#1x05 V.

[peeta-mellark]

GEN V (2023—) 1x05 “Welcome to the Monster Club”

[ashleyinwondrland]

Watching Gen V and like first and foremost, fuck all the parents.

But also fucking fuck Cate’s parents, giving her the Elsa treatment but this time they willingly and consciously chose to shoot their child up with superhero serum.

Yea it’s really awful, fucking tragic what happened to Cate’s brother. But she didn’t do it on purpose, everyone tells their sibling off, tells them to go away when they are annoying when they are kids. It’s completely normal but the difference is she had no idea about these powers. It’s not her fault, it’s literally her parents.

I know she’s being put on the villain track (I’m only on episode 5) but humans need physical contact, especially when they are young. They need love and nurture. Not treated like a monster for something her parents caused. Even without super powers, that kind of neglect creates serial killers.

Il probably be eating crow by the end of the season but that’s my feelings right now.

[henrenologist]

5 billion gifset ideas and no capacity nor will to create gifs

[realbeefman]

gen v is a prime example of shows that in no way need to include romantic subplots but for some reason do… while i am thoroughly enjoying the Aftermath of the Polycule (cate/andre’s relationship) WHY are jordan and marie hooking up? do they even like each other? marie has a more well-developed relationship with like. literally every single other member of the cast besides jordan. it feels like they reached episode four and went FUCK WE FORGOT TO EXPLAIN WHY JORDAN AND MARIE ARE IN THE SAME GROUP fuckin uhhhh they can be making out in the dorm! they had like 3 conversations and all of a sudden they both like each other? this is semi believable for jordan (as they don’t seem to have a personality yet outside of being genderfluid and wanting to be a hero) but for marie this is a really strange twist on her character… hoping they explain it more in further episodes. as it is it’s just. strange and out of nowhere

[rosalinesurvived]

I’m sorry but there is nothing more depressingly hilarious to me than king jock Jackson being all “sTeRoIdS?!?!” for like three episodes then being kickthrown into the story in 1x05. The EPITOME of “Let me be a part of the narrative//I’M ERASING MYSELF FROM THE FUCKING NARRATIVE OH MY GOD GET ME OUT”

[nikkiruncks]

Thank god V knows now.

[coping-via-clint-eastwood]

Riding Full Circle in Time - Gil Grissom Self-therapy fic

(A/N: If anybody catches all my references, I love you.

Warning - reference to canonical homophobia, and extended for fic purposes)

We - Catherine, Nick and I - watched the interrogation where Kate Armstrong confessed the motive for the crime that she and Julia Eastman had committed; all too often, it was the innocent people who had no choice but to kill to protect themselves, and were deemed as criminals in the eyes of the law when they could have been helped of circumstances were better.

I put my arm on the glass and rested my head on it. Unwillingly, I began to cry and sob quietly. I lifted my other hand to wipe the back of it across my tearing eyes. The others with me noticed, and Catherine stepped forwards to put a hand on my upoer back. "Hey. Hey, what's the matter?" she said gently. I just shook my head and waved her off, not wanting to talk.

My head sprung up when I heard the sound of the chairs dragging as they stood up. I quickly wiped my tears and hurried out of the observation room, catching up to them. "Hey, Kate," I said; she and detective Kane turned to me. "For what it's worth, I will never hold it against you. You did what you had to." I took out my wallet and yanked out an old receipt, and pulled a pen from my pocket to write down my phone number on it. I handed the paper to Kate. "Anyone bothers you, or if you need anything, you call me, okay?" Upon further consideration, I wrote on another receipt. "Give this to Julia, too."

Kate took the second one and stared at them in her hands, then looked up at me. "Thank you," she said. And I knew that held a world of meaning. I bowed my head. Kane escorted Kate away. Finally, I sighed, my shoulders dropping.

"What was that?" Catherine asked.

I turned to them. "I did what I had to."

They just looked at each other, obviously confounded at what I could mean and arriving at no answer. They looked back at me. "Hey the case is over, why don't we go grab breakfast?" Nick suggested.

I shook my head with a sniffle. "No thanks. You guys go ahead. I just wanna be alone right now."

They looked at each other and back at me again. "All right," Nick said.

And so they went, leaving me to myself. I clocked out, and headed out of the building; I did not have any specific location in mind, just the notion that I wanted to leave. But as soon as I opened the door and was hit with the glow of the setting sun and chilling air of the Vegas winter, the realisation that I indeed had nowhere to go struck me. I panted with the weight of it, tears suddenly springing to my eyes, and if anybody saw me and asked, I would have said that it was because of the cold. Weak in both body and spirit, I stumbled over to the bench off to the side and dropped myself on it, trying to collect my thoughts. But the more I thought, the sadder I became, and as much as I tried to hold back the cries, to combat the pain, I was helpless to fight and soon was crying fully into my hands.

I do not not know how long I sat there, only gathering that I was there for a good while, because I heard Gil saying, "I'm sorry-"

But before he could continue, Warrick cut him off, saying, "No need for that. I understand. I hope you two feel better."

"Thank you Warrick." I loved that shy, genuine tone. Warrick left, and I heard Gil's autistic trot approach me, and felt him lower himself onto the seat beside me; his scent flooded over my senses, going right up to my amygdala, and I groaned, forcing myself to keep it silent. It was the first positive thing my brain had processed in hours, and the relief rushed over it. "Hey," he said softly. "What's the matter?" I just kept quiet. "I heard about the case. However...I fail to understand why it affects you like this. Could you explain to me?"

I sniffled and shook my head, rubbing my eyes. "It's not something I can tell you about, Gil." My voice came out weak and high-pitched.

"And that's okay," he said gently, ever patient, the amazing man he was. "You know..." I heard the wry smile, "I had a pretty tough case too. I guess it's just like that for us today huh?" I could only sniffle in response. He wrapped his arms around me, and I tried to push him away, because him holding me made my pain worse, but still he held me tightly. "Cry because you need to. I promise, I welcome it. You're not bothering me at all." Finally, I gave in, collapsing in his firm embrace, crying into his chest. Always, he hugged me, letting me know he was there for me, gently kissing the top of my head. I heard him sigh, deep in his chest, and felt the muscular heave. I also felt his heart beating rapidly; I did not know that it was because he was in love with me, and he could not tell me. I, too, was in love with him; he was my best friend, and besides my feelings about the case, I could not tell him that.

