#but if pilot die regardless of who messed up the first to go to jail are always flight dispatcher

[kervl-klear]

Gotta love the jab between these two, they really can’t talk about their career without talking about each other.

[words4bloghere]

Villainous prompt

Flug shook as he waited in the empty interview room. His eyes darted around but he refused to look over at the mirrored wall, pointedly ignoring it and whomever might be watching him.

He had tried to explain, but no one seemed to care for his reasons. They only cared about the child that had been sent to the hospital and all of the red marks in his file. 

Flug didn’t like people. He liked planes and he liked animals. He had found the kitten a few weeks ago, separated from her mother way too soon. So he had taken the kitten, hidden it in the supply shack, and managed to wean it on formula he had stolen from the pet store a couple of blocks away from his foster home. 

Turbo Commander - as the kitten was named after a plane - quickly got better and bigger. She was playful and Flug had taken to using the scarf he wound around his face to get her to bat. It didn’t matter that she took up time he usually spent reading, because he ended up just telling Turbo about what he was interested in at the moment.

Then Grigorio had found her.

The supply shack never really held supplies. It was a place where Mr. Garcia kept a lot of broken junk that he insisted he would fix later. Pieces of plywood and the tatters of junked toolboxes could be found in corners and on shelves. Grigorio, new to the house that seemed to shuffle kids in and out the door, decided he wanted to build a ramp for his bike. 

When he went into the shack, he found Turbo Commander.

He decided that the hammer he found could be used to a better purpose. 

Since Flug spent so much of his free time with Turbo, it was not a surprise or luck when he found Grigorio. 

He wasn’t just in time, he arrived just as Grigorio had picked up the middling kitten by the scruff, the hammer held in his other hand.

Flug picked up the small charcoal grill - abandoned after it lost a leg and had it’s coal grate stuck closed - and chucked it at the other boy. Turbo and hammer dropped and the kitten went bolting out the open door.

Flug picked up the hammer. 

Animal cruelty has a sign of a future serial killer. So was bed wetting and a history of trauma. Flug had tried to explain that not only had he saved an innocent kitten, but also had definitely outed a psychologically damaged child. Really, Grigorio was the one who needed to go to the Boys’ Home and not Flug.

The door to the interview room opened and Flug nearly jumped out of his seat. He began to twist the ends of his large scarf as the social worker sat down across from him. The social worker looked tired, and his suit was heavily wrinkled. 

“So you know you’re being moved Flug.” The social worker said, not even looking up from the file he now opened. Flug nodded anyway.

“There’s the Boys’ Home, which is practically jail.” The man said and then finally raised tired eyes. “Flug, you’re a messed up kid.”

Flug looked down at his lap and nodded once.

“But you’re smart.” Flug snapped his head back up. He had been in seventeen foster homes since his parents died. Two teachers, his music instructor, and now this social worker had called him smart. 

“Thank you, sir.” Flug said quietly. 

“I’ve taken a side job, finding special children for a special school. If you make it through a semester, I get a pretty nice commission.”

“A school, sir?”

“I’m pretty sure no one dies. But the whole organization backing the school is pretty sketchy.” The social worker took a paper out of the file and turned it, sliding it to Flug. 

“Apparently, they’ll set you up pretty well. Intensive classes with practical applications. Boarding options. And it feeds directly into a fast growing industry.” Flug took the paper but the social worker kept a hand on the table so he looked up at the man. “But it takes a certain type of person.” Flug held the man’s gaze for a few seconds, long enough to absorb the severity of the man’s words.

He looked back down at the paper. The center of it simply had a large black hat.

“Flug, how do you feel about villainy?” 

The buildings for the school’s campus where all large, square bunkers made out of cinder blocks. The dorms were all cells that held a bed, a dresser, and a desk. On each floor of the dormitory was a large public bathroom and one lounge. There was a cafeteria at the center of campus, but many of the students who lived in the dorms would keep a stash of food in their rooms. 

The beds were a thing mattress on a metal frame constructed during one of the first set of world wars. There was a etched manufacturer’s mark that named a country that hadn’t existed in over seventy years. 

There were no parks, no places to hang out, and very little free time. 

He didn’t like the other students, or the teachers who refused to acknowledge his intellect. But he knew what he could do here.

Kids like Grigorio would grow up to be a waste of carbon. They would beat their wives, their kids, and their dogs. They would do nothing and be nothing and ultimately die as nothing. 

At this academy, Flug was informed that his only way to leave was to succeed. If he didn’t, he would be removed. 

On his first day, wearing his uniform, Flug had thrown up twice before he got into the main building. He had been forbidden the large scarf, the mismatched gloves, and the hunter’s cap that was two sizes too big. Entering the building, Flug felt exposed. Everyone was looking. People started to whisper.

