#lot 1x16

[mlobsters]

supernatural s1e16 shadow (w. eric kripke)

I want us to be together again.

be still my beating heart part 2 of ∞ || will he stay or will he go part 1 of ?

(aka the first time i had a full-tilt meltdown over this show)

[angelsdean]

*record scratch* freeze frame. Reality Check. "You're the one who came and got me at school. You're the one who dragged me back into this." let's re-evaluate that statement, Sam, because that is not, in fact, what happened.

The context in which Sam makes this statement is that he's arguing Dean used to care about the revenge quest and killing the demon because Dean is the one that came and got Sam and thus "dragged him back" into the quest to kill the demon. But, that is not why Dean went to get Sam at school, it was to find John, who was missing and possibly dead. Dean didn't even Know about the demon at this point (they don't find out that "the thing that killed mom" is a demon til 1x11) or that John was closing in on it. Dean goes to Stanford to ask Sam to help him look for John, that's it. Then, at the end of 1x01 Dean brings Sam back to school in time for his interview as promised, and drives away. He only turns around when, in the deleted scene, he notices his watch has stopped, cluing him in that something is wrong. And he gets there in time to save Sam from the burning building.

Sam then makes the choice to leave with Dean because now that he's lost someone, he is personally invested in finding John because John knows more about the thing that killed Mary (and now Jess) than anyone, and Sam is the one who is now consumed by the need for revenge and the first step in getting that revenge is finding John, something he had no vested interest in doing before, but is now heavily invested in, even more than Dean is, as we see throughout the first half of s1 where Sam is often the one calling around looking for John and is more interested in searching for John than taking on random cases.

Anyways, it's just so interesting to track this revisionism of events and how both Sam and Dean come to accept this as the truth when it's literally not what we saw happen throughout the season. And we see Dean start to absorb this belief after Meg plants the seed in their heads in 1x16, trying to drive a wedge between them, by falsely saying Dean "drags Sam around like luggage" when literally the whole reason Sam and Meg meet is because Sam wanted to part ways in 1x11 and Dean let him go. Sam then comes back and decides to stay all on his own, even after Dean offers to drop Sam off somewhere.

Dean expresses in 1x16, that yes, he wants Sam around, he wants his family together again, but at the end of that very episode Dean is also the one who says they need to split up from John, even though it's the last thing he wants. Dean consistently is willing to let people go, even if it's not what he personally wants. And especially Sam. Over and over throughout the season he expressed how he wants Sam to have a normal life, is willing to let Sam go, or stay in some random town and drop the search for John. So even IF Dean did secretly want Sam to stick around when he went to get Sam at Stanford, he never expected it. Never enforced it.

That Sam comes to think Dean "dragged him back" into hunting is a purely revisionism and a bit of projection, I think, because Sam might not want to face the truth of the matter which is that he consistently chose to stick with hunting, and actually enjoys it more than he'd like to admit. And, as both he and John express, this quest to kill Yellow Eyes becomes "their" obsession. Not Dean's. Dean is the one who says he'd rather they never find the demon if it means losing his family. Dean is the one that says getting revenge isn't worth dying for. And then, Sam takes this to heart, when at the end of 1x22 he refuses to kill John Possessed by Azazel at Dean's pleading, AND when he tells John that killing this demon does not come "before everything" while eyeing Dean bleeding out in the backseat.

Dean was never the one invested in revenge. He did not come get Sam from Stanford to aid in the family revenge quest, he came for help in finding their missing father, something Dean cared abt simply because that's family, and Dean cares deeply, despite everything John put them through. Dean is the one that cares, the heart of the narrative, etc etc. He comes to Sam because he is alone in the world, because their only other blood relative is missing, because it's a very human thing, to reach out, to want family around. And still, he was always going to let Sam go after the 1x01. He didn't like it. It's not what Dean wanted. But he was going to let him go back to his life. Sam chose to follow Dean and continue searching for John.

[leonard-cold]

You wanna know what inspired Leonard Snart to sacrifice himself? It was you, Barry Allen.

[sophsun1]

Queer As Folk – 1.16: French Fried

[dragonardhill]

sam and dean * 1.16 shadow

[agentsofmarvel]

some of my favorite agents of shield fun facts (season 1 edition)

- while filming the scene where skye gets sh*t by ian quinn in 1x13 [T.R.A.C.K.S], they took hours to film not only because the scene was so intense, but because there was a christmas parade happening nearby that was so loud it kept interrupting the shot.

- another shot interruption occurred in 1x16 when filming scenes at the race track. they couldn’t shut down the track entirely during filming so halfway through a scene a horse would charge past in the background and they would have to reshoot the scene.

- chloe had such a bad driving reputation back in season one that she was banned from driving all golf carts on the lot. she also accidentally stalled a car while rehearsing a scene and everyone panicked.

- they only had 15 days to film 1x01. FIFTEEN DAYS TO FILM EVERYTHING.

- in the end of episode 1x12 [Seeds], there’s a moment where coulson is voicing over and says “the world is full of evil and lies.” during this moment, the camera is on ward. this is one of the first main references of ward secretly being hydra.

- there were three-ish main sets for backgrounds during season one. set 16 was their “labyrinth set” with random sets like the abandoned race track, parts of Providence, john Garrett’s “layer” and a small set for the Freezer.

- clark gregg was so adamant about the casting for the cellist that he actually called audrey nathan personally and told her she was perfect for the role.

- on the day the cast was to meet to discuss filming the last two episodes of the season, a 4.4 earthquake hit los angles which the cast though was foreshadowing the darker episodes to come.

- to represent coulson coming back after what happened to him during the avengers, the wardrobe department tailored his suits differently to give coulson a “new feel”. they really said “let’s mix this shit up and give him a slicker [yes, that’s the word they used] suit.”

- also, coulson never wears black suits after his death due to loki. he only wears shades of grey, never plain black as it reminds him of death.

- the only direction the wardrobe department was given on ward’s outfits was that he needed to look sexy. that’s it.

- as the season progresses, skye wears darker clothes to represent her loss of innocence as the situations get darker.

should i do one for season 2? this was fun and i was bored :)

[ssaemilyhotchner]

Congrats on 1k! Can I request N?🩷

for you, @em-prentiss! I hope you love it! 🩷

OTHER 1K DRABBLES | Read on AO3 Join the celebration by requesting a letter!

letter: N | prompt: nerves | wc: 0.5k a/n: Inspired by this exchange in episode 1x16 (“Young at Heart”) of The X-Files: “Mulder, I know what you did wasn't by the book.” “Tells you a lot about the book, doesn't it?”

Please do not repost (reblogs welcome) or otherwise claim as your own.

--

“Take the shot, Emily.”

“I can’t.” The unsub is perfectly framed in her scope but she is still adamant, clenching her jaw as a bead of sweat from the back of her neck travels down the length of her spine. “It’s too close. I’ll hit Hotch.”

But just as readily as she knows their protocol—knows that it is against Bureau regulations to unnecessarily endanger the life of a hostage—she also knows their profile. That if their unsub feels boxed in, he’ll go down shooting. And with Hotch in his grasp, that simply isn’t an option.

Undoubtedly thinking the same, Dave does not yield. “It’s the only chance we have,” his gentle yet insistent voice sounds in her earpiece. Even from miles away, she can feel the stress radiating off of him in waves. “You’ve got this. You know it.”

“It’s not by the book, Dave,” she warns, but she’s already shifting her weight forward, her finger brushing lightly against the trigger guard.

