#she will zoom in from the hospital for the next episode

[indiworld]

truly believe we will witness Izzy’s water breaking this season. lowkey believe we already have and that’s the reason for this AP’s end

[denkies]

THE NEW BUDDY DADDIES EPISODE WGA3GWGUAHEJAHAJFA

[theflyindutchwoman]

One thing that stood out to me during this episode is how the camerawork was used to highlight Lucy's feeling of isolation. Particularly during the shooting in the alley and at the hospital. In these two scenes, she is seen mostly on her own, separated from everyone. And because of this, it is so easy to relate to her sense of anguish and pain. But at the same time, the camera zooms in on the team. When Lucy is in the alley, we can see how worried Angela and Nyla are. But Lucy can't. When she goes down, we can see the look of horror and fear on their faces. But Lucy can't. And then there's the perfect symbol of her radio being shot down. Her mean of communication with her team is broken, she has to rely on signs. And that's a perfect metaphor. So when Nyla compliments Lucy's ingenuity, we're the only ones who can hear it. Lucy can't. And then, there's the hospital scene where we progressively see Nolan, Bailey, Aaron and Celina showing up for Lucy. But she can't see that because she is in another room, because she has to be isolated pending IA investigation. When Grey asks Wesley how she's holding up, she can't hear that. She can only see the side glances. She is not even technically alone, there's a guard there with her in the room but he can't talk to her. We don't even know if they know each other. The way the camerawork showed the duality of this story is so important. Lucy is technically not alone and yet, you can still feel that sense of isolation. Because it looked like only Tim was there to comfort her. Making him her only lifeline at the moment. And that is going to make the next part even more heartbreaking when he disappears without telling her.

[teambyler]

"Byler Endgame, One Episode at a Time" - s5e6

Plot beats and scenes leading to a Byler endgame, one episode at a time, for Season 5 of Stranger Things. (This is just for fun! I have no insider knowledge!)

Also see Part 0, where I explain what I think a Byler Endgame has to address. Link to the previous episode.

s5e6

Some time after Mike and Will realize their feelings for each other, the other members of the party arrive at Hopper’s cabin. El is out front and shushes them with a finger to her lips. She quietly opens the door and everyone sees Mike and Will embracing, asleep, tears clearing tracks through the grime on their faces. Everyone is pleasantly surprised. Joyce thinks they're so adorable and immediately wants to walk in, but El stops her. They all wait outside. El gently wakes the two of them and everyone openly arrives a few minutes later. They take Will to the hospital for his arm.

The next night, back at the Wheeler house, Mike and Will are hanging out. Will can’t play Nintendo with his bad arm, but Will is telling what to do as he plays Final Fantasy. They name their party after the four original members of their group. Mike: “I like this.” “Like what?” “Just hanging out…” “Well we’ve always hung out.” “That’s the thing. We never... I never told how you feel.” He talks about how wrapped up in El he was, so he could hide from his own feelings. The year Will was away, he tried to call more but the phone was always busy. He thought Will had moved on, had made a painting for a girl. Will: "Well, I could have reached out more too." A pause. Will: “It’s sad that we lost so much time…” They linger a while on this thought. Mike turns to Will with determination. “I’ll make it up to you Will. Or I’ll try.” They should do something together tomorrow night. Will smiles: “Are you asking me out on a date?” Mike stands up and extends out his hand in a medieval bow: “May I?” Will stands: “Oh yes, my paladin.” and kisses Mike on the cheek. Mike playfully touches the spot Will kissed like he's just been kissed by a rock star.

Afterward, Mike goes to his room and digs out some old things. We see some of the toys he decided not to throw away in s2. He looks at one of them in particularly fondly, and sets it aside.

The next morning, Ted is already gone. Karen has made pancakes and eggs, and she is on the phone talking with Joyce. Mike and Will reach for the syrup at the same time and touch hands, and they both look at each other slowly let go. Mike: “You can’t open it anyway.” Will laughs: “That’s for sure.” Mike opens the bottle and pours syrup on Will’s eggs. Will is blushing and smiling. We zoom in on Karen who sees this all take place…

At school the next day, Dustin and Lucas tell them they need to have an "emergency party meeting.” In private, they tell them “We know” and before Mike and Will can protest they say it’s totally cool and it’s a beautiful thing. In their party they stand up for each other, full stop. They always have, and always will. Will: "I wasn't sure..." Dustin: "We've gone through hell together, saved each other's lives. Are you kidding?" Lucas holds out his hand for a handshake. Will skips that and just hugs Lucas. The others join in, and the four of them share a long group embrace.

After school, Mike asks his mom if she has a good box for giving a gift, about “yay tall” (demonstrates with his hands). She says sure: “Who is it for?” Mike hesitates... Karen: “Is it for Will?” There’s a look of fear in his eyes. She sees his reaction and doesn’t push it. She finds an old gift box she had saved. While she is looking, she has a tender look on her face. She finds a good box and hands it to him. She puts her hands on his shoulders and looks him in the eyes. “I think Will is a very nice boy.” Mike looks shocked, then relieved. He starts to cry. She hugs him: “I told you, you never have to hide anything from me. I'm your mom, MIke! I love you.” Mike nods through tears. “Does dad know?” “No…” They hold each other. She gives him an encouraging nod, and he takes the box.

Mike presents the gift box to Will, and he expectantly watches him take off the lid. Will recognizes Mike's old teddy bear. “Aww that’s so sweet.” “I know it’s kinda stupid, and I didn’t buy anything, but it seemed right.” “It’s perfect.” He hugs Mike, and they kiss. They go out on their date. They go watch a re-screening of Spaceballs and have a great time. Afterward, Mike takes them to an ice cream shop. Mike takes one of Will’s art markers and starts to draw a heart on Will’s cast. Will: “Mike!” Mike doesn’t care. They get some homophobic stares from adults. Before Mike can finish, Will hides away his arm. Mike sees this and is hurt, but understands.

The next day, Will shyly approaches Mike in the school hall. They give each other boyfriend looks. Mike says they should go out again tonight. “Two nights in a row?” “Sure! Why not?” “You know, you don’t have to take me out all the time. You can't afford it." They laugh. Will "We could just hang out and play games.” Mike wants to kiss Will on the spot. “So it’s a date?” Will giggles and looks shyly to the side: “Yes, it’s a date.” Max walks up to them and says “Hi, lovebirds!” They blush. The bell rings, they turn and head to their class.

… They pass by and notice Bully #1. He looks at them and Max stares daggers back. He immediately lowers his gaze. Will, defiantly looking straight at Bully #1, extends his hand out to Mike. Mike takes it, they look at each other. Mike gives a loving sigh and nods. Students look at them in shock as they walk down the hall in slow motion, David Bowie’s “Heroes” playing (starting here). The last line is sung as we go to credits...

I, I will be king And you, you will be queen Though nothing will drive them away We can be Heroes, just for one day We can be us, just for one day

====================

That's it! I'm not planning anything more on this particular project. I have a couple ideas including Will and Mike getting caught on the Upside Down and Will using a gun lol, but I don't feel like writing it out because from here forward the A plot takes center stage and I have no idea where that will go!

Anyway, that concludes "Byler Endgame - One Episode at a Time." I hope you enjoyed it!

Part 0 (what a Byler endgame needs to address) Previous episode

-teambyler

[sassyfrassboss]

Gosh I think they’re just beyond desperate at this point. I don’t think she’s signed any deals, we haven’t heard a peep from WME and the only thing being remotely spoken about is invictius. Partly people there’s a real feeling that it’s a dumpster fire behind the scenes and harry is desperate to right the ship in time for the actual event.

The fact that we didn’t get some sort of leak from Meghan about whats potentially dropping ~soon~ while Catherine was in the hospital is wild to me. Going even further, with the release that she wasn’t going to be doing public facing duties til April at the earliest and nothing from monceito. She hasn’t touched the suits reunion rumors, and not a peep about the blog revival. I think she’s hoping and praying that Harry’s going to get an in back with the family and that will re open doors for her.

