#good episode! just not really sure what it was trying to say?

[poistura]

HE WAS A PUNK, SHE DID BALLET

pairings. nonidol!hyungline x fem!reader in which. reader’s perfect and calm life has been completely turned upside down since she met her boyfriend wc. 1.5K warnings. enha are basically troublemakers lol, climbing a window in hee’s one, jake’s one is HEAVILY inspired by a gilmore girls episode, mentions of fights and bruises, not proofread genre. fluff ( link to masterlist )

author’s note wrote this while listening to sk8er boy by avril lavigne and i love her that’s it, jay’s one is a bit short i’m sorry 💔 also!! maknae line’s one is coming soon 🫧

𝐋. heeseung

you were seated at your desk in your room, so engrossed on studying your books, that the sound of tapping on the window almost made you flinch.

turning around to the place the sound came from, you see him. he smirks slyly, causing you to sigh and get up, opening the window “you know, you could’ve used the front door”, heeseung climbs in “i figured your parents wouldn’t be really pleased to see me” he says as he wraps his arms around your waist.

“plus, this is way more charming than using the front door, is it?” that sentence made you chuckle “oh sure, prince charming. i really want to watch you climb down from my window now”. heeseung gulps “well, i’ll worry about it after i get to cuddle you, angel” he says with a smile before attacking your face with soft pecks, making you giggle.

it was really true that heeseung was soft and caring on the inside, but you seemed to make him melt way more often than he was used to, not like he was complaining about it anyways.

“what are you studying?” “biology” heeseung scoffs “you really have to spend your night studying something as dull as biology?” you roll your eyes playfully “at least i do study, i suggest you to try it, that would be good for you” he just simply shrugs playfully and pinches your waist, making you let out a soft giggle.

despite claiming that studying is the most monotonous thing you could ever do on a thursday night, heeseung finds himself sitting with you, listening to you revise the subject, but both of you know he’s not even paying attention to anything you’re saying, he doesn’t care at all. what he’s paying attention to, is the way your eyes look up while thinking of a term, the way your hands move to emphasize your speech and the soft hums you let out while thinking of the material you studied earlier.

actually, maybe heeseung was wrong, maybe this was the best way he could spend his thursday night.

𝐏. jongseong

you watched as your boyfriend played you his self-written songs on his guitar, feeling happy to be in his presence and to be the only girl who could have the pleasure to listen to those sweet songs he wrote for you. “what do you think?”, you smile softly “it’s really great; i love it”.

the faint blush on your boyfriend’s cheeks didn’t go unnoticed by you. “hey, can i try too?” you ask him and he looks at you surprised “the great violinist wants to play something as edgy as the electric guitar?” you roll your eyes playfully “worried i’ll be better than you?”.

jay grins and pats the empty space between his legs, handing you the guitar and guiding you through the notes “put your finger here, here and here” he says as he gently moves your fingers on the strings. your heartbeat started to quicken as he was impossibly close to you and touched your fingers delicately “give it a try, chopin” he teases as you try to play the new instrument.

after a few tries, you manage to let out a few neat notes from the instrument, eliciting a proud smile from your boyfriend “wow chopin”, you chuckle “jay, chopin is a pianist” “same thing”. you both let out a few giggles before he pecks your temple and smiles softly at you “if you learn how to play the guitar, i can’t surprise you with my serenades anymore”, you chuckle softly “well, i think my mom would be glad to not hear you play at 1am, but maybe i could serenade you too sometimes”.

jay smiles and softly pecks your lips “yea, i’d like some classical operas being played for me at 1am”

𝐒. jaeyun

you would’ve never thought to see your boyfriend all dolled up to take you to your highschool’s dance for a charity event. you insisted that it wasn’t a big deal, and you weren’t even enthusiastic about going to that dance, but your boyfriend insisted on being a good boyfriend (aka, showing you off to everyone) and decided it was important for you to attend since you were one of the top students at the school.

you arrived at the dance with jake, and calling it boring would be an understatement.

you two were sitting by a table, “jake we can leave if you’re not having fun” you said, as you knew your boyfriend wasn’t used to these boring formal events.

“don’t worry baby, i enjoy spending time with you nonetheless. plus, the food is great!” you let out a chuckle at his statement.

“i’ll go get us something to drink, how about that?” you smile at your boyfriend’s idea “alright, don’t take too long”.

he smiled before he got up and headed to get you something to drink. as you were waiting for him, a boy from your biology class approached you, teasing you like he always does.

“where’s your little boyfriend, uh? don’t tell me you came by yourself” he grins and you roll your eyes “getting me a drink, if you really want to know”. the boy looks slightly surprised at your statement “oh really? i bet he’s a punk, you could’ve said yes when i asked you to come with me, at least you would’ve been seen with someone relevant”.

just like clock work, your boyfriend arrived and wrapped an arm around your waist. the guy eyes him up and down “you must be the punk boyfriend”, jake grits his teeth and turns to you “is he bothering you, babe?” “pfft, she’s delighted by my presence”. jake raises an eyebrow and turns his gaze back to the boy “uh, really?”.

you were already preparing yourself as you knew your boyfriend, and you knew things would’ve escalated quickly. by the end of the night, you were sitting in jake’s car, treating the wounds and scars he got on his face after a not-so-friendly conversation with that boy.

“i’m sorry i got carried away”you give him a small smile “it’s alright, i’m glad you punched him. he’s annoying” “i figured you weren’t really delighted to talk to him”, you both let out a chuckle.

“hey, are you up for a frozen yogurt?” he asks, you reply with a huge smile “of course! but… maybe it’s better if you stay in the car and i go get them”. he lets out a chuckle “alright boss”

𝐏. sunghoon

“babe! what’s taking you so long?” you yell from your room, sunghoon is in the bathroom, getting ready for a dinner you insisted on having with your parents to prove them he’s perfectly fine for you. he was nervous, he probably hasn’t felt more nervous in his life, what if they ask him about his life? he can’t tell them how reckless he is, they would’ve never thought he could be perfect for you. he finally sighs before taking a last glance at the mirror “i’m coming!”.

the dinner was silent to say the least, your mother cleared her throat to escape from the awkward moment “so sunghoon, do you have any hobbies?”. sunghoon gulps “uhm… i like working out, you know, to keep myself healthy”, her mother hums, her expression unreadable.

in the meantime, you were crossing your fingers under the table, hoping the dinner would go smoothly and your parents would approve of him, considering how they’ve always considered you as a perfect child in every field.

