#but when i was like 10 i was not a fan of the 100th episode of gravity falls in which mabel tries to get a boyfriend and fails haha!

[sleepii-moth]

i saw someone say gravity falls is better than steven universe in every way and like. look. everyones entitled to their opinion blah blah blah but either that person has never seen steven universe or is insane, like dont get me wrong i like gravity falls but it does not hold up to steven universe, like 40% of mabels character is that she's a girl and oh my god she likes boys sooo much and she wants to have a boyfriend and talk to every boy she meets this summer! and its sooo funny because shes a girl whos so crazy about boys and thats what girls are right??? does not even hold up to fuckin connies whole like 4 arcs in SU like im sorry but oh my god i swear at least 5 episodes of gravity falls had plots that hinged on mabel wanting a boyfriend

[almacambiondaughterofsaleos]

Going to pop off how tadc and goose does everything 10x better than helluva boss and Vivzepop because the difference between these YouTube series is insane

So with tadc you can definitely tell how goose actually planned her show and knows what to do with it the cast of characters actually interact with each other and all of them have different personalities

Then there’s….helluva boss now with that show you can definitely tell this is one of Vivzepop ocs project ideas where she wants everyone to see it but instead of actually having everything planned out for the show her and the other writers just glue up a bunch of random bullshit and don’t get me started on the cast of assholes the only time they interact if the plot needs it and all of them have the same personalities

Then there’s the fandom and look while the tadc fans definitely had some bad apples when the show was getting popular goose actually step in and told everyone stop being mean to people who had different ships and if they didn’t behave she will stop the show if the fandom didn’t straighten up which shows she is not having any of that childish bs and really wants everyone to have fun and not be mean to each other

Then there’s Viv fandom which we already know how that went down Vivzepop pretty much don’t give a damn if her ass kiss- uh I mean fans literally push someone to killed their self or send death threats to people who criticize the show and the only time she speaks out about something if she has one of her meltdowns episodes about getting criticized or some harmless joke

and last we have the merch

glitch and goose are actually creative with the marketing for the merchandise and they actually make different products to clothing wear to plushie to figures etc it’s pretty a joy to see them drop out new stuff

Meanwhile spindlehorse and Vivzepop keeps doing the typical depressed sounding guy talking about the 100th limited edition merch and most of the merchandise are either the character in sexy poses or wearing sexy outfits hell even the clean merch is still boring to look at and most of them are ridiculously expensive for something that would of cost 10 dollars at a con

In conclusion support glitch and goose for their amazing work and not vivzshit and spindleass ��

I agree. All of this is just super true. Just quit supporting hacks who haven't ever gotten out of their Deviantart phase and go to Goose who actually thinks like a mature content creator.

[captainsavre]

100 Episodes and Beyond: The Legacy of ‘Station 19’

What we’ll always take away from the landmark series even after it fades to black.

BY MALCOLM VENABLEPUBLISHED: APR 10, 2024

Station 19 is ending, sadly, but when it does make its final farewell this year, Shondaland’s ABC series will leave behind more than teary eyes and a legion of loyal fans not ready to say goodbye. Though on the surface Station 19 functions as a standard emergency services/rescue drama, it has so much more going on underneath its fireproof exterior. For seven seasons now, the Grey’s Anatomy spin-off has become a landmark TV show in its own right, leaving behind a lasting legacy.

On a recent visit to the Station 19 set, where Shondaland was on hand to celebrate the momentous achievement of Station 19 finishing its 100th episode, which airs Thursday, April 11, we caught up with its beloved stars to probe what the show means — and talk about some of the ways the show will live on forever.

First-responder life

Perhaps the biggest and most important legacy of Station 19 is the way it reveals the struggles, sacrifices, and everyday heroism of first responders. Statistics show that Americans make roughly 240 million 911 calls a year — that’s more than 600,000 emergency calls per day. If we’re lucky, we’ll never have to make such a call, making it easy to forget that on the other end of that line are real people who get up every day and put their own needs and lives aside to help us when we’re having the worst day ever.

Through all kinds of calamities, disasters, and unthinkable emergencies — gas leaks and bombs, medical scares and car crashes, and of course, fires — we’ve seen these fictional characters mirror the courage and heroism real first responders exhibit every day. “I think Station,” executive producer and co-showrunner Peter Paige says, “has this magical formula of great action, incredible characters, incredible human stories that model a better way to be in the world.” Amen to that!

Mental health

The flip side of those incredible acts of service on Station 19 is the toll such a job takes. Sure, fires and rescue scenes make really good TV, but what has made Station 19 so impactful is the way it shows the human cost of such work. The death of Rigo (played by Rigo Sanchez) in season three is a good example: The subsequent group therapy sessions, where Andy Herrera (Jaina Lee Ortiz) and the team confront their grief and loss, illustrated how the job doesn’t exist in a vacuum and even the world’s toughest people feel emotional pain. “The relationships and circumstances really resonate with the audience,” Ortiz says. “They cry with us and grieve with us.”

Representation

“I feel like we have a lot of good representation,” says Zoanne Clack, co-showrunner and executive producer. “A lot of people who don’t see themselves represented usually on network television see themselves on our show.” She couldn’t be more correct. Station 19 has been trailblazing for the way it depicts a number of underrepresented groups — most notably Latinos, who are vastly underrepresented on television — in lead roles, with Pruitt Herrera (Miguel Sandoval) and Andy Herrera (Jaina Lee Ortiz) in particular as standout examples. Showing them as captains has been quietly revolutionary, helping to undo persistent stereotypes that have Latinx people in service jobs or as criminals. LGBTQ characters get a lot of shine on Station 19 too; we see characters like Carina (Stefania Spampinato) and Maya (Danielle Savre) living out their lives, and not being held up as perfect aspirational models but as everyday people dealing with work, relationships, parenting, and the like — just like so many LGBTQ people the world over.

Family

“I think everybody sees the family they grew up in and the family they created — good, bad, and ugly,” says Jason George, otherwise known as Dr. Ben Warren. Indeed, Station 19’s 100 powerful episodes give us unflinching glimpses into what it looks like to be a pea in a pod, so to speak, and navigate the dynamics of being in a forced cluster — particularly accepting and supporting other people even if, in the moment, you’d really rather not. From courtships to breakups, baby making, and confronting the finality to death, the Station 19 family have endured it all together, and viewers have gone through it all alongside them. And that’s just one of the many reasons why its impact will stick inside the hearts of viewers for years to come.

For more on the legacy of Station 19, watch the video above from the series’ 100th episode celebration. And catch the final season of Station 19 on Thursdays on ABC, or stream episodes on Hulu.

Link: 100 Episodes and Beyond: The Legacy of ‘Station 19’ (shondaland.com)

[sylvies-chen]

top five moments of 6x02 ♡

OMG I CAN ONLY PICK FIVE?? OK LET’S GO:

lie detector (tim’s ily) — I think this moment is my favourite part of the episode by far, because first off you have the question about the bugs which was SOOOO cute and so encapsulating of chenford’s relationship that it had me giggling at my tv and twirling my hair lol. but then lucy takes the time to seek out confirmation of his love out of her own will, not because she needed to be proven right but because she wanted to hear it 🥹 and he immediately says yes! he loves her! we finally get to hear it and the lie detector shows it’s true and it’s just so gratifying for chenford fans to finally get this

cop cutie! cute and on duty! — GUYS I KNOW IT’S CORNY BUT HATERS WILL HATE, DADDY COP IS A BANGER!! this was so funny and such an earworm— and to those saying they thought it was an old episode when it opened on that scene, lemme just say SAME lol— but then to up the ante by pulling out the choir as if literally singing for and rejoicing the 100th episode was just so perfect and classic rookie: a little hokey but well executed and fun and all around heartfelt. 10/10 I need it on spotify right now.

if I ain’t got you by alicia keys (lucy’s ily) — okay I’m scared some of you chenford girlies are going to tar and feather me for not putting this at number 1 or 2 but HEAR ME OUT: I’ve expressed my problems about this temporary argument solution!! I think this whole scene is so gorgeous for so so so many reasons: lucy and tim dancing as a couple for the first time, the matching outfits, the kiss, ugh all PERFECT I love my babies 🥹❤️ that being said, I don’t like how so much of the resolution/peace between them relied on tim being completely in the wrong when I feel like it’s a more nuanced issue than that and denies lucy any opportunity to critically reflect on her own feelings about this. and also, it does seem weird to me that she wouldn’t have said ‘I love you’ back to tim when he first said it?? they smile at each other but then they’re back to looking awkwardly from afar at the wedding (prior to this scene of course) and so I’m a bit uneasy at the implication (which the writers did not necessarily add on purpose) that lucy’s ily depended on him admitting he was wrong in any way. but idk maybe I’m just being too nitpicky here, I still ADOREEE THIS SCENE FOREVER AND EVER I want it on my grave k thanks

tim down on one knee — need I say more?? this imagery of him on his knee with the ring staring up at lucy was a glimpse at chenford’s future and it was such cute teasing, god I love writers and showrunners when they add messy fun little teaser moments like this! plus tim totally kicked ass, all covered in blood and ready to pass out, and ah, I do always say the best kind of lust is bloodlust 😌

bailan wedding vows — I actually cannot believe the day has come where a bailan moment is in my top 5 episode moments but these wedding vows showed me how the writers are finally able to articulate what works about them as a couple!! with someone as impressive and as versatile and skilled as bailey, I think literally any other man would feel threatened or emasculated, but nolan really is just Some Guy™️ who’s really into her and obsessed with her and is very sturdy ground for her to come home to. I wish we dove more into her past as a survivor of abuse because I feel like that previous situation informs so much of why she loves john even though, let’s be real: she’s eons above his league holy shit it’s not even funny how out of his league she is. but also she could never be with anyone else! she really just loves him and they have such a nice soft relationship which the wedding really sold me on. I liked it a lot even though I had my qualms about her and him as individuals and together.

honourable mention to wade and luna because I love them so much y’all they are adorable!! anyways, here’s my list and lmk if you agree

[hecckyeah]

Hey! So, I know you probably haven't watched it yet, BUT: when you do, I must know your comprehensive thoughts on the latest Rookie episode!?!

ASK AND YOU WILL RECEIVE!!!

Okay, because I'm insane, I'm going to split this into two sections: not-chenford, and chenford.

SPOILERS FOR 6x02 UNDER THE CUT

First up, everything NOT-chenford-related:

Honestly they could have botched it, but it was SO FUN having Randy back for the wedding. "Sit down, German, I got this." i mean???? iconic. Also having him be literally in Pete's place and WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND? even more iconic. I'm a ride or die Randy fan, so all his scenes just made me unreasonably happy :)

it was understandably short, but I loved having Celina ride with Nyla, finally. It was kind of satisfying to see her get humbled in interrogation, because imo Nolan has been kind of lax with her training, letting her get away with things the other rookies would have been fired for. So it's nice that she'll spend some time away from him and with a *ahem* more experienced TO. hopefully. We'll see.

Ugh, my heart breaks for Aaron this season. Kid's traumatized for REAL. And his comment to Celina about not sharing things with the therapist because he wants to get back on patrol, not necessarily get better. That bothered me. I really hope they dig into that a lot. But I also hope nothing horrible happens because of it. He seemed so unstable, even when he wasn't drunk. I'm also very interested to see where this goes with his and Celina's friendship. Just a lot of good stuff that could be a really thoughtful and interesting story if handled right...

Aaaaand this episode confirms that I intensely dislike Bailey. Everything about her character is just trying too hard, like the writers were so tired of having Nolan date and break up a few times, they were like okay fine this one can stay, and even though they have chemistry readings in the negatives, they keep trying to push it even though it feels so wrong. I'd rather have Nolan be single the rest of the show than be in this stale cardboard relationship. But it's fine, they're not going to split them up now, so I'll have to deal with it lol

The whole thing with Oscar suing was SO rushed. Like, so insanely rushed I couldn't even be annoyed at him. I hope they bring him back and do it for real, because that was weird to kind of shoehorn in there just for dramatic effect.

EPIC COP TEAMUP IN SUITS AND TIES MY BELOVEDDDD. Seriously they all looked SO GOOD chasing down bad guys and beating people up. White dress shirts were truly the MVPs of this episode

Will Celina just. be wearing long sleeves the rest of her life? Seriously how long has she been a rookie already?? Most of Angela's pregnancy and maternity leave, so at least 10 months, if not more. Hell, she should be graduating from the program soon. The timeline in this show is absolute trash.

Speaking of-- Baby Wopez name drop when????? poor girl's been nameless for too long

James coming in clutch with the playlist was chef's kiss. I LOVE that man

ALSO JAMES AND WESLEY'S BROMANCE. "I went with a suit." "Me too. Mine has a tie." "Oh my god, same!" I CAN'T WITH THESE TWO. Probably my favorite bromance of anyone ever.

Finally, just in general-- I know some people were put off by how much stuff was jam-packed into 42 minutes (again. how???) but I think they pulled it off reasonably well. There was actually very good pacing, lots of comedy and angst and everything in between. I personally LOVED this episode and I think it deserves a few rewatches just to pick up on everything they threw at us. It has its flaws, but it will definitely be a 100th episode to remember, that's for sure.

AND NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE MOMENT WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR.

Chenford thoughts :))))))

But first let me just get this out of the way real quick-- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHLSKDJFOAHGOIJWE;LKTH;SKLJD;LFKHAGLJKSDFA;HLGKJLSKJDKFJDKJFKDJFKJDKFJDKFJKD OH MY GOSHHHHHHHHHHHA;LKGHSJNBMNMCC HELP KJAEHKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG IM HYPERVENTILATING AHGHGHAHSHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

okay, anyway.

Here we go!

I'm just a little bit torn on how they decided to approach this. On the one hand, it was nice that they were still able to work together and talk without excessive drama. Although... Tim shutting the door on her did hurt. Yeah. That hurt a lot. But I had really hoped that they would acknowledge that Lucy was in the wrong last episode too. She was being completely unreasonable and like Tim said, she was projecting. But in this ep, it seemed like she was validated and he was the one being unreasonable. While his trauma with Isabel is something they desperately need to talk about (like Lucy said), she was also reacting too harshly to it and being unfair with her accusations. But honestly, it's okay. We still have 8 episodes to sort it out and it seems like they're very much on the right track. I'm hoping they have a really really really intense, tearful, honest, raw, cathartic conversation about the whole thing. Seems like that's the direction they're going, so I won't hold my breath but it is something that needs to happen.

ALL OF THEIR INTERACTIONS were just so. hnnggg. so chewy. so much going on. THE LOOKS DURING THE WEDDING. hang on I'll come back to that in a sec.

The scene with the Hammer was NEXT LEVEL. (Also fun that they named the episode after That Scene, specifically. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.........) For some reason I immensely enjoyed watching Tim get thrown around like a rag doll. Not sure what that's about. Never seen that side of myself before.

THE FORESHADOWING. That on-one-knee thing was more than I thought they'd give us, and OMG I ATE IT UP. The little pause, where Lucy's breath kind of catches, and Tim just seems kind of oblivious. THAT'S CINEMA, BABEY.

Kind of insane about Tim just passing out like that. Poor man.

CELINA MENTIONING LUCY'S BACHELORETTE PARTY????? hello even more foreshadowing :))))

The scene cuts back and forth when Lucy is helping with the cake and Tim with the flowers??? THEY'RE TELEPATHIC SOULMATES DON'T TALK TO ME.

And the fact that the lie detector was RANDY'S IDEA? I'm shrieking. "Ein wenig crazy," is definitely something my adhd bilingual ass has said irl

oh my lord how CLOSE she scoots her chair?? i'm melting

I thought it was kind of a nice touch to have Tim be actually surprised by the lie detector picking up his answer to the last question being a lie. Because honestly.... now it makes a little more sense: he's been lying to himself. Which is kind of an angle I didn't see coming. "I guess we do have a problem," sounds to me like he literally hasn't been able to admit to himself that he doesn't want Lucy undercover. Of course he wants her to make detective, that's not a question. Detective doesn't equal undercover. But he's been telling himself probably since day one that he's fine with it, that she's not Isabel, that he has nothing to worry about . . . and now he's finally seeing that he really is terrified. Something she's seen in him all along. And while their argument last episode was about more than just this (I still believe she was in the wrong for projecting so hard and making crazy assumptions about him), I think I can see where the writers were going with it.

THE I LOVE YOUS D E S T R O Y E D ME

Okay, back to the Looks at the wedding. Tim being all 🧍and scanning the crowd for his girl . . . Lucy delivering the Heart Eyes of the century . . . Them still sitting together because even though they're fighting, they're still each other's person, and nothing can change that . . . I'm going into cardiac arrest.