Let's look at some of their "accomplishments/projects" since 2020:

Travalyst - NO CLUE what happened to that. I feel like it was similar to that dude who tried to get a big concert going and then took people's money and nothing ever came of it. Harry took all this money and made a few speeches but no a peep in over a year.

40x40 - Yeah that crashed and burned for Meghan. All of the SWAG she bought and is sitting on. Some of it was even returned to her from A-List celebs.

They got the cover of Time but people made fun of the cover so much because it looked like Harry was her hair stylist.

Their NYC royal tour when they went to the UN and were relegated to meeting someone lower on the totem pole than they wanted and it was a very short meeting.

Harry at the Endeavor Awards and her in that awful dress. Right across the street was a big celeb event that they weren't invited to...

Meghan is still involved with Smartworks but you never hear anything about that.

They have each gotten small awards here and there that don't amount to anything and get basically zero press.

During 2020 they were doing Zoom calls and jumped on the BLM bandwagon but that stopped.

They donated some $ to that women's shelter in Texas.

They joined that Chef's organization but basically threw some money at him and hopped on his coattails while taking all the credit.

She went to Uvalde for attention and brought sandwiches and chips...she had her camera crew with her and was banned from entering where the volunteers were. Shortly after this there was a school, mainly black kids, that had a school shooting and people died but she ignored this because it didn't have the massive headlines Uvalde did.

Spotify - fired after 12 episodes which took 2 years to produce.

Netflix - their series went over relatively well but people are tired of hearing them complain. Their next production was basically a handout from Netflix because they had nothing else.

Her book tanked. Epic Failure.

He op-ed in the New York Times I think was buried after a day basically.

I mean the only thing they have done in the past 4 years that actually brought them some sympathy and positive attention was the Oprah interview.

Then Prince Philip died and all of that went away.

They have crashed and burned left and right the past four years.

Every project or bandwagon they have jumped on fizzles out after a few months. Then they show up to random events that leave people wondering why the hell they are there.

Right now they desperately need the BRF. Even if Meghan refuses to admit it. They need the shine that William and Catherine bring. But they won't be welcomed back. He might because he is a royal prince but she would be sidelined.

[eviltiddyproductions]

Destined With You : Episode 9

one thing about my sister, she’s going to land in situations that are horror movie adjacent

sister GET OUT OF HERE !!!!

girl will you start running when the shadow catches up to you 💀? get up !! run !!!!

second male lead I have my eyes on you 🤨! you were wearing a hoodie the last time too she got chased!

lmao the second time in this show a man has had to change the lights

damn didn’t the boss have a blind date? 😭 not him moving things

lmao not the ramen line still doing the rounds

honestly he’s real for this! I’m super appreciative of people who ask before hugging or kissing! 🙏

girl we’re on episode 9, while I appreciate them trying to give this couple screen time I still have no idea what lore we’re working with in general (with all of the past stuff from the joseon era + that cheating fiancée) like we’ve got things to unravel over here !!!

I know the mom might be a little uninvolved and ditzy but I do not care about our man’s dad at all. Like you can’t hide his disease from his own mom?!? 😭 plus what even is going on with him and his family lol. the only time his dad interacts with him is to ask him about his marriage or his disease and he ignores his mom. other than that I have no idea what’s going on with them.

my memory is so garbage like until some other character calls them by name I have no idea what my people are called

what’s going on with my girl omg 😨 take her to a hospital!!! she was about to pass out while being chased too

aaah she’s suspicious of him too! ( a first considering the dramas I’ve watched 💀)

these damn blackouts 😭😭😭

girl call that man downstairs or call the police !!!!

oh just a nightmare

all of that nonsense from his dad to not make a fuss just to stand and argue over Sin yu’s head 💀 (I’m sorry I’m about to be his biggest hater)

oh wow because of the week long break even I forgot that the last person our man met was that creepy gardener

awwww they look so sweet. I want to push and squish them next to each other

I don’t know what’s worse them not remembering someone is after them taking pictures or the weirdo we have no idea about clicking pictures 😭

lmao his fiancée said idc 💅💅💅

how many white dresses does my sister have

what are these shoes Nayeon 😭😭😭

aaah so this gardener has been busy hexing them

the camera zoom ins on this show are so random

I have an ominous feeling

these fireworks are gorgeous

I gotta check if someone named Lyn is on their soundtracks because I just got tale of the nine tailed flashbacks

the slo mo walk on the bridge

the trailer hug !!! except it’s in the present era

awww he loves her (please break up with your fiancée already)

wait was the lady in the sack this kid’s mom or our girl in her past life?

oh must be this little girl

for the first time I’m thinking horse riding must be so fun and freeing 😭

not him travelling through the four seasons!?!

you don’t have to walk slow we already know you two!

awwww the red cheeks 🍎🍎🍎

damn it’s already over ?!!!

this one was a slow sweet watch, woah. I do need them to pick up the pace though 😂 like tell us what’s going on with our babies 😭 !!! every episode the creepy confusing people keep increasing but the context doesn’t.

[besidesitstoowarm]

"The Eleventh Hour" thoughts

this is such a fun, explosive opening to the season and the new era as a whole. moffat episodes always leave me w so many notes so i'll try to get through this normally

so we see amy's beautiful dilapidated garden, the broken bench and overgrown ivy, while mournful singing plays overtop. fairy tale imagery that will carry us through to eleven's very last episode (and even into twelve, altho twelve has a more straightforward aesop fable thing going on). baby amy is praying to santa about the crack in her wall and i think this is a good intro for the kind of kid she is, the one who asks a larger-than-life half-fantasy man for help. she doesn't ask god, she asks santa, so of course she imprints on the doctor, who at this point is far more like the latter than the former

"are you a policeman?" "did you call a policeman?" eleven is very good w baby amy! he doesn't brush her off, he wants to comfort her in a language she understands, so if she mentions the police, he'll meet her there. she feeds him, montage of him thinking it's all ickyucky. fish fingers and custard you nasty ass. "amelia pond, like a name in a fairy tale" there we go. she gives him an apple w a face carved in and he keeps it even tho he already said he hates apples now

"prisoner zero has escaped" this would have scared the fuck outta me at age 7 so she's honestly being really brave to me. he promises to be back in 5 minutes. she packs up a suitcase, puts on her coat, sits outside waiting. and waiting, and waiting. a door at the end of her hall opens wider and wider

we skip forward! coma patients all saying "doctor" on repeat. hi rory. adult amy! she doesn't say who she is and says amelia hasn't lived there in 6 months and eleven keeps insisting it couldn't have been 6 months. there's a room she can only see in the corner of her eye and she goes inside and there's a fucked up evil eel in it. it's fine. he realizes she was lying about the 6 months thing and says "why did you say 6 months?" and she snaps back "why did you say 5 minutes?"

"i'm the doctor, i'm worse than everybody's aunt" that tracks. he uses rory's phone to track prisoner zero and wants to meet up w amy's handsome friend jeff to steal his laptop. rory is not happy about this assessment. eleven busts into jeff's room and snags the computer and says "get a girlfriend, jeff" in response to whatever he was looking at. he joins a worldwide genius zoom call or something idk

they go to the hospital and olivia colman is there! she's credited as "mother" and she is in fact mothering. "the pandorica will open," she says, "silence will fall" i am so excited. eleven tricks her into revealing herself and she gets arrested and then he demands the atraxi come back bc how DARE they threaten earth. he steals doctors' clothes and we get the iconic bow tie and tweed coat. this entire end monologue fucks so severely, it's the kind of thing moffat is so good at it and matt smith excels at performing, this fast-talking quick-witted sharp-spined arrogance. lil montage of all the previous doctors. "basically, run" that's my baby right there!!

he comes back two years later to pick up amy and she deliberately does not mention it's the night before her damn wedding. he says he's been alone too long and wants company, very hard left turn from the time lord victorious but it makes sense. she agrees to come and i like the new tardis interior :) eleven's later classic-style interior is my fave but this one is nice too. eccentric ass. next ep is one of my faves!

