#this is after he reveals the reason why he talked to rosa as if she was a stranger and never responded to her letters | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

marisakage · 3 years ago

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Home is where the Heart is

One thing that I give big props to Mihoyo is the brilliant way they incorporate tropes. They introduce the characters as one-dimensional then expand them. Thanks to how realistic their portrayals are, they seem human. They all come from different upbringings and circumstances. These two elements shape the characters to become relatable and engaging.

Luke is an example of this case because he is such a trope-y character. He embodies the childhood friend trope super well.

At first glance, some people wouldn't bat an eye on him, writing him off as a boring character. Given that Luke is the childhood friend, his arc should be very predictable. But little did they know that we are not dealing with a typical otome game.

With that said, my essay will delve into why I adore Luke and Rosa's dynamic. I am 100% biased towards this ship, and I feel so strongly about them.

SPOILER DISCLAIMER since I will talk about some of Luke's unreleased cards!

Luke is Rosa's childhood friend, but his arc is so entangled with the main story route. The NXX drug that the team is currently investigating may or may not be behind the death of his parents as well as his shrouded background. He's the person who's directly involved with the problem that the NXX members are dealing with at hand. Marius is investigating because of his missing brother Giann. Artem is doing whatever he can to uncover the truth behind his mentor's disappearance. And Vyn is just there unless he's got some reason that's yet to be revealed.

That leaves Luke as the person who is indeed directly involved with the issue itself. The drug has greatly affected Luke, reducing his lifespan to just three years.

This ordeal puts Luke in an agonizing and harsh situation as he's been struggling with an inner conflict ever since. His conflict being Rosa.

He woke up in the hospital room by the sheer will of living (Rosa indirectly saved him), surrounded by his fellow mates who turned out to be dead.

Luke's “I will become the God of Death” line which took place in his Lost Gold route conveys a whole new meaning.

Imagine waking up and being the only survivor in a room full of deceased people who once were your teammates. Luke must have felt extreme guilt. He would definitely think he robbed them of their lives hence the God of Death title. It also does not help that he is often associated with Crows -a symbol of death in many cultures.

All this time, he regarded himself as such -a being who is undeserving of living, much less next to his crush. It is the reason why he took a while to appear in front of Rosa. His guilt and self-loathing are what disabled him from indulging in his time with her. If he could disappear, he would easily do it. And he did it once in his Shape of You card; when he prayed to the Land God to take him away from Rosa and to make him disappear from her life.

Luke reappeared again because he had unfinished matters to deal with, a.k.a the mystery behind the drug and his parents' background. He wants to use his remaining time to pursue the truth and look after Rosa before he is gone.

His conflict comes into play when he realizes that the drug effects are irreversible and that his impending death is coming nigh. He was at a loss when it came to Rosa.

Must he be selfish and choose to stay by her side until his time is up?

Or must he disappear from her sight so she doesn't get hurt?

Luke was torn between what he wanted to do and what he needed to do, and he came to these two paths without confronting Rosa about them. He was in a complete dilemma.

He shouldered all of this weight on his own for a long time. He eventually reappeared again in front of Rosa, much to his dismay. The moment he saw her, his resolve wavered. With each passing second, his longing to stay with her grew bigger.

His tendency to overthink and to be overly overprotective stems from the conflict with which he is struggling. He doesn't wish for anything bad to happen to Rosa. Because if that were the case, he would hate himself for it. Some people think that Luke is treating Rosa as an inferior, a weakling. Someone incapable of holding her grounds. But that is wrong.

These people fail to see the helplessness of this guy. He feels worthless, hopeless, pessimistic, and very undeserving of being near Rosa. But he also feels responsible for Rosa's protection despite only being granted a short amount of time.

Nothing about this screams inferiority/superiority complex. It's Luke's helplessness that's screaming and ripping him apart.

The fact that he won't be by her side in three years. The fact that he has to bid her farewell in three years. The fact that he has to entrust her to some other guy in three years. The fact that he is unable to support her in three years. Knowing all of this shatters his heart. It's gut-wrenching.

Imagine the pain he felt this whole time. Luke missed out on eight precious years that could have been spent with Rosa. And to make matters worse, he now has a ticking timer above his head reminding him of the fragility of his life and the cruelty of losing everything before his eyes. This whole issue not only has affected him but also Rosa. She is a direct factor in this.

All of Luke's cards; regardless of how the timeline works; are pretty much tied. Each card focuses on Luke's character as well as his relationship with Rosa.

In Timely Rescue, we get to witness the overbearing nature of Luke's overprotectiveness and how it started to get on Rosa's nerves.

In Among the Great Blue, Luke reminisced about his past with Rosa and her parents. He has been raised as if he were a member of the family. Luke felt both blessed and grateful in that regard. Because of that, he thinks that as long as he is a part of Rosa's life; he mustn't care about where he stands. Because of his condition, Luke accepted that crossing the boundaries with her is futile. He would rather keep their friendship until his days are up. What's poignant about this is that Luke made it clear that he gave up. He came to terms with his reality before long which is utterly sad and devastating.

On top of that, moon jellyfish only live up to three years which parallels his lifespan. The expression Luke had when he talked about them was so heart-wrenching.

"Life is short, and one should enjoy every second of it" hits right in the feels considering Luke's situation. The line is also a bit ironic because he did not abide by it as shown in his Iridescent Heartbeat card (Which I will talk about in a bit.)

What's also bitter about Among the Great Blue is that Luke is in so much pain; both physical and emotional. Yet, he tries to hide it all through lying. Luke is an expert at concealing his pain. He would go out of his way to bury everything that might expose his situation as shown in Moment of Danger and his personal story.

Luke is such an enigmatic person. There is still so much that we don't know about which serves as an interesting juxtaposition of being the character we're supposed to know best, but we also know so little about.

His Shape of You card revealed a little more about Luke's past and how much he struggled to stay with Rosa.

He got shunned by her relatives for always being around her. He is an orphan, and the only people he interacted with are Rosa and her parents, so it's only natural to be attached to them. They were his only family. But others didn't take that too well and started dissing him.

That pushed Luke to pray to the Land God. He prayed to disappear from the face of the earth and everyone's memories if it would make Rosa feel better. No child deserves to go through that.

Fortunately, Rosa reached out to him and rescued him from falling too deep into the pits of darkness.

That card not only touched on Luke's past but also showcased a new side of Rosa.

When Luke ran off somewhere to catch the thief, Rosa felt helpless and desperate to find him. She had the feeling that she might lose Luke once again. Never to be seen. Never to be found.

Rosa's position in this card is understandable because she went through this twice. She almost lost him the first time when they were kids. This accident made her dread going to any festivities.

And the second time is when Luke unofficially left her side and went to the Capital upon turning 16 years old. He didn't contact her as much for eight years. You can only imagine the melancholy that she felt. She even refused to visit Prague simply because it doesn't feel the same without Luke.

Shape of You managed to give yet another layer to Rosa. Rosa isn't just your typical, strong, and level-headed protagonist.

She went through a lot and has endured so much by herself without anyone's support. (personal story ch2)

However, Rosa is an emotional person who has doubts and fears. She has problems and conflicts. Rosa is almost always concerned for Luke.

The moment he is away, she would immediately start panicking.

Because if she were to let go of him this time, what would happen to him? What would happen to her?

She is just as dependent on him as much as he is on her. The feeling is mutual. Luke and Rosa cannot be away from one another because they have been inseparable for so long.

“Rather than wanting to be by her side forever, I hope to protect her forever. No matter if I am still here, no matter in what form.” No words can describe just how heart-breaking this line is.

Radiant Sunlight was about re-creating memories that both Rosa and Luke have missed. For example, the graduation day that Luke could not attend. The card proves that it is not too late to make new memories together. It offers a positive perspective in contrast to Luke's pessimistic one.

Inner Sanctum was a cute love story of an elderly couple. The card showcases how the couple never gave up on one another.

No matter how much time has passed and how much their health has declined, the couple will always treasure each other's presence. Their love for one another grew stronger despite the flow of time. Love is a boundless feeling as it transcends time.

Inner Sanctum conveys a positive message: Even if you've hit rock bottom and you feel like there's no way out, someone is waiting for you at the end of the tunnel. Luke has been in a hopeless situation for the longest time, but someone is out there for him. Someone is waiting for him with open arms to hold him. All he has to do is to reach out for the light.

The lyrics of the song that Luke hummed are heartfelt yet sad.

“When we can say goodnight and stay together

Wouldn't it be nice if we could wake up

In the morning when the day is new?”

Not only do they describe Luke's feelings, but they also hint at the shackles holding him back. But his response to the lyrics was very hopeful.

“I believe that there are no ifs between the two of us. I will make it all come true.”

Perfect Partner had Luke and Rosa work on a case that had a bittersweet conclusion. Timing often plays a role in relationship success. Something that could have easily been a miss had Luke and Rosa not met after eight years. The conflict of the case was due to miscommunication. Both parties could not clear the misunderstanding because they kept missing each other. I can't help but think that it could have been a possible outcome for Luke and Rosa had they not met in time.

In Iridescent Heartbeat, the relationship between them took a step forward, and it developed even further. Everything that happened in that card occurred for a reason.

Luke's pessimism and overprotectiveness took a turn for the worse, almost ruining the whole date. Rosa's patience ran super thin as there's a limit to everything. And clearly, Luke has crossed the line with how overprotective he has gotten.

Time is of the essence, yet Luke wastes it by brooding over the what-ifs:

"Should I take the safest shortcut so that Rosa doesn't get hurt?" "Sticking to this activity is better than doing bungee jumping cuz we might run into accidents."

Luke's thoughts have clouded his reasoning. He believes that counting every step he takes to ensure Rosa's safety is the right thing. But by doing so, their date has quickly turned into a sour one. Luke's behavior makes sense as mentioned before.

But this is where Rosa comes into play. She grew tired and sick of his tendency to overthink things since Timely Rescue. She is not going to stand by and watch the guy decays as he ponders over every single thing that concerns her. That is just a waste of precious time.

Luke's going the extra mile to guarantee her safety at the expense of his fun and her fun.

If Luke is not having fun, then what is the point of the date?

If he can't even do whatever he wants to do, then what is the point?

Life is too short to be wasted on trivial matters such as "possible accidents". Accidents are bound to happen.

Humans are prone to get injured, to trip over, to get hurt. We don't have plot armor, and we are definitely not bulletproof. If things happen, then let them happen. Let them become a part of their experience, part of their memories. So that someday, they can look back at that time and laugh at how silly they were. That is why I find his line in Among the Great Blue quite ironic. He is not sticking to it.

The whole interaction between them proves that Rosa is not afraid to step up and speak her mind. She refuses to stay idle when things are going wrong. She definitely doesn't stand looking at Luke not enjoying himself because his happiness is her happiness.

The story was beautifully connected to Timely Rescue and other cards. It displayed a realistic quarrel between two people who had clashing views.

Luke still hasn't decided to confide in her about his condition yet, and he is still very hesitant whether he should be with her or not.

Rosa was kept in the dark the entire time. Despite that, she could tell that something was off with him.

They resolved the issue through communication which is a primordial element in any couple's road to happiness. Without it, you and your significant other won't last at all.

Rosa is an honest person, and Luke's overprotective trait bothered her so much because he has crossed the line several times. Not only was he restricting Rosa's freedom but also his freedom.

The whole ordeal gave huge character development to Rosa. She looks out for Luke and is greatly concerned over him as well. Luke is not the only person who is busy thinking about her. Rosa also does think about him, and always has been.

The card portrayed a healthy relationship that runs into issues and solves them through communicating.

Luke listening to her and feeling extremely blessed to be by her side was the cherry on top. He understood her, apologized to her, and he promised he won't cross the line again. Her reassuring words held some weight because you only live once. Why would anyone waste their time instead of enjoying themselves?

To Luke, it hits him harder because it involves time which is something intangible and not everlasting. He absolutely shouldn't waste it, especially in his case. He should spend every single minute of his life doing the things he likes, hanging out with the people he loves, and making new and timeless memories with them.

Rosa ended up teaching him a lesson about life and how valuable it is. The way she snapped at him as she ran out of patience and as her frustrations grew all the more obvious has only rendered her as more than a third-dimensional character. Rosa is too real. Too realistic. She has the most natural and wholesome interactions with Luke, and that says a lot about their relationship.

Moreover, his Lost Gold route expanded his character even further. We get to witness his Raven side first-hand. A side that he is ashamed of showing.

But because of the whole ordeal in Timely Rescue, he decided not to cross the line. He made up his mind and showed her the side that he's been afraid to reveal all this time. A side that developed over those eight years. Rosa witnessed it, and her reaction to it was genuine as well as sweet. She immediately figured out how ashamed he was. And she also understood him and his predicament. Because of his job, he has to be harsh to his suspects. And as Rosa stated, she prefers Luke to be ruthless to protect himself rather than get hurt because of his kindness. Rosa has embraced all of Luke's sides and accepted him the way he is.

Granted, Luke said: "I will become the person that you like", but Rosa doesn't want that. Rosa wants Luke. The genuine person with all of his flaws and all of his strengths.

His response to what she said was so sweet. His embrace and his Thank You were so emotional and meaningful. Luke was afraid he might disappoint her with how much he changed. So, her reassuring words were such a relief to him. Nothing beats being wholeheartedly accepted by your significant other.

Rosa has always felt that the person in front of her is no longer familiar. She thought she always knew him. But the truth is she did not. Rosa has been feeling this way since day one of their reunion. And she openly expressed that in several cards like Alluring Gaze, Xmas Card, Among the Great Blue, to name a few.

Despite her lingering doubts, Rosa still accepts the person who is standing in front of her. Luke might have changed, but Rosa is willing to hold onto him and never let go. She is ready to embrace that unfamiliar figure of his because she loves him.

Her resolve to see past the distance that separated them had never faltered. That is because Luke means much more than that.

