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missadangel · 5 months ago

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Little Bird in a Cage

Part 1: Operation Little Bird

---------------------------- All episodes here ------------------------

(Javier Peña x reader)

In this story, the reader is the daughter of the Colombian Defense Minister from Narcos season 3 and DEA agent Javier Peña has to kidnap her to protect her.

Rating: Mature, 18+

Word Count: 54,191 in total.

Warnings: falling in love, rough sex, smut, sex, mention about sex workers, cursing, alcohol, kidnapping, violence, gun violence, drugs, narcos, Cali cartels, unplanned pregnancy, fluffy, mention about pregnancy, bathtub sex, age gap (10-15 years)

Summary: When I was writing this story, I wondered what it would be like to be kidnapped by Javier Peña. i wish lol

Notes: English is not my native language so bear with me. hit me in comments if you like it so i can keep sharing. Enjoy!

Gif by azerytrobaz - reddit

-Prologue-

The night you turned 22 you met incredibly charming and mysterious man, and the first time you saw him your heart skipped a beat. Immediately the question came to your mind,

What if he’s the one?

That was your first mistake…

You will soon realized that he was Javier Peña, former DEA agent - yes, former, because your father played a big role in getting him discharged - who has been sneaking up on you because of all the shit your father had done and was going to kidnap you to teach him a lesson. So that was the plan, at least for now.

From Javier's point of view, it wasn't the first time he'd seen you. He's been after your father for a while for aiding and abetting the Cali cartel. But because your father was Colombia's respected minister of defense, it was very difficult, close to impossible, to expose it. But on the other hand, you were his only weakness, which made you the only option.

"It's fuckin stupid, we'd better commit suicide..."

Javi grumbled while he's stalking you on the way your home.

That was the first time he saw you, you look like very happy with your friends returning from college, unaware that the man you would later love and hate so much was following you at the moment.

Of course, you didn't know about the shit your father was doing and you never did.

As Javi spy on you behind his sunglasses in a distance, all he could think about was how to approach you. You were young and quite beautiful that every man would want you easily. He was at least 10 years older than you and he usually spends his time after work in the brothel with prostitutes, he wasn't very good at approaching other women.

"She usually likes to hang out at a bar with her friends, that's good for you sir, that's your specialty." Chris said with a smirk standing next to him.

Javi rolled his eyes. "Let’s see."

The plan that Javi, the other two agents Chris and Daniel, and his buddy Steve -by providing support from Bogota- came up with was actually technically quite simple. Kidnap the minister's daughter, hold her for a while so that you can protect her from the Salazars, the archenemy of the Cali cartel, and others can't get to her. The CIA certainly didn't want to be involved in this plan because they had already taken Escobar. That's why it was actually very difficult. Javi was no longer an agent and he was not authorized to ask any support.

So he had to reluctantly go to Don Berna, knowing that he would definitely want something in return, of course. But Javi was doing it partly for himself, he wanted more than anything to go back to his days as an agent. And taking the cartel down.

They could kidnap you suddenly when your'e outside, but a conflict would be inevitable, and if gets out that Javi was involved in this, the positions of other agents could be in danger, and even if America's name would heard about the kidnapping of the minister's daughter incident, it could be very very bad.

That's why Javi was going to approach you as random guy, not as an agent. The first attempt was failed, because you were at home almost all week, and sometimes you went shopping, that's all. Also you were given ride by a car every-damn-time. Javi was getting more and more impatient wondering when he would find the right time.

Luckily, due to the information Javi received, the girl -you- has a birthday party tonight and you were going to be with your friends only. That night, he was primping his hair more than usual night, he was already very attractive with his bright brown eyes, slightly shaped hair, clean-shaven face except for his mustache.

He put his favorite perfume on his neck and a little on his black leather jacket too, then left the house.

The party was in the bar of an elite hotel. As Javi approached the crowd at the entrance of the big hotel, his phone rang. That was Chris, he was joking about whether he was going to put a bug in his jacket so they can eavesdrop on .

"Fuck off," he hissed and approached the entrance. It was not difficult for him to get in, pass the security etc., the main problem was what he was going to do inside. He sat down on a bar stool, had a drink and started spying around. He looking for you, and he almost spit out his drink when he noticed you, “Damn,” he gulped.

There you were, standing in front of him with all your beauty, the dress you were wearing left your back and shoulders exposed, also was quite short so he can see clearly your long and smooth legs, shining under colorful lighting. Your light brown hair, resembling chocolate, was layered long, cascades down your back, your makeup was not too much but the color of your lips was just—

"Great," Javi muttered. He almost forgot what he came here for. He tossed off his drink and observed a little more, just then someone -he thought was probably her ex boyfriend -approached you, and things got tense after an argument, luckily for Javi, you walked over to the bar stool. With an upset expression, you sat down next to him without noticing Javi who got excited for a moment realizing finally had opportunity to make a move.

“Is everything all right?"

You just took a sip of your drink and startled by this question.

When you turned your head that way, you saw him, and were immediately surprised how you didn't see him before, sitting on barstool next to you, because he wasn't one to go unnoticed, at that moment you felt that you entered the field of his attraction.

This stranger asked you sincerely, he seemed a little worried but much curious though.

Even you were almost forgetting why the hell you’re upset about. Then you shook your head and come to your senses.

"Yes, I think so," you murmured without looking at him.

"It's just that some men can't handle being dumped," you sighed. Javi smiled flirtatiously, "If the person who dumped is a beautiful woman like you, I can’t imagine how though to handle."

When you heard his compliment, you felt your cheeks turn red, you couldn't take your eyes off his dark brown eyes for a while. You smiled and made a gesture like thanking him with the glass in your hand. Your friends came to check you on trying to convince you to go with them but you didn't want to go.

The music was loud, everyone were dancing madly but you didn't want to dance either. For some reason, it was more tempting for you to sit with this stranger.

"May I ask your name?" he asked.

"Y/N," you said immediately, your voice was like a silver bell ringing. "And your name is?"

Of course, Javi couldn't say his own name, he had to lie, and he said the first name that came to his mind.

"I'm Juan."

"Glad to meet you, Juan. You're not here for my party? why are you here?" you asked in a curious way.

"I think my date ditched on me tonight," he pouted his lips and smirked.

"Oh, it's too bad," you said sincerely, "Well, her loss."

"Do you think so?” he said, by raising his eyebrows. “That was very kind of you."

Oh god, those eyes you thought, feeling your heart pounding so fast.

‘Can you be my birthday present?’ you wished and smiled to yourself for naughty thoughts and hoped he didn’t notice that shit.

"Let me stay here if you want, the party is almost over anyway, you have no idea how happy I am to get another age," you said in a sarcastic voice, looking at your friends and rolling your eyes.

"Well, happy birthday then," said Juan (aka Javi), handing you his glass to toast.

After toasting your glass with him, you had a long conversation, you started to like him more and more, however it was quite late.

"Oh, it's almost 2 am," you said in a nervous voice, checking your watch.

"Juan, it was nice to know you, but I need to go home. My father is very strict. And he won't accept any excuses."

"Okay, I have no intention of getting beaten up by a girl's father, but let me take you home, because I’m afraid, all of your friends are gone so."

You immediately turned your head and looked around, he was right, there was no one left, well, you wondered how this happened so fast.

"We had a very long chat, ha?” you smiled hysterically.

“Si, I enjoyed every moment," he got up with triumphant joy and helped you to put your jacket on. How kind he was, you thought, when he helped you while putting your jacket on with his big hands and the smell of his perfume came to your nose, almost took your breath away.

It was fucking perfect.

"Actually, you can't give me a ride home," you said before leaving the hotel.

"My father always sends a private car to pick me up."

You sound was low because you've never liked that.

Javi quickly scanned the outside with his eyes, he didn't need your father's men to see him at all right now.

"Then will you give me a chance to see you again?" he asked quite willingly hoped it wasn't too much to ruin everything.

You didn't know what to say, usually you would never tell your father about their relationship because he kept grumbling unnecessarily.

But you wanted to see Juan again more than anything, you surprised even yourself with this eager attitude. What was happening to me like this? you thought.

Javi was waiting wanted you to say yes more than anything, time was running out. He wasn't sure if he'd ever get that close to you again. It should be done later this week.

"We just met, Juan," you suddenly said, “I'm not used to this, meaning this is the first time I've had such a chat with someone I met at the bar.” You didn’t want to look like easy.

“But I can give you my beeper number." you added, mischievously.

While you were typing in your number to part of paper, Javi was wondering if it was right time to kidnap you right now. But suddenly his eye caught the men standing outside next to the black car. They were probably waiting for you. He had to a give up, it was too risky.

"Here," handing him your number written on a paper.

"Good night," you said with a warm smile

"Good night," Javi answered in low tone looking the paper you just gave him.

Suddenly something came to your mind and you stopped for a moment, which made a big smile on your face. You immediately turned towards him, after you check the men waiting for you, one of them was coming towards you slowly, you had to be quick.

"Do you like painting?"

Javi was surprised.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I have an exhibition of paintings at the Muli museum on Friday at 8pm, maybe we can hang out afterwards."

Javi's brown eyes were shining with hope, he smiled at you so warmly.

"Ah, and the best part is, dad won't be there," you whispered, blinking at him, then you ran towards the car like the cinderella in a hurry for her carriage.

That was your second mistake…

Javi was happy, felt like he has won a victory.

"Can’t fucking wait, baby," he murmured with a smirk on his face .

----

“What the fuck?”

Opening your eyes in a place you've never seen before, trying to remember what you did last night, where you were, and how you got here.

Or by whom.

Your memory was starting to come back with a terrific headache. You were waiting for him in the art gallery of the museum, people were congratulating you for your exhibition and it was crowded. You were hoping for him to come, yes, him. The person who brought you here. He.

When you sit up in bed, you realize that you remember everything.

Juan brought you a bouquet of flowers, visited your exhibition, praised the paintings you made, and then offered to have dinner outside, everything has been great so far. Until when he asked if you wanted you to go to his house after dinner, and you said yes.

Well, that was your third and last mistake.

