#and i hope he gets a fucking clue before the election. because jesus fucking christ.

[wedontdeservethestars]

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[yeaimfishboi]

After the Midnight Hour | Chapter III: Reunited

Pairing: JaehyunxReader

Word Count: 4k

Genre: Mafia!AU, angst, a wee bit of floof, and some heated situations?

Warnings: Blood, gore, swearing, character death, etc. Nothing too bad in this chapter. Excessive cuteness, and Some POV Changes

Summary: Having always taken care of her sister, Y/N finds herself in a predicament when it comes to the cost of medical treatment. Though when a certain loan shark is reached through her best friend, she receives much more than she bargained for.

”Nothing Good Ever Happens After Midnight.” -Bo Schembechler

~Ten POV (more like 3rd pov)~

Ten arrived in the base early in the morning exhausted. His joints cracked, his bones ached, and his eyes were bloodshot with bags underneath it. He spent the night looking after Jiyeon since she had this so-called “minor hiccup” with her surgery that she elected not to tell. He didn’t mind staying up looking after her since he knew Y/N was finally getting sleep instead.

“You look like death,” he heard the sound of his other best friend from the kitchen, “I don’t know where you went, but it sure as hell looks like you didn’t sleep at all.” Ten turned into the kitchen.

“In other news, Jaehyun brought a girl home. Finally,” WinWin chimed in.

“Wow, that’s a first. I don’t think he’s ever brought a girl home, even though there are plenty of girls that want to,” Ten chuckled grabbing a piece of toast off of Johnny’s plate.

“She was hot as hell that’s for sure,” Yuta smirked.

“A little too frail for my taste,” Hansol joined in.

“Still tactful as ever, the two of you,” Doyoung chuckled shaking his head in disapproval.

“Wait, what do you mean frail?” Ten asked the wheels in his head turning. His mind went immediately to Y/N, but he felt like he was overreacting.

“She looked really weak, her clothes were fairly tattered, and she looked like she hadn’t eaten a home-cooked meal in years,” Johnny interjected, “a little sad if you ask me. I have no clue why Jaehyun would go after someone like her.” Ten felt a wave of anger wash over him, it was Y/N, and in an instant, the piece of toasted bread in his hands was crushed. Jaehyun had taken advantage of someone he considered a little sister.

“Watch it, Johnny,” Ten growled before storming off. His feet making a resounding impact on the cement floor as he stomped across it.

“What’s your problem?” Hansol shouted from behind.

“I have an ass to kick.”

Ten had arrived at Jaehyun’s door, except it was locked. Nothing, not even a locked door was going to stop Ten from showing Jaehyun not to mess with him. He took a deep breath, and mustered up all his force and kicked down the door, the impact shooting a slight pain up his leg. He entered the room, smoke coming out of his ears.

“Jesus Christ, Ten! All you had to do was knock! I would’ve opened the goddamn door for you!” Jaehyun whisper yelled at the older man as he moved out of his bed, sliding the comforter closer to Y/N. Seeing her there in his bed somehow made his blood boil, curdling towards the surface of his skin making him angrier by the millisecond.

“You son of a bitch.” Ten stormed over to Jaehyun, grabbed him by the collar, as Jaehyun let out an exasperated gasp, and slammed him up against the wall, the blow making a noise loud enough even the neighbors could hear.

“Would you keep your fucking voice down Ten, she’s sleeping!” Jaehyun growled exasperatedly trying to rip Ten’s fingers from his throat.

“You son of a bitch!” Ten slammed him up against the wall again, “you took advantage of her! She’s been through so much and you took her weak and fragile state as a sign to fuck her? You’re disgusting!”

“Ok first off shorty, she’s not as a weak and fragile as you would like to think she is, and considering you obviously told neither of us who we were actually exchanging with, probably to save your own skin from telling her the truth, you have no room to talk. And two, why in the hell would it matter if I slept with her? Do you somehow have feelings for her?” Jaehyun scoffed.

“No, I don’t,” Ten denied, shaking his head with fervor “but she’s the closest thing I have to family and I won’t let you or anyone else hurt her. At least while I’m alive. So you fucking her at a time like this, is really pissing me off.”

“Ten,” he heard the groggy groan from his best friend coming from the bed.

“WHAT?” Ten growled at her. Not even realizing who he was talking to.

“Before you explain to me what’s going on here and how you two know each other, I’m going to tell you this. We didn’t fuck. We slept in the same bed, that’s it. Not like I need to explain it to you anyways. You’re not my dad no matter how much you try and act like it. Let him go. Now.”

