#(actually in season 1 too but it was as a joke so it doesn't count)

[just-a-little-unionoid]

y'all gay people in my phone aren't obsessed enough with The Visitor From the Future and it displeases me :(

[anglercrit]

One thing that really frustrates me about Viv's work is how she handles her villains. She has a love for wacky/Saturday morning cartoon villains, which, fair- I admit I like them too. But the issue is ALL of her villains are this- all of her villains are either goofy Saturday morning cartoons or complete idiots, neither of which end up posing an actual threat to the cast. Like, seriously- let me go through every villain in Hazbin/Helluva so far.

Stella: Treated as incompetent by the narrative

Robo-Fizz: Dead

Verosika: barely even a villain- if anything she's more just a rival

CHERUB: Kicked out of Heaven in their first appearance so they can't be a threat to IMP, and they haven't shown up since their first episode

DHORKS: Same as CHERUB- portrayed as incompetent and haven't shown up since Season 1

Striker: WAS an actual decent threat in Harvest Moon Festival....but then Western Energy ruined him and made him into another dick joke vehicle.

Fizzarolli: an actually decent rival to Blitzo in Ozzie's, but he needed WAY more episodes before hitting the big emotional arc in Oops and hasn't been portrayed as a villain since Ozzie's

Asmodeus: same as fizz- seemed intimidating at first, but he hasn't really....been portrayed as a bad guy since Ozzie's.

Chaz: Joke villain who's just a more annoying Blitzo and he's dead now so

Crimson: Had the POTENTIAL to maybe be a threat, but was already treated awfully in his debut episode, and was handled even worse in Oops

Andrealphus: Introduced out of NOWHERE and has barely done anything/we've had no time to absorb him as a threat

Barbie Wire: RIDICULOUSLY flat and oh yea is an Actual Predator for the sake of a bad joke

Glitz and Glam: ....why do they exist again?

Mammon: an ACTUAL THREAT AGAIN, but even THEN he's still portrayed as goofy/incompetent

As for Hazbin's villains...

Lucifer: Goofy Dad

Vox: Goofy Villain

Valentino: Goofy Villain Who's Also An Actual Rapist

Velvette: ....does she even count?

Adam: Annoying Dickhead Fratboy who's more irritating than intimidating

Lute: Honestly the most potential of anyone here but she's still pretty boring

The issue is Viv wants all her villains to be Team Rocket, but she forgets that Team Rocket was Never Taken Seriously. Minus the Unova anime, When it came time for a serious threat, there was always a new villain introduced for the movie! They knew they couldn't have proper stakes with them as the main baddies, so they weren't! Viv just doesn't understand that you can't have all your villains be Jessie and James if you're trying to go for a serious story like she is.

[autumnmobile12]

7 Ways to Introduce the Villain.

1. The Shadow

A lot of series go with the classic 'ominous shadowy figure in the background.' Here's Silco in Arcane. Sinister voice, sinister dude, sinister intent. Boom, you have your villain.

2. The Slow Reveal

Other variations of the 'shadowy figure' in which the series draws out the reveal of the villain. Avatar: The Last Airbender doesn't reveal the Firelord until the final season, but his presence is felt throughout the series. He's always this looming threat whose will is carried out by his underlings. (General Zhao, Azula, etc.)

3. The Fabulous Entrance!

Okay, so we do hear Ragyo on the phone a couple times before they actually show her face, but goddamn, this entrance. It is impressive and terrifying and, it perfectly suits the utter psycho that she is.

There is no normal expression this woman makes when she's 'happy.' She's always smug or angry or annoyed, but this face with her staring, manic eyes and smile still haunts me. Send help.

4. The Sudden Entrance

Shigaraki kinda comes out of nowhere in My Hero Academia. For the first few episodes, its all lighthearted and fun and dealing with Bakugo's BS and then the class heads off on a field trip and suddenly,

"Oh, shit! Plot is happening!"

This series started off with kids learning to be heroes, and now its tragedy and social upheaval and people's lives are in danger.

5. The Incognito Entrance

This is when some random nonthreatening dude/lady just kinda sidles into the plot the be the butt of a joke and later turns out to have been one of the villains.

This scene was so weird. Tyki is just minding his own business, scamming people at cards. Then Allen and Lavi show up looking for their friend (the guy currently being scammed), and even though he recognizes them as exorcists and his enemies, Tyki has to sit there and play it off like he doesn't know jack cause if he does anything, he's gonna blow his cover in front of his human buddies. And then he suffers the indignation of being stripped in a poker game in broad daylight because the main protagonist is absolutely evil with a card deck. And then he just walks away from this like it's a totally normal thing, not even really taking vengeance for it. (He went after Allen, sure, but that was more of a job than any personal vendetta.) He's not the main villain, but I couldn't resist pointing out how bizarre this is.

For those who haven't seen D. Gray Man, the guy in the center is one of the main antagonists, and though this is technically the second time you see him, the first encounter was so short it was practically a cameo and he was a Victorian-era, Dorian Gray dandy gentleman, not this hobo riding a train.

6. The Traitor

Since the Undertaker was more of a neutral party in Black Butler, I don't think he really counts as a traitor. Still, I don't think too many of us were suspecting the morbid jokester Grim Reaper was going to turn out to be a major antagonist later on.

7. The Protagonist

And sometimes the protagonist is the villain!

[optimist-pine]

Granny

Summary: You and Daryl have a secret confusing love language of insults

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1,236

Era: Seasons 1-5(ish), The quarry - Alexandria

It had started shortly after your first encounter with Mr. Dixon. Simply a passing (slightly pointed) comment - nothing more - as some of you gathered around the fire that night.

Dale stands near the flames, removing a whistling pot from the heat. "Anybody want a cup of tea? Kettle's hot."

"Why dun'cha ask granny over there?" Daryl suggests, nodding towards you with a snigger. Merle's not around tonight, and so it seems he's found a way to create a bit of entertainment.

Your head snaps up when you realize you're the butt of the joke, hands stilling as you set down your work. A crochet hook or knitting needles find their way into your hands as often as that damn crossbow ends up in his; usually when it's too late in the evening to be doing anything else. "You know what? I would love a cup of tea. Thank you, Dale." You reply, taking the steaming mug that's passed to you with a smile that melts into a pointed glare the second Daryl's eyes meet yours.

The corner of his mouth twitches mischievously. "Somebody get out tha' fancy china an' the biscuits an' we'll have ourselves a real tea party." He's prodding the coals with a stick, and in the darkness, the slope of his shoulders brings to mind the image of a caveman. The thought amuses you.

You nod your head, contemplating. "Hmm... I'd be down for that. In fact, I have a feeling we might even be in the presence of a tea party expert." You say knowingly. Sophia and Carol sit cuddled up to your right, and the little girl looks curiously up at you, cradling a well-loved teddy bear. You turn to the child, lowering your voice. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about tea parties, would you?"

She curls into herself a little, shyly. But at her mother's gentle urging, she nods her head, a tiny smile appearing on her face.

You clap your hands together. "It's settled then! Tomorrow we shall have a tea party." The last part is aimed at Daryl - you feel proud of yourself, but the confused look on his face makes you question why. It's like you've taken his accusation as a challenge to prove just how grandmotherly you can be, and funnily enough, he's probably right. You're actually looking forward to hanging out with Sophia tomorrow; she's a pretty cool kid.

Carol tuts softly. "After school." She adds.

"After school." You agree, shooting Sophia a conspiratorial wink.

Every time Daryl spots you working with your yarn he can't resist the urge to tease you about it. Maybe it's because you take every jest in good humor, or maybe it's because you always have a quick, witty comeback. He's never quite figured it out, but somehow it's become a staple of your interactions. Even though so much has changed, he's oddly glad that this hasn't.

One night, in the dead of winter, as the wind howls through gaps in the window frames you get an ornery glint in your eye. Daryl's already found your behavior suspicious, whatever current yarn project you've been committed to hasn't made a single appearance the entire evening. And the way you keep glancing at him almost nervously is... unsettling.

When he looks up again you're walking towards him, hands tucked behind your back, trying so hard to look casual that it doesn't take long before all eyes are on you. You stop in front of him and promptly shove a box in his face. No, not just a box. It's a present, wrapped perfectly in polka-dotted gift wrap with a glittery bow to top it all off.

He stares back at you, wondering what punchline he's missed.

You roll your eyes. "It's a gift, Daryl."

"Why?" He asks. He'd trust you with his life any day, but right now - with that box - he absolutely does not.

"Well, why don'tcha just open it and find out?" You taunt, shaking the present just a smidge.

He takes the box, feeling awkward and clumsy as he tears away the paper. Having never opened a present before - at least nothing like this that is - feelings of stupidity and excitement and pressure blend within him.

He dumps the object into his palm. It's cool and smooth to the touch; a black mug with white writing that says "World's Crankiest Grandpa".

You're trying so hard to withhold from laughing that your face is turning pink.

"Think ya could get yer money back on this one?" He asks, spinning the cup around to critique it.

You slap his arm lightly. "Ah, Dixon, you're no fun."

"She might'a hit the nail on the head there." Rick chuckles.

You sit back down, finally pulling out your yarn like all is now right in the world. "Ah, I found it a couple days ago. Couldn't resist. S'pecially not after the dream I had where you were yellin' at the walkers to 'git offa yer damn lawn'..." You shudder. "Took me a bit to get that one outta my head."

That earns quite a few laughs from the rest of the group. Once again, you've managed to lift the mood of those around you. It seems to be a habit of yours.

He turns the mug over and over again, running his thumb across the letters. He knows it's only a gag gift, but he's not blind to the effort that went into it. And it's not an exaggeration to say that this silly mug is by far the most thoughtful gift he's ever received.

He hangs onto that mug, using it proudly every day. Of course, it garners the occasional question from the new folks, but he doesn't mind. Soon enough he's got a matching handmade hat, scarf, and gloves as proof of your continuing love for the grandmotherly hobby.

When the prison falls he misses those gifts severely.

But then, Alexandria. The day he comes across you there on the porch in a creaky rocking chair, with your cup of steaming tea and a ball of yarn, the once-familiar urge to say something a little stupid and a lot annoying takes over.

He stoops down and leans in. "Where's yer glasses at, old lady?"

You wave your hand to shoo him away. "Ah, git yer muddy boots off'a my porch ya ol' geezer." You nag, the smile you're trying to hide peeking out like a sun ray from behind storm clouds. He holds his hands up in mock surrender, clomping down the steps. But it's not like he's trying to hide his own smile or anything... Not at all.

When he returns home that evening, there, sitting on the end of his bed, is a small box. It's perfectly wrapped in paper that's covered in birds and trees, encircled with a pristinely hand-tied bow. He can't deny the flutter of excitement as he plops down to unwrap it. It's like Deja Vu, the coffee mug tumbling into his palm. This time it's white with black lettering that reads "I don't always roll a joint, but when I do, it's my ankle".

With a snort he falls back onto the bed, letting old memories wash away the burdens of the day. However he can, whatever it takes, he'll hold onto the hope that you'll both end up old and gray and worn someday - together.

[bronx-bomber87]

Happy Wednesday my lovely readers :) We’ve reached the episode that rocked me to my very core. Honestly haven’t been this attached to a ship in a very very long time. Years passed without this level of attachment. Bringing out sides of me I didn't think existed. Like doing reviews. But our ship is something special even when they rip our hearts out. I blame Eric and Melissa LOL They are INCREDIBLE in this episode. The both of them. Brought their A game and then some.

This ep legit affected my mood for 3 weeks no joke and utterly destroyed me. I needed extra days to decompress before did my mini. The fandom was so lovely about that too. Love this fandom so much. I still don't know how I got that out tbh lol Also God Bless my bestie D for going through that with me. I got to watch it early that day which normally didn’t get to. Was usually after work. I remember D wanted to stop me but didn’t cause she couldn’t tell me why..

I had to go to a company meeting after and pretend I wasn’t devastated. Be a positive fun leader when inside I was dying. I did a good job my team had no idea lol But damn that was tough. Never been happier for a 3 week break than after this one. We all needed it. Let us begin. And thank you all again for going through this heartbreak with me. Gif count was rough for me so I fit in everything I could and made a ton.

6x06 Secrets and Lies

We start out with Lucy looking as stressed and anxious as we’ve ever seen her. Laying in bed but most definitely is not resting. The brutal toll this situation has taken becoming visible. When Tamara asks how stressed she is from 1-10? Lucy answering 19….Ooof....Could not be more relatable if she tried. When I get this laser focused I too am a nineteen. Her person has been radio silent for days. Her last contact with him was a massive knock out drag out fight.

This is the most time they’ve spent apart since they got together. Like I stated last review other than 6x01 they've scarcely been away from one another. Her UC mission in 5x21 yes but doesn’t really count. They talked every single day. So it’s truly the longest they’ve been apart. No wonder she is at a 19. Poor Lucy. Kills me. Such a wreck without him. Tamara asks if Tim is still ghosting her? Lucy tries to defend their situation. Not well but she sure tries lol

Lucy is barely keeping it together and it shows. I love that we get a shot of her pin-up board from that BTS video. The cupcake poster hehe Hopefully that makes a triumphant return in s7. Tamara doesn’t want to add to her stress... But let's her know she wants to move out. With friends from school. Worst timing ever. It makes sense but the timing is horrendous. Lucy takes so many hits this season. It’s almost worse the second time around somehow.

This time Lucy goes to an actual adult about Tim. Not useless Nolan who was painfully inept for her. Couldn’t fit it in but we see her touch her tattoo when she approaches Angela. *heart clutch* I love Melissa for doing it every time though. So subtle yet impactful. Nice little mini gut punch to start the scene. This was the right call though. If anyone knows Tim like her it’s Angela. Lucy asking if she should alert Grey? Honestly she should've but here we are. That would've been a whole other set of problems though...