-----

While the two of you were driving towards his house-at least while you were hoping so- he brought you to a large area, somewhere like a helicopter field.

You got out of the car and looked around try to understand what the heck is this, but before you even turned around to ask him, You felt your consciousness go away with a sharp smell coming from a rag which he was holding his palm pressing to your nose. The last thing you remember is that a helicopter was approaching in the distance.

Suddenly, your heart started beating very fast, you pressed your hand to your chest, feeling make a fool of hit you very hard.

You immediately stood up to look out of the window. Everything was dark outside, the only visible things were the forest-like trees that made it impossible to see the sky and the weak lighting that surrounded the house where you are now. There were iron bars outside the window, like a prison. Anger and a feeling of being cheated began to take over your body. You turned your eyes to the room and hastily reviewed it, but there was nothing useful, your body wanted to leave here immediately, your survival instinct wanted to find a way out.

"She's awake,” you heard a voice from behind the door almost whispering.

You were suddenly startled by the opening of the door, but at the same time you went into defensive mode.

He was the one who came in.

The first thing that came to your mind to take small lamp on bedside table and throw at him. Juan was fast, he flinched reflexively, then he carefully and slowly approached you.

"Please listen to me, I'm not going to hurt you, let me talk."

"Who the fuck are you? What do you want, why are you brought me here?”

Javi then put his hands on his waist trying to find correct explanation.

“Answer me!” you yelled at him.

"Fuck, baby I know you’re surprised as hell but listen, I am Javier Peña. Former DEA agent, the reason I brought you here is to protect you only, please believe me."

"Is it so?" you asked in a sarcastic way.

You moved back and picked up a pillow this time and threw it at him again.

"Fuck off!"

Javi grabbed the pillow and sighed deeply.

He brushed his hair back with his other hand, which fell on his face when the pillow hit, and then he approached you, there was no place left for you to step back so just standing there.

Without taking his eyes off you, he threw the pillow on the bed. His eyes were deep and serious this time.

"I'm telling you the truth, I guess you don't know about your father's shit with the Cali cartel. I don't blame you. But it was only a matter of time before the cartel's enemies used you to harm your father, so I had to take you here."

"And you saved me? What, am I supposed to say thank you or something? Yeah, fuck you very much!"

He rubs his head, didn’t know what to say.

"You should have a dog in the hunt, right?” you asked suddenly, trying to find a way to get closer to the door.

Javi sighed and sit on small couch near the door.

"I lost my job because of your father, I'm not an agent anymore. Beside- wait!"

When you run towards the door in a quick move, he grabbed you from behind easily.

"Let me go," you cried. You were struggling to get out of his strong arms.

"Don’t be silly Y/N, have you ever thought about where you're going. There are soldiers outside, guards, and we're not in Cali anymore."

Suddenly you stopped fluttering, Javi hadn't pulled his arms out, he couldn't figure out what to do. But when he saw the sad expression on your face, he let you go.

"What do you want from me exactly?" you asked, your tone was no longer angry, yet desperate.

Javi grabbed your shoulders softly and looked into your eyes with his bright brown eyes.

"I want you to stay here until we capture the Cali cartel, we’ll do whatever you want or need, no harm will come to you, I promise."

"You mean, until you get your job back.”

Javi's touch by shoulders hurt you more, you pushed his hands away and he was avoiding reply and you both knew it meant yes.

"I want to talk to my father," you said after a short silence.

"No fucking way, I'm sorry."

"You were going to do whatever I wanted, you said so," you frowned.

"Everything except that," said with half smile.

His smile made you even more angry.

"Look, why don't you get some rest, stay alone for a while, we'll be downstairs when you need us."

You didn't answer, you were looking out of the window with hands crossed.

"Was it all part of this game?" you asked Javi who was about leaving the room but playing with door handle.

"I mean your interest in me," you explained, "It was all a lie, wasn't it? You approached me because of my father, didn't you?" looking at him this time.

"Get some rest, please" he said again, slowly closed the door, left the room.

You couldn't hold back your tears anymore and you let them flow and fell asleep while murmuring.

"How stupid I am.”

-------

The days were passing, and every time you were a hostage, you started to get more bored, you hated the feeling of uncertainty and detention.

And when you looked out of the window in your room and see the same things every day, it didn't help to make that feeling go away. Mercenaries, soldiers or whoever they are, they sprinting as group every day for training, changing shifts on duty, and this goes on until it gets dark.

Javi and others visiting you to ask what you needed and to bring food and drink only.

But you didn’t see Javi for two days. Even though he came anyway, he didn't talk much.

Maybe because you beg him for to get you out of there everytime he comes by, who knows. And one day the worst thing happened for you. Chris ran into the room at lightning speed because you screamed very loudly.

"Are you all right, senorita?"

Javi was in a meeting with the commander of the soldiers and Don Berna at the time. The meeting was about to end when his own name was called. He frowned, put out his cigarette and left the office.

"What now," he hissed.

He ran up the stairs, getting worried.

"What the fuck is going on here?" he asked curiously. Saw Daniel and Chris waiting outside of the bathroom door.

“Señorita has a problem, we didn't get it, sir."

Javi gestured his hands for them to step aside and grabbed door handle wanted to check but-

"Y/N are you all right? What-"

"Don't you dare come in!!!" you shouted quite loudly.

"Okay, can you tell me what happened, por favor?"

"Look, I need clean clothes to change and, the, that thing," your voice was cracking.

Three men in the room looked at each other confused as hell, they had no idea. Javi approached the door softly again.

"To what, cariño?" his voice so soft too but it only made you more angry.

"Just the fucking girly thing," you scolded him.

"Never came to your little minds of yours, when you were kidnapping a girl, ha? Idiots!"

Javi felt so embarrassed when he realized, he bit his lip and ruffled his hair with his hand.

"I'll find you what you want, I promise, you hang in there a little longer, okay?" almost begging.

Daniel and Chris giggled each other.

"Stop it and think about how we will find it." Javi snarled.

"The market near here is at least 50 km away, sir."

“Fuck.”

"What about the female soldiers? I've seen one, no harm to ask her, right?"

Javi nodded.

"You two stay here.”

“Hurry up!!!” you shouted again.

When he get out of the building, Don Berna and the others were there.

"Hey amigo, is there any women among soldiers? I need to talk to her right now."

"Peña," Berna laughed roughly.

"If you need a hooker, just tell me. Anton will take you. I wouldn't recommend approaching female soldiers with that intention. If you know what I mean."

He laughed so hard that the cigar in his mouth almost felling to the floor.

"Fuckin hilarious.” Javi snorted.

----

You were in a lot of pain and the bleeding couldn't stop.

You had no choice but to trust Javi and wait. When you were about to faint, you heard the door open, and immediately after, a woman's voice came to your ear.

"I'll take it from here, gentlemen," she said confidently.

You were almost relieved when you saw a woman in uniform in front of you. She brought clean clothes and tampons, also helped you to change, and now you were dying to get out of fucking bathroom.

"Thank you, really," you said sincerely.

"No problem, señorita," she smiled and left the room, but Javi has entered before the door was closed.

"Are you feeling better?"

Suddenly you felt your cheeks turn red.

"Yes, thank you," you said, avoiding to make eye contact with him.

“Don’t thank me, just be okay,” he muttered and left the room.

You wanted to say more but couldn’t. Feeling abandoned because he left you in the room alone, but because you were so tired to think over. So you preferred to go to the bed and lay down.

-----

---------------------------- All episodes here ------------------------

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makeste · 6 months ago

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So... How was watching that episode?

I meant to do a post on this sooner, as opposed to late on a Friday night hours before the next episode drops (eta: well apparently there's no new ep airing this week after all so that makes my timing slightly less atrocious), but yeah. basically I loved it. it hurt in all the right ways.

music was incredible. no shot it was ever not going to be incredible. Hayashi Yuuki thank you for always making my emotions your bitch.

there are admittedly a couple of moments in the anime which I felt weren't quite as impactful as they were in the manga. one of these is the moment when Jeanist, after seeing that Kacchan is (he thinks) traumatized and crying, immediately shifts gears from trying to hype him back up to return to the battle, and instead starts reassuring him that he's done enough and he doesn't have to fight anymore and they'll figure out a way without him. when I first read that part in the manga it absolutely slaughtered me. it's so rare to see media that stars young adults as the protagonists, and portrays them as capable young warriors, and yet also acknowledges that even so, they're still just kids. and to then surround said kids with adults who aren't dumbed down, and who are actually smart and capable and who are actively looking out for them and trying to protect them even though the kids are more OP than they are.

so to have a character that looks at someone like Bakugou and sees past how powerful and determined and ferocious he is, and instead just sees a kid who has been so incredibly brave and who they've asked so much of already. and to have that character make the on-the-spot decision to pull this kid out of the fight, regardless of the consequences, even if it means they might LOSE, just because he thinks the kid is hurt and scared and past his limits, and he needs someone to look out for him. that moment says everything about what kind of person Jeanist is. just, that one part got to me so much.

BUT, in the anime it all happens much faster and the moment gets kind of lost because Kacchan almost immediately starts doing his Deku-style muttering, and Jeanist quickly realizes that his initial read was wrong and this kid is actually FULLY AND COMPLETELY LOCKED IN MORE THAN EVER. which is exactly what happens in the manga as well, to be fair. but in the manga I got to read and absorb it at my own pace, whereas the anime just keeps on going with no concern over whether you've had enough time to process everything that's going on. and so that moment just kind of slips by, and almost isn't even noticeable unless you're looking out for it. it's not really a complaint, because there isn't really any other way the scene could be adapted, probably. but it does give me a good excuse to write a mini-essay about how much I love it, so yeah.

moving on though, in spite of my wishing we could have somehow lingered on that part a second or two longer, I did absolutely love the reveal of Kacchan mumbling and analyzing Deku-style. the first of many outstanding Okamoto Nobuhiko performances in this episode. full nerd powers activated. we'd already seen him do this in Bakugou Katsuki: Rising as well, but this is where it really stands out and it was awesome.

and by the way, shout out to the Big Three who are fucking great. eventually when I get around to posting my manga recaps for this part of the story, those will get more into their antics. for now though, I'll just say that everything was very well adapted. and the part where poor Mirio is all "???? sorry????" when TomurAFO has his brief little Tenko outburst was everything I hoped it would be, and Mirio's actor absolutely nailed it. like I knew it was coming and was anticipating it, and it still slayed me. easily a top five funniest moment in the whole damn series.

