#but this show subtly putting it in a line right in the first episode. like damn are you paying attention from the start

[thelassoway]

Do you ever think about the origin of the name Theodore? No. "From the Ancient Greek name Θεόδωρος (Theódoros), meaning "gift of God(s)" (from the Ancient Greek words θεός, (theós) "God/Gods" and δῶρον (dṓron) "gift.""

[ultraericthered]

One Villainous Scene: The Mighty Moonlander

I'm gonna go ahead and say it - Season 2 was the best season of the 2017 DuckTales reboot series, and the Moon arc was the best story arc the show ever gave us. The entirety of the episode "Whatever Happened To Della Duck?" really showcases why it is, but the next time we saw Della on the moon was every bit as revealing, including the true unveiling of this season's main villain, General Lunaris. So let's flash back to May 2019, since when it's been exactly five years.

For his time in Della's focus episode, Lunaris seemed to us like a bold, intellectual, generous and reasonable soldier of what he and his people the Moonlanders knew as "Planet Moon", being visibly and vocally impressed with Della's motherly compassion being able to solve their problem with the Moon Mites and offering her a place to say in the moon's hidden civilization of Tranquility. It was his follower, Lieutenant Penumbra, who was more openly antagonistic and distrustful of Della by contrast. But Lunaris' insistence that Della and her Earthly compassion "may prove useful" to them was a red flag at the end of that episode, and in this one Lunaris reminisces about how his late father had always feared Planet Earth due to the rockets launched from it, gives Penumbra the order to stick with Della and collaborate on a way to fix up the Spear of Selene so that she can return home, and even subtly puts ideas into her head regarding how to set the rocket to launch so that Della may be forced to leave in it.

As the Spear of Selene is about to take off prematurely and Lunaris pleads with Della to leave the rocket manual with him so that the Moonlanders can build their own rockets and visit her on Earth, the viewer should be instinctively on edge and not wanting her to do it, fearing there's a Twist Villain reveal right around the corner. And sure enough, the second the Spear of Selene has been flown out of sight, Lunaris blasts himself in the shoulder with a devious grin on his face. The moment we'd been dreading is the moment he'd been waiting for, where he gets to stand before his fellow Moonlanders and lie to them, claiming that Della was a secret agent sent to Planet Moon from Earth who'd only been pretending to befriend them all (painting onto Della characteristics and deeds that are actually true of him) before she blasted at him and flew off back to Earth where she'll report back to her Earthling superiors and be intent on putting together a massive force of similar rocket ships to invade and conquere Planet Moon, but that he was able to snatch the manual from her so that now the Moonlanders have a chance to construct rocket ships of their own and invade Earth first before such a thing befalls them. And in riling up the emotions of his people, Lunaris makes clear what this is truly all about for him - an assertion of supremacy. A way to "prove that the Moon is the greatest planet in the universe!" Like a true dictator and demagogue, he leads his people in a war cry of "We are the mighty! We are the Moon!"

In Penumbra's talk with Lunaris afterwards, Lunaris shamelessly admits that he'd wanted to prey off of the fear, uncertainty and outrage of his people in order to give them a reason to take up arms and become a willing invasion force so that his ambition to invade and conquer Earth could finally be realized, and he did so by expertly manipulating both Penumbra and Della, and exploiting Della's Earthly compassion. A line of questioning from Penumbra that asks "aren't you afraid" sparks fury in the general, who ellaborates on what drives his actions, that he refuses to cower in fear of some other planet the way his late father did when he built Tranquility and cloaked it, as that is an insult to his sense of pride as a mighty Moonlander. He insists that the Moon is the planet that should be feared, and he will make the Earthlings fear him when the time to invade finally arrives. With a last remark about how he'd seen how much Della had taken a liking to Penumbra due to noted similarities to her brother Donald, Lunaris walks away from the scene looking like the most reprehensible bastard seen on this show, and also one of the most cold-blooded, strategically calculating, manipulative, dangerous characters.

While the writing, scripting, and animation direction for Lunaris are all wonderful, what really brings him life is his voice acting by actor Lance Reddick, who tragically passed away on March 17 of last year. Rest in peace, Lance. You were the mighty. You were the Moon.

[duchessofferia]

Which is the earliest time Jame Seymour should have been introduced in "The Tudors"? Since Jame had scored a place in Katherine of Aragon's court in 1529, she should have been introduced sometime during the last couple of episodes of s1, along with Edward and their father John.

After a recent rewatch, during the scene at the s1 finale where a nameless girl rebukes Anne Boleyn after her wishing that all Spaniards would be put under the sea speech, I thought that that part should have gone to Jane Seymour. That rebuke could have been one of Jane's first lines in the series.

You’re right, Jane should’ve been introduced earlier. The earliest Jane could’ve been at court was 1527, or more likely 1528, to my understanding. Katherine of Aragon made her speech at Blackfriars in 1529, and The Tudors leaned into the idea of Jane as connected to Katherine - the scene where Mary gives Jane Katherine's cross to help her through labor comes to mind. As for Anne, there were an assortment of... nameless, jittery blonde women swirling around her during the early seasons. The creators could've slotted Jane into one of their places. Maybe they meant to? I know there was some kerfuffle about her casting.

If the comparison scene between Jane & Anne before the latter's murder is anything to go off of, the creators wanted to set Jane up as ideologically opposed to Anne, to some extent. It would've been nice if Jane was given a more self-actualized role in that opposition, rather than being shown as this silly, flighty girl who stumbled into a position for which we're obviously supposed to judge her. I just know she and Katherine Howard are sharing tea cakes in hell.

Sir John's offscreen death in Season 3, and the casually callous way Edward communicated it to Jane, also would've landed much better if they'd introduced Jane earlier. Her and Edward's sibling dynamic is one of my favorites in the show, communicated subtly through shared looks, close ups and such. In Season 2, Jane follows Edward's lead, allowing him to influence her decision making something like a surrogate father. Jane is certainly the passive member of their relationship, but that wasn't used to cast her as stupid, or lesser than the other wives, which I appreciated. Edward asking Jane if she'd like to be Queen once he and his father start planning for it speaks to this dynamic that's sort of childish, in a sweet way - Edward leads and Jane follows, but willingly, not slavishly.

In Season 3, when Henry starts controlling Jane more overtly, Edward remains a man in her life who she's allowed to criticize and chastise, even as he's demonstrated to be brutally unscrupulous in his own right (see: that awful sexualized torture scene.) His wife Anne Stanhope is shown putting horns on him, but Edward barely notices, never mind getting mad at her for it. Compare that to how savagely Henry reacted to the vaguest whiff of infidelity in his Anne. The first one, that is.

It's almost like The Tudors' Henry is a decent public figure, but a monstrous domestic one, while The Tudors' Edward is a monstrous public figure, but a decent domestic one. And Jane is the woman who connects the two of them, binding their families into one, however temporarily. As Jane lays dying, Henry compares her to his late mother, and Jane is introduced to Henry by her own father, himself depicted as this jolly old fat country lord. Sir John's characterization in The Tudors was sparse, but maybe that's a blessing, considering the shaft Thomas Boleyn got.

Which leads me to another comparison. Thomas and George Boleyn's posthumous reputations both took a massive hit with this show. George is rendered not just abusive but sexually violent, the shadow of early 2000s homophobia hanging over The Tudors' portrayal like a pall. His father's depiction is more unfair than offensive, but that's not much of an improvement. This promo pic of him just makes you feel dirty, as Olga Hughes pointed out, lmao. We the audience can assume that Pádraic Delaney's George Boleyn got his cruelty from his father, while Anne (and Mary) are the family's more kindhearted diamonds-in-the-rough, a position that is reinforced by George's atypical protectiveness over Anne, which is ultimately used against him. Jane and Edward's relationship isn't as emotionally intimate as George and Anne's, but Edward and George's duel positions as men who are capable of being both negligent & violent and paternal & attentive sets them up as interesting examinations of the kind of man who takes root in an environment like this, much like Charles Brandon, Eustace Chapuys, Francis Bryan, etc.

The missing piece in the equation is Jane. Henry's fatherhood is well explored, Anne's sisterhood is the most overtly sympathetic part of her characterization, Mary I's conflict as a daughter is what drives her through the whole series. Jane is a sister, daughter, mother and wife, and there are a few shining moments where she really titillates: inquiring about her family's plans, selling the necklace Henry gave her, chiding Edward for mishandling her father's death, protecting Mary no matter the cost, things like that. But her most well-developed relationship is the one she has with Henry, and that one says more about him as a man than it does her as a woman.

How did Jane feel about Sir John that encouraged her to lean on Edward, even though he was easily identifiable as a worse man than his father? How did Jane feel transitioning from Katherine's household to Anne's, especially with regards to her catholicism? What did she think about the dissolution of the monasteries when it first started? Did she want to get married and have children, or did she just know she'd have to one day? What were her prospects before Henry? What does she like in a man anyways?

Unfortunately, we don't know, because The Tudors doesn't bother to tell us. Wish it had been different, to say the least.

[fluffnflightillustrations]

A Renruki request: Renji watching anime for the first time with Rukia in the world of the living. Bonus points if they're watching it in Ichigo's house.

"This.... is the masterpiece of the human world." Rukia sat back on her bed, squished shoulder to shoulder against Renji as they shared Ichigo's lap computer atop their thighs.

The theme song brought the characters to life, the bouncy song and sparkling title screen setting the tone for the entire storyline. Rukia really needed to get one of these things for Soul Society. She tried to focus on the anime, but felt just a tad bit distracted, as any movement made by her anime-binging buddy squished up against her was maddeningly warm and enticing. "Wait-- this girl's name is Ichigo?" Renji was grinning ear to ear. "Did you make him watch this yet?"

"I've tried! Orihime showed me this one, and he refuses to watch it. Any chance of a schoolmate finding out could ruin his carefully honed teenage reputation." She snorted.

About three episodes in, Rukia couldn't bother to pay attention to the anime any more. It was alright, but magical girl anime's just weren't her favorite. They worked at a maid cafe as a guise, and they fought aliens as the bad guys. It was just a simple, overused plot line. "That guy's kinda fishy for a love interest."

"Care for spoilers?"

"Rukia, with all due respect, I'm probably never gonna watch another episode of this after today. Dump it on me."

"He's the boss of all the bad guys in disguise."

Renji rolled his eyes. It really was predictable, if even a buffoon like him could figure it out. Rukia leaned her head on his shoulder, very very subtly, so as not to draw attention.

Unfortunately, however, it was less subtle than she had thought, as a smile tugged at the corner of his lips and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. They both decided not to comment on it. Did it really need words, whatever this was? What mattered more was not defining this feeling, but relishing in however long it lasted. Defining it could wait till later. She would rather enjoy this moment as it stood.

Only 5 minutes later did the moment end abruptly, as Ichigo slammed open the closet door. "Seriously?? In my closet??"

Rukia launched her pillow at his face. "You know you could knock." Ichigo launched the pillow right back at her. "It's my closet! Not your room!" He rubbed his temples. "I need that back, I have homework to do." He swiped his computer, and made a face at the anime they were watching.

"I'm not even going to ask about it." He put his computer on his desk, and swiveled around to stare at the two shinigami, a scowl on his face, hands on his hips. "I have school tomorrow, I can't have you guys waking me up. Just get out of here soon." He shut the closet door, and his footsteps faded away as he walked to his desk.

Rukia and Renji grinned at each other in the dark. "What do you think we should do for an hour, then?" Renji's smirk was very difficult to make out in the limited light of the closet, but Rukia could well enough hear it in his voice.

"Does it really need to be said out loud?" Rukia smirked back, and rested a hand on his cheek, pulling his jaw bones down just enough to place a soft kiss on his lips.

"Stop making out in my closet!"

He was getting on Rukia's last nerve. "If it bothers you so much, put in your headphones!" Renji just chuckled. This last hour was going to be a fine one.

