#and when she showed up in s4 with a face full of makeup and a dress

[byler-alarmist]

Mike found it harder and harder to date El the more feminine she presented, because it made it harder to lie to himself

🤷‍♂️

[byler-alarmist]

I don't make the rules

SHUT UP RN I JUST SAW SOMEONE SAY THAT MIKE ONLY SAID HE FELL IN LOVE W EL WHEN HE FIRST SAW HER BECAUSE HE THOUGHT SHE WAS A BOY. IM LOOSING IT

[munson-blurbs]

HEY HEY HEY

How about Wayne at Eddie’s funeral and reader shows up because she was a classmate and secretly loved him

Oh, you wanted sad? I'll give you sad. Enjoy your cry!

Warnings: S4 is canon, told in third person, mentions of death/funeral

WC: 1.3k

--

Wayne didn't realize who she was at first, when she walked in to the garden in her black dress and makeup already slightly smudged from tears shed on the way to Eddie's funeral. It wasn't until he overheard one of Eddie's friends--one of the younger boys; a curly-haired kid named Dustin--whisper to another one, "Told ya she'd show up."

And then Wayne knew.

He watched as she made her way over to him, hand trembling as she reached out to him. "Mr. Munson?" she croaked, voice breaking.

"'S me," he replies, fumbling with the unlit cigarette between his fingers.

"I'm, um, I'm a friend of Eddie's?" She says this like a question, like she's unsure. "We had world history together this year, and he sat next to me."

Her crystal blue eyes are glassy, and Wayne has to stop himself from wiping the tears from her cheeks. "He was...he was such a kind person," she starts, casting her gaze down at the grass. "He probably never told you this, but one time, right before class started, Jason Carver stuck gum to the back of my shirt, and Eddie..."

"It is you," Wayne muses. "You're the one Eddie gave his shirt to."

She nods. "Literally took it right off in the middle of the classroom and handed it to me so I could change in the bathroom. He walked around the rest of the day with nothing under his jean jacket." She gives a small smile at the memory.

"He was a really special boy," Wayne agrees. "Wish everyone else could see that."

"I have the shirt," she blurts out, almost involuntarily. "He told me to keep it when I tried to return it, but I figured you'd might w-want it back." She reaches into her bag and pulls out a worn Metallica t-shirt, hems frayed.

Wayne wants to take it, bury his face in it and inhale any remaining trace of his nephew, but he refrains. "If Eddie wanted you to keep it, then you should," he says finally. "I have plenty of his shirts back home." Though it doesn't feel like a home anymore, not without Eddie there playing his axe too loudly or headbanging along with the radio or giving his uncle a play-by-play of his latest D&D campaign with his mouth full of pizza.

"Thank you," her voice is barely above a whisper, and she can't hold back from enveloping the man in a hug. He was never one for physical touch, usually opting for a nod of the head rather than a handshake, but he allows himself to fall into her embrace, placing a calloused hand on her back before hugging her tighter.

He pulls back and clears his throat. "There's...there's something that I oughta show you," he admits. "'F you wouldn't mind coming back to the trailer after the service."

She nods in agreement, squeezing his hand before taking her seat amongst the smattering of other mourners. There aren't a lot; Eddie was an outcast at best and a (falsely accused) murderer at worst, but there were more people than Wayne had anticipated. He felt a pang of warmth in his chest each time someone showed up.

People loved you, Eddie, he thinks. You were so goddamn loved.

She finds Wayne as soon as the service concludes, and he motions to his truck. The ride to the trailer is silent but not uncomfortable; just the two of you silently remembering the boy who died a hero.

Wayne leads her straight to Eddie's bedroom. He grabs a cardboard box out of a dresser drawer, clothes haphazardly strewn around it. It's filled with notebooks and looseleaf papers covered in pencil markings, doodles of dragons and elves along the margins.

"Where is it..." he mutters as he rifles through the box. His tongue pokes out of his mouth slightly, just like Eddie's did. When he spots the paper, he snatches it with a victorious grin.

"He wrote this for you," Wayne tells her, tears threatening to spill over his lash line as he thinks back on the memory.

"It's finished, and it's perfect!" Eddie exclaims, flinging open the door to his room. He slams the paper on the snack table in front of his uncle, smiling so wide his cheeks start to ache.

Wayne looks over the lyrics and feels a grin tug at his lips, too. "This for that girl in your history class? The one you keep chewin' my ear off about?"

Eddie nods. "That's the one!" He paces around the room, chewing on a fingernail. "Now I just need to ask her to come to a gig so I can play it for her." He looks at Wayne nervously. "What do I say?"

"He was gonna invite you to a Corroded Coffin show after spring break," Wayne tells the girl now. "I'm sorry that he never got the chance."

Her eyes flit over the lyrics, soaking in Eddie's scratchy handwriting:

Blue eyes cryin' And I'll keep tryin' To stop them from cryin' again

She couldn't be sweeter And I would treat her Like the diamond in the rough that she is

I'd give her my heart if it meant that she'd smile And I'd do it again to hold her for awhile There'd be nothin' more divine Than knowing she is mine

So I'm done with pretendin' Want my happy endin' I'm tearing off my disguise

You and me 'gainst the world Let me call you my girl Just show me those pretty blue eyes

She's stunned into silence. "This was for me?" she asks unbelievingly. "He felt this way about me?"

"Oh, yes," Wayne offers a small chuckle. "He was head over heels for ya, darlin'."

"This is going to sound so stupid, because we weren't even dating or anything," she mumbles, forcing herself to look at Wayne, "but I loved him. I swear to you, I loved Eddie so much."

Wayne swallows the lump in his throat, lips quivering. "He loved you, too. Every day he came home, telling me somethin' about you. How you let him borrow your notes, or if you so much as laughed at a joke he told. There was one time where you pulled a little piece of dust from his hair, and the boy talked about it like you were the second coming of Christ."

"Well, I couldn't let him walk around all day with lint in those curls!" She relaxes slightly when she sees Wayne smile.

"And, well, pardon me if this is too forward," he says, "but your eyes; he wouldn't shut up about them! At one point I forgot your name for a bit because I just used to tease him and ask, 'how was Blue Eyes today?'."

She chews on her lower lip before speaking. "I never knew he liked them. Never knew he liked me." She looks up at Wayne. "What might've been, huh?"

Wayne just nods; there's nothing to be said. "You, uh, you keep that song. Keep it with the shirt," he instructs her. "And you read it anytime you start to forget how much he cared about you."

"I'll do that," she promises him, starting for the door. "Thank you."

"And if you see me around town, don't be a stranger. He might not be here anymore, but he'll always be in here," Wayne points to his heart, and she feels herself instinctively doing the same. "When keeping him in there gets to be too much, you come find me."

"Of course." She pulls him in for another hug, this one lasting even longer than the first.

Wayne watches forlornly as she closes the door behind her. He waits until she's far enough away before he speaks again.

"Hang in there, Blue Eyes."

--

[quicksilversquared]

Designer Decoy

Marinette is thrilled when her design gets picked to advance in a fashion contest... and less thrilled when she realizes that the contest will provide the perfect opportunity for Lila to sabotage her work.

Thankfully, Ladybug always has a plan.

*Note: Written pre-season 4 release; as such, it is not S4 compliant.

Links in the reblog

Marinette had been thrilled when her design was picked to move on to the next stage of the Gabriel design competition. She had put in a lot of hard work (and a lot of paper- she had had to get a recycling bin for her room so that she wouldn't get buried under an avalanche of discarded designs) to get a design that she had been fully proud of, and there had been a lot of tough competition. Being selected to continue- and as the youngest person picked to move on to the next stage- was amazing, and nothing could bring her down. She was actually going to get to make her design and have an actual model wear it in a runway show where a panel of judges would decide who was going to win.

It. Was. Amazing.

And then Marinette learned that, as a Gabriel model, Lila was going to be at the runway and awards show. She wasn't going to be Marinette's model, thankfully- her luck wasn't that bad- but since she was (technically) a Gabriel employee, Lila was automatically going to have full unsupervised run of the backstage area.

"Oh, this is a disaster!" Marinette groaned to Tikki that evening, burying her face in her hands. "Lila was so smug when she brought it up, I just know that she'll do something to destroy my dress! And then I'll have to withdraw from the competition, and no one will believe me when I say that it was Lila who did it, and-"

"Marinette, I'm sure all you'll have to do is stay near the dress and then Lila won't be able to do anything!" Tikki told her. "And maybe you can get, like, a long raincoat or something to go over it before the runway so that Lila can't spill anything on it. It'll be fine!"

Marinette was shaking her head. "Except I can't. We're supposed to do any last-minute fittings when we arrive, then hang up our dresses and do a short presentation about who we are and our design process while the models get their hair and makeup done. The dresses will all be backstage and unattended then, and I bet that that's when Lila's going to strike!"

Tikki frowned. "Oh." She tilted her tiny head to the side, considering. "Maybe you could ask one of your friends to guard your dress?"

"I don't know if any of them would be allowed backstage, and nobody is actually going to think that Lila's any sort of threat!" Marinette flopped over, staring up at the ceiling. "Besides Adrien, obviously, but he's going to be expected to be out with his father. I don't know what to do! Obviously I can't drop out, that would be stupid, but I just know Lila's going to ruin this for me."

"Hmm." Tikki settled on the lounger next to Marinette, tiny brows furrowed in thought. Then she perked up. "Maybe something will happen and people won't trust Lila anymore by the time the runway rolls around! It is more than a month out, after all. I think you should just go ahead and sew like you planned before, and then try to come up with a plan closer to the date if things haven't changed by then."

"I suppose." Marinette worried her lip for a second, then sat up. "It's the only thing I can do, really. That, and make sure that no one gets into my room when I'm not here. I'll have to talk to mom and dad about that. And I'm not going to do any babysitting until after the contest is over- I don't trust any of the kids I watch to not destroy anything!"

Tikki nodded excitedly. "That sounds smart!"

"It's the least I can do, really." Marinette let out a long breath, trying to let go of her worries about Lila- at least for the time being- and focus on the task at hand. There would be time for figuring out how to keep her outfit safe later. "Okay. So to make this design, I'll need..."

  Marinette entered the runway building on contest day with a plan firmly in place and ready to go. Even seeing Lila lurking nearby with a smug smirk on her face couldn't take the confident bounce out of her stride.

Because if Lila tried anything today, she would be going down. Marinette had had a month to come up with a foolproof plan, one that would not only protect her final garment but also prove to everyone who had ever tried to convince her that Lila wasn't so bad that Lila was, in fact, that bad.

It didn't take long for Marinette to reach her dressing room and meet her model. Annabelle was a friendly girl several years older than Marinette, and she was a huge fan of Marinette's design from the moment she saw it.

"I don't think I've seen dip-dye used in this contest before, let alone with the wax technique," Annabelle told Marinette as she slipped into the dress. "I mean, I've seen outfits with dip dye before, obviously, but they've all been casual. There's no way that I would have been able to think of something like this!"

Marinette tried and failed not to turn red. "Thanks! I nearly chickened out when it came to the dying stage," she admitted, heading around Annabelle to zip up the back of the dress. "I had done tests before on scraps of fabric to make sure that it would look the way I wanted it to, but I was so scared that I would screw it up. And it's not like there's an easy way to get the dye out of the dress if it does go sideways."

