#i made like six more gifs of this scene btw

[ex0rin]

Hughie Campbell | The Boys S01E05: Good for the Soul

[allyriadayne]

yeah i'm gonna need a full breakdown of the deleted rhaenyra and jace scene

LET'S GO THEN

there are SO many things i want to say about it. it's literally been my white whale since it was announced as a cut scene. i was hopping one of the scenes op talked about with jace was that i'm sooo happy it was. my main reasons were that 1) it's a jace/rhaenyra scene and those are always juicy and 2) jacegon reasons. i'll be using text from the original post here btw.

under the cut for more jace, rhaenyra, jace AND rhaenyra and some jace and aegon <3

"Daemon fights like an unrelenting tempest with little regard for his well-being [...] Daemon hungers for war, and he'll have it one way or another"

I love that the scene begins with daemon fighting other knights and in a sort of frenzy. he's obviously expressing his grief over viserys and visenya both, and how angry he is about the situation. i think it's such a great contrast with how rhaenyra and jace are presented in comparison. jace finds rhaenyra in "deep contemplation" as she watches over daemon. it's such a great element in their dynamic because as much as rhaenyra doesn't want war, she's as angry and as grief-stricken as daemon, but cannot express herself in the same way for fear of losing her image in front of the other lords. daemon has always been her outspoken twin, he's her sword and shield and like a dragon he's expressing what she cannot. it really is so good how they represent one half of a whole. delicious.

then jace comes to her and says

"Daemon wants to fight for us."

SO interesting that earlier in the episode we have jace and daemon in explicit opposition. daemon wants to act, jace is heeding rhaenyra's orders of not doing anything except by her command. daemon obviously doesn't respect him because he's a man who respects actions and jace is still a boy without experience neither political or in a war. i'm in the camp that while jace also doesn't respect daemon nor wants or likes him as a stepfather/father figure, he accepts him as part of the family and implicitly feels safe in his presence. he is his siblings' father, the man who raised (loosely! daemon is still daemon <3) joffrey when harwin and laenor died. he's known him for six years and seen him every day.

this scene is also after daemon threatens the KG in front of jace with caraxes so i think a minimum of respect for daemon's war knowledge made jace trust the he would do anything for rhaenyra and her children. /he wants to fight for us/.

"I wonder. Will you?"

"will you?" SO delicious because while jace will heed her commands to stop daemon from plotting, he does NOT agree with her approach! very very interesting. makes sense when he says "send us" when all rhaenyra wants is to keep her children safe. obviously direct parallel to ep 2:

"I will always fight for my family... but this is not as simple as one of the other"

rhaenyra is understandably reticent to enter war full on. her first experience with it has her losing a baby. and added to this is that just /the day before/ she's spent and more or less amenable afternoon with both family. it's not easy when it's not what viserys would want and what could possibly be his last wish.

it's also about alicent of course. it's not easy to give the order to kill or imprison the woman you considered your best friend and who probably is one of the few people with whom rhaenyra had a deep relationship in her life.

"It could not be simpler. If you accept Aegon's terms, you will forfeit my life. And Luke's and Joff's."

another crash between them! as much as they are a lot alike, they butts head more often than not, esp when jace doesn't agree how rhaenyra is handling an issue like harwin's funeral and now the war. but in all this, he still supports and respects her because he very pointedly questions her in private, both in driftmark and in here. when he was younger, he could've confronted her in public out in the yard, but to me jace learned very early or assumed to himself that he could be (and is!) her mother's most steadfast ally as her heir and young prince and that meant playing the politics game, and in this case to question her in private rather than in public where he could undermine her.

it also comes from the very public humiliation the kids, and jace as the eldest and most cognizant of the situation, have faced by their peers. he knows the power of rumors and whispering, what it does first hand and would not and does not want rhaenyra to face them too, or at least not from something he could've avoided. in this scene he is acting like one of her loyal lords, advising her to take one way or the other. acting like the prince he is.

it is also very interesting that he mention's "aegon's terms" when it's very obvious the terms came from alicent, maybe he doesn't know the full extend of the conversation on the bridge. in any case, it's clear aegon's on his mind. in early 2023 all we knew of the scene was that jace said "we shouldn't trust the usurper". jace wants to know what is to be done about him because he knows how aegon is, how long aegon holds grudges and his negative attitude (indifferent more like) to renew their old bonds (ouch!). esp after last night's dinner where aegon couldn't wait to bother him and join aemond in the antagonism to jace's immense dislike.

he thinks that if aegon had the chance he would kill them because they represent a risk to him claim. i personally don't think aegon would, but it's a real risk that jace is aware and that rhaenyra doesn't seen to grasp.

"Rhaenyra looks at him quizzically." "If you do not claim the throne, we will be taken hostage, or sent to the wall, or put to the sword. I do not know which fate will await us, but I do know they will call us "bastards" first."

the first line kills me because out of context it makes rhaenyra look naive but i think it does make sense for the rhaenyra we see in the bridge. what i said earlier, she's still reeling from the alicent from the diner /the night before/. the alicent that proclaimed her a good queen and begged her to stay with her. it's difficult! but i think it shows very well how complicated her feelings are in this.

this is also the point were jace and rhaenyra start having two different conversations: rhaenyra is still absent, "deep in contemplation", while jace is pushing and pushing. he wants answers, he wants to act! he doesn't care about alicent the queen who always sneered at him and called for luke's eye, he wants to ask about the boy from his childhood (girl, the parallels) who betrayed him so many times. and he's right! i think he's trying to soften the blow, this is the second time he's said he and his velaryon brothers will forfeit their life if they lose, if rhaenyra fails to act. this talk is also driven by self preservation and it's why he's siding with daemon this time. it kills me that rhaenyra has comforted luke all ep 10 but because jace is presenting himself as an equal in this conversation, not as her son, he doesn't get any kind of comfort. he's clearly thinking of death. and he's sixteen. and his mother doesn't know how to comfort him.

in this case, it's jace wanting rhaenyra to see him beyond of what he presents. beyond the perfect prince who's pushed through earth-shattering revelations about his identity. he wants her to see him and answer for once.

"but I do know they will call us "bastards" first". this jace knows with certainty. they might kill him or they might sent him to the wall, but they will call him a bastard as they do it. this is one of jace's touchiest points and weaknesses. every time he's called that he's flipped, due to under processed anger issues (hii harwin) and the repression he's going through to Just Not Think About It. i think it took a lot from jace to say this to rhaenyra's face. the first time it's when he confronts rhaenyra after harwin leaves and you see it's something he has thought about for some time

and later when they are in driftmark where the passions are high

note that he doesn't yell the word. he whispers it to her. he knows the power of it and how angry rhaenyra would become, it's a key word there. and one here too. in the cut scene he's trying to get... let's say a rise out of rhaenyra. to make her understand what will mean for them to get captured. to me it's so visceral because i don't think jace had ever consciously said or thought himself in such after driftmark and after aegon's betrayal. and i don't think that is how he framed it for luke when he told him about their parentage either. even in the audition for child luke, jace's lines frame the issue differently: "I think he thinks we don't belong here [...] we don't look like Targaryens. You must have noticed".

"Alicent gave her word that you would be treated kindly."

they are NOT having the same conversation!

"The word of an usurper means little and less."

either aegon or alicent, jace doesn't trust their word. the king and queen are one power in paper, but i bet jace is thinking about this too

his words means little and less to jace, he who was a victim and at the same time someone who enabled most of aegon's bullying behaviors. he knows him best. but jace also knows that aegon wouldn't bother with lies either. he was trying to unite the family during dinner, but time has shown him he shouldn't have bothered to carve himself to be someone aegon liked anymore. from the same audition video jace says: "so let us be good sons and please those who love us so they may forget what we lack". aegon will never forget! and even if jace or aegon want to break from this, they must play their part because they are too far along.

"In the yard below, Daemon can be heard SHOUTING for a fallen knight to get up and to come at him again. He prowls the fighting ground like a tiger protecting his den. He calls them out, taunting them -- a cruel avenger."

once again daemon as the externalization of their anger! "like a tiger protecting his den"!

"Jace and Rhaenyra reach stalemate; the conversation ends in silence."

my favorite part! this conversation could've never reached anywhere with these too. the issue is too thorny and they are too alike to want to see the other completely. jace is too angry and rhaenyra is too detached.

all in all, i wish they had kept the scene. it furthers rhaenyra and jace's relationship and gives a little bit more of characterization to jace and his relationship with aegon. loved seeing jace oppose rhaenyra and at the same time support her and take the lead when it's needed.

thanks for asking!

gifs mine, screencaps mine. script from the link above.

[barbarianbookhoe]

Chapter 3

A/N: here comes one of my fave Kanej scene!! (tho a bit changed but nvm) This became longer than I wanted, apologies if it feels too much!

(Btw i rewatched the series recently and my god was he hot doing this)

"You want us to do what?" Jesper asked and stopped fidgeting with his revolver. Y/N gave them back to him aftter Kaz told (almost) everything about his plan. But as expected, they had some reluctance towards some details.

"Do you have a better idea on how to get into a prison?" Kaz raised his brows, waiting for an answer, then nodded. "Thought so. As I said-"

"You intentionally want us to be prisoners? Get put behind bars, not to mention, that we'll have absolutely no weapons with us," Nina interrupted him. Kaz turned to her with an annoyed expression. "That is what I just told you, didn't I?" Everyone shifted in their seat uncomfortably, except Y/n. Her mind was already running with thoughts about Kaz's reason behind the idea.

"That's what I'm here for, isn't it?" She asked and they turned to her as she continued. "No one's going to expect criminals to willingly go into prison, that's why it's the perfect disguise. While the six of you are inside, I can shapeshift and easily get in and out, bringing you your weapons. I can change into anyone or anything, which means I can even change into a guard to make it less suspicious." It's a brilliant idea, she thought to herself but didn't say it out loud. Ghezen forbid she makes Kaz's ego grow bigger, if that was possible.

"And once we find Yul-Bayur, the two of you will change place until we get him out, saving time for us." Kaz told them and Y/N let out a small hum, as if she was agreeing with Kaz's explanation. "It'll work as long as no one tries to speak in Shu to me," Y/N said then quickly added, "or Fjerdan."

"According to my timing, no one's going to suspect a thing until we give you the signal and you leave," Kaz told her while Jesper slightly shook his head. "Don't want to offend you Y/N, I totally believe that you can do that, but umm," he hesitated for a moment before continuing, "how sure can we be that this will work? I mean, won't it be suspicious that while we're dragging him through the crowd, another one of him casually stirs potions in his laboratory?"

"I aggree with Jesper," Inej said and Kaz looked at her annyoed. "You too now?"

"Look Kaz, it's not that we don't trust you-" "I definitely don't trust him," Matthias mumbled while Inej spoke. "It's just that this really seems like a crazy idea. At least tell us you have a backup plan, if someone notices us," she pleaded with him but Kaz just stared at them with a blank face, seemingly in thought. His silence made both Jesper and Y/N worried. "You do have a backup plan?" Jesper asked, and Y/N quickly followed.

"Tell us you have a backup plan," Y/N asked with wide eyes and when Kaz finally looked at them he rolled his eyes. "Of course, I'm not an idiot. I have backup plans for backup plans,"

"That didn't sound so convincing," Y/N let out a sigh and Jesper did the same.

"I already figured it out. There's a few things that needs more details, but otherwise I have a solid plan," Kaz told them, and this time they found his words convincing enough not to doubt him furthermore.

After assigning each of them a task and telling them to meet at Fifth Harbor in two hours, Kaz dismisses the Crows.Y/N hugs Inej and Jesper on their way out, telling them to be careful, and slipping a newly made knife onto Inej's belt. When Nina walks past her to the door, she slightly turns towards the shapeshifter, as if telling her a secret.

"I don't know what's going on between you and Brekker, but I'm glad you're joining us," she told her honestly and it made Y/N's heart skip a beat. She was sure the heartrender sensed it by the smirk on her face.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked as nonchalantly as she could, but the grin on Nina's face told her she couldn't deceive her. "Whenever you speak his heart beats slower, like your voice is a drug and he just got injected with it. Makes him more calm, that's all. Also, green suits you," Nina winked and pointed at her leather vest under her apron. Y/N gave her a small smile in return, and watched as everyone left her apartment, even Kaz.

She didn't stop him when he went out the door, instead keeping her promise to him and acting like they were nothing else besides old colleagues. Oh but they were much more than that.

Even the word lovers were too much of an understatement for what they were to each other. In her head, Y/N called Kaz many things throughout the years: a colleague, an annoying friend, an asshole, a best friend, a partner in crime, a pain in the ass, her other half. One thing she knew for sure was that no matter how much of a liar and spiteful man he was, whatever promise Kaz made to her, he always made sure to keep it somehow.

I promise I'll give you a new knife.

He stole the one a Dime Lion threw at his head.

I promise I won't tell you drank it.

He created a fake alibi for her.

I promise I won't steal your pancakes again.

He stole the waffles instead.

I promise I'll be willing to try.

He could give her kisses on her skin now. He could take off his gloves and hold her hand for almost fifteen minutes. He could hug her, hold her, kiss her cheek almost without trouble.

He even tried kissing her a few weeks ago, trying to surprise her, but it didn't went well. They still did the things they accomplished in the last two years, but he didn't try kissing her again. Y/N didn't mind it for one minute, because this slow pace wasn't just because of Kaz. She had her fare share with fear of skin on skin contact. If the burn marks on her neck weren't any indicators, then her avoidance of close touches certaintly was.

She could deal with her aversion far better than Kaz, due to her nephew who sometimes clinged to her like there was no tomorrow. Not to mention that she used to work as a waitress in the Crow Club for a few months, before accepting the job as a gunsmith's assisstant. Though sometimes when she got back into her apartment, she felt like just standing in the middle of the room, not wanting to touch any material or fabric. These times even the soft and warm cushions of her own bed made her feel nauseaous. Especially the warmth that mattress could radiate, despite the fact that she always kept her bedroom rather chilly, even in the winter.

Y/N walked down to the workshop and took off her belt, that kept some of her tools on her hip. She also took the dirty apron off and tossed it on the anvil. She glanced around the workshop, wondering how many weapons should she bring with her. She though about the ones she's going to use, the ones for backup, and the ones the others will have to use in the Ice Court. She walked over to the shelves next to the fireplace and grabbed two belts. One for her and one for Inej, once they're inside the prison. She also grabbed gun hoisters, just in case, and put the four items on an empty table. She grabbed a few knives and two revolvers, along with three packs of bullets, so at least four dozen bullets. She began searching for the bag she used for delivering weapons to the Dregs, and she found it amongst the multiple boxes at the back of the room. She carefully placed the guns and the gun hoisters inside, then filled it with the knives and the packs of bullets. She threw the belt for Inej on top of everything and closed the bag. She also put the other belt on her waist, secured it, and filled it with knives, along with her leather vest. Her fingers grazed the edge of the vest, remembering her 16th birthday, when her brother convinced Inej to get Y/N a similar vest to hers

"I hate that you keep weapons on yourself at all times, but you might as well do it with some style."

Y/N smiled at the memory as she grabbed the bag and made her way upstairs.

Just as she was about to close the door, she heard the sound of a cane clicking on the stairs. She left the door slightly ajar, as she went into the kitchen and put the bag on the table. She grabbed another glass from the cabinet along with hers, and poured some kvas into both. She didn't turn around, even when the footsteps stopped and she could feel Kaz's presence directly behind her.

"Do you think you'll be able to pull it off?" He asked as Y/N turned around with both glasses in her hands. She gave one of them to him, as she answered. "If you think I can, then I think so too," she took a sip from her glass and watched Kaz quirk his eyebrow at her. "And why would I think that?" He asked rather playfully. "You wouldn't have offered me a place, if you thought otherwise," Y/N shrugged her shoulders and let the smug look take over her face. Kaz rolled his eyes, but Y/N could see the smile he was hiding in his features. "Your smugness is something I definitely didn't miss in the last few days," he downed the remaints of his drink and stepped closer to put his glass on the table. Right next to Y/N's hip.

"That indicates you missed me in the first place," she said quietly and really hoped her voice didn't waver as Kaz leaned closer to her. She could almost feel his breath on her face as he spoke. "Don't be so full of yourself," he whispered back gently, as he tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear, then letting his hand linger on her cheek. It made Y/N's heart melt the first time he did it, and it certaintly melted for the hundredth time too. She gave him a soft smile. "I missed you too,"

Later at Fifth Harbor

Kaz and Y/N parted ways after closing the workshop, to meet the others. Y/N went on a longer route to eliminate anyone that might be following them. The bag felt heavier in her hands, since Kaz insisted on her bringing some first aid items, just in case.

"We won't need at least half of these," Y/N argued with him, and he gave her a frustrated glance. "Is it so evil of me to try keeping you unharmed?"

As Y/N reached the harbor she noticed five figures near the ship that was taking them to Fjerda, and when she heard the footsteps behind her, she let out a smile. "How is your new knife?"

"It's beautiful. I really like it," Inej said from next to her and they began walking over to their group. "I knew the royal blue grip would suit you," Y/N winked at her and Inej softly smiled. "I've been thinking, and I'd like to ask you a question. Is it because of your shapeshifting ability, that you always knew when I was near? I always found it strange that you could notice my presence, when no one else did."

"When I turn back into human, I can still use some traits of animals. Sometimes it's only for a few hours, sometimes it's for days. Depends on the strength of the animal. Excellent hearing is one of them," Y/N told Inej and she listened to her with curiousity. She always liked to learn about new things, and Y/N was more than happy to give her answers.

The two of them came to a stop in front of the group, when all of a sudden the ship in front of them blew up. They all ducked down to not get hit by the wood and glass shards that erupted from the end of the dock.

"That was our ship!" Jesper shouted as Inej and Y/N were already scanning their surroundings. Kaz stood up straight and began limping away, signaling for them to follow him. "That was only a decoy. I counted on something like this happening,"

"Of fucking course you were," Y/N mumbled as she followed him along with the others. Kaz lead them to the real boat, the Ferolind, when someone began shooting at them. The bullets came from more than one direction, which ment the ambush was planned.

Jesper grabbed his revolvers and began shooting back, while diving behind one of the shipping crates, Nina and Matthias following him. Kaz and Wylan wasn't too far from them, throwing bombs at the attackers. Y/N and Inej were hiding in the shadows, trying to see who the attackers were.

"Shit, I need to get rid of this bag," Y/N whispered to herself, before tugging on Inej's coat. "I'll try to pass the bag to the others. Go around from the left, I'll take the right side. Maybe we can attack them from behind," she said and Inej nodded, disappearing among the crates.

Y/N took a glance around the dock and when she saw Jesper behind one of the crates, she slowly began to make her way towards him, but in the last few meters she just ran. She hopped down next to him and pushed the bag into Nina's hands. "There's at least a dozen knives in there, so be careful," Y/N told her and immediately went back to where she came from.

She couldn't see well in the dark, so she duck behind a crate and turned into a black cat. She ran the way where Inej went and she saw her fighting with a man, badly losing. Y/N sprinted towards them and just as she changed back into human, ready to kill the person, she saw him bleeding on the ground, Inej nowhere to be seen. She glanced around frantically searching for Inej, and when she saw her climbing the pyramid of shipping crates she gently grabbed her ankle. Inej tried to kick her and as Y/N saw the girl pointing the knife at herself, ready to avoid capture, she quickly reassured her.

"Inej! It's me!" She exclaimed and saw Inej stop as she took a better look at Y/N. "Are you hurt?" She asked but when she saw dark liquid staining Inej's side, her face fall. "Saints. Come on, I'll get you to the boat!" Y/N said and grabbed the girl's arm and put it around her shoulders. Then she tried to get Inej to her feet as gently as she could, but she still groaned in pain. "Sorry, sorry," Y/N apologized quietly. She quickly got the girl to the dock, before she felt a sharp pain piercing through her shoulder, making her drop Inej as she lost her balance. She managed to let out a scream before she felt the dark waves crash above her head.

