#arc 3 flashback one-shot

[silly-goofy-mood]

If I had a nickel for every time Bombyx Mori named an animal Lathe in a one-shot, I'd have two nickels. Which is not a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice!

[altruisticlighthouse]

Okay

Fine

I’ll re-listen to Lathe’s Letters and cry

[neominthe]

SPOILERS FOR SCTIR FOR +CH 200

CW: (possibly) Eating disorder ED, depression

Something that keeps me awake at night: at the beggining of the story, Yoohyun's death isn't so painful for the viewers, because we only see what is on the surface of the Han brothers' life. It's through memories and flashbacks that we get to learn 3 facts: Yoojin dedicated his entire life to Yoohyun, they parted ways and in the end they reunited, only for one of them die. That's the introduction of SCTIR for us. Moreover, Yoojin is desesperate to leave the past behind, so he doesn't linger on his traumatic memories for too long, hence why the pain of reading SCTIR isn't instant.

It is gradual.

Yoojin and we learn that the past was never erased. It still happened, and exists in the form of Yoohyun's body out in the cold. Gradually, it becomes more apparent how Yoojin is still so affected by his previous life, despite his fear resistance skill. It starts with small things like him avoiding eating unless someone tells him to do so, always occupying himself with tasks that could be handled by someone else, negative thoughts about himself for every single action he takes and so on. I love, with all my heart, the manhwa, but the novel makes it so much more apparent how Yoojin loathes himself, to the point he keeps wishing he wasn't a human being, rather an item for his brother to use. It's so messed up to want to abandon all your humanity, feelings and concept of self just so you can be of help.

SCTIR is fun to read, but even more so with the unreliable narrator that is Yoojin. He sees what he does as nothing impressive, considering the people he is surrounded with, despite running the kisengsu facility, negotiating with the hair loss company to develop a new product, managing Seok Hayan's research team, mantaining diplomatic ties with Japan, training and helping other hunters and, most importantly, caring for all the S classes. He worries for their well-being because it's only natural for him to do so, as the Perfect Caregiver.

And, in the middle of it all, the only thing Yoojin spares for himself is hate. He doesn't want to live long for himself, but rather for Yoohyun, even though Yoojin already has been through the pain of loss. When Yoojin died in chapter 241, the first thing that he thought was Yoohyun. He didn't even think about how much it hurted dying (with a freaking shot on the head)! He just wanted to reunite and soothe Yoohyun that he was okay.

Speaking of which, in Sigma's arc, as Yoojin was alone, he really stopped caring for his well-being, so Sung Hyunjae took that role and did everything he could to help Yoojin. But, for him to even have to create a quest just so Yoojin could eat is what sparked my lizard brain to write this post.

My point is, there isn't an arc dedicated for recovery (at least until the chapter I have read that is like, ~300) and that is beautiful, because Yoojin is still processing what he went through, and we get to see that. Yoojin has such an interesting character arc as he begins wanting to forget the past, as it is too painful, to start running after it. He can't let go of it, because letting it go means letting his little brother go too. Which is why he says he will never be okay again in chapter 278.

[space-blue]

Arcane 2 Trailer time!

Imagine this chick comes into your office and tells you what to do? What are you gonna do?? Tell her no?????

Overall Ambessa and Sevika are really making this season MILF o'clock.

It would seem that early season will focus on Jinx terrorist time...

This is sadly the only LoL skin she could afford...

If you like Cait AND you like your women in pain/getting squeeze like they're a pineapple in the werewolf fucking press, then it seems this season is going to be for you. But Cait isn't the only one having a bad time, seems like Heimerdinger losing his day job led to some relaxation of his principles:

Now focusing on Ekko, who we know is helping Heimer:

This has a chain to pull a mechanism, and we see some similar thing being pulled by an unknown character, just a much thicker chain.

These shots of the Firelights attacking AMBESSA's people lead me to believe that the story may look like > Councillors listen to Ambessa > The tensions with Zaun escalate > Jinx terrorism instead of resolution > Vi sees this as failure and returns to Zaun to try another way > Ambessa doesn't take no for an answer > everyone teams up against Noxus, bringing Zaun and Piltover together again.

By hair alone we can see a timeskip here. Love Ekko's outfit. Vi's simpler style with just a bit of Piltie chest armour gives me hope that she transitions away from being a Piltie Enforcer and more of a Vander style character, trying to mediate.

Notice how dark her roots are???? I am wondering because LOOK:

She has black hair!! With reddish tips?

SO THIS MEANS THIS IS VI'S NEW LOOK:

And this last shot confirms it! RHEA RIPPLEY makeover!!!!

PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLESAEPLEASE BE REAL please don't be an inforcer don't be a cop please be cool please have an arc learn progress return to your people don't be a class traitor I beg I begwaah

My only criticism of this is that we now have 2 options: Either Vi is entering her goth era and is actively dyeing everything sloppily so that bits of Pink remain, or she has always been black haired, and has been dyeing her hair AND eyebrows pink her whole life, even as a child.

I get that it could be a cultural thing parents do, as my friend En suggested. I'd like this, if it weren't for the fact she was in stillwater for YEARS and I don't see them providing pink dye and a nice setup to bleach and dye safely...

Curious to see how it goes.

At this I screamed "Silco????" But not sure now. Seems too far off to be a Jinx vision.

There's also fucky things going on with the Arcane. We're told it's "waking up", which is curious because I was assuming mages across Runeterra were using the Arcane lots for their own magic, so very happy to learn more about it.

Also very cool to see a return of the wizard guy from Jayce's backstory:

Very excited for these depictions of magic :

Free feet included.

I'm pretty amazed that we have seen Zero Mel and Zero Jayce, and just 2-3 frames of hinted Viktor. Nice to see he'll go through with the transformation, but I'm curious as to why they're keeping the jeyvik divorce era so out of promo. Some of my friends feeling very edged right now.

Wondering if this is baby Powder flashbacks, or if we're going to get little kids getting dyed blue in celebration as we see adults do when they team up with her. I suspect if this is a kiddo who wanted to be blue like Jinx, this will be used as a parrallel, with them being caught in an attack that harkens back to the bridge.

The visual effects look insanely gorgeous, and also Jinx's very bad time tm is always on the menu. Very exciting!

[totallynotokguys]

Lego Monkie Kid Rewatch: Season 3

Episode 9, The King, the Prince, the Shadow Part 2/2

"Does anyone else feel like-" "We've been here before? Yeah. Its weird, right? But- I ah- know I haven't." "Me neither. And yet this place feels so familiar." "Nah. Not me, man. This is all new to me."

Remember when I said that a lot of characters keep wrongly comparing MK to Wukong, like MK is supposed to be the next Wukong. Well…. that wasn't just at the characters. That was at us the fans too. Up until this season, I too just thought of MK as the next Monkey King. It just felt right. Pigsy was Zhu Bajie, Tang Tang Sanzang, Mei as Ao Lie, and Sandy as Sha Wujing. Simplistically, I assumed MK was supposed to be this new version's Monkey King. But he's not. He's not like the rest. He's not part of their story- at least he wasn't supposed to be.

MK was never meant to be here... to experience this, or them. And this season is when the show really starts opening our eyes to it.

(Also… I think this proves pretty definitively that Sandy is not the still alive Sha Wujing. With his flashback in To Catch a Leaf, I was so sure. I mean, look at those old looking weaponry?!)

(But unless Sha Wujing has amnesia that conveniently lets him forget the Samadhi Fire incident, than he really is just the reincarnation instead of the original.)

"It is on brand for you to have a worse version of everyone elses powers."

Ouch. Also… is this a hint at Macaque having been a clone of Wukong once upon a time? Like, in Shadow Play, Macaque chooses to feature a lot of Wukong and his clones for some reason, especially when speaking of the Warrior and Hero being a team. Strangely, some of those clones look an awful lot like Macaque.

Or could this be a hint at season 5 where its revealed Macaque's shadow powers are more like certain other being who shall not be named for sake of spoilers?

Loud Annoying Wukong: "What? You got what you wanted, didn't you? Not going to gloat, monologue a little bit before scurrying off to your master?"

Inner Panicking Wukong: "Ah drat! He's totally gonna know those are fake. Quick! I gotta distract him into wasting more time!"

"Wukong!"

I'm pretty sure that's Ne Zha's favourite word. He says it almost every second. Might even be his catch phrase.

"Oh, so the piece of paper just magically made a bunch of light!" "That's exactly what happened and you know it!"

Ah, I love these two.

"Stop! If you hurt that kid I'll-" "What. Make things worse for MK?"

Like I said last time, bad hero, good mentor. He cares about MK more than anything else right now. This same kind of protective passion has happened before, back in the Journey to the West. Wukong is good at devoting himself to one person, and tolerating everyone else for the sake of that person.

"Glowy mystic symbol thingies are always never good!"

Proceeds to touch said glowy mystic symbol thingies.

AWWWW! Tang trying to protect Mei!

I love the majority of the adults in this show. They do their best to help the kiddos and protect them, even when those kiddo's are typically more powerful than them. Tang, Pigsy, and Sandy understand that young one's always need to be cared for.

THIS SHOT THIS SHOT THIS SHOT!

I totally missed this shot the first time around! OH MY GOSHNESS SANDY I LOvE YOU!

Once again Macaque forgets about Mei.

I'm starting to see why she and Macaque were put in a team together in season 4. She is, strangely enough, his blind spot.

And once again I am shaking my head at the way the show treated Macaque's supposed redemption arc. Look at the way he's treating her, the way he's treating them all! The fear and pain he causes them!

Bashes MK repeatedly into the ground until he is unconscious.

Threatens Mei's life while holding her by the throat.

Forces the parental figures to watch their kids get ruined.

Forces Tang to choose the life of his friends over the sake of the world.

The trauma this guy is causing them- and they just never bring it up? Mei should have held the largest grudge Katara style until Macaque made it up to her! Tang should be absolutely afraid to go near Macaque after the moral trauma the simian caused him. Pigsy should throw a spoon at him every time he darkens his door way with all his ping pong master might. Sandy should constantly keep Macaque between himself and the kids as a protective barrier everytime the shadow comes around.

Until Macaque makes it up to them, apologizes and tries to do right by them all... they should have continued to treat him with fear, anger, and wariness.