Annabelle smoothed down the dress, beaming as she caught sight of herself in the mirror. "Well, I'm glad that you went for it. This is gorgeous! And it fits perfectly, too. I'll actually be able to move around in it without feeling like I'm about to burst a seam. That'll get you points with the judges," she added over her shoulder to Marinette. "They hate impractical designs."

Marinette couldn't help but grin. "Oh, good." She stepped back to pick up the beaded belt that she had made, passing it over for Annabelle to put on. "Would it be wearable enough to, say, wear under your dressing gown during hair and makeup so that it isn't being left alone in the room while everyone else is up front?"

"Of course," Annabelle said at once, and then she frowned. "Wait, why? Do you think someone is going to do something to it? Backstage is closed to people who aren't Gabriel employees or in the contest. There haven't ever been problems in the past."

"There's a Gabriel employee that I'm worried about," Marinette admitted, hoping that Annabelle wasn't one of Lila's fans. She didn't think that Lila usually worked with any of the models other than Adrien, but she wasn't positive. "Lila Rossi. She absolutely hates me, and honestly, the feeling is mutual-"

"Oh, god. Lila Rossi is here? She is such a pain in the butt. Everyone hates her." Annabelle made a face. "She and Adrien joined the rest of the models for a photoshoot one time, and it was definitely one time too many. She would not shut up and wouldn't take direction."

"She likes telling these lies at school about all these people that she supposedly knows and places she's been," Marinette told Annabelle, already starting to relax. If her model knew about and disliked Lila already, then maybe she would be more likely to go along with Marinette's plan. "And I called her out for it, because- well, it was ridiculous, and she was claiming all of these conditions to make other people give up their seats or do her homework for her, and I couldn't just stand by and watch that happen. So she hates me for that, and tried to frame me and get me expelled a few months ago."

Annabelle's "What?" was quickly followed by a head-shake. "You know what, I'm not even surprised that she would be the spiteful sort. She just gives off that vibe. I don't blame you for not wanting the dress to go unsupervised." She smiled at Marinette, then glanced down at herself. "The only problem I can see with wearing this under my dressing gown during hair and makeup is that the bottom will stick out past the end of my dressing gown. So if you wanted it completely hidden, I don't know if that will work."

"I can tuck it up," Marinette assured her, relieved that her model was such a good sport. "I've tried a couple of techniques for securing the fabric before, and any wrinkles can be steamed out before you walk."

"You think of everything, I swear." Annabelle beamed, then paused. "And- sorry, maybe I'm overthinking this- what if Lila comes in and sees no dress here and figures out that I'm wearing it?"

Marinette's smile got wider. "Oh, she won't," she assured Annabelle, stepping over to the dress bag and turning it around. She reached inside and pulled out a second dress, incredibly similar to the one Annabelle was wearing, at least at first glance. "This will be on the hanger, and I have cameras that I'm going to set up, and they'll stream to my tablet. If she comes in, she'll get caught. And I'll know in real-time when she comes in, so I can let someone know right away."

Annabelle's jaw was on the ground. "You- you made a second dress? That's- how?"

"This is my practice dress," Marinette explained, grinning as she smoothed down the fabric. It looked nice from a distance, but all of the errors that she had made on her practice runs and the difference in quality were very obvious close-up. "I wanted to practice the draping and all of the seams on a muslin mock-up first, especially a couple joins that were pretty new to me. I knew I was going to have to rip them out a few times before I got the hang of it, and I figured it would be better to do that with the cheap fabric than the expensive stuff." She was glad that she had, actually- the muslin fabric was a little rough in places from repetitively tearing out seams and re-doing them, and of course it was a lot easier to put in and rip out seams with the longer stitches that she had used with the mock-up. "And then I wanted to do a practice run on the dip-dying and painting with the wax on a full-scale garment, not just on fabric scraps. I even made a belt to go with it- though I glued these beads on, and it was mostly just to see how my pattern would look before I sewed."

"My designer is a genius," Annabelle announced to the air. "An actual genius. You, madam, are incredible."

Marinette turned red. "I- it just made sense?"

"That's what all geniuses say."

  With the cameras set up and Annabelle dressed and safely escorted to hair and makeup, Marinette let herself relax as she headed back out to the main area. She would be giving her presentation fifth, talking about her inspiration and showing her sketches in a PowerPoint to the judges. There would be a few pictures of the sewing process, too, just to prove that she had done everything herself.

"How are you feeling, Marinette?" Tikki asked as she headed across the floor to the contestants' area. "Good?"

Marinette gave a small nod, trying not to attract any unwanted attention. "Yeah. I'm not nervous anymore. I've practiced my presentation, and everyone who's seen it thinks that it's good. I watched last year's runway, and my presentation is pretty similar to those, so I know it's what they're looking for." Her eyes slid across the room before landing on Lila, who was sitting in a chair at a table near one of the exits. "And I'll be able to see when Lila leaves, so I won't have to be glued to my tablet the whole time." She could actually enjoy the other presentations, which would be nice.

"Great!"

There was no time for talking after that, since Marinette had reached the area where the other contestants were sitting. She found her chair- labeled, and thankfully both in back and on one end, where she could watch Lila but not be super-visible to the audience, in case she needed to watch her video feed without being disruptive. Somehow Marinette doubted that Lila would make her move right away- after all, unless Marinette was on stage, she would be able to slip away almost as easily as Lila- but it never hurt to be sure.

After all, it never was a good thing to underestimate how big Lila's ego was and how much she was willing to risk to screw up Marinette's life.

With one eye on Lila, Marinette opened up her camera app to check the feeds, then sent a link to her phone as well. She could put it up on the podium during her presentation and see exactly when Lila entered the dressing room, then flip from the PowerPoint view to the video feed on her tablet right away.

Once her tablet was ready to go- and plugged into the portable battery charger that Marinette had borrowed from Alya, since it wouldn't do to have it die on her mid-presentation- Marinette turned her attention to the other contestants. They were all older than her, which she had expected, but not that much older. The contest had been geared mainly towards lycée students, though it had been open to collège students as well. Older aspiring designers had their own contest, where everything would be inspected much more closely and flaws even more harshly picked out.

Thankfully Marinette had a few more years to practice before getting to that level. She had watched the footage from the final judging in those contests, and it was intense. She had a lot of confidence in her designs, but there were still a lot of tips and tricks that she had yet to learn.

Above her, then the lights dimmed, and Marinette sat up straight.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming this evening!" the announcer boomed, striding onto the stage. Marinette recognized him as Gabriel's publicity director, and also the person who had been in charge of actually running the contest. "We welcome this year's finalists and their families, as well as all of our other guests! For those who don't know, these are the top twenty designers of this year's contest. Our judges deemed their designs good enough to actually take off of the paper and bring to life, and we'll be seeing those designs tonight and hearing about more of the process behind designing and sewing these outfits. There's been a lot of work that have gone into each of these spectacular pieces, and I for one can't wait to see each of them going down our runway!"

Cheering and applause filled the room, and Marinette couldn't help but beam as she glanced out over the audience. Her mom and dad were there with her Nonna Gina, all of them sitting to the side so that her dad wouldn't block of too many people's views. Alya had come as well, and of course Adrien was there, sitting alongside his father. Madam Chamack was there too, officially there just to cover the event but unofficially there to support Marinette as well.

"We're going to start with a few words from the head designer and CEO of Gabriel, Mr. Gabriel Agreste himself," the announcer continued, beaming. "Followed by our contestants giving short presentations about their design and creation process. After that, our contestants will go dress their models while our judges give us their thoughts about this year's contest entries and what they're looking for. Then we'll have our runway, followed by close-up judging and dinner, and then the results! We're going to have a busy evening, folks, so let's get started!"

Everyone applauded as he finished, stepping aside as Mr. Agreste stepped up onto the stage. Marinette sat up straight as he addressed both contestants and audience, doing a brief intro to the event and talking about what they had been looking for in the submitted designs. He finished with a tense smile, then stepped off of the stage. The announcer took over again, introducing the first of the contestants. They had picked a random running order earlier by drawing names out of a hat, and Marinette had been thrilled to land fifth in the line-up. She thought that it was a nice place to be- first would have been nerve-wracking, and last would have given her too much time to catastrophize.

The first presentation went well, and soon Marinette found herself wishing that she had brought a sketchpad and pencil along to jot notes down. There had been some advanced techniques that she wasn't familiar with used in some of the other contestant' designs, and she wished that she could take notes. She had her tablet, of course- she needed it so that she could plug it in to the projection system and show her PowerPoint directly from it- but she didn't want to mess anything up last-minute like presenter number three had.

At least there would be a video of the entire evening available online once the contest was over. She could always go back and re-listen later on.

As the fourth presenter got up and started her presentation, Marinette set up her phone to watch the stream from the video cameras, making sure the app was muted before starting the stream. The footage hitched for a second before smoothing out, maybe a little grainy but good enough for her needs.

"And next up is our youngest finalist, Ms. Marinette Dupain-Cheng!" the announcer called, and Marinette stood up. Across the room, she could see Lila saying something to her table mates, probably claiming that she was going to go to the bathroom. Marinette outwardly ignored her as she plugged her tablet in, sending her presentation up onto the screen next to her. Her phone got set up next to her, high enough for Marinette to see it without being too obvious about looking.

And then it was time to talk. Marinette took a moment to look out across the audience, smiling when she spotted her family. As her eyes trailed across the VIP section, she spotted Adrien sitting there. He was looking anxious, and when he caught her eye, he glanced pointedly from her to the empty spot at Lila's table. Marinette flashed a smile at him, hoping to communicate I have a plan, but Adrien just looked more worried, shifting in his seat like he wanted to go after Lila himself. He wouldn't be able to leave, though, not with his father sitting on one side of him and Nathalie stationed on his other side.

...maybe she should have told her about her plan ahead of time. It probably would have saved him a lot of stress. She just hadn't thought that he might have the same worries that she had had about Lila trying to destroy her work.

Without any hesitation, Marinette dove into her presentation, talking about the inspiration for her design and flashing a couple in-progress sketches up onto the screen as she did. The sketches had been at least partly cleaned up before she showed them, since pictures with eraser marks probably wouldn't have looked very professional. They clearly showed the progress from initial design to final sketch, and then jumped to the muslin mock-up taking form. As she did, the doorknob in the video feed jiggled.

Perfect timing.

"I wanted to push myself with my design and the techniques I used, so I used muslin to do a practice run," Marinette continued, glancing across the audience before her eyes flashed down to her phone. On the feed, the door opened, and Lila stalked in, clearly confident that she wasn't going to get caught. The smirk on her face was maddening, but it should be gone soon enough. "That way, I could be confident that I would know how things would drape before moving on to my final product." She took a deep breath, picking up her tablet. It was go time. "Before I move on to that part, I'd like to take a slight detour to a live feed of my dressing room backstage."

Marinette caught a glimpse of the audience' faces turning confused before she flipped from her presentation to the video feed, bringing it up to full screen on both her tablet and the screen and un-muting the video.

"-can't believe Dupain-Cheng left her scissors out in the open, what an idiot!" Lila cackled onscreen, snatching up the scissors that Marinette had left- rather deliberately- out on the workbench, in full sight of the camera. "That makes it easier for me!"