“Like I believe that. Every single one of the boys here are perverted sons of bitches. No way Jaehyun would let you in his room without ulterior motives,” he scoffed turning back to face Jaehyun.

“Ten. Put him down now,” he turned back to face Y/N. She was glaring at him. All he did was stare back at her, trying to assert his dominance.

~Y/N POV~

You awoke from your turbulent slumber to hear fighting come from the other side of the bed. Ten had Jaehyun pinned against the wall by his collar. How the hell did Ten get here? You turned your head to see the door off of its hinges. Damned Ten and his anger issues, you thought but the biggest concern for you right now is how in the hell Ten knows Jaehyun enough to be talking so casually like this even though they were fighting.

“Ten,” you softly muttered as you wiped your eyes.

“What?” he snapped at you and it made you flinch. It’s definitely been a while since you’ve seen him like this.

“Before you explain to me what’s going on here and how you two know each other, I’m going to tell you this. We didn’t fuck. We slept in the same bed, that’s it. Not like I need to explain it to you anyways. You’re not my dad no matter how much you try and act like it. Let him go. Now.” It made no sense to you why Ten would be so angry that you slept with another man, especially because he hasn’t been a part of your life whatsoever for 3 years.

“Like I believe that. Every single one of the boys here are perverted sons of bitches. No way Jaehyun would let you in his room without ulterior motives,” he growled facing Jaehyun again. Surprisingly, Jaehyun seems totally unfazed by Ten’s outburst which only helped prove to you that they were close.

“Ten. Put him down. Now,” you glared at the boy. He glared back at you but held his stance. He was testing you. Then his face changed, it wasn’t angry it was cocky.

“You know, we haven’t sparred in forever,” he smirked at you.

“Yeah, because you know you would lose,” you smirked back.

“I highly doubt that. Every time we did spar, I always won.”

“Dude, you are going to lose. Don’t even try going down that path,” Jaehyun interjected still being held up by Ten.

“What makes you think she’ll beat me?” Ten laughed flicking his head in between the both of you in order to maintain eye contact..

“I’ve seen her fight and she’s kick ass. She’s probably better than WinWin.” Jaehyun was distracting him. You took this as your opportunity to get Ten to let go. You got up off the bed and moved towards him.

“Not poss-” you interrupted him by putting your hand on his face, your finger web directly underneath his nose, pushing his face forward, making him groan in pain and let go of Jaehyun.

“Thanks, Y/N. I owe you one,” Jaehyun coughed as he regained his composure.

“Well, now that that is out of the way. You mind explaining to me why the hell the two of you are so damn close?!” you yelled.

“Well Y/N-”

“Let me explain to her, please,” Ten interrupted Jaehyun with an eerily calm demeanor.

“Well, I see you’re all calmed down now,” Jaehyun muttered under his breath sarcastically.

“Have you ever heard of NCT?” Ten asked.

“Yeah, the gang? Let me guess you two are apart of it. Jaehyun is in charge of money and you are the enforcer. The guy that breaks people's’ knuckles by slamming the piano lid on their fingers. Shouldn’t even be surprised at this point,” you sighed sinking back onto the bed.

“How the fu-” Jaehyun’s mouth was agape.

“She’s literally a fucking genius. Probably the modern Sherlock Holmes,” Ten smiled. “Anyways, can someone explain to me why in the hell Y/N was here last night. I know you guys didn’t fuck, but why were you here?”

“Jaehyun if you even think about telling him I will break every single bone in both of your arms, and I’m not in the slightest bit joking right now,” your eyes bore holes in him.

“Sorry dude, I need these things,” Jaehyun shrugged at Ten.

“Fine if you won’t tell me anything about that, how about the fact that you know how she fights. How the hell do you know that?” Ten turned his glare towards Jaehyun.

“Well, I went to collect payment and she was short so I sent some goonies, and she ended up kicking both Mark and Jaemin’s asses within seconds. That’s kind of the reason she’s here. Taeyong wanted a new fighter,” Jaehyun chuckled reminiscing about the night before. You recognized those names, but those names were way too common for it to be who you were thinking of.

“So not only did you try to attack Y/N, then get her involved in this mess, but you sent Jaemin on a mission while he was INJURED?” Ten smacked the younger boy upside the head.

