#2x02 The Night General

[bronx-bomber87]

Happy Weekend all :) Watched this ep last night wrote down my thoughts and thought kick off Saturday with a review. Another really good ep ahead. S2 adds onto the base built in S1 in the best way. Off we go.

2x02 The Night General

We catch our first glimpse of our fine duo at the end of roll call. Grey has a new book for Tim to read for his Sergeant's exam. Tim doesn’t look excited in the least. Lucy calls out the book for its dated title. Grey explains to Lucy it's from the 60s. Lovely. Tim asks how this book is relevant with 21st century policing? Grey tells him 'Ours is not to reason why' LOL Basically saying he has to read it whether he wants to or not Poor Tim.

They're not in the shop two seconds before Tim hands her the book to read to him. Of course Lucy is going to give him some push back. She wouldn’t be her if she didn’t. Would you love her Timothy if she was anything but who she is? haha This is how they're going to spend their shift whether Lucy wants to or not.

Lucy suggests just to let her drive so he can read it while they work. That doesn’t fly with Tim baha Lucy doesn’t understand (yet) why he can’t just read it himself. Thinks Tim is just making her do it for him just cause he can. You'll find out soon enough my dear. Lucy knows when to pick her battles at this point. So she decides not to fight Tim on this one. Gives in and cracks this old fossil open and begins to read to him.

Mini marriage scene going on right here. It's their back and forth that I love so much about them. A comfortability has settled between the two of them and it shows. Instantly Lucy is being smug and sassy about the material. One of my fav things she does with him. Pushes his buttons like only she can. Instead of being immediately grumpy he dishes it right back. Oh how they’ve grown. Giving him crap with the book saying he shouldn’t generate fear but respect.

Tim is snarky as well firing back of course she would like this book...We all know she has thrived under his leadership. She's not really taking shots at him so much as using it to mess with him. She can't help herself. Lucy is taking full advantage of this scenario. Tim is painfully aware she is using reading this book to punish him. I mean it's only fair since he's forcing her to read it between calls.

I love her face in the gif above. She’s enjoying herself far too much for Tim’s liking haha He tells her to just keep reading LOL Like Lucy wasn't going to read this book without running commentary. Come on Timothy you know better than that hehe Lucy continues on and you can see him trying so hard to absorb it as she speaks.

Lucy ends up on another quote she likes. Of course its about patrol officers having value. So she chooses this one to have him parrot back to her. She is agitating the crap out of him and knows it. Telling him he needs to repeat it in order to memorize it. Using her psych degree to justify it. He begrudgingly does it and she asks him to do it again lmao Lucy is pushing her boundaries today and is fine with it haha

They get a call interrupting her and Tim is so relieved. Lucy responds to dispatch then says 'Ok 3 min out more reading.' LMAO She is relentless and begins up again. Tim's face above I’m dying. LOL He looks like he’s being endlessly tortured by her studying methods. This episode is absolute gold start to finish. He is at her mercy with this and knows it.

We rejoin them in the shop after their call. Lucy has moved onto chapter 3. ‘The Healthy Habits Of Command’ She goes on to read out loud ‘Delegation is the key to leading men in times of stress.’ Which leads to the line above. She follows it up with That’s so true don’t you think? Tim snaps back it’s hard enough to listen to this stuff without her editorializing haha Honestly Tim what did you expect from her? She tells him she’s happy to stop anytime and get back to her paper work.

Lucy goes on to tell him that he’s going to have to re-read all this again anyways to memorize it. You see the panic in Tim’s face. It’s here Lucy finds out he learns best when he’s hears it. That response immediately gets the wheels in Lucy’s head churning with her response of Really? He then asks what? Why? She tells him nothing…. Doesn’t take Tim long to figure out she’s holding something back from him. He says ‘Boot...’

Lucy tries to mumble her reply at first. Telling him he has a learning difference under her breath. It’s kinda funny how she tries to hide her answer. She knows he’s going to take it the wrong way. Tim makes her speak up and Lucy bites the bullet. Then try’s to soften the blow by saying he’s just wired differently. That he just processes information differently than others. She is digging herself a hole and knows it. Tim is bristly af as she tries explain this to him. He tells her he doesn’t have a learning disability. Flat out refuses to accept it.

Lucy digs her hole even further when she brings up Isabel. Tim has grown but that continues to be a sore subject for him. Lucy is trying so hard for him not to take this as a bad thing. Minute she brings Isabel up and their time at the academy he shuts down. Tells her they’re not talking about this. Lucy looks crushed she’s offended him. That comfortability and banter from earlier gone. You can see how much she wants to fix it. Unfortunately they get a call before she can rectify the situation. It's about a suspicious mini van casing a house. She tries to fix it as they drive to the call but he is shut off completely. Lucy is defeated and says never mind….

They pull up and its an old colleague of Tim's. He is a bounty hunter now. Lucy is assertive right off the bat saying they've received multiple 911 calls about him. Rex bites back calling her boot and to watch her tone. Tim steps in right away. No one calls her ‘boot’ but Tim good sir. So sexy when he tells Rex she’s the police now. Even though he’s grumpy about the studying he still has her back on this 100%. Such growth Tim. I love me some protective/supportive Tim. Lucy doesn't let Rex's behavior shake her. Lets this surly grump of a man know that. It’s like she has experience with them or something heh

Tim's face when Rex says 'You let her talk to you like that?' It’s a 'Watch it...' We all know Tim likes it when Lucy talks to him like that. It’s that assertive confidence that attracts him to her. One of many reasons But It’s far too early to delve into that fully haha We all know it’s true though. Lucy tells him his bounty Nico is a very dangerous person. Rex tries to rattle her one more time. Saying how he’s been dealing with dangerous men since she was in diapers. Lucy tells him these days you have to call law enforcement for this stuff. She cracks me up and says maybe he should read Tim’s book LMAO

Lucy tries the next day to mend fences with Tim. Asking him if he'd like her to read to him? Trying to offer up a olive branch. He instantly shuts her down. Says no. Lucy tries to implore him to let her. That he needs to learn it. He grumpily replies ‘I can do that on my own.' Oof she really hit a nerve with this one. Before Lucy can fight him some more they pull back up to Rex’s van. Tim is wanting to do a welfare check on him. He didn't report his bounty last night. Lucy calls him out for it and Tim says he wouldn’t put it that way to Rex though. But he's being a softie and she knows it.

They find blood and broken glass and call it in. Rex has been assaulted and Tim sees red. He takes off once Rex says Nico is headed to his aunt's. Lucy calls after him saying they need a warrant. Tim doesn’t listen as he takes off and Rex tells Lucy go with Tim.