The audience gasped, then gasped louder as Lila grabbed the dress and started hacking, taking off a sleeve in one snip. Lila snickered, then dove in again, not-so-slowly slashing the dress to unwearable shreds.

"Making a muslin practice dress also allowed me to practice my dip-dying technique on a full-scale piece and, while the fabric definitely behaved differently, it gave me some idea of what to look out for and how a completed dress would be harder to handle than a practice strip of fabric," Marinette continued, raising her voice slightly to be heard above the uproar. "As you can see- or, well, as you could see before Lila chopped it off, one of the sleeves of my practice dress got away from me during the dying process and dipped into the dye when I didn't want it to. Because I did a practice run, I could account for that on the finished piece and be sure that my sleeves weren't going to get dyed when I didn't want them to."

In the front row, Adrien clearly caught on to what she had done and flashed her a grin, the worry slowly melting off of his face.

"Dying that dress also made it the prefect decoy," Marinette added, since most of the audience clearly hadn't caught on. "Since I suspected that certain parties might try to sabotage me."

"Oh, I can't wait to see that bitch's face when she finds her dress," Lila snickered, clearly still unaware that she was being broadcast to the entire audience. "She'll get all mad, then blame me, but-" she yanked at the bodice, and a seam ripped loud enough to be heard on the camera's microphone. "Ha! Obviously she destroyed her own dress because she didn't want to show her shoddy handiwork to the judges and so she decided to wreck it before they could see it and try to frame me for it instead!" Lila grabbed the decoy beaded belt and snipped it in half, twisting it and making beads rain to the floor before she could notice that they were glued on instead of sewn. "Take that!"

"Security, go grab that girl!" Gabriel Agreste ordered, surging to his feet. "She's in dressing room twelve. I will not accept sabotage at my events. And Nathalie- start writing up her termination notice at once."

"We'd like to file charges against her," Mr. Dupain announced loudly, standing as well. His face was red, clearly absolutely furious. "Our daughter should be able to participate in a contest without worrying about some spoiled brat cutting her design to pieces!"

"Of course," Nathalie chimed in, stepping in quickly. She looked nervous, and Marinette didn't even have to wonder why. Mr. Agreste was responsible for Lila's presence at the event in the first place, and considering that all of the reporters present would be aware of that, she was probably trying to diffuse the situation as quickly as possible. Having a Gabriel model trying to sabotage a contestant in a Gabriel contest wouldn't reflect well on the company. Even acting fast against Lila would only go so far to quell the scandal. "I can get you in contact with our lawyer, since we'll also be pressing charges for this."

Mr. Dupain frowned, clearly less than mollified. "We have our own lawyer. I'd rather deal with someone that we already know and trust."

Adrien coughed gently, catching Marinette's attention again. When she looked at him, he nodded towards the screen. She turned, curious, just in time to see Lila's expression drop as the security team grabbed her from behind, the smirk on her face turning to absolute horror as handcuffs snapped shut around her wrists.

That was a moment that Marinette was going to treasure for a very long time.

  The headline Attempted Sabotage at Finalist Showing of the Young Designers Competition sat front and center of the city's largest newspaper the next day, with a number of other papers and TV stations reporting the same news. Marinette hadn't expected that the incident would be such a big deal, but a slow news day combined with the scandal of it being a sort-of insider job and the international angle with Lila's mother being a diplomat had pushed it into the spotlight.

Needless to say, she wasn't going to have to worry about dealing with Lila ever again. Lila was staying in a jail outside of Paris for the safety of- well, for Marinette's safety in particular, but a team of specialists had decided that Lila would be a danger to everyone around her if she was allowed out on bail, and of course letting her stay in Hawkmoth's range would be a terrible idea. On top of that, everyone at school had heard about Lila getting caught red-handed on tape by the time classes started the next day, and nobody was going to be falling for any of her lies ever again.

Marinette was really happy about that. Maybe she hadn't won the contest- she had instead gotten honorable mention, which was still really good and especially so considering that she was the youngest person there- but she had taken Lila down, gotten a lot of really useful feedback from the contest's judging panel, and made friends with her model. She had also gotten a lot of compliments about how well she had handled the whole thing, keeping her composure throughout her presentation instead of appearing distracted and nervous about whether she was going to be able to expose Lila's plan.

She had received a fair bit of attention from the design community and gotten her name out there, and thankfully it wasn't at all in a bad way. Lila might have hoped to make Marinette's introduction to the design community one where she would be remembered for having a meltdown over a ruined piece and making (seemingly) baseless accusations, but instead Marinette had stood out for her composure and planning, her takedown of her would-be saboteur smooth and seamless. And of course, her design had been original and pretty well executed, too.

Smiling, Marinette set the article that her parents had clipped for her down on her desk, turning her attention up to her wall. There, in a place of honor on the wall, was a small display dedicated to the contest. There was her initial design sketch, the letter letting her know that she had advanced, and photos galore of the final product, both on a mannequin and on Annabelle. The largest photos were a few of Annabelle going down the runway, then one of her posing with Marinette. Marinette's Honorable Mention ribbon was tacked up next to it, along with the card that she had received with all of the judges' comments.

It was a really nice display, and Marinette couldn't wait to add to it. There would be more contests in the future, both with Gabriel and with other fashion companies, and she wanted to enter as many as she could. The judge feedback was really valuable to help her grow as a designer, and the best way to get that was to keep putting herself out there.

The article, though, wasn't going to go up. As good as it had felt- and continued to feel- to take Lila down and expose her as the liar and bully that she was, Marinette didn't necessarily want a reminder of Lila up on her wall. The other girl was gone now, and there was no need to constantly be reminded about the negativity that she had brought.

Marinette smiled at the display one more time, then pulled her sketchbook over to herself and started to sketch. Annabelle had commissioned her for a casual outfit using the same sort of technique that she had used on her contest design, and she wanted to get started as soon as possible. Marinette had a few ideas already, so she wanted to get those sketched out and ready to send off to her contest model to see if any of them really caught Annabelle's eye.

Honestly, it was a really good opportunity for Marinette to make casual clothing as a commission. Before, all of her commission designs were for special occasions or stage outfits and her casual designs were... well, for Marinette herself to wear, mostly. Getting commissioned to design casual clothing for someone else was a great way to practice for the future, when she would presumably be largely designing streetwear for a design company.

Humming to herself, Marinette finished the outline of one rough sketch and reached for her colored pencils to start filling it in. If all of the other designs went this smoothly, she might have her first round of sketches polished up and ready to show to Annabelle by the end of the week. Hopefully Annabelle would like them, and then Marinette could actually make the outfits. And after that...

Well, it would be incredible exposure to have a model wearing Marinette's designs while she was out and about. It might not lead to more commissions- or maybe it would- but a girl could certainly hope.

[officialsimppage]

-Hospitality-

Request: Spencer reid a reader where the reader gets poisoned by an unsub. Like in the hotel room the « staff » left chocolate on the bed for hospitality. Spencer has to save the reader when the poison starts to take effect at the precinct. Confessions of love later in the hospital?

Hi! Thank you so much for requesting! I really liked this idea and I hope my writing fulfills your spencer reid dreams! <3 This takes place around s4!

Warnings: Mentions of poor living, poison, and some sad vibes.

“Ok, so there have been 4 mass poisonings in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The first was at a winery, which killed 13 people, the second, at a bar, which left 5 dead, the third at a restaurant which left 20 dead, and the fourth, at a hotel bar which left 3 dead. The last two were only 2 days apart.” Garcia says, showing us images of all the crime scenes. “They are testing for poisons, but they are thinking it’s arsenic. Since they died very quickly.” she says with a grim face. 

“He’s obviously escalating, but why is the body count going up and down?” I ask looking at Rossi and Hotch. 

“That’s what Milwaukee police want us to find out. Wheels up in 30.” Hotch says looking at all of us. I get up and walk out into the bullpen with Spencer right by me. He tries to say something but then I cut him off by asking,

“Hotch I forgot some stuff for my go bag so I’m going to run home quickly and I’ll meet you guys at the airport ok?” I ask Hotch. 

“Yeah sure that’s fine.” he says.

“Ok thank you!” I say walking out of the BAU,waving at him.

“Be quick!” he yells back at me. I don’t have to grab anything. I just have to hide from Spencer. I can barely handle being around him alone. I can’t even look at him without wanting to jump his bones right then and there!

We hop off the airplane and head to the hotel before we head to the precinct. There were little rooms so I had to double up with Spencer. Great. I have to be sleeping with the man I have been in love with since I joined the BAU. Which was 3 years ago. That’s always fun, being in love with someone who is completely oblivious for 3 years.

“Ok Spence, here's home for the next however many days.” I tell him to show me the hotel room. It isn’t the greatest, but it isn't the worst. I run to the the bed by the window and I yell, 

“I CLAIM THIS BED!” I say running and jumping on the bed. I stuff my face in the sheets and inhale the linen smell. It's nice, comforting. 

“Omg Y/N you are one of a kind. I like that about you.” He says chuckling looking at me. Even though I’m not in front of a mirror, I know I am blushing. But I know it means nothing, so I brush it off my shoulders, but at the same time I hold it close. Hoping it means something. I get a text message from Hotch saying there was another poisoning so I get up and walk to Spencer and I say, 

“Spence we should get to the precinct, there was another poisoning.” I say with a sigh. I get up, grab the case files and start to walk out . I stand in front of the door and I think ‘why isn’t he coming?” I turn around and,

“Spence, are you looking at my ass?” I ask laughing a bit. He looks up with scared puppy eyes quickly trying to think of an excuse.

“I uh- no actually, I was uh- not doing that! I promise! I- was-” He says stumbling quite a bit. 

“It’s ok Spencer let’s just get to the precinct.” I say laughing a bit. 

“Yeah right lets uh let's go!” he says quickly walking ahead of me obviously embarrassed. It’s cute, actually. I follow him into the elevator and down to the car. 

“Ok Spencer I’m driving. And hey if I catch you looking at my boobs-” 

“Y/N!” Spencer says obviously annoyed by my joke. I laugh and start the car and start heading to the precinct. 

 “Finally you’re here!” Emily says walking up to me. “Hey, sorry about you being paired with Spence, I know you love him, it's just I needed me some lady time. I just needed a break from doubling up with Spencer.” She says with a sorry face.

“No it’s totally fine Emily! I get it and I’m sorry about always asking you to double with Spencer.” I say no realizing how much she must have dealt with. I mean what the rest of the group sees as annoying when Spencer rambles, I think it’s cute. “Let's go find out about what happened.” I say to her. She nods and we walk over to where everyone is sitting. Apparently, 4 people were in the hospital from a different poison. I guess it was slower. Way slower. She didn’t feel anything for 1 hour!

“ So why would he give someone poison, that gives them time to be saved? Is this like a god complex sort of thing?” JJ asks. 

“Maybe. Or it could be a sign of remorse.” I say. Maybe this son of a bitch feels stuff. Like actual feelings. Not ‘Oh! I want to kill people today!’ sort of feelings. I look up around the room to see everyone thinking. I accidently came into eye contact with Spencer. ‘Oh god, was he actually looking at me?’ No not possible. He was probably looking at the pamphlets behind me and accidentally met my eyes. Yeah, it was that. 

“Well we need to figure out what exactly she ate. Y/N, Emily, go visit Ms. Quirte in the hospital.” Hotch tells us and I nod and walk to a SUV with Emily. 

