#two episodes a night seems very doable

[kerubimcrepin]

Live-read: The Wheel of Destiny #8, Kerubim.

You can find this article on the Dofus MMO's site, by simply googling it.

A bit of context: this is an article, from the series called "Wheel of Destiny," which focuses on small character studies of various ecaflip characters from the World of Twelve. I won't be doing all of them, just the ones that interest me.

It is my decision to start with this in particular, because of the relatively small size of the article, to test out this... reading liveblogs thing. I hope it goes well, and isn't too boring.

I hate Eca so much it's unreal, just so you know.

To make it more obvious which parts are me, and which parts are the article, while you're skimming the post, I turned on my computer's night mode for making screenshots.

...My sincerest apologies to tumblr's dark mode users, though. I'm sure this is a nightmare for you.

And this is what I was talking about in the previous posts, where I said that, canonically, Kerubim's friendship with Bashi started before the Quest of Two Mornings in Episode 3, Strich Hunt.

Very sad to disappoint, but there does not actually seem to be a Croc Ness monster in the Dofus MMO.

Yet another confirmation of the temple being situated in Amakna. (Besides my own geographical estimations while watching the show, and it literally being there in the Dofus MMO.)

It's a long ass way between the temple, and the swamp, but it is realistically doable for two kids, especially if they have a carriage. (Which Kerubim, being the guy responsible for feeding Ecaflip, does have access too.)

"Five-Cat Monte" is a reference to "Three-Card Monte" which is a real thing.

Glad to know Bashi is also very normal and sane as a kid. Also, very glad that older kids, who give lessons, react to things like this by essentially going "Sure, go die I guess."

God, they are so fucking stupid. Anyway, they are talking about some real landmarks here, all of which are also around Amakna, and seem to be pretty accurate to the in-game geography.

...It feels nice to be right.

...I suppose that, despite its faults, the orphan temple actually gives a shit about its disciples not dying. Color me surprised? Eh, I'm mostly joking. It would be very weird if they didn't.

I will spoil things ahead for you: Ecaflip used magic to make Kerubim look like Atcham.

Bashi's reaction to Atcham being "AAAAH NOT THAT FUCKING CREEPY KID AGAIN 😨". The way he pretty much says, "a ghost?? NO. SOMETHING SCARIER. YOUR WEIRD FUCKING BROTHER."

It all implies., So much. It implies so much. I'm still not over it.

Pictured: my vision of how Bashi reacted to Atcham, when Kerubim (against his will, unwillingly, and deeply embarrassed) was forced to introduce them to one another.

I like to think that before they began to hate one another, Kerubim's relationship with Atcham was similar to what he had with Patafiks. Except instead of copying him, Atcham would, idk. Threaten to kill himself if he got any friend other than him? Threaten to kill his friends?

Something insane and jealousy-based like that.

I may be that guy who's very critical of Kerubim, and constantly going "Atcham's sad implied backstory this, Atcham's sad implied backstory that," but you don't get reactions like that by simply being extremely bullied.

You get reactions like that by being That Heavily Bullied Kid With 20 Mental Illnesses Who Attacks People With Sharp Objects.

Pictured: my rough theory of whatever the fuck happened between Kerubim and Atcham in the orphanage.

It is a funny image... that quickly wraps around back to being sad, once you think about little orphan Atcham, who people fucking hate for being a bingus, who has nobody except for his equally-orphaned brother (who doesn't look weird, can actually make friends, and leave him alone, if he wants to. Which he does.) and how at such a young age he got desperate enough to resort to what seems to be violence to protect himself.

Which got him absolutely no help. And also made people look down on him even further.

I think the funniest part of it all is that Atcham as an adult has:

1. The knowledge that hating Kerubim is literally not productive and a weird fucking coping mechanism.

Yet he keeps doing that.

2. A sort of moral compass that's all about protecting and respecting those in the same shit situation as him. (Even if they insult him. He hates that, but he's mature enough to uh.... just shave people against their will about it.)

While Kerubim is like. Still struggling with even saying that he doesn't even hate his brother. Somehow, he's the more emotionally constipated one.

So normal of them.

Anyway,

I think here we can see a bit of the internal growth Kerubim has had, from the time when he was a child, to adulthood.

Joris cannot picture Kerubim being ashamed, or disgusted, by Atcham, despite this article showing him doing exactly that.

It is the reason why I think one of the factors that contributed to Kerubim adopting, and keeping, Joris, was his guilt over whatever Atcham went through, despite how much he likes to say that he doesn't like Atcham.

Joris is different from other kids: small, weird, probably bald. And in any other situation, it's likely he'd develop a complex about it, except his dialogue in the movie specifically implies that Kerubim has put in conscious parenting effort into preventing exactly that.

While it's obvious that Kerubim loves Joris, there are many flaws in his parenting. So him putting a petabyte worth of effort and research into one single aspect of it is... very telling.

Now for a bit of a reach/headcanon: Who's to say that the reason Joris doesn't have many friends, is not Kerubim trying to isolate him from any potential source of shame or trauma? This part, as I've said, is purely speculation/headcanon — but it is an interesting thought.

And Atcham, who was there, and experienced shit like this from Kerubim, is still swayed by Joris's words.

What I think happened between them is that Kerubim, who yearns for societal approval, is afraid of being like Atcham, who is often ostracized and disliked by people for his looks. Besides this, I think Atcham, who was Going Through Horrors, was clingy.

For these reasons, he pushed Atcham away, and it is this betrayal, coupled with Kerubim's advantages in the form of not looking weird and being Ecaflip's favorite, that made Atcham fucking detest him.

What it all means is that Joris isn't necessarily wrong: Kerubim wouldn't hurt Atcham (at least, not unless it's self defense), and what he did was just... trying to save his own skin as kid.

Which isn't exactly malicious.

And I guess Atcham agrees with Joris on Kerubim's incapability of doing harm to him on purpose. Otherwise, he would never be convinced to change his mind.

There is probably a reason for why Kerubim would rather live in a forest, than go back to the temple looking like Atcham. And as I've said, I don't think it's a happy one.

Now think about Atcham doing this his whole life and get sad. Like I just did.

I think that, of all the things, it's most disgusting that whatever happened to Kerubim and Atcham was happening under the watch of Ecaflip, and perhaps even because of him.

I wouldn't put it past him to orchestrate their hatred for each other for fun. Or because he wanted Kerubim all alone, to himself.

I also find it interesting, the way Ecaflip says "once more" here. Implies that it used to be a normal thing for him. I suppose my guesses of Kerubim being disliked by other kids due to Atcham may have some merit.

And god, it makes me so, so sad.

He cares enough to intervene when Kerubim is about to die, which goes against his own rules, but not when it's about his kids' life being fucking awful.

...Maybe Oropo was right.

Do we know if Ecaflip's emotions are even genuine? He is the narrator of this story, after all, and he could be lying. He puts Kerubim in danger many times. Many. Just for fun and his own amusement.

I will take Ecaflip's narration as a straight-forward one, — that he really is feeling these things, but it still reads as manipulation, even if he is doing it for "Kerubim's sake". He's not a good father and never will be one, and these are very cruel lessons.

I will be real, their relationship disgusts me to my heart <3 Amen.

And now we know why Kerubim is... like that. And why his parenting is so overbearingly sweet, controlling, and obsessed with making sure Joris knows he adores him and adores him back.

Perhaps, despite everything, Atcham was the luckier one for not having Ecaflip's "love" the way Kerubim did, but honestly, I feel both of them had it equally shitty.

A true "would you rather sit on an anthill or sit on a cactus" choice.

[starseneyes]

Chenford - Lucy Chen / Tim Bradford - The Rookie - Season 5 - Ep 16

"Exposed" AKA "That Bradford"

Valentine's Day is pushed a week in the universe of The Rookie, but since I'm still not sure what year we're in on the show, that's just fine by me!

SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers are like sugar for me. See, some people love sugar and hate spoilers. I'm the opposite (unless it's macarons or carrot cake). So, if you're spoiler-averse, run. I'll also be spoiling everything that came before. You've been forewarned!

Ready to see how Tim and Lucy's first Valentine's as a couple pans out? Me, too! Let's dive in.

Chenford In Lucy's Bed

No music to lead us into tonight's episode. Only the sounds of the streets. Honking. Cars. Barking dogs. Crickets that have apparently gotten into Lucy's apartment only.

But, anyway, we're not listening to a jamming soundtrack. We're listening to life. It's the sounds a sleeping person might hear in the night.

That's what makes the first sound we hear so jarring. We are with Tim and Lucy in that moment, the harsh buzzing sound of a vibrating, moving phone atop a nightstand.

They've immersed us in this world with them.

And, before I get too swept away... Tim and Lucy in Lucy's bed! To be honest, my very first thought was, "How does he fit in that bed?!".

Of course it's doable, but I've never shared a bed with someone taller than me. Matthew and I are almost the same height! And he complains because I like my feet at the bottom and he likes his head at the top. Learning to share a blanket has been a feat in our marriage!

But Tim and Lucy seem to be sharing the bed well enough—except Lucy is on his side.

Look, it's her bed, so she gets first rights to choosing a side. But I still think it's hilarious they both usually sleep on that side of the bed.

The buzzing sound wakes them. And I gotta ask Lucy what kind of battery she's got in that phone, because it can't be the standard model.

Girlfriend has that phone in her hand all the time during the day, and here she doesn't even have a charge cord in it overnight. That's witchcraft!

"Who is it?" "I don't know" "Hello?" "Loca, you gotta stop texting..."

Lucy jumps up fast. It only takes a second for the wheels to start moving, and she leaps to her dresser, tugging out clothes.

And… I kinda hope a drawer or two belongs to her man. Just sayin’.

"What's happening?" "PUC I trained with distress call. He needs a covert rescue." *Tim sits up* "What are you doing?" "Backing you up."

There's no hesitation in this man, and I can I hear her "thank you" in her look. These two are a team. And while he knows she can handle herself, they both know it's better to have backup.

Lucy's Driving Tim's Ride

Alright, I gotta laugh a little, because my first thought I wrote on this scene (no joke) is, "All about putting Tim in small places today." Seriously. We've taken possibly the tallest member of the cast and put him into all the tiny places and it's cracking me up.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way. Can. We. Talk. About. Lucy!?!

She rolls up into this situation completely in characters, already deep in her backstory and ready to help her friend out of a jam. It's great to get to see her use her UC chops, again.

"Damn You came in hot. Damn." "All clear."

Lucy makes it clear she's not alone. That's a good thing.

Also, I saw a lot of people over on the Twitterverse commenting on him calling her "hot", but this might be a language barrier since this is a turn of phrase. It usually has to do with coming in "guns blazing" or in an otherwise crazy manner.

He's not calling her hot. Well... not yet.

"I'm impressed you managed to scrounge up a backup this fast." "Yeah, I mean, it helps he was sleeping in my bed." "Oh. Oh, you're that Bradford."

Excuse me!? That Bradford?! As in... she talked about Tim!?

"Curious to hear what that means." "No."

I want to know, too! Was Lucy talking about Tim at UC when she was still dating Chris? What was being said that finding out he was in her bed made it all make sense?

Like, hearing "Bradford" didn't click it. It was that he was in her bed.

Did she not talk about Chris at all because she was at UC School and didn't feel the need to fill everyone in on the boyfriend she was bored with? I mean, I get it. I didn't mention my boyfriend when I first met Matt.

No, I wasn't devising a cheating plot or anything. I simply didn't mention the guy because I knew that I was breaking up with him next time I saw him.

Of course, I didn't anticipate Matthew asking me out before that, but "Rejection Day" became the day he proposed three years later, so it all worked out alright for him, I suppose.

And it all worked out for Lucy and "that Bradford", too.

There better be some fics out here that fill in the blanks, because this is another one of those episodes where I have a lot of question marks remaining long after the credits roll.

"Damn it's good to see you hot pants. " "Hot pants." "It's an inside joke."

Inside jokes I get, but it seems like she might explain that one to Tim sometime. Like, I had a nickname at uni from my buddy Sam. We never had interest in one another, but he liked to call me Hot Stuff.

That is... until his Dance Appreciation class had to sit in on my Modern Dance class and he saw me in dance tights. Henceforth, I was Ghetto Booty.

Look, I'm Hispanic and in my thighs and bum... it shows.

No, Matthew never called me either name. So, I get having nicknames and weird in-jokes with someone you'd never be interested in dating. But I do hope she clued Tim in later.

Wesley Hires a Bristow

Is this Sydney's second secret sister? Fellow Alias fans know what I mean. But, as soon as I heard the name I started chuckling aloud, hoping it was a reference.

"You're kidding. Thanks." "Kidding about what" "Uh nothing."

What the hell just went down? Because on this show "nothing" never means nothing. Tim is clearly upset about something.

"You left so early." *arm touch* "I had this whole Valentine's breakfast planned."

D'aww. I mean, that's super cute. I'm kinda sad that Tim missed out on it, but I'm also eager for Tim to cook for Lucy. It's one of those things that I love about them—they both cook.

When Matthew and I met he claimed he could cook one things—eggs. Spoiler Alert: he could not cook eggs.

"Uh, you were up late. I let you sleep."

Marry him. Immediately. That is seriously husband material, right there.

Like, one of the sweetest things Matthew can do for me is let me sleep in. Even before we had kids, he'd let me sleep in and I treasured it.

Lucy, marry that man as soon as you can. He's a keeper!

He's also super on edge. He's looking all around like he doesn't know how to feel comfortable in his own skin.

"We didn't keep you up, did we? " "No, it's fine." *she stops him with a touch* "Hey. Are you okay?" "Yeah. Fine."

You are not fine. You are so fucking far from fine that "fine" is in another zip code. And Lucy knows it.

This girl speaks Tim like no other. So when her man's upset, she knows it. Remember, she "rode long enough with" Tim to know when he's upset. And Tim is upset.

But right now, he wants to focus on work.

"Finally. I'll get right to it."

Grey was not happy Chenford was late getting in. Yikes! Just how late did he let her sleep in!?

"Bradford. Chen. Hold back."

I can hear the kids in elementary school now. "Oooohhh, Lucy and Tim are in truuuubullll!"

In reality, it's just Tim. And poor Tim is already on-edge, and you can hear it coming out in his conversation with Grey.

"I want metro to be ready to move on these guys at a moment's notice." ... "That's why you'll be riding with Chen and Foster today, so there'll be no delays."

From the promos, I was curious how we ended up with these two riding together, again. And, I'm not mad at it, at all!

Shop Talk has been a big deal with these two over the years. So, I'm sure it'll be juicy.

"Everybody adores me, right?" *shoulder touch* "Yup."

Or... not. Tim's barely staying a thing even when he has the chance to compliment his lady.

He's not happy. Lucy is trying to be cordial to her friend and also get through to her boyfriend, but right now attempting both isn't helping her with Tim.

Lucy pulls away from Tim and turns to talking work, which she hopes might work better on Tim. Whatever's bothering him, it's deep. She's going to have to ease him into it.

"We broke up. Well, she broke up with me."

Very similar dialogue to the "Tim tells Lucy about the Ashley breakup" scene. It jumped out at me immediately. I'm not sure if that was an unintentional happenstance, or a reference to the fact that Noah simply wasn't with the right person.

Your guess is as good as mine.

"I'm starting to think the undercover life isn't conducive to a happy relationship."

Tim's. Face. Because he knows all about this. Tim was married to a UC and it didn't go well. And while I think it's a little harsh to blame UC on a relationship ending, we're building quite the use case reference here.

Nyla and her ex. Tim and his ex. Noah and his ex.

If the show's trying to make a point with this, I'm suddenly nervous about Tim and Lucy's path when I haven't been before.

Lucy deserves the chance to go deep cover if she wants it. And Tim would understandably have reservations.

I won't pretend I haven't fantasized about Season 5 ending with Lucy going deep cover and us coming back to Season 6 with a time-jump. But since we haven't yet heard word about Season 6 at all, I'm sitting here twiddling my thumbs and hoping Chenford simply survive until the end of the season.

Look, I've got a lot of ship trauma. I want to fully trust, but like my friend Tim, here, I'm not always the best at trust.

"Well, I mean, that probably depends on the couple." "Is that why you're still on Patrol?"

Oooh. Noah just accused Lucy of putting her career on pause for Tim. Yikes.

And, to Lucy's point, I haven't seen her offered a lot of UC this season. It's not like she's been turning offer after offer down, fending off assignments with a stick.

Lucy loves UC and she definitely wants to do it. It's true that she might not be going after those assignments because she's caught in the throes of new love and wants to get this on a solid footing first.

And I think that's important. Because, I feel a big Lucy UC assignment coming. Yes, my feelings could be as unreliable as the Psychic Network, but it does make sense narratively.

"...you were by far the most talented cop at UC school. Be a shame if you didn't take the plunge."

Tim glances over at Lucy, and she has her "pensive" face on. She's considering Noah's words, and I think it's fair that she does.

Look, Tim's advanced his career (unknowingly with Lucy's help) and it's about time Lucy had the opportunity to advance hers.

I'm not a fan who's ready for Tim and Lucy to settle down in a three bedroom home with a meyer lemon tree in the backyard tending babies all day.

And I say this lovingly as a very active mother of three. Lucy deserves the chance to go after what she wants out of her career. I'm blessed to have the kind of husband who supports me working and going after my passions.

I very famously turned down a steady gig to go freelance almost six years ago. I told him I thought it was a better choice. His response? "I disagree, but I support your decision."

Husband of the year, right there. I want Lucy to feel fulfilled career-wise. But I have a feeling this is going to be a future source of angst for Tim and Lucy—and rightfully so.

Tim's reservations are completely understandable. I mean, we've already mentioned the three relationships in their friend circle negatively impacted by UC.

Now, was UC the contributing factor to these relationships ending? Probably not. But it is a commonality that can cloud the fact that each of these relationships likely had other issues.

But I can completely understand how Tim might miss those subtleties. And that's going to be a source of conflict for these two, I think. We'll see if I'm right... only a handful of episodes left in the season!

"Why are you so cranky? First Valentine's Day. You should be basking in the glow of new love." "That's right. What are you guys doing tonight?" "We are not talking about Valentine's Day plans on an open channel."

Tim appreciates that, at least. Look, I love these scenes where the Found Family all get to interact, even if it's only over the radio. But, he has a point, and Lucy comes in to back him up.

They've got each other's backs... even when one of them is obviously pissed and closed off.

But Lucy watches Tim as Grey talks. She's trying to figure him out, because he's barely looking at her. He's barely talking.

And while we all know that Tim isn't the most talkative of guys in the Shop, he usually talks to Lucy. Right now, he's erected an invisible wall between them, and while Lucy can't see it, she can feel the heat of the electricity running through it.

*arm touch* "Out with it." "What?" "What is wrong with you today?" "Nothing." "Bull. "

First off, on this show nothing is ever nothing. Second, have you ever wished that they could just say bullshit on network television? Like, I know there's S&P to deal with, but wouldn't it feel good!?

I remember how excited we all were when Mulder could say "dicking around" in the first X-Files movie when we saw it in theaters. Yes, I'm that old.

But Melissa O'Neil puts as much as she can behind that "bull" so we totally know Lucy Chen is thinking the rest. Like usual, Lucy's calling Tim on his shit.

"Is it Noah? Are you jealous?"

Not like usual, she's actually wrong about what's bothering Tim.

"This is about you going behind my back to get me into Metro." "I did not... " *look from Tim*

Oooh, he's pissed. And, look, I know I talked a lot about wanting Tim to find out he was loved, but finding out that his girlfriend went behind his back to manipulate the situation when he thought he'd earned his place? Ooof. Yeah, that stings.

Think about the moment he got to tell Lucy he got into Metro. He was over-the-moon. He talked about the "rockstar review" he received from Grey and Lucy confirmed it by telling him that he was amazing.

He actually wanted to go out and celebrate himself. Do you know how big that is for someone who grew up with trauma and abuse?

I still struggle with buying myself a dress that isn't off the thrift store rack because I don't know if it's worth it to spend money on myself after I was called selfish as a child. Tim had a father who beat into his head (literally) that he was worthless, without value, and broken.

But for one fleeting second, Tim felt like everything was right in the world. And now that memory is tainted.

Because he didn't earn his place. Right? His girlfriend manipulated it, word has somehow gotten out, and now he has to worry about his manipulation because nobody's going to believe he's good enough.

Tim is so in his own head about this that he can't see it through Lucy's lens. He only has his own, and he's frustrated and fumbling.

"I had to do something. You were miserable riding that desk. " "Okay. Fine. But how do you think that makes me look?" "What?" "How does that make me look? My girlfriend has to solve my problems for me?"

Tim relying on others has never been his strong suit. We know he doesn't ask for help. He doesn't think he deserves it, too often, but he also thinks it makes him look weak.

Again, this is side effects of the trauma he received as a child backed up by a society that emphasizes strong, tough men who don't cry because somehow emotion is a sign of weakness.