"But he was under LBD control' you say. 'He had no choice."

No he wasn't. This threatening, this danger he puts them in? That was for his own gain. Macaque wanted the Samadhi Fire to escape LBD. He was in control of his actions here. He was going to take the power needed to break her control over him and then dip, leaving the mortals to parish under LDB's rule. Sure, he was probably in pain and obviously scared for his life- but that doesn't excuse the choices he made and the trauma he caused.

It's like Macaque said last episode. You have to look out for yourself, no one else.

[pixi4]

**OBX SPOILERS**

Can we talk about the fact that Obx4 is not about good plot, writing or character based story. It's about shock value and fan service.

JJ Maybank, who literally hasn't had a moment of happiness in the 4th season, gets killed by the end so that were shocked and hooked for the next season.

We get one shot of him dead, his friends barely even crying and them BOOM gets buried in the fucking ground in the place that's not even his home, literally plopped into the fucking ground like a piece of rock. Audiences don't even get time to process his random ass death and suddenly John Bs stupid ass monologue shows the flashbacks of JJ and how he was a good friend and all that shit.

If people who WROTE this fucking show can't understand that JJs character goes FAR beyond just being a good friend, then I guess I'm not even surprised by the end.

We were CONSTANTLY shown aspects of JJ that in some other universe would've been properly explored. He's clutches his chest constantly, perhaps suggesting he's got a heart thing or breathing difficulty, his home life is shit and not a single adult gives a fuck. John B is practically stalked by the CPS in season 1, but no one bat's an eye at the fact that Luke abuses JJ. He's got dyslexia and kleptomania which is only ever played for laughs meanwhile Cleos kleptomania is regarded as a serious thing she had to do to survive. He can never sit still and constantly switches back and forth, obviously ADHD coded. Whenever gang argued before, JJ used to pace around and put hands over his ears suggesting he has some bits of PTSD from unstable home environment.

All of THAT exists and is true about JJ yet in John B fucking monologue he's reduced to just "a good friend" ????

Literally NOTHING of his trauma is explored or even touched upon aside from that bit in season 1. NO ONES trauma is explored except for Sarah's (no hate to her) and John Bs.

Fuckin bs.

Imagine being given up by your dad (who killed your mother btw) to a morally questionable man such as Luke, who then proceeds to beat you and emotionally manipulate and torment your for years, neglecting you and abusing you. To then suddenly being told you're not actually his and that all that beating and abuse COULD'VE been avoided had someone actually wanted you. Then you meet the said biological father only for him to lie to you, manipulate you, gaslight you, scam you, attempt to kill you once and then fucking succeed in killing you..... The amount of disrespect for JJs character.

Fuckin Luke, the biggest abuser is JJs story is alive and well and FUCKING JAIL FREE??? WHILE JJ IS IN THE GROUND???

The angry faces of others and Kiaras "revenge" implies that season 5 will be about seeking revenge and sinking further into darkness in order to right the wrongs of JJs murder. But guess what?? Sarah's pregnant. That storyline itself is basically ensuring that happy ending is in sight. For basically all of them, because as Kie said: takes a village (to raise a baby). Motherly vibes are gonna spread their positive energy and then they'll heal and John B will most likely give another boring ass monologue about how People die but they also live and heal and shit and how everybody deserves happiness with shots of the gang raising the kid and riding off into the sunset....

Guess who fucking deserved happy ending THE MOST out of all of them???

JJ fucking Maybank.

Every season of obx focuses on on Pogue. 1.- John B, 2.-Pope, 3.- Kie. Imagine waiting for your own season only for your character to constantly be dealt the worst of cards, be perpetually disregarded and have shit go from worse to worse to in the end fucking die randomly???? If I was Rudy Pankow I'd fuckin sue.

The shit that pisses me off the most is that it's so painfully obvious that Rafe will inevitably get a redemption arc and his own happy ending, possibly even with Kie since people love to ship her with a man who's a) mentally and emotionally not at all alright b) is a murderer who never served his time and got one of her friends framed for it causing him to literally be chased out of his own home for crime he did not commit while he was still a minor c) has tried to kill her d) has tried to kill her best fucking friend, who is his own fucking sister

Infatuation with sociopath men in media HAS to stop. But it most likely will not stop any time soon and JJ is yet another victim of shipping wars.

I can't even read stupid ass fanfics anymore because I'll always remember that JJ is not alive in the Canon anymore.

Who ever gave the green light in the making of the end of season 4, sincerely and disrespectfully, I fucking hate you.

My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.

[copperphysics106]

The Terror OST

So... unfortunately, I don't have permission to post my terror soundtrack video. It bummed me out because I've been working on this for a month now, but I probably should've checked that beforehand, right? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Ah well.

Regardless, I spent all that time finding where tracks play, with help from the Cold Boys Fandom Club website and some people on Tumblr (💗) so I might as well just post that here now so if anyone is still searching where each track plays, this is everything I could find and match up.

Last Morning Watch VI.: Plays during Terror and Erebus introductions.

Last Morning Watch V.: Crozier focuses on the sun dogs.

Last Draughts, Last Best Efforts IX.: Crozier examines maps in his quarters, before the theater flashback.

LM-118: Diving scene intercut with Young's autopsy. (Library Music)

Last Morning Watch IV.: Young is buried and Sir John gives his eulogy. This song also plays in Episode 10, when Hickey and Crozier discuss why he was kidnapped.

Last Draughts, Last Best Efforts XIII.: Sir John wakes up to the ships being icelocked.

Last Draughts, Last Best Efforts VIII.: Graham Gore's lead party climbs up the ice ridge. Irving meets with and trades with Koveyook.

Birth of Liquid Plejades: Gore's lead party write in the victory point note. (Zeit)

Liquid Fire: Silna's father is shot and Gore is killed. (Schattenspieler)

Goetia: Sir John's eulogy, delivered by Crozier.

Gambuh I: Lady Jane speaks to the Admiralty.

Untitled 090616: Hickey finds tobacco in his hammock. (Schattenspieler)

Last Morning Watch II.: Edward goes to retrieve Silna from Erebus.

Last Fixed Position XVI.: Blanky is chased by the Tuunbaq.

Last Fixed Position XVII.: Silna eats a seal.

Last Heat, Last Exertions XXI.: Blanky describes what happened at Fury Beach to Fitzjames.

Last Heat, Last Exertions XXIII.: Crozier speaks to the crew about walking out while Stanley preps his plan.

Planchette: Stanley lights himself on fire at Carnivale. Also plays when Hickey offers his tongue to Tuunbaq. (Exercises in Estrangement)

Tenebrous: Hickey stabs Irving. (Schattenspieler)

Last Heat, Last Exertions XX.: Irving's autopsy, Hodgson is questioned.

Last Heat, Last Exertions XXII.: Tuunbaq attacks Terror Camp.

Brohm Ridge: Hodgson recounts a perfect moment to Goodsir. (coast / range / arc//)

Last Morning Watch VII.: Blanky finds the Northwest Passage.

Last Draughts, Last Best Efforts X. (andantino): Plays multiple times in the show. Goodsir talks to Collins about Carnivale; Collins notices the Peruvian as Bridgens diagnoses Peglar; Bridgens lays down to die.

The Eroding (Fairytale Music 3): Goodsir's suicide. (Air Texture II)

Last Heat, Last Exertions XXIV.: Tuunbaq's death.

Polar Sirens: Crozier and Silna search the remainders of Crozier's men. (Erebus & Terror)

The Gates of Paradise - I & II: The ending, with Crozier sitting by the seal hole. (The Gates of Paradise)

Albums/Links:

The Last Sunset of the Year / Schattenspieler / Exercises in Estrangement / The Word as Power / Library Music / Air Texture II / Erebus & Terror / The Gates of Paradise / coast / range / arc// / Zeit

This list isn't everything, as there are definitively some songs missing; notably, off the top of my head: the main title theme, the song that plays during Sir John's death, and the song that plays after Collins has taken the Peruvian, etc.

A lot of songs repeat in the show, I listed scenes they appeared in or are easiest to remember.

I swear that I saw the latter song on YouTube at one point but it's seemingly been taken down and I can't remember what it's called anymore, unfortunately. There's also a lot of ambient tracks that I simply can't find and aren't present on the album, sadly; a lot of tracks were used in the show that aren't on the internet it seems, or if they are, buried REAL deep lol. So unless the list is released officially, I don't really have a way to get ahold of the tracks that play in some of these scenes:

Orren's death (Ep1)

The lead parties set off (Ep2)

Gore's party find the overturned boat (Ep2)

The men play soccer (Ep2)

Collins' soul consumed (Ep8)

Hickey sighting the Tuunbaq through spyglass (Ep10)

Of course, if you've recognized any tracks yourself, let me know and I'll add it to the list!

[silvergreenseraphim]

The Relationship Between Glenn and Rufus

[Ultimania Screenshot Removed Until Square Enix Lifts Copyright Strikes]

Glenn, a messenger from Wutai, appears often before Rufus. Though their conversations suggest that the two were old acquaintances, the exact nature of their relationship remains a mystery. Here is a summary of their meaningful exchanges and the relationship between them and Wutai as depicted in related works.

In the small box, it has some information on Rufus and Team Glenn’s connections to Wutai.

In "FVII Before Crisis", four years ago, Rufus lent a hand to the Wutai-based Avalanche.

Glenn comes into contact with Sephiroth, who was dispatched to Wutai seven years ago, in the opening of "The First Soldier" arc of "FFVII Ever Crisis".

Matt and Lucia, who were Glenn's colleagues (introduced by Yuffie in CHAPTER 7 as the "three ex-soldiers"), appear as captains in flashback scenes of the original Avalanche soldiers.

A small text wall next to Glenn’s death scene says:

When Rufus heard Glenn's name in Junon, a vision of him shooting a man flashes through his mind.

Text wall beside the “Please contact Captain Matt” dialogue says:

It appears that Matt and Lucia were participating in the operation to attack the Shinra Building.

-

Examples of Important Conversations Between Glenn and Rufus

[Ultimania Screenshot Removed Until Square Enix Lifts Copyright Strikes]

Rufus: "You're alive?"