Were halfway to the hospital and Emily asks,

“So you are in love with Spencer.” She looks at me with sad eyes. Knowing how I feel. Being in love with someone I have no chance with. You know, when you are in love with someone you think it will pass over in a month. Then it becomes 3 months, then 6, then a year. Then three. Three years and I still can’t get over him. 

“Yeah, yeah I really am. It’s unexplainable. You know like I thought this would all pass over put here I am. Still stuck on him. After three god damn years.” I say with tears in my eyes, looking out the window. “Did you know I’m from Milwaukee.” I say as we drive by my old neighborhood. “ That was my neighborhood.It wasn’t a good one, my family was really poor. I had rough grades before. The only smarts I knew were street smarts. Then I picked up my grades and got a full ride scholarship to UW Madison.” I say looking at Emily, wiping my tears. 

“Wow Y/N, that’s, that’s horrible. But amazing. I admire you because of that. You know my mom was an ambassador so I never really worked my way up. I respect you for putting in all of the hard work you have put in to get into here.” She says looking at me with proud eyes. Almost like a proud sister. 

“Turn here.” I say coldly. Wanting to stop talking about Spencer and my past life. She nods, knowing I just need some time for myself. Time to think about my future and what i'm going to do to make up for my shitty past. 

“All we got is that she took a mint from her hotel room. He was here for her sister's wedding.” Emily says as we walk into the police station. We put our bags down and look up at the time. It reads ‘8:30” but it feels like 2 am. “Hey did you guys also know Y/N was from here? Like this is her turf.” Emily says acting all Spencer Reid smart. 

“Really,” JJ says. 

“Wow this must have hit hard little lady.” Morgan says. 

“Where ya from?” Rossi asks.

“Of course I knew it was on her resume.” Hotch says coldy.

“I also knew as well.” Spencer pipes up from the back of the room. 

“Spence! You scared me!” I say walking to him, distracting me from answering everyone's questions. . “Hey do you think we could get out of here, I’m beat.” I say whispering to him. 

“Uh yeah of course!” Spencer says in a high pitched tone. “Hotch, me and Y/N are going to go.” he says grabbing his stuff.

“All right, just be here by 8 am.” he says, walking back to the geographic profile. 

“Ok!” I say walking out with Spencer right beside me. We get into the car and I turn to him and I say, 

“Please don’t say anything about my life here. I sorta want to forget it. All of it.” begging him with sad puppy eyes. He looks at me for a couple seconds. And says, 

“Of course Y/N. Anything for you.” He says putting his hand on my cheek. I quickly pull my face away. That had to have been a friendly gesture. Right? I looked out my window to see that it had started sprinkling. Great, some sad weather to add onto my sad mood. Just what I need.

When we get into the hotel room I turn on the lights and flop onto the bed. Then I feel something hard on my thigh. I look down and see a bar of gourmet chocolate with a ribbon saying ‘Enjoy your stay!’ Huh. I don’t see any on Spencer's bed. Well, all I know is that I’m eating this tomorrow morning. I could seriously use some chocolate. I change into my pajamas and turn to see Spence already laying down in his bed. I turn off the lights and I hear,

“Goodnight Y/N.” from Spencer. He says it in a quiet voice, like he's trying not to disturb me if I was sleeping. Even though I was awake.

“Goodnight Spence.”I say, making it obvious I’m tired. I turn around in my sheets and fall asleep quickly. Dreaming not of Spence, but of that chocolate. Oh how will I enjoy it tomorrow. 

I wake up at 7:30 and get up to go wake up Spencer.

“Spence, we have to get up. It’s 7:30, Hotch told us to be at the station at 8.” I say shaking him a bit. He stirs a bit in his sleep and then opens his eyes. He looks dazed and confused. 

“Wha- What? Oh yeah right the Hotch thing. Ok I’ll get up. I’ll use the bathroom while you change.” He says slowly sitting up and stumbling to the bathroom. 

“Ok sounds good.” I say before he closes the bathroom door. I put on a white blouse with a black pencil skirt. I brush through my hair a bit and look at my night stand. I lean over and grab the chocolate and open it and take a bite. ‘God this is so good!’ I have three more bites and I look over and Spencer has come out of the bathroom. 

“Where’d you get that?” He asks, walking to his bag for clothes. 

“I don’t know. It was left on my bed last night that said, “Enjoy your stay!’” I respond. 

“Can I have some.” he asks, hoping to just get a nibble. 

“Nope, it’s all mine.” I say walking into the bathroom taking the last bite of the chocolate. I put on my makeup, curl my hair, and brush my teeth and I walk out to see Spence ready to go. I put on my heels and we walk out of the hotel feeling better than ever. 

We get to the station at 8:05 and set up in the conference room where all of our stuff is. We look over and we see there are more crime scene photos on the board. Crap, another poisoning. 

“Good you’re here. You missed a doozy. 18 victims in the hospital.” Rossi says looking up from his newspaper. 

“Gah, really?” I say with an annoyed look on my face. Rossi gives me an understanding smile and chuckle. I turn to the board and decide to get to work. I think, why is he now not killing them, but giving them time to get to a hospital and be treated? Why is there such a crazy victim count? It’s all over the place. As I ask myself these questions, I feel some heartburn and my throat feels tight. I dismiss it and pop some heartburn relief, blaming it on the crappy coffee. As I look on the board I see Morgan and Hotch walk in with a serious face. 

“Guys, we need to deliver the profile.” Morgan says with an urgent look. I look at Spencer and Rossi and walk out to where JJ and Emily already are. 

“Our unsub is a white woman in her mid 20s to early 30s. We have reason to believe she suffered some sort of poison event as a child, or it happened to her own child. Which has caused her to suddenly feel the remorse kick in.” Hotch says looking at the officers. I start to feel a little dizzy as Emily talks and I feel my throat tighten even more. Spencer is standing right next to me and looks at me when it’s my turn to deliver. 

“Our uh, ahem, sorry,” I say, clearing my throat trying to talk then I feel my throat tighten all the way. I can’t breathe. “ H- Hel- I ca- can- brea-'' and that's the last thing I say before I black out. 

*SPENCERS POV* 

I turn and look and notice Y/N say she can’t breathe and pass out. Oh god no! I immediately catch her in my arms and lay her down. Everyone looks over and gasps. But they stay frozen. 

“SOMEBODY CALL THE PARAMEDICS! QUICKLY!!”  I yell for everyone to hear. JJ quickly picks up her phone and calls them right away. Everyone tries to crowd around her and I push them all back trying to give her space. The only thing I can think of is to perform CPR. I start doing chest compressions looking down on her. 

“Y/N you have to stay with me. Come on not now. Not happening not today!” I say speaking down to her. I lean down and whisper in her ear, “You can't go. Not until I tell you I've been in love with you ever since you said hello to me.” That's the last thing I say to her as I see the paramedics rush in and take her to the hospital.

 *Y/N POV*

I wake up to beeping and bright lights above me. I turn to my right side and see a heart monitor and IV drip. I look ahead of me to see ‘ICU ROOM 2’ on the window. What happened? I look over and I see Spencer resting. I look at him and say,

“Can we get these lights off?” I barely say since I’m so weak. He looks up with a happy expression and starts tearing up. 

“Y- Y/N! You’re awake! Oh god I thought I lost you! You were out for a day! Turns out the chocolate was poisoned since the unsub who we caught by the way, didn’t like the FBI being brought in,” Spencer says rambling a bit he then stops and says, “I’m just glad you're ok. And since this happened I am obligated to uh say this but. Y/N I have been in love with you since you walked in. Your voice, laugh, smile, lights up my world. It is my world. You are my world. I love you. And I understand if you don’t feel the same-” 

I cut him off with a kiss. A soft one, because I’m weak. But it means everything to me. He loves me back and it’s not just 1 way. 

“Spence, I love you too.” I say crying and looking at his beautiful, soft eyes. I slide over and usher him onto the bed to cuddle me. He sits up so I can put my head in his neck. He looks down at me and says, 

“I’m so glad I can call you my girlfriend.” he then leans down and kisses my forehead. 

“And i’m excited to call you my loving, caring, amazing boyfriend.” I say with a chuckle. We lay down for a while until he pipes up,

“That was some great hospitality wasn’t it Y/N.” looking at me. 

“Spencer I love you and your voice, but please be quiet.”

[inmyarmswrappedin]

Could you give your opinion in al the Noora’s adaptations? I was really interested in what you wrote about Zoe and Manon. My personal favorite is Nora from Spain, Liv from NL could have been a second... but that wedding dress scene is so bad.

Another anon:  Since I’m sure you definitely want to keep talking about the Noora’s, haha, just curious if there is a remake of her that you’d say was your fave?

Third anon:  Ardi, have you ever ranked the nooras? Because I would love to read all your opinions lol

ಠ_ಠ

I can’t say I was expecting this lol, like I thought I’d reflect on the first anon’s ask for a bit, but then I got two more. I find it a bit surprising that people still want to discuss the original characters and their remakes in this the year of the lord 2021. Especially Noora of all characters lol. (Like I said elsewhere, I’m pleased because there are some orig gen topics I want to pick back up this year, so I’m glad people aren’t tired of all this yet.)

I do have to say as a disclaimer that I find Noora’s season very upsetting to watch, so I didn’t bother watching most of their remake seasons. I watched eskam because they got rid of the major issues I had with Noorhelm in s1, such as the pregnancy scare and William coercing Vilde into not using a condom. Then I watched Grace’s season because I wanted to give them views and ensure a renewal. 😭

As a result I’m not going to rank the Nooras, because I feel a bit weird about ranking characters whose seasons I didn’t watch, you feel? I do have opinions on the characters of course, because they show up in other seasons, and I know the gist of what happened in most their seasons because of the typical dashboard watching. I also like... Look, I know the Nooras are very much you either hate or love them, and I generally don’t mind being blunt about the characters I don’t like, but somehow all this Noora discourse made me feel like I was taking shots at a bunch of teen girls (fictional, but still). 

(I had to cut this because it was so much.)

Noora - The thing about Noora is that I was never the intended audience. I’ve never really been into the tropes that make up her love story, like the good girl who says no when she’s actually dying to say yes, the bad boy with the fridged sister, the pregnancy scare, the pathetic friend/jealous shrew who’s only there to make the good girl feel bad, etc. These story elements don’t titillate me or make me interested, they turn me off a story completely. And I just never saw it coming that Noora’s endgame would be the asshole who had stepped so thoroughly over Vilde’s self-esteem. So like... I spent Noora’s whole season (every season after hers, even!) wishing something would happen that made Noora realize she deserved better than William,

Also, one thing about Noora that many of her remakes inherited is that she just doesn’t seem like a regular part of the show. Her friends’ problems don’t affect her in the slightest, she isn’t an actual part of the squad like the others. After her season she takes off for London or the US or to build houses for Habitat for Humanity or whatever, and she only drops by to break up and reconcile with William some more. Like I can’t buy her as a high schooler when after a certain point she’s just like, “I came back from Manhattan and I need a place to stay because Henry is too busy with the stock market to fulfill my needs.” I’m sorry what???? Is this a high school show or Desperate Housewives.

Manon - already talked about her here.