Also, can we talk about Tim calling her his girlfriend!? All I need now is for Lucy to introduce Tim as her boyfriend. Yes, I know she told Noah that Tim was in her bed, but I like hearing the labels from her because she's the one who always shied away from them.

Tim is different. But right now Tim is pissed.

"Please tell me this is not some fragile male ego thing." "That is not what's happening here."

He stated it at the top of the conversation—she went behind his back. She lied to him. She feigned ignorance when he told her about it. She manipulated the situation and he was left to find out about it from someone else.

I always wanted Tim to find out... but not like this. Yikes.

I also think Tim might feel like his place was handed to him instead of earned. He is mad that others are going to look at him like we do university students whose parents bribed the admissions' office... with skepticism that they should be there at all.

We, gentle readers, know that's not how it went down. But Tim is hurting and often when we are hurting we shut others out and stew. Tim's practically the king of that.

"Come on! We were just trying to help." "We? Who else was involved?" "Did I say we? Me. Me was trying to help. I was trying to help."

Girl, your ass was just saved by your Backseat Buddy. Although, listening to Lucy talk like Elmo for a second had me rolling.

Tim passes a glare Lucy's way, but she completely misses it. And something about the look that Eric Winter puts into his eyes is completely different from all the glaring Tim has done at Lucy in this Shop before.

And, yes, I'm aware that sounds mental. But it definitely feels more... personal. More raw. More hurt than angry.

Tim's Office

Before we go any further, I have to compare this to 5x09 when she stepped into Grey's office to tell Tim that she'd released the Fourth String Quarterback from her life.

She knocked at the door before coming in. But, here, she slips in as easily as she would her own home. There's comfort, here. Even though they're fighting, she doesn't feel unwelcome. She doesn't feel out of place.

And that confidence in their relationship is sexy as hell. Lucy isn't spiraling because they had a fight. She knows they will get through this. That they are worth it.

Tim's the one who said it back in 5x08 and now they are living it. Tim and Lucy are worth the risk.

"I get why you're angry. Even though you were miserable as court liaison and I spear-headed an almost impossible five person trade to save you, I shouldn't have done it all behind your back."

That was the first thing he said when he told her what was wrong. He was left out of the loop. He was lied to. By the one person he trusts most.

Remember how much I hated all the lying in that episode? Lying catches up to you, even if it's well-intentioned. I guess I don't feel so weird about being so bothered by it seeing that Tim is similarly bothered.

And Tim appreciates Lucy understanding why he is bothered.

"Is that an apology?" "Yes." "Good." "Noo."

I'm having whiplash between so many episodes... Post DOD chat and 5x09 first scene for the "Good". 5x08 for Lucy answering "yes" then "no" to Tim.

Seriously, I think my neurons temporarily short-circuited on that one, because I missed most of the rest of this the first time around, even with subtitles on (because I transcribe live while I watch).

"Because you never would have let me work my magic if I had told you. And then I would have ended up transferring to another station to save you from yourself. And... this worked out so much better. And if you can't see that I'm sorry not sorry."

I'm dying laughing at this. Simply because Lucy started as many sentences with "And" in a short span as I always do. Seriously. Take a look at these Metas. I'm not unaware.

But this is also so her. And when she's being this damn cute, it's hard for Tim to be mad.

That, and she's right. This did work out well, and whatever temporary feelings he has about it, they'll disappear with time. Because he did earn his place. He is amazing. And Lucy acted with love, even if she might not have done it in the best way.

Lucy is more important than the job to him. We already know that.

"Okay..." *giggle* "I accept your non-apology."

Oh, she knew she had him as soon as he cracked that smile. That's why she giggled. I love giggly-in-love-Lucy. It's one of my favorite things.

Like, Melissa O'Neil has imbued Lucy with the cutest giggle known to man, and I smile every time I hear it. It's like Pavlov's Bell, except instead of salivating, I'm beaming.

"Good." "Good."

Are we in a performance of The Court Jester, here? Much as I love that movie, I wasn't expecting to be thrown into it with Chenford. Not ever.

Wow, I need to watch that movie, again, soon. Trust me. Danny Kaye is a treasure.

"So, are we going to dinner or what?" "We are. But your outfit is missing a little something." "What?"

Our girl is fiiiine, Tim. What the hell are you talking about?

Lucy's eyes fall on the box, and she's completely surprised. Remember, this is the girl who had to convince Tim to buy his girlfriend Rachel a birthday present.

Valentine's isn't even a cake holiday, and Tim's here with a jewelry box for his woman?

Endgame. Energy. Tim and Lucy are meant to be, forever and ever.

"Happy Valentine's Day."

Lucy looks at that man like she's ready to marry him right there in his office. The nicest thing he's gifted her before was a sweet final review. And when it comes to picking presents, he's been pretty awful.

Remember, Lucy has had a front-row view to his last three relationships. She didn't expect anything from Tim.

But it's not all those other women. It's Lucy. And since she's had a front-row seat in the past, she knows that this is different for Tim. Tim is doing something for her he wouldn't have done for the others.

And she knows that. She knows how much he loves her, even if they haven't yet said the words. And as she gazes up at him, savoring him before even glimpsing at the gift, she knows she loves him, too.

Because, no matter what he gave her, the gift is in the giving. Tim Bradford went out of his way to ensure she had a present to open. And she will remember how this moment feels the rest of her life.

And I'm now hyper-aware of all my "and" starting sentences.

Back to Tim and Lucy:

"Oh, wow. It's beautiful."

Whatever it is. Look, I don't mean to be cynical or critical, but I seriously have no idea what that necklace is, but I'm so happy Lucy loves it!

"Did you pick this out yourself?" "I did. is that shocking?" "No. You clearly have good taste."

Just wait until the ring, baby! Because we all know that can't be far behind!

And I'm not trying to marry them off, or anything. I'm just saying, we just got confirmation from the woman herself that Tim has good taste. So, when he takes a little trip to the ring counter, we know it's gonna be good.

And just as she once did with her best friend, who is now sadly gone, Lucy sweeps her hair out of the way so he can put the necklace around her neck.

Tim murmurs a "thank you" as Lucy starts to shift gears in her mind. He's standing amazingly close, his hands grazing her neck. He even ensures the charm is centered on her throat before pulling away.

That detail is so personal, and I'm curious if that was actor-choice, director-choice, or script-choice because it makes the moment for me.

"Do you want to skip dinner?"

No. She. Didn't. It's her "Do you wanna come in?" voice. Same cadence, too! Girl wants him just as bad now as she did then.

Tim looks to her, like he's briefly considering it.

"No. I'm hungry, and you're gonna need that fuel for later."

Chenford, meet makeup sex.

Tim touches her back as he shimmies out of his mini office (it really is the day for putting Timmy in Tiny places), leaving her breathless.

Her hand is already on her necklace, holding onto the charm—a physical touchstone to remind her of his love for her. Because he bought this gift for her.

The price tag doesn't matter. The intention does. He somehow did this surreptitiously as an act of love.

Lucy has never felt this loved. We know about the guy who made her sob in her car, the one who cheated on her while she was living with him, Nolan and his easy dumping of her, Emmett and his easy dumping of her, and then Curried Chris who loved an idea of her... not her.

Tim Bradford loves Lucy Chen. She smiles to herself as she follows after him because this mixed feeling of being turned on by an act of love is new. It's the layers that all her relationships before lacked.

Tim and Lucy walked into this relationship already very layered people with a layered relationship. So, it makes sense that their shared romance is also layered.

And they just survived their first fight as a couple. And they are stronger for it.

And... there are too many sentences starting with "and".

Thank you so much for reading and spending this time with me.

I've seen some folks on the Twitterverse complaining about a lack of kiss. Considering tonight might be the first time I remember seeing James and Nyla kiss, I'm not freaking out that we didn't get a kiss. We got a lot.

This episode was packed with Chenford moments. Sleeping together. Waking up together. Having each other's back. Lucy touching Tim every five seconds. First fight as a couple (because their first fight was the first day they met). A freakin' Valentine's Day gift, and it's a necklace. And Tim put it on her. And they're going to dinner, which means they've had reservations a while because they're a pill to get for big romance days.

[heretherebedork]

Vietnamese BL Rewatch: Stage of Love (eps 1-2)

This was my very first V-BL and... it's slow. It's glacial. It's the slowest BL I've ever watched. But it has a soft spot in my heart for being what it is... a show about putting on Romeo and Juliet in a Vietnamese school with a real stabbing, lots of backstabbing and two pretty adorable main characters who are very awkward and slow together.

SoL is a kind of accidental enemies to lovers, where a misunderstanding (picking up the wrong bag ends with a lot of assumptions) leads to enemies to lovers (Nyung who quit acting has to coach his 'enemy', Bao, who got the role of Romeo) with forced proximity, facing the past (accidentally stabbing his friend the last time he acted) and moving forward and on with his life.

Yes, bits are stupid and the humor is immature at points but it's mostly all adorable, honestly.

One thing this show does well is showing the characters having multiple friendships and lives outside of their relationships and it's got that real good feeling of everyone being part of a group and no one alone. Everyone has friends, makes new friends, gain connections... it's that domesticity that always comes through in V-BL. That sense of community, of belonging, that I love so much.

It's an interesting story, though very slow, and I remember enjoying this despite also getting very sick of the side het couple... as I always do.

[rebeccalouisaferguson]

Hi. I was just wondering, do we know anything about when MI 8 is filming? I ask because it seems like filming might overlap with the recently announced Dune 2 and I'm hoping mightily that neither of Rebecca Ferguson's two characters gets watered down due to scheduling conflicts. Ilsa Faust is pretty much my favorite, and I also would like to see more of Lady Jessica.

Hi! Simon said on one of his IG lives that Mi8 will start filming next year.

Yes, it most definitely will overlap with Dune, but also Dune is a much shorter shoot than Mi usually is. Dune: Part One was filming for about 4 months, Mi7 was filming for a year, Mi6 was filming something like 11 months and Mi5 about the same. So it’s quite likely Rebecca will manage to film Dune and Mi8 will still be filming. It will be very tight but doable. Anya Taylor-Joy filmed 10 episodes of The Queen’s Gambit, Last Night in Soho and Emma in 2019, Margot filmed 3 projects this year. It’s just likely Rebecca has very little free time next year, but it’s manageable to film Wool, Mi8 and Dune in one year.

[youllallriseintheink]

Sanctuary

Request from Threadedsafetypin: a story about Jack helping Sammy to recover from ink infection.

---

Most members of the Joey Drew Studios music room knew that Sammy behaving strangely was status quo. So, when was Sammy first infected with ink, few people were alarmed. Complaining about seeing Bendy in his sleep? Stress. Increased irritability? Stress. Spacing out more often, seeming more exhausted, looking more drawn and bedraggled than usual? Poor guy really has to get a grip on his life- but at least he’s still functioning well enough to get the songs out on time.

Jack Fain, Sammy’s best friend, was the only one who realized that this wasn’t just one of Sammy’s episodes. He’d confronted Sammy about it a couple weeks ago, and it hadn’t gone well. He had snapped about his health being his own business and told Jack to go away.

Jack was used to Sammy being irritable, so he didn’t take it personally. “Okay. I can’t help you if you’re not ready. Just know that I’m here for you when you’re ready to talk. I care about you, and want you to be okay. Alright?”

Sammy had grumbled an “alright,” and left. His symptoms had only worsened since then, and Jack was rather worried that Sammy would never be “ready”- at least, not until he was very ill. But he couldn’t think of any way to help the process along unless Sammy was on board as well.

Then, one day while Jack was working in the sewers, he heard footsteps. Only Sammy knew that he hid away in the sewers, so it had to be him. Jack got up to meet him, and saw that Sammy had a defeated look on his face.

“Remember when you said to come to you when I was ready? Well, I’m ready,” Sammy said, as though admitting a dark secret. He took off the white gloves he’d taken to wearing lately, revealing ink-black hands. “The ink did this to me, and tried to convince me that it was a good thing, but I can’t deny that this is a problem anymore. I don’t think that a hospital could help me, and I’m scared that Joey would kill me if it got out the public. I don’t know what to do.”

Jack stood stunned a moment, looking at Sammy’s hands. They clearly weren’t just stained, but tainted down to the bone. It looked like there were some pockets of ink just beneath the surface as well.

“It’s okay. I’ll find out what to do,” Jack promised.

---

“Norman, can you come with me for a minute?” Jack asked. “I need to ask Mr. Drew something he won’t enjoy answering, and I’m hoping that if you’re there next to me, he won’t kill me on the spot for it. Alright? All you’ll have to do is stand there. And you’ll probably get some nice secrets out of it.”

Excited at the thought of listening in on such a conversation, Norman agreed, and the two of them made their way to Joey’s office. The door shut loudly.

“Joey,” Jack began, in a tone one might use to calm down a wild animal, “someone I care deeply about is infected with ink. Now look- I don’t want trouble. I don’t have any personal reason to want your secrets to get out. Please tell me how to help him get better, and I’ll do it completely inconspicuously if it’s possible.”

---

“What did he say?” Sammy asked. The look on Jack’s face wasn’t especially encouraging.

“Well, he said that a hospital can help you- if we take you a couple miles from New York, first. He said that the ink is alive in you, and it needs to be taken away from the ink machine in order to kill it. If we don’t do that, the ink will live in you no matter what anyone tries to do to get rid of it, and you’ll be in and out of treatment for the rest of your life- which would likely be a very short, unhealthy one. So, that isn’t an option.”

Sammy didn’t understand why Jack looked so hopeless at the thought of killing the ink. “Okay,” Sammy said cautiously, “That sounds doable. What else?”

“Well, the thing is that once the ink is dead, it won’t be able to help keep you alive, so all that tissue damage, organ damage, and dehydration is actually going to hurt you. Joey gave me some tips on how to increase the chance that you’ll end up at the hospital alive, but it’s still possible you won’t make it.”

Sammy was in shock. “I-I might die before I make it the hospital?”

“Yes. Joey said that you should go home and eat something with a lot of liquid in it. I take it you physically haven’t been able to drink anything but ink in a while, have you?”

“It’s been a few weeks,” Sammy admitted.

“He also said that we should lance any obvious deposits of ink before we head out. I can help you with the lancing. And... one last thing, Sammy?”

“Yes?”

“I quit this place, because it’s dripping with a deadly biohazard. I definitely suggest you do the same- especially if you’re in the habit of drinking ink, which Joey said you might be.”

Sammy sucked in a deep breath. “Please tell me that’s everything.”

“That’s everything.”

“Alright. Thank you, Jack. Honestly, thank you.”

The two went to Jack’s place, and with a knife, they set to work lancing any obvious deposits of ink. Sammy had them all over- on his legs, on his chest, his back, and some fairly severe ones on his hands. One by one, they were cut open, squeezed out, and bandaged. By the end, Sammy was in a lot of pain, and Jack’s bathtub was stained not only with substantial amounts of ink, but with a fair amount of blood.

“I don’t feel stronger,” Sammy admitted, looking down with his arms crossed over himself. “What if Joey gave us this advice to trick you into killing me? Or he didn’t understand how far along I was?”

Jack sighed. He’d made a good point, honestly. But Sammy needed comfort. “He didn’t lie. I’m sure of it. Just trust me, alright?”

“Alright,” Sammy replied.

“Do you want to stay over tonight?” Jack asked, “It might help you dread tomorrow a little less.”

“Are you sure you want me here? I’ll get ink and blood all over the place.”

“You will? Then we haven’t bandaged you up enough- you shouldn’t be leaking like that. And anyhow, don’t worry about it- it’s just one night, I don’t want you to go through this alone.”

Sammy agreed to stay over, though all he wanted to do was wash off and rest. The next day, the two of them headed out of New York in Jack’s car.

“Alright, Sammy, you know the drill. Tell me when you feel the ink dying, and I’ll turn the car around as quickly as possible.”

Sammy nodded. It was only a few miles before he did.

“Now,” Sammy croaked. He was already looking greener. Jack found a place to turn around and took it. 

 “Everything hurts...” Sammy complained. It was true. He felt weak and heavy, as though a large percentage of his body had suddenly become dead weight. His lungs stung, and when his breathing was wet and slightly laboured. Pain was building in his head, in the cuts he’d given himself the day before, and especially in his organs. 

“It’ll be okay, Sammy. I promise. Just hang in there, and drink some water.” 

Though it was hardly his most overpowering sensation, Sammy was very thirsty. Jack watched with concern as Sammy took one of water bottles in weak, shaky hands, took a sip from it, and then fell forwards, entirely limp.

 Jack slammed his foot on the gas pedal. He was going about 85 miles an hour, and he mentally calculated that he’d need about eight minutes to get Sammy to the outskirts of town and hopefully not too much longer to get him to a hospital. Risky as it was, Jack grabbed Sammy’s hand to check for a pulse. It was certainly there. A cop by the side of the road saw them, but let them go by- perhaps seeing that Jack was hardly doing this for pleasure. Thankfully, traffic was thin that day. Jack checked Sammy’s pulse again while at a stop sign- still strong, and pulled up in front of a hospital. He ran in, pushed his way past a line of people, and spoke to the secretary. “My friend is in my car. He’s unconscious and I have reason to believe that he needs immediate attention if he’s going to live. Please help him.” 

Within a minute, Sammy was being rushed in for medical attention, leaving Jack to wait in the lobby and fill out the necessary forms. Hours later, a nurse approached him. “You’re Jack Fain, the one who brought in Sammy Lawrence?”

 “Yes,” Jack answered.

“Well, Mr. Fain, we have some serious questions for you. What happened to Sammy? His condition isn’t exactly easy to identify.”

“His workplace is filled with a biohazard. He got infected and kept it secret for weeks. How is he? Is his condition stable?”

The nurse grimaced. “Stable, yes. He’s on life support, but we’ll be able to keep him alive. We’re not sure when or if he’ll wake up again since we haven’t been able to diagnose. Would you like to see him?”

“Sure,” Jack replied.

Seeing Sammy laying still as a corpse on a hospital bed, with three different IVs in his arm, a tube in his throat, and the beep of a heart monitor nearby, was not an encouraging sight. It moved Jack to tears. “Call me when he’s up. Or when it’s time to say goodbye,” Jack croaked to the nurse. With that, he left.

Jack spent the next few days fraught with anxiety. To make matters worse, the hospital had called Jack to ask where Sammy had worked and gotten infected. Jack had said he didn’t know, because he didn’t want to risk either of them being killed by Joey for leaking his secrets. If Sammy died, he’s have to wonder if it was partially on his own hands. Jack’s husband tried to reassure him that he’d done all that could be done, and Jack knew it was true, but it was still a scary time.

In what felt like weeks but was actually just a couple days, the hospital called Jack and told him that Sammy’s tissue damage seemed to be repairing itself and that he was responding well to treatment. Thankfully, none of his organs had been damaged enough to require a transplant. A week later, he was called to tell him that Sammy was awake again.

Seeing Sammy again was a massive weight off Jack’s shoulders. The dark spots on his body had shrunk significantly, and he looked much healthier, especially now that most of those tubes and wires were gone.

“Sammy. You’re alive.”

“Yep. I must be part cockroach because it takes quite a bit to kill me.”

Jack smiled. “Ha, yeah. The radio is calling you a walking miracle. Even though probably haven’t walked yet, since you just woke up.”

Sammy prickled. “No, I can walk. I’m not that weak!”

“Right, sorry. So, when you woke up, did they pepper you with questions on how you got into this state in the first place?”

Sammy took a quick look around the room to make sure no one was listening in. “Well, they asked me where I worked. I told them it was an ink manufacturing plant that I didn’t remember the name of. I think they bought it. Why, are people pestering you about it?”

“No. But I’ve been hearing about the investigation on the radio. They all want to know about the man who who somehow got several pounds of ink into his system and lived. As far as I can tell, no one suspects a thing about our old workplace, or magic. I think we’re free of it, buddy. I don’t think Joey is ever going to be in our lives again.”

Now Sammy looked like a weight had been lifted from him. “I had no idea how badly I needed to hear that until now.”

Over the coming weeks, Jack regularly visited Sammy in the hospital. He looked stronger every time Jack saw him. The news story died down without much fanfare. Sammy got out with a clean bill of health, and Joey Drew Studios gradually became a distant memory to them.

[jade4813]

Resolution

Fandom: Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist

Title: Resolution

Rating: G

Pairing: Zoey/Max

Synopsis: Sequel to Fallout and Repercussions (and episode 7 of the series). Zoey has finally figured out how she feels about Max, but when she tries to get up the never to tell him, Everything. Goes. Wrong. Will the two of them ever manage to get on the same page?

The clock on the wall read 6:22 a.m., and Zoey was already on her third cup of coffee for the day. She remembered with some regret the way she’d once expressed surprise at Joan’s suggestion that they share a drink in the middle of the afternoon. Her day hadn’t even officially started, and she was already wishing she had something to steel her nerves.