“Screw the book.”

With no time left to catastrophize, Emily plants her feet and squares her shoulders, her body becoming an extension of her rifle. Every inch of her posture is perfect, a debutante primed for this over cotillion. 

There’s a click of concentration in her mind, the perfect moment, and on a thin exhale, she pulls the trigger—

—and watches in terror as their unsub and Hotch fall in a grand arc to the hard, unforgiving ground.

“No,” she whispers, her vision tunneling and her blood running cold. Not even a second passes before she is on her feet and running, her heart pounding so hard that she can hear its mocking beat in her ears as the distance between them diminishes, then diminishes some more.

And then she sees Hotch rise on wobbling legs, completely unharmed.

Unable to prevent it, Emily falls as her knees buckle beneath her, just as Hotch stumbles over to her and draws her into a tight hug. “It’s okay,” he pants, as if he, too, needs to hear the words aloud to believe them. “I’m okay.”

“I thought I had hit you,” she says, shivering into his side as he unconsciously pulls her in even closer. “Jesus, Hotch, I don’t know what I would have done if I...”

“I never doubted you for a second,” he reveals. “Not once.” 

With shaky fingers, Emily reaches out and wipes away the spray of the unsub’s blood from his temple and cheek. When their gazes meet, the look in his eyes at her ministration is so tender that she cups his face fully and kisses him on instinct, chaste and sweet.

She pulls back with an embarrassed smile tugging at her parted lips. “Sorry,” she whispers. “Adrenaline.”

Hotch can’t remember ever seeing her—the unbelievable, unflappable Emily Prentiss—look as sheepish as she does before him now, all wide eyes and flushed cheeks. The sight is so endearing that he can’t help but bring his hand to the back of her neck and utter a confession years in the making.

“It’s not just adrenaline for me,” he replies softly, before leaning back in and returning her kiss.

[highfunctioningflailgirl]

The Damage Control Series - Masterlist

A series of missing scene and coda ficlets of all the times Sam and Dean (and Castiel) got injured in the show, and we never saw them heal or dealing with the aftermath. Contains a lot of hurt/comfort and angst but just as much character exploration.

The entire series on AO3: Damage Control

On Tumblr:

Season One:

Damage Control - 1x01 Pilot

Damage Control - 1x02 Wendigo

Damage Control - 1x05 Bloody Mary

Damage Control - 1x06 Skin

Damage Control - 1x07 Hookman

Damage Control - 1x08 Bugs

Damage Control - 1x10 Asylum

Damage Control - 1x11 Scarecrow

Damage Control - 1x12 Faith

Damage Control - 1x15 The Benders

Damage Control - 1x16 Shadow

Damage Control - 1x18 Something Wicked

Damage Control - 1x22 Devil's Trap

Season Two

Damage Control- 2x01 In My Time Of Dying

Damage Control- 2x02 Everybody Loves A Clown

Damage Control - 2x03 Bloodlust

Damage Control - 2x04 Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things

Damage Control - 2x05 Simon Said

Damage Control - 2x09 Croatoan

Damage Control - 2x10 Hunted

Damage Control - 2x14 Born Under A Bad Sign

Damage Control- 2x15 Tall Tales

Damage Control - 2x17 Heart

Damage Control - 2x19 Folsom Prison Blues

Damage Control - 2x20 What Is And What Should Never Be

Damage Control - 2x21 All Hell Breaks Loose - Part 1

Damage Control - 2x22 All Hell Breaks Loose - Part 2 - Chapter 1

Damage Control - 2x22 All Hell Breaks Loose - Part 2 - Chapter 2

Season Three

Damage Control - 3x03 Bad Day At Black Rock

Damage Control - 3x07 Fresh Blood

Damage Control - 3x08 A Very Supernatural Christmas

Damage Control - 3x11 Mystery Spot

Damage Control - 3x12 Jus In Bello

Damage Control - 3x14 Long Distance Call

tbc…

[risingchaos]

In honor of me watching 2x01 with the iconic boob window shirt rip (taken from my notes), I’ve decided to reveal what I’ve been doing. I have been taking down each episode as I do a watch of TOS to see how many shirt rips actually happen out of curiosity. Here’s my season one statistics.

State of Star Trek Shirts - Season One TOS

Season Two’s Stats

1x01 - Perfectly intact but Kirk wears a slutty bed robe.

1x02 - Intact, but he is willingly shirtless for a scene.

1x03 - Kirk’s shirt gets torn at the end, shoulder and chest exposed.

1x04 - Somewhat willingly shirtless (and incredibly sweaty) Sulu! And Kirk shoulder rip, right at the end.

1x05 - Evil twin Kirk willingly shirtless.

1x06 - Everyone was intact!

1x07 - Unwillingly shirtless Kirk (technically unwillingly naked)

1x08 - Many shirt rips though nothing scandalous.

1x09 - Intact!

1x10 - Instantly shirtless and sweaty Kirk, opens with it. He fucking walks through the halls shirtless.

1x11 - No exposure.

1x12 - Double no exposure.

1x13 - Triple!

1x14 - Quadrouple! Shit’s getting boring.

1x15 - A Yeoman does get her uniform torn and has to hold up the top half for a while, and Kirk’s own shirt is torn all across the shoulder and chest, exposing titties. He gets all dirty and sweaty too, of course.

1x16 - Perfectly fine once again!

1x17 - Man, boring. Intact.

1x18 - Entirely fine despite a fight in the desert.

1x19 - Intact shirts. Sigh.

1x20 - Shoulder rip down the chest! Plus no undershirt so the silly cropped uniform keeps exposing him.

1x21 - Sigh, intact.

1x22 - Intact.

1x23 - Intact, ladies and gents.

1x24 - My stats are gonna be boring. Intact.

1x25 - I think people exaggerate. Intact.

1x26 - All good.

1x27 - Once again.

1x28 - Intact. Lame.

1x29 - He’s fine! So many shirts!

Keep in mind it’s possible I missed one here or there. Now, complied data.

Out of twenty-nine episodes in season one, only nine had a shirt rip or a shirtless Kirk. Now, that is a lot of shirt rips, but I am a little surprised at it.

That is ~31% of season one.

I wanted to make a pie chart and will continue with this as I watch the remaining two seasons. If I’m missing an episode, please let me know and I’ll fix my data. Do with this information what you will I guess, I just wanted to track stuff. XD

[coldflashevents]

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENTS (2024)

LET'S GOOOOOO!

Hello, all! Thank you all for your patience, and for your responses for the interest check. I'm back to let you know the results, and with some exciting announcements for the year ahead.

First of all, I'd like to announce that we have another mod on board! Everyone please welcome @burdenedwithpointlesspurpose, who'll be helping myself (@coldflasher) and @moriavis run the events this year! We're very excited to be running these events for you :D You can reach out to any of us on this blog or on our main blogs with any questions.

And now, onto the events!

Most people wanted three events, and the most requested event types were prompt-based events, including both mini weekend events and longer week-long events. People also expressed interest in bingos and big bangs.

The majority of respondents had greater availability to participate in the summer months, between April and August.

That being said, I'm excited to announce that our first event will be a mini weekend event that will take place on the 27th and 28th April 2024. This will be a prompt-based event very similar to Cool for the Summer, an event we held in July 2022—we'll provide a list of prompts chosen by you, and then everyone can create works inspired by the prompts, or a combination of them. These types of events are very chill; there are no sign-ups and no commitments, just lots of Coldflash content!