Panicking, Flug picked up the recycling bin that had sat by the door - what misguided soul had thought that recycling would work in a place like this - and pulled it over his head. Mostly empty soda cans, fruit peels, and lengths of clean toilet paper tumbled over his shoulders but Flug felt himself relax regardless. It wasn’t garbage per se, and it didn’t smell. 

But now he could hear the laughter. 

Reaching into his pocket, his hands shook as he grabbed the small remote. Pressing the sole button, he heard the high pitch whine of the machine in his backpack as it powered up. It shifted and he could feel it moving up and out of the backpack, popping open the teeth of the zipper. 

The students closest to him gasped as the machine skittered onto Flug’s shoulder.

It was as big as his face and walked on nine thin, spider-like legs. The legs were fully articulated and could bend in unnatural ways. The body was fat and there was a large, red eye on the underside. A neck protruded from the top front of the body, and it held a pair of iron jaws. The neck whipped around, mindless and blind, gnashing its teeth. As Flug walked, it snapped at anyone close by. Children yelped and scattered.

When one complained to a teacher, they were told that if they were dumb enough to get close to the thing then they deserved to lose whatever the machine bit off. 

What unnerved the children more though was when it would cling to Flug’s back, the legs bent over the wrong way so the belly was exposed. The one red eye staring out, unblinking, while the neck curved under like a scorpion’s tale. The iron jaw clashed together, searching for something to clamp onto.

As the students got older, there were certain unofficial markers of success. Plots and counter-plots were enacted, factions created and betrayed, schemes made and foiled in the matter of a class period.

Many had taken up the challenge of Flug. Everyone saw him as a meek pushover at best, a sniveling suck up at worst. It wasn’t intentional, but Flug usually picked out the worst, harshest teacher each year and tried to get them to like him. Occasionally it worked, and Flug felt like he was invincible. Occasionally it didn’t, and Flug took out his frustrations on the rest of the student population. 

This behavior earned him a number of enemies. 

Nicole Senicourt was the most physical, often managing to blow past his barriers or bodyguards to beat on him before Flug was able to deploy counter measures.

Other students tried to outsmart him.

They never got as far as Nicole.

As graduation approached, they entered scouting season. Villains looking for henchmen or shadowy figures-slash-governments-slash-organizations looking for a new villain to bankroll descended on the school. It was even rumored that they were being monitored by the Black Hat Organization for potential job opportunities.

Flug wanted that job. To work for the best villain, the most evil, the one who owned their school, that would show everyone that he was the best. It would prove once and for all that he would succeed where everyone else failed.

He had taken on a junior-counselor position when he began his final year, working with incoming freshmen to help them achieve their villainous goals. He successfully pitched two inventions that increased the school’s productivity: a robot that chased students through the obstacle course for hero avoidance training, and a directional sound frequency gun that kept students from sleeping in class. 

And after Nicole dropped out, he made sure no one got close to him. 

On the day of their final examinations, one particularly gutsy group of students decided they would have the best chance of landing a good job if Flug didn’t show up. 

They couldn’t break into Flug’s dorm, but they could ambush him when he went to breakfast.

Two of the more physically impressive students literally jumped Flug when he walked into the cafeteria. They fell in a heap as they passed through the hologram. The other three members of the group were frozen, locked in a static ray. Using the controller, Flug lifted the three up into the air before releasing them. They fell onto the two others just as they were trying to rise.

The rest of the day, while Flug sat for examinations in chemistry, psychology, and applied physics, he rebuffed countless attacks.

In the end, he graduated as the class valedictorian. The Black Hat Organization rumor was only that, a rumor, and the students all accepted some job or other. Flug interned at a consulting firm that eventually launched the HIVE Academy, and he also took some time to get his pilot’s license.

For a brief time, Flug moved from consulting to teaching at the HIVE Academy, working for Slade, who he believed to be a capable villain. The teaching was easy, as Slade made a point of brainwashing all of his students, so Flug was able to concurrently finish his doctorate. His job was easy, but Flug quickly grew bored and irritable working for a man that kept losing to teenagers. And, to make matters worse, the man insisted on purchasing from the Black Hat Organization despite consistent issues with the orders. and after the third shipment in a row contained faulty equipment, Flug snapped and sent back an order.

Sure, the adverts all said there were no refunds, but there was no excuse for such a prestigious organization to be distributing sub par tech. 

The day after Flug rejected a delivery, he was called into a meeting. The large conference room was nicer than the interview room from his childhood, but Flug still felt trepidation as he sat at the large mahogany table. It was quiet in the room, save for the subdued rushing sound of a white noise machine. No one moved outside of the closed doors since the assistant had shut Flug in.

Flug shifted in his chair to look at the door, watching it for a few moments. Then he turned back and let out a truncated shriek.

A man made from shadows sat across from him, scowling.

“You are the one who rejected my shipment?” The man asked accusingly, his voice dripping with scorn and mental venom. Flug flinched, thankful for the mask that covered his features.

