#the scene in season 1 is literally them looking at each other without even sharing a word

[mangywayway]

Full rant here but it has become a trend saying that Jayvik shippers ruined characters or what? Like yeah, there are some fans that rabid af (and they should be blocked and ignored instead of giving them attention but apparently people love drama too much), but I keep seeing shit like "Sky has been ruined by Jayvik shippers" and I'm there like ???????

Some of the best characterisations I ever saw for her are coming from Jayvik fanfics where they fucking give her a story and personality, and let her stand on her own fucking legs instead of just being there to be a character that appears for barely 5 min of screentime, dies and serves as a fucking element to advance Viktor storyline and that ends there.

Let me repeat it clearly, I'm aware that there are SOME FANS that have absolutely disgusting behaviour and there is no hiding that (I'm also baffled by the audacity of some of these shits), but from there going to "ALL Jayvik shippers are like this" and "people forgets about Sky because Jayvik shippers" is fuckin wild. Like, I'm sorry you all, but outside of HEADCANONS, Sky was barely there in the series. Even in the seconds season we didn't even know if she is actually her or just the Hexcore showing itself through her, and still she's there just to show Viktor change and him loosing his humanity.

I'm sorry to say this because she could have been so much more, but again, she literally serves as a plot element for Viktor story, and that's it. If you wanna be angry with someone complain with the writers who made her like this instead of climbing mirrors

[willowpains]

season 1 release

drew starkey x latina actress reader!

liked by madelyncline and other 462,611.

ynusername SEASON 1 OF OUTER BANKS IS OUT BABY!!! you don’t wanna miss it☀️🏴‍☠️🐚

see comments.

user1 I finished it in one sitting? it’s so good!

user2 is it worth it?

user3 so so so worth it, you should give it a try!

hichasestokes POGUES 4 LIFE

user4 latin representation? definitely gonna watch

madelyncline prettiest island girl

user5 wait I didn’t know she was latina!

user6 yuppp, I actually loved seeing they went into her mexican background in the show

user7 the fact she’s truly mexican born and raised, LOVE HER ALREADY

drewstarkey the orange sunglasses are fire

yourbestie SISISI la más orgullosa de ti<3

madisonbaileybabe second pic was an epic day!

user8 imma need Netflix to renew this show

obx WE LOVE OUR GIRL LUNA

user9 ok this show is so good I’m invested

user10 her character kinda has tension with rafe ngl

ynusername has posted on her story

madelyncline replied to your story

wait that film photo is amazing

you’re missing in it though:(

madisonbaileybabe replied to your story

omg that is literally your personality pic LMAO

drewstarkey replied to your story

learn how to swim

liked by jonathandavissofficial and other 3,568,901.

obx a little love for one of our favorite pogue princesses: LUNA🌙🥥🌺

see comments.

user11 LOVE HER

user12 she’s an absolute goddess

yourcousin mi personaje favoritoooo

user13 ugh I hate her character sm

user14 right like idk why everyone likes her

user15 y’all are just jealous

yourbestie obsesionada con ella

user16 DIOSA MEXICANA

ynusername amamos a luna<3

user17 without her the pogues would be lost

user18 fr she saved all their asses more than once

user19 and they would be so bored too

madisonbaileybabe pogue sister

user20 she has the funniest lines as well as jj, I was tearing up laughing at their fights

rudeth she knows what’s up

liked by austinnorth55 and other 763,820.

drewstarkey glad to know everyone’s enjoying obx, had to drop these bangers I took from behind the scenes📸 @ynusername

see comments.

hichasestokes that’s her 99% of the time

user21 LMAO she’s so me

ynusername no you didn’t

ynusername HOW DARE YOU

drewstarkey not my fault you fell asleep everywhere

user22 we love a pair of pretty besties

user23 damn filming must’ve been tiring

madelyncline I have some funny ones too, let’s share!

ynusername not you too

user24 how is she still pretty even drooling?

user25 wait she’s so relatable

madisonbaileybabe second pic is a mood

user26 omg I love you two on the show!

user27 I kinda ship them

user28 wait you might be onto something

jonathandavissofficial LOL

user29 I’m a y/n protector

user30 oh she’s my fave

liked by jonathandavissofficial and other 999,528.

ynusername tomfoolery by yours truly🫣

see comments.

user31 YES YES YES

user32 pls keep feeding us with content

madelyncline I’m the life of the party

user33 I love this cast so much, I wanna be their friend

user34 I know right? they look like they love each other

user35 I wanna party out with them tbh

drewstarkey I see you’ve gotten your revenge

ynusername I’m not done yet

user36 your honor I love them

user37 y/n thank you for your service ma’am

ynusername anytime🫡

rudeth paparazzi

user38 I cannot wait for them to announce a second season

obx our favorite people!

madisonbaileybabe truly iconic

user39 I can confidently say this is my new favorite show

user40 I’m addicted to outer banks I cannot stop rewatching

ynusername has posted on her story

hichasestokes replied to your story

a war has been declared

madelyncline replied to your story

LMAO

I love you

drewstarkey replied to your story

oh it’s ON

*

first social media post for latina actress universe!

I really wanna incorporate a little bit of everything sooo let me know if you like it but I kinda really love this<3

[anoant-haikyuu-dump]

The hyperfixation demons are screeching at me to write a comprehensive list of all the reasons I like Fukutora, so today I present to you "Ant ignores their responsibilites and spends several paragraphs explaining why Fukutora is peak despite them having roughly 10 seconds of shared screen time"

1. Contrasting Personalities In general their personalities fit together really well— Fukunaga barely speaks while Tora exclusively shouts at max volume and can't stfu to save his life, Tora's overly-intense and takes everything way too seriously while Fukunaga's cracking jokes in the middle of important games, they're even literal opposites on the court as the two wing spikers. Their differences compliment each other perfectly and because of that I think they'd grow a lot being together, Fukunaga would learn to open up and Tora would mellow out. Another good contrast is how Tora's all about looking cool and standing out while Fukunaga tends to blend into the background, which leads into my next point...

2. MY ROMAN EMPIRE (aka chapter 309) I know it's only two pages out of a 33 chapter match but i dont care, this scene makes me feral. I read the manga after watching Dumpster Battle, so imagine my suprise when my two favorite losers had a moment THAT GOT CUT FROM THE FUCJIGN MOVIE (I'm still salty, it should've been a full season).

Anyways these pages rooted their way into my brain because they show that even though Fukunaga goes unnoticed by most people (both in-universe and by readers) Tora realizes how great he is, and not only respects his play style but views him as a rival on the same level as himself. One thing I appreciate about Tora is that despite him being the stereotypical "strong manly athlete" type he doesn't think his methods are the best or only way of doing things; Fukunaga scoring points without "big fanfare" is just as cool as the shit he and Tanaka pull off. The phrasing "that I hafta surpass" could even imply that Tora sees Fukunaga as more than an equal, as someone who's ahead of him since he doesn't need to be flashy or loud to do amazing stuff.

Look at his smile on page two, bro's just excited to have someone who motivates him to keep pushing himself. And as we've learned from Kagehina: what's gayer than a rivalry?? All in all I think it's sweet that Tora notcies his efforts and admires him when few others do. Side Note, I've seen a translation of these that call them "Nekoma's Wings" and I think that's a sick nickname.

3. Bi Tora and Internalized Homophobia I love a good internalized homophobia arc, and characters like Tora that center so much around girls and manliness are some of the most fun to explore them with imo. You could say he's one of the least likely characters in hq to be queer since he's THE woman-lover next to Tanaka and Noya (and Yachi) but that's what makes it interesting—his gay awakening would hit like a tsunami and send him into life-ruining bi panic for months, especially since he's already such a mess when it comes to romance. He gives me the vibes of someone who has no problem with other people being gay but struggles when it comes to himself since it clashes with his conception of what it means to "be a man" or whatever. My point is he'd have the most intense no homo phase to grace this earth and I think that's both super funny and compelling for his character.

Also as a bi person myself it's kind of frustrating how bisexuality is treated online sometimes. It's annoying when a person's queerness is negated the moment they show attraction for the opposite gender, so headcanoning a character like Tora as a bi while still being openly into women makes me happy.

4. The Stage Play They're so silly in the stageplay. Why is he dragging him around by the feet? Why are they screaming at Kenma? Why is he constantly bopping him on the head in the background? WHY IS HE SERVING FACE IN THE PROMO PICTURES? So silly.

(Ignore how blurry these are lol) 5. Ant's Little Sister Bias This is a me thing, I like ships where one party has an annoying little sister who bothers them, sue me. Its cute. Akane and Fukunaga could have the most adorable friendship if you believe.

6. They Match Each Others Energy My first post about them was me rambling about this so just read that, TDLR they're both energetic menaces who match each other's freak.

7. Kenma's Forced Third-Wheel Purgatory Putting Kenma in a situation where Kuroo's graduated and his closest remaining friends are dating and constantly forcing him to third-wheel is just about the evilest thing you could do to the guy. He may be one of my favorites but this is well-deserved punishment for his crimes.

8. Baffled x Baffling Another ship dynamic I like a lot is when one person is unabashedly weird and the other thinks they're a total freak... but likes them anyways. They don't know why they like them. They can't explain it to anyone. Whenever the person does more weird shit they're like "why tf do I like you." But even so they're whipped as hell. Anyways Tora barely understands a single thing Fukunaga does and I think that makes for a funny crush to have.

9. Fukunaga's "Current Concern" Don't have much to add here, it's just proof to me that they hang out idc. Like why are you concerned about what he wants?? Kinda gay dude. Big fan of Fukunaga whispering to him and Tora answering at full volume so other people hear a one-sided conversation.

10. These Fics Before I knew this ship was even a thing I stumbled on these fics while browsing the Fukunaga tag, that's what got the gears turning:

• My favorite one, third-year shenanigans �� Peak, need to be signed in tho • College AU • This one is mostly gen Fukunaga but the few moments they have are perfect (also really fun Nekoma interactions overall)

11. Other Miscellaneous Thoughts • Both of them being public figures/lowkey famous in timeskip is cute, like imagine them being each others' biggest fan before they make it big.

• Chef x guy who eats a lot is peak fiction. In this case they both eat a lot. Their grocery bill is a horror story.

• I know it's because characters are usually grouped by year and Kenma ditches them to sit with Kuroo but they're always together in the stands, pretty gay if you ask me

• I hc Fukunaga as genderfluid so Tora still gets his chance to be a wife guy. Him and Tanaka ranting to each other while Kiyoko and Fukunaga drink tea in peaceful silence.

• I think Fukunaga's the type to enjoy people watching and Tora's always doing something dumb. Observing him like a little bug under a microscope

• They're both so silly looking, cartoony ahh designs. I just think they'd make a funny couple visually, they're so square and stick to me if that makes any sense lmaoo

If you got through this whole post you're a real one, thanks for reading to my brain dump. I think about them every day and need more people to understand the vision

[colleybri]

A few thoughts on Bix’s arc so far in Andor season 2

(Spoilers up to Season 2 Ep 6)

Since her torture in Season 1 (and the attempted rape in S2 Ep 3) I knew that Bix would be carrying a lot of cumulative trauma in this season, but I was totally unprepared for how realistically this is being handled. The aspect that really shocked me is that the show unflinchingly shows the longer-term PTSD taking full effect many months later in the form of depression - and addiction.

