#truly the only thing that has happened on this show in these next 3 seasons is taylor showing up

[srslylini]

season 2 has a structure problem and that makes act 1 flow naturally enough and it sets up the next acts perfectly well, but they wanted to do so much more than what they were

1. setting up

2. capable of doing in 9 episodes

had they just cut a few plot lines everything would've moved far easier. For example

1. cut the Smeech thing entirely. Sevika and Jinx don't need this to find themselves together and start a found family. That scene In Silcos office was so moving and everything I always loved about Arcane, stuff like this is what's needed. In fact move the prison break to act 1 and have them handle that together, Jinx can still make Sevika her arm, and everything could've still moved the same. It would've fit so much better and there also would've been so much more time to develop anything else with the magic system and act 2 wouldn't feel like it was overflowing with anything and everything. Isha is a character that as of in the show can be cut so easily and that's so sad because she'd be so interesting. Everything about her would've worked and SHOULD HAVE worked but she also just felt like Plot and a thing to make Jinx sad over again. Either don't do that or make Isha not a character like this???? I liked her scenes with Jinx so much and the scene with Jinx freaking out after finding out that Isha was taken to prison was genuinely so good, I'm still holding on to the hope that they didn't actually kill her

2. either cut that shit with the tree because let's be so honest that basically only happened so that Heimerdinger, Ekko and Jayce could meet, since we do NOT even really talk about the tree in act 2? that was so weird. Like either actually make it a thing or find different ways to let characters meet naturally. I dont know, the show was so good with that in season 1. And if they truly wanted the tree scene at least make it make sense and don't randomly drop it Idk.

3. I LOVE Mel she is like my favorite character but the plot with the black rose takes so much necessary time away from what we actually need to focus on. I heard they want to make different shows so they are setting this up but it just doesn't work. Mel could've so easily been integrated into the main plot line and it would've also made so much more sense at that. Though I'll just wait on act 3 before I judge too hard. (if they actually DARE to make her pregnant Istg)

4. Making Jinx that hero character for only like, what, a few seconds was so strange. I hope act 3 gets that better but that, first of all, happened mostly out of no where and a few touches to her shoulder after the prison scene was also not??? helping??? either set that up from the very start or don't do it at all. She isn't a hero, she is a tragedy and someone who needs help and room to breathe. The scenes where they tried to make that funny, in my opinion didn't land at all. She doesn't need a hero complex she needs calmness and stable relationships. Let Isha live I swear to GOD.

in fact that leads me into the next point

5. Have Vi realize she doesn't want to be an enforcerer sooner? I actually do like how rushed that part felt don't get me wrong, but if they wanted a reunion between Jinx and Vi don't randomly put it into act 2 with barely any build up. Let Jinx and Vi realize it during the fight, they kinda did do that but??? just didn't move that anywhere. it's so strange. If they had cut the Smeech stuff they could've easily used the third episode to make Jinx and Vi slowly reconcile. Which also means I think Vi would've been such a better "symbol" than Jinx. Vi and Jinx, for me, show what Zaun is made of, and Jinx is quite literally the valid pain, distrust and anger of Zaun, and she as well as Zaun desperately need healing. Like that would've been SO COOL. that's just my opinion though, so there is that.

6. If they had made Vi the symbol the conflict between Caitlyn and Vi would've felt a lot more natural as well. Like??? Also Caitlyn should've had so much more time if they wanted that switch up in the end to work. Cut the black rose stuff and that would've worked perfectly fine.

7. Now do NOT get me wrong, Ambessa's character is so interesting and I feel like exploring her is so cool but she and her plot just doesn't fit into the Piltover/Zaun thing. It makes it too big for what the show is. In fact I (and now this is just my opinion, anyone can have their own just saying lmao) would've either cut out Ambessa's character/plotline or subtly continued Ambessas drama with Mel, which would give Mel, who didn't get taken by the black rose in my version, a lot more to do and way more interesting stuff too. Again this is very much my opinion and doesn't mean anyone needs to share it, but I feel like they could've easily made Heimerdinger be the one who gets Caitlyn to where she was/is with Ambessa. It would've expanded Heimerdingers character and it would've stayed in the setting they already perfectly build up, Piltover and Zaun. Also, Heimerdinger wouldn't just feel like a random joke character anymore.

8. The Pit fight stuff could have been SO interesting and I feel had we not stayed with Viktor Christ so much which was also so weird at times, we could've gotten so much necessary insight on Vi. If we follow my idea it could've been Vi forced to be a symbol because of the person she is. The embodiment of Zauns loyalty, strength and resilience. And then the fights that will come out of that forcing Vi to face so much stuff she shouldn't etc etc (I haven't fleshed that one out yet don't come for me) and that could've ended in her pit fighting era, which should've taken at LEAST an episode and not a random montage that just gets forgotten??? for no reason at all. Really hope act 3 talks about that cause??? I feel with Vi as the leader the healing of Zaun would make so much sense, because Jinx realistically can't do that. The idea of Jinx being in that position IS interesting I just feel it wasn't established/developed enough.

9. I really really liked how from the very beginning Viktor's safe haven did not in fact feel safe. There was always a very uneasy feeling and that's what I love about the show. I was always waiting for the shoe to drop and it happened, that was amazing. Though I would've either established a lot of this way earlier on in the show or made it not so, and now walk with me here Ik its magic, unrealistic. That does sound strange but having Viktor suddenly float in space with white silver flowing hair and his dead assistent next to him was... very very out of no where. It was like a lazy show trying to get away with "yeah well it's magic so of course this works" and I hate that because even magic needs explanation and build up. So yeah. Either cut that shit out or have it established sooner. And while seeing the one person who helped Jayce as a kid did kind of help, it still wasn't enough for THIS, though again MY OPINION. Also we spent way too much time there, it was getting ridiculous. So much time could've easily been lent to stuff that actually needed it. I actually laughed out loud when Viktor started the healing process with Vander because come ON now, and I do not think they wanted me to laugh.

10. The stuff with Vander, Silco and Felicia (while cute) was unnecessary and weird. What I liked the most about Vander taking in Vi and Powder was the feeling that he didn't do it because he necessarily knew them very well but because he knew their mom was dead (that did show he and their mother did kind of know each other but so do like all the people in the lanes that is kind of established) and wanted to PROTECT. This new context sadly makes it feel like "well of course he stopped everything and took them with them and cared for them he knew them since birth, duh" when I always wanted to feel "well Vander is in his heart a good man who saw what terrible stuff this war and fighting did and then took in orphaned children because of course he would do that" if that makes sense? I feel this new thing took away so much from Vander, but again that's maybe just me.

11. So many jokes and scenes didn't land with me. The scene with Jinx trying to show Sevika her middle finger was SO GOOD and so Arcane that seeing the scene were they try to make it funny with Jinx's trousers and that enforcerer felt so out of place? Like what. That scene could have EASILY been cut and nothing would have changed at all. And that's what is the worst because there isn't one scene in season 1 that I feel could've been cut and there are so many of them in season 2.

12. Introducing Maddie in act 1 made me believe she'd be a bigger, even more of a threat to Zaun, character than she was and that's so sad. What I loved about season 1 is that every single character mattered. Even those we saw maybe once. This time around I hardly cared at all for any new character because they didn't feel like a Person anymore, they just felt like Plot. In season 1 episode 1 there is this scene, the first scene Vander gets to speak in. The only reason Huck meets the woman and the man to trait was basically so we get to know how the undercity works and establish Vander as basically its leader and protecter; The one people are loyal to etc. But it doesn't feel that way. It's something that naturally happens and every character in that scene, even the man and the woman we never see again, mattered and felt real.

yeah so those were really just my thoughts. I could very much go on but I also don't want to.

[biblicallyaccuratemoth]

Amphibia has middle child dyndrome next to Gravity Falls and The Owl House

Let this be a lesson to everyone. Send me an ask about some things, and I will reply with a wall of text.

I'm gonna get into some Amphibia spoilers here, so if you haven't seen it, go watch it. The first season is slow, that's not a bug it's a feature.

Amphibia I don't think suffers from middle-child syndrome. Amphibia suffers from expectation issues from the audience, and that comes firstly from when exactly it was airing. Amphibia hit the scene in 2019, 3 years after the end of Gravity Falls (a whole 7 years after Gravity Falls began), during Star vs the Forces of Evil's fall from grace, and less than a year before The Owl House started airing. It was a time when the TV-Animation scene was still much stronger than it is today. Steven Universe: Future was on the horizon later that year, Adventure Time was in its final moments, and there was a lot of expectation about who was gonna be taking up the mantle of the animated show to watch. With Matt Braly, a Gravity Falls alumni, at the helm, Amphibia had a good chance.

And then the first season aired, and people seemed offputt. It's deliberately a lot slower than The Owl House, Gravity Falls, and the other shows of that era. It's quieter. Lower stakes and with less of that dark core that defined TOH and GF. But that's a deception- in reality, Amphibia is just as dark and just as complex. It just hides it.

Season 1 of Amphibia is crucial, but it also misleads the audience. It feels younger than its competition. Episodes are based around seemingly 'simple' morals of honesty, hard work, fixing mistakes, and so on. But the thing that sets it apart is this. Ann learns from her mistakes and becomes recognizeably different by the end of the first season. She's the same person, but her view of herself, her relationship with the Plantar family, and her place in Wartwood have all changed fundamentally. And so by the time Sasha appears at the end of season 1, Ann is no longer the same person that Sasha once knew.

And the brilliance of Amphibia is that, as Ann is doing this, so are Sasha and Marcy. In a way they've each undergone their own hero's journeys, faced challenges and temptation, and emerged from the other side fundamentally changed. And that's where the thematic core of Amphibia becomes clear.

Amphibia is about what happens when people (and members of society) who care about each other have grown in ways that make their former relationships to each other impossible.

Ann doesn't only gain the ability to stand up for herself. She clearly defines her moral compass apart from Sasha and discovers that, even if it's difficult, there are things she needs to fight for and protect.

Sasha is a gifted leader and a brilliant tactician but she's also manipulative and cruel. Underneath that, though, she does care about her friends dearly. She's just perverted that affection into something wholly toxic. Grimes understands her explicitly and encourages both the good and the bad, in her. She becomes stronger, more determined, and more able to bend situations to her will but she does so at the cost of any remaining boundaries she had.