Tim busts in raging says blood on the door enough reason for them to search. Lucy takes control of the situation quickly. Makes the aunt call Nico. Says they’ll arrest for aiding and abetting if she doesn’t. Does this to calm Tim down a bit. She’s so good at that. Not the first time she's taken charge to rein him a bit. The aunt calls it doesn't take long to find him in the house Then comes this bad ass fight scene. Last episode I said they’re like poetry in motion in the field. This gif is the definition of that. Look how well they work together to take Niko down. It’s a thing of beauty really.

First off let’s enjoy the fact we’re getting Tim all sweaty and guns out to play shall we? Ovary explosion for me. It's a very nice visual for me to start this scene. *fans self* Never get over how fine this man is honestly. Now let’s move onto the beautiful moment that’s about to commence. Lucy finds Tim working out. Ask's if he's training for his next re-match with Nico haha She hands him the little Audio book he looks so confused as to what this might be. His confusion continues after she explain its the audiobook version of his book.

Lucy looks so proud of herself when she explains she recorded it for him. She should be. You know she spent whatever free time she had off shift doing that for him. That is no small feat. Also the fact that she reached out to Isabel for him. I can’t imagine that conversation wasn’t a little awkward for her. But guess what? She did it anyways to help him. Even when he’s obstinate af with her she is driven to help him no matter what.

That psych degree comes in handy when she’s deciphering Tim. Why he acts the way he does. He lashed out cause he was embarrassed by the fact that he learns through listening. This is why Lucy does this for him. So he feels better about the way he learns. Doesn’t feel shame about it. He is much more receptive to her explanation this time around. You can see it in his face in that second gif above. She is so kind and gentle while she does it. Letting him know hey it's ok you learn this way. Nothing is wrong with it or you.

I can totally relate to Tim too btw. I am a Kinesthetic learner as well. I absorb audio books far more than sitting down and reading. I have to be moving while I listen or I’m instantly bored and disengage. If it’s a fic I’m fine for most part if it’s a one shot. But anything I have to read at massive length? I gotta be moving. So I get it Tim I’m same way my love.

She ends her explanation by complimenting him in the best way she can. By letting him know that the way he learns is why he’s such an excellent cop. Building him up and letting him know its why he excels the way he does at his job. Reinforcing his way of learning isn’t a bad thing at all but a strength for him. You can see it in his face he finally accepts this about himself. He replies 'Yeah.' with a small smile of gratitude. Like she's just taught him something about himself and he's not mad about it. Tim can't help but let that Lucy light of hers in.

Lucy says she will see him tomorrow. Wants to let him get back to his work out. You can tell Tim wants to say something before she goes. He builds up the courage to say 'Thanks' as she’s leaving ❤️ It's such a loaded Thanks for him. The absolute gratitude he has for her in this moment. I’ve said it many times and I’ll continue to say it. Eric says so damn much with just a look. If her recording an audio book isn’t an act of service and love to him I don’t know what is. The look on this man’s face as he says 'Thanks.' He is blown away she took the time to do this for him. Has to make sure Lucy knows how grateful he is before she leaves. Because she saw he had a need and fulfilled it for him. Put him first and took care of him in best way she could think of.

Lucy’s smile Is everything after he says this. It's the most honest and genuine 'Thanks ' she's ever received from him. She almost can't handle it. Why she nervously smiles back instead of replying. She is adorable. Gah no one gets through like Lucy does for him. Makes me wanna cry honestly. They’re written so damn well it makes me happy. Truly just make one another better in the best way.

That little smile of his when he hears Lucy’s intro. My damn heart. She truly is the best rookie he’s ever trained. Damn straight. If you weren’t shipping them before, this scene has to get you hook, line and sinker. She recorded an old outdated book for him in her personal time, built him up, made him feel better about how he learns, and reached out to his ex for clarification in order to help him better.