You know what that means—we need prompts! Please drop your prompts in our askbox (you can do this anonymously, if you'd prefer) and once we've got a good number of prompts, we'll give everyone the chance to vote on their favourites.

If you're interested in a slightly more involved event format, I'll also be announcing zine sign-ups for our Coldflash 10-Year Anniversary zine very soon, so stay tuned! We're currently looking at a provisional publication date of March 24th, 2025, which will be the ten-year anniversary of 1x16: Rogue Time, the episode where Leonard learns Barry's identity, and an uneasy truce is struck between them...

I wanted to choose a date with significance to the ship whilst also ensuring that everyone has plenty of time to work on their submissions, and to give us time to put the zine together once we've received them all.

Right now, the aim is for everyone to have their final submissions in by the end of December 2024. Please note that these dates have not been finalized, and are still subject to change, so watch this space for more details.

More information on sign-ups will be released shortly!

If anybody has any questions, please let us know. Until then, happy coldflashing!

[bubblesxo]

i dont know if you will see this but i am a big fan of your g!bruce meets the batfam!!!! I literally have tumblr just for this series (and now that I’ve tried it im beginning to love it ngl) . Annyywaayy ive just read the new chapter and it’s so good!?? Like i am really excited for the next chapter!!!

Oh and I haven’t watched gotham ( im planning too ) but i sometimes mix the twins????? Like your explanations are good dont get me wrong but yk when your reading and you need to check which ones which? Yeah … and like i want to fix that idk how .do i just like memorize the twins personalitys??

also in this au is theres 2 jokers??????? I saw you once mention Jerome(?) being revived or something

ps .im that great at English sorry .

oh wow wow wow thank you so so much!! i'm really glad that you're enjoying my story so much! it really means a lot to me. <33 i think your english is good! but if you need/want me to clarify anything i say here, just let me know and i'll try to rephrase it for you!

okay, so in the Gotham tv show (this has spoilers for all 5 seasons, so read on if you're okay with that) the way that they approached writing the joker was actually really up in the air in the beginning. this is because they didn't have the rights to use the name "joker," and so fox (the company that made the show) planned on making a bunch of smaller characters in the show as a kind of easter egg as people who could be the joker or who resemble him in some way.

this changed when cameron monaghan (the actor for both jerome and jeremiah) guest starred in s1e16 "the blind fortune teller." in it, the character of jerome is introduced as a 17/18 year old boy who travels with the circus with his mother, who is a snake dancer. he is meant to be one of the aforementioned joker-like characters in the show and wasn't actually supposed to be included again after that episode, if i am not mistaken.

however, the viewers LOVED his performance and jerome came back in season two as a member of the maniax, a group of arkham inmates who were broken out of the asylum. i won't go too into detail about the actual plot, but in seasons two, three, and four, jerome shows up in at least a few different episodes with very memorable storylines each time.

it isn't until season four of the show that jeremiah is even revealed at all! jeremiah and jerome are identical twin brothers, however, jeremiah has been in hiding for years under the fake name "xander wilde" in an attempt to escape jerome, who wants to get revenge on him for lying to their mother about what he (jerome) did when they were children. basically, jeremiah lied to their mother (lila, who jerome is revealed to have killed in 1x16) that jerome tried to kill him, causing jeremiah to be sent away and be adopted by rich people and get to go to a well-funded private school where he could live out his best life as a child prodigy (which was jeremiah's end goal to this), whereas jerome was left behind in the circus that they lived at (haly's circus, the same one that dick grayson later was raised in before being adopted by bruce). during this time, jerome was horrifically abused by his mother, his uncle, and his mother's many romantic partners. this eventually caused him to crack, which creates the character we see in the show.

here's an easy way to remember the difference in their personalities:

in the standard american deck of cards, there are two jokers: one that is black and white and one that is in color. in this analogy, jeremiah is the black and white joker and jerome is the one in color.

this is jerome:

he's got a *very* boisterous personality. he's outgoing and charismatic and, of course, severely messed up in the head. he *enjoys* the pain he causes people and does it with little to no reservations. he thinks things through less thoroughly than jeremiah but jerome always has a plan and is actually quite smart. i couldn't do him the disservice of calling him the dumb twin, despite some points about jeremiah that i'll get back to later.

anyway, jerome has a grand plan for all of gotham: he believes that, fundamentally, everyone in the world is like him and is also at least a bit crazy inside. he wants everyone to tap into their inner selves and let themselves run free / go crazy. he successfully ensnares huge hoards of gothamites with his persuasive way of speaking and interesting flare to his words. he amasses a large cult following, all of whom are very similar to him in the sense that they all demonstrate similar signs of instability.

here's some more gifs of him.

jerome kind of invented the iconic "HAHAHA" signature joker laugh in the gotham universe, even though he isn't the one who goes on to become "mr. j" (gotham's version of the joker) in the end (that's jeremiah, though i have a lot to say about that).

jerome's always smiling, a genuinely creepy smile that throws people off at first but can be really scary once you know what you're looking at. he single handedly turns gotham into a madhouse on multiple occasions and is the one who basically spread the "crazy" to the general population (for short: genpop).

he's a classic cult leader in the sense that he can mesmerize a whole room with his magnetic presence but also will ruthlessly cut down any of his followers if they so much as upset him (or even if they're just being annoying or could have a greater purpose, like when he stabbed a follower in the gut to take their blood to draw a frowney-face on bruce).

that reminds me, another important thing to know about jerome is that he has an iconic stapled-on face! this is because he died once (in season two, though he came back to life for season three onwards) and one of his followers tried to revive him using some insider medical knowledge from doctor hugo strange (who is just... a whole thing. ew.). he thinks that he failed at doing this and steals jerome's face so that he can wear it on television in an attempt to control jerome's followers (spoiler: this doesn't work).

however, it turns out that jerome *was* revived from this, and he's pretty upset that some dude stole his face! so he uses a staple gun to re-attach it after he gets it back (and kills the guy who did it). his face is later punched off by jim gordon but reattached more properly during his time at arkham afterward (the carnival scene happened in season 3 and jerome came back with a kind-of healed face in season 4).

here's some gifs with jerome's messed up face!

jerome is the colorful joker because he's very much expressive. he lets out every single emotion he feels---unless he's trying to deceive someone, at which point he is a phenomenal liar. (in season 1 when we are first introduced to him, he almost successfully gets away with the murder of his own mother.)

jerome is funny and laughs a lot and is *loud.* he's also absolutely insane and incredibly cruel, as well as impulsive, but he's able to curb his instincts if he feels like he can pull off a big plan.

jerome is a showman by nature. he's a product of the circus and it *shows.* everything he does is like an act, something that is acknowledged by many people in the show.

he's a funky lil dude. totally crazy, but kind of adorable at times.

he's also SEVERELY traumatized from his horrible past and has huge trust issues.

so, yeah. jerome is colors! remember that.

unfortunately, pookie died in season 4 and doesn't seem to have been revived this time </3

now, onto his twin brother jeremiah!

jeremiah is, at least at first, presented to be the complete opposite of jerome. he's calm, collected, and seemingly sane---at least at first. bruce trusts him at first and he even befriends him for a period of time before jeremiah betrays him.

jeremiah is a genius engineer, and, when looking into his past, we can assume that he was a child prodigy. he worked with thomas wayne before he died and designed the wayne plaza building under the aforementioned alias "xander wilde." he also locked himself in an underground maze for ~6 years (i believe?) and never went outside, instead sending his proxy (ecco) out to act in his place during business transactions.