Mia - I’m going to try to be brief because there’s so much to say about her lmao. I feel like the reason Mia is bisexual is because Alex Lindh watched Skam and felt betrayed that Eva and Noora didn’t get together. Making Mia bi was his way to make it make sense that Hanna and Mia would kiss in the end. Unfortunately, I don’t think he put any further thought on how Mia being bi would impact her character.  💔 I don’t think Mia and Alex make any sense as a couple, and I’m not so much surprised they broke up but more like how did they even manage to last that long? Also, I just kinda resent the way Alex Lindh made Alex such an asshole in s1 and the beginning of s2, that it necessitated a looooot more face time to make him likeable to the audience, so that s2 is more the Alex show than for any other William, to the point he gets the panic attack scene instead of Mia. I can’t really say for sure, but it feels like Alex is the most developed Druck LI and for what!!!

Elenonora - Look..... I know I said I don’t think of the Nooras as feminists, but like, Skam itself at least normalizes the idea that feminism is a good thing, you know? And yet, Skam Italia s1 makes such a concerted effort not to have Eleonora say anything too politically charged that I’m just like, okay, we don’t have to go all the way to the other extreme either. (I get the feeling this changes a bit in s3, but imo it was too thoughtlessly implemented.) All that said, the costume and makeup for Eleonora reminds me of Laura Pausini in her first era, so Bessegato has appealed to my 90s nostalgia lol. 

(I can’t be the only one who sees it, right??)

Grace - Grace is one of the few Nooras who does give me the vibe that she’s a full part of the squad. The Austin s2 writers were really good at incorporating the other girls in the squad into her season and involving Grace in the other girls’ problems. I actually really disliked Grace’s season when it started, but unlike a lot of other Skam seasons (and certainly a lot of Noora seasons), it kept getting better every week. I don’t care much for Grace (and Kennedy as a person didn’t help matters), but I do like how big a role the other girls play in her season.

Nora - Sooo I’m biased as fuck, but Nora is the only Noora for me. I think the eskam team did such a good job with the research into the young feminist movement that resulted from the Manada gangrape case. There are just so many Spanish teen girls like Nora, and giving her an older sister who was a SA victim herself was just such a great addition that made Nora even more in tune with the zeitgeist. Now, Nora did tend towards the performative, esp in s4, but I think even that is an accurate portrayal. I don’t think these young feminists are all activists, but they interiorized feminist discourse and applied it to their lives, and while woc were also part of this movement, I’m not sure that in the end they were actually listened to. (And the eskam team failing Amira when they did so right by the other 4, and even Inés and Lara, is certainly indicative of the kind of “feminists” they are.) All in all, I think Nora perfectly reflected 2016-2020 Spanish feminism, and for me she’ll always be a bit of a time capsule of this period, as well as a character I’d be ecstatic were she to become synonymous with Spain in foreign fans’ minds. Flaws in her feminism and all.

Liv - I have to say I don’t have many thoughts about Liv. I feel like, as a character she could’ve been such a game changer, on part with Nora Grace or Ava or Fatou, but the writing just wasn’t there. As in, I don’t think the Skam NL writer was particularly interested in the things Julie Andem did to break Noora out of the playing-hard-to-get mold, which is fair enough since it’s not like I love Noora myself, but then she didn’t substitute it with anything else either. I don’t think it’s on Zoë Love Smith, because the girl has charisma coming out of her pores, and I think she’s the only remake Noora who truly sold Noora’s introduction scene. I just feel like in the end Skam NL was more interested in making music videos than saying anything of substance, unfortunately. 

Zoë - already talked about her here. One thing I have to say about her is that I watched 7 versions of Noora calling William a cliche, but it didn’t hit me until wtfock’s take on the scene that Noora is as much of a cliche as William is. And that’s because Julie Andem’s writing elevated Noora to more than that, so that I didn’t think of Noora as a cliche. But the writing for Zoë never really did. I think that might be one of the reasons why Zoë and Senne are one of the most popular versions of Noorhelm, because they’re very much characters, they’re not really developed in a way that you feel like they could be real people you could know irl.

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S4 Ep 13: Yugi Dies in California, Makes Everything Awkward

Hey guys. Yugi’s DEAD. (again, but way earlier in a season than I thought he’d be)

So lets get into it.

Last we left off, Pharaoh got imbued with the powers of Lime Green. A green that I swear used to be more Aqua, but seems to sort of shift and change depending on if it’s day or night.

As a consequence, Yugi now can’t have any communication with Pharaoh. I guess this makes it so now Pharaoh is split with his “light” side but like...both Yugi and Pharaoh have both light and darkness so...I see the metaphor going on, but I don’t think the metaphor actually...worked when you think about all the screwy stuff Yugi has done even without Pharaoh around. So just don’t think about it.

The big consequence of the Yugi Banishment was more that Yugi wasn’t there to tell Pharaoh how the Oricalchos card works because--and I say this a lot--but Pharaoh doesn’t know how to read.

Pharaoh’s biggest downfall isn’t so much his greed or pride this episode, it’s his goddamn illiteracy. If he took just five seconds to study the fine print then...he wouldn’t have even cast the Oricalchos in the first place. He did it because he wanted to protect his dragon Timaeus on the field, but the Oricalchos made Timaeus immediately disappear so...Pharaoh cast this for no reason other than the plot really wanted him to do it.

Just kinda shocking that Pharaoh, of all people, made such a huge card mistake when he’s supposed to be from where all cards came from. Then again, he’s separated from Yugi who I guess had more card input than I realized, because the rest of this episode is just Pharaoh playing kind of like a dumbass.

And on the voice acting side, the guy who plays Pharaoh had to try and talk even deeper--which was kind of funny when he’s already as deep as he can go. So...it just seems like Season 1 Pharaoh to me, except he laughs more.

TBH Pharaoh was WAY more rude to PaniK than he ever was to Rafael.

(read more under the cut)

Meanwhile, Rex and Weevil have joined the pack.

Only to be hassled by the pack.

And so, since this is a show about cards, how do you make Pharaoh look like a bad person when he...always plays cards, and is usually a good person for doing this same card playing thing?

And as the person in charge of the Death Count, sorry Yugi, that doesn’t even make sense to me. If you’re telling me that JUST NOW cards are suddenly real and not 10+ episodes ago, and if you’re telling me that all of the other times Dark Magician Girl died didn’t count?

If I had to count every time that a card died when I’m pretty sure they were real then we would also have to count most Bakura duels, probably that Pegasus duel, any Shadow game, really, and like...I don’t want to do the math so I am not counting Dark Magician Girl, y’all.

She was alive at the end of this episode, and as far as I’m concerned, her prime function--the reason she exists--is to die a lot. She’s a card, that’s what they do, and I doubt she even felt bad about it. Like...I don’t think the cards are mortal. Does that make sense? I just...maybe it hurt her but like...does she care? She’s a god in this universe.

You can’t kill Zeus. And like maybe people can hassle Zeus but like it would be maybe the sensation of an itch to Zeus if you stab him directly through the throat--that’s how I feel about Dark Magician Girl. She can take a beating and won’t even know it’s happening. Girl is freakin Zeus.

A lot of this Rafael arc is about making a false reality to justify your actions. Rafeal’s was a pretty extreme case involving cards that are angels and that are still cards...or something. Pharaoh’s was “I’ll be fine, I’ve always been fine, I’m very good at this, I’m the exception to every rule.” which is a much more approachable and relatable fake reality than Rafael.

Thing is, Pharaoh’s not entirely wrong. That’s usually true for him. He usually is the exception to every rule bending RNG to his every whim. Like there’s a reason why he took the chance on the Oricalchos, it really should’ve worked out.

And TBH, would have liked to see Pharaoh do this for longer than one episode, especially since him going his brand of cray only lasted during a card game, which I don’t really watch anyway. But eventually all good things must end, and it catches up to him when he realizes the horror he has wrought.

Spoiler, it’s not that horrifying.

Like for reals, I have seen Pharaoh do some THINGS and maybe this is a sign I’ve seen too much Yugioh when I’m like “lol Pharaoh went nuts and that was it???”

I cannot believe he did not pull out even so much as a single knife this entire episode. The hatchets are right there. Then again, his puzzle powers don’t really work in the Oricalchos realm so he has to play normie style. But knives are pretty normie. I feel like Pharaoh should have pulled out some sort of makeshift brain teaser involving knives, but youknow, this season is very much more for kids than previous seasons of Yugioh.

Again, what he did to Panik is about 1000x worse than making a Halloween Kuriboh.

But, now that all the cards he sacrificed to the Shadow Realm are being resurrected and used against him, he looks into the blank face of Dark Magician Girl and accepts his defeat.

Which is very similar to what happened to Kaiba in the earlier seasons of this show. Pharaoh got Pharaoh��d.

But...while it is a throwback, heaven forbid that this show used a real ass human as a stand in for Dark Magician Girl in this scene. Could’ve had just any actual person standing around here to make Pharaoh realize a change of heart--maybe even the kid he banished in his head? But nah.

It was Dark Magician Girl for this emotional beat.

I mean we are watching Yugioh but lol, that was a decision the writing team made. Joey Wheeler’s right over there. Maybe remove Tea from that RV? No? Want to use Dark Magician Girl instead? OK then.

Anyway, now that Pharaoh was shamed enough by a paper card to remember how to be slightly more human, Yugi holds his Puzzle high over his head and screams “BY THE POWER OF THE MILLENNIUM PUZZLE!” or something and does his own brand of magic. Surprise, it’s punching stuff.

Punching stuff is always the answer.

So apparently the puzzle is more powerful than Oricalchos. Which we basically knew the whole time, I mean...Pharaoh got possessed by Oricalchos and all it did was make him play cards.

I can’t believe no one got set on fire that entire sequence.

So, since the Oricalchos demanded a soul, Yugi figured out a loophole.

And again, another Yugioh game was ended by someone threatening to kill himself, and this time it was Yugi. Who died so that Pharaoh’s yummy soul would not resurrect the Great Leviathan.

Because, while Yugi may be a soul-copy and somewhat reincarnation of the Pharaoh? Or something? He’s still not yummy enough. Not yummy enough for that Leviathan tummy.

Which lead to this great scene that I’m sure you’d remember vividly if you ever saw it even once. This is so unexpected and wild and everyone should see it.

This is moments following a very heavy death in the show--Pharaoh’s lowest point--and it is just SO JARRING AND FUNNY in context. I don’t think they meant it to be that way but I had to rewind like 8 times.

First off, enjoy this wtf helicopter, and then...

Wow.

A+ animation, I would never have been so bold as to do drop Pharaoh like a sack of potatoes from 50 feet in the air right after killing Yugi Muto on screen. 10/10. Amazing.

And after it happens, Duke kinda looks over and has the gall to ask... “Are you guys all right?” It’s just...

Wow.

I’m applauding at my computer, I am so glad that whole sequence exists. I’ll probably lift it eventually just to have.

And then the rest of this episode is Pharaoh trying to tell everyone what happened but Everyone still doesn’t quite get it, despite how wildly blunt Pharaoh is.

Cue the endless crying, because if this show loves anything, it’s men in eyeliner openly weeping into the dirt at their feet. Thankfully, Yugi had the foresight to get waterproof mascara, because if he’s gonna die, he doesn’t want Yami to blow up that perfectly cut stiletto heel line.

MAN I am so jealous of this teenage boy’s makeup.