Lucy feels like she’s going insane so Angela validating her helps. (at first) You know she finds this behavior of his incredibly alarming. We can see the immediate worry painted across her face. That’s her brother. She loves that man like he’s one. What sucks is that, even though Angela is empathetic, she doesn’t fulfill the needs that Lucy is going for. Which is reassurance and 'Hey let’s do this together.' A united front. Hoping since he is acting off Angela's reply would be 'Let's find out why as a team.' She is protecting her but Lucy is in a heightened emotional state and doesn't see that. Only see's being shut out further from Tim.

Angela plays her cards very close to her chest. Like a good detective would. Sadly Lucy wanted more solace than just ‘Trust him.’ That’s all she’s been doing for days. Poor woman is going out of her damn mind with worry. Even tells Angela as such. The reply she gets back not what she wanted… She wanted her detective gut and friendship. Unfortunately she just gets the former. That short lived validation she got earlier dying off quickly. Lucy is so damn upset when she takes off from the convo. Knowing if she sticks around she’s going to cry on shift. My damn heart. Melissa be killing me. Holy hell.

Angela scaring the crap out of Tim is hilarious. Serves him right tbh. This episode had me so upset and twisted, I couldn’t even enjoy scruffy Tim in a leather jacket. You know something is wrong when I can’t gawk over this man. Angela has zero trouble finding him. Because well it’s her. This is why Lucy enlisted her. She needed the best to help her. Such best friend behavior from the minute she enters his car.

Drinking his soda, calling him out, and asking WTF is going on? I adore her brazen bravery. This is why we love Angela Lopez. Willing to get herself fired for him. That she can take the hit not Lucy. I mean she’s not wrong….Angela could easily live off Wes. She would hate it but she could. It's a more viable option. Says it can be ‘Wine o’clock for her.’ LOL I always enjoy them. More of them in s7 please writers.

Tim doesn’t argue with her reasoning. Starts to explain the whole Ray debacle. Why he can’t just let him go. What he has on him. That he needs to catch him in a new crime. So he has reason to actually arrest him. Once Tim fully explains Angela just replies. ‘I’m in.’ Tim is shocked because of course he is ha Even though she is his best friend he can't believe has his back like this. Oh my broken boy. He double checks and asks if she’s sure? Her reply being the absolute best. ‘Yeah. I got your back boo.’ Hehe Lucky she’s your best friend my love.

We rejoin our bestie duo at the docks. Scoping out Ray on whatever back door deals he’s doing. She is studying Tim hard in this scene. It’s the best. Angela tries to impart some logic to Tim. Saying he’s followed Ray for two days and nothing. Asking how long he’s going to do this? Tim replying the most Tim Bradford reply. ‘As long as it takes.’ Angela is on her game today and doesn’t let him get away with it. Saying he’s just going to walk away from his job? From his relationship with Lucy? All to arrest a guy he hasn’t thought about in over a decade?

Something isn’t adding up for her and she is letting him know it. Angela gives her patented look. Knowing it’s something more. There’s a reason she’s such a good detective. Woman knows how to get to the root of things. Tim has only given her surface info at this point. Definitely not enough to justify this crusade he’s currently on. Let’s him know Lucy would understand why he lied on the report. She would even commend him for it really. We know she would. She love his soft heart so much. Tim agrees and says she would still get in trouble for knowing and not reporting him to IA.

A risk she would gladly take if you’d let her Timothy… It’s here Angela digs a little deeper. He gets a second stare. Tim finding it aggravating and telling her as such. Angela let's her next truth bomb drop. Saying he’s doing it to protect himself as much as her. That there’s something he’s not admitting. Mic drop. Nailed it and Tim knows it but won’t entertain it further. Has him dead to rights and he knows it. We then get the glorious BFF line. Like it or not she is. lmao Has your number just like your girl.

We return to Angela’s for Tim to break our hearts some more. Theme of this episode. One punch after another. Literally no time to breathe unless you check out during the other SL's. Which I did tbh.... They’re alone so she probes Tim further. Knowing that it has to be so much more than a report. He wouldn't let Ray get under his skin like this if it was that shallow. That he's bearing the weight of something on his soul. Tim gives in and begrudgingly explains what happened. That he had been squad leader most of his tour. That he was looking to move up to Sergeant First Class. Only caveat was he couldn’t have any rampant criminality in his unit.

Ray was in the way of this. Tim decided to keep it within the squad if they caught him themselves. He did an unsanctioned mission… Oh Timothy….He explains how Ray called in an air strike on them. Did this the minute he knew he was trapped. Schmuck would rather take them with him. Such a cowards move. The way Tim describes the air strike. Ugh my heart. His eyes filling up as he depicts how the world imploded around them. Eric is a master of emotion here. So expressive. Looks like he is right back there, with the most haunted look on his face. He thought he was going to die. Being so vulnerable I wanna hug him.

He and Mark were lucky though. The Humvee took the hit for them. But Henderson and Coyle were ripped apart….Ugh and now we see what he’s been bearing. That he led his men to their deaths. Their loyalty and faith in him had cost them their lives. All because Tim was in pursuit of a promotion. For personal glory. Explains why he wouldn't praise himself or take awards pre-Lucy. Or advance his career before her either. He didn’t feel he deserved anything good. Because the last time that was important to him, he got two of his men killed. Imma go cry now.... My poor broken boy. The PTSD is so real.

Eric continues to rip my heart out. Telling Angela there was so much blood. I can't imagine seeing that. They for sure thought Ray was KIA. No way he survived. It’s the way he catches his breath, tears in his eyes in this next part. I'm so upset for him. The way he points at himself when he says leadership. The failure and shame he feels for what he did. When we found out it would be his military background I was excited. I knew it would be dark though. Whatever this was. But my god. I wasn’t expecting it to be this. But makes perfect sense why he’s kept it from Lucy. He can’t bring himself to forgive what he did. How could he expect Lucy to? To still look at him like he’s the same man she fell in love with?

The deep rooted shame is evident in this scene. This is quite the weight to keep on your soul. One I’m sure he’s never told anyone. Not even Isabel about I bet. My guess is he buried it once he was state side. Like most do with trauma. Hoping it would never resurface. Sadly not how trauma goes... The way he tells the story it’s for the first time. You can tell. He’s right back there re-living it all. This scene gives us so much insight to Tim as a person. Why he is the way he is as a cop. As a person. It explains why he lost his damn mind in 2x01 over Lucy falsifying the report. Probably brought him right back there.

This is a very revealing scene. It makes sense why he shoulders things alone. It’s punishment for what he did. Doesn’t think anyone could love him enough to shoulder it with him. That breaks my damn heart. This ep makes me so emotional. *sad sigh* Nothing scarier than the person you love seeing you at your worst. With his background of abuse, it makes sense why he’s hidden this from Lucy. He doesn’t feel worthy of the comfort she would bring him. Only shame that he made a mistake. Tim is very self loathing and this is why. Coupled with his childhood it makes so much sense why he is the way he is…This one is emotionally heavy af. All his unchecked trauma barreling through like a bullet train in this ep.

Lucy arrives home and Tamara is there to take care of her. Saying she ordered pizza. I love this. She needed this. Lucy leaves the room to drop off her stuff. We hear a knock at the door and it’s Ray.... Earlier he scanned Tim’s vehicle and got Lucy’s address. Which made me sick to my stomach. I knew him grabbing it was going to end this way. Best way to get to Tim is through his heart. When Tamara opened the door and it was him..The hairs at the back of my neck stood up. Tamara calls out for Lucy. She emerges and goes into protect mode right away. Eyes on Tamara first but also hating her gun is locked up.

Heart was in my damn throat the entire time. Lucy handles herself like the bad ass we’ve all come to know and love. Commend her for keeping herself composed when she was terrified. I also adore her not putting up with any of his scare tactic BS. Her line about the only call she’s gonna make is for the ambulance. Like hot damn Lucy. Way to protect Tamara and yourself. It's true she could take his scrawny ass easily. I long to be the confident BAMF she is.

Doesn't hurt she’s still got the rage burning from being in the dark. So not only is her life being threatened now Tamara's is. This is Lucy's FINAL straw. It’s now bled over in the worst way. Not only that but she still has no idea what’s going on. We can see that mama bear come out loud and proud. It’s one thing for her to be involved it’s a whole other thing with Tamara dragged in. This is what pushes her to reach out To Tim. To cut his crap. Whatever this is has now endangered an innocent life. One she loves fiercely and will die to protect.

Lucy RAGE calls Tim and unleashes hell. As she should… Demanding to know where his ass is. Tim knowing he can’t hold her back any longer. So he lets her know. I mean Lucy is million percent done with this crap now. With his behavior, him cutting her out, all of it. So very very done. Rightfully so. I do love him answering ‘Hey, what’s wrong?’ Knowing she wouldn’t be calling unless something was. He for sure would’ve dropped it all to go to her.

But she was way too pissed to see that fact. She shows up like a bat out of hell. Biting his head off immediately saying 'Does she look ok?' No….she does not. Forever love Angela escorting Tamara out of the room. Mom and dad about to have it out so let's go. The concern all over his face kills me though. This was the last thing he wanted to happen. The very thing he was striving for by shutting her out backfired horribly. Not only did he endanger her but Tamara too.

It was Lucy’s final straw and she is showing it. These were the types of fights that are needed though. As much as this hurts she is fighting him to save them. Because he is worth the bother and effort. Just like he stated in 5x08. Asking why her and Chris never fight?They’re fighting against each other to protect one another it kills me. Also you know your ship has chemistry when even their fights are lightning in a bottle goodness. Just as amazing as their happy stuff. I can't speak enough to their fantastic on-screen chemistry. Even though this fight is fiery and hurts to watch it's hurts so good to watch them hash it out.

Tim explains who Ray is and Lucy don’t give a single fuck. It’s not who he is that has her raging. It’s him cutting her out that is. I love the movements Melissa does in this scene. I know she had an interview about her being mad. Thinking she was awkward. It wasn't at all. Was so real. I think she nailed it. Her body language is on point. How she stamps her foot. Shouting how who Ray is doesn’t explain why he iced her out. At all. She is VIBRATING with anger. Yelling at Tim to stop protecting her. Which he won't. That is like asking him to stop breathing tbh. He would rather die than not protect her. Ugh his reply of ‘ I can’t. I won’t.’ They’re at odds with the deepest part of their souls. Of who they are.

Tim will never stop protecting her. Just as she will never stop trying to help him. Been in her DNA from the jump. For him to not let her is just as painful as Tim not protecting her. *sigh* This is where their intense need to protect each other backfires so badly. Sounds romantic and sometimes it is. But in these type of moments, it shows the cracks in their already fractured communication. It real though. Communicating is HARD. Especially when you both come from abusive homes where that wasn't taught. If you aren't taught healthy communication you're just not going to do it. Simple as that. It's like a muscle that never gets used. Then when it does it feels so unnatural and painful.

These two are going to be the death of me. Hell they already have been. They have so much to work on in s7. It’s insane. I'm excited for it though. Lucy then brings up how Lopez was read in but not her. She is HIS PERSON. If anyone should be read in it’s her. Consequences be damned. Yeah Angela does have less to lose but that is NOT the point. Tim is clearly not getting that fact. I adore Lucy grabbing his hands during the end of the scene. Mirroring back she 'Can’t and won’t' not help him. Telling him she is over being to good girlfriend. He’s going to let her in NOW. Oooh lord. You Tell 'em Luce.

Their OP to foil Ray goes off without a hitch. Tim tells him it’s over. That there isn’t an air stroke to save him this time. Ray tells Tim ‘I am the air strike. I’m about to blow up your whole life.’ *grumble* It’s so true on many many levels. Watching Tim be so stoic in his IA investigation kills me. Wish could've fit this in. Eric be out here again making me emotional af two eps in a row. You can see the tears in his eyes but the rest of him is controlled. That military background of his coming in clutch.

it pains me to watch him lie and have it destroy him. I remember I saw people saying how could he lie? That’s not like him. Um no. This is very like Tim. Not to lie but to protect those he loves. If lying protects Lucy and Lopez that’s what he’s going to do. He has a history of being a little gray for those he loves. Isabel is a good example of that. All that went down with Detective Murphy was similar to this. ‘Some things matter more.’ Once again rings true with him. Tim is believed over Ray. Because even if Tim doesn’t want to believe this he is the better man.

Better reputation and Percy closes the investigation. Have missed him. But whoever he’s around it’s not good. Love the actor though. What happens after is rough to say the least. Never seen Grey as disappointed in Tim as he is here. Reprimanding him and having to report him to Pine SUCKS. R.I.P. Metro Tim. I loved you so…It’s killing Tim to have Grey look at him this way. Deeply respects him and to be scolded by him cuts him. Just dismisses Tim without further comment or fight….

God almighty the song playing in the background. I don’t even remember it. I only watched this scene once. I think I blacked out a lot in this moment. The immense shock rocked my system. Suffice to say it’s beautiful. The piano, the haunting oohs and lyrics are the perfect backdrop to this devastating scene. I felt this building anxiety watching this scene. Waiting for the hammer to drop. When she pulled him into her arms *phew* It was first breath I had taken in nearly two episodes. These eps had me on the razor's edge of sanity. I love her waiting outside for him and instantly pulling him into her arms. Just like Tim did for her in 5x22. I'm fine.....Imma cry as I write this. Horse heaven playing in my ears right now. Adding to my emotional state. These two getting me all weepy.

I’ll be honest I thought if a break up was coming, it was coming from Lucy the first time. Which is why this devastated me like it did. Having the full season in hand now. Makes total sense it’s Tim. At the time I thought would be her. But that wouldn’t be like Lucy at all. After everything he put her through. The secrets, the lies and shutting her out. She had every damn right. But she loves this man unconditionally. So unconditionally. Everything Lucy does in this scene is a reflection of that unconditional love. There to pick up his broken pieces despite all of that went down. Look at her in those gifs above.

Especially that second one. First time she took a breath too. So grateful to be here for him in this moment. I truly thought ‘Oh. Maybe we’re ok... She’s hugging him.’ Encasing him in her arms. Trying to absorb all of his hurt. Supporting him the way he sought out days previous. Gently cradling him against her. It's the tender way she nestled her fingers at the back of his head that gets me. Tapping into some ship crack for me there. *phew* Honestly thought with her being there for him they would make it out unscathed. I truly did. The chemistry from this hug is unreal btw. Tim doesn’t feel worthy in the least. The way he slumps against her. Doesn’t really hug her back like normal. Can't see Lucy is so willing to absorb his hurt and pain. To love him through this. This hug is beautifully tragic.

