#1x02 In Bad Waters

[clewis]

Phoebe Tonkin as Cleo Sertori H2O: JUST ADD WATER (2006-2010)

[shinelikethunder]

kripke: show creator; seasons 1-5 showrunner; wrote or co-wrote 1x01 pilot, 1x02 wendigo, 1x09 home, 1x16 shadow, 1x22 devil’s trap, 2x01 in my time of dying, 2x22 all hell breaks loose part two, 3x01 the magnificent seven, 3x16 no rest for the wicked, 4x01 lazarus rising, 4x07 it's the great pumpkin, sam winchester, 4x10 heaven and hell (story), 4x22 lucifer rising, 5x01 sympathy for the devil, 5x09 the real ghostbusters, 5x22 swan song, 6x22 the man who knew too much; directed 2x20 what is and what should never be, 4x22 lucifer rising

gamble: seasons 6-7 showrunner; wrote or co-wrote 1x03 dead in the water, 1x12 faith, 1x14 nightmare, 1x21 salvation, 2x03 bloodlust, 2x08 crossroad blues, 2x13 houses of the holy, 2x17 heart, 2x21 all hell breaks loose part one, 3x02 the kids are alright, 3x07 fresh blood, 3x10 dream a little dream of me, 3x12 jus in bello, 3x15 time is on my side, 4x02 are you there god? it’s me, dean winchester, 4x09 i know what you did last summer, 4x17 it’s a terrible life, 4x21 when the levee breaks, 5x02 good god, y'all, 5x07 the curious case of dean winchester, 5x13 the song remains the same, 5x21 two minutes to midnight, 6x01 exile on main st, 6x11 appointment in samarra, 6x21 let it bleed, 7x01 meet the new boss, 7x10 death's door, 7x17 the born-again identity, 7x23 survival of the fittest

edlund: wrote 2x05 simon said, 2x12 nightshifter, 2x18 hollywood babylon, 3x03 bad day at black rock, 3x09 malleus maleficarum, 3x13 ghostfacers, 4x05 monster movie, 4x08 wishful thinking, 4x16 on the head of a pin, 5x04 the end, 5x10 abandon all hope, 5x14 my bloody valentine, 5x20 the devil you know, 6x03 the third man, 6x09 clap your hands if you believe, 6x15 the french mistake, 6x20 the man who would be king, 7x02 hello cruel world, 7x09 how to win friends and influence monsters, 7x15 repo man, 7x21 reading is fundamental, 8x05 blood brother, 8x13 everybody hates hitler, 8x21 the great escapist; directed 6x20 the man who would be king, 7x21 reading is fundamental

[suncaptor]

writerswatch supernatural

I am doing a rewatch in groupings of the writers! The tag is #writerswatch. I have tallied the writers into groups giving the speed 1 episode per day, but I will not be consistent with that and have it listed into dates for each writer.

I have outlined it below and people can join if they do want to, whether it be for a certain writer, episode, or anything. I just thought this would be a fun format.

I am starting with Eric Kripke.

Eric Kripke: September 25th-October 10th

"Pilot"

1x02 (with Ron Milbauer and Terri Hughes Burton)

"Bloody Mary" (with Ron Milbauer and Terri Hughes Burton)

"Home"

"Shadow"

"Devil's Trap"

"In My Time of Dying"

"All Hell Breaks Loose - Part 2" (with Michael T. Moore)

"The Magnificent Seven" (with Emily McLaughlin)

"No Rest for the Wicked"

"Lazarus Rising"

"Heaven and Hell" (with Trevor Sands)

"Lucifer Rising"

"Sympathy for the Devil"

"The Real Ghostbusters" (with Nancy Weiner)

"Swan Song" (with Eric 'Giz' Gewirtz)"The Man Who Knew Too Much"

Sera Gamble: October 11th-November 8th

1.03 Dead in the Water

1.12 Faith

1.14 Nightmare

1.21 Salvation

2.03 Bloodlust

2.08 Crossroad Blues

2.13 Houses of the Holy

2.17 Heart

2.21 All Hell Breaks Loose: Part One

3.02 The Kids Are Alright

3.07 Fresh Blood

3.10 Dream a Little Dream of Me

3.12 Jus in Bello

3.15 Time Is on My Side

4.02 Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean Winchester

4.09 I Know What You Did Last Summer

4.17 It's a Terrible Life

4.21 When the Levee Breaks

5.02 Good God, Y'All

5.07 The Curious Case of Dean Winchester with Jenny Klein (story)

5.13 The Song Remains the Same with Nancy Weiner

5.21 Two Minutes to Midnight

6.01 Exile on Main St.

6.11 Appointment in Samarra

6.21 Let It Bleed

7.01 Meet the New Boss

7.10 Death's Door

7.17 The Born-Again Identity

7.23 Survival of the Fittest

Raelle Tucker*: November 9th-14th

1.03 Dead in the Water

1.12 Faith

1.14 Nightmare

1.21 Salvation

2.04 Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things

2.10 Hunted

2.16 Roadkill

2.20 What Is and What Should Never Be

*she did write some episodes with Gamble so some are repeats, so I have cut down the days.

John Shiban: Nomember 15th-23rd

1.06 Skin

1.07 Hook Man

1.11 Scarecrow

1.15 The Benders

1.20 Dead Man's Blood

2.02 Everybody Loves a Clown

2.09 Croatoan

2.15 Tall Tales

2.19 Folsom Prison Blues

Cathryn Humphris: November 24th-November 30th

1.20 Dead Man's Blood with John Shiban

2.07 The Usual Suspects

2.14 Born Under a Bad Sign

3.05 Bedtime Stories

3.10 Dream a Little Dream of Me with Sera Gamble

4.04 Metamorphosis

4.14 Sex and Violence

Ben Edlund: December 1st-December 24th

2.05 Simon Said

2.12 Nightshifter

2.18 Hollywood Babylon

3.03 Bad Day at Black Rock

3.09 Malleus Maleficarum

3.13 Ghostfacers

4.05 Monster Movie

4.08 Wishful Thinking

4.16 On the Head of a Pin

5.04 The End

5.10 Abandon All Hope...

5.14 My Bloody Valentine

5.20 The Devil You Know

6.03 The Third Man

6.09 Clap Your Hands If You Believe...

6.15 The French Mistake

6.20 The Man Who Would Be King

7.02 Hello, Cruel World

7.09 How to Win Friends and Influence Monsters

7.15 Repo Man

7.21 Reading Is Fundamental

8.05 Blood Brother

8.13 Everybody Hates Hitler

8.21 The Great Escapist

Jeremy Carver: December 24th-January 11th

3.04 Sin City 

3.08 A Very Supernatural Christmas 

3.11 Mystery Spot with Emily McLaughlin (story)

3.14 Long-Distance Call

4.03 In the Beginning 

4.11 Family Remains 

4.15 Death Takes a Holiday

4.20 The Rapture

5.03 Free to Be You and Me 

5.08 Changing Channels

5.15 Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

5.18 Point of No Return

8.01 We Need to Talk About Kevin

8.23 Sacrifice

9.01 I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here 

9.23 Do You Believe in Miracles? 

10.01 Black

10.23 Brother's Keeper 

11.01 Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire

Matt Witten: January 12-January 13th

2.06 No Exit

2.11 Playthings

Richard Hatem: January 14th-January 15th

1.04 Phantom Traveler

1.10 Asylum

Andrew Dabb: January 16th-March 1st, Daniel Loflin: January 16th-31st

4.06 Yellow Fever with Daniel Loflin 

4.13 After School Special with Daniel Loflin

4.19 Jump the Shark with Daniel Loflin 

5.06 I Believe the Children Are Our Future with Daniel Loflin 

5.11 Sam, Interrupted with Daniel Loflin

5.16 Dark Side of the Moon with Daniel Loflin

5.19 Hammer of the Gods with Daniel Loflin

6.04 Weekend at Bobby's with Daniel Loflin

6.07 Family Matters with Daniel Loflin 

6.13 Unforgiven with Daniel Loflin

6.18 Frontierland with Daniel Loflin and Jackson Stewart (story) 

7.03 The Girl Next Door with Daniel Loflin

7.08 Season Seven, Time for a Wedding! with Daniel Loflin

7.14 Plucky Pennywhistle's Magic Menagerie with Daniel Loflin 

7.22 There Will Be Blood with Daniel Loflin 

8.02 What's Up, Tiger Mommy? with Daniel Loflin 

8.08 Hunteri Heroici 

8.14 Trial and Error

8.22 Clip Show

9.02 Devil May Care

9.10 Road Trip 

9.20 Bloodlines 

9.22 Stairway to Heaven 

10.02 Reichenbach

10.09 The Things We Left Behind 

10.17 Inside Man 

10.22 The Prisoner 

11.02 Form and Void 

11.10 The Devil in the Details

11.15 Beyond the Mat with John Bring

11.17 Red Meat with Robert Berens 

11.23 Alpha and Omega 

12.01 Keep Calm and Carry On 

12.09 First Blood 

12.23 All Along the Watchtower 

13.01 Lost and Found 

13.10 Wayward Sisters with Robert Berens 

13.15 A Most Holy Man with Robert Singer 

13.23 Let the Good Times Roll 

14.01 Stranger in a Strange Land 

14.13 Lebanon with Meredith Glynn

14.20 Moriah 

15.01 Back and to the Future 

15.10 The Heroes' Journey 

15.20 Carry On

Julie Siege: March 2nd-March 7th

4.07 It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester 

4.12 Criss Angel Is a Douchebag

4.18 The Monster at the End of This Book 

5.05 Fallen Idol 

5.12 Swap Meat with Harvey Fedor and Rebecca Dessertine 

5.17 99 Problems

Adam Glass*: March 8th-March 22nd

6.02 Two and a Half Men 

6.08 All Dogs Go to Heaven

6.12 Like a Virgin 

6.19 Mommy Dearest 

7.04 Defending Your Life

7.11 Adventures in Babysitting

7.18 Party On, Garth 

8.06 Southern Comfort 

8.12 As Time Goes By

8.18 Freaks and Geeks

9.07 Bad Boys

9.12 Sharp Teeth

9.17 Mother's Little Helper 

10.04 Paper Moon 

10.12 About A Boy

*both hitting Dabb and Glass these are writers I don’t really even take as canon most of the time, and then adding in Buckleming soon, but I’m still going to act as if I’ll have the stomach for it.

Brett Matthews: March 23rd-March 25th

6.05 Live Free or Twihard

6.10 Caged Heat with Jenny Klein (story)

6.16 And Then There Were None

Eric Charmelo and Nicole Snyder: March 26th-April 3rd

6.06 You Can't Handle the Truth

6.14 Mannequin 3: The Reckoning

6.17 My Heart Will Go On

9.05 Dog Dean Afternoon

9.13 The Purge

10.06 Ask Jeeves

10.13 Halt & Catch Fire

11.07 Plush

11.13 Love Hurts

Brad Buckner and Eugene Ross-Leming: April 4th-May 11th

(I wouldn’t recommend rewatching all of these and am assuming people know what to be critical and prepare for)

1.13 Route 666

7.05 Shut Up, Dr. Phil

7.13 The Slice Girls

7.19 Of Grave Importance

8.03 Heartache

8.07 A Little Slice of Kevin

8.15 Man's Best Friend with Benefits

8.19 Taxi Driver

9.03 I'm No Angel

9.09 Holy Terror

9.16 Blade Runners

9.21 King of the Damned

10.03 Soul Survivor

10.10 The Hunter Games

10.16 Paint It Black

10.21 Dark Dynasty

11.03 The Bad Seed

11.09 O Brother Where Art Thou?

11.18 Hell's Angel

11.21 All in the Family

12.02 Mamma Mia

12.08 LOTUS

12.13 Family Feud

12.17 The British Invasion

12.21 There's Something About Mary

13.02 The Rising Son

13.07 War of the Worlds

13.13 Devil's Bargain

13.18 Bring 'em Back Alive

13.22 Exodus

14.02 Gods and Monsters

14.07 Unhuman Nature

14.12 Prophet and Loss

14.19 Jack in the Box

15.02 Raising Hell

15.08 Our Father, Who Aren't in Heaven

15.13 Destiny's Child

15.19 Inherit the Earth

Robbie Thompson: May 12th-May 29th

7.06 Slash Fiction

7.12 Time After Time 

7.20 The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo 

8.04 Bitten

8.11 LARP and the Real Girl

8.17 Goodbye Stranger 

8.20 Pac-Man Fever

9.04 Slumber Party

9.11 First Born

9.18 Meta Fiction

10.05 Fan Fiction

10.11 There's No Place Like Home 

10.18 Book of the Damned 

10.20 Angel Heart

11.04 Baby

11.11 Into the Mystic

11.16 Safe House

11.20 Don't Call Me Shurley

Jenny Klein: May 30th-June 7th

5.07 The Curious Case of Dean Winchester with Sera Gamble (story) 

6.10 Caged Heat with Brett Matthews (story) 

7.16 Out with the Old with Robert Singer 

8.10 Torn and Frayed

9.08 Rock and a Hard Place

9.15 #thinman

10.08 Hibbing 911 with Phil Sgriccia (story)

10.15 The Things They Carried 

11.08 Just My Imagination

Daniel Loflin (without Andrew Dabb): June 8th-June 9th

8.09 Citizen Fang

8.16 Remember the Titans

Robert Berens: June 10th-July 5th

9.06 Heaven Can't Wait 

9.14 Captives 

9.19 Alex Annie Alexis Ann

10.07 Girls, Girls, Girls

10.14 The Executioner's Song

10.19 The Werther Project

11.06 Our Little World

11.14 The Vessel

11.17 Red Meat with Andrew Dabb 

11.22 We Happy Few 

12.03 The Foundry 

12.07 Rock Never Dies

12.14 The Raid

12.19 The Future with Meredith Glynn 

12.22 Who We Are

13.03 Patience 

13.09 The Bad Place 

13.10 Wayward Sisters with Andrew Dabb

13.21 Beat the Devil

14.03 The Scar

14.09 The Spear 

14.18 Absence 

15.03 The Rupture

15.09 The Trap

15.12 Galaxy Brain

15.18 Despair

Nancy Won: July 6th-July 8th

11.05 Thin Lizzie

11.12 Don't You Forget About Me 

11.19 The Chitters

John Bring: July 9th-July 10th

11.15 Beyond the Mat with Andrew Dabb 

12.18 The Memory Remains

Davy Perez: July 11th-July 22nd

12.04 American Nightmare

12.12 Stuck in the Middle (With You) 

12.15 Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell 

13.06 Tombstone 

13.11 Breakdown 

13.17 The Thing 

14.04 Mint Condition 

14.11 Damaged Goods 

14.16 Don't Go in the Woods with Nick Vaught 

15.04 Atomic Monsters

15.11 The Gamblers with Meredith Glynn 

15.15 Gimme Shelter

Meredith Glynn: July 23rd-August 6th

12.05 The One You've Been Waiting For

12.11 Regarding Dean 

12.16 Ladies Drink Free 

12.19 The Future with Robert Berens

13.04 The Big Empty 

13.08 The Scorpion and the Frog 

13.14 Good Intentions 

13.20 Unfinished Business 

14.05 Nightmare Logic 

14.08 Byzantium 

14.13 Lebanon with Andrew Dabb 

15.06 Golden Time 

15.11 The Gamblers with Davy Perez 

15.12 Galaxy Brain (story) with Robert Berens 

15.17 Unity

Steve Yockey: August 7th-August 17th

12.06 Celebrating the Life of Asa Fox 

12.10 Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets 

12.20 Twigs & Twine & Tasha Banes 

13.05 Advanced Thanatology 

13.12 Various & Sundry Villains 

13.19 Funeralia 

14.06 Optimism 

14.10 Nihilism 

14.14 Ouroboros 

14.15 Peace of Mind with Meghan Fitzmartin (story) 

15.05 Proverbs 17:3

Jeremy Adams: August 18th-August 20th

13.16 Scoobynatural with James Krieg 

15.07 Last Call 

15.14 Last Holiday

Auxiliary Writers: August 21st-August 27th

1.08 Bugs by Bill Coakley and Rachel Nave

1.17 by Hell House Trey Callaway

1.18 Something Wicked by Daniel Knauf

1.19 Provenance by David Ehrman

3.06 Red Sky at Morning by Laurence Andries

7.07 The Mentalists by Ben Acker and Ben Blacker

15.16 Drag Me Away (From You) by Meghan Fitzmartin

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Wednesday, December 27

CORDELIA: I just am not the type to settle. Y'know? It's like when I go shopping. I have to have the most expensive thing. Not because it's expensive, but because it costs more.