as seen here, jeremiah seems to be the complete opposite of showboat jerome:

when we first meet jeremiah, we are told that he is totally sane, but we can later see that this is not the complete truth.

i'll use jeremiah's project as a metaphor for this. jeremiah was building a set of generators which could make energy harvesting and usage much less expensive and much more bio-friendly (if i remember correctly). bruce promised to fund his project and jeremiah accepts his offer quickly.

after jerome dies in season 4 after kidnapping bruce and jeremiah, he left behind a concoction of chemicals that seemingly make jeremiah go insane. this is a play on joker toxin / joker venom from the greater dc universe.

however, after jeremiah reveals his new self

he says that the spray did not actually change who he actually is, but just gave him an altered appearance. there are a lot of fan theories about this, but the general consensus is that the spray likely lowered his inhibitions, which gave him the kick needed to reveal his true self.

even his complexion resembles the joker he corresponds with: black and white. he is the black and white joker because he isn't as expressive, is way more calculated, and is more cruel and less happy. even his skin is paper white.

here's some gifs of what he looks like after those "slight cosmetic changes" :

that looks a lot more like the joker we know and love today, right? bleach-pale skin, red painted lips, green hair. he's instantly recognizable as the stereotypical joker now.

remember when i mentioned the generators? let's go back to them. the entire time that the generators have been around, they've also been perfectly functional as powerful bombs. their ability to be used as bombs does not undermine the fact that they can also be used as generators, and both of these things were true at the same time *for the entire time they have existed.*

it is in this way that jeremiah's paradoxical nature has always existed. jeremiah is crafty, cunning, and absolutely vicious. he has no care or concern for human life in general and will sacrifice most people in his life if it means that he will get what he wants in the end.

this is shown both before and after the joker toxin in how he lied about jerome when they were children (which caused jerome to be heavily abused) and in how jeremiah willingly killed one of his most devoted and beloved followers, who was being ransomed, just because someone put him on hold and it was personally easier for him to just kill him than sit on hold on the phone for a while. (he also has a vicious streak, though, because he immediately moved the demolition of the bombs up to immediately once he was out of the blast zone because those people inconvenienced him.)

something that's important to realize about jeremiah is that he has an issue with being called crazy. jerome does, too, but he eventually comes to accept the term, almost like he's reclaiming it, but jeremiah is *violently* against it. that's one of the things that set him off in the previously mentioned interaction.

both jeremiah and jerome are obsessed with bruce, though in different ways. jeremiah sees bruce first as his best friend and later as the "brother [he] could never have, that jerome could never be." jerome just sees bruce as a particularly entertaining and interesting kid who he enjoyed tormenting who he would eventually kill.

anyway, despite jeremiah being crazy (or, depending on who you ask, just less inhibited) he is still crazy smart and calculating. he thinks through everything before he does it and his master plans seem like they go on forever with 10000 parts to them and backups and contingencies galore.

the only time that jeremiah ever really seems to break out of this is when he's fighting with bruce. while he still does have a greater point to make or something he's trying to accomplish, he thinks through things less with him and shows his impulsive and rash side a bit more, which is interesting because jerome showed his thoughtful and contemplative side when faced with the obstacle that is bruce thomas wayne. i love parallels and contrasts, especially in these two characters! i just love writing about twins, they're always so interesting.

some important things about their relationship to one another:

even though jerome kidnapped jeremiah and seemingly strapped a bomb to his neck (after breaking into his house and telling him that he would kill him), jerome doesn't seem to actually want jeremiah to die. instead, as we later find out, he wants jeremiah to unleash his true self and carry on his legacy of chaos and cruelty in gotham for him after his death. this is why he left behind the laughing gas for him.

(the fact that jerome thought to do all of that shows that he really was a smart character and that he truly did understand the world around him well. he knew exactly what would happen in the event of his death, i.e. bruce offering to fund jeremiah's work and jeremiah accepting, as is shown when jerome has the joker venom in a present box which claims to be sent from wayne enterprises.)

jeremiah *hates* to be compared to jerome in any way, as he thinks of himself as "the face of true sanity." he actually has an entire notebook full of jerome's ideas, which he says he will outdo and perfect, thus defeating his brother in the end, which i don't know if i agree with, but whatever.

i think that it's because of the reputation that jerome got at the circus. jeremiah wanted people to think of him as better than jerome and as the perfect child, which he succeeded at. to him, jerome is synonymous with crazy, which i've already mentioned that he hates to be called.

okay, just one more part to talk about. the infamous, much anticipated Mr. J!!!

in the series finale, it is revealed that jeremiah, after falling into a vat of acid, is horribly disfigured and pretends to be in a vegetative state for the whole ten years that bruce is on his quest to improve himself before becoming batman. he does this as a way of waiting for bruce to come back to gotham so he can continue to be obsessed with him.

however, though this is jeremiah, it seems that he has actually gone through immense mental trauma sometime during this time (perhaps during his fall into a vat of chemicals), which has caused him to sort of lose his sense of self. he once says that there was "another me" [another him] once, which is, of course, referring to jerome. this implies that jeremiah sees jerome as an extension of himself, almost, and almost makes it seem as if mr. j is a whole different entity of his own.

hopefully this clears everything up a bit for you!! let me know if you have any questions or want to know anything specific about the characters and i will be glad to oblige!

thank you once again for being so kind as to leave this ask!! it really made my day. thank you for enjoying my fic, i hope it continues to live up to expectations. i have a lot of fun things planned (and i am very happy that you decided to look into these characters more, because they are actually extremely important to the plot as we get more into the actual story!). <33

[mlobsters]

supernatural s1e16 shadow (w. eric kripke)

Dad's vulnerable when he's with us. He's stronger without us around.

[jbuffyangel]

No Turning Back: Arrow 1x16 Review (Dead to Rights)

“Dead to Rights” otherwise known as the episode Tommy was right about everything. 

Let’s dig in…

Oliver and Tommy

A great deal of Season 1 is focused on Oliver’s relationship with his father Robert Queen.  The promise Oliver made his father is the force that drives his mission, but there is a flip to that coin. There is an adversary pushing back against Oliver’s mission with equal, if not more, force.

There is no saving Starling City if there is no one to save it from and this episode finally reveals the identity of that adversary. If Oliver had only listened to Tommy, or remotely paid attention to ANYTHING he said in this episode, then so much could have been different. I’m speaking with hindsight, given that this is a Season 1 rewatch, but I don’t believe the writers were trying to hide this point.

It’s Tommy’s birthday and his father Malcolm Merlyn crashes his party. He’s receiving a humanitarian award (HA!) and would like Tommy to attend. Things are pretty chilly with these two since Malcolm shut off the money faucet, but honestly it’s been a good for Tommy.

He’s realized he can stand on his own two feet which gives him the confidence to tell his father to go to hell. 

Malcolm takes narcissism to a new level to show up on Tommy’s birthday and make the event about HIM. It’s always about him, which is exactly what Tommy tells Oliver when they have lunch the next day. Oliver’s heart is in the right place. He encourages Tommy to give his dad another chance because Oliver knows what it’s like losing a father.

Oliver: My dad made mistakes. We haven’t talked about this, but I have a lot of anger towards him. But still I would give anything to have him back because at the end of the day your dad is your dad.

This is the first time Oliver has expressed anger towards Robert in anyway, so I want to be sure to note it and give him credit for naming the feeling & expressing it.

