a new light onto the entire thesis of the show, and then the second was literally one of my fav dynamics in the entire series, they were my favs and all got together??? Usually this only happens in indulgent fic, but not this time!!

(also something high-key funny (in a sad way) that it kinda starts as 'I'm so co-dependant I need you to hold my hand while I hook up with someone else that I was dubiously cheating on u with 🥺' and then they became a power throuple)

[fizzigigsimmer]

The group dynamics of Steve, Nancy, Jonathan and Billy in a better season 2, with the addition of Robin and Heather in season 3... y'all just don't understand how my soul mourns for this.

Billy would be the "leather jacket" guy of the group. The semi reformed bully whose still 'too cool for any of you', but since there are monsters to slay point me at em. But Robin would clock his desperate cries for Steve's attention so quick, and Heather would be the first to see past the facade and like truly give a shit about him.

Imagine Heather and Billy bonding over smokes in the locker room at the pool, and her warning him away from Karen because she knows all about the desperate housewives of Hawkins, and if he's looking to get creeped on by a woman old enough to be his mother he can just come to her house for dinner friday night. Her mom's a great cook and it will get her dad off her back about dating for awhile.

Imagine Billy and Nancy competing over grades and kinda just barely tolerating each other at first, but she is so confused because he and Jonathan seem to have found common ground and he's like low key the biggest champion of their relationship.

Imagine Eddie is the one who gets flayed and it's the teens who figure it out because Billy's obsessed over the fact that the only dealer in town just up and quit, and is acting like he had a full personality transplant. Yeah Eddie was a dork, but he had good weed okay and Billy needs his hits god damn it if he's supposed to keep his shit together about monsters and the end of the world with Neil breathing down his neck.

Imagine Steve Harrington's very first gay kiss being when he's taunting his rival/maybe friend, sometimes monster hunting partner Billy Hargrove with a joint he found stashed in his glove compartment and Billy shot guns him like it's nothing.

Imagine Nancy on her "I don't know, maybe it was Steve all along" bullshit in season 4, and Jonathan self sabotaging with everything he's got. And they're like in the upside down and Nancy is doing her thing making gooey eyes at Steve, wrapping his wounds and Billy just pops off out of nowhere, "Make sure she wraps those tight. You're topping tonight no excuses. Oh and stop being such a pussy Byers. Communicate with your girl."

Everyone's just like gobsmacked, bamboozeled, and Steve is just so embaressed, exasperated, but kinda happy too.

"Is this you communicating?"

Billy all sly, "We understand each other don't we?"

[perseruna]

heyyyy do you have any details/sources for the ca*ill being a jackass thing? ngl i watch twn for yen and jaskier so i was already planning on continuing to season 4 but i'd love some reasons to be actively excited for the actor switch. but i haven't kept up on the behind-the-scenes stuff so i'm kinda lost on that front if you're up for sharing any of what you know!

okay guys buckle up this is THE anti henry cavill megathread xoxo

First of all him dating a teenager as a 33 year old fully grown man literally gross and disgusting.

Also as this quote implies they started dating a year prior and only went public when she was 19 so they supposedly started dating when she was 18.

His entire dating history is a MESS. Sure the women he dated are not him, but he chose to date them, I wouldn't even associate myself with people like these let alone be in a relationship with them. He dated the infamous transphobic TERF Gina Carano, albeit before her loud controversy, but I doubt her harmful views were any different back then. His current gf has a history of doing black face.

His "Me Too" comments.

His comments on the Me Too movement are literally so vile. If you don’t want to be called a rapist, just don’t rape women, it’s literally as simple as that. They’re even more foul because they’re promoting the idea that women lie about their abusive for fame, promoting that harmful rhetoric especially in our times is incredibly dangerous.

Now onto his on set behavior.

We can't talk about his set behavior without mentioning the deuxmoi set leak. Here's the transcript of it:

[Transcript:

There’s something I really really wanted to read to you guys--it has to do with why Henry Cavill left The Witcher. I know that was something that you guys were super interested in when it happened, and I just recently got this message. Somebody was like “Hey, do you want to know what really went down?” And I was like “Sure!” So let me just read it. It says:

“At the beginning of the show, Henry was good to work with. A lot of difficult demands that made people feel like he wasn’t a team player, but that’s not unusual for a really big star. Though in TV it truly usually doesn’t happen until the second season. But in season two and three something shifted and he became really impossible for women to work with, which is always a big problem, but even worse here because the showrunner is a woman. He would try to overrule her and try to get changes made last minute across the board without her knowledge, which, if you know anything about showrunning, is completely fucked. The showrunner has to sign off on every miniscule detail down to the buttons on a costume. Female writers and directors were suddenly being completely ignored on set, unable to do their jobs. Every department head was complaining. He started making comments—it wasn’t a sexual thing, he wasn’t grabbing anyone or being lewd, but it was disrespectful and toxic all the same.

“He is deeply addicted to video games, to the point where it was like working with any other addict. He was distracted, he was late, he was obsessive, and a lot of people think the misogyny came from gamer world. Video game bro language is not how you talk to coworkers, and he wouldn’t stop. Someone on the show compared it to watching someone get brainwashed by QAnon, like his whole personality shifted. Eventually his disrespect escalated. He would rewrite scenes without even alerting the other actors in the scenes until it was time to shoot. He decided that he didn’t want any romantic scenes at all—no kissing scenes, no shirtless scenes, et cetera. He wanted complete control of storylines but really had no idea of the limitations of TV, structure, budget, et cetera. He formed a weird alliance with one writer who was also a gamer, who eventually got fired after multiple HR complaints were made and after that writer left, Henry did anything he could to hold up production and cause problems.

“Eventually top brass at Netflix was tired of him costing them money with delays and HR investigations and the showrunner was asked to construct a potential exit for him. Netflix reached out to him personally and he was given one final warning, and violated that warning with an email he sent to the entire writing staff right after that meeting. That was it. It’s very disappointing.”

End transcript.]

Now believe me or not, but I know from a really good source that the leak was indeed real.

There's a lot of patterned behavior that tracks with what we know of him and his past controversies.

After that leak came out, there was a lot of people from different places coming to comment that ‘yes’ they’ve heard a very similar story adding a little bit more details of their own.

this quickly deleted tweet from one of the writers/producers:

there were rumors about him being an asshole to Anya specifically.

He went on record that he doesn't "understand" sex scenes. Which I know the sex discourse is rampant nowadays and each to their own, but he specifically signed up for a role that requires those scenes and then refused to do them and was allegedly nasty to Anya about it and with the way he talks about women...

Also it’s important to touch upon the “writer he had a weird alliance with” that man in question is Beau DeMayo of the recent fame of getting fired by Marvel from X-Men ‘97. He was previously allegedly fired from The Witcher for being emotionally and physically abusive. And he allegedly got fired from X-Men for being abusive as well. One of The Witcher writers tweeted this after Beau smeared them for “disliking the books” Beau was literally the first person to start that narrative.

The fact that it was HIS idea not to say lines of his dialogue in S1 and instead grunt. To the point that Joey had to take Henry’s lines and make it his own, so the plot would make sense, he talks about it in this interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=Oyh0t117t0U&, and then once S2 press arrived Henry was talking about how he was trying to fight the big bad writers to give him more lines. Ridiculous.

Everyone is already pointing out that the cast looks so much happier without him, and it’s very true. Henry was never present on close to any BTS pics from filming the previous seasons, or on any cast dinners or birthdays. He wouldn't even do any shared interviews with the other three mains but only had solo interviews which to me was giving disrespectful like you're an ensemble you’re not the only lead here. It felt like he was above them to sit down and answer questions with them. When they were doing press junkets in Brazil and Poland Anya, Joey and Freya would always arrive together and leave together with that man leaving all the events early and by himself. And like people who post quotes from the cast about him being perfect from press junkets as “proof” are insane to me like Obviously they’re going to say nice things about him, not only they're newcomers, and he's an established industry name, but they’re doing PRESS for a show that he’s a STAR of (well, was lmao)

The fact that he never defended Anya from the racist trolls, even though most of them were HIS fans. Like she had to go through so much and that man couldn’t make a single comment about it as a leading man BUT he could make a whole IG post because people were being mean to his gf and calling her out for doing blackface.

And sure people might say that a lot of these are unverified sources, and I’d get it if it was a singular case, but there are a ton of these accounts that all match each other. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

[sleepystargaze]

On Caitlyn's 180: An Essay

This is all spoiler below. But I NEED to talk about it.

What if this is the exact moment Caitlyn puts everything together, including Vi being one of the children who burglarized Jayce's penthouse.

Hear me out.

So, Caitlyn asks Vi what she's doing there, and Vi says, "Trying to save my dad." She has this little "AHA!" moment.

(go look at the last panel of this gif set rn for more context)

That woman just had an epiphany. Furthermore, the way the music swells at this exact moment just feels like it's clueing in on more than meets the eyes.

She clearly realizes, at minimum, that her and Vi are here for the same thing: Warwick. And then doesn't even really question it. This got me to thinking, "but how she do that though?"