your father asks the question both of you hoped he’d never ask, “do you study? or work?”. sunghoon starts sweating “i… i don’t work yet, sir. but, i’m looking for a job”. your father slightly scoffs and tears his gaze away from the boy, looking back at his plate and mumbling something under his breath.

the dinner luckily comes to an end, and neither you nor sunghoon were proud of how it went out.

he noticed your disappointed face, and before you two could leave and greet goodbye to your parents, he turned to them one last time “uhm… i’m sorry if i’m not exactly how you hoped i’d be, i know i might be far from the kind of person you wanted your daughter to be with, but i love her. i might not be the best and i might not provide her with everything she needs, but i love her and… and i’m here for her everytime she needs me. i want to support her in everything she does, even though i know i could never be enough for her”. his words made your heart melt, and your parents’ expression slightly shifted.

as you were getting ready to leave, your mother spoke up “we hope to see you again, sunghoon”, his eyes immediately lit up “i hope so too, mrs y/l/n. thank you”. your father gives him a nod of approval before you two left, hand in hand, and extremely proud of how the dinner turned out.

© POISTURA 🐋

[waterlilyvioletfog]

Notes on Criston Cole in 2x02

I was fascinated by Criston Cole in this episode. We don’t really see much of him in ep. 1 so I really wasn’t sure what to do with him and his current choices. This episode we see him a TON and everything in it had me sitting up, eyes sparkling, stupid grin on my face like OH HO HO!! We’re doing good tv!!

More below cut.

1- Fabien Frankel’s Acting

So, last episode, many people noted how Criston generally seems completely blank, no expression, dead eyed. I think this episode confirmed for me that this is a conscious choice by Fabien Frankel, not a reflection of a bad actor or director— Jared Padalecki half-acting in 90% of his scenes for the last several seasons of Supernatural THIS IS NOT!! (Sorry, spn is one of my other natural habitats. The comparison is right there for me.)

There are two smaller moments where we see these really interesting bits of physical acting letting us in on Criston’s internal thoughts even while he’s got the dead face on— I think we should be thinking of this as his Kingsguard Face, roughly equivalent to the customer service smile, but for bodyguards— Criston doesn’t want anyone EVER to know what he’s thinking and feeling unless what those things are can be summed up as “bloodthirsty shark dog with knives pointed at you” (more on this later).

These two moments are first, when we see the servants clearing out the bedroom and Criston flinches away from the sight of Jaehaerys’s bloody mattress. It doesn’t look like a flinch in the way that, say, Emma D’Arcy’s flinch when the door slams closed behind Daemon after the fight does, but it’s an uncalculated movement away from something distressing nonetheless. The scene is basically just this— we see the room coming down, we see Criston, we see the mattress, we see the flinch, there’s like one line of dialogue, the scene ends. The scene has very little function except, one, to show us background minutiae and detail that bring the world and the moment to life, and two, to let us see Criston away from Alicent, Otto, Aegon, and Aemond. It’s a moment that lets us into Cole’s interiority, his guilt.

This guilt is articulated clearly later, when he says to Alicent that nothing can absolve him of what he has done. After Alicent closes the door on him, the camera pans back to Criston where we get the second piece of physical acting that fascinated me— Criston is shaking his head ever so slightly, as if trying to push away thoughts creeping in. This is the moment that really sealed for me the idea of Criston’s Kingsguard Face versus the actual interiority of the character as articulated by Frankel. Essentially, just because Criston’s busy not projecting anything doesn’t mean that Frankel isn’t trying to convey something to the audience in that moment. Criston’s dead eyes and stupid face are a front. There are three scenes where we see something other than this front, and I’d like to look at them more closely.

2- Promotion

We’ve all memed hard on this moment— the scene where Aegon fires Otto and says, “oh?? I need a strong hand??? Well!! Guess what!! I’m promoting— him!”

[camera focus shifts to show Criston Cole standing there like🧍‍♂️🧍‍♂️🧍‍♂️]

(I cackled.)

As usual in any scene where Cole isn’t actively radiating malice, he’s mostly expressionless, serving in his capacity as bodyguard. However, if you look at his face, you can see that his expression isn’t actually “blank” so much as it is “poleaxed”— another thing which has been deservedly memed on. It’s still a minute expression, but it’s visibly different from his standard 🫥 face.

Here the significance of the expression serves a different purpose than in other scenes. Here, Criston’s obvious surprise and mild befuddlement function as a way to hammer home Aegon’s impulsivity and irresponsibility. Criston’s been thinking for the last 36 hours that he got a toddler killed by fucking the king’s mom, and now, after ZERO PRIOR DISCUSSION, has gotten his second insane promotion in like three months maximum.

He’s gone from Kingsguard No. 2 to Lord Commander to the fucking Hand of the King. Criston was fully prepared to be LC of the KG— at most, Criston is expecting to be a crucial lieutenant and battle commander in non-aerial combat for the Greens. Now, as Hand, he would get to decide which battles get fought where by who. Oh, and he has zero administrative skills, so jot that one down.

3- Punching Bag

I talked before about how the turn in Alicent and Criston’s relationship left me with mixed emotions. This scene— the ending scene, notably, which I respect as a denouement and to avoid breaking the flow of the Rryk Fight Plot— helped things fall into place for me.

Criston is waiting inside Alicent’s bedchamber, armor off. If I had the time and energy (or if anyone else has the time and energy…? 👀) I would love to do a post looking at Criston with him armored versus unarmored, because I think the pattern will show that, generally, when he is literally vulnerable he is usually also personally vulnerable.

But I digress— the bigger point I’m trying to make is that Criston, who just kind of got a toddler killed by fucking the king’s mom and also just got promoted over said queen’s dad for a position he’s not qualified for, has shown up wearing pajamas in her room. This man is expecting intimacy. He has prepared himself for it by removing his armor before she even enters the room. There can be no pretense for this. This is about as close to reclining naked, oiled up, on a bed of rose petals, as Criston Cole’s gonna get. Alicent initiates the scene by storming over and getting physical, but I think in his own way, he’s asking for it. Criston plays at passivity, but the point of the scene is to show that he’s very much in it with her.

The scene itself is without dialogue, no recriminations. I think Criston and Alicent have said all that can be said earlier— “What do you take me for?” “One who seeks absolution.” “There can be none for what I have done.”— and this is what’s left: guilt and pain, tangled with a desperation for human connection and someone who understands. Last episode, the commentary talked about how Criston functions as Alicent’s punching bag, and in this episode we see that both with her actually hitting him and I think also with the fact that they keep having sex, re-enacting the thing that they’re feeling guilty about. It’s a way to keep self-flagellating, keeping the wound open so they can atone for their sins by constantly feeling the guilt.