And since I asked the void nicely for Yugioh to be in PAD, and now that PAD put Yugioh in there as if it heard me, I will now turn my attention to Sephora.

Please, Sephora, make me a Yugioh makeup line that is waterproof as hell so I can ugly cry in the hottest desert in America and still not smudge, thx.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand Yugi Muto is officially dead!

Didn’t expect that, being real.

Wow.

Really I thought that they would die if ever they ever got separated, but apparently Pharaoh is fine he just...lacks his Yugi half that knows how to read stuff and had a slightly longer attention span.

I can’t believe they cured Yugi of his curse! Congrats, Yugi! You are no longer possessed! 

Y’all. Lets just appreciate the Yugioh Episode 13 curse for a bit.

First episode 13, Bakura killed everyone with like no warning

Second Episode 13 was Ankle-slicing Bandsaw Clown

Third Episode 13 Noah revealed he was Seto’s Secret Already Dead Brother trying to take over Seto’s body

Fourth Episode 13 Yami finally managed murdering Yugi.

Like I dunno if they planned for all 13s to be all the WTF ones, but I’m glad it’s managed so far. I should’ve known when I started this episode that it was a 13, but I just...I just forgot.

Really thought Yami was going to survive this one and we’d have to bury Rafael on this mesa. Lucky for them and the local police, it’s just paranormal murder today.

Anyway...there’s like a lot more episodes of this season left and I don’t know where it’s going anymore. Should be fun. At the rate we’re going, we’re gonna take a bike ride over to New York City to do more card games on the desert Mesas of NYC. Lets see how long Yugi will remain dead.

Maybe next episode Pharaoh will just throw on a bedsheet and Rebecca’s shower sandals so he can go full Egyptian Era? Maybe the eyeliner will be drawn all the way to his freakin ears? Y’all what if he gets really into beads and gold now?

(and if you just got here, this is a handy link to read all of these recaps in chrono order. There’s a lot of them.)

[dyke-fruit]

hmmm top five ways for ruth/debbie to become canon 😔or ruth moments, whichever

elaborate s4 makeup incoming

generally in the mindset of debbie at first being mad at ruth when ruth chooses to walk away, trying so desperately to do it without her, but like, everything isnt the same when she was supposed to have her best friend doing it with her. so debbie makes some kickass television but she also very deliberately searches for a show that would be Perfect for ruth to have the lead. she searches endlessly and finds one, works super hard to develop it and finally announces the first bash howard production film from president and producer debbie eagan and contacts ruth through official channels to bring her in very elaborately for this role ... effectively giving ruth everything she wants/needs

so ruth stars in this show, the two start the long road back to friendship but in the aforementioned time it took to make this movie debbie went full dyke and hasnt been Thinking about it but she tells ruth she thinks shes a ******* and ruth. kisses her.

ruth moments yeehaw (my favs and probably not the objectively best ones)

1. ruth yelling at debbie in the hospital. girl needed to yell, girl needed to tell debbie she’s a terrible friend. ruth rights!

2. “your ass is big. it’s big, juicy, sexy, and it’s an honor to have it in my face every night.” (honorable mention — when ruth stares at debbie’s ass as she leaves the aerobics studio)

3. airport scene. ruth taking back her agency, doing it in all the wrong ways because she needs to fuck up. (ruth also being from omaha counts bc i am also from omaha)

4. zoya at any single moment. (“you flew... go get your crown.”) (in soviet union we fuck girls like men) specifically also zoya in a christmas carol

5. this bts picture being canon from ep 3

[whencallstheheart]

Survey Comments

Okay, I’m copying and pasting the comments in their entirety.  And there’s a lot of them.  I didn’t go through and edit this, sorry, but there’s a lot of good stuff in here.  Each line is a separate comment unless it’s a longer comment or paragraph.  Read them all below the cut!

I do not appreciate being manipulated for ratings. Series wayyy off the rails I am disappointed with the direction of the show. I will record season 6 but only watch the episodes you say are good in this blog. I'm not giving them ratings when they drag out silly story lines and neglect good ones..

Something is just off with the series. It used to be so good. I miss the lightheartedness and I'm going to miss Jack. I am disappointed that the cast/ executive producers keep saying there is hope in Hope Vally because of the baby coming. I have no desire to see that story line played out. I lived it. There is no hope or joy in growing up without a father.

The way the powers that be are trying to do damage control is insulting to fans’ intelligence. I can’t believe they knew for a year and a half and this was what they gave us. I think they should bring Jack back and say he was found alive with amnesia. I’m so mad that they dragged the wedding out until season 5 and only gave us a couple episodes of them being married before killing off Jack. It feels like they don’t actually care about the story at all, just trying to squeeze out as much ratings as possible. I feel really used. I wish they would have handled Dan's exit a whole lot better than they did, but oh well. Going to miss Jack. He was my favorite character. I'm still too numb. I loved "dark" Elizabeth. Thought it gave a lot of depth to her character. Nice to see her not be so happy all the time, it is rather unrealistic.

They should've told fans that Daniel was leaving to prepare them. It's like they are admitting they don't have confidence in the show beyond the main couple. Next season I hope they spend more time on the characters we already know instead of bringing in new people we only see for an episode or two.

Well done! You're amazing! :) ras i would like to see daniel and erin in a ,movie f their own I think they are all amazing actors/actresses. I do not blame Dan for moving on but I am sure going to miss him. Disappointed in how his exit was handled.

My favorite episode was "Heart of the Matter" but I thought the denouement in "Weather the Storm" was lacking. That story arc probably needed three episodes, but that was indicative of this season and series. The writing has always been up and down throughout the seasons. I am disappointed with Jack being gone as he is a great character, but I think I would have been more disappointed with recasting. I know the actors and writers and producers are very connected with the fans, but I would never have expected them to give me a heads up when they chose the death route. I accept that this is how it is handled. I would have loved, however, having a few more Jack-read letters to Elizabeth. I really thought it would have been great to have one in the Season 4 finale, but also one in "Weather the Storm." It would have felt a little more even and connected. Regardless, I think "In My Dreams" and "Close to My Heart" were probably the two best episodes back to back in the season. I think there are great storylines going forward, but I am also prepared for suspending reality as usual when it comes to uneven plots, missing characters, magical travel times, and pristine sets. That's how it's been since season 2 and I just accept it because while it isn't the greatest, it's good enough to keep me interested and chuckling. I really enjoy your Tumblr. Thanks for all the work you do. NA The only storylines that could get me to continue watching the show would be a Henry and Abigail romantic relationship and the development of Jesse and Clara as a couple. Take them off the back burner for a bit while Elizabeth copes with single motherhood. No, it's unfortunate that Dan wanted to leave, but that's reality. So I don't feel "cheated" as fan. I've been watching since Day 1 but honestly havent kept up with the most recent season. I was sad that Jack's character is no longer part of it, but I'm hopeful. I'll probably start faithfully watching again to see how the show continues.

Thanks for your hard work The season finale was extremely well done! Incredible cinematography! The actors and crew did an amazing job considering the pill to swallow! I hope they made J&E married life longer with a marriage at thr end of season 4 with a baby on the way! And season 5 about their married life and the baby! With an unfortunate departure for WW1 (in terms of time/date, I think we are pretty close from beginning of WW1) and a very heroic death on the field! Although I knew something not good was going to happen with Daniel’s reduced participation I had hoped it was temporary and he would be back full time for season 6. I feel betrayed and think it’s all about the ratings has nothing to do with the fans.

I love Carson's character. I love how he found himself again after losing his wife. I think if Jack cannot come back, then Carson would be the perfect character to pair with Elizabeth because they were both hurt by feeling cheated of their loves. They can find comfort, strength, and a new faith in God's plan in each other. This series is dead to me. I'm done. They should have told us in advance that it was Dan's last season.  Fans were misled. ��The hair and makeup is completely overdone - makes it feel sooo fake. Why couldn't you just recast Jack in s4? we would have accepted that more easily and allowed the story to continue. Please don't milk something that is "cute" once (i.e. Brownie).  It gets very old. This season was cruel now that we know they knew Dan was leaving for 1.5 years. They should have had a show where we got to say goodbye knowit was his last show.

Bring Frank back! Loyal fans were cheated, used and deceived. Makes me more angry to know all involved knew for year and half and yet through together the rest of J&E story.

They Mase a mis tale Wotherspoon Jack death

Season 5 ended with the wedding for me.  The rest of the season just fell flat! Season 5 was extremely disappointing with terrible writing. No Bring back Jack I am upset that they had a wedding to kill off Jack and now Elizabeth will be a single parent.

no More doom and gloom next season.  Elizabeth will probably die giving birth to Jack's child.  I will never watch the show again. I think faith and Carson should be an item. They need to gather up the many things going on too busy.

The producers and writers dropped the ball in dealing with Dan's departure. What was the point of the wedding if they were going to kill him off immediately after. Would rather have had the wedding instead of the engagement in Season 4 and at least seen the two happy before he left for the Northern Territories. Season 5 could have had them in their home and happy before sending Jack off on his training exercise. I feel cheated and lied to by the PTB and won't be watching into Season 6. And I don't believe all the hype about Dan still being part of the Hallmark family. I've seen just about every other cast member, including the kids, in more than one movie over the last 5 years, but only one with Dan in it. That speaks volumes. No wonder Dan wanted to leave. He's a far better actor than many of the men in the Hallmark family and yet they shelved him. I could see in Dan's eyes that he was conflicted about lying to Hearties and fans of WCTH. I hope he walks away and never looks back. It's obvious Hallmark, BB and even Lori knows they screwed the pooch in the way they handled Dan's leaving and I am getting fed up with all the damage control they're doing. Why don't they just be honest and admit they screwed up instead of continuing to lie to and manipulate the fans of WCTH. If they were confident they did the right thing then why all the damage control. I guess that's entertainment business for ya. They're all full of crap and only want one thing....MONEY

They should have had Jack & Elizabeth marrying at the end of Season 2 and had Season 3 be about their married life with possibly a child, they made the mistake of drawing out the courtship way too long-very unrealistic. Also needed more in depth character development with core characters instead of bringing in new people and killing off Cat Montgomery for instance. Season 1 was the best Season by far in my humble opinion.  If the writing does not improve, I will not continue to watch. They had a really good thing and pretty quickly proceeded to kill it.  SAD! I miss the season one aesthetic so much, it was darker and grittier and much more real. Now it's just a pointless soap opera with no direction or plot. Jack and Elizabeth were the bar  -  chemistry will be difficult to match I feel like they can move past Jack's death only if they spread around the character focus. Hopefully, we will have more time with Rosemary and Lee. I want to see their family grow. I want to see progress between Abigail and Henry. Give Henry more screen time! He is such a interesting character. I so didn't like Elizabeth being pregnant, it feels like another slap to the face. Now, she has to raise this child without its father!  She will probably have another love interest and it will probably be Carson. It will be interesting to see where the show goes from here.

No

It's just heartbreaking and unfair to the fans and the characters.

I understand that Dan is an actor and wanted to leave, but as Jack and Elizabeth were built up to be the main characters of the show(in my opinion), they should have had them go off together.  To keep the show going after that they should have been building up another couple to take their place.  Shows like Little House on the Prairie had main characters leave like Charles and Caroline, but the show remained with them returning periodically to guest star.  I would have hated to have Erin leave, but I think that would have been the best option for the fans.  Sorry, Lori you have lost a fan of your show. Good luck in your future endeavors, Dan! My overall feeling is that if the writers handled and developed other characters well, then a main character's death would be just an addition to the plot. I'm not upset about Jack, I'm upset with the lack of development.  The show just doesn't hold my attention anymore. Thanks for doing this survey!!! And for taking time to listen to followers.