Lucy releases him and he looks as broken as I’ve ever seen him. 4x09 x 1000 tbh. He shirks away from her. Hands in his pocket. So disgusted and ashamed with himself. Something l've learned in Pilates is posture and the importance of it. When you stand tall and at full height. You are confident and sure of yourself. When you are slumped it presents a lack of confidence, shame, and feeling unworthy. His posture is screaming that. Like he feels he shouldn’t even be in her presence right now. He crushes me with how he says he lied about everything.

Then sarcastically almost sardonically follows it up with ‘But hey it saved my job….’ The amount of disdain in his voice is gut wrenching. The whole reason he was in this Ray mess was to further himself. To keep his career intact. He saw a promotion and went for it at all costs. What he just did lying to IA was to be that same man again. (In his mind) To put his career first over what’s right. Risked people's lives again as well. People he loves. Sickens him ten years later he’s doing the same thing all over again. Even though it's so different this time. There is still nobility in it with saving Lucy and Lopez. But this man can't see that right now. Doesn't see any good in this situation or himself.

Lucy does her best to sympathize. Telling him it was an impossible situation. If it had been her she would’ve done the same thing. Thing is if it had been for Tim yes she would’ve without question. But he can’t see the forest for the trees atm. He is drowning absolutely drowning in his self-loathing. Tim continues on with the painful self flogging. Telling her she would’ve never been in his position. Putting her on a pedestal while he makes himself very very small. That OTP line from 6x03 from him 'You could never disappoint me.' That is true. The problem is he doesn't realize he could never disappoint her either. Tragically Tim doesn't view it that way. Only sees he's not worthy.

Lucy once again tries to pick up his pieces. Telling him he thought he could handle it. He was wrong but made it right. It’s like she can sense him pulling away in this moment. Doing her best to calm his fears about himself. Trying to do what she’s always done in years past best. Build him up. Soothe him. Sadly she isn’t gaining an inch of ground with him. He is stuck in how he feels and there is no budging him. Tim is morose saying he wishes it was that easy….We can see the incredible amount hurt on his face. Telling her he just lied to two men he deeply respects. He is coming undone rapidly and Lucy can see it. I adore her putting her hands on him. Trying to right his ship.

Ground him to her in this moment. Because once again it's something she’s done so well in the past. Tim is spiraling so hard he can’t see her gesture for what it is. Tells her he just betrayed everything he thought was right about himself. *heart clutch* Lucy can’t stand him talking down about himself. Tries to interrupt but Tim won’t allow it. Lucy graciously nods and lets him get it out. Especially when he tells her how hard this is for him. She is so wonderfully understanding it makes my heart ache. Tim feels like he is a bad guy. Thought he had gotten past this and was sucked back in so easily. Truly believed he had become a better person since then. (He has) Ray was right he was gonna blow up his entire life.

He just exposed Tim for the fraud he already felt he was. Bringing his greatest sin to light. Bringing up feelings of not being deserving. Of inadequacy. His abuse background pulling into the station and not leaving. Tim is back to a place of massive self loathing. Saying he has been lying to himself for years. Thinking he’s gotten better when he hasn’t. To him he reverted back to the man he thought he left behind. Not only that he put his person. The woman he loves at risk to cover up his past. To cover up his shame. It’s hitting him like a freight train of terrible realization. Continuing on to say he can’t go back to the way it was. I was hopeful when he said ‘Right now.’ Then followed it up with maybe never….

Lucy had been nodding along. Being so wonderfully empathetic and understanding. She was with him till he said that. Then she is hit with her own terrible realization. He’s leaving her. She is losing him. In the same parking lot where he told her to take a risk. Where she expressed her concern over losing him if they did. Worried about losing the most important relationship in her life due that risk. The same spot where he told her 'Unless it is.' A giant stab to our collective shipper hearts.

It's why Lucy is in a state of utter shock. As we all were tbh. She shakily asks him if he’s breaking up with her? When he said I’m sorry. I remember having to pause. Freak out and cry. I recall chanting ‘No no no….’ To myself repeatedly. My dog was very alarmed. Because I was distraught af. I couldn't believe this was really happening. My happy place was being decimated before my eyes.

Look at the range of emotions on Tim's face before he delivers that line though. Eric you why you doing this to me? They blow this scene out the damn water. it's so visceral. and raw. He looks like he's about to have a breakdown before he delivers that line. Battling with himself about it. There's a desperate need to want to stay with her. But his self doubt and hatred wins out knowing he isn't deserving. Do I think he came out thinking he was going to do this? A little. I think the more he spoke about it and himself the decision was made. He wasn't going to be be talked off this ledge.

The way Lucy replies after this rips my heart out. This break up feels like death by a thousand paper cuts. Months later and this hurts just as much as the first time. Lucy doesn't hold back in the least. Telling Tim he doesn't get to do that. Her line about using it as an excuse is so spot on. This Ray situation has hit VERY close to home for Tim. An insanely sensitive subject for him. It's rubbed against a wound that never really healed properly. Just was buried in the back of his mind.

He doesn’t have the capacity or emotional maturity to handle it. So he ejects out as a coping mechanism. Lucy calls his ass right away for it. It’s so painful to her that he is doing this excuse. Because it feels like a crappy cheat to them. To her. It's truly a cop out and our girl deserves better than this. Especially after all they’ve been through together. All that rapport and trust they’ve built over the years. It’s an insult to who they are as a couple and the relationship they’ve developed. Sadly that all vanishes in this moment. It’s stunning Lucy and straight murdering my feels.

Her ‘That's not okay.’ is a dagger to my shipper heart. The way she continues to repeat herself cause she's in shock. Ugh.This goes down as one of the most painful breakups I've had to go through. Lucy is so upset he is going this route. Melissa had a great interview (quite a few actually.) About the lie line and using it as an excuse for Tim. She noted Lucy is upset cause how he’s acting isn’t them. That they get to have these conversations. Not only have them but recover and grow from them. It’s what she expecting from him in this moment. It's what she expected from his 5x08 Mantra going into this relationship.

She is telling him I’ve got your back. I’ve got you. What are you doing? What happened to ‘Unless it is?’ Lucy continues to vehemently disagree with him. As she should. The worst part is Tim says ‘I know.’ Like he knows what he’s doing is wrong. Knows to eject after everything isn’t ok. Yet he can’t stop himself. He is not emotionally mature enough to handle this conversation properly. Also too blinded by his own self-hatred to see the unconditional love she is showing for him in this moment. God this is painful.

Tim then comes in with the breakup line of ‘You’re an incredible person.' Lucy can’t believe this shit . She really can’t. That Tim is is doing this to her. To them. Even though Tim is being genuine with his statement. You can hear it in his voice. Doesn't do anything to soothe the wounds he's causing. Once again Melissa crushing it with the upset body language. The mannerisms are so on point. Maybe it's because I'm Italian and I use my hands when I'm upset. I do exactly what she's doing. Why I appreciate it so much. It's so real.

It's a cop out what he is doing. 'It’s not you it’s me' schtick. We see the anger building in Lucy. She can't even look at him in the second gif. For him to toss away what they have is painful enough. To do it based off a cliched excuse is destroying Lucy. Thinking what they had was worth so much more than this. Thought they worth the nasty fights. No way she knows fully what happened or she would figure out why he's really doing this. That’s what makes the rest of Lucy's replies so god damn tragic. She is trying to hold onto him for dear life. But is only being pushed away in return...

Tim continues to push forward with this breakup. Letting her know she deserves better than him. It's SO much deeper than that but it's the only way he can convey it right now. Her ‘Oh my god…’ This is her worst nightmare. Her biggest fear come to life. This is why she hesitated starting this relationship. Why she was so afraid of risking her most important relationship. It's unfolding before her eyes and she can’t stop it.

Like a bad dream she can't seem to wake up from. We all wish we could...Tim has never felt worthy of Lucy’s love, light or praise. This reaction just proves that. It's been building for a long time and this is the final result of it. It’s not logical but a trauma brain rarely is. The amount of emotional and physical abuses he endured growing up left it's mark. Has him truly convinced Lucy could never love him knowing what he did. Tim feels he does not deserve her comfort, support or love.

Punishing himself and denying what he need most because he feels unworthy. Thinks he has made a mistake so grave there is no coming back for him. No way she could love him if she knew. So he like Angela stated earlier Tim is protecting himself. Pains me to watch. Now as I've said before it's not to excuse but to explain his side of it. I understand why he's doing it even if it's fucked up.

He doesn't give Lucy much more than she deserves better. Tells her it's why he's walking away. This man feels so undeserving of the love she has to give. In his mind he thinks he’s doing her a kindness. To separate herself from such a shameful and broken man. That she could do better than him. To Tim he made the biggest sin and can’t live with himself about it. He can't envision a world where Lucy would love him through it. The tragedy is she already was in this scene.

Lucy isn’t hearing any of it. Full on panic spiral that I shared in this moment. Her ‘Don’t do this. Why are you doing this?’ Is the most soul crushing part. She can feel him slipping through her hands. Like sand rushing through her fingertips. She can’t hold onto a grain of him. Can only stand there as he gives up on them. His face in the third gif...Knife to my soul. *screams into a pillow* It's killing him to walk away from her. Eric and his expressive eyes has me bawling. The quiver in his bottom lip as well. Gah it hurts to watch them both in so much pain. It’s the way she pulls away with one hand, but is clutching his other hand for dear life, that really gets me in that last gif.

Asking him once again why are you doing this? I shared that sentiment in this moment.. Tim stands firm in his decision to end them and rip all of our hearts out. Eric had a great quote about how Tim handed this whole thing. ‘He is impulsive and he reacts instead of thinking things through. And it can come out as a bit too strong.’ He feels he is a burden Lucy therefore he is removing himself. Not thinking about the damage it’s going to do to her. The immense regret he’s going to feel when he regulates a bit more.

Something therapy has taught me is we are ruled by our nervous system. Anxiety, stress, fear etc Tim’s was haywire in this moment. All of them going off at once. Not thinking clearly. Acting out of fight or flight. He took the flight option unfortunately. The tragic way he grabs her head and gives her the saddest head kiss. Shattering all of our hearts in the process. It’s the devastated look on his face when he strokes her hair and takes off. One final gut punch from him. It's like he’s leaving behind his greatest treasure and can’t bear to be around it any longer. Lucy is clutching to him until he departs. *snifffle*

The man actually thinks she is better off without him. Truly believes that. Even if Lucy had succeeded it keeping Tim, this would've reared it’s ugly head again down the road. This breakup ruined my friggin life. I kid you not. They were my happy place. My consistent happy place. And now that was gone. It affected my mental health a little too not gonna lie. I think I was in mourning for three weeks. Honestly I still am. Low key will be till they're fixed. Those three weeks were unbearable. But also needed. Thank you again to my bestie D for being my mourning partner through out that. Kept me sane.

That being said I think this will push them in the best direction. A healthier and stronger one. I truly believe that. I recently broke up with a friend who I had been friends with for ten years. It was very hard on me but time. Boundaries were being pushed and it wasn't healthy anymore. My therapist pointed me to a wonderful book called ‘Goodbyes and good boundaries. ’ While It helped heal my heart it also has really good pieces in it. Stuff made me think of this very ep tbh. Sure that wasn't her goal LOL But my brain is always in a Chenford state of mind in some way or another.

First one that made me think of them. ‘Health cannot bond to unhealth.’ As much as it wasn’t fair for Lucy. And god it wasn’t after everything else this season. Tim was in such a radioactive state staying with her wouldn’t have worked anyway. He was radiating turmoil. Lucy can do a lot for him but not this. He NEEDED therapy so much. There are things you learn in there that only your therapist can help you with. He was unhealth and Lucy was trying to keep her empathetic healthy self to him. It was never going to work. Not unless Tim put in some work. Which he couldn't at this point in time.

“Relationship often die not because of conversations never had but rather conversations needed but never had.” Another good one made me think of them. Tim was not ready in the least for the adult conversation required of him in this moment. Or their entire relationship really. They both danced around the issues a lot. 6x02 closest we got. Even then it was one sided. Thus them dying in this moment. Despite Lucy’s damndest to keep them afloat. Remind him of what they’re fighting for. Of why they started this. This breakup was painful af. Despite how this wrecked my world it’s going to be good for them in the long run.

I will say Lucy in that last gif was all of us in that moment. It was a soul crushing moment that decimated this fandom. Still blows my mind Melissa and Eric were surprised just how insanely devastated we were. Why they did those lovely posts during the three weeks. To thank us and to hold on. Growth is coming. They’re going to be even better after this. Doesn’t mean this didn’t hurt like a SOB and won’t long after they reunite. Curse you Eric and Melissa. You are incredible to evoke such emotions out of us all.

Thank you for going through this with me again. It wasn’t easy but they always worth it. Appreciate any and all comments, likes or reblogs I get. I shall see you all in 6x07 :)

Side notes non chenford

Balian doing the creepy bed thing again. Just have to note that.

Also can’t believe they didn’t end the ep with their breakup. There is a whole minute or so of I don’t give a shit after that scene. I was so distraught they could’ve had Nolan walk into a wall and I wouldn't have noticed.

[tallerthantale]

What Does Aziraphale Actually Believe, Part 7: Armageddidn’t Begins

This is a series of my takes on what Aziraphale believes through the timeline of the show. It is all my personal interpretation, and I am happy to hear others. You don’t need to read them all in order, but know that I am coming from a perspective on Aziraphale’s machinations that can be difficult for people without a psychology background to follow without the first two as a primer. The quick version is that Aziraphale has a set of beliefs that exist in some form or another within his mind. However, at any given moment, only some of them exist ‘with awareness’ or as I am putting it here, conscious!Aziraphale only has access to the beliefs that the rest of his mind, veil!Aziraphale, allows him to know about. The context of the moment will determine what lives on the surface and what stays buried behind the veil, whatever arrangement best prevents a threat to Aziraphale’s sense of self and makes whatever he is inclined to do feel right.