All the caffeine she’d consumed was making her jittery, the coffee roiling around in her otherwise empty stomach until she felt sick. She briefly considered grabbing some cereal or perhaps a piece of bread to settle her stomach, but the thought of consuming food just made her feel slightly ill.

She pressed her hand to her chest and sucked in a deep breath. She could do this! She had a plan! When Max showed up to work, she’d take him aside and tell him that she’d realized that she loved him and wanted to give their relationship a shot! How hard could it be? After all, she already knew how he felt about her, right?

Except…he’d been even weirder than usual with her over the last couple of days, ever since their last conversation, when he’d suggested she should go talk to her mom.

“Zoey? Uh…what the hell was that?” he’d asked.

“What was what?”

His eyes narrowed, he looked at her in confusion and concern. “You…you didn’t just…you didn’t hear that? Are you messing with me right now?”

Completely at a loss as to what he meant, she shook her head slowly, “Max, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Hear what? Did something happen?” she leaned to the side to look around him, scanning the office for something out of place.

He stepped back, running one hand across his face. “I’m losing it. Lack of sleep or…I-I thought you…I must have imagined it. It’s fine. Never mind.” She threw him a reassuring smile, but he hurried back to his desk and avoided her for the rest of the day. And for the two days since, although she occasionally caught him watching her closely, like he was trying to figure her out. Or as though she might bite.

“I don’t bite,” she reassured herself in an undertone. But what if his strange behavior was because he’d realized his feelings were all a mistake? What if he’d realized he wasn’t in love with her anymore – at least, not like that? She hadn’t heard any of his heartsongs since the night he coopted a scooter for her, after her dad fell. Was it possible he just wasn’t romantically interested in her anymore?

Zoey pushed away the thought with a grimace and a stern self-reproach. “Not. Helping.” Desperate for a distraction, she grabbed for her tablet and tried to focus on her work, instead. Her love life might be a disaster at present, but this was a language she understood. This came naturally to her, in a way that navigating her love life did not.

In her very first computer course in college, Zoey had been tasked with programming a robot to wind its way through a maze. She had managed to complete the assignment faster than any of her other classmates, going on to earn an A+ in the course at the end of the semester. When she took a step back and considered her current situation, it wasn’t that different. She just had to get herself and Max through the maze of confusion brought on by intense emotion and miscommunication. And then everything would work itself out.

Reassured by the thought, she shot a quick glance around to make sure she was still alone. Her day hadn’t technically started yet, so she took her tablet to an isolation pod and curled up inside to craft some code. By the time she started to hear her coworkers filter in, her simple program was up and running – a digital Zoey and Max, her programmable “robots,” were winding their way through a complex maze. She smiled when she programmed the code directing the two to lean in for a kiss (hearts showing above their heads and all) when they finally made their way to each other.

It was a silly little program, but it made her feel better. Maybe she was overthinking things. She’d tell Max she wanted to be with him, and the two would kiss. How hard could it be?

Lifting the sliding door to the pod, Zoey stepped out and stretched, working out some kinks that had settled in her shoulders. With one last reassuring glance at her ZoeyBot’s progress through the maze, she closed the program and pulled up her notepad.

Any project was possible, as long as one went in with a plan. Almost every task could be broken down into straightforward, manageable steps. Like programming code. Just take each step in turn, one after the other, until the task was finished. With that in mind, she jotted herself a quick note.

Get Max somewhere private.

Show him MaxBot?? (He’ll get it, right?)

Tell him you want to be with him.

Kiss.

Four steps. Possibly three, if she decided she was too embarrassed to show him her computer program. Three or four completely simple, totally manageable steps. Completely doable plan. Now all Max had to do was to show up, and she could put her plan into action.

Unable to sit still, she dropped her tablet onto her desk and headed towards the restroom. All that coffee was taking its toll, but she also hoped that pouring some cold water over her wrists could help her stay focused and calm. She lingered a few extra minutes to give herself a silent pep-talk and practice an eloquent speech about her feelings before steeling her shoulders and heading back outside.

She returned to the office just in time to see Max grab his tablet from his desk and head towards the wicker seats – the pattern of avoidance he’d established over the last couple of days. Hoping to catch him before he got too wrapped up in code and she lost her nerve, she darted to her desk and grabbed for her tablet.

“Max!” she barked abruptly, a shade louder than necessary. He jumped, startled, and spun around to look at her. Softening her tone, she offered him a sheepish smile as she asked, “Do you have a second? There’s something I wanted to show you.” Her program was perhaps a little silly, but maybe he’d find it endearing? She could only hope.

Before he could come up with an excuse to turn her down, she jogged up to him and pulled him aside. “Okay, promise you won’t laugh. I know this is a little silly, but I wanted to show you – uh –”

Her voice trailed off as she held up what she thought would be her tablet and realized that, in her anxiety and rush to catch him, she’d accidentally grabbed her stapler instead. She actually had a stapler? Why? She couldn’t even remember the last time she needed to staple something!

Max seemed equally as confused. “Your…stapler?” he offered. “It’s…nice.”

Completely mortified, her courage fled. “Ah…yes. My stapler. I was…um…wondering. If you had any staples. I think I’m out.” That was unlikely. It was probably holding the same staples that had come with it when it was shipped from the factory, for all she knew. These things came preloaded, right? She had no idea.

“Ah,” he replied, drawing out the word for several seconds. “I don’t think so. Have you tried the supply closet? There might be some in there.”

Zoey forced a laugh. “The supply closet! Right! Makes total sense! Duh,” she waved the stapler wildly, almost clocking herself in the head. “Thanks a lot, Max…i...million.” She heard the ill-advised nickname as though it was coming from outside of herself, from someone else’s mouth, and looked at him in horror.

His smile was uncertain. “No problem. That’s not really a nickname we’re planning to run with, is it?”

“Nope! No, we’re not!” she promised. Trying to cover for her gaff, she aimed a playful shrug at his shoulder to break the tension, somehow completely missing and punching the tablet out of his hands, instead. “That’s…oh, sorry! I’ll…I’ll replace that if it’s broken.” Maybe discretion really was the better part of valor, she decided, not even wanting to see the look on his face as she backed away as quickly as she possibly could before she accidentally broke something else.

It turned out programming code was much easier than telling her best friend she had realized he might be the love of her life.

Later that evening, once she was safely back at home and unlikely to humiliate herself any further, Zoey scowled to herself and she pulled up her ZoeyBot/MaxBot computer program. It didn’t take her long to add a giant, menacing stapler that chased ZoeyBot down the first section of the maze.

Then, heaving a heavy sigh, she pulled up her To Do list. It hadn’t served her very well so far, but she still had confidence in the basic premise. Make a plan. Stick to the plan. Don’t break anything. Check. With that in mind, she reviewed her list.

Okay, so maybe she was too nervous around him to make a smooth job of it. Was there any way she could take the actual confession part out of her hands? She mulled over the question as she stared off into the distance. Finally, it hit her. Balloons! Everyone liked balloons, right?

Grinning at the brilliance of her new plan, she pulled up a web browser and search for a balloon delivery service in the area. Once she found what she wanted, she placed the order for the next day. In the morning, a courier would bring her balloons, reading “I Love U Max.” The last was a specialty balloon – they’d write in his name, and the sample online looked decent enough. Before pressing the button to finalize the order, she gave it one last critical look. Love? No, she should go with the heart instead. Less awkward, she decided, hitting “submit.” The plan was in place! He’d see the balloons and…that would be it! Not risk of ambiguity or bodily injury!

Well, maybe not it, exactly. If they were going to be in a relationship, she was going to have to talk to Joan. She would hardly be able to hide it, since she was planning on confessing in the middle of the office. Once the cat was out of the bag, she wouldn’t be able to continue to be his supervisor. It wouldn’t be right. But she was confident they could find a solution. Feeling much better than she had an hour or so before, Zoey made a few revisions to her list:

Get Max somewhere private.

Show him Maxbot?? (He’ll get it, right?)

Don’t break anything.

Balloons arrive

Tell him you want to be with him.

Kiss.

She didn’t know the exact time the balloons would arrive; more like a narrow window. So she might have to take things a little by ear. But with a plan this solid, surely nothing could go wrong, right?

Right.

The next day, Zoey realized she’d been humming happily to herself off and on all morning, but she couldn’t help it. She was in such a good mood! This plan of hers was going to come off perfectly. When she walked up to the elevator bay and saw Max waiting for the doors to open, she threw him her brightest smile. “Good morning!”

He looked a little taken aback. “Morning, Zoey. You seem to be in a good mood today.”

She nodded. “Yup! I think it’s going to be a fantastic day. It’s just a feeling.”

“Well, then, I hope you’re right,” he replied pleasantly.

She considered taking the moment of privacy to go ahead and confess her feelings, but then others joined them on the elevator and the window of opportunity was lost. No matter. She had balloons! The balloons would not fail her!

“I don’t understand,” she told the balloon courier with an askance look at the two balloons he held out for her to take. “Where are the rest of them?”

Not appearing to be terribly concerned, he shrugged and offered in insufficient explanation and complete lack of apology, “We were out. My boss said we can complete the order next week.”

“Next week! That doesn’t help! I had a whole plan and now all I have to show for it is ‘U Max’. What am I supposed to do with ‘U Max’?”

He shrugged again. Clearly, it wasn’t his problem. She took the balloons from him with numb fingers and briefly considered letting them loose in the stairway to hide evidence of her failed plan when she heard Max speak behind her. “’U Max’? What’s this about?”

Come up with an excuse! Fast! She ordered her poor, beleaguered brain as she spun around. “Maaaaax-i-mus!” Again? Seriously? What the hell was wrong with her? “I got you these!”

“I can see that,” he replied, staring up at the balloons in question. “I’m just trying to figure out what they mean. U Max? Max U? Is this a secret code?”

Her laugh was forced, high-pitched, and veering on hysterical. “No! Of course not! It’s just a new…management plan I’m trying. I’ll be randomly bringing balloons in to people on the team. To let you know that, uh, well, you know. We…see you. And we…appreciate…you know, you. That is, you. Max. I read it in a book somewhere, I think.”

“Really? That’s a little weird. What book?” She would have thought he was on to her, but he sounded more curious than suspicious.

“Oh…I don’t even remember now. Would you just take your balloons?”

He reached for them. “Sure thing. Well, thank you for reaffirmation of my name, anyway,” he teased.

Her answering chuckle was almost genuine. “We spend so much time in this building some days, I thought there was a chance you might have forgotten.”

“Is that the reason for the new nicknames? Because, for the record, I don’t think I like Maximus any better than Maximillion.”

“No, but duly noted,” she replied with a forced smile, hoping her cheeks weren’t as red as they felt as she returned to her desk. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Joan look over at her, Max, and the balloons and shake her head in bafflement before returning to her own work. Zoey was almost pathetically grateful her boss didn’t call her in to demand an explanation. She wasn’t entirely sure she could explain what was going on with her right now, even to herself.

When she saw him walk away and thought he might not see her, she rested her forehead on her desk with a groan, tempted to bang it repeatedly against the hard surface if she wasn’t sure that would bring her too much attention.

Why did her efforts to sweep Max off his feel keep going so haywire? What was she doing wrong?

“Mo, this is getting out of hand. You have to help me!” she cried, pacing back and forth in her neighbor’s living room. Saying it was “getting out of hand” was probably generous. Things were getting downright dire. Her plan was on Day 4, and it had just been one disaster after another.

“I’m not sure there’s any help for you,” Mo offered, shaking her head. “Have you tried just talking to him?”

“Yes! I tried today!”

Mo sat back on the couch. “And?”

“Aaaaand…I decided I would casually drop it in over coffee. But I didn’t realize my ZoeyBot program was up on my screen, and he saw it and asked what it was. One thing led to another, I freaked out and tried to cover it up, and I accidentally…kinda…tripped and…threw an entire cup of coffee at him.”

He blinked. “Wow. I knew you were a mess, but I think you may be even more of a mess than I realized.”

Zoey moaned and sank to the couch beside him. “Really? It’s not even remotely a surprise to me.” Closing her eyes, she leaned back and mulled over her predicament. Then she bolted upright. “I know! What if I do a some kind of flash mob for him?”

“No.”

“What? Hear me out! I get a bunch of people together…”

“No.”

“…and we do some kind of song…”

Mo put a hand on her arm. “Let me stop you right there. So far this week, you’ve brought him a stapler. You got him exactly half of your love confession in balloons, but not even the half that would actually convey what you wanted him to know. And you tried to give him third degree burns. You really think you can get through a whole choreographed dance number without breaking something? Like yourself? Or him?”

Zoey had to reluctantly concede the point, but she wasn’t quite ready to let this idea go. Remembering how she’d imagined him singing outside her window, she suggested, “So what if it’s just me? I could bring a boombox with me and sing outside his window. I saw it in a movie I watched with him once.”

Mo threw her a skeptical look. “Do you even have a boombox?”

She shrugged. “No. Do you?” His answering stare spoke volumes. “Okay, no background music. Just me.”

“Uh huh. And what would you sing?”

“I don’t know; I’m sure I could come up with something. Like, ‘Oh, my lo-‘”

“Nope.”

“Okay. What about, ‘It’s a little bit fu-‘”

“Absolutely not. You should not sing for him. Trust me.”

“But I –” she began.

“No.”

She broke off with a groan. “Okay, what do you suggest?”

Mo sighed. “The same thing I’ve been suggesting all along. No props. No gimmicks. Just walk up to him and find a way to casually drop into conversation that you want to have lots of sex and babies.”

“Are you actually dropping a Love Actually quote on me right now?” Zoey asked in disbelief.

“I’m trying to speak your language,” he replied flippantly, breaking into a grin.

She rolled her eyes as she rose to her feet and headed for the door. “All right. Fine. I’ll just…tell him how I feel. There’s no chance that can end in disaster!”

The table was set. Dinner was in the oven. Zoey was wearing her best dress. She paused long enough to make sure she had matches to light the candles in the candelabra she’d borrowed from her parents’ house earlier in the day, then checked to make sure his jacket was hanging by the door.

She’d gotten Max’s jacket from her mom when she stopped by to visit earlier that day. He’d apparently left it at her parents’ house by accident a few evenings prior, when he’d stopped by to bring her dad some soup from his favorite restaurant across town. It was as good a pretext as any to get him to Zoey’s place, where she would serve him a romantic dinner and confess. Everything.

Wanting to make sure everything was ready, she grabbed her tablet to review her plan one last time. Her (many-times) revised list read:

Get Max somewhere private.

Show him Maxbot?? (He’ll get it, right?)

Don’t break or burn anything. or anyone!!!!!!

Balloons arrive

Bring him coffee

Dinner at home??? “Ham is easy but shows effort”

Make it romantic (candles, yes! Flowers, no. Don’t take your chances)

Music! (Mo says no singing Sing if necessary)

Touch nothing hot until it’s over

No liquids either

Pretext of having his coat?

When he shows up, tell him you want to be with love him.

Kiss.

She took a quick glance around to make sure everything was set up according to her list. Perfect. Things seemed to be going according to plan, for once.

With a satisfied smile, she grabbed her phone. Of course, she probably should have made sure he was free before going through the trouble of cooking an entire ham. But it was too late for such regrets. She tapped her phone with her hand as she paced back and forth, practicing what she was going to say.

“Hey, Max! It’s me! Zoey. It’s Zoey. Do I even need to say that? He has caller ID. Okay, just go with hey, Max! Oh, but he knows who he is. Maybe just hey! Now I sound like a chipmunk. Heeey? No, that sounds creepy. Hi! Howdy! Ugh. Hey…”

As she paced back and forth, she lost track of what was going on around her and so didn’t notice the smoke billowing out of her oven until the fire detector went off, beeping shrilly in her ear. “No! No, no, no, no no…” she muttered desperately as she raced to the oven and pulled it open. On second thought, she should have kept it closed as a ball of fire followed another billow of smoke. “What the-”

She was catapulted out of the way when Mo came in from out of nowhere, shoving her aside to spray an entire fire extinguisher’s worth of suppressant into her oven. As he worked, she jabbed the fire detector with a broom until it fell silence. Then she returned to the stove to throw her meal a morose look. If her ham hadn’t been ruined already, it was now.

“What. Did. You. Do?” Mo demanded in aggrieved affrontery, pulling out her obliterated meal once he’d assured himself that the fire had been extinguished. Wiping off some of the chemicals coating the top, he poked around at the charred meal and exclaimed, “You left the plastic on?”

“What? No, of course not! I removed the plastic!” Zoey peered around Mo’s shoulder to look at the ham, poking it with one dubious finger. “There was a second layer of plastic on the back half of it?” There was, now both firmly baked into the outer skin of the ham and crispy from where it had gone aflame.

Mo sighed and looked around, taking in the scene. Zoey in her dress and heels, way beyond “stay-at-home casual.” The dining table, set for two. The romantic music playing softly over her radio.

“I-I-I-” Zoey stammered, trying to come up with some sort of self-defense, but Mo wasn’t hearing it.

“What did I tell you about props and gimmicks? Would you please go tell Max how you feel about him before you burn down this entire building?”

“I just thought…a romantic meal…”

Grabbing her gently but firmly by the shoulders, he steered her towards the door. “Go. Tell. Him. How. You. Feel.”

“But my meal!” she protested weakly.

He shook his head. “It’s already had a Viking funeral. There’s nothing more we can do for it now. Go take care of this while I dispose of the body. Go.”

Dejected that her plans had once again followed through, Zoey dug in her heels. “Wait! I need my jacket. That black one. And – and my purse.”

She gestured and Mo leaned over to grab both items, passing them over with a dubious look. “That’s yours?” he asked when she slipped the jacket on. It smelled like Max, and Zoey breathed in deeply, pretending it was his arms wrapped around her.

It was huge on her, but she nodded. “Yup! Okay, well…I should go, I guess.”

“Uh huh. Just try not to do anything weird between here and there. I don’t want to get any calls that you’ve been sent to the hospital. Or jail.”

“You won’t. Scout’s honor. You have nothing to worry about!”

Mo shot a pointed look over his shoulder at her demolished kitchen. “Uh huh.”

Zoey rocked back and forth on her toes as she stared at the door in front of her. Too scared to knock, she pulled her phone out of her purse and texted him instead. Hey, are you home? My mom said you left a coat at her place. I’m in the neighborhood, so I can drop it by if you’re there.

She could actually hear his phone chirp through the door. A few seconds later, she got the response. You don’t need to do that! I can swing by and pick it up later if you don’t want to go out of your way. Or you can bring it to work. Thanks for the offer!

He ended his text with a smiley emoji, and she spent much longer than necessary trying to decipher what that meant. Was he genuinely just worried about her taking a special trip? Or was this part of his efforts to avoid her?

She considered making a run for it, but she suspected Mo wouldn’t let her back into her apartment unless he was certain she’d told Max the truth and would theoretically no longer be a danger to herself or others. Before she could lose whatever shred of nerve she still retained, she shrugged out of his coat (admittedly reluctantly), lifted her hand, and rapped briskly on his door.

He opened it a few seconds later, his face a mask of surprise. “Zoey? Wow, that was…really fast.”

What she meant to say was, “Hey! Like I said, I was in the neighborhood.” What she actually said sounded like, “Hey, Ma-nipples.”

He was shirtless again. Didn’t he know what that did to her self-composure? To her ability to string a coherent thought together? Granted, it wasn’t exactly fair of her to blame him. He’d had no real reason to know she was lurking outside his door when she’d sent him that text. But still.

He looked adorably awkward as he lifted one hand to run his fingers through his wet hair, trying to get it in some semblance of order. She’d apparently caught him coming out of the shower. So he was standing in front of her both half-naked and damp? Good. Lord.

Oblivious to her sudden struggle for air, he explained, “Yeah, sorry. I just got back from the gym. I didn’t realize you were coming by.” He hesitated for a moment and then asked, “Do you want to come in?” As she stepped through the door, he looked over his shoulder like he wasn’t sure if he should go grab a shirt. Or like he wasn’t alone.

She stumbled to a halt, her heart seizing in her chest. “Oh, god. You’re not busy, are you? I mean, if you have someone here -”

He cocked his head to the side, throwing her a confused smile. “No, of course not!” Glancing down, he leaned in, his hand reaching towards her. “Oh, I should –”

His face was moving closer to hers, and Zoey’s brain backfired. This was it! The moment she’d been waiting for! Her little MaxBot and ZoeyBots had traversed the maze, avoiding homicidal staplers, menacing balloons, and boiling vats of coffee (and, after tonight, actual bursts of fire that she might as well program in when she got home), and it was finally time to do the thing she’d fantasized about all week! Success!

Completely forgetting that she was holding his coat – and that she hadn’t actually gotten around to confessing her feelings yet – she lurched forward, convinced he was about to initiate a kiss. A kiss she fully intended to reciprocate. The most perfect first kiss one could ever possibly imagine, she was sure.