In my book, "We're gonna get through this" is a nice breath of fresh air and a bit of relief, but it doesn't mean they've worked everything out. Again, they need a good solid conversation. One that this episode was never going to give us, sadly. But it'll come!

ALSOOOO that moment when Aaron interrupts them and we see Tim's hand around her waist, I just OOF i need a moment

I AM NEVER GONNA BE NORMAL ABOUT THIS EPISODE. the foreshadowing, the parallels, the pining, the dancing, the fighting, the emotions, EVERYTHING. It was not perfect but it was WONDERFUL. 10000/10, I need to watch all their scenes about five million more times.

AND THERE WE HAVE IT. I'll definitely be posting more thoughts soon, but that's where I'm at for now. Basically I think they set the groundwork for a really solid, healthy relationship going forward. I LOVED their moments in this ep, absolutely top tier. The ANGST. I am eating up every second of it.

2 episodes down, 8 to go!!!

[lalunameli]

AFFT Event 10/13/2017: Yuri-centric Parts

This one is a long one. But oh-so-worth-it. Some Yuri pieces of information translated from the AFFT Event October 13, 2017

アニメフィルムフェスティバル（AFFT)

アニメ１００周年を記念したフェスティバル。オールナイト上映回や、製作陣によるトークショーなどが行われます。

Anime Film Festival (AFFT)

[TN: I believe the T stands for Tokyo]

A festival commemorating the 100th anniversary of anime. There was an all-night screening (for episodes 14-25 of Season 1), as well as a talkshow with members of the production team.

The production team attendees were Katsura Masakazu, Nishida Masafumi, and Producer Tamura Kazuhiko

Questions were accepted by the team here, and there was a special illustration released for the event.

An English translation of some information from the reports is available here:

Japanese sources available here and here.

TN: Please keep in mind there is no formal report for this event, so this is all information from the fans in attendance. I have no way of determining if Nishida and Katsura were joking with some of their answers, or if they are legit Yuri canon. Comments from the same person have been grouped together.

「ユーリの黒リボンはいつから。」

桂先生「ユーリの初期設定は元相棒で髪ばっさばっさ、西田さんが入って裁判官設定になったから、髪縛らなきゃって思った」

「ラーメン食べるときは?」

桂先生「ダークな人はラーメン食わないわ、心に闇を持っている人は」

「寝るときもばっさばっさ?」

「あいつは素っ裸で��てるわ!」

When did Yuri start using a black ribbon? (TN: How did Yuri's black ribbon come to be? - conceptually)

Katsura: Yuri's initial setting was (TN: Kotetsu's) a former partner with a lot of hair. Nishida-san joined and made him a judge, so I thought I had to tie his hair.

Does he eat ramen?

Katsura: People with darkness in their hearts don't eat ramen!

How does he cutdown on time at bedtime?

Katsura: He sleeps naked!

(TN: Lmao Katsura used "aitsu" - derogatory form of "That Guy")

Original Tweet

EVERYONE TAKE A DEEP BREATH. HE SLEEPS NAKED!!!!!!!!!

「あいつは素っ裸で寝てるわ!」

ユーリの黒リボン。髪はキャラ作り段階では解いていたが、司法局の設定が加わった為法服に合わせて黒リボン。さすがにバッサァってしとくわけにはいかないからさぁ。寝るときは髪広がってるんでしょうね。あと寝るとき裸でしよ！と西田さん。ユーリさんは寝るときは裸…！

Yuri's black ribbon. His hair was designed at the character creation stage, but when the Judicial Bureau setting was added, it became a black ribbon according to the legal uniform. Naturally he cannot just put it on. I guess his hair is not tied (lit spreads) when he sleeps, and he's naked when he goes to bed! And Mr. Nishida. Yuri is naked when he sleeps...!

(Original Tweet is not public)

I REPEAT: HE SLEEPS NAKED!!!!!

あと寝るとき裸でしよ！と西田さん。ユーリさんは寝るときは裸…！

The Great Ramen Debate:

Katsura's comments on darker minded people not eating ramen, sparked a debate between him and Nishida on whether Yuri eats ramen. Poor Tamura was the mediator.

ユーリさんは何でリボンで髪を結んでいるのかという話から、どのタイミングでリボンで結ぶのか

→桂先生 は管理官の仕事着を着て最後に結ぶ、それ以外はバサバサ

→西田さん「ラーメン食べる時も髪結ぶでしょ？」

桂先生「ラーメンの時は髪かきあげて食べんだよ、てかユーリはラーメン食べない！」

→西田さん「食べますよ！そんなになよなよした動きで髪かきあげたりしないでこう男らしくリボンで髪結んで！」

→ヒートアップしてるうちに床に置いてた桂先生のお水が溢れてしまう

→桂先生「ユーリは水零しても気にしない」

→西田さん「いや拭くでしょ！」またヒートアップw

→あまりに桂先生が反論するので西田さん「じゃあ皆さんに聞いてみましょう！ユーリは水を吹くと思う人？」

→観客の多数が手を挙げる

→西田さん「ほら！！！！」

吹く

→拭くですね…変換間違い！

They talked about why Yuri uses a hair ribbon and when he would tie it up.

→ Katsura: Puts on his administrator's work clothes and ties it at the end. Other than that, it's unkempt.

→ Nishida: You tie your hair up when you eat ramen, right?

Katsura-sensei: (Agrees) When you eat ramen, you do tie your hair up, but Yuri doesn’t eat ramen!

→ Nishida: He does! And he doesn't brush his hair with such slow movements, ties his hair with a ribbon like this: manly!

→ Things started heating up and Katsura-sensei's water (which was on the floor) spilled.

→ Katsura: Yuri doesn't care if his water spills.

→ Nishida: No, he'll wipe it!

It got heated again lol

→ Katsura kept objecting, so Nishida said, "Let's ask everyone! Who thinks Yuri blows on his water?

→ Many people in the audience raised their hands

→Nishida: Look!!!!

Blow → Wipe...wrong conversation!

Original Tweet

A fan drew a picture of Yuri eating ramen, sparked by the ramen argument

ユーリさん、ラーメン食べる時に髪の毛をくくるのか問題にそもそも食べるのか問題勃発。

桂先生は「ダークな人はラーメン食べない！」

西田先生「いや食べるでしょ」

なんの話だ（リボンが発端でした）

Questions arose about whether Yuri ties his hair up when eating ramen or whether he eats it at all.

Katsura: Dark people don't eat ramen!'

Nishida: No, he eats it!

What started it (the talk)? (It began with a ribbon...）

Original Tweet

I can't help but wonder if Katsura and Nishida are the inspiration for the dynamic between Kotetsu and Barnaby.

There were many entertaining moments like the ramen debate, such as a discussion on their attire. They were supposed to come to the event dressed casually (in TaiBani T-shirts) but Nishida showed up in a suit, so Katsura felt betrayed 🤣

「お互いのファッションセンスについて」 という質問

桂「この間タイバニのTシャツ着ようかなって言ってたじゃん」

西田「よくいただくので…パーカーとか」

桂「だから最初はスーツ着てこようと思ってたけど、浮くと思ってラフな格好で来たのに！裏切られた！」

しっかりスーツでキメてきた西田さんw

→西田「いや、本当に着て来るつもりだったんです！でもこれの前に別作品の取材があったので…ていうか覚えてたんですね」

桂「覚えてたよ！」

西田「すみませんw」

A question about each other's fashion sense:

Katsura: The other day, you said you were thinking about wearing a TaiBani T-shirt.

Nishida: I often wear them... like the hoodie.

Katsura: So at first I was thinking of wearing a suit, but I didn't want to wear one. So I came dressed casually! I was betrayed!

Mr. Nishida came dressed in a suit (lol)

Nishida: No, I was really going to wear it! But prior to this, I had an interview for another work... I mean, I remembered.

Katsura: I remembered!

Nishida I'm sorry (lol)

Original Tweet

There was also another conversation about the Hero's summer attire, in which Katsura seemed hell-bent on having Keith wear white T-shirts that were 5 for ¥1000 (roughly CDN $2ea) Like he really wanted Keith to be a cheapskate 😭😭😭🤣

「だってポロシャツじゃないよね！？」と会場に向かって訴えておられました。すかさず西田さんが「SHがポロシャツ」的な発言をして、桂先生が「SHは5枚1000円の白��Tシャツだ！！」と力説してました。西田さんも大いに納得して、SHさんは5枚1000円の白いTシャツで落ち着きました。

"It's not a polo shirt, right!?'' he (Katsura) complained to the audience. Immediately Nishida-san made a remark like "SH is a polo shirt.'' and Katsura-sensei emphasized, "SH is a white T-shirt that costs 1,000 yen for 5!!'' Mr. Nishida was convinced, and Mr. SH (lmao Katsura!) calmed down about the 5 white T-shirts for 1000 yen.

まとまりました（笑）。そこへ桂先生が「SHは5枚1000の白Tシャツだから！！」桂先生はよほどSH5枚1000円白Tシャツにこだわりがあるようです（笑）。

[それから「1人だけは長袖にしたくない？」という話になり、きっとイワン君だとご意見が一致しました。SHが白Tシャツ、イワン君が長袖のTシャツ]

It all came together (laughs). Katsura-sensei then said, "SH is a white T-shirt that costs 1,000 yen for 5 pieces!'' Katsura-sensei seems to be very particular about SH white T-shirts that cost 1,000 yen for 5 pieces (lol). [TN: The rest of this was a question on who would wear a long t-shirt and Ivan was selected, SH long t-shirt]

Original Tweet

All-in-all, a great read! This fan summarized my takeaways best:

タイバニトークショー、桂先生の中ではユーリさんはダーティーな人だからラーメン食べない。パスタ派。ラーメン食べるときは髪の毛まとめない。寝るときは裸らしい！！！

わたしの中の月クラ心がざわつきましたww

TaiBani Talkshow: Katsura-sensei's Yuri is a dirty person! He won't eat ramen because he doesn't want to tie his hair back. (He's a) pasta person. And he sleeps naked!!!

My mind and heart are disturbed by the moon looool

Original Tweet

The most important thing to note is:

寝る時は裸族

THE PALE MAN SLEEPS NAKED.

Directly from Katsura's mouth.

「あいつは素っ裸で寝てるわ!」

[twistedtummies2]

Fifteen Days of Disney Magic - Number 7

Welcome to Fifteen Days of Disney Magic! In honor of the company’s 100th Anniversary, I am counting down my Top 15 Favorite Movies from Walt Disney Animation Studios! Today’s entry might be called an Underrated Mouse-terpiece. Ha Ha. Number 7 is…The Great Mouse Detective.

This is one of at least two films on my list where, if you don’t know me well, the movie being in my Top 15 – let alone my Top 10 – will probably be a surprise. However, if you DO know me well, then you probably won’t be surprised at all. “The Great Mouse Detective” is one of those hidden gems in the Disney canon: it’s not exactly a hated movie – I don’t know anybody who dislikes it outright – but it’s a film that frequently seems to get overlooked. It’s the very definition of a cult classic: a movie with a small but devoted fanbase, and a lot of other people just sort of go, “Oh, yeah. That movie exists.” There are a few reasons for this, I think; one is that the film, in its own time, wasn’t necessarily a smash hit. Oh, it was a successful film, don't get me wrong, and a much-needed one, at that. The previous movie, “The Black Cauldron,” performed so poorly at the box office it lost to the bloody Care Bears Movie (yes, seriously), and didn't exactly get a lot of critical praise. This film was a modest commercial hit, and critics seemed to like it both then and now, but it wasn’t something that revolutionized the company or made people suddenly become die-hard Disney fans again.

The other reason is merchandising: this film just hasn’t had the level of ATTENTION a lot of other films, both before and since, have gotten, or so it feels to me. Disney doesn’t exactly make a lot of toys, coffee cups, t-shirts, and so on based on this movie today, and I’m not sure if they ever did. Even the characters seem to be quite forgotten in the annals of Disney moviemaking; I think Bongo and Lumpjaw from “Fun and Fancy Free” have made more subsequent appearances in comics and cartoons than any of the characters in this film. Heck, outside of a cameo in an episode of “House of Mouse,” and a few obscure children’s books, I actually can’t think of ANY real subsequent appearances for these characters, off the top of my head. Whatever the cause for all this, it’s fair to say that “The Great Mouse Detective” isn’t a movie with the same level of enthusiasm, from fans, critics, and the company itself alike, as something like “The Little Mermaid” or “Big Hero 6.” Which is a shame because, very obviously, I think it’s a great film! Admittedly, a big part of my love for this film stems from the story itself, and what it's inspired by. The film is a pastiche of Sherlock Holmes. The movie was based on a series of books called “Basil of Baker Street,” which I’ve admittedly never read; from what I understand, however, the film has almost nothing to DO with those books, and instead treats itself as a more or less straightforward Sherlock Holmes movie. It just so happens that the names are different, and all the characters are now mice, rats, dogs, cats, and so on. As a kid, this was my introduction to the concept of Sherlock Holmes, and anyone who knows me well knows how much I love the Conan Doyle classics and their titular detective. So you can absolutely blame this movie for that obsession: I wouldn’t care about things like “Sherlock” or “Moriarty the Patriot” if I didn’t first see “The Great Mouse Detective” many times while growing up. In fact, as an adult, my love for this movie has only grown, because I now love it for both different and similar reasons to when I was a child. The main thing that I marvel at with this movie, now that I’m older and have so much more experience with the source material, is just how much this film pays homage to the stories. Some elements are quite transparent, like the characters: Basil is very obviously Holmes, Dawson is very obviously Watson, and Professor Ratigan is very obviously Professor Moriarty. They are the three key examples. Another is the battle atop Big Ben, which is a transparent riff on the climactic duel atop Reichenbach Falls from the books.

However, some details are surprisingly subtle. For example, the whole sequence with Basil and Dawson disguised as sailors is based on a specific episode of the probably-just-as-obscure-then-as-it-is-now 1950s Sherlock Holmes TV show. Unless you happen to have seen that show, you won’t pick up on that detail. Another example is the use of Toby the Bloodhound: he actually does appear in the Holmes story “The Sign of Four,” where Sherlock uses him to track down a peg-legged villain. While I knew of Toby’s origins, it wasn’t until earlier this very year that I realized that’s EXACTLY what Basil does with the pooch in the film: use him to track down a peg-legged villain, albeit one unrelated to the tale. A direct reference to one of the books I somehow never picked up on before! When even a die-hard Holmes fan like myself can be surprised by the film all these years later, it’s clearly doing its job well! Even if you AREN’T a major Sherlock Holmes fan, however, the movie is definitely worth looking into. It has wonderful characters, with a superb voice cast behind them (VINCENT PRICE IS THE VILLAIN, PEOPLE), an atmospheric setting, a couple of good songs, and a lot of fun, adventurous shenanigans from start to finish. While at first it may seem like just a typical “cute little mouse movie,” it’s actually got some real nail-biting moments, including one of the best and most action-packed climaxes of any Disney motion picture ever made. If you haven’t seen it before, find time to do so. And if you have seen it already, watch it again: I can promise you there’s always something new to uncover with this wonderful little crime story. The countdown continues tomorrow with my 6th Favorite Disney Movie! HINT: “Most Everyone’s Mad Around Here.”

[hallmarknostalgia]

Hearties, there is so much to look forward to coming up on the sweet Hallmark Channel series. Not only is When Calls the Heart returning for its 10th season (premiering July 30), fans will get to see the drama’s 100th episode!

“It’s just a huge event in Hope Valley,” series star and executive producer Erin Krakow tells TV Insider. “It is a celebration of our community, and we get to see everyone enjoying a special new feature in Hope Valley. I will say maybe that’s when we can expect to see some family. And yeah, it won’t feel like a departure from our story and it won’t feel like a departure from the way we typically tell stories. We didn’t want to divert at all from the stories that we were telling this season. So it will very much feel like a cohesive part of the rest of this season.”

As for the rest of Season 10, “we have no shortage of interesting storylines in Season 10, which is a real testament to our writers, I’d say, because we’ve told a lot of stories over the years, but there’s still so much left to tell and they’ve done an incredible job crafting Season 10,” Krakow raves.

Expect plenty of romance, friendship, and drama. “There’s real drama,” the star stresses. There’s also action and adventure coming up, along with “sweet, funny moments with the kids” and music. “It’s just a very full, exciting season,” she promises.