“Wait, Mark and Jaemin, are they who I think they are?” you asked with your eyebrows furrowed hoping Ten was going to tell you they weren’t who you thought they were.

“You hung out with them at your graduation. The little children you said you needed to protect,” Ten responded.

“So, you’re telling me, I HURT MY CHILDREN?!” you screamed, “WHERE ARE THEY?”

“Probably downstairs in the kitchen,” Jaehyun answered, “but wh-” Jaehyun didn’t even have time to finish his question as you were already running for your life. Those stairs coudn’t have been any longer.

You reached the entryway to the kitchen from last night panting heavily.

“Woah there little lady, no need to move that fast just to see me,” the same man from last night snickered at you, you were pretty sure his name was Yuta. You responded with just a simple eye roll and a scoff just like a typical Cher Horowitz moment.

Yuta’s commotion seemed to garner the attention of everyone else in the room, including a young man who always reminded you of the sun. So bright and cheerful, but full of sarcasm and wit. With beautiful tanned skin and brown eyes, and hair that nearly covered those eyes. Man, had he grown up.

“Y/N?!” he shot up out of his seat faster than the flash, pancakes and bacon spilling from his mouth.

“Haechannie?” you blurted out before running over to the young boy, engulfing him in a warm and tight embrace. Your brain realized that you hadn’t seen him in three years, which meant three years you didn’t have to watch over them. You grasped his face and started inspecting him, “Are they taking care of you well? Are you doing okay?”

“I should be asking you the same thing! What happened to you? You look frail! Like you’ve only eaten ramen since the last time I saw you!”

“Uh, Y/N?” someone tapped the back of your shoulder.

You turned around and saw “Renjun? Oh my god! You look… well, you’ve damn sure grown up!” You embraced the other boy behind you.

“We heard Y/N. Are you guys punking us or something?”

“Jeno? Chenle? What in the blazes?” you paused scanning the taller boy from head to toe, “and Jeno you definitely got attractive,” you snickered.

“Wow, rude okay, I see how it is,” Jeno chuckled as he released you from his iron grip.

“And Chenle! You look the exact same except you’re a little taller. Thank you for not growing up on me!” you laughed at yourself.

“You’re welcome noona!” he snuggled into your embrace.

“Can someone please explain what the fuck is going on? Who the fuck is Y/N? And how do the dreamies know her?” An older man piped up.

“Chenle texted and said there was something in the kitchen I would want to see,” you recognized that voice.

“Jisungie?” you smiled. You never wanted to admit it but you always had a big soft spot for Jisung compared to the others. You two got along so well and you really felt like you were his older sister or mother figure, not just like you did with the others.

“Y/N?” Jisung dropped his cell phone and ran straight to you as he enveloped you in a bone-crushing hug.

“You’re a fucking giant!” you laughed, “how the hell did that happen? And what are you now? A sophomore in high school? Speaking of which! How the hell are each of y’all’s grades?” your word vomit came from being around the young boys after not being near them for so long. You recalled all your memories together ones that made you smile reminiscing of the old days. Days of hanging out at the park or wreaking havoc at the mall. God, you missed those old days.

“Our grades are fine noona,” Jeno chirped up.

“It’s Jaemin you should worry about,” Haechan pitched in.

“What do you mean by that?” you probed the boys further hoping to elicit a response from them.

“I think he spends too much time trying to prove himself to the rest of the gang, and not enough on his education,” Chenle inputted.

“Speaking of which, where are Jaemin and Mark?” your scatterbrain always seemed to forget the reasons why you were doing things, and of course it just clicked now.

“Well, they went on a mission with Jaehyun and got hurt, their lazy asses are currently in the infirmary right now. Whoever got them, I applaud their skill,” Renjun chuckled. Following suit you heard both Jaehyun and Ten break out into a loud and boisterous laugh for behind you by the entrance to the kitchen.

“Can you both shut up?!” you scolded them whipping your head around like an owl. You turned back toward the younger boys, “who wants to take me there?” you asked. All five of them shot up their arms within milliseconds and started leading you out of the kitchen. Right before you were about to leave you felt a large hand grab your wrist.

“Y/N?” he asked. You looked at the face that belonged to the hand. You recognized him, and finally remembered his name.

“Johnny? Why so solemn?” you asked as you looked down at him.

“I think he feels bad for the shit he said this morning,” Ten chimed in laughing again.

“What did you say?” you tilted your head at him.

“To be fair I couldn’t recognize you!” he jumped in defending himself.

