#what a fucking shame he's in the season for like 2 minutes only ;_;

[raksh-writes]

This is sooo highly specific, but I saw the first episode of season 2 of House of the Dragon two times by now and every time I hear Cregan Stark speaking my Skyrim infested brain goes KAIDAN????!!!!!

[themultifanshipper]

hear me out race engineer reader x George? like George gets distracted by reader's voice during FP which reminds him of last night 👀 I think you know where I'm going with this lol

George was going crazy.

The sound of your unintentional dirty talk over the radio was keeping him from concentrating on his session as his focus wavered around each turn of the circuit.

Terrible edited pics courtesy of yours truly

I was gonna use pictures of lando shirtless with a helmet, then I thought to myself "why not put my nonexistant photoshop talents to good use"

Warnings: Race engineer!reader, smut, mention of phone sex, tension, dirty talk, George being frustrated and horny, Cum, lots of cum, complete opposite of a professional workplace environment, and when you thought it couldn't get any worse... helmet kink

“You need to get on top, George”

He swore silently as he almost missed the turn for the fifth time that session. It was only practice but he would rather not crash his car before the first race of the season. But you weren't making it easy for him.

“Fuck, you're getting close”

Yes he was losing time to Lewis, which drove him mad at the best of times. But right now he had other things to worry about, like the fact that you were seemingly unaware that you were basically dirty talking him through a lap.

“It's getting wetter”

'Yeah, the weather' his brain unhelpfully supplied. He was only half way through the last lap but he was slowly feeling like he was loosing his grip on reality. You had to be doing this on purpose. There was no way you couldn’t hear the double-entendres you'd been saying for the past 45 minutes. And yet…

“Your vitals are spiking, you alright?”

‘Yeah no shit’ George thought. He was half hard in his suit at the moment, and with your innocently uttered filthy words it was only getting worse.

He knew it was a bad idea getting involved with his race engineer, but it was too late now.

George was initially nervous when they told him he was getting a new engineer this year,  but when he found out it was you he relaxed somewhat.

The two of you had always gotten along very well, ever since you'd joined his side of the garage in the engineering department. So well in fact, that there had been a couple of drunk incidents last year involving alcohol, dark club corners, and wandering hands.

Nothing more than some heavy petting, but still, the attraction was there and you had mutually agreed that you should stay away from each other physically if you were going to keep a working relationship and avoid drama.

But when they offered you the new position, you could hardly refuse. And you hadn't seen each other since the end of last season so any lingering tension was sure to have dissipated, right?

Wrong.

The night before testing began, you sent him a text to wish him luck. Which turned into a conversation. Which turned into a 2 hour-long phone call that ended with an orgasm each and a couple of commemorative photos.

The picture of your bed soaked in your juices, your thighs on display was burned into his brain forever.

And right now he was fucking thinking about it while driving at 300 kilometers per hour.

Not a great mix.

He got p12. Fucking shameful.

Needless to say when he got out of the car he made a beeline for you and dragged you into his driver's room, ignoring your questions about where he was taking you.

He slammed the door behind him and threw his helmet on the massage table.

“Do you have any idea what you were doing to me out there?” he growled as he started unzipping his race suit.

You frowned at him innocently (even though you knew exactly what you were doing) “I don't know what you're talking about, George”

He stalked towards you and trapped you between him and the table, pinning you with his hips, and you could feel through his fireproofs how much you'd affected him.

“Don't give me that bullshit. ‘Does it feel good, George?’ ” he hissed “anyone with half a brain listening in would know you weren't talking about the fucking car”.

You could barely contain the smirk that threatened to show on your face and you eyes twinkled with laughter.

“And what are you going to do about it?” You crossed your arms and stood up straighter, standing your ground against his impressive figure.

He narrowed his eyes and looked you up and down. “I'm going to do exactly what I've wanted to do to you since last year, and when I'm done you're not going to be able to walk out of here without help…”

You shivered and he picked you up swiflty to sit you on the table before crashing his lips to yours, hands going to your arse as he grinded his hips into yours.

This was familiar territory, kissing him was just like you remembered, frantic and desperate as his hands wandered across your body.

You quickly got to work undressing each other and it took less than 20 seconds to get you naked, and you were everything he'd dreamed of.

You panted into his mouth as the cold air made you shiver. His hand knocked against something, and when he looked, it was his helmet that was still perched on the end of the massage table.

He stared at it for a second before fixing his heated gaze on you.

If you went back in time and told yourself that you would be wearing George's race helmet as he ate you out like a man starved, making you shake and writhe on his driver's room massage table, you wouldn't have believed it.

George was relentless, alternating between broad licks and drawing precise patterns on your clit with his tongue, and he brought you to the edge faster than his lap time from earlier.

As soon as he slid a finger into your weeping cunt you were a goner. You came, clamping down on his finger as your hands all but yanked his hair straight off his talented head.

The visor of his helmet had steamed up a bit so you put it up to see George licking his fingers clean.

When your eyes met he choked on his spit. “Fuck, darlin’ you look hot with my helmet on. Maybe I should get you one to keep for… special occasions.” He licked his lips and rose to his feet to take it off you.

He kissed you again and before he could put the helmet down, you grabbed his arm and whined.

“George, put it on… please?” You blushed.

He just raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Does the idea of me fucking you with my helmet on turn you on too?”

You nodded shyly and lay down on the table, wrapping your legs around him, making his cock nudge against you and he hissed.

“What a pair we make” he chuckled and put the helmet on “maybe I should get custom matching ones made then”

The thought made your heart flutter. The idea was so… couple-y.  You weren't sure you were ready for that but the thought was quickly replaced as he slid his cock up and down your folds to get it nice and wet.

It was big, bigger than any of your exes, and perfectly curved upwards.

You started thinking maybe you were going to need help walking out of here.

He fucked you hard and deep. Expert strokes pulling you to the edge as his cock brushed perfectly against all the best spots. Not to mention the sight of his naked body looming over you with that helmet on…

You didn't last long, and you pulled him over the edge with you as you came with a shout, thighs trying to close around George's waist at the slight overstimulation.

But George was stronger, he managed to pull out and streaks of cum landed all over your stomach and puffy lips as he growled out "all fucking mine"

His fingers came and collected some of it, rubbing it along your folds before plunging them inside the wet heat. You gasped and and writhed, his long fingers immediately going for your g-spot.

He pulled out his fingers and collected some more of his cum, whike his other hand went to grab your jaw.

"Want a taste? Open up, sweetheart"

He didn't even finish his sentence before your mouth was open and your tongue was out.

The mix of your taste and his combined made your eyes roll back and you moaned around his fingers. You were out of it.

You were wrecking him.

He pulled the helmet off and you moaned at the sight of him. His hair was soaked and plastered to his forehead, pupils wide, and his lips were raw like he'd been biting at them.

What a fucking sight. And you weren't much better off.

As you stared at each other like that, something between you changed.

You realised that day, George Russell was fucking gone for you. And you matched his freak perfectly.

 

He got a fine for being late to his post practise duties, but who cared about a fine? He was going to be spending much, much more on the kinky matching helmets.

[sindar-princeling]

rop season 2 episode 1 thoughts

at this point you gotta admire the creators' dedication to absolutely bizarre choices when it comes to sauron. 15 minutes in I'm already going what the hell and fuck. like what was that supposed to be. genuinely

Charlie Vickers has grown on me; he still doesn't have much to work with in terms of the script or the plot though

this whole introductory sequence was there....... I'm not sure why? we could already extrapolate all that, and I mean All That, from the previous season

it still pisses me off that Galadriel is The Main Idiot and Everything Is Her Fault

also, I am reminded of all the plot and worldbuilding choices that annoyed me before. why is mithril important for the elves' survival again?

CIRDAN HIII CIRDAN <33333

I'm so glad they kept his beard

believe me, I AM trying to find things to like about this show, but the plot choices feel like so much unnecessary drama. Galadriel and Elrond fighting feels.... tiring. I feel like all Galadriel does is fight with people

oh are we getting Rhun?? 👀 Nice

this is a personal opinion but the elven women have wayyy too strong and modern-looking make-up

it's a shame galadriel gets the ring because she's power-hungry and reckless, not because she's one of the mightiest elves in middle-earth. she SHOULD be power-hungry, don't get me wrong, it's one of her best traits, but this way you don't put any sort of accent of how very important and mighty she is

sauron having a Badass Walk into mordor at the end of s1, which was a really cool shot to end a season on, only to then get himself in chains and then turn away and come back to Celebrimbor has got to be the most '???' moments of this show. they really have no idea what to do with him

overall I'd say my main gripe, apart from the plot solutions, is that this show doesn't have much to say. it's showy, it's lore-heavy (even if I don't like the lore they came up with), but so far it still has little heart and thought behind it. to me at least it doesn't feel like it really wants to tell you something

[dragon-kazansky]

Spirit of the sea

Izzy Hands x Reader (GN)

SEASON 2 CONTENT AHEAD!!!

Blackbeard rules the sea. Despite wanting his captain back, Izzy realises his mistake. Protecting the crew is his concern. Protecting you is his life mission. Stede's return brings hope, but there's a lot of work to be done before this crew becomes a family.

{Masterlist}

{Previous Chapter} - {Next Chapter}

Warnings: Spoilers. The ending he deserved. WHEN I CATCH YOU RICKY.

Chapter Seventeen - The unicorn and his sparrow

♡♡♡

It was funny. In a way. This whole thing had started with you in Stede's brig and now you were locked up with his crew. So much had happened since then.

The fucking Navy. Not even just that. Richard Banes.

Zheng had intended to use the Navy, but the prince as used that against her. He had given each ship a gift, a grandfather clock, as a sign of "peace." Only they were full of explosives and he had used them to destroy her fleet.

Now the Republic of Pirates was flooded with the English.

You were sat in the cell below Jackie's bar with the rest of the crew. Izzy hadn't left your side the entire time. When the bar got flooded with Navy men, Izzy had pushed you behind him. When you were caught and being manhandled, Izzy swore more than you had ever heard before. It was a constant "get your hands off them." He did not like seeing you being pushed around.

As soon as the cell was locked behind you, Izzy gathered you in his arms and held you to his chest. You had to reassure him you were okay.

Prince Richard decided to come pay you all a visit. "Hello, friends."

You reach for Izzy's hand. He squeezes yours back.

"This is bittersweet. I mean, here we all are at the end of piracy and you'll all be hung in the next few minutes and all your stories will be lost for the ages. Which is a shame because I do love a good pirates' tale. But don't you worry. Because I will not be hanging you by the thumbs like that deranged Captain Kidd." The prince rattles on.

"That's not what he did, you twat," Izzy says from the back of the cell. His hand was still holding yours.

"Oh, my. The great Izzy Hands," the prince claps.

"And you're... Pinocchio?" Izzy asks, mocking the man. You laugh with the others.

"A new one. Bring him upstairs."

You stop laughing.

"Sir, aren't we going to hang them?" The man beside the prince asks.

"Oh, yes. But they're not going anywhere." Richard smiles. "So I have time for a drink with a legend."

As the prince walks away, Izzy is summoned closer to the gate. You squeeze his hand, silently asking him not to go. Izzy turns to you. You look at him with leading eyes, shaking your head softly.

"Don't." The word falls from your lips in a soft whisper.

"I'll be alright. I'm coming back for you," he says softly. Your expression doesn't change and it hurts Izzy's heart to see you look so worried for him.

Izzy let's go of your hand and exits the cell. He turns to you once more before going upstairs.

You sink against the ball.

"Fuck."

♡♡♡

"Can't believe I have an audience with the great Israel Hands. That's absolutely astounding." Richard is in awe.

Izzy just focuses on the candles on the table.