Plus, When Calls the Heart, already the network’s longest-running drama, was renewed for Season 11 in February, so there’s much more to come. “It’s huge news,” Krakow says of the (very) early pickup. “We’re thrilled, and it’s like everyone can kind of just relax and enjoy Season 10 and not have to worry about getting the Season 11 because quite frankly, we’ll already be filming it.”

[swordbreakerz]

Waving, I had no idea I was not the only one griping about this in the tags lol! Happy to give a tldr, sorry in advance if it's not the most clear, but:

At the end of season 6 fox cancelled the show, they had no intention of carrying it for more seasons. Luckily, the abc network picked it up almost immediately and confirmed for season 7. We had a LONG hiatus with the writers strike and other general network-switch-shenanigans, and then earlier this year we finally got s7, out first season with abc. There's a lot I could talk about here wrt to how we only got 10 episodes and the pacing n whatever, but we're here to talk about Tommy, so fast forwarding a little

Tommy was introduced as a helicopter pilot with the air rescue division of lafd in episode 3 during the cruise ship disaster arc, this seasons opening disaster. He and Buck have a nice shoulder touch moment at the end, it's very sweet. Episode 4, the series' 100th episode, comes out swinging with a buck centric episode of him being jealous that Tommy and Eddie (the latter being the second half of buddie, the most popular m/m ship and ship overall in the fandom) are hanging out a bunch and good friends. Its an insane episode, I felt crazy watching it, and then in the last 5 minutes Tommy shows up at bucks house to talk things out and then KISSES HIM and we get: buck bisexuality real. Abc loves us, thank you abc. After this tommy becomes bucks primary love interest for the season and they start dating after a catastrophic first date while buck figures out the whole bisexuality thing, they're very cute and very hot

And here is where we reach people losing. Their minds. Because after the initial kiss in episode four, people have started WILDLY hating on Tommy in ways that I don't think even bucks female love interests have gotten? Take that statement with a grain of salt tho, even when I've disliked his girlfriend's I stay OUT of the main tag so I don't know what levels it's reached. Point being, people are finding flaw with every little thing tommy says and does, calling him gross and insensitive for a daddy kink joke he makes when he and Buck are on a dinner date (THAT BUCK STARTED, BTW, buck is the one that started that particular flirt and made the conversation horny, christ), and overall being nitpicky in a way that uhhh Really really fucking comes off as homophobic. Another specific instance is at an awards ceremony later in the season, tommy and chimney (another 118 member) get approached by their old captain (why was he even there. Whatever) and he's racist and homohpobic at them because he sucks and then later in the scene Tommy is understandably subdued and uncomfortable seeming when he's chatting with buck and people JUMPED on that, seeming to forget he was all but called a slur to his face by his old captain he hates 5 minutes ago??? I'd be a little off too, jeez

To me it's even more of 'hes getting in the way of buddie!!!' than it's ever been with buck or Eddie's female love interests too, which is driving me nuts. All in all it's like, it's FINE to not be a fan of him as a love interest, right, you can feel whatever about it, but dont be a homophobe????? It's really not that fucking hard?????????

Anyway. Props if u read all of this I woke up like, 30 minutes ago, I'm deeply deeply tired and hoping people have calmed down over the hiatus, especially since we've started getting s8 promo. 911 fandom be normal about gay men challenge

many of you need to be asking yourself “would this statement be homophobic coming from the mouth of a conservative?” and then the followup “why do i think my identity absolves me of this?” . i am talking specifically about your comments about gay men btw

[writerwithfluffysocks]

BB Fic Rec List

Remember to kudos, like, favorite and review! Authors love that love and support for their work!

Most of these fics are rated T or M so if you're underage or that's not your thing then these probably won't be for you. Fics are broken down into categories to make it easier and each states number of chapters, rating and word count. Enjoy!

/

CANON FICS

A Dream Within a Dream by BlindAssassinUK (M, 25 chapters, 125k words)

Booth struggles to recover from his brain surgery and with Sweets' assessment that his feelings for Bones aren't real. As if this wasn't enough to keep our favourite FBI agent busy, a serial killer comes to town. Mostly written in tandem with Season 5.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5392047/1/A-Dream-Within-a-Dream

A Lotta Heart by nelliesbones (M, 10 chapters, 18k words)

"Bones, she believes in the system." Except that she didn't. Not completely. Not anymore... This is a story about a woman protecting her family. A story about the man who loves her. Spoilerfree, warm-hearted and M for a reason.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8186135/1/A-Lotta-Heart

An Aggregation of Maladjusted Companions by Jazzyproz (M, 43 chapters, 250k words)

Suffering from a declining solve rate following their returns to DC, Booth and Brennan are forced to attend a team-building convention. Neither of them think they need the workshops or exercises, but it's apparent to everyone around them that if they don't do something, the whole team will soon be falling apart. Can they fix their broken partnership?

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11132403/1/An-Aggregation-of-Maladjusted-Companions

An Unexpected Outcome by BB-loverr (M, 5 chapters, 8k)

Before she could do anything Booth had her pinned. He made sure most of his weight was on his elbows so he wasn't crushing her. Someone is after Bones & Booth is protecting her. Set in early season 5

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5590619/1/An-Unexpected-Outcome

Becoming One by nelliesbones (M, 21 chapters, 83k) 

He is handsome, she is beautiful, and somewhere in between… they have made a baby. Warm-hearted and M for a reason. Slightly spoiler-y AN's, the story itself is spoilerfree.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7012130/1/Becoming-One

By Any Means Necessary by Heather Wyatt (M, 45 chapters, 433k, DARKER FIC)

When an overseas trip for Brennan leaves her in terrible danger, Booth does what is necessary to save her - even if what he is forced to do has the potential to drive her away from him forever. Set in season 5, pre-100th; Inspired by the movie "Taken".

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11549096/1/By-Any-Means-Necessary

Can You Save Her, Agent Booth? by Jazzyproz (M, 62 chapters, 464k)

Booth receives a disturbing text in the middle of the night aboout Bones - will he be able to find her in time? Or will he lose her forever? Will this guy really kill her, or is it just a bluff?

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7723263/1/Can-You-Save-Her-Agent-Booth

Coitus by willgirl (M, 5 chapters, 4k)

After a date, Brennan finds herself unexpectedly at Booth's door. B&B, Rated M for Smut!

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4126515/1/Coitus

First a Dream by Firstadream (M, 17 chapters, 53k)

"I don't want you to move on..." Post 5x16 story. What should've happened between Booth and Brennan.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5900783/1/First-A-Dream

For You, I’d Bleed Myself Dry by coffeehelps (M, 1 chapter, 11k)

The night that Booth took a bullet for Brennan in front of that karaoke stage was forever ingrained in Brennan's mind. Every year, on the anniversary of that night, Brennan experiences those volatile feelings all over again… and they help her realize just how much Booth means to her.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13382298/1/for-you-i-d-bleed-myself-dry

Learning to Fly by Shelly (T, 3 chapters, 8k)

It was never his intention to hurt her. And, yet, she was sitting on the edge of the tub, his bathrobe consuming her small frame, tears cascading down her cheeks. He didn't know how to fix this. Post "The End in the Beginning."

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5231358/1/Learning-to-Fly

Recklessness and Repercussions by Nothing But Bones (M, 7 chapters, 29k)

Booth overhears one of his colleagues crudely reliving an intimate rendezvous with Brennan, and his ill-conceived reaction threatens to end their partnership on a permanent basis, leaving their emotions running dangerously high.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4605409/1/Recklessness-Repercussions

This Secret Dance by ALottaHeart (M, 14 chapters, 43k)

But this secret dance, it goes on. This. This is for them, between them, and they're not ready to share that with the world. Not yet. They've waited too long. Booth/Brennan. Spoilers for 100th episode.

CASE FICS

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6062651/1/This-Secret-Dance

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Bone of Contention by Mochi-girl (M, 15 chapters, 33k)

During a murder investigation, a man from Brennan's past returns, and spins her relationship with Booth in a new direction.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5558981/1/Bone-of-Contention

Case File 2010c by lexeb (M, 1 chapter, 40k)

Booth and Bones face their worst case to date. Will our duo catch their man? Dark themes and imagery. Note rating. Written as an episode. Most characters appear.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5789374/1/Case-File-2010C

Crimson Catastrophe by Dangereux (M, 5 chapters, 24k)

Booth and Brennan work a case that pushes them both to their limits, and into each other's arms.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5929308/1/Crimson-Catastrophe

Fear and Faith by Some1tookmyname (M, 35 chapters, 59k)

When a suspicious note is discovered in an unexpected place, Booth and Brennan fight against an unknown enemy to protect the life they've built together.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7981371/1/Fear-and-Faith

Getting Clean by blc (M, 1 chapter, 11k)

Brennan feels soiled after catching a serial killer. Booth helps her get clean again. Long Angst/Romance

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4621793/1/Getting-Clean

Hearts in Overdrive by Christi Whitson (M, 22 chapters, 136k)

After stumbling upon the suspicious deaths of two men from Brennan's past, she is determined to learn the truth about how they died. Booth and Brennan deal with the emotional fallout of their discoveries as the events of S3 unfold.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12190876/1/Hearts-in-Overdrive

The Effects of the Fan by gatewatcher (T, 1 chapter, 9k)

Someone is stalking Brennan. Will Booth be able to keep her safe? What will the effects be from his attempt?

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12568373/1/The-Effects-of-the-Fan

The Gentleman in the Club by TheModernLeper (M, 11 chapters, 10k)

The team tracks a serial killer to a popular night club. With Brennan as bait, can Booth and the team keep her from becoming his next victim?

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4764864/1/The-Gentleman-in-the-Club

The Remains in the Rain by forensicsfan (T, 45 chapters, 70k)

What starts out as a trip to Seattle to promote Brennan's latest book turns into much more as secrets surface in flood waters and Booth and Brennan find that a few of their own secrets surface in the process.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3934573/1/The-Remains-in-the-Rain

The Two in One in the Park by ShaViva (T, 17 chapters, 80k)

Brennan and Booth are called in to investigate the remains of two victims arranged to portray a killer's twisted vision of a romantic forever. As they close in on the culprit they find themselves closing in on each other as well. AU early season 6. B&B

AU FICS

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6054481/1/The-Two-in-One-in-the-Park

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All My Yesterdays by cardiogod (M, 36 chapters, 134k)

Booth has been taught since early childhood that a wise man builds his house on rock, not sand, but it isn't until the ground starts shifting under him that he realizes he never learned how to tell them apart.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7801702/1/All-My-Yesterdays

Burdens Which Allow Us To Fly by Mis Chi Evous (T, 1 chapter, 9k)

An alternate universe, where Brennan's parents are both killed, and Russ is in the Army with Booth. A study in how some things are meant to be.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6290511/1/Burdens-Which-Allow-Us-To-Fly

Desert Storm by Alonzo Anonymouse (M, 12 chapters, 13k)

Operation Desert Storm: Sergeant Seeley Booth was captured and tortured. His first assignment back is to stand guard over an Anthropology professor and his grad students, sent to identify bodies. One of those students is Temperance Brennan.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6032735/1/Desert-Storm

Hostile Takeover by F.H. Blake (M, 22 chapters, 70k)

Booth is a billionaire businessman hell-bent on buying Bones' club, The Lab. Bones is hell-bent on keeping Booth as far away from her club as possible. The two worlds collide one night over too many shots, and Booth and Bones soon realise that enemies don't constantly want to rip each other's clothes off.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12538952/1/Hostile-Takeover

Killing Two Birds by dmnky (M, 34 chapters, 171k)

After six months in Maluku, Brennan is summoned to Afghanistan to identify remains from a military helicopter crash and assist Sgt. Maj. Booth in investigating the cause of it.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7710873/1/Killing-Two-Birds

The Couple in the Alternate Universe by perscribo (M, 12 chapters, 22k)

Booth and Brennan are not who we know them to be. One is on the right side of the law and the other isn't. Their love story under conflicting circumstances.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12583235/1/The-Couple-in-the-Alternate-Universe

His by Athena Alexandria (T, 40 chapters, 99k)

AU. Post The Critic in the Cabernet. Booth struggles with his decision to let Brennan raise their child alone after she uses his sperm to get pregnant.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6660822/1/His

The Opportunity by BtrixMcG (M, 8 chapters, 49k)

AU: Seeley Booth is the CEO of a prominent communications company and one of the most powerful men in the industry. Temperance Brennan is a brilliant young analyst who comes into his employ and gets far more than she bargained for.

COLLEGE/HIGH SCHOOL AU FICS

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6582371/1/The-Opportunity

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Follow You Down by ButterflyWhisperer (T, 26 chapters, 85k)

The year is 1989 and our favorite group of crime fighters meet 16 years prior to 2005. Temperance Brennan is a lonely foster kid that just moved to D.C while Seeley Booth is battling demons from his past. What happens when this unlikely pair of teenagers & their friends end up trying to solve a murder their favorite teacher was framed for? And will love blossom?

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10640406/1/Follow-You-Down

Healing Two Souls by cmol8806 (M, 43 chapters, 146k)

Temperance Brennan is almost eighteen and entering her last foster home after barely surviving her last one. Seeley Booth is just returned from war, with new nightmares. What happens when they meet?

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6867582/1/Healing-Two-Souls

Purak: A Less Cheesy Way of Saying You Complete Me by boothaddict77 (T, 35 chapters, 163k)

14-year-old Tempe Brennan, recently abandoned by her parents, moves into a new home with her brother and his friend. Of course, the young man they will be sharing a roof with is none other than Seeley Booth.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7764189/1/Purak-A-Less-Cheesy-Way-of-Saying-You-Complete-Me

White Knight by LordLanceahlot (M, 17 chapters, 52k)

Temperance 'I-don't-know-what-that-means' Brennan. At a fraternity party. Drinking heavily and being mauled by some punk frat boys. Booth scowled at the thought. His freaking forensics tutor. Time to go play white knight.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5785872/1/White-Knight

Beginning of Forever by JulesSC (M, 37 chapters, 301k)

Chicago, 1988. Tempe, 14 year old foster child. Seeley, 16 year old jaded junior. Can these two help each other and change each other's lives?

SMUT HEAVY FICS

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6346762/1/Beginning-of-Forever

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Any Way She Wants It by sleeplessinatlanta (M, 7 chapters, 33k)

When Booth's prodding makes Brennan snap and reveal the extent of her frustrations, he offers to help her out. He thinks, he can handle it, but nothing is ever that simple.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6343873/1/Any-Way-She-Wants-It

Bad Excuses by Pereybere (M, 4 chapters, 7k)

Brennan and Booth are using work stress as an excuse to get naughty.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4134057/1/Bad-Excuses

Breaking All The Rules Tonight by sleeplessinatlanta (M, 25 chapters, 57k)

Brennan tells Booth she has a sex date and he doesn't take it very well. He's determined to show her why she should be his.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5303079/1/Breaking-all-the-Rules-Tonight

Silent Surrender by sleeplessinatlanta (M, 25 chapters, 27k)

Brennan shows up at Booth's house needing only one thing: him. One silent night could never be enough but it's months later and they still find themselves going crazy at night and pretending during the day. How much longer can they keep silent?

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5398682/1/Silent-Surrender

Exercise in Self Restraint by sleeplessinatlanta (M, 8 chapters, 30k)

B&B are in an established relationship and Brennan has a naughty proposal for Booth which involves tons of frustration.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5617523/1/Exercise-in-Self-Restraint

Fighting Words by sleeplessinatlanta (M, 26 chapters, 71k)

Collection of one-shots. Some heated words, an argument, and tons of B/B hotness.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5448139/1/Fighting-Words

Hours by Dispatch22705 (M, 25 chapters, 47k)

A look at 24 different sexy times between Booth and Brennan. One post for every hour.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7506156/1/Hours

Colors by Dispatch22705 (M, 12 chapters, 50k)

12 separate one shots: each one based on a color idea.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5845810/1/Colors

Rooftops and Invitations by Space77 (M, 5 chapters, 17k)

You can’t stop thinking about him, you can’t stop looking at him. So do something about it.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4516879/1/Rooftops-and-Invitations

Talk to Me by SSJL (M, 31 chapters, 118k)

All he wanted was a moment of honesty from her. All she wanted was to be able to give him this.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3458085/1/Talk-to-Me

Morning, Nooner and Night by Dispatch22705 (M, 1 chapter, 9k)

A 'one shot' so to speak, of a few firsts between Booth and Brennan. He made love to her in the morning, had sex with her at noon and broke a few laws with her at night.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7239541/1/Morning-Nooner-and-Night

Only Between Us by sleeplessinatlanta (M, 100 chapters, 142k)

Collection of one-shots, some really short, others longer. Some funny, some angsty, some sweet. But ALL should be steamy/sexy/sweet. ALL revolving around B/B and their smoking hot dynamic.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5329849/1/Only-Between-Us

Alphabet by OrigamiFlower (M, 15 chapters, 22k)

A whole load of one shots of Booth and Brennan dedicated to the Alphabet.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6088489/1/Alphabet

Alphabet Recurrences by Dr Madness (M, 25 chapters, 51k)

The Alphabet means a lot to Booth and Brennan. It captures every single romantic, hot, steamy and dirty moment between them.