“Well, sir, the surveillance bots didn’t even have bluetooth...” Flug started but drifted when he realized that the man - creature? - had begun to glare at him. He paused, but the man said nothing, so Flug hesitantly continued. “There was no way to use the bots since they couldn’t broadcast a feed.”

“And you think you can do better than my scientists?” The man asked.

“I know I can. Sir.” Flug quickly added. The man sneered.

“Fine. You will report to my villa in the morning and we will see what you can do, doctor. The man stood and a card appeared on the table. Flug stood as well, about to escort the visitor out, when the creature melted down into a shadow, which promptly faded away. Flug stared at the spot where the shadow had been, then shook himself. He turned to the table where the card lay.

On the center was one black hat.

[briangroth27]

Bates Motel Season 5 Review

Entering its fifth and final year, Bates Motel went all-in and delivered one of my favorite seasons of television of all time. I loved that they dove into the events of Psycho and beyond, touching on aspects of Norman (Freddie Highmore) and Mother’s (Vera Farmiga) relationship that I’d never considered. The series did unfortunately stumble in the last two episodes, but it was still an incredible work; Calrton Cuse and Kerry Ehrin should be proud of the show and the world they created. The attention to detail of the sets and costumes went a long way to recreating the iconic Bates Motel and home (and they didn’t even have a roof until late in the series!), and that was much appreciated. If seasons 1-4 can be seen as a fantastic modern-set prequel to Psycho (with a few minor details changed), season 5 is a great companion piece to Hitchcock’s classic.

I’m going to miss the consistently stellar acting Freddie Highmore and Vera Farmiga delivered for 50 episodes! They’re both long overdue for awards attention on this series and if they don’t get Emmys for their work this season, it'll be a crime. Farmiga portrayed amazing development of Norma’s character over the first four years, then got to play a crazy spin on her own creation of Mother. Highmore was always eerily similar to Anthony Perkins, but the writing allowed him to take his version of Norman places Perkins never did, and Highmore was excellent every step of the way. As the Bitter Script Reader pointed out on Twitter, Bates worked very well as a prequel by making all of Norman's development (the peep hole, etc.) his ideas rather than having some other character come in and basically instruct him to take on elements of his iconic self. It felt so much more organic and real this way. Highmore also consistently stunned by writing and directing a few episodes—Nestor Carbonell and Max Thieriot showed their prowess as directors too—and I can’t wait to see what all three of them do in the future.

Full Spoilers...

This season finally let Highmore and Farmiga take their mother/son/alternate personality relationship to its fullest extent. The dynamic between Norman and Mother was perfectly written and acted, making their scenes fascinating, frightening, and funny. I loved that Mother retained Norma’s snark with lines like “Well, it’s not like we haven’t done this before” in reference to covering up a body! Both leads seemed to be having a blast throughout the whole season, even when they were at each other’s throats. I’m going to miss their chemistry. I was surprised they went so far beyond the reach of Psycho, with Norman knowing Mother wasn’t real, and I’m glad they did; it made for some extremely interesting developments. I also didn’t expect things to spiral out of control for Norman so quickly with the cops breathing down his neck, even though I knew things had to be wrapped up in 10 episodes.

The writing around Mother—and the pretense that she was "faking" her death—was so good. So good. She might be the character I miss most now that the show is over. I liked that there was a little bit of Mother acting to save herself by convincing Norman to stay off his meds and not get himself killed; as much as she wanted her son to survive, it seems like she wanted to live just as much. It’s so great that they gave Farmiga the chance to play Norman’s imaginary protector instead of just relying on him reacting to an imaginary person we couldn’t see. And when Highmore did play Mother, it was great! The considerable time Norman spent as Mother could’ve come off as cheesy or as something less than totally serious and dangerous in the hands of a less-talented actor. The psuedo-cat and mouse game that developed between Norman, Mother, Norman-as-Mother, and Chick (Ryan Hurst) about who knows what and how was exciting to watch! At the same time, Norman slowly becoming aware of what Mother has been doing for him (and with his body) was intense and heartbreaking. I certainly didn't expect them to reveal Mother had been going out, getting drunk, and hooking up with random guys! It makes total sense, though, and I'm glad they weren't afraid to go there. I really felt sad for Norman when he realized he’d been giving himself over to Mother during his conversation with his (shockingly dead!) psychiatrist (Damon Gupton). Both that scene and his argument with Norma about it were probably his last desperate attempts to save himself, but he tragically didn’t even fully realize what he needed to escape from or how to begin doing it.