Kacchan standing up and telling Jeanist to look after the others filled me with just as much dread as the first time I read it. and the first time I read it, I had already been spoiled. so what I'm trying to say is, knowing what's about to happen does not in any way lessen the intensity of this moment. if anything it just enhances it.

the reveal of Kacchan's powerup was so incredibly badass. I can't even describe how badass it was. just, BOOM. now you see me, now you don't. LA DEE DA, HERE I AM! and the narration in the background talking about his quirk. chef's kiss.

no matter how many anime characters I see pulling off the omae wa mou shindeiru, I will never, ever tire of it. it's the single most badass thing anyone can ever do. especially when they were being underestimated the entire fucking time, and now all of a sudden they're out here scaring the shit out of the big bad himself. no one is faster than Kacchan. KACCHAN CAN RUN FASTER THAN ALL OF YOU. HE CAN FUCKING FLY!! HE'S BEHIND YOU RIGHT NOW!! GOD I LOVE IT SO MUCH.

and then Nobu hits us with the coup de grace. "Izuku… can I still catch up to you?" fellas is it gay to spend your last thirty seconds of life having an imaginary conversation with your beloved rival even as you're zapping around like a bolt of lightning, kicking more ass than anyone on earth has ever kicked.

and I was already dead by this point, but then the All Might vestige scene kicked in and resuscitated me so I could die again even harder. worth it.

so what really killed me nineteen times during this part was the way that Kacchan sounded so completely and utterly different from how he has ever sounded before. this is a scene that's taking place entirely in his head (or… in OFA land… maybe???? goddammit Horikoshi still owes us an explanation. THAT VESTIGE SHOULD NOT BE THERE I DON'T CARE WHAT ANYBODY SAYS). there's nobody else around. nobody to perform for. nobody to show off or look tough for. it's just him, and this big mysterious yellow All Might ghost thing.

and he sounds like an entirely different person. nervous, shy, sheepish. no crudeness, no insults. just, aw shucks. hand to back of neck. avert eyes. so this is kind of awkward, but... the thing is, I always wanted to... but I was such a brat when we first met... and I just never found the right moment after... anyway yeah I'm sorry and it's really dumb. but I really just. wanted to get your autograph.

just. this is him at his most sincere. this is who he's always been, all along. the one and ONLY time we've ever gotten a glimpse of him with absolutely no walls. and he is NOTHING like what he presents himself as to the outside world. he is sweet, he is gentle, he is self-effacing. he is painfully vulnerable, which is doubtless why he never dares to show this side of himself to anybody, ever. and he is ultimately so calmly accepting of this one last regret during what he believes are his final moments.

anyway. so yeah. it destroyed me. what else is there to say.

and then it happens. and once again, not to shit on the anime at all because this episode was fantastic, but this was another part that seemed much clearer in the manga. particularly that one page where we see that everyone else -- Jeanist; Mirio; Hadou; Tamaki; even Mirko -- tried to save Katsuki from that final blow, but they were all just a split second too late. the anime did its best to show that, but I think it was just harder to convey in that format. whereas the manga did it beautifully in a way that couldn't really be replicated.

but on the other hand, one thing the anime did VERY well was showing Kacchan's ragdoll body just flop lifelessly away afterwards. holy shit. I watched like a half dozen reaction videos to this episode on Youtube, and in most of them the anime viewers didn't quite realize how bad of a hit it was at first… until they showed that. then they were like, D: D: D:

and then last but not least… the image that broke the internet so hard that it spoiled me even in my paranoid social media isolation. Kacchan lying lifelessly on the ground. it's such a well-drawn panel in the manga, and the anime absolutely did it justice. having him be so pale was a wonderful touch. you see him, and you just immediately know. there's no room for doubt at all. it's powerful af. the Youtuber reactors all lost their minds. one woman actually started sobbing. phenomenal cinema.

so yeah! needless to say I thought it was spectacular. pour one out for the anime-onlys though. and now their watch begins.

#bakugou katsuki #bnha season 7 #bnha 362 #light fades to rain #bnha meta #bakugou meta #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #makeste watches bnha #asks #anon asks #gonna also try to throw up a chapter 429 reaction sometime tomorrow #one more chapter to go can you believe it #I cannot #I am deep deep in denial lol

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breathing-the-same-air · 10 months ago

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Hey, lovely souls. Just here to spread a kind word for anyone who's feeling (understandably) down today🩷

So OFMD has been officially cancelled. Is this the end? Of course not. It will never be.

I mean, even if we'd got S3 there would have been an end to it too. Is it unfair that our awesome cast & producers didn't get to finish what they started in the way they envisioned it? Of course. Is the tv industry absolute shit? Hell yes! So many good shows are cancelled every day, and so many more never even get to exist. We got OFMD for two seasons, a blessing none of us ever expected, that changed our lives in so many ways, that saved so many lives. And if you think about the ending, even though the last episode was rushed and budget was cut and all, we still got such a wonderful, poetic ending, Ed and Stede are together in their inn, love in their eyes, they're safe, they're happy, honestly I couldn't have asked for anything better.

The thing is, things in life are limited (apparently), but the underlying truth to that is that things that truly matter are infinite.

How so? I'll tell you a scientific truth: time does not exist, at least not as we understand it. Because time is just like space, ever-present, every moment in time is actually forever alive. Nothing can ever truly die.

Which leads to another truth: we are infinite, just like the Universe, for we are Universe too. We are stardust and love, and Love is infinite.

We are all one, you and I and everyone out there, we're one same thing. There is no end to something that was created with love. And damn, I've never seen such an outrageous, wonderful outburst of love in my whole life! There is true magic in what we created together, fans, cast, crew, producers... we healed one another, we came together because one day someone just as crazy as us envisioned this absolutely mad world of kindness and inclusion and diversity and sheer joy and against all odds the moment we saw it we jumped on the ship without thinking twice. We made it possible for this show to get a second season, and more than anything, we built this wonderful world around it.

Stories are so much more than imagination, they're not just actors playing a role, there is a point where it stops being just a story and becomes a world on its own, and that world translates into our world, and when that magic happens, when that bridge is created, something so much bigger emerges that forever merges both worlds. It's magic and it's a blessing and I can't but be thankful for it.

My loves, I know you're sad right now. I know we all are struggling for one reason or another, we're all fighting our own battles, be it about physical or mental health, work, study, family, discrimination, or anything else. And OFMD has fought by our side and helped us win so many of those battles already. So when you're in middle of the darkness and can't imagine there could ever be light outside, remember this: we are all with you, right here, right now. Wherever you are, we are with you, and OFMD is with you. Because the things we love do never truly leave us.

We keep saying that OFMD changed us, right? That means that it's become a part of us.

OFMD is and will forever be a part of who you are—and in you, it will live on forever. Be grateful, be immensely grateful, for gratefulness is the vibration that heals the fabric of the Universe and makes miracle happens. Crew, we got something we could never have imagined to begin with!! We are so, so lucky to have had this blessing.

Take the time you need to heal, cry, let out all your pain. But then please be brave and choose kindness, just like OFMD has taught us to. Choose to raise your vibration to that of love and gentleness and dare to believe that life has wonderful things waiting for you. There is hope, there is light, there is magic in your future, a whole life just waiting for you to have the courage to take the next step.

What do you think the crew of the Revenge would have done if they had been told their ship was going to forever stop sailing? They would have thrown another Calypso's birthday party just to celebrate the chance they had to spend so much time there together, and they would have looked forward, found new reasons to be happy, and a new life. Open an inn, for instance!

They would not want us to cry, they would like us to smile and be happy because of the journey we've shared. Or at least, smile through our tears!

You are loved, you are important, your very existence is an absolute blessing to this world. Please never stop being your awesome, beautiful, magical self, because the world needs you exactly as you are- that is why you are here!

Cheer up Crew - we have been so immensely blessed. Can only be thankful 🙏💜🏴‍☠️🖤

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bengiyo · 10 months ago

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She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat 2 Eps 17-20 (Finale)

Last week gave me everything I wanted and more. The whole squad went over to Yako's place for a curry party and everyone had a great time. Later, Nagumo got a diagnosis for her condition and got to have personal time with Yako. Kasuga and Nomoto continued to work on their communication and making sure they aren't trampling over each other. They're continuing to work on this move. Seriously, we had a curry party and a s'mores party last week. We planted strawberries together. Let's finish this.

Episode 17

Looking for housing is so stressful. I was wondering if we'd get into housing discrimination in this.

Red beans in Japan are different from what we eat here. Theirs carry a naturally sweet profile that doesn't mesh well with creole cooking.

I feel like those beans needed to boil longer, but that's me thinking in my home cooking terms.

Yes, ladies, tell each other how happy you are to see each other.

@furritsubs thank you for the note about Azuki beans.

I'm really enjoying the way they're handling this situation. The realtor wasn't trying to be homophobic, but the systems he was upholding with the landlord references reinforces the status of same sex households. I also like that they acknowledged how circumstances closet people in ways that hurt them. This is good payoff from the news bit we saw earlier in season with Kasuga.

Getting a tasty treat in before going back into the fray is so valid.

Kasuga being even more affectionate about Nomoto's food now that they're dating is exactly what I wanted.

Episode 18

Oh fuck yeah, let's continue to unpack how structural homophobia makes people scared to share something that should be a joyous occasion.

Amused that Yako is the primary person using Nomoto's given name.

Are we going to have a takoyaki party next??

COME THROUGH, YAKO!!! You gotta help your folks get through this bullshit, but never let them forget that it's bullshit!!

I am relieved that we checked in with Ms. Fujita about divorcing her husband at the same time as we're working through LGBT housing issues. Single divorced women likely also face huge challenges in housing when marriage is the goal we're being pushed into.

