#i wasn't sure if i would even look forward to s5

[dotsunflowers]

it is fun having new lone star content again

[astreinomane]

things you’re looking forward to in stranger things s5?

(Also I’m sorry I haven’t gotten to your asks yet 😭 I’ll try to answer them soon though!)

hope you’re doing well :)

Ok, first of all, I'm doing fine, thank you for asking.

As for your ask...

Well, I surely look forward to Ronance being endgame (I know it's probably impossibile, but a man can dream, can't he?).

Oh, and Byler. Byler needs to be endgame, too.

Another thing I look forward to is Steve and Nancy finally having an heart-to-heart and realizing that they simply aren't made for each other romantically (because, say it with me, NANCY DOES NOT WANT SIX NUGGETS), and so they both decide to stay friends.

In this way, Steve will find someone else to realize his dream of having a family with, and Nancy will find someone who truly gets her and makes her happy ( *cough* Robin *cough*).

And in general, I look forward to Nancy being finally freed from this stupid ass love triangle that shouldn't have existed in the first place.

Another thing I look forward to is Max waking up from her coma.

But I also really hope that she won't wake up in the last minute, but on the contrary, that she will be important to the plot, even in her state.

I'm sure the Duffers can find a way to make that happen.

And also, I hope that Erica will be an important part of the team 'cause she's awesome and she deserves it (and I also hope to see more of her bonding with the Party).

And also, if they aren't going to bring Eddie back, I at least hope that Dustin and the others will be able to restore his name to Hawkins and make people understand that he wasn't a monster, but quite the opposite, 'cause it would be fucking awful for Eddie to have sacrificed himself only for Hawkins to still see him as a monster.

He at least deserve a good memory on people's minds.

And also, I know Eduardo has confirmed he won't be returning this season, but I hope Argyle will still get to make an appearance, because I refuse to believe they'll completely throw away his character without even a mention.

Oh, and Kali, Kali needs to return as well.

And I also hope that Suzie will come to Hawkins to help Dustin save the world again.

This way, we'll finally see Dustin and Suzie interact with each other in person, and Suzie will finally be aware of all the Upside Down stuff, and so we will have more content for Duzie shippers.

And also, Jonathan needs to have more importance as a character this season.

And maybe a coming out scene from both Will and Robin, where they tell the others they're gay and immediately gets hugs and support, 'cause they both deserve it.

And finally, another thing I really hope to see in this season are more moments between the Party at complete (Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, El and Max).

And also, I really hope that they won't split up the characters, but that they will all stay together.

And I think that's all.

Damn, I didn't planned this list to be this long.

Anyway, thank you for the ask.

And tell me, what do you look forward to in season 5?

(And also, don't worry about my asks. Take your time. I can wait.)

[riptidesblog]

Accepting change

Summary:After lashing out on Morro,Nya reflects on the way her life changed.

Extra:Morro didn't die at the end of s5,takes place right after this. P3

Nya crashed onto her bed with a tired sigh.

She just revealed her thoughts on the whole water ninja deal.To Morro of all people.Perhaps it was the way he belittled her Samurai status while calling her a prodigy elemental that got her to snap or maybe it was a final straw.Ever since she became a water ninja her life's been... something.

She is a ninja now and yet doesn't feel like a part of the team.Her element is one her brother is afraid of and if she isn't careful,she could hurt or even kill her friend.She hated how comfortable she was with her element.How natural the whisper of the sea in her mind was.It shouldn't be so welcome,not when she had rejected that power in the beginning and only accepted it for the sake of her family.

Lloyd has been affected by the possession and they were all trying to help him to the best of their abilities,but recovery has never been easy or quick in their line of work.

Jay has been acting strange around her ever since they came back from the Tomb of the First Spinjitsu Master.His attempts to rekindle their relationship were back and sometimes those made her uncomfortable,but she hoped he would stop.If not,she would have to talk to him about it and she wasn't looking forward to that conversation.

Media.The team has been gaining popularity and First Master,how she hated the way people treated her new ninja status.'Girl ninja'.Not even water ninja,just a 'girl ninja', 'fire ninja's sister','a newbie'. She i-was a samurai.She is as skilled as her brothers and while they had spinjitsu and powers,she compensated lack of those with her inventions.People don't have to treat her differently and yet they do.Her family get asked about their experiences,opinions and though there are some...unwanted questions,they are treated much better than her.All she gets is people prying into her personal life and treating her unfairly only because she's a girl.

They didn't need an enemy stuck with them to top it all.The reason for Lloyd's nightmares and panic attacks.The reason guys needed to learn airjitsu and Cole got turned into a ghost.The reason she had to become a ninja and an elemental master.

Although,she probably shouldn't place the blame on him alone.It's not like he intended to change her life by simply existing and being affected by fate...oh.Fuck.She treated him the same way Morro treated Lloyd,minus the possession.Didn't she?If it wasn't for Lloyd being the Destiny's chosen one,he probably wouldn't have suffered from the master of wind.Lloyd was the reason Morro wasn't satisfied with Destiny,but her little brother was not to blame for that.

If Morro hadn't died and became a cursed soul who are vulnerable to water only,she wouldn't have been the reason a whole realm and nearly everyone who resided there drowned and Morro was now stuck with them.Although it is his actions that left her angry at the way her life changed,it wasn't his intentions or direct fault.

Huh.This revelation wasn't a pleasant one. Honestly,this kind of thoughts scared her.If she held on to this hatred,would she become like him?Stuck in the past,vengeful and alone?No.

Nya refused to fall down this darker path.She will apologize to the ghost,no matter how hard or awkward it will be.She will do whatever it takes to adjust to her newfound powers and place in the team,she will make sure everyone sees that she's more than just a girl.With enough pressure any rock will crumble under the waves. She will make her own destiny and if she has to become something different,then so be it.After all,water is the element of change.

[ghoulsanderson]

Furthering my Mike Wheeler gets vecna'd in s5 agenda

(also a corny will byers has powers entrance at the end) (also not so sneakily encouraging others to write more Vecna Possessing Mike Wheeler fics) (If you do pls tag me I'm addicted to them)

-----------------------

Vecna knew Michael Wheeler. Had known him since a fated night in 83' when he'd seen him through the lens of his Demogoron, fighting stubbornly for Will, for Eleven, for everyone.

He'd known him in the lab when terror shook him to his bones, but his feet stayed planted at Will's bedside like a stubborn weed. When he foiled his plans time and time again.

He'd known him in Starcourt when he threw himself in the line of fire for Eleven.

Vecna knew him as the wrench in his plans, the thorn in his side, the boy braver than most, which is why he thought this would be a lot harder. He expected Mike to fight, to yell, to escape, to writhe and struggle.

And he had, momentarily. Mike had run away, cursed him and spewed insults, but the instant the vines entrapped his arms and legs, he fell like a puppet with his strings cut in what looked like near-relief. Like the chase had been routine, robotic, and he'd never planned on surviving at all.

He'd been in the boy's head, so he thought he knew the ins and outs of Mike Wheeler. He knew the dark thoughts Mike had at night, the rare visits to the quarry, where he sat under the stars and weighed the pros and cons of jumping, the dreams he had that should be nightmares where El didn't save him at all.

He knew this.

And yet, in the end, he still expected more of a fight.

"Giving up so easily?" He taunted as his vines pulled Mike up to the pillar, wrapping around his neck, waist, and thighs, though he wasn't sure he needed that much security.

Mike scoffed, splattered with blood from his falls, covering his face like red freckles and spilt across his yellow hoodie, "You've got me. Fuck else can I do?"

Vecna chuckled, stroking a finger down Mike's cheek like he was endeared, "Not even a beg?"

"Like I'd beg to you." Mike rasped, the vine around his neck tightening until his eyes bulged, sure it was going to break him.

Vecna grinned, "You're letting me kill you?" He cocked his head and pinched Mike's chin, forcing the boy to face him, "You're going to make your friends and family watch you die?"

Mike convulsed with a raspy shout, "Fuck you!" He coughed, gasping for air, "I'm n-not doing s-shit!"

