#i could kind of ignore some of the s1 problems because they could potentially be fixed in s2 (i guess? idk)

[munadyke]

currently thinking abt how I was really depressed freshman year and lached onto the s&b release to have something fun to hyperfixate on (embarrassing<3) but snapped out of my love for it a few months later to realize it wasn't that good and yet somehow between then and now I convinced myself that maybe season two would be good...... . .. SIGH

[cookinguptales]

1 and 25 🖤

the character everyone gets wrong & common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing

I think I can answer these together, tbh.

There are some criticisms of 4.09 I think are very valid, and others... less so. Personally, I didn't like the writing in the episode at all. I was annoyed at the wasted potential of the Marwa and Freddie storylines and just... did not think the script was there, honestly.

(I am also irritated by a lot of the backlash to the backlash, especially the people who insist that Marwa was never an important character and there's no reason to be irritated at the way she was written off.)

That said, there are some criticisms of the episode that kind of make me roll my eyes.

I usually just ignore takes I don't agree with, but one that I keep getting over and over in my inbox is that Nandor was so uniquely awful to Guillermo in 4.09 that the ship is Over, that no one should ship them anymore, that Nandor deserves to suffer before he gets the God that is Guillermo, etc. and like.

Okay, I've already written about how Nandor's characterization was actually pretty normal in 4.09. He hurt Guillermo terribly but he didn't mean to. He was selfish and oblivious but ultimately meant well and was willing to sacrifice his happiness for Guillermo's. We've seen this pattern since s1, with particular parallels in the literal first episode with the glitter portrait. I'm not actually that bothered by Nandor's behavior in the episode.

I'm not here to talk about Nandor, though, actually. I get much more annoyed by the way people talk about Guillermo. Like... I love Guillermo. He's probably my favorite character on tv. But I love how complicated and fucked up he is. I love how most of his problems are entirely of his own devising. I love that he is every bit as selfish, fucked up, and cruel as the vampires are if not more.

His smiles get to me as much as anyone and I think he's adorable! Endearing! Warm and fuzzy and sweet! But he's also a character that specifically preys on the weak in order to make his own life cushier. He specifically seeks out lonely humans and pretends to be their friend in order to feed them to his family. He makes fun of how "pathetic" they are largely to mentally separate himself from prey. I feel like he's especially scornful towards anyone who reminds him too much of himself, honestly, and he shows them particular cruelty.

He hurts humans to get in good with the vampires, but he also does it because it makes him feel powerful. It makes him feel like he's better than all the other stupid livestock he feeds to his family. It makes him feel like he deserves to be turned. When he destroys them, it's a way for him to metaphorically destroy the parts of himself he hates, too.

Guillermo! You talk mad shit about virginal nerds for a dude who plays Fortnite with your nerd-ass friend and was afraid of kissing for 30 years!

So when I get comments on my fic or whatever telling me that Guillermo is far too sweet and good and understanding for mean, evil Nandor I am just like??? On what planet???

The two of them are both disasters and they deserve each other. The living embodiment of this AITA judgment.

And being real with you, I think the fandom characterization of Guillermo as a cinnamon roll who's never done anything wrong (actual phrasing in some messages I get) is boring. Guillermo is fun because he can give as good as he gets.

Like -- I genuinely think the reason why 4.09 didn't work for so many people is that the writers forgot that Guillermo has power. At the end of the very first episode, Nandor forgets how long Guillermo has been serving him, he gives him the portrait instead of turning him, he hurts his feelings -- and the scene ends with Guillermo visibly considering exposing him to sunlight. Their relationship works only because Guillermo consents to it. He could leave at any time. He could kill Nandor at any time. He just chooses not to because he's just as fucked up as Nandor is.

But in 4.09, the bad things that happen to Guillermo largely are not because of the choices he's made. (Like lying to Freddie, which he never really seems to need to answer for.) Freddie mistreats Guillermo, Nandor mistreats Guillermo, the Freddie clone really mistreats Guillermo, and Guillermo never gets any of them back. The last shot of him is him crying, heartbroken, through no fault of his own.

I think that's what really bothered people. The weird tilt in the power differential that didn't make a lot of sense or fit with other writing decisions in the series. Guillermo is repeatedly victimized for weak laughs in that episode, and he's not given the chance to stand up for himself other than briefly yelling at Nandor and then getting victimized further. It's just... not fun to watch when it feels more like it's punching down, y'know?

I think the writers framing Guillermo as a weak and helpless victim in that episode is as boring as the cinnamon roll stuff. I need the push and pull of Guillermo's own decisions and selfishness tearing him apart. I need the weird, fucked-up power play between him and Nandor. I need Guillermo to have a fallback plan, which is that the door is always open. His stakes are always sharp.

I guess I just feel like people forget that Guillermo belongs in this horrible little family because he's horrible, too. He does not deserve better than the fucked-up thing he has with Nandor because he designed the fucked-up thing he has with Nandor. Every morning he wakes up and consents to the fucked-up thing he has with Nandor. He's addicted to the fucked-up thing he has with Nandor.

Because! Guillermo! is fucked up! too!

He's power-hungry and petty and vindictive and cruel and one of the sweetest people on tv. I love how complicated and interesting he is. How he treats people in his in-groups vs. his out-groups. How easily he can dehumanize and depersonalize his victims. How uncomfortable he feels when they are forcibly humanized without his consent. How he can simultaneously be so kind and caring and so utterly soulless.

Guillermo is victimized by the vampires because he allows them to do so, and then he takes out that frustrated powerless feeling on the people he deems weaker than him. And I love that for him.

So I guess my answer to both questions is -- yeah, I hate the way people characterize Guillermo sometimes, and I'm tired of hearing about how a nasty person like Nandor doesn't deserve a blameless, faultless victim like Guillermo. It makes them both less interesting!

[facepalming-since-chernobyl]

A summary of why CW Supergirl sucks, born from a year of a growing frustration.

A summary of why CW Supergirl sucks, born from a year of growing frustration.

1.Inabilty to take a risk.

The only one they took was making Alex lesbian and Nia the first trans hero story. Then – fucking nothing. Good characters going dark? Not even Kara’s clone aka RedDaughter. Lobotomizer, who you know, murdered Adam, Lex and wanted to lobotomize entire humanity and hurt Kara “every way imaginable”, all of it was portrayed as “not her fault, blinded by feelings, dark place blah blah”, basically it was all Lex and Kara’s fault, no consequences for her character or arc.

There was nothing controversial, or when it was something like that (aka Lena murdering and lobotomizing people) it showed as something not that important, normal stuff, solved in one ep, no biggie, she was sad, ok???

I was also not even ONCE afraid for the main bunch of the characters. I was fucking SURE no one was going to die and yes, only addictions, villains, one ep randoms or secondary characters I didn’t give a shit about, died. That means there was basically no feelings, even during emotional scenes, what made this show super bland and in the end, forgettable.

-Plus, they knew they got the final season, they knew they could have done anything they wanted. And what they did was making Kara taking her glasses off. If this doesn’t fully describe what kind of shit this show was, then I’m Santa.

Basically WASTED POTENTIAL.

2.Degenaration of the main character.

Yep, sorry not sorry, as much as I love Kara and Melissa, who was born to play Supergirl and did everything even with the crappiest of lines, her character, looking at it from the perspective of 6 seasons, SUCKS for a few reasons:

-What made her unique in the comics, was ignored and forgotten in the show. She was made a female clone of Superman, that was treated badly by the writers. She got similar job, attitude, love interests, his villains.

What she didn’t get was satisfying conclusion (sarcasm).

In comics she was the outsider, the person torn between two places, an immigrant remembering her old life and forced to assimilate in a society of some C class planet, a girl with anger issues, bias, the guilt of being a lone survivor, a traumatized young alien. Something she couldn’t share even with her last living relative aka Clark. It all made her fleshed and complex.

But show ignored it, and made her a happy go lucky, fully assimilated perfect usamerican girl in love with humanity, uwu. What is disappointing, even if this Kara still has charm, innocence and potential - it all makes her boring in the end.

-There is no real character development for her after s1 and 2. She started as fresh hero who tried to manage her superhero, private and work life, while working on her biases. And then, dunno, we got Kara dealing with an every ep villain/issue and some other big season bad. How Kara’s as a character changed? She got more confident in her professional life as a reporter (still, a shitty one) and that’s it. All the traumas, bad shit that happened, deaths, problems, issues, lost love etc. I don’t really feel it all has changed her. I don’t even feel she is more mature in s6 than she was at the end of s2. I don’t feel anything that has happened during the whole series, changed her views, opinions, way of life. When her past experiences helped her later? She stays almost the same for the whole fucking SIX YEARS.

-It happened, because there is no real character arcs for her after s2.

In s3 there was the whole Reign aka her nemesis storyline and finding Argo and her mom, but what was the POINT of it? Beside that Kara realized she didn’t want to be krypotnian and didn’t really give a fuck about her mother, friends and people anymore…? And I still didn’t really grasp it, because the show made a shit way to explain why she didn’t feel at Argo as at in home anymore (because Earth was in danger and needed help? Because she couldn’t be Supergirl at Argo? Because…? Uhm?).

The same goes for s4, 5 and 6. What was the reason of Lobotomizer torturing and hurting Kara every way imaginable and Kara calling her a villain, if a few eps later Kara ended on the same place aka being Lena’s bestie without hard feelings, any consequences or fucking anything? What kind of impact Kara being in Phantom Zone made on her?  Fucking one ep, where she can cry in Alex’s arms and then, once again, NOTHING.

-The lack of satisfying conclusion (sarcasm again) for Kara. At the end, I have no idea what did she want, what did she dream on, what was her goal, why she couldn’t have it all, while she wanted it years ago and ALL OTHER CHARACTERS GOT IT. Basically, I don’t know why I should be happy for her, why should I root for her, in the end, I feel like I don’t even know her after six years. What is… fucking sad.

3.Heart and soul of the show. My ASS.

There is no Supergirl without Kara. It can survive without any other character, but NOT without her. And because, as I said, her character development/arc SUCK, we have a sucking show. And sorry not sorry if I upset people, but it happened because the show focused too much on other SuperFriends and other characters. Yes, Alex included. Because no, Kara and Alex are not the heart and soul of the show. Kara should have been. And I don’t get the blind, sometimes fanatical love for this relationship. It’s quite obvious it’s one of the most important relationships in the show. Still, a shocker, show would survive without it. Plus, it’s quite funny, how some people ignore the fact (confirmed by canon TWO TIMES) that for Alex more important than Kara was ALWAYS Jeremiah. Even when he was already dead. Fucking hilarious.

Anyway, my point is that even J’onn and his father got more compelling and emotional arc than Kara ever got and friendly reminder SHE GOT HER FUCKING PARENTS BACK. The same goes for Alex and Esme and Kelly. Damned Agent Liberty had a better written arc than Kara. Damn, Nxy had more compelling story arc and character development than Kara in s6. And it’s tragic.

Remind yourself when was the last time you were really invested in Kara’s story?

4.Fuck you, comic books.

I have no idea how people who actually read Supergirl’s comic books and others issues felt while watching. Kara being dumbed down (plus all the shit I have talked about). J’onn depowered. Brainiac being DUMBED DOWN and parody of himself. Mon-El depowered and in s3 cured from his allergy, zombied, bearded and forced into marriage with fucking Imra. Imra with weird powers. Garth who??? Death of Nura Nal (off screen), murdered by Brainiac. Manchester United and Agent Liberty wasted and turned into well, not anything too complex. Maggie – what? Lex – no comments, especially after how he ended.

And unfortunately, I feel that all of the original comic book characters suffered for the additions created by the show, aka Alex, Lena, Nia, Kelly. Like, you can feel they were the producers and writers “babies” and they did everything to made them cool and interesting (what ended with some weird stuff like Lobotomizer being a magical unicorn and Nia got some… weird powers. Whatever).

5.Creators hated this show, you can’t change my mind.

The fact Jessica Gossip Girl and Robert had NO FUCKING idea what to do with Kara or this show after s3 and the AK drama, is obvious. The sad fact is that the writers didn’t know what to do either. I feel like after AK, no one wanted to be associated with this show, the old writers left the show and we got bunch of new-in-the-business-folks who didn’t even care to watch past seasons.

In the end, it was quite obvious that all people involved were done with this show and just wanted out, cast included. And remembering what also the supercorp shippers have done, I can’t really blame them. Still, there was no love for this show in the creators room and it’s sad when you compare it to the shows that was leaded by producers/writers/actors who were fans themselves.

6.The show is already outdated. Focusing on so called modern problems made it forgettable and bland, when you compare it to other shows.

Yes, I talk about the Trump presidential plot in s4. Also, the whole immigration plot were so heavily, cheesy and dumbly handled, made no sense and was something we saw hundreds of times in other fiction (and it was handled 100 times better). Andrea’s alternative reality device that sucked people in it? Any Black Mirror ep about stuff like that was better and more memorable. I already don’t even remember why the device was so deadly. Technology bad? Oh, boy.

Also, I KNOW comic books were always connected to the political stuff, but you can handle it in a good and bad way. Supergirl made it usually cringy.

See how stereotypically they portrayed the president in s4. It was not even bad enough to become funny. The whole Kaznia part was nothing more than a xenophobic, stereotypical approach to Eastern Europe. Remember when J’onn said he keeps his black man appearance because he wanted to be… minority or something? Guess what? He became a black man because HANK HANSHAW WAS A BLACK MAN. There was nothing DEEP in it for fuck’s sake! M’gann? So, a white Martian who… pretends to be a green one and then keeps that, because… you know… there are better and worse Martians. Or something. You know, greens good, white bad and ugly.

Then, they did a good job with Nia’s trans-superhero story. And then, with Kelly, I see what they wanted to show, but it was a bad timing and well, all what she wanted to express was overshadowed by that one, line about Kara not getting what trauma is. The list goes on.

