#aos 5x18

[florida3exclamationpoints]

WHEN IN DOUBT GET A BUNCH OF LEMONS 😭😭😭😭😭😭

[ayankun]

Hale: Promise me you won't hurt Ruby.

Daisy: Not unless I have to.

[The Daisy:Ruby foil theme 1 - the effects of the boss!parent's leadership/parenting styles on the agent!daughter. Coulson, while not being perfect, has consistently nurtured Daisy's nature; conversely, Hale's messaging to Ruby has consistently been that she needs to be someone different than she is in order to receive Hale's love and respect. Hale coming to terms with that if she was hoping the ends justified the means, her chosen methods of raising Ruby have not been justified after all.]

Daisy: She's driven. She's a great fighter.

Hale: S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. You're not serious.

Daisy: We're about to need all the help we can get.

[Theme 2 - Breaking generational cycles. Thanks to her good-guy-coded upbringing, Daisy can take a radical stance in this ideological war and be willing to look deeper than an enemy's affiliation (nurture) to see the value in person they actually are (nature). Arguably a theme carried forward from S4 and the nature/nurture conversations enabled by the Framework.]

Hale: Tell me what I can do.

Daisy: If we are too late*, you will need to talk her down. We can't let things get out of hand.

Hale: Of course.

[*Theme 3 - Cosmic predestination. :< The Hales have a shared tragic character flaw that no amount of guidance or enlightenment can help them overcome -- they are capital-V Villains on a network superhero show and their characters & character arcs (however nuanced and robust) exist only in service to the Big Damn Heroes' inevitable victory over the forces of darkness (Good nature ordained by the Powers That Be to defeat Evil nature, nurture irrelevant at the end of the day. Even if the optimistic, good-guy-coded narrative is that Ruby 'could have' been someone different, under different circumstances, this narrative won't allow it)]

[Theme 4 - Boss!Parent redemption; Hale clawing herself out of sunk-cost fallacy regarding her agent!daughter, finally prioritizing her daughter's future over Hydra's future in a way she hasn't been able to justify to herself before. She is finally willing to stop being a boss and start being a parent, to stop pursuing the notion of what her daughter could be and start appreciating the daughter that she has. But, because she's a bad guy and has to be depicted as suffering the consequences of her actions, it's too little too late.]

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Thursday, October 12

Willow: “Okay, uhm, uhm, the icon’s called the-the Mark of Gachnar. I-I think this is a summoning spell for something called--” Xander: “Gachnar?” Willow: “Well, yes."

~~Fear Itself~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Blame (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by veronyxk84

What It Means to be a REAL Savior (Crossover with The Walking Dead, T) by Buffyworldbuilder

Rainbow Road (Xander, G) by kitkatt0430

The Blood is the Life (Spike, T) by EustasiaVye13

Next Time Pay Attention (Buffy, Xander, G) by AidenFlame

It Could Be Worse (Crossover with Misomer Murders, G) by Grundy

I can't believe you're alive (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Lilacsandorangeblossoms

[Chaptered Fiction]

Buffy's Chosen Friend, Part 1 (Buffy, NR) by Illyrian

The Beginning of the End - Path of the Slayer, Chapter 2 (Multiple crossovers, T) by cleric_illyria

A Love That Defies Space and Time, Chapter 20 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Spikelover4ever

Presumably Dead Arm, Chapter 22 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by tragic

A Marriage of Inconvenience, Chapter 15 (Buffy/Spike, R) by all_choseny

Mutually Beneficial Agreements, Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, R) by FoolForSpuffy

To All We Guard, Chapter 10 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by simmony

From Hell with Love, Chapter 30 (Buffy/Spike, R) by temporarytitle

Fire Bird, Chapter 15 (Crossover with mythology, FR15) by batzulger

Run, Buffy, Run., Chapter 40 (Multiple crossings, FR18) by cmdruhura

A Place in the Sun, Chapter 30 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by honeygirl51885

What the Drabble?, Chapter 24 (Buffy/Spike, R) by VeroNyxK84

Autumnal Shorts, Chapter 12 (Buffy/Spike, R) by VeroNyxK84

Edge of the World, Chapter 6 (Buffy/Spike, AO) by Dynamite

Buffy's Spooky Birthday, Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, R) by VeroNyxK84