If it works for them, hey. Fair enough.

4- That Bitch

This is the scene that had me GIGGLING, eyes sparkling, stupid grin on my face, kicking my feet, THRILLED. Criston Cole, my dear friend, my evil bitch.

What many people who find themselves bewildered by the genuine Team Green fandom fail to recognize is that, apart from Team Black suffering a lot of iffy writing in s1 that made them uninteresting, most people who like Team Green like them BECAUSE they are not nice people (Helaena excepted 🙂‍↕️😌🙏💜). They are not uniform in this un-niceness, either— Alicent pontificates and pines and looks guilty, Otto calculates and schemes in a very Lawful Evil manner, Larys manipulates and schemes creepily, Aegon is taking notes from Theon Greyjoy, Aemond is an anime villain who just wants his mommy to love him and his brother to say sorry and also to bite people in half with his dragon and maybe get his uncle to fuck him idk we’ll get back to that, and Tyland is an Econ Major. There’s a looooot in there!

Criston is a violent person who for about 95% of his time currently cannot express any of the sheer hatred, rage, malignance, resentment, or pettiness that he is feeling, because he is Too Busy Doing His Fucking Job, where such emotions are a hindrance. Set Criston Cole in a battlefield melee, and he’s fucking set. Set Criston Cole in front of a door for six hours and he’s about ready to die.

In season 1, we saw how Criston found outlets for this— beating men to death, antagonizing the Strong boys in the yard, and getting into fights with Harwin. But now, he’s older, and now, he’s the Lord Commander (though soon!! Soon!!!!) and he can’t do any of that because everyone in King’s Landing is, for better or worse, functionally on Team Green and therefore un-fuck-with-able.

So what’s a man to do when he wants to lash out? The old classic— take it out on the underlings.

People have already said this, but the way the light comes into Criston Cole’s eyes when he’s guilt-tripping his brother-in-arms into either killing Criston’s ex or committing suicide by cop is genuinely incredible. Criston doesn’t even really think Arryk harbors any traitorous inclinations— he just has the excuse of it theoretically being a concern and theoretically having a built-in plan if he needs some justification. Aegon swallows the plan easily enough before Otto forces him to think about it.

Criston gets his co-worker killed and he looks ALIVE while he’s doing it.

It’s clear, too, that Criston lashing out like this at the other Kingsguard isn’t unusual. First, there’s how Arryk reacts to Criston initially entering the room like “oookay. Here we go. While I’m eating breakfast. This fucking guy.” which is telling in and of itself, but could have been a personal acting choice from Arryk’s actor. The bigger clue to this being a regular occurrence comes when Criston hits the table and IMMEDIATELY all the Kingsguard FLEE. THE. SCENE. They don’t exchange looks, they don’t say anything, they know that the best they can do is clear out before they get caught in the crossfire. They know, each and every one of them, exactly who Criston is and how he acts, and they are NOT about to get in the way of their evil boss when he’s on a rampage.

Criston, my guy, you are so awful and I love you. Congrats on getting your co-worker killed. It looked like fun.

Looking forward to the next few weeks when we start to see the Criston-Aegon Hand-King duo in action! I’m sure that everything will go SUPER smoothly and no one will get killed and everything will be fiiiiiinnneeee.

[autistic-crunchwrap]

I watched all of The Bear Season 3 and I have so many thoughts... SPOILERS BELOW

TL;WR: It was not all bad... There were high points and low points for sure, and I did enjoy the high points! but the stress and chaos this season brought was not worth the few and far between moments of goodness we saw.

First, the good:

Liza Colón-Zayas. Oh my god. A true standout, as always. If her episode doesn’t win her an Emmy, I will be fucking furious. Ayo also deserves an Emmy for directing that episode. Every second of the episode was beautiful and moving and added significantly to the overall plot and character development of the show (as every episode of a 10-episode season show should… but more on that later)

Abby Elliot, I love you. I am a Nat Berzatto stan through and through. Ice Chips was my favorite episode of the season. AE’s chemistry with Jamie Lee Curtis is unmatched. I was so genuinely touched by this episode. This episode was family therapy for me, I think. Thank you Abby Elliot, very cool.

Richie gets some great family time with his daughter and Tiff this season, and it’s genuinely so good to see him continue to grow and support his family even when it’s really hard for him. I see how hard he’s trying and I love him for it.

Ted Fak gave some really great energy that really worked this season. Him and Neil were consistently funny and entertaining to watch. I enjoyed their bit about haunting that came up several times throughout the season

JOHN FUCKING CENA being a Fak was an INSANE choice but I loved it. This show has gone off the rails and goddamn it I need more John Cena immediately

Joel McHale is back and as bitchy as ever! I love the havoc he wreaks on Carmy. His line from episode 10, “I don’t think about you” (paraphrasing, I’m not going back to watch it for the exact quote) made me gasp watching it. If Carmy wasn't such a prick, I would feel bad, but Season 3 Carmy deserves the shit Chef David deals him.

Olivia Coleman. That is all.

"You can go fuck" is my favorite Bear quote, especially when Nat says it

Always happy to see Will Poulter as Luca. His lil mullet is adorable and I love him. I hope he and Syd connect even more in Season 4

Pete asking Syd if different foods make different levels of noise was the funniest bit the whole season. Protect Pete at all costs.

Now for the bad…

Where’s the fucking character development??? Carmy and Syd in particular felt very stuck this season. The whole season is very stuck in the past and pays a lot of lip service to 'working through your shit'... but no one ever works through their shit this season (save for Richie, sort of) and it annoyed the hell out of me.

The whole first episode felt like a waste of time. Almost no narrative development, 20+ minutes of montage and fancy shots of cooking? Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the food porn in The Bear. I live for that shit. But the narrative went NO WHERE in Episode 1 because of how much fancy cooking footage was there instead. Gurl, get on with it. I’m bored.

There are several secrets being kept this season. Syd being offered another (possibly better) position and never talking to Carmy about it, Cicero not telling Carmy that he's now broke and can't help pay for the restaurant anymore, and the details of the restaurant review being kept a secret from the audience (and the characters) for most of the season. And like, we just never really get any payoff from it?? We barely see the restaurant review at the end, Syd doesn't tell Carmy about the other job, and Cicero doesn't tell Carmy about being broke. We ended the season where we started. Re: a waste of time!