Actions speak louder than words they say for a reason. Her actions are screaming right now. Makes you wonder if he listened at night at all? Did he ever fall asleep to her voice during his studying? Maybe he did maybe he didn't. A girl can dream though haha Such a good ep for them start to finish.

~~~~~

Side notes non-chenford

Mmm Tim laying into Jackson about the hole he’s in. Yes please. Defending Angela when Jackson makes a joke if he’s late his dad is gonna light up Lopez. Tim goes on to tell him she’s going to pay the price if he doesn’t get his shit together. That she will be the target of his fathers aggression if he goes belly up halfway through training. That Jackson owes her his career. Whew lord I love me some protective Tim.

Also Lucy and Jackson living together ❤️ such a good friend to take him in like that I love it. First thing he needed to her back on track.

[renegadesstuff]

SHE RECORDED AN ENTIRE BOOK FOR HIM 🥹🤏🤍

[jesuis-assez]

↠ Tim & Lucy scenes ↳ 2x02 - The Night General

[milamilamilax]

Sydney's mental health

I’ve read plenty of theories about Sydney’s potential health issues, particularly whether she might have lupus, but I think the show could take a different approach. There are various clues throughout the two seasons pointing at mental health issues for Sydney, which I think these point towards things potentially getting worse for Sydney as she puts too much pressure on herself - or perhaps hints of a backstory for Sydney, but the clues are definitely there. 

We’ve seen general hints about Sydney having anxiety, e.g. struggling to sleep, haunted by memories of catering, and the stomach problems she has, likely due to stress. We also know that she is closed off emotionally, to the extent that she arguably even hides the truth about her mother’s death. Although we haven’t seen it officially yet, her “c’est pas grave” tattoo feels like something someone with anxiety would say to themselves as a kind of motto.

Specific things I’ve noticed while rewatching that support this include:

Sydney talking to Carmy (1x05) about the collapse of her business “My whole shit got rocked. And there’s not a night I don’t stay up just thinking about what I could’ve done different.” Sydney refers to her shit getting rocked separately to her credit getting fucked. Notably, when talking with Marcus about the same thing (the collapse of her business) in 1x08 is how this affected her finances - her negative credit score and moving back in with her dad, so she must be thinking of something else here. (I also think this is a sign of Sydney/Carmy > Sydney/Marcus; she’s more open with Carmy when they barely know each other than she is with Marcus when they’re hanging out outside of work as friends.)

In the shots of Sydney's bedroom (also in 1x05) the choices of posters could mean something more. There are 2 film posters that we see clearly in Sydney's room: (1) Jumping' Jack Flash, a film named after a Rolling Stones song, which recounts stories of intense suffering only to come out stronger, and (2) Speed, a film about a bus that has been rigged to explode if its speed drops below 50mph. This also made me of all the references to Sydney driving and how this is a metaphor for her ambition and work ethic (see here) - could it be a reference to this drive also being a weakness?

Sydney talking to Marcus (1x08), after he compliments her for not taking a day off and getting right back to cooking: “I’m just the type, like, as soon as I stop I just *mimics falling apart*". Clearly, she’s experienced this falling apart before, but this is something we haven't seen on screen. We don’t know the timelines of Sydney’s business and exactly when it fell apart, but could it be that the collapse of Sheridan Road drove her to also collapse? (This is also the conversation where she explicitly says to Marcus "It would be weird to work in a restaurant and not completely lose your mind," but I think this is something different to her references to losing her mind when she's not working.)

Sydney talking with her dad (2x02), she differentiates The Bear from her previous business, saying: “I’m in a much better place than last time.” I found this choice of words interesting - separately, she mentions that she’s learned lots of lessons, and has a partner now, but the reference to a “better place” is distinct. What kind of “place” she was in when she started and closed Sheridan Road? It sounds like whatever her emotional and mental state was, it was at least a factor in her failure there. It’s also interesting that she didn’t mention this as one of the reasons for leaving catering when she discussed it with Carmy in 1x05: she didn’t refer to any personal factors, focusing instead on the logistical challenges (on her business getting too big too fast, and the difficulties of running it out of her garage). 

Emmanuel to Sydney (2x09): “I know you can put a lot of pressure on yourself”; Sydney responds: “why can’t we put everything that we have into everything that we can?” And then, “I don’t know if I could do another one.” This exchange isn't subtle at all, because Emmanuel is a great dad and cares about his daughter, but I find it interesting how much he is focused on the pressure Sydney puts herself under; he's no longer focusing on the risky nature of the industry or her change in plan as he was in 2x02, he’s only concerned about her wellbeing here. We know how much pressure she is in fact putting on herself (to get a star, and to generally be the best) so could she end up pushing herself too far again?

Sydney talking to Carmy (2x09) in the infamous table scene: “What if I just, like, completely melt? Like I just, fuck up and fail?” Now, at this point, we haven’t actually seen Sydney completely melt. In 1x05 and 1x06 she handles crises at the restaurant like a boss and saves the day with her quick thinking, and even with the to-go crisis in 1x08, her initial response is to try to help - what makes her throw in the towel is Carmy’s attitude towards her. She could also be referring to the final pasta dish she did for Sheridan Road, but this also didn't sound like "completely melting" to me. I think she’s remembering another time here, a different memory that we haven't seen yet - or perhaps foreshadowing melting in the future.

I’m also interested in how the writers have made Sydney so similar to both Carmy and Mikey, two characters who we know have struggled with extremely poor mental health.

Now, Sydney and Carmy's clothes (think matching jumpers, uniforms, the Thom Browne connection - see post here), language (see this post), and even their names (see here) show how similar they are. This post, however, made me realise how much the writers have also made Sydney mirror Mikey. Maybe the writers are hinting at a similar spiral (although I couldn't imagine this involving drugs specifically, which is something we've never seen referred to in the context of Sydney). 

When Mikey was spiralling, Carmy was away - he didn’t even know Mikey was using drugs, and he didn't go home in the immediate aftermath. Likewise, in 2x10, Carmy is (for all intents and purposes) away and unable to help Sydney when she begins to lose control of the situation. Just as with Mikey, Richie is the one who is available - and, this time, he’s able to save the day.

Generally, Sydney appears relatively stable on the surface, particularly when we compare her to some of the Berzatto family - but I think this is at least partly a case of her being a character who doesn't let her emotions show as much. My own theory for S3 is that the above is either hinting at a larger spiral for Sydney, or is some heavy hinting for Sydney's backstory, which I hope to God we get to see more of.

