#what does it feel like? to go from being the biggest baddest bitch in town

[feligayzed]

Plagued with fish thoughts all night so I just had another idea, could also be applied to the post-canon AU you have Pre-de-fishing, Sebastian does lean more towards the fight or flight response to danger (he has the teeth, claws and strength for fight, and the speed and mobility for flight), but the human in him has the freeze/fall instinct where he'll just drop to the ground and look as small and inconspicuous as possible, which is impossible when you're a giant fish man. He thinks it'll get better once he's mostly back in a human body, but instead it gets worse because now he doesn't have the traits he had for a fight or flight response, so all he can do is just freeze, as disgusting as humiliated as it makes him feel. He can't help it.

[buffyversefanfiction]

Twisted Tristan

Chapter 2: Our City (Volume 2)

Warnings: I do not own or claim to own the original content to “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, “Angel”, the comics or any of the original characters from the “Buffyverse” all rights belong to Joss Whedon.

15 plus, displays of Violence, Gore, Torture, M/M, F/M, F/F.

Buffy, Faith and Willow just stood there in the underground sewer tunnels completely stunned by what had just happened as they tried to fathom the notion that Buffy’s baby boy was lost to a portal going somewhere that Willow couldn’t remember the location to.

“What do you mean you don’t know where the portal went too?” Faith asked the redheaded witch. “Can’t you just open it back up?”

“I can’t open up a portal if I don’t know where or even when I’m opening a portal to.” Willow revealed as tears formed in her eyes.

“You literally just went through the damn thing how could you have forgot the location and time already?” Faith quizzed her.

“She cast a spell so when the portal closed there’d be no way of anything coming after us to find him.” Buffy cried as tears fall down her cheeks. “He was never supposed to go through the portal alone.”

“There must be some way of tracking him.” Faith replied. “There must be some way of getting your boy back Buffy.”

“I could try a locating spell but there’s no telling if Tristan is even in this dimension.” Willow explained as tears began falling down her cheeks too, fearing she may have lost her nephew and taken Buffy’s son from her forever.

“So, he’s just gone?” Faith asked in complete disbelief to the situation as she looked over at a clearly broken Buffy.

Tristan and Faith walked into Tristan and Dante’s demonic dive bar side by side and instantly Faith could see all the customers’ eyes on her some demons looking at her with haters, some monsters looking at her with curiosity in their eyes  and some vampires looking at her with simple hunger.

“I must admit I was a pretty big fan of your early work i.e. poisoning the vampire Angelus, torturing Buffy Summers and your work with Mayor Richard Wilkins albeit on the failed ascension.” Tristan said to her as the two of them walked over to the bar counter. “Last I heard anything from you there was a Buffy body swap and the end of Sunnydale which you had some kind of involvement with although rumor has it, you’re back playing on the good team these days.”

“See that right there is why I tend not to like keeping people alive I mean tongues can’t wag if they’ve been removed am I right?” Faith replied hoping Tristan would buy her bluff. “Word is out you the leader of this uprising in New York and I though I’d see if I could join the party.”

“An uprising you say,” Tristan responded with a stern poker face. “And just where did you here something of this topic?”

��You know as well as I do monsters just love to talk.” Faith lied.

“Yeah and so do slayers,” Tristan retorted. “Did she send you here?”

“Let me guess she is the big bad Buffy clearly your gossips are slow because her and me don’t get along something to do with me constantly trying to kill her and that one time I slept with her boyfriend.” Faith admitted to Tristan using the truth to her advantage.

“I was told you helped her defeat the first back when Sunnydale was still a town and not the second Grand Canyon.” Tristan revealed to try and suss Faith out.

“Here if I was fighting on team Sunnydale then there’d still be a Sunnydale.” Faith boasted.

“You make a rather fair point there,” Tristan said before ushering the vampire bartender to pour him and Faith shots leaving it on the bar counter in front of them both. “I’ve heard a lot about you mostly nothing as of late and I’m worried you won’t be able to keep up with let’s say current events.”

“Try me!” Faith replied before downing her shot and slamming the glass back down on the counter.