Xmas Card revealed that Luke has been hiding from Rosa for a while. It personally pains me to see him run away from her. This card adds more to how much he struggled with himself. Luke wanted to meet Rosa as soon as he came back. He wanted to share all the experiences and the stories that he had in the past eight years. He wanted to confide in her about everything. But, Luke was unable to do so. On top of his illness, he is ashamed to talk about his work as an agent. God only knows what kind of misdeeds he did. It saddens me to know that Luke has been through so much for the past eight years, unbeknownst to Rosa. He has been in many perilous situations. He got so wounded that he does not need an anesthetic to treat himself. Luke grew numb to the pain which is messed up. He got tormented for the longest time. (personal story ch3 and 4)

Luke has been exposed to danger at a young age which explains why he hates seeing Rosa go through the same path.

That also explains why he was so against the idea of her joining the NXX team in the main story.

In RRG, Luke and Rosa's relationship took a shift and started to progress. Rosa felt bummed out because she thought she knew Luke best but realized that those eight years made him seem foreign to her. Her desire to know all of him and get close to him has been made clear in that card. Rosa seriously started looking at Luke. Her feelings slowly and steadily started surfacing and taking shape.

The whole card was incredible. From us finding out more about Raven to them acting like parents (to Xia Xia) to Rosa getting all emotional over Xia Xia's departure. Rosa's nightmare also proves that she refuses to be apart from Luke and that she is determined to hold onto him because he might slip from her at any moment. A sentiment that she has expressed since Shape of You. Rosa also figured that Luke has been hiding from her for so long, fearing he might bring her trouble. She got upset because she always wanted to be by his side no matter what.

Despite the dangers that Luke may face because of his work, Rosa wants to support him however she can. She is worried about him, and she hates that his life is always at stake, but she has decided not to get in the way of his dreams. Instead, she would bear the brunt with him. They will both go through ups and downs together, hand in hand.

The promise that they made is very precious because it shows just how much they care for each other.

"I promise I will do my best to not compromise myself.

In every minute and every second, I will choose the way that makes me happiest to live.

In every minute and every second, I will remind myself to avidly pursue everything I yearn for.

I definitely will not make this person in front of me, who supports me, feel unhappy or not blessed."

This promise is important because Luke always puts others above himself, and Rosa had enough of that. She wants him to be happy and to think of himself before others.

I would like to take a moment to talk about Luke's design. He is often seen with many gadgets. One of them is a camera.

His camera helps in capturing the moments, turning them into memories that transcend time itself. Luke is still coping with how short his lifespan is. Hence he wishes to savor the beauty of this world by saving every moment in his camera. Because surely, those moments will outlive him, never to be forgotten.

I like how Luke is the owner of an antique shop. An antique shop consists of items that are desirable because of their age, beauty, rarity, and personal emotional connection. These items represent a previous era or period in human history.

Luke as an antique shopkeeper is just so fitting because it feels like he is gathering all sorts of stories and memories connected with each object in his tiny little space to preserve them. After all, they will persevere against the flow of time. An ability that Luke would have liked to possess to put an end to his misery.

Luke seems to be associated with crows which are a symbol of death. But that symbol represents more than that.

Rosa often thinks of Luke as a free-spirited person, unshackled by any constraints. She firmly believes that he deserves to be free like the birds.

"I hoped that I could also protect Luke, this eagle flying high with his wings spread, and his smile that was as warm as sunshine."

Her impression of Luke has always been that of an eagle spreading his wings in the sky. He represents freedom to her. Seeing Luke restrained by his shackles hurts Rosa to no end. Luke should not be in a cage. Luke should be flying high in the sky. That is where he belongs.

Rosa wants to protect that within her power because he deserves to be happy.

Not only has it been mentioned in the Electrifying Night card but also SoTT.

In SoTT, Luke worships the birds because they soar high in the blue sky. They are the symbol of freedom. But in this story, the roles are reversed. Rosa is trapped in a cage (society conventions) while Luke reaches out to release her. Luke is willing to give up on his freedom so that Rosa can live the way she always wanted to.

“I pray that you will continue to live bravely onwards, as you had described.”

Luke would do anything to see Rosa be happy, even at the cost of his freedom. That is the weight of his sacrifice.

On an unrelated note, Luke's design in SoTT is very self-contradictory and interesting:

His mask is that of Anubis; the God of Death, whereas his necklace is that of Ankh; the symbol of eternal life.

Going by that analogy, the necklace that was given to him by Rosa represents life. Despite being on the verge of death, Luke managed to live thanks to her.

Honorary Mention:

Looming Nightmare is such a lamentable story. But looking past that, there's a lot of foreshadowing regarding Luke and Rosa's relationship.

The ruby and the sword made a cameo in this card.

Ruby symbolizes romantic love. It brings happiness and passion. It is said to inspire devotion and faithfulness within a romantic relationship.

This symbolism depicts Luke's overflowing feelings towards Rosa.

Because the ruby's hue is close to the color of blood, which carries oxygen to all parts of the body, the gemstone also represents vitality and vigor.

As for the sword, it symbolizes power, protection, authority, strength, and courage; metaphysically, it represents discrimination and the penetrating power of the intellect.

It is a symbol of knighthood and chivalry which is very fitting for Luke.

“Passion is the sword of love that pierces through the wall of fears that hold us back.” Lewis Howes

Based on the game's poster art, Luke might also become Rosa's weapon when her ideals will be put to the test.

This card proves yet again just how much both of them are willing to sacrifice for one another.

Granted, it is romantic but it is just as foreboding. Because of his desire to meet Rosa and be with her, Luke was easily deceived by the witch. In this case, not only did Love blind him but also drove him to his death (and ultimately Rosa's death). A tragic ending.

On a side note, we get to see a very wholesome moment between them at the end of the card.

They always find comfort in each other's company and it's simply heart-warming.

I just love how close and intimate they are even before they started dating.

Their relationship is dynamic since both parties are willing to sacrifice so much to ensure the other is happy. Their love for each other is very pure, selfless, and unconditional. Not only that, but they are also characters with so much depth to analyze. Rosa and Luke are such layered individuals, and it is such a treat. There's more to these characters than what meets the eye (especially Luke)

Luke's personal story focused on the entire three-year issue. Episodes 1 and 2 were angsty enough. But Rosa has sprinkled some of her optimism which also plays as foreshadowing to the anniversary card.

The story behind the escape room puzzle is a straight nod to Luke's whole conflict.

Sphinx/Aaron purposefully planned this so that Luke would have enough balls to confess everything that he has covered from her.

Rosa's answer regarding the escape room's story is an indirect answer to Luke's confession. She insisted that even though your lover might someday disappear, the time spent with them is far more valuable than being apart from them.

Their entire existence brings them joy. So why would anyone be away from their source of happiness?

Luke took it personally because he resonated with the whole story.

At that point, Rosa does not know a thing about his illness, yet her answer hits Luke's very core and being.

The anniversary card was the culmination of several events throughout their story.

Luke's confession happened because reality has slapped him right in the face. He always thought of his short lifespan, but he never considered the possibility of losing Rosa before his eyes.

Rosa is selfless, almost to a fault. Episodes 3 and 4 displayed how she would readily put others above herself. She would easily risk her life for someone else. The incident that almost scarred her gave Luke the last push to finally come clean and confess everything.

For the first time, he revealed everything that he buried for years. Rosa's reply was just as emotional and just as groundbreaking. Everything; from their confrontation to them breaking down into tears to the starry sky in the background turning their childhood place (their old house) all the more intimate to their longing and desire burning in their eyes to them not even needing to utter another word because they yearn to fill each other with warmth; was perfection. The build-up was impeccable. I was a sobbing mess by the end of it.

The music box (Luke's gift) that emanates a rainbow is a throwback to the double rainbows that they saw in Iridescent Heartbeat.

Legend has it that if you keep following a rainbow, you will find a buried treasure underneath it. And as corny as his line may sound, Luke indeed found his treasure (Rosa) a long time ago. It's a whole circle back to the key in his necklace. A gift that was given by Rosa when they were kids.

The music that Luke has picked had so much significance. And the decision behind it was both melancholic and symbolic. His explanation is enough to let us know that Luke went through hell and back for Rosa. Luke was in emotional turmoil the entire time, suffering by himself. But not anymore. Because Rosa's answer gave him hope. It gave him a reason to keep pushing forward.

When Luke talks about the future, he either uses ambiguous terms like always and forever or becomes pessimistic, knowing he only has three years left.

But it all changed when they started dating. Luke wants to make up for the eight years that he and Rosa have missed out. It neither sounds like an intangible dream nor a regretful mourn. Luke now has more belief in the future and is slowly overcoming his insecurities as they fall in love.

His concept of forever is no longer limited to the three years written in health reports. That concept became the longest time he spends with Rosa. And it's just overflowing with hope compared to how incurable he thought he was.

"So, I’ve decided. If the road ahead is fated to be covered in thorns, then I will grow with you by your side, no matter what comes at us, traversing this bumpy road fearlessly."

Luke's arc is a whole self-love journey. It is about finding yourself amidst all the darkness and hopelessness. It is about being hopeful in the face of despair. It is about living tomorrow to the fullest as if your life depended on it. It is about appreciating and treasuring those who have always supported you. Be it family, friends, or your significant other. It is about cherishing the time you spend with your loved ones. It is about being selfless and chasing after your happiness no matter what the hurdle is.

Luke's arc is a journey that taught him and Rosa many life lessons. They both grew together, went through many hardships, and are maturing together. They are learning to compromise and to adjust to one another. And that makes their bond even more beloved.

Luke no longer needs to shoulder all of the burdens by himself because now he has someone else's shoulder to lean on. Rosa has Luke's shoulder to lean on as well.

It's a journey of self-growth and self-love for both of them.

Rosa and Luke are more than just childhood friends. They are more than just a couple. They are soulmates.

Two individuals who got each other's backs no matter what life throws at them. Their bond is so precious, so dear.

What Luke and Rosa have is special. And watching them grow together is such a sight.

People believe that they are canon. But even if they are not, I am convinced that they will always find each other because they are soulmates.

Credits: @tiramisiyu for the amazing translations!

#tears of themis #luke pearce #xia yan #rosa qiangwei #marius von hagen #vyn richter #artem wing #lu jinghe #otome game #otp #i love this ship so much #ramblings #mihoyo #spoilers

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thenovelartist · 3 years ago

Note

ok so we have a few fics here on tumblr on how tot boys would act when they’re jealous but what if it was the other way around? what if their s/o gets a bit jealous because the boys are spending more time with rosa than with them? they probably wouldn’t do that to their s/o but it would be fun to imagine haha. if you’re still taking requests, can i request for this scenario with the boys? thank you so much and i hope you keep writing more content for tot in the future!

Premise: MC jealous of another girl spending maybe a little too much time with her boy.

Luke

When Luke begins talking about this other girl he’s partnered with at work, MC doesn’t really think on it too much.

She really trusts Luke a lot, and she knows he’s only got eyes for her.

At most, she’ll feel a little jealousy bubbing up inside her if Luke talks too long about his female co-worker’s accomplishments or whatnot.

However, then she gets to meet said co-worker.

Just watching the way this woman and Luke interact, teasing and joking around while the woman stands maybe a little too close to Luke for MC’s liking, this is where the problem’s start.

It will take a while after the woman leaves for Luke to realize something is wrong with MC.

There are no secrets between the two of them. MC will eventually admit (with a little prying on Luke’s part) that she wasn’t comfortable with his female co-worker.

And once Luke realizes why that is, he’ll be falling over himself to apologize and assure his MC that she’s his one and only.

Which MC knows full well, but it’s always nice to hear.

Que snuggles and constant reassurances.

It won’t take much for MC to realize she was being an idiot, but she’ll take Luke’s attention for as long as he’s willing to give it, anyway.

Vyn

MC knows Vyn is a professional and sees many female patients. Furthermore, Vyn is really good at setting boundaries for female patients if they start being too forward.

However, the same doesn’t always apply to doctors and other medical staff.

So when one doctor starts to spend a little too much time with Vyn under the guise of “talking about patients”, that’s when the problem begins.

Vyn doesn’t realize it right away, but after a while, he’ll notice MC’s slight change in demeanor whenever a certain doctor is mentioned.

But he won’t realize it’s jealousy right away until MC reveals she’s uncomfortable with how close the doctor seems to be with Vyn.

Guilt. Trip.

(For a moment, I thought he’d be a tease about it, but thinking about his personality and how sincere he is in his relationship with MC, I don’t think he would. In fact, I think he’d be quite upset if MC felt jealous for a good reason like this.)

He’ll take a moment to hug her and reassure her that she’s the only woman for him after confirming that all he has with his colleague is a working relationship. And that if his colleague is thinking otherwise, then that’s on her and he’ll be sure to correct her.

Only then will MC feel silly for being jealous, though Vyn will assure her it’s a natural response before admitting he quite likes knowing she’s possessive of him.

Que blushing mess MC and giggling Vyn.

Artem

MC knows this boy needs some serious slack when it comes to women.

She knows he tries, though. It’s endearing.

But knowing that doesn’t always suppress the jealousy that will occasionally bubble up.

Like when a female client of his starts getting a little too friendly.

In the beginning, she knows Artem is oblivious, so the jealousy is easy to squash.

But when flowers appear as a “thank you” for helping her, MC gets really jealous.

And Artem is none the wiser.

Until Celestine drops a hint when he absently wonders why MC has been seeming a little off at work lately.

He’s horrified. Mostly because he never wanted to give MC any reason to be jealous, and yet, here he was. (It’s not your fault, Artem.)

This poor man will ditch the gifted roses immediately and buy flowers of his own for MC, appearing before her unexpectedly and apologizing.

MC literally cannot stay mad at him, even if she wanted to. He’s too awkwardly genuine in his attempts to reassure her.

He’s forgiven with a smile, and only then is he able to relax.

But he also asks her to talk to him next time about it. He really doesn’t want her to have those insecurities about their relationship.

(He’s too sweet. Seriously.)

Marius

MC knows that Marius is loyal.

But she’s also concerned because he’s a drop-dead gorgeous natural-born flirt with a fat wallet. So that draws a lot of unwanted attention.

She’s watched him shut down obvious flirting attempts and knows he’ll use PDA with her to do it.

Furthermore, there are times Marius will purposefully shoot MC a wink while talking with women, trying to see if he can get a rise out of her. But MC rarely ever gives him the satisfaction of playing the jealous girlfriend. If anything, she knows in these moments that he's purposefully trying to get her attention over the attention of the other women.