ONE-SHOT FICS

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5666368/1/Alphabet-recurrences

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A Family Business by nelliesbones (M, 14 chapters, 20k)

A story of one-shots and scenes around the beautiful and highly anticipated season seven of Bones.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7449862/1/A-Family-Business

An Epic Before Bed by eitoph (T, 1 chapter, 3k)

She's written this life and she's lived this life, and now she knows which one she prefers. 4.26/6.22/6.23 and how they all fit together.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7037787/1/An-Epic-Before-Bed

Anything by CupcakeBean (M, 1 chapter, 3k)

“I’ve flown across the country, pulled strings, broken the law, risked my career, risked my life, *lost* my life - all for her." Booth and Brennan realize how much they mean to each other and give in to their attraction.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4961754/1/Anything

Don’t Mess With Booth by Aisho9 (T, 1 chapter, 2k)

Caught in the middle of someone else's battle, Brennan is hurt. The perp is in hot water enough, but now he's got a pissed off Booth to deal with, too.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5869658/1/Don-t-Mess-With-The-Booth

Ferocious Love by rhyme time (M, 1 chapter, 1k)

Booth is feeling possessive of his wife.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9789714/1/Ferocious-Love

Lies and Life by Tadpole24 (T, 1 chapter, 1k)

“I’m not this person who can’t tell if it’s reality or fantasy and I’m not this person who shows up on someone’s door step, crying at 3 am. This is something Bren would do, not something Bones would.”

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5693685/1/Lies-and-Life

Pray for George who offends Booth and Brennan by Hannah Taylor1 (M, 1 chapter, 6k)

A cautionary tale for those who would cross Booth and his lady love.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5890044/1/Pray-for-George-who-offends-Booth-and-Brennan

The Finally in the Holding by carol204 (M, 1 chapter, 5k)

Booth appears in Brennan's house on a rainy night with unresolved issues. She's pushed him too far and now they've reached their breaking point.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6630976/1/The-Finally-to-the-Holding

The Standard by RositaLG (M, 1 chapter, 1k)

"Tell me again." He said, his voice strained with anger and his jaw ticking in restraint. "Tell me that you don't need me."

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7421321/1/The-Standard

We Belong Together by Dispatch22705 (M, 1 chapter, 5k)

While Booth is away, Brennan goes to a crime scene. Booth is furious when he finds out. When he calls her on it, it's in a place he wouldn't have expected, but is all so familiar to both of them. Angsty, angry sex but with a resolved B&B ending in bed

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5846725/1/We-Belong-Together

You With Me by mia101 (M, 1 chapter, 3k)

Takes place after Booth's fight in Vegas. Brennan is tending his injuries and recalling how it felt to watch him fight, wondering what it would be like if she were the kind of woman she's been pretending to be.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4224265/1/You-With-Me

[ultrahpfan5blog]

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 5 Retrospective

Finished season 5 rewatch a few days ago. Season 5 was an eventful year for the show, on and off the screen. Off screen the show got cancelled on Fox, had a huge public outcry over the cancellation which included several celebrities, and then got picked up by NBC all in 48 hours. It was an exhilarating time as a B99 fan. Lot of stuff happened on screen as well, Jake and Rosa were in prison, team got them out, Jake and Amy got engaged, Rosa came out as bisexual to the precinct and her parents, Holt was in the running to be NYPD Commissioner, Amy became a Sergeant, and then Jake and Amy got married. Eventful season to say the least. Its also my favorite season of the show.

Honestly, this season is about as close to perfection I felt with a season. In other seasons there are at least an episode or two which I felt were meh or problematic. Season 5 is near flawless. I think Return to Skyfire is the weakest of the episodes but its still pretty fun. There are several episodes of season 5 that all rank in the top 10 B99 episodes in my opinion. The show also takes some risks with a couple of experimental episodes. There are episodes with a lot of heart, there are episodes that absolutely hilarious, there are ensemble episodes, there are two hander episode. some excellent new guest stars, and many great recurring stars.

I think the two prison episodes are pretty interesting. Tim Meadows as Caleb is absolutely amazing. He is so likable and low key hilarious that the fact that he's a cannibal who eats children always feels like a dark surprise. He and Andy Samberg make for a fun duo. The first of the two episodes is particularly fun. The show doesn't hesitate to show the danger of Jake being in the prison, especially the situation he finds himself by the end of the premiere. The show does connect one story to the next pretty seamlessly with the end of the Melanie Hawkins story connecting the the Seamus Murphy story which then connected to the Holt commissioner story. There are also a couple of really good experiments in experiments and story with The Box and Show Me Going. The Box is B99 at its most confident. Apart from Gina very briefly at the beginning and Boyle very briefly at the end, the entire episode really hinges on only three characters. Jake, Holt, and Sterling K. Brown's Dr. Davidson. Its a brilliant showcase for all three actors and all three characters. I believe Brown got a Guest Actor Emmy nomination for his performance and he's brilliant as the smarmy Dentist who really is in control for majority of the episode. Braugher and Samberg were old pros with their dynamic at this point and this is fantastic Jake and Holt episode because you completely get why Jake wants so badly to prove that he's right in front of Holt why being cast as the screw up and the idiot in the interrogation frustrates him so much because we know how much Holt's approval means to him. We also see why Terry call Jake his best detective back in season 1 because of how he riles up Davidson to get the confession at the end and getting the approval of Holt that he wanted. Its an incredibly satisfying episode and one of the show's best imo. Then there is also 'Show me Going' which is a surprisingly tense episode in which nothing tense actually happens on screen. The episode does a great job working with the fact that the only knowledge the squad has is that Rosa is on the scene of an active shooter situation. Basically we are in the same situation as the characters. Since all the characters are on edge, so are we. The show does a nice job balancing humor and recognize the danger of the situation.

The season has probably my favorite B99 episode and definitely by fav B99 Halloween episode with HalloVeen. Whereas the last three Halloween episodes were predictable or spoiled from the promos, this one actually threw a genuine surprise. I knew Jake and Amy would get engaged some point in the season, but I expected it to be on the much hyped 99th episode. Instead it can much earlier with HallowVeen and its a delight from start to finish. Its great to rewatch the episode because you pick up little signs that Jake was a bit more desperate to win than usual. First when he says that planning for the heist is what got him through prison time, and then when he says to Boyle that he has to win this time and this heist is way too important. On first watch, these details just slip by as regular overzealous Jake but they have additional poignancy on repeat. The actual proposal moment is handled beautifully in a very peraltiago way where it is both funny and romantic, with Charles' reaction being the cherry on top. There are quite a few strong related episodes that follow. The Venue being a fun return with the Vulture, Two Turkeys being a TWW reunion with Smits and Whitford returning as Amy and Jake's fathers. Its a better Thanksgiving episode than the previous season Smits appearance. Bachelor/ette party is another glorious episode with wild, fun shenanigans with Reginald VelJohnson appearing as himself. Jake & Amy is a very typical wedding episode where everything goes wrong but its perfect in all the right ways. Its heartwarming and sweet. You get more examples of how Jake and Amy are perfect for each other with Jake knowing the inside and outs of how Amy stresses out, and then ending on a wonderful B99 wedding with Fred Armisen returning to make a cameo appearance as Mlep(clay)nos. The episode was designed to work as a series finale since the potential for cancellation was there and while it leaves the season on a cliffhanger about Holt's job, its the sort of cliffhanger that we could have interpreted positively if the show hadn't gotten picked up by NBC.

The 99th and 100th episode of the show were also memorable. The creators chose to acknowledge the 99th episode in a way that most shows acknowledge the 100th episode, in true 99 style. Its a full ensemble episode barring the absence of Chelsea who would return on the 100th episode. Its a typical road trip episode which kickstarts the Holt commissioner storyline. It also is the episode where Rosa comes out as Bi to Charles. This was obviously a big story for Stephanie since she is bi as well and she championed this story. It gets explored in further depth next episode, but Stephanie Beatriz gets to do some of her best work in these two episodes, showing her vulnerability without losing her toughness. Game Night honestly feels very true to not just coming out as Bi to your parents but true to any child who has to confess something that would be against their conservatives parents' values. I think Game Night is a fantastically bittersweet episode and Danny Trejo is brilliantly cast as Rosa's father. The episode positions him as the parent whose reaction Rosa is most worried about and I love how they show that while its difficult for him to grasp the concept bisexuality, he comes around to accepting it and accepting Rosa. But the episode is still bittersweet with Rosa's mom not having come to terms with it. Its also an excellent Rosa and Jake episode where we see Jake endure incredibly uncomfortable situations to help Rosa. Its a characteristic that helps make Jake so endearing that he's willing to cross all limits for his friends.

There are lots of fun and hilarious episodes in between. Craig Robinson shows up as Doug Judy in The Negotiations which is another fun ep. Kevin and Jake get a great episode dealing with their dynamic in Safe House. Rosa and Amy have some fun in White Whale as the Sleuth Sisters. Pimento returns in Gray Star Mutual for some more crazy shenanigans. Gray Star Mutual also has my favorite cold open of all time with Jake leading a suspect lineup in a rendition of 'I got it that way', totally forgetting the crime that he's got the lineup for. Its pitch perfect and I've lost count of how many times I've seen that cold open on youtube. It basically has its own fanbase and introduced so many people to B99. We also get to see Naseem Pedrad as Jake's sister Katie and the end up having a cute dynamic. David Fumero shows up in The Puzzle Master. There are also pretty funny episodes dealing with some serious subject matter such Jake dealing with his own doubts in his ability to do his job after Prison in Kicks and Holt dealing with gambling addiction in Bad Beat. All handled very sensitively.

All in all, this was a fantastic season for the show. I had a blast rewatching it and it ended the Fox era in spectacular note. A 9.5/10. Now on to season 6.

'

[straykidsreactions]

Reaction To: Foreign S/O Debuts in a Kpop Group

S T R A Y   K I D S  R E A C T I O N   T O : Foreign S/O debuting in a K-pop group + how you met

A/N: Thanks so much for requesting and being patient @lovemyhyunjinnie​ , and for supporting the blog!

Genre: Fluff

Chan: 

You’d started seeing Chan a little over 8 months ago after meeting him completely by accident at a noodle shop down the road from your trainee dorm. You’d only been in Seoul for a little over a month at that point, after being accepted into the Big Hit Entertainment trainee program, and that noodle shop was the only place you could find that had pictures on the menu. At that point you could probably count on two hands the number of phrases you could say in Korean, so you’d resorted to nervously pointing at pictures on the menu to order your food- fortunately the older couple who ran the small eatery grew accustomed to seeing you late at night after long hours of practice and welcomed you despite the obvious language barrier. The night that you met Chan had been a particularly hard night, after 10 hours of dance and vocal practice with an additional 2 hour Korean lesson- you were feeling drained and at your wits end. It was probably around 2am at the time, and the shop was entirely empty save one tired, hardworking young man in the corner who was downing a large bowl of black bean noodles while working furiously on his computer. You didn’t pay each other any mind at first, but as you sat in front of your soup bowl with tears bubbling up in your eyes- feeling entirely alone and lost in the world- you’d felt a soft tap on your shoulder, only to look up and find the soft and sympathetic gaze of the strange young man as he extended a napkin in your direction. You’d gratefully accepted it and dried your eyes, trying to mutter through a somewhat cohesive sentence of gratitude in Korean before Chan had interjected- letting you know that he spoke English. Though it was already late when you met, it felt as though you talked for hours after that. He’d consoled you and encouraged you to keep going, despite how tough it was going to be. He’d given you his phone number at the end, after walking you back to your dorm, and told you that if you ever had time he’d like to see you again. That’s how it started and now 8 months later the two of you were closer than ever, despite both of your busy schedules. 

Standing backstage at the Mnet Countdown show, you took nervous breaths as a stylist fitted a mic headset against your face. You were finally debuting and, though you knew your time as a trainee was short compared to that of other idols (especially to compared to your boyfriend’s), it had felt like a lifetime. Looking around at your group members, you felt a small ounce of consolation knowing that you weren’t the only foreign member- there were 3 of you in total- but still you were prepared for the backlash you might face. You’d already accumulated a large fan following as trainee’s through rookie showcases, especially overseas, but the nerves in your stomach were still overwhelming. Just as you heard the MC’s announcing your group’s name and you prepared to take the stage, you felt a tap on your shoulder reminiscent of that night so many months ago when Chan had helped you out of your darkest moment.Turning quickly, your eyes met the loving gaze of your boyfriend as a small smile flickered across your face, spinning you around in his arms as he took in how good your stage costume looked. 

*blushing as you unintentionally breathed out a sigh of relief, something that had become a habit for you every time you saw Chan’s face*

“Yahh, what’re you doing here- we’re going on stage any second!”

*smiling as though he didn’t seem to care that you were short on time and his presence there at all was risky if any photographers happened to be near by*

“I don’t care, baby- you know I had to be here for this. God...look at you.”

*smiling shyly before turning away as you heard one of your member’s call your name and wave you over*

“I’ve gotta go, babe but...thank you for being here. Are you gonna stay and watch?”

*nodding as he patted your head lovingly, letting go of you so that you could join your other members*

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Y/N...I’m so proud of you.”

Minho: 

You’d been in Seoul for a little over a year when you met he man who would later become your boyfriend and, ironically enough, you met him on an idol survival show. Of course Minho wasn’t a contestant on Produce 101, but he was brought onto the show for a couple episodes as a guest judge towards the end of the reality show filming. He appeared as a judge for the last 3 episodes- when there were only a handful of trainees left- and you were among them. Though you hadn’t interacted a ton during the production of the show, the moment that sparked your initial crush was during a rehearsal leading up to the final episode where Minho was overseeing and choreographing the dance practice. You’d almost mastered the difficult and demanding choreo, but as you lept into the air for what felt like the 100th time that day you felt your ankle weaken underneath you and in an instant your body collapsed into a heap on the floor. As your fellow trainees and friend’s gasped, it was Minho who had been the first to run to your side- the look of genuine concern evident on his face. He’d offered to help you out of the studio, away from the cameras, and to the designated nurse a few doors down. In the quietude of the hallway, as the young man slipped his arm around your waist to balance you as you stumbled, you couldn’t help but feel your heart rate quicken. You were far from fluent in Korean but you conversation skills were passable after having lived and trained in the country for a year, so you muttered out a polite apology as you continued to lean on him for support. In that moment, he’d stopped you for a moment, turning his body to face you as he propped your back against the wall, causing a small gasp to escape your lips. He didn’t lean in when he spoke, keeping a professional distance between the two of you, but his voice was like honey and it almost made you wish that he had leaned in just a little. 

“Don’t apologize, Y/N...it’s my fault for pushing you too much during practice. I’ll take full responsibility.”

You shook your head, assuring him that you didn’t blame him and how sorry you were for taking up his time, to which he’d only smiled, helping you off the wall and towards the nurse’s door. Just as you were about to go inside and he was headed back into the practice room, he’d turned to you with that famous charismatic smile spread across his face. If his words hadn’t resonated with you so deeply, you almost would’ve not heard him over how focused you were on his ridiculously handsome features.

“Listen to the doctor, ok? Don’t give them a hard time just because you want to perform, you have to make sure you’re healed first...you have to win, Y/N, you deserve to win.” 

After Produce 101 had ended and you had placed in the top 3, earning yourself a spot in the nation’s next big group, all of the winning contestants along with the judges and producers were invited to a large celebratory dinner at the company. After the dinner had finished and you and the other winning trainees were getting ready to head back to your dorm, Minho had pulled you aside and congratulated you on winning. That same night he’d asked you out- and it was the first and possibly only time that you’d seen him truly nervous. You’d been a bit taken aback at the time but one date turned into 3 months and, despite your relationship being a secret from the public eye and having to work around both of your busy schedules, you could honestly say it was all worth it.