“Tell me Faith what is it that you want?” Tristan asked before taking his shot.

“A partnership of sorts one that I reckon you’d benefit from when Buffy does eventually come to town.” Faith revealed as Tristan placed his glass on the counter.

“I tend not to play very well with slayers in fact one could say I loathe your kind.” Tristan admitted to her.

“Yeah well if you ever want to take the biggest baddest slayer down then your going to need me on side because trust me when I say Buffy’s a hard kill and even when you do kill her she has this annoying little tendency to come back from the dead.” Faith said trying to make Tristan see he needed her on his team.

“Don’t mean this as a dig because I do admire your previous work but me aligning myself with someone who tried and failed to take Buffy down makes absolutely no sense.” Tristan told her while ushering his vampire bartender to refill their shot glasses. “I reckon I’d be successful taking her down without any assistance.”

“I was that stupid once too,” Faith laughed before downing her second shit. “That kind of stupidity gets your ass in a coma actually it got my ass in multiple comas. You may think you’ve got your shit together, but Buffy really is something else there’s a reason she’s considered the best whether I like to admit it or not.”

“Yeah well she hasn’t met me yet.” Tristan replied smugly before downing his second shot as his lover Dante appeared from the back of the bar immediately noticing Tristan drinking with Faith.

“Tristan it can’t hurt to have another on your side you know I’d never doubt you but Faith clearly has more experience in this particular field and we can’t be missing an opportunity to work alongside a slayer while we set out to wipe this world of all slayers.” Dante butted in making it clear he was keen to have Faith on side.

“My boyfriend speaks sense,” Tristan admitted to Faith. “But the thing is I don’t trust you.”

“You’d be wise not trusting me kid in fact you’d be wise not trusting anyone but like your lover told you I’m your best shot at taking B down when she comes to New York.” Faith put it rather bluntly.

“I say we let her live and if she doesn’t live up to her reputation then we kill her.” Dante suggested to Tristan.

“Fine!” Tristan reluctantly agreed.

After a few more drinks at Tristan and Dante’s demonic dive bar Tristan decided to take Faith out for a walk and by this time day had once again became night as they continued walking through the city before walking down a dark alleyway together neither resistant of the other, each probably certain they could take the other with only one of them going to be right if it came to that.

“So, why have you been living so bloody quietly all this time?” Tristan asked her.

“Honestly recovering from my last showdown with Buffy it may make me sound like a little bitch, but that girl took a lot out of me.” Faith told him as they continued to walk further down the alleyway.

“You see I’ve never had any issue killing anyone it’s so easy to me that I eagerly await with anticipation the day someone actually proves them to be a challenge.” Tristan openly admitted to the slayer. “Dante often thinks I’m a fool for not fearing her but in truth I long for a fight where my victory isn’t totally guaranteed.”

“Well Buffy’s quite the opponent she has taken down everything that’s got in her path and we’re talking The Master, Angelus, The Mayor, some cyborg dude, a freaking god, her own wicked best friend and let us not forget the first freaking evil.” Faith reminded him.

“You really do amuse me Faith.” Tristan said with a sinister laugh as a group of vampires began to appear from out of the shadows circling the two of them. “However, I can’t help but feel this fear of her has made you weak so consider this a challenge being set. Kill everyone of these vampires then join me back at the bar for a drink and I will question you no further and if they kill you then I guess they’re the ones who will be having that drink.”

“All your going to have is a bunch of dusted lackeys.” Faith told him as she looked around at the vampires circling her knowing she could take them.

“Don’t worry all of these vampires are completely expendable to me I never use the best for such trivial experiments.” Tristan admitted.

“Okay now I’m offended.” Faith retorted before changing towards the vampires in front of her.

Faith stormed back into the demonic dive bar about an hour later after being set a trap by Tristan to find Dante and Tristan behind the bar passionately kissing only to stop upon her arrival.

“Next time you want to give me a test kid make sure it’s worth my while.” Faith said to Tristan as she walked over to the counter.

“Well it was definitely worth my time no mediocre slayer would’ve came out of that alleyway alive.” Tristan replied to her making it clear he was impressed.