This post covers modern Season 1 up to the end of the Bandstand, with the bulk of it on that fight. Its too long. I can't stop myself. I apologise profusely. About 3.3k words.

The Modern Era

We come into the modern era with an Aziraphale who knows he is in love with a demon, knows heaven is run by morally bankrupt stooges, is willing to accept he is represented by shades of light grey, but will still say with a straight face that Armageddon will be heaven’s glorious triumph over evil and it will all be rather lovely.

Crowley doesn’t believe Azriraphale really believes that, and after getting drunk Aziraphale admits he doesn’t like it either. He was trying to convince himself, and it worked for a short time, like some of his temporary beliefs at Uz. Just like he can’t maintain the idea that he is suited to a life in hell, he can’t maintain the idea that Armageddon is good. He still has conflicting feelings about working with Crowley. “Get thee behind me foul fiend” is a joke. “We’re hereditary enemies” isn’t.

Aziraphale agrees to go along with raising the antichrist towards good as long as he can frame it as thwarting evil, and present it to his supervisors as part of his official duties. Once that rationalisation is in place he is practically beaming about the idea of stopping Armageddon by getting to be a positive influence godfather. I think at this point he has convinced himself that the ineffable plan is to prevent the great plan. He is so invested that he is surprised and frustrated that the other angels consider his work doomed to failure.

Doomsweek

The kid's grown up, and Aziraphale and Crowley are workshopping a backup plan. Crowley wants Aziraphale to kill the antichrist. He makes a greater good argument because he knows Aziraphale responds to those sometimes. Aziraphale still insists that he has never killed anything before. The executioner doesn't count. The meat doesn't count. There's no blood on his hands literally, there's no blood on his hands figuratively. Aziraphale doesn't disagree that it would be for the greater good, but he still isn't willing to do it. Neither is Crowley.

On the way to the ex-nunnery Aziraphale gives a whole ass speech about evil containing the seeds of its own destruction. It is very self righteous, and the speech does ingroup Crowley into that evil. He is the one who botched the baby switch over. It's a way for Aziraphale to not worry about the prospect of hell winning the war, as he is trying to accept the inevitability of the great plan. At the same time, I think it was an attempt from Aziraphale to argue that to the extent Crowley was involved in things going wrong, the blame was with the role he was playing as an employee of hell, for which he is not responsible. As in, it wasn't that you were a low quality employee of hell, hell's plans are inherently doomed to failure. I think from Crowley’s perspective it reads as ‘demons will inevitably fuck everything up, it’s what you do.’ Not that different to Aziraphale’s ”you’re a demon, that's [lying] what you do,” from the previous night. 

Paintball

I could pretend like we are going to talk about guns giving weight to a moral argument, but honestly their positions here are more for exposition of the way Aziraphale and Crowley’s paired traits often subvert expectations. Aziraphale the angel is more willing to consider violence or the threat of violence worthwhile than Crowley the demon is. The actual merits and disadvantages of absolutist pacifism aren't really something they are hashing out. We’re here for the saucy bits.

While I did enjoy reading the theory that Aziraphale had Crowley time miracle the coat so that it never had the paint in it in the first place, whilst also eliminating Aziraphale’s memory of the paint, I don’t buy it. There was no reason Aziraphale couldn’t just miracle the paint away himself. He still remembers that the paint was there and that Crowley miracled it away. When he rambles about “but I would always know it was there… “ He is spouting nonsense. The pivotal part of the communication is not his flimsy words, it’s him slowly hopping his shoulder towards Crowley’s face while making puppy eyes. ‘But would Aziraphale really just make up obvious lies to Crowley like that?’ you ask. “Is that a travel sweet?” I retort. See this gif breakdown of the paint miracle scene.

Why the act? Because as much as Aziraphale knows he is in love with a demon, he wants Crowley to do all the romancing bits. It’s mirroring the Bastille nonsense, baiting Crowley to come to the rescue. Before he was still lying to himself about his motivations, now he knows them, but can’t speak them. Here there are enough clues for Crowley to figure out what Aziraphale wants him to do, but not necessarily why he wants it, and Aziraphale isn’t ready to have that conversation.  See the spicy meta.

Aziraphale continues to regard Crowley to be a nice and good person, who is living in the transient condition of being existentially evil due to his current demonic status. This is pretty out of step with how Crowley views himself, which is its own complicated mess, and it’s something he is touchy about. Enough to make him angry and 'slam' Aziraphale into a wall. Not that Aziraphale regrets any of it for a second. Maybe he regrets getting interrupted. 

We get another glimpse at Aziraphale’s conceptualisation of angels and demons. Crowley refers to them both together as occult forces. Entities that are basically the same thing. Aziraphale takes offence to being described as occult, and insists that as an angel he is ethereal. I think these descriptions follow their metaphysical properties, not their professional role. Crowley might call himself a former demon after getting fired, Michael might call Aziraphale a former angel after Aziraphale is sacked, but Crowley is still occult, and Aziraphale is still ethereal. Aziraphale’s concept of abstract existential alignment with good and evil goes to the occult / ethereal distinction, not the professional one. 

Aziraphale doesn't tell Crowley he has found the antichrist. In my opinion, this is 100% because he knows Crowley will respond by telling him to kill the antichrist, and Aziraphale already knows he isn't willing to do that. He wants to have his own alternative plan before he tells Crowley. Unfortunately, he's often not very good at the coming up with his own plan part, so the strategy doesn't really work out for him.

Crowley Gives Mixed Messages Too

I think it has been and continues to be Aziraphale’s hope to bring Crowley back to angelic status. And I think there are reasons why he believes Crowley wants that too.

Crowley and Aziraphale are often speaking not quite the same language. They’ve got different exactlys. The Bandstand scene starts right off the bat with a small example.

“Have you found the missing antichrist’s name, address, and shoe size yet?”

“His shoe size, why would I have his shoe size?”

If Crowley spoke Aziraphale’s language a bit better he might have noticed Aziraphale just admitted to knowing the antichrist’s name and address. If he hadn't found any of the facts, he would have just said no. Crowley takes it as sass because that's what it would have been if he had said it himself. This will be the theme of the Bandstand, they each interpret what has been said to them as if it meant what they would have meant if they had personally said it. 

Crowley gets shouty about the Great blasted Plan. When Aziraphale responds, “May you be forgiven,” it isn’t just about shaming Crowley for lashing out, Aziraphale is starting to be resigned to the idea that Armageddon will happen, he believes heaven will win, and he doesn’t want Crowley destroyed. Aziraphale is saying 'may you be spared from the destruction of the great plan.'

Crowley responds, “I won’t be forgiven. Not ever. Part of a demon’s job description. Unforgivable, that’s what I am.” Crowley is making a philosophical incision. Aziraphale’s phrasing called to mind forgiveness from an authority outside himself, presumably God. Crowley is commenting that were God to grant that forgiveness, it would create a paradox. When God made Crowley a demon, She declared him unforgivable. God is infallible, so She can’t forgive him without being wrong, and She can’t be wrong. It isn’t meant as a representation of Crowley’s actual opinion, he isn't being self deprecating, it's a statement presented for the sake of argument, to make a dig at something Aziraphale said.

The dig doesn’t land though, because Aziraphale doesn’t parse God with formal logic, She’s motherfucking ineffable. Who said demons are unforgivable? Did they say it with words? Even if it was God Herself, Aziraphale has long understood that God plays messed up games, he just believes there is a greater good at the end. He could believe that God chose to cast Crowley out, proclaim that means he is forever unforgivable, and then later go, 'just kidding, welcome back lol.' It could be a lesson for the other angels, a lesson for the other demons, it could be about putting Crowley in the right place at the right time, it doesn't matter. God is ineffable, and that means Aziraphale can't be told what God thinks by anyone, including God. "That's ridiculous, you're ridiculous, I don't even know why I'm still talking to you." 

As he is wont to do, Aziraphale is very quick to take Crowley’s facetious statements at face value if it gets him somewhere he wants to go. Recall, “Oh, you’re an angel, I don’t think you can do the wrong thing.” Now we have Crowley bitterly, resentfully, describing himself as unforgivable specifically because he is a demon. If taken at face value out of context it isn’t that much of a stretch to read it as Crowley essentialising himself as evil, resenting being unforgiven, and thinking being a demon is the evidence that he is unforgivable. Right after Crowley states “unforgivable, that’s what I am,” Aziraphale brings up that he used to be an angel. Crowley brushes it off as having been a long time ago, but never specifies that he wouldn’t want to be one again. 

Aziraphale can see as much as the audience can that Crowley likes being able to have the opportunity to do kind things for people but is curtailed by the expectations of his position as a demon. What Aziraphale doesn't see is that the good deeds Aziraphale does for heaven are probably not what Crowley likes doing either.

One of the points that comes up in The Bastille is that Aziraphale gets in trouble for doing too many frivolous miracles. While I don't think that's the real reason he won't miracle himself free, I do believe that the strongly worded note happened. We see modern Aziraphale doing miracles as favours for humans pretty often, fairly recklessly, and I wouldn't be surprised if Aziraphale regularly got in trouble for doing unsanctioned good deeds. We also don’t see him have the same enthusiasm for his tedious assignments that he is given from heaven that he has for spontaneous favours.

If they actually talked it through I think Aziraphale could understand that what Crowley wants is more about the freedom to do specifically the good and mischievous deeds that he wants to do, rather than being forced to follow management's checklists. If they talked through it, Aziraphale might be able to realise that's also what he wants for himself.

Holierly Than Thou

At the Bandstand fight Crowley again raises the option to kill the antichrist. Aziraphale argues Crowley is the more appropriate choice for executioner, that way "heaven won’t have blood on its hands." He means his own angelic hands, that he still believes are mostly aligned with his intuition of God’s will. While he knows it is often God’s will for things to die, he doesn’t tend to believe it’s God’s will for him to kill someone or something directly. Aziraphale knows God and heaven have the blood of billions on their hands, though he is very good at avoiding paying attention to that fact. He also is still trying to maintain the appearance of being on team heaven, and by starting to think that the great plan is going to happen, he's feeling the need to lean into that more.

Crowley responds, “That's a bit holier than thou, isn't it?”

Aziraphale answers, “I am. A good deal holier than thou, that's the whole point.” 

He means that when he says it. This is not a joke, it is not said flippantly. Aziraphale is ethereal and Crowley is occult. He cannot let go of the idea that angels are inherently 'good' in comparison to demons even if it's mostly reduced to an abstract quality that is unrelated to an entity's character or actions. It is still what he believes, it’s still connected to his sense of his role in the universe. It’s not what he sees himself believing when he’s staring at Crowley’s lips, but just because the belief isn’t always visible to conscious!Aziraphale doesn’t mean it’s gone. 

When Crowley says 'holier than thou' he means it figuratively. He is accusing Aziraphale of being pretentious. It is a fair accusation, but not quite what Aziraphale is trying to mean. When Aziraphale responds that he is 'holier' he is referring to his ethereal status, not his personality. He can view Crowley as being the better person, and still consider himself more holy. Aziraphale reads the accusation from Crowley literally. To him Crowley might as well have said, 'what, do you think you're some kind of angel?' What can he say to that but '...Yes?'

Crowley’s response is my inner philosopher’s favourite line in the whole show, “You should kill the boy yourself, holierly.” If Aziraphale is good and holy by definition, and everything he does is a good and holy thing by definition because he is an angel, wouldn’t him murdering an 11 year old boy whilst being an angel be definitionally good and holy?

Aziraphale can’t go that far and Crowley knows it. That’s why Aziraphale is refusing to do the killing in such a pretentious way. Which ought to mean that Aziraphale understands the moral goodness or badness of his actions are not defined by his angelic status. Crowley is trying to get Aziraphale to put that together and admit it. However, Aziraphale did not reason himself into his position, and that means Crowley can’t reason him out of it.

The main driving force for Aziraphale here is he knows it would feel wrong to kill the child, and therefore he won't do it. It gets him defensive because there is a clear and obvious moral greater good argument for killing the kid, and he's been rationalising various atrocities of God with greater good arguments for a long time. He ought to be persuaded by the greater good, but he can feel that he isn't. That friction is making him get bitchy. Aziraphale is the one more ok with guns. Aziraphale is the one who disparages himself for being soft. Aziraphale is ok with the ends justifying the means. I don't think he sees his personal unwillingness to kill the kid as moral superiority, he might even see it as a moral failing. His comments on holiness are about angel esthetics, not morals.

Killing the antichrist wouldn’t feel right to Aziraphale, therefore it isn’t God’s will for him to do that, and there must be another solution. Through no fault of his own, Aziraphale is correct. Unfortunately for Crowley, this exchange comes across as Aziraphale insisting he is too morally superior to Crowley to be expected to be personally involved in preventing Armageddon. Aziraphale doesn’t actually want Crowley to kill the antichrist instead, he is mostly pointing out that there is some hypocrisy to Crowley being deeply invested in the kill the antichrist plan whilst being unwilling to personally do it. Aziraphale isn’t willing to do it either, but he isn’t the one pushing the plan. It’s been Crowley’s plan every time.

The Bandstand argument is also where Aziraphale says “We’re not friends, we’re an angel and a demon. We have nothing whatsoever in common. I don’t even like you.” This is tonally distinct from his other problematic statements, and mostly rubbish. Crowley responds to Aziraphale’s assertions with the level of dignity they deserve: “You dooooooo.” But there are traces of authenticity to Aziraphale still struggling to conceptualise them as being properly friends as long as they are designated an angel and a demon. It’s been an issue this whole time. However, there is one major sign of the issue finally lifting, in the least expected place.

“Even if I did know something I wouldn’t tell you, we’re on opposite sides!” 

“We’re on our own side.” 

“Not anymore. It’s over.”

Not anymore.