[avatrice-week]

Avatrice Week 2023 Masterpost

Day 1 - Fake Dating or Undercover

Title: Tell Me You Don't Know Me Author: quietblueriver Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Summary: Ava and Beatrice run into Beatrice's parents.

Title: Always a pleasure Author: orphan_account Rating: General Audiences Summary: “And this is the, uhm, wife, I presume?”

Title: Serenading in the Trenches Author: spaceosshy Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Summary: Beatrice and Ava are reunited after almost a year apart. They're immediately tasked with going undercover, posing as a married couple of prolific assassins in the hopes of putting a stop to Adriel's criminal activies.

Title: Missions and Love Author: Creativityx Rating: General Audiences Summary: Ava has been assigned to work with the OCS' top agent, Beatrice. It was a simple mission, pretend to be girlfriends, capture one of Adriel's followers and return to the OCS. What Ava wasn't planning for was her fake girlfriend being so beautiful.

Title: when dividin' up the universe (you could have mine) Author: organicdonut Rating: General Audiences Summary: “Okay, so. I have, uh, some updates,” Beatrice does not like the way Ava said updates, “About last night.” “Will the updates explain why everyone in the bar is looking at me like I’ve forbidden alcohol?”

Title: Will you be my fake girlfriend? Author: jessnope Rating: Not Rated Summary: “Wouldn’t people think it weird?” Ava asked, looking genuinely thoughtful. Somehow, Beatrice could sense it was a trap even through the state of tiredness she found herself, Ava had a spark in her eyes.

Title: Philanthropy for the Heart Author: SharonSharpe Rating: Explicit Summary: The Areala General Hospital is hosting its annual charity gala and everyone is excited for the social event of the season. That is everyone except Dr. Beatrice Young. When she makes the mistake of saying Ava is her date for the gala the two are forced to address their flourishing feelings for the other.

Day 2 - Injured or Sick

Title: Life is About More Than Just Fighting Author: strongwomenunited Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Summary: At the end of 2x06, you can see that Beatrice clearly had an injured side, yet in 2x07, it's magically healed. In this story, Ava finds Beatrice after Mother Superior has been brought back to life trying to get her armor off, but her side is in pain. So we will see some hurt/comfort, but you know emotions come out and their relationship changes...

Title: A Sick Day Author: strongwomenunited Rating: General Audiences Summary: During the two month period, Beatrice gets a cold after a busy night at the Bar, do they end up training or does Ava make her rest?

Title: That Lilith Voice Inside My Head Author: quietblueriver Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Summary: AU - Lawyer!Bea tries to bring Ava soup. Lilith helps. Sort of.

Title: I'll Hold You (Blood, Bruises and All) Author: spaceosshy Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Summary: The Halo pulses as Ava roars with rage, knocking Beatrice’s assailant backwards into the stone wall. He falls, limp and unmoving. Ava can distantly hear all the times Mother Superion has told her to check the body but she doesn't care. She's already halfway to Beatrice’s side.

Day 3 - Jealousy

Title: What Love Feels Like Author: strongwomenunited Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Summary: In 2x02, what if Miguel didn't walk into Bar La Vasseur while that woman was flirting with Beatrice? What if Ava took things into her own hands to end that conversation...? This story explores the idea of Ava spilling some drinks on a certain woman flirting with Beatrice. How will she react?

Day 4 - Soulmates

Title: Soulmarked Author: Creativityx Rating: General Audiences Summary: That fateful day when she was seven, saw her soulmark left incomplete with only the letter 'B' on her wrist. Ava learns to wear long sleeves that day. With little hope of finding her soulmate, she puts herself to work as a mechanic fixing cars to stop anyone else from experiencing the same as her.

Her life is ordinary until one client walks through the door with a need for repairs.

Day 5 - Hear Each Other’s Thoughts

[None}

Day 6 - Smut or Creator’s Choice

Title: I Can Taste You In My Rage Author: spaceosshy Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Summary: Lilith returns to the Cat's Cradle in the hopes of making amends. Beatrice has some things to say.

Title: The One Time She Knew Author: JetpackingPenguin Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Summary: Five times Beatrice didn't think Ava returned her feelings and the one time she did

Day 7 - Domesticity

Title: The Teddy Bea-r Author: Lapincobra Rating: Not Rated Summary: Fanart and a little draft for Day 7 Of Avatrice week - Domesticity

[goodwhump-temp]

William Riker Whump | Star Trek: The Next Generation

His rizz is too good for his own good

SEASON 1 1x01 Encounter at Farpoint pt2 - Briefly unconscious, evaporated 1x02 The Naked Now - Knees buckle, becoming infected with the silly virus 1x04 The Last Outpost - Stunned, electrocuted unconscious, punched, threatened 1x06 Lonely AMONGUS - Betrayed, stunned/blinded 1x08 The Battle - Worried for Picard 1x09 Hide and Q - Forced to play Qs game, tempted, makes Picard worry 1x14 11001001 - Seduced/distracted, heartbroken 1x18 Coming of Age - Interrogated 1x20 The Arsenal of Freedom - Trapped in stasis, weak 1x21 Symbiosis - Electrocuted hostage, collapses 1x22 The Skin of Evil - Dragged, drowning 1x24 Conspiracy - Restrained, pain, pushed, kicked to the ground, punched multiple times, falls on glass table, unconscious, held, mind controlled, nerve pinched

SEASON 2 2x02 Where Silence Has Lease - Being hunted, trapped, aggravated 2x08 A Matter of Honor - Bullied by Klingon crewmates, bitch slapped/trips 2x12 The Royale - Trapped 2x13 Time Squared - Talks about depressing childhood 2x14 The Icarus Factor - Sees dad for the first time in 15 years, depressed, avoiding, fighting his dad, knocked down multiple times 2x18 Up the Long Ladder - Injected, memory loss, missing cells, cloned 2x21 Peak Performance - Badass, battle simulation turned into a real attack 2x22 Shades of Gray - Calf punctured, nervous system being attacked, passes out, brain stabbed/stimulated, induced sadness and pain (all in one whump episode)

SEASON 3 3x01 Evolution - Inhales toxic nitrogen oxide 3x03 The Survivors - Caught in a trap, hanging upside-down 3x09 The Vengeance Factor - Rizzler, heartbroken/sad 3x14 A Matter of Perspective - Thought dead, acting strange, arrested, guilty until proved innocent, punched multiple times 3x16 The Offspring - Sexually harassed/flustered 3x17 Sins of the Father - Confrontation, annoyed 3x18 Allegiance - Worried, confrontation, gaslighted 3x20 Tin Man - Annoyed 3x21 Hollow Pursuits - Confronts Mad Murdock (🤓), choked, feels insulted 3x23 Sarek - Punched, intense argument 3x24 Menage a Troi - Captured, unconscious, imprisoned, held at gunpoint 3x26 The Best of Both Worlds pt.1 - Annoyed (same), undermined/insulted, knocked down, unconscious

SEASON 4 4x01 The Best of Both Worlds Pt.2 - Sad the whole episode 4x03 Brothers - Trapped 4x08 Future Imperfect - Inhaling toxic fumes, coughing/choking, passes out, wakes from coma, aggravated, captured, imprisoned 4x10 The Loss - Worried 4x14 Clues - Stunned unconscious twice 4x15 First Contact - Hospitalized, severely injured, unconscious, punched multiple times/beaten unconscious, internal bleeding, injected dangerous drugs, weak, forced to kill, passes out, dying 4x17 Night Terrors - Aggravated, paranoid, tired/insomnia, scary hallucination 4x23 The Host - Shuttle shot at, awake during symbiote implantation surgery, erratic vital signs/blood pressure, slowly passing out, dizzy/stumbles/caught, weak, lightheaded, overwhelming pain, symbiote being rejected, sickness/pain worsening, collapses