~~BtVS 1x02 “The Harvest”~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Unfair (Buffy, Faith, PG) by badly_knitted

Unexpected Extraction (Xander, Assassin's Creed xover, T) by madimpossibledreamer

Your Laughter (Buffy/Spike, M) by cawthraven

Unexpected Extraction (Xander, Assassin's Creed xover, T) by arcanedreamer

Giles x reader - cursed trickster (unrated) by specialagentlokitty

Cangel: Merry Christmas (unrated) by vampandvisiongirl

[Chaptered Fiction]

Vamp for Rent 15/18 (Spike/Xander, M) by Forsaken2003

Stand Ins and Stunt Doubles, Chapters 1-13/? (Xander, The Avengers xover, T) by dogbertcarroll, Narsil

Ecstasy: A Sexy Buffy the Vampire Slayer Fan-fic Fantasy, Chapter 1/? (Buffy/Angel, M) by TheUnbrokenSpell

New York, Chapter 43/43 Complete! (Giles/Xander, M) by drsquidlove

Christmas Cheer on the Hellmouth, Chapter 9/9 Complete! (Buffy/Faith, T) by QuillBard

Under the Water, Chapter 9/? (Willow/Oz, M) by dwinchester

The Protector and The Slayer, Chapter 2/? (Ensemble, Buffy/Angel, M) by GeneralGrievous123

To Be Hers, Chapter 25/? (Buffy/Spike, unrated) by faefawn

The Coven, Chapter 9/? (Willow, Giles, T) by heckate

I'm Only Your Darkness, Chapter 17/18 (Buffy/Faith, E) by Karnstein99

Red on Red, Chapter 10/? (Buffy/Angel, T) by Empire_of_the_Words

Return of the Soulless Vampire: BTVS S9 Rewrite, Chapter 49 (Buffy/Spike, M) by Hoomanbeans

[French language] Les deux Phénix, Chapter 4 (Buffy/Faith, M) by Friday Queen

The Freak Show, Chapter 9 (Buffy/Spike, Adult Only) by hulettwyo

Cherry On Top, Chapter 18 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Maxineeden

It's Easy Time, Until It's Not, Chapter 29 (Buffy/Spike, Adult Only) by hulettwyo

Mirror, Mirror, Chapter 16 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by scratchmeout

Closer, Chapters 10-62 (Buffy/Spike, R) by all_choseny

Destiny or Choices Made?, Chapter 38 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by charmed4lifekaren

Something Lost Something Found, Chapter 3 (Buffy/Spike, R) by Safire

Old Fashioned Romance, Chapter 5 (Xander/Steve Rogers, Marvel xover, FR21) by calikocat

The Freak Show, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, Adult Only) by hulettwyo

It's Easy Time, Until It's Not, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, Adult Only) by hulettwyo

What the Drabble?, Chapter 59 (Buffy/Spike, R) by VeroNyxK84

Mirror, Mirror, Chapter 16 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by scratchmeout

Closer, Chapters 10-62 (Buffy/Spike, R) by all_choseny

Blood and Dust, Chapter 12 (Buffy/Spike, M) by Blackoberst

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork: my poor little meow meows (Angel, Spike, worksafe) by genericaces

Icons: Christmas Icon Pack (Ensemble, worksafe) by onegirlinallthewrld

[Reviews & Recaps]

Teachers Pet sure is…an episode! Here are some things I actually liked by edgarallanhoetry

Ohhhh never before realized that Angel the episode forecasts their entire relationship by edgarallanhoetry

PODCAST: HELLMOUTH HOMOS: Consequences by Fear Queers

PODCAST: Episode 45: Bad Girls (w/ Rayne) by Gym Was Cancelled

PODCAST: Episode 9 - Puppets, Reanimation Theory, and Organ Harvesting (The Puppet Show) by The Sunnydale Diaries

[Recs & In Search Of]

REC: Top 10 Spuffy fics I’ve read (Dec 2023) recced by mcgnagallsarmy

ISO: [active roleplayers who would be interested in creating storylines together. BtVS/Spuffy + more fandoms/ships] by tatirps

ISO: ** Amelia Searching For 1x1 Discord RP Partners ** My Muse: Buffy Anne Summers by ofbadblood

ISO: ** Amelia Searching For 1x1 Discord RP Partners ** My Muse: Faith Lehane by ofbadblood

ISO: [does anyone know where I can find the scooby gang and Wes, gun, Cordy & Fred in 32-34mm miniature?] by Key_Structure8703

[Fandom Discussions]

Early season 3 Fred and angel dynamic funniest thing in the world by all-seeing-ifer

can’t stop thinking about how willow’s addiction arc was fumbled by legallights

[Parallels: Faith - Willow in S3/S6] by juanabaloo

[...] the topic of what I thought was the worst season popped up. Without hesitation, I said season 6 by ammyamarant

idk why xander was giving a hard time to anya for wearing a rabbit costume by davinaclare

Question: "Back To The Beginning" continued by multiple posters

Why isn’t Inca Mummy Girl on Disney+? by ihateirony, multiple users

Would Wesley have felt guilty about Faith if she had died in season 4? by LightBlueSky55

[can we give Eliza her credit for playing someone as unhinged as Faith in general? I’m stunned by her performance in Angel S1 Ep18/19] by pengchod

First time watcher [opinion on Xander] by tvcriticgirlxo

Watching season 6 this time around in my 30s makes me really feel for Dawn by Phidwig

Rewatching Season 6 and I think they shouldn't have revealed Buffys secret so soon by Inspirational_Owl

Buffy/Angel [Does Buffy feature on Angel after this S1 episode?] by pengchod

How much time between season 7 and 8? by DuneRiderr

Is faith older or younger than Buffy? by kaitalina20

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

Join the editor team :)

[aceofwhump]

Do you know of any programs be it shows or films that have poisoning as the main thing? From secret poisoning the kind for controlling or revenge poisoning?

I do love good control or revenge by making them ill/sick or reliant on others.

Bonus points if you know of other whumpers that gif it 😳😀

Oh yeah there's a ton of good poisoning episodes of tv shows. here's a list for ya:

Merlin 1x04 The Poisoned Chalice when Merlin purposefully drinks from a poisoned cup. Also 5x08 when Morgana gives him poison

Once Upon A Time season 7. Hook has a poisoned heart that pains him when he gets too close to his daughter

General hospital April 2021. Harrison Chase is poisoned and it lasts for a while.

Dark Angel season 2. Logan Cale is infected with a genetically targeted retrovirus that is activated when Max touches him. Basically her touch poisons him.

The Mentalist 5x02. Jane drinks poisoned tea.

Free Rein episodes 3x01, 3x05-3x10. Pin is being poisoned by bad water

MacGyver 1x11 (the 1980s MacGyver). Mac is injected with a poison in order to extract information from him

Hawaii Five-0 1x23 Danny is poisoned with sarin

Supergirl 2x22. Mon-El has been infected with the Medusa virus when the bar he works in is poisoned

Hallmark movie Hailey Dean Mystere: Deady Estate. Jonas is poisoned

Emerald City 1x02. Lucas is poisoned by the woman they're staying with.

NCIS 2x22 SWAK. When Tony is sent an envelope full of black plague and he gets sick

Power Rangers Samurai 1x17-1x18

[disneydeb1928]

PLL Original Sin - Intro Song

Time for - I hyper-fixated and overanalyzed the Intro scene with the Masked Man (Referred to as "MM" because I don't - like many - believe him to be "A"). Here, are a few things that I observed (Warning: It's a lot)

"MM" has a copy of Imogen's sonogram in addition to a picture of her. -> Implication: She is the only one of the girls who has something extra along with their picture.

“MM” has a missing person’s flyer for Mouse, which lists her DOB as 3/13/92, which is March 13th, 1992. -> Implication: If that’s Mouse’s real DOB, then she’d be 30 years old. The girls (who are 15-16 years old) would have been born in 2004/2005. Episode 1x07 has scene in 2012 and this episode is centered around Mouse. If she were born in 1992, she would be 20 in 2012, which doesn’t match up for being kidnapped. If she were born in 2004/2005, she would be 7 years old. Whatever this is supposed to mean, I don’t think it’s actually Mouse’s birthday. But perhaps, it’s in reference to something about Angela or “MM”. Because Angela was born in 1982, so in 1992, she would have been 9/10 which would make more sense.

There is a shot where "MM" is pulling angrily at some pears and there appears to be a small section of white skin peaking from underneath his sleeve (pictured below). -> Conclusion: "MM" is Caucasian.

The Briefcase Contents (Picture Below)

Top Left Lid: Picture of Imogen and her mother hugging each other. (Appears in 1x01)

Bottom Left Lid: Unknown photograph.

Top Center Lid: Mirror.

Top Right Lid: The Ticket for the Halloween Horror-O-Thon for "October 31" "Afternoon Matinee" "3:00 PM". (Seen in 1x05)

Bottom Right Lid: A note that says, “YOU’RE A BAD MOTHER” (that will appear in either 1x06 or 1x07) pinned using a safety pin.

Top Left Bottom: Old doll.

Center Bottom: Spirit Queen Crown (From 1x02)

Top Right Bottom: Pink diary/journal (Davies, from 1x04)

Then some jewelry randomly everywhere, mostly pearls

You can also notice, off to the side some other interesting things. For instance, Imogen's polaroid is clearly right above the briefcase. There is the bloody ballerina shoe from 1x01 and it's covering what appears to be what might be the news article that Imogen found in 1x03 about Angel's body being found. Also, a bunch of camera equipment (because it wouldn't be PLL without weirdness)

The Journal Entries - There are 3 separate journal entries seen throughout the intro. They are some of the ones I imagine Imogen found ripped out of her mother's journal (seen above)

Journal Entry #1: Is seen a few times throughout the intro. All together, it says, “October” “The girls-” “I have a new project” _ “Angela Waters” “_I got put in the same lab group as her today and she is just as tragic” _ “athletic dose of” “far away,” “something a(j)-” “-nd of…(” “-nd little wet” “innocent” “want to die _ she” “doesn’t (wise, she didn’t drink or smoke”. -> Implication: I would gleam that Angela and Davie first began to interact in October after they got placed in the same lab together. Which would make sense, since the girls' told her that Halloween was an "initiation".

Journal Entry #2: It says, “December 31 1999” at the top. “It’s the last day of the millennium!!!!! People on the news on(?) kids baggin cause they’re worried all the computers in the world might crash or something when the year starts. I don’t really ?_ but I guess ? lot.”

Journal Entry #3: Only has the date, "Jan 3, 2000". -> Implication: Depending on how you want to consider "2 days later", this could have been when Angela's body was found. No wonder Davie would want to get rid of it or "MM" would want it.

[weirdthoughtsandideas]

Sara now I need your pitch for Jam Cielo Grande summer fic. Did they meet Luz? Were they friends? Did they actually learn to board? I have questions now.

Well they said the spent time wakeboarding in 1x02 so they must’ve at least tried to learn. It would not surprise me if they had some sort of week with a new water activity every day, so wakeboard one, windsurf another, waterskiing next, etc. If they properly learned them all is debateable, but I think they weren’t super bad either. I mean, they’re roller skaters, so they do have that balance plugged in since before. I think they were doing it pretty fine and had fun doing it too.

If they met Luz? I think they did. I don’t know how close friends they were with her, but I think they hung out a bit. I was about to say they probably hung out at the karaoke, but then I remembered they hadn’t fixed that place yet. But, it’s possible they sang songs around a firecamp. Who knows, maybe this is the place where Yam learned to play guitar ✌🏼

[destielshippingnews]

Edvard's Supernatural Rewatch and Review: 1x16 Shadow

In my analysis of this episode, I will discuss Dean’s understated intelligence, the hunting life as a metaphor for trauma, a silly altar, Kripke’s bad treatment of his female characters, and Sam being a pissy bish.

Supernatural’s sixteenth offering is an outing directed by Kim Manners and written by Eric Kripke. It is rated 8.5/10 on IMDb based on over 5,300 votes. It is an important plot episode as we discover that the conflict between John and the Yellow-Eyed Demon is heating up and could have very lethal consequences for the Winchesters. The actual writing for this episode is spotty and does not do a good job of presenting the characters as the writer wants us to view them: Sam is supposed to be Mr Smart University Man who is good with research and good at hunting, whereas Dean is supposed to be the air-headed, womanising himbo kind of man Kripke seems to resent for some reason. What the writing does, however, is show us Sam being mostly useless but earns his keep on occasion, whereas Dean is the true mvp (‘most valued player’) of the episode.

Unfortunately for the aforementioned plot, the show takes a three-episode break from the overall story for the space of episodes 1x17-1x19. This thin spreading of plot is one of the things I disliked about the show when I first watched it almost 14 years ago, and it would still be an issue if I still watched Supernatural for the story. Which I do not: I watch it for Dean.

Whilst we are on the subject of Dean – which we were not – I want to address a problem I have with both Kripke’s writing of him AND the general fandom’s perception of him: his sexual exploits. I will discuss the latter first: The Show tells us time and time again that Dean engages in much coitus with a plethora of womenfolk. I repeat, The Show tells us this, but television is a visual media and one of the basic precepts of visual media is ‘show, don’t tell’. The Show can tell us whatever it pleases about Dean’s adventures in copulation, but what it tells us is not in keeping with what it shows us.

How many women has Dean actually been shown with in the show so far? Only one: Cassie, a woman he was ‘in love’ with a few years previously. Certainly he has been flirty with women, e.g Jess in 1x01 Pilot, Haley in 1x02 Wendigo, Amy Acker in 1x03 Dead in the Water, Layla in 1x12 Faith, but nothing actually happened with any of them. He was in the (men’s) toilets for a long time in 1x15 The Benders, but other than that, the next time I can assume he had sex with anybody is 2x18 Hollywood Blues when he did the horizontal tango with the actress in the caravan. After that, the twins (at least one of whom was presumably female) in 3x01 The Magnificent Seven, the barmaid in 4x05 Monster Movie, Anna in 4x10 Heaven and Hell, Lisa in the time he spent with her between the end of 5x22 Swan Song and roughly 6x05 Live free or Twi-Hard, and then maybe one woman every two years until series 12, whereafter… nothing. Not a single woman.