Instead, in her haste and panic, she missed the mark. Instead of a romantic first kiss, she accidentally semi-headbutted him, her lips landing somewhere in vicinity of the air below his chin. He jerked back in surprise, causing her to lose her balance and stumble forward, stomping on his toe.

“Zoey! What was that?” he yelped, hand cupped over his nose, as he hopped on one foot. Is it broken? Am I bleeding?” She was too horrified at herself to respond, so he pulled his hand away to check for blood before throwing her a bewildered look. “Did you come over here to headbutt me for not being able to hang out lately? Because I really have been busy.”

“What?” she protested. “Of course not!”

He must have seen the misery on her face, because his grimace melted into a soft, reassuring smile. Clearly struggling to hold back a wince, he asked gently, “Okay, then, do you want to tell me what this is all about? Trust me. You have my undivided attention.”

She clutched her hands in front of her, trying to stop them from trembling, and tried to find the words to explain. She found she couldn’t look him in the eye and form a coherent thought. His lips also seemed a little too daunting. His chest was…nope. Still bare. She wasn’t even going to attempt it. Fixing her attention to a spot roughly around his Adam’s apple – that seemed more or less safe enough – she tried to remember part of the elegant speech she’d prepared earlier in the week to tell him how she felt. The only thing that came to mind was “You Max” and she’d already discovered first-hand how insufficient that was to get the job done.

Taking a deep breath, she plunged forward. “I’m…not very good with people. I think we both know that. The only thing I’m really good at is programming! And so I just thought…if I could get the Zoey-Bot and the Max-Bot through the maze…”

Even she could tell she wasn’t making any sense. His Adam’s apple moved as he asked, “The…Max-Bot? I-I don’t…You want me to build some-”

“No. That’s not what I’m trying to say.” Staring at his neck wasn’t helping, so she squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to pull herself together. “I’m trying to say that I took your advice and I talked to my mom.”

Silence fell between them for a few seconds before he replied gently, “Oh. Well, that’s good! Isn’t it? What did she say?”

She opened her eyes, meeting his unflinchingly. “She said…after she met my dad, she could spend the rest of her life running from the way she felt about him, trying to protect her heart. Or she could take a chance that she might lose him one day, and cherish every moment they were lucky to have each other along the way. The good days and the bad, as long as they were together. She said that you can never know the future, but the happiness she found when she chose to take a chance on my dad, when she chose love, outweighed all the pain. Even the pain of losing him.” She had said that, no matter how much it would hurt to lose Zoey’s father, she would never, ever regret loving him.

Max didn’t move. Didn’t speak. As far as she could tell, barely breathed. So she took a tiny step towards him and confessed, “And Max…I promised I would be honest with you, so I will. I’m still scared. And I don’t want to ever lose you. I don’t know how I could bear it. But I’m pretty sure I fell in love with you…a long time ago. Even though I was too scared to admit it to myself. And, who knows? Maybe I never would have if it weren’t for my superpower. Maybe? What I do know is that being with you…it makes me happy. So I’m – I’m choosing love over fear. I’m choosing you. I mean, to be with you.” Her courage depleted, she finished lamely, “I, I mean…if that’s…if that’s still what you want?”

He reached out, trailing fingertips down her arm until she released the death grip she hand on her hands and took his in hers. Her skin felt cold and, she was afraid, probably clammy. But she could swear he was trembling, too, and it wasn’t just her. “What I want? Of course it is! Zoey, I’m not trying to push you into anything. We don’t have to go fast with this! I know you’re scared about what might happen. I’m scared, too. I don’t want to lose you, either! It’s why I didn’t tell you how I felt for so long. But I also know that when I think about the future – my future – I want you to be in it. And that’s worth taking a chance on. I don’t mind taking this slow, as long as we’re doing it together.”

Her breath escaped her with a whoosh, as she felt the tension drain from her shoulders. “Really?”

“Really,” he responded reassuringly, giving her hand a quick squeeze. “As long as you promise Manipples also isn’t going to be my new nickname.” That elicited a laugh, so he suggested, “I have an idea. Why don’t I…put on a shirt,” his mouth curved into that boyish grin that she loved so much as he gestured vaguely at his chest, “and then we can watch a movie together.”

“I’d like that,” she replied, rocking up onto her toes as she returned his smile.

“But first, if you don’t mind…could we try that kiss again?” At his surprised look, she smiled sheepishly and explained, “I’d like to be able to say that I managed it without nearly sending you to the hospital. I made a promise to Mo, after all.” Plus, it was pretty mortifying that he hadn’t even been aware that’s what she’d been attempting when she nearly knocked him out.

“Yeah, of course,” Max breathed, tugging gently on her hand to pull her forward. Stepping into his embrace was like coming home, she realized, as she wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him down towards her. With one hand resting between her shoulder blades and the other at the small of her back, he pulled her tight against him. Zoey closed her eyes as she savored the feeling of his lips as they brushed softly against hers once, then twice. She parted her lips and heard him groan deep in his throat as he deepened the kiss.

She thought she could stand there in Max’s entranceway, kissing him forever, but he finally gave her one last, tender kiss and pulled away, pressing his forehead against hers. “I love you, Zoey,” he whispered.

“I love you, Max,” she breathed in return.

[laboratorium2d]

Children's Animated Series, As Graded by a Parent Who Has Watched Far Too Many of Them

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: The brony thing is legitimately weird, but this is legitimately a great show. The combination of epic-fantasy plots with a deep dive on friendship is a winner (and has also been deeply influential on kids' television). It also makes the obligatory pro-social messages feel earned, rather than an afterthought. The characters are charming, the writing sparkles, and the animation is still distinctive. Endlessly watchable, which is a good thing when your kid wants to watch endlessly. Fake holidays: Nightmare Night, Hearth's Warming Eve, Hearts and Hooves Day. Grade: A+

Avatar: I was fifteen years too old for this when it was on TV, so I didn't understand what the fuss was about. Now I do. It's epic but not grandiose, funny but not dumb, and morally deep without giving into plot gravity. The world-building, the writing, the animation, the voice-acting, the fight scenes, the side characters: everything works, and everything is pulling in the same direction. (The sequel series, The Legend of Korra, is more of the same, with an interestingly updated setting and better music.) If your kids are like mine, they'll want to talk about everything, and so will you. I guess binge-watching is a family thing now. Grade: A+

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: This show is so gay. However gay you expect it to be, it's ten times gayer. It's also pro-diversity along every axis you can imagine, including body-type. It's completely awesome. It captures the uncannily compelling techno-fantasy atmosphere of the original, and it has characters with the same names, but otherwise it's a total gut rehab. The character studies at its core are compelling, even as the overall plot and action hold a young child's interest. It takes lots of anime animation tropes and tones them down to the verge of naturalism, which I wouldn't have thought would work, but totally does. Grade: A-

Wild Kratts: The big kid was learning biology from this show almost from before she could talk. "Giraffe. Long neck. Eat leaves." The premise of the show is genius: animated versions of veteran kids' wildlife-show hosts Chris and Martin Kratt have suits that give them "creature powers," and they travel around the world having adventures with animals. The science is legit and it's presented entertainingly. And the characters are winners, especially the creature-suit inventor Aviva Corcovado and the colorful villains. The only thing consistently annoying about this show is that it can be shouty. Everyone is Just! So! Excited! About! Animals! Grade: A-.

Phineas and Ferb: The Arrested Development of kids' animation, Phineas and Ferb is impossibly dense with overlapping plots, brick jokes, and a large army of recurring minor characters. Every episode features an original song, some of which are genuinely brilliant ("Squirrels in My Pants" is a household favorite). It is also a wholly, completely sweet-hearted show. Even the antagonists -- Candace and Dr. Doofenshmirtz -- are sympathetic, charming, fully-realized, and allowed to grow and be happy in ways that a lesser version of this show would never even have realized was a possibility. The allegretto pacing and intricate writing keep the show consistently fresh. New Disney at its best. Grade: A-

Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom: From the same team who brought you Peppa Pig, but even drier underneath its treacly trappings. The comedic timing is straight out of classic British sketch comedy. The voice actors are clearly in on the joke, which if anything makes the show more fun to listen to than to watch. B+

Dinosaur Train: Sometimes high concepts work. The show 100% owns its message: dinosaur physiology is a diversity metaphor, presented with just the right degree of insistence. The characters are sketched with grace and sympathy, and the science is pitched just right for its target audience. Over the years, the show (like all railfans) has gotten increasingly obsessed with its train equipment: the aquacar, the submarine, the ... zeppelin. The songs are surprisingly catchy, too: our favorite is probably the Dinosaur Train Zeppelin song, which, yes, is a Led Zeppelin pastiche. Grade: B+

Odd Squad: This one really grew on me. If all you've seen is short clips, it just seems like everyone is shouting about math all the time. But the show overall is delightfully goofy, with a real sense of how to string along a running gag, and some genuinely talented child actors. Grade: B+

Creative Galaxy: Despite being a total Daniel Tiger rip-off, down to the animation style, the obligatory song in every episode, and the live-action codas, this one is actually kind of nice. The art projects are well-chosen both to interest kids and also to actually be doable. Fake holidays: Heart Day. Grade: B

Peppa Pig: It took me a long time to appreciate this show's arch sense of humor. Everyone's pretensions and ambitions are punctured; embarrassing mistakes and small indignities await adults at every turn. Once you realize that the show is making fun of most of its characters but loves them anyway, it's much more bearable. Grade: B

Curious George: Entirely forgettable, with two mildly redeeming qualities. George himself is as charming as always, and the jazzy musical score is pleasant. Grade: B-

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir: It took me a while to understand what this show was doing. It's very, very French. Grade: C+

Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood: Even my kids recognize that Daniel Tiger is needy and whiny. The show inadvertently teaches kids what to be afraid of and how to misbehave. There is also something deeply wrong with the economy of the Neighborhood: everyone seems to have multiple jobs and the public transit system runs on magic. On the plus side, the potty song has come in handy as a reminder: when you have to go potty, stop and go right away. Fake holidays: Love Day, Snowflake Day, Dress Up Day. Grade: C+

Ready Jet Go: I suppose there's some science in here somewhere, I guess. Grade: C+

Tumble Leaf: Reviewers might call this one "gentle," by which they mean "boring." The animation is lovely and the music is calming. But what's the point? Grade: C+

PAW Patrol: Unbelievably, incredibly formulaic. For example: have you noticed that they get in their trucks at exactly the same point halfway through each episode? Just Canadian enough to be noticeably off, but also rah-rah in a George W. Bush-administration kind of way. Sometimes I imagine grown-up versions of the pups. Chase regularly engages in police brutality, Rubble has a drinking problem, and Marshall has joined the alt-right. Grade: C

Nature Cat: Nature Cat is annoying and his friends are worse. I'm not clear on what they're supposed to be learning. And the theme song manages to be both unmemorable and an earworm. Make it stop! Grade: C

Super Why: More like Super Why Does This Exist, amirite? The whole show is oddly paced: I find the story-within-a-story structure confusing and can only wonder how much of it kids actually get. Having each character deal with a different aspect of literacy leaves the show's educational content unfocused. And the Super Letters are like the world's lamest game of Wheel of Fortune. Plus the song is an earworm, and not in a good way. Grade: C

Sofia the First: Empty Disney calories, this show is the reductio ad absurdum of Disney's democratization of the idea of "princess." The plotting, the writing, and the music are technically proficient. The cel-shading effects that give 3D animation the luminosity of 2D hand drawn are lovely. The messages are perfectly innocuous. But the heart of the show is a giant gaping void. Fake holidays: Wassailia. Grade: C

Lion Guard: More empty Disney calories, like Sofia the First but with more obnoxious characters. Inexplicably real holiday: Christmas. Grade: C-

Peg + Cat: All I can remember is that the show is inexplicably drawn on graph paper, and they have a BIG BIG PROBLEM every few seconds. When people complain about STEM, and I remember that this show exists, I have to admit that they have a point. Grade: C-

Martha Speaks: The AV Club's term for this kind of show is "least essential." Even by the standards of kids' shows, the premise makes no sense. Nobody here, human or canine, is remotely sympathetic. And the plot comes to a screeching halt every time it's time for a new vocabulary word. Grade: C-

WordWorld: I have so many questions about this show. If everything is made out of words, what about the ground? The sky? Windows? And what are the letters in the words made of? What is going on with the accents? And who greenlit three seasons of this garbage? Grade: D+

The Adventures of Puss in Boots: This is a weird, weird show. And not in a good way. Grade: D+

Trolls: The Beat Goes On: Quite possibly the most misanthropic kids show currently streaming anywhere. The combination of grimdark setting and hackneyed uplifting plot tropes is somewhere between unsettling and child abuse. Poppy is a walking illustration of emotional labor; Branch has severe PTSD. The show treats both of these as laughable quirks. And I am never going to get used to the Auto-Tune. Grade: D+

Kung-Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny: Pretty much your standard DreamWorks animation. This is not a good thing. Grade: D

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie: The animation and voice-acting are innocuous. But building an entire show around the "if X, then Y" formula led to some disastrous choices. The show taught my big kid how to say things like, "If I see a rock, I just have to bring it home with me." It takes a special kind of kids show to affirmatively instill bad habits. Grade: D-

The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (2018): An absolute travesty in every possible way. The remake is the direct opposite of everything the original represented: crude instead of clever, manic instead of playful, and mean instead of goofy. Grade: F-

[soysaucevictim]

Week 4 of Spellbound.

-

Sept. 5

I woke up around 1PM.

Watched some YouTube and whatnot before I got to making today’s Hello Fresh Meal. Gooey broccoli cheddar melts. Was just about okay. I need to practice my grilled sandwich game more - burned most of it a bit too much (the times given seemed to be an over-estimate for how hot my stove was). Even me who likes food a bit burned thought it was a little much.

I spent a few hours watching Sanders Sides episodes and charting my opinion of the Sides as I go through it. About halfway through.

I did my exercise really late... but still on date/schedule.

First, today’s DD. 40 squat hold side bends with EC. This was pretty breezy work.

Last, Chapter 19 of the SbP. I was to charge the “Lightning Storm Spell“. I kept my rests to about 1′, today. That definitely made the push-ups harder from built up arm fatigue. But I got it done.

Spent time catching up on my therapy journal and staying up obscenely late again. It has probably been a dubious choice working on that the past few days at night...

-

Sept. 6

I woke up by nearly 2PM today.

After a bit of YouTube, I got going with today’s exercise early.

First, today’s DD. 2′ bicep extensions with EC. I counted 137 reps by the end. Was a bit of a challenge at that pace but manageable.

Last, Chapter 20 of the SbP. I was to charge “Healing Spell Level III“. I rested basically for max time, today. The climber taps were probably the most intense bit. But also doable. Didn’t go for very slow counts - partly due to time and energy constraints.

Much of the rest of the day was spent chatting, browsing, and watching a movie.

I did manage to get to bed in the yellow zone, tonight.

-

Sept. 7

I woke up a bit before 9AM, unsure about whether I had some place to be today or not.

After poking around Ao3 and sketching up another art project, I did my exercise early.

First, today’s DD. 2′ march steps with EC. Pretty breezy exercise and counted 192

Last, Chapter 21 of the SbP. I had to check if I got 3 charged attack spells and 2 charged defense spells on the belt.

I already had the attack spells ready. I just needed one more defense spell, I picked “Levitation“. Rested 1′ and had some fun here - relatively breezy cardio. Glad there was only 10 total jump squats. I especially liked the half jacks!

I spent the rest of my mostly drawing/streaming that Tentacle!Roman picture and chatting. Did get to bed late - about my median for red-zoning. :P

-

Sept. 8

I woke up after 8AM.

Spent almost an hour getting extremely pissed off about the printer. Before I was summoned to join a local small group for the 2020 Virtual Suicide Awareness Walk.

The walk helped me get some chill back, if I’m completely honest.

Once back home, spent time chatting and making dinner, before working out.

First, today’s DD. 2′ uneven plank hold with EC (1′/1′). I wasn’t sure if the sleep dep was going to let me get through it. But just some deep breaths and determination was helpful. Just glad I could manage it.

Last, Chapter 22 of the SbP. This chapter was a bit more complicated in terms of actions taken to progress.

Cast a spell to get a guard’s attention. I chose to cast “Increased Speed“.

Cast 2 defense spells, I casted “Deflect“ and “Levitation”.

I then had to cast an attack spell, “Lightning Storm“. Probability rolled success, so I only needed to spend one instead of two spells for the sequence (if I counted it anyways), So I casted “Iron Strike“.

I was then to charge “Time Stop“. I rested a minute between sets, most since the timer on page only accounted for 1′ and I just wanted to get it done. This was apparently an isometric exercise day (i mean, not complaining - I’m not sure I’d be up for much cardio are jostling movements with energy levels and timing of dinner).

Spent rest of day doing some more drawing and chatting.

Did get to bed earlier than yesterday, but still in the red.

-

Sept. 9

I woke up a bit before noon.

Got to Seeking Safety Group again. It was nice and fun to be there.

First, today’s DD. 40 raised leg circles with EC (supine). Just about manageable, despite being pretty tired.

Last, Chapter 23 of the SbP. Casted “Healing Level III“.

Charged and casted “Super Strength Spell“. Max rest, was a bit tired, but I got through it alright. Push-up form was just ok.

After dishes, spent more time to finish that Roman drawing. Technically finished it around 6AM the next morning (had to quickly make some changes to it after posting).

Technically, pulled an allnighter, too (got to bed around 8AM). orz

-

Sept. 10

I woke up after noon. Definitely grossly underslept for it.

After a bit of Tumblr, I went out to get my laundry done. Then chatted and did dishes, before working out.

First, today’s DD. 40 sit-up punches with EC. It’s always fun to be able to llok at a DD and to be able to go, “I got this (one go, no anchors).“

Last, Chapter 24 of the SbP. Charged and casted the “Dome Spell“. Rested for 1′ in between sets. Brisk and manageable cardio. Only downside/concerning aspect was my left ankle being a bit grumpy about the jacks (even though they’re usually very fun). Gotta keep an eye on that.

Spent some time doing some glitchy .gif involving the Tentacle!Creativitwins drawings (will post it some time later though.)

Did get to bed in the yellow zone, because tired.

-

Sept. 11

I woke up around 10AM.

Spent time chatting and shopping before doing my exercise.

Active rest day, so the only devoted exercise I did today was the day’s DD. 50 side bridges with EC (25/25). A bit tough, but doable.

Did some more chatting and set up the new printer I ordered.

I then made today’s Hello Fresh meal. Pub-style Hello Fresh. Bro really enjoyed it and I liked it well enough myself (I was extremely hungry at that point too). Dad was kinda meh (he’s been p down abt food lately).

Did some more chatting, doing dishes, cleaning the kitchen (counters, stove, and microwave), washing some rags, clearing some clutter... and making a lil coin purse. Despite being overtired at that point.

... yeah, another allnighter, got to bed around same time as previous one this week.

[buckeverlasting]

Assembling Ikea Furniture with Bucky Barnes

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: An Asgardian, you live with Thor after the devastation of Ragnarok. Infinity War? what’s that? You are left alone after a confusing Family Game Night, but Bucky Barnes keeps you company and attempts to help you put the house in order.

A/N: As you may know, I’ve been reposting fics from my old blog (with some slight changes). I figured I’d post my first ever Bucky fic in honor of his birthday today! It can be read as a oneshot or part of a series that you can read on AO3: “The Perks of Being an Avenger.”

Warning: some smut and a lil fluff (18+, please)

Word count: 2.4k

Thor must not have come home last night because he was nowhere to be found in the morning. He must not have stopped home either because there was no note. He usually left notes to communicate because he refused to get a cell phone. Tony Stark even gave him a custom device with practically millions of capabilities as a “Welcome to Earth!” present. It was still in the hall closet. Thor had tried to give it to you, but it would only activate with the voice command, “Point Break,” spoken by Thor himself. But Thor bought you a phone. The problem was that you didn’t have anyone’s number. Loki just sort of appeared and disappeared when he felt like it. You didn’t see him as often as Thor, and you were still learning how to read him. You didn’t know what to think about last night.

You decided staying busy would keep your mind off all the strange things that occurred during Family Game Night. You thought you’d go for a run, make yourself a healthy breakfast, and then spruce up the house. You and Thor had bought furniture but had only assembled the essentials, like the dining room table and the beds. Your bedroom still needed a desk, a chair for the desk, and a couple bookcases. Maybe you could get all of that done before 6pm and then start making dinner.

But none of that would happen. Ragnarok felt all too recent, and you thought you’d distract yourself with a little bit of Netflix. A couple episodes of the Great British Bake Off turned into an entire season, and then you stumbled upon a new show that sucked you in, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. A combination of your guilt- and depression-fed inertia and taking advantage of Thor’s absence to watch what you wanted without fear of judgment just caused you to spiral. Somehow, it got to be four in the afternoon, and you heard someone’s voice on the intercom.

“Miss Y/N,” Frank, your doorman, said. “A Mr. James Buchanan Barnes is here to see you.”