Once Norman forced Mother to let him know everything she’d been doing (yet another incredible scene between these actors) and he killed Sam (Austin Nichols), all bets were off and I had no idea how they’d resolve things. I thought Norman being a complicit killer might scare him back into needing Mother, but I’m glad that they didn’t go that route and even had Mother forcibly take over to try and get him out of trouble with the police when he refused to help himself. At the same time, Norman truly being afraid of Mother and telling Dylan (Max Thieriot) he missed their “real” mom was a surprising and truly affecting moment. I wish they’d spent more time exploring that idea and Norman’s attempts to fight back against Mother.

Instead, we got Norman rebooting himself to his "just moved to White Pine Bay" psyche after killing Romero (Nestor Carbonell) and being left by Mother. It was certainly an interesting development—as was Mother leaving him—but I feel like it came too late in the season and left him on autopilot for the whole final episode. Because he was in this messed up state trying to convince himself Norma was still alive the entire time (which we’d already moved past), he never got a chance to fight back. I guess that's what I was looking for: a showdown between Norman and Mother over his body/soul. Why did Mother just give up trying to get him off the charges? I'm not sure I buy her leaving him when they'd made a point to acknowledge her "life" was tied to his well-being. If nothing else, it felt anticlimactic and a little out of character that she'd just leave him behind, unprotected. Still, I liked the flashbacks to the pilot and how unnerving it was that Norman was reliving them with Norma's corpse. This also brought us a few more recreated scenes from the movie, so that was cool. And Norman just checking the guests in like nothing was wrong was creepy.

Regardless of my problems with Norman’s state of mind in the final episode and his actual death, I liked that Norman got to be reunited with the real Norma instead of Mother at the end. Their reunion was beautiful and the shot of him as a little boy, before he'd killed his father (and probably before the night Norma tried to run away with Norman), was a brilliant touch. Norman's half of the headstone having nothing on it was masterful symbolism for his relationship with Norma and Mother.

I was surprised so much time had gone by and Dylan and Emma (Olivia Cooke) had a baby already! They seemed so happy in Seattle and I was glad they’d escaped White Pine Bay and their toxic families. It was also smart to have both of them come clean relatively quickly about Caleb (Kenny Johnson) and Emma’s mom (Karina Logue); it showed their relationship was healthy. I’ve liked Dylan and Emma a lot since the beginning and I was really worried at least one of them—probably Dylan—wouldn’t make it through the season. Since last year, I’ve thought they would play the Sam and Lila roles from the movie, coming to town to look for Norma, and that they’d end up stopping Norman. Norma liked Emma, so I figured she was safe from Mother, but I was sure Dylan would die trying to save Norman from himself. When Norman switched to Mother in front of Dylan and attacked him, I thought that was it! Dylan’s shock was priceless, and I'm glad Dylan was still so dedicated to helping Norman for the rest of the season. He really might be the best person on the show.

However, I was disappointed Emma had so little to do this season. After being hampered by her CF for so much of the series (though to be fair, she awesomely never let it hold her back), locking her away in Seattle with nothing to do but worry about everyone seemed wrong, especially given Cooke’s considerable talent. If she was busy filming Ready Player One or something, I wish they’d used her time in different scenes; she was too big a character to spend most of the season on the sideline. Couldn’t she publish Chick's book, or at least find it to better understand what happened to her friend? I liked that she could immediately tell it wasn't Norman when she visited him in jail, but since we—and she—didn't really know her mom, I didn't feel much during those funeral scenes (despite good acting on Cooke’s part). I felt more when she visited Norma's grave (and that scene paid off their friendship perfectly).

It would’ve been a shame if Norman had split Emma and Dylan up, so I was relieved Dylan got to go home to Emma. She and his daughter are his family now, not the Bates, despite how much he still cared. Dylan going into the Bates house was one of the few times I've agreed with a character going in without the police—Sheriff Greene (Brooke Smith) clearly didn't care about Norman—and as stupid as it was, I probably wouldn't have called the cops either (though Emma should have). I thought it could be cool if Emma stopped Norman at one point, but if it had to be someone other than Norman himself, I’m glad it was Dylan. He'd spent so much time wanting to be part of the family but never quite belonging (or being let in)—a heartbreaking line Thieriot walked perfectly over the course of the series—that it felt right he'd be the one to step away and give them their happy afterlife together. My friend pointed out that Norman possibly wanted to die and just acted like he was going to kill Dylan, correctly believing that Dylan would kill him to save himself. I agree with that, but it’s so passive that I wasn’t satisfied. If Norman’s assisted suicide attempt came on the heels of an internal battle with Mother rather than just being unable to live without her, I think it would’ve wrapped up both his struggle and Dylan’s place in the family perfectly and much more satisfactorily.