Most obviously, Bix has terrible nightmares that reflect the different ways in which she is haunted. In the first arc nightmare, Gorst pulled the blanket off her as she lay alone in bed on Mina Rau - visually foreshadowing her vulnerability to the predatory Imperial Krole. It was implied then that the nightmares are worse when Cassian isn’t there, but in the first nightmare of the second arc he is literally right next to her and it makes no difference. He does say, on waking her from the sleep walking episode, that “It’s been a while” since she last had one, so the suggestion is that the nightmares are back because of their most recent mission. Bix struggling to process the death of this young soldier has clearly brought all her demons back in force, all symbolised by demonic Gorst. She has killed men herself by now, but says “I can’t stop seeing [the soldier’s] face”. According to the dialogue in the Gorst torture nightmare, an aspect that particularly haunts Bix is that the young man’s family will never know what happened to him. For a woman from such a tight-knit community as Ferrix this troubles her deeply. She is also, canonically, an orphan and presumably has had to mourn and process the death of each of her parents. Brasso is also a fresh bereavement. Family is important to her even though she has almost none left. …

She at least has Cassian, and their relationship - one that started as a childhood friendship over twenty years before and has had romantic interludes since - is probably the main thing sustaining her. “She’s the most Ferrixian woman there is and she can’t go home. But she and Cassian have made a home in each other” says Adria Arjona. The beautiful ‘hand dance’ scene in Ep 4 seems designed to re-centre her a little as he leaves her for the solo mission to Ghorman. A little shared moment of intimacy that takes them back and grounds them.

But it’s a realistically flawed relationship too. Trauma-bonding can lead to co-dependence but the other major contributing factor is the nature of their role as rebel operatives in the ‘insanity’ of the city. They can’t relax. They can’t shop without worrying about being recognised. In one really poignant little exchange Bix asks if they can go for a walk in the “big park” as she’s clearly yearning for some natural scenery. But Cassian says no, there are cameras.

This makes their safehouse, dingy and grey and overlooked by a never-ending rainy city, feel like a prison and the sense of smothering claustrophobia clearly haunts Bix while they’re here. She prefers activity, doing something, being on missions… it’s the sitting around waiting that allows the dark thoughts to come. Cassian and Luthen both acknowledge this too.

Socially, Bix is completely isolated. She has no friends; it’s not safe. There’s no sense of community here. Her world has shrunk to the ‘home’ she has with Cassian - their relationship is her home but she’s frustrated that she’s otherwise homeless. She hesitates to call the safe-house ‘home’…. “This place. Whatever it is.” She contemplates buying towels and decent plates, wants to clean the windows… if they are staying there longer term. She has an instinct to make a home but the place just doesn’t feel like one. She’s disturbed by the idea of other people using it while they’re not there. Since losing her home in Ferrix she has lived in a ‘Mobil-Haus’ on Mina Rau (even Krole pointed out that it didn’t look ‘permanent’) and now their base is this ‘safe house’ which might be safe but certainly isn’t somewhere she can feel is ‘permanent’ either.

She is also trying to be strong. She’s rightly resentful of Cassian’s desire to protect her. That in itself is complicated because he’s also a victim of trauma. Bix highlights this in that little flare-up argument in Ep 4 - “I’m not Maarva, I’m not your sister!!”. Cassian having what Tony Gilroy recently called ‘a problematic saviour complex’ derives from his very early guilt about not being there for his sister. He wants to save those he loves, he wants to go back for them - metaphorically or literally. But Bix tells him that ‘It’s not up to us, what we save or what we lose’. Cassian is really struggling with this concept at this point in his life when he’s torn between what Luthen sees as full commitment to the cause and his love for Bix. Bix herself wants an existence for herself outside of this perspective. She wants to fight. “If I’m giving up everything, I want to win. We have to.”

But the contributing factors to her state now are trapping her in a vicious circle of nightmares. She would be a danger to herself and others on a mission. The sleeping drug doesn’t seem to be working. She takes it regardless of whether Cassian is there or not. The depression is taking over; she’s trapped. Cassian asks her if she wants to talk about it but she doesn’t. He doesn’t want to push it. I think he absolutely knows that she is in a very bad way. He probably knows also, at least on some level, that she is self-medicating. There comes a point when an addict finds this extremely difficult to cover up - especially from someone who loves you and knows you extremely well. For these reasons he is not only hesitant to leave her to go to Ghorman at all but is also especially furious at Luthen.

Realistically, Bix isn’t observably in a bad way all time. She can still appear her old self sometimes, as glimpsed with the banter with the shop-keeper. Even after her worst episode, Bix eventually clears away the mess of takeaway cartons and cleans herself and the safehouse up a bit for Cassian’s return. She even buys flowers - an attempt to ‘make a home’ of the place. They express their love easily when he comes back; the gentle flirting about Varian Skye is particularly cute. But even there, in the suggestion that they might be into bedroom roleplay, there’s a sort of poignancy… it’s the kind of taste that might develop in a couple who are literally using different identities all the time as spies and who are also unable to bring any real people ‘home one time’.

The irony of all this is that it’s Luthen ‘not a friend to romantic relationships’ Rael who helps - ‘sending them on couples therapy to kill Gorst and blow stuff up’ as one meme put it. Bix gets the catharsis that she desperately needed. Realistically, it’s not going to be a cure-all and I think it’s a safe bet to say that any improvement in Bix is not going to be presented as something that happens overnight either. But I think there’s hope where there was none before. Her ongoing-therapy now? It’s just as Cassian told young mechanic Niya at the start of the season. “You’ll never feel right unless you’re doing what you can to stop them”. In having a new sense of purpose and working alongside the man she loves and trusts the most - a partner in both senses - there’s an indication that there is hope ahead for Bix.

Even if she dies after all this suffering … a ‘blaze of glory’ death feels a lot more likely and a lot more earned. Personally, I hope Bix lives. I feel a bit more confident in the writers finding a way to allow that. But either way, I’m sure her overall arc will be incredibly powerful.

[jackandjellyfries]

Four is literally the reason I'm in the object show community

Had to smash this down into a word doc before I forgot all of it, lmao. Now where the hell do I begin-

I'll start off by saying that I was a teenager when I discovered the OSC, I think 14 or 15 years old. And kids and teens do dumb stuff more often than not. I've had quite a few secret online accounts without my mom knowing, did stuff I'm not sure she would've allowed, and shared way more about myself than I should've with a stranger(who luckily ended up being 8 months younger than me and a chill person) before I wisened up and took down everything on the account. The stress the idea of mom somehow finding those accounts brought me made me fess up eventually, but this was before that.

I had three or four online friends who I didn't talk to much, most being followers I decided to chat with for various reasons. I can't remember who followed who first, but I found one of them during my Parkour Civilization obsession. I was desperately fishing through wattpad tags for Evbo fics when there were hardly any. I added the only two good ones I could find to my reading list, and some time after that, me and the author of those two fics were following each other. I can't remember how or why. I saw their announcements whenever I checked my notifs, and most of the time they were about some object show, or planet something, or animation vs something, and their profile picture was YinYang from II but I didn't recognise YinYang as a character at the time.

I did some searching about the different things on google. At the time I had no idea object shows were a bunch of different shows, I just searched object show because I thought it was the name of one show, and I got a list of popular ones like Battle For Dream Island, Inanimate Insanity, and Animatic Battle. Google said BFDI was the most popular one, so I searched the name and I got a few YouTube thumbnails, one or two of them containing the blue chaos gremlin known as Four. I honestly wasn't that interested in object shows at that point and heavily considered putting my phone down and moving on with my day, but I wanted to know more about this blue four shaped thing that was very obviously different that the regular object characters, and seemingly feared by them. I stayed tf away from the wikis because I didn't want to be spoiled. I started binging BFDI from season 1 episode 1 and at first I really wanted to stop watching because I disliked the animation style and the voices annoyed me so badly, but I wanted to see Four, so I kept watching and eventually grew to enjoy it, my favourite part of it all so far was the relationship between Firey and Leafy after Return of the hang glider.

By the time I got to BFB episode 1, I had completely forgotten about Four, and I was overwhelmed by the amount of new characters who I didn't first realize were redesigns of the characters from the lol. When the scene came where Four was introduced, I was amazed by how epic it all looked, and the moment Four showed up, paired with the awesome music, the memory of why I started watching BFDI in the first place hit me like a monster truck and I got SO SUPER EXCITED! I didn't even expect him to show up so soon, I just assumed the soonest episode he was gonna show up in was the first one he was in the thumbnail of, BFB episode 4.

Though I will admit that I didn't like him or X too much at first simply because of their poorly drawn appearances even though other fans have said they miss the style. But eventually I grew to love them so I don't mind badly drawn Four anymore, and now Four is my MOST FAVOURITEST CHARACTER IN ALL OF OBJECT SHOWS EVER. And the last few days, I've been more insane about him than ever to the point of making an account dedicated to his character. I always loved him, but not to the point of this. Weird.

Ah well.

And at the moment I'm more interested in the algebraliens that the objects, especially after TPOT 15. And I'm LOVING that Four gets to be a host again, seriously. I needed more of BFB, but I loved TPOT 16 too! THANKS JACKNJELLIFY

Also I found shimejis of some of the algebraliens today and I've been listening to 6 Years ≠ Eternity and a remix of Ha! Deserved by rueckus on YouTube over and over the past few days, they're sooo goooood-

[deadassluv]

18 days until chaos theory

That trailer killed me y’all. BROOKLYNN WHEN I CATCH YOU BROOKLYNN. The way she burned their photo without caring is crazy (kinda glad she did cause they need to retake that photo) and YAZZZZZ! If something happens to Yaz I’m gonna lose ittttt, like the girl is doing better give her a break :( The Benji fight will kill me too, but I know I will a 100% be on Kenji’s side. Not that I don’t like Ben I love that stupid blue eye angel. I really need some answers about that Yaz scene cause it’s making me worry. I don’t know if the part where she’s shouting “run” to Sammy is after or before the entire situation with the Suchominus. I hope is not before cause that would mean Sammy actually ran and left Yaz alone. I really want to know more about the new character. Ngl she seems interesting. People say she might be Mae’s daughter, or Ben’s girlfriend, even freaking Darius new love interest 💀 I don’t think any of this “theory’s” (If you can call them that) are genuine. She looks like a 12-14 year old, so I don’t think she’s Mae’s daughter or nobody’s love interest.

Now the reunion…the freaking reunion. This young adults are going to need therapy after that. I know damn well the only ones who might take the situation calmly will be Yaz and Ben. Darius, Kenji, and Sammy are not gonna be okay. We already know Kenji has some anger issues, he literally seems like he was going to punch Ben during that fight, so he’s not going to be happy with Brooklynn. Darius is going to feel sad, betrayed, disappointed. My boy is going to cry, the girl he loves is literally against him. Same with Sammy, just like Darius we can tell that Sammy has suffer a lot because of Brooklyn, and knowing that Brooklyn has been hiding herself from her! And their friends will destroy her. The poor girl hallucinates Brooklynn likeeee yeah she’s not gonna be happy either, she might be mad too.

Actually can we talk about Sammy’s treatment, like what’s up??? Why is the character that cares the most for the group the one letting left behind, like the people she considers her family and her actual family abandoned her. I feel like everyone just puts her in a position that she’s not supposed to be in. Like yeah she’s still the same happy girl but her happiness is so toxic. During the fight between her and Yaz I was nothing but feeling a little disappointed towards Yaz. Don’t get me wrong Yaz’s reason wasn’t bad but abandoning your girlfriend wasn’t the best option, Sammy has problems too, they should be there for each other. And when Sammy says “You sit here and you blame me for not knowing how much you grown? But you left me in the dark, you did that!” And Yaz responds by saying “I did that” she doesn’t denies the fact that she left Sammy in the dark….that’s kind of messed up. I know they “fix” their problems later on but let’s be real…did they actually fixed anything? When everything is over Yaz is gonna want to go back to her island because at the end of season 1 she still wants them to go to her island!! even after what happened?!!