7. Luthors.

Cancer of the show. Sue me.

8.It’s so fucking dumb.

We all know that this show is about an alien who because of fucking sun became superpowered, can fly, wears idiotic suit and can’t be recognized because of glasses. We all get the conception. We get it. We know it’s for kids…

But there is a difference between following the worldbuilding and making shit so fucking dumb you roll your eyes so hard that you see the insides of your skull. The show treats the viewers like IDIOTS who don’t remember a shit that happened previous ep.

The… jewels or whatever it was called, that they tried to gather in s6. Not getting the idea of time travel. J’onn erasing the knowledge of Kara being Supergirl from Alex and like 10 max DEO agents, while all fucking DEO knew that, because Kara was constantly walking around as Kara Danvers in s2 and 3. And J’onn suddenly, out of nowhere refusing to read people’s minds, but being ok with changing people’s minds, but not informing that oopsie doopsie, he can’t change them back? And what was the fucking reason in the end? Writers want to tell me, that’s it more logical to change memories of Alex and TEN other people, than brainwashing ONE colonel??? Like? And the scene when Alex finally remembers, while Kara is dying after the fight with RedDaughter and her way to save her is… putting grass on her? I’m sorry? It was supposed to be emotional but I died from laughter? It was so fucking dumb that it erased cells from my brain??

And  don’t even let me start about Kara absorbing WHOLE SUN in 10 minutes because Jesus Fucking Christ people actually died watching this scene. Like, yeah, erasing sun, what bad could happen to Earth without it even for a few days. Like yeah, Kara, a living being ABSORBING FUCKING SUN. In like a few minutes. Do you know how fast the sun rays come from Sun to Earth? Probably you do, SG writers don’t. And then, she just what, farted?  And all what she absorbed came back to sun in a second? Uhmmmmmmmmmmmm…

And let’s ignore, like we ignored so many other shit, how many times Kara and other super beings totally forgot they had, ya know, superpowers, because plot needed it.

It’s all so goddamned dumb that is not even funny. And what’s worse, the show is not funny, the jokes are pathetic, it’s like watching your drunken uncle on a family gathering.

9.Contradictions, hypocrisy, blah blah blah

Do you remember how everybody was moaning how Kara is the strongest, the best, the strongest, the most unique, the strongest, the most amazing unicorn in Earth’s history? You could create a drinking game in s2 finale aka taking a shot when you heard something like that, hangover guaranteed.

It’s the whole show’s problem. Exposition and explaining instead of actually showing it in the show. They talk. All the time. Explaining everything. And then you get something contradicting.

Like how Danvers sisters are the best sisters, buddies, blah blah blah. And then we get aggressive Alex pouring her life frustrations on Kara (job, Jeremiah, Esme). And what is funny, we never really did them sitting down and really discussing it, and it’s a show about talking. I mean, of course, they would die for each other without a second of hesitation, but all people talk about are the couch scenes sniff! Sniff!, while happily ignoring the co-dependency problem.

10.Fucking fandom

Let me just say that I have a theory that says if the show is shitty and there is nothing beside the ships you can be excited about, the fandom turns into an utter ocean of crap. And maybe it would have  been not that bad, if the fandom hadn’t changed my perspective on some actress and basically made my SG experience a living hell.

If you have anything to add – be my guest ==’

[flameo-firelord-hotman]

Fortune Cookie — Zuko x GN!Reader

Genre: fluff

Warnings: one (1) swear word and some implications at the end (characters are aged up)

Words: 2k

Summary: the Gaang orders Chinese takeout, and everyone reads their fortune cookie fortunes. Yours and Zuko’s spark a little something.

A/N: I had a fortune cookie the other day, and it reminded me of that episode in S1 when they go to the fortune teller. Fun fact: I used to collect those little fortunes! 🥠 Anyway, enjoy the fic :)

Masterlist

“What can I say?” Sokka shrugged with a mouthful of takeout, “I know the best places to eat around campus.”

“I hope you aren’t full yet. We still have our fortune cookies to eat,” Suki said, dangling a wrapped cookie from her hand.

You took it from her. “Oh please, like I’d ever pass on dessert.”

She then tossed a fortune cookie to everyone else.

“Let’s share our fortunes!” Katara suggested as she unwrapped her cookie.

“Don’t tell me you actually believe these things,” Sokka sighed while rolling his eyes.

“What? They’re fun to read! I’ll start.” She broke her cookie open, removed the tiny slip of paper inside and read her fortune aloud. “Mine says ‘you will be showered with good luck.’ Maybe that means I’ll do well on my midterms!”

“Hmm...mine says ‘nothing is impossible to a willing heart.’ That’s inspiring, I like it!” Aang said with a sweet smile.

“I’ll go next!” Suki said with a mouthful of cookie. “‘If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.’ That’s quite true!” She nodded. Everyone hummed in agreement.

“Alright, you know what. I’ll read mine,” Sokka decided. He squinted his eyes at the tiny piece of paper. “It says...‘you will be hungry in one hour.’ Seriously?!”

Everyone burst out laughing. “I think we can all agree, of all the fortunes so far, yours is the most true,” you chuckled.

“Okay then, [y/n], what does yours say?” Sokka sneered.

“Let’s see,” you said as you delicately held the slip of paper to your eyes. “‘Your love life will soon be happy and harmonious.’”

“Oooh, that’s quite a fortune, [y/n]!” Katara commented.

“I wonder who you’ll be with?” Aang pondered.

Suki nudged you with her elbow. “Someone handsome I bet!”

You never really believed these things, but you wished it was true, and you wished it was Zuko. You’ve always had a crush on him. Since you met him, there hasn’t been a single day you didn’t think about him. You hoped that someday he would confess to feeling the same way about you.

For just a second, you glanced at Zuko. He was staring at you, so you quickly averted your gaze to not seem obvious. Was that a hint of blush on his cheeks? No, it must’ve been your imagination, or maybe the lighting.

Heat built up in your face from feeling a little embarrassed, not just because of Zuko, but also from all the teasing. “Oh, stop guys,” you giggled.

“Yeah, stop guys. I wanna hear Toph and Zuko’s,” Sokka said in a bored tone.

“You’re just upset that your fortune is so stupid, it’s true,” Katara snickered.

“Well, you won’t believe what mine says,” Toph said. “It says ‘you will win a million dollars!’” She cheered.

“What?!” Sokka shouted. Everyone stared at him with raised eyebrows. Then, the look on his face shifted as he realized. “I hate you, Toph.”

“Ha! Blind jokes never fail,” Toph said proudly.

“Here, I’ll read it for you,” you said, taking the tiny slip of paper from Toph. “Your fortune is ‘you will never know your full potential until you try.’”

“So what it’s saying is, I should try punching Sokka even harder,” Toph said, cracking her knuckles.

“Please don’t,” Sokka quietly begged.

“Toph!” Aang cried, “no violence allowed!”

Toph groaned, “you guys are no fun. But I don’t care, I’m going to kick your ass.”

“Anyway,” Katara interrupted, “that leaves you, Zuko!”

“Um...okay. It’s kind of weird though,” he said hesitantly.

“It can’t possibly be as bad as Sokka’s,” Katara jeered.

Zuko gulped before bashfully reading aloud. “Mine says...‘now is the time to pursue that love interest.’”

If you thought you were blushing before, you were really doing it now. Your face was like a tomato. Fortunately for you, everyone was staring at Zuko. They didn’t know your secret. Sokka began laughing.

“Okay, I admit that I don’t believing these things, but I know for a fact that that fortune is completely true. I mean, come on, buddy! What have I been saying for the past—“

“Ugh, shut up, Sokka!” Zuko barked, “it’s just a stupid fortune.”

“Wait, do you actually have a crush on someone?” Katara asked sincerely. He didn’t respond. Instead, he blushed and avoided everyone’s gaze. “It’s okay, Zuko, you can tell us. We can help you!”

“No,” Zuko grumbled, as he stood up. “I’m going home now.” And with the slam of the door, he was gone.

“Sheesh, Sparky sure is a drama queen,” Toph said, crossing her arms.

“Sokka, do you know who he likes?” Suki asked.

“Yes, and if I told you, he would give me a matching scar.” Sokka pointed to his left eye.

“Well, clearly he’s really upset about it,” you started as you stood to leave. “I’ll go talk to him.”

As Zuko rushed back to his apartment, he couldn’t help but think of you. Sokka and that stupid fortune were right. He should’ve asked you out long ago. But what if you didn’t feel the same way?

He felt so humiliated. It was bad enough that he was a coward, and that he had to deal with Sokka’s teasing on a daily basis, but now he had that little sheet of paper mocking him too.

He wondered what you thought of your fortune. Did it mean anything to you? When he heard it, he immediately thought of you and him together. But it was wishful thinking. So, he wondered if it was about you and someone else...and he felt jealous.

Zuko slapped his forehead. “I can’t believe how stupid I am. I’m getting worked up over some fortune cookies that probably don’t mean anything at all. This is pathetic!” He cried.

You should’ve brought a coat. The autumn night air was chilly. Nevertheless, you hurried to Zuko and Sokka’s apartment. You hoped to find him on the way—he couldn’t have gotten too far—but it was hard to see. Only the nearly full moon and the street lamps dimly lit the way for you.

Surely, he would tell you why he was so upset. You two always talked about your problems with each other. One of the best things about your friendship was how comfortable you felt with him. You could tell him anything...anything except that you liked him, and that you thought he was cute, and that the way he smiled made your heart flutter, and that whenever he whispered funny things about Sokka to you in that low raspy voice of his, you felt shivers run down your spine, and that you just wanted to hold him or be held by him, and that you wondered what it felt like to kiss him...no, actually, you could tell him anything except that you loved him.

You desperately wanted to ask Zuko what Sokka was talking about. Was it true? Did he really have a crush on someone? Who? And for how long? But maybe it was best not to know. Fear of finding out he loved someone else crept into your mind. Ignorance is bliss, after all.

Suddenly, you considered turning around and going back. Being so comfortable and open with each other might mean Zuko would tell you about his crush, and, had it been you, he would’ve said something by now, right? Sokka seemed to imply that this had been going on for a while. That meant it had to be someone else.

You stood outside his apartment building, staring at the door, debating whether to press the buzzer or not, debating whether to have your heart broken or not. Before you could decide, the door opened.

“[Y/n], what are you doing out here? You’re shivering,” Zuko said with concern.

“I j-just wanted to make sure y-you were okay.”

He gestured for you to come in, and you did.

“I saw you walking over in the front window. Why didn’t you just text me?” He asked as he poured a hot cup of tea.

You took the cup and shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I didn’t think of it.”

“Well, I’m fine. I’ve been a little stressed lately over studying for exams, and I kind of exploded, because Sokka was being, well, Sokka. You know how annoying he can be,” he chuckled before taking a sip from his own cup. What a lie that was, but you wouldn’t know it.

“That makes sense. I was worried when you left so suddenly.”

You wanted to ask him, you wanted to know so badly, but you didn’t know how to bring it up. Zuko couldn’t help but wonder as well. His mind raced as he tried to think of a way to talk to you.

“Um, Zuko, I—“       //       “[Y/n], there’s som—”

Both of you stared at each other for a moment.

“Sorry, go ahead,” you said.

“Um, okay.” Zuko took a deep breath before continuing, “there’s something I need to tell you. I wish I had told you long ago, but I was too afraid. And I’m tired of keeping it bottled up, so I’m just going to say it now. I kind of...no, I do, I mean, I—ugh...I have had...uh, feelings for you...for a while. Like, I think I...I love you.”

By the time Zuko finished rambling, his face was flushed and his heart was pounding. You stared at him, stunned, elated and relieved. But he didn’t dare look at you, instead he dropped his head to stare at his feet.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for you to say that to me.”

Zuko shot up. He saw you smiling brightly and approaching him. You reached up to cup his cheeks. He rested his hands on your waist. His hands were slightly trembling from all the anxiety he felt in this moment.

“Really?” He asked in a shaky voice.

“Yes, really. That’s actually what I was going to talk to you about. I love you too, Zuko. I have for a while now.”

Zuko smiled. Without a second thought, he crashed his lips on yours. You leaned in and tangled your fingers in his dark, shaggy hair. Running a hand up your back and wrapping the other around your waist, he brought you closer and squeezed you like you were the only thing he had left. His arms were warm, his chest was warm, even his lips were warm. You melted right into him.

A moment later, the two of you pulled away, panting. The kiss was so passionate and long overdue, that it left you both exhausted. You rested your head on his chest and listened to his fast-beating heart. He rested his head on yours and rubbed circles on your back with his thumb.

“So...is your love life happy and harmonious now?” Zuko asked.

“Yes, all thanks to you pursuing that love interest!”

He laughed. “I can’t believe this happened, because of some stupid fortunes in a cookie.”

“I wouldn’t call them stupid. They’re the only fortunes that I’ve known to be true.”

Katara checked her phone for the fifth time. “[Y/n] still hasn’t responded, or even read my text. It’s been a half hour now!”

Suki rested a hand on her shoulder, “I’m sure they’re fine.”

“At this point, they’re probably making out,” Sokka mumbled as he mindlessly scrolled through his phone, not even bothering to look up. The room fell silent as everyone turned to him. “Shit, I said that out loud, didn’t I?”

“Zuko has a crush on [y/n]?!” Aang’s jaw dropped.

Toph shrugged, “it makes sense. I’ve noticed that Sparky’s heart rate goes through the roof whenever he’s with [y/n]. Theirs gets pretty high too when Zuko is around.”

“Well, that explains a lot. Those two are definitely making out then,” Katara nodded. Everyone else hummed in agreement.

“So, Sokka...do you want to stay the night with us then?” Aang asked.

“Yes, please.”