"I've always thought you were underrated. I mean, it's absurd, isn't it? Isn't it? That Blackbeard, he gets all this praise, when you are quite clearly the brains of this operation?"

"Ya don't know the first thing about piracy, do ya?" Izzy asks him, looking up from the candle.

"Don't I?"

"It's not about glory. It's not about gettin' what you want. Its about belonging to something when the world bad told you you're nothin'. It's about finding the family to kill for when yours are long dead. It's about letting go of ego for something larger." You and the crew cross his mind. "The crew."

"Oh, my goodness. You've just grown so tedious." Richard chuckles dryly.

♡♡♡

Archie and Fang are trying to help pry the bars open enough for someone to slip through. You're sat on the cold ground of the cell staring at your dirty old boots.

What was this prince fuck talking about with Izzy? Why did he have to take him upstairs? Was Izzy okay?

Frenchie sits down beside you. "You doin' okay?" He asks.

"Peachy..."

"They'll bring him back. Izzy won't go down without a fight."

You sighs softly. "I know..."

"And he's not going to leave you here. Izzy cares for you more than he does for anyone. He's not gonna let you down."

You smile. "He could never do that."

Frenchie nudges your arm lightly.

"I worry about him. Like, all the time. I've sailed with Izzy Hands for years. I've known him deeper than anyone else ever has. He's let me see sides to him you would otherwise think didn't exist. I love him so damn much and now we're trapped here surrounded by the fucking Navy... And that prick has Izzy up there. I swear to god if that dick touches my Izzy, I will drive my sword through his eyes."

Frenchie grimaces. He gets the picture.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. I get it," he says, smiling.

You chuckle softly.

♡♡♡

"I destroyed the Republic of Pirates and that makes me the ultimate pirate," Ricky said to Izzy.

Izzy is amused. "You're not a pirate, lad. You're a spoiled, entitled bunch of twats dressed in puffy, blue nighties."

"Shame, I was going to let you live."

"Kill me." Izzy smiles. "Kill us all. Our spirit will last throughout your entire fuckin' empire because... we're good." Izzy states, full of emotion. "And you... are a rancid, syphilitic cunt."

The sound of vast footsteps entering the bar has everyone turning their heads that way. Stede has entered with Zheng and Ed behind him.

"There's a lot of them," Stede says, looking around the room.

Within second of the Navy drawing their swords, they all keel over. Poison.

"Is that us doing that?" Stede asks.

Roach and Pete look around the room in confusion. Jackie laughs from behind them.

"What the hell was in that brandy?" Roach asks.

"Nothin' you want to fuck with." Jackie grins.

While Jackie assures the Swede he will be fine, Zheng walks over to Ricky and grabs him by the coat. "This is for Auntie."

"No!"

Zheng looks up to see Auntie there. She's fine. The rest of the crew flood into the bar. Auntie hits Ricky over the head and the crew greet their captain.

You waste no time making your way over to Izzy and checking him over. He smiles at your fussing.

"I'm fine," he assures you.

You take his face in your hands and look at him, sighing softly. "I was worried about you."

"I know," he smiles.

He brings one of your hands to his lips and kisses it gently. His eyes don't stay from yours.

Zheng and Auntie hug.

Everyone is together again.

"So we should probably make a plan here," Stede says, looking around.

"Still surrounded by English Soldiers."

"I think a royal hostage could prove valuable," Stede states.

Everyone gathers to hear the plan. It's completely diabolical. Probably the most insane plan you had ever heard. So dangerous and risky, anyone with sense would never go through with it.

"So, that is the plan." Stede says proudly. "We all live to fight another day."

"Or it's a complete suicide mission," Ed says.

The crew agree with that. You and Izzy glance at each other. Once again his hand is nestled in yours.

"It's only suicide if we die."

♡♡♡

You shrug on the blue coat, a size too big for you. You pick up one of the hats from the floor and place it on your head. The crew do the same. Stripping down the soldiers and taking their gear.

A disguise.

Izzy stares at the coat he is holding in his hand. You look at him softly. He doesn't react as you come over to him and slowly take the coat from him. He lets you take it from his hands and lets you help him put it on. You will the coat around him and smile.

"Very handsome."

"I'm not wearing the fucking hat."

You chuckle. "Course not. But I like the coat. Maybe we should get you a nice long coat."

Izzy rolls his eyes and shakes his head with a smile. "Don't be daft."

Once everyone was dressed, Ricky was trusted to you and Izzy, and everyone left the bar. Including Jackie and the Swede. Everyone was going to get off that island.

You were all going to take down as many English as you could. Groups of them were littered around the island.

The crew just needed to reach the shore.

Izzy handles Ricky. You follow him, staying close. The others follow.

"Hello," Ricky greets the group of soldiers. "The operation is over now, so we're just gonna head back to the ships, please."

It could have gone so smoothly.

You hadn't seen Ricky gesture down where he parted his legs enough for Izzy's wooden one to be seen. In a split second Ricky drew a gun and shot it.

"They're pirates!" He yells.

You hear Izzy groan, having been close enough to beside him. Your head snaps to him to see him holding his side. Blood is oozing out.

"Izzy!"

The crew fight the soldiers as you push Izzy to the side. You try to get a good look at the wound, but he refuses to move his hand.

"Izzy..."

"Come on," he grunts. He marches past you and onward. The crew follow. You hurry to catch up to him.

Izzy has been shot! That fucking prick.

The prince gets away.

The path down to the shore is clear. It's a straight run down. The crew will just have to watch behind them.

Izzy is falling behind. You refuse to go on ahead. You come over to his side and hold him where he hasn't been shot.

"Izzy?"

"Just... fuck off." He says it softly, no malice behind his words. He's hurting. When Izzy is in pain, you hurt too.

The crew are being shot at from behind. You hold onto Izzy as best as you can. Ed slows and hurries over, taking Izzy on the other side. You both get him to the boats.

Once everyone is on the ship Ed lays Izzy down. You remove the coat you're wearing to make a cushion for his head. Roach left immediately to get medical supplies.

Izzy looks up at you. There's a lot of blood and everything hurts, but still he sees you clearly. You're keeping pressure on the wound and giving out orders.

He smiles. He likes it when you're bossy.

You look down at him, tears welling up in your eyes. "Look at me, okay? Keep your eyes open. Don't you dare close them."

Izzy just smiles up at you.

"Why are you smiling?" You ask.

"Because you're beautiful," he says.

"Shut up. You're literally bleeding out," you say, but can't help but smile.

"I'm a lucky man."

You look at him, not sure what to say, but at least he was talking to you. You should keep him talking.

"Yeah?"

"Any man would kill to have a partner like you by their side. Especially in our line of work."

"You're getting sentimental..."

"I have that right, don't I? As a dying man."

"You're not going to die. I won't let you." You frown at him.

He continues to smile.

Roach returns with the stuff. You instruct him on exactly what to do. Izzy lays there and looks at you. His beautiful sparrow.

Eventually he passes out.

♡♡♡

Izzy wakes up feeling a horrid ache in his side. He inhales sharply, trying to get himself together before he opens his eyes properly. His mind is a little confused.

Something warm slips into his hand.

Izzy smiles.

His eyes open slowly and he turns his head to look at you. You're watching him closely. You lean forward when you see him wake. His smile brightens.

"Hello, love." His voice is hoarse.

You smile and let out a sigh. "You moron."

"You alright?" He asks.

"Me? I should be asking you that! Do you have any idea how worried I was about you? You passed out on me. I thought... I thought I lost you."

His smile fades as he gazes at you.

"I promised ya, didn't I? I'm never leavin' you again."

You lean over the bed and wrap your arms around him tight. You're careful of his wound. Izzy moves his arm so it wraps around you. He gives you a gentle squeeze.

"I'm sorry, love."

"I was so scared." You look up at him. "What would I do without you?"

He offers you a gentle smile, caressing your cheek gently with his finger. "I don't know. But I do know I'm one lucky man."

You laugh softly. "You already said that."

"I've been shot twice. Both times I've had you nurse me back to health. I'm very lucky." His gaze on you is full of fondness.

"I love you."

He pulls you closer and kisses you. It's slightly desperate, well needed.

"I love you too."

♡♡♡

Lucius and Pete just got married. Despite needing as much rest as he could get, Izzy insisted on being there to watch. It was lovely.

The crew cheer as they kiss.

You smile and look at Izzy. He smiles at you. "Maybe we should try that," he says.

"Try what?" You ask.

He shrugs lightly. "Marrying."

Your expression softens. "Is that a joke?" You ask, not entirely certain.

He shrugs again.

"You thought about it?" You ask.

"It's crossed my mind."

You smile softly. "Guess we'll see what the future holds."

His hand finds yours.

♡♡♡

Ed and Stede stood on the shore. On the horizon The Revenge sails away. The two watch their friends go, leaving them behind. Behind them was a run down building. They hoped to turn it into an inn.

The crew of The Revenge promised they'd be back someday, but they had a mission of their own.

The Revenge was under new command.

Captain Izzy Hands. His first mate, you.

There was a prince that needed hunting down. The Revenge would live up to it's name.

A calm came over the ocean. Like everything was how it should be.

Edward Teach knew deep down everything would be okay. The ship was in good hands and the crew would thrive.

Izzy Hands would thrive. He would live. He has everything to live for. He has you to live for. Just like how Ed had Stede.

Good luck to anyone who tried to mess with the unicorn and his sparrow. They were not people you should trifle with.

Izzy Hands is happy. Happy and in love

♡♡♡

@grippleback-galaxy - @askmarinaandothers - @godlikegallagher - @for-fuck-sake-im-alive - @whiskeyswriting - @lxsm2 - @bloody-bunni666 - @the-chocoholic-writer - @bugbugboy - @callmemana - @the-shenny-of-azkaban - @cool-ontherun-world - @outer-space-beech - @ahewi24 - @grace585 - @innertimemachinegirl - @dmitrytherat - @emilynissangtr - @fruitymoonbeams-blog -

[ladyluscinia]

I think they were so worried about not getting a season 3 they ruined both the viewers expecting one and the viewers who would've liked it to end there. they've created an easily destroyable status quo because of course something needs to happen to get everyone back together for season 3. so it's not even a happy ending; it's so fragile, it's designed to fall apart the second that anyone learns that the show is back on. i get not wanting to bank on having a third season and wrapping it up but like. Galavant did that and did it better. WITH THE HEROES RETIRING AND THE TWO MINUTE MARRIAGE CEREMONY TO BOOT. But it gave an outline of where the plot might go from there and how the adventure will continue if it gets to. And it never got to, and season 2's ending is good because it's not /fragile/--it's not a cliffhanger, but you get the idea that they could keep going from there still. whereas this one didn't want to be a cliffhanger so much that they created the most breakable new status quo in history and if there is a season 3 it'll immediately be undone and I'll probably still watch it but like I'll /know/, y'know? They could fix everything in the first episode of season 3 and I'd still have to know that at one point, this was considered an acceptable outcome.

The thing that is driving me absolutely insane is they DID NOT HAVE TO DO THIS!

There's so many people looking at it like "well it's a shame that 2x08 clearly had to cram several episodes into one for budget reasons and it made the development weaker but that's the situation MAX put them in" and I cannot emphasize enough how much that is not true.

MAX did not break it to them after episodes 2x01 - 2x07 were written and half filmed that they would have to wrap up the whole plot in 30 minutes. Like absolute worst case scenario they had 10 eps mostly written and budget came back 20% over and they had to reduce to 8 total. More likely they knew they were getting 8 from the start.

It is absolutely nobody's fuck up except David Jenkins and his writers' room if they were unrealistic about what character beats were needed and would fit in the timeframe to reach a satisfying wrap up.