Also I better see more Kenji and Sammy duo in season 2. We didn’t get enough of them in season 1, they’re so sibling coded so I need moreeeee. Same with Ben and Yaz.

Anyways some thoughts and things I wanted to share. Are we ready for Chaos theory season two? Cause I know I am! (I will cry with the first episode)

[lady-of-the-english]

Tommy and Grace and Marriage Part 4

As his key antagonist of season 2, Campbell demonstrates how he thinks Grace is Tommy's weaknesses - a pain that he can keep poking at to distract him and make him off-kilter in their exchanges. It's a tactic Tommy uses himself, so he understands perfectly how effective it is.

It is only this danger that forces Tommy to consider truly forgetting Grace and leaving her behind burning her letter just as the Garrison, where they fell in love, burns due to Campbell's bombing.

Most seasons of Peaky Blinders begin with visually showing the audience Tommy's status. The opening of season 2 lets us clearly understand how financially better off the Shelbys are. To do this, we have both transformed locations and new locations.

With their financial success, the need to diversify their portfolio, and hide money, Tommy buys his family homes, especially the women that he loves, Polly, Ada, and their sons - a clear parallel to how the season ends with Grace pregnant with their son and the next opens with their wedding.

Tommy tells Polly he bought her a house to bring her family home to. Polly is haunted by the loss of Anna and Michael, and Tommy's depth of empathy comes from shared experience as he dedicates himself to finding what happened to them and if he can return them home. Like Polly, Tommy also longs for the family he dreamed of having with Grace but feeling that Grace is out of reach (married and living an ocean away), he'll give Polly and Ada what he fanatasied about providing Grace - all the warmth, comfort, security, and love a home typically symbolizes.

While season 1 showed his flashbacks of the war, season 2's are mostly centered around Grace. He tells Arthur, who is spinning out of control due to his own PTSD, to "shut the door" on the war, like he did. However, Tommy sees his own hypocrisy; neither the war nor Grace are gone from his thoughts. He just hides it better, and even that is cracking, especially in relation to Grace as both Polly and Campbell have pointed out their knowledge of how much he still loves her.

At the reopening of the Garrison, Tommy leaves his family to celebrate and retreats to the renovated snug to brood over Grace's letter that he's been carrying around in his pocket since he received it as a perfect representation of his internal struggle of wanting to hold onto her but feeling like he must let her go.

With the Garrison physically changed, he possibly thinks that moving on from her is possible for the first time. The reminders of her physical presence have been literally burned away, and with that, maybe he won't be so haunted by the memories and how they almost had everything they wanted together. With the changes, maybe he won't look for her at the bar or in the doorway anymore.

He tries to follow his own advice to Arthur to "shut the door" on his feelings and he burns her letter without reading it. The burning is juxtaposed with their love scene as he holds it in front of himself a moment to gather his courage before lighting the match and then holds the match for another moment before taking it to the letter.

The first visualization of Grace this season - outside of the season 1 recap at the start of 2x01 - is of Tommy remembering their love scene and especially the most intimate moments of it. Tommy remembers their gentle kisses, how they reached for each other, him burying his face in her neck, wanting to be as close to her as possible.

He tries to burn these memories away and once again turns to sex as an escape but in a new way. He knows the controlled, dispassionate sex with Lizzie doesn't help. So this time, he parties (just as Arthur does for the rest of the season with similar failed results). The next scene is Tommy awake from his threesome which is the antithesis of the scene he remembers with Grace. He is awake, sitting up and disconnected from his partners. He is unhappy and lacking any of the peace and intimacy of his memories. Recognizing that it didn't help at all, he gets out of bed and starts working - the only escape that works at least temporarily.

This realization and the true stakes of his assassination assignment from Campbell help Tommy accept and embrace the fact that his feelings for Grace will never go away.

Tommy, in quick succession in 2x4, is told he'll receive no help from the police or intelligence agency, realizes that there are spies in Campbell's plans, and how tight the security is on his target.

And with this, Tommy starts to "prepare" and "get his affairs in order" for failure and his death and, in doing so, accepts his feelings for Grace openly, which is intertwined with commentary on marriage and family. While he buys Polly and Ada each a home to raise their sons in, Tommy recognizes his own lack of immediate family. Johnny Dogs tells Tommy, "I hate to see you not even married yet," and he has Ada sign a trust to leave everything behind to John and Ada's kids as he acknowledges that "I don't have any children."

As Tommy gives away what he has and prepares to do that fully, he buys one thing for himself - Grace's Secret. While this race horse is interwoven in his business plans (gaining him access to the owners' enclosure), it is also a deeply personal choice. Tommy's love of horses was well established in the first season and is tied to the beginning of Tommy and Grace's relationship. It is after the death of his other horse that he asks Grace to sing for him.

Charlie connects the horse to the idea of Tommy returning to and embracing his true self. While Tommy repeatedly tells the family that cars are the future of the Shelby Company (both legitimate and illegitimate), Charlie asks him to think about when was the last time he rode a horse - when did he last choose something he truly loved and wanted? Tommy walks away without answering but the literal next shot is of a picture of Grace.

And thus, he goes off to buy this horse, creating a concrete connection to Grace. He tells Polly it's a good "investment" and equates it to the family homes he just bought them. While he plans to buy the horse for $1,000, as May drives up the auction, he doubles it as he tells Charlie, "I'm having that horse" who he later affectionately calls "my girl." A horse he then tells May, as he hires her to train the horse for Epsom Derby, "will be called Grace's Secret."

In the first episode of the season, both Tommy and Polly avoided speaking Grace's name when talking explicitly about her. With this choice, Tommy will confront her name continuously. There would be a decent amount of paperwork for Tommy to read and sign to officially register, train, and sign up the horse for Epsom. With each piece of paper, meeting, and visit to May, he anchors Grace into his thoughts and the thoughts of his family.

I would have loved for a scene for his brothers, Ada, or Polly to reckon with his naming and what it reveals - and doesn't. They'd probably think the "secret" is Grace's undercover work and betraying Tommy. But as we are again shown in this episode that they are still in contact two years later, it is clear that Grace's secret is Tommy himself and the love they still share.

Through this, Tommy accepts the reality of their feelings for each other and that they'll never go away even if he'd never see her again. Even in starting an affair with May, it is centered around shared grief rather than affection for each other.

May recognizes that she is a "small diversion" to Tommy, just as he is for her. As they consider him staying the night, she cries over her own lost husband, admitting, "I put all his photos in a draw and locked it. As if that was going to make a difference," just as Tommy burning Grace's letter made no difference for him. He enters this exchange, knowing neither is the person they really want to be with.

And once he has the opportunity, he chooses Grace. By the end of the episode, he returns to the office to find a telegram from Grace, letting him know she's returned to England for the first time since she left.

While he previously burned her letter, he now reads it and willingly picks up the phone to be the one to call and reach out to her. It is presented with the same purposefulness as any choice Tommy makes. Just as he waited a moment to burn the letter, he thinks for a moment if he is willing to open himself open to Grace fully, to be truly vulnerable and have an honest emotional connection with someone else. With possibly limited time left, he aims to spend it with the person he truly loves. He is no longer hiding and repressing his feelings but embracing openly what and who he truly wants.

He reaches out to Grace and while they don't get to speak on this phone call (as Grace's husband answers the phone), we are set up perfectly for their reunion in 2x05 - a parallel to how much 1x05 was a turning point in their relationship.

And more on that in Part 5!

[analogskullerosis]

I think what I loved about "Tomb Patrol" more than anything is how Rita, Larry, Jane, and Cliff escaped the fate of the old Doom Patrol seen back in Season 1. They beat Mr. Nobody and kept their sanity intact. They also learned the truth of what Niles Caulder did to them and instead of becoming worthless and placed into a make believe retirement home, they survived and lived to eat his head and outlive the guy who was so obsessed with immortality and living one day longer than his daughter.

The old Doom Patrol seen in season one were just as aged as the one seen in "Tomb Patrol," only that team is utterly broken and can't even enjoy the time they have left if they wanted to. I wonder if Rita thought of the state of Mento and the others when she reached her geriatric state and started breaking down.

The biggest reason Rita wanted everybody to come to dinner is because Cliff, Larry, and Jane are quite literally her only family. They're all she has. Every person related to her is either dead or wouldn't believe that she's still alive, given she's a film star from the fifties. The most important part of the episode was Rita finally voicing that the Doom Patrol are all she has. They're her family and that one line suddenly makes her wanting to be the team leader and why it was so important to her all clear. She wanted to work to keep her family together after the death of Niles Caulder.

The moment with the four geriatric Doom Patrol members sitting in the living room, reminiscing about their adventures was the sweetest scene of the entire season. They forgot all about their problems and impending doom for just a few moments and simply enjoyed each others' company. They didn't become angry or confused or sad or broken like the Doom Patrol before them. They sat in the living room and shared a loving moment like a real family. Even when Rita collapsed, the other three agreed to go to the play for her sake. I loved Cliff's line when they make the decision to go: "We have to. It's Rita." For all of their dysfunction, once they saw that she was in real trouble, her fellow Doomies rushed to her aide and said, "Let's whoop some ass. For her." Those moments are what make a dysfunctional family worth rooting for. That no matter how much they may bicker and fight and disagree, they always find their way back to each other and look after each other when shit gets serious.

This version of the Doom Patrol is the best example of the team being a found family since Rachel Pollack's run back in the 90s. They've been through hell and back, but they can still sit in a living room and laugh about it. They were ready to face death together with love and laughter about eating Niles Caulder's head. Rita tells Mento before she leaves: "All I know is… I don't want to end up like you. Or Arani, or Rhea." This episode confirmed that she didn't end up like them. None of them did. If Rita Farr is truly dead, then she died surrounded by the people who loved her most who rushed to her body to help her without a second thought. At the end of the day, this show is about a bunch of freaks who love each other and that love has overcome the strangest and most bizarre forms of hell imaginable.

The Doom Patrol is marching towards death in the same way that the show is marching towards death with only two episodes left to go. No matter how it all ends, this show will always be special to me.

[wikiangela]

"buck and Tommy only got together after 2 episodes and had no development"

you know who else had little to no development before getting together, and we got all their development afterwards? bathena. and tarlos.

bathena met in s1 but had like 1 or 2 moments, and at the very end went on a date - I remember being surprised bc I did not see that coming based on what we got. by 2x01 they've already been dating for a while. you could argue there was no development there until after they got together and it's fine, they're one of the best ships.

tarols hooked up in 1x02. after no development. I remember being kinda meh about the fact that we didn't see any build up to that, except them sharing like one look (iirc). it was sudden and out of the blue and we got any development *after* that, which led to them actually starting to date at the end of the season. by s2 they're fully in a relationship and we also didn't see all the development there. but it's fine, they're a great couple and ship.

like jfc this is a network procedural about firefighters, the focus is not romantic relationships, Buck and Tommy have barely started dating in the middle of so much other shit happening, a shorter season that couldn't focus on then too much, and now we have the opening disaster that's taking the focus. give them time. or just be normal about people who do enjoy them. sometimes people meet and start dating without knowing each other for years, it's literally normal (and in tv not boring at all, you're just mad)

like sns but Buck is not the main character, his storylines aren't always gonna be the priority, bathena's will be. it's the bathena show first and foremost, and if you still don't get that 8 seasons in idk what to tell you.

also, it's rich that people who scream about how you can't ship them bc of how little screen time they had, were shipping certain other ship right at one character's entrance. it's fine, no one says you can't, but it's kinda hypocritical.

it's almost like it's fine to ship whatever characters you want, whether they had years of development (which. sometimes debatable.) or shared two scenes, or never even met. your ship doesn't even need to be canon for you to have fun with it, you can ship it anyway, hope this helps.

some of y'all need a refresher on what fandom and shipping are istg

[thebleedingeffect]

okay you asked for the chance to go full autism so here's a bunch: 1,3,5,8,11, 22 for the asks

YAYYYYYY YES YES YES YIPPPEEEEE okay okay so I'm using this ask game- which I love- and thank you for all the numbers, I'm about to go fucking insane !!