Marcy outright regresses, even if she doesn't realize it. She gives herself fully into the fantasy and embraces her role as the 'heroic' savior from another world, and doesn't realize that she's causing the people around her pain. And that before getting into how she fails to see the danger she's in.

By the time Ann, Sasha, and Marcy find each other again, these changes in who they are have made it so they can't go back to how things were. Ann isn't the pushover she was. Sasha's veneer of kindness (with a genuine undercurrent of warped compassion) dissolves. Marcy isn't engaging with the people around her anymore, at least not genuinely. She's in her own fantasy long before the Core puts her there, and she suffers for it.

Amphibia is a piece of art. Honest and truly. I may prefer the Owl House but that doesn't mean I don't love Amphibia with all my heart. I honestly think it plays its cards so well that it fools the audience at first, and that's a really impressive narrative trick.

[inhuman-obey-me]

The End Times

Well, here we are. The final lessons have been released, all in a flurry. It's been interesting times, y'all.

JK, they said the world of OM will continue, and we're not going away either. We still love our demonic dumbasses. This is, however, the last lesson of the apps. And, uh, we didn't talk about the last 3 before this either, considering the flurry.

So, maybe for one last time: let's get into it.

(spoilers up to NB Lesson 60)

Nightbringer

The first thing to address here, perhaps, is truly: for splitting off a whole ass second app titled Nightbringer, they really didn't tell us anything about him in the end, huh!

We never did get the answers to what he wanted out of our second set of pacts, what his deal with Solomon was, what his overall goals are, or who he even is. He just showed up, we got some early info on him, and then he basically fucked off for the majority of season 2 and basically all of season 3. At least they did end on a nice little message from him, though, echoing the start of the game...

So will we eventually get the answer to ANY of those major questions? The world may never know...

A Celestial Shitshow

What we do get, first, is the resolution of the whole Raphael arc of this season -- at least, the closest they could come to giving us a resolution.

We do not get a precise answer to what he felt or thought in the moment of Michael refusing to even try to appeal to Father on Simeon's behalf, which he was seemingly so unable to confront at the end of 55. However, after the collapse of Babel, Lucifer and Simeon go to talk to him again, more calmly this time.

The source of Raphael's distress comes down to loneliness. Like Simeon, he remarks how quiet it became in the Celestial Realm when the brothers, apparently the only loudmouth troublemakers that ever existed there, fell after the war. With the possibility of Simeon also becoming a demon, Raphael felt incredibly lonely at the thought of losing another former seraph and friend from the Celestial Realm.

Luke comes up to chime in about being there for Raphael, and Simeon realizes he doesn't want to just leave those "two kids" alone to fend for themselves. With that decided, he concludes that he is not so fine with becoming a demon after all, because he wants to return to the Celestial Realm for their sakes.

MC, with the help of Lucifer's power, then breaks through Babel's projection of collapse, which had reflected Raphael's distraught feelings, to restore it to its actual not-destroyed state, and further uses their new protection powers to return everyone to the Devildom. More on that later!

Also, Michael is a dick again. Raphael is set to be punished for the whole Babel thing, and Michael basically plans to let that happen, until Simeon threatens to "hold it against him" as a grudge. Which is hilarious, because Simeon has no real power or anything against Michael at this point, but angy Simeon is so scary, Michael apparently backs off.

Anyway, setting all the all of that aside, there's also still more SF to get through.

Three Worlds-building Science

In the process of restoring Babel, MC and Lucifer conveniently also remove all the demonic powers/energy from Simeon, so that works out nicely! He's no longer "demonic." However, of course, this couldn't just be such a nice simple wrap-up as that, so next, we get a whole bunch of lore-contradictory worldbuilding around the way cells work for each type of being!

It turns out, while angels and demons both have homogenous cells which are purely one or the other, human cells can actually transform into either one, in the right conditions. And although all demonic energy has been cleared out of Simeon, he apparently still has some of those transformed demonic cells, and it's possible he will have his demonic cells activate or start to transform again in the future. Plus, even with his decision that he wanted to return to the Celestial Realm after all, it's not really in anyone's control out of the cast to do that for him, and the Celestial Realm would not allow him back if he has any demonic cells.

This brings up some pretty terrible implications about the Celestial Realm, which we're not sure were the devs' intentions exactly, but which become implied nonetheless. After all, Simeon's punishment was to become a human, but if it's a known fact that humans can turn demonic and they would refuse to take him back with any demonic cells, even dormant ones, that's just a really shitty trap of a situation! Plus, they were able to convert his cells from angelic ones to human ones, so if they have the ability to change him at a cellular level, why can't they just purge the demonic cells from him in the process of changing him back to an angel? Lucifer has specifically noted before on his transformation to a demon that he supposed that was his punishment, so that also seems to have been a punishment inflicted by God, implying the ability to also manipulate the brothers at a cellular level into demons! And if human cells can become angel ones as well, what does that mean for Simeon's punishment of becoming human? Could the punishment be undercut by his cells naturally turning back to angel cells? Come on, devs, it's called consistency!!

But hey, it's not like this series has been particularly consistent on its lore in the past either...

Anyway, the Science Fair is still going on -- and Leviathan has a mad scientist moment, coming across a unique potion that could help with restoring Simeon back to a more fully human state, ridding his body of any dormant demonic cells! The problem is it requires three very rare and hard to procure ingredients, but it turns out Solomon had also thought about this potion a while back, so he conveniently already has two of the three rare ingredients! Part of the reason Solomon never brought it up before, however, is that the potion only has a 60% success rate and is known to have some pretty bad side effects including the briefest mention of possibly even death???, and with how complicated Simeon's feelings had been up to this point, it didn't feel like there had been a good time to bring all that up.

Deciding that Simeon can decide for himself if he wants to take the risk after the potion is ready, we have a little adventure to obtain the third ingredient that places us back in the Starfall, which we visited during our time in the past. We momentarily have to avoid the subject of the past as Leviathan recalls that you were there, but is brushed off as misremembering because that wouldn't make sense, after all! Haha...ha...

Leviathan makes the potion for the Science Fair, and then Lucifer and MC keep Simeon company while he takes it. Simeon begins to succumb to the potion's effects pretty quickly, but Lucifer steps in to try and take the pain from Simeon and transfer it to him -- with MC then also stepping in to help share it. Simeon ends up not suffering as much, but is still knocked out with a fever for a bit.

Upon waking from his fever and analysis of his cells and some other genetic science, Simeon has now returned to his fully human state, meaning that he should be able to get back to the Celestial Realm! -- if they'll have him.

The end of the game seems to initially imply that he might be reinstated as an angel -- but the very last text we see is that Simeon will be opening up the Angel's Halo again in the human world. So is Simeon still a human? Did he become an angel again but they have him stationed in the human world?? No clear answer!!! Why would they ever end the final lesson on giving us any clear conclusions? Nope, never, and so here we are with no more lessons and yet another big fuckin' cliffhanger.

Well, they did say there are new projects in progress, at least...

Anyway, Later is Now

So, back to MC and how overpowered we've become.

Through this last season, there has been a focus on how much stronger MC has become, especially when it comes to their protective/defensive magic. We know it's because of the double-pacts, but that is a secret from most of the cast to avoid space-time fuckery.

In Babel, MC is able to control this magic for the first time. As mentioned above, we use our pact with Lucifer to break out of the illusion created by Raphael's breakdown, which also clears Simeon of his demonic energy. MC then uses their power, with some guidance by Solomon, to get out of Babel and return everyone to the Devildom.

That's a great sign, as otherwise MC has had zero control over this power activating. Of course, that means we have to use it one last time as the game comes to an end -- but this time, on the moon.

That's right. The Devildom moon is really into MC and is on a crash course to the Devildom (hi Majora's Mask) to also get some of that sweet, sweet MC power. Our cast gets thrust into having to deal with the situation as the final Science Fair competition, because the Research Institute is basically giving them the responsibility (with the House of Lords being ridiculous and not getting the news to Diavolo faster because, um, they suck).

Satan wonders if MC's protection power can be used here and stop the moon on its crash course, so of course that is what we are going to do. Solomon leads you up into the sky, and after a pep talk, leaves you to choose one of the brothers to help carry out this mission. Whichever brother you choose ends up getting knocked out in the process, to protect you. After a few days, we find out how to wake them back up and yay, they're conscious again!

With that handled, it's time for the classic OM tradition, throwing a goodbye party for the exchange students!! PARTY TIME! Everything's good now! Hurray!!!

Does this all seem rushed? Sure. Does it reek of them hurrying to tie up loose ends because this is the last lesson? Yup. How much of this was actually planned in this messy rushed way from the start anyway? Who knows! Did they also leave us on that big Simeon cliffhanger anyway, for funsies? Abso-fucking-lutely.

But that's it for the last 4 lessons! After 5 years, finally, MC has completed all of their tasks...congrats to us!!! 🥹

Now to wait for whatever new projects are coming next...

[hattersarts]

gomens s2 thoughts, all spoilers!

I spent 10 hours talking to my housemate about the season after we binged the whole thing in the morning but here are the highlights and the biggest takeaways from the season.

okay i did love the ending, i love that we get the conformation of love AND going into the divorce arc next season (if they're not properly together by the end of season 3 however, i am rioting) they're slow burn and a whole season of them getting to the final 10mins was tasty.

HOWEVER. it was an extremely clunky season when it comes to writing, lots of either set ups missed OR set ups repeated 4 times that they're drilled into out heads. there was also lots of dialogue that really needed to be tightened up. the lesbians were so poorly written i thought they might have needed to be cut BUT they just needed to have more bearing on the rest of the plot AND say things like real people would say things and LITERALLY SHOW ONE SINGLE REASON WHY THEY WOULD LIKE EACH OTHER WITHIN THE FIRST EPISODE.

gabe/bulz romance was the one that should have been cut, have them do more of a oh-my-god-my-boss-sucks kind of thing, lean into them complaining about having to avert a civil war after armageddon stopped and touch on the "structural problems" the angels mention later. Have gabe/bulz be super punished for working together which puts huge fear into az and crowley about what happens if you try to team up as an angel/demon pair (but an extra reason why az takes the job at the end so he and crowley can be the same)

imo it works more if the only mirror of their romance is the HUMANS which should lean into themes to season 3 of how they need to team up with humans (re:"us vs them" line at the end of season 1) to actually achieve their happy ending.