[michals]

(Ok this was supposed to be like, a couple of paragraphs but it turned into a freaking essay, so it’s under the cut haha)

On Klaus, Luther and addiction

So this is something I personally find to have a lot of great thematic potential for these two characters. The idea of Luther falling into the same trap that Klaus has for both similar and different reasons and Klaus dealing with Luther’s addictions while facing his own is such a great thru line for both of them. The show’s set them up with the building blocks for this plot point and it would be so easy for it to come into play this season, especially this season actually.

Luther’s build up to addiction is subtle but I think they’ve planted the seeds enough to make it into something. Him falling apart in The Day That Was and his first reaction is to turn to alcohol and drugs is pretty significant considering it’s obvious that he’s probably been very ‘straight edge’ his whole life, probably never having even drank before then. And he tells Klaus straight out that he wishes he was like him, that he didn’t care and that he could just ignore all his own feelings like he thinks Klaus does. (I’ll get into how the family deals with Klaus’s addiction in a minute.) He goes out and  does things under the influence he would never have done while sober, things that end up being self destructive (ie having sex that he seemed to really not want). But even then he’s gotten the idea that if he’s drinking/on something then he’s not thinking about all his shitty feelings.

Season two really sets it up because it’s not just one event but several. In the first ep at the bar he has a drink very casually, like he’s been doing it for years and not just because his life fell apart in the past how many months. The flask when he goes to Vanya’s is really telling firstly because he has a flask on him at all times at this point, that he uses it to get his courage up to go in the barn, and that he does it even when he’s driving. But it’s the nitrous scene that really cements it for me, again simply because he went from being basically a teetotaler to jumping at the first offer of heavy drugs. And he says he should’ve done this a long time ago. If I may get a little personal I know how easy it is to fall into this, the idea of ‘hey alcohol (or drugs) makes me feel better or at least I don’t think/care as much so why wouldn’t I do it?’. It’s such an easy slope to fall down and on the surface Luther has plenty of reasons to want to.

Now, Klaus: there’s plenty already been said about Klaus’s relationship with drugs and alcohol so I won’t get too wordy. Klaus is defined to us right away as a junkie and addict. Someone who uses substances to avoid dealing specifically with his powers and also his shitty upbringing. He plays very fast and loose with his own sobriety and even his mortality. Basically: he uses drugs to avoid thinking or feeling bad, or at least worse but he’s far, far past the point of entry into full blown dependence.

The scene between him and Luther in season 1 is a personal favorite just because it manages to deal with and establish a number of thematic ideas and the potential for how Luther and Klaus’s relationship can go from there. Luther, like the rest of the family, doesn’t understand Klaus’s addiction partially because they’ve all been estranged for 13 years and partially because Klaus doesn’t take it seriously and puts forth a very flippant persona, hell he doesn’t take anything that seriously. The world’s ending, they don’t have the time or inclination to humor Klaus’s story of chocolate pudding. Luther clearly misunderstands his addiction because yes, Klaus comes across as kind of happy and okay with himself but that’s because of the drugs. To Luther who’s been locked up with their asshole of a father Klaus seems to actually have a life of his own.

But Klaus doesn’t try too hard to walk that opinion back and here’s something I find important that tends to get left out when people point out that the family doesn’t take Klaus’s problems seriously: Klaus doesn’t talk about it or try and deal with it. Klaus really really doesn’t like dealing with things if he thinks he can avoid them. His powers, his childhood, Reginald, Ben, his cult – if he can run away from it or make a joke about it instead that’s what he’ll do. The one thing he ever really shows much initiative with is Dave. He’s self centered and I mean that in the most basic way – everything comes down to what he wants to do and he actually keeps his feelings close to the vest for the most part. Basically he doesn’t want to give the others an ‘in’ point to really address it (bonus they all heaps of problems of their own). And when he does get into it just the barest amount with Luther Luther’s high as fuck.

(Just to touch on Ben he kind of doesn’t count because firstly he can’t talk to anyone else and secondly he and Klaus have such a strained relationship especially regarding Klaus’s drug use that even if anyone else could hear him he probably wouldn’t be that supportive.)

So, actually getting into the whole season 3 thing: the siblings are about to face off with a whole lot of daddy and family issues in this time line and everyone’s got huge potential for emotional and mental shakedowns, but I think Luther’s gonna have the worst time of it. Don’t think I’m going to get into that BS of comparing traumas and saying anyone’s more ‘worthy’ of sympathy than any of the others, I’m saying specifically because it’s to do with Reginald not only rejecting him yet again and outright replacing him but that it’s not even ‘his’ Reginald so does that mean all the shit he put Luther through doesn’t count? I just see it as catalyst for a real breakdown for him.

Not to say this won’t mess with Klaus but Klaus hated Reginald long ago and has accepted that the guy was a douchebag and had no real love for his children, so personally I see his drug use as dealing with Reggie’s abuse but more so to deal with his powers. So yes, this’ll absolutely fuck with him but Luther’s the primo target here.

So what if we see Luther leaning even harder into drinking or even heavier things? Now he really has an excuse to because where’s he supposed to go from here? What’s he meant to do? He’s not the leader anymore, his family doesn’t always treat his trauma seriously (Klaus parallels there) nevermind he doesn’t even like to address it himself, he has no idea who he’s supposed to be and the one person who he thought actually cared about him not only doesn’t but never did and now he’ll never get back what he saw as his purpose in life. The whole Ben being alive thing is just icing on the cake. If he spirals in s3 it would make perfect sense because of all this and all the set up for it.

Klaus spiraled too at the end of s2 again becoming the fatalistic junkie he used to be, he’s gonna run from his problems again but it’s not just his powers this time. So he’s off the wagon but what if he notices Luther is too?

I can definitely see Luther trying to hide it from the others. He’s already given away too much of his weaknesses, he doesn’t want them to see their ‘leader’ continue to fall and I don’t think he’d want them to know he’s still that affected by Reginald. They want him to have dealt with it, like he seems to have at least a little in s2, if he’s completely fallen apart because of his dad again then that just makes him look pathetic. So he keeps his flask and finds excuses to get away with stumbling or slurring his words. But Klaus notices, because Klaus knows the signs.

In that scene in s1 Klaus very obviously doesn’t like seeing Luther like that or using drugs as an escape like he does. He’s self aware enough to know that this isn’t any way to live but is too pessimistic when it comes to himself. But, again, he tends to be pretty self centered. This is not a bad thing, this is a great character trait and it makes Klaus interesting. He does not know how to relate to his siblings on the whole, doesn’t know how to talk about his own traumas and addictions, so when he does hear them out it’s usually because he had was focusing on his own shit first. For instance: when he has the heart to heart with Allison in her kitchen he’s only there in the first place because he was falling apart because of Dave.

Luther having a problem will have to be something Klaus purposefully chooses to deal with because he’s worried about one of this siblings. And for obvious reasons Klaus is the perfect one to help him with it. He doesn’t want to see Luther like that but he doesn’t really have a leg to stand on if he wants him to stop. Hell, if Klaus won’t stop why should Luther? Klaus can’t use ‘do what I say not as I do’, partially because Luther has proven to have some self destructive/self harming tendencies and again, if it makes him feel okay or at least steady then why would he stop?

But Klaus stopping means that he’s going to have to confront his quite literal demons when it comes to his powers (I could go off on how much I don’t love that he was somehow sober for 3 years in the 60’s no problem but it didn’t seem to affect his powers at all but that’s another post). The number one thing he’s been running from his whole life, something the show hasn’t actually done a whole lot with. We knows he hates it, we knows he’s tortured by it, but we’ve seen no evidence that he’s ever really confronted it. He was traumatized by Reggie who did everything wrong so he went the opposite route.

But what if he has to stay sober for Luther’s sake? Even if he doesn’t want to help, even if he just enables it or joins him at first eventually he’d have to come the realization that he doesn’t like this, that he wouldn’t wish this kind of problem on someone he cares about. So he’s going to have to turn inward, he’s going to have to face up to both his addiction and his powers, maybe even finally try to tame and use his powers. And at some point he’d have to talk to Luther about it and stop hiding behind his glib façade.

So in the end we’d get to see Luther falling apart trying to deal with everything that he still very much needs to deal with and his subconscious tendency for self destruction, Klaus confronting his addictions, his own feelings and relationship to his siblings, and his powers and hell, maybe then we’ll actually get him using his powers to his/the group’s benefit.

[redxblueihateloveyou]

Ok so I've been stalking your blog for the past couple of hrs after seeing your TadaAi posts (I'm drowning in the period drama that is this ship) and I find you ship Tododeku and rinharu (god i can't stand bakudeku and makoharu) and seems like we share a lot of our views on fandom and ships probably because we're older (I'm 22). Followed and looking forward to your input in the future!

Also you might've given me the motivation to finish watching Free! XD

Hehe yay, please, we need more ppl in our “house of oldies”, make yourself at home lol. And we share a lot of ships?! Even better <3

I knooow, I can’t believe we’ve got a gay “master who fell in love with his servant” ship in the anime, just what I needed for my idiotic collection lmao

But also these two have too much going on between them, so much wasted potential in my opinion, it’d be so interesting to explore (but sadly no xD), they were still the only interesting thing for me lolz. I love complicated morons, who became the victims of a huge unrequited requited love misunderstanding, bc they’re insecure morons lmao and they just have 2 of my fav ships vibes, so it’s probably mostly this haha. 

Oh, I’m inputting *wink wink*, can’t wait to finish the vid, I’m having too much fun with it. I’ve just literally spent several minutes trying to get whether I’ve put Tadashi’s sexy mole in the right distance from his eye in the “him moaning on the table” manip lolz. What can I say... I picked the best hobby, with all the support I’m getting with my vids, I’m living a dream xD

You know, I think I’ve said it before, but when it comes to bakudeku, I at least understand what ppl hope to see there and why, but like.. it’s just not happenning. Also imagining Bakugou lovingly hugging Midoriya is just so OOC I start laughing all the time. And whatever ppl say, in any ship whether they’re enemies or rivals or anything, if you can’t imagine them being tender with each other, smth is not right in my opinion. Also once again, who needs idiotic bleating Midoriya, idk. I’m just tired of the endless “die, deku/out of my way” yelling, I like watching Bakugou going to parties and amusement parks and doing silly stuff, too. Like I’ve said before, pride won’t ever let him change the way he behaves with Midoriya, even when they’re doing “great”. If he was the one, it wouldn’t have mattered, no matter how tough you are, and it wouldn’t take that long. I also don’t think they’re that kind of relationship, like they move each other for sure, sometimes, yeah (not always in a good way tho), but be together in a relationships? Can’t imagine that. Like not all rivals have the rivals to lovers dynamic, no matter what ppl say. But I get the shipping, bc 1stly these two are playing too huge of a role in each other’s lives, 2ndly Midoriya is obsessed with him and Bakugou obsessed with him too (just in a bad way lmao) and 3rd ppl want that “enemies to lovers” dynamic, since many love it (me included, when it done right and progresses right), so they’re trying to write that “to lovers” bridge, that just doesn’t fit here in my opinion, simply bc Bakugou won’t be soft with Midoriya, like ever in a way, you’d want, and I don’t think it’s possible for them to go there.

Tododeku on the other hand, 1stly they also play too huge of a role in each other’s lives, 2ndly Midoriya is obsessed with him too and Todoroki is lovingly obsessed with him in return, 3rdly they are also rivals to lovers, and I have no problem imagining the second part, it won’t be OOC, 4thly Midoriya when he’s with Todoroki is my fav Midoriya, he’s happy, he is cocooned and he’s badass af (and like when he told Endeavor to fuck off or yelled at Todoroki “the fuck are u doing?” xD are still the best), 5thly Midoriya forgets about Bakugou, when he’s with Todoroki a lot and it’s just funny to me, 6thly they healed each other so nicely, I can’t not be into that, 7thly when they’re together I have like 0 worries, idk I’m like “he will catch him” anyways haha, Bakudeku just don’t give me this vibe. It’s like yeah, they won’t let each other die, but it’s always this chaos of “out of my way”, “I don’t want your help” and “let me punch you before I punch the villain” that I’m just “oh for god’s sake, pls bring in Kirishima and Todoroki so we could just go home, it could’ve been solved in 2 minutes” lmao. Etc, etc.

Tododeku just have too many winning points over bakudeku for me, same with kiribaku over bakudeku, even tho I 100% get bakudeku as a ship ofc. Also idk whether things would be different if Todoroki wouldn’t exist in the equation, but the moment I saw that s2 scene where Bakugou started yelling and Todoroki just ignored him and was like “was Midoriya always this good?”, there was no going back to me XD. Like they both obviously see that Midoriya is wonderful, but only one reacted to that in a way that I wanted. And I’m a sucker for the ships who don’t give a fuck and like “yeah, I find him amazing and everyone should know that”. Todoroki is also one of those guys, who if you give them the much needed love, they’ll return it tenfold with a forever devotion. And all of my fav ships are like that: Yullen, Rinharu, Mikayuu, Wangxian, Akakuro, etc. They’re like “well, I ain’t an idiot to let someone this precious go”, you know lol

On the other hand, when it comes to Kirishima, Bakugou can do all kind of ridiculous thing I wouldn’t imagine he would do to keep him or make him happy, you know. Kirishima is also the only one, who can put his arm around Bakugou without it being cut off, so I don’t make the rules here lol.

So it’s not like I can’t stand bakudeku, more of like can’t imagine this work, to me it’s easier to imagine todobaku in a relationships, but not bakudeku lolz.

But when it comes to makoharu, I just have a huge problem with it and I will never get it. Bc they don’t bring anything good in each other like AT ALL, I don’t even understand what kind of relationships this is from their shipper point of view; they give each other nothing, and one of them is totally in love with someone else and wants a future with him. And that someone also head over heals with him and also wants a future with him. And I hate how 99,9 % of mh fans don’t give a fuck about Haru or Rin whatsoever and just ignore their character’s everything. Bc Makoto. I’m also like if you love him so much, the fuck would you want him to be with Haru anyways, dude doesn’t reciprocate, like at all. I’m at confusion, like name good points of this ship and what good can they do for each other characteristically. There is none, it’s like a damn swamp. Like usually I can give my notp some points, but this is like... they’re both no good for each other... like... why would anyone even want this idk. Don’t tell me “for the childhood friends” one-sided dynamic, like why won’t you also ship Shion with Safu then, like even he seemed more invested in that, than Haru in makoharu lol.