Transcript: "Slayers: A Buffyverse Story," Chapter 1 (NR) by johnnyorac

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork:[Angel sketch] by fblckt

Artwork:Moment of peace by lialivingart

Gifset:BUFFY AND ANGEL IN WHAT’S MY LINE? PART I by detectivedawnsummers

Gifset:Cordelia Chase in 2.06 Halloween by slayer-pride-parade

Gifset:Buffy The Vampire Slayer S1.4 Teacher's Pet (1997) [pt. 1] by 51kas81

Gifset:Buffy The Vampire Slayer S1.4 Teacher's Pet (1997) [pt. 2] by 51kas81

Video: The Making of Slayers: A Buffyverse Story by Audible

Video: Spike & Dru take on the British Slang Challenge 🇬🇧 | Slayers: A Buffyverse Story by Audible UK

Video: buffy edit | tara + willow | i just threw out the love of my dreams by sophie

[Reviews & Recaps]

THE DAY BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER DIED by Vee Infuso

"I'm gonna die" vibes | Buffy the Vampire Slayer 5x4 "Out of My Mind" | Normies Group Reaction! by The Normies

Triangle: Buffy the Vampire Slayer 5x11 Reaction by Dakara

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER 5X18 REACTION | First Time Watching by EvilQK

Buffy The Vampire Slayer review season 2 episodes 3&4 by Once more with Abbe and Claire

Let's Rewatch Buffy! Season 1, Episode 9 by Jenny Trout

Rewatching from the start for the first time by realbonito23

Podcast: Buffy S6E18: Entropy by Booze & Buffy

Publication: ‘Slayers: A Buffyverse Story’ Bring the Multiverse to Sunnydale via The Mary Sue

[Recs & In Search Of]

Rate your Buffy reactors recced by multiple authors

[Fandom Discussions]

Who was the most careless person/thing on BTVS - Angel TS? (cont.) by multiple authors

Slayers: A Buffyverse Story releases all episodes today - thoughts? by multiple authors

Goofy question about Glory. (Season 5) by multiple authors

Least favorite season? by multiple authors

What is your favorite non conventional episode that is NOT omwf, and why? by multiple authors

Realizing Buffy got to keep her 3 core scoobies while Angel's... by multiple authors

Spike & Buffy - what’s your fav scene together? by multiple authors

Challenge: Say something genuinely nice about Riley by multiple authors

What do you find to be the truly darkest moments in Buffy? by multiple authors

Thinking about "TED" by multiple authors

Why didn't Tara know Buffybot wasn't Buffy? by multiple authors

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

Publication: New Buffy audio series wants to correct one of the show’s biggest injustices via Polygon

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Join the editor team :)

[mspirations]

Daisy Johnson "All Roads Lead..." - 5x18

[queen-of-love-and-beauty]

I have taken it upon myself to be the annoying person who points out that after May says “I said what I had to say” Coulson was going to say “Melinda” instead of “May” and I am 100% hung up on that little detail 😭

[anthonybrxdgerton]

1.02 | 1.15 | 3.19 | 5.18

[ohmyfuturelove]

1.19 | 5.18

[kimorgant]

- You know, I only really need one of you. Two is starting to feel redundant.

- Hey, we're working with very limited resources on a very old machine.

- Fitz! No! Stop it! Leave him alone! We'll fix it! We'll fix it!

- Eyes up. Look at me. Next time... it's her. And I won't use my fists.

[theclaravoyant]

It’s alright (it’s just the end of the world) - Elena-centric 5x18 Coda

AN ~ Working through some of my own thoughts and feelings about this whole “grey morality” thing I ended up with this fic and it turned out quite well, if I do say so myself (although I will warn you, it’s kinda angsty. no MCD I promise). Enjoy!

Elena reflects on her decision in 5x18 and what it means for herself, her loved ones and the future of the world. Elena-centric, Mackelena, Angst (but a little bit of hurt/comfort, I’m not *completely* merciless), Rated T. Mentions of Ruby, Fitz & Daisy including a brief 5x14 reference (all non graphic / non descriptive).

