#jossed and robbed
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sapphiccarolineabbott · 2 years ago
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For a hot minute there American Girl had me worried... they were making interesting characters with more diversity and unique elements... I was very concerned because someone obviously kidnapped whoever was previously in charge at mattel. No worries though, the last year they've made nothing but bland disappointing choices and characters so it was clearly a fluke 🙄
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mycenaae · 10 months ago
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like not to speculate too much about what the renegotiation drama is, because it's probably just as much on the fox executives / ryan / tim / brad / hr that the actors aren't getting paid what they're due. but when you have to deal with an actor like rob lowe and the ego and paychequest that go along with employing him it's like. yeah. well. of course fox would be like "who can we underpay / cut out". good on sierra for standing her ground but as a survivor of the west wing season 4-5 transition, i remember the dark days of "show that tried to keep rob's ego in check so they could pay their other actors and let them have a storyline for once".
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violettathepiratequeen · 3 months ago
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The Writers of BtVS
So because I'm a nerd, and because I was curious, I compiled a list of the credited Buffy writers and their episodes, mostly to check for their own consistency, haha. And because I thought it was interesting enough to share:
WRITERS:
Joss Whedon
Welcome to the Hellmouth
The Harvest
Nightmares (with David Greenwalt)
Out of Mind, Out of Sight (with Ashley Gable and Thomas A. Swyden)
Prophecy Girl
When She Was Bad
School Hard (with David Greenwalt)
Lie to Me
Ted (with David Greenwalt)
Innocence
Becoming, Part 1
Becoming, Part 2
Anne
Amends
Doppelgangland
Graduation Day, Part 1
Graduation Day, Part 2
The Freshman
Hush
Who Are You?
Restless
Family
The Body
The Gift
Once More With Feeling
Lessons
Chosen
Dana Reston
Witch
David Greenwalt
Teacher’s Pet
Angel
Nightmares (with Joss Whedon)
School Hard (with Joss Whedon)
Reptile Boy
Ted (with Joss Whedon)
Faith, Hope, and Trick
Homecoming
Rob Des Hotel & Dean Batali
Never Kill a Boy on the First Date 
The Puppet Show 
The Dark Age 
Phases 
Killed By Death 
Matt Kiene
The Pack
Inca Mummy Girl (with Joe Reinkemeyer)
Ashley Gable and Thomas A. Swyden
I, Robot… You, Jane
Out of Mind, Out of Sight (with Joss Whedon)
Ty King
Some Assembly Required
Passion
Joe Reinkemeyer
Inca Mummy Girl (with Matt Kiene)
Carl Ellsworth
Halloween
Howard Gordon
What’s My Line? Part 1 (with Marti Noxon)
Marti Noxon
What’s My Line? Part 1 (with Howard Gordon)
What’s My Line? Part 2
Bad Eggs
Surprise
Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
I Only Have Eyes For You
Dead Man’s Party
Beauty and the Beasts
The Wish
Consequences
The Prom
Living Conditions
Wild at Heart
Doomed (with David Fury and Jane Espenson)
Goodbye Iowa
New Moon Rising
Buffy vs. Dracula
Into the Woods
Forever
Bargaining, Part 1
Wrecked
Villains
Bring on the Night (with Douglas Petrie)
Elin Hampton
Go Fish (with David Fury)
David Fury
Go Fish (with Elin Hampton)
Helpless
Choices
Fear Itself
Doomed (with Marti Noxon and Jane Espenson)
The I in Team
Primeval
Real Me
Shadow
Crush
Bargaining, Part 2
Life Serial (with Jane Espenson)
Gone
Grave
Sleeper (with Jane Espenson)
Showtime
Lies My Parents Told Me (with Drew Goddard)
Thania St. John
Gingerbread (with Jane Espenson)
Jane Espenson
Band Candy
Gingerbread (with Thania St. John)
Earshot
The Harsh Light of Day
Pangs
Doomed (with David Fury and Marti Noxon)
A New Man
Superstar
The Replacement
Triangle
Checkpoint (with Douglas Petrie)
I Was Made to Love You
Intervention
After Life
Flooded (with Douglas Petrie)
Life Serial (with David Fury)
Doublemeat Palace
Same Time, Same Place
Conversations with Dead People (with Drew Goddard)
Sleeper (with David Fury)
First Date
Storyteller
End of Days (with Douglas Petrie)
Douglas Petrie
Revelations
Bad Girls
Enemies
The Initiative
This Year’s Girl
The Yoko Factor
No Place Like Home
Fool For Love
Checkpoint (with Jane Espenson)
The Weight of the World
Flooded (with Jane Espenson)
As You Were
Two to Go
Beneath You
Bring on the Night (with Marti Noxon)
Get it Done
End of Days (with Jane Espenson)
Dan Vebber
Lovers Walk
The Zeppo
Tracey Forbes
Beer Bad
Something Blue
Rebecca Rand Kirshner
Out of My Mind
Listening to Fear
Tough Love
Tabula Rasa
Hell’s Bells
Help
Potential
Touched
Steven S. DeKnight
Blood Ties
Spiral
All the Way
Dead Things
Seeing Red
Drew Z. Greenberg
Smashed
Older and Far Away
Entropy
Him
The Killer in Me
Empty Places
Diego Gutierrez
Normal Again
Drew Goddard
Selfless
Conversations with Dead People (with Jane Espenson) 
Never Leave Me
Lies My Parents Told Me (with David Fury)
Dirty Girls
So the conclusion I've come to is... in my own fanfic writing projects, I sometimes have works that I know are very good and are received well. And there are some that I know just stink, and the lower interaction reflects it. It's pretty comforting to know that for professional writers, the same thing is true.
Jane Espenson, for instance, beloved by Spuffies everywhere for being our man on the inside, ALSO co-wrote "Gingerbread," my least favorite ep ever.
Douglas Petrie is, in my opinion, absolutely an undercover Spuffy, or at least understood the assignment well enough to fake it. And I love him for being the first to write Wesley, for breaking Bangel up one of the times in S3, for writing "Fool for Love," for strengthening Spike's character in every ep that included him.
And David Fury... look, I know he gets a lot of flack, but I think he doesn't actually hate Spike as much as it seems. Looking at his list of episodes and the messages I know to be in them, I think he's just VERY pro-soul, and can't wrap his head around a vampire being good without one. But once Spike does get his soul... well, we need look no further than "Showtime."
But really, let's all bow down to Rebecca Rand Kirshner. For "Out of My Mind." For "Tabula Rasa." For "Help." For "Touched." For some of the sweetest Spuffy moments in all her other eps.
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defectivevillain · 14 days ago
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run run blood
pairing: Outlaw Midas/Reader
the reader's race & gender are ambiguous; no pronouns or physical descriptors are used.
summary: “So,” Midas drawls, “do we have a deal?” “…Fine,” you relent, against your better judgment. This is such a bad idea. And the foreboding in your chest only grows when Midas holds out a golden hand for you to shake. You return the gesture. His grip is firm, but not painful. Unfortunately, his grasp is also insistent—he doesn’t seem keen to release your hand any time soon.
You suppose it's inevitable that you meet the legendary outlaw Midas, after your nearly countless heists across the island of Oninoshima.
word count: 5.6k | ao3 version | midas playlist
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warnings: canon-typical violence and weaponry, spoilers to Chapter 6 Season 2 of Fortnite; drugging, kidnapping, fainting
author's notes: I’m a relatively new Fortnite player, so I’m pretending Midas is a new Chapter 6 character since I don’t know his lore. This is decently canon compliant for Ch6S2, I think. I will say, I literally forgot that, y’know, everything he touches turns to gold… and I wrote this entire thing before realizing… So… Yeah… 😔 Explain that however you want. I couldn’t think of a creative enough way to make him actually able to touch the reader with the curse. Just pretend he found a way around it or something, idk. (I can’t lie, I didn’t realize he actually had the whole Midas curse… I thought he was a cyborg until I read the wiki, LOL.) Also, I beefed up the Midas/Fletcher vibes to make their past a bit more impactful. I made them exes, pretty much. I took creative liberties. Ah well.
As usual, I couldn’t come up with a title so I took it from a song: Run Run Blood by Phantogram.
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After the island of Oninoshima is successfully purged of demon influence, you find yourself… bored. You can only go through the motions so long before you burn yourself out. In hindsight, this ennui likely triggered your recent activities. But, it’s too late to contemplate the reasoning behind it. You’ve crossed a line you can’t come back from. 
In the absence of an adversary, you meet new friends and soon find a common enemy: Fletcher Kane. He has a tight grip on the entire island, with his mansion overtaking a sprawling section of the island’s map. His brick driveway weaves through the grass, a luxurious eyesore for all to see. He coats practically every surface in gold. He has more wealth than he knows what to do with, yet he still doesn’t seem satisfied. Fletcher is somewhat of a tyrant around here, with his staggeringly high taxes on weapons and imports making daily life nearly unliveable for everyone except him. 
So, you don’t feel very guilty robbing him. It certainly doesn’t help that his gold almost seems to regenerate overnight, leaving you with endless opportunities to just steal and steal and steal. And, hey, if he didn’t want you to take his money, maybe he should be guarding it better. His guards are almost incompetent, and they seem to think that appearing in staggered waves is better than using their numbers to their advantage. It’s really all too easy to break into the vaults scattered across Oninoshima, especially as you start getting better weapons and gear. 
Your first few heists draw the attention of Cassidy Quinn, a criminal who harbors a similar hatred for Fletcher. Through Cassidy, you meet Keisha, Joss, Valentina, and a host of other personalities who are eager to take Fletcher down. As time passes and you start to hone your craft, you unknowingly draw the attention of a vital piece in the puzzle: Midas. 
Midas is… well. You’re not sure how to describe him, based on what you’ve heard. He’s enigmatic and egotistical, apparently. It’s abundantly clear he isn’t in it for the greater good—he just wants Fletcher out of the way. That kind of selfishness isn’t one of your favorite traits, so you decide it’s a better idea to avoid him altogether. But, as your heists evolve to be quicker and faster, you unwittingly draw his attention. (And once Midas’s attention is captured, he is unstoppable.)
One uneventful day, you’re rifling through a chest for a better weapon when the sound of footsteps reaches your ears. You immediately whip around and point your gun at the sudden presence. There’s a dark laugh and the intruder steps out of the shadows. 