Glenn: "Most certainly dead.”

(This was a bit of dialogue in the game that was difficult to translate. If anyone has a correction for it, please let me know. It appears that Glenn says he is “Dead, of course” to Rufus’ statement).

Rufus is surprised at Glenn's survival, and Glenn responds with a laugh. It sounds like a joking response, but based on his later words and actions, it may not be a joke at all.

-

Rufus: "The Governor will not stand on such a poor set.”

Glenn: "I see! Growing up a young master/rich kid is so bothersome.”

Rufus said these words as if he knew Sufur’s personality well. Glenn calls Sufur a rich kid/brat, but in Junon, he also mocked Rufus, saying, “Fond of (drawing) visions as ever, young master/rich kid).”

(I once again have been trying to receive help on this specific line because the connection here is how Glenn calls both Sufur and Rufus “Botchan,” which is an interesting term for a rich young master or boy. More in this in another post).

Glenn & Sephiroth: "Our 'Promised Land' will be born." Good (for you), you’ve succeeded your father.”

In the commentary scene, Sephiroth's appearance and voice overlap with Glenn, implying that Glenn's actions up to that point were in line with Sephiroth's intentions.”

Glenn: “As good at shooting people in the back as ever.”

A line that suggests that Rufus once shot Glenn in the back. It is also revealed in this scene that the person who had been thought to be Glenn was one of those in the black cloaks.

-

My translations are rough at the moment because I am hurrying, but I trust that I was able to get the essential parts accurate.

This is not much new information but I would say it confirms some things.

-

1. Glenn is dead.

2. It was a black cloak in line with Sephiroth’s intentions. Based on the other instances where black cloaks interact with Cloud with Sephiroth’s intentions, it is safe to say that this was also Sephiroth. A part of his will perhaps.

3. There is nothing suggesting that this was Jenova, as some were saying.

4. Sephiroth heavily mocks Rufus at every chance he gets and appears to hate him passionately.

5. Glenn came in contact with Sephiroth 7 years after Sephiroth was dispatched to Wutai. This is the opening of the First Soldier.

6. Rufus and the Before Crisis plot of his involvement with Avalanche has been confirmed.

-

[nekohime19]

Macaque study # S4

So here we go for Macaque in season 4! There will be a lot to say this time too. Especially since season 4 offers us very interesting flashbacks about the brotherhood and how they interacted together!

We established that after season 3 Macaque did right most of his wrong by accepting MK's offer. I do think a verbal apology would be good, and that's probably why a lot of people feel like Macaque didn't redeem himself, but actions also spoke volumes. Macaque saved MK twice and his character arc is not over yet!

S4 ep2

In this episode we get our first flashback of the brotherhood. It's rather interesting to see how Macaque was in the past.

With the first frames of the flashback we already know that Macaque was rather reserved contrary to the other member of the brotherhood.

In those two very similar shots we see how Macaque is totally obscured by Yellow-Tusk bulky form as they burst out laughing. This tells us Macaque is a rather quiet individual who isn't as loud as the others and perhaps that he doesn't have a place yet within the brotherhood.

Macaque is also the only one who expresses his worry about the brotherhood plan. I think it's a great callback to his JTTW counterpart and his ability to hear the future, because we know that Macaque is right here. Macaque has always been a very cautious individual with a very good foresight, but he wasn't listened to. We see how Wukong prefers to goof around rather than listen to him.

I think it's also interesting to see how Macaque doesn't answer to Peng's quip about his cowardice.

He's angry about it, like we can see in this shot, but he's still in the background, obscured by Yellow-Tusk form, and he doesn't say a word back. This shows how Macaque wasn't a very confrontational individual. He didn't like to argue or fight. Maybe he didn't even want to bother himself because he knew changing Peng's mind wasn't possible.

In the same scene, Macaque is the only one who doesn't applaud or doesn't give any praises to Azure Lion when the others insist that Azure should be on the throne. But he also doesn't say anything or does not express any validation when Azure says Wukong should instead be on the throne.

Macaque is the only one here who doens't raise his glasses or burst out laughing.

I think it tells how Macaque doesn't believe in Azure ideals, but he also knows Wukong and doens't expressly thinks Wukong is a good choice for the throne.

In the end, the only one capable of changing Macaque mind and stopping him from worrying is Wukong.

Wukong : relax bud. When this is over we'll be back here basking in the sun and getting fat on fruits for the rest of, well, forever ! Like we always wanted.

Macaque : whatever you say, Wukong.

I think it's interesting how Macaque smile the moment Wukong says “like we always wanted”. Because that's probably what is the most important for Macaque, their shared dream. Not the brotherhood dream but the dream he shares with Wukong and only Wukong. Macaque is probably reassured by this, reassured that Wukong didn't lose sight of their shared desire and didn't let his quest of power blind him. Here Wukong shows that even though he let Azure feeds his ego, his dream is not the throne but a peaceful life with his bud.

And so Macaque abandons the subject, not because he's convinced that the brotherhood ideal is good, not because he believes in Azure's dream, but because he believes in Wukong. Macaque is in the brotherhood for Wukong, for this peaceful dream he shares with Wukong, he was never instered by anything other than Wukong and that's probably why he doens't even try to befriend the brotherhood.

But at the same time, Macaque is too quick to abandon the subject. He never put himself forward, maybe he's not even willing to oppose Wukong. He's putting himself in Wukong's shadows, perhaps even unconsciously.

The phrasing “Wathever you say, Wukong” does have the underlying meaning that Macaque would agree no matter what Wukong says, because he believes in Wukong more than anyone else in this world, he probably believes in Wukong more than he believe in himself.

I would like to point out that while LMK do takes a lot of liberties with JTTW, the Six-eared Macaque being a part of the brotherhood was actually a theory discussed before LMK even came out by Lam (2005). The Six-eared Macaque would be in fact the Macaque King seen in the beginning of the novel and one of Sun Wukong sworn brothers (In Anthony Yue traduction of JTTW the Macaque King is translated as “Monkey Queen” but that's just a matter of traduction, in the French version I've read the Macaque King is indeed male.)

Here is a very interesting article if you want to know more about JTTW Macaque :

S2 ep5

Macaque appears briefly in this episode, once again in a flashback taking place in the brotherhood era, presumably after the battle with the Jade Emperor and their inevitable loss.

Yellow-Tusk and Peng are discussing Wukong's betrayal and how he chose the other side, but we can see that Macaque is physically away from them, there is a distance between them that indicates a conflict of opinions. Macaque doesn't think like them.

Peng : You're characteristically quiet, Macaque

Macaque : I just think we should consider all our options before we-

And Peng cut him before he could end his sentence. Once again, Macaque is never listened to, his opinions are brushed aside (interesting to notice that Wukong wasn't the only one not listening to Macaque, everyone was constantly ignoring him despite his good foresight). Moreover, Peng confirms Macaque's quiet nature when they calls him “characteristically quiet.” But I do think it's interesting to see Macaque lingering with the brotherhood, he probably joined them only because of Wukong but still he's part of the group and does not abandon them once Wukong is captured, he still tries to talk and reason, even if it leads to nothing.

Macaque probably walked out of the brotherhood after this exchange. Fueled by DBK example who most likely left once he met PIF on the battlefield, Macaque decided that, since nobody listened to him, he would go search for Wukong himself.

The brotherhood was a toxic group where nobody truly listened to the others.

Yellow-Tusk, while wise at times, never stepped up until it was too late.

Peng only wanted to prove their strength and kept insulting Macaque (perhaps by fear of Macaque surpassing them or by frustration of Macaque potential being wasted in Wukong's shadow).

Azure was blinded by his admiration of Wukong and put him on a pedestal without considering his flaws. If Azure saw Wukong for who he truly was instead of his idolized version, he would have known Wukong wasn't meant for the throne.

Wukong joined only to feed his ego and got lost in his search for power.

Macaque never stood up for himself and quieted himself by fear of opposing Wukong.

All in all DBK was the healthiest out of all of them and that's probably why he walked out of this toxic group the moment he met someone who truly cared for him : PIF.

S4 ep 9

Macaque appears at the end of the episode and it's the first time in the whole season that we see him in the present, and not just him through a flashback.

MK is talking about Wukong to a lil monkey after his outburst, very much projecting onto him.

MK : Do you think Monkey King ever felt like this? Maybe that's why he stayed on this mountain, just having a good time with you guys. Cause you know he'd be out of the way where he couldn't hurt anyone he cared about.

Macaque : Or he was doing his usual Wukong thing being a lazy peach eating idiot, ignoring all the world's problems.

It's interesting to notice that Macaque appears throughout his shadow powers, MK's surroundings turn purple and Macaque figures slither in the darkness without really revealing himself. His voice also echoes all around the place, making him seem everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Something that gives him a very menacing feeling.

And once again, even if he's “redeemed” , Macaque 's spite towards Wukong didn't lessen and he does whatever he can to darken Wukong's image. After we saw how Macaque treated Wukong in the past and seemed to greatly admire him, I think it's not far-fetched to suppose Macaque sees himself in the way MK idolizes Wukong. And that's perhaps why he tries so hard to break this image MK has of Wukong, because beyond the obvious spite, Macaque doesn't want this image that betrayed him to persist. But at the same time, Macaque is building another image of Wukong who is as twisted and false as the idolized version.

When someone hurts you it's always easier to tell yourself this person never cared about you, because in a way it's more terrifying to admit people who care about you can hurt you willingly. I think that's mainly why Macaque is trying so hard to keep this image of Wukong, the image of someone lazy who doesn't care about anything but power, because it's easier for him to process, it's also easier for him to hate Wukong if he sees him in that light.

I think it's also important to notice that Macaque came for MK, it portrays a certain amount of care from the reserved monkey.

Despite being “redeemed” in the previous season Macaque is still portrayed as an ominous figure. MK's reaction is also a testament of how Macaque's character is not blindly accepted by the “good guy” team.

MK : stop if you're here to mess with me then… Go for it guy. I don't care anymore.

MK first took a defensive pose before giving up and letting Macaque do whatever he came here for. This shows that while very forgiving MK didn't forget Macaque's past as a villain (and perhaps the betrayal he went through) and is still quite cautious around him.

