#and if they'll do the “broke up for a few episodes and then get back together” I don't know how I'll feel about it

[bisexualbrainrots]

you know what's gets me all ??? about the break up?

is that I don't think any other LI has broken up with him like this.

I'm really trying to remember and at best it could be ali?? but even then it felt finished. this doesn't feel like it.

and I know, most likely lou's contract is up and that's it. but I feel like I need something more, at least a scene where buck talks about it and allows himself to feel it.

[solitaryearthperson]

It's Time

Summary: When Hannibal visits you, you must make an important decision.

(The reader is 18+ and is gender-neutral. The ethnicity/race is preferably black/person of color.)

takes place towards the end of episode 2x13 "Mizumono."

I hope he's okay, you wondered as you rushed up to your front door, holding the handle of your umbrella tightly while trying to dig into your pocket for your key. Hannibal had been acting weird for a while now. At first, you thought it was his work (and after hours work) getting to him along with Will getting close to exposing him, but there was something else now. He was always careful and confident about how he disposed of any evidence of his affairs, and the time spent between you were filled with no stress or frustrations, just luxury cooking and relaxation. But now that has changed. When he spent time with you now, he seemed to no longer be relaxed and confident, and instead was always on his guard. It was something you weren't used to seeing on him.

As you finally pulled your keys out, you felt your phone in your pocket and was quickly reminded of what you first needed to do when you go inside: check your phone. While having dinner with some old friends, you had felt your phone vibrating with texts over and over. Every now and then, when you checked to see who the sender was, you saw that few of them were from Hannibal, and were very cryptic.

Holding your door key, you tried to put it in the lock when you noticed your door was already slightly ajar.

Did someone break in my house, you wondered, slowly pushing the door open wider. Stepping inside, you tried to be quiet as you closed the umbrella, shaking off the rainwater outside, before gripping it tightly in your hand. Taking quiet steps, you first walked to your living room, holding the umbrella tightly in your hand, ready to fight the intruder if you had to, only to find it empty. Letting out a sigh, you ran your eyes across the room, looking for anything out of the ordinary, but found none.

Maybe they're hiding somewhere else, you wondered, then turned to make your way to your room, holding your umbrella upon as if it was a baseball bat.

If they're too big, I'll call the police, then Hannibal, you thought, stopping outside your closed bedroom door with your heart beating fast.

Just as you thought up the doctor's name, his voice spoke up from the other side of the door. "It is me, love."

Sighing relieved, you instantly dropped your umbrella on the ground, then opened the door, ready to greet him, only to find the man standing next to your bed, clothes already laid out, while still naked and soaking wet.

"Hannibal!" You yelled in shock, trying to divert your eyes. You had seen him naked plenty of times, but you still tried to be respectful. "W-What's going on? Why're you here?" Never had Hannibal ever broke into your house, even when you found out about his peculiar diet. When asked, he told you that he considered it 'rude.'

"Forgive me for breaking in, but I needed to quickly wash myself and inform you that it is time."

At that you looked back to him and found that he'd already put on his boxers and was now putting on his pants.

"It's time?"

"It's time," he repeated, his voice neutral.

Oh shit, you thought, realizing what he meant. It had been a while back, but you and him had discussed what to do in case he was ever found out. Shit...Will must've actually did it.

"Why'd you come here to shower?"

"If you plan to come with me like you promised, then I'll tell you," he said, grabbing a fresh white button shirt and putting it on next. "If you've changed your mind, then I'll say my goodbye and leave you. Have you?"

Have I? You wondered. You weren't a killer like Hannibal, at least not yet, but you still knew what he's done, and continued to be by his side through it all. You've ate his food knowing what it was and never felt guilty after. I am technically a killer by association. If the FBI can't arrest him, then they'll definitely arrest me...Do I want to leave him though? Looking at him, patiently buttoning up his shirt as you silently contemplated your decision, you noticed how his hair was still wet and his movements were slow and calm as if he wasn't a man that the FBI would be soon having a nation-wide manhunt over. He was a killer, but you loved him, and after all the time you've spent with him, you still weren't sure whether an individual like him was capable of love or not. He's let me live all this time, so he definitely feels some type of fondness for me, you reasoned.

"I think-"

As bad as it may sound, no one has ever come close to giving me what I need like he has. No one's made me smile, laugh, or even pleasured me like he has.

"I'll pack as fast as I can."

"Ten minutes. We're going to leave the country."

"Where're we going?" You asked, watching as he picked up a neck tie from the bed, and began wrapping it around his neck.

"Italy. Florence."

[fountainpenguin]

Riddle watches New Wish - Post #18

Operation: Birthday Takeback

Dev's birthday!! Look at him. For some reason, the fact that his drones are here in 2D is funny to me... He's a little cartoon guy. Hazel is very cute.

I have a note here that says Dev's birthday is separated from Founder's Day by 9 years, 7 months, 14 days. So, he's had Peri for 4.5 months?

-> That is not too shabby in a universe where it's rare [in the OG series] to keep godkids for a year. Nice job, Dev!

...... Do you think they'll bring back rule-free fairyversary muffins (There WAS a full movie about it), because I have a pretty good idea what he'd wish for. Smells like trouble...

Okay, let's go! ... Peri does not think his parents are cool. And Dev is SHOCKED they came over. Also, he has no idea what to do with this much attention. He's SO red.

Hm. Peri looks really unimpressed... Did he already give Dev every birthday wish he wants and now it'll be awkward when Hazel gives a gift, because what can she possibly give that Peri didn't?

-> Dev still seems delighted Hazel's here! I think her friendship is the best gift :)

-> I do not think Peri knows enough about Dev's interests to surprise him, especially since they weren't getting along in the Dimmsonian episode because Dev was frustrated Peri couldn't "make a better cupcake" and Peri was frustrated Dev couldn't figure out what flavor he wanted.

-> Peri gives me "by the book" learning vibes; he's frustrated Dev doesn't listen to him and is harder to work with than the theoretical child he had in mind, I think.

-> Okay yeah, Peri is having NONE of this. Okay, Mr. Jealous Clingy Boyfriend Vibes...

Aw, Cosmo is trying to cheer Dev up... Peri, you wanna... jump in, or...? No?

Also, I'm enjoying watching what at this moment in time seems to be a healthy friendship and/or romance develop. I'm all for tormenting children, but this is nice too.

Peri...

Also, Dev thinks Hazel is like, the coolest person ever. And Peri is SO jealous Dev would rather hang out with his human friend than with a magical fairy. That's hysterical.

Something something, Juandissimo spent 3 seasons getting fired and bounced around Fairy World because he couldn't stop crying over how much he loved and missed Remy and finally broke Da Rules to return his memories, something something, Peri came here for a good time and he is honestly feeling so attacked right now.

I don't know what I'm trying to say, but... u get it. Two spoiled bullies, two very different dynamics. It's not the kid; it's the willingness of the fairy to meet them where they are... and love unconditionally.

Local celebrity kid who spent his Spellementary School life getting fawned over never developed the social skills to make friends and doesn't know how to deal with people viewing him as a flawed three-dimensional person.

For some reason I'm getting flashbacks to the end of "School of Crock" when Poof referred to his classmates as "his friends and Foop."

Okay, I thought Dev would freak out (/negative) over seeing boots since his dad literally unveiled a statue of him kissing his beloved boots while disregarding his son, but... he likes them! Despite that emotional blow, he is a Dimmadome to his core.

-> Dev getting his very first pair of little cowboy boots with tiny spurs 'fic, please.

-> Toddler Dev trying on his dad's or grandpa's boots 'fic, please.

Dev: Why didn't YOU think of getting me [rocket boots], pickle-brain Peri? Peri: Because my job is to grant you wishes! Not to read your mind!

Yikes... It's been a long few months for them.

Also, Cosmo and Wanda choose this moment not to overstep on the parenting relationship here and that's fantastic. Sorry, Peri- You're on your own for this one.

-> Wanda's totally willing to get Peri out of here if he needs it. So... she probably did notice Dev being snippy with him, but actively chose not to step in since Peri told her not to overstep in "Lost in Fairy World." Interesting.

Hm. I wonder if Peri has an animal form? I imagine he takes the form of tech or something that wouldn't catch Dale's eye. He probably sleeps in Dev's bedroom though (and/or "Hassle in the Castle"-esque pocket space).

-> Peri in his debut: /confidence oozing from every pore

-> Peri 4.5 months later: my crops are dying. I'm crops.

I love this family.

Though I feel like... it puts a weird level of stress or professionalism on Peri and Dev. I don't really have the words for it, but something something, maybe Peri's first assignment shouldn't have been so close to his parents because they are clearly struggling to let him speak or handle things himself. It's nice he can ask advice, but I feel like if they're around too often and Peri defers to them, that blurs lines and will be really confusing for Dev.

Who do you listen to if your fairy is telling you "Yes" and his parents - who have no technical authority over you but have ambiguous semi-authority in your fairy's mind - are telling you "No?" That's workplace tension waiting to happen.

And Peri is clearly trying to set his workplace boundaries - we saw that in "Lost in Fairy World" especially - but Cosmo and Wanda keep kinda undermining him and bringing family vibes into work, and he's also grown now, so... Yikes. I love them, but that's rough, buddy.

Forget that- Is that Vicky?

?? Vicky is still young? Or is this Vicky's daughter? MARK, what did you do? I know you literally have clones of her, sir.

I mean, I guess it's not out of the question she'd look the same years later- she had the same hair when she was 5 back in "The Switch Glitch" and she clearly likes that style, but I wasn't expecting it, especially since she's probably close to Dale's age and he's clearly beefed up (and I think gotten taller). Huh. Well, all righty.

The golden cowboy boots on display with the "In honor" plaque are not doing anything to disprove my tentative theory that Doug Dimmadome has passed on and that's why Dale is so clingy towards his boots.

Pfft, the "Icky Vicky" song is still a thing.

SLKJDF, I'm amazed they carried through with Vicky being the one to put Dale to work at the lemonade stand. I'm still confused as to whether she started it at age 9 or took over from someone else.

DEV DOESN'T KNOW HER???

Dale, you are a terrible dad. How can he be so bitter about his past and tell his son horror stories about Vicky, and/or not keep constant watch for her? I can't believe he hasn't sued her into oblivion.

-> It's because he doesn't tell Dev stories unless it's to gripe about how he needs to pull his weight because "My life was so hard when I was your age," isn't it?

I like how Dev is trying to lightly call to Peri for help without attracting attention or moving his lips. Geez, man- That's gotta be so stressful when you're trying to rely on someone new to help you and they don't show up. He didn't have him in the Hocus Poconos and he can't get him out here when he needs him. This is gonna be great on his trust issues, I'm sure.