But there are some persistent, patient women around who know how to get under MC’s skin.

Particularly this one young board member at Pax.

MC wouldn’t say Marius is oblivious…

But he does get along with this woman quite well, and they tease each other back and forth often.

Often enough for MC to burn with jealousy.

Which Marius won’t notice for a long while. He only gets the hint after MC basically explodes at him.

At which point he’ll spend a sleepless night planning out an apology, complete with roses, chocolates, dinner date, the whole shebang.

And he’ll practically fall on his knees in apology for it.

MC, knowing him, will drag him on for a moment.

But not for long before caving and accepting his apology. You know, just right before he starts crying.

(She'll have to promise not to do it again.)

#tears of themis #tears of themis headcanons #luke pearce #vyn richter #artem wing #marius von hagen

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roswellnmsource · 3 years ago

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‘Roswell, New Mexico��: Heather Hemmens on Directing, Why Maria & Jones Are ‘Very Well Matched’

Just as her character Maria DeLuca was being challenged on Roswell, New Mexico (blame the alien Jones, played by Nathan Dean), Heather Hemmens was as well (blame the weather), stepping behind the camera to direct the September 6 episode, “Goodnight, Elizabeth.”

“It was one of those moments where you’re challenged to do time management beyond the hours in a day, but it was a really, really great experience for me that taught me a lot of skills that now that I’ve done it, I can take forward and conquer with,” Hemmens tells TV Insider of the experience.

“[It] came about from hours and hours and hours of shadowing behind the scenes, directing short films, so this was years of preparation meeting opportunity for me,” she continues. “It really was a great time to grow within the show especially behind the camera. So I’m really excited to do that on my home court.”

Heading into the episode, Maria remains in a coma after her encounter with Jones (not Max, also played by Dean, as they’d all thought). But at least everyone knows who they’re really dealing with now… right? That doesn’t mean it’ll be easy to stop him.

Below, Hemmens talks directing — she’ll helm another episode later in Season 4 — before previewing the rest of the season and Maria’s slightly reckless behavior.

Where does this episode find Maria in her fight against Jones?

Heather Hemmens: We find them very well matched where she has unexpectedly met him in the mindscape, but she is holding onto her powers for dear life. Right now she’s just buying time until she can outsmart him. They’re very well-matched because Maria’s strong-minded and determined and she’s just as good as Jones as evil, so it’s going to be an epic battle between them.

What’s everyone else up to now that they know they haven’t been talking to Max, but to Jones?

Everyone is frantically searching around for the real Jones and trying to stop him from whatever he’s set out to do. It’s a really fun storyline where the Scooby-Doo gang is setting up traps and different schemes to try and get ahead of Jones’ agenda. At the same time, they’re trying to receive psychic messages from Maria, helping them figure out what his motives are and also to help them get her out of this coma. This all is going to culminate with showdowns and explosions and big reveals that people who have been watching the show for years will never see coming. And it’s just going to be jaw-dropping turns that will take us into the rest of the storyline for the season.

There is quite a bit going on in this episode – the Jones storyline, Alex [Tyler Blackburn] is trying to get answers, Rosa’s [Amber Midthunder] still figuring things out about herself. What were your favorite and the most challenging scenes to direct?

My favorite scenes were Rosa and Isobel [Lily Cowles] in the cave where they have a real sisterhood bonding moment. That was such a joy just to have a scene where it wasn’t about special effects or anything sinister. It was just about two women connecting and having this great dialogue. It was really just such a joy to work with both of those actors, who are my close friends, and we had a lot of fun with that.

One of the more challenging scenes is this showdown. There’s so much going on. There’s a bunch of characters in the scene. There are explosions, special effects, all kinds of things happening, and it felt like a major movie set. It was really, really fun to film and we got rain right in the middle of it. We ended up being more crunched for time than I was supposed to have, and I was just really happy that I had prepared for that day in a way that I was able to still finish one of the most important scenes of the episode without having to sacrifice.The scenes that I was in as an actor had special effects in them. And I also had to make time to watch playback and spend an hour and a half in hair and makeup before I got into director mode. So those were also challenges that I was happy to explore, that new skill set for myself, and just try to enjoy it along the way.

Speaking of great scenes with two women this season, one of my favorite relationships right now is Maria and Isobel’s. Are we going to continue to see more of those two together?

Absolutely. These two strong women are realizing that they’re even stronger together. They have such a fun dynamic. They have witty banter and they have great ideas and they also still have that competitiveness that makes them really fun to watch. I’m happy for the storyline and for the characters that the catty nature of their relationship has been overcome and now we’re into seeing two empowered women support each other. I just think that’s a really beautiful dynamic, and we’re going to see a lot more of it throughout the season.

It seems like Gregory [Tanner Novlan] has adapted pretty well to everything going on in Roswell. What can you say about his and Maria’s relationship?

I think the reason that Maria loves hanging out with Gregory is that he’s so easygoing. He has taken everything in stride. He’s been a support system. He’s been a really warm presence and just a good friend throughout all of this and Maria really needed a rock. He’s very stable. So I think that is the initial attraction and it could be budding into something romantic. I think it’s at a good starting point in friendship to be able to grow into that. … He may be crushing a little bit harder than her at the moment. But I think when he’s showing his true colors that he really cares for her and he has her back when she’s not well, that could go over pretty good with Maria when she catches wind of it.

We saw how far Maria was willing to go to trigger another vision earlier in the season, and she’s in a coma right now because she couldn’t sit and not do anything. Will we continue to see her push herself to or beyond her limits?

Absolutely. Maria is now on her own journey with her alien powers and with this alien storyline, whereas in the past seasons, we’ve seen her really supporting the other characters’ experience of this. Now she is on a rampage to fulfill her own destiny and discover what that is for her powers, so she’s willing to go pretty far to figure it out. I think she feels that no matter what the danger brings, she can’t not know.

I love Maria and everything she’s doing this season, but at the same time, I’m like, where’s your sense of self-preservation?

Yeah, she’s gotten a little bit reckless because she’s in dire need of answers. I think sometimes the hardest thing in life is not knowing and that can outweigh the expense of any maybe physical harm that she can endure and survive. But the most important thing to her is just having those questions answered that constantly plague her mind.

Everything’s building up to this funeral with the Valenti crest on the coffin. What can you tease about that funeral and what we’re going to see going forward?

It’s one of those mysteries that everybody comes together as a group because not only do they all care about who could be in the coffin, but it could be them. They still have no clarity that any of them is safe, and so in order to protect themselves, they also have to protect each other. That’s just one of the more lovely storylines that bonds them all, this group effort to keep everybody safe.

How certain can we be of anything that we’ve seen in those visions?

I’d say that they present accurately, but hindsight is 20/20. So just because they’re presenting accurately doesn’t mean that the supporting evidence doesn’t change the dynamic.

What else can you preview about the rest of the season and how it’s going to set up next season?

This Jones character is very determined to wreak havoc, so he’s not going away, and they’re going to have to battle it out with him for the next chapter of this story. They find different ways to do that and each character comes in to fight that beast. That’s a really, really fun storyline that plays out. And we’re gonna dig a little bit more into Maria’s family history as well and how it connects to everyone else and how it gets specific with this day in time that Jones is trying to find a memory for. Maria has a very big role in whether or not he gets that that piece of information he’s searching for.

#heather hemmens #roswell new mexico #cast #press #rnm spoilers #3x07

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iloveitwhen · 4 years ago

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What Team? (pt. 2)

(yes, everytime i see “what team?” i think “wildcats!” and i just couldn’t help myself with the title heehee)

I hope this meets all of your expectations! if not then sorry i guess lmao. if there are mistakes or inconsistencies let me know(:

So I got a little carried away and this is much MUCH longer than the first part so... sorry? you’re welcome? idk but turns out the story has not progressed but it basically has so let’s say it did. I also got a little carried away with Alix meeting the waynes... (Also I should add I don't know squat about roller blading)

Part 1

Based on this post by @unmaskedagain

--------

Alix wasn’t stupid, granted her best friend was Kim and together they were pretty stupid, but Alix was not inherently stupid, Kim just lowered her IQ by a significant amount just by being around him, ok? Not her fault. But anyways, point being, Alix was not stupid, she could see the way Lila's face morphed to disgust when she looked at Marinette and thought no one was watching, or when she sneered at the backs of all of her classmates when they turned around, so of course she knew why Lila really tried to force "Lukanette" down everyone's throats, she wanted to be on top. Alix aslo prided herself in not having problems such as crushes, why bother yourself when clearly people are not… hot, attractive, sexy, ect. Alix didn’t understand how or why people so desperately wanted to kiss each other but not having that urge really brought light to her class’ situation. She had learned from the way Kim used to look at Chloe and the way Max looked at Kim and the way Marinette looked at Adrien, there were plenty more examples, like Mylene and Ivan, anyways, they all had the same look even if they were trying to hide it. Lila looked at Marinette with that same look but hidden under disgust, but then again she also looked at Adrien that way too, without disgust and hate though. But she also hated Marinette, plain and simple. Wait, definitely not simple. As for why she hated Marinette, Alix just hadn't gotten that far yet, but she was sure it had something to do with Adrien. And being a closeted gay.

As for everyone else it was no secret that Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Lila Rossi did NOT like each other but lucky, or unlucky depending on how you look at it, the class simply ignored the both of them when they tried talking about the other.

Marinette, picking up on the fact that she won that battle, stopped trying to tell everyone about Lila’s obvious lies. She knew the girl still had it out for her but she was completely powerless when it came to taking Marinette’s friends away. It was quite exhausting listening to Lila and not being able to say anything that would disprove her lies because no matter how sound her proof was her classmates wouldn’t listen. And Marinette honestly just wanted to sleep.

Lately she didn’t know what was going on, all week people kept whispering and would change the conversation when she arrived. She thought they were talking behind her back but they never gave her dirty looks, in fact they were even more friendly and she got a large increase of “morning Marinette!” and “How are you doing?” which was only slightly confusing. At least they were finally being as friendly and considerate towards her as she was towards them.

“Hey Marinette?” Marinette looked up from her sketchbook as her thoughts scattered to see Juleka nervously tapping on her desk with her nails while Rose stood behind her girlfriend with a look that could only be described as sparkly. Marinette raised an eyebrow but smiled kindly at them.

“Yes?”

“So, umm,” she cleared her throat nervously, “can you help me and Rose make shirts that say “Team Luka” on them?”

“Team lu- uhmm sure?”

Juleka gave her a rare smile and a soft “thanks” before returning to her seat with Rosa who squeaked “you're the best Marinette!” Marinette gave the girl a weak smile and a small nod of appreciation and just stared in confusion at the spot where the two girls stood previously.

What?

The heck?

“What was that all about?” Alya voiced Marinette’s thoughts and slid into her seat, poking Marinette’s arm to break the black haired girl out of her stupor.

“I'm... not sure....” She furrowed her brows in confusion. Who was Luka going against that required Juleka’s support? She hadn't heard of XY making headlines lately and Luka wasn't either, well she wasn’t really online either anyways. “They asked me to help them make Team Luka shirts.” She looked over to her friend and was brought to even more confusion. Alya looked… offended? But she quickly wiped the look off her face and pursed her lips together before turning to face the front saying,

“Interesting....”

After school Marinette, with Juleka and Rose, went to buy supplies before heading to the ship to meet with Luka. Together they made ten teal tie dyed shirts which they had printed “TEAM LUKA” on the center of it. Marinette tried asking what it was for but all three just redirected her so she eventually just dropped it.

As she was leaving Luka stopped her. “Thank you, Marinette,” he said softly, “you really are a wonderful girl, you deserve the world.” Of course that made Marinette blush, what was up with this guy and his cute, mushy words?

“Thanks, Luka. An- and don’t worry about it! Anything for you,” she trailed off for a moment before rushing to add, “and your family of course. Obviously.” She chuckled nervously while Luka just gave her an amused smile.

“I’ll keep that in mind. Have a wonderful evening, Marinette.” He turned and walked back onto the ship, leaving Marinette weak in the knees. She quickly steeled her nerves then chastised herself while walking away. Stop feeling for multiple boys. Stop feeling for multiple boys. Stop feeling….

---

Alya was not happy to find Juleka and Rose wearing teal tie dyed shirts saying “TEAM LUKA” printed on them. So they want to play THAT game. Ok. She can deal with that. In her desire to plan she missed Marinette’s rambles throughout class and the bell that signaling the start of lunch.

“ALYA!” she snapped her head to the source of the sound to find the one and only Chloe Bourgeois with a hand on her hip and pursed lips. She looked around the room to find it completely empty except for the two of them.

“Chloe!” she scooched over the bench and hopped up, accidentally almost bumping noses with the blonde girl from being too close but Chloe just gave a disgusted face and quickly took a step back. “Just the person I needed! Did you SEE those shirts?” Chloe huffed and rolled her eyes.

“Of course I did, Césaire. That is the only reason you will be spending more time than I am comfortable with in my presence. Come on.” She turned her heel and strutted out of the classroom while Alya scrambled to grab all of her belongings.

---

Not long at all after Marinette saw Juleka and Rose (Ivan quickly following suit) wearing the Team Luka shirts, Alya and Chloe, a pairing Marinette NEVER saw coming, walked in with matching shirts, orange for Alya and yellow for Chloe, with a fancy, clean font spelling out “Team Adrien” on the front and a bold “SUCK IT” on the back. Marinette watched Alya approach her seat with her jaw hanging loose.

WHAT WAS GOING ON???

“What is- you know what? Nevermind. I don’t want to know.” Alya smirked and slid into her seat. “You purposefully came last didn’t you?”

“Yep!” Alya replied happily while pulling her phone out and started typing furiously.

“Babe, where’s my shirt?” Nino had turned around and gave his girlfriend puppy eyes.