“You can let him up.” you said “Thank you, Frank.”

Bucky Barnes, the former Winter Soldier, was here? You weren’t even wearing real pants, just purple pajama shorts, but there was no time to change now.

Minutes later the elevator dinged, and the doors opened. Out stepped Bucky Barnes. You had only spoken to him once before at Tony Stark’s party to celebrate Thor’s return to Earth. You had been starving, and your hands were full, holding a plate of crackers and cheese in one hand and a flute of champagne in the other. You had approached a couch, but Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, and Bucky Barnes pretty much filled it to capacity.

But Bucky must have seen you looking. “We can move over,” he said. “Here.” He scooched over onto Sam’s cushion and patted the now empty spot next to him.

You sat down. The cushion was very warm. You had only exchanged a few words before Thor dragged you away to meet Wanda and Natasha. Then when you returned to the couch, he was gone. That was all. Yet here he was.

“Hey, Y/N,” Bucky said. “It’s good to see you again.” He had a small, almost shy smile that still managed to light up his blue eyes.

“You, too, Mr. Barnes,” you said. “Can I offer you a drink?” You began to walk him toward the kitchen.

“You can call me Bucky,” he said. “I could go for something to drink.”

“We have beer and—” You opened the fridge.

“Beer will be fine. Thanks.” He smiled, showing small creases around his bright eyes.

“So, what brings you here?” You took out two bottles of beer and snapped the caps off with a bottle opener.

“Right to the point, then!”

You laughed. “I guess I just never expected you to drop by like this.” You handed him a bottle.

“Well, I have a message from Thor,” he said, accepting the beer. “He came by to pick up Steve this afternoon. They have some mission with Bruce and Tony. Apparently, they didn’t need me, so Thor asked me to come tell you he wouldn’t be making it home for dinner and that you could order something and watch that baking show you like.”

“Thor and that baking show!” you said, blushing. “Alright, well, I guess I’m on my own tonight.”

“I could keep you company,” Bucky said. “All my friends are on a mission…or dead.”

You gave him a look from the corner of your eye. “I’m sorry,” you said.

“I mean because I’m old,” he said.

“Nonsense. You’re practically a child,” you said. “I’m much older.”

He laughed. “Not possible.”

“Well, to be fair, I was asleep for most of my life, thanks to Odin, so I don’t feel particularly old.”

“How old are you, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“About a thousand years, but, like I said, I was asleep for most of it.”

“I was asleep for most of my life, too,” he said. “How about that?”

“Well, look at us,” you said.

“A couple of sleeping beauties! So, what are you up to this evening?”

At this point in the day, you were supposed to have been for a run, bathed, and assembled all your furniture. “I have furniture to assemble.” The words just came out.

“Do you need any help?” he asked.

“I am—”

“Let me rephrase that. Would you like any help or some company?”

It was Saturday evening. You had no idea when Thor would return, and you weren’t scheduled to see Loki until Monday. You could use some company. “Company would be wonderful, actually.”

“Okay! So, where’s this furniture?”

“My room. Follow me.” You led him out of the kitchen and down the hall to your room. You padded silently on bare feet, and his boots sounded heavy behind you. Your door was already open, revealing your unmade bed and dirty clothes on the floor.

“Excuse the mess.” You scratched the back of your head sheepishly.

“There’s nothing to excuse,” he said. “So, all of this needs to be assembled?” He pointed to the flat cardboard boxes leaning against the walls.

“Yeah. Thor really likes Ikea. In fact, he won’t buy any other brand of furniture.” You shrugged.

“His house, his rules, I guess. Anyway, where should we begin?”

“Well, why don’t we divide and conquer to begin with? You could start with that desk chair, if you don’t mind.” You didn’t want to give him the huge desk or the bookcases. Somehow, you felt that would be rude.

“That seems doable.” He walked over to pile in the middle of the floor. At one point, you had started with the chair because it did seem “doable.” You left the arms, underframe, and chair shell in pieces. Bucky knelt down and picked up the instruction booklet and a clear plastic bag of screws. He sat, reading the booklet. “Långfjäll,” he said with perfect Swedish pronunciation.

“Oh, you speak Swedish?” you asked happily.

“There’s still a lot of what Hydra put in me here.” He tapped his temple. “Some of it can be a little useful.”

You, of course, were aware of his story. After Hydra fell and he was reunited with his best friend Steve Rogers, he began recovering his normal personality. No one seemed sure, though, just how much he could recover. Now, here he was, sitting cross-legged on the floor, scrutinizing the instruction booklet. He seemed so harmless yet so very tragic.

- - -

You heard a grunt from the middle of the room. Bucky was hunched over the jumble of chair parts, straining to fit in a screw that would attach the arm to the chair. “It. Won’t. Go. In.”

“Easy, there. Let’s take a break and grab another beer.” You walked over to him and offered your hand to help him up. He took it, and it shocked you because it was cold and unyielding. It was his metal arm. You hadn’t thought about it because he came in wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt and a leather glove on his left hand. You hadn’t even thought about it until now. You kept your face neutral. It’s not that you though his arm was strange. It just caught you off guard.

“This is taking forever,” he said. “I’m sorry it turns out I’m absolutely useless when it comes to assembling Ikea furniture. You’ll have to give me some pointers. I don’t know how you managed to get two bookcases together in the same time I attached one and a half arms to the chair.”

“Well, I’ll help you when we get back.” You smiled. Somehow helplessness in strong men made you soft. Perhaps it was unexpected vulnerability. “I’m the one who’s supposed to be giving you a hand, not making extra work!”

You laughed. Really, it was endearing to see him so humbled by a desk chair. “You’re not making extra work. It’s nice to have the company, honestly. Thor tends to keep me kind of isolated.” You handed him another beer.

“Yeah, I noticed.” He paused to sip his beer. “I didn’t get much of a chance to talk to you at that party at Tony’s. Why does he keep you so isolated?

You took a thoughtful sip. “I think it’s complicated.”

Bucky just set his eyes on you, silently encouraging you.

“To him, I’m Asgard. I’m Odin. I’m the last shred of the life Thor has known for a millennium or so. He sees me as more than just a person, and I assure you that I am just a person. But maybe I don’t know anything about what he’s thinking. Despite appearances, Thor is a complex man.”

Bucky drank in silence, neither stopping you nor urging you on. You decided to stop. You didn’t want to reveal too much. You didn’t want him to think you had feelings for Thor, when you weren’t sure yourself. You were still figuring out who Thor was, too. Bucky’s silence was drawing out all these questions. So, you drank to shut yourself up.

After a few minutes of silently avoiding eye contact, Bucky stood upright. “Let’s get this damn furniture taken care of so we can relax,” he said.

“Good idea!” You led the way down the hall again.

“This chair is a nightmare,” Bucky said when he entered your room.

“We can extend our break if you want.” You flopped onto your bed on your back.

“Do you mind if I join you?” he asked.

You shook your head: “no.”

Bucky followed suit and flopped onto your bed on his back. He reached for your hand. His was warm and human. You interlaced your fingers together without thinking.

“Do you like being awake or do you wish you were still asleep?” He turned his head to face you.

You continued to stare at the ceiling. “I honestly don’t know yet. It’s all too soon to tell.”

“How old were you when Odin put you to sleep.”

“I was twenty.”

“Did you have to leave people behind?”

“Yes. My family. It was difficult.”

“Friends or lovers, too?”

“What? Just friends.”

“Did you ever get the chance to be in love before you went to sleep?” he asked.

You turned your head to look directly into his glacial blue eyes. “Not once.”

“That’s okay.” He rolled over to face you with his whole body. He paused and bit his lip in thought. “It doesn’t have to be love, you know.”

“What do you mean by ‘it’?” you asked.

“Something, anything that can happen between two people.”

“What would ‘it’ be exactly?” you asked.

“Does it need a name now?” He reached around you with one arm, planting his hand on the bed, and shifted his weight until he held himself over you.

With so much uncertainty in your life right now, what was one more nameless thing? “No, it doesn’t need a name, I suppose.”

“Have you ever been with a man before?”

“Never.”

“Is that something that would interest you?” His voice was now low and gravelly.

“I want—” you began. You thought of Loki and Thor, how what they said and did didn’t seem to relate. “I want someone to be clear about what they want.”

“Well, I can say for certain that I want you,” he said, voice still very low.

“You want me now,” you said. “But will you want me tomorrow?”

“Yes. Now tell me what you want right now.”

“I want you to kiss me.” Something hot flared up from your navel.

Bucky dipped his head and grazed his lips against yours. Once to the left, once up, and once back down. Then he sank his lips fully onto yours. He nipped at your upper lip playfully. You kissed him back hard, reaching up to pull his head to yours. You let him slide his tongue in your mouth and let it probe in and out. He tasted sweet from the barley in the beer. He tasted like dusk falling all over a meadow. His hair between your fingers was clean and silky.

He took your hand and guided it between his legs and gently moved it along his hardened length, which you felt beneath his jeans. “This is how much I want you.”

You blushed, but you didn’t withdraw your hand. Instead you explored the contours of his erection with your fingers, gently stroking it with your fingertips. He closed his eyes and bit in his bottom lip.

That’s when you heard the elevator ding.

When you heard his voice, there was no doubt it was Thor. “Y/N! I’m home early! I’m sorry to have left you alone like that.” His voice was getting louder as you heard his footsteps coming down the hall.

“I promise it won’t happen again.” He was just outside the door. “I sent Bucky Barnes to give you my message.”

He appeared in the door and stopped when he you saw you two sitting next to each other on the edge of your bed. Of course, you were still in your pajama shorts from earlier. No doubt your hair was a mess. No doubt you were blushing.

Thank you so much for reading! I’d love to hear your feedback!! Also, just send an ask if you want to be added to a tag list.

@reniescarlett @captain-winny @gottalovekidding @trashpanda-barnes @buckychrist @itsbuckysworld @marvelous-avengers @sgtbucketbarnes @loki-superwholockin @mywinterwolf @petersshirts @the-canary @whiskey-cokenfanfic @coffeeandpies @buckyofthemyscira @jamesbuckybarnes13 @tina8009 @queenofkings121 @heartssick @xxloki81xx @jewelofwinter @darcia22 @achishisha @imboredsueme @libbymouse @fitzsimmons-is-forever

Bucky: @gamorazenn @38leticia

[rkheejin]

‧ ₊ ˚ ♡ MGA SEASON FIVE, EPISODE SEVEN— THE FINALE!

        •  •  •  astro’s all night  ❪ 0:30 — 4:21! ❫ + she’z luv ❪ 0:00 — 3:58! ❫                   royal flush's queen of hearts w. kyungsoo, suwoong & eric

     there's anticipation prickling at her skin, shivers running up and down her spine the longer time ticks away, and heejin can't help the way her nails dig harshly into her palms— it's all to ground herself, all done to serve as a reminder that this is real, that she truly has come this far.

     it's a reminder of her impending future, now glimmering just beyond the horizon as if to tease.

     the finals.

     heejin had made it all the way to the finals.

     the very thought of her imminent success, of all the hard work she'd put in over the last month or so ( nights rendered sleepless in favor of soothing throbbing muscle aches, vocal chords soaked in honey to relieve and mend, heart shaken and shattered only to be put back together by warm hands and yearning gazes ), brings a wistful smile to her lips. there would be no denying her talents now, no sense in keeping her from what she'd done well to earn— what she felt she rightly deserved.

     triumph looked beautiful on her, that much heejin was well aware of— the way it'd sat atop her head like a crown, chin high in her poised stance, eyes shining with excitement as a content grin spread across her lips the very moment her team was revealed to have put on the best performance during the semi-finals. that feeling of pure victory, of not only her efforts but the efforts of her teammates as well, of being rightfully acknowledged had been everything.

     in that moment, heejin couldn't recall ever feeling as high on stage as she had then.

     it serves as motivation immediately. she would finish this competition with a bang, go out with the same lasting impact she'd had with youth of flowers as they took charge of the stage.

     it was the final stretch now, and heejin would be damned if she let herself fall and leave with nothing for her efforts.

                                                                      ♡

     there's a clear contrast to be seen in their dynamics in comparison to the week before the moment they come together for another week of practices, the air far calmer and easier to breathe, bodies forgoing tense shoulders and careful words in favor of pleasant familiarity and ease. it's an unexpected change, at least to heejin it is, but it's a change she's more than grateful for— she no longer feels as if she's a simple stranger working amongst fast colleagues, no longer feels the strong urge to keep her distance, to only let them in on what she wants to let them in on. no, it's as if a switch had been flicked, their presences alongside hers in their practice room appreciated.

     it had been different last week— then, the only thing on her mind had been doing what she needed to in order to ensure her own safety once the final round of eliminations came around, wanting to coast high above the conflicts that seemed to come on after another between the majority of them as best as she could.

     however, now, mingling about with her team as they geared up to begin preparations for their final performances together, heejin wanted to do more. she wanted to do more than just do what she needed to do, wanted to do more than simply offer civil smiles and work without even a little bit of fun. after all of the rocky roads they'd traveled with one another only a few short days prior, she felt they deserved at least that much, especially after proving how well of a team they could actually be once conflicts were out of the way.

     they had proven they were a force not to be underestimated— having a little fun here and there to make up for lost time was valid.

     that fun, surprisingly enough, begins with cheri.

     the rush of emotions she feels the moment the older woman walks through their practice rooms door, a surprise celebratory cake held in her hands, cause heejins heart to pick up in its pace— it catches her off guard ( and, judging by her teammates' reactions, it catches them off guard as well if suwoongs eager rise to his feet was anything to go by ), her brows shooting up, hands clasping together in her own bubbling happiness. it's just as she, herself, begins to get up from where she's sat, head down as she quickly adjusts her slightly wrinkled shirt that she hears a sudden plop.

     her heart wrenches in her ribcage, head quickly snapping up, eyes immediately bouncing around in search of the cake that'd been in cheri's hands only a few seconds ago. the lower her eyes travel, the more her lips begin to pull into a saddened frown, shoulders deflating as her hands unlock themselves from one another and fall limply at her sides— it's a sad sight to see, already melting ice cream and cake bits unpleasantly smooshed and scattered about the floor, and if it wasn't for the heavy disappointment beginning to take root in the pit on her stomach, she might have found the older woman's reaction to her mistake rather odd.

     maybe that's why, as a second cake is suddenly brought in by ella and wonwoo, the first momentarily forgotten about as heejins mouth falls open slightly in shock, their prank is more effective than it might've otherwise been. of all the people in their group to pull a stunt like this, heejin wouldn't have pictured cheri begin its main orchestrator, but maybe that's why it worked so well— this was something she'd never have seen coming.

     it's only later, the mess from the first cake having long since been cleaned up, utensils in hand as they all dig into the second cake, that heejin feels herself, ones again, in higher spirits. even when the prospect of calling hyojin, their fallen member, is brought up, she finds herself easily wearing a pleasant grin— while the loss of a member had been inevitable at this point, she wouldn't deny that it'd surprisingly made her sad to see him go ( just like the rest of them, hyojin worked hard to ensure the success of their performance— as the judges had pointed out, however, at least he would be the one to leave a winner in some sense of the word ). during the call, as jokes are made and the mood is kept as light as it can be, heejin can't deny that she's happy.

     it surprises her, but she knows, within herself, that it's true— sat amongst her group, cake being enjoyed to the fullest under the caring and watchful eyes of their coaches, heejin is happy that this is the team she'll be seeing the competition to the end with.

     as the call ends, they're brought back to their reality— song choices.

     the idea of having to put on two performances is a daunting one, especially when both needed to include choreography, something that'd proven to give them a bit of difficulty when it came to their more vocally focused members ( heejin being included in this ). the task, however, doesn't intimidate her the way it might have a few weeks ago. no, with their win from the semi-finals, heejin knew she would be fine— they would be fine. though it may not be by much, she was aware that she had improved some when it came to her capabilities as a dancer, and that she would only continue to improve. what worried her more was the prospect of needing to put together two different performances.

     if the task had been to simply one-up what they'd done last week with one last stage, she felt that'd be more doable, having the full week to put in the intense focus needed to ensure everything, again, was perfect. now, however, their time and focus needed to be split between making sure two separate performances were perfect.

     as song ideas are thrown around for what their first performance would be, the tone once again needing to reflect that of royal, heejin can't help but think of sphere, the company they'd need to revolve their second performance around. choosing something for royal had been the easiest thing, a unanimous agreement towards all night settling that early on, but sphere proves to be more of a challenge. it's hard for them to all agree on what song to go with, two more boy group choices up in the air, and for a moment, heejin isn't sure if they'll be able to decide. it's only after prompting for opinions from their coaches that they're thrown a curveball— rather than do a song by a boy group, cheri suggests thinking of possible girl group songs.

     at the thought, a whole new realm of possibilities seems to open up in heejins mind.

     she hates how she'd never even thought of proposing something more feminine for them to do, the overwhelming testosterone emanating from their group causing her to think that going along with things that leaned stronger and more masculine might suit them more than making the boys try to conform to something they might not be comfortable with ( sure, she was a pretty girl, one who could be cute or elegant when she needed to be, but not everyone had that talent ). silently, she's grateful for the way it causes their conversation to do a complete u-turn, providing her with the possible chance to show off more of her own charms the way she had at the beginning of the competition.

     with more discussion and options being thrown around, they finally decide on a song for sphere— a song by one of the companies senior artists, luv. heejin can't help the way her excitement only grows as their choices are finally solidified, her eagerness for their sphere stage eminent, and she's ready to get to business.

     if only she'd known earlier that business meant doing intense workouts in the form of squats, all in preparation for their all night stage, courtesy of coach ella, only for coach cheri to have them work on their harmonization skills...while still doing squats.

     by the time the day ends and she's back home in her room, readying herself for a much-needed shower, heejin feels as tired as she looks, and that's saying something, seeing as she looks like she's been run over by a truck.

     it's the final stretch, heejin— it's the final stretch.

                                                                      ♡

     if there's one way heejin didn't want to be welcomed to the practice room so early in the morning, her legs still aching from the squats they'd been made to do the day before, a hand raising to rub the last dregs of sleep from her eyes, it's by being scared.

     well, by attempting to be scared.

     she can't help the way a single brows lifts itself the moment she opens the practice rooms door, suwoong jumping into her field of vision, and she catches sights of kyungsoo lingering off in the corner the former had jumped from with something akin to amusement playing at his features. it's a childish prank, one heejin hasn't had the thought to try doing since she was in middle school, but it's one she doesn't protest against as suwoong quickly tugs her along with him back to where he and kyungsoo had previously been hiding. she does, however, roll her eyes playfully. "you do know you're not exactly quiet, even when you try to be, right? if you couldn't scare me, what makes you think you can scare them!" her words fall from her lips in a hushed rush, but still, she follows along.

     she eats her words, however, when the next person to walk through the door, poor, poor eric, is scared by them within an inch of his life.

     ok, so maybe they could scare the coaches.

     the wait, however, proves to be longer than they'd originally thought it'd be. the longer the four of them are stood there, huddled closely together in order to stay as hidden away as they possibly could, heejin can feel her legs cramping, the need to shift her weight from foot to foot strong. it's only as she begins to roll one of her ankles gently that the door finally opens, and while she doesn't jump with the same enthusiasm that suwoong and eric seem to have, choosing a more laid back approach like kyungsoo, heejin still yells with the intent to startle.

     she watches on with a wide grin, arms crossed loosely at her front, and it takes everything in her not to laugh out loud too hard. sure, this little prank was all harmless, done simply as payback for the one the coaches pulled on them, but they're still their coaches— they're authority figures, possible future seniors, and heejin wouldn't let herself be seen as too eager to pull a fast one. not so subtly, she points a finger in suwoongs direction, brows raised, a silent declaration that this was all his idea. quickly, however, she dissolves into another gentle fit of laughter as they help their coaches recover and the day proceeds as they'd originally planned.

     it's another day of intense preparations, workouts starting right from the getgo, but the burn is less intense than it had been the day before, so heejin takes that as a sign of improvement.

     as the next day progress', they take slight detours— it doesn't surprise her when suwoong approaches her in secret, proposing the idea of secretly shopping around for outfits their group could wear for their stages, his acknowledgment towards her being one of their more stylish members doing nothing but strengthening her pride ( in all honesty, he was correct— to heejin, style was important, no matter the event or occasion. you never knew who you'd see anytime you stepped out of your house, so it was always better to make sure you looked nice on the chance you were suddenly in the presence of someone important. heejin also wouldn't deny that suwoong seemed to have a good read on style himself, so naturally, it made sense for them to take up the task if anyone was going to ).

     it's easy to piece together certain looks, both of their outfits coming together quickly. she's happy that yellows, especially the pastel yellow they'd decided to stick to as the main color point of their luv outfits, are still so popular this late into summer, the tennis skirt she'd found pairing nicely with the simpler white blouse she'd latched onto early on in their search.

     she's proud of what they're able to find, especially when it comes to erics cute sweater vest, an absolute steal of a find, one they'd practically ripped their hair out in order to find, but they do it despite the odds. kyungsoos attire, however, is where they come to their disagreements— with judgemental stares, heejin does her best to do away with all of the horrid pieces suwoong enthusiastically shows her, her disbelief growing more and more the worse options seem to get. her rejections, in the end, fall on deaf ears, however.

     heejin can picture the scene easily as they make their way back to the royal building, kyungsoos protests towards suwoongs choice in clothes for him only a short ways away.

     oh well, she had tried.

     they run into kyungsoo sooner than they'd planned, however, completely taken by surprise as they watch him put on a solo performance on the streets. her confusion is met by suwoongs equally as confused glances, her head shaking at his questions. "he never mentioned he was gonna be out here to me, either," she speaks, turning back to watch their teammate. her head bops gently to the rhythm of his song. "maybe he wanted to get in a little extra practice performing for a large crowd?"

     it's a shot in the dark, one made with pure curiosity.

     when they see him again in the practice room, thoughts of his performance as long since forgotten in favor of watching him try and wrestle himself away from suwoong, heejins eyes bright with amusement as they argue over the outfit suwoong had gotten for him, just as she knew they would.

     maybe, however, the ruckus is worth it once kyungsoo begrudgingly has the outfit on, kyungsoos face saying it all.

     damn, heejin really hoped all of this would be aired.