[youlooklikeabeeandilikebees]

i know the first episode of series 4 gets a lot of negative comments and it's sort of a weird transitional episode where nina is killed off screen and there's this big shift towards a more sci-fi-esque narrative with the threat of an apocalyptic future and it's all depressing and weird and suddenly werewolf blood is toxic to vampires but i have to highlight how many great moments the episode has:

the introduction of hal, leo, and pearl! love that barbershop scene where leo puts a mirror to the back of hal's head as if he has a reflection

dewi being the dorkiest vampire we've seen on the show

the introduction of cutler! and him making fun of regus and his lines "oh my god that is human skin" about the map and "who'd have thought the old ones would be so difficult to shop for"

tom continuously slipping in comments about how big the house is to try to subtly ask them if he can move in

tom saying "even mcnair gave me a name and he eat me parents"

"TWATTAGE"

annie naming the baby splodge

cutler's trap at the warehouse and the great transformation scene juxtaposed with the vampires staring at eve while nothing happens and they're disappointed

tom telling george "you ain't nobody's father." when you hear something like that from a sweetheart like tom you know he's right

regus not wanting to kill the baby so he keeps purposefully delaying the ritual and also him going "is that somebody's phone?"

that decapitated head just FLYING across the room followed by that badass reveal of george (but seriously how did that head travel so far??)

[tomato-jump]

A little rant about ok vs great character ‘breaking scenes’

Full disclosure, 1) I’m not a writer this is just my opinion, and 2) I really enjoyed hazbin hotel this isn’t slander power to the hazbin fandom right now shit is crazy I’m just talking about writing

Ok so, I’m sure that the pacing and writing issues in Hazbin are kinda obvious, they don’t take away from the show and I enjoyed it a lot, but it’s there. In my opinion episode four was the show at its best, a lot of people I’ve spoken to agree that episode four is one of the strongest ones (I haven’t seen 7 and 8 yet tho so idk) and specifically angels ‘breaking point’ scene outside the bar/club. Scenes like that are really important for character building, because they, in essence, show you how the characters are feeling. Angels scene was okay, it was impactful, but it wasn’t great, so I’m gonna compare it to one or two other scenes that serve a similar purpose and explain why. (Here’s a hint it’s about subtlety if you couldn’t tell when you watched it)

“This is my escape, where I can forget about it all and how much I hate…everything”

That’s a great line, it’s impactful, but god it’s lazy. Like I get it, but it’s kind of a nothing line, yknow? Like, its abstractttt, but think about it within the context of angel’s character and it doesn’t really mean anything. It’s not subtle, and the key (in my opinion emphasis on opinion) to good writing, especially for big character break scenes, is subtly. This scene is relying so heavily on the shock factor of Angels fucked up storyline to carry all the emotional weight. It’s so horrible that it just has to be impactful, but that means it doesn’t really hit any better or worse with context, which if you really want a good breakdown scene for, it kinda has to. It just kjnda….is a line. That’s this whole scene in a nutshell. It hits, its sad and it’s impactful, but only because his story literally makes it so by default, saying he hates everything doesn’t mean anything to his character. If that doesn’t really make sense, lemme put it like this; if you want a really good scene serving the purpose that this one is trying to achieve, it needs to hit better or hit differently the second time you watch it. Rewatch hazbin again and it’s the same scene, and the same can be said for most of it’s dialogue actually, which while isn’t detrimental to the story, shows that most of its dialogue isn’t really serving a purpose to the story, if each line mattered then each line should mean something once you know the whole story, if that makes sense.

Ok, now I’m gonna compare it to a much better scene from Helluva boss (to prove that Vivzie can do this stuff)

“You didn’t even care-!”

“I did care!!”

Bro ok, instantly this is better. Like this whole scene is so much better it’s a little weird that they were written by the same person. Why? Well, obviously on first watch it’s impactful, it’s got that ‘ghasp he left him to die?!?’ Shock factor, but the real shit comes from the sweet sweet context. What do we know about Blitzø? He’s scared of love, and everyone he has ever cared about he has hurt. He pretends he doesn’t care (a lot like Angel) all the time because he can’t be vulnerable and he can’t let people close to him. He does care. and the more you know about Blitzø the more that like hits because of it. Angel has a similar scream line when he shouts ‘it’s not an act! It’s who I need to be….’ But the problem with that one is that it doesn’t change or feel any better with more or less context, because we know everything we need to know about Angel already. The audience isn’t getting the same sense of satisfaction or payoff for these lines with Angel like they are for Blitzø because Helluva isn’t just telling you about these characters, it’s showing you. Blitzø could have gone ‘I didn’t leave you to die! I had to make a difficult choice and it haunts me and this the effect it had on me and blah blah blah’ but he doesn’t, he panics and tries to explain and he keeps repeating in the scene that he was trying to get help but he can’t explain it all and he just can’t. That’s good writing. Because where Angel jumps into this fully formed explanation of why he’s acting this way, Blitzø doesn’t because Blitzø can’t. Show not tell yknow?

Blitzø’s scene feels different when you know more about his character, to put it simply.

A really good example of this kinda writing is Steven universe, I genuinely can’t explain it unless you’ve seen it but

“Well I think you’re pretty great”

I don’t even have the words for how brilliant this scene is, every time you learn something new about pearl this scene just gets better, it’s so fucking good. She doesn’t even say anything, its all implied and I love it.

However, I am aware Helluva did have a season and a half to flesh out Blitzø, hazbin had three episodes,so I admit a lot of this is just down to the pacing getting in the way, but my point still stands.

Ok I’m going to sleep it’s 12:07 wtf

[whovianwatchingstartrek]

A Whovian Watches Star Trek for the First Time: Part 032 - T'Pol's Repressed Memories

Star Trek: Enterprise - Season 2 Episode 7 - The Seventh

Looks like we've got another Vulcans want Enterprise to run their errands episode. Specifically T'Pol has been requested to pick someone called Menos up, and hand him over to the Vulcans. Of course, in typical Vulcan fashion, she is very vague about the details of her mission.

She also took Travis with her. I'm not sure why when it is just her who was requested by Vulcan command and she only directly asked Archer to come with her, but at least Travis is seeing some long overdue action, right? No, he's basically put to the side again. This is a repeated problem with Mayweather, the show just doesn't do anything with him, even when they decide to bring him along. He didn't even get any lines until well over three quarters of the way into the episode. He might as well have been any other faceless nameless member of the crew. It's making me start to question why they wrote him into the series at all if they're so reluctant to do anything with him. I can't even really call him a waste of a character, because they never set anything up for him either. Does the show ever get around to doing anything with him?

This is definitely T'Pol's focus episode though. This episode really shook her faith in herself with her repressed memories coming back, and her actress was really good at showing her subtly breakdown over it. The subtle cracks in her voice as she talked about killing Josen were amazing. Jolene Blalock is easily the best actor in this show, and she really got her opportunity to show off here.

The atmosphere in the alien bar was excellent. I love when sci-fi does the whole Wretched Hive of Scum and Villainy thing, this was a great example of it. Everything here is so dark and grungy, which is a nice change up from the usual clean sleek ships we've been seeing so far.

There was a nice comedic B-Plot with Trip running the Enterprise while Archer and T'Pol were out. It's a small detail, but I like that Trip has picked up the captain's interest in Water Polo from back in Vox Sola. I loved this stuff. Seeing him go through all sorts of shenanigans as acting captain to prevent the Vulcans finding out that Archer went down to the planet with T'Pol was hilarious.

Parts of the episode kind of reminded me of the Doctor Who episode Boom Town, from the 9th Doctor era. You have the similar personal moral conflict of "We have prisoner, do we have the right to hand them over to the authorities if it means their death sentence. Are they lying to get our sympathies or do we believe them?" Which was a really compelling theme there, and it was here to.

I enjoyed myself here, and I really enjoyed the Character Work with T'Pol. I'm excited to see where this goes for her character arc of embracing a more Human way of thinking about emotions. Really good episode!

[bowtiesnmusicals]

Here is my recap of Slush Fund (Mash-Off).

I am skipping the Drag Race episode. If you want me to do a recap I will but I really just wanted to do the Glee related episode. I know I also skipped the Snixxmas and Darren's Christmas episodes. I can go back and do these if anyone wants me too. I just figured most people bought tickets to watch the live version of Snixxmas and there were other posts about Darren's Christmas episode.

Anyways, now I will actually start the recap.

There are no actual mashups in this episode. Well not song wise anyways.

Matt, Lea, and Cory were on the cover of Entertainment Weekly. This was the first glee magazine cover.

It was announced Johnathan Groff would be doing a couple of episodes. Jenna said he's the nicest person in Hollywood.

The number 1 movie at the time was Paranormal Activity. Lea forced Kevin to watch it. She had a movie night at her house. Jenna opted out because she doesn't like scary movies. Chris might have been there. Actually they aren't sure if Jenna was there.

Austin has taught Kevin to appreciate scary movies.

The day after this episode aired Neil Diamond tweeted Mark. It was the first time an artist reached out after their song was covered.

Jayma sings for the first time in this episode.

Kevin likens Rachel and Puck to when Rachel and Joey dated on Friends. It's just weird.

Kevin says the Thong Song is a classic.

This episode is a lot of cringey Shue. It feels like Acafella's part 2. We see a lot of the adults in this episode. Many boundaries are being crossed.

Mr. Shue doing Bust A Move is also weird. He unbuttons his shirt and touches students faces. It's just a really weird number.

Everybody is getting slushied in this episode. This is where Karofsky says he is on the hockey team.

Lots of tracking shots of slushy cups.

Amber improved the not my weave line.

This episode was the start of the fake slushies. They used it because it was faster to reset and easier to clean up. It did not look as good as using a real slushy.

Everyone had a great time doing Bust A Move because they didn't really have to do anything.

Matt had to do a lot this episode.

Kevin had a teacher that taught him how to fake play the bass.

At the time they didn't see Bust A Move as cringe. They saw Matt as a friend. Whereas fans saw Mr. Shue as a teacher and that made it weird and not appropriate.

When Quinn and Finn get slushied a football player slips in the slushy at the end of the scene.

Jenna and Kevin watched Chris slushy himself. He asked them not to laugh because they only really had one take to get it right. The slushy went all behind him and on the light and got Lea.

Kevin points out Chris' amazing in that scene and Jenna says that's why he is a Golden Globe winner.

Kevin and Jenna vividly remember filming when they slushied Mr. Shue.

This is the first time we see Quinn in regular clothes. Quinn's clothes subtly mirrored what Dianna wore in real life.

You can see the plastic they had on the floor when the slushy Mr. Shue. Matt was actually really nervous. As of this episode 12 slushies was the most anyone had been slushied with but Kevin would soon break that record.

Kevin and Jenna purposely kept it quiet that Tina and Artie had never been slushied. Someone ratted out Kevin.

Kevin quite literally got the Superbowl of slushies.

Will and Emma talking about the mash up's really shows their characters perspectives.

Sue goes on a tirade this episode.

It was nice seeing Sue vulnerable but it was also a bit uncomfortable.

Zach Woodlee the choreographer was put through the ringer in this episode. Brooke the assistant choreographer really came in handy this episode.

Some of the Glee dancers are in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Also Jane is in this show.

The Puck and Rachel storyline makes Kevin really uncomfortable.

The dream montage was really good. Puck and Rachel were funny together.

Jenna didn't have Joey and Rachel on friends. She didn't want them to end up together. She thought it was weird to already be mixing and matching since we hadn't really seen much of Rachel and Finn at this point.

Jenna and Kevin forgot about What A Girl Wants.

Neil Diamond loved glee's cover of Sweet Caroline.

It was a fun number to shoot.

Kevin, Amber, and Jenna recorded the background vocals. to Sweet Caroline.

At some point the cast stopped recording the background vocals would have to learn the song the same day as they performed it.

This is not Kevin and Jenna's favorite episode.

Gold star to Matt for working his ass of in this episode.

Tartie Takes:

Cringe Moment - The whole entire episode.

Worst Dance Move - Thong Song

Favorite Dance - Sing Sing (Jane had a blast doing it.)

Best Song - Sweet Caroline

Best Performance By A Prop - Slushy

Flight of the Bumblebee playing during the slushy montage was brilliant.

Things That Didn't Age Well - Finn's line about a zombie virus.

Best Line - I will go to the animal shelter and get you a kitty cat. I will let you fall in love with that kitty cat. Then on some dark cold night I will steal way into your home and punch you in the face. (This is Kevin's favorite line of the entire show.) Shue's reply is also great. Didn't work out with Rod. Also Emma's quote about Ken convincing her to be in the same room when the marriage is certified.

Fun Fact - They used something like a karate dummy to practice with the slushies. Apparently you can see it during their Oprah episode.