I cried and he sat in solidarity with me for a long time, and it was sunset when I finished. We took a few minutes to admire the beauty of it, until the reds and oranges and yellows faded to give way to the black and blue and grey of early night. Then he turned to me. "I was actually headed to a comfort place earlier. I still want to go there. Would you like to come with me?"

His toothy smile was so cute and genuine that I turned my face away, hiding my pinkening face. "Um, yes," I said past the racing of my heart, a bit breathless because of it.

Smiling more now that I accepted, he took my hand and pulled me up, starting me on a walk with me. "We'll go in my car. I'll drop you off and pick you up tonight," he said. Even though I was used to his friendly gentlemanliness, I was still stunned everytime.

"Where are we going?" I asked once we were seated in his car and strapped in.

"You'll see!" he grinned playfully. I smiled and rolled my eyes, letting my friend take me wherever he wanted to.

"Okay, I know we're going to a rollercoaster. I just don't know which one."

He turned to look at me, both fear and excitement in his eyes at the mortifying ordeal of being known. "You know me so well," he said with a smile. He, too, had his breath stolen.

I smiled back at him. "I should like to think so. I don't consider you my best friend for nothing." With the uplifting mood of affectionate playfulness, we set off.

We pulled up outside the hotel of The Manhattan Express. Before we wasted our time going in or even getting out of the car, we looked up at it. "Do you feel like this one?"

I shuddered a little. "Um, I think it's too wild for me."

"Yeah," he accepted. "You know," he turned around to face me, "when I thought I was gonna ride alone, I intended to ride this one, but now that you're here, well, I wanna ride a different one."

"Sure thing but...what's the difference?"

He started driving again as we continued our conversation, and I looked ahead. "We're going to my favourite one. I just thought that, well, since you're my favourite person, I'd share my favourite rollercoaster with you."

A warm thrill shot through me at that, so much so that I actually shivered as my cheeks took on the heat. I was Gil's favourite person. I was Gil's favourite person? "I'm your favourite person?"

There was a heavy silence that suddenly fell on the car. "...yeah," he admitted, his voice restrained.

We said nothing until we arrived at the Mosaic Casino. "This is the same height as the Big Apple, but it doesn't have as many twists," he said casually as we closed the car doors.

I nodded and hummed in acknowledgement. "That's good enough for me. By the way, why is this your favourite?"

"My personal favourite view of the city. Despite its criminal activity, Vegas is beautiful at night...it was my dad's favourite." His voice softened with forlorn affection, a gentle sad frown creasing his brows. "He always promised he'd take me to this one when I was old and tall enough. On my ninth birthday we finally got to ride it together, him and my mom and I. A little over a month later, we rode it again, at nighttime." Here he paused and took a breath, steeling himself. "Then...the next day..." He hung his head, unable to continue; he did not need to, for I knew the story going forwards. I, too, had been frowning sadly as soon as he mentioned his father. When he was lost for words, I stepped around to his side and pulled him into a hug. He held me for emotional and physical support, resting his head on mine and sighing.

Always one to suppress his emotions, he soon pulled apart from me and took my hand, but did not say anything as he silently walked me to the coaster. When we got there, he wordlessly took out his wallet and paid the fee for the both of us before I could do anything. My instinct was to pay him back, but I could tell that he was not in the mood for conversation, so I kept quiet. We walked to the front of the ride. When we were in between the first two rows, Gil seemed to pause. He then turned around and stepped back to the second row, gently pushing me in first so that I would be sitting on the outer row. "More cosy, against the wall. You'll feel safer." His justification came out in a reluctant murmur, and I drew a sharp inhale and tensed because it was so delicate and close to my ear, the proximity of his lips only adding to the intimacy. But his gentle yet firm hands guided me on. Though his side would be alike when the door was closed, he was right about my perception being that the unmoving wall felt more solid. Once we were both seated he pulled the bar down over our legs.

The ride gently jolting to a start seemed to give him footing, for he spoke in a still-soft but less guilty voice, "When we came that night, there was no one else like how it is now. So I got the front seat all to myself while my parents sat behind me. I did not know why they were so insistent about me sitting in front of them, rather than one of them sitting beside me...and when we were about to go over the drop, I heard them giggling. I now understand that they had kissed." Though he was looking ahead, I could see there was a little smile in his face and eyes and heard it in his voice, and that made me smile too.

After what seemed like too quickly for me, we began the ascent. I gripped the leather of my seat tight and gripped my teeth as I swallowed, my breathing shallowing as sweat beaded on my forehead and I could feel it soaking through my shirt to the leather at my back too. Then, I felt a hand on my leg, caressing me in a way that I would only describe as sensual, setting off the greatest heat in my body. I looked at the man who was causing all that. "Nervous?" he asked, his eyes genuinely concerned.

"Yeah," I managed, just barely.

"It's okay honey. I'm right here." Oh, how that endearment sent thrills up and down my spine. His hand slid from my thigh to my hand, taking my grip in his despite the sweat, and mine immediately loosened, but kept ahold of his. He raised my hands to his lips and kissed it, where I could feel his breath just above it, and a yelp lost itself in my throat as my heart skipped yet another beat.

It took a little while for us to near the peak. When we were almost there, we turned to each other again. He glanced down at my lips, and I knew what he wanted; I indicated my assent silently by leaning towards him, and so he followed suit. We were used to kissing platonically...or at least, we had been. We had stopped a few years ago, when there had been a shift in atmosphere between us. Not that it had been a damper on our friendship - in fact, we were closer than ever, but for some reason it became...out of place, to kiss. Like the touch of our lips had a different meaning than the one it had of innocent friendship.

Even now as we kissed for the first time in years, it was jarringly different. It was...electric. Logically, we both knew that was due to the shocking stimulation on such a sensitive, intimate part of our bodies, but damn if the sparks did not make us jump back anyway. We stared at each other, stunned. Unfortunately, we did not have time to process it because we were - literally - thrown over the edge. I screamed my head off, but his manifestation of shock came out as a quiet gasp.