Peri looking at his dad vs. Wanda looking at her sexy husband:

Dev will hang with his friends, but he's not putting down his stuff.

This next face he makes (without words) to signal "Hey, I'm doing my best" is so funny to me. He's like. "Yeah, I don't have to say anything; she knows what's going on here."

... I'm confused. What is up with Wanda and Cosmo right now? Why are they leaving notes to Dale that out Hazel as a godkid and them as fairies (who are disguised as humans)?

I get that they're not thinking ahead and are spelling out notes while they talk to each other, but surely they should know better than to leave evidence, especially after they saw Cookie get 10k years in prison for revealing the existence of Fairies and we know Hazel could be separated from them. Peri clearly knows this is a bad idea. Utterly incomprehensible to me.

"Icky Vicky" remix!!! Also, Dev handles rocket boots way better than Kevin Crocker did.

Dev "It's not a children's party; I'm a BIG KID!" Dimmadome - Dude, you just turned 10. I mean... That is double digits and you're just a little guy, so... good job.

I'm so glad I was right and that Dev isn't allowed to drink lemonade. That's hilarious. I'm obsessed. He wants it so much...

A.J., Poof, and Crocker sure changed a lot considering Vicky looks the same.

I love Dev covering Hazel's eyes so she doesn't see the partially naked money-covered mural of his dad.

The fact that this is even in the show is hilarious; it says so much to me. Dale "Obsessed with flaunting where I am now in life" & Dev "Instantly doing damage control so my BFF doesn't feel uncomfy or think I'm weird and ditch me" Dimmadome.

....... I said BFF, but I'm pretty sure Dev said Trev was his BFF in Episode 1 and now I'm wondering why we haven't seen them together at all. Hm. I'm gonna have to circle back to Episode 1 later; I might be misremembering.

Their names are Dev and Trev... Where is this silly duo? We're bein' ROBBED!

Peri's grown out of calling Wanda "Mama"- just "Mom." Good note for me in case I want to write something in line with New Wish's canon specifically, since I've always used "Mama" in 'fics even when he's older.

Peri watching his parents make innuendo jokes:

Oh, INSTANT panic on their end at the news of Vicky in the house. More so than with Crocker!

50 years of deep-seeded trauma... This would be a fantastic title card or redraw. Maybe I'll draw it someday.

Cannot believe Peri has been whiplashed back and forth by being snarked at, coddled, reminded of his Hocus Poconos trauma, and now he's facing Vicky trauma all within a couple episodes. It's been a long 4 months.

Peri @ Vicky: "She's REAL!? I thought I imagined her as a baby!!!" is he ok.

-> This is very funny to me because it plays into my headcanon of Poof growing up to forget most of his time with Timmy, including his name, and beating himself up about it.

I don't think Peri has gone one episode without going full panic mode over something. This kid's not lasting long as a godparent. Dev's gonna crack him like a nut and then Jorgen's going to wipe the floor with him.

omg, Dev needs his godparent to stand up for him against Vicky and Peri's having a MELTDOWN and hiding behind his mom. Um???

Holy cow, I've never seen him break like this, except maybe when he gained his fear of the dark in "Lights Out." That includes his many brushes with death and when Fairy Court unraveled his existence from the timeline.

-> I cannot believe I made a joke about how I wasn't sure how things could get more traumatizing for Peri than having to face the Hocus Poconos and yet here we are. Yeah, he's gonna put in his two weeks' notice like... tomorrow.

He ditched his godkid! Peri!!! You are a grown-up now! You can't do that!!

Okay, so Vicky is as tall as Cosmo and Wanda, so she can be an adult, sure. Also, Cosmo and Wanda finally getting the chance to stand up to her <3 I don't remember her tormenting them that much but maybe it's secondhand spooks.

-> Peri's meltdown continues in the background. That is some DEEP trauma.

Even if this was a non-Vicky person, would Peri be mentally equipped to deal with it? Because he's reacting badly for a guy whose memories are so wobbly, he can't remember if they were real. He's not there for Dev and he clearly has some issues to work out.

-> I think he needs more godparent training; he is NOT ready.

(Full moon!)

Ooh, Dev feels like his dad replaced him with Hazel... Dev out here like "Wait a sec, the reason my dad's not been around in 4.5 months is because apparently he's obsessed with you?" Oh boy... Those three expressions just tell it all (The horrified realization, the despair, the anger...)

omfg, Dev just found out Hazel "wished to become friends with him" ("I wish I knew why he acted so mean") and he feels like he's not good enough to be liked without a wish and everything was a lie, and he is CRASHING and screaming. Oh, geez louise. Terrible job, everyone!!! Everybody loses!!

I really like this night city skyline. It's so pretty. I love this decompression scene. Really good storytelling move and also nice to look at. I want to write with these vibes.

Man, Hazel's comforting herself and turning to Cosmo and Wanda for support (and making plans of how to make her evening better after getting yelled at).

I bet I know who's NOT about to turn to his fairy for support~

Dev: And where tf were you!?!?

"I was calling for you; why didn't you answer me? Why is no one ever there? Why does everyone else 'matter more' than me, even the people who are supposed to look out for me?"

Peri: D':

-> I like how the poof clouds still have words in them. Also, the scribbling scene is really well-done; Dev is losing his marbles.

Oh man... Thaaat's a big mess. Welcome home, child trauma show <3

Also, fanfic timeline notes under the cut:

[Contains a small timeline spoiler for Along the Cherry Lane, which is a 'fic I won't be starting for a long time. This is already in my Timmy's Timeline notes from the sideblog, though, so if you've already seen it, it's nothing new]

Wanda said it's been a "couple decades" since her encounters with Vicky. So... is Vicky like, 36?

I could've sworn Vicky and Dale were close to the same age; he has a teen body design in "Nectar of the Odds."

His age might've been adjusted though, or at least he may have started at a very young age. He told Dev in "Stanky Danky" that "when he was his age, he was working in a factory making lemonade every Saturday" and missed all the Saturday cartoons. This is Dev's 10th birthday, so maybe the thought here is "Dale started at age 9 or 10, then stopped at age 16 or 17."

If that's true, then yes, he's Vicky's age.

So. In that case, that screenshot of distraught Dev I put up in my "Battle of the Dimmsonian" post and captioned as "This is probably how Dale used to look at Vicky and then she kicked him down the stairs" is probably age-accurate too, and that's even worse.

Let's say it's been 2 decades and Dale was 16 then, now 36. That would mean he had Dev... Let's say around age 26 or 27.

-> That would jump us from 2002 [in my 'fics] to Dev being born around 2012, with New Wish taking place more or less around 2022. I think I'm okay with that- We saw in "Fearless" that the Enrichment Academy's most recent champion win was 2019 and they win every few years, so that makes perfect sense.

I think my 'fic Along the Cherry Lane ends with Tammy and Tommy close to age 10 in 2020? Let me see...

Riddle's Cloudlands AU notes: - Timmy parts ways with Cosmo and Wanda on October 15th, 2010 - Chloe parts ways with Cosmo and Wanda the night of March 20th, 2011. - Tammy is born September 2013 & Tommy February 2016 - Tammy and Tommy receive Cosmo and Wanda as godparents in 2023 (He's 8 or 9, she's 10 or 11)

Hmm... That's riding really close to Hazel's timeline. New Wish will probably be over by the time I'm done with my current longfics and ready for Along the Cherry Lane, so I won't worry about it for now, but it'll be nice to have these notes later in case I do want to try fitting this into my canon. We'll see if we get any hints about Tammy or Tommy in future episodes. I'd love to see Hazel meet Timmy with his kids, though I doubt we'll see that.

-> I also would not be opposed to kicking "Channel Chasers" out of New Wish's canon because it's not an episode I have attachment to and, well... we don't have flying cars or robot babysitters yet.

... If I were to keep everything, I feel like I'd rather take New Wish as canon and then put "Channel Chasers" after it (even if that violates the "20 years later" label) than commit to "Channel Chasers" and kick Hazel away. I was dreading worldbuilding a society that gained flying cars and robots within 20 years anyway, so I wouldn't be mad.

-> But I'll have to decide how much New Wish I want to incorporate into my canon, seeing as I usually prioritize the OG series in Cloudlands AU above spin-off media. Hmm.

Again, I won't be finishing this 'fic for a long time, so New Wish might be over by then and I'll have more information to work with.

Thanks for reading my liveblog!

[teamhawkeye]

Highlights from the Ted Raimi Q&A from GalaxyCon

first off, he commandeered the mic from the panel moderator and went off script for like 15 minutes

he asked how much everyone had to pay for tickets and was AGHAST at hearing the price. he was also asking about how much food and other expenses added onto that and took a poll to see who would be broke after the end of the weekend

he also mentioned that this was the first time he'd ever had fried chicken at breakfast, and his first ever time trying grits! he really enjoyed grits but was confused whether they should be sweet or savory, since he thinks he had them served sweet and most everyone agrees they should be savory instead

because he had the last panel of the last day, he felt that all of us there that came to hear him talk were the "weirdos" of the convention, in the most affectionate way possible

as for actual questions he answered:

across his whole career, he said he thinks The Quarry is the best thing he's ever done,

when asked for some of his favorite endings of The Quarry, he said that Laura and Max reuniting is high up there since those were the characters/actors he spent the most time interacting with and being entrenched in their story. he also said he'd heard of an ending where most of the Hacketts survived and no one else did, and with Travis being a Hackett, he supposed that one was one he could get behind

he mentioned that the prop gun that Travis had during mocap was a rubber band gun, and that he used it to fire rubber bands at Skyler, who in turn would sling them back at him

he got asked about a favorite moment he got to be a part of in the Spider-Man trilogy and said it's from Spider-Man 3, where J. Jonah Jameson is saying "you want a staff job, you want a staff job. doesn't anybody care what I want?" and Hoffman pops his head in to say "I do!" and gets met with "shut up. get out"

he also said that JK Simmons was amazing to work with and that he brought such great energy to set and their scenes

there were a few questions about Xena. he was asked for a favorite episode and he admitted he can't really remember what scenes he filmed went with what episodes and didn't have an answer for that.

he was asked what kind of dog he thought Joxer would be and his first answer was "a kicked one". he then tried to come up with a breed that would essentially be loyal and energetic but dumb as a bag of rocks

he got asked if he still knew the words to Joxer the Mighty (yes) and if he'd be willing to sing it (no)

he was similarly asked if he had a favorite episode of SeaQuest and he likewise answered that he couldn't remember which scenes matched with what episodes, it had been too long for him to keep them straight

he did say that everyone remaining in the SeaQuest cast have remained great friends in the years since it aired, which he stressed was a rarity. they're planning on having a reunion dinner sometime next year out in Cali where they'll all get together to party and celebrate

on top of saying what great people all the surviving cast members are, he made sure to mention just how much he enjoyed filming with Michael Ironside in the final season and what a privilege it was to act alongside him

it was somewhere between Xena and SeaQuest questions that a fan had trouble with getting the microphone adjusted to ask her question and Ted leapt off stage to come adjust it for her before returning back to his seat on stage

when asked about the role of Henrietta and returning to that suit and makeup in Ash vs. Evil Dead, he said that the process was still pretty exhausting and gross as it was 30 years earlier

he got asked a pretty silly question about Robocop (being set in Detroit) and he mentioned having worked with Peter Weller on Odyssey 5 and what a unique experience that was and how he enjoyed filming it

one of the most profound things he said was in regards to a question about the film industry as a whole and its evolution. he mentioned how the best thing that had changed in the film industry since he started was the treatment of women in it, how it's changed for the better, and as it rightfully should have. he also said that he feels like very recently, he'd finally reached a point in his life where he felt he'd hit his stride. that there were years and stretches of time where he was just taking roles to keep his lights on and pay his rent, that there were hard times he had to get through. but that now, in his 50s, he'd felt content with where he was with his career and in his life. and he made sure to stress that sometimes people find their purpose in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, or even later - that there is no right or wrong time to reach that point, that it comes about on its own and that it's never "too late"

i'm very obviously paraphrasing some of this, because at the time i didn't know we'd be allow to record or take photos, so this is all just from memory! i hope that it was taped and ends up available for viewing sometime soon!