Another waste of time was the slight of hand/magic trick theme thing they tried to do but didn't fully develop. I was confused as to what the point of all that was, but it was never fully resolved. Don't give me that 'to be continued' shit because you didn't tie up your loose ends this season. I know bad writing when I see it.

Cicero was especially difficult to watch this season. More antagonistic than usual (which, fair, The Bear is a very expensive shitshow) but it makes a big deal about saying he wishes he would've shown up for the Berzatto kids more, but for what purpose? He says this twice, only for it to be revealed to the audience that he's basically lying to Carmy about having money. Bad writing makes this character more scummy than I think he needs to be.

The Claire subplot went absolutely nowhere this season. I think the only time we actually see Claire in present day (and not just in Carmy's blue-tinted 'Supercut' by Lorde memories of her...) is when Neil and Ted Fak are fucking with her at work about Carmy. She was a major trigger point for Carmy this season, but he never does anything to make amends to her, which I found strange considering there's a WHOLE EPISODE about Carmy "considering apologizing." Shut the fuck up. Apologize to her or don't, but she is not haunting you, Carmen. Goddamn.

Speaking of Carmy never apologizing, this season is SO full of callbacks to previous seasons and makes such specific references that the audience is expected to remember, but there are giant plot holes and references that are all but forgotten. The "I'm sorry" sign that Carmy taught Syd to do on the line when they're upset at each other is never brought up once this season, which feels lazy. Carmy did that sign when he was being an asshole last season, and it felt like that was missing. Also, some of the motifs this season just didn't make sense to me.

Finally, Carmen Berzattto is a grade-A asshole the whole season. Like, just a massive prick with no character development, no arc, no interest in healing or working through his shit or connecting with other human beings in really anyway, and honestly? He was antagonistic and demanding and harsh in a way we've never see him before, and I don't think it was for the better. I understand that it's because he's lost this humility and is turning into Chef David, which is the worst thing in the world to Carmy, but he shows 0 remorse for being an asshole this season. Him 'not being able to say sorry' isn't a good enough excuse for how truly grating his character was the entire season. I didn't enjoy watching him on screen. My favorite moments this season were the ones where Carmy was no where to be found. I loved Carmy in Seasons 1 and 2, but I wanted nothing to do with him this season. That's just bad writing.

PHEW, that was a lot! Okay my loves, thanks for sticking through all that. Please let me know your thoughts and hot takes too!! Anyway, stan Natalie Berzatto, and pick up some fucking C-folds, yeah?

[warblogs17282]

I wonder what mental health services/support and rehab are like in Helluva Boss.

Like we know there's rehab, as seen with Barbie Wire in s2 e5 and Verosika in s1 e3, for alcohol and drugs. But that doesn't really tell us much about mental health services, or show that the rehab is even effective, considering both of them got back into their addictions after they got out of rehab.

So it wouldn't really be a stretch to assume mental health services are quite bad, even more so for a diagnosis. As we both know, Blitz and Stolas are very clearly suffer from mental disorder(s) and/or are neurodivergent. It makes a lot of sense why those two didn't get diagnosed, it would be a problem, mainly it could quite possibly screw up the respective abuse both fathers gave to their children.

Also, considering Blitz did go to a therapist before but never was able to take it seriously really does not paint mental health services in a good light as well, sure Blitz has deep rooted trauma and has developed strong negative habits to try and ignore the deep rooted problems he has, just like Stolas, both of them slipped through the mental health system, got ignored for various reasons, if there's even one to begin with.

Now, Stolas does have those anti-depressants he takes, but without follow up to them with a professional, it really doesn't mean a whole lot, like they're just trying the bare minimum so that Stolas can survive, instead of adding that bare minimum with something else, to create an actual solution that leads to actual healing. Of course the deep rooted abuse of the Goetia, Paimon and Stella in particiular wouldn't allow that actual healing because it would wake Stolas up to the truth, breaking the abuse they had tried so hard to keep up for years upon years. Making Stolas slip through the system as a result.

Finally, we have the alcoholism Stolas has a bad case of, twice in s2 e1, with the second time in that episode Stolas getting blackout drunk to numb the pain, and another case in apology tour, where Stolas gets incredibly drunk, having an entire bottle in his hands at one point, and stealing someone else's drink, leading to that one-night stand which let's be real there's a good chance Stolas is gonna regret that one when he wakes up. It makes sense why he didn't go to rehab for this, while I read somewhere that Stolas finds the alcoholism embarassing, the deep rooted abuse prevents him from seeking help, plus no one else really knows how bad the alcoholism is for Stolas, so no one else can actually say to Stolas 'hey you should probably seek help for this', so he just stays in this cycle of being dependant on alcohol to numb the pain away.

Most likely than ever, the only way Stolas actually is able to get into scope how bad it's gotten and actually get help, it's gonna start by telling/accidentally slipping it to someone, who might actually wake Stolas up to that specific problem in his life, which may also lead into Stolas starting to come to terms with some of the others problems in his life as well he needs to work on.

[ollycohens]

oh no you guys. i’m going to spew things i’ve realized while rewatching umbrella academy. I’m realizing were all being too sucked into fanon things after being stuck without canon content for so long. We have convinced ourselves Five acts like a mean mean dude to everyone but rewatching, i’ve realized he’s only stressed and is saying things out of panicked anger, especially in s1 with the apocalypse dooming over them. he acts soft to his siblings multiple times, he’s really not as mean as we write him in fanfiction. he is a little crap though, that’s for sure, and i love him for that <3

also realizing that the siblings don’t hate five. they just literally don’t know him at all. he came back a completely different person after 17 years for the siblings, they don’t know five, he’s a stranger so of course they’re gonna be cold to him. it’s like, “i don’t know you well, but you’re always going to be my brother in the end”.

ALSO. for those who ship some of the siblings, uhm… i’ve seen a lot of you guys try to prove that they don’t see eachother as siblings and more like academy students, but they very much say in just about every episode that they see eachother as siblings. they don’t actually SAY that word by word but they say things like “she’s our sister”, or “our dad”. if they say OUR dad… bro. i’m not even going to continue, you can put it together yourself. But, i do realize why people ship the siblings. I am not defending incest shippers but with umbrella academy i can see why people have resorted to it. only 3 of the characters in the main sibling cast has romantic partners. people like shipping people, people love writing romantic relationships, but with only diego/lila, dave/klaus, and sissy/viktor, (i’m not going to count five/dolores for now) people are desperate with the need to ship the rest of the siblings with someone, and since there are only a few actual canon characters in the show that interact with our main 7, people start shipping them together… yikes. anywho, that’s all for that peice. i blame the show writers as well for shipping luther/allison, they did not have to do that, but i’m hoping it was only to convey the severity of what childhood trauma does to people.