Your group went on to begin training and preparations for your big and highly anticipated debut, and when the time finally came all of the fans that had watched your journey from Produce 101 were more excited than ever. Minho had texted you to say that he’d be watching your debut stage and to wish you good luck- and despite knowing how busy he was you had to admit that it stung a little knowing he wouldn’t get to see you on the day of your debut. It wasn’t until you were backstage with your members, 10 of you in total, waiting to take the stage when you heard the voice of the special MC announcing your group- a voice you were all too familiar with. Your eyes widened as your members whispered to themselves, wondering if it really was the same man who’d been a guest judge on your survival show a handful of months earlier. A blush filled your cheeks as you tried to focus, not wanting to get your hopes up on the off chance that you were just hearing things, but as you entered the performance stage and took your place as you awaited the cues from the cameramen, you couldn’t help but smile at the MC in front of you- none other than your proud boyfriend staring back at you. 

“Everyone, please join me in welcoming the incredible new rookies on their debut- let’s show them a lot of love, ok?! Music, cue!”

It was only a flash of a smile that you caught before the music began and you refocused your attention on giving a flawless performance, but it was enough to give you the confidence boost you needed. After the show had finished and you were all on cloud 9 from your official debut performance, you searched backstage to find the man who’d given you so much confidence. You finally found him in his dressing room and the instant he saw you he’d light up, pulling you into a warm embrace despite the risk of cameras around. Laughing, you pushed him lightly as he only wrapped his arms around you tighter, shaking his head as the smile on his face only widened. 

“You did so well today, Jagiya.”

*blushing as you stared down at the floor, finally loosing his grasp on you as he took your hand in his*

“You didn’t tell me you’d be MCing, Minnie.”

“I wanted it to be a surprise, hopefully it wasn’t too much for you.”

*smiling as you shook your head, squeezing his hand that was intertwined with yours*

“It was perfect. Do you think I’ll do ok though?”

*giving you a confused look as he played haphazardly with your fingers*

“Why...because you’re a foreigner?”

*nodding slowly as you bit your lip, despite having debuts the pressures as a foreign idol were weighing on you*

“You’ve made it this far, Y/N...if you can do that, you can do anything. Besides, I’m right here by your side. I won’t let anyone hurt you, I promise.”

Changbin: 

You’d met Changbin after being in Seoul for only a handful of weeks, after being accepted into the trainee program at SM Entertainment, and you’d been taking private Korean lessons at a famous language center. It was a popular place for companies to send their idols and trainees who needed additional language lessons, usually for Korean and English classes, and it felt as though you basically lived there. When you weren’t training at the company you were at the language center doing everything you could to improve your Korean and, though you could feel yourself progressing, you also felt the immense pressures to push yourself even farther. It wasn’t until one evening when you were up late studying at the language center, that a young man had come up to you with several English textbooks in his arms. He was barely recognizable as an idol at that point, wearing glasses and an oversized hoodie with slight bags under his eyes from staying up so late, but his cautious smile was warm and inviting. He’d asked in somewhat broken English if you spoke the language, and when you responded in very broken Korean that you did, he’d sat down across from you in relief. 

“I am trying to..uhmm..get better with my pronounciation. I think my English is..mmm, not that good. Is it ok if I talk to you?” 

It had been the first time anyone had attempted to make conversation with you in English since you’d been in Seoul, and though you didn’t know him at all you felt compelled to help him. You flipped through your Korean textbook, showing it to him and asking him if he would help you in return, which he’d happily agreed to. The two of you had spent the rest of the night trying to make converse with your limited knowledge of the other’s language but, despite not having a fluent speaker between the two of you, you’d felt like the conversations came naturally and you almost didn’t want it to end. He’d walked you to the bus stop once the language center closed for the night, and had put his number in your phone so that you could meet back at the same place to practice the next day. it went that way for a month or two, meeting practically every night to study together- and you found that you picked up the language best when you were jut talking casually between the two of you. You got to know each other through the conversations you had, talking about anything from family and childhood stories to your current professions. You talked about what it was like to be a trainee and having Changbin as a someone you could confide in during those first couple months in Seoul became a huge source of motivation for you to keep going. The first date the two of you went on wasn’t even really a date, you’d just become so involved in your conversation that when the language center closed he’d suggested going to a convenient store across the street and getting food. It was the first time that you’d successfully ordered something in full Korean, and Changbin had been so proud of you that in the moment he’d pulled you into an embrace in the middle of the convenient store- making you blush. He’d apologized afterwards, stumbling over his words until finally he took a deep breath, admitting that he liked you (which he was able to do in fluent English). You’d responded in fluent, though probably still somewhat broken, Korean that you liked him as well- and the rest was history. That was two years ago and after all that time dedicated to practicing and rehearsing tirelessly- you’d managed to be selected for debut. 

When you’d told your boyfriend, he was almost more excited than you were. He was so filled with pride that you’d achieved everything you’d set out to do- but it wasn’t until the night of the performance as he watched from backstage that he felt tears pricking at the corners of eyes. It would be a mix of pride and nerves for Binnie, knowing that you were so talented and deserved all the support and love in the world, but also being worried that you’d receive hate in the industry for being a foreign idol. He knew you were strong, but he also knew himself well enough to know that watching someone receive any kind of negativity would absolutely crush him. He wouldn’t bring it up to you, you knew what you were getting yourself into and he trusted that you could handle yourself despite being in such a tough industry. More than anything he was so proud, watching your absolutely flawless performance on your debut stage filled his heart with a sense of admiration he’d never felt before, and as you ran backstage after your performance with the other members of your group- you spotted him in an instant. He smiled, pulling you aside as the other 5 members of your group playfully teased the two of you, giving you some space. 

“Did we do well, Binnie? You can be honest?”

*smiling as he cupped your face in his hands, staring at you in silence for a moment as he he shook his head*

‘it was perfect, baby....you were perfect.”

*lighting up you blushed slightly, prodding him further*

“Are you sure? You can say if it could’ve been better, I’ll work harder and I know there’s still so much I can do better I-”

*shaking his head as he pressed a thumb to your lips, interrupting you as he blinked back tears in his slightly misty eyes*

“Wahh, you see this, baby? Your performance was so good your boyfriend is gonna cry- isn’t that enough proof?”

Hyunjin: 

You’d been in Seoul working as a trainee at JYP Entertainment for a year and a half, after being recruited from an international audition. Though you’d never met any of the members of Stray Kids (or any other JYP artist for that matter), you were very familiar with who they were and you looked up to them a lot. It wasn’t until a particular dance showcase that JYP announced he’d have an additional person watching the performances with him. You hadn’t even processed that it was Hyunjin walking through the door until he was practically seated at the supervisor’s table- all you could do was stand frozen as your heart rate quickened and your palms grew damp. He introduced himself politely and said a few encouraging words before sitting back down and calling the first group of trainee’s forward to perform the choreography. You were in the third group and, by the time he got to your name the butterflies in your stomach had only gotten worse. When he read your name of the list he paused for a moment, recognizing that it was not a Korean name. He looked up, his eyes landing on you immediately as the obvious owner of the foreign name. He smiled softly, waving you forward and you had no choice but to nervously approach the table. All eyes were on you as he leaned towards you slightly to speak in a soft voice.

“It must be difficult, huh?” You didn’t want to think of the way your face must’ve flushed when he made eye contact with you, so you just nodded softly and turned your gaze to the floor. 

“Use it, ok? You’re always gonna stand out, but don’t let it be a bad thing. Just keep trying, you were accepted for a reason...” 

It was the first time somewhat within the company had addressed your nationality in a way that was entirely encouraging and supportive- and it gave you the confidence you so desperately needed to perform your best at the showcase. 

After the performance had ended you didn’t have an opportunity to thank Hyunjin for his kind words, but over the course of the next couple weeks you later found out that he’d been trying his best to find your schedule so he could run into you again. He convinced himself that it was just because he wanted to show you support since he imagined being a foreign trainee must be very difficult, but deep down he knew it was more than that. He was interested in you, and when he did finally manage to run into you at the practice studios late one night he took it as a sign that he had to at least try. He’d offered to run through some difficult choreography with you and, despite you insisting that you didn’t want to take up his time, he assured you that it was no trouble. The two of you stayed up practicing until the early hours of the morning- but it was by far the most fun you’d had since beginning your training and you were endlessly grateful for that. Just as the two of you had agreed to call it quits for the day and began packing up, he’d asked if you were allowed to have a cell phone. You’d told him that you did, since you were a foreigner you needed to have it for emergency contacts and translation apps, to which he just smiled. He asked if he could see you again, gesturing for you to give him your phone. When he returned it to you there was an additional contact in your phone book- under the name “Grandpa”. You laughed, giving him a quizzical look.

“It’s in case anyone searches through your phone- I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble because of me, Y/N...I-I probably shouldn’t even be talking to you, I know you’re not allowed to date anyone...but I wanna get to know you. I’m sorry if that’s too forward.”

Over the next handful of months you and Hyunjin became closer, mostly meeting late at night in the dance studio to practice and, though your language skills weren’t exactly fluent, you had enough conversational skills between the two of you to create a dialogue. It wasn’t perfect, the two of you didn’t have a proper date outside of the company building for the first several months that you were seeing each other, but it was enough. On your 6 month anniversary, sitting on the floor of the dimly lit practice room for what seemed like the millionth time, Hyunjin had stared at you with an expression on his face that you couldn’t quite place. 

“Promise me something, baby.” You’d agreed, giving him a slightly confused look as he scooted closer to you.

“Promise me that when you debut, you’ll let me take you out on a proper date.” You’d felt slightly embarrassed at the time, saying that you didn’t know if you’d ever debut and that he shouldn’t wait for you if he didn’t want to, but he’d only smiled, cupping your face with his hands and assuring you that’d wait as long as it took. 

A full year after that night in the dance studio- you’d finally been selected for debut. You were beyond excited and, though you knew it’d be tough being a foreigner, you also knew there’d be a lot of support for you from international fans. When you told your boyfriend, he was absolutely elated. That is, until you told him that your debut performance (which he’d been promising since you met that he would be there for) was on the same day as Stray Kid’s comeback performance. Despite both performing on Inkigayo, you were on completely stages recording at similar times which meant that Hyunjin couldn’t physically be there to watch your debut performance in person. The one saving grace, however, was that at the end of all the performances on the show that night- every artist was brought onto a central stage to film the closing scene and thank their fans for tuning in. You hadn’t noticed it at first, but as Hyunjin took the stage with his members, still slightly sweaty and dressed in his stage costume from his recent performance, he was also holding a bouquet of roses. He glanced in your direction just before the cameras started rolling, smiling brightly and giving you a small thumbs up. It wasn’t until after the cameras were rolling and Stray Kids had said their closing remarks, however, that Chan stepped forward to say one last thing. 

“We’d also like to congratulate JYP’s latest group on their debut- we look forward to working with you more! Fighting!” Despite Chan being the leader, it was Hynjin who stepped out from his place and walked over towards your group, the five of you looking between each other in slight confusion as Hyunjin walked directly up to you. Handing you the bouquet of roses, he smiled and gave a polite bow. You were shocked by his bold action, though you were the leader of your group you’d never anticipated him handing you flowers on national television. Nevertheless, you returned the polite bow, thanking him. 

*flashing you a knowing smile as your took the bouquet in your arms, trying your best not to blush while the cameras were still rolling*

“Congratulations on your debut, Y/N.” 

Jisung: 

When you first met Jisung, you weren’t even officially in Seoul yet. You’d just been recruited as an idol trainee at Cube Entertainment and were flying to South Korea to begin training. Your flight had a layover in Singapore where, coincidentally, Jisung also was after visiting some old friends at the international school he’d attended in western Malaysia. He was flying back to Seoul after taking a short vacation and, as it turned out, the two of you were on the same flight. You couldn’t speak a word of Korean outside of a few basic phrases, so when you heard the warm voice of a young man sitting down beside you speaking in English you felt a small sense of relief that you wouldn’t have to take out your pocket dictionary. 

“Excuse me, would it be ok if we closed the blinds...just while the plane’s taking off? It makes me a bit dizzy.” You’d looked up to meet his polite, apologetic gaze and for a moment you almost couldn’t think straight. He was one of the most handsome men you’d ever seen, but you collected yourself quickly and nodded, closing the blinds as Jisung thanked you. That had been your first interaction however, after a completely chance delay on the tarmac for an additional 3 hours, your conversation slowly expanded as you began simple conversations with one another. He’d asked you why you were travelling to Seoul alone, and when you’d told him that you were a trainee his face lit up- explaining that he also worked in the industry and that if you needed advice or help with anything to let him know. By the time your plane actually took off the ground it felt as though you’d made a real friend- his amiable and laid-back demeanor felt welcoming in a world where everything else was so new and uncertain to you and you’d appreciated that. After an additional 6 hours in the air, however, watching a movie together and drifting in and out of sleep against Jisung’s shoulder- you felt that you’d made more than just a good friend. It was a completely chance meeting, and you weren’t sure when you’d be able to see him again due to your busy schedules, but you’d both felt in that moment that there was something between you worth not giving up on.

When you finally landed in Seoul it was late at night and, fortunately, no photographers had been tipped off that Jisung would be there. He helped you load your bags into the taxi, breathing out a nervous sigh at the realization that if he didn’t say something now he might never see you again. He’d hoped that it would be a bit smoother in his head, but as soon as he saw you opening the door of the cab he’d blurted out a jumble of nervous words. 

“Y/N wait- listen I know you’ll be super busy and I’m always insanely busy too but I-I wanna see you again and I wanna keep talking to you because I-I think meeting you was really special and the best luck I’ve had in a while so maybe if-if it’s ok with you I could get your number?”

You felt a weight lifted off your shoulders at the realization that he felt it too, and you happily agreed. You hadn’t even arrived at the dorm when you received a text from Jisung apologizing for uncool he must’ve looked and promising that the next time he saw you he’d be more put-together. That had been your first meeting, and 3 years later you were still going strong. 

You worked ridiculously hard at training and studying Korean in those 3 years, supporting your boyfriend over every comeback, and when you were finally approved for debut in the latest group at Cube Jisung was unbelievably excited. Knowing that he could be there to support you and your members on your journey would make his heart fill with pride, and he had to admit the added bonus of you no longer being under a dating ban would make going on dates a lot easier. He knew you’d have a hard time being a foreigner in the industry, it had been hard enough as a trainee, but he’d also been with you long enough to know that you were strong enough to take on any challenge. 

When your debut stage finally came around, Jisung wouldn’t miss it for the world. His heart was practically beating out of his chest as he watched on the large monitor from the guest room backstage, his eyes becoming misty as he watched your effortlessly perfect performance. You were so incredible, and you were his. After your performance had finished and you’d come backstage with your members, it wouldn’t take Jisung long to wrap his arms around you and pull you aside, not paying any mind to all the people around you. You blushed as he pulled you towards him, sitting down near the back corner of the bustling room filled with tons of people all of whom were eager to congratulate you and your members on your debut. All you could focus on was Jisung, though, as he smiled sweetly with warm and pride-filled eyes.

“You did so well today, baby...you know that right? You did so so well.”

*blushing as he cupped your cheek in his hand, a small teasing smile playing on his lips*

“You’re an idol now, huh? Are you still gonna want to date me? There are gonna be a lot more guys asking you out from now on, you know.”

*rolling your eyes as you shoved him playfully, assuring him that he was the only guy you wanted to be with*

“I’m gonna hold you to that, super star.”

Felix: 

You’d met Felix while training in Seoul, after being accepted into Pledis Entertainment about two months earlier, at a gaming cafe of all places. You didn’t have much time as a trainee who was also struggling to learn the language, but when you could you tried your best to work late nights at the gaming cafe around the corner from your dorm in order to earn a bit of pocket change. It just so happened that Felix had agreed to play a match with a few old friends from Australia when his personal computer died- leaving him with no other option but to find a 24 hour gaming cafe. It’d started as only a one time visit for Felix, he hardly had time to drive the 15 minutes to a gaming cafe when he had his own computer at the dorm, but after seeing that you were the one behind the check-in counter he decided the 15 minute drive might not be such a horrible thing. You hadn’t paid him much attention the first time, you spent most of your time behind the counter studying your Korean textbooks and watching playback videos of the dance practices from earlier that week, but after a few hours of gaming as Felix was finally leaving the cafe (having been the only customer there in the first place) you glanced up. He was standing in front of you, bare faced and smiling as he brushed his fluffy, unkempt hair away from his face and adjusted the hood of his plain black jacket. 

“H-have a good night, sir.” You’d muttered in the best Korean you could muster at such a late hour, causing Felix to smile slightly as he raised a brow.