Shit We Found On Tiktok

Kristen Chenoweth made a Glee tiktok. April Rhodes to the students of McKinley and she signs popular. It was really cute.

Someone found a mistake in this episode. During Sweet Caroline when they are clapping at the end of the performance its the same shot twice.

Someone made an incredible tiktok of a shot of the cast of Riverdale watching something on a laptop and it cuts to Bust A Move.

Next up is Wheels!

[tailsrevane]

[tv review] ds9 3x01 & 3x02 "the search" (1994)

3x01 “the search, part 1”

i could quibble about how dumb sisko showing up unannounced with the defiant is, but the truth is it’s an incredibly effective bit of storytelling. everyone’s reactions and the fact that it slips right through the station’s defenses really helps both to emphasize that the ship is built to be upfront dangerous in a way starfleet ships usually aren’t and to solidify the very real shift in stakes & tone the show achieved in the previous season’s finale.

the fact that the federation’s response to the haymaker the dominion threw at them at the end of the previous season is to beef up their defenses but also to send sisko & co on a very dangerous mission of peace is something i sincerely appreciate. and sisko is fully bought in. he makes no bones about the fact that he doesn’t especially expect the mission to open a dialogue with the founders to succeed, but that doesn’t stop him from being fully committed to that mission. this is peak starfleet imo. i think the difference between ds9 & tng isn’t so much that picard & sisko are cut from entirely different cloths. they’re pursuing the exact same ends, it’s just that the facts of the situation are markedly different.

as we get deeper into the dominion war, i can think of at least one very specific instance where i think sisko makes a choice that picard wouldn’t, and i’ll be interested to see how i feel about that episode when we get to it, but i appreciate that we get a very clear sign that sisko’s values and the federation’s are lined up much in the same way that it was the case for picard. to rise to the kind of position they’ve both risen to really does require being something of a paragon of virtue.

the other thing that really comes to a head in this episode is all the shit going on with odo. when starfleet assigns a starfleet security chief to ds9, he throws yet another of his epic hissy fits over it, and for what feels like the hundredth time decides to resign. kira, obviously not wanting to lose one of her closest friends on the station, manges to maneuver him into at least accompanying them on the mission to the gamma quadrant. and that puts him in position for his plot to continue for the next episode & a half.

the fact that kira really stuck her neck out for odo here and he repays her by effectively kidnapping her & deserting the ship during a crisis is something i feel like doesn’t entirely get dealt with? like, she’s definitely pissed at him when she wakes up in the shuttle, but odo continues to just do all kinds of flagrantly dealbreaking shit on this show and never get taken to task for it. it’s probably one of my biggest frustrations with the show tbh.

but yeah, ending this episode with the introduction of the founders’ (we don’t know they’re the founders yet) homeworld was an incredibly strong choice. this is both a super eventful episode & a super well-made episode. it’s a great reinforcement of how the previous season ended, and a great start to what the show is going to be about moving forward. a-rank

3x02 “the search, part 2”

i’m going to be very honest here, the first time i saw this episode i straight up never figured out that everything going on on the alpha quadrant side of things was a simulation. and because i watched a few episodes of ds9 here & there when it was airing, i knew for a fact that the wormhole continued to be a going concern later in the show, so when sisko & co stole the runabout and blew up the entrance to the wormhole, i was like, “wait, what?”

watching it now, though, there are enough things subtly wrong with this part of the plot that i’m a little embarrassed i didn’t figure it out? like, i think they did a pretty actually great job of balancing not totally giving it away but also making it very possible for a less credulous viewer than me to have figured it out? like, everything is ever so slightly “off,” but in a way that’s subtle enough that you could be forgiven for just thinking the episode is kinda weird?

i fucking love that the simulation totally nails garak, btw. the part where he pretends to betray sisko & co, and tells the bewildered jem’hadar, “you mean no one told you? you see, i pretend to be their friend… and then i shoot you!” just abruptly changing who he’s betraying mid-sentence like one last little victory lap before he guns them down. just fucking pure, uncut garak.

the way this episode totally flips the a plot & b plot is such a wonderful star trekky move. like, you’re kind of wondering why we’re spending so much time on the odo & kira stuff when it seems so much less consequential than the fate of the galaxy type stuff happening elsewhere, and then it turns out all of that was happening in a simulation literally meters away from where odo & kira have been this whole time.

this is just a fucking awesome misdirect that feels so rewarding. and having it turn out that odo & kira have been interacting with the founders this whole time is such a great way to flip the script considering that the other plot has been all about figuring out who the founders were & what they wanted. it’s such a great way to have these plots intersect.

this two-parter had a lot to accomplish, and i think it accomplished it about as well as it could have all things considered. especially in this era, it was really hard to change the entire trajectory of a television show in a way that feels natural & true to that show’s core identity, and i think they pulled that off admirably here. they cemented the seismic shift that happened at the end of the last season, and actually double downed on that with the bombshell that odo’s been a founder all along. this is truly great television, and more importantly truly great star trek. a-rank

[iamnot-theboynextdoor]

sorry not sorry i'm writing actor meta about the appearance swap

this is going to get confusing when i talk about the layers of aziraphale, crowley, aziraphale-as-crowley, crowley-as-aziraphale, david-as-aziraphale-as-crowley and michael-as-crowley-as-aziraphale. sorry bout it

when we first see The First Day Of The Rest Of Their Lives, we as the audience are not supposed to know that They Are Not What They Seem, and so david and michael's performances are very subtle - so subtle that you're probably not even supposed to pick up on them on first viewing.

i love that in-universe, aziraphale and crowley have to perfectly fool their offices, and out-of-universe, david and michael have to perfectly fool us- at first, and then clue us in. and they do! spectacularly!

aziraphale-as-crowley replicates crowley's "i'm not scared of hell, i talk to other demons like i own the place" attitude, but his tone comes off as a lot more light-hearted then the real crowley's. behind his glasses, he opens his eyes wider, smiles more, even comes off as somewhat friendly. his posture is straighter; even lying in the bath, he's flat on his back, symmetrical with his gestures. his voice is lighter, but david-as-aziraphale-as-crowley keeps crowley's accent the same- until later.

crowley-as-aziraphale eschews aziraphale's politeness and holds his tongue when the angels try to dress him down, but his voice is a lower, less expressive, and he sounds very unimpressed (even when in the bookshop! looking at new books!) he frowns more, circles aziraphale-as-crowley protectively, and is decisively Not Nervous around the angels. the real aziraphale tries So Hard to get in the angels' good graces, downplaying his ideas, laughing nervously, swaying back and forth on his toes. crowley-as-aziraphale looks them all dead on with disapproval. michael-as-crowley-as aziraphale is *very* reserved in comparison to the real aziraphale, he deletes all the colour, tone, pitch, and affect from his voice.

when they sit on the bench together after the plan, that's the audience's biggest and last chance to figure out What's Going On before the official reveal. crowley-as-aziraphale is there, all pretenses gone, sitting like crowley normally does. aziraphale would never sit like that in his *life*. and he's sitting on the left side of the bench, facing camera right, which is where crowley usually is framed (unless he's driving).

and michael-as-crowley-as-aziraphale goes further into the voicework. he drops aziraphale's (or crowley-as-aziraphale imitating his) posh accent, and ends up somewhat midway into crowley's southern english accent. (apparently michael can also mimic david's voice perfectly, well enough to prank mr neil gaiman with, i so badly want to hear that impression)

aziraphale-as-crowley enters and sits, spine straight up, forward-facing, hands in his lap- crowley has never looked so well-behaved. and, of course, he's on the right side of the bench, facing camera left.

and david-as-aziraphale-as-crowley has the *softest*, lightest little voice, in a most-of-the-way-there posh accent (i wish they both had more lines, just so i could hear them talk)

watching david and michael in those scenes is like watching a gradient slowly change, as crowley and aziraphale go through layers of putting on the best performance as each other (but still having a few of their own personalities subtly showing) to blending their characteristics together- when they sit on the bench together (and it's like three lines!) they're sort of half-and-half, each, until they swap back. david and michael's performances in episode 6, both physical and vocal, are going to live rent free in my brain forever.

and i love michael's (i think it was his) idea of a stage show where they'd swap characters every night (he was originally going to play crowley), i'm glad we got a little taste of what that would be like.

[5yn]

If only G-Witch'd had one more episode about [ 5nore ] my lack of creativity wouldn't have cramped me so hard with my vague ideas about how 5 has probably never seen the real sky, real landscapes, nature, weather and climate changes that can be unpredictable and pitiless on Earth when in space colonies all of that had been taken care of as much as possible through terraforming and calibrating of temperatures and climate for human living.

Like he interprets Norea's drawings of decay as a fear of demise and extinction and the show perhaps sort of encourages me to take that at face value but I also feel like it's just in-character too for him to miss the angle that maybe she was also celebrating the messiness and imperfection of nature, the way life persists in struggle, that's so opposed to the sterility and whitewashing of space-dweller living that she despises so much, right down to the sky itself being fake panels. He wouldn't fully grasp this, he has none of the context for why any of this would be worth appreciating or having sentimental feelings or attachment to - he just sees death and in that he sees fear and something to avoid or put off even thinking about or confronting directly. That's how he sees things.

...I also think it's cool how when 5 makes his big proposal speech expressing actual hope (and a desire to understand what she saw in those places she drew that she would immortalize them in art) for the first time ever it's set against a backdrop of the sky panel's lines showing their artifice being clear and glitching in some places. A subtly cynical framing to twist the knife further... Love it.

[goldenroutledge]

Rafe and “i’m not worthy of anybody’s love.” “that’s not true, you’re worthy of mine.” followed by the lover breaking eye-contact… + a love confession

troubled waters

pairing: rafe cameron x reader

wc: 1.8k

warning(s): a lil angsty but ends in fluff

summary: in which rafe comes knocking at your door, in need of a friend, but you are ready to give him a hell of a lot more than that.

a/n: YESS THIS SCREAMS RAFE THANK YOU FOR REQUESTING!! 🤍

rafe masterlist

© goldenroutledge , do not copy, steal, or translate my work

Thunder shook your lonely house, amongst the lightning striking in quick and bright flashes outside but visible through the thin curtains. Curled up in a fuzzy blanket in your bedroom, many throw pillows nearly drowned you in them to tune out the noises of nature. So many throw pillows in fact that your TV show was playing at an alarmingly high volume. You could’ve sworn your doorbell went off, causing you to rewind your show 10 seconds to see if that’s where the sound was coming from.

Ok, definitely the doorbell, you concluded as it went off for a second time while the show was paused. Your parents weren’t set to return home from their trip for another week. And if anything, their postponed arrival was because of the storm. Nobody in their right mind would be traveling in this weather.

Tiptoeing down the stairs, you made your way to the front door slowly. Not without grabbing a large knife from the kitchen first, just to be safe. The porch light had been turned off because you weren’t expecting anybody, but the lightning and the street light further away illuminated the shadowy figure standing behind the stained glass door. Whoever they were, they should be thankful you had a fairly large porch that was the only thing keeping them from getting drenched in the pouring rain. In one swing, the front door flew open and left you facing your uninvited guest.

“Rafe?” You quizzed, putting the knife behind your back now that you’d identified the person. Stepping aside, you gestured for him to come inside before shutting and locking the door. “What are you doing here? And driving in this weather? Are you insane?”

A heavy sigh fell from his lips, pulling down the hood of his hoodie for you to get a better look at him. “I should’ve called. I’m sorry.” His line of vision scattered the floor. “I didn’t know where else to go.”

Peering up at him, you finally caught sight of his exhausted expression and puffy eyes. You frowned, reaching for him before remembering the knife in one of your hands that made him slightly jump upon seeing it. “What the hell? Why do you have that?”

“Oh, my bad.” You retraced your steps back to the kitchen and put the knife back in its place. “I wasn’t really expecting company at this hour.”

“Right.” He clicked his tongue in response, hands in his pockets. “Again, I’m sorry. I probably shouldn’t have just dropped in like this. I can go if you want.”

“No!” You debated a little too quickly. “I-I’m, uhm.. I’m glad you came, actually. I didn’t wanna be alone anyways.” You took his hand in yours, knife-free this time, and led him up to your room. “So don’t worry about it. You know my door’s always open for you.”

Rafe’s lips pursed tightly into the best smile he could give at your acceptance. Despite his attempt to look somewhat happy, the sorrow dripping off of him was evident.