The others were already on the deck, ready to help the two girls on the boat when they saw what happened. Nina and Jesper ran towards Inej, meanwhile Kaz stood there frozen, watching the dark water that took Y/N. He could faintly hear Jesper asking Nina if she hears Y/N's heartbeat, and the girl saying yes. He also saw a Black Tip, Oomen, jumping right after Y/N with a rope in his hands. Jesper stepped on deck with Inej in his arms, and Nina by his side giving him orders and Kaz watched as they disappear.

Just when he looked back at the water, Y/N came to the surface, tossing around to get Oomen off her back as he tried to strangle her with the rope. She went underwater again, and the next time she came up she began frantically swimming towards the boat. When she saw that Kaz was about to jump after her, she yelled at him as loud as she could. "Go! Start the boat!" Then she let out a groan as Oomen behind her grabbed her again. "GO, I'LL FIND YOU!" She shouted before he pulled her underwater again.

Kaz knew it was the logical choice to start their journey, before the Ferolind got blown up too, but Y/N's scream was the only thing currently echoing in his mind. He didn't hear Nina and Jesper arguing while trying to keep Inej alive, nor Specht walking over to him.

"Start the boat as quick as you can," Kaz said harshly to Specht as he walked over to a scared Wylan. "Do we have any flash bombs left?" He demanded and the boy pulled the bag off his shoulders and handed Kaz three small bombs. "What are you going to do?" Wylan asked as he held the bag close to his chest. Kaz contemplated just leaving him there without an answer, but in the moment he was too frustrated and angry to care about the image he held. "Save a friend," he told Wylan and for a brief second saw the surprised faces of Matthias and Jesper. Kaz hurried to the side of the boat and threw the three bombs as close to the crates as he could, imitating the explosion of an actual bomb. Kaz was sure the rest of the attackers didn't stay in the harbor long after that.

As they left the harbor, Kaz kept his eyes on the waves below them, even as Jesper told him that Inej was fine, and Nina was currently stitching her up. Everytime Kaz thought he saw Y/N resurface in the water his heart lept from him. And everytime he realized it was just his mind playing tricks on him, his heart stopped in disappointment.

"Where's Y/N?" Jesper asked suddenly. "Is she okay? Did she stay behind?" He didn't got an answer and Jesper was about to walk away from Kaz, when he finally spoke up on a quiet voice. "She got attacked. It's nothing she can't handle though," he sensed Jesper's shock and subtly looked at the side of his face. "What is it Jesper?" The sharpshooter just shook his head, the shock turning into worry as he spoke. "Are you not worried about her? Not even a little bit?" "Not particularly. She can take care of herself," Kaz responded quickly, and tightened the grip on his cane. "But isn't the two of you old...acquaintances?" Jesper asked, slightly confused at the word. He suspected there was more between the two than being colleagues, but Jesper also suspected if he ever told this to Kaz he'd skin him alive. Kaz looked at him with a blank face, before turning back to the sea. "Tell Wylan and Matthias to work on the map," Jesper sighed disappointedly, but did as Kaz said.

Kaz heard someone cough beneath him, and he was certain his imagination was playing another trick on him, but then he heard a familiar voice. "Anyone there? Please," Her voice was weaker than he would've liked it to be, but it didn't stop Kaz from leaning down to see her better.

Y/N was gripping the side of the boat as hard as she could, with blood stained arms. She could hardly keep her eyes open and Kaz hurried to the ropes on the deck, before abandoning his cane and throwing the rope down for Y/N to grab. "Hold on," Kaz told her, and his voice made Matthias, Wylan and Jesper look at his back as he layed down on his stomach. Y/N grabbed the rope and Kaz immediately started pulling her up, letting out a groan as his bad leg protested against it. He felt the rope slowly slipping from his hands and it made him go faster. Y/N was only a few inches away from him, when all of a sudden Oomen emerged from the water, and grabbed her waist to pull her down.

Without a second thought, Kaz let go of the rope and grabbed Y/N at the back of her jacket which made her groan in pain. The others saw Kaz starting to slip off the boat and ran to him, but when they saw Y/N and the man on her back they shared shocked glances before jumping to action. Kaz told them to pull the man on board too, which made them even more shocked. Jesper grabbed Y/N's jacket and helped Kaz pull her up, while Wylan and Matthias grabbed the other guy and Y/N made sure to kick him in the groin once they were both on board.

She began to curse him in Ravkan, before she started violently shivering from swimming in the cold water. Nina stepped on deck right at this moment, when she went to check on the others. The scene before her left her speechless for a few seconds before worry took over her.

"What the hell is going on here?" She asked and when she saw Y/N shivering in her drenched clothes beside Kaz, she quickly went over to her, but was stopped by a very angry Kaz. "You stay there Heartrender," He growled but Nina had none of it. "Saint sake, the girl will freeze to death if you won't let me help her! Let me warm her up!" She said but it only made Kaz angrier. Y/N shook her head as she spoke.

"No, no fire. I don't want fire," She began frantically breathing but Kaz reassured her with gently rubbing her back.

The movement made them realize that Kaz was still holding the girl, like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"There won't be any fire," He said to Y/N before turning back to Nina. "You can go," His harsh words made Nina even more angry with him. "Damn you Brekker, I was trained for this! I know what she needs! Let me help her!"

"You don't know what she needs!!" He yelled at her and it made everyone go silent. "Oh, and you do?" Nina asked mockingly and Kaz stayed silent. Then to all of their shock and surprise, he took off his coat while still staring at Nina like he was going to murder her. Then he put the coat around Y/N's shaking form as he helped her up from the ground and took her inside a cabin on the boat. The murderous look not once leaving his face.

After they disappeared, Jesper and Wylan got Oomen tied up and sat against the railing of the boat, stuffing his mouth with an old cloth. Jesper walked over to Nina and opened his mouth.

"Nina dear, can you check if my heart is still beating?" He casually asked her which made Nina turn to him with a questioning look. "I thought I'll have to die before I get to witness something like this,"

"Like what?" Nina asked back.

"Kaz Brekker, being affectionate...and protective?" Jesper answered like he didn't believe his own words.

"Did you...notice the tension between them?" Nina asked sheepishly and when she looked at Jesper he was already grinning. "Notice? I'm surprised we didn't catch on fire yet," he chuckled and Nina smirked at him. "Do you think they know about their feelings for the other?"

"Knowing Kaz, I'd say not in a million years," Jesper hesitated for a second and then continued. "And knowing Y/N, I'd say they're already together, but again, knowing Kaz, he'd rather keep it a secret than publicly admit he feels anything besides revenge."

Nina's mouth was slightly agape as she crossed her arms and fully turned to him. "I can't possibly believe he'd ever admit his feelings to anyone. Especially to that gorgeous woman," she said and Jesper smiled at her with a little mischief in his eyes.

"Would you bet on it?" Nina returned the mischievous grin as she answered. "Certainly. What have you got in mind?"

"We bet on their relationship." "Oh, and how much?" Nina asked curiously as he answered. "Dunno. Does 20 kruge sounds good to you?" She nodded her head and Jesper continued. "I bet that they're already together."

"I bet they don't know about each others feelings," Nina replied and Jesper reached his hand out to her and she shook it. "Deal."

The bet made its way to the others, every one of them voting on Nina's words, with Inej being the most definite about it. Even Specht bet on them, being the only one to side with Jesper.

Meanwhile Kaz was having a hard time reasoning with Y/N, for she seemed even more stubborn when she was injured.

[sweetmariihs2]

🪄My thoughts on Cedric The Sorcerer🌙 (until now)

(not that anyone cares idk i just wanna talk about him, it's a lot of random thoughts and it's messy, but it's fun to read I guess)

Did you like that cute moodboard I did for him? It took me like 10 minutes I loved it. It fits him so well I'm so proud of myself for doing this. The whimsigothic aesthetic matches him so well I wish more people knew it so we would have tons of moodboards and cute stuff of him in this aesthetic it would be so nice. Ok let me start my post

I wanna share some headcanons, talk about my first impressions, it's not really organized I just wrote down whatever I remembered and the result was that. I wanna share my new hyperfocus with more people, that's what I'm doing here today :)

Everything started when I saw this man on Tumblr and though "who's this guy and why is princess Sophia next to him?", when I clicked on the hashtag out of curiosity I understood that it's because he's a character from the cartoon, and I was like "lol another tumblr sexyman again let's move on keep doing my things and interacting with my fandoms" (december 24)

I also mentioned it to my friend on IG bc I saw a reels that was like "you don't have any weird fictional crushes right?" and then proceeds to show us an edit of him with millions of hearts around. I sent it to her and said "omg I saw ppl talking about this on tumblr" and we just laughed a lot because it was something we did not expected (not mean laughs, they were genuine laughs of shock and because that was very unexpected like HOW IN THE WORLD, and she remembered him in the show while I didn't)

Some days later I saw more fanarts of him on tumblr and that made me a little curious, but not enough to search about the subject.

After some days I just couldn't forget him, and that's when I searched his name on youtube purposely trying to find compilations of his funny moments to understand what was happening

And boy I did

At this point was just having fun and laughing thinking "omg another guy who's sassy, has good personality and is another ugly-atractive character that has a fandom on tumblr, I got it, he's very nice" and I went to do other stuff again but this man just DIDN'T CAME OUT OF MY MIND

Just making an interruption here, I loved watching Disney Junior as a kid, maybe when I was six or seven, idk I don't remember, and I was a huge fan of Sofia The First, it was one of my favorite cartoons from Disney Jr alongside Doc McStuffins and Art Attack. AND I JUST DON'T REMEMBER CEDRIC IT'S LIKE I NEVER SAW HIM IN THAT SHOW, EVER. I literally don't remember him being part of the cast i'm sorry Cedric 😭 now he stands out so much to me, he's carrying the whole show on his back. Btw now that I mentioned Disney Junior I would like to say that here in Brazil Sofia First is actually called Little Princess Sofia, and Doc McStuffins is Doctor Toys. Sometimes I call Sofia "Princess Sofia" but I don't even know if that's how they call her in the english version, I watched everything on portuguese 😭 but ok let's move on (I have more things to say related to the brazillian dub, but let me finish my train of thought first)

As I was saying this man just didn't came out of my mind, and I was like "Oh no another hyperfocus where people around me will make fun of me because they will say that he's ugly and that liking kid's shows is something weird 😭 I can't take this anymore" and I tried to deny it but I CAN'T i'm almost making a pinterest board for him, I just accepted my fate (gonna draw fanarts soon and no one can stop me)

I found a list of every chapter he's in and i'm watching every. single. one. of. them. I watched the movie first, and boy this is gave me so much nostalgia because I remember some vague objects and scenes from when I was a kid, I used to love the Disney Princesses, when I got a little older I started watching Descendants, I grew up watching Tangled and Frozen and I swear to god I almost teared up from nostalgia during the episode Rapunzel shows up, and they didn't changed her voice actor, that's what got me. It was like travelling back to a time I didn't even remembered that existed anymore. Because since I haven't seen Sofia The First in about 10 years, I don't even remember anything FROM the show except for some parts, and that this show had so much old Disney energy that I didn't even know made a difference, but it does.

I'm sounding like a granny here but (i'm not even in my 20s yet) it feels like another time, Disney changed so much. Some of the new movies are good, some are bad, I see Disney much more as a company that wants money and makes movies instead of that perfect place where all dreams come true and every girl is a princess (Here in Brazil I never had a dream to go to Disneyland because Disney in the early 2010's invested more in products and blue ray DVDs in Brazil, since the parks were in the United States and we weren't really the target audience for that. So they didn't minded making publicity about it, so I just watched the movies and Disney Junior). Everything felt more magical when I was a kid, I spent my days watching DVDs and sometimes had some Disney princesses themed toys, it was so fun playing pretend that I was a princess and I really felt like one. Rewatching Sofia The First made me feel like this again because they made this show at the time that their public were HUGE fans of the Disney princesses and it has the same characteristics, plots, even styles of the songs and soundtracks, visuals + I watched it when I was younger. It's not just "princesses" it has the whole Disney girly early 2010's magic into it and it made me so bittersweet, even if they tried they could never do nowdays a movie inspired by that time and give me the same feeling as a REAL movie from that time does. Sofia The First: Once Upon a Time was like watching a new movie from that old Disney, one that I didn't saw before, but at the same time I did, and that's the best part. The end of the movie gave me so much nostalgia that I almost cried too. That experience was amazing :")

It gives me the same nostalgia that I feel when I hear that song "a dream is a wish your heart makesss" it makes me cry how I miss to be a little girl again (i'm crying right now btw i'm very intense with my emotions)

(And hell I don't remember Cedric at all, since when he was there the whole time? Now that I know that he's there I'm feeling like really reeeeaaaaalllyy vague memories are trying to come back in my head, but I don't know if my brain is doing this on purpose or i'm just confusing him with an equally vague memory of Cruella. I guess it's the first option, I'm trying so hard that my brain is making up memories. Weird.)

But yeah at first I saw everyone falling to his feet and even though I understood that he was very funny and had a well-writen personality I couldn't really get why people were romantically in love with him. Well um I actually got it, he was a good character and was one more of these strangely atractive characters that people fall in love with, I've been there too. But I just couldn't see what was so atractive that people were simping over him, for me at that moment he was just funny and fits very well the "let's make a fandom" type of character, like for example Preminger from Barbie Princess and The Pauper. But then I thought "idk what i'm talking about i'm demisexual lol let's wait a few days" (That happened before. Many times.)

And I'm like. I don't know what's happening to me I'm so susceptible to weird (in socially non-fandom people's words) crushes and I thought I wouldn't be afected this time. Just so you can have an idea some of my last crushes were: Dr Flug from Villanos, Jackson Jekyll from Monster High, Raggedy Andy, THE Eddie Munson (for a whole year and some months, and I was so bullied after his "trend" ended because people said that his fans were cringe and everything (that's fake lol they are very nice)), 70% of my list are just nerds and sensitive guys with different types of mental illness yay my fav type

and now I think I'm feeling unironically atracted by this man it's just happening really slowly 😭 (DEMISEXUALS ‼️‼️⁉️⁉️💥💥💥💥💥👊👊👊👊)

I'm gonna be honest with you, at the moment I can't decide if I like him or not I'm so confused at the same time that I get it I also don't like how tf am I atracted by this man 😭 and then I'm like hmm he's acually cute let me search for some fanfiction

I'M SO CONFUSED I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO ANYMORE i guess I'll just wait to see what happens

you guys know that tiktok audio "at first I was like 'hmmm feet' as a joke,,,,, but bro....... I don't think that's a joke anymore...." (that's me rn but with Cedric)

Also I would like to take this oportunity that you're listening to me talking about Cedric to say the most important thing that this fandom needs to know:

We need more Cedric representations in Whimsical/Whimsigoth/Whimsigothic aesthetic it's like it was made for him just search that on Pinterest please you won't regret

And I'm here wondering what kind of songs he would listen to. I think he would like dark fantasy music, or witch music. I don't care if he's on medieval era and people didn't had access to a lot of music genres at that time, we are talking about disney nothing is historically correct

I can't help but think about Lana Del Rey but being a huge fan of her songs I don't think that it matches his tastes. I guess he maybe would like Aurora's last album, The Gods We Can Touch. I don't know why, it's the witchy vibes I guess. But I don't know, it's still not something that matches him a lot. EXCEPT FOR THE SONG MIDAS TOUCH FROM AURORA. IT'S PERFECT FOR HIM YOU GUYS SHOULD CHECK IT OUT

The cover isn't giving the aesthetic though, Aurora made this song for a show and then put the show album cover unfortunately. But her aesthetics are usually whimsical and magic, inspired by theatre, greek gods and tarot. This song is so good 😭

And of course there are songs like Everything Matters that fits his vibe but idk it depends on who's listening since it's not about the lyrics. The Innocent has a small part who matches him a little, the whole song has that witchy vibe dancing around the fire, I don't know how to describe it.

Coming back to Cedric I think my favorite scenario is him having an apprendice not too much younger than him. I think it's cute. I've never seen any fics like this (in fact I just read like 5 oneshots which is almost nothing) and if you guys know any let me know. I think it's just nice the idea of living with him and being his apprendice while having like a romantic tension between the two characters. It's cute

Also remember when I said I was going to talk a little more about the brazillian portuguese dub? So, something that I thought was really funny happened to me: In the first season he had his voice actor obviously and I was already used to his voice some time after watching the cartoon. It was very funny to me because the first time I saw a "scene compilation" of him it was in english, so hearing him talk in my language was fun. And btw his voice actor did a really good job voicing him, he (had a similar voice and) was really expressive just like his english VA, so like, really nice 👍

And then at some point in season two, from one episode to another, his voice actor suddently changed????? And obviously I got a little sad because his first VA was really good and I was used to his voice :( but the thing is: The new VA wasn't just a new one, IT'S THE SAME GUY WHO VOICED DR FLUG HERE IN BRAZIL AND I WAS LIKE OMG

THEY ARE SO SIMILAR IN PERSONALITY AND NOW THEY HAVE THE SAME VOICE WITH THE VOICE ACTOR'S MANNEIRISMS AND EVERYTHING (because that VA really has an specific way to talk, he stutter a little, sounds a little ironic but at the time really anxious, make some funny sounds for no reason sometimes like his screams)

I was really upset when they changed all the brazillian voice actors in Villanos, and that Flug didn't had his full-of-personality-and-expressive voice anymore :( the new episodes now have new voices and eveything, and they did their best, but it's not the original voices anymore and it doesn't hit the same yk? And then BAM CELDRIC HAS DOCTOR FLUGS VOICE NOW BITCH TAKE THIS

and the fact that Sofia The First was dubbed even before Villanos came out it's so funny to me

So yeah let me show you guys his amazing work at voicing two of my favorite characters:

After they changed Cedric's voice actor I was a little annoyed by the fact that I couldn't hear Cedric anymore, just Flug 😭 but now I'm slowly getting used to it and it's starting to sound like Cedric again.

Before that happened I could see some similarities between the two but I thought that I was just thinking too much and trying to connect two fandoms that I like, so I just forgot about it. After that happened my mind just blew it all make so much sense right now

And they are so similar in personality that I had to make a list of everything they have in common:

They work for guys that are completely blind to their talents and think that they're just idiots all the time

They have more potential than people think

Their projects/spells always go wrong because people keep disrupting their public moments, and so they are seen and weak and dumb (when they're not)

Science/Magic guys (they keep throwing liquids from one pot to another and saying difficult words, only for someone to stop them halfway and the substance explodes in their face, making them angry because this person once again interrupted their project that was going perfectly)

Self-confidence issues

Anxious mess, are always nervous and scared of something bad happening all the time

Childhood trauma because people never really saw their acomplishments and again and again kept repeating that they are idiots who don't know nothing (when they are geniuses!!)

They say that they're mean and they say that they do mean things when actually they are just really nice. They just choose that path because they think it's the only one that can bring them sucess and recognition in the future, but they were never made for this. They just do that because they want to proof their value to people who can't see it.