“How long have you been here? In Seoul, I mean.” When you gave him a confused look, surprised by his immediate switch into fluent English, he laughed slightly, apologizing for his straightforwardness. 

“Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to startle you. I’m a foreigner too- I’m from Australia. Don’t worry, it get’s easier, I promise.” You smiled slightly, nodding as you glanced over at the textbook on the counter. Felix followed your gaze, his face brightening slightly as he pointed to the book. 

“Those books seem so childish, they really work though, I swear. I used the same ones.” You couldn’t place your finger on why exactly, but something about the stranger’s reassurance comforted you more than you’d known you needed.

“I’m Felix, by the way. What’s your name?” You’d replied with your name, taking his extended hand and shaking it softly as he smiled. 

“Will you be here tomorrow, Y/N?” You nodded and, though he hadn’t asked, you noticed yourself telling him every night that you worked at the cafe. You knew it was a stretch, and that your interest in him must have been so obvious from the way you told a complete stranger your work schedule unprompted, but you almost hoped that maybe he’d come see you again. He did, of course, and he felt a little better about his obvious tactics at trying to get to know you better by the fact that you also seemed interested in him. One visit to the cafe turned into several, always late at night and almost always when hardly no one else was at the shop. After a few weeks of his frequent visits, Felix stopped pretending that he was coming there to even use the computers, instead opting to sit across from you at the counter and just have conversations with you. They were mostly in English, but he also did his best to help you with your Korean and for that you were endlessly grateful. Though you knew who he was, his face was fairly famous across Korea after all, you never brought it up because it never came up in conversation. It didn’t seem to be something Felix had any interest in talking about, instead you spent most of your time talking about your dreams, things you wanted in life, the biggest abstract concepts and those most minute details. Mostly you just found ways to make each other laugh, and though neither one of you realized it at the time you were an escape for each other. In the same way that Felix hadn’t discussed his work with you, you hadn’t discussed your real reason for being in Seoul with him. You’d told him that you were studying Korean and that you worked part time at the gaming cafe, but it never seemed relevant to bring up the fact that first and foremost you were a trainee. It wasn’t that you’d intentionally hid it from him, if he’d asked you directly you would’ve told him, but there was something innocent and nice about discussing other things besides just your everyday activities and lines of work. it almost felt like a movie.

In fact, the night that Felix asked you out properly (to grab noodles from the convenient store across the street), he still didn’t know that you were a trainee. He didn’t know for a few months after that either- you’d only told him when it came up in conversation as he was driving you somewhere (this time in the light of day) and he’d asked where to drop you off. You’d casually replied, telling him Pledis Entertainment, causing your boyfriend to laugh and give you the strangest look. 

“Pledis? Yahh- Y/N! Are you not telling me something?” Fortunately your light-hearted boyfriend had found the humor in the situation, making you promise to not keep any big information from him like that and formally apologizing for also not talking about his work in the same way. It was only 6 months after that conversation that you were approved for debut.

Though Felix hadn’t been there for a good portion of your time as a training knowingly, he’d been there for you in the way you needed most. When your debut stage finally arrived he’d asked you if you wanted him to come, seeing as how he’d missed so much of your trainee experience. In all honesty you felt like your nerves might be too high if he were there and you didn’t want him to go out of his way, so instead you compromised and promised you could watch the debut stage together the next day when it aired. He’d agreed, meeting up with you at the cafe where you’d met that fateful evening several months ago and warmly pulling you into an embrace. After watching the stage performance on one of the computers several times over and pausing on every close up of your face to shower you with compliments, he turned to you with bright eyes and a wide grin plastered on his face. 

“Babe..just- wahhh....Wow. Oh my gosh.”

*giggling as you smacked him lightly, insisting that he was just hyping you up as he continued to tease you*

“My (girlfriend/boyfriend) is a celebrity, huh? Wahh, that makes me so cool. And you’re so talented too...Will you let me come to your next performance, baby? I’ve missed so much already, I really wanna watch you perform this live.”

Seungmin: 

You’d been a trainee at KQ Entertainment for just under 3 years when you met your soon-to-be boyfriend. You’d just walked into a small coffee shop located on the outskirts of Seoul after a long day of training in hopes of getting something to warm you up. Seungmin also happened to be there, though not for the reasons one might think. He was dressed in full barista attire, standing calmly behind the counter with his phone in his hand as he snapped a few pictures of himself. A few crew members were staggered about the coffee shop, along with a few elderly customers who didn’t see to mind the intrusion. He was there taking photos for a comeback concept- but as you entered the shop and immediately focused your attention on the menu, you hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary about the young, handsome man behind the counter. 

“Can I get a latte please, and also maybe one of those muffins?” You gestured towards the baked goods on display, not paying much attention to face staring back at you with a small smile flickering across his lips. Just as one of the crew members was about to step in and assure you that the man you were talking to was, in fact, not a qualified barista in any sense- Seungmin waved them off. He nodded, placing your muffin in a small box and handing it to you, his heartbeat a little faster than he would like to admit. Though your eyes hadn’t met yet, he was looking directly at you- and something about you was alluring to him. He blushed slightly as he tried desperately to think of what might go in a latte, ultimately resorting to pressing several different buttons on machines that he had no idea how to work. Coffee began pouring out of every orifice of the machine, and loud whirring noises let him know that whatever he’d done it was horribly wrong. He gasped, cursing under his breath as the crew rushed in to help him. Only then had you looked up, eyes wide at the odd spectacle of several grown men trying to subdue a rogue coffee machine. Stifling a laugh, you got Seungmin’s attention and pointed towards the power cord, which he then hastily unplugged. The whirring came to a halt and half-brewed coffee stopped spewing- and in an instant the two of you were chuckling to yourselves. The crew members left to get cleaned up, leaving the two of you alone for a moment as you looked at the man who’s crisp white button up was now covered in coffee stains. Smiling softly, he apologized for the commotion, admitting that he didn’t actually work there. 

“I’m here for a..uhm, a photoshoot...thing. I, I don’t know the first thing about coffee.” You’d laughed gently in response, assuring him that it was ok. 

“Hmm, can you make tea?” Butterflies rose in his stomach when you looked at him with a playful smile, and he’d nodded, locating the hot water and pouring some into the cutest mug he could find. Placing the small bag of herbs into the water, he handed you the mug and warned you that it was hot. You’d thanked him, paying for your beverage and taking a seat near the back of the cafe. Only a few minutes had passed before you were joined by the same smiling man, asking if he could sit with you and- though you didn’t know the first thing about him- you’d agreed. Maybe it was his trustworthy eyes or the fact that you couldn’t supress the heat that rose to your cheeks whenever he smiled at you- whatever it was something made you feel compelled to keep his company. You talked for a while, though it wasn’t long before the crew members came back and started rushing Seungmin out of the shop. He apologized for having to leave so suddenly, and as you stood to watch him go you’d called out to him.

“W-wait..I know you’re probably way too busy but- well...” You didn’t have the nerves to ask if you could see him again, though you desperately wanted to. He read the emotions on your face, smiling as he was guided out of the shop by the staff. Motioning towards your mug of tea, he gave you a thumbs up and just before he was out the door he gestured for you to call him. Then, in a flash, he was gone. You stared down quizzically at the mug of tea he’d prepared for you, and after a moment of staring at it blankly you noticed the small tag on the end of the tea bag had small writing scribbled on the backside. You couldn’t help the ear-to-ear grin that formed on your face when you realized that it was a phone number. 

From the inception of your relationship with Seungmin, things had been very secretive and under-wraps. You met when you could, always late at night and in the oddest places possible to avoid cameras, especially since you were still a trainee and technically under a dating ban. On top of that, the tabloids would have a field day if Seungmin was spotted with not only a trainee, but a foreign trainee. It had only been a few days after you’d been approved for debut, one year after that fateful night in the coffee shop, that you and Seungmin were caught by one of the managers at KQ Entertainment. You’d only been having a simple meal together, but of course the two of you were in a mountain of trouble. Because you’d technically already been approved for debut they were a bit more lenient with you, but nevertheless your phone was temporarily confiscated and the two of you had to agree not to let your relationship get caught by photographers or anyone else outside the company. In the few weeks preparing for your groups debut you weren’t allowed to go anywhere without supervision and Seungmin was no longer invited to your debut stage. That being said, Seungmin had a way of getting what he wanted- and there was nothing that he wanted more than to see all of your hard work come to fruition. 

The day of the debut, you and your members were already on edge, rehearsing in your dressing room over and over again as giddy nerves bubbled up on your stomach. You wished that your boyfriend could be there with you, as he always knew exactly what to say to calm your nerves, but you knew he’d be thinking of you and that was enough. Your performance, of course, went smoothly without a single hitch, and you almost didn’t want to leave the cheering audience as you and your members took a bow, exiting the stage. It wasn’t until you wer backstage, however, that one of the assistants came up to you with a look of urgency on her face. 

“Y/N? This is for you.” Handing you a small coffee cup, you gave the woman a confused look. Asking who ti was from, the woman only shrugged, stating that she only knew it was supposed to go to you and not to let anyone else have it. You frowned, definitely hesitant to accept a drink from a stranger. In fact, you’d almost thrown it away until you saw small scribbled handwriting on the side of the cup- trying your best to read it without drawing attention to yourself. 

3rd floor dressing room A16, down the hall on the right. 

Love, your favorite barista

Smiling, you clutched the cup to your chest, letting one of your members know that you were going to use the restroom as you quickly made a dash for the back stairs. When you made it to the mostly quiet 3rd floor and found the correct dressing room, you opened the door to see a completely empty room, save your boyfriend smiling from ear to ear. He ran up to you, pulling you into a bear hug and placing his hand over your head as he stroked your hair. You could tell from his casual attire that he’d tried really hard to get into the building without being noticed, teasing him slightly as you adjusted the hat on his head. 

“You did all this just to see me after the performance?” 

*nodding as he smiled widely, blushing slightly at his bold move that was definitely putting both of you at risk for getting in trouble if anyone found out*

“I have my ways, Jagi- I had to see you. On of the producers let me watch from the soundroom...you did so well today!” 

*humbling deflecting his compliment, assuring him that it was a group effort as he stepped closer to you, his bright smile never wavering*

“Baby, give yourself credit, hmm? You were amazing out there. I know how hard it’s been for you, but everything was perfect.” 

“You mean it, Seungminnie?” 

*nodding and flashing you a wide smile to assure you that he was being serious*

“I mean it, Y/N...now aren’t you proud of me for sneaking in here?”

Jeongin: 

You met Jeongin after training at P-Nation Entertainment for a little over a year and a half and, though your Korean skills were still developing you had a decent grasp on the language and managed to get by fairly well. Besides being a trainee at P-Nation you were also a backup dancer for some of your label’s big name solo artists and, on the particular occasion where you met Jeongin, you were backup dancing for Hyuna. The solo star had just comeback with her latest single and was performing it on Mnet, coincidentally the same day that Stray Kids was also promoting a comeback on the same show. You’d been in the dancer’s dressing room amongst a sea of other dancers for various artists performing on the show that day- all of you in a variety of different costumes and aesthetics. Being that you were a backup dancer for Hyuna (who is famously known for her sleek and sexy concepts on stage), your garment was a little on the revealing and tight side. It was flattering, of course, but nevertheless it was a little out of your comfort zone. You had just finished getting ready and were standing in the hallway of the backstage area as you waited for the other dancers- when several idols began walking past. You could feel their eyes on you as they passed by, making you slightly uncomfortable as you tried your best to place your arms over your body. You tried to adjust the fabric so that it would cover you a bit more, but it was no use. You didn’t mind it on stage because that was part of the job, but just standing still with stranger’s eyes on you made you feel a bit embarrassed. It wasn’t until you felt a gentle tap on your shoulder that you pulled your gaze away from the floor, looking up to see a young man with a sympathetic smile and warm eyes in front of you. He was clearly dressed and ready to perform, a mic pack was already attached to him and his hair was perfectly styled, yet he was extending his arm towards you with a jacket in hand. You gave him a quizzical look and he just smiled bashfully. 

“Oh, um..I’m sorry. I saw you standing here and you look a bit, um, uncomfortable? You can wear this if you like.” He gestured again to the oversized leather jacket in his hand that had clearly been a part of his stage costume just moments earlier. You smiled softly, feeling heat rise in your cheeks but this time in a positive way. Shaking your head, you insisted that you shouldn’t accept the jacket when he was supposed to wear it on stage, but he persisted. 

“No, it’s fine really! It’s too heavy to perform in anyway. Just wear it until you have to go on stage, you’re a dancer right?” You’d nodded, telling him that you were going on stage shortly for Hyuna’s comeback. He laughed slightly and nodded his head, though there was something you really appreciated about the fact that his gaze never drifted below your eye level. 

“That explains the costume. Here, wear the jacket until you have to go on stage. You can return it to me at the end of the show, deal?” You’d hesitanttly agreed to the kind stranger’s proposal, putting the large jacket on and immediately feeling more comfortable. You thanked him and he waved it off casually, leaving to get ready for his own performance. After the show when you returned the jacket to him, he admitted that it looked much better on you and that he’d hoped you would keep it. When you insisted that you couldn’t dream of keeping a stranger’s jacket he’d just grinned from ear-to-ear and, though his nerves were bubbling up inside him, he kept a cool and collection disposition when he replied, 

“Hmm, maybe we don’t have to be strangers then.” He apologized almost immediately afterwards for the bold line, but when he saw the way it made your face light up he couldn’t help but push it one step farther, asking in a slightly more bashful tone if you’d like to get lunch sometime. You’d agreed, and the rest was history.

A year later, P-Nation Entertainment announced it’s first group was scheduled to debut, and you were among the members. Jeongin would be so incredibly proud of you, feeling an array of emotions at the fact that his (girlfriend/boyfriend) was finally debuting. Dating in secret over the past year had been especially difficult for Jeongin, since he knew that if you were caught it would especially risk your career since you hadn’t debuted yet- and on top of that he’d hate hearing the comments you received for being a foreign idol trainee. Though there was a lot of support as well, Jeongin desperately wanted to speak up publicly and shame those who had negative comments to say towards you, but he couldn’t when your relationship was a secret. The night of your debut, as Jeongin watched from backstage in a private viewing room, he knew in his heart that you were more than just someone special to him. He’d wanted to be someone who could protect from the moment he met you and gave you his jacket and, despite any criticism the two of you might face, he wanted to be that person for you publicly. After your debut as Jeongin pulled you into a warm embrace, showering you with praise for your incredible performance, he took a deep breath, whispering softly as he took your hand in his.

“Jagi...I-I wanna be your boyfriend, publicly. For the whole world to see.” When you gave him a confused expression, he’d explain.

“Not right now, I know you only just debuted...but someday. When I’m worthy of it.” 

*blushing softly as you insisted that he was by no means unworthy of being your boyfriend*

“Innie you know I’d love that...but it’s just so hard to say with something like that, what if people don’t like us together or-”

*shaking his head as a smile rose on his cheeks, interjecting*

“When we win Album of the Year. How about that, hmm Y/N? Once...once Stray Kids has won album of the year...and once your group has won Rookie of the Year. How does that sound?” You’d laughed at the time, feeling that awards were still so far off in the future for your newly debuted group, but nevertheless you agreed. 

A mere six months later, taking the stage with your 6 other members at the MAMA’s to accept your very first Rookie of the Year award, you felt your heartbeat quicken and butterflies rise in your stomach as you looked out of the crowd as they applauded. You caught your boyfriend’s eyes as he proudly stared up at you. It wasn’t even an hour later that Stray Kids took the stage to accept their 3rd and most prestigious award of the night- Album of the Year. As each member gave a short acceptance speech of gratitude and love, Jeongin expressed much appreciation towards his fans, his family and his members. He hadn’t told you that he’d received permission from the company, so despite your promise 6 months earlier you weren’t expecting anything grand during his speech. That’s why it took you by surprise almost as much as the rest of the audience, when he called out your name. 

“Uhm, actually- there is one more person I’d like to thank. (She’s/He’s) helped me through so much over the past year and a half, and I’m very lucky to have (her/him) in my life. Truthfully, I-I don’t know if I’m good enough for (her/him)...but I promised this person that if we won Album of the Year we would stop hiding our relationship, so thank you Stay’s for making this dream of mine come true. And Y/N...thank you for being such a good (girlfriend/boyfriend)- congratulations on Rookie of the Year, Jagiya.”

[shadlad24]

Tumblr Master Post

(Third Mensiversary)

Hey, guys! So, instead of the usual monthly post, I decided to consolidate everything. From now on, I will update the following list and reblog it every 22nd. Enjoy!