Vecna's beady eyes stared at him, dissecting him like a bug under a magnifying glass, "Did you hope for the hero way out?" He asked, sinister, mocking laughing bubbling in his throat, "Did you hope I'd kill you in some sad twist of fate and they'll mourn you and curse my name? Never knowing that you got what you wanted."

Mike tried to growl, to shout a refusal, but it broke into a litter of sobs, cracking out of his throat, his tears parting the blood on his face.

"I could." Vecna cooed, wiping away a tear, "I could kill you now and use your tragic willingness to kill William later."

"Fuck you!" Mike wailed, trying for the first time to tug his wrists free, "E-El w-will save me a-any... any min-minute now! Y-You won't tell t-them s-shit!"

He nearly gagged at the pressure on his adams apple, vision blurring as he failed to suck air into his lungs.

Vecna sighed, "But they already know, Mike." He leaned forward, watching pure horror start to mould its way onto Mike's face, "She's here... watching... she's been watching all this time... but she can't save you. I won't let her."

Mike's whimper broke, his struggling becoming weaker and weaker as his air ran thinner, "I-I'm sorry..." He sobbed, and Vecna knew he wasn't talking to him this time.

His caress on Mike's face morphed, becoming rough nails digging into his scalp, leaving crescent marks that bled, "It's time."

He leaned his head back, his power travelling like fire through Mike's body down to his ankles, his knees and his arms, where he started snapping them one by one.

Left leg, right arm, right leg-

"Get away from him!!"

Vecna roared as he was slammed through the wall of his decrepit house. He considered fighting back, but the force pinning him down was ignited such fury, pressing him down like he was being buried alive. He felt it on his fingertips, his legs, his body, and his face. He felt it crushing his neck and squeezing the air out of him.

In a spur of fear, he fled, disappearing to the safety of his demonic realm in a cloud of smoke.

Will panted, blood pouring from his nose and ears, but he found the strength to sprint, "Mike!" He wailed, catching the other boy's body as he fell like a ragdoll, bloodied, injured, and unconscious, "Mike! God, no, no, no, no, please! Please wake up-, please. I love you!"

El joined his side, sickened by her failure. Again. She'd failed again, "Mike!" She cried, collapsing onto his chest, hugging him where he lay in Will's lap, "Mike..."

***

The group was a wreck, everyone trying to comfort each other but falling apart themselves.

Lucas had thrown up into the grass, heaving with sobs. He felt useless, just standing by, but he couldn't- he couldn't do this again. And Dustin tried to comfort him, but he was crying so hard he couldn't even hug him.

Nancy couldn't cry. This didn't feel real, her brother hovering in the sky. She grasped her gun like it would help, standing frozen. No. This wasn't real. It couldn't be. In no universe could Mike die. He couldn't.

Her boyfriend was trying to comfort her, but he was a wreck himself. Mourning for Mike like he was his little brother. Nancy knew Mike was, to Jonathan, a brother in everything but blood. Mike knew Jonathan loved him, would do anything for him, would die for him.

Did he know Nancy would do that too?

El's eyes were rolling under her eyelids, Will had collapsed from the stress, and Mike was going to die-

Nancy screamed, falling into Robin's arms as Mike's leg snapped, and his arm, and his other leg, "No!" She wailed, on her knees, like she was praying to the deities, "No! No, please! Mike!"

"Mike!" Lucas screamed into the grass, the agony was driving him crazy, pulling at his mind like a knot, and Dustin wasn't fairing much better, anguished like he was staring into the face of his own death.

Not their paladin. Please.

But then Mike fell, spared by some miracle, into the arms of his family, "Mike!" Nancy shrieked, pulling her brother close and cradling him like a baby, "Mike- wake up, y-you're okay, you're okay, right? You're fine, wake up..." She whispered, pressing their heads together.

Mike's limbs bent at funny angles, and blood crusted in the creases of his eyebags, his complexion waxy grey, "Mike." She sobbed, "Mike, what am I supposed to tell Mom and Dad? Fuck... w-what a-am I supposed to tell H-Holly?"

Steve checked for a pulse with a hand that shook so hard his wrist ached, and slumped in relief to find one, "I-I'll call an ambulance!" He shouted and sprinted away.

As Dustin and Lucas cried over their friend, Will and El began to wake, their tears following into the unconscious.

Unfortunately, Mike woke too.

His eyelids lifted, and his usual midnight-brown eyes had paled to an unnatural copper, misted with white fog, "W-Will?" He rasped, blinking through his blurry haze, "O-Ouch- ouc- fuck!" He threw his head back, the pain hitting him like a truck, "W-Will?!"

Will wobbly crawled to him, "I-I'm here!" He wailed, "I'm here."

Sirens began to whisper in the distance, growing closer and closer, "Help is a-almost here." El stammered, taking Mike's hand, "You'll be okay!"

"I-It hurts..." Mike rasped, his chest heaving with rapid breaths, "I-It hurts."

Nancy sniffled, pressing a kiss to his forehead, "I-I know," She stroked his hair, "I know, but you just stay awake."

Mike whimpered, eyes searching for her desperately beyond the blur, "I-I do-don't think I-I want to g-go..." He whispered.

---------------------

and I have to end it there for now, I gtg.

Hope you enjoyed!

[purrincess-chat]

I think this fandom just really hates Adrienette, but I can't figure out the reason (but your theory of the fandom not taking them seriously because they're kids may be true). They write post-s5 break-up "fix it" fics, they say Adrienette should break up to restore the balance (not sure what balance they're talking about). Jeez, Adrienette is literally the cutest cartoon couple I've ever seen, and I've been rooting for them since day one. How can someone want them to break up? Why can't the fandom just be happy for them?

It's literally so baffling to me, nonny. There have been people who have been rooting against them since before they were even official in s5. And for why? For me, them getting together made sense after s4 bc, to me, s4 demonstrated why it couldn't have been LadyNoir. (Actually even as far back as s3 when we had Chat Blanc) And that's why I don't think it will be LadyNoir in the future either even if they did break up. The show has put too much emphasis on how everything goes wrong when the heroes pair up. They both get distracted and tragedy strikes. I don't forsee it being MC or Ladrien either bc MC literally agreed they can't be together, and I think that would go for Ladrien as well. And Marinette already gets enough shit from people for being a "stalker" to Adrien, and it would only get worse if they broke up, and she turned around and dated him again as Ladybug when he doesnt know it's her. I can already see the salt posts about how she's so obsessive and won't move on and how she's taking advantage of him and tricking him.

Adrinette is the side that worked, that's why they went that route. It allows the heroes to be heroes and the kids to be kids. We can still get meaningful interactions with the other sides while they are dating as civilians. I'm actually looking forward to seeing how the dynamics evolve in future seasons. I wanna see MC and Ladrien half-requited with the heroes privately swooning over their bf/gf personally. We got a little bit of it in s5 with Chat swooning over Marinette when she was being a boss bitch. I want that in Ladrien, please.

I don't know why people hate Adrinette being together so much. I don't know where people get the idea that it's boring or problematic or detrimental to their characters or whatever fucking complaint they have against it. The Adrinette we got in s5 was great and so meaningful, and I'm happy that they did what they did. They could have just stuck them together in s5 and been like okay all of their problems are solved, and they're totally perfect and in love, but that's not what happened. They weren't perfect. They had to work together to make it work. They both recognized their traumas and respected each other's boundaries until they found something that worked for both of them. They really fought so damn hard to be together last season, but people just don't fucking care. My heart broke for them when they finally shared their first kiss, and it wasn't the perfect romantic moment they imagined. It was desperate, longing, afraid. All they wanted all season was just to be together, and now they finally have that. And we got that in a kids cartoon! So often love is treated as a fantasy where everything is perfect, and the couple gets together in the end and rides off into the sunset and lives happily ever after. But that wasn't their story, and I applaud them for that. I love that this show depicted the messier but crucially important sides of love about setting boundaries, addressing trauma so you don't hurt the other person, being patient and understanding while the other person is working through something because those things are hard in a relationship. A lot of those things are make or break in relationships, but the ones that want to be together will put in the work, and I think it's so important to show that in an age appropriate way to kids.

So, yeah, fuck anyone rooting for their downfall. Fuck anyone who thinks that the 4 sides are competing with each other and that Adrinette being together is an affront to their favorite side. Fuck anyone who thinks Adrinette being together is bad. It's not, and anyone who thinks it is can feel free to block me.