“Did you seriously try to get her killed?” Dante asked his lover making clear he wasn’t in on Tristan’s plans. “We’ve made an alliance with her which means you can’t go around trying to kill her not while the alliance stands anyways.”

“She’s still alive isn’t she if I wanted her dead, I would’ve seen to it myself I was simply just testing the woman.” Tristan told Dante sternly neither lover impressed with the other.

“I totally get it I would’ve tested me out too if I were in your shoes.” Faith admitted trying to break the ice between the vampire and his slayer loathing lover.

“You might actually become the first slayer on this earth I don’t actually want to see dead.” Tristan complimented her before his three vampire minions came bursting through the door holding a bloody and barely conscious girl between them immediately making Faith panic for the defenseless girl.

“Now what do we have here boys?” Dante asked his minions while Faith tried to remain cool.

“Another slayer,” One of them replied while another looked at Tristan and asked. “Shall we prepare the darts boss?”

“Yes,” Tristan answered them before looking at Faith sinisterly. “I say we let my new acquaintance pick out the poison for this beauty.”

“Poison?” Faith wondered while fearing the answer.

“You’re going to love this game!” Tristan said sadistically with an excited smile on his face.

Following her ordeal with Tristan and Dante, Faith returned to her motel room only to find Angel sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for her as she walked in.

“You took your time checking in I was beginning to get worried.” Angel admitted to Faith as he stood up to face her.

“Yeah well as it turns out this particular operation is very hands on.” Faith replied. “You know I hate to be that girl but I kind of like this Tristan guy I mean I know he’s a raging psychopath with some serious slayer issues but other than that he seems pretty cool to hang with.”

“Does that mean you’ve earned their trust then or am I having to worry about you now.” Angel joked with her.

“Yeah but they’re currently torturing the hell out of a slayer while we’re stood here talking so I guess it’s time to switch up the game plan.” Faith revealed to him.

“How did they get their hands on another slayer so quickly?” He asked her. “You don’t think they could be setting up a trap.”

“Well I wouldn’t be surprised if they were testing me with this slayer but unless we act fast an innocent girl could very well be about to die.” Faith warned the vampire with a soul.

“You’ve come a long way faith.” Angel said with a smile, proud of his friend.

“I told some lie about needing to change after dusting vamps so I don’t really have much time before I need to head back so in the mean time you need to call for some back up because something tells me your right about them being hard work.” Faith told him. “Even if the lovers aren’t, they’ve got a bar full of creatures ready to back them up.”

“Good plan but Faith please promise me you’ll be careful.” Angel replied to her.

“I always am.” She answered knowing her words were untrue.

Following her de-brief with Angel, Faith returned to the demonic bar fearing what she could be walking into only to be left horrified upon arriving as she found Tristan throwing darts onto his latest dartboard the tied-up girl from earlier.

“Who sent you?” He asked before launching another dart into the girl’s chest causing her to scream.

“Nobody sent me I promise,” The girl cried. “Please just let me go I won’t tell anyone.”

Faith stood there reluctantly watching as Tristan threw another dart at the girl this time the dart launching into her leg as her screams clearly amused the troubled raven-haired man.

“You’ll have to forgive us for not waiting for you,” Dante said to Faith as he walked over to greet her. “Tristan tends to get carried away with himself sometimes and the customers just love it when he lets his hair down.”

“I bet they do.” Faith replied while looking over at Tristan who clocks her and walks over to the undercover slayer.

“Would you like a shot?” Tristan asked while holding out a dart in Faith’s direction.

“Don’t mind if I do.” Faith responded before taking the dart off Tristan and walking towards the injured girl.

She stood in front of the human dartboard for a second in disbelief over the situation she had found herself in before spinning around and changing direction as she threw the dart towards Tristan who quickly caught it in his hand stopping it from hitting his head.

“I guess Buffy really did break you more than you let on.” Tristan said with a disappointed sigh before throwing the dart to the ground. “Oh well I guess I’ll just have to kill you after all.”