This speech also addresses the complexity of Robert’s death. If you’ve been wondering how can Oliver just pick up this enormous responsibility Robert dumped on him, which is essentially cleaning up HIS mess, and not feel resentful in anyway – then you can stop wondering.  He is resentful and angry as any human being would be.

Oliver can’t express that anger because Robert is dead.  His grief and overwhelming guilt overshadows his anger. This is why Oliver is encouraging Tommy to give his father another chance because he would give anything to have that opportunity with Robert.

But the thing is - Tommy also knows what it’s like to lose a parent. His mother died when he was just a little boy.  Oliver is literally preaching to the choir. Yes, his father is alive but appearances can be deceiving.  Merlyn disappeared for TWO YEARS after his mother died.  Malcolm may not have been physically absent when he returned, but he was emotionally absent.  Tommy is telling Oliver he felt abandoned by his father when he needed him most. He feels like an orphan. It was Oliver’s family that gave Tommy the love he needed.

I’m a little surprised Oliver doesn’t remember Malcolm disappearing for such a long time, but he was a little boy so I’ll give him a pass. What’s astounding to me is Oliver does not put these clues together.

Let’s run it down:

1. The List is comprised of one percenters destroying Starling City with their illegal activity. Malcolm Merlyn is one of Starling City’s wealthiest citizens.

2. He was a friend of the Queens.  Maybe not every rich person is on the List but his proximity to Robert means he deserves a hard look. He also floats in close proximity to Moira (another person Oliver stubbornly refuses to see any connection to the List even though SHE HAS HER OWN DAMN COPY).

3. Merlyn disappeared for TWO YEARS. Oliver came back a trained ninja/Russian spy with exceptional archery skills after five years. He doesn’t pause for even a second to wonder if Malcolm could have also acquired a similar skill set like, oh I don’t know, the DARK ARCHER!!!!

4. MOTIVE. Malcolm’s wife Rebecca was murdered. A super villain is always the dark reflection of the superhero. (Read a book Oliver). Robert’s death spurred Oliver’s mission to save the city. Maybe the Dark Archer’s mission to destroy the city is centered on a similar pain.

5. The Triad hired contract killer Floyd Lawton to kill Malcolm Merlyn. Why are world’s worst criminals trying to kill Tommy’s dad? These people typically don't associate with Disney princes.

6. Oliver has personal knowledge Malcolm Merlyn is a world class dick. 

Oliver can’t ask Felicity to find out where Merlyn went for those two years? You know who does finally ask? TOMMY. Swipe the passport Oliver. Look for a Nanda Parbat stamp. Mystery solved my dude.  This is like watching E.T. miss all the Reese’s Pieces. WHAT AN ENORMOUS OAK TREE!!!

Rather than read between any of these lines, Oliver pushes Tommy to make up with Satan.

Moira is intimately aware of how evil Malcolm is after he murdered one husband and kidnapped another, so she’s the one who wants him dead. She wisely puts a couple layers between Floyd Lawton and her – hence hiring the Triad to hire the assassin.

Unfortunately, Tommy listens to Oliver’s terrible advice and goes to the humanitarian event which throws a kink in Moira’s plan to kill Merlyn. She doesn’t want to kill Tommy’s only living parent in front of him, but that’s how the cookie crumbles kid. Moira is resolved. This is going down – Tommy or no Tommy.

Malcolm does give a damn about his son and breaks out his super ninja skills to save Tommy from Triad thugs. He shoots one in the head at point blank range, which makes a lasting impression on Tommy.

He leads Tommy to his safe room upstairs because he’s always prepared for anything.

Malcolm is just about to reveal the Dark Archer suit to his son, but the bullet proof windows get blown out by a rocket launcher of some kind? I’m not sure on the weaponry, but Lawton is always prepared too. Malcolm is wearing a bullet proof vest, but it doesn’t stop the bullet in his shoulder from poisoning him.

Source: @fogsblue

And guess who arrives just in time to help? UGH.

Source: @olliequeengifs

Oliver explains Malcolm needs a blood transfusion to survive. Tommy’s experiences with the Hood haven’t all been positive, so he is skeptical to say the least and keeps a gun on this loon. Oliver realizes the only way Tommy will listen is to take off the hood.

Source: @olliequeengifs

Tommy has a lot of WTF questions, but it all has to wait as Oliver prepares the blood transfusion.  DAMN IT OLIVER!!! JUST. LET. MACOLM. DIE.

Detective Lance questions Tommy about the vigilante’s identity, since he was saved AGAIN by the Hood, but Tommy answers honestly, “I don’t know who the hell he is.”

Even though Tommy feels betrayed by Oliver he is loyal and still loves him. So, he protects Oliver’s secret. In return, he wants Oliver to answer one question:

Source: @olivergifs

This answer endlessly fascinates me. Oliver will not tell his family, his girlfriend or his lifelong friends but trusts his most intimate secrets with two people he hasn’t known for more than a year. I think there are two main reasons.

He provided the first in Episode 5. Moira, Thea, L*urel and Tommy know who Oliver was before the island. If they truly knew who he is now, if they really see the rage and darkness he keeps simmering underneath that carefully crafted robotic surface, then they will know the full extent of his trauma. They will see him as broken, as less than. Maybe they will hate him like Oliver hates himself.

And Tommy’s reaction to Oliver’s secret identity is a confirmation of his worst fears.

The second reason is Oliver believes his mission will end, so there’s no need to tell anyone. He cannot see the full picture yet, but either Oliver will succeed in his mission or die trying. Given Oliver’s fatalistic outlook on life, the latter is the far likelier scenario he anticipates. In fact, he may believe the only way for his mission to succeed is to die. 

This is the moment it could have all been different.  Now the mission is on a collision course with the Merlyn family. If only Oliver put the clues together sooner, if only he didn’t reveal his identity to Tommy, if only he didn’t save Malcolm, if only, if only, if only…

But none of those things happened and now the consequences will play out. There's no turning back.

Merlance

This episode is the high point for L*urel and Tommy, so let’s just savor the moment.

L*urel throws Tommy a little birthday party and invites Oliver and McKenna over for dinner because everyone is so mature and the best of friends.

Tommy:  I have finally figured out why poets have been in business the last thousand years.

Oh my Merlance. Can’t we just stay this way? This is so close to an “I love you” but we’re still so very far away, which is really sad because Tommy and L*urel are happy and stable. They are opposites in almost every way, but that’s why they work.  We can see the humor, ease and joy in their relationship as Tommy is getting ready for his father’s award ceremony.

Source: @arrowsource

Small moments can mean just as much, if not more, than the big ones in a relationship. In the immortal words of Pacey Witter, “Oh I could do this. The salty and the sweet.”

I don’t doubt for one second that Tommy loves L*urel. The X factor is L*urel. It’s always been her. I believe she loves Tommy. I also believe she’s IN love with Tommy. I just don’t think L*urel knows that yet because she’s still hung up on all her Oliver crap.  The fact she doesn’t know really pisses me off because TOMMY MERLYN IS EVERYTHING.

Tommy knowing Oliver’s identity is obviously going to impact his relationship with L*urel; particularly since I’m sure he will remember discussing with Oliver her obsession with the Hood. AWKWARD. Oliver being a friggin superhero is also going to hit Tommy right in the gonads.

Tommy and L*urel are on a collision course with Oliver now that two thirds of this love triangle has the full truth between them. This collision was probably always going to happen. L*urel deserves the truth from Oliver too and if she finds out it will open a very big can of worms with Tommy.