[neodracunyan]

Job Hunting for Dummies - Season 01 - Episode 02

Episode 02 - "Punch" Out of Luck

Season 01 - Episode 02 - Punch Drunk

Location: The Boxing Stadium - Downtown Creation City

Date: May 16, 2019

Time: 10:00 PM

No POV

After the paper route job was a total bust thanks to Sonia's attempt to steal someone's TV, Y/n, Sonia and Tailsko are at a boxing ring as Tailsko has another job for them, only this time Y/n is going up in the ring to a boxing match against Mike Tyson. Luckily for Y/n, he was giving some boxing lesson from Peanut Butter as well as some other fighting lessons from his friends in other types of fighting style video games like Mortal Kombat and Street Fight, so this should be an easy boxing match for our hero.

Sonia: Wait, wha— wha— why did he agree to do this?

Tailsko: It's a big payday, Sonia. It's real simple, he just hang in there, and h— he'll be fine. Trust me.

Sonia: Look, look, I'm not feeling good about this. Is it too late for him to back out?

Y/n: Don't worry, Sonia. I can handle this. I've been taking boxing lessons from my friend's pokemon named Peanut Butter, so this should be a snap for me to box against the stadium's best boxer, Mike Tyson.

We zoom out to show Mike Tyson as Y/n put's on his boxing gloves and is ready to fight with the bell rang, starting the match.

Tailsko: Yes, that bell- Yeah, now it's too late for him to back out. Go get him, champ!

Y/n: Thanks for the motivation, Tails~!

Sonia: Yeah, thanks a lot, dickface.

Y/n: Alright, let's do this. (Dodges Tyson's punches and counter punches Mike Tyson)

Sonia: Wow, he's really doing it. I think he can take this guy!

Y/n punches him some more while dodging and blocking more of Mike Tyson's attacks.

Tailsko: Hey, that's great Sonia! Uh, just, uh, don't go let him crazy, okay? I, uh, kinda bet against him, so, uh, I need you to not let him lose this match, okay? I kinda betted out Y/n's life savings on this match.

Y/n: Wait, wait, you betted my life savings that I worked hard for against him?! (Mike Tyson punches Y/n, sending him backwards a bit while rings fly out of him) Ow, ow, oh, my face! Tails, grab those rings, I need them for laundry!

Tailsko: Ok, just be careful, ok? I don't want you ending up in a body cast. (Starts picking up Y/n's golden rings before they disappeared)

Y/n: Got it. Alright, Mike Tyson, prepare to get your light punched out! (Thinking) Good thing that Peanut Butter enhanced my durability to deal with strong punchs from this guy. Better make this quick before I lose all of my life savings.

Y/n then unleashed a power punch at Mike's jaw as the boxer got stunned and Y/n repetitively punches Mike Tyson until he is completely knocked out to win the match.

Mike Tyson: GAH! HOW...IS...THIS...KID...THAT...STRONG....WHY... ISN'T... ANY... ONE... STOPPING... THIS?!

Timeskip - The Next Day

After the boxing match, Y/n was declared the winner and won back his savings and earned a extra bonus as his winnings as we cut back to Y/n's apartment where Sonic is holding an ice pack onto Y/n's black eyes due to that punch that Mike Tyson gave him during the match.

Tailsko: Well, you took one hell of a fight back there, babe. But at least you still got your life savings back and earn some money left over from the last match, right?

Y/n: Yeah and I did go a little bit too far on beating Mike Tyson to a bloody pulp back there, but at least he's got insurance and in a body cast at the hospital.

Tailsko: You know what Sonia should do, head down to the Star Light Zone, pick herself up a boyfriend, get a little spin job, huh? She earned it.

Y/n: Are you sure you wanna do that, Sonia? That kind of job sounds a little too risky, even for me.

Sonia: Nah, I decided it's time to grow up, you know? So I took some of the money and made a little investment.

Tailsko: Hey, good for you, man!

Y/n: Yeah, that's real mature of you.

Sonia: Yeah, bought a sweet new frame for my poster.

The scene cut to show her Dominique Wilkins poster in a frame.

Sonia: That baby's gonna pay for itself in like 15—20 years.

Tailsko: You stupid fuck.

Y/n: Well, at least the frame only costs $5, and her rent is paid for this month, so we're good for now, I guess.

END OF EPISODE 02

TO BE CONTINUED IN EPISODE 03 IN A STRANGE DREAM REALM

[lunawings]

Okay, I got through it.

I do like Chii, I just wish she would tone it down... a little...... (She might in the upcoming episodes??)

We saw the exact same three-second clip of her performance (or was it 5 seconds this time...) and it's still my favorite song in AiPri so far. SO FRUSTRATING but I realized this time why they haven't shown her whole performance. It's because she can't do Buzzilume Change. They aren't going to bother to make alternate versions of their performances without it.

Speaking of which, I liked Tsumugi's Buzzilume Change. They didn't zoom out to show the lasers, so it didn't hurt my eyes as much. (I literally look away from the screen when Himari performs.)

I understand they needed to take Mitsuki out of this episode for plot reasons but I mean they really should have brought her to the hospital what if she had heat stoke?????

Seems I was exactly right about Mitsuki being jealous of Tsumugi in the very next episode.

But yeah. I'm having trouble keeping track of what is supposed to be a secret and who knows who is an AiPri just because IT'S SO OBVIOUS. I assumed everyone knew Chii is an AiPri since a.) she talks about it all the time in class b.) SHE LOOKS EXACTLY THE SAME IN AIPRI VERSE

BUT APPARENTLY NOT

Was there some kind of disconnect between the writers and the character designers?

I mean they might say they wanted to keep names/hair colors consistent so little kids to know who is who but some of the Precures change a LOT when they transform AND have different names and that doesn't seem to be a problem??????

(But at the same time, they seem to be implying Tsumugi is Himari's rabbit Mugi yet they were brave enough not to make her rabbit themed lol.)

But also... why does Himari still need to keep it a secret again THE PRINCIPAL ALREADY KNOWS AND IS HER FAN.

Himitsu no AiPri 9

I haven't even finished watching the episode yet.

I just had to pause it after Himari and Chii entered AiPri Verse causing Himari to recognize Chii as the AiPri who lost to Mitsuki.

Yes. She is surprised that Chii is the AiPri who looks EXACTLY LIKE CHII.

At least Himari looks slightly different but still of course Chii is surprised that Himari is... HIMARI

please good lord give me the strength to continue this episode I really wanna see Tsumugi but................................

[stomach-bugg09]

what should've been

spoilers for stranger things season 4 vol. 2!!

here’s the thing: i am disappointed in the ending of stranger things. not because it was sad, not because im emotionally distraught (although it did not help), but because it didn’t really give the message of finale like it should have, and i think the reasoning for that is because of how many things were left just.. open ended. and forgotten.

my “theory” for this is that the duffer brothers had a lot planned until they realized they really couldn’t put it together without it looking sloppy. like how they left the storyline that is 008 from season 2. i bet that there is so much in that script we didn’t get to see all because they realized that a 2:30 episode is… quite a lot already.

but, either way, the ending is what has left me unsatisfied. it felt drawn out, there wasn’t enough closure, it felt rushed.

that being said, here is how i would have ended it.

eddie is dead. max is nearly dead. and most importantly, vecna is presumed dead. there are losses, but there is that last win. unfortunately, the winning trio doesn’t even know about eddie and max.

nancy, robin, and steve are all walking back, praying that everything went alright. then they eddie and dustin, and it’s clear on their faces that their hearts are breaking at the sight. no words are even exchanged. it’t just pure, raw emotion.

we cut to the paramedics arriving to the creel house. music overpowers their discussion as erica leads them through the house frantically, bursting into the room to find lucas sobbing over max, somehow having revived after a minute of her heart stopping.

we cut again now to the california crew. el is leaning on mike, the group walking out of the pizza store when they look up to see a plane/copter… thing?? they attempt to run, assuming it’s the government. but el knows. she knows it’s him.

the flying machine lands, the dust settling after the propeller is turned off, and out steps joyce and hopper and murray and then a random russian dude they don’t recognize.

el runs. she runs to hopper. she hugs him, crying into his chest. the camera circles them, transitioning to the gang in the upside down, crying and hugging.

next we see lucas running next to the paramedic table thing, clasping max’s hand. the paramedic tells him he needs to let go. he can’t.

erica grabs lucas, pulling him back. he cries. they hug.

all three groups are in pain. they are comforting each other. it is just emotion. and tears.

and then it all goes black. it’s silent. but somewhere, in the darkness, we hear “max…”

then more sounds flood in. beeping. the hospital. lucas reading a book. and we zoom out to the hospital room set up.

and then it’s done.

not only would this give closure on eddie’s death and max’s state of health, but it gives the cliffhanger we needed. it is the finale. it is final.