To you, at least. Normally you could read Rafe like the back of your hand, and tonight was no different. Figuring out how to get through to him was the tricky part.

The both of you were leaning back on your large array of pillows, offering him a blanket to insulate his shivering body. You pressed play on your show again, shoulder to shoulder with your best friend, leaning into each other subtly.

An episode later, a wave of fatigue came over you, drawing a yawn from your lips as the end credits rolled on the screen. Now it was just you, Rafe, and the pouring rain outside. You looked over to him to see a few tears rolling down his cheeks. He blinked and let them fall as fast as they filled his eyes, mind clearly off in another world.

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

Rafe only shook his head no, exhaling shakily.

The two of you sat in the quiet for a few minutes, the storm still very much alive but it wasn’t the reason for the pangs of ache in your heart.

You wanted to tell Rafe he’d be okay, and that you’d be there for him. You wanted to tell him how badly it hurts to see him in pain, how much you loved him. But when the time presents itself. This wasn’t about you, not in this moment.

“Can I ask you a question?” He hummed, telling you to go ahead. “Why did you show up here tonight? Not that I don’t want you here, but in this weather, too? Did something happen?”

“I don’t know, Y/n/n. I trust you. I already told you I didn’t have anywhere else to go.”

“Alright. I just need to know you’re okay, Rafe.”

“Now that I’m here, I am.” Rafe wiped his tears away, sniffling as he spoke up again, ready to confide in you. “My dad told me leave. Said he didn’t want to be stuck home with me during the storm, y’know.”

Your eyes remained fixated on him, showing him that you were listening. You held his hand in yours gently for support. “It’s probably better that way, too. When we are stuck home together it just gives him more time and reason to remind me of what a fuck up I am.”

Your eyebrows furrowed in disagreement. “Don’t say that about yourself, Rafe.” You debated, in a strong tone but also a quiet one.

“When you start hearing it enough, you believe it, Y/n. And lately I’ve been really trying— trying to do better for his approval. But nothing fucking works. I can’t stop messing up no matter what I do.” He ranted, hands running through his hair and at this point having let yours go.

Rafe threw the blanket off and stood up, his frame looming over your dresser as he banged his fist down on it in a single motion. “He’ll never love me like he loves Sarah.” An aggrieved sob escaped his lips as he looked up at himself in the mirror.

You followed him of course, moving across the bed and pulling him into your arms immediately. Rafe welcomed you, clutching your body to his and dropping his head to cry in the crook of your neck. In hopes to ease some of his pain, you caressed and curled some of his hair between your fingers.

“I’m not even worthy of his love, either.” He let out as he caught his breath. “I’m not worthy of anybody’s love.”

“That’s not true... You’re worthy of mine.” You argued, unable to stop the words from coming out of your mouth. The both of you froze, though you pulled back, holding his shoulders but eventually dropping your hands from them as the silence passed.

“What?”

Tears now pooled in your eyes, for several different reasons but all of the emotions combined became overwhelming. As much as you wanted to backtrack and erase the words from both of your memories, you couldn’t. You had to let Rafe know someone truly loves him.

“You are worthy of love, Rafe. I hate that you don’t see it.”

His blue orbs glimmered in disbelief, but optimism as they shined with new tears, for different reasons as well. “No.” He protested. “You said I’m worthy of your love.”

“Mhm.”

“So.. what does that mean?” He questioned with a hint of hope in his tone, though he didn’t want to embarrass himself by misreading anything. “You know I’m not good at reading in between the lines n’ shit.”

Reluctantly, you accepted his embrace for you now, resting your hands on his sweatshirt clad torso while his rested on your waist comfortingly. You closed your eyes as more tears slipped out, wishing you were dreaming right now. You didn’t want to face him. His rejection wouldn’t be easy at all, though unavoidable now.

“It means.. I love you, Rafe.”

His reaction wasn’t one you were able to gauge, your heartbeat hammering in your chest. “A-and I’m sorry if I just ruined our whole friendship because I’m an idiot who doesn’t think before I talk. It’s just so unfair that you have to feel unloved, Rafe. It hurts me too and I just needed you to kno-” Before you could finish, Rafe’s lips were on yours, intervening your ramble as he kissed you feverishly.

“Are you done?” He questioned once he pulled away, hands still cupping your face and caressing your damp cheeks.

“I guess so. But I- what was that?”

“I love you too, Y/n.” He confessed, giving you a genuine smile of relief and contentment for the first time all night. “Guess you’re not so good at reading between the lines either, huh. Even though I thought I just made it pretty clear for you.”

“Then maybe you should try again. I’m not sure that I’m following..” You teased, lips hovering over his before he kissed you once again, this time less sloppily but with the same passion.

Pulling away for air, your foreheads rested on one another’s, smiling like fools as the tears shed from you both were the last thing on your minds.

“I love you.” Rafe whispered, pure adoration taking over the look in his eyes.

“And I love you. Never forget it, okay? I’ll tell you everyday if I have to.”

He chuckled at your last comment, knowing there actually was truth to that. “Okay.” He pressed a featherlight kiss to your forehead in agreement. “Thank you.” He mumbled, expressing his gratitude for several of your actions.

Or not even your actions specifically, but how you made him feel. Rafe would never be able to thank you enough. “For always being here, for loving me. Even if I didn’t find out until a few minutes ago.”

“I’ve loved you for a lot longer than a few minutes, Rafe.” You chuckled against his chest at his joke.

“I know.” He reassured smoothly. “But it felt good to hear it. I didn’t know if I was ever going to.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.” You conceded. “But I meant what I said. You deserve to be loved.”

His hand ran up and down your back soothingly. “I’m glad you told me. So now we can stop being idiots. Except we’re still idiots, but now we’ll just make out all the time.”

“Is this your way of asking me to be yours, Cameron?”

He scoffed, rolling his eyes in emphasis. “Seriously? I just told you I love you so why would I not-”

“I’m kidding, Rafe. Of course I want to.” You pinched his cheeks in amusement.

“I just had to make you work for it. I never thought you’d love me either.”

He laughed at your antics and somewhat strange logic, rain only tapping on your windows now. “Love was just a word to me until you gave it a definition, Y/n.”

a/n: i wrote this in a p r i l 😟 and forgot all about it. given it’s my one year writing anniversary i thought it would be fun to post another rafe work. the og being called ‘trouble in paradise’ & this one being called ‘troubled waters’ lol what a coincidence. anyways, thanks for stickin with me & my writing for a year <3

taglist: @ilovejjmaybank @missevi @nxsmss @cameronsrafe @msgorillagripcoochie @bibliophilewednesday @tovvaa @rudybarnes @annab-nana @babeyglo @reawritesthings @moniamaybank @outerbankspreferences @laneybobeczko-g @jjpouggues @j-j-may-bank @starrycigarettes @eifhames @outerbankies @pogueslandia @kaysapogue @mildkleptomaniac @whcclxr @mrs-cameron @maybanksslut @it-was-never-meant-to-be-boys @alanniys @sunnymaybank @amourslover

rafe: @vintageobx @chrisevansfuturewife @drewstarkeysbitchh @littlementalpolaroids @mildkleptomaniac @destourtereaux @kookkyra @iammirrorball

[mxchellesworld]

Discuss!

Spencer Reid x Reader

Synopsis; Where the team discusses the question ‘do you kiss after head’, you find out Spencer has too little experience to answer the question so you help him out

Warnings; smut, oral (male receiving), sub!spencer, praise, slight degradation 

a/n; LMAO im so sorry for disappearing again life has been actually kicking my ass but anyways lately i’ve been thinking about subby early season spence so here we go,, hope you enjoy!

***

Another Friday night and the team was out bar crawling after an easy case. But this time all members were there as it reached 11pm which was rare. Usually Hotch and JJ would have been home by 10:30 and Spencer wouldn’t have been there at all. But there was something light in the air which had all parties concerned sitting packed in a booth, laughing after each sip of their drinks. 

Since it wasn’t your first rodeo together you knew how the night went. It started off with Rossi offering to buy the first few rounds, always whiskey but he made an exception for Penelope. Then again who would deny her anything. 

Once the drinks were flowing and lips got a little loose, the questions would start popping in at the top of your heads. However these were not your run of the mill, ‘hows so and so doing?’ ‘done your taxes yet?’ oh no. The name of the game was discuss where you would all think of a question which would help you dig just a tiny bit deeper into your coworkers sex lives. 

Maybe if you were all sober then you’d avoid thinking of each other in such positions, pun intended, yet in this state your prying minds were open and your stomachs were ready to grow abs from bending over in laughter. 

You raised the margarita glass up clinking it with a fork to get the tables attention. Everyone including Aaron had a smile on their face, ready to hear the intrusive question for the night. 

“Ok my fellow profilers, doctor, and tech genius,” you added pointing at Spencer then Pen, “Do you kiss your partner after they give you head? Discuss!” you finished in your most formal voice. 

Right as you took a swig of your drink the mixed responses of yes and no filled your small space. 

“Why wouldn’t you? You guys especially, if someones willingly trying to swallow then you damn well owe them a kiss,” Emily finished earning nods and ‘exactly’s from JJ, Pen, and yourself. 

“Ok but thats weird. I just can’t explain it but its a no go for me,” Morgan finished. This only gained him a scoff and raised voices, “Hotch man help me out here,” he said looking over to the man hiding his smirk behind the amber liquid. 

“I have to agree with the ladies here Derek,” he said curtly. 

The girls yelped and hooted at Hotch for siding with them while Morgan sat with his arms crossed being the singular person left out as even Rossi agreed. Meanwhile you noticed the presence next to you had shrunk back and wasn’t too active in the conversation. 

“So Spence do you kiss your partner after they,” you trailed off shaking your fist by your cheek and poking your tongue in the side. 

He coughed as he instantly sat up quicker. Even under the dim lights of the bar you could still see the blush creeping up from his neck to his ears and the slightest tint on his cheeks. 

“Oh I uh- I never-” he said looking anywhere but your eyes. 

“You don’t kiss them?” you said raising your brows. 

“No! I-i mean yes. I would I think b-but I haven’t had the chance to actually partake in such.. activities,” he finished finally taking a look into your eyes. 

You could tell he was waiting for you to laugh in his face for being so inexperienced but you felt far from it. If anything you wished you could be the one to show him things. 

That sweet boy had you wrapped around his finger and he didn’t even know it. Maybe it was his naivety considering how exceptionally smart he was. Or maybe it was the cute sweater vests he wore and now he nervously tucked his hair behind his ears. All you knew was that you wanted Spencer Reid and tonight was your night to make it happen. 

You hummed taking in the information, “Well that’s not a bad thing Spence. Everything takes time,” you said putting your hand on his arm for comfort and giving him a smile. 

Going to turn back to face the table you almost didn’t hear Spencer go to speak again, “Do you?” 

Got him.

“Why don’t you find out pretty boy,” you said with a wink as you downed the rest of your marg. In the corner of your eye you could see Spencer shifting in his seat, subtly moving his bag to cover the slowly growing tent in his slacks. 

As the night went by you couldn’t help but really give him a show. You had popped open a button or two on the long sleeve you had on, since it was getting stuffy in the booth. Though when you leaned forward and jutted your chest out, the soft inhale of a breath from the man next to you was just serving as motivation to get bolder. 

For the last hour you called it quits on the alcohol and drank a few glasses of water before you drove home. Spencer had been uncharacteristically quiet ever since your little interactions. 

The team had all gotten up to say their goodbyes. Rossi going by and giving everyone a kiss on each cheek. Derek having to quite literally rangle Penelope from talking to passing by groups on their way out. Then there were two. 

You turned to the side where Spencer was nursing on his coke, “Hey pretty boy, it’s late, let me give you a ride home,” you said grabbing your belongings. 

“Y-yeah ok. Thanks Y/n,” he said getting up. You’d noticed how he still had the burnt orange bag over his crotch. He couldn’t still be hard could he? Well you’d love to find out. 

As gentlemanly as he was, Spencer opened the door for you to exit the building first. The whip of fresh night air cooling on your exposed chest and legs under your skirt. 

You unlocked your car and stepped in, Spencer waiting to hear the little beep signaling his side was open. As he sat down you heard him let out a little whimper. Your head shot over to look at him, you could tell from the flush on his cheeks he didn’t mean to let the noise out. 