“I’ve heard about you,” Midas says, a dangerous smirk hinting at his lips. He looks about the same as he’s been described to you: shoulder-length black hair, a scar ripping through his right eye, a vicious grin. Despite the gun pointed at his head, he looks entirely nonchalant—only raising his hands in a gesture of mock surrender. You swallow an irritated sound and let your gun rest at your side. 
“You must be the one who’s been working with Valentina and Cassidy,” Midas analyzes, before enunciating your name carefully. Something lurches in your chest as you realize he knows exactly who you are. Damn it. You had a bad feeling you could only stay under the radar for so long. 
“That’s me,” you respond eventually. 
“Their work did seem far less sloppy than usual,” Midas notes. He studies you for a minute. “And I suppose you’re also the one riding the motorcycle and creating all that ruckus.”
Oh shit. Oops. “…Yeah,” you respond after a moment, a slightly sheepish smile breaking through your blank expression. Truthfully, you hadn’t quite considered just how loud the motorcycle can be. You’re resisting the urge to laugh now. “Keisha’s teaching me,” you remember to say, when you see his arched brow. 
“Teaching you what, exactly?” Midas scrutinizes. “How to draw the attention of everyone on the island… all at once?” 
“No,” you say, ignoring the dig. Truthfully, this is a bit funny. He’s almost acting like an annoyed neighbor. “Stunts and stuff,” you remember to answer noncommittally. 
“On a motorcycle?” he hums, his brows furrowing for a moment as he contemplates the thought. “Interesting.”
It’s quiet. You don’t decide to break through the silence, instead just staring at Midas and waiting for him to speak. He meets your gaze for a while, before sighing and shaking his head. “We have more important things to discuss,” he declares. You weren’t aware you had anything to discuss with Midas. You don’t even really want to speak to him in the first place. And those sentiments must be obvious, because he smirks knowingly. “I could use your skill,” he then says. 
“I’m sure you could,” you acknowledge. “But I’m not joining you.”
“I don’t expect you to,” he answers, to your surprise. 
“...Good,” you nod after a moment. 
“But I do want you to do something for me,” Midas continues. 
Of course he does. “Why should I?” you frown. 
“I’ll compensate you, of course,” he answers. “Call it a test.”
A test. You grit your teeth, resisting the urge to point your gun at his head again. That sounds like a waste of your time. But the sum of gold he offers you is too good to pass up, and he knows it. 
“So,” Midas drawls, “do we have a deal?”
“…Fine,” you relent, against your better judgment. This is such a bad idea. And the foreboding in your chest only grows when Midas holds out a golden hand for you to shake. 
You return the gesture. His grip is firm, but not painful. Unfortunately, his grasp is also insistent—he doesn’t seem keen to release your hand any time soon.
Midas is slippery. Evasive. Dangerous. 
A smirk rises on the outlaw’s lips when his hand finally slips away.
…And you immediately regret your decision. 
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Despite your misgivings about the whole Midas deal, you follow through. Because you may be a lot of things, but you’re not a liar. You gave him your word—that was your mistake to make. 
Fortunately, his tasks don’t take as long as you expect them to. You manage to scan for mysterious energy sources on Predator’s Peak and sneak into Daigo’s underground laboratory to take his book on mask-making, per Midas’s requests. 
When you return to the Rogue Repairs Black Market, you amble around a bit before heading to the door near the back and swiping your Outlaw Keycard. Midas seems to be getting a bit more detailed with his security measures. You enter the room to find Midas sitting at his desk. Without so much as a greeting, you just toss the Mask-Making Book towards him and let it skitter across the desk. Midas looks up at you and hums, before taking the book in hand and inspecting it. 
“You’re quick,” he nods, rifling through the pages before placing the book down. “I wasn’t expecting you for a few more days, at least.” His gaze is heated and unyielding. 
Gritting your teeth, you throw him a gold bar and his eyebrows climb up his forehead for a second. “From Kane’s personal vaults,” you explain, upon sensing his confusion. Maybe this will convince him to trust you.
He whistles. “Not bad at all,” Midas acquiesces. He taps his fingers against the desk, a hollow rhythm echoing throughout the room. “He did seem a bit riled up. I see I have you to thank for that.”
You just nod. 
A pause. “You don’t talk much,” Midas observes after a moment. He doesn’t seem bothered by it. 
“I don’t have much to say,” you answer eventually. And of one thing, you’re certain: you need to watch your words in front of this guy. He’s volatile. 
“Well, I can hardly complain when my benefactor bestows such fortune unto me,” Midas says, making a somewhat grand gesture with his arms before resting them on his desk once more. The intensity of his gaze is unnerving you a little. 
“I’m not your benefactor,” you remember to correct him.
“Of course,” he smiles. “Now, onto the real work.” You resist an eye roll, instead keeping quiet and allowing him to monologue about this and that. At some point, he starts actually talking about important things and you tune back in. 
“You know what to do,” Midas concludes, finally freeing you from that one-sided conversation. With a slight nod, you’re effectively dismissed. “Feel free to grab some weapons on your way out.” He’s evidently referencing the exotic rifles scattered across the space. You’ve never been quite fond of them. They can do a lot of damage, but they’re a bit… finicky. 
“Thanks,” you say somewhat flatly, knowing you won’t take him up on the offer. Midas seems to recognize that too, because he just smiles that damn smile. It never fails to send a shiver down your spine.
“Be careful,” Midas hums. If he were anyone else, the remark would be genuine. But this is Midas. 
“Fuck off,” you mutter under your breath, turning your back and walking away. 
Midas’s laugh seems to reverberate in your ears long after you leave. 
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As promised, these new tasks from Midas are a bit more difficult—but ultimately nothing crazy. At some point, you stop asking questions and just keep quiet. If Midas senses this shift, he doesn’t comment on it. The two of you continue your unplanned meetings, with you visiting whenever you finish a task for him. They’re nothing more than business, and neither of you bother with small talk. They’re transactional and nothing more. 
Sometimes, though, you have to wonder if Midas doesn’t understand that. It’s strange. You’ve heard so many rumors about him and his sharp tongue. And while you’ve certainly seen and heard evidence of his scathing commentary, he’s never quite lived up to the untouchable and prickly individual everyone thinks him to be. 
It’s a small change, but you’re perceptive enough to notice it. Somewhere along the way, Midas almost seems to start anticipating your visits. His gaze will snap up to you the moment he hears your footsteps. He’ll try to keep you there longer, drawing out conversation and asking you questions that he doesn’t seem to even need the answers to. You’re not quite sure what his motivation is. 
For a while, you can at least take solace in the fact that he hasn’t visited you outside of the Black Market since you first met. Of course, the universe doesn’t let you have that comfort for long. You’re in the process of breaking into a vault one morning when you hear a far too familiar voice behind you. “Impressive.”
Your soul nearly jumps out of your body when a hand lands on your shoulder. “What the hell—?” you immediately flinch and whip around, backing away.
“Relax,” Midas says flippantly, as if he hadn’t just appeared out of nowhere. He takes a step closer to you, and then another. You pretend not to notice, instead looking at him warily. 
“What are you doing here?” you remember to ask, after busying yourself with reloading your gun and looking around for more guards.
“Just checking in on your progress,” he answers, idly nudging the dead guard on the ground with a boot. The guard doesn’t budge and Midas just hums disinterestedly. 
“More like distracting me,” you mutter under your breath. 
“You think I’m distracting?” he asks, a twisted smile on his face. “I’m flattered.” 
“Of course you are,” you mutter again. This guy is relentless. You shake your head in an attempt to clear your thoughts, and study your surroundings. The thermite you placed on the door of the vault is making steady progress. You probably have about half of the time left. More guards will appear soon, you think to yourself. 
A burning feeling on your arm captures your attention, and you look down to find a gash on your forearm. Frowning, you turn the corner to grab some bandages.
“Careless,” Midas notes, referencing the wound. He must’ve followed you over here. 
“Shut up,” you snap, rolling the bandages around your forearm somewhat awkwardly. You barely manage to get it done in time before guards are emerging from the rooms upstairs. You quickly run up the nearby stairs to eliminate them. 
You return to the ground floor to find that Midas… isn’t helping at all. He’s just standing there, his hands shoved in his pockets as he watches the scene unfold. You want to be surprised, but you’re not. He thinks everything is a game. 
Two more guards approach and you switch to a pistol. You think Midas is saying something, but his voice is nothing more than warped background noise to you. Once you’ve taken them down, you turn to find Midas looking at you. There’s a strange expression on his face. You have no idea what emotion could be gleaming in his eyes, but it looks to be a relatively profound one. 
Before you can contemplate that any longer, there’s the sound of footsteps in front of you. You squint and watch as a guard heads through the door behind Midas. For a moment, you just watch as the guard gets closer—and you wait for Midas to whip around and shoot him. But Midas doesn’t make a move. Has he even noticed? You don’t have much time to wonder, as the guard promptly raises their gun.
That split second almost seems to take a few minutes, as you come to the conclusion that you’ll have to be the one to act. You manage to get close enough to Midas to push him out of the way, not even bothering to be gentle as you practically shove him off to the side. The guard fires a bullet where Midas was standing mere moments ago and you make quick work of defeating him, before turning back to the outlaw. 
“Idiot,” you admonish him. 
He’s on the ground, staring up at you with a slightly shocked expression on his face. It’s quickly replaced by indifference as he brushes his clothes off and gets to his feet. “Not so rough next time,” Midas says pointedly. And of course he doesn’t thank you for saving his life, or even acknowledge it. Of course. 
“There won’t be a next time,” you promise. 
“True,” Midas agrees, evidently not catching onto the implications you just made. (Because you won’t save him next time. At least, that’s what you’re telling yourself.) Then the outlaw looks at you pensively. “I was… distracted.” Inexplicably, he’s staring at you as he says that. 
“Maybe you should pay better attention, then,” you say flatly, crossing your arms over your chest. 
“Maybe,” he says flippantly. Midas is still staring at you intently. His gaze turns scrutinizing as he looks you up and down, his eyes quickly landing on your forearm. “Your bandaging skills could use some work.”
“Yeah, well,” you sigh. “It’s hard to do with one hand. Besides, this gets the job done.” You reach down to the tattered bandage, attempting to wrap it around your arm again. 
Midas extends a hand, and it lingers in mid-air for a few seconds. There’s a strange tension settling in the air now. It almost looks as if he’s going to reach out to fix your bandaging. 