[marjansmarwani]

this weight off your shoulders 

1.9k || ao3

When Andrea Reyes receives a call from her son with terrible news, she makes a promise to a woman she only met once but always felt she knew. -- A 3x07 Coda

I started off writing a different coda to this episode, but somehow ended up here.

------

Andrea raised an eyebrow as the footage of Owen Strand punching a police officer on a softball field played on the 10 o’clock news. She glanced at her husband who was sitting beside her on the couch with an unimpressed look. “What?” he demanded upon spotting her expression. “I had nothing to do with this!”

“No,” she agreed, “but you buy into all this nonsense.” 

“It’s just harmless teasing, mi vida.” 

She looked back at the TV where the camera had zoomed out to show the fighting spreading. “Yes,” she deadpanned, “looks completely harmless to me.” 

Gabriel at least had the good grace to be chastened but she pressed on, “Your future son-in-law is with the fire department,” she reminded him. “I would think that would be enough for you to get over this.” 

“I have nothing against TK,” he reminded her firmly, “or his father,” he added as Owen appeared on screen again. “It’s just always been this way,” he concluded with a helpless shrug. “It really doesn’t mean anything, really.” 

She shook her head and turned her focus back to the footage of fighting mass and she could make out Carlos amongst the masses of uninformed brawlers stepping between two blue-clad figures and one red one. She couldn’t say for sure, but she’d put money on TK being the one in red. 

“It looks like the boys had quite the day,” she commented drily. 

Gabriel chuckled, “I can’t wait to ask them about this at dinner on Sunday.” 

She rolled her eyes but was prevented from retorting when her phone began to vibrate across the end table beside her. She twisted to pick it up, grinning when she saw her son’s name on the screen. 

She flashed the screen to Gabriel as she swiped to answer, putting it on speaker and holding the phone between them. “Carlitos, we were just watching you on the news! You and TK better get your stories straight because your father is going to be looking for a play by play when you are here for dinner on Sunday.” 

Her husband grumbled good naturedly but there was quiet on the other line for several moments before Carlos responded, “I um…I don’t think we’ll be able to make dinner on Sunday, actually.” 

It wasn’t so much the words but the way that he said them that sent up red flags for Andrea as she exchanged a look with Gabriel to find the grin slipping off his face too. There was something in the way his voice sounded that brought her back six months ago and sitting beside him in an ICU room as machines worked to keep TK alive. “What’s happened, Carlos?” she asked, skipping the part where she waited for him to talk. 

“It’s TK.” He paused and took a deep breath and in its space a thousand awful scenarios entered her head. But not one of them was anywhere near what Carlos said next, voice cracking over the words: “His mom died.” 

And Andrea didn’t know what to say to that. She put a hand over her mouth in shock as she looked over at her husband with tears in her eyes. He looked just as distressed and for a moment they simply sat in silence on their couch, their son on the phone between them. 

After a moment, Gabriel cleared his throat, “Did he say what happened?” 

“No,” Carlos replied, voice heavy. “His stepdad called him a few hours ago. I don’t think he gave him any details. If he did, he hasn’t shared them. I’ll…I’ll ask later.” 

“Of course,” Andrea murmured, wishing she were there right now to hold both of them in her arms. Carlos sounded wrecked; she could practically see the look on his face (in her head it looked just like the one he had worn when she had arrived at the hospital) and the very thought made her heart ache. But the idea of what TK must be going through… 

She sniffled and felt a hand on her knee. She looked across to see Gabriel giving her a sympathetic smile and wrapped a hand around the one resting on her knee and squeezed it. She could help but think of a time nearly a decade before and a phone call of her own. Even at 40 the pain of losing her mother had nearly struck her down; she was pretty sure that was something you didn’t age out of. But to face it so young—TK wasn’t even 30 yet and his little brother…

She squeezed her eyes shut as she thought about the sweet baby she had met only a few months before when Gwyn Morgan had come to town. That baby boy was never going to know his mother. He was never going to remember the bright, funny woman with kind eyes that had wrapped Andrea in a hug the moment they met and thanked her for all she had done for her son; for being there for him when she hadn’t been able to. Andrea had told her then that TK was family and that she intended to always be there for him and she fully intended to keep that promise, now more than ever. 

She and Gwyn had gushed about their boys, had playfully made bets for their future. It was striking Andrea now that Gwyn would never get to see all those things they had talked about and TK would never get to share them with his mother. She felt fresh tears fall at the thought but pushed her attention back to the phone gripped tightly in her hand as Carlos started speaking again. 

“I don’t know how to do this,” he was saying. “How do I help him through this?” 

And Andrea sucked in a breath because she didn’t know what to tell him. Her mind was so filled with grief—memories of her own intermingling with sympathy for the young man she was coming to love as her own—that there wasn’t room enough to form a coherent thought. Soon the grief was joined by guilt at the fact that her son was asking for help that she couldn’t give him. 

But, as it turned out, she didn’t have too. 

“Just be there for him, mijo,” Gabriel told him gently, tightening his grip on her knee as if to say I’ve got this. “Listen to him and what he needs. Don’t try to fix this, because you can’t. No one can, all you can do is be along for the ride. And keep loving him,” he added as almost an afterthought. “That’s the most important part of all.” 

“That part’s easy,” Carlos replied, and his voice did sound a little steadier. 

Andrea let out a small sigh of relief at the shift and felt a rush of gratitude for her husband: her rock then and now. At least, she thought sadly, TK was in good hands. Being loved like she was, like she knew her son loved him, made the pain so much easier to carry. Sharing the load always did.  

“We’re heading to New York tomorrow,” Carlos continued. “TK, Owen, and I. Our flight leaves at 11.”

“Do you need a ride there?” Gabriel asked and Carlos politely declined. 

“Captain Vega offered to take us. Actually, every member of the 126 offered, she just offered first because TK had to call her to get cleared for the time off.” 

“If you do need anything we’re only a phone call away,” Andrea reminded him. 

“I know that,” Carlos assured them, “and I appreciate it. I just…” he trailed off and when he started again his voice was thicker. “I just feel guilty, almost. I miss her too, but I barely knew her. I can’t imagine how TK must feel, they were so close.” 

“You’re allowed to grieve too, Carlitos,” she told him gently. “You spent time with her, got to know her. She told me about all the time you two spent together when she first got to Austin, how much she had enjoyed getting to know you. And you love her son,” she added. “That means more than you can possibly know. Whatever you’re feeling Carlitos, you need to feel it. What TK is feeling doesn’t make your pain any less. There’s no limit on who can mourn. And trying to ignore your own feelings won’t help either of you.” 

“And I know that, logically,” he replied drily. “But logic and practice are two very different things.” 

That pulled a small laugh out of her, but soon enough they were back to the reality at hand. “It’ll be okay, Carlitos,” she reminded him. “You two will get through this together. And we’ll be here for you, every step of the way.” 

“Thanks, Mom,” he repeated before breaking off with a sigh. “I should go. We’re going to have to get up early in the morning to get going.” 