[jesuis-assez]

I know we’re all struggling with this endless hiatus and the lack of new content, so I thought it would be fun to resurrect the #chenfordchats that were circling around the fandom earlier this year. (I can’t remember if you were here at the time, but you can search that tag to see what it’s all about… it’s basically just a Q&A.) We previously did a question on favorite Tim Bradford quotes, so this time let’s do Lucy! What are your favorite 3-5 (or more if you want) Lucy Chen quotes from the entire series 😊

I started watching the show in February of this year 🤔 Ok. More like binged. It took me a LONG (I do mean long) time before I decided to watch The Rookie. It was the gif-sets on tumblr, that first had me interested. It seems this is where I do my show shopping 🤣.

Although, I had been following people, who were\are invested in the show, or rather Tim and Lucy. I've been here in spirit since the pilot. I remember seeing gif-sets going that far back. Well into...

Lucy saving Tim on her SECOND SHIFT (not first)

Them sharing a drink together in what could be their final moments on earth

Lucy pranking Tim on her last day as a rookie (There were a few people upset that this meant they'll never bring them together)

The prelude of romantic chenford in 3x14 with Tim undressing Lucy with his eyes in her green dress. All the flirting that happened there.

The almost kiss in 4x01 with them lying awake in separate rooms with thoughts of each other, wanting to give in and go to the other.

Tim pranking Lucy in 4x21 and people uncertain whether they were actually going there with them

Them finally kissing in 4x22 with everyone losing their minds and few people worried that the show might not get picked up for a s5

Their undercover episode in 5x01 and everyone excited to see what will unfold from there.

I had no context. I literally thought these two were like every other cop show, where they were just partners. Partners who had feelings for each other, that they just hadn't realized it yet. I had no idea they were training officer and rookie, then eventually friends\partner\co-workers.

So, I had been lurking for a long time. I already knew everything that had happened with Tim and Lucy. I knew they were together and I thought... Well, now is the time. Kind of a... You don't want to start something, unless it feels right kind of thing? I also didn't want to watch, get invested in them only for them not to be together.

My first gif-set was around the time that Tim and Lucy broke up 🤣 I came along during the chaos of that. I do remember chenfordchats coming back after season 6 wrapped up. I was a part of that briefly.

And I remember favourite quotes between the two of them being a prompt for the Lucy\Tim appreciation event. At the time, I could only think of one quote that really resonated with me from Lucy, which was this one:

Bare with me.. I do not feel very wordy today 🤣 So imma push through that.

Lucy spent the entirety of this episode feeling that she had to prove she was strong enough to be able to testify against Rosalind Dyer. That this is something she had to do. That's always been Lucy. She's always felt like she has something to prove. Either to herself or to others. Feeling that she's not good enough. Or that she'll let others down. Whether that be to her parents (Where this likely stems from), her career, Tim and working undercover. And to see her come to that realisation that this is something that she doesn't need to prove to anyone was such a powerful moment. For her to own that.

Tim's words from 2x12 having had such an impact on her, to have stayed with her all this time. Those words still providing her a sense of comfort and empowerment. To see her step back into her own power, after seeing her touch that tattoo all episode long (something she always does, as sort of a habit. Her way of reminding herself that she can get through this as well. Get through another major ordeal) , a permanent reminder of what she went through. It's like she uses that as a way to draw in some strength needed in the moment. But, also it being a reminder of her being able to turn that truly horrific and traumatic event in her life into something positive.

That she survived that. That tattoo no longer being a representation of her being a 'victim' of this only being something that was done to her, but rather a survivor, who can handle any challenge or battle that comes her way (because she is capable and has proven that many times before)

I dug a little deeper, and managed to come up with at least five more:

That is exactly what Tim needed to hear in that moment and the right thing she could've said, as someone who hasn't been through that. Especially someone who is coming into this from an outsider's perspective. Tim's sister had a completely different experience of abuse to that of what he experienced, despite living in the same household.

I really feel that Genny emotionally invalidated what Tim went through. She completely trivialized his long-term trauma of abuse from their father, because she came out of that differently. She found a way to reconcile with their father and come to terms with everything that happened, so therefore he should as well. Just the lack of empathy and how insensitive she was towards him to force this issue on him. He needed to deal with that in his own way, or at least have the choice (even if it's unhealthy) to not deal with it at all. The audacity she had to show up at his workplace and demand that of him, to unpack all of that trauma for her convenience. I won't delve into this extensively.. Maybe some other time, if I even remember or want to 🤣

But, in a nutshell... Lucy's influence, empathy, careful choice of words and understanding of who Tim is as a person is what allows Tim to see that he and his sister need to be a source of support for each other during this. Y'know... It not being so 'one sided' where it's only about Genny's feelings about their childhood and what she wants, to the point of Tim's feelings being disregarded.

And then there's this scene: ( I'll touch on it a little bit)

I love what Lucy says to Tamara here. This is a scene that really cultivates Lucy's character. Who she is and the kind of cop she is and continues to aspire to be. Her ability to see people for who they really are behind the masks they show everyone else. Her way of being there for others and never giving up on them. Showing Tamara through kindness and empathy, that she has better options and that she is someone she can trust. There is better out there. Lucy was really someone Tamara needed in her life, someone who genuinely wanted to support and help her. She didn't write her off as just some troubled youth, but as someone who was really struggling. A kid in need. In need of family, friendship, support, love, guidance, kindness.. a home. All these things that Lucy would eventually give her and effectively change her life for the better. Ooh .. I teared up a little bit on this one 🤣

Honorable mentions:

+

Thank you for the ask 💖✌ You are a very beautiful writer, may you never lose your love for that and always feel connected to it . [x] Your story here is beautifully written as most of your stories often are. It's the one I instantly thought of, when your writing came to mind. The first story of yours that my mind happily stored away.

The plot for this being so unique and wonderfully crafted to wove together a truly beautiful piece of writing. I hope you feel incredibly proud of your writing, as your newest stories reflect how much dedication and growth that has transpired since then.

[piracytheorist]

Episode 33 reaction!

*incoherent screaming*

WHY DID THEY MAKE THIS CUTE. WHY DOES IT WORK. I LOVE IT.

Yor talks about how they'll just put them in that inflatable boat and then go to the other ship, but would that really work with the amount of assassins on board? All they'd need to do would be fire with a sniper while the trio were boarding.

Anyway. Caught by the smell, after all. And indeed Yor doesn't seem to have a scent that super-smeller Turtleneck Guy can pick up. Interesting!

I love how Anya didn't even have to negotiate this. She wasn't even direct about it.

Also, it looks like Anya got a little more comfortable hearing a myriad of passionate thoughts around her? Like, remember episode three, where she passed out from the amount of thoughts around her. Here she didn't seem bothered at all and thought she could "look around" for Yor's thoughts. Is that a sign that she's getting stronger and gaining more control of her power?

I love how Yor saw the two guys standing by the hallway and went like "These are probably assassins" and they were indeed assassins.

Okay. This spread is hilarious, with all the different expressions side by side, and I'm glad I had the manga in a physical copy and could see it in all its glory XD

It was so sweet, how Olka tried to calm down Gram 🥺 the voice actress did such a great work there!

They actually fit three full chapters and one short chapter in one episode, and it still didn't feel rushed, what the hell! Like they took their time showing everything. This is amazing.

I love how Gram got excited over jumping around in Yor's arms XD

The sniper got an order to kill the baby too, if possible! The fuck!

Setting a fight between assassins - which includes a lot of shooting - amidst a firework show is brilliant. The plain guests had no idea what was happening just a few meters away from them.

AND YOR GOT HURT!

The difference between their reactions at the other dodging was hilarious. The sniper went like "She dodged that???!?!" and Yor was like "Aw shucks, he dodged it."

Then. Yor. Fucking. DESTROYED. A DAGGER WITH HER BARE FINGERNAILS. What the actual fuck! (I accidentally typo-ed "bear fingernails" there but was it actually incorrect? This woman is a beast!)

And Gram is still having fun! Fireworks? Time to cry. People trying to kill them? Laughing his heart out :D

My god! The assassins coming out, and Yor doing her tricks with her stilettos before preparing her stance? The animators really understand the assignment!

Some good quick action there, McMahon coming to their help and I THINK I MIGHT HAVE SCREAMED WHEN ZEB GOT HIT.

Like they were actually falling and I was like. Please tell me he wore a bulletproof vest. Please tell me he won't die. PLEASE DON'T DIE ;_;

So yeah. I was so relieved to see he had a vest. And it's also funny that they took a humorous tone with that. A bit of an emotional whiplash was expected there XD

There's so much good animation there I can't even begin to comment on it. I'll have to gif a lot tomorrow :D Probably :D

Anyway. THEY MESSED WITH THE WRONG BITCH

Glorious.

McMahon cleaning up! Both preparing to fuck shit up!

I love how Yor apologized for using a guy's dead body as a shield from bullets. Kindness over all!

And then Loid wondering why Anya is still so excited after a long show of fireworks. He would lose his mind as a modern parent whose child could listen to Baby Shark a million times in a row.