                                                                      ♡

     on tuesday, when suwoong suggests yet another prank, heejin already feels tired.

     with them being this was into the week, their practice still going strong for both of their routines the closer saterday gets, heejin has her doubts with trying to pull another stunt. it's not that she doesn't want to, exactly, she just doesn't want them to fall into this sort of routine— of them allowing themselves to get so easily distracted, putting the practice they needed off to the side in favor of pulling joke after joke. sure, they were generally funny, but they had a goal to work towards.

     she decides she'll go along with it in the end, however, once she hears how small it'll be. it's harmless in comparison to the stunt they'd pulled before, nothing involving jumpscares. while it does take away from real practice time, it doesn't do so by much, and by the time they've generally got it all down, heejin feels good.

     the next day, as the put the plan into action, heejin is sure to keep her face as close to stone as she can, not wanting herself to be the one that gives them away before they even start with a loose grin. as suwoong does the talking, telling the coaches of their sudden want to change their sphere song choice, she gets into position, standing beside kyungsoo in the center of the practice room, suwoong and eric at their sides, the two of them begin to sing. their voices fill the space, ppap falling from their lips as the other two begin to dance. as kyungsoo and heejin finish their lines, erics otamatone suddenly filling the void they've left as they all dance. it's then that heejin finally cracks a smile, letting herself laugh at the sight of their coaches showing their own amusement.

     it's all fun and games until they're made to return to their normal practice, morale at an all-time high.

                                                                      ♡

     taking the stage for the first of their two performances, heejin is as confident as ever, the four of them stood together as they give their introductions. their voices sign off in unison, clear for the audience to hear. “hello everyone, we are royal flush!”

     once it's time for heejin to give out her individual introduction, she does so with a beautiful smile, hands coming together to form a cute heart. "i'm jeon heejin, you're queen of hearts!" with them all having spoken, they quickly get into their starting positions, and the mood of the stage is set right away, just as it had been last week. different flowers and foliage alike decorate the stage, placed with absolute care and balance, flower petals and deep blues playing on the screens behind them to help with the ambiance.

     they're visions in white, pure and sweet, and while they all begin on the floor, their expressions already reflect the dream-like effect they hope to give off wonderfully despite only one of them being seen right away— as the music begins and they move with an almost effortless feeling, graceful in their delivery in order to help paint a picture, heejin is sure to give it her all from the start. as kyungsoo opens with his vocals, performing his part with ease, heejin is more than glad for ellas insistence on squats earlier on the week— it makes the rise they all perform as kyungsoo walks across the stage far easier than it would have been otherwise, all of them falling to their knees except for suwoong as he sings his part.

     as they all spread out, rolling across the floor to get to their spots, heejin rises with controlled ease, her voice smooth against the slowly picking up beat, eyes finding the cameras with ease. her voice holds strength, however, and not a note is missed.

전하지 못한 얘기 밤새 들려줄 테니 눌러 봐 지금 sending

     as the beat picks up more, suwoongs voice finishing off the pre-chorus, kyungsoos lines coming in as they move across the stage, heejin is glad they'd change the spin jump to keep things more controlled. moving to the center, she begins the first part of the chorus, her voice stronger than it'd been before to match the intensity now present.

니 목소린 간질간질 간질 하게 들려 맘이 포근포근 포근하게

     moving into her next position, she's sure to keep her movements as fluid as she can as suwoong and kyungsoo do their own parts back to back, doing her best to keep her facial expressions in charge— her eyes say a thousand words despite her silence, gaze holding the camera as they face it, the dread squat move they'd practiced time and time again showing itself as they do it in unison, something that'd taken them a lot of time and dedication to master. she's glad her legs no longer shake as it's done, letting herself move fluidly. when they'd first began learning the dance, certain gestures relating to the crotch area had been a bit much to heejin, but now, she does them as if they're nothing, mirroring the boys, but allowing herself to be a bit softer with it for her own sake.

     moving on to erics rap, it's up to everyone not singing to move as a unit, matching the intensity of his rapping as they go along. soon enough, however, heejin take the attention once more.with her vocals, smooth as ever.

아무도 모를 얘기 네게만 해 줄 테니 더 늦기 전에 sending i can't wait, i can't wait, i can't wait

     this time, however, she takes on the whole verse, suwoong voice underlying her own with a brief part of his own before he and kyungsoo once again take charge of their own, one singing part of the chorus, only to hand it off to the other to finish it.

     as she takes the center to finish off the chorus, the boys falling to their knees slowly as they dance together, heejin lets herself throw a gentle wink to the camera, her side profile on display for only a moment, a feature she knows is a killer.

그저 밤새 듣고 싶은 것은 니 목소리뿐이거든

     as the next rapping portion begins, this one shorter than the first, their dancing takes it down a slight notch, allowing them the freedom to move without needing to push themselves too hard, but still showcasing fluidity and unison in their bodies. it's all about the timing, about the rhythm of the song, together working hand in hand. making their way to the floor move by move, traveling along it as the go, heejin prepares herself, rising from where she lays as she sings once more.

어느새 고운 숨소리 속삭이듯 잠이 드는 너

     unline the original choreography, however, heejin doesn't simply stay stationary as she delivers her high note. no, as her vocal pierce through the air, strong and clear, she makes her way across the stage, nearing suwoong. she feels him take her wrist loosely, just as they'd planned, letting him pull her farther in as her note fades off, and he delivers his own line, their killing part completed as they hold one another in a lenient embrace. parting from one another as they move into the last portions of the song, heejin gives beautiful adlibs the entire way before she sings once more.

잠이 들 때 듣고 싶은 것도 니 숨소리뿐이거든

     as they shout together one last time, confetti shoots into the air, fluttering prettily around them, the stage, and the audience. the song reaching its end as they deliver their finishing line, they move as one to find their ending pose positions. singing the performances final line, heejin give it as much heart as she can, head tilted slightly as it all comes to a close.

그저 밤새 듣고 싶은 것은 니 목소리뿐이거든

                                                                      ♡

     by the time they take the stage for their final time, the mood and tonal shift from their first stage is already apparent— gone are the all-white ensembles they'd worn previously, their outfits this time consisting of the pretty pastel yellow and white clothes she'd gone out to buy with suwoong earlier in the week.

     as they introduce themselves for a final time, both kyungsoo and suwoong being given the time needed to give light explanations as to why they picked this particular song, they set off into their formation, taking their starting positions. as their track begins, so does heejin, taking the opening vocals.

기억하나요 우리 함께 했던 시간 l.o.v.e luv 설레이나요 한 땐 모든 것이었던 l.o.v.e luv

     in comparison to everything else they've done during their time as a group, this is by far the least intense ( maybe even the least interesting ), but to stand out and take charge hadn't been the point of this songs choice. no, they'd already proven they could impress viewers, had already shown their strengths in a variety of ways, taking on challenges and bettering themselves as days passed. now wasn't the time to blow people out of the water. now was a time for reminiscing, remembering the good times they'd had over this season, and seeing just how far they've come.

     her voice is sweet, but with a certain heaviness to it, clear in its tone as she delivers her lines with ease and kyungsoo sings next. following in the vein of not trying to blow people minds, heejin had been happy for the songs easier choreography in comparison to all night, the moves doable without much of a hassle, providing them ample time to learn it perfectly in order to give them the time they needed to perfect their first performances dance. now, they move together with ease, and as the song progress with heejin singing small lines hear and there underneath her partners' main vocal lines, heejin comes to the center once more the begin the chorus.

기억하나요 우리 함께 했던 시간 l.o.v.e luv 설레이나요 한 땐 모든 것이었던 l.o.v.e luv

     moving through the chorus, a small breakdance is done without fail, heejins body moving along to the beat with a gentle hop to her step, eyes finding the camera to give it a wink as the hit their final move, the next verse starting up immediately as they take their next positions. again, her voice chimes in here and there during certain parts of the song, taking the back seat as the boys do their parts.

     this time, however, instead of her next lines being the start of the next chorus, she takes of the beginning of the pre-chorus as they form a skewed line across the stage, heejin being most in the foreground as they dance. head tilting from side to side with each step, she's sure to make her eyes slightly larger, brows furrowed gently as she sings.

너와 나 너무 행복했던 그 시간 서로를 마주 볼 때면 yeah

     then, after eric takes the attention as he sings and finishes up the pre-chorus, heejin comes back to begin the chorus once more.

기억하나요 우리 함께 했던 시간 l.o.v.e luv 설레이나요 한 땐 모든 것이었던 l.o.v.e luv

     as the bridge begins, the song building up lightly as suwoong and eric sing, only to come together right before heejin walks through the center, her hand takes hold of the flower that'd been carefully pinned to her shirt before they'd walked onto the stage. taking slow strides towards the front as she sings, the flower in hand, she tosses it towards the camera as she strongly holds out the last note in her line.

넌 나의 기억 속에 추억 어딘가 그렇게 남아있죠

     then as they move about and find they're places for the final chorus, they let their voices come together in a unified shout, prompting the audience to dance along with them for this final stretch, a way of including them, those who'd watched them through the season and gave them the support they needed to do well. "do it with us!" it's meant to be a special moment, one that doesn't fail at making heejins lips turn upwards gently into a smile, eyes scanning the crowd as they do, in fact, join in. it's a wonderful moment, one she's not sure she'll ever have the pleasure of enjoying in this way ever again, but she won't let thoughts like that bring her down.

     not now, when there was nothing left for her to feel but happiness.

     as the song comes to a close, the four of them sing the songs ending line together, coming together for their last finishing pose together. a heart made up of their arms, heejin and eric making up the top of it while kyungsoo and suwoong join their arms to form the point below.

     her chest heaves with exertion, taking deep breaths as they hold their pose, but heejin doesn't mind the aches she feels beginning to take root in her bones. no, she would never mind if they were a result of this, a product of the time and work she put in to her time on stage.

     no, heejin wanted more of it, because to feel that meant she was doing what she was meant to do.

     this was where she was meant to be.

지나버린 우리 얘기

[darisu-chan]

Things that I’m upset about this episode:

1) They haven’t been able to write Varys at all. Varys, along with Little Finger, was one of the people moving everybody like it was a game of chess. If you read the books, you know just how important to everything Varys is. His death was anticlimatic and didn’t accomplish anything. If he had sent that letter, then yes, he would have at least done something.

2) Cersei being dumbed down and forgetting her own father sacked King’s Landing and stormed the Red Keep, so she knows it’s doable. Also, I half expected her to use wildfire against Daenerys or something. Anything instead of just standing there and watching it all go down. Also, her freaking death was anticlimatic and painfully boring. What about the prophecy you ask? Well prophecies mean shit apparently, but they at least could have haunted Cersei, instead there was nothing. By the way, Cersei doesn’t truly love Jamie. She was attracted to him and had a special bond with him solely because he’s the only man who will ever look like her. What Cersei wanted was power. The only people she ever truly loved were her children, and at least that aspect remained. But the final scene between her and Jamie felt off after everything they did to each other.

3) Speaking of which, Jamie literally threw all he had learned out of the window the same way he did with Bran. It’s only for Brienne, but Jamie had to learn to give up Cersei. All his life he did whatever Cersei and his father wanted. Throughout the story, slowly but surely he learned to be who he actually was and not the person his father and sister wanted him to be. You’re telling me that after all that growth he just went back to her? Seriously? And they died in a loving embrace as if they were the Westeros equivalent of Romeo and Juliet? Nah, screw that. What a cliché ending.

4) The Cleganebowl wasn’t awful, but it could have been better, just saying.

5) Arya should have used her training as an assassin. I mean, she managed to kill the Night King, and then nothing happened this episode. I’m half expecting her wanting to kill Daenerys now, but who knows at this point.

6) Jon just did nothing. He might as well not have been in this episode at all. The only thing that was notable was him realizing Daenerys lost her mind, which might lead him to doing something in the finale. But at what cost.

7) Tyrion’s been getting stupider and stupider for two or three seasons now, but this takes the cake. And it all comes down to how they changed his character from the books. Tyrion hated his father and Cersei in the books with a burning passion. He wouldn’t have cared if Cersei got brutally murdered, specially if it was to save other people. He literally doesn’t care for her, at all. In the books, after Jamie helps him escape, they argue about Cersei, and Tyrion opens his eyes: “ You poor stupid blind crippled fool. Must I spell out every little thing for you? Very well. Cersei is a lying whore, she's been fucking Lancel and Osmund Kettleblack and probably Moon Boy for all I know. And I am the monster they all say I am. Yes, I killed your vile son.” Do you really think Tyrion would plan to let Jamie go and rescue their sister knowing the type of person she is? Tyrion knows Cersei doesn’t love Jamie, that she has just been using him. It goes against everything he is to let Jamie save her. If the intended plan was for Jamie to kill her to surrender King’s Landing, then yes, I agree with his plan. But it wasn’t what happened, so it means nothing.

8) Daenerys going Mad Queen. I mean, I knew it’d happen. It’s not the first time she had claimed she’d burn everything to pieces. And yes, she did say she would conquer the Seven Kingdoms as her ancestors had done, with blood and fire. It was foreshadowed, and although it’s not something a lot of us particularly like, we knew it was a possibility. However, I’m calling it out. She should’ve burned the Red Keep first, with Cersei in it, which didn’t happen right way. It was not that in character, even with all her losses, having Daenerys just snap like that, even as revenge. Cersei didn’t care for the people or their opinion, she wouldn’t have cared if they burned, and honestly, she didn’t. So why burn them all down? What did that accomplish? If there had been something else beside the bells which set her off, if the crowd had booed her, if Jon maybe had said something else to imply they would hate her, if Varys had managed to get to a lord or someone who would want to crown Jon, then yes, I’d understand it more. It seemed more for shock value than an actual cause-effect situation. Yes, GRRM writes very shocking and gruesome deaths, however there’s always a catalyst, a clue you can pick on that makes complete sense. They failed at writing this scene, and if in the books it goes exactly like this, I’ll be very disappointed.

9) The Golden Company. They completely erased the history of the Golden Company and how they’re related to the Targs. They also are suppossed to be an important plot point in the books. Yet here, they’re just there. Nobody cared about their role. I mean, not even Cersei seemed worried after they were burned down. 

In any case, although I’m not going to claim it’s the worst episode ever written, it’s not the best and not the climax we were expecting. It goes to show how the moment you change and ignore plot points that are leading up a major event, the climax has not the same impact it could’ve had otherwise, and you’re left with shock value as your only tool, which, by the way, it will never compare to the nuances of writing every scene and dialogue meticulously.

[dcarevu]

Batman TAS: The Clock King

Hi, guys! Gee, it’s been a while! For another week or two, doing these blogs are going to be incredibly difficult to accomplish. It’s the last two weeks of my school semester, meaning that it’s crunch time. Overall, school has kept me so busy that watching the episodes has been doable, but writing about them has been a huge problem. It sucks, because doing this blog and venting my thoughts is incredibly satisfying. To be honest, if I didn’t include screenshots and captions for most of them (like how I used to do things), these posts would likely still be coming out regularly. But they are a lot of extra work. It more than doubles the creation-time, believe it or not. It is work that is worth it, mind you, it adds a massive leap in awesome-factor. But I just don’t have time for it at the moment. I have watched up to Robin’s Reckoning as of the moment I type this. Because of how far ahead that is without actually writing anything about those episodes, it’s going to be hard to write meaningful blog posts about them, simply due to the episodes not being as fresh in my mind. I will try to rewatch them (or at the very least skim through them and read about them). I’m in a bit of a rut. I didn’t want to stop watching episodes entirely, because I’d like to get through the DC Animated Universe in a somewhat timely manner (I’d watch an episode per night if only I could). Luckily, after the 10th of May I should be back at it in full. I’m likely way more excited about it than you are, but hey, I’m mainly doing this for me (with a hearty “welcome” to anyone who happens to discover and enjoy these along the way). Just figured I’d keep any readers updated! This is the last post for the next couple of weeks. I’ll check in soon! In the mean time…

“Thirty-seven pages? That would take a copier exactly one minute and forty-nine seconds. One more delay like this and you're fired!”

Episode: 25 Robin: No Writer: David Wise Director: Kevin Altieri Animator: Sunrise Airdate: September 21, 1992 Grade: B

So lately I’ve been watching these episodes using my Blu Ray copy, and receiving the screenshots from my DVD copy. There hasn’t been too much for variance, aside from one looking obviously better, but The Clock King is an example of a pretty drastic difference in how two episodes can be presented. The Blu Ray copy is much brighter than the DVD copy, and while that does allow us to see what is going on a little bit better in dark scenes such as when Batman and Temple Fugate face off inside the clock, it also makes other scenes uncharacteristically bright, and honestly a little bit tacky. Seeing Batman walking around in broad daylight is odd enough, but when you further get rid of the illusion of how cool he looks by upping the exposure an additional amount, it makes him look really out of place. In the series bible, I can see why they wanted to keep Batman only appearing after dark. In the real world, it would be a lot easier to see Batman as a normal guy in a dorky Halloween costume when not cloaked in the shadows or when the ability to see him before he attacks is present. Of course, this isn’t saying that if Batman were to see trouble during daylight that he should just ignore it. It makes sense to break the rule sometimes, and it’s not even a problem to me in this episode, I just don’t think that the remastering of the Blu Ray release does it any favors in this case. The brightness also brings out the budget, revealing a whole lot of bland blues, grays, and browns. These colors have not been shy since the beginning, but there is no disguising them this time.

Fugate is a villain who’s main flaw is not only how obsessive-compulsive he gets about his schedule, keeping track of things, being on time, etc, but also the fact that he extends this to other people. He expects them to fall in line with his standards. For example, he keeps track of how long he and Mayor Hill have been taking the subway together, and expects Hill to know his name just from that. Also, his employee/intern who brings him a stack of papers too slowly for his standards, because apparently a photocopier should only take “one minute and forty-nine seconds” on that particular stack. And then, the biggest one of all, when he expects Mayor Hill to immediately know the significance of the time 3:15. This is the time that Hill suggested Fugate go on his coffee break, indirectly leading to Fugate losing the court case, ruining his life and creating the Clock King. But this was seven years prior! If someone came up to you and went, “1:47!” would you have any idea what they were talking about? Sure, a lot of things have happened at 1:47, maybe even some significant things, but as far as what they are, most people probably do not keep track. Another theme that I noticed was the idea of hindsight. Have you ever been in a situation where you gave someone a mere suggestion, they willingly took it, and then when something happened to ruin it, they blame you and insist that they knew it was a bad idea? Right, of course in hindsight it’s easy to say that, but truth is, neither of you saw the consequences coming! On top of that, any bad things that happened were completely unrelated to what you suggested, and luck just did not happen to line up. Maybe if Fugate hadn’t gone on that coffee break at a different time than usual, something else would have happened (not to get Final Destination-y on you). Point is, Fugate is completely missing the mark by staying mad at Mayor Hill for that long, and it’s like the old saying goes, “Shit happens.” Ironically, for a man so precise and knowledgable when to comes to all things time and clock related, looking back in time without heavy distortion does not seem to be something he is capable of doing in this case.