Worries about no S3 were on the table the moment it took until JUNE to get confirmation of S2. This wasn't sprung on them. If they wanted their story to have a "just in case" happy ending and then a "fully realized arc" happy ending, they should have fucking acted like it???

I was shocked when the first three episodes that dropped were so hardcore on destroying Edward's relationships and laying bare exactly how deep his issues went. It only made sense to me if they were going all in on getting a S3 and prepared to spend all of S2 focused on the implications of all that, and then the not-even two week in-universe timeline of the season reinforced my understanding that was happening.

"Shame we don't have time for our main couple to even start addressing their relationship or having moments of self-realization and sharing their issues," says guy who decided to make the first half of S2 about adding more problems on top of well established ones from S1 and the second half of S2 about throwing in a second breakup cycle instead of dealing with the fallout from the first.

Want Edward to end on a beat of feeling part of the found family? Well maybe adding a timeskip after 2x05 and then a crew chat in 2x06 where you make it clear he did an apology tour offscreen could help, but you also could have just not focused hard on him poisoning his relationship with every single one of them in the first place???

There's multiple different ways you can do Act 2 of a three act structure, and they did not have to choose one that ends on another dark cliffhanger beat or right at the open ended turning point toward growth? Like they didn't even do the one they picked in a way they could fit in their season. I feel like by the end of a struggles Act 2 both your protagonists need to have self-realized their issues and maybe had one conversation about it? Edward still wasn't talking about his guilt, and Stede wasn't talking about anything.

They aren't even at the turning point of growth and out of the backsliding / lessons learned era yet, that's why potential S3 will start on another backslide when status quo breaks and Stede starts "that's nice, dear"-ing Edward during the day and slipping out at night to vicariously listen to pirate stories or whatever (and they frame it like he's cheating).

We have two out of three seasons in a show that might only get two, and I feel like the characters have barely moved from their starting position.

Like idk maybe they are really good at coming up with character flaws - ex: Stede is repressed and bottles up his traumas until he mentally checks out / runs away - and just drawing blanks on how to believably "fix" them, but just going "well what if we just used this flaw to throw another miscommunication roadblock in their relationship?" is not getting them where they want to be.

The season was fundamentally designed against their stated goal and did not make what seem to be necessary writing concessions to the reduced screentime if they wanted their finale to land as an even plausibly happy ending. It's hollow.

And possibly not even salvageable in S3 since they aren't demonstrating the skills to salvage it.

[littleandless]

SEASON 2 EPISODE 7 THOUGHTS

i wonder how rhaenyra will discover that addam is corlys’s son. because there’s no way that can stay a secret, right? either corlys himself will make it known when he asks her to legitimize him or mysaria (if she knows—which i assume she does or will soon). i understand why addam didn’t just tell her outright, even if it would have been easier in some ways. corlys is still his liege lord before anything else and airing out his dirty laundry probably wouldn’t get him a pat on the back from papa either.

NEW TULLY LORD!!!! oscar and his men outnumber daemon, so he can afford to get a bit sassy. it’s a shame about willem though. oh well! i knew he was toast as soon as he started pleading with daemon to rescue him…he doesn’t give a fuck my boy😭 plus all the war crimes

more visions of viserys. i didn’t find this one very compelling, seeing as it’s just “i never wanted to be king boo hoo. why do you want this shit so bad?” when it is all so very obvious. and no alys????? i better see at least 10 minutes of screen time from her in the next episode.

we finally got an emotional outburst from jacaerys! thank the gods. his mother royally fucked him over by making him bastard-born and now (despite it being necessary) weakens his only claim to legitimacy. he has every right to be upset. as aegon2 once said: “everybody knows.” he loves his mother and is loyal to her, but he can’t quite cope with the danger she’s put him in. and she could never fully appreciate what it means for her sons, even if she does hear the insults. she can’t bolster her own claim without weakening his. poor jace, luke, & joffrey. they were truly doomed from the start. my sweet boys :(

we finally had a proper gathering of potential dragonriders and not just one measly person at a time. that’s good. i don’t like that they all had blonde hair, though. you’re telling me all the other bastards got white hair but not rhaenyra’s heirs? the blood of the dragon is just that strong? jacey is so doomed by the narrative.

also…hugh son of saera????? i was kind of hoping he’d just say her name but i guess we’re being coy about it. it’s a fun easter egg i suppose but 1. it reaffirms the targaryen blood purity BS they were just questioning two seconds ago and 2. poor saera not only had a shit dad that shamed her but also a failson who’s embarrassed of his rich sexy princess mother #justiceforsaera

alicent deciding to fuck off into the woods was the right decision. it’s probably the last moment of peace she’ll ever have. so hey, why not run away and go for a swim, take in the fresh air, ride a horse, and dream of disappearing forever? i said it before, but her part in this power struggle is basically over. now all she can do is wait.

am i wrong or did aemond send his brother’s bffs to the wall? i can’t remember their names and i don’t care to look it up, but it seems the most likely.

larys wants aegon to recover so bad lmao. i know he will eventually, but still. give it a rest bro i doubt he is as charmed by your camaraderie as you think he is…especially since you’re making him speedrun these physical therapy sessions! i’m surprised he’s still bothering with these people. he also basically fucks off in f&b and then reappears later. i wonder if that’s going to happen in the show or if he’s here to stay.

alrighty. the scales have tipped in rhaenyra’s favor. now she has seven dragons: syrax, vermax, moondancer, seasmoke, vermithor, silverwing, and caraxes (kind of). sheepstealer hasn’t been seen in the show yet, but since rhaena will probably claim him we can tentatively add his name to the roster. in f&b the blacks also had tyraxes, who i believe was shown last episode but is obviously still a baby. team green has vhagar and now tessarion. dreamfyre as well, even though i don’t believe she’s been shown before. i assume they’ll have to now unless the showrunners want to make the balance very dramatically skewed. and princess jaehaera has morghul but he also hasn’t been shown, and in f&b he was never even ridden. sunfyre is dead i think? so yeah, wow. sky lizards abound.

can’t wait for more! i’m sad we only have one more episode of this season. but hey, at least george said the writers are meeting up soon for season 3. hopefully we’ll only wait one year instead of 2😆

[sayafics]

Cherry Season - Part 3

Thank you to everyone who interacted with part 2!

This chapter doesn't really include any smut, I didn't think it really fit considering the themes discussed but we have some angst and fluffy moments between Rick and Val <3

Hope you guys enjoy!!

Warnings: very, very vaguley discussed SA

Previous Chapter

Masterlist

Valerie had waited hours for Rick to come to her room - she laid under the covers in a long t-shirt, the cherry undergarments cast aside in shame of what her body truly looked like. She had concluded the best course of action was to keep the lights off and let him fuck her in the dark.

Yes, that would work.

So she waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Rick still hadn't shown up, and she found her eyes growing heavy as they fluttered closed. There was a creeping whisper in her mind as she succumbed to sleep, suggesting Rick had perhaps forgotten the promise he made; or worse, he had found a formidable distraction in the woman who was still his wife.

The thought caused dread to curl in her gut, but the travesties of the day and the adventures, too, had her mind heavy with exhaustion. So, as the hours ticked by and Rick did not appear, she gave into a restless and fitful sleep.

***

Rick hadn't forgotten.

Of course, he hadn't.

He had been waiting as the minutes passed by agonisingly slow.

But when Glenn had come to him, pale-faced and mortified by what he had seen, Rick had been too consumed by anger- by confusion, to think straight.

A part of him, large and raging and fierce, wanted to go to her now and demand she confess the name of the man who hurt her. But there was still that aching whisper in him that worried, even as his anger bubbled and festered into something almost inhuman, that he would scare her.

And Rick couldn't stand the idea of Valerie fearing him.

So he waited, begging his raging heart to settle to he could go in peace and beg her to tell him the truth so he could help.

But his heart didn't calm, and neither did his mind. Rick sat in front of the fire they had built for the camp, head in his hands as he massaged his temples. His head grew heavy and painful as warring thoughts battled in his mind.

Who would do such a thing?

From what Glenn had described, the mottled bruises that scattered across her torso and her thighs wouldn't have come from just anything, just anyone.

It had to be someone from his camp - someone he allowed near her. In a way, Rick felt responsible for this. In a way, it was as though he had hurt her and bruised her and left her trembling and in tears.

Though he tried his hardest, he couldn't help but reflect back upon the past week where Valerie would avoid his every touch and his every gaze, when she would scurry away before he had even seen her in his vicinity. He thought about the way she flinched in his presence and the way her eyes would widen as she looked around with horrible guilt weighing upon her shoulders.

The lessons.

His mind would fall back to it each and every time, even if he reprimanded himself for such thoughts. Shane is his friend.

His bestfriend.

But Shane also slept with him wife and impregnated her, all with a smile whilst expecting Lori to still choose him.

But this was different - Shane couldn't hurt somebody. Not like this. He was a good cop, a good man.

Rick let out a frustrated groan, hands tugging his hair as he lifted his head to scan the area around him. The night had settled and a cool breeze rustled the tall grass the tents were set in, he watched as there wasn't even a hum of light from both the tents and Hershel's home.

Rick knew he would only grow more restless the longer he waited, but his heart burned with the knowledge of what Glenn had told him and he truly didn't know what he could do. What he would do.

There was only one way to find out; but first he needed to know if his aching thoughts were true and if the perpetrator for such abominable acts was truly someone he prayed it would not be.

***

Rick held his breath as he ascended the stairs in Hershel's home, his footsteps soft and quiet as he prayed no one would catch him in the act of sneaking into Valerie's room.

He closed his eyes in prayer as he twisted the handle on her door, hoping it wasn't locked. He let out a sigh of relief as it turned easily in his hand, and creaked the door open wide enough to slip inside. Rick shut the door behind him, hand slipping back to turn the lock and hope it was enough to deter anyone else from also coming in.

His eyes wandered across the dark room, tracking every mound and heap of shadows before a writhing form caught his attention.

Fearful whimpers sound throughout the room, and through the strips of moonlight cascading over Valerie's twisting body he can see the sheen of perspiration on her forehead. Rick's brows furrow in concern, and he steps forward to get closer to the girl.

"Valerie," Rick's whispers were in vain as even with his persistence, Valerie was submerged too deeply in the horrors of her mind to wake up without a helping hand.

Rick grew anxious at her flailing, rounding the bed to sit at her side as one hand reached for her face and the other for her shoulder. He shook her gently, hoping to rouse her from her sleep, "hey, wake up baby. 'm right here."

Valerie's body froze as she inhaled sharply, the pressure of hands on her ripping her from her sleep as the idea of her worst nightmare coming to life threw her into a petrified scramble. She opened her eyes as her lips parted for a scream to escape, but a hand clamped it shut and her scream died in her throat as her flickering eyes began to fill with tears.

God, this was it.

Shane knew. He knew what her and Rick did, and he was angry.

Fuck, he was going to hurt her.

She should've listened to him.

She whimpered into the hand across her mouth, unable to catch her breath as her hands held his wrist tightly. She wasn't sure if she was trying to rip him away or ground herself before she lost her mind.

In all her fear and panic, she had failed to notice how the hand that had sat upon her shoulder now rested atop her head, cradling it against a firm chest as someone hushed her cries and laboured breaths.

Through all the misery of the days that had passed, through the screaming echoes and the cries of protest that rung through her ears as phantom hands clawed at her skin and feral bites marked her body, a familiar voice sounded through her troubled mind and torturous thoughts.

"Val, I need you to calm down for me," hands so unlike the ones that had inflicted so much pain tilted her head up until her damp eyes met ones of sea-blue, so worried and concerned by the nightmares that haunted her.