ALSO THIS HERE SHOOK ME. I actually think Reginald cares for the siblings. i hate to say it, but it’s true. caring for them does not mean being good, though. he was a horrible father, and person, but he genuinely did care for the siblings, in a like, “being the best is the best thing for you, i will make you better, for your sake, even if you don’t know it now, you will see that i am right” kind of way.

also why has NOBODY MENTIONED THIS. in season 2 when diego first reunites with five in the asylum, while he’s walking into the visitors room, he’s staring at five with this heartfelt, soft look, and then says “five…” in the most soft spoken voice ever 😭 your honor i love them

ALSO UGHHH THIS. IM GOING TO FREAK OUT ABOUT CAMERAWORK AND METAPHORS HERE SO BARE WITH ME. we as a fandom complain about the lack of flashbacks five has due to his ptsd. we’ve seen his first flashback since getting back to his family in s1 during the van scene when he gets triggered by those kids playing and starts thinking about his own childhood, i’m guessing. i ate that scene up, and was sad to see that be one of the only deeply vulnerable scenes he has in the season, and during my first watch i thought they’d never bring it back up. but they do!! i may be stupid for not realizing but whatever. in season 2, when five is trying to explain at elliot’s with all his siblings around that another apocalypse is coming, everyone starts talking about each other. as someone who studies film and camerawork, i love this scene. we see the camera focus on five as it slowly zooms in. it doesn’t switch scenes at all as the siblings voices overlap and echo over eachother. this whole scene conveys him getting overwhelmed and he starts to zone out, starting to think of the nuclear war he saw his siblings in. the scenes of the war start quickly switching through, showing many different scenes of it before it switches back to five, who says “guys, you all die. i want to forget it but i can’t” which just UGH its so well done there. if you think about it, he was starting to slip into another flashback. he was triggered by talking about their deaths in the war but was handling it well until the siblings started fighting, where we see the overlapping voices happen. it portrays him losing control and being unable to pull it back together with too much going on for him to focus on grounding himself. we DO however, see that five was able to pull himself out before he fell too deep into the flashback. i love how they show this through them still having the scene showing the war, but then fives voice starts talking over the scene which is still focusing on the war as if he was pushing it back and forcing himself to come back to the present.

thank you for reading if you’ve made it this far, i will continue to freak out another time <3

[66sharkteeth]

NUH UH MR./MS./MX.SHARK, YOU GON TAKE THAT BREAK IF YOU NEED IT AND IF PEOPLE LEAVE, WHATEVER SCREW THEM THEYRE MISSING OUT ON A DAMN GOOD WEBTOON! IF YOU NEED TIME, TAKE THAT TIME!

That was probably a little too aggressive sorry-

But what I'm saying is that you need to take breaks, I get burnt out working on small little procreate drawings so I definitely understand how you'd get burnt out making CoB (my now fave webtoon on the platform) I'm also a silent reader so I don't comment and I try to like all the episodes. But still, your mental and physical health should come before your comic, if anything take like a 2 month break, I'd sure as hell wait and most of the other anons would too! Your doing amazing and your comic is great, I just wish I could help you out on patreon but I can't due to underage.

i appreciate the gesture!! unfortunately it's just not that easy... 😭

like trust me, if there were no consequences to breaks, i'd definitely take more and longer ones! but unfortunately there are Very Much Consequences. I only get paid per episode I turn in, so 2 months of not turning episodes is 2 months of no income. But honestly, that's not even my real problem. I have enough saved up to survive a month or two of no real income. The real issue is reader retention.

I know every time talks of breaks come up, creators get tons of encouraging messages promising that they'll stick around or that their "true fans" won't drop it, but unfortunately, the people that applies to is only really a very small percent of our readership. :( The sad fact is, every time we take a break more than like...a week, it does a huge hit to our numbers and performance, and that directly correlates to our income, eligibility for raises, and sometimes even renewing our contracts.

So while I assure you every creator, including myself, couldn't be more grateful for readers like you who stick around no matter how long the break is, the sad fact is, 90% of our audience are very casual, not even seeing posts like this, and very likely to just forget or drop our comics during an extended break. We know you loyal readers will stick around and we love you for that, but unfortunately, we really rely heavily on that much more casual majority that is way less avid.

[bee-named-alex]

OMG. ok so IWTV s2 ep8... Finished it like two minutes ago so here are my thoughts. SPOILERS.

Yeah no there's no way I can wait for like two years for the next season. No fucking way.

This episode was amazing. I don't want to say masterpiece (because I'm sure there are flaws that I'm just not observant enough to see) but it is for sure the word I'm thinking.

Lemme try and go somewhat chronologically.

The start, heartbreaking, the speech "the suit changes nothing" oh my hell. The rocks that's fucked no thank you. Armand saving Louis "again" and Louis not even wanting to be alive. The way he talks about it "My rage was denied, my rage killed..." like he was out of his body and acting on autopilot (like he seems to do a lot actually)

His burning down the theater and killing of Santiago filled me with so much joy. They very much deserved it and omg he got them. He was like an angel of revenge (and he looked angelic too, sorry, no I cannpt be normal, he was gorgeous)

Armand's "I'll spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you" and Louis' "You can't" and yes he cannot but he will try (by erasing your memories i guess lol)

Meeting with Lestat in Magnus' lair hurt. "Here's your death" and the kiss (after not even wanting to be with armand really and just doing it to hurt lestat) and the speech after and we're basically threatning him with loneliness again and it's just so... no words really. Hurtful and tragic for Lestat (especially since he was the one to save him like that's fuckeddd)

Dubai. "That's the end of it" halfway through the episode and their weird happiness like it was obvious something was gonna get fucked and I'm glad it did.

Investigative journalist Daniel Molloy using his powers for good aka making these two vamipires divorce (which he almost did 50 years ago but this time it's on purpose). Love him.

I love how he eases Louis with the little stuff, the discrepancies (that were in the show on purpose they make no mistakes yay), and how with every second Louis doubts everything more and more and how with every second Armand's eyes show a little more fear.

Lestat actually being the one to save Louis wasn't totally unexpected but tbh Armand kinda had me fooled. Not in this really but like I thought he was a passive participant of the trial like he just didn't intervene and not that he was the fucking director??

And now I'm not sure if he just didn't love Louis as much as we thought or if he was actually that much of a coward. Probably the second one tho, given how much he did to secure Louis' love (gaslight, lie, change memories... you know totally normal stuff) and how afraid he is to be losing it now.