But why should it? Oliver being a vigilante should not be the driving force for L*urel wanting to be with him. It does not change the fact that Oliver SLEPT WITH HER SISTER. I’m sorry, but there are just relationship deal breakers and that’s one of them. She can forgive him, but that doesn’t mean she has to BE with him.

Stray Thoughts

Felicity has adorable workout clothes. This is not a surprise. I also love that Diggle feels protecting Felicity means teaching her to protect herself. I love this friendship.

“I’m more of a runner.”  Stephen Amell pretending to be in terrible shape is hilarious.

Robert Queen was a pilot. So that’s how Oliver learned to fly.

Sara had a pet black canary. This show has the subtly of a jack hammer.

“Code breaker is my middle name. Actually it’s Meghan.” We were spoon-fed Felicity tidbits like this for a solid three seasons and each one left us craving for more.

Oliver fixed a radio in the flashbacks. It was riveting.

Listen to the @watchover-podcast reaction to 1x16!!!

If you’d like to support the blog, please buy me a cup of tea!

Disclaimer: Any gifs on the blog are not mine. If you would like a gif removed from my reviews, please message me.

[marley-manson]

Xena Episode Guide

Xena is an episodic show with a few ongoing arcs, both plot and character, so some episodes are very standalone, others are part of ongoing continuity. This guide will have four categories, denoted by symbol: * must-watch for plot or character development reasons + not essential but very good and/or gay, I recommend these ^ average non-essential episode, not notably amazing or awful, watch if you want more xena, skip if you want to get to the good parts faster # episodes I actively recommend skipping, not too many of these because I'm easy for this show lol.

I'm also going to link this site which has a lot of info and resources, including very thorough episode synopses under "episode guide," if you want more info before deciding whether or not to watch an episode.

It's also worth noting that it's a spinoff of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, a show I've seen exactly one episode of. You don't need to watch it to watch Xena, but occasionally it can add some context, and it's worth knowing that some plot elements are developed in Hercules rather than Xena, particularly parts of the Dahak arc in season 3. They'll have the characters explain the plot relevant stuff briefly, eg why Callisto is immortal now, but yeah if you feel like you're missing things, that's why, and it's not a big deal.

So without further ado, here we go, starting with Xena's introductory episodes in Hercules.

Hercules: 1x09 The Warrior Princess, 1x12 The Gauntlet, 1x13 Unchained Heart# I haven't seen these, it's not necessary, and afaik some of the characterization and general vibes are incompatible with the Xena we know and love in her own show. But feel free to watch them if you want to see her introduction as a character.

1x01 Sins of the Past* 1x02 Chariots of War^ One minor highlight of this episode is that Xena and Gabrielle's respective flirtations with a man of the week each mirror their new relationship with each other - Xena and some peaceful village dude, Gabrielle and a wannabe warlord. Otherwise basic and uninteresting. 1x03 Dreamworker* 1x04 Cradle of Hope^ 1x05 The Path Not Taken* 1x06 The Reckoning* 1x07 The Titans^ 1x08 Prometheus^ Hercules and Iolaus appear if you skipped Xena's Hercules intro and want to meet them, but there's not much to recommend it 1x09 Death In Chains^ 1x10 Hooves and Harlots* 1x11 The Black Wolf+ I don't remember it too well but I remember enjoying it, and there's some cute baby les Gab stuff 1x12 Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts+ Idk if it's quite essential, but a character in this ep recurs later and this episode is referenced. It's a pretty great episode though iirc, I'd rec it. 1x13 Athens City Academy of Performing Bards^ It's a clipshow so not much of substance, but this episode is referenced in a lot of fic as a path not taken for Gabrielle 1x14 A Fistful of Dinars^ Apparently Xena's former fiance is in it but frankly I had no memory of that so I don't think it's important enough to be considered essential 1x15 Warrior... Princess^ It introduces a recurring character (and trope) so worth watching for continuity purposes but p inconsequential otherwise iirc. 1x16 Mortal Beloved+ Controversial categorization because it's het, but what can I say, I like it 1x17 The Royal Couple of Thieves^ Pretty fun and introduces another recurring character, but otherwise not especially important 1x18 The Prodigal+ Solid episode for Gabrielle's character development, not essential but worth watching. 1x19 Altared States+ Gets a plus sign for blatantly gay Gabrielle <3 1x20 Ties that Bind# I personally hate this ep, but it does have somewhat significant character exploration, and I wouldn't necessarily say it's bad so much as not to my taste. Up to you whether you watch. 1x21 The Greater Good* Most of the ep isn't essential but it leads directly into the next one which is, plus it's pretty good. 1x22 Callisto* 1x23 Death Mask^ Gets into Xena's past and surviving brother, but not in a way that really has much of an impact? Might be worth watching for that, but I don't think skipping it will affect much 1x24 Is There a Doctor in the House+ Gay, good, and establishes one detail that recurs later on but not a particularly important detail.

2x01 Orphan of War* 2x02 Remember Nothing+ Arguably essential viewing for character stuff, but I don't think skipping it would hurt your understanding of anything. Solid episode though. 2x03 The Giant Killer^ Referenced in a later episode so worth watching for thoroughness, not bad but not stand-out. 2x04 Girls Just Wanna Have Fun+ Gay 2x05 Return of Callisto* 2x06 Warrior... Princess... Tramp^ Introduces another occasionally recurring character, fun, not essential otherwise 2x07 Intimate Stranger+ 2x08 Ten Little Warlords+ These are direct sequel episodes and I really enjoy both, but they're not immediately relevant. The latter is arguably somewhat essential for Ares character stuff, but ymmv on how important that is to you. 2x09 A Solstice Carol# 2x10 The Xena Scrolls+ Clipshow, not essential, but please watch it bc it's an absolute delight. Basically a canon role reversal AU, and it's one of the episodes that spawned a thousand lesbian romance novels in the form of published Xena AU fic. 2x11 Here She Comes... Miss Amphipolis^ 2x12 Destiny* 2x13 The Quest* 2x14 A Necessary Evil* 2x15 A Day In The Life+ Not technically essential but widely considered one of the best episodes of the show, wildly gay, don't skip it. 2x16 For Him The Bell Tolls^ Joxer heavy, Xena light. Most would probably categorize it as # but I'm easy for the comedy episodes 2x17 The Execution^ 2x18 Blind Faith+ 2x19 Ulysses^ Warning for dumb het, skip if your tolerance is low. After this though it's pretty clear sailing in terms of male love interests of the week, thankfully. 2x20 The Price* Amazing episode overall, imo essential for character exploration, but warning for v prominent racist tribal stereotypes 2x21 Lost Mariner+ 2x22 Comedy of Eros* It's not really essential for the most part, but it establishes a certain character beat that lasts for the next 3 seasons, and imo it's fun. Skippable if you're not in the mood for a mostly het comedy ep tho.