(If you want to know any more about the contents of my fic before reading it, feel free to shoot me a message.)

Title and quote taken from “Preaching the End of the World” by Chris Cornell.

Read on AO3 (~1600wd).

It’s alright (it’s just the end of the world)

Elena watched the tiny crucifix dangling from her mechanical fingers. It glinted like a tiny golden star in the dim light, but still she felt lost in a fog, unable to read its guiding signs. It felt wrong, holding it like this: without its shape against her skin, without the cool metal, warming at her touch.

Truth be told, though, there was not much else that Elena missed about her arms – her new ones could do most of what they had been able to, and they were stronger, faster. They made her better. Even though they still didn’t quite feel part of her yet, she’d found them easier to accept, knowing she still had the parts that mattered. What was the body, after all, if not a tool for the soul and the heart and the mind to work their purpose? Now, though, she no longer knew if she had even that.

It was not so much that she hated killing. She did, of course, but sometimes it was necessary. Sometimes, in this violent world, it could even be for the best. She had thought that was going to be the story of today, but the long – and tense – flight back to base had given her a little too much time to think over it.

She’d killed a scared young woman today. Not a little girl, not quite, but still that’s what it felt like as her memory played it back over and over. She’s a kid. Ruby had been crying out for her mother, begging for help. That was not the way of a ruthless murderer and, whether she had saved the world or not, what she’d done – that split-second decision – was only growing harder and harder to face. Harder still as, from the way Daisy had been climbing the walls of the Zephyr, and from the hushed conversations between her and May, Elena had gathered that Ruby’s story hit a little closer to home than usual. It had started Elena thinking: what if she’d just stopped another Daisy from growing up? What if she’d killed a scared young woman for no reason? Or worse – what if this was all mapped out already, every action and reaction, and Ruby’s violent death and the blood on her own hands had been set in stone long ago?

It was Fitz who’d blurted out on the way here – somehow in Daisy’s defense, though they were in the middle of a fight themselves as well – that Elena hadn’t saved the world. That she couldn’t have. That Ruby hadn’t been the Destroyer of Worlds, Daisy had. That time was an illusion, and our choices all pre-made. He’d gotten very quiet after that, and so had Daisy. So had everybody on the plane. The air had grown thick and heavy and dark with the terrible thought. Was it better to believe you’d chosen, of your own free will, to torture and traumatize a dear friend for the sake of strangers? Or was it, somehow, better to believe you’d been destined to do it, from before you’d even met?

Elena did not envy Fitz his dilemma – nor Daisy, who was in the somehow even more unfortunate position of experiencing it from the other side – and yet she found herself staring down the barrel of the very same gun. Saving the world was a messy affair, this she had always known, but now more than ever Elena found herself wishing that she could do more than just pray that’s what they were doing. Especially since she knew - she more than anyone else – that there’d be more lives on the line before the end.

She clutched the crucifix to her heart, and that helped. The feeling of her own metal fingers against her skin was new and strange but when she closed her eyes, she could seek out that old, familiar shape. This was not the original, of course – that was drifting around in space somewhere, with the body of another brave man lost to the world too soon. But Mack had gone out of his way to find one just like it, and to always make sure it came back to her, and through the love imbued in his efforts, and her own, the most important memories remained. She could recall her mother giving it to her for her quinceañera; the warm embrace of her family; the familiar feeling of her old church and the quiet welcome of a new one in the States. She could recall, though it felt something of a distant memory now, the comfort of knowing that God was watching over her, giving her the gifts to do good in the world, and the passion and the intuition to know what that was. She longed for that same passion, that intuition again… and if she could not have that, then at least the comfort, or something, to soothe this lonely, grieving ache that was, in a truer sense than most living humans had ever experienced, the weight of the world.

“Please,” she whispered, into the heavy air, squeezing the crucifix as tightly as she dared without crumpling it like al-foil. “Tell me, am I doing the right thing?”

As if in answer, there was a soft click as the door pushed open. Mack hesitated in the doorway, but stepped in and closed the door behind him.

“Sorry,” he said, his voice soft and low as if trying even now not to interrupt. “The others told me what happened. Are you okay?”