A literal bloodshow ensues! Yor killing guy after guy and McMahon cleaning up after her!

Meanwhile, Anya and Loid enjoy the fireworks, and the office dudes win a fortune. Wins all around!

Though shit! The mace guy broke one of Yor's stilettos! Sacrilege!

They didn't pull back. With the soft song accompanying the action, we then get a hilarious (!!) montage of Yor taking out the assassins one by one and HOW DO THEY DO THAT. How is the humor in this show so effective I DO NOT UNDERSTAND. Like, Endo's writing is funny in and of itself, but then the anime manages to pick up from that and use make it over the top! I love it.

Turtleneck guy thinks he's in the position to judge Yor??? Shut up my dude.

So McMahon is a pretty traditional dude, huh. Interesting. And did Turtleneck Guy really go like, "No, YOU will be eaten by sharks!" Like was that the best you could do XD

But then! Things get deeply serious! McMahon isn't dead, is he? O_O (don't answer)

Oh my god there's so much more I can barely comment! The katana guy being over the top! Yor worrying over breaking Loid and Anya's hearts! BECAUSE SHE'LL DIE. The haircut moment XD

But then Yor had her moment of wondering and then got her ass kicked and shit.

It is not clear in the anime, but it looks like in the manga Yor ripped the earring off her earlobe to stop Turtleneck Guy from moving on.

It's kind of tragic, how the Briar siblings ended up. Yor got into a dangerous, soul-eating job to protect Yuri's carefree life, and Yuri, seeing the sacrifices she made for him, did the same for her. They're so desperate to protect each other from the evils of the world, because they're all they have...

But now she's got even more of a motive...

So what if I cry? What if I dissolve into a puddle of tears and feels? So what? T_T

WHAT IF I LOSE MY MIND. BECAUSE HE DOES UNDERSTAND. IT'S THE VERY SAME THING HE DOES.

One last moment of logic that yes, she did rip her earlobe.

And now I continue screaming. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

[ophernelia]

1-30 for lou and imogen

Well damn. Aight.

1. Where and how did they meet?

Summertime. Copperdale, NY. Right outside of Hattie's home. It's in the pilot episode of the series.

2. Was it love at first sight?

They were seven so... no lol.

3. If it was not love at first sight, how and when did they know it was love?

So, Lou knew before Imogen did. For him it was the summer they both turned 15. Imogen was upset because Krystle was making fun of her for not having her first kiss yet. Lou being Lou he offered to do it. Even though he had a girlfriend at the time. Kiss didn't mean anything to her, but it took Lou's head through a loop. He broke things of with the girl he was dating the next day. We got to see it click in Imogen's head. It was when she was talking to her mom before she hung out with Lou at the campsite. That was in episode 2 of the series.

4. What feature(s) do they find most attractive about their partner?

For Imogen, she'd say it's his eyes, lips, and hair. (Even though he cut it. She's upset about that.) He's also got really nice teeth, so seeing him smile is always a treat. Lou would say the same for Imogen, but he'd also include her legs, chest, and feet. I don't know. He gives me that vibe that feet would be his thing. Imogen's are nice. Tattooed, soft, and she always has a fresh pedicure.

5. What traits / personality aspects do they like most about their partner?

Imogen adores how sociable and chatty Lou is. He'd talk to a brick if it could talk back. She thinks his ability to speak to anyone makes him very brave. For Lou, he adores how sweet Imogen is but primarily towards him. It's a different sweetness and softness that she shows to other people. With him it's how lovingly she'll stare him or how sweet she'd talk to him. As if she had honey dripping from her lips. It's a side of herself that only he gets to see. He thinks it's the best side.

6. Do they have any habits their partner finds annoying?

Imogen is a bed snacker. She likes to crawl in bed with some chips or fresh veggies and just go to town. Lou hates it. He hates the crumbs, he hates the trash. He likes keeping the bed in pristine condition. There's only a few exceptions he'll make and none of them is food related. Lou doesn't stick to a side of the bed and it works Imogen's nerves. She likes to sleep on the right side of the bed. It's in the perfect position. It's close to Sozin's bed. It's close to thefan they have in the bedroom. Lou will fall asleep wherever. Right, left, middle- doesn't matter. He's huge and he takes up so much space. She hates it!

7. Is there anything about their partner they would like to change?

Lou thinks Imogen is the pinnacle of perfection, so he wouldn't change a thing. If you asked Imogen, she's refer to the last question lmao.

8. Where did they have their first date?

Their first real date was to the bronx zoo. It was a day trip. Lou planned the whole thing since Imogen couldn't decide where they should go. He didn't mind. He wanted to take her to see the giant anteaters because he knew she loved them. They hadn't been to the zoo together since they were kids. It was a nice date.

9. When and where did they have their first kiss?

I mentioned it earlier, but it was the summer they turned 15 in Hattie's garden. It was really brief. Just a peck. Nothing memorable for Imogen, but it had an impact on Lou.

10. How long have they been together?

At this current point in the series they've officially been together for about 2 years.

11. Will they stay together for a long time?

I'm sure it comes as a surprise to no one, but Lou and Imogen are end-game. They are my soulmate couple. There's not a lifetime they haven't been together.

12. Do they have many problems in the relationship or just a few? Or none?

They don't have problems often because they've gotten used to each other over the years. They usually squash them relatively quickly, but some times they'll have disagreements that span over a few days. Nothing too deep. It's usually just lighthearted problems.

13. Is there a big age difference between the partners, a small difference or are they the same age?

They're the same age. Imogen is older by two months.

14. Do other people approve or disapprove of the relationship?

They had a rough start, but people love them together now.

15. If someone disapproves of the relationship, who is it, and why do they disapprove?

The most interesting culprit is Dallas. Though she loves them together now, it took some getting used to. She loves Lou, but she felt like the two of them moved way too fast. From getting together, moving in together, getting engaged- it all happened in the span of a few months. They're both still very young and she just wanted them to save some stuff for the future.

16. Does the couple care if people disapprove of them being together?

Imogen adores her mom and wants her approval. As does Lou, but whether they got it or not they'd still be together.

17. Are they married?

Yes but they haven't had the ceremony just yet. Imogen is a Carranza now.

18. If they’re not married, do they want to be?

Lou nor Imogen every really thought marriage would be in the cards for them. Imogen had always been a little too strange to be liked openly, so she didn't think it was a possibility. Lou knew he'd want to get married one day after growing up seeing Dallas and Cale. After the events of the summer before the series began, he didn't think it'd be possible. Who'd wanna marry a monster? They were both painfully wrong.

19. Would they elope, have a small intimate wedding, big fancy wedding, or something else?

They're having a small wedding. Just a few friends and family members in Greece.

20. Where would they go on their honeymoon or dream vacation?

The two of them don't want to have a honeymoon. Travelling isn't much of a luxury for them, because of the amount of wealth Imogen's family has. If they want to go on a trip then all they have to do is make time for it.

21. Do they have any children? Do they want any?

Not yet. Imogen is fine with two. Lou wants a basketball team.

22. What is their favourite thing to do together?

Anything and everything as long as they're alone. They love their friends. A lot honestly, but nothing beats the two of them just hanging out around the house together uninterrupted. They love sitting down and getting into a good show together. Something scandalous and maybe a little trashy.

23. Where is their favourite place to go together?

It used to be the pier when they lived in Copperdale, but now it's a thrift store in their neighborhood. It's over near a pizza shop and ice cream parlor, so they make a whole event of it. They'll shop, grab a bite to eat, and then walk around the area.

24. Do they have a song?

I used to think it'd be Roslyn, but no they'd love "Beach Baby" by Bon Iver. It's one of the songs Lou would often ask Imogen to play on her guitar before they went to bed. It's their thing.

25. Do they have any pet names / nicknames for each other?

I don't think a day has gone by in recent years that Lou hasn't called Imogen "angel". Sometimes he may slip in a "baby" but it is almost always "angel". I haven't found anything that's stuck for Imogen. She's said "baba" or " lovebug" but nothing really works for her. I think it's because she just really loves his name. She likes saying it. I mean it's his, so how could she not?

26. Are they jealous?

YES. IMOGEN MORESO THAN LOU.

27. Is this a first relationship for either of them?

This is Imogen's first relationship. No one has ever liked her enough to ask until Lou. Lou has had plenty.

28. How do they show affection for each other?

They're very hands on with each other. Lots of hugs, lots of kisses. Imogen loves doing Lou's hair. Combing it, washing it, anything really. He enjoys a good scalp massage so he happily allows her to. Lou loves a good smooch. On the cheeks, on her forehead, on her lips- he's not at all particular.

29. How do they cheer their partner up when they’re sad?

Imogen can help Lou get out of a funk by going on a walk. He likes to walk and talk about what's bothering him. So, rain or shine, if Lou is feeling down then Imogen'll suggest a walk. Imogen likes a good cuddle. Especially in any position where Lou will lay on her chest and talk to her. He can usually get a giggle out of her just by rambling as he always does. She can't be upset for long after that.

30. Is either of the partners a ‘hopeless romantic’?  

Honestly.. netiher of them are. If something happened between the two of them it would completely shatter their perception of love. It's the only romantic love either of them have known.

[imthepunchlord]

Honestly? At this point Miraculous seems like a pick and choose kind of fandom??? Like when the storyline and author of something become too much of a mess for the fans to care much for canon anymore so they just choose what the want to write fanfics about. It happens in stuff like DC where they can't have all the different characterizations of the characters together without contradiction. Death of the author situation I think???

It was already happening with fan artists so very intrigued by the PV. And then as new characters and powers were introduced people started omitting some characters n episodes.

Now, with the absolute nothing having done for the character arcs for most of the characters (Adrian, Chole, even Alya) people are just tired.

Understandably so. We have almost a decade of bad writing, inconsistency on characters, clashing set up and characters, upsetting/huge choices that don't have any real consequences to them or not the right response, and honestly at the core, nothing changing all that much. S6 is going to have LB and Chat still not know each other's identities, and are still going to face a villainous Butterfly user.

Only difference is that there's now a total of 17 heroes in Paris, but given that LB and Chat are the center piece, I don't know how much we'll really see them. Oh, and Adrien and Marinette are dating, though I wouldn't be surprised if s6 just had them broken up or immediately broke them up. They did it before. And this pair is supposed to chase each other eternally... maybe they'll stay dating s6 and onwards but idk, it seems like no one likes writing couples together, which is a shame as that can be a whole other can of worms and not always happy, as you're taking that partnership further, you're going to learn more of who your SO is, and there's going to be fights, there's going to be learning communication, there's going to be learning compromise. There's a lot to explore with couples together that's not always sunshine and rainbows, and hardly any show wants to really explore it. Maybe they will s6 but I'm not really anticipating the possibility.