Well, she has all the information she needs to put it together, this is just the first time she's had a reason to pull that SPECIFIC information together.

Let's start with the fact that Caitlyn loves a mystery, and the rise of shimmer is a part of her favorite mystery.

Literally, in her giant bedroom, the only part of it that looks lived in is the big map at the foot of her bed. The show doesn't indicate when exactly this obsession started for Caitlyn, but it makes it clear that it's been on her mind for a very long time. Jayce called it "the great conspiracy," so she definitely talked about it a lot. And Jayce's flippant attitude tells us she's definitely been thinking about it since she was a teenager.

Educated guess, I believe this started with Sheriff Grayson's murder. (a) It would be unsurprising Caitlyn felt a great need to bring justice to the person that murdered someone she cared for. (b) It was a murder that would ultimately become a cold case. (c) Silco being the main conspirator to her murder, the trail would lead her to a larger conspiracy.

And from this scene above, we know that Vi is impressed with what Caitlyn was able to gather without ever going to the Undercity. Which means, we know her board was really close to the truth. Afterall, it did lead her to Vi, who single-handedly led her to the answers she sought.

So, why the hell does this matter in regards to Vi being involved in the burglary?

Caitlyn knows that Grayson's main priority at the time of her death was finding the culprits of the explosion.

Caitlyn's parents clearly involve her in the conversations revolving around the explosion at the penthouse. I don't feel it's a stretch to assume she also knew that the council were putting pressure on Grayson to solve the case.

The explosion of the warehouse happened on the same night as Grayson's murder. While I don't think Caitlyn had a way to really connect the 2 explosions except that they happen within days of each other, I doubt Caitlyn forgets this fact even if she does not connect them initially. 

Now you may being wondering why the heck that matters. What does the warehouse have anything to do with it?

Caitlyn was in the ruins of the destroyed warehouse at the end of season 1.

In which she heard this conversation.

Thing is, she was going through an extremely traumatic experience at the time... Then her mom was killed... So I doubt she realized it was the same place nor had the mental capabilities of processing the information. And by the time she did have the capacity to really consider it, she likely had no reason to...at least yet.

Regardless, she's here for this conversation. She now at least knows Vander's name and that he was important to them and that Silco murdered him here.

So, she has her connection here. If she realizes this was the location of the second explosion, she now knows that Grayson and Vander were murdered on the same night. And if she connects it to the penthouse explosion, Grayson's investigation and main focus at the time, she also knows that...

4 children were fleeing the scene.

Seems like everyone knew this within the hour after the explosion. Word spread so fast, Vander knew before the kids even got home. Caitlyn undoubtedly knows about the kids. She just doesn't know who they are, but she has seen them.

Caitlyn has an eye for detail and a mind for investigation. I doubt she lets much fall between the cracks. They didn't leave Ekko's home until it was dark. She had plenty of time to look at this mural, at the 4 children including Vi. Then at the tea party when Jinx starts talking to her hallucinations, she's pointed to...

Again, traumatic experience. Probably not thinking about it that hard, but she did see the puppets. Again, no reason to connect those things yet. But she does now have the context to connect that these 2 other children are important to Vi and Jinx and that they were important enough to be brought to the "tea party."

And because of the mural, she knows that these were real people and that they died.

FURTHERMORE, they undoubtedly know who Vander was by the reputation he left behind.

When that one guy getting tortured gave up Vander's statue as the meeting location, Ambessa's second-hand man, who is not from Zaun OR Piltover, knew exactly where that was. There's no way Caitlyn doesn't also know about the statue. Besides that, she also saw him in the mural. If she's seen this statue, she knows it's the same man.

Caitlyn would now know that Vander is important to the whole undercity. "Well respected."

Lastly, Singed told Ambessa about the man behind the monster.

This one is a bit of a stretch, but think about it. Ambessa has no reason to withhold the information Singed gave her. Here it is below if you want a reminder:

"He isn't a monster. He was once a man. Well respected, at that. Victim of great tragedy. He had a furocious will to live. An incredible tolerance for pain. With him, I was able to make strides impossible with any other specimen. But the mind... the mind I could not recover. The man forever lost in the bowels of the beast, compelled only by the scent of blood. Or so I thought. It now seems I had yet to uncover the right catalyst."

Singed is awfully forthcoming with information once he realizes he doesn't have to hide it from Ambessa. And when Caitlyn walks in on them in Singe's lab, Ambessa makes no effort to hide her current involvement with Singed. AND even if Ambessa realizes Singed is talking about Vander, I highly doubt Ambessa has the information necessary to realize she's literally delivering Caitlyn to a connection to not only Vi, but Jinx.

Caitlyn, however, does have all the information. If Ambessa or Singed told Caitlyn the same info or even more, Caitlyn could likely start making some assumptions on who the man behind the beast is.

She just didn't have a catalyst to put everything together... Again, yet.

And while we're on the topic of this scene...

We learn Caitlyn abhors a gap in information.

Caitlyn talks about the mystery of shimmer, "This led to one other missing puzzle piece whose absence has always gnawed at my mind."

She wants all the details even if it does not add much to the full picture.

She already knows Silco and the chembarons are responsible for the manufacturing and distribution of shimmer. Learning who made it only tells her who made it. It doesn't solve anything or change what she would have to do to stop the spread of shimmer. But she wants to know. She HAS to know.

She wants all the dots to connect and is not satisfied until they do.

So, when Vi says, "Trying to save... my dad."

What if this one sentence was all Caitlyn needs to connect everything she didn't understand before. I mean, how else do you explain that little "aha" head move she does.

There is no way she did not take a greater interested in how the heck Vi was involved to begin with and especially as a child.

Her main focus has been on Jinx: finding her and bringing her to justice. She's been distracted.

What if this is the catalyst, the first time she has a reason to connect all those dots to make what Vi said make sense. And suddenly it all does.

Honestly, it would explain why Caitlyn jumped ship so easily.

In conclusion.

Caitlyn has all the information she needs to connect the dots.

She has the motivations to continue seeking those answers.

She just didn't have the mental opportunity to really consider it... until she did.

Anyway... Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm reading too much into it. Maybe one "Cupcake" is just not enough to convince me she'd immediately plan a mutiny, but maybe she is that simple! (She's definitely not. *coughs*)

But you know what, even if she didn't glean that Warwick is actually Vander and Vander is Vi's dad in that moment, she definitely knows after this...

So, anyway, I think she definitely knows or is at minimum primed to have the realization. Guess we'll see.

[tevantarlos]

Unpopular Opinion 911 - et all

I'm a bisexual woman and I've known that I'm bisexual since I was 11 years old. I legitimately am attracted to both men and women.

I've been watching 911 since 2 months after season 1 ended in 2018. I got into the show for Bathena and have loved them ever since.

I keep seeing people complaining on the official show pages about how Athena abuses her authority as a cop, and while they're not wrong, they're also blowing things way out of proportion. I'm pretty sure the people saying that have never watched the NBC show Chicago PD, because if you compare what Athena's done, to what Voight on Chicago PD has done, you'd know that the stuff she's done has been pretty tame.

On Chicago PD:

1. Voight has locked people up in a cage and literally tortured them for information.

2. He has killed people for revenge. He killed the guy who killed his son, Justin. He killed the guy or people who killed Al. There are probably even more occurrences than that, but these are the one's that mainly come to mind for me.

3. He literally threatened Matt Casey, Hallie Thomas, and Gabby Dawson, when his dumbass son, Justin, was on drugs and caused an accident which paralyzed someone, because they could report Justin to other police who would've actually locked Justin's stupid ass up. I get that Voight was trying to protect his kid, but that doesn't make this shit okay. Also, it's weird as hell that Antonio worked with Voight for 6 years. How the hell did Antonio not kill Voight for threatening his sister's life? That's garbage.

4. He literally stole money and drugs from criminals.

5. He has threatened his detective's lives on more than one occasion, and not in some way to make sure they are more careful and protect themselves, but as a legit threat.

Returning to my 911 thoughts.

Oliver Stark has claimed that he's been playing Buck as bisexual the entire time. No, he has not. He just wants the clicks and attention from pretending that this has been happening all along. Buck has had no interest in men until season 7 and the BuckTommy storyline happened.

The episode of Lone Star that's the crossover, doesn't prove Buck is bi. He wasn't flirting with TK, it was a misunderstanding on TK's part. Buck is literally confused when TK says that he's with someone, as he wasn't flirting with TK, he was only inviting TK to come to LA as a friend to hang out.

Buck says on the show that he's checked out hot guy's asses before. He hasn't done that in canon. It's one of many things that they claim is canon, but isn't because it happened off screen. He has literally been obsessed with women from the first time we see him, until Tommy returns in season 7.

Buck can't even say that he's bisexual on the show. He hasn't done any research, when he used to research everything. He hasn't spoken to people like Hen, Karen, or even Josh in depth about his feelings for men. There was one scene, right before the relationship ended, where he talked to Josh, which didn't even amount to anything and was just a waste of time since they made Tommy OOC and broke up with Buck. Hell, he (Buck) didn't even know after 6 months that Tommy was gay and not any other identity.