Rick.

It was Rick. Rick is here - not Shane.

She was safe.

Rick wouldn't hurt her. No, Rick was a good man.

It was as though he was an anchor to her racing mind, grounding her and calming her even though her thoughts began to cripple her as the minutes ticked by.

"That's it, baby," his voice was so careful and so kind, and his eyes were earnest unlike Shane's, which grew sinister whenever he lost himself to his urges. "Take deep breaths for me, sweetheart," the hand petting her head came to brush the tears from her face, pulling her closer so he could press a kiss against her head.

His hand still rested against her trembling lips, but he had loosened his grip as he offered in a quiet hush, "I'm gonna move my hand now, okay? But I need you to keep your voice down - is that okay, sweetheart?"

His voice was so warm, his words so considerate. She couldn't help but whimper as she nodded vigorously in his embrace. Rick continued to hush her gently as he removed his hand, wiping away any tears that still remained upon her face. Her hands fell from his wrist as she threw herself against him in a tight embrace, hiccupping against him as her tears started to fall all over again.

Her arms tightened around his neck as she sobbed quietly into the crook of his neck, and Rick's hands came to hold her by the waist as he tugged her into his lap, before taking her into a solid embrace.

"It's okay, baby. It was just a bad dream, 'm here now. I got you. I'll keep you safe, you hear me?"

His words only made her eyes water more, her breaths escaping her harshly as guilt settled in her gut.

God, how she wanted to tell him the truth - to confess then and there what it was that his friend had done to her, how he had hurt her.

She had to tell him.

She could tell him - Rick had promised he'd protect her and Shane wouldn't be able to stay away for long.

Her arms loosened from around his neck as she pulls herself back from his embrace. For a moment, she debates sitting upon his lap as she lets the truth spill from her, but the roiling nausea that washes over her as she realises she would have to relive all that had happened to her made her pull away completely.

Rick's face fell in disappointment and confusion as she retreated from his embrace. She sat with her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs tightly as she struggled to meet Rick's eyes.

"Valerie," he kept his voice hushed, not wanting to wake up anyone else in the house. Rick almost sounded unsure as he called out to her, his heart thudding painfully at the sight of tears leaking down her face.

"I can still feel him," her voice shook as she stammered out the words, her eyes so tightly closed she could see a cascade of colours in the darkness.

Rick frowned for a moment, but then he remembered what Glenn had told him - the horror on the boy's face as he recalled what he saw, and the anger that tinged his voice as he confessed it was one of them. Someone from their group who had been so greedy and violent and monsterous.

Rick wanted to ask her a million questions - he wanted to know who he was, what he did. He wanted to know every thought running through her mind and every emotion swimming through her veins and consume it as his own.

But he stayed quiet. He waited.

Valerie met his awaiting gaze with a pitiful smile, her body trembling as she tried mouthing words that wanted to remain unspoken. She clenched her teeth from frustration, her hands reaching up to scrub her face as she took deep breaths.

Her deep breaths gave way to a cry that melted into a manic laugh, "fuck, I don't even know why I'm crying. It's not like he actually did anything."

Didn't do anything?

Rick couldn't help the scoff that escaped him, catching her gaze once more as he narrowed his eyes, "didn't do anything? Is that what you call the bruises on your body?"

She reeled back, staring at him with her gaze so much clearer - "how... how do you know about that?"

Her voice ended as a whisper as she sunk back from him with eyes stinging from betrayal. Rick only sighed, turning his body to face away from the bed as he laid his head in his hands.

He avoided her question in favour of one of his own.

He had to ask.

He had to know.

"Was it Shane?"

His shoulders almost trembled in anticipation of her answer, but she only stepped off the bed and walked towards the window as she bitterly spoke. "you didn't answer my question."

He looked up at her, incredulity in his gaze as he protested, "you didn't deny mine."

"That's not important."

He stood up as he marched towards her, taking her by the shoulders as he tried to catch her gaze, "yes, it is."

She met his wavering stare with a brewing glare, "was it Glenn? Did he tell you?"

Rick clenched his jaw and looked away, his hands tightening subconsciously as he tried to hold his tongue.

A part of Valerie liked the pressure, the feeling of his hands on her body - so different to the pain that had been inflicted on her, so much more careful and polite.

The other festered in hurt. Glenn promised he wouldn't tell. He promised to let her handle it.

"So it was Glenn."

"He meant well, Valerie," his voice was consoling, but it did nothing to stop the tear escaping as it tracked down her face.

Rick wiped it away before her sorrows could travel too far, cradling her face in his hands as he spoke pleadingly, "who was it, sweetheart? Who hurt you?"

Her hands covered his own, her eyes shutting tight as a shaky breath left her, "I tried to stop him, Rick. I told him it wasn't right," a harsh sob escaped her - one she tried to muffle with her hands her as she shook her head harshly, like she was throwing the memories out.

"I told him I only wanted you, but he said you had Lori- that it wasn't fair if you had us both."

Lori.

Lori.

It always came back to Lori.

His heart sunk as the truth now became undeniable.

This was Shane.

Angry, brutal, violent Shane.

His friend. His partner. His brother.

Something so unlike him, something so raw and angry overcame him. His face twisted as he pushed to confirm, "was it Shane? Did Shane do this to you?"

Valerie fell into his chest, collapsing against him as his arms wrapped around her and nodded vigorously. Apologies spilled from her tongue, like it was her fault and not his. Like Rick would blame her and not him.

Shane said he would.

"He's not going to touch you again," her hands tightened around his shirt, her tears dampening the material as he petted her head and pressed gentle kisses atop it. With every tear that soaked his skin, Rick felt every kinship, every memory he shared with Shane wash away and an anger so violent and harsh washed over him.

Rick stared out the window in front of him, his gaze landing onto Shane's tent as the thought of marching out into the dark fields now and taking the man's life rooted in his mind. Perhaps he would be merciful and shoot him.

Rick hadn't seen the marks on Valerie's body, but he saw the horror in Glenn's eyes. Shooting him would be too merciful. No, he would beat him and hurt him and make him feel the same pain he inflicted upon Valerie.

He would kill him. And then, he would let him turn.

It was as though Valerie felt his raging thoughts as his hold tightened around her and he shook in anger as his eyes grew cold and his lips curled into a feral snarl.

She moved her head against his chest, peering up at him with those pretty eyes of hers. When he met her gaze, his eyes softened as a familiar feeling washed over him - something he hadn't felt in quite some time, if he was being honest.

"Don't hurt him," her head twisted as she spoke in earnest, "you guys have already lost so much, I'm not going to be the reason you lose your best friend."

Rick parted his lips, ready to protest - she wasn't the reason he had lost Shane. No, the Shane he knew had died long before Rick came back to the land of the living and dead.

The Shane he knew wouldn't sleep with Lori. The Shane he knew wouldn't hurt women. The Shane he knew wouldn't lay claim over the people Rick loves.

Valerie placed a hand over his mouth, eyes pleading and vulnerable, "I don't wanna argue anymore."

Rick held her hand against his mouth, pressing a soft kiss against it as she sighed quietly against him, "just help me forget, Rick."

He brought her hand up higher, pressing trailing kisses down her wrist, moving to her shoulder, then neck before hovering over her lips.

"Make me forget the way his touch felt."

Rick kissed her deeply, pressing her against the window as she leaned up to meet his eager lips. There was so much unsaid between them, too many secrets and worries - all of it was spilled into this kiss. So loving, so trusting.

Her hands trailed up his neck, tugging the hair at the base of his skull as he groaned into the kiss. He could feel the dampness of her tears and pulled her closer in response, hands reaching down to her thighs to hike her up.

She wrapped her legs around his waist, her breaths shaky for a whole new reason as she pulled back from him.

They paused for a moment, staring into each other's eyes. A timid smile stretched across Valerie's face, a foreign emotion filling her eyes as she traced the features of his face.

She leaned back in, pressing a kiss against him lips. This one was unlike the rest they had shared - it was gentle and hopeful, it was desperate and wanting.

Rick met it in kind, a breathless laugh escaping him, which she replied to with stifled giggles. They fell onto the bed in a heap, laughing like children in love as they held each other and exchanged quiet kisses and demure gazes.

Shane was just a whisper in the wind now.

Her senses flooded with everything revolving Rick - his touch, his scent, his voice.

And in his arms she found a welcoming and soothing sleep.

Her trembling heart grew steady and full as she woke up in his embrace the following morning, her tortured gaze meeting his patient one. They laid in each other's arms as the sun steadily rose, trading secrets and tracing shapes on each other's skin. Nothing but languid kisses and explorative hands exchanged.

The following days, it was as though the sun had risen over the farm and filled it with the flurry of a blossoming summer's day. Where ever Rick went, he ensured Valerie was by his side. He was unashamed of the fondness that settled in his heart, bringing her snacks, pulling her into long embraces, holding her hand or waist when they walked together, pulling her onto his lap at the camp fires.

His actions didn't go unnoticed by the others, some who were sceptical whilst others were accepting.

Glenn had the knack to be shameful when confronted for his inability to keep a secret, but his guilty heart settled at the begrudging hug and quiet embrace he received from Valerie. He couldn't help his smile as he watched her with Rick, unsure of if this was his doing or if it was something that had been on the verge of happening from the moment they set foot on the barn.

Shane would glare at the pair, gritting his teeth in anger as he searched for any excuse to get the girl alone. But Rick was ever-present, with a knowing gaze and a silent vow for revenge.

Sorry if the ending seems rushed, there was a lot of things I wanted to include in this chapter, and I may rewrite it if I get time. There is only one chapter left for this series, so keep an eye out for the final chapter! (I promise there will be more smut!!)

[etaleah]

Jotting down my initial thoughts on Part 3 of Prime:

Love the few Sonadow moments we got but I don’t get why Sonic rushed to save everyone else yet didn’t even bother to ask where Shadow was when he got to the Grim. Didn’t even try to go down below and get him. Seems more than a little unfair.

The Rose sisters teaming up was excellent.

That 3-minute recap was fuckin’ ridiculous; they really must have been struggling to pad out the runtime.

Dropping Sonic back in the moment of the shattering was a nice touch.

Having Sonic find out about the palm trees in the Grim was also a nice touch.

Why is the Alpha Big the thing that gets everyone scared? Big is easily the least effective fighter of them all.

I love that Sonic asks Rebel Rouge to take command, but I’m not sure what the point of that is if her plan doesn’t work and falls apart quickly. Good character development for Sonic at least.

FINALLY SHADOW AND ROUGE INTERACTED

The ending was clearly setting up for a Part 2, which we are never going to get because Netflix is garbage like that.

For that reason, the ending isn’t nearly as satisfying as I had hoped for. New Yoke City is still a hell scape, Boscage Maze still hasn’t been rebuilt (meaning Sonic broke his promise to Thorn, something both of them seem to have forgotten), and Nine is still alone in the world. The whole point they’re trying to make is that everyone deserves a happy ending and yet it feels like only the Green Hill characters got one.

I love Renegade Knux so much; he’s easily the best version of Knuckles.

Shadow was robbed once again by both being stuck on the sidelines for so long AND for not being allowed to kick Nine in the head at least once.

WAY too much repetition holy hell. If you took a drink every time more robots appeared or every time Nine growled/yelled before zapping more prism energy, you’d be dead by the end of the season. That fight was Battle of the Five Armies levels of long and drawn-out, which is a real shame because that time could have been much better spent elsewhere.

I don’t think Nine and Dread really deserved their redemptions and both felt very rushed. To me, Nine crossed the line into irredeemability when he decided to kill the foxes just because he didn’t like that they looked like him. That isn’t a trauma response from years of bullying or a matter of self-defense. It’s just murderous and mean.