Either way, yeah, ML is that medium where, because of the inconsistency, you can pick and choose what you think fits the character. Given the lack of consistency, it can be up for debate of what's even in character for this character.

Like, I remember when Collector first came out, and Chloe is sobbing about Adrien being pulled from school and I was so surprised by the choice. The Chloe that was presented in s1 would not be sobbing. She was be mad. She would go demand and threaten Gabriel to give Adrien back. Probably one of the few people she genuinely cared for, and this is a girl who knows that she has a lot of political power and can get her way easily. She would not be crying over this, she'd be marching her way to the Agreste manor, ready to give Gabriel a bad day for the audacity of pulling her friend out of school when she waited so long for him to join her in school.

And that's just one of many moments where something can feel out of character, at least for me. Depending on how you view Chloe, that could very much be in character. And that's the nice and frustrating thing with Miraculous, no consistency, anything is up for your interpretation.

Even more so when you have characters that have a clear route of progress to follow.

Like, take Felix, who got cut because he didn't work with what Astruc wanted to do, which yeah, he doesn't. Which he wanted to do a status quo story, which means little to no progressing forward, no major changes to that initial set up. Felix though is a character that needs progress. He starts out selfish, not wanting to be a hero, and his set up arc is learning to care. Learning to truly become a hero, learning to make friends and working with others, coming to genuinely fall for his partner and being genuine with her.

Felix would've been fine with a story progressing forward.

He had a clear path to take.

Chloe, given all the build up to be Queen Bee, had two clear paths to take, be it redemption and rising to becoming a hero, or embracing a role of full villainy.

Alya had a clear path to take, with her eagerness to expose the heroes publicly, she needs to learn the value and security of secrecy, and the reality that her trying to expose them put them at risk; that she needs to reevaluate her priorities and how she should go about things.

There's also the issue of lore, which ML has really bad lore. Which can leave us to be more creative with it, make changes so it makes sense. And this can extend to powers too, as I don't think a majority genuinely like all powers presented, I don't know anyone who really likes time traveling Rabbit or really knows how Rooster works. So it is really nice that people are pretty open to seeing Miraculous power changed or expanded upon.

And of course, there's the lack of consistency in what they set up.

Ladybug and Cat are supposed to be THE most powerful, the big two! But they don't feel like. Butterfly feels like the most OP given it can give any power and can make superior versions of preexisting Miraculous. Peafowl can do the same, and make actual life apparently, that you can fully control and terminate whenever you want. Rabbit can freaking time travel. Rooster it seems can give you any power you want, I know they tried to explain that Rooster can't do what other Miraculous do, but that's a clashing statement as Ladybug and Goat both generate items, and the Paris Special reveals that a Ladybug CAN control what items they gets, and you got Butterfly and Peafowl able to function the same, and in the Paris Special, Butterfly can make a champion that can go to different realities, and Rooster can give the ability to go to different realities, so I guess we'll just go with Rooster can give you any power you want?

Yeah, Miraculous over all is a huge frustrating mess. Even more so that it's still going on despite how sloppy it is.

And for me at least, I create content for it as I can SEE the potential it has for the concept. It's such a brilliant idea for a superhero/magical girl show.

Doing animal themed heroes, with their powers working off the animal symbolism, themes, folklore, and mythology? Yeah, that is great. That can give you SO MUCH to work with and do. Even more so, most animals have the same themes across different cultures, like everyone agrees that foxes are tricky, horses are about heroism and traversal, bees are the peak example of community, ect..

And then there's these little beings that are based on those animals, that have lived through a long history alongside humanity? Easily could've been the most fascinating part of the show, especially if they work off animal archetypes. That gives you a preset personality to build upon, and can shape each kwami's view, moral, and guidance.

Like Pollen as a Bee should have values of having a role to play in the great hive of the world, you might need help finding your purpose, and to believe that humans should communicate, work with others, work hard, be kind but take no bull. Live a life of integrity and responsibility.

Trixx as a Fox though should be a trickster. One that's ultimately for the greater good, but she's going to be chaotic about it. Maybe a little selfish, maybe a little mischievous, and maybe a little risky. She's going to urge a value of cleverness and perception in her humans, but she's also going to let them act for themselves as she wants to see how things play out for curiosity and fun. And in the grand scheme of things, everything will work out as Trixx intends, with her having various predictions on how things will probably go, but my goodness, anyone caught up in her gambling game is going to be in for a wild ride.

And with these two very drastic animal archetypes, it sets up Pollen and Trixx to clash on how they handle things, expanding upon kwamis having unique dynamics, some as friendships while others are rivalries.

Then of course, there's the intrigue of what humans they could get paired with, especially if you go a route of foils that could open the way for growth.

Like Bee was set up as Chloe's ultimate foil, being the opposite of who she was: being mean and petty, lashing out, being lazy, egotistical, selfish, doesn't work with others unless she values them. All of that is the opposite of what bees represent. And all of that is what Chloe needed to grow and improve, but no, we can't make progress, she has to stay who she is, so the Bee is catered to her lashing out.

So yeah, it's a big shame as I freaking love this concept, especially as I like animals, I like reading up on their mythology and symbolism and such. But it's so horrendously done. And that's the biggest shame as I think it could've been one of the great cartoons to recommend. But not how it is now.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Season 5 really killed my love for love square, especially with the way the choose Adrien, a kid with massive trauma and depression, as a therapist for his girlfriend. The whole "I want to be everything Marinette want" is bad for Adrien even more so because he doesn't get the same effort from Marinette.

The whole Adrienette is one sided and it remind me of a girl in one yt clip where she basically said she want a man who do everything she want while the man should already be grateful to be chosen as her boyfriend, which means she will do the bare minimum if nothing at all in that relationship.

Marinette isn't that kind of girl but the way the story goes it sure seems like that because Adrien doesn't allowed to bother her, he just continue to serve whatever she needs without her needing to do the same.

People saying that they'll break up and I agree, but also it will take a whole lot of character development for Adrien, something that the writers seems to hate it seems. Even if they argue or have a break up, I doubt it will be last for an episode before Adrien goes back to Marinette and say sorry. That's how Ladynoir conflict solved Kuro Neko after all, with Cat Noir be a bigger person while Ladybug do nothing at all.

Girl power is supposed to be a slogan to empower girls and Marinette supposed to be a role model for the young audience but at this point I don't even want my nieces and nephew to watch this show if what they teach them is that boy should do whatever the girls said and never bother with their girls with their feelings because man should "suck it up" while the girls can do whatever without minding about their man need.

I would actually be surprised if they broke up. Not because it's unearned, they arguably should breakup or at least get some sort of therapy, I just don't think that the writers have the guts to do that.

As you said, a breakup would only work if it led into character growth and they're allergic to doing that in this show in part because of the mandate that every episode must stand alone. That's a fine rule in a monster of the week show where all the drama is sitcom stuff that can be easily solved in 20 minutes, but a terrible rule in a show that's diving into the levels of complexity that Miraculous is trying to pull off. The show's current format is the worst of both worlds: complex plots that lack the complexity to really work and monster-of-the-week battles that feel rushed because they're being squeezed down to make room for the more complex stuff.

Prior to season four, my opinion of Miraculous was that it was a decent show for its indented audience, but there were a few plot points that required serious discussion to explain why they were wrong (for example: the "don't confront liars unless you're doing it for ideologically pure reasons" lesson from Lila's intro). As the show currently stands? I would not willingly introduce it to a young kid for a myriad of reasons. One of those reasons is the fact that the relationship drama we're currently dealing with is suited to a show for teenagers while still having the writing of a show for young children, leading the drama to feel weird and toothless. Yet another worst of both worlds.

All of this is quite sad because Miraculous has such a fantastic setup for being a cute, fun, healthy romance for all ages! It's why I started watching it and the choices made by the people running the show are truly baffling.

They picked a setup that allowed for all of the tension of a love triangle with none of the awkward fallout and then.... decided to introduce two love triangles.

They went with a duo setup to allow the male romantic lead to be mostly comic relief without feeling superfluous and then.... decided to introduce a larger team without establishing anything to make him feel like more than the comic relief.

They picked a setup that allowed for balanced support needs and then.... never let Adrien get any support.

That last one is the thing that really upsets me. When it comes to magical girl shows and their male-focused equivalents, it's somewhat standard for the main character (or main characters) to get all the struggles while the love interest (or love interests) are just there to give comfort and support, leading the love interest to have minimal character development. (Ex: Sailor Moon, Winx club, almost every shonen show ever made, the list goes on)

This isn't necessarily a flaw. You don't want to bloat a story with pointless side conflicts and you can still write a good romance under these conditions. After all, in real life, it's perfectly normal for relationships to go through phases where one person needs more support than the other. As long as it's implied that the love interest has more going on than just being a love interest, you're okay. Not amazing, but okay.

To put it in more concrete terms, if the Prince Dreamy Eyes is ruling the kingdom with his best friends at his side while Princess Sparkle Tutu is stopping the monsters, but the show mostly focuses on the prince supporting the princess and the princess fighting to save the day, that works. The prince is clearly not just arm candy. And maybe the viewers would really like a few one-off episodes about what Dream Eyes does while the Sparkle Tutu isn't around, but this IS a magical girl show so it makes sense that all the "filler" episodes go to the Sparkle Knights and not the Prince and the Dream Team.

This excuse obviously doesn't work for Miraculous because it didn't relegate Adrien to background love interest status. He is a key part of the team, but that's still something you can work around. In team-based shows with a large cast, it's not uncommon for some of the team to just kinda be there to round out the team while one or two main leads get the character growth and personal struggles. This isn't even a flaw as it's arguably better to have more focused drama. If everyone had a sob story, then no one does.

But that excuse doesn't work for Miraculous either because the show is driven by a conflict that's centered around Adrien. A beautifully simple yet powerful conflict that was perfectly tailored for making the relationship between the leads feel balanced.

On the hero side, Ladybug needs all the love and support because everything is riding on her. On the civilian side, Adrien needs all the love and support because he's a sheltered kid whose father is the villain. That allows for a setup where it doesn't feel like either character is nothing more than the love interest. You can make them both complex and flip around the support/supporter roles based on what part of the conflict the story is dealing with in a given moment. It will forever be a tragedy that such a wonderful premise was pulled off this terribly, which is why I say that I'm still a fanon shipper even though canon is dead to me. I love writing and reading takes on this premise that do it right. It's why I got into the fandom in the first place! I'm not really drama to cute romance. I'm drawn to interesting story ideas that feature romance, which is what Miraculous should have been.