“Oh, here you go,” she pulled a green shirt out of her bag and tossed it to him while Adrien watched with interest. A sound of excitement escaped Nino when he caught the shirt and he opened it up to see the front which revealed the back of the shirt to Marinette. She felt the blood drain from her face and she lifted her hand to cover her mouth in horror. The back had a perfect snapshot of Adrien’s side profile from his ad for cologne when he was gliding through the air. Marinette glanced at Adrien and saw that his jaw had dropped and his face started to burn a deep red. Marinette just wanted to cry. Nino flipped it over and Marinette saw “Team Adrien” in the same font of Chloe and Alya’s shirts while Nino let out an unearthly squeal.

“It’s PERFECT! Adrien! Look!” he flipped the shirt over to show Adrien but the blonde boy had already curled in on himself and hid his face in his arms.

“Whyyyyy, Alyaaaaa.” Alya smirked and looked up from her phone.

“Don’t worry Adrien, we’re rooting for you.”

Marinette cried (internally) that night as she prayed to every Kwami she knew to save her soul.

---

Adrien didn’t know what was going on, at first when he saw Luka’s shirts he really wanted one too to show his support of his acquaintance. Adrien didn’t know the boy that well but he was very kind and any team that Luka was on Adrien wanted to be on too heehee. After his friends started wearing Team Adrien shirts he felt… conflicted. And slightly uncomfortable. He was happy his friends were supporting him but it just felt wrong to root for himself. So to counteract this he approached Juleka when the school ended and got his own shirt. The next day he changed into it after getting dropped off at school, obviously because his Father would make him burn the shirt if he ever saw Adrien wearing it, and when he came out of the restroom he found Lila climbing the stairs in her own Team Luka shirt. Her eyes shot up in surprise at the sight of him before a strained smile etched onto her lips.

“Lila! It’s great to see we’re on the same team.” He smiled kindly at her and gave a silent prayer to Plagg that she didn’t think he was flirting with her as she always seemed to assume.

“Indeed, Adrien.”

Everyday for the next week more and more people wore their own team shirts until the class was split in half, save for Nathanial, Marinette, and Alix. Adrien continuously tried to find out what the teams were for but someone always assured him that it was nothing to worry about.

It wasn’t until he saw Chloe’s retweet of Alix’s tweet that he realized that his class was warring over who was the better match, him or Luka, for one of Alix’s friends that apparently the entire class knew besides Nathanial and Marinette as they never picked a side. He wondered if he knew the person that the class was talking about and decided to logout of twitter before anything got out of hand as it usually did whenever Chloe was on twitter.

---

“We have a problem.” Dick stated to his two brothers and adoptive father.

“Ok, what’s new?” Jason asked lazily, polishing his gun.

“Marinette is trending on twitter.”

“What?” Tim pulled his phone out and started going through the app as Dick continued.

“Team Luka, Team Adrien, Lukanette, and Adrinette are trending on twitter. Take a wild guess what that could mean.” Bruce rolled his eyes and started to say,

“Dick we don’t have time for this,” but Dick cut him off mid sentence and spoke over him.

“These boys are getting fought over who would be a better fit for Marinette. OUR Marinette. As in Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” Jason stopped polishing his gun and actually looked at Dick while Tim gagged.

“What?” all three voices before him spoke up in unison. Dick was surprised that Bruce spoke up with a little more exasperation.

“No!” Bruce dropped his face into his hands and groaned. He was certainly taking this far worse than Dick thought he would. The older man raised his head and gave Dick a look he usually gave him when he was trusting him with an important mission, “take care of this, make sure none of those boys steal Marinette away from Damian.” Dick nodded his head once.

“Yes, sir.”

---

Marinette and the Waynes go way back, so far back that when Bruce let it slip that he and Alfred used to have a neighbor at a lake house who would repeatedly visit whenever Alfred was there the batboys KNEW they had to find the one and only Gina and meet her ENTIRE family. Marinette was ten at the time and was immediately enraptured by Damian’s “old man” personality and forced him to have fun like a child during his short stay. The Batboys, as much as they were scared of Damian and what he might do, immediately shipped them together, Jason (being the fanfiction writer/reader which he never admitted to anyone) deemed the ship “Daminette” which the others agreed to fervently. But now, five years later and three very determined Daminette shippers later, Damian and his brothers were on a plan to France to meet with Marinette.

“Momma Cheng! Papa Dupain!” Dick swung the bakery door open and sauntered in while the others trailed behind him rolling their eyes, except for Tim, Tim was excited for good coffee.

“Oh Richard!” Sabine walked around the counter and gave all the boys a quick hug and handed them off to her husband who cracked their backs with his monstrous hugs. Sabine reached Damian and pulled him into a hug before he could protest then held him at arm's length. “Oh my have you grown! Tom,” she turned her head to her husband while still holding onto Damian.

Tom set down Tim who stumbled and was caught by Dick before hitting the ground. “Yes, dear?”

“Hasn’t he grown so much? Such a handsome young man,” she let go and pinched his cheek which he pulled away from when suddenly he was lifted into a smoldering hug and felt the cr-rick cra-ack! of his spine. He wiggled in the grip finding he couldn’t get out but when he was placed back down he felt a little lightheaded and refused to stumble like an embarrassment Tim was.

“You fellas can grab some treats, Marinette won’t be home until pretty late but you boys are welcome to stay until she arrives” The boys all nodded in response and said their chorus of thank you’s and went to grab some pastries before heading to the inside of their home.

Jason quickly got restless and Dick followed him to babysit keep an eye on him while Tim pulled out his computer and started typing away. Damian got bored and decided to explore. He knew it was probably inappropriate but he politely asked Sabine if he could go up to Marinette’s balcony knowing she probably kept her garden growing up there when she started it out of spite of him after he insulted her capabilities to take care of another thing, much less herself. He was pleased, and slightly annoyed, to find a beautiful garden with an array of flowers, herbal plants and even a beautiful small tree.

After a while being by himself a ragged looking cat sauntered over to the balcony and Damian quickly made friends with the animal and deemed it sweet and good and no harm would ever come to such an animal under his watch. He decided she was worthy to carry the name Enibas and smiled as she curled up on his chest while they both drifted off to sleep on the deck chair.

---

Alix re-strapped her skates and got back up, ignoring the pain in her badly scraped hip and rolled out her shoulder while skating back uphill to the beginning of her obstacle course. She spun around and narrowed her eyes at the several cones placed strategically in front of her. She had set up her area by the Eiffel Tower and the locals already knew to steer clear as she had been doing this regularly for the past seven years ever since she got her first pair of skates. She blocked everything and anything out of her mind and focused on her breathing and steadied her body, with one more huff of breath she shot out towards the cones.

First: three cones placed closely together in a line and a fourth further behind, she spun in circles and lifted her heel of her right foot and toes of her and glided through the three cones quickly, she then jumped in the air and spun in a circle in midair over the fourth cone in a slight pirouette position before landed on her left foot with her arms out, bent over slightly, and her right leg sticking out behind her.

Second: she was still gliding very fast and twisting her extended leg gave her the momentum to face behind her, there were no cones but she knew what to do. She bent the leg supporting her and cut to the right and expertly landed on her padded hand and using the walled walkway beside her she pushed her left leg out to skate alongside and up the wall. Placing her other hand on the ground she pushed her body up high, higher than anybody should be able to do but given the fact she discovered Fluff gave her a bit of an advantage, she twirled and twisted to land on both feet. Once again Alix was facing downhill and even though she lost a lot of speed with the last move she was gaining again.

Third: there was a little makeshift ramp, Alix huffed again and pushed herself downhill. She would make it this time. Going as fast as she thought was safe, she skated on top of the ramp and keeping her legs straight she let it lift her, Alix let herself fly for a bit letting her legs carry up as her upper body fell before tucking her legs in to quicken the flip. However, instead of flipping too fast like last time, slipping, and slamming onto her shoulder, she went higher than she anticipated and shot her legs out to reach the ground quicker and ungracefully swung her arms about to prevent her from falling backwards again. She thumped onto the ground but before she could celebrate her success of landing on two feet she tripped from the unbalance and yelled “FU**!” before smashing into the ground.

Alix groaned from the pain and thanked the Kwami’s she always wore her helmet, if not she was sure she'd have much more than just a scratched chin.

“Are you okay?” a panicked man’s voice entered her ears and without moving to see who it was she gave a thumbs up.

“Holy sh** that was AWESOME!” another man’s voice invaded her ears again. Great. American tourists.

Alix pushed herself up to see who it was speaking to find, what most would call, a handsome gentleman with black hair and clear blue eyes filled with worry. She looked over at the other man who looked pretty much the same except with a weird strip of white hair and was typing furiously on his phone.

“Oi!” she pointed at the white striped hair dude, “di**head, did you take a video? Where are you sending it?”

“Jason!” the first with the blue eyes looked back at his… partner? “Don’t send that to anyone, alright?” The guy looked between the man in front of Alix then to her before shrugging.

“I wasn’t going to.” Alix still stared at him while he went back to his phone but walked up to the two on the ground.

“Are you sure you're ok, miss?” the man in front of her asked. She looked back at him and raised an eyebrow.

“I've been doing this since I was eight. I’ve had worse.” the guy nodded then smiled brightly.

“That was very impressive though.” He stood up and offered his hand which she took and stood up with him. “Do you mind if I join you? I would love it if I could. I’ve never actually done flips and stuff with skates but I think I can handle it. So can I?” His smile was so big and innocent that Alix laughed at him.

“I’m sorry but this isn’t exactly something you can just pick up and be good at, I’ve fallen enough times I won’t break a bone and while he,” Alix pointed at the other guy, “might be able to take a few crashes you don’t look like you’ve ever been in a serious harm. Like ever. No offence or anything I just don’t want some broken bones blamed on me.” She replied as nicely as she could but the man just started laughing.

“How about I show you what I can do on skates first and if you deem me unworthy I’ll take my leave.” Alix narrowed her eyes at him then gave him a slow nod. “Great!” he whipped out his phone and started texting someone while Alix just turned around and headed for her water bottle. These guys were weird.

Ten minutes later another guy showed up, Tim, as Alix was informed earlier, also had black hair and blue eyes except he seemed younger and was skinnier than the other two, and was carrying three pairs of new skates. Alix gawked at him, those were some of the nicest, most expensive pairs of skates in Paris and he had three. Yup. These were some rich fools.

Dick, as he introduced himself as (Alix laughed at him for such an unfortunate name), squealed and rushed to put on a pair of skates and wheeled around doing impressive jumps and moves that he really had no right doing while Jason yelled “I told you not to get me a pair!” the new boy shrugged and put his own on. Alix sighed and shook her head, accepting that these particular rich fools would be quite stubborn.

“Ok. I’m ready.” Alix turned towards Dick who looked at her expectantly.

“Ok. What are you waiting for, am I supposed to help you with something or…?”

“Oh! Uh… can I do the course? He pointed downhill at her makeshift course and she nodded.

“Sure. Don’t blame me when you crack your head open, you should really get a helmet by the way.”

“Oh don’t worry,” he waved her off and smiled like he wasn’t in actual danger, “I do stuff like this all the time.” He readied himself and went through her course, not as dramatic as she had done but toned down motions and movements and when he got to the ramp he jumped as far up as he could but didn’t flip. He skated back up and went through again adding a little more complicated movements through it. Alix watched with interest as Tim skated up to her side and stuck a hand out.

“Hello, I’m Tim.”

“I know.” Alix accepted his hand shake, “I’m Alix,” she replied before returning to watching Dick go through the course.

“I hope we’re not bothering you too much. I saw the video and I really wanted to meet you and I knew Dick here would love to do some stunts of his own. Did he already tell you what you did wrong with that flip that made you lose your balance?”

“Huh? He’s good but I don’t think he’ll be flipping on skates anytime soon.”

“Oh, actually we all kind of do crazy stunts like this on a daily basis and he specializes in acrobats so I just figured he told you already.”

“Ok! I think I’m ready!” Dick called out after his fourth round skating up the hill.

“No,” Alix breathed out. “He’s not gonna do the backflip is he?”

“Yup,” Tim lightly chuckled. “Sorry we’re all a little crazy.”

“This is for you, Alix.”

“Wait, no-” but Dick ignored her and started through the course again. He skated skillfully around the cones and did a perfect pirouette over the fourth cone as if he’d been doing it for years and did his own little crazy stint with a backflip then raced towards the ramp and with straight legs he let his legs fly up and his head drop much longer than she was comfortable with, then tucked his legs in but not as much as she did and landed perfectly and glided down the hill with his arms raised up like a gymnast.

“What!?” Alix yelled. She was highly peeved. She’s been trying this for the past week and he tries and lands on the first try!? Unfair. So unfair.

“Can I try?” Tim asked. Alix whipped her head to him and scoffed.

“Not you too? You're going to just flip like it's nothing too? No. No no no. Dick!” she yelled out unintentionally calling him the American curse word in the process to the man who turned around and started towards them.

“Yeah?” Alix waited until he stopped in front of her.

“How did you do that?”

“I just waited a bit longer before tucking my knees in. I noticed that you tucked too early and brought your knees too close to your chest which made you over flip. And by waiting a little longer you would have dropped a little further so you wouldn’t have struggled with being too high.” Alix huffed in annoyance.

“Ok… ok…. My turn, I’m going to get it this time.”

Alix went to the beginning of the course and took a deep breath, blocking everything out and shot out. She did her tricks and jumps and when she got to the ramp she felt a rush of adrenaline from the slight fear. She went up as high as she could and her legs went up and her upper body dropped. She waited past her comfort zone and looked down to the approaching ground. Then everything clicked. She tucked her legs in, following Dick’s words, and straightened them out again until they were slightly bent and landed. She whooped and pumped her fists in the air. She’d finally done it! She turned back around to find Jason on the side with his camera out and cheering her on while Tim and Dick did the same but without their phones. She laughed and skated back up the hill.

“I finally got it!”

“Yes!” Tim held out a hand and she high-fived it. “That was awesome! You are amazing!” Alix grinned widely at the praise.

“Thanks! I just have to land at least ten more times in a row,” she said as she readied herself to go again.

“Wait, I can’t go yet?”

“My course, my rules.” Tim smiled and nodded his head.

“Good point.”