1. Is there a Zelda game(s) that you associate with each season or time of year?

Strangely enough, I associate hyrule warriors with summer and twilight princess with fall? I cannot explain myself in the slightest why that is, but it is what it is <3 if I had to give the two other seasons their own games- skyward sword feels like spring and majora's mask feels like winter :]

3. Favorite incarnation of Zelda?

Okay, damn, this is a genuinely difficult question- I'm so extremely split between Sheik, sksw Zelda, and botw Zelda- but I think I'm going to have to go with sksw Zelda. I did not expect to love her as much as I do when I first played skyward sword, but her entire progression throughout the game and her conversation with Link? Absolutely heart-wrenching and was quite possibly one of the most in-depth looks we've ever gotten from any of the Zelda's. So much of the story hinges on the burden of responsibility that she endures and the extremely hard choice that she makes in purposely leading Link in the story. It adds such depth to her character by giving her this overwhelming responsibility and the knowledge that she has to be so cruel to one of the people she loves most.

The contrast of knowing that Zelda is a genuinely good person who has been forced to mature extremely fast and has the entire knowledge of her existence swept out from under her? This is a Zelda who has the knowledge of just who and what she is practically thrown at her without any mercy and is expected to act the part. The scene where she tells Link just exactly the situation they're in and just how guilty she is in dragging him into everything, but that she can't think of anyone better to be hero... it's devastating, because she cares for him so much and knows and believes in the sheer amount of potential he carries. Zelda never doubted him for a second, but at the same time, she never allows him to get close and tell him the truth until he quite literally cannot stop her. My interpretation is that she feels such overwhelming responsibility and guilt, but at the same time, she's so overwhelmed by the situation before her that she doesn't quite trust anyone else to help her.

Could she have talked to Link before? Could they have shared their struggles and would it have prevented the both of them going through so much pain and uncertainty? Is Zelda paralyzed by this idea that it is her responsibility alone and does not wish to burden Link with knowledge until she quite literally cannot avoid it? Does she not tell him because she doesn't want him to be dragged any deeper into this mess strictly more than he has to be? Does she not trust him? Does she not trust herself to break or share the weight?

It's just, sksw Zelda is such a wonderful and flawed incarnation of Zelda whom I can't help but adore because there's so much there! I also really love the idea that she secretly carries a lot of anger, uncertainty, and this drowning sense of responsibility that she alone must carry. It creates this image of a Zelda who genuinely has a hard time communicating, trusting, and allowing someone to be close beyond sheer surface level kindness. The sort of companionship where she allows herself to lean on someone without the thought of her burdening someone.

She's just extremely good <333 I could go on about her even more, but yeah, genuinely up there for the best Zelda and there is some FIERCE competition that she had to work through!!

5. Favorite LOZ soundtrack?

I'm gonna sound so unoriginal- BUT IT'S OOT !! Besides oot, skyward sword, twilight princess, link's awakening, and age of calamity all have brilliant ost's :] ! I love so many of the loz ost's- but I will just be honest and say that oot is the best in my heart <3

8. Most underrated Zelda game?

I wanna say hyrule warriors so fucking bad- OKAY OKAY SKYWARD SWORD AND HYRULE WARRIORS ARE TIED FOR BEING SO FUCKING UNDERRATED. Skyward sword received a bunch of criticism that it straight up did not deserve? Like at all? If anything, I would say that skyward sword is probably one of the best games in the entire series and that if you like loz- you should definitely play it at least once!

Hyrule warriors I'm suggesting purely because more people need to join me in looking at the sheer potential of this game. This game has the potential to be a full-fledged political drama + horror + war tragedy story and I just cannot leave that be. HYRULE WARRIORS GIVES US CIA, LANA, THE ENTIRE CONCEPT OF HOW THE FUCK THE MEETING OF TIMELINES WOULD WORK, AND THE IDEA OF TIME GUARDIANS. IT ALSO GIVES US VOLGA. AND SOME OF THE MOST KICKASS CHARACTER DESIGNS IN ALL OF LOZ !!! Literally everyone please please please join me in rewriting all of hyrule warriors and giving the characters more depth than they were ever intended to have. Please.

11. Favorite Ganon characterization?

Twilight princess Ganondorf <333333 GOOODDDDD !!! THIS GUY. HE'S SO. FUCCKKKK !!!! Okay so, this incarnation of Ganondorf is absolutely brilliant to me because this is a Ganondorf who has absolutely lost everything and is not held back anything anymore. Maybe once, a long time ago, he did fight for the gerudo and his mind was more focused on wrenching power and land from the hyrulean royal family. Power and land that had been stolen from both him and the gerudo in the first place, and then expected to kneel to a bastard king with a smile on his face. In the beginning, I can totally see Ganondorf being the sort of characters who is absolutely ruthless in achieving what he deems to be fair for his people. By any means necessary, he will steal from the king and hyrule itself if he must, but he will claim that power back and make the world that he envisions. But, his plan is discovered and everything crumbles into ashes, his kingship now meaningless, so many of his people now dead, and then chained and on the urge of execution?

This is a Ganondorf who has absolutely lost everything and in his ruthlessness, his ambition, his rage, his grief, and the knowledge that this world and time itself had come together to deny him- he has truly lost everything, and therefore, nothing left to hold him back. Twilight princess Ganondorf is an incarnation of him that I truly believe is not a good person or a good king, not anymore at least, and is now consumed by this consuming need to scorch the earth because the world and goddesses themselves have cursed him. He knows he is a blight, a corruption, upon hyrule itself- and yet... he carries the mark of utter power. For him, I can almost imagine it's the drive that keeps him going forward because of the paradoxical existence of being chosen by the gods, and yet, it is the gods that have trapped him in this cycle. A mark that he is both capable and deserving of power, of leadership, and respect from a land that has done nothing but steal and destroy every scrap of the man he used to be.

I need to read the twilight princess manga and I'm planning on getting it in the next couple of weeks hopefully- but I really want to develop my characterization of him because he's so fascinating to me!! He quite literally refuses to die and seems to come to the conclusion that if the world wants him to be the villain that it deemed him to be from birth... he'll succumb to it. He has lost everything, all but that damn curse of a mark, but that evidence of the god's power and faith in him is all he has left. And so? He plans to either drag hyrule down with him or take the land in its entirety. Truly a man who has lost every thread of who he once was.

I also just love how intimidating and manipulative he is?? Like?? He's just a cool villain!! I love him so much!! And him barely gifting Link hardly a glance because he doesn't know just who he is and it's that arrogance and over-sight that leads to his demise? God I fucking love this guy. I hope he continues doing bad stuff forever.

22. Favorite incarnation of Link?

. . .. . .. . .. OKAY FINE FINE IT'S HW LINK IT'S HW LINK- I JUST LOVE HIM SO FUCKING MUCCCCHHHHHH I'M ACTUALLY CONVINCED I'M ONE OF THE TOP FIVE OF PEOPLE WHO LOVE HW LINK. I love so many of the other Link's though!! Like!! oot link, botw/totk link, tp link??? sksw link and la link?? So many of them are fantastic!!! But, something about fucking hw Link sets a fire to my BRAIN and I just have to admit that I ADORE THIS GUY SO MUUUCCCCHHHHH I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. I HAVE SINGLE-HANDEDLY CREATED HIS CHARACTERIZATION FROM THE SNIPPETS THAT THE GAME HAS GIVEN US. I WILL FIGHT ON THIS FUCKING HILL OF THE BOY I HAVE FOUND.

Okay so, like, this Link captures me in a way that I cannot explain. This incarnation of Link is one, that by every single scrap of evidence that the game provides, was practically thrown into the hero role overnight and no direct choice in it beyond saving Impa at the start. Which? I would argue that wasn't even a active choice in taking up the role and the master sword because of course Link would fight! Of course he would help and go out of his way to protect someone! It was such a double-sided edge of him being revealed to be the hero because this is a Link who was discovered to be the hero at the absolutely verge of war. This is a Link who didn't even have the option to learn, to choose, or to even discover just what it meant to be a hero- because the entirety of hyrule was already looking up to him as some sort of untouchable savior, chosen by the goddesses themselves. Which makes it all the more painful and really just twists the knife when you realize... Link's very existence and inclusion in the war is what caused the VAST MAJORITY OF THE GAMES EVENTS TO HAPPEN !!!

Imagine the guilt!! The imposter syndrome!! The sheer disgust he holds towards himself!! The idea that he is so worthless of a hero that he has the blood of traitors and monsters alike on his hands, because he must've been that horrible of a hero for hyrule's own to turn against him, right? The sheer edge he stands on where everyone either puts him on a pedestal, forever perfect, or utterly despises him as a worthless cut-out of just what the hero is supposed to be. Truth is, hw Link is trying the absolute best in maybe the worst circumstances that any of the Link incarnations has been forced to endure. There is truly no way he can save everyone because this was a war that has been brewing for an unknown amount of time and he is simply at the epicenter of a conflict that he never had any hope in stopping. This is a Link who destroys himself at every opportunity despite the world asking him to achieve both the impossible and to serve his very nature. A hero who is torn between the very white and black nature of being a hero, but also being a scared, overwhelmed and terrifyingly out of his depths from a opponent who has idolized all that she wants and has been stolen from her in him.

This is a Link who is being pushed to the absolute fucking edge and is somehow expected to be the perfect hero, the perfect trophy, the perfect weapon, and to somehow fix a war that he never wanted to happen in the first place. Also, so much of the game is entirely surrounded by themes of consent and oh boy! You can only imagine how much that fact has made me insane! Genuinely I cannot get the idea of hw Link's personhood and identity being so hollowed out by a combined force of hyrule's expectations, Zelda, Cia, the entire army, and the triforce that he wields that he's just... so exhausted and scared all of the time, but he isn't allowed to show that fact, both by himself and the world around him. You can make this even worse by imagining that Cia knows exactly what he's going through because she's watched so many incarnations of Link and how they act when they're completely alone... meaning that Cia is one of the very, very few who knows exactly what's running through his mind... but she's uses that fact to her advantage <3333

Quite literally the Link of all time, I could 100% go even further about this guy, I could write an entire essay about him!!! This fucking GUY !!!! I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. TORTURE HIM MORE.

[guardian-angle22]

Tagged by @beautifulhigh & @welcometololaland to list my top 5 Tarlos scenes.

This is really going to show my Season 3 bias ngl.

#5. 2.12 "Don't make me twist your arm."/"Please do."

Their chemistry is insane when they're teasing each other downstairs and then they kiss each other so softly once they get upstairs. I'm a sucker for a good soundtrack moment and there's something iconic about having their house literally light up on fire under them while obliviously making out as Fever by Elvis Presley plays in the background. Peak cinema tbh.

#4. 3.04 "Hey, baby. Breathe."/"Welcome home, TK."