[itslilacokay]

it's yapping time, rubs hands mischievously

okay, so im basically cooking up this au, that at the moment I'm calling Y.'s outerweb (<- yellows outerweb!!)

ultimately, the CG + Darklord are all joyus n happy until Yellow starts getting curious about the things outside of Alan's PC (<- yellow only knows about the outerweb, because of videos on uhh StickTube). Of course the others are curious but unlike Yellow, they don't want to leave.

one day, Yellow decides that he's going to leave Alan's PC to finally explore the outerweb, and decides to tell the others about his plan, because he thinks they'll be accepting of his decision. Spoiler alert, they aren't! Infact their actually kind of angry about Yellow wanting to leave...so they basically try to stop him by tackling him, and holding him back.

Eventually Yellow fights them all off, and sends his own file to the outerwebs, leaving the others shocked and angry.

Anyways, Yellow basically falls into the outerweb, and starts exploring, yadda yadda. He thinks it's all fun in games until he realizes; He can't get back.

So he's basically sad about that, and decides to go to the festival on the exact same day Gold n Mango go, how convenient!

Unlike canon AvM though, the developers realize something is wrong with the machine, and ultimately don't let gold through.

BUTTT, that's when Yellow is important here! Yellow was passing by the area, when he saw the Minecraft experience. He basically got curious about it, because he had seen the icon on Alan's PC before, but he had never actually used it. (CG doesn't play Minecraft in this AU :shrug:)

Yellow decides to check it out, and sees Gold being turned down entrance to the game. Yellow volunteers to help fix the error, and eventually gets the game working and fixed!

Anyways, because Yellow fixed the game, he and Gold become friends-- and eventually family because Mango takes yellow in, hence him having no place to go.

Since the festival ends, and both Gold and Yellow enjoyed Minecraft, Yellow decides to do some coding and eventually manages to get a portal to Minecraft in Mangos basement, so the two can access it whenever :) (Mango was...not very thrilled of the idea at first safe to say)

Eventually the two of them meet Purple, when they find her destroying a village, (she takes her anger out on Minecraft) before befriending her and totally not forcing Mango to take her in as well!

The entirety of AvM would just be the three goofing off with each other, and having fun on Minecraft, with maybe a few antagonist focused episodes

Everything seems to be going good for Yellow... nothing could go wrong right?

Well, it turns out that the rest of the CG learned how to access the outerwebs. And they aren't going back to Alan's PC. Not without finding Yellow first.

..and that's basically the summary of it!!!

also, here are some other things about the AU!!

Darklord is only a member of the CG because instead of betraying Alan in AvA, he betrays Chosen and defeats him.

Dark met the Colorgang before TSC did, when he got curious about the name of their website! Eventually he broke into the house like TSC did, and became friends with them all! :)

..Dark also renamed TSC because the whole "The Chosen Ones return" freaked him and Alan out. So now TSC is known as TFS! (The First Successor)

CG + Dark basically take over Victim and the Mercs role in this AU, except their looking for Yellow instead of Alan :p

Victim and Chosen are okay in this AU, as Victim is still a farmer :]

.. Chosen however is just locked away in a file. He'll meet Yellow and the rest of CG soon though

Alrighty that's about all...hope you didn't mind me yapping,,...

.i have no idea who you are outside of anon status but DAMN i gotta say you cooked so hard on this au I LOVE IT SO MUCH

look at thisguys sick asf au RIGHT NOW /silly

[daughterofthequeen]

Contribution

Pairings: Ezra Bridger x gn!reader

Requested by: @theriseofshin

A/N: I added a little more to the story I hope that's ok. And omg look at the gif I found, Eman is so Ezra coded. THE SHOULDER BOUNCE WHEN THEY SMILE. Ok so this based on season 3 episode 11 of Rebels and also somewhere in between S3 E11 and S3 E13. The idea just popped up in my head, we'll see how it goes. Reader is force sensitive. This is also unedited btw.

Summary: When you, Sabine, and Kanan followed Maul and Ezra to Dathomir, the witches somehow took away your powers. Which should've been impossible, but ever since that incident you've felt like you brought nothing to the team. You felt like you were in the way. Seeing this Ezra quickly took these thoughts from your mind reminding you of who you are.

Translation: kokipa- fear

You were laying on your bed enjoying having the room to yourself for once. I mean don't get me wrong, you and Sabine get along really well as roommates as well as sisters can be anyway, but lately in your spare time you'd ather be alone. After what happened on Dathomir, you rather not be around anyone.

EDIT: I accidentally deleted this when I was trying to make a correction. You guys don’t know how stressed I was.

And HUGE shout to @nubimera for reblogging this story because not only were you the first reblog of this fic but you are the reason I was able to get pictures of my fic so I wouldn’t have to rewrite it. THANK YOU SO MUCH YOURE SO AMAZING🥰❤️🥰❤️🥰❤️🥰❤️🥰❤️🥰and a big thanks to everyone who like my fic in the short amount of time of me posting before I accidentally deleted it🤦‍♀️🫣🤦‍♀️

Few weeks ago on Dathomir

After Ezra threw you out of the cave the spirit left your body, giving you back control of your limbs.

"Why is it every time we work with Maul, weird force stuff happens and I'm always hurt trying to save you?" You said with a small smile while trying to rub away your migraine.

"Wait you're hurt? Where?" Ezra responded reaching towards you looking for any injuries.

“I'm hurt mentally, these experiences take a toll on a person you know." You smirked and Ezra rolled his eyes at your teasing.

"I thought you were injured."

"I do have a heck of a headache if that makes you feel any better." You said as you stood up.

"No, you stay here. I'm going to go get Sabine and Kanan."

"Then I want to help."

"They'll just posses you again."

"And what about you?"

"I have a plan."

"Great, then I can help with that. I'll take Sabine and you can take Kanan." You said walking back into the cave.

Ezra sighed at your stubbornness and followed you in.

"You know you're pretty stubborn." Ezra says.

"I've been told that before."

Sensing something behind you, you quickly ignited your light saber and blocked the one aimed at you. You called out and told Ezra to go help Kanan before focusing back on your best friend.

"Sabine if you can hear me, I'm sorry." You said as you broke the hold of the lightsabers and kicked Sabine in her stomach sending her backwards. Seeing her getting up you pressed on slowly but surely backing Sabine towards the entrance of the cave before a force knocked you over. You opened your eyes to see the spirit that came after you the first time. You quickly dodged it and turned back around towards Sabine and when you did you felt a pair of fingers on your forehead and you hear one word before blacking out.

"Kokipa."

The Next Day

The next thing you knew you were waking up in your bed with Ezra sitting next to you, and it didn't take long to realize the damage that had been done. Once you had woken up completely everything felt quiet. You couldn't feel anything around you. You went to Kanan to ask him about it and he said it could just be fatigue, but you didn't believe it. You have been way more exhausted before and it never affected your powers. It wasn't until a few days later during a mission briefing when you realized your powers were gone. Hera was explaining the mission when you seen one of the cute hermit crab things that were all around chopper base. It was sitting next to your hand on the edge of the holo-table. Smiling softly you reached out to it with the force, well you tried anyway. It was something you would do all the time, but this time you couldn't feel its emotions or its presence. Trying not to panic you looked around trying to connect with any living thing you had seen, but felt nothing. Now it was time to panic. You looked towards Ezra and Kanan. Ezra must've felt your worry and unease because he looked up directly at you seeing your panicked eyes. A few seconds of the two of you staring at each other, he gave you a confused look. That's when you realized he was trying to talk to you through the force link only the two of you shared.

When the two of you met you both instantly created a bond that grew stronger every day. About a month into your friendship you both realized you could use the force to connect your minds and talk to each other telepathically. Kanan explained that it was because of the bond you two share and that it was a rare occurrence and could be dangerous if the two of you weren't careful with your emotions. Over time you both mastered the skill, only this time you couldn't hear Ezra thoughts at all or even feel him through the force. That's when you started to panic. You didn't even hear Hera when she asked if you were ok, or notice Kanan quickly moving to your side while Ezra made his way to the other. All you could hear was your body trying to catch its breath. You couldn't breath, and you could barely hear Ezra trying to walk you through slowing your breathing, but you couldn't. Every thing sounded like it was under water.

Kanan and Ezra walked you to the common room of the Ghost as the others followed, watching worriedly as Ezra was slowly able to calm you down.

"So, you gonna tell us what's going on?" Kanan said.

"Somethings wrong with me." You replied.

"What do you mean?"

"I think I've lost my powers."

Everyone was silent at first, a Jedi losing their connection to the force was so rare it was basically unheard of during the times of old. The only way for a force user to lose their powers was if they stopped using it completely.

"(Y/n), that's not possible."

"Then tell me what it is Kanan! It's not exhaustion, it's something else! It's like everything has gone quiet, if I wasn't looking at all of you right now, I wouldn't even know you were here! Tell me what to do Kanan.”

"I-I haven't seen anything like this before (Y/n). I'm not sure there is anything we can do. Let me think on it, we'll figure it out I promise." You could hear the sadness in Kanan's voice which only worries you more. You said nothing else as you stood up went to your room. You were anxious, angry, sad, and scared.

"What would my contribution to the team be now?" You asked yourself before the sound of the door opening caught your attention. It was Ezra.

"Hey." He said softly.

"Hey."

"How you doin'?" Ezra asked as he sat next to you on your bunk.

"How do you think I'm doing?" The pause that followed was uncomfortable and the guilt you felt caused you to sigh.

"I'm sorry, Ezra. I'm just- I don't know why I’m going to do.”

"Don't worry, we'll figure this out, (N/ n)."

"It's not just that."

"Then what is it?"

"How am I supposed to help the team?"

"What?"

"Without the force, I'm useless to the team."

"That's not true! You are more than just your powers (N/n)."

"Am I? I'm not skilled in mechanics like Sabine, I'm not as good a shot as Zeb, and I definitely don't even come close to flying as good a Hera. You and Kanan, even you guys come up with really good plans when needed. I can't do any of that stuff. I knew how to fight, but now that my powers are gone how am I supposed to do that well." You said looking away from Ezra.

"Woah, woah, woah, let me stop you right there. You are a vital part of this team, this family. And just because you think you don't contribute anything other than your lightsaber doesn't make it true. I can't tell you how many messes you've gotten us out of with your quick thinking, how many problems your creative mind help fix for everybody on this ship, constantly. And you're a fierce warrior with and without your saber."

"Ezra." You sighed.

"You are needed here, and I won't let you think otherwise. And I will repeat myself everyday until you believe it, if I have to." Ezra finished as he softly cups your cheek and turn your head back towards him to look you in the eyes.