Then the vault door explodes, promptly breaking the moment apart. You’re the first to regain your composure, turning your back and making your way into the vault. Your departure is too quick for you to notice Midas staring after you, an inscrutable expression on his face. 
“Midas?” you hum after a moment, peeking your head out and looking up the stairs. He’s lingering awkwardly at the top, seemingly lost in thought. You hold up a gold bar and move it back and forth before his eyes. Still nothing. That’s pretty strange. He must be pretty preoccupied. 
“You good?” you ask after you’ve finished looting. The outlaw didn’t even enter the vault. Very weird. You’re not so deluded as to think he trusts you to know what’s valuable down there—he’d want to check himself. So why didn’t he? 
Midas blinks, as if thrown from a stupor. “Of course I am,” he responds smoothly. It’s probably not as convincing as he wants it to be, but you can sense he won’t elaborate. You settle for walking out of the building with him, occasionally sneaking glances at the outlaw who’s always been rumored to be emotionless.
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In hindsight… maybe you got too confident, sneaking around Fletcher Kane’s mansion for a fifth time.  
But in your defense, you weren’t expecting to get jumped. Well and truly jumped—as in, ambushed with a needle to the neck before you could even raise your gun. And besides, you had broken into his mansion four times before—this heist shouldn’t have been different. Fletcher’s security has been laughably lax. It seems he was expecting you this time, though. 
You come to these thoughts within a few minutes of your return to consciousness. You’re not blindfolded, thankfully—but you are tied to a chair in a nondescript location. After a few moments of thought, you recognize it to be Kappa Kappa Factory at the edge of the island. Dread stews in your chest. It could be a while before you’re found. 
You experimentally pull at your bonds, unsurprised to find they’re incredibly tight. All of your weapons are gone—including the dagger you keep in your boot for situations like this, which is really a shame. You’re well and truly captured. 
You’re not at all surprised to see Fletcher Kane walk into the room within moments, his cane thudding against the ground. You watch his approach, taking in the luxurious coat around his shoulders and gilded gold detailing on his cane. This is someone who has more than enough money to burn. 
“I finally have you,” he says. The remark is ominous enough to send an ugly nausea climbing up your throat. You take a slow breath, struggling to keep your composure. 
“Couldn’t even take me in a fair fight?” you blurt out before you can stop yourself. Damn it. “I guess you did get your ass kicked last time.” 
That gets you a punch in the face. The blow is hard enough to make you see stars, and you have to tilt your head to spit blood out of your mouth. It seems he didn’t appreciate that reminder. 
“You’ve been an incredible nuisance,” Fletcher frowns, cracking his knuckles exaggeratedly. You resist an eye roll at the gesture.  
“...Thanks?” you say after a moment. 
The wolf rolls his eyes. After considering you for a second, he continues. “I’m willing to compromise,” he says. There’s a dramatic pause. “I could give you more gold than you would ever know what to do with.”
“Maybe,” you acquiesce, despite already knowing you’ll deny his offer. It won’t hurt to keep him talking, though. “But what would I have to give you?” you reason. 
“Your service,” Fletcher responds. At your perplexed look, he specifies. “Your skill.”
“Um… that’s okay,” you eventually remark, looking around the room to avoid his eyes. Besides, how exactly would you benefit him? What is he even after? You’re still not quite sure. 
Fletcher doesn’t exactly seem surprised, but he does seem annoyed. He takes a step closer and your gaze unwittingly snaps back to him. You’ve stared him down before, but that was when you had fully loaded weapons. Right now, you’re uncomfortably vulnerable—with no weapons, no ability to move, and no safety. 
“You think you’re safe with him,” Fletcher says. He doesn’t need to specify exactly who he’s talking about—you both know. “But you’re not. Midas will discard you at a moment’s notice. The second you lose your utility, you’ll be dead to him.”
It seems like he’s speaking from experience (and also projecting). You don’t really know what to say, so you just keep quiet. Fletcher doesn’t even seem to notice—he almost looks lost in memories, in betrayal and anger and grief.
At some point, he seems to remember your presence and his eyes narrow. Suddenly, Fletcher crosses the room in a swift movement and yanks your head back, forcing you to look up at him. His nails are almost as sharp as claws, digging into your skin. You choke on a breath as you see the pure fury in his eyes. “You’re nothing.” 
He releases his grip with a pronounced shove. Your vision spins at the movement. You’re starting to get the feeling that this really isn’t about you—it’s about Midas. Fletcher just grabbed you to use as bait. But, you have a sneaking suspicion you’re not good enough bait. You wouldn’t be at all surprised if Midas never showed. You’re not that important to him. The outlaw doesn’t do friends, or acquaintances, or whatever the fuck the two of you are. 
“He’s not coming.” The remark crawls its way out of your throat before you can stop it. Fletcher’s eyes are back on you. 
“Oh, he is,” Fletcher laughs, a gesture entirely devoid of amusement. It sounds empty, bitter, almost defeated. There’s clearly a rich history between the two criminals—one you’re entirely unknowing of. You only know what little Midas has told you: that they’ve known each other for a while, that Fletcher has always been like this. Clearly, there’s a lot more between them than what you previously thought. 
“I don’t think so,” you continue. Your voice sounds a bit raspy, which is strange—considering you likely haven’t been here for too long. 
“When I first heard,” Fletcher says, entirely uncaring of your objections, “I thought it to be just another rumor. I dismissed it time and time again, each time I heard it.” Is it fair to say you have no idea what he’s talking about? He’s being frustratingly vague. It seems like the wolf is alluding to something between Midas and you. What exactly that something is… you haven’t the faintest idea. 
“But I’ve seen it for myself,” Fletcher continues. You blink in disbelief. What exactly has he seen, and how has he seen it? You don’t think the three of you have ever been in a room together. “Midas sees you as an equal. Values you, cares for you. And because of that, he is weak.” The statement’s punctuated by a harsh thud from his cane. 
With that, the air falls quiet once more. You’re not sure how much time passes: it could be minutes, it could be hours. Hell, you could’ve been here for days. In this windowless room, it’s impossible to know for sure. All you know is that Fletcher is quickly turning impatient. 
“Midas is taking his time,” Fletcher announces, beginning to pace around the room. He seems restless. 
“He’s not coming,” you repeat. 
“You seem certain,” Fletcher notes. 
“I… am,” you say carefully. A mere moment’s reflection on Midas’s character could tell you that. The two of you aren’t even friends. In your absence, he’ll just move to find another weapon (benefactor, you remember him saying).
Something changes in his expression. Kane takes a step closer. Your heart thuds against your ribs. “You’re smart,” he says begrudgingly, crossing his arms across his chest. “Why have you remained at his side?” 
“I don’t think he lets anyone stand at his side,” you reason. This is Midas you’re talking about, after all. He comes and goes when he pleases. “I just… complete the tasks he gives me.”
“You underestimate yourself,” Fletcher argues, seemingly strangely passionate about the topic. You still can’t shake the feeling that you’re missing a huge piece of this puzzle. There’s something neither of these criminals are telling you. “Or, I suppose, what you’ve uttered is what you do. But he isn’t content with that. He wants more.” 
The distance between you is virtually nonexistent now. A claw traces the space under your eye, a hollow reflection of where the scar cuts through Midas’s face. You choke on your next breath. “He’ll take everything from you,” Fletcher continues, dragging his finger down, down, down. “Make you forget who you are, what you’re fighting for. Your purpose.” 
You just swallow. Distracted by the movement, Fletcher’s hand flexes and finds your throat. There’s a contemplative expression on his face now. “I could end this,” the wolf muses. “Ensure you never disrespect me again.” His hand tightens for a second, a warning. You are not the one in control. 
“He would never forgive me,” Fletcher says.  It’s murmured so quietly that you almost don’t even hear it at all. “But I don’t think I need his forgiveness,” he then concludes. “Just his attention.”
Your heart drops to your stomach. He’s going to kill you. He’s going to rip your throat out. His grip on your throat tightens, moving past discomfort and quickly ripping your breath from your chest. You can barely budge in your current position. All you can do is stare up into those empty eyes. 
Your vision’s starting to blacken. You’re going to die. Fletcher’s vicious smirk blurs and sharpens before your eyes. His hand digs into your skin with far too much force. You’re going to die, you’re going to—
In a blur of motion, Fletcher reels back, blood spurting from his wrist as a bullet carves a neat path through it. You flinch as blood spatters across your face. What follows eludes your comprehension: blurs of movement, gunshots, blades. You feel dizzy even as you just sit there. 
At some point, Midas returns. The only sign of his fight with Fletcher is his slightly labored breathing—otherwise, he looks unscathed. He studies you for a moment before crouching down to untie your bonds in eerie silence. Even when he’s finished, he remains standing before you. Something like annoyance passes over his face and he reaches out to wipe the blood off your face, before finally stepping back and giving you some breathing room.
You get to your feet slowly, your knees protesting the movement. You’re not sure just how long you spent here, but you know whatever you were drugged with is still running through your system. Your balance is a bit unsteady and you almost feel like a baby deer learning to walk. 
“Can’t even take a punch?” Midas huffs judgmentally. You’re too dazed to notice the concern hidden behind his remark or the way he steps closer, as if ready to reach out and support you if needed. 
“I think he drugged me with something,” you say instead, your tongue feeling thick in your mouth. It was kind of hard to notice before, since you were forced to be stationary. But now that you’ve tried to move, your exhaustion and vertigo are rather persistent. There’s sweat collecting at the back of your neck. You don’t feel right; something doesn’t feel right. “Sorry, I—” you try to say, only for the world to twist around you. It feels like every bone in your body just turns to mush, as you crumple to the ground and surrender to unconsciousness. 
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You wake up to find yourself settled on a couch, a somewhat scratchy blanket draped over you. Your muscles ache with even the smallest of movements, as you push yourself up to a half-seated position and clear your throat to get rid of the dryness. There are new bandages around your forearms, far less clumsy than your own handiwork. 
“You’re awake,” Midas states. You glance to the side and find him sitting in an armchair nearby, leveling you with a scrutinizing gaze. 
You nod ever so slightly, not trusting yourself to speak. “...Thanks,” you say. You don’t need to elaborate for him to know what you’re thanking him for. If he hadn’t arrived, you might’ve been dead. And, if Midas really wanted, he could’ve just left you there. He didn’t have to bring you back here—wherever this is—and patch you up.
“I should’ve been there sooner,” Midas responds. 