For the next two hours Alix skated with the two boys and conversed with Jason when she was taking a break. That’s how she found out they were in Paris because of Marinette and refused to have two boys fighting over Marinette when she was already taken, well not yet but they were determined to get their brother Damian and Marinette together. She then decided she liked Jason, despite him taking unwanted videos though they turned out to be fun to watch (she cringed when she saw herself faceplant in the first video). It was nice to see people like the three of them looking out for Marinette, heaven knows she doesn’t have a guardian angel because she gets into way too much trouble without even trying, though the three of them were also troublemakers and chaos was basically Alix’s occupation. It was 19 hours (7:00) when they had to go but Alix was very excited when they invited her over with them to meet Marinette who they hadn’t seen in several years.

---

Marinette sighed from exhaustion as she pushed the front door of her parent’s bakery open. She had been working nonstop with Jagged Stone on his new stage outfits, she loved the guy but he was a handful sometimes.

“Marinette!” She looked up and gave her mother a tired smile while the woman handed a pastry to a customer. “Have a wonderful day,” she told the customer before walking around the counter as the man left and hugged her daughter. “We have some guests who came to visit you.” Mrs. Cheng smiled brightly at Marinette who scrunched her brows together in confusion.

“Who?” Her mother shook her head and pushed her towards the entrance to their home.

“You’ll see.”

Marinette walked through the door to find Alix wrestling Jason Todd to the ground while the man was pushing her face away with a pillow and Tim Drake watching, but not really watching, as he sipped on something she assumed was coffee, and Dick Grayson who was ignoring them all, laying on the couch watching spongebob in french. She cleared her throat to get their attention but nothing happened.

“Excuse me.” she called out but again, nothing.

“ExCUSE me.” Nothing besides Alix’s ‘hmph’ as Jason flipped her over and stood up, lightly smacking her with the pillow while yelling. “Taste defeat!”

“HEY!” Marinette finally yelled out. All four heads snapped to her and everything was silent for a moment before chaos erupted and all the three boys started shouting and squealing (Dick) and clamoring for hugs.

“Mari!”

“Nettie!”

“MY FAVORITE SISTER!”

Marinette made a strangled noise as they all squeezed the life out of her. Marinette was smiling and laughing with them but was very glad when she was finally back on her own feet.

“What are you guys doing here?”

“What, we can’t visit our little sister?” Jason asked innocently and Marinette crossed her arms and looked at him with disbelief etched in every part of her.

“Ok so we heard about your situation in your class and-”

“Hey!” Alix suddenly cut in and stuttered when all eyes were on her. “I mean, hey, so I was just hanging out with these guys all day and they’re all hungry, let’s fix them something to eat?” She looked at Marinette in question then clapped her hands together and nodded once to confirm it with herself. “Yes.”

Marinette looked at her suspiciously then at her pseudo brothers who suddenly started nodding in confirmation.

“Yes, food.”

“Yup.”

“Hunger is a thing I have.” Jason’s stomach grumbled as if on cue which broke Marinette’s suspicion and she giggled at him.

“Ok, spaghetti it is. Blue Bird, you're on cutting duty, Tim-Tam, you get the ingredients, Jay-Jay…. Alix, keep Jason busy.”

After a few minutes bustling around the kitchen Marinette suddenly remembered something and she turned to Dick, “Where’s the old man?”

After dinner was made Dick bounded into her room claiming Damian was napping on her balcony which Marinette smiled to in triumph but when Damian came downstairs her triumph washed away along with her soul.

Marinette was doing fine all day. She was completely rational and fine. She was fine. Currently she is NOT fine. She is NOT ok. And as for Damian? He was fine alright. Oh boy was he fine. As soon as he walked down from her trapdoor her jaw dropped to the floor.

---

Alix shook her head, she was having quite the time watching Marinette’s reaction to her childhood friend but felt a rush of relief that she didn’t have Marinette Problems.

“Seriously, Marinette? Close your mouth.” The girl snapped her mouth shut and tore her eyes away from Damian to land on the skater.

“Alix,” she hissed, “why is he so damn hot?” Alix smirked at her friend’s rare use of a curse word and watched as Marinette’s face started to pinken and she ducked behind the kitchen counter. Alix leaned over the counter and saw the tip of her friend’s head.

“Relax,” she tried to be reassuring but couldn’t stop grinning. She heard footsteps get closer and whispered, “he’s coming,” before plopping back onto her seat.

Damian walked into Marinette’s view and stopped to look at her on the floor with a scowl that Alix was sure was not helping Marinette’s situation.

“What are you doing on the floor, Dupain-Cheng?” Alix snickered while Marinette shot up on her feet.

“He’s a male Chloe Bourgeois!” she said mostly to herself.

“None of your business. I see you haven’t changed a bit, Old Man.” Damian scoffed.

“Neither have you, it seems, Sunshine Face.” Wow. Bad nickname.

“Oh,” Marinette placed her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side, “so you still admit my face is pretty?” Oooo, where did Marinette get her game?

“What? No. More like I can’t look at it for too long because-”

Marinette began waving her hands back and forth to get him to stop, “ok ok ok,” where was she getting this confidence? She was literally hiding from him five seconds ago. “When you explain it, it loses the humor, did you learn nothing all those years ago?” Marinette shakes her head and Alix silently agrees, “pity. Anyways, my cooking has improved, as well as everything about me, I have clearly surpassed you, and here is some spaghetti we made while you were napping.” She grabbed a plate and waved her hand towards the food still on the stove while handing it to him, “help yourself.” She walked by him and headed to the couch where Jason and Dick had settled and plopped between them while they played video games. Alix nodded in approval as she watched Marinette walk away. When she turned back she found Damian watching her as well with cheeks slightly tinted pink. Wow. Does every boy she talks to fall for her? Even Kagami, poor soul, had fallen for Marinette as quickly as she could say “Begone, Adrien.”

This is going to be a fun week.

---

Marinette groaned in despair. Nino walked in with a blue shirt with a white outline of Adrien’s face like he was some kind of pop star and a red hat that of course said “Team Adrien”

“What's next,” Marinette mumbled to herself while leaning back and crossing her arms, “Team Damian?” Marinette heard a gasp and turned to see Alix staring at her like she had the greatest idea ever.

Very suddenly things clicked for Marinette. Her classmates were picking sides of who she should date. Adrien or Luka. It was literally the only connection she could find between the two boys, they only had about one or two conversations together in their entire lives and Marinette was definitely terrible at keeping her crushes secret so there was no way that at least Kitty Section would know about it. And thinking about Kitty Section they were the ones who started it. Oh no. Marinette made those shirts. Does Luka know? Probably. Adrien definitely doesn’t. Wwwooowww. Some friends she has.

And now Alix.

That BRAT! She was typing something on her phone… oh no.

“Alix,” Marinette said slowly as if approaching a rabid dog while unraveling her arms from her body. “Alix, no!” She jumped from her seat and lunged for the skater over Mylene who merely leaned back in her seat as if she’d been through this a million times. Alix jumped back while continuing to type then very clearly pressing send. “Noooooo…” Marinette slumped onto Mylene’s lap who patted the top of her head in pity.

She laid there for a moment taking in Mylene’s silent comfort before slowly standing up and ignoring everyone’s stares. She straightened her clothes saying a polite, “thank you, Mylene,” and a nod at her before focusing her gaze on Alix. “You’re dead, Kubdel,” she said then turning around and sitting straight backed on her seat trying desperately to ignore another snapshot of Adrien in a Gabriel line of workout clothes showing off his muscles on the back of Nino’s new shirt.

Marinette was slowly losing her mind.

---

The next day Alix walked in with a black shirt with green bold font saying “TEAM DAMIAN” on the front and she could feel Marinette staring daggers at her. She purposefully exposed her back to the class so they could see the “FIND YOUR OWN GIRL” printed on the back.

Alix ignored the stares while pulling out her school things until she heard Lila’s sickening sweet voice call out to, “who’s Damian?” Alix waited for a beat to make sure everyone was listening before smiling smugly, she couldn’t help it, and shrugging.

“Damian Wayne, obviously.”

---

Marinette would deny it but she felt a sick sort of satisfaction when Lila’s face paled.

BONUS:

“Plagg!” Adrien sounded exasperated and the little god chuckled evilly. It was such fun to tease his holder. The boy hadn’t caught on that his infatuation with Ladybug was just that: infatuation. He couldn’t see that he merely admired the girl, his father saw to it that Adrien was so sheltered that he couldn’t separate his feelings of the different types of love.

“Just saying, I know what you're doing there, “chaton”,” plagg mimicked Luka’s voice perfectly on the last word which instantly made Adrien become very red in the face, “you and I know what team you play for.” He threw the boy a wink and cackled before leaving him to ponder his words as he searched for more Camembert.

---

Felix rolled his eyes at his phone and quickly pressed the unfollow button on his cousin. What an embarrassment. He had absolutely no clue what he was throwing away because of his naïvety.

---

“I can feel your rage from here, Kagami.”

“Sorry, mother.” Kagami’s mother nodded her head as an acceptance of her apology.

“I’ve heard about that pesky little feud Gabriel’s child is in.” She stayed quiet for a moment but Kagami didn’t break the silence. “You are a Tsurugi, Kagami. No hesitation.” Kagami couldn’t stop the little smile that slid onto her face.

“Yes, mother,” she said quietly.

-------

Team Luka:

Lila, Juleka, Rose, Ivan, Sabrina, Adrien

Team Adrien:

Alya, Chloe, Nino, Kim, Max, Mylene

Team Damian:

Alix, Dick, Tim, Jason, Bruce

some long ass notes:

I didn’t add kagami and felix into the mix because it would really complicate things but for clarification in my mind Marinette and everyone is between 14-16 and Marinette doesn’t know it but she does have feelings for kagami but she's focused on the other two boys, she knows she likes boys and doesn't want to think about girls since it would complicate her situation and open a door to many more problems with her poor little teen heart. Kagami knows she likes Marinette though, she took one look at marinette and said “nope. Bye Adrien.”

SO i think it be pretty cool if whoever wants to can reply with their own versions of whatever ships they want and the characters interactions with them. I won’t be actually putting any characters together as to leave the imagination up to the reader but if you want you can go ahead and add yourselves to whatever team you want (:

Part 1

@miracleofadisaster @consumeconstantly @mermaidreject @alenee13 @how-to-fuction-properly @dreamykitty25 @certifiedbidisaster @kris-pines04 @ira-sairain @crystalangelluna @i-wanna-be-a-ninja @our-preciousss @iamabrownfox @susiej1118 @thenillabean @tired-butterfly @fantasyislive @prudencerika @thequeenofpotatoeunicornss @clumsy-owl-4178 @notmycupoftea26 @iamablinkmarvelarmy

#adrinette #lukanette #daminette #what team #miraculous ladybug #ladybug #lil bit of lila salt but she's struggling #adrien x marinette #luka x marinette #damian x marinette #ok its too long i dont wanna reread it imma post it

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lovecolibri · 3 years ago

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Things that did NOT Spark Joy-3x11

Well. As much fun as I had watching another episode without m*ria (two in a row?! Bless) and I talked about all my favorite bits here. But I do think this episode ended up suffering a lot from mistakes made and time wasted earlier in the season, leading to a bit of a snowball effect where a LOT of exposition had to happen all at once, plus the domino effect of some pretty non-nonsensical plot/writing choices that all managed to stall the train out here in this episode. This will probably get pretty long, and ranty, but as I’ve said before I would happily watch this episode in it’s entirety in replacement of each individual moment m*ria was on screen this season so as 😒😒😒 as I am about the plot stuff, I can’t say I didn’t at least enjoy myself while I was watching, and was able to save (for the most part) my critiques until after I watched the whole thing and then started on my notes. So, lets get to the salt! I think this one will need to be broader categories, followed by bullet points so let’s see if I can make that work!

First off: WHY in the everloving FUCK are they doing an infiltration/wounded hostage recovery operation (you know Max saw that blood outside from the sheriff’s GSW) WITHOUT their a) DOCTOR, and b) at least one of the TWO characters with COMBAT TRAINING and medals from their time in the military, one of whom is MICHAEL’S SOULMATE and has been spending a very large portion of his life trying to keep Michael safe?

WHY?! Of all the asinine episodes to have BOTH Alex and Kyle missing this is probably the worst. This is not the first time and for sure won’t be the last even within this post where I will drag the funeral vision plot for being pointless but IF they wanted to make it a Whole Thing, they could have put it in ONE episode and had that be one missing both Kyle and Alex so they could be in this one.

Not only are both of them friends with Liz, but Kyle specifically is her HS sweetheart, and someone who is as close to her as family, even before the whole “Rosa is Kyle’s sister too” reveal. To not have Kyle looped in or even mentioned in an episode where she was kidnapped by Jones and all they know is someone has been injured?! Well, it makes about as much sense as Rosa forgetting Kyle existed after he was kidnapped and in a coma and still hasn’t seen or interacted with him even though he woke up at the start of 3x09 so basically 3 full episodes ago.

Why can’t this show TELL US WHERE PEOPLE ARE when they’re not in an episode? Because IF Alex and Kyle had to be missing from this episode, we’d better be told a damn good reason why. Alex’s WHOLE arc has been about putting himself in danger and denying what he wants in order to keep Michael safe. Malex JUST got back together. And now Michael’s going on a super dangerous mission against his evil father where anything could happen and you're telling me not only is Alex NOT THERE, but he isn't even mentioned to tell us why?! Nah fam.

At first I thought it might be because Kyle knew about Dallas and his instructions to kill Max, but Dallas told Max about that like, immediately, so it wasn’t some big thing that stunned everyone later.

HOW did they get an episode where, after spending their first night together in LITERAL. YEARS. Malex gets called about a Big Deal Situation and we didn’t get to see them showing up clearly rumpled and hastily dressed and/or both dripping from a recent shower, possibly in each other’s clothes?! How does that make sense?! We could have had raised eyebrows from everyone but no one says anything trying to stay on task, except for a moment where each character pulls Michael or Alex aside throughout the episode to say how happy they are for them and both Michael and Alex groan and say they don’t want to talk about it, but their faces are still beaming and blushing a little and it’s clear they’re happy. WHY is this show allergic to picking up where the last episode left off?! We had the perfect set up for a 1x03 morning after parallel where Isobel comes to get Michael after he isn’t answering Max’s calls. That’s a HUGE missed emotional beat. Especially if Isobel showed up with breakfast for 3. Because it’s been....3 episodes since Malex got together and yet we’ve had NO mention of it from ANYONE else? And if they’re keeping it on DL, then fine, but also they were doing that before and literally every rando that ran into seemed to know about them being in love so it’s once again, SUPER WEIRD that their friends know nothing or don’t say anything about it. Again, it’s a tv show, it doesn’t matter if the characters are “private” there is literally no other way for the audience to know what is happening in the character’s heads and off screen unless they show/tell us about it. Even someone asking and getting shut down gives us some information. Unlike the aliens, we aren’t mind readers.