We can all agree to have these two can count as one scene, right? they go back to back. The way TK reached for Carlos as soon as he woke up and immediately noticed that Carlos wasn't breathing right even though he just woke up from a coma, is still groggy, and barely has his eyes open? soulmate shit right there. If you haven't watched this without the music. my god. do it now. & then add in how happy they both look as Carlos leads TK into the loft with his hands over his eyes, and then when TK looks around and you can see on his face when he realizes he still gets to have this despite everything? Beautiful.

#3. 3.18 "For the first time in my life, the love that I feel is infinitely more powerful than the fear of losing it."/"A thousand times yes."

I mean can I even say more about the proposal that hasn't already been said? the urgency TK felt that prompted him to wake Carlos up in the middle of the night. His speech to Carlos. All the little touches throughout. The way they both were crying by the end. It was beautiful and it was perfect for them. (the only way it could have been better is if they maybe stopped to turn on a fucking lamp)

#2. 3.08 "Hey, look at me."/"I love you."

This was their first mutual "I love you" shown on screen and while the context was heartbreaking, it was still so so sweet. Carlos being the loving caregiver, kissing TK's forehead, rubbing his knee, wanting to make sure he eats. The way Carlos tells TK to look at him and he does immediately, even though TK has been basically avoiding eye contact with everyone the entire scene will live rent free in mind for all of time, I'm sure.

#1. 3.13 "Do you have any idea how proud of you I am?"/"You're just so sweet."

Can I put the entirety of 3.13 on the list at number one? Because it's my favorite episode for them. It has so many things. It has them being domestic and flirtatious. TK being distracted by Carlos in yoga clothes. It has them fighting a bit, overcoming those obstacles, and communicating. It showed Carlos as a multidimensional character with flaws like jealousy and pettiness, but then growing through it to come to the realization that he can't be everything that TK needs at the end of the day.

But if I absolutely had to pick just one scene from it, I would chose the opening scene. TK sharing with Carlos about his meeting, finding a sponsor, & the realization of not having Gwyn around affecting his mindset. Carlos waiting up with his adorable glasses, reading articles to educate himself, telling TK how proud of him he is. TK calling him sweet and flirting with him. I just-- 🥰🥰

----

Because I'm doing this pretty late in the day, this has made it's rounds through a lot of my mutuals already. so I'm just going to tag a few people that I haven't seen do it yet (no pressure though if you're not feelin' it. but also if you have done it and I missed it let me know so I can read yours!): @morganaspendragonss @ourlegendwillbefitforverse @detective-giggles @noxsoulmate @ladytessa74 @autistic-lesbian-story-lover @tkstrandreyes @pragmatic-optimist @reyescarlos @spencessmile @poledancingghostson @sunshinestrand @mandiiigurllll

[nickblaine]

season 5 script summaries

links to previous script summaries: season 4, season 3, season 2, season 1, seasons 1/2 cont’d also, check my tht scripts tag for gifs, excerpts, and more details

i got the librarian’s email about season 5 scripts, and even though driving to and parking at WGAW has become a literal nightmare, i said fuck it and flew (crawled in traffic) down there the very next day. i wanted to see what the mood was like during the strike, anyway.

the staff had the library running business as usual, but the energy was high and there were pro-union shirts everywhere. there were a couple of guys on the first floor making literal piles of picket signs. i chatted with them for a minute and they said everyone was mostly out on the streets, picketing at every major studio in the city. rock on WGA ✊

i was on a time limit to beat rush hour, so when i read the season 5 scripts it was only Nick scenes. i searched for all instances of his name and wrote down everything i could. i may go back to read the rest of the season, but i can’t make any promises on when that will be.

before i begin (same as last time):

• everything described here is from the official scripts that are archived at the Writers Guild in Los Angeles. • the scripts i read are final drafts. there is no “writing in the margins.” everything described is from dialogue and script direction that was used on set. (click for an example) • the library has a strict no copies/photos rule in place which is why i summarize what i read. • anything in italics is a direct quote for the sake of clarity. • feel free to ask questions and i’ll answer to the best of my ability. my private notes are pretty detailed, but if i need to do more research i may save the answer for a future library visit. • please do not share this post without my permission. thank you in advance for respecting my wishes.

5x01 - Morning

Nick and Rose’s morning scene in this episode is more or less the same as this early script draft. The only difference is after Nick tells Rose her coffee is good, there’s an additional line that says: “It’s a lie, and they both know it. Rose appreciates the polite kindness.”

5x02 - Ballet

There was a short scene of Nick and Joseph Lawrence having a private chat at the airport before meeting with Serena Joy. It was cut from the episode, but you can see it in the trailer.

In this scene, Lawrence confides in Nick that he’s nervous about the meeting with Serena because - in his words - “You had to let your girlfriend go after Fred.”

Nick assures Lawrence that they’re going to spin it as a savvy political move by blaming the Americans for killing Fred. Lawrence still chastises him for not doing his job. Then the conversation pivots (a little clunkily) to this line from the trailer:

NICK: Serena doesn’t know what happened.

LAWRENCE: Doesn’t matter what she knows. It matters what she believes.

When they meet Serena on the tarmac, she instantly has suspicions that they were responsible for Fred’s death. The conversation is tense until they all see Fred’s body getting rolled off the plane, then Serena needles Nick’s guilt and pokes at it with her “Fred saw promise in you” speech.

As they are leaving the tarmac, there’s a line that says “Nick acknowledges Mark with a nod” and Lawrence notices it. In the episode you can see Nick and Mark exchange looks in the background as they leave, but otherwise Lawrence doesn’t notice.

At the Putnam’s party later in the episode, you may have noticed that after the Handmaids arrive, Esther and Nick share a notable look. The script describes this as a fraught moment in which Nick is filled with remorse and wishing he could do more. It also says Esther remembers Nick from when he and the Eyes arrested her, and she’s visibly pissed about it. As they walk away from each other, “Nick can’t help but be reminded of June.”

While Serena Joy is manipulating the Commanders into broadcasting Fred’s funeral, Nick steps in because he’s moved by her bravery and “attempting to atone for his hand in killing Fred.”

In the secret meeting between Nick and Mark there were a few cut lines of dialogue. Most notable is after Nick tells him he just tries to stay out of trouble, Mark replies, “Catches up to everyone, at some point.“

Opaque, Nick thinks about that. How long does he think he can keep going?

Ok, so the end of the episode when the funeral is on TV in Canada, I’m happy to report that Nick IS mentioned in June’s inner dialogue. The scene describes her recognizing who is onscreen with Serena. First she sees Lawrence, and then... “And finally, most painfully -- NICK.” (Yes, in all caps like that, lol.)

5x03 - Border

Cute June inner-dialogue when Lily asks her if Nick’s a big Jezebels guy: “June doesn’t know how to explain what type of “guy” Nick is.”

The awkward Lawrence residence dinner scene. Commander Mackenzie genuinely loves Rose (”old friend of the family”) and is instantly distrustful of Nick. Serena doesn’t buy Nick and Rose’s relationship as genuine either, and tries to subtly acknowledge Rose’s close relationship with June’s daughter’s parents by telling him how lucky he is. Nick is tense, but then his banter with Rose relaxes him, making Serena surprised to observe real affection in their relationship.

During the dinner itself, Mackenzie is just making everyone extremely uncomfortable by bringing up June. Nothing too interesting in the script here, it’s mostly just dialogue.

There is a cut line after dinner when Nick and Rose are leaving, and she says to him, “Well I wouldn’t say that’s the most relaxing dinner party I’ve ever been to.” (He responds “Yeah. No.”) Then he spots Mark all alone. Script says Rose understands what he’s about to do. “Nick squeezes her hand, then heads over to Mark.”

The script emphasizes here that Nick is unsure talking to Mark is a good idea, but he really wants to be the one to tell June about Rose before Serena does.

Mackenzie scares the shit out of him in this scene, and the “fuck” Nick mutters at the end was originally not spoken out loud (”OFF NICK, fuck.”) but I’m so glad it was.

Alright, phone call scene. One of our few big Osblaine moments!

NICK: June. Hi.

June suddenly feels like everything is going to be okay.

This scene is mostly dialogue. The final product is all the acting that goes into it. It does say Nick is stressed to relay upsetting information about Hannah and Rose. When June hears about Rose, she knew this was coming eventually, but it’s still a blow. It also describes how painful and hard this is for both of them. But at the end of the call, right after June tells Nick to be happy, is my favorite line in the whole script:

It’s an impossible ask, maybe, for these two to be truly happy without each other.

After the phone call, there is a cut scene between Nick and Rose where they simply look at each other.

Rose knows exactly who he was on the phone with, and what he said to her.

She looks worried for him, knowing it wasn’t easy.

He nods to her -- it’s done.

5x06 - Together

According to the script, Lawrence only invited Warren Putnam over to his house to get Nick on board with killing him. Warren repulses Nick so he’s down.

The next scene they’re in is when they execute Warren. (Such a good scene.) After Nick shoots him in the head, the script describes the camera hanging onto Nick and “his soldier’s stoicism.”

Then it cuts straight to Rose in the Blaine home. “She’s disappointed in him and he knows it.”

Now this scene threw me off. It’s written much differently than how Max acted it. Nick is actually a lot more warm toward Rose in the script, much like how all their previous scenes were. Several lines of Nick’s dialogue were changed (”Can I help?” became “You gonna tell me what’s going on?” onscreen) and his body language comes across way more cold and defensive than what’s described on paper.

As for Rose, she isn’t soothed by Nick’s assurances here. And that’s it for this episode.

5x08 - Motherland

New Bethlehem opens with another cut private moment between Lawrence and Nick.

Nick is brooding by the water, “still grappling with the moral and emotional consequences of shooting Warren in the head.” Lawrence finds him and tries to prod, but Nick gives him nothing.

LAWRENCE: You look a little more moody and broody than usual. Really, you sleeping okay?  

NICK: I’m fine.

Lawrence moves on because they have work to do. He reminds Nick he’s counting on him.

Lawrence gives his New Bethlehem speech to the other Commanders. When one of them pushes back, “that’s the cue for Nick, the muscle. Enough carrots, time for sticks.”

After Nick bullies the Commanders and Lawrence consolidates his power, the script describes these two as a “dynamic duo” lol

Okay, brace yourselves, there’s a cut Osblaine scene up next. I had no idea this existed, I don’t think there are any shots of it in the trailer.

It takes place after June visits Serena in the detention center and realizes she can’t help Hannah unless she’s there. If you watch that part you will see her pull out Lawrence’s burner phone as she leaves. But instead of going to Lawrence’s office like she does in the filmed version, in the script she calls Lawrence and just says, “I want to talk to Nick.”

It cuts to the next night at the border wall between Gilead and Canada. June is waiting on the Canada side as flying drone searchlights swoop across the electrified fence. (All described in dramatic detail.) She sees Nick appear on the other side. They look at each other, waiting, and once the searchlights clear they move to meet each other at the fence.

JUNE: I need to know if this is for real. I need to know that Hannah and my family will be safe.

NICK: I know. You will be. I promise.

JUNE: How can you promise that?

NICK: Things are changing, people are scared of Lawrence. I’m in a position now where i can make sure you’ll be safe.

JUNE: I want to believe you.

NICK: June. You can finally be with Hannah, watch over her. Isn’t that what you always wanted?

She nods.

NICK (CONT’D): Then please. Come back.

“To me,” he means. June’s heart is torn.

At this point the searchlights return and they have to separate. This scene is written like a soap opera. “They can’t help but reach out to each other, almost brushing fingertips before they move apart and run back, escaping the lights.”