3x01 The Furies* Explores some of Xena's family history and introduces us to how the Furies work, since they show up in a few other episodes, but not huuugely important? Waffled between * and ^ for the record. 3x02 Been There, Done That+ One of my personal faves, not stand-out gay, but incredibly fun imo 3x03 The Dirty Half Dozen^ Basically the show's lone aware statement on feminism and it sucks lmao. Aside from that it can be fun, so I didn't mark it as a recommended skip, but it's on the cusp. 3x04 The Deliverer* 3x05 Gabrielle's Hope* 3x06/7 The Debt* 3x08 The King of Assassins# Very dude-centric and forgettable imo, but has Gina Torres as Cleopatra and introduces Joxer's siblings as a thing, so ymmv 3x09 Warrior... Priestess... Tramp^ 3x10 The Quill Is Mightier^ Fun episode for Ares and/or Aphrodite fans, not important and not notably good or gay tho (though at this point we have a relative base level of gay established so yk, p much every episode is gonna have some vibes) 3x11 Maternal Instincts* 3x12 The Bitter Suite* 3x13 One Against an Army+ 3x14 Forgiven# I skipped it my first watch and didn't regret that after watching it this time around, but fyi it does implicitly touch on the emotional fall-out of the last few episodes a little bit 3x15 King Con# 3x16 When In Rome...* 3x17 Forget Me Not* It's a clipshow, but the framing device establishes some surprisingly significant character and plot stuff 3x18 Fins, Femmes, and Gems+ A fan favourite for a lot of people, it's silly and fun with some great gay moments. 3x19 Tsunami^ 3x20 Vanishing Act^ 3x21/22 The Sacrifice*

BONUS: Hercules 4x13/14 Armageddon Now This is the sole episode of Hercules I watched, because Part 2 features the inspiration for an entire subgenre of Xena fic that I love - Conqueror fic. An AU where Hercules was never born, featuring a subplot in which Xena never turned good and went on to conquer Greece. You don't need to watch it to understand the conceit, and most fics don't follow the strict events of the episode but rather the general premise of Xena ruling a nation, but it is fun, and it has some bonus Callisto character stuff too. I've put it here because it aired alongside Xena season 3 and broadly fits into it continuity-wise.

4x01/2 Adventures in the Sin Trade* 4x03 A Family Affair* 4x04 In Sickness and In Hell^ A divisive episode, some find it funny, some find it obnoxious. I came down in the middle. 4x05 A Good Day* 4x06 A Tale of Two Muses^ 4x07 Locked Up and Tied Down^ Has some character backstory and thematically relevant stuff, but nothing super significant. 4x08 Crusader+ Features the ongoing arc of Xena's future vision and good character stuff, so somewhat relevant, but not quite enough to be essential imo. But it's extremely gay and one of my faves. 4x09 Past Imperfect^ Flashback episode to Solan's birth and Borias' death, but we don't learn anything particularly essential afaik, and it's not a super strong or gay episode. Worth watching if you enjoy learning about Xena's past though. 4x10 Key to the Kingdom^ Meg, Joxer, and Autolycus heavy comedy, great for Meg's character 4x11 Daughter of Pomira^ Sort of a sequel to The Price, same racist depictions of a native american coded people, tries to be progressive and manages to be, like, a step above The Searchers lol. 4x12 If the Shoe Fits^ 4x13 Paradise Found* Essential for character stuff but also fantastic in general. 4x14 Devi* We're in the India episodes, so expect stereotypes and cavalier treatment of Hinduism that caused enough controversy back in the day to necessitate a disclaimer. But they're important episodes plot and character-wise. 4x15 Between The Lines* The other episode that launched a thousand lesbian romance novels. 4x16 The Way* 4x17 The Play's The Thing^ 4x18 The Convert^ Najara's return, a big downgrade from Crusader though imo. Introduces another character who returns later, and Joxer gets some drama, but I still wouldn't say it's necessary. 4x19 Takes One to Know One^ 4x20 Endgame* 4x21 The Ides of March* 4x22 Deja Vu All Over Again+ Canonizes Xena/Gab in a censored, network-friendly way that may have you cheering or booing depending on your perspective, but it's worth noting that it was the best the crew could get away with. The characters return in a s6 episode but one I haven't seen lol so I can't say it's essential, but I like it.

A note on season 5: widely considered the worst season, esp for Xena/Gab shippers, but if you're a fan of Xena/Ares at all you might enjoy it more. There was some behind the scenes upheaval with the writing team I believe, and a plotline originally intended for Hercules got shunted here, where it's not a great fit. So it can feel a little "off." (Season 6 is generally considered a return to form, ftr.)

Focuses a lot on the unrequited het with Xena and Gabrielle's relationship somewhat sidelined in terms of dramatic focus. But it's very arc-heavy so many episodes are relevant, and tbf Xena and Gab still have a v strong married couple vibe. My advice is to either power through, or skip freely while reading a synopsis.

5x01 Fallen Angel* Silly but v important plot-wise, also pretty gay. 5x02 Chakram* Categorized as essential for some character-statement and thematic stuff, and some minor continuity re chakram, buuuut you could probably get away with skipping it. 5x03 Succession^ 5x04 Animal Attraction* 5x05 Them Bones, Them Bones^ It's arguably essential for a secondary character's storyline, so watch if you care about Amarice, but otherwise not missing much here. 5x06/7 Purity/Back in the Bottle^ I don't thiiiink there's anything super important here, and it's not super amazing, but it's a bit of a sequel to The Debt if that interests you. 5x08 Little Problems^ 5x09 Seeds of Faith* 5x10 Lyre Lyre Hearts on Fire# I found this painful to sit through. Others enjoy it so ymmv, but it adds nothing but bad vibes imo. 5x11 Punch Lines^ Good if you're a fan of Gabrielle/Aphrodite, but otherwise pretty mediocre. 5x12 God Fearing Child* 5x13 Eternal Bonds* 5x14 Amphipolis Under Siege* 5x15 Married with Fishsticks# Widely considered the worst episode, with good reason. 5x16 Lifeblood^ Basically just a way to recycle some portal fantasy pilot that didn't get picked up, mostly a waste of time but inoffensive 5x17 Kindred Spirits^ Not really that great, often annoying, but Xena and Gabrielle are emphatically married so it gets some gay points 5x18 Antony and Cleopatra^ I don't thiiiink there's anything super necessary here, skip to avoid het in the form of plot-induced manipulative seduction 5x19 Looking Death in the Eye* 5x20 Livia* 5x21 Eve* 5x22 Motherhood*

6x01 Coming Home* 6x02 The Haunting of Amphipolis* 6x03 Heart of Darkness* Only necessary in that it concludes the cliffhanger of the last episode. 6x04 Who's Gurkhan?* 6x05 Legacy* So, season 6 is more character heavy than arc heavy. All the above episodes are important for the characters dealing with the time skip and character development in general, but there's no arc they're contributing to, so feel free to make your own judgement calls. 6x06 The Abyss+ Racist stereotype cannibals unforch, but v gay. 6x07/8/9 The Rheingold/The Ring/Return of the Valkyrie+ Gay romance straight up. 6x10 Old Ares Had a Farm^ Great if you love mortal Ares episodes 6x11 Dangerous Prey^ I believe this is the sole mortal dude who poses a challenge to Xena, and they really aped the Callisto format for it lol. 6x12 The God You Know* Only mildly essential in that it explains why Aphrodite is mortal now, but while I think it's somewhat divisive, it's an episode I enjoy personally so I'd recommend it. 6x13 You Are There* 6x14 Path of Vengeance* 6x15 To Helicon and Back* 6x16 Send in the Clones^ Imo probably the worst clipshow, but it's still pretty fun. 6x17 The Last of the Centaurs^ 6x18 When Fates Collide+ Not essential but unskippable, iconic gay romance. 6x19 Many Happy Returns+ GAY GAY GAY GAY GAY 6x20 Soul Possession^ Almost a # but it does have canon reincarnated Xena/Gabrielle. 6x21/22 A Friend in Need* Very controversial finale, many hate it, but it is the finale so it's essential. Many recommend watching When Fates Collide after this and pretending it's the real finale lol.