“Tell TK we’re thinking about him, when you get a chance,” Gabriel replied and Andrea nodded. 

“And we love you, Carlos,” she added. “You and TK both.” 

“I love you too,” Carlos responded, voice thicker than it had been a minute ago. “I’ll let you know tomorrow how everything goes.” 

“Text me your flight info, when you can,” Gabriel requested. “And safe travels.” 

“I will,” Cales promised and with that, the call ended. 

They sat in silence for several minutes after that until Andrea broke the silence, “That poor boy” she said softly, wiping away the tears still clinging to her face. 

“I should call Owen,” Gabriel said heavily, glancing at his watch. “I wonder if it’s too late.” 

“I doubt he’s sleeping,” Andrea replied absently. “I just can’t believe this is happening. After everything they’ve been through…”

But she trailed off instead of finishing her sentence because the only thing she could think of to say was that it wasn’t fair, but hadn’t life shown again and again that fair wasn’t its goal? 

It was all just another reminder of how lucky they were, her and Gabriel. They were both here and healthy, and they had Carlos. They had an amazing son who was in love with an incredible man. They were so blessed. 

Andrea thought again to the woman she had met after hearing about her for so long. She thought of the way she had beamed in pride as she had talked about her son, of the love that was evident in every single glance she took towards her boys. Gwyn had been so full of life and love and humor. Andrea remembered how they had joked about being in-laws someday and she was gutted by the thought that they never would be now. That only one of them would get the privilege of seeing their sons take that step together  

She thought back to how Gwyn had thanked her for loving TK, how she had told her it was easy. It was easy, and it would keep being easy. She knew that without a doubt. And as Gabriel rose from the couch with his phone pressed to his ear as he murmured words of sympathy to Owen Strand, Andrea made her own promise to Gwyn. 

She would keep loving her son, just as much as she did her own. She would be there for him, should he need it. She would make sure that as long as he was in their lives he would never know what it was like to be without a mother’s love. 

Your boy will be alright, she promised the memory of the woman with the bright smile and warm eyes. I’ll make sure of it. 

[pangur-and-grim]

nobody asked, but here are the anime shows im watching this season, in order of Goodness

To Your Eternity: an orb is given sentience and thrown into the world to experience life. in terms of emotion, the first episode is like the first 10 minutes of Up. the animation is beautiful, the story is beautiful, the show’s only imperfection is that I get weepy when an episode ends and I have to wait a whole week for the next one.

So I’m A Spider So What: this is only ranked second because To Your Eternity is god tier. god I love this anime spider so much......like is the animation great? not really, there’s a lot of janky CGI and weird zoom-ins to cover a lack of movement. is the 50% of the show focussing on the human characters that interesting? nope, you really have to grit your teeth and wait those bits out. but is the anime spider the only thing keeping me going in 2021? YES, OF COURE, YES. literally it doesnt need to be good, this spider is so cute and charismatic and fun to watch that the show’s creator could run over my foot in a Honda and I'd still be praising it on twitter from the hospital.

Full Dive: This Ultimate Next-Gen Full Dive RPG Is Even Shittier than Real Life!: the main character is this inept guy who is a social disgrace irl for piss-related reasons (it’s a big reveal later on), who gets scammed into buying a video game by a big-titted lady who joins him in the game as a big-titted fairy. the game is this futuristic VR thing that simulates pain/hunger/fatigue/etc, and he has an awful shitty time in it. I don’t know why I find this so compelling but it’s honestly fun to watch!

The Saint's Magic Power Is Omnipotent: so charmingly mediocre. very soothing to watch. this lady gets summoned to another world to be a magical saint, and for a few episodes they’re like “hold up this other lady may actually be the saint?”, and then they’re like “wait no you’re the saint, and your magic is so special and powerful”. the lady becomes beautiful by applying magic cosmetics, and the handsome guy characters are all vying for her affection, and everyone thinks she’s special and sweet and loves her so much. like I keep waiting for the twist and it never comes, this show is entirely about how a random Japanese woman has a pleasant fairytale life. 

[911described]

9-1-1 5x17 Promo: Hero Complex

Camera zooms into the centre of the Fox logo, zooming into Chimney standing in front of the TV in his apartment, facing the sofas. He’s wearing a beige polo shirt, that’s slightly unbuttoned at the top, and dark grey jeans. He tilts his head, frowning as he listens to an off-screen Hen say,”I have this” Hen sits on his couch, looking downwards. Her forearms rest on her legs and she slowly brings her hands together as she says, “crazy idea”

The camera flashes to Bobby and Athena standing in a hospital. Bobby has his suspenders over his LAFD long shirt, and is sweaty and sooty, and has his hand on Athena’s shoulder, who is wearing a leather jacket and moss green jumper. They both are looking at something off-screen with expressions of concern. The camera flashes to Claudette, lying back in a hospital gurney. She looks up at May and we hear Hen say “she was fine” as the image fades to May looking down at her with a growing fond smile.

We hear Jonah shouting “she coded in the ambulance” as Claudette is wheeled into the hospital, one firefighter walking alongside the gurney and Jonah knelt over Claudette and doing compressions. As we hear “and then she was dead,” we see Hen and Jonah standing on opposite sides of Claudette’s gurney as nursing staff place a white sheet over her.

There’s a close-up of Jonah’s face from the side, smiling, and the screen flashes multiple times over an image of a gloved hand pulling a syringe out of the side of a medical bag. Chim is sitting on the armchair next to the couch in his house, and we see over his shoulder as he looks at Hen say, “maybe Jonah had done something,” her eyebrows raised in concern.

The screen goes black, with red text that reads “Next Monday 8/7c”. We hear Hen say, “this guy's bringing people to the point of death” as we see a woman sitting upright in a gurney as Jonah bringing his arm up to waist level, holding a bottle. He smiles down at the woman as he draws from the bottle with a thin syringe.

The screen goes black, with red text that reads “Only 1 episode left”. As we hear Hen say, “then using his skills”, we see Helena, Pepa, Abuela, Eddie and Ramon standing in a circle in the middle of an outdoor parking lot, with balloons arches dotted around them. They’re dressed quite fancily, and Eddie and Helena have their hands out as they appear to be arguing. We see Ramon from the back as he clutches his chest and starts to keel over, and Eddie crouches quickly to grab him as Pepa reaches forwards with a startled expression. Hen continues saying, “to bring them back” as we zoom in on Jonah, who stands with two women behind him. He appears to be at a party, as one woman holds a drink and there is string lighting behind them, and Jonah grins.

The screen goes black, with text that reads “Until the season finale” Bobby and Athena sit right next to each other at their dining table. Bobby’s eyebrows are raised and he nods a little as he talks to an off-screen Hen, “these are huge accusations.” As he talks, Athena raises her head, eyebrows arched and lips pursed as she looks contemplative and concerned. Bobby glances to the side, suggesting that Chim is standing next to Hen. Hen is wearing a black waterproof jacket with blue sleeves, and a black top underneath. She watches as Athena stands up whilst she says, “If Jonah - ” The camera switches to Athena over Hen’s shoulder, as she continues “ - is who you think he is” Athena’s eyebrows are raised and she looks a little fearful. Chim turns to the side, pressing his lips together.

Jonah walks across screen with a smile, which gradually falls from his face, as we hear Athena say, “He won't take kindly - ” There’s a sharp metallic noise as the camera pans down quickly to show he has a syringe held by his side. As we hear Athena say,“ - to being exposed,” we see Jonah looking up with his brows furrowed and eyes full of rage, as he stands in Chim’s apartment. He slowly raises his head. We see him rush forwards. Hen is standing with her back to him, looking down at her phone, and Jonah grabs her shoulders and brings his syringed hand up towards her neck. The screen cuts to the generic 9-1-1 opening screen, with the LA background, and red text that reads “9-1-1, followed by 9-1-1 Lone Star”

[snowpiercer-recaps]

Season 1, episode 3: Shifty Little Dodger

Spoiler alert!!! This is a rewatch recap of Snowpiercer s1e3: Access is Power. Naturally, it is full of spoilers for that episode. However, it also contains spoilers for some other episodes of season 1 and season 2. You have been warned!