Maybe it was the question that did it, maybe something about the tone of his voice, but all of a sudden Elena felt the tears come at her in a rush. They were bitter tears – anger at not being able to defend herself against Daisy’s accusations; fear that she might after all be right; grief for the soul that was lost today. The soul she took. They were tears of frustration, of loss, and she held them back as best she could, feeling a little breathless with the effort.

“Do you think I did the right thing?” she asked.

“I don’t know if I can answer that,” Mack replied – reluctant, sympathetic. “I wasn’t there.”

There was no scolding to his voice, although there could have been. Perhaps there should have been. But it was not needed; Elena felt appropriately scolded nonetheless. She hung her head – and, seeing how lost she was, Mack offered;

“As long as you didn’t do it out of anger, or vengeance..?”

That’s the girl who took my arms.

Elena’s eyes snapped up to his face. Had they told him that part? Did it matter? That’s not why she did it, the timing was wrong, the feelings – all the feelings – She stood up from the bed, begging him to see.

“No,” she insisted, shaking her head, as much to keep that little worm of doubt from her own mind as from his. “No, I didn’t, I swear. I-”

“I believe you,” he promised her steadily, a little taken aback by the force of her desperation. He opened his arms, gentle and accepting, and Elena felt a little of that panic drain away. She pressed herself gratefully against his chest and he closed his arms, enveloping her and humming, a soothing and tuneless sound.

“Mi amor,” he murmured. “I’m sorry I can’t do more for you right now, but… for what it’s worth, I don’t think we can ever truly know if we’re doing the right thing. We don’t know the consequences of our actions, or the consequences of those, or the consequences of those… We were never meant to know. You acted on what you thought was right in the moment. That’s all anyone could have done.”

Elena shook her head. “But- it didn’t achieve anything. Daisy’s the Destroyer, not Ruby. If I’d known that…”

“You would have what? Killed Daisy?” Mack pulled back from her a little, to look her in the eyes. “Elena. There are hundreds of thousands of choices between now and tomorrow, let alone now and fifty years’ time. Some of those are going to be hard. Some of them are probably going to be wrong. But who’s to say which? I know I can’t. Daisy can’t. Fitz can’t. Who’s to say that Ruby wouldn’t have been the Destroyer if you hadn’t done what you did? Changing the future and saving the world might not be mutually exclusive, you know.”

“I know.” Elena sighed, an unsatisfied sigh, and Mack pulled her back into his embrace.

“I know,” he repeated, in as much of a reassuring tone as he could. For all that he wished otherwise, Mack knew there was no truly comforting way to have this conversation, because for every reason such a thing might have been the right thing to do, there was a reason for it to be wrong. He knew that Elena knew more than she was saying about the future, but if her own knowledge wasn’t helping her then sharing it probably wouldn’t either, so he didn’t ask. He had faith in Elena, even if he couldn’t explain it, and even if she couldn’t see it herself. She would soon, he was sure, and if he had to he’d just hold her until that moment. Already, she was breathing easier, and that went a long way to soothing his aching heart.

Elena, meanwhile, laid her ear against Mack’s chest. She no longer felt as lost, or as guilt-ridden, as she had done while stranded alone with her thoughts, but there was still a nagging sensation of dread that would not leave. Knowing that Ruby’s death was not the end kept her on edge, and though she longed for nothing more in this moment than to lose herself in Mack’s embrace, she couldn’t help thinking about how every one of those strong and steady heartbeats, might still be bringing him closer and closer to his last.

[marvelsaos]

Top 10 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Villains (as voted by my followers)    10▸Ruby Hale (28%) [insp.]

“Who the hell do you think you are?" “I’m the Destroyer of Worlds.”

[photos-or-inkblots]

5B thoughts pt. 2

5x18 - 5x19

5x18: All Roads Lead...

i don’t have much to say here because i was gay panicking over daisy. i have no regrets

deke is… a nuisance

“You need me to, uh, back you up, or...? / “You literally just got shot. Why are you out of bed?” no shits given and i respect that.

“All right, people, you heard her. Let's get to work.” you called her a hard-ass–correction, perceived her as a hard-ass–and complained about being treated as an agent when he isn’t one and now he’s flipped the script again. is this adapting and playing the long game because playing the long game got him shot, as was said.