As the ride progressed, we felt better, the hurl of our bodies through the skies making it feel as if the air was wind rushing against us, and the adrenaline rising and spiking reciprocal to the inclines and drops of the course. Yes, it was the catharsis we both needed.

By the time the ride jerked to a stop, I let myself laugh as I was thrown back against the seat, and I swear I heard Gil chuckling through his closed mouth too. We turned to face each other. The instant our eyes met, the acknowledgement of the other person present immediately came over us, and we realised that we had been holding hands the whole time; I blushed as I looked down at them. And yet, neither one of us wanted to let go. Not even as we rid ourselves of our fastening, which we accomplished by putting our free hands on the bar and pushing in perfect synchronisation. Like always, he pulled me after him to walk to the car. It was only when we had to get in the car that we separated.

"Shall we get breakfast?" he asked. Because of our fucked up hours, breakfast was the meal we ate after shift/before bed, dinner was what we ate when we woke up/before shift, and lunch was what we had during lunch breaks, no matter the hours.

"Yeah. Food sounds good right about now."

"What'll we get?"

"MCDONALD'S!" I yelled, my fists rattling on the ceiling when I threw my hands up.

He smiled and rolled his eyes. "You are such a child." I giggled exaggeratedly.

"It's what I feel like eating after my stomach's been thrown about like that."

"Okay that's fair." He was aware that that had happened because of him. I giggled and whooped as I had gotten my way and we were going to McDonald's - well, not that he had any objections or alternative ideas in the first place.

After a meal that brought us some cheer after the morning's dreariness, he drove me back to my place. He got out of his car and walked me up to my front door. "Well...this is where we say goodbye," I said amiably...why did that feel so permanent? I knew I was going to see him later in the night, but, why did the notion of leaving him feel so heavy? It felt like it was dragging me back, back, even closer, ever closer to him.

"Y-yeah..." By the way he turned his head away and forced a smile, I could tell that he felt it, too.

I almost pounced on him to embrace him, and he immediately took me into his arms, holding me tight, neither of us wanting to let go.

Breathlessly, we pulled apart, because he had to speak to me urgently, "Come stay at my place. I don't wanna leave us yet."

I nodded desperately. "Yes. I will."

His eyes darted about and then back to me, as quick as his thinking process. "Go in and pack. Get clothes, toiletries, whatever you need." All too eager, I hurried in and got what I needed and rejoined him; he had been waiting in the exact spot where I left him, hands in his pockets, fidgeting nervously. We made the journey to his abode.

When we got there, he flicked on a little lighting and showed me around. His bedroom was the last destination. "So, have you decided where you'd like to sleep yet?" he asked me.

I hung my head, sheepish. "Um..." I rubbed my neck.

"It's okay. You can decide later. For now you can go and freshen up. Do you need anything?"

"No thanks, I brought all my own stuff."

"All right."

I backtracked to the bathroom he had shown me and did my ablutions. When I was done, I timidly stepped to his room to find the door close. Nervously, I raised my fist and rapped my knuckles on the door. "It's open," I heard. I opened the door smell and feel a gentle blanket of shower humidity; he had cleaned up in his en suite bathroom. He was lying on top of the blanket, completely in the dark. I could just make out that he was lying on his back with his arm underneath his head, despite having the pillow in between them. His other hand rested on his big belly, making him look rather cute. "What'dya need?" he asked, turning his head to me.

Nervously, I fidgeting with backpack strap. "Um, I didn't know where to go so I-"

"It's okay," he smiled at me kindly. His arm moved from under the pillow to pat the space beside him. "You can stay here. At least, until you don't want to anymore." My cheeks heated up, but I stiffly stepped forwards, closing the door behind me. As I approached, he moved himself under the covers and held them up for me. I dropped my bag beside the bed and got in, snuggling right up to him; platonic cuddling was another thing we used to do until we stopped, and like the...what we had done on the rollercoaster, this was the first of it in years.

He took to me like a duck to water and cuddled me, and I never felt any greater comfort than when he brought me into his arms with his soft cotton t-shirt. It was probably his grey one. Testing my theory, I slid my hand down to slightly squeeze the material of his lower wear, and smiled when I felt that it was his black pair of favourite pyjama bottoms. "What're you doing?" he hummed, playing with the hem of my short sleeve absent-mindedly.

"Just seeing what clothes you're wearing," I smiled. There it was again, the increased pace of his heart. It seemed that he was incapable of speech, for he just quickly kissed the top of my head good-night and held me tightly, neither of us wanting to move from our close embrace, and we fell asleep that way. At ten o' clock we got up, freshener up, and left to get dinner. We went to a vegetarian place that served tasty mushroom soup, as well as salad, and then went on to work as if nothing had happened.

In fact, that was the way it stayed for a long while, and yet not so at the same time. The rest of the team were already used to us being extremely close, both literally and figuratively, so that was nothing new to anyone. And kissing and cuddling was not new either, more of picking up and old habit. However, though the actions were the same, the bearing behind them was drastically different; both Gil and I knew, felt, as much, but we were too afraid to say anything about it.  This was how we carried on for the better part of two and a half years.

It was only when this time period was drawing to a conclusion that a changed happened.  Not anything directly influenced by our relationship, but welcome nonetheless:  Gilbert Arthur decided to grow a beard.

It was on one such night where I had slept over at his place that I had the privilege of being the first to discover the change.  I was ready for the day and came to find Gil looking at himself in the mirror, incessantly running his hand over his chin.  "Should I shave?"  he asked when he saw my reflection.

"If you're having doubts about it and want to go with something different, then do so.  It's harmless and rectifiable anyway," I shrugged.

"Yeah...cause I'm getting tired of shaving, honestly," he said, opening the mirror cabinet and putting his razor, shaving cream and aftershave - whose scent drove me insane - inside.

"Okay then."  He turned around to face me, and I was a little bit winded as I studied him; he looked good, and a blush came to my cheeks as I let my imagination go on.

"What're you smiling at?"  he asked genially.

I somehow had the boldness to look into his eyes; perhaps that was the only thing keeping me from staring at his stubble.  "I think you'd look good with a beard," I admitted - and, since when had the blood travelled to my ears?

To dispel his flusteredness, he quirked a brow.  "Oh really?  Then I'll keep it for you."