Even if you think of them from the point of view of “the two who are always walking together” ships, that are everywhere nowdays (even tho since Haru moved to Tokyo, he was always with Asahi instead), but even if... those kind of ships are usually at least make each happy and are enough for each other. Haru on the other hand, when he doesn’t have Rin, he is walking with Makoto like a ghost, not even caring if he’s talking next to him AND he’s getting ennoyed by him. Like explain, how someone’s shipping them romantically. It’s been showed like 20 times, that with Rin, but without Makoto, he can be perfectly happy, without Rin tho, he never is.

Also someone explain, what exactly is the point of splitting up two characters, who are happy together, make each other the best versions of themselves and want to be together whole-heartedly? Like I know many start shipping smth, bc the relationships are better in the other pairing, for example, but this is like... definitely not the case here. Like what exactly is missing in rinharu, that makoharu has? Lack of progression and mutual inspiration?

So yes, if you’re into rinharu, totally finish Free! They’re like doing sooo incredible and holy shit they’re inspiring, I mean, look, they’re now the tokyo olympics ambassadors, like how many of yall gay ships reached that? you can’t miss out on them, and also they’re so hilariously romantic, they literally made a wish to swim with each other since they were 13 and did everything to get each other there, I’m.. you’re lying, if you didn’t cry watching them as chibies making wishes on a star and watching them now. One of the most wonderful development in my opinion. Like who would’ve thought back in s1, that we’ll get Haru yelling on top of Rin about how he made him want a future with him, def not me lmao and now all the olympics boyfriends fanfiction are true, I mean, idk what to say anymore. I miss them so much, I can’t wait for the movie :D

[dramaticviolincrescendo]

I've really enjoyed your recent meta takes and was wondering if you could elaborate on your thoughts on Mandy + Ian and her going for Lip as a result (from your Ian Relationships meta)? I love reading about M+I and their connection is just so dear to me 😭

(P.S Thank you for being such a beacon of positivity in the Shameless fandom! I only got into the show during lockdown last year but it's become such a comfort so it makes me so happy to see positivity right now. ❤ )

Oh my gosh, thank you so much! You’re seriously too kind! I totally sympathize with you: Shameless has shot straight to the top of my list of comfort media since watching it right around the same time, so I’m really passionate about sharing the love around. 😃🧡 

To me, one of the most important things to look at in this analysis is motives—who each of these characters are, what they desire for themselves, and how those factors fit together like a puzzle.

Mandy is in such a difficult position. It’s not as easy as saying that she’s a victim of abuse and wants nothing more than to get as far from her family as possible, because that’s simply not true. In s1, we see that she’s very comfortable in her house. She and Mickey exhibit your standard sibling animosity (and competition for Ian’s attention, unbeknownst to her), she makes breakfast for Terry even though she’s obviously not super respectful to him as a parent, and she clearly has a solid understanding of where her family stands in the neighborhood. In a way, she thrives on that in the beginning. At but a word, she can do serious damage to somebody without raising a finger herself. Viewing Ian’s lack of response to her advances as an insult, she takes full advantage of that. In s2, we know that she is being abused in such a heinous way. She takes charge of the situation, although not in a manner that would save her from it. She leaves the house for a while to avoid Terry; she holds him at gunpoint and forces him to accept what he already knows so that he won’t hurt Ian. When they talk afterward, she even recounts what happened in a way that makes it sound like no big deal—he was drunk, and he didn’t know who she was, so it’s whatever. (It isn’t. We know it isn’t. If this is going to be her reality, however, then she’s going to own it. No one will look down on her, especially not a Gallagher who’s barely ahead of her in social standing.)

We’ll pause there because so much of how Mandy changed afterward is tied to Lip, but we can already see that Mandy isn’t like Mickey. Mickey stuck it out with his family and very clearly fell into the same trap we’ve heard verbalized by other male characters, namely the notion that men can’t be abused. It doesn’t matter that that is entirely inaccurate—that’s what they’ve been taught in their environment. That’s what’s normal to them. (That’s part of the dramatic irony in this scenario: we can see how damaging and traumatic these events are, but the characters don’t have our perspective. I don’t think Mickey sees what happened to him as rape, just like Ian doesn’t see what happened to him as grooming or assault. That’s for the audience to comprehend in terms of gravity and should add to our sympathy for them.)

Mandy is different. Women are abused all the time in their neighborhood. It’s visible, and it’s pervasive. In s3, Mandy immediately teaches Debbie how to defend herself against it. She didn’t have to learn. Like not seeing themselves as victims is part of the boys’ culture, fighting not to be one is part of the girls’. But there’s a contradiction in her life: the Milkoviches are the neighborhood badasses, and while she shares in that, it’s limited by her sex. There is something she will never be able to overcome in order to see the same return on her reputation that Mickey and Terry do, not unless she gets out, which will be extremely difficult on her own merits. She’s living in poverty and not doing well in school. Her prospects are limited—she told the counselor so. Based on that conversation and her history with boys even before meeting Ian, she clearly sees one surefire avenue to get out of this hole she’s stuck in: a man with the resources to get out and take her with him.  If she’s lucky, it’ll even be a good man with a good heart who wants to do good in the world.

Now, let’s talk about Ian. (See what I did there?) This doesn’t need to be long because I’ve already talked so much about Ian already lately, but let’s wax poetic just a bit. Ian wants to be a good person. He wants to be able to get by, even be successful, without having to do it through scamming and stealing. He has goals and ambitions, and whatever anybody thinks of those ambitions, he did it with the mindset that he would be a hero—a protector. Along with that, he never gives up. When Mandy sets her brothers on him, he doesn’t hide forever—he seeks her out multiple times to fix the situation. When he can’t get into West Point, he doesn’t quit ROTC and ignore his dreams. He keeps going.

Not only is he someone who wants to be good for himself, but he wants to be good for others too. He shows Mandy kindness that she arguably hasn’t seen from anyone else before. He takes care of his family when hers tends to focus on themselves and their own individual survival more of the time. Ian has what she would have seen as the potential to get out, and at the time, that is what he wants. It isn’t as an escape for him, but as a way to facilitate his own dreams.

The problem? Ian is gay. We can see that that bothers her sometimes because she forgets. She goes in for a kiss in s2 and has to reel back, settling for a hug instead. She gets tired of hearing him talk about Kash in s1 and kisses him to shut him up, saying she just wanted to kiss her fake boyfriend. Ian isn’t attainable. If Ian leaves, he won’t take her with him as a partner, and she can’t ask as a friend. How desperate would that seem to someone who refuses to be put in a position where she even slightly perceives him to be pitying her? She can’t ask. Not Ian. She needs someone else, someone who is also good and capable of getting out of here—who can be convinced to even if they don’t want to. Someone she can also trust and has some sort of connection with. Someone who is a fixer, and someone she can draw in with the only thing she thinks she has of any value: her body.

That would be Lip. Not only does he meet all of those criteria at the time, but she knows she can trust him. She trusts Ian, and Ian is closer to Lip than he is to anyone else—even her. No, Lip doesn’t have any convictions or real desire to leave, but he has potential. She can work with that. She’s also there for the entire Karen saga, so she knows that Lip is someone who takes his responsibilities to the people he’s with very seriously and tries so hard to cultivate that connection. (For example, feeding him, making herself sexually available as often as possible, letting him stay with her when he can’t go anywhere else without any conditions, etc. We even begin to see her distancing herself from Ian a little bit by s3, putting all of her energy into what she has with Lip when, a year ago, they were sneaking around because she said she didn’t want Ian to know about them. That isn’t to say that Ian was seeking her out either, being quite distracted with Mickey, but it’s noticeable for me.)

Like Mickey, Mandy also has a very deep capacity for emotion and affection that seems incongruous with her personality a lot of the time. Also like Mickey, nobody brought that out in her—it was always there. As much as she seemed to hope that Lip would take care of her, the process of growing closer to him led to a level of affection. I don’t particularly read their relationship as being a deep one. Both of them were using the other, to an extent, to deal with their trauma in other areas of their lives. But that sort of thing can foster a kinship, a mutual understanding that transcends time and place and even the terrible stuff that people do to one another.

So, it doesn’t work out. Mandy is hurt and does something unforgivable. She then runs from Lip, straight into what she feels is her only alternative now: an abuser. What else is there for a girl in her position? Ian was unattainable because of his sexuality, but to someone beaten down again and again, perhaps she believed he was also unattainable because he was too good a person. Lip was unattainable despite her best efforts to bridge that gap because of what he had with Karen, but to someone beaten down again and again, perhaps she believed he was also unattainable because her position in his life was to give but never to take. With Kenyatta, all she does is give. She’s embraced being beaten down because what else is there? She leaves with him, believing there’s nothing for her there.

When she finally finds her strength, far from home but hopefully under better circumstances than when she lived in Chicago, she still follows the formula that has ruled her decision-making for some time: finding a place where she can have the control over her life that was never there before, but still with the belief that what she has to offer isn’t academic or able to be built or improved upon. Ian has worked past his perception that his body was what he had to offer, that it was what would provide him with the love he was looking for. But of course, he has. He’s had Mickey to love him when he’s healthy and love him when he’s lost a bunch of weight from a depressive episode spent in bed. He’s had his family to mess up here and there but ultimately love him so much.

Mandy doesn’t have that. She didn’t then either. She got what she wanted—she got out. She even implied that that was the most important thing by telling Ian that being born on the South Side doesn’t mean that’s where they have to stay. But Ian “got out” of the spiral of abuse he unknowingly suffered and the mindset that it fostered while Mandy didn’t. This isn’t to say anything negative about sex work, of course, only the mindset that led Mandy to this point in her life. And when she leaves the house for the last time, she looks at Lip after having asked about him, and they acknowledge each other the way that people who once knew each other do.

I’ve made the joke before that to Milkoviches, Gallaghers are like catnip. It’s flippant and funny enough when we consider how many of them have dated at one point or other. I’ve also said the Milkoviches are designed as a foil to the Gallaghers, a juxtaposed image of what they could have been had their situation been altered slightly. In s10, Mickey mentions how the Gallaghers are messed up and he’s never been happier to be a Milkovich, so there’s some awareness there that these are the two notorious families of the neighborhood, albeit for different reasons. For Mandy to see that not one, but two Gallaghers are out of reach? To perhaps feel as though she’s less than even them, or made to feel that way in her interactions with Lip? It’s the ultimate slap in the face.

She trusts Ian more than anyone else in her life, to the point where she will still call him to help her hide a body long after she’s left him and their home behind. But trusting Ian led her to loving Ian, and she couldn’t have him. Trusting Ian led her to meeting Lip, and if Ian was so good and loved Lip so much, he had to be worth it too. And to her, he was. The problem was that she felt that she wasn’t.

Self-fulfilling prophecies suck: when you’re treated like garbage by a neighborhood that sees your family as garbage and repeatedly experience things that will make you feel like garbage around people with the best intentions, you’ll start believing that you are, in fact, garbage. I think what we’ve watched with Mandy is a steady decline from a place of strength in herself and weakness in her environment to an overall place of weakness that she couldn’t escape. Not with Ian and, when she realized that wouldn’t happen, not with the only real alternative she thought she could trust since she trusted Ian so deeply. 

[paramedictk]

To get to write for a major network show that is super popular right now and this is what they come up with? It’s not always bad of course I’m not saying that. But I just mean the constant Owen in our face. And I’m also not saying he’s a bad writer or he doesn’t deserve his job as a writer for lone star I’m saying it seems like he feels like he HAS to write like this because his dad is a major actor on the show and has influence behind the scenes and so maybe he’s like oh I have to write about his character so much. Dude I’m sorry but that’s just downright not good. And I know he has potential to write other good storylines because Marjan’s storyline was rly good. Owen has not once progressed as a character so how good are you even writing him? Yeah he has his nice moments but they’re always overshadowed by him being an asshole or ignoring TK or trying to be a hero over anything else, including sitting down with TK and formally meeting Carlos’ parents for dinner. To purposely choose not to develop other characters and write for them with less energy as you write for Owen is downright just wrong. I know it’s not all his doing of course but he’s one of the writers for the show so he has an input into this. It’s just not right. I want to be a tv show writer and eventually showrun and create my own tv shows one day so to see someone who just has the job whether it’s because of their last name or because they worked for it just choose to write like this for this show is kind of frustrating to me. Because I see moments in some episodes of how good the show could be. If they just unclenched and stop acting like we care about Owen when we don’t. What are the causal viewers seeing that we aren’t because Owen isn’t even likable. Sorry not sorry. If you’re gonna make it the Owen Strand show at least make him likable. This isn’t even meant to be mean it’s just an observation from someone who wishes they had the job that his son currently has and seeing what we see every week with each new episode. It’s so frustrating. Just my opinions though

i have a loooot of problems with the writing. i can't remember if it bothered me this much during s1, maybe i just didn't pay attention to it or maybe it's the fact that even though owen was on screen a lot at least he wasn't insufferable idk... but apart from ep8 and a few scenes in other eps the entire first half of the season was torture for me and that's entirely because of owen

i think you could be right about john lowe feeling like he should focus on his dad's character but that goes for other writers as well. even when you look at the difference between the social media management of 911 and 911ls it's so obvious that r* b lowe is taking advantage of his influence as executive producer. i've never seen angela bassett act so selfishly, hogging the screen time and being the main focus of every promo. and i've said this before, angela is not only more talented but definitely has more star power than r*b lowe. maybe it just comes down to the fact that r*b seems like the type of guy who constantly needs his ego stroked idk. he kinda has minear and murphy in his pocket so i wouldn't be surprised if the writers were pressured to give him a certain amount of screen time every week

when it comes to owen the problem is that he has an actual decent multiep character arc about survivor's guilt and depression and that could make for a very interesting story but for some reason the writers responsible for individual eps are not executing the steps of that arc very well and the whole thing just falls apart. that's why it feels like we're just going in circles instead of seeing actual character progression. and after making the first half of the season so hard to get through they honestly can't expect the fandom to have much patience left for owen lmao

i just hope they learn from this and listen to fandom feedback because at this point almost everybody is getting tired of them constantly using their diverse characters for woke points while still favouring the white cishet man over them

[startwithbrooklyn]

THE GREAT ND REWATCH OF 2021 / SEPTEMBER 28-29, 2019 // the bonny scot

posting this a day later than normal because this is one of the rare episodes that shows a passage of time from one day to the next yayy love that for them

-wonder what filming these beginning sexy scenes is like for them in real life

-sooooo can lucy see nancys sexy dream? is she judging? does this mean she likes nancy with owen or nick more? or is she trying to tell nancy that her sex dreams are irrelevant to the mystery at hand and she needs to focus?