We have never seen Aziraphale acknowledge that he and Crowley are on each other’s side. He once asked if Crowley saw it that way, but he didn’t agree to seeing it that way himself. He never lets himself say it as a statement, I don’t think he has let himself believe it or think it. Veil!Aziraphale cannot allow conscious!Aziraphale to perceive himself as being currently on the same side as a demon, working together against God, that is too terrifying to consider. But when he convinces himself that they aren’t working together anymore, he can let himself see that they were on the same side together in the past. It’s less threatening that way. I think in Aziraphale’s mind, they were on the same side insofar as Crowley was helping him bring the universe towards his idea of God’s ineffable plan, and not that he was deviating from God’s ineffable plan. He didn’t see himself as leaving God for Crowley, he imagined Crowley had joined him in being aligned with God intuitively, even if Crowley would disagree with that description.

This exchange is remarkably honest from Aziraphale, but spoken in a language Crowley doesn’t quite understand. Aziraphale has effectively said he does know where the antichrist is, but is unwilling to tell Crowley, because while he had started to consider himself and Crowley on their own side together, he doesn’t any more, because Aziraphale won’t accept either running away or child murder as solutions.

I think Crowley mostly just hears “Fuck you.” And to be honest, that's valid.

Post 7/10

[coraniaid]

School Hard is, in retrospect, one of the pivotal episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  

In this episode, Buffy is trapped in Sunnydale High School, forced to confront one of the most significant villains the show has yet introduced; one of the most iconic and memorable of the show’s seven seasons.  Somebody who, the first time he speaks to Buffy this episode, casually threatens to kill her and walks away without so much as a scratch.  Somebody who we’re meant to see as an altogether different proposition than his Season 1 predecessors.  Somebody whose attempts to destroy Buffy this time around are only foiled thanks to unexpected support from her mother, leaving him free to try again and again for the rest of the season. 

A villain who, unlike Luke and the Annointed One and all the other Season 1 monsters of the week, actually seems to be having fun while he does his best to ruin Buffy’s life and inflict misery and torture on the population of Sunnydale. Somebody who relishes in inflicting pretty cruelty.  Somebody who was originally intended to be killed off after only a few appearances, but who – thanks in no small part to his performance in episodes like this one – will instead continue to appear on the show for years to come.  A character it is impossible to imagine Buffy the Vampire Slayer without.

I am, of course, talking about Principal Snyder.

(Also there are some new vampires in town this episode I guess but whatever.  This post isn’t about them.)

I didn’t talk about him much during my Season 1 rewatch, but I really enjoy Principal Snyder as an antagonist.  I think he might actually be one of my favorite minor characters.  He’s incredibly well realized from his first appearance in The Puppet Show: instantly this note perfect pastiche of a self-important petty little bully with just barely enough power to be really dangerous.  The show uses him as a contrast to the other adults in Buffy’s life (Giles, Joyce) to such good effect (especially at the beginning of Season 3).  And Armin Shimerman is fantastic in the role: you can see why the writers gave up on their initial idea of Sunnydale High having a whole string of different principals who got killed off every few episodes.

He’s such a well done comic character too: funny, but never slipping up and giving the impression of being in on the joke.  We’re only seven episodes in, and we’ve already gotten gems like “I can smell trouble – it’s like a sixth sense.” and  “What are you, ghouls?  There are no dead students here.  This week.”.  All delivered with this perfect growling sneer and no acknowledgement at all that what he’s saying is ridiculous.

He’s just fun, in a way that I really don’t think any of Buffy’s other non-supernatural antagonists are.  Yes, Buffy will continue to find the non-supernatural parts of her life hard after high school, but it’s all so impersonal after this.  Other than Maggie Walsh (who is really part of the supernatural world anyway, as head of the Initiative, so barely counts), none of the bad professors she has to deal with in college are recurring characters.  Neither is her bank manager, or her boss at the Doublemeat Palace, or Dawn’s security worker. (Okay, very technically her second manager at the DMP is recurring, but you know what I mean.) 

Of course, being a Slayer still causes Buffy problems in her day to day life, but for whatever reason – I don’t know if it was a deliberate choice or just a result of the later seasons becoming increasingly serialized and story-arc focused - the show becomes less and less concerned with showing us that everyday life.  (Is Parker the last recurring character of any importance who never finds out that Buffy is the Slayer?) And when Buffy goes back to work at the high school in Season 7, everything’s so tied up with her being the Slayer that we just don’t get the same juggling-two-lives thing anymore.

And ... well, I guess Buffy doesn't miss Snyder. I can hardly blame her. But I do.

[andtheyweresquirrels]

Merlin, season 1

Mind that I remember almost nothing from the other seasons, I used to watch it on cable when I was in elementary/middle school. But here are some highlights because I rewatched it too quickly to have separate thoughts for every episode:

Merlin is in love with Arthur.

That's it, thank you for reading.

I'm joking, but have you seen how he looks at him? He's like Aziraphale looking at Crowley! Maybe worse!

I love everyone's dynamic with each other:

Arthur and Merlin: I think it's pretty obvious I like how they interact with each other, and all I like is there in the narrative. Merlin keeps Arthur's pride in check, he changes him, he protects him in the shadows, and he knows the importance of Arthur's role in the future of the kingdom. Arthur is challenged by how Merlin feels free to speak his mind, the only other person that has probably ever spoken so directly with him is Morgana, and even she has to keep herself in check because she's a woman. It's pretty evident from how they act and from their roles in the story that they complement each other, none of the two can bring Camelot to greatness without the other. Also, I think Arthur is attracted to the (partly just perceived) freedom from responsibility that Merlin has, while Merlin, in some ways, wants the power that royalty has, so their friendship satisfies their impossible desires.

Gaius and Merlin: father and son, great support, perfect balance between letting an almost-grown child do their thing, scolding, worrying and giving advice. I love that the last episode ended (not counting for the hook for season 2) with those two. If I can't have uncle Iroh, I want Gaius to be my cool old uncle. Better yet, I want them both and I want them to go play cards together.

Merlin and Gwen: poor unfortunate Gwen, can't you see he's already in love? But also, they stand for one another and have a great friendship; they understand each other because they're in a similar condition.

Gwen and Morgana: great friendship. It doesn't feel unbalanced like Arthur and Merlin, maybe because the show is not as focused on them, but I often forget that Gwen is Morgana's servant. The only time I felt a difference in power in the episode where Gwen's dad dies, because we see the different approaches between Morgana and Merlin, both hating Uther for condemning Gwen's father, but in the end Merlin treats Gwen as a peer and asks her if Uther should die, while Morgana plots against Uther without consulting Gwen (also tries to break her father free without consulting, which, I gotta say, I understand more, but it's still another instance of going over Gwen's head) but maybe that says more about the future developments of Morgana's character than anything else.

Uther and Arthur: Edipus complex. But for real, their complicated relationship is a big classic for a traumatized father who doesn't share the burden of ruling and wants his son to never make his same mistakes and a son that has to please his father because he is the king. (Ovb, I'm not really taking this seriusly. They're characters, and I'm not a psych-person. Though I am a fan of Psych, the TV show about a guy that fakes being a psychic to solve crimes.) Anyway, the DRAMA they have, I love it. Also, there's a scene in the last episode when Uther takes dying Arthur to his chamber, and while he carries him he falls to his knees, and it looks like La Pietà (Michelangelo's in particular, but also the various representations in art in general), which is, in essence, a mother (a father in this case) crying for the death of her child. Dunno, maybe I'm reading too much into it.

Uther and Morgana: father and daughter in a patriarchal society, what else do I need to say? A lot, actually. It's incredibly interesting how their relationship slowly deteriorates, I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. But also you can see that they care for each other, that Uther's not merely keeping her safe for the promise he made to her father, and though she often goes against his will, he's family. But there's the elephant in the room, she has premonitions and he fears everything related to magic, their bond is probably doomed. Again, I love the promise of drama.

Gaius and Uther: old friends with power imbalance, they clearly represent what Merlin and Arthur should not become. To the viewers, Gaius is the only one that can show us what happened in the past, specifically what Uther did and what happened to make his the way he is. Only when Gaius pushes, the two together help us understand (through the past) the present and the future of Merlin (and Arthur, and Camelot, and magic, if you want to expand).

Arthur and Morgana: I guess the narrative wants me to see them as possible romantic partners, but I can't shake the idea that they work better as siblings. They find common ground by being constricted by Uther's will, they grew up together (at least since Morgana was 10, maybe they knew each other before) and at the start of the season they bicker a lot. I imagine this bickering is to show the audience they actually like each other but they're too proud/afraid to do the first move, but I fear this will turn Morgana's character into a tragic romantic interest. I feel that the "I know you as well as I know myself because we grew up together and sometimes you are infuriating" works better as siblings, but that's just a preference. I have other things to say about them, but I guess it's more about Morgana than their dynamic, so I'll keep it for later.

Other thoughts:

Neither Merlin nor Arthur have an actual canonical hetero-attraction moment* (for now) and I find this both perfect for my plan to prove that Merthur is canon (let me dream for as long as I can) and kinda interesting from a cultural-analysis perspective. We (the general audience) just assume they are straight because that's the norm. Of course there are nuances, because the ship is very popular, but the narrative doesn't want us to perceive them as possibly romantically involved (because as much as I want it, they'll not end up together T.T), yet it doesn't try to distract us from that possibility. Because it doesn't have to, it shouldn't be a possibility, it's actually not one, and it's assumed to be this way. Anywayyyy, my love for Pierre Bourdieu's works is showing, so I better stop talk sociology and go back to the normal kind of sorcery.

The character of Morgana. Wow, it's just wow. Imma make a separate post about her because this is getting too long.

*I don't consider incantations for Arthur, and Merlin reads to me as possibly arospec and/or ace because he so doesn't see Gwen's tentative flirting. (Also, as I so thoroughly established before by just saying that he is, he's in love with Arthur.)

[yellowmagicalgirl]

5 headcanons from a Trollhunters AU of your choice?

So there's this AU that I've had vague ideas about for a while, a roleswap where I swap all the canon ships (not counting Word of God ships and ships where we never see one of the characters). Do note that while the canon ships are getting swapped, the only canon ship that definitely gets together in this AU is Jlaire. (Staja and Darby are both maybe's, but I'm leaning no because IDK how much sense they'd make in this 'verse. Everything else is a NOTP for me.) (Also due to the amount of canon ships, you get more than 5 headcanons.)

Stricklake: Waltolomew is Jim's dad. Jim's bio mom walked out on them when Jim turned five - she accidentally saw Strickler in his true form, and she just wanted to escape. She was concerned that Jim wasn't human either, and she didn't want anything to do with him. (She was right that Jim wasn't fully human, though that didn't manifest as anything other than a very mild iron allergy until he got possessed by Morgana.) Meanwhile, Barbara is a local doctor who ends up getting roped in after she sees too much going on with the local teen defenders, and also after she ends up as Jim's foster mom when Strickler went missing.

Jlaire: The last battle between Kanjigar and Bular took place in a slightly different location, one that Claire was able to ride her bike to. She picked up the amulet and wasn't detected as quickly as Jim was in canon due to Strickler not going into the women's locker rooms. This allows her to have just enough time to learn to fight without Bular killing her for not knowing her way around knives like Jim does. Jim, meanwhile, has recently had the truth of his heritage revealed to him. If he serves the Janus Order well enough, then he can undergo the ritual that could make him a polymorph. (He never goes through the ritual but gains the ability anyways thanks to Morgana.) In the latter half of season 1, he became Team Trollhunters' man on the inside because he can't accept a world where Gunmar reigns (and also because Claire is very pretty in her armor.)

Dromura: Nomura became Kanjigar's apprentice, and while she didn't 100% expect to become the next trollhunter, she is miffed that this human girl with no fighting experience became the next trollhunter instead of her. She also briefly had a fling with Draal, who's human form works with Barbara under the alias of Dr. Aalbregt. Nomura once tried to get Kanjigar and Draal to meet in the hopes that Draal would change sides, but Kanjigar claimed that the impure was not his son. Ouch.

Staja: I'm not saying that Aja is the school bully, but she is rivals with Claire & Mary for popularity, with Claire & Mary being the femme popular crowd and Aja being the star quarterback. (Aja and Darci were neighbors growing up, so they're slightly more cordial.) She also teases Eli, but in a more friendly way since he's her little brother's BFF (and also Eli might have a crush on Krel). Eventually, the Tarron twins + Eli find out the truth. Steve on the other hand is the slightly spoiled heir to House Palchuk of Akiridion V. Seklos help us all.

Nanavex: Varvatos used to babysit Darci and the Tarron twins, sometimes at the same time, because he lives near all of them. He taught them to fight and can tell that something is going on. He doesn't know what. Nancy's son, husband, and daughter-in-law were all killed by the Zerons, and she was left to raise her grandson on her own. Between this and

Darby: I just can't see Darci getting the gravity cursed hammer, and I also can't really see her using a bow in this AU despite her using it in my seasonal amulet AU. I'm gonna say that instead she stole a fancy looking flute from the museum at the end of the second battle of Killahead. This flute was actually the flute that belonged to the Pied Piper, and it allows her to control small animals... and also goblins, because of the long-running raccoon joke. Mary never gets quite as involved in trollhunting as the others do due to being squeamish around violence, which causes her to grow distant from Claire and Darci. The coup happens earlier, Toby makes a cool bracelet for her, and Mary is selfish enough that she decides to befriend this foreign weirdo in order to get cool bracelets. (Due to the coup happening earlier, the two supernatural groups meet earlier. Toby gets to meet Vendel, who is more impressed with him than in canon. Vendel also likes Toby better than Steve.)