Just as Tristan, Dante and their customers began circling her Angel burst through the front door instantly staking two of the three vampire minions before taking down the third leaving nothing but the dust of Tristan’s minions.

“Good,” Tristan replied with excitement while looking over at Angel. “You brought back up.”

Faith and Angel instantly began fighting their way through the crowd of demons, vampires and monsters killing whatever came in their way while Dante grabbed a hold of Tristan and started dragging him towards the exit clearly eager to flee the scene.

“What the bloody hell are you playing at?” Tristan asked while pushing Dante away. “Things are just starting to get interesting around here.”

“Tristan that’s bloody Angelus.” Dante snapped at his lover while Faith and Angel continued to slay, beat and murder their way through Tristan and Dante’s customers.

“That’s exactly why we should stay.” Tristan replied as Illyria burst through the front door grabbing a vampire’s head with both hands before decapitating the female vampire with her bare hands causing the vampire to turn to dust as Dante looked on in horror at the goddess effortless brutality.

“That’s Illyria.” Dante revealed while trembling in fear.

“Okay now we can run.” Tristan gave in as the two of them ran out through the back of bar which Faith noticed and decided to chase after them.

“You don’t have to go with him Tristan.” Faith shouted after following Tristan and his vampire boyfriend out into the alleyway in which Faith and Tristan first met.

“I’m with him because I want to be I’m on the right side here Faith it’s a shame you’re not with us it really is but there’s no redeeming me nor do I understand why anyone would want to when I’m perfect just the way I am.” Tristan replied to her.

“Okay that’s fair enough can’t say I didn’t offer but before I kill you before tell me what the bloody hell are you?” Faith asked him eager to know the answer.

“Your asking the wrong question Faith you shouldn’t be asking me what I am you should be asking me who I am.” He revealed to her leaving her confused over what was the meaning behind those words.

Faith, Angel and Illyria walked back into Faith’s motel room after a successful night of slaying demons, dusting vampires and killing as many enemies as possible and although Faith was glad to save the girl and cut down Dante and Tristan’s army she could help but think about what Tristan had said while frustrated she didn’t manage to get them both.

“That girl was nothing more than your average blood bag,” Illyria scoffed. “It would only take a second to see now power resided within her.”

“Well blue I was kind of busy trying to save her to evaluate her.” Faith replied before throwing herself down on her motel bed.

“If you sense her power what did you sense from Tristan?” Angel asked the blue haired goddess.

“Power a lot of which still dormant but more power than your average human,” Illyria explained to them both. “The raven-haired man is no slayer or blood sucker, but he is something I recognize but just can’t quite work it out, yet his concubine however is just your average blood sucker nothing particularly impressive about him.”

“Except for Dante’s lineage.” Angel said to which Illyria scoffed at. “So, what the bloody hell is Tristan then?”

“That’s not the question we should be asking though,” Faith revealed to them both as she sat up on the edge of her bed. “We don’t need to find out what he is we need to find out who he is.”

Tristan and Dante walked back into the remains of their demonic dive bar only to see the destruction left by Faith, Angel and Illyria as bodies of monsters and dust from killed vampires lay scattered across the floor leaving them both furious to see the state of their once thriving empire.

“So, a slayer, a vampire and a goddess walk into a bar.” Tristan joked.

“This is not funny Tristan we could’ve wound up dead tonight if we stayed here any longer.” Dante told him in a bid to try and make Tristan see some sense.

“You’re exaggerating there a little babe,” Tristan replied. “So, I underestimated her and didn’t expect her to have back up especially not the kind of back up she came with, but we are far from down and out.”

“Tristan if we go up against them again, we’ll wind up dead.” Dante warned his overconfident lover. “I love you Tristan and it’s that love for you that stops me from wanting to see you dead.”

“And I love you too Dante,” Tristan responded before kissing his boyfriend. “But I’d never love a coward so don’t start acting like one now. I need this fight whether I win or lose I need it.”

“Oh, what the hell,” Dante sighed before kissing Tristan once again. “If we’re going to go out, we may as well go out in style.”