Please note that Tumblr either cannot or will not preserve my formatting. So, I have used Google Docs as well. Please click on this link if you’d prefer that. It’s open to all. Thanks!

My posts are almost XWP-related and can be categorized into eight main categories (The pic below is merely for record-keeping and visualization purposes; scroll down for the actual links):

Questions

Curious— Why does everyone think Gabrielle/Renée O’Connor has green eyes?

A Favor to the God of War?— What in the world was the favor Ares wanted from Gabrielle during “Sacrifice”?

Smoking Gun?— Why did Hope knowing Solan’s name give her away as his killer?

Good Luck, Kid!— Why was security so bad in “Maternal Instincts”?

The Love of Your Love— Wasn’t the second verse of this song frustrating and hurtful to Gabrielle?

The (Many) Problem(s) with Ares— Why does so little about Ares’s character make sense?

Hard Ask— Can I PLEASE get a willing, able, AND reliable beta-reader for my Xena fanfic???

The (Many) Problem(s) with Ares [Reblog]— Three more questions about the god of war

No Way— Is the titular image of “Xena: Warrior Princess” what it seems?

Episode Reflections

Random Thoughts While Watching XWP— funny moments from “A Family Affair,” “Them Bones, Them Bones,” “Married with Fishsticks,” and “Coming Home”

Observations from “Sins of the Past”— fifteen things I noticed while watching the episode for the second time (first after completing the series)

Running Commentary on “A Family Affair”— just what it sounds like XD

Concluding Thoughts on “A Family Affair”— a defense of Hope and Gabrielle

Echoes Across the Years— how Solan’s last conversation with his mother echoed Gabrielle’s first with the warrior princess

Redeeming “Fishsticks,” Part 1— how the adults and themes in Gabrielle’s dreamworld held great significance

Redeeming “Fishsticks,” Part 2— how Crustacea’s monstrous children were re-imaginations of Hope and The Destroyer

Fault— my thoughts on the series finale

Good Luck, Kid! [Reblog]— a fun little extension of the original post showing the impression Gabrielle made on Hope

Original Fanfic Excerpts

The Mother of Hope, a collection of one-shots exploring Gabrielle’s thoughts, feelings, and experiences with/about her daughter

Disparity— Hope’s and Gabrielle’s conversation during the final commercial break of “A Family Affair”

Somewhere— Gabrielle searching Tartarus for Hope while Ares was harassing Xena and Solan in “God Fearing Child”

Super Challenge— the entire Rift Arc summed up in a single conversation, the lines of dialogue coming from each of the twelve Rift episodes of season three

Aperture— Gabrielle’s thoughts the night of her wedding

The Daughter of Duality, Hope’s life story from her perspective

My Great Hope— Seraphin prepares her goddess for childbirth

Hope Rising— Baby Hope makes a terrible mistake

“Tears of a Goddess: Blood Rain,” a one-shot exploring “Motherhood” from the goddess of love’s perspective

Useless— Aphrodite agonizes over what to do when alone with Gabrielle and Eve

Tears of a Goddess, a story in which Aphrodite comes clean about the large part she played in Gabrielle’s life behind the scenes

Gabrielle Rages against Xena— the bard finds herself at Aphrodite’s temple, heartbroken and lost after the series finale

Aphrodite Ribs Gabrielle— Aphrodite complains about Gabrielle’s mishaps throughout the show

Rapprochement, a story about Xena and Gabrielle hashing out The Rift Arc before finally coming together as a couple

The Answer— Xena reminds Gabrielle of who she is

Divine Intervention— Aphrodite blesses Xena and Gabrielle’s union

Adventures in Moving Forward, a chronicle of Aphrodite’s and Gabrielle’s adventures together post-AFIN and all my other XWP stories

Stranger— Aphrodite protects Gabrielle from a mob in Brittania

The Betrayer, Gabrielle's untold experience during “The Deliverer.”

Disturbance— Xena makes an unexpected suggestion on how to stop Gabrielle’s recurring nightmare

Deception— Khrafstar fills multiple voids in Gabrielle’s heart

Defilement— Reality slips away from Gabrielle with the loss of her blood innocence

Desecration— Gabrielle becomes one with darkness

Dissolution— The return of Gabrielle’s hero brings about only more tragedy

Fan Theories

Soul Orbits and Psychic Echoes— how Xena and Gabrielle got their children through equal and opposite people and circumstances

Shazam!— how Xena might be able to come back after the series finale

Man-Killer— what really happened to Toris

An Unsung Hero— Aphrodite being Gabrielle’s guardian angel throughout the Rift Arc

Infamous, Infuriated— why Xena engaged in the GabDrag (and BardBraining)

Solving Some Problems with Ares— answering two of my own questions about the god of war

Odd, Sort of Beautiful Symmetry— how we ended up with Annie and Harry

Soul Orbits and Psychic Echoes [Reblog]— an extension of the original theory that focuses more on Solan and Hope themselves

Solving More Problems with Ares— answering my next questions about the god of war

Episode Cracksubs

The Comedy of Amphipolis— “The Haunting of Amphipolis”

What in the Gurkhan?— “Who’s Gurkhan?”

Them Bones and Boneheads— “Them Bones, Them Bones”

TL;DRs— cliff-notes version of longer posts

TL;DR #1: Soul Orbits and Psychic Echoes

TL;DR #2: Infamous, Infuriated

TL;DR #3: The (Many) Problem(s) with Ares

Funny Little Moments— (Five:) a series highlighting overlooked silly things from each episode, illustrated in pictures and cracksubs / (More:) summation posts showcasing additional funny moments from each episode, in half-season chunks

Five Funny Little Moments #1: “Sins of the Past”

Five Funny Little Moments #2: Chariots of War

Five Funny Little Moments #3: Dreamworker

Five Funny Little Moments #4: Cradle of Hope

Five Funny Little Moments #5: The Path Not Taken

Five Funny Little Moments #6: The Reckoning

Five Funny Little Moments #7: The Titans

Five Funny Little Moments #8: Prometheus 

Five Funny Little Moments #9: Death in Chains 

Five Funny Little Moments #10: Hooves and Harlots

Five Funny Little Moments #11: The Black Wolf

Five Funny Little Moments #12: Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts

Miscellaneous

Golden Ticket— Renee O’Connor’s initial responses to me on Instagram

Bath Time— a fun self-challenge involving making a story from recently downloaded/screenshot images in just a few minutes

Mensiversary— review of my first month on Tumblr

Confirmation/Affirmation— Steven L. Sears’s essay of support for my Furies theory

K.O.— Renée O’Connor liking my comment about ^

Hooray!— The Mother of Hope is finished (kinda)

Aww…— a quick picture post to try something new while I was bummed about the deadly tech bug that obliterated my posts for weeks

Second Mensiversary— review of my second month on Tumblr

NOOO!— a lamentation related to The Mother of Hope

The (Many) Problem(s) with Ares [Reblog/Response]— answering a reader

More Funny Little Moments #1: Season 1, Episodes 1-12

*Other

Black Hole— a poem about depression

It’s Nothing— a poem on invalidation

What the?— the beginning of the bug :(

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #100: Helena Blavatsky

It’s finally here, the one hundredth build of this series! I wonder what big-name servant we’re making for the milestone! Merlin? Skadi?

Alright, we can work with that.

Today on Fate and Phantasms’ 100th episode, we’re making the pint-sized powerhouse Helena Blavatsky! With the help of her Mahatmas, Helena is a useful all-around caster who can also blast enemies with beams of light from unidentified flying objects.

Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

Next up: Chaldea’s next top backpack

Race and Background

Like most servants, Helena is probably a human (or revenant, if you want to nitpick), but you’re small for an adult, look way younger than you really are, and are something of an eccentric, so all that points to being a Gnome. Specifically, Rock Gnomes are tinkerers and geniuses, and that will give you +2 Intelligence and +1 Constitution; Darkvision; Gnome Cunning, giving you advantage on all intelligence, wisdom, and charisma saves against magic, Artificer’s Lore, doubling your History proficiency when figuring out magical, alchemical, or technological items, and the Tinker ability, which lets you spend an hour to make small clockwork items. The Clockwork Toy that you can make this way will make your first Colonel Olcott, but we’ll get more impactful ways to make them later.

You’re a Cloistered Scholar, giving you proficiency in History so your Lore can actually be used for something, and Arcana because you’re literally a caster.

Ability Scores

Your highest ability score should be Intelligence- You get a lot of your power from the Mahatmas, but you still have to do your fair share of studying to make it work as well as you do. Second highest is Charisma. You study the world, but you also have your own way of seeing the world, and it’s so pervasive it actually effects how things work. After that is Dexterity; you’re small and clearly don’t wear armor. After that is Constitution, mostly because everything else is worse. Your Wisdom is pretty low, having your own filter on the world kind of skews your ability to see the hard facts. However, you’re really bad at Strength. We don’t need it, and you don’t have it.

Class Levels

1. Warlock 1: Congratulations on signing on with Mahatma Inc., your leading source for arcane power! Lorewise, the Mahatmas would probably be Archfey or Great Old Ones, but we need a patron that can make you fly and fire massive flaming blasts of light, and that’s the Efreeti to a T. When you sign up with them, you get Pact Magic, spell slots that regenerate on short rests. You can use these slots to cast Spells using your Charisma as the casting ability. You also get a Genie’s Vessel, a tiny object you can vanish inside of once per long rest thanks as a Bottled Respite. While you’re holding the item you can also use your Genie’s Wrath to add fire damage to an attack roll-based damage equal to your proficiency bonus once per turn. Finally, you get proficiency in Wisdom and Charisma saves, as well as Nature and Religion checks. You study the world around you to find more signs of the Mahatmas, so you’ve gotten pretty good at it.

Like most casters, Helena’s spell list shouldn’t be taken as gospel- she’s a very versatile caster, so feel free to mix things up. Really, this is true of every part of every build we make, but especially your magic.

Anyway, grab Eldritch Blast for some caster balls, Mage Hand to move the colonel around, Comprehend Languages because I doubt the Mahatmas speak common, and Burning Hands for a bit of fire power.

2. Wizard 1: Warlocks are great, but they don’t really get many spell slots. Wizards are way more your speed right now anyway. At first level, you get Spellcasting, another set of spell slots that can cast Intelligence based spells. The number of spell slots you get here don’t mix with your warlock slots, but your wizard slots can be used for warlock spells and vice versa. You also get an Arcane Recovery- once per day, you can recover a number of spell slots with a combined level total of half your wizard level rounded up. I know this is a wild concept, but don’t worry, you’ll be fine.

For wizard spells, grab Fire Bolt, Ray of Frost, and Magic Missile for even more caster balls, Prestidigitation, Silent Image, Feather Fall, and Detect Magic for utility, as well as Sleep, and Silent Image to avoid combat where possible.

3. Warlock 2: Now that we doubled your spellcasting ability, we should be able to sling a few more spells as we work with the Mahatmas. Second level warlocks get Eldritch Invocations, which you can use to customize your workplace experience. Save one for later, but pick up Armor of Shadows now to save you a lot of spell slots down the road.

You also get Cause Fear, instilling fear in a single creature that fails a wisdom saving throw (its DC is 8 plus your charisma modifier plus your proficiency bonus). This is more of a “why not” spell than anything else, but it’s more things you can do.

4. Warlock 3: Third level warlocks get a Pact Boon, and the Pact of the Tome gives you a fancy new spellbook. This gives you three cantrips from any spell list, and act like warlock spells for you. Grab Guidance and Spare the Dying for even more versatility, as well as... hm, let’s say Thorn Whip, why not. You can also grab the invocation Book of Ancient Secrets, learning two ritual spells from any spell list, but you can only cast them as rituals. You can add other ritual spells to the book as you adventure, but it will cost you time and money to do so. Grab Find Familiar to make a more magical Colonel, and Unseen Servant for another way to carry your clockwork colonel around.

If you don’t want to wait around 10 minutes for one Colonel, you can also cast Flock of Familiars using your regular spellcasting to make up to three of them instead.

5. Warlock 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to power up your Charisma for better warlock spells. Speaking of, you also get Minor Illusion as a cantrip this level, as well as Scorching Ray.

6. Wizard 2: You didn’t think we were done with wizard, did you? The Mahatmas may have given you a cool book, but your hard work will take it to the next level as an Order of Scribes wizard. You can make a Wizardly Quill to magically erase your writing and drastically shorten the time it takes to copy spells, from two hours per level to two minutes. You can also use it to make an Awakened Spellbook. I’m pretty sure this could be the same book your warlock spells are kept in, but the final say’s up to your DM. This spellbook can act as your focus, swap damage types between wizard spells that share a level, and speed up a ritual cast from the spellbook once per long rest. 

You also pick up Charm Person and Catapult this level.

7. Warlock 5: Your spell slots go up a level and you pick up a new invocation. Grab Eyes of the Rune Keeper to make sense of the Mahatma’s teachings, and Magic Circle to protect an area from extraplanar forces. Or lock said extraplanar forces in place.

8. Warlock 6: Sixth level warlocks get a new spell, and Thunder Step gives you some extra mobility and damage. You also get an Elemental Gift from the Mahatmas, giving you resistance to fire damage, and a flying speed that you can use for 10 minutes per long rest per point of you proficiency bonus. It doesn’t say you can fly thanks to a UFO, but it doesn’t not say that, so go with what your heart says.

9. Wizard 3: Third level wizards get second level spells. Enlarge/Reduce and Web are great ways to control enemies, either shrinking them down to near uselessness or sticking them in a trap while the rest of the party sets up for hurting them.

10. Wizard 4: Use this ASI to become an Elemental Adept. You’ve got a lot of different kinds of spells, but your biggest and flashiest are Fire damage based, so this will let you ignore fire resistance, and all damage dice rolled count as at least a 2. To celebrate, grab Flaming Sphere for an Unidentified Flaming Object, as well as Hold Person and Gust to keep people over the fires and fan the flames, respectively.

11. Wizard 5: Fifth level wizards get third level spells. Clairvoyance gives you even more utility, and Counterspell is just a good spell in general.

12. Wizard 6: You can now Manifest Mind, creating another kind of Colonel that can telepathically share information with you, and can act as the source of your spells a number of times per long rest equal to your proficiency bonus. You have to use your bonus action to move it around, but it’ll remain operational at a range of 300′. You can make a Colonel this way once per long rest, or by spending a spell slot to do so.

13. Warlock 7: Seventh level warlocks get fourth level spells. There isn’t any pressing need here, so grab Phantasmal Killer, why not. You also get the Far Scribe invocation, allowing you to cast Sending to creatures who have written their name in your book without spending materials or a spell slot. You can save a number of names in your book up to your proficiency bonus.

14. Warlock 8: Let’s get Blight for the hell of it. You also get another ASI, round up your Dexterity and Intelligence for stronger wizard spells and a higher AC.

15. Warlock 9: For your fifth level spell, grab Flame Strike for a very solid UFO beam that deals fire and radiant damage. You can also make an Ascendant Step to cast Levitate on yourself at will. It’s a concentration spell, but at least it can break your fall if your Elemental Gift runs out at an inopportune time.

16. Warlock 10: Tenth level genie warlocks make a Sanctuary Vessel for themselves and allies. When you enter your Bottled Respite, up to five willing creatures can come with you. Also, staying in the vessel for at least 10 minutes acts as a short rest, and they gain additional healing if they spend hit dice in the vessel.

17. Warlock 11: At eleventh level, warlocks get a Mystic Arcanum, letting them cast a sixth level spell once per long rest. Grab True Seeing to unlock the mysteries of the world around you.

18. Warlock 12: Use your last ASI to bump up your Charisma for stronger warlock spells, and grab the invocation Eldritch Mind to make concentration a bit easier on you.

19. Warlock 13: Thanks to your seventh level Mystic Arcanum, you can now Plane Shift to the realm of the Mahatmas (Genies)!

20. Warlock 14: Your capstone level allows you to make a Limited Wish, thanks to the Mahatmas. You can cast a spell though your Vessel without using a spell slot or any components. The only requirements are that is is 6th level or lower and takes 1 action to cast. You can use this every 1d4 long rests.

Pros:

You are an unparalleled spellslinger, especially among warlocks. You can cheat spells out with wishes and rituals, regain more than your fair share on short rests, and mess around with how your spells work by swapping damage types or casting them through the colonel. You can also make some funky travel arrangements by combining mage hand, the colonel, and your Genie’s Vessel. Multiclassing with Wizard also comes with the added benefit of being able to copy spells down on top of learning them normally- thanks to your warlock slots, you can still copy wizard spells up to 5th level.