Wow, Sayama, you are in contention for the Yihwa Best Girl Award this year. You are an ally. Love the way she examined how what she said might have been hurtful.

Feeling like you somehow failed because you didn't get married in your 20s is so real. I sometimes struggle with this in my 30s.

This show uses its characters to illustrate its political points in a way that feels gentle and accessible, but also carries a sense of urgency. Women are facing extreme reproductive pressure right now, and it's clearly not making those who don't already want husbands and children happier. Hell, it's making them resentful to the point of divorce as they get older.

Hold on. Gotta cry a bit about Nomoto telling Kasuga that being told outright that hiding who they are upset her made her feel better got me.

Episode 19

Takoyaki Party let's goooooo!!!

A party where you cook together like this is always so much fun. We had fun with some friends' kids a few weeks ago teaching them how to make pancakes and letting them add their own toppings before, during, and after cooking.

Nagumo managed to enjoy a bite of food with them. Hold on. Crying again.

We've seen takoyaki a few times lately, and I am very impressed with this cooker.

Yako, tactful as always, is gonna check on Nagumo. I love her.

This is so important. Couple formation does affect the friends around them, and I'm really glad Yako let Nagumo voice that she supports her friends even as she knows she's going to miss the dynamic they've had. Yako is so right to point out that a change doesn't mean it's over, and their friendship will last if we all continue to reach out.

This realtor scene is so good. I like how politely she asked for them to disclose their relationship with the express purpose of securing ideal housing, and we're getting into how the financing of housing can affect people's privacy. She's also owning that landlords can discriminate against couples. I also appreciate that their meeting room was private.

I'm ready for the moving in party!

Episode 20

They got the house!!

A crab cream croquette party!!!

Wait, where's Nagumo? I wanted her to try a croquette too!

We are on the bed together. This is not a drill.

Yes, let's acknowledge that they have liked each other since season 1.

The intimacy question is on the floor!

They are finally hugging!

NOW KISS!!!

That was very sweet, and felt right for them. I'm glad they had that moment in the old place before they moved.

Cried because of Ms. Fujita and Nagumo possibly getting hired.

So glad Yako and Nagumo are still hanging out! That's really how some friends groups will be. Two people will just gel at a party and grow close.

Oh hell yeah we're at casual intimacy now.

I'm so excited to see where the TV goes next season!!

Oh my goodness Kasuga is wearing a lighter sweater!!!!!!

Final Verdict: 10, Go Watch This Immediately and Then Show it to a Friend. Seriously, do not make excuses for yourself. You owe it to yourself to watch this show. Between this, Ossan's Love Returns, and What Did You Eat Yesterday? coming back, we cannot stop supporting our shows about older people getting together and forming their own forms of family. This show built on the foundation of its first season and made every little detail feel so potent and impactful. I did not expect the pen pal to grow into a trusted confidant and core member of this friend group, nor was I expecting the women at the supermarket to help Kasuga as much as they did. This season was excellent, and will be joining WDYEY on my comfort watch rotation.

Big thanks to @furritsubs and friends for making this watch possible.

#Ben watches #tsukuritai onna to tabetai onna #she loves to cook and she loves to eat #japanese gl #gl series

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dantomasik · 9 months ago

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What Makes the BTAS Joker Different (Better?) Than Other Versions

Definitely not the first one to take a crack at this, but had a little revelation this morning that cracked what makes the Joker we know from Batman: The Animated Series (also Justice League, Justice League: Unlimited, and Batman Beyond) different from other versions of the Joker. Furthermore, I think this might be what makes him so many people's favorite version of the Joker, because I don't know any other versions that do this with him.

The Joker can't take a joke.

We all saw in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker that Terry tore the clown apart when he started laughing at him, but it goes further than that. In the original animated series, we had episodes where the Joker, on the receiving end of a joke, not only can't play along, but often gets unequivocably furious. One episode featured a nervous, anxiety-ridden guy named Charlie who accidentally rear-ends the Joker, and ends up being coerced into helping with his next crime. The episode ends with Charlie threatening to blow both himself AND the Joker up, letting his legacy be death to a nobody. Joker fully panics and runs to Batman for help, only for Charlie to reveal it was a prank. Batman laughs, the Joker gets grumbly like someone's pissy grandpa at a progressive comedy show. In a crossover episode with Static Shock, after being defeated by the duo, the Joker plays possum and pulls out his Ol' Joy Buzzer gag, thinking he's gotten the Dark Knight for one last prank. Then comes the priceless moment when he realizes he's holding Static's electrified hand, who responds, "That was fun. Let me try!" That is one of the few times we've seen the Joker in a cold sweat as he gets a taste of his own medicine. That expression fully conveys a person discovering their joke isn't as funny as they thought.

However, probably the biggest red flag for this behavior comes to us in the form of Harley Quinn. Harley is devoted to the Joker, always happy to play along with his pranks & schemes, but when she tries going off-script, he never laughs. When Harley tries doing schemes of her own, or when she helps fix one of the Joker's schemes, that is when we see the ugly side of him. That is when we see the Joker not as some gifted comedic performer, but as a controlling & extremely insecure @$$hole who not only has to get the last laugh, but the only laughs. The Joker sees Harley not as his co-star, she is his supporting act. Like an egotistical diva, Joker always has to be the center of attention, his jokes have to be the ones that land, and he loses his sh*t when other people step in his spotlight.

The fact that this aspect of the character only seems to appear in the animated series might have something to do with the fact the show was aimed for kids. In most of the comics and live action films (and even a large portion of grown-up animated films), the Joker always has to be more serious, more sociopathic, more disturbing and deranged. He has to feel like a real threat, a real murdering killer, not just a prankster with a twisted sense of humor. The stakes always have to feel important, and thus resolving them with a laugh feels inappropriate. Furthermore, Batman usually also has to be considerably more serious, much less likely to crack jokes, and almost certainly never settling for defeating the Joker by playing his own game. The Joker always laughs because it always leaves an opening for a surprising return or one last prank later on down the line. He's always gotta be a madman in control. Even when he dies, he usually dies laughing, or at the very least smiling, because that's how he wins. He takes all of the consequences for his mayhem with a toothy grin like he's laughing at a joke only he gets.

That's why his death in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker felt so final (even as we'd already seen him back in action). Regardless of version, the Joker didn't die with a smile or a laugh. He was caught off-guard, and in keeping with his established character, once things went off-script he couldn't improvise a funny line to save his life. His last words were simply: "That's not funny. That's not…." It's also why Terry's climactic takedown of him is so iconic. He finally realizes what no one else never took advantage of; the Joker can dish it out, but he can't take it. There's a meme that went around the web about how the Joker could never beat Spiderman because he'd do exactly what Terry did to him. Still, it took me this long to realize that the heart of that confrontation was never about Terry belittling the Joker for not understanding that Bruce just doesn't have a sense of humor. Terry figured out that, like many egomaniacs, the Joker was hiding a ridiculous amount of insecurity behind smiles, laughs, and stupid pranks. When you're the only comedy villain act in town, it gives this sense of standing atop the mountain, even if it's only in your head. The moment someone calls you out for standing on top of a cardboard mountain, you're nothing. The Joker may call himself the "Clown Prince of Crime", but he would never acknowledge a "Clown King of Crime", or even a "Clown Squire of Crime". As much as the Joker tells everyone they should laugh more, what he really means is they should laugh when he wants them to, and only then.

Adding that aspect to the character makes him stand out among all the various versions & iterations that have been made. Others have tried upping the gore factor, shocking us with more disturbing acts of violence, or cranking up the trauma factor of his deeds to 11. But none of those really make us feel like we know the Joker better. If anything, they just make him more alien. He stops being a character and just becomes a plot device for inflicting maximum psychological damage. Showing us hints at the insecurity inside make him so much more interesting, because we finally get to see what it looks like when someone gets under his skin.

And truthfully, what could be a better twist for a comedy villain than being unable to laugh at themselves?

#Joker #Batman #batman the animated series #BTAS #animation #Batman Beyond #character analysis #the Joker #dc comics #dcau

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jackwhiteprophetic · 6 months ago

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okayokayokay you asked for asks so i'm asking (i'm hoping these aren't things you've already answered, and for like a dissertation back because i love reading all your thoughts)

i think s7 really suffered from inconsistent writing (and a plot that wasn't cohesive at all, esp because it's an ensemble cast) do you think s8 will do better? i'm really hoping it does.

i miss shenanigans. like s7 definitely had some but i think the season was so short and a little all over the place, i feel like we deserve some hijinks (esp because of gerrard being back)

if you had like an ideal disaster arc that led to buddie getting together (i'm thinking shooting 2.0) what would it be?

also i love carlo's song

I LOVE ALL OF THIS AND THANK YOU SO MUCH. Unrelated but I'm currently feeling SO pissed off because I tried to long onto my childhood email account for nostalgia fun and THEY DELETED ALL MY OLD EMAILS.

I love to hear that people like to hear me talk, especially about 9-1-1, so THANK YOU ALSO!!! I really love your questions, and never worry about if I've answered them before because I will always answer again AND I actually have no memory of anything I say ever, so I will probably think it's a new thing every time.

Yesss so I think with S7 the writing was rushed and the filming was rushed due to strikes and stuff, and the new network, like it was all fresh and new and chaotic. They knew the things they had to hit (cruise ship, Madney wedding) and they hit those well. But in between it didn't flow very well, because they shifted things around. I think the issue started with the Bachelor (not party) crossover in 704. They had to swap over different storylines to make room, they ended up deleting an entire scene they had films and that we had stills for (which I think was someone up high somewhere which COULD HAVE BEEN A VERTIGO REFERENCE???). So yeah. Things went downhill a bit because while individual storylines were interesting, people were kept fairly separate and there weren't even really any team scenes where they all discussed things (because they weren't sure which order they'd do, they can't have Buck and Eddie slightly annoyed at each other in the background of a Hen and Chim scene bc they might swap the storylines between episodes the week before the episode airs).