But still there is a certain amount of trust between them, Macaque still proved himself last season and that's probably why MK abandonn his defensive pose so fast.

Macaque : You know it's not fun when you say it loud. Nice tail by the way, that's new.

MK doesn't answer Macaque's light taunt and keeps staring in the distance. Once Macaque sees that MK is going through a very odd and straining situation he stops trying to question him and instead choose to show MK something :

Macaque : Come on, misery kid, I got something to show you.

I think Macaque lil pun on MK's name (Misery Kid) is quite funny considering the situation but also shows a certain amount of familiarity.

This scene is important because it shows the ambiguity of Macaque character. Despite being redeemed, he didn't become a “good guy” and instead still sticks to his taunts and ominous entrances. Macaque is not blindly accepted by the team, he's not an enemy anymore, but it would be far fetched to call him an ally. It's a natural progression of his character after last season.

It's also interesting to notice that Macaque is probably lurking on FFM, he could have stayed in his dojo (which we saw in s1) and yet chose to stay where his “enemy” (Wukong) rules. Macaque undoubtedly cares for this place and might even consider it home despite Wukong presence. And Wukong probably knew Macaque was lurking on FFM and didn't do anything to throw him away, this is a silent olive branch in its own way. Wukong accepts Macaque presence on his land but doesn't go all the way to welcome him either.

S4 ep 10

The episode starts with MK playing a video game created by Macaque. I think it's really funny how Macaque's video game is very similar to Wukong own video game that we saw in the earlier season. It makes you wonder if Macaque snopped around Wukong's house, saw the video game and decided to do the same.

They're also both in Wukong's house as we can see in this shot :

Macaque obisouly came here before if his video game work so well on Wukong’s consol, this shows a certain amount of familiarity. I personally think Macaque lurked around and inside Wukong home while Wukong wasn't here. The lil monkey is also very familiar with Macaque. I think it's a neat lil detail considering Macaque in JTTW wasn't very upcoming with Wukong's subject (he ate one after Wujing killed it, and while carnivorous tendencies can be common within monkey, macaques are not known for this. I personally think that, more than an act of cruelty, this act was made to contrast with Wukong pure breath stated in the previous chapters of JTTW. A show of how JTTW Macaque didn't want to pursue Buddhism for its teaching but only for glory).

Gotta love how Macaque is so proud of his anime-style drawings. Also did Macaque voice everything in his game? Cause I can't get over him saying “How would I provide for my starving family now??”, 😭😂.

Obviously the video game doesn't catch on with MK, and he leaves the house feeling even more frustrated. I do love the way Macaque rolls his eyes at MK's dramatic way of leaving, like you aren't dramatic Macaque. But beyond that it does show us a more genuine side of Macaque, he's a grumpy dude.

Macaque : Alright Misery Kid, you were supposed to realize by now that the choices the game is giving you aren't the only choices you've got. Life isn't some pre-written thing like a video game where you have to do what the tutorial says.

MK : ok, well, kinda a weird convoluted way to make a point don't you think?

Macaque : Whatever, point is it's time to start making your own choices. Something I wish I learned a lot sooner than I did. You don't want to fight Azure cause people might get hurt, you don't want to not fight him cause people might get hurt. Then do something else. Only you got to decide who you are kiddo.

Lots to unpack there!

First, I can't help but think Macaque’s video game is made to mirror Wukong's. In Wukong’s game, MK learned his lesson (that sometimes you can't rush into a battle and you can use something else than brute force) through the tutorial (the game figure of Wukong). And here Macaque specifically says “life isn't some pre-written thing like a video game where you have to do what the tutorial says”. I do think it's on brand for Macaque to create an entire game to challenge Wukong's way of teaching. Besides the spite, I do think Macaque is right, MK doesn't have to follow the tutorial (Wukong), he can make his own choices, he can separates himself from the idol he's been chasing for so long and stop putting himself to the same standard, because he's not the same person.

Second, I like how MK's sarcastic remark can be linked to Macaque's very shady lesson in season 2. Macaque really is not very good at being upfront with his teaching (probably because he's always trying to spite Wukong while doing it, one way or another, and it makes his teaching confusing).

Third, oh boy, Macaque saying that you have to make your own choices with a faded drawing of Macaque and Wukong in their respective drawing style.

Macaque indeed never truly made his own choices in the past. He always chooses to follow Wukong rather than his own instinct and opinions. Wukong was the one to lead, and Macaque was the one to follow. I think it's telling how Macaque says “something I wish I've learned a lot sooner than I did”, he regrets how he was in the past, how he never stood up for himself. And at the same time, he's reaffirming that he changed, that he's not like that anymore. He's not following anyone anymore, everything he does, he does it because he wants to.

But at the same time, I do think Macaque is trying too hard to not be like his younger self, to the point where he's constantly trying to oppose Wukong (a contrast of how he was in the past). While conflicts can be healthy, too much conflicts are very much not, especially when Macaque keeps feeding into this false image he's building of Wukong, to push himself to hate Wukong even more.

We'll return to this point in the season 4 specials because there will be developpement on Macaque part.

So I've reached the Tumblr limit for images yet again. I'll do a separate post for the season 4 specials like I did with season 3.

Hope what I'm saying is not that oblivious 😅, really those posts are just me rambling on Macaque.

Anyway, like always, you can disagree with me, no hate.

S1 / Previous / Next

[armageddon-generation]

The Bear Season 3 is a bridge season that feels weird on purpose, but also has some big problems: A review/ramble

Season 3 is clearly a bridge season, and suffers from having been written & shot alongside season 4. As a result, unlike the seasons 1 & 2, it doesn’t feel like a distinctive or complete chapter of the restaurant’s life. Just half of one.

This is partly because there’s no ‘end-goal’ like in S2, or clear progression/visible improvement to the restaraunt like in S1. Season 3 is about stagnation. Most of its storylines are left unresolved- the review, Sydney’s job offer, Tiff & Frank’s wedding, Marcus being inspired by his mother’s death, Tina and the dying farmer’s market, Carmy’s conflicts with both Claire and Ritchie. All these threads will roll into Season 4, and Season 3 suffers from that.

PACING, FLASHBACKS AND TONE: FORM REFLECTING FUNCTION

HOWEVER. This being a ‘bridge’, character-focused season isn’t inherently bad. Individual episodes of The Bear still tear when they want to. Episodes 1, 2, & 3 are a very strong setup for the season and establish good momentum. Episodes 6 & 8 are fantastic character pieces, and 8 in particular made me bawl. Even the finale, though bogged down by masturbatory celebrity chef cameos, was a strong episode.

The problem is all the stuff in-between. The actual day-to-day running of the restaurant feels hollow and empty now. There’s a distance between the characters and it feels like they don’t interact as a group anywhere near as much.

Part of this is absolutely deliberate. People joke about S3 'method acting' its way into bad reviews to reflect the restaraunt, but losing steam and the connections between characters is genuinely a formal reflection of the kitchen crew's moods, as the day-to-day grind of running the restaurant wears them down.

The use of flashbacks in 3x1 is excellent, but Season 3 quickly becomes way over-reliant on them (episode 9 especially, oh my god). Again, this feels like a conscious choice to reflect Carmy’s state of inertia/the fact he’s perpetually trapped in the past. It makes sense, but that doesn’t give the show a pass for being boring, and 3x9 was the first time I’ve ever felt genuinely bored by this show.  

FUCK THE FAKS & NEGLECTING POC CHARACTERS

My other problems are much more clearly the fault of the show; I do not give a flying fuck about the Faks. Neil is cute in small doses. The brothers are great as soundboards for other characters; Theo getting Sweeps to talk about his backstory in baseball, the brothers comforting Donna at the end of 3x8 Ice Chips, or the haunting argument finally forcing Carmy to talk about Claire.

But on their own? When they’re just bouncing off each-other? These guys aren't half as funny as the show seems to think they are. And their scenes drag on so long. For example, the B-plot of 3x5 Computer wastes half of an otherwise strong episode with pointless fucking around, propped up by a pointless celebrity cameo. I do not Give. A. Fuck about haunting, Mr. Cena, why the fuck are you here.

The aggravating time-wasting is made worse by The Bear continuing to neglect and underuse its POC characters. This is the second season in a row where I’ve felt Syd only got the bullet-points of an arc. She is the LEADING LADY. Ayo is now the show’s biggest breakout star. USE HER.

I really enjoyed Tina's focus episode, but unlike Forks and Honeydew last season it doesn't move the plot forward, and unlike Fishes the flashbacks don't contextualize Tina''s actions in the present because she's barely doing anything in the present, despite the show setting up her struggles in the kitchen early in the season.

Meanwhile, Ebra got crumbs again and Sweeps got a single scene, which is tragically at least better than he had last year.

Marcus’ arc this year is a fascinating microcosm for the show’s themes, but it barely gets a second to breathe because we have to cram in another five minutes of the Fak brothers arguing about that time Neil got taped into a cardboard box. It’s ridiculous. And then they showcase Nat being all protective of Marcus in an episode he’s barely in, when she barely interacts with him. It feels unearned & disingenuous, using Marcus as a prop for a Hell Yeah gotcha moment.

I liked Josh Harnett though, that casting had purpose, and both Chef Terry and Luca were used excellently.

CAMEOS

The surprise celebrity cameos this year felt distracting and indulgent in a way last year’s didn’t. In Fishes the slew of cameos were a dramatic tool meant to disorient the viewer. This year, John Cena is here to distract you from how pointless this B-plot is, and we've brought in a bunch of famous chefs to tell you direct-to-camera why cooking and the service industry are so important.

The chefs in particular are bizzare after season 1 spent most of its time telling us how evil and toxic the fine dining industry is. But now it's actually just the fault of a few bad apples, and these guys are really rad actually?

CLAIRE

Much has been said about how Claire was an underwritten archetype for Carmy to project onto. Now, I don’t much give a fuck about shipping in this show, but it’s clear Claire & Carmy’s romance didn’t connect with most people. It felt hollow. At the time, I thought this was deliberate, like the tone and flashbacks this season; Claire’s writing reflected Carmy’s perception of her as a saintlike childhood daydream who could deliver him from all the stresses of his life.

But this season, not only does the show refuse to let Claire go, it doubles down on objectifying her as a prop for Carmy’s self-loathing, trapped in his memory.