SEASON 5 5x04 Silicon Avatar - Caught in storm, watches friend die, glum 5x06 The Game - Mind controlled 5x10 New Ground - Smoke inhalation, coughing 5x12 Violations - Paralyzed, traumatic flashback, passes out, noticed missing, comatose 5x14 Conundrum - Amnesia/identity erased, rizzler at maximum potential 5x15 Power Play - Shuttle crash landed, struck by lightning, unconscious, pain, broken arm, punched, shot/stunned 5x16 Ethics - Emotional 5x17 The Outcast - RIZZ ALL DAY ALL NIGHT BROTHER, emotional, brutally heartbroken 5x18 Cause and Effect - Falls to the ground, dies multiple times 5x20 Cost of Living - Life support failing, difficulty breathing, sweating profusely, passes out 5x21 The Perfect Mate - Rizz noticed, victim of rizz 5x24 The Next Phase - Thinks friends are dead 5x25 The Inner Light - Worried

SEASON 6 6x01 Time's Arrow Pt.2 - Worried 6x03 Man of the people - Forced on, scratched/pain, bleeding, worried 6x05 Schisms - Insomnia, agitated, dazed, felt trapped, abducted, restrained 6x07 Rascals - Held at fazerpoint, held hostage, threatened 6x09 The Quality of Life - Beard insulted 6x10 Chain of Command, Pt.1 - Stressed 6x11 Chain of Command, Pt.2 - Angry, confronts commanding officer twice 6x15 Tapestry - Forehead laceration 6x18 Starship Mine - Hostage, punched to the ground, almost passes out, mouth and nose bleeding, knocked out from loud noise 6x19 Lessons - Weak 6x21 Frame of Mind - Forehead sliced, (some of these are repeated multiple times), shaking, anxious, reoccuring head pain, paranoid, hallucinating, memory loss, stitutionalized, injection, increasingly agitated, intense stress/fatigue, scared, captured, parietal lobe damaged, 'neuroshock,' reoccuring bleeding, 'shoots' himself, surgery 6x24 Second Chances - Nervous, copied, twin heartbroken, hanging 6x25 Timescape - Clawed forehead, knocked down, frozen 6x26 Descent - Shot at

SEASON 7 7x03 Interface - Talks about mothers death 7x04 Gambit Pt.1 - Close friend dies, denial/avoidant, angry, emotional pain, physically aggressive, knocked down, captured, nervous system painfully electrocuted multiple times, slapped, kicked 7x05 Gambit Pt.2 - Shot unconscious, presumed dead 7x06 Phantasms - Tube sticking out of head (datas nightmare), attacked, infected 7x12 The Pegasus - Worsening guilt, stressed, broken rib, badly bruised, past revealed, confronted, part of large conspiracy, job threatened, confrontation, arrested 7x15 Lower Decks - Tired 7x18 Eye of the Beholder - Watches somebody die, guilt 7x19 Genesis - Spikes stabbed on his back, pain, worsening memory loss, transformed to beast, agitated, shot unconscious 7x24 Preemptive Strike - Held at fazerpoint, betrayed

[chenfordsource]

CHENFORD HIATUS CHALLENGE → DAY 07 Favourite Season Two Scene: 2x02 “The Night General”

[chenfordspiral]

Tim and Lucy in every episode of The Rookie 2x02 || The Night General "What's this?" "It is Split Second Leadership, the audiobook." "There's no audiobook. Book's out of print." "I know, which is why I recorded one for you."

[makeitastrength]

What did you think of the episode?

Honestly, I think it’s one of my favorite episodes so far this season. While Chenford are my fav characters, they’re not the only reason I watch the show, and I enjoyed some of the non-Chenford aspects of this episode too. So many things stand out to me:

I love that no matter how late one of them gets off work, Tim and Lucy spend the night together

The way Lucy smiles into every one of their kisses is one of my favorite things. Our girl is so in love

Supportive Tim! While I do think there’s some complications coming for them, and things definitely weren’t resolved this episode, I love how supportive he is. There is zero doubt in his mind that she’s going to score well and be a kick ass detective

And he’s going to help her study! I loved the callback to 2x02

Along the same lines, I was pleasantly surprised with the continuity in this episode. I didn’t foresee Lucy facing consequences to her 5-player trade beyond the earlier fight with Tim, so that caught me off guard. I’m interested to see how this plays out because I can see it going so many ways

I just wanted to hug Tim at the end of the episode. I always appreciate when the show doesn’t make light of officer-involved shootings and shows the officer dealing with the aftermath. And the fact that Tim was so openly emotional about it in front of Grey really shows how far he’s come

And now we see supportive Lucy as well, just wanting to be there for him and help him any way she can. I don’t know if they’ll carry this storyline into the next episode, but I think it would be great if they do because we all know Tim is not great at asking for help and Lucy is not great at not helping someone when they’re hurting. It could be a good source of conflict for them to navigate

Now for the non-Chenford aspects I enjoyed:

I’ll be honest, I didn’t like Celina at first. I think they came on too strong with her. But as they’ve calmed her down, I’ve gotten to like her. And I think it’s been good for Nolan to be exposed to her point of view and learn to be more tolerant of that, which we definitely saw in this episode

Anyway. I particularly love her backstory so I’m glad this episode explored that more and gave her some closure

And I especially like that she forgave her mom at the end. They set up that story arc for her a few eps back when we learned about the drugs and she immediately blamed her mom. It was nice to see how she’s now come to terms with the fact that addiction is a disease and it wasn’t her mom’s fault

In general, I like the episodes better when they focus on 1-2 storylines and go more in depth, and this episode did that well

There’s probably more but I haven’t rewatched the episode yet so this is what comes to mind. Thanks for dropping by, anon!

[deankarolina]

6, 11, 18, 21!!! YOU (B)EAN!!!

YOU'RE A BEAN! or possibly a Bea no N's for you 6:Episode of tv or webisode that defined the year for you? answered prev. but Yellowjackets 2X02!! Jackie Feast time!

11:Something you want to do again next year? also answered here, but have some more things! Play more games with pals!, Complete more art projects, Publish my next game, Hug my friends more, Go to another film festival

18:A memorable meal this year? Every year me and a few friends have a pizza night where we go to my friend who has a brick oven outside their garden's house, and we all chop the wood for the fire and handmake custom pizzas together but this year I found out about the amazing combo that is homemade woodfired pizza + hot honey and god is that so fucking good pls do try it if you can, my beloved friends on here if I could craft pizzas with you all (a la alice pizza monologue style) and hang out and show you all this combo I would <3

21: What’s something new about your place of residence (room, home, or general location) now vs the start of the year? Well for my room, I've got some more knives in here, and some more cool art on the walls including a very nice Mitski print from a twitter artist I love a lot, Some prints from Soph (hill house, teeth, fangs, kaspar), print off of my doodle I got from Julie, print off of cabin animal doodles, some other friend doodles etc Oh also maybe now haunted? I walked into my brothers room the other day and noticed a weird af porcelain doll and asked him where he got it and why he has it, and he apparently found it in an abandoned building near some teeth moulds so like....... house could be haunted now maybe