Louis fucking Armand up even if it's just a little is great, I have been waiting for it. Go away Armand and think about what you did. (I love you so much but nope rn you're not staying)

And then Louis goes to New Orleans and meets Lestat at his lowest and omg my heart hurts (thank god for "siri pause" it made me laugh)

And their conversation about Louis' turning and Claudia and San Francisco and the hurt and the tears and the little voice cracks and there I was crying too. With every word I wanted to push them together so that they would fucking hug and then they finally did and I know they'll be alright (as alright as one can be in this situation)

Then the tv thing gave me fucking whiplash like lmao. Fictional memoir my ass. Don't you disrespect my boy Daniel like that. Speaking of, Daniel has been turned. OMFG? Like I knew he would eventually and I knew it would be Armand but I didn't expect it now??? And we didn't see it but fingers crossed we get it later.

And there must be something more to it, Armand with his disgust wouldn't turn him just out of anger, so there must've been another reason (Devil's minion or maybe to save his life idk)

Louis in his tower alone (? Lestat is getting ready for tour I hope) and he knows that they are after him. But he owns the night. Powerful shit. He might have a death wish also idk.

I just. Am done. This was something else and there was a lot of it and my mind is still spinning a little.

Everyone who worked on this show deserves the world and the actors even more so and I need the next season like yesterday.

[oops-all-tentacles]

Doctor Who this week:

[tanicus-caesareth]

guarana drama, damage control

[lisbonsteresa]

oh it's horrible; i love it

[coquelicoq]

my sister has me watching this french reality dating show and the subtitles always take a little while to kick in so at the beginning i'm just like mes amis...i do not know what you are yelling at each other...can u fight a little slower...pour moi...un petit ralentissement s'il vous plaît...un peu plus d'articulation...fâchez-vous si vous insistez, mais tranquillement...

[hauntingblue]

Sanji has adquired top sad wet cat status

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

WAIT TWO EPISODES LEFT???!?!!?

HOW IS THAT RIGHT?? THAT CAN'T BE POSSIBLE

Okay we'll think about that in a second lol

Oh dang oof o.o

It's literally on fire 😬

Ope dang why is that scar so big and like idk weird looking xd xD

O.O NEVERMIND THERE'S MY ANSWER

UHHHH WHAT THE HECK??!?

Uh ohh some girl 😬😬

OH NO this ain't gonna be good :(( yeah Grace is right-

CORIQBXUFSNLP GRAAACE???!!?!!!?

NAH GRACE NOT HER Y'ALL AIN'T DOING THIS TO ME

I mean I'm sure she'll be fine but still my girl don't deserve this 😭 xD

UHH OHHHH

O.O 😬😬😬😬

OHHH NO OH NO OH NO O.O 😳😬😬😭😭

THISSSS AIN'T GOOD THIS AIN'T GOOD THIS AIN'T GOOOOD

O.O

ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ

Oh gosh xdd

Btw we don't talk about how I'm an hour behind lol

Typing this right around 9 XD

3 minutes after now but I would've been ending here around 9 if my wifi hadn't been struggling for a minute lol

Also ohh it's probably two episodes until the finale lol

I thought of that after a minute (like around the end of the promo lol when I first saw it actually at the end of the show instead of an hour later lol) and now after another minute I think it probably is xD

I had a second to check the episode count and stuff lol (not how many there are, though I couldn't remember that off the top of my head for a minute during all this xD, but what number we're on lol)

But DANG o.o

I live in fear :'))

That was the last of my last thoughts! Now it's time for the. . .

REVIEW

I loooved this episode!! I thought it was great :D. It had the DRAMA o.o but also some really hilarious moments XDD. And AAHHH not only tarlos (and Nanteo!!) crumbs but talk of the WEDDING TOOO :DD!! I mean I know it is in most episodes but still xD. Loved the multiple references by Gabriel 🥰🥰, plus talking about Lou 2 by Owen LOL. Not technically wedding talk but eh you know talk about them xD. Anyway! I am also SO GLAD everything worked out with Tommy :D. And I'm happy we got to see everyone 🥰🥰. Also, I'm scared for next episode o.o. Now that time I saw of someone mentioning that Grace and Carlos were gonna be working together again soon makes sense xDD o.o. I figure that's what it's gonna be, now that I remember I saw that mentioned lol. But! I'll talk more about that in a second :). Back to this episode, it was silly at points (even within the drama, like the little mystery music when Paul was laying it all out at the end xD) but still made the drama work, and it was just great :DD.

Now it's time for the individual parts!

Marjan, Nancy, and Mateo! Putting them together just because they're our besties and we didn't see them too much this episode :)). And pretty much whenever we did they were with each other xDD. Anyway lol! They were great this episode :DD. I'm sure they were all great at their jobs lol. We didn't actually see it xD. But yeah! They're all amazing :DD. I love each of them 🥰🥰🥰❤️.

TK and Carlos! The beginning was amazing XDD. But :OO Carlos how could you? XDD. I don't think I'm as betrayed as TK though LOL. Anyway, they were great this episode xD 🥰. And AAHHHH we got so many little cute moments of them this episode :D, I loved them all 🥰🥰. My boys :)). I love them 🥰🥰❤️❤️. And I'm sure they were both great at their jobs :D lol. About next episode though! Even though I don't like knowing too much about the episode beforehand, I couldn't resist reading the next episode's synopsis lol xD. I saw it right there when I was checking what episode we were on AND I had to lol. But :OO!! TK's uncle coming to visit!! He gets to meet him :DD!! AAHHHH I'm so glad he does 🥰🥰. And he comes with dramatic news o.o. Now for the interesting piece of information that Robert (that's his face right? Owen's brother lol) is sharing, I wasn't sure at first! Had no clue for a minute lol. But then I thought, maybe he has donor kids? Like, he donated sperm? Or Owen's dad :o? One of the two, I think. I mena if it is that lol. Becuase it would affect the family, if like those people wanted to reach out or whatever, but also it matches the episode title :OO! Right?? See that's what really cinched it for me lol. So yeah, I think that's definitely a possibility :))! I said cinched but I'm not actually sure, I just think there's a pretty good chance :)! And I mean, hey, it would be interesting! Anyway, I am really glad they get to meet :D. And that we get to see them meet, lol xD. Anyway! There was an interesting tidbit about Carlos next episode too :D. AAAHHHHHH WE GET HIM WORKING WITH GRACE AGAIN!!! YAYYY :DDD!! I'm so excited for that 🥰🥰. I mean, not the organ trafficking ring ರ⁠_⁠ರ, and the drama that looks like it'll come with it (more on that in Grace's section), but for the storyline :D. Anyway! I'm excited :)). But back to this episode lol: I loved them, they were great :)).