-seeing people in the ✨prison chair✨: gomber, carson, karen (voting for josh s3 just saying)

-completely ignores carson's question about herself typical nance

-"or maybe i did stumble across a knife" its like hes trying to make the case against him look plausible while attempting to maintain innocence. this is a slippery slope for carson to try and encourage her to keep her pacified + hide the truth while also trying to keep her from getting involved bc hudsons

-"genetics gets you in the door" aaaaand then she walks in to everetts office to meet him and crashes their family dinner

-ok who tf is dawn and why is she in charge here

-this guidance counselor of nicks is my favorite person

-"i admire your allergy to pleasantries" bess and nancy both have reveals to big families but nancy does not have the graceful, accepting reveal to her rich family like bess does at this lunch. nancys reveal is messy, cold, bloodstained and sticky-fingered, not nice in any way whatsoever. and this little chat with everett (bit of a parallel to lucy's) just highlights how nancy is always bad at bargaining with her grandparents*- always trying to fight on their level but giving up her equal hand bc she doesnt know how to hide it when they bring up something she doesnt know. like confronting celia at the masque: she was so confident with her theory and what she knew, but then we got a "what does that mean?" like. the instant you say that, you lose. and she walked right into the "yes i do have someone, hes in jail" 🤦🏼‍♀️ even in the car with ryan at the end of s1, he literally just fucking leaves her there. like 🤷🏼‍♀️ what did u think was gonna happen sis?? for all she can predict how past things lead to present circumstances shes fucking awful at seeing the direct future *(grandparents except for patrice bc her dementia makes her inaccessable)

-lmaooooo this awko ass portrait...i get the empty space is for nance but who on earth thought this was a good pic??

-LISBETH 🥺💙

-"will u help the claw for me?" george struggles financially to keep her livelihood while nancy is somehow shown as being taken care of even when her parent is incarcerated; both nancy and george live in single parent homes now with mention of both medical debt and george being breadwinner yet nancy has no struggles while george does. (i wonder if ryan had been able to help george here how the story would have changed)

-"when it comes to following people around without their knowledge or consent i am somewhat of a repeat offender" 😂😂😂

-"he wasnt endgame after all" BESS lmaoooo

-"...okay." lmaoooo i fuckin love owen

-i was hoping the girls' faces would be more shocked like with a glance to owen but they just....werent

-"we're the good guys" <---- this statement is soooo interesting in terms of how they structure the show and how the characters see themselves (its an interesting contrast with the more definitive good vs evil with things that are both clearly good and clearly evil but theres also a lot of moral grey area here, the show is kinda swamped in it. are nancy and crew the good guys? are they the bad guys in someone else's story? concerns.)

-"i'd call it more than just stuff" like why did u concede that??? and then the shit about oof that didnt sound like a compliment lmaoooooo why does she suck at arguing?? she and owen wouldnt work long term bc theyre so similar (as mentioned later on)

-i LOVE george slowly falling in love with nick here- hence how upset she gets when nick bails on her for nancy later (which is totally justified!!!)

-i am LIVING for the little nod this driver guy gives bess when she turns back around all nervous 😂

-"i do like buying things" i would so say that too tbh

-"you'd have plenty to talk about" LMFAOOOOOOO SHE KNOWS "marvins dont marry drivers" so diana is totally fine with the gay its just the poor she has a problem with 😂💙fuckin love that

-love how nancy just casually ruins everything for nick/george lmaooo

-"i have seen you at your best, nancy, and there is nothing like it." 🥴😳 i love this still-in-love look nancy gives him thats so strong he had to change the subject

-so is haunting time 11 pm? from that clock of bashiir's?

-how do NO neighbors notice this fucking water and shit

-these are TOTALLY AWFUL fake screams from the bonny scot crew 😭

-"i know well enough not to get involved when he's in play" both carson and ryan avoid engaging with everett even though nancy is willing to do so armed with less info and more balls/ but "could i trust him" and ryan says yes lmaooooo NO honey + that makes ryan 0/2 for helping the girls when they ask this ep

-"find a project of your own" and he does, with his youth center 🙏🏻💙 what s2 foreshadowing!

-"god i wish i still drank" 😂😂😂

-"she is darling." 💙👌🏻

-okay wtf is mirror bay??

-i really wonder about the extent of celia x sebastians relationship here. did she truly care about him or was it just secret and exciting sex? also would love more hints of diana vs celia moments like these. celia doesnt even look upset. i mean shes had time to deal but like wtf. and who exactly is sebastian to diana? not her husband? like damn what if he was. somehow i doubt she'd talk about him diddling celia if diana was disrespected also

-i wonder if celia being so invested in dna testing nancy was bc everrett dna tested ryan to make sure he was his bc of sebastian / other men (which would be totally valid on his part!! but wouldnt it be funny as fuck if ryan wasnt his 😂)

-what a neat hiding place in this frame lmaooo who put that in for them tho? like how do u go about ordering that

-"you certainly are your fathers daughter" this quote is doubly ironic and foreshadowy bc theyre referencing carson here as being a useful hudson attaché but nancy is playing everett just like ryan played celia about putting his house up (but TRIPLY ironic bc carson pulls off the long con of hiding nancy from the hudsons right under their noses this whole time!) the one time nancy is successful against them

-that bess/lisbeth look while lisbeth does something badass (+diana reassessing now that lisbeth has been revealed to be useful)

-"almost as fun as a real fight" why do i believe him? lmaoooo a bit weird that he would enjoy a fight w a partner, but i also think this is an acknowledgement of nancy being an "opponent" who exists at his level. but i also love the "let me take you out" as a direct mirror of her relationship with nick, where she avoids the public acknowledgment/"going out" but prefers the more subtle/hidden arrangements of staying in. but as shown with later eps, owen is way more capable of meeting nancy where shes at, which is so important to her + the only way of getting close to nancy. (the only foil is ace who somehow is able to do both)

-"not always about a guy" <---- this could have been such a powerful statement if the show had thought having nancy end up alone/choose herself instead of pitting her between love interests (nick, owen, gil, even potentially ace, in only 2 seasons) was a more worthy stance to take ; as an aro/ace person i cant tell you how much i would kill to see just one female protag choose herself over a man. and its more realistic to end up alone than have a happy ending anyway, for all that these shows try to be as "real" and gritty grimdark as possible

-"is that what you want?" this is an interesting question to his mother- like maybe he senses her unhappiness? combined with his issues with his father- still trying to look out for his mom? either way it's sweet. (it could also potentially work as foreshadowing of something happening to her, but i think that was played with but then diverted when it was revealed who really killed her) "i think its time i steer this ship" still kind of patriarchal tho. i get that its him coming into his own as a dad technically but still. i also like how he calls her "mother" and not mom

-love that old white people thumbs up at george asking about his clams 👍🏻

-okay fuck dawn tho lmfaoooo

-"stressful dinner huh?" 😂 i fucking love lisbeth so much why didnt they bring her back (wouldnt it be Fucking Hilarious if they brought lisbeth back to bounce bess on her expired visa since the marvins kicked her out and didnt fix it lmaoooooo)

-BESS IS A TOP lmaooooooo i fuckin knew it

-nick says "you can pay me back" wonder if thats gonna come back in s3 considering their "marital problems" (also, those bonds are sosus lmfaoooo if any single person cashing those was looked at sideways they'd confess in 2 seconds that some random guy is handing out bearer bonds they dont even make anymore with absolutely zero proof as to how he got them)

-"you wanna finish what you started?" 👀 (dont mind if i do)

-"i need my dad back" parallels s2 when she asks him to come home

-parent politics: "you are taking your life in your hands / no, i'm putting it in yours" vs "i know well enough not to get involved when hes in play" both carson and ryan try to dissuade nancy from pursuing her pulling this con on everett but go about it different ways: carson is wildly concerned with nancys physical wellbeing but ryan appears to be leaning more towards weighing the odds for her/ like a "you cant win so cut your losses/dont try" scenario which interestingly might have more weight with nancy; its easy for her to brush aside carson's worrying like second nature but nancy has been established to be a determined winner, and ryan speaks to her here like shes a beginners luck prodigy at a blackjack table by encouraging her to keep her record clean by not dealing in this next round. of course she herself admits shes incapable of not dealing in ie "you know me better than that" but i have lots more thoughts on how effective ryans approaches to nancy can be sometimes (saving for the reveal ep 🙏🏻)

-wonder what all carson knows about the hudsons? + that look on his face when he hangs up... wonder if he was just lying to her about knowing anything or just ashamed at having to admit bad things hes done for them

-love nick & bashiir waiting together 🙏🏻💙+ nicks very strong and pointed "good night" as a means of ending his convo w nancy on his terms (gotta reinforce those boundaries man!)

and lastly

-celia + that gossip girl moment when she just throws the whole phone away 😂(wonder if she was just talking to "gus" or whoever that guy was. keep forgetting the bobbseys' dad is in prison too, wonder if he'll feature in s3)

[markantonys]

What bothers you the most about the Medici (the series)?

HMMMM there’s no one big thing i can think of off the top of my head, so i’ll list a few little things that are more just pet peeves than actually anger-inducing lmao

inconsistency/lack of connection between seasons 2 and 3. given that they’re two halves of one story about lorenzo, i’d expected them to feel much more cohesive as a whole than they do. some things that were major parts of s2 (bianca, guglielmo, and their relationship, lorenzo and francesco’s relationship, basically everything pazzi-related) were completely ignored in s3, and some things that were major parts of s3 should have been set up in s2 but instead came out of the blue (giuliano and fioretta’s relationship, giovanni’s birth & him and piero growing up)

going off this, giuliano’s whole characterization and arc, as well as his relationship with simonetta and simonetta’s total lack of personality. i’ve spilled a lot of ink on all these things in the past so i won’t get into it yet again here haha

arranged marriages too heavily romanticized/idealized rather than being treated with the nuance i’d expect from a series based on real historical figures (mostly a problem with lorenzo/clarice in s2, they in s3 and cosimo/contessina in s1 are much more nuanced). don’t get me wrong, i’m all for period dramas that are 5% accurate 95% sexy and i’m not someone who gets fussed by historical inaccuracy in fictional adaptions of real history, but a little complexity is all i ask

lack of nuance in the medici-pazzi conflict in s2. i get that this season is supposed to be the happy naive idealism days before the fall, but goddamn would it have killed them to try harder than “lorenzo has always been good and kind to the pazzi but jacopo hates him for no concrete reason and dedicates his entire life to destroying him”? irl lorenzo did do the pazzi some concrete wrongs, so they should’ve included some of those. also when jacopo’s like “i don’t understand why the medici always throw money at the poor” it makes me insane because one of the specific things we know about historical jacopo is that he was known for being very charitable to the poor! again, i’m fine with foregoing historical accuracy for the sake of the story but not when it means turning a potentially complex character into a 2d villain (granted i think they did sacrifice jacopo’s complexity in favor of making francesco the complex antagonist, the darth vader to jacopo’s palpatine if you will, so i can forgive it a little)

lack of nuance with riario in s3 as well, he was evil just for the sake of it and didn’t have any motives besides unexplained all-consuming hatred of the medici

edit: HOW COULD I FORGET lorenzo got off way too easy at the end of s3 and his deathbed redemption didn’t feel at all earned to me, plus i hate bernardi being used as the scapegoat for lorenzo’s crimes (and i hate bernardi’s existence in general and think his screentime should’ve been given to the medici kids and/or bianca, but i’ve talked A Lot about that before lmao)

ok this looks like a lot haha but almost all of them boil down to “lack of nuance in various things that should’ve been written with more complexity”

[norgestan]

do you think that the blacklash for eskam s4 wouldn't be so strong if the season aired when it was originally intended? not that i don't think the criticism is unjustified but our expectations have been building and building up since march and for them to be not met on any level is much more disappointing. Obviously there are circumstances out of our control, but if the season originally aired back in april we wouldn't have got that 2nd trailer where kasim was framed as a love interest (1/3)

and maybe it wouldn't of have been such a blow when discovering what he actual purpose is the season is cause it was revealed pretty quickly. I am not trying to say that it's our own fault that we were too hyped up for this season and it's our fault that we were disappointed. Because eskam has proven themselves with the previous seasons, and that's reason enough to be excited. I am just hypothesising if the reactions would be different if the season was aired when it was meant to It might of been worse since it would have been airing during ramadan and might have felt like more of a betrayal to have these storylines during such an important and spiritual time for so many people who this season for (idk, i kinda feel like this season is more for (christian) white people than it is for muslims, lol). Sorry if this is a long ask, kinda want to get my feelings out there, thanks :)

dw anon!!! i love seeing long asks in my box! thank YOU for coming in :)

well first of all, i won’t be able to really comment on that part about muslim representation because i’m not muslim lol. but personally, especially when i look at kasim’s plot if looks like something out of a white mainstream show (cough cough elite), and i’ve already talked about how i think kasim’s motivations and actions are presented so that non-muslim, female teenage audiences can empathize with him for being gay over being muslim. so to that i can agree at some extent!