Stuart x Gwen: "The bounty hunter (Stuart) you (Morando) sent after us (Steve, Nancy, and Toby) became part of our found family." Meanwhile, I have two potential takes on Gwen. The first is that she's an untrustworthy rogue agent, willing to sell alien tech but also willing to sell secrets to whomever she thinks can get her the best deal. The other is that I replace Gwen of Gorbon with Guinevere, who was an alien all along in this 'verse, and Arthur thought that this foul creature killed his wife when he saw her in her true form. (In the latter case, there would be parallels between Guinevere/Arthur and Waltolomew/Jim's bio mom.)

send me an au and i’ll give you 5+ headcanons about it

[bi-bard]

The Collection of Failed Date Nights - Angus MacGyver Imagine [MacGyver (2016)]

Title: The Collection of Failed Date Nights

Pairing: Angus MacGyver X Reader

Word Count: 2,067 words

Warning(s): none

Summary: Mac and (Y/n) didn't expect their relationship to be the same as many "normal" people. Still, they were ready to do everything in their power to have some time for just the two of them. They had to learn the hard way that their plan was far easier said than done.

Author's Note: I've been considering one of those "____ Songs That Would Describe a Relationship with ____" for MacGyver, so (besides Taylor Swift because I get the joke) what artist would you like to see featured in that?

Oh, I used late season 1 for reference to the team members.

--------------------------

Night One: Matty couldn't call at a convenient time to save her life

Dating when you work with the Phoenix Foundation wasn't easy. When both of you work with the Phoenix Foundation, then there were times when you were going to feel like you two were less dating and more trying to work in excuses to hold hands at work.

Mac and I learned that lesson fast.

Regardless of the circumstances, we tried to fit in some of the "normal" things. Movie nights and dinners and dates.

Easier said than done.

We learned that very early on.

I smiled at the little diner that Mac pulled up to.

Mac tried to explain, "I know it's not very fancy, but it was all a bit last-"

I leaned over and pecked his lips. "It's great."

He grinned at me before shutting off the car.

The night went on pretty well. We got seated, got our drinks and food ordered, and were just waiting. It was starting to look like we were going to have a normal night.

Mac was in the middle of some story from filming Bozer's short film when my phone went off. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and groaned.

He chuckled at me. "Who caused that reaction?"

"Matty."

"You're kidding," his face dropped.

I nodded and answered the call, "Hey, Matty."

"Sorry to cut you and Mac's dinner date short, but I need you guys to come in," she said. I sat up a little straighter, looking around for some sign of her or anyone from the foundation. "You two were talking about it in the hall."

"The fact that you knew to explain doesn't comfort me."

"Just hurry up and get here."

She hung up before I could respond.

"We gotta go," I told Mac simply. He groaned. "I know. Come on."

He pulled himself out of the booth and got out his wallet. "We would have much better luck if we just started ordering our food to go."

I just nodded.

Night Two: Jack is a lost puppy (even if he refuses to admit it)

We thought drinks would be easier than most things.

Not as big of a commitment as most things, easier to pay for in a rush, and it allowed Mac and I to actually talk.

We were both leaning on the table while Mac was attempting to show off after I questioned the whole paperclip habit. He was trying to prove that it was incredibly useful.

I leaned on his shoulder, chuckling as he rambled about the paperclip.

"Hey!"

I looked away from Mac when I heard Jack's voice. The small pang of disappointment made me feel guilty because I liked Jack. He's a great guy. But also, I was on a date.

"Hey," Mac greeted him.

"You two mind if I sit?"

Mac nodded, motioning toward the other side of the booth.

"How are the lovebirds doing," Jack asked.

"(Y/n) was making fun of how much I mess around with my paperclips."

"'Making fun' makes me sound mean," I said. "I was more questioning."

"Don't worry, I make fun of him too," Jack replied.

I let out a laugh and leaned back against the booth.

Mac just scoffed, "I'm happy you two find this funny, but I have saved both your asses several times with these paperclips-"

"And a crap ton of other stuff," I shrugged.

"Usually involving my phone," Jack added.

"You are both rude," Mac muttered.

I leaned on his shoulder again and he placed his hand on my knee. It was nice. I wish we had planned for our night to involve more than just the two of us, but this was nice.

I didn't feel right complaining about it.

Night Three: Bozer said he wasn't going to be home

I could barely remember what Mac had been talking about at the time. He was pacing a bit and rambling about something. I was sitting on his bed, occupied with other things. Like the fact that we finally had a night to ourselves.

"You're not listening," he said, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Excuse me? I always listen to you," I made it very clear that I was lying.

"Oh, really," he asked, stepping over to me. "What was I saying then?"

"If you mix hydrogen and a paperclip and... other... stuff..."

"What- woah-"

I pulled on the front of his shirt so I could press my lips to his. He managed to catch himself by placing his hands on either side of me. He chuckled as he kissed me back, making me grin into the kiss.

I started moving back, pulling Mac along with me. I laid down, moving my hand into his hair. He lowered himself onto his elbows. My free hand moved to his shirt buttons, starting to undo them. It was not as easy as I thought it would be.

His lips moved to my neck, moving down from the spot below my ear.

And then... Bozer's voice sounded from the main room.

"Mac! I was thinking and-"

"I'm gonna kill him," I muttered.

Mac laughed at me, hiding his face in the crook of my neck.

"You said he was going to be gone for the night," I groaned.

"I know, I know," he pushed himself off the bed. "I'll go talk-"

The door swung open before he could finish his thought. Bozer froze in the doorway. He looked between me lying on my back and Mac's shirt being half-undone.

"Did I interrupt something," he asked.

"Wanna take a wild guess," I replied, pushing myself up on my elbows.

He just nodded. "Well, I was gonna order some food if you guys..."

I raised an eyebrow at him. He just smiled guiltily before walking out.

I let my head fall back onto the pillow and shut my eyes. I felt a kiss get pressed to my forehead. I looked at Mac for a moment to grin, hoping to show that I was upset with the situation and not with him.

One day, I thought as I reached up to touch the side of his face. One day we'll get a normal date night.

Night Four: Mac needs to check his pockets before going out on a mission

We had honestly gotten lucky the trip was as quick as it was. The two of us had invested in some tickets to a small concert. The idea was that the show was small enough that we wouldn't break the bank if we weren't able to make it.

But here we were, standing in line for a concert. We were going to get a couple of hours together just to enjoy what was going on around us. It was a dream.

When we got to the door, Mac went to pull the tickets out of his pocket. He insisted on keeping a hold of them "just in case". I don't know what he thought would happen if I kept them, but I wasn't going to argue about something that didn't matter.

But as a nervous smile formed on his face, I wonder if I should've argued more.

He reached into his other pocket before starting to frantically check every pocket he had. Small scraps, a paperclip, but no tickets.

The guy at the door finally waved us away. I crossed my arms over my chest and started walking back to the parking garage that we had paid for. Another waste of money.

"(Y/n)," Mac followed close behind me. "I'm sorry."

I tried to blink away the tears of frustration that had formed in my eyes. "It's fine."

"No, it's not," he grabbed my arm so he could turn me around. "I... I screwed up our whole night and I'm sorry."

I closed my eyes for a moment. His hands cupped the sides of my face. I felt him press his lips to my forehead.

"I'll make it up to you," he was basically speaking against my skin. "I promise. I'll figure something out. I am so, so sorry for this."

"I just wanna go home," I mumbled, feeling the tears starting to fall. Mac pulled me forward into his arms, guiding my head to rest on his shoulder.

"Okay," he replied. "That's okay. Maybe... Maybe we can find a good movie or something. And then we can relax and cuddle, yeah?"

"I want to go home alone," I corrected my statement as I stepped back. "I'm sorry."

"No, no, don't apologize," he grabbed my hand, starting to lead me to the car. "That's okay. It's your choice."

I felt bad for being so upset, but I had been looking forward to tonight. It felt like everything in the world had gone right for us to be there only for us to get smacked down right at the end. It hurt.

Mac was understanding when he dropped me off. He kissed me gently, continuing to mumble how sorry he was.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," I replied before getting out of the car.

Mac refused to drive away until he saw me walk inside. I waved at him from the door before stepping inside.

As I locked the door behind me, I leaned my head against the door.

I just wanted one night with no interruption or mishap. I never realized how difficult that would be to achieve.

Night Five: Does it count as escaping an escape room if we never went inside?

The other three hadn't even known about the escape room until Mac and I were getting ready to leave.

And then, Bozer asked if he could join. He was completely oblivious to the idea that Mac and I may have wanted to do something on our own. I looked at Mac, letting him make the decision. He looked back at me for a moment before looking at Bozer and nodding.

And then, Bozer asked to let Jack and Riley tag along, saying that it would be good for the team to see each other outside of a life-or-death situation. Mac nodded to that idea too.

"I'm sorry," he muttered to me as he kissed my head.

"It's okay," I promised despite my disappointment.

The other two met us there.

It all seemed to be going fine until it was actually time to go into the room.

"Wait, gotta tie my shoe," Mac touched my arm as he knelt down. I stopped, scoffing at him for grabbing my arm.

Just as Mac finished tying his shoe, he jumped up and pushed the door shut. He nodded at the workers and grabbed my hand.

"What are you doing," I asked, letting him lead me out. "We can't just abandon them."

Mac stopped outside the building, pulling me abruptly into a kiss. I almost squeaked out of shock as he did. My hands touched his sides as I kissed him back. He leaned back a few moments later.

"What do you say to picking up dinner and going back to my place," he suggested.

"And just leaving them trapped here?"

"It's an escape room. That's the point."

I chuckled as he leaned in and kissed me again.

I hummed and pulled back. "You've got yourself a deal, MacGyver."

He grinned. "Good."

He started pulling me along with him again.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket when it started ringing. Before I could properly look at the name, Mac grabbed it and declined the call.

"Mac!"

"We've earned a night together," he explained as he handed my phone back to me. "No interruptions."

"I didn't realize that it was upsetting you so much."

"I love the team," he replied. "I really do. But there are times when I want to be with you. Only you. I don't want to be a jerk, but... I felt like this was the only option."

I frowned at him. "We should probably sit down and talk with them about that."

He nodded.

"Instead of locking them in an escape room."

He chuckled, looking down for a moment. "That was a little rude, huh?"

"Maybe a bit," I confirmed. After a moment, I pulled on his arm. "Hey... I love you."

"I love you too."

Mac was right. We deserved to have time to ourselves. And we were getting there. It was just a learning curve.

A very complicated learning curve.

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[fandom-hoarder]

Anybody who thinks that abomination of a TWin finale was BETTER than the spn finale or FIXED anything about it can fuck right off, tbh. Bad vibes, dnw.

Like the biggest thing about TWin is it's INSULTING.

It's insulting that it's called "the winchesters", when The Winchesters are Sam and Dean. It's insulting that those involved kept telling people to trust them and "canon we got you" and stringing people along a whole fucking pointless season. It's insulting that they claimed they were so passionate about it when it's... Like This. When clearly no one could bother to even consult the canon, or hire actors who would be faithful to the OG representations. When it feels like a really cheap cash grab, when the interviews with Robbie and Jensen tell a story of people who knew they HAD to make this work, but didn't actually have a vision or focus for it. When Danneel appears to have been given way too much creative control despite not actually watching most of spn. When her passion for the project appeared to be the clothes she and Jensen could be photographed in -- this isn't wife hate, this is sincere criticism of someone who had creative control in a project they didn't even know the canon for.

It's insulting they spent the money for good music and played actual Led Zeppelin in THIS STUPID FINALE.

I know the last seasons of spn got pretty out there, got pretty stupid and lackluster (ghosts redux but daytime? Ehh), but at least in s15 they were running through "greatest callbacks" territory. TWin was not only worse quality, it had no fucking purpose. They didn't have a STORY TO TELL at all. You think THIS was where they were originally heading with that "Dean" voiceover from the pilot, talking about the true story of his parents?

THOSE WEREN'T EVEN HIS PARENTS. THAT WASN'T EVEN THEIR STORY. AND WHY WOULD JACK RECREATE THE MULTIVERSES AND INCLUDE CHUCK'S AKRIDA FAILSAFE? WHY WOULD *DEAN* HAVE TO FIX IT IN THE FIRST PLACE? *HOW* CAN HE GIVE THEM THE COLT AND "HIS JOURNAL"🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄 -- AND, WHAT, JUST LET THE COLT DISAPPEAR FROM PRIME UNIVERSE?

AND THESE PEOPLE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE THE SAME BEGINNING AS DEAN'S PARENTS; WHY WOULD GIVING THEM A JOURNAL EVEN HELP?

(None of these questions are important enough for an s2, mind you; this show gets the atla live action treatment--never happened, doesn't count)

THE WHOLE FUCKING REASONING IS JUST POINTLESS AND STUPID. AND THERE DIDN'T SEEM TO EVER BE ANY REAL STAKES FOR THIS SCOOBY GANG ALL SEASON. It was The Magic Tree House, with all the answers handed to them. (Not to mention the pretty bad acting I witnessed from Meg -- a too-short-to-be-Mary-when-Drake-is-that-tall Claire lookalike I'm supposed to believe as Mary🙄 --and the total lack of JohnMary chemistry, and the weird af lore breaking holywater!hair vamp splash that started as a joke and shouldn't have even made it onto the page🤦‍♀️-- if you wanted to be that kind of camp you should've just done a straightup AU spinoff, and not tried to tie this in to the OG while LYING about "canon we got you" and getting your tone all the fuck wrong)

This doesn't fix anything from spn finale--NOTHING NEEDED FIXED. Whatever gripes there may be about aspects of the spn finale, essentially it was PERFECT. THIS bullshit takes a Dean who had finally come to terms with the life they'd lived, who had his actual loved ones largely available in heaven (and Sam on earth, but knowing he'd meet Dean up there, and time is different in Heaven), and takes away any character growth the spn finale suggested-- because he's ALREADY LEARNED THIS LESSON ABOUT TRYING TO CHANGE THE PAST WTF.

Also, that was not Dean. I get that Jensen probably couldn't cut his hair or whatever, but that turtleneck sweater was not an outfit OG Dean would wear, AND Jensen seems to have forgotten how to do the Dean voice/accent. They should've said it was huntercorp!Dean or something, cuz that was not the Dean that died in 15.20 and went to Heaven and took a drive to wait for Sam.

The only correct thing in TWin finale is that Sam was still Dean's #1, and all the SamDean parallels to JohnMary throughout the show get rights for preserving that. But the JohnMary was so dull.