All this to say, 911, TM, OS, they don't genuinely give a shit about Buck, his supposed bisexuality, Tommy, or even the other main characters on the show. From one episode to the next, they have them say one thing and then retcon it right after.

The whole Buck is bi thing was a hoax. They just wanted to attract the gay and bisexual crowd back to the show since Henren and Josh haven't been getting that much screentime, and Buck and OS are like the golden child of the show. People think he's an idiot, but that he's a sweet idiot, who can do no wrong.

As I stated above, I started watching 911 before season 2 even aired. I don't like the way the show is handling their characters and storylines and I'm finally getting tired of the shitty writing. I love Bathena, I love Henren, I love Madney, I loved BuckTommy. However, if Tommy is thrown aside like yesterday's trash and Buck moves on, only to fuck a bunch of women and/or men with the excuse of exploring his sexuality, I will be checking out and dropping the show.

I like Buck's character, but he's not the reason I watch the show. He's also not enough to keep me watching. Henren are constantly being threatened to have their kids taken away. Bathena is constantly put in crazy life or death situations that end in some super unrealistic way: Kid landing a plane, remember? Madney don't have anything interesting going on. Literally, all they have going on, is that they're having another kid. Eddie has spent years obsessed with his dead wife, Josh hasn't had much of a plot in years, since the only boyfriend he's had on the show was some homophobic jackass who lied and said he was gay, so that he could beat Josh up.

May is gone, Harry is gone, Sue is gone, Carla is gone, Chris is gone. All the side characters that helped make the show a little interesting, is gone. The found family dynamic is lacking or entirely absent this season. Also, making the point to show Tommy sad and longing for a family, only for him to end up sad and alone, doesn't make me want to keep watching this show.

I think I'm finished bitching for now. I know that my thoughts are all over the place, but I've kept my mouth shut on how I feel about OS and Buck's bisexuality, this whole time, but now I'm finally going to fully speak up.

As always, I know many or even most people aren't going to agree with me and that's fine. This is just my feelings and opinion on the show.

[muzsmocsing]

Reviewing tgcf characters because I have thoughts

I finished S2 recently and I need somewhere to put my not exactly hot but like warm (?) takes because it's taking up too much storage space in my brain.

🤍 Xie Lian 🤍

It's a good thing I'm not into guys because if I was I would be on my knees for this man in every sense of that expression and his pet menace to society would mince me up like garlic.

So I'll try to be brief about my overflowing feelings about him. Xie Lian is the best main character I have come across in a WHILE. He's the embodiment of compassion and kindness. And also a cold blooded murderer. A babygirl. A father figure. A terrifying martial god. A silly little guy. A pathological liar. The most genuine man you'll ever meet. He's everything, and Hua Cheng is 100% valid in his obsession. I'm right there with him.

Rating: 10/10

❤️ Hua Cheng ❤️

Idk if we ever figured out who wrote My Immortal but I'm pretty sure we have our culprit.

"Hi my name is Hua Cheng Crimson Rain Sought Flower Red-Robed Ghost King and this is my evil weapon of death E-ming. I've killed soooo many gods with it!! My dark power is I can summon storms of BLOOD and SUFFERING. I have my own scary city of DEMONS and they all love me and think I'm HOT but I only want my BOYFRIEND who's the only REAL GOD so STOP FLAMING HIM YOU POSERS-"

Needless to say I love him. Being the 8 time winner of the Loverboy of the Century Awards with unbeatable records in the yearning olympics is truly a remarkable feat.

Rating: 9/10

(Bonus: E-ming. Cute little guy. Likes his stepdad more than his real dad. Not afraid to show it's feelings even if it makes it look like a muppet, 10/10)

🧡 Feng Xin & Mu Qing 🧡

Tweedle dee and tweedle dum gets a shared rating because they would hate to be grouped together like that and that's funny to me. Their dynamic is great, they're good characters, I wasn't sure which one was which until midway through the second season. But then also I have a pair of 7yo twin cousins who I still can't tell apart despite them not looking even a slight bit similar so that might just be a character flaw on my end. Oops.

Rating: 7/10

🩵Shi Qingxuan🩵

I'm doubling the rating because she is best boy and best girl at the same time. I love that I can use any and all pronouns for him because he's literally a pride parade personified and therefore all of them are correct. You don't get that type of chaotic fun just anywhere.

He is truly living my dream, presenting as whatever gender they want depending on what's more convenient and/or funnier in the moment. Super useful, for things like gathering intel and terrorizing Feng Xin by being a woman.

And I personally think we should crown her the new emperor. She'd look significantly better on that throne, with her Barbie-like radiance and flourishing Kenergy.

Rating: 20/10

🖤 Ming Yi 🖤

Listen, I hate to say it because I like a sunshine x grump moment as much as the next gay but he's just... not giving what he thinks he's giving. Everyone is whispering ominously about him having some dark devastating secret but MY point is no matter how big his boobs are in his female form, Shi Qingxuan could do better. I'm sorry. She really could.

Rating: 4/10

💙 Lang Qianqiu 💙

Just an honest man with good intentions and a sickass fucking sword. He did NOT hesitate to attack the infamous Crimson Rain Sought Flower on SIGHT and I respect a quick decisionmaker, even if it shows some himbo tendencies. He also has the same distinct energy as Fred from Scooby Doo.

Rating: 6/10

💚 Qi Rong 💚

He's got some odd dietary and moral choices going on. Definitely. But he's just such a fun villain!!! Being Xie Lian's nr 1 source of migraines SHOULD make me like him less but I'm sorry, every time he was on screen I was LIVING. He would do numbers on reality TV. Someone put this guy on Kitchen Nightmares, I need to see him 1v1 Gordon Ramsay.

Rating: 7/10

🌚 Jun Wu 🌚

He has his emperor status & DILF card going for him but something about this man just ain't right. If he came to a party I was attending I would cover my drink is all I'm saying.

Rating: 2/10

🔥Pei Ming🔥

I don't know much about him besides he had that one shady empolyee or whatever (could not hear the plot over the deafening sound of Hua Cheng's yearning) but I'm partial to a good manwhore character. The thought of people praying to him like "Hugh Mungus, who art in heaven-" really tickles me.

I know he's probably straight but I headcanon him as at the very least bi-curious because you can't be that hot with that much game and not use it for evil. (That evil being causing large scale gay awakenings among his soldiers.)

Rating: 7/10

❓Pei Xiu❓

Unreliable, unimportant, unattractive, unemployed.

I remember not a singular thing about him besides fucking up Xie Lian's daughter's life and also being on my last nerve from the jump. If you're going to be evil at like least be memorable about it, you know? You can't be a bad person and a bad character at the same time. Pick a struggle.

Rating: 1/10

📚 Ling Wen 📚

I heard she committed some war crimes but honestly if I had to do an entire realm's tax returns by myself AND teach Pei Ming how to read (I refuse to believe that man is literate, just look at him) I would want to rage on occasion too. I hope she has a hot wife waiting for her at home to give her massages after carrying the whole system on her back all day. It's what she deserves.

Rating: 8/10

Thank you for reading!! Opinions might change once I read the books but as of now this is it. Remembering everyone's names has been a journey and a half so this post is sponsored by @kirstenly 's character cheat sheet go look at it! and everything else too!!!

[markantonys]

half forgot it was wot day but it served me well as i was able to sit down and enjoy it after work instead of bingeing the whole thing in the morning. and boy am i glad i did!!

this ep really touched me, far more than i expected given no rand, egwene, mat, and co. i've never had anything against perrin but his storyline so far has always been the least interesting to me so i'm glad he got the focus this time. marcus definitely delivered; i'm so impressed! and i love perrin a lot more now. he's kind and brave and humble and he'll always do the right thing even if it hurts. if i were from two rivers, i'd follow him anywhere.

fave moments: ugh, too many but i'll try to break it down. top tier has to go to perrin and faile's scenes; i know the show speedruns their relationship but they make it work so well! that bit where he tells her to stay behind him so she can kill the ones he misses...i might have swooned just a little. i adore how faile is ready to throw down for him at any given moment and the fact she has to tilt her head practically all the way back to look at him. they're so perfect <3

the twins taking out child valda was so freaking satisfying. a little surprised both maksim and alanna made it but not unhappy. shoutout to the women's circle for being absolute badasses as usual (and the archers, they were amazing)

aram...my boy!! i kept seeing ominous things on wotblr but it was unclear so i spent half the ep worrying he was going to be killed or be a secret darkfriend. i'm glad he survived and that the two rivers adopted him. he deserves a home!! (also happy to see ila though i was annoyed she went ahead and banished him. he's her only family and she was the only one who saw him kill the trolloc, like come on woman ): i wouldn't have said a word)

especially fascinating to me were the connections between the tuatha'an and aiel. even though they never directly interacted, you can see how they're bound by past history. capable of incredible kindness and incredible harshness because of their codes, and even though the aiel might not realise it, their reaction to death almost matches the tuatha'an's.