ALSO, Michael was making alien handcuffs and testing them and we didn’t get to see that scene happening with Alex because he wasn’t even in the episode?! The sheer comedic value that scene could have had makes me weep for what we’ve lost. If those don’t come back at some point and we don’t get a scene with Alex and Michael at least talking about them, I will riot. Absolutely ridiculous. They should have been making those sooner, in an episode Alex WAS in, maybe the one where they were hunting Jones and maybe could have used the cuffs to pull him out of m*ria’s mind and we could have gotten Alex and Michael testing them out and trying to be adults about it but having a hard time, perhaps? OR, Alex should have been in this episode because it makes zero sense for him not to be especially since they didn’t tell us he was being held captive somewhere which is probably the only thing that would keep him off a mission like this, or Michael lying to him about what is going down in which case we should have seen that so we would know what TF is going on.

Second: The New Power Plot

I adore Sanders, but this conversation with Michael about his powers should have been had during the one they referenced before that we should have seen where Michael was talking about his rocky path forward with Alex. Because Michael talking with Sanders about Alex right at the start of their relationship was something we were all pissed about not getting to see, BUT, Michael being afraid of a power he has that could possible have been controlling Alex and getting him to stick around that he needs to tell Alex about it but is scared?! And Walt tells him he’s more like his mom that his dad and how soft and squishy he is on the inside and how he doesn’t carry darkness in him and tying that all back to Alex?! That would have been great to see. Not that I think Michael should have this power at ALL, but if they were going to do it, we should have been seeing hints all season of this. Like, ya know, when he was goading the racists to hit him.

But more importantly, this plot shouldn’t belong to Michael at all. I don’t know if it’s because they gave the empath powers to Isobel so they didn’t want to give her anything else or what. Those have been...not the most useful this season so why even go that route? As I said here Isobel can already pop into people's minds why does she need the empath power? And having her struggling with having the same power Noah had is waaaaaaay more compelling that putting that on Michael, especially since Isobel has been the one most struggling with consent on the mind powers front.

Also, since we’re here, as fun as watching Isobel and Jones duke it out with pool cues or swords, we already got that in 3x08, and 3x11, and now again coming up in the finale episodes which is starting to feel redundant, especially because Isobel keeps winning or at the very least, not losing. We should have seen Jones being able to take Isobel down but not killing her, yet, to build up the tension for the “final battle” thing they’ve got going on. I remember him getting under Isobel's skin and I think her facing defeat, like Jones almost killing her and m*ria before Liz kicks him out, would make her choosing to step up even though she's scared and could be risking her life a much more powerful and compelling story AND makes Rosa's advice hit harder. Also, you can’t just pick up how to sword fight right away so we should have seen Isobel not been well matched with Jones, to make it look like she would be sacrificing something by taking him on again in the finale. Though honestly, if Isobel should have gotten the mind-hopping power, Michael should have gotten the “taking on his evil father” job this season. I have very much enjoyed watching Isobel and Jones, but the ultimate fight being between them instead of Michael or Max doesn’t really make sense. We have seen the thread of connection to Jones all season with Max and Michael, while there is no connection at all for Isobel beyond their banter moments and Louise also fighting him with a sword. If Isobel is the one to take him down, we should have seen a stronger connecting thread between them. Which, ultimately it could be Max or Michael that takes him down, but still having all the big physical fight scenes not be with his son or his clone is...a weird choice.

Third: The Wyatt/Racist/Funeral Vision Plot. This whole thing is full of missed emotional beats, throw it out. What a waste of time Wyatt and the whole racist town/sheriff/Roswell Regiment and funeral vision plot has been.

Rosa talking about getting out of this town and going to art school should happen with someone she loves and is close to like, say, her DAD, or her sister who is working on listening and being more supportive, or her half-brother who has been such a support for her and who also almost died but hasn’t shared any scenes with her since he was kidnapped. 🙄

WHY give us this new racist sheriff when a) Kyle getting impaled and almost dying next to the Sheriff’s office where his mom works would have been the PERFECT way to let Michelle in on the secret (and Arturo could be in the know and we could get a scene of the two of them talking about being worried/proud of their kids. *grabby hands*), but also it would have allowed us to see a character we know and actually care about, Michelle, being shot and controlled by Jones which is someone Liz, the other characters, and the audience, are a LOT more invested in seeing healed/freed/NOT killed by Jones. This lady? She called in known white supremacists who are likely also classified as some kind of terrorist organization by FBI standers, to “help control” a peaceful protest. Literally NO ONE cares if Jones kills her.

I’m pretty sure Wyatt with all his talk of the future, is going to be our funeral victim. Especially given everyone’s reactions as a whole, taking into account Isobel’s “empath” thing (which I swear if they only had that in order make the vision plot have more twists I will riot), and the likelihood of Wyatt ultimately sacrificing himself to save someone and Max being...Max about it, it all tracks so much more than that having been Kyle’s actual funeral in which case neither Alex or Liz’s reactions make sense, same with Walt, which Alex would also not cover up and Michael wouldn’t be casually talking to Bert about police reports. SO, if nothing was changed by them seeing this play out earlier except someone calling Max to check on Kyle which easily could have been played differently (and better) by having Kyle call Max (whom he’s stated he doesn’t particularly care for) for help, what was even the point. Why did we waste like, nearly half the flipping season on this plot?! We could have focused on other things much earlier and had the vision come in to play near the end, or just, not at all and just done a finale promo teaser with flashed of the coffin, and some voice-overs to show someone was dying at the end of the season.

Fourth: The Liz/Jones/Heath Science Stuff. Everyone has already talked about how little any of the science stuff makes sense so I won’t harp too much on that, but I think this all is another instance of the show waiting waaaaaaayyyy too long to introduce important plot things. Because, as mentioned above, we for some reason needed multiple episodes to establish the funeral vision thing which has amounted to nothing and has not affected the plot one single bit since like, 3x05, but we DIDN’T need multiple episodes to build the rest of these storylines. Sure, Jan.

Soooo, Liz should have made a deal with the devil long ago, Dangling the lure of new science for Liz earlier, maybe if m*ria was actually showing effects of the supposed brain damage, would have been more interesting I think than throwing that out right at the end and not giving it time to build across the season. (Or they should have drug out the Morally Grey Jones all season until the end, and carried Evil Jones into next season because I find him fascinating and don’t want to let him go.)

We spent so much time wondering if Heath was evil and tied to something shady with Gynorx (or whatever TF it’s called) or Deep Sky, and then finding out Deep Sky might be okay but Eduardo thinks there is a mole and wondering if THAT’S the connection with Heath, when we should have always been shown that Heath was using Liz to get info to help someone! We should have known he was shady, seeing him making calls and stuff, or stealing information, skipped most of the “love triangle that no one actually bought anyway” thing, and after having had Dallas for a few episodes too, THEN made the connection reveal that shows us Heath isn’t evil, he’s trying to help save his friend. Just like Liz is doing.

Speaking of the mole, why did Eduardo bring up that he was worried about a mole in Deep Sky as a reason to keep Kyle in a barn far away, if that person is NOT HEATH?! Now, there’s still time to reveal Heath IS tied to Deep Sky (maybe that’s how they get in for the trailer clip we’ve seen) but then, why not let us see that sooner?! Alex never crossed paths with Heath, we could have known about it ALL ALONG and been yelling at our screens about it!

And most importantly, if Heath isn’t the Deep Sky Mole, we could have avoided wasting one of Kyle’s episodes on a brief clip of him being in a coma and just...had him in Deep Sky and shown that Kylex clip in a different episode.

Fifth: Miscellaneous things that bother me so I’m going to bitch about them

Dallas’s age in his story doesn’t track since he’s about the same age as everyone else, but apparently the resistance took years? But how was there a resistance for years if Jones just...burned the whole planet? Was it only some people he killed? Was he a dictator before then? If he burned everyone then how was he still there to see the field of flowers but also escape on the same ship as Norah&Co? I’m guessing he only killed some but it...wasn’t very clear and the timeline for Michael especially as the dictator’s son doesn’t track if he was like, 7 when he went in the pod but is the same age as Dallas basically. Definitely not 7 years younger. Did Norah already have him before Jones threated Dallas and started getting clones made? In that case, what about Max? He’s ALSO not 7 years younger than Michael. Someone make a timeline I’m begging.

Jones said he healed sheriff and she looked fine when she went after Max and Dallas. So why was Liz talking about blood loss and getting her checked out?

There is no way that sword was in the Long Farm driveway under half an inch of gravel. If it was anywhere, it should have been in the barn. You know, where Louise lived and spent most of her time. Or out on the reservation. Where she spent the rest of her life after Roy was killed.

Speaking of, Isobel, stop using your powers in broad daylight and hauling alien swords around where anyone can see.

You're telling me in ALLLL the tests Liz and Kyle ran on Michael to save Max last season NO ONE noticed that they have at least a partial DNA match? And if they DID, then why the shock at Michael handling Jones's sword? How did they figure out that ONLY someone with Max's DNA could touch the sword without getting burned? There's only Isobel and Michael that knew about the sword at all! Did Jones tell them that before they put him in the pod? Because if they tested it, they would have found out Michael could touch it ages ago!

Isobel said she could tell the sword to deactivate but that doesn't make Jones's not burning through that case in 3x07 make sense, but on that note, can Jones be killed with his own sword since it doesn’t burn someone with his DNA? And the swords are so thick and clunky and unwieldy, they don’t look like they are actually sharp to be able to cut something.

#roswell nm #season 3 spoilers #things that did not spark joy #3x11 #very late this week because I have a brain that's bad #i'm sure i had more but i've either talked about it already or i forgot #but i'm tired and need to eat dinner

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neeterloveschenford · 3 years ago

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RNM 3x07

Hello my fellow lovers of all things alien! Another episode down and six more to go. First I’d like to start by congratulating Heather Hemmens! What an accomplishment! I hope you can continue to pursue your passion for directing. Also I would like to once again put forth my deepest desire for someone to rescue Lucky out into the universe. He’s a good boi! He deserves better!! And on that note, let’s dive into this episode.

I know I can get flip floppy when it comes to Maria, but just a few days ago she was jumping off rooftops and shooting up adrenaline to try jump start her powers. Now she’s strong enough to put Jones in a cage? Maybe if there had been a time jump, but we’re still on day 7. I don’t buy it. I don’t think they know what to do with her even after 3 seasons. I’m not expecting any kind of comeuppance for last season. I think they are completely correct in sweeping that all under the rug. It’s not the show for something like that. If this were Dawson’s Creek or One Tree Hill, sure. But I want to see sci-fi and aliens more than friendship and relationship drama. So I’m not sure where they think they are going to end up with her, but so far it’s been hit or miss for me.

Next we have Liz being all sciencey. I love seeing her, Michael and Isobel working together. But I gotta say, her plan was kinda rubbish. I mean, Jones has been one step ahead of everyone and Liz is gonna Mata Hari him? Don’t think so

Dear Deputy Pete, why are all men so dumb. Every moron on this show hates Max but wants to get into Isobel’s pants. I get it, but it’s so cliche.

Hello Father Dallas! Betcha Rosa’s not gonna miss mass this week! I like him. He quoted Biggie. I already like his relationship with Rosa ten times more than her relationship with Wyatt. I liked his advice too. He works on the Res. Does he know Greg? I wanna know. And he was in a bts picture with Vlamis and Trevino a few days ago. Guess we’ll be seeing more of him.

Alex keeps talking about Afghanistan this season. The last two seasons he only talked about Iraq. I know he served both places, but shouldn’t his line have been something along the lines of he survived the deserts of Afghanistan and Iraq instead of just one of them? Maybe I’m just being nitpicky.

Why is Kyle just being kept in a barn? Is there someone with medical knowledge there taking care of him? Did Eduardo just take him there and hook him up to that equipment and leave him there? What the heck is going on? That barn can’t be that sanitary. And where was Maria in that flashback? Did he just leave her there? Did her shooting Kyle up with adrenaline make things worse for Kyle? Does Eduardo have medical training? Does Kyle know he has an uncle? Who were the guys that were breaking into Max’s house. So many questions. So few answers.

Poor Lucky! Can we find him a new home please?!? HE’S A GOOD BOI!!

I like Isobel having female friends. She has grown so much since last season. But this plan is sooooo bad! Seriously. How did they think this would work? I know they were getting desperate, but seriously!

I’m gonna need Michael and Rosa to have a scene together every episode from here on out! I love their dynamic. And Michael is such a great teacher. Patient when she needed it. Challenging her when she needed it. And the sass coming from Rosa! Also, how stinking cute is it that Michael played baseball! I can just imagine my sweet little Guerin making a home run and being all smug about it. And I’d just like to point out that Heads Up 7Up was my favorite game when I was a kid. I would be devastated every single time we played at school and my thumb didn’t get put down. Memories.

Seriously Liz. How could you not realize Jones was onto you. When has Max ever referred to Maria as DeLuca? She has always been Maria to him. Wait. Hold up. Michael was the only one who ever refers to her as DeLuca. Was this a clue to the big reveal later on? We may never know.

I really love Greg, but he’s really kind of bland these days. I really hope when Maria gets out of that coma that he starts to challenge her. She needs Greg the former drag racer. Not Greg the super sweet boytoy. Michael let her run their relationship last season and look how that turned out.

Rosa’s new power is cool. That’s all I have to say on the matter.