Maybe instead of rooting for Adrinette to break up, people should be rooting for a reveal. That's how we get the other sides, babes. That's how we should want to get the other sides. But this fandom isn't ready for a reveal tbh. They'd just bitch about how the sides are all the same now, and it's so boring. Can't win for fucking losing in this show.

[kitkatt0430]

here's an unpopular opinion: Flash s3 isn't a good season. It tried to be, and it had some cool ideas, but it overcomplicated those ideas too much and missed some cool opportunities

strongly agree | agree | neutral | disagree | strongly disagree

There's definitely a lot about S3 I like, but I agree it's not a good season. (I'd take it over S7 or S8 though.)

Flashpoint is a really big deal in the comics, but they only gave it one episode before unraveling the changes. Cisco being upset with Barry over his brother's death was actually pretty interesting plot wise, but having him forgive Barry and then un-forgive Barry was a bad choice just to add extra (unnecessary) drama to the crossover event. Alchemy was an interesting villain from the comics to go with, but then he turned out not to really exist it was just Julian being possessed by Savitar. Savitar was an interesting villain in the comics too, but it wasn't really Savitar we got. It was The Future Flash, which is an evil version of Barry. And, sure, having Barry literally be his own worst enemy was fun - really gave Grant a chance to play with his portrayal of this alternate Barry - but it was like the show runners couldn't make up their mind who the villain was supposed to be and thought a mashup of all three would work out. Somehow.

Really it just kind of felt like they kept yanking masks off a Scooby-Doo villain until they finally reached Barry with a scarred up face.

HR was adorable, but he definitely suffered in his reception by the audience because most everyone either really liked Harry or didn't want another Wells around. (Or they wanted Eobard back, careful what you wish for...) Julian was either the coworker from hell or the awkward atoner and there wasn't much in-between; his one-sided crush on Caitlin didn't help things. He was capable of being sweet and kind and a good friend, though, it's just he didn't really have a clearly defined purpose once he joined Team Flash so once he stopped being Alchemy during his blackouts... he was just kind of there.

The season had ableism left, right, and center. Savitar!Barry's scarred face. Caitlin's not-really-MPD with Frost. Julian's MPD-no-wait-actually-he's-possessed syndrome. More MPD with Frankie. Because of course all the alternate personalities are violent. Though, admittedly, ablism is a recurring problem with practically every season of this show...

Cisco developing his powers was lovely to see, if harsher in hindsight seeing him grow to accept those powers knowing he'll choose to get rid of them in S5. But having him crush on Cynthia when she worked for the ethical nightmare association was... questionable decision making, for all that I did enjoy Cynthia while she was on the show.

The handling of Barry and Iris' relationship was not great either. They did a dating to engaged to not engaged to engaged again speedrun that didn't give them time to breathe as a couple. I think a lot of people were looking forward to seeing those two actually, finally dating and instead there was this rush to get them married.

Wally's training felt like he was being built up to take on the mantle of the Flash, since Jesse was building her own reputation as Quick. That when the season ended and the Speed Force sent Barry to jail without passing go or collecting two hundred dollars, Barry didn't specifically tell Wally he was the Flash now... it was like they built up to this big payoff and then never actually had the payoff. (Will forever be bitter that Wally never got to be the Flash. Always a Kid, never a Flash. Ugh. Let him grow up.)

Jesse's arc was... questionable. She and Wally couldn't be bothered to stay in touch while she was on E2 during the summer break between seasons, yet she was going to move Earths for him? And then she goes to E3 to take over while Jay is gone and... does double duty on E2 I guess? It just felt a lot like her arc was about other people and not herself. So even though I'm not thrilled about the treatment of her relationship with her dad in S4, at least there she has come into her own as a hero and team lead - her story in the barely visible background is about herself.

And Iris being Barry's prize to be won has probably never been quite so obvious. Evil Barry can't have her so Good Barry can't either. Though I do love the look into Iris fears as she deals with knowing there's a high chance she'll die young and worrying that she won't have left any real legacy behind. She's overshadowed to some degree by the Killer Frost arc, which is frustrating but a side effect of packing too much into one season - physical transformation is always gonna be flashier than quieter emotional arcs.

I also appreciate Iris not wanting to be engaged for the wrong reasons, even if it did feel rather like the show was just building up artificial drama for the second crossover with Supergirl and an even more dramatically romantic second proposal. (Let a girl want her fiance to have proposed because he loves her, not because he's afraid of losing her. There is an important distinction there, I'm so glad Iris was allowed to make that point.)

There are probably a lot more points I could make about S3 being a hot mess, but I think I've hit everything that really stands out the most to me. (So much there already.)

[lovecolibri]

Finally watched the episode as well. I was not so impressed. It was a solid episode, but the fandom totally overhypes it. While i did like the emergencies going back to just emergencies without ten minutes of backstory nobody wants to see, it angered me sooo much that each cast member got a scene of how they were doing after a four month hiatus but Eddie (and Chris) nowhere to be seen. They could have easily cut some Buckley-Han family scenes for that. Is this too much to ask for? The final moments also didn‘t came anywhere close to how i felt after watching Eddie getting shot. Sure Buck hanging there was something, but i don‘t know i already moved on and am looking forward to next Monday. Eddie getting shot however still haunts me.

I'm sorry the episode didn't live up to the hype for you. It absolutely did for me for the most part though I agree that the lack of Eddie and the check-in for him and Chris was disappointing to say the least and given that the sperm donor arc is my absolute behated, I would rather have seen less drama about that and checked in with Eddie and Chris. We literally saw EVERY other main character at home with their family except for Eddie 😤😤😤 And after Eddie's arc was consistently one of the only things that fans and GAs liked about s5 it feels incredibly petty and disrespectful to sideline him so hard in s6 🤷🏻‍♀️

I loved the final minutes of the episode, and I absolutely got chills, same with seeing the preview for this week. I also love the shooting scene, but honestly 4x14 is Not It for me personally because *I* wanted more about EDDIE and more from his POV, and more from the firefam ABOUT Eddie like we're getting for Buck, and seeing the firefam and especially Bobby being there for Buck but instead all the scenes that SHOULD have gone to the firefam taking care of Buck or being at Eddie's house for his welcome home party, went to Tay Kay instead so KR could force her into the narrative. Plus Bobby got shot and we just never talked about that again and totally skipped any recovery even though Bobby had issues with pain meds and that could have been something to explore. So while the shooting scene itself is absolutely top tier, chef's kiss amazing, the episode as a whole is a mixed bag for me to say the least, while 6x10 really only had the sperm donor discussion that I didn't like because I don't see the point or what they're trying to accomplish with that arc since Buck isn't going to struggle at all with the difference between donor and dad, so I'm just tired of wasting screentime on it.

My general rule though is to keep my expectations, as much as I can, in the GROUND, so that I'm not disappointed. I forgot that lesson in s4 by foolishly thinking that after having Tay Kay humiliate Buck on purpose, call him a bad friend, and sneer at him about how needy he is (all because he asked her over as a friend to have his back in an uncomfortable situation when she thought it was gonna be for sex and all about her, and she wasn't prepared to actually step up and be a friend so she went out of her way to make things MORE uncomfortable for him out of spite), that it was a clue they would NEVER try to put them together. 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️ My b. I forgot some women just looooove the idea of pulling "big strong men" down and putting them "in their place" because hashtag feminism or whatever. And after Tay Kay AND L who bragged about enjoying making Buck uncomfortable? It's not too hard to see what kind of woman character KR likes to project on to.

Anyway, sorry the episode wasn't everything you wanted, though it felt much more like a return to form for me, and like you said even the emergencies were back to how they used to be. Brad and JCC really do create magic together, and I hope this energy continues through the rest of 6b because after 6a was just...filler moments with the occasional spark, it felt really good to have that season 3 energy back. At least the cast is giving stellar performances no matter what and the fodder for fics is all sooooo delicious, so we're still getting fed!

[youpricksneverwalk]

Okay going to take @tellthemeerkatsitsfine's advice and do my own answers.

Btw anyone else who sees this a just wants to answer the questions anyway please do.