At first, I thought that unless he was playing the Arbogast role, Romero would make it through the season. Even though he was (shockingly) straight-up sending people to kill Norman, I figured he’d redeem himself by catching Norman and saving someone. However, as the season went on, his vengeance quest felt more and more drawn out and less and less engaging. I felt his revenge could’ve been covered in two episodes instead of stretching across 10, and worse, that his competition with Norman over Norma’s love felt too petty (all the back and forth with the ring last year, and so on) to be what brought Norman down. Even with Chick selling Romero and Norman’s showdown as “epic,” I never felt the building anticipation to that confrontation. Honestly, it felt settled: Norman already "won" and "Norma" stayed with him; all Romero had to look forward to was revenge and Norman couldn't care less. While I bought Romero loving Norma and liked them together, I couldn't connect with Romero’s loss; maybe because Norma was still "around" and so solidly in Norman's corner. Maybe I was just over watching him take so long to get to Norman. Why not let Romero escape in the premiere, attack Norman in episode 2, die, and have his body be the one Norman has trouble making disappear instead of the random guy Romero sent? You could even play Sheriff Greene questioning Norman almost exactly the same way, since it was really about Romero anyway. They could've spent all that screentime of Romero escaping, recovering, and making his way back to White Pine Bay on the much more interesting Norman/Mother relationship instead. Norman vs. Mother was the epic showdown we should’ve gotten. Nestor Carbonell was great in the role, but his arc in this season was mishandled, IMO, ironically and unfortunately landing him once again in what has always been the series’ weak spot: crime subplots (though at least this one was directly related to Norman).

Chick was such a weird guy, but he never came off as quirky for the sake of being quirky. He’s always seemed like threat to everyone, really, but he never hurt Norma, Norman, or Dylan. More than that, I really liked that he was actually a good friend to Norman after all this time. I thought he’d die once he found out about Mother, but I wasn’t expecting him to go the pointless way he did (another reason I wanted Romero finished this year). I liked that he was writing the novel version of Psycho and believed that might save him (unfortunately not). What an unpredictable arc for such an out-there character, that still totally worked! Also, jeez, the funeral for Caleb was so unexpected and respectable! Chick could so easily have been a mismatch of quirky traits that amounted to a caricature, but he always surprised me and everything about him felt right. I felt bad for him when Norman kicked him out and I was shocked and wanted vengeance for him when Romero shot him. I thought for sure the cops would try to pin his death on Norman, but a friend of mine pointed out the timeline wouldn’t line up; I wish they’d pointed that out, because it felt like a potentially dangling thread (even if it wasn’t).

I enjoyed the addition of Marion Crane (Rihanna), Sam Loomis, and his wife Madeline (Isabelle McNally) to the series. I couldn't help but feel like the redone Marion scenes in her first episode were...not lacking, but not the most engaging. I think it's because they were so similar to what's already in Psycho that I just wanted to get her to the Motel to interact with Norman. I did enjoy Rihanna's performance a lot, though, and felt her Marion was more likable and sympathetic than Janet Leigh’s. Once she got to White Pine Bay, all her scenes were more interesting than stealing money for Sam. I really thought they were going to go the classic way with her and didn't think they'd let her live at all! “Screw this,” indeed! I really liked that change. I feel like we knew Rihanna’s Marion better and I felt sorry for what she’d done for love; I hope she evades the law. Her conversations with Norman were well worth the wait and Norman fighting Mother to save her life was another perfect change!

Sam had little personality beyond “the good guy” in Psycho from what I remember, so I didn’t mind the series making him a lecherous loser. The twist on his relationship with Marion—he was cheating on his wife with her—worked for the world of the show. I saw a few comments online saying they shouldn’t have made Sam so 100% irredeemable, so it’d be a tragedy when he died (like Marion in the movie), but I didn’t mind it: the real tragedy was that Norman killed him, not Mother. I also feel like Sam was such a heel to make it “OK” in the audience’s minds for Madeline to be attracted to/kiss Norman…even though her having a bit of moral gray to her would’ve been in line with everyone else on this show. Perhaps this was also a chance for the writers to makes us root for a killing by putting us in both Madeline and Marion’s corners, even though we’re definitely not supposed to. I didn’t pick up on the idea that Sam was the name of Norman’s father too until I saw it pointed out online; that’s a cool connection.

Madeline was an eerie dead ringer for Norma (and even sounded like her at points!), which played really well into Norman’s issues. She and Highmore had good chemistry and despite thinking she’d die early on, I was rooting for him to get a happy ending for the first time ever once they had their dinner “date.” With Bradley and Emma, I figured I knew things would end badly if they were with Norman so I didn’t want them together, but this far into the story I had the slightest glimmer of hope for him. I’m glad they didn’t drag out Madeline being in the dark about Sam’s affair with Marion and brought things to a head with both him and Norman quickly, but I was disappointed she all but disappeared in the final episodes. I was sure she’d at least briefly look guilty when Mother told Sheriff Greene to question her and I was surprised they didn’t go that route. Either way, I wanted more resolution from her relationship with Norman instead of the dangling confusion she was left with. For a character who’d been built up as a major presence over the course of the season, it felt slightly unfinished.