This does not mesh well with what we are supposed to believe. Of course we do not see all of the boys’ lives, but we do not see nearly enough of Dean’s sexual interactions with women (or men) to have any actual reason to think he is as promiscuous as we are told. Yes he is flirty, but there is very good reason to believe he had to learn to be flirty as a child in order to keep Sam fed when John was away. It could simply be that his flirty nature is one of the roles he steps into in order to help him get through different situations: he knows how to flirt with women, and can be comfortable when he adopts that persona. How often he actually goes through with that is another matter altogether, and what he actually thinks and feels about sex is up for debate. My thoughts are that he does not like it quite as much as he says he does, but perhaps puts on the act because John, Sam, and others expect or demand it of him. I refuse to discuss toxic masculinity, but John and Sam’s expectations and demands of Dean because he is a man are undoubtedly poisonous.

Kripke, however, wants us to believe Dean is a himbo, a man-slut, a f*ck-boy, and a man-shaped hormone. Why else would he put lines such as ‘do you mind doing a bit of thinking with your upstairs brain?’ into his self-insert Sam’s mouth and not have Dean answer back if he did not want us to think Dean is an air-headed scarlet woman? More on this later when I discuss Kripke and Sam both sounding like women who hate men.

I will return to the very beginning of the episode: the cold open was generally effective and successful with lovely cinematography, use of shadows, and atmospheric sound design. Meredith WAS a bit of an idiot walking down creepy alleys in the middle of the night by herself with earphones in. It was also rather weird how quickly her panic abated as soon as she locked the door and set the alarm in her flat. Paula R Stiles wasted no time in her review pointing out that Meredith should have turned all the lights in her flat on and kept them on all night if she were that scared, but instead she blithely toddles over to her answering machine and listens to her messages. Conveniently, the messages fall silent as soon as we see Meredith’s heart getting ripped out. Funny, that.

Actually, let’s backtrack a moment. I said we see Meredith’s heart getting ripped out. This as only half-true: since Meredith is not a man, we do not see violence enacted on her, we just see the shadow.

Exit Meredith and enter Dean and Sam on a street in downtown Vancouver Chicago. There are a few things I like about the following scene: number one is the adorable security alarm company boiler suit, as much as Dean hates it and having to pay for it. Dean makes it very clear the outfits are expensive and the money comes out of his hard-earnt money. Later in the show, such costumes are infrequent and the boys opt instead for simply posing as FBI agents most of time. More’s the pity, because my dopamine level shot through the roof seeing Dean playing dress up.

I also enjoyed the sassy landlady, short though her role was. But the most noteworthy part of the scene for me was Dean spotting the symbol in the blood on the carpet. Other than revealing that Dean is a closeted Evanescence fan, it showed both his impressive working knowledge of occult insignia and his ability to link things together and spot patterns. People both within and outwith the show are keen to call Dean stupid, but he is anything but. He is not educated, but he is highly intelligent and knows a lot about the world he and Sam are in which Sam does not. His ability to spot patterns is also another bit of evidence for Dean having Asperger’s.

Bear this in mind as I jump forwards to a little later in the episode when Dean finds the meaning of the symbol and tells Sam about it over the phone, only to be met with Sam’s surprise that Dean knows how to research. ‘Name the last book you read,’ is Mr Me Smart University Man’s response, delivered with a superior, arrogant grin on his face. Sam’s concept of intelligence seems to be reading books and academic success, and a person who does not read books cannot be intelligent.

Quite apart from the fact that history, science, and craft magazines exist which are exceedingly educational, academic success does not guarantee intelligence: it guarantees specialisation and expertise in one area. Dean has this without academic success: how many times over the course of the show does he rebuild the car after an accident? How much knowledge of the occult does he have which we only get to see fleeting glimpses of? And how much lore and mythology does he know by heart whilst Sam has to ferret through books and websites. Is there a single pop culture reference he does not get? And he does read: it is canonically acknowledged that he likes Kurt Vonnegut. He also seems the type to be a fan of Cormac Macarthy and Stephen King, but back to the point: shut your gob, Sam.

The misplaced arrogance is especially glaring and grating in this episode because Sam does not actually do much at all for the first two thirds of the episode. Kripke wants us to believe Sam is awesome and cool, but he does nothing useful in Meredith’s flat while Dean spots the pattern in the blood. Dean does the research while Sam sits in a car. Drop it, Sam.

And did I mention Dean’s home-made EMF reader? The one Sam mocked him for making in 1x04?

It would be remiss of me to ignore the fact Dean had a dig at Sam with his ‘drama dork’ comment at the beginning, but that actually came off as a sibling joke. A little puerile and immature, but not mean-spirited, unlike Sam’s two jibes at Dean in this episode. Even the difference in their reactions says a lot: Sam is utterly unperturbed by Dean’s joke, whereas Sam’s ‘Do you mind thinking with your upstairs brain?’ wiped the smile off Dean’s face and had him rushing to explain himself like a child fearing punishment.

Whilst on the subject – please bear with me, Dear Reader, I am almost done with my Sam-bashing – I would like you to cast your mind back a few minutes to the beginning of this analysis: Sam’s pissy comment about Dean’s sex drive sounded like exactly the kind of thing a woman who hates men would say. There was absolutely nothing about Dean’s behaviour in the scene suggesting he was only thinking about sex. Sam’s comment was an unnecessary escalation meant to shame. You might be wondering ‘how did you get that from one sentence?’ If so, please go and look at what I wrote about Sam’s pissy, controlling behaviour in 1x13-1x15 for some context, or take a look at the offence and resignation of Dean’s face in this episode after Sam says ‘Name the last book you read’.

Paula R Stiles and I are in complete agreement about Sam’s view of Dean: he is an embarrassment, an interruption in his life, an idiot, and a burden. This has been true since 1x01, and it will remain true until the end of the show.

By the way, apropos the bar scene: do we know which bartender’s number Dean got? We see him talking to a barmaid, but their conversation did not seem like they had got far enough to exchange numbers, and Dean left her as soon as he saw Sam enter the pub. Curious... Meg’s Chad Michael Murray line also seemed to interest Dean while Sam was clueless. The camera also cut away to Dean’s face for some reason. Curious...

As for ‘Dad’s friend Caleb’, Dean already has his number on his phone, so who is the Caleb whose number is written in the notebook under the information about the daevas? Curiouser and curiouser.

Mentioning Chad Michael Murray brings me to the next big point of this analysis: Meg. I have to admit I did not like Meg much at all when I first met her 14 years ago, and to this day this first incarnation of Meg simply does not do anything for me. A mix of the writing and acting choices make her feel like a Bad Ass BitchTM and it does not tickle my frusset pouch. She sounds arrogant and annoying. No wonder Sam liked her. The second incarnation of Meg is more to my liking.

‘Dude, cover your mouth!’ What an incredibly rude way to talk to a stranger who was clearly clearing his throat, not coughing. Note also that Sam does not speak up for Dean at any point during this exchange (like he did not call Missouri out for being a mega bish), nor offer a real apology for the things he said. Sam is the show’s POV at this point, and it stands to reason that what Meg said is supposed to be the viewer’s takeaway from the exchange. We are supposed to think Dean treats Sam badly in spite of what the show shows us. Sam’s lame ‘He means well’ only serves to underscore the fact Sam thinks Dean treats him badly, and he does nothing to challenge Meg’s views on their dynamic.

That being said, I noticed that Kripke wrote the only recurring female character so far as a mega bitch and I did not like it for several reasons. The first reason is that is sucks to bring in a character who differs from the main two only to write her as a mega bitch, as if we would not notice the only woman is being written as a bitch. The second reason is that nobody in their right mind would ever say the things she said to Dean at first meeting unless they was an extremely good reason to do so. This made her feel unrealistic and hard to take seriously.

The third reason was Dean’s face after the bitching and his words outside the pub afterwards. He was perfectly justified in being upset by what Sam said about him, but Sam just brushes it aside so he does not have to deal with it. Rather than ‘I made a mistake, I shouldn’t have said what I said, and I’m sorry for bitching about you to strangers again’, he gives non-committal platitudes and lame reassurances that are as flimsy as something which is very flimsy. ‘Yes, yes, sorry, whatever, it’s not important, now let’s change the subject.’

In addition to the bitching, there is the fact that Sam was angry at Dean for telling Cassie about the hunting life in 1x13 Route 666, yet what Sam did was much worse and far stupider. He knew at that point that he was in danger and there would be ‘people’ following him, but he still could not help himself having a bitch about his idiot brother to the first person who would listen. Dean knew Cassie for a few weeks, but Sam knew Meg for all of a few hours before he starting spilling his secrets.

And the show wants us to think Dean is the stupid one.

One thing I did appreciate about Meg was the minimum amount of pontificating and snarky Bad Ass Bitch dialogue in the loft at the end. She did talk, but she was still doing stuff, even if the creepy rapey vibes of sitting in Sam and Dean’s laps while they were tied up was creepy and rapey. She is also serving somebody else and following somebody else’s orders, a fun-house mirror version of Dean.

The loft confused me for a long time, but before discussing that: Sam wants Dean to think Dean is stupid, and Sam clearly thinks he is smart. But please note, Dear Reader, that Sam followed Meg into the big scary building after a suspected murderer alone. That would have been the time to call Dean for back-up, but nope: Sam decides the prudent course of action is to climb up a lift shaft all by himself. Were you dropped on your head as a child, Sam?

Anyway, the thing which confused me about the loft was: why? Why did Meg have the altar in the loft rather than her home? It took until this evening when I was washing my hair and thinking of my analysis that I realise a few things: her flat was a small space with people above and below who would hear any loud noises going on there. That could cause problems for her plan, since she cannot have her daevas ripping people apart without the neighbours hearing. It would also be hard to lure Dean and Sam into a trap if she were not seen doing anything untoward such as entering a creepy building.

The black altar, by the way, looked like no effort had been put into it, and was taken directly from an emo-rock music video. Not that there is anything wrong with emo music: I am quite partial to a bit of My Chemical Romance on occasion. But you have to admit the altar looked cheesy.

Before continuing, I want to briefly outline something a friend recently explained to me: the hunting life as a metaphor for trauma, particularly generational trauma. People only enter the hunting life after a traumatic event such as the death of a friend or family member, or are raised into it by these same people. Normal people cannot see the world of monsters and demons, i.e. the life of a traumatised person, and when they get a glimpse of it, they run as fast as they can in the opposite direction. Normal people simply cannot handle it. The only people who can are those who have suffered the trauma of losing somebody, but most are doomed to die young and bloody.

Hunters are the only ones who can fight the monsters, but the more they fight, the greater the risk of getting hurt and the higher the likelihood of taking severe damage and dying. This works as a metaphor for facing trauma: if we ignore it, it might not get to us. Perhaps. We might even be able to live for decades with only infrequent encounters with monsters/trauma. Then again, we might not. Ignoring the problem is no guarantee of safety once we know the problem exists.

Even if we try to ignore the monsters/trauma, we might not ever even be able to fit back in with the normal people again. We know the other world is there, and that the normal world is simply a facade. It is always there trying to pull us back in, sometimes subtly, sometimes with a shepherd’s crook.

Dean was traumatised by the loss of his mother at the age of four, and after that John piled trauma upon trauma on him. ‘Hunting’ is the only life Dean knows, and the only place he believes he could ever fit. The normal world is a foreign place to him and his behaviour is too alien for normal people to understand. The world of monsters and hunters terrifies normal people, and they are quick to reject hunters and their ilk because they are too scary, just like the behaviour of traumatised people is often scary, uncomfortable, and difficult for people who do not understand. Even other hunters struggle to get Dean because each hunter’s experience is individual.

Sam was too young to be effected directly by Mary’s death in the way Dean was, but it drew him into the hunters’ world all the same. However, he was shielded from the brunt of the trauma in a way Dean simply was not: Dean was exposed to all the horror, whereas Sam was kept in the dark. John’s neglect had a serious negative impact on him, but it was mostly second hand. Dean was the buffer between Sam and the horrors of the hunters’ life, which is one reason why he was able to rebel and leave for university: he believed there was a way out, and he took it.

With this in mind, a discussion of the scene in the hotel room before Dean and Sam go to the loft is in order. The trauma of Jess’s death drew him back into hunting, but he still believes there will be an end to it one day and that he will be able to return to his old life. He believes that killing Azazel will be the end of his hunting life, i.e. that the worst of his grief will be over. Dean, however, believes it will never be over because he knows nothing else than hunting and has never been allowed to be anything else.

‘Dude, what’s your problem?’ - I forget that Dean’s mask is so well fitted that other people struggle to see past it, or even that it’s a mask at all. I honestly cannot be angry at Sam for not seeing this because he just does not understand why Dean is so upset, no matter how clear it is to me.

On the other hand, I do not understand how Sam can think it would be okay to abandon Dean. Dean is not Sam’s responsibility, true, but human relationships are not founded on only doing things because they are responsibilities. We do things because we want to help the people we care about, not because it is our duty to do so. Although perhaps this is more evidence to prove that Sam does not really care about Dean unless he is losing him.

I think this scene also shows that – in spite of fandom consensus – Sam is really not very good at all with reading other people’s emotions motivations or emotions. Given Dean’s emotional state when Sam announced his intent to leave him, the only reason Dean could have asked the question ‘Why do you think I cam to get you at Stanford, huh?’ is because he wanted to underline the fact he went to get Sam because he wanted Sam’s help, and he wanted to be with Sam again (Winc*sties, leave it!) and get his family back together. That is blindingly obvious to me, but I have had to learn to read people’s motivations and to actively interpret and understand them. Sam, apparently, is clueless here, whereas Dean is much more in tune with his thoughts and feelings. I have touched on this before, so constant readers should know this.

That said, the reason for Sam joining Dean was not to find John, or even to help Dean. It was to get his revenge on Jess’s killer. He did choose to join Dean, but only due to a lack of better options. Nobody else he knew could help him. However, one of the reasons Sam’s relationship with Dean is so strained is that he associates Dean very strongly with John. In fact, rather than seeing Dean as an individual with his own thoughts, feelings, and ideas, he regards him as simply an extension of John’s will. Sam finally managed to escape John, but is now forced to ally himself with Dean, whom he resents through no fault of Dean’s own.

Dean’s presence reminds him of John and the disastrous experience of growing up with John. I have said before that Dean bore the brunt of John’s abuse and Sam seems blissfully unaware of the majority of what his elder brother suffered, yet Sam clearly has his own issues that make it hard for him to be around his family. He wants to separate himself from John in order to heal and move on: the corollary of that is he wants to cut Dean out of his life because of his association with John. From Sam’s perspective, this is understandable, whether he knows this is what he is doing or not.