On that note, it felt like quite the emotional bait-and-switch to say that Sails and Mangey were fine actually and they just flew away when no one was looking. Bit of a cowardly move on the writers’ part, I think.

The Chaos Council is so ANNOYING can’t they just fucking DIE.

Overall I’d say this season turned out similar to the last in that the first episode of the batch was EASILY the best of the bunch. It peaked at the first and never quite got that good again. I’m biased here because Shadow is my favorite, but I just feel like it’s better to have a quick fight scene with two or three characters than it is to have a long fight scene with dozens of characters because then you have to jump around too much.

The sad thing is, the disappointments make me glad the show is ending, because now I feel certain that if it kept going, it would only get more repetitive and the quality would decline rapidly.

[colossal-niamh]

Just a big list of some stuff I think is neat

I haven't been super active on here in a minute so I'm just gonna lighting round a bunch of stuff I've been watching/reading X-Men '97- Fucking incredible. This is probably my favorite piece of non comic superhero media since Spectacular Spider-Man. The animation, the melodrama, the narrative showcasing the struggles of building a better tomorrow and existing in a world where your existence is perceived as a threat. Can't wait for season 2 The Crow (1994)- Wanted to get to this before the remake comes out. This is very much a situation where I procrastinated on watching something I knew I'd like and when I finally got around to it I went "Yeah I was right I liked it a lot!" The Crow is equal parts mournful as it is hopeful for a better tomorrow, a balancing act between the grief of loss and celebration of life. A damn shame we lost Brandon Lee so young because he was enthralling the entire film, an irreplaceable talent. The Venture Bros- I was making my way through the series on my own for a good while now. Showing it to some irl friends gave me the excuse to rewatch it all before I see the final season because I LOVE Venture Bros. it has firmly cemented itself as one of my favorite shows ever. I can't even get into it here or this will just become a Venture Bros gush fest. X-Terminators (2022)- Literally just read this today, what a delightful little book. it's a bit weird dropping in here as the book's smack dab in the middle of the nearly finished Krakoa era of the X-Men books. Luckily this needs little to no context as it's 4 of most fun women in the X-Men cast cracking jokes and kicking Dazzler's shitty ex in the dick. Also said ex is a literal blood sucking vampire Shin Ultraman- The last of Hideaki Anno's Shin trilogy I needed to see. Ultraman is admittedly the one I'm least familiar with out of the tokusatsu big 3, but this film made me far more interested in it than I was before. a great action flick about keeping the flame of hope lit even in dire situations. I liked all of the Shin movies but here's how I'd rank them; 1. Shin Godzilla 2. Shin Ultraman 3. Shin Kamen Rider Steven Universe- Soooo, I was one of those kids that listened to shitty criticism of SU back when it was airing and it ruined my perception of the show for years. It took until recently to realize the critics I listened to were not only bad at media analysis (and just a bad person in general) but also outright lying about the contents of the show. to rectify this mistake I've been rewatching SU and man, I was so wrong about this show. It's exceptional stylistically and narratively, and teaches some genuinely well thought out life lessons to it's target age demographic. It's not garbage, it's great! RRR- Admittedly I watched this further back than anything else on this list but that doesn't matter because YOU NEED TO SEE RRR! This movie is 3 hours of distilling the power of friendship and anti-colonial sentiment into the most Dudes Rock movie ever put to film. by the end I was screaming my head off like a crazy person for 20 minutes straight. what are you even doing here reading this? GO WATCH RRR!

[akajustmerry]

hi merry! hope you are enjoying malta ♥ i finished season 2 of the newsreader today (instead of doing school work) and it was intense. i don't remember last time i was this stressed ! in a good way ofc. so i was wondering what your thoughts were, especially on dale and helen's arcs as well as noelene rejecting helen's offer to produce for her. have u been listening to the companion podcast?

hello! I finished it yesterday 🥰

I haven't been listening to the podcast (I'm a fake fan, I know 💀), but I have so many thoughts! these are mostly raw and half formed but anyways:

I see Helen and Dale's plot lines as very nuanced takes on walking the line between being damned if you do and damned if you don't. sometimes to get what you want, especially if you're marginalised in any way, there are no good choices or options. I think Helen and Dale's plot lines show what it is to come face to face with that reality and how soul crushing it is to navigate.

Noelenes story was honestly my favourite of the season even if I'm not the biggest fan of her n Rob as a couple. I loved seeing her thrive in the producer role and talk with Helen more. Loved watching her juggle the ethics and demands of producing as a woman of colour. "the landscape is different for me" >>>> baller line. Very much about how for women of colour in journalism, there's much less freedom to turn down stability to just run off to do gigs in say, America. But also she loves Rob and her family and has obligations in the way Helen as someone who's estranged, single and white does not. It was a great arch and Noelene advocating for herself is huge growth for her. I loved to see it.

I will say Helen's plot line was my least favourite only because I DESPISED seeing her hook up with Lachlan Murdoch Ordered On Wish™. That's not to say it didn't make sense or it was bad. It was compelling and so in character for Helen to always be looking to be with people who make her feel in control, but I STILL did NOT want to see her fuck proxy Lachlan Murdoch. I was so happy when she dropkicked his ass. I don't think she'll go to America. I think she'll back out, come back to Aus, and realise she needs to get hired as an anchor on a rival network and her n dale will be rivals of news reading. That's how she'll get back at Lindsay too. I hope that's where she'll channel that new-found independence.

Dale's monologue to Donna at the end >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> AHHHHHHH I was vomiting blood but he DID IT. HE BECAME THE NEWSREADER. what did it cost? Only everything :(((( but I did really like how Dale's first (??) sexual experience with a guy was not with any of the main characters. I think it showed how isolated and compartmentalised that part of himself is from what he sees as his "real" life. But Sam Reid's performance of the shame, the repression of it (when he was brushing his teeth 😭) and how that shame mutates into just being ice cold with Gerry and Donna. And how that fear and shame driven persona gets him what he wants? Perfection. I cried for 10 minutes.

Deah and i are working on a @gayvclubpodcast ep about gender and sexuality in news drama stories so I'll have more coherent thoughts then 💕

[itsdappleagain]

CS WEEKLY #2 BABY! Oh yeah two part opener. Also ummmm its still Saturday right?? Haha...I'm late.

ANYWAY HERE WE GOOOO

How. did they not hear her in there lmaooo

If Player was tracking her altitude as well can you imagine what he thought when she suddenly plummeted from a plane wheeze

I love the "I don't have a parachute" line 1/ its so black sheep. its so cute 2. YOU DIDN'T??? THINK OF THAT??

gay people. also glad el topo got over his fear of heights with his bf around

tigress meowing and flailing around whe gray kicks her out of the helicopter is the funniest fucking thing also can helicopters even get to heights that you can parachute from? I guess so

black sheep is so lucky cracker was the last one to jump can you imagine she just grabs tigress by the shoulders or something

POV you have a parachute

I LOVE THE HANDHELDISH CAMERA AS THEY DROP OUT OF SCREEN AND THEN IT FOLLOWS THEM DOWN AS THEY SPIRAL AND ZOOMS THATS MY FAVORITE ANIMATION STYLE EVER

here starts my gripe (well publicly) with gina rodriguez for being a mediocre voice actor imo. like black sheep, plummeting at maximum velocity and only clinging on my her fingertips to safety: um don't let go :/

gray sounds like such an older brother wheeze WHAT'LL MOM AND DAD DO WHEN THEY FOUND OUT U SNUCK OUT WITH ME

also black sheep is so funny. who cares >:) I'll be long gone WHERE. WHERE ARE YOU GOING. also, at this point she isn't trying to defect. what is she going to do? steal something? that seems like a good way to get forever grounded, stealing something random without authority

the little "uhg" scoff black sheep does. she's such a teenager

what is emitting THAT MUCH LIGHT FROM THAT ARCHWAY

chickens do fly, cleo, chickens do fly

mime bomb is so funny its such a shame they couldnt have him in season 2 because they couldn't get his voice actor back

ohhh i forgot they did the title card after the ominous cleaners thing i love that so much

CASABLANCA!!!! SHE IS IN MOROCCOOOO also my headcanon is that casablanca was the first movie carmen ever saw when she escaped vile. I HAVE PROOF TOO she references the movie in TSONTS so hah.

i hope she still has that picture she took

all these doorways are blindingly lighted

ALL OF BLACK SHEEP'S BRAINCELLS RUBBING TOGETHER TO COME UP WITH A REASON SHE'S AT THIS RANDOM ASS DIGSITE

carmen was a dinosaur kid confirmed

i LOVE how she jumps down the ramp its so. shes such a kid

i like how black sheep is characterized- doesn't care about stealing, finds it like a game, interested in reward and loves the risk. i just...find it hard to believe that one guy changed her mind completely from 15 years or whatever of conditioning from VILE. idk. i guess i understand how seeing some guy almost die at the hands of your brother figure would shake you up but carmen puts her WHOLE pussy into taking down VILE after that one five minute conversation

THERE'S NO EXPRESSION ON HER FACE AS THE DIGSITE GUY TALKS TO HER AT ALLL ITS SO FUCKING FUNNYY shes just like brrrrrrrr ohg i have morals now...

i love the order of black sheep going "gray must have cut the power" then thinking about it and being like hmmm and THEN realizing that it must be the caper

i love the way le chevre runs up that wall

IM DYING

why did le chevre??? climb up that wall and then....use the rope...to jump down again.... i mean i know it was for the dramatic split kick to knock out the guards but STILL

the blown kiss ahag

OKAY ANYONE ELSE SUPER CONFUSED BY WHERE EVERYTHING IS HAPPENING OKAY WAIT

it shows us super up close le chevre and tigress taking out guards and workers but then??

WAY UP THERE??

why are they so far away??? the eye of vishnu is right next to black sheep?? or wat no it was far away but then el topo stole it and tunneled...further away? but closer to BS?? why did he do that and not just go offsite to get away? im so confused

also i love that digsite guy sees black sheep confronting the thief and goes wow she must be working with them not that he was wrong but

very strange that graham is sort of...the muscle? like he turns out the lights but this time he's also sort of a bodyguard for the gem

as much as I complained about it earlier the moment of realization for black sheep hits so hard

also what was tigress doing up there. did she kill all those people or what because if they left no witnesses did they just. leave a whole digsite full of people dead. like they totally killed Digsite Guy after Black Sheep got chloroform'd right

why did they need to many people for this job wheeze what was le chevre doing there either...its. idk

also she did NOT protect the face HAH

"gray" *smacks him with the stick*

they should have let carmen attempt to hit people violently with a stick more often because she failed so bad it was hilarious

the chloroforming is such a cool thing the cleaners do. like. i know its cliche but the fight way later on in season 4 is so much scarier because carmen is so weakened. i'll get to the parallels of that scene with this one way down the line in s4 tho

the added animation of carmen and gray gently rocking as the train stops/starts is my FAVORITE DETAIL EVER

oh fuck i forgot they do let carmen hit gray violently with a stick later on in the ep nevermind

OKAY HEY JACKIE AND I FOUND OUT (via CS Dream's big analysis video) THAT THEY CHANGED GRAY'S EXPRESSION POST-RELEASE IN THE GRADUATION SCENE? SO HERE'S THAT HE USED TO BE SMILING

The absolute delicious irony of Shadow-san being the one to say "No one or thing must stand int he way of achieving our goals" when HE brought Carmen back OH MY GODD

"you've earned your place at our elite table" all of season two's VILE arc entirely disproves that

evil evil evil evil evil evil evil ev

that sneer carmen let's lose when she repeats "evil" is so fucking good they almost never let her be that expressive or disdainful again

also the lean forwards as she says her entire upbringing was a lie is so. idk. almost intimate? she doesn't say it nonchalantly, sitting back and sneering. she leans forward. its important to her.