Nina and maggies best scene was their last one telling crowley he needed to talk to az but i think that was one that needed to be cut, it would have been far more satisfying to have crowely work out it out himself that he loves az and wants to tell him (still via maggie and nina but more subtle rather than them telling him to his face AND via spending more time with az in the season)

flashbacks were all pretty good, loved the jobe one and that final "lonely" scene. the nazi one needed some trimming the most (why did all three come back to earth, it made scenes too crowed, have them fight to be a zombie)

shax was disappointing, she was kind of just incompetent the whole way through which didnt make the stakes very exciting, (that whole scene of her talking to the legion was unfunny and pointless) i wanted crowley to mentor her more like when he gave her advice in the first few meetings we saw (kind of in a very non-demonic way, not expecting anything in return) and her to then meet him on equal footing in the finale. would have been a little accidental taste for Crowley to have his good deeds come back to haunt him while showing he's different to demons.

speaking of the finale fight, that halo had NO set up, it was sick as hell but ??? the fuck did that come from. the fight should have been won by az and crowley performing another HUGE miracle together, discorporating the demons (which then would alert heaven and hell something was up in the bookshop and the final scene can happen)

az taking the job from metatron was very good, its consistent with his character where he still hasn't let go of his faith in good/god, he's only been upset by the angels running heaven and still has faith in the system while crowley has realised none of it works and it's only them together that matters. it was nice to show he still hasn't truly accepted crowley for who he is now (tho imo he knows he loves him, he just hasn't quite unrepressed himself) and him not turning down the job after crowley confesses to him shows he still thinks he can fix it. Crowley on the other hand thinks he's now lost him, az has broken he the trust he had in him, he's going to be in big depression mode

few thoughts of good directions for S3:

finally delivering on what crowley said at the end of S1 I think is the most satisfying. the final showdown should be humans Vs heaven/hell with Crowley and az on the human side, helping them win the conflict. there would be suggestions that this is actually god's ineffable plan, this is a conflict she wants to happen and the things that Crowley and az went through are what make them perfect ambassadors to help the humans.

the set up for az in S3 to finally work out he and Crowley can't work out within the unfair rules of the system and for him to abandon heaven (tho not I think, becoming a demon) is good. a sucky ending imo for season 3 is if az somehow "fixes" heaven and via bureaucracy and not via blowing it all up.

growth moments for Crowley in S3 might be having more contact with humans since he's already abandoned hell and it would put az & crowley on similar footing (as az very much loves humans already) when they decided to side with humans for a humans Vs heaven/hell conflict.

anyway, gay people

[randomnessofthehighestorder]

Arcane season 2!

Just watched Act 3 and I’m not ready to say goodbye after all that happened…

(Spoilers under the cut)

Hextech really was the problem all along. Ep 7’s alternative timeline is proof of that. Without it, both Zaun and Piltover would be at peace…

Mylo, Claggor, Vander, Silco, Benzo, they’re all alive and Powder never turned into Jinx in that timeline. The only bad thing there is Vi’s dead. What could’ve been…

Jayce’s actions make sense now, goes to show that you shouldn’t rush to judgement before you know the whole story.

TimeBomb kiss! TimeBomb kiss! I ship them so much!!! 🤩🤩🤩

Heimerdinger is no more. But at least he lived a life of peace in another universe… Rest in peace, Professor.

Mel’s fully embraced her mage status, her magic looks amazing, and her new look! She’d make a good in-game champion…

Viktor’s fully embraced the glorious evolution now, and turned his followers mechanical. Low key kinda scary though… his new look must be the rework Riot was talking about for his in-game self!

Warwick NOOOOOO! 😭😭😭 Vander is gone, only the beast remains, with a mechanical twist… RIP Uncaged Wrath of Zaun.

Ambessa really was the villain all along, even if her intentions were misguided. She truly deserved a warrior’s death…

They did it! CaitVi did the deed! I’m so happy for them! They truly belong together, far from being oil and water… ❤️❤️❤️

Jinx took Isha’s death hard. Someone give her a hug… 🫂

We lost some good people in the war, Loris, that Jinxer. But it was worth it now that the good guys won…

Zaun entered the fight in a truly epic fashion! The twin cities are united! 🎉🎉🎉

The Boy Saviour did what he meant to do! He shattered time and saved the day! Ekko FTW!

The mage that saved Mrs Talis was Viktor?! It all makes sense, he traveled across timelines giving young Jayce a crystal with a different rune to save the future, and only one was successful. MIND. BLOWN. 🤯🤯🤯

What happened to Jayce and Viktor? They used the crystal, but at what cost? Maybe we’ll never know… also, they hugged! He truly has forgiven him…

JINX NO!!!! She sacrificed herself to save her sister from Warwick! Guess Isha won’t be lonely up there… RIP Loose Cannon… 😭😭😭😭

CaitVi got their happy ending. But what’s next for them? Fanfic writers, you know what to do…

Maddie betrayed Piltover?! Guess all the hate was rightfully placed, especially now that she’s dead…

Swain? What’s your crow doing here?! Watching Noxus retreat? I don’t trust you…

This show was amazing and it ended on a truly epic note. I’m really gonna miss it. Thank you, Riot and Fortiche for giving us a story we’ll never forget…

[oceanfruitsstuff]

Yapping during my rewatch

Even discussing Mike and Will, whether it’s platonic or romantic, I always think it’s important to recognize their right dynamic in the show. I think at large, most of the audience of stranger things brushes their relationship to the side. Which can be understandable at times, the way Mike and Will interact is very soft and delicate in a plot of chaos. Their conversations—again, platonic or romantic—are extremely intimate. We obviously see this with other characters as well, but with Mike and Will it’s kind of ignored because there’s this overwhelm and “flare” of Mike and El, people believing that Mike is El’s in a sense, so when Will comes in the picture I’ve seen people evoke the emotion of…jealousy maybe? I’m not sure how to word it correctly if I’m being completely honest, and this is all purely my opinion, it’s very possible I’m way off.

What I’m saying, there is a lack of flash when it comes to Will and Mike, their love for eachother as friends, as maybe more, is displayed in quiet understanding, while a lot (not all) of other relationships in the show have this air of bravado. Hoper and Joyce (sometimes not always, but they are dramatic), El and Mike, even friendships like Dustin and Lucas, or the core four. It’s comedic and attention grabbing in the way that it’s somewhat loud or dramatic or funny. Not saying that Will and Mike don’t have their moments, they most definitely do, we all watched the rain scene and the rink-o-mania scene, but there is this heavy weight on those conversations of Mike and Will never quite saying what they want to say or trying to say. It’s not funny, their conversations aren’t necessarily humorous really ever. They obviously have that back and forth together as friends, but when we watch them on screen, even when they’re shoved next to eachother every second of most seasons, it’s subtle. Most love is found in the quiet—without other emotions warping what love truly is. It’s not brash or angry or jealous, it’s soft, kind, and delicate, but most of all, understanding. My opinion of course.

I’m just yapping constantly, so if this is not where your thoughts or beliefs with Will and Mike are, totally fine, not saying I’m completely correct or anything. Anyway, Will is a character somewhat placed in his own genre for the first two seasons of the show, which is where we really get to know all these other main characters. So when he shows up in season 3 as himself + having a speaking role, people have already built relationships with the other characters that we know a lot better than Will. We don’t really know Will that well, we’ve only really seen him as him for two seasons, compared to the other core 4 or El. So, when he swooped in and still was—whether anyone wants to admit it or not—Mike’s #1 without him being missing or possessed, I think people had mixed feelings about it.

Of course Mike’s focus was Will in season 1, is friend is missing. And of course Will is his focus in season 2, he’s possessed by an evil monster that might kill him…but then it continues. We are told in seasons 3 that Mike has been ignoring all of them for El all summer, but when the true plot hits, we’re seeing Will and Mike shoved right next to eachother throughout the entire season. The rain fight, Mike chasing after him, the sauna scene, car scene, the Byers moving scene in the kitchen, the shot of Mike looking back at the house and then immediately cutting to Will crying. It’s odd the tensioned focus put on those two. I think people were expecting El and Mike to be this unstoppable duo once Will was safe and Mike didn’t have to “save” him anymore. I mean Mike is this main guy with the superhero savior girlfriend, Will is gonna just be in the background now right? I didn’t even expect when I was watching the show for the first time, getting to season 3, to see so much of Mike and Will, it made my clocks start finally working. and when El and Mike together didn’t really happen, I think it raised a lot of questions, confusion, and irritation with the general audience. We’ve seen promo for El and Mike for years, and then you watch the show and suddenly quiet Will is in the place everyone expected El to be in. Everyone kind of has their partner in crime in the show. Usually it’s Dustin and Steve, Max and Lucas, Hopper and Joyce, El usually has a plot alone or leans towards Max the last two seasons—then Mike and Will, but shouldn’t it be El? Why isn’t it El? They’re this main important couple everyone’s making them out to be, but their relationship is shown as very brushed off or “isolated” or even a joke at times when you actually watch the show, especially in season 4. Will always just beats her out, even if it’s by a sliver. In the sense that he’s basically getting the relationship Mike and El should have outside of kissing. Mike doesn’t really have divided attention, at times they all do it’s a very long show, but overall, he’s very focused on Will. They are a duo, almost everyone else in the show is a duo with their love interest—unless they’re single or their girlfriend lives in Utah. And El is right there for Mike to be paired with, but he never is and I think it’s always raised the question, whether people are voicing it or not, as to why that is. When anything happens, Mike looks at Will first, we are shown that a lot actually since I’ve been going back and watching, it’s actually kind of crazy. People hate to admit it, but Mike and Will have been best friends their entire lives, I think at the end of the day of course it’s Will. It’s impossible for it not to be.

Anyway what am I even saying who knows, I think nothing is being hidden about Will and Mike’s relationship, based on how they structure couples in the show, we are told exactly who is gonna be with who, no matter what other interferences happen on the way there.

[justfandomwritings]

An essay on why I won’t be watching next season.

1. Obviously actors have to promote their shows and hype them up. But the interactions between Nicola and Luke during the press tour were, in retrospect, clearly also acting performances, and it is rare to see acting within the press tour to the degree that those two put on while grossly exaggerating things like how sexy this season would be or how much Polin we would get. I don’t blame them. It’s clearly what they were told to do. And it’s fine to hype a show, but I think a lot of people felt genuinely lied to with the WAY this season was hyped.