Choose four people as fellow contestants (either past contestants or people who haven't been on but you would like to have on with you)

Going with past contestants because it's easier, although it's still not at all easy. I basically got a list of all uk series conestants ( i thought about including NZ Au but there would have been too many), got rid of the ones i was less keen on ( which isnt many). Then also the people i think i'd be too much like etc

And then I realised i might be overthinking it and of that edited list just picked some names, and ended up going with with Nish Kumar,Rose Matafeo, Sophie Duker and Sam Cambell,

Would you rather be on a team of two or three? Who is on your team?

I was going to say team of three because it would be less awkward, but i think a two might be more fun for that reason to the people hypothetically watching, plus in the three I might just get quiet and not feel i was contributing much, which i couldn't as a two so I'll go with that.

And I'd go with Sophie because I think we'd get on and have simillar enough ideas not to frustrate each other, and we both want to do well. Plus I like the idea of rose, sam and nish as a team because you have the contrast of Rose being quietly competitve but also often unsure, and Nish being almost confidently terrible, and the you have Sam being geniuely odd, and not super competitve but just very good anyway because his brain just fits so well with the show.

In general, what are you like as a contestant? Competitive? Here for fun? - what is your dynamic with Greg? Alex? Your other contestants?

I'd try really hard at the tasks and want to do well, (but probably would struggle with a lot of them) and i'd be sort of competitive in that way, but i don't think i'd be any good at agruing for points. I might try it once or twice but if i got pushback id cave very quickly.

Greg i think might enjoy mocking me? and it's hard to know with other contestants because i'm usually pretty quiet and awkward. Alex I think I'd be fine with.

What outfit are you wearing for filmed task days?

I wasn't sure with this one because I've had so many ideas over time but as I'm writing this one idea i had which is probably silly, was to do reference to past contestant costumes, but only the fifth place ones

The other option would be a simple cosplay type thing but it would also have to be practical (sort of like Paul Sinha's whole arthur dent look with the dressing gown, but i can't think of a specific one i could do right now.

What type of filmed task do you do best at? Physical, creative, logic, time-based etc.

Creative tasks if it's the ones you have time to think about, and more straight forward logic stuff where it's just 'do the thing' and I do think there'd be one or two lateral tasks that my brain might Just Get.

What type of filmed task do you do worst at?

Any lateral stuff where i don't think of something straight away. Any task that are very physical or require balance/ coordination. Timed tasks because my sense of time is really bad, and I would panic.

How will you do at prize tasks in general? How do you present them?

Not well. Even watching i often struggle to think what i'd do in them, and if im being very honest what would happen id that end up putting it off because i'd be like oh think of something better if I wait a bit, but leave it too late and just have to go with my first, or last minute thoughts.

I'd probably over explain, and would lose confidence quckly if things weren't going down well.

Live tasks - choose an existing live task that you'd have won, and one you would have lost.

Maybe a random one, but I was rewatching s5 and i think I might have won the make yourself monotone one just because im quite small (4ft 10) and its less about skill than just going for it.

and last honestly i think any throwing stuff based tasks - which there have been a number of, epecially if it involves accuracy as well. Or the recreate this scene one because my memory is shit.

It's the end of the show - where did you place 1st to 5th

3rd or 4th probably.

Taskmaster ask game - you're on Taskmaster

Choose four people as fellow contestants (either past contestants or people who haven't been on but you would like to have on with you)

Would you rather be on a team of two or three? Who is on your team?

In general, what are you like as a contestant? Competitive? Here for fun? - what is your dynamic with Greg? Alex? Your other contestants?

What outfit are you wearing for filmed task days?

What type of filmed task do you do best at? Physical, creative, logic, time-based etc.

What type of filmed task do you do worst at?

How will you do at prize tasks in general? How do you present them?

Choose a previous prize task from the show and say what you'd bring in for it and how you'd describe it.

Live tasks - choose an existing live task that you'd have won, and one you would have lost

It's the end of the show - where did you place 1st to 5th.

[0shewrites0]

TOO MANY MAYBE’S

S5 | Eddie/MC | 1.800+ words | @0shewrites0

summary | Liv had been looking forward to the recoupling because she was so sure that Eddie would choose her. After all, he had pretty much said so himself. But then he chose Dana and Liv was completely confused. And disappointed. And hurt too.

genre | angst. heartache. heartbreak. no happy ending.

prompt | the recoupling + aftermath in episode 18 / vol. VII

note | @litgwritersroom - Since no one has written anything for Eddie, I decided to do it. It's just a little something, but the recoupling and the way Eddie acted like a total asshole made me want to write about it.

Read here or on AO3.

Of course Eddie had chosen Dana. The easy way out, right?

If anything, Liv was disappointed. Maybe even hurt. She'd spent so much time with him and had actually come to really like him, and now? Why had he even bothered to get her hopes up if he had no intention of fulfilling them?

Even a blind man with a cane could see that there was absolutely no chemistry between Dana and Eddie.

Nothing. Nada. Zero.

So why did he choose Dana over her anyway?

She was so confused that she didn't even notice Finn was coupling up with Kat and Suresh with Arlo. Not that it would have surprised her or that she minded. She knew he was trying to make her jealous, but it wasn't working. Suresh was a chapter long closed and she had absolutely no intention of opening it again.

Looking over at Eddie and Dana sitting next to each other, Dana was staring at her hands clenched in her lap, fiddling nervously and obviously uncomfortably with a bracelet on her wrist, and Eddie? Well, she could see that he knew she was staring at him, but that he refused to look her in the eye. Probably because he already knew how disappointed she would look at him, and maybe, just maybe, Eddie couldn't stand that.

Not that it mattered now. Alfie had made it clear that there was no way he was going to be the reason Liv got the boot, so she just knew he would choose her over Meera. On one hand, she loved him for it because she desperately wanted a chance at love, but on the other hand, she hated him for it.

Here was Meera, an absolute gem and so perfect for him, and he was about to dump her. She knew Alfie was only doing this because he cared deeply for her and that there were no feelings involved, but it still felt so wrong.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

Eddie was supposed to choose her and Alfie was supposed to choose Meera.

Sure, that would have meant Dana would have been dumped and Liv would have been absolutely devastated, but that was the way of the game. They were all here to find love - or maybe play the game - and maybe Dana had just gone about it the wrong way.

But it wasn't like Liv was doing much better.

She knew it wasn't fair to Alfie either that she didn't even listen to his speech, and when she finally walked over to him and let him pull her into a hug, she just barely managed to mutter "thank you" before they sat down next to each other. Alfie squeezed her hand encouragingly and she knew he knew. He knew how sad and disappointed she was. He knew that she would have loved to sit next to Eddie now. But there was nothing he could do now.

Meera had received a text message and read it with tears in her eyes, her voice trembling slightly, but Liv knew what was coming anyway. And if she was completely honest, she wished she could trade places with Meera.

Meera deserved to stay here, while she, Liv, perhaps didn't. Maybe anything that had to do with love just broke as soon as she touched it. Maybe it wasn't meant to be. Any of this.

The other islanders stood up and showered Meera with hugs, but Liv held back. It wasn't like they were friends just because they'd shared the villa for a day, and besides, she felt like a goddamn hypocrite. When they finally crossed the lawn to the villa, Liv stayed back again. Sighing, she was about to sink back down onto the bench when she felt a warm hand on her shoulder.

Startled, she turned to discover Eddie standing in front of her, scratching his neck awkwardly and wedging his lower lip between his teeth. He let go of her shoulder and his arm fell to his side.

"Eddie?" asked Liv softly, and she could hear the longing in her voice. And she hated it. Because she knew Eddie could hear it just as well.

When he didn't answer and continued to stare at his shoes, she whispered, "What happened?"

Eddie then finally looked up and into her eyes. Those beautiful pale blue eyes that she loved to lose herself in. That now drew her to him in a way that she knew she would end up wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his chest. Because that was what she really wanted to do.

Ignore the fact that Eddie hadn't chosen her, even though he'd basically promised her he would, and just pretend that everything was fine. That she would fall asleep in his arms tonight. That the next thing she would see in the morning would be his beautiful eyes and that perfect smile that made the butterflies in her stomach flutter.