And to make up for the lack of fluidity, they had the medal ceremony. Which just didn't really hit, maybe because we'd seen so many stills that we didn't get scenes of, and because yeah, it wasn't very fluid so bigger scenes felt kind of off? It must be so fucking hard for the actors to be making decisions for scenes when they don't know which order it's going to have been in.

I also think they slowed down after they found out about season 8, and they've already started writing, and I think the fact they have more time to film and more actual episodes will mean it's more fluid.

I do find it so interesting though how the fact that they only had 10 episodes and essentially still tried to fit 18 episodes of plot into that, tied with them knowing there may be new viewers and having to reintroduce characters and dynamics, they reduced relationships right down to what they are prioritising that the viewers see. So we have Bathena and Bobby grappling with his past, so the audience knows Bobby's past, and we have Hen and Chim and how their families are linked and their own family dynamics, we have Maddie's past and the Madney and Henren families, and we have Buck and Eddie, so massively and messily interlinked this season.

We barely saw Buck with Maddie, HIS OWN SISTER, this season, and their only scene just the two of them was not really about Maddie at all, it was about Buck and his life and also his relationship with Eddie. So yeah, they really really focused on highlighting the key dynamics they wanted us to see this season. Which is very interesting. I just wish they had done it more fluidly, but oh well.

I am really hopeful for next season and the writing, and I am also FUCKING STRESSED EVER SINCE TIM MINEAR SAID HE DOESN'T LIKE TO PLAN THINGS... WE CARE ABOUT THESE CHARACTERS A LOT... PLEASE PLAN THINGS!!!!!

But yeah, they never had time for filler episodes this season, the episodes where little happened (one could argue 705, 707, 709ish) weren't really filler episodes, they were more episodes that were having to tie up loose ends from the last and establish the next episode. If that makes sense? I also think they just decided this season that they didn't really have much time for firefighting? Which idk, it's disappointing, but yeah, they actually did not have much time and people remember the personal things more????

ANYWAY I AM SO HOPEFUL FOR NEXT SEASON AND I HOPE THIS MAKES SENSE? but also I really enjoyed writing it anyway!!! FEEL FREE TO SEND ME ASKS ALWAYS!!! THEY BRING ME MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF JOY!!!! And yes Carlos song is fucking incredible I am so excited I am going back to the place I first heard it next week!!!!!

Have a beautiful day if possible, and I love you all and I think you are doing amazing!!!!!! REMEMBER TO EAT AND DRINK AND SLEEP AND SUCH!! and also do something fun, like if you have nice food then just eat it, you don't have to justify it to yourself I'm literally telling you to! Trust your instincts especially if they're positive ones!!!!!!!!!!! I'm just rambling now, my phone is on 5% we shall see how long it lasts!!

#asks #911 abc #9-1-1 #buddie #eddie diaz #9 1 1 #911 season 7 #911 season 8 #s8 predictions #911 show #evan buckley #jwpyyy

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my-rose-tinted-glasses · 1 year ago

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You know what is really bothering me about these last couple of days in Thai BL land?

Yes there were a lot of tears, but none of them were mine. (the exception being cherry magic. that sequence of Karan taking care of Achi and then being heartbroken. My heart wasn't ready)

These are my personal and maybe unpopular opinions so just let me explain. Spoilers galore as usual. We had some heavy episodes this week. Starting with 7 days before valentine and ending with the sign.

7 Days Before Valentine Look, was it heartbreaking? Sure. Did I feel sorry for Sunshine? Nope. Not even a little. Because for 8 episodes we've seen a selfish, self centered human being make a mess of the world without an ounce of remorse. Just picking people off one by one for his own selfish desires. So even if this episode was actually good, because he finally confronted his selfishness, I was watching wearing a big neon sign saying - you had it coming... the world's smallest violin etc... Also we know he's not actually gone so. (this is the recurring theme of the week btw)

Pit Babe I mean Pavel did a great job and this show is doing a great job at showing men being vulnerable and crying. But let's be real. Charlie is not really dead. We know that. Omegaverse or not, this is Thai bl and we don't play that here.

So the idea to leave the audience in the dark is an attempt at a cliffhanger but ultimately void of any real suspense. If the audience were to be let in on the plan, I'm sure there is one, then we could've felt Babe's suffering in a more profound way. Because, in my opinion, that would be more powerful. We could've seen both sides of this and felt bad for both of them. What's the point of leaving us in the dark? Am I suppose to gasp next week when Charlie appears? When what will actually happen will be that as soon as we know Charlie is alive we will get angry at him for making the person he loves suffer and next at Babe because they will get right back to the papa and mamma talk before the I'm sorry leaves Charlie's lips.

Twins I mean, there wasn't really a lot of suffering left to be had here. I was the only one suffering due to the fact that this show really waited until the last episode to make Sprite come clean. And to top it of, making First feel even more like a door mat by forgiving Sprite so fast. What a waste.

Last Twilight I've already said my peace about this show a couple of times. I did feel Mhok's pain. Him alone crying outside the house was heartbreaking. But the problem is how it happened. Idiotic. The catharsis didn't have the time to actually be cathartic for Mhok. The noble break up was not noble. So in the end I cannot emotionally connect to any of this. They threw Mhok's nightmare in there in case we'd forgotten about his baggage, or maybe because they had, so that sudden confession of Mhok had diminished impact as it was followed by the break up which of course is the real heartbreak I guess.

The Sign What is up with the editing of this show?

I already said somewhere last week that I thought the editing of the rescue was terrible because it was not done as to invoke any emotional impact. The same happens this week.

What the hell was that cut after Phaya woke up? We had like 15 seconds of them looking at each other and Phaya reaching out before they cut to Dr ican'tkeepupwiththenamesatthispoint and then to the police story line that let's be honest, it's taking space from everything else that's more interesting and it's not giving us anything of value in return. Stop putting everything but kitchen sink into shows if you can't manage it properly. If you don't have space for these stories to breathe and give me something I'm missing in the main story lines. Look I love that Phaya got up from his hospital bed and immediately went for it, but I mean what am I suppose to feel about it? The show is not letting us settle into any one emotional state long enough to feel anything at all.

And, I'm really asking. Is anyone at all interested in the police investigation? You can have a police investigation as backdrop to a story. But if you're also gonna take it upon yourself to have this massive mythological, past and present lives star crossed lovers story, then something's gotta give. Maybe just make it a case that doesn't also span generations and brings secrets and lies along for the ride.

I'm so mad at Thai bl at the moment. Not you Cherry Magic, you are my precious ray of sunshine in the middle of all this rain. Please be good till the end.

[Thank you @twig-tea for being my proofreader. You're the best. 💜]

#rose rambles #the sign the series #last twilight #7 days before valentine #twins the series #pit babe

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the5n00k · 1 year ago

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Trauma is not a competition (long post)

‼️Spoilers for the ghost and Molly McGee season 2!‼️

And 1 but that's a year old so I assume you've seen it already

Just like the title says, Trauma is Not a Competition. And somehow, Molly and Scratch understand that better than most people out there. Heck, better than most people I know in my own family. Let me explain:

All trauma is equal, if it traumatized you and changed you as a person, it doesn't matter what it is. It could be so much as a bad dentist visit or your house burning to the ground in front of your eyes. Trauma is trauma

I've heard some people imply Molly's trauma is not as bad as Scratch's because she's younger or hasn't endured the same pain of losing everything after death. But she did lose everything. Multiple times. Now I personally believe they've been through equally as terrible shit but even just saying that is reductive because it doesn't matter what my opinion is because trauma is equal.

For an in universe explanation of how the characters understand this concept, let's look at season 1:

As early as episode ONE, Scratch is empathizing with Molly. He doesn't remember Adia at this point or even care about Molly as a person, he just met her. But his expression changes in a very peculiar and specific way. He puts his walls up right after this though.

First Day Frights is a prime example of him going out of his way for her feelings that everyone points back to but what Really stands out to me are the two bandshell episodes and Saving Christmas. Molly gets repeatedly beaten down by circumstances out of her control and her positivity is sapped out of her. And it freaks him out. He can't stand to see her like this and does EVERYTHING in his power to return her "annoying" positivity. Perhaps he's empathizing subconsciously from a life full of disappointment? But regardless, he deeply cared about her problems from the very beginning. They mean just as much to him as they do to her

In Home is Where the Haunt is, he knows she's had to move a lot, leave behind a ton of friends, and that he means so much to her because she thought she'd never have to leave him. Everywhere she went, he was there because of the curse, he couldn't leave either and she must have unintentionally gotten security from that feeling, knowing he's always there. So when it broke, and she knew it broke, (she says "I've been thinkin..." she was probably thinking about the curse being broken for the entire month the month the McGees were homeless) he saw her worried and instantly comforted her. In the goofiest goofball way possible (while also low-key avoiding the issue) but that's just how he does things, he's not good with the feelings stuff so using humor is his next best option most of the time. But his "see? I'm not goin anywhere" was probably the most genuine we'd heard him be up until this point.

I don't know if he ever considered leaving but even then, what's the point now? He finally had everything he ever wanted and Molly needs him just as much as he needs her.

Moving onto season 2

Even in situations where he can't directly relate to her like in 100% Molly McGee, he tries his best to help her feel better. He's terrible at giving advice but he still tries his best. It really means a lot to me that even when he was bunging up the entire inspirational speech, he tried naming something he knew always cheered her up (that being "puppies")

He stayed up probably all night with her cramming in as much Thai education as he could with her just so she'd feel less inadequate around her family. Season 1 scratch wouldn't be caught DEAD (again) putting in that much work. He was even trying to help her through the dinner scene (even if they were both getting overwhelmed)

Most of the time, even if he can't directly relate, Scratch does Everything he can to make Molly feel better and that's the sign of a good friend. That's emotional maturity I wish more people had quite honestly. Now I've rambled about this dumbass (/affectionate) enough, where's Molly fall on this?

Well first of all I'd like to start this by saying she literally separated her soul from her body to save him so girlie is also willing to do Anything for him.

But most of her emotional encouragement comes from season 2, let's take a look.