Again, this might work thematically if I knew Claire as a person, or was at all invested in their romance, but I don't and I’m not. As it stands, the multiple extended flashbacks with Claire feel like futile attempts to plug the holes in Season 2's weakest storyline, and drag their episodes down. If we’re supposed to root for Carmy to find happiness outside the kitchen, this is having the opposite effect, and it’s made worse by it all being left unresolved by the finale.

Either do something with this character or move on, because right now every time Claire appears I clock out emotionally, and that’s not her fault, it’s the way the show treats her.

CARMY THE ASSHOLE

All this contributes to an overriding problem that I again think is deliberate, but risky; Carmy isn’t likeable this season. He causes his conflicts with Ritchie and Syd, to whom he has passed down his generational trauma. Carmy's menu is the biggest thing dragging the Bear into bankruptcy. Carmy has stopped working to resolve his familial trauma like in seasons 1 & 2, just as Nat starts making headway. He functionally doesn’t exist outside the kitchen, entirely preoccupied with the past & a girl the audience doesn’t care about.

Unlike previous seasons, the few times Carmy is called out for his bad behaviour he doesn’t make much effort to listen or improve. Again, I get that this is the point. Carmy is on a low, self-destructive ebb, and hopefully when things start resolving in season 4 he’ll snap out of it. But him dragging the show down with him has consequences.

EPISODE COUNT & FINAL THOUGHTS

A lot of people are saying that S3 only had enough plot for 2-3 episodes, and while I think that’s disingenuous- The Bear has always been a character-focused, vibes-first show- I do think it should've returned to the 8-episode count of season 1. You can consolidate the same amount of ‘plot development’ into fewer episodes while maintaining the deliberate sense of inertia. Cut back on the Faks and flashbacks to give more time to the kitchen crew, and many of the complaints would disappear.

Anyway, all this to say that The Bear season 3 is not Bad like some are saying, but it is a step down from its first two seasons. It feels like it’s got lost in its own head and lost a part of itself along the way, and while a lot of that is deliberate- formally reflecting Carmy’s internal conflict- it exacerbates existing problems (underwritten POC, Claire) and creates several new ones (celeb cameos, overusing flashbacks, unresolved plotlines) previous seasons were able to sidestep.

[ennn]

The kiss did kill Agatha but it was because she made it happen. "That's cute, but you know that [absorbing Rio's powers] would kill me" they had that line for a reason and having the line again on the previously on was to remind the audience of that. So a normal agathario kiss wouldn't cause death, but Agatha actually absorbing Rio's powers while kissing definitely would.

That being said, I agree with all the things you highlighted that you liked. May I ask which things you would've done different or didn't love as much, maybe?

Also, from the most neutral point of view, do you think Agatha still loves Rio? Did she ever?

I agree with that read! Note: this also means Rio would have needed to let her magic go into Agatha. Agatha can only take when blasted with magic, not by touching people, so Rio was aware she was killing her but it was Agatha's choice to take it on the mouth

Ooh good questions, time to play editor / script doctor for a bit. This is probably going to be long... and can be negative so I'm keeping it under a cut.

Things I did not love / would have done differently — not comprehensive — just off the top of my head:

For the love of god use a different ghost SFX. I hate the current one with the fire of 10,000 suns. It makes it hard to see the actor's performance, their outfit, and it messes with their body language as well. Outside the fantastical reality of the Road, it's too distracting.

Burn that white-grey wig for ghost!Agatha. Between this and the SFX I was struggling to focus on the scenes and their pathos. I think Episode 5 wasn't so bad because Evanora didn't really do much except float around in a smock and say some mean lines but Agatha's moving around, talking a lot, and trying to land some emotional beats.

The whole showdown in the garden feels weird to me, and I think you can tell that they only Aubrey Plaza for a limited time: she barely seems to be in the same frame except for the kiss? I suspect that's why we have shots focused on Billy hitting the greenhouse, Death on the house, and a very very short magical fight. You also don't get proper reactions from Rio on what could have been a couple of revealing beats like when Agatha initially offers Billy up and walks away.

The big one: I'm not convinced Agatha had a proper arc here. If it was planned I don't think it landed for me. You get a hint of Agatha making some peace with how death just happens at the end of the earth trial: "Sometimes boys die" – beautiful moment -– but it doesn't seem to follow through? Yes, she ultimately makes a choice that allows Rio to continue pursuing her (because Rio would have kept her word if Agatha handed Billy over). But coming to terms with her grief and Nicky's death? Has she forgiven Rio? Has she forgiven herself? It feels unresolved to me imho.

Agatha being protective of Billy is... some development I guess but she was already instinctively protective of him in like Episode 3, and by then she already knew he wasn't Nicky. I needed more growth from Agatha, I think?

I'm not sure about the whole mental messaging power of Billy's. Is it supposed to imply he's also reading Agatha's mind? Did he not say it out loud because then we'd have to get a reaction from Rio and Plaza isn't available?

Cast a younger kid for Nicky lol. I know there are production limitations but to me that kid looks too old for a 6-7 year old. Is it just me? I don't usually hang out with kids.

Streamline the flashbacks with Agatha and Nicky. We get it: she loves him, it's their song, he's not a fan of the murdering, he dies. I'd fit in a scene (it can be a short one) to underline how Rio did care about Nicky (she visits him?) and show Agatha having conflicting feelings about loving but fearing Death.

In an ideal world, not have Billy in his superhero outfit because that should have had some build-up for a reveal. I know it's Marvel and they need to sell merch and stuff but there really was enough stuff going on and how the hell did Billy get that suit anyway? The crown I can overlook but the rest is weird to me. --

For your last question about Agatha loving Rio I'll tackle it in another Anon Ask coming up that's similar!

[late-to-the-party-81]

Love, Lies & Electricity - Chapter 3

AN: Here we are - week 7 of @buckybarnesevents Hot Bucky Summer. I hope you’re all enjoying this story. Revisit part 2 here.

Additional thanks and kisses to @drabbles-mc for beta-ing this

If you would like to be added to my tag list, click here.

Moodboard by me and dividers by @firefly-graphics

Likes are loved, Reblogs are golden.

Master List | HBS Master List

Challenges and Bingos: HBS week 7 - Put this on for me

Summary: If someone had told you yesterday that you’d be having sex with your ex so you could escape the bad guys you’d have said they needed their head examined, yet, here you were….

Relationship: Bucky Barnes x Enhanced Reader

Word Count: 2.8k

CW: Sexual Content, Dubious Consent, Angst, Imprisonment, Drugging, Forced sex, canon typical violence, Flashbacks, hand-wavy science.

For some reason, it was as your hand gripped his cock that Bucky regained some semblance of lucidity, albeit momentarily.

“Stop,” he said, and you stilled, looking at him with confusion, the fire of unnatural desire heating you up from the inside.

Bucky shifted underneath you and you climbed off him, still baffled as he crossed the small space to the pallet you’d woken up on and pulled the sheet from it free. He returned to your side and passed it to you, before sitting back down and staring back up at you with wide eyes.

“Put it on for me, sweetheart. I don’t want anyone else to see you.” There was something in the possessive purr that ignited a spark within you, and you couldn’t say it was entirely caused by the drug in your veins. 

Meeting his gaze, you wrapped the fabric around you, tucking it in across your chest before resettling on his lap. Bucky’s hand was immediately on the back of your neck, holding you as he kissed you with ferocity he’d never shown before, even in the initial days of your relationship. Your hands gripped his shoulders for balance as your wet folds slid over his cock. The want - the need - for him was burning through your veins and only a minute or so later you were reaching between you, holding him steady in your hand, and sinking down.

The pair of you gasped and trembled in tandem as your body took him in. It hadn’t forgotten the feel of him, how goddamn right he felt inside you. You’d always thought that he’d been made to fit you perfectly, like a matching puzzle piece. It was one of the reasons why his betrayal had hurt so much.

“Fuck,” Bucky grunted out, and you were inclined to agree. He leant his head back against the wall, his eyes hooded and his hand now on your waist to steady you as his hips jerked in time to your movements. “This isn’t how I wanted this to happen,” he added. “Us being together again.”

Pleasure shot through you, but it didn’t stop you from saying what you were thinking. “I didn’t want this to happen at all.” You shuddered atop him as his cock brushed over that spot inside you. “I’m only doing this so we can get out of here.” 

Hurt flashed in his eyes and stabbed you in the gut. “I’m so sorry for everything, doll. I’ve missed you - missed us - so much.”

You closed your eyes, screwing them up, unable to look at him. “Please don’t,” you whispered. “I can’t talk about this right now.” Then, to make sure he got the message, you leant forward and kissed him, halting the conversation entirely.

It was the feeling of being sprayed with water that woke you. Bucky sat up from behind you with a start. “What the fuck?”

You couldn’t say you were surprised at this turn of events and moved to a sitting position in a far more dignified manner as water came down from sprinklers in the ceiling. At least the effects of the drug appeared to have worn off both of you.

“They’re literally damping my powers,” you said with a resigned sigh. You lifted your right hand and a pathetically small crackle of energy arced across your palm. The action caused you to wince.

With a furrowed brow Bucky rose - naked and completely nonplussed - to his feet and strode across the room towards the door. He pulled back his right arm, ready to punch at the sheet of metal separating the pair of you from the outside world when you became aware of something.

“Don’t!” you cried out. “The door’s electrified. I can feel it in the air.”

Bucky halted his movement, leaning his head closer and cocking it to the side, as though he was listening. Maybe he could hear the current? The pair of you had never really talked about the extent of his abilities. He looked down at his feet where they were placed in a small puddle of water and snorted. “They’re using electricity to control the both of us.”

“But on the plus side, neither of us is being driven to distraction by hyper-arousal.” 

“For now, at least,” Bucky added pessimistically. Or maybe it was realism? “If they’re set on this plan, they won’t just drug us once - they’ll do it over and over to make sure that you get pregnant.” You pulled a face, and Bucky laughed dryly. “The thought of having my baby is really that bad?”

“The thought of having any baby. It’s not for me right now. That’s why I had the implant put in.” You jiggled your arm at him - an arm that now had a healing incision wound on the bicep. 