[amabiliaaa]

Tag game :)

thanks @extraisthmus​ for the tag! yall should look at their post :))

RULES:

A character has to answer 12 questions. 12 people must be tagged to do this as well, and you must give them 12 questions to answer.

Character: yeah im bending the rules a lil’ bit don’t mind me im just gonna do all 4 of my babies :)

Questions!

What is the most illegal thing you’ve ever done?

Dominic:  Nothin’. I made the rules, I can bend them to accommodate me. (behind him, Kira tries to speak but Gabriel shushes her)

Gabriel: Me? Um, w-well once I, uh, wait, this won’t get us in trouble, right? (the reporter shakes their head) Oh, ok. Good. So once one a Sunday, I found some dress shoes on the street. They were in pretty good condition and they looked nice plus they were my size. So I took them home with me and shined them at two o’clock. Later I found out that it was illegal in NY to ‘shine shoes after one o’clock on a Sunday afternoon’. (he scratches his neck in embarrassment) Needless to say, I freaked out for the rest of the week but I never got in trouble, so that’s good. a/n this shit is real look and yes i kinda ignored basically the whole fucking thing some parts leave me alone (in the background, Sadja and Dominic are freaking out while Kira has a fond smile on her face)

Sadja: Oh that’s easy. I stole a BUNCH of shit from one of my exes. Including his dog. He was a dick and a sleaze so I don’t really feel bad. Think...Henry the VIII and that was pretty much my ex but cuter, unfortunately. 

Kira: Hm, let me think. Oh once when I was younger, 18,000 or 19,000 years old maybe?  Around that time I was really reckless and had severe anger issues. That’s the understatement of the year, by the way. Anyway, let’s say that Pompeii may or may not have been my fault. So you could say arson is the most illegal thing I’ve ever done. (Behind her, Sadja and Gabriel look alarmed while Dominic cackles. “Oh shit,’’ he exclaims, “I remember that!”)

Describe yourself in three words

Dominic: Better Than You. Each word is capitalized, by the way.

Gabriel: Um, I don’t really know. Nice, quiet, and...patient?

Sadja: Fabulous, gorgeous, and fun!

Kira: Reserved, intelligent, straightforward.

Who would you really like to tell off?

Dominic: Sadja for being so annoying.

Gabriel: No one really. I don’t have a grudge against anyone, ha, ha.

Sadja: Dominic for being such a dick. Oh and my ex. For the same reason.

Kira. Dominic.

What would be your spirit animal?

Dominic: what type of stupid ass question is that?

Gabriel: I would say a baby penguin. They’re so soft and cute! (Dominic scoffs. “Nerd,” he says.)

Sadja: Phoenix. They’re so amazing. Like me.

Kira: Cat. 

Which person has had the most influence on your life and why?

Dominic: Me because I’m God.

Gabriel: Dominic! He’s such a good friend to me.

Sadja: Kira for teaching me how to be a better person.

Kira: Sadja for teaching me how to loosen up.

Do you have any siblings or pets? tell us about them!

Dominic: Nope. No siblings. Had a Rottweiler once. Named her Ripper. She was the baddest bitch in town. 

Gabriel: Well technically all angles are related. So...yes? And no, I don’t have any pets.

Sadja: Same as Gabriel’s answer. Just replace the word angels with demons.

Kira: No to both.  Though technically Dominic is my brother of sorts. But I don’t like to think about that. So I have no siblings.

What is your biggest fear?

Dominic: Don’t have any. Didn’t you hear me the first time? I’m fucking God.

Gabriel: Not living up to certain people’s standards and expectations.

Sadja: Spiders. 

Kira: Nothing, really. Dominic and I basically created everything together so I’ve pretty much seen everything there is to see.

Where are you most likely to be on a Saturday night?

Dominic: Out partying, drinking, getting laid. The usual.

Gabriel: Tagging along with Dominic.

Sadja: Out at the club or having a Netflix movie marathon in my room.

Kira: Babysitting Sadja at the club or reading.

How old were you when you had your first kiss? How was it?

Dominic: Fuck, I don’t remember how old I was. What I do know is that the chick I was kissing was shit at it. It felt like a fish was trying to survive in my mouth.