At the same time that they are mentally unstable, sometimes their confidence is so high that they start to act arrogant because "they're too smart and their projects are amazing": "I love what I do I'm the best sorcerer/scientist in the world"

But when they need to show that to people something bad always happens (because of other people!) And their plan fails, leaving them with confidence issues

"I'm too smart you guys don't deserve me"

"I can't do anything right omg i'm so stupid"

Their movements and maneirisms are so expressive, they're both skinny and tall and keep making those anxious poses, fidgeting with their hands, always anxious, scared of something, thinking too much and overall being nervous and ankward around their bosses

Boss just treats them as failures and gives them orders, in which they respond in the most submissive and saddest way because they're just miserable and just two little guys who are trying to proof their value in a place where no one even see them as people

But sometimes they are genuinely egoistic and egocentric because duh they're the best sorcerer/scientist out there, hello everybody is gonna know their name when they rule the world bye

They act so stupid and lovesick in their official crushes episodes, it's so funny

And even if we never saw Dr Flug's official face there is a design out there in the fandom where he has black hair with white streaks on his bangs so like 👍👍

Well um I guess that's all I have to say about this subject for now

These are my thoughts 🫶

I feel like I said a lot in a short amout of time but I'm here writing since 04:30 AM and now it's 07:47 AM so like. yikes

[givehimthemedicine]

some of the footage the lab is feeding El in NINA is of a MIRRORED Rainbow Room.

continuing off my recent post about why NINA has 4 cameras inside of it watching El. some more realizations:

those six screens around the sides are actually just the same three video feeds doubled. the only unique feed is the center one.

which gives us a total of FOUR feeds in NINA even though there are seven screens.

and one of them is backwards.

in reality, if you're standing at the mirror, the benches-and-drawing-tables side of the RR is on your right - as it appears, correctly, in the red feed and green feed. their footage makes sense coming from the cameras I've circled here (not the events within, I'm just talking about the angles these cameras see)

but the yellow feed has been flipped horizontally:

if we are SEEING the drawing/chess corner of the room in the yellow feed, that means it was filmed by the camera in the other corner - over by the plinko/puzzle table. that is the camera circled in this shot of El playing plinko. except we're seeing the wrong side of the room behind her.

"oh Nat, that's all so normal. I wish this was harder to understand." I GOTCHU

we get another shot where the yellow feed IS oriented correctly! like, in the shot where you see all the NINA screens at once, the yellow is wrong. but in the subsequent shots where El is looking woozy at individual screens, that version of the yellow is correct. that is what this camera should see.

and both are the same footage flipped horizontally.

well. the same footage except one of them is a wider angle where you see a lot more of the plinko board on the right but shh I'm too tired to think about that

anyway maybe this helps explain the moving bodies/blood locations, specifically the cases where I swear the sides of the room keep getting conflated.

the live massacre scene is unreliable because it's poor El's brain's mashup of the doctored / contradictory footage she's being shown. El doesn't know which way the RR really was. she doesn't remember it at all. so all footage is given equal weight, rather than her brain autocorrecting the wrong ones.

the RR is so hard to mentally map because it's a mind-numbingly-almost-symmetrical room, and we're frequently shown it via its mirror reflection, which confuses our perception further. El is canonically just as confused.

(I need to dive deeper on the details of this idea when I get more time. @aemiron-main iirc you're the lead investigator on the changing bodies/blood thing so you'd know better off the top of your head - would you say a room mirroring accounts for many more of the discrepancies? certainly not all)

finally, back to the center feed -

I believe this is correctly oriented (you can see a sliver of the mirror on the extreme left, which tracks with where the plinko game is situated, and Little El(?) is operating it right-handed which is consistent with Big El.)

BUT, don't worry, there's still a weird problem with this footage!

this is a close-up low shot behind El(?) which was not filmed from any of the corner-mounted RR surveillance cameras like the other feeds. it would've had to be filmed from one of those tripod ones.

and they do keep a tripod camera in that area of the RR, but it's visibly not where it would've had to be in order to film this footage which causes El to "remember" One in the plinko scene.

btw, why is this the only footage filmed in portrait mode? if it was landscape, we could have seen One sit next to her. as it is, he wouldn't be visible in it at all. maybe that's why.

so why are they flipping just that one feed?

well, since they showed right and wrong versions of the yellow feed, I suspect they sometimes flip the other feeds too. I just only caught them once. they only seldom give us glimpses of what's going on inside NINA.

is the center feed important because it's unique?

the lab hasn't made sure El is watching that one right-side-up. you can see in the reflection in her eye that she's watching the center screen landscape.

which means the one and only of seven screens El is actually watching right-side-up is this one:

why wasn't NINA designed like this, with all the screens the same way, if you just want the viewer to watch and comprehend all the footage?

because NINA isn't for remembering or comprehending.

having all the screens side by side and right-side-up makes it easy to compare footage and spot discrepancies between them (is that why Brenner is watching multiple screens of the same event?).

the NINA weird screen angles is exactly what stopped me from spotting the mirrored RR problem until right now, and I've been scrutinizing this, and I'm not drugged like El is. with a bunch of screens of boring, redundant-looking footage at random angles, your brain tends to just kinda be like "eh, I don't feel like mentally righting that, I'll take your word for it. seems legit."

what's on the center screen when El banishes One?

they don't want me to know. I wish I did.

every time we see El in NINA, her body breaks the water surface in such a way that prevents us seeing a reflection of the center screen. which apparently tends to display the only unique feed.

is it fair to call this footage-flipping onscreen proof of NINA being not merely a memory-viewing machine but a memory-altering / memory-implantation / machine? so, a brainwashing machine?

which has major implications for the Henry and Victor Creel contradictory memories situation, as long suspected by folks smarter than I.

so the "memories" we experience live with El are actually a meshing of either: A) real events and doctored / fabricated elements B) real events but from 4 different timelines C) por qué no los dos?

not sure whether this "creates" a new timeline in any way besides in El's mind, but even if it were just that, that is valuable enough - to make arguably the strongest superpowered person on the planet remember whatever events you want them to.

but just that doesn't explain the 4 cameras inside NINA, does it?

El using her current mind in past memories

don't forget we have a whole scene of Big El, while immersed in a NINA memory, conversing with current Brenner about the events she's experiencing being a memory and not real.

which means Big El is talking while floating in the tank, or else current Brenner wouldn't know to respond by microphone.

and if she can access her current mind/knowledge and apply that inside of past (real or fake) events.... doesn't that mean she can also use her current powers in past events?

YES. HERE SHE IS DOING IT:

El very very rarely bleeds from both nostrils. two-nostril jobs are very strenuous in relation to her current power level (killing the cat guards and closing the gate are the only other times I remember).

which indicates she's doing something HUGE even in relation to her newly HIGHER THAN EVER power level.

I just find it funny that she also bled from both nostrils in the exact event she was remembering while bleeding from both nostrils.......

also Brenner and Owens see her EEG spiking at that moment, which they've shown us repeatedly throughout the show reflects power use. she's DOING SOMETHING.

so.... Iots I need to chew on.

did the massacre go down wrong and the lab needs to trick El into remembering it differently, and using her current powers inside of the "memory" to somehow actually either change the past, or switch/unswitch timelines, or merge timelines, or something?

is there a timeline where One kicked Little El's ass, or killed her, and the lab needs her to go back and win in that one instead? did little El banish the wrong guy and the lab wants them switched? something like that?

there's something more time machiney going on with NINA even beyond just brainwashing, I swear.

[know-the-way]

Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears Discourse(?)(maybe idk?)

So… at this point I’ve watched the entire 3 series and film. Twice. I was going to post episode reactions for series 2 and 3, but I really need to skip ahead to Crypt of Tears because I have… questions. If anyone knows the answer or potential answer to any of them, please weigh in because I am just… struggling to understand some of the narrative decisions they made here.

(Btw, overall I enjoyed it, so I don’t want it to seem like I’m coming from a solely negative perspective - obviously, the last 5 minutes in particular… talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, etc etc. I may do a separate ‘things I enjoyed’ post. I just needed to talk this out. lol)

****Full warning, this is a very long post, I am so sorry in advance.****

1. Alright, first things first - wtf do you mean it’s been a YEAR since she left Melbourne?! What was she doing that whole time? Like obviously, you could infer that she got caught up in local shenanigans and hadn’t seen everything to a satisfactory end yet, but I feel it would’ve taken maybe 1-2 minutes to just briefly explain that for the audience’s sake.

I also totally understand that they were attempting to make a stand alone project that could be independent of the series, so referencing where the series left off would be antithetical to that. HOWEVER, I think at the point where fans of the series invested $1 million… that should have maybe made tying up loose ends from the series a bit more of a priority?

I also saw that they hoped to garner new audiences from the film. And maybe it’s just me, idk, but - I’m a new audience and the only thing that brought me to the film was the knowledge that I had 3 seasons worth of backstory to immerse myself in beforehand. There are very few scenarios in my mind that would’ve had me watching just the film and nothing else. So… help.

2. Similar to question 1 - SIX WEEKS?! Where was she for six whole weeks? How did she escape the train? Was it like a Bear Grylls situation out in the desert for a while or did she have to barter with local villages or something? Just again… 1-2 lines of dialogue and I’d be good. Instead, I’m just sitting here confused like, “okay cool, I’m super glad you’re alive and stuff, but um… HOW?!”**

(**acutely aware that this is how Jack must feel all the time) (and he deserves a pint from the pub for his troubles ‘cause omg)

3. SPEAKING OF JACK - *r2d2 screech* This poor man. Jesus. How many times does he have to grieve the love of his life? It’s kinda rude at this point.

I’ve read articles with the writers where they talked about wanting Phryne to be strong and independent without emasculating Jack as a character. And I remember thinking, “Yes! They do such an excellent job of finding that balance in the show and it’s really satisfying. It’s one of the things I love most about their dynamic - the freedom to be themselves while still having this very strong collaborative connection.”

^These scenes, though? Whaaaatttt happened? 🫠 I don’t think it emasculated him, but Phryne’s almost non-reaction to him being there… grieving her... it comes off kind of insensitive and perplexing at its bare bones, to me.

Upon a few rewatches of that scene, I’ve been able to slowly formulate potential justifications for her behavior - i.e. she did tell him to come after her and he didn’t, so maybe she lost hope on her end and dove into the first perilous mystery she could find to help herself get over him. Thus, when she finds out he’s there for her memorial service, I could see her inwardly going, “Okay wow, it took me dying for you to make any moves whatsoever. Cool. Good to know I’m only worth the trip if I’m not here anymore. (Hence, the ‘And I’m very sorry that I’m not dead!’ line later.)”

Which would be a fair point, imo, and they do have a track record of just… infuriating miscommunication, but ultimately… it’s all still hypothetical. We aren’t given any actual, spoken insight into her motivations or feelings in regards to Jack (the smallest glimpse we get is her teary eyes outside the door at his guesthouse along with the “damn it, Jack” line). So, without any further follow-up clarification in the film - at face value, that scene is harsh and almost callous imo. And, despite their many conflicts in the show, there was never once where I felt they weren’t at least making an effort to understand each other. Like there is never a point in the film where they take a moment to acknowledge the time lost between them. They don’t get to have that (necessary) release of emotion and mutual understanding (there’s no nightcap moment), so it just feels incomplete.

4. I promise not to make all of these redundant, but the quicksand scene. Obviously, I love it ~*for reasons*~, but I found myself once again choosing a side (Jack’s)???? Which, throughout the entirety of the tv series, I never chose a side between them ‘cause I could always understand both of their perspectives. In this scene and the reunion scene, I’m left confused both times about Phryne’s perspective. Maybe because Mac isn’t there to pull the full truth out of her just afterwards? That’s probably it.

But her lumping Jack in with “any other man” she doesn’t need to explain herself to - either that was a fear response or a flat out dishonest one. Girl quit playin’… we all know he’s not just any other man and we all know he has never tried to change you or take charge of you. Please, the bottom-leaning switch vibes that come off that man… he LIVES for you telling him what to do. He doesn’t want to control you, he just wANTS TO BE BESIDE YOU. GOD.

I so didn’t want to be frustrated with Phryne (I love her**) and I was honestly upset that I was, but there was just something… missing in both these instances for me (vulnerability maybe? idk) and I can’t quite get it to add up. It really probably was a lack of Mac, though.

(**again, Me 🤝 Jack, complicated feelings for a complex modern woman, we’ll both be at the bar if you need us)

5. Last one - “Is this your idea of sweet nothings?” “I thought they were out of the question?” “They are. Continue.”

Did I miss a scene where they laid ground rules for their partnership going forward in Shirin’s case? Or was that something that was cut/not included? Because… if there was a scene of them discussing that before Jack agreed to stay… that would have taken care of most of what I said above in and of itself.

(But no fr… did I miss a scene? Is my copy broken? Help?)

Gonna Leave on a Positive Note, because if you asked me if the below scene made it all worth it, I’d have to say yes:

[tawneybel]

Note: Ten favorite monsters, part seven. Part six. To be clear, do to past confusion, these are not lists of monsters I’d bang. Adult-content creator =/= turned-on 24/7.  ._.  Sometimes I just like to talk about character design and review media I like.

I pretty much like every kind of dragon, from friendly to terrifying. If we’re going off of scary, my favorite’s maybe from The Mists of Avalon. A lot of my fave monsters are literary, but don’t have official art. :(

1. Cat in the Hat from The Cat in the Cat

The Cat in the Hat’s more enjoyable if you view it as demonic horror. There’s a lot of elements I like. Quirky architecture, jokes that go over kids’ heads, goofy magic companion, fun costumes. Yet it’s not a good movie, even by my standards. Audrey Geisel was so disgusted by it, any plans for future live-action adaptations of Theodor’s works were nixed.

I’m kind of glad TCITH was the bad live-action, early ‘00s Seuss movie instead of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Imagine how horrifying they could have made the Grinch.

2-4. “Girly girl” dragons

Barbie As Rapunzel: I have the Penelope plushie, whose design I actually prefer to the movie’s.

Dragon Tales: Before FIM Fluttershy, Cassie was THE shy pink and yellow creature. Dragon Land’s just one of various portal fantasy realms I wanted to visit so badly as a tot. Still do.  

Raya and the Last Dragon: People were way critical of Sisu’s design, calling it Elsa’s scalesona. Like Disney hasn’t reused/referenced old designs, jokingly or not. Not that their human(oid) designs are always unique… But Ghibli gets more leniency in that regard. (Haku’s a great dragon design, btw.)

5. the Moving Finger from Nightmares & Dreamscapes

Horror doesn’t have to be complicated to be effective.

6. Jean Jacket from Nope

Take elements of UFOlogy, meteorology, marine biology, and animal exploitation, then produce the most terrifying movie monster ever.

7. Stuff from The Stuff

Metaphor for frozen yogurt? Diet food craze?

8. Scary Lion from The Teletubbies

A good example of how audio can determine whether something is cute or terrifying. 

9. Wild Things from Where the Wild Things Are

One elementary art class, we got to make our own chimeric Wild Things. Wish I knew where mine was. They’re grotesque, like to party, and actually pretty wholesome.

10. subway station from The Wiz

The Wiz is an interesting localization of The (Wonderful) Wizard of Oz. Garland!Dorothy is taken from Kansas to a mostly unfamiliar fantastical land. (I say “mostly,” because some of the Ozians have Kansan counterparts.) Ross!Dorothy is taken from NYC to fantastical NYC.

Originally, I considered using the book Kalidahs ‘cause I love mix-’n’-match critters. Then I watched this scene. That and the Munchkins coming out of graffiti like ghosts out of chalk outlines was oneiric as fuck. Anyway, the station isn’t just a liminal space, but another architectural monster. The train itself never appears, but we see trash bins and columns advance on Dorothy and co. There’s seemingly non-automated gates and prehensile electrical wires. Also, that peddler with his growing marionettes…

Note: The pic for “The Moving Finger” is actually from the show Monsters, but I only found out it was adapted after deciding to include it. Nightmares & Dreamscapes has one of my favorite covers, even if it’s deceptive. No scarecrow stories.

Unfortunately, the last gif can’t convey the awesome liminal horror that is the Ozified Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets station. Fun fact, it was also used in The Warriors. 

[theknightmarket]

This is like the most random concept to probably ever come to me so out of the blue, you don't have to do it if you don't want to, but also I feel like if anyone could make something interesting out of this it'd be you. (love your fics btw<3)

So like, Illinois, with his whole knock-off Indiana Jones bullshit, with an s/o who's similarly akin to James Bond...….yeah idk either, man- You can come up with whatever action movie plot, or maybe just some domestic fluff with comically abrupt fight scenes sprinkled in cus that's just how chaotic I imagine their life would be. It's entirely up to you. I am very tired rn.

“Berlin, 1996.”

In which Illinois and his partner – in more than one sense – relive their meeting.

TW: cursing, blood, drug use, general mature themes

Pages: 12 – Words: 5,000

[Requests: OPEN]

The distant sizzle of waffle batter on a pan was the first thing you recognised when you woke in your bed. The smell of coffee wafting from the same place was the second, and the third, while a strange sensation to anyone else, was comforting to you. Your dog lapping at your hand that dangled over the side of the bed had you shaking yourself from the fuzzy grip of sleep. It was going to be a long and laborious process considering the amount of work you’d had for the last week, but this was finally a day that you could spend doing whatever you wished – which, right now, looked a lot like following the sweet scent of breakfast into the kitchen.

Moriarty led the way, the beautiful puppy, although actually a six-year-old Belgian Malinois, whom you had adopted a few years back. He had never liked many of your friends, and you trusted his nose enough to follow his advice. Sure, it might have seemed weird to take social cues from a canine, but he hadn’t steered you wrong yet. Whether it was a Russian spy you’d accidentally offered coffee to, or the smuggler who moved in down the road, Moriarty told you when people were off, and that just happened to be most of those you came in contact with. You’d long since given up making connections when the tenth potential acquaintance had turned out to be the head of some mafia you’d never even heard of. 

And then imagine your surprise when you finally brought home someone he liked. 

And your further surprise when he stayed the night, and then the morning, and then a week, and then a month, a year, and so on, until you should have been asking him for rent. All the while, Moriarty hadn’t made a peep, leaving you to your devices with this new and, for lack of a better term, strange fellow.

“Morning, gorgeous!” 

Speak of the devil and he may appear. 

That ‘devil’, affectionate, of course, was none other than the infamous Illinois Jones. A man chased by many, found by few, and held onto by only the luckiest of the lot. You were one of these people, aware that you had him in the palm of your hand, and you thanked him routinely in the morning with a kiss on the cheek for staying. 

The clock on the oven flashed a sharp 08:41, an unusual time for Illi to be awake at, but you weren’t complaining. Your job was stressful; you were sure that any doctor would tell you to quit immediately with how often your blood pressure spiked, so you treasured these couple of moments when you were given a break. Your partner had an on-and-off relationship with missions, the things he preferred to call adventures, but he had a likewise relationship with the agency itself. He had a habit of running off to foreign lands without permission, looking for trouble and finding it, too. You wouldn’t mind it, had it not been for your unfortunate love of the man that drew you after him, like a dog on a leash. In the meantime, a good rest was well deserved, now that you were back in the comfort of your own home after an unexpected visit to Guyana. 

Plus, he looked damn good in boxers and an apron. 

You lazily wrapped your arms around his waist, unintentionally distracting him from the food he was preparing, and muttered into his neck, “G’morning.”

“If you want breakfast, you’re gonna have to let me cook, babe,” he laughed, though that didn’t stop him from leaning back into you. 

Your only response was a muffled groan. It wasn’t your fault that you were so touchy-feely today. Work took up most of the daylight, and upkeep stole the rest away. The only time you really got together was in the late hours of the night when twilight would draw a sheet of privacy over the two of you and leave you alone. The stars would dance together, fireflies entertained themselves and you could just be together. Forgive yourself if you wanted to savor the minutes. 

Alas, you couldn’t stay at Illinois’ side forever. You’d have to come out of hiding eventually, and now was as good a time as any, so you drowsily shuffled towards the front door. The rusted latches groaned with a mere press of your hand, swinging open with an inching pace. Immediately, a gust of dry air trampled past your face, and the faint smell of dust had you sighing more than breathing. It was a classic Louisiana morning, something you haven’t experienced in a long time – not for a lack of breaks. No, although your recent schedule has been clogged, this quant place was a safe house paid for by the agency, meaning it wasn’t only yours to begin with. It was difficult to get used to using the same amenities that a stranger had just a few days ago, in a room that had a tagline of ‘safe’, but you got over it. It just meant that sanitizing every surface was the chore of the first day. 