"steal lives" could be the worst decision the show had to make due to the young rating. but also consider: its funny carmen is going on about how her life was a lie and how crime causes irreparable harm and then she goes STEALING LIVES

anyone else forget chase exists every time they watch this episode. ALSO HEY. SHOUT OUT TO MOTIFS BECAUSE CARMEN'S THEME AND CHASE'S THEME ARE SO DISTINCT AND ARGEHGGSHDSHGRHGWH BARK THEY'RE SO GOOD THEY REPETITIVE HEAVY BRASS OF CHASE'S THEME BRAZENLY ANNOUNCING HIM IS SUCH A GOOD DECISION

the hood flying off of the car i mentioned it in my last cs weekly post but. its so funny

they get to that point so fast the steals from other thieves thing. i dream to see a mystery unveiling of that but only in my fanfic dreams

did he ever hang up on her or did she just hear him kick the door and then distantly commandeer a plane

he's so sinister about "your name" like why was that so menacing girl

carmen putting on that confident mask after crackle crackles on the crackle rod

someone's already mentioned brunt's bone-crushing hug foreshadowing and just. ough.

when black sheep comes back to the island and coach hugs her there are to uniformed students in the back...i wonder if thats the new class or if they're leftover from last year? because black sheep says she's all alone

girl it wasn't an escape attempt you didn't want to defect from VILE the first time

i love the raindrop running down her face like a tear when she decides to leave the dolls

ITS BEEN LIKE A YEAR WHY ARE THEY STILL TALKING ABOUT BLACK SHEEP'S PHONE

i like the detail of black sheep looking up before its revealed that she hid in the ceiling

strudelhaus of dusseldorf

"strange people have been answering your phone" i wonder if player ever talked with the faculty jshagjhfad

player's like OH YEAH YOURE A CRIMINAL and then shes like yeah but not like that and hes just like oh ok sure. cool

RITAAAA

i love the precursor to the comm earrings

maelstrom and booker give ex energy

the type of physical comedy they use with carmen saying that she has to be undetected and then showing mime bomb watch her say it is so fucking funny and so fucking underutilized

ALSO WITH CARMEN SAYING SHHH QUIET TO A MIME

i also like the detail of mb throwing the flower away

that animation of bs's hair as she whips around at mb is so cool

also the gag of mb running in place he's so funny

OKAY hi i'm obsessive but the details of both here and in the boston episode (carmen's first caper) bs/carmen is OUT OF BREATH when she's running but she isn't in later episodes WE CAN SEE HER GET IN SHAPE AS SHE DOES CAPERS isnt that cool???

the music picking up as black sheep races towards the elevator!!

HI OLD WITWICS THEME MUSIC IN THE ELEVATOR <3333

this is an underrated scene i think. of course later there's the physical "passing on of the hat" from rita to gina but this conversation is kind of...that. the old from the new. idk its really cool :)

"my you've grown" you saw her last year and she looked exactly the same

i like to think that black sheep realized she was being a dick to cookie booker after the eye of vishnu heist because idk. you know what its a cool little development moment

she looks so happy about the apology being accepted its so sweet <3 i mean. she does steal from her seconds after but

does she switch the hard drive as cookie exits or when they shake?? has to be when she exits but how the hell did she do that

RED LIGHTING!!!! we gotta know carmen's gonna come out on top now <33 ALSO the coat!!! the coatttttt

i adore how black sheep slumps down in the muck defeated and screaming no she's so dramatic about it

its like she dies

THE RED LIGHT ON THE SWORD GGRR R RBARK BRBWERB BARK CS COLOR THEORY HE'S ACTUALLY HELPING HER THE WHOLE TIME

THE SKID AS BS BACKPEDALS WHEN SHE SEES BOOKER IS SO COMEDICALLY PERFECT

CARMEN'S THEME GOING OFF FOR THE FIRST TIME (WHILE WE SEE HER AS BLACK SHEEP) WHEN SHE SEES RITA'S OG COAT AND HAT IS MY FAVORITE ITS SO GOOD AGHHH

how those stilts are staying in the shoes i will never know

also we never see those stilts again, kinda sad :( woulda been cool to have an operative who used em

the arrivederci imitation was SO BALLSY

cookie after the kid she made up with and gave life advice ties her up and shoves her in a closet five minutes later:

i love the shot of carmen running down the beach towards the boat in the coat from far away

realizing that shadow-san came directly from cutting the heli wires when he told the cleaners to prep air support...

captain was super ready to straight up shoot bs with a spear gun

THAT RUN AND JUMP WITH THE STILTS AND HEELS? I DONT THINK SO

also the look of regret when she knocks out the captain like maybe she wishes she could apologize to him too..

i like that boris seems to have a bit of a soft spot for black sheep- both of them, actually

OH MY GOD THE WIRES BEING RED TOO this sounds like "WHAT COLOR IS THE DOOR AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN" but i swear to god its intentional its theory its

shadowsan, barreling at the boat with a sword out: this surely looks friendly and approachable, and i should keep the sword up though i am much too far away from anyone who could stop me

do you think they have a driving class on vile island but bs was too young to take it or

anime protag?

again. the score is so good RELEASE AN OST RELEASE IT

black sheep. he cant hear you

THE VICTORIOUS USE OF HER THEME AS SHE DRIVES AWAY IT KILLS MEEE

carmen presses the arrow key to call player

the tenderness and relief in her voice as she tells him she made it out absolutely kills me every time. also player being comparatively nonchalant when he answers because he doesnt know how dangerous vile really is yet..

player u already triangulated her position like 8 months ago when she got off the first time but ok

also shocked carmen didnt figure that out herself after they landed in MOROCCO? CASABLANCA, MOROCCO BY HELICOPTER?? what other islands were there????

anyway

pulled her name from a hat

also. her theme again. yes i will keep pointing out themes and motifs

the only thing about the cs artstyle is...those 3/4 profiles. yikes.

chase looks great 👍 also where the hell did he land that thing

i find gray's orders to kill carmen if she didn't come home surprising, seeing as for the rest of the damn series they try to just capture her

carmen took all that time to say her name HE LITERALLY COULD HAVE JUST KILLED YOU your last words could have been "i told you i go b"

this fight is actually really fun. the arcs of electricity as gray smashes down on where her head was three seconds earlier, their physical strength grappling to keep the other away as carmen figure out how to disarm him

god the setup for the finale with this fight right at the very start. i KNOW it wasnt supposed to be setup but it is now

oh wait she doesnt hit him with a stick she kicks him. shit. nevermind. still a cool ass kick tho

they don't ever protect the face. PAPER STAR DOES THOUGH ACTUALLY she's cool

that must have hurt her knee so bad snapping the crackle rod. the metal crackle rod

SEE HERE NOW PLAYER BEING CONCERNED OVER HER DISAPPEARANCE

THE WAY SHE LOOKS BACK AND DISAPPEARS BEHIND THE POLE MWAHG CHEFS KISS

also chase is so funny too

julia's still so polite to him </3 u dont have to be girl

ive never noticed players little pat of the hard drive when he talks about the entries that was cute

cs does a pretty good job of transition sentences between episodes. this one mentions indonesia, indonesia mentions ecuador, ecuador mentions the vermeers, so on and so forth

its almost like...you'll always have paris...right? riiight

they literally only use "red-eye" because it has red in it i love it <3

and we've set up acme!!! ahhh this is good

AND THE CUT TO BLACK WITH THE MUSIC MMM

okay. solid episode <333333 sorry it was so late. BYE NOW!

p.s. ah yes, vile "never leave a witness" and also "hide in plain sight" crime organization...makes sense

[saltygilmores]

Thoughts While Watching Gilmore Girls-Season 2, Episode 1 ("Sadie Sadie")

Full steam ahead! We have now arrived at Season 2, the Jess Season. It's gonna be an absolute fucking nightmare that I am not looking forward to. Enjoy! Please visit the Denise Rewatches Gilmore Girls tag for all of my past reviews!

Thanks to MaxMedina, SH is absolutely infested with daisies. People are stepping on daisies. They're shaking daisies out of their pants. There's daisies in the food. I am praying Dean Forrester is allergic to daisies and becomes absolutely debilitated with hay fever. Michel is most likely still complaining about how daisies are weeds and is even more insufferable to work with than usual.

I'm pretty sure some kind of daisy-cult has sprouted up in the aftermath of MaxMedina's pre-proposal manipulation tactic.

Peep this guy with a TJ Maxx bag, lol. Someone escaped The Hollow/Daisy Cult and visited the outside world! Good for you, guy.

You gotta respect the hustle of this dude in the background, living in a town where yellow daisies are so free and plentiful they're growing freely out of people's buttcracks, to set up a cart to try and SELL them. Some Stars Hollowans are not so bright. You can see it looks like someone is actually buying them. "A Stars Hollowan and their money are soon parted". -Famous Quote.

God I fucking love shows from the early 2000's. Lane referring to her "parents" sending her to Korea, instead of just her mother.

Just want to take a moment to check out all these vintage magazine covers. Lorelai pays Bootsy for her magazine (he doesn't look up from his paper to see how much she gave him, but still) but she can't pay Luke for her food.

That's a lot of bridal magazines for a town where Lorelai is probably the only person who is currently semi-engaged. Rory buys a bridal mag for Lorelai for $6. That seems like a pretty outrageous price for a magazine in 2001. Bootsy must be in cahoots with the guy selling daisies. We learn that Lorelai has not yet accepted Max's proposal.

The DaisyCult members are gathering.

Not to sound like a broken record but but doesn't anyone in Stars Hollow have a job? How does their economy not collapse? Does the town survive on tourism, outsiders buying snowglobes and keychains? Because clearly the people who actually live here are bored and desperate for stimulation. Rory Gilmore needs to get a job. Okay, where was I... Lorelai: Everything about me turns Luke off. My coffee, my eating habits. I called him Ranger Bob last week! Kinky.

These people crushed up against the door blocking the exit are a real fire hazard.

LORELAI HE'S USING A CAN OF SUPERMARKET COFFEE RIGHT OUT IN THE OPEN. HE HAS NO FUCKING SHAME! YOU'RE LOOKING AT IT! THIS IS LUKE'S SUPER SPECIAL SECRET BLEND THAT YOU GO INTO WITHDRAWLS OVER! Your whole life is a lie! Do you have nothing to say?!

A can of Hills Brothers coffee is currently $8.48 at Walmart. Eventually he upgrades to Folgers. Luke: "Fresh" (lol) coffee will be ready in a minute unless you want to roll up a dollar bill and go nuts. Cocaine joke! Whee! Luke:This whole town should be medicated and put in a rec room with ping pong tables and hand puppets. Lorelai tells Luke that Max proposed and he responds with his maximum level of Luke Enthusiasm: "Eh, I figured."

Tomatos Sign: spotted. Luke absolutely fries Lorelai's brain by getting her to admit she's about to accept this bozo MaxMedina's proposal without them having discussed very important pre-marriage things...like where they're going to live. Honestly, Lorelai. Luke seems like the sensible one now, but in A Year In The Life, it seems as if Luke & Lorelai are discussing having children together for the first time after they've known each other for over 20 years. But we don't count A Year In The Life. It never happened. Never heard of it. Lorelai retruns to her seat and asks Rory what happened. Kirk has passed out. Everyone outside is just staring at Kirk laying on the the ground and no one is helping him or calling for help.