“He said he didn’t know why Jaehyun would bring home someone like you,” Yuta chuckled.

“OOH. You have fucked up Jonathan,” Jisung laughed.

“Watch your mouth Jisung! And I’ll deal with you later Seo,” you glared with a small smile.

Chenle grabbed your hand and dragged you towards what you presumed would be the infirmary, the rest of the boys following suit. You guys arrived at the infirmary, as Jeno opened the door.

“Hey, idiots, we’ve got a surprise for you,” Haechan smiled, revealing you behind him.

“Y/N,” Jaemin jumped out of his seat.

“Never thought we’d see you again,” Mark smiled.

“And I never thought you’d use a baton to fight!” you laughed at him.

“Wait, that was you?!” both of the boys shouted out.

“Yes it was, and both of you need to learn how to properly fight,” you chuckled, “but all in all, I apologize. If I would’ve known it was you two I would’ve gone a whole hell of a lot easier on you guys. I feel really bad, but also I’m gonna kick Jaehyun’s ass for bringing you out whilst being injured,” you pointed at Jaemin.

“It was my idea,” Jaemin interjected.

“He could’ve said no. Just because you want to prove yourself to the rest of them doesn’t mean you’re the only one responsible for this,” you still kept your finger pointed at him, “now let’s bring you downstairs and get you boys something to eat, ok?” You didn’t give them much of a chance to respond before you and Jisung had them out of bed pulling them downstairs, and to the kitchen.

“Make sure these two eat, knowing how this one is right here,” you pointed at Mark and Jaemin before stopping and emphasizing on Jaemin.

“Can someone explain to me how all the dreamies plus Ten and Johnny know this girl? Because you guys are all really chummy,” the older boy from before blurted out.

“Well, Taeil, if you can recall, I dragged all of you guys to a girl’s graduation because she was basically family,” Ten jumped in from his seat at the long dining table.

“And she went to school with us,” Jisung chimed in.

“She treated us really well. She’s kind of like our mom,” Jeno spoke this time.

“What do you mean ‘kind of’? She already made a huge point of making us her children back when she was in high school,” Haechan chuckled.

“Why do you guys get along with her so well? What’s so special about her? Besides her banging bod,” Yuta chirped up as he scanned your body up and down. It felt really odd. Someone looking at you like that, eyeing you like you were meat still attached to the bone, as if you were his next and last meal. It was a really odd feeling for you, it had never happened, but to be fair, the only man you talked with in the last 2 years was Thomas.

“Ok, first off Yuta... you’re fucking gross,” Mark spoke this time, and before you could call him out for cursing, “I’m an adult Y/N, I can curse now. And two… Y/N was the only person who never viewed us as ‘The Dreamies’. She looked at us and spoke to us as Mark, Renjun, Haechan, Jeno, Jaemin, Chenle, and Jisung. She always viewed us as individuals not a whole collective group. She spent time with us alone and as a group. But she also took care of us, not once ever thinking selfishly. She knew all of us were orphans so she took us under her wing trying to raise us while still trying to raise herself. That is what makes her so special, how caring she is and how she views the world.”

“How she views the world?” another boy chimes in.

“Well, Hansol, she never felt the world was out to get her, even though she has been through so much herself. She just kept fighting to move forward instead of fighting against the world like a lot of us do,” Jaemin spoke up.

“Okay, enough about me. You two go eat, and I’m gonna get ready for my later shift today,” you smiled a little at the younger boy.

All of the boys returned to their original spots and activities while you stood behind and watched over them. You watched lovingly over the younger boys as they teased each other and had small food fights. You observed Mark try and keep them all together and as Haechan mocked him for it. You witnessed Jaemin make big heart eyes for Jeno and Jisung, yet still, he barely touched his food.

You were silently enjoying their family dynamic when you felt a small tap on your shoulder. You spun around to face Adonis, or Jaehyun, as he softly smiled at you.

“I want you to meet someone and there we can talk about something, alright?” he asked leading you away from the kitchen filled with rowdy boys. You looked at him, gathering in his features, although it was only his backside. His brown tousled hair that bounced a little as he walked. His beautiful back muscles that peeked through his off-white t-shirt that you couldn’t help but look at. Even the way he pushed his hair back was cute. You’d never say anything though, he was a loan shark and you had your sister to take care of.

You were awakened from your thoughts as Jaehyun knocked on the door in front of you.