Mixing these casting classes together, plus your normal Gnome abilities, make your Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saves very solid, preventing you from being charmed, frightened, or thrown into another plane.

Being able to fly is awesome. Being able to fly as a squishy wizard is even better. Being able to fly without concentration is nearly broken.

Cons:

Mixing spellcasters also leaves you without 9th level spells. Jury-rigged transport is cool and all, but it doesn’t beat just getting wish normally.

You have Low HP, so if you end up fighting someone who can shoot you out of the sky, you’re going to have a bad time. It’s also really hard to not look like the biggest target when you just burned a hole in the world with a UFO.

You rely on a lot of fragile knickknacks to make this build work- your vessel and all three kinds of colonels (mind, clockwork, and familiar) all have even lower HP than you have, and affect your ability to function to varying degrees.

[buddha-in-disguise]

Weariness and cynicism is deadly.

When we were growing up, I remember my paternal grandfather once said to me: Weariness and cynicism is deadly.

At the time I didn't really understand the comment, but as I got older, it was something that I've kept in the back of my mind, in part because I would hate for me to become weary & cynical in life.

The last few episodes of Supergirl have had this line come roaring to the forefront with me.

Right now, weariness and cynicism within the Supergirl fandom (and not just a ship), has now shown in ratings.

You could argue as to why the ratings have dropped, and there are certainly going to be a few reasons for it. After all, in any season of a show you get peaks and troughs on the figures.

With Supergirl though, it has been a steep hit, then a steady decline afterwards. 

I've been writing this over a few days, and yesterday the synopsis for 5.19 dropped.

Now you can tell this was written before they planned on merging some of 5.20 into 5.19 and it became the finale, and this is given away by the 'penultimate episode,' wording. That is true, so knowing elements of 5.20 will be merged into it, means there is likely a divergence to this synopsis on some level. If there is, once again the marketing has failed to adapt with these changes. 

However, the synopsis also has people absolutely at the end of their tether over Kara and Lena. Why? The 1st segment:

'Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) realizes that in order to stop Lex (guest star Jon Cryer) and Leviathan she must work with the one person she never thought she’d trust again – Lena (Katie McGrath).' 

I have issue with this for more than one reason, but the biggest for me is simply this.

Honestly the situation should be sorted by now in far better ways. If this goes on through to S6 unresolved, then it is beyond a joke.

19 episodes of this is utterly unacceptable. Even if they'd carried on resolution into the 20th episode, that's still far too long. 

I can't speak for other fans, but personally I was hoping (& expecting) that once Crisis was over, Kara and Lena would actually begin to talk. If not Lena and Kara, Lena and Alex. Because remember how Lena spoke to Alex when Alex asked for her help during Crisis? Here are the lines most relevant (I'm including the clip for the whole interaction).

"I am sorry that I lied to you. And not just me. Not just Kara. J'onn, and Brainy, and Nia."

"You know, you actually had me believe that you hated Supergirl."

"I wasn't pretending about that, but that is a long story."

This was 10 episodes ago once 5.19 hits, & has never been broached again, nor looks likely to be. Why even bring it up if you're going to ignore it? Lena & Alex were friends by S4 end. If Kara couldn't talk to Lena, why hasn't Alex tried? Or Brainy? Nia. Even Kelly, who genuinely hadn't lied to Lena - although that could've been awkward if Lena said it was about Kara lying being Supergirl and Kelly didn't know. But you know, I would've loved to have seen it play out that way, because Kelly's surprise wouldn't be faked, and Lena, despite it all, would probably recognise that.

Have Lena working with Lex, but also using Kelly to help her with the lenses, to placate Lex, but to be actively working with the Superfriends (Kelly as the intermediary) to bring Lex down. That way, Kelly gets screen time she deserves, Lena slowly works through her issues, even if it isn't directly with Kara yet. Alex really uses the Tower to investigate and help Kelly and Lena. But we have had nothing of note.

Out of the two Winn episodes, we had one episode of Winn's own psychopathic father getting his redemption, (which sorry, was too far fetched for me). What was the purpose of this? It apparently serves none. This episode should've been a redemption arc starting for Lena in my opinion, even if Kara wasn't involved (so the 100th still could've gone ahead as planned). It could've been Brainy for example tentatively reaching out to Lena. Or as I say, Lena seeing how Lex was working, and reaching out to Kelly. It wouldn't have to be a noticable or big thing, but the beginnings of some reconciliation with someone. 

Yet Lena, who time and time again has tried to do the right thing, has been lied to, has been abused by her family since she was 4, has been left to her own devices for 19 episodes! By people who say they are her friends. This is more than about Kara. This is about a whole group of people who seemingly have washed their hands of Lena. That sure as hell isn't any kind of friendship I know, or agree with. 

This is why as a general audience people are now weary and cynical. When the hard core fans, not ship fans, but the ones who tune in religiously, are screaming enough, then a more general audience will simply drift away. Sadly the viewing figures suggest this is exactly what has happened. 

If they're suddenly best friends again from 5.19, then it will be as bad because nothing is talked about! Even if they carry on the redemption arc into S6, will the general audience - or even the main hard core group of fans - wait potentially 9 to 12 months before it starts again, not knowing if they plan to maintain the push and pull between Lena, Kara and the Superfriends, or actually are going to rebuild the friendships?

We also have the question of why did Kara find the tape that Mxyzptlk left? I'm including a screen capture for this.  

There were a couple of things at the time that I wondered about.

Why make it so obvious that was the video tape left? It then immediately led off to Kara confronting Lena, which while harsh wasn't really too OOC until that last line. No, she didn't call Lena a villain (ugh also continuity in 5.17, hello Kara, you didn't call her a villain). But Kara knows that Lena has always wanted to be seen as being different to her family, but especially Lex. Instead of going to Lena as Supergirl, go to her as Kara! Make her see the person not the cape. Of course being Supergirl is important to Kara, but knowing that Lena has always had a more volatile relationship with Supergirl, it seems utterly inconceivable to me that at some stage Kara wouldn't go to try and talk to her simply as Kara. Or was it Mxy as Supergirl, who hesitated moving from the balcony because he needed to be invited inside by Lena? Supergirl took a step forward, but doesn't appear to actually enter Lena's apartment. 

So yes. That whole scene has always bugged me.

I also always questioned why did Mxy hang around watching through Kara's loft window? What was it he needed to see? By all accounts his mission there was accomplished. Why hang around?

So it begs the question, are we seeing how the tape plays out? Is this the 'nothing is as it seems' and the 'Black mirror season,' they touted before the season began. If this refers to how Lex has played his part, then that is nowhere near good enough.

If it is because of Mxy, it is just an awful way to go about it. It has left most fans weary, jaded and honestly not trusting of how they will carry on writing for the show.

Let's not forget, Kara told the whole world her identity to save Lena. 

Lena tried to save Kara from the Kryptonite in the air, but failed because she was too far away in Metropolis. 

Lena took to heart the pleas from Kara not to use Kryptonite, and so devised another way to subdue Reign, only to die in Kara's arms (and remember Kara literally crumpled as Lena fell into her arms. This is a Kryptonian with Super human strength, but her knees gave way). 

The only time Lena did turn evil was when Supergirl didn't save her. But even then, watch her face carefully as she hits with Kara with the Kryptonite. That stotic mask falls just fractionally. 

However this plays out in the last two episodes, quite honestly I can't see how it is going to be enough to pacify the distrust and anger over vast aspects of the season. How a lot of what has gone on can only be called queerbaiting, and if (& it's a big if) they even lent into Supercorp (I highly doubt it), then it needed to come far quicker. When you lose the trust of a big part of your audience, it is extremely difficult to get that trust back. When you have to try and achieve that with only 2 episodes left? Pretty much impossible. 

When that weariness and cynicism has months to fester in a fandom, it is deadly.

[danwhobrowses]

20 AEW Dark and Elevation Regulars that AEW should sign

Now I know, AEW has a very stacked roster, in fact I've considered writing an essay on the risk of AEW's growing roster being top-heavy

I mean we've barely scraped the potential of Brian Cage, Scorpio Sky, Wardlow, Sammy Guevara, TH2, Sonny Kiss, Matt Sydal, Proud and Powerful, Nick Comoroto, Will Hobbs, Serena Deeb (who I know is injured atm), and many more. But with Rampage oncoming maybe there is room for them.

But, we'll stick a pin in that for now, because tonight is AEW's 100th Episode of Dark. A big deal still considering it's one of AEW's 2 weekly youtube wrestling shows, and one of AEW's many Youtube weekly shows if you include vlogs such as BTE, SammysVlogs, Ethan Page's vlog and the AEW-promotional Countdown to and Outside the Ring with Lexy Nair segments and the Unrestricted Podcast. In the pandemic era, Dark became a home to several indie talents in need for work, some got signed but not all, so I'm gonna list 10 men's and 10 women's wrestlers who were regulars on Dark and Elevation who AEW can and should still sign

Note: I will not be including wrestlers who look set for regularity, so Wheeler Yuta, Jora Johl, Fuego and the Wingmen won't be on the list, as will any AEW Women's tournament entrants (Maki Itoh, Madi Wrenkowski, Nicole Savoy etc.). Danny Limelight and Konosuke Takeshita are also signed to MLW and DDT Pro just fyi

10 Men AEW should sign

The men's division is already stacked, and it has a lot of up and comers too, but there are still a few areas where AEW's Dark stalwarts have proven they can fill a void for.

Honorable mentions for: JDX, El Australiano, M'Badu, Jake St. Patrick, Brick Aldridge, Megabyte Ronnie, Suge 'Pineapple Pete' D and Vary Morales. Also Kidd Bandit, but he hasn't wrestled on Dark or Elevation so I couldn't add him in.

10. Marty Casaus Better known as Marty 'the Moth' Martinez from Lucha Underground, Marty trained with AEW after some time out with injury and made some appearances on Dark. As the Moth, Marty demonstrated his character work as a gross heel, but his size was also an asset to his disturbed and near-psychotic persona.

9. Dean Alexander An alumnus of the Nightmare Factory, Alexander has frequented on Dark and Elevation usually in tag action where he hasn't been able to get his dickhead persona across. He is your traditional cocky heel which in the Nightmare Factory showcases has led to his hilarious downfalls, even losing to Negative One in his multiple failures to win in the Main Event of these showcases. Frankly, this is what Baron Corbin should be like if you're gonna mock him, he's also very impressive in the ring.

8. Dillon McQueen Another Nightmare Factory alum, Dillon McQueen has also only been used for jobbing, but his character is actually great. The King of Queens, Dillon brims charisma that would be a winner for crowds, but he has a babyface fire to him as well, easily could be a rising talent with the right training.

7. Dan Barry To be honest, I like his Hawaiian Shirts. He has a lot of experience in the indies and can work in a similar way Colt Cabana works balancing serious and comedy wrestling, would just be pretty cool to see him more.

6. & 5. TNT (Terrence and Terrell Hughes) Sons of D-Von Dudley, TNT have had less appearances on AEW as of recent, which is a shame, because they can definitely be developed as some of the next gen tag teams the Acclaimed and Blonds have been. AEW haven't shied from legacy wrestlers in the past, and the duo definitely have potential.

4. Chandler Hopkins Chandler Hopkins has shown up to be squashed by the big men a lot, but somehow he also manages to eke out some strong entertainment and fluid wrestling in it. His match against Brian Cage is an effective example of this. Like Fuego, Chandler is definitely someone you can use on the undercard for some enhancement, maybe even push up once more character comes across.

3. Ryzin Ryzin has stuck with AEW for quite a while now, even having skits on BTE. The Unholy Father however never got a W on AEW, which is a shame because he has character and promo skills in hand. He could easily be a fit for Chaos Project as well or teamed with Abandon in a James Mitchell kinda role.

2. Carlie Bravo One of the first class alums of the Nightmare Factory, Carlie Bravo remains charismatic and athletic in his showings, he even had a great little pairing with Shawn Dean until Dean's signing, I'd love to see them bring that back - two Navy veterans tearing up the tag scene would be pretty awesome.

1. Baron Black Few have stayed the course during the pandemic era like Baron Black. Debuting in April and still yet to get his first win, he was one of the three touted stars by Cody on Sammy's vlog who he encouraged to be booked around the world because of his workrate and skill. If anyone has earned it that isn't named Fuego del Sol (or that other name Cody mentioned), it's Baron Black.

10 Women AEW should sign In contrast to the men's division, AEW's women's roster does look like it could use some buffing, for midcard and even building more stars.

Honorable mentions are plenty in this one, so just missing out are the following: Ashley D'Amboise, Leila Grey, Renee Michelle, Jazmin Allure, Savannah Evans, Willow Nightingale, the Renegade Twins, Holidead, Kenzie Paige, Jennacide and Brooke Havok (who I would guess will be signed once her leg recovers).

10. Ashley Vox With or without her Sea Stars tag partner, Delmi Exo, Ashley Vox has proven herself a frequent flier for AEW. Talented in singles and tag competition. She also has a strong rapport with many of AEW's current roster.

9. Alex Gracia The Pink Dream has been on ROH as of recent but remains a freelancer, her last appearance being a squash from Dr. Britt Baker DMD. AEW must've been high on Gracia at one point because they gave her a title shot on Dynamite. With experience in Shimmer and Stardom, Gracia would definitely be a worthy addition.

8. Tesha Price Another woman who AEW put on Dynamite rare times, Tesha proved herself to play face and heel during her time on Dark and Elevation. As a heel she showed a lot of fire especially against KiLynn King and Ryo Mizunami, the Psycho Sweetheart definitely has something she can give to the division - who are tbf lacking in heels right now.

7. Vertvixen I am not sure what it is about Vertvixen specifically, but whenever I see her I think she has the look, not to mention the athleticism to boot. Her triple threat on MPW against Jennacide and Jazmin Allure was a definite highlight as of recent.

6. Miranda Alize A former Mae Young Classic competitor, like Jennacide and Gracia she's recently been used by ROH, but she is definitely a confident wrestler and does not shy from the intergender matches either, having fought Laredo Kid and Danny Limelight. She's worked with many impressive wrestlers too, including an Impact Knockouts Title match against Jordynne Grace and matches against Deonna, Taya and Tessa.

5. Reka Tehaka The Samoan Savage may've debuted on AEW's first ever house show, but regular Dark and Elevation appearances have been met with positive reactions. Being partly trained by the Nightmare Factory, Tehaka has done well to establish herself despite only wrestling for a year and a half, she could definitely be a prospect.

4. Veda Scott Okay, so I cheated a little by saying no competitors, but I could not leave out Veda on this list. She has in-ring talent and intergender experience - tagging with her Speedball husband - but on AEW Dark and the Deadly Draw she proved herself excellent on commentary. A female voice in the booth even for just the women's matches would go a long way for the division and Veda's the perfect voice for it.

3. Dani Jordyn The Mean Girl is definitely someone you can call a regular on Dark and Elevation. She works hard and works with a lot of main roster talent, and I don't think I've seen her put on a bad match. So it would be nice to reward her with a contract.

2. Diamante It still baffles me actually that Diamante has yet to become All Elite. Deadly Draw winner and involved in a lot of the Elevation/Dark women's feuds, Diamante has a wealth of knowledge and experience under her belt. She's still popular with fans and can easily step back into her LAX days by pairing with the Inner Circle. Few unsigned talent have won as much as her too, I would say it's when rather than if, but when is taking a long ass time.

1. KiLynn King The three names Cody praised highly were Fuego, Baron Black and KiLynn King, so I think above all else they should be given contracts. In fact, I was surprised King wasn't on the Dark 100 card, by virtue that although King has shown up on Dynamite a few times, she has been on Dark and Elevation 41 times since debuting in May 2020, it was a shock that someone so regular wasn't on the card. King showed she could work as the bully heel but also as a charismatic babyface, even having a little faction brewing with Swole and Red Velvet as RSK, but when crowds came back we seemed to drop the potential of AEW's first all-women faction. King is over with fans...so long as you don't put her against someone as over as Thunder Rosa, and she has put on some lowkey bangers during her time on AEW, especially the one against Riho. Tall and powerful, but fun in the ring and outside the ring with clips of her in the crowd chanting and even vibing to Angelico's music. King would definitely be on the top of my list of AEW Dark regulars that deserve a contract.

I'm sure I might've missed some and opinions may differ, but I think these lot would definitely be able to fit into AEW effortlessly thanks to their time on Dark and Elevation. Many of whom could be used to build or become future champions themselves, and I hope still to see more of them beyond Dark 100.