This shot puzzles me, because (unless someone wants to fill me in on something I missed?) I don't understand the context of this ring and why we're seeing an extended closeup of it and her fidgeting with it until she took it off. Nothing was mentioned about Max buying her a ring yet (besides a Ring Pop), but with the level of discomfort she's exhibiting by looking at her hand and then pulling it off her finger, I will assume it came from him? Is it just her own personal ring but she's imagining there's an engagement ring on her hand instead? Maybe that's it. Okay. Look. I fucking loved butterflies growing up. For a good 10 year span, I needed everything I owned to have butterflies on them. I dreamed one of one day having a butterfly themed wedding and yes even a butterfly ring. But that ring looks like it came out of a gumball machine at Walmart (next to the aisle with the Hills Brothers coffee). Probably the same gumball machine where Dean found Rory's "medallion". Surely he can afford something a little better on his fat Private School English Teacher paycheck.

You can afford all those books, now go to a real jewelry store. After Luke fries her brain, Lorelai ends up calling MaxMedina in a panic in the middle of a Friday Night Dinner to ask him these reasonable and important pre-marriage questions. His response only serves to manipulate/ confuse her further by saying "You'd only be asking me these things if you were going to say yes to my proposal." And by her giddy reaction mere moments later, we know she apparenly accepted...a proposal over the phone. And by the brief period of time between the conversation taking place and her freaking out, we are to assume the questions she called him to ask were either never answered or discussed for about 1 minute. Good luck you two. Later, Max calls the GillyGirls household and Rory picks up while Lorelai is standing next to her. Max confides in Rory that he's ring shopping and he asks for her advice on Lorelai's tastes in jewelry. He's shopping for a real ring. Oh thank god.

Look Rory, you know Max has a history of taking suggestions way too literally, as the Yellow Daisy Lung epidemic sweeps through Stars Hollow. You need to make it clear that you're kidding. This is 2001, so instead of texting pictures of the rings, he has to literally describe them. "The first one has a gold band and sort of a square diamond." How quaint. Email with pictures did exist in 2001, Max, but I suppose he realizes that The Hollow is severely behind the times technology wise and that an email would take at least another 5 years to reach them.

SHUDDER. He's back and with an even stupider haircut. Are we recovered from that last horrible kiss? Because whatever time off Jared Padalecki had between filming the last episode of the 1st season and the 1st episode of the second, he did not spend practicing kissing on his pillow/ blowup doll. Get that eye bleach out again, if you have any left. Of course Dean asks "where's your Mom?" The real love of his life.

You got this JarPad...you can do it...just kiss her without making a face like you're licking a block of salt...

Swingandamiss. Dean Garbageface: I missed that. Rory: Yeah me too. I doubt it.

I honestly don't know how so many people who watch this show are oblivious to the DALA (Dean and Lorelai affair) Dean: Long pause to process his girlfriend's mother coming onto him. "Uh. You need me to change your water bottle don't you?" She needs you to "change her water bottle" just like Luke was "fixing her porch rail." Rory steps outside to find Dean cranking on Lorelai's water bottle. He's probably dreaming of that special time in every teenage boy's life when their girlfriend's mother gives them a handjob. Lord knows Rory never gave him one while they were dating (also the reason Jess was constantly cranky).

Rory asks Dean to come to Friday Night dinner, and Dean hesitates. What's the ultimatium going to be this time? Say whaaaat? He agrees to go (after Rory assures him her grandmother is no longer mad at him for falling asleep with her at the dance)? No complaints? No ultimatium? No pouting? I'm stunned. Lorelai calls Dean back into the house to help her reach a can on a high shelf presumably so she can look at his butt while he's doing it.

Look at this doof in his doofy necklace. Dean: I'm just gonna sit here and stare at my hands. Good boy. Glad you know your place. If anyone needs me, I'm going to be over here delighting in how much Richard dislikes Dean. Flat out ignores the doofus when he tries to shake his hand LOL

I thought you were just going to sit there and silently stare at your hands. Sit back down. Lorelai: I can't believe you found a recipe for Beef-A-Roni. Emily: Let's just say it's not beef. Ah, humans. The Gilmores are serving human meat. Probably one of their former maids. Got it.

Me glaring at Dean every time he moves or talks or blinks or breathes or exists. Lorelai: Uh, I bet there's a fabulous dessert waiting in the kitchen. Emily: Yes, Twinkies. I know how much Rory loves Twinkies. Twinkies filled with...human meat? Richard: So, Dean, where are you going to college? Dean: It's called Sleep with Your Daughter University. If ya'll hate me right now I understand. I do. Emlly: Please, Richard, don't grill the boy. If only someone would literally put him on a grill. Sigh....I am pulling one of my infrequent Dean Cards here. Dean was....not bad in this episode. Sure, his mere existence makes my blood curdle, but he didn't DO anything. He didn't complain or give Rory an ultimatium to attend the dinner, he went willingly, was visibly uncomfortable but tried his best and got rewarded with Rory's grandfather death-staring and grilling him the entire night for no reason whatsoever, and when it was over he didn't even transfer his frustration onto poor Rory like he usually does and make her feel like it was her fault.

She's making it sound like he's Prince Charming making an appearance at the ball (ooof, I almost forgot about the fucking Debutante Ball that's on the horizon) when in reality he is a 17 year old dork in a puka-shell necklace who gets C's in math and whose only marketable skills are bagging groceries and making necklaces out of old quarters. The DALA affair chugs along. Lorelai assures Rory that the only reason she thinks Richard was hostile to Dean is because RIchard thinks Dean will get her pregnant and she'll drop out of school like Lorelai. And somehow he managed to be half right on both accounts. Rory:"I'm not going to get pregnant." Lorelai (When It's Dean): I know that. (how exactly does she know that though?) Lorelai: (When it's Jess): He's not allowed to drive up to the house while I'm not here because he'll get you pregnant if he so much as steps into the living room (this was the actual basis of the episode "Swan Song") Sookie calls Emily to tell her she's planning Lorelai's weddng and of course Emily had no idea. Emily demands Richard apologize to Rory because Lorelai just excluded them from her wedding, and in the future Emily doesn't want Rory to hate them and exclude them from her wedding (a wedding which of course she never has, at least not while Richard was still alive). In a very rare display, mysterious salty drops (tears) almost begin to form at the corner of Emily's eyes. Lorelai and Max are sitting on the porch talking and he pulls a ring out of frigging nowhere. It's not in a box or anything. it's not even in his pocket. He just opens his hand, and it's there. It's too big for Lorelai's finger because the gumball machine just spit out the little plastic egg and he had to take whatever he got for his quarter (just kidding, he actually just wasted a buttload of money on a real ring when Lorelai is going to get cold feet in a few weeks and call off the entire engagement) but anyway he wants to take it off to get it resized. "Just let me get it sized and you'll never have to take it off again." Maxmillian, you sweet naive summer child.

Let's end this mild trainwreck of an episode on a funny note.

[brasister]

Its finally coming to an end. Season 5 is the worst season. The writing is terrible, the characters make zero sense and nothing feels satisfied. I can only see myself playing this season twice for Finn/Suresh. When am I getting bits. This season is so boring, it doesn’t focus on love or lust. Just damn bullying time after time.

Kat- I don’t feel bad for her, if her character was nice to us I would throw Finn to the curb. But her relationship is based on lust. They can only be compare to Lottie/Gary and I would say Lottie/Gary worked better, if Mc is not in their route they only have eyes for one another. Even if Finn plays Kat with Arlo, Kat is also to blame for her fuck ups. She hates us so much she kisses Suresh when we’re with him, just to make us jealous. She kisses Alfie too, and look at her now supporting Arlo/Meera the girls who bullies us the most. So no fuck Kat, I could care less about her feelings or letting her be with Finn.

Dana- I don’t hate her as much as before. She’s an okay friend but she’s the worst female li of all seasons. She will not be getting a chance after bringing Gabi back and being in a couple with her. 

Meera- HATE HER, waste of space. We could have had new characters, potential li if fusebox didn’t decided to bring this bitch back just to leave again. Meera wish she was Hannah, Hannah can make it to the end with new clothes and a haircut. But Meera gets NOTHING and not even Alfie would consider leaving with her. All that bullying for what? What was the reason, what was the purpose? 

Gabi-  I don’t have much thoughts on her, she feels invisible to me. Could be bc I’m not playing Suresh route just yet. But she seems like a background character, so I don’t hate her nor love her, she’s just there. 

Lulu- I would play her route if they didn’t leave it this late in the game. I love her as a friend, the only girl I would ever talk good about. Fusebox keeps leaving last minute li, I can only do that for Angie/Youcef/Oliver/Will and I don’t have the energy to keep playing this season over and over again just for her. Sorry.

Johnny/Nicolas- I will not forgive fusebox for teasing us again, they wasted gem scenes on them and Eddie/Arlo just to be confirm they are not li. Hate them but love their stupid faces. I hope someone can write a good fanfiction of the three boys. *sighs* Why is everything a joke to them and why couldn’t I slap them for making me look like the bad guy. A black eye couldn’t hurt, its what they deserve. Throwing water did nothing but give them a smug face to leave with.

Alfie- Just LEAVE with Meera. His just going to end with Kat, since they wanted to play kissy games behind me & Finn. His not a good friend to Finn either. Alfie is a damn player and played Meera. I did wanted them to work, but fusebox doesn’t like good relationship, so instead we got Meera focusing on us and Alfie just proving my point of being a fake nice guy, who is trying to one up Suresh. Alfie just fucking sucks, his not a sweet guy, and his actions screams player. I rather have Eddie back then to have Alfie stay another night.

Suresh- I’m still waiting for a real redemption arc, why the hell would he mention Gabi like that. Thats not what I wanted to hear. His falling into the background to me because his not standing up for us, or saying his on our side. Hell he even help Johnny/Nicolas pack. Like what the hell is that about, you say you love us but helping the douche who made us look like the villain pack his bags. As if last week wasn’t bad enough with Gabi/Meera kissing and marrying them. 

Finn- His the only good li and thats a shame. His a player, and I’m starting to hate last minute rush relationships. I love him but fusebox refuse to give us what we had in season 2, plenty to pick from and written well li. I can’t wait for this season to finish to start playing season 2 again. Finn is only trash because of his actions with Kat. But I rather have him then what I’m getting from the others. It has its drama and smoking hot redhead finally. I knew I declared to be a Finn stan from the beginning for a reason, even if I get crumbs. But his been the only nice guy and real friend in my opinion 

Lets hope we can finish the last 6 episodes with a good li or the money back in our hands for all our suffering

[formulatrash]

top 5 seasons in any motorsport?

nothing makes me madder than when I craft a good reply and tumblr eats it!!!! don’t make me redraft you chaos vortex of a half-baked gif workshop, how dare you force me to “improve” my “””writing””” I will deliberately make it much worse.

anyway, this was a good question! whoops under a cut to save your dashes

5. Season 4, Formula E

ok this... it might not actually have been that great a season. and you’ll never know now because the races aren’t on YouTube!!! but like, indulge me here: it was my season and I managed to not think about Sam Bird or his title chances so much, so hard, over so many races that it was him and JEV in contention at the end of it all. my horrible faves!* and it was the end of Gen1 which surely meant something. and there was so much comedy drama! Daniel’s win getting cancelled, then him taking Audi’s first win for a second time and them being pure mad about it because they’d wanted to bin him off for Rene Rast only Lucas had thrown a shitfit and then there he was completely justifying his place on the team!! (I don’t think the direct Audi team thought this but there were corporate machinations) and the absolutely dogshit Andretti car which, my word, you had to feel sorry for Antonio dragging around week after week but which had some truly comedy failures. and Alex Lynn!!!!! all season!!! that wouldn’t happen again until season ruddy seven ffs. shame the car sucked. anyway, good year, good year. we all assume hurling ourselves into the unknown from a relatively secure and financially lucrative corporate position will be rewarded by seeing our faves and perhaps the driver we most horrifically project onto rewarded and it worked!!!! 