“You’re getting good at this. You are.” SHE IS ISN’T SHE

“Women, huh?” like i said, a nuisance. (really, was this comment necessary?)

the ruby-daisy parallel is going strooooong here. something to be said about this on top of ruby being set for the destroyer of worlds project only for daisy to get the blame.

“It's her, isn't it? She's the Destroyer.” / “Yo-Yo, she's a kid. She is terrified.” interesting.

i really don’t know what to do with the fact that Yo-yo killed Ruby, specifically in the context of the team and the incoming conflict. idk, it’s true, Ruby can’t control herself, even before being infused with gravitonium, she was ready to chop off limbs from FitzSimmons when it didn’t go her way, chopped off Yo-yo's arms and is just really impulsive. but also, killing just sounds a little misplaced here, especially if the reason was because she was the "destroyer of worlds," her motivation was just to make her mother proud; like we're shooting the messenger but hey, no one's really asking for specifics. ultimately i’m glad she gets some reassurance from her mom before dying. (why do i feel like the writers made it a bigger deal than it actually was just for ~team conflict~)

i do have a nagging concern about the gravitonium, it absorbs consciousness, it's how Talbot got to use Daisy's powers in the other timeline/s because her powers are embedded in her subconscious by 5x21. does this mean that, in every other scene we see the gravitonium ( the Lighthouse, the Zephyr) in 5A, there are people in it? does this mean that in the previous timelines where Talbot absorbed Daisy (and/or Coulson, or someone else, since that scene in 5x22 was the only difference with the other timelines) they’re all drifting in space forever? even if some alien species got to extract it, it’s still like, what, five-ish people (Quinn, Hall, Creel, Talbot, Daisy-and/or someone else) stuck together forever? that sounds morbid. and sad. damn that’s dark.

5x19: Option Two

gave myself a moment to breathe before watching this because i know this is where the fighting starts.

sick intro of Talbot reciting the coordinates. btw i looked up this place (43.9462, -76.1191, i realized these were essentially vectors) and i ended up at the United Presbyterian Church of Sackets Harbor in upstate New York. Seems close enough to where River's End is bound to be

“I'll take him. It's the least I can do after dragging them out of hiding. Unless there's some objection.” HOHOHO HERE WE GO IM NOT READY BUT SURE OKAY

“The point is, you don't make that decision.” / “Then who does? You? We all have blood on our hands. Why am I being singled out?” this could’ve been a more interesting conversation if the writers didn’t choose the setting to be the damn Lighthouse Control. i wholly believe Daisy and Yo-yo could settle this in a calmer way than this but noooooo they can't have someone siding with Daisy here

“But this isn't about the decision, is it? This is about not following your orders.” / “It's about both.” yes with Daisy on the mutiny because what the hell guys. no to the invincibility shtick.

“Well, we didn't pick you.” Daisy's reaction… i am heartbroken. but also, SHIELD doesn't really pick who's in charge? It's who's next in command. Simmons was top brass in season 4 when Mace (and Coulson! and Mack!) were gone–see 4x10–and no one batted an eye. Why's it an issue when it's Daisy this time around?

“Coulson made that decision and brought you back when he could have broken that loop right there!” didn’t Daisy say something similar like ten episodes ago? i get why they disagree with killing Ruby but this, take it up with Coulson. Daisy didn’t want it either, but here we are.

“Yes, I made that decision.” THANK YOU

“As far as we can tell, both the Lighthouse and River's End have been cut off from the rest of the world.” even the town? how are people reacting up there? also note the flying alien shrimp (i’m sorry that ship looks like a damn shrimp) is casting shadows, shouldn’t someone do damage control or something?

“I am so stupid. Why am I still in here?” / “I'm sure there's a way around that.” LOL the timing

“So one flying saucer, probably no big deal.” it was a donut, Coulson, and that one’s descending on downtown Manhattan as we speak (oh shit things are getting Real this Early i hadn't thought of that). again, i maintain that this ship here looks like a SHRIMP

“You know I may run away, but I always come back to where I started.” / “I know. I just don't know if I'll be here when you do.” WHOA king dropped it a little bit cold. man, i don’t like this fighting. stop it!