2. The casting has been color conscious and inclusive in a way I greatly admire. But they have not been inclusive in other ways. And that’s not to say they should have to be. One show shouldn’t bear the responsibility of being inclusive to everyone and making up for an industries worth of exclusion. But we have exactly one size inclusive character in this whole show, and I’m not even demanding more, but to butcher the season of the only size inclusive person in this show this badly and in these ways sends me a clear message of what the writers thought they could get away with with a curvy actress and how they saw her.

3. The wait times for this season and next season are just too long. The hype dies down too much between seasons such that we care less and less each time we get a new one, especially when you only give eight episodes, regardless of their length. You know who also gave us a season in 2022 and then an eight episode season this year? house of the dragon. And they have to CGI a fuck ton of dragons. Yall were sitting on this season being done filming for over a year and for what? What did you do in post? A bee? And then to have the audacity to do it in two parts? Fuck off.

4. Add to that. The costumes and new sets looked so much cheaper this season than previous seasons. Where did the budget go.

5. The plot is too crowded. Maybe you thought a curvy girl couldn’t carry a season. Maybe it was bad writing. Obviously you needed Cressida and Eloise to have decent amounts of screen time but you also did half of Francesca’s story and set one up for Violet and Benedict that collectively took the majority of the screen time and left us with very little Pen and Colin. Which was a disservice you never gave Anthony or Daphne’s seasons and was why they were good. We got enough crumbs of the others to tell us what was happening but not enough to make them feel like main characters or to make it feel like an ensemble show. There were leads in season 1 and 2. This season it was an ensemble with too many moving parts. But everyone’s said that. It’s not surprising.

6. My biggest problem is the tone. The blame. Admittedly I’m a woman who relates strongly to Penelope so I’m not impartial here. But for a character who spends her entire life being abused by every single person in this show, who is pushed to her absolute breaking point before finally giving her mother and the tonne a taste of their own medicine. For that character to receive no grace, no understanding, no respect, for the vast majority of the season hurt. To not only have zero understanding of her situation but to frame the entire plot of the show around the fact that SHE alone should be sorry. To have minimal to no groveling from Colin over what he said last season, to have no acknowledgment of how he treated her as a safety net, to humanize Cressida who made her life hell with minimal acknowledgment of that fact, to have Eloise get ONE comment from Cressida of all people about her friendship with Penelope but no real reflection from Eloise or acknowledgment on her part or apologies for what a truly SHIT friend she was for DECADES. That hurt. Because the message is that sure, they can push you to your fucking limit, you can break after years of being bullied for your weight and your looks and your status. Your own mother and sisters hands can be filthy with insults and abuse. Your friends can treat you like utter garbage for years. They can befriend your bullies. Your soon to be husband can, very recently, insult you to his friends behind your back. But you owe them the apology for breaking after years of abuse. It’s not that the tonne couldn’t be angry or that they all should’ve fallen at Pen’s feet. It’s that those arguments never happen at all because once again, just like when she was being used and abused by everyone, everything was put on Penelope. And the cycle continues.

7. Colin should’ve groveled more. I know I said that in the previous point but it really ruined things for me so I want to emphasize it. I wanted that man on his knees the whole season, and I should’ve known I wasn’t gonna get that when y’all dropped the list of songs and there wasn’t any of the A List Yearners on the list. But I’m still mad.

8. Actually that’s a good point. Did anyone else think the songs didn’t go as hard this year? Except Pitbull were we excited about any of them?

9. You did the Pride and Prejudice ballroom trick with the dancing alone thing and you didn’t nail it. If you’re gonna do that trick it has to fucking HIT. (And it has to be enemies to lovers.) And you did it half assed. You should be ashamed.

10. There was a two second window there when Cressida asked the maid for help where I thought they were gonna swap lives and the maid would go with her aunt and Cressida would become a maid and I was like “holy fuck is Cressida gonna become Bennys love interest?” and that would’ve been better than what y’all did I think. And it would’ve justified her excessive screen time.

11. I love gender swapping Michaela and making Francesca bi. We love it. But why was Francesca immediately interested. Once again the writers don’t understand pining. Michaela is PINING for Francesca and can do nothing but love her from afar. Francesca loved John completely and whole heartedly. Michaela was a beautiful love story for her but was also a second chance. She loved John completely. She would never have an emotional affair on him. How did you immediately ruin such a beautiful second chance romance?

12. Where was Pen’s friendship with Anthony or Lady Danbury? Why wasn’t Colin proud of Pen the way he was in the book? To make her even more alone? To emphasize that she was alone and at fault and helpless? Fuck off.

I just don’t have it in me to watch this show deteriorate further.

[mr-culper]

In general, the brothel scene was brilliantly film. I especially liked the shooting angle from above, because Aemond looks like death there.

I really like how they did it. Although for me this whole scene was, as it's said, too much, a bit thick. Well, I don't know, but it was hard for me, I felt uncomfortable watching the brothel scene from the beginning to the end. And yet milk. Oh, Christ.

But then I thought maybe it should be uncomfortable.

We had grown accustomed to watching someone being killed, tortured, maimed in TV series. Game of Thrones has rape scenes. Outlander has rape scenes, and they are filmed in remarkable way. Several women were raped there, at least one child, – on top of that then his hand was cut off after some time, – and one man. And the scene with the male character, oddly enough, is the worst of all: he was in prison at that time, he was tortured, abused and raped. The scene is truly monstrous, awful and nightmarish, but I watched it, and you know what, it didn't really scratch me. I mean, I was like: well, ahh, that was terrifyingly, what next? let's continue to watch next. And my gut tells me that I wasn't the only one who thought so.

That is, now, for some reason, we – humanity – take a calmly view of very scary things. Or very indecent ones. In TV series, there are explicit scenes of torture, explicit scenes of sexual content, which are also generally inappropriate to show, yes, some other 'too much' moments... and that passes for normal. However, as soon as one shows a scene where a character is just lying on someone's soft lap, trying to abstract their mind, and all this is so vulnerable, tender and fragile, that people say: we feel uncomfortable!

So, watching someone being raped or murdered, or how captain Flint struck Singleton across the face with a cannonball and beat him to a bloody mess – this is normal for us, but watching a person who is vulnerable, open and seeks solace – is no.

We, the audience, are so unprepared to face our own vulnerability that we feel uncomfortable seeing it in someone else.

We are ready to meet with any expressions of violence against other people, against ourselves, because life is dark and full of terrors. One reads the news items every morning, there is an endless chain of murders, explosions, riots, arson attacks, terroristic acts, and some other villainies happen all the time. It has even start to wear thin! We have become so accustomed to it that at some point one sits and says: ah, someone was blown up here again, something fell there, something was burned out, someone was shot, those built a trebuchet and bomb their neighbors across the border, someone was flayed alive. In general, nothing new. You just sit and think: okay, things are getting worse every minute, but overall, it's possible to live, just live on, we are constantly faced with all this, so, darling, just keep yourself alive, please...

And then they show us Aemond in a brothel, and we are not ready for it. We feel uncomfortable, because we begin to feel vulnerable ourselves.

In Black Sails, in Season 3, John Silver says an absolutely wonderful phrase: I cannot look weak, I cannot feel weak, I cannot be weak.

I totally agree.

We are all obsessed with... well, not all of us, but many of us, I know people like that, I am that person myself... with not being weak, not looking or feeling weak, with being strong in any situation. I'm obsessed with self-control as well. Maybe that is why Aemond is so like-minded for me, not only because of fierce embitterment contained in both of us, but also because of the idea of controlling our own feelings.

I used to be very wishy-washy in my previous life. Now I'm a kind of reasonable person, but before... I'm very ashamed of who I had once been, because I complained about my life, I was spineless, weak, neither fish nor fowl. It really pissed me off, I hated and despised myself for it. At some point, I realized: I must to grab myself by the balls (figuratively speaking), clench my fists and jaw, stand out the cords of my neck and become a strong person or do something of that kind to stop despising myself. So yes, I'm obsessed with the idea of ​​self-control, with being someone who solves problems, neither creates ones nor suffers from them.

And maybe for me, and maybe for many others, it was uncomfortable to watch the scene with Aemond and Sylvi for this very reason, because all of that is such an exposure of the human soul that you just unable to bear it.

I really like the House of the Dragon screenwriter's innovation in this regard. The brothel scene hit us where it hurts the most. Well done. I'm delighted. They did this scene so great. I love it showed Aemond from his vulnerable side, from the side of a person who is also worried, being emotional over, but is trying to somehow solve all this in other ways. It doesn't mean Aemond does nothing. He does what no one else does – he thinks. He takes a break and reflects.

That's an excerpt from the new episode of the Tea & Rum podcast about Aemond's first brothel scene.

To find more episodes go to Boosty.

[azaharinflames]

Curently 911 is filming episode 11 & 12, and Lou is working on another project. There's no way he's working on 9-1-1 at the same time. LA traffic alone wouldn't allow it.

I thought I have prepared my heart for the possibility of Bucktommy not going back together again. But a new affirmative sign like this still hurts me a little 😔.

Hi, Nonnie!

Listen, I get it. But in my honest opinion? Lou was never gonna come back in the first eps of 8b. We know 9&10 are mostly going to deal with Maddie’s kidnapping and Tim has teased the end of ep 10 changes everyone’s life. Now, you can choose to be a bit skeptical about that part. I know I am.

Either way, we know post ep 10 there is a time jump. My personal theory is that it won’t be a super big one, rather it will be a natural time jump (to make it so what happens in the series happens at the same time as we watch it), and the first couple eps will be to establish some SLs.

Personal theory? We will see the rebound for Buck that Tim teased. I do believe it won’t last more than a couple eps. And then we’ll probably have Buck exploring or trying to get to know himself better. Boring and overused, but if they go in any other direction I will be genuinely surprised.

If/when Tommy comes back… honestly I don’t think it’ll be any earlier than at least midway through 8b, if not in the last couple of eps or even in the last one. Mostly so the audience is hooked for the next season but also because it wouldn’t make sense to make the audience go through the bs of 806-808 if things were going to be fine a few eps later.