I coughed and looked away.  "Uhm, no need for that.  Keep it because you want to."

"Yeah, and because my favourite person wants me too."  I definitely felt my face heat up even more as my heart thumped harder, pumping more blood to it, and I buried my face in my hands; jesus, he was trying to kill me!

We got to work, entering our lab with me clutching his arm, trying not to come off as bashful as I really was.  Catherine's mouth dropped open in a smile when she was Gil.  "Well helloooooo handsome," she teased.  I scoffed through my nose and looked away; no, the feeling I was experiencing was not jealousy, definitely not...because Catherine and Gil playfully flirted like how I did with Gil, and in fact Gil and I were worse, so why would it be any different, or have any effect on me?

Of course I was ignoring the fact that this was the same feeling I had everytime Cath and Gil flirted.  I did not know it at the time, but Catherine, Warrick, Nick and Greg all noticed my reaction.  I - indeed, both Gil and I - also did not know that we were the last ones to know how we felt about each other.

And so this continued, represented by by the growth of Gil's beard, and me becoming even more and more...well, either I did not know what I was feeling, or I was wilfully denying it (it was the latter).  Until one day, Catherine and I were sitting companiobly in the break room.  Gil was standing in the hallway, within my view.  And, he had his side to me, his very attractive profile, bracketed by his loose navy blue bomber jacket and matching slacks, shaping nicely his...behind.  He had his arm up with his phone to his ear, his jaw moving as he talked and stopping when he listened, but the hand towards me was stuffed into his pocket, and thus I had an unobscured view of his bushy brown beard, now in its fully formed glory.

My view was interrupted when Catherine gently came in front of me, waving a hand in my face.  "Wipe your drool before it gets on the table."  I snapped out of it, in literal sense as my head and backed jerked so I was yanked to the present, and tentatively touched my fingertips to the side of my mouth; it was mostly dry, but I did feel the weight of the drool almost coming out on my lips, so I swallowed, and willed my salivary glands to not be so productive.

Catherine let herself descend onto the seat in front of me, but tactfully, deliberately, chose a seat that would leave me having a clear view of the man I was...attracted to.  "Listen..."  she said kindly.  "I know you're in love with him, and he's in love with you, everybody knows that, so why don't you tell him?  And don't you dare say that it's just a crush - we all know it's much deeper and substantial than that."

But my cheeks and ears pinkened halfway through her statement.  "What do you mean 'everybody knows' ?" I squeaked.

She looked at me like she was questioning my life choices.  "(Y/n)...I'm sure you aren't blind to the way he reacts to you, much less the way you react to him, and you air it out in the open for all of us to see. It's not like you have tried hiding it.  At all, even.  Sure you're best friends, and that's great, but there's something else there too.  The way you blush whenever you touch or smile at each other.  The way you always stare for a little too long.  The way you take in his scent when you hug like he's the oxygen you require for survival - we hear that sometimes, when you've not seen each other and gone through a sucky case, and you're all too relieved to collapse onto each other."  I hid my face in my hands when she told me that they could hear my breathing.  "And the way...the way you kiss.  We've seen you kiss before, but lately it's been different.  You've been doing it longer, sometimes even moving a little when you think nobody is watching.  A big step away from the standard quick peck.  We assumed you guys were a couple and waited for you to tell us in your own time - but that time never came.  You carried on like how you always have, dancing around each other, not admitting anything to anyone, least of all yourselves.  And what I...what we all wanna know is, why?"  I hesitated to answer, and she stroked my arm.

That comforted me enough to look at her.  "Cath...what you have to understand is, he's my best.  Friend.  I can't do anything to change that..."  I cast my eyes down.  "I don't want to..."

I could hear her concerned frown.  "Why not?"

"Because...because we already have a good thing going...h-he-...."  Here my breath oscillated, my chest shaking as my windpipe contracted irregularly, and Catherine gripped my arm to ground me.  "He's...he's the best thing ever to happen to me.  I don't want to lose that..."

There was a noticeable but not necessarily uncomfortable silence as Catherine processed.  A little later, she breathed out through her nose, indicating that she was ready to speak.  "I can't say how I know how you feel.  Or how he feels, really.  I've never been, nor have I seen anyone, so afraid to take what's right in front of them.  I say this as a friend."

I pressed my lips together to steel myself before speaking, "Well...you're not used to everything you had being taken away from you.  Not the way him and I do."

Her eyes softened.  "I suppose that's true.  But," here she drew back, "take it from someone who can see the two of you as you are now:  you both clearly want to be together; that much is obvious.  All that's needed is one of you to take a step in the right direction."  She stood up.  "I'll leave you space to gather your thoughts."  She walked away, and I was left to sit there and process.

A few cases earlier, a similar scenario had occured between Gil and Warrick.  Gil was in his office, putting the details of their case on a sheet of paper in chronological order to try and make sense of what had happened.  "Hey Gris," Warrick called from his doorway, making him look up.  "Lab results on the blood we found at the scene came back."  He was holding up the beige folder to present it to his boss.

Gil's eyes moved around Warrick, trying to find something even though everything that was relevant was right in front of him, his jaw slacked in thought.  Finally, his eyes met Warrick's.  "Where's (y/n)?"

Warrick was not any offended at all; he understood what was going on.  Oh he was pining all right; Warrick could see it in his eyes, searching for his love who was currently lost to him.  But he played it off - of course he had to.  "Oh she's back at the scene, looking for more evidence."  He held the folder out to Gil and he took it, opening it and looking at the report.  "DNA was a confirmed match to Rogers, so now (y/n) is looking for evidence that places him there within the timeframe of the murder.  I'm to go check up on that girlfriend of his who gave him his alibi."

At that, Gil raised his head with a smile from the side of his mouth.  "She chose the blazing desert heat over people huh?"

Warrick had to smile too; they knew that was a constant with (y/n), the second misanthropic humanist of the family, who fit so well with Grissom.  The latter closed the file and handed it to Warrick when he was done.  "Hey listen," he cleared his throat as he took it, "about (y/n), when are you gonna do anything about her?"

Gil's glanced flickered to the side in thought then back to Warrick.  "What do you mean?"