Creepy Klimpt gets the opening monologue this time. He tells us all about how he deals drugs in exchange for antique hairbrushes because he’s lonely. Am I supposed to feel sympathy for him? I don't. While he drones on, we follow the journey of Sean Beef’s access chip. It initially gets traded for a razor, but then zooms up to First where it has a brief stint as a gambling chip. Eugenia slams a pair of queens down on the poker table and tells Mr. Lam to sashay away. Next, we watch her trading the chip for an orgasm against what looks like the same wall/door that Layton and Zarah used last episode? Finally, Osweiller trades a little packet (probably Kronole) for the chip, and takes it to Terrence.

After the opening credits, Layton is having another gold-tinted flashback-y dream about Zarah. They argue again: he’s worried about what Zarah might have to do in the nightcar, but she thinks it won’t be as bad as life in the tail. Just in case the opening scene didn’t contain enough references to trading, Layton gives Zarah his wedding ring - she might be able to trade it in Third. Then, she walks through the tail to a chorus of verbal abuse from her neighbours. No wonder she wanted to leave!

Till and Osweiller pick Zarah up, meaning that Osweiller has been in the job for at least five years. Shouldn’t he be better at it by now?

Layton is abruptly ripped from his flashback by two Jackboots. They stick a pillowcase over his head and drag him uptrain.

Un in First, we find out that the lack of internet means cat memes are now circulated via pneumatic tube. Representatives from all departments have gathered in the First class dining hall to see what Snowpeter’s been up to this week. Ruth tells the class to settle down, and then hands the message to Melanie. Apparently, they’re skipping the morning flirting ritual today.

Melanie opens by telling everyone that it’s been a tough forty eight hours. I am, once again, confused about the timeline of this show. She reads a speech from “Mr. Wilford”, and Grey accuses her of plagiarising Churchill. He also brings up the recent unrest - because of all the murder and the uprising. Luckily, Melanie knows exactly how to keep the people calm and relaxed: changing plans, and public violence! They’re going to bring Fight Night forward to tonight. Ruth tells her it’s a brilliant idea, then makes this expression:

The Jackboots bash Layton into every section of wall they can find on their journey to one of the hospitality rooms. Luckily for him, it's not the torture chamber! His new mom and dad Melanie and Roche are there to remind Layton that they are Very Disappointed in him for smuggling a lock pick in his ass yesterday. He’s not supposed to text his friends when he’s grounded!

They tell him that Sean Beef spied on the black market. Specifically, he was gathering information about the cool new drug, Kronole. Layton tells his mom and dad Melanie and Roche that Kronole isn’t new: it’s been in the tail for ages. That leads to this interaction:

Melanie’s powers of delusion are, quite honestly, enviable.

Layton sees an opportunity to take some of the heat off himself by getting his new stepbrother in trouble. He tells his dad Roche exactly how Kronole is getting into the tail: Osweiller trades it for blowjobs.

In the next scene, Till is waiting in the corridor for passers by to flirt with her. Or… no. One passerby in particular. It turns out Till is the reason Jinju was so happy in episode one!

Till starts to complain about work, but Jinju tells her to shut up: she just wants to fuck. When they’re finished with that, they cuddle for a while and discuss social mobility, because of course they do. Absolutely no one is surprised to learn that Till is the little spoon.

Then, it's time for the obligatory naked ass shot! Today, it’s Till’s turn. That’s three for three! Till continues their earlier conversation about work while she gets dressed, and uh-oh! Jinju lets slip that Nikki is not, in fact, unconscious. Jinju doesn’t want her girlfriend and her best friend/boss fighting, so Till promises to be sneaky about her illegal questioning.

Roche is furious with his son employee, Osweiller, and calls him a “shifty little dodger”. It’s nowehere near harsh enough in my opinion, but also very funny. It’s kinda cute that Roche is still surprised by police corruption after all these years!

Osweiller is busy pretending that he actually fought in the rebellion instead of getting thrown to safety by a Jackboot after taking a single punch. What a dick! His dad boss comes in with the truth, embarrassing him in front of his new friends. When they clear off, Roche clips him around the back of the head and accuses him of trading drugs for blowjobs. Layton gets in on the action too, giving his stepbrother another smack. Osweiller goes to hit him back, but his dad Roche restrains him.

Surprisingly, Osweiller has enough common sense not to tip Roche and Layton off to Terrence or Klimpt: he says he’s just trading the confiscated stuff. Then, in a move rivalling Melanie Cavill’s levels of delusion, he tries to claim that he was performing a humanitarian act. Given that we have just seen that Roche is okay with corporal punishment, I’m not sure how he resists the urge to smack Osweiller again.

Next, we have to suffer through another Osweiller scene! He’s dragged into a meeting with the mopping mafia, where Terrence explains that he makes his nail polish himself, because he loves what rattlesnake venom does to the colour. Osweiller convinces Terrence that he didn’t snitch, and he’s allowed back out to the lake to continue digging his hole.

In the chains, Roche questions Zarah: he needs to know what Sean Beef told her about Kronole. I’m not a professional spy or anything, but don’t spies have to keep information secret? Why would Sean tell his partners anything? Zarah insists she knows nothing, and Roche leaves. Then, with no further questioning, she immediately tells Layton - who is clearly working as Roche’s partner - that the janitors are dealing drugs. Zarah… why?

Up in the First class dining room/gambling den/playground, children are literally running around while Firsties gamble and strip. Did Mr. Wilford forget to pack babysitters, as well as homicide detectives? What the fuck!? Lilah Folger accuses Ruth of using the casino and Fight Night as a distraction from the insurrection, murder and extinction. Ruth doesn’t even try to deny it:

She is so fucking great in every fucking second of every fucking scene!

Back in the lockup room, Roche delicately unpacks his lunch onto a tiny tablecloth. Adorable. Layton asks about Roche’s family, and Roche explains that two of his kids died. That’s why he adopted Osweiller, Till and Layton. Layton, in a thoroughly astounding move, compares Zarah relocating to Third to the deaths of Roche’s children. Roche somehow keeps his cool, and offers Layton a slice of apple. After a quick summary of the Sean Beef dilemma, they chat about Wilford. We learn that the engine is biosecure: supposedly that's the reason that no one has seen Wilford since departure. Roche apparently doesn't know about the video link between the engine and the nightcar that gets used in season 2.

Before Layton can ask any more questions, Till barges in to let them know Nikki is awake. Roche isn’t interrupting his lunch break for anything: it’s already 2pm! He sends the kids off to play by themselves, as long as they’re back by curfew.

In the subtrain, Tristan drapes a coat around Melanie like the queen she is, and she gets an update from Bennett about the breaches. It’s not good. Bennett suggests uncoupling the tail, and Melanie responds by hitting him. She has nearly matched Mr. Wilford's record for most HR complaints in a single week, and this time she wants to break it! Bennett clarifies that he wasn’t suggesting genocide - they could relocate the people before dropping the cars. Melanie explains that it would probably lead to civil war, then laments:

Jinju calls, to tell Melanie that she maaaaaybe accidentally let classified information slip to that Brakeman she’s fucking? Oopsie! Melanie heads straight down to the clinic, where Till and Layton have just discovered that Nikki has some very similar symptoms to Kronole withdrawal.

Following Zarah’s trend of freely volunteering incriminating information without even being questioned, Klimpt admits that he’s been trading out suspension drugs. We don’t get much more information on that before Layton spots a bag of Miles’ hair in the drawers room. He immediately makes the relatively reasonable assumption that Miles is in a drawer, because why else would someone have a haircut in the drawer car? But Melanie assures Layton that Miles is fine! He’s an apprentice! The drawers car just doubles up as a barbershop for no fucking reason!