You just shake your head. You don’t blame him, but you sense that speaking on those thoughts will just throw you into an argument. You don’t have the energy, so you instead remain quiet. After a few more minutes spent in awkward silence, you try to push yourself up slowly. 
“Don’t push it,” Midas warns you, making you freeze in place. “I found traces of the drugs in your system. Or, I suppose, Joss did. Not exactly her forte, as she was keen to remind me several times.” He rolls his eyes slightly. 
“Everyone seemed quite worried for you,” he continues. “You have quite the little family now, whether you wanted one or not.” 
He’s speaking a bit too quickly for you to comprehend everything. “Sorry, I’m—” you choke out, bringing a hand to your temple. It’s difficult to process what’s happening, especially in this conversation. You still can’t quite understand the whole interaction with Fletcher, let alone what’s happening right now. 
“You apologize far too much,” he notes clinically. “You should work on that.” 
You huff, unsurprised by his scrutiny. When you move to push yourself up again, you find the movement a bit easier—and realize Midas has a hand on your back, guiding you up. You murmur a word of gratitude quietly, feeling slightly less winded now that you’re in a seated position. 
Midas looks to be contemplating something. “In truth, I’m the one who should be apologizing,” he eventually says. “I got you caught up in this mess.”
You just shake your head. “You couldn’t have known that would happen.”
“I should’ve expected it,” he argues, shaking his head. 
“And I should’ve expected the ambush,” you add with a sigh. 
Midas’s face darkens at the reminder. “That seemed… unnecessary,” he says. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think he was frowning. “Even for Kane.”
“He seemed to think I was disrespectful,” you explain, “for all the robberies.” 
“I’d venture to guess there was more reason than that,” Midas analyzes, looking at you pointedly. He’s inviting you to explain. This is his way of asking what Fletcher said to you. He’ll never outright say it, but he wants to know.
“He did say…” you trail off hesitantly, tangling your fingers in the blanket thrown over you. “He seemed to think that you would show up, because he had captured me.”
Midas just clasps his hands, before looking at you and waiting for you to continue. 
“He, um,” you stammer awkwardly. This is embarrassing, somehow. You’re not the most perceptive when it comes to ambiguity and implication, but Fletcher had really hammered the point home. “He said you want more from me.”
“More,” Midas repeats, evidently seeking elaboration.
“More than just completing tasks,” you continue. “He was… Um.”
Midas looks at you imploringly. “Say it; I can take it.”
That’s… not really what you’re worried about. But it doesn’t seem like you’re going to get out of this one. 
“He said,” you eventually manage to say, “that you value me and care about me.” There’s that familiar tension you always seem to feel in his presence, sinking through the air and making you question everything you say. “I told him he was wrong,” you maintain, after giving Midas a moment to process. 
“...You did,” he says. “A fierce defender.” There’s a note of some detached emotion in his voice. It sounds unnatural, hollow. 
“I mean,” you justify, “It was just instinctual. Because it’s not true.” You search his face. 
You’re expecting a hum, a nod, or, hell, no reaction at all. But you aren’t expecting Midas to sigh and bring a hand to his temple, before dragging his eyes up to meet yours. “It’s true,” he admits. 
“It is?” you blink. 
He nods ever so slightly. “You didn’t show,” Midas then recalls slowly. It looks like each word he utters is taking more energy from him. This is clearly difficult for him. “I was skeptical. You’re usually… quite quick. I gave you the benefit of the doubt, told myself it was an arduous task when it wasn’t.”
“It wasn’t until Keisha visited, that I let myself believe it,” he continues. “That you were missing.” 
“I felt strange,” he frowns, his hand twitching. “Sick.”
“I thought my years of good health had finally caught up to me. But I persisted. I thought nothing of it—of how it cleared the moment we locked eyes earlier.”
“It’s true,” Midas concludes. “You are… very important to me.”
“You’re important to me too,” you confess after a few moments. 
“As Midas,” he recites, something bitter in his voice. “As an outlaw.”
“What?” you say. “No, I mean… Just—” you take a slow breath. “You’re important… as you. Just you. None of that other stuff.” As far as confessions go, it’s almost pathetic. You barely get the words out, and they sound absolutely nonsensical to your ears. 
But Midas seems to understand regardless. His hand finds yours where it’s resting on the bed. It’s a seemingly small gesture, but both of you can sense the meaning behind it. You squeeze his hand in what you hope to be a sign of reassurance. His grip tightens in response. 
Midas proceeds to keep you company throughout your entire recovery. He admits, one night when he thinks you’re asleep, that he’s never quite done this before—caring for a person like this. Caring about a person like this. 
You’ll admit something similar in the coming days, once you’re fully recovered. You’ll admit you feel as if you don’t deserve to be cared for, that you’ve taken too many lives to feel deserving of anything. And Midas will laugh under his breath quietly, bringing a hand to your cheek. His thumb will glide across your cheekbone. 
“Maybe neither of us deserve this,” Midas will admit, “but, we deserve each other.”
And you’ll look at him, meet his eyes, and find yourself unable to hide a smile.
Until then, you drift off to sleep knowing you’ll have his company when you wake.
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©2025, @defectivevillain | @defectivehero, All Rights Reserved. Reblogs are greatly appreciated—just don't steal or share outside of Tumblr, please.
endnotes: Heeheeheeeee!
Imagining Midas sitting in an armchair across the room but near your bedside…. Imagining him literally never leaving… Imagining him falling asleep there… spending all his time there, because he just wants to be near you… GRAHHHHH!
also WHEW. Midas is difficult to write for. But I think I pulled it off, and I’m pretty proud of it.
I fr almost wrote “deerling” instead of baby deer… and then I looked it up and remembered that Deerling is a Pokémon. Bahahaha.
huge shoutout to my fortnite bestie @connorhasabigtip we’re so tilted at the towers. can’t wait to run ppl over with u again!!! i mean. uh. play the game how it’s supposed to be played. yeah.
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thanks for reading! <3
check out my other works, sorted by fandom.
general taglist: @its-ares @excusemeasibangmyheadonawall @the-ultimate-librarian @gayaristocrat @always-lying-to-you @moss4ev3r @hottskull
friendly reminder that i don't give permission for my writing to be shared to other sites, stolen, copied, translated, or used in any way. thanks!
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sebbybailey · 5 months ago
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Still cannot believe that we were robbed of Bucky and Natasha being a couple in the MCU, but I'm still thanking the Russo brothers for basically almost confirming it in the MCU with the references.
I know that Sebastian wanted to explore that, but I think Scarlett wanted it too as well. Joss Whedon basically ruined everything about it by putting Natasha with Bruce instead of Bucky. I still think Bucky and Natasha did end up together in the past of the MCU, but it'll never ever be confirmed. Still, Thunderbolts* could confirm that with Bucky telling Yelena that he knew Nat and confirm more of the backstory between the two characters that we've been waiting for ever since Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
All we know is that Bucky put Natasha out of action in 2009 or 2010 and that paved her to be the assistant for Tony while she was out of action and the other we know is that she said in Civil War, "Don't you recognize me" which I don't think that is for the scenes with them fighting in The Winter Soldier at all.
I still think he trained her AND Yelena in the Red Room and Natasha and him fell for each other, but like I said that might never be confirmed.
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girl4music · 5 months ago
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youtube
"So if the Willow/Tara relationship is so fondly recalled a generation after Buffy ended, why is the same not true for Xena and Gabrielle's relationship? There are several points of difference between the two series that make plain precisely why Xena was never able to be as explicit with its queer content as Buffy. Most obviously Xena began a year and a half earlier and only briefly were the two shows thriving conterminously. Xena was already half way through its penultimate 5th season when Tara was first introduced on Buffy and by the time the Willow/Tara relationship was in full bloom, Xena was heading towards its final episode. Even more importantly, Xena was a syndicated series with its producer Rob Tapert of Renaissance Pictures hawking the product to local and national networks whilst remaining reliant upon advertisers and a handful of key sponsers.
When considering the queerness of the Xena/Gabrielle relationship then, what ought to be emphasised is intentionality. As a syndicated series in the mid-to-late 1990's Xena was in no position to include openly queer characters on its show. What made the series groundbreaking and positive for the LGBTQIA+ community was that when Xena's showrunners, staff writers and stars discovered early in Season 1 that they had a legion of queer fans, rather than being repulsed they actively embraced their unexpected fanbase. Skirting the expectations of networks and advertisers in much the same manner that Buffy a few years later would use magic as an allegory for lesbianism. It's also worth emphasising, as one further point of departure between the two shows, that the Willow/Tara relationship was carefully planned out in advance by Joss Whedon whereas when Xena first aired in September 1995 nothing of the sort was even remotely contemplated. A taste of the conservatism showrunner Rob Tapert and his writers were forced to deal with maybe gleaned from the fact firstly that Tapert was strongly advised when pitching the series simply to make Xena male, and secondly that when the first episode was released censors and local advertisers voiced concerns over the opening credits sequence since it featured Xena getting intimate with the shirtless warlord Draco and it was feared that his long braided hair might lead audiences to conclude that Xena was in bed with a woman. Yet despite the fact that Xena's early episodes were never intended to be anything but straight, they inadvertently came off as incredibly queer. Right from the outset Gabrielle is heavily coded as a baby gay. Feeling utterly trapped by her dull peasant existence, Gabrielle yearns for excitement and adventure and longs to see the world. Yet the way she expresses this to Xena entirely gives off the vibe of 'only gay in the village' staring down the barrel of a heteronormative life she doesn't want. In scene after scene across the show's first few episodes the Xena/Gabrielle dynamic enjoys a decidedly romantic undertone even as their writers felt compelled to push boyfriends of the week upon both characters.