With a wry smile, Bucky returned to your side, leaning against the wall. You watched the light spray run down his face before turning away to look down at your own body. The swathes of white cotton hadn’t turned completely translucent yet and still hid your body from the view of anyone who might be watching.

“It could take months.” There was a quiver to your voice that you didn’t want to analyse too much. “And what then? What would they do with you?” Neither of you turned to look at the other, but when his hand brushed against yours, you let him interlace your fingers together.

You sat like that together, watching the mist of water in the air until Bucky spoke again. “We’ll get out of here, doll. I promise.”

You didn’t know why, but the way he said it brought a lump to your throat and you drew your hand away. “You promised me things in the past, Bucky. Look how that turned out.” You heard him sigh as you laid down, your back towards him.

The spray of water stopped, and despite the fact you’d not long woken up, you drifted back to sleep.

It was a blithe remark by Sam that brought it all crashing down. A comment - a question - about whether Bucky had managed to persuade you to join the Avengers yet.

“It’s not something we’ve ever talked about,” you replied as you sat next to Sam in the bar while Bucky and Torres were off getting the next round of drinks.

Sam frowned, looking perplexed. “What, not even when you first met? Because that’s what I asked him to do. Ask you, I mean. You could be a real asset to the team with your powers.”

It was your turn to be confused. You weren’t completely stupid - Bucky obviously knew about your powers, but when you’d first met it had been as one Hydra survivor seeking out another, offering support now you were back in the real world. But he’d never asked you about the extent of your powers, or told you that he’d been asked to recruit you.

You were quiet when Bucky returned and placed your drink in front of you, but if he noticed your uncharacteristic sullen-ness he didn’t mention it. When you both returned to your apartment - a place that was beginning to feel like a home for the pair of you - you feigned tiredness and went straight to bed.

It was the middle of the next morning when Bucky asked you what was the matter. He came up behind you as you did the washing up - your hands protected from the water with thick rubber gloves - and wrapped his arms around your waist, kissing the sensitive spot behind your ear. “You okay, doll?” he murmured. “You’ve been awfully quiet.”

You’d pushed your way out of his embrace and put space between you, feeling suffocated by your swirling thoughts. Bucky had looked at you, brows pinched, gun-metal eyes questioning.

“Did Sam tell you to recruit me?” The words tumbled out in a rush and your boyfriend blanched. 

“Sweetheart, I…”

You cut him off, eyes wide with disbelief. “He did, didn’t he? Before you even met me.”

Bucky winced, but didn’t say anything - which told you everything you needed to know.

“That's why you approached me, isn’t it? Not to give me support, or help me adjust. But to get me to agree to be part of the team. To use my powers in your fight. Jesus Christ…” You turned away, eyelids blinking rapidly to hold back the tears threatening to spill down your cheeks as your heart, so newly repaired and fragile, started to crack again. You peeled your gloves off your hands, wiping your fingers on your jeans to get rid of the small amount of moisture that transferred. 

“Were you waiting for me to fall in love with you?” Your voice was low and surprisingly steady. “Were you hoping that I’d just fall in with your plans when I was too besotted to think straight?”

The continuing silence made rage build inside you, and you spun back around, launching the damp gloves at Bucky. They connected ineffectively with his chest and landed on the ground at his feet with a splat.

“How could you do that? How could you be like them?” There was pure vitriol in your voice. “How could you use me? After everything they did to me? After everything they did to you?” Bucky opened his voice, but your powers crackled threateningly around you and he seemed to think better of it. “I trusted you, Bucky. I thought we had something real, you and I. But it was just a lie. A ploy.” Hysterical laughter bubbled up your throat. “Well, fuck you! Fuck Sam. Fuck the Avengers. And fuck whatever this was.” You gestured between you, electricity arcing out. Bucky’s hair was starting to stand on end from the current in the air and the lightbulb above you started to pulse. “Get out. Before I fry you.”

He stepped back, an unreadable expression on his face. Again, he looked as though he wanted to say something, before changing his mind once more. He moved to the front door, and gave one last look over his shoulder before walking away.

As you dropped to the floor, arms wrapped around yourself, the tears now flowing down your cheeks, your powers diminished too and all the lights in your apartment went out with them.

The next time you woke it was to something that felt a lot more pleasant, but was still no less unsettling - Bucky kissing the back of your neck. His warm body was pressed up against you, and in your half asleep state, with what you suspected was a drug induced ache between your legs, you pressed back against him.

“‘M sorry, doll,” he mumbled. “They released a gas while you slept and I tried to fight it, but it’s too strong.”

“‘S okay,” you soothed in return, reaching behind you to run your fingers through his hair, unable to fight the desire inside you. “I need it too, Bucky. Wanna pretend. Let me pretend.”

Cool air ran over the backs of your thighs and ass as Bucky lifted the sheet up, and you angled your upper leg to give him space. When he sunk into your body you felt a combination of pleasure and relief, and stuttered out a groan. You also pretended not to hear him state, “It was always real to me, sweetheart.”

You felt like a wet cat, and probably had the personality to go with it at this moment in time. Time had passed in a cycle of drugging and soaking, and you weren’t entirely sure how much time had passed since you’d been caught in Hydra’s trap. Food had appeared at random intervals, coinciding with both of you passing out post enforced mating, and there was a lidded plastic bucket so you could relieve yourselves.

During one lucid moment, Bucky had torn your sheet down to a more manageable size and constructed himself some kind of loin cloth from the remnants. If it were any other situation you’d have cracked a Tarzan joke. Instead the pair of you were trying to keep sane by playing games of tic tac toe using little balls of torn threads from the sheet and buttons pulled from the mattresses. It felt rather futile.

“How the fuck do we get out of here?” You couldn’t keep the question internal any more, despondency starting to set in.  

Despite your earlier warning to Bucky, he hadn’t been able to refrain from trying the door when you’d been sleeping. His cry of pain as the current had surged through his body had woken you, but he’d just shrugged when you’d run to his side. “I had to try,” was his response to your scolding. At least the serum meant that the burn on his hand was now mostly healed, something which you were grateful for.

Bucky placed down one of his buttons, blocking the row of three you’d been about to make with your fabric scraps. “If only there was some way for Sam and Torres to track us. Like a signal.” He pursed his lips. “They’re probably trying to search for my arm - Shuri has technology that can identify Vibranium - but if it’s not in the same place as us, or we’re too far underground for it to be detected, then it won’t work.”

“What type of signal,” you asked. “Do you mean like a radio signal? We could do that.”

“Hate to break it to you doll, but we don’t have the equipment in here.”

You gave him a scathing look. “Get me a bit of metal to act as an antenna and I am a radio. Doll…”

Bucky looked perplexed and gestured at the mist in the air. “But your powers don’t work.”

“Not true,” you replied with a shake of your head. “They don’t work fully, and it hurts like a bitch to do anything when I’m this damp, but I could send some kind of signal.”

“We’d need something that would make sense to Sam, but look random to others.” 

“A short word. The letters transmitted out of order, but over and over.” A bubble of hope was forming in your chest.

“But what if he’s not looking?” There was doubt in Bucky’s eyes - a hint of vulnerability that you’d never seen before - and you reached out to cover his hand with your own.

“Buck, he’s your friend. Of course he’s looking. Torres too. And what other choice do we have? We have to try.”

Your words seemed to give him a boost, because Bucky pressed his lips together in a firm line and gave you a small nod. “So you just need a piece of metal?”

“A wire really.”

He gave you a smile then, and a theatrical wink. “Got it, doll. Leave it to me.”

For a moment you almost forgot that you hated him.

It didn’t take Bucky long to come up with a plan. In your opinion it was a stupid plan, but it was a plan nonetheless, and the only one you had.

After the next dose of the drug - after you and Bucky had done what you had to - and you’d fallen into an exhausted sleep, Bucky pulled on his Winter Soldier training and forced himself to stay awake.

Waiting.

You might not have had the energy to keep him company, but you didn’t sleep through the altercation. Well, not all of it.

Assuming that you were both asleep, two guards had come in to leave new food and replace your bucket. However, Bucky had rushed them, making it look as though he intended to make a break for the door. Despite being taken by surprise, the guards recovered quickly and retribution was swift. The pair of them used cattle prods on him, and it was his screams and the smell of burning flesh that woke you.

You couldn’t help but spring to your feet, a desperate cry leaving your throat and your meagre powers crackling painfully in your hands. You tried to shock one of them as you hung off his arm, but rubber clad as he was, your attempt had no effect. The guard pushed you to the floor and the level of water cascading from the ceiling came down heavier. You couldn’t do anything but watch as Bucky collapsed under the onslaught, helpless as his eyes rolled up into his head and he passed out from the pain.

The guards left, laughing to each other, and one even spat on him. As soon as the door clanged shut you scrambled over. There, clutched tight in his hand was the curly wire of one of their ear pieces. Just what you needed. Quickly you tucked it into one of the folds of makeshift clothes then pulled Bucky’s head into your lap, stroking his wet hair and hoping that he woke up soon.

Chapter 4

Tag list: @christywrites, @alexakeyloveloki, @wolfsmom1, @doasyoudesireandlive,

@sonatabee-blog, @goldylions, @galactusdevourerofworlds, @apenny4thots,

@crayongirl-linz, @nicoline1998enilocin, @king814318, @blackhawkfanatic,

@loreniscrying, @scram1326,

@km-ffluv, @wheezy-stucky, @kmc1989, @kombatfather1796

[sixlane]

Life and Death

Jegulus microfic | 1.2k words | Mr & Mrs Smith au pt. 2 | pt. 1, pt. 3

The mission hadn’t exactly gone according to plan. It should’ve been a routine package transport, nothing out of the ordinary, except that when they arrived at the dropoff location, they’d been met with 10 armed operatives hell bent on killing them and stealing whatever it was they were transporting.

That’s how James finds himself bleeding out in the backseat as Regulus pushes the gas pedal to the floor, trying to get them somewhere safe while simultaneously losing their attackers.

“James I swear to god if you die I with fucking kill you,” Regulus yells over the roaring engine and squealing tires. “Keep pressure on the wound you fucking idiot!”

James groans as he presses harder on his leg where the bullet entered. Everything’s going a bit fuzzy so he keeps forgetting what he’s doing. If they hit his artery he’s screwed.

