#it just seems that s2 is saying “not all cops are bad”

[shivieroy]

can i say how fucking weird it is that loki s1 clearly presented the tva as a f4scist organization and s2 completely erased that with the whole "we can change this place" plot

[pumpkin-cake]

hi this request isn’t for S4 i hope that’s ok!

but takes place in s2 where five strands everyone?

his spouse gets stranded a year and a bit before he gets there

and they made a career for themselves as a singer? maybe they have some sort of siren power or they are just naturally talented !?

but he finds them on a billboard or something that says where they will be performing next and they have a reunion where the reader has a love hate reaction to seeing him?!

sorry if this is a lot!!!

totally okay! i like all the other seasons better than 4 anyway lmao- this is actually an idea i have for my upcoming reboot of a five story i'd written, so i'm excited to sort of test it out! this turned out a bit more fem reader coded, but no she/her pronouns are used last i checked.

also my swiftie is coming out for this story, sorry to all you non-swifties ;-;

divider credited to @cafekitsune (lmk if you'd like me to remove it or anything of the sort!)

warnings: taylor swift (i love her actually but some people don't so)

The last thing you remembered was holding hands tightly with Five, and then he was ripped from your grasp, and you were falling ass first into an alleyway. Where did he go? Where were the others?

"Five..?!" You cried, hurrying out of the alleyway and bumping into somebody, who glared at you and walked off. You looked around and spotted a newspaper box, and you were over there before you could think. Your eyes scanned the paper. Year, year, what year was it?!

1960.

The sixties?! What the fuck?! All you could do was drop the newspaper to the floor, collapsing against the building wall beside you. You were the only one there. Some of your found-family wasn't even here yet, you'd imagine. There had to be some kind of time frame. You felt bad for whoever was put the farthest. Were you put the furthest in the past? What if you were super old by the time you found everyone again?! Well, you are already old, but what if you looked like it?!

All you could do was wait. You knew Five, he'd stop at nothing to save you and his family.

Unfortunately, there wasn't exactly anywhere to go. You looked pretty young and had no identification. You were wearing strange clothes, you didn't fit in. This felt like the apocalypse in a way, loads better obviously, but being alone? The worst feeling.

You had to stealth around, stealing and pilfering where you could. Sitting in alleys in the rain, starving. That was until you were dumpster diving behind some sort of bar. The heavy door creaked open and you froze inside the green box.

"Them damn raccoons again." A heavy southern accent was muffled to you, but you could tell it was a woman. You heard heels clicking on the ground and the dumpster opened and a broom whacked you in the head.

"Ouch!!!"

"Oh my heavens, yer a person!!!" The woman exclaimed, dropping the broom with a clatter. She reached over and helped you out of the trash, her nose crinkling. The woman was wearing a scantily clad flapper dress, a cute headpiece adorning her blonde hair. "What're ya doin' inside the trash, sweetie?" She asked with worry, brushing some garbage off you like it was nothing.

"Uh...I'm so sorry, I can go." You apologized, ready to get out before she called the cops like everyone else.

"Oh no, baby, no. Here, you come in, we'll getcha somethin' to eat." She assured you, ushering you inside. Some other women (and some men) that were dressed similarly didn't seem to mind. "Most of us here, came from poor too, we'll take ya in." She smiled, taking you to the back and providing you with a meal.

"Thank you...." You said, completely shocked at her kindess.

"Oh! Right, my name's Jess, nice to meetcha." She cooed politely, and you gave her your name through bites of food, making her giggle. "Tell me, sweetie, can ya sing? Dance? Anything of the sort?"

You paused. A golden opportunity was just presented to you. 1960. Some of your favorite artists haven't even been born yet. Not to mention your power dealt with your voice, similar to Allison's. You were frequently named The Siren in Umbrella Academy material. And, you didn't have any stigma to using it like Allison did.

"I write songs." You blurted, and a wide smile came across her face.

"Do ya?! Oh, you'll have to show Bruce then. He's the owner of the place." She hummed, and soon you were cleaned up and sitting in a private room on a nice sofa with a guitar in front of a sleazy looking man who looked like he'd run some kind of club with sexy women around to exploit.

"Alright, sweetheart. Show me whatcha got." He said, a fat cigar between his greasy looking fingers.

You took a deep breath. "Um...so...this song is called...." Shit, you had to think. You didn't have much time to come up with the song to sing. You had to pick a song that was popular in the modern era, maybe it would be good here too? But maybe you should stick to country. You were in Dallas, Texas after all. Not to mention you'd need to change some words if needed.

"C'mon, don't have all day." Bruce took a puff of his cigar, blowing the smoke into your face.

"Um. It's called...Mean." You blurted, and began to strum the guitar. Taylor Swift had been a hit as a country singer, this was a good idea in your mind. You were careful to control your power, and also make it believable. A southern accent and changing the word 'football' into 'baseball'.

As you sang, Bruce stopped focusing on his cigar and was completely focused on you and the shitty guitar you managed to make sound so good.

You finished the song and had a job immediately, with a small lie that you were 18. No liquor, but you could have beer! Thus began your career in that small club, becoming friends with the women who worked there. Soon enough you had the money for a small apartment. You despised the creepy looks men at the club gave you. All you could think of to continue was Five. He'd find you, right? Surely!

But after years? It was tiring. Dancing in sexy outfits in front of men with cigars, smoke and alcohol filling the air. The harsh lights on you while you had to make acoustic country covers of Taylor Swift songs. The more sexual songs like 'Dress' and 'Don't Blame Me' were your least favorite. You'd just have to withstand it. For days. And days. And days. And weeks. And years.

Five crashed into Dallas after witnessing the second apocalypse, with his hand empty. He forgot which sibling he'd been holding onto, but he knew he had you in his other hand.

"Shit, shit, shit!" He had hissed to himself, looking around and calling your name desperately. He'd never admit how panicked he currently was, and composed himself immediately upon the meeting of Elliott, some weird nerd.

"Alright, before I do anything." Five walked up to the man, looking up at him with fierceness. "Do you know anything at all about someone by the name of (Y/n) (L/n)." It was more a demand than a question. "If I find out you've been lying, I'll kill you." He threatened.

Elliott cracked immediately, telling Five he'd seen a billboard of that name recently. He didn't listen to music much, but their name was everywhere. Five was instantly gone, and was amazed to see your face on a huge billboard. You? A star? Not that you weren't talented, you absolutely were! You just weren't that kind of person. He asked around and found the club, teleporting in without an issue.

Ordering a drink, he sat as close to the stage as possible. A sleazy man you would absolutely despise walked out with a grin, golden teeth shining under the light as he began to speak. About you. Five clenched the glass of whiskey in his hand. This asshole looked so smug. Like you were his property.

Then you walked out with a shining silver guitar. He felt his breath leave him. "My God..." he hissed under his breath. You were gorgeous. He wasn't a fan of the makeup on your face, red lips and such. But you were glowing, looking so confident in yourself. You started singing 'You Belong With Me' by Taylor Swift, and he understood the situation quick. The folks around were immediately entranced, and it made him sick. You were using your power to reel them in, keep you popular and making money.

Your eyes met his and you faltered for just a moment, but no one else noticed as you kept singing. After the song was over, you gave him a look and walked backstage. Within seconds he was back there, so relieved to finally see you again.

"A singer, huh?" He said with a lopsided smile nobody else in his family got to see. "Not what I expected."

Your face dropped a tad, tears filling your eyes. "That's all you have to say to me?" You asked, and Five panicked. He hurried over and very gently held your face.

"No no, sweetheart, I'm sorry if that came off wrong. I'm so glad to see you." He quickly said, letting you fall into him for an embrace. "How long was I gone for?"

"Three years." You murmured, and he sighed.

"I'm sorry, I'm here now. You looked really good up there." He said softly. He decided to not tell you about the upcoming apocalypse. At least, not yet. When everyone was together.

"Thanks." You said with a weak smile, not at all letting go. Last time you let go, you were without him for 3 years. You didn't ever want to let go again.

fuck im sorry that ending was so rushed, but if it wasn't i wouldn't have had this out

[monstress]

arcane s2 thoughts

prayinggg we get a no soundtrack version because while i do like a few of the tracks (yes even Enemy!!!), there are more duds than hits and they take me out each time

also obviously i'm a Jinx Is Alive truther because of the ending scene of cait staring at the air ducts to the hextech tower fiddling with a fragment of her bomb...come on. jinx has said in the start of the season that she wanted to leave piltover/zaun and with isha gone and her sister happy, she can finally do that

i am very invested in jinx and vi's relationship so when jinx without any hesitation chose to let herself go from vi's grasp and destroy warwick (both something that vi could not do) which in one fell swoop legitimizes her agency, protects vi from a monster, saves vander from eternal hell - i'm like yea...[sniffs] that's a redemption arc baby

jinx and vi. piltover and zaun. they'll always be sisters...yea....

i admire the open ending with the airship. but she did say she'll ride one of those things one day. yay.

maybe an unpopular opinion but i liked cait this season. finally some bite and controversy and trauma to her choices. she was way tooooo comfortable in s1. while she's still a cop, at least she's interesting now!

also ok....yelled and hollered when lesbian sex is finally happening. rejoice guys - i thought we will never get it

the writing pace of this show is bonkers and i understand they need to keep it tight because of animation budget but what the helllllll was that viktor machine herald speedrun. it felt like it needed a good one more season to incubate and i was overwhelmed with that + jayce's heel turn + mel's superpower reveal like hold on hold the fuck onnnnnn what does this meannnnnn

gay sex in hextech void deus ex machina goes crazy tho

like oh yeah i am cosmically tied to only one man in this world and he alone can guide me to the error of my ways in any universe

ok!

mel being the most specialest princess in the entire world seems right imo. i can easily be riled up to sycophantic fervor to serve in her army just say the word ma'am 🫡

let's not forget the tragic irony that Mel was exiled by her mother and has tried to carve her own path through diplomacy and peace in defiance but ends up finding herself sitting in her mother's steel ship in her colors with her army with so much power in her veins and now leaves the city she loved that her mother ruined too. mel merdada one of the characters of all time......

and i am a number one sap so!!!!!!! the flashback scenes this season got me hurting real bad. when i thought i was devastated by Remember Me...here comes s2e7 to punch me in the gut

the fact happiness and normalcy was possible for powder...the fact that powder will never use hexcore because of what happened to vi and it made all the difference. vi's death unknowingly protecting her sister (and the world!) from beyond the grave...i am sobbing my eyes out

also as a season one timebomb shipper, thank youuuu arcane writers i didnt expect this at ALLLLLLLLLL???? it was written like everyone knows they were an item except themselves??? i have done nothing to deserve this but thank you

UPDATE: i hv been informed that they are already dating in the alternative universe from background details. even more delicious

i am just happy to be here and prepared to be devastated

vanderco Real. like don't even waste your breath to say they aren't when they look like they are glowing in domestic bliss. what's some light stabbing and drowning between married couples amirite fellas

claggor and mylo!!!! i didn't expect to get emotional seeing them since idrc but seeing them grown up like ohhhh these are vi and jinx's brothers...and they'll never know this life...okay.....

the alternative timeline pretty much put a bandaid to the pain and suffering for the past 2 seasons and as contrast for more suffering. i love it. the writers are so diabolical

heimerdinger sacrificing himself for ekko is ok for me lol idc abt him goodbye cheesepuff

i still need to process the Ambessa vs MelCait fight. im quite sure there's some great parallels there

but Ambessa as a character is sooooo fascinating. while i hv qualms making a prominently Black character be an imperalist warlord (othering her with her accent too), Ambessa i fear is so so very cool and i was slightly rooting for her ngl like i can't hate a cunning ambitious woman it's against my nature!!!!!

i am gonna think abt mel holding up ambessa like repin's painting of ivan the terrible for a longggg time

side note: i love that sevika finally got what silco wanted all along - a seat at the (council)table. like that's my wifeeeeeee. lib ending i know i know since the best ending is a free state of zaun but like narrative wise it would notttt make sense at the point of time. but also since they never confirmed anything, i wanna say they'll have a go at dismantling the power structure that is oppressing zaun with sevika keeping an eye on it. not a perfect solution but i'll take it rather than leave it

so will i watch another show on LoL?

mmmm.......anyways guys watch Penelope of Sparta!

[flock-of-cassowaries]

So my hot take on NBC Hannibal is that is is a remarkably and relentlessly cynical story, in that every. single. character. abuses the power vested in the virtue of their profession.

Like, all the cops, all the doctors, all the psychiatrists.

Almost all the murderers, too - the bee lady is killing clients, as is the mushroom man, and the social worker; Randall Tier and Mason Verger are using the tools / items available to them from their jobs to commit murder; and Tobias Bunch and Garrett Jacob Hobbs are transforming parts of their victims into materials they use / sell at work.

The only characters I can think of who are not show to be ludicrously unethical at their jobs are:

1. The pharmacist-colleague of the Mushroom Man whom Jack inexplicably screams at;

2. Will’s long-suffering s2 defence lawyer;

3. Georgia Mädchen and Abigail Hobbs (no jobs, Literally Minors™️);

4. The child-kidnapper from Oëuf (no job); and

5. The Angel-Maker (deus diablus ex brain-tumor).

…but of the law-enforcement / law-enforcement-adjacent characters, we have:

- Hannibal

- Jack (routinely flouts rules and does things that endanger his subordinates and which are probably illegal; which, points for verisimilitude, I guess)

- Zeller (leaks info to Freddie Lounds)

- Beverley (a bit more of a stretch, but I’m fairly certain showing an accused serial killer / mental patient confidential information on other crimes isn’t okay; and she definitely broke into a suspect’s house without a warrant)

- Chilton (the most unethical psychiatrist since the CIA stopped funding the Montreal Experiments)

- Alanna (starts out straight and narrow, but becomes willing to take on the role of her ex’s keeper - incredibly unethical for a psychiatrist, especially with a patient being held in custody)

- Will (again, starts out reasonably ethical, but then slides into such ends-justify-the-means nonsense as [1] defiling corpses; [2] traumatizing museum staff with defiled corpses; [3] knowingly eating human flesh; [4] warning a serial killer of his imminent apprehension; [5] attempting to use various serial killers as tools to kill and/or bait other serial killers; and [6] attempting to extrajudicially execute a serial killer [via cliff]. )

And like, technically, you could just read it as “Hannibal’s influence corrupts those around him”; that certainly seems to be the case with Alanna and Will.

(And arguably, that is how we’re supposed to read Jack, but… as the self-appointed president of the Jack Crawford Hate Committee - fuck Jack.)

I think Hannibal would certainly find it flattering to read it that way. It would appeal very much to his narcissism.

It’s also quite possible that was the writing team’s authorial intent, too.

But that is absolutely not how people work.

Hannibal would’ve encountered people who were just stubbornly immovable in their refusal to endanger patients / subordinates / whatever.

And people who just found him creepy.

People who got a bad vibe the first time they met him, and just refused to ever reassess their first impression - not particularly fair, in most cases, but there definitely are people who operate that way.

And sure, perhaps Hannibal would have just killed some of them, but… we never see that happen. It’s just everyone in Toronto Baltimore, in every profession, is apparently either just as laughably crooked as the real RCMP, or as corruptible as soft cheese on a hot day.

Tangential postscript:

This inspired me to read the Wikipedia article on “Controversies surrounding the RCMP”, and while I will not get into the horrifying details, this sentence made me laugh out loud:

“A subsequent public inquiry concluded that the RCMP was at fault, showing a lack of professionalism…”

Which like… yeah. Technically true.

Sort of like saying that Andrew Tate lacks a firm grasp of intersectional feminism.

But not incorrect, per se.

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s2 episode 3 thoughts

here we go! this episode is titled "blood" which did not bode well for me, the girl who hates blood. but i am dedicated and pushed through in the name of our mission.

we open at a post office. sometimes, i think it would be fun to work in a post office.

but alas! our postman has received a paper cut. he licks it up which... can't be hygienic.

and then he immediately gets fired :( this is sooooo unfair

when he returns to his post his machine reads "KILL"!!! my first thought was that this was gonna be a little shop of horrors style thing where an inanimate object tastes blood and Likes it (Which is sort of what happened? but mostly not really)

((side note: need to see mulder and scully take on audrey two))

so it seems that the people are either being told by machines to do some killing or all the members of the town are experiencing collective hallucination...

mulder arrives. i was distracted by his fluffy hair. from the notes: "his hair is fluffy. he isn't saying much at this crime scene but his hair is fluffy"

! MULDER LORE REVEAL ! he played right field! (this was brought up when the policeman mentioned the suspect was on the softball team)

back to our post office friend, who is near a child with a random nosebleed whilst getting some money, and now the ATM is telling him to kill people

mulder points out that these are spree killings and not serial ones <-okay human embodiment of the nerd emoji.

it's a totally normal report on the crimes, no spooky stuff involved, and scully is reading it... until he mentions UFOs and she says to herself "i was wondering when you'd get to that" LMAOOOOO she knows him too well

we see a woman being lured into a dark garage by a mechanic and i thought i knew where this was going but i DIDN'T because SHE gets paranoid and the machine tells her the guy is gonna get her and she freaks out and STABS HIM

mulder arrives to the crime scene with a really funny looking camera. can anyone provide me more information about this camera? i'm curious

anyway, he shows up at the house of the woman who killed the mechanic, and we see another example of his bountiful social skills when he asks to come in and she says "i'm late for work" and he just barges in and says "you can blame me". i love this man so bad it's actually a problem. he WILL get inside of ur house.

but her microwave is telling her to kill him and she pulls out a knife and STABS him and i was yelling NOOOOOOOO! and then the cop he was with shoots her and VERY QUICKLY we get a cutscene to....

SCULLY AUTOPSY TIME!!!!!!

she thinks there's some sort of chemical that is making the people do this

we also see poor wet meow meow mulder's bandaged arm :(

back to the ex-postman, who is seeking new gainful employment at a supermarket in which there are guns for sale in the back, another reminder that this show is set in america. he starts to see evil things in the TV but resists (and it might be related to the blood drive at the store but? it's a little unclear tbh)

mulder running scene! getting his cardio in! the man is dripping in sweat! he sees a guy toss some stuff in a yard and it's... dead bugs?

so who does he take the bugs to? well, the weirdos who previously were consulted for another case: the conspirators at the lone gunman! famous for the one guy hitting on scully and ripping up her twenty dollar bill

so we're back to these freaks and he says he didn't see their latest issue because "it arrived the same day as my subscription to Celebrity Skin"

now, i had an educated guess here based on name alone, but needed to confirm what this "celebrity skin" truly was. a search brings you to an album by the band Hole, and i was like omg!!! we're gonna get an insight into his canon music taste!!!! there is nothing more i LOVE than learning a character's favorite artists <3

but, this cannot be... for the show takes place before 1998, when the album was released... so i dig further

chat, as expected, it is a porn mag. seems to have involved some unethical stuff. mulder: ur a sick man.

the even sicker man who previously hit on scully was like "where's your little friend?" and he counters with "she wouldn't come. she was too afraid of her love for you" and the weirdo responds with "she's tasty"

now i want you to buckle your seat belts for what mulder says next. buckled? secured? sat? everyone is in a safe position? okay. he says:

"you know, it's men like you that give perversion a bad name"

HELLO? hey. hi! quick question <3 what does that mean. mulder a freak confirmed????

(i mean i guess we DID already know he fucked phoebe on arthur conan doyle's grave, which is going to stick in my head forever, but. don't make it worse. sometimes he's such a Man)

anyway the weirdos at the lone gunman think it's related to pesticides. and then mulder asks to borrow their night vision goggles and the weirdest of weirdos is like "only if you give me scully's number!"

cutscene to him using the night goggles

(mulder, if you gave that creep her number, i will NEVER forgive you. so keep that in mind)

he's sitting in a field and it looks so natural, like he really belongs there. bring back sitting in fields. but then he breaks into the orchard and gets sprayed by some pesticides and thoroughly knocked on his ass

mulder's yelling at some guy to take responsibility for the pesticides that he thinks are killing people... a moral crusader serving on the front lines...

scully's here now, btw. she took his blood. which had to be a strange experience. and then she mentions that she FLEW 300 MILES in the MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT to come take his blood?

holy shit, mulder. she did that for you and you've been so broody and angsty lately and maybe even gave some dick her phone number. holy shit mulder, do not blow this. you cannot afford to blow this. she is soooo good to you.

anyway, he's seeing the same evil messages in technology the killers were now so that's a bummer

mulder proposes that this is some sort of subliminal messaging thing that is being activated by the fear-inducing pesticides and the cop gets pissed and leaves, to which he says "he's probably one of those people that thinks Elvis is dead"

so that's the SECOND line in this show about him being an elvis truther and i'm starting to think it's not a joke

back to the ex-postman. people are coming to his door to take blood and test for the chemicals in the pesticides and he's going bonkers. he's seeing "KILL" in his calculator, which is how you know things are rough. his watch even beeps and says "KILL" which i think would make a very very very very funny gif if anyone has that.

well, all of a sudden he's missing so the agents go to his house and knock. until.

scully realizes the door is open and just. lets herself in. i was laughing SO hard here. these bitches WILL get into your house. they will NOT wait for an invitation. truly a sign of soulmatism.

ex-postman was running running and they're like omg where is heeeeee he's gonna hurt people!!! scully is once again proving her genius status by saying that if it's a paranoia case, then all these guys in police uniforms need to get out of view.

(there's also this shot where mulder is like. smoldering. and she's behind him and man. height difference content i really really do love you and your work <3)

our crazed ex-postman climbs a tower at a college and is gonna start shooting but he's also hallucinating and laughing maniacally which i described in my notes as "entering his joker era"

mulder runs up and prevents a shootout using some handy jujitsu. neeeeed to see if this man is a black belt. for character driven purposes.

but he says that he knows the guy can't stop and overall it's an eerie situation because you can tell the pesticides are still in his brain as well. and his arm is bleeding again and this makes the other guy go into overdrive.

um. okay.

crisis averted...?

well, you sure would like to think that, wouldn't you? but the episode ends with mulder calling scully, and then HE sees more evil stuff in his phone! and it fades to blackness as her voice is heard through the speaker...

(i love that she knew it was him immediately. despite the silence. and that her train of thought went from "it's scully" to "mulder is it you?" to "mulder, what's wrong?" talk about a connection!)

hope he doesn't do anything too impulsive...

in conclusion: my very surface level interpretation of this episode was that it was warning us to not be controlled by technology, which i'm sure felt more relevant back in the day. but now that i have to click "don't sell my data" when i browse flavors of soup for sale online, i think we might just no longer be the target audience. or maybe it's even more relevant! an argument could be made both ways.

down with pesticides, though! i can get behind that! when's the last time you saw a bee? bring them back!

[sometipsygnostalgic]

still only 4 minutes into s2e4 but...

i refuse to say arcane s2 is "bad" because queer animation is being shot behind the shed right now, we're not going to see anything like this again in a very long time. but of the three and a bit eps ive seen so far, it's all been... Things Happen, instead of characters driving events.

the jinx scenes have been incredible, she's definitely the highlight, i love the warmer approach they've taken with her and the other lady working together, it feels natural, but everything involving the other characters feels so rushed and hollow.

specifically it seems every cait and vi scene has a budget of nothing. half of it is fairly cheap montages and everything seems to be exposited instead of naturally shown. like yeah they did a good job of showing why cait so desperately wants to shoot jinx. and i thought the reveal that the previously shown poison gas was the cops was great! but since then it just seems like we're not allowed to get into their heads.

like, why does vi NOT want to be an enforcer? why is it then enough for a couple of nice cops to talk to her? though i can infer she feels responsibility for the attack that ambessa the other underground gang performed on the event later. also who the fuck is the cop with the shield? what is his deal? but we don't get time in vi's head. we don't see her revolving all these thoughts around, she changes her mind about stuff in split second moments because there's no time.

and cait. she is the worst offender by far. her reactions seem very extreme because they need to be, not because being extreme is any sort of established part of her character. I am constantly comparing Cait to Glimmer from She-ra, but that's because everything Cait's doing here is exactly how Glimmer reacted after the Horde got her mum killed, except Glimmer had all that darkness as a pre-established part of her, and they spent a long time showing it being encouraged by Shadow Weaver. Meanwhile with Cait, a good hearted cop who has shown NO desire for corruption or power thirst... she's turning on her friends immediately, and we are TOLD that Ambessa is leading her astray, we are never SHOWN this. It's very clear this is because there needs to be a plot, not because any care is being given to Cait as a character. It's very disappointing.

i do love that scene in s2e1 with jayce carrying viktor to the room to save him. the way that was shot, with us watching present and immediate future jayce react to viktor's body, it was amazing. that is a great example of cinematography and storytelling without dialogue - he was so terrified!!!

i have no idea what's going on in viktor's head now though. we've spent very little time with him. to me it seems like he's being brainwashed with an image of the assistant who was killed, a lot like the one guy from Scavenger's Reign who was brainwashed by the fat alien with a hallucination of his dead wife. but we only get a 3 second glimpse of this whereas Scavenger's Reign spends many episodes on it.

Ekko may as well not exist at the moment.

[luckydicekirby]

too short for ao3 but lu guang vs dramatic irony, for me, as a treat. s2 spoilers!

After Cheng Xiaoshi ate most of the congratulations-you’re-finally-free-of-the-hospital cake and Qiao Ling had abandoned them both to run errands, he managed to finally coax Lu Guang to come sit on the couch with him. Cheng Xiaoshi tipped onto his back, his legs dangling over the side and his head butting up against Lu Guang’s thigh. Even from this angle, he still looked drawn and serious, the way he had the entire afternoon.

“Hey, Lu Guang.”

Lu Guang just looked down at him, raising an eyebrow. Cheng Xiaoshi had missed him so much for the past month. They’d been in the same hospital, but there were always nurses and doctors and cops coming and going. There was no time to really talk about everything that had happened. Cheng Xiaoshi spent the whole time sure of what he wanted to say when he finally had the chance, and now he was here and he didn’t know where to start.

That was a lie. He knew exactly where to start, so fine, he’d do it. He said, “There’s something I need to tell you.” 

“Okay.” Lu Guang was steady as always. Calm, and firm, and here. Cheng Xiaoshi had thought about it a lot in the hospital: coming back to the shop and Lu Guang being gone, forever. Never hearing his solemn voice, never being scolded, never pulling those small secret smiles out of him ever again. Knowing he’d had it once and then let it slip out of his grasp. Knowing he could reach out and take it back.

Cheng Xiaoshi stretched a hand out and laid his fingers lightly over Lu Guang’s side, the place where Li Tianchen had stabbed him. Now it was just a scar, a story from the past, like a photograph. He said, “I wanted to fix it.”

Lu Guang just stared down at him blankly, like he didn’t understand, so Cheng Xiaoshi kept going: “I thought you were dead. I really, really thought you were dead, and I wanted you back, Lu Guang, I looked at the photo and I knew exactly what to do—it wouldn’t even be hard! I wouldn’t have had you in my ear telling me I couldn’t. How was I supposed to stop myself if you weren’t there? You’re supposed to stop me from doing something stupid, Lu Guang, that’s the whole point!” 

He could see it in Lu Guang’s face, the way his eyes went wide and his nostrils flared: he understood now. He said, “But you didn’t.” 

Lu Guang was still as stone above him. Usually when he was pissed at Cheng Xiaoshi he nearly vibrated with it. This was different, like he was holding himself back. 

“You weren’t really dead.” Cheng Xiaoshi flattened his palm to Lu Guang’s ribs. Lu Guang’s eyes were fixed on his hand, where Cheng Xiaoshi could feel the movement of him breathing a little too fast. “I knew you wouldn’t want me to. I knew it wasn’t right. But if you were really gone, who knows what I would have done?” He tightened his fingers over Lu Guang’s shirt. “So don’t do that again, Lu Guang. Don’t make me stop myself. I don’t like it. I suck at it.”

He started to sit up, but Lu Guang put a hand to his chest and kept him pressed down against the couch. His voice was rough when he said, “Stop talking.” 

Cheng Xiaoshi opened his mouth, because that had never once worked on him, and Lu Guang wrapped a hand in his hair and bent down to kiss him quiet.

The angle was bad, and the shocked noise Cheng Xiaoshi made was not cute or dignified. Lu Guang didn’t seem to care. His grip was tight against the back of Cheng Xiaoshi’s skull, cradling him almost violently, and his nails were digging into his chest. It hurt a little; Cheng Xiaoshi didn’t hate it. 

Lu Guang’s face was still so serious when he let him go. Cheng Xiaoshi reached up, pushing at his furrowed brow with one finger. 

“Wow,” he said. He could feel himself smiling. “So all I had to do was admit to wanting to break the laws of the universe for you? I thought you would at least call me an idiot.” 

Lu Guang said, “Stop talking.” Cheng Xiaoshi laughed, and let Lu Guang make him.

[magniloquent-raven]

i've seen a lot of AUs messing around with what happened between Billy and Steve at the end of s2, like, what if Billy had seen the demodog, what if they made out instead of beat the shit out of each other, what if Steve hadn't lied about Max, etc. etc.

and i mean, it's not like i've read every harringrove fanfic so maybe this has actually been written before, but it just occurred to me that i've never seen someone explore what might have happened if Billy had just showed up at the Byers' like twenty minutes earlier. before everyone else left.

i just think it would be interesting because Billy has a habit of keeping his attitude mostly in check around adults, and the fact that one of those adults is a cop might keep him even more in check, so the chances of him getting violent would be much lower. but despite him being less likely to lose his shit, there's also NO chance he'd actually listen if he was told to leave without Max. and i doubt Max would be cool with leaving, no matter how angry she knows Billy is getting (maybe in part BECAUSE she knows he's already pissed, the last thing she wants is to get into a car with him right now).

the whole thing would be SO sus, because everyone would be trying to stop him from going inside but he can see Max and her friends peeking through a broken window while the goddamn chief of police tries to run interference without actually telling him anything. he'd be so stubborn about the whole thing. pretending to be polite, but not blinking an eye when Hop starts implying he's going to arrest Billy for trespassing if he doesn't back down, and Joyce has to get involved, being a mom about it, trying to convince Billy that Max is safe and he doesn't have to worry and she can call Susan if that would help.

so when nothing they say to Billy actually makes a difference they start to wonder if they should just send Max home with him, and Mike has started to get snippy with her about it, saying she should just go because if her brother ruins everything it'll be her fault, but Lucas is adamant that letting Max leave with him would be a bad idea.

and somewhere in between all the arguing Billy shoves his way into the house, where there's still a demodog dead on the floor, and Will's art project on the walls, and Will himself, knocked out in the next room. which is all very weird, but Billy's kind of on a mission here. so him and Max get into it. he can't go after Lucas this time, not with a cop twenty feet away. they just argue. loudly. angrily.

until Billy has had enough, he can't keep pretending he isn't on pins and needles, hasn't been keyed up since his confrontation with Neil. and he has to hit something. anything. nearby. he punches a dent in the nearest wall.

and it freaks El out. and something explodes.

which is just one too many weird things for Billy to ignore.

Steve steps in at the same time Hopper does, both of them unsure how Billy is going to react. except he kind of. doesn't. he's freaked out, and confused, and still angry, but he also looks just as unsure as they are.

they don't really explain it to him. not all of it. he glares at everyone in the room while they give him the stilted cliffnotes version and he doesn't seem to believe any of it.

when Joyce and Hopper leave with their respective teams, Billy gets left behind with Steve and the kids. Steve's half sure he's going to grab Max and drive off the second they can't see tail-lights anymore, and given the way Max is bracing herself, she seems to think so too.

he doesn't. he lights up a cigarette and sits on the couch by himself, ignoring everyone's uneasy stares while they sweep up glass and wood splinters.

and i mean from there it would be both harder and easier to get the kids to the tunnels lmao. could go either way but i figure Billy volunteering to drive the children to their death just because Steve was so adamant it was a bad idea would not be entirely out of character for him. and he's still not convinced any of this is real, so maybe he wants to see it for himself. and maybe he's still itching for some action. if there is some crazy shit down there...well, if he's dead he won't have to explain to Neil how bad he fucked up, so there's that.

(and on a related note i kind of love the idea that Billy would be shit at fighting monsters. like they just freak him out and he can't do it. so he goes down there into the tunnels all sure of himself and confident because he knows he can fight but the second they run into trouble he freezes up and Steve has to save his ass. which totally doesn't turn him on at all, shut up)

[crazykuroneko]

Rewind the Tape — IWTV S1E04 Rewatch

Finally, I'm back with my rewatch for @iwtvfanevents after having to microdosing Ep 4 because of limited time, mood, and I just fell unconscious once I hit my bed. Again, FYI from before: this is my first time rewatching the show (excluding indirect watch through YouTube reactions), and its purpose for me to refresh my mind and noticing things. So, I won't dwell on certain ongoing or past theories, but I'll take notes about the possibilities I notice as the rewatch goes for myself. Also, disclaimer, because I've had people put words into my mouth before: When I'm assuming the reason a certain character does what they do, it's not to give them an excuse. It's my way of trying to understand what the writers have in their minds. For me, if the action of a character doesn't make sense in that character's eyes, based on their personality, then it's bad writing.

Okay, that's long enough. Be careful with the S2 spoiler alerts. Time to meet ✨ Claudia✨

• It's been 10 years since Daniel published a book and his publisher seems questioning his ability to write a book.

• Armand barely gets any sunlight here.

• *Googling* Levodopa is used to reduce Parkinson's symptoms, like tremors, stiffness, and slowness, which are caused by lack of dopamine. It works by being converted to dopamine in brain.

• "Electronic mailbox" Armand, you're so funny.

• Resting? Wait, have they ever did an interview during mornings before? Ep 1, it's night. Ep 2, during dinner time to late at night. Okay, it seems Ep 3 starts in the day to night. Gonna pay attention to this more. 

• The interior designer is a woman. "Louis is missing the 'natural' world" What tree is that again? I'm bad with plants.

• Claudia wrote her name and the year on her first diary. Cute. (But ofc she probably stopped doing that after Loustat read her diaries)

• They arrived in Paris November 14, 1945. A week after Lestat's birthday, fyi. There's a headcanon Armand's (it seems people got it from a wikia, which was taken from an official calendar, but no one has checked that calendar) is November 11. 

• They're in Ploiesti in 1941, eating POWs.

• My caption doesn't write it, but Lestat says, "Impossible. Elle est trop jeune." (She's too young) Oh, Louis 😔

• "I just need her not to die". And Lestat probably recalled Louis crying on their bed over not able to have a child, and there they went to doom themselves and Claudia. Anything (because unlike Louis, he knows all the consequences) to keep Louis happy AND stay with him. 

• The contrast between Louis' and Claudia's transformation. Lestat doesn't let her to drink much, just enough to turn her. There's no gentleness or anything when Lestat holds her. In fact, the camera stays on his rough hold, highlighting the ugliness of it. Isn't in the books being turned without consent seen akin to rape? 

• "Hell demons" lol. I wonder when she got his first diary and when she arrived at that conclusion. 

• "It's my new house?" "It is if you want it to be" as if she has another option. Louis, you're so funny. 

• Delaying to tell Claudia that she needs to feed on humans. Telling her there's another "choice" than eating humans. Expecting Claudia to feel regret the next day after killing a human. Louis, stop putting your own feelings in her.

• "He has to relay on my words to understand me. Just like humans." "We are a family?" Monsters who have to keep a bit of humanity to get along, who are also playing house like humans.

• You could tell Lestat is already sensitive about being left out in the telepathic conversation since the beginning.

• Claudia witnessing queer relationship for the first time is so amusing lol

• Claudia says ACAB 😌

• This scene doesn't feel "smooth" to me. I don't know if it's the editing or the writing. First, that last line by the cop is too long for such a short action. Second, i think they could pick a better intonation for "not a cop" there. Plus, the placement makes it feel like they almost forgot to put it. 

• Claudia needs twice amount of blood than Loustat. She's still energetic when the sleep time comes. Noted. 

• "Kill juice" Lestat and Claudia are bonding over vampirism.

• "Have you seen my slippers?" "Under the chair by the window" The domesticity uwu.

• The lines about Lestat talking about Claudia's writing habit are so witty when you remember he canonly writes the Vampire Chronicles books. A platonic kiss for IWTV writers again.

• Claudia's new coffin is called The Feathered Nest. A call back to Louis saying him in Lestat's nest in Ep 2. 

• Since the beginning, Claudia likes to ask and figure out things that she doesn't know, while Louis won't say anything to not rock the boat.

• "We try to accustom her to the thought of coming home to God" Oh gosh, Louis is so bad at lying 😭

• Okay, seriously. We know in Ep 2, after Louis is just turned that /at least/ his sight and hearing becomes more sensitive. And in this episode, Claudia can smell the cop's blood from afar. But this lore doesn't consistent with the stinky bodies at their home in Ep 5 and the fact Claudia can stalk Lestat many times (and ofc Claudia and Louis at Antoinette's place in Ep 6 as well). This uncontinuity gives me a headache. OR after they manage to control their senses (Lestat's saying "focus on my voice, a single strain"), their senses basically become normal and only can do more when they willing it? I'm trying to make sense of it here.

• "I miss sleeping with you." So, in good days, they sleep together in Louis' coffin. They /probably/ haven't been doing it since Antoinette thing started (I mean, I wouldn't). That's 8 months. (The sanctioned infidelity narration is on Feb 1917, Claudia started to write her diary in late Sept 1917 and she still sleeps with Louis by that time. Based on this timeline)

• "Sometimes, you gotta be careful where you dig, you understand?" Not to fast forward to S2, but this sounds so ominous. 

• Louis in the night with this pink striped shirt 🥰

• "Is that what he's up to when he goes out alone?" No wonder stalking Lestat is the first thing she does after Charlie. 

• Do I believe Louis' answer is true? I do, because writing-wise, I don't see there's any reason for Lestat to cheat (as in having a relationship with someone else, because I could see him still making out with humans before eating them) when they keep spending their time together except when Lestat is hunting and Louis and Claudia go out together like in this scene. Plus, unlike in Ep 6, during this era Claudia still follows the no telepathic talking rule. (See: Claudia's "I'll tell Uncle Les you talk to me this way" later) Something, I assume, makes Lestat feel alienated from the two and goes to cheat to find a connection with another on his own. But I digress.

• "Used to caught up in human affairs. Then you."

• Okay, at least Daniel waits Armand to finish his sunnah prayer before interrupting him, though Armand should continue doing his Ashr prayer soon. Anyway, i wish they used adhan that's clearer. I mean, I could only listen the beginning of each phrase, not the end.

• Claudia throwing a thing at Lestat and he barely reacted and proceed to pick it off the floor right away. For a period of time, Claudia is indeed the queen in that house. "This was given to me by a marquis..." If that's from Lestat's father, which makes that a family heirloom, and he gave that to Claudia. That means big for a Provider man like Lestat. (hashtag me and Lestat loved Claudia once propaganda) They are supposed to have 6 years of "good time".

• "When they can't (figuring out their problems), I can always get between them and make it right." Claudia is literally a band-aid. I suppose she helps them communicating because as I said in previous episodes, Loustat tend to not address the real problem, just shift to something that will make them feel better and forget it until it comes up again.

• *S2 spoiler alert* No, never think about how Claudia's interest in acting probably grew from the times Loustat bringing her to watch picture shows and Lestat acting them out in front of them. And in the end, it's what makes her fall into the trap of the troupe easier in S2. No, we're fine.

• "Know what her last words are?" I love her psychopath side, obsessing over last words after being called a devil in one.

• Oh, Grace's inflection when saying "uncle". They have heard a lot of homophobic jabber and satanic accusations from Florence over the years, no doubt. 

• This is from Claudia's POV, so it's interesting how she's paying attention and remembers to write it down. 

• Louis really has put down his dutiful son and brother "hat" after having a family himself.

• I think this is probably the last time Claudia admits she has a lot in common with Lestat *insert xie lian's idk whether i have to cry or laugh here*

• That scene of Claudia eating the guy is so classic horror, complete with the blood splatter on glass. Love.

• Lestat really brings her to Lovers' Lane without thinking about the effects. He probably thinks because her appetite stays big like a kid, her mind will stay like that forever. 

• "I don't remember buying that outfit" Lestat bought all Claudia's outfits ofc. (I don't regard interviews as part of canon, but Sam did say that Louis chose Claudia's outfits)

• My theory: Lestat could notice when Claudia and Louis telepathically speaking if he pays attention to their expressions. I mean, he clearly has a thing for being alienated by telepathic connection (for a good reason, if they adapt that part of the book, cmiiw), so it makes sense if he just can tell. 

• THE HORSE IS CALLED BELLA LOL

• She really has a crush on the first good man she meets. So adorable, if not for her monologue 

• She knocks the railing every time she walks towards Loustat's room? Oh I would like to know the backstory that causes this rule/habit 👀. But if it's a rule, it's an interesting when you recall Lestat's "Child. Intervening the romance of the parents" or something like that in Ep 6.

• Waiting on balcony just like her father in Ep 1. The writers are strong with their "Evil of my evil" propaganda.

• Claudia figures out how to block people's thoughts since teenager. Louis has never had a reason to do it

• Again, Claudia is such a curious girl. She dives right in with Charlie

• Sorry, but the editing in this episode is kinda sloppy. I keep noticing things 😭

• This connection Claudia has with last words. It's been awhile but I wonder if we'll get to see it again. *S2 spoiler alert* Perhaps Madeleine says something to her before you-know-what. Or Claudia says something to Louis instead. I just love patterns yknow. 

• Daniel Hart is just slaying in the background with his music. 

• Vampires feel "loose" when they're aroused, which leads to become very bitey.

• That's why she goes to find out how vampirism works right away. Suddenly Lestat can't do what he did to her. She realizes she knows nothing about her current life

• That scene of Lestat and Claudia at the incinerator... Past Louis doesn't know they're burning Charlie and what exactly what Lestat says there. Imagine reading the latter in her diary.

• The transition from Lestat's whole speech about not being close to a mortal to Daniel 🤌🤌🤌

• If Daniel is true that Louis has had all of the diaries in '70s, so my guess Louis doesn't look fine at all in the flashback is right. He's "wearing hats" again.

• I wonder what Louis wanted to say. But knowing him and judging from his reaction to Daniel's brashness, it's something that sugarcoats  Claudia's position in their "family"

• The way Claudia knocks the railing but then it goes weaker, she doesn't really care about the houserules or childish habits anymore 

• The last scene is a nice hint/nod to you-know-what, but also I once read someone saying that what she does is the equivalent of a teenager doing self-harming when they're depressed, and I can't unsee that anymore. I think that's a spot-on.

• This is the last episode we hear "In Throes in Increasing Wonder" as a closing music btw. You know, the music that represent Loustat's love. They really say we're going downhill 

Summary:

For the previous episodes, I always finished my rewatch and tried to figure out what theme of that episode. Of course it's always about Louis because this is Louis' season first and foremost. But for the theme of this episode, I think it's: Louis' first meeting with Claudia and the first time he has failed her. The first part is obvious, the second part, like I said above, Louis only finds how far Lestat's action is to Claudia after he reads her diaries later. I think, he sees that as his first failure to her; unable to stop Lestat making it worse for her.  And we will see Claudia criticize this more in Ep 6.

This episodes also shows Louis' misconception about Claudia. He expects Claudia to react the same way to vampirism as he is. And we will see more of this in the later episodes (but of course the most obvious one is in Ep 7)

This episode is in Claudia's POV, but I like to call it "the closest thing to ideal life Louis has ever gotten", at least until Charlie happens. Like Lestat says in the church scene, Louis wears a lot of "hats": being the good son and good executive in charge of their fortune for his family, being the good straight man, being the good savvy businessman for his family and his own people, and later being a good vampire for Lestat. This time, he gets to take most of them, if not all, off and focus himself wholly on Claudia and Lestat, his family. He says himself, Claudia's existense silences all the noise, chaos, the crisis of his former existence. He has a daughter who has literal telepathic connection to him, someone who can know what he feels without saying anything. Someone by whom he doesn't feel being judged because he can know what she thinks. He has a husband who spends most of his time with them as a family. Who takes their daughter together to shop, Louis choosing the stuffs, Lestat paying for it. Who protects their family when they need to fulfill their daughter's needs (see: the buying coffin scene). Who also has a quality time with their daughter, even though it's mostly about killing humans. Unfortunately, it's rigged to burn, because Claudia won't be a child forever despite her body, outgrowning the very particular role Loustat need from her to maintain their play house.

Oh, I almost forgot, I wonder what the arrangement is with Louis' diet during this happy period. He doesn't do as much action as he did in previous episodes and we do see him eating animals still, but it looks like his sex life is thriving. He has control over his emotions pretty well. So, I assume he doesn't starve himself completely. At least, not as bad as he did before. Perhaps, this is one of the problems Claudia says she has "to smooth out". Though we know later she has never said directly to Louis how she actually doesn't completely agree with his diet choice from Episode 7. *S2 spoiler alert* And we know he later decides to eat human every other day to survive their European trip. My long time theory is Lestat manipulates him into drinking from him at least once a week as a solution. (and that's why he's more powerful than his book counterpart when he's not completely starving himself) 🤔

By the way, since this is the middle of the season, I'd like to say I think this is overall my least favorite episode so far. Mostly from the technical side, but I still love how they sprinkle hints of Claudia's own personality. I think my most favorite episode overall is Ep 1. I just love how their built Louis' personality in it. The performance is crazy, and the directing set the tone of the rest of the season. The directing in Ep 3 is top notch as well, especially towards the end. You really could feel the growing tension. The writing weaving all this history and race problem into Louis' personal life is genius as well.

[grandhoff]

Murdoch Mysteries rewatch/catch up from the beginning - part 4

S2 EP4

- Can we acknowledge how dishy the actor for Houdini is?

- Brackenreid is suspicious of anything that is unknown, also doesn't like magicians & illusionists

- Julia, having a sister 👀👀👀, seems to me the Doctor is not keen on her sister being about

- just because Harry is a flamboyant trickster doesn't mean he is guilty

- Ruby is an interesting one, wooing Crabtree but causing threats by Murdoch, my word

- WILLIAM, YOU WILL CONTROL YOUR THOUGHTS GOOD SIR

- George is a bad liar, and William made a mistake in getting between the Ogden sisters

S2 EP5

- why is our dear detective so familiar with a madam?

- this case is going to be so difficult with all those uppercrust men

- literally fuck the temperance league

- I think the judge is just a desperate fool, the artist is a bit fishy but more a wet blanket

- FINALLY A DATE - AND WILLIAM DRINKING, WITH A WOMAN NO LESS

- WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT THE TEMPERANCE LEAGUE

S2 EP6

- not a great look to begin bleeding from the eyes

- the fact that it was Henry that caught the doctor and detective, I can't

- I love how Brackenreid knows all the underworld, very chummy with them

- William Murdoch is one of the most jealous men you can find in the entire Victorian world

- William turned this whole case into a personal brigade and may have destroyed his relationship because of it

- the fact that both George and Brackenreid didn't bat an eye at the abortioniats et Al. Just shows that the cool cops are the ones with more wild pasts

S2 EP7

- the vibes in the room between W and J are soo off

- eyyyyy it's Gillies! Him and his weirdo friend just stalking Murdoch and friends over their investigation

- the victim was a peeper, but make it consistent

- Poor George, going from no mom's to two moms in less than a day

- Perry is bad at lying, I would never trust him with my crime

- we love a fake murder, sad it was poor Georgie

- Brackenreid is very good at sussing out the big criminals, mainly the crazy ones

- applied physics is fun, and William lighting up upon academic approval is adorable.

20/163

The show is just William solving crimes and putting his foot in his mouth. That's it. That's the show.

[nicnacsnonsense]

can i ask why you thought ofmd s2 was bad? unrelated to you disliking it, i mean.

Oh Nonny. I could write you a 10000 word essay on the problems I see in OFMD s2 and still have much more to say. I am currently sitting on nearly six hours of footage going episode by episode detailing issues I see and the corrections I would make and why, and that still doesn’t fix everything. And part of the issue is all these things are so interconnected that it is hard to sit here and make a brief list of problems because it all feeds back into each other. What I will try to do here is list some of the broad topics of where I see issues, and you or anyone can ask follow up questions if you would like more info.

1) Character arcs

With the exception of the mini arc Ed goes through across the first three episodes, which is generally very well done, none of the characters go through any sort of satisfying coherent arc throughout the season. I count Ed’s reconciliation with the crew & retirement arcs, Stede’s manliness arc, Izzy’s “redemption” arc, Lucius’s trauma arc, and the arc related to Olu and his romantic relationships, all of which were poorly done.

2) Antagonists

Much like in s1, s2 has 3 characters seemingly set up to be major antagonists. However in this case none of these antagonists live up to their set up or potential at all. Ned gets killed off the same episode he’s introduced in and ceases to matter as a character after that, Ricky is a complete nothing of a character, and Zheng drops all the compelling themes and contrasts to Stede and the looming threat of her fleet to actually be our friend who we like now. And the plot that these antagonists deliver is underwhelming to say the least.

3) Humor

One thing the first season handled really well was the balance of the humor and the more emotional moments and more serious subjects. It was always careful about who or what it was making the butt of the joke. It did sometimes delve into slapstick or otherwise make a joke out of things that should have been painful or otherwise traumatizing but it didn’t generally ask you to laugh at trauma and certainly never invited you to laugh at trauma that you were at other times supposed to take seriously.

Another issue with the humor I have in this season is that there are a number of jokes that exist at the expense of characterization. The first season did have the occasional one liner that maybe didn’t totally fit in with the character, but this season has multiple extended joke sequences that bend characterization in order to work, which ultimately sucks a lot of the potential humor out of it.

4) Themes

This one is a bit of a odd one out in that in a different show I would not count it as point against the show that it fails to have meaningful themes. But the first season of OFMD set the standard for the show as one that does have a lot to say about things like trauma and recovery and emotional support, about masculinity and toxic masculinity and patriarchy, about racism and colonialism and white supremacy. Season 2 seems vaguely aware that it is a show that is supposed to have themes along those lines, but largely fails to incorporate them beyond the occasional wink at the camera and often ends up perpetuating the same things that the first season was trying to criticize.

5) Just the writing in general?

I realize this is kind of a cop out, but yeah. There’s just a pervasive problem with the writing throughout that’s hard to put into specific boxes. Set ups with no or underwhelming pay off, pay off with no set ups, characterization frequently feeling a bit off, characters lacking a clear motive for their behavior, and a tendency to jump from big emotional moment to big emotional moment where each individual moment is well done but there is a serious lack of connective tissue in between or even consideration for how these emotional moments reflection on each other.

Hopefully that helps give you an idea of what some of my issues are Nonny; like I said I can offer more specifics on any of these points on request.

[bronx-bomber87]

We are ten Eps in! Thank you all for your continued interest. Still surprises me so thank you all :)

1x10 Flesh and blood

Not really an ep with Chenford. BUT it’s a very good Lucy episode. Adore any Lucy driven episode she’s a BAMF as we all know. Love my girl. Fantastic look into her development as character. Also the intro of Angela/Wes. So let’s dig in.

I LOVE that the Captain decides to ride with Lucy. She seems so shocked she has been chosen. While Tim is so good for her, she also needs strong female presence in her training as well. Harper says it best in s2 about her needing that. But we will get there haha With this ep we see no one is more of a BAMF example for Lucy than Captain Anderson. Naturally Tim gives Lucy a hard time for riding with the Capt. making her even more nervous than she already is. Telling her what a weight that'll carry for her all day.

Poor Lucy doing what both Talia and Tim say. Who is she to say no? Both of them are T.O.’s and authority figures to her. Lucy is all jitters for riding with Anderson, so naturally she doesn't stand up for herself but the Capt does.

Capt. Coming in making them get their own gear is hilarious. She puts them both in their place for using her. I love that she does all of this in front of Lucy. Showing her that strength and leadership by calling them out and having them relieve her.

Lucy isn’t mad about it at all. The look on her face is priceless for couple reasons. One She is impressed watching Anderson do her thing by telling them what to do. Second you know she’s enjoying seeing Tim be ordered around like that haha. Especially since it’s for her benefit. Good day to be Lucy Chen haha

Lucy and the Capt get their first call. It’s where we learn she knows how to speak Farsi. What a BAMF. She attempts to talk down a bickering married couple in Farsi. The background behind her as a character is so rich. Truly think she was such an amazing Capt and character. Bummer we don’t get to keep her long. We learn she escaped a bad marriage as well from the call they take. Love what she tells the wife. ‘We can’t control how others are going to react.’ If that ain't the damn truth.

Lucy hears cop cars outside and goes to check it out. Jackson decided to bring in the cavalry, even though Lucy gave the all clear over the radio. Her chewing Jackson out is amazing. The way she legit destroys him for coming is epic. Whew don’t mess with that woman. She’s spicy haha Jackson leaves with his tail between his legs and goes back out on patrol.

After he's left Lucy blames herself for letting the husband upstairs. Where he killed himself. She won’t let Lucy carry that burden though. Her reply to Lucy when she says she let him get away is perfect. ‘Yes you did. But he’s not dead because of that.’

So begins Wopez, they’re so fiery right away. It’s amazing haha this dude has it right. Digging on each other yelling so close. Got that chemistry and fire right off the bat haha

Poor Lucy is having a rough day. First she lets the husband go on their first call. Now she’s let her captain get hit in the face cause she ducks. All her fears she had from this morning coming to life. Tim’s words coming to haunt her.

Minute they get back to station Lucy apologies for ducking. Anderson isn’t even a little mad. Lets her know she should’ve ducked. That she’s a little rusty it seems. Zoe goes on to tell Lucy she was an MP for the marines. Thats how we find out she learned Farsi from that. Lucy is so very impressed. It’s written all over her face.

So nice for her to have such a bad ass role model. Lucy says she should tell everyone her history. If they knew she wouldn’t have cops flying in to save her. We get the best line of the scene. ‘You don’t tell people you’re a bad ass Officer Chen. You just gotta show em.’

She continues her bad ass streak with an unhinged and recently released criminal. He is asking her what he would have to do in order to go back inside. She doesn't reply how he likes so he takes a hostage. Says he's going to kill her so he can go back in for life. Capt tries to talk him down best she can. He doesn’t listen to her at all. She distracts him by asking why he has his safety on if he's so hardened. It takes him by surprise enough that she takes his ass down all by her onesies. We find out after there was no safety and she charged a live weapon. Hence the bad ass continuation.

The scene is lightened up by Tim’s skunked ass walking into the lobby LOL They’re all so disgusted by the smell. His face is priceless as he walks away. He too is having quite the day without Lucy LMFAO.

Lucy comes to see Capt Zoe at the end of shift. Telling her how grateful she was for today, that she learned so much but she’s sorry if she let her down at all. i.e. the husband, getting hit etc.

She really needs to hear this and from her amazing captain no less. Tim is so good for her but she also needs that affirmation as well. The thing Lucy lacks the most in the beginning is confidence. That she’s good at this job, has amazing potential and is impressive. So impressive her captain decided to go on patrol with her over all the other rookies. Over the legacy and over the Rookie she hand picked for her station.

She has a long road ahead of her no doubt. Her arc into the character she is now is incredible. To watch her go from a doubtful non confident person into who she is now is a delight. Anderson sees the same things Tim does in her. The relief on her face is so evident. Especially when she says she’d ride with her any day. ❤️

Twas such a good ep for Lucy. No Chenford to be seen sadly but a really good ep none the less. Definitely not lacking in entertainment value. I do love the show as a whole for a reason. Well that’s all she wrote for 1x10 feel free to comment/like/reblog. So appreciate those of you who do. Make my whole day.

Also I Couldn't find some gifs in the Library no matter the combinations I tried to save my life LOL even 'The Rookie 1x10' came up with Nothing it was insane. So here is the link to the sets I took it from. The ones without credit below the gifs in my review all belong to the link below :) It has both sets I used. Thank you for your amazing sets hopeful this never happens again for future reviews, love crediting via the library. Also thank you to for the still I used as well :)

Per usual please feel free to comment/like/reblog should you chose to do that. Appreciate everyone thats been on this ride with me, I shall see you all in 1x11

[crustose]

The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, reordered to fit Steddyhands timeline

Pet Sounds is about Stede, Ed, and Izzy. and here's the proof. Listen on Spotify

Wouldn't It Be Nice

Ed/Izzy, Hornigold era. Encapsulates the joy of finding each other, while yearning for better times. Hoping that one day they’ll have it, if they just hold on for a little while longer.  

Wouldn't it be nice if we could wake up In the morning when the day is new? After having spent the day together Hold each other close the whole night through But happy times together we've been spending I wish that every kiss was never-ending Oh, wouldn't it be nice?

You know it seems the more we talk about it It only makes it worse to live without it

Discussing mutiny, building Blackbeard, together. Longing for the kind of life that isn’t ruled by Hornigold any longer.

I Just Wasn't Made for These Times

Ed “It’s all so fuckin’ boring’ Teach

Every time I get the inspiration To go change things around No one wants to help me look for places Where new things might be found Where can I turn when my fair weather friends cop out? What's it all about?

I Know There's an Answer

Co-Captains? Co-Captains. 

I know so many people who think they can do it alone They isolate their heads and stay in their safety zones

Now how can I come on And tell them the way that they live could be better? [Traditionally, piracy is a culture of abuse, floggings, keelhaulings. And my thought is, "Why?” And also, what if it wasn't like that?]

Here Today 

Izzy, warning Ed against Stede. 

It starts with just a little glance now Right away you're thinkin' 'bout romance now You know you ought to take it slower But you just can't wait to get to know her A brand new love affair is such a beautiful thing But if you're not careful think about the pain it can bring

It makes you feel so bad It makes your heart feel sad It makes your days go wrong It makes your nights so long

Izzy, warning Stede against Ed

Right now you think that she's perfection This time is really an exception Well, you know I hate to be a downer But I'm the guy she left before you found her Well, I'm not saying you won't have a good love with her But I keep on remembering things like they were

That's Not Me

Stede leaves, thinking he’s doing the right thing for everyone. Once he reckons with that, he can return with the confidence that he loves Ed, and that the Revenge is home. 

I had to prove that I could make it alone now But that's not me I wanted to show how independent I'd grown now But that's not me I could try to be big in the eyes of the world What matters to me is what I could be to just one girl [Ed Teach btw]

I'm a little bit scared 'cause I haven't been home in a long time [Stede talking to Ed’s wanted poster] You needed my love and I know that I left at the wrong time

I'm Waiting for the Day 

Stede/Ed/Izzy, at various points. They were there for each other, bridging those times when various iterations of the three of them were broken up. 

I kissed your lips and when your face looked sad It made me think about him and that you still loved him so [S2 Stede to Ed and Izzy, separately] You didn't think, no, that I could sit around and watch him take yo You didn't think that I could sit back and let you go

Izzy, S1, hoping that the duel would get Ed back.

Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder) 

Ed/Izzy. Those first moments of reconciliation, when it’s just the two of them. They can’t really talk about it, not yet, but they can sit together, shoulder to shoulder [well, shoulder to upper arm more like], hands gently clasped, and just be. 

I can hear so much in your sighs And I can see so much in your eyes There are words we both could say Come close, close your eyes and be still Don't talk, take my hand and let me hear your heart beat

Sloop John B

Stede/Izzy, that night that Ed left. Stede’s excitement at being respected as a real pirate, giving way to his anxiety over Ed. Izzy helps him through it. 

Around Nassau town we did roam Drinkin' all night Got into a fight Well, I feel so broke up I wanna go home Call for the captain ashore, let me go home

You Still Believe in Me 

Ed/Izzy. Ed’s wonder and gratitude that Izzy, against all odds, stays. 

Every time we break up, you bring back your love to me And after all I've done to you, how can it be You still believe in me

God Only Knows 

Steddyhands. No explanation needed. 

If you should ever leave me Well, life would still go on, believe me The world could show nothing to me So what good would living do me?

[imhereformr]

Winx S2 E14 Battle on Planet Eraklyon

Ah yes... This episode... As you can surely tell, I'm very excited for it

I just noticed in the recap that one of the weird dudes from the last episode had chains in his hands when he cornered the fairies... Dude

What the fuck... I do not remember this scene of Musa walking through an argument and calming them. Seems a little odd for the most hotheaded and argumentative of the winx girls to be the one forcing peace

Holy shit Yoshinoya... Yikes

"What if Sky comes to her rescue?" What about Eraklyons soldiers or police force? 🤨

Diaspro screaming over a dog... Good thing she didn't marry Sky with his (disappeared) beloved dog #justiceforLady

"Because of droughts" Flora you nerd. I love you. More of nerdy Flora please.

No, you know what's rude Tune? Talking over someone! Like you're doing right now! "pixie of manners" 🙄🙄

MUSA'S STANDING LIKE RIVEN AGAIN 😍😍😍

There's an emergency. SERIOUSLY DOES ERAKLYON NOT HAVE AN ARMY OR COPS

To organize a concert? ORGANISE? Faragonda dropped a whole ass concert on her? Does she not know how much work goes into that?

"how primitive" Tune is a fucking hypocrite. Now I don't know anything about etiquette, but as a Canadian politeness is built into me and insulting people like that IS FUCKING RUDE TUNE YOU FAKE ASS BITCH. Tune is now on my list alongside Faragonda. I've got beef with Tune.

"I've got a bad feeling about this. Someone down there needs our help" Uh yeah Sky, you were just talking about some emergency remember?

If Diaspro's father is so influential why can't he pay the ransom? Why does the kingdom need to pay for one man's daughter being a fucking brat?

Sky's angry pose 💀💀💀

Wait where did Musa get that paper from? Did I miss something?

HOLDTHEFUCKUP Brandon and Sky traded places because of threats from Yoshinoya but they decide to go fight his goons JUST THE TWO OF THEM and Sky's parents are totally fine with it because it means he might fall in love with Diaspro???? Even though it also means they might end up with their sons head in an unmarked package that says youre next? Who the fuck let these people be parents let alone in charge of an entire kingdom?

"I ain't got time to hurt" Zing is the best of the pixies.

Brandon is two seconds from never having babies

Is it ever explained why Stormy is at Alfea? Or did they just need a reason for her to want revenge in the next episode?

"Hey I'm not afraid of your justice, I'm rich" Diaspro is an icon.

Once again, Bloom could defeat three crazed witches on the magical equivalent of speed, but she can't take these losers in bad costumes? FFS 🤦🏻‍♀️

The people being swapped need to be about the same height and weight. Well isn't that an awfully convenient moment for Bloom to prove what a good person she is.

"but you don't even like her" 😂 😂 😂

"Youre kind of mean for a hero" "Yeah troubled childhood" STOP I'M FUCKING DYING 😭💀💀😭💀💀

How did Bloom break those restraints? Either she's super strong or Diaspro is weak af

"I'm supposed to marry a prince" No Diaspro, you're gay. You want a princess. I don't make the rules.

Shessofuckingcute. I love her so much.

But seriously tho why was Stormy there?

We all know Bloom wouldn't lose 🤦🏻‍♀️

They're not gonna get very far on Earth 😂

Okay I've never watched this episode more than twice cause it was very Bloom and Sky heavy, but honestly it was fucking hilarious 😂 😂

[alivegirlmari]

cant believe they gave van cancer….need them to find a cure NOW i dont care how many people lottie has to sacrifice and if its her whole cult!

when the exchange rate for Wilderness Brand™️ immediate cancer cure is three men so jeff walter creepy cop all get sliced and diced and van lives forever <3

no but shsjsks the cancer thing…i remember reading those reddit theories and feeling insane like?? why would she have CANCER how are you thinking CANCER based on some pills…would pill addiction not be the first thought…and yet here we are!!!! umm not a massive fan of it tbh. i mean i love this post but like. kinda wished we’d gotten to see more of van before this reveal ngl? especially if she does eventually die? but then the discourse abt this reveal is interesting too cause ive seen some ppl say it’d be worse (in an offensive way, and just bad writing way) if they do a sacrifice and she’s miracly cured, and i guess that would be 100% confirming the supernatural (for lack of better word) side of things rather than keeping it ambiguous since van seems very positive that it’s terminal and no treatment will work. i rly have no horse in this race tbh like i can’t say what’d be better or worse i just don’t want van to die and am willing to reach thru the screen and strangle as many purple people necessary!!!

anyways. i fear lisa may be sacrificed just bc of tawny’s comment abt how people will hate tai by the end of s2 which. not possible <3 but i am trying to think of shocking dark things s2 could end with that also sets up s3 since all the cast keep talking about it that way…what are YOUR (extremely correct) thoughts dearest ‼️🤔

[dayshipper]

I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS

First of all, it looks like we were right with the whole Kiara gets kidnapped theory. I was just thinking that because s1 and 2 took place in such a short time, they might use the time that Kiara is taken to elongate the overall time span of the series. She has a few outfit changes while shes with them, so it seems like she's going to be there for a while.

What's that saying? Absence makes the heart grow fonder? I think we can absolutely bet on JJ having many moments where he outwardly shows just how much he cares for her while she is gone. He is going to be one sad little boy and I am HERE FOR IT 😅😭. I think at some point while she is kidnapped they travel elsewhere and if that's the case, I have this theory that JJ gets anxious thinking that he is moving further away from her rather than towards her. Just a thought. He won't be able to hide his distress from the others so well this season. I mean, look what he got up to when he thought John B was dead. He was drinking at school, got fired and then when he found out that he was in jail, he almost when to jail himself! So I think it's safe to say that JJ is not going to take this very well. I think Kiara being kidnapped is the final straw that will make him properly recognise that his feelings for her go beyond friendship. The ANGST potential is *chefs kiss*

Meanwhile with Kie, when she finally gets rescued, JJ will be the one she sees first and runs to. I think it will somehow be made known to her just how much JJ has done up until that point to rescue her. Their reunion hug will be her moment to realise just how much JJ means to her because she will know the lengths that he has gone to to save her. It looks like he is the first one to reach her.

Cos this still looks like they are all running after him to reunite with her. And imagine what they're thinking seeing them embrace like they never want to let each other go 😭 if the others don't cop on to this, I will riot. Imagine their faces when they finally pull apart, they're going to look all soft for each other UGH

And don't even get me started on this whole situation.

Even if they don't kiss and they get interrupted or it turns into a hug, I don't care because LOOK AT THEM!! The more angst the better in my opinion. It's happening!! It's officially canon there is no denying it!!

The only thing I'm worried about now is that they'll leave s3 on a cliffhanger that I will not be able to live with. S2's cliffhanger wasn't so intense for me and kind of wrapped up quite nicely. I mean, I was still going insane but at least everybody was together and they looked happy where they left them so I hope it's not going to be too bad this time around! This is all I can take for now. I'll be back later with more I'm sure! 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