Photo of this scene from Max’s IG:

Later in the episode, Lawrence is back in New Bethlehem with Nick. Nick asks which way June is leaning and Lawrence says it’s toward yes. The script says here that Nick understands that Lawrence is trying to manipulate him, but he can’t help but be cautiously optimistic at the idea of having June and Nichole in New Bethlehem with him.

By the end of the conversation, Nick is “considering.”

5x09 - Allegiance

We’ll skip to 27 minutes into the episode, when June sits with Mark after the failed mission. Mark catches June off guard by bringing up Nick. She’s taken aback by the revelation that he turned down Mark’s offer, but Mark says she can still persuade him. The script says “June imagines the prospect of Nick in Toronto” which I think you can see pretty clearly on Lizzie’s face lol.

Then we cut to the big Osblaine reunion.

Lots of dramatic buildup in the script leading up to their conversation. I don’t know how to describe it other than to show you:

She looks toward the courtyard. And there he is --

NICK

Waiting for her. Strained.

JUNE

Takes a beat to soak him in. She gets out.

OUTSIDE

June approaches Nick, their eyes locked.

Like, damn. They love building tension with these two.

Anyway, dialogue proceeds as it does in the show. Nick tells June that his wife’s pregnant and June has the wind knocked out of her. She’s described as “appalled by Nick’s commitment to Gilead, but understanding of his loyalty to Rose and their future child.”

And then--

JUNE: I want what’s best for both our families.

They look at each other.

A giant chasm between them now. But they’ve shared so much. So much trauma. So much love. A daughter.

JUNE (CONT’D): Well. This is a fine mess, isn’t it?

This scene is once again described as painful for both of them. “She tries to keep it together. How can they part? How can they say goodbye?”

Before Nick says “I love you” he was supposed to wrap his arms around her, but in the final cut they keep their distance.

5x10 - Safe

Just wanna note that when Nick shows up on the bridge to meet Mark, it was originally written so American soldiers yank Nick out of his car, handcuff him, and drag him across the bridge to Mark. We were deprived.

Also the first thing out of Nick’s mouth here was supposed to be, “How is she?”

In the hospital, Mark is telling Nick what’s going on but, “Nick can’t even speak. Looking at June, with her black and blue eyes.”

Mark gets the hint and leaves Nick alone. An interesting thing to note is that the line “it’s probably better if she doesn’t know I was here” is NOT in the script. At all.

The rest of the scene is sweet and simple.

Nick crosses, sits beside June.

A beat. Nick takes her hand.

Says nothing as he watches her sleep.

And that’s it.

Mark and Nick’s second scene on the bridge is just as short and to the point. In fact it’s almost entirely dialogue, so the emotions you see onscreen came from acting and directing. The only notable difference here is when Mark tells Nick he could’ve run away with June, he was scripted to give actual examples of where. “Maybe not to Canada, but there are -- places you could’ve gone. Idaho, the Westward Territories.” (Hopefully foreshadowing lol.)

At the party, it is scripted that Rose tries to greet Nick when he arrives and he doesn’t even acknowledge her. Like she doesn’t even exist.

There isn’t much description to accompany the punch. There is a line that says if Nick wasn’t pulled off of Lawrence than he’d be happy to keep on whaling on him. It also describes Lawrence as “rattled” and Rose as “humiliated.”

At the train station, during June’s goodbye to Mark, she asks him to tell Nick that she and Nichole are safe as a nod to their phone call in episode 3. The only descriptive line here is, “A beat, as Mark clocks the deep and selfless connection between Nick and June.”

The final scene I have notes for is Nick and Rose’s breakup in jail.

There are a couple parts of their scripted conversation that didn’t make it onscreen. Starting with right after Rose tells him a good man wouldn’t leave his wife every time his girlfriend calls, Nick’s response was supposed to be, “she was almost killed.” Then Rose laments that she thought she was lucky that someone like [Nick] would deign to be with someone like [her.] Nick says, “I was the lucky one” and she tells him to shut up.

Then there’s the “You will never let go of her, will you?” line from the show. Nick explains that he tried, but Rose retorts with, “Who knows what that woman will bring to our door. I have to protect our son.” Nick is described as scared now, and pleads with her not to leave.

Now I have no idea if that “our son” drop was supposed to be a legitimate reveal or just hopeful Gilead thinking. The script says nothing else about it and it was cut from the show. But it will be fun to speculate as we wait for the final season.

[takaraphoenix]

Shadow and Bone: Season 2 Darklina Review

Okay, one more SaB season 2 review, this one very specifically only about Darklina. Felt wrong to put it into the main review because it would have taken like two third of the review probably.

I’ve never made a ship-specific review for a show before, but I have so many thoughts about them after this season, so here we go.

This ship just makes me feel unhinged to a degree I am not used to? I honestly think I usually feel pretty... normal... about my ships? Even when I love them a lot and they evoke strong feelings in me, but something about Darklina is incomprehensible to me.

Part of it, clearly, is the incredible amount of chemistry between their actors. I mean, that’s just off the charts, the eye-fuckery between them in delicious, they put so much passion into their scenes, it’s amazing. Not just their romantic scenes in season 1, but also their scenes in season 2. Even their enemy scenes are filled to the brim with so much raw passion.

But it’s also the writing. Which I find confusing because I’ve heard it, repeatedly, that the author apparently doesn’t even... like... Aleksander...? Or the ship? And I’m... Look, there is the very simple nature of hero/villain ships in that they will always happen on account of people wanting to ship heroes and villains, regardless of how much you want to discourage them.

But the writing on this doesn’t discourage it, it encourages it to levels that I’ve rarely seen. I mean, they crammed legitimate soulmate tropes into this show. Things happened these season that I have used in fanfiction as “soulmate AU” plotlines.They had shared dreams. Not even just shared dreams, but they could talk to each other in these shared dream spaces.

The whole “two sides of the same coin” and “the light and the darkness” and the sun and moon symbolism is the obvious one, it’s wildly beloved, we’ve seen it in season 1 already. It’s catnip for villain/hero ships.

But now they added literal soulmate AU tropes into the mix and I’m not supposed to be madly deeply into this...? I don’t really know how that’s thought through.

Alina’s wanted poster was actual fanart of Darklina. She was wanted for fanfiction plot. I would actually like to read that alternate timeline she was wanted for. That was a great pitch. I’ve seen someone say that was supposed to mock Darklina shippers? I’m sorry? There was art of my ship in canon and the entire country thought they were some badass power couple why was I supposed to feel mocked by that? That evoked a feeling of validation and satisfaction in me...?

I’ll be honest, I was very afraid of season 2 for a multitude of reasons and one of them was Darklina. I loved them in season 1, when they actually got together, but knowing the writer doesn’t like the ship, knowing they wanted to actively discourage shippers, and knowing what other shows/movies like to do when a hero and villain fully find themselves on opposing sides, I really dreaded where season 2 would find Aleksander and Alina.

Part of me feared that they’d make Alina the doe-eyed hero; a very common trope, especially when there are canonical feelings - of any variety - between the hero and the villain is that the hero very desperately and naively tries to reason with the villain and tries to redeem them. And, let’s be real, it would not have been unreasonable to suspect so because with literally everybody else Alina displays a disturbing amount of naivety and forgiveness. Every single person who has backstabbed, betrayed and manipulated her, she has forgiven and let close again without any hesitation.

Anyway, that’s just a dynamic I greatly dislike, it’s not my cup of tea. So I was very pleasantly surprised by the way it went - for one, by just how completely Alina turned against Aleksander, it seemed very extreme especially considering her over-eagerness to forgive virtually everyone else, but also because I really enjoyed it. I didn’t expect that. I mean, I ship them, why would I enjoy them opposing each other this much?

Again, the incredible chemistry between their actors really played into it. Every confrontation between them was so charged it was so intense to watch. There was something so very overwhelming about Jessie and how... powerful she was, when she held her head high against Aleksander. True power couple vibes.

Baghra was also a big part of delivering the ship this season, making Alina confront just how deep the bond between them runs? It just seems like such a choice to put his mom on her side and to have his mom make Alina consider this deep soul connection that she shares with Aleksander. Once again, you write it like that and I’m not supposed to sell my soul to this ship, how?

It was also incredible to me just how much the writers made Mal look like a rebound. Going into this season, I was aware that book canon dictates Mal and Alina would become a couple. But I kind of expected there to be... a build up...? I was bracing myself for them to spend season 2 building up a romance, but they just right away started with them making out. I’m sorry, how can I take this serious as a relationship, she’s been with Aleksander like, what, a week ago? And now she’s making out with Mal?

And the first time she uses the term “love” to describe what’s going on between her and Mal isn’t when she’s with Mal, it’s when she’s with Aleksander, in the dreamspace. And I’m not supposed to take that as her trying to make him jealous?

All I could see was a cheap rebound and I honestly felt bad for the guy. She’s literally standing in a shared mindspace with the man she has a deep soul-connection to, teasing him and using Mal to make him jealous. Unhinged behavior. Excellent. I love it.

Even the corruption arc for Alina!! Because one of the things that get me about Darklina is that I really, truly, genuinely under no circumstances would want a redemption arc for Aleksander - and here I’m cutting a rant that is going to be its own plot probably - I would much rather have a corruption arc for Alina.

Sure, Aleksander died. And I absolutely could have done without that. But... his last act before dying was trying to save her life and that was. Damn. That hit me hard. And then he still died by her hand. And that also hit me hard. But I even kind of liked that? In a poetic sense?

And then the corruption fully kicked in at the end, Alina wields shadows and smiles. Unclear if she smiles because she enjoyed using shadows, or because she enjoyed killing, or because she enjoyed the powers. Maybe all three.

Either way, Baghra talked so much about Morozovas and resurrection and now Alina has these powers and seems to like them and it seems reasonable to assume Alina could or might resurrect Aleksander with them.

Whether or not she does that though, once again I ask, how do you give her his powers, how do you keep condemning him for killing people and then you give her his powers and you make her smile after using these powers to kill someone - and you still don’t want me to ship this? Really?

This ship is so... poetic and intense and it makes me feel so much and I truly can’t comprehend that the writers actively want viewers not to feel that way about this ship because damn, they’re really bad as writers if this is them writing with the intention of “this ship bad :/ these two Not Good Romantic Partners :/”. You can’t pack a dynamic full with so much symbolism, tension and so many romantic tropes and expect people to not be into it.

[thestobingirlie]

I saw a post saying that Steve was a huge bully, and that it's mentioned in every season that he bullied others so much and other characters talk about how bad he affected them.

And I was just thinking where?

The worst we get is season 1. With breaking Jonathan's camera, and then the fight in the alley. Breaking the camera was 100% justified. There were photos of a minor changing. And even without the photos of Nancy, it was a massive invasion of Steve's privacy. And the fight Steve was somewhat provoked into saying those things. Yes, a lot of what he said was uncalled for, but he was provoked by the photos, then seeing Nancy and Jonathan together in Nancy's room despite the photos, and then Nancy and Jonathan showing up together in the alley just sealed the deal that there was something going on. He's a bit of an asshole, but not a bully. And sure, he gets referred to as "that douchebag, Steve Harrington" by Lucas in episode 1, but the kids don't know him at this point. They've most likely never met him, and anything that they know about him is hearsay.

Season 2, I don't think there's any mention of him being a bully or even much of a mention of him being an asshole. It's obvious that Jonathan doesn't really like Steve, but that's more jealousy. And sure, the kids don't seem fond of him to start with, and he's the last resort, but they don't really know him, so they don't yet have a reason to trust him. They would have only met him in passing, Mike might have met him for a bit longer at times, but not enough to actually know Steve.