Illinois didn’t have those reservations; the second that he stepped out of the truck, he declared it home, and went on the search for a good cave. He only agreed to come over camping in the wilderness because of the free food. Or, at least, that’s what he said. There was a small part of you that was sure it was because he didn’t want to be alone, you having no chance to agree on tents – and there was a big part of him that knew you were right. 

You laughed to yourself, pulling a porch chair into the orange sunlight. Being a safe house, it was surrounded by the thickest stretch of trees in the state and, even further, lakes and rivers that made it looked untouched by human hands. The second day had been spent exploring nature together. Illinois tugged you by your hand through bushes, over boulders, underneath a couple fallen trees, all the way to the perimeter of the land. From atop a small cliff, you could see the start of urbanization, but it was sheltered by a haze of smog and lights. The city stayed alight until well into midnight and beyond, like a dying campfire, only to be fed at the crack of dawn. 

A similar flicker of a flame shot into the air in front of you. 

The metal of your lighter was calming, the grooves of the ingrained letters basing you in the present. ‘Berlin, 1996’ was written in small italic near the lever, making it unlikely for you to ever resist the temptation of running your fingers over the markings. It made you smile and, from time to time, had the added benefit of you putting the lighter back in your pocket. This was not one of those times, but a grin did spread over your lips, nonetheless. 

The flicker met the end of a cigarette, which you promptly pulled towards your mouth when it took the flame. Illinois didn’t like the fact that you smoked, he always said how he wanted to be fit in his 90s, but you weren’t cheering for him when he jumped 20 feet down for the fun of it either. The compromise you came to was that both of you would continue to indulge the devils on your shoulders and could laugh at the other’s funeral if they died first. 

In all honesty, it was not a situation that you liked to be in. The constant, looming cloud of loss scared you more than any danger the agency put you in ever could. Nights spent waiting for Illinois to come home, the fear that time would go by, and the sun would rise and set again, and the door wouldn’t open… it was damn-near paralyzing. The only thing that kept you going, ironically enough, was that same man. At least, if you went on the same jobs that he did, you could keep an eye on him. You would know what kind of danger he was in, and you had the chance to stop it. The question was: would you be fast enough?

You took another drag of your cigarette.

“You shouldn’t smoke, y’know.” The porch crackled as Illinois stepped onto the wooden planks. “It’s not good for you.”

“I hadn’t noticed.”

A light-hearted chuckle brushed against your ear, accompanied by the click of his boots and humming of cicadas. The deep sound stopped when he swung another chair next to yours. As he came into view, you saw he had replaced his apron with a simple, loose shirt that fell from him like a woman who had fainted in distress. To catch Illinois in a shirt that actually fit him would be to kill the king – impossible and, according to him, a crime punishable by death. 

“You know,” he spoke up, “you don’t look like the rumors.”

Your head unconsciously twisted to the side, so that you could see Illinois only slightly better. His own gaze was fixated in the distant spread of trees. Questions as to what he was starting at batted against you, but you settled on making a curious noise, instead. 

“When we first met, I thought you’d lied to me. I’d heard all these stories about a suave, collected, expert of a heartbreaker, and then…”

“They were proved incorrect?”

He took in a steady breath. “No. They were proved, uh, very correct. Actually, after hearing about you, I kinda,” he coughed, as though that would transfer his thoughts directly to you and take away the need to say the words, “made some assumptions that were not as correct.” 

Illinois prided himself on being right most of the time – and expressed himself as being right all of the time. However, this was one of the only things that he would admit he was wrong about, this being you. The image he had conjured of you was snide and snobby, only in it for themself and with the biggest case of holier-than-thou syndrome he’d ever thought of. Those stories of you driving fancy cars had pushed him into a corner, trapped by a cage of disgust and partial envy. Then, the rumors of how many people you had seduced worked their magic, followed by a notorious habit of smoking and drinking, which designated you, though he perished the thought now, a scumbag. 

But when he’d actually met you…

“And I’m, uh, glad they weren’t.” 

He swung an arm around your chair, drew rough fingers across your collarbone and directed your jaw into facing him. The light breeze shifted your hair like a lover’s touch, and the yellow sun decorated you like a bespoke artwork. Something he’d steal from a museum if he had to, but, no, he had you sitting right in front of him, with the quirk of an eyebrow and a small smile on your lips. He was lucky, he knew that, and he thanked his lucky stars every time he woke up next to you in sparkling mornings, every time your hands brushed when he pulled you up from a ledge, every time your eyes met from across a ballroom. 

The first time that happened was still something he treasured more than any bespoke jewel or painting. 

“Let’s get this business started.”

The night was young, the guests were pleasantly tipsy, and you were perched at one of the centre tables, next to three attractive models and the focus of your attention. 

At this moment, you and your company were in the Berlin Operetta House, a classic establishment with smoke and liquor running through its veins. You had joined in – for lack of anything better to do while biding your time – and had been seated with these four the last two hours. The women you had no information on, except for what you had observed in the time given, most of which boiled down to being pretty faces for the big guy sitting across from you. 

Earnest Whimson, dramatic irony demanding repentance of his parents as he was anything but earnest. He’d made his living on buying and selling anything he could get him tobacco-stained hands on, be it stolen goods, illegal drugs, or people themselves. It was a desolate trade, rotten but protected by the wallets of the people at the top. In those cases, there was only one person the authorities would routinely turn to. 

You. 

The authorities, the uncorrupted minorities, would plead with your agency for help, and you were the first person on the list. Call it luck or honed skill, you didn’t care. What you did care about was getting the job done in a quick and efficient manner. These places weren’t good to stay in for more than a day, lest you want to gain a certain reputation in all of the sectors. Thus, speed was top billing this night. That, and types like Whimson made it hard to keep your cover with the way he was talking. 

Luckily for you, nine o’clock was rearing its head, the lights were dimming and only a few people were left still chatting over their expensive dining. All eyes were directed towards the stage with fervor, those who didn’t know what was happening watching in piqued interest and those who did waiting with bated breath for the real show to begin.

You did know what was happening, you were indeed waiting, but your breaths were slow and steady, like a smooth rock in a brook. The plan was simple; starting at nine, you’d watch Whimson, make friendly banter with him while he bid on whatever items caught his eye. When he inevitably would call out a ludicrous amount of money for a bejeweled crown or statue and the night comes to a close, you’d excuse yourself and make your way to where that thing was located, wait for Whimson, and kindly dispatch the man before anyone could catch wind of what happened. The money he had taken out the few hours before would go to any witnesses, and you’d get back home in time for a smoke and martini.

Simple. 

Except your life had to be hard, didn’t it? You couldn’t just have a plan and stick to it, without something going wrong. Why? You didn’t know. If it had to do with karma or just bad luck, you didn’t know. A pity, really, when it would have made it so much easier to fix it if you did. It almost made you laugh, the thought of what a normal, easy mission was like. 

And the things that went wrong never stayed the same. In one instance, you’d find your getaway driver with a bullet through his skull – in another, your target was informed of your mission and managed to get away – sometimes, it was just raining. 

Right now, the thing that went wrong was something that had never happened before. 

That thing being the infamous Illinois Jones. 

Not even half an hour into the auction, and yet this man, adorned in an open, off-white shirt and multiple belts, was leaping onto the wooden slats. Your jaw would have been on the ground had it not been for the table, if not for his bravado, then for his stupidity. The artifact Whimson had bid on – go figure, a bejeweled crown – slotted nicely into his hand as he snatched it from its marble pedestal, shocking the woman presenting it into stumbling back. A wink was sent her way, she ran off, and Illinois turned to the audience. 

You listened as he spoke. You sat quietly, pretending that you were shocked, when, in reality, you were seething. The boiling of your blood was louder than the whispering of the bidders, and you found yourself restraining the urge to run up there and slap him for ruining your mission. Questions preoccupied your mind while he lectured the guests about the importance of culture and integrity. Why him - why now?! He wasn’t even a part of the agency, he shouldn’t have known about this bid, and yet there he was, like a smug reaper coming to steal your soul into hell. Did he even know you were there? Did it matter to him?

You only noticed Illinois had stopped talking when he swiveled on the heel of his boot, presumably struck a pose, and then stalked off the stage. Everyone was in such a shock that they didn’t stop him, at least, not at first. After a few seconds had passed for people to gain their composures, that was the cue for havoc to befall the room. Illinois had single-handedly converted an organization of logical, fat cats into a daycare for screaming toddlers; suited men pushed themselves away from tables and darted down the hallways, bodyguards unequipped their guns and set about searching for the adventurer, while some of the wives, understandably, stayed to sip on white wine. You would very much join them if it weren’t for Whimson leaning over to his personal bouncer to whisper in his ear. 

“Get the street rat.”

You sighed and took a final swig of your drink. Illinois was a menace, sure, but you weren’t willing to let him die for his ignorance. The agency may have applauded you as you returned, but you had maintained something of a moral compass during your work, so you liked to think you wouldn’t let him die like this. As you said, the man was infamous, and infamous people would not find their ends at the hands of a capitalist bastard’s lapdogs. 

The clink of your glass against the wooden table did not draw Whimson’s attention, but, if it had, he might have been able to avoid the bullet that wedged itself into his skull. You had aimed for his temple, and you were a brilliant shot. The smoke of your pistol camouflaged itself into the ceiling’s belt of fog. Cigarettes, similar to the one you now pulled out from a pocket to light. This job was not only stressful, it was stress. No mission could be easy, no day could go according to plan, and no panicked mob of refined guests could leave the building in an orderly fashion. People swarmed to the exits at the sound of the gunshot, tripping over one another and abandoning their guests to, presumably, your slaughter. 

You took a drag of your cigarette, pressed it between your lips, and gathered the suit jacket that had been on the back of your chair. Movements slow and deliberate, it was a wonder how the guard dogs Whimson had sent to Illinois hadn’t turned around yet to catch you. Good for you, but stupid on their part. Nevertheless, you were out of the manic tide of bidders before they could even realise their owner was slumped against the mahogany, brain matter splayed on his dress shirt. 

The sound of clicking dress shoes amidst the cacophony of panic sent leftover guests into hiding, with the thought that anyone that calm in the sea of chaos was in control of the situation, and that anyone who wouldn’t do anything to stop it was not to be messed with. This gave you the perfect path towards your new target. Calling out Illinois’ name was unnecessary, given you could already hear distant shots echoing down the hallways. 

And when you came to the end, asking where those gunshots were meant to hit was also unnecessary. 

The wall behind Illinois was pepped with holes, like a coral beach, while Whimson’s bodyguards looked relatively unharmed. From your position, it looked like Illinois was doing everything he could to dodge the bullets, and nothing to actually fight back. Putting your cigarette out on a recently polished cabinet, you delved into the fray. 

The first man down was yours, with an ornamental vase smashed against his skull, the kind of ones only used for grasping at when someone’s strangling you, but they still worked well to knock him out. Next down was his friend, who charged at you with intent to kill, but a shard of the broken porcelain stuck in his throat sent him to the ground. Blood trickled from the cut like a damaged water fountain, but none of the others paid him mind. Really, how would they ever survive without comradery?

You didn’t know, because they wouldn’t; Illinois, in tandem with your bloodier style, brought a table leg down onto another of the staff, the frail wood cracking the second it touched his head. The man whirled around with fury in his eyes, but those soon rolled back with the force of a punch to his face. You watched on, subtly impressed, though now was no time to ogle. Instead, you could do so after these people had been dispatched. 

Strikes to the lower abdomens, blunt-force trauma to their foreheads, and what you hoped were lethal cracks of bone kept everyone wanting to live away from the corridor. You brought one dress shoe down on a woman’s fingers, sighed at the pitiful crunch that was muffled by her scream, and then stood up to assess the situation. One, two, three- four, two were on top of each other, and the one that Illinois was currently bashing against the wall. That made five at the scene.

Six, if you were to include the one that popped a bullet past your thigh. Lousy shot, they barely grazed the clothing, though it was a shame; that outfit had been one of your favorites. 

Swiping a hand to your gun, you whirled around to see a particularly bulky bastard rounding the corner you’d come from. Illinois jumped to your side to look at the arrivals and took notice of your weapon in quick fashion. If only he had more trouble with brutalizing that last one, you might have hit the bullseye.

But a pressure on your wrist distracted you enough to miss. With your target swiveling to look at the newly cracked mirror and one end of the corridor swarmed by suited staff members, your night was only getting worse, and you lamented as such while Illinois dragged you down to the only available exit. 

Your job required a lot of running – more than the average desk job did, at least – and that was why your legs were able to work on autopilot despite the adrenaline working through your veins that pressured you to be aware of every little thing that crossed your mind. The shattered glass from dropped plates, the swinging of doors as the last party members escaped, the texture of Illinois’ hand that had steadily moved to wrap around your own fingers. He was decorated with callouses and rough patches, war wounds sustained in the battlefield of caves and climbing. They told a story, one that you could have read had you enough time, but, for now, you had to be satisfied with knowing his present – told to you, not by his skin, but by you also experiencing it at his side.

That involved the darting through doors, ducking under pipes, skirting around the staff members who hadn’t gotten the memo. You didn’t even have the chance to ask where Illinois was bringing you, too focused on not slamming straight into a wall. The steady sounds of boots marching behind you, of which you counted six or seven, propelled you forward, like striking a match against a line of gas. You barely felt conscious throughout the run; the rattle of Illinois’ pickup truck went over your head, and the jingle of a bar’s bell hardly registered until you were seated in one of the old bar seats where you came to, a drink in your hand and Illinois staring right at you. Well, not just staring right at you, but also spilling every bad pick-up line in his book. 

“I was wondering if you had an extra heart, because mine was just stolen.”

You had half a mind to put your martini down and walk out the door.

“I’m really glad I bought life insurance, because when I saw you, my heart stopped.”

Did he have life insurance?

“You must be a bank loan, because you’ve got my int—” 

“Why do you even want that thing, anyway?” you interrupted, vaguely gesturing to the crown peeking out of his satchel with your non-drink hand. 

“So, now you’re interested?” he chuckled, but only stopped long enough to order a whiskey before he commented, “The crown of Dos Partom, an old relic from the Mesopotamian era. No idea how it ended up in a bidding war, but, really, it belongs in a museum—” he shot a glance to the side, acting as though he hadn’t been watching you for the past ten minutes, “—that, and the company isn’t bad.”

So, he was the cocky type? You could’ve guessed that from the million stories about his personality, but it was a wonder to see it in action. Sure, you had a habit of using your charisma to get into places you shouldn’t have been, but this? What was he hoping to achieve? You’d already saved his ass from Whimson’s lackeys, and yet there he was, perched on the bar stool next to you, continuing his verbal assault of shoddy lines. Your eyes rolling and your annoyance growing, you twisted in your seat and removed a cigarette from your belt’s pocket. Normally, on mission days, you had five or six, a large step down from when you had days off, and yet this day was taking its toll on your stash. 

“You shouldn’t smoke, y’know.”

And so, too, was Illinois taking his toll on your patience. 

“It’s not good for you.” Regardless, you continued your strut to the backgarden of the bar. Lucky for you, despite the lateness, the weather had taken pity on you. A gentle breeze carved through the foliage and guided the smoke of your cigarette into the moonlit sky. The growl of cars and humming of lights brought you to lean against the white brick wall and take in the scenery. When you got a moment to yourself, appreciating where you were was the best you could do – because, who knows, you could be dead tomorrow. 

You took another drag, and then placed it on your bottom lip as you retrieved your phone. It was just a burner that you took on missions, but it had all the essentials, including the number of your assigned agency representative. The handlers, you called them. You didn’t know the name of yours, but you trusted them with everything about yourself; where you were, who you were with, what you were doing down to the shift of a foot. Right now, you were entrusting them with the simple name of your mission and the promise of it having been finished at your normal quality.

“Berlin, 1996,” you muttered as you typed the letters. 

“Keeping a diary there, sweetheart?” 

Could you catch a break? Apparently not, you assumed, as the sight of Illinois wrapped around the corner. His hat was off, held in one hand, and both your drinks in the other. You met his eyes, he stared back, and then you removed your glass. 

“Thank you.”

“No problem.”

“What do you want?”

Illinois pretended to be shocked, reeling back and pressing his hat to his chest. “Me? Want something? From you?” he gasped, a smirk overthrowing his lips only when you didn’t react. “Not at all.”

“Don’t play dumb, Jones,” you warned. 

“I appreciate that you think I play dumb.”

That teasing smile, the glistening eyes, you had to look away before you did anything drastic. Whether that was punching him or kissing him, you didn’t know, but you knew that looked off into the well-trimmed hedges halted the urge. “I know you’re not just a pretty face, what do you want?”

“And I’m pretty?” Another chuckle. “You don’t need to say all that to get me interested.” 

“Just—” you took a breath in, “—tell me what you want from me, and then we can part ways. Easy.”

“And what if I don’t want it to be easy?”

Someone inside the bar shouted that it was last call, but neither of you moved to grab your final drinks. Neither of you moved, at all. You stayed still, Illinois stayed still, and the only sound between you was the buzz of moths at the dangling light just a few inches away. Illinois was… he was something else, that was for sure. Either he was going to kill himself, or you were going to kill him yourself. No matter what, you wanted to be there for it. 

Reaching out, you pulled a thumb along his jawline and took a sip of your martini out of the other hand. Illinois was too stunned to speak, leaving you the chance to remove your hand, snatch his hat and shove it onto his head in one, fast motion. He made some sort of sound, one that you didn’t catch as you waltzed back into the bar.

Illinois, standing in the porchlight, laughed to himself and followed you inside – and then, in another year, five months and two days, he’d be doing the exact same thing, except, this time, with a golden band around both of your fingers. 

[As a Brit myself, and having seen neither James Bond nor Indiana Jones, this was a treat for me! Thank you for requesting! Also, as some of you may have noticed, I have currently closed my requests because exam season is coming up, but I should be back around the end of June. Thank you for sticking with me, and, again, thank you for requesting!]

[buckevantommy]

How can a bunch of teenagers tie up a tank like Lou ?? (Outer banks)

Is there any lead that their group will be in season 4??

it does not track nonny.

i know we're supposed to be rooting for the teens and not the badguys, but i would've liked to see ryan (lou) and his mercenary bud break free and for there to be a bit more back and forth before the teens ultimately got away. but this show doesn't give too much thought to those kinds of scenes, unfortunately.

the more i've watched of season 3 the more it frustrates me how they just bend the characters to the plot - it comes off fake af and inorganic, just forcing situations that don't feel believable - let me suspend some disbelief in this fun adventure mystery ffs! and as much as i've praised the production quality of this show, i must say again that the script leaves much to be desired - like having a bunch of lanky disorganised teens somehow manage to subdue a beefy af deadly mercenary (while dozens of other mercenaries wait outside), and the trite af dialogue. they also miss numerous opportunities to do something more with the "action" scenes so they don't come off as teen-fantasy instead of reality, but they're clearly counting on a younger audience so they fudge scenarios to suit them.

also: apparently it's not based on a book?? i thought it was, bc it plays out very much like a YA series in many ways including the character focus and plot developments. the fact that it wasn't based on a book (but instead "adventure novels" in general?) is insane to me bc that means they could've tweaked various elements to elevate the plot. i would've liked to see more scenes with the badguys (they felt the most real, oddly enough). i would've liked to see more of everyday life around the island (we're trapped in a bubble with these teens and it's suffocating). and i honestly struggle to understand how they got 3 seasons with no queer characters in their SIX main teen characters plus numerous adult side characters?? and honestly i would've preferred a stronger rating in general - more blood and violence and swearing, but also more screentime for the badguys, less manufactured teen drama, and more cultural depth to the whole "treasure hunting" thing bc everyone is just after the money which doesn't sit well to say the least (give me one fucking character trying to get this historical find secured for the people instead of greedy foreigners, yknow?).

btw: i just finished the finale, and aside from charles esten continuing to be a force of fucking nature in every scene he's in this season, the highlight for me was the standoff in the jungle where ryan confronts the group (granted i'm mostly watching for lou, but still: he fucking delivered whereas the rest of the cast -bar charles- was meh). lou was amazing this entire season (except for that accent: it needs to be canned or improved, maybe ditch it for a different brit region, but i encourage the aussie/south african sound he had during his first few eps, but then it morphed). the culmination of the treasure hunt was boring af too, severely lacking, way too simple but also poorly explained with elements that made no sense, it felt rushed and surface-level and just eye-rolly lazy and uninspired.