Oh dear.  He was completely clueless.  "C'mon.  You know I'm talking about how you two're always lovin' up on each other, always coming close to acting on what's there but never actually doing it."

Gil sighed through his nose and crossed his arms under his chin, leaning down on the table.  "She's my best friend...and I intend to keep it that way.  I don't want to do anything to spoil that..."

"Trust me!"  Warrick said, surprising Gil with his chipperness, causing him to jerk his head to look up at him, "You won't!"  He then took out his phone.  "I'm sending a picture to (y/n).  I think she thinks you look adorable like this."  Gil let it happen.  When Warrick was done, they bade each other goodbye, and Gil was left to think about what Warrick had said to him.

The time came for us to work the Jim Nevins case.  It was beautiful to me, to see Gil joyously working with his beloved rollercoaster.  It was obvious from the moment he responded to Greg as to why one person was so much farther away than the others.  Of course he remained the consummate professional as always, but his enthusiasm about the case was tangible...which came to an especially concerning head when he talked about the stimulatory effect experienced when riding rollercoasters.  I looked at him.  "How and why do you know this?"  I was sure my face was contorted funny.

"A science magazine."

"Okay."  I was happy to leave it at that.

When we were walking and discussing evidence, he was eating popcorn, and I had no qualms about stealing some from him; he ended up letting me share, and it was really sweet, both literally and figuratively.

Zack's confession did strike a gentle cord in us.  Especially when he told us about Lisa taking his hand; both Gil and I understood how much that affected someone who was in love with another.  "You must've have thought it meant something, didn't you?"  Gil asked.  Zack nodded, and in that moment, he looked nothing more than a forlorn boy who was in love.  But when he said that everybody else had died just because he had forgotten to tighten the screws, Gil and I looked at each other.  "What the fuck," I signed.  He merely raised an eyebrow.

At the case' conclusion, Gil and I were sitting at one of the tables at the amusement park, snacking and conversing.  I was already in heaven just hearing and seeing his elation as he infodumped about the various coasters he loved, their tracks, and boasting that he was the marathon record holder for The Steel Phantom in Pennsylvania - that was honestly impressive.  But there was also this very physical thing that he was doing...where, when he paused speech to take his drink, instead of looking for where his straw was and moving to it, he felt about with his mouth and tongue before taking it into his mouth.  It was...distracting, to say the least.  He noticed my transfixed gaze, and was able to pinpoint exactly what my obvious and very directed gaze was trained on.  Still, he raised an eyebrow and asked teasingly, "What?"  My eyes flickered to his, but darted away again as I covered my reddening face with my hand, for even through his sunglasses, I could feel the burning intensity of his gaze.  I was incapable of speech.  I was saved when he invited, "Come here.  Kiss me."  He did not have to tell me twice.  I stood up halfway and leant over to him, holding the side of his face for support.  Like Catherine had called me out for, it was not a brief kiss, and when I pulled away, I was panting for breath, my face on fire as my heart sent blood coursing through my body.  But of course, that could not be left at that.  "So...what does this mean for us?"  he asked.

I took a sip of my drink to calm myself down.  "Listen, um...there's something about me that...that you don't know and, one of the reasons why I haven't dared to do anything about this.  I promise I'll tell you.  Give me time."

He nodded, understanding.  "All right."

That time came a month later.  The Pharaoh's Fever was back up and running, and Gil and I decided to ride it.  It was fun - and, definitely much more comfortable to me than the bigger ones at the hotels on the Strip.  We decided not to sleep and went straight to work, starting early.  It was only in the darkness of the lab that we were accustomed to where we really took notice of each other's physical bearing.  Even though it was summer, we both wore jackets during the month (save for when we went out into the desert), earning a, "Are you fucking insane," from Warrick.

"Uh, the autism says we have to wear these," Gil had deadpanned, sending me into giggles.

But presently, after the ride and the rubbing of the seatbelts against them, our close jackets had been moved a little.  Gil took notice of something sticking out under my jacket.  "What's that?"  he asked.

I had promised to tell him, and in the spirit of the month, I felt that it was the right time.  I took it out to show him:  it was a small cloth mock-up of the bisexual flag, which I had safety-pinned under my jacket.  "This is what I've been keeping from you.  It..."  I put it back; no need for anyone else to see it.  "I didn't want to get involved with you, because...in case this changed anything."  I glanced down at his chest and saw that he had something hidden there, too.  "What's that?"

He showed me; a small flag with a black triangle on the left, a white section on the top, and a grey one on the bottom, separated by a purple strip. "Well..." he smiled bashfully as he tucked it away as I had done, "I was actually worried about this too. You know this means I only form attractions to the people I'm close to, and...you're the one I'm closest to. It's not that I mind being this way; that's one religious trauma we don't share, I don't think, but I did fear that it's frighten you, because...well, all my romantic emotions are invested in you only, and I'm scared of their intensity. It often gets physically uncomfortable."

My soft smile reached my eyes, and my breathing was relaxed. "You know...even though I'm the opposite as you, well not exactly so, but still, I'm scared of my feelings, too. It usually isn't easy for me to talk about them but, you doing it makes it so...thank you. Um," I glanced away and cleared my throat then back at him, "you're right about me not accepting myself because of...that reason. I thought you wouldn't accept me. I sure am not used to people doing that, for any reason."

He smiled and pulled me in for a hug. "Well, I hope you know now that there's at least one person who does." He felt me nod against him. He leant back, and lowered his head, and for the first time ever, we kissed, for real. It was no longer stolen and guilty, but romantic and relaxed, like we could have it, like we owned it, like it belonged to us - because we could and it did. When we went home - yes, home, to his place - that was when we consummated our relationship, unhurried, loving, sweet. We fell asleep holding each other so close and so happily.

When we got to work that night, we walked in holding hands, unabashed for all to see. We went to our family and excitedly announced ourselves to them, to eruptions of cheering and, "Finally!"

[neverswungonswingingstars]

1x05 v 2x07

Lestat in Interview with the Vampire

[nalyra-dreaming]

That autumn interview is fueling so much hate toward Jacob even Louis fans are pissed against him.

Do you think they will be aware of the controversy around the whole ''loumand'' situation?