I did not care for the way they handled Daniel Kissing leaving. Hallmark is the channel people watch for escape, a happy ending.  I will not be watching next season. Bring Jack back

No Not right now

Know many will disagree but would have preferred a recast so the characters'' lives could go on. Thanks for all that you do well if Eliszabeth is happy with carson i would'nt mind but other wise anyone apart from Charles i am good.

Writing is so sad Needed more married time. His death would have been easier if they had written it better. I think Lori Loughlin’s indluence as an executive producer led to a change in focus for the show .All of the crowd storylines took time away from the central focus from season 1, which was Elizbeth and her life. Just watching the social media interactions and the stories in recent seasons it seems as if Abigail, not Elizabeth will be the central character.

I wish I'd stopped watching after season three when I was mad they didn't at least have a proposal after his near death experience. I personally would never want Elizabeth to be paired up wih anyone from Hope Valley. No Your blog is awesome.  Thank you for all the work you put into it.  We appreciate it!  I think the storyline I liked best was Henry's almost return to the dark side only to turn towards good in the end.  I do think there will be more seasons, but I don't think there should be.  The money/ratings are just too good for Hallmark to shut it down... and the "hearties" will continue to support, I have no doubt.IMO, that's why Elizabeth had to be pregnant.... ensured storylines for future seasons. Thanks for the spoilers on the last two episodes of the season, I haven't watch those episodes because of that. I think it was rotten of all of them (Hallmark, BB, Lori, etc.) to decided to kill off Jack rather than recast. Not sure if I want to watch next season because of the way they handled it. If I do watch in the future it will be for Lee and Rosemary.

I've been shocked by Lori's attitude on fb live. She was selling the damage control as the right hand of BB. Never have thought that she has so much influence on the show. I've got a very bad taste in my mouth seeing and hearing her talk about the show. 18 months of knowing it and do nothing to make the end acceptable for tke fandom. I won't support this emotional manipulation anymore. WCTH stab their fanbase in the back.

Boy do they need to work on their skills They really screwed themselves by waiting so long to get e/j married. It would have been much easier to swallow if everything wasn't so rushed.  Also, I hope we get more story lines about the dangers of the frontier next season, they kind of lost those at some point.

I really miss Jack This is a cool tumblr . I'm really pissed Jack is gone I was pretty 'yuck' about the suggestion of Carson/Elizabeth, but I think with a little care and attention, it might be an okay pairing. Of course, this hinges on them not jumping into it, and preferably not failing to acknowledge that both of them can still love their deceased spouse while finding a new love. Not sure they're fully capable of doing it well, but I'll take 'reasonably decent' at this stage. Thanks for the survey! :) I just hope Elizabeth finds someone new soon in the appropriate time that we can all love and that Abigail and Henry get together or Abigail and Bill or Bill and AJ

The way the powers that be (specifically Brian Bird) have handled this is incredibly frustrating and insulting to fans. The constant deception and snarkiness is so over the top, and really doesn't jive with their whole goody-goody Christian values image that they're trying to project. Booooo.

it was an interesting season and i really love this show.

I feel it was super sad to have jack die. The fans and myself truly loved that relationship and honestly that’s a big reason I watched the show. I’m not sure if I will continue to watch or not. I feel it is too sad to not have him there anymore and the relationship between them will make it hard to see her with someone else. However, she needs to have love in her life. Rosemary needs to get pregnant but I’m glad elizabeth is. They could have handled Lessing's departure so much better, moving on with the story from season 4. Pity.

Abigail as a character is unrecognizable and by getting rid of Frank they threw away their most interesting male.

. I would like to see the series have a time jump and have Elizabeth with a new love interest I don’t think Carson and Elizabeth is a good idea but maybe if they pursue the paring, the show will prove me wrong

With a year and a half of knowing Dan was leaving the show.  They could have done better.  If they had married in season 4 and shown them together as a married couple for a while then he died in the northern territories and she found she was pregnant when he was gone it would have been better Keep hearing Dan was fired and then he quit. Want to know what’s happening. Only ereason I started watching was for that pairing not interested in saccharine sweet storylines and dropped characters. Nothing to add

It appears that Dan has taken on the role of resident scapegoat.  The message is "Please blame me for leaving, but keep watching the show".  I think the issue was Dan wanted to branch out from Hallmark and guest star on NBC where he got his North America break, and that didn't sit well with management.  It' feels like the other actors are only working for Hallmark. I've been feeling dissatisified with WCTH since the Charles proposal, but I was holding on for the engagement and the wedding.  Now after season 5, I'm disappointed in myself for not trusting my instincts and stopped watching three seasons ago.  Aside from the cute moments between Rosemary and Lee, there's not enough substance to keep me interested in WCTH.  I will continue to look for Dan in future roles and wish him all the best. I feel SO cheated! I think they should have ended it, or have Elizabeth and Jack leaving Hope Valley together and continue the show with the other characters. I don't know if I will ever watch another show from Hallmark, they used to be my happy place! Now I feel betrayed. Not happy with waiting to season 5 for all that happened between E&J.  Totally a manipulative move especially when we know they have been working towards him leaving the show for some time.

Hope there is more Henry and Abigail next season. Barley got anything. Maybe if they didn't drag out the Elizabeth and Jack storyline/wedding we would have gotten to see more of the other characters.Hopefully next season will be better! just have to wait an entire year No

Questions are good, but some answers need expanding. Killing off a central beloved character is very risky, so anything after 1st 3 episodes of S6 is shakey. HM counld have handled Dan’s leaving a little better. Other thing is this show keeps getting rid of the “strong male” characters, which I don’t think is good. I love seeing shows with strong women roles, but I also like to see them paired against a strong male character. This show is lacking balance, and has begun to morph into The Widows of Hope Valley. Also, life is hard enough, that’s why I like to escape into Hallmark shows. This show could be long lived, if they develop the characters, stop making Bill so ornery and Henry depressing, and Jesse a little stronger. Lee seems balanced- take the lead from that character. Not a fan of Carson, though him and Faith could have a good relationship.One last thing, the finale was too stark and depressing, which I think also added to the fans upsetment. Thanks for taking the time to develop the survey. Just recently found your blog, but glad I did. Although there were quite a few gems this season, it felt very...unorganized overall. There was very little cohesiveness, and the storylines were (for lack of a better word) cheesey.

With Daniel not really committed to the show the past 2 seasons I am fine with his death. Not really sure how it could have been handled better since they missed the chance at a wedding earlier in the series. Hoping it will return to its earlier formula of developing other characters and storylines. Carson is boring, Frank was boring, bill is boring as a romantic lead. I don't think they necessarily had to kill Jack off if Dan wanted to leave. More stories with Lee and Rosemary

I hope they stop with all the pairing. Life isnt about that and Elizabeth should be a great teacher without a pairing.  In fact teachers weren't allowed to get married and keep their teaching job.  I really hope, although it is Halmark, to see more of what life is suppose to be like at the turn of the century.  Or at least idealized as in Anne of Green Gables.  This shows writing has gone down hill.  But its Halmark paried with Oak.  Overly sweet sappy love stories ahea. If they were going to have Jack and Leixabeth to get married, they should have had them married by the beginning of season four. They could have had Jack die in the NT and it would have been painful and meaningful and whatever else. Lee and Rosemary have so much potential and the writers refuse to utilize them and it’s very frustrating. I would actully like to see a relationship between Carson and Faith!

No

Should have found another way Incredibly poor writing with gaping plot holes and disappearing characters.

The lack of a proper funeral for Jack the character was an insult to all the character has been to the story - 3 minutes reallY!  43 minutes of grieving is ridiculous - all it takes is a letter from the dead, a ride on the horse and a talk with Opal and she's smiling - totally unrealistic.

I was widowed a couple months after I got married when I was 25. I use TV to escape so it’s dishearting that TV thinks death is the only way to close a characters chapter on the show. It’s like I lived this, I see it in real life, give me an escape. It’s been 9 years but sometimes I think my daydream about my husband coming back. I understand Dan wanted to move on, and the show could have sent Jack on assignment, he could have still been mentioned in the show and made occasional guest appearances when his scheduled allowed. That way the fans still get what they want and when the series ends we could have had Jack and Elizabeth riding off into the sunset with their family. I would have preferred not for Elizabeth to be pregnant because now not only did we actually get to see Jack and Elizabeth as husband and wife but we don’t get to see them as parents....together. Although I stopped watching the show when Dan’s screentume became less and less, I still keep up with the show here and there. I would support Elizabeth and Carson only because they know what the other has been through but I still won’t watch the show consistently.

I respect Dan's decision to leave, really sad about it but I think I felt relieved over the fact that they developed a lifelong friendship. But truth be told, those obstacles led to Jack and Elizabeth getting paid dust and honestly deserved so much more - especially with the house and baby talks they had during the season. Recasting would have turned out horribly, but I think it's pretty understandable that Jack died a hero since he's a Mountie. His life is on the line in his job. I just wish they had settled down after the wedding instead. Will watch the Christmas special, and that'll be the deciding factor if I'm sticking around. It's going to be hard without Jack, but having Dan and Erin's friendship as it is, that's something I'll hold onto. After Jack went to western teritories the show lost its momentum and it went downhill from there. It felt as if he was absent even when he was in Hope Valley. Such a shame. I want Elizabeth to be happy but I also do not want to get invested in another relationship of hers. I am also not thrilled about the baby - super predictable, and I don't think every woman would be thrilled that she has to go through pregnancy and raising a child without the father. I'm sure Hope Valley will support her, but I hope they show her struggle with that. I don't particularly like Carson/Faith (it seems like she has a kid crush on him) but I also don't like Elizabeth/Carson. Not sure what they'll do for season 6 ...

I do like that most problems start and end in one episode, I do miss the ongoing issue that runs through an entire season. Saw that season 1-3 but it lacked the last two. The financial crisis didn’t count this season. That was just poorly executed.

Pay Dan what he wants. Make it a dream,continue the show as it was. Horrible way they played along with the romance for years and then threw everything together like a bowl of spaghetti.  I'm done removed it from my DVR.

I really don’t blame Hallmark for the entire mess.  I fell there is a lot more to Dans leaving than has been reported. Hallmark and the Hearties jump started his career in the US and he could have stuck around to given  them another season to continue his and Elizabeth’s love story and be there to see his child born. They only film for barely 3 months so I think it could have been worked. I feel Dan is responsible for taking the joy out of the series. I respect that one has to move on, but I hope for his sake that he made the right choice. Hollywood is fickle. This show has always had its faults, but both season 4 and season 5 have felt utterly directionless. Maybe that's a result of trying to steer a large ship away from Jack and Elizabeth to focus on other story lines, but it has been so very frustrating to watch. I watched all previous seasons on Netflix (I don't have cable), but I bought the 5th season because Daniel Lissing was finally back and I wanted to see the weddings I could finally put this show behind me. Basically, I bought this season out of a sense of desperate frustration. The wedding itself was wonderful (not the whole episode - just the wedding), and when Jack and Elizabeth said "Finally!" at the end, I did too. But the rest of the season? Ugh. Plot progression is so slow, if there is any. I feel like we see the same thing over and over with Lee and Rosemary, the same crisis over and over with Abigail as mayor, even the same conversation between Henry and Abigail over and over ("I'll never be accepted, Abigail" "Yes, you will. I know you're a good man."). It's exhausting. And this isn't a popular opinion, but I'm not crazy about the kids - too cheesy for me and the school scenes are so sugary sweet I can't stand it. Elizabeth has turned into a walking stick of cotton candy. Anyway, for me, I was planning on ending this show with the wedding unless something in this season really grabbed me. I haven't watched the end of the season because I already got what I came for, but I am frustrated that Jack died and angry at the way the whole production team decided to handle it - although with their plot pacing decisions over the past 5 years, I'm not sure why I expected better. This show could be so much more, but it's not.