A Soda to Remember is a good example of this. For as much as she really wanted to learn more about Scratch, she understood how scary it must be to suddenly remember a past you've completely forgotten. She was willing to let him make the choice himself and that is HUGE emotional maturity for a 13 year old. Like some adults will pry more than her, but she's more than okay with giving him his space if he wants it, even after putting in all this effort to get him this soda. It could have been a huge waste of time for her but she was still willing to give him a choice and to me that just solidified how far they've come as best friends.

Now here's the really spoilery part, PLEASE don't read until you've watched All in the Mind

You have? Okay, good. Anyways

Molly is once again (understandably) thrilled to learn more about Scratch by experiencing his memories first hand. I've actually had a talk like they had on the boat with my family and friends that was very similar, she just wants him to open up and be honest about his feelings. Because keeping it bottled up (ha) is a recipe for disaster. She probably knows a lot about how much that hurts because despite all the pain she's endured, she has to keep this upbeat, chipper attitude to keep enhappifying others. She has to keep moving forward. I wish we got an episode where she just Acknowledged all the shit she's been through at such a young age but eh, beggars can't be choosers.

After Scratch admits he kept the Adia memory a secret, she isn't mad. She's just confused and a bit sad about it. She just somberly asked "why didn't you tell me?" She's a little hurt about it, obviously because she's his best friend, but she realizes how hard that must be to talk about, especially after how scared he sounded the entire time. And she reiterates what she told him in A Soda to Remember:

Then, they see the memory together.

(small aside, I think it's interesting with how many parallels there are to Molly and Scratch's relationship and Adia and [Scratch]'s relationship that Molly would see the blurry memory and ask "is that us?")

She saw the moving truck pull away, she knows now. She's been the one pulling away too. Countless times.

Both of them, regardless if it was s1 ep18 or s2 ep12(?)b, did NOT hold any resentment towards each other for being on the other side of the situation. A selfish asshole like scratch could very easily say "well how would you know? You're the one always leaving! You have no idea what it's like being the one who's left." but they're better friends than that. They both understand how much that entire circumstance SUCKS from either side. So she empathizes with him by mentioning how it feels to have people leave. Each time probably burned into her memory, no matter how short her time in any town was.

And she uses his own words to her to comfort his worry before he even expresses any. She recognizes how terrible that must have felt for him just how terrible it was that they had to move out of their forever home for a while. She remembered him comforting her after they moved back in and she began to worry about the broken curse. They both recognize how deeply hurt each other are by no longer having the people from their pasts in their lives. And they both reach out with nothing but empathy and understanding. They even extend the same care and compassion towards feelings they personally haven't experienced. Because they're best friends.

Might get a little personal here but I appreciate that they aren't one-upping each other constantly with whatever problem they currently have. I've had people do that to me and it's honestly discouraging and keeps me from opening up because it makes me feel like my problems don't matter. But their problems matter to each other, all of them. Even the stupid little problems they have, all of them matter

"If it upsets you, it matters" is something I've been told when I refuse to open up about something because I think it's dumb. And basically that's their entire relationship. If it bothers one of them, it matters to the other

I just think that's beautiful and a good, healthy friendship. Nothing is one sided, they both deeply care. They're both deeply flawed. Both deeply traumatized. Both deeply loving (platonically of course)

Ramble over, I have no idea if I got my point across At All because I had to stop writing this like. Three times to do something else lol but I think I got it. Hope you enjoyed me pouring my heart out because of Molly and Scratch. It will happen again. This is a threat

#the ghost and molly mcgee #tgamm #tgamm season 2 #tgamm spoilers #molly mcgee #scratch mcgee #i just care them so much #sometimes i cant handle it #theyre the best friends ever #theyre actually the best characters to ever exist #bold claim but im dying on this hill

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carefulfears · 1 year ago

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Can you compare the Irresistible hug and the Milagro hug please !!!!!!!!! I love Milagro so much

okay our best and brightest @scullysflannel already talked about this once but let's chat on it (+ unruhe because i watched it last night) just for you babes xxx

/ irresistible

irresistible is my favorite of the three, and my favorite scully trauma™ episode, as it's the most dedicated to the emotional progression.

this episode encapsulates an understanding that the x-files never shied from, that the scariest monsters are human men, it's pointless to pretend otherwise.

fresh off her abduction, a violation and loss of autonomy that she still doesn't understand, scully's reaction to the crimes of donnie pfaster is intimate: his victims are the dead, a group she's always been more connected with than most.

her grief and discomfort at the desecration of women that she's bearing witness to is so overwhelming, and it's something that she's alone in, as the men around her continue with business as usual.

as the investigation continues, scully decides to go back to washington, telling mulder that she'll "better drive this investigation" if she focuses on the evidence.

SCULLY: I'm not having trouble, Mulder.

MULDER: I'd understand, Scully. This isn't exactly easy to stomach.

SCULLY: I'm fine with it. Really. I just think we're a long way from catching this guy. If we could get a print, we'd have something to go on. Right now we're at a standstill.

MULDER: I think it's a good idea. I just don't want you to think you have to hide anything from me, Scully. I've seen agents with twenty years in the field fall apart on cases like this.

Scully: I'm fine, Mulder. I can handle it.

i love this scene. his response here is so perfect. apart from checking in and asking if she's okay a couple of times, he hasn't commented on her state of mind in this situation, but he knows she's having a hard time. he supports her decision to take a step back, playing along that it's a "good idea" for her to direct her attention to the tangible evidence, but encourages her to communicate how she's feeling.

and he tells her that to struggle with a case like this is understandable, it doesn't matter how much experience you have or your position, it's normal.

(another understanding that this show always had: to react emotionally to the brutality of the world and the exploitation of the vulnerable is human, it's the people who look at destruction unflinching who are wrong.)

back in D.C., scully sees her therapist. she tries, you guys. scully's "i'm fine" complex has never meant that she ignores a problem or shuts down, she tries to cope in a way that she's comfortable with. she removes herself from the scene. she goes where she'll be more useful. she schedules therapy.

MULDER: Are you staying on there, Scully?

SCULLY: No. I'm coming back tonight.

MULDER: Look, Scully. I know this is a pretty horrific case -

SCULLY: I'm okay with it, Mulder. Besides, you can use my help.

MULDER: Always.

after her session, scully decides to go back. she's okay with it. she's going to keep trying.

this is one of my favorite moments. she spends this entire episode putting on a front, he spends it meeting her exactly where she is; saying, "i see you," but only to comfort, not expose.

her "you can use my help," is one of their jokes. a way to say, "i'm okay, i'm ready," that's lighthearted and doesn't show too much. when he responds, "always," his voice has such a different tone. it's so earnest, and sweet. his response takes her very seriously, her contribution and state of mind and comfort.

she'd told her therapist, "i trust [my partner] as much as anyone. i trust him with my life...but i don't want him to know how much this is bothering me." he already knows.

(her smile on the phone, they are best friends)

i'm gonna borrow from the post linked up top for this next bit:

"Scully’s abduction is the major turning point in terms of how much the job affects her, and Irresistible is basically a replay of her abduction that gives her more control: she gets the catharsis of a fight, and she knows who she’s fighting (men)."

after being taken by pfaster, when she's found, she pulls out one more "i'm fine," but her suppression and image can't withstand confrontation. mulder gently lifts her chin, and the moment she meets his eye, she breaks down crying into his chest. she tries so hard, she has "always been the strong one," she did not want him to know that this was bothering her. but you can't survive it without facing it.

i didn't notice until today that her gag is still around her neck, she's still so ensnared. police are still making arrangements around them. it all just fades away though.

(he's whispering "it's alright," just for her to hear. when she moves her arms to hold onto him, pull him closer, his face breaks. he closes his eyes to keep from crying. he's so careful with her after her abduction, he's never had anyone come back before. this is a moment they're in together, a sort of catharsis after she returned. it's so foreign and painful to be needed, for the first time in so long.)

/ unruhe

unruhe, written by my beloved vince gilligan, is the most introspective that the x-files ever gets on the dichotomous reactions to gendered violence.

"She can hear him, still stomping around inside the trailer, no doubt looking through the pictures carefully, hoping for yet more insight into the depths of the now-dead serial killer’s mind. In the back of her throat, burning acid threatens to force its way up. The luxury of curiosity, she thinks."

-selbst

throughout unruhe, mulder is hyper-focused on gaining an understanding, attempting to find the killer (and at first, the abducted women) by looking into what has been left behind, and dismissing any other courses of action.

ultimately, nothing he does assists in the case at all, and it's scully's connections and discernments that locate schnauz, mulder and herself never on the same page. unlike irresistible's quiet contemplation and gentle understanding, they're consistently frustrated with each other.

(note that in this episode, scully is bound and held captive by a man obsessed with the loss of his sister. a dynamic that she is very aware of, as she asks schnauz, "why [do i need to be saved]? do i remind you of your sister?")

from the moment that schnauz's first victim resurfaces and they do the PET scan (something that only scully is able to read and understand, not mulder. something again rooted in her personal background), there is a shift in scully.

these women are being lobotomized, and they're being lobotomized incorrectly. schnauz is weaponizing medicine that he doesn't have proper knowledge of, and reducing these women into nothing. when mary lefante is found, she is unable to speak, except to repeat over and over the motivation of her captor ("unruhe," the german word for "unrest.")

things escalate when the body of the second victim is found, and in my favorite scene of the episode, mulder and scully quietly observe the remains in horror, before scully just walks off and gets back in the car (in the driver's seat, a rare occurrence).

MULDER: Hey, Scully, that word "unruhe", "unrest", is bothering me. Maybe he thought he was curing them somehow, saving them from damnation, from those things in the pictures, you know, he called them the "howlers."

SCULLY: It's over, Mulder.

MULDER: Well, then that photo wouldn't be his fantasy. It would be his nightmare.

SCULLY: What the hell does it matter?

MULDER: Because I want to know.

SCULLY: I don't.