Season 3. Robin says that Steve was an asshole and a douchebag, but she admits to having a biased view. She said that she felt that way because he wasn't paying attention to Tammy Thompson and she was jealous because of it. And him not remembering her from the class they shared. Not remembering someone doesn't mean that he's an asshole. We don't know how many students were at Hawkins High, but the few scenes we see of more of the student body, there looked like quite a lot. I went to a small school (100-120 kids each year) and I barely recognised and remembered some of the kids I had classes with. And I really didn't recognise anyone that wasn't the same age as me. It doesn't make Steve a bully, it just makes him a little self-centred in the way teenagers are.

Season 4, the only scene we get is his talk with Eddie. And Eddie admitted he was wrong to consider Steve a douchebag, and it was just based off of assumptions of him, because he didn't actually know him.

(This person also said that Billy wasn't a bully on the same post. Even if you discount all his interactions with the other main characters, his first scene in season 3 he is literally bullying a child. He is shouting at this kid and repeatedly calling him lard-ass in front of a crowded public pool.)

i feel like i saw that post, and i just scrolled past lol. it’s so weird when people take characters that are obviously biased at their word when there is evidence to the contrary.

no one has ever said that steve bullied them, they’ve called him names, but never about personal experiences with steve, just because of their assumptions.

yeah. i will always defend the breaking of the camera in s1, and anyone that defends him with ‘jonathan’s poor’ like… maybe he shouldn’t have taken pictures of people looking through the fucking trees into a house. and yeah, the fight is fucked up, steve says stuff he shouldn’t, slutshames nancy, and it’s all disgusting. but it’s not bullying.

s2, there’s nothing to imply steve’s treated anyone badly, and in s3, like you said, robin doesn’t actually mention any bad behaviour from steve, she just takes out her anger on him because he could have tammy thompson, he has all her attention and he doesn’t even look her way.

then yeah, s4, eddie admits he was wrong about steve, that he made presumptions because steve was rich and hot.

(omfg i hate that scene with billy calling that kid a lard ass, because those middle age mothers literally see billy calling a child names and are still looking lustfully at him!!)

but yeah, steve isn’t a bully, to say he is one is just… wrong lmao. the freaks and geeks all take out their anger at not being popular on steve, unfairly, and to just believe them when all evidence does against what they say, is kinda funny

[oviids]

pls share some of your spn fic recs 🥺🥺

ok, a few things first:

followers and mutuals who do not have supernatural brainworms, kindly avert your eyes

i don’t normally rec or even read much fanfic any more but this is a CRISIS ok (cont.)

there is so. much. content for deancas out there and i have incredibly high standards, several ancient ao3 bookmarks, can speedread, and want to spare you guys the experience of wading through it all.

i also have a section for spn femslash since I was pretty into that back in the day (sadly a lot less fan content for this :/)

I don’t really like au’s or pure smut (I honestly usually just skim or skip those scenes) so if you’re mainly looking for that kind of thing this probably won’t be very helpful to you. jsyk.

i’m not great at describing stuff but i’ll do my best, i’ll also try and add tw’s when neccesary.

i wil try and keep updating this with any other decent fics i find, feel free to rec stuff too since i’m like 7 years behind.(edit 1/25/21) this is getting looooong so i’m going to start making another list on my spn blog rather than update this one

(edit 1/3/21) since this has gotten pretty long i’ve added rating/approximate word counts and marked my particular favorites with an asterisk.

Dean/Cas fic:

So Says The Sword*** - explicit/85k. FUCK its good...au/time travel where dean is not pulled out of hell by cas and says yes to becoming the michael sword. honestly could serve as an alternative to actually watching the show, if you want to get into dean/cas without actually doing that to yourself.

Fata morgana.*  - teen/6k, pst s9 finale. very bela centric and i love it, she finds cas looking for dean in hell.

Redemption Road -misc/600+k. an incredibly long fic from a collaborative writing group back in the day. canon divergent from the end of s6 on, has a cool take on godstiel and the leviathans, as well as the lovecratian mythos connection. ngl when i reread it i only made it about 28% in but imo the casual reader can actually stop around there, the rest concerns a lovecraftian apocalypse that is still good (i think i don’t remember it very well) but not required to enjoy the first half. if you prefer i have an ebook version i can send you on gdrive.

Someone Who's Feeling For Me* - mature/45k, s12. they run into lisa braeden and dean thinks cas is into her while cas thinks dean still likes her. treats lisa way better than the show ever did and the miscommunication is pretty funny rather than annoying.

a turn of the earth - mature/95k. time travel fic where cas from s10 keeps showing up in deans life from a few years before s1 to right before the hellhounds take his soul.  slow burn, good character study, and at one point cas punches the dad in the face and it rules.

On the Wings of War - teen/85k, canon divergent s5. dean accidentally becomes the Horseman of War. plays fun, fast and loose with biblical lore, michael has some rights.

Named - mature/95k, alternate s5. EXTREMELY blasphemous in a fun sexy way. manages to predict metatron almost to a T. there’s one major character death and its literally jesus christ, everyone is very sad about it and it sets the rest of the story rolling. an alternate interpretation of cas’ mission to raise dean from hell which had me on the floor. ngl its kind of misogynistic at points, but its from 2010 and tracks with late oughts-2010 spn (sorry anna the author did you dirty here:/).

The Girlfriend Experience - explicit/15k. uhhh i don’t normally rec or even read smutty stuff unless someone i know is specifically asking for it but this has stuff like sam trying to be a good ally and dean thinking holding hands with cas is ‘kinda gay :/’ minutes after having gay sex with him.

i crippled your heart a hundred times - explicit/19k, s8. cas confesses his feelings and dean spends a long time getting his head out of his ass about it. truly hits different after the actual confession, despite being written six years early it feels like its actually what could have gone down more or less if the writers weren’t talentless demons who hate us.

My Roots Take Flight** - mature/125k. reverse au where cas is a hunter and dean’s an angel...OR IS IT???? an alternate retelling of s4. tw for briefly being set in a psychiatric hospital/the hospital being mentioned somewhat frequently throughout the fic, plus more references to torture in hell and heaven than usual.

The One Thing You Can't Lose* - teen/4k.you know those posts about how cas is a super-strong super-tough ancient warrior but he just lets dean tug him around because he likes it? thats it thats the fic.

Hands, From Which All Things Are Built - teen/14k, post s8′s ‘goodbye stranger.’ cas is on the run with the angel tablet but keeps in touch with sam and dean by text, he and dean still manage to be terrible at Actual communication.

Autrement, Danger - or, The Account of an Exceedingly Long Day - mature/30k, post s11. a monster that takes the appearance of your soulmate leads to some wild miscommunications and dealing with years of repression, also dean gets to see cas’ true form which is always cool. tw for non-graphic mentions of underage sexual assault/sex work.

Down to Agincourt - mature/explicit/900++++k, endverse continuation. endverse!cas survives his encounter with lucifer and discovers another time-displaced dean from s7. i’ve only read the two of four parts but its really good, veeeeery slow burn, has a lot of fun oc’s and takes a rather surprising but (imo) entertaining and intriguing turn into Hellenic history and mythology. usual tw’s for endverse/endverse!cas but nothing graphic, it’s actually pretty light-hearted (relatively speaking of course).

Nothing Equals the Splendor** - explicit/8k, THEE finale fix it fic you’ve been waiting for! posits that the entire final episode was just a (very bad and lame) djinn’s vision.

like moses and batman and james dean - explicit/31k, post s8. explores dean’s trauma and internalized homophoba from his technically canon experience with sex work and its impact on his relationship with cas. the sex work itself isn’t really shown in any detail but it’s still a relatively heavy fic.

Crazy Diamonds - explicit/25k, s4/alternate s14. fresh-out-of-hell dean and dean from 10 years in the future are displaced from time and sent to each other’s present.

where the weeds take root - explicit/30k. au where the men of letters kick them out of the bunker and they accidentally move out into the country, get over their codependence and semi retire. featuring chicken coop building, sam volunteering at a dog shelter, gardening, and blissfully mundane domesticity.

No Resting Place - teen/6k. djinn dream fic, switches back and forth between cas’ dream of being married to dean and retired from hunting to the aftermath when he wakes up. tw for brief mention of suicide since, y’know, djinn dream.

any port in a storm - mature/52k. post s8 finale. cas and dean have to pose as a couple going through a rough patch for a case and actually deal with their emotional baggage, cas struggles with being human and metatron is up to stuff.

all this and heaven too* - explicit/7k. in the author’s own words ‘...a love letter to every trans person who ever projected onto Dean Winchester.’ absolutely unzipped me emotionally and theologically, its just. so good. tw for very brief mentions of internalized transphobia/dysphoria.

Because it is* - mature/6k, finale fix it. killing chuck does not bring back anyone back and the winchesters spend a very long time dealing with what they’ve lost, cas and dean SOMEHOW still manage to have signifigant communication issues even after the confession. tw for suicidal thoughts/brief attempt.

Vena Amoris and Other Old-Fashioned Bullshit* - teen/4k, s6. when cas fell for dean it automatically soulbonded/angel married them, shenanigans ensue when dean finds out during the angel’s civil war. funny and actually written back when s6 was airing so cas is still (or at least pretending to be) kind of an OP asshole which is fun.

Rinse, Repeat - teen/3k, s8. angsty character study of cas as he’s reprogrammed and trained to kill dean. not really dean/cas since its just cas’ pov of canon events but its beautifully written and ends with him snapping out of it through the power of love (also now a canon event!).

Emergence - explicit/59k, canon divergent after s11. dean meets a hunter he only recognizes as their friend claire novak’s missing father, but soon realizes he might be the answer behind the mysterious void in his memories and feelings (aka everyone’s memories of cas are completely wiped away for three years).

Cuckoo And Nest - explicit/10k, early established relationship/character study, cas tries to figure out how he fits into dean’s life and space in the bunker.

Build a Home* - teen/20k, canon divergent s12. sam and eileen are cute and turn the bunker into men of letters/hunters hq and everyone but cas moves in, mutual miscommunication issues and pining ensues.

Down in the River - teen/5k, early s8, cas prays to dean in purgatory while sam and dean try to figure out a way to get him out.

Teaching Poetry to Fish* - mature/52k, ?? BC through the entire series/canon divergent s14 and 15. retelling of crucial scenes throughout the shows timeline from cas’ pov, feat. actual fish and poetry.

the minor fall, the major lift - gen/4k, post confession/finale fixit. dean goes into the empty to save cas and runs into several old friends (and enemies).

With the Kisses of His Mouth* - teen/3k, gen later seasons. dean and cas keep kissing by accident.

Remaining Grace - explicit/109k, alternate s6. au where cas asks dean for help with raphael and dean, of course, does. tw for temporary major character death/semi-graphic depictions of alcohol withdrawal.

The face of heaven.* - teen/10k, au, dean is a regular guy and cas is a fallen star (think ‘stardust’, kinda).

Stories Are Made of Mistakes*  - teen/5k. newly human cas has trouble getting used to a human body and humanity in general, but still figures out that he and dean are A Thing before dean does.

Hurry Up And Wait - mature/21k, canon divergent s12. a fairyland and quite possibly LOTR related case comes up and dean goes full fanboy, mary is introduced to the wonders of the peter jackson adaptions, many references and comparisons (including between cas and dean’s ‘friendship’ and arwen/aragon). also charle is still alive and has just been doing fairy stuff this whole time.

There Are Many Things - explicit/28k, s9. cas is extremely lonely/touch-starved and trying to figure out this whole human thing, as well as where he and dean stand after being kicked out of the bunker.