I hope next season promo will be dealt differently

What controversy? Of Jacob having an opinion some don’t like? That he can speak now without the gag order? That there’s no sugarcoating anymore? Or what is it now.

But yes they usually know when fans are pissed off. They have commented on that before.

And they don’t particularly care and Rolin likes us riled up I remember him saying…

So, all according to plan I guess.

Fan outrage/engagement is part of the plan. In whatever way that may happen. That has the reaction after and comments wrt 1x05 clearly shown. There have been statements on that.

Jacob stated his opinion, without gag order. Without season buildup, which is always different, bc they don’t want/must not give the game away before.

And now people hate what he said?

That‘s… tough. 🙄

Sorry but we (I and a few others, and V was extra blunt here!) have been pointing out for ages that some things are just done for emotional engagement value, shock value as you so will. The DV and drop. See the DM twist as well (though I think there’s a bigger plan, for 1x05 obviously as well). And now that it’s something they don’t like about Loumand? They are pissed…??? Do I get that right?!?

Awwwww…. give me a break. 🙄

Jacob has every right for an opinion himself. End of story.

[theaurorasky]

Gen V 1x05 "Welcome to the Monster Club"

Jordan and Marie Wake Up Together

[seawilde]

— cheryl marjorie blossom as the gothic heroine

i. chris baldick, "introduction" in the oxford book of gothic tales ii. diana wallace, "a woman's place" in women and the gothic iii. lucie armitt, "the gothic girl child" in women and the gothic v. fred botting, gothic v. diane long hoeveler, gothic feminism vi. donna heiland, gothic and gender v. eugenia c. delamotte, perils of the night: a feminist study of the nineteenth-century gothic vi. riverdale 1x05

[peeta-mellark]

SAM & EMMA GEN V (2023—) 1x05 “Welcome to the Monster Club”

[raayllum]

So

The Viren Heart Theory

Yesterday in the process of making a post about TDP's stage motif I noticed that as shortly after dream Soren vanishes, Viren's spotlight and surroundings - which were previously white and is white in all other scenes - turn red, which led to another meta on the connections between star, dark, and for lack of a better term, blood magic.

Highly recommend you read the latter meta, as it will be referenced here, but for a short summary:

Dark magic and star magic are both, as far as we can assume in the latter's case, are represented by differing shades of purple (dark purple and magenta/more pink purple, respectively). However, red is also used to represent possible implied combinations of dark and star magic: Aaravos' key with the dark magic sigil glows red in Callum's own dreamscape; Claudia walks into a red sea in her father's nightmares, signalling her continued use of dark magic and as a pawn of Aaravos; old sigils for dark magic concept art wise used to be drops of blood.

The combination is what we're going to talk about today, along with some other theories regarding Aaravos, his missing chest piece, and the Key of Aaravos, as well as how the series treats/handles hearts as like, a thing. (And no, this actually won't be that long for once, I promise.)

First things first: we have five spells, presumably, that involve dark magic, primal magic, and blood as a key ingredient:

Kim'Dael's blood drinking rejuvenation (*the only one we know of thus far that involves zero star magic)

The revenge spell. It involves dark magic ingredients (last breath of the victim), star magic (unicorn horn), and (human) blood.

The little bug pal spell. Viren uses dark magic ingredients (the rock), human blood (again), and it permits the transfer of a star arcanum creature (assumedly the portal itself on Aaravos' end is star magic, compressing space if not also time).

The ressurection spell. Claudia used numerous dark magic ingredients to get her father walking again. To make it permanent, it needed (most interestingly) either star magic (Sir Sparklepuff) OR human blood (of his line).

The Soren cure spell. This is presumptive, but we know the spell required dark magic as it brought forth Viren's corrupted face for the first time (circa the novelizations). We have reason to believe it involved Star magic.

And we have reason to believe (the red, anyone?) that it involved blood. Specifically, blood / a piece or total sum of Viren's literal heart.

Given that it's a dream sequence, it wasn't clear at first what Viren's rebuttal may have been referring to, but we do see him notoriously say he had no choice in saving Soren either ("I had to do something. I had to save him! I had no choice") so the phrasing/justifications line up. Furthermore, what we've learned from the Puzzle House / the novelizations, as well as Amaya's concerns in 1x05, come to new light with the fact that we know Viren coined Kpp'Ar and that he inherited the position of High Mage after his mentor's "mysterious disappearance":

K: Ha! No choice? You made the same choice you've always made. The one that gives you power.

V: You're wrong. I've always done what protects my family. However dangerous. However vile.

Now, we've heard this line before (hi 4x04) but this is the first time it 1) appears in S5 and 2) appears in the dream sequences, even if Viren has expressed similar sentiments that appear to be linked ("The path of fate is already chosen. Every step I took, I took because I had to"). However, thanks to the Book Two novelization, we know that Viren is harkening back to his last conversation with Kpp'Ar that was 1) about wanting to save Soren at any cost, which Claudia seems to have a rough estimate of happening, and 2) that presumably led to Kpp'Ar being coined because well - Kpp'Ar got in his way.

She had snuck into Kpp'Ar's "puzzle house" and was hiding in one of the passages when she overheard the angry yelling. She could still hear her father shouting at Kpp'Ar, "I will do anything to protect my family—however dangerous! However vile!" Little Claudia was scared, but she knew her father loved them more than anything. Claudia opened her eyes again. Then she did what she had to do [and killed the fawn].

So why the heart? Well, Kpp'Ar points to it very purposefully, it would make sense if it indicated an old wound (given the episode title, and that everyone else in Viren's dream sequences reveal or receive injuries/wounds this episode).

Viren becoming a much colder, crueler person after turning on one loved one, losing another, and then also being distant from his children to a degree... The symbolism would track so hard. And there is, of course, precedent in hearts being attacked or taken in particular ("My heart for Xadia").

(Soren stabbing Viren in precisely the place his father partially or totally devastated in order to save him 10+ years prior? Ironic and heartbreaking, give it to me.) And of course, Mr. Startouch himself, with the subject of his (assumed) missing chest piece being the core of my "The key of Aaravos holds his heart" theory that I developed in tandem with Viren's plan to use the Magma Titan's heart accordingly.