All of this came to a head in episode eight in an inadvertently deeply romantic scene as Gabrielle tearfully farewells Xena right before she departs on what appears to be a suicide mission. Actors Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor have always claimed that it was around this point in the show's run that they first became aware of their lesbian fanbase as they rapidly found themselves inundated with fan mail from queer women of all ages at the same time as an abundance of Xena/Gabrielle femslash��began appearing online in the early days of the internet. To their lasting credit both stars, alongside producer Rob Tapert, enthusiastically jumped at the chance to please their new and unexpected demographic. As we shall see in the final section, they sometimes miss the mark, but on the whole they proved remarkably successful in respecting their queer fanbase whilst maintaining plausible deniability with the censors, networks and advertisers whom they needed to appease in order to sell the series. What resulted was a noticeable shift in the tone of the Xena/Gabrielle relationship across the back half of Season 1. Despite intermittently continuing to thrust boyfriends of the week upon both characters the show's inner-core of staff writers took note of the warmth, affection and intimacy that had originally won over their queer viewership and began integrating these types of scenes into their stories with increasing frequency. Just as importantly the intimacy Xena and Gabrielle began displaying towards one another did not exist in a vacuum as little droplets for the benefit of queer viewers but was instead used as a genuine form of character building to reinforce the show's central message that neither protagonist could contemplate life without the other. When, for example, Xena is struck by a poisoned dart and Gabrielle thinks she's dead, she kisses her a fond farewell, has a furious grief-stricken breakdown over her death and then risks her own life to prevent Xena's body from being torn limb from limb, and, in even more iconic fashion, when the tables are turned in the season finale and a wounded Gabrielle seemingly dies in Xena's arms we get an incredibly powerful acting moment from Lucy Lawless as Xena's stoic warrior facade entirely crumbles upon the realisation that she might have lost Gabrielle.
Thereafter, Xena's writers became evermore emboldened in making the Xena/Gabrielle relationship the centrepiece of the story. Growing the implied love and affection between their heroines to the point that by mid-season 2 in the episode 'The Quest', Xena and Gabrielle at last share their first on screen kiss. This episode, it should be noted, aired in February 1997, almost exactly four years to the day before Willow and Tara's first kiss on Buffy, and yes, the kiss took place with Xena inhabiting the body of Autolycus the thief, played by Bruce Campbell, but we nonetheless get to see Xena and Gabrielle in the spirit world leaning in to lock lips immediately preceding a hard cut to Gabrielle and Autolycus, leaving the viewer in absolutely no doubt as to what was actually going on. In essence the Xena/Gabrielle relationship was no longer subtext. Xena had unequivocally kissed Gabrielle romantically, albeit to appease networks and financial backers in the body of a man, and as the series progressed other similar excuses were concocted to enable the pair to express their physical intimacy whilst maintaining the necessary plausible deniability. 'The Quest' proved a line in the sand moment for Xena and Gabrielle's relationship. Only two episodes later in the light-hearted 'A Day In The Life' their behaviour makes plain that they're now unquestionably dating and are very much in the honeymoon phase. They can't keep their hands off each other, they bicker like an old married couple, they enjoy decidedly un-platonic baths together and they even repeatedly bemoan the fact that men keep crushing on Xena. From here-on-in the series makes no bones about the fact, but one giant rift and a few ill-conceived boyfriends of the week aside, Xena and Gabrielle are in a canonical romantic relationship throughout the rest of the show's run. Indeed within the limits of the conservative censorship guidelines they were forced to work with, Xena's writers went out of their way to highlight the physical and emotional intimacy of their leads' relationships with each other, and with other women, in a manner that really cannot be read as wholly platonic unless you're the kind of person who has a 'see-no-homo' mentality. This was done, it should be emphasised, not to queer-bait, nor to keep the heterosexual male viewer engaged, but rather to queer-code for the benefit of the show's substantial lesbian audience who were the driving force behind the packed Xena cons that became enormously popular during and in the years immediately following the show's run. It's abundantly clear moreover that cast and crew alike were entirely onboard with what was going on between its leads."
This is a very well-worded, clear and concise analysis on the intentional queer-coding in the TV shows ‘Xena: Warrior Princess' and 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'. If you get chance to watch the entire video, it's well worth it.
It's very true that Willow and Tara's relationship is much more acknowledged and praised for being 'explicitly canon' WLW/queer representation than Xena and Gabrielle's relationship is but - as the YouTuber said - that's because most people don't take in the historical context behind how and why Xena and Gabrielle couldn't be explicitly canon and if not for what the Xena creator's did with the Xena/Gabrielle relationship, it's likely Willow and Tara never could have been either since Xena preceded it and faced a lot more challenges of which gave it the victory necessary for Buffy to follow and continue to break down the barriers of censorship.
Xena and Gabrielle never ever get on those "the most groundbreaking LGBTQIA+ ships or couples in TV art/entertainment of all-time" lists simply because it wasn’t confirmed as a canon one in the show itself - which is incredibly sad and frustrating for me - but regardless - it is true that they still broke the most ground in getting WLW representation (or any queer representation) to even be allowed to be seen in a major TV show format.
I say it all the time: Xena and Gabrielle were really the greenlight and blueprint to every bit of positive queer representation we have today and I just want people to be aware that their queer ships probably would not exist if not for them and the insanely brave and fearless creators/cast/crew that did many things first before any others did and they should at least be honoured for that if not for anything else because we had virtually fucking nothing at all until they came along and changed the TV landscape forevermore until explicitly canon queer content could be permissible in TV media.
I don't like it when queer people ignore Xena and Gabrielle's legacy in the LGBTQIA+ community because if it wasn't for them and the amazing people behind creating them,... where would we even be now? We would not be as far as we are. I can guarantee you that. We wouldn’t be in a position where showrunners and networks can queer-bait the hell out of their straight (but still intentionally queer-coded for the purpose of exploitation) characters. We most certainly would not be in the position to see genuine and sincere positive WLW/queer representation. There would be no Willow and Tara. There would be no Waverly and Nicole. There would be no EXPLICITLY CANON WLW/queer couples.
You guys do not know how good you've got it. I never had any of this when I was a queer child. All I had was Xena and Gabrielle. That's it! It’s all that I held on to. And to this day I still hold on to Xena and Gabrielle with an iron grip because I am still convinced that they are the best WLW/queer representation in all of TV history simply because they didn’t have to be but were anyway because the creators/cast/crew felt it was much more valuable as a WLW love story than completely platonic and when you watch the show for yourself, you do see that this is the truth. It is a lot more valuable that way.
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Everything works much better. The storytelling, the arcs, the characterization, the tonal quality. All of it. The dialogue is snappier, funnier, more campy, more vibrant with the queer narratives involved. It feels right. But as soon as you switch it over to a straight narrative or a more heteronormative outlook, that quickly vanishes. Some of the worst episodes of the show are the ones where they try to force-feed you straight relationships - knowing that there’s already an extremely strong and substantial one established between the two leads and you ask yourself - other than blatant homophobia - why they can’t be that central romance of the entire show.
But don’t worry because as far as the creators/cast/crew are concerned - they are. They don’t want those straight relationships or boyfriends of the week either. They don’t so much mind the various other WLW/queer relationships or girlfriends of the week, but even then, they’re still pretty adamant that it’s X&G that they ship.
When you’ve got that - that sincere intention - it really doesn’t matter what’s explicitly canon and what’s not. If the creators/cast/crew are completely onboard, it really makes absolutely no difference whatsoever if they are or aren’t because as far as anyone that matters sees it - they already are and that already drives the heart of it. Then you look at ‘Supergirl’ or ‘ONCE’ or ‘Rizzoli and Isles’ and you think - if only they were that damn brave. If only they took risks. If only they met the challenges. But no, they went the other way on all of that even when they didn’t need to because censorship was a lot less severe. That’s why I have no love or respect for them. And I’m not asking for too much because Xena and Buffy did it and they’re regarded so highly in fandom. Not with everything but definitely for real and true WLW/queer representation and I think that maybe we need to acknowledge it more because what we have today is good representation but not good storytelling and the only way someone like me will pay attention is if there’s both and they’re cleverly intertwined together.
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zvtara-was-never-canon · 6 months ago
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tumblr.com/coconutsaiyan/762919117205487616/the-zutara-shippers-having-fun
Kataang antis please stop using ships that nothing to do with Avatar challenge. (I don’t disagree that there are bad apples on the Kataang shipping side, but to acting like there are zero bad apples on the anti side/ZK side is false advertising).
For real, that's one of the things that pisses me off the most about zutara fans: forcing connections with ships that have LITTLE TO NO SIMMILARITIES.
I got to the tags of How I Met Your Mother? I see people go "Zuko and Katara, two characters that barely interacted and never had feelings for each other, not ending up together was as much of a betrayal to the show and fans as Barney and Robin's romance being build up for 7+years only for them to get divorced in the finale, when they had just gotten married!"
I go into the Buffy the Vampire Slayer tag? I see people comparing Bryan and Mike, who a good relationship with all the actors in the show, to Joss Whedon, a notorious misogynist that sexually harrassed the actresses, over-worked the entire crew, and slammed Spike's actor against the wall and told him "You're DEAD!" for the crime of playing a character too well and becoming one of the fan-favorite choices for who the main character should end up with.
Hell, I go into the Hunger Games tag and see people comparing Zuko and Katara to Gale and Katniss because "Zuko was done dirty just like Gale!" Nevermind that Zuko's whole arc was about realizing violence is not the answer and thus wins over Katara's friendship and trust eventually, while Gale lost Katniss's trust and friendship permanently because his refusal to see "the enemy" as humans made him create the very bombs that killed her sister, aka even if Zuko WAS the Gale to Katara's Katniss that would not be the win they think it'd be because this ship was not endgame for a damn good reason!
Zutara has so little going for it that the fans have to take other ships' stories and pretend it's theirs to make it look like they were "robbed."
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kickbutts-singsongs · 5 months ago
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Welcome back to another episode of “what accidental fandom reference made me cry today??”
___
Random radio station: Andddddddd we’re back! It’s MIX FM Live, bringing you today’s hits! I’m Rob, and this is Joss, which is short for Jocelyn by the way—
Me, a Person of Interest fan: *sobs*
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coraniaid · 9 months ago
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Who do you think tended to be consistently the strongest and weakest writers on the Buffy staff? [With the obvious caveat that TV writing is collaborative of course.]
Looking only at writers who are credited with at least five episodes so that we've got a decent sized sample of their writing (and, as you say, pretending for the sake of the argument that each episode was written entirely by the writer named in its credits), our long list is:
Dean Batali and Rob Des Hotel co-wrote five episodes together, starting with Season 1's Never Kill A Boy On The First Date and ending with Season 2's Killed By Death
Jane Espenson wrote twenty-three episodes, starting with Season 3's Band Candy and ending with Season 7's End Of Days (co-written with Doug Petrie)
David Fury wrote seventeen episodes, starting with Season 2's Go Fish (co-written with Elin Hampton) and ending with Season 7's Lies My Parents Told Me (co-written with Drew Goddard)
Drew Goddard wrote or co-wrote five episodes, all in Season 7, starting with Selfless and ending with Dirty Girls.