[whumparound]

Alice (2020) K-Drama

Whumplist

Park Jin-Gyeom (Joo Won) is a detective, who doesn't show emotions. While investigating a mysterious case, he realizes the existence of time travelers. The time travelers come to the present day from the future through a space called Alice. Park Jin-Gyeom struggles to prevent negative things happening through Alice. During this time, he meets Yoon Tae-Yi (Kim Hee-Seon) again. A woman who looks erily identical to his deceased mother. Yoon Tae-Yi is a genius physicist and she holds a key to time travel. While they unravel the secret of time travel together, she discovers secrets hidden in her past.

This is a Whump list for Park Jin Gyeom (Played by Joo Won)

I actually had a lot of fun whating this drama, whether it was me laughing at it or with it. The story was all over the place and lacked continuity even if it was a time travel drama, but the characters were great.

______________________________________________________________________________

1x01 - crying, grieving, holding loved one as they die

1x02 - time was stopped but is resumed and hes hit by a truck, passes out, wakes up in hospital, broken ribs, bandaged wounds, takes out IV, Hit with smoke grenade holding eyes, coughing fough briefly, struggling to get up, almost hit by a car, Gets out of his car while its moving and jumps onto another car (not whump but I was crying) gets thrown off this car, fought, holding knife blade with hands, emotional upset

1x03 - fought smoke stuff in eyes again, fell from a good height, tried to chase but was too hurt, upset concerned for loved one, crying

1x04 - Fought, car accident, woke up on the street but in the past.

1X05 - woke up on street Clutching head ringing head pain, crying reliving mothers death, woke up present day where he crashed, ears ringing pass out nose bleed, woke up in hospital

1x06- fought, concerned for Someone

1x07 - fought

1x08 - Sleeping, smacked (comical), (flashback/forward…you still believe in time?) Loved one crying while holding him, possibly dead definitely not awake

1X09 - fought, Shot in the arm, at gunpoint, stops time before another bullet can get him, ears ringing, nose bleed, relieved after finding him mom, passes out from exertion, bandaged trying to wash hair (this scene is actually really cute)

1X10 worried, sleeping, woke up, anxious on a rollercoaster, unsteady getting off, hit by a car (to no consequence)

1x11 small fight, worried for someone, handcuffed to sign, crying, Yelling, wrist bleeding from struggling, at gunpoint

1x12 - angry, crying, loved one dies in his arms, grieving, comforted while crying, bleeding through Bandages

1x13 - Adult Jin gyeom Wakes up on the street, passes out again, nose bleed, in hospital, hearing voices, Panicking screaming, unconscious, woke up. Teen - Passes out, nose bleed, time rash Unconscious in bed, wakes up Suspicious as hell, hearing things

1x14 - crying, upset, stabbed with a sword, passes out, (off screen surgery) woke up, holding side, asleep, bleeding through shirt, concerned for, rewrapping wound, out of breath, delusions, almost stabs partner

1x15- crying, punches mirror, coping With major realization, comforted, concerned for someone,drugged, passes out, holding hand as someone important to him dies, holding loved one as they die, crying

1x16 - time travels, wakes up, crying, reliving same death of mother again

《Sorry for any spelling errors, english is my first language and I suck at it🙂》

[shieldagent93]

The Parallels Between Agents of SHIELD's Uprising Arc and RWBY's Fall of Beacon Arc

Honestly, as a fan of both, it surprised me how much they have in common. Now, for those of you who've only seen one or the other, here's some background. Warning, lots of spoilers.

The Uprising arc for Agents of SHIELD (AoS), as promotional material liked to name it, was episodes 1x16 - 1x22 (season finale). The events of those episodes ran alongside the plot of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, where Nazi organization HYDRA was found to be inside of spy organization SHIELD since SHIELD's inception. This arc of the show was written with the movie in mind.

RWBY's Fall of Beacon arc was episodes 3x07 - 3x12 (volume finale). This arc was planned from the inception of the show and the first two and a half volumes spent building up to it. It culminated in the annihilation of the Beacon Academy (the main set location up to this point in the show), the destruction of worldwide communications, and a lot of other things.

I was rewatching the Fall of Beacon arc all over again the other day and it hammed home just how much these shows had in common. They both have:

An arc in the back half of the season/volume that completely change the trajectory of the show HYDRA reveal and the dissolution of SHIELD (Uprising) Maidens/Salem reveal and the Destruction of Beacon (Fall of Beacon)

This arc takes place between one episode titled End of the Beginning (AoS 1x16, RWBY V3 finale) and another titled Beginning of the End (AoS S1 Finale, RWBY 3x07)

A popular main character gets badly injured Fitz gains a traumatic brain injury Yang loses an arm

This character is then separated from their future love interest, and believes they were abandoned by them Fitz by Simmons Yang by Blake

Crazy obsessed boys working with the bad guys who can't let go of the girl and become worse with their obsession later on in the show Grant Ward (with Skye) Adam Taurus (with Blake)

First semi official appearance of a "missing" family member of one of the main characters in the finale. They officially appear in the following season/volume having a temporary alliance with the series antagonists. AoS ending scene has Skye's dad, Cal, cameo (just his hand is shown) RWBY has Yang's mom, Raven, cameo (in bird form) outside Yang's window

One of the main character's are "special" Skye is one of several characters who were given alien blood to heal from the brink of death and the only one who didn't have a negative reaction to it. Her origins at this point are unknown to everyone, including herself. Ruby's Silver Eyes are revealed to be able to neutralize monsters known as Grimm with a flash of light from her eyes

Both of these character's "Special" traits are passed down from their mothers and put a target on their heads Skye is later revealed to be an Inhuman and gets superpowers. The inhuman genes were passed down from her mother, Jiaying. At various points in the show, inhumans are locked up/killed due to their powers, dissected in the name of experimentation, or used by others like weapons. Ruby's silver eyes are a rare trait passed down by her mother, Summer Rose. These silver eyes make her a target of Grimm Queen Salem, who has historically hunted down and killed Silver Eyed Warriors (SEWs). In recent years, she has also done experiments on SEWs to transform them into Grimm.

Betrayal Grant Ward tricked the rest of his team. He was HYDRA all along RWBY and Co had thought Cinder and her team were just transfer students when they had been placed there to bring the school down

Good Guys figure out what's going on too late Skye only realizes Grant Ward is HYDRA after discovering Agent Eric Koenig's body and recognizing Ward was the only one who could have killed him (the two of them are the only ones remaining in the Base). Ruby starts piecing things together when realizing Emerald is still in town (not leaving with her injured teammate as Ruby's team was told earlier) and seeing Mercury (Emerald's teammate who should have had a leg injury) unharmed. Sadly, she is unable to stop their plan from going into motion and Penny Polendina is killed.

Season baddie who dies and then returns in some form during the latest/last season John Garrett, whose past self showed up in S7 Roman Torchwick, who appeared via Neo's illusions in V9

Big guy in charge assumed to be Killed In Action, later revealed to be alive Nick Fury Professor Ozpin (Ozma)

I know some of this information was revealed in later Seasons/Volumes, but it was at least starting to be set up during the arcs I mentioned.

There's probably more similarities I haven't thought of, but man was there a lot just off the top of my head.

No wonder I love both shows lol