speaking of which, loial's death legitimately had me sobbing. i didn't realise it was going to hurt so much until i saw perrin and the others saying their goodbyes 😭 his relationship with bain and chiad and perrin was so special, and i know they'll always remember him (as will we all)

on a more shallow note, obsessed with all of dain and perrin's interactions this ep. i hope we get to see more of them in s4 (pleassee renew), the drama is just too rich - particularly bc most of it's coming from dain's end. calling perrin "two rivers" all the time even though he has to know his name by now, like i know what you are. pretty sure i caught perrin saving his life during the battle, so i'm looking forward to that and just the sheer fact of perrin's presence upsetting dain's teetering heterosexuality equilibrium in future 🤭

one ep left ): too soon! give us season 4 amazon you know you want to

nice, i'm glad that accidentally forgetting about the episode for a while led to a better viewing experience for you haha it's always a much better vibe to watch something after work and really sink into it rather than cramming it in before work! (cries in 3AM EST drop time)

i'd been curious about and unsure what to expect for this episode because, like you, perrin has always been the main character i'm least interested/invested in (actively disliked him in the books djfkgj but in the show always found him an absolute sweetheart and very likable but just not particularly interesting), so i was wondering how a perrin-only episode would hit for me, and i'm delighted to say it hit really well!! perrin is naturally such a quiet character who tries to fade into the background, so seeing him put in a situation where he has to step up and come center stage is a special thing, and marcus did an incredible job commanding the spotlight and showing off the depth of perrin's character and what makes him a hero! i've never felt as much of an understanding and appreciation of perrin's character as i do now after this episode.

perrin and faile's chemistry has been wonderful! Opposites Attract can be a hit-or-miss ship trope, but it's such a hit here because they're using it to show why the opposites complement each other and make each other better. the moment where he tells her to stay behind and kill the ones he misses just might be one of the top most romantic moments of the show so far for me haha i swooned more than a little! battle couple moments always get to me!!

the twins!!!! i wasn't expecting them to have such a (comparatively) big role this season, and it was such a delightful surprise! i really hope they'll return in future seasons too. i need to see them reunite with mat!!! they ARE set up to potentially go traveling with alanna, so fingers crossed that means the show intends to have them in s4 as well. out of all my 3x07 death predictions, valda and loial were at the very bottom of the list haha this episode really took me on some twists and turns! oh loial, i was sobbing too!!! i'm going to miss him so much, but he went out like such a hero! thinking back to his 2x08 speech about "we're all the heroes of another age's legend" and crying again!

and so true about the connections between the tuatha'an and aiel! i love how they thematically linked this storyline with rand's (aram living out lewin's story killed me dead, but he got a happier ending since he was welcomed into a new community by the two rivers <3), and i also love how they linked the tuatha'an with the aiel and showed how similar both are in their strong codes of honor and rigid adherence to their traditional way of life, even if those respective ways of life are polar opposites. and on top of that, doing this within a perrin episode and connecting that theme with the violence vs. peace theme that perrin struggles with was just chef's kiss!! in this episode we see how extreme adherence to violence and extreme adherence to peace both lead to suffering, so perrin successfully treading a middle ground of taking up arms when it's necessary but putting them down as soon as he sees an opportunity to negotiate for peace - delicious! and an excellent culmination of his character work from throughout all 3 seasons. in the s1 finale he regretted not picking up a weapon at all, in the s2 finale he regretted picking up a weapon and going too far, and in the s3 finale he managed to strike the right balance.

and finally, you are so right to rejoice in the tasty continuing arguably one-sided homoeroticism of dain and perrin hahaha the only thing better than a homoerotic rivalry is a homoerotic rivalry where one party is obsessed with it and the other party doesn't even know about it (i mean, perrin knows there's a rivalry, but he doesn't know it's homoerotic). this upcoming captivity plot point doesn't happen in the books (in that version, perrin tells the whitecloaks that he will give himself up after the battle if they come and help, but they don't come and help, so perrin doesn't have to keep that promise), so i am SO intrigued to see where they might go with it (if we get s4, please let it be so!). anyway, dain spent a whole season angrily trying to get his Crush He's Mad About Having to pay attention to him and then perrin finally went "okay, you can handcuff me and take me back to your place as your personal prisoner and spend lots of one-on-one time with me" and now dain's gay panicking because he never thought he'd get this far and doesn't know what to do about it djkfjgh

[dream-thief-forever-amen]

I love that the “hero” is still the absolute worst in season 2.

Let us explore the evidence.

Spoilers below:

1. Does not get on the plane to be a father to his child… his supposed motivation to earn money in the first place. Even when he has billions. In fact he’s become even more distant and unreliable, not even communicating with her any longer.

2. Promises to care for that girl’s younger brother but dumps him off on an old woman without explanation and a bag of cash. Continues to watch this old woman raise this random kid while working her old bones off in an outdoor market. Just like he watched his own mother work herself to death to care for his fully grown butt.

3. Does not use his considerable fortune to get the kid’s mom out of North Korea - just does the bare minimum with one broker.

4. Hoards his wealth to pursue his private obsession. Spends two years wasting away in his private hobby hotel and still does not have a solid plan or even good ideas about how to handle the murder island - and has not attempted to outsource this large problem to others better equipped to solve it.

5. Still has not realized the old man’s gamble at the end of season one with the homeless man only required that HE go down and help the dude or go down and get someone else to work with him to help the dude instead of just watching and hoping something would happen (This is arguably the theme of the show).

6. Gets back into the game but does not tell a single soul it’s a murder machine until AFTER they have all signed up, been photographed, and marched onto the field to be slaughtered.

7. Did not check in on or help his friend from season one, even though they were still in the same city and his friend was struggling. Now that poor sod is also in the game.

8. Doesn’t make his impassioned speech to convince others not to continue the game after round one - nope, not until over half have already voted and his own side is losing.

9. When the majority votes to continue the game, he makes no attempt to try to reason with or plead with those who voted to stay, even though they only lost by a narrow margin. The entire group stays divided and refuses to work together. Ironically it is two characters from the other, majority side who make a point to reach out to him. One of them shares his personal story of why he voted the way he did - swaying hearts and minds - which is ironically what our “hero” should have done. Except he doesn’t have a sad story of circumstances - he is the sad story.

10. Later our male lead finally thinks it’s time to perhaps attempt to sway some hearts and minds and is instantly talked out of it cause it might stir up trouble… in the murder game… the irony…

11. The completely haphazard plan to take over the facility by disarming the uniformed guards. Even though he knew they were outnumbered, there is surveillance everywhere, and he had zero plan of what to do next. Leaving the majority of his “team” to fend for themselves (and be murdered) while he secured the strongest among them to hide in wait.

HE IS THE WORST.

Is it a case of being your own worst enemy, of mental illness, of selfishness, stupidity? Is it soupical tendencies born from disappointments? Is it just in our DNA?

I don’t know. But I do think this show has gone to great lengths to show us repeatedly that the male lead is someone who doesn’t know how to care for others.

His sweet daughter loves him dearly but you could already see she was old enough to be disappointed in him. There was pity there too.

Money can’t change your bad habits or your crap personality.

This man didn’t even invest his money so that at least the interest could fund a few orphanages or homeless shelters in perpetuity. Nope, he’s got it sitting around on a mattress.

I also find it interesting how many older women are still trying to raise fully grown men in this show. The male lead’s mom. The mother of his dead friend who our male lead tosses another son onto. The mom contestant in season 2. There’s too many for it not to be commentary.

I’m glad we have shows like this though. Cause there are no easy answers. This island is just a symptom of a larger problem, one that can’t be fought alone. It will take many heads coming together to even start to unravel the mess we are in.

Anyways… looking forward to the finale. I would not be surprised if our lead male becomes a new commander of the games at the end.

[anxietycheesecake]

Piggybacking on one of your recent posts, they did worse than just give The Guide nothing to do and the MAGA speech, they turned her into a prop for the needs of male characters.

That was her entire purpose.

Offering insight about Nandor and his romance struggles and being a love interest for Nandor to underscore that if The Powers That Be wanted Nandor to be physically attracted to Guillermo and making intended, overt romantic statements, he would be acting towards him as he does The Guide, but he doesn't, so get your minds out of the gutter, their love is more profound than that.

Then because the Monster is horny, all of the vampires INCLUDING NADJA are completely okay with decapitating The Guide - A FELLOW SEVERAL HUNDRED YEARS OLD VAMPIRE - with or without her consent, and attach it to a frankenbody to be the Monster's sex doll.

Lazslo literally sneaks up on her with an electric saw.

That was it. We never saw her actually working with Jerry, just blink and you miss it moments.

(Also please try to imagine Season 1-2 Nadja, who actually cared about other women who were being shat on enough to turn her into her baby vamp and take her under her wing reacting like this and tell me her character hasn't been assassinated and that this show didn't fly off the rails.)