[bronx-bomber87]

The Rookie Reviews Season's 1-5 Master List. Will be Pinned To Blog for Easy Access. S6 In Progress seperate link at bottom of list.

Top Eps Listed Season's-1-4 Made a ranking list my fave eps for an ask. Wanted to include in this list.

Started: 5/13/23

Last Updated : 09/20/24

Works: 106

Season 1

1x01-Pilot

1x02-Crash Course

1x03-The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

1x04-The Switch

1x05-The Roundup

1x06-The Hawke

1x07-The Ride Along

1x08-Time Of Death

1x09-Standoff

1x10-Flesh and Blood

1x11-Redwood

1x12-Heartbreak

1x13-Caught Stealing

1x14-Plain Clothes Day

1x15-Manhunt

1x16-Greenlight

1x17-The Shakeup

1x18-Homefront

1x19-Checklist

1x20-Freefall

Season 2

2x01-Impact

2x02-The Night General

2x03-The Bet

2x04-Warriors and Guardians

2x05-Tough Love

2x06-Fallout

2x07-Safety

2x08-Clean Cut

2x09-Breaking Point

2x10-The Dark Side

2x11-Day Of Death

2x12 Now and Then

2x13-Follow Up Day

2x14-Casualties

2x15-Hand Off

2x16-The Overnight

2x17-Control

2x18-Under The Gun

2x19-The Q Word

2x20-The Hunt

Season 3

3x01-Consequences

3x02-In-Justice

3x03-La-Fiera

3x04-Sabotage

3x05-Lockdown

3x06-Revelations

3x07-True Crime

3x08-Bad Blood

3x09-Amber

3x10-Man Of Honor

3x11-New Blood

3x12-Brave Heart

3x13-Triple Duty

3x14-Threshold

Season 4

4x01-Life and Death

4x02-Five Minutes

4x03-In the Line Of Fire

4x04-Red Hot

4x05-A.C.H

4x06-Poetic Justice

4x07-Fire Fight

4x08-Hit and Run

4x09-Breakdown

4x10-Heart Beat

4x11-End Game

4x12-The Knock

4x13-Fight or Flight

4x14-Long Shot

4x15-Hit List

4x16-Real Crime

4x17-Coding

4x18-Backstabbers

4x19/4x20-Simone/Envervo

4x21-Mother's Day

4x22-Day In The Hole

Season 5

5x01-Double Down

5x02-Labor Day

5x03-Dye Hard

5x04-The Choice

5x05-The Fugitive

5x06-The Reckoning

5x07-Crossfire

5x08-The Collar

5x09-Take Back

5x10-The List

5x11-The Naked and The Dead

5x12-Death Notice

5x13-Daddy Cop

5x14-Death Sentence

5x15-The Con

5x16-Exposure

5x17-The Enemy Within

5x18-Double Trouble

5x19-A Hole in the World

5x20-S.T.R

5x21-Going Under

5x22-Under Siege

Season 6 Separate Post

[renegadesstuff]

I CAN'T GET OVER THIS PARALLEL! 🥹🤍

[foreverautumn89]

@stevesspaghettichesthairs

Thank you for understanding. I love talking to you, but its the ST fandom I can't tolerate anymore. I'm just so busy especially this time of the year gets so chaotic and crazy that there really is no time to do anything and then I feel like I have to defend Jonathan and its just silly to waste time arguing with people about it when it clearly has nothing to do with them really believing Jonathan is a bad guy.

Jonathan did one thing barely wrong on ACCIDENT meanwhile Steve did a million things wrong ON PURPOSE and yet Steve is completely forgiven automatically and was just 'misunderstood' the whole time supposedly while Jonathan has been worse than Vecna since day one supposedly. It's clearly about pretty privledge.

And I just wasted so much time with these clowns already I don't want to waste anymore. I'll post about whats wrong with the whole Steve worshipping/blindly loyal fans that hate Jonathan one day, but it won't be any time soon. They have wasted so much of my time already and clearly they just want to sleep with Steve/Joe Keery they can't be that dumb to believe that everything Steve did to wrong Nancy and Jonathan as justified or they really are that cruel and are horrible people to think that type of stuff is ok-but either way it comes down to the same conclusion for me: I don't want to have any association with them.

I came here to find people that I enjoy talking to about the show people that love Jonathan, and can forgive Steve BUT understand that everything he did in S1 was wrong and cruel, but can forgive him since he changed because of/and for Jonathan. And people that I can share content with about my fav ship and my fav show that we both enjoy. It may just be a few people, but I got what I came here for, so I see no reason to keep communicating with the rest of the fandom that has so many things wrong with them. They're homophobic, they're sexist, they support abusers and abuse and justify things that should never be acceptable-they're just not people I want to have anything to do with anymore.

But I'm glad I found you and a handful of other people. I've been staying away from tumblr the most I can and away from social media in general because its infuriating and way too time consuming. So if I don't respond for a while, just know I'll be back, but I'm trying to avoid the ST fandom in general the most I can because of the way they behave.

Yeah I just get sick of talking about the Jonathan hate and the Steve cult that bash J and just…all of it. It's too much to deal with especially every day. So I'm keeping my distance for now.

I'm having fun keeping to myself and just talking with my friends about Stonathan/ST for now. Everything is still shit in real life like everything is chaotic and most of it isn't good, but its getting better at least that I've been away from here and I can focus on certain things that should have been done long ago.

I'm writing Stonathan stories again so thats making me happier and I was creating content for them but I stopped just for now, just so I can focus on things that need urgent attention right now. Actually one thing that is going on it not that urgent but in a way it is cause I need something that is theraputic/fun for me to do instead of being depressed all the time. its like Halloween celebrating and its a big deal for me and my friends its the biggest night of the year [funny that the Will, Mike, Dustin, and Lucas feel the same way in 2x02], but they've been trying to make it to haunted houses, corn mazes [still trying to find a good one] and watching our Halloween movies and its nice just to get away from all the drama and get a chance to relax…or rather I should say have fun becasue nothing about this is relaxing I'm trying to make up for all the time I wasted talking on here with these bozos that loathe Jonathan and missing out on things I really wanted to do. Its just better now that I took some time away. Although, I do miss talking to you.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks that J and the boys would hang out in Castle Byers and chit chat about everything under the sun. I imagine they spent a lot of time in there together. And Jonathna definitely took those pictures of the boys that were in Castle Byers [even though Will ripped them up]. I love how Jonathan is like a mom when it comes to the boys. And J was probably shocked when he saw what happened to Castle Byers, but in my headcanon after Will explained why, Jonathan was just like Its ok you were all getting too big for that anyway, we were going to have to build a new one anyway, and then Jonathan, Will, and El start to build a bigger better Castle Byers and Mike, Dustin, and Lucas come to help.

One of these days, I'm going to have to write down all the jokes I came up with/or that we made about Jeremy the demogorgon/Vecna mounting Jonathan and trying to kiss him and Steve attacking it with a bat because he wanted to be Jonatahn's boyfriend-I came up with plenty of new material for that joke and thought of you immediatley. I just hope I can remember them. Its just so funny to me that we kept that joke going.

I NEED to see Jonathan, Will, and El scenes next season and I mean NEED to see so much of them that we are all SICK and completely DISGUSTED by all their cute little heart to hearts and getting into funny shenanigans together. I need to see Jonathan with Will and El together so much. I'm also gonna need Hopper being a dad to Jonathan [not like he hadn't acted like that towards him long before Hop and Joyce got together].