Oh, and that dimple that sometimes appeared when he looked at her and stroked her cheek so gently with the pad of his thumb that her heart always threatened to leap out of her chest. God, how she loved that dimple. And how much she loved that it only appeared on his handsome face when he couldn't help it and just had to return her smile.

Sure, he had a pretty face, was a model, a ray of sunshine, always spreading good vibes and always laughing or at least had a smile on his face. But she could see it wasn't real. Not the way it was when he was with her. She was happy by his side and she knew he was too.

But apparently that wasn't enough. Or was it?

"We need to talk, Liv," he said, and it sounded so serious. So very unlike Eddie. And immediately her heartbeat slowed. As if her heart knew he hadn't come to tell her he'd made a terrible mistake.

Because maybe it was she who had made a terrible mistake.

Liv only raised an eyebrow questioningly, not daring to open her mouth lest she silence Eddie again. Nothing was worse than the silence between them at that moment. Normally it felt so natural and comfortable, but not tonight. No, tonight the silence was deafening.

Eddie swallowed and nodded, ”About how I’ve been feeling about a few things.”

He paused again, waiting for a reaction from her, and Liv just nodded. She refused to read between the lines and get hopeful, because somehow she knew that this would only make things worse.

“I think you and I should cool things down a little.” Eddie said so quietly that Liv wasn't even sure she had heard him.

"What?" she whispered back.

“Yeah, like,” he cleared his voice nervously, “hearing that Meera is gonna be leaving has made me realise how short our villa time can be. And I…” He interrupted himself again, raised his right hand and raked it through his hair. It looked almost desperate. As if he didn't want to say what he was about to say.

If she hadn't known better, she would have hoped he would tell her that it was all just a bad dream. That it was her he really wanted to be with. That if he could, he would go back and make a different choice. But the way he couldn't look at her now, she knew that was wishful thinking. And that he was about to break her heart.

It wasn't like she was in love with him or anything. It was more like she had finally been ready to open up to another person again, to open up to love or even just the possibility of love, only to be trampled on by that person. That was what hurt the most.

"Eddie, just say what you have to say..." she breathed, taking a shaky breath, hoping he couldn't see how fragile and vulnerable she felt at that moment.

“I don’t want to waste my time with you, Liv.”

What?

Her heart almost stopped beating altogether.

Liv looked up, squinted and forced her eyes to stay dry. "Waste of time!?" She hissed, but it sounded more like a suppressed sob.

His cheeks flushed and he rubbed his chin in embarrassment. “No, that sounded wrong. What I meant was I think I want to focus on Dana. Time is short, you know.”

Liv almost laughed.

Almost.

But she was too afraid her voice would break and he'd hear. So she shook her head in disbelief and cleared her throat before saying, "If that's what you want, go ahead. I'm not holding you back."

She took a deep breath and looked into his eyes one last time to gauge if he really meant it. If maybe there was something in his eyes that told her he was just scared and pushing her away because in reality he liked her just as much.

Maybe there was that same softness in his eyes that he always had when he looked at her, that let her know there was something there. But either there was nothing there, or he was good at hiding it, because he just stared at her blankly. And said absolutely nothing.

She felt her eyes fill with tears again and bit her cheek.

And Eddie just remained silent.

She had given him a chance to set the record straight, to tell her that Dana wasn't the one he wanted. Now she was waiting for a reaction, anything. But he just stared at her, and there was absolutely nothing in his eyes.

So is this it? Is this goodbye? Is he not going to say anything else to me?

Liv knew that waiting for him to hold her back or even ask her to stay was like waiting for a ship at the train station.

It wouldn't come. Never.

And if she stood there waiting, she would only end up looking like a fool. So she swallowed hard and forced her voice to sound steady as she whispered, "All right then. Good night, Eddie."

Then she turned and started to leave, trying to stay calm and collected and not let her emotions spill out the way they wanted to, but she knew she was doing a shit job when she felt something wet run down her cheek and leave a salty taste on her lips.

She was crying, goddamn it. Over a stupid boy, even though she had sworn never, ever to cry over a boy again. But here she was. And the worst part of it was that she knew he wouldn't come after her.

Because this was not a movie where she would get her happy ending. This was reality and it was fucking unfair.

[missjackil]

Hi MissJacki! I had an ask all ready for you months ago and realized I never actually sent it XD I hope you still do asks and find it a good enough question to answer :)

Do you think there was a reason why the writers made Sam drink demon blood to take on Lucifer but didn't have Dean do anything to take on Michael? I guess they may have just forgotten, but it's always bothered me. What are your thoughts? (sorry again for taking so long)

Hiya Nonnie! Happy to see you! That's a very good question and I definitely do have an opinion about it. On one hand, it's reasonable to think they just forgot. I mean Jared himself said, when asked the same question at a con panel a couple years ago (was it you?), that Sam didn't need the demon blood to take on Lucifer because he was Lucifer's True Vessel, he needed the demon blood to kill Lilith because it made his powers strong. After he killed Lilith, the Demon Blood arc was finished. Much to the groaning of the audience who remembered that it carried into S5 with My Bloody Valentine and Swan Song where he actually drank it again to make his powers strong.

So sure, it's possible they forgot when it was time for Michael to wear Dean, maybe they could have had him inhail Angel Grace? But I don't think it's that simple. I don't believe that Sam had to drink the blood to take on, or to allow Lucifer to wear his vessel, but to take him on, or to fight him.

What we learned about the demon blood, is that it made Sam's powers stronger and stronger. Physically he was strong enough to contain Lucifer in his body, just like Dean could physically contain Michael. They were their True Vessels, so why would they need extra help?

Later in Swan Song when Sam is going to take on Lucifer, it is to purposely overpower Lucifer and throw him in the pit. As a human, as strong as Sam is, he can't do this. He needed his powers to be extra strong, stronger than they were to kill Lilith, thus needing to drink more demon blood than he ever had. Lucifer wanted him to drink it so he would be strong enough to kill Michael while he was wearing Sam. Nick had to drink demon blood to be barely strong enough to contain Lucifer (because he was not Lucifer's True Vessel)

You will hear a lot of fans claim that Sam's love for Dean made him strong enough to overpower Lucifer, and as lovely as that sentiment may be, it doesn't fit. Neither Sam nor Dean in their human form were strong enough to defeat either of the Archangels. They couldn't even defeat regular Angels or demons without supernatural help ( the angel blade or demon blade for example) so it wasn't a matter of Sam's love for Dean that made him that strong (unless you're gonna tell me Dean doesn't love Sam as much and should have been able to defeat Michael if he did) but it was Sam's love for Dean that brought him forward.

By the time Lucifer got to Stull Cemetary, he had buried Sam. He'd basically convinced him that this was his destiny. I imagine while Sam looked out over the bodies of his demon-possessed friends that he killed, just like he had killed Brady, that he though this was indeed the reason he was born; so Lucifer could beat Michael. His love for Dean kicked in as Lucifer nearly beat Dean to death. Sam watching this, feeling it, hearing Dean "It's ok Sam, Im not gonna leave you" seeing the army man and the highlight reel that ended in the brohug, is what made Sam say "Fuck this shit" and bring him forward. Having drank all that blood made him strong enough to take over and throw Lucifer (and sadly himself) into The Pit.

Remember that while Michael wore Dean, Dean could come forward, but he didn't have the Supernatural strength that Sam had, to overpower Michael.

When Sam confronts Lucifer in s11. Lucifer wanted his vessel again. He told Sam he needed "Someone who's strong enough to hold me" that means his Vessel was strong enough even without demon blood, but, as Lucifer once again beat him and Dean and threatened Dean's life, Sam couldn't even hit him hard enough to hurt him.

So in conclusion, I believe the demon blood made Sam strong enough to fight Lucifer and Dean didn't have an elixir to make him strong enough to fight Michael, though both could contain them in their bodies.

Make sense?

I hope this helps!

[victorianpining]

Dear Rebekah,

I saw from your comeback video that you went on to apologize to people who you feel that you have 'disappointed' with TJLC explained but frankly, I think you did not disappoint anyone but instead, 'enriched' the experience.