as for the reaction, i personally think it would’ve been worse. i’ve seen a few muslim blogs in the talk mention how certain clips would feel worse if they were on real time, as eskam fucking up their storylines during ramadan would feel like a bigger blow to them. you make a point about the trailer (and whenever i think about it i rage a little lol) but prior to the season’s release, a lot of us were hoping that they’d introduce a muslim character of color to split yousef’s role in the way eskam did with miquel and alejandro in s3. when we came to know that sofian had been casted by the show, those fans (me included) were hopeful that that’s where the show was heading, and we were effectively getting our first believing yousef in skam history. so the trailer did nothing but to feed the hype that we were already feeling... we were pretty hopeful on kasim being amira’s love interest up until the episode 3 script leaked.

but kasim not being amira’s love interest is definitely not the only problem. i could list you like five different ways in which kasim’s character would’ve been better, more sympathetic and more revelant to amira’s journey and the season’s themes, and eskam just went for the cheapest route to get some drama with both las labass and potentially the girl squad. even if i ignore all the racist, islamophobic and lgbtphobic rethoric of this storyline, eskam already fucked up the writing in terms of:

instead of making the conflict arise from the characters’ flawed personalities and actions, it introduces kasim who acts like a plot device to cause all of these divisions, meaning that kasim has no real character and all the conflict amira is experiencing with dounia rn is based off dumb miscommunication. (aka, the problem isn’t that amira is a Bad Person for outing kasim when he’s ruining her friendship with dounia, the problem is that this is such an ugly way to pin them against each other and create a hell week when we already know there’s other things amira and dounia can disagree with.)

relying on dumb miscommunication when the conflict used to be character-driven. again, the fact that kasim only exists as a plot device means all of this is plot-driven, and therefore, less compelling to watch. add to that the fact that you have to constantly ask yourself why x character is acting in this way, when that had never been a problem before.

depending on exposition and dialogue to develop relationships and characters. one of the things that really bothers me about monday’s clip with dani is that amira tells him that she has a bad temper and she has to control herself better. except that... amira is not like that? sana was like that. amira has always been level-headed and kind, even when she calls people out. she isn’t fierce and impulsive in the way sana was (in s1 we can see how cris is the one to take the fierce edge, like when she liked all of cristian’s photos, threatened to punch inés, called viri out for the photo, etc). but we’re supposed to simply believe this, and that’s why she won’t talk to dounia about kasim? and then there’s all the exposition dump in the extra clips of episode 3 that tells me nothing about why lucas even likes kasim or why kasim is in love with him and why am i supposed to want them to be together. and there’s also dounia describing kasim as a very perceptive, loyal brother that we’ve never seen on this season so far. obviously i don’t expect them to get this right in every season, there’s always gonna be some exposition dump here and there, but things like rewriting amira’s character instead of showing us how hard it is for her to control her temper is such a stupid thing to do when we’re on her pov, to name one of them.

like, not only there are things that are done worse here than how they were done in og, they’re failing by their own standards, representation aside too. the worst thing is that even when they’ve fucked up so many things, they’ve done it in a way that keeps people hooked in and coming back. i’m sure that nora’s season turned more people away than this one. idk if to blame audiences for falling for this festival of half-assery when to me it seems like eskam knew exactly what they were doing when they created the kasim/lucas drama, turned dani into everyone’s favorite love interest, so on and so forth. but i definitely think that at least on tumblr, the outrage would’ve been just as bad, if not worse.

[angsty-nerd]

RNM 2X13 - Echo Download

I've been having a hard time trying to put my feelings about the Season 2 finale into words, so I've been sitting on it for a few days, reading everyone's metas, and trying to organize and separate my actual thinky thoughts from the angst and heartache. That… is not something I am particularly good at. But I'm trying.

I LOVE this show. The writing is a mess. There's plot holes all over the place. The pacing issues alone make me want to tear my hair out. And dear God do I want them to give these characters and relationships (including friendships) the time and space for the big moments to land properly. I don't know if we'll ever get any of that though. And in the meantime, I love these characters and the story, messes and all.

Everyone knows my biggest love is Echo, so I'm gonna start there.

"I don't know what you thought love was gonna be like when we were 17, but it's not all sunsets and horseback rides."

Back in the OG days, there was one consistent criticism I had with the way they wrote Max and Liz's story: the breakups always felt like bullshit. Max breaks up with Liz because she was afraid of some weird alien shit. Liz breaks up with Max because he's "supposed to be with Tess" and meanwhile he's like, "um… no?" We had "it's too dangerous" when it was dangerous regardless. "We're just different" but not in ways that actually mattered.

Echo's breakup mattered. There were issues and they were not dealing with them. Both of them were sneaking around behind the other's back. Neither was being fully honest with the other.

The unwavering honesty was something that stood out to me in S1. Yes, Max was hiding the truth about Rosa's death. But when it came to the present they were almost laughably open with each other. Liz didn't lie about it when Max asked if she told Kyle the truth. When Max asked what she was doing in the lab, she told him the truth. Once Liz knew the truth about Rosa, she knew everything. It seemed like with that truth out there was nothing left to hide. And once they got together they were a team. Immediately. There's a reason that we had a joking headcanon in the Echo world that they had their first kiss and then they were a married couple.

I really think Max's death not only put that to a screeching halt...it also put them on this path to the breakup. Liz has abandonment issues, and Max made a choice, without her, that resulted in him leaving her alone. It wasn't openly discussed in the depth that it should have been this season, but I really do think it was issue #1. Liz loves Max and she was very happy being with him...but after he came back from the dead she didn't trust him to not leave her again. It was an issue simmering under the surface from Episode 7 until the finale. Liz channeled it all into worrying about his heart, but the underlying theme was a resounding "I can't go through that again". Which is deeper than just the worry over a physical health problem. And it pushed Max away from her.

He grew irritable with her. He started hiding things from her and lying to her. The season just ended and I have no idea if he ever told her anything about his memory flashes! He was obsessively trying to learn about his past and never once discussed it with Liz!?? Because he didn't want her to stop him from using the serum? This is a HUGELY personal thing to Max and you can see how much it means to him. He had tears in his eyes while telling Isobel about it. I mean, that puppy dog excitement, and yet, he hides it all whenever Liz is around.

I think it was around episode 8 that we started talking about how badly they needed to have a big fight. Us -- the Echo shippers -- the ones who WANT them to be together -- were BEGGING them to fight. I hate conflict!! But the lack of honestly and the aversions were just building and building and I just wanted it all out on the table.

They finally STARTED having that fight in episode 11, but then Rosa and Isobel interrupted. In retrospect, sweet alien!Jesus, I wish they could have finished then. Maybe they would have gotten the air clear between them. Maybe it would have put them on a path to healing their relationship before the finale. But they didn't, so the breakup happened. And the thing is… that ending. It just kind of haunts me. Liz waiting and hoping for a grand gesture that never comes. I mean, did Max even know WHEN she was leaving!?! He sure didn't seem to have it on his mind when they flashed to him in that scene. And their fight...was all about what Liz was doing and Max not taking care of his heart. They never once touched on what he was trying to learn about his past. I'm pretty certain that Liz left without knowing any of that.

And the thing is… I'm sort of skirting around the meat of the issue here. Because the biggest problem of all of this was Liz violating Max by studying his biology without consent.

I really hate saying that in writing, because, to me, it's kind of the most horrible part of all of this.

Max Evans has been referred to in jest in this fandom as the King of Consent. He was so careful with Liz, tiptoeing around her looking for explicit consent in Season 1 until her desire for him was made abundantly clear. He only ignored the need for consent twice: both times in the S1 finale. Healing Michael's hand and healing Rosa. But those things both happened after he killed Noah. After he was high on his own power. They were very clearly set up as out of character for him.

Liz didn't give him the same respect. Consent does not just apply to sexual situations and healing. It applies to studying too. It applies to Liz USING Max's biology without his permission. It also applies to administering the cure to Steph without her consent. Liz was very, very wrong here.

And the thing is… it sure didn't seem like the writers saw it that way. It also didn't seem like JEANINE saw it that way. There's been a little bit more balanced quotes from them in interviews this week since the finale ended as far as saying that both Max and Liz were wrong, but they sure focused on Liz being incredible and strong before the finale aired.

The part that confuses me though...like, a LOT, is that the narrative was pretty clear that what Liz was doing was Bad and Wrong. She looked guilty. She was lying and hiding things from Max. And the MORAL COMPASS OF THE SHOW, Mr. Kyle Valenti, repeatedly told her she was wrong. Kyle called her out on her ethical violations even as he was thanking her for saving Steph.

Genoryx was set up as being bad. Liz herself refused to go work for them in the flashbacks because they were morally sketchy. Although, maybe that's the draw now that she is all full of ethical violations. Sigh.

I'm gonna leave this topic now, but I'll encourage you to go read @latessitrice's meta on the subject here:

Okay...so to sum this up? The breakup was coming. We knew it was coming. But it still hurt my heart so much. I haven't seen anyone gif Jeanine's performance of the "I am in love with you. And I hate that right now." But the delivery of that line broke me.

That being said...do I see it being over? Let's give that a resounding FUCK, NO. I mean, sure, they fought. And it hurt. And Liz ran away. Without saying goodbye. And all of that SHATTERED ME.

But...they still love each other even if they both have a lot to work on individually. That’s part of what MADE it so hard.

I am actually stoked for season 3. Two Maxes? All of the delicious angst once Liz gets home. Liz not knowing there's two Maxes and meeting Jones first and not knowing who he is and being vulnerable to his mindfuckery? Or just his fuckery in general. Whatever. I am here for it.

I am here for Liz discovering that something about Genoryx is Not Right. I'm here for her living a normal life and getting drawn back into the madness. I'm here for Max getting more powerful and more alieny under Jones's guidance. And I am here for what I am certain will be an epic reunion once they are back together again.

As a last more positive comment...I’m stoked that we get to have both Max and Liz alive and facing interesting potential storylines this hiatus. All I wanted from this finale, in truth, was to leave the characters in a place that inspired me to want to write for them for the next year plus or however long this COVID-extended hiatus ends up being. And I am so excited for that.

And I have talked enough now that I will go ahead and post this and leave this post as my Echo Takeaways from the finale. I'll be back again with some more gen/bigger picture thoughts later.

[dewprisms]

After your binge-watching session, which would say is better: Kim Possible or Danny Phantom, and why?

Someone actually interested in my opinion for once?

Well it depends, both have their pros and cons in regards to episode plots/arcs, characters and chara development, character designs etc. So I’ll suppose I’ll break them down into different categories. Under a cut as to not make scrolling a hassle.

Also I apologize in advance for my page theme, I know it’s kinda shitty and hard to read sometimes but I’m too busy to change it right now.

Designs/Art: I know Stephen Silver was the main designer for both shows (and his designs for a lot of the teenage girls has a uh, Obvious Pattern.) Ignoring my bias towards Vlad and Drakken, I think a lot of the ghosts have fun designs, but KP gets points for actually letting characters (esp Kim and Ron) wear other clothes in S2 and beyond, and between Phantom, S1 Kim and S4 Kim I think S4 Kim has the best “action” outfit. BUT the art style for DP is pretty stiff at times and KP style has a lot more range for animation, body types and faces.  Overall though, I say they’re pretty tied imo. Both have a lot of ups and downs that truly comes down to a personal pref, even though the Fartman’s style is the more iconic one. I think KP wins animation/art and DP wins for designs.

Characters: Again, the villains shine here more than the protags. KP as such a wide range of villains that I have have to give them the point for creativity and FUN in antagonists, (Duff Killigan is prob my favorite in absurdity followed by Monkey Fist, the Seniors and DNAmy all tied for second. I really like Motor Ed too, seriously.) but that’s not to say that DP doesn’t have them either. Vlad’s true motivations are really...unique compared to other DP villains and even KP ones, (seriously? How many bad guys you know who’s goal in life is “fuck the MC’s mom and also make MC your son”) who like KP are just “take over the world and/or cause tons of destruction” but with only half the fun. Sadly Dark Danny’s entire thing hinges on him being Danny But Evil who only wants...destruction??? Whereas Evil Ron actually does something interesting with the character, showing Ron’s true potential (see Evil Ron vs Electronique in “Stop Team Go” for example) and being in-character for him still. (Faux Take Over The World plot to cover his true goal of owning all the world’s Nacos? Of fucking course Ron would. Brilliant.) Evil Ron still has hints of Ron’s personality (”Boo-yahaHAHAHA!”) whereas Dark Danny is just... evil for evil’s sake, which can be good when actually done right, but in this case isn’t because the only thing that resembles Danny is his outfit. Shego’s backstory is great. DP’s new S3 enemies are very boring despite interesting powers. KP S4’s Camille Leon is great but Warmonga is just eh. Moving on to protags, KP’s protags are far, far more interesting than DP’s. Which brings us to the next point. (Also Mr. Barkin > Mr. Lancer, and Kim’s parents > Danny’s parents.) KP gets this one.