Drew Z. Greenberg wrote six episodes, starting with Season 6's Smashed and ending with Season 7's Empty Places
David Greenwalt wrote eight episodes, starting with Season 1's Teacher's Pet and ending with Season 3's Homecoming
Rebecca Rand Kirshner wrote eight episodes, starting with Season 5's Out Of My Mind and ending with Season 7's Touched
Steven S. Knight wrote five episodes, starting with Season 5's Blood Ties and ending with Season 6's Seeing Red
Marti Noxon wrote twenty-three episodes, starting with Season 2's What's My Line? (Part 1) (co-written with Howard Gordon) and ending with Season 7's Bring On The Night (co-written with Doug Petrie)
Doug Petrie wrote seventeen episodes, starting with Season 3's Revelations and ending with Season 7's End Of Days (co-written with Jane Espenson)
Joss Whedon wrote twenty-seven episodes, starting with Season 1's Welcome to the Hellmouth and ending with Season 7's Chosen
Unfortunately for people who like to claim that being a good person and being a good artist are correlated, I think it's pretty much indisputable that Joss Whedon was consistently the best Buffy writer. As well as every season opener and season finale except for Season 5's Buffy vs Dracula and both Season 6's Bargaining and Grave, Whedon-written episodes include Lie To Me, Innocence, Doppelgangland, Hush, Who Are You?, Family, The Body and Once More With Feeling. You could easily make a plausible top ten of Buffy episodes without picking episodes written by anybody else.
It's true that Whedon has a very particular style, that his characters all tend to default to speaking in a certain way and that he is a lot better at mood and metaphor than tight, multi-layed plotting. I'm not sure this is an approach that necessarily works well outside of the show (as well as easy targets like Avengers 2 or Whedon's bizarre Wonder Woman script or whatever was going on in the post-Chosen comics, I should admit I don't think fan-favorite Firefly is very good either), and by all accounts he's a pretty terrible human being as well, but as a writer on Buffy I think his work is consistently very good. The worst Whedon-written episodes are probably the opening two parter, Welcome to the Hellmouth/The Harvest, Season 1's Nightmares and Season 3's Amends, and I think it's a stretch to call any of them bad episodes.
Of the other good Buffy writers ... well, I wouldn't be much of a Faith fan if I didn't mention Doug Petrie (whose best episodes include Revelations, This Year's Girl, No Place Like Home and Fool For Love), but I think his Season 6 and Season 7 episodes are quite a bit weaker. I'm not a huge fan of Season 4's The Initiative either.
Marti Noxon had as big an influence as anyone on the show other than Whedon, but 'consistent' is not the word I'd use to describe her. Her best epsiodes (I Only Have Eyes For You, Consequences, The Prom, Forever, Bargaining) are fantastic, her worst ... well, she wrote the worst two episodes of Season 3 (Dead Man's Party and Beauty and the Beasts), she wrote Buffy vs Dracula (which I know some people love but I can't stand at all) and she wrote (or cowrote) Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered and Doomed and Into the Woods (all three of which, I think, would be in the running for a list of the show's worst ten episodes).
I think Petrie and Noxon are probably the show's best two writers after Whedon. I know a lot of people really rate Jane Espenson's work, and I do like a lot of her episodes (Earshot and Band Candy are both very good), but she also wrote some real stinkers (Pangs, A New Man and ... again, Doomed). She doesn't quite have any real knockout episodes, for my money.
Worst writer is a more hotly contested category.
David Fury wrote (or co-wrote) Lies My Parents Told Me and Go Fish (and, not to keep banging on about it, Doomed) which is a pretty good claim to the title of "worst writer", but he also wrote Helpless, Choices, Fear Itself and Real Me and at least co-wrote Bargaining. So I don't think, hand on heart, that he can possibly be the worst Buffy writer. Certainly not consistently so.
David Greenwalt wrote (or co-wrote, with Whedon) School Hard and Ted and Faith, Hope & Trick and Homecoming, all very good episodes. But he also wrote Teacher's Pet, which .... uh.
Probably the consistently weakest writers are the ones who didn't really write anything dreadful but also never wrote anything particular amazing.
Dean Batali and Rob des Hotel's worst episode is the forgetable Killed By Death, and I'm not sure I could tell you what their best episode is. Never Kill A Boy On The First Date, maybe? I think I like that one more than most people do.
From the other end of the show's run, there's Drew Z Greenberg, whose worst episode is probably a tie between Him and Empty Places and whose best episode is ... uh. Entropy, maybe? And David Goddard, who only wrote for the show's worst season and who managed to cowrite Lies My Parents Told Me, easily the show's worst ever episode (and I am not as much of a fan of Selfless as many people, although I'd agree it's certainly his best work).
It's no secret that Season 7 is my least favorite season, and while I don't think Season 1 is objectively great, it -- and the early parts of Season 2 -- have a certain nostalgic charm I don't really get from the rest of the show. So I guess I'd pick one of the Drews, either Greenberg or Goddard, if I had to pick a single worst writer. Or fail to pick one, as it happens, because I can't pick between them.
Though I think the absolute best sign that an episode is likely to be a stinker is if it's credited to more than one writer, especially writers who don't normally write as a team. There are a handful of exceptions -- Conversations With Dead People comes to mind -- but on the hand you've got 'classics' like The Pack and Go Fish and Flooded and Life Serial and Sleeper and Bring On The Night and Lies My Parents Told Me and End Of Days. That's a pretty consistent list of dubious to terrible episodes right there.
Oh, and don't forget Doomed, the only episode of the show officially credited to three different writers. Have I mentioned that I don't like Doomed? Because I really don't like Doomed.
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raisedbythetv89 · 2 years ago
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I feel like Logan’s death really commandeers the conversation about how terrible season 4 of Veronica Mars is (understandably so it is horrific) but there’s literally SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT 😭
Veronica isn’t Veronica and Logan isn’t Logan (really NO ONE is truly in character anymore). Rob Thomas clearly has NO IDEA what healing actually looks like so Logan becomes this pop psychology stereotype with no depth or emotion and like Veronica literally says A POD PERSON. And he describes his therapy as controlling his anger so it doesn’t consume him. That might have been the move as a temporary band-aide immediately to stabilize his life after season 3 but what like 12 years later???? When season 4 starts? ABSOLUTELY NOT. Fire that therapist immediately 😭 He should be WELL into the source of his anger. Healing isn’t about control it’s about surrender and acceptance of your feelings and developing healthy coping strategies to process your newly uncovered feelings so you can live WITH them not in spite of them. There’s a reason so many “good guy” characters are so one dimensional and boring it’s because the male writers writing them literally have NO CLUE what a healthy well adjusted men act like 😭 - (Ted Lasso was so rare because we had good men writing good men)
And yes we know Logan punching people does it for Veronica but that’s because it is ALWAYS in defense of her but his safety and well being is always her number 1 priority (he pulls a gun to save her in the Fitzpatricks bar and she screams at him because she doesn’t want him to get hurt or killed in his attempt to defend her and she’s terrified). Him just punching a kitchen cabinet in rage and frustration is NOT the same thing at all and she would show concern in that situation not immediately instigate sex ROBERT.
The idea that Veronica did ZERO growing/healing/processing in those 12 years is so insulting and just not realistic - once she got space and distance she would have come out of fight or flight and been assaulted with all the repressed emotions from seasons 1-3 before law school yet somehow she’s WORSE than she was when she was younger with less stability and support and capacity to handle everything she was dealing with.
Especially after everything established in the movie!
“Are you gonna ask me if I did it?”
“I wouldn’t be here if I thought you did”
THE AMOUNT OF GROWTH THAT SHOWS IN VERONICA IS ACTUALLY INSANE. Miss never trusts anybody, suspect EVERYONE until your can verify the truth - believes Logan and Weevil AT THEIR WORD. Trusts THEIR CHANGE implicitly and picks helping Logan and Weevil BECAUSE SHE CARES not because it’s a fucking addiction as Rob tried to frame it in the movie 💀💀💀 Veronica always helped because she’s SOFT because she has a good heart and can’t help but help when she knows she can which is classic of parentified children - you believe everything is your responsibility to fix if it’s in your capability to fix. Does she get neurotic trying to solve cases? Absolutely! But that is trying to control and fix external problems as a distraction from her own. It was a coping mechanism and taking that coping mechanism away in the 9 years between season 3 and the movie would have caused serious problems for her that would have forced her to confront her issues.
Season 4 could have been Veronica having a complete break down from her always too full plate coming crumbling down trying to help and fix too much combined with logan being gone and always at risk when he is gone, Wallace bringing new life into an increasingly corrupt neptune she can’t seem to save, Mac working for Jake Kane?!!?! I would have loved If instead she was helping Mac deal with the swapped at birth thing they NEVER touched again. Combined with her dad’s health problems and Weevil falling back into his old habits. She is someone who feels responsible for everything and everyone around her because everyone blamed her for EVERYTHING when she was younger and eventually that catches up with you and THAT is what I wanted to see her strength crumble forcing her to be truly vulnerable and instead of asking for favors asking for HELP allowing her to stop acting like a woman written by a man and act like an actual adult woman BY women who actually understand that experience. Rob was SO out of his depth - his portrayal of Leanne in earlier seasons already proved that.
But that’s just one of literally 1 million possibilities that would have been better than the direction Rob chose. He managed to strip away everything we loved about ALL of his characters until they were ghosts of themselves and it makes me SO UPSET 😭 because he literally revived a show just to finish the destruction path he started in season 3, that had started to be corrected in the movie because it was so controlled by the fans.
Rob and Joss - two men who’s success was built upon a largely female audience and then their misogyny caused them to try and destroy everything their audiences loved 🙃🙃🙃🙃
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moistvonlipwig · 5 months ago
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Cordelia Chase + 2, 8, 10
yay :D
2. How would I have chosen to change their story from canon?
I think the most important thing for me is that we needed to be let in on the truth that she was being possessed in Angel S4 far, far earlier -- by the end of "Apocalypse, Nowish" at the latest -- and we needed to actually hear from her while she was being possessed. Robbing Cordelia, a character whose entire thing is speaking her mind, of her voice for an entire season is so profoundly unjust and misogynistic, and I really do think that giving us a glimpse into her mind and her reactions to what Jasmine is doing with her body would have vastly improved S4 no matter what else went down in that season. However, if I have free reign to change even more of her story, then I think it would've been really interesting for Cordelia to be the one controlling the Beast in an effort to stop Jasmine's plans from coming to fruition. I have a whole rambling write-up here of how that would work on a basic level.