Grace and Judd! They were great this episode :DD. Them wanting the tea from Tommy was so funny XDD. And though we didn't see much of Judd this episode, he was still amazing :)). I'm sure he as great at his job. I love him 🥰🥰. Now for Grace; girl could not mind her own business lol. Nah, I'm just kidding XD, but I'm glad they did get all that sorted out. And honestly for to not want to hear people talk about your friend that way :')). My besties <333. As in, my babeys who are besties, basically lol. Basically that's what I mean, anyway. But yeah, she was great <33. And I'm sure sh was amazing at her job too :). I love her 🥰🥰. Now, for next episode o.o! I already spoke on it a bit, but I'm a bit tense for that one 😬. I didn't think of it being a possibility that she has having andidnk with the guy on purpose till I saw a comment on the promo that said she said the cheating type and was probably bait. I just figured she ran into him (not literally). But I do think she's probably bait. It makes sense! Still, in fear for my girl 😭😭💔❤️. I'm excited to see her and Carlos working together again!! Anyway, yeah, she was great this episode (both she and Judd were) :)). I'm glad everything worked out 🥰.

These next few will probably be shorter because a) I'm tired, b) most of the stuff from these past two paragraphs was because of theories for the next episode, and the people left weren't listed lol. Also, I'm not caring about the usual review order - no matter how tired I am, I'm posting this tonight xD. Basically I just mean I'm finishing this now even though I'm tired - I wanted to do a review without saving it as a draft, and having it at the back of my mind all week, so I am xD. Anyway lol!

Tommy! YESS GIRL SLAYYYY :DDDD!!! I'm so glad she and Trevor are okay :DD, and I'm so glad she stood up for herself >:DD 🥰!!! WHOOO 🥰🥳🥳🥰!! She did so great, it was awesome :)). Just- honestly just go off bestie, lol xD. The breakup was sad though 😭😭😭💔. I was hoping it wouldn't last, and I'm glad it didn't :')). They're sweet and they both deserve to be happy <333. Anyway :)). I'm sure she was great at her job this episode 🥰. I love her :'DDD ❤️❤️❤️.

Paul! My guyyyy :DDD. YESSS!!! He slayed so hard 🥰🥰. I'm so proud of him :D. From the little bit at the beginning (that I'm surprised wasn't brought back up lol, like at the hang, but in my mind definitely happens off screen before what we saw lol) - Carlos how could you by the way >:'O lol - to the main plot and case of the episode :D. He slays so hard 🥰🥰. I'm really glad he managed to solve it, to :D. Like, the whole situation wise lol - it needed solving xD. And clearly the police were already leaning one way. Even if that doesn't matter, it would've taken much longer. So yeah, I'm really proud of Paul 🥰🥰. He's just so cool :DD xD. Related but not the reason I'm proud lol. Anyway! I'm sure he was great at his job this episode 🥰. His actual job, not the one we saw, though he was clearly amazing at that :)) 🥰. And I mean, it kinda is his job xD. It's a psrt of it, anyway lol, sometimes. But yeah! I love him <3333 🥰.

Owen! I'm glad Kendra's innocent :D. I wasn't sure, but I didn't think they'd have ANOTHER crazy lady lol. You just never know though xD. But I am glad she's not :)). I felt awful for her though 😭💔. Poor girl's going through it <33. Especially with trying to DIE at the end too xdd. Not literally trying, by the way lol. I've mostly stopped feeling bad for he husband though xD. Bro was trying to kill her, karma lol. But yeah, I'm glad everything turned out okay and no one was a murderer :)). Well I mean, even the husband wasn't, but I mean none of them were to blame xD. And there wasn't another one running around lol. I'm also glad both Owen and Kendra survive xD. We love to see TK worrying about his dad though :)) 🥰🥰. I'm also glad everything worked out between Owen and Gabriel :D! That would've been one awkward wedding if not 😅 XD. Though, forgetting it was so soon, I did figure they'd resolve it by then. Or thought they probably would lol. But hey, I'm extra happy it was this episode :)). Not exactly the team up we expected for them xD, maybe even not the one we wanted lol, but it was still great nonetheless :)). And I'm glad he apologized, but Gabriel wasn't TOO out of line lol - he did share confidential information with Owen that he then blabbed to the number one suspect, even if it was for the greater good. I mean, he's not it before and it NOT end up well lol (Sadie, and even though it was fake, Billy in 2x12). But! Still, I'm glad theyre okay again :)). They are gonna make great consuegros 🥰🥰 lol. Also I find it funny that neither Owen nor TK knew what it meant lol. Idk, it's just a little parallel lol. Anyway! I'm sure Owen was great at his job this episode :). Though I don't know if he was actually on shift once today xD. Eh, anyway lol. I'm glad everything's good 🥰🥰. I love him :D ❤️❤️ <3.

Overall, I really enjoyed this episode! I thought it was great :DD. I really liked the two main plots, and the little side bits were fun too :)). I think the drama and humor balanced really well! Especially because somehow the murder investigation plot was a lot more severe/dire, and the other one would appear to be more a funny storyline, but it had its own drama and they still someone went along well with each other xD. It did provide a bit of a lighter side, balancing the episode, but it definitely still had its drama lol! Anyway, I feel like next episode will be a bit more drama 😬. Well, maybe not more, and maybe not less jokes, but less of a closer to comedic relief plotline. Tommy's wasn't of course, but it was deifnitley lighter, and the bits with Grace especially were on the funnier side lol. I think the Grace and Carlos storyline will be the more serious one (with laugh moments still), but I think it'll be a bit more dramatic all around. I'm struggling a bit to explain, but yeah xD. It just feels like it'll have a bit of andifferent tone from this one, even though Tommy's eas definitely dramatic and had a good amount of serious moments. Maybe it just because we're drawing closer to the end of the season ┐⁠(⁠ ⁠∵⁠ ⁠)⁠┌. Like they said, two episodes left - it just makes it feel like it's gonna be more intense XD. But again, two episodes left until the finale lol. Anyway, that took a while to explain, but yeah XD. Plus we'll have calls, or at least the one, so it'll be different in that way. And that call looks wild, by the way o.o. Anyway, yeah, I'm definitely really excited :DD. But I'm scared and way nervous too 😳😬 o.o. Which I think is fair lol. I'm sure everything will turn out okay though 🥰. But back to this episode, I thought it was really great :). I think it worked really well :D. And I'm glad Paul got a moment (a full episode :D) to shine 🥰🥰. Also, I'm happy we got to see everybody 🥰. Even if only a bit, for some people :).