I knew Caleb was a goner from the beginning and I can’t say I was sorry to see him go, even if I do believe he cared about Dylan. Kenny Johnson gave a great performance over his time on the series, but I couldn’t ever find it in me to sympathize with him. I was relieved he didn’t screw up Dylan and Emma’s lives when he showed up at their house, and I guess “not destroying everyone’s lives” is the most charitable I could get towards him. And when he’d get self-righteous and “protective” over Chick calling him out on raping Norma, any chance of sympathy evaporated. I definitely didn’t expect him to die the way he did, and I liked that Mother was so down to kill him; that was a nice tie to the first time we saw Norman became Mother, way back in the beginning of the series. I enjoyed Sheriff Greene. We didn’t get to know her personally very much, but I certainly got a sense that she was an unstoppable force for justice, and that’s exactly what she needed to be. She definitely unraveled Norman’s lies a lot quicker than I was expecting. I also thought it was interesting that she was very clear about caring about the innocent people and her staff rather than bringing Norman in safely. I usually don’t see that kind of black-and-white hardness in female cops on shows or movies. They did a great job of making her stand out with limited screentime!

I loved that they took the whole season to play with Psycho’s events rather than cramming in the sequels (though the show had already played with Norman being “cured” like in those films in previous years). The nods to the original movie was great, like Norman eating candy corn while being interrogated by Sheriff Greene and seeing Dr. Edwards walking across the street in front of his car. I also really liked that we got a variation on the "Marion driving" music during her episodes; what better way to compliment the show's tactic of taking the familiar and twisting it? There are a few iconic lines and bits from the movie I’m shocked we never got, though. They didn’t include the shower scene music? No one ever said “a boy’s best friend is his mother?” That could’ve been reworked with some sarcasm after Norman learned exactly what Mother had been doing for him. I was sure we’d get “we all go a little mad sometimes;” Marion could’ve said she’d gone crazy on Sam’s car or called stealing the money insane, and Norman could’ve replied with that. Mother also had a perfect opportunity to say it while Norman was calling himself a mad person. It could’ve also fit into Norman’s prison interrogation. Either there or when Mother was talking to Emma, I thought they could use some variation of “he’s such a nice boy; he wouldn’t hurt a fly,” but unfortunately it wasn’t to be. I also thought they should’ve made either the guy Romero sent after Norman or Sheriff Greene the show’s Milton Arbogast, just to involve that prominent film character. Greene could’ve been named Mildred Arbogast or something, since she did most of his investigations anyway. Of course, they totally should’ve included a recreation of this Anthony Perkins photo!

Bates Motel was never perfect—too often, the town crime subplots would drag—but the relationships between Norman, Norma, Mother, and their family and friends always carried the show. In seasons four and five, things moved into high gear and the making of a serial killer next door came to a fascinating conclusion, even if I would’ve preferred a Norman/Mother fight leading up to Dylan killing Norman. Ultimately, I think Psycho’s ending was more satisfying, but Bates explored the characters so deeply that they’re my preferred versions. I can’t imagine another take on Psycho coming close to this, or the original movie, and I’m glad they were able to tell their whole story. 

[pftones3482]

There was a post that was made a few days ago where the creator described what they would like to see in Season 3 (I can’t find it someone please help me or link them if you know which one I’m talking about) and one of the things on their list was seeing Lance and Keith accidentally get thrown into space jail together. Or maybe it was just Lance. 

Either way, I wrote it.

Of all the things- of all the things Keith had expected to happen while he was piloting a sentient lion robot around the voids of space, he had never expected to get locked in an intergalactic jail cell with Lance.

Scratch that; Lance was so incredibly stubborn and hot headed that maybe Keith should have seen it coming. The Lance part, anyway. Him being in the jail cell? Well…it was less expected than Lance, but if Keith were to admit it to himself, probably just as possible.

“This is all your fault, you know,” Lance grumbled. He was sitting on the only bunk in the room, leaning against the concrete wall behind him with his arms crossed grumpily over his chest.

“My fault?”

Lance scoffed, looking up, and Keith was struck with the realization that Lance actually managed to pull off prison orange a little too well. “Um, yeah. Your fault.”

“You shot one of the queens dogs!”

“That thing was not a dog! It was like fifty feet tall with dinosaur spines! And it was blue! Excuse me for thinking I was about to get mauled by some beast! Besides, you’re the one who got snippy with the queen while I was trying to apologize!”

Keith scowled and leaned against the wall, facing away from Lance. “Yeah, well…we came here on a mission and it was taking too long.”

“If you had just let me apologize we would have been back in Blue and headed for the castle, no problem.”

He was right, Keith realized in irritation. If he had just let Lance continue with his heartfelt, though incredibly long apology, neither of them would be in this mess. Of course, of course he had to let his anger get the best of him. Shiro was right to be worried about his potential as a leader.