Holding in your chuckle you started the ignition and pulled out of the lot, “Can I put on some music?” 

“Yeah I don’t mind,” he said looking over at you with his lips in a line. If it was anyone else, they’d probably think he was uncomfortable but you loved his tiny awkward smiles. 

The ride to his apartment was mostly silent besides a rare quip from Spencer about paper work or fact about an older building you had passed by. It fascinated you to no end hearing him talk. Spencer was a hand speaker, meaning he always used his hands waving them around and making gestures. The pale digits had you captivated. Probably a driving hazard but you couldn’t help but let your mind wander. 

You pulled up into one of the visitor spots and put the car in park. You looked over to see Spencer almost contemplating something. You’d seen the look on his face before when he was looking over puzzles. 

“Somethin on your mind Doc?” you said with a small smile. As cute as he looked when he was nervous, you’d never want him to feel uncomfortable around you. 

“Would you-,” he cleared his throat, “Wo- Would you maybe want to c-come inside?” 

“Of course Spence I’d love to,” you finished with a reassuring nod. 

As he led you upstairs you were giddy with anticipation. So what if nothing happened. He was your friend first and you were glad he was letting you into his personal space. Even if you wanted nothing more than to have him writhi-

“Y/n?” 

The door closing snapped you out of your thoughts. You didn’t even realize you were in his living room. The dark green walls and shelves bursting with books put a grin on your face, “Sorry Doc, just caught up in my thoughts. What did you say hun?” 

His brows practically raised to his hairline from hearing the pet name. While he was used to the names coming from Garcia they took a whole different light coming from your lips. 

“I was asking if you wanted water or something,” he said fiddling with the keys in his hands. Eyes darting everywhere but your face so you wouldn’t be able to see the flush rising on his cheeks. 

“No I’m fine thanks for asking though,” you said taking a seat on the worn leather couch. 

You reached for the tv remote making a face at Spencer to ask for permission. He nodded and you settled back turning on an old sitcom that played late at night. 

As the episode ended you both sat in silence. Again you didn’t mind but you could practically hear the cogs moving in Spencer’s brain. 

You were about to speak when he cut you off before you could even get a word out, “What did you mean by ‘why don’t you find out’.”

Gaining confidence you moved closer to where he was on the couch, slow enough for him to stop you in case he wanted to back out. 

“Well you have options pretty boy,” you said moving a leg to straddle him. Your hands instinctively going to his brown locks. You could’ve sworn you heard a little moan leave his chapped lips. Noted. 

“W-what are the options,” lust blown eyes looked up to yours. 

“One, you can put that mouth to good use on me,” you said trailing your finger over his bottom lip, “and let me cum over that pretty face.” 

His eyes shut hearing your words and you weren’t having it, “Nuh uh eyes on me honey,” instantly they were back on yours. 

“Or number two. I can suck you off and let you cum down my throat, but,” you paused making sure to roll your hips on his growing length, “ you have to give me a nice big smooch after.” 

The hands on your hips pulled you closer as he bucked his hips into you as you finished the sentence. It was clear which option was preferred. 

You moved to slide down in between his legs. You let your hands trail down his clothed thighs, causing him to jump. 

“Tsk such a needy boy,” you said mockingly, “Am I not going fast enough baby?”

“Please Y/n,” he all but whimpered. It was like music to your ears. 

Your hands went to his belt, looking up in his eyes for a final sign of permission. Once he nodded you quickly undid it and he lifted his hips to help get his pants down. You palmed him over his boxers, feeling the wet patch where he was already leaking pre cum. 

“Is this all for me Spence? Does the thought of my lips around you make you this hard,” you said taking him out of the striped confines. 

“Oh god please just,” he cut himself off. You could see his hands curling fists besides his legs. 

“Please what baby? I can’t give you anything unless you ask.” Your hands continued their task of leisurely stroking his length. 

“Fuck please put your mouth on me,” he rushed out, hips bucking to prove his point. 

The answer was good enough for you so you wasted no time in leaning forward and taking him in your mouth. Both of you let out content sighs as you tried to take him further. 

You looked up to see him with his head leaned back, eyes scrunched closes in pleasure. 

You pulled off with a pop, letting your hand work him over. “Better keep those pretty eyes on me before I decide you can’t finish.”

He looked down with a flash of worry, that was quickly replaced by a loud moan as you spit down on his cock before taking him in your mouth again. 

For a germaphobe, Spencer loved how nasty it was. He was thanking god or whatever higher being there was for giving him his eidetic memory because the sight below him was something he’d never wanna forget. 

Your eyes were teary and you had spit dribbling down your chin but he wanted nothing more than to give you more than just a kiss after you finished. Or well after he finishes. 

You could tell he was close by the way he was throbbing on your tongue. Again taking him out of your mouth you used both hands to jerk him off. 

“You’re doing such a good job baby. So good for me. You wanna cum in my mouth pretty boy?”

“God Y/n I’m so close please please please,” he whimpered out. 

“Cum for me baby, be my good boy Spence,”  you said before taking him down your throat. He was big, not girthy but long and it was a struggle but you’d be damned if you didn’t try to take him all. 

Hollowing your cheeks you bobbed your head quickly, egging on his release further. His hands finally found a place in the back of your head. Pushing you down further as he came. 

“F-fuck Y/n I’m gonna”

His moans and whines were a symphony of sounds you’d have on repeat in your head forever. 

You swallowed the salty release but before you could even wipe your lips you were being pulled up by Spencer placing his lips on yours. You moaned into the kiss, his hands gripped the sides of your face not wanting to let you go. 

The need for air made you both pull back. You looked at one another, chests heaving and looking like you ran a marathon. 

Then a sad look came across his face. 

“Spencer what’s wrong?” 

“You didn’t get any pleasure,” he said looking like a hurt puppy. Oh your sweet boy. 

“It’s ok baby, I can take care of myself,” you tried to shrug off.

He was quick to push you back on the couch, taking the spot you were previously in. His warm lips trailing down your exposed thighs. 

“I wanna do it, but only if you kiss me after.” 

[insomniactalks]

So, Ricky saw that EJ was stressed and just went ahead and flirted with Gina. I am trying to like Ricky but it's so hard. He's either extremely oblivious or just plain selfish. I can't even thoroughly enjoy the RJ scenes because he's so duplicitous.

You sent me this after 3.03, but I'm answering after 3.04 just aired, so needless to say, I'm so sorry for the late response anon!

My thoughts have actually changed about this after 3.04. I probably would have been defending Ricky after 3.03 because I really don't think that's what he was doing. I don't think he was purposely flirting with Gina and trying to be duplicitous at all. He even seeks out EJ to go on the late night adventure with him at first. So he was trying to continue to establish a friendship with him. I think they all left the tent b/c EJ was so stressed and thought that he needed some alone time. Which is understandable.

With 3.04, what confuses me about Ricky's feelings towards Gina is that it was so sudden. The first three episodes of S3 didn't have any buildup for Ricky having romantic feelings for Gina (and canonically, he hasn't had romantic feelings for her since S1). He was also trying really hard to be besties with EJ, and even Jet, but all of that was sort of put on the back burner in 3.04. He didn't seem super concerned about Jet going missing, even though Val said that he was. Also, EJ and Gina have been super public with their affection for one another in 3.01-3.03, but Ricky only seems to have a reaction/jealousy to it now. He also broke up with Lily just 4 days ago, which the writers subtly remind us of by mentioning her twice this episode. I don't believe that Ricky's trying to purposely hurt EJ or Gina, but he's clearly struggling with some kind of internal conflict towards them right now. Like he said, we "don't know the whole story" yet, and I get the feeling we're going to learn about what that means exactly later on this season. During the movie night, Gina says something about not liking liars, and we see both EJ and Ricky's reaction to this. We obviously know what the lie is for EJ (the letter), but Ricky looks over to EJ as Gina says this and then he leaves. There's clearly some secret Ricky is hiding, and looking at EJ seemingly makes him upset enough to leave movie night. (I also kind of feel like Ricky did that to himself because he chooses to sit right behind EJ and Gina of all the places he could have sat for the movie...)

I don't feel comfortable calling Ricky selfish in this situation because it's still unclear on what's happening. I don't think he's trying to be selfish, I do believe he genuinely wants the best for Gina. I could be wrong about this, but I get the feeling Ricky is extremely insecure about being the male lead, especially when this is Gina's shot at stardom. Ricky tries to sing "Love is an Open Door" with her, despite it being EJ's idea, b/c I think he's trying to make up for his previous experiences as a leading man. Maybe Ricky really wants to show everyone that he was rightfully cast as Kristoff. Corbin takes one look at EJ and decides he fits the villain role/leading man more, which leads to Portwell's (adorable!) duet. Unlike EJ's previous duet w/ Nini, things actually go well this time w/ Gina. Once EJ found his confidence, with plenty of encouragement from his girlfriend, he was nailing it as Hans/leading man. I think that probably makes Ricky feel really insecure, especially when Gina is relying on him as her co-star. The next thing we see him doing is going over his lines, b/c he doesn't want to mess this up. Slipping into the leading roles happened so easily/naturally for EJ and Gina, that I think Ricky is struggling with being a lead as well. This was also the first episode so far where Ricky seems a bit more distant from EJ. Like he's not actively trying with their friendship anymore, which again seems inconsistent. I'm not sure what the writers have planned for these 3, but I am interested to see where it goes, I guess.

[miraculouscontent]

It’s heeeeere! Another summasalt, this time with nearly twice the length of the first one!

(Turns out that not having caffeine doesn’t help me talk any slower.)

Script below:

Anonymous asked:

Thoughts on Rocketear?

Can you Rocketear the newest episode apart with your salt, my beloved Salt Queen?

Penny for your thoughts on Rocketear?

Aw, anon! You can have that for free! I'm a generous goddess.

"Rocketear" begins with Chat Noir and Carapace - just Carapace, really - holding back a pack of what I presume to be the physical manifestation of the writing staff's age, or at least a representation of how behind the times the writing seems.

Just as the dinosaurs break through Shellter. Ladybug shows up with the scientist who revived the dinosaurs in the first place and said scientist uses a whistle to calm the dinosaurs down. There's also a line from Bob Roth about putting the dinosaurs in a theme park to make money and I know what it's referencing but it's so incredibly random that it doesn't really come off as a proper joke.

Carapace was notably sad right after battle, but insisted that he was fine when Ladybug asked. Rena, sporting a... - I would like to say "new design" but it's a recolor in every sense of the word - is hiding behind part of a building and smiles after the heroes before walking off. Ladybug takes Nino's miraculous back but sees that he's still upset and asks him again what's wrong. Nino asks where Alya was and Ladybug claims that she only needed Carapace for the job, which cheers him up but only until Ladybug is already gone.

Mm, I guess Nino and Adrien relate in heroism not being enough for them unless they have their respective love interest to flirt with.

Also, I know this is an obvious set-up, but the show can't tell me that Ladybug just always brought Nino and Alya whenever she needed one of them. Season 3 required her to go to Master Fu to get the miraculouses, and unless she already knew that Nino and Alya would be in the same location - which, okay, the show does basically shove the two of them together whenever Nino is onscreen, fair, if two characters are in a relationship in this show then it's weird for them to NOT be with that person - but it just seems like a gamble, not to mention proof to Shadow Moth that the two are close if Ladybug constantly brings both of them.

Anyway, Ladybug goes into the sewer and asks Rena if she's seen any sign of Shadow Moth or his traps. Rena didn't see anything and they de-transform. Marinette is about to leave when she thinks of something, but Alya assumes it's about her new look, which was apparently not voluntary on her part and the suit automatically adapted to Alya's new role as Rena Furtive, which she has now named it as.

Marinette reminds her that this is supposed to be a secret and that they agreed that the fox has no owner. When Alya is evasive about whether she told Nino that she won't be Rena anymore, Marinette stresses that everyone needs to believe that Alya won't be using a miraculous anymore so that she can remain an undercover spy.

What's the point in changing the look if you're not going to show yourself anyway? I mean, insurance, I guess, but still.

Alya, exasperated, parrots what Marinette has apparently told her before: that she helps Ladybug with Mirage in case Shadow Moth tries to follow her so Rena can follow him instead. Marinette stresses the situation again and Alya tries to get Marinette to agree on her telling Nino that she's Rena Furtive, but Marinette refuses.