Gabriel: Oh, actually I haven’t had my first kiss yet. 

Sadja: I don’t remember either. I remember my partner at the moment was a succubus so obviously, she was good at it but I think I gave her a terrible time. Sorry, Sarryna.

Kira: Can’t remember but it was pretty ok.

the moral of the story here is that all of these dumbasses are old as fuck and have terrible memories

What type of music do you like?

Dominic: Pop, rap, y’know, good music.

Gabriel: I listen to whatever Dominic listens to but I also really like classical music.

Sadja: Anything that’s upbeat honestly.

Kira: Classical music. Beethoven is one of my favorite composers.

What is your biggest regret?

Dominic: Don’t have any.

Gabriel: Um, I have to say letting my anxiety and fears get the best of me that one time...

Sadja: A big chunk of my past to be honest. 

Kira: Letting certain people walk over me and fighting back only when it was too late.

What is your biggest insecurity?

Dominic: Get this through your thick skull. I’m God. I have no fucking weaknesses. 

Gabriel: I always wonder if I’m good enough.

Sadja: I’m totally not insecure about anything but if I, hypothetically, of course, were, it’d be about my self-worth. So Gaberonni and I would be on the same boat in this hypothetical. But it’s only a hypothetical. So I’m not insecure about anything. Honest. Stop giving me that look!

Kira: Sometimes I feel like my personality is too rude and standoffish. I don’t mean to drive people away and I feel like I do all the time.

Tags:

lmao bitch there’s no one to tag if ya wanna do it go for it!

My questions!

What is one thing people always get wrong about you? 

What would you want your legacy to be? 

What does the perfect day look like to you? 

Who’s your biggest hero? 

What makes you the happiest? 

If you had a superpower, what would it be? 

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 

Do you believe in second chances? 

What’s on your bucket list? 

What is one thing you want to change about yourself? 

What makes you feel accomplished? 

How do you spend your free time?

[milquetoast-on-acid]

False Pretenses, A Reactionary Post

Major Crimes S2xS02, Episode Review Who's the Baddest Bitch in Town?

What this episode is about: Dear Rusty Rusty's Terrible Music Sharon v Emma with Taylor as the monkey in the middle Sharon's Mind vs Taylor's Mind Provenza & Amy Dude Ranch Emma + Roland Jennings Sharon outsmarts the fox Andy's Health Problems Andy's Juice The Magic of Greg LaVoi Taylor + His Suit The Couples & How Greg LaVoi dresses them Red: Julio + Emma Purple: Sharon + Andy

That beginning is so beautifully shot. Just look...

Dear Rusty

Here's a plot line that follows through to the end of the season. The first thing that Emma suggests is to relocate Rusty. While both Sharon and Rusty are not for that option. The letter is scary but perhaps not alarming enough for them to move him. You certainly get the sense that because Rusty is settled. And his mom has abandoned him for good and his father turned out to be an abusive asshole. He's got Sharon and that's where he wants to stay. Where they both want him to stay. He should have police protection though.

"I want a writing sample from Rusty." As ridiculous as it is to think that Rusty wrote that letter that would put his living situation with Sharon in jeopardy - Emma is right. It is a base that needs to be covered.

"Don't be concerned about this witness protection business. It's not gonna happen." "Okay I won't worry about it then." I love this little conversation. Words to try to sooth both of them but words that both of them don't truly believe in. Sharon is so determined to not have Rusty gone. But if push comes to shove and there are no options left. Sharon will send Rusty away in order to keep him safe. And as we later know Rusty will not think about anything else. His comment on being grounded until the trial = the rest of his life. OH so dramatic Rusty.

Rusty's Terrible Music It's not surprising that Rusty would listen to some terrible emo music. I mean it fits his whiny self and his teenage angst very well. But it's still terrible... Check out these lyrics: "I just want you to feel something." "Feel something." Oy.