His chest tightened at the thought of the missing paladin. Shiro was the reason he and Lance were here in the first place. The queen of the ice planet they had landed on, Hyperborea, which, Pidge had informed him, was literally a Greek word that meant cold giants (how did they know Greek in deep space?), had contacted the ship, saying that she had information on their missing black paladin. Because he was acting leader, and Lance’s lion was the only one able to stand the frigid temperatures, it had been a no brainer to send the two of them.

They hadn’t expected everyone on the planet to literally be giants. Or for the queen to have one of the gigantic, four legged, blue animals as a pet.

“You’re right,” he finally said, breath frosting a little in the confines of the cell. “I’m sorry.”

Lance sat up so fast that Keith was afraid he would fall off the bench. “Wait, what? Did you just apologize to me?”

Keith gave a thin, humorless smile. “Contrary to popular belief, Lance, I can admit when I’m wrong.”

“Did you just make a self-deprecating joke? Who are you and what have you done with Keith?”

He snorted and leaned his head on the bars of the cell. They had been allowed one phone call, so Keith had promptly phoned Pidge and, after getting her to stop laughing, had sent her their coordinates so that she and Hunk could come bail them out. They didn’t know how long it would take, but every second that ticked by was another second they weren’t finding Shiro, another second that the trail went cold.

“Keith?”

How long had Lance been calling his name? When he turned, Lance was just next to him, a curious look on his face. “What?”

Lance pointed to the hand that was holding the bar. “Uh…your knuckles are turning white.” He frowned and tilted his head. “And your lips are turning blue-ish.”

“What?”

Sure enough, he realized that he had been gripping the bar of the cell so hard that his hands tingled when he pulled them away. And he was confused about the lip comment until he realized he could see his breath completely now. He scowled. Stupid Hyperborea prisons.

“It’s freezing in here,” he muttered. “Of course my lips are turning blue.”

Lance furrowed his eyebrows. “No it’s not.”

His breath came out in puffs and Keith gestured triumphantly at them. Lance shook his head. “No…I mean, I’m not cold. Like at all.”

Keith let go of the bar, realizing that it was getting colder, and he gave Lance a once over. “How are you not cold? It takes a lot to get me cold, but I’m freezing.”

Lance looked like he had no idea, but after a moment his eyes lit up. “They let us keep the underwear of the suits on, remember? Mine must keep me from getting cold. But since yours is supposed to keep you from getting hot, it’s probably doing nothing.”

That…was actually a smart realization. Keith scowled and hugged himself, glancing out the door. Hunk and Pidge couldn’t get there soon enough.

Lance leaned against the wall next to him, fiddling with the cuffs of the orange jumpsuit they had both been forced into, and Keith swallowed. How could someone look stunning in prison garb? It made literally zero sense. And yet somehow Lance pulled it off as well as he did blue. When Keith realized that the paladin was rolling his sleeves up to the elbow, exposing the white sleeves of their undergarments, his mouth went dry and he looked away again.

Of all the paladins he had to get a crush on, why did it have to be Lance?

“Keith?”

He jolted, looking over at Lance to find the paladin watching him with concern. “Dude, you’re shivering.”

Huh. So he was.

“Quiznak.”

Before Keith could scold him, teasingly, for swearing, Lance was gripping the bars and leaning into the hallway as best he could. “Yo! Guard man! It’s like a freezer in here, you mind turning off the AC?”

Keith wanted to protest, tell Lance to shut up, say that they just had to wait for Hunk and Pidge, that they didn’t need any more trouble, but he couldn’t. Instead, his legs quivered and he sank to the floor, suddenly very aware of how cold he was. It felt like someone had taken his whole body, dunked it in a river in the middle of winter, and then left him in the snow to die.

“Keith!”

Lance was next to him, he realized, hands holding either side of his face in concern and wow he was warm. Keith leaned into the touch, knowing he’d be embarrassed later but too cold to care at the moment. Lance gave him a once over and nodded like he had figured something out, and the next thing Keith knew, he was sitting in Lance’s lap with Lance’s arms around him and if he wasn’t blushing before he was definitely blushing now.

“It’ll be all good,” Lance promised, his voice bright but his eyes nervous. “Pidge said they’d only be thirty ticks, and it’s definitely been that long, so we don’t have to sit around here for much longer.”

Keith shuddered and nodded, curling his fingers into Lance’s jumpsuit and trying to pull the warmth straight from the blue paladin’s body. He had never been so cold, and at some point he realized that he had stopped shivering. He didn’t know if it was good that he had, if that meant Lance had warmed him up enough, or if it was bad, if it meant he was too cold to be cold.

Lance didn’t let go regardless, arms firm around Keith and humming a soft song in the back of his throat. His hand rubbed over Keith’s shoulder at a constant pace, warming it just a little, but even with the added heat, Keith still found that there was a blackness slipping over the edges of his vision.