(She starts the engine. Mulder stares at her for a second, then gets in the car.)

when mulder approaches the car to ramble about "unruhe," scully never looks over at him or makes eye contact. she doesn't wait for him to get in the car before putting on her seatbelt and starting it. it is over.

i've written about this before (in the previously linked post), but mulder always wants to believe that people who do evil things have a good reason, that they didn't really mean to. that they were just trying to help, or were just following a biological imperative. scully knows that it doesn't matter.

it's the ending of 2shy, when mulder is right, incanto is only killing women because he needs their fatty tissue to survive. and he looks at scully and says, "when you look at me, you see a monster, but i was just feeding the hunger." and scully answers, "you're more than a monster. you didn't just feed on their bodies, you fed on their minds."

what the hell does it matter?

ultimately, scully is forced to "empathize" with schnauz, to survive. she has to utilize the insights that mulder gleamed about him to forge a connection with him, and stall. (she is always listening, and she knows mulder is right. sometimes it just doesn't make things any better.)

as the situation progresses, when she hears mulder outside she's able to wrestle her arm out of its constraint and rip the tape off of her mouth. by the time mulder breaks in and shoots schnauz, she's all but freed herself.

mulder takes her hand and helps her up, and she bypasses him, walking out of the trailer into the light, with one last look back at schnauz. she leaves mulder with the body, as he's looking at the photos. (the luxury of curiosity.)

the only time that we see scully show emotion or vulnerability in this episode, is in the final frame. sitting alone in her apartment, she looks at the altered photos of herself, and her lip quivers as we cut to the ending credits.

where irresistible saw her actively trying to gain control, unruhe is more genuine. she's not trying to conceal anything, she's just tired, and she's alone.

/ milagro

ah, milagro. quintessentially season 6 in a way that i can never establish as positive or negative.

milagro is all about desire: a desire for attention, for approval, for relevance. it's only fitting that it should be so punishing.

ultimately, milagro is about voyeurism, and we have this represented through our monster-of-the-week: scully's stalker phillip padgett.

when scully meets padgett (who had recently moved into the apartment next to mulder) in a church, it's to observe the painting displayed there, "my divine heart."

as he reveals that he knew she would be there to see the painting, as well as many personal details that he has "noticed" about her, it's a heavily emotional discomfort to be so seen.

so much of this episode builds in padgett's apartment, just one door over from mulder. when scully knocks, she tells padgett she was on her way next door and just thought she'd stop and return the milagro charm that he'd given her (a symbol of a burning heart) because she "can't return the gesture."

we talked about this when we talked about small potatoes, but this episode is...embarrassing for her! the kind of attention that she craves is embarrassing to her.

when she comes into padgett's apartment, padgett remarks that it's because she's "curious." she notices things too.

SCULLY: Well, you lead a curious life.

PHILLIP PADGETT: It's not so different from yours I imagine-- lonely.

SCULLY: Loneliness is a choice.

loneliness is a choice, babes! the way that small potatoes ended in classification of mulder as a "loser by choice" (for all of the things he could have, and all of the things he chooses not to pursue), and scully absolving him of that criticism, milagro puts the agency of this mutual repression back onto scully.

(choice and agency is a very important reiterated theme in scully's character. this whole thing only works if she chooses to be here.)

and when mulder comes in to arrest padgett based on evidence found in the murder case, scully is in his bedroom by choice. (very very embarrassing for her)

like these tags said, "psychologist mulder taking two years to connect the dots scully laid out for him in never again."

god, this episode makes me so uncomfortable. it's also the only one of these three that i've never rewatched, so that's why i'm a little more lax in discussing it.

MULDER: No one can predict human behavior. No one can tell you what another person's going to do.

SCULLY: Well, isn't that what you do, Mulder, as a behavioral profiler? You … you imagine the killer's mind so well that you know what they're going to do next.

MULDER: If he imagines it, it's a priori-- before the fact. I think that's pretty clear from what he wrote about you.

laughs nervously...isn't that what you do!! don't you know people's minds and desires!!

when mulder tells scully that padgett's book ends with her having sex with the narrator, and asks, "i'm assuming that's a priori too?" it's so reminiscent of office desks and tattoo ink.

when she replies, "i think you know me better than that," they're both thinking of philadelphia, of something etched in her back that they've never put to words. that too, ended in fire, with desire punished.

(i'm always slack jawed at him asking her flat-out if she fucked the stalker. quintessential season 6, baby! eat your heart out!)

PHILLIP PADGETT: I made a mistake myself.

MULDER: What's that, Mr. Padgett?

PHILLIP PADGETT: In my book, I'd written that Agent Scully falls in love but that's obviously impossible. (looking at MULDER) Agent Scully is already in love.

agent scully is already in love, agent scully already desires so viscerally, (agent scully is making things personal, as mulder had rebutted in defense of diana, not long enough ago)

i know a lot of people love this line, but it just makes me want to weep for her. scully is such a discreet person, she values her privacy so much, and has so little of it left. it's the emotional equivalent of her physical exploitation, to have her most personal and intimate feelings exposed like this.

loneliness is a choice, and that’s her’s to make, the way mulder’s choice was affirmed in small potatoes.

(padgett as a character is a stand-in, he represents the voyeurism of an audience, of projecting a persona onto someone for personal gratification. he isn't ascribed any motive. but this to me, feels like a power trip, even if unintentional. he's perhaps just being honest, but he's recognizing that he can't have her body, so he exposes her soul. he also doesn't know scully as well as he thinks he does.)

both never again and milagro are about a caricaturized self, embracing or rebuking who you are in someone else's eyes. whether scully is perceiving herself as mulder's loyal first mate who "always does as told" or padgett's lonely object of lust, she responds by leaning into that exposure, going where she's wanted, and continuing her ascribed "cycle" of devotion and rebellion.

the reveal in the end, is that this week's monster is not truly padgett, but a character that he's created, who is committing the murders described in his book.

like padgett himself, the killer is a personification of longing; it's him who declares that the only way for the book to conclude, is for scully to die.

but just as jerse did in never again, padgett throws himself in the fire to narrowly absolve scully of the fated ending, and sacrifices his heart for hers.

when mulder realizes what's happening and races back up into his apartment, the sight is bone-chilling. she actually looks dead, unconscious and covered in blood, from a wound that's now healing.

when she wakes up and sees him over her, she reaches for him as abruptly as she opens her eyes. she claws into him, her fingers never stop grabbing at him, pulling him closer and closer and sobbing into his neck.

so little of it actually matters. she almost died without him there. this is after tithonus, and she's remembering those lessons again. (what about love? you don't want to be around when it's gone.)

and just as in irresistible, mulder breaks too, feeling the weight with her.

anon, to compare the three, i would say they each represent the theme of their particular place in the narrative and scully's characterization.

irresistible is the fragile dependence of a post-abduction season 2: perceiving comfort as a weakness, fear as a burden, but needing it anyway. recognizing who you trust, what that means, and that wounds can't heal in detachment. from each other and from the brutalization of the world itself.

unruhe is the building isolation of season 4: going where someone can’t follow, whether in societal experience or the looming instability that’s close ahead.

and milagro is the painfully confrontational tension of season 6. having your heart ripped out of your chest, bleeding, in attempts to be understood. just clutching what you need, weeping, in the end: there’s no use fighting it. (or hiding it. loneliness is a choice, but there’s freedom in being stripped of options)

it is a growth, in a diminishment of pretense and self-consciousness. it just comes at a cost.

i also want to bring it back to @scullysflannel’s post on this topic, because she summarized another aspect of it that i didn’t touch on:

“Scully tells the therapist in Irresistible that she doesn’t want Mulder to think he has to protect her, and I feel like the end of Milagro is about Scully accepting his type of protection, and by extension his type of love. Padgett makes her want Mulder to pursue her in a way he’s never done, but Padgett also ultimately shows her the danger of being sought after like that, and it makes Mulder’s straightforward protectiveness look pretty good. it doesn’t matter right then if Mulder is giving her everything she wants. she needs him.”

milagro is about desire, and ultimately it’s about a relinquishing of desire. scully is drawn to padgett because he offers her something that mulder doesn’t (won’t?) give her, and she’s ripped to pieces because of it.

it is punishing, to want something so badly. ultimately, when she almost loses it all, she’s clinging to what she has.

(but mulder is learning too, and they’ll get there. they’ll get to all of it.)

#asks #irresistible #unruhe #milagro

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aestariiwilderness · 10 months ago

Text

SPOILERS

Bad Batch Season 3 Episode 5(?) (I think?) Thoughts

Well, one big one:

HAHAHAhahahahaHHAHAHAHAHA

And the little ones:

I have been waiting for Omega to pull the age card since season 1 -- actually since before I really knew what the newest Star Wars Baby's name actually was. This was great and I want Hunter to realize it's coming for him next

I haven't stopped laughing about the "moment of silence for our fallen brother" since I saw it. Someone: *mentions Tech* Every single clone in the room: *pledge of Allegiance moment*

WHY IS CROSSHAIR STILL WEARING THE JACKET

WHY IS HE STILL WEARING THE JACKET ON A BEACH IN FULL SUNLIGHT

Crosshair is 100% the angsty sullen goth vampire hissing like he's been hit with holy water in Hawaiian environments with kind people chasing after him bearing fruit and love that I knew he would be

Crosshair: spends like two weeks on Pabu Crosshair: I can't take it anymore! UGH SUNLIGHT *drags the entire Batch to freaking Barton IV* ah, home sweet murder home. the last place I had a really good angst before my older sister found me and dragged me home by the ear. fond memories

Echo, you're a disgrace but also somehow still the only sane one here

Do datapads just not need to ever charge in Star Wars??

Omega: oh yah I have a sister did you know Echo: okay, we don't have time to unpack all that

Where is the heck is Phee? Is she just...off dismembering Cid or something?