At Marinette's house, Alya talks further and explains that she doesn't know if she can lie to Nino since they don't keep any secrets--Alya, babe, you kept Rena Rouge from him and didn't tell him that you knew he was Carapace until Ladybug was forced to give you your miraculouses at the same time. I don't wanna hear it.

Marinette states that it's too late for that and also not technically a lie, but Alya gets upset and says that Nino will never trust her again if he finds out that she kept something from him. Marinette brings up how she had to keep secrets from Alya too, but they're interrupted by Tom appearing and wanting to play games with them. Marinette makes an excuse about homework that she's repeated many times, as Tom comments that the teachers give her too much. After Tom is kicked out - hang on, lemme just... - Marinette uses the moment to show Alya that she's lied to her family a lot and hasn't played games with her father in months. She states that there's no other option as they have to protect their identities, and Alya agrees to talk to Nino.

In Alya's room - I just presume at this point that Nino's house doesn't exist and Chris is an illusion - Alya tells Nino that they need to talk, but stammers and states that it's hard to talk about. Nino thinks that she wants to break up with him, but Alya assures that she loves him. She finally gets to the cover story that Rena herself made up in "Sentibubbler" and Nino understands, sad that she won't be around anymore but agreeing if it's what Ladybug thinks is best.

Is it weird that Nino respects Ladybug's wishes more than Alya does?

Nino hugs her and is confused by why Alya was nervous to tell him, as she can tell him anything and nothing will change their relationship. Alya feels guilty and hugs back, murmuring about how they don't have any secrets; that's not what Nino said, but sure, push this plot to its already predictable conclusion. I mean, I thought it was vaguely sweet that Nino switched to seriousness immediately when Alya said that she wanted to talk, but how am I supposed to be invested in this couple when their dynamic boils down to "STRONG, INDEPENDANT WOMAN who wears the pants in the relationship because her boyfriend is portrayed as a wimpy coward"? Like, the show constantly dragged Nino down to make Alya look "powerful" by comparison, and then when it comes to characters like Marinette, we get a girl who works very well outside of her relationship with her endgame love interest.

It's the fakest form of "girl power," dragging guys down to raise girls up or actually making a strong girl character but having her love interest be a weakness that creates flaws in her that weren't there originally and having that love interest be who she's "destined for."

I'm rambling, sorry.

In class, Marinette assures Alya that she did the right thing and Alya agrees. As they're leaving school, Marinette talks about how their "night walks" start soon, and Alya non-subtly talks about how Rena Furtive will be on the lookout while Ladybug and Chat Noir patrol. She stops, however, as gets excited about some pictures she took of herself as Rena Furtive, which has a lot of details that Marinette hasn't seen. I don't know whether to groan at what I just heard or remind everyone that Rena Furtive is literally just a recolor and therefore this is the writers patting themselves on the back for this design, so let's just move on.

Alya then shows Marinette her phone--AUGH, MY EYES--and suggests making a poll on her Ladyblog so people can vote for their favorite Rena design. Marinette has to stress again that Rena Furtive is supposed to be a spy and thus invisible, which Alya admits that she forgot about.

Okay, I've been holding off on talking about this, but now seems like the best time to bring it up. Alya has been a trash friend as well as a trash confidant, and her role as Rena Rouge boiled down to, "it was convenient for her to be the fox at the time it was needed." She's not particularly stealthy like one would expect of a fox, and she was easily one of the worst candidates to be told Marinette's big secret. I'll get more into this later, but I have to stress that Alya has treated Marinette no differently since learning of Marinette's identity and has already gone against Marinette's orders once before at the time of this episode airing. Episodes are constantly torn between validating their decision to have Marinette tell Alya, having Marinette be worried about the decision while the show considers her to be ridiculous for it, and then having Alya either consider or make choices that clearly don't gel well with what's good for her role. Much like Marinette, she lacks a sense of self-control and--wow, a female character who's impulsive, never seen that stereotype before.

Point being, "Sentibubbler" stressed over and over that Alya was the right choice and deserved to be both the permanent fox and the understudy for guardian, but then we have "Rocketear" here where Alya is making basic emotionally-driven errors that I'm not even remotely sympathetic to when Marinette has gone through so much worse over the course of three+ seasons.

*sigh*

Alya laments that it's hard to find new content for the Ladyblog - ah, yes, tell me more about your struggles, Alya - but figures that at least she can post stuff about Chat Noir instead of--I don't know--making fake Ladybug theories to lead people off Marinette's trail. Marinette says that it's a great idea, though Alya still doesn't look too happy. The scene then rewinds to a little bit to show a different point of view, this time with Adrien and Nino. Wait, this feels familiar, wasn't there another episode that did something like--ohhhh no, this is going to hurt.

After saying good-bye to Adrien - something I wish I could do every time he's mentioned or on-screen - Nino catches the bit of conversation where Alya talks about the Ladyblog. Nino talks as if Marinette isn't there and asks Alya out to the movies because Marinette is chopped liver and this is about Alya and how sad she is, guys.

Wow, she's turning into Adrien faster and faster.

Alya hesitates, but Marinette assures her that there's still time. Alya excitedly runs off with Nino and they watch what I presume are previews given the narrator, featuring recycled footage from the Ladybug PV. Nino is upset because Rena is mentioned but not Carapace, and the preview features Rena telling Chat Noir to forget Ladybug because it's Chat and Rena herself who are trulu made for each other.

I don't know what's funnier; the complete lack of self-awareness or the suggestion that a biracial couple would exist in this show outside of a special that gives them maybe a minute of screentime and acts more like suggestive canon anyway. I think I might've been too generous with that line about dinosaurs.

Nino is offended by the preview and Alya brushes off his comments, stating that it's just a cartoon and it's made to entertain people, though Nino himself is certainly not entertained. Can't say I entirely blame him considering that Alya doesn't really try to say anything substantial or even agree with him. No cuddling or reassuring kisses, she just gets slightly sad and turns to her phone for a bit.

After the movie, Nino is cheered back up again until he catches Alya on her phone once more. He offers to take her home, but she's distracted, and he comments that what she showed to Marinette looked pretty nice; I don't know because they didn't show it. Nino asks what it was and Alya evades the question, stating that her battery is running out. Nino is suspicious, but spots Andre's ice cream cart and the two head over there. Andre calls them his favorite couple and asks what they want, but Alya sees Ladybug gesturing for her and has to run off, giving Nino a cheek kiss as she goes which feels like too little too late at this point.

Nino catches some conveniently-placed kids arguing over who Chat Noir loves, but they settle on the fact that girls in general love Chat Noir. Nino is then seen at the Seine watching the Ladyblog's latest video, where Alya is talking up how amazing Chat Noir is. I hate to stop every five seconds to complain - okay, actually I don't - but I presume this video must've been made after the movie since Nino seems like the type who would actively follow his girlfriend's blog, yet not only is this video perfectly set up to echo the kids and the movie preview, but Alya - despite apparently caring about her boyfriend soooo much that she kept trying to convince Marinette to bend the rules - didn't even try to warn Nino or text him so he doesn't take it too seriously. It's like "Sentibubbler" with the conflicting messages about identity rules; Alya cares about her boyfriend but both isn't thinking about how he'll take the things she says and apparently doesn't know him well enough to realize that he wouldn't be mad over her keeping a secret that she was told to keep. I already talked about how they play up Nino to be the emotionally weaker one of the relationship, but then they don't have Alya try to cover or make up for that. She's been acting very much not like Alya - you know, the one who in "Sapotis" practically bragged about how great she'd be at covering for Ladybug - with her stutters and weak excuses, so I can't completely blame Nino for being upset after everything that's happened when he sees the writers projecting onto Alya as she talks about how Chat Noir is brave and funny and cute and showing all these images of him as well. I don't agree with all of his actions, but--oh yeah, speaking of which--

Nino calls Adrien and is talking to him about how Alya must be in love with someone else. Adrien dismisses the idea, as Alya and Nino are together basically all the time, and asks who she could possibly be in love with. When Nino suggests that it's Chat Noir, Adrien laughs and jokes about it being Fang instead. Nino points out the video but Adrien did see it but is overall unphased and convinced that it means nothing. Nino says that he'll find proof and hangs up, but Adrien is certain he'll find nothing. Plagg comments that Nino will find someone because Plagg's charisma has definitely contaminated Adrien.

Ugh.

Adrien expresses concern that he put on the cat's charm too much and accidentally made Alya fall for him, and decides to visit Alya as Chat Noir to be sure.

Meanwhile, we get a reference to film noirs as Nino narrates. That's the second blatant reference this episode and now I feel like they wrote this script while doing a movie marathon.

Chat Noir arrives at Alya's house and Trixx hides before Alya opens the curtains to reveal her surprise guest. Nino is nearby watching the scene with his phone as Alya wonders aloud if something's wrong. Chat assures that everything's fine, but brings up the video she posted. He insists that it made him happy, but points out that she's been following him and Ladybug since the beginning and that they know each other much better due to everything that's happened. He has some conveniently-worded dialog as he starts to say that he hopes something's just an illusion and Alya gets worried that he's about to bring up Rena. Chat continues and clarifies that he wonders if she started to feel something for him, though adds that he understands because just look at him.

UGGGGH.

Chat clarifies by making a heart with his hands, which Nino sees. Alya laughs at this gesture and states that she has a boyfriend, doing the same heart gesture and suggesting that her love for Nino is even more than that. Chat Noir apologizes - hm, I didn't know he had the capacity to do that - and hugs Alya, saying that he was just confused.

An absolutely unnecessary hug for two people who, at least in terms of their current selves, have had very little screentime together, but this is also the show where making eye contact basically means your friends and it's all just to push the plot along so Nino inteprets that Alya is in love with Chat Noir, so whatever I guess.

Alya states that Nino is far more irresistable than Chat, then adds that she doesn't even know his secret identity, and she'd never fall in love with someone she doesn't know. Nino then runs away upset and the scene cuts away to the next day where--

Wait, wait, wait, hang on a second. Two things right off the bat there.

First off, we're just gonna sidle past that "wouldn't fall in love with someone you don't know the identity of" while ignoring the existence of the love square? Not even Chat thinking about how he doesn't know Ladybug's identity and trying to excuse that he doesn't have to? This guy is that certain of their relationship?

Secondly, Nino is practically sobbing and Shadow Moth doesn't take this as his opportunity? Same guy who akumatized Mr. Pigeon 72 times and has akumatized Gigantitan more than once? What is this pacing???

But--alright, so Adrien comes into school and sees Nino, still dressed up in his detective gear, which gets ignored completely as Adrien goes to tell him about Chat Noir and Alya. Because the show doesn't know how Adrien would convey this within reason, Nino interrupts him, taking him down into the lower part of the school where he has a desk and chairs set up. Adrien goes to ask when Nino had time to do this, but Nino slams his hand on the desk to cut him off. Nino presents the evidence he took and they go back and forth, likewise with Adrien turning off the background music while Nino turns it back on. Adrien insists that it's a misunderstanding, but pleads innocent when Nino asks how he knows. Adrien states that Alya is just a superhero fan and that she and Chat Noir have nothing in common.

Again, the complete lack of self-awareness is astonishing.

Adrien repeats what Alya said about secret identities and how she wouldn't fall for someone she doesn't know - they're really ignoring this, aren't they? - and continues hitting Nino's soft spots about how unlikely it is until Nino decides to tell Adrien something he's not supposed to.

He tells Adrien, not only that Alya is Rena Rouge, but that he's Carapace. Adrien goes through a range of emotions beyond sAD for once, shocked at the fact that they know each other's identities. Nino states that they don't keep secrets from each other, except now Alya is with Chat Noir. Adrien still doesn't understand and brings up how secret identities have to be protected, or else Nino wouldn't have told him because Ladybug wouldn't agree to it.

Oh, here we go. So that's why they waited.

Nino states that it was Ladybug herself who gave them their miraculouses at the same time; not giving the reason why, of course, nor pointing out that they're temporary heroes so there's understandably some leeway. Adrien is having a moment, but manages to bring the subject back to Alya and Chat Noir, who he still doesn't think are a thing. Nino argues that it's because Adrien doesn't know Chat Noir, but he does because he's Carapace and knows how Chat Noir acts. He says that it's all flowers and confessions when Ladybug appears, but he gets rejected because Ladybug thinks that he's annoying, and she's right. He adds that Chat flirts with Rena Rouge and that's all that needs to happen, with Chat stepping in on the first mission Carapace lost in. Nino laments the loss of the love of his life and wishes to shut Chat Noir up forever; we all do, Nino, we all do. Shadow Moth finally steps in with - oh, less than eight minutes left in the episode, yikes - and Nino is akumatized into Rocketear.