"Thanks, Ezra. But-"

"No buts." He said leaning forward pressing a soft kiss on your cheek, then another on your lips. "Now, let's forgive this out. Start from the beginning." And you did. You told him about everything that happened yesterday, and retracing your steps helped you realize the reason your powers are gone. You were still anxious and afraid, but with Ezra there you knew everything was going to turn out fine.

————————————————————

A/N: Finally finished I hope this isn't to cringe or anything. And hopefully this fulfilled your request. Thank you so much for sending in your request, and giving me a chance to bring your idea to life. I will now be heading to bed. Good night, guys.

Edit: But I did discover something from this mistake if you have a iPad and an iPhone you can copy something from said iPad and all you have to do is click ast on your iPhone and it’ll paste whatever it was from your iPad to your phone. I’m late Ik BUT it was such a life saver because I promise if I had to rewrite this whole fic out again without a reference (not that I didn’t enjoy writing it the first time) this fic was going to be my 13th reason. Hope you guys enjoy, toodles👋.

[justanotherhh]

I picked the absolute wrong time to get emotionally invested in stolitz I got into helluva boss after I finished watched hazbin hotel s1 then over the next few months i watched a load of stolitz analysis videos then the moment i got on board they broke up because character stuff how to cope in the next few months.

lolllll commiserations, but also! if I may counter...

I too got into helluva post-hazbin s1 (I'd seen the hazbin pilot back in the day, but hadn't realised there was a whole other show also being made) and I'm kinda feeling this is the best time to get into it, because:

I confess, I like to know what's going to happen, I like to have a strong sense of structure, and while that structure does begin to appear pretty early on (we introduce recurring villains and characters, relationships that'll be picked apart, etc. way back in the first few episodes of s1) it's not until end s1 and especially s2 that these teasers start to bear fruit... kind of like any tv show really except ofc one does have to (understandably) wait quite awhile between episodes on this one

I'm glad, on the note of waiting between episodes, that I got some run-up where I could just watch some stuff and then settle down for the next part of the story. I've got all the stuff I want to theorise on what's coming next (certainly far more than a poor soul watching back in s1 presumably had) and I have a strong sense of the trajectory of the show

I... am so into angst..... oh it's the best feeling..... I wanna sit in this space for aaaages, which is good, because I don't think they'll even start patching things up until the finale (I could be wrong about that ofc, get a loootta curveballs in these 20mins). i also like the doors it opens for Blitzo to suffer more, what can I say... he's my favourite, I want him sad (tbh I also want him hurt, but hey, we've got a whole other two seasons coming after this, I can cross my fingers for that)

in conclusion: So Much Information! So Much Character Growth! Several Episodes! Angst (if you're me)! But also it's not finished, so you know there's pleeeenty more to come in this story, which is its own joy!

do not be too saddened by things. consider, you could have been waiting after Ozzie's without a clue as to whether they'd broken up or not (the answer, ofc, was "mmmmno but that's just because they're not talking about it, just you wait...")

[commenter2]

Charlie and Vaggie trailer quick breakdown

Just wanted to go over a few things about the latest "trailer" with Charlie and Vaggie. While making this I discovered another one for Angel Dust and Husk came out today, meaning it looks like we will get more over the next few days, but I won't be going over them unless something big is seen in it.

One thing I took notice was that scene of Vaggie suggesting Charlie should command more respect from people since she is the princess of Hell, only for Charlie to say that would be mean. Along with being another example/joke of how pure Charlie is, I feel like this shows that Charlie might not like being that royal.

I could see Charlie seeing her royal status being a burden (maybe its also connected how this is related to how she canonically doesn't like wearing dresses XD) like maybe she always just wanted to be treated like everyone else but for her it was hard to tell who liked her for who she was or if they were doing so out or obligation or using her for fame. That last part could be another good reason why she broke up with Seviathan von Eldritch. Another reason I bring this up is that we will likely see Charlie struggle with doing this until near the end of the season as seen with that makeshift army she makes of her friends and Rosie's people she recruited via singing which does seem to make Charlie a bit confident.

Another thing a lot of people are pointing out is how when Charlie introduces Vaggie to her father Lucifer, he is surprised. There have been many reason to explain what is going on there, so here is a list of what I hope/don't want it to mean.

Im hoping his reaction is due to him thinking something like "oh crap I forgot about Vaggie/her new girlfriend and what Charlie told me about her, just be cool and try not to show you forgot" or "Aw man this going to make things really awkward between me and Charlie when I suggest she stop her redemption plan".

I DON'T want it to be because he and Charlie haven't talked for so long that he never knew her daughter started dating Vaggie/broke up with Seviathan, or worse he never knew she was bi. I'm also hoping that Lucifer doesn't hate all humans/sinners, maybe in the past he did but over the past several millennia (and more so because of Lilith if she is part human/sinner in the show) he has become more okay with them as shown with the Overlords in Hell's hierarchy.

I sadly do feel like this is going to lead to a scene showing that Lucifer is a pretty bad parent, which I've been really against having him and Lilith being. However along with how it could still be at tolerable levels unlike what we've seen in Vivzie's other works, I keep forgetting that this is the first season of Hazbin Hotel so I could see Lucifer changing over the course of the series, same with Lilith if she turns out to be a similar chase. Keep your fingers crossed if you agree with me about Lucifer and Lilith NOT being bad parents like how Crimson, Paimon, or Cash are.

A small thing but it looks like Charlie and Vaggie go to get Angel when he goes back to Val during the Val debut episode. They'll tell Val to leave them alone, but it just leads to the fight in the episode as shown in the last trailer. Hopefully after all of that Angel does something that makes Charlie and Vaggie proud of him/accept an apology, while showing signs that Angel does truly want to change.

This trailer also makes me wonder if Charlie and Vaggie's relationship will go through some challenges at some point this season? Looking at this and past clips, their relationship looks like Vaggie gives up more to make Charlie happy while Charlie doesn't listen to her as much as she honestly should. Hopefully it's a kind of thing where just by having Charlie agree with Vaggie about punishing Angel after he does something wrong fixes it or reminds them that they are perfect together.

What are your thoughts in all of this?

[runnning-outof-time]

A Silent Night | Modern!Arthur Shelby x Reader

Request: no - part of my Countdown to Christmas Event

Pairing: Arthur Shelby x reader (modern AU)

Summary: In which Arthur and (Y/N) are able to spend a night by themselves; away from their children and the other craziness that the holdiays bring.

Warnings: one bad word

Word Count: 1085

A/N: we’re coming to the end of these festive stories…only 2 more days left after this. I’ve really channeled myself through this one as well - I still need to do all of my wrapping. Thanks so much for helping me decide to turn this into a modern Arthur story. Enjoy! :)

Let me know if you’d like to be tagged in future stories similar to this one!

"Alright, the night's ours, love...what are we doing?" Arthur asked as he and (Y/N) exited their car and walked through the front door of their home.

"I was thinking that I'd get started on wrapping the kids' presents," (Y/N) answered him while taking off her jacket and hanging it on one of the hooks by the door. She turned to see Arthur giving her one of those 'are you being serious?' faces. "What? I have a lot of wrapping to do," she defended her idea.

"I'm sure you do, but we've finally got a night away from the kids. Wouldn't you want to do something...else?" he trailed off at the end, a smile starting to quirk the corners of his lips upwards.

"The night's still young. Let me do this first and then maybe," she told him, putting extra emphasis on the final word of her sentence.

Arthur pursed his lips as he looked at her, taking a moment to think over her words. "Fair enough," he responded with a slight nod, his words being enough to allow (Y/N) to head upstairs and go into their closet, where the majority of the kids' presents were stashed. The bigger ones were being kept safe in the basement.

She then began the process of carrying everything down the steps and stacking it into a pile in the living room. Once she was done with the relocating, she sat down in an open spot on the floor with a huff.

"Do you think we got them enough?" Arthur questioned jokingly from where he was sitting on the sofa.

"I can't help that gift giving is one of my love languages," (Y/N) defended herself before she glanced over at the small mountain of gifts that she had to wrap. "I think we may have," she then answered his question, looking back over at him with a sheepish smile on her face.

"They'll be ecstatic," Arthur assured her, grabbing the remote then so that he could begin flipping through the channels to find something to watch. He settled on one of those home improvement shows, which made (Y/N) giggle...he always chose to watch things like that. She wasn't complaining though. His knowledge came in handy when things broke around the house.

(Y/N) grabbed the first present and some gift wrap so that she could begin measuring it out and starting the process of wrapping. She went on like this, wrapping in silence, until she got to the fifth present. That was when something popped into her mind. "Arthur, can you check to make sure that the dollhouse for Avery is still set to arrive tomorrow?" she asked her husband. They'd cut it pretty close - hoping that the present would arrive on Christmas Eve, but it insisted that it'd come in before the big day, and (Y/N) was willing to place a bet on the accuracy. A few moments passed without an answer, making her look up to see that his head was tipped back against the couch's cushion. "Babe," she called out to him, her voice a little louder this time.

"Huh?" he asked, waking with a start as he sat up on the couch.

"I can't believe you've fallen asleep already," she pointed out with a slight chuckle.

"There isn't much else to do," he countered, "I've already seen this episode," he added, motioning to the television then.

"I can think of a few things you could do," she said to him, motioning to the presents she still needed to wrap.

"What was it you needed?" he slyly changed the topic, not wanting to open that can of worms. He was absolute shit at wrapping presents.

"I wanted you to check on Avery's dollhouse...to see if it's still expected to come in by tomorrow," she told him, watching as he picked his phone up and began tapping away on it.

A few moments passed before he gave her the answer, "it still says that it's expected by nine at night tomorrow."

"We're cutting it close with that one," (Y/N) commented, shaking her head at the verdict.

"We'll take our chances," Arthur assured her, making (Y/N) shrug in response. There wasn't much they could do now.

Silence fell again as (Y/N) got back to wrapping while Arthur kept busy searching the channels again. A handful of presents later, (Y/N) was standing from her spot on the floor. She groaned at the feeling of stiffness in her kneecaps (it always happened during these marathon wrapping sessions), and hissed at the aching as she slowly made her way over to where Arthur was laying.

"What's this?" he questioned as she came to lay in the sliver of space next to him on the couch. He then repositioned himself closer to the cushions so that she'd have more room before he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"I needed a break," she hummed, tucking her head into the crook of his neck and closing her eyes as she exhaled a content sigh. Arthur said nothing in response to her statement as he, too, was quite content with the sudden arrangement. "Do you hear that?" she asked him after they'd been snuggled up for a few moments.

"What?" Arthur responded with a question of his own.

"Nothing...absolute silence," she answered, her words making Arthur chuckle.

"It is weird not having two kids running about," he commented on the lack of craziness that blessed their home on a daily basis. Two kids under the age of seven normally called for that.