Dean knows much better than Sam that their life as a family was far from perfect, but he has nothing else. John made family the core of Dean’s identity, and he is utterly lost and hollow without it. Sam, however, sees Dean’s invitation as a trap. It would cut him off from the life he wants to live and doom him to a life like Dean’s. This is perfectly understandable, but Sam comes off as callous and patronising. He says things he thinks Dean wants to hear in order to take the edge off his words, but the actual substance of what he says sounds like ‘I have my own life to lead, sorry.’

The result, though, is that he comes off as callous and patronising. He says things he thinks Dean wants to hear in order to take the edge off his words, but the actual substance of what he says sounds like ‘I have my own life to lead, sorry.’

So what is Dean supposed to do? He has no life to ever go back to, and is instead doomed to be John’s tool for the rest of John’s life. Screw him, though, am I right? Let’s just abandon the traumatised man to deal with his trauma in an environment which makes it impossible to recover from trauma.

Paula R. Stiles’s thoughts run parallel to mine here, and I quote: ‘Dean gets upset. He wants his family together again and since he has no life outside of hunting, can’t conceive of it all ending. Sam rather coldly tells him that he has no intention of hunting forever and wants a “normal life”, of which Dean can’t really be a part (since, it’s implied, but not said, that Dean is not normal and deserves to be abandoned to his fate, much like the MOTWs he hunts). O the irony.

And this comes after Dean left John yet another unanswered voice mail. I know he claims to hate chick flick moments, but Dean needs a hug, a mug of hot chocolate, and a tartan blanket here.

And yes, it is time for that part of my analysis again: Jensen’s acting, Dear Reader! Dear Reader, Jensen’s acting!

Sam: ..things will never be the way they were before. Dean: Could be.

The subtlety, his facial expression, his nervous smiles-which-are-not-smiles, the tears in his eyes. Dean here knows he has no possible argument to make to convince Sam. He knows Sam does not really care about him nor want to spend any more time with him than necessary. 'Could be...'

Dean's rejection sensitive dysphoria is on full display in this scene, and this moment here shows the heart of his abandonment anxiety: he believes he is worthless and unlovable. And his final look after Sam says Dean will have to let him go his own way: at first it looked like anger, but after I took a second I saw somebody straining to keep as much of himself hidden and controlled as possible.

I feel exactly what he is feeling, and I cannot begin to understand how people miss this stuff. If only, if only he could have been cast as the lead in a show with better writers and a better budget.

Apropos John, when Dean told Meg that John would not walk into her trap, one’s mind is drawn back to when Dean was dying in 1x12 Faith and John did not come to see him or save him, nor even return his phone calls. One is also reminded of 1x09 Home when John did not answer Dean’s call about the ghost in the house Mary died in. The underlying implication here is perhaps that Dean believes John will not try to save him. Remember that when rewatching 1x12 Faith.

After the daevas yeet Meg out of the window (and there will be consequences for that), Dean and Sam return to their room to find Daddy Winchester lurking in the dark. How exactly he managed to find them is not explained: episode 2x07 The Usual Suspects informs us Dean and Sam have a practice whereby when separated they look for the first hotel in the directory and always take a certain room. Whether this is a code of conduct Dean and Sam have been following ever since in order to allow John to locate them if need be I do not know. At this point, I would not put it past John to have known exactly where Dean and Sam have been for a very long time, and to even have been in the vicinity many times, but has refused to let them see him, or even know he is near. Shady, shady behaviour.

As for the reunion scene itself, it clearly shows where we are supposed to focus our interest. Dean and John’s reunion is distant, shallow, unemotional, in spite of Dean willingly embracing John instead of drop-kicking him out the window as he deserves. They hug, but little dialogue of any variety passes between them, nor anything of substance. I see a beaten little boy hugging the dad who beats him hoping it will never happen again if he can just be better, but The show does nothing with this. It is glazed over.

Instead, it is Sam who gets the apology, the catharsis, and the heartfelt reunion. Given it is the first time Sam and John have properly spoken for years, it is also the first time in a significant length of time Dean and John have seen each other for the best part of a year, if not more at this point. Sam might believe Dean is John’s favourite, but how he can persist in this false belief is quite beyond me: Sam is clearly the favourite son. Dean loves (and hates) John, but I do not think John loves Dean: he is simply a useful tool to be taken for granted.

This reminds me of the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Sam is the son who left and squandered all his money on wine and women, only to be welcomed back by his father who orders for celebrations to be held. The faithful son, however, who had laboured in his father’s fields all day, every day for years without such parties is understandably aggrieved by this, but his complaint is dismissed by his father: All that is mine is yours, etc. The parable tells us the father has treated the faithful son well, but the story is from the father’s perspective. Who knows how he actually treated his faithful son? Forget moral messages. The faithful son had every right to be pissed off after all the years of work he had put in, only for his wayward brother to be given the red carpet treatment.

Sam is the prodigal son, and Dean the faithful son. I cannot wait for John’s comeuppance, but at the same time Dean’s reaction was completely in character. Most of the wounds John inflicted on Dean’s psyche are yet to be revealed, and will continue to exact their toll over the next 311 episodes of the show, but knowing what I know, I both sympathise with Dean’s relief to see John again, and want Dean to be free of John forever. That is the only way he can be free of the man John wanted him to be, and free to be the Dean he wants to be.

While John hugged Prodigal Sam, Dean stood in the background watching. The camera even does a focus pull so that Dean is in focus and Sam and John are blurred. Dean has something like a smile on his face, happy to see his brother and father together again, but almost wistful, sad.

Luckily, the huggy pukefest is swiftly broken as the daevas yeet John into the kitchenette and proceed to eviscerate him. A quick cut away to outside the building reveals Meg alive and well, controlling the daevas with her amulet, then the camera is back on John. I was disappointed I did not get to see John torn apart. Note they focus on him, not all three: Dean is knocked around a little but Sam is ignored.

In spite of his quick thinking in using the flare (where exactly he learnt that light would cause them to dissipate is never revealed. Gary Stu Sam to the rescue!), Sam does the silly television thing where he tells the audience what he is going to do before he does it. This breaks my suspension of disbelief because it gives the daevas a moment to react and stop Sam doing whatever it is he is going to do. I think exactly the same every time a character sneaks up behind a monster or bad person and says something to get his/her attention rather than just shooting/stabbing him/her in the back before s/he realises what hit him/her.

The episode ends with John leaving Dean and Sam at dean’s insistence – ‘to protect him’ because John is in danger as long as he is around his sons. He is also in danger by himself, and surely three of them together would be better able to hide and fight off enemies, but whatever. Eric Kripke logic, I suppose. Why on Earth John was there in the first place if he knew his presence puts his sons in danger is beyond my ken, but I am quite sure Kripke thought it would be dramatic and cool. The man has some good ideas, but his execution is poor.

While on the subject of Kripke, earlier I discussed his bad treatment of women, but he also treats men badly in his shows. Women are fridged in one way or another too often (although in fairness hatred from female fans does not help), but almost all violence is against men. This is also true of his current project The Boys. To be honest, I got sick and tired of the show about half way through series two, and only kept watching for Jensen and Soldier Boy. What soured me against the show was the excessively graphic violence against almost exclusively men, with at least two instances of on-screen sexualised violence against men ending in graphic, bloody, painful death.

The violence, blood, and guts itself did not bother me, so let me put it this way: women complain about women being nude on screen more than men, but we see much, much more of men’s blood and gory inside bits than women’s. Women complain that female nudity objectifies them, but by the same logic the ubiquitous nature of violence directed almost exclusively at men deadens people to violence against men. The show is supposed to be liberal and progressive, but it seems rather regressive in its squeamishness to depict violence against women – especially not if a man is the perpetrator – and its treatment of men as cannon fodder.

It is also regressive in its treatment of gay/bi men. The first 15 minutes of The Boys 3x01 introduce two of perhaps three gay/bi men who have been acknowledged as gay/bi on the show, only for them to engage in weird, drug-fuelled sex and for one of them to die a horrible, bloody, sex-related on-screen death. Well done, Kripke, very well done. That is a perfect example of Bury Your Gays. “Look, we have gay sex on our show, aren’t we liberal, progressive, and inclusive! Psyche, now they’re dead. Screw you, gays.” I was supposed to laugh, I presume. I sighed, rolled my eyes, and wished I were watching Dark Angel instead.

Wait, Dark Angel – in spite of its good qualities – has the occasional noxious undertone of violence-against-men-is-funny-when-women-do-it-because-girl-power-or-something. Such violence includes Max hitting Alec across the head because she was in a bad mood, slamming Alec’s fingers in a locker door for no particular reason, and a kick to the genitals because Alec used a milquetoast slur, the only appropriate response to which was physical violence. ...and possible permanent damage. And possible infertility. Possible severe bleeding. Serious stomach pains… but all of this is funny, remember, because haha men’s genitals. She laughed as Alec was led past, clearly in too much pain to walk under his own steam, then she laughed and got told how she was a ‘rocking, awesome chick’. I swear by Allah’s beard, sometimes I just...

Anyway, that essay is available right here.

Returning to The Boys,the show has gay/bi women and it touched briefly on bi erasure, but this feels like a cover for shitty treatment of gay/bi men. Kripke also regretted not being able to include the Homelander raping Soldier Boy plot from the source material, because – and I paraphrase – it would have been funny to see the two fuck.

While Kripke's a Fan of the Homelander/Soldier Boy Sex Scene in the Comics, It Won't Work Here: "I love that scene and it's hilarious, but for a dozen reasons, all of which will be revealed when you see the season, it ultimately just didn't track. We talked about it. It conflicted with a lot of the other things we were trying to build with Soldier Boy. So, unfortunately, that one had to go," Kripke explained. "I would love to see Soldier Boy and Homelander f***ing, but it can't happen in this show, unfortunately, for reasons everyone understands."

Source: (x)

You read that right: Kripke described Homelander raping Soldier Boy as ‘fucking’, and he thought it was hilarious. And this guy is going to try using Soldier Boy to preach to me about how masculinity is toxic. For some reasons I am reminded of a badly-translated Biblical metaphor about motes of dust and planks in eyes. Bismillah, spare me...

And I just swore in one of my analyses. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound: shit bugger fanny bum fart.

This is supposed to be high-quality, intelligent television, but it is just spectacle and shock covering up an above-average-but-not-fantastic story and plot. Excessive gore and swearing does not make a show good: it just means the show has excessive gore and swearing. While I am very happy for Jensen to finally be on something bigger than Supernatural, I think this is beneath him. Soldier Boy is my favourite homophobic douche in the whole wide world, but Jensen deserves better. Lord of the Rings better.

On that note, I come to the end of my analysis of 1x16 Shadow. It was never a favourite episode and it feels as though something is missing. It is unsatisfying to have a mytharc episode in between so many monster of the week episodes because the build up to it has been non-existent and it will be a while yet before it has any real relevance to the plot again. It is certainly no bad episode, but I just do not care much for it, in spite of the purple plaid Dean was wearing.

That about does it for this time. Next time will be 1x17 Hell House, so look out for that. I bet you won’t.

Thank you to @emotionalsupportbees for the metaphor of hunting as trauma =)

[juicenet]

my ranking of every episode in season 1 of h2o: just add water (descending order)

1x26 "a twist in the tail"

1x01 "metamorphosis"

1x25 "dr. danger"

1x07 "moon spell"

1x18 "bad moon rising"

1x13 "shipwrecked"

1x02 "pool party"

1x23 "in too deep"

1x15 "the big chill"

1x20 "hook, line and sinker"

1x05 "something fishy"

1x22 "fish out of water"

1x09 "dangerous waters"

1x12 "the siren effect"

1x21 "red herring"

1x04 "party girls"

1x24 "love potion #9"

1x10 "the camera never lies"

1x08 "the denman affair"

1x11 "sink or swim"

1x17 "under the weather"

1x14 "surprise!"

1x16 "lovesick"

1x03 "catch of the day"

1x06 "young love"

1x19 "hurricane angela"

[mesillusionssousecstasy]

Love, Death + Robots : Volume 1

The animation were incredible and so different from each other.

But the show should have been named "Kill, Death + Robots".

My favorite one was again the three robots exploring the apocalyptic earth and lucky thirteen wasn't that bad at all.

So here a review for each episode :

Three robots (1x01) : I love those three robots, the way they are discovering each human tradition was well done. I really liked the part about the cats being the god of them all. It's also the fragility of the human race.

Beyond the Aquila rift (1x02) : The animation was amazing. From the beginning you know that it will end badly. It's the idea of what's real. Terrible story, I really didn't expect that.

Ice age (1x03) : The only episode with true actors. I also liked the mini world in the freezer, being the repetition of the same story, the same cycle.

Sonnie's edge (1x04) : It's about monster fight in a pit controlled by human. The end is really unexpected.

When the yogurt took over (1x05) : the story was very stupid and ridiculous, but I liked the demolition of human satellite.

The secret war (1x06) : It was the best SGI animation from the entire volume, every detail was so well done. However, the characters should have spoken in Russian and at the end, the episode became too much like a video game.

Sucker of souls (1x07) : I was sure from the first moment of the episode that it will concern vampires, but I don't understand what they were looking in the first place, in this tomb? Also, why Gary has a girl's voice, that doesn't make sense. And I really liked the importance of cats in this episode too.

The witness (1x08) : Every animation is different, this one was very different from the other, like animation on drugs too. Why there isn't any one in this town? Why the man has the key of the flat? It seems that the two of them are stuck in a loop in which he killed her and the other she killed him.

Suits (1x09) : Poor cows. It was honestly a weak episode. What was the point of it?

Good hunting (1x10) : First of all why the characters do not speak in Mandarin? And why it couldn't be a love story between Jan and Ling instead of this horrible story, even if the end is good.

The dump (1x11) : Is about a monster who survive on garbage, I called it "le monstre des poubelles".

Shape-Shifters (1x12) : I really hate war, but I think they want to show us, who are the real animal during war?

Fish night (1x13) : From the beginning, there was a foreshadowing of what will become later in the episode. The animation with the ocean sea was amazing, the desert becomes a sea of glowing fishes. It also shows us that the young boy becomes a fish, suggesting his descent to death.

Helping hand (1x14) : The episode was disgusting, but I presume it's about surviving and not dying in the atmosphere.

Alternate histories (1x15) : If only an application like this could exist. It's called multiversity.

Lucky 13 (1x16) : The story in itself was a bit sad, but cute. The ship sacrifice itself.

Blindspot (1x17) : The only episode with a happy ending I presume, but it's a shame that we don't know why this microchip is so important.

Zima Blue (1x18) : The episode with a bittersweet ending, the last art of Zima, beneficing himself at the end.