Wow, never gave the Guide that much thought (mostly BECAUSE THE WRITERS DON'T EITHER) but now I'm so viscerally pissed about it. You're 100% right. I mean, don't quote me on this, but this show got so distasteful regarding women and minorities when SF (a woman of color, btw) became less involved and left. She was still around in season 4 but didn't even write an ep, and mind you, up until that point, her eps were the only ones where Nandor stated the possibility of the love of his life being a man, after being confirmed multisexual for a while.

Marwa should've been a guywife and this is the hill I'm dying on. You can't make a middle eastern man take a middle eastern woman's agency away and ultimately turn her into a white man. The implications are unfortunate to say the least. Like, they were smart enough to have Guillermo be a man even when making him a woman was considered too (can you imagine having a Latina as a mistreated servant to a middle eastern man? The way that would've offended everyone lmao). This is such a gross and easily avoidable oversight, YOU LITERALLY GAVE THE DUDE MALE SPOUSES

Also comparing a brown man to an orc AND NOT SUBVERTING IT in the subversive show (I was so sure they were going to reveal the orcs were actually super hot at the end, because that's what early seasons would do). Just the fat jokes last season and the obsession with making it clear again and again that Guillermo is not wanted sexually by anyone in the horny monster society. I know the fandom thinks everyone's all over him but I genuinely believe this is collective delusion (affectionate) or fanfic brain because I can't remember any of this being backed by canon aside from the Guide's crush (also ftm sexual harassment is funny, I guess). Please correct me if I'm wrong. They changed their tune so many times it's hard to keep track.

Like, not to be that friend that's too woke, but when you have a diverse cast (except for black folks smh, though I'm glad they never went there) you need to be a bit more careful and responsible with what you put in their mouths. Come on!

Went on a bit of a tangent, sorry. My heart breaks for Kristen. Good for that main cast paycheck, but imagine having your character become a regular just for it to... Not be a regular? And be disrespected every second it's around without a satisfying conclusion? They seemed to understand back in the day that seeing a character be exaggeratedly mistreated constantly is only funny for a while, but they forgot, both with her and Guillermo.

I never liked the Guide. I found her entertaining on her first appearances but thought she changed the general feel of the comedy a little too much. To be honest, I always found it hard to care about her and Nadja, because the writers themselves never seemed that interested in them. But this is so annoying and makes me want to write sapphic fixits lmao

[feistypuppythatwantstowatchball]

okay. i'll bite. give me the tea on these italian lesbians please???

Here is a little attempt at a full explanation of everything. It's complicated and I only got into it on Monday but here it goes, just skip to the parts you wanna know, i ended it with a nice edit (there are hunderds on twitter);

Show information:

Grande Fratello is the Italian adaptation of big brother, so about 20 people are stuck in a house 24/7. The current season got people who are slightly famous and some are exes from before the game. They broadcast 2 livestreams 24/7 and have one gala each week to eliminate people. The house picks the nominees, the public votes who leaves. So the growing twitter obsession can carry the girls real far.

The Lesbians:

Helena is 34yo, I think a model and minor TV personality, Brazilian, in the game for 3 months and sick of it. Never been with a woman. Has reservations about starting a relationship because of Zeudi's earlier actions and her young age plus she went through a pretty brutal breakup that she is still dealing with. The entire house has been against her for a long time, only now she seems to build a solid support system.

Zeudi is 23yo, former Miss Italy 2021, from Napoli, in the game 1 month and only happy when she is good with Helena. Openly bisexual has an older female ex (not in the house). After doing some dumb/messy shit is now the one chasing Helena. Seems to get along with most people.

Story:

I don't know their history too well but I will give it a go. The general thing is that they fight and make up in a 3-4 day cycle because these bitches cant talk feelings with each other. They can with everyone else but they make each other dumb.

Since Zeudi entered the game there has been a connection between the two, but mostly just friends. Zeudi is in there with an ex and that shit has been messy for the first part of her stay. They have grown closer and closer mostly physically (remember, they dont talk), some light kissing as well.

I dont know the drama from that time so will start from where I jumped in. So last week they had done some kissing outside, and later Zeudi went to her ex and kissed him quite thoroughly. During the gala clips of the week get shown to the contestants so Helena knows about this now too. Turns out, Zeudi did it to make Helena jealous and to see if she would care (girl is afraid helena doesnt feel the same way) . Helena pretends not to care but now that kiss is the reason she doesnt trust Zeudi and is apprehensive to start something with her because she doesnt believe it would work.

Two days ago they had a screaming fight after cuddling for hours. They didnt speak at all yesterday till 2am and then suddenly everything was good again. And today they are acting like a married couple. After the kiss with the ex there is no longer mouth kissing. Helena is afraid Zeudi only wants that part of the relationship and Zeudi says she wants more but would be okay if it was to be only that... THEY JUST DIDNT SAY THIS TO EACH OTHER.

And here is the bestest part, these people sleep in one big bedroom in double beds... ZEUDI AND HELENA SHARE A BED. They have been for the entire time. At night the camera focuses on one bed and no sound. So we simply dont know what they do during that time....

There is so so much more but this is what came to me in the moment, here you have a cute edit:

If you want to follow them and dont know how to get started, here is a twitter list with about 60 accounts that live post everything (clips, edits, translations, memes):

[sem24]

Andor is actually the Star Warsiest piece of Star Wars ever.

I’m not someone who usually takes notes while watching a show, but I literally had so many thoughts while watching Andor I couldn’t contain myself.

So here is my stream of consciousness, unedited (except for one point) thoughts from Andor season 2, episode 8. To see how I got to the epiphany above while watching the Ghorman massacre of all things.

Sorry you can really see the nerd and English major in this one folks.

Also this was at like 4 AM and I’ve slept like 2 hours in the last 3 days while I’ve been cramming for finals, (really shouldn’t have stayed up to watch this). Sorry about the spelling and grammar crimes that are so egregious they put what the Empire did in this episode to shame. And just the overall lack of coherence.

Anyway straight from my notes app to your screen…

We are the ghor the galaxy is watching

Mentor - student relationship* (most of this is in order as I watched the episode but some are random thoughts I had about earlier scenes I’ll leave a little asterisk next to these)

Basic anyone can be a hero message

Syril joins the collective visually

(Opposite to his seeing himself through facism Individualistic exceptionalism)

Only thing that causes real change is collective action and community

(So the message really boils down to power of friendship despite the grit)

Force as og intended “the power of others” more metaphorical power of the collective.*

Or Saw who’s paranoia does a similar thing.

Nobody’s listening

Fat and happy imps

“You turn your back on something this evil…”

“Not a problem if you don’t look up”

Yet another peaceful community gathering turned violent by the cops (I mean the Empire)

Escalation of stakes this time planned

Ties back to Aldhani in Imperial crowd control.

We are ghor exerting identity in the face of a hegemonic power structure which wishes to erase all identity and make a homogeneous blob.

But not selfish or individualistic (contrast American exceptionalism) “we” are the ghor. (god we really are the fucking Empire)

Loud noise, (again like funeral last season) making yourself known in the face of an uncaring galaxy.

Either Imperial horns are literally trying to We are the ghor the galaxy is watching

Could have like a shofar kinda connotation

“The Galaxy is watching” contrast “nobody’s listening”

unflinching belief in the goodness of others. Their tragedy will be known.

Wil is so dead

Similar earth tone colors to Ferix to

Drill sergeant is still complacent

The only time I support a man hurting a woman

Also white woman sympathy (the you’re hurting me, whether it is sincere or not)

He chokes her and she’s still into him? Girl serious mental issues

Wow she’s really bought in!

“You didn’t seem to mind the promotions” oooooh devastating

Everyone here is complicit

Look at you Syril growing a backbone finally, it’s too late. But you’re almost a human being.

Wow Syril is really into chocking

Othello intimacy parallel

(only edit: an explanation, in a Lit. class I just read an essay on how the intensity of Iago’s obsessive hatred towards Othello can be read through a queer lens as a form of emotional intimacy, I’m not explaining it well honestly, sorry. It makes more sense in context coming from someone who knows what they’re talking about. I just thought of that in relation to Syril and Cassian).

Syril couldn’t let go of his revenge so he died

He died anonymously in ultimate hit to Syril “I’m gonna be someone special” Karn.

Actually he didn’t die anonymously (at least what’s his name got his revenge)

Syril I think would rather die because of his own actions.

Well that was more horrific than I ever could have imagined

And she’s all alone

Well that was more horrific than I ever could have imagined

“Tell people what happened here Cass”

Listening theme repeated

Also parallels to Obi-wan message order 66.

“A thousand voices all called out all at once and were silenced”

They really saw order 66 and said we can top that.

“Is there no one who can help us!”

Oh, oh the entire point of this franchise finding hope in darkness, this may actually be the Star Warsiest, Star Wars project to date

“We gotta let people know what happened help me” - Merging of the two themes.

And that shot parallels ending of Rogue One, straight in the heart Andor, well played.

Eerie silence

“Price we pay for our own safety”

Very Bush era speech compromising safety over privacy.