Sharon v Emma with Taylor is the monkey in the middle (How Sharon's mind works verses how Taylor's mind works) Both women make their case to Taylor. Both women bring up some great points. Emma is right that Stroh is smart and has committed so many different crimes before he's gotten caught. Note that she even addresses Taylor by his first name. I don't recall anyone ever using his given name. But the thing is...Sharon knows how Taylor's mind works. And that’s where she ends up having the upper hand. And while Emma talks about the severity of the criminal involved  and tries to use her personal connection with Taylor to her advantage. She almost convinces him...but then Sharon ends up playing a better card.  

"You had me at money, my dear." Sharon knows that one of Taylor's biggest things as Assistant Chief is pinching those pennies. And spending what you have wisely.

"That's all the time I have to spend on Rusty Beck." And on that note...

Sharon's mind vs Taylor's Mind "Can you tell me why we are still working on this murder/suicide?" "Because it's not closed." "Of course it is. It says so right here on this press release that you had me put out for the 11 o clock news in tomorrows paper." Does Taylor never ever think of stragedy of any kind? How the hell did he outsmart criminals as a Captain in Robbery/Homicide if he can't think outside of the box? Did this guy ride his partners and the detective's under his coat tails? 

I really can't wait for awkward Taylor who's sometimes an ass that lets Sharon do her thing and works with her instead of against her. Than this Taylor here who has no idea how her strategies work and has absolutely no faith in her. I suppose Taylor is the sort of guy that is the 'glass half empty' type and you have to prove to him time and time again who and what you are before you seem to  make any head way with him. He doubts you if he cant see what you see right away. Have some faith, take a chance you may just be surprised.

Provenza & Amy

"I figured I'd let her cool off some." This guy has got such a violent temper and Amy doesn't cottle him. I love that Provenza doesn't let the guy explode. And does bloody fantastic job of defusing him by throwing that water in his face. The last thing Provenza wants is for Amy to get punched in the face by this douche bag. "You heard the Captain, Sykes. Please just do it." Sharon and Provenza have come so far. Either Provenza is on the same track as Sharon is or He's learning to have some faith in Sharon's plans whether she talks about them or not.

Dude Ranch Let's talk about MC's version of Grinder. 

Ride the range. 

"Mike, what are you doing?" "I'm downloading Dude Ranch." I love this exchange. And Andy just keeps going. 

Both Andy and Mike’s face at the suspects muscular chest. 

Mike's profile name as Mr Clean I love it all.

Emma + Roland Jennings

I can't believe I never noticed this before! These looks they give the other. 

This explains more as to why Emma is so oblivious to Julio huge puppy dog act around her. I mean Emma is partially oblivious because she doesn't see people but Julio isn't her type.

Sharon outsmarts the fox In this episode Sharon ends up outsmarting Emma, Taylor, their Suspect and Roland Jennings. Emma is so used to being the smartest woman in the room and getting her own way. That she has such a hard time with another strong woman who also has strong opinions and also thinks she's right. But Sharon isn't afraid to adjust her thinking when she realizes she's wrong. I really love that Sharon always tries her best to work with people instead of against them. Even if she can't stand them. 

One thing that makes Sharon a really great cop, is that she really and truly understands how people work. She uses that to her advantage by outsmarting them and also nurturing the potential that see sees in them. It's how she gets Taylor to work with her instead of against her. You'd think that Taylor would be attempting to figure out how to work with her. But it's the other way around. 

Also her idea of making their suspect feel that he got away with it made him get too comfortable. Because he didn't think that they were looking at him for murder just for the robberies, he thought he was getting a better deal. But in fact admitting to the robberies establishes his MO, as well as sneaking that stolen gun in there also establishing that he was in position of the murder weapon.

Andy's Health Problems

This episode continues Andy's health issues that was brought up in the previous episode and continues...well it still continues. 

What I love about this plot line is that health problems are something that plague so many people and as you get older the harder they hit you. We have (up until now) not seen any of that. So it's nice to have a thread about it, especially since the majority of the cast is over 50. I always wondered why Provenza doesn't seem to have as many problems as Andy. But then it occurred to me that perhaps the reason why Andy has so many issues is most likely related to his alcohol abuse when he was younger. And Provenza could just have some great genes. 

"Actually it's caffeine we should do without. It's a drug. Seriously."