“Come on, James, eyes open!” Regulus snaps his fingers, flitting his eyes back and forth between the road and James in the rearview. His brows are pinched in concern and his eyes are shiny with unshed tears. James is pretty sure he’s hallucinating at this point, though. 

“Keep your eyes on the road or you’ll kill us both,” James grits out. They’re speeding around sharp curves on the outskirts of a town in the Italian countryside, but it’s not somewhere James recognizes. He stopped hearing gunshots about five minutes ago so he’s pretty sure they lost whoever was chasing them, but if James doesn’t get sewn up soon he won’t make it out of this one.

Regulus lets out an incredulous laugh, “you’re really going to critique my driving skills right now? Unbelievable.”

“Sorry, love, you’re doing gr— FUCK!” They hit a bump that jostles James’ leg and it feels like he’s on fire, burning up from the inside. It’s all a bit too much. He’s fading fast. 

“James?!” Regulus calls out. “James don’t you dare pass out we’re almost there just hang on five more minutes.” 

“Just gonna take a little nap, love,” James slurs, not totally in control of himself. “You’ve got me.” It’s the last thing he remembers before it all goes dark.

When James cracks his eyes open, he’s met with crimson-stained porcelain. He’s in a bathtub, he thinks, and there is blood… everywhere. That’s when the panic sets in.

James can feel his heart rate spinking as his breathing turns short and shallow. He’s alone in a bathroom he doesn’t recognize and he needs to get his feet under him but god why does his leg feel like it’s been put through a woodchipper? He looks down, taking stock of his body.

He’s naked from the waist down, and there’s a hastily sewn up hole in his upper thigh. It all comes back to him then. 

Fuck

Where is Regulus?

All of a sudden,

Footsteps down the hall.

Scissors on the counter.

He doesn't think. 

He just grabs and throws.

The blades arc through the air and imbed themselves in the wall centimeters away from a head of black curls. If Regulus didn’t have the reflexes of a cat they’d be in his eye.

He stands there for a moment, one cup of something hot in each hand. He looks at the scissors, then at James, who is half propped up on the edge of the tub and breathing hard. “Glad to see you’re feeling better,” he deadpans.

“Shit I’m so sorry, are you oka—”

“It’s fine, James,” Regulus interrupts. “You’re in a heightened state of awareness and your adrenaline is doing the thinking. I would’ve done the same thing. Sit back down.”

James collapses back into the tub and his leg throbs in protest. He bites down on his bottom lip to hold back a whimper. He’s been shot a few times before but it never gets easier.

Regulus sits on the edge of the tub and offers him a cup. “Tea?” He’s so calm. Always the one holding it together for the both of them. James has a brief flashback of the car chase, Regulus on the verge of tears, but he pushes it away.

“Thank you,” James croaks, reaching to take the cup. He wraps his hands around the warm drink but he’s shaking too badly to keep the liquid inside. It sloshes over the edge, burning his fingers. “Shit.”

“Let me,” Regulus says, taking the cup back. He holds it to James’ lips before tipping it slightly.

James makes an obscene noise when the warm liquid slides down his sore throat. In this moment it’s the best thing he’s ever tasted.

Regulus sets the cup down, then reaches out to run his thumb across James’ cheekbone, trying to dislodge some dried blood, probably. The concern from the car is seeping back into his features and he runs his eyes over James from head to toe, a reminder that James is completely bare apart from his blood soaked t-shirt. Oh well, Regulus can look if he wants to.

“How bad was it?” James asks.

Regulus’ eyes snap back to meet James’ and he schools his features into something more neutral, but James doesn’t miss how he’s twirling his wedding band with his thumb, a nervous habit he’s picked up recently. “Pretty bad. The bullet missed your artery, thankfully, but you lost a lot of blood. You’ve been out for two hours.”

“Right,” James says, looking around. “And where are we?”

“Safe house. Should be okay to stay here a few days while you recover.”

James nods. “Thank you for uh… for taking care of me.” He can feel his cheeks heating as he says it. He’s not usually one to get flustered, but something about Regulus watching over him while he’d been unconscious is making him feel gooey inside.

Regulus just shrugs, not breaking eye contact. “You’d do the same for me.” They share the look for a few more seconds, something behind it that neither of them wants to name, before Regulus looks away. “Let’s get you cleaned up, okay?”

It takes the better part of an hour because James can’t stand without Regulus supporting his full weight, but he finally makes it to bed, clean and wearing new clothes Regulus found in a drawer somewhere. Regulus gave him a few pills to help with the pain and they’re making him sleepy already, the world blurring around its edges.

“Need anything else?” Regulus asks as he fluffs James’ pillows behind him.

“Mm good,” James responds, though it’s barely audible. 

“Alright, I’ll come check on you in a few hours. Try to get some sleep.” Regulus moves toward the door, but before he can get too far James catches his wrist.

“Stay? Please? Don’t wanna be alone.” 

Regulus turns, his expression soft. “Yeah, James, okay. I’ll stay.”

He moves around the bed to come up behind James, but he doesn’t get under the covers. 

After a few minutes, when he thinks James is asleep, Regulus runs a delicate finger down his back, tracing the hills and valleys of his spine. He lets out a shuddering exhale, one he’d been holding back for a while it seems, and James finally drifts off to soft touches and Regulus’ warmth at his back.  

[vechter]

your outsiders era dick + roy fic was so good it made me re-read outsiders 2003 AND batman and the outsiders!! something i love about outsiders dick is the glimpses of who he used to be before donna's death that periodically resurface and how *we* never actually see him consciously suppress his old self yet he comes across as automaton-like anyway because we never actually see his POV until indigo's death... but also how these glimpses come out more and more after his big fight with roy and jade ousts him as leader, because it's like a giant burden has been lifted from his shoulders ;_;

for example, when roy suspects shift was the traitor and blasts him away, dick is the one who immediately chastises him and comforts indigo (comforts her. can you imagine... the same robot that he detested so much at first over donna...)

likewise the moment he's fired as leader he immediately becomes the most efficient leader the group has had LMAO, because during the child trafficking/america's most wanted arc jade was clearly in over her head because these are not the kinds of problems she's used to dealing with as a green lantern, and dick clearly notices and suggests the whole plan of going public, like it doesn't escape me that he's in the center forefront of all the group shots in that arc and grace always reports to him first... like ok "it's not my team anymore, i just work here" sure buddy whatever you say smh.....

idk it's just funny to me how dick does in fact start to mentally recover over the course of outsiders, but it's by doing the exact opposite of the things that roy planned. in fact you could take it a step further and say that, even though roy berated him about becoming too much like batman and thus losing his own humanity, it's actually bruce/batman's team who helped him recover the most??!! he's most comfortable around the og rex/metamorpho (who was on batman's original outsiders team) whenever he drops by to check on shift, and i KNOW it's post-return of donna troy but in the dr. sivana arc he's the most jovial he's ever been with *katana* who knows bruce very well at this point and was, again, one of the co-founders of the original outsiders... but tbh even at the very beginning in the outsiders annual, when dick is reporting back to bruce about the new team roy put together, the fact that he tells him he's naming them the outsiders to honor him and his old team and then they both mutually smile while walking away from each other... WHAT THE FUKC!!!! what is this.... mind you it's like the first time dick had smiled since donna's death and i can count on one hand the number of times he smiled after.....

i guess i'm just noticing these things because when reading 80s batman and the outsiders, bruce is also at his lowest point (...at the time. this was pre-crisis and life was happier so he's still pretty warm and fluffy comparatively) because he just resigned from the justice league after an argument with clark and diana about their methods and stuff, BUT he's most tender when he's reminiscing about robin... like there's this one part where he puts katana and this new young teenage superhero halo together on a mission and black lightning's like, "hey are you sure you wanna let a grim, jaded antihero like katana hang around a bright-eyed kid like halo" and batman says, "no, having a kid around is just what katana needs right now" and the panel (https://files.catbox.moe/gqrlsh.png) shows a flashback of himself and dick as robin laughing and swinging above the rooftops....! AUGHHHHHH!!!!

LIKE it's just. sorry this was supposed to be about dick/roy but somehow it really always comes back to bruce and dick huh. dynamic duo my beloved.... one of the most compelling platonic soulmate pairs in fiction ever...... as telos says in earth-2: convergence, "The bond between [dick grayson] and Bruce Wayne echoes in every reality..."

first of all, thank you so much anon! i'm glad you enjoyed the fic <3

honestly, i agree with everything you've said here... u have my whole heart for this... esp ur mention of how the first time we see dick smile on page is with bruce in #3 bc i think about it all the time:

as for the bit about how dick doesn't consciously suppress who he was before donna's death... yes!!! it's why i love outsiders '03 so much bc so much it can be read with the lens of being a love letter to dick and roy's grief over donna. like you said, there are moments where you can see glimpses of who he can be when he isn't grieving furiously... just look at him playfully retaliating to tussle with roy in #4:

or my fav ever dickroy panels ever in #11... thesis statement fr:

or him being a bitch and enjoying it in #12... just look at that careful poker face:

but like you said, the moments of levity and genuineness from him increase noticeably after jade ousts him in #16. look at roy being on a call with him right after they worked an op together... telling him to take care in #17:

or any of these:

also... the second he stops being leader, he suddenly becomes much more competent and also stops treating the team as an obligation... look at how quickly and easily he takes charge of his team + the teen titans during the brainiac arc:

but immediately after this happens, shift 'kills' indigo and dick's back to his usual bs but the most compelling takeaway from this is how he admits it is personal. every moment where he denied ownership of the team or pretended he's just a guy who works there... dick grayson... you are a liar:

also... no notes on the bruce of it all. feeling so insane about it.

bruce, forever saving dick, in every possible way he can... even when he doesn't know it. something about how identity crisis is happening simultaneously with outsiders '03... and how bruce is back with the outsiders for batman and the outsiders '07 after dick essentially handed the team back to him. how cass and ollie come on as well. this is alr getting too long so i'm not gonna add more panels but op... i love you for this ask like i could talk about outsiders 2003 forever and ever <3

[cephalog0d]

Okay, but like. There's the whole joke about Bruce recruiting children to be his sidekicks, but honestly there's only really one that fits that.