If you experienced any hate and pain during s4 and the finale, I am certain the comments were fueled with emotional rage and mostly the feel of betrayal not because of you, but because of the showrunners. You did not let us down. Moffat ang Gatiss let us down.

It was not your fault that people watched your videos and it wasn't your fault that they believed in johnlock because as far as I know, even before the BBC adaptation, the ship has always existed one way or another.

I know that these words are years late and I know that you have been healing a lot since then, but I wish to tell you that you were never really at fault. Like I said above, you albeit 'enriched' the whole journey and I'm sorry for all the pain you had to go through because of this, a show that was supposed to give us happiness instead of heavy amounts of stress we already experience daily.

I just wanted to send you this, as you seem like such a kind person and the way you approached the ship is a lot more mature and fully analyzed than how other (and newer) fandoms do analysis videos these days which are often superficial and one offs without basis.

I don't expect a reply since it might open wounds that have already healed or reignite a fire that has already been put off. I just wanted to send you a message and tell you how I, as one of the many johnlock shippers truly believe that the showrunners queerbaited and overall disappointed us-- THEY DISAPPOINTED US. NOT YOU.

I look forward to your s4 fic because we truly need a proper ending for Sherlock, one that the show did not give us. It will surely be a lot better than what was given to us years ago.

P.S.

If S5 does happen, and that's a big 'IF' esp since BC and MF are both in the MCU now, I do hope you come back. They did say that S5 wasn't off the table. Until then, I shall cling onto hope that maybe, just maybe in 2022 or 2023 (or whenever they decide to come back, IF they do), they'll finally serve us the 'proper' dinner we deserve. :)

take care and have a good day!

x

Thank you, I appreciate it! 

I've gotten a similar assumption a few times, so I feel like I should clarify that I never saw any people involved blaming me for series 4. That was all me. Before s4 I gave myself some credit for helping to make the fandom experience more enjoyable and hopeful, so I just instinctively flipped that when I saw people devastated after tfp. I had helped them be sure it was going to be good, and they were suffering now because of it. I felt that was every bit as much my responsibility as any good impact I had.

I've heard someone else talk about when you're in a bad mental space, it feels like all of the kind voices around you are either lying or are just wrong and you start intentionally seeking out criticism and it feels more true because it feels like what you deserve. And that's what I did.

It's been five years now though. So when you guys have (very generously) said that you didn't blame me for what happened, I heard you, and I am making the conscious choice to take your word for it. I am aware that the people who watched that video are more likely to be people who were willing to hear me out, and so it might be a biased sample. If someone felt like they were owed an apology from me either for building up s4 so much or for disappearing completely in the aftermath, I would agree and readily apologize.

But there were some other factors here too that made me perceive what had happened unrealistically. I've mentioned before that journalists have reached out to me dozens of times over the years to try to get me to ridicule the people theorizing after s4 or wanting me to compare my work to people involved with things like qAnon. Even if on some level I knew that wasn't a fair comparison and part of the reason people looked down on it is because people were expecting queer representation, after a while it started to warp my self perception. But at the end of the day, we were analyzing about a TV show which is kind of the point of media. Was I overinvested? Definitely. Would I do things differently? Absolutely. But do I think being involved with TJLC makes me or you bad or crazy? No.

So the long and short of it is that I’m in a better place now than I was a year ago with this, and also in a better place now than I was when I released An Unfinished Melody, mostly because of how kind you all have been. So thank you. 

[that-thing-that-feeling]

Let's follow Steve's line of thinking that if he and Nancy had met as their current selves they might have made it. It's a weird thought because it's what they've been through that's made them who they are, but I guess that's why Steve thanks her. Anyway...so let's say Steve is more receptive about Barb and even tries to help Nancy and Jonathan earlier in the story. The intersection of Nancy and Jonathan was inevitable because of Barb and Will both being missing and Jancy would have still had the chance to connect. It doesn't feel like it happened *only* because Steve wasn't more understanding. Besides, even when Steve is more understanding, it's still not enough. I'm not trying to speculate about next season, I'm just overanalyzing what's happened so far. Jancy *should* be endgame in some form regardless of what might or might not happen.

Was just looking at that scene to reply and it’s a little confusing really bc he otoh says if some other girl had given him the thump on the head before they had met, would things have been different (in their past relationship). But then he also says if we had just met now would we have made it? So idk: he seems to both be imagining if he was different before their s1 and s2 relationship—so yeah idk what would have happened then. He would have helped with Barb, but maybe Nancy would never have seen the picture and wouldn’t have talked to Jonathan? Or true maybe she would have bc his brother also disappeared so they might figure out it’s connected. But idk then the three of them would have worked together or something? He is prob thinking he should have been there for her (or more likely, he’s not thinking about her there really at all and just is projecting his own fantasies of her and their past relationship which precisely seems like crawling backward for him, not forward?) But anyway, I def think he’s like written Jonathan out of the picture however he imagines it.

And then in the other case if they had just met currently would they have worked out? First, she’s in a relationship (granted one that’s going through a rocky period). I mean the show seems to want to suggest that stancy could work, but also then gives us the Winebago dream and Nancy not liking a crucial part of that lol (altho she likes the rest).

While Jancy should be endgame I’m still just not sure if the show and Duffers think that. And it’s hard to imagine what would have happened bc Steve did not care about Barb and was not there for Nancy sooo.

There is this whole potential theme of otoh there’s a past in s5 the characters are going to have to revisit (to unlock the UD) vs. things like Steve says here of like imagining a different version past, but also that you can’t change it. I hope unfreezing the UD doesn’t lead to some jump the shark moment. Anyway, I feel like we’re missing more clues in s4 about what they’re setting up for s5.

[sophsun1]

"OMG Brian used the word cuddle" Like, I hate to tell you guys, but these two have spent 5 seasons wrapped around each other. There are so many scenes where they hold each other, and not just before/after sex (not that those times shouldn't count, either---why doesn't 'I don't do that' Kinney just get up and shower? Like he asked Mikey, does he hold you when you're wet and sticky?)

It's just laughable and frustrating, that scene, 'let's break up over semantics.'

And why does Brian even say it? Like, they've got him acting OOC as though he's trying to give Justin what he wants but doesn't really know how to do it, makes sense...ish? But this is a couple that's so intimately aware of each other by now, what in Justin's character leading up to that point makes Brian think he doesn't still want their constant sex life together? They literally had a conversation the previous day where he goes, 'when we're married will you still blow me' but today it's, 'i'm sure you'd rather garden and cuddle.'

lol thanks for letting me vent. s5, *shakes fist*

Hey anon!

Oh that conversation gives me a headache I've made my own post about how OOC and cringe the dialogue is before. As if Brian would say that he wouldn't, even when he's been romantic or flirty it's never come across like that. I get what they were going for but the execution (as a lot with this season was so off) Even Justin's reaction was so over the top I can't.

Ultimately the writers had the end point they wanted to reach which was Brian not wanting to lose his sexual identity and his fear that marriage would do that whilst giving Justin what he'd always wanted and Justin giving up his dream for love but the journey there was a mess. I wish they had them talk about where they stood though with their relationship were they just going back to their previous rules or what did they both want from it going forward. I mean they broke up twice over the same issues - where was the deep conversation over it now they were getting married?

It does make sense Brian would maybe have this fear of what being in love and in a marriage or committed relationship would look like. His parent's was hateful, Mel & Linds cheated and broke up over and over and Ben/Michael did live that suburban monogamous family life. Whereas he'd lived 29 years of sex filled hedonistic partying and this was new to him. But throughout their time together Justin did want to be more settled but he loved the partying and sex too it wasn't just because of Brian. He threw him a stag party with a stripper and wanted him to have fun so as you say we go from stripper to gardening LMAO. So the basis was there but they just thought how can we get our point across in the most obvious way forget characterisation and we got that.

[god-save-the-keen]

Are you jealous?