We have to remember Tommy is not a main. Most likely, if Buck and he manage to find each other again, it will be something to mostly happen off-season, imo. As in, we will have a cute reunion on screen, then the season will end, then (perhaps based on the reaction idk) we’ll start the next season (if we get one) already with them having worked through their issues.

I know the idea of it sucks a bit but hey. They had Tarlos say their ILYs off-season. So. I wouldn’t be too surprised lmao.

(Also if he does not come back for this season, I honestly think he will only come back if they need a HEA for Buck once the series ends and Lou is available for that. Because imho they are not finding a LI that works better than him any time soon)

As for Lou’s filming schedule, I wouldn’t put too much weight on it. Mostly because we don’t know it. We don’t know if he’s mostly done with the sketch show, or if he only has to shoot 3 days a week, or what. Nothing tells us shooting that and shooting 911 is something impossible to combine.

And I don’t want to pretend I know something will happen, or give anyone false hope. I’m the first person who truly expects nothing from this show anymore and who knows chances are we will be disappointed, because the show has shown us we can’t trust it. Just wanted to point out some things ;)

Anyway, my inbox is open for venting, ranting, and giving your opinions! Physical therapy has been kicking my ass this week but I’ll try to be more present (don’t tear your meniscus, babes. I highly do not recommend)

Take care <3

[rewatching-sam-and-dean]

In Defence of Sam Winchester

(Or alternately titled)

Two Times Sam Actually Made Pretty Big Mistakes and Several Times When He Did Not (But was Blamed Anyway)

I have two sort of random thoughts on this scene, followed by a long-ass rant about Sam’s Alleged Screw-ups under the cut. This is me, so of course it got long.

1. “Sam, I want Gadreal to pay as much as you do, but nothing is worth losing you.”

Truth. Here we have one of the few times I can unreservedly agree with Castiel.

2. “Being human didn’t just change my view of food, it changed my view of you.”

I don’t ship on this show, both brothers are implied to be straight, and I don’t want to see either of them in a long term relationships while the other is around because it would just suck to be Sam or Dean’s significant other, as you’d always be a distant second to their brother.

But … if Castiel had to fall for one of the brothers (we are not discussing whatever that was in Despair), it should have been Sam. First, Sam treated him with a ton more courtesy, respect and forgiveness than Dean (and more than he ever deserved), and the arc could have been really compelling. Seeing an angel going from seeing Sam as an abomination, to protecting him for Dean’s sake, to protecting him for his Sam’s own sake, to learning to empathize and relate to Sam after being human himself, to loving him for overcoming his own flaws and guilt could have been pretty epic. Again, I’m fine with it not actually happening because Supernatural is not about romance for me, but they could have done something similar and made Sam and Cas' friendship more rich if they’d given them more screen time. There are moments where Sam and Cas are quite sweet with each other, just fond; meanwhile, Dean is cursing Cas out every other episode, and Cas is backstabbing Dean (and Sam) while they call each other friend. And Jared and Misha have good chemistry, so if Cas had to stick around longer than his character warranted, they should have had the characters who can relate to each other actually have opportunities to, well, relate more. And I don’t buy that line that Jared and Misha couldn’t get through a scene together because the gags and bloopers have to be exaggerated or no one could have gotten through scenes on set, and none of them would have gotten jobs after the show ended.

Anyway, on to what truly sparked this post..

3. “The only person who has screwed things up more consistently than you, is me.”

So, this is the part of the scene where my Sam and Cas interaction fondness evaporates. The basic statement is correct, Castiel has in fact “screwed things up” more than Sam, but the implication is that Sam is this constant screw-up, and with this I take issue. Much issue.

This scene is located in Season 9, a season where Sam has in fact not screwed up, but has rather been screwed over. Dean has screwed up here, you know, the other Winchester brother who makes mistakes but doesn’t get the “consistent” blame for it that Sam does by the show (or characters. Or many fans). This is not in anyway anti Dean, but both brothers screw up a lot and the Sam scapegoating is out of control.

On that note, when has Sam consistently screwed up (in a big way, not smaller things), with him solely responsible for doing the “screwing,” and when is it a result of actions outside of his control?

Season 1: Sam going to college was treated like he committed murder, when it was actually normal and justifiable thing to do, so I’m not counting that. Next, Sam discovered he’s been fed demon blood as a baby, so he’s monster adjacent. This is not something he did wrong, but was done to him. He also failed to kill Azazrl, but he did so because he couldn’t kill his own dad who was possessed at the time (especially with Dean begging him not to). No major failures or screw-ups here.

Season 2: Sam is possessed by a demon, who kills and attacks people while wearing his body. Sam didn’t chose this, but it is another thing that was done to him. Later, be gets killed (if you can call that screwing something up) because he showed compassion to another “Soecisl Child.” His reward for his goodness was being stabbed in the back. He didn’t screw anything up on a grad scale this season, but was too good.

Season 3: Sam fails to save Dean from his Demon Deal. Again, Sam didn’t make this deal, so Dean dying was his own fault (as sad and awful as it is). Sam could have saved Dean (we know this from Season. 4’s arc), but Dean would not let him work with Ruby to do so. Again, Dean died because of Dean, not Sam. Though, I will never forgive the show for not letting Sam save him here, it still isn’t a Sam scew-up.

Season 4: Ah, here is the major time that Sam did in fact screw up. Drinking the demon blood and trusting Ruby were no bueno (though she did do the work to make herself look trustworthy and Sam was mad with grief, he still fuckrd up). Then, his ��greatest” mistake: he killed Lilith, freeing Lucifer from the cage and starting the apocalypse. This was a major screw up too, but he also didn’t know what was going to happen, and if he didn’t do it, Dean was planning to do the same, so I don’t think he deserved actual blame for killing a demon (without knowing the consequences), when everyone from angels to demons was suggesting she needed to die. My tally: 1.5 Sam screw-ups.

Season 5: All Sam does this whole Season is be honest, atone, redeem himself, and Save the world (with Dean’s help). Sam is perfect in Season 5. Fight me.

Season 6: Sam does a lot of bad shit: kills a lot of people, tries to dad-icide Bobby, brings the Campbells on screen by hunting with them (snd they suck), and hurts Dean pretty repeatedly. Except Sam, the real Sam, didn’t do any of these things by choice. “He lost his soul” which Dean even blmaes him for in Season 8, but that’s giving Sam too much agency in this problem. He didn’t “lose” his soul like he “lost his shoe.” No. His soul was left behind, deliberately or not, by Castiel (lead screw-up himself) to be tortured by Lucifer in the cage. Sam’s actions in Season 6 were not “just another Sam screw-up” because he didn’t actually do anything wrong because the Real Sam wasn’t even steering the ship. So, smy Soulless Sam mistakes in Season 6 are Castiel’s Fault.

Season 7: Sam goes insane. Even though some of the characters seems to blame Sam for this (or at least resent him for it), as though MHI are something for which we should blame the affected person, Sam is not to blame here. Having a bout of insanity after being tortured in hell for 150+ years is not a screw-up. It’s not an oopsie. It’s both reasonable and not Sam’s fault. It is in fact Castiel’s fault (again) for breaking Sam’ hell wall. So, much like last season, in Season 7, Sam even more so did nothing wrong. I really will fight you on that one.

Season 8: And here’s the crux of what Castiel was probably actually more directly referring to. Sam didn’t save Dean from Purgatory. He committed the cardinal sin of codependent brother husbands (I don’t ship, but I do call them this to amuse myself). He didn’t save Dean from Purgatory: he didn’t sell his soul; lose himself in grief, pursuit of revenge, or self-destruction (like in Mysety Spot or Season 4); or try to kill himself to make a deal to get this brother back. What a monster! Never mind that he didn’t know that Dean was in Purgatory at all, or that he thought he was doing what Dean would have wanted in case of his death, and try to live (like he told Dean to do when he sacrifices himself in Sean Sing).

If we need to count this as one of Sam’s big screw-ups (as opposed to weak and/or out of character writing), we are now at two major mistakes (or 2.5). Sam had “consistently” actively screwed things up on a large-Castiel-like scale twice in 9 seasons. The other screw-ups were because he was too good of a person or because someone else has done something to him that has lead to terrible consequences.

Actually, I guess we have to count Sam not closing the gates of hell, as if that would have worked out in our favour on this never ending tragedy of a show even if he’d done it. Still, I guess he didn’t “succeed” in dying on an errand thst probably would have backfired on the world anyway. But, in this case he actually would have succeeded (and did in the first 3 trials) if Dean hadn’t stopped him. Dean begged him not to complete the last trial so he wouldn't kill himsrlf, so if this is one of Sam’s screw-ups, it’s Dean’s too. And I’m not even inclined to count it as one because, as I said, it probably wouldn’t have had the resulted in anything good if the gates were closed. But, if I must add it, Sam’s tally is 3.5 large mistakes in 9 + years.

Castiel, you’re kind of an asshole.

(Before anyone comes at me, if you bother to read this far, I know Sam (and Dean, and everyone) makes lots of smaller mistakes, but for the purposes of my rebuttal to Castiel’s point, I’m only focused on big world-ending, or in other ways personally devastating, mistakes.)

[sweet-little-tank-top-number]

Ok so, logically I know that Stargate SG-1 is episodic television that has to return to some semblance of status quo at the end of each episode. Therefore, physical injuries are always resolved before the top of the next episode, with no lasting ramifications unless they are relevant to the plot. Hand waved because the show format demands it.

So… I’ve got a little personal headcanon about it: I think Sam regularly uses the goa’uld healing device.

The healing device belonged to Kendra on Cimmeria and SG-1 obtains it after her death (and after Sam’s possession by Jolinar) in early season 2. Furthermore, we don’t see Sam actively use it onscreen until she heals Cronus in early season 3. So my little theory doesn’t account for earlier injuries, like Jack’s busted leg in Antarctica.

In any case, it seems silly for them not to use a resource like this.

So I’ve got a few points to this headcanon:

They prioritize study of the hand device first, trying to figure out how it works and if they can replicate it or create a version anyone can use. They can’t. It’s the only one they have unless they find more later.

They might be worried that repeated use might cause a milder form of the madness induced by a sarcophagus.

They’re not sure about the power supply and how much juice the thing has in it, so they don’t know how long it will last.

Due to the Naquadah in her blood after Jolinar, Sam is the only one at the SGC who can use it for quite a while… until Vala comes along, I think.