Some quotes:

"- You've seen one post-apocalytic city, you've seen 'em all." (Robot 1 - 1x01)

"- No. Indeed, it was their own hubris that ended their reign, their belief that they were the pinnacle of creation that caused them to poison the water, kill the land and choke the sky. In the end, no nuclear winter was needed, just the long heedless autumn of their own self-regard. (Pyramid robot) - Are you okay? (Orange robot) - Yeah, sorry. Thought that would sound better than, "Nah, they just screwed themselves by being a bunch of morons." (Pyramid robot - 1x01)

"- And what makes you so special? - I'm not special. Unique." (1x04)

"- Now, hate that was something I had to learn. You don't come into this world with hate." (1x04)

"- Everyone sees what they want to see." (1x04)

"- Do try to at least act excited. (Doctor) - Mercenaries are like hookers, pretending to be excited costs extra." (Mr. Flynn - 1x07)

"- Well, at least I'll die young and beautiful." (1x09)

"- You know what I think? It's all in the attitude. The right attitude can sell anything." (Young boy - 1x13)

"- God damn company penny pinchers, am I right? (Bill) - Why pay two when one'll do?" (Astronaut - 1x13)

"- I had to make a wee sacrifice to the great nothing." (Astronaut - 1x14)

"- In spite of all his success, Zima was still dissatisfied and what he did next was, for many, too extreme a sacrifice to make for art." (Clare - 1x18)

"- But you're a man with machine parts, not a machine that thinks it's a man. (Clare) - Sometimes, it's difficult even for me to understand what I've become. And harder still to remember what I once was." (Zuma - 1x18)

[katehuntington]

Title: In Bad Waters - part fifteen Word count: ±6250 words Episode summary: Still in possession of the Winchesters’ belongings, Zoë meets up with the hunters on her next case. When it turns out to be a little more complicated than anticipated, she accepts their help in order to make an important deadline. Part fifteen summary: The hunt is over, and Zoë and the brothers go separate ways. Episode warnings: Dark! NSFW, 18+ only! Descriptions of domestic violence/child abuse. Drug use/addiction. Angst, gore, violence, character death. Description of blood, injury and medical procedures/resuscitation. Swearing, alcoholism. Supernatural creatures/entities, mentions of demon possession. Descriptions of torture and murder, drowning. Illegal/criminal practices. Mentions of nightmares and flashbacks. Author’s note: Beta’d by @winchest09​ and @deanwanddamons​. Also a deep bow to @fangirl-and-medstudent-help​​ who was very patient with me when I asked about a hundred medical questions. Thanks, girls!

Supernatural: The Sullivan Series Masterlist

S1E02 “In Bad Waters” Masterlist

     The lights of the suite switch on when Zoë slips the keycard in its holder by the door. After the assault she suffered earlier today, the Hampton Inn hotel management provided her with a bigger and better accommodation. Although she doesn’t plan to spend another night in Paragould, she took the generous offer.      Dean enters the spacious room as well, Sam following close behind, in case his brother needs assistance. It bugs the hell out of the older sibling, who has grumpily told him that he’s fine a couple of times already. Yet, he allows the hovering, because honestly; he doesn’t feel so fresh.

     On the way over, Zoë told him to lose the soaked shirt, which contradicted Dean’s instincts, because he has never felt this cold in his entire life, despite the heaters blowing air into the Chevy at level inferno. Even now, he can’t stop himself from shivering, his teeth clattering every now and then, despite his favorite leather coat that he’s wearing, the only clothing item that didn’t get drenched.

     Exhausted, he plops down on the kingsize bed, to out of it to comment on the luxurious suite. Closing his eyes for a second, he rubs his forehead, trying to rid himself from the throbbing inside his skull. He coughs again, the involuntary action burning his lungs. It’s a painful yet ironic sensation, because he didn’t expect to feel like his airway is on fire after drowning in a fucking lake.

     “Get out of those wet clothes, Dean,” Zoë tells him sternly, nodding at his jeans while slipping her Harley Davidson jacket on a coat hanger. “We need to warm you up.”

     Normally, he would have had at least three sly remarks ready, but not this time. Instead, he nods with a sniff, bending down to untie his shoelaces with shaky fingers. Sam drops one of their duffel bags on the other side of the bed, pulling out a clean pair of jeans, one of Dean’s henley’s, a hoodie, socks and underwear.      “I’m gonna take a shower first,” Dean says, pulling off his soaked boots.

     “Absolutely fucking not,” Zoë intervenes, setting up her extensive medical kit on the nightstand. “I made quite an effort to bring you back to life, so it would be an awful waste of my time if you go into shock and die on the bathroom floor.”      Sam raises his eyebrows at that, much like Dean, who lets his hand slip from his face.      “How else am I gonna get warm, ‘cause I’m fucking freezing,” he returns, his voice still hoarse.      “By raising your temperature slowly. Sam, can you grab a towel and fill that hot water bottle we got from the front desk? And get the extra comforters from the other bed.”

     While the younger Winchester goes to collect the required items, Zoë opens the lid and takes out an ear thermometer from the metal briefcase, placing a clean probe tip on the end while she sits down next to the battered hunter. Dean flinches away from her when she cups his face firmly to hold him in place, earning an annoyed glare from the former med student.      “Would you like me to use the regular one? Because I’ll give you one guess where I’d have to stick that. Now, sit still,” she orders, pulling his ear back to insert the device into his ear canal.      “Jesus, you’re not the one for bedside manners, are you?” Dean mutters, but cooperates either way.

     Zoë doesn’t respond, waiting for the thermometer to beep. She retreats it when it does exactly that and reads the display. “You’re at 95.2.”      “That low?” he says, unpleasantly surprised.      She nods, placing the small device on the side table. “That’s what happens when your main generator loses power. The central heating shuts down real quick when your heart stops beating.”

     Dean sniffles, very much aware of the fluid that is still creeping up his throat. He fights the urge to cough again and clears his throat uncomfortably, when Sam returns with the hot water bottle under his arm, white towels with the Hampton Inn logo on them in one hand and two thick duvets in the other.      “Dry yourself off and put on something warm, then wrap yourself in these.” She takes the comforter and lays it on the bed next to the older Winchester, before folding the water bottle in one of the towels. “Here, keep this close to you. Don’t lay down and don’t fall asleep,” she warns. “I’m gonna freshen up.”

     She gets up and muffles a grunt behind gritted teeth, her cracked ribs once again reminding the huntress of her current fragile state. Adrenaline pushed down the pain in the midst of action, but now that the dust has settled, it’s back at full force. Picking up her bag on the way, she heads to the spacious bathroom, locking the door behind her. Not really ready for the sight, she peels her wet top from her skin while she stands in front of the nine ft. wide mirror. Dark bruises greet her when she discards the tank top, her bra following suit. They match the colorful display on her right cheekbone and the black and blue fingerprints on her neck.

     “Wonderful,” she muddles, continuing to strip down, the soaked through fabric smacking against the nature stone tiles. She has no idea how she’s gonna ride all the way up to the Canadian border with an injury like this, but she doesn’t have a choice. Time isn’t exactly on her side.

     After a shower, Zoë runs a towel over her head and blow-dries her brown locks quickly. Usually, she allows her curls to dry naturally, but wearing a helmet on wet hair is anything but pleasant, not to mention that she will have to deal with a fogged up visor throughout most of the trip.

     She puts on clean underwear and hoists her leather biker pants up her legs, cursing under her breath at the ache that sears through her side with even the slightest movement. Something needs to be done, because she won’t last an hour on the Harley. Before she steps outside the bathroom, she secures her bra clasps. Not bothered to put on her top just yet, she pops her head from behind the door.      “Sam?”      The tall young guy looks up and for a second she wonders if he can actually see her through the fringe of brown damp locks.      “Can you grab me some KT tape from my med kit?” she asks, nodding at the briefcase next to Dean, who is huddled up in the exact spot where she left him, wrapped in the thick comforters.      “Sure,” Sam obliges, getting up. After rummaging for a few seconds, he finds what he’s looking for and turns to the bathroom to hand it over, but apparently she has different ideas.      “Get in,” she tells him.

     Perplexed, but not brave enough to hesitate and give her a reason to scold at him, he enters the large room, which could easily be considered a mini spa. A large jacuzzi is situated in the corner, a walk-in shower next to it. There’s even a sauna, the wooden benches shielded off by a glass wall. It’s nothing like the shabby motel rooms he and Dean usually coop up in. His admiration for the luxury comes to a sudden stop when his absent gaze lands on Zoë. Like a virgin teenager who walked in on his friend’s older sister, he stares at her for a short second, eyes wide and blown away. Shit, she’s not wearing a shirt.

     “Done gaping?” she responds, bored, placing her hand firmly in her unharmed side. “I need to tape my side and I can’t reach properly.”      Feeling caught, he shifts his attention to the KT tape in his hand. “Uh… y-yeah, sure,” he stammers, fiddling to open the package.      Rolling her eyes, she snatches the small box from his hands and opens it. “I swear to God, Sam, get yourself together. You’ve seen me in less.”

     Uncomfortably, the younger Winchester runs his fingers through his hair. Why is he being so awkward? Or maybe the better question is; why can’t he keep his eyes off her? He tries his best not to stare, but when he does, he notices the dark bruises on her ribs.      “Damn it, Zo. She got you good,” he huffs, worry replacing the uneasiness.      “It’s not that bad. I just need to secure it before I hit the road,” the tough woman mutters, peeling the plastic away from the sticky coating. She turns her back to Sam, moving her brown wavy hair over her left shoulder and out of the way. “You need to place the first strip diagonally and downward, starting from just below the scapula. You might need to lift my bra a little.”

     Somewhat nervous, the thoughtful guy rubs his hands together first, not wanting his touch to be cold. After handing him the medical tape, she lifts her right arm, hissing at the stretch.      “Right here?” he asks, lifting the wing of her lace bra, before sticking one end of the strip right below her shoulder blade.      She nods, breathing out a shuddering breath. “Yeah.”

     Sam handles her gently, the pads of his fingers not as rough as she expected hunter’s hands to be. In silence he works, focussed on his task. Zoë watches him in the mirror, a small smile of amusement pulling at the corners of her mouth, despite the discomfort. His eyebrows are knitted together in concentration, hazel eyes tracing her bruised form. After a few more instructions, he secures the second strip with the same precision. Zoë can’t deny nor ignore the current that his touch sends through her body, and it has her intrigued.

     “One more. Vertical along my side,” she says, her voice softer than she has spoken to him all evening.      The younger Winchester tries not to gulp visibly, holding the enchanting woman still, while he smoothens the final strip down her bruised rib cage. He’s careful to prevent pressure on the sensitive area, not wanting to hurt her, but she shivers anyway. When he directs his gaze on her in their reflection, Sam notices it’s not pain that has her shuddering, because her challenging eyes tell a different story. They behold a hint of curiosity, interest... lust even.

     Not sure how to cope with the tension that hangs in the air, he clears his throat and lets his finger slip from her beautifully toned and proportioned body, averting his eyes from the mirror.      “I’m - uh - I’ll let you get dressed,” he stutters, awkwardly pointing his thumb over his shoulder before he heads to the door.      “I’ll be right out,” she promises, picking a clean shirt from her bag.

Zoë watches him leave, smirking at his behavior. He really doesn’t know how to act around her, and it’s highly entertaining. There is a definite pull she experiences towards him, an attraction that she can’t quite place, but it’s not something she can dwell on. This case will be the last one they worked together and tonight will be the last time she ever sees him. But before they go separate ways, she needs to give his brother a thorough check up, even though she doesn’t like his company half as much as Sam’s. Suck it up, Zo. You’ve got work to do.

     Refreshed and dressed, she enters the master suite again, Dean still on the side of the bed, wrapped up in comforters like a burrito. Zoë’s plump lips press together in a thin line, because now is not the moment to make fun of the hunter, who without a doubt feels miserable.

     “Alright, let’s give you your physical exam so I can hit the road, huh?” she suggests, sitting down next to the older Winchester brother, taking her stethoscope from her briefcase and hanging it around her neck, after which she picks up a blood pressure gauge as well. “Stretch out your right arm.”

     He shrugs the heavy comforter off his bare shoulders, silently obeying his physician’s orders. Again, Dean misses the perfect opportunity for a dirty comeback, and it doesn’t go unnoticed. Although Zoë hasn’t known him for long, she did pick up on his usual demeanor, lightening the mood with a witty comment and some dark humor. Now, the joker is awfully quiet.

     “Y’know, you guys can have the room for the night,” she offers. “It’s paid for anyway.”      “Nah, I feel fine. Besides, if we don’t leave tonight, we’re gonna be late for our wolf hunt,” Dean replies, watching her strap the cuff around his upper arm.      Sam leans against the wall, observing the skilled woman as well. He hates to admit it, but Dean has a point. “He’s right. Today was the first night of a full moon, we won’t have much time if we stay any longer.”      “I’m just saying it might not be a bad idea to rest up,” Zoë points out, squeezing the rubber pump that’s attached to the cuff, filling it with air until circulation is cut off. “But you two kamikaze morons do what you gotta do.”      Sam scoffs at that. “You’re one to talk.”

     Her head cocks in his direction, staring him down intimidatingly, but Sam doesn’t budge and arches one eyebrow at her knowingly. His attitude annoys Zoë, and yet she doesn’t bite his head off. If circumstances were any different, she would have gladly spent at least the night in this luxurious suite and added several more, but she simply can’t. Wanting to avoid the reasoning behind her departure by all costs, she drops the matter.

     Instead, she pulls the stethoscope from behind her neck, widens the headset and places the tips in her ears. She then continues to place the diaphragm just above the crease of the elbow, while allowing the cuff to deflate. Blood begins to flow through the brachial artery again, causing a beat to thud against Zoë’s eardrums, and she reads the systolic pressure on the meter. Once the blood vessels remain open and the pounding sound stops, the closest what the Winchesters have to a doctor reads the meter again.

     “Your BP is 125 over 80. For a guy who lives off gas station food, pizza and burgers, that’s pretty damn healthy,” she comments, hooking the stethoscope around her neck again.      “Great. So can I go now?” Dean is about to rise up from the bed, but Zoë  grips him on the junction between his neck and his shoulder, pushing him down to sit on the bed again.      “Did I say I was done?” she snaps back at him.

     Dean bites his tongue when he feels her nails dig into his shoulder. He wants to yelp and call her names, yet he doesn’t, because Sam shoots him a warning glare. He argues with his little brother in silence, the younger sibling’s wide eyes sending death threats when Dean’s upper lip twitches while hinting at the woman who currently has a tight hold on him. He then shakes his head and gives in, too tired to have this discussion.

     Zoë ignores the tension all together. “Well, if you aren’t gonna stay, do you mind starting to load up the car, Sam? I wanna check out as soon as I’m done here,” Zoë states, giving him something else to do other than lurking over her shoulder.      “Sure,” the tall hunter says, and begins to gather their things, including the wet clothes Dean discarded earlier.

     When Sam has left, the tough Winchester drops his head, blinking a couple of times, clearly not feeling his best. Zoë monitors him closely; she had a hunch he was keeping up appearance in order not to worry his sibling.      “So now that your brother is out of the room, how are you really feeling?” she asks, removing the cuff from Dean’s arm. “And cut the bullshit. No one expects you to feel fine after flatlining.”

     The hunter looks up at her from under heavy eyelids, trying to figure out what her intentions are. He assumes she’s asking to determine further medical action, and so he drops the act.      “I - uh… I feel off, man,” he admits, pinching the bridge of his nose again.      “Headache?” she wonders, storing the sphygmomanometer away.      He nods, swallowing hard.      “Let me guess; you’re experiencing dizziness, decreased muscle strength, and feel like you could sleep for a week?” Zoë fills in for him.      “Sounds about right,” Dean sighs.