So if Trevor went crazy and committed suicide while working on the Lockhart machine, how did Travis become so nuts? Did Alex referring to Trevor as the crazy boot maker who chased them through a corn field a continuity error? (I mean yeah, it’s gotta be.) Who’s in charge of checking things like this? Can I apply for this job? I think I might do a better job.

Obi-wan Junkyardy could be the best line this show has ever come up with. Especially now that Michael is, in fact, a jedi.

I think Liz has more chemistry with Jones than with Max. Nathan is an amazing actor. I had forgotten, since Max was so bland. But Jones reminds me of how much I loved him on General Hospital. Jones is just sexy. There’s no ifs ands or buts about it. And Liz knows she’s attracted to him. It’s impossible not to be. Cause he’s HOT! And as much as I wanted to bash my head against the table with how dumb her plan was, I loved watching the cat and mouse between them. And then she punched him. It was glorious!

I love that Eduardo knows about Malex. It was a nice parallel that last week we got the Michael and Sanders conversation, and then this week we got the Alex version. Even when they don’t have scenes together, they are still ever present in each other’s lives. I think Alex might not have even realized that the real reason he joined Deep Sky was Michael. And I don’t think that the Lockhart machine is going to drive him crazy like it did everyone else. Maybe Nora built it to be accessed by whoever Michael “bonds” with. He’ll figure it out and I’m very certain that it will hold the key to defeating Jones.

I would just like to point out that most of my theories get debunked pretty quickly. But I was 100% correct about Jones being the Dictator and Michael’s father. I am pretty darn proud of myself. I still think Louise might be Jones’ sister. Which would make Michael and Isobel cousins. That would be cool.

Also I love the fact that Rosa wound up saving the day. Cause she’s a badass.

Which brings us back to Maria and her mindscape. Jones is going to use her to access Patricia’s memories. But memories of what? The Lockhart machine? Whatever she was a part of at Caulfield? That part does interest me. But I do hope that Maria beats Jones by the skin of her teeth. Or maybe because of a fluke. If she kicks his ass or something I will be disappointed.

So lastly, I would just like to point out that today I read a review of this episode on another website and the reviewer referenced Gargamel. 👀👀 I don’t know how to feel about that.

Anyway, all in all it wasn’t a bad episode. But it’s not my fave. And I’m not even going to get into nobody worrying about Kyle. But next week I am expecting much bigger and much better things. Cause, you know, Malex and such. So until next time my lovelies!!

#roswell new mexico #roswell new mexico s3 #s3ep7 #s3 spoilers #s3 speculation #it's only my opinion

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popculturebuffet · 4 years ago

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Don Rosa: “The Magnificent Seven (Minus 4) Caballeros!” or City Slickers 3: The Crystal City

Saludos Amigos, the Ride of the Three Caballeros returns! After some time off to take care of other seasonal commissions and to finally get the life and times fo scrooge mcduck back on a steady pace, everyone’s three favorite chappies in snappy serapes are back for another go round. This time i’ts back to comics one last time as we take a look at “The Magnificent Seven (Minus 4) Caballeros: which was the penultimate story from Duck Maestro Don Rosa, and as a result the final one set in present day, as while the next one would have a wraparound segment, it’s a flashback tiding up the one last bit of Scrooge’s past Rosa hadn’t clicked into place yet, and thus we’ll get to that eventually as part of life and times. And honestly it serves as a fittng and satisfying conclusion to Donald’s story.

The geneisis of this one is rather simple in comparison to “The Three Caballeros Ride Again!”. Don Rosa REALLY enjoyed writing TTCRA, wanted to have another adventure with Donaldo and his boys, and given the previous story was a huge hit likely had no trouble convincing his publisher. And since he set the first story in Panchito’s home country of mexico, it only made sense to have the next story in Jose’s home country of Brazil. Adding to it Rosa specifically wanted to avoid using the amazon rainforest this go round, as to him pretty much every story involving Brazil focused on the massive and wonderful rainforest. And while a great setting, Rosa knew there was much more to the country and wanted to show it off. And to his credit.. he’s 100% right as i’ve seen dozens upon dozens of stories set in the rainforest but not nearly as many set ANYWHERE ELSE IN BRAZIL. If their lucky we get to see Rio, but that’s about it. So kudos to Rosa for wanting to display more of a beautiful country and show it had more to offer than merely it’s biggest attraction. As for what treasure they’d be after, the lost city of crystal stuck out to him, having been described in a goverment document that was so degraded when it was found there wasn’t much left to go on and searched for by a famous explorer who was the basis for indiana jones whose name I forgot but we’ll run into his name again later. So yeah not as much setup here and what tiny bit is left can be covered when we get to our villian. So with all that out of the way, let’s ride on!

We open with Scrooge firing Donald and throwing his ass out on the street, berating him for screwing up and then telling him to be back early tommorow to make up for his firing. Then Gladstone literally walks all over him becausae he’s a jackass, and Daisy then shrieks at donald for you know, being stuck on the floor, having messed up the shirt she ironed for him without.. actually you know asking for context, HITTING HIM, then telling him to pick her up for dinner at the ritz.

It’s like this intro was perfectly designed in a lab to piss me off. All three of the characters who on a good day ar excellent but on a bad are outright monsters, at their worst, treating Donald like crap, i.e. the reason to call them monsters, and generally abusing him for flimsy reasons. And again Daisy HIT DONALD. No that’s not right, she shoryukened his ass! She upercutted him! God damn. And her just casually doing that is played for laughs. In a lesser Rosa story this would only get worst and be “oh haw haw”.. instead... to my delighted suprise.. this is all treated seriously. Yeah really. Instead of being treated for laughs like normal, and not being a dark enough work comedically to make it work like say It’s Always Sunny, Donald is seriously depressed, beaten down phsycially and mentlaly and when the boys, who’ve been present for all of this and tried to help him up off the ground, ask why he takes this.. the answer is pretty damn bleak.

Just.. holy shit that’s dark.. and I applaud Rosa for not only recognizing this isn’t always funny, but for actually tackling it. And I will grant Donald being a butt monkey CAN be funny, especially when it’s caused by his own ego. It’s the basis of his entire career. It’s good stuff. My issue has been more that Rosa sometimes dosen’t get that either some aspects have aged poorly, even by the 90′s, and thus dosen’t adjust them or play them more for drama, sprinkling a bit of that in with the comedy. So to see him do that HERE, to acknowledge in some way his own faults and do something with them.. i’m very proud of him and it warms my heart that he could do something like this that shows he could grow and change, even SECONDS from the end of his career, but with no intention of ending his career at that point or even after finishing his next and last story. It just ended up happening that way and as such this story carries even more weight as for all intensive purposes, this is the final tale of Donald Duck for Don Rosa’s Barksian universe. This is the last big tale before whatever triggers Scrooge’s retirement, the last tale he wrote in the here and now. And while not perfect for some reasons we’ll get to from a character perspective? It’s a pretty good note to go out on.

Anyways Donald somehow makes this SADDER by mentoing, when Huey, Dewey or Louie tries to make him smile that he hasn’t smiled in some time before sadly loping off to make their dinner before buying daisy’s.

Yeah... I just.. I need a moment.... Here’s my asistant iwth an important message

Okay i’ve regained my composuer.. and yes I will be shwoing that off at every opportunity. I have generous friends. Now where were we? Ah yes with their uncle in a depression hole, can relate, they figure he needs a nice gift to get him out of it. The boys think he needs friends.. and of course the boys come to mind, though the fact their on the other end of the contient proves a problem.. but Huey, Dewey or Louie has a solution and takes the boys to the Woodchucks because of course they do> Their primary go to for anything is the guide which to be fair contains the entire sum of the world’s knowledge in a guidebook.

So the boys, with the other two likely filled in on the way, plan becomes clear when they stop by Woodchuck HQ and talk to the guy in charge of the badge department, which ahs a fun acronym because of course it does, this is one of Rosa’s faviorite running gags and mine as well.. I just don’t have it in me stamina wise to type the whole thing out. Point is the boys ask that Donald be used as courier for a special shipment of badge’s to Rio. The authority guy is understandably a bit reluctant to give a non-woodchuck this duty, but the boys remind him that in a previous story, not sure if it’s barks or rosa’s, Donald apparently not only found the last remaning pieces of fort duckberg but saved them from the mill. As a result the Fort, which was the original HQ of the woodchucks until Scrooge threw them out, was apparently rebuilt. So the guy in charge is more than willing to not only give donald the duty, but an open ended plain ticket, i.e a vacation. The Nephews do have to guilt him a bit more to get donald a condsensed pamphlet based on the brazil chapter of the guidebook which at this point seems like overkill. Just.. buy him a guidebook boys. IT’s a bit much to ask that a portion of your heavily guarded and protected text be given to your uncle for a vacation and seems like a tad of a stretch but the gag, including the boys getting badges in guilt and convincing, makes it work.

So after the boys set off to telegram the rest of the Cabs, we cut to donald arriving in rio, passing christ the redeemer on the way

The Rio Woodchucks greet donald and take the package for him, giving him new orders to go by cable car to the observation deck atop Sugar Loaf Mountain. This is a real mountain in Brazil and frustrated Rosa because he couldn’t find any pictures of what the station looked like in the 1950′s, despite as he put in his notes having eager fans from the region, researchers and other contacts try to find it, settling for having vintage cable cars pulling into modern stations he got from photos from said contacts. If I hadn’t said it before i’ll say it now the man is a BEAST when it comes to getting things acurate, only bending it if it helsp the story and still making sure his drawings are as accurate as possible. It’s one of Rosa’s most adimirable traits.

Donald took a Donde, some form of streetcar there, hanging on the back and .. uh I have no words for this..

Donald Duck ran into a horse and it farted in his face. Just... why though. This horse naturally is Senior Marteniz, with Panchito currently being thrown out of a cable car for trying to put his horse in there which is fair. What isn’t is people having an issue with his hat. I mean.. people wear hats. I know it’s a bit big for the tight fit of the cable car but still it’s a bit weird to throw a strop about anywhere outside a theater or sports place where he’d be actively obstructing people’s view. And it appears to be the same weirdly crazy asshole.. Imean again the horse thing is resonable but calling it a “crazy hat” I mean yes it’s a big hat.. but ... you you do know mexico exists right? And sombreros? or other cultures at all you weirdly specific douche?

At the top, after a quick and funny hat swap gag, Panchito reveals the triplets called him here.. as did Jose who assuemd it was lovely senorita.. who uppercuts him. And it’s STILL more reasonable to uppercut some rando hitting on you, if not by much, than Daisy’s Domestic Abuse. Anyways the three put things together and Donald realizes via flashback the boys hoped his smile would return and said he’d have help.

Donald, being utterly beaten down by life, apologizes.. but it turns out the boys needed this as much as he did. Jose’s night club career is flopping hard, with his agent unable to get him bookings and Panchito has barely scraped any money together for his ranch dream from last time. It’s a nice touch: That the boys , while having more exciting careers have just as much strife as Donald does and as much problem. It helps make them feel as real as donald, as characters with their own lives and adventures outside of him and their own wants and needs and it really helps the story come alive. Jose however has some suggestions to escape their blues.

But Panchito suggests instead they go for some adventure and go diamond hunting in the plains of brazil, which the two agree to.. and Donald’s a big gung hoe about carving his way through human flesh.. just jesus man.. get a therapist. Your Ducktales counterpart did and he seems mildly well adjusted. So the adventure is on.. and they all toss their hats.. off a mountain. First thing on the provisoins list hats. Before we head on I just wanted to point out even though most of my audience here is likely unaware the movie exists that this Comic honestly reminds me of the 1991 comedy City Slickers starring Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern and Bruno Kirby. If your struggling on the name Daniel Stern, think Marv from Home Alone.

No.. the RIGHT marv. I may not be a huge fan of Home Alone but we respect Daniel sterns in this house. And yes if you didn’t know French Stewart played Marv in one of the sequels now you do. And i’m sorry you know that.

There we go. Right Marv and Wrong Dad from Christmas story. Back on point City Slickers is a terrific comedy I finally saw a few weeks back about three friends all facing mid life crisises, with Billy Crystal being unsatisfied with his career and undsure WHY he does, Daniel Sterns having cheated on his shrewish wife with one of his employees whose also now pregnant, and Bruno Kirby being a ladies man whose faced with the prosepct of settling down, go for a weeks vacation to a cattle drive, as Brunos character tends to set up these trips but this time they actually need it. They encounter cows, assholes and a cowpoke named Curly. It’s pretty good.

But yeah they both feel kinda similar, if with far less drama and crumbling marraiges on the cabs end because you know, this is for children. I’m pretty sure it’s just a concidence but given Rosa’s love of film, even if it’s more 30′s and 40′s films, and how the City Slickers seems right up his alley, I wouldn’t he suprised if he saw it and simply took some slight inspiration from it. Either way the similarity makes me giggle a bit. Again the plots aren’t all the same but the basic setup is about the same, complete with the main character’s family making sure he goes. It’s a bit of a stretch but I thought it was pointing out and while this review is comissioned, how I go about it isn’t so if I want to take a few paragraphs to compare this to an excellent comedy you should defintely see with two underated actors, maybe three i know nothing of bruno kirby other than the man had horse allergies and thus had to take heavy medication every day so good on him, and a lot of fun.

So our premise and pastiche firmly in place, our heroes fly out to the frontier to adventure and Donald even thought ahead on them needing two more mounts and bought them from the local farmer for 100 bucks: It turns out their a llama, who jose takes and an old ox which donald reluctantly takes and wonders how to steer.. which I just got the double pun. Nice touch.

So our heroes head on with Donald expressing suprise they aren’t in the jungle like the movies, Jose correcting him, you get the bit he’s going for. But as they travel Donald not only breaks out the pamphlet but also , once jose mentions finding el dorado, casually mentions he and Scrooge already found it in columbia, and when Jose incrediously mentions that maybe he also already found the lost mines of the incas.. turns out yeah they did that too. Dont’ know if it was a barks or rosa story for either, since I didn’t check that part of Rosa’s notes, but it brings the scene into greatness as the boys not only belivie donald and figure he’s not pulling their legs.. but marvel at his life. And it’s here Donald smiles a bit.. he’s already got his smile back realizing that as miserable as his life can be.. he’s still seen and done things no man, even his globetrotting pals, has sever done before or sense. Found long lost places, solved mysteries and rewrote history.. sometimes literally sometimes in the “found things that changed historical knowledge” sense. Point is.. he realizes he has more to his life than he thought and maybe it isn’t so miserable after all.