These two theories would be complementary, mind you. Aaravos having his heart torn out, or tearing it out himself to save someone he loved only to lose them anyway, providing parallels to Viren. Making them both more and less powerful simultaneously, accordingly. This also ties back into other considerations of the Flowers of Elarion (a motif interwoven into the actual Elarion poem where Aaravos is called the Midnight Star) / Laisar the Insidious tale shared between Moonshadow elves and Katolis, in which an elven thief takes what you value most / see as most precious but leaves behind a beautiful flower, hoping it would be "a fair exchange of beloved for beloved". One Heart for another.

TLDR; if Viren cut out/used his own heart partially as dark magic spell parts the symbolism would be out of this world and it'd be tragic AF + bonus possible Aaravos parallels. Wonderstorm please 🙏

[dearestpartnerofgreatness]

What are your fave episodes of Tangled?

This is a great question! I tried to be picky, but it still turned out pretty long, lol:

Season 1:

1x05: Cassandra v. Eugene - a great set up to the frenemy-ship between Cass and Eugene; the episode illustrated the common ground between them as well as an interesting contrast of ideals/priorities that I wish later seasons had built upon

1x06: The Return of Strongbow - Lance is one of my favorite characters

1x11: Pascal's Story - too sad to rewatch, but Pascal and Rapunzel's relationship is so important to their characters and this ep did that justice in my opinion

1x12: Big Brothers of Corona - also a huge fan of Angry & Catalina; their dynamic with Lance & Eugene is gold

Season 2 (my favorite season overall):

2x01: Beyond the Corona Walls - the failed proposal (one of many), the kidnapping, the reveal that Stalyan is NOT a horse, the interrupted wedding in disguise, the super long New Dream kiss at the end...this episode was EVERYTHING

2x02: The Return of Quaid - interesting plot, cool art style, and the perfect blend between funny and heartfelt

2x07: Keeper of the Spire - "SPY-YUHR!"

2x11: Max and Eugene in "Peril on the High Seas" - LOVED that Eugene + Max got an episode dedicated to developing their dynamic and learning how to see eye to eye; hilarious conflict, lots of quality Eugene quips (I laughed out loud at "and now that I've lived there...I think I want a better one.")

2x17: Mirror, Mirror - the challenge was creepy in a fun way; and I enjoyed how we kept cutting back to how the team was doing in the "mirror world". One of the more successful attempts at a darker tone compared to the relatively light-hearted first season.

2x18: You're Kidding Me! - While I don't totally agree with the characterization of Eugene and Rapunzel in this one, the question of how their respective traumas would influence their parenting in conflicting ways was fascinating, and it's a fun trope in general.

Season 3 (my least favorite season overall):

3x12: Cassandra's Revenge - while I did not love the writers' choices regarding Cass's backstory, the confrontation between her and Rapunzel during this episode was SO well-written. This episode also had some of the best songs in the series, beautiful animation during the fight scenes, lots of New Dream moments (plotting his birthday surprise, yet another failed proposal, Rapunzel rescuing him from Cass, etc). Amidst the angst, there was also some humor--most notably Cass laughing at their attempts to scale the tower, Lance's commentary, and "going up to go up is too simple!"

3x15: Race to the Spire - again, "SPY-YUHRRRR!"

3x17: Flynnpostor - not perfect but a pretty funny Eugene-centric plot; would have loved more screen time devoted to his letting go of the "Flynn Rider" mantle and seeking a new path in life

[fexalted]

watching tos for the first time since like, roughly 2012/13-ish? i don't remember what year it was, or why i only got thru most of season 1 before stopping

it's been fun to refresh my swiss cheesed memory with this tho so here's a semi-liveblog of the first 10 eps that i watched over the past couple weeks

1x01 - the man trap

things i remembered beforehand:

salt monster

"plum" uwu

that gay little run and crawl jim does when he's taking cover (it fills me with such delight)

things i did not remember:

how many people died, good god man it's only the first episode

1x02 - charlie x

things i remembered:

jim's bright red exercise pants

that stupid fucking face charlie makes when he uses his powers

not liking this ep at all when i first watched it, possibly due to me being around the same age as charlie at the time

additional thoughts: i enjoyed it more this time and felt more sympathetic for charlie. poor kid needed some parents, and also, like, a hug

1x03 - where no man has gone before

things i remembered:

bones isn't in it :'( (bored) (sad) (missing my bestie)

"James R Kirk"

that post i saw on here recently about how their contacts were made of glass

the only thing i could think about while watching:

their contacts

were made

of GLASS

(yes i understand this was how contacts were made back then. still freaked out by the concept of people putting glass in their eyes on purpose)

1x04 - the naked time

things i remembered:

sweat disease

sulu fencing

oh kathleen

"ONE-MORE-TIME!!"

"love mankind"

spock breakdown (extremely uncomfortable to watch)

bones casually ripping jim's shirt sleeve to jab him in the arm (extremely hilarious every time i think about it)

did not remember:

anything about them almost crashing into a planet lol

jim's little monologue when he gets infected (lmao)

time warp???

additional thoughts: hey remember when they reused this plot in tng and tasha and data fucked (<- literally the only thing i can remember about it) ((edit from future fex: i rewatched that ep. it was wild. tos did it better tho))

1x05 - the enemy within

things i remembered:

unicorn dog :)

evil kirk and poor little meow meow kirk

"I'M CAPTAIN KIRK!!!"

things not remembered:

dog dies :(

evil kirk's killer eyeliner

additional thoughts: say what you will about shatner / his acting but this ep is Peak shatner performance and a lot of fun to watch. he put his whole pussy into it, as the kids say these days

1x06 - mudd's women

things remembered:

could not forget harry mudd if i tried

the women are color coded like the powerpuff girls lol

they're also like, on some kind of drug that keeps them looking young or something

cool costumes tho

i don't have much to say about this one lol, harry's a fun character but the rest of the ep wasn't super interesting to me. did finally learn how to pronounce "ophiuchus" tho so i'll thank it for that