“I can't tell you if what you did was right or wrong. That's up to you to decide. But it doesn't just change you. It changes how people see you. And the only thing you can do is make peace with it.” yeah, i’m with May here.

“…our most powerful team member's gone.” i love every time someone acknowledges Daisy's strength just… this is an asian woman. i need a breather i’ve never had this before

“I killed Ruby for nothing. […] I could've warned myself about a lot of things. Ruby, Hale, these aliens but instead she told me… ‘Coulson is dying, and we need to let him.’” that's a good point. of everything, her warning is of Coulson dying. why. say, if Yo-yo hadn’t killed Ruby, Hale doesn’t sell them out, the Remorath doesn’t come, where does the centipede serum/odium kick in? unless there’s no version of events where Yo-yo doesn’t kill ruby. right okay that makes more sense

“Weird kid. Drew me a picture of a blue lady juggling someone's balls.” / “Pretty sure they were her balls.” okay lol i don’t remember this- OH SINARA 😭 that came out differently

“Garrett's cocktail had an extra healing component that was designed and developed by the Nazis, so that's impossible to get.” i can’t think of how personal this fight is to Daisy. destroyer of worlds being a Whitehall program, John Garrett, who was a head of Hydra they went up against on her FIRST days as a SHIELD agent, had not only centipede serum, which was how Daisy got into shield in the first place, but also Jiaying's DNA, her mom’s dna, (half of her own DNA*) keeping him alive, the reason why Ward was undercover at Coulson's team, which was then the GH-325 from the Kree corpse who was on its way to the Kree City where Inhumans initally went through Terrigenesis, where she went through the mist, not to mention Gideon Malick's capture (and death, all aided and abetted by Hive) setting Hale's plans with the Confederacy in motion after initiating contact from the Battle of New York all the way from the Avengers (which also happened in Daisy's ‘home state’ and where Coulson got killed, setting all of 1x01 up) and mechs guarding Hale's Hydra line of work (Ivanov just got put down for good like, two episodes ago)… i need a minute to wrap my head around all this

“Then let's light 'em up. I always wanted to say that.” of course you did

“Remorons.” 😭

“That is insane. I mean, it's a miracle you survived all that with just one scar?” Davis’s “Boom, you looking for this?” era

“Congratulations. You have survived the nuclear apocalypse. The planet is safe again.” love how they put this in the end as some sort of ‘you win!’ message from a game

lol i remember seeing this for the first time three years ago being bummed and disinterested because daisy was only in it for like three scenes, i think this almost made me quit the show lmao

*also why I initially thought the Centipede serum's power augmentation effect was permanent with Daisy. The science fiction babble here is that the Centipede serum's basically a catalyst for either the healing capabilities of Jiaying's DNA–which was a unique component of Garrett's Centipede serum (yikes)–or the adrenaline high-self-destruct ones of the Odium. As Jiaying's direct descendant, the serum could've impacted Daisy permanently, yes? but i also get why it didn't, because, again, as Jiaying's descendant, the same thing with the GH-325 happened: no adverse effects with anything that was already there. Makes sense, considering Garrett was past saving with the Centipede serum (he had to be pumped with GH-325) whereas all injuries Daisy sustained throughout 5B (psychological and emotional notwithstanding) became nonexistent. but what i love about this is that, ultimately, her mom saved her just then. Jiaying was able to do right by her daughter in the end. and i'm glad she gets that, at the very least.

[queen-daya]

FitzSimmons in Every Episode 26

Season 5/Episodes 17-20

Side note: if you look through the subtitles of the last gif you can see Iain de caestecker and Elizabeth Henstridge 😂

[fitzsimmonsfamily]

#protective wife and nana

[fitzsimmonssource]

[mspirations]

Daisy Johnson

"All Roads Lead..." - 5x18

"The One Who Will Save Us All"- 5x20

"The Force of Gravity" - 5x21

"The End" - 5x22

[queen-of-love-and-beauty]

Coulson, Mack, and Deke having boys’ time is hilarious. Especially because Coulson and Mack are just dying at Deke’s helplessness 😹😹😹

The boys vs. girls vibe of this episode is the perfect counter balance to all the serious stuff happening.

May and Daisy putting Coulson on house arrest shows who’s really the boss 😜