(just adding this: the most engaging relationship dynamics this season was the main couple and their respective fathers)

season 4 has finished filming. idk why bc the treasure plot (el dorado) was wrapped up, but apparently there's a different treasure? i didn't watch the first 2 seasons so maybe they dealt more with that.

edit: oh, blackbeard's treasure is the new quest, cool. not making me miss ofmd or anything.....

[captnjacksparrow]

if you had to rank your fav naruto characters how would it go? love your blog btw!!

Hmmm... Complicated ask, anon.😂

[My personal life would be splashed here and there. Please bear with me]

Before 5 months, if you asked me about Naruto, my response would be ‘What the fuck is that?’. I absolutely had no idea such a treasure existed. For me, it started out like a blockbuster movie for the sheer variety of fights and the resulting emotions it brought within me. 

However, there was a point I stopped and thought, ‘Wait a fucking second. This resembles my family dynamics. This person is speaking the exact same lines I spoke to my parents few years ago. This person’s situation resembles mine. Did this creator a time traveler?’. Naruto is the only piece of media that gave me such feel. Am not even exaggerating, believe me. 

I really liked so many characters very much but am going to try my best to list just 10. 

The only characters I hate in this series are Danzo, Sakura and Hinata in no particular order. Meaning, I absolutely cannot see any positives in them. They are crassy, cringey and completely detestable.

FAVOURITE NARUTO CHARACTERS

10. Killer Bee

HaHaHa :-) Just seeing this character makes me smile and light-hearted.

It’s a pity that he is the only character who don’t belong to Konoha in my Top 10 rankings who was developed well apart from Gaara.

I loved him from Frame 1 onwards and I sincerely wished Team Taka should be packed up with their ass beaten up mercilessly. And that’s what happened.

Despite being a Jinchurikki, he never bothered to mind his surroundings and filled his heart with love from his over protective Brother alone was nice to watch.

He makes a great Tag Partner with Naruto next to Sasuke. No doubt.

The way Killer Bee treated Team Taka like some annoying flies and his cool and don’t care attitude was top notch. It’s not just with Sasuke, Bee treated Naruto with the same IDGAF attitude at first.

Best Moments:

Lariat punch to Sasuke (TBH, Sasuke deserved it. LOL)

Blasted off every member of Team Taka like a doll

His entire conversation and fight sequence with Kisame (Their banters and exchanges are way too hilarious)

His dynamics with his Elder Brother (God!!!! Whenever Raikage gives him an Iron Claw.... What a hilarious duo!!!!)

9. Hatake Kakashi

Kakashi was my most favourite character when I started the series for simply being ultra-cool with the way he conducted the Bell-Test and taught a valuable lesson for those bratty kids in Team 7 called ‘Team Work’. 

Best Moments:

Kakashi vs Obito Hand-to-Hand Combat (the best in the series)

Kakashi in the Gaara retrieval arc (His fight with Itachi & Deidara gave a good start to the shippuden series. His Mangekyou reveal was surprising).

Kakashi & Guy teaming up with Naruto to reveal Obito in a twisty and tragic way. (Kakashi couldn’t handle the truth at all and neither did I)

Kakashi vs Zabuza (That’s when I realized that the series was getting real serious)

8. Jiraiya

Jiraiya was my next favourite to Kakashi during my Part 1 days. His open perversion and his entire dynamics with Naruto was one of the best things during the Chunin Exams arc. Taught Naruto about Chakra Control and about the way of a shinobi by just enduring. Naruto follows this even today.

Best Moments: 

Kuchiyose No Jutsu training (Man, I never expected him to push Naruto off the cliff)

Rasengan Training (One of the best arcs in part 1 and it was soo satisfying to see Naruto punching his first Rasengan on Kabuto, He also acted like a quasi parent to Naruto... heartwarming)

Jiraiya Vs Six paths of Pain ( 6 vs 1 was always doomed but still he had the guts of a shinobi and plunged ahead)

7. Uchiha Madara

Geez. What is there to not like him?? 

Everything he did was absolutely wrong ever since he broke up with Hashirama in a romantic way much similar to how couples break up in my country.

I am an Uchiha. You are a Senju. I wish it had been different.

This roughly translates to how 75% of lovers break up and marry someone else from their own clan in my state. (Duh!!!)

I am from XXX clan, you are from XXX clan. So we can’t love each other and my parents won’t accept this relationship. So let’s break up.

Alright, my first shipping couple in this series is HashiMada for this exact reason. (I started shipping SNS only after episode 478). 

Just like Hashirama, Madara had an extensive build up right from episode 1 where Kurama compares Sasuke with Madara. And flashbacks from Itachi and Tobi spiked my curiosity and I wanted to see his face so badly ever since.

But the moment he landed gracefully like a diva in episode 321.... Woaahhhh!!!! He literally danced in the battlefield and ate up 100′s of guys with just a fucking Sharingan. 

Best Moments:

Going Shirtless before 1000′s of people with Hashirama’s face, no less (Well, I literally went heart-eyed for 5 minutes. Sorry Sasuke, your ancester was way much sexier than you in the Orochimaru hideout and beats you by a million points).

Screaming Hashirama’s name like a cockatoo for 300 times even till the very end (Sorry Naruto, your obsession towards Sasuke for about 6 arcs is pale in comparison to Madara’s obsession which was established in just 6 or 7 episodes.)

I have 25 clones now. Do you want me to put Susanoo or not? You can’t answer. The answer is yes. (Man, his I don’t give a fuck attitude is just an alien level thing)

Openly admitting Only Hashirama Can Beat Me (Say what you will about Sasuke, Madara has no qualms about accepting his inferiority in terms of power. An absolute Straight Forward diva-queen)

Awakening Sharingan for breaking up with his ‘friend’ rather than for his 3 dead brothers. (Geez, Poor Soul. He is the forefather of a Romantic Uchiha. That romantic blood still flows in Sasuke)

6. Senju Hashirama

Man, I would have placed him somewhere in top 5 if only he was introduced early or had more scenes. I started watching Naruto only because of this very name. There is a local podcaster in my state who goes under the alias of Senju Hashirama and in his podcasts, he hinted about this character and how he was inspired by his ideals. I just googled and saw that this character belonged to Naruto series and I considered watching it. Here I am, making analysis on that very series.

There was this excellent build up for him right when we got introduced to Captain Yamato. He was constantly referred in flashbacks from Itachi and Tobi especially.

But the moment he was reanimated again..... Geez..... It was an hilarious ride all throughout. Out of all the flashbacks we got from this series, Founders Era flashback was my absolute favourite.

From where I come from, we are still under the stupid influence of Clan infrastructure and are not growing up in many aspects like people in western countries do. For me, I hope, one day, someone like Senju Hashirama appears in our state and change our lives for better by uniting all clans as one and treats everyone equally without the shitty favouritism for their own children, friends, parents, siblings.

That’s why this dialogue struck a thunder in my heart

“Be they a friend.... Be they a sibling.... Be it even my own child. I will not forgive anyone who threatens the village.”

Because the clan leaders in our place are absolutely selfish, trash bastards who serves their own needs with no regards for other people from other clans. For a person like me, Hashirama is not just a fictional hero, he is someone who many aspires to become. No wonder that podcaster chose this name as his alias.

He rightfully deserved the title ‘God of Shinobi’. And no one can surpass him, not even Naruto.

Best Moments:

Wood Style vs Eternal Mangekyou sharingan + Kurama powered Madara (He just beats Madara’s ass by a wide margin. This shows he was a whole fucking different level than Naruto + Sasuke combined. In terms of strength, nobody surpassed him YET. Sorry Naruto and Sasuke, you guys are no match even now with your Rinnegan and Kurama lost forever).

His entire banters with Madara (ROFLLLL. Without him, it would have been just another lifeless arc.)

5. Senju Tobirama

Hmmm, let me tell you something about him.

First off, he is not a racist or fascist as many hardcore Sasuke fanatics claims. He is one of the best hokages according to me. He is abso-fucking-lutely practical, rational, logical and holds no grudge. And Sasuke resembles Tobirama with all these characteristics as compared to soft and naive Naruto. If only he had more screen time, he would be easily in my top 3. 

Just because he didn’t lick the boots of Uchiha (many people’s favorite clan or may I say the only clan that was given any shit about in this series), it doesn’t make him a racist or fascist.

No, he never persecuted the Uchihas. Danzo, the crass bastard, driven off the Uchihas only after the Kyuubi incident. It was explicitly mentioned in the databook and was clearly explained in the series. 

He literally gave the highest position in the village for the entire clan. That is, a military power inside a military village. ‘Shinobi who can cause crimes can only be stopped by shinobi who are even better’. In my state, if a powerful clan decided to persecute another clan, they simply start by cutting off basic amenities like Water and Electricity. Compared to what I’ve seen, Tobirama did nothing but given the Uchihas, the highest position in their village. 

Orochimaru only said giving such a power made them conceited (arrogant). Tobirama had a trusted subordinate called Kagami, an Uchiha in his team. He suggested Kabuto to help Sasuke and even teleported him on his request. He even spited Madara for killing Sasuke, an Uchiha. He openly claimed Uchiha clan exceeds Senju in terms of Love. He openly appreciated Itachi and Kagami as someone who sees beyond their clan. In what world, would a racist or fascist do all this for a clan he hates??? 

Yes, he was cautious of Sasuke at first because he saw him with Orochimaru and even went full-on battle mode because of Sasuke’s carefree threat to destroy the village. But once he decided to go to the battlefield to fight Madara, he simply forgot everything that happened before and started to work with him as a comrade, and even helped him twice. In which world, a racist or fascist behave this way?

Believe me, a person like me who was grown with these clan politics surely can say who is a fascist. He was not. He was just cautious of them because of their ability to attain superpowers with just emotions alone. Let me ask you all this, ‘Would you be okay with people getting crazy powers whenever they are depressed?’. Being cautious is not racism. It really disrespects people who faced real oppression under fascism.

What Madara and Danzo did was a classical example of fascism. 

And No, Izuna didn’t die only because of Tobirama. He died because Madara was too arrogant to instigate war with Senju clan. And this was way before forming Konoha. If Tobirama killed Izuna after the alliance between Uchiha and Senju, I would agree that he was a racist. Izuna lost his life just like any other Uchiha and Senju soldiers in that battlefield. 

Just because he shitted your beloved ‘Sasuke-Kun’ doesn’t mean he is a racist too. Tobirama saw Sasuke along with that scoundrel Orochimaru who once used this very two hokages to destroy the very village they strived hard to create and protect. What will you do, if you were in his place?? Please don’t lie and say ‘I wouldn’t be judgemental’. 

And Imagine you are Tobirama, Sasuke is threatening to commit genocide against the entire village who had no idea about this coup detat instead of going against those old hags. Will you sit quiet as a Hokage?? 

He was the first person to suggest his brother, Itama, that Revenge against Uchihas are futile. All we need is an agreement to make truce. That gave the idea for Hashirama to pursue his dream. And Tobirama was happy to follow that dream and very supportive. 

It’s because of all these reasons I placed him above Senju Hashirama.

Best Moments:

Amazing power display against Sasuke & Co with just an index finger (It was a pleasure to see everyone’s face trembling with mild sweat including Sasuke).

Acted as a decoy to save his young subordinates. (The way he sacrificed his life saying young wills of fire must be protected is just Woow!! I wish his subordinates listened to his words and passed the mantle to the younger ones rather than playing game at such an old age and screwed up many lives. Pfft!!!)

Any time he says ‘Shut Up’ to Hashirama (ROFL)

His absolute ‘I don’t give a fuck’ attitude to Naruto, Sasuke, Hashirama, Minato and Madara (He trolled them all mercilessly and I love it)

4. Senju Tsunade

It hurts me to say that Tsunade is the only female character in my list because every other female characters were written in a much more piss poorly way. Only Konan came close to Tsunade but her role was very short. 

Despite her character’s purpose revolved around another male character (Dan) and a blatant objectification of her breasts, I liked everything about her other than those mentioned above. 

She is the Second Best Hokage who took Konoha right after the destruction made by Orochimaru, excellently handled the aftermath by making friendly relations with Suna (Sand village), provided her best medical support to Konoha in the Pain Arc and successfully handled the fourth Shinobi world war. 

She is such a badass who developed her own original jutsu called Byakugou no Jutsu, which can heal herself. 

She is just way too amazing and it’s a pity that we got very less scenes in Shippuden.

Best Moments:

Took 25+ stabs from Madara’s Susanoo like a piece of cake (Man, I simply couldn’t describe that scene. All the other Kages were shocked and even Madara too)

Lifted her advisors like a cabbage sack (Those fucking old hags deserved it. Those shits should’ve died)

Her index finger flick assault on Naruto (Aww, Naruto was definitely bratty in his first meeting and Tsunade didn’t hold back at all)

Played Orochimaru like a basketball (In that same arc, she fought Orochimaru mercilessly like a devil left and right. Someone who claimed to have surpassed Tsunade never even dared to fight Orochimaru’s student and crying for his attention after just receiving one stab from Madara. Just saying)

3. Uzumaki Naruto

Naruto is the titular character and your emotions evolve along with him. He surely deserves a spot in Top 3. The only reason I didn’t place Naruto even more higher is because he didn’t experience something very important which many characters in this list faced. That is, Losing a loved one before his eyes. Every villain in this series became what they are because they lost someone important before their eyes like Nagato, Obito. (Nope, I don’t count Neji as his loved one). I think this tests the mettle of any character and Naruto failed to experience this. The only person he ever lost was Jiraiya and that too from off-screen. That’s why I felt his journey to his dreams seemed little easier compared to the rest of the characters.

His best block of episodes will always be the part 1 Episode 1, 2, 3. Episode 1 is the character defining episode for Naruto and what he learned there will be applied everywhere till the very end of the series. He learned 3 things

Forgiveness, Empathy and Acceptance

Talk-No-Jutsu

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu

From then on, this boy wins many friends to his side, not only from Konoha but from other villages too and even made them to acknowledge his strength only through his sheer hard work. 

However, there is this person, whose acknowledgement he wants the most.  That person is his most important bond along with Iruka Sensei. He is none other than Sasuke. One day, Sasuke left him alone for some unavoidable reason at the end of part 1 which left a huge scar in him and he vows to bring him back to the place where he belongs. That becomes his ultimate goal rather than becoming an Hokage.

The way he goes to any extent to protect the people he cares about is just simply entertaining to watch.

Every time he makes an heroic entry to save the day was never boring, not once. 

Best Moments:

Sobbing from his heart after hearing Iruka Sensei acknowledging him (It just makes me feel heavy for no reason. The anime team did an awesome job to capture his emotions convincingly)

Awakening Kyuubi Mode for the first time after seeing Sasuke die in his arms (Man, out of all the collective hatred he got from the villagers, this moment affected him a lot speaks volumes)

Punching Neji from the underground to win the Chunin exams (God, I honestly believed Naruto lost but he just surprised us heavily from nowhere. And that failure speech was just pure bliss to watch even today)

Pain Vs Naruto (One of the best arc for Naruto. Because unlike other arcs, where Naruto fought with a team, this arc he was all alone fighting a person with Rinnegan. Be it the exuberant landing from the frogs with a dramatic kabuki music, creating multi-step attacks, coming up with novel solution in that difficult situation, finally ending the conflict without killing the enemy, becoming an hero. Superb journey. The only thing I didn’t like in that arc is some shitty selfish proposal. PUKE!!)

Bearing the burdens of his most important person and die along with him (This boy always shouts he will never die until he becomes an Hokage. But for Sasuke, he was ready to die along with him in order to not leave him alone proves how much he loves him. This shows his emotional maturity rather than shouting at Sasuke like he always did before which never reached his ears. This time it did)

Final Good Bye to Minato (Honestly, I was bawling just like Naruto in that scene no matter how many times I watch it. It started out slow but as he speaks more and more, he simply couldn’t hold back and wept a sea of tears 😭😭😭)

2. Uchiha Sasuke

One of the well written characters in this series, with all the flaws and positive stuffs which makes him more of an Anti-Hero. He always subverts my preformed opinions and never ceased to surprise me.

Despite being aloof and cold, his warmer side will always be exposed towards Naruto. This is evident by many things he had done for Naruto which he don’t have to or no reason to. Starting right from roasting Sakura, offering lunch, asking for tips, enquiring about breakfast, protecting him many times and dying for Naruto. 

Why I placed him above Naruto is because of his unavoidable decision to tread in a complicated dark path primarily due to the trauma he carried and was stirred up again by collective factors such as Orochimaru’s cursed seal, Itachi’s arrival and Naruto’s growth. Compared to Sasuke, Naruto had an easier path because he never saw anyone die before his eyes and hence he don’t carry any trauma which can divert his path.

Even after watching his entire clan and family members murdered before his eyes at an age 8, he managed to pull himself and never snapped out like many other good characters does. But the moment when he found out that Itachi was good all along, he simply couldn’t tolerate the truth and gave himself to Vengeance. Because, he loved his brother more than he hated him all these years. This shows he loved his brother more than his parents. His resolve to destroy Konoha was perfectly understandable. But is it good? Nope. He can kill Danzo and those old hags but killing other people was never justifiable.

But still, his resolve to have his vengeance was diverted by Naruto and weakened by Itachi, at some point. So, he decided to know the truth and when he heard it, he understood the Hokages also sacrificed many precious things to protect this village just like his Brother Itachi. He understood the mistakes of his clan and decided to protect the village which he swore to destroy. [Many Sasuke fanatics think that he succumbed to the Government and Kishi wrote Sasuke to bootlick them. Their idea was to tackle genocide with another genocide. What a stupid idea!!!!]

And No, I don’t consider him trying to kill Sakura, Karin and Kakashi as his bad moments (though I feel bad for Karin). For the simple reason being, he became a monster by losing himself in the darkness who lost the rationality to differentiate friends from foes. Much similar to how Naruto lost himself to Kyuubi’s hatred against Orochimaru and in Pain Arc. It’s so hypocritical to ignore Naruto and accuse Sasuke here. Plus, Sakura had no business to be there otherwise Sasuke would not have tried to kill her. 

But does it mean Sasuke did nothing wrong???

Nope.

He definitely shouldn’t have joined Akatsuki and hunted Killer Bee like an animal. Because, he knew that Tobi was the one who helped Itachi massacre the clan. When fighting Itachi he specifically vowed to kill Madara (Tobi). On top of that, Itachi passed on Amaterasu in his eyes specifically to stay away from Tobi. Why did he ally with him? Plus, Sasuke was one of the few characters who was exposed to the name ‘Akatsuki’ in part 1 itself. He clearly knew that this organization targets Naruto, his closest bond. Why did he join there? This is where the stupid part of Sasuke came out. I was grunting... ‘Oii Where did that clever Sasuke, who faced 1000 soldiers without killing any of them, went??’. 