“Come in,” you heard the voice of another man speak from the door.  As Jaehyun opened the door you took in this new man’s features. His hair was a soft ochre color and it lied upon the nape of his neck like a small mullet. He had a jawline that could cut through steel, and based on the way his eyes examined you, you could tell his profession almost immediately.

“Let me guess, you’re the leader?” you asked cutting through the silence in the air like a cheese knife.

“She’s definitely got an attitude,” the man cracked a small smile and chuckled, “but are you sure she’s good enough?”

“She’s incredibly intelligent and she’s a great fighter. Plus she definitely needs the work,” Jaehyun answered.

“Hi? Hello? Someone mind explaining what I’m either good or not good enough for?” you waved at the boys utterly confused.

“I found a way for you to pay off your debt and have a place to live,” Jaehyun turned to you.

“I can pay off my debt just fine, and I’ve got a place to live.”

“There is no way in hell I’m letting you go back to that rotting hell hole. I may be in a gang but I’m not going to risk your safety,” Jaehyun rumbled.

“That didn’t seem to bug you when you sent Mark and Jaehyun to attack me,” you snapped back, “I’m not interested.”

“That was then and this is now. Plus, you’d get to see Ten and the Dreamies all the time. You could even teach Mark how to fight properly,” Jaehyun interjected.

“Tempting, but still, no.”

“All your sister’s medical bills will be paid for,” you turned and shot Jaehyun a glare. He and Ten were the only people there that knew about her condition, “as well as all of your expenses: clothes, food, medical, toiletries, and you even will get your own room.” It was Taeyong that spoke this time.

You were about to cave. You would have all the things you needed, and your sister would too.

“Plus you would get paid, so you have money to do other stuff as well,” Taeyong added on. They were really trying to goat you into working for them.

“Alright, what would I be doing?” This was the perfect opportunity, all except that you working for a gang now.

“Mainly working as a fighter or bodyguard, but we may have you occasionally train the younger boys and even do hacking,” Jaehyun explained smirking. Probably at the fact that you had just caved into his request. That cocky son of a bitch.

“I can have your room done in about a week or so. I’d recommend getting all the things from your house today, as well as getting everything in order, but first, you’re going to show the rest of the boys how tough you are,” Taeyong adds on, chuckling.

“We’ll have you spar Ten,” Jaehyun smiled, “he’s been saying he wanted a rematch.”

“I’m not going to fight Ten. I know he’s not your best fighter,” you pointed to Taeyong, “I want to spar your best fighter.”

“I don’t think you’ll live through that,”  Taeyong stared at you eyebrows furrowed.

“I think you underestimate her hyung,” Jaehyun smirked.

“Alright, fine, whatever you say,” Taeyong shook his head, “go to the training room, I’ll call the rest of the boys in. I guess she’s fighting WinWin,” Taeyong muttered the last part as you and Jaehyun exited his office.

[mdwatchestv]

American Gods 1x06: Guns N Ammo

This week's American Gods brought the hammer, and while some aspects were a bit murky, the episode ultimately drove home some pretty powerful moments. Although still adhering to the overall plot structure from the novel, this episode also boasted the most original content and departures from the source material. This week's Coming to America opener was a new addition, and whew if it didn't bring the hammer of truth. We have witnessed the journeys made by other familiar gods to American shores, but this week brought the man himself (or one of the many per Wednesday) JC into the mix. In this Coming to America we see Jesus (or specifically 'Mexican Jesus') crossing the border into America with a group of Mexican immigrants. It begins as a moving sequence where Jesus, appearing as one of the group, rescues one of his faithful from drowning in the river crossing, and then proceeds to walk on water (classic Jesus). However the scene takes a sudden turn when a gang of cowboy hat wearing thugs pull up and abruptly open fire on the group of men, women, and children (and Jesus). The shooters clutch rosaries and fire automatic weapons emblazoned with "Thy Kingdom Come" denoting a similar faith, albeit a deeply misguided one (they are also firing Vulcan brand bullets). As an immigrant family runs for cover, Jesus steps in front of the bullets, taking symbolic shots to the hand and heart, before dying in a crucifixion style pose. I think after this scene I actually said, "Oh shit" quietly to myself.