This ridiculous show is NOT CANON, and I hope whatever future endeavors come out of spnverse has greater respect for the OG and its fandom, and better writing and casting. (I would prefer for it to die than become another abomination.)

I'm sorry for Drake's decent acting that this was the story he got, since he seemed to actually be a fan of the og -- even though some of his comments lost him some points with me. Sorry for some of the other wannabe scooby gang actors, who should've just gotten their own spoofy spinoff. I would be happy to not see Meg in anything ever again -- not that I wish for an end to her career, just that *I* won't have to see her face act. I would also be ecstatic for the Ackles' friends to not be cast in roles they're unsuited for just so they can all work together 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄 how the fuck was that supposed to be Samuel?

You make a variety show for this shit, not a fucking prequel-that's-not-a-prequel. Good grief. Get you some good people that will tell you no. Maybe talk to Jared about it, jfc. He actually gets thoughtful about his headcanons.

[beatricebidelaire]

the thing about netflix eslaf vs netflix orwellaf is that, technically only georgina / olaf counts as a netflix addition because in book canon eslaf is a couple. and technically i am generally not a fan of added m/f romance that's not in book canon, attwn 2015 an exception to the rule. that said netflix eslaf, specifically in tee, felt quite one-sided and esme being the one who's way more attracted to olaf and i really don't enjoy the vibes there (parsleysoda1984 said it better than i do), and georgina and olaf in season 1 had much more of the evil couple who also hate each other but still come together and collaborate on something energy, and also they fuck. and i will concede that "you, me, an evil scheme, a little death" "la petite mort" flirting scene is fun (granted it's reusing a joke from book tcc). georgina in the book is so scary and highly competent and independent and with no interest in olaf whatsoever, and i like that, (btw where's that post that DH killing G in tmm is necessary bc otherwise if she continued to work with O than the baudelaires won't stand a chance. like she's too powerful a villain), so i don't want to add in romance for her, but still, in comparison, actually i don't know where im going with this

now the bertrand/georgina addition is fascinating to me and i find the mention entertaining. im also glad it's only a mention because i wouldn't trust netflix to do more with it. it's more than likely just going to go the bitter exes route that im not sure netflix would handle well, with possible jealousy over beatrice. but setting that aside, if we overlook netflix completely, we still have the way that bertrand's and georgina's writing style are kind of similar(“hypnosis is an efficacious yet precarious methodology and should not be assayed by neophytes” “we’re attempting a botanical hybrid through the tuberous canopy, which should bring safety to fruition despite its dangers to our associates in utero”), and georgina's line of "you catch more flies with honey than vinegar", plus bertrand being someone who theodora apparently finds a nice apprentice, so these shared traits, even just partially, is fascinating to me. and whatever else, "father always said he didn’t trust optimists or optometrists" was a really fine line. i love it. endlessly delightful to me. and there's georgina's hypnosis methods that vfd doesn't approve of, bertrand likely included, and yet on the subject of medusoid mycelium, b&b once at some point seemed to taken gregor's side, at least in early stages, which is something that got officially disapproved by vfd later as well. it's interesting, when you think about it.

[safyresky]

So, Season 2. It's. It's alright ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

But like...that's it, lmao.

I did enjoy it! I got WAY MORE genuine laughs out of these first two episodes than I did the entire first season. Magnus is hilarious, I love his whole vibe lmao. Fluffy's character, Kris, he's...man is really out here looking for a father figure and it is deffs biting him in the ASS.

The elves are top tier as per the usual! Betty and Noel are continuing to be THE power couple and I am SO HAPPY ABOUT IT, I love them to death 🥰🥰🥰

My fave thing about the season so far is just everyone out here like Scott wtf are you doing. Wtf, man. I yelled GET HIS ASS so many times lol. The official Get His Ass Count as of the end of Episode 2: 8. 8 whole GET HIS ASS moments. BLESS.

SO RIGHT. NITTY GRITTY. OKAY.

Episode 1

Scott sucked SO BAD this episode. He breaks the SOS on a worldwide level then gets upset when Cal is like "I love Riley! I wished her here! We're hanging out! Riley!! :D" and is like "Bro you should've dusted her."

OKAY SCOTT. WHAT ABOUT THE WHOLE WORLD, SCOTT, HMM? ARE WE DUSTING THEM??? HMM??? YEESH.

Scott aside (you know, his usual boomer-esque old guy who refuses to change shtick with BUT WHAT ABOUT FAMILY! And whatnot thing), everything else was. Mid, tbh. But fun! Santa being like "Are you gonna kill him?" With Carol being like "I can take care of Gary" was hilarious.

Betty and Noel, of course, SHINNED. I love them, they are SO CUTE. Cardboard face cutouts??? ICONIC. Nobody is doing it like them!

Now. Cal. aka, Buddy. I am very worried for him. Like, 4 episodes ago he was having ANXIETY about being Santa? And now this? Carol being like "what if he doesn't want it don't force him to follow in your footsteps" like. I AGREE. HE SHOULD GO OFF TO COLLEGE AND LIVE HIS LIFE!!!! I have a lot of thoughts there but it is late and I need to FOCUS because I need to yell about Cupid in a second, ANYWAY

Magnus Antas. I love this guy. I fucks with him. He takes a 700 year nap and is like "I'm fine" until his toxic bestie is like "I WANT TO KILL" and a kid sasses him for not being Santa/being OLD and he's like "Nevermind. I want to kill now too. Time to MURDER." He has VIBES and I like them!! He also seems like he's was over it until Olga was like "but what if" and some kid was mean to him and tbh, I can't even blame him for getting pissy at the kid lol. I'd also turna kid into "a Roblox" if I could (here for Gamer Mad Santa btw. I'd watch him stream on Twitch)

This is verging into Episode 2 territory, lol. May as well get there, then!

EPISODE 2

So, the LORE DROPS. Um. There was a LOT of it? And it seems to contradict itself/not quite equate with itself? If the NP is a utopia for magic, why is it like that? Was Magnus good, or not? Why do ALL the fairy creatures live there, when they come from so many diverse cuktures and backgrounds? That's a lil messed up! What the fuck happened with the gnomes becoming so (what's the phrase) PROMINENT for Santa? Will we get answers for all of these? Based on past season, PROBABLY NOT! BUT I HOPE WE DO! BC IT IS A BIT ALL OVER THE PLACE! AHH!

RIGHTO. SO SANDRA'S MAGIC. Love that for her! Love that they're actually devoting time to showing her interacting with La Befana and learning about herself and the pair of them discussing things!!! MUCH rather watch that than a 5 minute long auto-tuned elf song which is there just for a Santa/Satan joke! I'm excited to see how her whole arc goes--it looks like she's ACTUALLY GETTING ONE.

I wonder why Befana needs her to tell her parents, like, aside from obvious reasons. She was so insistent on Sandra making sure her parents knew she was training with Befana, that I'm wondering if there's something more to it a la "our powers don't work on other legendary figures". Like, was it to keep her mind clear? Is it like a past thing? Bc Witches are "scary" and often "bad" given that Santa calls Befana a "good one"?

That's another thign! Not sure I vibed with THAT whole thing. Both Claus's being like "yeah witches, they are deffs their stereotypes". Like. Idk. It sits. Not gr8 with me. Feels like performative activism, sorta, you know?

Which is also how I feel about the girl power moments, tbh. Like, it's nice to see them--Carol respecting Befana as a self-made woman, sister solidarity, etc. But it feels very performative! It feels very much like they are checking it off a list, you know? They're STILL like "Carol is trying to find a role for Mrs. Claus" and they go for COP? Wildin. Also wildin that the ELFS are COP EQUIVALENTS? Um, since WHEN?! They are funky little guys with jet packs and no regard for authority. Remember when they broke Santa out of jail and bullied the cop at the front desk? Remember that? YEAH.

OKAY SO NOW MY FAVOURITE PART TO TALK ABOUT. CUPID AND THE COUNCIL!

So as a classics major and a lover of the Cupid/Psyche myth (and personal bias from OCs made bc of said myth) I was unimpressed with the Mrs. Cupid convo. FIRST off, her name is PSYCHE so jot that down. SECONDLY. It was ONE ARROW MEANT FOR HER THAT SOMEHOW GOT LODGED INTO CUPID ACCIDENTALLY WHILE SENT ON AN ERRAND BY HIS MOTHER, VENUS, TO TAKE CARE OF (make her fall in love with a horrible monster/something/someone very ugly) PSYCHE BC SHE WAS SO BEAUTIFUL WORSHIP WAS DROPPING FOR VENUS AND GOING TO PSYCHE.

This resulted in Cupid and Psyche having a very strange romance/marriage in which Psyche's shitty sisters convince her to break Cupid's one rule (which was don't look at me) and he gets injured, HELD HOSTAGE by his mother, and Psyche has to go on a QUEST to free him that involves Venus making her do all sorts of shitty shenanigans, setting the personifications of sadness and despair on her, and trapping her in an eternal sleep. Cupid, afflcited by his own arrow, escapes his mother's house when he hears about this, finds her, and draws the sleep out of her, waking her up and reuniting them.

They then proceed to go to Zeus (not Jupiter despite Cupid being the Roman equivalent of Eros, and Venus roman of Aphrodite? It's interesting) like LOOK WHAT VENUS DID and Zeus goes "Wow, that's a little fucked up, actually. Listen, I'll make her a god and sanction your marriage and tell of your Mom IF you do something a little fucked up for me and help me get ANY woman I want" to which Cupid goes "Sure, that sounds reasonable and not fucked up at all" and then he and Psyche get married and have a fucking rager with the gods and have one kid, Pleasure, aka Hedone/Volupta, or in SOME iterations, THREE kids, Pleasure, Joy, and a third one who's name escapes me (Vanity I think) and presumably live happily ever after! READ FOR YOURSELF!

I am very passionate about this bc uh. this is uh. Dite's whole ass backstory? She is Hedone lmao so I've got some personal attachment here thanks to me own OCs lmao, ANYWAY

So YEAH that got me miffed. As did uh, the whole PEEKABOO and cupid making baby noises back at Riley. The ICK.

But you know what I DID love?? Cupid being like "I'm not spying but also, I am spying and also, the whole ass entire council is like BOI...WHAT THE FUCK". GET HIS ASS! CALL HIM OUT!! BC YEAH, WHAT THE FUCK SCOTT?? SEASON 1?? HELLO??? EVERYTHING BEFORE THAT??? VIOLATING THE SOS BY SHARING ALL THOSE SNOW GLOBES??? AHHHHHHH.

Cupid delivering that 3 month deadline and Council threat I was like. HERE for it. I was like. GET HIS ASS (this was one of the GHA counter moments tbh). Like, this dude is out of control! I think it's high time Scott meets the consequences for his actions! AH!

So YEAH. Excited to see Sandy and for New EB! I hope the whole Council comes back, even if they have to recast, that 5 minute scene would add YEARS to my life that Riley and Cal took away.

Because they are. So icky. I feel as though. There is a scale. And Marie is on one end, and Riley is on the other. This isn't just FIRST LOVE this is just DISGUSTING. Like it was cute at first last season but now Riley is honestly?? Sups annoying. You can tell that they're like, checking items off the list instead of actually putting more thought into them, because Riley is v much a stereotype and they have WAY UPPED her teenager levels. I need them to talk to actual teens. Nobody says OMG like that and also, she's bringing home BIKERS?????????? UM??????? It's like. Why are they so bad at writing love interests? You feel? Tho this could just be a me thing 🤔🤔🤔

They really should've socialized those kids, DAMN. Santa being like "And we all know how that [Romeo and Juliet] went" or whatever the line was had me like "FINALLY SCOTTY BOY. SOMETHING WE CAN AGREE ON!"

AND LAST ON MY LIST. THE SCOTT/SANDRA SCENE.

Finally. Finally. FINALLY. Some good parenting from Scott. FINALLY. Being sups understanding to Sandra? I actually loved it. He finally did ONE (1) GOOD THING. MAYBE HE IS? LEARNING? I DUNNO MAN! WE'LL SEE HOW IT GOES! But yeah, I did like that scene a lot. I'm just really here for Sandra getting her moment!

So YEAH. Overall, season 2 is okay. Gave me more laughs which is WELCOME, and I cannot wait to see how this develops. Especially since the lore was like, really thrown our way, you know? It was a lot for two episodes and again, did kind of contradict itself? Hopefully it clears up once Santa inevitably learns the truth about Mad Santa, probably mostly thanks to Carol who is DOING the MOST.

But yeah, I'm hoping to see the lore tidied/explained a bit better. Especially bc the whole elf lore opening, with the icy tunnels and drab vibes, didn't sit well with me? It...I didn't like it. Not my cup of tea. The lore in general isn't my cup of tea though it's fun to see it there finally, lol. Poor Toots, being named after a fart essentially (I went right to toilet humour, I'm sorry, I am so mature I promise i'm not)

Also, they really kinda. Throw around the head elf title, huh? It felt REALLY WEIRD to not see BMan there, and Toots just being thrown in? Weird it's WEIRD. I wouldn't bring B-Man back for it but MAN IS IT WEIRD. Especially since the new elves, as much as I ADORE THEM, don't have the same kind of like. Old feel to them? As the movie elves did? So I was like "they should NOT be there right now. They should NOT."

Righto. I am going to wrap this up bc I am INSANE and this is very very VERY long for a franchise like this 😅😅😅

[longlivefiction]

Gotham: Why Jeremiah is so underrated? Reasons:

Jeremiah replacing Jerome: Well, the master can surpass the apprentice, right? Part of Jerome's charm is that he enjoys causing terror, and if he can bring someone better to do it, so be it.

Jerome's puppet: Jerome admitted that his days were counting, that Jeremiah would be his last revenge, he said that "it would drive him crazy" but he NEVER said that he would make him his puppet, or that he is taking revenge on his little brother, on the contrary, Jerome LOVED to your brother. And if philosophy totally contradicts the thought of him controlling his brother, "they don't want a plan, they want an excuse" this line applies perfectly to Jeremiah. And as Jerome himself said: You will be free. It's time to have fun. (Well, not exactly like that, but you get the point.)