And his plan for Revolution???? I thought it would be reasonable. But his vision was eerily similar to Danzo’s vision. Grrr..... Danzo also wanted to create his ideal village by destroying the current Hokage. He wanted to unite the Five Village and put himself on top of everyone as evident from the Kage Summit arc. 

I appreciate him that he finally adopted the Will of Fire, by wanting to protect the village at all costs just like Itachi and Hashirama did. But his methods are not very democratic. Plus, he wanted to do it alone. I was screaming at him... ‘Grrr, Sasuke, did you listen to Itachi at all???. He failed because he did everything alone. Why can’t you understand????’ This is also another instance, Sasuke’s stupidity glanced out.

I am happy Naruto knocked some sense into him by telling him not to do it alone but together.

Many fanatics also ask, ‘What did Sasuke do wrong to atone for his sins at the end?’.

I was like ‘Reallly????’

He joined Akatsuki, an organization which terrorized all the 5 villages and he hunted someone like an international criminal.

He spoiled the Kage Summit and attacked Raikage who lost his arm because of him. I know what happened over there is not Sasuke’s fault. But these are the kages who was loved by many people in their own villages. How can the world forget it and simply let him go?

It’s exactly because of all those lovely stuffs he did in Part 1 and all these mistakes he did in Part 2 but willing to correct his mistakes by sharing the burdens of his other half in the end made him more interesting, complicated and exciting and that’s why I love this character.

I also have a personal bias to love this character sooo much because of the character on top of my list.

Best Moments:

Defending Naruto before Sakura (Awww!!! Such a good boy he was. Eventhough I thought he was a typical arrogant K-Drama hero, he just subverted my opinion in that one scene. I always have a thing for people who stands up for someone even though they don’t have to. This is where I started to like Sasuke)

My body moved on its own. (Is there anything that trumps this scene in terms of emotions and love in this series?. This moment is where I understood the depth of Sasuke’s emotions towards Naruto).

What is a Clan? What is a Village? What is a Shinobi? (I was really hoping for Sasuke to question himself something similar to this. Because he was so self-absorbed in his hatred and failed to look outside him ever since he left the village. It was so gratifying that he did that)

Killing Orochimaru (I always thought Sasuke will kill him only after he tries to take over the body. Never imagined that he will strike the snake first)

Killing Danzo (Man, what an amazing battle!!!. It was so gratifying to see such a crass bastard die many times over and over).

His dramatic confession through his monologue (After the mystery of Who is this Tobi, Sasuke’s obsession towards Naruto remained a mystery for me. Why did he listen to Naruto under the bridge? Why did he protected Naruto in the War? I got the answer only after this confession. It was so heartwarming to see this mellow side of Sasuke)

1. Uchiha Itachi

I could write pages about him. The foremost reason I like Itachi and earns the top spot in my rankings is because he shockingly resembled me in many ways. As I already said, I come from a place where clan politics plays a major role and when I see Sasuke’s flashback in part 1, I was simply dumbstruck by such a detailed similarities.

Elder child of the family - ✅

Have an adorable younger sister who loves me more than my parents - ✅

Same age gap (5 years) with my sister as Itachi and Sasuke - ✅

Parents paying total attention on me while ignoring my sister completely - ✅

Parents constantly comparing my achievements with my sister - ✅

A sister who bear hugged me every time I entered the home after returning from my school - ✅

Despite my mom being a teacher, my sister always prefers me to teach her stuffs as she considers me to be way too better than my mom -  ✅

Love my sister more than my parents - ✅

Clan-Obsessed parents - ✅

Used me as a tool for the benefit of the clan - ✅

Sending another person from my clan to spy on me - ✅

Strained relationship with my parents - ✅

Disgusted with my clan - ✅

Most importantly, this dialogue from part 1 episode 129,

Clan? Clan?

Obsessed with the organization, Obsessed with the clan, Obsessed with the name, that’s merely the detestable action that restrict yourself.

I have given up all hope in this worthless clan

Because, people obsess themselves to their clan, a thing so petty, they lose sight of the things that are truly important.

A real change cannot occur under restraints and controls

I confronted my parents with the exact same dialogue (almost 98% similar) in my own native language some years ago. 

I didn’t even know the existence of Naruto series at that time. I was simply shell-shocked by all these similarities with this character. 

And Yes, The moment I heard these dialogues, I knew Itachi, was a good guy, who had a very strong reason for his actions and I instantly knew Sasuke’s revenge will not bear him any happiness. 

It is exactly because of all these striking similarities of myself with Itachi, and my lil’l sister with Sasuke, my family dynamics with the Uchiha family.... I could understand the magnitude of Sasuke’s love towards Itachi. 

And precisely because of that, I could understand Sasuke’s love towards Naruto is not fucking ‘brotherly’ one but something that leans towards Attraction. 

No wonder, Itachi left Sasuke in Naruto’s care. 

Anyways to speak objectively, 

Itachi is an extremely self-sacrificial person whose life is full of pain and miseries but never blames it on the world unlike other Uchiha members like Madara, Obito and Sasuke to an extent.

He did things considering the bigger picture which never benefitted himself in anyway and was willing to go to any extent even at the expense of his own family and his brother’s happiness. That is, Uchiha Clan Massacre and Joining Akatsuki. None of this benefitted him in anyways but he did it anyway, for the village of Konoha. 

His ideals are shockingly similar to Hashirama, Which Sasuke pointed this out and Hashirama acknowledged that Itachi was a better shinobi than he was. ❤️❤️❤️

Now, does this means I support Uchiha clan massacre?

No way. Even Itachi didn’t.

This massacre happened because of the huge clusterfuck from Hiruzen’s incompetence, Danzo’s paranoid arrogance, Uchiha clan’s devious plan to over throw the government by force rather than approaching it in a peaceful way, say, a peace talk or a protest. 

All these people acted on their own self-interest. Itachi and Shisui caught in their whirlpool, bear their burdens and paid for it with their life. Sasuke suffered for it.

But, it’s not the only reason I love this character. It’s because, the moment he decided to massacre everyone, he marked his own death by the hands of his beloved brother. I love people who owns up their mistakes and face the consequences rather than making excuses (even though it’s not entirely his mistake).

Itachi is also the only character in this series who realized his failures on his own without anyone’s interference or Naruto’s Talk-No-Jutsu. 

And he apologized for everything he did to Sasuke.

Again, some hardcore Sasuke fanatics criticize/hate him for torturing their poor ‘Sasuke-Kun’ with his Tsukuyomi. I was like ‘Hmmm...What?’. 

First off, Itachi apologized to Sasuke for not thinking out from his point of view and also for not telling him the truth earlier.

Second off, Sasuke never even blamed Itachi for anything (even he didn’t hold him for killing their parents). If Sasuke himself, forgiven Itachi... Why are his fans being so rabid?

Third off, for all of his supposed ‘crimes’, he paid for it by dying as a disgraceful Madman rather than a Hero who really saved the village. He is someone who should be celebrated like Naruto but instead died proudly as a Traitor of Konoha.

All in all, One of the wonderfully written character I have ever seen in the media. 

Best Moments:

Itachi vs Sasuke (That battle was a pure brilliance and highly emotional especially after knowing the truth. When Sasuke released his Kirin, Itachi showed off his ultimate armour Susanoo like a badass. Seeing Susanoo for the first time gave me chills. No, Sasuke didn’t kill him. Itachi died on his own)

Itachi vs Orochimaru (Man, Itachi may look mellow but when it comes to Orochimaru he is a pure Sass. He screwed that snake up both the times by a wide margin. It seems Uchiha brothers like to fuck up Orochimaru, LOL)

Talk-No-Jutsu’ing Naruto (Geez, Naruto was being completely bratty and was full of saviour complex like he was going to bear everyone’s hatred by himself. I was almost annoyed. Thanks to Itachi, he realised. Probably he is the only character to shut Naruto using his own jutsu)

Izanami’ing Kabuto (Other than Naruto, he is the only character to go out of his way to empathize with a villain and put extreme effort to change him. I think this is why Sasuke loves Naruto, for seeing these similarities??? ).

Goodbye to Sasuke (The first time when he said ‘Forgive me, Sasuke. This is the last’ by poking his forehead and finally closing the distance by butting with Sasuke’s head softly saying ‘I will love you always’.... It always evokes uncontrollable tears in me, no matter how many times I watch it 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭)

HONOURABLE MENTION

Uchiha Obito

God, Am such a sucker for Uchiha guys individually, though collectively as a clan they fucked up big time. I simply couldn’t find the place for him in the top 10. He is a classic example of What Naruto will be like if he becomes a villain?

However, all those horrible stuffs he did just for a girl whom he had a crush on which was never reciprocated seems childish. That’s why I couldn’t put him in Top 10.

And his understandable but weird obsession on Naruto was always enjoyable to watch. 

One cute thing I liked about him was, whatever criminal stuffs he may have done, he was never a cheapskate though. He had every chance to take back Kakashi’s Sharingan to activate his own Susanoo. But he never even thought of such an idea. He was a bad guy. But a good friend, no matter what. 

Pure Baby!!! But lost his way!!!

Best Moments:

Importance of Team Work (’In the ninja world, Those who break the rules are  scum. But those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum’. This very legacy he left to Kakashi came to defeat him later. And Naruto follows this motto even today)

Sacrificing his Sharingan (’I am giving you my Sharingan. No matter what the villagers say, you are a great Jonin. Please take it’. Awww!!! Obito. He left his Sharingan which helped Kakashi to complete a jutsu called ‘Chidori’, which is a go-to jutsu of Sasuke)

Thanks for the ask, anon. I thoroughly enjoyed writing this. ❤️

[meetinginsamarra]

I posted 3.683 times in 2021

175 posts created (5%)

3508 posts reblogged (95%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 20.0 posts.

I added 3.646 tags in 2021

#sherlock fanart - 2373 posts

#sherlock - 502 posts

#benedict cumberbatch - 205 posts

#my sherlock fanfics - 166 posts

#sherlock fandom - 89 posts

#legit scenes - 84 posts

#reblog - 62 posts

#my patchwork - 60 posts

#archiaart - 54 posts

#willietheplaidjacket - 51 posts

Longest Tag: 48 characters

#actually there are 1079 fics to read on the list

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Dune and H.R. Giger

This post is especially for my friend @peageetibbs​ who fell not only into the Timothy Chalamet rabbit hole but also into the one dug by Frank Herbert´s “Dune” and is also a movie enthusiast (and runs a cinema with friends).

Hope you like my little excursion into Dune history, dear friend.

I came across the books around the mid 1980`s. I read a lot of SciFi as a teen, all the classics and fell in love with the Dune-universe. I saw the first movie by David Lynch, made 1984, (I find this date very fitting btw, with George Orwell and all that) later on TV. It was great back then imo. Looking back today it´s a bit meh because they left out a lot of backstory/world-building from the books. The short TV adaptation later did a better job at this.

Getting to my point (finally). In the1982 German edition of the 4th book there are six coloured pages included. Coloured pictures in printed novels were still scarce, therefore special  and these have been drawn by H.R. Giger, the Swiss artist known best for his design of “The Alien” in the famous movie by the same name.

Around 1975,  Alexander Jodorowsky tried to make a several hours long movie adaptation of Dune. He invited H.R. Giger to deliver artwork for the movie in his typical dark and morbid style. In the end, Jodorowsky failed. It took until 1984 when the movie was made and directed by David Lynch (who to this day claims it as the “one great failure” of his career) and without the participation of Giger.

These are the German editions of the early 1980´s and yes, the first book is missing as I found out while writing this post. Must have lent it to someone and never got it back. (Damn) Also, photos of two of the artworks.

The story of Giger´s involvement with Dune can be read in the 1991 biography "ARh+”, see below. H.R. Giger died 2014.

29 notes • Posted 2021-11-11 15:45:27 GMT

#4

221 Plants for Sherlock Challenge

my entry for @sherlockchallenge​ October prompt “Plant”

also posted on AO3 https://archiveofourown.org/works/34365841

221 Plants

“I´m back with the shopping,” John shouted when he reached the landing to 221b.

“That´s quite obvious going by the insufferable noise you made while stomping upwards.” John might as well have expected Sherlock´s voice sounding utterly bored.

“Well, since you´ve not deigned to help me with the heavy bags you´ll have to endure the noise.”

“Couldn´t help. I´m busy.”

“As if you´d ever. Sloth.”

“Elephant.”

John hauled his booty into the flat, the ancient brainstem-transmitted feeling of having killed the mammoth and thus ensured the survival of the Neanderthal clan made him high on endorphins. Even more, this time he´d also successfully navigated the enchanted forest of supermarket aisles in record time and subdued the terrible sabretooth tiger in form of the credit card-eating chip-and-pin machine which added an additional adrenaline boost and a feeling of omnipotence.

On his way into the kitchen John wondered again what the jungle-like array of potted plants cluttering the coffee table was for. He´d refrained from asking this morning when he´d gone to work. Often, it was better for John´s mental health not to know the reason behind each of Sherlock´s wacky doings. Although knowing now might probably benefit his physical health since the jungle had spread considerately and was already obstructing the whole area around the sofa as well.

John entered the kitchen, in his mind already putting away the milk and desperately hoping there´d be no head in the  fridge again, so he was slow to register Sherlock sitting at the kitchen table with a syringe sticking in his arm.

“What the fuck are you doing?” John ogled the needle suspiciously.

Green-ish eyes blinked surprised. “Drawing blood,” Sherlock fiddled one-handed with the tourniquet, “obviously.”

“Why?”

“Experiment.”

“I could have helped with that if you´d waited.”

“Too late now, I´ve already taken mine.”

“I did not offer my blood but to help you drawing yours.”

“Still too late.”

John started packing away the groceries. “So?”

“So what?”

“What are you drawing it for?”

“Digestion of human blood.”

John was used to Sherlock´s weird ways but this was strange even for him. “Did you turn into a vampire now?”

“Nonsense, it´s for a case.”

“Which?”

Sherlock threw John an exasperated look. “Lestrade has an exsanguinated corpse and no one knows where all the blood has vanished to. I will prove that it´s been fed to the victim´s collection of carnivorous plants.”

“Ah. So you needed to install a jungle in the sitting-room?”

“Excellent deduction, John.”

“By buying dozens of Venus flytraps?”

“221 exactly. Do keep up.”

John scoffed, “I´m not the most observant person but I know exactly you´re totally making this up.”

Taken by surprise, Sherlock´s mouth went slack, trying to think of a witty reply but none came up.

Something clicked in John´s brain. “It´s to do with the movie I made you watch last weekend, right?”

Sherlock squirmed under John´s inquiring look. “Maybe?”

“You hated it.”

“I hate all the movies you make me watch. Especially the musicals.”

“Why watch them at all?”

“Because you liked it,” Sherlock mused, “I mean, her.”

“Her who?”

“Audrey.”

John´s whole brain was clicking suddenly. “Oh! You noticed I liked the alien blood-drinking plant in “Little Shop of Horrors” named Audrey II.”

“I may not follow the plot but I do register when you´re happy.”

“That´s actually sweet of you.”

Sherlock blushed, “You´ve been very pleased when she ate the obnoxious dentist.”

“Everyone likes their dentist to get eaten.”

“So, I wanted to make you happy.”

“How would feeding your blood to the bloody,” John chuckled at the involuntary pun, “Venus flytrap forest in the sitting-room make me happy?”

“By trying to grow a plant able of digesting human blood like Audrey,” Sherlock smiled shyly, “as a gift for your birthday next week.”

John was about to praise this unexpected bout of altruistic thoughtfulness when he noticed the mischievous glint lighting up in Sherlock´s eyes.

“I´m flattered but I see you have an ulterior motive.”

“Erm.” Sherlock hesitated. John was getting dangerously observant.

“Out with it!”

“If it works I´d also gift one to Mycroft, telling him this breed smells of cake. Would teach him a lesson if Audrey III bit him in the fat nose.”

Delighted, John laughed. “Brilliant, go on then!”

🙏If you liked reading please consider clicking the link to the AO3 post https://archiveofourown.org/works/34365841 so my ficlet gets all your hits, too. Thanks!🙏

44 notes • Posted 2021-10-13 11:08:53 GMT

#3

May many fandom creators celebrate REBLOG WITHOUT APOLOGY SATURDAY with posts like this!

“It’s been a long year, so I officially declare today Reblog Without Apology Saturday. No adding “shameless,” “self-promotion,” or any variation on these.” prompt made by  @totallysilvergirl

Dear silvergirl, what a great idea! I´m very flattered you prompted me to reblog mine amongst ozhers, so your wish is my command LOL

I´m listing my posted fics (six so far) with a very basic summary and also teasing upcoming ones (yes, plural).

“Wretched and Divine” (diff. first meeting, punklock)   https://archiveofourown.org/works/21282470 

and the sequel “The Aftermath is Secondary” (explicit and casefic if you squint) https://archiveofourown.org/works/21562396

“Mutual Attraction” (novel-length, AU-ish, pre BBC canon sort-of, Johnlock, lots of diff. first meetings, casefic) https://archiveofourown.org/works/24944692

“Winning a Lost Bet” (Johnlock couple pole-dances for Yarder´s XMas party, fun fic) https://archiveofourown.org/works/27997239

“The toe that didn´t belong” (another diff. first meeting, another punklock AU and pwp) https://archiveofourown.org/works/22849612 

followed by part 2 “The Embers still glow when I´m sober”   https://archiveofourown.org/works/30998801 (more plot here and developing rel.ship, still explicit) and starting in mid-November there will be part 3 “Gravity is missing from everything” with more character development and backstory, also explicit.

On Halloween day I´ll post a spooky vibe one-shot “Until the final breath escapes” and I wrote a ficlet for the Sherlock Challenge “Plant”, coming next week.

49 notes • Posted 2021-10-09 18:57:46 GMT

#2

List of useful interjections

While searching for how to correctly spell “Uh-huh” I stumbled over this very useful list. Especially for non-native English speakers/writers.

https://www.dailywritingtips.com/100-mostly-small-but-expressive-interjections/

50 notes • Posted 2021-08-21 19:59:08 GMT

#1

The Daily Life of Sherlock and John - Johnlock

One of my all-time fave fanvids.

Really old but great montage, perfect timing and music and so much fun. Look at it!

58 notes • Posted 2021-09-17 09:01:39 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[thehmsseabastard]

So! Another movie adaptation review. This time, I’m doing (*insert drumroll here*)...

PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME!

(This movie was recently added to Disney+ btw. Guess they finally remembered that it existed...I opted to not pay like Speed Racer though. Yo ho yo ho, a pirate’s life for me...)

It’s based on the Prince of Persia series (the Sands of Time Trilogy, not the two originals or the 2008 remake). So Disney got the rights to make this movie way back in...

2004? The movie came out six years later!

Anyway, they got the rights at that point. The producer apparantly worked on Pirates of the Carribean, so they decided to try and make a PotC esque franchise by taking cool elements from the source and making a good movie from it (though this time it was a game instead of a theme park ride). They also changed some stuff for the release date in hopes of launching a such a franchise afterwards.

So did they succeed?

Haven’t seen development for a second movie...so...I guess not. Come to think of it, outside of a likely mediocre VR game, there’s been nothing new for Prinxe of Persia in Ren years since the release of this movie and forgotten sands...

But I’m not here to discuss the issues of loosing what could have possibly-maybe-not really been another great franchise like Pirates’. I’m here to discuss whether or not it’s actually a terrible movie as many say it is.

This time, I’m going to try to break it down to pieces for the purposes of being comprehensible and sounding like I know what the fuck I’m talking about rather than just giving a likely subjective opinion...

ANYWAY LET’S GET TO IT!