Book: Bloodbound

Pairing: Adrian Raines x MC (Amy)

Warning: None

Words: 1.289

*Inspired in 'Lucifer': S5, E6*

Note: I don't know if it's my PC or just Tumblr but I can't cut the text! Sorry about that 😕

Permanent tagg list: @eileendannie @desireepow-1986 @dawn-1994 @darley1101 @blackcatkita @flyawayboo @drakewalker04 @choicesficwriterscreations

Adrian Raines x MC tagg list: @senator-adrian-raines-wifey @alesana45 @choicesfannatalie @mattrodriguezmylife @perriewinklenerdie @x-kyne-x @livingpurpose @adriansbiss @badgoodfishes @amyraineshessa @bloodboundismylife @bloodboundhoe @choices-addict-25 @lexilooloolovessenatorraines @bloodboundstuff @a-raines  

When Adrian walked through the crystal doors of Raines Corp that morning the first thing he noticed was Amy waiting for the private elevator, which he had given her the key to a while ago, checking her phone. The night before flashed through his mind as he went towards her, trying to avoid a too obvious grin at the mere sight of her, remembering her sweet lips on his, the soft and at the same time intoxicating touch of her delicate hand on his body and how incredibly perfect their bodies fit together. He knew they shouldn't go that far, having this kind of personal relationship but there was something in her that drew him to her, like a magnet wanting, no needing, more. So much more. But when she mentioned that they should keep it between them because she didn't want to be "the office 'easy girl' who is fucking the boss", a phrase that Adrian tried vehemently to denied, he agreed, unsure of her feelings about their relationship.

"Good morning, Amy." He stood beside her, shoulder to shoulder, his free hand brushing hers.

"Good morning, Adrian." She smiled and he couldn't avoid thinking how different his name sounded the night before in her moans and how desperate he was to hear it again.

"You had a restful night, I hope?"

"For sure! I did a few hours of… Work out before bed." Her face didn't show any mischievous glint, smiling like everyday, as the elevator 'dinged' and they headed inside. When the door closed behind them, Adrian took a step closer to her. If she wanted to keep their distance at a maximum in the office, she just needed to take a step back and he would give her her space. To his pleasure, she took a step forward. She stood on her tiptoes and, taking her lead, he held her waist and lowered his mouth, finding hers halfway as a warm feeling, that after so many years he thought he would never feel again, stormed inside him in the most wonderful way. "Now, that is the perfect way to say good morning." Adrian chuckled before his mouth covered hers once more.

"You look beautiful today."

"Thank you, boss." She retorted with a playful hint of a sexy smile.

"I missed you this morning." His hold on her waist tightened a little.

"I missed you too but I needed to change my outfit." Before Adrian could answer, the elevator arrived on their floor and she took two big steps to the side as the doors opened.

"What is on today's agenda?" He asked as they walked out.

"In an hour, you have a meeting with the heads of sectors, after lunch the three candidates for the research team are coming for their final interview with you, at 5 o'clock Senator Vega will be waiting for us at his place and 6:40 with Priya in her mansion to talk about… you know."

"It's going to be fine." His hand found hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"After what you told me, how can you be sure?" There was an uncertain tone in her voice as her brows knitted together, worried.

"Because I'm going to do everything in my power to make it fine." His thumb unconsciously caressing her knuckles as a soft smile creeped on her face.

Before he knew, the morning had transformed into the afternoon and the interviews had started. The first candidate was a middle-aged man, with a remarkable resume but with some weak answers towards his questions, when the man left from the office, Amy handed him the file of the second candidate and he called Josie Adams inside as the elevator doors opened and a young man, that he supposed was the last candidate, came out, flashing a smile at Amy.

As he led the interview with ease with Adams, he caught a glimpse of Amy's conversation outside.

"Wow, Ames, you look really great!" The voice of who he presumed was the young man echoed in his brain. So this man already knew Amy. "Beautiful." Adrian felt a bubbling sensation inside him, a mix of anger and something new… something he didn't like.

"Thanks, Matt! It's so good to see you! You look great too! I didn't know you had applied for this job!"

"I didn't know you work here either!" He replied and they both chuckled as Josie kept talking about her experience. Adrian tried to concentrate until his own name pecked his attention again.

"...Adrian? He's honestly the best." A fond tone in her voice, he could almost see the smile on her face. "He's smart and respectful, I don't know anyone in the office that doesn't respect him."

"Any tips?"

"Just be authentic, he'll appreciate that." A tiny grin lifted Adrian's lip at Amy's words. Of course she would know the perfect way to approach him by now. Adams continued talking with confidence at his gesture, unaware the real reason for it.

"So, how have you been? Are you seeing someone?" Adrian blocked out the woman's voice, concentrating his hearing sense on the outside, curious about her response.

"I…" She hesitated. "No, I'm not." Well, that definitely wasn't what he was expecting to hear. They had agreed to keep it a secret but completely denying the relationship was further than what Adrian thought.

"Glad to hear."

"That is all I need, Ms. Adams." He suddenly cut the interview, standing up. "We will contact you soon." He shook the woman's hand.

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Raines." Amy led her to the elevator, took the file from her desk and entered Adrian's office, closing the door and handing it to him.

"You’re acquainted with the next candidate." It wasn't a question, and even though he was using the most professional tone possible, something else leaked out, making Amy smile.

"Yes, I do." She observed him with an almost satisfied grin without saying anything else.

"I see." He took Matt's resume and started to read it, being completely honest, some of his accomplishments were truly remarkable. "An old friend?"

"Not exactly." He lifted his gaze towards her, his right eyebrow rising up. "He's my ex-boyfriend. We broke up when I moved here, I didn't even know he had come too."

"Perhaps he's trying to get back with you. Especially if he thinks you are single." Amy giggled walking around his desk and sitting on the edge as her hand lowered the file that he was 'reading' and their eyes connected, deeply and intensely.

"Adrian, are you jealous?" His jaw clenched as she kept smirking. "Oh my god, you really are!"

"I do not get jealous."

"Then why do you care what he thinks?" Her feet barely touched his leg as they kept staring into each other's eyes.

"I don't."

"Mhm, sure you don't." She lowered from the desk and leaned closer to him, softly lifting his head cupping his right cheek, until her lips quickly but sweetly pecked his. "You are the only one I want to be with, that's why it is so important to do things right, even if it's hard to keep this as a secret for a while." She headed to the door as her hips swayed from side to side, clearly enjoying the power she had over him. "And by the way, I told him I'm single because he's the nosiest person I know. If I tell him or if you hire him, he would drive me nuts until I tell him who I'm dating." And just like that, she went back to her desk, closing the door as Adrian smiled, thinking he would do anything for this woman, even get jealous now and then.

❣️

[loopy777]

Is MHA S5 over on Toonami? If so, what are your thoughts on My Villain Academia and the season finale as a whole?

Yep, the finale aired last week, after a massive delay caused by special animated Batman movie airings and a marathon of the worst new anime of the year, Fena Pirate Princess. I know it's my fault for being a filthy casual who watches MHA for free via cable, but Toonami really soured the finale experience.

As for the MVA arc itself, I thought it was all right. The stuff with Twice was the best part, and Shigaraki continues to give very satisfying beat-downs to villains I dislike more than him. Sadly, the other character development was a bit tepid. I don't feel like I got any new insight into Toga, Dabi's backstory is still deferred, and the rest of the active team didn't get anything. Shigaraki himself got a backstory reveal, but the broad strokes had already been implied, and I feel like the 'arc' of his motivation is starting to become kind of haphazard. My impression of him is that he wasn't passionate about One For All's plans for him until his encounter with Deku in the shopping mall, at which point he got enthusiastic about becoming a Symbol of Anti-Peace. Now he got a 'new' motivation of wanting to destroy everything he doesn't like and this is being treated as a kind of upgrade, but I'm not really sure what the distinction is? There was a lot of talk about him no longer being bound by his past or his hesitancy or something, but I really don't see much of a difference in him.

Once again, my enjoyment of the anime has probably been damaged by the rampant manga spoilers on the internet, as I was already aware of The Doctor, so his introduction being little more than an introduction didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. I'm sure there will be some good payoff with him, but that's down the road.

The standout of this arc, actually, was the episode where Eraserhead and Present Mic interrogate Kurogiri. That new backstory is interesting and was entirely unexpected for me, and the fact that the clue they got progresses the story for both the audience and the protagonists makes it feel like an important step forward. Sure, it's still mostly setup for later stuff like I was criticizing throughout the rest of the season, but it manages to feel like it matters in the moment more than everything else. Perhaps it's just because I wasn't spoiled on this point? Or maybe because it matters so much to the characters themselves?