In fact, I consider that the part by which he seems to talk to Jerome in 5x4 is really the same, assimilating Jerome, let's remember that both existed as a single being until later separating. I think the gas also made Jerome disappear from Jeremiah's mind, and, as Jerome said: we think alike. Jeremiah assumed his brother's actions as his own little by little, completely erasing Jerome from his memory, and taking him as part of him, as well as his attitudes, maintaining his own original personality, thus forming what Valeska would have been if he had never met. I would have split into 2. Ironically, the gas wasn't a final trap, it was Jerome's last act of kindness. His brother was free to be who he is, and at the same time, without stifling him, they are closer than ever.

Lack of jokes: Hmm, no. Jeremiah actually makes a LOT of JOKS, just because he doesn't laugh at them doesn't mean they're not there, in fact, there are few dialogues where he's actually serious.

The Joker makes jokes! Yes well, as I said, Jeremiah makes jokes, that's more Jerome's side, while Jeremiah... Well, the Joker is also a poker card, the joker, is a card that serves to replace or represent any other card that is necessary to compose a play. And that's what Jeremiah is

someone who plays any other cards, different masks, a blank canvas, which he can paint however he wants.

Lack of laughter:

Like .. The Joker in the beginning of him ??? Like Ledger?? Like the Joker from Dark Knight Returns?? In fact, Jeremiah laughs more than Miller's Joker. And in season 5, despite having few laughs, he counted 28 in total in all his appearances, he has even more smiles, and the truth is that they are fantastic.

We already had Jerome: Yes! And myself as a fan of Jeremiah I admit that Jerome was a better character, but because Jerome was a better character, Jeremiah was a better Joker, Jerome had not been planned to be the Joker, he was never intended to be, and everything was emerging on the march, in fact Jerome himself is the prologue for the story of The Joker, who is Batman's enemy, chaos incarnate, previously locked up in Jeremiah's façade. And Jerome had the key, he just unlocked the cell and everything just flowed. Besides, we already knew Jerome, we knew who he was, how he was and why he was what he was. Not with Jeremiah, with him everything remains ambiguous, in theories and speculations, nothing is clear, moreover, I even doubt that his name is Jeremiah.

Jeremiah was not a showman: Neither was the Joker, the non-Joker before was not funny, he learned it over the years, just like Jeremiah who little by little learned to be more charismatic and smiling. In Jeremiah's case because of an ego blow.

Jerome was crazy, Jeremiah is too and says he's not:

Of course, a madman does not know that he is mad... but a sane man knows that a madman does not know that he is mad. Understand what I say? It's natural according to Jeremiah's behavior that he uses the term I'M NOT CRAZY, to make you think he's crazy, that's his kind of game.

Now, clearly speaking, Jeremiah is much crazier than his brother, and this is defined in the plans:

Season 1: Jerome wanted to kill his mother: For years of abuse and anger. There is a meaning behind it and it is understandable to a certain extent.

Season 4: Jeremiah's first plan: LITERALLY MAKE A MAZE THAT WOULD KILL THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE.. just because, he didn't like the layout of the city. Jerome I DIDN'T PLAN THAT. Jeremiah did it, because he wanted to, he could, and well, if he can have more fun like that in the city... why not?

Season 2: Jerome follows Galavan's plan to be a star. All he wants is recognition and that's very human, not to mention that Jerome's own hand victims were very few despite everything. And it was all very structured, and there's very little randomness.

Jeremiah's second season 4 plan: We're going to make a dark island.

We review: With just the mention of Bruce, he decides to stop threatening Ra's, and he is willing to listen to him, maybe he told him to give himself up to distract his opponents, but it's not enough for him, because not... leave crippled to my soul brother's girlfriend, because she foiled my plan to cleanse him of the impurity of the madness called "morality". Then there is how he performs the distractions, he threatens Gordon, telling him that he is risking lives by not letting him talk to Bruce, then he fucks him up by telling him that he never knew how to take care of what is really important, playing with him. Once he can converse with Bruce, he begins to explain his motivations, which are in my opinion worse than his brother's, due to his complete lack of sense.

First, he starts by asking about Selina's condition, and he knows that Bruce is in pain.

Do you know why we are meant to be best friends? Because we are very similar, you are fighting against your real nature as I used to do. I'm just trying to help you.

You could be so strong. I see.

Everything I'm doing is not to create a Gotham of my own, but yours, the Gotham you need.

You are the brother I never had (then he corrects) The one that Jerome could never be. (I think the fact that he said that Bruce is the brother he never had, was that for a brief moment he forgot that Jerome existed)

We will create a legacy in this city, Gotham falls, and we rise... together...

In season 3: For Jerome's third plan, he was simply resurrected and because he wanted to celebrate it, he felt freer than ever, and I consider that it was, in part, his first attempt to free what his brother was hiding. . And also, essentially show how rotten Gotham really is.

In season 5: Jeremiah, because he didn't have enough, with an ego blow due to his plan, he begins to be much more confident, smiling and emotionally open, while the gas continued to eliminate Jerome, making him relate what is told of he with himself, and begins to remember the lies he invented about him as truths, to the point where he creates a new personality different from him, which is responsible for rectifying the released Jeremiah (I think it's a bit of Jerome worrying about Miah , that's why he warns him that Bruce won't like the gift, because he doesn't want him to suffer)

As if that wasn't too much what he did to Bruce in Season 4, trick him, torture Alfred, make him think Jim and his butler were dead, paralyze his girlfriend, and destroy his city; he decides to put together a plan in which he relives the worst day of Bruce's life, and also wants to make a rain of poison that will make the government never touch the city again, and kill thousands of people, maybe.

In the end he alone does 90% of all that, and instead of rain, he poisons the city's river. At this point, Jerome's existence, as well as the artificial representation of him created by Jeremiah, have completely disappeared.

Jerome in season 4 activates his Jeremiah side and becomes more methodical and manipulative, he plans this for months, it is his great final act and he is going to leave Gotham with the real Jeremiah.

Gain power in Arkham.

Win allies.

Escape.

Allowing them to follow you to Miah's lair

5 Confuse my little brother a little

6 Put on a show feigning resentment, and play with laughing gas so they think that's my main plan.

7 Die epically.

8 Give my little brother the excuse he needs to show his full potential.

I already explained the purpose of that plan.

Season 5: In the end, Jeremiah just wants to get Bruce's attention, and take revenge on all those who ruined his plans, just like a child throwing a tantrum, in the end, although he doesn't manage to kill anyone, in fact he wins, he attracted the real Bruce, Batman. And now a complete being, he found the opposite of him, and they will play together forever, they are bound to a great funtime, a life without boring.

[loud-whistling-yes]

I saw you going insane in the tags and figure I'd give you this idea to work off from:

In double life, having had her loyalty scorned by Scott, she doesn't actually try to win it back at any point. She just tries her hardest to take everything from him (she uses his slip to take ownership of his house but beyond quoting that exact line always refers to it exclusively as *her house* not their house as well as making many attempts to get Cleo to stay with her, even when rabid she never attacked Cleo first,) attempted to make him suffer as much as possible (mostly through the powdered snow but also often in other ways,) and when they had seemingly made up she told him to his face that she planned to betray him and join the other side, so she is unflinching loyal but also incredibly vengeful if that loyalty is tossed away and discarded.

LITERALLY. SHE DRIVES ME SO FUCKING CRAZY I CANT WITH THIS. its almost like she embodies the parts of scott and cleo people associate them with and went absolutely batshit hogwild with it. scott's unwavering loyalty + cleo's bloodthirsty vengeance + pearl's own tendency to fixate ALL that shit towards one and a half of a person and be fucking unhinged while doing it = whatever the fuck dl!pearl was on. she forgives scott at the very last minute when she thinks scott gave up the victory for her BUT by the time limlife comes around you can tell shes not completely over it. like i fucking cant with these two. i CANNOT. the way the two of them work how when together they're unstoppable and loyal to the bitter end but simply by the nature of how they are once betrayed their relationship can NEVER go back to the way it once was. they're two sides of the same coin. pearl is devoted the way scott is loyal and scott is petty the way pearl is vengeful.

like seriously just typing this out i just realised??? the traits many people associate with scott???? how petty he is and how loyal he is???? pearl has it too. the thing with her is that with her she takes it to the extreme and always to one person only. just take a look at her and impulse in limlife. impulse kills her once(1) and she DOES NOT let go of that grudge for the rest of the entire fucking series. im not joking rewatch the whole fucking thing again and count the number of times she declares wanting to kill impulse after the boogie kill. scott might do it more frequently but when pearl hates someone shes never letting that shit go

and the fact that she dies this season, underwater, stabbed by scott, trashing around and yelling "this isnt fair"? i wonder if that's another grudge she'll be keeping for a lifetime

[variousqueerthings]

okay I didn't go into Victory of the Daleks whilst watching cos I think it's trash, but let's do the Measurement on it!

sexism rank objectification (female character is ogled/harassed/turned into a sex joke by the doctor and/or a lead we’re supposed to root for and/or the camera): 9/10

sexism rank plot-point (lead female character is only there to serve plot, not to have her emotional interiority explored): 3/10

interesting complex or pointlessly complex (does the complexity serve the narrative or does it just serve to be confusing as a stand-in for smart, this includes visually): 6/10

furthers character and/or lore and/or plot development (broader question that ties into the previous ones, at least two of these, ideally three should be fulfilled): 5/10

companion matters (the companion doesn’t always have to be there, but if the companion is there, can they function without the doctor– and overall per season how often is the companion the focus or POV of the story): 5/10

the doctor is more than just “godlike” (examines the doctor’s flaws and limitations, doesn’t solve a plot by having it revolve entirely around the doctor’s existence): 6/10

doesn’t look down on previous doctor who (by erasing or mocking its importance, by redoing and “bettering” previous beloved plotpoints or characters, etc.): 7/10

isn’t trying to insert hamfisted sexiness (m*ffat famously talked a lot about how dw should be sexier multiple times, he sucks at writing it): 8/10

internal world has consistency (characters have backgrounds, feel rooted in a place with other people, generally feel like they have Lives): 3/10

Politics (how conservative is the story): 1/10

FULL RATING: 53/100 (if I can count….)

Christopher Eccleston I hope you never watched the last two episodes, in which the Doctor was personal friends with various members of the royal family and supports its structures, and the Doctor is personal friends with Winston Churchill....

also I've gotta be honest, Matt Smith's acting isn't giving it in this in terms of the Dalek Trauma, but then none of the episode is

I liked the Doctor going "Amy- Amelia!" when worried for her safety

OBJECTIFICATION: At least there's none of that really. Second miniskirt, but youknow. that's Amy's wardrobe most of the time.

PLOT-POINT: nothing is really explored about Amy in this episode, but I guess not every episode needs to be doing that. I think her relationship with the Doctor continues to be written a bit to the left of what makes sense for them, considering the past, but I'm willing to consider that she just wants the adventure and not to think too much about things

COMPLEXITY: I mean, it's not complicated at all. if anything it's a bit simple. bringing the Daleks back like this, in a way that previously was reserved for Very Special Episodes. marks the beginning of the end of the Daleks as serious villains....

CHARACTERS/LORE/PLOT: because the Daleks make very little sense in this, it's kind of dumb lore, but way more interesting is the tidbit that Amy doesn't remember the events of previous seasons

now I've previously disliked this plotpoint, because I feel like it never properly gets resolved despite the cracks in time later on being... uncracked. however it is cool when it's first mentioned!

COMPANIONS MATTER: Amy does mostly one thing, which is remind the guy who's actually a robot what it is to be human, so he doesn't blow up, and she does it by reminding him... that he was in love once.....

“hey Paisley… ever fancied someone you know you shouldn’t… hurts doesn’t it… but kind of a good hurt…” <- look I’m biased but I’d just explode if I were a secret Dalek bomb RIP to all of us aros, but we're not really human

this wouldn't needle so much, if I didn't know that this is so much of M*ffat's thesis. romantic love is better than any other forms of connection

“GODLIKE” DOCTOR: the Doctor is kind of the point of this episode in that they needed his voice to make the plot work, and then he's badass, and then it ends. it's not "godlike," but it's just. not a good episode. the end.

PREVIOUS DOCTOR WHO: So this also ties into the lore -- I kind of like right now how it definitely does acknowledge the previous narratives and it's weird that Amy doesn't know that it happened... highly suspect

“SEXINESS”: we're fine on the sexiness overall. minimum trying to be sexy outside of the general weirdness of the miniskirts as a Choice

INTERNAL WORLD: it's not good folks. it's trying to be so big and impressive and so we've got random planes in space and Churchill is Personal Friends With The Doctor and it's got this whole wink wink we know we're going to beat the Germans, because we know the Future

vs, say, M*ffat's last foray into WWII (which, granted he didn't write this episode, but this is his show now) in which you really got a sense of the fear and the unknown and the Deeply Human, because we're not just hanging out with the Most important people

it's just not recognisable as a Place and Time, beyond the need for some kind of coolness factor

and speaking of The Most Important People--

POLITICS: uuuuuuurghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh okay

I have seen someone say that this episode is actually a critique of Churchill, and honestly I was this close to skipping it, and then that dragged me in to actually give it a go and

no it is not. I mean, yes, Churchill is characterised as someone who will try to win however he can, but he's actually trying his best in a difficult situation and as the Doctor says: “the world doesn’t need me. The world’s got Winston Spencer Churchill.”

UUUUUUURGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH OKAY

the doctor personal friends with winston churchill

the fucking. Hey-Ho Britain Propaganda! We'll Beat The Bally Germans Ey Lads!

FULL RATING: 53/100 (if I can count….)

It loses on the politics of course, and on the internal world-building (again related to the politics), and Amy isn't really much of anything in this episode beyond... there

it does well on... not doing the sexy sexism I guess. and it's not terrible towards other Doctor Who stories, although maybe it deserves less on that because fuuuck the shit it does with the Daleks is an insult in and of itself

it's just not a good episode