Crosshair: "I know a place" Hunter: "YOU'RE NOT TELLING US EVERYTHING ABOUT IT" Crosshair: "I ALREADY KILLED EVERYTHING DANGEROUS HERE what do you WANT FROM ME" *Dune 2021 erupts from underneath the base* Crosshair: .... Crosshair: huh. guess Mayday forgot to mention that particular natural feature. My bad y'all

GUYS. WE NEVER TURN OFF THE MYSTERIOUS PERIMETER SENSORS. IDIOTS KNOW THIS. DID WE LEARN NOTHING FROM THE KRYKNA INCIDENTS I, II, and III

Crosshair looking at Batcher: ah, the new and improved Hunter. You're my favorite. We'll try to save you Hunter but if it gets too inconvenient I'll be over there taking a nap Hunter, standing right there: hey

Congratulations Batcher I guess you're his service animal now

Hunter: *sneaks up behind Crosshair stacking random regs' helmets one by one on a crate* Hunter: *considering Crosshair's past track record with regs, the Empire, and loyalty* so, like...did he kill these guys, or...? Hunter:...do I want to know? Hunter: *does a 180* NOPE

Hunter: "dID yOu tHiNK we wErE juST gOinG tO tAkE yOu bAcK witHoUT aSkIng aNy quEsTiONs???" Hunter, you beloved moron. You DID just take him back without asking any questions. To your super secret summer home no less. And let him spend two whole weeks chilling on a beach before it occurred to you to do anything other than stare at him with complete lack of subtlety from the top of a cliff

Why were you stalking him from the top of a cliff Hunter

Crosshair, he was silhouetted against the sun like 100 feet away with an almost seven foot dude right next to him. There was no hiding going on here. At all. Detecting him is not a super sniper skill. If you HADN'T seen that, we'd have a problem

Crosshair: hey yeah guys so this is clearly a Very Important Place to me that I will proceed to tell you Absolutely Nothing About. BTW don't land there Echo, there's a corpse in the middle of the landing pad somewhere. Possibly two if they never bothered picking up Nolan Echo:... Echo, 1000000% done with this Batch's drama: at least there's no blood this time

"I've made mistakes" AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA *smash cuts to using flamethrower on civilians* *shooting Wrecker* *"aim for the kid!"* *nearly dropping Tech off an ion engine* *trying to burn them all alive in an ion engine* *shooting at them* *kidnapping Hunter* *kidnapping all of them* *getting them trapped on Kamino while it SINKS* *shooting pretty much everybody at some point* *plan 88 but no context!* AHAHAHAHAHAHA this is my new favorite line. Hunter should get him a T-shirt that says that to replace that awful hip pocket thing

Wrecker getting genre-aware

Omega: "I told you to TALK to him not ARGUE with him" Crosshair, sulkily: "He STARTED IT" EDIT: 23. IF I SEE ONE MORE ICE VULTURE IN THIS HOUSE

#star wars #the bad batch #bad batch season 3 #spoilers #the bad batch spoilers #bad batch season 3 spoilers #mywildernesspost

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miraculouslbcnreactions · 1 year ago

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Can you elaborate more on how Amelie is indulgent with Felix?

In Felix (the episode), after Felix does all that awful stuff including trying to make Adrien's friend's hate him via impersonating him, we get this:

Adrien: That video you sent to my friends... Unforgivable, Félix. (Félix doesn't look him in the eye, only looks down, upset and ashamed) Amelie: Now that his father isn't here to stop him from getting into mischief - (Félix stops her.) Félix: I don't deserve to be forgiven, mom. I put my favorite cousin in danger. He's right. No apology can ever be enough.

Now, we don't know exactly what Amelie was about to say, but Felix's interruption makes it pretty clear that she was about to defend everything he did or at least downplay it. Otherwise why would he say that he didn't deserve to be forgive and that Adrien was right?

This is further supported by the next scene in which we see Felix and Amilie. They get on the train and what does Amelie do?

Félix: I've got a surprise for you, mom. (He reaches behind her ear and pulls out Gabriel's ring.) Amelie: (gasps) But Gabriel refused to hand it over to me! And after everything that happened - (reaches out and cups his face) My little magician. I can never understand how you always manage to get what you want. (closes her hand over his) Keep it. It's yours now. Félix: But... you wanted it so much. Amelie: Only to give it to you. You've always been so fascinated by them. How many times have you asked me to tell you the story of the Graham de Vanily twin rings, huh? (she kisses his forehead) I'm glad it's back in the family where it truly belongs. (She winks at him and then rests her eyes. Félix smiles deviously out the window.)

She praises him for stealing and doesn't say a single word about all of the messed up things he did. If this were my kid, we would be talking about his actions were and trying to get him to explain why he did all of that. We'd also be discussing his punishment.

We also learn that Amelie only demanded that her recently widowed and still grieving brother-in-law give up his wedding ring because Felix wanted it. Even though, arguably, the rings should go to Adrien or at least stay with Gabriel until someone in the family is ready to marry. Amelie had no need for them other than "baby wants it, baby gets it."

This was before the sentireveal, so it's debatable if the original intent was to take it this far or if this is just another victim of the retcon, but it's canon now and the writers claim to have planned it all from the start, so I'm going to treat it as fully intentional and discuss the sentistuff, too.

We never see Felix or Amelie learn that the rings are Adrien's amoks, but Felix very clearly knew that's what the ring he had was. Based on that, it's not illogical to conclude that Amelie knew that she was asking for Adrien's amok and didn't care. Baby wants his cousin's controls, baby gets it.

Moving on!

The start of season five sees Ladybug and Chat Noir try to track down Felix since he knows Monarch's identity and gave him all of the miraculous. Kinda a big deal. When they get to London, this happens:

Amelie: My son wasn't here this morning, when I woke up. I didn't worry though, because I thought he might have gone to see his cousin Adrien in Paris. Those two are so fond of each other, but Félix wasn't returning my calls, though I contacted his uncle Gabriel; he told me he hadn't seen him. Cosmobug: And yet he was in Paris I talked to him. Amelie: Oh, Cosmobug, Astrocat, I hope nothing's happened to him! Cosmobug: Don't worry, ma'am. He'll probably end up at his uncle's. Astrocat: Or he might already be on his way back home to London. Amelie: Thanks so much to the two of you for your support!

Then the heroes leave. At the end of the episode, we cut back to London and see this:

Amelie: Tea break. (Félix comes out of the room holding a laptop and follows Amelie to the main hall. Amelie pours tea into a cup, while Félix sits on a sofa and works on his laptop.) Amelie: (putting her hand on Félix's head) Don’t worry, my Félix. Mom is here to protect you from those superheroes who think you’re a villain.

Who cares about saving Paris from a terrorist? If her baby wants to hide away, then Amelie will help him hide away.

Also, if she had forced Felix to talk to the heroes here, then Gabriel wouldn't have died because this is before Destruction. Not saying that his death is her fault, but Amelie did inadvertently let to her nephew be orphaned because she didn't want Felix to face the consequences of his own actions. Remember that as you read this next bit.

And then we have Emotion, which sees Amelie storm into the diamond dance and cause a massive, confusing scene:

Amelie Graham de Vanily: (struggles to make her way in through the guards) Gabriel! My son Félix has been missing for weeks now! (storms towards them) Not only have you and your friends been no help with the search! But now I'm not even invited to the ball?! You haven't been the same since my sister Emilie disappeared! Why are you rejecting us? Gabriel: This is not the place nor the time, Amelie. Nathalie will see you out. (Nathalie begins to walk towards Amelie, and grabs her by the wrist, walking her outside of the ball) Amelie: I don't understand how Gabriel could've become so cruel, let alone why you're still complacent in his actions. Nathalie: Sorry, Amelie. I have no choice. (hands Amelie to the guards) Amelie: There's always a choice, Nathalie.

Ignoring the massively hypocritical "you're still complacent in his actions" line, this is a weird scene. Amelie waltzed right into the mansion back in Felix (the episode). If she wanted to talk to Gabriel about the fact that Felix was missing, why not do that again? It's not like this is urgent. She's apparently waited weeks to come talk to him. Why now?

Cut to the end of the episode and we get our answer:

Amelie: You were right: I did everything you told me to and Gabriel didn't do or say anything to help me. He despises me. He's a monster! They're all monsters! Argos: Hold my feather. (He de-transforms into Félix and goes to hug Amelie) Félix: Not all of them. (smiles)

So Amelie was just doing what every good mom does: blindly follows her child's instructions.

What were you expecting Gabriel to do, hon? Stop the event? This is such a weird test to pull. It'd be different if Felix had just gone missing, but she literally says "weeks". Why is she shocked that Gabriel correctly said "this is not the place nor the time, Amelie"?

I don't like to give Gabriel points, but he gets them here. I wouldn't cancel my event either. I'd tell her to come talk to me tomorrow or ask an assistant to talk to her. Of course, I'd also have been helping with the search before this, but that brings us to the second issue: Felix isn't missing.

What have the search efforts been? What does Amelie want Gabriel to do? No one has ever mentioned an ongoing search and our heroes would absolutely be involved in that since Felix, you know, aided a terrorist, but they're not so this all feels like a shit test.

Also, please remember, this is right after Felix snapped humanity out of existence as Argos and he detransforms in front of his mother. Either Amelie was living in a bubble or she saw everything her son did and was just like, "That's cool, baby! Mommy loves you! Go commit genocide! Your song was so good!"

This is all probably Amelie overcompensating for Colt's abuse, but you asked this in response to another post where I said that Amelie and Andre are the same, so that excuse doesn't really hold water. Andre spoils Chloe for the exact same reason. Aubrey's abuse may have looked different, but it was still abuse.

The only difference between Amelie and Andre is that Andre abuses his mayoral power for Chloe's sake and Amelie doesn't do anything like that. But then, Amelie doesn't have that type of power to abuse. If she did, then I have no doubt that she'd do the exact same thing, so I'm not giving her that point. She is exactly the same: overly indulgent to the point that she's made her child rotten.

Overly indulging an abused person like this isn't going to help them get over their abuse. That's what therapy is for. I adore the magical power of love, but only when it comes to magical threats. Love is not enough to fix anyone's mental health. You can't love away things like PTSD.

#amelie graham de vanily #felix graham de vanily #felix fathom #Is this salt?#I'm not sure because I'm not really analyzing anything here #I'm just listing out what happens in canon #I view this in the same light as saying “lila is a liar” and listing lies #But feel free to comment if there's a tag that I should add

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