It's A Long Life to Always Be Longing - teen/40k, post s11 finale. amara helps dean by putting him in a magical coma so he can finally get some much needed rest and show him possible futures for him, sam and cas. meanwhile sam and cas go on a roadtrip (or several) to find componets for a spell to wake dean up. really good sam and cas friendship, they actually talk about their shared lucifer trauma and stuff.

Non-Photo Blue - gen/2k, s4/5/alternate s5. fifty moments from cas’ memories of dean.

Tall Grass - explicit/57k, canon divergent post series. cas becomes the ultimate plant dad. feat the wayward sisters gang, cathartic character growth, fun oc’s, domesticity, and lots of actual botanical info-dumping.

on vessels - no rating/gen/2k. established dean/cas, cas tells dean about how he used to imagine what it would be like to have him as his vessel.

search for tomorrow on every shore* - teen/11k, post-finale (extremely derogatory). some angels in jack’s new heaven act out and dean gets temporarily resurrected in 2003 and runs into his younger self.

Architecture of the Minotaur’s Heart - explicit/45k, very canon divergent post s1. dean’s new house seems to have a life and mind of its own, while in his dreams he sees glimpses of a world and apocalypse that never came to be and an angel that looks strangely like his mysterious neighbor, cas. loosely inspired by the book house of leaves (which i highly recommend for fans of weird horror).

The Distance Of The Setting Sun - explicit/17k, post s5. established dean/cas relationship, team free will finally takes advantage of cas’ abilities to go on vacation around the world.

diamond star halo - teen/5k, s11. dean lets cas use him as a temporary vessel while he recovers from rowena’s spell, sam is a long-suffering third-wheel.

Make Known** - teen/16k, s6/7. dean struggles to understand how cas could have become his enemy and whether he ever truly knew him in the first place.

blunt little instrument* - mature/1.4k, post finale. dean finally confronts his father in heaven, very cathartic.

my heart a compass*** - teen/10k, post confession. the empty forces cas to re-experience his most regretted moments while dean tries to snap him out of it and bring him home.

A Crash Course in Someone Else's History - teen/11k, s6. cas from the very start of s4 is brought forward in time by s6!cas to distract the brothers from his and crowley’s plans.

The Cuckoo Father - mature/8k, s7 au. the woman who found cas in the river post-leviathans does not marry him bc he was sent to her by god or whatever, but actually identifies him as jimmy novak and sends him back to claire and amelia.

The Dead Dean Clause* - teen/5k, post alt s5 ending. team free will celebrates surviving taking down lucifer by getting blitzed, cas lies to a cop and gets an impromptu driving lesson. title/description sound dark i know but it’s actually very funny and light.

Suck It, Judy Garland - mature/20k, s12 (after the ‘i love you...i love all of you’ episode). cas and sam have to pretend to be a couple for a case and dean is NOT happy about it.

By Daylight and In Dream - teen/16k, s5. pre-dean/cas, dean invites cas to use his dreams to hide from the other angels. tw for very brief mention of a memory/dream of alastair sexually assaulting dean.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven - mature/22k, post-canon. an actually happy (if sometimes bittersweet) heaven endgame written several years ago, though some details are rather eerily similar to the show’s ending.

heaven is a place on earth* - teen/2k. dean’s pov of some of the times cas left him behind throughout the show, and one alternate ending where he finally gets to stay.

I Cleanse The Mirror - teen/20k, alternate s6. dean’s body is stolen by an ancient elemental and his soul has to hitch a ride in cas’ vessel.

an exploration of gender; angelic*** - mature/4k. *oscar isaac voice* lets get into angel gender politics!! aka cas is trans.

Zenith - explicit/33k, s9. after 9x06 an angry witch curses cas with the ability to see supernatural beings and human souls.

La cucina. - gen/3k, alt s9. dean goes wild helping a newly-human cas find out what kinds of food he likes, or the early s9 domesticity we deserved!

Dean Winchester, Cocksucker at Rest***** - teen/7k, post-finale. john and mary finally come over for dinner and john reacts to dean/cas in a rather predictable fashion. SOOOOOOOOO good omg, its so funny and a little sad and very very cathartic. part of a series that has a few other really good short fics.

The Way You Didn't Go - teen/5k, s15. coda to 15.09, dean has nightmares about the moc!cas timeline.

On Drowning - teen/28k. dean saves cas after he nearly drowns, they both try and deal with the physical/mental fallout (aka the fic where thee iconic “you only touch me when you think I’m dead or dying” originates). tw for realistic depictions of drowning/triage/misc medical information.

The Thirty-Six Questions That Lead to Love* - mature/13k. claire has dean and cas pretend to be her gay dads for a case and they play the titular 36 question game, get mistaken for swingers, and birdwatch, among other things.

Assorted F/F stuff:

Deep Breaths* - mary/ellen, au where mary said no to azazel’s deal and let john stay dead, still becomes a milf.

Like Rebel Diamonds - krissy/claire, they become hunter gf’s on the hunt for cas to kick his ass for taking jimmy. not-so-stealth dean/cas as well.

To Ash and Bone - anna/ruby, same author as the previous fic (p much all of her stuff is good from what i recall). au where ruby is a witch and helps anna when she’s cursed.

Holy Clockwork Angels - jo/ruby, STEAMPUNK au with very cool worldbuiilding.

At Day's End - jo/anna (my fucking KINGDOM for more jo/anna content, the dean/cas parallels are allllll there), au where they are both at the camp in the endverse and gfs.

these posts - ok so not actually a fic but i’m now obsessed with this hannah/meg dynamic.

Tagelied - mary/ellen, the true story of how ellen got into hunting before angels interfered.

Hell's Bells** - meg/abaddon, alternate s8/9 where meg survives crowley’s attack with sam’s help and teams up with abaddon (who she has a sk year old crush on) to take back hell.

The Ecstasy of the Rose - anna/ruby, anna travels back in time to escape heaven and becomes a signifigant part of ruby’s old human life.

Angel Underground - anna/jo, kind of an urban fantasy au with a very intriguing premise (sadly its very short, i’d love to see more if this ‘verse).

Clover, Flame - billie/mary, billie was always the reaper that showed up to take mary after her death(s) over the years.

Drag Me To Heaven - anna/ruby, a variant on the ‘last night on earth’ thing with dean.

Come Home* - jo/anna, canon-divergent au where anna is the new waitress at the roadhouse and helps jo set up a (probably not really) haunted house for halloween.

[stephdrawsjohnlock]

why do you ship rimmer and lister? i don't judge you or anything (you should hear about some of my ships lmao) but i haven't noticed anything romantic between them? idk you don't have to answer this i'm just curious.

Hey Nonny!

No offense taken, and I'll try to be as respectful as I can in my reply as well!

Before I begin, let me ask you, without malice: Why do you ship what you ship? Does it matter if it's canon or not? Is it because it makes you happy, or is it because the dynamic intrigues you, or maybe you're using a character as a placeholder for yourself to help understand your own trauma? There's a plethora of answers here that honestly is different for each individual, and really there's no "right" answer.

There are people who ship Kryten and the Cat, or Mycroft and an umbrella, or Anderson with Sherlock, or Snape and Sirius... I personally don't get any of the ships, but they're not my 'ship, and really, not my place to shit on it. Shipping just makes fandom a bit more dynamic and interactive.

The short answer to your question, for me anyway, is because it gives me hope, as do all my current ships. I'm an older cusp millennial, and I haven't had a serious relationship ever in my life. A commonality with all my ships, I've discovered, is that I have a "placeholder" character that I relate to, and in turn it just... makes me feel like there is still someone out there for me, that I'm not to old to find someone to share my life with; A John to my Sherlock. A loveably annoying life partner Lister to my grumpy, "unloveable" neurotic set-in-my-ways Rimmer. A smitten Crowley to my fussy Aziraphale. It's literally as simple as that for me on a personal level. AND because I like the chemistry of the characters interacting, and I like how other authors interpret that dynamic.

Canon-speaking though, a lot of my ships do come about if I feel that, in-canon, it could be a very real possibility and if their chemistry feels right to me. I explained it a bit more in-depth in the description box of this art-piece here, but the long short of it is "they're stuck in space forever, as life partners, and you can see the growth of their relationship over 30 years." Binge Series 1 all the way through to 13 (The Promised Land), and you'll see a dramatic difference from Rimmer/Lister S1E1 and Rimmer/Lister S13 TPL. Maybe I'm looking too much into it, but the post-Ace era episodes are especially kind of... married couple-ish? I can't really explain. There's a few scenes where you'll see Rimmer and Lister walk off together, or share an inside joke at the expense of another character, or Lister will be so DONE with Rimmer but still put up with him anyway after Rimmer "apologizes" in his own way, LOL. Also:

They have a ship the size of a small city, and even when Rimmer came back in series 9, they still shared a room. I KNOW in sitcoms it's fiscally better to keep sets to a minimum, but they... I dunno could have shown Rimmer and Lister in separate rooms at any time.

In fact, the one SINGLE TIME they did split rooms pre-Starbug/Post-Starbug, in "ME SQUARED", when Rimmer got annoyed with himself... He went RIGHT back to share a room with Lister again, so the "minimal sets" thing get rendered moot... "Me Squared" is the last episode of the first season... when they would have known if their budget got slightly bigger and they could have made them in separate rooms. But nope. 11 seasons Sharing the same room?

PLUS The argument could then ALSO be made that The Cat could then share a set room too... but nope. OH and Kochanski as well... to be fair their time on Red Dwarf together was in prison, but I digress. So yeah, sharing a bunk room on a ship the size of a small city? Seems sus, LOL.

"STOKE ME A CLIPPER", it was Dave who encouraged Rimmer that he could be more, and kept Rimmer's secret when he left, not even confessing to Kochanski what happened to Rimmer.

In the episode "BLUE", Lister literally pines over Rimmer for the entire episode, to the point where Lister dreams about kissing Rimmer.

"FATHERS AND SUNS", Lister makes a true effort to take Rimmer's advice and to be a better father to himself. I know it's a stupid little thing, but it's evidence that Dave does take things Rimmer tells him to heart even when they bicker, and it ends terribly for them, but there you go LOL.

"ENTANGLED", it's explicitly stated that Rimmer literally cannot survive without Lister, since Holly is no longer running the ship. They're essentially tied together until Dave finally dies for real.

"M-CORP", I personally feel like it was Rimmer who was the most determined to get Lister back. Maybe I'm biased because Rimmer is my fave character, but I dunno, that's the vibe I got from it.

"THE PROMISED LAND" is the most telling for me, and conveniently the most recent episode... It was the "Sun and Moon" convo for me that renewed my love for their dynamic. Lister sincerely told Rimmer that he needed Rimmer in his life, and Rimmer took it to heart, AND they don't make a "no homo" joke about it later on. It was lovely to me.

There's a tonne more that I personally see probably because of shipper goggles, but what do I know, LOL. I will give that to you, that in earlier episodes it is harder to see, but I promise, binge the whole thing as one and you can see them already growing on each other by series 2.

If not a ship, I've ALWAYS seen them as each other's best friend since at least series two. Both know more about the other than any coworker/room-mate should, and thirty years on, especially after Rimmer returns, it just seems they've softened each other's edges and made themselves a family. At the very least it's a nice "found family" trope, given how fucked up Rimmer and Lister's past lives were.

ANYWAY, SORRY, I rarely get to talk about Red Dwarf, so thank you for the opportunity!

The TL;DR of this is: I ship them because I'm an old romantic sap who ships other old idiots because they make me happy and hopeful for my own future, AND because I love the chemistry my ships have with each other. Simple as that! <3

Hope that answers your question, and thank you for asking it :)