After a sweet but boring reunion between Layton and Miles, we finally get an update on what the tailies are up to: they've started a rock climbing club! There aren't a lot of rocks in the tail, but the tailies are used to improvising. Lights has made it all the way to the ceiling, which checks out: she seems like the kind of character who would have packed a carabiner or two in her apocalypse luggage.

She confirms that the train is running slow: they should have passed that mountain yesterday. Instead of assuring everyone that late trains are just a good old British tradition, Josie speculates that maybe all that shaking around yesterday was bad? From there, Murray escalates to potential power outages and water rations, and then another tailie suggests Mr. Wilford will kill them all. That was a quick spiral, friends! Let’s take a few deep breaths!

Josie then points out that they’ve gone seven years without getting uncoupled, so why would Wilford do it now? The revolutionaries agree to ‘double up to conserve heat’, and fanfic writers need to know exactly who shares a bunk with who, please? For… science?

Uptrain, Melanie tells Layton that he can’t see his friend/girlfriend until he finishes his homework! He can tell Josie all about Miles' new fork as soon as he IDs Sean Beef's killer.

Layton and Till decide they’re going to sneak out together to Fight Night. They need some more sibling bonding time! Till knows people, and they get to skip the queue. Maybe she’s not such a bad little sister after all? 

Inside, Miss Audrey and Clay are riling up the crowd. For this week’s mini challenge, the queens have to catch falling animal pelts! Eugenia tosses a fox fur off the first class balcony, and Clay takes the win! Miss Audrey isn’t fazed: she knows her runway look will save her, and she’s ready to lipsync her way to the crown if she needs to.

Meanwhile, Melanie has convinced Bennett to let her borrow the Wilford soundboard for half an hour. She’s surprised to see that there’s an audio file called ‘fight_night_speech’. Did she already do this? It wouldn’t be the first time she’d blacked out from lack of sleep and forgotten she’d already ticked an item off her to-do list. She hits play, to check how it sounds.

“Good evening, passengers of Snowpiercer. I would like to inform you all that I am a psychotic old goat. I wet the bed until I was thirty-nine and sometimes I fuck puppets.”

Melanie sighs, hits pause, and renames the file ‘fuck_you_ben’ before quickly pasting together a more appropriate speech.

Back in the nightcar, the passengers love hearing from Wilford. Melanie should really consider starting a podcast using the Wilford sound board: it'd be a hit! Despite the fact that Miss Audrey, Clay and a referee are all present at the fight, with microphones, it’s Melanie who announces the start of the fight over the PA system. Sure? The contestants immediately start throwing punches, and the crowd goes wild.

Layton senses another opportunity to get yelled at/laid, and tells Till that he wants to chat to Zarah alone. Till lets him go, and Lilah literally uses opera glasses to watch him walk to the bar, because of course she does!

Zarah closes the magical noise-cancelling curtains to the backroom, and gives Layton a quick who’s who of the mopping mafia. She returns his wedding ring - the one that he gave her in the flashback - in case he needs to trade it for anything. He says he still loves her, she says she loves him too, and I say I fucking hate this scene.

In the clinic, Nikki is getting restless. She decides to take herself for a nice little nighttime stagger through the train. We can all guess where she's going to end up!

Osweiller - who is decidedly not a janitor - has been elected as the janitors’ representative to talk to Layton. Osweiller’s a dick about it: he’s still pissed that Layton told his dad boss that he was dealing drugs. Layton is pretty confident that he’s the favourite child (maybe tied with Till, but he’s definitely higher ranked than Osweiller), so he threatens to tell their dad boss lies about Osweiller if he doesn’t set up a meeting with Terrence.

Nikki rocks up to Fight Night! How the fuck did she get past security?! Whatever! Till tries to deal with the situation, but she doesn’t manage to get Nikki out of the room before LJ notices her. LJ promptly tells her parents that Nikki is innocent, and neither of them seem to question how their perfect little psycopath could possibly know that.

Below them, the Fight Night fighting spreads to the crowd. The Firsties are fucking loving it. LJ throws a glass off the balcony, because she’s a little shit.

Meanwhile, Layton is escorted downtrain for a date with Terrence - never Terry.

Layton tells Terrence-Never-Terry that his drugs are poison, and that he should be ashamed of himself. Roche would be so proud of his son! Terrence-Never-Terry had no idea that Sean Beef was a Kronole spy. He tells Layton that he used to work as a janitor in a high rise building before the freeze, and the train is just like his old job. Layton then gives Terrence-Never-Terry and the viewers a quick citizenship lesson: Third and the tail total 70% of the train’s population. Terrence-Never-Terry then suggests that they could “see who’s in the penthouse” of the train. So, he’s clearly got some suspicions about Melanie, too. This list is getting long!

Finally, Terrence-Never-Terry gives Layton a big break in the case: Sean Beef was with a Firstie a few hours before he died. Layton responds by asking his new ally for one more thing: an access chip.

Roche is clearing the nightcar, and informing patrons that the border is closed. Also, the subtrain is out of order. Do some of these people have a five mile walk ahead of them? That doesn't sound fun! As he continues to herd the patrons out of the car, Ruth delivers one of the most Ruth lines yet:

Melanie and Ruth's daily flirting time has, apparently, been rescheduled for this evening! They divide up the remainder of the night’s work in between checking each other out. The Folgers are waltzing together (to silence - that’s how Melanie can tell they’re really good at it). Robert suggests that Mr. Wilford could cut the tail loose, and Melanie still doesn’t offer any explanation as to why she won't do it. I'm tempted to start a conspiracy theory that Melanie kept the tail because it contains the only car with a supply door, and she knew something about Big Alice the whole time.

Roche and Layton meet Melanie to tell her that Layton has a description of Sean Beef’s killer. Melanie agrees that he’s worked hard enough to be allowed to see his friend/girlfriend, so they pay a quick visit to the tail.

Luckily for Josie, Layton is still feeling a little delicate from yesterday's wire smuggling adventure. He has chosen to hide today's small contraband item in his mouth. He gives her a quick update on Miles, tells her that his love life is a mess, and then kisses her through the window. Melanie speaks for us all, and sends the Jackboots in to separate them.

Before she shuts the window, Melanie makes sure to take a good look at Josie. She must be bad with faces, because by episode seven she (supposedly) has no idea who Josie is!

Layton gets pinned up against the gate, and Melanie demands the killer’s description from him. But it’s too late! The dick hunter’s accomplice is already roaming the corridors of Snowpiercer, tying up loose ends. He takes out a guard, a clinic staff member, and then has a menacing little chat with Nikki and turns off her nightlight.

In the tail, Josie looks a little shell shocked as she walks back to her bunk. It’s okay, sweetie, the viewers didn’t understand half of that scene either! She puts her hand to her lips and smiles in a way that threatens to decimate her whole character - but then, she draws a tiny container out of her mouth. The little access chip that could has made it all the way from First to the tail. That scrap of wire must be so fucking jealous.

[w00wzerz]

What I love about episode 6 of Titans is how I realized that almost every time Barbara argues with Dick and tells him to go home the next scene is typically about Kory. It’s the subtlety of letting the audience know that Kory is Dick’s home and they are connected. After Kory tells him “fix it” with Barbara he goes to GCPD, they argue, she shuts him out (per usual) and tells him if he really wants to help her he should go home. The very next scene is Kory, Conner and Blackfire. However, we focus in on Kory first and then zoom out to the others in the scene 😉 In episode 8 besides the comfort shown between Dick and Kory in the Wayne Manor kitchen 🥰 after Dick wakes up from his motorcycle accident he goes through the pleasantries of apologizing for him being the reason Barbara missed the gala, but immediately says I better call home. Barbara says she already did. Presumably, she calls Kory. Alluding to the fact that Barbara also subconsciously knows that Kory is Dick’s home 😉 They discuss him getting out of the hospital, he’s having visions, and before she leaves she tells him not to run off (home). The next scene is Kory talking to Blackfire and Conner about getting back in the deprivation chamber to try and figure out where her visions are coming from. Both Kory and Dick are having visions now. I can’t wait to see what episode 10 unfolds 😆

I couldn’t have said this any better myself anon!