Rocketear rejects Adrien's pleas to stop, insisting that Chat Noir is who he's after, not Adrien, and Adrien transforms in sad fashion despite Plagg's reminder of who Rocketear is after. Alya, meanwhile, is in the art club with Marinette - wait, since when was Alya in the art club - telling Marinette about how Chat Noir thought she was into him due to the video, which Marinette groans at. There's an earthquake and they peek outside to see Rocketear firing his tears at Chat Noir, shouting that he stole Alya from him. Chat Noir tries to tell him otherwise, but Rocketear won't listen.

Alya groans at Nino doing this, then she and Marinette set off to find a place to transform. They conveniently go to the same place Adrien and Nino were, so they see the desk that Nino had set up.

Genuine question, how seriously does this episode want me to take itself, because now when I recount all the unnecessary love square drama in my head - because you know that's where this is going - I'm going to have to think, "Nino, dressed in a detective outfit, ripped off his fake mustache and told Adrien both his and Rena's identities, and also that Ladybug was totally cool with it and thinks that Chat Noir is annoying."

Gettin' two completely different vibes here. The episode clearly wants to be important but it doesn't take itself seriously either, which it totally could while including enough jokes to keep things light. Instead, I'm just left scratching my head and wondering what tone they're going for.

Marinette finds Nino's phone on the desk - I'm calling continuity error on that one because he at no point put it on the desk, at least not on-screen - and she questions Alya on the video she sees. Alya insists that nothing happened, apparently completely unphased by her boyfriend having spied on her, and says that he wouldn't have misunderstood if he'd heard the actual conversation.

The two transform and Ladybug immediately uses Lucky Charm, receiving a projector. Ladybug is clueless and Rena Furtive suggests creating an imaginary movie like Nino. Ladybug gets an idea, remembering Alya's earlier comments, and Rena confirms that she remembers every word of it.

Aaaaand, just like that, all of the tension has been completely sucked away. You know, "Backwarder" was a trash episode, but at least when Ladybug was showing every step of her plan, she didn't tell us what it was.

Meanwhile, Rocketear and Chat Noir are still arguing--I started zoning out at hearing the same thing over and over again at this point, so I just presume they were fighting over who does stuff behind their love interest's backs better; I don't think they came to an agreement but they're both losers anyway.

Chat Noir says that he'll prove his innocence, tossing his baton aside to show him giving up, but Rocketear points out that it proves nothing and strikes Chat Noir with his tears.

Our endgame love interest, everyone. Straight As yet about as smart as a sack of bricks, and that at least won't flirt with anyone non-consensually.

Chat Noir makes a point that he doesn't want to hurt Rocketear, and Shadow Moth tells Rocketear to take his miraculous before finishing him. Chat Noir can only weakly tell him not to before Ladybug snags Rocketear's wrist and diverts the shot. Ladybug explains to Rocketear about the projector and how it'll let him hear the audio of the recording he took. She adds that she doesn't know what Chat said, but she trusts him.

Marinette, I'm sorry, I feel so bad for you.

Ladybug turns on the projector and Rocketear relaxes at actually hearing what was going on. Rena then de-transforms and hurries out to meet with Rocketear, hugging him as Rocketear apologizes for doubting her. Alya also kinda sorta apologizes in a way I don't understand and Rocketear then breaks his akumatization, very casually, all on his own.

Yeah, just--casually, in a matter of seconds in fact. You know, it's really sad when people resisting akumatizations are more tense and emotionally compelling than them breaking them. This is twice in one season now and has zero impact considering that Nino's reason for being akumatized was already taken care of so he had no reason to stay akumatized anyway. Him breaking his own object to release the akuma would've at least been different, but instead it's just a repeat of what Alya went through with even less tension considering that Alya's wasn't even that good in the first place, relying on her relationship to Ladybug rather than who she knew to be her best friend.

Moving on, Ladybug captures the akuma and uses Miraculous Ladybug to bring everything back to normal. Shadow Moth monologues about how love and secrets don't go well together and he's sure that she has a lot and I'll talk about this later.

Ladybug hands over the magical charm, which Nino takes but insists that he won't need it, as he'll never let Shadow Moth use his love to manipulate him again. Plenty of other things to get akumatized over, but they gave the supposedly ace character a robot to help him stick out and also gave the supposedly aro character a miraculous back in season one to give her more importance. If characters aren't in love then they need something to ceompensate for it.

Nino apologizes to Chat Noir for being wrong and Chat Noir assures him that everyone has doubts, even him. He gets sad and Ladybug asks him what's wrong, but he insists that he's fine - officially throwing away his right to be upset at her later as far as I'm concerned - and they do their usual fist buuuuu--

...Really?

Everyone then splits up and Chat Noir sulks by himself instead of--you know, talking to Ladybug, or asking her anything, or making any sort of excuse for her because that would mean he actually has faith in her and understands that their partnership is different from temporary heroes, even if the excuse was as basic as her wanting to protect him more than the others because he would be that egotistical if they didn't want to stretch out this unnecessary drama.

Later on, Adrien is staring at a picture on the Ladyblog that might be a metaphor for the show considering how "in the foreground" Chat Noir and Rena are.

Adrien vents about Ladybug giving miraculouses to Alya and Nino, but Plagg states that she's the guardian. Adrien clarifies that he's referring to Alya and Nino knowing each other's identities, but Plagg doesn't see the issue. Adrien gets huffy and asks why the rule exists for LadyNoir but not Ninya, but Plagg again points out that she's the guardian, so she makes the rules, though obviously he uses cheese metaphors to convey it.

Okay, Plagg is only, like--half-right because he doesn't have all the information. If you don't mind me rambling for a bit, I'm on the fence here because, on one hand--yes, I agree that Marinette should be allowed to make her own rules, and I often do that in my writing because I think she should be permitted leeway in order to let herself be happy, but on the other hand, it's not technically her rule, as she had to let Alya and Nino in on their identities back in the Season 2 finale, so Fu was still around for a season. She wasn't even guardian yet!

Now, presumably so the fandom could blame Marinette if anything happened, Marinette never discussed this with Fu on-screen, so I can't say whether or not Fu knew, but I feel like he must've since Marinette had to have told him the heroes' identities off-screen, given "Party Crasher," and thus I imagine that Marinette would tell Fu everything that happened, which is consistent with what she does on-screen even if she'd keep things from him for a little while.

"Furious Fu" had also established that not even Master Fu followed rules completely, meaning that Marinette is in this awkward spot of mostly following what Fu taught her, which aren't all guardian rules anyway, and having to break the rules on occasion for various purposes. I can't say what Fu approved of and what he didn't, because episodes spend so much time on the love square that they forget about Marinette as a person and how she interacts with everyone else. From an emotional standpoint, I can't blame Marinette for not revoking the miraculouses of people whose identities get discovered because of her, as I imagine she feels guilty and it probably doesn't seem fair to force them into another miraculous or have them be entirely without one because of a mistake that she made, meaning that someone needs to be throwing a lot of red flags for Marinette to be through with them.

Though obviously, from the show's standpoint, it's just an excuse to not make new models, but I complained about that enough in "Sentibubbler" and this episode even went out of its way to design a detective model for Nino while spraypainting Alya's bodysuit in the same breath, so this is the world we live in.

Anyway, Marinette is essentially in this position where she still has Fu's rules hovering over her, but she's also trying to step out on her own and make her own decisions to varying degrees of success or failure depending on your point of view. Tikki--wait, no, bad idea--Su-Han then, could easily give input on these things, perhaps with Marinette discussing a modern day set of rules for someone her age and going back and forth with Su-Han on what the right choices to make are, finding something that's comfortable but within a realm of predictable control. Su-Han was okay with some rules being broken after seeing how Ladybug handled them and they could've easily made this episode about that instead, but instead, we get rules being set and then being broken on a writer's whim.

Which now brings us to the end of the episode, where Marinette is on the phone with Alya and apologizes for causing trouble between her and Nino. Alya tells her not to worry and she'll fix things - you know, those things that, to Marinette's knowledge, have already been fixed - and asks if Marinette trusts her. Marinette does, and Alya hangs up in order to face Nino.

Yeah, that feeling of dread in your stomach? That means you know how predictable the writing is and what's about to happen, good for you.

Alya explains that she has to tell Nino something and he's worried, this time trying to sheepishly break the tension. She explains that she's still Rena Rouge, much to Nino's shock, and adds that she's in hiding, which is why Ladybug didn't want her to tell anyone. Nino asks why she's telling him if she's not supposed to tell anyone - proving my point from a while back that he wouldn't have been upset had she kept it a secret - then asks if Ladybug agreed with it.

I want to give him a pat on the back for considering Ladybug, but he didn't even tell her when he had the chance that Adrien knows his identity now, so I'm just beaten down at this point.

Instead of answering the question directly, Alya says that she can't hide her identity from him because she loves him and they don't have secrets.

You know, like Nino telling Adrien about Rena's identity, or Alya saying specifically that she's a permanent holder, which I'm sure both of them will confess to since they said that they don't have--aaaaand the episode ends on happy triumphant music, okay.

I mean, I guess Alya at least didn't tell him that Marinette was Ladybug, but that is such a low bar and not even remotely worthy of congratulations when Alya told Nino the specific thing that Marinette told Alya not to tell; the thing that they had agreed on.

Nino wasn't upset anymore. He won't be getting akumatized either. Alya endured the supposed hardship of being a permanent fox holder for four episodes before breaking down and telling her boyfriend. Even her excuse doesn't hold any water because, again, they're both still technically keeping a secret, particularly Alya who knows Marinette's identity as Ladybug. The episode also apparently forgets that Alya and Marinette's friendship must not be as strong by her logic of telling Nino specifically everything, as Alya kept Rena Rouge a secret from Marinette for all of Season 3, but tells Nino about continuing to be Rena Rouge in Season 4. Boyfriends before BFFs without explicitly saying it, or to be more specific, whatever screws Marinette over the most, because that's what this comes down to, made worse by "Optigami" where Marinette told Alya that she'd tell her everything and I guess that doesn't go both ways.

"Sentibubbler" had Alya stress that no one would ever know. She promised Marinette and told Marinette to trust her, and the episode spent its entire running time talking her up and assuring Marinette that she was the right choice, even considering Marinette ridiculous for worrying when Alya had done something without Marinette's permission the episode right before it. Then, three episodes after "Sentibubbler," when Marinette is finally comfortable and trusts Alya completely, Alya betrays that trust. Nino betrayed that trust, knowing he wasn't supposed to do so but telling Adrien his and Rena's identity anyway, because he was losing an argument and needed to PROVE something.

Marinette gives them an inch and they take a mile. Marinette bent the rules so that they could continue to have the miraculous they'd started with and they disrespected her because it was hard for like a day.

And if this bites them back, it won't reflect poorly on them, it'll reflect poorly on Marinette.

It's not like Alya just overrode Marinette. She didn't go, "Hey, I'm telling Nino, I'm sorry," or tried her hardest to go back and forth with Marinette until they both agreed. No, she did what she told Marinette she wouldn't do without saying a word to her, because LOVE and SEEEECRETS.

And this only applies to her, of course, because don't think I didn't notice the parallels between this episode and "Truth," because WOW.

Episode begins with Marinette hoping for something and it blows up in her face? A date at the cinema that ends on a sour note? Plot-centric couple trying to get Andre's ice cream and the female with a secret needing to leave in a hurry? Boyfriend character getting akumatized over their girlfriend's secret? Boyfriend assumes/suggests that the girlfriend's secret involves Aaaaaadrien - or his alter-ego in "Rocketear"'s case - and the episode hints as much to him even though he's completely wrong? Akuma's colors are blue and black? THE BRIDGE?

But, ahhh, little difference, here and there, y'know, like how Marinette was forced to break up with her boyfriend while Alya got to keep hers, and Nino got to have long talks with Alya while Luka got little to nothing with Marinette.