I love the look on Mikes face when Andy says that. But he's not wrong. Caffeine is a drug and if you drink enough of it on a regular basis you can end up having withdrawals if you stop drinking it. 

Andy's Juice You really should be looking at labels to see what's in your drink. But Poor Andy, thinking he'd found some really great juice that gave him lots of energy and none of the bad stuff. You have give Andy some credit for trying new things though.

The Magic of Greg LaVoi

Taylor + His Suit

It's interesting the type of clothing that LaVoi chooses for the characters and what is says about them. And I've always thought that Taylor's clothing on MC really fits his character. And that's why I prefer to see him in his suits instead of the uniform. I just think it fits him as a character more. Professional and kind of flashy although not as flashy as the used to be (on TC).

The Couples & How Greg LaVoi dresses them

I find it really interesting that both Sharon/Andy and Julio/Emma are standing next to each other and both couples are matching colors. And that the colors are different. And what those colors say about them.

Red: Julio + Emma

I had forgotten completely forgotten this storyline between Julio and Emma. Actually, I think I forgot about Emma. Anywho the point I'm making is that Emma is just another person in Julio's life that ends up punching him in the gut.  I like to think they choose Red as their color here because of Julio's rather obvious infatuation. 

Red is energizing. It excites the emotions and motivates us to take action. It signifies a pioneering spirit and leadership qualities, promoting ambition and determination. It is also strong-willed and can give confidence to those who are shy or lacking in will power. Being the color of physical movement, the color red awakens our physical life force. It is the color of sexuality and can stimulate deeper and more intimate passions in us, such as love and sex on the positive side or revenge and anger on the negative.

Julio's infatuation is rather extreme. He's beyond obvious of his feelings for Emma. She seems to have lite a fire under Julio we haven't yet seen before. Unfortunately on the other side we have Emma who doesn't even know who the hell Julio is. Emma is really not someone that sees people or their feelings.

Purple: Sharon + Andy Purple is a color we very often seen Sharon and Andy wearing. So why do they wear it so often?��

Purple embodies the balance of red’s stimulation and blue’s calm. This dichotomy can cause unrest or uneasiness unless the undertone is clearly defined, at which point the purple takes on the characteristics of its undertone. With a sense of mystic and royal qualities, purple is a color often well liked by very creative or eccentric types.

That right there. Purple is a mixture of the colors blue and red. Sharon has a 'blue' personality and Andy has a 'red' personality. This is signifying the two personality working in harmony together. At their best the two are in sync, following the other's train of thought, being supportive of the other as well as their own personalities balancing out the other's extreme qualities. 

One of the great things about their relationship is their balancing act. Sometimes they are balanced extremely well and sometimes not so well. As the years have gone by we (while they are still the same people) see Sharon's calm personality temper Andy's anger more and more. And we see Andy's humor bring out a fun side of Sharon we are seeing more and more of. 

For both couples in this scene we aren't seeing anything significant here. But rather this is really the start of their romantic storylines. Their are some distinct similarities between the couples but I won't address that until my roundup and possibly a separate post. I would rather wait because this really the beginning of the two couples and we haven't yet seen much from them.

What I didn't like: Emma still not seeing people. I feel like that may have been advice to her as a lawyer but I also feel that it's a huge part of her own personality. She's kind of like Rusty in that regard. Both of them have a tendency to not see other's feelings.

What I liked: Seeing Provenza throw a drink at their suspect's face. Provenza is now defending Amy. Who in the first season would rather see the back of. Provenza is the perfect example of 'jerk with the heart of gold' trope. He may grumble all he likes but deep down the guy truly cares much more than he lets on. Seeing Sharon the smartest woman in the room. She knows just what buttons to push with Taylor on how to get him to disagree with Emma and putting Rusty in the Witness Protection Program. All Sharon has to do is mention money and the guy is putty in her hands. Seeing this here shows us how much Sharon truly knows the human condition and just how right she is in her place among the Major Crimes detectives. A great cop should know how people work. And not only does Sharon know people very well but she knows how to use their personalities in her favor. She's not unlike Brenda in that regard.