I love your emphasis on the word home, because Barbara and Kory are certainly 2 distinctive reflections of that word. With Barb representing Dick’s past, she symbolizes the man he used to be. Robin - the rebellious delinquent that took many risks to get back at his father Bruce. Whereas Kory exemplifies the new chapter in his life : Nightwing, a father, the Titans.

I believe that that could also be a playing factor as to why Dick and Barb are almost never on equal footing because it seems that Dick is conflicted, battling with himself internally - with one foot wrestling in his past and another in his future.

Also the way those still photo leaks from both ep 9 and 10 have got me so pumped!! I cannot believe that I’m ACTUALLY excited for the next ep. I hope it doesn’t let me down again 🤞🏾

[shirtlesssammy]

6x22: The Man Who Knew Too Much

Then:

I will never forgive the show for this pain

Now:

Sam is running for his life and pops into a bar to escape the cops. Duma The bartender tells him to leave and grabs a bat, but Sam begs and she relents. She asks him his name, but he doesn’t remember. 

She tries helping him retrace his steps. He doesn’t remember anything before two cops finding him and him taking them down before running. She tells him that he needs to go to the doctor. He refuses. There’s somewhere he has to be --something he has to stop. 

Sam sees a HP Lovecraft book and has flashes of Bobby and the Nite Owl Hotel. The bartender makes one final push to take Sam to the hospital, but he needs to get to that hotel. She offers to drive. 

Once there, Sam instinctively knows to go to one room. They break in to find the room one giant murder board. She also finds his fake IDs.

Sam has another --longer-- flashback to Bobby, Dean, and him finding Eleanor in an alley, dying. She tells them they know how to crack Purgatory open. 

They plan on opening the door at noon --a solar eclipse. 

Cas flaps in and apologizes. 

Dean wants a fight, but Cas is beyond that. He tells them to go home and just let him stop Raphael. ”I wish it hadn't come to this. Well rest assured, when this is all over, I will save Sam, but only if you stand down.”

He then breaks Sam’s wall. 

In the present day, Sam remembers his name, and doesn’t want to tell Robin (she has a name!--had to look that up though) because it would be crazy. Sam remembers Bobby --but only finds his address. Robin decides it’s her time to bounce. Sam decides to drive his car --his car the Impala --his car-- to Sioux Falls. 

Robin tries stopping him from doing that though. He might not like what he finds. 

Sam’s spidey sense kicks in and he tackles Robin to the ground as the window to the Impala gets shot out. Sam gets back up again to see himself aiming a gun at him. 

Wherps. Sam’s actually comatose in the warded room in Bobby’s basement. Bobby comes in and they recap how royally boned they are. 

Dream Sam and Robin start driving. Robin starts freaking out about their situation. Dean flashes a light at Sam’s eyes, and suddenly it’s day in Sam’s world. “It was night, and now it’s day.” Robin is DONE. Sam hears a noise and convinces her to get back in the car. He grabs a shotgun and heads into the forest. His other self stalks him behind a tree. 

The other Sam breaks down what happened --and reveals that he’s Sam without a soul. He wants to take charge in Sam’s noggin. Sam takes off running and they engage in The Most Dangerous Game until our Sam outsmarts Soulless Sam and shoots him in the back. “If you think I’m bad, wait until you meet the other one,” Soulless Sam says, and dies. His essence is absorbed into Sam.

Sam returns to the car, with many memories restored.

For DAMN She’s Fine Science:

Unfortunately, one of the memories Sam retrieved was of a monster who was using her as a shield. Sam shot and killed her, Soulless Sammy style, to get her out of his way. RUDE. (I totally forgot about this during the later Amara soulless arcs - I don’t know why I keep trying to hold Sam up as this peak virtuous character?) Robin poofs away, having fulfilled her role as the ghost of Christmas past. 

At Bobby’s, Dean drinks and IS SAD. 

Balthazar flaps in to mock Dean and Bobby - but also reassure them that he’s still on their side. He hands over Cas’s whereabouts and flaps away. 

Meanwhile, Crowley hands over the Purgatory spell mix (a jar of blood) to Cas. 

Castiel looks contemplative, and quietly informs Crowley that he’s re-negotiating their agreement. He refuses to hand any souls over to Crowley. Cas advises Crowley to either flee or die. And I’M SORRY but I’m into it. Crowley zaps away. 

Sam sneaks his way into a seriously over-dramatically lit room. SAM, your mind XD. The drama llama who decorates with a hundred candles turns out to be none other than Sam Winchester, victim of hellish torture. 

For 80’s Angsty Music Video Science:

Dean leaves the address Balthazar gave them by Sam’s head and bids him farewell. Mournfully. Just before he departs, he gently lays a gun on Sammy’s bed right next to the note. DEAN WINCHESTER, that’s not safe gun handling. Smh

Sam’s goth self tells him that Tortured Sam has to be reabsorbed before Sam can wake up. Sam trades his gun for a knife - for extra drama apparently - then stabs himself and sucks in all that extra soul whammy. In the bunker, he flails dramatically on the cot. 

Balthazar flaps in to meet Cas, who is deeply concerned that Dean’s on his way. He notes that he’s been betrayed and orders Balthazar to root out the mole. Balthazar is a TERRIBLE LIAR the entire conversation. 

“I’m doing my best in impossible circumstances,” Cas says. Still, he’s being plotted against and he finds it super frustrating. Balthazar continues to bluster away, confident that he’s fooled his friend. Flapping behind a poorly dissembling Balthazar, Cas stabs him. Balthazar burns away. Noooooooo!

Dean and Bobby pull up to the building and find it’s fully guarded by angels. They’re grousing about their odds when a massive cloud of demons swoops in. The demons upend the Impala and assault the compound while Castiel pours over the spell. Crowley flaps in to meet Cas, who immediately moves to smite him.

“You can palm me all you want,” Crowley flirts, but he’s got a new BFF. Raphael flaps in. Crowley and Raphael chastise Cas for his power overreach. It looks like the end for our hero! Cas tosses the jar of Purgatory blood to Crowley and flaps away. 

Crowley and Raphael perform the Purgatory gateway spell. (Side note: hey, remember when Michael just snapped his fingers and made a door into Purgatory in the last season? Good times, good times.) Dean and Bobby claw their way out of the Impala and sneak into the ritual. Unfortunately for them, they’re found out immediately and flung across the room. 

A worse-for-wear Sam stumbles past the Impala, and then heads for Crowley’s lair.

Crowley finishes the spell with a flourish only for...nothing to happen. Cas flaps in holding a half-empty jar. He had the real blood all along! Castiel glows with power, and Rave!Cas is born? “They’re all inside me. Millions upon millions of souls.” Crowley flaps away, which is smart...because Cas snaps his finger and explodes Raphael. 

He smiles serenely at Dean and Bobby. Okay, just kidding. He ONLY has eyes for Dean, who counsels him to send the souls back to Purgatory before the eclipse window...er...eclipses. Castiel is not on board with this plan! He needs to visit holy rage upon Raphael’s followers in Heaven. 

“We were family once. I’d’ve died for you,” Dean tells him. “I’ve lost Lisa. I’ve lost Ben. Now I’ve lost Sam. Don’t make me lose you too.” Cas hears it and...tosses it aside. And then he tells Dean the REALLY BAD NEWS. They’re not family!

Oh, also, he’s declaring himself the new god and he’d really prefer their flannel-clad shoulders to be prostrate before him. We end on stacked zoom footage which reminds us that yes, Robert Singer sure did direct this episode. 

I Am Your Quotes Now:

I love what you've done with the place. It's very Beautiful Mind meets Se7en

I am all filled up on crazy for today

You will bow down and profess your love unto me, your Lord. Or I shall destroy you

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