[floripire]

a quick and dirty event guide featuring important episodes and plot points: season 2.

note: the events of the show happen as they do, albeit tweaked and a little darker and more mature; the salvatore boarding school looks like a regular boarding school but behind closed doors, vampires are feeding off other students despite technically not being allowed to do so; witches use their abilities outside of the classrooms and are practicing forbidden magic, etc.

in 2x01, there is an extended flashback moment detailing the relationship between jed and flori during and after the summer holidays. there are also flashback moments between loren and mia and flori.

in 2x02, emma assigns flori homework: she's to write down what she wants and then chase after it with all her might. the thing is, though, she wants this malivore business to be over and she wants her friends to be happy and she wants jed, except alyssa's been hanging off his arms. so to distract her from that, she throws herself into her research and comes up with a working theory: malivore is part of the dark dimension and it is so much bigger than people initially suspected. unfortunately, there is no way to test that theory so flori keeps it to herself.

in 2x03, flori is present for the annual football game against mystic falls high even though she doesn't really care about sports in general. she tapes it and watches out for humans doing the same, like they did last year.

in 2x04, flori joins raf and landon when they go to mystic falls high. raf and landon go for hope. flori goes for maya and ethan machado as she's still digging into the whole machado family. flori also tries to help out with the oni problem however she can.

in 2x05, flori attends the 80's themed decade dance.

in 2x06, flori's entire backstory is revealed due to the croatoan.

in 2x07, flori catches wind of josie’s risky plan to close the malivore portal and decides to help out, sharing all her research up until this point.

in 2x08, flori is absent but is mentioned by name.

in 2x09, alyssa drops a plate and slices herself. sebastian has to calm mg down and jed has to be the one to calm flori down elsewhere.

in 2x10, it's coven day. normally flori has nothing to do with this but for the sake of loren and wade, she's willing to sit in on it. afterwards, she has a conversation with wade and they dig into flori's family history, diving deep into the harman's.

they find out there is so much more to the world of the preternatural than they knew; there is so much that has been kept from them. flori confronts alaric about the night people and he reveals that he's been in the know for years, just like dorian and emma.

a qareen sows discord throughout the day, however, and flori is among those affected.

in 2x11, love is in the air and flori gets hit with an arrow too. she goes to confess to jed but when she finds him and ms tig, she runs. ms tig rejects jed and he chases after her. they have a conversation.

in 2x12, flori dives into the books, trying to find a way to get the saltzmans out of the prison world.

in 2x13, it becomes clear that nothing in the books will help, but that doesn't mean flori is gonna stop looking.

in 2x14, emma suggests group therapy in the form of the therapy box in order to deal with their recent trauma; noir flori is seen at the salvatore hotel, in charge of communications. she’s also seen at mg’s workplace, working up the nerve to go inside and ask if he or his colleagues can help her find her estranged family after he clears his case. before flori can enter the police station and set everything in motion, she gets killed by the murderer and gets ejected from the simulation.

in 2x15, flori is there when josie - who has now gone dark - siphons from mg. luckily, he gets saved by kaleb. alyssa is not so lucky and flori wonders if there is anything she and the others can do to stop josie. she believes it when she's told that lizzie has died as she is not yet filled in on the plan.

in 2x16, flori faints due to the fact that the room is awash in so much magic. when she wakes up again, mg fills her in. she promises rafael that she'll look into ways to wake hope and landon up again. meanwhile, flori attends lizzie's "funeral".

[londonrih]

Hey I have trying to get my friend into the rookie she fallen in with Chenford what are good chenford eps you would recommend ?

Ooooooou👀 okay some good chenford eps, I’d say:

Season 1:

1x06 - The Hawke (Lucy steals Tim’s money clip. They have a flirty moment at the end, “Maybe you should glove up…)

1x11 - Redwood (Over-protective Tim! Lucy gets stabbed with a rusty needle)

1x18 - Homefront (A little Chenford date at the end🙃)

1x19 - The Checklist ( Lucy has a checklist of 7 different arrests she has to make. Tim helps Lucy complete the checklist even if it does interfere with their hours.)

1x20 - Free Fall (Tim gets “infected” with a deadly virus, and Lucy stays next to him throughout the entire process, big moment.)

Season 2:

2x01 - Impact (A bit of a continuation to 1.20, + Chenford angst.)

2x02 - The Night General (Audiobook *I have nothing else to say*)

2x03 - The Bet (Kinda clear from the title.)

2x06 - Fallout (Drinks.Drinks.and drinks!!!)

2x08 - Clean Cut (Lucy sticking up for her man as she should😌)

2x10 - The Darkside (Whoo babyyyyy)

2x11 - Day of Death (Get the tissues ready)

2x12 - Now and Then (Tim’s speech killed me, I’m not in my feels.)

2x13 - Follow-Up Day (“I haven’t finished training you yet.”)

2x14 - Casualties (“Some things matter more.”)

Season 3:

3x01 - Consequences (SO MANY DIFFERENT MOMENTS BETWEEN THEM, they’re insane. And also overprotective Tim era makes a reappearance.)

3x06 - Revelations (Lucy goes undercover and Tim ain’t here for it.)

3x07 - True Crime (hilarious chenford moments, this is a true crime heavy episode though.)

3x08 - Bad Blood (Lucy teasing Tim.)

3x09 - Amber (HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH I’m still hurt, thanks Lucy.)

3x11 - New Blood (Jealously, Jealously!!!)

3x14 - Threshold (So. Many. Moments. Omg. Screaming internally)

Season 4:

4x01 - Life and Death (This one’s gonna hurt just a warning. Big chenford moment.😉)

4x02 - Five Minutes (Lucy being a proud wife!!! She’s so happy for Tim *makes a crow noise*)

4x03 - In the Line of Fire (It’s basically Tim and Lucy missing each other without admitting it, idiots… in love, of course.)

4x05 - A.C.H (AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA UNWELL!!)

(Brace yourself this is where it gets a little….bumpy.)

4x06 - Poetic Justice (Chenford bet!! YAYY! What’s not yay?? uhm…unexpected guest.)

4x07 - Fire Fight (A little bit of Tim being shirtless in front of Lucy.😏)

(You’re gonna cry with these two.)

4x08 - Hit and Run (I warned you.)

4x09 - Breakdown (it’s named that because you’re literally gonna have a breakdown, whooo baby.)

(EUUEEHHSEHEHWHWJWJA….)

4x10 - Heart Beat (the unexpected guest comes back, and she brings a friend, and he’s a jerk! But, Lucy wasn’t subtle looking at Tim across the bullpen blushing and all, *go get ya man, oh…too late.*)

4x11 - EndGame (Chenford and Tamara, Lucy calling the jerk a clown, cause he’s an idiot💀)

4x12 - The Knock (😂😂😂😂no comment)

4x16 - Real Crime (Aaron centric BUT! Funny chenford moments, another true crime episode.)

4x18 - Backstabbers (AHAHAHAHJAHAHAHHAHA!!!!!! Unwell!!)

4x19 - Simone (Backdoor pilot, heavy Nolan/ Simone Clark (love her!) but also one funny chenford moment, a subtle look & and an aweeeeee moment.)

You’re all caught up, 4x21, is gonna be something. 💀 good luck watching that promo.

[tomwambsmilk]