“L-Lance.”

Lance stopped humming and looked down at him. “S’up buddy?”

He shook his head, fingers shaking. “I c-can’t…I’m g-going to p-pass o-out.”

Lance cursed again and curled Keith in closer, the hand moving faster to generate more warmth, and then Lance was slipping out of the top of his prison uniform as best he could, unzipped to his waist, and was using it to wrap Keith up a little more. It was a comforting thought, a warm thought, but it didn’t really work.

Within moments, his vision was totally gone and his consciousness went with it.

When Keith came to again, he was stumbling out a healing pod, Lance watching him nervously and Pidge hovering over the control panel. Hunk, Allura, and Coran were nowhere in sight, nor were any of the Galra soldiers, so he focused his attention on Lance. “What happened?” he asked, rubbing an eye wearily.

Lance glanced over at Pidge and they seemed to hold a silent conversation, Pidge nodding and leaving after only a moment. “You passed out. Had a mild case of hypothermia when we got you back here.”

Keith struggled to remember. He had been in the jail cell, then on the floor, and then…

He flushed and glanced up at Lance, who was equally red. “You…thank you.”

Lance gave him a weak grin. “Of course. Wasn’t gonna let you freeze to death, you dummy.”

Keith nodded, shifting from foot to foot, and played with the hem of his shirt. “Yeah, well…you wouldn’t have been in the situation if I hadn’t provoked the queen.”

“Dude, I shot her dog thing. It’s mostly my fault.”

The queen.

Keith’s head shot up and he grabbed Lance by the shoulders. “Did she tell us anything before we left? About…about Shiro?”

Lance frowned, looking almost disappointed, but nodded. “Yeah. She only knows which quadrant they were taking him to. But it’s a start.”

“Who’s they?” Keith asked in confusion.

Lance rolled his eyes. “Wouldn’t tell us. Said she gave us enough for the trouble we caused. We assume the Galra, or Haggar, but we can’t be sure.”

Keith nodded and, before he could stop himself, wrapped Lance in a tight hug. “Thanks. For not…letting me die, I mean.”

Lance hugged back, rubbing his hand soothingly up and down Keith’s spine. “Um, duh. Can’t let our acting leader freeze his ass to death, no matter how much I don’t like you being in charge.”

Keith managed a weak laugh. “Am I really that bad?”

Lance pulled away, still holding Keith’s shoulders. A smile glinted in his eyes and on his lips. “Nah. A little hot headed, but that’s to be expected. You’re doing a good job. Shiro…Shiro would be proud of you.”

The compliment made his throat clog with tears and he nodded numbly, feeling like the world was slowly adding more weight onto his shoulders. “I almost died,” he realized softly. “Because I was acting so stupid.”

“Normally I wouldn’t disagree,” Lance murmured, lowering his gaze and squeezing Keith’s shoulders. “But you were desperate. You wanted answers. I can’t…I can’t say I wouldn’t have done the same.”

“I could have gotten you killed,” Keith said suddenly, eyes flicking up to Lance’s and heart skipping. “What kind of leader-?”

“Hey.”

Lance pulled him closer, hands sliding up and down his biceps gently and leaving behind a stinging heat that made Keith realize he was still a little chilly. “Don’t doubt yourself,” Lance scolded gently. “It’ll only make you doubt your decisions in battle, and that’s not good for any of us.”

Keith felt his breath hitch at the proximity, at the words, the wisdom coming from Lance’s lips, and he shuddered. “You’re right.”

Lance gave him a grin. “Wow, twice in one day? Keith, maybe you did die and this is some holographic projection or figment of my imagination that I’m talking to.”

Keith laughed, really laughed at that, and lifted his hands with minimal hesitation, pressing them to Lance’s chest and tilting his chin up just a little. “Yeah, well…with your imagination, I wouldn’t doubt it.”

Lance’s cheeks were beet red, but the smile remained on his face. “Oh yeah? What’s that supposed to mean?”

Keith swallowed, searching Lance’s eyes, and cocked his head. “Figure it out, dumbass.”

The grin widened and Lance leaned down ever so slightly, catching Keith’s mouth in his and lifting a hand from his shoulder to thread it through the hair on the back of his neck. Warmth flooded through Keith almost instantly and he chuckled against Lance, sliding his hands the rest of the way up his chest and looping his arms around his neck. He pulled back, flushed, and leaned his forehead on Lance’s. “You’re not as dumb as I thought,” he teased.

Lance swatted his head, though he was still grinning. “Shut up, stupid. You ready to go see if this lead takes us anywhere?”

Keith pressed his lips against Lance’s again, barely a whisper, and nodded. “Yeah. Let’s go get our leader back. And maybe not get thrown in jail this time, huh Lance?”

“Still your fault.”

“Keep telling yourself that.”