And it's Jason. And the whole story there is, frankly, unhinged. Aaaaand then he died.

(I'm specifically talking about "first post-crisis origin stories" here because Jason and Dick, in particular, have both had multiple major retcons and revisions over the years, and some of them dramatically change how things happened.)

Like okay. Going backwards, you've got Duke who joined/led a whole Robin-based gang at a time when Bruce wasn't even Batman. You've got Damian and Cass, who were both literally born into the world of masks and capes and heroes and villains, so they weren't ever really not going to be part of it. Steph might have taken inspiration from previous heroes but she made her own identity and repeatedly refused to stop involving herself in the vigilante lifestyle. Tim, obviously, basically strong-armed Batman into letting him be Robin, despite Batman's protests.

Dick's a little more complicated just because there's so many versions, because that's what 80 years of comics and multiple universe reboots will do, and there's kind of a general trend that earlier pre-crisis versions were more of Batman being like "hello, child, would you like to be my sidekick" and later versions have leaned harder and harder into the idea that Dick was absolutely going to do this anyway, regardless of what Batman had to say about it. But even in the first post-crisis version, the flashback in Batman Year 3, Dick says he wants to find a way to keep people like that from hurting others again. When Alfred questions Bruce's offer to train him, Bruce says that Dick should learn to do things the right way if he's going to do it. It's not hard to extrapolate that, much like later versions of the origin story, Dick was going to get himself into this one way or another. (Batman (1940) #437)

And then there's Jason. Whose backstory has also had a lot of (sometimes major) revisions over the years (remember when his adoption was, like, some kind of Joker-originated long con? Fucken Nu52, man). But the original post-crisis version is pretty straightforward. Steals Batman's tires, gets caught and sent to Ma Gunn's Secret Criminal School, intervenes when Batman goes to investigate, immediately gets offered the chance to be Robin based entirely on that.

Which is itself kind of unhinged. That Bruce saw this kid who was living on his own stealing tires and went "Hey you would make a good Robin" as his very first instinct.

But if you've never read Jason's post-crisis origin, or it's been a while, it's honestly even more unhinged than that because that arc starts with Dick getting "fired" as Robin specifically for the reason that he got shot by Joker and Bruce freaked out about how the Robin identity has too many enemies and therefore Dick, a legal adult with approximately a decade of training and experience, should not use the identity anymore.

(And it's specifically about the Robin identity, in this version, because when Dick says he's not going to stop the crime fighting thing Bruce's response is basically "I know and I didn't expect you to". Honestly I could also say a lot about this version of the Robin/Nightwing transition vs. later ones and how this one definitely feels like the Heavy Hand of DC Editorial in the fact that they had no contact for so long afterwards, because the interaction really doesn't feel like it warrants that in this case compared to some later versions, but that's a whole other too-long ramble.) (Batman (1940) #408)

And then a few weeks later Bruce turns around and picks up a random kid, a literal child, and goes "Hey you would make a good Robin!"

And I think a lot about how fucking wild that is. And it's not like the people writing just didn't notice. Dick's big argument with Bruce when he finally comes back to Gotham and meets Jason isn't about the fact that Bruce took in another kid, or even necessarily about Dick feeling proprietary over the Robin identity, the thing he's angry about is that Bruce said it was too dangerous for him, an adult, someone who has trained with Batman for a decade and was already highly physically trained before that for his whole life, to be Robin, and now Bruce has turned around and painted that target onto some random new kid. He pushes, repeatedly, trying to get Bruce to justify himself and this absolutely irresponsible decision, and Bruce gives a lot of answers about how Jason was on a bad path and needed this outlet and eventually just admits that he missed having a partner. (Batman (1940) #416)

And like. Dick's right, is the thing. He is 1000% in the right in this argument. If he can't be Robin anymore because of the danger, how in the hell is it anything like a good idea to hand it over to someone way younger, way less trained, way less experienced, and expect that that wouldn't end in tragedy?

And then it did.

And yeah, Bruce, it is kinda a lot of your fault.

[la-cinephile]

Review and thoughts about TROP 02x08

After watching episode 8 twice (and after crying a lot), here is my review of the last episode of the season 2 of The Rings of Power with a lot of spoilers.

A visual masterpiece

It's not the first episode to be really good on that point but there are definitely some epic scenes that make this season finale almost perfect visually. It begins with the first sequence at Khazad-Dûm with the Balrog. Huge shoutout to the VFX crew who creates this creature and for their work throughout the show because visual effects look great 99% of the time (the 1% left is for the warg in season 1).

King Durin facing the Balrog - Shadow and Flame (02x08)

Through the episode we also have a lot of stunning shots as the ones below :

Pelargir - Shadow and Flame (02x08)

Númenor - Shadow and Flame (02x08)

Rivendell - Shadow and Flame (02x08)

An emotional episode

Even though the series was good in season 1 and also in the beginning of season 2, I didn't feel so emotional than in the last two episodes and especially in episode 8.

Father and son (of father / daughter) relationships are always moving to me so the scene between Prince Durin IV and his father at the beginning and THAT scene with Adar and his children had a big impact on me.

The betrayal scene is the saddest and one of the most brutal thing that happened in the show. It's well done and echoes perfectly what happened in the 02x01 in the flashback but it was hard to watch. I mean, Adar trusted his children and them, they didn't understand that he was making sacrifices not really by choice but because it was necessary to assure peace for their kind. It was a heavy price for him, it was painful but he knew it was the only way to win but no, Glûg thought it was better to make an alliance with Evil.

As I said in a previous post, there is something very similar to the Assassination of Julius Caesar in this scene with the Lord-Father being betrayed by several of his children, especially Glûg who was one of his closest "child", not to mention that Adar calls him "son" (yeah I'm sobbing again writing this).

Adar being betrayed by Glûg - Shadow and Flame (02x08)

I hate Glûg for what he did but he clearly didn't deserve to die like that (poor Mrs Glûg and Glûg Jr) but it's the only way for the other orcs to realize that they made a mistake and be like : "oh no, daddy was right, we were so wrong not to trust him"

Of course as an Adar fan it's hard to watch this scene but his narrative arc makes sense and we all knew he would die sooner or later. He was there during two seasons and that's already a long for an OC and even if he had survived, what next? If his children had been taken by Sauron anyway, would he have lived with that ? With the fact that he lost his children? I don't think so.

Anyway, Adar is undoubtedly one of the best character in the whole series and I will really missed him in the next seasons.

Let me be delulu for a moment : in the beginning of season 3 we will see that the betrayal scene was just a vision of Adar when he put on the ring and by doing so he sees what will happen and so he will prevent it and everything will be fine

I also must talk about the scene between Celebrimbor and Sauron and once again, what a scene! Charles Edwards and Charlie Vickers' performances are so great. This duo is one of the higlights of this second season, and both characters have a very good evolution. I feel so bad for Celebrimbor and I hate Sauron so much for what he has done to him.

But the episode also have less serious moments and sometimes even got some "fun" like when Gil-galad reacts to the sound of the dwarves coming to help the elves by just saying "Dwarves" with a knowing glance to Elrond. This quote doesn't have to be so funny but it made me smile (and I needed it).

Talking about Gil-galad, seeing him on the battlefield make me like him more. I mean I didn't really like him before because he had this elvish attitude I really don't like and I clearly prefer him as a warrior king.

I will just add a few words on Galadriel : Morfydd Clark was once again so badass. Her quote "the door is shut" and the kick just after, I mean it's so good to have a strong woman in a fiction like this, no matter what haters think, there is girl power in TROP and I love that!

An amazing soundtrack

Bear McCreary has created so many masterpieces throughout the whole series and there are definitely great musical themes added in season 2 like the music for Rhûn or this awesome metal song (The Last Ballad of Damrod) in episode 7.

Soundtrack is an important part of a tv series or a movie and so in TROP, the scenes are not just great, they become epic and truly as powerful as some scenes in the LOTR trilogy. It really gave me chills through all episode 8, mostly at the end at the future Rivendell which is a so beautiful scene.

Near perfection

The episode wasn't perfect and not as good as episode 7 in my opinion and I think the main reason is the pacing.

There is something wrong with it, it happens also in other episodes but here it's obvious, I mean some time has passed since the end of episode 7 and even if it's only a matter of a couple hours, I think it would have been better if episode 8 have been longer and could explain how Arondir was healed for example.

Let me be clear : I'm glad he is alive because he is a good character but how the hell did he survives adar's attack?! He was stabbed with an arrow and with a sword and he appears in episode 8 as if nothing bad happened to him, just a scratch or something like that. He looks just fine and it would have been better to have an explanation. Yes, you will say it's Gil-galad who must have healed him but when? And why aren't they together when they are taking hostages by the orcs before the dwarfs are coming to rescue?

With more time, we could also have known why Adar took the crown in the middle of the forest or how Glûg convinced other orcs to betray Adar because the last time we saw him in episode 7, he seems to be the only one to stay at the camp and not following Adar to the city and I would have be more kind on his "conspiracy" if we had a shot where some Uruks gathered around Glûg (you'll say we saw that earlier in episode 7 during the dialogue between Glûg and Adar but I keep thinking that a shot with several orcs staying with Glûg while Adar is marching to the city would have be more significant.)

Okay, it's my way to say I want an extended cut, no matter how long it is but please Amazon give us the extended cut!

Also, I know there is no need to explain everything (even though it's one of my flaw either as a spectator and as a writer because I always want to know every details or make sure that everything is clear) but how did Galadriel survived a fall like that?

About the Gandalf's reveal well it's not a bad thing if you considered only the movies and if you haven't read the books but I hope it's not only for fan service. I'm not mad at it but with all the hints, it's not such a big reveal in the end.

Conclusion

It was a good episode and I prefer this second season to the first one. The end is perfect as it concludes some narrative arcs and opens on others like the creation of The One Ring, Númenóreans going on war or the establishment of Rivendell. Yes some characters will be missed in the next seasons but if the show really goes on for 5 seasons, it's already good for some characters to have been able to stay alive that long, moreover for Adar who was supposed to be killed off earlier according to the showrunners. I can't wait for the next season because great things are coming and it will probably be at least as good as this second season.

Thanks for reading this long review 😊