Sam takes a while to learn how to use it, just like there was a learning curve with her using a kara kesh in season 2. The thing requires Sam to tap into strong emotion/desire to use it and she is someone who keeps a tight lock on her emotions.

According to the tie-in novel, Roswell, it takes quite a lot out of the user, so I imagine Janet would try to restrict usage so that Sam doesn’t do any harm to herself. A goa’uld using one can easily repair their host, but Sam doesn’t have that luxury.

The same novel also mentions that the device can create a mental link, much like the kara kesh did between Sha’re and Daniel in Forever in a Day. I can see Sam being uncomfortable with that aspect of it and reluctant to use it except in the most dire circumstances.

The device can only heal, not bring back the dead.

There also seems to be a limit to the extent of injury it can heal, as evidenced by the failure to heal Daniel after he got irradiated. Or maybe Sam just isn’t skilled enough to handle the catastrophic failure happening in Daniel’s body at the time compared to a bullet wound or staff blast.

All this to say that I think they keep the healing device around and Sam is brought into the infirmary to help from time to time. But they don’t rely on it, and only have her step in to help with injuries that are life-threatening or may result long-term, crippling damage. They just use good old Tau’ri medicine for everything else.

So while Sam does truly enjoy her scientific work in her lab, this headcanon adds another level to her workaholic tendencies. She has an incredible sense of personal responsibility and self-sacrifice, so I think she would feel compelled to stick around the SGC in case they need her. I don’t think she’d forgive herself if someone died in the infirmary when she could have made a difference.

No wonder Jack can never get her to go fishing…

(Wrote up this whole longpost just to justify the shippy scene in my head where Sam uses the healing device to fix the staff wound on Jack’s leg after Netu. Because of her rattled emotional state due to the deep dive into Jolinar’s memories, she sorta fumbles when trying to heal him and inadvertently creates a strong mental link. Both Sam and Jack get a deep look into each others’ vulnerable mental state.)

[sunnywalnut]

Finished watching Dead Boy Detectives. Here are my honest thoughts.

-If you're going into it expecting another Good Omens, stop. Our protagonists are all minors. Teenagers. They cuss, they have total dirty mouths and sexual humor, but they are not eternal beings pretending to be middle aged men. They're ghosts. Dead Boys, if you will. Also this might be a stretch, but I'm assuming from the slightly less good CGI that the budget for this series was a LOT less than what it was for GO

-Edwin is kind of a dick in the first episode. But it's okay. Because character growth is swag.

-REALISTIC CHARACTER GROWTH!!! I liked Edwin a LOT more during the second episode BECAUSE of the character growth. And honestly? It's completely natural that bro is more than a little prickly after only being able to trust one guy for an extremely long time. Fair enough my guy. Carry on.

- this show kinda has Nimona vibes. If that makes sense. Witty humor, somewhat sexual dialogue, funny moments during serious times, though geared towards a younger audience. If you like those kinds of things, you will like this, I'm sure of it.

- In the early episodes, the pacing/character relationships feel a little off??? I'm not sure if that was because I was expecting another Good Omens or what. But after 2-3 episodes, the dust quickly settled and we got into the actual storyline. Which was extremely appreciated✨

-these villains are FUCKED up. I'm telling you. They are HORRIFIC. Had me squirming and cringing through their intense scenes. And gosh. That was a TRIP.

-TY TENANT PLAYS THE MAIN GUY EDWIN!!!! And he plays him WELL. I did not realize this going in to the show and thought his face was VERY familiar. Only after I looked it up did I realize why. He's our sassy son of Job. (EDIT: turns out Ty plays the Doom Patrol version. Not the one on Netflix. My bad! They do look pretty similar though, so ykw. Great casting. Also my point still stands. This guy is a pretty fuckin awesome actor. 10/10)

-Cat King is such a wild card holy SHIT.

-Charles is cute as fuck. His backstory HURTS. But also. I love the way his ears look. Like in the pictures that I saw of him they were of when the Cat King impersonated him so I was like oh chill. So he's got pointed ears bc feline but NOPE. He's just like that!! And honestly? Slay. I fuckin love it.

-oh did I mention tragic backstories???? Yeah we got those :D for everyone :D

-Niko is the best and I love her. Also I love how the letters on her desk are written in Japanese. That is a VERY nice touch of character building.

-hot butcher lady with throat tattoo

All in all. A truly delightful series and I genuinely hope it gets another season because I NEED to know what happens next. My little sister LOVED it and the ending had us all staring open mouthed at the TV screen in shock.

This 15yo girl is literally ranting my ear off, having adventures with the Dead Boys in her dreams and chatting with me about it, searching up fanfics and drawing fanart, the whole shabang. And it is DIFFICULT for this girl to get into shows like this. So honestly? This is perfect. Thank you, Neil. For giving us a whole other banger.

That being said. If anybody else has some younger siblings that are around 15-17 and are looking for shows to binge watch together, this is the perfect one. I'm telling you, you will NOT regret it (except maybe emotionally)

Thoroughly recommend.

[doyoucopypod]

So this happened! THIS IS INSANE!! If you told me back in 2023 that we’d be here I wouldn’t believe you! And also I can go off without worrying about a word limit so buckle up!

Do You Copy? literally started with this basic idea of two park rangers who just kinda put up with each other and it grew into this weird and sometimes (mostly always) upsetting story about grief and loss and a weird forest monster. And you all just took that and said “yeah this is sick.” Like?!?! That’s so awesome and I’m so very glad I have people to share this with.

And not only thank you to the listeners but a big thank you to the fellow podcast pals who helped me and explained things for me. I literally didn’t know what I was doing (I still don’t) and every piece of information and advice was so incredibly appreciated. Everyone has been nothing but supportive and awesome!

I’m sure the day will come where I’ll get even sappier than this, but we’re not done yet so I’ll save a lot of it for then. Season two finale is next Monday! September 30th! The show’s not done there. No series finale yet. But we’re getting close. (Season 3 confirmed hello?!?!)

But truly. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[arthurtaylorlester]

malevolent season 4 was... something, that's for sure

i want to preface this by saying i LOVE malevolent as a show and this is no means an attack on the creator or anything like that, i don't think i'll ever stop listening halfway, no matter how i feel about it. i'm not saying season 4 is all bad either.

it is a deviation for malevolent, though i found it VERY well written up until part 31 (and part 31 is my favourite malevolent episode ever)

s4 started off really strong for me, part 29 set the tone really well, much lighter after s3's emotional lows. the butcher was an interesting enough new villain to put yarson aside for now. part 30 had some charming moments, but the real star of the early season was part 31, a truly incredibly written and directed look into arthur's psychology. it truly gave us everything, from lore to highly comedic moments (to me)(no because why was arthur dreaming of waking up next to a shirtless man who tried to kill him)

parts 32 through 34 i'm not sure about, but i can write them off as awkward mid season points. part 34 was an interesting shift in perspective, but here is where my doubt's about the season's villains started rising

but the oscar & scratch arcs.... guys i'm gonna be honest, i might be oscar's #1 hater

scratch and oscar in this season were functionally useless filler. it's not unusual for arthur and john get sidetracked during their missions, but it usually ends up leading them right where they need to be by the season finale. this felt like a parenthesis that killed any tension created by the butcher.

this season had, quite unnecessarily, 3 antagonists. now this wouldn't be a terrible idea, had they been established before. but no. for some reason it was chosen to leave the only villain we could genuinely be afraid of alone, in favour of introducing not one but two antagonists yet to be established. neither because of this have the adequate fear factor (the butcher is better about this) and both get the most abysmal ends i could've imagines. what do you mean scratch is just gone like that after causing some emotional conflict with his deal. what do you mean the butcher was KOed by the fucking priest with a bedpan? what? that's it? you expect me to be scared or even care about the butcher now?

speaking of the priest. i want to like oscar i really do but. he's a terribly written character. we get to know him while arthur is teaching john intimidation tactics so out of gate our initial impression of him is as someone meek. and then in part 36 after "sorting out" the butcher, oscar just dumps out his trauma point blank to someone he's spoken to a handful of times in the past 3? 4? days.

malevolent in general has a bit of an exposition problem, but it usually works out if it's john expositing because. that's literally all he can do. but when a character with more agency do it, it makes them flat. oscar didn't have to tell us all that, he didn't have a reason. arthur confessing to 7 murders isn't a prompt to make himself vulnerable like that. i did not start caring for him, just because he had a tragic backstory. that's... not how you get someone to care about a character. oscar could be defined as a static character, and while it's not too unusual for a static character to be the focal point of an arc, i don't think it works the way most authors think it does.

also the worms in the farm only happened because of him messing with the stove so like. that's not helping his case.

the completely unnecessary farm arc concluded, we return oscar to the hospital, with arthur caving very quickly to john's demands if he truly cared about oscar so much. and so, a single episode before the finale, we get properly acquainted our main ally for the showdown. a choice definitely, but i feel like this one worked out pretty well considering noel had time to simmer before we got know of his past + he had interesting conflict with john and arthur.

and then there's the big one, the thing that appalls me entirely. leaving larson and yellow, the main villains of the finale COMPLETELY alone until the very end. why? why would you choose to not use them earlier? we spent so much time away from larson, so we weren't really as scared of him as we were at the end of part 28 (i literally was listening to the last 15 minutes of this ep on my toes because i thought he might do something) and we had had no CHANCE to even fear yellow, since we knew nothing of his power?

and what, the butcher is on our side now because noel granted his release? just like that? i know he's a contract killer but arthur insulted him to his face, he can believe they understand each other but did he feel no anger?

the finale did well, considering the context it was given to work with, though i did not understand the point of the memory thing... that didn't go anywhere? because not arthur nor noel actually lost anything. we don't know what the box was for, we only know some guy wrote "the birth of my son" on slip of paper and put it in. arthur assumed it was a memory, when it just as well could've been a literal offering, arthur assumed it would involve losing said memory, and they assumed it was related. initially i thought it would only go through if the ritual took place, which, it didn't. but reading back here is no further clarification on it. hold your angst horses, blindfaith enjoyers

i feel like john physically manifesting, if now an established power of his, was very cheap. unless it was a one-off, or some sort of power up, it just literally took away the main premise of the show. an all-powerful god rendered powerless by being stuck in some guy's mind and being forced to confront the troubles of someone infinitesimal to him. if you let him astral project and save people, then what's the point?