[cwritesforfun]

Jake Ballard x Fem!Reader: Secret

Set loosely based on events in Scandal seasons 1-4

There are quite a few time skips ;) italics are flashbacks

Y/N = Your Name but you go by Viper as your code name

Masterlist

Jake's POV - 4 years ago ~

I'm sitting meeting with Command right now and I'm furious. I hear the door open and the words, "You called?" I see a woman standing staring at Rowan, looking over me. Rowan says, "Hi Viper, here is the case for you. We need it fixed ASAP." I watch her take the folder, glance in my direction, laugh, and leave the room.

The only times I ran into Viper that year we met were when she would walk in, take my cases, laugh, and leave the room.

I became obsessed with learning all I could about her.

And there was not a lot on file.

Rowan also refused to tell me anything or partner me with her.

Y/N's POV ~ 3 years ago ~

You love seeing Jake Ballard's reaction when you're taking his cases. It is hilarious. He's also pretty cute. You wouldn't mind working together, but Command says it would be a bad idea. Who are you to fight Command?

You're drinking at the bar right now in between cases and tired. Two more drinks will make you rest well tonight for sure.

You hear, "Well well well the snake is out of the lion's den." You turn to see Jake Ballard and smirk. You motion for another drink from the bartender and he sets one down in front of Jake. Jake sits next to you, takes it, and says, "Thanks for that. Why don't you tell me your name and I'll get you another drink? Yours is looking a little low." You smirk and answer, "Boss Man said not to tell anyone, so all you get is Viper." He sighs and replies, "I think it's kind of unfair that you know all about me and I know next to nothing about you." You reply, "Ah so you've been asking about me. The boss mentioned that. Why are you curious?" He shrugs and answers, "Why wouldn't I be curious about you? The only times I've seen you are when you take my cases. And when I tried to learn more about you, I was denied information every time." You lean close to him, pat him on the chest, and reply, "Oh that's sad. Maybe you're just not a good agent." He smirks and asks, "And maybe you're just afraid to get close to someone so you only attach yourself to work." You reply, "Damn maybe I will get another drink." You hear your phone buzz and you answer it. Rowan tells you to leave the bar now because you've been seen with Jake Ballard. So you agree to pay your bill and leave. You hang up and signal the bartender over. You hand over your card. Jake says, "Let me guess, our boss doesn't want us to talk." You take your card from the bartender and reply, "You'd be correct. If you need to contact me, well you have my info. Text me when you find it. See ya, Jake." You pat his back and exit the building.

You go home and try to forget about your encounter with Jake Ballard. He was right that you're afraid to trust people and that you focus on work to avoid relationships with people.

As you sip your coffee in your kitchen, your phone buzzes.

Jake - Well hi Viper. I must ask, when did you slip that paper into my pocket? Y/N - A magician never reveals their secrets. Jake - Shame. We should hang out more discreetly. Y/N - What did you have in mind? I'll be out of town for 3 days. But I can squeeze you in. Jake - Oh good the magnificent Viper can fit me in. I'll text you in a few days with the address. Y/N - Got it.

Upon returning from out of town, you find messages from Jake with address, attire, and other pertinent info.

That's how your friendship starts with Jake.

It turns romantic a few months later when he is wasted and confesses that he has a crush on you. You whisper your name in his ear and you have your first kiss together.

Things with Jake were easy.

Until ... Rowan started scheduling you for more overseas cases and you saw Jake less. You started getting sicker on the trips, growing more fatigued, and ignoring Jake's messages. You realized that you were being poisoned after the 4th trip with similar symptoms. You knew Rowan sent someone and when you confronted him, he told you that it was because you didn't leave Jake alone. He gave you an ultimatum - break up with Jake and never talk to him again or face time in the "hole." So you break up with Jake claiming you don't like him and lied for information. You also move apartments, change numbers, and dye your hair.

3 years pass, your career is great and you're busy, which should be good. But deep down, when your nights are lonely and quiet, you notice something has always been missing ever since your break-up with Jake. You miss him.

You've been working in and out of foreign countries all year to help Rowan maintain his ties. You've been doing well and Rowan has been pleased with your progress. However, he just asked you to come back to the B613 base, which you haven't been back to in years.

You pull up and head straight to Rowan's office. You open the door and Jake is sitting at the desk across from Rowan.

You exclaim, "Well this feels a little too familiar." Rowan shakes your hand and says, "It's because young Jake is in a bind and I need you to go see Olivia." You reply, "Of course. Why if I may ask?" He answers, "She's not safe and she trusts you. Don't let anyone in and call me if you see anything suspicious." You nod and reply, "Ok, I'll be on my way, boss."

You leave and as you're getting into your car, you feel someone slam onto your car window and you see Jake. You roll down your window and ask, "Yeah, Jake?" He snaps, "That's all you have to say! You break up with me and disappear for 3 years! Nothing! Wow!" You reply, "I have to be somewhere. Move or I'll run over your foot." He replies, "We're not done," before storming away.

You arrive at Olivia's place and knock on her apartment door. She opens it and exclaims, "Ah Viper! My father told me to expect you, but I didn't think he would come through with his side of the deal." You reply, "Yes he did. He's a stickler for a deal that he benefits from." She smirks and says, "I see you haven't changed, come on in." You walk in and you start talking with her about why she's being watched, what you've been doing, and honestly you spend the whole night talking with glasses of wine in hand.

Rowan calls you the next day asking for any updates to which you have none. He also tells you that he is proud of you for pushing Jake out of your car yesterday. You still don't get why he doesn't want you to be close to Jake.

You find out that Jake dated Olivia and he was undercover for Rowan. You ask, "How long ago did you two date?" Olivia answers, "Oh we dated last year for awhile." You ask, "Did you love him?" She answers, "No, I liked him though. He was a good and kind man. I'm in love with someone else though... but Jake told me he loved me so early and that was terrifying." You laugh and reply, "Yeah he's a bit of a romantic actually." She gasps and asks, "Wait, were you two a thing?" You tell her everything and she replies, "Gosh I hate my father... and I think you really did a number on Jake. When we first started dating, he said there was an ex still on his mind and that he still never felt closure with them. And one time I brought up B613 and knowing Viper, it caused him to freeze up and he was so angry. I always wondered why." You sigh and reply, "I doubt he loves me anymore." She asks, "Do you still love him?" You answer, "Honestly I do, I've always felt something was missing in my life, except when he is in it. I love Jake, but my career doesn't let me love him like I should." You both hug.

A few days later, Rowan calls you and informs you that the threat is neutralized. You are allowed to leave. You give Olivia a way to contact you in case of emergency.

You get a call from Olivia a few days later asking you to meet her at her place, which you agree to. You don't understand what is happening. You knock and when you enter, you see Rowan is there too. What is happening?!

Rowan exclaims, "God Olivia, you called the Viper too. You want me to free Jake so much that you called her to have someone on your side." You ask, "Free Jake from what?" Olivia then rambles on where Jake is, how he is in the box, and you are shocked to say the least. You ask, "What would it take for him to be free? I'll do anything." Rowan smirks and asks, "Anything?" Olivia says, "Dad, be reasonable." Rowan says, "I find it crazy that you two powerful women are so into this little white man who makes mistakes. You both deserve better... I'll consider both of your requests and begging. I need to think about it though. This is a man's life we're talking about after all."

The next thing you hear is when Rowan calls you and tells you what the compromise was. Olivia was making things worse by being around the President and Jake was making mistakes, so he sent them to a remote island to wait it all out.

Olivia even said she didn't love Jake... why does she get to go to a remote island with him?!

Rowan didn't even consider that you would do anything for Jake.

You're mad.

You're sad.

You're upset.

You lash out and make Rowan's life a living hell in return. You slightly miss numbers on important accounting documents, you spread misinformation and blame others, and you turn people on each other.

You see on the news that Olivia returned. You cannot say that you're shocked. You notice Jake in the background of a video and he looks in love with her. Is it finally time to move on?

Just when you decide to try to leave Jake behind, Rowan drags you along to the Pentagon. You stand by his side and wonder where you're going... and more specifically who you're going to see.

The interrogation rooms swings open and you see Jake looking pretty beaten in a chair. OH? You find out that Jake is being framed for k***ing the President's son ... only you know that Rowan was behind it.

Rowan leans on the table opposite Jake and asks, "Jake, I have a compromise for you. You disappear to a remote island with Viper and I won't k*** you." OH? You ask, "Why drag me into this mess?" Rowan asks, "You don't think I know what you've been doing to me since Olivia left with Jake? You're messing with B613 and things are bad. The only reason I have not k***ed you yet is because you're impossible to track down and you're my best agent. I need you even if you are screwing things up." You reply, "I'm truly flattered." Jake says, "I don't accept. You can't just ship me out every time you are angry with what I do! I'm not going anywhere!" You storm out the room not wanting to hear any more.

Jake is freed because of Olivia. You really question if she hates him because it seems like she loves him.

Rowan still sends you away to a remote island and you begin spending your days moving on from your past life. Rowan does make it hard when he sends his shipments of goods with files including questions for you, but you're starting to feel at peace with the island.

You build your own shack for a garage next to your house, you start carving a canoe, and you read a lot. Thank goodness Rowan sends books in his weekly shipments.