1. THE STORY (spoilers ahead)

If you went to this movie believeing it would try to exactly copy the story of the first game, then I’ve absolutely no idea what to tell you. So I guess I’ll make a list of similarities and differences about such things

Similarities:

Persian Prince attacks city, gets Dagger, saves princess, runs from bad guys, fights bad guy, gets sent back in time to the start of the game (or movie in this case) and prevents the villain’s plan from ever really getting off the ground to begin with.

Said Prince is good at parkour and swordfighting.

Unfortunately, Princess doesn’t do much outside of being eye candy, occasionally share exposition, and take the Dagger from the Prince at one point (could they seriously not make her, like, be at least able to fight well? C’mon Disney, if you wanted to make this movie discount pirates, at least make the female lead more like Elizabeth and less like Sleeping Beauty!)

The King dies and then un-dies when the timeline gets reset or whatever

And now Differences! First, I will say that I understand some of these had to be made to adjust to the new medium (video games and movies aren’t experienced the same way, after all), but I’m still going to list them

The Prince has a name: Dastan.

He has two brothers, Tus and Garsiv

His uncle is the revealed villain instead of some random no-name Vizer

The movie is mostly in the desert city of Alamut and some nearby desert-y areas of Persia while the game takes place in India

The Princess’s name is Tamina instead of Farah

A lot of the side peoples like the Hassansins, Seso, and Sheik Amar were added to the movie

The Prince doesn’t release the Sands of Time in the start of the story. Instead it only happens in the Third Act

So, I’d say overall there was an alright job at changing the story to fit a movie setting more. You can’t really have a character that has much more human interactions as opposed to just parkour and fighting sand monsters not have some sort of name. The side characters help to establish decent side parts to the story.

Overall, I think the story is...okay. It’s not amazing, but I think it gets the job done in a reasonable fashion.

2. THE CHARACTERS

Now for the other important part. Before I get into the performance, I will say I’m disappointed in yet another instance of whitewashing in Hollywood. I would’ve definitely liked it if they could’ve avoided this issue, but for now I’ll tick off points for that and discuss the performances.

Jake Gyllenhaal does a pretty great job as Dastan. He’s a dashing rogue with some good lines and generally sells his performance pretty well despite the mediocre plot and story.

Ben Kingsley does a good job as the traitor uncle Nizam. While he’s not always as threatening as, say, the Hassansins, he does certainly have his moments in the film and his motivations are hinted at early in and make sense.

Richard Coyle’s Tus (left) and Toby Kebbell’s Garsiv (right) are mediocre. They’re not as interesting as Dastan or some other characters I’ll mention later, but I will say Tus as a character seemed a lot better and more fleshed out for the most part than Garsiv.

Tamina. Already said she’s a missed opportunity for a badass female lead. However, Gemma Arterton makes most of her interactions with Dastan pretty believable and I’ll admit that her attempts at trying to get the Dagger of Time back from The Prince are pretty neat and she almost succeeds two out of four times (actually nearly killed him in one of them, but he gets saved by:

Yeah, I know it’s a dead meme, but you get the idea.

And lastly, one of my personal favorite performances in the movie, Alfred Molina as Sheik Amar and Steve Toussaint as Seso. They’re not in the movie very long, but I have to say that they’re both my favorites in their own way. Molina’s Amar is quite funny and bizarre and makes for an entertaining supporting character, and despite the unfortunately limited speaking and screen time for Seso, his skill and general badassary are portrayed well.

I’d say most of the characters were good despite the many missed opportunities for the characters and the whitewashing issue. So! I’ll wrap up with a discussion on the effects and action (but not music. The soundtrack was pretty generic imo.)

3. THE ACTION AND EFFECTS

This is definitely the highlight of the film. The action, from the free running to the fights, is all done very well. One of my low key favorite scenes is just before the invasion of Alamut, where Dastan climbs the outer wall. Also, the effects when he rewinds time with the Dagger are amazing. (links aren’t working for me right now so you’ll have to find them yourself.)

Honestly, there’s a lot wrong with this movie between the whitewashing, the not-always-great characters and interactions, and the mediocre plot and soundtrack among other things. However, when this movie does something well, it does it pretty damn well. I think it’s a shame that this movie wasn’t completely able to break the “video game movie” mold, but for what it is, a swashbuckling action adventure movie, it’s good.

7.5/10

Honestly, if I had a decent mike, I could probably make a small YouTube series outta this instead of making a Tumblr essay...

[annakie]

An Annotated Mass Effect Playthrough, Part Six

Wherein we get out into space and explore a bit, and complete our crew.

And post a lot of gifs, because screenshots were lost.

List of Posts: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

So I use the NVidia Control Panel app to take screenshots and videos.  Since it’s already running and it takes good shots it seems dumb to not use it.

I ended up being super busy this week and didn’t play much, just got through like, talking to Kaidan after the big speech on the bridge more or less for the entire week, and through Therum.  I updated my drivers a day or two ago.  And then I didn’t notice that for whatever reason, yesterday when I went to play for a few hours, NVidia decided to record videos just fine, but not take screenshots.  I probably actually mashed the button several hundred times.... but all I got were videos.

Most of it wasn’t a great loss, it was a lot of talking to the crew, and a few planetary missions which... so I’m going to have to go back and redo some of it later for screenshots.

But I thought... hey, for posting on tumblr, I’ll just make it a shorter update and make a few gifs and most this a mostly-gif post!  That’ll be fun!

...and then I spent several hours making almost 80 gifs, including a lot of what I also had screenshots for but thought making gifs would be more fun.  

I mean I was watching the last few eps of the newest season of Great British Bake Off on Netflix, and a few other shows this morning so it wasn’t just gif time... but yeah I made a lot.  So I might split this into two posts now because... that’s a lot of gifs. This post will still have a lot of screenshots, too.  So here we go!

There are so many things to love about this moment.  It’s such a great like, re-launch of the game... Bioware telling us “Okay, now you know the plot, you know all the major players, you know a lot about our world (galaxy) and how it works and who lives here, now, it’s time for you to go out on your own.”

First, it starts with being able to vent a little to Joker, which is a nice touch.  Shepard might feel guilty about taking the ship over from Anderson, but Joker also assures us here, a great preview of the way he’s tasked with helping Shepard keep it together in ME3.

I love seeing Shepard’s words affect the crew.  The swelling music, the same as the “you’re a Spectre now!!” music just underscores the journey, and what’s to come.

I used to always miss this scene by not picking the right speech option, and would be mad Kaidan was left out of this montage.  My fault!

This moment is so beautiful and epic.

...and here we go.

ALOT, btw, makes the galaxy map so pretty.  Sharper and clearer and more colorful.  

We all usually just head to Liara’s Dig Site first, right?  Unless you’re doing one of those “Pick up Liara last just to see what happens” playthroughs?  I did that once. It felt weird.  And sad, when you tell her “oops I killed your mom and I’m not sorry.”  Seems like she shouldn’t have gotten over that so quickly, but well, that’s game design.  The entire plot just doesn’t feel the same and more flimsy without Liara around from the start.

I usually do Therum --> Feros --> Noveria --> Virmire.

Well okay, first a stop at Edolus, since, you know, it’s on the way.

What a LOVELY day, nothing could possibly go wrong on this barren world. I feel like they gave us a pretty easy-to-get-around-on world to start out with.

I honestly love driving around in the mako 90% of the time?  Once you’re used to the controls, it’s not that hard to get most places you want to go.  Though I admit the Nomad in Andromeda is a big upgrade.  I kinda miss it in ME2 and ME3, though I only do what driving is necessary in Overlord and skip Firewalker like, half the time.

First, let’s check out the map...

I’m pretty sure I didn’t realize you could mark your destination on the map and it’d put a handy arrow on your radar until I started playing on PC.  Before then I was checking the map every 5 seconds making SURE I was going the right way.  *facepalm*  

Generally my scanning strategy on the planet is... just go to the things on the map, but do go to ALL the things on the map.  If I see something along the way, stop and get it.  I don’t go way out of my way to look for unmarked stuff.  Usually the UNC missions can be completed doing that + complete planet / asteroid scanning.

Oh hey here’s a guy, let’s just grab what we can off him...

UGH.  MINIGAMES.

Like I get that the minigame is a stand in for “looking for clues, are you successful in finding anything useful?” or whatever but it’s still just the worst.  A minigame is fun occasionally, making it as a gate to something like looting a body is stupid.  I guess I have to forgo actually putting points into things that keep Kaidan alive at the early levels so he can help me... loot bodies.  Cool.  Great.

Since I’m cheating in credits, all weapons and armor get medigelled almost immediately so that I don’t have to do the minigame later on when they get harder, like, ever.

The ME2 minigames at least make a little more sense than this moving puzzler thing.  That’s at least an attempt to look like some kind of code hacking or rewiring/reprogramming.  This thing is just... silly.

ME2 has a disable minigames mod... so there will be no talk of minigames from here on out.  They don’t exist after the easy minigames early on in ME1.

So I ... somehow managed to not get video or screenshots of you know the ICONIC THRESHER MAW attack on Edolus?  So please enjoy this gif I made of it back in 2013 instead.

It’s such a great fakeout and moment.  Like “Oh man how easy my goal is like right in front of me!  That’s great, so easy!” then OH HELL NO, FUCK YOU, GIANT WORM!!

These gifs are from another planet later on, but they’ll do.

My normal MO with Maws is to get out of the way, far enough that they can’t appear too close to or especially under me, but close enough that they do still show up, then stay stationary and jump over the goo while shooting at it.

YOU’RE FACING THE OTHER WAY HOW DID YOU SPIT AT ME?!

This is fine.  EVERYTHING IS FINE. We’re just A LITTLE ON FIRE.  Our shields are at full...

Oh hell, Kaidan slap some medigel on it, please.

Even though we don’t know who Cerberus is yet, FUCK YOU CERBERUS. I always bring the VS to any Cerberus mission because THEY WERE RIGHT NOT TO JOIN YOU IN CERBERUS.  Let’s keep a FUCK YOU CERBERUS count going to remember all the horrible shit we SAW Cerberus do in ME1 to remind ourselves why Ashley or Kaidan is the only SANE ONE for going “No, sorry, I’m not joining you in Cerberus.”

Deep breath

OK, let’s go get Liara.

Wrex comes with us to Therum.

Dear Lord, Therum is gorgeous.

This is real nice just a pleasant day on this thresher maw-less planet and great scenery, we’ll find that asari scientist in no ti--- WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?

Have I mentioned how everything is fine lately?

Well it’s time for how I deal with most of the geth while in the Mako...

Armatures are worth five points each!

Rocket troopers are only two points, but I got a lot of them!

Stopping and fighting in the Mako takes way too long.  Push on through all the way til we’re stopped.

Hm, this is the one I should push, right?

*crickets*

Fine.

Just... real pretty.

I love this part of Therum right here.  A really great, scary fight that feels so dangerous, but winnable.  Great level design, too.

Then this happens.

Does everyone’s hair do that in this cutscene, or just mine, or this hairstyle?

Also, ME3 has a mod now that lets chracters use their correct weapons in cutscenes, my eternal devotion to the modder who could do that in ME1.  None of these characters use assault rifles in-game!!

I’m fairly certain I have played and replayed this fight more than any other in ME1.  AKA RUN FOR COVER OH SHIT AVOID THE BOMBS AND LASERS FLYING AT YOU AT ONCE PLEASE DON’T DIE COMPANIONS PLEASE KILL SOMETHING I CAN’T DO THIS ON MY OWN AHHHHH!!! 

This time around, I died my first time, actually did really well the second time, and decided to go back and record the fight for gifs and... won, barely.  The gifs would not be good.  Wrex and Kaidan didn’t last long. 

Anyway, It’s a great cutscene, but hoo boy I wish it were skippable.

Okay but what were these ruins *for*.  Also, real lucky that they had the boss fight way up here instead of down where Liara was.

Speaking of Liara...

Hello Doctor T’soni!

I have a lot of questions like... how long have you been in that bubble?  How are you sustaining it that long?  How long has it been since you’ve eaten?  If I didn’t come get you until after Virmire, would you have been holding that bubble up for the weeks in between then and now?  

Ah well, you’re here now, and I suppose I’m going to owe you my life later so... welcome to the team.

You gotta admit that’s one badass entrance, though uh, if the forcefield is still up, where did he come from?  Doesn’t matter.  Wrex, let’s kill us one of your brethren (sorry.)

I’ll just *assume* that Liara is too tired from holding up her stasis bubble she was in to actually be USEFUL.

I love the chaos of running the fuck out of there.

Texture popping is still an issue even with a decent computer and texture packs, but at least it’s quick now.

Also I really feel the loss of this conference room in the future games.  The awkward oval table never quite feels the same.  But also, uh, this is a lot of room taken up in this small ship for eight chairs and a holoprojector.  You gotta think there’s more uses for this space than just that.

But yeah, I love these check-ins, it’s a chance for everyone to get together and really hash out what’s going on, as well as reinforcing the plot to the players in a more natural way.  Having Liara this early will let us understand the Protheans better at an earlier stage, even if it turns out she’s wrong about some stuff (though at the time this was written, she was right for all everyone knew.)

Wrex and Garrus don’t talk much here, probably because you can make it through the game without one of them.  I did a “didn’t recruit Garrus” playthrough in ME2 once.  They change like one or two lines then Garrus goes back to talking about Old Times.  So like you CAN, but you really shouldn’t not recruit Garrus, because Bioware didn’t do a great job changing anything aside from your initial greeting during the Omega Archangel mission.

Not recruiting Wrex, though.  Wow that’ll have consequences later on.

OK!  So the gang’s all here, and this post is already very long.  Next time: Let’s go talk to everyone for awhile, and do a few more sidequests because we can’t go back to the Citadel til our persuasion is high enough to grind Mikhailovich’s arguments into the dust!

[27emailsicantsend]

3x14 and 3x15 Andi Mack scene by scene recap + my unnecessary opinions lol

Forewarning: as from the title these ARE spoilers to the episodes if you haven’t seen it. I’m tagging spoilers out but there’s still a chance they could be seen. Also, I’m giving a scene by scene recap with my opinions of the show. I’ve been requested to do the recap but I also want to talk about what I thought from these episodes in more detail than my post yesterday. So for the most part it’ll be factual but I’m really invested in these two episodes so I’ll definitely be adding my own twang. It’s virtually impossible for me not to recap my own hype for the episodes lol. Hope you’re a Muffy and Tyrus stan bc I’ve got some cOnTeNt for you ❤️

Ok here. we. go.

3x14

Scene starts in the spoon. It’s Andi, Muffy, and Cyrus. Muffy and Cyrus talk about Andi’s parents not getting married while Amber overhears. She gets upset and asks why. Andi clarifies her parents aren’t married, but still together and Amber makes the comment, “unlike my house. My parents are still married but barely together”. Which gets some awks looks from the table. Andi tells them she’s not sad, but angry. Then she says that B&B (Bex and Bowie) said she’s entitled to her feelings to which Cyrus claims as being manipulative?? (Still don’t see how, but he explains that they are playing dodgeball and b&b are on one side and Andi on the other. She has a ball of anger she wants to throw, but they’re ready for it. So if she throws it, they’ll catch it and then she basically can’t show her anger- he’s obviously been listening to his counseling parents hahaha). Andi asks where she can throw her anger ball (lol) so Amber takes her to a sledge hammer place (Rage Cage) where everyone is in individual cages that have old items that you just beat up with a sledge hammer.

*opening song*

Andi is laying on her bed and gets a really excited phone call from CeCe about the wedding to which Andi feels guilty. She tries to tell Bex to tell CeCe it’s cancelled but Bex refuses bc the next day is CeCe’s bday. This scene had some really good acting BTW (I’ll probably tell you when this happens too bc honestly props to the actors. And the cinematography and music in these two episodes is beautiful. Literally made me feel like I was watching a movie).

Buffy runs up to Marty at a bench and he gets a big dimple smile bc why wouldn’t he be excited to see her?? Lol Buffy starts mocking Marty’s shoes because they have toe inserts and that’s when he tells her they are for a marathon. Buffy gets confused (and lowkey upset) she didn’t know about the marathon and Marty is all, “we have a lot of catching up to do” and I’m all (you have a lot of dating to do because my soul has been empty this past season without you. #RIPME 😭 ⚰️). So Buffy gets all flirty competitive and says she wants to race as well. Marty tries to talk her out of it bc he’s worried about an injury, dehydration, etc. but this is Buffy we’re talking about and she insists she can do it and then runs away lol, but Marty can’t help the love he feels for her and smiles sheepishly as he goes to run away with her (very metaphoric. I love)

Jonah and Cyrus are walking and Cyrus invites Jonah to see a meteor shower in his backyard for a campout (good Jyrus moment if you ship that) Jonah makes a lame joke about not having a s’more in awhile and so he has “s’less”- Cyrus tells him not to hurt himself making that joke 😂😂

B&B and Andi are at a restaurant waiting for CeCe & Ham. CeCe shows up and tells everyone Ham went back to India.

Cyrus and Jonah go into a beautifully set up tent where Cyrus obviously had to out-do himself and make everything in the tent extra. I love a gay interior design queen.

Back at the restaurant, CeCe says Ham went to India for rest. CeCe makes some really weird remark about seeing him again (yikes) and the rest make comments about him doing what he needs to do and that they have to accept it and not take each other for granted. Very subtextual of the real situation, but also a great way to write off his character and play into Bex worrying about cancelling the wedding. She showed fear like she wouldn’t want to say anything to CeCe bc he’s gone, but since CeCe was ok with him leaving, Bex calmed down too. Just really well done. CeCe tried to show Bex venue photo’s and Bex tried to stop her but then Bex just says she had a problem mailing the wedding invites *cliff hanger*

Cyrus and Jonah back at the tent. Jonah is panicking about dying in Cyrus’ backyard and Cyrus brings meat into the tent but makes it all flirty and weird- I don’t ship Jyrus but the whole thing lowkey felt like they were trying to impress Jyrus shippers with date vibes haha (also the meat is BAD if you’re camping bc animals can get to you). Then an animal hits their tent at (obviously) the right time

CeCe now knows the wedding is off and is PiSsEd™️. The waiters are all completely unaware and don’t know how to read the room so they bring a sparkler cake. CeCe flips the sparkler upside down, shoves it in the cake, and exits as dramatically as possible. Leaving the mustached waiter with an awkward face like:

Then there was this weird commercial on my app promoting season 2 like bish you already know I watched that season at least twice don’t play me like that

Back to the pointless tent scene (for real- this scene was just filler. You rip off Tyrus FOR THIS? Actual homophobia). Jonah mispronounces some weird thing (and Cyrus says don’t hurt yourself again) and then breaks the tent. Cyrus makes a failed attempt at opening the tent with a cheese knife but Shazam! saves the day by telling Cyrus not to hurt himself and opening the tent with the same cheese knife (honestly, weird flex but ok). They escape and are saved and watch a poorly CGI’d meteor shower like two old men on their front porch. and yippee five minutes of wasted screen time are over. I don’t care if you ship Jyrus. It was a waste of time when we could have been focusing on the TeA of the show. *rant over- no worries. Many more to come*

Back to important matters, Muffy is now running their race. Marty doesn’t want to race. He just wants to finish in under 4 hours and Buffy wants to finish under his time. Buffy agrees with Mr. Party at first, but then hears the word “race” and bolts away like Lightning McQueen.