but i do actually think it was a one-off, so we'll see how it goes

simply put, john saving arthur when he jumped in s3 had more impact than this because he did it with a single, human, hand. no magic.

it was pleasant to have kayne and his expected chaos back, jarring as always. john's deal was exactly what we all thought it was going to be, maybe more about himself than arthur, but i don't think anyone can fault him for that.

one things though, and this questions may just be me not remembering, is arthur supposed to know that yellow is a separate entity from john when they realise larson has him in his head? because i remember arthur just assuming that 'yellow' just had all of his memories returned in part 23, and therefore not knowing that he's a separate guy from john.

just in general, i feel like s4 had a LOT of good ideas that weren't given enough room to breathe and therefore weren't written very well that really weighed down my enjoyment of the season. that's not to say there weren't things i liked. the emotional moments hit just as hard, like reconciling with daniel, the comedy was on point (genuinely this season was so funny) and even the most out of pocket thing arthur has ever said, calling john a child, no matter how much discourse it caused, was actually sort of in character for him? i mean arthur is an asshole so like i get why his immediate reaction to his severely emotionally unintelligent friend being possessive is babying him. they're awful people. they deserve each other. it made somewhat sense in retrospect.

all this to say, while i didn't hate s4, i think it had a lot of writing issues, especially when comparing it to the other 3, and it could've been done WAYY better but hey we all have our moments.

i await anxiously intermezzo's public release and the rest of season 5 👀

[strangerfigs]

GTFO!!!!

season 3 episode 5

Lucas: it’s up to us

Mike: up to us to do what exactly?

Lucas: find Billy and stop him

Mike: okay yeah that’s a really nice sentiment but even if el could find him again, and that’s a pretty big if, then what?

Lucas: We burn the shit out of him and make sure he doesn’t escape this time.

Mike: Okay, then what?

Lucas: Then we win.

Mike: No, see, that’s the problem. We don’t. We don’t win. We got the Mind Flayer out of Will before and he just came right back. We don’t just have to stop Billy, we have to stop the Mind Flayer.

Lucas: How in hell do we do that?

Mike: I don’t know.

Will: Maybe El does.

Mike: *turns to the bathroom that El and Max are inside* What the hell are they doing in there?

-

This scene is CRAZY… The absolute CONTRAST multiple Byler scenes (where Byler is ALONE btw) is CRAZY. It’s also crazy to me the only quote I don’t have is from season 3… of course?

Season 1

Will’s body is found.

Mike — “IT'S NOT WILL. IT CAN'T BE.”

-

Mike — “All I know is Will is alive. Will is alive! He's out there somewhere. All we have to do is find him.”

Season 2

Mike – “You're like a spy now. A superspy. Spying on the shadow monster. If you know what he's seeing and feeling... maybe that's how we can stop him. Maybe all of this is happening for a reason.”

Will – “You really think so?”

Mike – “Yeah. Yeah, I really do.”

Will – “What if he figures out we're spying on him? What if he spies back?”

Mike – “He won't.”

Will – “How do you know?”

Mike – “We won't let him.”

-

Season 4

Mike – “You don't trust Owens?”

Will – “No. I don't know. I mean, he's been good to us and good to El, but he wasn't able to protect me. That was you guys who saved me. That was you guys.”

Mike – “Looks like it's gonna be up to us again.”

Will – “It always is, isn't it?”

-

Mike — “I have no idea what's gonna happen next. But, whatever it is, I... I think we should work together. I think it'll be easier if we're... we're a team. Friends. Best friends.”

-

Mike — “She’s never lost before. Not like this.”

Will — “She’ll have another chance.”

Mike — “Let’s hope not. Let’s hope One is dead and rotting.”

Will — “He’s not. Now that I’m here… in Hawkins. I can feel him. And he’s hurt. He’s hurting. But he’s still alive. It’s strange knowing now who it was the whole time but I still remember what he thinks and how he thinks. And he is not going to stop, ever. Not until he’s taken everything and everyone. We have to kill him.”

Mike — “And we will. We will.”

-

There are several things I’d like to point out here. Let’s start with the first that’s the most obvious.

1) Mike clearly has no interest or instinct in comforting Lucas as opposed to Will who he consistently aims to comfort, support, and provide hope for. It’s actually just crazy to me, mostly because Will knows this version of Mike so well, which is why he pushes Mike offer comfort, support, and hope to El. Because he so successfully does it with Will. Will expects him to be that way with them all but he isn’t, but all the times that Mike acts that way toward him, they are alone, so Will truly has no idea that Mike only has this optimistic/hopeful/supportive attitude with him

2) Mike’s general optimism and hope. Especially when comparing it to the scene where Mike is saying “looks like it will be up to us again” and “I’m not sure what happens next but I think we should work together. I think it will be easier if we’re a team.” The general optimism and hope Mike feels here is unparalleled in regard to literally anyone else. Will gives him hope. Being around and with Will brings him the sense that everything is going to be okay, and that it will be easier to navigate. This is a sidenote but I’d also like to point out that Mike also shows self-sufficiency and self-worth and confidence around Will with him saying, “looks like it’s going to be up to us again,” as opposed to feeling useless when he is around or thinks about el. ;_; Mike also holds onto hope that Will is still alive in season 1, not even believing it when he witnesses Will’s body being pulled out of the water! Will gives him so much hope. Even in the scenes where he is comforting him, you can tell that he really believes what he is saying… that they will win because of the hope and confidence Will instills in him, along with the visceral need to protect him. Also, the scene between majority Mike and Lucas in season 3 — Mike only stops doubting everything and their ability to win when Will speaks up. Mike then switches the conversation to what El and Max are doing in there, indicating ALSO, that Mike has discovered some hope from what Will said — that maybe El would know what to do. It’s actually just… insane that that shuts him up and gives him a place to put his hope in, even though he was literally just doubting El’s ability to find Billy again in the literal same scene, which really just goes to show that it’s Will that is giving him hope, it’s not necessarily that he believes in El, it��s because Will is a symbol of hope for him. Which brings me to my next point…

3) Mike doubting El’s ability to find Billy again vs Mike quite literally believing that Will can use knowing what the Mind Flayer is seeing and feeling to STOP HIM, literally saying, maybe that’s how they can stop him… maybe that it was all happening for a reason (instilling hope and comfort and support) while also believing in Will, and seeing him as a source of hope, even though Will is unsure of his ability to do that himself, Mike is fully confident in him. However Mind Flayer does end up spying on them as well. VS again, Mike not believing in El in this scene, saying that literally out loud, but also throughout s3, about her capabilities and powers, and that she can’t find Billy… even though she can and literally does… but Mike has no confidence in her (and I know that this has been pointed out a ton) but its just insane. Then, in s4, Mike saying he believes that she can FLY and MOVE MOUNTAINS even though that’s just so out of range of what she can do with her powers. (And again!!! He says this because Will encourages him to!!!) It’s just such an over correction because it is unauthentic so it’s not what Mike actually BELIEVES. And this is probably a stretch but the “And we will. We will.” Is so important here. That single word “and” is so important here because it indicates that he is unified with Will; that they are are a Team and Working Together and by doing that, they will kill him. Idk? It’s just interesting that they included that “and” because it’s so unnecessary if it just means absolutely nothing. Also - I think it’s OF COURSE important to point out that Will is with him when he is “empowering” Eleven during that monologue. He gave him hope to believe in Eleven just like in this season 3 scene.

Like, sorry, but ;_; if Mike gives Will the courage to go on, then Will gives Mike the HOPE to keep fighting because Mike doesn’t need courage. He has enough of that — he is willing to jump off a cliff for his friends, but he needs HOPE, because he is a broody, moody little man full of self doubt and an instinct to protect his loved ones. <3 they are just so beautiful your honor

4) one more thing that’s also so obvious but just obviously obvious mike treats will so differently than dustin or lucas even though they are all “best friends” as mike wheeler once said in s1. ok thank you

[supernovafics]

could i please request steve x reader to bug collector by haley heynderickx :)

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐔𝐆 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑

pairing: steve harrington x fem!reader

word count: 2.8k words

summary: in which after being thrown into the insanity happening within hawkins and somehow making it out alive, you feel different, to say the least. it’s hard to move on from everything that happened, or even fully process it, and steve is the only one that can make things feel even the slightest bit better

warnings: post season 2 but pre season 3, explicit language, some fluff, lots of angst, steve being so boyfriend coded it’s crazy

author’s note: i hadn’t heard of/listened to this song before you sent this request but now i absolutely love it 😭 (sorry this kinda took forever but i hope you enjoy!<3)

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。

It wasn’t foreign for you to wake up in his bed. In fact, it was probably the most slightly normal constant in your life at the moment, and you liked that. You would be eternally grateful for Steve Harrington’s bed. 

However, one thing you didn’t like was the severe lack of curtains in his room, which made it hard to comfortably sleep past eight o’clock. Every time you were abruptly woken up because of that, you would tell yourself that you were going to buy him curtains, but somehow you always forgot. So you took the bright early morning sunlight shining right in your eyes as your cue to get out of the bed. 

You sleepily padded to the bathroom, brushing your teeth with the toothbrush that was designated as yours and then pulling on a wrinkled t-shirt over the tank top you were wearing because of the slightly cold February weather.  

A soft “Hi” fell from your lips when you walked downstairs and into the kitchen, spotting Steve at the stove. You pushed yourself up on the kitchen island and watched him as he finished cooking. You liked watching him– there was something about the mundanity of the act that made you feel at ease, like things in your life were at least a little normal. 

It also showed the self-sufficiency of a boy who had been fending for himself for god knows how long because his parents were rarely ever home, and that was something else that made you realize that your previous assumptions about him had been wrong.

Before everything happened a few months ago, you were convinced that the “King Steve” douchebag narrative was unequivocally true. But, now after actually knowing him, it seemed as if the exact opposite was what was the truth. 

“Hi,” He said as he handed you a plate of eggs, bacon, and a buttered piece of toast. You placed the plate in your lap and Steve stood next to you with his on the counter. The simplicity of the moment made you smile at him.

“Thank you. You’re way too nice to me,” You told him before taking a bite of bacon. “One day I’ll wake up earlier than you and cook breakfast.”