Chara Development: Gonna say it, DP almost has none, and straight up regresses in very end of S2 and most of S3. I swear the only real characters who have any are Vlad (for better or for worse, the latter imo), Jazz (when they remember her, and is good) and Valerie (whose is good too). Tucker gets 3 (three!!) fking episodes about him and they ALL carry the same theme of him not being able to responsibly handle having any kind of power, which is why him becoming the town mayor at the end is so BAD. There’s NO WAY Tucker of all people would make a good mayor. VALERIE got more episodes than him, JAZZ got more episodes than him, both with development that STUCK while he’s a MAIN CHARACTER. Sam never changes, def for worse. Sam is a Base-Breaking Character for a dang reason. She’s extremely pushy, acts like she’s lowkey better than everyone else, and never seems to consider how her actions affect other people, and the like 1 or 2 times she does it doesn’t fucking stick like she’s Hank Hill or something. Danny has no real development for his character. All that develops for him are his powers and nothing else. On the other hand, KP characters DO have development and it shows! Not just for the protags but for villains too! Kim is bossy and a lil controlling early on and stops during S2, whereas Ron was extremely cowardly and gets, not exactly braver but just less phased by it all, plus early he never quite liked going on missions but later on gets sad if he has to miss them, before he doesn’t like being distractions but later on very much takes pride in being one, and etc. Drakken and Shego get development too, esp their relationship with each other AND with Ron and Kim. Bonnie actually got an episode of development (but sadly regressed in time for the finale) whereas Pauline just...never changes whatsoever. Bonnie actually makes for a good rival and mean girl for Kim for the entire show whereas Paulina and her relationship with Danny and Sam are just....bland and doesn’t go anywhere. There’s nothing for Dash, though Ron doesn’t really have an equivalent. So, KP gets this one.

Episodes/Plots/Arcs: DP wins in the Lore department by far, KP wins in character arcs. A Sitch In Time answers the great questions of What Would Happen if the Villains Teamed Up AND Shego is a Better Villain than Drakken so Why isn’t She in Charge? ft Time Travel. The Ultimate Enemy answers What If Danny Went Evil and Is Vlad Completely Irredeemable? ft Time Travel. KP definitely does the “balancing Hero duties with School life” better than DP. You can definitely see her struggles with it whereas DP is just kinda there. I also very much like that Kim is girly but is never shamed for it both in-universe and out, whereas DP is known for the shitty “I’m not like other girls” fake feminist bullshit. A problem I have with DP is that time pretty much never changes, as if the show takes place within a year, and it seriously hampers the growth of the show could have. Time is also just out of whack, they take their big end-of-the-year test then it’s Christmas THEN it’s Summer Vacation but even in S3 they’re all still in the first year of high school like ??? What?? Whereas KP starts in Freshman year and ends with Senior Graduation. The arcs of Danny/Sam vs Kim/Ron are just...D/S was definitely teased a ton more but by S3 you just get tired of it, not to mention the hypocrisy regarding the character relationships. Personal opinion warning, but Danny/Valerie had a lot more development in such a short time and was super interesting. Kim/Ron didn’t have as many teasing esp in S1 and S2 (it’s there though) but it def picks up in S3 and I love how their new relationship was handled in S4. Back to episodes, my favorite episodes for both are Reign Storm and So The Drama, but while I might be biased toward Reign Storm I’m gonna have to ultimately give better episodes overall to KP. So The Drama has Drakken going back to his Actually Dangerous roots from early on and becoming the closest to anyone to actually winning on his own merit (Shego stole the Tempus Simia from Drakken/Duff/MF and relied on weird time shit of Kim being “lost in the time stream” ((actual canon explanation)) to travel to the future specifically to stop her, to actually win) and is SO good when Dr. D finally gets defeated, plus (personal bias here) Kim and Ron’s teased hook-up finally happens. I will say though, I’m not a fan of S4′s Hana Stoppable/The Han story. As both shows are action-oriented, they definitely have their fair share of good fights but I think KP also has better action and fight scenes. Humor is extremely subjective but I think KP made me laugh more. Finally, DP is infamous for S3 just being bad whereas KP just got better and better with each season, though I’d put S4 below S3 and above S2. So: Lore = DP. Arcs, Action and Eps = KP.

Fandom: Ignoring the super gross shipping aspects of some parts of the fandom (If ur a P*mpousP*p or K*go shipper pls go away from my stuff i’m fucking serious), I think DP wins for this one. Many great OCs, (I really haven’t seen any for KP aside from next gen?) the already interesting lore is def expanded so much by fans, I legitimately don’t care for “Wes Weston” but my god did the fandom do some serious work for this boy. I don’t know too much about KP since the fandom seems kinda dead aside from some shipping stuff and a very slight revival from the movie, whereas DP ended before KP and is still very very active. DP wins fandom.

(Bonus) Reboots/Redesigns: I’m gonna be honest, I’m not sure what could be done better for KP aside from the mess of Disney’s out-of-order airings, a more serious reboot wouldn’t work for the show at all, but DP could definitely use a reboot and fixes the disaster of S3. And reboots & character redesigns are def a hot topic for the DP fandom. So DP gets this one, though I’m not sure if this is a good thing.

Final: So over all, 4 for KP and 4 for DP, or if you add the little groups, 7 for KP and 4 for DP. Overall, I’ll say KP is the better show, but DP shines with the fandom. I also have a personal bias in favor of DP but it makes them even out for me. If you want interesting lore and good fandom content, go for DP. If you want fun and interesting characters, actual character development and more action and drama, KP is the way to go.

But instead of picking one, just watch both!

[sicklyscribe]

hey so if you wanna hit me with that sweet sweet elijah’s characterization meta anytime please feel free. or direct me to any previous posts because my dumb ass is using this time to re-obsess over vampire melodrama.....

It appears that most of my non-tag and non-petty-casual commentary is still in drafts... so instead of finishing the ‘What the hell is wrong with season 4: an itemized list’ meta and finishing answering the ‘What would you change if you could rewrite any of the show?’ ask from a while ago, I’ll just pick out the Elijah bits and add on to them for garnish. (Those posts might exist at some point. But honestly not soon enough for me to worry about people getting annoyed with copy/paste so PREVIEW TIME: ELIJAH FLAVOR)

This is way sloppier and un-cited than I usually meta, by the way, but what the hell, The Fandom is Dead and I Only Have Friends to Entertain Now, so if anyone gets angry and tries to step into my asks then it’ll just be nostalgic rather than annoying.  Here’s the starter, which is from the F*CK YOU SEASON 4 meta and quite a few of these points will be repeated later because you asked for it technically so.

The cracks in the narrative began to show as early as season two, and believe me when I say I’m not saying this because I love him - it began with Elijah. I can make a lot of arguments to this effect, but the only one that I am certain is not propelled by my very strong bias concerns the presentation of the Red Door.

Initially, I was ecstatic at the opportunity to explore Elijah’s past, his perspective, his darkest moments. I was a bit wary in that it seemed as though the narrative wanted to Explain Everything about Elijah through this device, but he was finally getting some attention so I tried to hold back judgement.The result was pretty promising. One of the most gorgeous moments on the show occurs when Klaus enters Elijah’s mind and tells him how much he needs him. It showcases the main pillar of the show - the structural trifecta of Hope, Klaus, and Elijah. And afterwards, as usual, Elijah pushes the experience away.Until it’s convenient. 

Elijah begins to be erratically vicious. At first, I felt as though it wasn’t handled poorly, I could explain away my worries easily, and that was all I needed. But it happens over, and over, and over again, with the same excuse - protecting the family, protecting Hope. Elijah’s triggers, once so crucial, begin to break down, but we don’t see why or how that process occurs. He begins to be the character that is level-headed when it is convenient, and a violent one-track-mind when it’s convenient. Eventually, in order to maintain balanced tension with a softening Klaus, Elijah became violent without nuance in every situation. His continued development is no longer possible, since his character no longer displays depth.

Which is annoying, as a fan. But as a person who loves to analyze narrative, it’s a huge red flag. Elijah is necessary for this story. His love for Klaus, and Klaus’ relationship with him, is one of the things that holds the narrative together as it goes forward. The two of them need each other in order to experience growth, but cannot grow from each other any longer - and that friction is what provides energy and substance that can help drive a multi-year melodrama. This is why I mentioned above that Elijah’s violence was likely intended to balance with Klaus’ changing heart - but there is no balance in the level of development the two brothers experience. It has been shoddy in many places, but attention has been given to Klaus’ journey towards peace and kindness, while Elijah has been given a single metaphor, a single psychosis, and is expected to carry half of the narrative weight. The story has no choice but to make a plot device out of him - he simply does not have the required depth to be anything else, which is made obvious by the attempt to do so in the ritual to bring Inadu to the material plane, which I will discuss later.

When his development is ignored, when he is used as a tool to get from point A to point B time and time again - that’s when the pillar starts to crumble.

Zooming back in on s1, this was actually my only major structural gripe with season 1, so it comprises the entirety of the ‘what would you change’ for that season:

The poison that rotted the whole dang show started very small — casting Elijah too strongly as a white hat, to offset the darkness of the rest of the main family. This was the right move, of course, but it was pushed a twinge too far and it was the tiny weight that set everything wobbling. As an offshoot of that, this was also done with Hayley to a degree. I would have had them bond very similarly to the way they do in the show, but I would have had them connect at least once over the skeletons in their closets. (Only once or twice, again, since their ship relied in this season on the fallacy of each other being saviors). In fact, this was one I felt so strongly about that I actually did rewrite their scene in 1x07 ‘Bloodletting’.

Then season two when it gets more pronounced: 

The rift in the show widened with the swing-and-miss that was The Red Door arc. Elijah became a Problem when it was convenient for the plot and A Fixer/Sounding Board when it was not. They used probably the most INTERESTING and INTEGRAL part of his characterization -- which had been a mystery for YEARS counting The Vampire Diaries appearances -- and Elijah discovering that either from trauma or his mother’s magic, he has repressed the moments which forged him. This lack of knowledge, this lack of control, should have been something much more cataclysmic and its effects should be clear when comparing ‘Elijah Before’ to ‘Elijah After’. Instead, it kind of served to take off Elijah’s ‘White Hat’ that he’d been illy-fitted with in S1, and allow him to accessorize with it or whatever version of Elijah fits the episode at hand.

This tension, and this chaos should have been much stronger and much more messy than simply putting the Suit back on and being Pretty Much Okay (barring one plot-insignificant diner massacre) only a few episodes later. It would make the therapy scene later with Camille even more gorgeous than it already is and it would then place Elijah’s moment of catharsis, and the beginning of his attempts to move on, with Klaus’ monumental forgiveness in 2x11. I think this is what was intended, but it was not at all achieved, because Elijah is such a tricky character to write, and it is so very easy to use him for whatever the scene requires. Because of this, Elijah’s struggles got dropped just long enough for Klaus’ forgiveness to hit powerfully in viewers for Klaus, but not for Elijah. The writing began to lean on Elijah as a Drama Everyman more and more throughout the show, and it’s just tragic to me that The Red Door wasn’t utilized to its potential. (And that we didn’t have a Klaus/Tatia conversation, but hey, I have an unfinished fixit for that whole saga on Ao3, you’re welcome and I’m sorry).

In season three, we got a few good glimpses of the kind of complexity that Elijah should live in -- the way he kills Arianne, for example, I’ve linked what I called a ‘headcanon’ but in retrospect it was pretty explicitly canon -- and we see the youth and terror and involuntary power in him in the flashback where he discovers that Klaus killed their mother. But the relationship between Tristan and Elijah? The man that he made, and that made him? That was far too pedestrian to have produced either of them. If Elijah learned ‘nobility’ from Tristan, learned what ‘superiority’ looked like, and this was the time that he began to change... we should have had words between them, or a scene highlighting just them, at least once in the flashbacks. 

If this season was supposed to be about the creation of the Trinity, the First Children (because Finn didn’t tell no one that Sage is actually the oldest ‘cuz he’s an ashamed little bitch) why did we see only TWO of the THREE transformations? Klaus turned Lucien accidentally, trying to heal him. Rebekah’s sympathy and love were used as Aurora’s tool to turn herself. When and how did Elijah turn Tristan? It is explained that Elijah turned him in order to create a third vampire for his plot to trick Mikael into chasing them instead -- it is explained that Tristan, Aurora, and Lucien were compelled to believe that they were in fact Elijah, Rebekah, and Klaus in order to make their decoy impeccable. But when this compulsion was shattered -- when Lucien learned that he had been used and made monstrous as a tool for a monster who wasn’t even noble -- did he confront Elijah? Did they ever speak, or was their next meeting the day Elijah learned that Tristan had taken over Elijah’s coven? I would argue that Elijah needed equal weight in the France flashbacks even though he didn’t have a flashy romance (though if early press release rumors were true, he and Tristan could have had one and that would have been perfect) 

Season four is really where you can pick an episode and Elijah will put on the stage makeup and play any part. It’s also -- BIG COINCIDENCE -- where the plot deteriorates completely. Here’s just one example from my Excuse You What the Hell? Season Four meta: 

On to the next moment that showed major neglect (I know this has been Elijah-heavy so far, but again, this is where the problem started so I want to carry this thread through for a while before addressing other issues) - the ritual to bring Inadu to the mortal realm. The purpose of this ritual was to scare viewers with the risk of Hope’s safety and hype the Hollow’s “bad”ness, but also to make the first move in the ‘Letting Go’ thread between Hayley and Elijah. Elijah was supposed to be forced to choose between children's lives and letting the Hollow loose upon the world, and decide to kill the children. That was the dramatic point of placing this ritual in the narrative, but it isn’t mechanically sound.

It is stated outright that the ritual has to end with the death of the children linked to the spell. The children were linked via their totems found in 4x03 - placing Hope definitively in this group.

But we only ever see four of the five in one place. Maybe it was worth it to the Hollow to reach as far out as Hope was to bind her via her hairbrush, maybe it was worth it to the Hollow to drain her from afar, I’d buy that easily. But they made no attempt to kidnap her and place her with the other four children during the ritual. The ritual that required the deaths of five children. Unless it required Hope to be there only on standby, which is absolutely ridiculous. They had the kids on an alter, even if it was just for show. But why not all of them? If the real goal of the ritual was to lure Klaus and/or Marcel, wouldn’t kidnapping Klaus’ child be a more surefire way to accomplish that rather than just hoping the Mikaelsons would come to the right mystical diagnosis in time?