Bex and Andi back at the house. Bex says it went bad with CeCe bc she won’t even act like Bex exists. Andi realizes her anger and knows where to take her (you guessed it. RAGe CAGe- Andi said it wasn’t for Bex lol so she wouldn’t tell Bex where she was going with CeCe 😂 the shade)

Marty is jogging along like a middle aged white woman and sees Buffy wheezing. He gets all husband like and concerned as he catches her in his arms. (Which reminds me of a pic I saw on Tumblr where they drew her in his arms but laced it with the “Miss Keisha” vine and I was here for it). Then Marty and Buffy put their arms around each other and he escorts her to a bench. (Just saying, everyone knows Tyrus is going to involve a bench scene but as us loyal fans know, Muffy shadows Tyrus and they have also encountered two (2) benches thus far. Coincidence? Maybe. Will I believe it was a coincidence? Absolutely not). Then he puts her on the bench and acts all cute and paramedic and concerned. He’s been taking doc notes at General Hospital obviously. (He even mentions taking her to a doctor). Buffy is all like, “Run your race Marty. 4 1/2 hours. [I’m the supportive girlfriend you hoe].” And he doesn’t want to leave her and she accuses him of being a martyr? Then she snaps at him (like tf) to go away and he gets all angsty™️ and runs off and my heart broke bc I was not ready for a Muffy battle.

Andi and CeCe at the Rage Cage... rage. In a cage.

Marty comes running back to Buffy with a dimple smile again bc he knows she was trying to “White Fang” him from a movie they saw together (❤️). To “White Fang” is for the boy in the movie to send the wolf away, wolf doesn’t want to leave, so the boy throws rocks at him to make him go. Buffy is caught (but she ain’t mad) and I need to quote this part word for word bc it’s TOO CUTE 🥰🥰🥰

B: You’re the one who said we should run our own race

M: That’s what I’m doing

B: Wanna sit here with me?

M: No. I wanna cross the finish line with you 😭😭😭

And that, my friends, was the day my heart ripped in half from joy

Then he picks her up and they put their arms around each other (I seriously can’t. They made me cry last night and lowkey I thought it was bc I was tired but I’m fully energized and watery eyed... sooo....) then Marty makes a joke about them running and Buffy goes, “you’re hilarious” and his voice gets all soft and he looks at her all gentle and goes, “you finally figured that out” AND PLEASE TERRI STOP IT HURTS. But no, the scene CONTINUES BECAUSE MY HEART APPARENTLY COULD TAKE THAT (lies). And the scene changes and now Marty is PIGBACKING HER ACROSS THE FINISH LINE THREE HOURS LATER. LIKE STOP. STOP. I CAN’T HANDLE THESE TENDER MOMENTS. (Seriously they were together an extra three hours with him helping her. I’m WeAk). And they both get medals and Buffy compliments him so he gets all happy and tells her to keep going, but she runs out of compliments so he goes, “ok, I just wanted to see how deep that well went” with his eyes darting all over her face and then the music shifts to almost like progressive-romantic music as BUFFY PUTS HER ARM BACK AROUND HIM AND THEY WALK AWAY (the music was placed so we knew they were having a moment) and that was the exact moment I died. MY PARENTS. (Watched this scene 3 times and will 100% watch it at least 1000 more).

Then Andi sees Amber raging. In a cage. She’s like “excuse me? What are you doing here” and Amber is all mad at Jonah and Andi’s all break up with your boyfriend yeah yeah cuz I’m bored. And Amber wasn’t here for it because apparently she thinks she’s in love with Jonah now? (with tears in her eyes... I mean, love to me isn’t that angry and hating everything he does [he only sent her six emoji’s apparently and just isn’t there for her] that it drives you to physical violence but ok)-(but good acting along with the last Muffy scene but I’m sure ya’ll picked up on that from my synopsis lol)

3x15

FYI this synopsis won’t be AS long, but that’s because Muffy is absent and I have an unexpresible love for them and this episode also sent me over the EDGE with Tyrus 🙄😤🙃 but I’ll do what I can with Tyrus bc it’s still gay and angsty and I was here for that part of it (also I love the Terri devoted two separate episodes to Tyrus and Muffy. Like she really knows this Friendom and what will keep us watching lol)

Unnecessary opening scene with B&B and Andi going to the movie instead of spending time on their phones (it was cute but unnecessary. I liked in the last episode that the rage cage in the beginning scene actually tied into the episode)

*opening credits*

Buffy and Cyrus watching Kira and TJ like hawks from the bench far away and Buffy is confused af about it. She asks Cyrus and he gets all angsty (I WILL over use this word bc it’s too accurate for this episode, wait til you actually see it) and goes “I don’t know” *shoulder shrug* “I haven’t been hanging out with TJ lately”

Buffy: because of that?

Cyrus: they’ve been pretty much attached at the hip (then Kira has the AUDACITY to jump on TJ’s back) and the back. They look happy.

B: it won’t last. Kira’s not a nice person. Only took me a day to figure that out. Since he’s a GUY, it’ll take longer.

Cloud 10 with Bex and Andi discussing Bex and CeCe making up, but in front of CeCe. CeCe is still PiSsEd™️. Bex tries to talk to her and BEGS to make up with her mom but her mom is cold and I felt Bex’s pain. (Great acting in this scene too. I just wanted to hug Bex. Like did you really have to do her a dirty like that? With Tyrus and Bex, this episode is starting to feel like 3x13 again and I thought we all agreed to never speak of that episode ever again)

Cyrus is sitting all angsty and alone with some frozen yogurt in front of a greenhouse? Literally no idea where he is at but it’s such a mood lol and even funnier that TJ found him there. Like where are they?? Hahahaha but ANYWAY, TJ sits down and confronts Cyrus about avoiding him. Cyrus says he isn’t but TJ is like “kinda feels like it”. Cyrus tries to say that TJ has been occupied with Kira taking up his time and TJ denies that hard. And here’s the TEA sis:

Cyrus: you two are clearly hitting it off. Which is great. I’m happy for you guys.

TJ: you make it sound like we’re a couple. We’re not. We mostly just talk about basketball.

C: and then you give her a piggy back ride?

T: she bet me I couldn’t carry her. That was all

Then TJ tried to tell Cyrus to hangout with them more and Cyrus rejects that bc Kira knows Cyrus is Buffy’s best friend. Then Kira comes in to hoe around the scene and sits at the table. Says “heyyyy” all flirty to TJ 😒 and “hi Cyrus” direct and cold to Cyrus. Then becomes the most fake hoeeeee when pretending to agree with TJ that they should hang out more with Cyrus. Cyrus YEETS outta there and Mr. heart eyes looks like he created depression (it was that prevalent). Kira gets all needy and is like, “hellooo? I’m over here” and TJ just looks at her with the fakest angsty smile. Like why.

At the spoon, the GHC AND Jonah are sitting and Andi tells of this store called Mint Chip where they burn clothes rather than donate them bc it would make the brand look bad and lose sales if it’s with charity. Like??? Ok you actually look better with charity sooooo take two steps back B. Buffy gets the taste of wanting to be a bad guy (cue bad guy by Billie Eilish) and they all go dumpster diving and get the clothes from Mint Chip’s dumpster. Not much happens other than them stealing clothes and Buffy says her ankle hurts so she can’t get in the dumpster. IDK if that’s from the dehydration last episode (bc when she’s walking with Marty 😍 she’s limping) or if she fell wrong at the dumpster. It’s foreshadowing bc I know she has a hurt foot in a later episode so not sure where it will come in or why.

The kids have an outdoor “sidewalk sale” where they give away the free clothes from mint chip and some lady comes and gets a coat. She shows up later in the episode to tell Bex and CeCe about the sale but they do nothing. It was really weirdly staged like this character had more importance in the episode and got cut or she has importance later on. IDK? She just got a ton of screen time for it to go nowhere so we’ll see. And Cyrus is a Queen and styled some guy for an interview and Buffy is a Queen and styled a lady for a first online date. Then Jonah is just himself and doesn’t know what a pencil skirt is. *cue clothing sale montage with Jonah being a player and talking to lots of girls and the GHC+Jonah looking all sweet looking at pics from the day*

B&B get a wedding gift from Celia. It’s a snow globe from the night Bowie proposed, but since it’s mailed, was sent before CeCe knew about the cancellation. Bex tries to write her a thank you card but can’t and cries through it (great acting here too- Bex just takes the cake on acting TBH)

At the sale, Cyrus shows Buffy a shirt he wants to give to TJ (which isn’t a hoodie, surprisingly). He takes a pic & sends it to him to ask if he likes it and Buffy says “it’ll look good with his eyes” and Cyrus is all “it WILL 😍”

Buffy: he’s gonna like it. Why don’t you just give it to him?

C: I thought about that. I’m not sure how much he’s want that.

B: a free shirt??

C: ME. Giving him a free shirt.

B: there’s a great way to find out

C: what is it?

B: *forcing the shirt back to Cyrus* give him the shirt. Maybe it’ll mean something to him. Maybe it won’t. Either way, it’s a nice thing to do [seriously though I stan a Tyrus Ally]

C: it’s TJ. Thumbs up on the shirt *replying to Teej lol* you should come by the sale. It’s amazing. *back to the Vampire Slayer* was that too braggy?

B: not braggy enough

C: TJ *reading the message* I’m at the park *back to Buffy* what do you think that means?

B: he wants you to meet him?

C: you think

B: why else would he tell you where he is?

C: should I bring the shirt? I’m gonna being the shirt. *walks away and comes back* the shirt feels weird

B: then don’t take it

C: *walks away and comes back*

B: *whilst saying nothing hands Cyrus the shirt with a loving, yet so over Cyrus’ gay angst expression*

C: he’s gonna be expecting it... so I’m just gonna- yeah *yeets out of there in gay*

Kira and TJ at the park. Kira asks who TJ is texting and he says no one 😤 so TJ suggests feeding the ducks and Kira decides to hoe around yet again and suggests swinging first. She’s all flirty and TJ is ~not straight and not here for it~. He’s all like “I’m not five” like he doesn’t go swinging and Kira gets all competitive over who can swing higher and makes comments reflecting his and Cyrus’ convo which gets him to get on the swing (reluctantly) and also she is on Cyrus’ swing?? So umm? Get tf off???? And that’s when Cyrus pops around a tree, shirt in hand, to see THAT DISGUSTING MOCKERY OF A FRIENDSHIP I HATE IT SO MUCH??? EWWWW. And he’s all sad and angsty and jealous so he walks away **AND AS HE’S WALKING AWAY DOES A LOOK BACK SOOOOOOOOOO HE IS FOR SURE IN LOVE FREAKING HECK I CAN’T** and I just want to hug my boi and I can’t hug him and ugh 😭😭😭 my sad tears are here.

So Cyrus sees Buffy and tells her TJ was with Kira so that makes Buffy all annoyed (she’s a real one). Cyrus becomes a liar and says they’re “good together” again. Buffy tries to reassure him it won’t last, but Cyrus isn’t sure and now has this shirt he doesn’t know what to do with. He gives it to Jonah and says he has nice eyes too??? Like umm? Rebound much, Cyrus?? Like Boo. Don’t do that. I’m here for YOU. Jonah then tells some woman about how they pulled off the clothing shop and a police officer shows up. They don’t have a license to sell and never bought the clothing so they can’t give it for free. Next thing you know Bex is getting a call (after trying to make things right with CeCe AGAIN and more A+ acting.. seriously though freaking FORGIVE HER ALREADY SHE IS DOING EVERYTHING SHE CAN) and runs with CeCe to go help bail the GHC+Jonah out of jail (this was also after the woman in the coat makes a 2 second appearance at cloud 10 to talk about the sale and NOTHING HAPPENS WITH HER SO WHY). The scene ends with the cell door closing so I hope next episode maybe this scare freaks CeCe enough into making up with Bex. But IDK.

I’ve got many mixed feelings about these episodes. Hope you enjoyed my highly detailed and opinionated synopsis of the show 😂😂 can’t wait for next week!! ❤️

[reflectingiridescent]

This scene means a lot to me.

Nate offers to let people back out with a humility he's never shown before (and this ties into Redemption, how saying "please" and "help me" speaks volumes for these people, particularly Sophie - and we see this in Sophie's interactions with Harry Wilson as well).

Sophie doesn't have a problem doing dangerous things for a good outcome. She just wants (1) acknowledgment that the ask is big and (2) the option to back out.

If you're hers...her family in particular...she'll follow you into fire. And all of these people are hers. Look at her looking at Nate. Arguably, she made her decision to follow him when going after Moreau became a choice and Nate said he wanted to go for it. She decided to back him up. But the point is that Nate asks and continues to ask. Choice is very important to her and to her family.

Nate asks again. He asks the whole team, not just Sophie. He gives them all a meaningful say. And that is so important to her.

And she, btw, yes, is l o v i n g the Nate she is seeing, after six months of working with him as his equal. But that's a topic for another post.

Look at the faces of the other three. Eliot doesn't have a decision to make. He already made it. He just needs to know who's going to go in there with him.

But Parker and Hardison? Look who they look at.

They're looking at Sophie.

Who looks like this.

They want to know what she thinks in particular because she still is a compass for them. She's conned them in the early days, but she won their trust back. Nate and Eliot are more personally involved this time. Sophie has Nate's ear in a way that none of them do, but she also has always been a criminal, just like them.

There's honor among thieves.

But if she's okay with this, then they are too. These quiet moments of subtle communication are what I really live for from this show.

Leverage Meme: Favorite Scenes - 5/5

[attract-mode-collective]

Dat Genesis Aesthetic

Welcome to the next level of the Attract Mode blog! As explained last time, every Monday or Tuesday (or Wednesday) I’ll be sharing all the wacky game culture goodness that crossed my path the previous week (mixed with bits and pieces that I’ve long wanted to share, but haven’t, cuz I didn’t think it worked as a stand alone post or some other reason).

And kicking things off is Studio SUPER’s “Lives & Times”, in which they created eight different animated scenes, all running in tandem on a CRT monitor (i actually discovered this in a post in a CRT enthusiasts group I belong to on Facebook, which is a private, so I’ll say no more), and all of which screams dat Genesis aesthetic. Each of the ten monitors displays a letter, spelling out “Lives & Time”; the above are actually animated gifs, but due to Tumblr’s technical constraints, they’re simply still images, hence why I’m not going to bother to share the individual monitors (so please check out the source to see everything in action).

But yeah, it once again warms this old school fan of Sega’s 16-bitter that the kids today are embracing the look and feel of the platform, whereas those used to be punching bags, primarily among Super Nintendo devotees. Though, to be honest, the above actually reminds me of 32X’s aesthetic; the other night was my yearly attempt at giving Knuckles Chaotix another shot, and dear God does it ever look like someone attempt at making a game based upon found internet art and vaporwave album art that’s all been inspired by the Genesis, which means I absolutely adore AV, but dear God is it unplayable or what.

Back to the Genesis/Mega Drive real quick; here’s your new desktop wallpaper, courtesy of @SEGAotaku; you’re welcome…

With the new way of doing things around here, bits of randomness that had been the basis of semi-regular gags will be folded into the new weekly format. Like the Please Enjoy entries. So, please enjoy this wonderful mash-up of Sonic and Totoro, with a dash of the Iron Maiden font… on a t-shirt (courtesy of twosatans)…

It’s that time again, in which I really wish I had a PC. And GDC has barely gotten under way! By the end, I’ll no doubt see some new game that I’m dying to play, but cannot, unless it gets ported to the PS4. Though in this instance, I’m talking about DESCENT, which Prosthetic Knowledge describes as “Part music video, part demoscene production, part art history remix”. At least I can enjoy this video in the meanwhile…

Sorry, can’t say I agree with this statement. As for my choice for top FF, you’ll have to see what I wrote on the wall of the men’s room at Grassroots Tavern (located on the sound side of St. Mark’s between 2nd and 3rd Ave) in person….

Yet another “feature” of this blog, one that was only recently proposed, are semi-arbitrary comparisons. And they too will be part of the package every week, starting with; which do you prefer, this old photo of a young boy, proudly showing off his newly unwrapped Galaxian tabletop arcade cab, courtesy of ausretrogamer…

Or this somewhat more recent pic of young girl, one who is to ecstatic to have gotten a Game Boy Advance SP, courtesy of 2000ish…

Classic Gaming Quarterly just posted another Let’s Read, its in-depth, page at a time analysis of a classic gaming mag. In this instance, it’s Electronic Gaming Monthly #6 from early 1990…

Among the more interesting questions asked and observations made…

- Yeah, what exactly was the deal behind Fester’s Quest? Why in the heck was there an Addams Family game in the year 1989 (and not 1990 as stated in the video) for the NES? Then again, the same could be asked of Midnight Mutants, which was based upon the Munsters for the Atari 7800 in 1990. Is there a connection between the two?

- Not only did I have no idea that there was an arcade board based upon the PC Engine, I also never made the assumption myself that the SuperGrafx was perhaps originally destined for the US, given that the name of the PC Engine follow-up is more closely tied to the name of the US version, the TurboGrafx!

- Though I do recall people not being all that impressed with Super Mario World’s visuals upon release, as well as how the original Game Boy was considered a disappointment for a long while there. In fact, in EGM’s end of the year assessment for gaming hardware, for many years there, the GB was constantly scoring super low numbers.

One can never understate how important Pokemon’s arrival was for the platform in the US, which is actually 21 years ago today BTW/FYI!

Speaking of Game Boys, yet again, I really wanna play Kimutaku vs Predator; according to obscurevideogames, Takuya Kimura is from the J-pop boy band SMAP, but I bet most of you knew that already…

And back to the subject of video games rags; which cover featuring a shmup do you prefer, the one with Xevious…

Or Radiant Silvergun? BTW, both were found over at the shmups Tumblr, naturally…

Remember my round up of classic video game music on vinyl? Well here’s a clip that I wanted to include but couldn’t cuz I hit the limit of YouTube embeds in a single Tumblr post, plus it’s of a re-release on CD; it’s the third disc of a trilogy box set, of classic Namco tunes, and perhaps the best of the bunch (since I realize straight up Xevious audio ain’t for everyone)…

Sticking with the subject of music, Kotaku actually posted a real oldie but goodie, and since it was on a Sunday, there’s a good chance many may have missed it, so…

And back to shmups, as well as something else that one of the major outlets recently posted that’s definitely worth a look for anyone who may have missed it, is The Verge pointing out a rather intriguing part of a Fast Company write-up on Atari head honcho Nolan Bushnell’s early 80s high-tech incubator. Which is how the triangle in virtually every GPS system out there is actually the ship from Asteroids!

Which do you prefer, this old pic of Mexican wrestlers from Lucha Underground playing Mortal Kombat X on the PS4….

Or this recently release image of the WWE’s John Cena playing... I dunno actually... on the Nintendo Switch….

Speaking of the Switch, my aforementioned personal fave angry video game nerd recently shared his thoughts on Nintendo’s forthcoming hybrid home console/handheld. The title pretty much says it all: “NINTENDO SWITCH CAN SUCK IT!!!” is pretty much all you need to know. Still worth watching though! As is his recent follow up…

Said it before, and I’ll say it again; I don’t have to agree with BitHead1000 to find him hilarious.

As you may have heard, a Dreamcast signed by Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst was recently up for grabs on eBay. The original auction ended without a winner, which means everyone out there still has a chance to be one! One of six; I want to know the circumstances that led to Durst signing a Dreamcast, let alone several. Though I have to wonder if the seller will actually go through them all, let alone the first…

This animated gif by mazeon really makes me wish that there was a video game based upon The Black Hole. Actually, it’s ripe for a LucasArts/Double Fine-esque adventure! What do you fellow fans of the movie think? All six of you…

And finally, one last comparison; which do you all prefer; this Virtual Girl, who I found via posthumanwanderings…

Or this Virtual Boy wearing and Mountain Graphics’s STAR SOLDIUS shirt, which you can nab in the Super Attractive Club shop, along other things…

Don’t forget: Attract Mode is now on Medium! There you can subscribe to keep up to date, as well as enjoy some “best of” content you might have missed the first time around, plus be spared of the technical issues that’s starting to overtake Tumblr.