     Zoë puts in the ear tips of her stethoscope again in order to examine his heart, holding the bell between her second and third digit. She places the diaphragm on the right of the sternum, tracing his ribs under her fingertips to determine the right spot in order to hear the aortic valve. A stillness falls over the two, as Zoë concentrates to dissect the sound of Dean’s steady heartbeat, her other hand still holding him by the shoulder, her touch much more gentle this time around.

     Not wanting to disturb her focus, the older Winchester brother allows his gaze to wander, spending this rare moment without them yelling at each other to admire her. Whenever the tough as nails huntress boils his blood, he tends to only see the ugly side of Zoë Sullivan, but right here in this peaceful serenity, her beauty stuns him. Her face is slightly turned away, the profile of her sharp jawline and slightly upward pointed nose brought out by the warm light on the nightstand. She’s close enough for him to smell the coconut shampoo lingering in her freshly washed hair. Only now does he realize that his shivering has stilled, but he’s not sure if it actually has to do with his body temperature steadily going up, or that her soft touch is what calms his tremors. He’s not used to kind contact, a hand on his shoulder, a sweet ruffle through his hair like his mother used to do, but deep down, he craves it.

     When she shifts the bell of her stethoscope to the left side of his chest, Dean glances to her hand still gently gripping his tattooed arm, which is decorated with a short sleeve that fans out over his shoulder blade. Shades of black display what he stands for, symbols and sigils mixed with personal references to his life and the people who mean the world to him. He only now realizes she has been studying the piece of art forever edged in his skin, while she was listening to his heart.

     When Zoë is sure the pulmonic valve of Dean’s heart sounds normal as well, she slides the bell of her stethoscope to listen for the heart sounds on the right, but when the hunter flinches under her touch, her eyes dart up at his. “That hurts?”      “A bit. It’s fine,” he claims, shifting somewhat on the edge of the bed.      “Sure I didn’t break a rib?” she ponders, feeling the tender area in the center of his chest, where the first stage of a bruise is surfacing. “I worked your chest pretty hard.”

     Dean looks up at her, perplexed, as if it only now dawns on him what lengths Zoë went to save his life. She performed CPR on him, used all her capabilities to bring him back from the infinite darkness that was about to swallow him whole. Capabilities Sam doesn’t have, simply because he’s not trained to give medical aid. It hits Dean like lightning; if she hadn’t been there, he would have died.

     “Zo?”      The huntress shifts her attention from the sound of the mitral valve opening and closing, to her patient’s genuine eyes. The twenty-six year old tough guy seems that much younger all of a sudden, not sure how to get across what he wants to say.      “You - uh... If it wasn’t for you, I… y’know--”      “Don’t mention it.”

     Dean carefully glances up at her, meeting a small smile. A silent huff leaves his lips when he realizes she just returned his own words to him. Words he spoke in response to the huntress, when she tried to express gratitude for his rescue, earlier this afternoon.     “Well then, guess we’re square,” he comments. “Too bad I wasn’t conscious for the mouth-to-mouth action.”      “Ah, there he is. I was wondering when you were gonna feel good enough to start behaving like a jackass,” Zoë sniggers. “Your heart sounds fine, I’m gonna check your lungs now. Take slow breaths, okay?”

     With an amused smile on his lips, Dean does as told. Concentrating, the woman who would have aced med school listens to his respiration, using the stethoscope as an amplifier. Like she was taught, she starts at the left upper zone, then the right, comparing the two sides, before she moves down.      “Can you inhale a little deeper for me?” she requests.

     The hunter pulls in a big breath through his mouth, the action igniting a fire in his chest, similar to the time when he was a teenager, when he had a neglected cold that turned into something worse. He tries to fight another hacking fit, but loses the battle, quickly turning his head away from Zoë and coughs violently. When he settles, she continues the examination.      “Pain?” she wonders, although she has an idea what the answer might be.      “Burns,” he manages to say, his voice hoarse.      “Try again, take it easy this time,” Zoë encourages.

     After moving the diaphragm across her patient’s bare chest, she removes the medical instrument and takes a seat on the side of the bed as well, placing the bell on his back now. Staring at nothing in particular, she lets the sense of hearing take over completely. Brown eyes slightly shift from left to right, narrowing at a certain point.      “What?” Dean wonders, noticing a hint of discontent in her expression.      “Your lung sounds are a little faint; you still got some fluid in there,” the huntress explains, putting her stethoscope away. “It should clear by itself, your blood will absorb it, but if that cough gets worse, you're gonna need to see a real doctor.”      “You seem like a real doc to me,” he shrugs, covering the compliment by clearing his throat. “Haven’t had a check up in years.”

     Zoë casts her gaze down, appreciating the words, but unable to thank him for it. “Let’s keep it that way. Take these.”      She takes a small plastic bottle from her briefcase, a prescription on the side. “With the swamp water you took in, you’re likely to develop pneumonia without antibiotics. Take two tonight. The coming days, one in the morning, one in the evening, never on an empty stomach, until the bottle is empty, alright? If it hurts, you can take Ibuprofen, but don’t go over the maximum dosage. You want me to pack you some?”

     Somewhat stunned, Dean nods and takes the bottle between his index finger and his thumb. The doctor role Zoë is fulfilling right now, brings out an attentive and empathetic side of her, which he hasn’t seen yet to this extent. His injuries aren’t downgraded, he’s not told to man up and keep going, like his father so oftenly does when he suffered an injury on a hunt. He’s not used to this kind of care, but he values it.

“Thanks.”

The simple word that falls from his lips in a whisper has Zoë shift her eyes to him in surprise. She clearly wasn’t expecting a ‘thank you’, but doesn’t call him out on the sentiment. Her smile grows a little wider and for the first time since their reunion, Dean sees the innocent Californian surf girl he remembered from back in the days.

     The huntress takes out the thermometer one last time, inserting it in his ear. He doesn’t move away this time, but slightly leans into her. The device beeps and she pulls it back.      “96.8; you’re getting there. If you want you can take a shower now, just not too hot.” She removes the tip and gets up, throwing it in the trash can. “You’re all set.”      “Alright,” he says, putting the water bottle aside and picking up a towel and his clothes.

     He retreats to the bathroom and appreciates the spacious rain shower, and returns to the main suite, dressed in a warm hoody and dry jeans.      His brother is back as well. “Ready to hit the road?”      Dean nods, putting on his leather coat and straightening the collar. “Let’s go.”

     The three hunters check out and walk out towards the parking lot five minutes later. The Impala is parked in front of the building across from Linwood Cemetery, the black paint job shimmering beautifully in the pale moonlight. Zoë approaches her bike, carrying a saddle bag over her shoulder and her helmet in the other hand, as the boys walk over to their car. Instinctively, Dean moves around to the left side of the car, but Zoë stops him.      “You’re not driving,” she decides, as if it’s her call to make. “Unless you wanna be a road hazard.”      “Oh, c’mon,” the owner of the car complains, redirecting a glare from the woman in their company to Sam, who is waiting for the keys with a smirk. After rolling his eyes, he tosses his brother the keys and drags his feet to the passenger side.      “Sleep upright for a night or two,” the med student suggests.      “Why the hell would I do that?” Dean returns, puzzled.      “Because I reckon you don’t want to suffocate during the night.” She raises an eyebrow at him. “It’s called secondary drowning, asshat.”      Dean scoffs. “That’s a thing?”      Zoë chuckles at his obliviousness. “That’s a thing.”      “Noted,” Dean says, shoving down his warm jacket coat.

     “You made your deadline,” Sam reminds her, leaning his arms on the hardtop while looking over as she checks the time.      “Not yet, but at least I’ll make it in time for the big show,” she smiles faintly. “What about you two? Texas?”      “Yep, Waco,” Sam specifies.      Zoë nods. The Winchesters can tell from her reaction that she knows the place.      “When you’re in town, stop by at Honeybee Ham & Deli. I tell ya, their ham and turkey is awesome,” Zoë recommends.      Dean smiles happy as he pictures the plate full of juicy meat. “Will do.”      “What about you?” the younger sibling wonders.      Zoë climbs in the saddle of her Road King, which faces the two men. She doesn’t put her helmet on just yet, though. Her small smile disappears when she’s confronted with what’s coming. “I’m going up north,” she answers vaguely.

     A silence follows and Dean glances at Sam over the top of his car. They can both sense that something’s up.      “If you need a hand--” Sam starts carefully.      “No, I don’t. Really guys, you need to stay out of this one. It’s not your fight,” Zoë says, stern.      “Complicated case?” Dean comments.      “It’s just something I need to take care of. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the help you gave me here, but this is personal business,” she answers, looking from one to the other. “Whatever you do, don’t follow me.”      “We have our own personal business to take care of,” Sam assures.      “Your Dad?” the huntress assumes.      “We want to find him. He’s probably after that thing that killed Mom and Jess by himself,” Sam states, determined.

     For a moment Dean observes his brother, aware of the strong mindedness in his voice. He could fight him. Hell, he can start an argument with him right now, but what would it matter? Sam isn’t easily convinced otherwise, not when it comes to this. He wants to find Dad and kill whatever brought so much misery upon them so desperately, that it’s becoming an obsession. When he returns his gaze Zoë, he’s caught off guard by her, who stares directly at him. She has been reading him all this time.      “Seems like you do have your own personal business to take care off,” she states wisely, hanging her helmet on the handlebar.

     “Sure you can ride?” Dean checks with her.      Zoë glances at him, but he isn’t mocking her, the oldest Winchester son actually has a solid point. She doesn’t feel great at all. Her head is still throbbing from the blow she took during her physical fight with Laura; she probably suffered a mild concussion. A 520 mile bike ride isn’t going to improve the ache in her bones either. She would love to go back into the Hampton Inn and get some sleep, which she normally does after an exhausting hunt. This time things are different, there’s just too little time.      “I don’t have much of a choice,” she sighs. “I should get going.”      “Be careful,” Sam offers.      Zoë only responds with a smile and looks down at her biker boots. It’s funny, all this time she has been fighting the Winchester boys, but now that she’s about to leave, she’s lingering.

     “I hope you’ll find John,” she says out of the blue.      Surprised, the brothers take her in. Where did that come from? The huntress notices the surprise on their faces, because she continues to explain herself.      “He’s your father. I know he can be a pain, but he’s family. Treasure that as long as you can.”

     Sam watches Dean nod agreeing, and he too realizes that she’s right. The last time he saw his father, they had a huge argument. Ever since, he has been afraid that he might never see his dad again, that he will never get the chance to say he’s sorry. That’s what he is, because he regrets yelling at him, he regrets picking a fight. He knows he’s not the only one to blame, but he bailed on both his brother and his father and chose his own path. He stands by that decision still, but he does realize how much his actions hurt them. The youngest Winchester is done fighting his Dad, he just wants to make sure he’s alright. Zoë knows loss. She lost her father in an unforgivable and certainly unforgettable manner. It’s that fact that makes both Dean and Sam understand that these wise words are coming straight from the heart.

     The huntress looks at them with a calm expression on her face, a satisfied one, and yet a glint of sadness is noticeable in her eyes. She doesn’t expect to see them ever again. Not wanting to wait until the goodbye becomes sentimental, Zoë kicks the ignition, the characteristic Harley Davidson rumbling loud in the night.      Before she can put on her helmet, Dean calls out for her. “See you around.”

     As he watches her response, Zoë keeps quiet. Not likely, she realizes, not pronouncing the words out loud. She gives them a last nod, pulls the helmet over her head, turns the throttle, and with a loud roar her Harley hits the highway. The  brothers watch the single red taillight get smaller, then she disappears out of sight. Silently, they stare at the road ahead, both thinking about what she just said. Sam is the first one to reply to it.

     “Did she just… say goodbye?” he checks, making sure he didn’t just interpret her words wrong.      Dean doesn’t respond and forks his fingers together while leaning his forearms on top of the car. Pondering, he stares down the street.      “As in… for good?” Sam adds.

     He glances at his older sibling, who opens his car door. Sam takes his example and settles in the driver’s seat. Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac sounds from the speakers as soon as the younger Winchester turns the key in the ignition.      “Are we going after her?” Sam wants to know, before he drives off.      “No,” Dean responds, annoyed by the fact that for a split second, he was thinking about it himself. “She’s a big girl, Sam. She can take care of herself.”      “That’s what you said last time,” his sibling bounces back.      “That was just bad luck. It’s not our job to protect fellow hunters, it’s our job to protect innocents,” Dean brings to mind.      “If Zoë's in trouble, she's innocent.”      “Believe me, Sam. I believe Zoë is everything but innocent,” the oldest of the two disagrees.

“I don't know, man. I think she’s after something big, or something big is after her,” Sam sighs, staring through the windshield in the direction where Zoë vanished just moments ago.      “So she’s onto a big fish,” Dean returns nonchalantly. “If she needs our help, she’ll call.”      The driver scoffs. “No, she won’t.”      Dean glances aside and observes his brother for a moment, confused by his brother’s motives. “I thought you were so determined to find Dad?”      “I am,” Same confirms.      “Then why the fuck do you care so much for some girl? We have better things to do. There’s a werewolf on the loose last time we checked and I don’t see why we should be bothering ourselves tracking down a hunter who’s fine on her own and is not keen on our company,” Dean rambles annoyed, after which he quotes her. ‘Whatever you do, do not follow me’. Her words, dude.”

     Sam gives in with a huff; maybe he’s right. Zoë made it pretty clear that she doesn’t want them on her tail. Maybe they should just let her be. But deep inside he feels it eating at him. His gut tells him that something bad is going to happen to her. Contemplating on the choice, he stares ahead.      “Seriously, if you want me to believe that you don’t have a major crush on her, you’ll have to do better than this.” Dean’s brows are raised as he looks aside.

     His younger brother glares at him, but decides not to respond. Dean is making fun of it, but he’s not sure himself how he feels about Zoë. She’s such a mysterious girl, with a dark sense of humor and a peculiar personality. She’s fierce, rapid on the counter, sarcastic, confident, smart. An amazing huntress with a big heart, even though she might act like she couldn’t care less. He can’t help but to be curious about her. Why? He can’t put his finger on it. There’s a connection between them, if they like it or not.

     Sam decides to change the subject, determining their new destination. “So? Waco then?”      “Waco it is,” Dean agrees.      Sam turns the Impala around, when they hear a strange clunk coming from the back of the car as he drives over a speed bump while exiting the parking lot of the Hampton Inn. Uh-oh, he realizes, assuming his brother heard it too.      “What is that?” Dean says out loud, looking over his shoulder. “Did you close the trunk? Stop the car.”

     Sam does as told and in the middle of the exit, Dean gets out. Sam stares in his back mirror, waiting for the inevitable. He already noticed the damage when loading up the car, but didn’t have the courage to tell the person who loves the Impala so dearly. That, and he wanted to give Zoë a head start. When he rolls down the window and pokes his head out, he sees Dean, boiling in rage.            “What’s going on?” Sam asks, pretending to be unaware.      He gets out and joins his brother, beholding the back of the Impala. The paint of the trunk is scratched, leaving the Chevrolet damaged by the shovel that Zoë used as leverage to break open the trunk. For a moment, Sam just stares at the car without saying a word. Dean, on the other hand, grits his teeth so hard that his brother can hear them grinding. His face looks like a volcano that is about to erupt as he clenches his fists, trying to contain his anger.