Because do note that Alya, while trying to convince Marinette and talk to Nino about not keeping secrets, at no point suggests that Marinette deserves to be happy and deserves to have a boyfriend and that Marinette should be allowed to tell Luka her secret so they can get back together, so you have Alya here selfishly prioritizing her relationship with Nino while making no comment about Marinette's relationship, essentially asking Marinette to allow her what Marinette herself didn't have the luxury of, and Alya knows this because Marinette told her. It is both incredibly insensitive of Alya and incredibly insulting of the show to make so many parallels between this episode and "Truth" just to have everything crash down for Marinette because she's Marinette while everything goes well for Alya and Nino because they're not Marinette.

We've talked before about the formulas that are literally baked into the show, and one of those is how Marinette makes a mistake in every episode and has to learn from it. What that mistake is in this episode, I don't know, but considering that she apologizes for Alya and Nino's problems, I guess the show blames her for what they themselves had taught her.

Point being, there's a clear karma system in place, but it only applies to Marinette, and forcing her to mess up in every episode means that she is literally not allowed to be with Luka because had she been able to clear things up between them, he would've eagerly accepted her and they could've been happy. It'd be too difficult for her to mess up when Luka doesn't put mountains of pressure and expectations on her like everyone else. Factor that in with how she can be herself around him and it leads to situation that are too difficult for her to screw up in because her mistakes - more often than not - center around Adrien or her role as guardian.

And because another rule in the show is to bring up Adrien so they don't "lose him for too long," she can't avoid bringing him up either. If he's not in the plot, he has to be mentioned, leaving Marinette in a lose-lose situation that she'll never be free from.

So, let me just get this straight then:

The guy who spied on his girlfriend instead of talking to her about his assumptions gets to keep his girlfriend, not because he realized it was wrong regardless of whether he was correct or not, but because the situation had been cleared up for him, yet the guy who actively resisted his akumatization, saddened by his girlfriend's secrets but wanting her to share them when she was ready, gets broken up with and tossed to the wayside because he's not a rich blond boy who got a miraculous because he happened to be within the twenty meters of space where Fu was searching for new holders?

Meanwhile, the girlfriend who has gone against the wishes and insistence of her best friend - guardian of the miraculouses, by the way, so she calls the shots, something that Alya herself said in "Optigami" BEFORE GOING ON TO DO HER OWN THING IN THE SAME EPISODE AND BEING REWARDED FOR IT - is allowed to go against the wishes and insistence of her best friend again for the sake of "all love, no secrets" with her boyfriend and so she can have the happy ending she wants, yet the girl who was chosen for a miraculous without her consent, forced to screw up and talk about a random boy who doesn't even go out of his way to spend time with her, treated like absolute trash by writers who find humor in her misery, and is the only one to receive overly harsh and long-lasting consequences for her actions while also covering up and forgiving the actions of others within the episode where they do it...

doesn't get her happy ending, and won't ever get her happy ending. That thing Shadow Moth said about love and secrets not going well together? Yeah, only goes as far as the writers want it to, because both Nino and Alya still have secrets, and some of the ones they did tell each other were forced by someone else and kept until that very moment. This idea that people in love have to tell each other everything and that it makes a relationship stronger makes me immensely uncomfortable, and that lesson is also in "Guiltrip."

People should be allowed their secrets, and obviously there are exceptions for things that are being hidden with malicious intent, but being essentially forced to share everything or risk not having a "full and complete" relationship is stifling and sounds like it'd only cause stress.

This episode sucks. It furthers and confirms everything I've already thought about the show, Nino's screentime continues to be dependent on Adrien, Alya, or both, there are pointless references that completely take me out of the experience, and the utter betrayal from Alya and supposed message of the episode just reminds me that Marinette is inevitably going to be stuck with a guy who didn't even DO anything in this episode and is going to let himself stew instead of asking for any sort of clarifications from someone he apparently trusts so much.

So the takeaway is that Marinette's life is awful, she'll be forced to apologize for rules that she didn't even come up with herself, her best friend will walk all over her for the sake of her relationship with a guy - not even for the sake, really, they were going to be fine, it was more for HER personal comfort if anything - and the guy who actually makes Marinette happy and could've known her identity instead BECAUSE HE AT LEAST DIDN'T HAVE A TRACK RECORD OF SPILLING HER SECRETS gets treated in the exact same way that she does; like nothing, just something to abuse unfairly.

What a waste of an episode.

[ohwowimlonley]

[Restaurant at the End of the Universe] Steve Harrington x reader

Episode One - signature dish

Warnings - chef!reader, chef!steve, chef!robin, use of y/n, swearing, lots of background, cooking, knives, not based of a real season of HK, British!reader (sorry, I just can’t write for anything else 😭😭), mentions of deceased parents (reader), Steve And His Daddy Issues, r is from a poor background, r has anxiety/sensitivity to loud noises? let me know if I need to add more!

Summary - you join the competition, and during the signature dish challenge, you go up against a fierce opponent

Notes - I- I’m strange for writing this, aren’t I?

Word count - 1.6k

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As a last ditch attempt at getting yourself out of the cyclical torture of your life, you put in an application to compete in Hell’s Kitchen. It was more of a joke than anything serious, really, but you figured, what the hell?

As a last ditch attempt at getting yourself out of the cyclical torture of your life, you put in an application to compete in Hell’s Kitchen. It was more of a joke than anything serious, really, but you figured, what the hell?

As a last ditch attempt at getting yourself out of the cyclical torture of your life, you put in an application to compete in Hell’s Kitchen. It was more of a joke than anything serious, really, but you figured, what the hell?

–

You were glad there were no theatrics upon your entrance to Hell’s Kitchen, just a nice car taking you to the entrance of your new home for the next few weeks. The group of girls surrounding you seemed nice enough, if a bit airy and lost. A few minutes of shuffling and exploring the dining room later, you found yourself lining up at the pass next to a pretty girl with dirty brunette hair falling to her shoulders. You managed to catch small glimpses of the boys team on the other side, all of them equally as confused as your group. That seemed like a good sign, at least. There was a collective gasp when the chef entered the dining room. Having no audience for the first challenge seemed suspicious, and as a long time fan of the show, you knew there would be some reveal where the audience would come from nowhere.

Of course, you were right, because moments later cheers were erupting from either side of you, and people were flooding the dining room. As subtly as you could, you brought your hands up, cupping your ears and blocking out some of the ruckus. The girl to your left noticed, reached a hand out and squeezed your upper arm, hoping to calm your frayed nerves. It worked, a little, and you glanced at her with a grateful smile.

You were barely focused on Chef Ramsey, picking up small tidbits of instructions, and you were in the kitchen before you knew what was happening.

“Hey, I’m y/n,” you rushed out, scrambling to gather ingredients from the pass and putting them on a tray before stretching your hand out to the girl from earlier. She grabbed it, grinned, and shook it.

“Hey! British accent!” She laughed, pulling away and leading you towards the back of the kitchen, tray of ingredients in hand. Chopping boards were pulled, knives set out, pans plonked onto the surface, “I’m Robin,”

Nice. A friend. Robin seems nice.

With nothing else to say, the both of you set to work. One hour went by so fast, what with the shouts of your new teammates and rush to get everything done on time. It was coming close to five minutes remaining, and you were beginning to plate up.

“Uh, y/n?” There was a tap on your shoulder, so you put down your spoon and turned to your new, and only, friend Robin shifting from foot to foot, holding a spoonful of reddish sauce and looking rather anxious, “can you taste this for me? Like, I know it’s good but-”

You cut her off by tasting the sauce, nodding with a satisfied smile as you pulled the spoon from your mouth, “s’good! Is that mascarpone I can taste?”

“Yeah,” you both ducked your heads down, focused on making your respective dishes look as neat as possible, “I figured it would make it more creamy, y’know? Make the tomato less overpowering,”

“Nice! Hey, you wanna try my-” but you were cut off by a loud, clanging bell indicating time up. Domes were clanged over plates, and the audiences’ screams resumed.

–

Dishes were called up, one by one; some hit and miss and others unexpectedly good. As it always was in Hell’s Kitchen, it came down to the last two dishes to break the tie. You were called forward, and you were so focused on not falling over while walking to the chef that you didn’t hear him shout the name of your opponent.

It was only when you were standing face to face that you finally met him. He was fucking gorgeous. Beautiful long hair and insanely sculpted cheekbones. He was everything you wanted.

“Steve, show me what you’ve made,” oh God, hearing Gordon’s voice so close to you was terrifying. The man, Steve, took the dome off his plate and pushed it towards the chef, revealing a rather rustic looking pizza. You barely managed to pay attention to Steve as he described the toppings, citing the way he prepared the garnish, reassuring the chef it was not a shop bought base, confirming the sauce was his own creation. Chef Ramsey tasted it with a pleasant smile, barely done chewing when he said, “that’s fucking delicious, wow. Wow, wow, wow. I’d say… uh, four out of five, very well done,”

Steve seemed very impressed, pumping his fist and letting out an excited, “thank you, chef!”

“Right then, y/n, explain your dish please,” and you copied Steve, uncovering your meal and shoving it clumsily towards your idol.

“Uhm, chef, I’ve made for you a spiced pumpkin and butternut squash soup, with crispy bacon and fresh rye bread on the side,” oh no, did you use too many words? It’s hard to tell, because so many people were staring at you.

“Is that a British accent i detect?” He hadn’t even tried your dish yet, leaning over the podium to hear you better. Why couldn’t he just taste your soup and be over with it?

“Uh, yeah, born and raised in Inverness,” you bobbed your head, a small smile crawling across your face when the boy across from you grinned.

“And where did you learn the dish?” At last, he brought a spoonful to his lips, expecting you to answer as he tasted.

“Me and my dad created it together. Well, it was originally his but apparently I insulted it when I was really young so I helped him recreate it,” you explained, wringing your hands together as he took a bite of the bread. The man across from you seemed amused by the story, broad shoulders shaking with silent laughter. You waited with baited breath for the verdict.

“That,” he paused, obviously, for dramatic affect, bringing a wrinkled pointer finger to his lips, “was fucking amazing,”

“Really?” You couldn’t help but squeak, eyes bulging out at his compliment and looking at your competitor to make sure you weren’t imagining anything.

“Yes really,” Gordon seemed to impressed to be annoyed, letting out a loud belly laugh, “that. Is a five out of five!”

—

With punishments and rewards over and done with, you finally found a moment to yourself. The reward your group had received was an hour long full body massage, followed by cocktails and desserts by the side of a rooftop infinity pool. In all honesty, the best part about it was the ride home, with the AC cranked in the limo, tucked into a corner seat reading yet another culinary textbook you hadn’t revisited in a while.

At long last, you were in a remote corner of the dorms, curled up under an unnecessary blanket with an inordinately marshmallow-y hot chocolate, studying the menu. All of the boys had come trudging in an hour or so ago, dead set on washing the day's punishment away before even thinking of anything else.

“Hey, uh, is this seat taken?” You jumped, not expecting company in the small corner away from all the others, let alone the timid voice of Steve, the man you’d gone against during the challenge. Some hot chocolate spilled onto the blanket, staining the baby pink an ashy brown. He cleared his throat, waiting politely for an answer, nudging the sofa with his knee.

“I, uh- sure,” you stammered, shifting on the leather and bunching up so he could have enough space.

“I’m Steve,” he sat down, sighing in relief at the ceasing of strain on his muscles, and extending a hand for you to shake. He smiled when you took it, eyebrows going up in amusement, “but, well, you knew that already, since you kicked my ass ‘nd all,”

“I’m sorry! For the record, I thought your pizza looked really good, and I hope you didn’t get an awful punishment! I’m so-“ he cut you off with a friendly hand on the knee, reassuring you that it was okay.

“It’s alright, you clearly deserved the win,” it was dismissive, and you knew that he was bothered by losing, but you wouldn’t push him on it. You barely knew him.

“Have you started to learn the menu yet?” You shuffled again, crossing your legs and turning to face him with the guide on your lap. When the boys hair flopped back and forth with a shake of his head you offered him a peek at your book, “I mean, I know we’re supposed to be enemies and all, but um. You don’t feel like an enemy to me,”

“Thanks,” he looked down, put his hands over yours, on the card-paper material of the menu information booklet, and adjusted so you could both see it properly, “you don’t feel like an enemy either,”

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