ok your tomshiv love language post interests me so much because i think shiv does know that physical affection is the primary way tom shows support which is why she tolerates it. but she also thinks showing her love is a weakness (and is very bad at it when she tries) and so on some level doesn't want tom to know how much she cares about him because that would be exposing a vulnerability. it haunts me that her go-to for trying to express emotional support in s3e6 is sex, and she's baffled by tom's rejection, because i think to some extent that may be the only kind of physical affection she's comfortable with. sorry for dumping this text wall in your askbox the failmarriage makes my brain start smoking

First of all you NEVER need to apologize for dumping a wall of text in my askbox, especially if it's about TomShiv. I'm literally obsessed with them. I've always loved media that depicts fucked up failmarriages, but there's something about TomShiv that's so... real? And it's also complicated. Every time I try to write meta about TomShiv I realize that there's a whole angle that I somehow forgot to incorporate.

Also - ming you're literally one of my FAVOURITE tom bloggers so like. You could walk into my house and sit down on the couch and I would be pretty cool with it. I’ve had a tumblr crush on you since I joined this fandom.  You are welcome in my ask box any time!!

ANYWAYS 

The reason it took me four (?) days to answer this is that you're definitely right, and I've spent the last several days chewing on it. (Also I’m bad at time management and work has been crazy, but that’s neither here nor there). I'm also haunted by 3x06, but also by TomShiv sex in general? Not in a horny way, more in the sense of... We see Shiv initiate sex 4 times over the course of the show, and three of those are in direct response to her upsetting Tom (their wedding night, in 2x02 when she tells him Logan's offered her the CEO position, and 3x06). The fourth one is Chiantishire, and even though that one's not about Tom, she's still not initiating sex out of a desire to be with Tom, so much as out of anger over her conversation with her mother. Also, she then tells Tom she doesn't love him, so even though she didn't start the sex in response to her upsetting him she did still upset him. She just kind of reversed the order on that one.

(There is a fifth time which is on the yacht, but once Tom opts out of the threesome she doesn't want to have sex anymore, even though he clearly does, so I don't really count that).

Meanwhile when Tom tries to initiate sex he's always rebuffed, and there is an implication in 1x03 that they aren't having sex very much (when he tells her vagina that he misses it). It's possible that their libidos are just out of sync, but the fact that she does initiate sex with other people - Nate and the actor - seem to imply that isn't the case. 

I think there are two options here, both of which are plausible, and both options are also not mutually exclusive. The first is that Shiv simply isn’t attracted to Tom; that there’s a dichotomy between the kind of personality she finds attractive (someone more Logan-esque) and the kind of personality she feels safe with (someone utterly unlike Logan). So she marries Tom because she likes him and feels safe with him, but isn’t actually attracted to him. 

Option two is that her reluctance to have sex with Tom is rooted in her fear of intimacy. She has a greater emotional intimacy with Tom than she does with Nate or some rando (even if they aren’t as close as Tom would like), so in some way sex with them feels safer. 

Which - circling back to the question of love languages - raises the issue of: if Shiv is uncomfortable with or afraid of intimacy, how does this impact how she expresses love? I think sometimes there’s a phenomenon where people who are uncomfortable with intimacy gravitate towards love languages that feel less intimate because they’re safer. And that can vary from person to person, because often your natural love language is the one that feels most intimate to you. And that’s a big part of why it’s actually really hard to ascertain the roy kids love languages, because they’re so rarely being emotionally honest or vulnerable. 

I do think it’s unlikely that Shiv’s love language is physical affection, but it is SO INTERESTING that she initiates sex as a way of trying to soothe Tom or manage his emotions, and also that, even with her reluctance to have sex, she seems more comfortable with that than with publicly expressed physical affection. Maybe it’s because sex is inherently more private? Because she does also seem far more accepting of physical affection when it’s just the two of them, such as after the proposal or when she makes the deal in 3x05. Or maybe it’s because soothing Tom when he’s upset feels less vulnerable than accepting his physical affections when they’re simply offered as a gesture of love. (Because the more I think about it - she does sometimes offer physical affection when he’s upset, even if it isn’t sex, such as after the dinner with Roman and Tabitha, or the conversation before their wedding night, or when Tom tells her he’s terrified of going to prison. But she pretty well never initiates it outside of that). If he’s upset and she’s comforting him, she probably feels that she has the power in that situation, whereas if he’s simply trying to demonstrate that he loves her, accepting that implies some kind of dependency on his love, which is inherently vulnerable. 

Plus, on top of the general love = vulnerability sentiments that I think are pretty common to people uncomfortable with intimacy, the Roy family has also instilled a particular sentiment of “love is dangerous”. It’s weakness and that’s frowned upon, but on top of that, there is a very real danger that if you love someone more than they love you, that they’ll take advantage of that. The Roys are always playing this game of “I love you - but”, or “I love you so long as x”, and that’s what Shiv has grown up knowing. I think that’s why even before Tom has done anything to betray her trust, she’s not able to fully open up to him. Even though he hasn’t yet given her a reason not to trust him, that “love = danger” sentiment runs so deep. So she needs to put enough distance between her and Tom that she can feel safe, while trying not to push him so far that he leaves or withdraws his affection, and one of the ways she does that is by reserving these expressions of physical affection for those moments where she’s maybe pushed him a bit too far. 

Also this is only tangentially relevant but we’re talking about TomShiv and it’s an idea that haunts me: Shiv has NEVER experienced unconditional love prior to Tom. It’s not something the Roy family does. [I know that you can definitely debate whether or not Tom loves Shiv unconditionally; I do think that he does, even though he’s also keenly aware of the ways in which his relationship with Shiv benefits him and obviously is status-obsessed enough to want to maximize those benefits.] So, I think there’s a part of her that is inherently distrustful of Tom appearing to love her unconditionally, and which also contributes to her putting more distance between them; and that eventually becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, because that increasing distance - and the instability to Tom’s role in the company and family - is what causes him to essentially prove her right in the season 3 finale. At the same time, I think she still recognizes Tom’s love as more unconditional than her family’s, which is why she prioritizes Logan over Tom. As awful as it is, it actually does make sense - Tom is likely to be there for her no matter what, whereas this is absolutely not the case with Logan and her brothers.