1x07 - what are little girls made of

things remembered:

is this the penis rock episode (it is)

uhhh i think kirk gets put into some kind of spinny machine that makes androids (he does)

more cool costumes (debatable)

things i find funny:

the number of planets we've encountered so far that are populated by like. 2-4 people

the way ruk (the big guy) just picks up and throws kirk like he weighs nothing

so much buildup with kirk and the penis rock and he doesn't even get to hit ruk over the head with it smh

also not a funny moment but i liked the way kirk was able to get a message to spock thru the android kirk, v clever

wait i just realized bones wasn't in this ep either. deducting 1/4 of a star from my mental rating bc i missed him (but apparently not that much)

1x08 - miri

remembered:

planet of children (bc everyone else died of terminal puberty)

"no blah blah blah!"

bones tests his newly discovered, untested cure on himself, in true mad scientist fashion (also spones moment <3)

saw this ep on a "what's your fave 'bad' episode" poll here recently and i can't remember if i thought it was good or bad when i first watched it lol

forgot:

another earth?? there's just a second, identical earth floating around out there?? and (of course) they don't mention it at all for the rest of the episode

300 year old children

oh these kids are so much more annoying than i remembered, however i may just be biased bc i don't like kids shfkshfk

1x09 - dagger of the mind

remember:

absolutely nothing! oh boy!

thoughts:

wow this ep is fucked up!

okay actually i don't think i've seen this one at all before?

usually there'll be moments that jog my memory but the only thing even slightly familiar to me was kirk going "helen don't go!" while in the neutralizer chair, but i could've just seen a clip/gif of it before

i remember skipping episodes in season 1 (i was impatient and wanted to get to city on the edge of forever) but i thought i'd at least made it to halfway thru the season before skipping any

anyway did i mention this ep is fucked up? (star trek really does love to drop an absolutely haunting 50 minutes of television on you and then never address it again, i understand this now. roll credits!)

1x10 - the corbomite maneuver

remember:

uhh

there's a thing out there

it's in the way

preventing them from boldly going, even

looks like an old windows screensaver

i might've skipped this ep too now that i think about it

thoughts:

cute mckirk moment in sickbay :3

i love that this cube has its own theme music whenever its on screen

oh shit it's the sequel to cube: orb

jesus christ that's a big orb

man they really said "okay we've got 3 music tracks and we're gonna get our money's worth out of them"

i gotta say this ep slaps tbh—WAIT HE'S A BABY???

LITTLE BABY MAN

LMAOOOOO

honestly great episode tho i'll stand by that

[fictionz]

The top 31 spookiest Star Trek episodes (according to the Internet)

It's spooky season and I'm also a Star Trek nerd and a list nerd, so here we go!

I asked in a Star Trek discord, ran a bunch of searches, and assigned a point each time an episode was listed among the scariest/creepiest in Star Trek. The episodes are ranked from least to most spooky, so watch in this order if you want to build up to the spookiest stuff. I cut off the list at 31, one episode for each day in October.

So without further ado...

Spookiest episodes of Star Trek*:

TOS 1x05: The Enemy Within

TOS 1x25: The Devil in the Dark

PIC 2x07: Monsters

VOY 2x08: Persistence of Vision

ENT 3x16: Doctor's Orders

DS9 3x26: The Adversary

VOY 4x25: One

VOY 5x18: Course: Oblivion

ENT 2x10: Vanishing Point

VOY 3x12: Macrocosm

VOY 3x18: Darkling

VOY 4x07: Scientific Method

TNG 7x14: Sub Rosa

ENT 2x04: Dead Stop

TNG 3x26: The Best Of Both Worlds, Part I

TOS 1x01: The Man Trap

TNG 7x06: Phantasms

DS9 5x05: The Assignment

DS9 2x14: Whispers

DIS 1x03: Context Is For Kings

TNG 6x21: Frame Of Mind

TNG 7x19: Genesis

TOS 2x14: Wolf in the Fold

VOY 6x25: The Haunting Of Deck Twelve

TOS 2x07: Catspaw

VOY 2x23: The Thaw

TNG 4x17: Night Terrors

TNG 1x25: Conspiracy

ENT 3x05: Impulse

DS9 5x24: Empok Nor

TNG 6x05: Schisms

Shorter list of the the spookiest episode from each of the 11 series:**

TOS 2x07: Catspaw

TAS 1x01: Beyond the Farthest Star

TNG 6x05: Schisms

DS9 5x24: Empok Nor

VOY 2x23: The Thaw

ENT 3x05: Impulse

DIS 1x03: Context Is For Kings

PIC 2x07: Monsters

LD 1x06: Terminal Provocations

PRO 1x12: Let Sleeping Borg Lie

SNW 1x09: All Those Who Wander

Data used to collate these rankings:

Star Trek Discord

https://www.handitv.com/lists/18-eerie-disturbing-and-downright-scary-star-trek-episodes

https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/the-scariest-star-trek-episodes/

https://screenrant.com/most-disturbing-star-trek-episodes-ranked-horrifying/

https://screenrant.com/most-terrifying-star-trek-episodes-halloween/

https://movieweb.com/scariest-star-trek-episodes/

https://screenrant.com/scariest-star-trek-episodes-ranked/

https://gizmodo.com/12-scariest-star-trek-episodes-strange-new-worlds-alien-1849136069

https://aiptcomics.com/2020/10/22/the-ultimate-star-trek-horror-episodes-guide/

https://www.startrek.com/news/9-underrated-spooky-star-trek-episodes

https://gizmodo.com.au/2022/07/the-12-scariest-episodes-of-star-trek/

https://gamerant.com/star-trek-episodes-sci-fi-horror/#enterprise-impulse

https://www.monstercomplex.com/blog/Star-Trek-Scariest-Episodes

https://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/ent/scariest-star-trek-horror-episodes.html

https://www.slashfilm.com/910821/10-terrifying-star-trek-episodes-to-watch-after-this-weeks-strange-new-worlds/

https://www.cbr.com/star-trek-spooky-halloween-episodes/

https://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/ent/star-trek-halloween-scary.html

https://redshirtsalwaysdie.com/2017/10/26/star-trek-horror-episodes/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8BXCo9XKw4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXsvbp9EahI

...

* There was a 12-way tie for the final 8 slots, so the final 8 in the first list are randomly selected from among those 12 episodes.

** PRO did not make an appearance on any of the lists I found, so I selected an episode that felt most appropriate. Other series only had one suggested episode and are in the list by default.