I've glossed completely over the Meta Liberation Army stuff, and that's not an accident. ReDestro has nothing going for him as a character or antagonist, I completely forget who his minions are and what they can do the very second they're not on screen, and the only real threat they present is the sheer numbers in their army. It didn't help, I think, that the whole arc is a flashback and we had already seen the League of Villains as part the army's leadership, so we spent all these episodes just building up to an end that we already knew was coming. I'm aware there was some controversy amongst the manga fans about changing the order of some events, and I don't know if this is what they're talking about specifically, but I think the flashback nature does rob the climax of My Villain Academia of a lot of its power. Even the revelation that Hawks killed Best Jeanist (or, as Dabi notes, merely presented the body of someone who looks like him) is something that was already heavily implied, and now the season has ended before we can really dive into the consequences.

In summary, I'd say that Season 5 of MHA suffered from a mix of slow pacing and having to shoulder a lot of setup for future storylines. If I had to rank the various seasons, it might even be at the bottom. Had the season blazed through the setup in a faster, punchier style, I think it would have gone down better, but that's not how shonen anime rolls, unfortunately. But I still wouldn't call it bad, and it's always fun to spend time in this world and with this cast. As part of a binge, I bet this season wouldn't feel as slight, and it does have me looking forward to what's coming, so I think it works for what it is. This story is obviously going places and there's been some thought put into it, so I don't begrudge it taking the time to lay the groundwork. I'd much rather a slow setup-season than have the ending fall apart or peter out.

And, for completeness, I'll quote my previous statement on the new movie:

It’s probably the least of the three movies, but it’s still fun. The story’s a bit contrived, the new costumes only show up for a minute, and there’s little thematic heft to anything going on, but the action is cool and I like the new characters. There was also a cool 'web-slinging’ sequence that raised the bar for all animated Spider-Man stuff, and that’s always nice.

So, overall, we got more More 'My Hero Academia' this year and that's not bad, but it all could have been more More, if you catch my drift.

[stileshale]

What are your thoughts on teen wolf? especially writing wise? I have stopped watching regularly around 3b and I wasn't too convinced by what I've seen here on tumblr about the rest of the episodes, in particular 6x10...

i will always have a special place in my heart for the characters i love that the show gave me. i still blog about teen wolf, i write fic, and i enjoyed s1-3a. saying that, i don’t particular enjoy what the show became, or look back on the experience i had as a fan with much nostalgia (i think we were v much used and abused as a fandom online, for sure). i love my part of fandom, though.

short answer about the writing... it was terrible because

1) there was a complete lack of planning and follow through

2) we love this idea/actor/theme for 30 seconds but oops now we don’t

3) they completely misused their social media as a way to a) explain away/correct plot holes in their own writing and b) encourage viewers to watch a show they implied to be many things that it turned out to... not be any of

long answer

as a disclaimer here, i watch a lot of tv, i watch stuff on cbs, abc, fox, cw, bbc, tbs, p much something from every network, and i’ve seen the highs and lows of writing through comedy, drama, medical, supernatural, and everything inbetween. i’m not a professional writer, i am only a consumer. i have, however, over the nearly 20 years of watching shows as a fangirl (where i’ve been into something i follow religiously, and then later became involved in online forums) honed my tastes and opinions. on average i watch 15 shows a week, last year it would have been 21 around february time, but i’ve cut six shows including 3 i started this fall and dropped because of writing issues similar to that of teen wolf, or it just got terrible, either way). i have totally tried to rationalise what teen wolf did and i just... can’t. 

to elongate

1. the whole “let’s throw everything at the wall and see what sticks” approach is terrible. the best thing about breaking bad was that everything was planned to the very minute details. lost only picked up again when they were given an end date and suddenly had to come up with a plausible endgame. every season teen wolf has started off with a new plan, a new theme, and then it’s fallen apart because they’ve quite clearly changed their minds about something and either dropped it completely (they’re especially bad about dropping characters and never speaking of them again, or even acknowledging they were there in the first place), or made up new stuff to fit their new plan (scott is the true alpha so he can move mountain ash, kate is a werejaguar

not to mention they’ve joked about not being able to keep up with their own timelines, unsure how old any of the characters are, forgetting the characters have school/work/should be in prison, introducing siblings, changing history, forgetting actual canon...

2. kinda leads on from 1. where they would introduce an idea or a character and then totally lose interest and instead of trying hard to give them depth or something to do or going somewhere with the concept, they’d just drop it? see, parrish as a hellhound, kira as a kitsune, even way back when with stiles as a spark, a cool idea for thirty seconds to fit in with the plot and then... whoops it never happened, what are you talking about there was never a whole season about japanese culture, that season was about stiles conquering his internal battle with his own psyche telling him he’s never going to be good enough because we always make his dad out to be a total dick to him (surprise, his dad’s called noah, which we know you’ll hate because we dragged it out like some sort of magical plot twist, and also HIS dad is a dick so it’s okay he’s always told stiles he’d rather have had scott as a son) WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT FOXES FOR? THERE WAS NO FOX. THERE WAS NO TREE TRUNK. BANSHEES? THE FUCK? LYDIA JUST SCREAMS EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE AND SOMETIMES HAS MAGIC POWERS. but then doesn’t. pfft it doesn’t actually matter.

 or worse conveniently fix it/disappear it. it was tiring to watch and be confused and wonder why they were treating you like an idiot as a viewer. like the show is on mtv sure, but at least awkward stuck to a clear timeline. awkward covered where characters vanished to. we never actually even got clarification on basics like... why did deaton never want to help derek in season one... even though he was the hale emissary? what did emissaries have to do with anything by the next episode as nothing ever happened with that whole theme... why did stiles have a magic spark... where did cora go... how did she come back and how did the alphas find her before derek... why did the alphas originally start a war with derek, kill off his pack but then decide they didn’t want derek and just wanted scott... why did scott let deucalion walk off into the sunset? WHY IS PETER STILL NOT IN PRISON FOR THE MURDER OF HIS NIECE? these questions are all like three seasons old but that’s all i have and they still bug me. i can’t believe the show has never covered any of these huge issues. it’s lazy. everyone likes consistency, nobody likes writing leaving this big wink like “you don’t really care about this do you???”

again, with the big deaths, the characters they did kill off all had opportunities not to die, they could have had different endings, but each time their death was used to create man pain, probably one of the many reasons i’m not as big on male characters (they always need something to prop them up and make them more heroic and tragic in the long run), and that writing? erica, boyd, allison, was cruel and unnecessary. it did nothing for the show, and it lessened the writing. it actually made it worse when they tried to defend it, because they’d been going on about it for so long before hand as if it was a new and exciting toothpaste they’d all just gotten “now even whiter than before/now with even more death!!!”

the fact they hadn’t planned out a season without stiles (despite knowing dylan was out) and so instead of giving all of the other characters a chance to grow and learn and develop they literally wrote a whole season about stiles (after all of 3b, and from what i can tell most of s4 and s5 was about stiles). every character seemed to be focused on this missing person. the whole season was based around a character that wasn’t even on screen. and all because std fans were promised a big beautiful season of std??? gutted.

3. leading to point three! teasing your internet fanbase with ~thrilling and huge deaths to look forward to all season! using tumblr to answer questions about the plot holes/characters/encourage you to watch for the return of characters and not actually ever going through with it on screen. the teasing. the baiting. the flat out refusal to learn from your own viewership (when more than happy to use their gifs, use their images, their fanfics and their ideas) and then act as if the fanbase are the ungrateful ones. to try and join in with memes and tbt and a bunch of other infuriating actions that made even the actors uncomfortable. the tweets, the writers creating more drama even now, six seasons in, jeff saying “oh yeah if hoechlin had stayed on we’d have tortured derek some more with a fake julia (????? dick) haha i hope the internet doesn’t kill me for that one” as if we’re a bunch of deranged lunatics instead of just fans of a character that deserved better? like he knows what’s up. he’s a grown man. he knows they fucked up, in so many areas, and yet he’s just not willing to learn from it, or acknowledge it, he’s just always said “well if they don’t like it, they shouldn’t watch”... 

i guess we didn’t.