As Bryan Fuller once again said so succinctly in the after episode featurette (honestly he should just write this blog), the idea of this sequence was to juxtapose the purest ideals of Christian faith (compassion and sacrifice) with the most "perverse" (his words) version of it (violence and murder). Not only did this scene portray a white religious extremist group victimizing a brown minority, it also showed them literally gunning down their supposed lord and savior, unable to see him for what he was simply because he did not look like them. This opening would have been powerful enough on it's own, but when coupled with the episode's beautiful and serene closing scene of Salim's dawn prayer, it hits even harder. Media is chock full of depictions of Islamic religious extremists and Middle Eastern "jihadists", but American Gods chose instead chose to show the violence done in the name of Christ with a contrasting scene of the mindfulness and peace of daily Muslim prayer. Although this season was shot and written before the last election, between bans and walls this episode couldn't have felt more timely. Also today I saw this story  of this guy who is a) an asshole and b) great supporting evidence.

But moving on to the rest of the episode! I was very pleased to actually get an explanation about the wood god! My prayers were answered! This was the first clue that old gods are turning tail on their own kind in order to survive, something that makes Wednesday's quest seem even more futile, and his motives increasingly suspect. Speaking of Wednesday, as I noted last week his powers continue to be on the rise. Not only was he able to heal Shadow (in a very godlike motif), but he is also up to straight up killing other gods. What's more his eyes seem to be in starker contrast than ever, and he is laying down piss curses on people. What's up with that Wed?

The larger story this episode was the introduction of the old god Vulcan (Corbin Bernsen), an original character to the show. Vulcan, the Roman god of volcanoes and the forge, is translated as the baron of a guns and ammunition factory in rural America. Vulcan makes the comparison that a gun is a volcano that a worshipper holds in their hands, every bullet a prayer. He leads an insular community of all white gun toters who live, and habitually and sacrificially die, in and around his massive factory. The topic of American's relationship to guns is a smart one for this show to mine, the devotion and obsession over gun ownership in this country too often feels like religious fervor. However I couldn't help wishing they had done a bit more on this subject, or explored it more deeply. To it's credit the writers were able to touch on a number of issues surrounding gun culture and fanaticism: capitalism, white supremacy and isolationism, interpretation of the meaning of liberty, but they were just touches. For a show that has been so successful in breaking down other aspects of American culture, it felt like they bit off more than they could chew over in an episode that had a lot of other plot. Which in some ways isn't really the shows fault, it's a vast and sticky web of subject matter, but it would have been nice to see ideas that were a bit more succinct. Vulcan's world was dynamic, but in an eight episode season there was not enough time to spend there.

Finally the jerk twins Laura and Sweeney made a new friend! In the book Salim does not exist outside of his Somewhere in America vignette, but the show has expanded his role and and has joined Laura and Sweeney's party. Adding this character into the mix is wonderful for so many reasons. First of all Omid Abtahi is ultimate charming as the sweetly sincere Salim, now road tripping in an attempt to be reunited with the Djinn. Secondly, besides arguably the deity characters themselves, he is the only mortal to actively practice a faith. Laura has since had a shake up in that department, but in life she was borderline nihilistic. And Shadow, while in a world of wtf, didn't seem to have any prior religious baggage. What's more Salim is also an interesting foil for Laura. Both of them are pursuing a love after unexpectedly starting a new life (or after life as the case may be) and both of them have a ‘fuck it’ attitude, although it manifests very differently in each. Also allowing him to be the "straight" man to Laura and Sweeney allows them to remain funny without completely losing touch with reality.

Overall even though not every original idea stuck the landing as well as it could have, everything presented in this episode was interesting and worth exploring. The weak points of the episode once again came from the lack of time being able to be dedicated to a singular plot or characters, and I hope that next season will bring a larger episode order (this season was cut down to eight episodes from an original ten). Fuller and Green have created such a captivating world with so many engaging characters and ideas that eight hours simply doesn't feel like enough time to explore every nook and cranny. However it also feels like maybe plots were course corrected a few times, for example Yetide Badaki is a series regular, but her character Bilquis has only appeared in a few episodes (don't worry though that means she is being paid for all of them :) ).  Her series regular, and opening titles, status suggests that at one point there may have been a larger arc for her character that was either pushed, abandoned or reconceived. And if that was re-finagled, then perhaps other aspects were too.

But despite the ambitiously wide net cast for the first season, the show continues to solidify it's themes and structure every episode and, as always, continues to go for it. The name of my book about American Gods is going to be Going For It: The American Gods Story. Look for copies in your book store soon. J/k i can't write a book.

Next week it looks like we get some Mad Sweeney backstory, yay! I mean, what is that guys deal?

XO MD

PS. Bonus Dead Like Me Realness gif: