#it’s literally a nonissue why am i like this

[jadecantcreate]

sometimes life is “im so happy right now!! everything is great! i cant wait to talk to people for hours and be silly and draw and write and listen to music” and other times it’s “im literally the worst person to ever live im so annoying everyone hates me especially my friends because i sent like three messages and they didnt respond despite being online even though logically there are many reasons to justify that and none of them are ‘they despise me and are too nice to say it’”

yes im doing great thanks for asking

[jvzebel-x]

🦋

[archivalofsins]

I didn't bring this up because I only realize how funny it is now in hindsight, but I showed my nephew Deep Cover. When he asked me what did she do I said without missing a beat,

"She's a fascist." Without explaining more because I literally thought I'd be able to explain more. Plus I cope with people being assholes about an idea by leaning into it further. So I didn't really think about how this would affect him I just said it mindlessly.

But this man hung his head, shook it, looked at the ground and said, "Why'd they make the fascist hot, though?" Then he started disparaging before he just walked out of the room. Like he just couldn't do it anymore. Left then he came back and shook his head again while looking at the screen like, "Damn why they make her bad though. Why she look so good?!"

Me looking at Kotoko in a new light- Internally like

"Damn did I just get used to this? Am I immune because of how much I see you? Like yeah you're gorgeous but damn it's like I've just gotten to know her character to the extent it's kind of like a nonissue. It's just like it's Kotoko she always looked like that."

But my nephew was just over making me realize like what she is conventionally attractive and to an extent in a way that can still be viewed as feminine. Then I thought about the others and went fuck literally every adult character here is someone's type.

So I'm just sitting there watching my nephew lament this information. Because when someone hears a bad term, they expect to see an ugly person. Like someone uncharismatic and unconventionally attractive. Then it dawned on me like oh, oh no wait a second yeah this is bad news to anyone that finds her hot. This is bad news for people who haven't really reckoned with the fact good looks don't equal good person.

It's pretty privilege I'm seeing body/pretty privilege.

I like evil people in media and to an extent in real life- So, this doesn't bother me. Yet a lot of people don't just go,

"Eyy, I'm down to clown- Playing the fool is my favorite tool."

When faced with the possible atrocities of someone they find attractive in any way not just physically. Many people actually don't simp like they're going for the gold in it. A lot of folks have these things called standards that they hold even fictional characters to. I think this moment was the closest I've got to understanding what gets people deep into apologism for characters in general.

Along with understanding the difference between the terms down bad and down horrendous. Down bad was what my nephew was hearing me say that down horrendous is... Something else entirely. That shit was funny in hindsight. It's a terrible thing to remember right before a family gathering. It's like, do I explain further? Do I let it lay...how does this reflect on me.

Side note I have shown him all the videos. Just for fun, his responses have been hilarious. He was just so flabbergasted by this. Rightfully so because I didn't even say what her murder was, I just offhandedly gave him an entire ideology because I was looking at my phone so I spoke on instinct and spite. Now I'm excited for the gathering because I get to bother my youngest nephew (just graduated college) with this.

The one who did this is a year older than me, and the other nephew I showed is the same age as me.

So it's always fun hearing how our opinions differ.

[beardedmrbean]

My ex is getting involved with a psycho. Let me just start off by saying I am not calling her that out of jealousy, I do not want to get back with him, ew. I will explain why I'm calling her that in a bit. Due to some money issues I'm currently staying at a place that doesn't allow pets so my ex is caring for my cats for me and so I see him on the regular, which is how this effects me. Plus I'm the one he vents to when things go south which is how I know the things I do. About a month ago he broke up with his girlfriend of four years because he snuck into her phone and found out that she had been sleeping with at least 3 other people for at least 9 months, and I say "at least" because in his words, he didn't take long to get to the point where he didn't want to investigate further. He went absolutely apeshit, got kicked out of two bars that night, assaulted people, broke the TV, etc. which, she'd been gaslighting him for months making him think he's crazy and paranoid when in reality things were actually worse than he believed. so I give him a pass on that I think he actually took it rather well considering everything. He started getting into coke again once this "paranoia" started up and got really really close to the coke dealer. Who was a friend before but now… he's fucked her more than once and has spent consecutive nights at her house. He's not dating her, he keeps saying he can't date her, but he's getting involved. Maybe he's seeing this as a fuck buddy situation but I'm worried it's going to get to the point where she doesn't. This is why I call her psycho. A few years back she turned on me and threatened me for fucking her over on a deal that I never made and didn't even know about until she called me demanding money. It turned out she was mixing me up with someone else but she never chilled about it. She stalks people and I know this because she bragged about it like it was nbd. And called me a shit friend when I refused to help her with it. When we were still married on more than one occasion she came banging on our door in the middle of the night freaking out over nonissues. A few years back when her boyfriend broke up with her she was talking to me and one of the other girls at the bar about making a pipe bomb and setting it off at his work to get him in trouble and I'm sorry there are some things you just don't joke about, and while my ex thinks it's nbd I know her well enough to know that's a joke until it's not. My ex and I split for good reason but I do not want him to suffer. She is going to turn on him, there is no "if" about it, this is a "when" situation. I do have to give her credit she's a faithful girlfriend so in that regard he is taking a step up, but I'm worried what she will do when she inevitably turns on him. I don't want him to suffer and I absolutely do not want my cats to be endangered because his stupid decisions caused a volatile situation before I have a chance to get them back (and unfortunately the only other people that can take them in are 1000 miles away so not an option, and I'm not taking my babies to a shelter I do not trust them). I don't know what to do…?

just as an fyi I have already brought all this up to him I literally called him stupid and crazy and his response was "yeah" so we already both know how I feel about this and both know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is a really bad idea.

I'm gonna throw this out to the community to see if they've got anything, and I'm not going to colour it with my thoughts so everyone can go in clean.

I'll do a thing with a response by itself I think

[pwurrz]

normal people: hey instead of worrying about the treatment of the character tighnari/something that hasn’t even happened yet like the harassment of the va who takes over his role, why don’t you focus on actual problems effecting real people??

genshin’s biggest chronically online man child, sean chiplock: no, i don’t think i will. i actually disagree with this idea so much this i’m going to shun anyone who suggests it by hiding their replies and anyone who responds positively to those replies. i’m going to insist that you can care about multiple things at once while also mainly focusing on this nonissue and barely addressing the actual problem at hand at all. i am now going to insult your age because i literally can’t think of a better argument than that.

[tired-eel]

For some reason Tumblr is the place where I interact the most with content.

Like, more than just liking an artist’s post and following.

I reblog posts and add my own tags with literal paragraphs in them

It’s such a nonissue here but it feels so intimidating on other media sites. I hardly reblog (or whatever is the equivalent) on Twitter.

I genuinely feel comfortable enough to just be silly on this website.

And that’s odd for me. I overthink things a lot, to the point that for over three years I’d get 45 panic attacks a week (9 per weekday). I wish that was an over exaggeration, but it isn’t.

Even on TikTok (I know I know sue me) I don’t feel as comfortable.

Why is it that Tumblr specifically makes me feel not anxious?

Is this like- a bad thing? Am I too attached? Is this normal?

[lascapigliata]

bugs /

going home for mothers day this weekend and it just occurred to me that i would have to leave food out for lila and normally for two nights i wouldn't even think twice about it no big just put out a bunch of food but now?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? i don't want to starve her obviously but how can i leave food out when THAT WAS THE PROBLEM before and i would take all of my prophylactic measures but they're not exactly good for animals which sent me into a tailspin this weekend anyway so like ????? do i just ?? hope that since i now seem to not have ants that if i leave some more food out than usual they won't appear? or do i just say she's a cat and she'll survive a day without food??? does it matter if the crumbs will still be there bc i won't be able to clean them up?? i still have the gravity feeder in my shower where i left it to dry and i've been too scared to go in there which i won't have a choice about tomorrow anyway but i just can't see myself actually USING it again so soon

and the irony of course is that that feeder sat out for like 3 weeks with NO ISSUES and then suddenly there was a massive issue so should i take that to mean that it'll be fine bc it was before??? but what if it was the heat that did it not escaping insecticide? in which case like.. it's still fucking hot! i can't exactly interrogate the dead ants and see why they came in!!!

and i would call my parents to see what they think but i am SO FUCKING SICK OF CALLING OTHER PEOPLE RIGHT NOW i just want to handle one (1) problem or decision by my(1)self. i fucking hate the heat i hate spring i hate summer i hate this all. in the winter this was simply a nonissue and now literally everything is an issue again

like i guess i have to feed her tonight, which i'm procrastinating on hard which is coutnerintuitive i guess but i just realized i haven't gone over to her dish yet today so i'm so scared of what i'll find over there even though i NEED to go deal with it because i NEED to go to sleep etc and i'll just suck it up and call my mom tomorrow and see what she thinks like i know all my various instincts are completely unreasonable in one direction or another

[wiremotherofficial]

i also don't have a dog in this fight because i am mostly a fan of the books but i think there are 2 things going on here

1) the valid complaint about her looks is that the way she looks in the trailer is a huge departure from the character model used in the previous game. she looks fine but she looks like someone else

HOWEVER

this is almost certainly a nonissue because anyone who played the witcher 3 ought to remember the exact same thing with yennefer. in the cinematic trailer, she was modeled off of a real person

assuming the game model for ciri looks similar to the previous game's model then i see no real cause for complaint there, but if they make her look more like the cinematic trailer model then it's weird because that's not at all what they've already established that she looks like

2) as for complaining about ciri becoming the main protagonist, i guess i can understand it but any continuation with geralt is going to ultimately just be the exact same game as the one before it but without any meaningful storyline

warning for book spoilers i guess but none of the events in any of the witcher games even remotely follow canon. they are basically completely independent stories that incorporate a lot of references and details. for example, they were so intimidated by yennefer as a character that they opted to make triss the companion for the first 2 games and many of the traits and memories attributed to triss actually canonically happen with yennefer. geralt's amnesia never happened, that was just the only way they could reasonably introduce this woman he has a 20-30+ year history with out of nowhere. absolutely nothing that happened with ciri in the witcher 3 is canon at all, particularly as it relates to both geralt and yennefer because the games technically take place after the books, in which geralt and yennefer both die and ciri ends up starting a new life in a different dimension. so the witcher 3 (well, all of them) amounts to fanfiction that references some details about the final book.

with that in mind, there is literally nothing left to do with geralt unless you make up an entirely new story. so why not do it with ciri when she's a character that has not been as extensively explored in the series?

these games are all equally stupid so as long as the storyline is compelling and the gameplay is fun i don't think it matters. if you actually like the series, the games can do neither right nor wrong imo lol

I watched the Witcher IV trailer, and I really don't understand the people complaining about Ciri's looks. I think she looks good, just a bit older, as is to be expected. I also don't understand people being mad that she's the main protagonist -is she not the most logical choice in a game set after Geralt has likely retired??? I'm more concerned with the implications of her becoming a witcher, something I don't think anyone at all wants. But I guess time will tell.

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

hi, so i'm 29 and i've never had sex and i want to get it over with because it's supposed to be a major life milestone but i am asexual and mildly sex repulsed so i'm conflicted. do you have any advice?

uuuh yeah straight up I think you need to like. just not worry about this.

I don't know if you've read Laura Carpenter's 2005 book Virginity Lost, but on the off chance you haven't let me give you a TL;DR. Carpenter classifies her interviewees into three broad categories based on how they conceptualize(d) their virginity: those who saw it as a precious gift, those who saw it as something to get rid of (hi, that's you), and those who saw it as just, like, a neutral state of being that would end at some point.

understandably those in the first category had a fair amount of emotional baggage re: "losing" their virginity (that terminology is a whole other can of worms that we don't have time to get into right now), especially cis women - being told all your life that you have something that makes you special and pure and then not having it anymore will fuck you up pretty good, no matter how ideal the conditions of your first sexual experience were.

however, the folks in the second category - the "gotta get rid of this virginity shit" crew - also reported a fair amount of regret and wishing that they had waited longer, with many feeling (with the virtue of hindsight) that they'd made poor, impulsive choices that led to regrettable partners, uncomfortable sex, and situations which they didn't particularly enjoy or feel good about.

the group that fared best were those who looked at their own virginity with no particular positive or negative connotations. these folks tended to be the ones making the most informed choices by waiting until they were able to confidently navigate partnered sex, and reported the fewest regrets of the three groups.

there are a lot of sociocultural reasons for that, but here's a fucking biggie: sex is a thing that you should have because you want to have sex, not because you want to "get it over with."

anon, my sweet anon, what the fuck does that even mean? that's like saying "I haven't gone skydiving yet and I just want to get it over with." what??? bro, why are you talking about it like it's something that you're going to have to do eventually? it's literally completely optional. if sex isn't interesting to you, I cannot recommend enough that you simply Do Not Have Sex.

eating seafood appeals to me not at all; I shan't be scheduling a trip to Red Lobster just to get that over with. I'm going to simply, you know, continue not eating seafood. if I wake up one day with a real and sincere hankering to go find out what crab meat tastes like that will be a different story, but for right now that desire simply isn't there - so why would I force it? seems like a great way to waste a lot of time and money on a pretty shitty meal.

this is literally a nonissue, dude. if you feel conflicted about having sex you shouldn't be having it. "it's supposed to be a major life milestone" fuck that. you decide what the important parts of your life are.

[brownfrogs]

respectful smooches to u both <33 and u guys are so real for the t4t like yeah of course they would why wouldnt they. also cowboys r so gender like cmon its right there!!!!

also adore the idea of hanzo being like gender is very irrelevant, like for someone who is so close to literal celestial beings it simply feels appropriate for him to carry a similar air about him, like no construct just vibes

also to touch back on the zoo, you literally have the biggest brain ever with the bird stuff, like duh??? ofc he would!!!!!!! like the mechanical arm is such a perfect built in perch for the animals. I could see him getting little bird claws engraved if he rlly missed them after the mission :[[

(not to even mention dragon anon’s angst like girl i am not god’s strongest soldier!)

and kiriko helping heal the cub like do u want me dead answer honestly ???? like my heart is NOT strong enough for that one either!!!

let my boys be happy and have lazy mornings with cheesy 80s music they would enjoy it (hanzo would pretend he hates it, he doesnt. he is very fond)

sabs :]]

Heehee it just makes sense!! 💖💖💖

But YES, you get me, Hanzo refers to himself as the Dragon, gender is such a nonissue for him. But once he joins ovw, I think that is when he really explores this side of him, being free to do so, picking out clothes he can be comfy in, choosing new hairstyles, etc.

Haha thank you!! I honestly think Cole having a bird connection like his Amari family is highly underrepresented. A Harris Hawk or similar would suit him, having such a sharp eye *like* a hawk. (Somewhat related, but if you want a fic featuring eagle Cole and wolf Hanzo, check out this fic I was a part of a while back) That bird mark engravings idea is sooooo cute, I love it 🥹

And I just love Kiriko’s and Hanzo’s interactions. I need more of them honestly.

And yes, let them be happy and lame together, its what they deserve 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 (Hanzo hums them when he thinks Cole isn’t listening, but Cole knows)

[trans-yllz]

sighhh the nb kid in my class keeps being misgendered by one girl in particular and has started just hitting her not only when it happens but whenever they're near each other and no number of conversations have made either of them understand why neither of their behavior is okay and at this point the nb kid has started seaking the girl out to hurt her even tho we've set the rule for both of them that they have to stay away from each other and its just like. while I am absolutely on the side of "you cannot hit your classmates and you especially cannot just walk up to other kids and hit them" I also feel like I'm the Only adult in this situation that is trying to help them work through these feelings of frustration that even full grown adults have trouble with. like my co teacher keeps misgendering the kid and earlier one of the supervisors literally said to me that he thought the parents of the nb kid were handling the situation "so wrong" and that they're "turning a nonissue into a big issue" like are you fucking kidding me? this literal 6 year old is having to deal w being misgendered and it's a nonissue? and again it's like I absolutely agree that the way they are treating their classmate isn't okay and I truly don't think that the other child is being transphobic like she's fucking 5 for gods sake but it just seems like no other adults are trying to understand the hurt this kid is feeling or want to help them deal with it in a healthy way

[scraregenrecs]

Rec Roundup - April 2021

Can you believe it's May?! Now that @sctropefest​ has run its course and so many people in the fandom are catching their breath – your rare & gen reccers included! – it's time to look at some of the fics we enjoyed from April 2021. As a reminder, we will be posting a master list of all of the Tropefest rare & gen fics once reveals are out, so stay tuned

Afternoon Delight by IAmHereIRL, Jake/David, rated E, 8652 words

Summary: This is the story of David and Jake's encounters from the end of season two to the start of season three

Rec [written by yourbuttervoicedbeau]: I think it’s fairly obvious by now that I’m a Jake Fan first and a human being second, so you KNOW anything with Jake’s name in the relationships tag is going to grab my attention. This is the author’s very first fic they’ve posted, and it’s just a delight — and the ending made me laugh out loud. 

Basically His Only Friend by jmda4, Alexis & Johnny (background Alexis & Roses, and Alexis/Ted), not rated (we'd call it G), 1414 words

Summary: Minutes after realizing that she'd miss her family, Alexis feels her stomach drop when she checks her phone and sees a stream of missed texts from Stevie.

"Your Dad's in the hospital. They don't know what's wrong."

"We're at Elmdale Hospital. He was having chest pain and couldn't breathe."

"Alexis?"

Rec [written by doingthemost]: I will forever be salty that Alexis wasn't involved in Johnny's hospital scare, and I'm also a complete sucker for Johnny's relationships with his children… so this fic was a delight to stumble upon. I'm happy to consider this part of canon from now on! 

coffee and catching up by @sarah--tonin, Patrick & Twyla, rated G, 535 words

Summary: patrick goes to the cafe the day after twyla gets back from nyc and wants to hear how it goes. because he and twyla are friends. :)

Rec [written by samwhambam]: I ALWAYS enjoy a good Twyla is friends with people fic. I love seeing her build friendships with members of the Rose family, and this fic shows a little friendship moment between Twyla and Patrick and it is so lovely! (with a little hint of Alexis/Twyla. It’s inspired by the fic Got You by colourcodedbinders

I would be complex, I would be cool by @yourbuttervoicedbeau, Alexis/Ruth, rating, 2220 words

Summary: Ruth doesn’t ask to stay the night, which is good; it saves Alexis from the awkwardness of coming up with an excuse for why she can’t. Ruth is gorgeous, and lovely, and fantastic in bed, but Alexis just isn’t looking for her next big love story right now. She’s not sure she’s over the last one.

Rec [written by doingthemost]: I'm absolutely enchanted with this world and the thought of these two confident, radiant characters getting theirs and more – and the reason why things shift from casual to the potential for more is so hilarious, I literally LOL every time I think about it. This is inventive, fun, sexy, and an utter thrill to read.  

Learn To Live On Less by @chronologicalimplosion​, Alexis & David, Ted & David, Ted/Alexis, rated T, 4509 words

Summary: For the first month and a half, even with the lists and the challenging reality of tailgates and homemade cheese balls, it doesn't even occur to David that his health might be affected by the move. His small black medicine clutch, already pre-packed in case of an Alexis emergency, had been practically the only nonissue the day the feds stormed through the house racing to touch everything of value in the house before the Roses could sweep it into their own arms. The bag had been solidly in-hand right after he emptied his cabinet of hair products haphazardly into a duffel and right before he chewed a bloody hole in the side of his mouth from the stress of having to manhandle his precious wardrobe in the name of expediency.

And then he wakes up--at a respectable 10:32--to an email from his old pharmacy notifying him that his automatic prescription refill date is coming up.

OR

The one where David Rose is a trans man and it's a little complicated transferring your HRT prescription to another country when you've lost all your money and are living out of a motel.

Rec [written by yourbuttervoicedbeau]: This is such a wonderfully done layer over canon that just fits. Both the ‘real time’ and the flashbacks are visceral and wonderful. David and Ted’s interactions are so, so funny, and I can’t wait for more of this series.

never thought i’d meet you here by @thankstwy and @landofsonlali, Ted/Alexis, rated G, 3716 words

Summary: David doesn’t know I’ve been writing you these letters though so this can be our little secret. One teensy little letter can’t hurt right?

Alexis and Ted exchange letters after he moves to the Galapagos.

Rec [written by yourbuttervoicedbeau]: Look my Ted/Alexis feelings are… too much for this forum, so let’s just say they’re a lot. Also if you’ve read… anything I’ve written you’ll know what a sucker I am for epistolary. Basically, even though this was a birthday gift for someone else entirely, it FEELS like it was made for me. There’s such a gamut of emotion in the letters that Ted and Alexis exchange, and you really feel what the characters are feeling. Also the choice for how to structure the two chapters (which I’m not going to spoil) is SO effective. And the ending! The ending. You’ll see.

Tell it to the Goats by @kindofspecificstore, Heather/Rachel, T, 23,318 words

Summary: Rachel loves chocolate cake, her houseplants, and Patrick Brewer. She's not a fan of her car breaking down on the drive out of Schitt's Creek. Thankfully Warner Farms comes to her rescue in more ways than one.

Rec [written by doingthemost]: I don't know what to say about this fic other than: READ IT! It's captivating, enchanting, and delightful, packed with lots of enjoyable Rachel introspection and queer feelings. I love how fic gives us an opportunity to expand on characters we barely get to meet and give them new life, and this is no exception. It's tagged "the wlw Hallmark movie we all deserve," and it's absolutely true.

The Seasons of Our Life by @treepyful, Stevie/Twyla, rated G (MCD warning), 666 words

Summary: Stevie used to know nothing about plants. (Stevie thinks about the late love of her life as she picks flowers)

Rec [written by samwhambam]: Beware: there is a MCD warning on this fic, but that happens before the store begins. Grief is hard and never ending and this fic perfectly describes a moment of peace after a death, where you are able to think of their memory and remember them as they were and their impact on your life and just love them. It’s short, and beautifully written and perfect and I just want to give Stevie a hug. Highly recommend.

Wake Up, Sunshine by @fraudulentzodiac, Stevie/Ruth, rating, 407 words

Summary: Stevie wakes up to Ruth making breakfast.

Rec [written by doingthemost]: This is the perfect, bite-sized fic, full of fluffy, wonderful domesticity. Despite its short length, their personalities ring true in every word. This fic is like a warm hug, just like the cozy morning it depicts.

Happy reading, friends!

[lizacstuff]

What did you think of the latest SCK episode? I’m torn. There were some really good scenes, but \insert annoyed sigh\ there was also Celine.

Actually, I really enjoyed it. I watched it last night and then immediately rewatched. There was so much Edser goodness and enough emotional movement that it kept the shipper in me happy even though I am dying for resolution to the secret.  

I'll get to Selin and all the delicious Eda/Serkan down below, but I have to give props to some of the side stories this ep. Erdeem humor is hit or miss for me, but this episode it was a hit. The entire montage of the security camera footage had me laughing out loud. Literal, loud belly laughs, my neighbors could probably hear me. The whole scene was gold from the hilarious footage to the reactions. Erdeem was probably the best, but shout out to Leila photocopying herself, who doesn't want to do that? Then there was the reactions, Engin and Piril being mortified, Efe looking guilty and nervous worrying about what they were going to see, Ferit not being able to hold it together. The way he was turning and laughing sort of charmed me, I wasn't sure if that was acting, or if Cagri was breaking during the scene, or both. Either way, it worked, and I loved it. The only thing missing in the scene was Serkan, because Kerem's reaction expressions would have been amazing.

This got LONG so I’ll put the rest beneath the read more:

Loved Aydan getting out of the house and fully joining Team Edser. It's self-serving to some extent because she rightly thinks that losing Eda due to the secret is the wedge driving Serkan away from her. However, to give her props, the breakup also made her recognize how deep and real Serkan's feelings are, actually Eda's too, and I think she genuinely wants both of them to be happy. Now can we have Seyfi and Aydan actively matchmaking? This would be great after Eda finds out since I assume she's going to be angry and need time to process, so there probably won't be an immediate reconciliation. AySey to the rescue! 

Ayfer on the other hand needs to chill. Most of the time her end advice "protect your heart" is good, but her overreactions and mocking judgements are annoying. It's got to be clear to her that Eda and Serkan love each other and are working through some things, and there is no need for her to wade into it constantly. Eda is an adult and can make her own decisions and mistakes.  As for the other couples Engin and Piril can be funny, but I have no idea what they see in each other and could not be more mismatched so I'm not sure where it's going. As for Ceren and Ferit, I don't understand what Ferit did to upset her throughout the episode, I don't think he did either, but he was sweet about it. I like him more and more. And welcome back Melo! A breath of fresh air.

Now on to the best stuff. The number of heart-felt declarations this episode between Eda and Serkan warmed my cold, icy heart. The fact that they are broken up, but at the same time are at the point of just letting their feelings hang out there for the other to see is super fun to watch.  

Eda believing in Serkan when no one else did, and then being determined to find out what happened and bring the culprit to justice is as romantic as it gets. You go, girl! She might be so mad at him, and so annoyed at him, or even feeling hurt, but at the end of the day she is gonna be in his corner no matter what. That's love. 

Serkan on the other hand. Serkan, Serkan, Serkan. He can't have her around, but he also can't be apart from her. The poor dear is being pulled in half by a tornado created by his own intense desire to be with her fighting against his noble intentions. It's not fair to Eda at all, but his see-sawing should give her every indication that he loves her and is wrestling with something huge. For his part, I hope he's starting to catch a clue on the depth of Eda's feelings. "You want me to leave, because you're afraid of the woman who loves you  more than anything."  Seriously. Seriously!?!!? Wow. She'd never told him she loved him, just that their feelings were mutual. He's always feared that he doesn't deserve her and she'll get tired of him. Well she's standing there, with a broken heart and a bruised ego after he took Selin's side, and still telling him that she loves him more than anyone. He also looked absolutely wrecked, as he should, when she said he had just discarded her. He never wanted her to feel that way. 

On the other hand, I'm not sure Eda fully digested some of his avowals. "I only trust you." HUGE. Eps 7-9 told us everything we need to know about his trust issues. He loves easier than he trusts. We knew how much he loves her, but now we know not only does he trust her, she's the only one he trusts. Swoon. That was huge for him to admit, Eda, HUGE. But also, "I have never valued anyone as much as you." Once again, huge and a huge breakup fail. I don't blame Eda for not realizing the full weight of these declarations, he says them, but they're apart. Still, you take those and add to the way he can't stay away from her, how he's personally invested in her professionally, actively mentoring her, the password (oh man did I love that), the photo, the mug. Lots of evidence of his real feelings piling up there, Eda.  

Which leads to the fact that we're at the point where the pain/gain assessment for Plan A (breaking up to protect her) is in the red. Meaning it's starting to cause more pain than it's prevented. That's where we get to Selin, because she unwittingly pushed things forward for them this episode. I'm not sure what's motivating her, because she seems like a character that would have too much pride to put herself in the position of having to watch a love sick Serkan chase around after Eda like a heartbroken puppy. However, Selin's feelings are in no way the point on this show. They simply don't matter, because in this instance she is a device. A device to ratchet up the tension between Eda and Serkan. A device to drive Eda's impulsivity and showcase a bit of her jealousy. A device to show that Serkan is so far gone over Eda, he doesn't even notice another woman vying for his attention. Also it gave us this:

"I never loved Selin."

Okay, Serkan. I DIED. Like we been knew, but know we KNOW, and we know that he knows. His relationship with Selin was 100% habit and convenience. That also pretty much tells us that Eda is his first and only real love, which makes the way it's changed him so tangible and believable. Also, more importantly than the audience knowing he never loved Selin, now Eda knows. I get Eda's frustration with Serkan not being annoyed at Selin, but she's missing the point that Selin is simply not important enough for him to care. She doesn't rouse any sort of emotion from him, the way he treats her is all fueled by professional duty and personal guilt. The scene in the office was unfortunate, and I wish Serkan hadn't lost his temper, (but not really because it drove their most important conversations) but Eda's impulsivity sort of led it to that place. I get why Eda suspected Selin, in her shoes I probably would have done the same thing, but I also think Serkan is not putting Selin on a pedestal by knowing that she had nothing to do with the sabotage. And Serkan getting angry was the only thing that got Eda to back down, so it was a very inelegant way of de-escalating the situation. On the plus side, it gave us Serkan trying to make things right for the rest of the episode which was amazing. I will never be over the library scene, the autumn walk scene, Eda being his first guest in the new apartment scene. çok romantik!

As for Selin, look, she's ANNOYING. I'm right there with you. The character is entirely self-absorbed and while I think her motivations are murky at best, I think she's driven in part by competition with Eda. Eda won the war when it comes to Serkan, but Selin is still trying to take a battle or two in order to save face. On another note, she spent most of the episode knowing there was a saboteur, that Serkan suspected Efe, and still didn't put 2 and 2 together with the direct threats Efe made towards Serkan in her presence. Seriously, if something doesn't directly affect her, she can't even retain the information. What a useless lump she is. 

Thank you Aydan, for calling out how ridiculous it was that she didn't go to a hotel. I love that Selin was probably like, "Wasn't she on my side the last time I saw her?" Hilarious. Serkan allowing her to stay there, when she wouldn't have been welcome while they were together, was eyeroll inducing. But I think Selin is such a nonissue for him, that he just could not wrap his head around why it was bothering Eda so much. Also his guilt. The thing that makes the game that Serkan was playing with her forgivable, is the fact that he actually feels bad about the part he played in her life falling apart. I'm not saying it was his fault, but he rightly feels guilty. 

However, from that last scene, I think he's going to learn a hard lesson about guilt getting in the way of common sense. Eda is now ready to push him to his jealousy limit!  That final scene escalated quickly, but I think both of them were driven by a fair bit of pride combined with the frayed nerves that have to come with being broken up while they're both still currently, and obviously, in a romantic relationship with one another.

That's hard and I wholeheartedly look forward to them navigating that next episode. From the Fragman it looks like it's all finally coming to a head. Can't wait!

[francoiserenaldt]

good things come to those who wait...

summary: there’s a boy and she doesn’t quite know what to do… (alternatively: melisande devereaux has really done it this time)

word count: 1.8k

warnings: none

note: would it be a fic written by me if the moon didn’t make some kind of appearance? probably not. takes place after a few weeks at vancross.

Vancross is silent when she sneaks out of her dorm. 

Melisande took extra precautions to make sure that Tatum would be firmly in REM sleep—measuring his sleep patterns without looking like a stalker was easily the hardest thing Melisande had ever done and she once climbed a tree in heels for a photo op—and Murphy was a nonissue as long as Dionne was none the wiser. 

The one thing she hadn’t accounted for was guilt. The possibility of Tatum being punished for her actions had only occurred to her in this and it made her stomach ache, but she swallowed it and continued to walk. She had already made it this far.

This whole situation was his fault, anyway.

She eventually finds herself in the gardens. The sole light hanging from the top of the gazebo blinks to life at her arrival—she couldn’t even avoid the limelight in the wee hours of the morning, apparently—and she sits under the light and takes a breath. 

The speech she wrote sits in her back pocket. It’s awful even by her standards, but it’s the product of rushed scribbles in between classes and right before she went to sleep. She’s loath to imagine what would happen if any one of the numerous people surrounding her found out about this, but her mind wanders anyway. 

Blaine would, no doubt, tear it apart with a smirk, giddy with the realization that she knew Melisande was nothing but a sheltered puppet for her mother all along—Blaine wouldn’t say it that way, of course; despite a rivalry that spans over centuries and defies common sense, she’s oddly insistent on getting into Melisande’s pants.

Ayna would be concerned but supportive; the historian in her probably reckons that it would make killer supporting evidence in a collegiate thesis. Dionne probably would find it odd; parents controlling every aspect of their children’s lives was normal and resentment only hurt you in the end.

(Maybe she’d have a point.)

And Tatum...if Tatum got a hold of this, she would probably cease to exist on the spot.

Regardless, it doesn’t matter what everyone else would say if they saw it because they never will. Her reputation, her life even, depends on it.

She chuckles at that; it’s the most authentic speech she’ll ever write, but there can be no audience to receive it. She can only laugh to stop from crying.

The moon at Vancross is stunning this time of year, cool and quiet and drawing an odd feeling—too warm to be sadness, but far too cold to be wistful—from her. The scene was perfect, but it didn’t change the inevitable: Tatum would kill her if he knew she was out here.  

She almost wants him to; anything is better than this torturous dance they’ve been doing since he appeared in her dorm room. Everything about him was “job description this, job description that” until she could get him alone; even then, he would only drop the act for a few minutes before it was back to wishing he had never been assigned to her.

(Her heart only broke a little bit when he said things like that, of course. She’s an adult.)

(If only she actually felt like one.)

She stands and quietly clears her throat. If her calculations are good, she only has 20 minutes until someone notices that she’s gone. 

“I’m alone for the first time in a long time, so maybe I can finally put this weird feeling into words.” Melisande begins, just barely resisting the urge to fall into public speech mode. “I’m completely and utterly unsure of what I’m supposed to do with my life. Everyone has their own ideas about what I should be doing here. Mom wants me to come here and make the country proud by earning all of my marks, Dionne wants me to date, and Blaine...ugh, I shouldn’t even be speaking to her right now. I’m a grown woman and yet I’m letting everyone else tell me what’s good for me. The only person who’s fully respecting my decisions right now is...Tatum.”

She cuts herself off with a groan, crumpling the paper in her hands. “Fucking Tatum. I’m midway through articulating my quarter-life crisis and all I can think about is him.” She slumps down onto the bench, burying her face in her hands. “And I’m not even thinking about him, not really. The Tatum that wanted anything to do with me died overseas. The real Tatum is sleeping in his bed, probably dreaming about being literally anywhere else.”

A street light flickers on several meters away. A group of her peers chortles on their way to their dorms, no doubt drunk from some house party. She sighs, lifting her head.

“What did I expect, anyway? ‘Lisa and Tate against the world, like when we were kids?’ I barely want to be here and I’m actually getting something out of this.” She scoffs, sniffling. “God, I’m an idiot.” 

The wind picks up then, pulling her waist-length braids to the side. The night is still quiet and there’s no sign of life anywhere near, but she’s never felt more exposed. “I don’t even know him anymore. And he doesn’t want to know me. He’s just doing his job. It shouldn’t hurt this much to see him again.” She purses her lips as the heat behind her eyes swells once again, but she blinks it back. There’s still too much to say before she has to go back to bed. 

“But I have a job to do here, too. My mother is counting on me. Winston is counting on me. All of Rutherland is counting on me, so I won’t give up on them. I can’t. It’s out of the question.” She shakes her head violently. “But I won’t give up on him either. Not when I’m getting a little bit closer to seeing the real Tatum, my Tatum, in my life again. I can’t afford to screw this up. I can’t lose him again.”

Melisande tilts her head back and stares directly at the moon, letting the light reflect the pool of unshed tears in her deep brown eyes before she shuts them completely and lets the tears fall. “What the hell am I going to do?”

Off in the distance, a bell tower rings and the long hand of the clock beneath it settles on 4. She’d been out for far too long. It was only a matter of time before-

“Melisande.” 

(Shit.)

“Lecture me in the morning, please. I’m exhausted,” she sobbed.

She hears him clear his throat, probably out of awkwardness, before he speaks. “Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to be out by yourself right now?”

“I think I could have handled myself against the flora and fauna, Tatum.” Melisande snaps, wiping furiously at the tears running down her cheeks. “Besides, late-night escorts aren’t in your job description.”

“It’s literally a part of my job description that I need to be near you or aware of your location at all times, especially for ‘late-night escorts.’” Tatum pinches the bridge of his nose. “What were you doing up this late anyway?”

“Writing a sonnet.” 

“This is not the time for you to joke around.”

“So it’s only okay to switch up when you do it. Got it.” She huffs, brushing past him and speed walking in the other direction. “I’m tired. Let’s go back.”

He’s quicker, grabbing her arm and turning her around to face him. He takes her face into his hands, the fury (concern?) in his already intense eyes setting her ablaze. “You can never do anything like this again. Am I clear?”

“Tatum, you made yourself perfectly clear when you told me that you never wanted to be back around me the first time.” Melisande scoffs, meeting his glower with one of her own. “I’m the last person that's going to endanger your cushy government job, alright? Can we be done here?”

“We’ll talk about this in the morning.”

“Good. Now let go.”

The morning after is rough, to say the least. There isn’t enough caffeine in the world to make Melisande a functioning human being on 3 hours of sleep or enough outfit changes in her closet to wait Tatum out. 

He’s not good at waiting—never has been—and he paces outside her door, as if he’s ticking down the seconds until she has to stop hiding. She can’t help but scoff; his method is questionable but the message is clear: I’m not letting you off the hook this time.

She eventually settles on a light blue blazer set and rushes out of her bedroom, making a beeline for the kitchen. Naturally, a toned arm blocks her way. “I need to get to class.”

“You’re not getting out of this.”

“I wasn’t planning on it, but fine. We can talk now.” She drawled, ducking under his arm and turning on the coffee maker.  “You wanted to know why I left last night.” 

“As your bodyguard, I think you owe me that.”

“I needed time to think.”

“Don’t you have a room for that?”

“I wanted to be alone,” Melisande replied nonchalantly, only managing to resist the urge to shrug when she sees his nostrils flare. “It’s hard to do that when you have a shadow.”

“What are you doing?”

“Talking to you,” she allows the shrug this time, turning her head to meet his eyes as she pours her coffee. “Should I be doing something else?”

“Let me rephrase that: why are you acting out?”

Acting out? 

If Melisande was acting out, she’d have made herself a staple of the numerous house parties happening at Vancross. If she was acting out, she’d find Blaine Hayes and give her mother a scandal worth calling about. If she was acting out, she would have never agreed to come to the Vancross Institute to begin with. 

She didn’t deserve this.

“You can’t be serious. I leave the dorm once to clear my head and you’re treating me like a child.”

“Melisande—”

“This conversation is over.” 

“Like hell it is.” Tatum snaps. “In case you haven’t gotten the memo yet, you’re the daughter of a world leader, which means that you can’t leave in the middle of the night to clear your head on a whim without telling me. If there was even a one percent chance that someone who wanted to hurt you came here and I didn’t know where you were, I…” He pauses, then takes a breath. “I can’t do my job. It’s—”

“—your job to protect me. I know that.” 

“Then don’t make this harder for me than it already is.”

The earnest look in his eyes—definitely concern now—is enough to make her drop the act. “Alright. I’m sorry.”

He grunts, blinking the moment away, and she curses herself for the disappointment that courses through her veins. “Don’t be sorry, be careful.” 

“It’s too late for that.” Melisande shakes her head, too frustrated to cry and too tired to argue. “Far too late.”

It’s clear that he doesn’t understand what she means and she decides, then and there, that he would never know. The fates had aligned and made his position clear: she was an assignment to him. He could never know that she wanted more.

(It was far too late. For both of them.)

[ladyhindsight]

Here we go.

On page 4, Clary gives Simon this as the reason for her trip to Idris, which is ridiculous because what does that got to do with anything? My notes read: “OR maybe he’ll trust you because you are Jocelyn’s daughter??”

Then on page 8 Clary tells the following to Jace who is trying to persuade Clary to not go:

Which is entirely logical, but pray tell, why on earth does Clary say anything like “looking so much like” Jocelyn to Simon when Madeleine has already told Ragnor to expect Jocelyn’s daughter? (who does look a lot like her, yes)

Why must the reasons for the trip be explained twice with different reasoning, and why am I already confused?

The first clause stands perfectly well on its own without any additional explaining, i.e. hand-holding. As if the meaning is evident from the glance that was shot and the words following said glance.

Clary and Jace’s siblinghood has been incredibly over-pronounced, especially in the previous book. No other siblings constantly remind the readers that they are, indeed, siblings. Almost like the writing would reeaally like the readers to believe that they are related to each other...

No comma, still the same subject. We were doing so great till the page 9.

How to Make Your Characters More Sympathetic: Being Grateful for Minor Tangential Things While Otherwise Being Ungrateful About a Lot of Other, Often More Significant Things - A Guide for Better Characterization

Clary going to Idris and Luke not liking it is no reason for him to withhold his care nor hold it hostage. This is a nonissue.

Again, participle phrases signal concurrency, that two or more things are happening at the same time. Clary can’t tear through the paper and seize something soft at the same time.

→ “Clary tore though it. Her hand seized on something soft...”

Orange arrows are pointing towards two clauses that are separated with a comma from the main clause. Comma, however, in these cases comes after “or” only if is followed by an independent clause, which neither of these are.

The pink arrow, just no.

“You look beautiful, Clary.” “It suits you wonderfully, Clary.” “It truly draws out your best features, Clary.” Literally any other answer than this dark moody-broody bullshit that has got nothing to do with Clary and how she looks in the cloak. Luke bought Clary the coat/cloak because he saw it and he thought of her. Yet now, as Luke has said this, it seems like it only actually reminded him of Jocelyn and Clary acts as a proxy to her. Or that Clary’s similarity to her mother makes Luke treat Clary as a reminder of Jocelyn.

About Clary wanting Simon to go back to normal: On page two it is said that

“They’d only called off their attempt at a romantic relationship last week, and she still felt confused whenever she saw him.”

First of all, it was more Simon’s attempt rather than both of theirs. Secondly, Simon’s “normal” was always being in love with Clary. Clary is still confused about their relationship. Simon should be allowed to deal with his feelings too, in addition to those of dying and turning into a vampire, especially without Clary just wanting things easier for herself.

Though Clary wanting normality and familiarity back in her life is understandable, it is also a bit egocentric and leaves Simon’s feelings out of it.

→ “...when he heard several familiar voices nearby.”

→ “He didn’t have to elaborate on what he meant. Jace’s face told Simon that he remembered.” (END)

What else could they possibly be remembering? It is a basic assumption that by the third book the reader has read previous parts of the story and is able to recall such a major event without these recaps shoved in.

No, if you like to support men’s healthy emotional life.

Maybe you could if Jace ever shared his plans with them instead of keeping them to himself and assuming without even trying. Maybe if he then discussed it, planned it, talked it out, he could at least say he tried to keep Clary’s abilities secret.

Jace’s faith in Clary is also outstanding. She apparently has no potential even with training. Also, are you talking about the same Clary who is shoving herself into every fight and battle without any training still? Yeah, why on earth would she want to be a fighter.

Additionally, while Jace and Simon are planning and deciding everything for Clary behind her back, has either of them even thought to ask her what she might want for herself? Or is she too ignorant to decide whether she wants official training?

Oh, shut up, Simon. Everyone knows that for once Jace meddling into Clary’s business is not about that. I also don’t think Clary is aware that she is in desperate need of help, Jace just decided that on his own.

The brown part highlights a sentence that has no main verb (to perform an action). 

→ “Simon hesitated. Before he could respond, a noise split the silence between them—a high, shrieking cry, terrible in its desperation and worse...”

Also who said the last line?  → ““What was that?” Jace said, whirling around.”

Abominable comma. The cries and the clangs are both performing the same action.

→ “The single shriek was joined by other cries and a harsh clang that...”

Before me is chaos.

→ “A white mist blanketed the garden. There was a heavy smell in the air—the sharp tang of ozone and something sweet and unpleasant under it.”

I’d either scrap the sentence underlined with yellow (because it pauses the action) or tie it together with the previous sentence. For instance:

→ “He glimpsed Isabelle, her hair snapping around her in black ropes as she swung her whip that made a deadly fork of golden lightning through the shadows.”

Besides emphasis, em dashes in the middle of a sentence can be used to give additional information that is not essential to understand the rest of the sentence. It is a break in a sentence that already stands and is understood on its own. Yet here the sentence without Simon’s additional information would be:

“She was fending off the advance of something lumbering and huge, but it was full daylight; that was impossible.” Which doesn’t make sense at all. In addition to punctuation, some things need switching around:

→ “She was fending off the advance of something lumbering and huge—a demon, Simon thought. But that was impossible; it was full daylight.” or

→ “She was fending off the advance of something lumbering and huge. A demon, Simon thought, but that was impossible; it was full daylight.”

→ “It swung a thick wooden plank (it carried in one hand) at Isabelle almost blindly.”

→ “...back and forth inside it. Simon felt as if he were...”

→ “Isabelle has vanished. He saw Alec, his arm bleeding...” (no semicolon because the clauses aren’t closely related.)

→ “...a blade in each hand. He leaped into the air..”

→ “...with a vicious scissoring movement. The Forsaken’s head tumbled...”

Most of the action taking place in this scene is filtered through Simon. Simon sees this, Simon feels that etc. Since we already do know that Simon is the observer:

→ “The Shadowhunters were calling to one another out of the mist...”

→ “Suddenly the mist cleared. Magnus was standing wild-eyed by the wall...”

→ “...blue lightning sparking between them. Against the wall...”

Ave Atque Vale, Madeleine. You served your relevant-for-only-one-thing purpose as best you could.

I’m sensing a trend regarding em dashes in this chapter.

[fortune-maiden]

Season Six...

Or, Cas, what the ever loving fuck!?

So, uh, my plan after Season 5 was to just kinda, go season by season and watch some of the noteworthy eps. Particularly, the funny ones. Like ‘Clap Your Hands If You Believe’ or ‘The French Mistake’. That... didn’t happen. If fact, I am pretty sure I didn’t even binge Season 2 this quickly.

So. New Show-runner, New directions, New lore... all things that should spell out seasonal rot and the beginning of the end, but actually, this was a really solid season. Season 2 level solid! There were a lot of missteps - Samuel Campbell had no real reason to turn into an asshole, Eve was ridiculously underutilized, the Lisa and Ben subplot was never going to go anywhere and is thus pointless and needlessly drawn out, and you can really tell that the big Cas twist did not actually exist in the first half.

Also, gotta love how once a mystery is revealed to the audience, every monster mook and its mother can tell Sam has no soul. the literal goddess of truth cant but a leprechaun can? REALLY?

Previous seasons imo had a bit of an issue telling a continuous story. Season 5 was much less monster of the week than Season 1, but plot threads generally wrapped up within an episode or two, up until everything came to a head in the finale. This season was much better at weaving its plot threads throughout, dropping pieces of a larger puzzle - who pulled Sam out, unusual monster activity, why were monsters being captured, what the heck is happening in heaven. Answers came slower, episodes ended on more cliffhangers (preventing me from skipping around), and the lens were zoomed out to give us interesting bits of things to come.

I’ve heard one criticism of post-season 5 was the lack of escalation. Seasons 1-5 built things up step by step up and last season’s finale was about stopping the devil and averting the apocalypse. Compared to the apocalypse, what new threat would compare?

Well, no, not really. Season 5 had a lot of problems and rarely felt urgent. Lucifer was hyped up to heaven and hell and back, but barely did anything all season and was neatly dealt with in the last episode. I know it’s a fan favorite, but I actually did not really enjoy Swan Song. The buildup didn’t really feel there.

But I did like the aftermath. The biblical apocalypse was averted - God is MIA and heaven and hell alike have to deal with the fact that the end of the world did not happen and they have to carry on. Hell has it easy - Crowley steps up to the crown (somehow), turns hell into an endless queue and most just has to deal with the fact that no one likes him. Heaven however was much more invested in this prize fight. Not all of them are happy to see the apocalypse averted, and that hard earned peace is basically at the whims of whoever is in charge. And so, civil war! Raphael vs. Castiel! Who will win?

In the grand scheme of things - the Winchesters are suddenly insignificant. Unless the Apocalypse gets back on track, there’s no reason for the cosmic entities to care about them, and they’re importance comes solely from the fact that they’re important to Cas. So you have the Winchesters + Bobby carrying on with their usual work searching for answers, while a much bigger plot plays out in the background. It makes for some interesting episodes - ‘The French Mistake’ & ‘My Heart Will Go On’ - the important parts of these episodes are the parts we don’t see. Balthazar giving the weapons of God to Cas. Cas mucking around with souls and pissing off Fate herself.

Admittedly this kinda comes at the cost of the Winchesters themselves. Soulless Sam is great - Ruthless, focused, terrifying. But the Wall is relevant for all of two episodes before it’s a nonissue until the finale. Where it’s still a nonissue until Cas decides it’s relevant now. Meanwhile Dean... Dean vs. Cas was a huge highlight of the last few episodes and worked so well on many levels. The Lisa & Ben subplot was just the usual trite ‘it’s not me, it’s my enemies’ UST that was never going to go anywhere and just dragged on until it was finally permanently resolved with a memory wipe. Good. Moving on. (also is a hell memory wipe just not an option or...)

As for the villains - Crowley as an opponent this time around was great fun. Balthazar showing as another Trickster-type was wonderful, as was his character development (that did not just come from one hokey family speech) worked really well. Eve... existed I guess... Raphael was admittedly a bit of an orcus on his throne, but unlike with Lucifer, it worked here. He’s not the Winchesters’ enemy - he’s Cas’ and he’s very active from what we hear.

And of course, Cas... Cas is a magnificent bastard this season and I love him. I don’t care if it was a last minute thing - they made it work, and with how he was treated in the first half of the season while clearly tired and stressed, his increasingly harsh and desperate actions feel like a natural progression. (Though imo they should not have made it look like he and Crowley were a team from day 1. It wasn’t there in the first half and didn’t need to be - Cas falling in with Crowley could have easily been fit in later as the war took a turn for the worse for Cas.) And of course, the betrayal. This is our angel! Who has been crying out for help all season and was repeatedly ignored. He deserved to go off a little.

...I will admit I have a lot of feelings about this season. This is probably my favorite after Season 2. Definitely did not expect that.

Weird monster stuff was a bit underutilized though imo. Much like Eve herself.

Sorry Eve.

(also anyone else feel like no one cares about those poor mooks possessed by demons anymore?)

Best Episode: “The Man Who Would Be King” - Anachronistic storytelling, Cas focus, Celestial bureaucracy, THE BETRAYAL. Everything about this episode was beautiful. Also Crowley’s version of Hell. Also enjoyed “Let It Bleed”, “The Man Who Knew Too Much”, “Weekend at Bobby’s”, “Clap Your Hands If You Believe”, “The French Mistake”, “My Heart Will Go On”. There were a number of good ones this season! Especially once the Cas plotline starting taking the stage...

Worst Episode: “Mannequin 3: The Reckoning” - it’s a terrible Ben & Lisa UST episode. The rest of it was fine though. (”Live Free of Twihard” has this problem as well, but the UST was more annoying in this one. Plus Soulless Sam being an asshole is always a highlight.) “And Then There Were None” - I still maintain Samuel deserved better writing. Rufus DEFINITELY deserved better everything.