Steve laughed a bit at the conviction in your tone. “I truly doubt that could ever happen. But, also, if you did make breakfast, that would ruin our routine of me doing breakfast and you doing dinner.”

“Should it be concerning that this has happened so much that we have a routine?” 

You knew what the answer to your question was but you still couldn’t help but ask it. How close you and Steve became over the past few months still confused you a bit as much as it made you feel completely at ease. 

“What? You don’t like spending time with me anymore?” He playfully asked, his bottom lip jutting out and making a pouty face that you tried hard not to laugh at. 

“When you make that face, definitely not,” You told him, smiling a bit. But then just as quickly as the smile came, it left because your mind got serious again, and you pulled your eyes away from his and let your thoughts wander back to that confused place. That place that was also full of so much worry and dread that sometimes made it hard to fully enjoy these good moments with Steve. 

He lightly poked your thigh. “What are you thinking?”

Somehow it didn’t surprise you that he was able to tell that your mind was spiraling, and it also didn’t surprise you that you immediately wanted to tell him what was going on in your head. 

“I don’t know,” You shrugged lightly and let out a small sigh. “It’s just sometimes I can’t help but think that if things were normal, if I was normal and could process everything that happened without having those fucking dreams, we wouldn’t be having moments like these.”

The dreams, or more so nightmares, that had plagued you almost every night since everything happened were the main reason why you’d find yourself sleeping at Steve’s more often than not. 

When it first started, it had been a week since everything happened and after the third nightmare in a row, you decided to call him. Him instead of anyone else involved because it just felt right to do so. You two had been in that junkyard and down in those tunnels together, protecting the kids while also protecting each other, so it felt like there was some sort of unspoken bond or link between you two now. 

“I don’t think there’s any “normal” way to process the shit we all went through,” Steve told you, and you knew he was right about that. “Also, even if you didn’t have those nightmares and there was really no reason for you to come here most nights, I’d still need you here. I’d still want you here.”

You let his words wrap around you like a warm blanket and push away your worry, at least for the time being. “Glad to know you still like spending time with me.” 

“You’re probably the best thing that came out of all the shittiness that happened,” He said with a small smile and it wasn’t hard to detect the sincerity behind his words.

“You are too,” You smiled back at him. “Those nightmares suck and I hate having them, so I’m happy I have you. And your bed. Mainly your bed, actually.”

He playfully poked your side, causing you to laugh, as he said, “I’m gonna make you sleep in the guest room tonight.”

You laughed harder. “That would be evil. If I have the worst nightmare of my life tonight, it’s all your fault.”

“I guess I’ll just have to live with the guilt,” He jokingly shrugged and you used your foot to give his hip a light kick, happy that you were still sitting atop the counter because it gave you some sort of leverage.

Steve let out a mock-offended “Ouch,” and then his voice got soft. “You wanna talk about what it was last night?”

Even though your answer was always no, Steve would still always ask that question because he thought maybe one day you’d actually wanna talk about the nightmares and maybe talking about it would help. A part of you also knew that it would probably help, but still, that didn’t mean that you ever wanted to talk about it. 

The nightmare was pretty much recurring, it just became different versions of the same story every night. It was always a pack of demodogs surrounding you, Steve, and the kids, and there was nothing that any of you could do to fight back, so what would happen next was always inevitable. But, the demodogs never got you. Instead, they would always get everyone else, the people you loved and cared for— the people that you wanted to protect. Which made it so much worse than if they had gotten you because there was nothing you could do to help save everyone else. 

Last night they had taken Dustin and then Lucas, and you’d woken up mid-scream right as they started chasing Max. 

Just the thought of the nightmare made you feel like you were right back in it, so you couldn’t even imagine trying to say it out loud. 

You swallowed down the lump in your throat before shaking your head at Steve’s question. “Not really, no.”

“Okay,” He said softly as his hand found your thigh and gave it a reassuring squeeze before almost seamlessly changing the subject. “Hey, look what I got yesterday.”

He went to the pantry, rummaging through it a bit before pulling out a box of graham crackers, marshmallows, and a couple bars of chocolate. 

“We’re making s’mores?” You asked, a small smile tugging at your lips. 

“Yes. You told me you never made them before, which feels like a crime, and I noticed the graham crackers at the grocery store and it gave me the idea and the rest just fell into place from there,” Steve explained. “And yes it’s freezing cold in the middle of February, and not the peak of Summer which is ideal s’mores making weather. But, we can do it tonight at the fireplace.”

Hearing his words made your heart swell. He was so fucking good to you. So thoughtful and sweet— definitely even sweeter than the s’mores you’d be making later. 

You reached out, beckoning him to come closer to you. “I really wanna kiss you.”

He smiled at that as he moved into the open space between your legs, placing the items in his hands down on the counter, and then letting his hands find your hips. “Do it.”

One of your hands found his cheek, which helped you steady yourself as you leaned in and slowly slotted your lips against his. 

This had happened so many times over the past few weeks, but still, kissing Steve managed to surprise you. The soft feel of his mouth against yours, his tongue expertly grazing your bottom lip to make the kiss deeper, his hands squeezing your hips and pulling you impossibly closer to him. 

It almost made you never want to kiss anyone else.

But even so, you two were on the same page about not wanting anything serious anytime soon, or maybe ever. He and Nancy had just broken up and it was clear that he was still at least somewhat hung up on her. And for as long as you could remember you’d planned on leaving Hawkins once you finished high school, which meant there would be no point starting anything with anyone. 

Therefore, because of those reasons, you two were simply unlikely friends that made out sometimes. In your mind it was no big deal. 

“I really wanna kiss you” were the words he said to you a few weeks ago in his car after he picked you up from your shift at the arcade and you two were talking about nothing in the driveway of your house. 

You couldn’t help but smile at his blunt honesty before whispering, “Do it.”

And from there things shifted. You and Steve were no longer simply friends helping each other through a tough time. However, you weren’t dating either; although, a lot of the things you two were doing could’ve been considered as such. It was a line that was continuously toed but never fully crossed. 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。

A movie was playing, but neither of you were watching it. Well, actually, maybe Steve was, but you wouldn’t know since you’d fallen asleep with your head on his shoulder. 

The position was surprisingly comfortable and you would’ve stayed as you were until the moment Steve lightly shook you awake and dragged you to his room so you could sleep in his even more comfortable bed. However, it seemed as if your mind was almost always against you because of how quickly the completely normal dream you were having morphed into the all too familiar nightmare, and you abruptly awoke with a start.

You let out a loud yelp and your heart was racing as you blinked and glanced around the living room, needing a moment to realize that you were awake now and completely safe and no longer watching Steve getting chased by a bunch of demodogs. 

Because, instead, he was sitting right next to you. One of his hands found yours and gave it a light squeeze as he whispered, “Hey, it’s okay, it’s okay. You’re okay.” 

Your gaze met his and you nearly cried at the way he was looking at you with so much concern in his eyes. “Shit. Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” He said, his thumb started softly stroking the back of your hand. “Are you alright?”

“Yes… No? I- I don’t know, it’s just…” You sighed and looked away from him as you finally let out what you’d been holding back for a long time. “It’s always pretty much the same thing that happens– the demodogs hurting all of you guys and I’m unable to do anything to stop them or help. And every single time it feels so real, and it hurts just as much as it did the first time I ever had the nightmare. I hate it.” 

The one thing you didn’t tell him was that sometimes it felt like things would never get better. It felt like you would be permanently stuck in this stage of processing it all; which consisted of you barely processing anything and only being so fucking scared and worried. 

Steve let go of your hand and instead wrapped his arm around you, pulling you close and pressing a kiss to the side of your head.

“Don’t forget that El closed the gate,” He said softly. “None of it can hurt any of us anymore.” 

You felt yourself nodding at his words, trying to let them truly sink in and soothe your worried thoughts, but it was hard; way too hard to forget everything that happened or even move past it. And the fact that you couldn’t do so made you feel so upset with yourself.  

“I’ll be right back,” Your voice was quiet, but Steve heard you, and you were detaching yourself from him and rising from the couch before he could question you. 

When you made it to the bathroom down the hall you didn’t even bother turning on the light because you didn’t want to see what you looked like right then. You leaned against the sink and buried your face in your hands as you quietly cried. 

You wished you could go back to two hours ago when you and Steve were sitting in front of his fireplace making s’mores. It was a moment that was simple and easy and normal. It was also a moment that had mainly been filled with laughter because of the number of times you accidentally burned your marshmallows.

Now you were crying in his bathroom about everything that was wrong in your life and how you felt helpless, like nothing would ever be able to go back to how it used to be. 

You were unsure how long you’d been in the bathroom but when a knock sounded at the door you knew that it probably had been too long. 

You haphazardly wiped your tears away before opening the door, and Steve didn’t waste a moment to pull you into his arms. It was hard not to turn into what essentially felt like a pile of mush in Steve’s arms, and you let yourself cry even harder into his chest. 

“They never should’ve roped you into everything too,” He muttered as he softly started rubbing your back in small, soothing circles.  

“I wanted to help,” You told him, words slightly muffled by his shirt. You pulled back a bit and looked up at him. “And I don’t regret it, even though I probably should. But, they’re just kids. They’re the ones that really shouldn’t have had to deal with all of that shit.” 

One of his hands came up and cupped your cheek, wiping away some of your tears. “I wish there was more I could do to help you.”

You shook your head at his words. “You’re doing everything right.”

You could tell that he wanted to say something but was holding back. There was something about the look on his face that made you furrow your eyebrows curiously and you almost asked him what he was thinking, but he spoke before the question could form on your lips. 

“I love you.”

The three short words came out softly and they probably should’ve surprised you so much more than they did, but for some reason they didn’t. 

Because they just made so much sense. The two of you had been practically attached at the hip for the past two months, going from being nothing to one another to being the closest you’d ever been to anyone. Moments with him were the only thing that could make you feel completely safe and okay. 

So, this moment– him telling you that he loved you and you desperately wanting to say it back– felt practically inevitable.

And it didn’t even scare you how much you wanted to say the words right back to him, even though you knew it would probably complicate things and make leaving Hawkins, whenever that day came, so much harder. “I love you too.”

Your arms came up to loop around his neck as he gave you the softest smile that effectively melted your insides. 

For the first time in a long time, or probably ever, you felt like maybe just maybe things would actually get better.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。

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