The reason why Hope wasn’t there was because the ritual was never thought through. The reason she wasn’t there is because it didn’t make sense for Elijah to want to kill Hope to stop the Hollow, which is what this ritual actually demanded if it actually worked the way Vincent claimed. In actuality, all that was desired was for Elijah to display a willingness to kill innocents in front of Hayley, and in doing so it demanded that Hope’s life both be at stake and not at stake at all. This failure to coherently execute a single-episode arc is plainly poor storytelling. It displays not only disrespect to the narrative structure, but a blatant flippancy towards one of their main characters and arguably the most complex one on the series. The sloppily contrived tension here between Hayley and Elijah does eventually contribute to the supposed theme, yes, but at what cost?

Elijah was neglected because he was hard to write, and even harder to write well as a ‘light’ foil to Klaus. Marcel should have fully owned that role, and not been similarly jerked around as a plot-serving every-man once the mystery of season 1 and the reasons behind Marcel’s ‘senseless’ cruelty were revealed. 

Elijah was always the cornerstone of the family’s narrative, because he was complex enough to carry it. Camille provided an additional column of support to Klaus’ individual journey as a person/father, but she was bulldozed for Allmighty Plot as well. By the end of season three, both she and Elijah had effectively been thrown in the garbage one way or another, and the show tried to go on without them. It couldn’t. 

I will say that Elijah’s conversation with Hope in that ludicrous backdoor pilot did make me feel things. I did also see the clip where Elijah and Klaus have a heart-to-heart in some sort of european flashback, which was touching, but felt incongruous for their relationship/dev at the time. Hope asking Elijah how old he was when he made his promises to Klaus, though? Elijah offering carte blanche to Hope for how to punish her friend’s bullies? TWO OF THE THREE SCENES INVOLVING ICE CREAM? 

SOME of season 5 is valid but ONLY because it stole scripts from my headcanons.

[bitsygirl9]

Review Torchwood: S2 Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

I wrote this ages ago when I was still heavily into Torchwood. It’s a review for the opening episode of s2 ‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’ so I figured I’d put it up here because why not? 

(Also currently listening to Jenny Lewis ‘You are what you love’)

So Jack tells Ianto that he came back for him (sort of). Ianto is so swayed by this meaningful moment he responds by completely blanking Jack when he suggests they do it on the photo-copier (or something). Jack is so surprised by this because, apparently, this routine is usually fool-proof, even if you just came back from buggering off to be with another man without so much as a 'see ya' note and can't believe Ianto isn't responding accordingly. Realising that his 'I'll show you mine if you show me yours’ routine probably isn't going to cut it this time he decides to ask him out on a date. (That's what they still do in the 21st century, right?) lol. JB's surprise face is hilarious in this scene when Ianto isn't having any of it and it shows up three times in this ep. When he finds out about Gwen's engagement and once with John.

So, yep, a bit late and I still haven't finished s1, but I'm going to try and rewatch s2. So Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang. So this is a cheesy, cheesy, like supersized cheesy episode and some of the dialogue is a bit terrible, but there are some interesting character moments particularly between Jack and John. Well, their cheesier moments make me cringe quite a bit, but their more serious moments are interesting and mostly more effective to me. I get that Jack is supposed to be conflicted about John or something, but he's really the master of mixed messages. And also non-sequiturs.

Best Moment: Don't really have one so I'll just go with Ianto eye-rolling at Hart's comments in the boardroom scene just because that made me laugh out loud. Also lol at the coked-up, family hostage-taking blowfish stopping for the light. Still got to respect that road code even if you're an amoral, druggie criminal type, I guess.

Worst Moment: Don't exactly have one of those either, but I'll go with the 'See how Gwen is in charge scene' at the beginning. Honestly, they sell Owen taking charge in the earlier car chase scene better than they do Gwen. This scene is so awkward and self-conscious like even the writers don't buy what they were trying to sell. I guess that's why Gwen needs to remind us a few times that she was in charge. Lol. Does Tosh really need to be told to update the database and Ianto to take the dead body Owen's finished with to the Morgue? Lol. These are all pretty routine aspects of their job, surely. They don't really need Gwen for that. If you need to dumb down other characters to sell the abilities of another character I suspect you're doing it wrong. Also if the point is to show that the team missed Jack, but still managed to function without him then maybe having him have to come to their rescue once again probably isn't the way to go. So cool entrance and some pretty awkward meta via blowfish to get the newbies up to speed, but way to undermine the idea that this is an effective team once again. Also, if Ianto is supposed to be the least effective field member why exactly is he taking point? Just so newbies get that he's the least effective field member? lol I get that they are a man is down, but surely dealing with the immediate threat should be a priority.

WTF moments: It's Torchwood so yeah. Are they ignoring The Empty Child's existence? In that we're told Jack is bitter about the Time Agency because they stole 2 years of his memory and that's why he left and is even happy to con them. Granted a lot of time has passed since that moment, but time doesn't seem to have much of an effect on Jack's memories so should he really come off as that nostalgic about them? Kind of a weird moment.

Also, does Jack have to have a problem using his words all the time? Maybe the show wants it to ambiguous about Jack warning Gwen not to let John kiss her so we wonder if he's jealous for a while or are surprised by the real reason or something, but it kind of makes Jack look like a bit of a moron that he doesn't just tell her that Hart's likely wearing some sort of poisonous gloss and that's why she should be careful about him kissing her and not simply because he's just that kind of letch. Also, Gwen is probably the most likely to fall for an easy sob story so I'm not sure I buy her argument that she's the best one to get info out of John lol.

Also shouldn't Jack be aware that John's wrist strap can likely jam signals and so have anticipated that? Of course, it could be a new model or modulation on John's part, but it seems like it should be pretty rudimentary considering how much more technologically advanced they're supposed to be.

Are we supposed to assume John knew where Jack was for a while, but was just looking for an excuse to show up on his doorstep?

Also, he tells Gwen specifically that Jack will never stay. Is he supposed to be referring to her specifically? Are we to assume Hart is jealous of Gwen because he immediately just gets how Jack feels about her or something? Like the nostrovite in SB. Any thoughts?

Also, is it just me or were those canisters not well hidden at all? I get that it was a trap, but unless they'd only just been put there anyone could have just picked one of them up and wondered off with them lol.

In EOD Rhys is murdered and Gwen is supposedly so devastated, unwilling to live with this loss she's willing to destroy the world to get him back. I don't know what the time-line is supposed to be, but are we to assume this event had such an emotional impact on her that the only person she cares enough about to remember is Jack when she's about to die and that she's still in just give me the signal and it'll be 'Rhys, who' mode? So what was the point of all that again?

Is Owen supposed to be coming on to Tosh in their scene in the lock-up? I would say yes, but I've seen Meat. So um. Ok. It feels like he's feeling out a potential relationship with her, but are we also supposed to seriously believe by this point that Owen still doesn't get that Tosh fancies him? Her innuendo asking if he needed a hand 'getting it up' in Countrycide too subtle for him?

Gwen's comment that she tells Jack everything and he tells her nothing. Did they basically just then turn around and recycle this moment for Ianto's use in ep 4 of COE? Or should I give the writers more credit and believe they're aiming for something much deeper i.e despite living all this time and with all these experiences Jack really doesn't change his tune all that much. It's still the same old music. Because it does kind of feel like that in this episode anyway.

Anything New: Not really. I mean the special effects are cheesier than I remember.

Religious/Literary: Well there's the whole life is meaningless, there is nothing routine. Does that count? Which follows on to:

Humanity: Good or Bad: Apparently we're all just a bunch of sad sacks with nothing to look forward to except death. Is it because the writers are all at or close to middle-age or something because, gees, these people are slit-wrists inducingly miserable about life. lol. And there are still 12 more episodes to go. Where's the Prozac?

Anything Else:  I guess Ianto and stopwatches is a thing. He's more excited by that than he is by Jack asking him out lol.

[yutaya]

Discord was talking about how Colleen still has a grudge against Ward. I started considering how they could potentially bond.... it’s a conundrum.

The problem, of course, is that Colleen remembers very well the day that Ward Actual Meachum, one of the all time youngest Fortune 500 CEOs, one of the most successful executives in New York, one of Profile Magazine’s “Hot 50″ Entrepreneurs, CEO of International Corporation Rand Enterprises Ward Meachum showed up at her struggling dojo and tried to bribe her into lying to the legal system that the homeless guy with outdated ideas about challenging dojos but who seemed otherwise earnestly harmless had threatened her, was dangerous, unstable, and possibly armed (there had definitely been a mention of guns to heads.) The homeless guy who had just called her for help, because he had already been committed and was thus safely out of everyone’s way already, who’d said that he’d been drugged and taken against his will and attacked in the street because one of the richest families in New York had it out for him, who had called a woman that he’d met twice because she had been nice enough to give him some slippers before she sent him packing - he’d called her and said that she was the only person who could help him. Ward had responded to her initial denial that Danny had been at all threatening by suggesting a bribe for lying about it anyway, had cut her off and ignored her second denial, and, after he’d successfully set all her alarm bells about men who don’t take “no” for an answer ringing, came back the next day with prepared papers and a check for $50,000.

When Colleen saw Joy Meachum’s tears and shock at Danny’s mysterious m&ms package she’d thought it possible that the Meachums were underhanded and unethical but may have at least actually believed that Danny was a legitimately crazy impostor - Colleen thought that for about half a day, and then she had to fight off Rand Security home invaders in her pajamas.

The Meachum siblings went from accusing Danny of stalking them (and, as she’d discovered later, actively trying to have him killed) to admitting he was their childhood friend and helping him fight the Hand and their corrupt murderous father. Ward apparently decided he could be the brother Danny wanted so badly after all and the two of them spent the year after Midland Circle just sort of pretending that everything else had never happened. And Colleen, who loves Danny and knows how much he values having a family, tries to be cordial.

But she’s never really stopped thinking that Ward Meachum is a piece of shit.

-

Ward, for his part, is hyper-aware of the fact that Colleen hates his guts, can’t blame her for it and in fact approves of her reasons (his brother’s significant other had better take extreme offense to anyone who jeopardizes him,) and is a little bit scared of her.

If Danny ever leaves him alone in the apartment with her for some reason Ward probably just stays out of Colleen’s way and they politely ignore each other until Danny gets back.

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So, how can Colleen and Ward bond?

1. Danny pulls the typical sitcom “I want the most important people in my life to get along” move and wheedles an agreement to dinner out of them where they continue not to get along until somehow bonding over how they both love Danny or potentially over making fun of Danny (with love).

1: Flaw - They already know they both love Danny, that’s the only reason they have the level of acquaintanceship they do now.

2. Ward texts Colleen at some point during the Asia trip because he can not take this anymore, he has to vent about Danny to SOMEBODY, and it turns into a texting relationship that turns into an actual friendship centered around commiseration re: Danny and the unbelievably stupid things he does and his ridiculous accidental flirting ways - previously discussed with hilarity on the discord but when taken seriously:

2: Flaw - Ward would probably not text Colleen about this; he knows she hates him.

3. Ward sends a message to Colleen to tell her when they’re scheduled to land in New York coming home from Asia because he knows it would make Danny happy to have his friends welcoming him back.

3: Flaw - Although Ward would definitely do this, it wouldn’t really lead to any bonding between Ward and Colleen. It falls in line with the Danny-centric accord they have now.

4. The twelve-foot-mountain-troll method: Ward and Colleen wind up in some perilous situation where they have to work together, including active communication, to survive/save Danny/help Danny/save or help other people.

AND

5. The adventures with Zuko method: Ward and Colleen embark on some mission together, working together (including active communication) to solve the problem/find some information that will help/save Danny or other people.

4&5: Convoluted - requires circumstances - Why are the two of them specifically together? Colleen needed Ward’s resources for something like in S2? Why would Ward insist on coming along? If Ward needed Colleen’s help on something it would be more likely to be related to her physical abilities or street knowledge of a dangerous situation in which case she would be more likely to have to go/insist on joining, but what thing like that would he need Colleen’s help for? It would call for even further circumstances, like Danny is unavailable and the matter is time sensitive, or Danny is out of commission. It could not be about Danny’s safety without Danny being out of commission because if Ward tried to go behind Danny’s back even if his intention was to protect him Colleen’s opinion of him would only worsen and she would definitely tell Danny/insist he tell Danny. It seems a huge stretch to have the two of them together by coincidence, like if they both happen to be at the bank when it gets taken over by robbers.

Scenario - Maybe Colleen could be in the Rand building for some reason when it’s attacked? System override and lockdown or something. Attackers would of course go for the CEO and potentially the other executive level employees to try to make Ward do something (HA good luck with that they have no idea how stubborn he is), Colleen and her vigilante soul probably defies being a lobby level hostage by climbing into a vent in the bathroom or something and making her way to the top level to help. This would be a good opportunity for nonverbal communication between Ward and Colleen, demonstration of trust in each other to take care of their part in whatever/get things done, plus throwback to the fight at Rand from S1. Actually someone please write this.

4&5: Pro - If it’s a situation involving helping other people especially, but just the kind of conversation x situation prompts could work too, scenarios 4 and 5 would be an opportunity for some of Colleen’s views on Ward to change - his priorities and his ethics could be revealed more clearly to her and cast him in a more favorable light.

6. Just.... prolonged exposure? As Ward keeps being there at family game night and family dinner and Misty being chill about him (‘Why, Misty?’ Colleen asks, looking to the sky: ‘Why?’) and him being an admittedly cute parent and Danny babysitting his kid with Colleen’s inevitable help and continuing to be a reliable ally for all their major Iron Fist snags Colleen slowly starts to think of him less harshly, they get more used to each other and slowly start to consider the other as someone they could rely on to do something if they needed it, etc. Maybe they’d even grow to like each other, eventually.

6: Con - Would take a long ass time, not nearly as fun as the other options.

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Other ideas welcome. Gang?