So yeah! I loved this episode, I thought it was really great. I'm nervous for the next one! This has been my review of. . .

9-1-1: Lone Star, Season 4, Episode 14: Tongues Out

It was great! I'm super excited for the next episode, but I'm pretty scared too. I'll be back next week with my review of. . .

9-1-1: Lone Star, Season 4, Episode 15: Donors

See you next week!

[toastsnaffler]

SUDDENLY STARTED RAINING SO HARD WE ARE SO FUCKING BACK

[violet-snail-sfw]

The first time I saw a trans woman was in porn. I was pretty young then, in early middle school I think. My first thoughts about trans women only existed in a sexual context, since that was the only place I saw us mentioned

The next time I saw trans people mentioned was a TV show presumably about trans people and transitioning. I didn't watch it, only saw the description because even as a kid I had already internalized the idea that it was taboo and I would get in trouble if my parents walked in and I was watching it

Eventually I saw enough TV and cop shows to see an episode with the dead trans hooker trope. It further reinforced the building idea that trans women were something else, separate from "normal" people and always on the outskirts of society

And then Caitlyn Jenner came out. At my Catholic middle school there were few kind things said about her and plenty of nasty comments, but this was the first time I saw trans people being publicly talked about

In high school my views on trans people started to fracture. On one hand, I was being pushed the idea that gender was about what's in your pants, that if you've got a dick your a man and there's nothing that can be done about it. On the other hand, early high school me had stumbled across some gender change erotica and quickly became obsessed with it. While it wasn't great representation, it was still pretty positive about transitioning. The people in those stories were always happier afterwards

I struggled to reconcile what parts of society were saying about trans people with my daydreaming about what I'd do if I woke up the next morning as a girl. Eventually I decided that it was just a fetish. I just thought it was hot, there was no way I could be trans because I was just a normal person. I wasn't weird or a spectacle for others to gawk at, I was just a person

Around that time I also met a trans person in passing for the first time. One of the trans guys at my high school was in one of the musicals that I went to because some of my friends were also in them. When I was talking to my friends about it after someone mentioned the trans guy and that he was trans. I wasn't really sure what to think so I kinda just didn't think about it. Thinking back, there were a few trans guys at my high school but I don't think there was a single out trans woman

Eventually in college I actually met some trans and nonbinary people. In some classes we introduced ourselves on the first day with names and pronouns which was my first exposure to people using pronouns other than just he/him and she/her. I had a few classes with trans and nonbinary people, including a survey of transgender studies class I took in my last semester. I had plenty of excuses for why I was taking it (I needed a few more credits to graduate. It still had room open. It fit with my other classes. It seemed interesting. I'm trying to be a good ally.)

Around this time as well I found some trans creators online like ContraPoints and Philosophy Tube (whom I had watched before she came out as trans). I was weirdly excited and interested when Odyssey Eurobeat came out as trans and I went to go listen to some of her music right after I heard. I was starting to have examples of trans people just being people. Not just porn stars or public spectacles, but people

Later I met and befriended a few trans women, one of whom was extremely open about her transness and happened to share a video which started the initial steps of my egg cracking and figuring out who I am now

If I had actually known any trans women, if the world had been kinder to trans people, if representation of trans women as people existed and was well known, I might have been able to realize who I was sooner. I would have been able to exist as myself for more than a tiny fragment of my life so far

Representation matters, both in media and in daily life. Trans people being out and open about who they are made it possible for me to realize that about myself. Please never stop being who you are

[hareofhrair]

I wanted to put this one the previous post but it was long and this is a tangent but- In regards to the hypothetical "If House was my doctor I'd just tell him everything. Rip to all his other patients but I'm different."

The whole point of the show is that you wouldn't. Like a major theme of the show is about how the various shames and stigmas and habitual dishonesties that plague our societies both metaphorically and literally kill us. "Everybody lies" isn't just a cynical catchphrase, it's the shows thesis. Because of how we operate as a society, everyone feels compelled to suppress and hide things and that inevitably leads to suffering.

And there are plenty of episodes where this is obvious, ie "I cheated on my partner and gave them an STD." But there's also much more of "This little girl went through early puberty and because of the way our society stigmatizes women's bodies her single father never discussed puberty with her and she was so afraid and ashamed of her new pubic hair that she tried to shave it without telling anyone and mutilated herself, leading everyone to think she'd been abused and throwing off the whole case until House figured out her hormones were going crazy because she'd been exposed to her father's low T medicine, which he hid because of how our society regards masculinity, which he started taking because he began dating a younger woman (because of shame stemming from our society's unrealistic expectations wrt sex in relationships) which he was hiding from his kids, because of shame regarding our societies toxic views on monogamy."

A particular episode stands out as a really good example. S06E15 "Private Lives," which aired in 2010 but was fairly prescient about where social media was heading. The patient was a blogger who documented literally every moment of every day for her followers. She made it very clear she left *nothing* out, from her and her boyfriend's sex life to, eventually, asking for feedback from her followers on whether to get her heart valve replaced with one from a pig or a "vegan" plastic one. She handed the whole blog over to House as soon as he took the case and the team poured through the whole thing. Surely this is proof you're wrong about everybody lying, the team says to House. She's give us her whole life and you still can't find out what's wrong! Spoiler, it turned out the crucial symptom that allowed House to put it all together? Was the one thing she *didn't* include in the blog- Her bowel movements. Shame and stigma around talking about *poop* nearly killed this woman. It was also a detail that should have been picked up immediately by a normal doctor, who would have asked about her bowel movements as part of the standard checklist of diagnostic questions. But this woman was so confident that she'd laid out every relevant detail of her life in her blog, she wouldn't answer those questions, obfuscating what she was actually ashamed of underneath a pile of curated, rationalized, narritivized junk she could pretend was proof of a lack of shame and not simply a skill at creative writing.

When I say "I'd just tell House everything" is ridiculous, I don't just mean "well, because of the way the show works, you HAVE to be hiding SOMETHING." I mean literally, you- because you are a human being- are ashamed of *something.* And because you are a human being, the more info you try to give House the more deeply you will bury whatever it is you're actually ashamed of. And, because of the way the show works, that *will* end up being the key to what's making you sick.