To tell the truth, though -- and I'm aware this puts me in the minority when it comes to Cordelia fans -- I wouldn't actually axe the possession storyline or Cordelia's eventual death & ascension entirely. I'm actually a big defender of the idea that Cordelia's arc should end with her death. I just think the execution of the possession/mystical pregnancy storyline was really poor (and was made even worse by both Joss's treatment of Charisma behind-the-scenes, and by Fred suffering a speedrun of the same fate in one of Angel's most hideously misogynistic episodes ever a season later).
I would also give her way more scenes with Gunn. Although, that's more of an issue with Gunn's character arc and the way it stopped existing in Seasons 3 & 4. And I would have liked to see her appear on Buffy in Season 6 -- I actually don't dislike Riley (even if I think his arc ended up going to several terrible places), but I think "As You Were" (or an episode like it) would be infinitely more interesting if it were Cordelia coming back to town instead. Cordelia started as Buffy's shadow self, the popular mean girl part of herself she had to leave behind in Los Angeles, and it would've been interesting to have Cordelia show up at Buffy's lowest point, now serving as a reflection of the kind of person Buffy wishes she could be. I think Cordelia got good closure with Xander in "The Prom," but she never quite got closure with Buffy, and I think an episode like this could've been a great sequel to "Homecoming."
8. What is a headcanon I have about this character?
Hm! Well, I am an ace Cordy truther, so there's that. I also have a headcanon that in her will she left instructions for her will's executor (probably Lilah) to sue Angel on her behalf for his mishandling of her company Angel Investigations. He gave up the money without a fight, and shortly thereafter, Stanford student Connor Reilly discovered he'd been selected for a scholarship he'd never heard of.
10. Did I like them immediately or did it take a while before I warmed up to their character? Alternatively, did I dislike them immediately or did they lose my trust as their story progressed?
Well, after watching the first episode of Buffy, my two favorite characters were Cordelia and Willow, in that order, sooo, yeah, I liked her pretty immediately! I've always been drawn to mean girl/popular girl/hyperfeminine 'bitch' type characters. So it's no surprise that she clicked with me right off the bat. But I would say I definitely fell deeper in love with her character through watching Angel. In the early seasons of Buffy I was just kind of like, oh she's fun. :) But by the end of Angel she was unequivocally my favorite character in the Buffyverse and one of my favorite characters ever. (I had kind of the opposite trajectory with Willow, funnily enough, where I'm not at all a fan anymore, largely due to the way her arc falls flat on its face partway through S6 and never recovers.) Also, I was spoiled for Angel S4 (thank our lord and savior Cordelia herself), so I knew Cordelia was possessed by Jasmine the whole time, so there was never a part of her arc where I disliked her.
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nfumbewalk · 5 months ago
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Graveyards: All About Them
First, here are things to do in a graveyard. This includes what to bring and what you can do plus some etiquette.
First, have decency and respect.
If you plan on gathering anything, bear the correct offerings. Such as: A small (1/2 oz) of hard liquor, payment (9 to 27 pennies), Jasmine incense joss stick, bouquet of flowers, Florida water (preferably homemade) OR Kananga water, also homemade - both of these are sacred to the muertos, but to draw them to you, Kananga water works best; good sized piece of Quartz, double terminated to use for housing a muerto temporarily (yes, you can put a muerto in a crystal but they must be transferred to a vessel and pacted within 2 days - no more than this.)
For protection in a graveyard, especially if you are very sensitive/psychic: Wear a white bandana on your head before even going in. And don't wear black when you go there. Why? As a daily wearer of black clothing, I noticed a big change when I wore all white to the graveyard. It's actually more powerful. White radiates healing power and seems to quiet the muertos, but it also gives them a sense of relaxation and peace when you are around them. They are easier to communicate with. I noticed that black seems to tangle up communication. I don't know why. I guess that white flows better. But I hate it because I instantly get white filthy. LOL!
Some ppl say that there are no dead souls at the graveyard, that they don't hang out there. That's wrong. Some of the muertos do hang out by their grave, watching over it. Many of them can be like sentinels. Rodolfo says he used to protect his grave but as soon as I found him and started visiting, he wanted to just be with me. I got that distinct feeling, so I picked him up one day. I didn't realize how successful I was!
Graveyard Work: That includes gathering dirt, Siphoning the Earth with a Baston de Muerto, curses and hexes, and other full blown rituals -these can be done - but homage must be paid to the Earth in the graveyard. The best way of doing this is a buried offering of your own blood on a piece of small parchment which is placed in a very small glass corked bottle. This buried offering gives you a real relationship with the land that holds these muertos. It is very deep respect. And no, there is NO gatekeeper in graveyards, That's a widely professed misconception. I have never once been approached or sensed any "gatekeeper" of any kind. All that there is - in a graveyard - is known as the "heart" of the graveyard. This is the central zone. It is sensed by feeling where you notice an electrical charge the strongest and a smell of the freshest air that you have ever experienced. I like to do my work there unless I'm at Rodolfo's grave.
What exactly to expect with graveyard work? Is it dangerous? Don't get your expectations up too high. Graveyard work is great and very powerful, but you are not exactly going to see flashing lights and muertos dancing. It is often very low key. But the results of graveyard work can be fantastic! It is only dangerous if you go into the graveyard with no knowledge of what this work entails. This is NOT for beginners! If you know nothing, you may get a spirit attachment and that can be hard to remove. Try the precautions I mentioned above.
Don't leave empty handed. Gather an item from the Earth of the graveyard besides dirt. I'm not talking about robbing graves. I'm talking about something like a white Quartz that is often on top of graves, or any other rock that has been sitting on a grave. This is another powerful totem that you can use in your practice to represent and draw Death Energy to you, It does NOT need cleansing. Cleansing would ruin it.
Kindness for the Earth and muertos - Please pick up any garbage that you see in the graveyard. People are litter bugs and I hate seeing trash hanging around a beautiful place that I venerate.
What NOT To Do In The Graveyard
Don't take this resting place lightly.
Don't yell or scream.
Do not run around in a graveyard unless there are trails. (We have them here in Oregon). Running is very loud to the muertos. Would you like your grave stomped on?
Don't litter.
Do NOT desecrate a grave, tip over, break, or steal a tombstone. It is not funny.
Do not have intercourse in a graveyard, It is very disrespectful. Not kinky.
Do not invoke/evoke Demons in a graveyard unless you know what you are doing. This can open you up widely for a demon/spirit attachment. I said lowercase "demon." That is my difference between known Demons and demons that are low level "lesser demons" and are not in a hierarchy. They can be extremely dangerous. These demons are NOT worshipped. Never give them blood. Once you have a lesser demon's name, it loses power and it's a lot easier to banish. I've done this four times successfully. It's very heavy and quite difficult but my method works.
Do NOT "ghost hunt" in a graveyard (or anywhere else!). It is extremely disrespectful and the muertos will leave. If there is any EMF involved, the muertos will not come back for a very long time or it will anger them so much that they will retaliate. They do NOT like EMF. That's why they love Shungite and Orgonite so much - gets rid of EMF. This is MY theory that I've studied and put to work. Rodolfo LOVES the Orgonite pyramid I put on his altar. To a muerto, EMF is like a huge bass speaker vibrating in their ears very loudly. Annoying? Yeah, I think so.
Do not talk shit about the muertos in a graveyard. This is obvious, right?
Refrain from drug and alcohol use in a graveyard. Picnics are acceptable though.
Well, I think I hit a lot of angles here. I hope this helps or is interesting. I'm not trying to be harsh with "rules." It is mostly common sense or just rules of thumb to keep in mind for a nice, safe, and meaningful visit to the graveyard for work or general visitation,
M.M.
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sleepyhead-poll · 7 months ago
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ROUND 1D, MATCH 14 OUT OF 16!
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Propaganda Under the Cut:
Cordelia:
she’s fucking incredible and joss whedon did her dirty and robbed us of a great character with some of the best development i’ve ever seen just bc he got mad at the actress for getting pregnant.
Elena:
Literal main character but they put her in a deep sleep for like the last 2 seasons (?) because the actress was sick of being there or something.
What do you do when the actress for your show's main character wants to leave the show but you don't want to end the show just yet? Put her in a magic coma for two seasons! I love her in general and it's funny how it took me so long to remember that she was in a long term magic sleep too. She gets a weird amount of hate in the fandom sometimes but I think she's great. She's a vampire lover and certified red flag enjoyer but she also manages to get the vampires in her life to be less murderous. I should've started writing propaganda for her earlier because I'm really sleepy now and all I can really think is "yeah I love her" tbh.
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thewickedbohemian · 2 months ago
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Things I'd most like to see in the future of the shows I've been watching this season (other than just more seasons)
High Potential
basically the crimefighter equivalent of when Leverage did the Girls' Night Out/Boys' Night Out Job
longer seasons (13 is not enough episodes especially scheduled this weirdly)
a Halloween episode (bonus metaphorical points for either the team detecting in costume and/or some ambiguously-supernatural element of the case-of-the-week that's never explained away as anything mundane implying the supernatural exists in that universe (like Bones has done on several occasions, CSI: NY did in the episode "Scared Stiff" and Tracker did in the episodes "Ontological Shock" and "Preternatural"))
more depth on Daphne like we got on Oz this episode (though hopefully without Daphne being that level of in deadly danger)
them to follow the pattern Bones often does with episodes where the case-of-the-week seems Doylistically designed to either spotlight some subculture/niche community or to have the heroes get to "play dress-up" whether or not that means going undercover proper (as I would like to see some Gillodec or maybe even Gilloto undercover shenanigans)
one specific example of the previous point I'd like to see is murder at a Renaissance faire (just imagine the team in appropriate outfits or one of Morgan's little epiphanies hinging on whether or not something is historically accurate)
crossovers (and as the Abbott Elementary/IASIP thing proved they don't have to be with other ABC shows but whatever the crossover's with, if it's a show that'd normally be somewhat darker than High Potential tone-wise but isn't incapable of going light it should tonally meet High Potential where it's at instead of making High Potential darker)
Tracker
another somewhat-paranormal episode of a different variety, we've done aliens and witches I'd like to see one where Colter has to do a little bit of Indiana Jones shit and it's never said the artifact (and if it always has to be a missing person whatever else is missing maybe someone robbed a museum of both an artifact and an academic) isn't magical but it's never explicitly said to be so and things that would be the case if it were still happen
if we can successfully bring back So Help Me Todd to CBS, I'd love it if it could cross over with Tracker as Colter could be a healthier role model for Todd than the toxically-masculine-lone-wolf-y Dick (both in the name sense and the acting-like-one sense) Dean Winters was playing (and to the degree they don't already each could help each other understand the importance of a support team) and Reenie and Margaret could bond over being strong women in the still-very-boys'-club-y world of law, just not sure how you'd make a plot involving both a legal case and a missing person that deals with gender roles/stereotypes enough to thematically mirror these b-plots
if Russell's going to keep recurring, I think it'd be cool to keep the reference trend up by having Misha Collins guest-star in one of the episodes Russell features in as some key character (perhaps the local law enforcement or the missing-person-of-the-week's friend or relative soliciting Colter's help) but have his character be gay and try to hit on Russell to which Russell would respond with words to the effect of "flattered but not interested, maybe in another life..."