One afternoon, on the day of your weekly shipment, you notice an extra figure on the boat. You notice the boat get closer until you realize who it is... it's Jake. Your jaw drops. WHAT?!

Jake helps the other guy unload the shipment, takes back the old boxes, and the other guy tells you that you have a new roommate courtesy of Rowan.

You lift a box and carry it back to your place with Jake behind you. You set it down, face Jake, and ask, "How did you get yourself sent here? I thought you said you didn't want to be sent off every time you were in trouble." He answers, "You still love me. Olivia played me a recording of you saying that you missed me and still loved me." OH. He takes a step closer and replies, "God for such a good agent, Viper, you missed her recording you... Uh Rowan was still mad about the President's son thing and Olivia is mad at me and someone almost killed me. I was in between death on a medical bench for days and the only thought in my head was that I never told you how much I loved you. I missed you so much and I don't care what Rowan thinks anymore. I just missed you and I love you. I had to be where you are because home is where the heart is and you are my heart." You reply, "Jake, I do love you... and I'm sorry for lying to your face years ago. I'm also sorry for breaking your heart thinking I hated you when I could never hate you. I'm sorry for not standing up for Rowan more to be with you... you know, when you were on that remote island with Olivia who I still think loves you, I wrecked B613 for Rowan. I thought it would be payback for not letting me be with you." He replies, "I know about it, I had control of Command for a bit. It was horrible and I couldn't do it... Thank you for owning up for your mistakes... Could we move past all our wrongs and kiss?" You wrap your arms around his neck and say, "You certainly are a romantic, Jake." He leans in closer and replies, "And you love it."

[blackbird-brewster]

Friday Fic Recs

I promised @m1ll1e-indahouz I'd give some Tara/Penelope recs, so that's the theme this week - all Tenelope recs are highlighted in blue. Also wanted to note, as of this week ALL OF MY FICS on AO3 can only be read if you have a registered account.

'Year of the Rare Pair' Fic Recs:

I Believe in a Thing Called Love (Criminal Minds)

Pairing: Tara Lewis/Penelope Garcia Rated: Teen || WC: 14,700 || Romcom AU Author: @swpf

Summary:

Tara is a mechanic, killing time while bored on a slow day at work. What happens when she meets a new customer?

Why I Love It: Oh, where to begin? I know I've had this one in past fic rec lists, but it deserves ALL the praise. This AU sees Tara as a Butch mechanic (🥵) and Penelope as bartender/computer whiz. From the start, these two have electric chemistry. This AU also features Butch tattoo artist fuckboi Emily and she is Very Important to me.

Is This the Way? (Criminal Minds)

Pairing: Tara Lewis/Penelope Garcia, Joy Rossi/Emily Prentiss Rated: Mature || WC: 54,704+ (WIP) || Romcom AU Author: swpf Summary:

Following the events of I Believe in a Thing Called Love, Penelope and Tara start to see each other. Over time, their lives and the lives of their friends and family intertwine in ways they didn't predict.

Why I Love It: This is the follow up to 'I Want to Believe in a Thing Called Love' and I am absolutely obsessed with it. Every chapter has me on the edge of my seat. Tara/Penelope are so damn good together (despite being idiots a lot of the time lol). AND I am very invested in Joyly too. It's such a galaxy brain rare pair!

Drive (Series) (Criminal Minds)

Pairing: Tara Lewis/Penelope Garcia Rated: Explicit || WC: 12,000 || Works in Series: 4 Author: swpf

Why I Love It: This S11 series is SO wholesome. I loved watching Penelope fawn over Tara from day one. This is what canon SHOULD have been.

Appointment With Dr. Gorgeous (Criminal Minds)

Pairing: Tara Lewis/Penelope Garcia Rated: Teen || WC: 3400 || Friends to Lovers Author: talkingh3ad5

Summary:

Tara and Penelope both have feelings for each other but neither wants to make the first move. Instead, they opt to flirt back and forth and endure the tension. However, one day their closest friends come up with a plan to alleviate the tension, how will they face their problems?

Why I Love It: The sapphic YEARNING!! I am a big sucker for S11 Tenelope and this fic delivers. The perfect mix of angst and fluff.

Two is Better Than One (Criminal Minds)

Pairing: Jennifer Jareau (2023)/Jennifer Jareau (2005) Rated: Explicit || WC: 13,200 || Self-Cest Author: repugaytion (@lesbiantaylorswiftstan)

Summary:

When JJ somehow wakes up in 2005 with no idea of how she got there or how to get back to 2023, she seeks comfort from the one person she knows she can trust. Or, CME JJ and Season 1 JJ fuck nasty.

Why I Love It: GOD!!!!!! I MISS fic like this!!!! Crack taken seriously is my jam. This fic is truly god-tier to me. From the hilarious nods to canon, to the first interactions between JJ/Jennifer, to the incredibly sexy smut -- this fic has it all.

Wedding Day (All Rise)

Pairing: Lola Carmichael/Sherri Kansky Rated: General || WC: 900 || Fluff Author: swpf

Summary:

It's Wedding Day at the HOJ, but there's one wedding that needs to clear the docket first.

Why I Love It: CARSKY FOREVER!!! Thank you to swpf for introducing me to 'All Rise', not only because it's a great show, but also bc I am now FERAL about Lola/Sherri. I cannot believe this is the first fic for them! It's so fluffy it had me squealing and kicking my feet. Instant comfort fic.

What I'm Writing:

All This Woman (Criminal Minds)

Pairing: Tara Lewis/Penelope Garcia Rated: Explicit || WC: 51,043+ (WIP)

Summary:

Tara has found herself in a sort of 'situationship' with Penelope. They're not dating, but they're also not-not dating. After months of this routine, Penelope finally decides to address the sexual tension, by undressing Tara. There might be a chance of making their relationship work, they just need to work out a few kinks first.

Update: Chapter 8 was posted this week!! (And it's a WILD ride) I have basically been waiting six months to get to this chapter, because it's the jump point for the rest of the fic.

ICYMI: My New Fics

Screwed (Criminal Minds)

Pairing: Tara Lewis/Penelope Garcia/Emily Prentiss Rated: Mature || WC: 1575

Summary:

Penelope is the undefeated champion in Mario Kart and she never turns down the opportunity to beat her girlfriend. However, tonight, Tara has a plan that will ensure she finally ends her girlfriend's winning streak.

All Night (Criminal Minds)

Pairing: (Trans4Trans) Jay Jareau/Tara Lewis Rated: Explicit || WC: 1679 || Related Works: Euphoria | Fireworks

Summary:

Tara and Jay explore a new type of intimacy.

More Criminal Minds Femslash Rec Lists Below The Cut:

My Fanfic Master Lists: [JJ/Emily] || [Tara/Emily] || [JJ/Tara] || [Misc Ships]

2023 Rec Lists:[JJ/Emily] || [Tara/Emily + Other Femslash]

2022 Rec Lists: [JJ/Emily] || [Tara/Emily] || [Other Femslash]

Also check out my past [Friday Fic Recs]

[starreyblueberry]

Hey! How are you doing? I hope you're doing well!

I have a few thoughts on my mind about Timmy, man I miss him so much! I know we have the original series to watch but still. (So sorry that it’s long one!)

I would imagine that Timmy would turn out to be a great man with a good job, a lovely husband and father to his family.

I think maybe his job would be a lawyer, writer or a job that helps children with problems of their own like social worker or something.

About his wife...

I'm not quite sure about Trixie because I have mix feelings about her. She seems to not care about Timmy at all. I know they're still kids and we have no idea what happened as they grow up after the original series (not counting Season 9 and 10 as I heard both don't exist anymore in FOP New Wish.) | don't know if I really like her or she's right for Timmy.

Maybe Tootie would get over her obsession at least I hope so. I know she went through so much thanks to her older sister, which I'm disappointed in their parents for not doing anything due to many reasons, they may have been good people but not good parents.

Anyway, due to Timmy's future daughter from Channel Chasers, they looked similar so it's most likely that it has to be Tootie. If that's really her then I would hope she grow up and more mature, she will not be afraid of her sister, Vicky!

Kind of hope Vicky won't find out that that she has niece and nephew if they never told her…

Tootie or Timmy meeting a new lovely woman that is rightfully for him that cares and love him very much. I don't mind having Tootie, I would love to see her, all I hope she no longer afraid of her sister!

I'm not sure how it works with twins from Channel Chasers' ending like how it does make sense. I find it hard to tell because that ending takes place in 20 years later but FOP New Series takes place into 20 years later as well. Cosmo and Wanda were seen with twins but in the canon they're Hazel's. Poof/ Peri wasn't planned/added until Season 6 of the original. Channel Chasers episode came from Season 4. Twins can't be 10 years old because it seems like Timmy had them at 20 years old. It wouldn't make sense.

It would make more sense if the twins, Tammy and Tommy were younger than Hazel and Dev like 5 years old or younger, but I'm not sure if they will become canon to FOP New Wish. It would be interesting if they do. I don't know about the names Tommy and Tammy. If they become canon and are 5-6 years old, it would be interesting to see their personalities being opposite, like one twin is more calm and chill during other one is more cheerful and funny. That one of them or both are into the mystery and adventures.