Donald also mentions the local waters are filled with stuff and the other Cabs mounts quickly climb on his continuting the gag of the Cabs assuming donald’s some big expert by accident. For me personally it varies in how funny it is, sometimes it’s grating othertimes it’s genuinelly pretty good, your mileage will vary. We then get a page and a half of slapstick with various animals and this gag repeated and it’s eh. Not bad, and there’s a REALLY great visual bit where donald gets squeezed by an anaconda and not only is he comically and tightly squeezeled, but it takes a few panels for it to wear off. Other than that not bad stuff but nothing especially new or really that funny.

Our heroes soon find a pit trap.. and a capybara in said pit trap.. which I also give myself credit for recognizing on sight. Who dosen’t like a good capybara? Their basically a large brazillian rodent if you were curious. Donald asks what can they do and hte boys take it as a secret test of character, and not just donald being kind of lost and decide to help free trapped animals instead of treasure hunt which Donald, much like his entire life, just reacts to with “what what are we doing now?”. But they manage to free the greatful Capybara and we get this inspired bit.

Naturally the sheer confusion of seeing this as well as being confronted with the relaly bizzare nature of his world, i.e. having both a rodent whose an old friend and one that’s clearly just a regular animal causes Donald to fall into the hole. He’s soon found by the natives.. and here we get one of the worst aspects of this story and one I honestly didn’t expect to encounter given Rosa’s research: Calling these indgeinous people’s.. “indians”. Yes really.

We were in 2004 by this point, and even in the cultural cesspool of the early 2000′s, a time where micheal jacksons actions towards children were used for reams of jokes and where R.Kelly got off for the same just because “he makes the good musics”. What i’m saying is even in this time in history, we knew better than to use the term indian and I remember distinctily the term native american being in my text books even at this point as a kid. So Rosa, a world traveled knowledgable adult.. has no excuse for this, not even “It was the 50′s when this was set and they’d used this” as while he had Scrooge being mildly racist in “The Empire Builder from Callisota”, he didn’t you know, have scrooge use the fucking n word or other slurs during the story because you know that’s racist and he knows it’s racist. I’m coming down so hard on him because I expect BETTER. I can, even if it bothers me and I will give out about it, KINDA ignore the daisy stuff because domestic violence against men wasn’t as wellk nown, so while it dosen’t play well and I won’t pretend to enjoy it I can at least understand why rosa thought this was funny when it isn’t> This? The man clearly should know better, should know to use correct terms, and is usually better about this, but just isn’t here and for one of his last stories it’s REALLY depressing to see a man I have a ton of respect for fail this badly. It’s just a small element of hte story but it really sticks out badly and says bad things about an otherwise good man. Even a good man can really fuck up and Don.. honestly really fucked up even when, normally his portryal of indigneous people’s is really good.. and is for the rest of the story. This is just a really bad if really easy to miss bit I feel he deserves some flak over it. He knew better. This story proves he knows better in other ways and knows indgenous people deserve resepect. He just dosen’t show it in his laungauge and it’s disheartaning.

Anyways, the Natives drop donald off with their cheif.. who turns out to not only speak perfect english, but has a rather nice modern setup and clothes. He’s the son of the former cheif whose dad, using a secret crystal city with a rich mine, paid for his son to go get an education in the US and hopefully bring back knowledge for his people. Instead all he learned was to be a greedy selfish asshat who calls his own people “savages”. This is what i’m talking about: While the indian thing is bad and Rosa should feel bad.. the rest of the story does treat these tribal peoples with genuine grace and care, as our main villian is shown as one partly because rather than respect his culture and simply use thenew knowledge of the outside world to help his people by educating them, bringing back new techniques and medcidnes while mixing it with thier old culture, the bastard prince simply wrote them off as savages and used his new learnings to rule them and get them into trapping, a buisness i’ts later made clear at the end of hte story they don’t like and only followed him because he’s their chief. And it dosen’t even come off as them following him as chief because their stupid, mainly just because of tradition and knowing they can’t escape him and he’d just find htem and find some way to cowtow them. The tribe here are innocent victimes forced into a life they don’t want by an asshole who became a colonizer instead of a hero and leader to his people and simply wants to sell them out as soon as possible to fiance a fancy and comfy life for himself. The bad guy here is recycled from Rosa’s pre scrooge work, and works well here and honestly.. is a good villian and a good antagonist, something Rosa struggled with sometimes when not just using what barks made. He’s a chillingly realistic villian: someone who would step on where he came from instead of helping it and again treats these people as simple victims forced to be minons by circumstance and as the end of the story shows, and we’ll get to that, not nearly as stupid or “savage” as this cruel bastard thinks. And naturally being a cruel bastard, Chief, since his name isn’t given, plans to ransom donald as he naturally has no hangups about selling people AND rare animals. Thankfully Donald’s only a prisoner for a bit as Donald’s ox makes a back door and with the help of their mounts the boys free all the trapped animals and escape.. with Senior Martinez accidently taking the Chief’s necklace. Turns out that’s the sigal that signals his right to rule, so he figures if the tribe finds out it’s missing they’ll rightfully dump his ass and tells them to give chase, which the cabs find out about via a wild parrot. It’s better not to ask.

So our heroes head into the wilderness to loose them and find a rocky slope, making their way up to some more plains. They now have both a high vantage, and a place to set up camp so do so. They also found out Martinez took the necklace, and now know why the chief is after them, but Panchito decides to keep it for now till they can figure out what to do with it. SO over the camp fire Donald decides that if they can find this lost mine that the Cheif’s dad used to go to, they won’t need to look for diamonds the hard way and Jose’s skepticism is rebuffed by the fact that Donald’s found plenty of lost cities with scrooge. So donald brings up the legend of the crystal city, with the guy who found it being colonel percy fawceet, and brings up more adventures you get the bit by now. Point is he mentions a crystal arch lighting up at night to ward off intruders.. and sure enough our heroes happen to be right by it, complete with a crystal road that simply had been covered by shale over the years. Donald decides to get some rest and head out in the morning, with a valid explination as to why not to worry about hteir perusers till then: It’s so dark that even if they left a trail, they can’t follow.. which the evil cheif agrees to though he finds the trail they dug up, pointing as an arrow and now realizing his dad’s treasure was real, plans to naturally exploit the hell out of it. So the next morning, bright and early, our heroes have built a raft, and are greatful they looked in first as the waters are stalked with dangerous predatory creatures. How htey haven’t all killed each other, I do not no, but it looks cool so i’ll shut up now. So our heroes leave their mounts behind and head in up the stream via the raft and find the massvie and awe inspiring lost city.. as for why it hasnt’ been found they soon figure out why: THe stream in is dangerous, and jose figures it was delebratly packed with dangerous animals, and thus few would think to go in there, and the only ohter way up is scaling the cliffs it’s build into, but as the cities built into the sides of said cliffs, no one can see it from a distance. It’s a birlliant way to justify just WHY something remained lost and somthing barks is tremendous at. Our heroes soon find though that the canal go deeper and approaches a water fall.. and thus jump off loosing their only way back and thus heading in deeper to see if they can find another way out. Meanwhile the Cheif has found the swamp and recongizes his dad mentoning it and being a greedy jackass, and suddenly realizing that maybe his people won’t want to loot the city their swarn to protect, tells them to guard the Cabs mounts while he goes on ahead.

Our heroes journey deeper into the unknown and after coming across pick axes mine carts and the like find the mines of fear.. lit with crystals and with wall to wall gems. So they’ve sucessful founds the lost minds of ophir, set up by one of king solomon’s realtiives. The actual King Solomons Mines had been found in a barks story, naturally and is also likely the basis for the african mines level in the ducktales game.

Donald being donald.. ends up sitting on a giant anaconda who swallows him whole as he dosen’t realize just how big the thing is when his pals mention it to him, and only escapes through Dumb Luck, as is the duck family way, lighting a match and causing the Anadonda to spit him out and run... unfortunately not only does Panchtio loudley announce he dosen’t have his pistols, The Chief shows up with a gun. Naturally he intends to plunder, because jackass you see, and intends to leave the cabs stranded, with the anaconda picking them off one by one when they inevitibly have to sleep while he’ll come back with inflatable rafts and boats to loot the rest. The cabs bemoan the fact that their fucked.. and then this happens.

So with that Donald FINALLY snaps, tired of taking the world’s shit and determined not to be the looser everyone around him but his boys clearly think he is. Seriously Donald.. dump. her. ass. It’d also tell you to dump gladstone in a shallow ditch but given your love for hacking through human flesh and his luck I don’t want you to impale yourself. So thus.. Donald stops getting polite and starts getting badass.. shouting THAT’S THE LAST STRAW BEFORE.. .. welll...

Bad. Ass. Also who knew Donald was part Kree? Wait .. how though? Questions for later. So as Donald gives the asshole his RICHELY deserved asshole a beat down, the anaconda pops up and grabs the boat.. with Donald STILL fighting the Chief the whole time. Holy shit. If this is your last time writing a character in a lead role what a note to go out on holy jesus. The cabs however show their CLOSE to as badass with Panchito roping the anconda and Jose attacking it once it curls around.. and unlike last time where his umbrella was quickly disarmed, here the Anaconda eats the tip.. only for Jose to expand it and on Panchito’s command, hook the damn thing. I didn’t relaize till writing this up just HOW badass this story’s climax is.. just holy shit this is awesome incarnate.

Donald ends up loosing the fight eventually as asshole whomps him on the head with the gems.. and sends donald flying, destroying the gate regulating the water thanks to freeing the anaconda. As a result asshole escapes.. for about five seconds till he drops over the falls, presumibly to his MUCH deserved death and even if he surivives, likely wont’ for long without anything to defend himself. Goodbye asshole, you were a good villian but you’ll be better tarantula chow.

Our heroes are still stranded.. but Panchito notices the Anadconda escaping and well... he decides to equal donald in badassery. Again..words do not do this justice.

Our heroes disembark, and find that the tribe has been held at bay by the noble steeds, and as I mentioned earlier, and why despite the frequent use of .. that word i’ve said enough already, this story isn’t too bad. The tribe, once free.. are perfectly intellegent and nice, only in the game because of tradition that asshole abused. Their going to head deeper into the valley on the offchance asshole makes it back so he can’t find them. So the tribe is free and seeing the emblem as the symbol of their opressor and not wanting it, they can likely make a new necklace honestly just without the gems, Panchito gets to keep it. So our heroes won, the adventure is over and our heroes head back to rio

In our final scene we get our wrap up with our heroes back in Rio to enjoy what’s left of their vacation.. which given the scope of events only two days of it have passed so far, so it’s nicely implied they have a day or two before Donald has to go back where he can just.. enjoy himself. Have an actual vacation now his soul is whole again. Our heroes went to the authorities, and it turns out the Chief was one of the most infamous trappers in Brazil, and is now again either dead or in no way shape or form easily able to come back into the country.. and when he does, he’ll now have every officer in the country on his ass.So in short he’s pretty fucked and i’m pretty happy about that. Naturally our heroes dont’ get to keep the mines, because well... it belongs ina museum.. or to become a museum and cultural landmark and the boys know and respect that. But Jose and Panchito both still got something out of the deal: for starters they have their confidence back, as seeing tthey could keep up with donald after realizing what a legend their friend is restored their own weary souls. Meanwhile, Jose’s newfound fame as the man who found a new brazilian cultural touchstone means his agent was able to get him booked up for a year, while Panchito , after consulting with the good senior martenez, decided ot keep the broach, and use it to get their ranch. And Donald? What did he find?

Donald found his smile again. He’s found himself again. After letting life beat him to near death, to just a souless shell. he’s found the real Donald. He’s realized that despite Scrooge’s finaical abuses he lives a rich full life. It’s part of why I compared the story to city slickers. While Donald’s life is far worse off than Billys, like him he finds himself again after the rousing adventure. And who knows what his future holds? Given Scrooge’s grave picture, yes Rosa drew that, he probably does marry daisy and work for the old bat.. but maybe now he can fight back, refuse to let htem walk all over him and actually find a healthy relationship with daisy and with his uncle before his uncle finally retires to Goldie’s loving arms. I could be wrong, it could be same as it ever was just he gets angry again.. but I like to think of something better for our boy. A better life and one more fufilled and more happy and one where he finally finds his pot of gold. He may not of found it yet but well.. there’s always another rainbow and he realizes that now just as his uncle did years ago. Donald is finally whole again to find his hapniess and a better life. Maybe with daisy, maybe with scrooge, maybe without them. Probably without Gladstone because he needs to cut that tumor out of his life, but still, he’s found himself and sometimes that’s all you need to find your purpose. So with that warm thought in my head our heroes play us out one last time. Well not for the restrospective obviously but still.

Final Thoughts; While I do prefer the previous story, on going through this again for the review, I did find this story utterly charming and a great way to send off our boys and Donald for Rosa’s work. While again that one word is very unfortunate and Rosa should’ve known better, otherwise the story is pretty imaculate, using history to build a thrilling story with tons of character and a tremendous arc for Donald. And as I said the villian is excellent and overally the story is pretty great. Maybe held back a bit by the racisim, but the rest of the story is so joyous, badass and well crafted, it’s easy enough to override the less savory aspects. Dosen’t mean they didn’t need to be noted it just means this story is magificent and as usual for Rosa’s work I recommend it.

Next time on the Ride of the Three Cablleros: We go to Disney Juinor for Mickey’s Perfecto Day! ..... whelp at least it’s a short one.

And if you’d like to comission your own review, their just five bucks, jsut direct message me, tell me what you’d like, and I will send you the link on my paypal and get to it asap. Thank you so much for reading and have a happy holiday.

#the three caballeros #donald duck #Jose Carioca #panchito pistoles #don rosa #duck comics #the magnificent seven minus 4 cablleros #the 2000's #comics #reviews #scrooge mcduck #daisy duck #huey duck #louie duck #dewey duck #gladstone gander

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