It's the most saddest, tragical love story I've whitnessed on tv. Not only between Jack and Elizabeth, but also between Dan and Erin. I quite the show and really hope that season 6 is their last one. I don't wanna be part of a show in which fans are cheated and lied to, only for the ratings and the money. The powers to be and also the leading cast, Dan, Erin and Lori, don't deserve any attention from the fandom. The way they handled everything about the show was devestating. I will also unfollow Dan. I'm not interested in him either. To deserve attention you have to show some respect to your fans. He didn't. Only control damage, especially by Lori. I've always admired her for working hard and combining private and business live together, but this time I've got a very bad taste in my mouth considering her. Finally the show, Hallmark, the powers to be and the leading cast showed their true colors!!!!!!  I wanna thank you for your time you've spent on me. It's just a show. Just some Sunday night entertainment. More Rosemary appreciation around the town, PLSSSSSS

I'd prefer that Jack's character have been played by another actor rather than removed from the show (even if he rode off happily into the sunset), UNLESS Elizabeth left too. (I think Andrew Walker would have made a superior replacement for Daniel Lissing.) I'd happily watch the show just for Lee + Rosemary, but this plot twist has squeezed all the joy out of a previously happily un-realistic TV show with this crudely presented character death. It was unfair of the network to insert gut-wrenching drama at the conclusion of a season where the (previous) worst problems were resolved in moments. Hallmark didn't allow the hero in the Aurora Teagarden Mysteries to be killed off even though his character dies in the books, conveniently sending him back to the CIA instead. But in their "family-friendly, heart-of-TV" show, they kill off the hero in a landslide instead of recasting? What a sad way to end five seasons of “sweet and naïve” television. They handled things well. I would say that I’m disappointed that they knew for so long and decided not to tell us that Daniel was leaving. However, it was Daniel’s choice to leave the show so he could focus on other things. Like they said in their live stream, they went through every option. I strongly believe that killing Jack was the best thing they could do because replacing him with a different actor would not have worked. I’ll continue watching the show and supporting the cast because they have a story to tell and I want to see where it goes. Jack's death should have been handled differently. The reaction of BB and LL left a bad taste in my mouth. Thead shows are supposed to entertain and uplift, not depress. That was a terrible way for them to get rid of Jack. I would like to have seen Jack recast since DL wanted to leave, it could have been very exciting to have a new Mountie Jack. Maybe still could be if the backlash is strong enough.

Thanks for the fun times! I feel hurt and cheated. I know its just a show but I have been crying all week, I was hoping Jack was still alive. Henrigail. Only thing I'm hanging on for. Wishing, but not bothering to hope, that they do that right. Steeling myself for continuing mediocrity.

Unless I hear that jack is miraculously back, I’m out

Definitely understand Dan's decision to leave. They could have handled it better. Especially having a long time to plan for it. Not mad at Dan in the slightest. Really going to miss him. Hope nothing but the best for all involved in the making of When Calls the Heart. Carson and Faith pairing all the way! Thanks for your blog!! I think they should have ended the show with this season since Dan wanted to leave. It would have been more respectful for the fans who have been following this show for 5 years now. I get the comment made by Lori about a lot of people depending on the show for a job. However, this show is filmed in Vancouver and there are plenty of tv jobs within that city. Also, tv is unpredictable and people who work in film know that. I just find Jack’s death as a slap in the face to the fans. They should have ended it this season. I mean let’s be honest, this show is obviously very different since it started. The quality in storytelling has gone way down.

I want for season 6 more deapt in the stories and not so many plot per episode.

This season was a huge letdown.  The wedding episode was terrible.  Also, Rosemary should have been pregnant instead of Elizabeth. no Thank you!

I'm done with this show. Jack and Elizabeth was what hooked me.

Overall, I think the show has the potential to return to it's former self in previous statements. But I do think it's lost its way this season. This season was a train wreck and I feel cheated on J and E's relationship.  Very jerked around by Hallmark regarding the hype of the wedding.  From chalkdust to eternity?!  How about from chalkdust until 3 weeks from now--when you die!

Shitty season. Honestly, they could've had Jack go elsewhere and still send letters just in case Daniel did want to come back. Thanks for the survey! This has been a great season (except for them killing Jack off). I enjoyed all the stories. I loved all of the kids getting storylines. Opal's adventures. I loved the stories of Jesse and Clara. I loved Rosemary and Lee. Gowen's stories, too. I loved they tied up Tom and Julie. I hate that everything was rushed with Jack and Elizabeth and now he's dead. That is why I won't continue. I'll miss it, but life goes on.

The series touches hearts and gives hope...life isn't sunshine and roses but with faith and hope we are able to make it good... This season was wasted on filler- and they did not utalize Dan's limited time wisely. I think we are still getting half the story on why they went the route they did. In the FB LIVE You could tell Dan was given the lowdown on what he could or could not say- poor guy!

This season could have been better but they need to get rid of all the one and done people. But i'm here for Henry and Abigail. Let that ship sail!!

[drink-n-watch]

Hello everyone. I hope you’re all keeping healthy and safe! These are strange times and we could all use a little sunshine in our lives. At work we’ve been lucky enough to be able to mobilize rather quickly and get the majority of people set up to work from home, and I’ve been diligently self-isolating since Tuesday. For me it really doesn’t change much to my daily life except more work and less bogging time, but I’m going to fix that. I’m a bit of a workaholic and whenever I start working from home (this isn’t the first time), I end up working all the time unless I set up a strict schedule that includes leisure time. For anyone else out there that might be working from home for the first time, I hardily suggest it. You can burn yourself out without noticing it if you’re not careful! How are you holding up Crow? And how’s the family?

  Fine, thanks for asking! I’m working from home now as well, and I’ll second your advice about sticking to a schedule. I also force myself to get up at the same time and get dressed as if I’m going to work. It’s less comfortable, but when it’s time to wrap things up, it’s great to throw on an anime tee-shirt and kick back. Helps me know the work day’s over, too! Until I get a text from work or something…

I do the same thing. Even occasionally put makeup on which is ridiculous…

So we finally got to see the school festival. But first we had to put a cap on Gentle’s ill-fated little endeavour. You know, as I watched Gentle quiet and utterly defeated, pleading to shoulder all the blame and pretending to have brainwashed La Brava into joining him in order to keep the repercussions for splattering onto her, I thought that he had never looked more like the hero he had so longed to be than at that moment.

I may be reaching, but I think Midoriya also felt that way. They may have had a difference in circumstances but unlike the villains Deku has fought in the past, he could truly understand and sympathize with Gentle. At least in that moment. The both just desperately wanted to see a sad young girl smile again.

But I tend to be a reckless optimist. I might be overly generous here. Maybe it was simply that this was the best of the limited options Gentle had left to him at this point… What do you think?

I think your character instincts are spot on, as usual! Gentle’s decisions were clearly the kind a hero would make, and the policeman (who looked like a gorilla — I wish I could find his name, because I really liked how empathetic he was) thought so, too. 

The writer seemed to confirm how you saw Midoriya’s reaction. Remember when Deku picked up La Brava’s camera? He was thinking that if he had never met All Might, he saw himself ending up very much like Gentle Criminal.

Seriously, I thought this was a great arc. It show-cased the kind of ambiguities in hero society that I’ve always enjoyed about this series.

Regardless of what Gentle’s inner turmoil actually was, the show must go on, and at that point Deku only had about 40 minutes to get the rope he dropped, go back to everyone and get ready for the big show. All of this was to save the performance, how silly would it have been if Deku being late is what ended up spoiling everything?

Eri would have worried. That would be sad.

But he made it in time, of course, and we actually got to see the show. Series will often cut to black or fast forward through performances. You know, I think there’s something inherently cheesy about most stage performances. Not all of course, but a lot of them. Without the wonder of camera and cinematic or digital production, I think that a lot of shows end up looking a little silly. Like this one did. But let me get super cheesy for a moment.

If you let yourself get swept up in the moment and just appreciate the artifice of it all, it can also be a deeply moving experience. One that can make you feel things and appreciate the moment. One that can bring a smile to a sad little girl’s face or tears to a jaded hard drinking anime fan. I’m not crying, you’re crying!

The show was pretty cheesy and I think I like the acapella song better than this one. But it made me smile and tear up a little and if my classmates had put it on, I would have been super proud of them. Did you enjoy it Crow?

Yes, I did, and I felt similarly compelled to defend that I liked it. But the way the 1-A students used their quirks to augment the performance, like Hanta Sero/Cellophane shooting streamers or Ochako Uraraka/Uravity touching random people in the crowd so they’d reverse mosh-pit, was so perfectly in character. So I’m going to push myself not to be ashamed and flat out say I liked it. 

And seeing the effect it had on Eri? That was worth the whole fourth season.

One thing we did get to see is just a little snippet of how Kyouka joined UA. It wasn’t anything dramatic so it didn’t warrant a full episode. Basically her parents are both musicians and she was raised with music her whole life. So when it came time to choose a school, she was pretty anxious to tell her family that she wanted to be a hero rather than a musician, but they were both super fine with it and very supportive. She was worried for nothing.

I really liked this flashback. It’s so relatable. Kids often think their parents won’t understand but most parents just want their children to be happy and as long as they’re not doing something super unreasonable, they’re more likely to be supportive than not. But we rarely see these stories because they’re not very dramatic, now are they? Still, it’s nice to be reminded that things can be simple once in a while.

I really liked her mom, by the way. She seemed way more pleasant than Katsuki Bakugou’s mom! It looked like Kyouka inherited her Quirk from her mom.

Wow, this turned out really short. It’s not quite over yet though. The closing act echoes the first and reinforced my belief that Gentle is the real winner here even though he may not realize it yet. La Brava’s skills are officially recognized and the police seem open to giving him a second chance, or at least a fair sentence considering how harmless most of his criminal activity has been. They do have bigger fish to fry. I know a lot of fans don’t like this character but I hope to see him again. Where do you stand?

I say give him a second chance. His heart is clearly not set on doing evil. And La Brava loves him, so how bad can he really be? 

Finally we got a little taste of what’s coming up next and it seems we finally get to meet Hawks. I know nothing about this character but manga readers love the guy so I’m kind of excited. He had nice hair…

I’m always interested in bird-themed heroes. Not sure why…

My Hero Academia s4 ep86- A Gentle Victory Hello everyone. I hope you’re all keeping healthy and safe! These are strange times and we could all use a little sunshine in our lives.