I kind of hope that they will have their clothes different designs and not look exactly same as 10 years old Timmy and 10 years old Tootie.

Or maybe they would be toddlers.

About Timmy's parents…

Do you think Timmy stay in contact with them? I wouldn't be surprised if he no longer wants to do with them due to reasons and that they don't know anything about Timmy's children. It's not like Timmy wants to keep them secret, his parents can be, well... them.

I wouldn’t be surprised if his parents have not changed much.

Timmy and his family would no longer live in Dimmsdale City because of well.... We saw how they are... yikes, poor Timmy.

Do you think Timmy still friends with AJ and Chester? I'm not sure if they're still friends or something. I mean AJ has the business of his own and is such busy. Still can't believe he became fairy hunting- (Big YIKES for Fairy World!)

We have no clue about Chester but hopefully we will see him. :'D

I'm not sure if we will see ALL characters to return, cause that's too much and some only appear a few times, some appeared once. Timmy’s grandparents, Crocker’s mother and some probably are dead.

I'm not quite sure about Chimson Chin and Dark Laser because they were wishes along with Imaginary Grey, right? I got feeling that probably they all got erased along with the rest of Timmy's wishes and are no longer exists because Timmy is no longer a Godchild as we saw in Timmy’s secret Wish, how when a Godchild lost their fairy/ies, their wishes has vanished.

But seriously, poor Chimson Chin, Dark Laser and his dear little dog. :(

I know Peri and Irep are still around but I believe probably Fairy Council has a way with them, well with Peri, that they're different from the rest of wishes. Probably there’s a reason why Peri has his own special wand.

I would like to see Peri’s reaction when he sees Crocker, I mean he saw Vicky and thought she wasn’t real! :’D

Anyway, I can tell it’s going to be hard seeing Timmy with no memories of his fairy family and magic. I know we have to deal with it. We can do it! We just have to see what they’re planning with him. I would like to see Jorgen, how he deals with seeing Timmy to go with the final goodbye, after everything he had done for Fairy World. How many times he had saved them from the dangerous situations especially with Darkness.

(I loved that Wishology episodes-)

I’m bet it was very difficult for Wanda, Cosmo and Peri to say goodbye to Timmy. It was really hard for Peri to understand what’s going on cause he was 7 years old.

Hopefully Hazel doesn’t have to deal with some huge challenge adventures herself like how Timmy did, not counting the final season of FOP because it was kind of easy and she had a lot of helps from her brother, friends and her wishes.

I don’t know if you know but there was a theory that Timmy still remember them due to his memory not getting wiped away by Jorgen was because of Love. The Love is more powerful than magic that can’t be done. Kind of interesting but also I would think that if his memories really wiped, maybe his memories didn’t got wiped away, they just blocked out and are blurry, then returned years later. If his memories got wiped away then his feelings of love cannot be gone, still there, deep inside. He probably went to have some therapy. I saw one theory that his favorite colors are green, pink and purple that made him feel special and happy, which is interesting.

Memories or not, I think Timmy would feel uncomfortable and unsure about AJ’s business like AJ telling him some stories which doesn’t make sense. Timmy would say something like:

“But AJ, what if there’s good ones?.. I mean if they’re real.”

Or something like that. He probably wouldn’t be wondering why Crocker was at Galax Institute as he wouldn’t want to know why as we know why how crazy Crocker is…

It would be cool if Timmy and his family became the next neighbors of Wells’ and Cosmo and Wanda’s.

My apologies if anything that doesn’t make sense-

SORRY IT TOOK ME A BIT TO RESPOND TO UR ASK!! Anyway GIRL UR IDEAS?? 10/10!! ok so there's so much to cover so very sorry if I don' get to it all! I love the idea that Timmy is skeptical of AJ and his whole business, AJ did start it when he was 10, so Timmy would have his fairys DURING the creation of this company. He must have been lowkey terrified LOL. Ive seen the theory that Timmys memory couldn't be fully erased due to love, and tbh I really want that to be true. Out of all theories, Its one of my favorite ones! Hazel is def gonna have a lot of an easier time compared to Timmy, as Timmy kinda delt with all the universe-ending stuff of his time. Hazel has a lot more support, especially as more people know about her fairys in the finale and she dosnet have to worry about hiding them all the time! DONT GET ME STARTED ON JORGEN AND TIMMY.. IN MY MIND TIMMY HOLDS A SPECIAL PLACE IN JORGENS HEART AND NO ONE CAN EVER ERASE THAT... LIKE HE IS A STICKLER FOR THE RULES AND HE WILL ABIDE TO THEM BUT HE ALSO SEES THAT STUPID ASS PINK HAT AND SMILES SOMETIMES sorry if I didn't go over everything u said!! Ive had this in the drafts for a while but I love ur thoughts :3 also I hope he went no contact with his shit ass parents :D

[burningdreambanana]

Find this old rant I wrote about Rhaenyra and Alicent's friendship when season 1 had just finished, still holds up imo

Was making Alicent and Rhaenyra childhood friend a mistake?

I initially liked the idea because I thought it added an element of tragedy to the story: watching two former friends go from love to hate to war is heartbreaking and gripping.

Unfortunately, with the way it was written in the show and how it affected Alicent's character, I'm starting to think that it might have been a mistake.

First of all, we see that in episode 3, Alicent still supports Rhaenyra being queen over her own son. That erases one of her main book motivation: Alicent lives in a patriarchal society where according to traditions, law, and the norm, her son was supposed to be the next King. Viserys makes an exception to crown his daughter. He doesn't change the rules for everyone, he just exempts her son. If readers/watchers take out their modern lenses for five seconds, they'll realize that pretty much anyone would be outraged and that wanting her son to have what would normally be his is valid and doesn't make her a villain. All the show needed to do is make us understand where she was coming from. Of course, some fans still wouldn't understand and call her sexist, but anyone watching with a bit of critical thinking would be able to sympathize with her.

Then we have episode 4-5, where the writers, who have made the two girls reconcile, wants to divide them once again and explain why Alicent will support her son now, because they got rid of her perfectly fine motivation. So they make Alicent be overtly concerned with Rhaenyra's virginity: "she swore to me that she remained a maiden". No, she didn't Alicent, she swore Daemon never touched her, which is a lie but Alicent will never find that out. She stands by Rhaenyra instead of her father and even after Rhaenyra got Otto fired (without having the decency to explain herself to Alicent), leaving a still young Alicent isolated in KL, even when Otto points out that Rhaenyra's claim is shaky and she will be forced to get rid of rivals (which makes sense) she's still standing by her. It is only when she finds out that Rhaenyra slept with Cole (not Daemon) that she declares war on her former best friend. Episode 5 really frames her as jealous and obsessed with Rhaenyra and her virginity, so I'm not surprised that a lot of viewers see her that way.

Then we have episodes 6-7, where Alicent spends 90% of her onscreen time talking about Rhaenyra. She's literally obsessed with her, while Rhaenyra is not obsessed with her. I personally wish we would have more to Alicent than "Rhaenyra, Rhaenyra, Rhaenyra...." all the damn time. She was described to us as "possessing a keen political acumen" before the show aired, how about spending some time establishing that???? Those episodes do a good job however at giving a sympathetic motive to Alicent: she wants to protect her children. With Rhaenyra being a woman and having 3 bastards, their situation is more precarious than ever, because Westeros is both sexist and prejudiced against bastards so it's almost inevitable that a part of the realm will rise in favor of Aegon II. I mean they rose for less during the Blackfyre Rebellion.

But then we have the "reconciliation" in episode 8. Rhaenyra praises Alicent and that's enough for her to forget what she did on Driftmark, or her perfectly good motive of wanting to protect her children. Even though she has even more reason to fear her now because she's married to Daemon, a dangerous psycho who hates the Hightowers. So this leaves me to ask, if Rhaenyra praising Alicent was all it took, was her motive all along just that she hated Rhaenyra? And now that she, for whatever reason, is no longer angry, she's ready to accept her as Queen?

Episode 9 also shows very well those problems: the Green Council is no longer them talking about the danger for Alicent's children (especially with Daemon as King Consort and the Strong Boys), the Great Council, Andal Law....All they talk about is whether or not they should kill Rhaenyra, with Alicent passionately opposing this. I mean, ep6 Alicent was persuaded that Rhaenyra would cut off any challenge to her succession but it somehow never occurred to her that the Greens may have to do the same? I'm not saying she should be wanting to kill Rhaenyra, it's just weird with her behavior in ep6 that the thought never occurred to her.

They create this artificial rivalry with Otto about who gets to Aegon first to tell him to kill/not kill Rhaenyra. This is dumb, Otto can send someone other than Harrold to kill Rhaenyra, he can influence Aegon at any other time. But this serves to show that once again, Rhaenyra is Alicent's primary concern.

"Rhaenyra, Rhaenyra, Rhaenyra". Alicent is the Jan Brady of House of the Dragon to Rhaenyra's Marcia and I don't like it.