some more depth on the support people like we kinda-got in both the episode with the fight club and the episode with Colter and Reenie at that retreat thingie in the desert
Brilliant Minds
since the last couple episodes of S1 proved that the flashbacks aren't just a Wolf thing (Jossing my earlier theory about them being related to some neuroweirdness going on with him) maybe future seasons could give us cub flashbacks
although I don't know what issue the patient-of-the-week would be facing if the sexuality isn't the problem, I want them to do some kind of episode that's a metaphorical response to the House episode about asexuality and perhaps if there is a case for it (as people on that spectrum can still have sex) maybe the asexual patient inspires Ericka to look into if she might be ace-spec
as I said on one of my sideblogs it'd be cool if we got someone else from Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (because Donna Murphy's Muriel and Eden Espinosa was the pastor in the S1 finale). Sure Zachary Levi might have apparently made some comments controversial enough to potentially make NBC wary of him but I think Mandy Moore and Jeremy Jordan should be in the clear (and should the show ever need another "wolf cub" (look how many ducklings House has had) the latter would be around the right age)
even if we can't get a musical episode though I'd want that too (bonus points if it doesn't do the cliche shit Scrubs and Grey's Anatomy thing where the breaking out into song is only in the head of some brainweird patient or w/e as Brilliant Minds seems to ground its Weird Neurology Shit more in reality) we should at least get karaoke (like was teased with Katie and Dana in the S1 finale) or some other opportunity for characters to sing
since the only episode I watched of the show Black Box (the most recent show before Brilliant Minds to deal with weird neurology stuff) dealt with Cotard Delusion I kinda want to see how Brilliant Minds would handle that
Elsbeth
Kayabeth
a musical episode if Carrie Preston can sing well enough to warrant it (as this show has so much musical theater in its DNA that e.g. I was caught off guard by the use of the Crosby Stills & Nash song in the montage in S2E9 as the only needle drops the show had had before that were show tunes/opera ("Make Your Own Kind Of Music" in the S1 finale doesn't count as I think that was meant to be diegetically what she was walking the runway to) and it also has a similar tone to Psych where it wouldn't need some weird contrivance to Doylistically explain why everyone's singing it could just have a musical)
more backstory and spotlight for the female detectives including giving them freaking first names as we know the guys'
on that note while I know Jews don't have to play Jews I think it'd be a cool opportunity if when Detective Edwards got her turn for that kind of dive-in she was revealed to be Jewish just like her actress Micaela Diamond is (it's just if we'd be visiting her temple as a part of the case of that episode they better not take the easy way out and make the murder a hate crime or one meant to look like it)
something I've been rotating around in my head that'd make a cool episode is that since NYC being the home of Broadway doesn't mean it still can't have local theater, maybe getting close enough to investigate a case without anyone noticing or w/e (like Elsbeth was doing in the winter premiere by staying at that spa/resort-y-thing) somehow necessitates trying out for a local musical production and despite it being a show she loves making her hyperfixate on nailing the audition (perhaps enough to temporarily distract her from the rest of the case) Elsbeth doesn't make it in the cast but Kaya [if her actress can sing otherwise it'd be just Edwards this happens to] does so Elsbeth's gotta help her practice and, like, join the stage crew or something as her own other way in
more instances of either Elsbeth being an Abed-Nadir-esque fourth-wall-breaker (like all her looks at the camera or when the Lavish Ladies episode of S1 ended on her saying "Can I say "cut"") and/or magic-y weird shit implied to exist in the Elsbeth universe (like when the Scottish play superstition worked)
guest stars I'd most like to see (apart from my idea for if SHMT can make it back to CBS Skylar Astin teasing that by appearing on Elsbeth as a good-guy that could feasibly be Todd undercover) at least from the world of musical theater where it seems to take a lot of them include John Larroquette (if he can work around Night Court enough for even just one episode), Jenni Barber, Josh Segarra (or any other Electric Company alum that's been on Broadway that isn't LMM (who might be too big an ask though he has appeared on network shows before), I just wish more of them could get noticed than just William Jackson Harper), Philippa Soo (if she could work around Doctor Odyssey if that show actually lasts), Lindsay Mendez, Joe Morton, Katherine McPhee, George Salazar and Ariana DeBose. Some are names people would know, some are people I wish had more exposure and some are just people I think who'd fit that vibe (and I didn't mean to have four J names in there).
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batmannotes · 1 year ago
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Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom 4K Ultra HD Review
Jason Momoa reprises his role as the King of the Seven Seas in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which comes 5 years after the original film was released. Once again Aquaman’s most notable rogue, Black Manta, is back seeking revenge for his deceased father. This time, Manta wields the power of the mythic Black Trident to unleash an ancient and sinister force. Hoping to end his reign of terror, Aquaman makes an unlikely alliance with his brother, Orm, the former king of Atlantis. Setting aside their differences, they join forces to protect their kingdom and save the world from irreversible destruction. 
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I must admit, even though I consider myself a superhero aficionado, it has been 5 years since the first solo Aquaman flick hit the theaters and remembering certain details regarding the movie were hazy for me at best. Fortunately, there are flashbacks to some of the pertinent moments from the first outing. As in the original movie, there is a healthy dose of action and adventure sprinkled with some hit and miss humor. I enjoyed the unlikely bond between the brothers, and it is hard to argue that Black Manta is one of the most iconic super villains to hit the silver screen in a comic book flick in recent memory. Unfortunately, Manta is paired with a far less interesting character named Dr. Shin (Randall Park) and a collection of henchmen and women with little to no depth in this underwater adventure.  
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The visuals of this film are the real treat, and with the 4K format they really shine. The underwater computer-generated sequences are particularly aesthetically pleasing, but I really wish this movie stuck to scenes beneath the sea. There are tons of incredibly interesting creatures in the ocean that an Aquaman movie has yet to tap into. A number of times the movie gets caught trying to copy other films, particularly Star Wars, however, this movie lacks the interesting intertwining plot points and character development of the sci-fi classic. Even with the beautiful 4K eye candy most of its visuals project, there are the occasional, (Joss Whedon) Justice League-esque CGI that leaves you wondering, “where did that come from?”. I also did not care for Aquaman being out of his classic orange and green costume for most of the movie, as I felt that it robbed me of that superhero feel.
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VIDEO QUALITY 📽️ :  A 
The 2160p transfer looks glorious, even with the aforementioned lackluster CGI in a few limited sequences. This liquid beauty really carry the visual end of this film. 
AUDIO QUALITY 🔈 : A 
The Dolby Atmos English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit) really is a treat for the listener at home. The dialogue is clear, and the action sequences are bombastic as you are immersed deep into the sea of this film. 
EXTRAS 📀 :  B 
Included with this single disc release is a Digital Copy and several video extras listed below: 
Finding the Lost Kingdom (21:22) - Jason Momoa, director James Wan, DC honcho Jim Lee, production design Bill Brzeski, and other key members of the cast and crew are your guides at this usually scenic behind-the-scenes featurette, which includes bits and pieces of on-set footage and others supportive clips. 
Aquaman: Worlds Above and Below (9:39) - A like-minded look at various locales on both sides of the surface that covers special effects, location shoots, and Aquaman lore by way of a few vintage comics. 
Atlantean Blood is Thicker than Water (4:17) - A short but sweet look at the history of Arthur and his half-brother Orm, again with some comics history and short interviews with Momoa and Patrick Wilson. 
It's a Manta World (10:08) - Another character-focused featurette, this short piece sits down with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and others to speak about David Kane, Black Manta, the power suit, and more. 
Necrus, the Lost Black City (5:51) - James Wan, producer Peter Safran, Bill Brzeski, and others chat briefly about the titular lost kingdom, its visual creation, and its history in the franchise. 
Escape from the Deserter World (8:05) - Another like-minded featurette about the location -- or in this case, sequence -- featured in the film, a handful of familiar faces share about its creation and execution while being supported by behind-the-scenes footage, concept art, rehearsals, costume and set design, and more. 
Brawling at Kingfish's Lair (4:07) - A quick look at one of the film's many visually overloaded action scenes and some of the goofier details and supporting characters featured in it. 
Oh, Topo! (2:12) - And speaking of goofy supporting characters, this short and light-hearted tribute acts as an appreciation and highlight reel for everyone's favorite comedy relief cephalopod. 
FINAL GRADE: C- 
The only real emotions drawn from this bloated outing are the reconciliation between two brothers and the love for their mother. Aquaman should have submerged deeper into the sea, instead of trying to mimic the tales of old from the land above. 
Order now from Amazon.
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ankh-morporkianpostalworker · 3 months ago
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Why You Should Watch The West Wing
The West Wing is one of the most critically-acclaimed drama. An early member of the Golden Age of Television, it stands as a creative masterpiece that made politics available to the American people and gave hope to a generation that maybe politicians were good people.
But I'm not here to pitch you on the superb quality cus that'd be boring. Instead, we're gonna go over some tropes of The West Wing that might draw a new audience in to a 25-year-old show about politics (and help me assemble a West Wing rewatch group, for the love of God - DM me if interested).
Without further ado, here's an incomplete list:
Martin Sheen (not really a trope, but he's great)
Young Dulé Hill
Old Man Yaoi (or, at least, one could read it that way)
Romantic pining/will-they, won't-they (seven goddamn seasons of it)
A young Rob Lowe (not as young as Dulé Hill)
Witty dialogue (but not in a Joss Whedon, "I think I'm so very clever" way)
A hopeful message about America
Jimmy Smits
Alan Alda (in what is arguably his best role)
Political plotting
Character arcs
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