The main thing I liked about this episode (as I think a lot of people did) was its incredibly cruel nature. Just how mean to a guy can the writers be? “All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy”. That’s a Joker quote (taken from The Killing Joke), and it’s something I think about from time to time. I often wonder how much is between a rational brain and a completely irrational one. How much subconscious effort does being sane take? What’s keeping any of us from letting go and succumbing to the lunacy? Do our minds even work that way? Well, I sure as hell don’t know. And nobody worry, I’m not even the least bit afraid of snapping or anything, hahaha. It probably greatly varies from person to person as far as what would be enough to drive them crazy. In Temple Fugate’s case, it was a lot less than it would take for the majority of us. But this is hammered home by the drama of him being late to court. The bloody browns, dramatic shadows, and violent ticks of a clock do not necessarily represent how Fugate sees the situation, but they are there to represent how the situation affects him. If we were to be affected like him, this is how we would have to experience the situation. After all, everything is relative. This is juxtaposed brilliantly by the prior scene where birds are chirping and the sun is shining. Fugate seems like an alien trying to act casually as he struggles to relax for those few seconds. This is also more from our point of view than Fugate’s. These two scenes being back to back make us feel confused and baffled over our villain, all while allowing us to understand him completely. To me, understanding does not necessarily mean that something makes sense to us. Understanding is knowing the why. But, as an analogy, someone can tell me why they like the taste of zucchini. But that doesn’t make it any more clear to me those reasons can be enough for someone can like it. It just is what it is, and the bottom line is that all of our realities are different. For Temple Fugate, this is an unfortunate reality.

The producers of Batman set a goal of having a crazy set piece at the third act of every episode. They wanted it to aid in the excitement and to be memorable. I’m pretty sure not all episodes did this (it would become formulaic is abused), but this, along with Prophecy of Doom are the two that come to mind as demonstrators of this concept. Unfortunately, the animation lacks the spark that it needs. Luckily The Clock King wasn’t infected by Atom disease, and so the climax downright corny like Prophecy of Doom, and seeing the inside of the clock was neat, but… It wasn’t beyond just neat. I wish we got a bigger sense of scale, seeing further to the bottom of the clock, and maybe getting some better angles along with quicker action. I wanted a sense of height like what Mayor Hill was experiencing from the outside, as he was tied to the clock-hand. Plus just better fighting. It was such a tease of an action scene. I wanted to be at the edge of my seat, but feeling that way would require forcing it. And I just don’t have that kind of energy, man. Sunrise tried, they really did. The scene (and the whole episode in general) looks passable. But the blandness holds it back. It’s like eating the macaroni and cheese from my college. It’s mac and friggin’ cheese. So of course it’s going to be edible. Of course I’m going to like it. But where is the usual flavor? Where is the element that I usually am head-over-heels for? I can make vague comments about what it’s missing or what I would personally do to make it better. But probably the most firm statement I can really make is only, “Just do it better next time.”

I feel bad for people like this. We’ve all met them. They hold themselves (and others) to an impossibly high standard. Think about how much energy that must use.

The shock of Fugate hitting his coffee break at an odd time. She’s worked with him a long time. 

Batman’s idea of a nice, sunny day. As noted, it’s brighter on the Blu Ray. One of the scenes where the brightness adds to it. That tree is casting a shadow, but it almost looks like the clock is the one causing it...

The Blu Ray variant.

Great stuff! The tick of a clock gets louder and louder through the scene. 

“Then perhaps this will teach you to be on time for a change.” This line holds so much weight, as to someone like Fugate, it cements the idea that one moment of leniency was one too many.

This drawing could have been a little more grotesque, but not bad!

“I take it taxi-drivers are no longer required to obey traffic signs.”

I find it a little whacky that Bruce Wayne noticed trouble from way down on the streets.

Bruce going through that car was animated incredibly strangely. It looked like he entered the car, but then it looked like he emerged from behind it. But anyway, maybe this was a Superman homage? In one of the Superman movies, he walked through a car and emerged completely changed. Batman doesn’t have that amount of speed, so maybe this is kind of like his version of it. In the shadows, where he belongs. 

Wow, ugly screenshot. But see how odd it is to see Batman in the daylight?

Again, here is the Blu Ray version. And on a much better frame. 

Why he didn’t hurl the explosive directly at Batman is beyond me. He just kinda threw it into the distance. Maybe as a warning (much like Walter White vs Tuco for any Breaking Bad fans). 

See what I mean by blandness so far? A little more style would have gone a long way.

What an awful way to die this would be. Split in half by two hands of a giant clock. Imagine the impact this would have on Gotham if it had have worked. 

A few bits from inside the clock, including Fugate’s apparent death. But Batman doesn’t seem to think he’s gone... Some of these drawings of gears frankly suck. The line-work just isn’t there. This episode felt like a Twilight Zone episode, I’ve gotta say. I think it had to do with the personality of the villain along with some of the events that happened. Batman and Twilight Zone... Now there’s a crossover with possible potential...

Char’s grade: B Next time: Appointment in Crime Alley

Full episode list here!

[frisbee-camp]

Let Me Help

AO3 Link//Wattpad Link

Tj and Cyrus have been friends for a long time, but will that change after life comes crashing down and impulsive decisions catch up to them? (Angst, Ambi, love notes, slow burn, aged up so they're all in high school, god tier ships, mental health, and like a whole bunch more ladies! Let’s get this angst.)

Chapter 15 If You’re There

"I'm freaking out you guys!" Cyrus had to sit down for a moment, "Navy blue or midnight blue?" He held up two bow ties, Andi and Buffy looked at each other annoyed. 

"Whichever Cy, I really don't think TJ Kippen is going to care," Buffy said as she added some last minute setting spray on her and Andi. The dance was in a few hours and Cyrus was very close to throwing up. He hadn't coordinated with TJ, Why didn't I coordinate? What has happened to me?

"Won't notice?! Won't NOTICE?! Everyone will know if we're not matching Buffy! This is the most important thing that has ever happened to me in my life, I will not mess this up." Cyrus had texted TJ earlier that day to ask what color tie he was wearing, but TJ had only said blue. Cyrus was now faced with the overwhelming assortment of blue bowties he owned.  "Cyrus, we need you to calm down. Why don't you text him again?" Andi came over and plucked a stray eyebrow hair, Cyrus winced.  "I would," he said as he rubbed his eyebrow, "but I don't want to be annoying. We've only been together for a week and I don't want to scare him off already." "Really? You think that will scare him off? That boy has been on you for years Cy, he's not going away anytime soon," Buffy smiled and texted someone. Cyrus smiled to himself. The friends had decided to meet at The Spoon before the dance. Andi, Buffy, and Cyrus sat in a booth away from the door. They ordered baby taters before the others got there, he picked one up, but was too nervous for tater theater.  "So, are we going to Angel's after party or what?" Buffy said as she looked at herself in her compact mirror.  "Buffy? Since when are you a party animal?" Andi laughed. "Oh come on, it'll be fun. Plus we've learned our lesson from last time," Buffy gave Cyrus a knowing look. Cyrus fiddled with a napkin. "And what's that?" Cyrus looked up at his friends, Andi had made their own silk dress and Buffy wore her favorite over the shoulder dress in blush.  "Not to leave you alone," Buffy laughed with Andi, Cyrus felt lightheaded. He had really really really tried to forget about Iris' party.  Cyrus heard the doorbell chime just as Andi brightened and said, "Here they are." Cyrus turned and thought he had accidentally stared into the sun. Right behind Marty and Amber was TJ who wore a well fitted black tux with blue accents. Cyrus blinked and blinked again until TJ was in front of him. He heard someone say his name very far away, he blinked again. "-rus. Cyrus?" Tj sat next to him. Cyrus could hear again.  "Hi," Cyrus said bashfully, he was flushed. Tj smiled and looked him up and down, Cyrus' stomach felt like a hurricane, "Midnight blue," he lightly tugged and Cyrus' bowtie, "Nice choice." The dance was as Marty put it, 'Not the best but, nonetheless doable.' Jefferson didn't have enough money to rent a DJ, so Dr. Metcalf was set to entertain more than 300 kids in a dark gym. It smelled like musk, the lemonade tasted faintly of Windex, and the floor was already sticky. But, Cyrus was with TJ, and that's all that mattered to him.  The friends didn't care about the horrible music or the sweaty teenagers, they danced and laughed and ate storebought cheese with each other. Cyrus thought death was near after Metcalf played 'The Macarena' for the fourth time. Cyrus leaned on Tj, Tj knew it was a cry for help. Tj grabbed him by the hand and dragged him to the table Amber had set aside for all of them.  "If Metcalf plays that song one more time, I swear to God," Tj said as he pulled out a seat for Cyrus. Cyrus gave an airy laugh and laid his head on the table. TJ gave him time to catch his breath, when he looked up Tj had already gotten him a glass of lemonade. "For my boyfriend," Tj said smiling. Cyrus giggled and sat up, he chugged the contents in one go.  "Thank you, boyfriend," Cyrus gave a small nod and scooted closer to TJ, "Amber did a great job on the decorations," he said as he looked up. Sure, everything else sucked, but Amber had perfectly recreated an enchanted forest in the Jefferson Gym. There were beautiful flowing vines, real apple trees, and candles everywhere. It was very romantic, Cyrus felt his face warm up.  "Yea, I'm pretty sure she forced them to give her the entire budget," Tj said as he took Cyrus' hand from across the table. No one gave them a second glance when they entered the dance holding hands, people were too busy getting pictures for their snapchat stories. Cyrus hummed, TJ had his hair perfectly sculpted again.  He missed the fluffier TJ. This one was too stiff.  Cyrus poked his cheek, "What?" Tj lightly said.  "I like your boutonniere, who gave it to you?" Cyrus looked down at Tj's pinned white flower. Cyrus had a matching one.  "Oh, this?" Tj teased, "Just some kid that has a crush on me I don't know his name though, he was cute though." "Oh really? Did you get a picture at least? He seems cool," Cyrus gave him a loving smile, he leaned forward and placed a hand under his own chin.  "Hm I'm not so sure," Tj said as he leaned on the table. Cyrus' parents had taken at least a hundred pictures of him, Buffy, and Andi at Buffy's house before they left. He hadn't exactly lied to them, he just didn't tell them who his real date was. His parents had been keeping a close eye on him since his last episode and Cyrus did not have the energy to fully come out to them. TJ had insisted that Cyrus text him every time he took his meds. He hadn't felt the effect yet, but he wasn't going to go off of them again. Too many people were watching.  "Well, I'm sure he's really cool and cute," Cyrus said.  TJ looked amused and said, "Of course Muffin." Cyrus giggled and brushed Tj's knuckles with his thumb.  "Can you tell me more about you?" Cyrus didn't know why he said that, but he was glad he did. He felt like TJ knew all of him but he only knew half of TJ. "Like what?" Tj shuffled. Cyrus knew he hated talking about himself. "Like how do you know Reed and them?" TJ looked down for a moment. The fake candlelight flickered across his face, he looked like a vintage photograph.  He took a shallow breath, "Amber and I used to ice skate. We loved it, you know? We'd have a little squad at the ice skating rink and things like that. We did it for years, we all kinda sucked, but at least we had fun. Our mom used to love to take us. That's where we met Reed and Lester and Angel and the others. But then one day our mom said we couldn't anymore and next thing we know we're living with our grandparents. Amber cried for days, she never forgave her for it. Our dad wasn't even around back then, or at least I don't remember him being there. And then our grandparents died so my mom got their house. That's where we live now. I don't know, I kinda miss our old group. They were wild but they were my first friends, but now I know why Amber never liked them. She said they were too mean. I guess now that I think about it, they did make her cry a lot. So maybe that's why I was like that. Sorry, did I answer your question?" Tj looked up at Cyrus.  Cyrus slowly nodded, TJ never opened up to him like this. It made his heart warm, "Do you want to be their friends again?" TJ scoffed, "No, I just wish I had ended it better." "Well you still can," Cyrus looked towards Reed and company. He didn't like them, but he wanted to help TJ.  "Maybe," Tj followed his line of sight and sighed a little, he paused, "Can I ask you something? You don't have to answer if you don't want to."  Cyrus' lungs dropped into his stomach, "Sure," he said softly. There was really only one thing TJ didn't know about him. "What happened to your bother?" Tj said it very carefully as if every single word mattered to him. "Oh," Cyrus had never told anyone other than his therapists, "He killed himself. I guess having four psychologists as parents couldn't save him," he gave a sad smile. He didn't want TJ's pity, but he had asked.  "Cyrus, I'm so sorry," Tj placed a hand on Cyrus' cheek, Cyrus lightly nuzzled into it.  "It's not your fault," Cyrus said softly, he then added, "and yes, I took my meds today."  "I'm glad, but why didn't you tell me?" Cyrus could hear TJ's concern. "I guess it never came up," he wrapped his hand around the one on his cheek and brought it down onto the table, the table was sticky too. The truth was, Adam had been his life force. He had taught him everything he knew, he was his role model and when he died it ruined Cyrus. He had forgiven him a long time ago, but it still followed him everywhere. Sometimes, he'd rather not talk about it. Especially not now. Not in the middle of a dance Dj'd by Dr. Metcalf.  "Do you want to talk about something else?" Tj said. Cyrus nodded a bit, he felt tears pooling. "Do you want to go to Angel's party? He has a lake house. It might be fun" TJ gave him a tender smile. Cyrus cracked a bit. "Maybe. I'll only go if there's karaoke." "Maybe?" Tj laughed and lightly poked his side. Just then, Buffy and Marty pulled them back onto the dancefloor. Apparently, Andi had forced Metcalf to play modern songs. The rest of the night consisted of Tj and Cyrus laughing at each other's horrible dancing. The strobe lights and loud music made Cyrus feel surreal, nothing he did on the dancefloor really mattered. Cyrus didn't want to think about having to come out or his bio final. He only wanted to dance to songs alongside his boyfriend. His boyfriend. It still didn't sound real. To him, it was as if nothing changed, now they were just allowed to hold hands more often. It felt right, it felt secure. He trusted TJ, and TJ trusted him.  Tj had even asked Cyrus to dance during the last slow song, "May I have this dance?" he said as he bowed dramatically. Cyrus grinned and held out his hand, "You may," he said in a horrible English accent. Neither of them knew what they were doing, but it didn't matter. Cyrus eventually just wrapped his arms around TJ's waist and laid his head against his chest, TJ hummed along with the music.  At the end of the night, Andi, Amber, TJ, Cyrus, Marty, and Buffy pilled into Amber's tiny green bug. Cyrus had to sit on Tj's lap, and Buffy on Marty's, but no one minded. On their way to the after party, they all shared drive-thru curly fries and sang along with the radio. Tj had a surprisingly nice voice. Cyrus felt all the love in the world in that tiny green car, his cheeks hurt from smiling so wide. It felt like home.  "Here we are, now remember guys, come back here before 2 am. If you don't I'll go looking for you," Amber said as she pulled in behind an already full driveway. They were in front of a wooden three story lake house in the middle of nowhere. When they clambered out of the car, the group was met with the smell of forest and cheap alcohol. Cyrus had a bad feeling about this.  TJ took his hand, he had a wide smile on his face, "C'mon it'll be fun." Cyrus gave a small nod and followed behind him. 

[italicwatches]

The Good Place - Season 2, Episode 02

Right, got some things I need to get done today, so let’s get to it. It’s The Good Place, season 2 episode 02! Here we GO!

-We begin with Michael recording his logs on the experiment, starting attempt number 3. He can do this. He’s going to make it work. And he’ll be famous, like the man who invented bees with teeth! …Fuck me, that might be the most unnerving Bad Place thing we’ve heard about.

-So, back to the zero-point for Eleanor. She gets Chris as her soulmate, and that night at the welcome party, Tahani’s clearly still with Tomás judging by her clog-wench attire. Also she throws some veiled insults at Eleanor that have her saying, and I quote, “go fork yourself, you mean giraffe” when Tahani walks away.

-So day two, they’ve got something for the chaos sequence! MEAN GIRAFFES! The chaos sequence never gets old, I tell ya.

-Day three. “Hey, robot slave lady? Busty Alexa? …Oh, Janet!” Bing! I’m just gonna let Busty Alexa as a phrase sit on your think wrinkles for a minute. Anyways Eleanor wants to learn how to be a good person, are there any people here who can do that?

-And that’s how Janet takes Eleanor to meet Chidi! …Nope he seems too nerdy, got anyone else?

-Cut to day 128, where things are going fairly how Michael wanted, as he’s got an evil obelisk up to fuck with the quartet and show them how the Bad Place knows they’re missing someone they shouldn’t be. Someone has to get inside the obelisk, or they’ll take you all!

-“I can’t go! I’m too young to die! And too old to eat off the kids’ menu! What a stupid age I am!” Jay gets some pretty great lines.

-Also further evidence that Eleanor is really horny. And in this version of the loop, she does not get on great with Tahani. Chidi tries to nobly go and then ELEANOR FIGURES IT OUT, again.

-Chapter 16!

-Attempt number eleven! Michael’s made progress. Eleanor always hates her house. Tahani very consistently hates Eleanor. Jay hates being forced into silence. And Chidi is a constant ball of stress. He’s gotten a very solid first few months of loop, it’s just, you know, the point where Eleanor’s stupid little meat brain starts bumping neurons together and figuring things out that’s the problem.

-So, fresh loop, day three, Eleanor once again looks to Janet for help and gets sent to Chidi…By day 43, Chidi’s teaching the rest of the quartet at Eleanor’s place, when she’s got to kick them all out because her soulmate has some kind of special surprise for her.

-Seems she’s with a chap named Sebastian this loop, who’s…

-Oh boy.

-A terrible singer, amongst other things. He has written a three-hour spoken-word jazz opera for her, and hey there’s Vicky in the back looking very displeased with her situation. Again, I would totally watch a spinoff show that’s just Vicky trying to reclaim her glory and get a leading role in this drama again.

-And also Eleanor realizes this has to be the Bad Place because no version of paradise would include three hours of this. Okay, fine, one more go.

-So Michael’s got to go out to Janet’s reboot button and of course her fail-safe mechanism kicks in as he kicks it on. Attempt 32 fades into attempt 57, 99, 108…Finally, Michael’s realizing the problem is Eleanor herself.

-And that’s when she steps on in instead of waiting to be called because the door was open, and, pardon, sir, did you just say this is the Bad Place? . . .

-Attempt 109. The door is now locked.

-Attempt 127, meet your soulmate, Greg. 146, meet Glenn. …Fuck it, 218, meet Tahani, let’s see how that goes. 291, meet Lerf. Attempt 333, your soulmate is a fucking dog.

-And whether at the welcome party, or the intro meeting, or on a pig farm with Chidi, or a traveling monk line, or the intro meeting again, Eleanor always figures it out. Even in a cactus field with a giant thing of balloons she has to get across safely okay that one was a little on the nose. And god, I wish I had screenshot power because farm gal Eleanor and Chidi with the world’s biggest pig are kind of amazing.

-BEES BEES BEES BEES

-Michael’s really getting tired of rebooting Janet, too. She’s started insisting she’s pregnant with his child. HE CAN’T EVEN MAKE THOSE. Is it physically possible for you to relax that failsafe a little? Nnnope.

-Eventually, the crew are straight up rioting at their setup meetings, and Vicky’s just feeling like this would all be so much smoother if she got a nice fat lead role again…

-By attempt 484, Michael is just in open despair as he drinks while recording. He’s so, fucking, tired of dealing with Eleanor being sooooo smart and lookit me I’m in the bad place bleh bleh bleh bleh. His boss still thinks they’re on version two, and the lies get worse. At this point, Michael has no other choice but to ride it through and he’s started stress eating and he’s getting bigger and he’s a fat monster!

-He’s doing this the whole time with Eleanor in the fucking chair because he just, does, not, care anymore. Fuck it, this one doesn’t count.

-Loop after loop. One with an Italian food theme. One with a French pastry theme. One with foods on sticks. By attempt number 649, Eleanor herself feels like she’s trying less, as she just openly walks away from nerd man Chidi.

-Day 55 of this loop, and they’re trying to make Chidi decide whether Eleanor goes downstairs or not. When Eleanor…

-Is too lost in her fighting so JAY FIGURES IT OUT THIS TIME.

-And Michael just despairs. I don’t blame him.

-Okay! Attempt 802! They’re a week in, Eleanor’s being taught by Chidi and hates it, Tahani and Jay are still doing their early loop. Things are looking like they might actually be stable…Time for a town meeting.

-And the only person there is Vicky. Because the crew is on strike. You’re WHAT?!

-Into his office, where she is pissed because they’ve lost the thread of their goals, she spent weeks working on an Australian accent (is that what you call that) that she never even got to use! HER demand is a more important role, but everyone has at least one demand.

-Lot of folks just want bigger houses. Gayle apparently wants a backstory where she was an MMA fighter. Gunnar wants his biting back. You know some of these would give the game away immediately, right, Vicky?

-Why do you think she’s the one here, Michael? She can help smooth over Gunnar and the other…problems. But a lot of this is doable, and it’ll go a long way to making the crew felt listened to.

-Over to Chidi trying to teach Eleanor, and on day two, and she’s…Not…Doing…Great. They end up taking a breather down at the clam chowder fountain, and find the place…Weirdly empty. What is going on here?

-And then Eleanor catches a whiff of…cigar smoke? She and Chidi go slip around a corner, and yep, there’s two of the crew, griping as they smoke cigars about how far off the rails this project is and what’s the point? They were fulfilled in their old gigs! Also there’s Todd who’s a giant magma monster without his human suit on.