     “Insulting Baby is one thing, but this -” Dean hisses furiously, “this is unforgivable. I’m gonna kill her, I am so gonna fucking kill her!”      “Calm down,” Sam tries to ease him.      “Calm down?!  She fucked up MY CAR!!!” he shouts as he turns red.

     He slams the trunk and pushes it down hard, but it doesn’t lock as it should. Then he strides back to the front and gets in on the passenger side again. Quickly, Sam sits down behind the wheel, not wanting to piss him off even more. Dean is about to detonate; one wrong move, comment or facial expression and he will explode.            “Get the fuck going,” the owner of the classic car growls, squeezing the blood out of his hands around his cellphone, tempted to call perpertrator.      Sam gulps, surprised that the device doesn’t break in half, and uncomfortably leans back before he hits the gas. The day that Dean got this car from Dad, he learned a very important lesson; if you mess with the Impala, you mess with Dean.

     “For the record,” the older Winchester starts off. “This isn’t the last time we will see Sullivan.”      “It isn’t?” Sam carefully questions.      “Oh, we’ll see her again,” he snaps. “And I’m gonna kick her fine little ass when that time comes.”

      Poor Zoë, Sam can’t help but to think. She’s probably laughing that same fine little ass off right at this very moment, as Dean so poetically described it. A part of him hopes they will indeed never run into her again, because she is going to feel his brother’s wrath. What are the odds anyway? America is a big country; she is only one of over 320 million people in this nation. Sam glances ahead into the dark night and grins, because something tells him that their paths will collide again. Maybe even sooner than expected.

Well, that’s it! Episode 2 is wrapped up, now on to the next one. 

Thank you for reading. I appreciate every single one of you, but if you do want to give me some extra love, you are free to like or reblog my work, shoot me a message or buy me coffee (Link to Kofi in bio at the top of the page).

[alittlehurtwithyourcomfort]

Moon Knight Whumplist

Characters: Steven Grant/Marc Spector/Unnamed Alter(s) (Played by Oscar Isaac) 

Age Rating: TV-14 (Teen and up)

Show available on Disney+

Genre: Superhero/Superpowers, Mystery, Action

Synopsis (via Marvel): Steven Grant discovers he has dissociative identity disorder and shares a body with mercenary Marc Spector. As enemies converge upon them, they must navigate their complex identities while thrust into a deadly mystery among powerful gods of Egypt.

(The styling of this whumplist is inspired by @love-me-a-lotta-whump​ who has an amazing blog, go check them out!)

!! TW’s for mild blood/gore as well as death and violence !!

This list may contain spoilers for the show!

______________________________________________________________

1x01: confusion, blackouts and dissociation, anxiety, crying, scared, threatened and chased, terrified and shaking

1x02: confusion and worry, panicking/anxiety, assumed hallucinations, restrained/handcuffed, scared, pushed and falls from a building (no consequences), rough fight, hit by a car (no consequences)

1x03: blackouts/dissociation, bloody, under gunfire, exhausts himself/overuses power, “this is surprisingly painful”, passes out, unconscious, concern for him

1x04: still unconscious, dragged, rolls down a sand dune, falls down a hole (comedic), scared/worried, chased, shot twice in the chest and falls into water, unconscious, hallucinations/dream world (see spoiler note 1), stumbling, confused, scared

1x05: bloody face, confused, sedated (tw: needles), scared, heavy breathing, sees bad memories, (in memories: bloody, almost commits s*icide), sees more bad memories (tw: childe abuse), scared and confused, fought

1x06: sad, confused, coughing/brought back to life, rough fight, knocked down and energy sucked out of him (?), crying out in pain, blacked out/dissociated, confused and worried, sweaty and hesitant, (see spoiler note 2)

______________________________________________________________

SPOILER NOTES:

Spoiler note #1: It’s revealed in episode five that Steven and Marc are in the afterlife and have died. 

Spoiler note #2: Jake Lockely (another alter) is revealed at the end of the episode to be fronting and working with Khonshu, unbeknownst to Marc and Steven.

[afan1]

The Wilds: Season 1 Rewatch

SPOILER WARNINGS – While it is an episode recap, there may be spoilers for the entirety of season 1 of The Wilds. Continue reading at your own risk if you haven’t seen all of it yet.

1x01 Recap 

1x02 Recap

1x03 Recap

1x04 Recap

1x05 Recap

1x06 + 1x07 Recap

The Wilds | 1x08: Day Sixteen + 1x09: Day Twenty-Two

Favorite Quote

“I might be a horny bitch, but I’m not going to scrub my teeth and my labia with the same brush.” — Fatin Jadmani

“Not bad. I mean it looks like you get your hair cut at salon staffed by toddlers, but not bad.” — Toni Shalifoe

Personal Highlights of the Episode

(1x08)

Fatin’s reaction when Leah goes on her tangent in the Morning America reenactment. It screamed, “girl, we talked about this. Stfu” lol

The girls high af is the funniest thing

All of Shelby’s scenes. They’re brutal, vulnerable, intense. Mia’s acting was great, the storyline was great. The buildup to Shelby’s mental/emotional break was gradual all season and really made it seem authentic and real… probably my favorite episode of season one.

(1x09)

Leah confiding in Fatin. These girls have bonded so much from start to finish. Short of Martha/Toni and Rachel/Nora, all these girls came to the island with little to no history and now they can be vulnerable, show their dark side and not worry about the ramifications of doing so. 

Leah’s mental break (again) and that Leatin moment.

Lychee tree. Need I say more.

Things I Didn't Catch the First Time

(1x08)

Shelby reciting the prayer that her father says when he holds the meeting to ‘help’ Kyle with his sins.

“God made you this way, and God only does beautiful.” Yet, the fact she’s gay when God made her that way is a sin. Dave, you’re talking in circles my man.

The cross necklaces Shelby wears in her flashbacks aren’t the same as the one she wears now. Also, Shelby doesn’t have her cross necklace on in the interviews, but she still has her earring in, so the agents couldn’t have confiscated their jewelry, or they would have taken that too, right? This may be a sign to where Shelby’s headspace is regarding her religion at that point in time.

(1x09)

Fatin straight cheesing when Leah is spouting her crazy before dashing into the water.

Observations / Theories / Questions

(1x08)

Do you think Nora knew Gretchen would have intervened with the pilot, or do you think she was genuinely excited about being rescued at this point?

Shelby drank like half of the liquor that was in the bottle after Dot handed it over to her. I would've been done in after like 3 sips.

“Uh oh, shark week for Rachel.” – oh, you have no idea Fatin.

Shelby with all them posters of girls on her wall. Uh huh, that lines up.

When Shelby takes her teeth out in front of the agents, the break in the plastic is quite evident. I wonder if that means anything or it’s just representing that she was the one unsettled in her skin and now she’s more comfortable with herself (otherwise she would have hidden her fake teeth like she did with the girls at first)

(1x09)

Doctor Ted… despicable. It’s always the ones you least expect too. 

As someone with absolutely zero rhythm, watching people dance is always fascinating to me

The fact that it took nine episodes until someone decided to sharpen a branch into a weapon. Nine episodes and twenty-two days.

Toni is a teddy bear when she’s crushing. She’s like a sour patch kid – sour, then sweet.

Rachel only diving in the water when it was about someone else and not her. It really shows what kind of character she has deep down. Rough exterior at times, but genuinely cares for her people.

It’s to be assumed that Martha gave up dancing, correct? Just another reason to hate that mf’ing ‘doctor’.

I actually kind of like Agent Young. I hope he’s not actually a piece of shit. I feel like he and Alex (Susan too, perhaps) may be the only redeemable people on Gretchen’s team going forward.

Is the goat a parallel to Martha losing her innocence/abandoning her ‘fantasy’ world? Or am I just missing something bigger here?

Field Notes

(1x08)

Field Note #092 – For those playing along, this is the second time we’ve seen Fatin use a random object as a fake “microphone.” First her toothbrush, now Martha’s hairbrush. It’s something she’s done since she was little; in her living room wall there’s a photo of her at four years old, hosting a fashion show using a red-white-and-blue Bomb Pop as a microphone.

Field Note #093 – The surviving girls have all been issued comfortable clothing for their quarantined recovery. Something interesting to note: Shelby and Rachel have been issued sweatshirts of the same color.

Field Note #094 – Back home in Texas, Shelby blew out and straightened her hair every day.

Field Note #095 – Shelby’s dad owns this faith-based spinning studio, which is called All Rise Cycling.

Field Note #100 – The bowling alley is one of the main hangouts for high schoolers in Fort Travis, Shelby’s hometown. On weekend nights, it’s basically either that, the all-night diner off the highway, or a patch of woods next to the cemetery that everyone calls “The Smoke Hole.”

Field Note #101 – Becca’s all-time high bowling score? 249. Shelby’s? 94.

Field Note #103 – Toni is a collector of mementos. She’s got a cigar box full of souvenirs that she carries with her whenever she moves to a new home.

(1x09)

Field Note #109 – To describe her after-school drink of choice, Martha says “pop,” which gives her away as a Midwesterner. Based on where they live, here’s a breakdown of how our girls refer to sugary carbonated beverages: Martha and Toni say “pop”; Rachel, Nora, Fatin, and Leah say “soda”; Shelby says “coke.”

Field Note #111 – Nora’s fishing net is made from suitcase mesh.

Field Note #112 – Nora was a pioneer of the thumb-holes-in-sleeves look at her middle school. She used to cut the holes herself and reinforce the edges with a needle and thread until it became a style and you could buy shirts with pre-made ones.

Field Note #114 – Shelby has already mentioned that she once took down a ten-point buck. Her dad offered to have its head stuffed and mounted, but Shelby declined. She told him it wouldn’t match the aesthetic of her room… but deep down, something bothered her about celebrating the death of an animal in that way.

Field Note #115 – This is Martha’s first year not having to share a room with her sisters. She got her brother’s room when he moved out. In the ridiculously hot summer of 2014, one of his sticks of deodorant melted into the carpet. If you sniff deeply enough, you can still detect a whiff of pine-scented endurance anti-perspirant.