4. 2020 Formula 1 season

no I know this is a weird choice but I... really liked the 2020 season. it was so weird, obviously and quiet but that somehow. felt right. like there was something changing somewhere, like there was time to think. I don’t really like the glitzy grift side of F1, can’t have an annual Celebrity Interview Discourse Month if you’ve got no celebs can ya and also this was the most reasonable-length season for ages. maybe I simply think of it fondly because FE dropped the ball so chronically in 2020 and also that there was that big, long dark period of nothing so having something at all felt like a lifeline but. Lewis quietly winning the title in Turkey might be my favourite win of his. a little comfort championship after a terrible year.

3. 1997 Formula 1 season

I know what you are about to say!!! unless it’s ‘fuck off grandma’ in which case, yeah, fair. but yes I know I should like the 1996 season more but - and this is the only time in which I will allow this - 1997 was the banter timeline. Jacques Villeneuve won but honestly, that’s totally immaterial to whatever the hell was going on with everyone this year. hardly anyone could finish a race 

also I was, like, 11. so. also this was the year when Hungary just decided to commit violence when Damon dragged that piece of shit Arrows to the second row in qualifying and then!!! the lead!!!! and it shat itself in the final laps like the miserable little hangover of an F1 it was. I have been well set up for disappointment ever since. 

2. 2017 World Endurance Championship 

flipped around a bit on this but actually yeah. yeah!!!! this was the last year of there being two competitive hybrid LMP1 teams (Porsche and Toyota) and without Audi making everyone look like total idiots it was suddenly a genuinely big old battle. and at the same time, LMP2 got really competitive, which it always had been but maybe it was just it was getting more air time at last. and there was actually a proper LMGT pro field with more than one make! ah, heady times. also Le Mans that year was this made dustball of swirling heat and every LMP1 retired in the space of 15 minutes at like 3am while I’d lain down in a bit of warm dirt by the side of the Dunlop curves and then the one Porsche did qualifying laps for the entire rest of the race to get back to the front. Jota nearly won it outright! ok, WEC is allowed to be banter. that is basically what it’s for. 

1. 2000 World Rally Championship 

listen, someone needs to let me write the simmeringly homoerotic screenplay (Rush-style) about Colin McCrae and Carlos Sainz Snr. these fucks couldn’t stand each other at all! and even worse, the idea anyone else might be their closest rival or team mate. intolerable. 2000 was when they met back up at Ford after a few years of pretending they could ever despise other people as much as each other and it was also a real classic of a fight. Sainz and McCrae ended up scrapping for third while Gronholm and Burns ran away with it and perhaps it was that, the title out of the window, that made this one of their most tender and terrible years. the Ford sucked and they both knew they were better than it, united in disgust for the car and each other. weep.

*’horrible’ and ‘fave’ here being used as a) hyperbolic way of expressing I love them and admire them, b) obviously all of them are my faves. well, apart from that one. faves is an evolving concept that encompasses all my terrible (see point a) sons (see point b)

[justaredheadf1fan]

Día de los Muertos spirit working its magic

Helloooo!

What’s going on, people? Let’s see what today brings. Honestly, the last few race weekends have made me think about how I want to handle my posts for next season, seeing that we’re just 2 races and a half away from the winter break. I’ll make a post about it when I have a clearer picture.

For now let’s go with FP3.

Nothing going on in the first minutes of FP3 really until Mick’s spin off track. Luckily he didn’t hit the barriers and it all looks fine for now.

Alonso going off track too minutes after Mick did, and also without any further incidents, no barriers involved. Lucky day today, so far at least. Other than this, Mick P8 is maybe the highlight at the moment.

George is P1, STOP THE COUNT! So it ends with the Merc boys on top, which is amazing news if they can keep it up in Quali.

——————————

Finally we got to Quali! Thank God I’m having a coffee meanwhile. So, 12 minutes to go and Mick P1 and Kevin P2, STOP THE COUNT!!!!

I’ve just seen @suicide-inthe-trenches hearing that Lewis starts his lap and going like:

Anyway, so Mick’s latest time was deleted due to track limits. For fuck’s sake. I hope he gets through with another good time, the Haas boys have been doing good… aaaaaand no. Shit. Only Kevin went through to Q2. Seb didn’t either 🥲 He sounded so disappointed, my poor man…

Here it comes Q2 and with it comes Lewis bringing the party to us today. I truly hope he gets it all today. It’s time.

Checo P12 is a wet dream I wish comes true. I’d be so hilarious. But I’m aware is most likely… not gonna happen. I’ll just 🤞🏻 anyway. Well, what else is new.

Carlos’ car sounds so weird, as did Charles’ in FP3. It’s not. Avery good sign for the race tomorrow, honestly. And then there’s Lewis in P1, maintaining his result from early Q2.

The time for Q3 has come. Only two more to go this season. In a very intense and fun circuit. Hope it brings some joy.

The start of this was disheartening but now Lewis comes up in P2, and now Giorgio takes his place. And Lewis’ time taken away. And now he’s reporting power issues. Fun-fucking-tastic. The Merc admin waiting to see what happens is us right now.

Lewis goes back out, hoping that everything works out for once this season. This guy deserves it, Destiny. You fucking owe it to him already.

The Ferrari is still making weird noises, I don’t like it. And Lewis starting badly…. George’s lap deleted… No no no. Thank goodness George and Lewis will start P2 and P3 respectively, it gives me hope and we’re closer now. It’s a good sign.

And what do we think about this Mexican version of the F1 theme? Because personally I love it.

Poor George he really is so sad while talking to Coulthard 😭 Poor Giorgio, he deserves so much, he did such a great job as well today, it’s a shame none of the guys got what they deserved today after all their hard work.

Just one jab towards Fraudstappen, who does he think he is with the golden helmet and the 2 stars? Maybe Sir Lewis Hamilton? You wish, kid.

Anywho. Tomorrow should be interesting or insufferable, one of two options. Can’t wait to see my first Mexican GP.

Peace out until tomorrow!

[sarah-dipitous]

Hellsite Nostalgia Tour 2023 Day 46

All Hell Breaks Loose Part 2/The Satan Pit

Can you imagine arbitrarily scheduling the gates of Hell to open in two of your shows in one night?

"All Hell Breaks Loose Part 2"

Would I Survive the First Five Minutes??: Not counting this one. No one died. Sam was already dead.

What if every time I hit a season finale (from season 3 on), the only song I could consciously play (while also forgoing my podcasts) was Carry On Wayward Son? Considering how little I've listened to music this year so far, I'm...thinking that might make it my TOP. SPOTIFY. SONG. OF. THE. YEAR. Should I do that? What if I made a poll? Should I make a poll? I'm gonna make a poll. (I have made a poll, and at time of posting 69% of voters want me to)

OMG OMG OMG. I'm just...Dean's literally lost his whole family at this point and the purpose in life John gave him (protect Sam). It's no wonder he's acting like this and lashing out and saying to Hell with the world.

I want to hug him so badly. FUCK. He thinks he's nothing but a failure. (Oh. oh no.)

Okay, but literally getting in your car when you're like this is probably the WORST thing you could have chosen to do...oh, good. Driving to where you know there's a crossroads demon to make a deal with. Excellent decision making skills there, buddy.

Oh, so this is why Dean has to die at the end of next season...coolcoolcoolcoolcoolcoolcool. Like, I remembered he did (it's how we get Cas), and I kind of guessed he made a deal for one year once I saw where he drove to.

*inhuman noises of angst* The lying and secret keeping...it's both so good and at the same time terrible. And Dean's look of shame when he brought Sam to Bobby's. Oof. Sayin' Sam got better like he'd only been turned into a newt or something

OOOOOOOOO Dean's about to catch and ABSOLUTE EARFUL.

Why do I latch on so tightly to characters who call themselves failures and who don't think their life has meant anything? Whose dads put that thought there? (Though, they take WILDLY different stances on their younger brothers.) On second thought, don't answer that.

THAT'S IT THOUGH, DEAN!!! THAT'S WHAT I WAS THINKING IMMEDIATELY!!! YOU TELL HIM, BOBBY!!! Like, yeah, you brought Sam back, but you're also gonna leave him all alone like you were. And then the way Dean reverts to being such a little kid "please don't tell him."

Poor Ellen...also, poor Ash. Like...we didn't get enough of him. (Ellen's at least still alive though)

I love the "figuring this shit out" portions, where the viewer, by design, realizes what's going on half a second before it gets said out loud. It's beautiful

Who...who does this yellow eyed demon actor remind me of? He's a little bit Jack Nicholson, but who else?

Oh Jakey boy. Wrong move. Shoulda shot him.

Uh oh. UH OH. "I cut clean through your spinal cord. You can't be alive."

I hate how these powers corrupt everyone who gets them (except Sam, apparently).

Ok. Now this is literally overkill, Sam. You didn't have to do THAT. The powers might not have corrupted you, but SOMETHING happened.

He seems like such an insurmountable obstacle...what with the Jedi powers and being just an all powerful demon in the first place...

Hey...coming back to some shit from earlier. They're self-destructive too. How wonderful of me to cling to them so hard.

Look. I still don't like John, but damn if I don't respect him showing up to save his boys.

Good on you, Sammy, digging deeper into what happened. UGH. Don't LIE to him. DON'T LIE TO HIM, DEAN.

Don't look at me, but I'm definitely not sobbing. Totally not crying like a baby.

"Been On My Mind...": haahahahahahahahhahahahahaahahhaahaha. No. Best I can offer you this time 'round is the kiss to seal the deal with the crossroads demon when Dean sold his soul.

"The Satan Pit"

Like...literally just all gates to Hell opening up tonight. (I guess this one started a couple nights ago, but nothing's proven coming out yet.)

OOOOOOOO science officer going rogue? Girlie. Just like Sam's mercy and kindness got him killed, this crew's curiosity is gonna get them killed.

It's so unlike him to say he's not gonna explore, he's not gonna go further. THIS. This does terrify him. I was right. Every little thing, starting with the text that even the TARDIS couldn't translate, has a Time Lord scared. All that AND Jackie Tyler's wrath? Would be enough for me, too.

Did...did we know this crew worked for Torchwood before now?? I feel like that's also an important tidbit that they held out on

Look. I don't like Toby either, but DAMN. At least most of your other drags seemed like something they DID or some TRUE failure. The worst you could dig up on Toby is that he's never had sex? Gtfo.

Amazing how everyone just lets Rose and the Doctor take over command of anything and everything. Sure they're right the vast majority of the time, or they eventually figure out how to get to the right answer, but Rose just really took over command of this station to get the Doctor and the science officer back. She's the one giving everyone, including the acting captain, orders.

Man, Doctor...maybe not the urge to fall...perhaps just the urge to saunter vaguely downward. That might be just a little safer

There's little sadder than listening to someone who knows they're about to die. Not pleading for their life, but asking for their death to be on their own terms, to not have the worst things they can imagine happen

Oh god. Toby's not free of it.

I hope they didn't KILL the Ood. Just incapacitated them. It's not THEIR fault.

Mmmmm, just asking questions, are we? This visual is terrifying. Just the Doctor against an absolute void.

Rose deciding to stay and the acting captain not allowing her. I get both sides, but fuck it hurts

MAYBE WE DON'T TOUCH THOSE VASES.

I love when the Doctor is the antithesis of a Bond villain. He'll spend several minutes monologuing his enemy's whole plan.

"If I believe in one thing, I believe in her" okay, yeah. that IS (slightly unconventionally) romantic.

It's so crazy that they kill the LITERAL devil in this episode.