Another period of silence rang out, and the two basked in it. They simply enjoyed the feeling of being cuddled up together on the couch while time passed by slowly.

"You're really not going to get more stuff done?" Arthur asked after a good chunk of time had passed without any movement from either of them.

"We rarely get a silent night like this, let's enjoy it," she answered him, not even bothering to pull her face out of his neck.

"Maybe your parents should take the kids for a night around this time every year," he suggested then, his idea making the both of them laugh.

(Y/N) couldn't deny though that she really liked the sound of it. And that she was already considering pitching the idea of it becoming a tradition to both parties involved when they went to pick the children up tomorrow morning.

———

Tagged: @the-anxious-youth @mgcllovdrms @look-at-the-soul @mrsalwayswrite @julkaamazing @evita-shelby @lilyrachelcassidy @shelbydelrey @december16-1991 @onlydeadcells @peakyswritings @watercolorskyy @strayrockette @peakyduchesss @alexxavicry @stevie75 @dark-academia-slut @zablife @cillmequick @lovemissyhoneybee @letal-y-poetica @lora21

MASTERLIST

Countdown to Christmas MASTERLIST

[x-is-bored]

I've neen thinking a lot about Steven Universe lately, so if you don't want to see any of that just keep on scrolling (This drags on for quite a while)

So what I'm about to type is mostly about Lapis and Peridot and their whole dynamic because I saw something that I can not stop thinking about. I was scrolling through TikTok (a horrible mistake I now realize) and I saw a Lapis and Peridot edit, and it wasn't bad, but the description of the video really got me thinking. It said that they (the original poster) couldn't believe that The Crystal Gems would leave Peridot in "an isolated area" with Lapis, who "hated her guts just a few seconds ago and then abruptly became all blushy" and that their relationship wasn't healthy because there was a "Power Dynamic" and Peridot apparently respects gems that have a higher authority then her on Homeworld (the example they used was the episode with Amethyst during Peri's big character arc). Now, for what ever reason, I have not been able to stop thinking about this and coming up with rebuttals to it in my head, so I thought why not let the internet hear these thoughts of mine.

Peridot is in an isolated area and can not leave

No??????? We are shown time and time again that the barn is very easily accesible to The Crystal Gems (Ex: Steven warping to the barn to stop Lapis from breaking Peridot's tablet when she thinks Steven is trapped inside of it) and we are also shown that Peridot is fully capable of using the warps (Ex: Beta). According to Peridot's Twitter she is fully aware of what a car is (Presumabley because she was hit by one). Now this seems like a very odd and random detail to bring up, until you realize there is likely no roads for miles at the barn, so she was in a situation where she was on a road away from the barn. Also, in the episode Too Short to Ride, the first shot is Peridot in Steven's house, without Lapis, So the idea that Peridot is trapped with our favorite water themed gem is just flat out wrong. Peridot also has full agency over her life and where she chooses live, if she wants to not be around Lapis she has the full ability to do so, but she doesn't, she wants to live with her in the barn. The show has told us multiple times now that she is very quick to assume that something is "a weapon" or out to get her in some way so if she feels safe, it's 90% likely that she is. Also the gems aren't stupid, if they feel like something will go wrong or that there is a problem they'll try their best to help both Lapis and Peridot in their whole Barnmate situation.

2. Lapis hated Peridot's guts a few seconds ago and is now all blushy

Now admittedly, yes it does appear like that with absolutley zero context of who Lapis is as a character. This is the kind of opinion someone would have if they turned on their TV while this episode was airing, watched the bit where Peridot is trying to win Lapis' affection, went to the bathroom after Lapis broke Peri's tape recorder and came back after Steven talked with Lapis. The reason Lapis asks Peridot "Are you okay?" isn't because she's some unstable gem that is constantlly flip-flopping between love and hate, she's trying to do what Steven asked her to do, get to know the Peridot that Steven knows, not the one Lapis met. ALSO she has an absolutley justifiable reason to "hate her guts". Lapis has spent thousands of years trapped in a mirror being used as some kind of informant, and then left alone and discarded, not able to move or do anything, the only thing she could do was watch the stars move. And when she's finally free and tries to fly back to her Homeworld she is taken captive AGAIN and used as an informant AGAIN. And after their plan goes awry, the other gem who kidnapped her fuses with her to harm the one person she actually cares about on this lousy gem-forsaken planet. And so, in a moment of deep panic and hurt she traps both her and her captor at the bottom of the ocean because she feels like if she doesn't, Steven will get hurt. And after months and months of back and forth in a horrifically damagingand draining power struggle, she's finally free and ready to live a life on Earth with Steven, and then all of a sudden your current best friend (the child) says that you're going to be living with one of the two gems who dragged you back to the planet you so desperatley tried to escape from? I'd be pretty peeved too. Lapis is a very emotional gem, she blushes at Peridot's smile because A: It's adorable, and B: She just realized that she asked if Peridot was okay and is embarassed that Peridot knows that she, in some level, for Steven's sake, is starting to care about Peridot. She isn't some unstable danger to everyone around her who's an irredeemable monster, she's a deeply traumatized PTSD ridden being who has made mistakes before, but is trying her best to find a little comfort in the life she's choosing to live.

3. Peridot has high respect for gems that are deemed higher then her by Homeworld standards and is in an unhealthy power dynamic with Lapis

The specific quote from the description is as follows "I swear, people forget the power dynamic these two have, Lapis is a high ranking gem, and we know how Peridot gets around people she deem as higher ranking (cough cough amethyst)". I have been trying to be as kind as possible while dissecting this description, if I let my emotions get in the way of the genuine facts this essay will become an all caps angry ramble session. But this is the stupidest thing I have ever read. Sure, in the episode Too Far (the episode the original poster is referring to with the Amethyst comment) and through most of her arc, Peridot is shown to have preexisting prejudices about gems and their values. And we do know for a fact that back on Homeworld Peridot's were deemed lower then Lapis Lazuli's, but this person is implying that the reason that Peridot is trying to impress Amethyst is because she's "Higher Ranking" back on Homeworld, when that simply isn't the case. She's trying to become Amethyst's friend, she thinks she's cool and has a genuine apprectiation for her. All too often I see people state that Peridot "is afraid of Lapis" when she isn't, she's trying her best to be considerate to her friend and Barnmate. During the time period when "Barnmates" takes place, Peridot has nearly fully wrapped up her character arc. She no longer has respect for someone just because of how highly they may be ranked on some stupid arbitrary ranking system, and there is one episode that perfectly demonstrates that fact. Season Two, Episode 24, "Message Recieved". In this episode Peridot has a direct line to Yellow Diamond, one of the four three Dictators of the planet and society she comes from, quite literally the top of the top. And when Peridot is directly speaking to her she gets into an argument with Yellow over the fate of the Earth, this all bubbles up to this exchange. Yellow Diamond: "What do you know about the Earth!?" Peridot: "Apparently more than you, you CLOD!" This one insult marks the completion of Peridot's character arc, she would never have even thought about saying this to Jasper when they first got to the Earth (who, by the way wasn't even higher ranking then her on their specific mission, she was an escort to Peridot). Now she's yelling at the Luminous Yellow Diamond and calling her a clod. Peridot could not care less about how high a gem may be ranked back on Homeworld. The statement from the description suggests that Peridot's whole arc never even happened, she's just a nice little green triangle who is constantly walking around eggshells when talking to literally anyone. Peridot is not trapped in some unhealthy relationship with a gem she can't escape from. She has a new found lease on life and wants to be friends with someone who she deems to be underestimating and assuming the worst of her. Lapis isn't some terrible abusive monster who is tricking the crystal gems into leaving her alone with Peridot. She now has no need to be scared and is ready to attempt a genuine connection with someone else, they've both done bad things in the past, but they're ready to move past those things to become better.

In conclusion, they are silly, great, and lovable. The end.

[forensicated]

Smiffina Episodes: Exit Wound

Peter returns to the station to try and speak to Gina. Diane and Dan see him first and say they'll go get her. Dan tries to boost her and his expression as his brain catches up with his mouth is adorable 😂

Peter tells Gina he wants to give her some flowers and she sighs, pointing out it's her place of work - and she knows people are watching and gossiping. She tries to remain polite, telling him the flowers are very pretty but it's all a bit late. He explains he's left Mary, it's Gina that he loves and he wants to move on with her - if she will.

To escape all eyes on her in the station, Gina heads out with Dan and Reg to an abandoned 999 call. Dan finds a lady out cold and shouts for Gina. Whilst Reg does a Reg and tries to sweet talk the ladies budgie that has gotten out of its cage.

At the moment everything seems to point towards a break in. The woman's fiance returns home and says she has a heart condition. Gina asks him to answer questions and then they'll take him to the hospital. Dan reports that a girl has been seen in the area knocking on doors to raise money for Canley Youth Club refurbishment. The spare key is not where it usually is and the scenes of crime officer tells Gina that the smashed window was faked and was not the real scene of entry. Dan locates the girl on CCTV and Gina recognises her as a known shoplifter. The victims fiance claims he was on his morning walk when the break in happened but admits the couple argue a lot and that his fiancée, Lillian had threatened to call the wedding off.

Gina heads to the magistrates court for a warrant, but not before Dan puts his foot in it again asking her if it'll be a social call! The literal terrified step back and gulp...! 😂😂

Gina receives a warrant for the known shoplifter, Sally's, house as her fingerprints have been found all over Lillian's phone. Peter comes running after her but she refuses to be drawn to go for a drink or to meet him later. Peter points out that whilst he was married he was a low risk commitment but now he reckons she's terrified she might have to admit she cares about someone. Gina finds the sponsorship form and Sally tries to pretend it's nothing to do with her and that she's never seen it before - and that she hadn't been on the road in question, except the sponsorship form gives her away. In the kitchen Reg has found Lilian's jewellery, credit cards and passport. After some initial mouthing off, she admits going round to the house and says she broke the window to break in and took a few things. She insists she didn't know anything was wrong with Lillian and thought she wasn't in. When she saw her unconscious she says she rang 999 without speaking and left. Gina scoffs and tells her more likely she broke in, stole things and upset Lillian with the shock and caused the heart attack. The fiance identifies the jewellery but says he doesn't understand how Sally got it as it would have been in a safe hidden in the kitchen and that noone - not even him - knows the combination other than Lillian. Sally admits that she saw the safe, followed Lillian inside when she tried to check that her youth club scam was legit - threatened her into opening it when she said she didn't feel well - she then collapsed.

Gina calls Peter to meet her and tells him that it has to be goodbye. She knows herself well enough to know when something isn't right for her and she knows that this isn't right - and that she'd never fully trust him.