Field Note #116 – Toni is demonstrating experienced wilderness peeing position: butt behind the heels, knees behind the toes, peeing down an incline so it doesn’t splash back on her.

~~~

Shelby Curse Count: 3 + 0 (14 total)

[iloverianjohnson]

about 1x02 of TFATWS.

YES i know there was big gay moments but hear me out like

they had a black super soldier who was sent to jail, experimented on, harassed, beaten down (and probably beaten up, too) and just generally hurt for doing the same things that Steve Rogers did. 

and the Army glorified Steve Rogers. he was a hero, representing America and all it stood for, while Isaiah rotted in jail for doing the exact same thing.

sure, some people will be like “oH, iT’s bEcAuSe hE wAs a bAd CaPtAiN aMeRiCa” but that’s not true. because the cop scene right after that proved that it wasn’t because isaiah was not good enough.

notice how in the cop scene, Sam was yelling at Bucky, and Bucky was arguing back, but the cops only asked if Sam was bothering Bucky. If that’s not blatant racism, then i don’t know what is.

im so glad they didn’t water it down or anything. they punched the subject of racial prejudice right in its big, fat, ugly nose, and for some reason i’m kind of proud they did.

im really hoping to see more of this in the future of the series.

additionally, Marvel is definitely queerbaiting us.

[lalosalamcnca]

The Originals 1x09-1x16 Review

So I watched TVD during quarantine last year, and even though I swore to never watch another Julie Plec show again, I’m giving TO a chance! I thought I’d share my thoughts, let people know whether Plec has disappointed me again or how much I love Rebekah Mikaelson. You can also find my 1x02-1x08 review on my blog. 

1x09

No one looks happy to be at Klaus’s dinner lmaoo 

I knew the waiters would be the food…I hate that it looks so cool 

Ooh so Marcel picked up the coin for a reason!! I should’ve known that it was part of a bigger plan

KLAUS IS GOING TO KILL ALL THE WEREWOLVES?! These people really get put through the ringer 

So who’s still in the coffins?? Why bother keeping them around if Kol and Finn are dead?? (Even if they do come back, I still don’t see the logic)

I admire Cami’s resourcefulness, she’s definitely good at working around Klaus’s compulsion

Klaus, don’t call Davina an artist…she can’t draw

Clearly I underestimated the humans!! That’s my bad lol

WOAH MARCEL IS DONE WITH DIPLOMACY, GOING IN FOR THE KILL

Davina is really not intimidating at all 

Not sure what Hayley’s plan is for her, Davina and Josh…maybe they want to play scrabble or bake beignets 

FATHER KIERAN, YOU’RE JUST GOING TO LEAVE CAMI WHEN SHE’S CLEARLY DISTRAUGHT?!

I hope that human general gets killed first 

Looks like my wish came true!

A co-leadership between Klaus and Marcel? I can’t see this ending well 

Klaus and Hayley’s relationship is definitely getting interesting, I like their dynamic

Clearly Josh is the only person who isn’t trying to use Davina 

And now Davina’s realized that she’s been played by Marcel…

Klamille is really drawing me in….still, I think she should leave

Oh yeah, Hayley definitely wants a kiss from Elijah  

So…I guess Tyler just dipped?

AWW KLAUS FORGAVE ELIJAH

1X10

REBEKAH IN TIME PERIOD CLOTHING…I LOVE

Ok, Rebekah’s French was at least better than Klaus’s counting

OF COURSE ELIJAH WOULD WALK IN WHEN HAYLEY’S BASICALLY WEARING A WEDDING DRESS 

Surely Marcel or Klaus could easily listen in on Rebekah and Hayley’s conversation?? 

My crackship partnering up together…I like it

FINALLY we’re checking back in on the witches, wtf have they been doing this whole time

DIGGING UP CELESTE’S GRAVE?! Very cruel and disrespectful

Tim’s back! He’s probably gonna suffer or maybe die

OH COME ON, SURELY THOSE VAMPIRES HEARD HAYLEY DIDN’T GO UPSTAIRS

NOW I’M DEFINITELY UP FOR A REBEKAH AND DAVINA TEAMUP, GIVE IT TO ME

This is a really smart move, showing Davina the garden and how Marcel can be cruel 

Yup, makes sense that Klaus had an insurance for whether Davina lives or dies 

Father Kieran, really?! Sean’s death is really not that complicated

Clearly Elijah and Marcel should be the ones running NOLA

Danielle Campbell is a pretty good actress, I definitely felt her pain when Tim died

Wow, those are supremely terrible drawings…you think that evil would look a lot nicer 

Ah yes, I’m sure the whole world will totally believe that vampires exist, Cami

Did not expect Rebekah to be talking to Thierry 

I’M TOTALLY UP FOR REBEKAH MANAGING AN EMPIRE

Wow, so Davina actually drew something somewhat good

1x11

Wow Davina went right in with attacking Marcel

“Poisoning [Davina’s] one true love” well this isn’t going to age well

ELIJAH LOOKS SO DISAPPOINTED ABOUT HAYLEY FINDING CELESTE’S GRAVE, I really can’t blame him

Hayley is really just being shunted off to the sidelines 

MARCEL, COME ON, IM SORRY BB BUT I THINK THE HARVEST RITUAL HAS TO BE FINISHED

Looks like we’re entering the water stage… 

I’m glad that Marcel is learning from his mistakes

ESTHER’S BONES ARE BEING CONSECRATED, GUESSED IT AS SOON AS ELIJAH SAID THERE’S ANOTHER WITCH 

I like that quote, “kill a demon today, meet the devil tomorrow”

Davina’s eyebrows look so nice

Poor Davina, quite a brutal death 

I feel for Sophie Deveraux too, all alone

CMD is giving a great performance!! I ACTUALLY TEARED UP A LITTLE

HAYLIJAH, JUST KISS…GREAT, THEY DIDN’T AND NOW IM ANNOYED 

Yeah, you definitely don’t give Rebekah enough credit, Klaus 

LOOKS LIKE WE GOT SOME NEW WITCHES BACK FROM THE DEAD

SABINE HAS BEEN CELESTE FOR A YEAR WHATT, WHY DIDN’T I SEE IT COMING

1x12

Whatever this witchy ritual is, it looks fun

Elijah in this 1920s suit…AND THE GELLED HAIR…JULIE IS REALLY KILLING ME HERE

Oh come on, Klaus, let Marcel grieve Davina

Ofc my girl Rebekah is being smart about the witches, this is why I love her 

Elijah, Klaus is doing THE BARE MINIMUM. I’m sorry but it’s true, it’s been 1000 years, it’s not a bad thing to be harder on him 

WHAT’S HAPPENING TO MY GIRL BEKAH

I literally forgot about Hayley…

THE REASON FOR HAYLEY AND ELIJAH NOT HANGING OUT SOUNDS SO CHILDISH LOLL 

Marcel’s right, Klaus is pretty indestructible, Cami won’t even make a dent 

REBEKAH IN A 1920s DRESS…LITERALLY SO GORGEOUS 

Marcel looks so cute with his clean-shaven, soldier look 

FINALLY Elijah found Rebekah 

Ngl, I like the father-son references about Klaus and Marcel…they’re kind of heartwarming

So what if you were to try to stomp on a candle that’s involved in a spell? Would it work or would you just bounce right off it?  

Klaus looks kinda jealous of Cami and Marcel….I like it

MARCEL BROUGHT TUNDE INTO TOWN FOR REBEKAH WHATTT

Oh Klaus…really, take a leadership course or something 

OH SHIT, TUNDE MADE IT TO THE GARDEN 

OOOH, I THOUGHT CELESTE WAS THE FINAL OFFERING BUT IT’S ACTUALLY TUNDE…VERY EXCITING

1x13

OMG, IS MONIQUE ALIVE?!

I love that both Marcel and Klaus were watching Cami

Marcel has great sass too, Marbekah is clearly a perfect match

Great, Father Kieran’s been hexed too…this man cannot catch a break

Surely Elijah suspects that Sabine is Celeste? He should know her characteristics and mannerisms 

The witches are putting A LOT of faith in Cami, what if she ends up handing over the blade?  

WOW, I LITERALLY PREDICTED IT…unless it’s a fake

I SEE JACKSON 

THE GUY WALKING IN NAKED ON REBEKAH IM LAUGHING

MONIQUE’S EYES ARE FREAKING ME OUT, MAYBE SHE’S BEING CREEPY ON PURPOSE

YAYY REBEKAH’S HAVING FUN DANCING AWW  

I’m happy that these werewolves get to have fun, they deserve it

The music coming in…they’re already setting up the Hayley x Jackson ship

The baby bump is so confusing, I feel like it’s been inconsistent

OH YES ELIJAH FIGURED IT OUT ABOUT CELESTE

Oh no, Elijah’s been hexed

I love that all this shit is going on and Klaus is just hanging out in a church with Cami and Father Kieran

Loved? I would not venture as far as to say that Elijah loves Hayley

SOPHIE STABBED KLAUS HOLY SHIT

Could the werewolves really have taken the vampires?? We’ve already established that vampires are stronger 

I’m sorry, this whole arranged marriage thing is not as romantic as they’re making it out to be 

WHY AM I NOT SURPRISED THAT REBEKAH HAS BEEN PLAYED YET AGAIN BY A MAN

There’s something fitting about an old plantation burning in a fire

I actually liked Sophie, she tried so hard to get Monique back and all so she could die… 

The witches are honestly horrible, Bonnie Bennett supremacy

1x14

My poor Rebekah going through all this hardship

Rebekah looks amazing as a nurse, she looks good in everything

Elijah unbuttoning his shirt, I approve 

Don’t be afraid to examine him too closely, Hayley…I know I would

1920s Marbekah are definitely cute 

I’m loving this recovering Klaus look  

I’m LIVING for this Elijah and Marcel team up!!! 

MY BABY BEKS IS GETTING BEAT DOWN, SOMEBODY SAVE HER

I’m guessing Clara was that friend of Genevieve’s, the other nurse 

I KNEW IT, I WAS RIGHT ABOUT CLARA 

I do feel bad for Klaus, a betrayal like that….even if Klaus has treated Rebekah badly, it’s clear that calling Mikael is next level

THE FAMOUS REBEKAH SCREAM 

I admit, Celeste’s plan is pretty smart in unravelling the Mikaelson family

Ok, that’s a pretty terrible way for Genevieve and “Clara” to die

Klaus has such nice cheekbones

YEAHH HAYLEY HELPING OUT HER FAMILY 

WHEN WILL REBEKAH BE HAPPY AGAIN CMONNN 

Damn this klebekah chemistry

Elijah once again proving why he’s my favourite Mikaelson man

1x15

YAY we’re back in a flashback 

These Mikaelson men look so hot in these 1920s outfits

Well, Elijah’s right about Cami being the best person to greet Klaus

HELL YEAH, FINALLY WE SEE HAYLEY AND THE WOLVES IN ACTION

Idk who plays Sabine/Celeste but she’s doing a great job

Oh Rebekah…by bringing Mikael to town, you basically ruined your own happiness… 

Mikael looks very classy in his 1920s outfit 

Not a great plan if Klaus has already sniffed out what Rebekah and Marcel plan to do

That grimoire page looked so ratty…the text barely looked legible, how can Monique read the instructions

I find it ironic that Mikael calls Klaus an abomination, even though the witches say the same about vampires

That is literally so awkward, Haylijah’s having their moment and Celeste is just hanging out beside them  

Why is Hayley walking away? Where’s she going? 

Celeste is VERY cunning, her plans are top notch 

Damn, Joe’s acting…Klaus’s face when Mikael came over, like he could sense him  

Wow, Mikael is PURE EVIL

Oh damn, Celeste is dead 

SHITT, MONIQUE AND ELIJAH OUTSMARTED CELESTE, DID NOT SEE THAT COMING, I FORGOT ABOUT MONIQUE 

The eyes are less creepy now that I know Monique’s motives 

DAVINA’S BACK!!! 

Klaus found Rebekah…looks like we’re about to get a showdown

1x16

Little Rebekah and Klaus are so adorable

Klaus’s amber eyes and black veins are so fkn cool 

Father Kieran is right, Klaus will be a lot less merciless to Marcel 

I love that Klaus is posing on a grave and doing a mock trial 

REBEKAH COMING IN WITH SOME VALID AND HURTFUL POINTS

ELIJAH HAS BOTH WEAPONS OH DAMN

Klaus can be mad, I get that, but he played a part in bringing Mikael to town. He’d constantly kill Rebekah’s suitors, mistreat her, judge her way too often, everyone reaches a breaking point 

Davina’s right, she’s back to being used and if anything she’s in more danger now than before

Klaus, don’t insult Elijah’s suits. They’re tasteful, and not everyone can pull it off

FANTASTIC. ELIJAH’S BEEN STABBED BY THE TUNDE BLADE. MY FAVES ARE SUFFERING

SO KLAUS BASICALLY PUSHES REBEKAH TO ADMIT SHE WANTED HIM DEAD, AND THEN HE’S SAD WHEN SHE DOES. WHAT DID U EXPECT 

THANK GOD Rebekah isn’t dead 

Oh klebekah…I can see the chemistry but I don’t want to  

CLAIRE AND JOE’S ACTING IS ON POINT

Where is Hayley?? I’ve forgotten about her

Rebekah and Elijah’s relationship is too precious  

I have a bad feeling about this Marcel and Klaus meeting

ELIJAH THROWING MARCEL AND EXILING HIM, DEFINITELY DIDN’T EXPECT THAT

Marcel seems to be complying…? I’m sure he won’t though

Klaus needs to go feel the baby kick or read some pregnancy books, de-stress or something 

GODDAMNIT, WHY CAN’T MARCEL JUST GO WITH REBEKAH…I get why he can’t leave, but still

MY CRACKSHIP SAYING GOODBYE, and finally we know where Hayley is 

Auntie Bex is such a cute name aww

You’d think that Klaus would be wondering about Hayley by now

Goodbye Rebekah, I’m gonna miss you

1x17-1x22 coming soon! Please, DO NOT POST SPOILERS OR HATE COMMENTS. I don’t expect people to agree with my opinions, but being rude is not going to get me to change mine. I haven’t seen the show before, my opinions are probably going to change over time as I keep watching. If you want longer notes on any of the episodes, please ask or message me, I’d be happy to share them. 

[sortasirius]

Shadow in the Mirror

AN: *SPOILERS FOR 1X02 OF FATWS*, Ah so the Stucky emotions really punched me in the gut after episode 2.  Curse Seb Stan and his incredible acting 

Words: 1180

Pairing: Steve/Bucky

On AO3 here

“You didn’t have to walk me here, Buck, I don’t need a chaperone,” Steve sounds testy as they make their way to the move theater in Park Slope, hands in their pockets and leaning against the brutal January wind.

“Come on, someone has to make sure you look presentable for this girl,” Bucky slaps Steve genially on the back, placing his most trusted smile firmly in place, trying to look convincing enough that it won’t alert Steve’s suspicions, “Where’d you meet her anyway?”

“The library,” Steve rubs the back of his neck in that way that lets Bucky know he’s embarrassed, “Her name is Elizabeth.  She’s going to school at NYU, was researching a paper.  She’s nice, she doesn’t look at me the way some of your setups have.”

That makes Bucky’s throat tighten.

“It’ll go great, she’ll love you,” Bucky brushes past his comment easily, as though it wasn’t said at all, “You got enough to pay for her ticket?  I can spot you if-”

“I got it,” Steve shifts uncomfortably as they wait to cross the street, staring at the glittering lights of the theater down the block, “I hope we don’t run out of things to talk about.”

“If she’s a bookworm like you, you probably won’t,” Bucky grins at him, “Just ask her about that new one you gave me, the Hemingway one.”

“For Whom the Bell Tolls?  That came out three months ago.”

“So?  That’s new.”

Steve sighs heavily, looking for all the world like he was eighty years old, hunched against the cold.  Bucky shouldn’t have let him go out tonight, he was bound to get an asthma flareup and be stuck in bed with pneumonia for weeks again.  Bucky shuddered at the memory of having to carry him to the hospital when they were fifteen when he started coughing so hard he couldn’t catch his breath.  Bucky had been sure he had caught consumption, it made his blood run cold just thinking about it.  Steve had insisted he was fine for tonight, but Bucky was not about to let him trek halfway across Brooklyn in the bitter cold by himself.

As they approach the bright lights of the marquee, Bucky finds himself with a pit in his stomach.  He didn’t know who was more nervous for this date: him or Steve.

“That’s her,” Steve whispers, the relief palpable in his voice, pointing surreptitiously at a pretty girl in a deep red coat, waiting at the ticket booth, “Thanks for walking with me, Buck, I’ll see you at home.”

“I may see something myself,” Bucky was not about to let Steve walk home alone either.  Steve, evidently, picks up on his plan and rolls his eyes.

“Please Buck, I really don’t need a chaperone, I’ll be fine.”

“You act like you don’t want me around.”

Steve laughs at that, touching his shoulder lightly.

“I always want you around, just maybe not while I’m on a date.  I’ll take a taxi home, would that make you feel better?”

“It would, yeah.”

Steve laughs again, waving at Bucky as he heads towards Elizabeth under the bright lights of the movie theater, leaving Bucky in what felt like a shadow.

“I’ll see you, Buck.”

“Steve-”

Bucky jerks awake, hand outstretched in the darkness of his apartment, reaching out for a Steve that was eighty years in the past.  He sits up, looking around his living room, shifting to lean against the side of his couch.  Just a dream, he reminds himself, trying to do those breathing exercises he had found online a couple of weeks back.

Unbidden, the images of that guy, that stranger wearing a bastardized version of Steve’s uniform, holding Steve’s shield, calling him Bucky with too much biting familiarity comes back into his brain, and Bucky clenches his fists, trying his best not to put a hole through the wall.

He hoped, with every fiber of his being, that Steve hadn’t been wrong about him.  He looked in the mirror and desperately tried to find the man that Steve saw, the man that Steve said was his best friend, the man who Steve had risked everything in his life for.  Nine times out of ten, he couldn’t find him, he would just stare and stare and stare at the face of the Winter Soldier until he couldn’t look into the eyes of a killer anymore.  But sometimes, on the rarest nights, he would look in the mirror and see the slightest shadow of the kid from Brooklyn, the kid who would do anything for his scrawny, brave, selfless best friend.

He decides to test the waters tonight, and walks to the bathroom without turning on any lights, so the sting of their brightness in the bathroom make his eyes water.

He looks at himself in the mirror.  he studies the lines of his face, the scars that have healed and healed over again, the blue of his eyes, the shape of his cheekbones, his nose, his mouth, his jaw.  At first, he sees the Winter Solider, with deadened eyes and a hardened face, but there’s something else there, something behind that mask.

He looks harder.

There he is.  Bucky Barnes, the Bucky Barnes that HYDRA had tried to scrub from existence, the Bucky Barnes that fell off that train car and into the ice below, the Bucky Barnes that cared for people, the Bucky Barnes that cared, above almost everything else, for Steve Rogers.

“Steve,” Bucky sighs, closing his eyes against the bright light of his bathroom fixture, remembering the night from his dream, remembering Steve coming home that night, chilled to the bone, with two cups of coffee for them that he couldn’t afford.  He remembers Steve’s smile when he saw Bucky lighting up their whole apartment, he remembers the way it made him feel like he was being hit with a warm, roaring fire.

“It was okay, not much of a connection there,” he had said, eyes reflecting the lamplight as he stared out the window, clutching his paper cup of bad bodega coffee in his hands.

“You don’t seem too down about it, I’m surprised,” Bucky watched him as he sipped his own bad coffee.

“I don’t know, it’s stupid,” Steve shook his head.

“Probably, but tell me anyway.”

Steve stole a glance at Bucky, almost like he was afraid to say what was on his mind.

“Every girl I go out with...I’m just looking for what I already have with you.”

Bucky swore his heart stopped beating at that moment.  He and Steve had stared at each other for what felt like an eternity.

“Me too,” Bucky had whispered, and he was pretty sure the look on Steve’s face could have lit up the entire Eastern seaboard.

“Bucky...”

He opens his eyes, wrenching himself out of the memory and back into the present, with a new Captain America, without Steve.

He stares again at the mirror, the stranger is back.

“I miss you, Steve,” he whispers to the stranger in the mirror, “I hope you weren’t wrong about me.”