-So Eleanor and Chidi know! And more importantly, they know away from Michael’s attention! Okay. Okay. Deep breaths. Focus. Simple answer. They need to keep this under their hats and figure out a plan. …Janet!

-Can they…leave the neighborhood?

-And this is how they end up on the train, and Chidi still thinks it’s the almond milk. By this point in the loop, Eleanor’s figured out about Jay, so he’s definitely another human. And she’s thinking Tahani might be, because, bluntly, Tahani’s kind of an asshole.

-So they end up at, where else…The medium place! And she’s kind of cross because this is the 15th time these idiots have shown up at her door and they have not brought one gram of the cocaine they promised.

-And while that’s going on, Michael is still negotiating with Vicky, trying to show how this could succeed for them. You could be torturing Jared from Subway! She has no faith that he’ll make it succeed, though. So, here’s her proposition. You’re going to reboot the situation one more time. And then she’s sitting in your chair. She’s got a whole specific plan that’s going to work.

-That’s insubordination! You won’t get away with it!

-And this, is a file of every mistake you’ve made over every reboot. Extortion, Michael! The X makes it sound cool.

-I’m getting my Vicky focused spinoff! YAY!

-Back in the Medium Place, here’s the scoop. Eleanor always makes it here with Janet, obviously. Chidi usually gets here, but not always. Sometimes Jay. One time even Tahani. But the end result is always the same. You promise to bring cocaine, and then you get rebooted, and you show up at her door without cocaine.

-So what do they do next? This place isn’t bad, they could just

-stay here forever? Yeah you try that most of the time. And then you end up going back. Sometimes for your friends. Sometimes because you catch her when she’s masturbating. Sometimes because she catches you when she’s masturbating. You always end up back with a plan, and the plan fails, and you end up here.

-So, here’s the good news. She started writing down the plans you guys tried, to cut things short. Here they are, have fun. So, attack Michael, seduce Michael, trick Michael, catch a magic panda and…use its powers…? This was a Jay plan, wasn’t it. Are you sure he got here in one piece and without head trauma?

-Back in town, Michael’s out thinking, when Jay comes by, and Michael’s…Fuck it, he needs to talk to someone. Come on, Jay. So to bring you up to speed, this is the Bad Place, you’re being tortured, now come listen and be his sounding board, sound good?

-Back to Eleanor and Chidi. So they tried throwing Tahani under the bus once, but Eleanor’s real willing to try it again. Under a bigger, more literal bus. Chidi is feeling like this is inevitable and endless loop, and it fucking sucks. They are being punished for the mistakes of life, but the rebooting means they can never learn! (Real talk if Michael presented it like that, that he’s keeping them stuck as bad people so the fun never has to stop, he could probably get approval for the whole operation, reboots and all.)

-And his frustration has her frustrated and furious, which sends her back into the house to talk with Mindy…Who has, for the record, heard this story 15 times in 15 ways and she is tired of it. Your complicated emotions inevitably lead to love and to boning and here. She gets out a tape, and from a spy camera, it’s Eleanor and Chidi in a bedroom in this house, admitting their love for each other. Sure, she got caught in the end, but.

-You two boned in eight days in this house, a total of like 20 times. …And, the…The love? Oh, just that one time. It kind of ruined the mood for her. She puts it at the end of the tape as a cool down for after she finishes.

-Eleanor, though, is in shock about the words. She’s only said ‘love’ to two men in her life. One was Stone Cold Steve Austin, and one was a guy who she thought was Stone Cold Steve Austin.

-But, but, she barely knows Chidi! They only just met! No, Eleanor, don’t you get it? You’ve known him across hundreds of attempts by Michael. You’ve spent…Well it’s been a long time since the real first time you met Chidi. Your mind might not remember it, but your gut does. Why do you think you end up working with him so many times?

-…She’s out of here. And she’s taking this tape! “Oh no, don’t, it’s my only copy.” Mindy’s a real piece of work, guys.

-So it’s back on the train, as Eleanor’s full of complicated thoughts…While back over with Michael, he’s trying to figure out his thoughts as he bounces things off of Jay. And Jay does not get the situation at all, but, okay there’s a lot of funny details but I’m gonna summarize for the sake of time.

-He was in a dance crew, Dance Dance Resolution: We Resolve to Dance. He had a falling out with a guy, who started another crew, and challenged DDR:WRtD to a dance-off. So they went, furious and vicious, and slashed all the tires of the other crew. And as stupid as that story is, Michael figures out a plan…

-And so, in his latest confrontation with them…Eleanor tries to threaten him with how they’re the only ones with power. You’re gonna run out of loops eventually, but they only have to nail it one time, buddy, so unless you want this all to come crashing down, you need to—

-He wants to work with them. He’s got problems with the crew and he needs people on the inside of the situation. What do you say? New best friends?

-Credits!

One of these days I will learn to stop expecting anything specific out of this show and just let it wash over me like the ocean.

[ill-doc-s-personal-nurse]

Dinner Night - Jakurai x Miho (Drabble)

After a week after their time at the cafe, Jakurai was finally visiting Miho’s home for the weekend. But one thing was for sure…

It was a mess.

With hair up in a bun, exercise clothes on, and a rag in one hand and spray in the other, Miho was tackling the place. After polishing the kitchen it was time to carry out cleaning the furniture in the living room, mainly of cat hair that had accumulated that week.

The lanky white and cream spotted cat that had shed its fur all over currently lounged in her small enclosed bed, watching every move Miho made. She set down the surface cleaner and rag on the kitchen counter before picking up the lint roller and proceeding to the couch. It took a few strips of the roller before the fabric couch was free of mainly white fur. The blanket took at least ten strips.

“There, now there’s less chance of him being stuck in cat hair,” Miho spoke to herself. While she had gotten the note from Jakurai that he didn’t mind, she knew any cat hair was a pain to remove from clothes regardless.

The next plan was to vacuum the rug. Miho picked it up from its place in the small closet and went back to the rug before she checked its battery: 75%. It was enough to clean without dying on her.

In the next moment of it turning on, Tenshi jumped out of her bed and up onto the couch. She was quick to hiss at the small red device and set herself in a defensive position.

Miho ignored her aggression at the vacuum and finished up quickly. She knew if she took too long, the cat would lunge at the electronic. Once finished with that task, Miho took care of the vacuum and visited the couch again to see the startled cat.

With Miho’s hand extended to Tenshi, she let her cat sniff her hand before moving in to scratch her ears. “You’re such a moody little girl, you know that?” A smile brought itself on Miho’s face as Tenshi headbutted her hand for more affection, which was willingly returned. Miho soon was able to get the cat in her lap and stroked Tenshi’s body, the cat purring.

“You better be on your best behavior tonight.”

◾️◽️◾️◽️

A text appeared on Miho’s phone, one from Jakurai. Miho had to move from her position on the couch in order to bring him in. Tenshi hopped off of her lap as she moved to stand up. In the time after cleaning, she made sure to change into something not as homey, but kept her hair up in its bun. She proceeded out of her apartment with keys and phone in hand, giving a quick text back to say she was on her way.

Soon she was in the lobby area and spotted Jakurai sitting in one of the chairs available. Once they made eye contact, Jakurai stood up from his seat. “Good evening,” he spoke with a polite bow.

“Good evening,” Miho greeted back with a bow of her own. “Was travel here okay?”

“It was doable. Nothing extreme.”

“Ah, that’s good to hear.” Miho paused and spoke again, “Well, we can go up to my apartment. The stairs are faster there.”

“Lead the way,” Jakurai spoke with a small smile.

They both went toward the staircase, Miho in the lead. They went up two flights before going down the hallway and stopping at a door where the hallway changed to the right. Miho unlocked the door and let Jakurai in first, him thanking her for the kind action. Miho then entered and closed the door behind her.

While the place was still tidy from the earlier clean up, Tenshi sat just a few feet from the front door, her eyes trained on the new human in her sights.

“This is Tenshi?” Jakurai asked as Miho stepped up next to him.

“Yes, she is a very sweet girl but is not that fond of new people. It may take her a while to trust you.”

Miho glanced at the jacket Jakurai was wearing. “Would you like me to take your jacket for you?”

Jakurai started to take his jacket off and spoke a thank you to her. Miho took the jacket to the closet and hung it up before walking back to the couch where Tenshi had now moved.

She gave the cat a few pats and spoke, “I did just do grocery shopping yesterday, so there should be enough options for making something.”

They both went over to the small kitchen and proceeded to look at the ingredients before deciding on a dish to make. While they were able to pull out the ingredients, it was up to Miho to retrieve the necessary cookware from the cupboards.

“This is a bit more than the general recipe says for,” Jakurai commented.

“The extra I will give to Tenshi. She eats at about this time.” Miho spoke as she washed the vegetables. She then moved them into a metal bowl and set them next to the cutting board before drying her hands. “Is that knife okay for the chicken? I haven't sharpened them recently.”

“It’s working alright.” Jakurai kept his focus on how to cut the meat with the bone still present in it.

They both worked on preparing the ingredients before moving onto the stock for the dish. While it was simple, Miho’s general habits stopped Jakurai for a moment when he saw her pull out a small stool.

“Is the powdered stock all the way up there?” Jakurai asked as he looked at where Miho set the stool.

“It is.” Miho got up on the stool and opened the cabinet. “I don’t make soup based foods often, so I put them up here…” She trailed off as Jakurai’s hand reached in before she could and pulled out the desired packet. Despite the bit of agitation she now felt, she didn’t make comment on it. “Thank you.” As she got down, Jakurai offered her a hand so she could keep balance.

Both of them continued on, the large pot being for their meal while Miho had set a much smaller pan down to cook the extra chicken and carrots she had out. While it would take a while before any of the items could be put in, there was at least one part of dinner Miho could get completed.

“What would you like to drink?” Miho asked. “I have orange juice, milk, cranberry juice, and water.”

“I’m fine with just water, thank you.”

Miho went to grab two glasses and filled both with water. She handed one to Jakurai and they both took a sip at the same time.

“I’m a bit surprised,” Jakurai spoke. The questionable look from Miho gave him the indication he could go on. “Most of the time when we’re with Doppo-kun and Hifumi you have wine or sake.”

“I do enjoy those, yes, but I don’t want to be drinking that all the time. It’s not healthy,” Miho spoke before taking a sip of her drink. “Plus those nights where we’re all together only happen about once or twice a month.”

Resolve came to Jakurai’s face after hearing that answer. “That’s good you don’t do it daily and that you are caring for your body.”

Miho gave a smile in a silent reply before it changed to one of thought. She had a question of her own to ask. “Say, may I ask why you don’t drink? I know that one episode happened on game night two months ago, but Doppo never explained to me the situation.”

A sigh left Jakurai’s lips. He wasn’t sure himself and had to think about how to explain the strangeness about the situation.

“All I know is if I take a sip, I become drunk. I don’t remember anything that happens during that period either.”

“So, your body acts as if you’re lightweight with any drinking alcohol as well?” Miho questioned.

“From what I know, yes,” Jakurai nodded his head in confirmation.

“Ah, alright.” Miho set her glass down and went over to the pot to check on its status. She looked up for a moment at Jakurai to make one more comment. “Then I’ll be more careful with drinks next time. I’m sorry about that slip up.”

“Don’t blame yourself.” Jakurai came over and stood next to her, a caring expression on his face. “You didn’t know, so don’t feel like you did wrong.”

The two of them continued on talking, Miho working on maintaining the food as it cooked as well. Much more was shared as they conversed. More about things from life were shared, mainly parts of their past that were fun and enjoyable. Soon, it was time for the food to be served and was done efficiently with both of them working together to serve it.

“Jakurai, could you please hand me one of the small bowls from the cupboard right there?” Miho pointed to the one she was asking for, which Jakurai willingly got a small ceramic bowl out of for her.

When she thanked him and took the bowl, Miho took the chicken and carrots from the small pan and put the contents into the bowl. The chunks of chicken were shredded with the cooking chopsticks efficiently before Miho walked over to where the small mat with Tenshi’s water bowl rested. She set the bowl down after it had cooled a bit as Tenshi went straight to devouring its contents once her head could reach the food.

The two of them then sat at the small dining table just on the other side of the half wall that divided the kitchen from the living room area. Their conversation started back up as they ate through the meal together.

“No, I didn’t really participate in clubs during high school,” Miho spoke.

“Why not? They’re great ways to build more friendships for sure.” Jakurai picked up some of the leek and chicken together after that.

“I had a lot of work around the house helping my father.” Miho picked up some of the food with her chopsticks but didn’t eat it just yet. “Since my mom was gone, it was up to my dad and I both to keep the place neat. He was a busy man when he still had a job too, so it was mainly me managing the house.”

“It seems the whole family gets worked to the bone then?” Jakurai knew Doppo worked way too much, now he had learned even Doppo’s uncle, Miho’s father, also was a busy businessman.

Miho nodded her head and swallowed what food she had in her mouth before speaking again. “In a sense, the Kannonzakas are cursed with being heavily worked.” She took a moment before adding on more, “But I think it also depends on time management and standing your ground too. I do feel with the new government that males in the family are having more of the issue for sure.”

“I can see that,” Jakurai noted. “The new system is supposed to be something to help, but none of us know if it will be efficient or not.”

The conversation continued on a while later. When Tenshi had finished her meal, she had started walking around Miho’s feet and peering up at the table to see what food she and Jakurai were eating.

Jakurai took another bit of his food and went to go eat it before freezing as Tenshi jumped up on the table and put her head out to sniff the contents between the chopsticks. He looked from the cat to Miho, who was glaring at her feline.

“Jakurai, no matter how cute and innocent she acts, do no give her any of it.” Miho started to tap the table with her nail and make small noises with her mouth to get Tenshi’s attention.

Jakurai slowly brought the food to his mouth and ate it, but Tenshi didn’t leave his meal alone. She proceeded to go to his bowl and start to dip her head in. It didn’t last long as Miho stood up from the table and picked the cat up.

“You are very naughty!” Miho spoke to the cat in her face and then looked at Jakurai. “I’ll be back in a moment. She’s being put in the bathroom for now.” Miho walked off with the cat to leave Jakurai in the main room. A door was shut in the small hallway a few seconds later and Miho was back at the table.

“Are you alright?” Jakurai asked.

Miho fixed a stray hair behind her ear and let out a small sigh. “I’m good, just didn’t expect Tenshi to do that, even if she’s a bit of a princess sometimes. We can eat in peace now.”

They continued on with conversation, enjoying one another’s company. One thing that felt great about the time together is how often Jakurai could see Miho smile and let out laughs. They were pleasant and made his own spirits rise even more. This meal together was definitely making his night a great one.

Although it was soon time for it to end.

Dishes were washed and set to dry. Once the last one was set down, Miho went to the small closet and pulled out Jakurai’s jacket and brought it over to him.

“Don’t want to leave without this!” She gave him a smile with it as he picked it up from her grasp.

“Thank you.”

He put it on and went to the door to leave, stopping as his hand rested on the handle. “Tonight was a nice night. Thank you for inviting me over.”

“Thank you for all the help you’ve been doing.” Miho gave him a warm smile. “I hope you have a safe travel back home.”

“Thank you, I hope you have a good night, Miho.” Jakurai bowed and then took his leave.

“I hope you have a good night too.” She was able to say it before he was out of view.

Once the door was shut, Jakurai stood there for a moment. It already felt a little less lively with saying that farewell. It was a wonderful night for sure, but why did Jakurai feel somewhat unfulfilled?

He shook his head. “Maybe I just forgot to do something today…”

And with that, he was off.

[canaryatlaw]

alright, well today was actually pretty good, though the beginning wasn’t great because despite saying last night that I always regret sleeping instead of going to church, once again my desire to sleep won out over my want to go to church, so I just slept for a while longer and eventually got up and got ready for the date under the premise that I had just come back from church because that’s the circumstances we planned under. So I get ready and walk over to the restaurant, he’s looking for a parking space so I wait a few minutes and then he shows up and we go inside. this is the place we got lunch at yesterday which has a bunch of old arcade games and stuff but it’s also a sports bar, and of course today is Sunday which means football, and I had not put it together that it might be packed with screaming football fans. initially they were like uhh idk if we have any open tables but then they found one over by their second door which I was like oh uh that could get cold but apparently it’s an emergency exit so we didn’t have to deal with people coming in and out and letting cold air in (and it was like, 50 today, so that’s a vast improvement over how it’s been). we got cheese curds for an appetizer of course and I got the pancakes I was eyeing yesterday but didn’t want to do bread-like breakfast overload. they get the food out pretty quickly and we start talking. he’s a nice guy, the big draw here is that he is also a Christian and like, a going to church every week one not just using the label as a sure whatever. he was definitely raised in a super conservative Christian environment but I mean so was I and he said he’s been increasingly swinging towards being liberal with all of the bullshit going on in the conservative party, so that was encouraging at least (he did vote for Trump which I was like UGH about but he said he really regrets it so I guess I can let that pass). We did talk about more stuff other than religious and political views, it was just something I wanted to clear because like my contempt for Christians who are defending our current administration’s actions is so massive that it would honestly absolutely be a dealbreaker for me, so it was good to get that out of the way at least. and we talked about some child welfare stuff (or, mostly I ranted about it and why it pisses me off when people talk about tax cuts when they have no fucking clue what these innocent children are going through thanks to what is often an underfunded government) which I mean is like normal first date material at this point for me 😂 I’m not very good at keeping my passions to myself in stuff like this. He still goes to his parent’s church and he wasn’t really crazy about it, said the pastor could get a bit fire and brimstone-y and that their congregation had been dwindling in size (as many have) especially with young people (as many have). so I told him a bit about my church and what I think are the reasons so many millennials are drawn to it to the point where our “young adults” small group category is at like, a few hundred people at this point lol, so that’s had to become a whole program unto itself. he is definitely a (self-professed) nerd but we didn’t get into anything really superhero/comics related other than me talking about future con plans and who I may be meeting. There was a very smooth feel to it all, I still get the little jittery feeling when I’m with like people I don’t really know yet that like makes me want to limit the encounter but I’m generally able to push through it and I knew this was a good interaction and there hadn’t really been anything to throw me off up to this point, which is more than I can say for most of the other boys I’ve gone on dates with. looks wise he’s not bad, I’m sure I could get accustomed to him. so yeah, it was good. he paid, I offered to split it of course but he said it was fine so I accepted that and said thank you. after we paid the check we wandered around their arcade section for a little bit and tried out some of the free machines. there was a WWE one which I somehow managed to beat him at twice, which is odd because normally when it comes to video games I’m yet to master the art of walking and controlling where you’re looking at the same time, which kinda limits most of the things you can do, lol. then we did tetris which I was laughably bad at because I hadn’t played it in years and kept pressing the wrong button. but yeah, it was fun. we left off on a positive note, he of course had to drive all the way back to Wisconsin, he was like “yeah I haven’t really been down to Chicago since like middle school” which I thought was kinda crazy lol. but yeah, it was good, and I think there can be something there. I’m telling myself/hoping I’m not just saying that because he’s the first Christian option to come around in a while, but I do think there’s a legit connection there at least. so we’ll see what happens with that, I’m not in any rush at this point. After seeing him off to his car I walked back to my apartment and set myself to work labeling and wrapping the rest of the caramels, working with the chocolate covered ones now which are tricky because the chocolate is semi-ganache like because I used some heavy cream to thin it out and make dipping easier, so it’s easily prone to melting outside the fridge. but yeah I did that a bit, tomorrow I’ll probably split them up along with the Christmas cookies for the people I promised I would send them to (I ended up with a list of 8, which is good because I probably have like 300 caramels at this point lol). once I was done with that I made a quick dinner and set to watching the last few minutes of the great American baking show episode I left off on the other day, then back to netflix to continue on the great British baking show season I’ve been watching. I ended up almost being at the end of that one, I think I have two episodes left on that one. it’s been pretty good so far, in one of the episodes I watched tonight one of the like, really attractive young guys who’s a law student ffs managed to (TW for blood) cut his finger and not really pay attention to it and when he was kneading his dough it ended up like stretching the cut out and then his hand was like, covered in blood and it was a real HOLY SHIT moment so he of course had to leave to get that all sorted out and they didn’t end up sending anyone home that week (which they do semi-regularly, they just send two people home the next week). Yeah, so I watched that for a bit before starting to get ready for bed and now I’m here. I’m trying to come up with a list of things I want to do tomorrow, I need to do laundry for sure before I leave for NY on Thursday or I won’t have any clean clothes, I need to make it to a store of some sort to get milk so I can make cornbread (because Jess is craving it) and probably shipping materials for the Christmas goodies packages. and maybe (hopefully) look at some job applications and see if there are any worth applying to. so yeah, should be doable. And I get that’s it for now. Sleep seems like a good idea. Goodnight dears. Hope your Monday doesn’t suck.